Title: The Exchange
Date: 24th August 2007
Author: Kazavid
Chapter: 9/10
Rating: M
Pairing: John Sheppard / OFC – Tanisha Toryn (Nisha)
Archiving: None
Warnings: (Sexual Content /Violence /Possible Torture)
Spoilers: Irresponsible
Feedback: Yes
Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis and it's character do not belong to me.
Summary: After being rescued from certain death, Sheppard must now escape, or persuade, his 'rescuers', not to hand him over, to face retribution, from someone who wants to see him dead.
The Exchange
CHAPTER 9
"So, what are you saying John, you want me to manufacture a job, so that Tanisha will stay on Atlantis." Doctor Weir asked him, looking at him sitting on the other side of the desk.
"No, not manufacture one, just use her abilities." he told her.
"You did tell me she was a thief, didn't you?"
"Well yes, but I'm not talking about that part of it."
"Then what part of it are you talking about?" she asked and watched as he stood up, and started pacing back and forth in her office.
"When she...takes objects...she has to find out as much as she can about the person she intends to take the object from, and also has to find out about the place where the object is kept. This, in my book, makes her very good at gathering, what we call, intelligence. Which is something we are in dire need of, especially in this galaxy."
"I agree with you there, we do need a lot more people who can attain intelligence, but what makes you think she'd want to do that kind of thing?"
"I don't know if she will, not yet. But, I needed your agreement before I asked her."
"Alright, ask her, and see what she says, then let me know."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
Nisha had been out of the infirmary for a week and a half now, and she was feeling a lot better. John still hadn't said anything about when he would take her home. Not that she wanted to go home, but the longer she stayed here, the harder it would be when she did have to go home. She decided to ask him about it.
She entered his office and found him looking for something under his desk, he lifted his head up to see who'd entered, and smiled when he saw her.
"Hi, everything okay?" he asked.
"I was just wondering, if you'd be taking me home this week?"
He grimaced and got up to sit in the chair behind his desk.
"No, not this week."
"Next week?" she asked.
He took ages before he said anything, then when he did speak, Nisha was a little shocked by what he asked.
"How would you like to stay here, on Atlantis."
"Stay here." she asked stunned by the question.
"Yes."
"And do what?" she wanted to know, she couldn't see what she'd do if she stayed here. And she wasn't the type to just sit around and do nothing.
"Doctor Weir has a job for you..." she didn't let him finish before she jumped in with the questions.
"A job? What kind of job? Does she need me to retrieve something?"
"Not quite retrieve something, more in the way of finding out something." he said, but she still didn't know what he was on about. When he saw the confusion on her face, he elaborated more.
"We're negotiating a treaty with one of the planets we visit, but the guy there is procrastinating, and won't sign the deal. He keeps adding things to it, and pushing for more incentives, and Weir is at a loss as to why this guy won't sign the deal."
"So what do you think I can do about that?" she asked, even more confused.
"Just do what you normally do when you are hired to retrieve an object. Find out about the man and the place where the object is, only this time you don't have to go the final step, and retrieve anything. Just find out the information, and then return here."
"And that's all you'd expect me to do?"
"Yes, so what do you think?" John asked, hoping she'd go for it.
Nisha thought about it, it sounded easy enough, and she already did that kind of thing anyway. If she took the job she'd get to stay here, where John was, and maybe their relationship could grow in to more than just sex.
"Alright, I'll do it." she said.
John didn't realise he was holding his breath, until she answered, and he sighed with relief.
"That's great, I'll tell Weir, and she can explain everything to you." he told her, he stood up, and came around the desk and pulled her in to his embrace to kiss her.
He genuinely, seemed pleased that she would be staying, Nisha knew he liked her, she just didn't know how much he liked her, or whether it was just the sex he liked. He still kept saying those strange words to her, and he still wouldn't tell her what he was saying. So, Nisha had started to repeat the words back to him, which seemed to make John smile. She would definitely have to find out what he was saying.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
Now that Nisha had been given the all clear by Doctor Beckett, and was considered well enough, Doctor Weir explained what the problem was, and what she needed to know. The one drawback for Nisha was that they wanted her to have someone with her, and the only person who hadn't been seen by this Dalton guy, was Ronon.
Nisha grimaced as she entered the Gate room and saw Ronon standing next to John. She still didn't know what his problem with her was, but she could sense the tension from him.
"Got everything you need?" John asked her, as she came to stop beside him.
"Yes, I have everything."
"Not feeling sick, or anything?" he asked.
"No, I'm fine." she told him. Not wanting to tell him that she'd thrown up, again, before.
"Okay, well Ronon knows what to do, so we'll see you when you get back. And be careful."
"I'm always careful."
He watched as Nisha and Ronon left through the Stargate, he just hope that it went well. And he hoped Ronon behaved himself, he knew something about Nisha bothered Ronon, but when he asked him what it was, Ronon ignored him.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
Ronon didn't say very much as they walked along the pathway to the village, but then neither did Nisha. They arrived at the village and found somewhere to stay for a few days. Then Nisha started to make contact with the locals, she found out who the local gossip was, and sat with him for a while to learn a few things. She plied him with drink and food, and got to know some of the names of the people who worked for Dalton. She found out that there was one particular woman whom she needed to speak to, who worked for Dalton, but she wouldn't be here until tomorrow.
She'd been very aware of Ronon hovering in the background, she'd felt his eyes on her the whole time, watching her. Seeing as there was nothing else she could do, they went back to the room, where Nisha used the bed, and Ronon, used the chair. Both Nisha and Ronon, avoided saying much to each other, which was driving Nisha mad.
The next few days seemed to go very slowly, Nisha made contact with the woman, who worked for Dalton. As soon as she met the woman, she knew she wouldn't be able to get the information out of her so easily. She started off by talking to her, sympathised with the woman's problems and little by little, and day by day she got to know what the woman had overheard Dalton saying about Doctor Weir.
It had taken almost four days, but she'd managed to find out a lot about Dalton, and knew she had enough information for Doctor Weir to work with, so she told Ronon that they could go back to Atlantis. But there was just one more thing she had to do before they left, and that was to confront Ronon.
"Do you have a problem with me?" Nisha asked Ronon, just as they were about to leave the room, Ronon turned around and stared at her.
"Yes, I have a problem with you." he told her, finally admitting what she already knew.
"So what is it?" she asked.
"I'd like the locket back that you stole from me." he said harshly.
"I didn't steal any locket from you." she told him.
"It was hidden on my body when you shot us with those dart guns, but when I woke up on Atlantis, it was gone."
"So just because I take things, you're assuming I took it." she asked.
"I don't see how anyone else could have taken it."
"I did not take your locket." she told him truthfully.
"So where is it?"
Nisha remembered Lucas picking something up off the floor but she didn't think anything of it. Later when she'd asked him what it was he'd told her it was a gold chain, he thought one of the men who'd captured Sheppard, must have dropped it. She'd dismissed it and hadn't thought about it since.
"I think Lucas may have found your locket, and when I say found, I mean found. He picked something up off the floor, but, I can't be absolutely sure it was your locked, because I never got a look at it, and Lucas just said it was a gold chain." she told him.
"The locket was attached to a gold chain." Ronon told her.
"We could make a detour to Lucas' before we go back to Atlantis and get it." she suggested.
Ronon thought about it, and decided that he really wanted the locket back, so they made a detour before they returned back to Atlantis.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
Nisha and Ronon, were approaching the house, when Lucas suddenly came out and spotted them, he waited for them to get closer. When he saw it was Nisha and Ronon, he tensed, wondered what the hell she was doing here with the guy.
"Nisha?" he said questioningly, his eyes moving pointed towards Ronon.
"Lucas this is Ronon, he's a...friend." she hesitated somewhat over the description.
"A friend! Since when?" Lucas asked her, his eyes not moving from Ronon. Nisha ignored his question.
"Sorry I didn't contact you sooner, but there was a bit of a problem."
Lucas took them in to the house, and gave them some food and drink. Nisha went on to explain what had happened and what she was doing now.
"So you're living on Atlantis now."
"Yes."
"And everything is Alright?"
"Everything is fine, Sheppard and his people have treated me very well."
"You've lost weight." Lucas remarked, Nisha ignored his comment.
"Lucas, do you remember that gold chain you found when we snatched Sheppard. Do you still have it?"
"Yes, why?" he frowned at her.
"Could I look at it?"
"Sure, I'll go get it." he said, wondering why she wanted to see it.
When he returned a few minutes later he handed it to Nisha, she held her hand out to Ronon.
"Is this it?" she asked, Ronon picked it up from her palm.
"Yes, that's it." he said, examining the gold locket with Satedan writing engraved over it.
"What's going on?" Lucas asked.
"It belongs to Ronon, it must have dropped out of his pocket."
Lucas watched Ronon open the locket and look at the picture inside.
"She's a beautiful woman." Lucas remarked, talking about the picture that was in the locket.
"Yes she was." Ronon replied, as he snapped the locket shut and put the locket in to his pocket. They stayed for a few hours then headed back to the Stargate to return to Atlantis. Nisha, didn't ask Ronon who the woman in the locket was, she could tell it was a painful memory for him, so she didn't say anything.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
When they were back on Atlantis, Nisha went to Doctor Weir's office. Where she started to tell her what she'd learned about Dalton.
"Every time you meet him, he has people around him, doesn't he?" Nisha asked Doctor Weir.
"Yes, he does, several." Weir said.
"The problem with Dalton is that he performs for the people around him. From what I found out, it's obvious he wants to sign the agreement, but he's being manipulated by his so called friends. That's why he keeps trying to push for more changes and wanting more incentives. He seems to be a reasonable man when he's on his own, it's only when his friends are around that he becomes more demanding."
"I had the feeling his entourage was part of the problem." Weir said.
"I think if you get him in a room on his own, with just the two of you, and you give him an ultimatum. Tell him that if he doesn't sign the deal as is, then you'll go somewhere else, I guarantee, he'll sign."
"The problem is, we've already tried to do something similar to what you're suggesting. Get Dalton on his own, but we couldn't get him away from his friends."
Nisha went on to tell her about which friends where the problem ones and suggested a few ideas to get rid of them for a while, so that she could negotiate her deal.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
"So how did it go?" John asked, meeting her as she left Weir's office.
"It went well."
"Did Ronon behave himself?" he asked, as he walked along side of her.
"Yes, Ronon behaved himself."
"He did..." John asked, with surprise.
"Of course, he did."
"So do you like the job?" he asked her, hoping that she'd say she did.
"Yes, I like the job."
"Then we won't have any more talk about me taking you home."
"No, I like it here." she told him, he looked very pleased with her answer.
"That's great, look, I don't have anything else to do today, so how about spending it with me." he said, as he pulled her in to his arms.
"I'd love to."
Over the next few weeks, John and Nisha spent every spare minute they had together. She lost count of how many times John said the words 'Je t'aime' to her. Every time they made love he said them, she was beginning to thing that it was something sexual, but she couldn't figure out what. She was very curious to know what he was saying, but she wasn't sure about asking anyone, in the end she couldn't resist and decided to ask Doctor McKay.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
"McKay, you ever heard the words 'Je t'aime'?"
"Of course...why do you ask?" he turned his head to look at her.
"I heard someone saying it and I just wondered what it meant."
"It's French, it's one of the languages used on Earth."
"So what does it mean?"
"It means, I love you." he told her, missing the shocked expression on her face.
"It means what?" she was a little taken back, by McKay's revelation.
"It means, I love you. Why, where did you hear it?" he asked curious about who she'd heard saying it.
"Oh, er...some people were talking and the guy kept saying it." she lied.
"Really, who was it, not that guy from Zelenka's lab, was it. Who was he saying it too..." McKay wouldn't give up asking questions.
"I really don't know who the guy was." she told him.
When he tried to get her to describe the guy, Nisha pretended to be sick and ran out of the lab with her hand over her mouth. Luckily, McKay believed her ruse, and didn't follow her outside, she quickly got away from the lab just in case he changed his mind.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
The next time John made love to her, and said the words, Nisha was ready for him.
"Je t'aime." he muttered as he rained kisses over her face and neck.
"I love you too." she replied, and John, froze, his face pressed against her neck.
He could feel his heart beating fiercely in his chest, it felt like he'd been waiting forever to hear her tell him that she loved him.
"So you were curious enough to find out what it meant." he said, lifting his head up so he could look down at her.
"Yes, why didn't you just say it, why use a strange language?"
"I did say it, if you remember, but you didn't want to hear it." he rolled to the side and laid on his back.
"When did you say it?" she frowned, and rolled on to her side, so that she was facing him.
"When you were in the infirmary."
"You were only joking then."
"No I wasn't."
"But I thought..."
"I know what you thought..."
"You could have tried to tell me again."
"So, is it true?" he asked, turning his head to look at her. Even though she'd said it, he wasn't sure if she'd meant it or just said it to show that she knew what he was saying.
"Is what true?"
"That you love me."
"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."
"Neither would I." he said, watching her closely.
He leaned over, and kissed her, "I love you." he told her.
"I love you too." she answered him.
"It's about time you admitted it." John growled, before dragging her beneath him.
"I wasn't sure how you felt about me"
"Not sure! Couldn't you tell?" he asked.
"How was I supposed to know, if you didn't tell me?"
"I did tell you, and I showed you."
"But not where I could understand it."
"Well you understand it now, so stop arguing and tell me you love me."
"I just did." she said.
"Tell me again."
"Why?"
"Because I need to hear it, now tell me." he said, kissing her chin, and moving down towards her breasts.
"I love you." she cried as his mouth moved across her breasts.
"Again." he told her.
"I...oh," she moaned as he stroked his tongue across her nipple "...love you."
"Again." he told her, making love to her, with the knowledge that she loved him in return.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
Nisha was still feeling sick, but she didn't say anything to John. It was only when she fainted, while she was with him, that he found out something was wrong. Then he'd insisted that she have Doctor Beckett check her over.
Nisha came out of the infirmary, and walked back to the room she'd been given. She'd met Sheppard over eleven weeks ago, and now here she was, unable to believe what Doctor Beckett had just told her.
"Is something wrong?" Sheppard asked from the doorway, as he entered her quarters.
"Doctor Beckett just told me the results of the tests that I had taken."
"And?" John asked, moving up to turn her around and face him. She had a shocked look on her face. "Nisha, what's wrong?"
"I'm pregnant." she announced.
"You're pregnant." he repeated.
He wasn't that surprised, he'd had a sneaky suspicion that she could be pregnant. But when he'd tried to mention it some weeks earlier, she'd said it was because of the bite, so he'd let it drop, and hadn't mentioned it again.
"Yes, it seems your last request, has had a lasting effect."
"And you don't want a lasting effect?" he asked, unsure as to how she was feeling. She may have said she loved him, but that didn't mean she wanted a baby.
"I never thought about it. I thought my period was late because I was sick and had lost so much weight. I didn't for one second think it was because I was pregnant."
"So you're okay with this, you're not upset that you're pregnant?" he asked, still trying to fathom what she was actually feeling, if she was happy or not.
"No, I'm not upset, just a little stunned, what about you?" she asked, looking at him.
"Me! I'm delighted." he said, smiling, "Very, very delighted." his added, as his smile got bigger.
"You don't mind..." she asked.
"Hell, no... why would I mind, I love you." he said, moving closer to her. His eyes lowered to her stomach, and he reached his hand out, placing it against the slight swell of her stomach. There wasn't much of a bump to see at the moment, but knowing that his baby was growing inside her was an overwhelming feeling.
>>>>>ooooo>>>>>
8 Weeks Later
John was lying next to Nisha in bed, trying to sleep, but he couldn't because she kept tossing and turning.
"What's the matter?" he asked, turning on to his side and pulling her towards him.
"I can't sleep."
"Want me to make love to you. You don't have any problem with falling asleep after that." he said, and nuzzled his face against her cheek.
"It's the baby, it's restless." she moaned, and rubbed her hand across the swell of her stomach.
"Does that help?" he asked, watching as she continued to stroke her hand over her stomach.
"Yes, sometimes."
"Here, let me do that." he brushed her hand away and began stroking his own hand across her stomach, in a soothing motion. After a while of doing this, he realised that Nisha had fallen asleep, but he kept on stroking his hand over her. He was a little stunned when he felt the baby kick against his hand. He moved his hand further across her stomach and pressed the palm of his hand against her, and again, he felt the baby kicking.
He couldn't resist pushing the covers back and pressing his cheek against her stomach. Just another four months to go before the baby was born, and he could hardly wait. He pressed his lips against her stomach, then he fell asleep with a smile on his face.
TBC...
>>>>>>>>>>oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo>>>>>>>>>>
