A/N – Wow! Thank you everyone! I promise more mayhem very, very soon. You just need to bear with me through a couple more chapters...

NEVER STOP MOVING
By Tipper

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CHAPTER THREE: ON THE WATER'S EDGE

Teyla did feel better in the morning, though still not wholly well. Going through her morning exercises, wincing at each stretch that pulled on her sore arms, she considered her behavior of the night before, berating herself for having reacted as she did. She hated feeling that out of sorts, and regardless of whether it was a side effect of her injuries, the late hour, or simply the frustrations of the day, she should never have blown up at Rodney in that manner. She should never have lost control.

With that thought in mind, she resolved to locate him this morning to apologize before she headed out to new Athos.

As was typical, returning Gate teams had the day following a mission "off"—that is to say, there were no scheduled meetings other than a formal one that Elizabeth would schedule to discuss the outcome of the mission, and, at least on Teyla and Ronon's part, they were expected to relax (no one expected Rodney to relax—the universe would crack if that happened—and John just had too many responsibilities). Teyla usually took advantage of the time to visit her people, but this time she would not leave until she had spoken to Rodney.

Breakfast was quick, and a glance at her email in her quarters told her that Elizabeth had scheduled the meeting for 10:00 a.m. Noting the time on her watch, she knew she had about an hour before then, so…perhaps she should find him now.

The trip to the infirmary did not take long, and she smiled at Carson when he spotted her. He seemed surprised when she asked about Rodney. Teyla herself was surprised when he said Rodney had been sent home last night, not long after she left—she had expected Rodney to stay the night. Thanking Carson, she turned and headed towards the labs. Rodney's room was next door to his main lab, which was only fitting.

But Rodney wasn't in either location.

Feeling a little frustrated, she decided to wait until after the meeting to see him. A little downcast, she headed back to her rooms to catch up on the rest of her messages.

Finding Rodney hovering before her door, gripping something white in his left hand while the other held onto a crutch, instantly brought a smile to her face. He was obviously dithering over whether to knock or hit the chime.

"Rodney?" she called, slowing as she came up beside him, trying to dim the smile she knew she still sported. He looked pale still, and wore his old, long sleeved blue shirt—she recognized it as his softest. He let go of the crutch to raise his hand in greeting, and smiled sheepishly.

"Hey, there you are. I was just...well, coming to..." He glanced at her door, his face betraying his discomfiture, and when she raised her eyebrows at him as he turned back, he quickly looked down. "Look, I just wanted to say…you know that I…what I meant last night was…look, you're not stupid, okay?" He looked up again, his brow furrowed. "I never meant to say that, and I certainly didn't mean it, and you really shouldn't twist people's words like that. I mean, you of all people know me. You know how I think. And you know I don't think that way about you. Have I ever implied that I think that way about you? No. In fact, you're one of the few people around here I don't think that of. And yet, you snapped at me for no good…." He stopped suddenly, as if finally hearing himself, then blushed furiously. Teyla couldn't not smile. Only Doctor Rodney McKay could deliver an apology angrily.

"Rodney…"

"Damn it," he snapped. "Why am I so bad at this?" He looked at her as if she could answer the question, a desperate look on his face, his left hand squeezing the object in it tightly. Teyla saw that it was a tube, and on closer inspection, recognized it as the same one that the doctor had given her last night. Seeing her notice it, he thrust hit forward. "What I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry. For being me. For being an ass. I know what I said before about you twisting my words didn't sound like an apology, but it was. And here. I didn't trust that pre-schooler doctor to give this to you after I told her you needed it, so I brought you some. You're supposed to put it on three…Was it three? Might be four….Anyway, put it on several times a day over the burns and it'll help. There." He nodded once, as if proud of himself.

She was smiling broadly now, taking the badly squished tube from his hand. The gesture was so sweet, she didn't have the heart to tell him she already had some. Instead, she just gave him a nod of her own.

"Thank you, Rodney." She looked down at the tube, "But you do not need to apologize. I was…," she pursed her lips, "I did not behave well. If anyone should apologize, it is me." She looked up again, to find him regarding her with a puzzled expression. "I am sorry for my rudeness last night. It will not happen again."

His eyes widened slightly, but the puzzled expression did not leave. So, he waved a hand, as if to say 'not to worry', though she could see he was still blushing, his eyes looking anywhere but at her. "Um, okay. If you say so. Apology, um, accepted. That's, uh, that's fine. So," he glanced at her briefly before looking away, "that means you're not mad at me anymore, right?"

She grinned, "No, Rodney. I am not mad at you anymore. I was never really mad at you. You were just being you."

"Good, good. Right," he heaved a sigh, "in that case, I'll see you at the meeting, yes? Great." And, abruptly, without waiting for her reply, he was gone, limping away down the corridor in the direction of the transporters as fast as the crutch would take him.

Teyla's smile faded as his uneven steps disappeared, and her hand squeezed the tube.

No, my friend, she thought, I was never mad at you. But I am still furious with me.

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A little over a week later, Teyla found herself standing still in the mess, resting her tray of food on her arms and looking up at the stairs at the tables. Not far from her, Rodney and Doctor Zelenka had their heads together over a data tablet, their food untouched and pushed to the side. She noted Rodney still had his left ankle propped up on a chair, wrapped in an ace bandage, and a cane resting against his chair. He didn't have to worry about it preventing anyone from sitting with them, though—the mess hall was reasonably crowded today, but no one dared share the table with the two scientists.

And with good reason.

Whenever Rodney and Doctor Zelenka sat together with a tablet, it meant they were working. More importantly, it meant their meal would probably end in shouting, flailing arms and, more often than not, flying food products. Yes, it was always safer to stay away.

She grimaced slightly, and her eyes shifted to a table about three over from the two scientists, where John was sitting with Ronon, the two quietly eating together. Without another thought, she headed over and set her tray down at the head of their table. Two sets of eyes glanced up, and John smiled.

"Hey," he greeted warmly.

"Colonel," she sat down, pushing the tray forward a little to fit better on the table. Her eyes found Ronon's, who nodded at her when she smiled at him. "Ronon."

"Good sparring session?" John asked, biting off the end of a carrot stick after he spoke.

"The personnel who came are definitely progressing," Teyla nodded, lifting a spoon to stir the stew served for lunch. "A number of Rodney's team are actually doing very well. I have discovered, for example, that Doctor Vogel was once on something called a 'high school wrestling team.' He showed me some of his moves, and I think they can be included to make him more effective in a hand to hand fight."

"He's a big guy," Ronon noted, popping several green grapes into his mouth. "Vogel," he added, as if he felt the need to define the pronoun.

"Yes," she nodded, "He is. But I believe there is a lot of muscle under all that..." she trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"Fat?" Ronon asked, with his usual tact. She just gave him a wry look in reply.

"They all need to at least be proficient," John said, grabbing another carrot stick to chew. "Thank you for taking this time to help train them."

"When do I get them?" Ronon asked, speaking with a mouth full of grapes.

"When they're strong enough to withstand your," John pursed his lips, as if contemplating the answer, then smirked, "unique training style."

Ronon just snorted, popping some more grapes into his mouth.

There was a shout, and all three people at the table turned to see Rodney suddenly stand up from his table with Radek, staggering slightly on his still sore ankle. He shouted something which was clearly insulting, because Doctor Zelenka's face turned red, and the Czech responded in his own language, jabbing a finger at Rodney. Rodney just shouted back again in the trader's language—what the Atlantian's called "English"—obviously arguing his point, and crossing his arms. Radek counter-pointed with words of his own, and Teyla frowned. They were both speaking in English now but...she had no understanding of what they were arguing about. Rodney shouted again, and Radek once more responded in Czech. Rodney then replied with what John had once told her was a "Russian insult", grabbed his cane and stormed off at a fast limp, leaving Radek alone at the table.

The Czech closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, then shook his head. Opening his eyes again, he looked down at the tablet still in front of him, and started working again.

"That was a short lunch," Ronon noted, popping the last of his grapes on his tray. "Those two always waste a lot of food."

Teyla offered a crooked smile, noting that, indeed, Rodney had left a half eaten tray of food on the table with Radek. Before she could say something about it, though, Ronon was up out of his seat and heading over to the scientist's table. She and John both watched in amusement as Ronon grabbed Rodney's tray without a word to Radek, who only jumped a little at the interruption of his thoughts, and brought it back with him to their table. Radek watched the Satedan for a few moments, then shrugged...and returned to his work.

Ronon shoved his own empty tray aside, put Rodney's down...and proceeded to start eating it, digging into the half eaten stew with gusto.

"You're amazing, you know that?" John asked, eyeing him in mock disgust.

"Food shouldn't be wasted," was Ronon's only reply, once again speaking around a mouth full of food.

John chuckled...and reached over to grab Rodney's uneaten pudding. Ronon just grunted.

Teyla, meanwhile, was still watching Radek. She was thinking about how little she had understood of their argument, and it in turn, turned her mind to Rodney's work...

She had not forgotten the way she had felt a week ago. That engine room haunted her dreams every night, sometimes imagining herself tied to the walls, fighting bonds that she herself had created, Rodney calling out to her for help, but unable to do anything as the hovercraft exploded around her ears...

Her jaw steeled. She needed to do something. She could not live with this any longer.

"Colonel," she turned her head and leaned forward against the table, "may I ask you a question?"

Sheppard's eyebrows lifted, and he nodded. "Sure."

"Rodney," she licked her lips, as if trying to find the right words, "has had a great deal of schooling to get to where he is, correct?"

John nodded, "Yup."

"How much?"

"Oh, um," John's brow furrowed, "well...he has three PhDs, that I know of, probably a Masters degree or two and, of course, his initial BA and all the post-doc stuff he's done, though that's not so much schooling as..." He trailed off when he saw the puzzled look on her face, obviously realizing that the acronyms meant nothing to her, and sighed. "Years, Teyla. Many, many, many years. I think it would be safe to say that, for at least a dozen years of his life, Rodney rarely saw the sun outside of his lab."

"Explains a lot," Ronon muttered offhandedly.

When they looked at him, the Satedan gave a half smile as he chewed. "About why he lacks, you know..." He waved a food encrusted hand.

"Social skills?" Teyla suggested.

"A tan?" John threw in.

"Friends," Ronon finished, taking another bite of stew. Then he shrugged, "Besides us, of course."

"Of course." John smirked at Ronon's answer, and returned his gaze to Teyla.

"Why do you ask?" he asked her.

"Oh," she looked down, then over at Radek. "Just...thinking about how little I know about what Rodney does. That is to say," she shook her head slightly, "I know what he does, but not how he does it. And..." She turned her gaze to John, "What about you, Colonel? How much training have you had?"

His eyebrows lifted, "Me?"

"Yes."

"Uh, well," John looked uncomfortable, as he usually did when asked to speak of his past, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck before answering. "I actually had a little bit myself. Besides all the pilot training, I did a fair bit of schooling, needed to know my way around machines and technology and stuff, the same as anyone in my line of work. But, of course, field training is what taught me most of what I know." He shrugged, then smiled, "As you both know, until you get out there, it's all theory. When it's real, that's when you really learn."

"Can't argue with that," Ronon said, ripping at a chunk of bread and chewing.

Teyla grimaced slightly, knowing that John was beginning to sense where she was headed, and was trying to prepare for it. But she set her jaw and simply nodded. John's eyes narrowed.

"What's this all about, Teyla?" he asked.

She tilted from side to side before answering, drumming up courage. "Well," she gave a small smile, "much in the same way we have been teaching the scientists how to handle themselves in a fight, I was wondering how difficult it would be to learn a little of what they are skilled at. You, for example, are able to do both." She smiled again, "It is enviable."

John's eyebrows shot up, "Seriously?"

Teyla gave a single nod. "Yes."

John looked away, his face showing a hint of embarrassment, "Yeah, but, Teyla, as I said before, what I do, a lot was just learned in the field, and you are already—"

"Actually," Teyla interrupted, "I was thinking more particularly about what Rodney does. When I was younger, I was often told I had an aptitude for mechanical things, and I thought—"

"Whoa," John leaned forward, "What Rodney does? Teyla, hang on. Before you go any further, look..." He grimaced. "I get what you're saying, I do, but...I'll be honest here. I'm not sure how much of what the scientists here do can be easily taught. Rodney...Rodney in particular...it's more than just learning and knowing his stuff. Rodney is," he held up a finger, "and don't you dare tell him I said this," his eyes narrowed, "but he really is unique. He works at a level no one here can reach, not even Radek. It's a natural gift he has. What he does for us out in the field is...well, no one else could do what he does."

Teyla lowered her eyes at that, considering his words, then looked up, readying herself. "I am not speaking of reaching Rodney's level, Colonel. I am talking about reaching a level where Ronon and I could be of more use to both him and you when we are off world." She glanced at the Satedan, who was now looking at her like she had done something horrifying by including him in this thought. She gave him a stern look, "Did you not once tell me you wished you knew a little more of what Doctor McKay does? When we were keeping watch on M2G-332?"

"I was bored," he defended. "We were on a mission, and I had nothing to do."

Teyla's eyes narrowed, and her lips quirked in amusement. "You were not bored, Ronon. I think I know you a little better than that. You were anxious, as was I, about the fact that, as is often the case, you and I were unable to provide the sort of help Doctor McKay or Colonel Sheppard might have needed, should something have gone wrong."

Ronon just shrugged, as if to say, 'you can think whatever you want to think. I'm not admitting to anything.'

"But," Sheppard frowned, still watching Teyla. "I'm still not sure—"

"All I am trying to say, Colonel," Teyla looked at John to interrupt him, then back to Ronon, "is that Ronon and I are often only in the background on our missions and even on Atlantis from time to time, because of our limited knowledge on the technological front." In return to this, Ronon just sort of grimaced at her, so Teyla returned her attention to the Colonel. "This is something that has been concerning me a great deal lately, John. Both you and Rodney have certain vital skills we do not. If something were to happen to either of you while we are off world..." Her eyebrows lifted, knowing she did not need to complete the sentence.

John frowned, then frowned some more. "I'm not saying it's not a good idea, Teyla, it's just..." He looked down at his now half-eaten purloined pudding. "What could you learn?" he asked eventually.

"I do not know. Obviously, most things are not..." She shook her head. "Maybe nothing," she admitted, her voice softer.

"Well," John sighed, then smiled, "You know what? Go ahead. Knock yourself out. I agree that it's a great idea, if it works. But, as a warning, I'm not sure how big Rodney is into teaching people, even you."

Teyla looked at him, then smiled. Her eyes shifted back to Radek. "I was not thinking of asking Rodney."

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TBC...

How subtle was that foreshadowing, eh:p