Disclaimer: The people who put Stargate Atlantis together deserve the credit for making such an interesting show.
(SPOILERS for 1x11: 'THE EYE') Turn back now if you haven't seen the episode or don't want to be spoiled!
She lied to Sheppard whenever he asked her if she was okay. Forcing on what she supposed was her 'good soldier' routine (even though she wasn't a soldier), Dr. Weir would assure him that while she wasn't perfect, she would be fine, and that she was putting the whole situation behind her. She felt bad for lying, but strangely enough, she felt worse when it was clear he didn't believe her. He would raise his brows questioningly and pretend that he did. But she knew he could see through her act as easily as she could see through his.
Teyla wasn't fooled either. Her cat-like eyes easily saw through Elizabeth's brave face thanks to her warrior attitude and leadership experience. Leaders spoke their own special code. Once you were one long enough, you could usually read other leaders with ease unless they were skilled strategists.
That was what Elizabeth was supposed to be. Except she wasn't.
As a diplomat, Elizabeth had been trained to develop the equivalent of a poker face. The persona she had always donned was a strange hybrid. While working in safe territory, she tried to be approachable, friendly, and geared towards the task at hand. When faced with an opponent or a difficult situation, her job was to slip into an aura of imperviousness. Nothing was supposed to faze her.
Not even the prospect of being dragged through the Stargate into certain slavery.
Unfortunately, some things just didn't seem to work on Atlantis they way the did on Earth. Alarm clocks, compasses, and her negociating abilities had been nullified by the alien world the Atlantis team now found themselves in.
She spent her time sorting her dilemma out while doing something that she was still felt confident about: playing the violin. She had chosen it as her personal item on a whim prior to leaving Earth, and hadn't been disappointed with her choice. Atlantis' leader had discovered that not only was relearning childhood music lessons a good way of winding down, but as it turned out, Atlantis was acoustically attuned to music. The notes that fell off her strings echoed and reverberrated off the walls in her quarters and most spare rooms as perfectly as they would have in a concert hall.
Today, Elizabeth sat and played on an Atlantean bench in one of the larger rooms within the team's access. To her knowledge, no one frequented the room often, so she practiced there in the stillness that filled what parts of Atlantis that they didn't regularly occupy. As she warmed up by practicing some scales, she mentally pushed away the feeling of helplessness that came whenever she thought about the incident with the Genii.
When the fear and self-doubt hit, she was back in a dark control room with a gun to her face, or a cruel arm pinning her to Kolya as he tried to make his escape, using her life as leverage. Elizabeth couldn't understand why she couldn't get past it. It made no sense! Lost in her reverie as she played, she didn't notice someone else enter the room until she stopped to decide what melody to try.
"Teyla," Elizabeth said in surprise. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come in."
"As am I. Normally I would have made my presence known, but I wanted to listen the music. Is that...a violet?" Teyla asked.
"Violin," Elizabeth corrected.
"A violin," the Ethosian repeated, committing the word to memory. Setting the instrument down, Elizabeth gestured to the bench, inviting Teyla to sit.
"What can I do for you?" the diplomat asked cheerfully. There had always been a strong tension in her relationship with Teyla ever since the falling out between their peoples, and it was something she wanted to ammend. She suspected that Teyla felt the same way.
Now, Teyla hesitated, something that caught the other woman off guard. She smiled encouragingly and waited.
"I wanted to talk to you," Teyla finally offered flatly.
"Oh." Elizabeth winced as she analysed Teyla's words and mentally changed 'talk to you' to 'talk about you'. "About what?
"Ever since the Genii attacked Atlantis, I have noticed that you still harbor unease about it," Teyla told her. "I thought you might like to talk." She turned away and clasped her hands awkwardly.
Underneath Teyla's soft words, Elizabeth could see an unspoken offer of support, something that she honestly hadn't expected. She had expected words of advice on how to deal with the matter. "I'd like that," she admitted.
They sat in an amicable silence for a few minutes as both tried to bridge the gap between them. Elizabeth frowned and decided to take the first step.
"I can't-"
"I didn't do it!"
Both women jumped to their feet and stared at the doorway as Rodney McKay sprinted past it at full steam.
"Yes he did!" Echoed Dr. Beckett from five paces ahead.
"What the..."
"...Hell?"
Five seconds later, Major Sheppard came running in the opposite direction shouting orders to a large group of soldiers.
"Ford! Your team takes the left flank! Perez, stay with me. Everyone one else spread out!" he yelled, locking and loading his weapon. He stopped to acknowledge the two women almost as an afterthought, like a kid caught by his parents playing soccer in the house who now needed to come up with a good excuse for it.
"Uh...um....everything's under control ladies! Nothing's wrong! McKay certainly didn't release a giant squid into the city, nosireebob! Go back to....well, maybe get out of here....it's going to be a little noisy..."
Elizabeth and Teyla exchanged knowing glances, realising that it was time to going back to their babysitting job.
"We'll talk later?" Elizabeth suggested.
"Later," her friend responded.
It wasn't much, but Elizabeth honestly felt a little better.