A/N – Oh my god I am so excited about Series 4 – I've been reading episode synopses as they come out and it's looking so good!!
By the way, I'm sorry that I took so long to update. First I had exams and then for some reason I just had loads of trouble writing this. As it is this chapter isn't finished – the next scene (the content of which is entirely obvious from the end of this chapter) was going to be in this chapter as well, but as this was taking me so long to write I decided to just wrap it up and upload it, and then work on the next scene as a new chapter. I hope that makes sense.
Anywho, enjoy and please review!
Chapter Seven
Teyla had never seen John so excited. Well, perhaps when Rodney had asked him to shoot him, punch him and push him off balconies when he had been wearing that Ancient device… but that excitement had only lasted an hour or so. John had been acting like a child for most of the day.
He grinned for no apparent reason as they walked towards the park. They had dropped Jasmine off with Elizabeth – who had been delighted to babysit for them – and then driven the car back to John's to walk to the carnival. They had gone shopping again that day, but this time for Teyla as John had declared that women who wear skirts to carnivals are just asking for trouble and her Athosian pants were too out of place.
So, Teyla was wearing a brand new pair of jeans which were surprisingly comfortable, and a new pair of sneakers.
"We'll make a quick stop at Kyle's," John said as they rounded a corner. "We don't want to get there too early. Also, it'll show you what a bar looks like."
"A bar like Cheers?" Teyla asked.
"How do you know about Cheers?" John asked curiously.
Teyla smiled. "Lieutenant Harris has it on DVD," she said. "I've watched the first two seasons."
John chuckled. "I haven't seen Cheers in ages," he said. "Anyway, Kyle's is kind of like that, yeah. I went there with Cam a couple of times, and on my own a few. Kyle's a good guy – you'll like him. Only don't tell him about Jasmine, because there's no way to explain her to Kyle without me sounding like a complete tool."
Teyla didn't know what he meant by that, but decided not to ask.
"Also, if he asks anything about Rio, just say it's classified," John added.
Teyla nodded. It was still unbelievable to her that the vast majority of the people on Earth had no idea about the danger they were in every day.
They reached Kyle's – which was actually called 'Kyle's Bar and Pool' – and John held the door open for Teyla. She smiled and entered. The place really did remind her of Cheers – the bar itself was very similar though the room was smaller and there were two pool tables to one side. Teyla looked at them with interest – the one on Atlantis was about quarter the size.
She followed John over to the bar and they slid onto the barstools. John ordered them a couple of beers and then turned to face her. "So, welcome to Kyle's," he said.
Teyla smiled. "I can see why you like it," she said. The bar had a very friendly atmosphere – people were sitting together and laughing, music was playing in the background but not too loudly, and old movie posters lined the walls.
John shrugged. "Yeah, you kind of miss having a place like this in Rio," John said.
"Maybe you could open one," Teyla suggested.
"I don't think Elizabeth would be too happy about us selling drinks to her personnel," John replied. "I'll mention it though."
Their beers were about half drunk when a tall, rather stout man with thick brown hair and twinkling blue eyes appeared behind the bar from a door that led down to the basement. Teyla was facing him and spotted him first, but John didn't see him until he called out his name.
"Sheppard! John Sheppard as I live and breathe!"
John grinned and stood up. "Hey Kyle, how's it going?" He said, shaking the man's hand over the bar.
Kyle grinned back. "You don't call, you don't write…"
John laughed. "Yeah, sorry, I was reassigned," he said.
Kyle nodded. "So Mitch said." He turned to look at Teyla, and his eyes widened.
"It was you!" He said, turning back to John accusingly. John frowned.
"Huh?"
Kyle gestured to the open bar door. "I was outside yesterday, on Grange Avenue, and I saw this car go past, and I thought to myself that was Sheppard, but I thought it couldn't be, because in the passenger seat next to him was a very beautiful young lady," – he winked at Teyla – "and a baby in the backseat."
Kyle grinned at Teyla and stretched out a hand. "Hi, I'm Kyle Rosing," he said. Teyla took his hand, but instead of shaking it, he kissed it. She laughed lightly.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Kyle," she said. "I am Teyla Emmagen."
Kyle's jaw dropped. "No way! You're Teyla?"
Teyla looked at John, and was a little surprised to see that the look on his face was one of… well, dread.
"Sheppard talked about you all the time when he was here," Kyle said, squeezing her hand before letting go. Teyla raised her eyebrows.
"Really?"
Kyle nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yeah," he said. "He never shut up about you. Well then Teyla said this, and then Teyla and I went to here, and then Teyla kicked my arse again… on and on and on…"
Teyla knew she was blushing, and she ducked her head slightly, glad of the low lighting in the bar and the fact that her skin colour helped to hide her embarrassment.
She glanced at John - he was bright red. This made her smile slightly as she'd never seen him blush before.
Kyle clapped John on the shoulder. "So, you have a baby, huh?" He said. John nodded dumbly, and then cleared his throat, visibly pulling himself together.
"Yeah, Jasmine," he said.
Kyle grinned. "Congratulations! So, that would mean that Teyla was pregnant when you were here, right?" He shook his head with a grin. "I knew all that oh nothing like that Teyla was just my friend stuff was a load of bull. No wonder you were so down about being back here!"
Teyla really didn't know what to say to that, so she took a gulp of her beer. And then another.
"Not very nice though, to knock your girl up and then leave her behind," Kyle said. He was grinning though, and Teyla could tell he was joking.
"Well actually, I didn't know she was pregnant," John said, sounding perfectly composed. His face was almost back to normal.
Kyle chuckled. "Must have been a bit of a shock then, huh?"
"I'll say."
Teyla smiled. She'd say so too.
"You want another round?" Kyle asked as John drank from his beer.
John shook his head. "No thanks buddy – we're on our way to the carnival," he said. "We just stopped in so I could show Teyla the famous Kyle's."
Kyle grinned. "And show Kyle the famous Teyla." He winked at Teyla again. She downed the rest of her beer in one gulp.
John quickly finished his own beer and stood up. "We'd better go, but I'll try and stop in again before we leave town," he said, shaking Kyle's hand again.
Kyle nodded. "Yeah, and bring little Jasmine in as well for her Uncle Kyle to see," he said, his eyes twinkling.
John laughed. "Will do," he said.
Kyle took Teyla's hand in both of his and kissed it again. "It was a real pleasure to meet you, Teyla," he said. Teyla smiled widely.
"The pleasure was all mine, Kyle," she said.
Kyle grinned and looked at John. "You hold on to her, Sheppard," he said. "She's really something."
XXX
John and Teyla were silent as they walked down the road to the park, and John was wishing that he hadn't introduced Teyla to Kyle. He should have known that he would start spouting off. Now he didn't have a clue what to say to her, and the tension between them was pretty bad.
John tried to think of something to say, but couldn't.
As they entered the park, Teyla turned to him. "Did – did you really talk about me a lot?" She asked. John stopped in his tracks and stared at her. Trust Teyla to get straight to the point.
John shifted uncomfortably. "Kyle was… he was exaggerating," he said. "I didn't talk about you all the time."
Teyla nodded. "Of course not," she said. "But Colonel Mitchell also said – "
Damn Mitchell.
John shoved his hands into his pockets and resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to get out of this conversation.
"Yeah. I did talk about you a lot," he said. Teyla nodded again, and started to walk along the path. John started walking again as well, but felt that he should say something more. He couldn't tell what Teyla was thinking, and he didn't want her thinking that he had been obsessed with her or something. Not that he thought she was thinking that. Was she?
"I wasn't happy about being back, and everyone I spoke to knew it," he said. "I was… well, I was a complete jerk for most of the time. I had Carson at the SGC to talk to, but McKay was miles away in…" –he stopped himself from saying 'Area 51' just in time –"where he was… and Elizabeth shut herself off from everyone, and I felt really…"
John silently cursed his inability to form coherent sentences when talking about anything personal.
"It was like I'd found where I belonged," he said eventually, hating the way it sounded, "and then suddenly it was just taken away from me, and knowing there was nothing I could do… I hated it. So yeah, I did talk about you a lot. To Cam mostly, because we spent a lot of time together. And Kyle, when I was in the bar. Talking about At – Rio - helped me to feel like it wasn't just a dream, like I'd get back there one day."
John rolled his eyes and looked down at his feet, unable to bring himself to look at Teyla. That had sounded so stupid, and it hadn't been what he'd wanted to say.
He kicked a stone and kept walking.
"I missed you too."
John stopped again and looked at Teyla. She was looking straight at him, perfectly serious. He stared at her in silence for a couple of seconds. Really, he shouldn't be surprised that Teyla had seen through his little speech. He was more surprised by her admission. They had never said it, when he'd got back, but it was always understood between them.
John smiled. "Let's go see about this Ferris Wheel, huh?" He said. Teyla smiled back. "Come on."
They started walking again down the path to the carnival.
XXXXX
Teyla was overwhelmed. The lights and the music, the amount of people there, the smell of the food and the noise of the rides were assaulting her from all sides. All awkwardness she had felt before at the bar and during their walk to the park disappeared as she tried to take in everything she was seeing.
John also seemed to have forgotten his discomfort. He grinned widely at her.
"What do you want to do first?" He asked.
Teyla looked at him and laughed. "I have no idea," she said.
John laughed as well. "Okay, let's ease you into the experience by playing some games first," he said. He grabbed her hand and started to weave his way through the crowd.
Teyla allowed herself to be pulled along, and found herself concentrating more on the feel of John's hand around hers than the people bustling around her. She shook her head slightly to try and snap out of it.
John stopped in front of a large, brightly-lit stall. Large stuffed toys hung from the beams framing the front of the stall, and there was a row of five handguns on the counter in front of them.
Teyla looked at John in surprise. "What are these guns for?" She asked.
John grinned and dropped her hand to reach into his jacket pocket for his wallet. "They're dart guns," he said. "The aim is to hit those targets."
Teyla looked at the back of the stall and saw there were five large targets. They looked a little like the targets used in the firing range on Atlantis, but each had five smaller red circles arranged on the circles as well. A man wearing a large straw hat and a wide smile came over to them.
"Two please," John said, handing over the money. The man put the money in a large bag hanging from his hip and pressed two buttons to release two of the guns. John picked his up, and Teyla copied him. The gun looked like nothing she had handled before, and was a lot lighter than any gun she had seen on Atlantis.
John smiled at her. "Go on."
Teyla pointed the gun at the target and squeezed the trigger. She missed.
John laughed and Teyla glared at him. He just smirked in response.
"You have five shots," he said. "You need to hit at least two targets to get a prize."
Teyla turned back and aimed again. She missed.
"This gun is broken," she said firmly, turning back to John. He laughed again.
"A bad workman always blames his tools," John said airily.
Teyla's jaw dropped in indignation. "Well, aren't you going to shoot?" She said.
John smirked and aimed at the target. He missed.
Teyla grinned. "Well…" she said.
John straightened his shoulders. "Huh," he said. "Well, it lists to the left. No problem."
He aimed again and this time he got the target. Then another. Then another.
He turned towards Teyla but she turned away before she could see the smug look on his face. She aimed again. She missed.
John was laughing as he took his last shot, so he missed. He didn't seem to mind though, judging by the grin he turned on her. "Three," he said. "And you have…?"
Teyla tried to glare at him but couldn't help a small smile escaping. He was so childish. "I have two shots left," she said, turning back to the target.
She aimed, but before she could shoot John put his hand on his arm. "Don't think of it as an actual gun," he said. Teyla frowned and looked at him.
"Your stance is perfect," he said, "which it would be because I taught you…" – Teyla rolled her eyes – "but it's nothing like a real gun, so you're going to miss."
Teyla lowered her arm and looked at him. "So what do I do?" She asked.
She wasn't prepared for the answer.
John stepped up behind her and, taking her hands in his, raised her arms again so she was aiming at the target. Teyla tensed momentarily and then forced herself to relax, though it was difficult with his arms around her. His body felt very warm behind her and it seemed as though all his heat was rolling into her.
"Remember that it's a toy," John said. His breath tickled her cheek and Teyla had to swallow a gasp. "Don't take it so seriously. Now, look at the shots you've already made. They've all gone to the right of where you've aimed, so this time aim a little to the left of the target."
He guided her hands so that the gun was pointing a little to the left of the middle target. "Okay, now relax," he said.
Easier said than done, Teyla thought, but she forced herself loosen up a little. She shot, and this time she hit the target.
John stepped back, grinning from ear to ear. Teyla grinned too, but she was a little disappointed he'd stepped back so quickly – she had another shot after all.
"Okay, so do it again," he said. Teyla aimed again, and got another target. John whooped and gave her a small round of applause.
The man who ran the stall came over and handed Teyla a small stuffed purple cat. She grinned.
"What colour do you want?" He asked John, pointing to some bigger cats that were suspended above their heads.
John grinned at Teyla. "Lady's choice," he said.
Teyla shook her head. "It is your prize, John," she said.
John grinned again. "Well, yeah, but it's tradition for the guy to give the prize to the girl," he said, winking.
Teyla laughed. "Alright, purple then," she said. "To match this one."
The man got down one of the purple cats and handed it to John, who handed it to Teyla. She smiled and handed him the small cat.
"That's not part of the tradition," John said.
"It is now," Teyla said.
John grinned. "I think I'll call him Meredith," he said.
Teyla laughed. "Alright," she said. "I'll call this one Ronon."
John laughed as well and grabbed her hand to steer her back into the crowd. "Let's go on a ride," he said. "A really fast one. If you think you can handle it, that is."
Teyla raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I can not?" She asked.
John shrugged, though by his smirk Teyla could tell her was teasing her. "Well, you've never experienced anything like it," he said. "The closest you've come to pulling any Gs is in a car. The jumpers have inertial dampeners and it doesn't even feel like you're moving. This may come as a bit of a shock."
"I am ready," Teyla replied.
"We'll see about that, my young paduan," John said with another grin.
XXXXXXX
Half an hour later John was feeling a little guilty. Maybe they should have started with the carousel and moved up to the Vortex later.
"Are you okay?" He asked Teyla. She was leaning against a lamppost, looking very pale.
"I am fine," she said. "I just… my head is a little light. But I am fine."
"Do you want to sit down?"
Teyla stood up straight and, though she wobbled a bit, shook her head. "No, honestly John, I am fine," she said. She smiled brightly at him.
"What next?" She asked.
John thought for a moment. "Well, we could get some food…"
Teyla grimaced, and John quickly dismissed that idea.
"Are there any more rides you would like to try?" She asked.
Of course there were! But John shook his head. "No, that's enough for me," he said.
Teyla didn't believe him. He could tell. "I don't mind, John," she said. "The only way I'll get used to it is by going on another."
She did have a point. "Well, Vortex is probably the most hardcore ride here," he said. "But are you sure?"
Teyla nodded. "Positive," she said. "Let's try another."
"Well, okay…" John said. "As long as you feel up to it."
"Honestly, I'm fine," Teyla said, linking her arm through John's. "Which ride now?"
John grinned. "Okay, let's just work our way through the carnival to that corner over there," he said, pointing to their left.
Teyla looked, but couldn't see anything other than more people and bright lights.
"Why over there?" She asked.
"Because, Miss Emmagen," he said, grinning again. "That is where the Ferris Wheel is."
To be continued… please review!
