Spoilers: Vague mention to Conversion, but nothing major.

Warnings: Contains sexual situations.

Disclaimers: I do not own any part of this world, and I gain nothing but enjoyment from playing in this world.

(Note: For my American friends: Trousers are pants. Just in case there is any confusion!)

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Teyla woke slowly to the dawn light cascaded into her room, lifting her consciousness out of sleep. Gentle dreams scattered as she opened her eyes. She lay on her right side, the duvet thrown down to her hips and less than a foot away from her lay a sleeping John Sheppard. Memories from last night returned quickly. She had never felt as vulnerable as she had last night and he had stayed with her, made her see sense again. She had opened her inner most fears and spoken them out loud to him.

"Without my strength, what else is there for me to give?"

"Teyla, you are the strongest person I have ever met." He had answered her quickly and with a certainty that had helped. But, it was not enough.

"But, I wasn't strong enough was I?" Her words had been sad and heavy on her lips. A truth so blinding in its impact on her that it was as if her very soul cried out in protest. She was not strong enough.

John had reached out and in an uncharacteristic action he had taken her by the arms and turned her to face him. He had looked directly into her eyes, his gaze intense as he spoke.

"Teyla, it is not up to you to save your people by yourself. No one can do that. We fight one battle at a time and we do it as a team. Everyone has their limits, their weaknesses and their strengths. It is how we combine them as a team that allows us to defeat the odds. We support each other and we watch each other's backs." She heard the subtext to his statement – she had gone into battle without him, without support and she had suffered the consequences of that.

She had looked up into his eyes and nodded her agreement. He was right.

"I was wrong not to have asked for help."

The statement seemed innocent enough in its simplicity, but for Teyla it was a massive confession. She had let pride and tradition interfere with the safety of her people. As their leader she should have seen beyond their request. She should have at least had an Atlantis team on standby if they were needed. But, she had not. Instead she had pushed away any help. She had pushed him away.

"If we are going to stop the Wraith, we need to work together." He insisted again.

"You are a vital part of this team, but even if you could no longer fight alongside us, you would always have a place here."

Teyla felt wetness in the corners of her eyes. Since she had decided to live away from her people she had felt as if she did not belong. But, she did have a place. She had a home with these people and she had value regardless of her ability to fight. She could make a difference with these people.

She sighed loudly, feeling the tensions from the past weeks ebb out of her body with the breath. Turning back to the window she studied the lowering sun and allowed herself to accept all that had happened over the past weeks. She had been pushed to the very limits of her abilities and had been so close to death that it still shook her to think of it. But, she was alive, she would regain her former strength and she still had much to give her people and the Atlantis expedition.

Beside her John stepped closer again and reached out to hold her upper arms again turning her back towards him.

"Teyla, I need you to promise me something." He voice was serious and had a tension to it that drew her attention. She turned back to him, searching his face for the source of the tension. He drew a breath and looked straight into her eyes.

"I need you to promise me you will never do that again." His tone was almost aggressive in its intensity. "I mean it Teyla, you must promise me you will never go up against those kinds of odds without backup again. I can't go through that again. Promise me." His hands had clenched her arms tightly and she had felt the tension in his body. He needed to hear her promise.

"If it is in my power, I promise." She offered, knowing that life in this war against the Wraith held no absolutes. He studied her for many minutes, and she watched the changes of expression over his face. Finally he nodded.

"Okay. Just try not to get into any situation without back up, okay?"

She could not help a smile at his words. "Yes, John, I will try not to."

He smiled finally and his warm hands dropped from her arms. "Good. That's all I'm asking."

They smiled at each other in the fading light and Teyla felt a renewed sense of companionship between them. She had missed his company.

"And, you're okay now?" He asked tentatively.

"Yes, John. Thank you for your words and for listening to my fears." She felt a warm glow inside her at the blessing he was in her life.

"Anytime, Teyla. I am always here for you to talk to if you need me. You can rant or yell at me, anything you want. And I am sorry I haven't come to see you since you got out of the infirmary."

"I don't think I would have been good company." She chuckled. "But, I'm okay now. I just need to build up my strength and I will be back on the team in no time."

He nodded his agreement and his eyes seemed to sparkle to her in the dusk light. He reached out again and rubbed her upper arm. "Good."

Very instinct in her body told her that he wanted to hold her, wanted to comfort her, but after his confessed words of love he was hesitant to act. She realised she had never answered his confession. She had thought he had regretted his outburst at the time and she had not wanted to address the issue with him. Now, he didn't know how to behave with her. Not wanting such discomfort between them she stepped towards him and initiated the hug.

He had willingly wrapped his arms around her and had pressed her tightly against his chest. His warmth and masculine smell had engulfed her as she tucked her herself into his chest. His body was solid and muscular against her and she had felt his cheek rest against her hair. He had felt wonderful to hold and she had taken time to absorb the moment. He had begun to rock her slightly from side to side gently and his hand stroked her back in a sweeping comforting touch. The moment stretched out between them. He seemed to be in no hurry to let go of her and she had decided to enjoy it.

Finally he broke the silence between them, his voice deeper and resonant to her as she had her ear pressed against his chest.

"You know, I was able to borrow some movies off one of the Daedalus crew. Do you remember that story I told you about; "Star Wars"?" She nodded against him. "I could bring them over with some popcorn; it may help you to relax."

She had finally pulled back from him and looked up at his face.

"I would love that. I have missed your stories from Earth."

He smiled what she thought was the biggest smile she had ever seen from him.

"Great. You're gonna love these movies."

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They had spent last night watching three Star wars movies. She had no chairs in her room, so they had stretched out on her bed, backs propped up against the wall. She smiled as she remembered he had fallen asleep halfway through the second movie. She had been fascinated by the story though. He was right it had relaxed her and once the last movie had finished she had felt a renewed sense of hope about her future.

When the last movie had finished she had turned off the screen and the over head light. Pulling the duvet out from under him had taken some effort and she had laughed quietly at his sleepy mutterings about not wanting to go to school. Then pulling the warm duvet up over him she snuggled down to sleep beside him. And now here he was fast asleep beside her, in her bed.

He lay on his side towards her, the dawn light outlining him and gently highlighting the strong angles of his body and face. She studied his handsome features; the angle of his jaw, his dark eyelashes lying against his cheeks and the early morning stubble around his mouth and chin. He looked so peaceful as he slept. She ached to reach out and stroke his cheek, to feel the texture of his skin.

As if sensing her attention on him, his eyes slowly opened. His sleepy gaze drifted to meet hers and a soft smile moved his lips. She returned the smile and softly gazed back at him. His eyes held hers, his stare gentle and she thought she could feel his sense of pleasure echoing hers, as he lay relaxed beside her. They maintained steady eye contact, studying each other openly, but relaxed with sleep. His eyes drifted over her face and seemed to linger briefly on her lips. Teyla felt herself warming under his focus and glanced away shyly. She had only ever once before felt his attention so forcefully, but then he had been influenced by wraith DNA. Now, it was just John – lying here in her bed, so close.

Teyla looked back at his eyes to see him frowning slightly. She followed his gaze down to her waist. Her top had pulled up slightly revealing part of her newly healed scar. As she studied the raised white blemish on her body, she could almost feel the echoes of pain from inside again. Beneath her clothes the scar stretched from her breast to her hip, she had kept the area covered as it had healed and even now that it had, she had not wanted others to see it. She knew she should not be ashamed of the scar –it was a sign of her survival, not her failure and weakness. But, looking at it now, she felt embarrassed that John had seen it. About to move to pull the shirt back down over the mark she stopped when he reached out and gently touched his fingertips to the scar.

Teyla's breath caught as he lightly traced the tiny part of the scar. She felt his touch brush over the mark, feeling the width of it and then tracing it up to where it disappeared under the edge of her shirt. Teyla's breath quivered at his delicate caress. His fingers moved so lightly that she found herself focusing even more on the contact. Glancing up anxiously at his face she saw the frown was still there.

"It has healed fully. Dr Beckett says the scar should reduce with time, but I will always carry it." She uttered quietly.

"The cut was so deep, Teyla." His voice was deep from sleep. "There was so much blood…" His voice shook as his eyes finally met hers again.

"I am fine now." She said reaching out touching his arm briefly. For a moment she was able to see the pain and fear in his eyes. She imagined how she would have felt finding him injured and near death.

John's eyes returned to the small patch of her skin and the white line through it. He traced the scar down to where it disappeared beneath the waistband of her trousers and then slowly back up.

"The cut was so big. Has it all healed?" He asked softly, the worried frown still marring his forehead.

"Yes." She sensed the depth to the question. He was seeking to reassure himself that she was okay. Reaching down to where his fingers rested against the small patch of bare skin she drew the edge of her shirt up slightly. "You can look."

His eyes snapped up to hers in question, but his fingers had already brushed up the newly exposed portion of the scar. She offered a small reassuring smile. His eyes dropped back down to the scar and the frown disappeared from his handsome face.

Teyla closed her eyes and surrendered herself to his touch. This was about him finding closure to her near death. His fingers drifted up her side, feeling the breadth of the mark up to boundary of her shirt again. However, this time his hand slipped beneath the fabric, following the scar up her ribcage. The contrast of his rough callused fingertips, yet gentle touch against her skin seemed to cloud her mind of all thoughts. Her skin tingled where he touched it and her breathing sounded loud and shaky to her own ears. Embarrassed at her reaction to just the simple brush of his fingertips on her side, she turned her face into the pillow, her eyes still closed.

His fingertips slid slowly up over each of her ribs in turn until he reached the highest extent of the scar, which lay just outside the swell of her breast. There he paused and she felt the pad of one finger caressing the unmarked skin beyond the scar. He then flattened his hand fully along the side of her ribcage and then stroked his whole hand back down her side. The full contact of his warm hand sweeping down her side caused her to arch her back unconsciously towards him.

John's touch reached her waist again and he pulled his hand up until it was just his fingertips lightly dancing over her skin once again. The caress finally stopped at where the scar disappeared beneath the waistband of her trousers and there he paused. Teyla waited, silently giving him permission. He obviously understood as she felt the back of his fingers lightly slide across her stomach to the button of the waistband. He deftly flipped the button through the hole and his fingers drifted back up to the scar.

Teyla realised she was holding her breath as she felt his warm fingers slip under the waistband, tracing the scar line all the way up to its end at the highest point of her hip. She let the held breath out in a slow steady stream into the pillow, trying to calm her suddenly over heated body. His hand flattened again under the material of her trousers against her hip, his fingers lying down over the curve of where her hip met her rear. Then once again his hand stroked back to her waist, though this time she was sure he moved slower, or was her mind playing tricks on her?

His touch finally stopped back at where it had started at her waist and then the warmth of his hand disappeared from her skin completely. Teyla only just managed to stop herself from crying out at the loss of his caress. She kept her eyes closed as she worked to calm her breathing and her over sensitive skin. The bed moved slightly beside her as he shifted his weight and then she felt the soft pressure of his lips on her waist as they gently kissed the healed injury of her scar.

Completely overwhelmed by the affection of his action and the pressure of his lips against her sensitised skin she gasped. Her eyes flew open and she realised her hands were already in his hair. His lips brushed up along the scar again following the line his fingertips had earlier, till they reached her ribs and he kissed her skin again. The breath she drew in was shaky and she tightened her fingers in his hair. He pulled her shirt up to reveal the top of the scar and his lips descended to kiss the skin by her breast.

John shifted his weight again so that he pressed his body gently against hers, pushing her back against the bed. She rolled onto her back and he rested his weight down over her. Curves fitted against strong muscular lines as she shifted her legs around his cradling him against her.

He stretched up till their eyes were level and she could not help but gasp again at the passion she saw in his eyes. His gaze was intense, his pupils fully dilated as they met hers. And there he paused, his eyes lowered to her lips and she unconsciously licked moisture onto them. His gaze returned to hers and she realised he was waiting – he would not force this on her, she had to make the decision.

A hundred thoughts and fears entered her mind at that moment, would a relationship be possible between them on Atlantis? Would they still be able to work together? Would it last? So many fears, but all vanished as she felt his hands gently cup the sides of her face. She felt so loved by him and her own intense feelings for him could no longer be ignored. She remembered lying by that tree praying for a single opportunity to see him again, to tell him what he meant to her. Now, she had the opportunity again and she was not going to lose it to pride and anger this time. This time she would be strong enough.

Teyla breathed in deeply, feeling his strong muscular body against her own. Her hands were still entwined in his hair and she drew one down to stroke the side of his face. His eyes closed at her touch as he leaned his cheek into her palm and she stroked his cheekbone with her thumb.

"I do love you, John." She whispered to him.

He opened his eyes and she saw the passion in them had lessened slightly, but the look of affection and joy that had replaced it was all she needed to see. She pulled down gently till their lips met in a kiss full of love and passion.

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THE END

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