Strange Bedfellows

A/N: Thanls for all the great reviews, everyone!

amethyst: I'm not sure what you mean... if you're implying that what's going to happen is Sheppard's fault, it's not. He may feel like it is, but rest assured it's not. Hope that helps...?

highonscifi: Thanks! I'll give you credit -- you're a lot more patient than I am!

astrochick: Glad you liked their banter. I just wrote what was in my (messed up)head, lol. I didn't think anyone would find it amusing, and I must admit Charlie's Angels is before my time, so I had to look up some stuff. The work that goes into these fics, I swear... :)

Ashkash: Yeah, I love tension too and I am working on adding more, but eventually at some point it will have to be resolved. :(

LostMyPen: I like your username! Glad you like the interaction; surprisingly, it was the easiest part of the story to write.

Joey's girl forever: Thanks for the review! It keeps my writing!

highonscifi: Thanks, I hope I don't dissapoint, lol (and that goes for everyone else, too).

I own you...: Haha. You're so full of it (I get to say that cuz I know her, lol) :)

Chapter 3: Look Who's Coming to Dinner

So far, the evening had gone off without a hitch. Teyla, Elizabeth, Hergon, and several other Klaans were seated around a large wooden, hand crafted table upon which there were wines, fruits, and various meats -- some of which taste like chicken. Elizabeth chuckled to herself. I guess it is true, she thought as the popular saying "everything tastes like chicken" popped into her head.

Music from numerous instruments, most resembling guitars, mandolins, and flutes, poured through the dining hall as the group discussed a variety of topics. The two cultures were learning more and more about one another.

"I am curious, Dr. Weir, as to what kind of civilization cannot grow their own food," prompted

Hergon politely.

Elizabeth sipped her wine thoughtfully. She was about to tell them that they lived on a giant, floating city where the only agriculture they had was a few dozen 10,000 year-old dead plants left over from the Ancients, but John's words echoed in her head. Don't be ridiculous, she thought. Besides, I want to find out how the Klaans have managed to avoid being culled by the Wraith for so long…

"We live in Atlantis," Elizabeth said simply. "It's essentially a floating city."

"We have no land on which to grow our crops," Teyla explained further.

Hergon's eyebrows rose with surprise. "You come from the City of the Ancestors?"

Teyla smiled at his recognition. This would save them from a lot of explanation. "Indeed we do."

Hergon's surprise then quickly turned to confusion. "I do not understand. No one has occupied the City for thousands of years. And it is a great distance from our planet. How did you journey here?"

"We are able to operate some of the Ancients' technology, including the Stargate and ships called Puddle Jumpers, both which we used to travel to your planet Klaan," Elizabeth said, before Teyla could reply to Hergon's implied question of why they now reside in Atlantis. She wanted to be cautious. Great, I'm starting to think like Major Sheppard…

As if on cue, the Major entered the room. He was met with the friendly expressions of the Klaans, a confused look from Teyla, and the very unhappy face of Dr. Weir. Ouch. She's never going to let me hear the end of this.

"Major Sheppard," greeted Hergon warmly. "You must excuse us, we were not expecting you. We will have another place at the table prepared for you"

"No, I'm the one who should apologize for barging in like this," replied John. There was no point in being hostile toward Hergon; despite his suspicions, the Klaans had been nothing but welcoming toward his team. All he had to go on was his gut feeling. Which, he reminded himself, is why I'm here.

"What brings you to our dining hall? Is something wrong?"

Shit. John realized he didn't have an excuse for waltzing in unannounced to their ceremonial feast, other than to keep an eye on Hergon. And he certainly wasn't about to tell him that. "I… just… wanted to thank you and your people for your hospitality. We're honored to have such generous new allies." He mentally congratulated himself for coming up with a lie on the spot. Damn, I'm good. Smooth. He couldn't help but grin as he took his seat across from Hergon. He also noticed the icy glare Elizabeth was giving him. Daggers. She's gonna kill me. Teyla seemed to know what he was doing as well.

After the continued to stare at them, the Major decided to break the ice. "So… what's for dinner? I'm starved!" he asked nonchalantly, putting his hands in his pockets.

Elizabeth put her head in her hands. She suddenly looked like she would rather been anywhere else at the moment, including in a Wraith hive ship.

The evening continued with more talking, most of which John stayed out of. All he was interested in was Hergon. John took note of anything suspicious the man did, which, John found disappointing, was nothing. Nothing at all. He locked eyes with Hergon once, but the leader of the Klaans simply smiled at him and rejoined the conversation.

He glanced at Teyla several times during the dinner. He trusted her more than anyone on his team, including himself, when it came to matters of insight and intuition. She had instincts like those of a cat, so if anyone were to pick up on something unusual, it would be her. But, like everyone else in the room, she was laughing and enjoying herself.

That's it; I'm officially loony. I've cracked, John thought. No more Gate travel for me.

The dinner went late into the night, so late, in fact, that Hergon insisted the team spend the night in several of the guest suites. Sheppard was about to politely decline his offer but Elizabeth accepted before he could say anything.

As the feast ended, each person went their separate ways: Teyla and the Klaans went to their respective quarters while John wanted to find Rodney and Ford to tell them they were spending the night here. He had let them explore the ruins while he was at the feast. John could only imagine how short Rodney's fuse must be by now; the dinner had taken nearly five hours.

As he walked toward the ruins, he was joined by Elizabeth. She didn't say anything at first but continued to walk with him. He simply glanced at her, waiting for the diatribe he knew was inevitable.

Finally, after a few moments of silence, Elizabeth spoke softly but firmly. "You want to tell me what that was all about, Major?"

Not really, he thought. He'd screwed up, and he knew it. Instead of answering, he bit his lip and said nothing.

"I'll take that as a 'no'." More silence. Elizabeth stopped John with a touch on his arm.

He turned to face her, once again putting his hands in hid pockets but keeping his eyes to the ground. He really wasn't in the mood for this. Might as well get it over with… "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" He still couldn't shake that feeling of unease, but it was obvious there was nothing out of the ordinary here.

"John, what you did… storming into a ceremonial feast that you weren't invited to…." She was at a loss for words. "It was wrong. It was rude, it was disrespectful, and it was embarrassing to both Teyla and I. You were lucky the Klaans weren't affronted by your actions. They could have retracted their offer and you could have cost us the entire mission."

"Yes, ma'am," was the soft, curt reply. There was no point in arguing.

Elizabeth was taken aback. She was surprised -- hurt even. John had never called her "ma'am" before. He was never a fan of formalities or rules. They had gotten to know each other pretty well since they had arrived at Atlantis, and she had liked his maverick personality. Elizabeth always felt she could confide in John, about mission-related topics and personal things as well. She had liked to think they had become close friends. Maybe she had been wrong. Or maybe I'm being too hard on him… Nevertheless, what had happened was unacceptable, and as leader of Atlantis, she would be forced to take action.

"John… when we return tomorrow, I'm restricting you from participating in any off-world activities for two months."

Sheppard was stunned. Two months? A little hefty…. Plus, John wouldn't even be allowed to fly the Puddle Jumpers to the mainland. No flying.… John didn't know if he could live with that, but he supposed he deserved it. All he had wanted to do was make sure Elizabeth had been safe, but instead he had humiliated her -- not to mention the rest of his team. He was sorry for that, but there was nothing he could do about it now. "Yes, ma'am," was the reply again.

Elizabeth looked into his eyes and saw regret and shame. She felt awful for reprimanding him like this. As soon as she told him he would not be making any trips through the Stargate anytime soon, she had realized she had hurt him and had immediately regretted it. But she had no choice. They stood there for a few moments more in silence. When he looked at her, she looked as if she wanted to say more, but instead, she turned and made her way back to the guest quarters.

John continued in the direction of the ruins. After he rounded up McKay and Ford, he could get a few hours of sleep and then get the hell off this planet.

TBC


Ok, that was supposed to be the last chapter before the action starts, but when I wrote the next part it was WAY too long, so I had to break it into two chapters. I'll try to post the next two parts together. Review please!