Mitchell Files XI

Light Ones and Dark Brothers

Disclaimer: I only claim those characters that I made up! The rest are just being used for entertainment purposes only!

OOOOOOOOO

Lieutenant John Sheppard stared at the wall of men coming towards him at a slow trot. It was an impressive sight; the men were all large, all well-muscled, and all intent on only one thing. Him.

"Run!"

The yell broke him out of the instant of indecision, and he ran. Right toward the men all running at him. At the very last moment, he dodged one of them men who lunged for him, and managed to twist his way around the first attacker, only to feel himself being grabbed from behind and tossed to the ground like he was nothing more than a rag doll. A moment later, he felt the press of at least ten other people landing on him, and grunted as the wind was knocked out of him.

"Bet that hurt…"

Colonel Melony Mitchell looked over at Doctor Elizabeth Weir, who was standing beside her on the sidelines of the makeshift field she and Sheppard had marked off a couple of days before.

"He hesitated. That's always the first mistake."

Weir smiled.

"If I had a line of Jaffa coming at me, hell bent on stomping me to the ground, I'd probably hesitate, too."

Mitchell smiled, and watched as the Jaffa pile slowly untangled itself to reveal Sheppard underneath them.

"He's a professional. He's not supposed to worry about a few Jaffa."

"I count thirteen Jaffa."

"Yeah, but five of them are on his team. They just haven't quite figured out the whole blocking thing, yet, apparently."

Especially since the Jaffa that were on his team also on the dog pile that had flattened him.

"Aren't you supposed to be running things?" Weir asked. Mitchell was, after all, the referee of the game. And the only one besides Teal'c that the Jaffa would obey instantly – or call themselves accountable to.

"I'm getting there," Mitchell replied. "I just didn't want to get in the way of the runback…"

Which really meant she didn't want to get leveled by any stray players – especially since the majority of them were Athosians and Jaffa who were still trying to figure out exactly how to play this game that Mitchell and the other Atlanteans were trying to teach them.

Weir watched as Mitchell went into the fray, separating the Jaffa back into their teams, and then helping Sheppard to his feet.

"She's nuts," Rodney McKay said, walking over to take the place Mitchell had vacated.

Weir turned.

"Why do you say that?"

McKay gestured to the Jaffa.

"Please. Jaffa playing football? What's she thinking?"

"She's thinking that she wants them to have some fun doing something besides fighting and constantly training – and you might consider playing, too. A little exercise wouldn't kill you."

McKay made a pained face.

"Maybe not, but having a thousand pounds of Jaffa jump on me might."

"Teyla's playing."

"She's nuts, too."

Weir smiled, and watched as Mitchell and Lieutenant Aiden Ford helped get the two teams into their positions for the first play of the game. Sheppard played quarterback for his team, while Sergeant Pascal Sanders led his team of Jaffa, who were now on the defensive side.

"Remember," Mitchell reminded the Jaffa specifically before the first snap was made. "You're not trying to hurt each other."

"Or me," Sheppard added, coming to stand behind the Jaffa who was playing center and holding the ball awkwardly. He gestured to the Jaffa who were lining up to face off against him. "Those are the guys you want to block, remember."

The center nodded, his hand clenching on the ball. He wasn't in any stance, really; he was simply holding the football so it was touching the ground. He'd flip it to Sheppard, because it was easier to explain than trying to explain why it was supposed to go between his legs first.

"Ready?" Sheppard asked his team.

The Jaffa nodded – as did Teyla, who was lined up on the outside in a receiver's position.

"Get ready!" Duck yelled to his defenders.

The line surged forward, overwhelming the Jaffa who had been told they couldn't move until the ball was handed to the quarterback, and a moment later Sheppard was once more buried under a dog pile of large warriors.

McKay smiled, and looked over at Weir.

"See?"

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile, too.

"They'll figure it out."

The Jaffa were smart, if not maybe a little enthusiastic. They'd learn quickly.

"We should have taught them hockey," McKay said. "Less rules."

"And where would we get the ice?" Weir asked.

He shrugged, giving her an impatient look.

"I'm a genius. I could have figured something out."

"Oh, please…"

"I could."

She shook her head.

"We'll stick to one contact sport at a time," she said. "I don't think Sheppard could handle more than one."

They both watched as Mitchell cleared out the dog pile once more, and started explaining the rule about waiting for the snap once more as Sheppard dragged himself to his feet, rubbing his hip where he'd landed particularly hard.

As the group was lining up to start the next play, Weir's radio beeped, and Peter Grodin's voice called her name in her ear.

"Doctor Weir? There's a message coming in for you."

"Who is it from?"

Since they weren't near the control center at the moment, she hadn't even known that the gate had activated – although it must have. Of course, with the shield up, no one would be able to get into the city without permission anyways – but messages could.

"Kale."

"I'll be right there."

She turned to Rodney.

"If anyone asks, I'll be in the control center."

"Anything serious?"

She shrugged. For all she knew he was just calling to say hi – and she certainly didn't need Rodney McKay trailing along to listen in.

"If it is, I'll come get you guys."

He nodded, and turned his attention back to the game.

OOOOOOOO

Twenty minutes later, Elizabeth was back. A quick glance at the playing field showed that the Jaffa – and the Athosians – were getting the hang of the game, and Ronon Dex had joined in as well, hurtling himself across the field cheerfully and one of the few humans who was more than willing to take on any of the Jaffa.

Rodney McKay was still standing on the sidelines, but now he was joined by Mitchell, who had turned over the refereeing to Ford, since the Jaffa didn't need her hovering over them now that they had a better idea of what they were doing.

"Everything okay?" Mitchell asked as Elizabeth approached.

She smiled.

"Kale just sent an invitation for us to come for a visit…"

"Any special occasion?"

Weir nodded, glancing at Rodney.

"The babies were born yesterday."