A/N: Any mistakes are my own of course!
Hope you all enjoy.
Chapter Three: Accused
Ronon had been pacing outside of the infirmary for almost half an hour, drawing bemused looks from the various personnel that passed by him in the corridor. He had been in battle many times, often against insurmountable odds and yet he had never felt the apprehension he was currently feeling about his latest assignment, voluntary of course. He was still unsure why he had convinced Woolsey that he was the one to tell Teyla about Kanaan's treachery but what was done, was done. Now he had to make sure he fulfilled his oath.
Having worked up the appropriate level of courage, the Satedan strode confidently into the infirmary and almost knocked over Doctor Beckett, who had apparently been wandering around with his nose in various charts that now lay strewn across the floor. The medic looked towards the fallen papers and then to the visitor, obviously expecting an apology that was simply not forthcoming.
"What are you doing here Doc?" asked Ronon
"Well I'm a Doctor and this is a medical facility..." said Carson with more than a hint of humour.
"Doctor Keller is here now"
"Aye she is laddie. And if she had been here for five minutes longer, she'd have become the latest patient."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning...she was clearly exhausted and on the verge of collapsing, so I offered to take over whilst she got a wee bit of rest"
"Whatever. I need to speak to Teyla" replied Ronon as he pushed his way gently past the medic and towards the bed which held the traitorous Athosian. Anger coursed through Ronon, knowing that he had been so close to someone who had been almost wraith at one time. That he had trusted so willingly and that it had almost cost everything that still held real meaning in his life. A shake of the head banished those thoughts from his head, allowing him to focus on what would be a truly arduous task.
"I had not expected you to come here" said Teyla quietly though still loud enough to surprise Ronon.
She was sitting at Kanaan's bedside, the fatigue evident on her face though still unable to dim the natural aura she had always possessed. In her arms lay a sleeping Torren, the boy once again demonstrating an amazing ability to sleep amidst a sea of chaos and uncertainty. It appeared that his presence had a calming effect on Teyla took, for she was more composed than she had been earlier in the day.
"I came to talk." he replied succinctly.
"You do not like to talk" she replied playfully.
"No I don't, But there's something you need to know..."
- - SGA - -
Rodney stared blankly at the various readings and measurements that filled the screen of his tablet, his face failing to betray any kind of signal of success or failure. Zelenka was gripped by a nervous tension, knowing that this was by far the best shot they had at solving the power flow crisis. He had known Rodney for years now and still he hadn't come close to figuring out the enigmatic physicist, especially when it came to facial expressions.
"What is it Rodney?" asked Zelenka impatiently.
"It...worked" replied Rodney quietly.
"It worked?"
"It worked!"
"Thank god! We should inform Woolsey" offered Zelenka, the relief evident in his voice.
The two scientists continued to work on fine tuning their modifications and calculations as they made their way towards Woolsey's office. The lack of adequate lighting once again made the journey take far longer than normal, not to mention the occasional collision with other personnel scurrying about the city. By the time they had arrived in the gate room, all the calculations had been made and they were ready to present the rescue plan to Woolsey.
"Doctors, please have a seat" offered Woolsey politely to which both men acquiesced
"Mr Woolsey, we think we've devised a plan to restore power" revealed Rodney with a hint of excitement in his voice.
A moment of uncomfortable silence encompassed the room as neither McKay nor Zelenka had picked up the signals from Woolsey that he wished for them to continue.
"By all means Doctor McKay, feel free to share your plan with me" he said plainly, finally having to verbalise his request.
"Oh right yes...well both the primary and secondary power flow regulators are out of action, repairs would take weeks rather than hours."
"I see, so what have you come up with?"
Rodney hit several keys on the screen of his tablet, bringing up the various schematics and equations he had been working on, in conjunction with Doctor Zelenka. Spinning the tablet around, he handed the device to Woolsey. The complexity of the schematics, let alone the equations, were far beyond the understanding of Woolsey. Rather than asking Doctor McKay to explain his work, Woolsey simply tilted his head, though Rodney definitely got the intent of the message this time.
"Well Zelenka's idea of getting some fresh air got me thinking about the secondary atmospheric processor. Its basic function is similar to that of a flow regulator except it regulates air rather than power but..."
"If you could perhaps be slightly more concise Doctor McKay"
"Right right...well Zelenka and I managed to convert the secondary atmospheric processor into a makeshift flow regulator. Testing has been successful so we feel confident we can restore power within an hour or two."
"And what are the risks to Atlantis?" asked Woolsey
"Negligible. Well unless the primary processor fails...but considering our only alternative is to sit here and wait for death..."
"You've made your point Doctor McKay, You have my authorisation to proceed. "
- - SGA - -
"No...I don't believe you" said Teyla, stumbling over her words.
The brief respite she had been enjoying with Torren in her arms had been shattered by the accusations levelled against Kanaan. That he could be responsible for such an act was incomprehensible to her, particularly given that stranding them between galaxies on a ship set to explode would result in the death of his son. And regardless of how bad things had been recently between herself and Kanaan, she could not imagine him ever wanting to bring harm to their son.
"You don't have to believe me. We have proof." replied Ronon defensively.
"What kind of proof?"
"There's video. Kanaan with the device. In the storage area"
"I cannot...I can't..." replied Teyla, her mind becoming increasingly muddled as it processed everything that she had been through and what she was being told.
Ronon stepped towards her, ready to offer whatever assistance she required, be it soothing words of a friendly embrace. But she remained seated, her eyes warning Ronon that approaching her at this time would not be good for him. He had desperately wanted to avoid being the bad guy in all of this, but Teyla deserved to know the truth and if that meant she was angry at him for a while, then it was a price worth paying.
"Why?" asked Teyla.
"Why what?"
"Why would he do this?"
"We're still looking at that. But its possible that his being on Atlantis was all part of some plan."
"Whose plan?"
"I don't have all the answers Teyla."
"Then perhaps you should find some more before you go around making such accusations" said Teyla angrily.
Knowing there was little more he could do for now, Ronon bowed his head graciously before exiting the infirmary, allowing Teyla time to process the mess of information he had given her and providing himself an opportunity to finish off this investigation. There were still questions that needed to be answered, including why Kanaan would sabotage Atlantis with his family still on board.
Teyla was struggling to maintain her train of thought as anger and frustration infused her very being. Had she been so blind as to miss the core of her partner's very identity? Had she been unwittingly harbouring an enemy agent all these months? Had she been so desperate to believe in Kanaan's redemption that she had not seen his true intent? There were many unanswered questions milling around Teyla's mind and though she had insulted Ronon for the accusations he made, she could not fully convince herself that they were not without merit.
"Is there anybody I can trust?" she asked herself inwardly.