Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Stargate: Atlantis
Pairing: OT4 = John/Rodney/Ronon/Teyla
Written for the au fest on live journal's team_sga. Prompt chosen: Team Teyla in the Supernatural universe.
Spoilers: Plot points for Season 4 Supernatural. You do not need to know much about the SPN world to read this fic. Also, I paraphrase Elizabeth's speech from the Siege in season 1 SGA at one point in this fic.
"Pull back now!" Rodney screams out and it's just enough warning for the rest of his team to follow his orders. As they each run out of the building, they hear a shrieking scream that sounds like nails on a chalkboard, even as the building explodes in the night.
"Cutting it close, McKay," John says, hands on his knees as he bends at the waist, breathing hard.
"It worked though," Rodney replies smugly, arms crossed against his chest.
"Yes it did," Teyla nods. She and their fourth, Ronon, appear less winded than John does, and for a moment he envies them their youthful energy. Of course, just as he's about to descend into his pity party, Ronon comes up behind him and grabs him for a kiss. He can hear Rodney squawking as Teyla does the same to him. Before he can get more than a taste, he's spinning into Teyla's arms, and she treats him to the same. She draws him down and seduces him with her softness. He groans as she pulls away.
"Come on. Want to get to a bed," Ronon urges and John can't disagree with his wish. His adrenaline is pumping – the way it always does after a successful hunt. No one else complains – probably for the same reason.
"Right, right," Rodney replies, hand already grabbing the keys to the SUV and tossing them to John. John loses his keys on a regular basis, but he's also the best driver they have. So he gets to drive, but everyone else carries the keys. It's bizarre but also just one more quirk that defines their team of Hunters.
"By the way, did the new ammo work?" Rodney asks, already typing away at the laptop installed in the SUV. John assumes he's writing down the details of the Hunt. Not only does it provide a record of where they've been, but also of what they killed. It's useful for future jobs.
Ronon snarls. "Some of it was faulty. The damn vampire almost got Sheppard." Teyla lays a hand on him, calming him, while John just shrugs. The ammo might have decided not to work, but he hadn't panicked because he knew Ronon and Teyla and even Rodney, had his back.
Of course, the explosive mines Rodney had ringed the house with helped his confidence in them.
"Damn. Guess we'll cross that combination off the list." Rodney likes to experiment with the more traditional weapons used by Hunters; he believes that he can find more efficient means of fighting the supernatural. Coincidentally, doing so generally keeps his partners safe and alive. A win-win situation. Of course, he also gets to work with some of the smartest people in the industry, men and women who opt to remain out of the field, but who have no such compunction about creating deadly weapons necessary to protect the unaware from the things that go bump in the night. "Maybe Radek has an idea," he muses, his fingers flying as he composes an email to the man. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, a message like this won't take weeks or months to get to the Czech Republic, where Radek currently lives. He heads the Eastern European division of the organization Elizabeth Weir runs.
"Ask Radek if he's seen an upswing in activity," John reminded him.
"Yes, yes," Rodney said, flapping his hand in his general direction. John met Teyla's eyes in the rearview mirror and smirked. The concern they all felt about the sudden increase of demonic and other supernatural history echoed in her gaze, but even then, the inherent amusement that Teyla always seemed to exude, bled through.
Yep, Hunting with this group of people always led to a nice degree of amusement, even when the world went to shit.
***
They fit together in ways none of them had with anyone else. John can't explain the why of it; just that it does. It took him a while to accept it – took Rodney and Teyla talking at him for hours on end until Ronon got tired of it all and sat on John to force him to listen. As a shock tactic, it works and from then on, they only need one room.
Their sex life is pretty good on an average day. But it's fucking fantastic after a hunt. The more successful it is, the more insatiable they all are. Tonight isn't any different. John has barely closed the door to the hotel room when Ronon starts pulling off clothing. Shirts, pants, boots, and socks go flying – and when his partners aren't moving fast enough, he starts on them. Rodney squawks, batting Ronon's hands away from him and insisting he can undress himself. Teyla has that little half-smile she's famous for on her face as she removes her clothes in a more sedate fashion. This just leaves John and Ronon turns towards him in a predatory fashion.
"Sheppard," he growls. "Too many clothes!"
"Moving as fast as I can, buddy," John tries to insist. He winces as one of his many bruises makes itself known. Fucking vamp had thrown him but good before Teyla could kill it. He lifts his head at the sudden cessation of movement and noise and flushes as he notices the way they are all staring at him.
"What the fuck?" Rodney asks. Teyla's eyes narrow and her lips tighten as she sees the evidence of the fun the vampire had in throwing him around while she and Ronon had gotten in position to kill it. Ronon just growls; the fact some of the bruises are already coloring indicate just how hard the vampire had tried to kill him.
John drops his clothes, his hazel eyes widening as they all stalk towards him. He throws his hands up in entreaty. "Hey, guys… it's not as bad as it looks." And yes, he's lying, and yes, they know he is, so they aren't about to stop. As they surround him, he gives up the fight and lets them lead him to the bed. Teyla pushes him gently to the mattress and even though it's a hotel room and not their own bed, there is still something so comfortable and familiar with it all that he doesn't protest. He knows it's not just about his own comfort; they're his partners and they're his lovers and they're his family. They need to reassure themselves that he will be okay. And he's finally at the point where he'll let them.
Teyla's responsible for that. Ever since he found his way to Atlantis and Teyla and her people, she's managed to break through each and every barrier he's put up against the world. She, more than anyone else, is why their team works so well. She tames her boys, keeps them calm and focused when they would run off half-cocked. John knows that she's the reason he and McKay lasted that first year when all he wanted was to rid the world of as many demons and ghosts as he could. She's the one that kept them calm after they lost Ford to the Wraith demons. And she's the one that helped Ronon feel comfortable with Atlantis and their team, even as they were all mourning the loss of Aiden.
As much as everyone considers this his team, John knows the truth: they belong to Teyla. And none of them want it any different.
***
"Elizabeth asked us to hurry home," Teyla announces as she shakes them awake the next morning. Ronon's curled up protectively around John and Rodney is still dead to the world. John opens his bleary eyes and leans up to kiss Teyla. She keeps it short, no doubt wanting to avoid a repeat of last night.
"Rodney already told her we're heading back," John mentions.
"Yes, I know. Elizabeth has recalled all the teams."
"Wait… what?" John asks, boggled at the idea. He shoves Ronon's arm off of him and sits up, scrunching the pillow behind him. It's enough to wake up Ronon and he obliges Teyla's silent order by shoving Rodney off the bed.
"Fucking barbarian! You bruised me! My skin is very delicate, you know," Rodney bitches. "And do you know how many germs are probably on this floor? You're trying to kill me.'
"McKay!" John snaps and it's enough to shut him up – or at least, he now keeps his comments to an undertone. John returns his attention to Teyla. "Elizabeth wants us all back?"
She nods in reply. "Yes. She said she had some very important news to share with us and that we all need to discuss what is coming."
"Huh," Ronon breaks his silence. "You think she knows something about what's been going on?"
"She did not say," Teyla responds.
John struggles out of bed, the sheets tangling around his legs. "We better get going. If we all take shifts driving, we'll reach Atlantis by tomorrow night." His team nods and they quickly shower, dress and pack up what little they had brought into the room. Within thirty minutes of Teyla waking them, they're back on the road, Rodney bitching about the fast food they bought to stave off hunger.
***
They're all a bit irritable by the time they pass through the limits of Atlantis. They don't even stop at their shared home to shower or change or drop off their gear; instead, they squeal to a stop as Ronon parks their SUV in front of the Pegasus bar, which just so happens to double as the town hall. All four of them are so exhausted that even Rodney doesn't grumble as they head into the bar. John's pretty sure they are the last to arrive; all the other teams had jobs closer to Atlantis. John and his team aren't the only ones to stay out on the road for multiple jobs at a time, but they are the only team whose hunting territory ranges from the top reaches of Canada to Panama. South America has its own Hunters and they do not appreciate any foreign Hunters coming to help them out. And if it weren't for Ronon, John's pretty sure that his team wouldn't be welcome in the Central American countries. Not for the first time is he glad that they rescued Ronon from a coven of vampires that had decided to keep him as a pet.
Hunting is a way of life for the inhabitants of Atlantis. Every single resident came to Atlantis for reasons of their own but they all have one thing in common: they hate the supernatural and are determined to make sure their world doesn't fall to the demons, ghosts, and anything else that goes bump in the night.
"John!" Elizabeth greets in relief. "Your team's the last," she confirms. "How was your Hunt?"
"Fine. Got a bit rough, but we got the leech in the end. Though, those new rounds? Didn't work so well."
She grimaces. "Too bad. It sounded very promising."
He shrugs laconically. Teyla slips past him and he knows she's off to check in with Halling. "Hello, Elizabeth," she pauses on her way to greet the other woman.
"Teyla. They behave for you?" she asks with a half laugh. John frowns at their interaction – it's not like Rodney, Ronon and he are children and Teyla their mother.
"Elizabeth…" Rodney whines, and John just grumbles to himself, knowing that the other has just ruined their chances of convincing Elizabeth that they're slightly more mature than last time they came through.
"It's alright," Elizabeth laughs. "Get a drink and head to the backroom. We were just waiting for you before we start."
Ronon is already at the bar, grabbing beer for them, so John pushes Rodney into the back
***
Elizabeth waits long enough for everyone to sit before she heads to the podium and starts to speak. Everything is being broadcast via webcam, to reach their allies around the world. John knows whatever she has to say is big; the whole multimedia setup isn't used for just any town meeting. "Good evening everyone. As you know, we've seen an increase in demonic activity these last weeks. Dr. Jackson contacted me two nights ago and he had some interesting things to say. Thanks to the work of Rodney and Radek in documenting and making available online the details of the Hunt you've all be completing, Dr. Jackson was able to notice a disturbing pattern. There is not easy way to say this, so… I'll just come out and say it."
John's eyes narrow as Elizabeth takes a deep breath. Whatever she's about to reveal, it's not going to be good. He's never seen her so nervous and unsure; she almost looks scared. She hadn't looked this bad when that clan of Wraith demons attempted to invade Atlantis four years ago, and they almost lost the entire town to it. "All of you have accomplished extraordinary things. And I believe, even in the face of an uncertain future, as long as we stand together, we will continue to do so. Other Hunters like to travel by themselves, find jobs as they can. We don't. I'm not going to lie, what's coming isn't pretty. We're all going to have to be at the top of our game and rely on each other. And… we're going to need to spread the word to other Hunters. We can't let any of our community walk around not knowing what's coming. Because if we all fail, the demons win. Dr. Jackson has conclusive proof that the demons are attempting to break the sixty-six seals and unleash hell on Earth."
Shocked murmurs break out throughout the room. This is bad – and they all know it. "Quiet, everyone!" Elizabeth orders and by some miracle, it works. "We have a lot to do and we have a short time to do it. The demons have succeeded in breaking some of the seals already. We need to make sure they don't finish the task they've started."
John stands up. Elizabeth runs Atlantis with the help of Teyla's people who have lived in Atlantis for generations. They're more than happy to let Elizabeth be the public face of the small town; they're all much more interested in the Hunt. If Elizabeth is their leader, holding all the residents together and coordinating the various Hunting teams, John is her second-in-command. He walks to stand by her. This is bad, but he'll be damned if he allows them to panic.
"Alright people! We knew it was getting bad out there. McKay and Zelenka have both emailed us countless reports about how demon activity is on the rise. This just confirms things. We're not going to let them win. We need to get the word out – so McKay, start getting the information out there. Bates, Lorne? We'll need to start taking a look at our supplies. Teyla, Halling? I know we can count on you and the rest of the Athosians to help us figure out where we need to be. Becket, Keller – we'll need to make sure we have enough medical supplies. Ronon, we'll start the training classes again." He looks over his people, seeing that despite their fear, they're already rallying.
"Thanks, John," Elizabeth grins. He smirks back at her in reply. She sighs. "O'Neill has already suggested we combine forces." She laughs at his grimace. It's not that he doesn't like the crew that works out of Colorado Springs. They're all pretty nice, and a bunch of the residents who made their way to Atlantis had started their Hunting careers with Hammond and O'Neill.
"You mean they're going to stop focusing on the Goa'uld and Ori demons?" John asks sarcastically.
"John…" Elizabeth scolds.
"I know," John backpedals, holding his hands up in mock surrender. She shakes her head in response to his antics. "It's probably a good idea. They're used to Hunting in teams like we are, and Jackson and Carter are pretty gung-ho about that whole interactive database thing that McKay and Zelenka are working on." He pauses for a moment. "Is that what convinced Jackson?"
"No. Well, he noticed something. But, it wasn't until Bobby Singer came through Colorado Springs that Daniel received confirmation of what he feared. Apparently, the Winchesters heard the news from a divine source."
"What?" John asks, skeptical. It's not that he doesn't believe in God – it's hard not to when you Hunt, but a divine message? It sounds so… Biblical. Elizabeth shrugs.
"So Singer said."
"Great," John says with fake enthusiasm.
"We're going to make it," Elizabeth assures him.
John snorts. "We don't have much of a choice, do we?" He scans the room, noting how everyone is reacting to Elizabeth's news. He's extremely happy to see that while they're all clearly nervous of what's to come, no one has fled in despair. He thinks that they just might succeed.
After all, they've had worse odds.