A/N: Apologies for the delay in uploading, real life got busy!

Thanks again for the feedback, it helps immensely.

MG

Chapter: Release

The drive back to Teyla's apartment was made in relative silence, a contemplative Sheppard still coming to terms with everything that had happened in the past few hours, whilst Teyla seemed to be gripped by a nervousness that was so unlike her. Sheppard knew something was wrong but his lack of social skills made asking about it incredibly difficult for him. Working up his courage, he finally decided to just come out with it.

"Teyla, is there something wrong?" he asks in a caring tone.

"No John, why do you ask?" she replied quizzically, clearly unaware of her nervous tells.

"Well its just you look...I don't know...apprehensive...kinda"

"I am fine, truly. But thank you for your concern John" she replied, hoping that would be enough to satisfy his curiosity.

The truth was that she was concerned about her homecoming, not to Pegasus but here, to Kanaan. Explaining that they could now return home to their people would present a whole host of potential problems Teyla was hoping to avoid. But as the car pulled up outside her apartment complex, it looked as though such hopes were futile.

"Goodnight John" said Teyla, a faint smile on her face.

"Listen Teyla, I know its none of my business, but if you ever want to...maybe...I mean if you need... to talk"

"I...will keep that in mind, thank you John. And good luck with Ronon and the others" she said, deflecting attention away from the tension of the moment.

She turned and entered the building, leaving John with even more to contemplate than before. Not only would he be leaving Earth again, he had to bail out his best friend after a bar brawl whilst trying to mask his feelings for the one person he cared most about in the entire universe. Smiling ruefully at his multiple predicaments, he sped off down the street and on to his next stop, the local police station.

- - SGA - -

Teyla climbed the stairs to her apartment, the apprehension she felt in the car intensifying the closer she got to the front door. Her hands were trembling as she put the key in the lock and turned it, opening the door to find the apartment pretty much as she had left it, save for a few more toys littered about the floor.

She called out to Kanaan who emerged from their bedroom, cradling a sleeping Torren in his arms. She smiled at her adorable son, the single most important thing in her life and a constant source of strength for her.

"How is he?" she asked warmly though with a slightly quiver in her voice.

"He is fine, he fell asleep a few minutes ago. Are you okay?" he asked, noticing how on edge she appeared to be.

"We must talk Kanaan, something has happened" she said nervously as she took a seat on the sofa, joined almost instantly by her partner.

"What is it?"

"I am unsure about how best to describe the situation." said Teyla before attempting to do so anyway."Atlantis is in danger and must be returned to our galaxy. It leaves in less than two days. We...can go home again" she said, the joy of those words finally sinking in. Kanaan however, looked pensive for a moment before replying.

"So we can rejoin our people?".

Teyla nodded before he continued. "And when we are back with our people, will you then consent to the Ritual of Joining with me?"

This was the moment Teyla had been dreading. Ever since they had reached Earth, Kanaan had talked about nothing else but returning to their people to complete the Ritual of Joining and making their family whole. But performing such a sacred ceremony was something Teyla neither wanted at this time nor felt ready to do. And so they had argued and fought almost daily, putting great strain on their relationship. The constant raising of the issue was beginning to grow weary for her.

"Kanaan, we are together, is that not enough for you?" she asked with a little more venom than she intended.

"You know it is. But what better way to express our love and togetherness than by performing the ritual?" he countered.

Teyla knew she had no answer to this. The ritual was indeed the most sacred vow of commitment an Athosian could make and that was what made her so uneasy. To give oneself fully to someone whom she had even the slightest doubt about was something that she could not do. And if she was being brutally honest with herself, there were far more complicated issues and feelings that she had simply buried long ago, only to have them resurface recently.

"Kanaan, I do not wish to argue about this again. You know my feelings on the matter, can we please leave it at that" she stated emphatically. Kanaan simply nodded.

"We must prepare for our journey home, we do not have much time" Teyla continued, her excitement at returning home dulled by all the other emotions she was currently feeling.

She loved Kanaan but she began to doubt whether she was truly in love with him. It wasn't just the arguing, it was something deeper that was causing these feelings of uncertainty. Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, she turned her attention to packing the few belongings she wanted to take with her back to Atlantis.

Kanaan disappeared briefly into their bedroom, returning moments later without Torren, obviously having put their sleeping son to bed. He then began to pack his own belongings as an awkward silence permeated the entire apartment. This wasn't good, Teyla thought to herself unhappily.

- - SGA - -

Sheppard made his way to the front desk of the police station whereupon he was directed to a nearby uniformed officer. He had to admit, he was more than a little worried about the potential ramifications of this latest arrest for Ronon, given this was his third arrest since arriving on Earth.

"Hey there, I'm Colonel Sheppard. I'm here about the guys from the bar fight earlier tonight?" he enquired politely.

The officer looked him up and down, as if assessing his character, before responding. He had the look of an ex-military man about him, Sheppard thought to himself.

"Officer Grayson, pleased to meet you Colonel. Ah yes, the bar brawl. Nasty business. The big guy was a real handful, took three of our guys to take him down. The others were thankfully more compliant"

"What exactly happened?"

"As far as we can tell, your guys were minding their own business when a group of bikers rolled up. A lot of alcohol was consumed, insults were hurled and then fists were thrown...the usual"

"Can I speak with them? Its kinda urgent" asked Sheppard.

"If they are still conscious, sure." replied Officer Grayson with a smirk.

He led Sheppard to the lock up where he found his men in various states of inebriation. Doctor Beckett appeared to be the most lucid whilst Jenkins didn't appear to even be conscious. Sheppard looked them up and down and with a small degree of satisfaction, began his task, nee duty, to make them suffer.

"Well look what we have here. You know I distinctly remember ordering you NOT to get into any fights. I guess I must have temporarily switched to speaking a language none of you understand."

Ronon looked up but said nothing, simply staring intensely at Officer Grayson, who stood behind Sheppard, seemingly oblivious to the deathly looks he was being given by the Satedan. On the other end of the scale, Doctor Beckett looked forlorn and seemingly sober, as if he had been dragged into the conflict against his will. Andrews and Jenkins remained unresponsive.

"So...Officer Grayson, how long do they have to stay locked up?" asked Sheppard with a wink. Grayson picked up on it immediately and played along.

"Well considering for some this is their third offence in six weeks, I'd say a couple of months down at county should do it."

"Really, only a couple of months? Well jeez, I think I might be out-of-town by then. But I'm sure someone else will be along to check on them.." replied Sheppard as he took a step towards the door.

The emphasis Sheppard placed on "out-of-town" grabbed the attention of the whole group, who stared at him with a somewhat hopeful desperation. It was Ronon who spoke first.

"Sheppard, Wait! Does that mean...home?" he asked. Sheppard nodded passively.

"To Atlant...a?" queried Beckett, expertly covering his near-mistake.

"Yeah, the plane leaves in twelve hours. I was hoping to take you guys with me but the law is the law..."

"Oh come on Colonel, you can't do this to us" shouted Andrews, now awoken from his drunken slumber.

Sheppard smiled internally at how successful his ruse had been. He then glanced at Officer Grayson who was desperately trying to suppress a snigger. Though no words were exchanged, a slight nod of the head by Sheppard in the direction of the cell was enough to convince Grayson of what needed to happen next.

"Well since your Colonel Sheppard here has vouched for your good character and you didn't technically start the fight, I guess we could maybe figure out some kind of deal..."

"You hear that guys? Now what do you say to the nice officer?" said Sheppard mockingly.

"Thank you Officer Grayson" all four men said in unison as he moved to unlock the cell. With a nod and a smile to Sheppard, Grayson then excused himself and allowed Sheppard to talk freely.

"Look, I can't say much here but sufficed to say there's a problem with Atlantis and we need to move quickly on this. Departure is scheduled for tomorrow. Anyone who wants to stay here on Earth can do so, no one will think any less of you, but I need to know now."

The four men looked at each other individually, silently deliberating on a collective decision. Sheppard had little doubt they would all be keen to join such an important mission but he felt obligated to offer them an out.

"We're in" replied Ronon succinctly as the others nodded their agreement.

"Well in that case, move out!" Sheppard said authoritatively.