DAY 1 – WAKING
Chapter 2 – One Crazy Night
The dream clearly didn't make sense. He was aware enough of that fact because the view of the Elite ship Sythus parked on the thick ice of Antarctica seemed odd to him. As did the T-Rex stomping around with Ketra by its side, but it was the weird English tea-party with Teyla's family, the IOA, and Todd playing the role of the Mad Hatter that really made the point of the weirdness for John.
Sat midway down one side of the table at the crazy-ass tea-party, Teyla sat beside him and the cold from the ice sheet creeping up his legs, John watched as Teyla's dad poured tea into Todd's overly large teacup while trying to make a point about diplomacy with the Queen of Hearts.
Todd politely thanked Torren for the tea and sat back in his big chair, adjusting his massive bright Mad Hatter's top hat as he did. Torren then, dressed in the same red and gold outfit he'd worn when he'd officiated the Political Marriage, smiled across the table and offered John more tea.
John glanced down at the delicate china teacup balanced his hand, only to find that it held some sort of bright green sludge that looked like it was right of a Ghostbusters movie. He clearly didn't want any more of the slime tea. He shook his head politely to Torren, so Torren turned to the white rabbit sat on his right and offered the teapot. Rodney's voice replied out of the bespeckled rabbit's mouth, telling Torren that he only drank coffee and that he had to leave soon as he had an assignment to complete otherwise it would be late.
As the T-Rex bellowed loudly from somewhere in the distance, John frowned round at Teyla. She was nodding along with White Rabbit Rodney, smiling beautifully. Sensing his attention, she looked round, sunlight glowing around her gorgeous face.
"...I have to go soon, John," she told him.
"Go?" He asked her. If she was getting to leave this weird party, he was going too.
"John?"
The dream disappeared instantly and a giant snout filled John's view. Ketra's tongue pressed flat against his face and shockingly sweet breath flooded up his nose. A loud bubbling dragon noise was just discernible over the wet lick, as was Teyla's delicate laughter.
"Ketra," Teyla's voice drew closer and Ketra's giant tongue and snout fortunately moved abruptly away.
John wiped the dragon saliva off his face, uncertain for a few seconds if he was still at the crazy tea-party.
"I am sorry, John," Teyla's voice laughed again from behind his hands. "She is clearly pleased to see you this morning."
Still smelling the sickly sweet dragon breath, John lowered his hands to blink blearily round at his quarters. He felt super groggy and still a bit weirded out from the dream.
"I'd hate to see what she'd do to me if she was mad," he muttered as he spotted Ketra wandering away, her interest switched to doing that nose-to-the-floor snuffing routine around his quarters.
Something crossed in front of his still groggy view and he blinked up to finally see Teyla moving towards him. She was fully dressed and looked like she ready to leave.
"What'd I miss?" He checked as she sat down on the edge of the bed beside him, her nice round hip against his side, all up close and personal. Okay, she wasn't going too soon then. He reached for her, sliding one hand around her lower back and the other over her lap, and she didn't tense or pull back. Every memory from last night flowed into his body, all warm and intimate. God, he'd missed her.
She smiled down at him, her hand landing on his bare chest, her fingers teasing as she leant down over him. He lifted his chin to meet her good morning kiss, his heart jumping at the soft touch of her lips. Last night had been so good, like they'd packed in all those many missed days together into one night. Though it probably explained the hangover style tiredness he was feeling, he had been more than happy to sacrifice sleep to be with her again.
Her lips pulled from his all too quickly now though, and he made a sad noise of complaint as she sat up from him, but she was smiling that gorgeous smile of hers again and one of her hands was sliding through his hair.
"Did you sleep well, John?" She asked.
"Had no time for sleep," he reminded her and she chuckled, her teeth showing between her flushed lips.
He ran his hand up her back, her fully clothed back.
"Where you going?" He asked, only then another memory from last night hit him. "You heard an update on Oneakka?" Was she leaving to go back to the Elite Training Facility again?
She smiled instantly though, her hand dropping from his hair back down to his chest. "He has stabilised. He is still in a critical condition, but the signs are good." She was smiling, but he could still see the signs of worry around her eyes, the lingering sadness he remembered so vividly from last night.
"I'm really glad he's okay," he smiled up at her, rubbing his hand across her back for comfort now rather than seduction. "You off to visit him again?" He checked.
"Later," she nodded, her hand on his chest sliding down a bit. He was acutely aware that, though partly covered in a sheet, he was entirely naked and she was fully dressed. She even had her Elite stunner on her far hip.
"I am due to meet with Si and Colonel Carter," she added by way of explanation for the regretful layer of clothing. "I am glad you woke up before I left though," she smiled again.
She was smiling a lot this morning. It was great, though he was pretty sure he was inanely grinning up at her too.
She clearly didn't regret anything from last night.
He wondered if he should just clarify that, make sure that they were back together. Though maybe she'd covered that when she'd said she wanted no more barriers between them, no more rules... And they'd certainly gone about breaking down any barriers last night. He could still feel her mouth on him...
He cleared his throat – now was not the time, she was off to meet with the Colonel. He should get up and get dressed to go with her.
"How are you feeling this morning?" She asked him though, her hand shifting over his chest.
"I'm good," he replied with feeling.
Her teeth reappeared between her grin. "I meant after your ordeal yesterday," she explained.
"I'm fine," he assured her quickly. "Though," he reconsidered, "I'd probably be even better if you stayed and took care of me," he suggested running his left hand over her lap, sliding his palm up one of her thighs, across and then down the other.
"I am sure that you would," she agreed, "but I am due to meet them now."
"So I'll come with you," he adapted his plan quickly. If she couldn't be here, he'd go with her.
Except her hand pressed down against his chest. "No, you are to remain here." He raised his eyebrows up at her command and the obvious sparkle in her eyes as she gave it. "You are off rotation for the next Atlantis week and have been ordered to rest. Colonel Carter made that very clear yesterday."
He'd forgotten about that. He was fine though and didn't need any time off to 'recover' – there was nothing to recover from. Todd had, bizarrely and unexpectedly, given back everything he'd taken and John felt fine. He was surprised actually that he hadn't relived any of that in a nightmare or something, because up until late last night with Teyla, yesterday had pretty much felt like a living nightmare. Instead he'd had a weird Alice in Wonderland dream.
"I'm fine," he insisted to Teyla as he slid his hand over her lap again.
"Si and I are here to work and we will only talk..." she frowned delicately, "what is the phrase you use about working?"
"Talk shop," he supplied. He'd gotten his right hand under the back of her form-fitting shirt and had found lovely Teyla skin underneath.
"We are only going to talk shop," she smiled as he followed the soft skin of her lower back down under the waistband of her pants. "So you are to stay here and sleep," she repeated her order.
All day? That was going to get boring real fast. She was in the city and he was basically cut out of all the interesting Alliance talk? Though Colonel Carter had insisted on the sick leave thing, and she was known to enforce people having time off, which was seriously ironic considering the long days the Colonel worked herself.
"How long you gonna be talkin' shop?" He checked. Maybe he could meet her for lunch or something.
He'd managed to squeeze his hand right down into the back of her pants now, the swell of her butt cheek nicely filling his palm. He'd missed this – being able to touch her, hold her, seeing the way she did that long slow blink and pulled her lower lip in between her teeth when she was tempted. He wondered how much it would take to persuade her to stay.
"I do not know," she answered and for a second he'd forgotten his original question, "most of the morning presumably, and then the team from the Facility will be arriving to look at the recording you found regarding the Skerti."
Wow, how had he forgotten about that? "When are they getting here?" He checked.
Teyla pulled a face at him though. "That is no concern of yours; for you are off rotation, remember?"
"I'm fine," he insisted again and started to argue the point that he had been the one to find the random broken bit of Ancient tech that had turned out to be a black box recording, but Teyla started leaning down over him again.
He fixed his attention on her approaching lips and met her kiss more than willingly. It was a real sexy kiss too, suggesting all kinds of things to do that didn't involve new enemies or black box recordings. But then she was moving away, their lips parting slowly as she pulled back from him.
"That's not playing fair," he told her.
She made a low sexy chuckle as she started standing up from the bed, forcing him to pull his hands from her pants and the warm cradle of her lap. As she stood up her hand was suddenly in his, though he couldn't tell if he'd reached for her or she'd taken his hand. He didn't care either way as he sat up on the bed and rubbed his thumb across the soft back of her hand.
She smiled down at him, her fingers tight around his, but then she made a show of schooling her expression into something more serious. "You are to sleep and spend the remainder of the day resting," she ordered him but her smile still hovered around the words. "Is that understood, Husband?"
"O-kay," he agreed, trying to appear unhappy, but he couldn't help but feel a real visceral reaction to her calling him 'husband'.
She leaned down to him again and he met her lips, but this kiss was far more sedate and clearly supposed to be quick, so he slid his free hand around her cheek and deepened the kiss. Her tongue tangled with his instantly again, bringing back so many good memories from last night.
She pulled her mouth from his first and he let his hand drift down from her face as she stood up straight again, but she looked nice and flushed.
"Rest," she ordered again.
"Yes, Dear," he replied.
She pulled her hand from his and he let go with a reluctant frown. He'd kind of hoped for a morning wrapped up in bed with her – clearly it would be the best way for him to 'rest' as ordered. But, she and Si were actually here to work and there was probably a ton of political clean up after Kolya's mess and the new big bad alien out there.
"Besides," she said as she moved away towards the open adjoining door into her side of the shared quarters, "it is important that you save your strength for tonight," she added seductively.
O-Kay!
"I'll get right on that," he promised instantly.
She smiled only to abruptly look down at the floor, having almost tripped over Ketra because she hadn't been looking at where she was going.
More than a little pleased that he'd almost caused his usually surefooted Elite wife to trip over, he made sure not to tease her – he'd save that for later.
"If you want," he offered instead, "Ketra can spend the day with me." It would be nice to have some company for the day and it would probably help Teyla out. Save her from tripping over again.
"It would be very helpful if you don't mind," she considered.
"Sure," he smiled. "I just take her for a couple of walks and feed her, right? Easy."
"If you are certain," Teyla smiled.
"We'll be fine," John reassured her, pleased she liked the plan. "Ketra and I have loads of fun." He could take Ketra for a nice long walk around the piers, maybe go visit Rodney's lab and freak him out with the dragon. Though, Rodney had been suspended for a week, so he'd probably be looking for some company too.
"Thank you, John," Teyla added, her cheeks still flushed and her eyes all nice and dark.
He grinned back. "Anything for you."
He felt like an inane teenager in love, but he just didn't care.
000000
It took her alarm three repeated rounds until Seeal finally turned it off and dragged her body up off the mattress.
She felt awful.
Moving carefully, she swung her legs over the side of her narrow bed, set one elbow on one knee and rested her aching forehead into her hand.
Her head throbbed with the dehydrated ache that was all too familiar. It had been a long time since she'd last cried her eyes out, but the resulting dull head and emotional exhaustion was horribly recognisable.
It had been years, decades, since she'd felt like this, but when she'd been young it had been a very familiar feeling. Days of crying up in a Glisi tree by herself, with just the ravens and the little scampering nut-gathering tree quills as company. They'd gotten so used to her hiding out up in the tree canopy, that they'd stopped being afraid of her and just carried on their animal lives around her. Even the tree quills had had better lives than she had on the Glisi planet.
It seemed like her entire childhood on the Glisi world had been spent like that, though she knew that couldn't be the case because she could also remember hours of Father teaching her and Ulfur all the basics of being a Glisi, how to disassemble and move the family tent each time the camp moved on, how to dress against the cold, how to hunt, how to read the stability of snow banks and iced-over water. But her overriding memories of those seven yearly cycles on the Glisi world were of being high up in the trees, watching the camp from afar, and crying until her head felt like it did this morning.
Then Father had been murdered and she and Ulfur had been run off-world, alone and terrified on an alien planet. She'd cried for days then, afraid, lost and feeling the weight of her curse that had killed Father. The only comfort in her tears then had been that Ulfur had been wailing and sobbing far louder than her, and then, after long days of crying, her anger had finally arrived and crushed her tears.
But last night...
It was all Oneakka's fault. She'd thought, as everyone had, that he was going to die. He'd been slipping away, and she'd let her guard down. Let stupid little feelings out and let it all get the best of her.
She didn't need this.
Panic felt strangely hot and shaky in her chest as she lifted her head from her hand, her gaze traitorously sliding to the dark communications screen on the opposite wall.
Was he still okay? Had Halling or Massa sent her a message telling her that he'd eventually surrendered to blood loss and being so stupid as to go fight on an irradiated Hive ship that had been crumbling apart from the inside?
Her breathing started getting shaky again.
She needed water.
She pushed up off the bed and headed for the open washroom door, heading straight through to the sink. Water rushed down into the bowl and she cupped her hands full of the cool liquid and started drinking. It instantly soothed her dry throat and within seconds the dull headache started to ease. Splashing water up over her face, she made herself breathe slowly.
She was just being stupid.
It was just tears. People cried when they thought someone was going to die.
It didn't mean anything more than that. She owed Oneakka a lot, considered him a friend. That was fine. That was enough.
She didn't want or need anything else clouding up her life.
The water was still pouring into the bowl, so she turned off the flow and reached for a towel. Pressing the dry warm towel against her face she straightened up and breathed slowly into the material. Except the damn towel smelt all Elite – clean, fresh and it felt soft and well made. On Dreamstation the towels had been thin, threadbare things that had never smelt properly clean even though she knew the laundry staff boiled the things within an inch of their lives.
She'd clearly gotten soft living here, all comfortable, eating well, and letting stupid things get to her. She just needed to remember who she was and not get all pathetic about things.
And maybe set some distance from Oneakka...except, she'd agreed to sit by his bedside today, in fact... She quickly lowered the towel and peered through faintly damp eyelashes towards the wall display by the mirror. She was due back in the Surgical Bay in less than an hour.
Could she get out of it? Would Halling think bad of her if she did? Had Oneakka woken up again and knew she was going to sit with him today?
She focused on returning the towel to its plush warmed rail and frowned round at the small but fully functional washroom. She grabbed up the perfectly formed toothbrush and added a few drops of the nice minty cleaning liquid. She couldn't get used to this life, this ease and everything being lovely.
The Elite were supposed to have been big stupid lumps who had no idea how to keep themselves alive. Self-sacrificing elitist warriors who lived in mud huts because they could only focus on how to get themselves killed as quickly as they could be trained.
They weren't supposed to be big, handsome brave men who made her cry! And especially not a male who spent every second arguing and ordering her around, before then trying to get himself killed without thinking!
She didn't need that.
She scrubbed the brush hard against her teeth.
The last thing she wanted was another male dictating her life and what she did. She wasn't going to let that happen again! Not another Ulfur, Creass, or pit fight runners. She ruled her damn life now, not him.
She wanted nothing of the soft silly place inside herself that had cried and snotted last night for everyone to see. That wasn't who she was, and she would never let a man do that to her again.
She spat loudly into the sink and shoved her toothbrush into its holder, only for it to fall out, so she tried again. The damn thing bounced into the sink! Well, it could just stay there.
She glared up at her reflection, only to see that she was dressed in his shirt. The shirt he'd 'given' her and she slept in.
She stormed quickly out of the washroom, pulling the shirt up and off her and threw it across the room to her bed. Well, okay so the bed was only a couple of feet away, but the throwing had felt good.
She needed fresh clothes. Quickly grabbing what she needed out of a drawer, she pulled on clean underwear, a dark long-sleeve top, and dark trousers to match.
Boots, she needed something on her feet, so she marched the tiny distance to the door of the concealed wardrobe, opened it and reached in.
Get dressed and ready, that was all she needed to focus on.
She stood back from the wardrobe and moved to trigger the button to close it, only to realise that she hadn't picked up her boots, but her bag instead. The bag that she had filled with everything she had owned when she'd left Lalwani and Creass and that life behind her.
She stared at the bag in her hand. All the extra clothes she'd bought recently could probably all still fit into it if she packed them up tightly.
The urge to run was so strong.
She'd followed that instinct plenty before Dream, living almost constantly on the move, with only Ulfur lumbering along behind her.
Frowning down at herself, she realised that she'd gotten dressed in clothes that she'd worn on Dream – all dark, long-sleeved and high necked. Clothes designed to let her slip into the shadows, go unseen, and left alone.
Where exactly did she think she was going to run to anyway?
She had a good job here, friends even. Where could she possibly go where she'd have things better than here? These quarters were tiny for most people, but this little space was like heaven to her. She had a good bed, good food available, and a clean washroom. Nice plush towels. She'd be stupid to just give all that up for...what? A male who had absolutely no interest in anything other than getting himself killed?
The big stupid oaf.
What the damn hell did she think she was running from anyway?
The door chimed loudly, cutting through her freaked out thoughts.
She glared at the door barely half a metre away from where she was stood in the doorway of her wardrobe, bag still in her hand.
It wasn't going to be him – he wouldn't be able to even stand let alone turn up at her door.
If he was still alive...
She glanced worriedly towards the still dark communications screen. It could be Halling or Massa at her door, here to tell her the bad news in person.
The chimes rang again.
She threw the bag back into her wardrobe and turned to the door to her quarters. If it was bad news, then she just had to face it. She'd faced plenty in her life.
The door opened to reveal a politely smiling female holding a covered tray.
"Your meal from the canteen," the woman reported as she held up the tray.
A memory stirred at the back of Seeal's mind from last night of a message on her screen offering her food delivered to her door; something about being granted post-battle days off rotation.
"Um, thank you," Seeal replied as she took the tray.
The woman smiled again and turned away, disappearing from view.
Seeal stepped back a pace into her quarters, the door sliding shut, and frowned down at the tray. She remembered now that she'd picked a favourite stew and some bread from the list last night.
Oneakka liked the stew too.
Turning sharply round, she headed to her small table and set the tray down. She had no idea why she'd chosen something like stew when she'd just woken up, though technically it was the afternoon now. She lifted the lid and a fragrant trail of steam rose up to her nose. It smelt really good and her stomach growled loudly.
When had she last eaten? Maybe yesterday midday before they'd left for the Arkinian System? She dropped to her chair and spooned up some of the stew. It tasted amazing so she kept going, eating her way through the bowl in record time.
There was a covered cup of her favourite Athosian tea as well, so she sipped at the nice hot drink and picked up the large piece of sweetgrain bread.
And considered the still untouched communications screen.
He really could be gone despite the Healers' positive words last night. The possibility worried at her, but so did the urge to find out. It wouldn't change anything. Except, admittedly, the fact that she was due to go sit with Oneakka if he was still alive.
"You're being silly," she told herself sternly and headed the few feet to the screen and triggered it awake with a rough jab.
There were over thirty messages!
Drawing the chair away from the table to the screen, she opened up the list of text links, scanning for any from Halling or Massa.
There was a recent one from Halling. She opened it hurriedly, but it was just an official message giving her access to a new section of the Elite database dedicated to research on the new alien.
The Skerti.
She'd almost forgotten about the tall powerful creature she'd helped kill.
She tapped back to the main list of text links, scrolling to the first and working from there. The initial messages were the quick reports informing all Elite and staff of what had happened in the Arkinian System and that Oneakka had been gravely injured.
She was mentioned in the short reports, listed under 'active warriors'.
The next links were follow ups, providing details of the Hive being stabilised and the alien body having been retrieved and taken to a research base.
Then there were messages personally addressed to her from the early hours of this morning, from Nevaeh, Toj, and the others on the Sythus. They all said they were worried about her, hoped she was okay and were clearly eager to know what had happened. The next message was from Madesh, telling her that he'd filled in the others on the details and assured them she was okay. There was then one final one from Madesh this morning saying that he'd visited Oneakka's bedside again and once more asked if she was okay. She typed a quick reply to Madesh, assuring him she was alright and asking him to thank the others for their messages.
Turning back to the remaining messages, she was surprised to find several from her Project Team, all asking if she was okay, and the final one was from the Project Lead. He said she could have as many days off rotation as she wanted and that all the team were 'thinking of her'.
It was all starting to feel rather overwhelming again.
It made the urge to run a little stronger, but also far less likely.
It was just Oneakka that was the problem. Clearly he'd survived the night, so maybe he didn't need the whole vigil rota Halling had discussed last night. But then she'd made a commitment to be there...
Maybe she'd go and talk to Halling about taking her off the rota. They'd probably want Elite on it anyway, rather than her.
Her eyes snapped to the time on the screen. She was supposed to be there in less than a quarter of the Facility's hour.
She quickly synched her portable electronic pad to the Facility database, finally actually retrieved her boots from the wardrobe, and picked up her still mostly full cup of Athosian tea.
Heading out the door, she decided that she'd do the one vigil sitting today, but if others were in Oneakka's room when she got there then she'd just make some excuses and leave.
A few more text links arrived on her pad as she made her way through the Facility's hallways. One was an update from the Hydroponics Bay gardener who was in charge of watching over the goat. The goat remained heavily pregnant, though had apparently stopped trying to leave the Bay and was sticking close to the hut Oneakka had had constructed for her, so the gardener was predicting the young might be arriving soon. Seeal decided to go see the goat after the vigil; after all, Oneakka wasn't going to be able to visit for awhile.
The antiseptic scent of the Surgical Healing Bay hit her nose before she took the last corner to see its entrance up ahead. The smell brought back all too many uncomfortable memories from last night, and, as she entered and took a right, she glanced at the empty bench where she and Halling had waited all those long painful hours to hear how Oneakka's surgery had gone.
Decidedly not looking at the bench, she carried on down the main corridor, pausing as she tried to recall the way to Oneakka's room; she'd been a bit too distracted last night to memorise the way. The right corridor located, she found herself walking slower and more quietly, aware of the hospital atmosphere. Though she could hear the main Healing Bay's activities close by, as she had last night, these corridors held a kind of solemn quietness that reminded you that only really sick people were here.
Then, ahead, she recognised the open doorway into Oneakka's room.
The closer she got, the slower she walked, straining her hearing. There were no voices, medical or visitors, from inside, just the horribly familiar low beeps of the monitors
Suddenly it all felt very serious again, reminding her how near-death he'd been.
Moving closer, the short but wide little window stretching out from the doorway allowed her to look in, and she spied only Halling sat on the far side of Oneakka's bed. He was quiet and focused on a large computer pad balanced in one hand.
Nothing had changed then, it was just like last night, but with slightly more optimism.
She could do this.
She'd faced far worse in her life.
Forcing her shoulders down and back, she headed through the door.
Halling looked up instantly and a wide smile spread across his face. "Good day, Seeal," He said softly and she smiled back.
She headed towards him, though obviously needing to go around the foot of Oneakka's bed to reach him. As she did, she switched her gaze down to Oneakka, skimming quickly over him and the monitors. Apart from a line running to Oneakka's right arm, everything looked the same.
As she reached the far side of the bed, Halling stood up from his chair. "Did you sleep?" He asked, seeming honestly concerned.
"I did sleep," she confirmed up to Halling, only to see that he was reaching for her. His warm hands cupped the outside of her arms and he smiled again. He'd been such a focus of strength and companionship for her last night.
"Did you sleep?" She checked, assessing his face as he rubbed her arms and then let go of her. He looked surprisingly okay, a little tired maybe. Her own reflection hadn't looked great in the mirror earlier, and she didn't even have a scratch on her, unlike Halling who still had the long scratches across his face from his fight with the Skerti, though they looked like they were healing.
"Surprisingly well," Halling answered. He seemed very relaxed, which told her a lot about Oneakka's condition.
She let her eyes swing briefly down to Oneakka's bed again and then to the new line attached to his far right arm. "How is he?"
"Deeply asleep. Massa said that he woke very briefly again first thing this morning, but he hasn't stirred while I've been here. His blood pressure dropped last night, but the extra fluids have improved matters. They ran another scan of his wound an hour ago and they are happy that there are no internal bleeds."
Seeal nodded along with the assessment. "His readings are the same?" She checked with another glance at the monitors that she in no way understood.
"Yes, in fact some readings are stronger. They've started him on a set medication plan that should help further."
She nodded as she lifted her tea, almost forgotten in her hand, and took a sip.
Less than a day ago she'd been sat on the other side of the bed, crying her eyes out like some sort of grieving...
"Are you sure you are happy to sit with him?" Halling asked. "If you need more rest-"
"No," she interrupted quickly, snapping her attention back up to him. "I'm fine," she insisted.
It had been the perfect opportunity to back out.
Except, being back in here, the smell, the subdued quiet, it reminded her how serious the situation was still. Oneakka was still very ill. He probably needed people around him, just in case he woke up and needed something.
She could stay on the vigil rota for a couple of days.
"I am due to meet with Edfu and the team soon to return from Atlantis," Halling continued conversationally as he reached for his electronic pad. He was going to leave now, leave her with Oneakka under her care.
"If you need anything, contact me," Halling added, his tone deep and soft, and surprisingly comforting.
"I will," she agreed.
"If you have time," Halling continued, "I'm working on putting together a presentation on the battle with the creature, would you help me with your part in it?"
She focused up at him with interest. "What do you need?"
"Initially a detailed description of what you saw when you arrived to save me, including distances, the Skerti' height, anything you noticed about the craft we were in, how often you fired your weapon and each impact's results as you saw them."
"I can do that," she agreed. It sounded like something she could easily do while she was sat in here. "I'll write it up this afternoon."
Halling smiled back. "I have asked Silvar to include you in the technical analysis they bring back from Atlantis, again if you are willing to assist."
"Of course," she replied, pleased and a little surprised that she was getting to be involved in the Skerti work. But then it was only her and Halling who had actually faced a live Skerti so far.
Halling tucked his pad under one arm, ready to leave. "I said I would join Massa for some of his shift here this evening, put some ideas together on the research, if you want to join us."
"Sure," she agreed.
"Perhaps hearing the discussions about the Skerti might help wake Oneakka up as well," Halling smiled softly down at Oneakka before he looked back to her. "I shall see you later then. Message me if you need anything," he stressed again.
"Okay," she nodded, recognising that he needed reassurance on the point for some reason. Maybe she was giving away her reluctance at being here, or maybe he just didn't want to leave Oneakka?
Halling turned to Oneakka, touching his hand to Oneakka's still, pale arm. "I will be back later, my friend," he said softly, concern flickering across his face. As calm and confident as he'd been talking to her, he was still clearly worried about Oneakka. "Seeal is here if you need anything."
"I promise I'll let you know if anything happens," she told Halling as he started moving away, albeit slowly. So, she headed to his vacated chair and, setting her tea on the side, she sat down so that he could see that she was taking over and he could feel confident that he wasn't leaving Oneakka alone.
Halling nodded and, with another smile, headed out.
Leaving her alone in the quiet bleeping of the monitors.
She let out a breath and shifted to get comfortable in the chair, the seat nice and warm from Halling having sat in it so long.
She laid her pad on her lap, but didn't activate it yet.
"Don't be stupid," she whispered to herself and finally made herself look at Oneakka's face.
He looked exactly the same as last night, though perhaps with a faint more colour to his cheeks. The wound on his shaven scalp had been covered with a bright silver paint, which was presumably something to help it heal. His features were still softened and completely relaxed, his breathing slow and steady.
He wasn't scary.
It was just Oneakka.
Completely alone with him, she let herself look at him a little longer than she'd normally allow herself.
Facing the new enemy that had had her nearly packing up her things and heading out of the Facility for good.
Maybe 'enemy' was the wrong word. 'Friend' was far more accurate, and certainly nothing more. There had been a very clear line before. It was just that she'd just let her guard down briefly, that was all. It was just Oneakka.
He was big, tough, and, yes, handsome, but it was just him. He was just a man. Sometimes a truly idiotic man who thought it was a good idea to go waltzing onto a Wraith Hive filled with deadly radiation poisoning.
Stupid brave male.
Even when lying as he was, clearly sick and vulnerable, the physical strength and presence of him was just plain unavoidable. Even when looking at him from this side, where the left side of his face was unscarred and with no tattoos, he still looked like a natural warrior. And when he was awake, he had such an unstoppable stubbornness and fast intelligent mind that she could understand why his people had thought he was a legendary warrior reborn.
He was unique and courageous, and he'd made a big impact on her life. Without trying, he'd made her see that life could be different from the marred, pure survival focused life she'd been living. He'd not told her to do anything other than to face her demons and 'fly free', and he'd been right. That he'd somehow ended up a friend from all that was still bizarre to her, but also...nice too.
"Don't go thinking this changes anything," she told him. His features didn't flicker even faintly, so he was properly asleep. Good. "They were just a few tired tears, okay?"
Because she'd just let her guard slip for one night, and the circumstances had been crazy.
"I'm here because I owe you and not because of any other silly reasons," she told him firmly.
There was obviously no reply.
"Well, good, I'm glad we agree," she sat back in her chair and lifted her pad. "Besides, I've got the moment to look forward to when I can remind you that I warned you not to go onto that Hive, but you didn't listen to me."
She tapped open a new report template ready for her detailed Skerti report for Halling.
"I think that's worth staying on the vigil rota," she decided with a smile.
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TBC