Fic: Nocturne (very light McKay/Sheppard)
Title: Nocturne
Author: eretria
Pairing: very light McKay/Sheppard
Rating: PG
Recipient: logans_girl2001
Spoilers: Season Four through 4.09 The Seer
Summary: An away mission, a night away from home and a realisation.
Author's Note: Thank you to my beta reader (who shall be named after the reveal)
The late evening light they stepped into when they cleared the gate reminded Teyla of Athos. Gentle, golden, accentuating the long shadows of the red and yellow-leafed trees and making even the air seem warmer than it was.
The days, as the database had revealed, was pleasant, but the nights would grow cool. Not as cold as they had on Athos, or even back on Atlantica, but it would still be enough to be uncomfortable during the night should a stay become necessary.
Teyla let her bundle slip from her shoulder and placed it underneath the small portable cloaking device Rodney had built for this purpose. They always brought their full gear now when they visited new planets, and left the not crucial items near the gate should they need them, but had found out early on that just leaving the packs unattended could lead to them going missing faster than they could blink their eyes. After the third time their packs had been stolen, Rodney had spent a weekend in the labs and had, on their next mission, presented a small device that would cloak the packs much like the jumper and the city.
They walked toward what the database had indicated as a once flourishing city along an ancient, cobble-stoned street. It was covered with moss and ferns, indicating that no one had walked on it in a long time. Neither of them said out loud what they all thought - that there was little to no chance of meeting anyone in the city, if the street leading to the gate already looked this way. But they were all determined to find life these days, so glad when they discovered a planet that had not been attacked by the Replicators.
Besides, Teyla admitted, she did not mind the fresh air during her walk. Without conscious thought, her hand went to the small swelling of her abdomen and rested there. She did not feel different yet, but the looks John and Rodney shot her when they thought she wasn't looking were enough to make her feel like a stranger among her own team. Ronon was the only one who didn't treat her differently. He had accepted her revelation and had only said: "Don't expect me to go easy on you when sparring now, though." Teyla remembered the way she had dumped him flat on the floor afterward with a smile.
It was Ronon who finally stopped walking when they both spotted the first grey stone houses of the city. "Let's go back," he said.
In front of him, John slowed his steps and looked over his shoulder, a quizzical frown in place. "What?"
Teyla had followed Ronon's line of vision before and something twisted in her stomach. She could have put it off to it being that baby, but she knew better. She'd known this feeling from far too many missions to other planets before, looking for her people. The silence was resounding, only broken by the occasional animal cry and birdsong. The wind rustled in the densely foliaged trees, making the shadows dance on the grassy ground.
"We will not find anyone here, John," Teyla said, keeping her voice quiet.
"I disagree," Rodney chimed in, his voice too forced optimistic when he turned around to form a loose circle with the others. "There is no damage here, no attacks took place." From the corner of her eyes, she saw Ronon swallowing down a comment that doubtless had been on his lips. These days, it didn't feel quite right to tease Rodney over being oblivious. "I don't pick up anything on the lifesigns detector yet, but I saw a flicker earlier. They could be hiding. Or the walls of those houses could be made from stones that block out the life signs detector altogether." His eyes were bright, hopeful. What he said made sense, and at the same time, just from looking at the city with the weeds growing from between the cobble stones of the street and the doors hanging open for the wind to whistle through them, did not. It pained Teyla that Rodney seemed to carry so much of the burden of what the replicators were doing all over the galaxy that he grasped for every straw.
John looked from Teyla to Ronon to Rodney. His gaze met with Rodney's, a silent conversation that Teyla had witnessed many times before. "You heard him," John said, adjusting the grip on his P-90. "It could be a malfunction. Let's go and have a look."
A small smile passed over Rodney's face and he turned immediately, taking point. Ronon rolled his eyes at John but didn't say anything, just pushed ahead and made sure he was at point, guarding Rodney.
Teyla laced her fingers over her P-90, inclining her head slightly. She knew she didn't need to say anything.
John shrugged, looking almost apologetic. "It could be a malfunction." What he didn't say was "Indulge him, please, he needs to find a planet that lost its inhabitants the normal way.". He did not need to. Teyla agreed, "Yes, it could be," and John twitched a small smile of gratitude.
He fell into step besides Rodney, starting small bickerings that were picked up immediately, like a lifeline.
Teyla shook her head, smiled. It was a small indulgence, and the walk in the crisp autumn air would do them all good.
***
The first stars were out when Rodney finally declared that it hadn't been a malfunction, after all.
"You don't say," Ronon grumbled from where he was leaning against a house.
"I'm sorry, would you rather have left people her on their own?" Rodney asked, voice sharp with annoyance.
"They were doing fine without us for years," Ronon said.
"Well," Rodney said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and lifting his chin, "apparently not, since it looks like they left this city years ago." There was barely any disappointment in Rodney's voice, and Teyla knew why -- the people in this city had just left. Neither the Wraith nor the Replicators had attacked them, and these days, that was a reason for relief rather than disappointment.
Ronon shifted his weight, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets. "Told you. Three hours ago." He was vibrating with barely contained displeasure and Teyla took a step forward, resting a hand on his elbow.
"All right, kids, knock it off," John intervened. "Rodney, is there any chance they just moved farther inland, to another part of the planet?"
"What do I know?"
Teyla's lips twitched. "You know everything, remember?"
"Yes, very funny, thank you for remembering. See, Teyla understands me."
Ronon rolled his eyes while John barely contained a grin.
"Look," John said finally, " why don't we head back to Atlantis, come back with a Jumper tomorrow and do a quick check. That way, we don't waste any more time trying to find something on foot."
Ronon pushed off the wall, grabbed Rodney's arm and started walking. "Let's go."
Rodney's litany of "Hey!" and "I can walk by myself, thank you very much" and "Hey, stop it, Chewie!" rose into the darkness of the trees and got lost there.
Teyla switched on her flashlight and looked at John falling into step next to her. She raised an eyebrow. He shrugged. They didn't need any more.
***
"Who was it who had to walk all across that damn, clearly uninhabited city for hours?"
"I didn't know this would be a problem, okay?" Rodney's voice was muffled as he knelt in front of the DHD, covered in wires and his torso almost hidden in the housing. "Maybe our arrival short-circuited something. The wires are as brittle as my Grandmother's bones."
A muffled curse, a sound of pain. "I can't work like this."
"What?"
"I said I can't work like this. The flashlight doesn't give me enough light to see, and I can't re-wire the DHD blind."
"Great," Ronon huffed.
Teyla crouched next to Rodney, resting a hand on his knee. "Then finish in the light of day tomorrow. We can camp here."
Rodney twisted himself out of the DHD's casing. "I hate camping."
"Rodney!" John's warning voice came from behind the DHD. He was already deactivating the cloaking device and pulling out their camping gear. Two sleeping bags, Teyla's woven Athosian blanket, a tent.
Rodney stretched with a groan, pushed himself up from the ground and turned toward John - only to move back with a startle and, as if on an afterthought, offered his hand to Teyla, his gaze resting on her belly.
She rolled her eyes and rose fluidly from the ground. Even in the dark, she could see him blush.
"Right, right," he said and hurried to stand besides John to help with the setting up of the camping gear.
"Who wants the tent?" John asked.
Rodney made a sound of disgust. "I can do without the added claustrophobia, thank you."
Ronon just made a throwaway gesture and set out to make a fire and get their MREs warmed up. He had never seen the need for the tent, not after having slept outside in any condition for seven years.
Before Teyla could say anything, both John and Rodney looked at each other, and Rodney said: "We should put it up for Teyla." To Teyla's horror, John nodded. "Good idea."
Something in Teyla twisted, expanded and tried to break free. She breathed against it, closed her eyes for a couple of seconds and swallowed against the bile rising in her throat. She heard the tinkling of the tent being unfolded. "Is it," she began, swallowed again hard and fought to continue against the anger brimming in her, "Is it normal for men on Earth to isolate women as though they have a disease when they are with child?"
The following silence was long, only broken by the crackling of the fire Ronon had started.
Rodney looked to the ground where the half-unfolded tent lay. John's face twisted into a grimace. "Look, Teyla, we don't-"
"Put away the damn tent and treat her as always. She's just pregnant," Ronon said.
Rodney coughed and still wouldn't meet her eye, but started to fold the tent again. John, on the other hand, stared at her, his teeth sunken into his lower lip, his gaze moving up and down her body, finally coming to rest on her belly.
Teyla had to put all her strength into not reaching out and punching him. Instead, she steppe forward, grasped his hand and placed it flat on her belly. "It is new life, John. Not a sickness. Not a reason to treat me differently."
John froze up, his gaze glued to her hand on his, to his hand on her belly. The fire crackled. An animal cried in the distance. John's breathing was loud in her ears. Too intimate, everything in his posture screamed that this was too intimate, but for once, Teyla did not care. She needed for him to understand. The baby wasn't kicking yet, but he needed to know that even with new life growing in her, she had not changed. That she did not need valiant protectors.
"John?" she said, making him raise his eyes.
"I, look, Teyla, I--"
A huff sounded next to them, interrupting John's stuttering. "So, are you going to let me feel you up, too, or is this an exclusive club thing?" Rodney asked.
She couldn't help it. Teyla threw her head back and laughed, so very relieved that the tension had been broken. "Ronon, come here," she said.
When Ronon had joined them, she reached first for Rodney's, then for Ronon's hand and placed them in her belly as well. There was barely enough room yet to fit all three men's hands, but that wasn't what mattered. It was the gesture, the inclusiveness. The fact that, after this, things wouldn't be easier, but they would be less awkward.
After a few minutes she said: "So. Is dinner ready?"
***
Of course, things never were as easy as they seemed. The beginning of their night rest started out with a major discussion on how Teyla's blanket was too thin and too scratchy and how she was supposed to use their sleeping bags to stay warm.
Ronon just grunted, rolled himself into his coat and went to sleep, ignoring the discussion.
Finally, Teyla ended up underneath her own blanket as well as Rodney's garish blue sleeping bag and John's military green one. It was nice and warm, so she wasn't complaining, but when she woke up at night and saw John and Rodney on the forest floor, cuddled together as close as possible -- for warmth, seemingly, but she knew better than assume just that, knew that they ended up like this on every overnight mission when they wouldn't give themselves away to anyone but her and Ronon -- as close to the fire as possible without burning themselves and still shivering, she wondered why she had ever been worried about this child.
She took both sleeping bags and covered John and Rodney, all but tucking them in.
Over the flicker of the fire, she saw Ronon lifting his head, watching her. "You have enough practice being a mother even before your child is born." His eyes glittered in the darkness.
Teyla looked down at John and Rodney, their faces relaxed and looking younger in the flickering firelight and though that, yes. After those two, there really was nothing she had to worry about.
End.
Author: eretria
Pairing: very light McKay/Sheppard
Rating: PG
Recipient: logans_girl2001
Spoilers: Season Four through 4.09 The Seer
Summary: An away mission, a night away from home and a realisation.
Author's Note: Thank you to my beta reader (who shall be named after the reveal)
The late evening light they stepped into when they cleared the gate reminded Teyla of Athos. Gentle, golden, accentuating the long shadows of the red and yellow-leafed trees and making even the air seem warmer than it was.
The days, as the database had revealed, was pleasant, but the nights would grow cool. Not as cold as they had on Athos, or even back on Atlantica, but it would still be enough to be uncomfortable during the night should a stay become necessary.
Teyla let her bundle slip from her shoulder and placed it underneath the small portable cloaking device Rodney had built for this purpose. They always brought their full gear now when they visited new planets, and left the not crucial items near the gate should they need them, but had found out early on that just leaving the packs unattended could lead to them going missing faster than they could blink their eyes. After the third time their packs had been stolen, Rodney had spent a weekend in the labs and had, on their next mission, presented a small device that would cloak the packs much like the jumper and the city.
They walked toward what the database had indicated as a once flourishing city along an ancient, cobble-stoned street. It was covered with moss and ferns, indicating that no one had walked on it in a long time. Neither of them said out loud what they all thought - that there was little to no chance of meeting anyone in the city, if the street leading to the gate already looked this way. But they were all determined to find life these days, so glad when they discovered a planet that had not been attacked by the Replicators.
Besides, Teyla admitted, she did not mind the fresh air during her walk. Without conscious thought, her hand went to the small swelling of her abdomen and rested there. She did not feel different yet, but the looks John and Rodney shot her when they thought she wasn't looking were enough to make her feel like a stranger among her own team. Ronon was the only one who didn't treat her differently. He had accepted her revelation and had only said: "Don't expect me to go easy on you when sparring now, though." Teyla remembered the way she had dumped him flat on the floor afterward with a smile.
It was Ronon who finally stopped walking when they both spotted the first grey stone houses of the city. "Let's go back," he said.
In front of him, John slowed his steps and looked over his shoulder, a quizzical frown in place. "What?"
Teyla had followed Ronon's line of vision before and something twisted in her stomach. She could have put it off to it being that baby, but she knew better. She'd known this feeling from far too many missions to other planets before, looking for her people. The silence was resounding, only broken by the occasional animal cry and birdsong. The wind rustled in the densely foliaged trees, making the shadows dance on the grassy ground.
"We will not find anyone here, John," Teyla said, keeping her voice quiet.
"I disagree," Rodney chimed in, his voice too forced optimistic when he turned around to form a loose circle with the others. "There is no damage here, no attacks took place." From the corner of her eyes, she saw Ronon swallowing down a comment that doubtless had been on his lips. These days, it didn't feel quite right to tease Rodney over being oblivious. "I don't pick up anything on the lifesigns detector yet, but I saw a flicker earlier. They could be hiding. Or the walls of those houses could be made from stones that block out the life signs detector altogether." His eyes were bright, hopeful. What he said made sense, and at the same time, just from looking at the city with the weeds growing from between the cobble stones of the street and the doors hanging open for the wind to whistle through them, did not. It pained Teyla that Rodney seemed to carry so much of the burden of what the replicators were doing all over the galaxy that he grasped for every straw.
John looked from Teyla to Ronon to Rodney. His gaze met with Rodney's, a silent conversation that Teyla had witnessed many times before. "You heard him," John said, adjusting the grip on his P-90. "It could be a malfunction. Let's go and have a look."
A small smile passed over Rodney's face and he turned immediately, taking point. Ronon rolled his eyes at John but didn't say anything, just pushed ahead and made sure he was at point, guarding Rodney.
Teyla laced her fingers over her P-90, inclining her head slightly. She knew she didn't need to say anything.
John shrugged, looking almost apologetic. "It could be a malfunction." What he didn't say was "Indulge him, please, he needs to find a planet that lost its inhabitants the normal way.". He did not need to. Teyla agreed, "Yes, it could be," and John twitched a small smile of gratitude.
He fell into step besides Rodney, starting small bickerings that were picked up immediately, like a lifeline.
Teyla shook her head, smiled. It was a small indulgence, and the walk in the crisp autumn air would do them all good.
***
The first stars were out when Rodney finally declared that it hadn't been a malfunction, after all.
"You don't say," Ronon grumbled from where he was leaning against a house.
"I'm sorry, would you rather have left people her on their own?" Rodney asked, voice sharp with annoyance.
"They were doing fine without us for years," Ronon said.
"Well," Rodney said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and lifting his chin, "apparently not, since it looks like they left this city years ago." There was barely any disappointment in Rodney's voice, and Teyla knew why -- the people in this city had just left. Neither the Wraith nor the Replicators had attacked them, and these days, that was a reason for relief rather than disappointment.
Ronon shifted his weight, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets. "Told you. Three hours ago." He was vibrating with barely contained displeasure and Teyla took a step forward, resting a hand on his elbow.
"All right, kids, knock it off," John intervened. "Rodney, is there any chance they just moved farther inland, to another part of the planet?"
"What do I know?"
Teyla's lips twitched. "You know everything, remember?"
"Yes, very funny, thank you for remembering. See, Teyla understands me."
Ronon rolled his eyes while John barely contained a grin.
"Look," John said finally, " why don't we head back to Atlantis, come back with a Jumper tomorrow and do a quick check. That way, we don't waste any more time trying to find something on foot."
Ronon pushed off the wall, grabbed Rodney's arm and started walking. "Let's go."
Rodney's litany of "Hey!" and "I can walk by myself, thank you very much" and "Hey, stop it, Chewie!" rose into the darkness of the trees and got lost there.
Teyla switched on her flashlight and looked at John falling into step next to her. She raised an eyebrow. He shrugged. They didn't need any more.
***
"Who was it who had to walk all across that damn, clearly uninhabited city for hours?"
"I didn't know this would be a problem, okay?" Rodney's voice was muffled as he knelt in front of the DHD, covered in wires and his torso almost hidden in the housing. "Maybe our arrival short-circuited something. The wires are as brittle as my Grandmother's bones."
A muffled curse, a sound of pain. "I can't work like this."
"What?"
"I said I can't work like this. The flashlight doesn't give me enough light to see, and I can't re-wire the DHD blind."
"Great," Ronon huffed.
Teyla crouched next to Rodney, resting a hand on his knee. "Then finish in the light of day tomorrow. We can camp here."
Rodney twisted himself out of the DHD's casing. "I hate camping."
"Rodney!" John's warning voice came from behind the DHD. He was already deactivating the cloaking device and pulling out their camping gear. Two sleeping bags, Teyla's woven Athosian blanket, a tent.
Rodney stretched with a groan, pushed himself up from the ground and turned toward John - only to move back with a startle and, as if on an afterthought, offered his hand to Teyla, his gaze resting on her belly.
She rolled her eyes and rose fluidly from the ground. Even in the dark, she could see him blush.
"Right, right," he said and hurried to stand besides John to help with the setting up of the camping gear.
"Who wants the tent?" John asked.
Rodney made a sound of disgust. "I can do without the added claustrophobia, thank you."
Ronon just made a throwaway gesture and set out to make a fire and get their MREs warmed up. He had never seen the need for the tent, not after having slept outside in any condition for seven years.
Before Teyla could say anything, both John and Rodney looked at each other, and Rodney said: "We should put it up for Teyla." To Teyla's horror, John nodded. "Good idea."
Something in Teyla twisted, expanded and tried to break free. She breathed against it, closed her eyes for a couple of seconds and swallowed against the bile rising in her throat. She heard the tinkling of the tent being unfolded. "Is it," she began, swallowed again hard and fought to continue against the anger brimming in her, "Is it normal for men on Earth to isolate women as though they have a disease when they are with child?"
The following silence was long, only broken by the crackling of the fire Ronon had started.
Rodney looked to the ground where the half-unfolded tent lay. John's face twisted into a grimace. "Look, Teyla, we don't-"
"Put away the damn tent and treat her as always. She's just pregnant," Ronon said.
Rodney coughed and still wouldn't meet her eye, but started to fold the tent again. John, on the other hand, stared at her, his teeth sunken into his lower lip, his gaze moving up and down her body, finally coming to rest on her belly.
Teyla had to put all her strength into not reaching out and punching him. Instead, she steppe forward, grasped his hand and placed it flat on her belly. "It is new life, John. Not a sickness. Not a reason to treat me differently."
John froze up, his gaze glued to her hand on his, to his hand on her belly. The fire crackled. An animal cried in the distance. John's breathing was loud in her ears. Too intimate, everything in his posture screamed that this was too intimate, but for once, Teyla did not care. She needed for him to understand. The baby wasn't kicking yet, but he needed to know that even with new life growing in her, she had not changed. That she did not need valiant protectors.
"John?" she said, making him raise his eyes.
"I, look, Teyla, I--"
A huff sounded next to them, interrupting John's stuttering. "So, are you going to let me feel you up, too, or is this an exclusive club thing?" Rodney asked.
She couldn't help it. Teyla threw her head back and laughed, so very relieved that the tension had been broken. "Ronon, come here," she said.
When Ronon had joined them, she reached first for Rodney's, then for Ronon's hand and placed them in her belly as well. There was barely enough room yet to fit all three men's hands, but that wasn't what mattered. It was the gesture, the inclusiveness. The fact that, after this, things wouldn't be easier, but they would be less awkward.
After a few minutes she said: "So. Is dinner ready?"
***
Of course, things never were as easy as they seemed. The beginning of their night rest started out with a major discussion on how Teyla's blanket was too thin and too scratchy and how she was supposed to use their sleeping bags to stay warm.
Ronon just grunted, rolled himself into his coat and went to sleep, ignoring the discussion.
Finally, Teyla ended up underneath her own blanket as well as Rodney's garish blue sleeping bag and John's military green one. It was nice and warm, so she wasn't complaining, but when she woke up at night and saw John and Rodney on the forest floor, cuddled together as close as possible -- for warmth, seemingly, but she knew better than assume just that, knew that they ended up like this on every overnight mission when they wouldn't give themselves away to anyone but her and Ronon -- as close to the fire as possible without burning themselves and still shivering, she wondered why she had ever been worried about this child.
She took both sleeping bags and covered John and Rodney, all but tucking them in.
Over the flicker of the fire, she saw Ronon lifting his head, watching her. "You have enough practice being a mother even before your child is born." His eyes glittered in the darkness.
Teyla looked down at John and Rodney, their faces relaxed and looking younger in the flickering firelight and though that, yes. After those two, there really was nothing she had to worry about.
End.