Then There Were Two (5/?)
Title: Then There Were Two (5/?)
Author: Nytel
Rating: R
Pairing: John/Teyla
Main Characters: John, Teyla
Genre: Angst/Romance
Summary: The need to find some kind of comfort during a dire war is strong. It is important to build strong bonds with family and friends, but even that my backfire.
Warnings: Sex, Character Death
Spoilers: Up to Phantoms.
Word Count: 3,941
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: - This is set some time in the future.
-My apologizes for taking so long with this. My life is getting quite crazy with midterms just around the corner. Hopefully I won't be this long with the next chapter, but there are no guarantees. I'm sure you understand.
Chapter 5
Teyla quickly made her way to the landing pad along with Rodney and Elizabeth. No amount of prompting had been able to make John tell them what his surprise was. Instead, he insisted that they came down to the lower part of the city where the Daedalus was to land so they could see for themselves.
Glancing over at Rodney and Elizabeth, and seeing the looks on their faces, she knew that they had the same guess as her in regards to what the surprise was. Teyla silently wished they were correct-the thing they needed most right now was something to even the odds in their fight against the Wraith.
As the three of them emerged from the transport they literally ran into Ronon as he rounded the corner.
“Ronon,” Elizabeth said, sounding shocked as she placed one hand on his shoulder to steady herself. “What are you doing down here?”
“I came to see Sheppard,” he said simply as he shrugged his shoulders.
“Of course,” Elizabeth said. Then she added, “My, news sure does travel fast around here doesn’t it?”
Ronon nodded as he stepped over to the side, letting Elizabeth precede them all down the corridor.
It wasn’t long before they made it to the doors that led out to the landing pad. They didn’t stop, and instead headed straight outside after Elizabeth swiped her hand over the sensor.
Teyla shivered involuntarily and wrapped her arms tightly around her torso as she stepped out into the cold air. Being so close to the water always made the weather seem worse than in any elevated part of the city. Also, it did not help that it was already unpleasant outside-the wind was gusting and creating waves that crashed against the sides of the landing pad, sending a fine but chilling mist over them. In addition there were rain clouds looming above their heads.
Wrapping her arms even tighter around herself, Teyla stood beside the door, hoping to somewhat shield herself from some of the conditions. In hindsight she realized she should have brought a jacket, or she should have at least worn something warmer than one of her Athosian made tops. But she had been much too preoccupied with what was about to happen to even think twice about dressing for the weather.
Another surge of nervousness mixed with excitement coursed through her veins as she thought of John. He was on the Daedalus… she would be seeing him in a matter of minutes. She felt a strong fluttering sensation in her stomach, but did her best to ignore it, instead focusing her attention on the cloud covered sky. A voice broke her from her reverie.
“What are you smiling about?” Rodney asked her suddenly. His voice wasn’t necessarily mean or condescending-it sounded like he just wanted to know.
Teyla did her best to fight back the grin on her face, but she didn’t succeed very well. “I am excited to see what the surprise is,” she said, the partial lie slipping from her lips.
Rodney looked at her peculiarly, but didn’t say anything. They both returned their gazes to the clouds and waited for the Daedalus to come into view.
It wasn’t long before Teyla could pick out the hum of the engines from the sound of the water. Even though she did not think it had been possible, her heart started to race even faster. Sometimes the true depth of her feelings for John shocked her, but other times they did not-especially when she considered all they had been through together.
Quickly glancing down from the sky, Teyla saw that even Ronon looked excited-they were all truly anxious for the Daedalus, and John, to return.
They did not have to wait much longer, because the next thing Teyla knew the clouds almost directly above them were being disturbed and blown into unnatural swirling patterns. The noise of the ship grew louder as the Daedalus dropped into view. It touched down gently-or at least gently for a ship of its size-on the large open landing pad in front of the group.
When the noise grew louder still, Teyla was almost certain that her guess in regards to the surprise was correct. Only seconds later it was confirmed when a second ship passed through the clouds to land beside the Daedalus.
Pausing to take it in, Teyla saw that it was very similar to the Daedalus, and no doubt an Earth vessel. It wasn’t exactly the same though, and piecing together information John had told her before, she concluded that it was the next model of ship the Air Force had designed.
Looking around at Rodney, Ronon and Elizabeth, Teyla could see they were just as excited to see it as she was. There was nothing better they could have asked for.
“Well,” Elizabeth said, barely able to contain the grin on her face. “Let’s go and say thank you for the surprise.”
***
They made their way over, past the new ship, and stopped outside the large cargo bay doors of the Daedalus. Within seconds the ramp was being lowered and a flood of people made their way out. Most of them were carrying supplies and headed straight into the city without stopping. One person did not, and instead threaded his way through the crowd to greet them.
John’s eyes locked with Teyla’s immediately and she felt another flutter of excitement. He was grinning broadly, and looked almost idiotic. It would have been funny except she knew she looked the same way. Along with the excitement she felt a huge sense of relief. She did not know what she had been expecting, but things rarely went as they were planned in Atlantis, and she was just thankful John had made it back all right. Though maybe it shouldn’t surprise her, after all, he did promise that he would come back.
Her fingers rose unconsciously to finger his dog tag where it lay on a chain around her neck. John Sheppard was not a man who broke his promises.
As much as Teyla wanted to run up and meet him, to practically throw herself at him, hold him, and make sure that he was truly there, she couldn’t. Their personal relationship was not to affect their professional one; it was another part of their unspoken agreement. It was necessary, and even now she did not mind that much-there would always be time for that later.
Instead of giving into her natural impulses, she continued to look at him, telling him with her eyes that she had missed him and that she was glad for his return.
“John,” Elizabeth said, interrupting their silent communication. John turned to look at Dr. Weir, and when he did she added, “Welcome back.”
“Thank you,” he said sincerely. “It’s good to be back.” His eyes caught Teyla’s for a second before he looked back at Elizabeth.
“So,” he said excitedly. “How do you like the surprise?” He glanced over at the other ship.
“It’s fantastic,” Elizabeth said as she turned to look at it again. “But you were only supposed to be doing a supply run and updating the SGC as to our situation here. How did you manage to convince them to send another ship?” The astonishment in her voice was clear.
Teyla could not help but wonder the same thing. The SGC had requested that a senior member of the expedition return to Earth along with the Daedalus, so they could be given a full update, in person. But she had not expected John to ask them for more something like another ship, or at least not successfully.
John shrugged. “I didn’t.”
“What?” Dr. Weir asked, confusion evident in her voice as she turned to face him again. “I was concerned they were going to pull the plug on the expedition, not give us another weapon for our fight against the Wraith.”
“Well,” John said. “It seems that with the Ori threat having been temporarily neutralized, the SGC is more inclined to finance our fight against the Wraith. They’re hoping we may find something to help them in the future.” He paused for a moment before adding. “Well that and the fact that Dr. Jackson wants to return sometime, which he can’t do if we’re not here.”
Elizabeth raised one eyebrow. “Oh really?” she questioned.
“Uh huh,” John replied. “It seems like he has quite the pull there, back on Earth.”
“But a ship?” Elizabeth asked, once again turning to look at it. Teyla could tell she was still in shock over its appearance.
“Not just any ship,” John said. “It’s the Nikephoros.” He paused for effect.
“The what?!” Rodney asked, thoroughly confused.
John sighed. “Ni - key - phor - os,” he said, separating out the syllables. “It means bringer of victory in Greek.” Teyla almost wanted to laugh at the excited look on his face.
“Well,” Elizabeth said. “Let’s just hope it lives up to its name.”
John smiled at her before turning to look at it. “It’s pretty fancy though, huh? Plus it even comes with its own crew. A pretty good souvenir if you ask me.”
“Is this the one that Carter was working on?” Rodney asked, piping up again.
“Yeah, I think so,” John replied, turning back around.
“Are you kidding me?” Rodney asked, sounding thrilled. “That is one good ship.”
Everyone turned to look at him with questioning looks.
As soon as he noticed he blushed slightly. “Well, I mean it’s going to be good. But obviously I could have done better.”
John sighed. “It’s good to see nothing’s changed while I was gone. McKay’s still as arrogant as ever.”
“Hey,” he said resentfully. “What I just said… some people would consider that a compliment.”
“Right,” John said, rolling his eyes when Rodney wasn’t looking. Teyla had to fight the urge to laugh. Sometimes they really were just overgrown children.
“Well,” Elizabeth said, interrupting their antics. “I must say, this is the best surprise we could have asked for. I just don’t know why the SGC didn’t inform us of this in our last few contacts.”
John grinned at her knowingly. “I asked them to keep it a secret. I figured it’d be more fun if it was a surprise.”
“More fun?” Rodney squeaked. “How is this more fun? We thought it was a Wraith ship. If we had drones we might have destroyed the ship before it even landed.”
John raised one eyebrow in question as he turned to look at Rodney. “But we don’t have drones.”
“Well, no,” Rodney admitted.
“And even if we did,” John added. “We’d need a ZPM to fire them. Now what ZPM were you planning on using?”
“Well I didn’t name them,” Rodney said, returning to his normal condescending tone.
John’s eyes widened in surprise. “What are you talking about?” he asked, looking first at Rodney who just smiled at him smugly, and then turning to look at Elizabeth for confirmation.
“Which brings us to our two surprises,” she said happily.
John looked around between all of them, as if he was trying to tell if they were joking.
“Teyla and the rest of your team found two ZPMs last week, on a planet that had been an ancient drone factory.”
“Good job,” John said, looking at Teyla proudly.
She couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed under the praise, but it meant a lot nonetheless.
“Oh great,” Rodney said bitterly. “I find the two ZPMs and she gets all the credit.”
“Hey,” John said indignantly.
“No,” Teyla said, stopping the possibility of an argument. “Dr. McKay deserves most of the credit. He was the one who found them.”
John snorted, obviously not agreeing, but he remained silent.
In all honesty Teyla did not care who was credited with finding the ZPMs, the important thing was that they had found them, period.
“Well, why don’t we head in, and then you and Colonel Caldwell can brief me later?” she asked, looking at John.
“Sounds good,” he replied happily.
“Alright,” Elizabeth assented. “Meet me in my office in thirty minutes.” With that she headed off towards the entrance to the city.
The rest of the group followed more slowly behind her. Teyla fell in step beside John. “Welcome back,” she said quietly as she glanced up at him.
He grinned broadly. “Thanks,” he replied, his voice just as quiet.
He looked as if he was about to say something more, but another wave large gust of wind blew across the landing pad, interrupting him.
Teyla couldn’t stop the shiver that traveled down her spin. She tightened her arms around her torso yet again.
The next thing she knew John had removed his leather jacket and was holding it out to her. It meant that he was left in only a T-shirt and would be just as cold as her, but she knew if she declined his offer he would merely persist until she accepted.
“Thank you,” she said as she reached out to take the jacket from his outstretched hand, and then put it on.
She could tell the moment he saw the bandage on her arm because a look of fear crossed his face and he froze. Before she could begin to reassure him that everything was all right, he was talking.
“What happened?” he asked, his voice harsh and filled with worry, completely different than it had been five minutes earlier.
It was Ronon who answered. “She was shot,” he stated as walked up to them and stopped too. If Teyla did not know better she would have said he was smiling.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice filled with worry as he reached out to touch her arm lightly.
Teyla was a little shocked at the depth of his reaction, but she didn’t show it. “I am fine,” she said reassuringly. “Dr. Beckett removed the bullets and the muscle is healing well.”
John’s face tightened, whether out of anger or self-resentment she couldn’t tell-though knowing him, it could well be both. “How the hell did this happen?” he asked, turning to glare at Ronon.
“Don’t ask me,” Ronon said before turning to look at Rodney who had just caught up with them.
“McKay,” John practically growled.
One look at the scene told Rodney all he needed to know. His face went white and Teyla heard him gulp out of fear.
“It was an accident,” he said, his words coming out in a rush. “I didn’t mean to.”
Teyla wrapped her hand around John’s forearm before he could do anything he would regret later.
“You shot Teyla?!” he asked, his tone a combination of both anger and disbelief.
“It was an accident,” Rodney replied, seeming a little less likely to faint.
“You shot Teyla!” John repeated, although this time it wasn’t a question, it was an accusation.
“I am fine John,” Teyla said, trying to reassure him. “Dr. McKay is right, it was an accident.”
“He shot you,” John said, his voice losing some of its volume, but none of its anger as he turned around to face her.
“And I am fine,” she said, looking into his eyes. He didn’t say anything and Teyla hoped she had convinced him. It appeared that she had, but she did not let go of his arm just in case.
“I can’t believe you shot her,” he said once again, turning around to look at Rodney.
A sudden look of incredulity crossed Rodney’s face. “I can’t believe you’re making such a big deal out of this.”
“Excuse me?” John asked. Teyla could feel the muscles in his arm tense-she tightened her grip as a precaution.
“What?” Rodney asked. “You shot me and Ronon.” He paused for half a second. “In the same day.”
“That was different,” John explained through clenched teeth. “I was under the influence of a Wraith power device. Were you?”
“Well… no,” Rodney admitted reluctantly. “But you still shot us.”
“Dr. McKay,” Teyla said, figuring that it was time to intervene. “Perhaps you should leave now,” she suggested. She knew that in a few hours time John’s anger would be less and he would no longer have the urge to hurt Rodney, but for now, it was safer that they were not together.
“Right,” Rodney said meekly as he all but ran for the door.
Once he was inside Teyla released her hold on John. He looked down at her, concern still written on his face. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, obviously knowing her well enough to tell that it wasn’t something she could move past as easily as she had appeared to.
She nodded. “Yes,” she said quietly.
He seemed reluctant to accept her answer, but he didn’t question her on it.
Ronon started heading towards the door and they followed him, falling in step once again. Every once and a while John would look down at her, but he remained silent. After they reached the door John went to turn right, heading for Elizabeth’s office.
“I’ll see you later?” he questioned, sounding almost uncertain.
She grinned. Checking to make sure Ronon was out of sight she said, “You should know the answer to that.”
“Yeah,” he said smiling back. “I guess I should.”
Just as he moved to turn around she said his name and he stopped.
“Yeah?” he questioned.
“I am very glad you are back.”
***
After grabbing a bite to eat in the mess hall, Teyla made her way to John’s quarters. She wasn’t sure how long his meeting with Dr. Weir would be, so she took the long way there, bypassing all of the transporters. As anxious as she was to see him, she did not want to spend a long time waiting for him-it was something she’d done for the past two months, and in all honesty she was tired of it. Obviously it was not John’s fault that he had been called away-it was part of his job and she didn’t blame him, but she still did not find the thought of waiting to be very appealing.
Checking her watch, Teyla figured that it could not be much longer until the debriefing was over-she picked up her pace a bit. In less than five minutes she was swiping her hand over the sensor that lead to John’s quarters. She couldn’t help but smile as she saw the familiar Johnny Cash poster that still hung over the wall, and the unfinished copy of War and Peace that sat on the dresser.
Just as she began to open the cover of the novel, she heard the door slide open behind her. She turned around, all thoughts of the book vanishing from her head instantly.
“Hey,” John said quietly as he dropped his bag to the ground and walked over to her.
“Hi,” she replied softly, suddenly feeling nervous, though there was no reason to.
He paused directly in front of her, and they were literally standing toe to toe. She looked up at him with a timid smile on her face. He smiled back, but it was not the stupid happy grin from before, it was… she couldn’t really describe it. It was intense and heartfelt and honest and…
She lost track of her thoughts as John reached down and tucked one strand of hair behind her ear, gently caressing her face as he withdrew his hand. She couldn’t help but shiver in anticipation as his skin came into contact with her own.
For a while they merely stood there, looking at each other without any reservations-Teyla savored it.
“I missed you,” John whispered, his voice so quiet that she barely heard it.
Unexpected tears sprang into her eyes at the unanticipated and rare moment of emotional honesty, but she held them back. “I missed you too,” she replied, her voice just as soft.
“Good,” he said as he inclined his head to the side slightly. When he started to lower his head towards hers, Teyla closed her eyes and tilted her head up. Their lips met somewhere in the middle, and Teyla was surprised to find the kiss soft and slow, not hard and passionate as it had been that day in the gym. Though that wasn’t to say Teyla did not find the sensations of John’s lips moving tenderly over hers to be unappealing-in fact it was quite the opposite.
She slipped her hands up and around his neck, letting one move up further to tangle in his hair. She pulled his head towards hers slightly, increasing the pressure of the kiss. John responded by pulling her body closer, so they were practically occupying the same spot.
Feeling the heat between them intensify, Teyla parted her lips and ran her tongue lightly along John’s lips. His reaction was immediate, and in no time the kiss had been deepened and their tongues were pressing against each other.
The calmness began to wear off as their bodies responded to the fact that it had been too long since they had been together. It was not long before Teyla found herself tugging at John’s shirt in order to free it from the waistband of his pants. She was surprised by her own determined actions, but she needed this-she needed to show John how she felt about him, especially since it had not been said out loud.
While she was busy undressing him, he was returning the favor. His hands moved from her belt, to the jacket, and then back to the belt-it was as if he could not decide which piece of clothing to remove first. Eventually he settled for slipping the jacket off her shoulders. In the process his fingers brushed against her neck and Teyla stopped, her hands only partially finished with the removal of his belt.
“What’s wrong?” John asked, pulling back so he could look at her, worry written all over his face. “Did I hurt your arm?”
She shook her head. “Here,” she said as she reached behind her neck to undo the chain that held his dog tag. “This is yours.”
Before she could find the clasp on the chain, John reached behind her and grabbed her hands gently, stopping her movements. She gave him a puzzled look as he brought her hands back in front of her.
“John?” she inquired.
“Keep it,” he said, his voice sounding slightly odd.
“I can’t,” she said as she pulled her hands out of his and reached behind her neck again. “It’s yours and…”
He shook his head. “I want you to have it.”
She paused, her hands hovering as she took in what he was saying. “Are you sure?” she asked quietly. She moved her hands to hang at her sides, knowing what his answer would be.
He nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
She smiled at him, not quite sure what to make of his decision. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He smiled back and leaned down to kiss her forehead lightly. She sighed at the comfort the simple action brought.
“Now,” he said, his voice almost mischievous as he leaned back slightly. “Where were we?”
“I believe,” Teyla began in a slow but teasing voice. “That we were right here.” She wrapped one hand securely around the back of his neck and pulled him down for another kiss. The next thing she knew his hands were around her waist and she was once again pressed tightly against him.
“Yep,” John murmured, somewhere in between kisses. “This is definitely where we left off.”
TBC
Next Chapter
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Author: Nytel
Rating: R
Pairing: John/Teyla
Main Characters: John, Teyla
Genre: Angst/Romance
Summary: The need to find some kind of comfort during a dire war is strong. It is important to build strong bonds with family and friends, but even that my backfire.
Warnings: Sex, Character Death
Spoilers: Up to Phantoms.
Word Count: 3,941
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: - This is set some time in the future.
-My apologizes for taking so long with this. My life is getting quite crazy with midterms just around the corner. Hopefully I won't be this long with the next chapter, but there are no guarantees. I'm sure you understand.
Chapter 5
Teyla quickly made her way to the landing pad along with Rodney and Elizabeth. No amount of prompting had been able to make John tell them what his surprise was. Instead, he insisted that they came down to the lower part of the city where the Daedalus was to land so they could see for themselves.
Glancing over at Rodney and Elizabeth, and seeing the looks on their faces, she knew that they had the same guess as her in regards to what the surprise was. Teyla silently wished they were correct-the thing they needed most right now was something to even the odds in their fight against the Wraith.
As the three of them emerged from the transport they literally ran into Ronon as he rounded the corner.
“Ronon,” Elizabeth said, sounding shocked as she placed one hand on his shoulder to steady herself. “What are you doing down here?”
“I came to see Sheppard,” he said simply as he shrugged his shoulders.
“Of course,” Elizabeth said. Then she added, “My, news sure does travel fast around here doesn’t it?”
Ronon nodded as he stepped over to the side, letting Elizabeth precede them all down the corridor.
It wasn’t long before they made it to the doors that led out to the landing pad. They didn’t stop, and instead headed straight outside after Elizabeth swiped her hand over the sensor.
Teyla shivered involuntarily and wrapped her arms tightly around her torso as she stepped out into the cold air. Being so close to the water always made the weather seem worse than in any elevated part of the city. Also, it did not help that it was already unpleasant outside-the wind was gusting and creating waves that crashed against the sides of the landing pad, sending a fine but chilling mist over them. In addition there were rain clouds looming above their heads.
Wrapping her arms even tighter around herself, Teyla stood beside the door, hoping to somewhat shield herself from some of the conditions. In hindsight she realized she should have brought a jacket, or she should have at least worn something warmer than one of her Athosian made tops. But she had been much too preoccupied with what was about to happen to even think twice about dressing for the weather.
Another surge of nervousness mixed with excitement coursed through her veins as she thought of John. He was on the Daedalus… she would be seeing him in a matter of minutes. She felt a strong fluttering sensation in her stomach, but did her best to ignore it, instead focusing her attention on the cloud covered sky. A voice broke her from her reverie.
“What are you smiling about?” Rodney asked her suddenly. His voice wasn’t necessarily mean or condescending-it sounded like he just wanted to know.
Teyla did her best to fight back the grin on her face, but she didn’t succeed very well. “I am excited to see what the surprise is,” she said, the partial lie slipping from her lips.
Rodney looked at her peculiarly, but didn’t say anything. They both returned their gazes to the clouds and waited for the Daedalus to come into view.
It wasn’t long before Teyla could pick out the hum of the engines from the sound of the water. Even though she did not think it had been possible, her heart started to race even faster. Sometimes the true depth of her feelings for John shocked her, but other times they did not-especially when she considered all they had been through together.
Quickly glancing down from the sky, Teyla saw that even Ronon looked excited-they were all truly anxious for the Daedalus, and John, to return.
They did not have to wait much longer, because the next thing Teyla knew the clouds almost directly above them were being disturbed and blown into unnatural swirling patterns. The noise of the ship grew louder as the Daedalus dropped into view. It touched down gently-or at least gently for a ship of its size-on the large open landing pad in front of the group.
When the noise grew louder still, Teyla was almost certain that her guess in regards to the surprise was correct. Only seconds later it was confirmed when a second ship passed through the clouds to land beside the Daedalus.
Pausing to take it in, Teyla saw that it was very similar to the Daedalus, and no doubt an Earth vessel. It wasn’t exactly the same though, and piecing together information John had told her before, she concluded that it was the next model of ship the Air Force had designed.
Looking around at Rodney, Ronon and Elizabeth, Teyla could see they were just as excited to see it as she was. There was nothing better they could have asked for.
“Well,” Elizabeth said, barely able to contain the grin on her face. “Let’s go and say thank you for the surprise.”
***
They made their way over, past the new ship, and stopped outside the large cargo bay doors of the Daedalus. Within seconds the ramp was being lowered and a flood of people made their way out. Most of them were carrying supplies and headed straight into the city without stopping. One person did not, and instead threaded his way through the crowd to greet them.
John’s eyes locked with Teyla’s immediately and she felt another flutter of excitement. He was grinning broadly, and looked almost idiotic. It would have been funny except she knew she looked the same way. Along with the excitement she felt a huge sense of relief. She did not know what she had been expecting, but things rarely went as they were planned in Atlantis, and she was just thankful John had made it back all right. Though maybe it shouldn’t surprise her, after all, he did promise that he would come back.
Her fingers rose unconsciously to finger his dog tag where it lay on a chain around her neck. John Sheppard was not a man who broke his promises.
As much as Teyla wanted to run up and meet him, to practically throw herself at him, hold him, and make sure that he was truly there, she couldn’t. Their personal relationship was not to affect their professional one; it was another part of their unspoken agreement. It was necessary, and even now she did not mind that much-there would always be time for that later.
Instead of giving into her natural impulses, she continued to look at him, telling him with her eyes that she had missed him and that she was glad for his return.
“John,” Elizabeth said, interrupting their silent communication. John turned to look at Dr. Weir, and when he did she added, “Welcome back.”
“Thank you,” he said sincerely. “It’s good to be back.” His eyes caught Teyla’s for a second before he looked back at Elizabeth.
“So,” he said excitedly. “How do you like the surprise?” He glanced over at the other ship.
“It’s fantastic,” Elizabeth said as she turned to look at it again. “But you were only supposed to be doing a supply run and updating the SGC as to our situation here. How did you manage to convince them to send another ship?” The astonishment in her voice was clear.
Teyla could not help but wonder the same thing. The SGC had requested that a senior member of the expedition return to Earth along with the Daedalus, so they could be given a full update, in person. But she had not expected John to ask them for more something like another ship, or at least not successfully.
John shrugged. “I didn’t.”
“What?” Dr. Weir asked, confusion evident in her voice as she turned to face him again. “I was concerned they were going to pull the plug on the expedition, not give us another weapon for our fight against the Wraith.”
“Well,” John said. “It seems that with the Ori threat having been temporarily neutralized, the SGC is more inclined to finance our fight against the Wraith. They’re hoping we may find something to help them in the future.” He paused for a moment before adding. “Well that and the fact that Dr. Jackson wants to return sometime, which he can’t do if we’re not here.”
Elizabeth raised one eyebrow. “Oh really?” she questioned.
“Uh huh,” John replied. “It seems like he has quite the pull there, back on Earth.”
“But a ship?” Elizabeth asked, once again turning to look at it. Teyla could tell she was still in shock over its appearance.
“Not just any ship,” John said. “It’s the Nikephoros.” He paused for effect.
“The what?!” Rodney asked, thoroughly confused.
John sighed. “Ni - key - phor - os,” he said, separating out the syllables. “It means bringer of victory in Greek.” Teyla almost wanted to laugh at the excited look on his face.
“Well,” Elizabeth said. “Let’s just hope it lives up to its name.”
John smiled at her before turning to look at it. “It’s pretty fancy though, huh? Plus it even comes with its own crew. A pretty good souvenir if you ask me.”
“Is this the one that Carter was working on?” Rodney asked, piping up again.
“Yeah, I think so,” John replied, turning back around.
“Are you kidding me?” Rodney asked, sounding thrilled. “That is one good ship.”
Everyone turned to look at him with questioning looks.
As soon as he noticed he blushed slightly. “Well, I mean it’s going to be good. But obviously I could have done better.”
John sighed. “It’s good to see nothing’s changed while I was gone. McKay’s still as arrogant as ever.”
“Hey,” he said resentfully. “What I just said… some people would consider that a compliment.”
“Right,” John said, rolling his eyes when Rodney wasn’t looking. Teyla had to fight the urge to laugh. Sometimes they really were just overgrown children.
“Well,” Elizabeth said, interrupting their antics. “I must say, this is the best surprise we could have asked for. I just don’t know why the SGC didn’t inform us of this in our last few contacts.”
John grinned at her knowingly. “I asked them to keep it a secret. I figured it’d be more fun if it was a surprise.”
“More fun?” Rodney squeaked. “How is this more fun? We thought it was a Wraith ship. If we had drones we might have destroyed the ship before it even landed.”
John raised one eyebrow in question as he turned to look at Rodney. “But we don’t have drones.”
“Well, no,” Rodney admitted.
“And even if we did,” John added. “We’d need a ZPM to fire them. Now what ZPM were you planning on using?”
“Well I didn’t name them,” Rodney said, returning to his normal condescending tone.
John’s eyes widened in surprise. “What are you talking about?” he asked, looking first at Rodney who just smiled at him smugly, and then turning to look at Elizabeth for confirmation.
“Which brings us to our two surprises,” she said happily.
John looked around between all of them, as if he was trying to tell if they were joking.
“Teyla and the rest of your team found two ZPMs last week, on a planet that had been an ancient drone factory.”
“Good job,” John said, looking at Teyla proudly.
She couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed under the praise, but it meant a lot nonetheless.
“Oh great,” Rodney said bitterly. “I find the two ZPMs and she gets all the credit.”
“Hey,” John said indignantly.
“No,” Teyla said, stopping the possibility of an argument. “Dr. McKay deserves most of the credit. He was the one who found them.”
John snorted, obviously not agreeing, but he remained silent.
In all honesty Teyla did not care who was credited with finding the ZPMs, the important thing was that they had found them, period.
“Well, why don’t we head in, and then you and Colonel Caldwell can brief me later?” she asked, looking at John.
“Sounds good,” he replied happily.
“Alright,” Elizabeth assented. “Meet me in my office in thirty minutes.” With that she headed off towards the entrance to the city.
The rest of the group followed more slowly behind her. Teyla fell in step beside John. “Welcome back,” she said quietly as she glanced up at him.
He grinned broadly. “Thanks,” he replied, his voice just as quiet.
He looked as if he was about to say something more, but another wave large gust of wind blew across the landing pad, interrupting him.
Teyla couldn’t stop the shiver that traveled down her spin. She tightened her arms around her torso yet again.
The next thing she knew John had removed his leather jacket and was holding it out to her. It meant that he was left in only a T-shirt and would be just as cold as her, but she knew if she declined his offer he would merely persist until she accepted.
“Thank you,” she said as she reached out to take the jacket from his outstretched hand, and then put it on.
She could tell the moment he saw the bandage on her arm because a look of fear crossed his face and he froze. Before she could begin to reassure him that everything was all right, he was talking.
“What happened?” he asked, his voice harsh and filled with worry, completely different than it had been five minutes earlier.
It was Ronon who answered. “She was shot,” he stated as walked up to them and stopped too. If Teyla did not know better she would have said he was smiling.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice filled with worry as he reached out to touch her arm lightly.
Teyla was a little shocked at the depth of his reaction, but she didn’t show it. “I am fine,” she said reassuringly. “Dr. Beckett removed the bullets and the muscle is healing well.”
John’s face tightened, whether out of anger or self-resentment she couldn’t tell-though knowing him, it could well be both. “How the hell did this happen?” he asked, turning to glare at Ronon.
“Don’t ask me,” Ronon said before turning to look at Rodney who had just caught up with them.
“McKay,” John practically growled.
One look at the scene told Rodney all he needed to know. His face went white and Teyla heard him gulp out of fear.
“It was an accident,” he said, his words coming out in a rush. “I didn’t mean to.”
Teyla wrapped her hand around John’s forearm before he could do anything he would regret later.
“You shot Teyla?!” he asked, his tone a combination of both anger and disbelief.
“It was an accident,” Rodney replied, seeming a little less likely to faint.
“You shot Teyla!” John repeated, although this time it wasn’t a question, it was an accusation.
“I am fine John,” Teyla said, trying to reassure him. “Dr. McKay is right, it was an accident.”
“He shot you,” John said, his voice losing some of its volume, but none of its anger as he turned around to face her.
“And I am fine,” she said, looking into his eyes. He didn’t say anything and Teyla hoped she had convinced him. It appeared that she had, but she did not let go of his arm just in case.
“I can’t believe you shot her,” he said once again, turning around to look at Rodney.
A sudden look of incredulity crossed Rodney’s face. “I can’t believe you’re making such a big deal out of this.”
“Excuse me?” John asked. Teyla could feel the muscles in his arm tense-she tightened her grip as a precaution.
“What?” Rodney asked. “You shot me and Ronon.” He paused for half a second. “In the same day.”
“That was different,” John explained through clenched teeth. “I was under the influence of a Wraith power device. Were you?”
“Well… no,” Rodney admitted reluctantly. “But you still shot us.”
“Dr. McKay,” Teyla said, figuring that it was time to intervene. “Perhaps you should leave now,” she suggested. She knew that in a few hours time John’s anger would be less and he would no longer have the urge to hurt Rodney, but for now, it was safer that they were not together.
“Right,” Rodney said meekly as he all but ran for the door.
Once he was inside Teyla released her hold on John. He looked down at her, concern still written on his face. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, obviously knowing her well enough to tell that it wasn’t something she could move past as easily as she had appeared to.
She nodded. “Yes,” she said quietly.
He seemed reluctant to accept her answer, but he didn’t question her on it.
Ronon started heading towards the door and they followed him, falling in step once again. Every once and a while John would look down at her, but he remained silent. After they reached the door John went to turn right, heading for Elizabeth’s office.
“I’ll see you later?” he questioned, sounding almost uncertain.
She grinned. Checking to make sure Ronon was out of sight she said, “You should know the answer to that.”
“Yeah,” he said smiling back. “I guess I should.”
Just as he moved to turn around she said his name and he stopped.
“Yeah?” he questioned.
“I am very glad you are back.”
***
After grabbing a bite to eat in the mess hall, Teyla made her way to John’s quarters. She wasn’t sure how long his meeting with Dr. Weir would be, so she took the long way there, bypassing all of the transporters. As anxious as she was to see him, she did not want to spend a long time waiting for him-it was something she’d done for the past two months, and in all honesty she was tired of it. Obviously it was not John’s fault that he had been called away-it was part of his job and she didn’t blame him, but she still did not find the thought of waiting to be very appealing.
Checking her watch, Teyla figured that it could not be much longer until the debriefing was over-she picked up her pace a bit. In less than five minutes she was swiping her hand over the sensor that lead to John’s quarters. She couldn’t help but smile as she saw the familiar Johnny Cash poster that still hung over the wall, and the unfinished copy of War and Peace that sat on the dresser.
Just as she began to open the cover of the novel, she heard the door slide open behind her. She turned around, all thoughts of the book vanishing from her head instantly.
“Hey,” John said quietly as he dropped his bag to the ground and walked over to her.
“Hi,” she replied softly, suddenly feeling nervous, though there was no reason to.
He paused directly in front of her, and they were literally standing toe to toe. She looked up at him with a timid smile on her face. He smiled back, but it was not the stupid happy grin from before, it was… she couldn’t really describe it. It was intense and heartfelt and honest and…
She lost track of her thoughts as John reached down and tucked one strand of hair behind her ear, gently caressing her face as he withdrew his hand. She couldn’t help but shiver in anticipation as his skin came into contact with her own.
For a while they merely stood there, looking at each other without any reservations-Teyla savored it.
“I missed you,” John whispered, his voice so quiet that she barely heard it.
Unexpected tears sprang into her eyes at the unanticipated and rare moment of emotional honesty, but she held them back. “I missed you too,” she replied, her voice just as soft.
“Good,” he said as he inclined his head to the side slightly. When he started to lower his head towards hers, Teyla closed her eyes and tilted her head up. Their lips met somewhere in the middle, and Teyla was surprised to find the kiss soft and slow, not hard and passionate as it had been that day in the gym. Though that wasn’t to say Teyla did not find the sensations of John’s lips moving tenderly over hers to be unappealing-in fact it was quite the opposite.
She slipped her hands up and around his neck, letting one move up further to tangle in his hair. She pulled his head towards hers slightly, increasing the pressure of the kiss. John responded by pulling her body closer, so they were practically occupying the same spot.
Feeling the heat between them intensify, Teyla parted her lips and ran her tongue lightly along John’s lips. His reaction was immediate, and in no time the kiss had been deepened and their tongues were pressing against each other.
The calmness began to wear off as their bodies responded to the fact that it had been too long since they had been together. It was not long before Teyla found herself tugging at John’s shirt in order to free it from the waistband of his pants. She was surprised by her own determined actions, but she needed this-she needed to show John how she felt about him, especially since it had not been said out loud.
While she was busy undressing him, he was returning the favor. His hands moved from her belt, to the jacket, and then back to the belt-it was as if he could not decide which piece of clothing to remove first. Eventually he settled for slipping the jacket off her shoulders. In the process his fingers brushed against her neck and Teyla stopped, her hands only partially finished with the removal of his belt.
“What’s wrong?” John asked, pulling back so he could look at her, worry written all over his face. “Did I hurt your arm?”
She shook her head. “Here,” she said as she reached behind her neck to undo the chain that held his dog tag. “This is yours.”
Before she could find the clasp on the chain, John reached behind her and grabbed her hands gently, stopping her movements. She gave him a puzzled look as he brought her hands back in front of her.
“John?” she inquired.
“Keep it,” he said, his voice sounding slightly odd.
“I can’t,” she said as she pulled her hands out of his and reached behind her neck again. “It’s yours and…”
He shook his head. “I want you to have it.”
She paused, her hands hovering as she took in what he was saying. “Are you sure?” she asked quietly. She moved her hands to hang at her sides, knowing what his answer would be.
He nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
She smiled at him, not quite sure what to make of his decision. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He smiled back and leaned down to kiss her forehead lightly. She sighed at the comfort the simple action brought.
“Now,” he said, his voice almost mischievous as he leaned back slightly. “Where were we?”
“I believe,” Teyla began in a slow but teasing voice. “That we were right here.” She wrapped one hand securely around the back of his neck and pulled him down for another kiss. The next thing she knew his hands were around her waist and she was once again pressed tightly against him.
“Yep,” John murmured, somewhere in between kisses. “This is definitely where we left off.”
TBC
Next Chapter
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4