Comments: Warning cliche ahead!!

Two Princes

Chapter 4 - Winter

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Kanaan

The despair was choking in the tent, the worried hollow eyes around him making him feel even worse. Their expressions held their pity, sympathy and concern for him. He nodded to the penultimate search party as they returned; they had found nothing. She was gone.

Halling entered at the back of the group, his face displaying openly all the grief and sympathy he felt. His large supportive hand rested down on Kanaan's shoulder.

"We found no trace of her," Halling said softly and Kanaan heard the whisper of sorrow around him. "Perhaps Sheppard's team will have found something," he added.

Kanaan found himself shaking his head, the tears burning at the back of his eyes to be expressed, but he would not let them free; he needed to be strong. Another supportive hand settled on his back, followed by another. "It is unlikely," he managed to say. "The snow and ice are too deep, too thick in the hills for…for even the Ancestor's technology to find her." Colonel Sheppard had spent the last two days searching from the skies as the other teams searched below.

She had disappeared from a hunting party, for they had been stretched across a wide area hoping to catch what little game there was out on the hills that had not already disappeared down into the valleys. She may have left the hills if she had found something. They had found no clue as to where she had gone, since the snow had fallen rapidly that first evening and by the time they realised she had gone missing the tracks there may have been had already been covered. They had spent the last two days scouring the hills and even beyond to the valleys, but there was no sign of her and the temperature was far below freezing. The truth was that she would have died that first night if she had been unable to reach shelter and gotten a fire going. They had seen no smoke, found no hint of a fire and they had searched every hut and cave that could have provided her with shelter. There was the suggestion that a Wraith had taken her, but why would only one attack? And Wraith usually left their victims out in plain sight to install fear in the human population. Maybe she had been swept up into a Dart, but then surely they would have heard it, and Kanaan and others with The Gift would have sensed any Wraith presence. No, it was unlikely that a Wraith had found her. However, there were other predators out in the forests. Most carnivores in the forests kept their distance from humans, but if she had been injured…

Outside there came the alien sound of the Jumper arriving and all eyes turned to the tent entrance. Halling moved forward and lifted the flap, snowflakes and terrifyingly cold air gusting in around him. Outside Kanaan could see the Jumper settling onto the snow and the back hatch began to slowly open. It took only a second to know they had not found her; Major Lorne's grim face as it was revealed was enough. Kanaan looked away; there was no more time. The hands on his shoulders squeezed briefly and then dropped away. Someone presented him with a steaming mug of tea. He pulled off his gloves, aware that he had not even gotten around to removing them. The mug was sharply hot against his numbed hands as he lifted it to his lips.

Sheppard and the other members of the last search party entered, each of them given a mug of tea as they entered and finally the entrance flap was closed again, sealing out the fierce cold and snow. Kanaan reached back and sat down on a chair, his body heavy with grief and regret. She was lost.

"How far out did you manage to scan?" Halling was asking.

"All of it," Sheppard replied, his voice strangely strong. "We searched over all the hills, and out across the valleys, but the snow is too thick, or there's something here that blocks the Jumper's sensors in the cold." The other alternative went unsaid, but Kanaan knew everyone was thinking it; that there was no life sign to detect. Another hand dropped on Kanaan's shoulder. The tent went silent, other than the soft sounds of people removing gloves and sipping hot tea.

"Thank you all," Kanaan managed to say. "For trying." He hung his head staring into the tea, until he remembered how strong Teyla was and he lifted his eyes to meet those around him. Soft, pain filled smiles of encouragement and support met him, but their tearful eyes did not help so he looked back down to the tea. Torren had lost his mother.

"We'll find her," Sheppard stated into the silence. "Just need some food, maybe wait till the moons are up till we head out again." The sympathetic silence deepened, but now Kanaan felt its focus shift onto Sheppard. Sheppard didn't understand.

Kanaan looked up at the tall man. "It has been over two days in this cold," Kanaan started, but words failed him. "She is lost." He almost broke with the last word.

There was a pause. "You're giving up?!" Sheppard exclaimed abruptly.

Kanaan looked up at the him. "There has been no sign of her, we have checked everywhere. Where else can she be?"

"Well I don't know or we would have found her already. She's out there, probably found some super sheltered place where the scanners can't reach her. If anyone can survive in this, it's Teyla."

For the first time Kanaan felt a burst of sympathy and even affinity with Sheppard. "Even if she had found such shelter she could not have survived this long."

Sheppard stared at him for a long moment almost as if he didn't understand the words Kanaan had spoken. "If she got a good fire going she could easily last this long."

"Not in these temperatures, Sheppard," Kanaan argued hating himself for being on this side of the argument. "There is nowhere else to search and no hope left. What else is there to do?"

Sheppard stepped forward, aggression abruptly pouring out of him. "To keep searching, Kanaan, that's what."

"And search where?" Kanaan demanded, heat filling his own voice now; why couldn't Sheppard understand?

"Anywhere, everywhere, even if I have to walk across every hillside and down each tunnel with the hand scanner, we'll find her," Sheppard pressed.

Kanaan stood up from his seat, aware of the atmosphere changing around him - where before his people had emanated support for him now he felt a different type of concern.

"There are no tunnels here," Kanaan stated clearly for Sheppard. "Do you not think I would have thought of that?! There is nowhere that she could have sheltered that we have not already checked." He paused. "When the snow and ice eventually melts we may find where she lay at the end." It was a weak hope, if predators hadn't gotten to her, or if the winter lasted too long there may never be any sign of where she had left to join the Ancestors. Tears filled Kanaan's eyes at the thought.

But, Sheppard's eyes were full of nothing but pure and simple anger. "I can't believe this! That's it, is it? You're all going to give up on her?" He asked of the tent.

"Sheppard, we know of life lived in harsh winters," Halling began, his hand settling on Sheppard's shoulder, but the man shook it off aggressively.

"I don't believe this. Teyla never would stop looking for any of you. She would be out there now crawling on her hands and knees to dig you out of a snow bank, but you're all going to leave her out there in the cold!" There was real emotion in Sheppard's voice now and Kanaan felt a pang of renewed jealousy and anger at the man.

Sheppard turned from the gathered Athosians and pointed at Kanaan aggressively. "And you, of all people, are going to give up on her?"

Kanaan drew his shoulders back and stood straight. "I am not giving up on her. But, there is nothing else to do. What else would you have me do other than comb over areas we have searched three or four times already?"

Sheppard strode the few steps between them, his finger jabbing an inch away from Kanaan's chest. "Yes, damn it. I expect you to check all the hills and valleys over and over again until we find her. That's what you should do, Kanaan." Sheppard's voice almost broke under the strain of his clear pain and anger. "You never stop looking, do you understand me! Never!"

With that Sheppard turned and thumped his half full mug down on a table, spilling some of it over the surface as he strode to the exit.

Still a little shocked from Sheppard's outburst, Kanaan watched the man pull aside the entrance flap. "You think you can find her by blind faith? By wishing it was so? Do you know how many people we have lost to the Wraith, to Michael?! We of all people know what it is like to lose those we care for and…and we know…we know the pain of it."

Sheppard turned at the exit. "Maybe you people have gotten too used to losing people, in giving up on them." There was a deepening of the silence in the tent.

"And you think you can find her by yourself do you? You think you can find her where no one else has? She is lost." Kanaan exclaimed, his emotions all too confusing now. He felt like Sheppard's righteousness was in some way stealing his own pain and grief.

"I'll find her," Sheppard stated before he turned and disappeared into the snow.

Major Lorne moved through the crowd as quickly as he could, but by the time he reached the exit they could already hear the sound of the Jumper heading away.

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John

He was shocked at the thin layer of tears across his eyes as he piloted the Jumper up and away from the Athosian tents. His heart hammered in his chest and a pain too sharp to ignore lanced through his chest. For a moment he wondered if he was having a heart attack, but after a few breaths it became clear that it was a more general emotional ache. Besides he couldn't let anything stop him now; she needed him. He couldn't believe that her own people would give up on her so easily! Anger swamped in to replace the pain and the niggling doubt that perhaps they were right and he had over-reacted out of grief.

No! She was out there and even if by the cruellest twist of fate she had not survived then he was still going to find her and make sure she was taken back to her home. She didn't deserve to be lost out in the snow and ice, no one aware of where she had suffered to her end.

Pushing aside those thoughts, he refocused on his anger and the conviction that she was alive. She was Teyla; of course she would find a way to survive. She could survive a month out here, let alone two days. But, one thing that was clear was that she was trapped in some way to not have been able to signal for help, or save herself. She would be trapped somewhere, maybe injured. Which meant that time was even more important. Giving up! What was wrong with those people?! And Kanaan! The man reported to love her - what crap!

Okay these thoughts weren't really helping him find her, so he needed to focus. He needed to start at the beginning, so he turned the chunky nose of the Jumper towards the hill which had been her last known location. Once again he scanned the hill and the two on either side and again got no large lifesigns. There was nothing larger than a bird or two down there, the larger animals having headed down into the thick forest covered valleys below. He already had some choice words on how the Athosians conducted their hunting parties, but that could wait.

He considered the map displayed on HUD and contemplated where she might be. If her life sign didn't register then it was being blocked by something and most likely that something would be the hill itself. Which meant either she was in the valley below or was in a very deep cave. John flew the Jumper around the hillside and then moved onto the next hills, studying the readings intently as he went.

It was some time before he set the Jumper down to land one hilltop over. As the hatch opened slowly the snow and cold rushed in. His coat, hood and face protector in place he made his way out into the cold, the lifesigns detector in one hand and a torch in the other. His sidearm was a comforting weight against his thigh as he headed out into the thick snow, the trees overhead swayed in the snowstorm spraying further snow over him as he made his way away from the Jumper. There was a flat topped area here, not far from where the hunting party could have roamed. It was a plateau with nothing across it, as the trees were gathered to one end only. He struggled on under those trees until he reached the open plateau. It was a wide open flat surface of snow and thick ice beneath he guessed. He paused to look out across the virgin snow, devoid of anything that could be seen on the surface. It was the only place he could think of that the Athosians might not have checked carefully enough, because it was easy to think there was nothing here. She may have passed out in the snow, or perhaps there were caves down the far side, he couldn't be sure. So, he stepped forward carefully, the sun's fading light behind him.

He kept his gaze switching between the scanner and the ground beneath his feet. He was almost halfway across it, his heart sinking at the flat even level of the snow, when his foot caught on something. He staggered against the wind to right himself and turned back with a fearful heart, dropping down to brush aside the snow as best he could to reveal what he had almost tripped over. Snow flew up against his face as he worked, getting around his sunglasses and face protector. His hand finally found something buried deep under the snow, and it was with great relief that he identified it as a tree branch. He pushed aside some more snow to reveal more, only to find a few other branches near it, all creating a layer on which the snow had built up over. He sat upright on his knees and stared down at them. He wasn't sure why but they bothered him. He pushed aside more snow to find a few more branches and pieces of tree debris and then abruptly some of it disappeared in front of him. He sat back abruptly and watched as the snow level shifted and then dropped away before him, revealing a fissure in the ground that had been hidden beneath the snow.

Hurriedly, but as carefully as he could, he swept aside the snow working forward until he felt the closest edge of the fissure through the ice encrusted snow, and he watched as more snow slipped down into the space below. He flattened himself onto his belly and peered over the edge looking down as best as he could with his torchlight, to see what looked like an old gulley disappearing far down inside the hill. He studied the sides and decided it had probably been eroded by water over time – some old run off tunnel perhaps from where a lake or something had been on the top of the hilltop. He angled the torch light down into the deep hole and thought he could make out the hint of a floor down there, but it was far away. It was far too steep an angle for him to safely get down on a rope and besides there was nowhere safe to anchor a rope up here.

He pointed the scanner down towards the drop, but there was still nothing, except that faint static that was really starting to piss him off. He looked back down the hole – she could have walked across this plateau and the fissure had been hidden by the snow laying over fallen branches. She could have fallen down there. He pulled down his face protector, the cold biting into his cheeks.

"Teyla!" He shouted down the hole as best he could, but the wind probably stole most of the sound. So he leant as far into the fissure as he safely could. " Teyla?" He waited, his torch light shinning right down into the twisted dark hole. Chances were even if she was down there that she wouldn't be able to hear him. It was a long drop as well, she could have been badly injured. Yet, he waited a minute, as he called her name again, hoping to see her abruptly appear, her face turned up to him in the torch light. But nothing moved down there except the snow which was falling down through the air around him.

He sat back on his heels. That tunnel had to run somewhere, because clearly a large amount of water had cut through the ground. It had to run off somewhere, right? And besides there was no obvious buildup of snow or water at the base of the hole, so it must have melted and run off somewhere. There could be a series of caves down there.

He hurried back to the Jumper, the wind now against his back which made it a little easier, or maybe it was because he now had a plan? He climbed into the Jumper's pilot seat and called up a scan of the area, then lifted the Jumper up into the sky to then head down the steep right hand side of the hilltop. He studied the hillside through the front window, looking between the HUD and the hill itself. About two thirds of the way down he saw the tiny holes in the steep sides that would have long ago made nice waterfall points for the run off water to escape through. He navigated the Jumper as close as he could, scanning as best he could, but still there was nothing. He pondered it for only a few moments before he decided to risk it. He pulled the Jumper back and set it down onto what seemed to be a steady enough nearby section of the hillside that was as flat a surface as he could find. The Jumper settled down and John waited to see if the platform would hold. Nothing happened and a few quick scans with the HUD seemed to suggest the rock under the ship was strong enough.

He pulled on the Jumper's survival backpack, adding a long length of rope as he headed out into the snow once again. The Jumper's hatch shut behind him and he looked up at the steep hillside stretching both above and below the platform. From here he could easily make his way along a ridge of rock to reach several of the holes that led into the side of the hill. He made it to the first entrance in no time, but it was too small for him to get inside, but he was able to peer inside and his torch highlighted a tunnel beyond. So, he moved onwards to the next. This one was big enough for him to get into and after climbing up over what appeared to be a dam that had built up of tree debris, he found himself in a large cavern. Tunnels ran off in different directions of varying sizes heading up into the heart of the hill.

He orientated himself as best he could and selected the tunnel closest to the direction he estimated the fissure had been. The scanner's screen glowed in his hand, his own life sign set at the very centre. He followed the natural tunnel upwards as best he could as it twisted up left and then right, splitting off at the top. He paused and turned the scanner and something flickered on the edge of the screen. He froze, eyes locked on the dot as he turned in that direction again, towards the left hand tunnel. It could be a bear or some other cave dwelling thing, maybe a large alien squirrel, he couldn't be sure, but it was a life reading. He climbed onwards, following the tunnel as it twisted upwards now, past another dam of branches and twigs and rocks.

He paused after who knew how long, breathing hard against the cold air as he checked the scanner again. The life sign was closer now, but there was no way to know clearly how much rock there was between him and it. He continued on, aware that the air was becoming colder and that the chill of the rock under his hands was biting in through his gloves. Then ahead of him he could see sunlight, glowing with that strange blue tinge of light on snow, ahead of him. He carried on, walking, climbing and crawling at one point to get up the opposite way to which the water had carved creating the tunnels.

He consulted the scanner and the life sign remained frustratingly distant which probably meant that it was up higher in the hill, which he had now upgraded to 'mountain' in his head. He climbed on heading upwards and abruptly the tunnel abruptly split into three directions and above him he could see the source of daylight that was lighting the massive narrow cave around him. The light shone down over two walls what were carved with ancient channels from the passage of water – it must have been a spectacular waterfall in its heyday, but now all there was above was the tiny snow encrusted hole at the top through which a few flurries of falling snow were drifting down towards John. He could see nothing but clouds though the hole and it clearly wasn't the same fissure that John had found above, but he must be on the right level now. He looked at the scanner and saw that the lifesign was minutely closer, but there were two tunnels before him that could lead to it, and as he had found during his climb that the tunnels didn't always flow in a straight line.

He pulled down his face protector and took a breath of the cold air. "Teyla!" He called out into the tunnels listening to the dull echoes it created. "Teyla!" He called once more, before he had to cover his face again. Despite being inside the hill and tunnels it felt as cold down here as up on the hill's surface, as the freezing air was channelled down from above. He checked the life sign again and then when his face was warm again he lowered the face protector again. "Teyla!"

He waited, but heard nothing, even when he pulled down his hood, which made him really cold, but he waited in case there was a weak call he had missed. Then came the rattling sound of a stone hitting a wall. He turned in the direction he thought he had heard it, though it was difficult to tell with tunnels. The sound came again.

"Teyla?" He shouted again. Another stone struck against a rock wall and this time he orientated himself and moved forward, his hood down so he could hear better, ignoring the sharp cold biting at his ears. He climbed up the next section of tunnel, which was now far steeper than before, and a few times he almost lost his footing. Eventually he reached the top and paused. There were no more stones rattling against stone walls, but there was a thud of a rock hitting rock. It repeated - a rhythm that couldn't be anything but created by a person. He had found her!

He turned into the left tunnel and sunlight once again glowed in from high above as he saw heaps of snow and branches scattered over the floor. There were footprints in the snow here, but he also saw several sharp bright red stains frozen into the snow.

He followed the footprints which had frosted into the layer of ice over the ground under his boots. They led to an opening cut into the rock through which he could see the faintest glow of a dying tiny fire across the small cave, and beyond the weak fire he saw the huddled slumped figure of Teyla. He saw her drop a heavy stone she had been hitting against the cave floor.

"Teyla!" He called to her as he hurried across the freezing cold cave. How she had managed to get a fire of any kind going in here he would never know. He dropped down by her side and leant over her as she rolled onto her back. Her hood obscured most of her face and he could see she had one of her arms out of her sleeve, pulled inside the coat she was almost lost inside in her attempt to huddle inside it.

"Teyla," he said as he caught her one gloved hand that reached for him. He saw her try to talk to him, but her teeth only chattered together and he could see her lips her pale blue with the cold. "Where are you hurt?"

She lifted her hidden arm within the coat. "Okay I need to open your coat, okay." He told her as he quickly pulled off his own gloves so that he could work the buttons of her coat. As it turned out they were not all closed which though helpful to him, would not have helped her keep warm. He got the coat open, keeping the edges close to keep in her warmth, what there was of it. Inside he saw the blood stains over her arm, and he reached in to peel back the sleeve of her top to reveal a field dressing. He looked around and saw that her back pack was behind her and inside would have been her old Atlantis issued first aid kit. He checked the dressing, pulling the edge aside carefully to try and see the wound.

He looked up at Teyla's pale, almost unconscious expression. "Is it broken?" He asked. She shook her head slightly. "Cuts?" She nodded. "Deep?" She shook her head. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" She shakily moved her leg beside him and he pulled the edges of her coat closed around her before he looked down at her closest leg. There was a rip in her trouser leg, and he found another dressing underneath. He could see blood staining through the dressing. "I need to change this now okay." He told her as he pulled apart the torn sides of the ruined fabric that was so weakly keeping her legs warm.

He shrugged off his own back pack and pulled out his own first aid kit. He cut through the dressing around her leg and was relieved to find that the bleeding had stopped in a long, but shallow, set of cuts and that her knee looked pretty swollen and bruised. It looked like she had tangled with some branches and stones on her way down the fissure. It could have been much worse. He quickly and efficiently wrapped a new dressing around the wounds. Her trousers were damp where the snow and cold had gotten inside the torn fabric. He set aside the first aid kit and leant back over her, looking directly down over her face. Her eyes barely focused on him. He reached into her hood and set his bare hands around her face.

"Teyla? Teyla?" She focused on him enough. "Did you hit your head?" She shook her head. "You sure?" He asked. She nodded, which was good as she clearly understood him. Her lips were far too pale with that worrying blue tinge and her face was cold in his hands. "I need to get you warmed up fast, okay." He told her calmly, the cold air hurting his own throat as he breathed it in. "Teyla?" She focused on his face with an effort. "I need you to stay awake okay?" Once she had nodded, he moved to his pack and pulled out the survival sleeping bag. He pulled it open and laid it on the flattest area near her meagre fire. He would get the fire going some more once she was inside the sleeping bag. He turned to her and began pulling off her boots. "I'm going to get your out of these clothes and into the sleeping bag. Once I get this fire going I'll join you. You'll be okay." He told her as calmly as he could around his own cold face and lips.

He reassured her over and over again as he pulled her out of her coat, her top and then sat her up in his arms, her entire body shaking with the cold, as he resorted to cutting away her torn trousers to free her of them quickly enough. Once she was free, dressed only her underwear, an undershirt and the two dressings, he pulled the sleeping bag over and with some assistance from her they managed to get her inside the sleeping bag. He zipped up the sides and pulled the pillowed end up around her head to keep her warm. Then he pulled out the tin foil like reflective blanket that would keep her even warmer and laid it over the sleeping bag.

He crouched beside her and reached in to check her pulse at her throat. Her heartbeat was slower and weaker than normal, but it was there. He tucked her inside the sleeping bag a little deeper and turned his attention to the cave. There were a few more sticks that she had clearly gathered up nearby. She must have been rationing them for there were still quite a few left. He crossed over to them and carried a good handful back to her fire. They were thin weak broken pieces of twig really and they were slightly damp, but would be better than the snow covered larger pieces further out in the tunnel. Tending the fire enough to get it going a little more, he held his own freezing hands over the struggling but growing flames. It still wasn't much, but it would stave off some of the deathly cold.

He turned to his pack, pulling out and opening up one of the Earth ration bars. He crouched down by Teyla and pulled off a bit and touched it against her mouth, encouraging her to eat it, she probably hadn't eaten in two days. She took the small morsel between her cold lips straight from his fingertips and he watched as she chewed slowly. Another piece later he gave her some of his water, which was warmer having been kept against his back. She sipped it and afterwards he was a little happier to see that her lips were already slightly less pale.

He turned back to his pack and pulled out anything else he might need, so that he could reach it easily if he needed. Then he began to pull off his own coat, the cold air making his own jaw tighten and his teeth try to chatter. Quickly he pulled off his boots, trousers and jacket, so in only his underwear and undershirt he unzipped the edge of the sleeping bag. Teyla was barely conscious and hardly stirred as he opened the sleeping bag and pushed his way in beside her, taking care to avoid her injuries. Once inside he zipped up the side again, pulling the zipper up as high as it went up and around them, then he reached out again to make sure the reflective cover was still in place.

He shifted round until he faced Teyla in the tight space. She was worryingly cold against him as he squeezed one arm under her and then pulled her up against him. She woke then enough to shift closer, her arms tucked up between them, and the chill of them against him almost stole his breath. He trapped both of her legs, and especially her feet, between his and pulled her as tightly as he could against him. Already he could feel the warmth building up in the sleeping bag from their combined body heat. Nothing would get her warm as quickly as this. He rubbed his hands over her back and arms, even down to her backside, to get her blood flowing and to create heat. She burrowed deeper into him as he worked and then he felt her sigh and rest more heavily against him as she surrendered fully to sleep.

He held her firmly against him, adjusting the pillow of the bag over their heads to keep in even more heat. Everything done he peered out again to check the fire and saw that it was still alive, though had already dimmed slightly. He needed to get her out of here tonight, or first thing in the morning otherwise she was in trouble. He tightened his hold on her and pressed his nose and lips into her hair inhaling the scent of her and told him self that she was alright. He had found her in time. She would be okay. It became a mantra for him over the next couple of hours as he drifted in and out of sleep, keeping her tightly close, whilst she slept on, perfectly still in his arms.

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Teyla

Warmth surrounded her as she drifted back out of the heavy blackness of her sleep. She felt wrapped up in a hot comfortable cloud, the warmth penetrating deeply into her. It clung around her, allowing only a few small spaces where she could feel a chill against her skin, but soon the warmth moved and the cold spaces were covered again.

She murmured at the sensation and as she did her mind began to resurface. Memories returned of falling snow, the ground giving way under her feet, falling, landing hard and tumbling further. Rocks and bark, cold dead leaves and sticks had followed her, digging into her, pushing the cold deeper, pain lancing out with it. Panic at the memories followed quickly afterwards. She was alone in the cave, so cold and unable to move more than a few metres without her bruised body and injuries limiting her. Endless openings of tunnels surrounded her, all dropping away deeper into the cave and she had had no light to follow them. She had tried to follow several tunnels, but had made no progress and had fallen over in a large pile of snow, causing her wounds to burst with pain. Too cold and bleeding she had sought somewhere to rest, to check her wounds and build a fire.

But, it had been so cold, and she had felt so tired and alone. Something had been stirring some distance away and she thought she heard the grunts of animal noises. Fear lingered at the ends of the cave, the cold almost a presence in there with her, pressing down over her leaching her strength and her confidence. Everything hurt.

Abruptly she leapt into full consciousness, crying out in fear and worry. Was she dying? Dead? Sharp needles of pain arrived into her awareness throughout her body, and she struggled against the restriction around her, only for the echoes of her nightmare to fade and John's voice became clear.

His voice surrounded her and she felt his arms around her, holding her against him. His heat became clear and she knew the needles of pain now for what they were; her blood returning to the cold areas of her body. She blinked her eyes again, realising belatedly that she couldn't see anything, because there was no light. John shifted and with him the constriction around her and a pale light spilled in around her head. Blinking rapidly with eyes that felt sore and eyelids that felt too tired to work, she focused on John so close that it was almost painful to focus on him.

Extra warmth pressed against one of her cheeks and she gasped at the intensity of it. His voice was there, but she couldn't quite make sense of it, until finally the light and what was probably his hand against her cheek made her focus on his moving mouth and as if clouds of confusion parted his words abruptly made sense.

"…you with me? Teyla?" He was asking and she heard the worry there. That concern helped motivate her into responding though she felt far too tired and weak.

"Ye…ssss," she managed to reply. It had been the first time she remembered speaking in days. She stared out at the light around his head and saw the depressingly familiar walls of the cave outside the warmth that surrounded her and John.

"You need some water?" He asked.

She was thirsty, but right now the tiredness was too consuming and she allowed herself to let her head relax down again. The warmth of his hand left her cheek and she was physically shuffled around until she could feel warmth under her head. Vague ill formed questions were lining up for her attention, but she was too tired right now. John would take care of her; he would protect her as she slept a little longer.

The next time she woke her body felt more comfortable, though the weakness she felt was clear to her even in those first moments of waking. Worry brought her quicker to consciousness, but then John's warmth against her subdued it all immediately. She was safe for now.

As she became fully aware of her body, she became aware of him pressing close to hers. She was aware that she could feel the expansion of his chest as he breathed, feel the beat of his heart against her, and as he swallowed she realised her face was pressed right up into the curve of his throat. As she moved her lips she could feel his skin against hers. A gentle salty taste accompanied the overwhelming scent of man and Atlantis. She remembered back to when he had arrived in the Athosian camp lost from his people and she had embraced him. Those scents had brought such relief and yes even pleasure. He had found her in the caves.

Reality all slotted into place and she pulled her face from John's throat and felt him react immediately, pulling back from her, breaking their upper bodies apart slightly. Her head fell backwards slightly, her neck too tired to support it, until she felt what felt like one of his arms behind her. There was more light around the top of the dark place in which they were entwined and she squinted up at it and then at John as he was turning to look at her.

"Teyla?" His voice was the softest she had ever heard, but was full of command that suggested he had been calling to her a lot without response. She blinked and nodded her head as best as she could.

He moved around some more and abrupt cold air entered into their space, but though it was not welcomed it did help to clear her mind somewhat. She saw a metal bottle of water appear and he was lifting up her upper body. The chilled rim of the open bottle pressed against her mouth and she managed to get one of her hands moving to help hold the bottle and she took small little sips of the cold water.

The bottle was removed and she heard the crackling of a ration bar packet. Suddenly she missed Rodney with a powerful passion. He had always loved to eat those bars and she hadn't realised how she had grown to associate that sound with him. The torrent of sadness of the loss of Rodney, and of Ronon almost overwhelmed her, until the soft touch of a piece of ration bar was rested against her lower lip. She took it in and chewed on it slowly and swallowed it automatically. Her stomach responded dramatically that she was very hungry and she reached up through what was now clearly a sleeping bag around her and John for the ration bar. She heard a pleased sound from John as she held the bar in weak rather shaky hands and began to eat more.

One of John's hands was rubbed up and down her back, the warmth of the touch comforting. She looked up at John as best as she could whilst keeping as close to his warmth as she could. He had been saying encouraging things up till now that had become a background music as she drank and finished the bar. The food was warming inside her and she felt more refreshed, though still so tired and weak. She worked to pull the ration bar's packet down to expose the last of the bar inside and licked her lips.

"How…long?" She managed to ask him.

Both of his arms were around her, the sleeping bag even more constrictive around them now they were sitting up in it.

"You've been gone a little over two days. It's been," he pulled one of his arms from around her, twisting his wrist up between them to see the face of his watch. "About three hours since I found you." She felt like it had been a lifetime ago when she had heard his voice echoing through the cave. Her weak calls had barely carried so she had resorted to throwing small pebbles against the wall, and when that energy was gone she had lain on her side and dropped one large stone to the floor over and over again to make enough noise. He had found her.

"Thank….you…John," she managed to whisper to him. "Found…me." Her voice was as weak as her body, but she could feel her throat warming. His hands returned to rubbing up and down her back, now including her bare arms as well.

"No problem," he replied, but she knew she was not in good shape. If she had been alone any longer… "If you can manage it we need to get moving. I've got to get you back to the camp as quickly as we can." Only then did she realise that he was alone.

"Others?" She managed to ask as she finished the last of the ration bar, her jaw aching from the chewing.

"I'm the only one in this area," he replied quickly. "I've got the Jumper at the bottom of the hillside, but there's no way out but back down through the tunnels and caves. I've got a spare pair of clothes in the survival pack, we'll get you in them and we'll be out of here in no time." She was aware of the edge of worry his voice, sharp and slightly shaky. Or perhaps he was cold as well. But, she felt nothing but warm. He took the empty ration bar packet from her cold fingers and she leant forward back against his chest and throat, drawing in his warmth. She would be happy to stay here. His hands moved over her back again, but it all made her feel even sleepier. He smelt so good, felt so warm. He had found her and he was here.

"You feel up to getting out of this place?" He asked his voice loud now she was against him so tightly. She nodded against him, but the prospect of leaving his warmth and going back into the cold of the cave was not appealing. She felt as if something had drawn away every slither of energy from her body leaving her empty, but at least with John she was warm.

The zip thundered nearby and suddenly she was bathed in cold. She huddled against it, her body shaking again. John pulled her back against him, now free of the sleeping bag. She watched his arm stretch out and he pulled his pack closer, and then thick warm clothing from inside. She reached out with a cold pale arm and tried to help. Together they got her into the trousers, but he had to pull the top over her and push her feet back into her boots. All of the clothing felt chilled, but it would all trap her body heat, but nothing was as warming as John's body had been in the sleeping bag. She looked down at the sleeping bag and wished she could just climb back in.

John returned to her side and helped her into her coat before he pulled on his own clothes again and pushed his thickly socked feet into his boots. As he did so she drank some more water and tried to help tidy up the survival things into his pack and hers, but it was too much effort. Her arm and leg pained her and her coordination was weak. She had been lucky though for she could move all her fingers and toes and thanks to John's warmth the deep chill she had felt had subsided somewhat.

John crouched down by her as he returned everything back into his pack, pulled it on and then helped her into her one. The extra light weight against her back would help keep her a little warmer. "Right, you ready?" He asked her. There wasn't much light in here, but she could see his concern behind his forced calm. She nodded. He had to help her to stand up, and together they crossed the cave slowly.

It took a long time to work their way down the tunnels and through the caves. John had to hold her up and assist her along most of the way, and she clung to him as she had never clung to anyone before. He was a pillar of strength for her, talking to her encouragingly though it no doubt cost him warmth to do so. Eventually after too short a time what little energy she had was almost spent and she could feel unconsciousness creeping back. She struggled against it, denying the darkening of her vision and the lightness of her head.

They reached the base of the tunnels and a large cavern opened up around them. She needed to stay awake, to be helpful to him, but she was too weak, too cold. Her legs gave way, but he caught her. The cold cavern floor pressed against her legs and she sat as John pulled off her back pack and then she was swept up into his arms. The cavern's rocky ceiling moved through her vision, her focus dimming in and out. The movement of John's body against hers was all she was sure of, as time expanded and contracted around her. She was so tired. Then cold open air hit her face and she opened her eyes enough to see the snow falling and feel it falling against her face. For a moment she enjoyed it, but then it was too cold and she turned her face in towards John.

She was aware of him struggling at one point, but there was nothing she could do to help. She tried vainly to move a couple of times, but her body would not respond. Then the open air became that of an enclosed space. She managed to get her eyes open just as she felt a bench under her back. Then the sound of the Jumper hatch closing and through over head lights she saw him lean over her, his hood pushed back from his face and she smiled. The Jumper. He smiled back and he might have been saying something, but she couldn't focus on the words she was too tired. Warm air was filling the space around her and then he was gone.

She felt the subtle sensation of the Jumper lifting, but that was it before she slid once again into deep sleep.

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Kanaan

The sound of the Jumper could be heard in the distance and Kanaan emerged from his tent to see it descending through the falling snow. It was very late, but most of the camp was still awake it seemed, since faces appeared immediately out of the other tents. He wondered if they believed Sheppard needed them, or perhaps even that Sheppard could somehow, against all odds, find Teyla still.

He watched the Jumper land in the centre of the camp, which had become its regular spot since the search for Teyla had begun. Right now all Kanaan could see was that Sheppard had parked it right in the middle of the camp, reducing the space. Yes, it was an irrational anger at Sheppard.

From Kanaan's right Lorne appeared, his coat pulled tightly around him as he ran towards the Jumper. Halling had also appeared, waiting close by. Yes, they were all here for Sheppard.

The top of the hatch cracked open and began to lower. Lorne had stood back enough for there to be enough space for it to open. From this angle Kanaan could see into the Jumper as the hatch slowly opened and he saw the top of Sheppard's head. Lorne turned away from the Jumper abruptly and shouted something through the falling snow to Halling. Kanaan watched Halling hurry forward. Had Sheppard been hurt in his search?

The hatch had lowered enough now for Kanaan to see Sheppard's shoulders, but it was the hooded head leant against his shoulder that drew Kanaan's focus. He stepped from his tent into the open cold of the snowflake filled air and watched in amazed desperateness as more of Sheppard was revealed and the rest of the shape held in his arms. Kanaan stepped forward – Sheppard had found her! But, was she..? She moved slightly in Sheppard's arms, not much, but enough for Kanaan to be sure she was alive. People began to start calling out to each other as Kanaan moved across the open space towards the Jumper.

The hatch lowered to the ground and Sheppard stepped out, Teyla held in his arms, one of her arms slung loosely around his shoulders. Sheppard: the hero.

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TBC