"A Long Night"
Show: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: General
Pairing: Sheppard/Teyla friendship – see whatever you want!
Summary: Puddlejumpers weren't usually prone to breaking down, and this one couldn't have chosen a worse time or place to go on the fritz. Sheppard and Teyla friendship – interpret it however you want.
Disclaimer: Don't own "Stargate" or any of the characters…can't say I don't wish for my own Sheppard, but it hasn't happened yet!
Author's Note: Dedicated to all of my guys and girls on Gateworld, and a special shout-out to AthosianGirl for this one because she requested a snuggle-fic. Just can't resist a request like that! Thanks for taking the time to read this, and definitely be sure to send along a review when you're finished!
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Colonel Sheppard didn't even bother trying to mask his groan of frustration as he pushed himself up from the puddlejumper's smoking front console. It wasn't often that the little ships completely gave out like this, and he couldn't remember it having ever happened when someone was actually in the middle of flying it. 'Of course,' he thought bitterly, 'there's gotta be a first time for everything.'
He felt a warm, sticky trail of blood streaking its way down his cheek, and he swiped at the gash on his forehead angrily. He'd hit his head on the console when the 'jumper took a nosedive, but aside from the shiner above his eyebrow and the beginnings of a nasty headache, he felt he'd been lucky to escape so intact. Jolting in his seat, Sheppard immediately turned to the copilot seat beside him where Teyla was sitting before the crash. Luckily, the safety harness had managed to keep her securely in her chair as well, but she was slumped forward over the controls and still unconscious.
Sheppard quickly unbuckled his own harness and leaned over to check her pulse – it was strong and steady, and she seemed to be breathing normally, which was all he could really ask for at that point. He gave her a little shake on the shoulder, hoping that he wouldn't cause more harm than good in trying to wake her up. "Teyla? You okay?"
He saw her eyes flutter open blearily, and she gingerly managed to sit up with his help. She had what looked to be the mirror image of the cut on his forehead gently trickling blood above her eye, and her right cheek seemed unnaturally puffy. "I am fine, Colonel. What happened?" Sheppard couldn't help but notice her wince when she touched the purplish, swollen spot beneath her eye.
"Here, let me see." At her cautious nod, he gently probed her cheek with his fingertips but stopped as soon as she involuntarily hissed in pain. "You may have broken the bone, Teyla. I don't think there's much we can do for it until we get back to Atlantis. Is there anything else that hurts?"
"No. I will be fine. Do you know what caused the 'jumper to malfunction?" She turned her attention to the darkened consoles, and Sheppard gave an agitated sigh.
"No idea. It just went dead, and while I'm sure Rodney would be able to give us a better answer as to the actual problem, all that's important right now is that I have no idea how to fix it." He smacked the unresponsive controls angrily. Normally he frowned on such emotional outbursts, but with only Teyla here, he felt it hardly mattered.
Teyla nodded. "Can we not contact Atlantis for help directly?"
Sheppard sank back into the pilot chair. "Our radios should be working, but we're way too far out of range. The last time I checked our position before the crash we were already practically sixty miles from the gate and nearly twice that from the Dakurian settlement. Even if the 'jumper had enough power, we couldn't activate the gate from this far away, let alone use the radios – Dr. Weir isn't even expecting us to check in until tomorrow morning because of the distance."
"So we must wait for them to come to us." She cast her gaze out the dirt-encrusted front window of the puddlejumper. "It is nearly evening already; at least we do not have long to wait."
He looked up at the quickly darkening sky, nodding pensively at her words. Suddenly his mind dredged up something that McKay had offhandedly mentioned at their briefing that afternoon. "Um, Teyla…do you remember what Rodney said about the nights on this planet?"
Barely waiting for her answer, his hands started flying over the consoles to try to get a reading on the status of the environmental controls in the jumper. From the corner of his eye he saw Teyla edge closer to him. "Did he not say that the temperature difference between the days and nights is extreme?"
Sheppard nodded absently, still frantically jamming at the buttons that should have brought up the screen for the life support system. "Yeah, something about there not being enough cloud cover to keep in the heat. Basically he said it's like a desert – comfortable enough during the day but it gets real cold at night." He threw another worried glance out at the sky that seemed to be getting darker by the minute. "And we've got another problem. The 'jumper doesn't have enough power to even keep the heat on in the cockpit."
Even before he'd finished getting the words out of his mouth, Teyla was up and pulling on her flak jacket. She pushed his into his lap with a grim smile. "It will get cold soon, Colonel. You will need all of the warmth you can get."
"Thanks, Teyla." As he zipped up, he watched her move to the rear of the 'jumper and begin pulling boxes and cartons from the cargo bins. With an appreciative grin, Sheppard joined her in cataloguing and sorting through the supplies that they had available.
They were soon sitting cross-legged on the floor, knee to knee and surrounded by unwrapped packages, empty boxes, and stacks of rations. "Okay," he sighed, leaning back on his palms. "We've got enough food and water rations for at least a week, so that won't be a problem. Radios are out of the question, but there are two thermal blankets and some fire starters."
"We also have these." Teyla tossed him a bag of around a dozen unused hot-packs – twist the package and start an exothermic chemical reaction. They only lasted for a good hour, but even though he had only an inkling of how cold it was going to get, he knew that the heat they provided could prove invaluable before morning came.
When he glanced up from reading the instructions on the packs, he caught her rubbing her forehead in a manner that she had clearly hoped would go undetected. "Hey, you okay?" Sheppard immediately asked, nudging her with his knee.
"Yes. I am merely tired." At his steady stare, she sighed lightly. "My head has been hurting since we landed, but it is nothing to worry about."
His eyes involuntarily flicked up to the nasty gash on her forehead. "You may have gotten a concussion. Your ears aren't ringing or anything are they? You're sure it's just the headache?"
Teyla nodded. "I will be fine." His concerned gaze clearly told her that he felt otherwise, so she got to her feet and gathered the empty boxes in her arms. "It is only one night, Colonel. Dr. Weir will send a search team when we do not report in tomorrow morning, but until then…"
Looking over her shoulder and out the window he could see the sky turning from the grey color of late afternoon to the darker purple of early evening. Pulling himself up with a groan, he asked, "Teyla, how good are you at building fires?"
She gave him a mischievous smile. "Are you volunteering to go looking for firewood?"
"Well, I was kind of hoping we could do that together…you know, kind of a classic trapped-and-fighting-for-our-lives bonding thing. What do you say?" He gave her the best puppy-dog expression he could muster and grinned when he saw her roll her eyes in an exasperated manner that was a clear imitation of Rodney.
Teyla dumped the empty boxes onto the bench in the cargo hold, hoisted her P-90 from beside the copilot seat, and fixed him with an amused half-smile. "Lead the way, Colonel."
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Fortunately, the 'jumper hadn't crashed very far from the tree line of a patch of forest, so the two of them managed to collect several armfuls of kindling and about a dozen larger logs within half an hour. Still, even in that short amount of time Sheppard could feel the temperature around them dropping like a stone, and by the time Teyla had set him to work shredding the cardboard boxes in the cargo hold for tinder, he was doing his best not to shiver. Teyla was carefully arranging the smaller sticks into a teepee structure and adding handfuls of the cardboard strips to the middle. When she produced a lighter from her flak jacket and lit the tinder, he shoved the last of the cardboard toward her and leaned back against the 'jumper hatch. Though it was freezing, he supposed they ought to be thankful that it wasn't windy. The sun wasn't quite down yet, and even though it was still only early evening, he hadn't felt closer to the base in Antarctica since coming to the Pegasus Galaxy.
Sheppard silently watched Teyla continue to stoke the small fire with the concentration and expertise of someone who had completed the task dozens of times before. Within only a few minutes she had managed to build up a decent-sized campfire and turned to Sheppard for his approval. At his smile she moved to sit beside him in the doorway of the 'jumper, wrapping her arms around her middle as she did so.
"Do you know how much longer we have until morning?" she asked.
Sheppard glanced down at his watch. "It's about seven now, so at least ten hours until it starts to warm up again. Hey, are you hungry?" He reached behind him for the opened box of MREs and began sorting through them. "Well, Miss Emmagen, it looks like you've got several choices on the menu tonight including some absolutely delicious macaroni and cheese, freeze-dried corned beef, and a tempting dish of beef stew."
He presented each of the packages to her with a flourish, and his clownish behavior earned him a light laugh from Teyla. "I'll leave the choice to you, Colonel."
"The lady's going to let me pick the meal? Well, in that case, you can have the beef stew – I think it's the closest thing to actual, appetizing food you're going to get from military rations." Sheppard ripped off the cellophane and handed it to Teyla who waited for him to make his own selection from the remainder of the meals – some suspiciously lumpy macaroni – before beginning to eat.
"Not quite what I had in mind for our first date," Sheppard joked, hastily swallowing another mouthful of the rations. He'd long since discovered that the secret to making MREs more appetizing was to not let it sit in the mouth for too long.
She smiled at him after gulping down more of the stew. "Really, Colonel?" she asked with a pert tilt of her head. "What ideas did you have, if you don't mind my asking?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of a picnic on the mainland, watching a football game, maybe taking a walk through the city. Let's just say that freezing our asses off on some alien planet wasn't in the game plan," he said wryly.
"In that case, I suppose we can keep this between us. I'm alright with not counting this if you are," she returned playfully.
"It's a deal." They did this when they were in tight situations, each one taking it upon him or herself to make the mood more lighthearted. Sheppard only hoped that they'd be able to keep up the jokes and banter until morning. "And for dessert…I hope you like PowerBars."
He passed her one of the chocolate ones in the box and took one for himself. Though he felt he'd hardly be able to keep it down, Sheppard forced himself to finish off the protein bar – Teyla didn't look as though she was completely enjoying herself either, but both of them knew they would need ample calories to make it through the night.
He tossed the empty packaging into the fire, which was now giving off just enough heat to keep them from completely freezing. The sun had finally set, and Sheppard could feel the temperature around them continuing to drop; he wondered just how cold it was going to get before morning. As he added another log to the small fire, Teyla retrieved the thermal blankets and the box of hot-packs from the cockpit and returned to sit beside him against the inside left wall of the 'jumper's cargo hold. She handed him one of the blankets and hot-packs and wrapped herself in the other, twisting a hot-pack to start the warming chemical reaction and hugging it to her chest. Sheppard followed suit, and they were soon sitting in comfortable silence, shivering and freezing but at least thankful to not be alone in the same situation.
"Does it ever get this cold on Earth?" Teyla finally asked, startling him slightly with the suddenness of her question.
"Well, it all depends on where you live, I guess. Most people don't ever have to worry about the weather getting as cold as this, but for a while I worked in just about the coldest part of the world. Of course, I wasn't crazy enough to think about camping outside while I was there, but it definitely got pretty chilly," he answered. At her silence he asked, "What about you? Where'd you learn to build a fire so quickly like that?"
"All of the children on Athos are taught such skills at a young age. It is necessary for everyone to help in hunting and setting up camp as soon as they are able. My father taught me himself when I was quite young."
Sheppard noticed her jaw tighten slightly when she mentioned her father, and he couldn't help but feel horrible for having reminded her of such a painful part of her life. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean –"
"There is no need to apologize," she assured him with a light smile. "My father was taken long ago, and I am hardly the only Athosian who has suffered loss at the hands of the Wraith. He prepared me since I was a child to one day take his place. I never expected to have to assume his duties so quickly, but it was necessary. My people needed someone to lead them, and I could hardly turn away from my responsibilities."
He watched the firelight make shadows over the curve of her cheek. "Has it been hard? Having to give up so much of your life to serve others? Not having a family?"
"They are my people," she responded simply. "We could hardly survive as a community if all of the members did not live up to their responsibilities, and assuming my father's duties when asked was always what I was supposed to do. Besides, I have never been forbidden from beginning a family of my own – Halling and some of the elders actually encouraged me to do so."
Sheppard's curiosity was piqued by this information. "Really? So what happened?"
"I had yet to meet someone that I wished to be bonded with for life. It is not a decision that one should take lightly, and I had no intention of beginning a family if I was not entirely certain it was the right choice." She shot him an amused expression. "I hardly think my situation is any less remarkable than yours, Colonel. You are also in a position of leadership, have every right and ability to pursue a relationship with whomever you choose, and at this point have still decided not to do so."
He shrugged in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner. "Hadn't met the right girl yet, I guess." Teyla held his gaze for a moment before smiling in the understanding way that he had come to know extremely well. For a second, he thought he saw a faint flush spreading across her cheeks, but he just as quickly wrote it off as a trick of the firelight.
They fell silent again and even with the warmth of the fire, Sheppard could still feel his nose and ears going numb. Though the blankets and hot-pack did help stave off some of the bitter cold, he was sure that he had never been so close to freezing in his entire life. Beside him he suddenly felt Teyla shiver violently, her teeth chattering despite her every effort to stop the simple movement from betraying how cold she was. Sheppard leaned over to add another log to the fire and managed to sneak a glance at Teyla, who was curled into a ball, eyes dark and hooded from exhaustion. Sitting back down beside her, Sheppard pulled her close, wrapping his arms tightly around her small, clenched form. "Colonel, I –" she started to protest.
"Teyla, you're freezing, and I'm not about to have you get hypothermia before Dr. Weir can send us a rescue team." He carefully tucked the edges of the thermal blankets around her and hugged her closer. "Plus, it's not every day that you get a chance to snuggle with me – Rodney will sure be jealous when he hears about this."
She managed a laugh that lifted his spirits, but she quickly erupted into a nasty spell of dry, hacking coughs that terrified him with their harshness. He rubbed her back gently as she struggled to get her breath back. "Okay, none of that. You just take it easy until morning – I'll keep the fire going and keep a look out for the team, and you try to get some sleep."
Sheppard was surprised when he didn't receive any argument from her, and he looked down when he felt Teyla snuggle closer to him. She had her face cocooned between his chest and the blankets, and he could feel that her body was chilled and tightly coiled next to his. Her eyes were already half-closed, and within mere minutes he felt her breathing coming in deep, steady breaths indicating she was fast asleep. Sheppard sighed and buried his numbed face into the warm softness of her hair, tightening his arms around her waist as he did so. It was certainly going to be a long night.
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He managed to stay awake during the freezing, long, dark night by running over his favorite football games minute by minute in his head, and he continued to stoke the fire when the heat began to fade. As soon as the hot-packs began to cool down, he would carefully pull back the covers, tug the cooled pack from Teyla's grasp, and tuck another one into her arms before pulling the blankets around her shoulders once again. Even with their shared body heat and the fire warmth from the fire, Sheppard felt that the two of them were only just managing to stave off freezing.
Slipping a hand beneath the blankets, he could feel that Teyla's hands were ice-cold, and he rubbed them briskly in an attempt to get them warmer. When he looked out at the fire again, he could see that the sky above the tree line was gradually lightening from the black of night to the lighter velvet-grey of morning. He breathed a sigh of relief that they wouldn't have too much longer to wait before they went missing back on Atlantis; he wasn't sure how much worse Teyla's probable concussion was making her condition compared to his. He hoped the temperature would start rising as soon as the sun came up – things would be much easier if he didn't have to worry about them freezing solid before the rescue team showed up.
Sheppard kept his eyes on the horizon for several minutes and watched the sky continue to brighten. He was soon able to make out more of his surroundings, and when he was convinced that morning wasn't far off, he leaned forward to add the last of the wood to the fire. Glancing down at Teyla, who was still asleep and curled up against his chest, he reached for the final hot-pack, twisted it, and slipped it into her lap.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but he was sure that he could feel the air around them warming slightly. Hugging Teyla as close to him as he could, Sheppard rested his head on hers and closed his eyes wearily. 'I'm not going to fall asleep,' he assured himself, 'I just need to rest my eyes for a second.' It wasn't long before he slipped into slumber with Teyla's steady breathing in his ears and her shivering form pressed tightly against him.
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"Colonel? Colonel Sheppard?"
Sheppard blinked his eyes wearily, his tired mind fighting to recognize the familiar voice that broke through his sleep. He opened his eyes, lifted his cheek from the top of Teyla's head, and found himself looking right into the worried eyes of Rodney McKay and Carson Beckett.
"Morning, Rodney, Carson. Thanks for finally showing up," he managed, carefully sitting up without disturbing Teyla.
McKay rolled his eyes. "Well we would have come a lot earlier if we'd know there was a problem. No need to sound so –" He stopped when Beckett gave him a hard elbow in the ribs. "Right. Um, any idea what's wrong with the 'jumper?"
"No. Damn thing just conked out on us."
Without as much as a by-your-leave, Rodney jumped up and began tearing through the cockpit's controls, his eyes alight with curiosity. Sheppard shook his head in an exasperated, knowing manner and turned his attention back to Beckett, who was gently brushing wayward strands of hair from Teyla's face.
"What happened when you crashed?" he asked.
"We were pretty lucky. I got by with just a cut on the forehead, but I think Teyla may have gotten a concussion – she said her head was hurting pretty badly – and her cheekbone looks like it might have been broken," Sheppard answered. Beckett nodded, carefully examining the gash on Teyla's forehead.
Ronon suddenly appeared in the 'jumper hatchway. Taking in the way Teyla was still sound asleep and pressed close to Sheppard's chest he gave the colonel a knowing grin. Sheppard returned it with a sour expression and gently nudged his friend until her eyes slowly opened, flicking between him and Carson wearily.
"You're both going to be okay," Beckett reassured her. "Um, Ronon, would you mind...?"
"Not at all." He walked over to where Teyla and Sheppard were both curled up on the floor and in one smooth movement picked up the exhausted Athosian as well as the thermal blankets that were wrapped around her and headed out to the parked, functioning 'jumper that the rescue team had brought.
Sheppard took the hand that Beckett held out and pulled himself up with a groan, joints popping from sitting so stiffly for such a long time. He cast a glance toward the cockpit where Rodney was still poring over the non-responsive controls and mumbling to himself.
"Rodney, we need to get the Colonel and Teyla back to Atlantis. Do you want us to leave Ronon here with you until we can send a full repair team?" Carson asked.
He waved distractedly at them over his shoulder, and the doctor and Sheppard exchanged amused glances at such typical McKay behavior. With Beckett's help, Sheppard made his way to the second 'jumper; he saw that Ronon had laid Teyla on one of the benches inside the cargo hold and was carefully tucking the blankets back around her. Her eyes were already fluttering closed again.
Ronon squeezed Sheppard's shoulder as he left the 'jumper in search of Rodney. Beckett sat in the pilot's seat and began preparing for takeoff. Sighing tiredly, Sheppard flopped down on the bench beside Teyla and allowed the heat in the 'jumper to slowly warm him. He leaned his head back against the bulkhead and closed his eyes wearily, hoping to catch a few minutes of sleep before arriving back on Atlantis. He suddenly felt Teyla's cold fingers slip into his, and glancing down at her, he saw she was lightly smiling at him. When he squeezed her hand, she sighed and immediately fell back asleep, the trace of a smile still evident on her lips. Sheppard knew he was close to drifting off as well, and he allowed himself one last glance down at Teyla before giving in to sleep, her hand still firmly entwined in his.
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Thanks for reading guys! Reviews are always appreciated, so I'd love it if you could send me a few words. Thanks again!