Conversations, Chapter 2
It was about half way through their flight to the mainland before Teyla asks Sheppard a question he wasn't expecting.
"May I ask why you are angry with Dr. Weir?"
"Huh? I'm not mad at her."
"When you were not in the Jumper bay, I went to your quarters to search for you. I overhead you raise your voice in anger at Dr. Weir."
John winces. He hopes nobody else heard that. It's never good to hear one superior yelling at another.
"How much did you hear?"
"I did not wish to listen in on a private conversation and returned to the bay to wait for you."
"We did have a small argument. But it's okay now."
She's quiet for a moment and he thinks that she's done asking questions.
"May I ask why you were angry with Dr. Weir?"
"It's been a rough few days Teyla."
"But is it not I who have cause to be angry with Dr. Weir?"
He throws a quick glance in her direction.
"Are you? I mean, angry at her?"
"While I did not like being the focus of suspicion, I hold no ill feeling towards Dr. Weir. She was merely trying to protect those she brought to Atlantis. I, above all, understand that responsibility. It often requires that we do things we do not wish to. The evidence was difficult to ignore. I must admit that even I started to question my role in the Wraith ambushes."
"You know, she asked for your things to be searched."
"I am aware of that. She came to my living quarters and requested them from me."
"She did?" He hadn't thought of that. He had jumped to the assumption that they had taken her things without permission. He really was being a jackass.
"Of course. Dr. Weir well understands her role as leader. She would never delegate a task she was not willing to do herself."
"You really like Dr. Weir, don't you?"
"I respect and admire her greatly. My people and I had no choice but to leave our world and come to Atlantis. Dr. Weir, on the other hand, chose to leave her home voluntarily and take on the responsibility of protecting those whose only connection to her was their willingness to follow her into another galaxy."
"She is a pretty amazing woman."
He didn't see Teyla smile at the pride in his voice.
"So may I ask why you were angry at Dr. Weir?"
John sighed. He could see that she wasn't going to drop this.
"I didn't like how they were treating you and other Athosians. I didn't think it was fair that they automatically assumed you were the traitor. It made me angry that she allowed the interrogations and accusations to go so far."
"I appreciate your confidence that I was not a traitor."
"You're welcome."
"But did you not have confidence that Dr. Weir would not allow an injustice to occur?"
Yeah. She had him on that. John should have known that Weir would require incontrovertible proof before letting anything happen to Teyla. He didn't have an answer for that.
Luckily, he didn't need one because they were coming up to the mainland. It looked like most of the Athosians were waiting for them on the designated landing area for the jumpers. The Athosians had been busy since moving to the mainland. They had set up shelters and looked like they were about to start planting crops. Sheppard could also see the members of the Atlantis team who had agreed to help the Athosians get settled.
He couldn't ignore the fact that everyone looked really happy.