Warning: Rated M for sexual content in later chapters.

Chapter: 2 of 10

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

Little Sprout

Teyla laughed as Torren drove his little hands into the rich soil again. He was enjoying it immensely and she loved that her son could spend time with nature even in the middle of a vast city. As she drew in a deep breath of the moist earthy air, she heard the doors hiss open on the other side of the botany lab and turned as John approached.

"Sorry I'm late. Got held up a little at the end of my shift," he apologized, but he did not wait for a response because he was already crouching beside Torren and tickling the little boy's belly. Torren squealed with delight and wrapped his dirty fingers around John's, and the sight of her son enjoying John's presence so much made Teyla's heart swell with happiness. She could not pretend John was not important to her, and these last few weeks of renewed friendship between them had been an unexpected relief and joy. Of course John had always been attentive to Torren, but she had mourned the loss of the close friendship between her and John after she had made known her relationship with Kanaan. She did not know what had precipitated the recent change in John's attitude, but she was grateful for it, especially now that things were not going as well with Kanaan.

She looked up to see John studying her face while he balanced the wobbly Torren with one hand. "You okay?" he asked quietly, and she wished for not the first time that she were not so transparent to him.

"I am fine," she said, knowing it sounded unconvincing. John merely raised his eyebrows at her, signaling that he would wait until she came out with it.

"Truly, I am fine. It is just that..." she hesitated, not sure how much she wanted to reveal to John. "It is just that I think Torren is missing Kanaan lately." She veiled her true concern, wary of saying too much, as she did not know how much she wanted to expose to John or even how much he wanted to hear. John maintained his expression of friendly interest, and she plunged ahead, wondering at the change between them in the last few weeks that she was now ready to confide so much in him. "Kanaan has been frequently absent lately, visiting family on another world helping them to harvest their crop, and we have not seen much of him."

"I thought all your people were on New Athos now," John remarked.

"These are extended relatives of Kanaan's," she explained, although truthfully she was not sure exactly how Kanaan was related to these people with whom he was spending so much time. "I know that he is working hard to help them, but I wish that Torren could see more of him." And that was the truth, for lately she was not much interested in spending time with Kanaan herself. Their relationship had not been as satisfying in the last few months as it had once been, and she pondered the change in both of them. Kanaan had been more distant, but she had to admit to herself that she did not mind, except for Torren's sake. Not for the first time Teyla had wondered if she and Kanaan were as compatible as she once thought. Kanaan usually preferred to stay in the camp on New Athos, sitting around the fire and reminiscing about the old days before Michael's experiments, a pastime which Teyla had no time for or interest in. There was far too much to do in securing the protection of their people, and dredging up old memories did nothing to move the Athosians toward a better future. Lately Teyla had begun to think that she and Kanaan were too different to truly relate to one another—Kanaan was quiet and tractable, and she felt drawn to a life with more spirit and action.

"Well, Torren always has willing babysitters here in the city. In fact, Ronon tried to take my turn babysitting Torren this afternoon until I threatened to pair him with Rodney again on the next mission," John grinned over at her. Teyla laughed and turned back to Torren, realizing that their attention had been focused on each other for too long and was dismayed to find that he had pulled a dozen small green sprouts from the rich dirt in front of them and was already reaching for more.

"Torren, no!" She grabbed his little hands away from their destructive activity and groaned, "Dr. Onstadt will be so upset! She was so excited about their accelerated growth cycle." She frowned and pulled Torren into her lap, wiping the dirt from his hands, but John reached for him and stood to go.

"You better get to your shift... I'll sneak out of here and Dr. Onstadt will never be able to pin it on our little destroyer." He reached a hand down to Teyla, pulling her up from where she sat on the floor of the lab. "I'll bring him to your quarters this evening." He hesitated, then added, "As far as Kanaan, I'm sure that as soon as this harvest is over, he'll be back to make up for lost time. Who could stay away from this little guy anyway?" He tickled Torren's tummy again and grinned at the boy's squeal, then smiled at Teyla and strode from the lab, winding his way through the aisles lined with exotic plants.

Teyla sighed and once again smothered the thought that John seemed to enjoy spending time with Torren far more than Torren's own father did.

TBC