Disclaimer: I don't own SGA.

A/N: And now for the rest of the story.

Chapter 24 - Faith

The darkness was consuming her.

The little room they kept her in was absolutely dark. She was certain that it would drive her mad if they did not move her into the light soon.

She slept and woke, slept and woke, again and again. Had it been hours? Or days? It was taking all of her meditation techniques to keep her calm. She couldn't sit comfortably in the little room and the darkness made it feel like the walls were closing in even tighter.

She shook her head slowly as she wedged her legs into one corner. A wave of icy nausea made her heave once before she again got herself under control. "I will be alright." She whispered to herself.

Teyla reached up and felt the knot on the back of her head. Her hair was matted and sticky and the nausea came back. She parted her hair anyway, looking for the gash she knew was there.

Her hand was slick when she rubbed it on her pants. She had opened the wound again with her probing. She could feel it trickle down her neck like a bug walking over her smooth skin. She scratched at her neck and shuddered at the thought.

It was difficult to maneuver in the cramped, dark space but she managed to unclasp and shimmy out of her vest. She shoved unsteady hands into each pocket until her hand met soft cotton. She pulled the handkerchief out and pressed it to the base of her skull. It was one of those strange little multi-purpose survival items that she usually packed out of habit more than need. She sighed as the nausea that had overwhelmed her melted into a throbbing headache.

Her eyes closed slowly but the view stayed the same.

She let her thoughts wander, suddenly feeling utterly alert. Where was she? How good of a leap did they get on Ronon? Who had her? Were the others looking for her yet?

She envisioned Ronon opening the door and pulling her to her feet, his hands more gentle than most would think as he worried over her wound. She sighed and her thoughts shifted.

The balcony. She groaned.

Her thoughts had replayed that day more times than she would ever admit. Ronon kissed her. Ronon kissed her? It still felt like some strange dream. Something that was happening to someone else.

She let the memory wash over her now, safe with the knowledge that she was all alone. She felt indulgent as she remembered the way he had pressed his body against her back as he pointed to fish in the distance. She remembered his hands threading in her hair when they kissed. She remembered the heady feeling of nervousness and courage and completeness hitting her all at once and then melting away to leave her uncertain.

She blushed at the memory and sighed again, the tone of the sigh happily wistful. It was a good memory.

She felt emboldened somehow. Her thoughts were clearer as the throbbing became merely background noise to the persistent chant running through her head.

"He's coming for me. He's coming for me."

Ronon stalked through the gate. He didn't even feel his leg as he raised the gun John gave him. It felt foreign in his hand. It was so much lighter and less substantial than his own gun. He didn't care though. Right now, he cared about exactly two things: ending this thing with Vardis and getting home for a nice long nap and a warm shower.

They didn't have to track far from the gate to find Vardis and his men there. Ronon felt the others moving in behind him as he moved in quickly and pressed the barrel of his gun to Vardis's temple. John and Teyla each had their guns trained on one of the other men.

"Ah, you have found me."

Ronon grunted a reply as Rodney helped John and Teyla collect weapons.

"The creature let you live."

"You shouldn't have trusted him."

Vardis shrugged. "That is why I took my time with Teyla. If you want something done right..." His voice took on a sing-song quality that had Ronon's trigger finger twitching dangerously.

"Teyla..." Ronon growled, his teeth gritted as he waited for her go-ahead. He cut his gaze over to her, wondering if she would falter now that they had him.

"You know I was given permission to do what I did. The ruling council of my people asked me to."

"Was it not obvious that I was never going to answer your questions? Why did you keep torturing me?"

Vardis glanced at her and her stomach turned at his little smile. "Anyone else I have ever questioned could never have held out so long. You were an anomaly. I had to know to what extent."

"She's a person, not an experiment." John said, his tone completely incredulous.

"Semantics." Vardis said smugly.

"Teyla." Ronon growled again.

She looked at him fully and then moved around so Vardis could see her. "We are going to help your people now. How many died while you wasted time?"

Ronon wondered if Teyla took any pleasure from the look on Vardis's face. She glanced at Ronon, her eyes clear and her mouth in a grim line. She looked at him for long moments before she moved past him and the others. He heard her moving toward the gate and he understood her meaning perfectly. She wouldn't tell him what to do but she wouldn't stop him either.

Teyla felt nauseous as she moved away from her team. Seeing Vardis again had threatened to make her physically ill. Seeing his little grin and those mannerisms she had tried to forget had upset her. She jolted when she heard the gun shot and the wave of relief she suddenly felt nearly brought her to her knees.

It was over.

She was never going to be the kind of person that desired revenge but she was human enough to take pleasure in the fact that the thing that haunted her dreams was no more. She felt the men move up behind her and she gave Ronon a fleeting little smile as he touched her hand gently. She was tired. She had physically pushed herself well beyond what she was truly ready for.

"Can we get out of here?" Ronon grumbled as he watched John tie up the last of Vardis's men.

He was barely staying on his feet and as he swayed a little, Teyla reached a hand up to steady him. "What a team we make."

John limped over and dialed the gate. "I'll send a team through to clean up here."

Teyla looked up at Ronon as John finished the sequence. He was staring at her openly. "What?" She said quietly.

"I'm not sorry."

"Not your finest attempt at an apology." She pressed her hand more firmly into the small of his back as she unconsciously rubbed affectionately.

"One of us is always going to be in danger." He murmured.

She couldn't stop the sigh that escaped. "I know." Her voice had a regretful tone that surprised her and had him turning to face her more fully.

"Don't ΜΆ " He looked quickly at John who had his eyes firmly trained on the dialing device. "Don't say it like that." He swallowed and closed his eyes against the throbbing pain in his leg. "Not yet."

The gate came alive then and Teyla grasped his arm. "Alright." She carefully tried to sound sure and calm. "Let us go home."

Ronon made it through the gate on his own two feet and then immediately collapsed into the waiting hands of the familiar medics. John watched with some interest as Teyla slipped off toward her quarters, her eyes only trailing to Ronon for a brief moment. He gave instructions to Lorne so he could take a team and retrieve Vardis's body and the rest of his men. Rodney and Carson were speaking animatedly to Elizabeth on the stairs and John watched as she furrowed her brow at Rodney and turned to head into her office.

John was still in pain but he limped up the stairs and knocked lightly on Elizabeth's door.

John leaned in the doorway to Elizabeth's office. "So I'm guessing you knew about Teyla and Ronon."

Elizabeth looked up from her computer screen. "Yes."

"Kinda weird, don't you think?" John moved to sit across from her, letting out a sigh as he stretched out his injured leg.

"Why?"

He furrowed his brow. "Imagine their kids."

Elizabeth closed her computer, folded her hands together. "They are just dating, John."

"Oh, come on Elizabeth. You and I both know that it's a little more than that."

"True. But, it's still a little premature to be thinking about their children."

"Yeah but, just imagine the day when one of them comes to their Auntie Liz and tells her about how Daddy beats Mommy up."

Elizabeth laughed a bit. "He doesn't hurt her."

"You have never sparred with Ronon." John muttered.

"I've seen her. She can hold her own."

John played with the hem of his shirt sleeve. "It's weird." He mumbled.

"Well, weird or not, it's been really good for her."

He sighed, already getting used to the idea. "I know. I can see that." He watched as she opened her laptop again. "So, Rodney filled you in on the creature thing?"

"A bit." She ran a hand across her forehead. "And Ronon shot Vardis? Unprovoked?" She squinted at the screen and whispered as if only confirming the fact to herself. "So much paperwork."

"Sorry." John said, not sounding sorry at all. "When is the debriefing?"

Elizabeth kept her eyes trained on the computer. "Whenever Ronon feels up to it."

John pushed himself out of the chair. "I'm going to take a shower and grab what is sure to be the best nap of my life." He paused in front of her desk. "You know I should move one of them to a different team. Those are the rules."

"They aren't military, John." She cushioned her chin in her palm, her elbow planted on her desk. "Be happy that your team is all safe and accounted for. Get some rest and deal with everything else later."

Ronon didn't know if hours or days had passed in the infirmary. He woke with his leg bandaged and throbbing. His head still felt heavy and his thoughts were muddled. He pushed himself out of bed easily, not caring if he met any resistance from the infirmary personnel.

He glanced out the window on his way through the halls. It was dark out. It had been midday when they arrived. He slipped into his room. The room hadn't felt like home in a long time but he didn't want to go looking for Teyla in dirty, blood-splattered clothes.

His shower was quick but the warm water coursed over his aching muscles and nearly made him weep with joy. The clean clothes he slipped into somehow made his head feel better. All-in-all, he felt infinitely more alert as he moved again through the hallways.

Her door was shut and he wondered briefly just how mad she was at him for putting himself in danger. Would her door even open for him?

He paused with his hand raised, a pang shooting through his chest and his breath hitching at just the thought of her shutting him out.

He moved his hand to open the door and felt his breath return to normal as it slid open with a familiar hiss.

She had her back to him. One hand was lightly resting on the pane of the huge plate glass window where rain was weeping down. He hadn't noticed the rain before but it seemed to dominate the room. The lights were off and the moon cast bizarre and ever-changing shadows through the drops. Lightening brightened up the room at odd intervals.

Despite the heaviness of the shower, the water was forming rivulets slowly and making a lazy path down the smooth glass. Teyla's fingers moved slightly, her fingers unconsciously tracing the trails that her eyes were not seeing. Her mind was elsewhere. It was in a dark, cold cell. It was on the mainland with her people. It was in a sterile infirmary that she had seen far too much of in the past year.

She was silent as her hand rose slowly and brushed at her face. He moved to her then, stalked over slowly and placed a hand on her hip. She turned, her expression startled even as she tried to smile.

He moved his thumb across her cheek, dragging it across the scar that dipped below her eye. The gesture made her smile as she always did when he made a point to be tender. "I never wanted you to endanger yourself for me." She said softly, her eyes closing as his hand trailed to her lip where he traced another scar.

"I know." He cupped her head, his fingers entangling in her silky hair. "And then you came after me before you were ready."

She sighed, remembering the words he had spoken earlier. "One of us will always be in danger."

"I think so." He paused and gave a huge heave of breath and stalked one pace away. "I'll give this up. We can go live with the Athosians."

She smiled softly as their gazes met. "I would never do that to you." She pushed at her hair and laughed just a little. "Or me. At least not while the Wraith are still out there."

Teyla stepped closer to him, bridging the gap between them. She knew what it cost him to even make such an offer. "Then what?" He asked as he raised his hand to her cheek. It hovered a breath away, a sure sign that he was still uncertain.

She shrugged and turned her head to press her face into his hand. "I do not want to lose you."

His hand twitched against her cheek. "Going somewhere?" His voice was gruff and sure.

A slow smile spread across her face. She shook her head once. "We are good together. Even in danger."

He nodded. "I meant what I said to that creature." It wasn't in him to form the three little words the creature had sought, they represented a mere shadow of how he truly felt for her, but he felt compelled to remind her that the love was there and real and unwavering.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around him, her head fitting just under his chin. "I know." She said softly.

"Why do you get to be Han Solo?" His voice held a hint of a whine.

"Why are you not still in the infirmary?" She shot back.

"I busted out."

"Dr. Beckett will not be pleased."

"I'm fine, Teyla. I've had enough of the infirmary."

She made a sound of understanding and leaned into him, her ear over his heart. He wrapped his strong arms around her and stared out the window over her head.

She didn't need to say that she had been unbelievably, inconsolably worried or that she had felt as if a part of her had been ripped away while he was missing.

He didn't need to tell her that it meant everything that she had come for him or that he was still feeling little stabs of pain in his chest at the thought of her endangering herself for him.

She didn't tell him that she never imagined this with him. He didn't tell her that he had never imagined anything but this since they met.

They just held each other in the moonlit room, the rhythmic sound of rain their only soundtrack.

When he heard her sigh a little, felt her breath move his shirt, he kissed her head, leaned his chin there. "Hey Teyla." His voice was gravelly. "Wanna spar?"

She laughed against his chest, turning her face to place a simple kiss over his heart. Her hands were fisted in the fresh shirt he had thrown on and she used it as leverage to rise to her tiptoes and touch her lips to his. "Maybe." She breathed, her warm breath against his lips sending shock waves to the tips of his toes.

Ronon snaked an arm around her waist, holding her still so that he could capture her lips more completely. He poured all of his worry and love and sorrow into the kiss. He lifted her slightly, taking her weight off her toes. She smiled against his mouth as he stumbled for the bed.

"What happened to sparring?" She purred.

A low rumble started in his throat at her tone before any words could find their way to the surface. His knees hit the bed and he tumbled with her. "This'll do."

Note: Review first! Then continue on to Chapter 25.

Brynna