CHAPTER 38 – THE WAITING GAME

He did not do waiting well. Letting her walk through that stargate had taken an interminable amount of strength but had known that if she didn't do it, they'd be cut off at the knees and there would be no more open channels of communication coming their way. Not to mention the fact that her family would be in danger. He had remained in the control room for a short time afterward, standing behind the gate technician as though she would magically reappear through that gate again, then as soon as he had realised that the technician was eyeing him with more than just a hint of trepidation, he resigned himself to the waiting game and wandered off in search of something to fill his time in.

Mission reports outstanding...ah no. Run? Maybe... Go down and see what Rodney is up to in his lab... nah... he'll turn me into some sort of random experiment. Fishing? Uh, no. Ronon... workout, sparring... yeah, that'll do it. Maybe he'll knock some sort of clarity into me. Yeah.

Resolved now, he headed down to Ronon's quarters and found the big man sitting on his bed, staring down at a small trinket he held in his hands.

"Hey buddy. Fancy pounding the crap outta me? I can't get my head in the game at the moment, for obvious reasons. Need some action. You game?"

Ronon looked up at him and John saw something in his eyes that had his gaze dropping down to the trinket in his hand.

"You ok, Ronon? What's that?"

"Teyla found it. On one of the trading missions. P1934T."

"So...?" John was confused.

"It's Satedan. I know who it belonged to."

"Oh... sorry man. Really. Is that what you and Teyla were arguing about the other day?"

"Yeah... I wanted to go back to the planet, and find out where it came from... who had it. She doesn't agree. Thinks it's a waste of time. I think she knows something about it... but she's not saying."

John, in spite of his own worries right now, sat down on the bed beside Ronon. The Satedan had to be hurting. Almost an entire race of people wiped out. His family, his friends. That had to hurt.

"I'll talk to Teyla, Ronon. Find out what the full story is. Likely she's protecting you somehow. You know how Teyla is... she probably thinks you're happy here, now. And why spoil things by giving you information that may only hurt you. Don't be too hard on her, she cares a lot for you Ronon, as she does for all of us. She's proved that over and over."

"Yeah, I know Sheppard. When she handed this to me... hell. I was pretty hard on her."

"So, make it up to her. She'll understand. This is Teyla we're talking about. Come on... I need to pound something. Let's go a few rounds."

"Sounds like a good idea. But the pounding? You'll be the one taking it." His mood a little lighter, he placed the trinket on the bedside table, but John saw the look in his eyes and filed that away in his mind. He'd authorise a little trip back to P1934T and maybe do some investigating. Maybe, just maybe... they could find a little peace for Ronon.

Two hours later, sweating and bloodied, John collapsed on the floor and found Teyla looking down at him.

"It appears that punishment of some sort is what you were looking for, John?" Teyla smiled, but her eyes flicked to Ronon's and John saw the slight change come into them. Resolve filled him, and he rolled to his feet, groaning a little at the aches and pains that Ronon had inflicted on him.

"Enough you guys. This ends now. Sort out your crap – this sort of dissention is not good in a team. Ronon? You have an issue with Teyla. Talk to her now. Don't sulk and don't walk away. Let's get this finished so that we can move on. And that's a damn order!"

Ronon and Teyla looked at him startled, then at each other. Ronon's eyes still held that measure of distrust and Teyla looked angry. John walked up to them, clapped a hand on each of their shoulders and moved them closer together.

"You know I'm right. Sort it out, I mean it. Teyla? If you have information about that trinket... and yeah, Ronon showed it to me and gave me the abridged version... tell him, regardless of what you think the consequences might be. And Ronon? Listen to her. Don't get pissy, and let her finish what she has to say. Do I need to play referee, or can you sit down like civilised adults and have a conversation that doesn't end in bloodshed – hmmm?"

It was Teyla who dropped her eyes first. "I am sorry Ronon, if it appeared as though I was withholding information. You are correct, I did discover something while we were there, but I took it upon myself to hide this from you, in order to protect you. I also wanted some time to look into it a little further and have arranged a meeting with an old friend on one of the Athosian trading planets. I wanted to proceed with that meeting before discussing anything with you John. I truly apologise if I have handled this incorrectly."

"Ahhh Teyla... communication within a group is paramount. You know that. Yes, you should have told Ronon and I immediately, but I do understand your reasons for holding back. When is this meeting?"

"Next week John, and Ronon? If John agrees, I should like you to accompany me. Perhaps you will have some answers, although I feel in my heart that they will not be good ones."

"We'll all go Teyla. We're a team, and Ronon is an integral part of this team. This concerns him and his world, so we all go, and we'll all get those answers."

He had watched the anger flare in his friends eyes when he heard that Teyla had indeed withheld something, but the anger was tempered now, and he hid a smile when Teyla simply stepped up to him and put her arms around him. Ronon was not big on emotion, but he had a soft spot for Teyla, hell... John thought that maybe there was more than just a soft spot there, but so far? Neither of them had acknowledged that, and he would leave it for now. That was up to them to discover. Although he would certainly encourage it.

"Ok, so I'm beaten and a little raw. Thank you, Ronon Dexx! Those mission reports I need to catch up on? Can't seem to find any other excuse not to do them, so I'll leave you kids to making nice with each other, and enjoy the stimulation that creating a mission report that actually makes any sense, brings. Not! I'll let you guys know as soon as we have word from the SGC. Damn that mid way station... about time Rodney did something about shortening the time there... this day is going to go on forever..."

He left them, muttering to himself and Ronon and Teyla looked at each other. Teyla's arms were still placed on Ronon's and she saw him look down at them, then back into her eyes. Saw that small spark there and wondered if she should do something about fanning those embers. All in good time.

John got the call an hour into his mission reports. His radio activated and Sam's terse voice had him running to the control room. He was not alone in there. Rodney had arrived as had Ronon and Teyla and one look at Sam's face had John's heart racing just a little faster. If that was even possible.

"Damn it, Sam! Something's happened... what is it?"

"Calm down, John. It's not as bad as you think. They've made it to the SGC and Robert has just radioed in. She's on her way to the arranged meeting. A helicoptor picked her up and the instructions were clear. She was to go alone and to go immediately. She would be returned to the SGC and was to return immediately to Atlantis at the conclusion of the meeting. No time was given."

"Alone? She's gone alone? So... Robert?"

"He's waiting at the SGC for her to return. His instructions are to return here with her. That's all we know."

"Crap." John ran a hand through his hair, mentally trying to place himself in that helicoptor with her to give her some sort of support. "Please tell me that General O'Neill managed to get some eyes and ears in that hotel room."

"Wish I could John, but there was a small problem there also... The room number that Robert was given does not exist. They went through the reservation list with a fine tooth comb and nothing stood out. Nothing. And short of covering all the rooms... and it is a big hotel, no dice. There was no way he could authorise placing listening devices in every room. Constitutional rights... you know the story."

"So she's going in there with no backup, period."

"I don't think they will hurt her John. She's there because somehow, she has become an important part in their agenda. If she plays the game, she'll be fine. She's intelligent and not going to do any thing to jeopartise her life, nor our agenda. This is her field remember, she's played this game before, just not on this particular scale."

John was pacing the room now. "She's hot headed, stubborn and set on getting what she wants any way she can. She could bring them tumbling down in a heart beat. Without even thinking about it."

"So we trust her John. And wait."

And waiting was what he didn't do well.