SUMMARY: Guys will be guys...
Genes In A Twist - Part Five
Teyla arched a brow at the photo Elizabeth handed her. "Did you not tell Colonel Sheppard that the video footage of them in the city was destroyed?"
They were in Elizabeth's quarters, retired there after the city had been 'shut down' for the night. After the day's events, it was a pleasant relief to simply be still and peaceful as they drank tea and spoke of the day.
"It was," the expedition leader said, her green eyes wide and guileless before they relaxed into a slightly wicked smile. "But these were lifted before the deletion," she said, "for posterity's sake. While the SGC has seem body-switching experiences before, and even machines to genetically modify people, we've never encountered technology that could change men to women and back again."
"We still have the machine," Teyla said, studying the slightly grainy photo of her team-mates in their female forms. Exceptional individuals, whether male or female - although they clearly preferred to be male.
Teyla could not imagine being male. She was not sure she would wish to be male, either. Her body was her own and she was comfortable and familiar in it. To change that would be...strange.
"If we can get it to work," murmured Elizabeth, pouring out another cup of herbal tea. Teyla waved her hand to stop Elizabeth pouring out another cup for her.
Teyla had given the other woman the herbal set after her last visit to the mainland. It was rich and slightly spicy in flavour, but calmed the nerves and alerted the senses - something that Teyla had felt Dr. Weir might appreciate in her role as Atlantis' leader.
"You do not share Rodney's belief that he can get it working again?"
Elizabeth looked weary. Dealing with Rodney from a position of seniority seemed an exhausting task. Colonel Sheppard certainly seemed to work well enough with Rodney, but even he confessed to being tired of having to manage the scientist. "Genius or not, there are some things that Rodney can't do. I suspect this is one of them. I'll probably get you and Carson back there in a few days to see if you remember anything - and Rodney should probably go... Oh, I'm not going to think about this now," she said. Her expression was briefly self-disgusted before it eased back to a faint smile. "Tomorrow, maybe."
Teyla returned the smile. Sometimes a leader had to know when to stop. "Tomorrow is a new day."
"With no mistakes in it - yet," Elizabeth smiled.
Teyla handed back the photo. "Although it is good to know that there is evidence of what happened today."
A small, secretive smile slipped onto Elizabeth's lips. "They are rather determined to ignore that anything changed."
"You did not have dinner with them."
Elizabeth winced. "Was it bad?"
"It was...frustrating." Teyla had endured the attention of her team-mates with as much self-possession as she could muster, although the urge to hit each them over the head with the tray had asserted itself more than once during the evening. They were not usually so attentive, and she had been overwhelmed by their constant contact. "Carson mentioned that they would probably be reassuring themselves of their masculinity in the next few days."
"You didn't expect it."
"Not to such a degree," sighed Teyla.
"Well, tomorrow there will be many other women for them to annoy," teased Elizabeth, smiling. "Not just you."
"I hope so." Teyla smiled as she stood. "Sleep well, Dr. Weir."
"You too, Teyla."
She made her way back to her quarters, relieved to be at the end of the day.
Only not quite.
As the doors slid back to show her room, Teyla was both astonished and displeased to find someone waiting for her. She was even less pleased to discover it was John, sitting in the tilted chair in the corner, flipping through one of the books she'd acquired about religions on Earth.
At other times, she would have thought nothing of his presence. Right now, she was tired, and with that exhaustion came a short-temper. Teyla felt she could take out her ire on him with very little provocation - and John was good at provocation when he set his mind to it.
"Yes, Colonel?"
He snapped the book shut and climbed to his feet, rubbing at the back of his head. "Uh, hey Teyla. Look, I'm sorry about the late visit, but I wanted to, you know, say thanks and...return the...the stuff I borrowed." His wave indicated a parcel on her bed, wrapped neatly in a towel. "It's washed and everything and I figured you could use the towel in the next laundry cycle--"
John was close to babbling, something he rarely did. Teyla interrupted. "Thank you for returning it so soon," she said. "I did not expect it for at least a few days." Then, because she was feeling a bit wicked, she added, "As you saw, I have plenty more."
It was hard to see in the dim lighting of the room, but he might have flushed. "Yeah, well, I thought I'd come and apologise for dinner, too. You looked a bit uncomfortable there when we were all talking at you."
At least he had noticed.
"It was...confusing." And she'd wanted nothing more than her own space. Which they'd seemed determined not to grant. "Colonel," she let her shoulders sag a little. "I am tired. You are not much more rested. Was there anything else that you wished of me?"
Too late, Teyla realised the question could be interpreted other than the innocent query she had intended.
A smile flickered across his features, then faded. "Well, I was hoping..." He paused, shrugged and set his shoulders. "Never mind."
"Colonel--?"
"It's okay, Teyla." he paused. "I'll see you at breakfast? 0730 hours?"
"I-- Very well," Teyla said. It seemed she would not be escaping quite so easily as she had thought. And she felt oddly ambivalent about both his presence in her rooms and the ease with which he had acceded to her request to depart.
She crossed over to the bed to unfold the towel, then paused, remembering Elizabeth's comment about them requiring 'reassurance of their masculinity' - as though any woman would be in doubt of any of the three! Still, this small thing she could do for him - a reassurance if he so wished it. "John?"
He paused at the door, surprised at being called back. "Yeah?"
It took only a few steps to cross the room, and nothing more than the slightest lift on her toes for her lips to reach his cheek. It was a light caress, brisk with affection, and accompanied by her murmur, "I am glad you are back to normal."
She saw the smirk begin on his lips - just before she gently nudged him out of her room, and closed the door behind him, smiling.
- fin -
