Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairing, etc.
Part 12/?
-Chapter 11-
Confusion
For the next week, things continued the way they always had. Teyla held back from mentioning her feelings to Ronon, since he didn't say anything about his to her, in fact seeming totally unaware he'd spoken of them in his sleep. Things were already awkward enough. Teyla saw no point in making things worse.
After having funerals for those who'd died during the epidemic, Ronon and Teyla went to visit Michaela on Sateda. She'd come to Athos once during the outbreak, but had seen the warning posted by the Ring and left again. While extraordinarily happy to see her son and daughter-in-law were fine, but expressed great sadness that so many more Athosians had been lost.
Teyla truly liked Michaela. She found the woman strong, independent, though a little hardheaded at times. Most of the qualities she saw in Ronon's mother were ones she wanted to possess herself. Perhaps if she watched Michaela and learned how she acted around others, she might be able to pick up a few things to help her with her leadership.
Home looked better than good after her and Ronon's overnight stay on Sateda. To maintain the façade of their marriage in front of Michaela, the two of them had slept in Ronon's old room. But once the door was securely closed behind them, he took a pillow and an extra blanket from the bed, and curled up on the floor. Teyla, feeling guilty, insisted he join her in the bed. Nearly letting their voices get away from them in a heated if hissed argument, he finally capitulated, throwing his pillow, blanket, and self onto the too-small mattress. She suspected neither of them got much sleep, though. For her part, she'd lain stiffly staring into the dark, listening to all the little noises of the night: half hoping he would sleep talk again, half fearing that if she slept, she might be the one talking in her sleep.
"Thanks for going back with me," Ronon said once they were on their way back home. "I really appreciate it. And -- I think it put Mom at ease about us."
Along with a dragging tiredness from her sleepless night, Teyla now felt a deep sense of shame about deceiving Ronon's mother. But they meant their charade for the best. Michaela had plenty of things to worry about without adding her son and daughter-in-law's marriage to the list. Besides, Teyla was sure she didn't want her mother-in-law playing matchmaker any more than she already had. "That is good," she said noncommittally.
The look on Ronon's face made it plain his thoughts ran along the same line as hers. "Thanks for letting me sleep with you last night," he said after an uncomfortable pause. His hair hung loosely around his face, so she couldn't see if he were blushing or not.
She was. "You are welcome," she said shyly.
By then, they were approaching the outskirts of the village, and neither of them had a chance to say more. Athosians flocked around to welcome them back, Teyla quickly being swept away by people who wanted to discuss "important business." After the double hits of epidemic and blizzard, herbs and food supplies were getting low, and people looked to her as their leader to somehow rectify the situation.
Teyla continued to mull over the village's problems as she worked on supper that night. Ronon sat at the table, chopping dried meat and slightly shriveled vegetables while she added spices to the boiling water over the fire. Perhaps it would be best, she decided, to send groups to several worlds, including Sateda, to gather supplies. The Athosians were far from idle during the cold season; instead of working their fields, they worked at many arts and crafts. Surely they could barter for enough to tide them through the last of winter. . .
Feeling the first positive stirrings of excitement she turned away from the stove to share her thoughts with her husband, saying quickly, "Ronon, I have an idea how we might make up the shortages in the village's supplies."
Ronon looked up from his chopping, a distracted expression on his face. "Hmm?" he asked.
Teyla quirked an eyebrow, sudden curiosity distracting her. Her stirring slowed. "What are you thinking about?"
Blinking, he shook his head slightly and lowered his eyes again. "Nothing. Just– Sorry. Daydreaming. What did you say?" He scooped the meat into a bowl and held it out to her.
A vague sense of disappointment settled over her as she took the bowl from him. Adding its contents to the soup, she turned her attention back to stirring carefully. With an effort, she kept her voice steady, though her words came out faster than she wanted. "I just said I might know how to remedy the supply situation for the village. That is what the villagers wanted to talk to me about when they dragged me off as soon as we returned home. I am sorry. Were you very bored while I was being briefed on every little thing that happened while we were gone?"
Ronon shrugged. "Nah. I was fine. I had stuff to do." He came to stand next to her, the last bowl with the tuttleroot and other vegetables in his hands. "Here."
Teyla stirred everything, inhaling the mouthwatering scent that was already rising from the pot. "Good." She checked the tea to see it had finished steeping. "Well, we should send teams of our best negotiators out to our allied worlds, to replenish our dwindling supplies. With the epidemic and the blizzard, we are all running low on supplies. I thought you and I might be one of them."
She saw interest stir in his green eyes, and for a wistful moment wished it were caused by more than his desire to see another world than Athos or Sateda. "Where would we go?" he asked.
"A place called Genii. Have you heard of it?"
"No. But if they're friends of yours, they're friends of Sateda, which means they're friends of mine. Nice people?"
Teyla shrugged. "'Friends' might be too strong a word for what we are. 'Tentative acquaintances' and 'occasional traders' are a little more accurate. They are simple farmers, like us, but they are very suspicious, even of people they know. We will have to partake of drink with them before we can begin negotiations."
"Sounds like fun," Ronon said dryly. "How strong is this stuff we'll be drinking?"
Teyla stirred the soup again, then poured the tea into two cups. She gave these to Ronon, motioning for him to put them on the table. "Only a little stronger than what we drank at our wedding feast," she said. "If you are accustomed to drink, it should not affect you." She ladled the soup into two bowls, happy to see the vegetables still seemed more or less crisp. The meat looked adequately cooked, too. . . Oh, if only she could get a handle on Charin's recipe!
Ronon took the bowl she offered him with thanks. They sat across from each other at the table, eating their meal in the silence that seemed more and more common lately. Had Ronon guessed? Was that why he was so quiet? "Is everything okay?" she asked him hesitantly.
He looked up from his bowl, looking like a boy caught in mischief. "Well—"
Teyla's spirits lifted enough to let her chuckle softly. "I am not talking about the soup. Though I am sorry I cannot cook as well as Charin, or even your mother." It frustrated her, this major failing of hers. "You have just been very – quiet of late."
"Oh." Ronon spun his tea cup in his hands, his expression distant. "I guess I have been distant, lately. I've been thinking a lot about the epidemic, and stuff that happened. That – well, it reminded me of my mortality. And it made me think about a few things in a new light. Things that – well – I'm not so proud of." He looked up at her from beneath his long lashes, lips kinking into a rueful smile. "Like how rude I was to you when, and for a while after, we met."
She thought of the searing kiss he'd given her in the meadow, when they'd fought for the second time. A blush rose up her neck. "I-I did not behave much better," she said. She was very careful not to look at his lips. Awkward, awkward, you stupid girl! Why could you not keep your lips closed against your foolish questions?
"We've both had a lot of growing up to do," he said. "You – you've done a lot better in that respect than me."
Teyla wasn't quite sure what to say to that. Looking down at her soup again, she smiled, her blush deepening. "Thank you, Ronon."
Perhaps they did need a little business trip to ease the tension between them. Things certainly couldn't get much worse. Could they?
-Genii-
Though Teyla had told Ronon the Genii were inherently suspicious, she'd forgotten how uninhibited they could get when inebriated. She turned down several rather inappropriate propositions, escaping by showing off the green bead bracelet around her wrist. After the first three or so, Ronon began to hover at her left shoulder, glaring at any male who came within ten feet of her. Though quite capable of taking care of herself, she had to admit how nice it was to have someone watching out for her virtue.
"We will begin negotiations in the morning, Teyla. My good friend!" Cowan, the leader of the Genii, slurred his words as he awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. His glassy eyes moved to Ronon, who maintained his possessive posture directly behind her. "And congra—congrash— Ancestors' blessings on your recent marriage."
Teyla escaped quickly after that, everyone else too drunk to notice. She and Ronon had been careful to limit their consumption of drink. As they retired to the house where they'd stay for the duration of their negotiations, Ronon let out his breath. "I thought we'd never get to leave," he said, dropping limply onto the bed.
Closing the door of the bedroom behind her, Teyla made sure it was locked. The Genii had been known to wander into the wrong houses after their drinking binges, and a few kidnappings had been involved. Though confident in her ability to protect herself, and with the added protection of Ronon's presence, she didn't want to invite trouble. "I know what you mean. But we had to wait until everyone was too drunk to notice. If someone was sober enough to notice our leaving, it could cause tension at our negotiations tomorrow."
Ronon politely averted his eyes as she changed, she returning the favor as they exchanged places and he did the same. "On the other hand," she mused into the pillow covering her eyes, "I suppose we could have left sooner. But I wanted to make sure we wouldn't be noticed."
"Didn't Cowan notice?" Ronon asked, voice muffled.
"I do not believe so. He was too drunk." Teyla yawned, just then realizing how tired she really was.
Her stomach flipped when she felt the sleeping pallet move as Ronon sat down. Though they'd both agreed to sharing a room – and a bed – again, she still couldn't still her drumming heart. Would it betray her?
Ronon didn't seem to notice. He kept his back to her, lying as far away from her as the pallet would allow. "Good night, Teyla."
"Good night. Sleep well, Ronon."
"You too."
Once more, he somehow fell asleep before her. Teyla lay on her side, watching the shifting rays of moonlight through the open window. Her thoughts were far away, focused on Athos, and Sateda, and anything but the sleeping man less than a foot away. It didn't work well, but it did give her a slight distraction until she heard the owner of the house get home. Loud thumps and crashes echoed through the house as the woman made her way to her bedroom. Then silence – she must have passed out on her sleeping pallet.
Eventually, Teyla drifted into sleep, her dreams leaving her with a lingering happiness when she woke. . .
. . .Until she felt Ronon's arm, wrapped tightly around her waist.
She swallowed hard, then froze. Warmth rushed across the back of her neck, stirring the hair there. She realized he'd snuggled his face into her hair sometime during the night.
Even worse? Tucked securely into the curve of his body, she couldn't begin extract herself without waking him.
Oh, Ancestors. What are you trying to tell us? She dreaded Ronon's waking. What would his reaction be?
Especially if he realized she was enjoying their accidental embrace?
-To Be Continued-
me: Thank you! I agree, Ronon and Teyla are too cute – but a little confused with each other at the moment! I'm glad I could offer you a distraction from term paper writing – I know how you feel! I have about a thousand other things I should be doing right now. . . Thank you so much for the review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Bunnylass: Thanks! LOL Yes, that was kind of out-of-the-blue, a very unusual way for them to realize how they felt about each other. Though Ronon doesn't seem to realize he was talking in his sleep. . . I'm sorry to hear you were ill! I hope you're feeling much, much better now. Thank you so much for the review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
noturna: Thank you so much! I'm glad to hear you thought the last chapter was a great one. I hope I can continue to give you enjoyable chapters! Things are starting to get very, very confusing between Ronon and Teyla – but what's life without a little drama, right? LOL Thank you so much for the review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
jewel of athos: Oh, thank you so much! Oh, wow, I'm flattered that you enjoyed my story so much, but I'm sorry I kept you up until 5 am! I hope you didn't lose much sleep because of me. . . Well, it's still going to be a while before the two of them move past their confusion – but I can promise good things in the future! Thank you so much for the review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
TubaPrincess: Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked all the dream/sleep talking, it was a lot of fun to write! The little things you reveal in your sleep, and you don't even realize it. . . I'm glad you thought the last chapter was worth the wait (again!), and I hope you feel the same way about this one! Thank you so much for the review, I hope you enjoy!
Alexiel974: Wow! Thank you! I know what you mean. I felt like a rotten person for making Teyla lose so many more of her people right on the heels of the culling, but it made me feel a little better that I could put Ronon right there to help her out. If she looked around, she'd find there are a lot of people willing to help her out! I'm really glad you enjoyed the last part of the previous chapter – and I can promise that the answer to your question is coming soon! Thank you so much for the review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
