'Gerroff,' John growled as he felt someone trying to wake him, opening one eye to find Teyla standing over him. Beckett had been as good as his word in having the bed made up for him, and though he wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, he had been very tired and fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.
'It is nice to see you too,' Teyla smiled at him, amused at the way he slept so heavily when on Atlantis but off-world he was like a coiled spring, ready to jump into action at a moment's notice. 'I returned a short time ago, Dr Weir and Dr Beckett have informed me of what happened while I was absent. How is she?'
John sat up, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes as he glanced at the still sleeping figure in the next bed. 'Doctor Beckett says it's tonsillitis. It's something that a lot of kids catch back on Earth, it's like a bad throat infection. He thinks she'll start to feel better in a couple of days.'
'Yes, he informed me of this,' Teyla acknowledged, then glanced away. 'I am sorry I was not here yesterday. Perhaps I should have cancelled my trip after all,' she looked back at him uncertainly.
'Don't be silly, it all worked out alright in the end. Anyway, how did it go?'
'It went very well. It is the first time we have been able to have the Festival for several years, everyone felt safer now than they have in a long time, somehow being under the watchful eye of Atlantis is helping put people at their ease.' Teyla's keen eyes had been watching John carefully, noting the shadows under his eyes and that when he moved he did so carefully. 'And how are you? You do not appear to be recovering very quickly.'
'I'm fine,' John told her airily, brushing his state of health off with a boyish grin, not fooling Teyla for a minute, and knowing she didn't believe him. 'Mya and I had a chat last night. I think she's feeling a little better about things now.'
'I said you would be able to help her,' Teyla smiled at him, then turned her attention to Mya who had been woken by the sound of talking. 'How are you feeling?'
'I ache,' Mya told her. 'It hurts everywhere.'
'I know, and it is making you feel miserable?' Teyla smoothed Mya's hair out her eyes. Mya nodded before falling silent again. 'Would you like me to sit with you for a while? John needs to get something to eat, then he will come back again.' Teyla glanced up at John who was glaring at her, knowing she had backed him into a corner.
'I'll be back soon,' John told Mya, squeezing her hand as he stood up and left the room, scowling as he bumped into Beckett. 'You put her up to that didn't you?'
'I don't know what you're talking about, son,' Beckett's eyes twinkled. 'But now you're here, why don't I give you that overdue check-up?'
John considered making a run, or rather a hobble, for it but figured that whatever happened, he had to return to the infirmary before too long so he should probably get this over with now. 'Alright, where do you want me?'
Beckett led the way to one of the beds and proceeded to remove the old dressing, tutting as he did so.
'What?'
'You've been overdoing it, I'm afraid,' Beckett held up the dressing with fresh spots of blood on it. 'The wound has opened up in a few places. I'm going to clean it and strap you up again, and unless you want me to confine you to one of the infirmary beds, you'll take it easy for the next few days. While Mya's still feeling poorly, she should sleep for most of the day. When she's asleep, I want you resting on the bed. If you do that, you should begin to heal nicely and I can release you for light duties, if you don't, you'll be stopping here for the next week. Is that understood?' Beckett's tone was firm and allowed no room for argument.
'Couldn't I just…'
'No.'
'You didn't wait for me to finish,' John protested.
'I know. Now, go and get yourself something to eat. I don't want you back here for at least an hour, so you can get some fresh air while you're about it.'
'You drive a real hard bargain doc, you know that?'
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After obeying Beckett's orders, he had to admit to himself that he did feel better after eating and spending some time on one of the balconies. The sun had been shining and he had enjoyed the warmth on his skin, closing his eyes and breathing in the fresh air. He didn't stay there too long however, grimacing as he felt the pull to return to the infirmary, realising that however much he may fight against what Beckett had told him, he just couldn't stay away from the little girl who needed him so much.
He did make a short detour via the general ward, however, to see how Rodney and Lorne were getting on. Lorne was sleeping, though Beckett informed him he would be right as rain in a day or two having got off quite lightly after his experiences trapped in the ice-cold lab. Rodney was complaining loudly to everyone that came near him but when he saw John, he looked away from him uncomfortably.
'Hi. How are you? And how's um…' Rodney stumbled over his words with uncharacteristic awkwardness.
'I'm fine – well more or less, anyway,' John told him, assessing Rodney's discomfort and understanding the cause. 'Mya will be fine too. She has tonsillitis but she should be better in a few days. Looks like you're getting out of here soon.'
'Yes, Carson says the dressing needs to be changed before I leave.' Rodney fell silent for a moment and John waited, knowing he would blurt out what was on his mind sooner or later. 'Look, I'm sorry about what happened. It was all my fault, I never meant for any of it to happen.' Rodney spoke the words rapidly, relieved to have finally got them out.
'It wasn't your fault,' John told him firmly. 'You had a fever and had no idea what was going on. No-one's blaming you.'
'Well, yes, but…'
'Why don't you stop by and say hello when Beckett lets you get out of here,' John suggested, figuring the only way Rodney would stop blaming himself was to see that Mya really was alright.
'Ok, I might do that.'
'Good. Well, duty calls and all that. See you later.'
-------------
John spent the next couple of days in the infirmary, sleeping a lot and only leaving to get something to eat when Dr Beckett threatened to use him in one of his experiments if he didn't get some food. Three days after Mya came down with tonsillitis she was beginning to feel better, spending most of her waking time drawing and listening to stories, John feeling almost back to normal himself with the wound in his side healing once it had been given a chance to.
On one of John's visits to the mess hall, Dr Weir caught up with him.
'We need to talk,' she told him, her face serious.
John sighed and followed her back to her office, knowing she hadn't forgotten the incident with the 'jumper.
'Look, I know what you're going to say,' John began before Elizabeth could speak. 'And I'm only going to apologise for not letting you know what I was doing beforehand.'
'I'm glad you realise that the way you went about it was wrong,' Elizabeth told him, trying to keep her face and voice stern, but unable to stop herself from sympathising with the way John must have felt. 'And if you had included us in your plans, it would have prevented a lot of unnecessary damage control – Dr Zelenka has just spent the last few days restoring the systems to full operating order.'
'I'm sorry, I just did what I had to,' John told her. 'I guess I wasn't thinking very straight at the time, but time seemed to be running out very fast and I had to do something.'
'I understand that, John' Elizabeth assured him. 'But next time you feel like putting one of your hare-brained schemes into action, please consult with me first.'
'Sure,' John promised, pausing before he continued, a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. 'Next time one of our enemies tries to take over Atlantis I'll be sure to check in with you before I do anything.'
'You know what I mean,' Elizabeth tried to sound stern but couldn't stop her mouth from twitching in amusement. 'Now, isn't there somewhere you're supposed to be?' John took the hint and headed back to the infirmary as quickly as his feet would carry him.
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Although she was feeling much better, Mya was inclined to be tearful when left on her own, alarming John when he returned from a brief check-up of his own.
'What's wrong?' John demanded from Beckett who he had summoned when he found Mya in floods of tears. 'Is she ill again?'
'No, she's recovering nicely,' Carson assured John. 'She's just feeling weak and vulnerable right now, it's a perfectly normal part of recovery in a lot of children. It's nothing to worry about, but until she's fully recovered, she may fret if you're not around.'
'Aren't I supposed to be returning to work tomorrow?' John asked doubtfully, part of him torn between leaving Mya while she was still recovering and part of him wanting to get back to normal as quickly as possible.
'Light duties only, Colonel, if you care to remember,' Carson reminded John. 'Which means paperwork and catching up on what's been going on while you've been in here. Mya doesn't need to remain in the infirmary any longer so you can do your work and keep an eye on her at the same time.' Beckett knew John would readily accept the suggestion, and felt some relief at knowing that for once he wouldn't be forced to monitor the Colonel's activities over the next few days.
'Is Elizabeth…'
'Yes, I've already discussed it with her,' Carson answered the question before John could finish asking it. 'And she's fine with it. You just need to remember to see that she eats and drinks, doesn't overtire herself and that she'll probably need several naps during the day.'
'I think I can manage that,' John told him, turning back to Mya who was now busy with paper and crayons. 'Think I'll tell her the good news.'
'Aye, you do that,' Carson spoke quietly, smiling to himself as he returned to his duties.
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John wasted no time in getting on with some work the next day, only prevented from starting as early as he'd like by Mya who didn't wake until mid-morning, and by the time they'd had something to eat the morning was nearly gone.
Mya was happily settled down with crayons and papers and John sighed as he took a look at the contents of his in-tray, unable to believe that even in the age of laptops there was such a huge amount of paperwork still. Sifting through the files to put everything into some kind of order, he was at last ready to start reading and managed to work his way through most of the status reports from the military personnel before glancing over at Mya who was beginning to look tired.
'What have you got there?' John crouched down beside her to see what she was drawing. He'd put everything for her on the small table in his office, but Mya had promptly picked up what she wanted and settled herself down on the floor and John had just shrugged, accepting that she was just more comfortable where she was. 'I think I can guess who this is for,' John smiled as he looked at the picture of Mya standing beside her teddy, which she had drawn almost twice as tall as herself.
'Liz'beth,' Mya confirmed for him then stood up. 'Hungry?'
'I was just about to say it's time for lunch – you must have read my mind. Let's go and find out what they've got for us today.'
They returned to John's quarters right after lunch to give Mya chance to lie down and get some rest, leaving John to work his way through his e-mails. He hadn't got very far when he heard a scratching at the door. Wondering if Atlantis might have a rodent problem, he opened the door cautiously but could see nothing out of the ordinary until he glanced down and saw a box placed to one side.
He brought it inside and opened it up, stifling a shout of laughter as he saw the contents. Someone, or more than likely a number of someones, had been very busy and had produced two games for Mya to play. The first was an old-fashioned board game, one of the classics but with a slightly unusual theme. The other was a card game and as he shuffled through the cards, found it harder and harder not to laugh out loud.
Controlling himself at last, he returned to his work and managed to read most of his e-mails before Mya woke.
'Want to play a new game?' John asked as she sat up, rubbing her eyes sleepily and nodding, more than happy to be spending time with John. 'Great. This is called snakes and ladders. At least, it's normally called snakes and ladders,' John considered the game he was setting up thoughtfully before his face brightened and he spoke again. 'But as this is a little different from usual, I think we should call it snakes and Stargates.'
'Are those what your snakes look like?' Mya pointed curiously at the board. 'I've seen snakes and they're long and thin, not like that.'
'Oh, these are a particularly vicious type of snake,' John explained as he pulled a small working model of a Stargate out of the box. The game board itself was made up of the usual squares you'd find on most snakes and ladders boards, but instead of ladders, there were small pictures of stargates on some of the squares and instead of regular snakes, some bright spark had come up with the idea of using pictures of goa'uld symbiotes.
'Ok, we each take one of these to mark our positions,' John gave a counter to Mya and took one for himself. 'We take turns to roll the dice,' he held up it up to show her, 'and move our counters along the number of squares the dice lands on. If you land on the head of a snake, you have to go all the way back to where its tail is. If you land on a Stargate, you have to spin the little 'gate and move forward the number of squares that it stops on. First one to reach Atlantis wins.' The final twist of the game was a tiny picture of Atlantis on the home square. 'Do you want to give it a go?'
The game began, Mya taking the first turn. As the game progressed, Mya needed a few reminders from John about the rules of the game, her face lighting up the first time she landed on a Stargate and got to spin the model version that took her right into the lead with a number fifteen. John's next turn took him to the head of one of the 'snakes' and he ended up returning almost to the beginning. Mya's pleasure at being in the lead was short lived however, as at her next turn she too landed on a snake and lost most of the ground she had made up.
It was a long game. Just as it seemed one of them was about to win, they'd land on the very last snake and had to slither back down the board again. Mya was in the lead when she threw a four, the exact number she needed to land on Atlantis and she joyfully marched her counter to the last square, grinning at John.
'Enjoyed yourself?' John asked, a grin on his own face, knowing the answer before she spoke.
'I like this game,' Mya answered. 'Can we play again?'
Before John could answer, a knock at the door distracted them both and while John went to see who it was, Mya looked on anxiously, still retaining her nervousness around strangers.
'Major, good to see you up and about again,' John ushered Major Lorne into the room, waving him to the couch. 'Doc finally had enough of you then?'
'Yes, sir,' Lorne smiled a greeting at Mya, who relaxed considerably at seeing a familiar face and began to rummage through the pictures she had drawn. 'Interesting game you've got there.' His eyes had fallen on the board game still lying where they had left it.
'Isn't it? Makes me think that some of our people have way too much time on their hands,' John said. 'How are you doing?'
'I'm fine,' Lorne assured John. 'Doc's given me the all clear. Is Mya recovered, then?'
'More or less,' John glanced over to make sure she was happily occupied. 'She still needs plenty of rest though. Dr Beckett's restricting me to light duties for a few days, so you'll be responsible for most of the teams during that time. I've been reviewing the mission reports for the last few days and I think the newly arrived personnel are ready for some off-world training. You should…'
John's voice trailed off as he watched Mya pat Lorne's leg to get his attention, offering him a picture when he looked at her.
'Thank you,' Lorne took the picture, studying it for a few moments before a grin formed on his face and he showed the picture to John. Mya had drawn what she thought a tortoise and hare should look like from the description Lorne had given her when he had told her the story. Before either of the men could say anything, Mya climbed on to the couch beside Lorne, knelt beside him and wrapped her arms around his neck before giving him a big kiss and a hug.
'Thank you for looking after me,' Mya whispered shyly then got back down and ran over to John, hiding her face in his chest, overcome at her own unexpected boldness.
John rubbed Mya's back to calm her down, watching with some amusement as Lorne cleared his throat, his face a nice shade of red.
'What made her pick that to draw for you?' John took pity on Lorne, who breathed a sigh of relief as he responded to the question.
'When we were trapped in the lab I told her a couple of Aesop's fables, she seemed to like them.'
'Tell me about it,' John nodded his understanding. 'She loves to hear stories, can't seem to get enough of them.'
'I think it's the age, sir. When my sister's children were about that age they liked nothing more than to sit and listen to stories.'
'I think I'll have to do some reading then, I'm running out of stories to tell her,' John rolled his eyes.
'She seems more settled now,' Lorne observed. 'I was really surprised when she spoke just now.'
'We've had a little chat about…things,' John didn't need to specify what he was talking about. 'It seemed to help. Better now?' John spoke to Mya as she stood up and went over to the table where they had been playing before.
'Play?' She looked hopefully at the two men. Lorne raised an eyebrow questioningly at John who shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant, but failing, as Lorne observed the smile John tried to hide. Five minutes later, the three of them were engrossed in the game.
---------------
'Unscheduled incoming wormhole,' Sergeant Miles announced, bringing Elizabeth to the control room. 'It's Lt Mayhew, ma'am.'
'Lieutenant? Any more new cases?' Mayhew's team, along with Dr Machin, had been on the planet for almost a week. The disease that they had initially thought might be measles, had been identified as something very similar, and equally as virulent and dangerous. The villagers who hadn't already contracted the illness were given a hastily prepared vaccination that had prevented most of them from developing anything other than a mild case. It hadn't proved to be a hundred percent effective and several people had still become very ill.
'No, it looks as though we've got it beaten,' Mayhew sounded very tired, as most of the team probably were. They had been working almost non-stop since they had arrived and would need an extensive period of down time once the situation was resolved. 'I don't think we're going to lose any more either.' Eight elderly villagers had unfortunately not survived the outbreak. 'We should be able to start sending our people back to Atlantis within the next twenty-four hours.'
'That's very welcome news,' Elizabeth smiled, relieved that everything was working out better than expected. 'Do you need any more supplies?'
'No, we have sufficient and now many of the patients are fully recovered, they are able to manage for themselves pretty well. There is something else though,' Mayhew paused before he continued. 'A visitor arrived at the village several days ago. She returned to her home-world just before she came here but everyone was dead, killed by raiders, so she came to the only other place her people had visited and traded with. When she found out we were from Atlantis, she informed me that she knew Teyla from previous visits to her village.'
'You don't think…'
'I'm not sure, but it is possible,' Mayhew didn't wait for Elizabeth to finish. 'Perhaps if Teyla could join us?'
'Very well, I'll make the arrangements,' Elizabeth nodded, although she knew she couldn't be seen. 'Atlantis out.'
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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