Disclaimer: I do not have any rights or claims to Stargate Atlantis.

Spoilers: Season 4

Episodes: Kindred 1 & 2, Last Man

My muse hasn't taken leave of me. The unfinished stories on my hard drive can attest to that. It is the time to write is my problem. I had an idea about a possible scenario regarding the father of Teyla's child. This AU story is base on that idea and certain events which have occurred in the above episodes.

One Moment in Time

The crackling of the shrubs on the ground vibrates in the night air, Colonel John Sheppard approaching the encampment of the Athosians on New Athos, he was here this night to Teyla, and time was of the essence. Hoping that he had planned correctly as his feet took him closer to what he hoped would be a new beginning.

Returning her people's greetings as he walked through the encampment, his inquiry of the whereabouts of Teyla, having been answered, his lips pursed upon hearing whom she is with. Entering the tent, he saw her. She was sitting and having dinner with him. The person who would cause her so much pain in the not too distance future. The urge to walked over to the guy and punch him in the face consumed him, the tightening of his left hand into a fist would be the only outwardly expression of his interior turmoil.

Teyla hearing the flap of the tent opened, turning around to see who entered, was a little surprised by John present here on New Athos. She was sitting having dinner with her childhood friend, Kannan. Unanswered questions filled her mind as John stood at the doorway of the tent frowning with anger emanating from him. Why was John here? Something must happen for John to be here. These were the thoughts running through Teyla's mind.

Her eyes took in his appearance. John, somehow, looked different from when she saw him this morning on Atlantis. Not recalling him having that much unshaven hair on his face. She found his eyes, hers expressing her fear of his untold story.

"John, what is wrong," she asks.

His eyes fixed on her for a moment. "Can we talk in private?" "It's important," he replied grimly, not wanting to glance at her dinner companion. His betrayal of Teyla, contributed to him not being able to find the Teyla of his time. His recent search for her had been futile. He still didn't know what happen to Teyla or her unborn son. Teyla's unborn son, oh yeah, that was the reason he hated the guy ever since he had found out about Teyla's pregnancy that was until recent events occurred.

Teyla turning to Kannan as she was rising from the table, "Please excuse me," she said looking at him apologetically. John finally looking at Kannan, he couldn't hide the animosity he felt for the guy. He supposes it must have been something good about him, in order for Teyla to have chosen to be with him and maybe, he can't blame the guy for some of his actions, but, the guy was the cause of his greatest misery and he was not in a forgiving mood. Man, he wanted to beat the crap out of the guy. Damn, it shouldn't be this guy's son she is carrying or was carrying, he thought. He didn't know if Teyla had the baby or not because she went missing, taken so close to her due date.

Kannan rising with Teyla from the table, he looked at John curiously, but said nothing. John standing stoically by the entrance of the tent just watched and listened as Teyla advised Kannan, she will speak to him later, moving from the entrance of the tent so that the young man could past him. Kannan nodded to John as he exited the tent. Kannan's curiosity getting the better of him, he had heard so much about Colonel John Sheppard from Atlantis from Teyla and the other Athosians.

However, he got the feeling that the Colonel did not like him too much. He found that rather strange since he has never met the Colonel personally, before tonight. Turning to look at the tent once more, the Colonel did not look too happy, he walked away from the tent with puzzlement.

Once they were alone in the tent, John looked at Teyla searchingly for several seconds, memorizing her features from the golden color of her hair to the expressive pool of her brown eyes, the delicate lines of her face to the fitness and curves of her lithe body. There was a time, several hours ago in fact, he had thought he may never get the chance again to see Teyla again, and this particular version of Teyla, he had not seen for even longer.

Disheartened after returning from his futile search for her then upon returning to Atlantis, to be told that everyone and everything you have ever known have been long gone, and the unspeakable horrors that befell his family, friends, and the human race had devastated him. But that hologram of Rodney gave him a chance to make things right and he would gladly die trying to change the past, so that the future of his family and friends would be a better one, he hopes at least. A future he could be a part of.

Teyla watching the way that John was looking at her, feeling her cheeks getting red from his perusal of her. John was acting very strange. He seems very different somehow and this frightens her. "John, you are scaring me!" "What happened," she questions him, frowning. John motioned for her to have a seat as he walked over to join her at the table.

As they sat at the table, him debating how much he should tell her about the future events, he went about telling her what he could, Rodney's warnings ringing in his ears of not messing with the timelines. When that anomaly occurred, he was on his way back to Atlantis through the Stargate from his search for Teyla. Somehow, the future timelines were affected or got distorted. From what Rodney said, that possible events that may have occurred or should have occurred did not due to his absence. Rodney had warned him that it was not wise to change occurrences in the past too much because that could alter the present. Well, he had just left his present if that was what he had to look forward to, he did not want any part of it. He was here to warn Teyla about Kannan and he needed her help.

Teyla sat flabbergasted as she listened to John's recount of recent events in their lives. She understood that he could not tell her everything. That the John sitting across from her had traveled four hundred thousands years into the future and he needed to go back to his time to change certain events which occurred after his disappearance in his presence. That this was not the John, that she had said goodbye to this morning, but this John was from several months into the future.

He had lived and experienced certain events which she had not. It was not lost on her also how careful this John was in not divulging too many details about his present, but, she had the feeling that something terribly wrong was occurring or had occurred. Where was herself, Ronon and Rodney she wanted to know?

John knew that Teyla would believe him without hesitation. Their relationship has always been instinctual. He can't explain the immediate bond they had shared and still shared. After acquiring the information that he needed from Teyla, now, he was a lost for words on how to warn her about Kannan. He wasn't even sure if they have been intimate yet. Frowning at the thought, getting up from the table, he started to pace. He stops to look at her, his eyes piercing, "How close are you and Kannan," he interrogates.

Teyla taken aback for a moment by John's question, looking at John questioningly, "Ah, we have known each other since childhood." "Why," she asks. John hesitates. "Does something happen to him," she inquires, her concern ever present on her face now.

Looking at Teyla, John could see her concern, but his feelings were in a state of flux, what if, he did tell her everything, and how would that affect the future. It wasn't just Teyla that would be affected, it would be everyone. He doesn't know what kind of consequences his actions would bring. He couldn't risk it, so, he will have to let the woman he cared about go to another man, a man who will cause her heartache. "I can't tell you," he replies discouragingly. "Just remember that things are not always what they appear to be," he said firmly.

"John!"

John walking over to Teyla, he pulls her out of the seat, pulling her into his arms. Holding her then, slowly releasing her from his embrace to look at her, he wanted to say so many things, but he couldn't. Not certain whether this plan of Rodney might work? This may be the last time, he sees her. If he did get back to his time, he would never give up his search of finding his Teyla.

But what if he fails? He already lost her once, no, twice. She was having another man's child and now she was a prisoner of Michael. After she finally announced her pregnancy, these last few months he had to finally admit to himself that his feelings for Teyla were more than just friendship. But he never told her how he felt about her and he wanted her to know now how he truly feels. Without thought, his head lower and his lips claim her surprise lips. The kiss conveying all the feelings he wanted to say, but couldn't.

Teyla briefly taken off guard as John's lips claimed hers. She had watched the play of emotions on his face. Now, unprepared for the rush of emotions John's kiss was stirring deep within her. Only recently concluding that, what could ever be between her and John was their bond of friendship and her burgeon romantic interest in another. Suddenly, her own suppressed feelings for John burst to the surface. Her mouth opened and she started returning his kiss ardently.

The need for air in their lungs, they reluctantly separate. Both staring at the other their breathing haggard, Teyla's confusion and awakening desires expressive in her eyes as she looks at John who eyes were ablaze with his desires. The unspoken words of "love, need, and want" hung on their lips. John eyes roaming her face and body with such intensity, John wanted to remember this moment, since there was a possibility, he may never get the chance again. The moment he knew Teyla reciprocated his feelings in someway.

He regretted very few things or decisions in his life because he always felt he made the only decision, he could make when he had to, but when it comes to Teyla, there were a couple. To never hold her in his arms and make love to her was on top of his list of regrets. He had wanted her from the first moment he met her, but something held him back. He never felt the time was perfect for them and maybe he was scared because anything between them would not be casual, it would be all consuming and he wasn't ready for that, so he thought. Teyla's heart rate accelerated at a rapid pace as she watches as John's eyes darken.

For several moments the two of them engage in observing the other, both afraid to speak. To Teyla, sadness came with the realization that she and the John of her time may not have experience a moment like this in their future.

TBC