Chapter 8

a/n—if you see any mistakes let me know… if you see any inconsistent details—let me know.

Thanks…

Willow walked with Aiden at her side. She had far too many questions in her head. What was 'the gate'? Why was this planet named M94-086? What kind of name was M94-086? Aiden had introduced himself as Lieutenant Aiden Ford of the United States Military—these people were American. How had they gotten here? Why were they on this planet? For that matter—why was she here?

Willow's brain kept adding question after question to her lengthy list. She wanted to stop and get her answers but she knew the most important thing was to get Marta back to her mother. Was Marta truly okay? Willow felt that she could trust Aiden, but he hadn't said he was a doctor—he had said he could get Marta to a doctor on the base. Willow hoped and wished—just not out loud. The woman, Teyla, that was her name- lead them through the grasses and towards a distant hill. As they approached the hill, the grasses grew wild and were interspersed with bushes and briars. This area seemed wild and naturally compiled. Willow realized every other inch of ground she had walked on this M94-086 had to have been made to look so tame. The grasses she had walked through were cultivated and trimmed in places. After the villagers had come to this place they had to have domesticated the landscape.

"Oh no. No way, Teyla."

Behind her, Willow heard Dr. McKay begin to sputter out these words.

"It is one thing to walk through the grass—you only risk a few sniffles—but briars! No way! I am going to get all sticky-stuck! I might bleed."

Willow had to fight to hide a smile. When McKay started to whine she had a little epiphany—these people were definitely the good guys. Didn't matter if they were military—they were definitely good guys. Bad guys probably would have shot McKay one point five seconds after he had opened his mouth.

"Those briars are probably full of pollen. So sneezing is imminent! My eyes are going to water and Elizabeth has already started rationing the Kleenex! I bet they have little knives on each leaf! I am not walking through knife wielding bushes—nope. Not me."

McKay was really working hard to lighten the mood. He knew he was going a little over the top—but everyone was so tense. Teyla wore an utterly determined look on her face. She was concentrating on leading the group to the shelter. She didn't even show any sign that the child had begun to get heavy. She just strode forth—intent on reaching the caves.

Ford hadn't said a word. That fireball making woman, Willow Rosenberg, seemed completely innocuous—right now. She was leaning a little on Ford. Their shoulders were touching and Ford looked like he wanted to raise his arm and bring the girl a little closer. But he didn't actually make a move. Ford was probably too wimpy to make a move—and that made no sense because it was Ford-the Lieutenant-Military Man extraordinaire. The United States Military Academy probably had a class on how to woo young women. How else was it that seventy eight percent—yes Dr. Zelenka and he had done the math--of the members of the military security teams appeared to have girlfriends or women interested in being their girlfriends after a few short weeks in ANOTHER galaxy? And these were regular men; short, tall, chubby, whatever. What made them special anyway—the gun they wore at their hip? Maybe he should start wearing the gun too. He had the training—and he was a fine shot after all. He could understand maybe if a good portion of these men had started relationships or whatever with the Athosian women—after all they had 'saved' them. But nope.

Maybe Ford just had more sense than McKay had previously given him credit for. Ford was surely more than a little terrified of the woman. Yeah the girl was attractive—but what was she twenty? Twenty-one? McKay shrugged to himself. Too young for him. She probably just had some alien device that made fireballs and made her invisible. It wasn't like she was the power. And just what was an American looking and American speaking—probably American doing in the Pegasus Galaxy anyway—with an alien device? Or maybe she was an archeology student and had found some- something on a dig. And maybe that something had transported her- somehow to the Pegasus Galaxy. And maybe that something had given her the ability to generate fire balls and become invisible to the naked eye and to technology… Of course he was just supposing. But just how many of his suppositions ended up fact? Most. McKay smiled to himself and nodded his head. He was satisfied—for the moment.

It bothered McKay that after he had proven himself over and over as indispensable he still didn't have a single woman on the expedition interested in him. He was the Lassie of Atlantis! Strong, gorgeous, dependable, brilliant… he was a hero. So why was it that most of the soldiers had hooked up with all the hot scientists? Women that he had previously thought were ice maidens, after all they hadn't responded to any of his suave advances. Maybe he needed to put a sidearm at his hip? Maybe it was just the realization that death could approach at every corner that convinced all the ice queens to thaw a little. And yet no one thawed a little in his direction. Oddly typical.

"Oomph! Prairie dog hole or the Pegasus Galaxy's equivalent! Owwww!"

Willow couldn't help but giggle. She turned around to get a quick glace at Doctor McKay. For a moment she was walking backwards even as Aiden continued forward. She quickly turned back to face in the same direction as Aiden. Their shoulders were touching again. Aiden's hand brushed her own. She didn't know what made her do it—but she quickly grasped his hand.

"The Pegasus Galaxy?" Willow glanced excitedly at Aiden's face as she said the words as a question. She could tell Aiden really wanted to tell her exactly what Doctor McKay had meant but just knew he couldn't.

"We are in the Pegasus Galaxy, aren't we?" Willow stared into his face. She wanted to know.

Aiden's face held the look of a man struggling with a major conflict. It was enough for Willow to know that he wanted to tell her. She knew he couldn't. She smiled. What was she going to do… force the truth out of him? Major Sheppard had already said they would fill her in after they got the go ahead from their leader.

"Never mind."

Aiden felt very lucky to hear those two words, from Willow. She had smiled at him.

"Thanks." He didn't know if he were thanking her for not pressuring him about revealing the details of where they were—of if he were thanking her for trusting him enough to wait for the answers. Did she trust him? And if she did—could he uphold that trust? Was there any skeleton in his closet or in the closet of the U.S. Military that could cause her to lose faith in him? Aiden knew he was a person—an individual, but he was also a member of the military and of the Atlantis Expedition. With those affiliations he had to tread very carefully with a civilian.

How had she gotten here? How had she destroyed that wraith? How had she rendered herself invisible? He wanted to trust that she had no harmful intent towards Atlantis or anyone he was sworn to protect. His instincts told him she was safe—but he could not allow his instincts to rule his decisions. He was the member of a unit and he couldn't make any decision in a vacuum—especially when his decision could endanger the lives of every member of the Atlantis expedition.

And anyway, maybe he was just thanking her for being so beautiful up close. Or maybe he was thanking her for slipping her hand into his.

It was very difficult for Sheppard to follow behind McKay. He hated this part of the job. He would much rather be at the front, beside Teyla. From their first mission, Ford had taken it as his personal duty to watch over McKay. Sheppard knew he really didn't have the patience for this. Oh he had the patience, when he was walking side by side with Teyla—but slowly trailing McKay while he stopped every couple of yards to stretch his back or shake his feet or… What was Ford doing? There was no way Ford was holding this woman's hand?

Sheppard was all for making friends but this Willow Rosenberg was a woman without security clearance—a woman from Earth, no less. And she was a woman who could make fire balls and make herself invisible to the naked eye and Ancient radar... maybe she could even do other things. He had already made the decision to bring her back to Atlantis—it was obvious she had some power but he had a pretty good feeling that it was a good power. She had, after all, destroyed three wraith. Sheppard wasn't really sure if he had rescued the girl or if she hadn't needed any rescuing.

"Hey, Teyla! Are we there yet?" Sheppard yelled the sentences out. His goal was to startle Ford into dropping Rosenberg's hand. Ford could make nice all he wanted—but he had to wait until Weir had granted the girl security clearance before he could go holding hands. If Sheppard was a betting man, he would lay money on Ford and Rosenberg making real nice in, oh—five or six years.

Holding hands never got the girl—letting the girl dress up and demonstrate her culture by whapping you all across the head with hard bamboo poles—now that was a way to get her attention. He was really going to have to give Ford some pointers. And Ford still hadn't dropped her hand. What did Ford think he was on… a date?

Sheppard decided to try to be a little more obvious. He cleared his throat—loudly. It worked. Ford dropped her hand.

"What is that? Allergies? Hay fever? Teyla! Even more reason for us to stay away from the briars! The Major is having a reaction!" McKay started off in a yell and then ended up in a mumble. No one was listening.

Teyla had reached where she knew the people of this world, the Yolens, hid. Major Sheppard cleared his throat and Teyla turned around to check to see if he wanted her attention. She intended on informing all of their location and found Lieutenant Ford and Willow Rosenberg standing far too close together. Out of the corner of her eye, she had been sure she had seen them letting go of each others' hand. She smiled at Willow. She knew this young woman could surely use a little encouragement. John – Major Sheppard had been surprisingly reserved with this woman. Sheppard was exercising caution- a phenomenon surely unnatural to him. She was fully convinced he was behaving cautiously because of what they had seen Willow do.

Willow's powers were something Teyla had only imagined existing. Her dear friend, Charin, was a sorcerer of sorts but her powers were limited to minor healing spells and generating potions and tonics. Charin had a wealth of knowledge on the usages of many herbs but she never applied any of her knowledge towards causing any harm or offense spells. Once, when she had been just a child, Teyla had observed Charin setting up a shielding spell around the Athosian hiding ground. Years later, when Charin had explained the spell she had said her power was limited when shielding objects of great size. She could only shield a small person or a large lifeless object.

Teyla had never said anything to the Atlantis expedition members because she had recognized that they were people of science. They could not possibly understand how an individual could harness the natural forces for their own usage. Athosian's believed specific ancestors controlled each element and had the power to grant an extension of a person's natural abilities. After observing Willow's abilities, she wondered at the depths of Charins' power. Charin had never demonstrated anything like what Willow had performed. Instead she would caution Teyla on using too much power on any level—using too much force when fighting or anything similar.

Teyla's thoughts shifted as she felt the grip of the child, Marta's hand in her hair. She was awake. Teyla adjusted Marta so that her legs were wrapped around her waist. Marta's head lay on her shoulder.

Marta raised her head from Teyla's shoulder and looked back towards Willow.

"Willow". Teyla heard the young girl whisper the word. She rubbed young Marta on the back and murmured, softly to her. "Willow is near." Teyla turned around and walked towards Willow. She wanted to reassure the young girl that her friend, Willow, was nearby. Marta reached her arms toward Willow and Willow took her into her arms. The exchange was smoothly done. Willow felt intensely happy. Marta was truly okay. When she had her in her arms—she could tell Marta had the energy to move about freely. It was obvious Marta wanted to be held—but she didn't need to be held.

She and Aiden shared a smile and he slowed his pace. Willow knew she was thinking illogically but she was very satisfied to find that Aiden had held his promise. He had been right, Marta was fine. Willow felt as if her energy had returned. The world was back in order. She turned to see Aiden taking up his place at the end of the group guarding McKay again. Teyla went back to the front of the line and Sheppard moved into place beside her. Willow continued at the center of the group and hugged Marta to her chest.

"We are here."

They had arrived. Willow looked around and saw something that would have been spectacular in other circumstances. It seemed her trip to 'The Pegasus Galaxy' would continue with some light caving. The people of this planet seemed to use the natural landscape as a hiding place. Singular hiding places never really made much sense to Willow. The wraith obviously knew the location of the town. It had to be equally apparent that everyone was running to the same location. The cave would likely be like a barn for the wraith. They would first get to the town… get their jollies off and then head to location two and continue to get their jollies off. In her opinion the only sensible course of action would be for everyone to disperse randomly and then for every able bodied person to stand and fight. Any other option was intolerable.

Sheppard stopped Teyla. They both turned to face the rest of the group. "Okay, we will go in together. We will likely have frightened people in there. Willow. Why don't we let Marta walk for a bit?"

Sheppard knew he was really only making this little speech for Willow's benefit. His team knew the drill. They didn't want to frighten any of the villagers. Frightened people often made rash decisions. While it was likely these people had no harmful weapons—they still didn't want to startle or frighten them into reckless action.

They continued forward, Sheppard and Teyla side by side and at the front. Sheppard had to hunch a little to make it through the opening. It rankled a little that he had to allow Teyla to lead. He wanted to be in a more protective position but they both knew it was best that she be the first face these people saw. After all, they considered her a friend.

Willow walked behind Sheppard and Teyla. Marta held her hand and walked by her side. Willow was initially surprised at the amount of light in the cave. The cave was dry and almost inviting. Wall sconces held lit torches. Bundles of sweet smelling dried flowers hung against the walls. The walls were covered with scattered drawings, not unlike those Buffy had made on her cave lady day. She felt Marta drop her hand and she saw her run to an older woman. This was likely her mother or another important female family member. Willow found herself very grateful that Marta had someone to go home to. She had worried when Marta had woken in her arms and called her Mommy.

"We must wait for their leader to find and address us. A runner has surely informed him of our arrival."

"Okay." Sheppard turned to smile at Willow and the men. "You heard the lady. We wait."

They had been standing for all of a minute before a middle aged man strode forward wearing heavy robes. His clothing was quite similar to the clothing of the other men. He had a thick animal skin shawl thrown across his shoulders and decorated with heavy gold ornamentation that resembled military epaulets.

He addressed Teyla first but surveyed the entire group.

"Teyla Emmagan, Daughter of Tagan. You are well met." He clasped both her hands in his and they shared a warm smile.

"Niedric, Lead Counselor of the Yolen people. You are also well met." Teyla accepted his touch and they paused.

If there had been any doubt in the Willow's mind as to their alien location… in The Pegasus Galaxy… on M94-086... and so on… and so on… those doubts were completely crushed.

Niedric spoke first. "Teyla, I see you have brought friends?" He directed his observation to Sheppard.

"Yes. This is Major Sheppard, Lieutenant Ford, Doctor McKay, and Willow Rosenberg."

"You are also well met." Niedric shared a nod with each person and briefly met their eyes. When Teyla ended with Willow Rosenberg, Niedric walked towards her. He noticed Lieutenant Ford move his hand towards the metal weaponry he held. Niedric reached for Willow Rosenberg's hands and repeated his words. "You are also well met."

"Listen, Niedric. We came at a bad time. We are here to begin trade negotiations... if you like we can set up a time to return maybe tomorrow or the next day?"

Major Sheppard hoped this suggestion would be well received. It really didn't seem as if they could really work anything out today anyway. McKay had smiled, well grimaced at Niedric. He was still playing with those damn detectors. He frankly looked like the furthest things from his mind were grain trade negotiations. He probably wanted to get back to Atlantis and figure out Willow and her technology. Heck, he wanted to figure out Willow and why the wraith had arrived on foot for their terror mission.

Aiden fully agreed with Sheppard. They needed to get back to Atlantis. It was likely that the wraith would be back to finish their job. They needed to get back to Atlantis and figure out how and why Willow was on the planet and able to do what she could do. Nothing wrong with making friends and trading—yeah bread was important… but their priorities had completely shifted. Marta was fine—being fussed over by her mother. They could leave—no they needed to leave.

"Yes, Major Sheppard. You are right." Niedric directly addressed Sheppard.

"We will have to discuss matters on another day. I must thank you all with a feast for your actions. While it is often futile to fight against the inevitable—it is always pleasant to observe a defeated common enemy. The Yolen people thank you." Niedric gave a brisk nod to Lieutenant Ford and a slower more reverent nod to Willow Rosenberg.

"Return in a weeks time… We will feast and I will give you a more than fair trade!" Niedric grinned.

"Come, Willow Rosenberg. I will introduce you to Marta's mother." Niedric politely lead Willow forward by her elbow. She found herself quickly engulfed in two hugs—one from Marta and one from her mother. Marta's mother grasped her by the cheeks and whispered thanks into her ears.

Willow felt her face redden. She wasn't sure if it her red face came from guilt, from embarrassment, or from relief. Marta clung to her knee—her grip was strong. She was fine. Willow knew she would be fine.

"Sir, it looks like we have new trading partners." Aiden tilted his head and smiled. He didn't take his eyes off of Willow.

"I believe you are right." Teyla smiled at Aiden smiling at Willow.

"Yes, yes. Now we have the possibility of grain—do we even have a real baker on staff?" McKay shook his head at Sheppard and raised his hands a standard all is futile gesture.

"McKay. Think positive." Sheppard, answered McKay grimacing, almost as an afterthought.

"I am positive our work is done here. Can we go?"

"In a minute… or ten."