After Fred left to accompany Jennifer to D.C., John got Alex fed and dressed before taking her to Carson's quarters. He almost laughed when he noticed that it seemed like Carter had practically moved in with him but managed to keep it to himself. Instead, he kissed his daughter goodbye and went to get his gun and mission equipment.
The exploration ended up being fairly uneventful. The civilization that had been there was long gone. Teyla talked about Daniel quite a bit, much to Rodney's annoyance. In the end, they ended up making some rubbings of several wall carvings to take back, curious if Daniel could glean any information about what had happened to the people or perhaps even if there was anything about the wraith.
When they got back, Rodney and John stopped in the Game room to check out the simulation they had been running. They spent a few minutes going over the latest developments that the computer had created since last time and updated a few things. John frowned when he saw that Rodney's side had erected a statue to him and shook his head before leaving to go pick up Alex from Carson.
They spent the rest of the afternoon listening to Johnny Cash while playing before Alex took a short nap on John's chest. She had just woken up when Fred got back.
As his wife told him what had happened with Nancy, John's eyebrows raised in amazement. "I had heard rumors that she was being considered but nothing for certain. Good going, Nance." He looked at Fred as she tried to change the subject and shook his head, knowing that he should probably explain so that she didn't feel like it was her. "I'm...kind of not surprised it was awkward. That's how it's been between me and her for a long time."
Shifting Alex off his lap so she was sitting between them, John turned so he could look at Fred, propping his elbow on the back of the couch. "Nancy and I went to high school together and were sort of on again, off again several times during our junior and senior years. We both went to different colleges but would tend to hook up during our holiday breaks, and it finally got to the point where we decided we should get married or just break it off altogether. We had been with each other so long by then that we decided to get married, and we did right after I was commissioned following officer training."
John let out a sigh. "Unfortunately, Nancy wasn't made to be a military spouse. She didn't like the fact that we had to move every time I was reassigned or the fact that I was often sent on temporary duty all over the place. And I don't blame her - she had find a new job every time we moved and make new friends. When I was reassigned from Bolling Air Force Base in D.C., she told me she wasn't moving with me. She had a job with the government and wanted to stay there. So I went on without her, but would try to make it back to see her when I had leave. But every time I did, there was this...gap that seemed to just get wider. Our lives were just diverging, and it was awkward because we didn't seem to know what to talk about or what our place was in the other's life. It got to the point where I started to wonder if it was worth going, and we saw each other less and less. When she sent the divorce papers, I just signed them. We never talked about it."
He looked down for a moment. "Not long after that, I was deployed to Afghanistan, and after the incident with the soldiers I wasn't able to save, I was sent to Antartica. I went without telling anyone. I hadn't really spoken to my family in years because my dad didn't think me going into the Air Force was a good idea, and I didn't want to disrupt Nancy's life." Raising his head, he looked into his wife's eyes and reached out to take her hand, squeezing it gently. "So I think the awkwardness stems from all that. Sometimes, I used to think that Nancy and I were just never meant to be, and something was trying to tell us that with the number of times we broke up. We just didn't listen. And...now I know that I was always supposed to be with you."