Rating: K+

Spoilers: None

Pairings: Lorne/Teyla

Disclaimer: I own none of the Stargate Characters but I do own Maria

Authors Notes: I'm so glad you all liked the story about Lorne and Maria, it was just meant to be a one off but so many of you wanted me to continue with the story and thinking about it there is so much more to be added, and so Swishes the air with her magic wand your wish is granted

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In the Med Bay, Maria was glaring at Dr Carson Beckett as he prodded and poked at her. Lorne smothered a chuckle as she slapped at his hand, it had been a long time since Carson had had to deal with a reluctant child,

"Feisty wee thing isn't she?" Carson said with a grin.

"So what's the verdict Doc?" said Lorne

"Well going by what you've told me I'd say she's malnourished and probably suffering from vitamin deficiencies but we'll going to have to wait for the test results to see what treatment she needs, but she's probably only going to need vitamin shots, a decent diet and some sun on her wee face" Carson replied ruffling her hair.

"So how old d'you reckon she is?" Lorne asked

"I'd say she's five years old" Carson replied, "so what happens now"

"I'm hoping Dr Weir will let her stay here with me 'cos I promised I'd take care of her, it took me hours to get her to trust me and I don't want to have to tell her I lied about me looking after her" he said simply.

"I agree," said Kate Heightmeyer, coming through the door, Lorne frowned

"Little early for her to be in therapy don't ya think Doc?" he said. Kate smiled

"I'm not here for a counselling session, Dr Beckett called for some advice on what would be best for her and, as the Major is willing, I say she should stay with him for the time being," she looked down at Maria who was clinging on to Marc as though someone might take him away from her. "I don't want to upset her too much she's been through enough I should think" she crouched down and stroked the little girl's hair "I can't even begin to imagine what you've been through" she said softly "but I'll be here when ever you need me" she said to Lorne who smiled at her.

"Thanks Doc and sorry about snapping earlier" he said, Kate waved her hand

"S'ok and if you need a babysitter just ask" she said as she turned to leave,

"I think the next order of business is to get you cleaned up lassie," said Beckett, Lorne grinned at Maria

"You don't want to argue with the Doc so I think its bath time for you," he said. Teyla got down from the bed where Dr Biro had been checking her over

"I think that will be my job" she said

"It's ok Teyla I can..." Marc started but Teyla stood her ground.

"No, you need to shower yourself and I think Maria would benefit from a little female company, it would also give us the chance to become friends, do you not think Maria" she said. Lorne held up his hands in surrender, he knew better than to argue with Teyla, Maria looked at her uncertainly and then up at Lorne

"Don't worry Teyla's not going to hurt you, she's gonna look after you while I get changed and she'd gonna help you get cleaned up, you ok with that? I'll be back as soon as I can, ok?" Maria nodded and shifted across the bed to Teyla and put her arms around her waist, Teyla smiled, gently lowered her to the floor and led her towards the showers.

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On the way back to his quarters, Marc stopped at housekeeping to ask them to put a spare bed in his room for Maria. After he had showered and changed, he stopped off at Elizabeth's office,

"Major, how's Maria settling in?" she asked

"She seems to be ok, Dr Beckett says she'll be ok after a little TLC and some decent meals," he said with a smile.

"I had Dr Heightmeyer in earlier and she recommends that Maria stay with you for the time being, are you ok with that?" she replied

"Yes Ma'am, if it's ok with you?" he said

"It's fine with me, Dr Heightmeyer says she doesn't want her upset any more than is necessary," Elizabeth said. Lorne grinned

"Thank you Ma'am, while I'm here is it ok if I tag an email onto the weekly report?" he asked

"Is it important?" she responded.

"I guess, it's to one of my sisters, I'm gonna need stuff for Maria, clothes, toys and the like and if anyone can get me what she needs it's my sisters" he replied,

"I can put in a requisition to the SGC if you want? I don't know what they'll make of it but I can try," said Elizabeth. Marc laughed

"Thanks Dr Weir but I've got thirteen nieces, there are enough spare clothes and God knows what else in my family to keep Maria going until she graduates," he said. Elizabeth's jaw dropped.

"Thirteen nieces!" she said

"Yep and twelve nephews, my family's quite large, in fact we're thinking of applying for our own state" he said with a laugh. Elizabeth shook her head

"Twenty five nieces and nephews" she said with a sigh "ok Major let me have it by tomorrow morning and I'll send it through, by the way if you need a babysitter I'd be happy to help" she said.

"Thank you Dr Weir" he said as he left her office

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Marc made his way back to the med bay where he saw a decidedly damp Teyla sitting on a bed drying off Maria

"Hey don't you scrub up well?" he said to Maria who started to wriggle out of Teyla's grasp.

"I think you can take over now," she said handing the towel to Lorne "I will see if I can find something for her to wear until I go to the mainland tomorrow". Lorne looked at her damp clothes and sighed, if only he thought. He grabbed Maria and wrapped her in the towel

"Have you been a good girl for Teyla?" he said and Maria nodded. Carson came over with some papers in his hands "so whatcha got for us Doc?"

"As I suspected she's malnourished and has deficiencies in all major vitamins, nothing that can't be cured," he said

"So what's the treatment?" Marc asked.

"A course of vitamin shots and a bit of a specialised diet for a few weeks, nothing too rich because her stomach probably won't be able to cope, I've had a word with Alex the chef and she says it'll be no problem" Carson replied as he moved away to get the vitamin shot ready.

"Hear that? Doc says you're gonna be ok" he look over at Carson preparing the syringe and carried on talking to distract Maria from the injection "after this we'll go and get something to eat and tomorrow we'll go and explore the city" he said. Maria whimpered as she felt the needle go in and glared at Carson, "there's a brave girl, Doc's only doing that to make you feel better" he said hugging her tight. Teyla appeared and handed him a t-shirt and a piece of cloth to use as a belt

"I am afraid it's the best that I could find," she said apologetically

"That's no problem, I appreciate you doing this for me," he said. Teyla smiled

"I am glad to help" she said as he pulled the T-shirt over Maria's head, he stood her on the floor and the t-shirt brushed her knees, Teyla knelt beside her and tied the belt around her waist

"Very smart" said Marc "the belle of the ball". Teyla handed him a brush

"I thought she could use this, I managed to get most of the knots out while she was in the shower" she said, Marc sat Maria on the bed and started to brush her hair, she glared at him and tried to hide under the blanket.

"Oh no you don't missy, if you're going to the mess hall with us you're going to look like a little lady" he said with a laugh as he whipped the blanket of the bed, Maria made a grab for it, missed and collapsed in a giggling heap on the bed. Marc and Teyla looked at each other and smiled at the sound of Maria's laugh

"Well what d'ya know?" said Marc, Teyla put her hand on his shoulder

"You should be proud of what you have achieved with her in such a short time, Marc," she said. Lorne was stunned at Teyla's use of his first name

"Thanks" he said, Maria tugged at his hand and grinned "are you gonna let me brush your hair now?" she nodded. He sat her on his lap and finished brushing her hair; he then started to braid it,

"You've done this before," said Teyla sitting next to him

"I've got five sisters, three of them younger than me, everyone had to give mum a helping hand getting the younger kids ready for school in the mornings," he said

"You have a large family?" she asked

"Five sisters and four brothers" he said "you?"

"I was the only one" she replied sadly "it is not common for us to have too large a family; some believe it will get them noticed by the Wraith". Marc reached out and squeezed her hand. Maria, seeing the sad look on Teyla's face leant over and hugged her; Teyla hugged the little girl back.

"I believe you are now ready to go and get something to eat," she said as she picked Maria up.