THE TRIO
Sooner or later, everyone came to Atlantis.
Teyla was used to that saying - she'd heard it about a million times. And the reason it was so oft-repeated was because it was very, very true.
Sooner or later, everyone did seem to find their way to Atlantis.
Teyla supposed it was only simple logic that made that true. Atlantis rested at a crossroad of sorts, after all. Many of the major trade routes passed within a mere handful of miles of her front doors. She was the most beautiful bar that Teyla had ever worked at.
Teyla noticed a trio of men sitting at the corner of the bar. She assumed at first they were strangers, but slowly, she realised they were three friends. Teyla then paid closer attention to them as she seved them and closely observed how they interacted with each other and with others - and with her.
Her eyes were first drawn to the tallest of the trio. Though they were all seated, his height was plain to see. The tallest one kept his back to the wall, where he could watch everything that was going on. His dark hair was twisted into intricate braids and secured by exotic looking beads and ties.
But what arrested Teyla was his eyes. Brilliant green eyes shone from his dark face, and they twinkled with humour. His bearded face showed a pair of shallow dimples as he smiled. He seemed to smile easily, as if life was full of amusement and fun.
Her eyes moved to the second of the three men clustered around that end of the bar. This one had positioned himself so that he could watch the entirety of Atlantis in the mirror over her bar.
Like his two companions, the wary watcher was dressed in black from head to toe. He was quiet, but when he did speak, the lazy way he shaped his words and elongaged his vowels betrayed his American South origins. His short dark hair seemed to be perpetually startled, sticking up every which way.
As Teyla watched, she saw that this man's smile seemed just as ready and just as warm as his long-haired companion's. Could both of them truly find that much of life that amusing?
She drew close enough to serve them another round and realised that it wasn't life itself that the strangely mismatched pair found so amusing.
It was their third that they found so funny. And it wasn't hard for Teyla to see exactly why.
The third man at the bar was smaller in height and broader of form than his two companions. His close-cut hair was that peculiar shade that couldn't quite decide if it was blond or brown and his piercing eyes were a striking shade of blue.
Teyla was impressed by the man's sheer lungpower. From the moment they walked into Atlantis until now, he had not stopped talking. Occasionally, the one with the startled hair would reply, but mostly the third man kept up a running monologue, going seamlessly from subject to subject, his hands moving so as to serve as punctuation.
Watching him go on and on and on brought a smile to Teyla's face. Realising this, she blinked in sudden knowledge of just why his two friends seemed to be perpetually amused.
Moving away, Teyla busied herself with the mundane cleaning tasks her job required. She glanced around the bar area, keeping an eye out for patrons who required her attention.
On her fourth glance, she noticed the man with the unruly dark hair motioning at her. She nodded to let him know she'd seen, and he smiled and lowered his hand.
She finished mopping the spilled beer and lay her rag back into its bucket. She gave her hands a quick wash and dried them as she made her way over to the trio. "Yes?" she asked with a smile.
Hazel eyes focused on her as the man lazily drawled, "We're lookin' for Elizabeth."
"That you?" Green-Eyes spoke for the first time and, despite herself, Teyla felt her heart clench at the deep rumble of his voice.
"No," Teyla admitted. "I'm Teyla. Elizabeth is the owner. Who can I tell her is here?"
"Sheppard, Dex and McKay."
"Hey!" the one indicated as "McKay" growled. "Why am I always listed last?"
"Cause it sounds better," Dex returned and McKay glared at him. Sheppard chuckled, rolling his eyes at their antics.
Teyla found herself smiling at them. "I'll tell her."
"You do that," Sheppard drawled, and it was a clear dismissal.
Grumbling under her breath about "arrogant Americans", Teyla rapped on Elizabeth's door. After a quick order to enter, Teyla stuck her head around the frame. "Sheppard, Dex and McKay are here."
"Good," Elizabeth said, standing. "I've been waiting for them."
Teyla led the way out to the bar. She saw Elizabeth's non-surprise at seeing Sheppard and Dex, but the overly talkative McKay seemed to throw her a little.
"Gentlemen," she said, recovering smoothly. "I'm Elizabeth Weir, owner and manager of Atlantis."
All three stood and shook her hand, introducing themselves and inclining their heads to her as they did so.
"Teyla is my second-in-command, so I'd like her to sit in as well," Elizabeth said as they all sat down.
Teyla nodded. "I'll get Lyra to cover."
When she returned a few moments later, she sat down and Elizabeth smiled, signalling the "meeting" was about to start.
"So," Sheppard opened. "Seems like you've got a bit of a Nazi problem."
"Mister Sheppard," Elizabeth retorted, "the whole world has a bit of a Nazi problem right now."
Three broad smiles answered her, and Teyla got the distinct impression that Elizabeth had passed some kind of test.
"And," Elizabeth went on after a pause, "I'm wondering if you three are really the ones recommended to me."
Sheppard's smile turned into a lazy smirk. "Why don't we go discuss that-"
"And terms of employment," McKay interrupted. "Should you choose to employ us, that is."
"Of course." Elizabeth stood. "Follow me."
Sheppard and McKay did so, but Dex and Teyla remained seated. "Aren't you going to go with them?" Teyla asked, visibly confused.
"Nah, they can handle themselves," Dex answered, taking a drink of his beer. "More interested in you."
"In me?" Teyla asked, an eyebrow on the rise. She hadn't been expecting this!
"In you," Dex said. "For example, how does a waitress and barkeep know enough to watch three dangerous men like a hawk?"
She shrugged. "In this job, you develop certain instincts."
"I've been in thousands of bars in thirty-seven countries, lady. I've seen thousands of bartenders and waitresses." He took another pull on his beer. "You 'read' more like a bouncer than a waitress or barkeep."
Teyla sat back in her chair. "You're good, Mister Dex. You're very good."
"It's what's kept me alive."
Loud voices reached their ears and Teyla turned with a put-upon sigh. "Fantastic," she said, her voice thick with sarcasm. "And here they are - acting as though they own the place."
The three young thugs in the familiar grey-brown uniform had swaggered in and plopped at a table. One was loudly demanding service.
Teyla excused herself and Dex grabbed her wrist. "You're not seriously going to serve them, are you?"
"This is a bar," Teyla said coldly. "Release me."
Somewhat startled by her tone, Dex released her. She walked right up to their table. "Excuse me," she said, coldly polite. "You are disrupting the other customers. You will have to leave."
The thug laughed, sneering at her darker skin and copper hair. "Who are you to give me orders?" he thundered, snarling out a very ugly insult in German.
"I," Teyla informed him, "am the one with the authority to tell you to go."
"Authority?" the thug snarled. As his friends cheered him on, he stood. "You have no authority over me!" And he shoved Teyla so hard she had to take two steps backward.
Instantly, Dex was at her side, one hand steadying her as the other pointed a gun she hadn't seen on him at the thug.
As the thug reached for his own gun, there was the sudden sound of two other hammers being pulled back.
Elizabeth, Sheppard and McKay had finished their business just in time. McKay had a gun trained on the table where the other two thugs sat, frozen. He was silent, a look of fury on his face. His posture was suddenly that of a warrior.
Sheppard had stepped in front of Elizabeth, shielding her with his own body. He was smirking, his gun trained on the standing thug's head. "I believe," he drawled, "the lady told you to leave."
The thug opened his mouth, and McKay interrupted, "That would be a really bad idea."
Glowering, the thug slowly closed his mouth. Then he barked an order in German, and the trio stood. Mindful of the guns trained on them, they eased toward the door. "We will return," the lead thug spat.
"I repeat," McKay growled, "that would be a really bad idea."
Shivering, the thug snarled, "You can't be here every hour!"
"Don't try us," Sheppard said coldly.
The trio left and Elizabeth sagged slightly as Atlantis seemed to breathe again.
"They'll be back," McKay ground out, lowering his gun.
"We'll be ready," Sheppard assured him as the three made their guns vanish into hidden holsters.
Elizabeth looked at them and smiled. "Well, then, gentlemen?" She held out her hand and Sheppard took it as she finished:
"Welcome to Atlantis."
END