Part Eight

'So how's our new arrival settling in?' Elizabeth came up to the table in the corner of the mess hall where Teyla and Mya were finishing lunch. Teyla had waited until she knew the area would be nearly empty before coming, wanting Mya to become accustomed to being around different parts of the city without exposing her to too many people at one time.

'Liz'beth!' Mya held up the teddy from where it was sitting on her lap, beaming a smile at Dr Weir.

'Hello Mya,' Elizabeth returned the smile.

'We are both fine,' Teyla answered Elizabeth's question. 'I have shown Mya my quarters so she could see where she will be staying for the next few days. Several people have brought items that Mya can use to keep herself entertained – word seems to have spread very quickly.'

'It always amazes me how that happens,' Elizabeth agreed.

'We are going to explore some of the city this afternoon, then we will return to the infirmary to visit Colonel Sheppard again. He has promised to tell Mya a bedtime story.' Teyla and Elizabeth looked at each other and smiled at the thought of this.

'I think perhaps I ought to stop by and see how Colonel Sheppard is doing later,' Elizabeth suggested. 'It's only what can be expected of a good leader, after all.'

'I am sure he will appreciate it,' Teyla said. 'And I should be there to escort Mya back to my quarters after he has finished.'

'Absolutely,' Elizabeth nodded her head then stood to leave. 'Until later.'

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'And they all lived happily ever after,' John finished just as Elizabeth and Teyla arrived, disappointing both women who had been intrigued as to what story he would be telling. His previous storytelling attempts had consisted of the plots from a number of horror movies told to the Athosian children, stories they had lapped up with enthusiasm but which were hardly suitable for someone as young as Mya, particularly considering her current fragile emotional state.

'Was it a good story?' Teyla smiled at Mya, though the smile didn't reach her eyes. Mya returned the smile and nodded sleepily, hugging John before she climbed down from beside him, readily consenting to take Teyla's hand and be led off to bed.

As soon as they were gone, John looked questioningly at Elizabeth who shook her head sadly. As he was telling the story, his thoughts kept going to the meeting Teyla had gone to after she had dropped Mya off at the infirmary, knowing that the meeting was to be with Dr Weir, Major Lorne and the returned search party without Teyla having to say anything.

'It was pretty much as you expected, I'm afraid,' Elizabeth told him. 'They found several people who escaped being burnt but they had been hunted down and killed before they could get away. Major Lorne and his team took care of the bodies, but it was a pretty gruesome mission for them.'

'Sounds it. How's Ronon taking it?'

'Not well – I suggested he take himself off to the gym, though I'm not sure how much good it'll do.'

'It was a good idea though – you should have seen him when we were there first time around, he made me real glad he was on our side.'

'I know exactly what you mean, I'd hate to get on the wrong side of him.' Elizabeth fell silent for a moment before speaking again. 'Well, I guess I'd better let you get some rest – I can see Dr Beckett hovering. Good night.'

'Good night.'

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Teyla had just fallen asleep when a murmuring from the hastily provided cot beside the bed woke her, the murmuring quickly turning to cries of fear.

'Hush, Mya,' Teyla picked her up and returned to the bed, holding the child close to her and rubbing her back reassuringly. 'It is a bad dream, you are quite safe.' Soon Mya calmed down and turned troubled eyes to look at Teyla. 'Come, you must try and sleep again. I will remain close so you know you are safe.' Reluctantly Mya lay down, hugging the teddy bear tightly but reassured now by the warmth she could feel as Teyla lay beside her.

Mya's nightmares continued, though not as bad as the first one, but Teyla knew that they were a result of the horror Mya had witnessed and until she was willing to talk about it, the nightmares would return.

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'How's it going?' John asked eagerly, having become bored very quickly with nothing to do in the infirmary. 'And what have you done with Mya?'

'We visited different parts of the City this morning,' Teyla smiled, understanding John's frustration at enforced idleness. 'Then after lunch we returned to my quarters as Mya was tired and she spent the remainder of the afternoon drawing pictures. She seems to enjoy this activity very much – she is with Dr Beckett at the moment to give him a picture she made for him.'

'I'm glad she's settling down,' John's face took on a more serious expression. 'She's been through a lot – she was very lucky to have survived at all.'

'Yes she was,' Teyla smiled at him before her face turned serious again. 'Mya does not trust many people here, but you are the one she trusts most as her father handed her into your care.'

'You reckon?' John looked doubtful but didn't pursue the matter any further. 'There's something else isn't there?'

'Yes,' Teyla admitted. 'Mya had several nightmares last night – and Dr Beckett told me she also had some while she was in here - but she was unwilling to talk about them. He says that although she is otherwise healthy, she is suffering from post…post…' Teyla hesitated, unable to remember the phrase he had used.

'Post-traumatic stress,' John filled in for her, beginning to understand now.

'Yes,' Teyla nodded. 'Until she talks to someone, the nightmares will continue and she could become ill. It would appear that you will probably be the one she will want to talk to.'

'Me?' John's voice squeaked. He cleared his throat before speaking again. 'Wouldn't it be better if Dr Heightmeyer…'

'Dr Beckett said it would be better for her to talk to someone she knows and trusts,' Teyla interrupted his argument. 'Besides, I know you are more than capable of doing this.'

'What if I screw it up?' John asked doubtfully. Teyla looked at him knowingly and ignored the comment. She, along with those closest to him, understood that despite his outward reluctance to admit to it, John's concern for Mya went beyond just a sense of duty.

'Here is Mya now,' Teyla said instead, standing to take her leave. 'I will return soon.'

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'Doctor,' Mya greeted Beckett as he was frowning over some test results on his laptop. He looked up, glad of the welcome distraction and smiled as Mya shyly held something out to him.

'Thank you,' he said, taking a picture from her. He studied it carefully, his face lighting up at what he saw: it was a picture of himself with a long row of patients in beds, all sitting up and looking remarkably healthy for people in the somewhat larger-than-life infirmary. 'That's lovely, my dear. I'm going to put it up right here.' Suiting his actions to his words, Beckett pinned the picture up on the wall right above his desk.

Relieved that he liked it, Mya left Beckett and made her way back towards John but instead of stopping, she continued towards Rodney, surprising both John and Rodney. Watching her warily, Rodney reluctantly accepted the picture she gave to him. As with Beckett, the picture was of himself, a big smile drawn on his face and he was standing in the middle of a garden surrounded by flowers with the sun shining down on him.

'I think she's trying to tell you something.' John grinned as he leaned over as far as he could to peer at the drawing.

'Oh, thank you, it's very nice,' Rodney said awkwardly, then reached for the glass of water beside him, somehow managing to knock it over. Mya quickly picked it up for him, refilling it before returning it, her eyes studying his face as his warm hand touched hers. 'What are you staring at?' He asked more sharply than he intended.

Instead of answering, Mya raced towards Beckett's office and returned a few moments later tugging the hand of a confused and bewildered doctor.

'Roddy,' Mya said insistently, pointing towards McKay who winced as she mispronounced his name.

Understanding dawned on Beckett's face as he thanked the little girl before handing her back over to John while he rapidly checked Rodney's temperature and pulse and took a look at the wound on his leg.

'What's wrong?' Rodney demanded irritably. 'Why are you looking like that? Oh god, I'm going to lose my leg aren't I?'

'Don't be so over-dramatic, Rodney,' Beckett told McKay, his voice patient. 'You've got a fever because of an infection in the wound. I can treat it easily enough, but you will need to stay in a little while longer I'm afraid.'

'But you said…'

'I know what I said and now I'm saying the situation has changed and you'll have to stay longer,' Beckett was used to dealing with difficult patients – Atlantis was full of them and he knew just how to handle them.

'How come Sheppard gets to leave tomorrow? I've been here longer than he has, I should be leaving first.'

'Because he doesn't have an infection and can rest just as easily in his quarters, though I'll be keeping an eye on him.' Beckett glanced over at John to see if he had heard but he was too busy with Mya to take much notice of anything else.

'That is absolutely typical of him,' Rodney fumed. 'It's the same every time – everywhere we go he gets the girls running around after him.'

'Rodney, she's eight years old.'

'He just has to turn on that charm of his and they all drop at his feet.' Rodney appeared not to have heard Beckett.

'Swallow these, please.' Beckett handed him a couple of tablets and a glass of water.

Rodney dutifully swallowed them, then looked suspiciously at the doctor. 'What were they?'

'Something that will help the infection and bring the fever down,' Beckett smiled at him before continuing. 'Oh, and they may make you a little drowsy as well.'

Rodney's eyes were already starting to close as Beckett departed, stopping as John called to him.

'Is he alright?'

'Just a minor infection, he'll be right as rain in a day or two.' Beckett ruffled Mya's hair, smiling at her as she looked up at him. 'Well-spotted, young lady, we'll have to get you working in here,' he joked.

Mya looked away, a haunted expression in her eyes and Beckett looked apologetically at John. 'It'll be fine,' John spoke quietly as Mya buried her face in his chest. 'I need to finish the story anyway.'

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'Good morning,' Elizabeth greeted Teyla and Mya as they arrived in her office the next morning.

'This is very good of you, Dr Weir,' Teyla said as she handed over a pile of paper and crayons and several games.

'I know how much it means for you to be with your people for the festival,' Elizabeth smiled at her. 'It'll be no problem – Major Lorne isn't scheduled to go off-world for a few days so he'll be able to lend a hand if needed.'

Teyla was about to leave to return to the mainland that day for the festival of life, a celebration for those who had survived the wraith attacks and to remember those who had fallen. She had been fully prepared to forego attending the festival this time until Elizabeth found out she had cancelled with the 'jumper pilot assigned to take her. Elizabeth had persuaded her that there were enough people who could look after Mya while she was gone and after much persuasion, Teyla had decided to go after all.

'I will be back in the morning, Mya,' Teyla assured the little girl who had settled herself down in the corner of the office, working on a picture she had already begun. Teyla smiled at Elizabeth. 'It is difficult to get her to do anything else, other than to visit Colonel Sheppard.'

As soon as she had said these words, Mya stood up and came over to the two women.

'John?' She looked at them expectantly.

'Leave it to me, you get yourself off,' Elizabeth ushered Teyla out of the door and turned back to Mya. 'Ok, I guess it's time we paid a visit to John.' With a big smile on her face, Mya grabbed Elizabeth's hand and began to tug her towards the door. 'Ok, we're going,' Elizabeth picked up the pace and allowed Mya to lead the way to the place she was most familiar with in the city.

They had almost reached their destination when Elizabeth received an urgent summons back to the control room. Hesitating briefly, she realised that Mya knew as well as anyone where she was going and waited only to see her enter the infirmary where she knew she would be watched over by Sheppard and Beckett before hurrying back to the control room to deal with the latest emergency.

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Rodney could feel someone shaking him by the arm. Assuming it to be one of the nurses, he grunted angrily and pulled away. The shaking persisted, this time accompanied by a small voice. 'Roddy.' Trying to control his annoyance, he opened his eyes groggily and looked at Mya who was standing beside him and pointing to the now empty bed next to him. 'John?'

'He's gone,' Rodney said in surprise, even more surprised at Mya's reaction. She backed away from him, her eyes wide with some emotion he couldn't quite figure out.

'Mama gone. Papa gone.' She spoke so quietly he could barely make it out. While his confused brain tried to make sense of what she had said, Mya turned around clutching her teddy close to her and raced towards the exit,

'No, I didn't mean…' his voice trailed off as he realised she could no longer hear him. Struggling to get out of bed, wondering where everyone was for once, he tried to follow Mya but found his legs unwilling to co-operate and he sank to the floor as his legs turned to jelly. 'Hello? Anyone there? Hello?'

Several minutes of yelling later, a nurse eventually turned up, scolding him for trying to get out of bed before she fetched someone else to help her get him back into bed.

'Where's Dr Beckett?' Rodney demanded irritably, something that most of the infirmary staff were familiar with by now. His fever-soaked brain was struggling to remember what it was he needed to see Beckett about, but he knew it was important.

'He's busy right now,' the nurse told him. 'I'll get him to stop by as soon as he can.'

'That's not good enough,' Rodney snapped back. 'I need to see him now.'

'I'm afraid you'll just have to wait,' the nurse's voice was beginning to sound impatient. 'I have other work to be getting on with. I'll ask Dr Beckett to come and see you when he's free. Here, you dropped something.' She bent down and picked up a piece of paper from under the bed, handing it to him. As Rodney looked at it, his memory cleared and everything became a whole lot clearer.'

'Mya…' his voice croaked. 'Mya.' He repeated, this time louder bringing the nurse back to him.

'That's the little girl who came back with Colonel Sheppard?' She said, wondering if Dr McKay was delirious.

'Yes. She was here just now, to see him, but I told her he had gone,' Rodney looked extremely uncomfortable as he related the episode. 'I don't think she understood, I think she thinks he's dead, like her parents. She ran off before I could explain. Someone's got to find her.'

'I'll see to it,' the nurse told him crisply, her voice saying clearly what she thought of him. 'You just get some rest and stop being such a nuisance.' For once doing as he was told, he lay back down and watched as the nurse disappeared.

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To be continued…

The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author