Ronon blocked the assault, bending to the side as a second Bantos swung toward the space his head had occupied only a split second before. He swung for his opponents legs, but missed when they leapt into the air, his sparring partner landing lightly before making another attempt to crack him around the head.

After blocking further shot from his opponent's Bantos sticks, he sidestepped and brought his stick in behind his combatant, cracking Teyla across the backside. She sucked in a breath through her clenched teeth, rubbing her injured rear.

'You're off your game today. What's up?' Ronon asked as she limped to the window seat and picked up a towel to dry her face and arms.

'I confess I am rather distracted this morning,' Teyla admitted sadly, facing the tall glass window of the gym as the light coming through it bathed her in its warmth.

Teyla was one of the most focused people Ronon knew, especially when it came to sparring. It took a lot to put her off, so she obviously had something serious on her mind. 'You still worrying about Elizabeth?' he asked.

'It is a continuing concern, do you not think?' she asked.

He shrugged. 'Sheppard has it in hand.'

Teyla didn't respond to that. She just turned her back to him and wiped her face. In fact, it looked to him like she was drying her eyes.

Wondering how best to play this situation, he decided he couldn't ignore it. 'You sure you're okay?' he asked, circling her so he could see her face again.

Sure enough, her eyes were red-rimmed and she sniffed back more tears as she lifted her face to his. 'It is nothing for you to be concerned about, Ronon. I am simply tired and overwrought following our recent brush with the Asurans.'

He realised then that the source of her woes might not be Elizabeth herself, but the man he had just mentioned prior to her tears.

'Sheppard'll get us all through this. I have every faith in him,' he reiterated, and once again she seemed to respond to the use of his name, her eyes immediately filling with tears. 'Teyla – did something happen between you and Sheppard?'

She looked suddenly alarmed, clutching the towel to her chest. 'What do you mean?'

'Well, twice now I've mentioned his name, and twice you've started crying. I'm thinking that's more than just a coincidence.'

She turned away again, staring at the window rather than looking at him. Evidently, whatever was playing on her mind was difficult for her to talk about.

'Did you two have a fight? Because, you know he's under a lot of strain right now and whatever he said –'

'We did not fight,' Teyla said quietly, still facing away from him. By the way she began sniffing again, he know the tears had started to flow once more.

'So what is it?' he asked, stepping forward and placing his huge hands on her slight shoulders to demonstrate his support. He felt her suck in a shuddering breath, then she reached up and took one of his hands in her delicate fingers.

'You are a good friend, Ronon. But I fear this is something I can share with no one.'

'If I'm such a good friend, you should be able to tell me anything,' he pointed out. Then, he turned her to face him, wiping a tear from her cheek with the back of his fingers. 'Whatever you say to me goes no further than this room, I promise.'

She averted her gaze and pressed her lips together as he watched her ponder whether she really dared to tell him what was troubling her so much.

'Before you joined us,' she began, stopping to take a breath and steady herself, 'back when the Humans first arrived on Atlantis, John was not in command of the military personnel of Earth. He was under the command of Colonel Sumner. Has he ever mentioned him to you?'

Ronon shrugged. 'He mentioned his name once, but I got the impression he didn't want to go into any details about him.'

'Colonel Sumner led a military team through the Stargate to my home planet of Athosia to meet with us and discuss trade. Though I was introduced as the leader of our people, Colonel Sumner looked through me as if I were not there. But John,' she smiled reverently as she recalled the events, 'John spoke to me so warmly that I instantly felt he was a man I could trust and allow to become a friend. Soon after their arrival, Colonel Sumner and I, and several others of my people and the Human troops, were taken during a Wraith attack on my village. John put his life on the line, flying a jumper onto the Hive ship holding us in an attempt to rescue us all, but he could not save Colonel Sumner. The Wraith had fed upon him, and he was close to death. John helped ease his passage from this life, they helped the rest of us to get off the ship. It was later, when he told us what he'd done, that I realised he was someone I could truly pledge my allegiance to. Only the strongest of men can kill someone out of mercy, knowing they will carry that memory with them for the rest of their life. After that, Atlantis gave refuge to my people for a while, but when they chose to move on, I knew I had to stay...not just because I felt I could make a difference here, but because...I could not bring myself to be parted from him.'

Ronon felt his eyebrows twitch up a degree, but he kept his reaction even. 'You never told me you felt that way before.'

'No, I did not wish it to affect the dynamic of our team.'

'Why didn't you ever tell him?'

Teyla sighed, and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. 'Because after a short while it became evident John did not feel the same way about me. All he wanted from me was my friendship and my assistance; I had misread the signs.'

'I don't know. I always kinda thought you two would get together. I even told Sheppard as much –'

'Really,' she asked. 'What did he say?'

Ronon gave her a grim smile, sorry to snatch away the small glimmer of hope his words had awakened in her. 'Nothing much. It was the day Carson died. The first explosion happened just as he was about to tell me.'

Her shoulders slumped. 'No matter. I already know the truth. He sees me as a colleague and friend, nothing more. His feelings lie elsewhere.'

Ronon wondered what she meant, but then realised there was only one thing she could mean. 'Dr Weir?'

Teyla nodded, her eyes brimming with tears again. 'His reaction to her loss was clear enough, but now she has returned...it seems he can think of little but her. Nothing else is important to him now.'

Her words surprised him. 'You're jealous?' he asked, finding it hard to imagine Teyla reacting that way to anything; she was always so calm and rational...the exact opposite of him, in fact.

'I...I do not know. I am usually so controlled in my emotions, but when it comes to John...yes, I suppose I am. I even found myself wishing Elizabeth ill yesterday because I begrudged the attention he was giving her. I never imagined I could think anything so shameful.'

'Why don't you just tell him how you feel – get it out in the open?' Ronon asked.

Teyla rolled her eyes to the ceiling again, stifling a sob. 'Because I know he would withdraw further from me. At least this way, keeping these feelings to myself, I am allowed to work alongside him and protect him where I can. But I cannot help him or protect him from the pain he is feeling now. She is all he thinks about. I believe he is...in love with her.'

'But they're both leaders here. Neither of them would allow anything to happen that could interfere with their jobs,' Ronon pointed out. 'Sheppard has always been specific about that with all the military under his command. No relationships that compromise work.'

'That does not change the fact he wants to be with her...and if that is how he feels about Elizabeth, then...'

'I get it,' Ronon said, cutting her off before her voice cracked and the tears brimmed over again. He thought about what Teyla had said. Sheppard had, indeed, been distracted since Elizabeth's return, and there might be some truth in her belief that their relationship ran deeper than he'd ever let on. The colonel and Elizabeth had always been close, but it could simply be that Sheppard was wrapped up in the potential danger Elizabeth's presence on Atlantis posed and that was why he was giving her so much of his time. And it appeared now that it wasn't just a physical danger; Elizabeth's presence was pulling Sheppard and Teyla apart. He wished he could say something to help, but he suspected there was nothing he could do to ease his Athosian friend's anguish. This was one problem she had to work through herself.

'Why don't we go get some breakfast?' he suggested, picking up his own towel and mopping the sweat from his face.

'Yes, I think perhaps I am feeling hungry now. Maybe we could collect John on the way?'

Ronon nodded. 'No problem. I just wasn't sure if you'd want to.'

'I cannot avoid him in a place like this, so I feel my best option is to continue as we always have. I would hate to give him any additional cause for concern at this time. He carries a great enough burden as things are.'

'That's probably best,' the Sateden rumbled. 'I'll get a shower and meet you outside.'

*****

Later, as they walked toward John's room, they spotted Rodney in the corridor ahead of them, speaking quietly with Dr Heightmeyer.

Teyla caught Ronon's arm and gestured that they should hang back, allowing their friend the time he needed to speak to her in private.

After a couple more minutes of discussion, he turned their way and noticed them, winding up his conversation quickly then heading in their direction.

'Morning. You guys heading to the mess hall?'

'Yes. We are just on the way to collect John,' Teyla answered.

'Well, you won't find him in his room,' Rodney told her, rocking from his heels to his toes. 'I saw him up and about almost an hour ago...' He stopped, eyeing them both suspiciously, noting their attire and wet hair. 'Have you two been to the gym already?'

'Yeah, what about it?' Ronon asked, fixing him with one of his stares.

'It's not even six-thirty in the morning. You two are some kind of masochists,' he grumbled, checking his watch.

'Do you have any idea where John was going?' Teyla asked patiently.

'Three guesses,' Rodney snorted. 'Where has he spent most of the past two days?'

Ronon felt his hackles rise at Rodney's flippant tone. Sheppard was obviously uncomfortable with taking on the full leadership role, and he didn't see how Rodney's sarcasm was helping things.

'His office,' Teyla sighed, her shoulders dropping.

'That'd be my best guess,' Rodney nodded. 'Although I suppose I should feel honoured that he visited me in the lab first.'

'What did he want?' Ronon asked, intrigued as to why Sheppard would have sought out Rodney so early in the morning.

'He asked for an update...which I gave him. Then he started asking about ways of stopping the Replicators if they got onto Atlantis. He wants me to work on a Replicator disruption weapon so we have a defence against them if they should infiltrate...and he wanted to know what we could do if the nanites spread through the crew...huh, and people call me paranoid!'

'There has been no sign of the Asurans since we arrived here, and nothing to suggest Elizabeth's nanites are able to replicate beyond their current numbers. Why is he so concerned with these things? Surely, if the Asurans knew where we are they would have attacked us by now?' Teyla asked, voicing Ronon's own thoughts.

'I don't know, but I think having Elizabeth here in her current condition is making him edgy...there's something really strange going on between those two at the moment. Did he tell you that during the interview we did the other day she actually said the thought of getting back to him kept her strong?'

Teyla rolled her eyes and sucked in a sharp breath, wrapping her arms around herself as if they somehow provided defence against the agony of those words.

Feeling annoyed that Rodney had thrown that into conversation so casually, Ronon frowned down on the scientist. 'So?' he demanded.

'Well, did you guys know there was something going on between those two, because I didn't? I always thought Elizabeth had a thing for smart men!'

'You mean...like you?' Ronon smirked, folding his arms over his chest.

'Well, not just me,' Rodney started, then he shut up as Ronon's continued staring made him anxious.

'Colonel Sheppard is considered an intelligent man by many people,' Teyla pointed out, leaping to Sheppard's defence.

Ronon was grateful Rodney was apparently too thick skinned to notice how agitated Teyla was with his attitude. It might have given away more of her own feelings for Sheppard than she wanted to share if he weren't.

'Yes, but he's not exactly in my league,' Rodney snapped defensively.

'Maybe you're too smart for her,' Ronon suggested. 'She might be intimidated by your mind.' He said it as a joke, but quickly realised Rodney was seriously considering his suggestion.

'Hmmm, yes, that's possible. And I suppose Sheppard does have a certain roguish charm,' the scientist mused. 'Women seem to like that kind of thing, don't they?'

His eyes darted to Teyla, and her mouth fell open a little. Ronon immediately stepped in to change the direction of the conversation. 'Well, why don't stop all this speculation and go to the mess hall and to see if Sheppard's made it there now?' he rumbled, pushing past Rodney and heading on down the corridor.

'Well, I am pretty hungry,' Rodney agreed, hurrying along behind him.

Ronon checked over his shoulder to make sure Teyla was also in tow. She was coming along, but hung back, probably in an attempt to avoid further awkward questions about Sheppard's appeal with the ladies. Rodney's timing, as was often the case, was as bad as it could be.

At the door to the mess hall, they bumped into Dr Keller. 'Oh, hey! Are you all going in for breakfast?'

'Yep. I'm here to gird my loins ready for the day,' Rodney said, patting his stomach and giving her a crooked grin.

'Mind if I join you?'

'No...no...the more the merrier,' he said, without consulting either of his companions.

Ronon looked over at Teyla, watching her eyes scouring the room, but he'd already worked out Sheppard wasn't there. He supposed the colonel could pull up an extra chair and join their table when he did show, so put a hand on Teyla's shoulder and guided her in. 'Come on, Teyla. He'll get hungry sooner or later.'

She nodded, giving him a sad smile as she allowed him to steer her to the food counter. He noticed Rodney and Heightmeyer exchange a look as the scientist passed her where she sat alone at a table to the left of the room. He'd never known McKay to be the type to open up about his feelings, at least not since he'd had that weird thing happen with Cadman, but he was too troubled by the dilemma Teyla was facing to try to work him out. Things were going to come to a head soon, he could feel it, and he just hoped it wouldn't spell the end of their team when it did.