"Missed You"
Show: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: General/Episode Coda
Pairing: Sheppard/Teyla
Rating: K
Summary: Tag to "Epiphany". The silence was more than enough; a quiet moment between friends after the strain of a long, confusing day. Sheppard/Teyla friendship
Disclaimer: Don't own any of them…but I sure as heck wish I did!
Author's Note: This bunny's been running around my head for a while now, and I'm finally getting the chance to let him out for some fresh air. He loves to snuggle with reviewers, so if you drop me a line, I'll be sure to send him over for a cuddle! This was supposed to be finished yesterday for the party at Gateworld, but it was a little slower writing this than I expected. Hope you guys forgive me!
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Teyla padded quietly through the halls of Atlantis, exercise bag slung over her shoulder and staves firmly clenched in one hand. It had been an immensely trying day, and she was in desperate need of some time to work off the agitation and unease that she had felt for the duration of Colonel Sheppard's disappearance. The time dilation effect on the planet that had aged Sheppard six months in a matter of hours had been difficult for all of them to understand, let alone assimilate and accept.
She briefly considered that they had been lucky. Rodney had managed to figure out exactly what was going on in a relatively short time and had subsequently worked at the pace of a madman to find a way to get their teammate back. He had, and that should have been good enough for Teyla.
Somehow it wasn't.
Crossing into the section of the city that contained the lower gyms, she reflected somewhat ashamedly on the overwhelming fear and panic that she had felt while he was gone. She supposed that such emotions were a natural reaction to the possibility of losing a good friend and colleague. Over time she had come to expect more of herself in the department of control. Still, she and the others had nearly lost a close, trusted friend, and for the moment that was explanation enough for what she had felt.
Teyla wasn't quite ready to entertain the thought that perhaps the emotions she had felt were more a product of exactly who was missing rather than the situation itself. It was a frightening, unsettling thought that she quickly buried. Feelings were a natural reaction to events such as the one she had experienced and should be controlled and harnessed, not feared. At the same time, she was all too aware that harboring such strong feelings for one particular individual could be painful, even dangerous. She couldn't afford that, not at this point in time.
Sighing heavily, Teyla rolled the staves anxiously between her fingers, giving a distracted smile to the sergeant who passed her. After their time on the planet, the team had quickly dispersed upon returning to the base. Rodney had retreated to his lab while Dr. Weir had holed up in her quarters with some tea and a stack of reports to review. The last time she had seen Ronon, he was running out into the depths of the city – his jogs often lasted for hours, and she doubted she'd see him again until morning. After her check-up with Dr. Beckett, Teyla had managed to grab a quick nap but had awakened with the desperate need to work off some of the energy and restlessness that she felt.
Having finally reached the sparring room, she passed through the doors, excited to begin her cathartic workout. She hadn't even gotten two feet inside when she stopped short, body instantly tensing.
Colonel Sheppard was sitting on the wide window-seat that ran along the opposite wall. The windows had been pushed open, allowing the heavy late afternoon light and ocean breeze to fill the gym. She saw that he had been leaning comfortably against the wall, looking out over the ocean before she had arrived.
His face broke into a contemplative sort of smile upon seeing her. All too aware of how blatant a reminder he was of her previous thoughts, Teyla shifted awkwardly in the doorway, not quite daring to take the next step into the room.
"Colonel Sheppard…I did not realize that anyone else was here. I will find somewhere else to practice." She tightened her grip on her staves and turned to leave.
"Wait, Teyla! You don't have to leave. I actually wouldn't mind the company." She gave him an appraising look, and he shot her a grin.
"I would have thought that you would like to be alone after what you've been through."
Sheppard leaned back in the window-seat again, smiling when she tentatively stepped inside the gym and set her bag down against the wall. "I was just thinking some things over. But geez, it's been six months since I've seen any of you, so can you blame me for wanting to catch up?"
She felt the corners of her mouth tug into a smile. "It was only several hours for us. I do not believe that I had enough time to miss you."
"And now you're teasing me," he grumped. "I think you've been hanging around Rodney too much."
Teyla whipped one of the staves through the air, enjoying the dark, oiled feel of the wood in her hand and the whistling sound it made as it traveled. "Do you wish to join me?"
He sighed. "Actually, I'm exhausted and so out of practice that I'd be flat on the mat faster than Ronon can scarf down dinner. I think I'll just watch tonight, but I'll take you up on that tomorrow if you have the time."
"I will be sure to make the time," she assured him, earning herself another one of his pleased smiles.
Turning from him, she took up her second stave and began the solo warm-up that she usually completed when she lacked a sparring partner. She first began a complicated series of stretches, clearing her mind of the cloud of emotion that had darkened it that day. She would not forget what she had gone through – this was mostly a matter of shuffling it to the side, packing it away to be reopened and examined later that evening in the quiet of her room.
Whipping the staves around again, she shifted her mindset into that of pre-attack, imagining an opponent standing in the middle of the gym floor. Circling the area slowly, she suddenly launched into a flurry of blows and blocks, the ferocity of the attack blatantly contrasting with the silence of it. Emotions, elemental and unrestrained, flowed through her, emptied through her movements into the warm, salty air of the gym. Focused purely on the exercise before her, she nearly forgot where she was until she swung around again with a gymnastic leap and saw Colonel Sheppard watching her closely from his vantage point at the window.
Suddenly and inexplicably self-conscious, Teyla lowered the staves to her sides. "Are you certain you do not want me to find another place to practice?" she asked abruptly.
"No…I was just…thinking." He let out a heavy sigh, turning back to look out the window again. "It's just been a while."
Teyla watched him hesitantly, unsure exactly what he needed or wanted from her. "You are safe now," she said softly.
"I know. It's just a lot to take in, I guess. For a long time it looked like I was going to be stuck there forever. It's just…it's really good to be back."
He turned back to look out over the ocean, and Teyla watched the muted orange sunlight make shadows over the curve of his cheek. Suddenly, she padded across the gym, carefully laid her staves on the floor, and slipped onto the window seat beside Sheppard. Crossing her legs into what she had heard other expedition members refer to as "Indian style", she leaned back against the cool wall, her knees lightly touching Sheppard's.
"It is good to have you back," she said with a light smile.
She watched an affectionate grin spread across his face, hazel eyes sparkling in the familiar way she had come to know, expect, and even enjoy. "Thanks, Teyla."
They both watched the sun set over the ocean, listening to the occasional conversations of personnel passing below and the light, unobtrusive whispering of the waves. The breeze coming off the ocean cooled slightly as it turned from late afternoon to early evening, and Teyla allowed the heavy, fading sunlight to warm her skin. The silence between them was comfortable and safe in a way that she had never really appreciated before; it is only between the closest of friends, she decided, that one could say nothing at all and still be understood.
"I missed this," she suddenly heard him whisper. Glancing over toward him she saw an almost saddened expression that made her realize just how difficult the past months…well, technically, hours…had been for him.
As though feeling her gaze upon him, he turned, eyes combing her face in a careful way, as though he was committing what he saw there to memory. "I missed you."
He said it so softly that at first she was unsure if she had even heard him correctly. Sheppard gave her a sad, thoughtful smile and looked back out to the ocean. Teyla watched him quietly, and then shifted slightly, drawing closer to him as she did so. In a manner that was uncharacteristically shy, she reached out and lightly touched his knee
"And I as well." They studied each other for a moment until Teyla began to pull back, suddenly nervous under his scrutiny. Before she had a chance to take her hand from his knee, he covered it with his own, wrapping his warm fingers around her cooler ones and giving it a squeeze.
The sun set the rest of the way in silence.
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The end! Hope you guys liked it! Reviews are always loved and cherished, so a few words would be great. ;)