Just Friends by garggirl
Disclaimer:
All canon characters appearing in this fic are copyright Glassner/Wright Company and Double Secret Productions.
No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized
by the copyright holder.
All original characters are the property of garggirl.
Teyla's day started out as a strange indeed. As per usual, she woke to the sound of the city's built-in alarm clock, but as she stepped out of her quarters to head to the training room for a little early morning workout, she stopped short. There, sitting directly in the center of her doormat, was a small golden box. Teyla stared curiously at the box for several long seconds, arching an eyebrow slightly, before picking it up.
There was nothing all that spectacular about the box except that it was topped with an intricate brownish-gold bow. attached to the bow was a tag bearing her name. With a tentative glance down either side of the empty corridor, she gently removed the lid. Inside, nestled on a bed of white fluff, was a pendant necklace bearing a greyish sort of gemstone.
Teyla gaped for a second before carefully removing the necklace and cradling it in the palm of her hand. It was only then, she noticed a piece of paper sticking out from under the fluff. She pulled it out and read it silently.
A being of such beauty and grace should possess things of beauty.
And it was signed simply, A secret admirer.
Teyla's curiousity deepened. Who would give her such a gift and leave it anonymously? Why would they not want to be recognized for such an act?
Pushing the thought to the side, Teyla placed the box just inside her quarters before fastening the pendant around her slender neck. Deciding to forgo her morning exercises today in favour of tracking down her mystery admirer, Teyla set off for the mess hall.
Unlike the corridor leading to her quarters, the mess hall was a buzz of activity as both soldiers and scientists alike moved about fixing their trays of food. A few officers nearby looked at her when she entered, but for the most part, Teyla was ignored.
In the far corner of the room, sitting at their customary table, Teyla spotted Major Sheppard and Doctors McKay, Beckett, Zelenka and Weir. Sheppard had already started to wave her over when she began her approach.
"Mornin'," Sheppard said cheerfully. Teyla received similar hails from the others as she took a vacant seat. All except McKay who merely flashed her a brief smile before returning all his attention to his meal.
The five were silent as they ate their respective meals. Teyla studied each one of their faces very carefully in an attempt find any signs of recognition of the necklace she wore.
"Is there a problem, Teyla?" Weir asked over her glass of I-can't-believe-they-call-this-orange-juice.
Teyla smiled with a look of feigned innocence. "Not at all, Dr. Weir." During her time spent with her new friends, Teyla had slowly been learning the art of telling 'little white lies', and although she wasn't as accomplished at this as Major Sheppard, she was getting there.
Weir's response was to merely arch an eyebrow as though she were trying to decide whether to believe the Athosian woman or not.
"Ho, there!" Beckett chimed in. "What's this?" He leaned closer to Teyla. "I see you have y'self a new bauble, lass."
Teyla allowed her hand to flitter up to her pendant, her fingers lightly tracing its dips and curves. She smiled and blushed before she was able to stop herself.
"It was a gift." Teyla's blush deepened slightly.
Sheppard got a mischievious glint in his eye. "From a boy?" he asked teasingly.
"I do not know," Teyla replied truthfully. "It was outside my quarters, addressed to me."
"Ooooo," Sheppard elated. "A secret admirer!" Teyla playfully smacked his arm. Sheppard feigned pain briefly before breaking out into a huge grin.
Weir leaned over to get a closer look at it. "Well, at any rate, it's quite lovely, and -- if I'm not mistaken -- that's a smokey quartz stone."
Now Zelenka leaned in. "I do believe you're right. Someone must've thought very high of you. This stone is often worn for protection and safe travel." Zelenka smiled slightly. "Two things we need in abundance during this expedition."
"Truer words were never spoken, lad," Beckett smiled.
McKay abruptly stood.
"This little bonding session has been a real slice o' heaven," he grumped, "But if you'll excuse those of us who don't have a uterus, there's work to be done."
And with that, McKay, with tray in hand, stalked away, and soon disappeared from the mess hall entirely.
"Who pissed in his cornflakes today?" Sheppard asked to no one in particular.
"He's just mad because he cannae get some whatcha-mahooey to work right," Beckett explained. "Had me in his lab for near 6 hours yesterday, he did."
Zelenka sighed heavily. "Well, he's right about one thing," Radek gathered his breakfast mess. "There's no rest for the wicked."
And with that, he too was gone.
Sheppard turned a curious eye on Beckett. "Whatcha-mahooey?"
Beckett shrugged and tucked back into his meal.
-------------------
Teyla had spent the rest of the morning covertly questing various Atlantis residents: Halling, Grodin, Stackhouse, even Kavanagh -- no one would own up to leaving the necklace nor seeing anyone outside her quarters.
It wasn't until shortly after lunch, following her training session with Major Sheppard, did Teyla find another package addressed to her.
It was sitting on the bench in the ladies locker room when she walked in. This package was slightly larger than the necklace box, rectangular, and topped with a pale blue bow. With a slight smile, Teyla perched the box on her lap and lifted the lid.
Inside, laid several rows of chocolates. Teyla lifted one to her lips, tasting the sweet.
Mmmm, Teyla said inwardly. Chocolate-covered cherries!
Ever since Teyla had shared a box of such chocolates with Dr. Weir and Lt. Cadman, these had become her favourite guilty pleasure.
Inside the lid there was a peice of paper scrawled with the words, "Sweets for a sweet."
This mystery was certainly beginning to perplex Teyla. She hadn't yet been able to discover who had left the necklace, and now this.
Teyla continued her inquiries throughout the day. When no answer led to her admirer, she decided to take it to the next level and went to the security database, checking any camera footage taken near both scenes.
Nothing. Who ever it was, was clever enough to avoid the cameras and must have high enough security clearance to cover their tracks. So that only left one answer -- it was some on the senior staff.
Suddenly, a voice crackled over the comm system.
"Teyla to the Control Room, please. Teyla to the Control Room," Weir's voice chimed.
Teyla arrived a few moments later only to find a crowd gathered around the 'Gate. She fixed them all with a curious, puzzled look. Slowly, they each turned to meet her gaze, some donning slight smiles. In a moment, they parted, allowing her to come closer.
She approached tentatively until she came upon Major Sheppard and Doctors Weir and Grodin.
"You asked to see me, Dr. Weir?" Teyla asked carefully.
Elizabeth looked up with an amused expression. "It looks like your secret admirer has struck again."
The trio stood back as Teyla came closer still. There, sitting only a few feet from the Stargate, sat a 4ft, pale purple stuffed animal. Teyla blushed wildly as several in the crowd began to titter. She turned a curious look on her friends.
"I do not recognize this animal."
Sheppard smiled broadly. "It's a bunny rabbit," he explained. "On Earth, humans give stuffed animals to people they have a crush on."
Teyla's brow furrowed. "So, all these gifts are from someone who wishes to pursue a romantic relationship with me?"
Grodin mirrored Sheppard's smile. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's a safe assessment."
A short while later, Teyla found herself upon her quarters, her giant bunny in tow. Keying her security code into the locking panel, the door whooshed open. Teyla sat on the bed for a moment, the stuffed toy perched carefully on her lap. With one hand, she stroked the soft fur.
"I wonder who is doing all of this," she said, as if the toy were a living, breathing creature. "No one has ever gone to such lengths to attract my attention. When I find this admirer, I do believe I will be very amiable to him."
Suddenly a thump from somewhere behind Teyla interrupted her train of thought. Teyla was on her feet in a flash, the toy tumbling to the floor, momentarily forgotton.
"Who is there?" she called out, taking a defensive position. When no answer came, Teyla dropped into stealth mode.
She moved through the room like a cat on the prowl. As she passed the bathroom, her gaze darted inside. Nothing in there except the normal bathroom-esque items.
Then, another thump came. Teyla instantly zeroed in on the closet a few feet away. Her eyes narrowed as she slowly approached.
Teyla grabbed one of her fighting sticks from a nearby table. Raising it to strike, she flung the closet door open. Teyla's arm barely moved an inch when she froze. A puzzled look shrouded over her features. There, standing in her closet was one very scared, very surprised Rodney McKay.
"Dr. McKay?" Teyla asked carefully.
"Uh..." was all the Canadian astrophysicist was able to say as he stumbled out of the 5x5 compartment.
"Dr. McKay, what are you doing here?" Teyla tossed the fighting stick onto the bed. "How did you get in here?"
Rodney stood straight up, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "Why, whatever do you mean?" Teyla fixed him with a measuring look, and he crumpled under the intenseness of it. "Fine, I was hoping to do this before you got back. Here," and he held out a rectangular box.
With a curious expression, Teyla unravelled the neatly tied bow and lifted the lid. Within, sitting on a bed of deep red fabric, laid a pair of wooden weapons the likes of which she had never seen. She looked back at Rodney for clarification.
"They're nunchucks," he replied, lifting them out of the box. "It's an Earth weapon. I saw that your fighting sticks were getting a little worn and chipped, and I had overheard you mention to Sheppard your interest in Earth fighting techniques, so I thought..."
Teyla smiled sweetly at him. "They are wonderful, but I do not understand; you are the one who gave me all these gifts?"
Rodney shifted his weight back and forth nervously before nodding.
"Why?"
"I don't know," Rodney replied in a quiet tone. "I guess...you're kinda nice to me, and you're really pretty...you're probably really mad at the inconvenience and all the embarrassing displays, huh, so I think I'll just go."
Rodney began to turn to leave when he felt a soft touch on his arm impede his progress. He looked down at Teyla's restraining hand before lifting his gaze to meet hers. Suddenly, Teyla stretched up on her tip-toes and kissed him lightly on his cheek.
"I am not angry," she smiled. "The gifts were very thoughtful. Thank you...my friend."
"Friend?" Rodney said sadly. "You just see me as a friend?"
Teyla gave him an apologetic look. "I am sorry. I had been told that such gifts were tokens of romance, but wouldn't you agree that our relationship goes beyond romance to a place of perfect trust, understanding, peace and joy?"
McKay was silent for a moment while he considered her words. "So...just friends?"
Teyla gave him a look filled with a complicated combination of amusement and firmness. "Just friends."
"I think I can live with that." Rodney smiled. "How 'bout friends with benefits?" he offered quickly.
Teyla smiled slyly. "Major Sheppard has defined the meaning of that for me. It did not work for Sgt. Stackhouse and it will not work for you. Just friends."
"How 'bout..."
"Just friends!"
THE END