Territoriality2
Before Moira could form a reply a voice interrupted from the console. "Colonel Sheppard, copy?"
Moira had begun to rock again, as if in defiance of his words. Of the break-up. She stopped. Scowled. Abruptly moved off him. She bent her knees, leaned to grab her panties and pants. John watched her twist them round, untangling them from her shoes, her ankles. Pull them up onto her. She ran a hand over her rear to feel the rip in the fabric, a gaping hole. She ran her hand down the front, felt the sodden material. Echoes of pleasure as her fingers touched her body. She glared at John who was staring avidly. Lips parted. Green eyes intent. "Answer the comm, damn you!" she snapped, stepping into her pants. Zipping them almost savagely.
John sighed. Stumbled to his feet. He shoved himself into his shorts. Pulled up his pants and zipped them with another sigh. A mixture of regret, of annoyance. Eyed the clear viewport as he strode to the front of the ship. Pounded the comm with his hand. "This is Sheppard! Copy. Sediment is..." he paused, swallowing. Voice rasping with thirst. Emotion.
"Copy? Colonel, report?"
Moira sighed. The huskiness of his voice sending delicious shivers along her skin. Vibrating intimately as pleasurable echoes reasserted. She grabbed a water bottle from her pack, downed half of the contents. "John."
He turned. She lobbed it to him. He caught it one-handed, unscrewed it and downed the rest greedily. Some water spilled down the corner of his mouth. He licked his lips, tossed the empty bottle aside. Wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Moira was staring at him, passion in her brown eyes. Her lips slightly parted. Hair a mess. She reached under her shirt to fix her bra. Pulled her shirt to smooth it over her.
"Colonel, what's your twenty?" interrupted the voice again.
"Shit." John had forgotten about the comm, staring at Moira. He turned back to the console, grinned. Relishing what his twenty had been only minutes ago. "Atlantis, we're waiting for the sediment to clear," he reported, voice sounded normal now. No longer sensual, replete with sexual satisfaction. "Once visibility is at a maximum we'll go in. Copy?"
"Yes, sir. Any sign of the..um, inhabitants?"
"Not yet, major," John answered, recognizing Evan's voice. He glanced at Moira who took her seat. "Sheppard out."
John took his seat. Powered the ship to rise. The murky waters were clearing. "Looks good. Here we go." He guided the vessel slowly towards the opening. A dark, yawning maw that swarmed with fish and algae. "Were they watching?" he asked, glancing at her again. He could not keep the smirk off his face.
Moira was staring out the viewport. Watching the multi-colored fish swim and swarm. Flashes of color illuminated by the ship's powerful lights. She frowned. "Yes."
"Hmm...more perverts, then," he commented. "Interesting." He paused. Could not help himself. "It turned you on, didn't it, Moira?"
"No," she replied, ignoring his teasing tone.
"It did, baby," he persisted. "Admit it. You were riding me so hard I'd thought I'd break off inside of you. Remind me to get an aquarium for your room."
"Shut up, John!" she snapped as he laughed. She glanced at him, glared. "Didn't you forget, colonel? You dumped me."
"Oh. Yeah." He scowled. "We may have to break up again once we get back to Atlantis. Think of the sex we could–"
"Enough, John!" She glared at the viewport.
John frowned. Saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes. Cursed inwardly. "It's for the best, Moira. You have to trust me on this." At her silence he resumed his attention on the ship. Veered suddenly as his focus wandered. He maneuvered the Jumper. Diving down, under the rocks. The ship was plunged into darkness. Only the lights of the ship shed amber beams along the water. There was a bump on the hull above them.
"John?" Moira asked, glancing up as if expecting to see something.
"The shields will hold, don't you worry." He hid his uncertainty by flipping switches. "There. See it?" He directed the ship into a slight turn.
"See what?" Moira asked, looking at the darkness surrounding them.
"That light. Green. Here we go, baby, nice and easy. Up the opening." He smirked. "I mean the ship, Moira, not you."
"Hilarious, John," she muttered.
A green glow guided him. The Jumper slowly rose into it. Greener waters enveloped them. Fish swarmed. A long, undulating sea serpent glowered, swam away. The ship rose. It emerged with a splashing echo into the cavern.
"See anything? Anyone?" John asked, initializing scans. The lights swept the rocks, the cave.
"No. Nothing on the shore. Or in the cave. No consoles, no creatures."
"No readings. No energy signs. Ah."
Moira glanced at him. Followed his gaze. Inches away in the water a form was swimming. Pale. Humanoid. Naked. "Shit." She stood. Moved behind John. Covered his eyes with her hands.
"Hey! I need to see!" he protested, about to pull her hands off him.
"Not that! Trust me. The ship won't protect you from that. As long as you can't see them they can't place you in thrall."
"They won't affect me, Moira. Even if their psychic influence could penetrate the ship they are hideous. Not a beautiful woman like you."
"Nice try, John," she scoffed. Not moving. "Get us out of here."
"And how am I supposed to do that, exactly? I need to see."
"Do you? I thought you were a damn good pilot, colonel," she taunted.
"I am," he assured. "But does it look like we're in the air?"
"Aren't you navy or whatever?"
"Hilarious, Moira. Scoot!" He pulled her hands off him. Stared as the figure was arching from the depths. Dripping wet. Another behind it, now. "Ow!" he protested as Moira pulled his hair.
"Get us out!" she ordered.
He looked down at the controls. Even as a weird silky feeling invaded his mind. Made him want to look. Just a little. Just a glance. He imagined a giggle in his ear. Inviting. Tempting. Moira's grip on his shoulders focused him. He thought of their fierce lovemaking. Taking her roughly. From behind. Deeply. He swallowed. Reversed the Jumper. Descended into the water again. Submerging as the waters rippled over them, around them.
"Hurry, John! No!" Moira pushed his head down. "You don't want to see this!" She watched as the creatures swarmed around the ship. Gathering. Displaying themselves in lewd, lurid motions. Hissing at her. Pointed teeth in faces that were Wraith and human and amphibian.
John kept the ship moving. Reversing. Submerging. He tried to resist, but curiosity got the better of him. He lifted his head. Saw their pale, female forms floating gracefully in the water. He forced himself to check the console. "Okay...the same way we came in." They bumped something. "Shit. You better sit down, Moira."
"Not yet." She gripped his shoulders. Saw the creatures following them. Swimming with powerful strokes. Webbed hands and feet undulating. Slits on their sides evoking comparisons to gills. Raised bumps on their backs reminiscent of a primitive dorsal fin. She saw John staring. Hands frozen over the controls. "No!" She covered his eyes. "John!"
"Damn it, Moira! I have to see–"
"Back us out of here, John! Come on, it's not like you've never gone up the back entrance before, is it?" she deliberately teased.
He smiled. "God that was hot...tight...so fucking sweet..."
"John..." she warned as the figures pursued. "You don't need to see. Guide us out of here. The ship can connect with your mind, right? Your thoughts?"
"Yeah. Reversing thrust." Suddenly they sped backwards. Moira clung to his seat, nearly fell. They bumped the wall, the rocks. Debris flew. The shield shimmered in an orange mist. "Down, baby, down. I mean you this time, Moira."
"Shut up."
He laughed as she uncovered his eyes, slid into her seat. The ship reversed faster, dipping and diving. Nearly tipping into a vertical position before straightening and rising. "Okay. Goodbye Wraith mermaids." As the creatures swarmed at the cave's entrance he fired. Rocks fell as the drones imploded silently into the formations. Water spewed. He kept firing as the ship rose, rose out of the water. He shot the cliff until it tumbled into the waters. "This is Sheppard. Cave one is secure. Repeat. Cave one is secure. Heading to cave two. Copy?"
"Copy that, sir. Good hunting," Evan replied.
"Any women, er, creatures in there?" Rodney's voice crackled over the comm.
Moira frowned. "Yes, but they are all destroyed. And no, Rodney, you didn't miss much! I didn't let John see a thing!"
"I meant the tech!" he argued, glancing uneasily at Evan who was trying not to smirk.
"No, Rodney, no tech," John replied. "On to cave two. Sheppard out."
**********************************************************************
It was a silent trip through the blue-green waters. Each locked in their own thoughts. Lost in their own emotions. Trying to ignore each other, yet very aware of every motion, every little mannerism as they sat near each other. Both staring out the viewport.
John activated the HUD. Perused the readings. As they dove deeper they disturbed the sediment. It swirled around them, a dirty curtain that obscured the distances. Seaweed rippled as if it was caught in a breeze. Fish swam, oblivious. Coral formations bloomed in shades of orange and green as the ship's lights flashed across them. The blue waters grew darker as they descended. "This looks worse," he commented. "Smaller, I mean. It will be a tighter fit." He glanced at her. Debating.
"Don't," she said. One taut word. Trapped between amusement and misery.
He sighed. "I'm thinking we don't go in at all. Just blast it out here. Might be safer. To blast it here," he repeated. Filling the silence, the heavy silence. "Blow it out here. Long, hard blasts to penetrate the–"
"Don't," she repeated. Glanced at him. Expression tense, sad. "Please."
He nodded. "Sorry. I just..." He debated. "Look, Moira, the...what I mean is...you...look, Moira, it's better this way. Look, baby, we had sex. Serious sex!" He moved to a safer topic. "Not just serious sex but rough, ready, angry, exquisite orgasm-inducing sex! Twice!"
"So what do you want, sweetie, a medal?" she snapped. Irritated by both his avoidance of the real issue and his continuing sensual taunting. "What do you want to hear, John? How you literally rocked my world? Twice? My God, John, the way you, the way you took me! So, so roughly, but it didn't hurt," she assured, seeing the unasked question in his eyes. "Not at all. You were right, it was a turn-on, a huge turn-on, okay? You made me come in ways I never have! Not even with you! And then you...I rode you, I rode you so hard because I wanted you, I wanted you all to myself, John, I wanted you..." She broke off, blushed. Eyed her hands.
He smiled, scowled. Emotions tangled. "I know, baby...maybe Jumper sex is the best. Moira, if, if all we had was...I mean...if we just had this...you know? If we..." he struggled.
"Sediment's clearing, John," she noted.
"Screw the sediment! I'm trying to tell you, Moira, that if we just had...just the–"
She met his gaze. "What? Don't you dare tell me that this is all you want, John! Because if that was the case you wouldn't have dumped me! Or is this what you want now? Just the sex. Nothing else. No relationship. No emotions. No love. You want me to be one of your fucking lots some women, do you?"
His green gaze narrowed. "Yeah, baby...what if it is? What if this is all we–"
"No. You said you loved me, John! You said, you said you were in love with me...and I...you can't take that from me. Even if you don't want my love you have it. But you can't have just, just this. Just sex. Not from me. I'm in love with you, John, and right now I can't change that. And since you can't handle that, or handle the fact that you think you love me and we have to break up then we have to break up because we're not just having sex and being nothing to each other, okay?"
"What?" he asked, trying to follow her words as they sped up, fraught with emotion. "Look, Moira, I'm trying to protect you, protect me. If you'd only listen to me then–"
"Sediment's clear, colonel," she informed, eyes on the viewport. Forcing back tears.
"Fine!" he snapped. He guided the ship closer. Examined the cave's opening. "Just as I thought. It's too dangerous. Too narrow, and we'll hit those rocks for sure. The opening's not right...we won't fit."
"That's the risk you take, I guess, when you dump the right one that fits," she muttered.
He glanced at her, hearing her obvious meaning. "Doesn't mean we have to give it up, though. You know, you damn well know you'll never find another who fits you so exactly, so expertly, so snugly you feel the absence when I'm not there to fill you completely."
"Maybe so...but it wasn't that great," she denied, shifting in her chair. Her body betraying the reaction to his words.
"Yeah, right. Just as I feel the lack of it. The lack of that snug, tight, fucking wet fit to me...and that pert little ass bouncing on my–"
"John!" she flared. "Shut up!"
"No. But you're right, Moira. It wouldn't work. Just the sex, I mean. Because of our feelings. See? I develop feelings and it gets fucked up! Happens every single time," he complained. He reversed the ship. Firing on the cave's entrance.
"Only because you fucked it up, John! Just let it go! Don't get hung up over your feelings! The only thing that has changed between us is your sudden realization that you love me! Which you can't handle! The great Colonel Sheppard can't handle his own feelings for a woman!"
"Shut up, Moira!" he snarled. Her comments cutting a little too close.
"No," she refuted, an echo to his refusal. "Grow up, John!"
"Shut up, would you?" he snapped. Accelerating. The ship was rising. Rising out of the depths as the cave's roof collapsed. He stabbed the controls, angry. "Atlantis! Sheppard! Cave two is sealed! On to cave three."
"John? Is everything all right?" Elizabeth's voice sounded concerned. Calm.
"Fine," he forced a milder tone. "Out." He stabbed the button. "Shit."
"What's the matter, John? Losing control again? Oh, let me guess," she taunted with a smile as he glared at her, "can't handle your emotions again? Can't the colonel handle his feelings as well as he handles the sex? Is he only good for one thing?"
"Are you?" he retorted. "Only good for one thing, Moira? No, you're good for two things. For putting me to sleep with all of that fucking science and rambling. And for fucking. You are really good at that...at least you are now. Thanks to me. The next guy you date should send me a thank you note when he gets between your legs."
She glowered at him. "No wonder you've had so many women, John. That's all you could handle, isn't it? All those lots some women who were just sex to you anyway. And you expect me to believe that you loved me? That you could love anyone?"
"Don't you dare doubt that, Moira," he said, voice low. Solemn. "Don't you dare."
She stared, taken aback for a moment by his tone. His seriousness. But she stared out the viewport. "Yeah, right. I was so stupid. So fucking stupid. To believe you'd want me. To believe you'd even love me when you can have any beautiful woman you want. But I can see now you didn't even love them, did you?" She blinked back tears, turned away from him.
"Yeah. Believe that, Moira," he agreed. Tense. "Whatever you need to believe, Moira. I'm tired of trying to explain it to you. Were you that gullible? Did your few, few men tell you they loved you? They just wanted to get into your pants, baby, same as me. Only they didn't do a very good job of it, did they? Did they dump you or did you dump them? Well?"
Moira was struggling. His words cutting too close. Keeping silent. Not believing that John was like them, but wondering now if she had been gullible. Too blinded by emotions.
John sighed. He reached out to touch her shoulder. But drew his hand away before he could. He guided the ship, staring out the viewport. "I...I didn't mean that, Moira. I'm sorry." He could tell he blundered into something hurtful. Something beyond their break-up. "Moira?"
"Just...just fly the ship, John," she finally muttered. Staring out at the ocean.
John nodded, although she wasn't looking at him to see it. He guided the ship as he viewed the map on the HUD.