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Chapter 3

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"Sheppard, Teyla, can you hear me?" The sound of McKay's voice, filled with static, woke John from the light sleep he had managed on the cold, stone floor of the cave. He figured the only reason he had fallen asleep at all was that he had the comfort of Teyla in his arms.

He looked down and saw her head cushioned on his chest and she was stirring as well with the sound in her ear.

"Sheppard, where the hell are you guys?" Rodney's voice whined and John blinked a few more times before he reached up and touched his comm to open the signal.

"Right here, McKay," John grunted and struggled to sit up without jostling Teyla too much. "Where are you?"

"Ronon and I gated to a planet that was on route and had the Apollo pick us up on their way to get you. We're over the planet right now. But we're having a hard time locking onto your transponders. Are you near anything that might be blocking the signals?"

John looked at the rock all around them and wondered if there was anything in them that could be interfering. "We're inside a cave. Maybe that's what's doing it."

"Can you get outside and into the open?"

John listened for noise or movement outside, then gazed at Teyla who gave a slight nod.

"I'm not positive but we should be able to at least get a little away from the cave. We couldn't say anything last time you radioed as they were practically on top of us."

"I guess we kind of figured that. I'm uh, … glad you weren't caught anyway."

John twisted his head one way then the other to try and work out the kinks in his neck from sleeping on the hard ground. "Give us a minute or two. Teyla hurt her ankle and it might take a bit longer to get away from these rocks. Plus it's still pitch black here."

"Got it! We'll be watching and beam you up as soon as we can get a good lock."

John shrugged into his vest and saw that Teyla had already done the same. They picked up their weapons and moved to the opening of the cave. John pushed aside the bushes, listened for a few seconds then switched on the light on his P-90. He flashed it around the hillside but didn't see anything moving.

"You gonna be able to do this?" he asked Teyla as he saw her tying her hiking sneaker loosely on her foot.

She gave a confident nod and said, "I will be fine, John. You need not worry about me."

John gave a crooked grin and answered, "But I do anyway."

Teyla's answering grin made his stomach flip with anticipation of what was to come once they got back home. He put his arm under hers and they carefully picked their way down the steep, rocky hill. It took more than a few minutes and he wondered if McKay was having a fit about now.

When they got to the bottom he glanced around and saw that there were still many of this type of rock scattered around and figured they should try and move away from them if at all possible. He could feel Teyla put much of her weight on him and wince when her foot touched the ground. But she never once complained. He knew McKay would be bitching a mile a minute if it had been his foot.

They moved as quietly as they could through the wooded area and John hoped that the Apollo could get a lock on them soon. He suddenly felt Teyla tense up and look around nervously.

"Wraith?" he whispered in her ear and saw her nod.

"McKay!" John growled softly as he touched his comm. "Whenever you guys are ready. Teyla says we have Wraith getting pretty close."

"Yeah, yeah, okay," McKay sounded nervous. "You're still flickering a bit but we've almost got it. Just ... another ... second."

John continued moving away from the rocks with Teyla in tow and waited for the tingly feeling of being transported; it didn't come. Suddenly he detected movement and flashed his light around them. Wraith! And they were coming from all directions.

"McKay!" John growled louder this time, knowing his volume wouldn't matter in a few seconds.

He held tighter to Teyla whose hand was now clamped like a vice to his arm. They had nowhere to go and the Wraith just moved in closer. Weapons raised, John and Teyla blasted away taking down a few of their attackers but they both knew it was a futile effort.

Blue beams hit them from all directions and as John felt himself fall, he pulled Teyla into his arms fully, in one final, desperate act of protection. Then the world went black.

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"We've got a lock!" McKay yelled and pressed the keys to get his two friends and teammates away from the trouble they were in.

Lights flashed in front of the command chair that Ellis occupied and Rodney looked up but didn't see his friends standing there. Ronon rushed over and McKay saw that Sheppard and Teyla were lying on the floor, unconscious. He hoped they were only unconscious because he didn't need the guilt of knowing he had been too slow to save them.

"Get a med team to the bridge!" Ellis hollered as he saw the two figures huddled together on the floor. He wasn't surprised that Sheppard had his arms wrapped protectively around the Athosian. Sheppard seemed to feel that everyone was his responsibility and he knew that Teyla was one he always went a bit over and above for. Not that he would ever admit it. He wondered when the two of them would finally realize they both felt the same way.

Ronon leaned down and pressed his fingers to Sheppard's neck and found a strong pulse. Then he reached under him and felt for Teyla's, knowing he would find the same. His guess was that they had been stunned.

He smiled as the med team rushed in and separated the man and woman and lifted them to gurneys, handing their automatic weapons to Ronon. He'd known for a while that Sheppard had feelings for Teyla and vice versa but as stubborn as they both were they had never admitted it, to anyone, maybe not even themselves. He wished he could do something to make them see how much they cared for the other. But seeing the way John had Teyla in his arms just confirmed his theory.

The med team agreed that they were merely unconscious probably due to a stun blast but Ronon and Rodney followed them out of the room anyway.

As he left, Ronon heard Ellis order, "Get us out of here and back to Atlantis."

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Pins and needles, John thought as he attempted to open his eyes. He wasn't sure he wanted to as he remembered the numerous blasts coming from all directions as they waited for help from the Apollo. If he opened his eyes and was in a Wraith holding cell, he was really gonna be pissed at McKay.

But as his senses came more fully awake, he could feel the soft mattress underneath his body and an even softer pillow under his head. Then he noticed the antiseptic smells assailing his nostrils. Infirmary, yup, it's okay to open your eyes.

Once they were open, the first thing he did was check for Teyla. And sure enough she was lying in the bed right next to him, her eyes still closed. And they were actually back in Atlantis. How long had they been out?

He attempted to push himself into a sitting position and saw Ronon and Rodney sitting at the foot of the beds. Ronon had his feet propped on the end of his and Rodney was typing away frantically on his computer, as usual. Ronon saw him rise first and dropped his feet.

"Sheppard, it's about damn time you woke up!"

Rodney stopped clicking at the keys and breathed out, "Oh, thank goodness. It usually doesn't take this long for someone stunned to wake up."

Hearing the talk, Carson sauntered in and smiled at John as he bent to press his stethoscope to the man's chest.

"Colonel, we were starting to get a wee bit worried about you. Both of you were out for longer than is typical for a stun blast. Did these Wraith have different weapons that we don't know about?"

John thought for a minute then offered, "We were surrounded and started shooting. I think we must have been hit by at least five or six stuns each. Would that keep us out longer?"

Carson chuckled. "That it would, laddie. Now we just need for Sleeping Beauty to wake up. But I'm not so concerned now as I was before I knew why you were still out cold. I'm sure she'll be up and about pretty soon. Before you go I'll just be wanting to give you a last check so don't be going anywhere until I do, okay? I'm sure you'll be wanting to wait until Teyla wakes up anyway."

John looked over at Teyla's sleeping form and had to smother the intense grin that almost broke out on his face. "Yeah, I'll wait. How's her ankle? Did you check that out? She hurt it when we were trying to get to the gate."

Carson nodded his head. "It's just a sprain. I took an x-ray just to be sure and then rewrapped it. She should keep it elevated for a while and stay off it for a day or two but she'll be fine."

"Good, thanks, Doc."

Carson nodded, checked Teyla's pulse one more time and moved back to his office as Rodney stood up and closed his laptop. "Um, if you're fine and Teyla's going to be fine, you uh, don't really need me hovering around here, do you?"

Sheppard chuckled and rolled his eyes. "We're fine Rodney. Thanks for coming to get us and for hanging around to make sure we were okay. I'm sure you have more important things to do than sit here and watch Teyla sleep. I'll see you later."

Rodney looked like he wasn't sure if Sheppard was serious but finally decided he did have more important things to do. "Yeah, see you later."

John looked down at his watch and realized it was almost breakfast time and he hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. He also realized that Rodney and Ronon probably hadn't slept in over that amount of time. Rodney never slept so he didn't really worry about him too much.

"Why don't you get some sleep, Pal," John suggested to his large friend who still sat watching him from the foot of the bed. "I'm gonna see if I can get Carson to send down for some food for me; I'm starving. There's no sense you sitting here watching me eat. Then I might try and get a few more z's."

Ronon stood and insisted, "I'll get you something to eat. The mess will be closed right now but I'll find something and I'll bring something for Teyla since she'll probably be hungry when she wakes up, too."

John nodded. "Thanks, Buddy. Appreciate it."

Ronon nodded and left the room and as soon as he did, John slipped off his bed and moved to sit on Teyla's. He knew Carson had said she was fine but he wanted to check for himself. He lifted his hand and stroked his fingers down the side of her face. He remembered the kissing and more they had done while trying to hide and he also remembered what they'd said to each other. He hoped he hadn't just imagined it all.

A few minutes later she started to stir and John began rubbing her hands and arms, attempting to alleviate the pins and needles before they got too bad. When her eyes opened and spotted John sitting beside her, caressing her skin, her smile grew and her eyes lit up. John then knew that it hadn't been a dream.

"How you feeling?"

"I am feeling as if I have been stunned by a Wraith weapon," Teyla answered.

John grinned. "Well, that's funny because you were. We both were and before you ask, yes, we're already in Atlantis because we were hit by so many at once it took us over six hours to wake up."

Teyla pushed herself to sit up and John gave her a hand. Then he leaned over slowly and pressed his lips to hers, giving her time to stop him if she really wanted to. Her hands rose to his shoulders and one threaded through the hair on the back of his head and pulled him closer and John knew she didn't want to. He breathed a sigh of relief. They had done some intense stuff back in the cave but he wanted to be sure it wasn't just because she needed a distraction to keep them safe.

As her lips attached to his, he figured that wasn't the case. He caressed her cheek again gently and felt that all was right in his world.

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Ronon walked back into the infirmary with a tray loaded down with a few wrapped sandwiches and some fruit cups that he had snagged from the mess hall fridge. He moved past Carson, napping at his desk, and approached the door of the section Sheppard and Teyla were in. He paused as he got there and a deep smile crossed his features.

Sheppard was sitting next to Teyla on her bed and he was kissing her; sweetly, gently and lovingly. He breathed a sigh of relief that these two had finally managed to figure it out.

"What's the sigh for?" a soft voice said next to him and he turned to see Dr. Weir beside him.

He lifted one finger to hold against his lips and tilted his head toward the inside of the room. She peeked inside saying, "I heard from Carson that they finally woke up. That's good, I'm …"

Her words stopped as she caught sight of her Military Commander kissing her best negotiator and liaison gently on the mouth. She noticed how they tenderly gazed at each other, held the other and caressed in a very loving manner.

"When did this happen?" she asked Ronon quietly but very curiously.

The Satedan shrugged. "I don't know but it's about damn time. I thought I was gonna have to knock some sense into them soon if they didn't do something about it."

Weir's voice rose an octave but still remained quiet. "So you knew about this?"

Ronon snorted. "I did, yeah, but they sure as hell didn't. Something must have happened on the planet to help them realize and finally admit their feelings."

Weir remained silent but wondered exactly what that was. She'd like to know too. And she'd like to know how she could have overlooked these two important members of the expedition falling for each other. And that's exactly what they had done if the actions she was watching were any indication. They both were too tender and caring with each other for it simply to be only physical attraction.

She took a step back taking one last look at the embracing couple, wondering exactly how much they would reveal at the debrief later today. "I guess I'll leave them alone. I really only came up to make sure they were fine after being out for so long. But it appears they're more than fine."

Ronon chuckled at the slightly envious tone in Weir's voice and wondered what she truly thought of these two and their newfound relationship. He hoped she'd be fine with it since he really thought Teyla and Sheppard's feelings for each other were a lot more intense than even they knew. And you only found that once in a lifetime. Unfortunately he knew that from experience.

He moved into the room interrupting them with a discreet cough and grinned when they looked up and both blushed at being caught. He didn't mind interrupting them though because he knew from now on they'd have plenty of time for that type of thing.

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As first dates went, this had been very satisfying, so far. He had found a room with huge windows overlooking the ocean in a deserted part of the city. He'd set up a little table and chairs and placed candles all around the room. He'd gotten some bread, cheese and fruit to go along with the bottle of wine he'd won off Major Lorne in a poker game last week. And as wine went, it was pretty good.

"Here's to us," John lifted his glass and toasted, "and our little secrets. May we never need them again."

"Yes," Teyla agreed with a sultry grin. "And may we enjoy what little time we have, just the two of us."

John sighed and nodded, "Yeah. And here's to finding more of that time."

"I will look forward to those times and cherish them always, John."

"Me too."

They drank the wine and ate the snacks and spoke of a variety of things. John noticed they stayed away from the topic of what would happen after the date but he was enjoying it regardless. He wasn't sure if Teyla was regretting what she had allowed him to do while in the cave or if she was simply following Athosians standards and allowing him to lead the date.

But as the night wore on, John knew he wanted to touch and hold Teyla and he couldn't do it from the other side of a table. But this room wasn't really set up for more than eating and conversation and enjoying the view.

"I was hoping to play some slow music and dance with you a little but," and he looked at the crutches parked near the door to the room. "We might need to postpone that to the second or third date."

Teyla chuckled and apologized. "I am sorry, John, for ruining your plans. I would have very much liked to dance slowly with you holding me."

John walked over and took her hand so she stood up. "Could I convince you to let me hold you in some other way tonight?" he asked hopefully.

Teyla's sassy look gave him the answer he was wishing for. He started blowing out the candles as Teyla reached for her crutches.

John sighed. "I told you I could have gotten a wheelchair for you tonight so you didn't have to walk so far. I can still run and get one now if your foot hurts or … I can carry you back."

Teyla touched the side of John's face and caressed his cheek. "That is very sweet, John but I am perfectly capable of walking back. If I use the crutches then my foot hardly hurts at all."

"Are you sure?" John teased. "I really don't mind carrying you at all. I think I'd kind of like it."

Teyla grinned and threw him a provocative look. "Perhaps when we get back to my room."

John actually groaned and stood aside as she walked through the door to the transporter. He touched the back of her hair as they walked and said, "I'm gonna hold you to that."

It took a while with Teyla hobbling as best she could and John still offering to carry her. When they were in the hall outside Teyla's quarters, John heard his comm go off.

"Colonel Sheppard?"

John dropped his head with disappointment. It was his night off. He had even put aside his BDU's for a pair of khakis and a button down shirt. What could Weir possibly want now?

"This is Sheppard," he responded like the good little soldier he really hated being.

"Colonel, I was hoping to see you in my office for a few minutes, if you don't mind."

"Now?" John asked trying not to sound too whiny. Maybe McKay was rubbing off on him.

"Yes, if you can at all manage it." Her voice sounded almost petulant and he hoped it wasn't anything big that needed more than the few minutes she'd mentioned.

"Be right there," he told her and pouted at Teyla. "I'm sorry. I'll try and keep her brief and hopefully be back in about twenty minutes. Am I still welcome to come in then?"

Teyla gave him a playful smile and moved toward her door. "I will be anxiously awaiting your return."

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