Teyla stood in the open doorway to her personal quarters, blinking in bemusement at the clearly uncomfortable man standing in front of her.

"John is something wrong?" Teyla reached out to touch his arm, then let her hand drop back to her side when he withdrew slightly.

Sheppard licked his lips nervously as he looked up and down the hall to see if anyone was watching. "May I come in?"

"Certainly." Teyla inclined her head and moved to the side so the Colonel could enter the room.

John stopped just inside the doorway shifting his weight from foot to foot. Refusing to meet her eyes Sheppard lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck in discomfort.

"Colonel is Dr. McKay alright?"

John flashed her a startled look before slouching in a failed attempt to appear relaxed. "Rodney's fine, he's in the lab right now."

"Then what is wrong? You appear to be quite...anxious."

Sheppard froze before leaning in closer to her. His eyes darted around the room, then settled on a point somewhere over her left shoulder. Taking several deep breaths he seemed to be bracing himself for an unpleasant task. When he spoke his voice was just above a whisper and the words ran together in a rough mumble. "Major Lorne is sketching Rodney."

Teyla stared at him, her brow pleated in concentration as she tried to decipher what he had just said. "I must apologize John, I am afraid I do not understand."

Sheppard huffed out a sigh and moved restlessly further into the room. Even though it was mid afternoon, Teyla's room was dim and cosy. The curtains were drawn and the warm scent of her special meditation candles filled the air. The relaxed setting seemed to have the opposite affect on the Colonel. As he paced the small area, he grew visibly more unsettled. His eyes remained fixed firmly on the floor, as he once again reached a hand up to rub against the back of his neck in a familiar nervous gesture.

"John?"

Sheppard forced his gaze up to meet the concern in Teyla's warm brown eyes. He raised his eyebrows meaningfully. "Major Lorne is following Dr. McKay around, drawing him."

"I see." Teyla calmly replied, her tone of voice clearly indicating that she didn't see. "And Rodney now objects to Major Lorne sketching him?"

Hissing in frustration Sheppard shoved his hands into the pockets of his BDU's and turned to examine an Athosian tapestry on the wall. Peering closely at the weaving, he spoke over his shoulder, "Ah see McKay doesn't even notice, but I did. And...if I did...anyone could and that's the problem."

Humming noncommitally in response Teyla wondered if perhaps she should contact Dr. Beckett. The last time she had seen the Colonel this agitated, was on the swamp planet, where the natives had tried to keep Dr. McKay. "And it would not be a good thing if other people were to notice, Major Lorne's activities?"

"It would be disastrous. Lorne might end up facing a court marshal if he doesn't stop this."

"I had not realized Earth customs were so strict that Evan could be punished for painting portraits. Does your military not allow it's people to be both warriors and artists?"

"What? No, no that's not it at all..." John frowned, wondering to himself how he could explain this without really explaining it. This encounter was definitely not turning out the way he had envisioned. Usually Teyla was a lot more intuitive, but she didn't seem to be getting what he was trying to say. Maybe he should have tried his luck with Ronon instead.

"It seems rather odd that Dr. Weir would grant permission for this endeavour if the Major might face persecution as a result of his actions. Perhaps she is unaware of this rule? Should we not inform her of the possible repercussions?"

John's eyes flared wide in alarm, he reached forward and grasped Teyla by the upper arms. "No, Elizabeth can't know about this. You can't tell her."

Teyla looked down at the Colonel's hands resting near her shoulders. This was unexpected, John was not usually a very tactile man. Given a choice, he mostly refrained from direct physical contact. In fact the only person Sheppard seemed to be even remotely comfortable touching was Rodney. Sure he easily shared the traditional Athosian greeting with her, but, even though the greeting could carry a depth of meaning, it was also very easy to withdraw behind it's formality.

"But, John, Dr. Weir already knows. When Major Lorne explained his plans at the staff meeting 3 months ago. Elizabeth said she thought it was a wonderful idea. That is why I think she must be unfamiliar with your military rules preventing Evan from painting the portraits of the Expedition Heads. I am surprised that you did not say anything at the time. Is this a new regulation?"

Sheppard's hands fell away in shock. He backed slowly away, stopping when he bumped against the low wooden box at the end of Teyla's bed. Sitting down slowly, he opened and closed his mouth several times before looking back up at her. His brows drawn together in question. "Portraits of the Expedition Heads? Why wasn't I informed about this?"

"Colonel, you were at the meeting. It took place the day after we visited P9G-55."

Understanding filled him and Sheppard felt his week long tension ease. Sighing softly he leaned back resting his weight on the palms of his hands. P9G-55, the swamp planet. The swamp planet, where the crazy natives had tried to keep McKay, and John had objected with his P-90. The team eventually made it back through the gate safely, all be it covered from head to toe in mud. John remembered that the only recognizable things about Rodney under all that crud had been his never ending complaints and his expressive eyes, the bright blue a startling contrast to the thick brown goop and decomposed vegetation clinging to the man. John also remembered attending an early meeting the next day feeling hung over from adrenaline and rage. It had been the usual monthly "data burst preparation meeting". Slightly boring because for once there was no massive impending Wraith attack and even the Genii were behaving themselves. John had been drifting, not really not listening, but not deeply invested in the minutia either. Then his lazy attention had been completely destroyed around the time he looked over at the CSO and noticed the small splotch of mud McKay had missed behind his ear. He had spent the rest of that meeting staring at the mark out of the corner of his eye and feeling the sourness in his stomach increase at the memory of Rodney tied to a stake while the Kalverkians had performed a ritual knife dance. Fortunately they had managed to rescue the scientist before any of his blood had been drawn and offered up to appease the gods, but thinking about the closeness of that call was still enough to break him out in a cold sweat. It was no wonder that the meeting had passed over him, not breaking the surface of his reflection at all.

Crossing his feet at the ankle, relaxed for the first time in 7 days, the smile John aimed at Teyla was small but genuine. "You know what Teyla? Never mind, it's just a simple miss-comunication. So 3 months huh? And he's just getting around to starting now?"

Finally comprehending the cause of John's former distress a smile spilled across Teyla's face as she looked up at him. "On the contrary John, Rodney is Evan's last subject."

John straightened from his slouch, his head tilted in confusion. "Last subject? He can't be the last one. Lorne hasn't done me yet, and I haven't seen him following Elizabeth around with that sketchbook."

If John didn't know better he would swear Teyla's expression was one of pity mixed with a hint of exasperation. "I believe Dr Weir's portrait was the first one Major Lorne completed. He has also shared with me the preliminary sketches for your portrait."

John looked at her totally nonplussed even though he tried hard to hide it. Teyla had known him long enough that she could read beneath the lackadaisical facade he projected. She knew that this information had disturbed him on some level, but she didn't know if he had figured out the exact reason why it bothered him. Biting his lip, a hundred emotions flashed across Sheppard's face before it settled into a practiced blankness. Sighing softly Teyla realized that John was still in denial for the time being. She just hoped he figured it out before the opportunity was lost to him.

Growing uncomfortable with Teyla's penetrating stare, Sheppard moved to the entrance of her quarters. "So uh maybe I'll go check out what Lorne's got done so far. You know, make sure he hasn't given me a mustache and glasses."

"Why would he do that?"

"Well you see, some people draw that kind of stuff on..." Shaking his head, John grinned at Teyla. "Ah it's not important, just another silly thing Earth people have been know to do."

"I see." Teyla said indulgently. She had long since arrived at the conclusion, that the people from Earth did seem to enjoy doing quite a few silly things.

"So, we still on for some sparring tomorrow morning?"

"Certainly, I look forward to it. Perhaps we will also find time for some meditation?"

With a grimace Sheppard waved open the door and stepped out into the hall. "Yeah we'll see. McKay mentioned that he might need me to play light-switch for him tomorrow and you know how grumpy he gets when he doesn't get his way."

Teyla refrained from rolling her eyes at the obvious excuse and decided not to push the meditation issue this time. She wasn't completely sure the Colonel got much out of it anyway. Whenever he had attempted it previously, he had spent much of the time muttering about Ferris Wheels and six months of his life that he would never get back. "Well we can meditate another time, I do not wish to cause conflict between such good friends as Rodney and yourself ."

Sheppard stood silently for a moment. In the depths of his hazel eyes was a startled spark of recognition, there and gone in an instant. Raising a hand in a brief wave and nodding in her direction, he headed off with a casual, "See ya tomorrow".

Teyla let the doors slide shut and resumed her place on the meditation mat, a wide smile lighting her face. Quite possibly there was hope for the Colonel after all.