A/N: Haha, I'm starting to get guesses as to who the kids are. I love it. SPOILER/HINT(don't read this if you don't want to inside information about the fic): I am writing this, and functioning under the belief, that the team would often subscribe to the "it takes a village to raise a child" school of thought.
A/N: This chapter is for all the John/Teyla shippers, hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: See chapter 1 or 5. Your choice.
Chapter Six - Team Interactions Pt. 2
"May I?"
Jorain looked up from his 'roast beef' and saw Teyla standing to the side, her eyebrows lifted in question. With a nod, he motioned toward the seat directly across from himself, "Please."
Teyla sat down and smiled as she cut her salad into more manageable sizes, "I've just left Co-Commander Cam and Tactical Officer Alin in the gym sparring with Ronon."
Jorain nodded with a knowing smile, "I am not surprised, they spend many hours in our own training facility. Alin is usually reasonable, but I often have to drag Cam away from the bantos so that she may eat and sleep."
"She seems to train very hard."
"Yes, too hard I think sometimes," he said quietly, "not that I can blame her."
Teyla opened her water and smiled at a few passing doctors she recognized. Jorain's words registered moments later, "blame her?"
Jorain looked over from where he'd been staring at his plate as if lost in thought. He hesitated before responding, "Their parents were very adept fighters, her father trained them in all forms of combat from a very young age. But, even so, they lost their father to the wraith and their mother to Michael. I think Cam believes if she can train Alin to be a better fighter than anyone else, she'll never have to lose him as well."
"I see." Teyla looked back down at her food, pushing it around for a few moments in response to the sudden tension in the air between them, "You're ship, it's very impressive." She said finally, attempting to introduce a less painful subject.
Jorain nodded, "As is your city."
"Well, Atlantis was built by the Ancestors, how is it that your culture came to be so technologically advanced without being stopped by the wraith?" She asked, tilting her head.
Again, the dark cloud of too many things seen and done fell across Jorain's eyes. "Our 'advancement' has come at the cost of many lives. But, mostly we worked underground like the Genii, trying to come up with a viable way to defeat the wraith, and later, to defeat Michael."
"You know of the Genii?"
Jorain frowned, "Yes, we traded with them for many years before either people was aware of the other's technology. And when we did, tension grew quickly. We severed all ties with them when it became clear that their leaders were corrupt," he sighed, no longer actively eating his food, "but our complexes were not nearly as large as theirs. Our population lived above ground, merely the research and technology was below."
"I see. That is fortunate." Teyla pushed a piece of lettuce around in French Dressing, "I wanted to tell you that we are very grateful for the opportunity you have brought to us to defeat Michael."
"I am grateful you accepted." Jorain dipped his chin and met Teyla's eyes for a moment. For the first time, a look of complete trust and understanding passed between them.
SGASGASGASGA
"Hey Buddy, how'd the sparring go?" Sheppard greeted Ronon as he rounded a corner and the Satedan stepped from the transporter. They made their way to the Mess Hall together, "I heard Captain Roth saying a couple of the Yanarins are pretty good fighters."
Ronon only grunted but Sheppard caught sight of a dark purple bruise forming on his right shoulder.
He hissed, "Ouch. Where'd you get that?"
Ronon glanced down, as if he'd forgotten the injury that was no doubt throbbing with every movement, "Cam."
Sheppard's eyes widened and they grabbed food trays, "That girl did that? Not even most of my guys can get a hit like that in on you. Where is she? I feel like I should congratulate her."
"Infirmary." Ronon answered, nodding at the cooks as they piled meat and vegetables on his tray.
"You put one of our new allies in the infirmary?" John didn't sound surprised so much as annoyed.
Ronon shrugged and watching with interest as Sheppard motioned for two bags of cookies. "It was an accident."
John rolled his eyes and shook his head. Ronon's expression hadn't changed as he spoke, but John had spent enough time with the man, and received enough of his own trips to the infirmary, to know when there was self-satisfaction in his voice, "Yeah. Accident. Sure."
The two were quiet as they finished their trek through he line, held up a few times by indecisive scientists or famished Marines, and Ronon toyed with the idea of bringing up the strange interaction he'd witnessed in the gym. In the end, he decided it didn't warrant mentioning…yet.
"Colonel, Ronon, would you care to join us?" Teyla smiled sweetly and waved at the two members of her team as they weaved through the tables scattered across the room. Jorain nodded in greeting as they took the two vacant seats.
"Jorain and I were just getting better acquainted." Teyla smiled at the visitor and then set to finishing her salad.
"What a coincidence, Ronon was just doing the same down in the gym," Sheppard dug into one of the bags of cookies and motioned towards Ronon's bruised arm.
Jorain followed his gesture and his eyes widened, "Cam did that?" He asked, in disbelief, and then his face darkened with annoyance. "My apologies, sometimes she gets…carried away."
Ronon grunted and shrugged with his un-injured shoulder.
"Where is Cam now?" Teyla asked, pushing aside her tray and allowing John to steal the last of her bread.
"She's probably still in the infirmary."
"Ronon!" Teyla glared across the table.
"What?"
Jorain's head whipped up, "Infirmary?"
John winced, "Yeah, I'm sure she's fine," then turning to Ronon, he said under his breath, "she wasn't unconscious or anything, was she?"
Ronon shook his head.
"See? She's probably fine. Don't worry, we've got the best doctor in the galaxy down there, she's in good hands."
John's calming words fell on deaf ears as Jorian quickly wiped his face with a napkin and stood.
"I'm sure she is, but I must take my leave of you," he gathered his mostly untouched tray and bolted from the Mess.
"See what you did Chewie. Way to bond with the new allies," Sheppard shook his head and dug into his food.
Ronon just returned to his plate, "It was an accident."
"Yeah, you said that," Sheppard said, not sounding at all convinced.
"Where is Dr. McKay?" Teyla asked, sipping her tea slowly while she waited for the men to finish.
"I left him in the Jumper Bay a few minutes ago, convinced him to see if he could lend a hand to the Yanarins." Sheppard wiped his face with a napkin, "Their scientist-"
"Kaila." Teyla supplied.
"Yeah. She's a real piece of work," he shrugged, "but then, geniuses tend to be that way. Sarii, their 'pilot', was down there too."
"Is that who these are for?" Ronon nudged the extra chocolate chip cookies on the Col.'s plate.
"Well I was talking to her and I figured she might be hungry but she didn't want to leave the bay. I told her I'd bring her some. That', by the way, is how you make new friends."
"By bringing them cookies?"
"No, Ronon, by showing them you're a nice, personable guy." Sheppard smiled, pointing at himself and Ronon rolled his eyes.
"It was a nice gesture John," Teyla assured him, teasingly glaring at Ronon.
"Yeah. Nice." Ronon balled up his napkin, "I gotta go. Giving a training in fifteen minutes. See you for sparring later Sheppard?"
"Unless you plan to send me to the infirmary too."
"Always," Ronon grinned and walked away, leaving John grumbling under his breath.
Teyla smiled, rising from her chair, "I must go get Torren before Nurse Thompson goes on duty, she agreed to keep him a while longer while I went to the gym but now I am sure she's had her fill," she sighed and they weaved throught he rows of tables and chairs, "This 'colic' is an extreamly difficult phase, last night I couldn't get him to stop crying until three in the morning."
"You know, I could um," John shrugged, biting his lip uncertainly as they made their way to the doors, "help you out, if you want. With Torren I mean. That way if you have trouble getting him to sleep I could take over for you and then at least you could get some rest."
Teyla smiled gently, putting her tray in a pile on top of the garbage bin, "That's very kind John, but I wouldn't want to trouble you."
"It's no trouble. I promise." He realized he's said it a bit quickly and turned to lead the way out of the Mess. Teyla smiled again, this time out of amusement and touched his arm, hoping to put him at ease.
"Then I would appreciate that."
John looked up and smiled in return as they stepped inside the transporter.
TBC