Third and final part. Thank you for the reviews!
Disclaimer: don't own SGA, etc.
There was nothing particularly suspicious about John and Teyla going off in a puddle jumper together because Rodney just figured that Colonel Sheppard was flying her to the mainland to visit her people.
No, what he found suspicious was the glint of something reflecting light as they were gearing up the next day. "Wait, what is that?" he blurted before he could stop himself.
His teammates fell silent as they all began checking their boots and vests. "Where?" Teyla asked.
"On your hand," Rodney took her hand in his and inspected it. "Wow," was all he could manage.
"What?" Ronon asked, "It's a piece of jewelry."
But John's face had gone red and he had turned back to tightening his laces. Teyla withdrew her hand, "Was that really necessary, Rodney?"
"Yes!" He looked at Ronon, "That's not just any piece of jewelry. That. That is an engagement ring, meaning engaged to be married, as in someone hasn't been telling us everything, as in I would think that not only as your teammates but as your friends you could have told us. Instead you said 'oh no there's nothing going on between the two of us' because that certainly does not look like nothing."
John looked up. "Okay, I gave it to her and obviously she said yes. But," he glanced at Teyla, "We wanted to keep it quiet for a while."
Rodney raised his eyebrows, "Quiet. Your definition of quiet is a diamond engagement ring? A really expensive one, I might add."
"Yeah, well, I had Dave's help."
"Your brother that you barely ever talk to knew about this before we did? Does Woolsey know?" He knew that there weren't any real written rules when it came to dating on Atlantis but he could see how someone like Woolsey might see a sticky situation in the military commander of Atlantis dating someone under his command…and on his team.
"Yes, Woolsey knows."
Rodney and Ronon exchanged glances. "You told Woolsey before you told us."
Teyla laid a hand on John's arm to quiet him. "Rodney, Ronon, we apologize for not telling you sooner. We were going to wait to be engaged, but…"
"But what?" Rodney asked.
It was while Rodney and John were trying to crawl out of a mud hole, while Teyla and Ronon stood back with smirks on their faces (they had warned them not to go that way), that John finally answered Rodney's question. "But we just couldn't wait any longer."
Ronon leaned down to haul Rodney out and Teyla gave John a hand. The scientist watched as John gently squeezed her shoulder before shouldering his weapon and telling them to get a move on and suddenly something that John had said to him clicked into place.
Most of the members of the Atlantis Expedition missed home. He had overheard some of the younger marines talking about places that they wanted to go, things that they wanted to do, hell, even he missed it sometimes. Rodney missed his Doritos stained couch, he missed being able to drive down the road to a Starbucks and have an endless supply of coffee at his fingertips, and he also missed having his sister a phone call away even if he never did get around to calling like he meant to. But he had never pegged John as that kind of guy. John was like one of those little potted cacti that could be moved from one spot to another with no fuss. Maybe it was hard for him to say goodbye to people, but not places.
So one night as they were drinking beers and tossing around a ping-pong ball from their lawn chairs, he had been surprised by John's answer when he asked the Colonel if he ever missed Earth. If, provided he had a choice in the matter, he ever wanted to go back and just stay there.
"Sometimes," John said.
"Really?" Rodney had asked, surprised. "What do you miss about it?"
John had tossed the ball up and down as he mused. "Some things are easier on Earth," was all he said.
At the time Rodney had thought that he had been referring to not having to worry about the Wraith. As they trekked through the jungle he watched as John didn't glance back at Teyla, not once. Rodney remembered that hot, sticky, day on Earth when John and Teyla had walked hand in hand. John's sentiment had nothing to do with alien threats.
