FF
Teyla could see Ronon weighing the options before finally saying, "Let’s head back. If they’re not there I can go look for them."
He was concerned for her wellbeing, she knew, else he would have gone in search of Rodney’s trail. The truth of the matter was that Teyla was worried for John and Rodney as much as Ronon, but it was pure luck Ronon had found her. To travel through the jungle in hopes of finding Rodney, as well, was a bit foolhardy, especially when the two men might be waiting for them to arrive. John would only wait so long for them to show before he returned to look for them, which would only serve to needlessly expose him to additional dangers. So, as much as she hated to be the reason Ronon was going against his nature, she would take advantage of it if it meant there was the chance her entire team would be safe.
The trek across the lava fields was slow going because of the constant risk of falling through once again, and eventually they decided it would be best to go one at a time, Ronon testing the ground a few steps ahead of her, changing their course when the surface threatened to break through another tube. Eventually, as they reached the outer edges of the old flows that had encroached into the jungle, it became harder and more stable. Teyla stepped into the shade of the trees, glad to finally be out of the direct sun, although the humidity just seemed to increase tenfold.
"Could we rest? For just a moment?" Her entire leg was throbbing in time with the pain in her head and she just wished to sit for a few minutes to try to get her bearings once more.
Ronon frowned in worry and she supposed she probably looked about as well as she felt. "Yeah, that’s probably a good idea."
Teyla sat on a fallen log, but Ronon scanned the jungle, even bending to peer under the lower foliage. He was always vigilant, but what could be a threat that could hide under a small plant? Seemingly satisfied with what he found, or did not find, Ronon straightened but continued to survey the trees.
Teyla gingerly tested her knee, stopping the movement when the shooting pain flared. "Have you ever stopped to consider how much our lives have changed since joining the Atlantis expedition?"
Ronon moved a few feet away and looked under another plant. "You mean the food or the toilets?"
Teyla smiled at the comment. "Well, definitely those, not to mention several other cultural differences. But I was thinking more along the lines of the situations in which we often find ourselves."
"Like what?" Ronon asked as he continued his low-to-the-ground search.
"I mean we have always lived under the threat of the Wraith, and of course you spent years as a Runner,. But before that time, back on Sateda… did you ever find yourself in such dire circumstances on such a regular basis?"
Now it was Ronon’s turn to grin. "They definitely know how to find trouble."
"I have never known anything like it," Teyla admitted with a shake of her head. Even when I was traveling to other worlds regularly as an envoy of Athos, there were skirmishes now and again, or disgruntled traders, or the occasional bandit, but never have I seen a people who can attract the negative attention that the Earth people do."
Ronon kicked at a shrubbery. "Do you think it’s all of them or just Sheppard and McKay?"
"Well," Teyla considered, "those two certainly are present when most of the trouble begins. Although we are the principle team for making new contacts on behalf of Atlantis. I suppose being on the front lines increases our chances of encountering those sorts of situations."
"Or it’s just Sheppard and McKay," Ronon reiterated.
"Or it is just Sheppard and McKay," Teyla relented with a grin.
Ronon finally gave up on his search for whatever diminutive threat he feared and moved to sit beside her on the log. "Do you ever regret it?"
"Coming to Atlantis?" Teyla asked in surprise.
"Meeting them," Ronon clarified. "Joining Sheppard’s team. The whole thing."
"No, of course not." Teyla told him instantly.
Not that she hadn’t reached times of extreme frustration with the men on her team and momentarily thought it. And there had been times when she had thought maybe life would have been… different, simpler, if the expedition had never stepped through the gate from Earth. But it was never a lingering thought and usually vanished after a nice cup of tea and some meditation… away from her team.
"Besides, I truly believe the Pegasus Galaxy is much better off with them here," Teyla continued. "What we do is very important to millions of people."
"Not to mention it’s pretty damn fun."
Ronon’s smirk was almost boyish, and Teyla rolled her eyes to see it. "I suppose there is that aspect, as well."
He bumped her shoulder. "Admit it; you’d be bored to death if you couldn’t do this stuff."
Teyla sighed. "I am just hopeful that this stuff is not the cause of our deaths, or those of John and Rodney."
"How about we go make sure that’s not the case?" Ronon suggested, and Teyla could see he was eager to be on his way.
"That is a very good idea." Teyla stood, winced at the pain, and gladly letting Ronon steady her when her field of vision went cloudy. She really wasn’t ready to continue on, but she was just as anxious to make sure John and Rodney were well as Ronon was.
With a nod of her head, Teyla indicated she was ready to start walking once more. The longer they walked, the more she leaned into Ronon, straightening as best she could when he would give any indication that he was in pain. Most times it was little more than a hiss or maybe a slight grimace, but they became more and more frequent the further they went. They stopped to rest once more, only because Ronon insisted after Teyla nearly tripped once again and actually gasped in pain and she started seeing spots in her field of vision. Otherwise, they kept up a slow but steady pace until they finally saw the arched stones that would lead back to where the chief and his advisors would be waiting.
Teyla exhaled in relief when she and Ronon limped their way into the stone circle and saw John and Rodney had already arrived. Her respite at actually surviving the ordeal and seeing that her teammates had, as well, was short lived when she realized that John was not simply resting in the grass, but was unconscious.
"What has happened?" she asked in worry as she and Ronon moved quickly to the two men’s sides.
"It’s about time you two showed up," Rodney declared before explaining, "He’s been poisoned by… something. He’s barely made sense since I found him wandering through the jungle."
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