The Prophecy

Chapter 19

The lightening was still set to the dim night levels, when Dr. Beckett woke Teyla the next morning.

"Sorry to wake you so early, but we should leave earlier before it gets too hot on Athos. I had one of the nurses get you a uniform."

"Thank you." Teyla said. The summers on Athos had been rather hot and being exposed to that added heat might be deadly for you.

"You're still running a slight fever. I'm going to give you something for that. I also wanted to suggest something else. I have been going through everything the Aronans gave us and I managed to synthesise a drug that will suppress your telepathic abilities for a few hours. It would also generally make you feel better, since it's your recently acquired abilities that make you ill. And everyone else would feel a lot more comfortable around you on the mission." Dr. Beckett admitted.

"I understand why your people are afraid and why some may turn to violence. The drug is temporary, you said? Then I'm going to take it. "Teyla agreed much to Beckett's surprise, he had expected her to be adamant that the prophecy required her to be in the possession of her telepathic abilities. But maybe she did feel worse than she let on. They were all like that. John, Teyla, Elizabeth, they also tried to make it seem like they were all right and even when they were about to bleed to death, they would call it 'hardly a scratch'.

After he had injected Teyla with the telepathy suppressing drug and had given her some Tylenol to combat her fever, he made his way over to John's bed. The man had him worried. In truth, he was in no shape to travel. Over night his persistent fever had once again climbed and the medication didn't seem to be helping. John had been right, going to Athos was his only option. And his last options considering how fast his condition had taken a turn for the worse.

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Three hours later the puddle jumper sat down on the edge of a cliff. The trip had been uneventful. They had stayed in contact with the exploration team which had been on the planet since the previous even. They had reported no sign of the Wraith or any other sentient life with a reasonable range of the Old City. Still Beckett was nervous. He had heard from Teyla that her people had considered the Old City forbidden. Besides even if there really was no one on the planet, the Wraith could arrive by ship any minute. At least they had to Gate guarded. Now there were going to find out. He only hoped that Teyla was right.

Now that they had landed, Teyla moved to exit to puddle jumper.

"Are you sure you are up to it. There are enough people here to search the City. You need to get some more rest. If they find anything, they can contact as any time." Beckett stopped her.

"No. I'm feeling well enough. The shot that you gave me this morning seems to have helped a lot."

"Good to hear that. I assume to works."

"Yes, I can't read people's thoughts anymore."

"It will only last for about two more hours. If you feel it wearing off, I need to know."

"I could use a shot of that myself." John said suddenly. Both Teyla and Beckett turned around. They hadn't noticed that he was awake. Even during the somewhat hectic departure, he had only been awake for a few minutes at a time. He had slept through the entire trip to Athos. Dr. Beckett had already worried that he might slip into unconsciousness. Now he was hugely relieved to see John awake and coherent.

"It is a bit risky considering that you are still on medication to treat your fever and prevent further seizures. There is a change that the drugs interact."

"Okay. I'm willing to take the risks. Just give me the shot."

"I knew you were going to say that." Beckett smiled for the first time that day. Teyla looked positively amused as well.

Beckett started to look though the rather extensive medical gear he had brought along for the trip. He produced a syringe and administered the injection of the alien drug. Before Sheppard could lie down again, Beckett handed him three pills, a canteen and a protein bar.

John eyed the bar suspiciously. "I don't feel like eating right now."

"It's for your own good. First of all your body needs you to eat and second you don't want to those pills on an empty stomach."

It was the latter argument that convinced John. He unwrapped the bar and took a listless bite.

"What am I actually taking doc? John asked. It was not that he didn't trust Beckett, but he still wanted to know. The events of the previous day were still fresh in his mind. The short time he had been able to read people's minds, he had discovered that there was usually more than Beckett let on.

"It's valproate to keep you from having any more seizures if your fever suddenly spikes again. The other is modafinil, a stimulant, that won't leave you jittery. It will take a while to work though. You should lie down and rest until we hear from the exploration team. I need to keep on eye on you anyways to see how you respond to the Aronan drug."

"The headache's already gotten a lot better." John informed him. He was leaning against the wall of the 'jumper without the intention of lying down again. He had done enough of that in the past five days. Now, he finally felt good enough to sit up for more than a minute and the excruciating headache that had clouded every walking moment since his ill-fated mission to Arona had been reduced to a mild source of discomfort. Still he felt weak and the thought that his genes could kill him any minute wasn't something he could simply forget and neither did he want to.

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An hour later, they were still waiting for news from the exploration team. John was getting impatient. Beckett's constant fussing around was about to drive him up the walls. He had been forced the finish his protein bar and then eat another. Beckett had constantly asked him about how he felt, how is headache was doing. When Beckett had started to insist that he should be lying down again, John had been ready to slug the good doctor. It was only the worried look on Teyla's face that had stopped him. He realized that she was worried about him. He had never given a thought how it must have been for others to see him in this situation. He had calmly accepted the facts. His only option was buried somewhere in the ruins. He hadn't considered how Teyla had to feel seeing him deteriorate in the infirmary, or how Beckett had to feel knowing that there was nothing he could do to for a patient.

When Teyla had stepped out to get some fresh air, John waved for Beckett to come over.

"I know, I should be in lying down, and trust me, I feel like it. But I'd like to sit outside with Teyla for a bit. There are some things I need to tell her."

"It's a beautiful place. Come, I'll help you get there. Can you stand up?" This time Beckett didn't argue. In case Plan A didn't work, John wanted to be prepared.

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The view was spectacular. John sat near the end of the cliff. Fifty feet below him lay white undisturbed sand. The wave of dark blue water reached up the foundation of the Old City which wound up the sheer rock, blending into it. Only looking at it more closely it looked artificial. The city reached land, branching out in all directions. The decay over the ages was obvious but even time couldn't disguise that it was a masterwork of architecture.

John was lost in the beauty of the scenery when Teyla joined him.

"It's beautiful. I have been to this spot a few times when we still lived on this planet. I always wondered why something forbidden was so beautiful." Teyla said quietly.

"I don't regret having come here." John stated.

Teyla waited for him to continue.

"What I've seen here has been more incredible that I could have ever imagined. The Wraith are worse than any enemy on Earth and I've freed them. I have to live with that every day, but I've also seen incredibly beautiful things. And I have met you. I love you, Teyla. No matter what happens, don't blame yourself. It was my decision to come here to Athos. I know the risks. If I don't make it, it's not your fault."

" I love you, John. You will be all right" Teyla softly kissed him. There is something I should ask you, but I wanted to wait until later."

"Ask me now."

"I wanted to ask you to marry me." Teyla looked him into the eyes.

John was stunned for a moment, the memory of her rejection still vivid.

"Yes, of course." He stammered. "I love you."

A/N: And here ends the story of the Prophecy. It's deliberately open-ended. The story of John and Teyla's Journey, which begins where 'The Prophecy' left off on Athos, is, well, another story. So are the stories of the war against the Wraith and the triumph over the Wraith. These three parts are hopefully going to be shorter than this first part. I'm thinking about posting 'The Journey' as further chapters to this fic, to make it easier to read up parts. In any case, it's partially written already, so it shouldn't be to long until it's up.