A/N: Chapters 8 and 9 Beta'd by Angw and once again, thanks for all the reviews. So...

So long, so long, so long

And thanks,

For all the fish.

A/N: Not really. I'm still here.

XXX

John awoke to Rodney shaking him. He had just been having the most enjoyable dream he'd had in a while and immediately realized that he should probably never tell anyone about it.

"Get up!" Rodney yelled.

John shook his head, dropping the blanket to the ground. "What?"

"Trouble." Rodney point to the display in the front window.

"Uh oh... Can you do it Rodney?"

"Yeah."

"Teyla, Ronon, get up!" John said loudly. "Hang on."

Teyla and Ronon both shot to attention as John powered the jumper back up to full power and shot into space. The hive ship was only a few kilometers away, slowly circling the moon.

John aimed the jumper directly for the hive ship. He knew his advantage lay only in speed, and hoped he could reach the cargo bay without being detected. He could see the ship in all its detail. He closed with the cargo bay doors.

"Where do you need me?" He asked Rodney.

"Anywhere. I just need physical contact." Rodney replied through gritted teeth.

John set the jumper down on the top of the hive ship, below the turning radius of the ship's gun. "McKay. NOW!"

"Sending the command." Rodney furiously worked the console behind him.

"When will we see results?" Teyla asked.

"Any second now." Rodney said, not looking up. "There, the cargo bay door is open. We have only a few seconds to..."

"I know." John replied. He disconnected the jumper from the hive ship's hull and flew to the underside of the ship. "Dial the gate!" He said to Teyla. As Teyla dialed the gate, he flew into the cargo bay.

The bay was small, but he could see the open stargate sitting in the middle of it. Teyla instinctively sent her IDC as he approached it. He held his breath as they shot through the gate. One mistake and they would be smashed against the shield.

He breathed as they came through the gate into Atlantis. The shield raised immediately behind them. He brought the ship up into the tunnel and into the jumper bay and felt an immense feeling of satisfaction spread over him as he finally set the jumper down. He glanced over at Teyla. "We did it." He said, smiling.

"Indeed we did." Teyla replied. "Although most of the credit belongs to both you and Doctor McKay."

John laughed. "Possibly." He stood and deposited his weapon back in the weapons crate in the jumper. By the time he exited, several marines were already waiting.

"Doctor Weir says to get some shut eye and that she'll meet with you after the morning meal at 0900." One marine said. "Don't worry about the gear, we'll unload it."

"Thanks Sergeant." John replied, saluting the marine. He turned back to his team, still in the back of the jumper. "You heard him. We'll meet to talk to Elizabeth at 0900." He glanced at his watch, it was 0100. Very early in the morning.

His team split up once they got to the transporter. Ronon was headed for his quarters in the former Athosian section of the city. Rodney was in the scientist living quarters. John and Teyla headed for the military quarters, which was adjacent to the Athosian section.

John escorted Teyla all the way to her room, which was just down the hall from his. He stopped in front of her door. "Do you have a minute?" He asked.

"Of course, what is bothering you?" Teyla asked.

"We have to talk... ehh... about Ronon."

"John, we have been through this. There is no relationship, I'm not even sure I would call him a friend anymore."

"I know that but in the jumper... while you were asleep... he threatened me, saying that you were his." Teyla nodded. "He said that he wasn't above fighting for you." John looked down, trying to hide his embarrassment. "I just need to know what really happened. I promised I'd do this for you, but it's hard when you've got the largest guy on the base threatening me."

Teyla turned around towards her door and opened it. "Let us discuss this in private." She walked in, John followed.

He stopped just inside the door. The door closed, he leaned back against it. He still felt a bit out of place in this room. "So what happened?"

"Ronon is a very intriguing person. He can be more caring than anyone I've met, but at the same time he can be so callous that I cannot stand it." John nodded. "John, come here so that you can listen carefully."

John slowly sat down next to her on her bed. He felt his heart begin to race. He suppressed it, he needed to listen. "Alright Teyla. I'm listening."

Teyla took a deep breath and began to talk. "Just a short while ago, during one of our sparring sessions..."

Ronon blocked her first attack, then her second. She spun defensively as he aggressively attacked. John had just left. Teyla just realized that she'd spent all of John's time sparring with Ronon. While Ronon had all day, she knew that John didn't. John had responsibilities as the senior military commander on Atlantis.

She could only compare Ronon to a natural predator. He fought viciously, but she had told him that he didn't need to go easy on her. She knew that he was. He was effortlessly backing her into a corner. A corner she didn't want to be in.

She tried to escape, ducking left, avoiding his swings by the narrowest of margins. She quickly found herself being pressed into another corner. None of her tactics could stop his unstoppable assault. She was completely defensive.

She tried to escape again, only this time she couldn't. The same trick wouldn't work twice against a predator such as Ronon. He eased up slightly as she was completely against the wall. He was too close. She couldn't see both his sticks without having to glance in either direction.

He knocked her sticks to the ground. He dropped his own, moving closer. "Been waiting for the past three hours for Sheppard to leave." He said.

Teyla felt herself being overcome by her own emotions. She could barely keep her heart in check. It rammed itself over and over again against her chest. She forced it to stop. She couldn't love a man who killed as callously as Ronon. She pushed him back. "No Ronon." She replied forcefully.

Ronon turned around. "You said you understood. Apparently you didn't."

"That was what really happened after you left." Teyla said honestly.

"So you did love him." John said quietly.

"No." Her reply was instant. "I was infatuated, never in love. I never told him anything I've told you. He wouldn't have cared."

"Then what about when I saw you two on the balcony earlier this morning."

"When you left the gym yesterday ago, I could see your anger. I wasn't sure who I could talk to."

"I'll admit that you're right on that. I was angry. There isn't a thing I don't look forward to more than sparring with you." He raised an eyebrow. "As strange as it sounds, it's true."

Teyla smiled. "It was a mistake. Ronon was as callous as he always is. I believe he already knew how you felt. I am truly sorry for disappointing you."

"I couldn't hold a grudge against you Teyla." John focused on her eyes. "There's no need to apologize. Besides, I think we both have bigger issues to discuss. Such as what the Athosian marriage customs include."

Teyla fidgeted uncomfortably. "There are several things you must do as the male."

"Okay, what's the first one?"

"The first one is that you must travel to Athos and visit the temple I showed you."

"Okay, simple enough. What do I have to do there?"

"You must find a rare flower that grows near the temple. You must pick two of them."

"What do they look like?"

"They are the only flowers that grow anywhere near that temple."

"Okay, so I just need two flowers. Someone's going to catch on." He flashed her a mischievous grim. "After that?"

"After that you must visit Jarlin in the Athosian village. You must tell her that you seek my hand in marriage. She will ask to see the flowers you've pick. She will also question the depth of your devotion to me. Answer honestly. She will know if you lie."

"Okay, visit scary old woman. I can do that."

Teyla lowered her head and smiled again. "After that, you must create a wedding present. Fortunately, you have already done that." Teyla pointed to the gold necklace still present around her neck. "Then, you must take me to Jarlin. You will formally announce your intentions to the entire village."

"Okay, ask you to marry me in front of a huge crowd of people. I can a least be assured you will say yes, right."

"That is not the difficult part. If anyone, not just the people of the village, wishes to challenge you then, they may. You must face them in single combat, regulated by the traditional Athosian combat styles."

"That may be a problem. Almost every Athosian in the village could beat me." He kept his concerns about Ronon quiet.

"It is not a question of victory. It is a question of devotion. You must show how far you are willing to go for me."

"Okay, I think I can do that. Anything else."
"I have my own set of tasks that I must do."
"When does all this have to be done?"

"By the end of the week, I've waited far too long."

John whistled. "Then I'd better get started. I'll take a leave of absence so I can get this done. Until then, I'll see you tomorrow." He stopped when he reached the door. "I think you should talk to Ronon. Maybe he'll listen to you. Take care." John walked out into the hallway and to his room.

He could feel the elation building. He could honestly say he was living a dream come true. He was about to get married to a woman he loved and he was battling space aliens in another galaxy. The former made it all worthwhile.

XXX

He woke to his alarm clock beeping. He reached over and hit the snooze button. He slowly opened his eyes. If there was anything he hated, it was getting up in the morning. Especially when he'd only been asleep for a couple of hours.

He hauled himself out of bed and into the shower, put his uniform on, and checked his watch. He still had an hour for breakfast before the scheduled meeting with Elizabeth. He walked down to Teyla's room.

He knocked. "Teyla, you awake?"

Teyla opened the door a few seconds later. She was already dressed in her own uniform, with her traditional blue tank top instead of the standard black tee-shirt that John wore. "I was wondering when you would show up."

"Shall we go get some breakfast?"

"That would be wonderful."

John led her down to the transporter. They took the transporter to the cafeteria area. John grabbed a bowl of fruit loops and a cup of orange juice. It was one of the advantages of having the Daedalus. He could occasionally eat food from back on Earth. Teyla took an identical order. Together they sat down at their usual table.

"Do you know what this is called?" John asked.

"I believe you call it..." Teyla raised and eyebrow, "fruit loops."

"Yep, that's exactly what it is. It's nothing more than... well, pure sugar." John took a spoonful. "It's really great stuff. Though it's not very healthy." He added with a smirk.

"It does taste good." Teyla said as she ate a spoonful.

"That's the benefit of that magic ingredient." John was practically beaming.

"That is the sugar."

"Yep. I assume we're sparring today after the meeting?"

"Yes." Teyla's voice turned serious. "I promise you that."

"Look Teyla, no hard feelings. Right?"

Teyla nodded. "Thank you."

"I told you I can't hold a grudge against you. Besides, I'm probably the only one of your students who enjoys getting his butt kicked by you."

Teyla laughed, milk nearly coming out of her nose.

"Careful." John said. "Or milk might come out of your nose."

"I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed these meals together."

"I missed you at the Athosian meal. Elizabeth's fun to talk to, but she's just not you."

Teyla turned mildly red. "You're flattering me John."

"Well.. considering I'm going to be marrying you by the end of the week. I think I should flatter you. How else are you going to deal with me for the rest of your life?"

XXX

John and Teyla arrived in the briefing room a few minutes early. Elizabeth was already there, going over something on her laptop. She motioned for John and Teyla to sit. "Glad to see you two getting along." She said.

"Uhh... Elizabeth, I'm going to need the rest of the week off."

Elizabeth looked up from her laptop. "What for?"

"Well... sure you want to know?"

"Yes John, now what is it?"

"Teyla and I are getting married."

"Well, that means I lose the poll."

"Poll, what poll?"

"The poll that people were betting on. The poll aimed at when you and Teyla would get together."

"I thought you didn't allow..."

"This was too amusing to let it go. I think Zelenka actually won."

"So, about my leave..."

"You can have it John. You deserve it."

"Thanks Elizabeth."

Rodney entered with his laptop in hand. "Ronon told me he wouldn't be coming. Said he didn't need to be here."

"That's fine Rodney." Elizabeth said. "Now, tell me the highlights of the mission."

"There's some truth to what I told you earlier. We found an underground complex."

"A scary, dark, complex." Rodney added. "With lots of dead bodies and a wraith that we couldn't kill. Though I think we did kill it when John fired a pair of drones into it."

"Anyway, we then couldn't find the stargate. It had been swallowed by an ancient/wraith hive ship."
"What do you mean by that?" Elizabeth asked.

"It looked very similar to a wraith hive ship." Teyla said. "According to Doctor McKay, it also seemed to have a lot of ancient technology in it."

"I thought the wraith couldn't use ancient technology."

"Assuming what John said earlier is true. There was and still is a group of ancients who have the ability to control time and was almost wiped out by the wraith who led them. That or the wraith figured out a way to use ancient technology." Rodney opened his laptop. "I pulled the sensor records from the jumper before coming here. The technology looked and functioned like ancient technology, but it was still fundamentally wraith. It wasn't pure ancient technology."

"So it was reverse engineered from ancient technology."

"Exactly. And if that's true, then we're in a lot more trouble than we thought."

John had to admit, Rodney had a point. The expedition's only advantage right now was that they possessed Atlantis' defense systems, which were so far ahead of wraith technology that they could compensate for the expedition's small numbers with the Ancient's advanced technology. If the wraith leveled the playing field then Atlantis was in trouble.

He knew he'd have to talk to the old man, but he also had responsibilities to Teyla. He decided he'd finish his responsiblities to Teyla first, he could talk to the old man once he'd finished them. He shivered. He had a lot of work to do.