"Where did you say these natives lived?" Rodney asked breathlessly. He was sweaty, tired, and couldn't understand why he was trudging across this pathetic rock of a planet.
"Weren't you listening at the briefing?" questioned John as he shift his aviators on his nose. The bright sun was beating harshly down on him and, even though he had shed his jacket, sweat was beginning to coat his brow and fall down his back.
"No," groaned Rodney. "I had more important things to do."
Before an argument could escalate, Teyla answered Rodney's question, "They live in the caves near the beach since they are a fishing community. It should not be far."
"Shouldn't somebody have been out to greet us by now?" Ronon pointed out as it was the norm for the team to be welcomed when they got near the village or sometimes when they had only just arrived.
"I do not know," Teyla admitted with a frown. "They usually have someone look out for visitors."
"I'm sure they're just busy." John guessed as they topped the little hill that Teyla had mentioned overlooked their marketplace.
"Oh no," Teyla breathed at the sight which met them.
What was left of the out-of-cave marketplace was in pieces. It looked like fire had burned up the boats and nets were strewn about. Amongst the wreckage were dead bodies. Though it was hard to be entirely certain what killed them, the team had seen enough of this to know certainly what the cause was.
"They've been culled," John stated, regret coloring his voice.
"There could have been survivors taking shelter in the caves," Ronon suggested.
Teyla nodded and started down the slope toward the sandy, wrecked beach marketplace and the cave entrance.
"Are we sure these caves are safe?" Rodney questioned a bit nervously, eying the caves fearfully. Then he glance up at the cave ceiling as the drew closer. "They might be unstable."
"The Ardanians have lived in these caves for thousands of years, Rodney. I do not think they will collapse in the short time we are here," Teyla assured him and led the team farther into the caves.
The foursome had not gone far when they came across the first bodies. They were obviously killed by the wraith. The dried corpses were clutching various pitchforks, shovels, and rifles. Clearly they had died defending themselves instead of running and the team admired that. It wasn't something a person saw often and it always made you hate the wraith more. The team stepped solemnly over the bodies and continued through the tunnel-shaped caves.
"How long do you think they've been dead?" John asked, shining his light on one of the dead people. Though he didn't direct the question to particularly anyone, the rest of his team knew he was talking to Ronon.
Ronon crouched down next to one man gripping a rifle in one wrinkled hand. "Probably a couple of weeks, maybe two months," he guessed.
Teyla was quiet as they marched on, she had been close with a few of the people here and it hurt to see their world so wasted. It had been twenty-or-so more minutes before they came across it.
The beast leaped out of the corridor and dropped squarely on John's shoulders because he had been in the front of the group. The force of the landing sent the two of them crashing to the ground. Thankfully it was over as suddenly as it started. Rodney and Teyla immediately directed their P90s toward it but, for fear of hitting John, only fired above it to scare it. As well, Ronon actually shot it and hit it. Three hits from Ronon's gun later, the beast dropped to the ground. One thing was for sure, it was ugly. It seemed to be a cross between a dog and ape. Ronon rolled the beast off John and Rodney squatted next to him.
"You okay, Sheppard?" asked Rodney worriedly.
Groaning John got his hands and knees and Ronon helped to a standing position. "Yeah, I think so."
"Let me look," commanded Teyla, lowering her gun.
Knowing better than to argue with her when she used that tone of voice, John unzipped his vest and the jacket underneath. Carefully he slipped the arm the ape-dog had gotten his teeth into out of the clothing.
While Ronon knelt next to the animal, Rodney shined his light at John's shoulder for Teyla.
"You bleeding badly," Teyla reported, undoing the Velcro to extract a field bandage from her vest. "But it does not seem too deep. The bandage should be able to slow it down enough to give us plenty of time to get home without serious blood loss."
"Good," Ronon said, standing. "This is a pag'der. Where there's one there's lot more."
"How many more?" Rodney questioned anxiously.
"Pag'ders travel in packs anywhere from ten to twenty," Teyla answered as she finished securing the bandage around John's shoulder. "All done," she told him.
"Let's get out of here," John ordered, pulling his jacket back over his shoulder.
Unexpectedly a few chips of rocks clattered noisily to the ground to the floor, causing four lights to flash toward the ceiling. The action revealed a pag'der hanging above Ronon.
Rodney, Teyla, and John all squeezed their triggers, effectively killing of any malicious actions. The four of them had only enough time to sigh in relief before the tunnel trembled.
"Uh-oh," breathed Rodney with wide eyes.
For once no one said anything else about impending doom. Instead they all began running back the way they came. It seemed that they would either only just make it or they would be caught by the falling rocks and debris. Thankfully they had not gone too far and it was not long before the entrance was seen. However, as they made their way to the opening three pag'ders appeared out of the shadows, cutting off their escape. The team stopped to raise their weapons and check to see if anymore lurked in the dark. The cave took the opportunity to shudder violently and head-sized rocks fell from above them.
John took a cautious step to see what the ape-dog would do. One of them snapped its jaws and growled as him while another slunk out of the dark shadows, gazing hungrily at him.
A tremor, stronger than the last, shook the cave and that shake was the final straw. The looser stones fell from the entrance, within moments clogging the entryway. The team retreated farther back into the cave to avoid being crushed by the loose dirt and heavy rocks showering down over the entrance. Falling Rocks smashed a few pag'ders while the rest fled for their lives, forgetting their former prey.
Ronon, Teyla, and Rodney halted behind him and John turned around to see why. A wall of dirt and stone blocked the way in front of them. Turning back, a similar sight faced him from the way from which they had come.
"Oh no," Rodney groaned. "We're trapped."
"Calm down," John said. "The tremors have stopped so the worst of it must be over. Our check-in is an hour from now. Worst case they wait an hour before sending someone to come get us. That's only two hours, and I'm sure there is two hours of air in here. We'll be out of here soon."
"Yes, yes." Rodney took a deep breath. "We'll be out of here soon."
Three of them settled on the floor in the roughly ten by ten pocket of left-over tunnel and Ronon started pacing the confines of their natural prison. While Rodney pulled out his tablet to see if it the cave in had damaged it, Teyla moved over to John and watched him for signs of discomfort.
Half an hour later John ground out, "Sit down, Chewie. You're making me dizzy just watching you."
Ronon glanced at his team leader first thinking that he was only being sarcastic but then he saw John close his eyes and lean his head against the wall, swallowing hard. The Satedan ceased his pacing and groused, "Nothin' to do. I'm not good at sittin' still."
"Then we'll do something. Just sit down, please," John requested tiredly.
Obediently Ronon sat down as Rodney spoke up, "Like what? Play a game of poker? I don't know about you but I left my cards back on Atlantis."
"We could talk," Teyla offered placatingly.
"Talk about what?" Rodney exclaimed. "Our looming demise in a cave in?"
"McKay!" John snapped. "We'll be okay. Teyla had a good point." Shifting a little uncomfortably, John glanced at his teammate and suggested, "How about you tell us a little about Athos when you were growing up?"
"Very well," Teyla consented. "Our daily lives were much like many of the planets we have visited. Some days my father would take me and my mother to trade at various marketplaces. That was where my father taught me to barter and negotiate."
"He did a good job," commented Ronon.
The other three chuckled at the remark because it was true, Teyla certainly could barter.
"My mother could not barter. She would try but she always gave in too easily. So she learned to find what she wanted and let me or my father work on the rest." Teyla smiled fondly at the memories. "And my – " Teyla cut herself off and her smile dropped.
"Teyla?" John prompted, concerned.
Looking up from her folded hands, Teyla saw she held the eyes of all three of her teammates. She took a deep breath to compose herself, even after so long the pain of loss still hurt. "I used to have an older brother," she admitted.
Rodney opened his mouth, no doubt to comment, but Ronon punched his shoulder and gave him a 'shut up' look.
Smiling at Ronon's actions, Teyla continued, "You remind me of him, John. Which was why I was so willing to trust you at the start. His name was Talaan and he had... shall we say, a way with women?"
Rodney snorted a laugh of agreement and Ronon grinned. John responded by leaning to the side and slapping Rodney upside his head, then urging Teyla to keep going.
"We were very close and spent much of our time together but he was caught in a small culling on another world when I was about twenty."
Her team was silent for a moment before John placed a hand Teyla's shoulder and said, "Tell us about him."
Taking a moment, Teyla tried to find where to begin. "Well... he looked much like my father. Dark hair and brown eyes, same face, but he was shorter like my mother and I. He loved to practice with the bantos sticks, which is partly why I have the skill I do. Talaan would wake me early every morning to practice."
"Is that why you're always up before I am?" John questioned.
Nodding Teyla elaborated, "I have been unwilling to break the habit even though he is gone."
"That's not a bad thing," Ronon said. Then he surprised them all by revealing, "I had a brother, too. His name was Coden."
"What?" Rodney exclaimed. "Does everyone have a brother but me?"
Rolling his eyes, Ronon added, "I had a sister, too."
Before Rodney could say anything else, Teyla inquired gently, "What happened to them?"
Shifting his place on the dusty floor, Ronon answered, "Coden died in battle a year before the attack on Sateda. My sister, Rhana, was still alive when the wraith came, so I guess she was culled."
"Were they both as tough as you?" John asked jovially, hoping to lighten the mood. Then he had to wince when he accidentally moved his injured shoulder.
"Coden was, but Rhana was a writer and a singer, she loved the arts," Ronon told them.
"So did Jeannie," Rodney remembered. "She had a thing for finger paint when we were kids. None of her 'paintings', if you could call them that, were very good but Mom and Dad always told her they were beautiful."
"Did they never tell you that yours were beautiful, Rodney?" Teyla asked in a slightly teasing tone.
"What? No! I never wasted my time on such trifles," Rodney sniffed derisively.
"Really?" said John, disbelieving.
Deliberately changing the subject, Rodney asked, "How about you? Any siblings?"
Reluctantly and uncomfortably, John admitted, "One. David. But I call him Dave because he doesn't like it."
"You would," Rodney chuffed. "Can't imagine how he survived childhood with you as a brother."
Shrugging innocently, John said, "He was the responsible one most of the time. But one time I did manage to convince him to race Dad's thoroughbreds without permission once."
"How many broken bones were there," Rodney snarked.
"Only two," John said defensively. "We couldn't really control them so I got a broken leg and he broke his arm. Needless to say, Dad wasn't happy with us."
"What's a thoroughbred?" Ronon inquired.
"Do you know what a horse is?" John responded.
When Ronon shook his head, John explained, "A horse is an animal on Earth that is used to carry people, among other things. Thoroughbreds are a breed of horse that is usually used for the sport of racing." John noticed that Teyla's face also cleared of confusion. "The two Dave and I took were young and untrained."
"And your dad had thoroughbreds?" Rodney queried.
"Yeah," John replied. "A few, he probably still does."
Before Rodney could follow that trail of breadcrumbs Teyla spoke up, "There is a similar animal on some planets in this galaxy called an esero. Talaan used to love riding them and spent a good deal of time one a planet called Corneya because they had the fastest eseros. They also held competitions there. Talaan became quite the star and that coupled with his charming demeanor towards woman, he gained quite a... what do you call it?"
"Fan club," John filled in. Without thinking he moved to fold his arms but the action pulled painfully against his shoulder.
Noticing his cringe, Ronon asked, "How's your shoulder?"
"Bleeding a lot. That thing tore it up pretty bad." John conceded. "But It's not that bad. I'll be good as new after Carson has a look."
"How long do you think it'll take them to get to us." Rodney worried, glancing around their natural rock prison.
"We will be out of here in no time," Teyla assured him. With that the conversation picked up again.
When the rescue team returned dusty and tired with a bruised and bloody team in a Jumper, Elizabeth had reluctantly stayed behind. Quickly Elizabeth got the story from the rescue team, Lorne and Turner's teams. A cave in had trapped Sheppard's team, she already knew, and after an hour rescue had successfully reopened the entrance and extracted the four. They all had an assortment of bruises and John's shoulder muscles were torn but they had come off relatively unscathed. When the short briefing was done, Elizabeth sent the dirty marines for showers while she headed for the infirmary.
"They're all fine except for Colonel Sheppard," Carson told Elizabeth when she arrived. "As long as he doesn't pull his stitches in the next few days he'll be fine."
"That's good. I assume they are all with the colonel." Elizabeth guessed.
"Aye, this way." Carson led her towards the bed holding John surrounded by his team. Elizabeth and Carson's arrival was greeted by the sound of four sets of laughter.
John's donkey laughter was the first they noticed. He was clutching his stomach with the sling-less arm as he laughed and sitting in scrubs on the edge of the bed. Next to him and sitting on the bed was Rodney, his face red from his own harsh laughter. Sitting in a nearby chair, Teyla was laughing a more lyrical laugh while Ronon stood, looking mildly embarrassed as he let out a Santa Clause type ho-hoing.
"May I ask what's so funny?" Elizabeth inquired, smiling at the team's obvious happiness.
"Siblings," John gasped out, trying desperately to get a hold on his mirth.
Grinning, Rodney went into more detail, "Ronon's sister blackmailed him into reading a piece of poetry to the girl he had a crush on. But she made him sing it, too!"
Both Carson and Elizabeth tried valiantly to contain their own laughter but, ultimately, failed.
"Sounds like you four had an interesting conversation back there," Elizabeth commented when she regained her composure.
"That we did," Teyla confirmed. "We talked much of our siblings."
"Really?" Elizabeth said, grabbing a chair because this sounded like a topic she didn't want to miss.
"Yeah," John put in. "Ronon was telling us about his sister, Rhana, and his brother, Coden."
"I have two brothers and two sisters." Carson copied Elizabeth and pulled up a plastic chair. "We got into all sorts of trouble."
"I know what that's like." John smiled. "Not having four siblings, but my brother and I got into plenty of trouble."
"I wouldn't know," Elizabeth stated. "My brother, Zachary, was always responsible and so was I."
"Just be glad your sibling never shaved off your eyebrows." Rodney shuddered, apparently at the tragic memory of having his eyebrows taken."
"My little sister, Maya, did that to my older brother, Stanley." Carson remembered. "But thankfully she never did that to me."
"Coden like to tie my hair in knots so that I had to spend a long time getting it out." Ronon grinned evilly. "And then I would get some Tan'I, like your people's hair dye, which turned his hair green."
"When we were teenagers, I put pink hair dye in Dave's shampoo after he put a whoopee cushion on my chair at school," John added.
"Whoopee cushion?" Teyla questioned.
"A cushion usually made of rubber, it makes a farting noise when someone sits on it," Elizabeth explained. "Practical joke tool."
"My brother, Talaan, much preferred to tease me about the amount of male attention I received than to play jokes on me." Teyla smiled fondly. "I did the same."
"I was never good at scaring boys away from Jeannie," Rodney lamented. "I had to leave that all to Dad."
"My father thought it was more amusing to watch Talaan do it than to do it himself," said Teyla.
"That was the one and only think that Zac ever got into trouble for." Elizabeth sighed. "When it wasn't annoying it was funny."
"Stanley, Gage, and I had our work cut out for us with Maya and Karen." Carson shook his head. "Both of them got quite a bit of attention."
Ronon grinned. "Coden and I just watched Rhana beat the crap out of whoever wouldn't leave her alone."
"And when she wanted the attention?" John queried, raising an eyebrow at his teammate.
Continuing with a feral grin, Ronon responded, "We glared at them until they ran off. The only guy we couldn't scare off she married."
"What works, works, right?" laughed Carson.
"Yeah," Ronon agreed.
"I can't imagine she appreciated that." Elizabeth shook her head.
"She thanked us later." Ronon grinned.
"Jeannie never thanked me for my efforts," Rodney moaned. "With so many people getting divorced these days she could've been left with Madison and no way of making a living if Kaleb ran off!"
"That's actually a valid concern, Rodney." Carson sounded surprised.
"Thank you," Rodney replied, looking satisfied by Carson's support.
"Did you try to explain that to her?" Teyla asked logically.
"Ye – " Rodeny began.
" – Nicely," Ronon amended for Teyla.
"Well, not exactly." Rodney mumbled. "McKay's aren't known for our patience. When I went to her I had this whole speech planned out that was going to change her mind and I would be the good guy and Kaleb would be the bad guy."
"I'm guessing it didn't turn out the way you wanted," Elizabeth put in gently.
"No. She said, 'If you've come to convince me you'll just waste your time.' That set me off and we both started yelling. It was the last time we spoke up until the Rod incident," Rodney finished.
"But the important thing is that you got a second chance and you made it right," John told him firmly, setting an awkwardly comforting hand on Rodney's shoulder.
"Yeah. And I..." Rodney stumbled. "I never told you guys thank you for helping me out there."
He whole group smiled warmly at the scientist and Teyla spoke for them all, "We were very glad to help."
"Yeah, especially because she gave me some dirt on you." John gave him his trademark happy-go-lucky grins and elbowed his teammate in the ribs.
Rodney's jaw dropped. "What did she tell you?!"
John laughed. "You'll know when I need one of them."
Working his mouth open and closed for a moment, Rodney finally demanded, "Where does your brother live? I need stories on you!"
Dropping his eyes to knees, John demurred, "... I don't think that's such a good idea."
"Why?" Elizabeth questioned gently.
John shifted uncomfortably, he didn't want to say but he'd already been cornered. For sure, if he didn't talk now, Rodney would be on his case for... ever. "Uh... well... my dad didn't want me to join the Air Force. We had a fairly large argument about it... and Dave sided with Dad. We haven't really talked since."
"When was the last time you spoke?" Teyla questioned in what she hoped was an easy-going tone.
"Spoke any words or civil words?" John ask evasively.
"Both," Ronon pushed, knowing what John was trying to do.
Sighing because he knew that he wouldn't be able to squeeze out of this one, John answered, "We spoke about five years ago and our last civilized conversation was back when I was fourteen. Unless you count the time I got married but I don't because that was basically just, 'don't screw up.'"
A moment of surprised quiet hung before Rodney announced, "Well then, he was an idiot."
"I though everyone was an idiot by your standards." Ronon frowned.
"No this guy is a special kind of stupid. Admittedly nobody's perfect, but at least Sheppard screws up less than most people," Rodney said.
Another moment of silence came, this time in surprise of Rodney's adamant defense of John.
"I don't know, Rodney." John smiled. "I screw up plenty."
"If you're talking to about the black mark on your record," Elizabeth put in. "You were trying to save lives."
"That I didn't save," John pointed out.
"You can't save everyone, lad," Carson told him.
"Besides, the only person who screwed up was your CO for not sending back up," Rodney added helpfully.
"Did you hack my file?" John interrogated suspiciously.
"The important thing," Teyla interrupted before they could get off subject. "Is that you aren't a screw up and your father and brother were... unwise to say so."
"That's just the nice way of saying it," Ronon commented.
"Thanks," John said sincerely, ducking his head in embarrassment.
Carson decided to save him from further questioning. "Sounds to me like you all need to come to the Beckett family reunion this year and get a good dose of real family."
"That sounds nice." Elizabeth smiled.
"We should invite Jeannie, too. She always wanted to see Scotland," Rodney mentioned.
"Of course, the more the merrier. One year Kayley, my older sister, invited almost all of her friends. All seven of us spent the day in the kitchen preparing." Carson remembered happily. "Mum always tells us to invite our friends. She loves people."
"That would be wonderful, Carson," Teyla agreed. "It sounds similar to the Harvest Feast my people hold."
"Those harvest thingies weren't really enjoyable." Rodney grimaced.
"Not a harvest festival. Harvest Feast," Ronon corrected.
"There's a difference?" Rodney lamented.
"Yes. Harvest Feasts are held only when a harvest is completed. For my people, we sing and dance and eat. We simply spend the evening enjoying each other's company," Teyla explained fondly.
"Sounds fun." John grinned. "But I think all you needed to sell Ronon and Rodney was the eating part."
Carson, Elizabeth, and Teyla all grinned along with John at the two food-consumers unrepentant, "What?"
"The food is quite good. My people have always put their best into preparing the feast. I missed the last one due to the move to another planet when the Ancestors returned," Teyla added sadly.
"How's the growing coming along for them?" Carson inquired curiously
"Well, in face Halling had already begun to facilitate the harvest," Teyla replied. "We will be able to have the Feast soon."
Frowning Elizabeth asked, "Did you miss the Feast before the last as well?"
Giving the group a smile, Teyla assured, "No. It was during your return to Earth, though. The first time. I always meant to invite you all but t seems trouble in Atlantis has not allowed."
"We would be honored to attend the next one," Ronon told her seriously, making his friends guess he was remembering Sateda. What about they weren't sure but it seemed so from the look on his face.
"Wonderful." Teyla smiled at the group and they continued from there.
Doctor Kate Heightmeyer had been finishing up a session with Dr. Potts who was dealing with depression and a new injury when she heard it. Laughter. Curiosity pulled at her but Kate focused on wrapping up the session before she went in search of the source. She was surprised to find Atlantis' leadership gathered around talking and laughing together. Hanging back in the doorway, Kate went unnoticed. So she took the rare opportunity to observe them in a relaxed atmosphere. It was difficult to catch what they said but by reading their body language, Kate saw them get into serious conversation. Staying there for a while Kate felt an invisible weight lifting from her shoulders.
She always worried about those in charge, specifically Colonel Sheppard, Doctor McKay, and Doctor Weir. They so often seemed entirely closed off from the world and Kate had little success in getting them to open up to her. In contrast, Doctor Beckett and Teyla easily talked with her about any severe physiological problems. On the other hand, Ronon hadn't ever said a word to her but Kate had long since determined that the man was handling it fine by shooting all the wraith he met and Kate knew instinctively that he leaned on Col. Sheppard when he needed to. Now, watching the six friends, she could see that they were all leaning on one another and supporting each other as the laughed and talked.
Smiling, Kate slipped away. Atlantis was still in good hands.
A/N: This was meant to be a set up for Choices but I ended up posting the other first, but it still works. This was something that just wouldn't leave me while I was thinking about Dave, Jeannie, and siblings in general. Like it? Love it? Hate it? Tell me why! :)