"Colonel Sheppard is trying to persuade me to watch something called Die Hard with him," Teyla told Ronon, who was sitting opposite of her, eating enough food to feed a horse.
"He's asked me to watch it too," Ronon replied, talking through a mouthful of food.
"The title makes it sound rather gruesome."
"I think it sounds good," Ronon said through another bite of food, making Teyla smile.
"Do you even know what it's about?" she asked.
He paused for a moment. "No," he finally said, causing Teyla to begin laughing, which in turn made him smile as well.
Teyla cherished moments like this, moments where she could laugh and be carefree, like she has no worries in the world. Lately, she's found that many of these moments are with Ronon, who she's grown very close to ever since he joined their team in Atlantis. The two of them became quick friends, and since the rest of Teyla's people were living elsewhere, Ronon became the one she would always go to, whether she has a problem or if she's just bored.
As their conversation on movies they've watched with John came to an end, Teyla went back to eating her scrambled eggs, which she had become fond of over the past few years. During the momentary silence, she began to get lost in her thoughts.
She knew that she didn't have long before she would most likely have to take a new position elsewhere in Atlantis, because she knew John may not let her stay on the team.
Jennifer was the only other one who knew, she hadn't even told Ronon yet. As much as she wanted to talk to Ronon, she knew she couldn't, at least not yet. Although she knew he would be supportive of her, he also cared about her too much to let her continue going off-world. She just hated having to keep something like this from one of her closest friends.
When Ronon spoke again, she broke away from her thoughts. "I'm going down to the gym to spar for a while, you wanna come?"
"I would love to, but I am going down to see Dr. Keller for a bit."
He raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright? You've been going down there a lot lately."
She paused for a moment. "Yes, I'm just fine."
Ronon didn't seem convinced. "Okay," he said, picking up their food trays to return. "I'll go with you."
Teyla started to panic a bit at this point. "That's not necessary," she said, a hint of that panic evident in her voice, which didn't go unnoticed by Ronon.
He left their trays to be cleaned up, then came over to Teyla, who was standing up from her seat. "What's wrong?" he asked, not leaving her any room to walk past him.
"Nothing's wrong," she said firmly. That part at least was the truth.
"Then why have yo been going down to the infirmary so much lately?" he questioned.
Teyla opened her mouth, and tried to think of a good response. Having no luck, she shut her mouth and settled for not saying anything.
"Teyla," he said, gently grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him. "Are you alright?" he asked again.
"I'm fine," she said, probably too quickly.
He stared at her for a moment before grabbing her hand and beginning to drag her out of the commissary.
After a few turns around corners, Teyla realized Ronon was leading her to the infirmary. "You really don't need to accompany me, Ronon, I'm fine."
"If you were fine, you wouldn't keep going down to the infirmary all the time, he said.
Teyla didn't have a response. She really couldn't argue with his logic.
A couple minutes later, they arrived in the infirmary, and he let go of Teyla's hand as he began searching for Jennifer. "Doc," he said, spotting her on one of the computers.
She turned her head and saw Ronon and Teyla walking towards her. "Hey," she said, pausing her work. "What can I do for you two?" Then she furrowed her eyebrows. "Don't tell me you need stitches again, Ronon. It's not even nine in the morning yet."
"We're not here for me," Ronon said, pulling Teyla up next to him. "Is there something wrong with Teyla?" he asked.
Jennifer scrunched her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"She's been coming down here a lot lately."
"There's nothing wrong with her that I know of. do you feel sick or anything?" she asked Teyla.
"I feel fine," she responded.
Jennifer looked back to Ronon. He stood for a moment before turning around to leave. "I still feel like you're not telling me something," he said before walking out of the infirmary, guilt washing over Teyla like a tidal wave.
"Thank you for your secrecy," she said to the doctor.
"No problem," she responded with a small smile. "Have a seat," she said, gesturing to the nearest bed and sliding on rubber gloves. "You know you're going to have to tell them eventually."
"I know," Teyla replied. "I'm just not ready yet.
.~.~.~.
Teyla spent the rest of the day feeling guilty about hiding the truth from Ronon, and had trouble getting to sleep that night.
The next morning, she was awaken by a sudden wave of nausea. She jumped out of bed and made a run for the bathroom, ejecting the contents of her stomach into the toilet. When she was sure she was finished, she flushed the toilet, then grabbed a cup off of the rinsed out her mouth and took a small sip of water before walking out of the bathroom. She almost jumped in surprise when she saw Ronon standing in the doorway of her room.
"You're not very good at keeping secrets," he told her.
Teyla swallowed before responding. "You know." she stated, earning a nod in response from her friend. Unsure of what to say next, Teyla walked over and sat on the edge of her bed, and Ronon came over and sat down next to her.
"You could've told me," he said.
Teyla paused for a moment before responding. "I was scared," she admitted, turning to face him for a moment before looking away.
Instead of saying anything else, Ronon held his arms out for a hug, which she gratefully embraced.
"You can tell me anything, you know," he said.
"I know," she replied, her voice cracking.
He hugged her tighter, and that's when she felt herself begin to cry. She buried her head into his shoulder, and he just embraced her. She continued sniffling for a few more minutes until she began to regain her composure. "I'm sorry," she said, pulling away.
"It's alright," he replied. He reached his hand up and used his thumb to wipe some of the wetness off of her cheek. "I'm really happy for you," he said, giving her a smile.
"Thank you," she said, smiling back at him.
"I'm going to get something to eat, if you wanna come."
She raised an eyebrow. Was he even here five minutes ago?
"You don't have to get anything, but I'm hungry," he said, making her laugh.
"I'd love to," Teyla replied.
They both stood up, and Ronon took Teyla by the hand, walking down the hall with her.
"You know, Ronon is a good name, for a boy or a girl," Ronon said, making Teyla laugh once again.
She really loved moments like this.
