Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate Atlantis or any of its original characters.
Thanks for the reviews again. There's going to be more whumping in this chapter so those who like whumping, will like this. I was a little stumped before I wrote this chapter but I think I did okay.
The thief hasn't been revealed yet but he will be soon. Just trying to get some more one-on-one moments between John and Teyla. Trying to enhance their relationship for later.
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John had actually felt like he had accomplished something for once in the past few days. He finally found out what was bothering Teyla so he could cheer her up. He walked out of Teyla's room with a smile on his face. Once he got out of Teyla's room, he slowly made his way towards the mess hall. He needed to get some real food. Food in the infirmary sucked. That's why he didn't eat when he was in the infirmary.
When he got into the mess hall, there was nearly nobody there which made him happy. He went and got his turkey sandwich and sat down at a table far away from the few people that were there.
He was just about to take a bite of his turkey sandwich when Weir walked up to the table and sat down. "Relax…..I was released." He said in anticipation of a lecture.
"I know you were." She said. She sighed in frustration. "Much to my objection."
"Not to be mean or anything, but if you need to talk to me about something, get it over with because I haven't eaten anything since yesterday and….." His sentence was cut short.
"Make sure to watch your back." She said quick and to the point. "We still don't know who stole the artifact and you are still at risk of getting hurt in the process."
"Is that all?" He asked with a little bit more attitude then he intended.
"Is that all?" She repeated in an upset tone.
"Listen……I just want to get something to eat and go to bed." He said. "It seems like wherever I go lately, there is someone hounding me about one thing or another when all I want is to be alone for a while." He knew after he finished that he had upset her. He didn't care though. He needed to get something to eat and go to bed.
Weir sighed, got up, and strode off towards her office.
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Teyla felt a lot better after talking to John. She no longer felt guilty about what she said to him but she still had a bad feeling. What if what I dream comes true? What will I do then? She could feel herself getting upset again as the thoughts of it and as her nightmares ran through her head. She knew that John was strong and she knew that whatever was thrown at him, he would fight it all the way and wouldn't go down without a fight.
She walked into her room and sat down on her bed. What would she do now if someone turned that device on? How would she help John? She had seen it happen to him every time and every time, it scared her even more. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
"Enter." She said and was greeted by John when the door opened. "Hello John." She said as he walked into her room.
"Hey." He said. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to go for a walk." This took her by surprise. She thought that he would be tired but it seemed like he wasn't.
"Do you not need rest?" Teyla asked in a concerned voice as she looked up at him.
"I tried going to bed but I couldn't get to sleep." He said. He raised his eyebrows as if he were asking her about the walk again. She smiled at him.
"Okay." She answered as she stood up from her bed and started walking towards the door. He seemed a lot better than he had been the last couple days. How long would that last though. Whoever had the artifact thing probably knew what it did to John and would use it to hurt him. She pushed the thoughts out of her head and walked out the door with John right behind her.
After getting out of Teyla's room, they made their way away from the living quarters to a long corridor. After walking for a few minutes, the crowd thinned out until it was just the two of them walking in the hall.
"This is nice." John said as they walked slowly down the hall. "Nice and quiet." He took a deep breath and exhaled with a smile on his face.
"This is peaceful." Teyla said. She glanced over at him. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" John asked as his gaze met hers.
"The artifact is still missing." She said. "What wo…." her sentence was cut short by John.
"I don't care weather it's missing or not." John said as his smile disappeared with the sudden topic change. "I need to get away from everything and get some exercise."
"I hope that nothing happens." Teyla said in a serious tone. "I did not bring my radio and I do not see your radio either."
"I don't want to be interrupted by anyone." He said and then stopped suddenly as a familiar sensation settled over him. Teyla, finally noticing that there was nobody beside her, stopped and turned around to face him.
"John?" She asked trying to get his attention. He paid absolutely no attention to her voice as he tried to figure out what was going on with him. He felt slightly weak like he did before and his vision was unfocused. He blinked repeatedly until Teyla appeared in his vision, unfocused but apparently concerned.
"John…..what's wrong?" Teyla asked looking into his eyes. He blinked a few more times but it didn't help. He squinted at her in an attempt to focus them. She could see that something wasn't right with him as he looked away to try and focus on something that wasn't so close. The look on his face was dead giveaway. She put her hands gently on both of his cheeks. "John…….look at me." She said in a caring and compassionate voice.
John looked at her with his unfocused eyes. "I don't know what's going on now." He said. He was so far away from everyone and he had no radio with him. What would he do if something serious happened when he was out here. And Teyla who had always been there when things happened before would be here this time as well.
He felt his body start to sway slightly as a blanket of dizziness fell over him. He put his hand on the wall to steady himself so he wouldn't fall to the floor. Teyla let go of his face and put a hand on his arm to help him keep his balance. "Maybe you should sit down for a while." She suggested. He nodded and slowly sat down against the wall with Teyla sitting down right beside him.
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Dr. Weir was working silently at her desk looking through the expedition manifest when Beckett walked into her office. "Dr. Weir….can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked making her look up from her work.
"Sure……" She set the manifest aside and folded her arms neatly on the desk in front of her. "What's up?"
"Well, I am unable to reach Colonel Sheppard." He said.
"That's because he went to bed early." She said in a casual tone despite the attitude that John had given her earlier.
"His room is empty." Beckett said. "I've looked everywhere and so has Dr. Kavanaugh."
"Kavanaugh?" Weir said in disbelief. "Why him?"
"He was looking for him too." Beckett said. "I'm not sure why Dr. Kavanaugh was looking for him but I told Colonel Sheppard to come back in for a check up before he went to bed tonight."
"I sure he'll be back when he wants." Weir said thinking about the little argument that her and Beckett had had earlier when she found out that he had been released from the infirmary. "Wait a couple more hours and if he doesn't come back, we'll send people out to look for him."
Beckett couldn't believe what he was hearing out of her mouth. John could be in danger and it was like she didn't even care. He didn't argue with her even though his instincts as a doctor told him that he should. He silently got up and walked out the door without another word.
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"Maybe we should head back." Teyla said to John as she stood up. "You should go back to see Dr. Beckett." John didn't want to go back. He had just got out of the infirmary and enjoyed the fresh air free of the smell of band aids and disinfectant. John slowly got up off the floor using the wall for leverage.
"Are you feeling okay?" She asked as he steadied himself. He nodded and began to slowly walk beside Teyla. His vision had cleared up but he still felt dizzy.
After walking for a few minutes, John felt another familiar sensation. John squinted his eyes as he felt a twinge in his head. He didn't say anything because he didn't want Teyla to get upset or worried like she did before.
No……not now. This can't be happening. I just got Teyla to cheer up some and now she is going to be all upset again. Not now.
Suddenly, the pain slammed into him like two trains colliding making him drop instantly to the floor. Teyla turned around and watched in horror as he grabbed his head with both hands in an attempt to relieve the pain. She walked over and knelt down in front of him to see what she could do to help. He wasn't yelling or screaming in pain like he did the last time this happened.
"John…….what is happening?" She asked but then scolded herself silently for asking such a stupid question.
"It's………happening…….again." John said with all the energy he could muster. Suddenly, the pain was amplified making him scream out in agony. He was sitting on his knees and was doubled over in pain. Teyla didn't know what to do. He was in more pain this time then any of the other times it happened. She put a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him some when he suddenly stopped moving all together.
"John?" She said in an almost frantic tone. "John…..can you hear me?" There was still no answer from him. Her nightmares began to run through her head. She could feel the tears welling up again as the thought of John being dead tormented her. She went to get up to go sit down against the wall when John grabbed her arm.
"Where are you going?" John asked with a look on his face that Teyla had never seen before. It was a frightened look that she had not once saw on John's face until now. He was scared and she knew it.
"You are awake." She said as she looked into his eyes. He didn't look good. He looked about like he did the last time it happened. He was pale, sweat was beaded up on his forehead, and he was trembling all over. She sighed. "I feared this would happen." Teyla said.
John had a regretful look on his face. He didn't want this to happen. He just wanted to have some relaxing time and wanted to talk to her about the stuff that was on his mind. He couldn't even do that. God……how he wished all of this would be over so he didn't have to constantly worry about these random occurrences.
Teyla stared at his face in horror for almost a minute before he realized why she was looking at him like that. He reached up with his sleeve and wiped away the blood that had started running out of his nose.
"You need to see Dr. Beckett now." Teyla said as she looked into his eyes. She sighed in frustration. "That is not possible right now though."
"Yeah it is." John said. "Leave me here." John knew that he made it perfectly clear to his team members that nobody gets left behind but he realized he actually did need to see the doctor and that he would never make it on is own.
"I cannot leave you here." She said with a sad look on her face. She didn't want to leave him there. He would be alone and defenseless against whoever stole the artifact from McKay's office. "I will not leave."
"Teyla…….I need you to go get Dr. Beckett." He said. "I'll be fine until you get back." She was going to argue but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was genuinely scared and needed to see a doctor. She nodded and hesitantly left his side to go and get Beckett.
John watched her disappear wishing that he had never sent her off. He was strong but he didn't want to be alone. He felt so weak and weakness wasn't a good thing. Especially when there was someone on Atlantis who had it in for him.
After about 5 or so minutes by himself, John figured that he would start down the hall. The slowly stood up making sure not to lose his balance when all of the sudden, he felt an aching pain in the back of his head and everything went black as he surrendered to unconsciousness.
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So there you have it. That is chapter 8. I hope you like it. Those who are anxiously waiting to find out who stole the artifact, not to worry, next chapter you will find out.
Much Shep Whumping on the way.
To be continued…..