Part: 41/43
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Chapter 41 – The Wait
The hours had dragged on in an endless wait.
Tiredness sapped at the edges of Halling's mind and body. His backside ached from having been sat so long on the basic metal bench that stood at the end of the corridor of the surgical section of the Facility's Healing Bay.
How many times had he sat here before? How many times had he waited for news of another severely injured colleague?
More than once it had been Oneakka.
This time felt different though.
It felt too...real.
He dropped his eyes from the empty corridor ahead to his hands. Each time he did, he was foolishly surprised they were no longer covered in Oneakka's dried blood. It felt like it was still there.
It was all gone of course, washed away in the decontamination shower he'd had to go through once the medic pod had delivered them to the emergency entrance into the Healing Bay. They'd whisked Oneakka away within seconds, leaving him and Seeal to be taken to be checked over. He'd tried to concentrate on the Healer's questions about his own injuries, which he'd been barely aware of in the first place. None of the scratches had been deep and none of them had been contaminated, but he'd still had to go through the shower.
The water had run red around his feet.
He rubbed one hand over the other, his skin that strange softness that only came with the sterilising gel they sprayed on you after a decontam shower. After the shower, dressed in the Bay's matching white trousers and long top, Halling had been told he had no signs of any significant radiation damage, presumably because the drive tech had been turned off when he and Oneakka had boarded the Hive. Only one of his scratches had needed sewing closed, and then he'd been released to sit here.
The hours had dragged on since.
He dropped his gaze to the thin white shoes he'd been given after the shower. They'd confiscated all his clothes for a complete decontamination, but also to test for any trace evidence from the alien. Memories of the fight with the creature kept flashing back to him in between the heartbreaking images of Oneakka lying on the Hive floor, to watching the medics restart Oneakka's heart in the pod, and the true concern on the professional faces of the Healers here when the pod had docked.
He realised that one of his hands was shaking slightly.
The adrenaline had long worn off and the desperate hole and pain in his chest hadn't let up since.
Oneakka had looked so ghostly white.
Halling closed his eyes against the replaying images.
How could this happen?
How could he survive facing that thing and now Oneakka was going to-
He snapped open his eyes and forced his gaze back up from the floor. Try as he might, he couldn't stop the images though. Oneakka's near transparent skin and his desperate relief when Halling had held his hand, assuring his friend that the prophecy had been broken. That Oneakka's actions in sending Seeal had saved him.
Then that look of peace, the way Oneakka's eyes had unfocused, his gaze shifting up to the ceiling as if he'd heard something only he could hear.
Halling had seen that look far too many times.
Tears filled Halling's eyes as his traitorous mind replayed it all for him.
His head hurt, as did his shoulders and his back, but none as much as his heart.
He leant forward again, setting his forehead in his hands and his elbows on his knees as he looked back down at the Healing Bay's floor.
The sounds of the Bay were distant, separated off this surgical waiting area by floor to ceiling frosted screens. He could hear the sound of voices, but not the details of words or who was speaking. There was the constant soft patter of feet moving around patients, items being put on a table, the squeak of someone's shoes on the floor. Usual life in the Bay.
Everything else moving on as normal.
The only sound close to him was the shift of Seeal sat beside him, her legs alongside his dressed in the same Bay given white trousers. Also deemed fit to be released by a Healer, she'd already been on the bench when he'd gotten here, and neither of them had moved since.
Others had visited, stopping in to ask for news on Oneakka and offer their support. Madesh had even appeared briefly having come in from the Sythus before his shift, and Halling had watched Seeal's rather surprised reaction as the man had embraced her kindly. The younger man's eyes had been obviously red from tears, Oneakka having become something of a mentor and father-figure to the man. Madesh had very reluctantly left to return to the Sythus and only after Seeal had promised to keep him updated on how Oneakka was doing.
Massa had been the most frequent visitor, checking on news from them and providing them with updates on the situation with the Hive. Apparently the Hive had been entirely secured, the alien's body already removed in a quarantined case, and the cruisers were all destroyed but one. That last cruiser had been badly damaged and was fleeing with Fleet ships on its tail when Massa had lasted reported in.
The news that the alien had been retrieved from the Hive had been a tiny island of relief for Halling, in that its recovery meant that Oneakka's sacrifice would not be in vain if the worst were to happen.
Footsteps caught at his attention and he looked down the corridor into the surgical sector, only to see that it was simply a Healer crossing from one door to another across the hallway.
Seeal let out a heavy frustrated breath on his left.
He looked round at her sat right beside him. Her face was unnaturally pale for her complexion and her eyes were wide and anxious as she watched the corridor ahead. Her eyes darted one way then another as she listened to the background noise of the Bay.
She had been worried all this time waiting with him, but he understood her new growing agitation. There had been reasonably regular updates from the surgical bay, though the Healers had been unable to provide any details other than that the surgery was ongoing. It had at least reassured them that Oneakka was still alive, his heart was still beating.
But it had been awhile now since the last update.
Too long a pause between reports.
Something had changed.
The surgery might be over, or they were preparing to deliver the worst news.
He looked away from Seeal's anxiousness, it echoing his own shaky and aching feelings all too closely. Waiting was always hard, but this...this felt torturous.
His back aching from his hunched forward tensed position, he made himself sit up, stretching his spine slightly, and then sit back against the wall behind the bench. His shoulder pressed slightly against Seeal's as he did, but she didn't move away.
He felt strangely close to her now, and she seemed intent to stay close to him. Clinging to each other's presence. He felt grateful for her companionship in the long wait, but he was also still somewhat shocked at what he'd seen from her on the Hive.
He'd not admitted it to himself before now, but he'd not liked her before.
He'd accepted that she wasn't a threat after she had saved his and Oneakka's life on the Glisi world, and after she'd followed through on her promise to assist the Elite as a form of redemption for her past involvement in Dreamstation. But he had wondered at the self-focus in her actions, and she simply wasn't the type of woman he took to. She was excessively verbally outspoken, stubborn to a sharp degree, and determined in a way that was loud and obtrusive.
The way she had argued almost constantly with Oneakka, the two's voices a constant battle of noise, had been uncomfortable to be around. Massa had had his own opinion as to why they were that way, but Halling had disregarded his explanation.
Until the Hive.
She'd cradled Oneakka's head on her lap and stroked his cheeks with tears rolling down her face.
Halling never seen anyone show so much care for Oneakka before.
Oneakka normally managed to keep people at an arm's length. It was only an exclusive tiny group of people, of which Halling was glad to be one, whom Oneakka allowed to know him well enough to care about him. Considering the unending grief Halling knew Oneakka felt from the loss of his entire people, it was not surprising Oneakka had difficulty showing care for others. And having lost so many of their fellow Elite over the years had not helped Oneakka in that regard.
But Halling knew the truth of his friend. Oneakka was a loyal and honest man, and was always deeply affected when those close to him were hurt or lost. When Massa had descended into deep despair in mourning for his Mera and their unborn child, it had been Oneakka who had steadfastly refused to let Massa push him away. Oneakka kept returning to his friend, offering support and had made it his personal mission to find what Iketani had done and bring her to justice. Oneakka hadn't said Iketani' name once since her betrayal had been revealed, and Halling knew part of it was because of what she had done to Massa as much as to the Elite as a whole.
So when Oneakka had clearly given his loyalty to Seeal in return for her having saved them both on the Glisi world, Halling had accepted Oneakka's trust in her. He hadn't enjoyed her company, but he'd accepted it.
Now...now he had to wonder if perhaps he'd actually responded from something else.
The one time he'd mentioned it to Massa, Massa had said he was jealous of Oneakka spending so much time with her and not him. Halling had laughed off the idea as just as ridiculous as Massa's views on Oneakka's 'feelings' for Seeal.
But, Halling had seen how Oneakka had reached up to touch Seeal's hair, his bloodied fingers softly stroking through the strands before he had passed out.
Halling had never seen Oneakka do anything like that before.
Massa had been right, and, during this endless waiting, Halling had started to reconsider his own behaviour of late.
He'd been so stupid about the prophecy. He'd tried to shut everyone out, push the terror and loss of control into a deep dark place of depression inside himself. As it had gotten worse, and even with Oneakka's stubborn demands to help, he'd started to go almost numb inside.
All too like Oneakka, he too had started to push people away, started to deny that the threat wasn't fixable. It had only been Oneakka's determination to save him... If Oneakka hadn't sent Seeal to help Halling in his place, then the outcome would have been very different.
And now Oneakka might be the one to die in his place.
Halling glanced at Seeal again.
He would never forget that she had stayed with him, both of them holding Oneakka in that eternal horrific moment together. He felt connected with her in a new and vital way now because of that, and he promised himself that, should Oneakka not survive, that he'd make sure he'd be around for Seeal. That he'd look out for her as he knew Oneakka would want.
Seeal sensed his attention and looked round at him, her eyes shimmering with tears and as tired looking as his own. There was none of the usual guardedness in her expression, no attempt to hide what she was feeling, and he felt immensely grateful for that, because he didn't have to hide any of it either.
"It's been too long since the last update," she said quietly, having noticed the same as him.
He nodded, but he didn't offer her fake reassurances; she knew what that could mean the same as him.
Seeal looked away down the corridor, her expression so forlornly sad.
"Halling?" Massa's voice called from the right and Halling snapped his head round, all too easily startled.
"Any news?" Massa asked in a quiet voice as he approached, his gaze moving to Seeal and back to Halling.
Halling shook his head. "Nothing new."
Massa's face fell as he nodded, his eyes moving away to the empty corridor to the surgery bays. Massa had spent a great deal of time in those bays himself of late for various corrective surgeries on his arm. And, like all Elite, he'd sat here waiting for news of friends' surgeries as well.
Massa looked back round. "Halling, there's someone here to see you." Halling frowned; who would be here to see him now? "They'd like to speak with you quickly."
Massa was indicating the way out of the waiting area, but Halling didn't want to leave, not for a moment.
"It's Ambassador Sitayi," Massa added.
Sitayi was here?
"She's waiting for you in the corridor outside," Massa explained. "I'll sit in your place," he offered.
A cold nervous chill passed over Halling as he rose from the bench, his eyes now on the other way out. She had to be here about the prophecy, didn't she? Or had what happened not been the moment she'd predicted?
Or had she come to offer her condolences because she knew Oneakka was going to die?
He looked back at the surgical corridor and then round to Seeal who was still sat on the bench looking up at him. "I'll just be outside," he assured her.
"Don't be long," Seeal told him, her eyes worried.
He nodded, trying to smile at her reassuringly. His new friend.
He headed quickly away from the bench, Massa's hand a warm squeeze on his shoulder as he passed him.
It was only a short walk around one bend in the white-walled hallway to reach the exit out of the Healing Bay. As he stepped out into the corridor outside, he spotted Sitayi stood down to the left. There was no guard with her, since no one would think it ever necessary to watch a Pelydrian.
She turned as he headed towards her, her turn so quick that that her flowing multi-layered clothing swung wide around her, the multitude of tiny charms hanging from the fabric catching the light in a series of glittering flashes.
She closed her eyes the instant she saw him, her hands lifting to her mouth, but he saw her smiling behind them.
He moved towards her faster, relief sending more chills through him.
"That was the moment you saw?" He asked urgently.
She opened her tear-filled eyes and nodded as he reached her. Her aged hands reached out to him, her warm palms cupping his face.
"I am so pleased to see you, my boy," she smiled, her hands soft and gentle against his cheeks.
"That was the moment?" he asked again, needing to be sure.
"Yes," she confirmed through her wet eyes. "The way forward has been decided now. We are on the path we are on, and there is hope now."
Halling reached up to her hands, covering them with his own, and let out a deep, shaky breath.
"Thank you," he said through fighting emotions. "Thank you for warning me." If she hadn't, he would never have told Oneakka and Seeal's intervention wouldn't have happened.
"It was as I predicted?" She asked. Though she had known the event was going to arrive, as she hadn't been there to 'see' it in person, she'd been without any vital information for him. But, her warning had still been enough in the end.
"I fought one of the ancient enemy, alone in the dark," he confirmed.
She let out a shaky breath of her own. "But there is hope now."
"But what of Oneakka?" He asked her quickly.
Her eyes moved from him to the entrance into the surgical Healing Bay behind him.
Halling held still, watching her elderly face, which was without doubt far older than she appeared.
"He has a choice to make, Halling," she whispered looking back at him. She brushed at his cheeks with her thumbs, brushing away the tears he hadn't felt falling, just like his own Mother had used to do for him. He remembered so vividly Sitayi sitting beside Mother and smiling down at him when he had scraped a knee playing outside the tent. He remembered Sitayi had told him that one day he would not even notice a scraped knee.
"What choice?" Halling asked her. If he could understand, maybe he could help Oneakka somehow.
"That is his alone to know and choose," Sitayi smiled sadly. "I do know that he wanted nothing more than for you to live."
"He saved me, through another, because of your warning," Halling told her. "Did you warn me knowing it would save me?" He asked.
She shook her head as she brushed his cheeks once more and then her warm hands fell from his face to hold his hands instead. "I am just as much a part of the web as you. I cannot always know the part I play in things. But I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you survived," she said, her eyes filling with tears again. "My sweet Athosian boy. I have lain awake every night since my prophecy, desperate to know that the destined boy I watched grow up would survive being alone in the dark with no one there to help you."
"You did help me," he told her, holding her hands as tightly as he dared.
She nodded. "A web of interlinked parts all working together," she uttered. "And there is hope now."
"Do you know anymore about the returned enemy?" He asked.
"No, not yet," she replied. "But now that the path is decided, no doubt more will arrive for me to know. Now, go back to your vigil, Athosian," she gently pulled her hands from his and reached up to his shoulders. He did the same in return, repeating the Athosian ritual he'd shared with her countless times before.
"Be with your friend as he makes his choice," she said softly as he touched his forehead to the top of hers.
She squeezed his shoulders and then pulled back.
He watched her turn away, her smile reassuring and long remembered, and he abruptly missed his Mother with a deep profound ache in his heart.
As Sitayi walked away, he turned back towards the entrance to the Healing Bay, but a sudden sense of dread filled his chest and he froze.
In a foolish moment, he felt almost like he shouldn't go back in, that staying out here would somehow delay the reality of Oneakka's situation. It was ridiculous of course, and he quickly entered back into the Bay.
He turned into the waiting area and found Seeal and Massa sat on the bench and there was no sign of any Healer having reported an update.
Seeal noticed his arrival and looked round quickly. He held her gaze, silently asking if they had heard anything while he had been gone. Seeal shook her head.
He nodded and moved up to Massa's side. Massa was holding an electronic pad, which he and Seeal had been looking at.
Massa looked round. "Everything alright with the Ambassador?" He asked, clearly curious at her visit.
Halling simply nodded. "What are you looking at?" He focused on the detail of the pad in Massa's hand.
"This is one of the pads you asked me to retrieve from your quarters," Massa replied. Halling frowned, he had forgotten he had asked that. It was the research on everything he and Oneakka had gathered on a possible returning ancient threat. "I've been looking through your research for anything that matches the images of the dead alien."
"Have you found anything?" Halling asked as he sat down in the small spare space on the edge of the bench beside Massa. Without asking, Seeal and Massa shifted down the bench to give him some more room. They were huddled up close, but it felt right. It felt comforting.
"There's nothing that matches so far," Massa reported as he scrolled through a long list of entries on the pad. "Most of what you've got here are old texts describing the Wraith."
Halling glanced away as a memory flashed to mind. "I think she said a name to me," he tried to recall. "The alien said her kind would rise up."
Massa and Seeal looked at him expectantly along the bench.
He closed his eyes. His head hurt from the fight and from the tears, but it kind of helped to focus on something besides waiting. "I need to remember what she said. She didn't talk; it was like her words arrived telepathically into my head. It hurt."
He tried to run through what had happened, piecing together what had been horrifically fast and adrenaline-filled moments of the fight.
He remembered the moment he'd seen that she wasn't a Wraith and he'd realised the moment of the prophecy had arrived.
And that she had stopped.
"I think she could read my mind," he remembered. She had thought a question at him, like she was surprised he had known that she was something ancient returned. "She said her kind's name," he remembered. "The..." he squeezed his eyes closed. "Something like Keer-tee." He replayed what he could recall. "No, it was an S sound. "Seer-tee."
"Skerti?" Massa asked abruptly.
"Yes," Halling snapped his eyes open.
"That's in the list here," Massa tapped across to another section on the pad's screen. "It was a short list, so I read it first," he reported. "Here," he tapped into the list.
Halling reached for the pad and Massa passed it to him. "This is the list from Atlantis, potential enemies of the Ancestors they had heard, or that were listed on the Ancestral database. Skerti," He repeated the word that was written and read the notes Sheppard had supplied alongside the name. "They heard it on an Ancestral recording from a destroyed Lantean vessel or base. On the recording an Ancestor warned of something called the Skerti."
"That's not a lot to go on," Massa replied.
"If you can get the original recording device from Atlantis," Seeal put in quietly, "you can probably find the location of where it was recorded in the coding somewhere. Emergency recording devices usually have built in positioning systems."
It was a good idea.
"I'll contact Atlantis about it," Massa suggested.
"What is the latest from Atlantis?" Halling asked.
"I had just spoken with Teyla again before Sitayi arrived," Massa replied. "She asked that we let her know as soon as we can about Oneakka. She is dealing with the political side of things in Atlantis. Torren is planning to make an official complaint to the High Council tomorrow about Kolya."
Halling nodded, but he couldn't give much thought to that extra problem right now. The tiredness was threatening to engulf him again as he stared at the pad in his hand. All that research to look through again, but he couldn't find the will to do it, even if it would help pass the time.
"I can't believe Kolya is leader of the Genii," Seeal uttered with a heavy sigh. "This is the worst day ever."
Halling had to agree with that.
He saw Massa cover Seeal's closest hand with his. "He'll pull through. Oneakka is too stubborn to give up on anything."
Seeal nodded, but her eyes were focused on the floor, clearly not convinced. But then they had both seen how close to death Oneakka had been edging on that corridor floor. That he'd survived long enough to reach the surgical bay –
There was movement down the far corridor.
Halling shot up from his seat, the pad falling to the bench behind him.
A Healer, dressed in her surgical clothing was heading towards them.
Halling fixed all his attention on her face as she grew closer, aware of Massa and Seeal stood tense beside him.
Halling moved towards the Healer.
She wasn't smiling.
She looked grave.
"Is the surgery over?" Halling asked while she was still metres away.
She nodded as she approached and then stopped just ahead of him.
"We did everything we could," she replied.
Halling's heart stopped in his chest.
"We used all of his blood stock, closed up his wound successfully, but we haven't been able to wake him after the surgery."
Halling's stomach turned.
"But he's still alive?" Massa pushed from Halling's left.
"His vitals are very weak and are continuing to fall," she explained. "We're assisting his breathing and monitoring him closely, but it is unlikely that he'll regain consciousness."
The Healer looked from Halling to Massa and Seeal and then back to him.
"You should prepare yourselves," the Healer said softly.
Sitayi had said he was making a choice.
"Can we sit with him?"Halling asked quickly. He had to get to Oneakka's side, make sure Oneakka could hear him. Convince him to stay.
"Yes," the Healer nodded. "You will need to sterilise your hands and wear an extra gown over your clothes."
"Fine, where do we do that?" Seeal asked, her voice the strongest he had heard for hours, as she moved ahead, pushing past the Healer and striding down the corridor ahead of them.
The Healer turned and hurried to catch up with Seeal, while Halling quickly followed, Massa a close presence just behind his shoulder.
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Ketra bubbled contentedly as John stroked up her silver snout to the wide space between her dragon ears. Her chin was a warm and comforting weight on his thigh, her eyes closed as he ran his fingers back up her snout again.
Clearly Ketra had adapted pretty quickly to life in Atlantis in the day that he'd been away.
'Been away', like he'd been on some simple little vacation.
He ran the back of his fingers across the space between her ears, her velvety skin relaxing somehow, as was her bubbling sound that was the dragon equivalent to a cat purring.
Dr Petri had brought her here twenty minutes ago, Teyla having asked if Ketra could be left with him. He'd been more than happy to see the dragon again, her skin bright and her tail sweeping metal medical trolleys every which way as she'd run at him across the Infirmary.
She'd had a good sniff of him first though, obsessively running her nose across his hands and had even tried to jump up and sniff his hair. She'd growled a couple of times and John had decided she could probably smell Todd on him somehow. But, once her inspection was over, she had been right up against his side ever since.
He looked at his new standard issue watch, since his usual one had been taken by Pranos and his goons. It had been half an hour since he'd headed back down here. Doc Keller had initially run some tests on him the second he'd come back to Atlantis, but had ordered him back here for more tests after he'd given his report to the Colonels and the IOA. To get his report back to Earth as quickly as possible, they'd asked him to recount everything that had happened to them all at once, a camera recording the whole thing. He hadn't minded, since it meant someone else would type out the transcript, and Homeworld Security and the IOA wouldn't expect another report from him. Plus it meant that he'd gotten to tell everything while it was all fresh in his head and he'd particularly wanted to make it clear why he'd wanted Todd to be released and why it had been a good thing that Rodney had gone and told a Wraith all about the retrovirus.
Rodney was probably going to be in a bit of trouble for that and had been ordered into a meeting with Colonel Carter once John's two hour report and interview had finished.
What had made those two hours of report giving a little easier had been that Colonel Carter had agreed for Teyla and Si to be allowed into the full Conference Room as well. Seeing Teyla sat at the back of the room had helped and she had repeatedly given him encouraging smiles through the more difficult bits. He hadn't dwelled on the details about being fed on, focusing more on how he and Todd had arrived at their shared decision to escape together, detailing the escape, all the goons he'd seen – who had all already had been identified by the Elite helpfully – and on the very clear point that all of it had been Kolya's plan.
He'd described his capture by Kolya in great detail, from how Kolya had fired a grappling gun at his back to stop him from going through the Gate and the reasons Kolya had given for kidnapping him, including mentioning it as revenge for Iketani. John had noticed Teyla and Si exchange a look when he'd mentioned that last part.
Then it had been question and answer time, with Colonel Carter leading the questions, before the IOA adding their own and then Teyla and Si had been offered the chance too. Si had asked the questions for them, and he'd only asked about the mention of Iketani and the Genii in the bunker. He'd also asked if John would give testimony to the Elite and possibly Alliance investigators. At Colonel Carter's nod, John had willingly agreed.
As Si had sat down, John had seen Teyla send him another one of her supportive smiles.
Then, the report over, he'd been told to head back down here to the Infirmary for Doc Keller to finish her prodding. He'd had more blood tests, gone through the Ancient scanner again, during which Ketra had refused to sit aside quietly. Therefore, the result of his scan included his outline and part of Ketra's head where she had been stood with her feet on the edge of the scanner table. Apparently both he and Ketra's head were in good health.
But Keller had wanted some more blood tests, mapping some new protein in his blood, and had wanted a urine test and hopefully nothing else. He was still waiting for her final verdict.
He felt fine; more than fine. He hadn't felt so physically good in a long time, not that he'd felt ill or anything before the mission. Instead it was little things that he'd never really noticed before, like the faint discomfort in his left knee had disappeared, the slight neck strain he'd nearly always had was completely gone, and he swore he felt slightly taller than usual.
The only worrying part of all that was that he felt so good, which reminded him all too much of the bug incident and how weirdly well he'd felt then too. Keller had assured him that nothing like that was happening here, still he wanted to hear that his blood tests were all clear of whatever the weird protein was in his system.
He should probably feel exhausted after the day he'd had, but he didn't. Well, a bit of him did. Knowing that Kolya had gotten what he'd wanted in overthrowing Cowen still grated and left a kind of reluctant, pissed off tiredness; like when his team lost a game. Not depressed, but kind of close.
He was home and he was safe, but now the report had been given, his tests hopefully all clear, it kind of left him feeling...a little weirdly empty. He could hardly believe that everything had happened in less than a day. He'd left Atlantis for the mission in the early afternoon and now it was the evening, well, night really.
The night part was made obvious by how quiet the Infirmary was, with only a handful of beds full across the far side of the room and there were fewer medical staff about.
Still, he had plenty of company as he waited for the Doc's report. Cadman and Ford had come here with him, only leaving to get some food from the Mess Hall. The bits of snack food they'd brought back had felt great, but he wasn't all that hungry. He'd eaten a massive sandwich when he'd gotten back and several pudding cups, but that had been more than enough. Apparently being given your life back by a Wraith meant it filled your appetite.
Cadman and Ford had been sprawled on some chairs next to his bed since, looking pale and clearly ready for bed. He'd told them tons of times to go sleep, but they'd said they wanted to stay until he had the all clear. He appreciated the thought, and knew he'd done the same for them before, but they looked shattered. He'd heard from them their side of the day's story, knew all they'd done to help find him, so he hadn't had the heart to tell them to go again.
He checked his new watch again. It was almost midnight, so if Keller hadn't delivered his results by then, maybe he'd order them to bed.
Lowering his arm, he looked over his shoulder towards the closest entrance into the Infirmary, but the doorway was empty.
He'd not seen Teyla since the end of his report. She and Si had been about to dial back to the Elite and then sit with the IOA. No doubt Kolya's rise to power was big news across the Alliance right now and some response was needed by the Elite and Athos. Teyla had been pretty damn pissed at Kolya, but he had to wonder what exactly the Elite could do. Si had said enough for John to guess that the Elite had no way to get Kolya to stand down without some concrete evidence that he had been behind John's kidnapping.
Problem was that Kolya had been too damn clever for that.
He suspected Teyla would be fighting his corner though, doing her best to make sure the Elite knew what had happened. She also promised Torren would do something, but, again, John had to wonder what.
Kolya was a planet leader now...smug bastard.
"Think McKay will be okay?" Ford asked for the umpteenth time.
"He told the enemy we have a weapon to stop them," Cadman replied, as she'd already said umpteenth times too.
"It was the right choice," Ford defended Rodney.
"I'm not saying it wasn't worth it," Cadman defended her point. "But, he broke protocol and gave the Wraith a possible advantage in knowing about the retrovirus. They could fire him for it."
"McKay said we're going to need to do live Wraith tests sooner or later," Ford argued. He looked real tired, half slumped in his chair, his usual military parade straight spine all collapsed 'on the couch' style instead.
"Rodney doesn't work on the retrovirus," Cadman replied. They weren't arguing with each other, but the same discussion had been said in various ways that it was starting to sound like they were.
"Carson said the same," Ford pushed.
"They're not going to fire Rodney," John put in as he scratched gently around one of Ketra's ears. Her head leant into his hand and her bubbling increased a bit. "He's too valuable to the expedition. He'll get another slap on the wrist."
Cadman looked up at him where he was perched on the side of the medical bed. "His wrists must be raw by now."
John shared a smile with her. "He meant well."
"Yeah, he always does," she smiled with the weird insight that came from having lived inside Rodney's brain for a few days. "He just needs to ask before he says anything. Or asks a question. Or takes anything."
John smiled at her teasing at the absent Rodney.
"Or looks at anything," she continued.
Movement off to the right drew John's attention round, but it wasn't Teyla arriving, or even Keller with her report. It was still a Doc though. Carson was padding back towards them, his latest cup of herbal tea in his hand. John noticed that he was carrying the mug with his right hand, so presumably his upper arm break was healing up well even though he was wearing the plastic brace from elbow to shoulder.
Since Carson was still on medical leave and the small side room off the Infirmary was still his current quarters while he went through his burn rehab, Carson had been sitting with them.
"Any update on Rodney?" Carson asked as he passed between Ketra's side and Ford's knees, heading for his vacated seat alongside John's bed.
"Nothin' yet," John replied as he started scratching around Ketra's other ear.
"Jennifer asked me to let you know that she'll be here soon," Carson reported as he set his mug down on the side table. "She's just overseeing a leg being plastered," Carson added as he reached out to rub Ketra's head alongside John's hand. Ketra slowly opened her eyes and blinked sleepily at Carson. She really seemed to like the Doc.
"She still purring?" Carson asked with a wide smile as he rubbed one of Ketra's cheeks.
"She hasn't stopped," John smiled down at her too.
"Was it Parker who broke his leg?" Cadman asked Carson with interest. "We saw him wheeled in here ten minutes ago."
"You know I can't say," Carson replied as he sat down carefully, looking a little tired himself.
"I bet it was Parker," Cadman said as she got up quickly, heading away deeper into the Infirmary, clearly going to find out for herself.
"I miss anything interesting?" Carson asked.
"Just me telling Cadman and Ford to go to bed," John said pointedly towards Ford.
"We will," Ford replied offhandedly because he was looking off at something behind John.
John looked round quickly to the Infirmary's entrance. It wasn't Teyla, but someone almost as interesting had arrived.
Rodney was walking in, his head slightly low and his hands in his uniform pockets.
"This doesn't look good," Carson muttered worriedly.
"McKay, over here!" Ford called as he stood up. The call wasn't necessary, since they were the only ones in here outside of the occupied beds across the room.
John watched Rodney heading towards them. Yep, he definitely looked glum.
"You okay, McKay?" John asked once Rodney was close enough.
"You still waiting for Keller?" Rodney asked, uncharacteristically unwilling to talk about himself.
He reached their huddle, only to shift back a bit as Ketra looked round and up at him. He edged closer to Ford, peering nervously down at Ketra.
"What happened?" Ford asked him.
"Nothing happened," Rodney snapped, but clearly that wasn't true.
"Colonel Carter tell you off again?" Carson asked.
"Tell me off again?" Rodney repeated the words with disgust. "I'm not a kid, Carson."
"You sure?" John put in and Rodney pulled a face at him.
"What happened, Rodney?" Carson asked more gently.
"We both made some valid points," Rodney replied, his hands still buried deep in his pockets and his eyes dropping nervously to Ketra again. Ketra had lost interest in him though and her head was back on John's leg, her bubbling quieter now.
"I'm sure you did," Ford agreed supportively.
"Exactly," Rodney agreed.
"And...?" John pushed, sensing there was going to be more here.
"And I'm suspended for a week without pay," Rodney finished quietly.
"Sorry, Rodney," John told him honestly.
"I still stand by my decision," he added with his more usual determined argumentativeness.
"Sorry, McKay," Ford patted him on the back.
"It could still work out," John said honestly. "Todd could come through for us one day."
"We'll just have to wait and see if Rodney was right," Carson nodded with a little smile towards Rodney.
"I was right," he started, only for Cadman to appear beside him. She was grinning.
"It was Parker," she announced with clear pleasure at her fellow Marine's broken leg. "He hurt it when he 'fell out of bed'," she reported while making speech marks with her fingers.
"McKay's been suspended without pay," Ford reported to her.
Cadman's face dropped from delight to a sympathetic frown as she turned to Rodney. "Sorry, Rodney," she told him honestly.
"I stand by my decision," he repeated.
"Maybe the Major's Wraith will help us with the retrovirus one day," she nodded, clearly trying to help him feel better though John could tell she hadn't agreed with Rodney's decision to tell Todd.
"The Major's Wraith?" John repeated her phrase with a frown. "You make him sound like a pet."
Cadman smiled round at him and then down at Ketra. "Maybe he'll fight it out with the dragon?"
"She'd win," John replied confidently.
Cadman and Carson both laughed, though Ford was saying something reassuring to Rodney.
"This should cheer you up," Cadman told Rodney but she was looking around the huddle. "Parker's round there having his leg set with Dr. Esposito with him."
"Dr Esposito?" John frowned, not placing the name.
"The physicist; shortish, shoulder length dark hair. Rodney used to have a crush on her," Cadman replied.
"Oh, right," John was pretty sure he knew who she meant now.
"No, I didn't," Rodney objected.
"Is she the one with the pretty little-" John started.
"Careful," Cadman warned.
"Smile," John finished his sentence. "I was going to say smile."
"Sure you were, Major," Cadman said doubtfully.
"Hey, I'm a married man," John reminded her.
They all looked at him with strange pointed looks.
"So Esposito's round there with Capt. Parker?" John got the discussion back on point again.
"He swears he was by himself when he 'fell out of bed'," Cadman grinned. "Said Esposito just happened to be passing by his quarters when the medical team arrived to help him," she said doubtfully.
"Must have been some tumble," Carson joked and John chuckled.
"And she's staying with him while he has his leg set too," Cadman pointed out. "Very kind of someone who was just passing by his quarters. He'll not hear the end of this."
"I thought Parker was going out with Dr Stevenson," Ford asked her.
"That was never happening," Cadman waved that away as she sat back down in her chair. "Stevenson has the hots for a certain young Lieutenant instead," she smiled at Ford.
Ford looked flustered. "No she doesn't."
"No, Ford's got the hots for a certain Alliance lady," John reminded them all.
"Says the man who married an Alliance lady," Ford retaliated and they all turned to grin at John again.
"And shares a room with her," Cadman was next to tease him.
"We have separate rooms," John found himself correcting them.
"With a door linking them," Rodney now joined in.
"Very romantic," Cadman put in with a wink.
"The adjoining door is a political thing," John explained.
"Sure it is," Cadman countered.
Was it getting warmer in here? He got that they were teasing him, he did it to them plenty, but it felt a little too on the nose right now. He and Teyla weren't sharing a room, not properly. Maybe never again.
He remembered the regret he'd felt about that when he'd thought he'd been dying in that bunker. He'd cursed himself for not making his feelings clear, for having pulled back himself after their fights over her wanting a Political Marriage within the Alliance. He should have been braver lately, been honest with her. Told her he loved her.
Now though, back here and safe, all the problems and history were back again. And she had even more problems on her lap now Kolya had tried to kill her Political Husband.
That faintly empty, depressed place in his middle threatened to raise its ugly head again.
"Keller say how much longer she's gonna be?" John asked Cadman quickly.
"I didn't ask, sorry; I was too busy grilling Parker."
"Poor Captain Parker," Carson put in as he sipped his tea.
"He teased me mercilessly after I was stuck in Rodney's head," Cadman replied. "I'm just getting some payback."
"I see," Carson smiled back at her.
John frowned at the Scotsman's smile and switched his gaze back to Cadman, who was still smiling at Carson before she looked away to Ford and Rodney again.
Interesting. He'd have to have a word with Carson later, see if anything new had happened there while he'd been away.
And he was back on the vacation talk again.
Letting out a heavy sigh, John looked back round at the Infirmary entrance, but, yet again, no one was heading in.
He wondered what Teyla was doing. Maybe she'd even gone back to the Alliance; maybe that was why she'd asked Ketra to be left with him. Maybe she was kicking Kolya's ass right now.
He smiled at that image, but doubted it was true. Kolya had gone and won.
The others were chatting and teasing each other again, and he smiled as he watched them. It felt real good to be back with his team and friends. They'd helped rescue him and now were staying up when they clearly needed to sleep.
He was about to check his watch again when he finally spotted Keller heading towards them.
The others all turned and the laughter dropped away.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting," Keller smiled at them all and then down at Ketra. The dragon examined Keller for a second and then returned her chin to John's leg.
"So, everything okay, Doc?" John asked her, aware he was feeling a little nervous now.
She looked down at her tablet briefly and he could see his scan result with part of Ketra's head in it. "I've looked through all your scans and the multiple blood tests and you seem fine, Major. The picture of health actually."
John let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. "So not turning into a bug again?"
"No, Major. There was never any chance of that."
"And the proteins you saw in my blood in the first test?" He checked.
"The levels have reduced substantially through your subsequent tests," she replied. "I want to monitor yours bloods over the next couple of days, but it appears that your body is removing the protein efficiently. The Elite specialists tell us that there should be no side effects of the protein in your system at these levels."
"They believe the protein is part of the Wraith's feeding mechanism that actually strengthens the victim so that they can withstand the feeding process," Carson added into the conversation. "I've been exchanging letters with an Alliance scientist who gave a presentation on the latest understanding of Wraith feeding at the Conference on Athos. It's a very interesting protein and could be a useful for our research."
"Pen pal, huh?" John asked Carson with a smile.
Carson smiled back, the left side of his face wrinkling through healing scar tissue. "A few now actually. They have made some truly fascinating discoveries in their research on Wraith physiology, but also in their medical research."
"We've kept a few samples of your blood for research purposes," Keller added. "Is that okay with you Major?"
"Sure," John agreed easily.
"And how are you feeling now?" She asked, her eyes doing that Doctor assessing scan thing.
"I feel great," John replied. "Bit tired," he admitted.
"I'm not surprised," she smiled at him. "I suggest that you have a good night's sleep, all of you," she added looking around the group before turning back to him. "I've recommended to Colonel Carter that you have a week's leave, Major."
"I'm fine, Doc," John assured her.
"Fortunately, yes," she replied. "But, you need to take some time off after something like this."
John was pretty sure there hadn't been a case like this here before, but she was a Doc and she looking out for him. "Sure," he shrugged it off. "So, I can go now?" He checked.
"Yes," she smiled. "Just drop in for a further blood test tomorrow morning, but, if you are worried about anything, contact us straight away."
"Sure, Doc. Thanks," he shifted forward to get down off the bed, carefully dislodging Ketra as he moved.
"A week's leave, Major," Keller insisted before she turned and headed away.
Ketra's head up off his leg, he slid off the bed and stood with his team.
"Thanks for sticking around guys," he smiled at them. He had the all clear and everyone could head to bed finally.
"Good to have you back, Major," Ford clapped him on his shoulder.
"See you tomorrow, Major," Cadman put in with a big smile.
"Tomorrow guys," John smiled at them as they moved away.
Rodney held back though, looking a little nervous again. "You sure you're okay?" He asked.
"I'm fine, Rodney," John assured him. "Thanks for having my back."
"I'm really glad you're, you know, you again," Rodney added before he followed Ford and Cadman towards the exit.
John looked at Carson, who had also stood, tea mug in one hand.
"Good to have you back in one piece," Carson smiled.
"Thanks, Carson," John smiled back.
"Make sure you get some good sleep, John," Carson added, but his eyes had shifted away over John's shoulder and then back. "See you tomorrow."
"Thanks," John replied as Carson moved away, but he was already looking round to see Colonel Carter and Teyla entering the Infirmary. Perfect timing.
A sharp push at his leg was Ketra turning away, and John watched as she rushed around the end of the bed and legged it towards Teyla.
Teyla dropped her attention to the fast approaching Ketra, reaching both her hands down to greet the eager dragon, but John paused, watching as Teyla smiled down at her approaching pet.
Her smile didn't look quite right.
Ketra reached her and began a bubbling bright dance around Teyla, like a happy dog greeting its long absent owner. Only a dog didn't have a long dangerous swinging reptile tail that John could hear banging against the nearby beds, but Ketra didn't seem to care.
Colonel Carter was grinning as she passed through John's view of Teyla, the Colonel keeping out of strike range of the tail as she headed towards him.
Carter smiled brightly at him as he rounded the end of his former bed to meet her, Teyla in the near distance working to calm the excitable Ketra.
"Major," Colonel Carter smiled warmly at him. "How are you?"
"Doc's given me a clean bill of health," John assured her.
"Nothing about a protein in your system?" She asked with a knowing smile.
"You heard about that already huh?" John winced at her. "Dr Keller and the Elite specialists say it shouldn't be a problem."
Carter nodded. "Good, and it's good to have you back, John."
"Thanks," John smiled back. "And for the rescue," he added, meeting her eyes directly. He'd thanked everyone during his report, but he'd not had one-to-one with the Colonel since he'd gotten back.
"It was a proper group effort," she admitted. "And it sounds like we have your Athosian Honour Guard to thank for arriving at the most crucial moment."
"Yeah, they're good people," John agreed. "I was, uh, wondering if we could maybe invite the Honour Guard here some day, as a thank you. The Ancestral City is kind of a big deal on Athos, and I know they'd enjoy it."
"Sounds a great idea," she agreed. "Honoured Elite Emmagan and I have just finished talking with Leader Torren."
"Oh?" John sensed some news was incoming.
"Torren has just publically declared that Athos is ceasing all trade with the Genii Confederation in protest to Kolya's involvement in your capture," Carter reported.
"Whoa, really?" John asked, aware of Teyla now headed towards them. "He did that?"
"My Father is very angry with Kolya's actions," Teyla supplied as she arrived beside Carter, and John felt Ketra bump against his leg. "As we all are," she added as John looked down at Ketra sandwiched between his and Teyla's legs. He scratched around her closest dragon ear as he looked back up to Teyla.
"The Genii individual who supplied us with the possible locations Kolya might have been holding you outside the border has requested asylum from my Father," Teyla continued. "Father intends to grant it."
"This Genii have anything we can use against Kolya?" John asked hopefully.
Teyla glanced to Carter and back. "He is only one man's word against Kolya's and all those loyal to him. This individual was apparently part of Kolya's fellow conspirators on the homeworld, but he started to disagree with Kolya's actions, including capturing you. Father has not released any details of the individual's grant of asylum yet, as we need to ensure the correct legal procedures are followed to protect this man from Kolya."
"Probably wise," John replied as he watched her, unsure what seemed off in her expression. "Are we gonna be able to question this guy?"
"Father said it should be possible, but the interviews will have to be conducted on Athos," Teyla replied with a glance to Carter.
"Should be fine," Carter agreed. "Though, now Kolya is in command of the Genii Confederation, I'm not sure how much of an advantage it'll give us," she asked Teyla.
"He may be able to supply information on further bunkers and factories outside the border that you can investigate," Teyla suggested.
Carter nodded. "It's worth a try. If nothing else, we might be able to damage Kolya's reach outside your border and find out what information he gained about Atlantis."
Teyla nodded, her eyes dropping to Ketra, who was pressed against Teyla's legs now, looking up at her with wide orange eyes. Ketra looked subdued now, almost worried, as she looked up at Teyla. John watched Teyla stroke her hand across Ketra's darker grey head. Something was definitely up.
"There's some good news though," Carter put in and John looked back up to her.
"Oh?"
"The Alliance were successfully able to stop the rogue Hive ship that's been terrorising their territory," Carter supplied.
"That's great," John said encouragingly to Teyla, hoping that would make her smile.
She did smile, but it seemed strained and her eyes dropped back to Ketra again. "Yes," she replied with little enthusiasm, "and we were able to capture the tech they were using to move around our territory undetected."
"That's good too," John smiled at her, watching her closely. Something was definitely wrong. She looked like she was working hard to hide it though.
She took a breath and smiled a little more at him. "Yes and there was another surprise involved."
"Yeah?" John asked.
"Do you recall the damaged Ancestral device you purchased at the carnival on Athos?" Teyla asked.
"Sure," John nodded, only then he realised where this might be going. "The Ancient black-box recording that warned Atlantis about something called the Skerti." Teyla nodded. "I put it on that list I gave you about possible old enemies of the Ancients."
"It appears that the Skerti are an alien race and one of them was leading the Wraith Hive," Teyla reported.
"That doesn't sound good," John frowned. "That Ancient on the black-box looked real freaked about the Skerti."
"Indeed," Teyla agreed. "The Skerti on the Hive was killed, but we have its body to study."
"So the new tech the Hive was using was possibly Skerti tech," Carter added.
Teyla nodded.
"Tech that can allow a Hive to jump big distances without warning?" John checked.
"Yes," Teyla replied. "Colonel Carter has kindly agreed for some of our experts to visit here tomorrow to study the black-box device," she said with a faint frown that she used whenever she first used an Earth term. He nodded to her that she'd used 'black-box' right. "Hopefully we may be able to find out something further about the Skerti."
"The Elite have agreed to share everything they learn about the Skerti with us and hopefully we might be able to find something else from the Ancient database," Carter supplied.
"We didn't find anything in the database before," John considered. "Maybe the tech or the details of the Skerti itself could help the search."
"That's our hope," Carter agreed.
"It will likely take a few days for our scientists to study the Skerti' body," Teyla added. "And perhaps far longer to unpick the tech as it unfortunately emitted a dangerous form of radiation when it was active. We will need to find a way to study it safely."
"We may be able to help with that," Carter offered.
Teyla smiled at her. "I will let the other Elite know of your kind offer."
"We could even lend you McKay if you're willing to put up with him," John offered to Teyla, dipping his head to catch her gaze again.
She smiled back at him, but, again, it wasn't right. Her eyes weren't bright, in fact, she looked...sad.
"But you, John," Carter drew his attention away from Teyla, "you're going to take a week's leave."
"The Doc says I'm fine," John argued.
"We don't know how you will react over the next few days, Major," Carter stressed his rank.
"The Elite specialists said I shouldn't have any side effects," John repeated Keller's point.
Carter smiled, apparently amused at him. "I'm sure they'll be right, especially since you'll be resting."
John opened his mouth to protest again. What was he going to do sat on his ass while everyone else was finding out about the Skerti and helping the Elite?
"John," Carter interrupted him before he could start, "you're due plenty of vacation days as it is. Take some time, play some golf, go surfing with Lorne again." That actually sounded okay.
"You can take Ketra for walks along the piers," Teyla put in helpfully.
Those were some pretty good ideas and clearly everyone was ganging up on him about this. "Okay," he reluctantly agreed.
Carter grinned at him. "It is good to have you back, John," she said as her warm hand landed on his upper arm.
He smiled at her.
Carter squeezed his arm and then turned, only to pause facing Teyla. "I'll see you back up in the Control Room," she said oddly softly to Teyla.
Control Room?
Teyla nodded to Carter, but with one of those close-lipped, strained smiles that wasn't right.
John watched Carter heading away, noticing the two Marine escort duty waiting for Teyla outside the open doorway through which the Colonel was leaving.
John switched his full attention back on Teyla. "You gotta go somewhere?" He guessed. Was it about Kolya? He hadn't had any time alone with her since they'd gotten back and he'd hoped to be able to at least sit and maybe share one of her Athosian teas with her.
She nodded, but her eyes were still down, watching as she stroked Ketra's head again. She took a deep breath and he swore he could hear it shaking slightly.
He shifted closer to her. "What is it, Teyla?" He asked anxiously.
She lifted her head and she was blinking rapidly. "Oneakka was gravely injured in the battle with the Hive."
Oneakka?
"Is he okay?" John asked worriedly.
She swallowed and licked her lips. "He has not woken from his surgery." She looked down again, her hand on Ketra's head, and she let out another shaky breath. "They do not expect him to survive the night."
He reached for her, cupping the outside of her arms. "Oh God, Teyla. I'm so sorry."
She nodded and looked back up at him, her eyes watery. She blinked hard, trying to hold in the tears.
The impulse to pull her to him was instant and it was only the fact that they were stood in the Infirmary, in full view of a handful of people, that stopped him. He squeezed her arms, rubbing his thumbs against her jacket, and wondered if he should just hug her. But, he knew she didn't like to show too much emotion in front of people, and she looked like she was barely holding it together. As soon as Carter had left them together, she'd started to lose it.
"Si has gone to visit his bedside now," she continued. "I will go when he returns."
He rubbed her arms with his hands, offering such a pathetic amount of support considering what she was going to have to go do. He knew exactly what it was like to get this kind of news about one of your team, a close friend, and have to go see them one last time.
"I wanted to make sure you were alright before I go visit him," Teyla added, her damp eyes meeting his.
"I'm fine, Teyla," he assured her, shifting a little closer to her. "You need to go be with him."
"Halling is with him, and we can usually visit a few at a time," she swallowed hard. "To say goodbye."
He squeezed her arms tightly, desperately wanting to hold her. "Oneakka's the toughest guy I've ever met," he told her. "If anyone can pull through, I'm sure it's him."
She nodded, blinking hard, but he could feel her straightening in his hands, feel her gaining control of herself again. She lifted her head, her chin held higher. "Can I leave Ketra with you?" she asked. "I shouldn't be too long."
"Of course, Teyla," he replied quickly. "Take all the time you need."
"I just needed to be certain you were alright before I go," she repeated, studying him with what looked like real worry for him.
"I'm fine, Teyla," he reassured her, as he seemed to keep saying to people this evening. "Honestly."
"Are you sure?" She asked and one of her hands touched against his chest.
The touch, as simple and light as it was cut at him. He realised he didn't want her to go, that he wanted to hold her not just for her, but for him too. He had thought he'd never get to see her again.
But she needed to go see Oneakka, he totally understood that. Plus, she was leaving Ketra with him so that meant she was planning to come back. He'd see her later, check she was okay.
"Honestly, Teyla," he told her. "I'm fine. You need to go see Oneakka."
She nodded, her hand dropping from his chest, and John watched her work to control the grief from overwhelming her again.
Oneakka? God, the guy seemed so unstoppable, but then hadn't she always warned him that Elite died young?
He squeezed her arms again. If she'd been on that Hive today, could it have been her fighting for life right now?
"I should go up to the Control Room," she said as she wiped her eyes and then glanced aside, as if realising that there could be people watching.
He rubbed her arms one last time and dropped his hands from her, understanding she didn't really want to go. He could understand why.
"We'll be waiting when you get back," he promised her as he noticed Ketra was staring up at them with an almost worried look. He reached down and stroked the dragon's snout.
Teyla reached down to Ketra as well, stroking her head. "Ketra, you need to stay here with John," she told her pet. "I will return soon," she promised and then, in a move he hadn't ever seen her do outside the privacy of her own quarters, she bent down and pressed a kiss to Ketra's head.
Teyla straightened up, her control in place now, but her eyes still looked deeply sad as she tried to smile at him.
"Say hi to Oneakka for me," John offered. "Tell him we're all thinking of him."
"I will," she agreed as she turned away, heading away towards the entrance where the Marines stood waiting for her.
Ketra shifted against his leg and he looked down at where she was anxiously watching Teyla leave, but she'd apparently completely understood that she was meant to stay with him. He rested his hand on her shoulder and looked back towards Teyla's retreating back.
As she reached the exit, Teyla paused and looked back at him.
He gave her the best encouraging smile he could muster.
She smiled faintly back and headed out.
He instantly wished that he'd gone with her.
Ketra pressed against his leg and he pulled his eyes from the empty exit to find the big orange dragon eyes looking up at him with a strangely confused look.
"She'll be home soon, Ketra," he reassured her and hoped it was true.
He certainly wasn't going to be getting any sleep until she came back.
0000
TBC