Szhismine: Thank you my faithful reader! Continuing as requested.
Nyrocat: I was beginning to think you had stopped reading! Of course there will be more competition between John and Ronan! Just expect it to be a bit more subtle for the most part. Update is here finally!
Chapter 5
"The key to being an effective fighter is to know your opponent's next move before even they do," Teyla instructed while holding her staffs in a battle-ready position and slowly circling her opponent. Jeanie, who had been holding her own staffs in a similar position and following Teyla's movements, swiftly dropped her arms to her side and wore a frustrated and slightly confused expression on her face.
"What? Come on, Teyla, that's impossible!" Jeanie whined in anoddly familiar fashion.
"That's what I said," John agreed from his position against the wall beside the gym door. Teyla grinned slightly, her eyes never leaving her opponent as she continued to circle.
"It s not impossible unless you make it so," she replied.
"Look, honey, I'm not really into the whole mystical, magical, voodoo, I know what you did last summer thing. I like facts. And the facts are that knowing the exact future is impossible. It is simple physics that say you cannot know what a person is thinking, especially if they haven't thought it yet. You can only predict," Jeanie informed the trio, sounding eerily like Rodney.
"The ability to predict is all you will need. If you really try and practice often, you will come to see that knowing what an adversary will do does not require magic but logic and intuition," Teyla explained. Jeanie still wore a skeptical expression as she turned to look at John.
"How long did you say you've been trying to learn this?" she asked him.
"About three years," he responded immediately. Jeanie turned back to face Teyla.
"See? I'm screwed," Jeanie told her in an obvious tone of voice. Teyla sighed and abruptly stopped circling while dropping her hands to her side in exasperation.
"You will never know if you can learn if you do not try," the Athosian responded in a slightly irritated voice.
"You could always try my way of fighting," Ronan suggested.
"Oh, you mean using rapid, random, violent actions in order to beat people half to death, and then maybe try and ask a question or two if necessary?" John jokingly questioned. Ronan looked thoughtful for a moment before responding.
"Yeah, that's about right," he agreed.
"See, now that sounds more like me," Jeanie told Teyla with her eyebrows slightly raised.
"Do you even have any combat experience at all?" Teyla questioned, still frustrated.
"I took a year of kick-boxing in college," the blonde offered.
"Kick-boxing?" John asked. "Its funny, I would have pictured you as more of the karate type." Jeanie smiled delightedly at that, unsure whether she was being complemented or insulted but assuming the former.
"Well, it doesn't matter either way," she responded. I haven't boxed in over ten years, and you can't really call me the health club type.
"Dr. Wright, do you wish to try or not?" Teyla raised her voice slightly in order to get to the point. "Because if you are not willing to apply yourself, you are wasting my time."
"No, no. Alright. You win. Let's have a go," Jeanie resigned. After all, she had been the one that wanted to come here in the first place. Teyla's face lifted slightly, and she once again assumed her fighting stance. Seeing this, Jeanie copied the move.
"Now," Teyla spoke as she began to circle again. "Relax your muscles - do not tense up. Breathe in a slow and steady pattern. Clear you mind. Think of only what you are about to do. You remember the motions I demonstrated earlier?" Jeanie nodded in response. "Good. Without taking your eyes from me, use them now."
"Now?" Jeanie's blue eyes widened as her concentration momentarily broke.
"Yes, now," Teyla answered patiently. Jeanie nodded nervously as she once again resumed her stance. A long moment passed where the entire room was silent except for the sound of slow steady breathing. John looked to Ronan nervously, and the Sateda simply grinned back mischieviously. John gave him a sarcastic smile before turning once again to watch the two women, internally feeling very sorry for Jeanie.
Then, just as John looked back, Jeanie finally made her move. She lunged at Teyla in a less than impressive motion, and her staff was blocked. Swiftly, Jeanie swung her other arm around towards Teyla but was blocked again. Before Jeanie could make another move, Teyla used her staffs to throw the scientist's arms upward and brought her left one down to smack into Jeanie's bare, pale stomach. Both John and Ronan winced, making "O" shapes with their mouths and hissing slightly as Jeanie instinctively bent over to clutch her tiny, but less than muscular stomach, her face flushing lightly.
"Well, that'll hurt tomorrow," John quietly commented to Ronan who shook his head in response.
"Okay, that hurt a little," Jeanie gasped.
"Are you injured?" Teyla inquired, worried she may have been too rough with the woman.
"No. No. I just, uh, think you might have bruised my kidneys or something. No big deal," the scientist responded.
"Again?" Teyla questioned. Jeanie looked up before slowing straightening her body once again, sporting a rather large red welt.
"Why not?" she questioned in a very McKay tone of voice. "No pain no gain, huh?" Teyla grinned slightyly and nodded as she resumed her stance. Jeanie once again followed.
The scientist watched the Athosian circle for another long moment before once again lunging, a little more gracefully this time, but Teyla still saw it coming. Blocking the blow, she used her staffs to twist Jeanie completely around 180 degrees before giving the scientist a sharp smack on the bottom. Not expecting this, Jeanie's knees hit the ground with force, and she cried out with the sharp pain it caused to coarse through her legs. Instead of wincing this time, John and Ronan simply looked at each other with matching expressions that said they had found heaven in Atlantis.
"There, you see?" Jeanie shouted in that same annoyed tone. "Screwed. I'm am completely screwed!"
"Need any help?" John asked Jeanie after the "training session" ended about an hour later. Jeanie looked at him with insincere indignance as she finished packing away her towel.
"Weren't you suppose to ask that during the ass kicking?" she questioned. John shrugged.
"You looked like you had it under control," he responded.
"Yeah," Jeanie said slowly. "I hear the lying on your back, writhing and moaning in pain, is the most effective offense and/or defense known to man."
"Okay, so Teyla kicked your ass. It's not like you're the first. She does that to everyone. It means she likes you," the colonel responded cleverly. Jeanie let out a short giggle, almost a snort, at that as she stood and began to hoist her backpack over her shoulder. John was about to speak again when another voice interrupted.
"Here. Let me take that for you," Ronan smiled handsomely at Jeanie while smoothly removing the backpack from her shoulders. "After all that exercise, you should be relaxing." Jeanie smiled gratefully.
"Thanks, Ronan," she responded. Ronan nodded to her and turned toward the gym doors, gesturing with his arms for Jeanie to exit before him. She smiled even wider at this, nodded to him, and left swiftly; still breathing heavily from exertion. Ronan grinned triumphantly at Sheppard as he followed the woman out. John, not wanting to be showed up again, quickly followed. Teyla simply watched the interaction silently as she hoisted her heavy pack over her shoulders and struggled to keep a hold of all the staffs as she was forgotten in her friends' competition for attention. She cursed herself for feeling angry at not only the men, but at Jeanie as well. After all, it was not the woman's fault these men were acting like boys in her presence. Then, with a sigh, the Athosian too exited the now silent gym.
End chapter 5! I really like this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! Poor Teyla! Doesn't anybody love her? Much more is coming! I will try not to take so much time to update next time! Thank you for reading! Remember Reviews equal Love!