Teyla's POV

oOo

The infirmary was always an impressive sight, but Teyla felt slightly ill at ease in the windowless halls that were joined together to form the medical wing of Atlantis. The medley of Ancient and Earth technology seemed slightly chaotic. Only the Ancient technology had the elegant design that seemed timeless after ten-thousand years had passed.

A tall young woman walked up to Teyla with a clipboard in her hands. She wore the uniform of the medical staff of the expedition, but Teyla hadn't seen her before during the examinations after missions.

Their retreat from the planet had been a hasty one. Not knowing whether there had been indeed just a single Wraith and out of concern for the unconscious Dr. McKay, the team had hurried back to Atlantis. Lt. Ford had announced their return and a medical team, headed by Dr. Beckett, had already been waiting. Her assurances that the Wraith weapon was harmless and Dr. McKay would soon by all right were not heard as the scientist had been rushed to the infirmary. Teyla, Halling and Aiden had been left standing in front of the Gate.

"Your blood scan came back normal and everything else checks out. You may leave," the blonde doctor informed her without looking up from her clipboard.

"Thank you." Teyla smiled and slipped to her feet. "How is Dr. McKay?" She knew he was going to be all right, but she asked because they worked together almost every day.

"Dr. Beckett is still running some tests," the woman replied shortly, as she had already turned to leave.

"Then I will be back later," Teyla agreed and pulled her uniform jacket back on. She was feeling restless after their run-in with the Wraith. If it hadn't been for Dr. McKay's ability to handle a weapon, they would have been dead. Teyla had not expected a man like McKay to show skill in a fight. He had performed like an inexperienced boy when Major Sheppard had taken them out to practice the handling of their weapons. The two men had argued. Sheppard didn't trust McKay with an automatic rifle and the scientist didn't aspire to become a better shooter. In the end, Sheppard had given McKay a 9 mm handgun, while the rest of them carried both. But despite her reservations, Dr. McKay had shown courage in the face of the enemy today.

Teyla was on the way to her quarters when she turned around. Dr. Weir had asked for a report on their encounter with the Wraith, but she had given them time until the next day. Teyla hadn't done very much writing in her life until now. Her people had no need for writing and paper was a luxury they couldn't afford. Aside from trading contracts, Teyla hadn't had much chance to practise the skills she had learned as a girl.

After the space had been cleared and deemed save for inhabitation, Sergeant Bates had declared several halls near the pier as a gym and exercise rooms. There had been talk of designing a jogging course through the City, but Major Sheppard hadn't cleared enough space yet. So far the sergeant had set up mats and a few weights, but most of the rooms were empty at the moment.

The rectangular room was only dimly lit, but the high windows with their warm-coloured fractal patterns filled it with an almost golden glow. Teyla feathered lightly, her muscles still warm and limber from the mission. She bounced and fell down easily to one foot, stretching her other leg behind her.

A shadow moved unexpectedly at the other side of the room and Teyla immediately jumped to her feet, trained to defend herself.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that." Sheppard stepped out of the shadow of the unlit room. "I thought no one was here." There was something unusual about his demeanour. Teyla hadn't known the human leader long, but usually his manner was open and friendly, but now he seemed saddened and withdrawn.

"Major Sheppard!" Teyla called sharply. She picked up one of the staves from the floor and tossed it to John.

John started for a moment, but caught it clumsily with one hand. He looked at her slightly perplexed. Teyla had picked up her staff and held it ready to engage John. Before he could say anything, Teyla struck and drove John against the wall, dropping his staff in a quick, surprising move.

"Wait, wait. Teyla! This isn't a good time to work out," John said defensively, still breathing hard after Teyla had stepped back.

"Pick up your staff." Teyla relented. "Now you may attack me." She stepped back several feet, her staff in hand.

John hesitated, but then moved in for the attack. Teyla blocked his blow easily and countered with a quick move, forcing him to his knees.

"It's really not my day. Normally you wouldn't get me down this easily." John got up once again and picked up the staff he had lost.

"The enemy will not wait for you to be ready," Teyla replied, but let John get to his feet before she delivered the next blow. John had picked up on her pattern and wasn't caught by surprise any more. His retaliation lacked strength, and he wasn't a match for Teyla, who had been training with the staff for most of her life, but his experience as a fighter showed. Teyla fought off his attacks but took care not to disarm him. She could have done so easily, as John could only use one of his arms fully and she was a superior fighter.

Teyla stepped up her pace and added movement when she saw that John was starting to try harder to engage her offensively and disarm her. She could see the strain on John's face, but he kept up the pace and Teyla let him recover between moves just enough to let their training continue.

It was Teyla who finally stepped away and put down her weapon. She felt the intensity of the workout in her muscles in addition to the recent mission but she often trained hard. John looked exhausted, almost sick, but there was determination on his face as he too put down his staff.

"It has been a pleasure. Thank you." Teyla and John touched foreheads and formally concluded their training.

"You are learning fast, but you need to practise more. Your people rely very much on firearms, but the Wraith are hard to kill with guns," Teyla commented.

"Yes, I heard about the mission. We are going to need to train more, especially the scientists. Sergeant Bates will be happy to work out a schedule," John said, running a hand through his unruly hair. Teyla didn't fail to notice that his hand was shaking slightly.

"I'd be very happy to teach some of you. The Wraith rely on their strength and weight, but they are not skilled warriors," Teyla said. There was only so much she could teach them. She was an able fighter and so were many of her people but when the Wraith had come in their ships, they had burned the Athosian settlement to the ground and killed everyone who hadn't managed to escape through the Stargate in time.

"I'll tell Bates to include you in the training program. I think it's a good idea. We are facing the Wraith for the first time, and we need to have someone to tell us what we are up against," John said and nodded and headed for the corridor. "I need to go and see McKay."

"I have not seen him yet as well. Dr. Beckett was with him when I left the infirmary," Teyla said. "He should be starting to get better by now."

John agreed. "He'll probably be anxious to get back to work. The Wraith blaster you brought back is the talk of the water cooler. McKay won't want to miss it."

"What is this water cooler?" Teyla asked, suspecting it was one of those strange expressions from Earth, as there didn't seem to be any real water involved.

"Never mind. The important thing is that we have the weapon now and find out as much as possible. I guess it's not effective against the Wraith themselves?" John fell in step with Teyla but he seemed to have a hard time keeping up with her even though she wasn't walking fast.

"The Wraith can be stunned by their own weapons, but only for a short period of time," Teyla replied. She could see where the major was going. The weapons of the Wraith weren't their biggest threat, but they might be able to use them to their advantage in their fight against the Wraith. Teyla was only starting to realize how much they both could profit from their alliance. They had very different ways of fighting their enemies, but with a common goal. Teyla was convinced that they could achieve more than they had ever done before. She only needed to convince the rest of her people. She was lost in thought as they arrived at the infirmary.

The atmosphere was much calmer than two hours ago when she had been there before. The personnel had returned to their routine duties and Dr. McKay was the only patient at the time.

Dr. Beckett was busy at a computer terminal, scrolling Ancient text over the screen and making notes on a piece of paper on the side. He looked up when they come in. The physician looked tired, but he still smiled.

"It's good to see you have decided to drop by after all, Major Sheppard, but I suspect you are not here because of me." Beckett got up from his chair and shut off the monitor. He was looking at them with concern on his face, and Teyla was sure that he was still concerned about Sheppard's injury. She had noticed that his movements were clumsier and that he seemed unduly exhausted since their training session.

"We are here to see Dr. McKay," Teyla told Dr. Beckett.

"He is doing fine." Beckett smiled now and sighed. "He is already complaining and wanting to go back to the lab. Maybe you can shut him up." Beckett chuckled forcefully, but was immediately serious again.

"I will see what I can do." Teyla returned the smile. She sensed that Dr. Beckett wanted to talk to Major Sheppard alone, so she left them alone and walked over to Dr. McKay's bed.

The scientist was in bed, propped up against a stack of pillows. He was staring down at his hands with a sour expression as he played with a small yellow ball.

"Teyla!" Dr. McKay's head shot up. "Carson is just shaking his rattle. How long does this last?"

"You are already past the worst of it," Teyla reassured him. "You will be out of bed by tonight."

TBC