A few days later, Teyla got word that Halling and a few of the other leaders on the mainland wanted to talk with her. Beckett volunteered to fly; he wanted to go check on some patients anyway. As Teyla loaded a couple packs of supplies into the back of Jumper 2, she was surprised to see Ronon come into the puddle jumper bay.

"Got an extra seat?" he asked her.

Teyla smiled. "We are only going to the mainland."

"That still gets me out of the city."

She nodded, appreciative of his cabin fever. "Yes, I do not see a problem with having another passenger."

Beckett smiled from his place in the pilot's seat. "We should be back in time for dinner."

"Well, then, let's get going."

They finished stowing everything and opened the roof of the jumper bay. Beckett's flying skills had improved with time; they easily glided away from the city and toward the planet's sole continent.

The small craft landed at the outskirts of the settlement, and as Teyla opened the rear hatch she could see many of the children approaching as fast as their legs could carry them. They drew up short, however, upon seeing Ronon exit the Jumper beside her.

"Are you a warrior?" Wex finally asked him, stepping forward. Ronon gave Teyla a look.

"Yes, he is," she told the children. "Ronon is one of my teammates in the city of the ancestors."

"Show us how you fight!" another child demanded, and others cheered in agreement. Teyla smiled at the uncomfortable look in his face.

"You're not seriously – " he started as she began to step away, but her smile grew wider.

"You'll be fine," she said. "Oh, and no knives." Beckett also offered him a grin as they left Ronon with the eager children and made their way towards the middle of the settlement.

Ronon turned to the nearly dozen kids that surrounded him. "Have any of you been trained to fight?" A few hands were raised, belonging to the eldest ones of the group. "All right. Let's see what you've got."

Teyla's meeting mainly dealt with that year's harvest and hunts and scheduling future trips off-world so that their trade relations could be continued. She enjoyed the opportunity to have a drink and conversation with her people; being away from them hadn't grown easier with time.

"We saw you did not come alone," one of the men, pointed out as they began to wrap up their official business. Teyla smiled at him.

"Dr. Beckett wanted to see some of his patients," she explained.

"That is not who I speak of, and you are well aware," he replied.

"Ronon requested to come along. He still has not adjusted to remaining in a single location for so long."

"So you have not taken him as your – "

"No," Teyla cut Halling off before he could finish his sentence. "No, I have not."

"We are beginning to lose hope, child, of you ever settling down," one of the elderly men in the tent told her with a smile. Teyla shrugged slightly.

"Perhaps one day," was all she said in response.

Once they were finished, Teyla found Beckett and Ronon and told them to go ahead and prepare to leave. She had one more thing she needed to take care of and wanted to do it alone. She found Jinto playing with Wex, as usual, the boys chasing each other around the trees at the edge of the settlement.

"I have something for you," she told the older of the two. Jinto sat down with her on a large rock as Wex headed for home. "Your father has shown you well how to grow up to be a smart and strong man. You have earned a right to these." She pulled two sticks from her bag and handed them to him.

"Father has said I can be trained?" Jinto asked, his eyes bright with excitement.

"He has." The boy threw his arms around her, making Teyla laugh.

"Thank you."

She nodded. "The next time you come to Atlantis, I want to see how much you have learned."

"I promise." Teyla started to get up, but Jinto caught her hand. "I like your friend," he told her.

"I will tell him as much. He would likely want to see your abilities as well."

"He is a good match for you," Jinto continued. Teyla smiled.

"Did your father encourage this?"

"He wants to see you happy. We all do."

She ruffled his hair. "I am."

Jinto smiled. "I know. He makes you smile, like my mother used to." Teyla froze at that. She didn't know how it was possible that he remembered anything about his mother, but was not going to call the boy's observation into question. Placing a hand on each of his shoulders, she bowed her head. Jinto mimicked her actions.

"Thank you," she told him before turning to meet up with Ronon and Beckett.

TBC...