Two Princes
Chapter 9 - The Wraith
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Lorne
They had hunkered down behind the last proper shelter before the Wraith ship and they watched the three Wraith still standing around outside the ship. Lorne guessed they were guards, though they seemed rather restless. Like Lorne needed any more reasons to be uncomfortable about this. He rechecked his P90 again, though he had already done so several times as he and John had carefully hurried through the woodland towards the ship. He and John had two clips for the P90, same for their sidearm, a couple of flash-bangs and C4 each. It wasn't much of an assault if they needed to make a quick exit, but it had been enough in the past he guessed.
He looked at John beside him. John was peering around a small sapling that was providing a tiny amount of cover as he studied the Wraith. "They look even thinner close up," he muttered.
"So what exactly is our plan? Lorne asked just to be sure.
John sat back from behind the sapling and looked at him. "The Wraith see two confident Atlantis representatives walk into their 'camp' and explain that it would be best if they moved along and not come back."
Lorne couldn't help but smile. "So, what, we're parking police? You're on a yellow line so move it?"
John smiled in reply as he checked the trees around them. Lorne wondered if John was expecting Teyla to have followed them, because it wouldn't have surprised Lorne. "Something like that," John replied. This is a no feeding zone."
Lorne nodded as the importance of the mission really settling in. "Right, so poker faces."
"You any good at poker, Major?" John asked.
"Haven't played in years, Sir," Lorne replied with as much of a poker face as he could manage. Everyone knew there had been poker games in Atlantis and that money was occasionally exchanged. Technically John was supposed to police that, but he had always turned a blind eye. Though, there had been a non-too-subtle warning when Woolsey had joined the city, when John had suggested that if there was any gambling in the city, which of cause he was sure there wasn't, then those parties should be extra careful with the regulation loving new city leader. John had quite openly gambled himself from time to time, as after all when else had there been in Atlantis, especially before they had been in regular contact with Earth.
John smiled at him and took a breath. "Right, let's do this."
They both stood up and walked out into the open. Lorne kept slightly back, his senses expanded as he attempted to watch as much of the forest as he could. John strode on ahead one hand hanging loose by his side, the other holding the P90 ready, but pointed slightly downwards. He looked like he was simply out for a walk.
"Hi there," John called as soon as they emerged in direct view of the ship. The Wraith jumped almost theatrically and turned toward them. Lorne noticed that there was only one stunner being lifted towards them. "I wouldn't go firing that too soon," John warned as he gestured to the large masked Wraith with the stunner. "It'll only bring in the cavalry." If the Wraith understood the exact term Lorne wasn't sure, but it certainly didn't fire, instead it turned to look almost nervously towards the warrior Wraith beside it. That wasn't normal.
The warrior Wraith moved aggressively forward, but Lorne could see how its long leather coat hung from its thin frame. The Wraith hissed at them.
John stopped a good few metres from them and Lorne stopped beside him, working to look relaxed yet cautious. They wanted look like they had plenty of back up and this was a simply a courtesy call.
"We're from Atlantis and we've heard that you've been causing some problems in these here parts," John called to them. Lorne almost smiled at the Colonel's turn of phrase.
There was a moment of consideration as the Wraith absorbed that. The warrior frowned at him and Lorne saw the yellow eyes studying their uniforms, which he and John had made sure to wear on this visit. "Atlantis is gone," it hissed.
"Really? How did we destroy your Super base and Hive ships then?" John asked.
The Wraith turned to look at each other and Lorne got the impression that there was a lack of decision making here. The warrior turned back to them. "Why are you here?"
"Well, as I said we got a call that you've been picked off members of the local villages and we really can't be having that. We thought we would give you a friendly reminder that that kind of behaviour is not welcome any more."
The warrior frowned again and then looked off to the surrounding trees.
"Our people won't attack you," John said. "Yet." The Wraith focused on him again. "Do you have a leader who can speak for all of your ship?" John asked.
There was a long considering pause. "Follow me," the Wraith invited.
Lorne felt a shiver of nervousness. Getting inside the ship would help them see how large it was, but it was seriously dangerous.
"We'd prefer to discuss this out here," John said politely.
"You wished to speak to our leader and they are inside," the Wraith argued.
"They can't come out here?" John asked. This was risky – not going in made them look weak and nervous, but at the same time going into the ship would show them how big it was and the real extent of what they were dealing with here.
"We'll need some insurance that you won't just feed on us," John went on when the Wraith didn't answer with anything other than a hiss. "Because if you do then the rest of my people on this planet won't take it well. They'll call in the rest of our force and that won't end well for you, will it."
The Wraith moved towards them a little, studying them and then abruptly spun on his heels and disappeared into the ship. Lorne exchanged a look with John as they waited, but the Wraith returned only a minute later.
"You will go unharmed," the Wraith announced, though Lorne thought he detected a good dose of Wraith sarcasm in the creature's voice.
John nodded and then reached for his radio, activating it clearly for the Wraith. "We're heading into the ship."
"Understood," Teyla replied and Lorne watched the Wraith warrior look back out at the trees.
Lorne followed John across the short distance to the ship and the warrior Wraith led them into the ship. The Wraith corridor was dark around them as they stepped through the small doorway into the ship. Lorne's eyes took a moment to adjust to the reduced lighting and he clutched his weapon to him in case a Wraith was about to take advantage of that moment of blindness. But, no attack arrived.
The corridor was slightly slanted with the angle at which the ship was buried in the ground. Already it was clear that the ship was bigger than they had guessed from above, but it also didn't feel like a Hive. The lighting around them was considerably lower than normal in a Wraith ship and Lorne wondered if the ship was damaged. As they followed the Wraith down a second corridor Lorne wondered how crazy he and John really were to have willingly walked in here with no back up.
As they turned a corner several more Wraith appeared, their eyes wildly fixed on the humans and Lorne got a look at the wild desperate look in their expressions. He lifted his weapon slightly. One Wraith lifted a hand towards them with a snarl.
"Leave them!" A stern voice called out from their right. It had been female.
Turning, Lorne and John looked round the corner and saw to their concern a Wraith Queen sat up on a throne. Lorne sensed John's hesitation, but then he quickly moved forward into the throne room. The room was lined with more male Wraith, standing watching them with dark looks, their bodies thin and malnourished. Lorne's heart rate jumped up an extra notch – lambs before the wolves.
John paused in the middle of the chamber and looked up at the Queen.
Lorne made sure to look round at the watching Wraith, assessing each of them carefully. He didn't get the feeling that they were ready to jump on the walking snacks, and Lorne got the weird feeling they were nervous. That actually worried him more than he would have thought.
He turned back to the Queen. She was considerably shorter and generally smaller than other Queens he had seen. She was covered in a layer of what looked like pulsing tendrils hugging her into her throne. Her eyes were partly open as if she was half asleep. Lorne watched the Queen's gaze slide over him and then turn to John.
"You say you are from Atlantis," the Queen's voice was stern, yet soft.
"Yes, you've probably heard of us," John told her with a smile.
The Queen sneered.
"There you go," John added.
"I am surprised to see you walking into our Hive, when normally you destroy us from space." There was a lot of bitterness in her voice.
"And you drain the life out of people. We hear you've been taking people from villages."
"We take what we wish," the Queen replied.
"I don't think so," John replied. "Not any more." The Queen hissed and Lorne tensed up a little more. John was pushing her more than Lorne had expected.
The crowd of Wraith circling the room shifted around them and all the hairs on the back of Lorne's neck stood up. The Wraith closest to his right opened its mouth and hissed and Lorne saw its sharp pointed teeth were speckled with saliva.
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John
John kept his eyes on the Queen. He could see she was breathing heavily as if it was an effort.
He hadn't expected there to be a Queen in here and for that first second he had seen her he had thought it was all over. A Queen would easily see through their bluff, if not from him then Lorne's mind would be read quickly enough. John had slammed his mind shut as quickly as he could as soon as he had heard the female voice. Then he had seen her and there had been no pressure through the front of his skull as there normally was with these things.
She looked too small and weak. Maybe she was a young Queen, too young to be running her own 'Hive'. The structure of the ship didn't feel like a Hive, unless it was a small one. Maybe it wasn't grown fully yet.
His eyes dropped to the pulsing tendrils over her, remembering the reports he had read on the theories of Wraith reproduction. He guessed she was struggling to talk and fertilise whatever the Queen's did to make more Wraith. Why was she making more Wraith when those she already had looked starved, and then he wondered what a weak looking Queen like this would produce. He glanced at the male Wraith near him and got his answer. They were thinner, indecisive and the Queen hadn't tried to use any of the psychic mojo on John, so maybe she wasn't capable. He wondered what that did to Wraith hierarchy.
If she was a weak, sick or immature Queen she still had the stern authority of one. John stepped further forward, ignoring the growing tension around the room.
"We're not here to destroy you, but to deliver a warning," he told her calmly.
The Queen's eyes narrowed even more to the point they were practically closed. "A warning?" There was a touch of laughter in her voice, so she had the Wraith ego fully developed at least.
"I'm sure you guys have all heard about how we took out most of your Hives and that nasty Super Base the Queen alliance had constructed. With that and the virus polluting your food source we decided that the rest of the Wraith weren't a threat any more." She had sneered at his mention of the virus and he wondered if Teyla's theory on the multiple feeding marks was right.
"We will grow strong again," the Queen replied.
"It'll take you a hell of a long time to do that though, won't it? Especially when we're told of your little bases and ships when they appear," John bluffed. He had no idea how many Wraith ships and bases there might be out there. He watched the Queen's face closely, but she gave away little.
"Atlantis has left our stars," the Queen replied surprising John, but he covered it with a shrug.
"We've turned our interests elsewhere. Now the Wraith are defeated we're happy to just move on, but if you get to be a problem again then we're going to have to return our attention back here. Look, we don't really care about small ships like yours. As long as you behave and stop feeding off people, then we'll stay away."
He watched her face. Her cheek twitched a few times and she drew her dry lips back, showing the pointed ends of her teeth. "Are you trying to convince us that you will not destroy us as you did our sisters?"
"We've presented the Wraith with what you need to get rid of your need to feed off humans." He saw the look of interest cross her face – she hadn't known about that. "And you can feed off other creatures, so there's no need for you to kill people anymore."
"We are Wraith," the Queen protested.
"And your people are near extinction," John pointed out. Her face dropped into what looked like the Wraith equivalent of a poker face. "It's time for your people to change and for everyone to just get along." He gestured to the full room.
There was a long silent pause as the Queen studied him and he waited, one hand in his pocket to look relaxed. His other palm was sweating around the butt of the P90. If these Wraith attacked them, he and Evan wouldn't have a chance. All he could do would be to send out an alert to Teyla and the others, and try and take as many Wraith out as possible.
"What do you propose?" The Queen asked and John felt a flutter of relief, but it was far from over yet.
"You people need to close up shop and leave this planet. I assume this ship can fly?" The Queen angled her head in agreement. "Then you move along and leave this world and we won't destroy you all."
"What will stop you from destroying us once we leave the planet?" The Queen asked. John could hardly believe this was working!
"You have my word, but if we hear of you attacking people again – then all deals are off."
"And what would you have us do? Starve in the wastes of space?"
"There are Wraith who are working on the cure for the need to feed, I suggest you find them." John wasn't sure if there really was a working cure for the hunger out there still. It had killed Todd's crew and almost him, but there had been others who had the cure data and samples. Some Wraith ingenuity and they would be able to find out how to make it work for them, that was if there were any more out there. "Then at least you won't have to worry about your food source been contaminated," he added, a gentle reminder and a subtle suggestion that he and Lorne might not be too tasty.
"Or we could simply wait until the immunity of our cattle is lost," the Queen replied.
"I wouldn't recommend that," John argued. "We're pretty sure it's already passing through to the next generation." The Queen's cheek twitched again at that. She looked away from John and the deep silence returned. The tendons of her neck stood out, her bright white skin making her look truly sickly.
"Maybe we will develop a resistance to this immunity," the Queen said abruptly into the silence.
It was a slightly worrying thought. "Maybe you will, but if we hear about human experiments then we will track you down. And you know we're fully capable of taking you all out, especially now. But, if you leave us alone - we'll leave you alone."
The Queen studied him closely again and he couldn't help but feel that she was tempted to kill him. John wanted to argue further, give her more reasons why she should listen to him and just leave. However, he knew that was a sign of weakness. He had presented his case and it was up to her to decide.
"We heard that your ship was destroyed during the attack on the Super Base," she asked.
John nodded. "Yes, but we got all our people off in time, and we've got more ships."
She regarded him a little longer and then looked away to Lorne beside him. From him she looked to her Wraith males.
She looked back at John. "We will need to feed before we leave," she told him.
John kept a tight hold on his reaction. "You can grab some animals before you leave, but nothing more. Put your people in hibernation if you need to."
She considered him a little longer, then she tilted her head. "Very well."
John nodded, surprised relieved and excited all at once. "Then we'll go back to our people and wait to watch you leave."
The Queen inclined her head again. "And you will not attack us when we leave."
"I promise we will keep a discreet distance. Once you've left the planet, go straight into hyperspace, and we can all go on with our lives."
The Queen nodded and her eyes closed. Taking that as his dismissal John turned from her cautiously. The male Wraith around the room looked less than convinced as they watched John walk towards the exit, Lorne just behind him. John's heart hammered in his chest, but he tried to keep his steps even and measured. The warrior who had led them into the chamber led them back into the corridor and through the ship until they saw sunlight in the distance. John's breath was almost clogging up his throat with his eagerness to get out of the ship. As they stepped out into the fresh air of the woodland he noticed that the lighting inside the ship was increasing. He kept walking though, straight away from the ship and no one tried to attack him or Lorne.
The distance from the ship grew and grew and there still wasn't any attack.
"Remind me never to play poker with you," Lorne said quietly.
They rounded a bend and began to walk faster. John looked back over his shoulder, but still there was nothing. They kept up their fast pace until they reached some shelter and John crawled up a small embankment to peer back towards the ship. Lorne scrambled up next to him.
"I can't believe that really worked," Lorne whispered in disbelief.
"I know," John replied. His heart was still racing and his palms were damp, causing the dirt of the embankment to stick to his hands. He pulled out his binoculars and they watched as a few Wraith appeared out of the ship's exit and disappeared into the woods. John watched them worriedly. "Let's just hope they're just grabbing a snack before they leave."
"Either that or they're looking for us," Lorne suggested.
John lowered his binoculars and activated his radio. "Sheppard here, we're clear."
"It is good to hear your voice," Teyla replied over the airwaves. "And the Wraith?"
"They've agreed to leave. We just need to keep an eye on them, make sure they actually go." There was some movement near the ship and John saw two Wraith return with some deer hanging from poles between them. That they weren't carrying the food over their shoulders said a lot to John about how weak those Wraith really were.
He activated his radio again. "Can you send Hakon back to the Jumper and bring it out here. I want to make sure the Wraith actually leave orbit." Hakon was one of the few Athosians who had the Ancient gene, though it was considerably weaker than John's. John had taken the time in instructing Hakon and the others on how to work the basic controls of the Jumpers. He trusted Hakon to be able to at least fly the Jumper the short distance from Aron's village to a nearby space in the woods.
"He is heading back now," Teyla reported. "He will set down in the tall grasses where we were earlier."
"Great. Let me know when he's there," John replied as deactivated the connection.
"They're inside," Lorne reported. John looked for himself. "They had two more deliveries. I'm guessing they've been keeping some animals nearby."
John nodded. "Stunners are an easy way of catching prey."
The last of the Wraith disappeared inside and John watched as a hatch closed shut. There was a long pause and then the ground began to rumble. John was just beginning to worry whether he and Lorne should move further back when ahead of him the ground shifted, the landscape lifting and suddenly a hell of a lot of trees and shrubs and earth were being dislodged.
"Leg it," John shouted, but Lorne was already moving. They dashed straight away through the trees as branches, piles of dirt and whole trees slid from the rising ship behind them. The sound was horrible, the sound of a landslide, but fortunately he and Lorne had gotten far enough from the new crater that was fast appearing in the landscape
When dirt stopped peppering his back John slowed down and looked back. Piles of displaced trees and soil were piled up into a huge artificial bank and above it he watched the Wraith ship rise up into the sky. He watched a few trees slid off the top of the ship and followed their course as they crashed down in the distance. He watched the ship pause in the sky and turn, before it headed off at a sharp angle up towards space. John shook his head looking around at Lorne in amazement.
"Who knew Atlantis could scare Wraith so much," Lorne muttered.
John smiled with him. "Let's get to the Jumper, I still don't trust that Queen."
"Good idea."
The two of them hurried back through the large ancient trees back the way they had come earlier. Disbelief and amazement still were his predominant emotions, but John couldn't help but smile that their bluff had worked. Maybe that short stay in Vegas all those years ago had paid off. He had to wonder how he would have fared had he stayed in that bright city a little longer to try his luck.
"Hakon is here with the Jumper," Teyla reported over the radio, but John had already felt the shift of air through the trees that spoke of the Jumper landing.
He and Lorne exited the trees to see a large flattened area of grasses at the back of which a hatch was lowering from empty air. John ran towards the ship and saw Hakon emerging.
"Good flying," John said to the man, who looked even more relieved than John felt.
"John," Teyla called out from behind him. He paused halfway up the ramp as Lorne ran into the Jumper and Hakon exited very quickly.
"We're heading up into orbit to make sure they leave as promised, and we'll stick round for an hour or so just in case they try and sneak back. Head back to the village with Aron and we'll stay in contact," John told her.
She nodded, though he could tell once again that she would have preferred to have joined them. John turned back to the Jumper and saw that Lorne had already powered everything up again ready to leave. All being well they would watch the Wraith ship jump away, never to return.
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Teyla
Teyla watched the now de-cloaked Jumper descend from the evening sky. The Gate was active near her as Aron's village elders once again thanked them for chasing away the Wraith. Teyla was still a little surprised that the ploy had worked, for it had been madness. Not that she hadn't walked alone into a Wraith ship herself before, and then she had only Todd beside her. But, at least then she had had back up of a sort on hand. Watching John and Evan walk off to that ship alone, to be surrounded by starving Wraith had not been a highlight of her life and she wished that she could stop the pounding of her heart still. She looked into the distance where even at this distance the edge of the new crater could be seen.
Above her the Jumper buzzed overhead hovering in the air and she could see John and Evan through the front window. They both smiled and John waved a 'you first' hand towards the open Gate.
She turned back towards the Gate, received yet another thank you from the village leader and followed Halling and the others through the Gate. They stepped out into the quiet forest of their home world and Teyla finally sighed with relief, though her heart rate still felt irregular. She walked away from the Gate creating space for the Jumper to come through and sure enough a few minutes later the Jumper moved slowly through the Gate.
"We'll see you at the camp," John said over the radio, as there were plenty of trees between the Gate and the camp.
"We will see you there shortly," Halling was the one to reply over the radio in his hand. With that the Jumper lifted straight upwards and she watched it cloak. She saw Halling frown.
"He will take it up into orbit briefly to make sure no Wraith have turned up here," Teyla told him with a smile as she headed for the path to the camp.
"But surely you and the others with The Gift would sense any Wraith presence," Halling pointed out.
"John prefers to be cautious," Teyla replied as she wandered down the path, Hakon's back ahead of her. "In some cases anyway," she added, for certainly today John had behaved almost recklessly. No, that was not the right word – courageously would probably be more correct, but she could not really admit that right now, for she still felt anxious about it. As she walked, John's dog tags bounced against her chest where they hung beneath her jacket.
"I suppose in some instances caution is necessary," Halling said behind her after a long pause. Teyla tried to pull her attention away from her dark thoughts and nodded.
"Yes," she replied. Halling didn't say anything else and she suspected that he had meant more by his statement than simply a comment on caution in general, but she was in no mind to get into a debate. They walked on silently.
It had only been three days ago that John had lain sick in his bed, his head resting against her. That soft gentle man seemed so far removed from the tough military man who had strode into a Wraith ship pretending that he was a real threat to them. He had made her stay well away from that Wraith ship mainly because he didn't want her to be hurt. She felt a strange mix of frustration and anger towards him for that. She knew that it had much to do with her attraction and care for him, but that only seemed to fuel her frustration. Was he always going to do this now? Now they were no longer in Atlantis, would he keep her apart from the work that might need doing? Would he always insist in walking into danger unguarded?
She shook her head at her turning thoughts. She was being foolish - she was just emotional from what had just happened. She clasped John's dog tags through her top, stopping them from beating repeatedly against her. It wasn't the adrenaline or the danger of the Wraith that had affected her; it was that moment when he had walked away. Twice before she had said goodbye to him like that and all three times he had returned. She feared that a fourth time would not end so well.
She had almost told him of her feelings this time though – they had hovered on her tongue desperate to be spoken at last. She had wanted to rush to him and kiss him with a strong physical urge that had been shocking for her. For he had been about to walk into danger perhaps never to return and she doubted she would ever allow him to do that again. Not without him knowing. The possibility of that conversation was just as frightening for her as facing the Wraith.
She wished to the Ancestors that she had truly interpreted the signs from him over the years correctly that he cared for her, yet things had never changed. She had realised that perhaps it was her perceptions that were confused, that she was seeing what was not there. He had given her his dog tags today, but surely that had been so that had he been lost there would be a record of him, that if the day came when his people returned here that she would be able to hand the chain to them. Perhaps his friends and family back on Earth would find some comfort from seeing them. In the event of that happening she imagined she would have liked to have kept one of the tags for herself, but it would only have been a testament to her dreams and not to reality. Up until that moment when he walked away to the Wraith he had been her friend, but officially nothing more.
She had waited a long time for him to say something to her over the years in Atlantis, but it had never arrived, so she had given up, believing that she been mistaken. Kanaan had stepped into her personal life and had changed everything. Torren was a wonderful blessing for her, but he had also changed things between her and John. And now that she was no longer in a relationship with Kanaan, she was once again back in the same place…wishing and wanting.
The path opened up into the flat open space of the camp and she saw that half the camp were there waiting. Hakon was already recounting the story to them all and they rushed forward to greet Teyla and Halling home. She received their relief at their return, but she could not help but feel tense waiting for John's return. It did not take long, for she heard the alien sound of the Jumper overhead and she saw a shimmer against the distant trees on the other side of the camp. Within moments her people were crowding around Evan and John as they appeared from between the tents. Though the sun was almost gone, people emerged from their tents to hear the tale of what had happened. All together they had herded into the communal tent and Hakon and Halling had told them the tale, only stopping to ask John and Lorne to fill in the details of what had happened in the Wraith ship. John had been reluctant, saying only that he had presented the Queen with an offer that she accepted. Evan however decided to describe the story more completely. He wove the story together telling them all the details, describing the inside of the Wraith ship, and about the Queen. He painted the details of the story as he did one of his paintings, creating an image that was filled with vivid detail and intrigue.
The moonlight was filling the sky by the time the story was over and someone had suggested that they should celebrate. Ruus wine was brought out and the atmosphere turned to rejoicing life. Teyla excused her self at this point to carry Torren to bed, who had sat on Kanaan's knee listening to the story, though she doubted he could understand most of it.
The boy protested leaving the celebration, though he had been falling asleep. One woman had volunteered to baby sit all the children, and so Teyla carried the grumbling Torren to the woman's tent. Several small cots and beds had been put up around the large tent and already several other children were occupying them. Teyla settled Torren on a cot and helped him into his night clothes. Kanaan would collect him later, so for now this was her time with her son. She sat on the cot with him and rocked him in her arms. The baby sitter began talking about how wonderful the story had been and how the whole team had been so brave to face the Wraith with such small numbers. Teyla had nodded along as she rocked Torren to sleep. Eventually he when was deeply asleep she settled him under his blankets and kissed his forehead.
She stepped out into the night, lit tonight with burning campfires and the air was filled with joviality. Yet, she could not seem to find the joy herself. She was thoroughly pleased with the outcome of the mission, yet it had brought up far too many issues for her. The dog tags bounced against her as she walked between the tents. She had forgotten to return them to John and Evan's were still in her pocket.
Part of her wanted to simply climb into her bed, but she should appear at the party for a while, after all it would be too noisy for her to fall asleep so soon. Yet, she needed to get out of these clothes, the dirt and grass stains on her trousers and jacket would need to be cleaned out and she liked the idea of getting out of them and into something fresh and clean. Plus a little space to gather her thoughts and re-centre herself would be useful.
She reached her tent and pushed inside sighing with relief. She removed the sidearm from her belt, ensuring it was on safety and returned it to the high shelf of her wardrobe well away from questing toddler hands. She pulled off her jacket and laid it over the back of a chair and leant down to untie her boots.
"There you are," John said from behind her making her jump. She turned to see him in the entrance to her tent, which she realised she had not properly closed.
"I wished to change out of these clothes," she replied as she turned her back on him and moved away towards her wardrobe.
"You coming back to the party?" He asked.
"Yes, I had to put Torren to sleep and change first," she said, her eyes focused on selecting the top she wished to change into. John was quiet again for a long moment, though she heard him move further into her tent.
"You mad at me?" He asked bluntly.
"No," she lied.
She looked round to see him narrow his eyes at her and she looked back to her clothes. "I am simply tired, it was a difficult day." She regretted behaving this way and so took a breath, pulling herself together to put on a polite face. She looked back at him. "Really I am fine. Go back to the party and I will be along shortly."
John kept that narrowed eyed gaze on her and he crossed his arms over his chest. "No, not buying it," he stated.
She pulled out a top and set it down on her bed and turned back for a skirt or trousers, she had yet to decide.
"You're mad because I made you stay outside the ship?"
The way he phrased it brought back a lot of the frustration she felt. "No, John, I understood your reasons and your request for me to stay back from the ship." She tried to keep her tone calm, but she was aware she had not quite succeeded. She was surprised at her own lack of control tonight.
"It worked better for just Lorne and I to walk into that ship, made us look casual and…you know…relaxed about walking into a Wraith ship," he said. He had moved slightly closer again.
She turned towards him. "I understood, but in future we will not be handling any situations in the same way."
A slightly annoyed expression acrossed his face. "It was a tactical situation and I made the call."
"This is not a military team any more, John. There are no ranks or orders to be followed, so your opinion is not always the final decision," she pointed out. She was surprised at her self for arguing with him, but it felt good to get annoyed at him – it allowed some emotion out at least.
"You know that in any mission there has to be a chain of command," he stated.
"And that chain ends with you?" She asked.
He looked away briefly and then back. "In that kind of situation I think I have the most experience in leading missions and in dealing with Wraith."
She dropped a pair of trousers onto the bed without really having chosen them. "I think that I have just as much experience in dealing with Wraith, John. In fact I was the one to walk alone into a Wraith ship alongside the questionable ally of Todd as my only back up."
He frowned at her, stepping forward in protest. "We were on the next ship," he argued. "One call and we would have been over there."
"Not once the ship went into hyperspace," she pushed.
"And that was my fault?!" He asked.
She sighed and turned back to her wardrobe – a coat, she would need a coat as well. "No, John, of course that was not your fault."
That did not seem to help. "But today would have been my fault?"
She was getting confused by this conversation. She sighed. "No, I did not mean that."
"Yes, you did," he pushed, surprising her again. He moved across the rest of the tent to stand near her. "You've never protested against a chain of command before."
He had never put him self in that kind of danger before. Or was that true? She wasn't sure any more. In Atlantis they had all taken extraordinary risks to the point where they had been almost common place. Every one of them had been prepared, at a single moment's notice, to put their life on the line for each other. She had agreed with the rules of John's military, had followed their regulations as part of their fight against the Wraith and other enemies. But, now away from those rules and regulations there was only her life and no separation from her feelings and worries anymore.
"This is not Atlantis any more, John," she whispered.
"No, it's not, but there's always gonna be dangers and risks, you know that. You grew up in a camp like this with the threat of the Wraith over all your heads."
She nodded, old painful memories and fears returning with the thought. She still missed her parents though they had been taken so very long ago. She had lost so much, so many friends had gone. She remembered that song John had been singing during his treatment – about friends and lovers lost. She had hoped to ask him to repeat it again, but had forgotten until now and this was hardly the time.
"If the Wraith or someone, or something, attacks us in the future I need to know that I can rely on you Teyla," John said. "That you'll do as I tell you to in that kind of situation."
She looked up at his worried and slightly angry face. "As you must reply on me as well."
"I do," he replied, though he looked away a little as he said that.
"John," she pushed.
"I do," he added meeting her eyes. "But I think that when it comes to a tactical situation that my decisions should be followed."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Which results in the kind of risks like today." She understood his meaning and his point, yet she knew he would be justifying putting himself at such risk again.
"What else would you have suggested, Teyla?" He asked heatedly.
"I should have gone in there with you. One less person outside would have made no difference and having someone with the ability to read a Wraith's mind would have been helpful."
He tilted his head in partial acknowledgement to her point but still argued on. "But, you needed to stay outside. You've got Torren to think about now."
"That does not make me more valuable than anyone else. Everyone here is a mother, a father or family member. This is not your military – we can not avoid these emotions." A hot flush went through her at the way she had inadvertently phrased her point.
He sighed heavily. "I'm not saying that Teyla, I'm saying that we need to keep a clear chain of command in a battle situation…"
She stared up at him. He was gesturing with his hands trying to keep the argument on track as far as he was concerned, but he did not realise that she was arguing against something else entirely. Her body felt hot and the desperate need to shout at him was almost overwhelming. He was arguing on about having command structures, but that only meant that he would always be walking into Wraith ships, his back turned to her and she would always be left outside. Her heart hammered inside her chest and she could no longer hear his words as he gestured again to make a point. All she could focus on was the fact that he had almost gone away again. And she had so much to say, to show him.
Years of pent up emotion built up behind frustrated dams of hope and reality were straining. Then they broke.
She reached for him, her hands on his cheeks and she pulled his mouth towards hers, pressing their lips forcefully together. His body tensed against her, his neck tense under her touch as she held him to her.
"Teyla, do you have…" Evan's voice broke through her and she jumped back from John, abruptly embarrassed and shocked at her rash action.
She turned to Evan who was standing in the tent's entranceway looking shocked himself. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt…"
"No, no," she spluttered. "You did not interrupt," she was lying a lot this evening.
Evan looked from her to John and back again and she couldn't help but look round at John quickly. He was still standing in the same position he had been when she had kissed him, and to say that he looked shocked would have been an understatement. She looked quickly back at Evan.
"I'm sorry what were you asking for?"
Evan opened his mouth, clearly trying to decide whether he should leave. Suddenly she wanted him to stay and create an excuse for her to distract herself from the heat powering through her. She took a few steps towards him, moving away from John slightly.
Evan saw this as the invitation she had hoped he would. "I was just wondering if you still had my tags."
"Oh, yes of course," she replied as levelly as she could manage. She walked across the tent towards her jacket and dug through a couple of pockets until she remembered precisely which one she had put it in. She pulled it free by its chain. Evan stepped further into the tent as she handed it over to him. "I am sorry, I had meant to return them to you earlier," she said as he took the cool chain with its two tags.
"I knew they'd be safe with you. Thanks for looking after them," Evan replied and she watched his eyes drop briefly down her front before his gaze quickly returned to hers. She remembered that she was still wearing John's tags and that Evan had noticed. She smiled politely at him.
"Teyla?" Halling's voice called in from behind Evan and they both turned to see Halling lean into the tent. "There you are, Teyla, we were wondering where you had gotten to. Little Torren has been asking for you."
She felt surrounded now by men with questions in their eyes, and she still felt warm with surprise at her spontaneous action with John. So she was pleased to have something to focus on and something as clear as her son needing her. "He was fast asleep when I left him," she replied as she reached for her jacket once more.
"No doubt Zahm's singing woke him," Halling replied.
She smiled and turned quickly to the men filling her tent. "If you will all excuse me." Her eyes met John's last and she still saw the surprise there still, and also the knowledge that she was running away. She looked away before he protested or she faltered. Her son needed her.
She left her tent, silently cursing herself as she pulled on her jacket. John had not kissed her back, though clearly she had shocked him and the kiss had only lasted a split second before Evan had interrupted them.
She was shocked at herself. She rarely threw herself into any situation in which she had not already thoroughly thought it through. She preferred to open discussions with people, not throw herself in with such force. Well, she had this time and it was hardly like she hadn't thought about this type of situation with him before now.
But what if she had now ruined their friendship? With one hasty action she may have destroyed her closest friendship and made John uncomfortable. She hoped that he would not react that way, for she would hate for him to try to put distance between them.
She quickened her step, the baby sitter's tent in sight. It did not matter now of course, for the step had been taken and she had to face the consequences. She could not take back what had happened, though she and John had chosen not to talk about a past kiss before, this was different. There were no longer any excuses of a retrovirus. The truth was out and she had only to wait to see what the fallout would be. She just prayed it wasn't going to be too painful.
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TBC