Author's Note: So here's the second chapter, I'm finally getting back to work after lockdown tomorrow but the next few chapters are already written so updates should hopefully still be fairly regular. I hope you enjoy, let me know what you think.
A very special thank you to Zoja, jasminesmommy, Sheppardlover928 and csiaddictfan87 for their reviews!
Chapter 2
Teyla looked up as John entered the infirmary, he looked even more weighed down than when he had left if that was at all possible. His eyes fell immediately on the door he'd barely been able to tear himself away from. She hoped Carson would come through the soon with good news, she wasn't sure how any of them would cope with anything else at this point.
"There has been no news," she told John who finally looked at her.
"You're being called in next," he said quietly.
Her eyes widened in surprise, "I thought he would wish to speak with the earth personnel first."
John shrugged, "You're an important part of our team, makes sense he'd want to talk to you sooner rather than later. Don't worry, he's conducting initial interviews today, he's wanting to get through all of our key personnel, hopefully, you won't be in there long. He's putting together a timeline of everything that's happened over the last few months."
"That makes sense," she replied as his eyes drifted back to the door, she followed his gaze. "She is strong."
Her earpiece picked that moment to inform her she was needed in the briefing room, she let them know she was on her way and took a breath to steady her emotions. She needed to remain clear-headed for this, no matter how scattered she felt.
"You'll be fine," John gave her an encouraging half-smile. She didn't need to ask him to let her know if there was any word from Carson, she knew that he would. Instead, she left without another word, making her way through the tense and quiet city.
Teyla took a seat in the briefing room, she was feeling more anxious about this process than she was willing to reveal. It wasn't the first time she'd been exposed to the methods those from Earth used to investigate. She distinctly remembered being questioned during her first weeks on Atlantis, when her loyalty had been under suspicion, it hadn't been the most pleasant experience.
John had explained that Special Agent Gavorn was some kind of military investigator, this was his speciality and he was supposed to be very good at it. She'd also been able to tell that John's feelings on the subject weren't entirely positive.
"Thank you for coming Miss Emmagan," Agent Gavorn said as he sat opposite her.
"Teyla is fine," she replied, she found the Earth formality strange.
"Very well, Teyla. I'm going to be recording this interview," he held up the small device that had been sitting on the table. "It's standard procedure, all interviews are recorded."
Teyla nodded, "Very well."
He switched on the device, made a few statements that were obviously for the benefit of the recording. Then scrolled through some notes on his datapad, the silence was a little unnerving but she waited patiently for him to begin.
"Do you like it here on Atlantis?" he asked, the question surprised her, she had been expecting him to be more direct than this.
"I do," she told him. "I am making a difference here."
"It must be hard though, to be separated from your people."
"I do this for my people, they understand why I am here," she replied, wondering what this had to do with the recent events on Atlantis.
"That's good," he said, nodding slowly and typing into the datapad, she wondered what he was writing about. There were more moments of silence, Gavorn continued to tap and scroll on the datapad before finally turning back to Teyla.
"How do you get along with the people here?"
"Very well, I cannot say I know everyone here personally but my interactions with them are usually amicable," Teyla told him, did he think she was responsible for all of this, that she could somehow do these horrible things?
"Usually, but not always," Gavorn said and tapped once again on the datapad. "You had a new arrival here on Atlantis 3 months ago, Dr Leanne Shaw."
Teyla nodded, "Yes, she is a diplomat from Earth, she came here to assist with off-world diplomatic missions. It had previously fallen largely on Elizabeth's, Dr Weir's, shoulders. When she was unavailable it would quite often be the leaders of the off-world teams who did the negotiating, it did not always work out for the best."
"When did you meet her?" Gavorn asked.
xXx
"You will be joining us for movie night I hope," Teyla asked Elizabeth as they walked into the control room. "I believe it is Rodney's turn to pick, John is less than enthusiastic, I can understand why, Rodney's last choice was… not as interesting as others."
Elizabeth laughed, "He likes movies he can criticise for their inaccuracies."
"Yes, there was much of that," Teyla remembered with a smile. "Though Ronon fell asleep less than halfway through."
"He did that during Carson's movie choice too," Elizabeth grinned. "I should be there, I need to settle our new arrival in but it shouldn't take too long."
As if on cue the stargate began to dial, chevron's being locked in place as someone announced the off-world activation. Elizabeth had told her about the new diplomat arriving, Dr Shaw would be able to travel off-world to take on some of the negotiations currently left to the team leaders. She had come highly recommended, Elizabeth said she had done some impressive work back in their own galaxy.
"You should come and meet her," Elizabeth said as she headed down into the gateroom. Teyla followed, waiting beside Elizabeth for the diplomat to emerge. When the woman came through the gate she looked around Atlantis but didn't show the awe that people usually did when seeing Atlantis for the first time, she took in the sight with a straight face. If she was impressed she didn't show it, maybe that stoic expression was what made her such a good diplomat.
"Dr Shaw, welcome to Atlantis," Elizabeth greeted, Shaw finally smiled as she turned to her, clasping Elizabeth's outstretched hand in the standard earth greeting.
"Dr Weir, it's nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you."
"This is Teyla Emmagan," Elizabeth introduced, "She's…"
"The leader of the Athosians, part of your flagship team, I did my homework," Shaw responded, reaching out to shake Teyla's hand in what appeared to be an automatic response. Teyla took the offered hand and smiled.
"It is good to meet you," she replied and Shaw nodded.
"I've taken the liberty of looking over some of your current trade agreements," the diplomat began, "I'd like to get myself situated then go through some of them with you, I think there's room for improvement in a few of them."
Elizabeth gave the woman a smile, "Straight to work, I can appreciate that. Lieutenant Darton here can show you to your quarters so you can get yourself set up. Why don't we meet in my office in an hour?"
"That's perfect," Shaw said and followed the young lieutenant out of the gateroom. Teyla continued to stand beside Elizabeth as she watched them go.
"She seems… to have a good worth ethic," Teyla stated, trying to come up with something nicer to say but the woman had been rather brisk. It could be that she was just taking it all in and wanting to make a good impression.
"I'm sure she'll relax a little once she's settled in," Elizabeth replied. "I have some paperwork to do before I meet with her, but I will see you at movie night." Elizabeth glanced once again in the direction that Shaw had gone. "I hope."
xXx
"That was your initial impression of Dr Shaw, that she was brisk?" Gavorn asked her as she finished retelling her meeting of the diplomat.
"It was," Teyla replied with a nod.
"Has that impression changed over the last three months?"
"Somewhat," Teyla said, choosing her words carefully. "She remained very determined."
"Determined in what way?" Gavorn asked her. She thought for a moment that it felt like he was trying to herd her into some kind of trap, one she couldn't see. She shook the thought off though, he was here to do a job, he wanted to find the truth. John had said he wanted to build a timeline of what had happened on Atlantis over the last few months, Shaw was certainly a part of that.
"She was very focussed on her work," Teyla replied as diplomatically as she could.
Gavorn started tapping on the datapad, an action that Teyla was quickly beginning to hate. She wasn't sure if he was doing it on purpose to elicit a reaction from her. If he was then she wouldn't rise to it. He asked her more questions about how she got along with various Atlantis personnel before he finally allowed her to leave.
"I will have further questions," he told her as she was leaving, she only gave him a nod as she left. He was once again tapping on the datapad, she thought for a moment that if he planned to interview Ronon he should probably refrain from trying to get a rise out of him with such actions, the thought made her smile slightly as she walked towards the cafeteria. She needed to eat something, John most likely did as well, she was fairly sure he hadn't eaten anything for a while.
There were only a handful of people in the cafeteria, all of them went quiet as she entered, their curious eyes following her every move. They most likely thought she had more information than they did, that she knew how their leader was doing, that she knew anything about what was happening in their city, she didn't.
She ignored their gazes as she grabbed sandwiches and bottles of water for both herself and John. It would be a miracle if she could get him to eat but she would at least try, she barely had an appetite herself but they were no good to anyone if they didn't take care of themselves.
John was exactly where she had left him, sitting on the uncomfortable metal chair. His eyes were on the door but they weren't focused, they were far away and she briefly considered giving him some time to deal with whatever thoughts were going through his mind. He needed to eat, she reminded herself, they both did.
"John," she said quietly and, for the second time that day, had to wait for him to register her presence, he was usually so much more aware.
"Teyla, how did it go?" he asked her apologetically.
"It was fine," she told him, then held out a sandwich to him. "You need to eat."
He looked at the offered food for a second, it clearly held no appeal to him but he reached out and took it from her with a sigh. "Thanks."
She handed over one of the water bottles, grabbed another chair and one of the infirmary tables, rolling it in front of them. They both picked at their food but at least they were eating something. There was silence in the infirmary, both of them consumed by their own thoughts. She thought about the movie night she and Elizabeth had been talking about before Dr Shaw had arrived.
xXx
"I thought Elizabeth was joining us," Rodney said as the group began to get settled for the night's movie. Rodney had already tried to explain what the movie was about, something to do with saving the earth from… something, Teyla hadn't really followed him.
"Maybe I should radio her," John said and was about to click his earpiece.
"She said she wanted to come but she had to get the new diplomat settled in, Dr Shaw wanted to meet with her to discuss our current trade agreements, she believes there is room for improvement," Teyla explained to the group.
"Oh yeah, she arrived this afternoon," John shrugged. "Has anyone met her yet?"
"I was there when she arrived, she seems very…"
John raised an eyebrow at her when she didn't continue after a moment. "Teyla, are you struggling to find a nice word to use to finish that sentence?"
"No," she lied, she didn't know the woman that well yet and coming here was an overwhelming experience, she wasn't being fair. "She seems very hard working."
John nodded with an amused smile just as the door opened and Elizabeth walked in. "Sorry, I'm a little late."
"How's the newbie?" John asked.
Elizabeth smiled but Teyla didn't think it looked all together genuine, the look that crossed John's face said he wasn't buying it either. "She's already getting stuck into the work."
"Very hard working," John nodded, repeating Teyla's words. "Well, I'm sure Rodney's choice of movie will take your mind off it."
"Or put you to sleep," Ronon commented.
"Hey!" Rodney exclaimed, "It's not my fault you can't appreciate intelligent stories."
Ronon turned a glare on him but didn't pass further comment, neither did Rodney. Elizabeth took a seat on the couch next to John who absently passed her his bowl of popcorn as they started the movie. Teyla looked around half an hour later, Ronon was asleep, Rodney was complaining about something unrealistic, Carson was watching the movie quietly, John was attempting to stack popcorn into a tower and Elizabeth was watching him fail. Teyla smiled to herself, It was just another typical movie night.
xXx
It had been a happy evening, the film hadn't been interesting to anyone but Rodney, and maybe Carson, but they'd all enjoyed the quiet downtime. It seemed so far away now, their problems had only just begun but they'd all still been blissfully unaware of that. She hoped they could all get back to that when this was over with, she had to believe they could.
TBC
