“Halling, you must talk to them. They will not listen to me, perhaps they will believe you. The Wraith are coming. They will be here in a matter of days and we are running out of time. We must get our people to safety and we cannot allow them to be so unprepared,” Teyla urged, suppressing the rising fear and anger that seemed her constant companion of late.
Halling looked saddened, which made her temper flare the more, but she firmly stamped down on it. Alienating her friend would do her little good. “Teyla, where would we go? The Wraith have awoken. No world is safe anymore. If they come, then let them. We will meet them as we must,” he said calmly.
Grabbing his sleeve, she stepped closer. “What about Jinto? Would you risk him being culled? Or perhaps that will not be his fate. Perhaps he will be destroyed by one of their weapons as they fire upon us from orbit? Don’t you see, Halling? They are too many! We cannot hope to remain here and survive, and even if, by the grace of the Ancients we do, the Lanteans are going to destroy the city to prevent the Wraith from gaining access to it. We would be cut off from the gate forever with no hope of trade or escape.”
Why would they not listen to her? How could they not see the severity of the situation? She wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep for days, she was so very tired. She hadn’t been able to sleep much, and what little she managed was riddled with nightmares of the Wraith, worse than she had ever had before.
Halling placed his hand over hers and smiled sadly at her. “If Jinto wishes to leave, he may do so. All our people may, you know this. We simply choose to remain and face what comes. Would the Lanteans deny us the right to defend ourselves, or the heritage of the Ancestors?”
Taking a steadying breath, she stepped back, inclining her head in acknowledgment of his point. “You are right, of course. It is just…” she trailed off, unable to finish her thought.
Halling tilted his head. “Will you stay here with us?” he asked quietly.
She shook her head. “You know I cannot, my friend. The best hope I have of fighting for our people is by being alongside the Lanteans as they defend the city of the Ancestors. I had just hoped…” she paused, closing her eyes briefly as she breathed, trying to calm herself. “I had just hoped to get as many of our people to safety as possible. For any of this to have been worth it, some of them must survive.”
“I understand,” Halling acquiesced, though she could tell he wished her answer had been different. Part of her wished it had, too, but she had made up her mind long ago. “I will do what I can, Teyla. I know there are a few who would seek safety, but most will choose to remain here. We have been on the run long enough. This is home now.”
Strange how that had worked out, she thought. Atlantis had become home for her these past few months. She still missed Athos, but not as much as she used to. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that realization.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rodney was beyond exhausted and not really in the mood to deal with meetings yet here he was in one of the larger conference rooms, surrounded by most of his more capable minions – and Kavanagh, he added grudgingly to himself. Stifling a yawn he glanced around the room, taking note of the signs of exhaustion on his people; most of the higher ranking officers were there, too, looking none too fresh themselves.
As soon as the message had been sent through the gate to warn Earth, he and his minions had set about trying to come up with ways to defend the city. So far, they had had little luck. Their best bet would be to power the chair, but they lacked the ZPM to power it and they hadn’t had any luck jerry rigging it with any of the generators. Grumbling quietly, he crossed his arms as he forced himself to at least try to pay attention to the meeting Elizabeth had called. He appreciated the fact that she wanted everyone to be on the same page, but he had things to do and too little time to do them in and this meeting was ensuring he had even less so.
“According to Dr. Zelenka’s calculations, we have less than a week before the Wraith get here.” Elizabeth folded her hands together in front of her as her gaze swept over each and every person crammed in the room. “I want options.”
Options. Right. He’d just pull some out of his ass, because at this point, all their options were shit anyway, he thought morosely. He felt a spike of worry from John, which was mirrored in his eyes when Rodney looked over at him. He waved him off, annoyed with himself. God, but he needed sleep. Soon.
His mind was drifting as Elizabeth and Teyla got into a spat about the Athosians leaving or staying. A tiny part of him was surprised at Teyla’s vehemence, but he was simply too tired to try to read into any of it. Everyone was tense, these days, so why not her.
“Oh, please,” Kavanagh suddenly cried out, startling Rodney back to alertness. “You can’t possibly consider staying and fighting.”
Rodney had to admit the man had a point. They were vastly outnumbered, both in manpower and in technology. What chance did they have, really? Of course, John disagreed, which didn’t surprise him in the slightest. He shot his mate an exasperated look, which merely earned him a smile.
“There are tens of thousands of highly advanced alien spaceships on their way here to destroy us,” Kavanagh reminded him, oozing incredulity and disdain. “And we have what? Two hundred people, most of whom are scientists who’ve never even fired a gun before?”
Rodney sighed. Oh, but he hated to do this especially considering the exaggerated numbers Kavanagh used. If it had been anyone else, anyone at all, he wouldn’t mind as much on the whole, but him? “Shockingly, this is the first time ever I find myself having to agree with…” he pointed over his shoulder and forced the name out, “Kavanagh.” And this is how you knew you were in deep trouble, Rodney thought, suppressing a grin at the sudden spike of amusement coming from John. His mate knew full well how he felt about the man and in Rodney’s opinion, spacing Kavanagh would always be an option.
John rolled his eyes. “All I’m saying is, let’s not give up. Just yet.”
Rodney snorted. “What was that we were all supposed to remember,” he snarked. “Something important.” Snapping his fingers, he looked at John. “Oh yes, that’s right. The Alamo.”
Lowering his head, John closed his eyes briefly, having to fight to keep from laughing in spite of himself. Rodney grinned triumphantly at him. Ah, that was definitely one thing he liked about the bond. John could never really hide his feelings from him, at least, not without some serious effort.
Once John had collected himself again, he pressed on. “Granted you guys are scientists. No one is considering putting you on the front lines, but science can turn the tide of war. Look at the… A-bomb.”
Rodney shook his head even as Radek said, “Not exactly our proudest moment.” Rodney had to agree with his friend. As far as examples went, that probably wasn’t the best one to throw out there.
Elizabeth called them back on point, reminding them that she needed everyone to do what they did best, and that if there were options to be had, she wanted them. With that, she dismissed the meeting. John got up and walked over to him, concern in his eyes as he looked him over. “You look about to drop, Rodney,” he reprimanded.
He huffed, rolling his eyes. “Probably because I am,” he admitted. There was no point denying it to the man after all.
John cupped Rodney’s shoulders, stooping a little to meet his eyes. “You are going to go to our quarters and you are going to take a nap,” he said firmly.
Bristling, Rodney shrugged, dislodging John’s hands. “You can’t exactly order me to sleep, John,” he protested.
“Actually, I can and I am. You are sleep deprived, and if you keel over from exhaustion when the Wraith show up you won’t do anyone any good. I need you firing on all cylinders, baby, so go to bed and get some rest. I will wake you before I go to the Alpha site, that should give you at least four hours. It isn’t nearly enough, but it’s better than the nothing you’ve been running yourself on the past few days.”
“And if you won’t take the order from John, Rodney, take it from me, before either Carson or I decide to have you sedated. You’ve been working too hard, harder than anyone on your team. At least they have had the good sense to make sure they get a couple of hours every day, unlike you. I won’t have you work yourself into insanity,” Mac chimed in from behind Rodney, startling him.
“They are right, Rodney,” Radek murmured.
Rubbing his eyes, Rodney sighed. “Why are you all ganging up on me?” he complained, though he was touched by their concern. Not that he would ever admit that. They all gave him a pointed look. Throwing up his hands, he grumbled, “Fine. Fine, I’ll go to bed, but sleep isn’t guaranteed, my mind is all over the place.”
John smiled sadly, brushing his cheek with the back of his fingers. “That’s exactly why you need to get some rest. Now go. I’ll wake you before I leave, okay?”
Nodding, he sighed. “Yeah, okay.” Turning to Radek, he poked the man’s chest and narrowed his eyes at him. “And you, don’t let Kavanagh blow up the city while I’m ‘sleeping’,” he warned.
Radek snorted, pushing his glasses back up his nose as he grinned. “I promise. City will still be in one piece by the time your major wakes you.”
“It’d better be,” he groused, already heading to the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Carson shook his head as he continued gathering up supplies in preparation for a possible evacuation.”I’m sorry, lass. I’ve run every test I could think of, and I can find no reason to explain any of your superpowers,” he quipped, glancing over his shoulder at Teyla.
She frowned, glancing down at the gurney. “I only have the one,” she said quietly.
“I’ve seen you fight, my dear,” Carson said, chuckling. He had never seen anyone as graceful as her. If what she managed to do in a fight wasn’t a superpower, then he didn’t know what was.
She smiled bashfully, but didn’t otherwise respond. “I’ve previously traced this ability through family lineage. Does that not make it biological?”
He walked over to her, smiling kindly as he packed the things he’d collected into a bag. “Aye, it would seem so. However, without genetic samples from everyone in your family tree, I would have little to no chance of identifying the specific characteristic that causes the anatomical response.” At her baffled look, he added, “It’d be very difficult.”
Carson’s heart went out to the poor girl as she seemed to process what he had said. He knew she had been having trouble sleeping, and that she was struggling with nightmares. He wished that he had easy answers to give her. If he had, then perhaps it would ease her burden some.
“Any chance you have the time to fly me to the mainland?”
His lips quirked. “If you’re willing to take your life into your hands,” he quipped. He still wasn’t overly fond of flying, but he couldn’t deny that flying the jumpers himself gave him some leeway that had proven helpful a few times now. Reaching over the gurney, he patted her hand. “I’d love a break.” And wasn’t that the truth. They had all been working hard the past few days to prepare for evacuation, as well as the oncoming battle. He checked with Mac to make sure everything was on track before grabbing his med-kit that he always brought whenever he went to the mainland, in case anyone needed his help. “Alright, lass. Let’s go.”
Teyla was unusually quiet on the trip to see Charin. She had explained that her family friend might have more answers for her, but aside from that she had been withdrawn. Carson was starting to worry a little, especially when she all but ignored the rest of her people and made a beeline to Charin’s tent. Carson was well familiar with the old woman as she had been ailing of late. She refused any medical intervention, however, but Carson still liked to keep an eye on her, just in case.
Charin was as pleasant as always, though she moved around a little slower than the last time he had seen her. Teyla appeared shocked to see her friend so changed. Carson politely accepted the bowl of tuttleroot soup, an offering Charin made to him and apparently any visitor she received. It wasn’t half bad, either, Carson thought as he ate a spoonful. He listened in silence as Teyla and Charin discussed her gift, and where it might come from.
Glancing sideways, Charin eyed Carson briefly as she answered Teyla. “Your father asked me not to tell you.” More to the point, Carson thought shrewdly, he had asked her not to tell anyone else.
Putting his bowl down, he made to leave. “If you’d rather I leave you two to talk, I’d be happy to-” he started.
Teyla shook her head, motioning for him to sit back down and continue enjoying his soup. “It is alright, Carson. Charin, my father is no longer here. Please, tell me?”
Charin inclined her head in acknowledgment as she proceeded to pass on Teyla’s actual heritage. Telling her of the few who had been culled by the Wraith, only to return to their world. Changed. How they had been shunned, hunted. The planet eventually destroyed. He was feeling unsettled, though he couldn’t put his finger on exactly why. The story itself was disturbing, obviously, but that wasn’t it. Shaking his head, he gave up and let Charin’s voice wash over him.
When they arrived back on the city, Teyla thanked him for going with her. “You’re welcome, lass. I just wish there were more I could do to help you figure this out,” he said apologetically.
Teyla smiled, placing her hands on his upper arms as she inclined her head in the Athosian gesture of friendship. Carson blushed, same as he always did and rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. After a moment, Teyla straightened and bid him good day. Carson stared after her for a minute before heading back to work himself. Break time was over, after all.
Later that night, Rodney tried to Shanghai him into sitting in the bloody chair again. He and Radek had dragged him down to the chair room and he really, really did not want to relive the experience of the Antarctic. “You do remember what happened the last time I sat in one of those things?”
Rodney rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, yes. There’s nowhere near enough power for it to do anything, Carson. You can’t hurt anyone with it.”
“Then why bother? Gentlemen it’s getting late.”
“Because we need to figure out how much juice it needs to work, and we can’t do that without having someone in there actually, you know, using it,” Rodney said impatiently.
“You have the gene, why don’t you sit in it?” Carson protested.
With another role of his eyes, Rodney sighed. “Because I can’t both analyze the data and concentrate on keeping the chair activated.”
“How’s it coming, gentlemen?” Elizabeth asked as she walked into the room with an air of distraction.
The three men looked up. “Well not good,” Rodney griped.
“Well, I’m sorry. This won’t help. Carson, I need you.”
“Oh thank God,” Carson breathed out in relief even as Rodney objected. He paid him no mind, though, too keen to get away from that dratted chair. “What’s going on? Is someone hurt?”
She flashed him a smile. “You were right.”
He blinked at her in confusion. “Well that’s lovely. About what?”
“Your theory about the Wraith evolving after the Ancients arrived in the Pegasus galaxy.”
“Ha! Pay up,” Radek said excitedly behind him.
“Oh you have got to be kidding me,” Rodney groused.
Carson stuffed his hands into his back pockets, rocking onto the balls of his heels. “How’d you know?” Oh, but this opened up a whole new area of research, he just knew it.
“The Wraith language is a derivative of Ancient,” she started, but Rodney cut in.
“But that doesn’t categorically mean that-”
“Rodney, please,” Elizabeth snapped, shooting him an impatient look. “That’s not why I need to see you. I’ve been able to translate the first part of the log on the Wraith data device,” she said to Carson, handing him her tablet as she began to walk.
“Really?” Carson murmured as he poured over the data on the screen, walking on autopilot toward the infirmary. He read it twice, just to be sure he really had read what he thought he had. “You have got to be kidding me,” he muttered, staring up at Elizabeth in shock once he was done.
“I wish I were.”
“That is disturbing on so many levels,” he said, shaking his head as he placed the tablet on his desk. “Mac!” he called out, his mind already racing with the implications of what he had read.
As soon as his colleague stuck his head into his office, Carson gave him a tired smile. “Do you remember the DNA test we did on Teyla a while back?”
“Aye, of course,” Mac said, nonplussed as he stepped further into the office and closed the door. “Why?”
Carson handed him the tablet and waited until Mac had caught up. The man looked up, wide-eyed and all color drained from his face. “You’ve got to be joking.”
Carson smiled ruefully, silently wondering if that was to be the catchphrase of the night. “That’s what I said, too. I need you to run over the results one more time and compare them to the Wraith DNA we have on file. Don’t let anyone else see them,” he cautioned. This was one rumor mill he would work to minimize for as long as he could, for Teyla’s sake. He remembered all too well what had happened the last time people had jumped to conclusions about her and he did not wish to put her through that again.
“Aye, of course. I’ll get right on it.”
As soon as Mac had left, Carson took a deep breath and glanced at Elizabeth. “We are in for a long night, lass. You and I are going to have a lot of reading to do. I want to learn as much as possible about the kind of research the Wraith did on those poor people. I’ll have one of the nurses get us some coffee.”
Aye, it would be a long night, indeed. Of that he was certain. And no doubt a highly disturbing one, at that.
Many cups of coffee later, Mac returned, looking tired, disturbed, and not a little puzzled. Carson rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn. “What did you find?”
“More questions than answers, I’m afraid. Your suspicions were correct, at least in part. Teyla does have trace Wraith DNA, but there were still a few markers that didn’t match. I ran it against everything we’ve got and from what I can tell, she’s basically got a hodge podge of DNA. She’s predominantly human, Wraith, and lo and behold she has some trash Ancient DNA, as well.”
Elizabeth’s head jerked up in surprise. “What?”
Mac nodded, scrubbing his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Aye. I have no idea whether she’s even got enough Ancient in her for the ATA to take, should she be given it. Or how it would interact with the Wraith DNA, but she definitely has some in her. Mind, I’ve not seen anyone with as little Ancient as she has, at least not among the people of the expedition.”
Elizabeth glanced between them. “Would she have a soulmate?”
Shaking his head, Mac sighed. “There’s no way to tell, really. Not right now, at any rate.”
“Right.” Carson cleared his throat, running a hand over his mouth. God, but he was tired. Focusing his gaze on his two companions, he nodded. “I think it’s best if we keep this between us for now.”
Mac bristled, but Carson held up a hand to forestall his argument. “Trust me, Mac, I have every intention of telling Teyla first chance I get, but I feel that this is not something that should become common knowledge if we can help it. Once I’ve talked to her, it’ll be her decision on who to share this news with.”
Elizabeth crossed her arms, gazing down. “Agreed.” Looking up, she steeled herself. “We don’t want to incite paranoia again.”
“Aye,” Mac sighed, resigned.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Sir, you can’t be serious,” Evan said aghast upon hearing the news about Teyla being part Wraith.
John gave him a dirty look, even as Elizabeth said, “That makes her about as different from us as you, considering your ATA gene.”
“Oh, no, ma’am, I didn’t mean anything like that. I know Teyla well enough to know she’s one of the best people I’ve ever met, and she’s bad ass all around. I was thinking more along the lines of how other people might take that kind of news,” Evan explained hurriedly.
Crossing his arms, Ioan nodded. “Like Bates.”
“Like Bates,” Evan agreed. He was already imagining the many ways the sergeant would spin this into a Wraith conspiracy and he wasn’t liking it one bit. Thankfully, there were only a few on the city who had similar views to the sergeant or else they’d be in a right mess.
John stepped forward, motioning for everyone to stay calm. “Let’s keep that one under wraps, okay?”
One glance at his superior officer told Evan that he, too, had no problems envisioning the sergeant’s likely reaction. “Don’t worry, sir, no one’s going to find out from me,” he assured. Teyla didn’t deserve the certain backlash that would await her as far as he was concerned.
“Why? Why experiment on the humans that way? What, to make them more tasty?” Rodney asked suddenly, frowning.
“According to the log, he was trying to make the feeding process… more efficient,” Elizabeth said with a wry twist to her lips. Efficient, that was one word for it, Evan thought. A pretty damn disturbing one, too.
“I thought you said they already shared several characteristics with us?” Rodney asked, looking as confused as Evan felt.
“Aye, they do. But they still are closer to the bug creature that attacked Major Sheppard than to us,” Carson said.
“Hey!” John interjected, straightening. “I thought we weren’t going to mention that again.”
Evan shared an amused look with his brother. This far from that particular incident, it was something they could joke about – at least as long as they did it out of earshot of one Major John Sheppard. Ioan quickly turned his head aside to hide his grin. Mac’s amusement bled through the bond as well, and he looked up at his mate who was leaning against the desk next to him. ‘You are evil,’ Mac mouthed with a wicked glint in his eyes.
“Sorry,” Carson muttered sheepishly.
“Also interesting,” Elizabeth cut in, “is the fact that the Wraith language seems to be a derivative of Ancient.”
Evan blinked, glancing at John. He wondered what that was about. He listened as they speculated on how the Wraith evolved, but while it certainly was something worth investigating at a later date, he didn’t feel it was something they needed to focus on right in that moment. Just as he was about to make his case, Rodney bit out, “Yes, yes, yes. But for the moment, all we know is that the Ancients might have ‘accidentally’ created the Wraith and why Teyla can sense them coming.” Rodney smirked, apparently not bothering to hide his disbelief that they were having this conversation. “Fabulous, mystery solved,” he added, gesturing widely with his hands, “but neither of which help in any way to stop them from coming.”
Silence hung heavily in the air as everyone seemed to remember what was waiting for them. Frivolous research would have to wait for a while. Evan just hoped that it was something they would be alive to pursue at a later date.
~*~*~*~*~*~
John watched as Carson and Kate prepared Teyla for their little experiment, placing various sensors on her. He had to admit that he was torn about the whole thing. Once Carson and Mac had figured out that Teyla’s ‘sensing’ of the Wraith was due to her DNA and that the link was of a telepathic nature, Elizabeth had suggested that Teyla go undercover, so to speak, and consciously seek out a connection to a Wraith. The prospect of having an ‘in’ into Wraith intel was extremely appealing, but part of him was worried for his friend. After all, they had no real idea what being inside a Wraith’s head might do to her. Still, he had okayed the endeavor. Mostly because he figured that if Teyla made up her mind, she wouldn’t need permission. At least this way, they had a shot at helping her if something went wrong.
“What do you hear?” Kate asked her.
Teyla scowled, listening intently for something. “Nothing.”
Damn, he thought. It wasn’t working. Frustrated, he pushed away from the bed he had been leaning on and crossed his arms. Okay, so maybe he wanted to have that information more than he had wanted to admit to himself. He bit his cheek to keep from distracting them.
The second time Kate had her try, Teyla made a connection. It kind of freaked John out if he was absolutely honest with himself. To watch through a Wraith’s eyes as it went about its business? And then the whole feeling it feed thing. He shuddered then jumped when Elizabeth ordered them to stop, to pull Teyla out.
She left the infirmary at a clip, John following behind. “What the hell? It worked,” he started.
Elizabeth rounded on him. “No, John. I know it was my idea, but this is too much to ask of her. Of anyone. To witness a feeding like that? No one should have to go through that. I cannot allow her to try.”
Teyla herself objected strongly to stopping the experiment. “Please, Dr. Weir. I saw a console. I saw where they were headed. There is information there that we need.”
Elizabeth relented and they all headed back inside. Once Teyla was under again, everything seemed to go smoothly until suddenly, it didn’t. Apparently the spying through enemy eyes was a two-way street and Teyla had been taken over by a Wraith. She began threatening them. Pushing aside his fear for her – was she still in there somewhere? Would they be able to get her back? – John tried remain calm.
Carson managed to bring her out of it after a couple of shocks to her system to John’s intense relief. Maybe Elizabeth was right. This had been a mistake. What if they had lost Teyla? John shook his head. No, he couldn’t think like that. Couldn’t start second guessing himself. It had been a calculated risk and one she had willingly taken.
“No more,” Elizabeth ordered, leaving the infirmary.
He hung around, wanting to make sure she truly was alright and to debrief her. What he learned had his stomach in knots.
“There is more going on here, Major. I know there is. If I could try again,” she pleaded.
He put his hand on her shoulder and smiled reassuringly at her. If she wanted to give it another go, he would see what he could do. He understood how important it was to her to help. To turn this bad situation into something good. “I’ll go talk to her,” he promised.
When he caught up with Elizabeth in the control room, the gate activated.
“This is Bates. Code Red. Coming in hot!”
“Lower the shield,” Elizabeth ordered even as John ran down the stairs, grabbing a P90 from one of his men. He got into position and did a headcount as people came streaming in.
“That’s it, we’re clear!” Bates yelled.
“Raise the shield!” John bellowed. The shield went up and several thuds could be heard before the gate disengaged. Lowering his weapon, he glanced down at Bates who had positioned himself in front of him. “So I guess that planet isn’t safe anymore.”
In true Bates’ fashion, the man started raving about what had happened. John had a sinking feeling that this time, the man might have a point. That planet had been uninhabited. There was no reason for the Wraith to be there. It held no tactical advantage for them, no food, nothing. The only thing there had been the Alpha site, and the only way they could have learned its location was through Teyla when she had been taken over.
John clenched his jaw to keep from biting the man’s head off as Elizabeth filled him in on the situation with Teyla. As predicted, Bates went ballistic, saying it was her fault the Alpha site had been compromised.
“At ease, Sergeant,” John bit out, glaring.
“Look, sir, I’m not saying she did it on purpose but this is just proof that she cannot be trusted with sensitive information! If the Wraith can control her at will, who knows what they could do through her. What they might learn! It isn’t safe!”
“I admit, in retrospect it probably was a mistake to let Teyla make the attempt,” Elizabeth agreed.
Bates snorted and John sort of wanted to punch the man. Luckily for Bates – and John, because really, he didn’t need to deal with the repercussions of letting his temper get the better of him – Ford showed up to let them know Teyla insisted on trying again. “She feels there’s something there that we need to know, ma’am. Look,” Ford said imploringly, “fact is, she’ll do it with or without permission. Wouldn’t it be better if we were there to help?”
That was exactly what John had been thinking earlier. He smiled approvingly at his lieutenant, then shot Elizabeth an expectant look. He’d be there for Teyla, regardless of what Elizabeth had to say about it, but he would much rather have her blessing. Thankfully, she agreed.
This time, Teyla seemed to get a little further before she once again was taken over by a Wraith, only this time Carson’s shocks did nothing to get her out of it. This Wraith appeared to control her body, which was a very bad thing as far as John was concerned. She knocked Carson out cold when he tried to shake her. She grabbed the IV pole and swung it at John. He ducked, cursing under his breath. “Teyla!”
For answer, she brought the pole down on his back, knocking the wind out of him. Damn, but that hurt! And he thought the beat downs he got from her during training were bad. Ow! He forced himself to push up, just in time to see Bates shoot her. At least the man had elected to use a Wraith stunner instead of a gun, but it still irked him. Especially when Bates shot him a triumphant look when she went down after the second shot.
John let that sink in a moment. Bates had had to shoot her twice! So not only was Teyla stronger with the Wraith possessing her body – because hello, Carson was still out cold, John could barely move yet, and she had apparently tossed Ford clear across the room – but that strength translated in every single way possible. Under normal circumstances, Teyla would have gone down after one shot.
Mac came running into the room, looking a little stunned himself as he took in the wreckage. “Bloody hell, what happened here? Is everyone alright?” he asked as he checked on Carson first who was beginning to come to.
Ford was on his feet already and helped John get upright, too. He winced, gently rolling his shoulders to ease the muscles. “Yeah, doc. Nothing an aspirin won’t cure, I’m sure.” He hoped, at least. He knew he would have a few wicked bruises for a while but didn’t think there was any damage done. “Check on Teyla, would you? She’s been through the wringer and I want to make sure she’s okay,” he asked, his eyes focused on her still form.
Mac got Carson in a seated position before he went over to Teyla to take her pulse. Glancing up at John, he smiled reassuringly. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. Help me get her in bed, would you? If you’re able to, if not, I’ll call one of the nurses in.”
He waved him off. “Don’t worry, doc, I got her.” It hurt, and it took him more effort than it ordinarily would have, but he lifted her into his arms and put her down in bed with Mac’s help while Ford went to Elizabeth’s side.
John was still in the infirmary waiting for Mac to give everyone a clean bill of health when Rodney rushed in looking frazzled. He made a beeline for John. “What the hell happened here?” he demanded.
Groaning, John brought his mate up to speed, certain he was going to get an earful for taking stupid risks. He was rather surprised when it didn’t come. Instead, Rodney tugged his shirt up and glowered at him after inspecting his back. “Mac, is he fit for duty?”
John side-eyed Mac, annoyed to see the amused twinkle in the doctor’s eyes. “Don’t worry, Rodney. I don’t think he’ll have any issues performing his duties.”
John hung his head, sighing. “Really, Mac?” he asked sarcastically. “You had to go there?”
Mac gave him an unrepentant grin as he shrugged. “What can I say. I know how you soldier types can get.”
Rodney snorted and John could sense through the bond that the man had relaxed some. Okay, so maybe he could forgive the Scot his teasing this once.
Teyla was still out cold. It would be a while before they would know if she had suffered any lasting damage from her encounter. Rodney stood by her bedside for a minute, staring down at their teammate and friend. “I don’t like that she did this, John,” he murmured, gently tucking a strand of hair out of her face. “It’s too risky.”
“So Bates keeps telling me,” John huffed.
Rodney spun on his heels, pointing an accusing finger at John. “No, I meant it is too risky for her! God knows what might have happened to her, John! She’s our friend! She’s team! She-”
John closed the distance between them, wrapping his mate in his arms. “Rodney, she made her choice. No one ordered her to do it. She’ll be okay, baby.”
Rodney huffed, holding John tight. “I still don’t like it.”
“I know.”
“Major?” Teyla’s voice was slurred, barely audible.
Both men turned to look at her. “Hey. How are you doing?” John asked, gesturing for Rodney to fetch Mac who was tending to Carson in the other room.
She closed her eyes, but nodded. “I will be alright.”
Mac, Carson, and the others filed into the room, and Mac started to check her stats, shining the requisite light in her eyes. She endured it patiently before turning to John once more. “I saw their plans. The route their ships are taking to get here.”
“That’s good,” Elizabeth said, smiling.
John had to agree, though he thought there was more. Sure enough, Teyla proved him right. “There’s more. They do not just want Atlantis. They know about you,” she added.
“What do you mean?” Elizabeth asked, brows furrowed in confusion.
John’s veins turned to ice. “Sumner.” He cleared his throat as the image of that fateful day swam to the forefront of his mind. “The female Wraith, she wasn’t just feeding on him, she was interrogating him.”
Teyla nodded, her eyes brimming with emotion. “That is why they’re waking up. That is why they are coming here. They know that Atlantis is the only way to get to a new, rich feeding ground.”
John felt sick to his stomach. It wasn’t bad enough that he was responsible for the Wraith waking up and culling world after world here in Pegasus, but it would also be on his shoulders that their sights were set on Earth. He tamped down on his fears, his concern for the family he had left behind on Earth, even if he hadn’t been welcome anymore. He’d put everyone at risk. Everyone.
Rodney grabbed John’s hand, squeezing hard. John turned his head, his face a mask of pain and guilt that he could not hide. “They’re coming for Earth,” he said hoarsely. God, what were they going to do?
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