Chapter 3: The nightmares continue.
Teyla looked around the mess hall expecting to see John there as she wanted to see him although they hadn't agreed to meet for lunch. She was worried about him as were Elizabeth and Carson. Rodney was oblivious and Ronon kept saying that he would be alright because he was a warrior. Elizabeth and Carson had asked her to keep an eye on him over the next few days to make sure that he acclimated to life back on Atlantis without too many issues.
When she was sure that he wasn't in the mess hall she picked up a turkey sandwich and a bottle of water from the serving table and headed to his office to see if he was still there.
Arriving at his office a few minutes later she was surprised to see that his door was locked so she sounded the door chime, hoping that he was just preoccupied with his work and nothing had happened to him. When he didn't answer she peered through the small window in the door and found that he was sitting on the floor rubbing his shoulder.
He was obviously injured again, so she started to pound on the door and call his name, "John, are you alright?"
She seemed to be asking him that a lot lately and despite his reassurances that he was fine, she didn't believe him.
She was relieved when he opened the door and although he was smiling, she could see that he was in pain. Following him into his office she sat on a chair in front of his desk and when he had locked the door again, he sat on the chair behind the desk.
"What happened John, and do not lie to me because I saw you sitting on the floor when I first came in."
"I don't really know; I keep waking up on the floor."
She studied his face and immediately she knew that he wasn't telling the whole truth, "are you having nightmares. Please tell me the truth John because if you don't, I'm sure that Carson will insist that you see Dr Heightmeyer, and everyone knows that you don't like to talk to her."
"Well, I keep having nightmares about fighting the beast. Teer, Hedda and Avrid are there. Teer is telling me that I can still ascend with her, Avrid is telling me that I should make my own decision and Hedda keeps telling me how worried she is about me and then I wake up on the floor. The only problem is that the last dream I had it seemed way too real."
She noticed that he was still rubbing his shoulder, "are you injured, John?"
"Don't worry it's just bruised."
"I think that I should take you to see Carson, just to make sure."
"Just leave it Teyla, I'm fine." He looked at her with a pleading look before he continued, "right now I'm going to eat the sandwich that you brought me and then I'm due in the gym. You're welcome to join me for lunch if you like."
"Well, I just happened to bring myself a sandwich as well so I might just take you up on that offer."
"Teyla please don't tell anyone what I've told you today? If things don't seem to get any better over the next couple of days, I will tell Elizabeth and Carson I promise."
She saw the desperation in his eyes, and she knew that he wanted to deal with this in his own way so for now, she would respect his privacy, "alright, for now, I will respect your wishes, but I will be keeping an eye on you."
He smiled his crooked grin at her, and it immediately put her at ease, "thanks Teyla. I owe you."
They sat enjoying their meal together and every so often one of them would make a comment about what was going on in Atlantis. In particular, she loved the stories that John would tell her about his exploits helping Rodney out in his lab, after one such story, he looked up at her with sad eyes.
"You know what Teyla, I really missed you guys over the last six months, well everyone except McKay. You know how painful he can be."
"I believe that you missed Dr McKay as well."
"Yeah, maybe just a little bit."
"And we would have missed you as well if six months had passed for us."
Teyla wanted to say more, but she sensed that he was about to close up again, she knew how much he struggled with talking about his emotions, so she changed the subject.
"Did you know that Sgt Hayes and Corporal Davies have been dating?"
She laughed when a mischievous look crossed John's face, "really, I'm going to have to look into that as I'm not sure what I think about the troops fraternising in that way."
"Please do not tell them that you heard it from me?"
"What should I tell them?" He asked and she didn't miss the twinkle in his eye.
She suddenly began to feel worried for them, "please do not tell them anything?"
He burst out laughing which left her feeling a bit confused, "why are you laughing John?"
"Don't worry Teyla, I have no intention of saying anything to them. As long as they are both professional when it comes to doing their jobs, I don't care what they do in their spare time."
Feeling relieved, she stood up and picked up her tray, "I must go now as I have a meditation class to teach this afternoon, maybe you would like to come past and give us a few pointers," she teased.
"I don't think so," he told her as a look of horror crossed his face.
"I must go now but I will see you at dinner time and please try not to injure yourself further."
She smiled at him one last time and then turned around a started to walk slowly towards the meditation room. Although she was still worried about John, for now, she would keep what he had told her to himself.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
John headed straight to his quarters to check his shoulder out and ice it if necessary. There was no way he wanted to look weak in front of his men, so he needed to make sure his injuries were kept as hidden as possible.
He was surprised to see that Ronon was waiting for him when he arrived, "what can I do for you Chewie?"
"Teyla sent me. She said you hurt your shoulder and that I should have a look at it."
"Really, since when did you have a medical degree?" John snorted.
"I was a runner for seven years, so I needed to patch myself up on more than one occasion, so unless you want to go and see Carson, I suggest that you let me take a look at your shoulder."
John sighed, he knew that Ronon was right, and he really had no idea how he was going to strap up his own shoulder if he needed it, "why don't you come in chewie. I think I have an ice pack in the freezer at the top of my bar fridge."
Once John was in his quarters he sat on his bed, while Ronon grabbed an ice pack from the freezer.
"Right Sheppard, take your top off so that I can look at your shoulder?"
"Sorry Chewie, you're not my type," he quipped.
That earned him a glare from his big friend, "if you want me to help you, take your shirt off now?!"
After about a minute of grunting and moaning, he managed to get off his t-shirt and his shirt.
"It looks badly bruised, how'd you do it anyway and what happened to your wrist and head?"
Taking a deep breath, he told Ronon what he'd told Teyla earlier and when he'd finished, he begged Ronon not to tell anyone.
"So, this Teer chick, keeps harassing you to ascend with her?" Ronon asked in a matter-of-fact tone.
Before he had a chance to answer Ronon put an ice pack on his shoulder, and he winced at the coldness of it.
"Easy Chewie."
"Stop being a big baby, Kirk."
"Why did you call me Kirk, Ronon?"
"McKay's right, the girls are always chasing you and this Teer chick proves it."
He looked at his big friend with a serious look on his face, "well I told her that I don't want to see her again, so I don't want to talk about it ever again."
"I think it's time to get your shoulder strapped up and then Lt Smith needs to be taught a lesson in stick fighting. Are you up to it or should I, do it?"
A feeling of annoyance came over John at the mention of the young soldier's name, "I would very much like to wipe the smug smile off that man's face. He has been driving me nuts ever since he's been here. He is arrogant and condescending and I have no idea why he was sent to Atlantis. I must admit that it was nice not to have to put up with him for six months."
"It was only a few hours for us, so he's just as arrogant as he was yesterday," Ronon growled, and John could tell that he didn't think much of the young soldier either. "Well, we'd better get to it then, how's the shoulder?"
John moved his shoulder in all directions and was happy to see that he had a full range of motion. It was quite painful, but nothing that a little Tylenol wouldn't fix.
"It feels pretty good, thanks buddy, but I think we should have a one-handed stick fight so that Lt Smith doesn't have an advantage."
"Like, he doesn't have an advantage already, Sheppard."
"Hey what's that supposed to mean?"
"He's at least seven feet tall and has at least 100 pounds on you."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence buddy, now let's get going before he thinks I've chickened out?"
Five minutes later they walked into the gym to find that Lt Daniel Smith was already there with two of his buddies and he looked as smug and arrogant as John remembered.
"Are you ready for a fight Ronon?" The Lieutenant asked.
"You'll be fighting Colonel Sheppard today, Lieutenant and you'll be fighting one-handed," Ronon told him with a look of satisfaction on his face.
"Let him have two sticks Chewie, I think I can handle myself."
Smith turned to look at him and John felt a little worried by the sheer size of the man.
"Are you sure you can handle it Colonel, I wouldn't want to injure you?
"Don't worry about me son, I can handle myself?" He said and then he shuddered thinking how old he sounded when he called someone son.
"Well let's get started then, colonel?" Smith suggested tossing him a stick.
Picking up the stick that Smith had thrown him, he watched as Smith, who had two sticks began to circle him. "Are you ready to lose Colonel," Smith asked him with an arrogant and condescending tone.
"I think it is you who will lose today, Lieutenant."
They circled each other for a while longer, before Smith made the first move and lunged at him, but he anticipated Smith's move and moved aside. Circling John again Smith attempted to strike again, but John was quicker even with only one hand he managed to block him.
They circled each other for a while longer before Smith lunged at him again and he managed to move aside, "Is that the best you've got Lt Smith?" John asked him while wiping the sweat out of his eyes.
"Oh, I haven't even warmed up yet Colonel; I'm just giving you a chance to ease into things, seeing as you're so much older than me."
He could have thrown him in the brig for being rude to a superior officer, but it just wasn't' his style.
John looked at him and laughed, "Don't go slow on my account, let's just get this over with, so I can get back to work?"
"If you insist Colonel," Smith started attacking him, blow after blow came at him and John managed to block every single one. He could see that Smith was tiring, so he knew all he had to do was continue to block his attack.
Smith looked at him and laughed, "Are you ready to give up Colonel, I won't tell anyone else that you gave up?"
"I don't think so," John told him and mounted an attack of his own, blow after blow he delivered on Smith who managed to block most of them, but not all. There was blood on the soldier's face, by the time he'd finished.
Smith stood still trying to catch his breath, "well played Colonel, is that the best you've got?"
John was exhausted, his breathing was shallow, and his shoulder was causing him immense pain, he knew that he didn't have much energy left before he was finished. He had one thing left to try and he prayed that it would work. "No, I was just taking it easy on you; let's see what you've got Lieutenant."
He watched as Smith lunged at him again, he tried to move out of the way, but he was too slow, so Daniel managed to whack him in his injured shoulder with his stick. Gasping in pain he fell to the ground. Looking up he saw that Smith was about to jump on him, but John was too quick; he swung his lower body around and kicked Smith hard behind the knees, as Smith was falling to the ground, he managed to throw his body on to the younger soldier and hold his stick across the man's throat.
"Well played Colonel, I yield." Lt Smith said in between deep breaths.
He rolled off the man and stared at the ceiling, not really wanting to get up because he felt incredibly exhausted.
"Do you need a hand up sir?" Lt Smith asked.
Despite winning the fight he wasn't really happy, so he decided that the young man needed to realise that he was his superior officer, "No, but If you ever call me an old man again, I will have you thrown in the brig for insubordination and lose the attitude. Do you understand Lieutenant!?"
"Yes sir."
"You're dismissed Lt and take your friends with you."
He was relieved when Smith and his friends finally left the room, his shoulder was on fire and he wondered whether he should visit Carson.
"Are you alright Sheppard, you look pretty tired and come to think of it with that beard you look pretty old," Ronon said with a smirk on his face.
"You know what Chewie; lock the gym doors and I think that I'll just lay here and have a sleep. I have to admit spending six months with a bunch of boring people whose only goal is to ascend has left me feeling weak and unfit. Although I went on runs every day and I helped chop wood and carry water, it was nothing compared to the training I'd do on Atlantis or out in the field."
"Well, in that case, I think you'd better start running with me tomorrow morning then."
"Nah, Chewie, I think I need to rest my shoulder, or I might end up in the infirmary under Carson's supervision."
"So, Sheppard, are you going to sleep here, or are you going to go to your quarters?"
"Lock the door and I'll sleep here because I can't be bothered to move right now."
He watched as Ronon went over and locked the door, "why are you still here buddy?"
"I'll keep watch over you why you sleep."
"Thanks, Chewie."
Closing his eyes, he tried to empty his mind of all thoughts because he sure hoped that Teer wouldn't interrupt his dreams again and try to convince him to ascend with her. He really wasn't worried about her claims that his life may be in danger because as a soldier his life was always in danger. The thing that worried him was had she seen pain and suffering in his near future that he should be concerned about.
"John, do not go on the mission tomorrow? I believe that it is going to end badly for you." Teer begged him.
He looked around at his surroundings and realised that he was still in the gym room, "what are you doing here Teer? I thought I told you to leave me alone?"
"You need to come with me right now! I cannot risk you dying and never seeing you again!"
"Teer, I said leave me alone. I do not want to ascend, and I do not want to be with you right now. Please try to understand that my place right now is on Atlantis."
"This is your last chance John, if you don't come with me now, I am unable to help you!"
"That's fine by me!" He shot back.
Suddenly he was in the clearing by the settlement again and he heard the invisible beast coming towards him before he knew what was happening, he was flying through the air and when he landed, he landed on his left shoulder again. He was relieved a second later when everything faded to black.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Ronon sat and watched as John fell asleep, he still felt guilty that Sheppard had spent six months in the sanctuary. He knew if it had been him, he would have been bored out of his brain and he could only assume that Sheppard felt the same way.
He had to wonder why this Teer woman kept harassing his friend if she were ascended because he knew that Sheppard would never voluntarily ascend, if he accidentally did that would be a different matter.
His thoughts were interrupted when Sheppard started to moan and thrash about in his sleep and he wondered whether he was dreaming again. Then John started to mumble, and he could only surmise that he was talking to Teer.
"what are you doing here? I thought I told you to leave me alone?"
"I said leave me alone. I do not want to ascend, and I do not want to be with you right now. Please try to understand that my place right now is on Atlantis.
"That's fine by me!"
John started to thrash about even more and it looked to Ronon as if he were fighting someone, "Sheppard buddy wake up?"
His friend continued to thrash about so he tried again, "Sheppard buddy wake up!"
All of a sudden, his friend flew across the room and hit the ground with a thud and then he was still. In a split second, he was by his friend's side and he wondered whether he should call Carson, but then he remembered that he'd promised John not to tell Carson about the nightmares.
John moaned interrupting his contemplations and he was relieved to see that he was waking up.
"Sheppard are you alright."
"You know how many times I've been asked that question in the last twenty-four hours Chewie, and before you answer, it was a rhetorical question." Sheppard looked around the room before continuing, "why am I across here, I seem to remember going to sleep across the other side of the room?"
"You flew across the room in your sleep."
"Really, I dreamt that the beast from the sanctuary threw me across the clearing after Teer begged me to ascend with her again."
He looked at his friend lying on his back and he didn't miss the pain lines around his eyes, "how's the shoulder buddy?"
"I'm fine, but I think I'll head to my quarters for the rest of the day. What's the time anyway?"
"It's 1800 hours and about time we met the others for dinner."
"Really, 1800 hours, how long was I out for Ronon?"
"A couple of hours."
"And you watched me sleep for a couple of hours, surely you've got better things to do?"
Ronon smirked, "I did some weights and boxing while I was here, so it wasn't that boring."
"I think I'll head to my room; I'll catch you in the morning buddy."
Ronon unlocked the door for his friend and watched him leave. He had no idea what was going on with him, but he decided that he probably needed to talk to Teyla about it.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Teyla was on her way to the mess hall when she was stopped by Ronon. It was after 1800 hours and she was running late to meet John.
"Ronon, are you coming to join us for dinner as well?"
"We need to talk in private," Ronon said and she could sense the worry in her friend's voice.
She looked behind Ronon with apprehension, "where is John?"
Ronon sighed, "he decided to head to his quarters, he said he's feeling tired, but I don't want to talk here, so how about we get something to eat and then head to my quarters?"
"Alright, let us get some food and go straight away as I am incredibly worried about John and it is obvious that something has happened to him this afternoon."
Ronon nodded and walked into the mess hall. She very quickly followed and within five minutes they were back in Ronon's quarters eating their meal.
"Ronon can you please tell me what has happened to John?"
"Well, this afternoon he was training the troops and he was stick fighting with Lt Smith. When the fight was over, he claimed he was exhausted so after dismissing Lt Smith and his friends, he decided to have a nap in the gym room. That's when things got weird, firstly he started to thrash about and then suddenly he flew across the room and landed on his shoulder again. When he woke up, I asked him about it, he said that he'd been dreaming about that Teer chic and the beast that he'd fought in the settlement, that's when he said that he was tired and wanted to go to his quarters."
Teyla took a deep breath and tried to hide her own emotions, "what was his mood like did he seem worried or upset?"
"I didn't really notice," Ronon mumbled.
"Do you think that we should let Carson and Elizabeth know what is going on?"
"I think that we should have our dinner and then check on him and if things look bad then we should let Carson and Elizabeth know. For all we know, he might be sleeping peacefully by now."
"I hope your right Ronon because I am really worried about him. I have no idea what he must have felt in that sanctuary thinking that we had left him behind and I have no idea why Teer keeps trying to contact him."
"Don't worry he'll be alright, he always is," Ronon told her before pulling her in for a hug.
They finished their meal in silence and Teyla had to wonder what was happening to John while they ate.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
John was relieved when he finally arrived in his quarters, his shoulder was throbbing, and he had a pounding headache. He had no idea what was happening to him, but if it were Teer's doing, he could only hope that she would leave him alone.
He wondered if he should join the others for dinner because if he didn't, chances were, that they would worry about him.
Perhaps he would have a shower and shave his beard off before heading to bed, but he was incredibly tired and in pain so he decided that it could wait until morning.
He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes hoping that it would alleviate the pain behind his eyes, he had no intention of going to sleep but a few minutes later he was in a deep sleep.
When he became aware again, he was in the sanctuary. Looking around in the morning light he saw that the village was incredibly old, much older than the last time he'd been here, and it looked as if it hadn't been used in five hundred years. Vines were growing up around the buildings including the hut that had been his, the trees in the centre clearing were towering over everything and the pond where he and Hedda used to collect water had dried up long ago. Basically, the whole place had been overrun with weeds to the point where if you didn't know what you were looking for you wouldn't even have realised that there was a village there.
Before he had a chance to contemplate his surroundings Teer was standing in front of him, "why do you keep bringing me here Teer?"
"I do not want you to die."
"Look, Teer, you said yourself that I may not die so please let me go home and stop bringing me to this really old settlement because I'm finding it really creepy?"
"I have to bring you here so that the others don't find me."
"So, the other ascended don't know what you're doing? That figures."
"They have told me not to contact you again."
He looked at her with contempt, why did she keep harassing him like this, he had spent one night with her and now she had become possessive and clingy? "when you first contacted me, you didn't bother to tell me that I may die, so why do you keep telling me now?"
"We were not supposed to tell you anything. We were permitted to visit you and that was all."
"Look Teer as I said before I just want to be left alone. I have a job to do and you're certainly not making things easier."
"I will not let you go on that mission tomorrow!" She yelled, showing him a side of her that he'd never seen before.
Suddenly it dawned on him why the beast kept attacking him, "Is that why you keep sending the beast to attack me? If I remember rightly the beast was created out of your peoples' imagination and fear."
"Yes, John I have to do something so that you will not go."
John was incensed by this woman who he thought he may have feelings for, "Just go away and leave me alone and believe me when I say that I never want to see you again!?"
"In that case, you will die John and at this point, I really don't care!"
He stood and watched her fade away and he found himself standing in the old settlement again wondering if he was about to die. He had no idea what to think, why would she keep telling him that if it wasn't going to happen. Maybe he wouldn't go on the mission, but then he knew that he would die one day, and it would quite possibly be in the line of duty.
Slowly the village faded away and he felt himself being plunged into darkness and he wondered whether he would ever wake up.
TBC…
We never got to see much of Teer, but perhaps she wasn't the person she led everyone to believe that she was. Sometimes it's fun to play with some of these fringe characters.