Saphire – I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, I feel bad for the villagers and the ancients that I killed. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Sparkly – I'm sorry if you liked Malaine, I liked her as well and I feel kinda bad for killing her and Rinar. It's just Liz, Taros and Malar now and I'm glad you liked Liz putting Malar in his place, she's been rather quiet and sad through this fic and I wanted to show that she's still as strong as she always was. Thanks for the review.
Kuroima – I'm glad I made you cheer and that you liked the Ronon and Teyla scene. Elizabeth putting Malar in his place was my favourite part of the last chapter so write so I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for the review.
AthosionWarrior – Thanks for the review, I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one too.
Lia-finn – I'm glad Ronon came across well; I find him the hardest character to write. I know I'm evil but evil makes for good stories lol, thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 19
"He's not gonna like this," John stated as he accompanied Ronon and Teyla to the infirmary. It had only been a few days since Teyla's brush with death. She was recovering quickly from it and there didn't seem to be any lasting effects.
His team had yet to return to the search for Elizabeth and the inactivity was slowly driving John insane. He'd requested a mission, anything to keep him occupied but Sam had said no, he'd pestered her about it until she'd agreed to let him and his team do some shopping at an off world market. Now all they had to do was convince Carson to let Teyla go so the unfortunate woman would not be stuck here while they were all shopping.
"I'm not going to like what?" came the familiar Scottish accent they had all come to associate with their good natured but very stubborn doctor.
"Colonel Carter has agreed to allow the team to go to an off world market," Teyla began to explain, a note of hope evident in her voice but Carson cut her off before she could get very far.
"You can't go," he told her abruptly and Teyla opened her mouth to protest but once again Carson beat her to it. "Teyla, love, you were shot in the neck less than 72 hours ago," he emphasised. John though it was kind of unfair to say it in hours, it made it sound much worse than it actually was.
"I feel fine," she stated and when she received incredulously looks from three faces – including those that were on her side – she corrected herself. "I feel well enough to go, it is only shopping, we won't be gone for more than a few hours," she argued but Carson continued to look unsure so John decided it was time for him to intervene on her behalf.
"Carson, we'll keep an eye on her, one of us will be with her at all times and if we think she's overdoing it we'll bring her back," he reassured the doctor who sighed and finally relented.
"I'm holding the two of you personally responsible for her," he told them, giving John and Ronon stern looks. Both men new better than to do anything but nod in acceptance, Teyla on the other hand had said her thanks and high tailed it out of the room before Carson could change his mind. John and Ronon quickly followed her example, finding Teyla stood outside in the corridor waiting for them.
"I should tell Carter we got the okay from the doc," John said turning to leave when he saw the shared look between Ronon and Teyla; they clearly wanted to discuss something they didn't want him to hear. He wasn't stupid, something had been different between them since their return from Athos and in the last few days something had changed dramatically, it had taken him a few hours to put two and two together but he'd figured out what was going on.
He hadn't walked more than a few steps away from them when he stopped and turned around; secrets in a team were never a good thing. It would be best if they were honest with him and him with them, it would be a hell of a lot easier if they knew that he already knew the truth. "Listen guys," he said bringing their attention back to him. "I know and I think it's great, you two both deserve to be happy... just don't feel like you have to hide it... at least not from me and Rodney."
Finishing his slightly stumbled statement he turned and left the corridor, he vaguely heard his two team mats say something about 'that solving that problem' and 'if you don't take it easy today I'll drag you back through the gate myself'. In truth, he wasn't sure how to react to the change in Ronon and Teyla's relationship, he knew it had gone from friendship to something else and he really was happy for them, it just felt weird.
He supposed he'd get used to it; he was getting good at adjusting to changes. He'd adjusted to life on Atlantis, to travelling through the gate and meeting alien cultures on a daily basis. He'd somewhat adjusted to being sent back to earth though that one had never sat particularly well with him. Now he was back on Atlantis, he'd adjusted to being back in the city; he was just struggling with adjusting to the city without Elizabeth. Ronon and Teyla's relationship was just something else to add to the list.
Teyla was the last member of the team to arrive; Carson was beside her giving her a last minute lecture on taking it easy. She sent an imploring look toward John and Ronon, neither of them made any attempt to intervene knowing that Carson still wasn't happy about letting her go.
"I don't think I have to tell you not to get yourselves in trouble," Sam said as she joined the group in the gate room.
"We'll behave ourselves," John assured her as Ronon and Rodney started bickering beside him.
"And if you feel light headed or nauseous you turn around and head right for the gate," Carson was still lecturing Teyla until a voice interrupted him.
"I think she gets it Carson, leave the poor girl alone," the familiar voice said and Carson turned around to see Laura Cadman walking into the room. John turned to look at Rodney whose mouth
was hanging open, his face a mixture of shock and dismay which John took far too much amusement from.
"What are you doing here?" Rodney questioned in a slightly high pitched voice. The look on Laura's face told John she was enjoying this as much as he was.
"I transferred back to Atlantis two days ago Rodney," she cheerily informed the scientist. "With a little help from Colonel Sheppard."
"You knew?" Rodney asked accusingly.
"Of course I knew, do you really think I wouldn't be aware of everyone that transfers in and out of Atlantis, especially those in the military," John replied as if that should have been obvious, and really it should have.
"You could have told me she was back," Rodney exclaimed and John really was enjoying this far too much.
"Relax McKay," Laura instructed him. "You won't even know I'm here."
"I find that hard to believe," Rodney muttered under his breath. John decided enough was enough and ordered his team through the already open stargate. Ronon said something to Rodney about his lack of manners as the two men disappeared through the gate and John followed with Teyla.
If he'd been glaring at them any harder, Elizabeth was sure Malar would have burnt holes into their heads. He'd made it perfectly clear over the last couple of days that not only did he not agree with her decision to help the villagers broker a trade agreement but also that he harboured a very deep dislike of humanity, Elizabeth in particular.
"Thank you again for doing this," Amelia said to her as they stood in front of the event horizon. "Are you sure these people are trust worthy?"
"We had a couple of dealings with them when I was on Atlantis, not enough that they would remember me but enough for me to be sure they'll make a trade agreement and stick to it," she reassured the ageing woman who nodded her head.
"We will see you when you return," Amelia told her and she smiled, glancing briefly at Malar before she stepped through the gate. She emerged in the centre of a busy market, smiling slightly when she saw that it hadn't changed even a little. Taros emerged beside her and the two of them walked into the crowd as the stargate shut down behind them. Neither of them spoke again until they passed the large group that were gathered around one of the stalls, making the market seem busier than it actually was.
"How often did you come here?" Taros asked when he was able to fall in step beside her. He was slightly out of breath and they had only been here for a few minutes. She was worried about him, he was constantly tired and he seemed very fragile, like he'd break if you touched him.
"I only came here once; it was more of a shopping trip than anything else. My people came here probably only a handful of times, one of my teams managed to make a one off trade with the town chiefs. We gave them medicines and they sent several crates full of very nice food," she explained and watched as Taros nodded his head, a curious, thoughtful expression on his face.
"Did you make many trade agreements?" he asked her "When you were on Atlantis."
"We made several, yes," she told him "It was the easiest way to acquire some of the things we needed, especially during our first year when we had no contact with earth."
"From everything I have heard you made many friends in this galaxy in the short time your people were here," he stated and she could hear the hint of a question in his tone but she couldn't figure what it was he was asking. "The Athosians spoke very highly of you all."
"The Athosians were our closest allies here, we helped them move to the mainland after their home was culled by the Wraith, it was the same day we arrived actually. We helped them and they helped us," she explained wondering if that answered his question.
"We did not really have allies, at least not in the sense that you seemed to," Taros stated thoughtfully. "Perhaps that is why my people fell in the end."
"Maybe," Elizabeth replied quietly.
"How did your people survive, there are so many threats in the galaxy now, ones that were not there when the Ancients had last been in control?" he asked her and Elizabeth thought about the question before she answered.
"My people have always had a remarkable ability to survive and many of our best were on the Atlantis expedition. We always found a way, sometimes it was harder than others," she told him, she wasn't entirely sure what it was that had allowed her people to beat the odds so many times. Some of it was pure luck; some of it was skill or genius on someone's part.
"My people obviously lack something that yours have in abundance," Taros stated thoughtfully.
There were several minutes of silence as they approached the large building that had been their destination. "Here we are, this should be it," Elizabeth said as she and Taros took in the large building in front of them. "The town chiefs should be in there."
"Then let us see if we can arrange for a trade for the Krayle," Taros stated and the two of them walked into the building.
John was about ten seconds away from banging Ronon's and Rodney's heads together, they'd been arguing since before they'd even left Atlantis and it was really getting annoying. The worst part was, he couldn't even remember what they had been bickering about in the first place, they'd changed topic more times than he cared to count.
"We've been here less than an hour McKay," Ronon stated, sounding as irritated with the scientist and John was with the pair of them.
"I'm just saying, I have better things to do than go shopping, that device Major Lorne's team brought back is just sitting in my lab waiting for me," Rodney complained, still trying to make it abundantly clear to everyone that he didn't want to be here.
"Perhaps we should split into groups of two," Teyla suggested and John was quick to nod his head in agreement, anything that would split Ronon and Rodney up for a couple of hours.
"Ronon, go with Teyla, Rodney, with me," he ordered quickly and was about to leave with Rodney when he noticed Teyla had frozen in place.
"John," she said, sounding slightly in shock and a little too fragile for his liking. She pointed ahead of her and he followed both her hand and her gaze through the crowd. It took him a moment to see what she was pointing at, to pick it up through the crowd but when he did he froze much like Teyla. There was no mistaking the green eyes and brown curls that they'd all been searching for, she was right there. "Elizabeth," he heard Teyla shout beside him, glad that she had recovered her senses enough to shout to the now retreating form.
His own senses returned to him in time to see her stop and turn around, she looked through the crowd. There was a look of wariness on her face, as though she was afraid she'd imagined the familiar voice but that soon turned to shock when her eyes finally found Teyla, standing there along with the rest of the team. After all this time, all this searching they had found her when they weren't looking for her.
His legs acted on autopilot, moving through the crowd, brushing his way passed all of the market dwellers who went about their business oblivious to the reunion occurring right in front of them. His eyes never left hers, he was afraid that if he looked away even for a split second she wouldn't be there anymore.
When he finally reached her his body was still acting without any input from his head. His arms went around her immediately, pulling her against him and the part of his brain that was functioning coherently registered her arms going around him. He held her tightly, praying that this was real. Neither of them said anything and he didn't let go of her until he felt someone standing beside them. He reluctantly released her and she turned to look at Rodney whose face was a picture of pure shock.
"How are you here, where have you been, where are the Ancients?" Rodney broke into a tirade of questions but Elizabeth cut him off. Putting her arms around his neck and hugging him. Rodney immediately shut up; he looked awkward at first, as though unsure of what to do but he returned the hug and Elizabeth pulled away too look at Teyla and Ronon who joined them.
Teyla smiled, it was the first real smile that John had seen from the woman since before the Ancients had kicked them off Atlantis. She stepped forward and hugged Elizabeth, releasing her quickly and leaving only Ronon with the job of greeting her. Elizabeth looked a little unsure of herself but Ronon quickly ended that by stepping forward and hugging her, he lifted her of the ground slightly and put her back down again.
With the greetings over Elizabeth stepped back, looking straight at John "How are you here?"
"It's a long story," he told her, finally finding his voice. "We destroyed the replicators that had taken Atlantis, the city's ours again. We've been looking everywhere for you," he told her, unable to keep some of his relief out of his voice, the search was over.
He could tell she had more questions but they were best left until they weren't standing around in a crowded market. "This is Taros," she told them gesturing to the aging man that stood silently behind her and John assumed he was one of the Ancients she had escaped the city with.
"It is a pleasure to meet you," Taros greeted extending a hand towards John. He hesitated only for a second before taking it, he couldn't help but resent the Ancients slightly though he knew none of this was really their fault, things could have worked out much worse if they hadn't taken over Atlantis.
John looked at Elizabeth "You ready to come home?" he asked her, she looked at him, stunned and afraid for several moments before she nodded her head.
"Why wasn't the city destroyed, those were the standing orders?" Elizabeth questioned as they made their way toward the stargate.
"Well..." John began "They were going to do that but we err... stole a Jumper and used the intergalactic gate bridge to beat the Deadalus here."
She looked at him both surprised and not by his statement "So your people are now back in control of Atlantis?" Taros questioned and before John could open his mouth to respond, Rodney answered him.
"Yes we are and we're not leaving this time," there was a small amount of anger in the scientist's voice which seemed to take everyone by surprise, Rodney wasn't usually that confrontational.
"I have no intention of taking the city from you," Taros reassured him "There are not enough of us left anyway."
"How many of you escaped?" Ronon asked and John watched as Elizabeth and Taros exchanged a solemn glance. Taros looked at the floor with sad eyes and there was the same emotion behind Elizabeth's voice when she spoke.
"There were six of us, there's only three of us left now," she replied "One was killed in accident a little while ago; the other two were killed a few days ago when the planet we've been staying on was attacked by the Wraith."
John's heart stopped, at least he thought it had, another thing he hadn't been able to protect her from, another thing she should never have had to go through.
"We have to go and get Malar from Krayle," Elizabeth stated and John nodded his head.
"We'll just let Atlantis know and then we'll go and get him," he told her as they arrived back at the gate. Rodney quickly dialled the gate and John radioed Atlantis, waiting impatiently for Sam to respond, there were a lot of people on Atlantis who needed to hear this news.
"Carter here," her voice finally replied.
"We found her," was all he said and there was silence for several moments.
"You found Dr Weir?" Sam questioned needing clarification and John smiled slightly.
"I'm standing right next to her."
TBC