I've been working on this one for awhile...the next installment of Six Weeks! I wanted to show some of what Ronon and Teyla had been doing at the Athosian settlement...and why she went from "my place is with my people" to "we would not be working for the Genii, merely with them" in such a short time. :) Not necessarily shippy, although it is easily inferred. I thought it would be interesting to show some disallusionment for her, since the Earth folks had trouble adjusting as well. Enjoy!

Marie

Teyla smiled in welcome as her old friend stepped into her tent. "Jaydin! Come in." Although the woman was several years older than Teyla, they had always shared a close friendship, and Teyla had been enjoying reconnecting with her now that they were back with her people.

Jaydin's eyes roved over her tent, taking in the assortment of Athosian, Earth, Ancient, and Satedan objects. "I see you are finally all settled in."

Teyla nodded. "Yes, mostly. I did not realize how many things I had acquired during my stay on Atlantis." She pushed back a pang at the thought of her friends, now an entire galaxy away.

Jaydin caught the sadness in her eyes and gently clasped her forearms. "Teyla, how are you doing? Are you happy here?"

Teyla nodded, her eyes serious. "I am pleased to be back with my people again. It is as though I have been given a second chance to..." She trailed off as Jaydin shook her head reprovingly.

"That is not what I asked." She changed the subject abruptly. "Do not take this the wrong way, but...why is Ronon still here? We are almost done rebuilding, and even I can see he is growing restless."

Teyla sighed, pushing away from the table and idly reorganizing the things in the tent. She picked up one of Ronon's arm bands and began to look for the other. "He wants me to leave with him."

Jaydin let out a long breath. "I thought he might. Have you given him an answer?"
Teyla shook her head, unable to meet her eyes. "Truthfully? I am torn. My heart is glad to be among my people again, but...I, too, have been feeling restless. I fear I have been away from here too long. My time on Atlantis has changed me, and now that the Lanteans have returned to Earth I do not know who I am. I feel..." She halted, unable to express her feelings in mere words. "I feel confused."

Jaydin nodded, moving until she could see Teyla's face. "Every single one of your people would understand if you felt that you could not stay. You chose to go to Atlantis to protect us, and you have given us all hope. We want you to be happy, and we will understand if you cannot do that here. You were meant for more than simply the life of a farmer." Her tone lightened, gently teasing. "Besides, you would not be the first of our people who left because of a handsome man."

"Ronon is my friend and team mate, Jaydin. Nothing more." Her tone was sharper than she had intended.

Jaydin smiled knowingly. "Yet he shares your tent, and you consider leaving your own people to live life on the run with him. Whether or not you have a romantic relationship, you have already made a lifetime commitment to him...and he to you. Why else would he be willing to stay with us for so long? You have been through things together that no one else can understand. At least, no one in this galaxy. You need each other."

Teyla stared at her in shock before ducking her head to conceal her thoughts. To give herself time, she moved to put Ronon's wrist guards back on 'his' side of the tent. When she once again met Jaydin's eyes, her gaze was calm.

"You have given me much to think on, and I cannot deny that some of your words speak truth." She rested their foreheads together in the traditional Athosian gesture, signifying her gratitude as well as a change in subject. "Will your family join us for the evening meal tonight?" She smiled slightly. "I promise not to attempt to cook."

Jaydin returned her smile. "Very well. Will you have enough meat? I can bring..."

Teyla cut her off with a raised hand. "NO! Even with your family, we will have meat left over. Your husband should not have allowed Ronon the use of his bow."

Laughing, Jaydin shook her head. "Are you sure that there is nothing romantic going on between you?" She ducked a swipe aimed at her head. "All I'm saying is that he can hunt, he is absolutely gorgeous, apparently easy to live with..."

Teyla rolled her eyes but did not attempt to hide her smile. "If you do not change the subject..." She warned.

"What?"

"I will make tuttle root soup and force you to eat it!" Teyla exclaimed triumphantly. Jaydin laughed, an expression of mock horror crossing her features.

"You wouldn't!"

Jaydin jumped slightly as Ronon stuck his head into the tent, and Teyla smirked.

"Wouldn't what?" He asked conversationally, clearly enjoying Jaydin's fright.

"She's threatening to make me eat her tuttle root soup." Jaydin explained once she recovered from her shock.

Ronon squinted in thought. "Is that the stuff you made when we were stuck on M3R-442 that made Sheppard sick?" He dodged the punch she threw in his direction easily.

Jaydin laughed gleefully.

Teyla glared.

Ronon shrugged, completely unapologetic. "I liked it." He nodded to Jaydin and ducked back out of the tent.

Jaydin raised an eyebrow and grinned. "And he likes your cooking..."

"Out! And don't you dare say a word at dinner." Laughing despite herself, Teyla shooed her friend out the door.

Jaydin hadn't been gone a minute when Ronon reappeared. "Halling wants to see you. Should I send him in?"

She nodded. Being back with her people was wonderful, but they did have a habit of demanding her time and enthusiasm. The constant drop ins where what had caused her to take over a month to unpack.

Ronon observed the tired set of her shoulders. "You sure? I can tell him to come back later."

She smiled gratefully, straightening. "I am certain. Thank you for letting me know." Ronon nodded and held the tent flap open for Halling to come through, ducking out to give them privacy. Teyla noticed with trepidation that Halling did not look pleased. She winced internally. He had probably already spoken to Jaydin.

"Halling! Come in." She greeted, ushering him to a chair.

"Teyla." He didn't waste any time getting to the point. "Are you leaving us?"

She sighed, only her formidable control keeping her frustration from her face. "I do not know. Ronon has asked me to go with him when he leaves, but I have not yet made my decision."

Halling flushed with indignation. "What right does he have to ask you to leave your people? He should be grateful that we allow him to stay with us, not try and force you to leave."

Teyla's eyes flashed in anger, and she physically tensed in an attempt to restrain her outraged words. "You do not mean that. And you should know me well enough to know that I could never be forced into anything. Ronon is as much my family as any of you are, and you will treat him with more respect." Despite her attempts at restraint, her tone was exacerbated.

Halling recoiled, unused to harshness from the mild mannered Athosian leader. "I meant no disrespect, Teyla. He has been an invaluable help to us as we rebuilt. Only that, as you well know, many of the Athosians are...concerned. When he leaves, you may have trouble finding a husband who is willing to believe that you and Ronon could share a tent and..."

Teyla held up a hand to stop him. "You know my stance on this, Halling. You said the same thing when I began training to fight, and when I left to live with the Lanteans. I do not care."

Halling stared at her in disbelief. "For someone who claims to be an Athosian, you seem to care very little for our beliefs and customs."

Teyla started, eyes radiating pain. How could he say that she didn't care about her own people? Halling took no notice, standing up and striding from the tent.

Teyla sank slowly to the floor, her heart overflowing with sorrow.

It had bad enough to have to leave Atlantis, worse to say good bye to her friends from Earth, and terrifying to realize that she was an outsider among her own people. But to have it thrown into her face by the man who had taken her in once her father had died? She felt her heart breaking, and she had never felt more alone. Slowly, one tear escaped her control and slid down the side of her face.

Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around her body, lifting her off of the floor and setting her gently onto the closest bed. Ronon titled her face up in order to meet her eyes, his own gaze concerned. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. He studied her features intently, frowning as he saw the lone tear. For Teyla to actually cry took a lot. He searched his memory for anything that could have upset her. Halling came and visited, but they usually got along quite well... his gaze lit up in sudden understanding. His voice was gentle.

"When I went to stay with the remains of my people, I was surprised to find that they were frightened of me. Despite the fact that we shared a home world, I could not find anything in common with them. They were unable to look past the fact that I had been a runner and then lived in the city of the Ancestors. It was... difficult...to realize that those I considered my people could not accept who I am now."

Teyla looked up at him curiously, as he had never spoken much of either his past or the time he spent with his people. He met her gaze firmly, pulling her ever so slightly closer to himself.

"Then, I walked back through the gate to see Sheppard and McKay fighting over whose turn it was to be captured, and Elizabeth mediating. You were laughing at all three of them, and I realized that although Sateda will always be a part of me, I was part of a new family, a new people. It was that same week that John reinvented the term Lantean to describe the expedition members. All of them- the ones from Earth, Sateda...Athos..."

She smiled gently, understanding his point. "Thank you, Ronon. As you said, it is simply difficult to come to the realization that I have changed. I am not merely Athosian any more."

Ronon released her and extended a hand to help her up, looking slightly embarrassed at his long and uncharacteristic speech. She took, doubly surprised when he pulled her up and then touched their foreheads together in the traditional Athosian gesture.

She smiled fondly as he pulled away. "You want to spar a bit before Jaydin and her family come for supper? I do not want to be too out of shape when we leave to hunt the Wraith."

He smiled as he heard the plural and understood that she would be coming with him. "Sounds good."