Title: Perspective
Author: Suzanne
Part: 4 of ?
Rating: T+ (for the MA rated version of this chapter, please visit my "homepage" that can be found by clicking on the link that says sanssong, then click "homepage" and it will take you right to it!
Genre: Romance, Drama, Missing Scenes
Word Count: 3651
Warnings: Sexual Situations
Spoilers: The Gift, The Siege I & II
Archiving: Sheppard/Teyla Fan-Fiction, Gate of Dreams, Heliopolis, Atlantica, Unique Bond,all others, please ask first.

Summary: Can John and Teyla's new relationship survive the strains of working with their fellow crewmembers on Atlantis?

Disclaimer- this is a work of fiction intended only for my amusement and the entertainment of others. No money has been made from this endeavor. Actual dialog from "The Siege" Part I, is the property of MGM Television, Sci-Fi Channel and the writers of Stargate Atlantis.

Perspective - Chapter 4

"Kiss me," Teyla whispered up to him. "I know you do not want that from me, but I need to feel something real. Just for tonight, would you kiss me?"

Didn't want that from her, was she kidding? It was all he did want, for God sakes! Then the meaning behind her words clicked into place, leaving John Sheppard dumbfounded at her misunderstanding. She actually thought he didn't want her.

A giddy laugh born of relief bubbled up from inside and he damn near embarrassed the hell out of himself by letting it out. Instead he grinned like an idiot and gave voice to the only question on his mind.

"Teyla, when you ran off tonight, you thought I was going to apologize for last night for- for kissing you... didn't you?"

Confused at the strange turn of conversation, Teyla tried to wiggle off his lap and stand up. John had other ideas however, and wasn't about to let her go. "Didn't you?" he insisted again.

"You did not intend to?" she asked, clearly unsure of what his answer would be.

"No." He traced the edge of her tear-drenched cheek with his fingers. "Not even close."

"I do not understand, Major," she murmured.

"John," he corrected softly before he touched his lips to hers. "I've wanted to do that all day."

When Teyla didn't protest or pull away, he kissed her again, hungrily catching her bottom lip between his teeth and sucking lightly.

She was so heart-stoppingly beautiful, her hair mussed from sleep, her eyes liquid from crying, all he wanted to do was kiss her until she begged for more. But they needed to talk so that would have to wait.

It was obvious that her response, while encouraging, was still tentative; as if she was afraid to believe what his words and body were telling her. He was going to have to come clean and tell her the truth.

"Teyla, I..." John's restless hands skated up and down her back and he felt her shiver in response. Unable to help himself, he bent his head to hers and took her lips again. She was like a drug he couldn't live without. God, but she was intoxicating. Reluctantly he pulled his mouth from hers and forced himself to focus on her face. "I wanted you to know that last night was amazing."

"Amazing? You mean...?" She left the rest of the question unasked. He could see she was on the verge of understanding.

"I want a lot more from you than friendship, Teyla," John said huskily right before he lowered his lips to hers again in a tender kiss.

Initially, he'd pulled her into his lap to sooth away her nightmare, to comfort her as he would a frightened child, but she'd chosen to remain there long after the dream was banished and his body now reminded him in no uncertain terms that she was no child. As he held Teyla enfolded in his arms, she responded with the passion of the woman she was.

Helpless to stop, he tilted her face in his hands to slant his mouth over hers, transforming the gentle touch of lips to a deep, all consuming kiss. Moaning quietly she shifted against his legs coming into exquisite, almost painful, contact with the hard bulge of his erection. Barely contained desire burned its way from there to every nerve ending in his body, causing him to pulse and throb with every beat of his heart.

Fleetingly, he thought of they way they'd miss-communicated in the last twenty-four hours and thanked God for her nightmares about the Wraith. Without them, he wouldn't be caressing her satiny skin or kissing her senseless.

Or maybe she was kissing him senseless, at this point he wasn't sure.

Even now, as he took a moment just to look at her, watched as understanding broke over that lovely face, the sharp relief he felt looking in her liquid brown eyes was testament to how upset he'd been thinking he'd fallen for yet another unattainable woman.

In the very next second however, her eyebrows lowered to again form a slight scowl and he sighed lightly, realizing he wasn't out of the woods yet.

"Then why..." She hesitated, possibly searching for the right words. "Why, did you want me to think you only desired my friendship?" Her expression was hopeful but still slightly haunted.

"Teyla." John stalled for time, drawing lazy circles on her scantily clad back, glorying in the fact that she shivered delicately in response. Just for good measure, he butterfly-kissed the sensitive skin by her ear.

Then because touching her soft skin was so addicting, he was unable to resist the acute temptation to sample her lips once more. Despite any lingering doubts, she kissed him hungrily in return.

Okay, John, get a grip, the tiny rational part of his mind demanded.

"Look..." He forced his lips away and rested his forehead on hers. "I've been an ass, and you have every reason to tell me to go to Hell because of the way I acted. But the truth is-" He lifted his head to look directly into her eyes. "-The honest to God's truth is I've been attracted to you since that first day on Athos. And not in a 'friendly' way, or an 'allies' way, but in a 'man wants a woman' way." There he'd said it.

"I do not wish you to go to Hell." The corners of Teyla's lips kicked up signaling the first hint of a smile, while her hands slipped up and caressed the back of his neck, giving him a few shivers of his own. Neither of them seemed to be able to stop their hands from exploring the other.

"Well that's a relief," he said half-jokingly. That comment earned him a real smile, but he knew she was still humoring him. "Seriously though, my personal life has been pretty screwed up for a while now. It's complicated- I usually complicate it. I sent you mixed signals, because we have this - this, I don't know- this, connection, I never felt with anyone else and I wasn't sure if you felt..."

Before he could finish his thought, Teyla closed the few inches of space that he'd allowed between them and kissed away the rest of John's words.

He must have said the right thing.

He had. Teyla got the answer she'd been waiting to hear. John Sheppard wanted her; he did have feelings for her and most of all he also felt the strong connection that she had sensed between them since their first meeting. Letting go of every reservation she'd been holding, she poured every ounce of emotion into the sweet connection of their mouths.

The desire that had been simmering since yesterday exploded, turning their kisses hot and hungry as John opened his mouth, plunging his tongue in to tangle with hers.

Teyla completely agreed, further deepening the searingly intimate exchange and returning his intensity with some of her own. She loved how he tasted of male and that salty tang unique to Atlantis.

Her heart surged with the knowledge that his kisses were aggressive, possessive and warrior-like. She'd lived among warriors long enough to know when one was bent on claiming what was his. She absolutely felt possessed.

That thought alone sent hot shards of desire through her already aroused body. Pooling in her lower abdomen, it made her weak with longing. More than that, it was intoxicating to be the object of John's desire.

Slowly, John eased them down on the bed till she was looking up at him as he leaned over her. His handsome face held a hint of wonderment that seemed to be all for her. "Teyla," he breathed as he lightly kissed the delicate skin on either side of her mouth, "you are so beautiful."

He captured her mouth again with his and she breathed deeply of that clean captivating scent that was the essence of him. Teyla opened willingly to him, dragging her lips back and forth over his as she pushed her hands up under his shirt. John made an erotic little groan at her touch that rumbled lightly though her, leaving her trembling with barely controlled arousal.

After a few minutes, the only thing that could be heard were the telltale sounds of passion and longing. Building to a fever pitch of want that left John aching to hear Teyla's sweet cries of release.

Nothing, however, could have prepared him for the sound that did reach his ears.

"Major Sheppard," the soft static-filled voice of Dr. McKay on the radio interrupted abruptly. "Chair room to Maj. Sheppard, do you copy?"

John nearly jumped out of his skin as Teyla's arms went limp and she sagged back on her bed. "Sonofabitch," he whispered disgustedly.

Unwilling to move even a fraction of an inch, he waited to see if Rodney would give up and assume he was already asleep.

"Maj. Sheppard, do you copy?"

'Of course not, this is McKay, the biggest pain in my ass, we're talking about.'

"It is all right, John," Teyla murmured, caressing his hair with her hand. "If you do not answer him, he will only continue to call and possibly come looking for you."

John gave her one last, longing look and let out a huge defeated sigh before getting up to retrieve his radio.

"This is Sheppard," he said, his clipped words barely civil.

"Ah, yes, Major. Sorry if I woke you, but I had another brilliant idea to re-activate the chair and I ah - I need your assistance."

The trouble with Rodney was he didn't know when to quit and he didn't seem to need any sleep - or other relaxing activities - that the rest of them did. Maybe he could subtly remind the good doctor of that. "Uh, Rodney, I'm a little busy right now." He threw another longing look in Teyla's direction. "Can't this wait till morning?"

"Well, I don't know, Major, do you think the Wraith might wait till next month to make us all appetizers?" came McKay's sarcastic reply.

Teyla was right, when he wanted something it was best to just let him have it.

"I'll be right there," John conceded finally.

"Thank you, Major."

"Yeah, whatever. Sheppard out," he said, clicking off his radio.

John turned his attention back to the woman lying on the bed and wished he had just ten minutes more with her.

Teyla propped herself up on an elbow and shot John a sultry hungry look. God, he just wanted to kill Rodney. "Will you be long?" she purred.

"Knowing Rodney, I'll be lucky if I get any sleep at all tonight, much less the chance to come back," he answered as he pulled on his pants and black uniform shirt. "At least one of us should get some rest."

When John had finished dressing he re-joined Teyla, who had also donned most of her nightclothes and sat watching him silently on the bed.

Drawing her into his arms again, he kissed her gently. "We're not done here, you know. Just in case you were wondering."

A sexy little smile wreathed her face as she traced light patterns on his chest with her fingertips. "I would be disappointed if we were."

"I can't promise when, but we'll pick up where we left off. Soon."

They shared one last lingering kiss before he reluctantly headed out to help Dr. McKay.

Sgt. Bates stood at end of the hall and observed Major John Sheppard exiting Teyla's personal quarters. He was on night shift and had been doing rounds; Ensign Riley had taken offices and labs. Bates took crew quarters.

This latest observation confirmed his growing fear. The military leader of Atlantis was falling under the influence of an alien - an untrustworthy one at that in his professional opinion.

There wasn't much he could do, the Major wasn't breaking any regulations and he had no proof that Teyla was a security risk. He'd just have to wait till she proved herself a threat.

He just hoped it wouldn't be too late.

After the initial shock of learning Teyla's partial ancestry wore off, John became convinced that her abilities could be the tactical key they'd been looking for. Teyla agreed reinforcing his confidence in her that she would always do whatever she could to fight the Wraith.

He trusted Teyla intrinsically with a confidence he couldn't explain. Maybe it was their special connection, or that he knew her so well. Whatever it was, he knew beyond knowing that his Teyla could never be a threat. Never.

It was clear however from the furtive looks she kept giving him, that she wasn't sure how he felt about her new talents. He needed time to reassure her that he believed in her completely, so he managed to get rid of Carson for a few minutes while they waited for Elizabeth and Dr. Heightmeyer to get to the medical lab.

"So, are you okay with this?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes. If I can help us fight the Wraith by connecting to them, then I must try." She looked away from him at the mention of their common enemy.

"Teyla." John reached for her hand. "Your DNA hasn't changed the way I feel about you."

She turned back to look at him, their eyes colliding. He was telling the truth. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she did. Relieved, Teyla smiled and released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "I am glad. I wanted to believe that you would understand, but to be honest, I am not sure that I understand it yet myself."

"We'll figure it out, all of it," John assured her.

Somehow she knew he wasn't just talking about her Wraith ancestry. It would be so easy to fall in love with this man, her heart whispered.

"So, are we ready to get started?" Dr. Beckett asked, walking into the room with both Dr. Weir and Dr. Heightmeyer.

Teyla was seriously worried.

Amazingly, connecting to the Wraith had been possible and much easier to do than she imagined. She had been on their ships, she now knew their plans, but at what cost? A fitful night trying to sleep in the medical lab hadn't done much to help her determine that or help her peace of mind either.

Although she had no memory of knocking John to the ground and threatening the others, she felt enormous guilt over having been the conduit. And of course, the suspicious Sgt. Bates had been standing right there to witness the entire thing, even going so far as to stun her unconscious himself. He must have taken great satisfaction from that and it went without saying that he would probably never trust her again.

She had been so happy just a day ago. John had held her in his arms, telling her he felt the strong emotional connection they shared and if they had not been interrupted, would have shared more of themselves in the most intimate of ways. Now, she was not sure how he felt and it was clawing at her heart like a hungry Wraith.

John had avoided coming to see her in Medical and even now she sat alone wondering when Dr. Beckett would release her. Luckily she didn't have to wait for long. Carson came striding in cheerfully almost the minute after she'd thought of him.

"So, Teyla m'dear, how are ye this mornin'?" the doctor asked brightly.

"I am a little tired, but otherwise I am fine." Teyla sat up on the narrow bed and draped her arms over her knees.

Carson crossed to his desk to retrieve her chart and then walked over to her bedside. "I'd hoped the sedative I gave you last night would have helped you sleep, but you did have a rough day of it yesterday."

Putting down the chart on the instrument table by the bed, he took his small flashlight and lifted her eyelids one at a time, checking her pupils. After verifying her other vital signs, he looked up at her and smiled. "It looks like m'dear, that you are perfectly back to normal, I only..."

Before he could elaborate further, Major Sheppard strode in the door and over to the side of her medical bed. Teyla's insides clenched at the expression on his face. It was all business.

"Good morning, everyone. How's our patient?" John avoided meeting her eyes, directing his question to Dr. Beckett.

"So far so good, major," Carson, answered. "I was just about to compare this mornings readings with last nights and then we'll know for sure." Dr. Beckett took Teyla's chart and scribbled the new numbers.

Meanwhile Teyla looked up at John willing him to say something- anything. He returned her gaze but only shook his head slightly, indicating that he couldn't or wouldn't talk now.

"So, did you sleep? Are you ready to get back to work?" he finally asked.

"I am fine." Teyla fought to keep the frustration and worry she felt out of her voice.

"I'm looking for something a little more enthusiastic than, fine," John replied flatly.

"I am ready to be put back on active duty," Teyla countered more emphatically.

"I'm sure you think so..." he began, clearly not convinced, "but uh..."

Teyla interrupted and looked beseechingly at Dr. Beckett who had finished comparing her vital signs. "Tell him I am fine."

"She is, Major. I see no further reason to keep her here under medical supervision," Carson confirmed.

Teyla looked expectantly back at John.

He paused several seconds as she tried without success to read his expression. "All right. You're back on active duty."

Momentarily relieved that he'd given her at least that much, she tried smiling her thanks to him.

Her heart sank when he quietly turned and left her.

John wanted to break something. The look on Teyla's face as he left her in Medical, had him feeling like the biggest bastard on the planet- maybe even the galaxy. He knew his feelings hadn't changed and that little performance in front of Carson was nothing more than bullshit, but she didn't.

Without an opportunity to straighten things out any time soon, his dark mood threatened to spill over into a seriously bad attitude but somehow he managed to be merely sarcastic instead.

Figured he'd get stuck reviewing possible Alpha Sites for an hour and a half with that prick Bates. It was all he could do not to knock him out of his chair after what he did to Teyla yesterday.

Well, he was going to have to suck it up for now because even though he'd be with her for the rest of the day, they wouldn't be alone.

Consequently, John left Atlantis' briefing room even more unsettled than he entered it.

"Major, is Teyla coming with you?" Sgt. Bates asked, following him out of the room.

'I do not need this', he thought as Bates continued following him down the stairs and through the gate room.

It was Bates' fault that he'd had to go into 'damage control mode' in the first place. God forbid that he give the paranoid sergeant or anyone else the impression his judgment about Teyla might be compromised by personal feelings.

It killed him that with no time to explain to Teyla, she was jumping to all the wrong conclusions. But if he didn't get Bates off his back, it would get worse before it got better.

"You're not seriously asking me that?" John immediately went on the offensive.

"I think it's a bad call, sir."

"Here we go again," John muttered disgustedly, hoping his repressive tone would discourage Bates.

No such luck.

"All I'm saying is that we still don't fully understand her connection to the Wraith." Bates was like a dog with a bone. "And in my opinion I don't think we should expose her to information that we don't want the Wraith to have, the least of which is the location of our evac site," he finished, gesturing to emphasize his point.

"The doctor gave her a clean bill of health," John countered, purposefully keeping his voice down, as he entered a smaller hallway.

"And that's good to hear, sir," Bates pressed his point as he tried to stay abreast with his commanding officer. "But if she can't control how the Wraith use her..."

"You don't know that," John said defensively.

"That's right, we don't. She saw everything they saw, who's to say that they can't do the same with her and see what we see."

John finally stopped walking and turned to face Teyla's accuser. He'd had enough of this asshole and it ended now. "She's an integral part of my team. Period. End of story. We're done," he stated in clipped tones, his irritation getting the better of him.

John shook his head in frustration knowing he'd left an even more suspicious and unhappy Sgt. Bates standing alone in the hallway.

God had he placed himself in one hell of a position by falling for Teyla. Not that he was sorry. He was a smart enough guy to know that women like Teyla only came around once in a lifetime and he wouldn't apologize for loving her.

However, he had a job to do and it was important that the men he commanded respected him and trusted his judgment. Bottom line here was his little confrontation with Bates drove home the fact that he would have to keep his relationship with Teyla very quiet, at least for the time being.

He hated it, but until Bates' fears could be laid to rest in was in his best interests and Teyla's that no one else know about them.

TBC

End Part 4