Antarctic Gales

The winter sun was more chilling than the snow that was falling around them. Ronon had been to cold planets before but this, this was something else. Satedan winters had never been much cooler than their summers, a light frost touching ground for a few hours before dawn.

He couldn't believe there were places where three tees, two jumpers, a fleece and a snow jacket could not keep out the cold.

The others were equally as cold (with the exception of maybe Sheppard). Rodney had whined and whined until the chill had turned his voice chords to ice. Teyla had shivered in her not-so-warm cocoon until she'd huddled in on herself and her body had been unable to move. Ronon was still shivering and still grumbling while Sheppard simply sat staring out at the falling snow, his sun shades redundant in the pure sunshine that spilled from the sky.

"You actually used to live in a place like this?" Ronon asked again, watching the puff of air rise on front of his eyes.

Sheppard smiled and nodded, glancing quickly in his direction.

"Yeah." Ronon grunted and huddled further into himself, letting out a loud groan. "It's not that bad," John said amused, quirking the corners of his lips up again.

"Yeah, right."

"You sound like McKay."

Ronon glared at him.

"It's not whining when it's true," he retaliated. "Even Teyla wanted to complain."

John glanced to her again from his sentry post at the entrance to the small cave they'd found for shelter.

"But she didn't."

"Didn't mean she didn't want to."

Ronon sighed again and wondered why this only ever happened to their team. The Stargate's DHD had frozen over years before, the control crystal splitting apart from the coldness. Even Rodney hadn't been able to fix it.

And so they'd found shelter from the falling spheres of ice in a small – tiny – cave, where the wood had been too wet to light a fire as they waited for Atlantis to contact them when they didn't check in. He checked his watch; only four more hours until their check in time.

"John?"

He looked up when he heard Teyla's voice, turning his eyes to Sheppard again.



"Yeah?" Sheppard replied, turning to her.

"I'm cold."

Sheppard caught Ronon's eye and held it for a moment.

Sheppard moved towards her, wrapping his arms around her tiny body.

Ronon looked away.