She looked so pale lying there on the infirmary bed. There were tubes in both arms and an oxygen mask covering the lower part of her face. He could tell from the way the sheet lay, that there were thick bandages above her left hip. Her face was swollen and bruised and there were small cuts on her arms. The doctor had told him that she had been lucky. The stab wound she suffered had not affected any of her major organs and they had been able to get her back to Atlantis quickly, before she lost too much blood. His heart lurched at the thought of what might have happened if he had not been able to get a shot at the soldier who was torturing her. There had been some grim satisfaction in watching the man's head explode. John only wished the soldier had been made to suffer longer as Teyla had suffered.
His anger (and other strong feelings) made his hands shake and he gripped them tightly around the bed railing. He stood that way for a while just studying her face then walked around to the other side of the bed and pulled a chair up close to it. He gingerly slid his left hand under hers on the bed and gently rubbed her fingers with his right hand. He knew what it would look like if anyone were to observe his actions and that it would just serve to feed the rumor mill on Atlantis but he didn't care anymore. He had come way too close to losing her this time. He had no choice but to admit that he was totally in love with her. Of course, admitting it to himself and admitting it out loud were two very different things! Even though Teyla wasn't in the military (or even from Earth for that matter) and so technically was not under his command, he still knew that Carter and the rest of his superiors would not leave the team together if he and Teyla were to pursue a relationship. With a deep sigh, he rose to return to his room, never seeing the sad, understanding face of Colonel Samantha Carter watching from a distance.