Fic: Just One of Those Days (Emmagan/Sheppard, PG13)
Title: Just One of Those Days
Author: gaffsie
Recipient: tielan
Pairing: John/Teyla
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Author's Notes: For tielan, who wanted John/Teyla with John as the damsel in distress.
Summary: John is taken captive, and it's up to Teyla to save him.
---
They'd all been taken by surprise by the attack.
P1G-418's gate hadn't even been in use for thousands of years until The Daedalus had happened to land on the planet for an emergency sub-light engine reparation, and one of their new scientists had attempted to re-activate it. Their scans had showed nothing, and eventually Rodney had been called in to repair the gate and investigate some unusual energy signatures emanating from the jungle. It was supposed to be a milk-run, and apart from an unexpected breakdown of the jumper's communication systems, it had started out that way too.
The planet had seemed empty of human life. Rodney had, lacking anything else to do, continuously been checking for life signs, but he had not seen any except their own. Ronon had been on point, alert and wary as ever, but not even he had not noticed their attackers until they were practically on top of them.
The skirmish was brief, but hectic. Someone threw a rock at Ronon, who went down, his head already bleeding nastily. An arrow whizzed past, and Rodney's screams of pain intermingled with John's shout for him to take cover.
Teyla and John quickly had their P90s at the ready, but it was too late - a hail of arrows rained down over them, one of them hitting Teyla in the arm, causing her to drop her gun and fall to her knees in pain, and in between one breath and the next a group of strange warriors were practically on top of them.
Much later, Teyla would reflect over how surreal the whole situation had been. The men could not have ever seen weapons such as theirs before, and yet it was as if they'd instinctively had known to take John - the only one out of them who was an immediate threat. She didn't even know why they had attacked. It was possible they might have intruded on sacred land, or simply startled them, but without speaking to them there was no way of knowing (and, as Rodney was quick to mention, those guys did not seem keen to talk).
But that was later. Right now, with adrenaline and fear pumping through her veins, it was hard to focus on anything except survival. The men left as quickly as they came, dragging John, kicking and screaming (and biting, judging by the scream one of his captors gave at one point), with them. The arrows kept coming, and there was nothing to do except for Teyla to hurry to Rodney's side and and help him drag Ronon's limp body to safety.
The whole intermezzo couldn't have taken longer than a couple of minutes.
"What the hell just happened?!" Rodney shouted, panic coloring his voice.
"I don't know," she snapped at him. Taking a deep breath, she sunk down next to Ronon, who was - thank the Ancestors - starting to wake up.
"Ronon," she said, sharply. "Ronon!" She wanted to slap his cheek, but resisted, knowing that in the case of a serious head injury that could cause further problems.
Ronon was less concerned with the state of his head. After just a couple of minutes, he sat up, ignoring Teyla and Rodney's protests. His eyes were not as sharp as usual, but when Teyla tried to clean his head wound he shook her off and tried - unsuccessfully - to get up on his feet.
"Where's Sheppard?" he gritted out.
"Those madmen with the bows and arrows took him," Rodney said. "... And they shot me."
"Lets get him," Ronon said, and again tried to climb to his feet. The resulting head-rush had him sit down with a 'thump'.
"You will do no such thing," Teyla said.
"What are you gonna do, have McKay help you?" Ronon asked, glowering at the both of them.
Teyla glanced over at Rodney.
"Rodney is also injured." She said.
"So are you," Rodney helpfully added.
Teyla looked at her arm. Carefully, she tried bending it. It hurt, but it was functional. "It is not serious," she said.
"And McKay's injury is?" Ronon said. He looked dubiously at Rodney, who immediately bristled.
"I'll have you know that I'm in excruciating pain right now!" Rodney said. "It was just the, the, adrenaline and whatnot that distracted me from that fact before."
Quickly, Teyla saw a chance and took it. "Rodney is too unwell to accompany me. You'll have to stay with him and protect him while he tries to contact Atlantis."
"Exactly," Rodney said, while solicitously helping Ronon to his feet. "My brain might be the most valuable commodity we have, and someone has to protect it."
Ronon swayed dangerously, and Rodney quickly draped Ronon's arm over his shoulder.
"I'm in a very fragile state right now," he babbled, "and it's your duty to look after me. Teyla can handle a bunch of backwards cavemen on her own."
"Okay," Ronon grudgingly agreed. He nodded, almost falling over in the process, only being saved by Rodney grabbing him until he was stable again.
Teyla shot Rodney a grateful look, and together they slowly made their way back to the jumper.
~*~
By the time they arrived, the sun was setting. After making sure that subspace communications were still down, and bandaging her arm, Teyla quickly collected some emergency equipment from the jumper. In the meantime, Rodney had finally managed to convince Ronon that Rodney was best protected from a sitting position.
"I'll contact you when I make contact," Teyla said.
"And when you've got Sheppard," Rodney said. He bit his lip. "You're sure you want to do this?"
"I do not see much of a choice," Teyla said, honestly. We cannot reach Atlantis like this, Ronon is out of commission and you're needed to keep an eye on-"
"The communication system, right," Rodney smoothly interjected.
"Yes. If nothing else, I can at least find out if John is alive, and where he's being held, in time for The Daedalus to arrive."
She clasped Rodney's shoulder. "I will not do anything rash, Rodney."
"I know," he said. "Good luck."
"Hey," Ronon called out before she had a chance to key open the jumper. Teyla turned to him, not really knowing what to expect. Solemnly, he handed her his gun.
"You need this more than I do right now," he said gruffly.
She inclined her head to him, feeling like she had just been granted something precious. John would be jealous if he knew; The thought came to her unbidden, and it made her smile despite the seriousness of the situation. Ronon grinned back at her. "Give 'em hell," he said.
"You have got to stop watching war movies with Sheppard," Rodney complained. "You're starting to sound like him."
Teyla rolled her eyes at them both, and then she opened the jumper and slipped out into the night. It closed behind her with nary a sound. She put on her night-vision goggles and scanned the surroundings - the life-signs detector would have been very useful in this situation, but she was used to making do with less than this. The Lanteans might have the technology of the Ancestors at their disposal, but she had experience.
Seeing and hearing nothing out of the ordinary, she began her trek. She did not believe that the attackers' village could be far, although it would probably be easier if it was - ambushing a small hunting party was a simpler matter than taking on a whole village.
It was soon obvious that their attackers were not used to stealth. Their tracks were quite obvious, and Teyla wondered at them managing to startle them in the first place. Maybe, she briefly considered, they had just become too accustomed to the luxury of the Ancestors' technology and had not been as alert as they should have been.
But, that was unfair, she knew. Ronon was certainly not one to take anything for granted, and even John was too cynical to put his trust into gadgets. Looking back, she had to admit that it had simply been bad luck.
She pressed on, her every sense on high alert, but she saw or heard nothing that was out of place. Two clicks from the jumper, she finally saw the gentle glow of a campfire in the distance. She judged the distance to be about five clicks, and had to will herself not to hurry her steps. She might have the technological advantage, but she was alone, and stealth would be of essence.
20 minutes later, Teyla came across the first sentry. Thanks to the goggles she was aware of him long before he had a chance to notice her, and after reassuring herself that he was alone, she took aim and stunned him with Ronon's gun.
She could see why Ronon was so attached to it. It was silent in a way that the Lanteans' weapons were not, and she appreciated the option to simply put a target out of commission for a while. Even after six years on Atlantis, it still didn't feel right to her to take a human life.
Working quickly she gagged him and tied him up with the rope he had been carrying. Eventually he would get free, but she was confident that she would be long gone by then.
Silently, she made her way through the jungle, moving in a zig-zag pattern and finding and incapacitating three other sentries before she reached the edge of the village.
Bringing out her binoculars, she carefully scanned the village for any information about John's whereabouts. To her great relief, she could see only few signs of activity. Apart from a fire in the middle of the small collection of huts, all was still. She tapped her radio in the standard pattern to let Ronon and Rodney know that she was in position, and considered her options.
Apart from the goggles, her P90, service pistol, and Ronon's stunner, she had also brought a small quantity of C4 with her. She discounted the C4 immediately. It was not in her best interest to make the sleeping villagers aware of her presence.
Judging by the state of their security measures, she did not believe this was a people used to war or deception. John was likely to be held where they could keep an eye on him, and that was in the middle of the village. The way they had left the team, with Ronon passed out and Rodney writhing in agony, did not suggest that they feared repercussions from them either. Naïve, but for a peaceful people who had been sheltered from the Wraith, it was not impossible. And, Teyla had to admit, it was far more useful for her purposes. If they had been more like the Genii, John would be out of her reach by now.
Noting the position of the fire, she crept quietly forward, following the light and sound of voices.
There were three of them, all conspicuously sitting outside one particular straw-hut. It didn't take a genius to figure out where John was being held.
Now, what to do about them? Ronon's gun was quiet, but she had no doubt that an alarm would be raised before she'd have time to take out all three guards. Frowning, she watched them from the shadows.
After a minute or two, her problem resolved itself. One of the men said something to his colleagues, and walked with some intent towards the refuse heap. Quickly, Teyla followed him, and when they were out of sight from the men at the fire, she stunned him.
Two men, she could take out easily. Two blasts in quick secession from her gun, and they were down before they had the opportunity to do more than inhale in chock.
Not being stupid, she approached the hut cautiously. It was, after all, possible that someone would be in there with John (it was also possible that John was not inside, but she was determinedly not thinking about that) .
It seemed she was in luck, because when she peeked into the darkness of the hut, she just saw John. Tied up to a pole and bruised, but alive. She crept in, and when he noticed her, he quietly quirked an eyebrow in greeting, and extracted his hands from behind him. He waggled his fingers at her, and if his smug smile hadn't told her that he'd managed to free himself from his bonds, the state of his blooded wrists would have.
She nodded her head towards the exit, and he followed quietly behind her. Teyla didn't devote any attention to his injuries until they were safely out of the village, and even then they did not speak. - And what was there to say? She could see that he had a twisted ankle and that he was in some degree of pain, but there was nothing either of them could do about it until they were safely back in the jumper. Daybreak could not be far away, and they needed to be gone before the villagers awoke. Teyla tapped her radio again, and then they pressed forward, Teyla leading, and John trusting in both her ability to find their way to safety and to support him.
~*~
When they finally reached the cloaked jumper, John limping along manfully, Teyla supporting his weight as best she could, Ronon was asleep. Teyla could feel her eyebrows rising on their own accord at the sight of him curled up on the floor next to Rodney.
Rodney looked up from his PDA.
"Believe me," he said, "I'm as chocked as you are. I thought for sure he would attempt to crawl after you in some misguided effort to be macho, but he let me clean his wound and even accepted the aspirins I gave him."
"Alien body-snatcher?" John asked, sounding amused even as he hissed in pain when Teyla helped him lower himself down on one of the benches.
"It's that, or Amelia has finally managed to beat some sense into him," Rodney snorted.
"How is the wound?" Teyla asked Rodney. He did not appear to be in any real pain, which was surprising - the arrow had only grazed him, but it was not like Rodney to let a complaint go unvoiced like this.
Rodney scowled. "I might have over-reacted a little," he grudgingly admitted.
She smiled at him. "That was a good thing you did," she said. "Ronon would have been unlikely to stay put unless he thought you needed protection, and in his state he would have caused more harm than good if he'd insisted on accompanying me."
"Yeah, buddy. Good going," John said. "Looks like that Sears Drama Festival Award of yours was well-earned."
Teyla rolled her eyes, and proceeded to put away her equipment in the overhead compartments while John and Rodney bickered.
"I can't believe you got shot in the ass with an arrow again," John said.
"I can't believe you got kidnapped and needed your girlfriend to save you," Rodney sniffed.
"My hero," John said sarcastically, but Teyla knew that the gratefulness was real. He was embarrassed at having needed the rescue, but happy that she had provided it.
"Yes," she said, and John gave a startled laugh.
"I guess you deserve a reward for that," he said, sounding sly.
"I believe the princess and half the kingdom is applicable in these situations," she said and turned to him.
"Not sure Woolsey would let me give you half of Atlantis," he said, "but this princess is yours if you want him."
He reached out a hand to her, and she took it. "Always," she said, and leaned down to kiss him.
And, if it hadn't been for Rodney's audible eye-roll and Ronon's faint snoring in the background, it would have been the perfect storybook ending.
The End
Author: gaffsie
Recipient: tielan
Pairing: John/Teyla
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Author's Notes: For tielan, who wanted John/Teyla with John as the damsel in distress.
Summary: John is taken captive, and it's up to Teyla to save him.
---
They'd all been taken by surprise by the attack.
P1G-418's gate hadn't even been in use for thousands of years until The Daedalus had happened to land on the planet for an emergency sub-light engine reparation, and one of their new scientists had attempted to re-activate it. Their scans had showed nothing, and eventually Rodney had been called in to repair the gate and investigate some unusual energy signatures emanating from the jungle. It was supposed to be a milk-run, and apart from an unexpected breakdown of the jumper's communication systems, it had started out that way too.
The planet had seemed empty of human life. Rodney had, lacking anything else to do, continuously been checking for life signs, but he had not seen any except their own. Ronon had been on point, alert and wary as ever, but not even he had not noticed their attackers until they were practically on top of them.
The skirmish was brief, but hectic. Someone threw a rock at Ronon, who went down, his head already bleeding nastily. An arrow whizzed past, and Rodney's screams of pain intermingled with John's shout for him to take cover.
Teyla and John quickly had their P90s at the ready, but it was too late - a hail of arrows rained down over them, one of them hitting Teyla in the arm, causing her to drop her gun and fall to her knees in pain, and in between one breath and the next a group of strange warriors were practically on top of them.
Much later, Teyla would reflect over how surreal the whole situation had been. The men could not have ever seen weapons such as theirs before, and yet it was as if they'd instinctively had known to take John - the only one out of them who was an immediate threat. She didn't even know why they had attacked. It was possible they might have intruded on sacred land, or simply startled them, but without speaking to them there was no way of knowing (and, as Rodney was quick to mention, those guys did not seem keen to talk).
But that was later. Right now, with adrenaline and fear pumping through her veins, it was hard to focus on anything except survival. The men left as quickly as they came, dragging John, kicking and screaming (and biting, judging by the scream one of his captors gave at one point), with them. The arrows kept coming, and there was nothing to do except for Teyla to hurry to Rodney's side and and help him drag Ronon's limp body to safety.
The whole intermezzo couldn't have taken longer than a couple of minutes.
"What the hell just happened?!" Rodney shouted, panic coloring his voice.
"I don't know," she snapped at him. Taking a deep breath, she sunk down next to Ronon, who was - thank the Ancestors - starting to wake up.
"Ronon," she said, sharply. "Ronon!" She wanted to slap his cheek, but resisted, knowing that in the case of a serious head injury that could cause further problems.
Ronon was less concerned with the state of his head. After just a couple of minutes, he sat up, ignoring Teyla and Rodney's protests. His eyes were not as sharp as usual, but when Teyla tried to clean his head wound he shook her off and tried - unsuccessfully - to get up on his feet.
"Where's Sheppard?" he gritted out.
"Those madmen with the bows and arrows took him," Rodney said. "... And they shot me."
"Lets get him," Ronon said, and again tried to climb to his feet. The resulting head-rush had him sit down with a 'thump'.
"You will do no such thing," Teyla said.
"What are you gonna do, have McKay help you?" Ronon asked, glowering at the both of them.
Teyla glanced over at Rodney.
"Rodney is also injured." She said.
"So are you," Rodney helpfully added.
Teyla looked at her arm. Carefully, she tried bending it. It hurt, but it was functional. "It is not serious," she said.
"And McKay's injury is?" Ronon said. He looked dubiously at Rodney, who immediately bristled.
"I'll have you know that I'm in excruciating pain right now!" Rodney said. "It was just the, the, adrenaline and whatnot that distracted me from that fact before."
Quickly, Teyla saw a chance and took it. "Rodney is too unwell to accompany me. You'll have to stay with him and protect him while he tries to contact Atlantis."
"Exactly," Rodney said, while solicitously helping Ronon to his feet. "My brain might be the most valuable commodity we have, and someone has to protect it."
Ronon swayed dangerously, and Rodney quickly draped Ronon's arm over his shoulder.
"I'm in a very fragile state right now," he babbled, "and it's your duty to look after me. Teyla can handle a bunch of backwards cavemen on her own."
"Okay," Ronon grudgingly agreed. He nodded, almost falling over in the process, only being saved by Rodney grabbing him until he was stable again.
Teyla shot Rodney a grateful look, and together they slowly made their way back to the jumper.
~*~
By the time they arrived, the sun was setting. After making sure that subspace communications were still down, and bandaging her arm, Teyla quickly collected some emergency equipment from the jumper. In the meantime, Rodney had finally managed to convince Ronon that Rodney was best protected from a sitting position.
"I'll contact you when I make contact," Teyla said.
"And when you've got Sheppard," Rodney said. He bit his lip. "You're sure you want to do this?"
"I do not see much of a choice," Teyla said, honestly. We cannot reach Atlantis like this, Ronon is out of commission and you're needed to keep an eye on-"
"The communication system, right," Rodney smoothly interjected.
"Yes. If nothing else, I can at least find out if John is alive, and where he's being held, in time for The Daedalus to arrive."
She clasped Rodney's shoulder. "I will not do anything rash, Rodney."
"I know," he said. "Good luck."
"Hey," Ronon called out before she had a chance to key open the jumper. Teyla turned to him, not really knowing what to expect. Solemnly, he handed her his gun.
"You need this more than I do right now," he said gruffly.
She inclined her head to him, feeling like she had just been granted something precious. John would be jealous if he knew; The thought came to her unbidden, and it made her smile despite the seriousness of the situation. Ronon grinned back at her. "Give 'em hell," he said.
"You have got to stop watching war movies with Sheppard," Rodney complained. "You're starting to sound like him."
Teyla rolled her eyes at them both, and then she opened the jumper and slipped out into the night. It closed behind her with nary a sound. She put on her night-vision goggles and scanned the surroundings - the life-signs detector would have been very useful in this situation, but she was used to making do with less than this. The Lanteans might have the technology of the Ancestors at their disposal, but she had experience.
Seeing and hearing nothing out of the ordinary, she began her trek. She did not believe that the attackers' village could be far, although it would probably be easier if it was - ambushing a small hunting party was a simpler matter than taking on a whole village.
It was soon obvious that their attackers were not used to stealth. Their tracks were quite obvious, and Teyla wondered at them managing to startle them in the first place. Maybe, she briefly considered, they had just become too accustomed to the luxury of the Ancestors' technology and had not been as alert as they should have been.
But, that was unfair, she knew. Ronon was certainly not one to take anything for granted, and even John was too cynical to put his trust into gadgets. Looking back, she had to admit that it had simply been bad luck.
She pressed on, her every sense on high alert, but she saw or heard nothing that was out of place. Two clicks from the jumper, she finally saw the gentle glow of a campfire in the distance. She judged the distance to be about five clicks, and had to will herself not to hurry her steps. She might have the technological advantage, but she was alone, and stealth would be of essence.
20 minutes later, Teyla came across the first sentry. Thanks to the goggles she was aware of him long before he had a chance to notice her, and after reassuring herself that he was alone, she took aim and stunned him with Ronon's gun.
She could see why Ronon was so attached to it. It was silent in a way that the Lanteans' weapons were not, and she appreciated the option to simply put a target out of commission for a while. Even after six years on Atlantis, it still didn't feel right to her to take a human life.
Working quickly she gagged him and tied him up with the rope he had been carrying. Eventually he would get free, but she was confident that she would be long gone by then.
Silently, she made her way through the jungle, moving in a zig-zag pattern and finding and incapacitating three other sentries before she reached the edge of the village.
Bringing out her binoculars, she carefully scanned the village for any information about John's whereabouts. To her great relief, she could see only few signs of activity. Apart from a fire in the middle of the small collection of huts, all was still. She tapped her radio in the standard pattern to let Ronon and Rodney know that she was in position, and considered her options.
Apart from the goggles, her P90, service pistol, and Ronon's stunner, she had also brought a small quantity of C4 with her. She discounted the C4 immediately. It was not in her best interest to make the sleeping villagers aware of her presence.
Judging by the state of their security measures, she did not believe this was a people used to war or deception. John was likely to be held where they could keep an eye on him, and that was in the middle of the village. The way they had left the team, with Ronon passed out and Rodney writhing in agony, did not suggest that they feared repercussions from them either. Naïve, but for a peaceful people who had been sheltered from the Wraith, it was not impossible. And, Teyla had to admit, it was far more useful for her purposes. If they had been more like the Genii, John would be out of her reach by now.
Noting the position of the fire, she crept quietly forward, following the light and sound of voices.
There were three of them, all conspicuously sitting outside one particular straw-hut. It didn't take a genius to figure out where John was being held.
Now, what to do about them? Ronon's gun was quiet, but she had no doubt that an alarm would be raised before she'd have time to take out all three guards. Frowning, she watched them from the shadows.
After a minute or two, her problem resolved itself. One of the men said something to his colleagues, and walked with some intent towards the refuse heap. Quickly, Teyla followed him, and when they were out of sight from the men at the fire, she stunned him.
Two men, she could take out easily. Two blasts in quick secession from her gun, and they were down before they had the opportunity to do more than inhale in chock.
Not being stupid, she approached the hut cautiously. It was, after all, possible that someone would be in there with John (it was also possible that John was not inside, but she was determinedly not thinking about that) .
It seemed she was in luck, because when she peeked into the darkness of the hut, she just saw John. Tied up to a pole and bruised, but alive. She crept in, and when he noticed her, he quietly quirked an eyebrow in greeting, and extracted his hands from behind him. He waggled his fingers at her, and if his smug smile hadn't told her that he'd managed to free himself from his bonds, the state of his blooded wrists would have.
She nodded her head towards the exit, and he followed quietly behind her. Teyla didn't devote any attention to his injuries until they were safely out of the village, and even then they did not speak. - And what was there to say? She could see that he had a twisted ankle and that he was in some degree of pain, but there was nothing either of them could do about it until they were safely back in the jumper. Daybreak could not be far away, and they needed to be gone before the villagers awoke. Teyla tapped her radio again, and then they pressed forward, Teyla leading, and John trusting in both her ability to find their way to safety and to support him.
~*~
When they finally reached the cloaked jumper, John limping along manfully, Teyla supporting his weight as best she could, Ronon was asleep. Teyla could feel her eyebrows rising on their own accord at the sight of him curled up on the floor next to Rodney.
Rodney looked up from his PDA.
"Believe me," he said, "I'm as chocked as you are. I thought for sure he would attempt to crawl after you in some misguided effort to be macho, but he let me clean his wound and even accepted the aspirins I gave him."
"Alien body-snatcher?" John asked, sounding amused even as he hissed in pain when Teyla helped him lower himself down on one of the benches.
"It's that, or Amelia has finally managed to beat some sense into him," Rodney snorted.
"How is the wound?" Teyla asked Rodney. He did not appear to be in any real pain, which was surprising - the arrow had only grazed him, but it was not like Rodney to let a complaint go unvoiced like this.
Rodney scowled. "I might have over-reacted a little," he grudgingly admitted.
She smiled at him. "That was a good thing you did," she said. "Ronon would have been unlikely to stay put unless he thought you needed protection, and in his state he would have caused more harm than good if he'd insisted on accompanying me."
"Yeah, buddy. Good going," John said. "Looks like that Sears Drama Festival Award of yours was well-earned."
Teyla rolled her eyes, and proceeded to put away her equipment in the overhead compartments while John and Rodney bickered.
"I can't believe you got shot in the ass with an arrow again," John said.
"I can't believe you got kidnapped and needed your girlfriend to save you," Rodney sniffed.
"My hero," John said sarcastically, but Teyla knew that the gratefulness was real. He was embarrassed at having needed the rescue, but happy that she had provided it.
"Yes," she said, and John gave a startled laugh.
"I guess you deserve a reward for that," he said, sounding sly.
"I believe the princess and half the kingdom is applicable in these situations," she said and turned to him.
"Not sure Woolsey would let me give you half of Atlantis," he said, "but this princess is yours if you want him."
He reached out a hand to her, and she took it. "Always," she said, and leaned down to kiss him.
And, if it hadn't been for Rodney's audible eye-roll and Ronon's faint snoring in the background, it would have been the perfect storybook ending.
The End