Chapter Thirteen
Ronon awoke alone the next morning. Teyla had fallen asleep, not in his arms, but lying next to him – yet somehow he hadn't expected her to be there when he woke up. He lay there for a few moments before sitting up and looking around the cave. Rodney was still fast asleep in one corner, but everyone else was gone.
He guessed Rodney hadn't gone to sleep particularly early the night before.
Ronon stood up and wandered out of the cave, it was sunny and warm, the perfect day to do something. Although the 'something' that was planned wasn't exactly the most relaxing of things to do…and it involved travelling to another planet so he doubted it would be sunny and warm in both locations.
"Good morning," John appeared next to him, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Morning," Ronon replied. "Where is everyone?"
"I sent Lorne, Cadman and Beckett out to get supplies and Zelenka is still hovering around the DHD grinning like an idiot…haven't seen Rodney…"
"He's still sleeping."
"Ah, that would explain it…"
They both fell silent.
"Do you know where to find Ford?" Ronon asked after a few minutes.
"Not directly, but we know where to find the information about where to find Ford," John stated.
"OK."
Silence.
"Your death really hurt her," Ronon stated after a few moments, not entirely sure why he did so.
"I didn't die," John countered, neither of them turning to look at the other.
"To her you did…she tried to hide it, and she managed to for the most part. But a couple of times when we were alone she let it out – either in anger or sorrow…she won't tell you that, but I think you should know."
John was silent for a long time before he spoke.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," Ronon replied.
"Teyla is waiting by the gate, we should go," John said, making his way down the path towards the gate before Ronon could say anything else to stop him in his tracks.
Ronon smiled slightly to himself, he knew he hadn't told John anything he didn't already know – but he had the feeling that it never really sank in until someone told you the truth bluntly.
When he finally reached the gate he found Elizabeth there along with Teyla and Zelenka.
"John, I'm coming…" she was saying as Ronon walked up.
He raised both his eyebrows as he met Teyla's eyes and she did the same in return. John grabbed Elizabeth's arm lightly.
"It's not safe," he replied.
"You think anything we do is safe?" she said through gritted teeth. "I don't need you to protect me, John, I can use a weapon and I've been without you around to save me for the last year…"
"Elizabeth…" he said quietly.
Ronon watched their eyes meet and could swear he almost saw the sparks flying between them, both types.
"She can protect herself," Ronon spoke up quietly.
John turned to look at him and Ronon nodded slowly, an instant understanding passing between them. They would both look out for her as much as possible, at least if she was with them they knew where she was.
"OK, fine," John said, looking back to Elizabeth and letting go of her arm. "But stick with me, Ford might be their leader but these men are no good."
He returned to the DHD and dialled the address he seemed to know off-by-heart.
Elizabeth took in a deep breath as she stepped through the gate. Now was not a good time to be angry at John. She knew he cared but that was no excuse for him to not include her in a mission of this importance. Maybe that was just what he was used to, or maybe he was just being protective, but either way it was irritating.
A year ago it would have seemed normal to her to be the one left behind, yet now she went to other worlds as frequently as the others. She glanced at John as he marched ahead, leading them towards wherever it was they were going to find Ford's men.
Ronon walked next to her as if he were silently telling her not to worry about it.
"Thank you," she said, not entirely sure what she was thanking him for.
He shrugged slightly. "No problem."
The four of them walked in silence towards a small village. Elizabeth didn't take long to notice the looks Teyla and Ronon kept giving each other when they thought the other wasn't paying attention. She guessed they were walking apart on purpose to try and hide something, not that either she or John minded what kind of relationship Ronon and Teyla had.
"OK Teyla, you and Ronon keep watch, we're going to find Derek," John said.
Teyla nodded and the both of them stopped outside the door of a building, John pushed the door open and Elizabeth followed. She wondered why John was being so paranoid about it all, not wanting her to come, leaving Teyla and Ronon to guard the door, not letting too many people come with them…
"John what's so dangerous about these people?" Elizabeth asked.
John sighed and stopped to face her, the two of them alone in the corridor. "They've been on the enzyme for such a long time that they're completely addicted, and I mean it's really messed with their heads. They don't think straight at all and they switch moods incredibly fast…and don't trust anything they say."
"But they've always been like that John…" Elizabeth said in confusion.
John sighed and looked at her for a few moments. "They took Teyla and they hurt her badly, it was only because Ford found them and stopped them that…"
He didn't finished the sentence but Elizabeth got the idea. For a moment she wondered why noneof them had mentioned it earlier – before she remembered they'd only been back two days, even though it felt like much longer.
"OK," Elizabeth said.
John nodded and they both turned, walking down to the end of the corridor where John pushed open the door and revealed a small bar with a few tables. The moment they entered the guy seemed to recognise John.
"Get out," he said instantly.
"Not until you tell me where to find Ford," John said, closing the door behind him and Elizabeth didn't miss that he stood in front of her.
"He doesn't wanna see you," the man said.
"Derek, we need to see him…"
"No."
The man stepped out from behind the bar and glanced at the couple of guests in the corner.
"Get out," he repeated more angrily.
It was then that Elizabeth knew what she had to do…
John watched as she pulled the hand gun from her ankle in an instant and had it raised at the frightened-looking man's head. He creased his forehead, and in an instant took in all the information. Elizabeth was standing before him, a gun in her hand, pointing it at a human in a threatening manor.
And he'd given it to her.
"Elizabeth," he said, touching her arm lightly.
"John," she snapped back, an obvious 'shut up' without the words being spoken, then she turned her attention back on Derek. "Where's Lieutenant Ford?"
Derek looked at John for help. His hand still on Elizabeth's arm, he grabbed her wrist and twisted the gun away from her. She turned to glare at him and it was times like these he was glad she didn't have the ability to kill with her eyes…
Because he would've been a dead man.
"Elizabeth…can I talk to you please?"
She glared at Derek again before walking out of the room in anger, refusing to look John in the eye. John sent Derek a look telling him he wasn't going anywhere farand then followed her into the hallway, grabbing her by the shoulder.
"What were you thinking?" he asked.
"I was thinking there's no way he's giving us any information unless he's under some kind of pressure," Elizabeth responded, glaring at him directly in the eyes again.
John searched her eyes for some look of hesitance, of apology, but he only saw the hard cold stare he was sure a thousand diplomats had broken under. Undeterred by the glare he'd seen her use on so many other people he creased his forehead slightly in confusion.
"What happened to diplomacy? Negotiating?"
"It doesn't always work that way, John, you told me that years ago," she responded.
"I didnt mean for you to start negotiating through the barrel of a gun…"
The realisation dawned on him. This was his fault. He'd given her the gun, he'd given her the lessons, and now she was using them. He hadn't expected her to use what he'd taught her, it was supposed to be entirely for self defence.
"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you," she almost spat at him, and then she did something that surprised him even more.
Shaking his hand from her shoulder she ducked beneath his arm and grabbed his pulse weapon, flicking the switch to stun she stood to his side.
"Is this better? Or is stun still too violent for you?"
He stared at her in disbelief. This wasn't right…he hadn't taught her to dodge shoulders or use a pulse weapon.
"Where...?" he asked.
"Ronon," was all she needed to say.
But John paid little attention to her response, as she stood before him dressed in almost-rags, long hair hanging on her shoulders and a pulse weapon clasped in her hands, he conjured up the image of her in the grey uniform pants and red t-shirt, her smile full of hope and her hair bouncing lively around her face, never even considering taking up a weapon and pointing it to a Wraith let alone a human.
"You're not the Elizabeth Weir I fell in love with," he found himself saying.
Her expression softened slightly but only for a moment, it was quickly replaced with the angry mask from a few moments earlier.
"Oh, because I don't need you to protect me anymore? That's what this is about isn't it? Protecting me?"
She was shouting but John could see her heart wasn't in it, her mind distracted.
"Yes!" John shouted back at her, then lowered his voice again. "I'm protecting you from becoming me, Elizabeth I don't want you to be me you're worth more than that. You don't deserve the pain I've been through, you don't need see what I've seen…"
"Then maybe you should have been there when I did," she choked on her words, then turned around and walked back into the room, pulse weapon set on stun.
He watched her leave, confused about everything, about her, about when he'd fallen in love with her and when he'd decided to tell her…
All of a sudden it felt as though someone had punched a huge whole through his chest.