Jasminesmommy – John being with Elizabeth at the time of the murder does prove he's innocent unfortunately for Kolya he doesn't know Elizabeth is alive. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Fyd818 – I decided it was about time Teyla met Kolya face to face after all these attempts on her life. I really loved writing Elizabeth's pep talk, I figured with everything that's happened John would be feeling a little down and who better to cheer him up than Elizabeth.
Germangirl678 – Thanks for the review, I hope this chapter makes up for the cliff hanger at the end of the last one.
Reen212000 – Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Belanna30 – Glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one too, thanks for the review.
Steph7085 – That message came through loud and clear lol, thanks for the review.
My-Muse-Is-A-Snickers-Bar – Thank you for the review, sorry about the evil cliff hanger at the end of the last chapter but hopefully this chapter makes up for it.
CityGirl84 – Thank you for the review, sorry about the last chapter I hope this one is better.
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Chapter 17
Only moments after Ronon had finished his call with Elizabeth his phone alerted him to the presence of a message. He picked it up and keeping his eyes on the road listened to the message.
"Hey Ronon, it's Teyla, I've been waiting for an hour and you're not here yet so I'm gonna go back to your place and I'll meet you there," Teyla's voice told him. He put his phone down and immediately turned the car around toward his apartment, for some reason he felt that he needed to hurry.
He drove back to his apartment at fast as the law and other cars would allow him to. He slowed down when he reached his street and stopped the car in an available parking space. He got out and began to walk toward his apartment to where he could make out two figures stood talking. By the time he was close enough to recognise them as Teyla and Kolya it was too late to do anything.
Kolya was momentarily distracted by Ronon's approach and Teyla took the opportunity to lunge toward him. Her hands went to grab something underneath his coat and as Ronon pulled out his weapon and broke into a run toward the struggling pair a gunshot rang out. Kolya hit Teyla causing her to stumble back as he ran down the street narrowly being missed by the bullets being fired at him by Ronon.
As Kolya disappeared around the corner Ronon dropped to Teyla's side where she sat on the floor. She was clutching her arm and he could see the blood that was soaking into her shirt.
"It's just a graze," she informed him and Ronon knew that although the injury wasn't life threatening it was worse than she was letting on. He could see the pain that she was trying to hide in her eyes. He called for an ambulance and then did what he could with Teyla's injury ignoring the people that had come out of their homes to investigate. He could sense Teyla watching him as he worked and he tried to ignore the feeling it brought up in him.
The ambulance arrived within minutes and the police only moments behind them. The scene was cordoned off and Teyla was whisked away by the paramedics. Ronon gave his statement to the police before heading over to the ambulance where Teyla was being treated. Apparently Teyla had been right; the injury was little more than a graze though it had been bleeding enough to have both Ronon and the paramedics concerned.
She was told a visit to the hospital wasn't necessary as long as she rested her arm for a couple of days. Ronon knew there was little chance she'd rest it completely, he doubted she was the type to sit around and do nothing under normal circumstances there was no way she was going to take it easy whilst her partner was still out there.
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Elizabeth arrived back at the warehouse to find John sitting with his back against the wall his eyes closed and expression thoughtful, when he didn't react to her presence she though for a moment that he didn't know she was there.
"So what did you get?" he asked without looking at her.
"Hamburgers," she told him as she moved to sit in front of him and handed him his phone as well as his dinner. They ate in silence for several minutes before Elizabeth finally spoke.
"There was another murder," she informed him. "A man, thirty nine years old, killed in his home. There was a note on the body; it said 'The Rave' does that mean anything to you?"
John stopped eating and looked thoughtful for a moment. "It sounds familiar… I just can't place it."
"Well it's probably directed at you so it's something Kolya thinks you'll remember, something from school?"
John's expression once more became thoughtful as he continued to eat, trying to figure out what the note meant. Elizabeth tried to figure it out too but she knew she probably never would. If Kolya wanted to get a message to John it was something that John would understand but the cops and FBI who saw it wouldn't.
"It was place we used to go," John stated. "All the kids at our school used to go there for parties and stuff. It was an old farmhouse on the outskirts of the city near the forest. We called it 'The Rave' as sort of a codename so any adults who overheard us talking wouldn't know where it was."
"Do you think maybe Kolya wants you to go there?" Elizabeth asked.
"Maybe."
"It could be a trap," she stated as her mind wondered through all the possible reasons Kolya would leave John a note.
"More than likely," he agreed. "But I don't think I have any other choice, I can't hide in this warehouse forever."
"Well it's already getting late so we'll sleep tonight and we'll go there in the morning. I'll call Ronon and have him and Teyla meet us there," she explained and John looked at her warily. "You can't go alone so I'm going with you and we can't do this on our own, Ronon believed you were innocent before I did you can trust him and if you're worrying about involving your partner, she's already involved. Kolya's already out to kill her and she's been working damn hard to help you, she deserves to be there when we confront Kolya."
John nodded his head reluctantly and took another bite of his burger as Elizabeth watched him. She shook her head to make herself focus on her own food. That was the last thing she needed right now, to be attracted to him.
- - -
Ronon watched Teyla as she ordered Chinese for them both and went back to the reports she had been doing for the past hour. She seemed completely unaffected by the bullet wound on her arm, he knew it hadn't been serious but he also knew that it would at least be causing her some pain. If he hadn't been there to see it himself he would think she hadn't been shot, the only thing giving it away was the slightly pained look in her eyes.
She looked at him obviously having sensed his gaze on her…again. "I'm not going to keel over and die you know."
He smiled slightly. "Doesn't hurt to be sure."
Teyla rolled her eyes at him before going back to the report that was currently sitting in front of her. He continued to watch her more subtly until there was a knock at the door. He motioned for Teyla to stay where she was, he knew it was probably just the delivery guy but there was no sense taking chances. He opened the door slowly to reveal it was exactly who he was expecting, he paid him and accepted the food before Teyla could protest.
She gave him a half serious glare as he moved to sit at the table with her. She pushed the report out of the way as he handed her the meal she had ordered for herself. They talked about random things as they ate, swapping stories from their pasts and of their partners. When they had finished eating Ronon began to clear up and Teyla stood to help him. He was about to protest but thought better of it.
When they were finished they walked out of the kitchen and Teyla stumbled almost falling over. Ronon grabbed her around the waist to keep her from falling and pulled her upright as she laughed at herself. Her laughter died down and only then did they register how close they were standing. His hands were still on her waist and hers were resting on his chest.
Their minds screamed at both of them to pull away but their bodies betrayed them holding them in place. Green eyes and brown eyes gazed into each other, searching each other for the other's feelings and finding the emotions of their owners reflected back.
Ronon didn't know what made him do it but he leaned forward and closed the distance between them. His lips brushed lightly over hers before capturing them in a kiss full of raw passion. Teyla responded within moments wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer. He was very wary of her injury but couldn't have pulled back now even if he'd wanted to. He lifted her into his arms and carried her toward his bedroom pleased when he heard no protests from her.
TBC
