Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 11/12

Dedication: This one goes out to anyone who is actually still reading this 'fic. Again, I am so intensely sorry it's taken me so long to update it. Suffice it to say that my dad has had some pretty serious health problems in the last few months, and writing has not been very high on my to-do list because of this. Anyway. This is dedicated to everyone reading it, and particularly to TeylaFan, who left a nice review and requested some Spanky love – it'll turn up in the later part of the chapter!

Chapter 11

Trial

"I knew you liked me," Rodney was saying for the thousandth time as they waited outside the courtroom. Ronon sighed, his patience waning fast.

"Yes, yes, we like you, get over it!" he said, massaging his temples. He turned to John. "Weren't they supposed to start the trial an hour ago?"

John nodded. "They always take longer than they're supposed to, though."

Ronon growled something under his breath and continued his pacing up and down in front of the door to Courtroom Five. This continued for a few more minutes, then the door to the courtroom opened and Commander Lorne stepped out. Ronon immediately ceased his pacing and saluted.

"Sir?" he asked anxiously. Lorne chuckled, patting Ronon on the shoulder.

"Calm down, Dex, you're making me nervous. It'll all be fine," he assured the big man, who gritted his teeth and attempted to comply with the order. Teyla could see that he was not succeeding, and she left her seat next to Elizabeth and Allie and came up to her husband.

She didn't say anything, just lightly touched his shoulder, but it worked. Ronon sighed, closed his eyes, and breathed deeply for a few seconds, then opened them again and looked at Teyla. She was smiling, an infectious grin that he could not ignore. He smiled back at her, then swept her into his arms and swung her around, both of them laughing.

"Oh man," he chuckled, putting her down again. "This is all so crazy."

"I agree," she smiled amusedly, glad that he could finally step away from his worries and look at the problem from a different perspective.

Teyla was about to add something when the door to the courtroom opened and an usher appeared.

"People of Atlantis vs. ex-Commander Kell!" he called into the semi-crowded corridor. Some people besides Ronon's group stood up, stretched, and walked towards the courtroom.

Teyla looked at Ronon, who she could see was quickly becoming tense again, and, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, beckoned to Allie so that the family could go in together. John, Elizabeth, Rodney, and Captain Lorne followed them into the courtroom.

"Here we go," John muttered to his wife as they found seats near the front of the room.

"Again," she whispered back, causing him to grin a little. John had been at Kell's last trial to testify against the murderer, but Elizabeth had refrained from going, saying that she'd be hard-pressed not to shoot Kell herself if she saw him.

John saw that this emotion was still very much present in his wife, as, when the bailiff opened a side door and a handcuffed Kell was ushered into the courtroom, Elizabeth stiffened and her expression grew cold. John also heard Ronon growl softly from his seat next to the Sheppards, and even Rodney had his hands clenched into fists. John shook his head in a mixture of anger and sadness, amazed that a single man could affect so many lives in such a perverse way.

"Court will please rise," came the slightly bored voice of the court's steward, who had just opened the door behind the judge's bench and admitted an older gentleman, who was dressed in a dark blue robe edged with silver, and had a square black cap perched on his bald pate.

"That's Justice Ubel Punir, from the Western Provinces," John whispered to Elizabeth behind his hand, watching the stern judge slowly lower himself into his chair. The judge glanced around the room, seeing everyone at attention, and made a slight gesture with his hand, at which the court relaxed at took their seats.

"Alright, Weatherby, what's the case now?" he asked his steward, who rifled through the sheaf of papers in front of him, removed a small number of them, and handed them to the judge.

"People of Atlantis vs. ex-Commander Kell," he said, his voice quickly changing from bored to professional. The judge took the papers with a nod of thanks, scanning through the first few with his bushy eyebrows raised.

"Ah! So you're the one who caused all that trouble with Steven Caldwell?" he mused. John glanced at Teyla from the corner of his eye. He could see that she had relaxed at the judge's words, and he saw her squeeze Ronon's hand slightly, communicating her relief.

John smiled. He was relieved too, he had been a little worried about the judge's reaction to the case, but it seemed as though his fears had been groundless. He felt a squeeze on his own hand and turned to see Elizabeth's smile. Sighing in content, he turned back to the front of the room to listen to the trial.

The judge was still muttering to himself as he shuffled through the papers he had been handed.

"Escaping a prison facility, murdering a guard, breaking and entering, attempted murder, kidnapping, extortion, assault, robbery, is there any crime you haven't committed, Mr. Kell?" he said, his voice rising in affront.

Kell smirked a little, raising his hands in a shrug, a gesture that jangled his chains noisily.

"I've never been arrested for public nudity," he growled, bringing some titters from the large audience, which were promptly silenced with a scorching glare that Justice Punir sent, seething, around the room.

"Thank the Ancestors for that small blessing," he said, his expansive eyebrows raised in contempt.

Kell's smirk dropped, transforming into an ugly snarl. But before he could do anything, the prosecutor stood and coughed discreetly.

"Your Honor, the Prosecution would like to call its first witness. Commander Marc Lorne, please take the stand."

Ronon watched as his friend and colleague approached the low bench where witnesses sat. The steward, Weatherby, swore him in, using the Atlantean Police Officer's Handbook as the sacred text, and Lorne took his seat.

What followed was a flurry of witnesses, questions, and cross-examinations, hours and hours worth of talking, all blurred together in Teyla's mind, some standing out more clearly than others – John's testimony as to Kell's placement of the tracking device on their ship, Ronon's calm demeanor as he detailed his questioning of Michael the bartender, whom Kell had paid to spy on their group, and Rodney's dramatic exposition of his own capture and interrogation.

Finally Teyla herself was called to the stand. She was sworn in on an ancient text of the Ancestors, a well-worn metal-bound copy that radiated serenity and knowledge.

The prosecutor, a kind young man named Dr. Jackson, asked her a few questions about her previous encounters with Kell, nothing too specific or personal. She got the impression that he just wanted another viewpoint of Kell's behavior, to show that he had damaged her life as well as her husband's. After a few minutes, during which she answered all his questions calmly and truthfully, he thanked her and sat down.

Now the defense attorney stood. His name was Woolsey, and he was not as nice as Dr. Jackson, although Teyla suspected that he was, at least, an honest man. He started by asking her about Kell's holding her, Allie, and Elizabeth hostage, two years beforehand.

"When your husband burst into that room didn't you want him to kill Kell?" he asked. Teyla frowned slightly as Dr. Jackson rose from his seat.

"I'm sorry, Your Honor, I don't see what this has to do with the current trial, could the defense please move on to relevant matters?" he asked, smoothing his tie in casual indifference.

The judge raised his expressive eyebrows. "I am compelled to agree with you, Dr. Jackson. Please, Mr. Woolsey, get to the point."

Woolsey gave a stiff half-bow. "I'm sorry, Your Honor. Question withdrawn. Mrs. . . . Dex can step down."

Teyla looked up at the judge, who nodded. She inclined her head and stood, walking majestically back to her seat. She looked towards her husband, and saw him tensed, his gaze smoldering in Woolsey's direction. But John sat beside him, a warning hand on his friend's forearm, keeping his anger in check.

Teyla smiled as she sat, placing her own hand on top of Ronon's; he started a little as this contact brought him out of his quiet anger. He looked up at her, surprised, and gave her the same, radiantly happy smile that he had given her on that morning, months and months ago, that had been the start this weird and awful adventure.

"I love you, Ronon Dex," Teyla whispered, oblivious to the court around her, where the two lawyers were giving their final speeches.

"And I love you, Teyla Dex," came the rumbling reply, sending shivers down her spine. She felt a tug on her dress and looked down, breaking eye contact with Ronon.

Allie stood before her parents with her arms folded, a no-nonsense look on her face. Ronon and Teyla glanced at each other, smiling, then Ronon reached down and lifted their daughter onto his lap. She snuggled into his overcoat and sighed contentedly, just as the judge rose to give his final verdict.

"People of Atlantis," he began, his stentorian tones ringing through the room and silencing side conversations immediately. "I have seen to the evidence brought forth today, and I have heard the testimonies. Normally I would take this time to deliberate on my answer, but the facts of the case are exceedingly clear to me and I do not feel the need. The defendant," here he turned towards Kell, who had been nudged into a standing position by Mr. Woolsey, "has been charged with many crimes, none of them small or petty ones. And I see no evidence that he is innocent."

The judge raised his hands at the murmuring and chatter that broke out at his last pronouncement, and the room fell silent again.

"If I may continue," he said, biting the words through clenched teeth. When no further nuisance was made, he nodded.

"As I said, I see no evidence that Mr. Kell is innocent of the crimes of which he has been accused. And frankly I am surprised that he wasn't put to death from his previous arrest. This will promptly be rectified."

A stunned silence swept through the room, as no one wanted to bring the wrath of the judge upon them by whispering. Justice Punir banged his gavel on the top of his desk twice, then intoned his final verdict.

"It is my decision that the defendant in this case is guilty of all the crimes of which he has been accused, and most likely many others besides. He shall be put to death at the earliest convenience of this court, a time to be determined as soon as possible. Court is adjourned."

Immediately, the room erupted into loud chatter as the judge stood and regally left the court, followed by the harried Weatherby. Teyla sat quietly for a second or two, then a smile appeared on her face, growing larger and larger until she let loose with a happy laugh.

She turned and threw her arms around Ronon, effectively squishing Allie in between them. But none of them minded, as they were so relieved that finally their enemy would never be able to hurt them again.

"I think this calls for celebration," Ronon whispered to Teyla, burying his face in her hair. She giggled in response.

Ronon pulled away in surprise. Teyla never giggled. He looked at her closely, making sure it really was his wife. She looked up at him through her lashes, a playful look in her eyes that he hadn't seen since before Allie was born. He gulped happily.

Teyla reached up to pull her husband's head down to her level and laid a searing kiss on his lips. She broke for air and smirked at his dazed expression, then replied, "I think it does indeed."

He returned her smirk and was about to kiss her again when they heard Elizabeth say, "Oh my God!"

Turning towards their friend, Ronon and Teyla both asked, "What's wrong?"

Elizabeth had a shocked look on her face as she turned to John and said, "I think my water just broke."

--

A/N: I know, I know, it's really not very nice of me to make you wait five months and then give you a cliffhanger like this one. It's just the evil genius in me -smirks-.

Hannah554: I am SO glad you thought it worth the wait, I hope this one was too! I was really worried that nobody would still be reading it! Thanks so much, hope you enjoy this chapter! Epilogue next, yay!

Jammeke: Thank you so much for your great review, I'm thrilled that you liked it! Yeah I wanted to kill Kell off sooner, but I figured it would be too messy for them to do it on their ship instead of at a trial. I had so much fun writing Elizabeth's reaction to Kell's capture! It was really fun. Thanks again, I hope you like this chapter too! Only one left, I'm afraid.

fyd818: -tacklehugs back- I cannot express just how sorry I am to have basically abandoned this story for five frelling months! I completely agree about Elizabeth, I was just visualizing it and giggling madly to myself the whole time I was writing it . I didn't want to make Kell over-the-top, but I did want him to deserve being punched (aside from the whole killing Caldwell and blaming it on Ronon and shooting Elizabeth and everything), so I made him pretty obnoxious. Actually it was really fun, now that I think of it! I hope you like this chapter, and again I am SO SORRY it took so long to write! -hugs-

TeylaFan: Hey! Sorry the Spanky bit was short in this one, but there ought to be some more in the epilogue. Really glad you're enjoying it, sorry for the long wait!