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sga_santaTitle: A Series of Unfortunate Events
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jeyla4ever
Pairing: Emmagan/Sheppard
Recipient:agriope23
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Spoilers for All of Season 4
Summary: Replaying her words in his head was enough to make any man lose his sanity.
Part 1
Chapter 8
He hid behind a locked steel gate at the bottom of a stairwell. He looked more sullen than scared, more insane than rational.
Her cries had ceased and as much as he didn't care to think of Teyla being tortured, right now he had no clue as to where she could be and if he could hear her again, it would help him find her sooner.
The tunnels and passageways were sealed off, and he had no knowledge of where he was heading. The musty smell, the cobwebs and wetness all around didn't help the situation either.
And there, he heard her again.
The anguish and shouts coming from beneath the tunnels indicated that he wasn't too far.
And then he ran, his skin crawling with anticipation, his body hungry for pain, his mind ready and set to save her even if it meant sacrificing his life.
Reaching down to grab another shell for his P-90, John continued on his path towards the shouts, the cries; Teyla's echoes of pain.
He reached a darkened passage and soon he heard a voice nearby.
"This is not what I expected. How can this be?"
He froze. Without moving his gaze away from the wall in front of him, John raised the corners of his mouth upon hearing the next words.
"You will not accomplish anything from this, Michael! Let me go!"
Teyla.
John knew her words meant nothing to Michael. This was not a man, not even a Wraith anymore. He was stripped of all remorse, sentiment and any trace of humanity; reasoning was obsolete.
Finding his purpose and waiting for the opportunity was the only way he could get Teyla out of there alive.
Peering in for a moment, wondering what his next move would be, he heard footsteps echoing in the midst of the shadows.
The cool dead air nauseated him. He steered clear and entered another passageway and to his surprise, he had a clear view of the events unfolding in front of him.
The first thing he saw was a table holding a body wrapped up in sheet-like material with two bodies standing on each side of the table. He stared up at them from the depths of the dark room and soon the facial features of the one lying on the table were imprinted in his mind.
Teyla.
His entire body froze as he carefully inspected her from head to toe with a newly heightened sense of sight.
Her pale, limp body was strapped down to the table. Her swollen tummy rose higher than he remembered. Her face was covered in sheen of sweat. Her eyes were completely bloodshot. Her arms were bruised and purple. And her breathing was labored, hard and fast.
All his extremities trembled at her sight. Her vision captured him, and his body instinctively responded to her form.
Stepping back against the wall, analyzing his next steps carefully, John knew he had very little time. Breathing hard, his heart beating savagely, he gripped his P-90 firmly, willing to face his tormentor head on.
Closely he inspected the room. Michael was near Teyla's bed and next to her stood one of his demonic creatures.
In the far end of the room, there were all sorts of gadgets and strange equipment.
Teyla groaned once again, and instantly, John's eyes turned to her. Surprisingly, he noticed that Michael caressed her face, his hands soothing her cries, gently coaxing her to relax her body.
"You must not fight it, Teyla. It will only worsen the situation."
"What have you done to me, Michael? What have you done to my child?"
John stared awkwardly at the heart-wrenching scene. His heart pounded murderously.
He treaded back slowly, stumbling; a crackling noise echoed through the room.
Crap.
The hideous monster growled, advancing with strong might. Soon its drooling mouth and sharp fangs faced John.
They both stare at one another, defiantly.
And then it howled a deadly cry, a war-like noise like John had ever heard before.
The gush of green goop oozed from its abdomen. It lunged forward, again, but the sharp bladed-knife was punctured deeper by John's forceful hand.
"Sorry Buddy. No dancing for us tonight. I have other plans."
The sudden gush of blood splattered across the floor, the severed body slumped back, stumbled and fell backwards with a loud thud.
Unexpectedly , everything went blank for John. For a second, he thought he would lose all of his faculties. All it took was another cry of pain from Teyla , and John's reasoning intensified.
Swiftly, he advanced in the room, his P-90 aiming directly at Michael. John noticed his lack of concern or fear. He could have tried to flee while John slaughtered his pet, but for some inexplicable reason, he hadn't left the room or Teyla's side for that matter.
He set the thought to the back of his mind. This was going to end only one way in John's mind. Not until Michael was dead would he stop fighting.
Rage and fury were the only things keeping John alive… and love. The words made his teeth hurt as intimate as his thoughts rendered him to submission as loud as sirens bellowing on a cold dark deathly winter night.
John turned around and soon, his weapon was aimed directly in Michael's head.
"Are you ready to die, Michael?" With a dark tone, he threatened.
He was nothing like the Michael he was used to seeing. His features evidently more human almost like the first time he was transformed back in Atlantis.
"Do not act harshly, Colonel. It will not be to your best interest."
"My interest is strapped down to a table against her will."
And then he glanced at her. Her body convulsed wildly against the restraints.
"John!" Her voice barely recognizable.
"If I do not attend her, she will die," Micheal admitted.
John's fingers released the trigger, but he missed his target.
"JOHN!"
The hit was long and hard. The impact catapulted John's body up and against the wall.
But her cries fueled his anger, enhancing his vengeance and strengthening his inner being.
Swiftly, he moved across the room, grabbing a pointed spear from a nearby table, launching it across the room.
Strike two.
Teyla shouted his name.
His heart skipped a beat, and his thoughts rambled incoherently.
On the one hand Micheal was getting away, and on the other…
His eyes strayed for just a second in Michael's direction, until... "Teyla!"
"The baby! The baby is coming!"
Rushing to her side, John stumbled on the table panicked at the sight before him.
She looked fragile. He unfastened her straps and quickly, her body lunged forward wrapping her arms around his neck in complete submission.
The gentleness and compassion of the act stirred him violently. His hands instinctively encircled her waist and just in a blink of an eye, everything felt right.
But before he had a chance to say or do anymore, his vision blurred. He stared into her bloodshot watery eyes and thought he heard the slightest tone of her voice calling out to him.
As his body succumbed, he reached out to her, a glinting silver necklace sat just above her heart. It was the same as the one he found in the caves when he first met her in Athos.
But soon, darkness fell on him, swallowing him whole.
Chapter 9
Cheated and confused, John rose with a sharp pain pounding his head. He panicked.
"Teyla?"
He scanned the room for her.
Nothing.
"Teyla?"
He stood, but the hammering in his head grew louder.
"TEYLA?"
"John."
His eyes scanned the room. With blurred vision, he noticed a figure hovering over a bed.
"TEYLA!"
Clumsily, staggering about, John moved closer to the figure. His vision cleared slowly as he approached.
"Get away from her, you son of a BITCH!"
Quickening his steps, he grabbed the nearest thing he could get his hands on lunging it at the figure over the bed.
Michael turned towards John, barely holding the bar against his neck.
The bar clashed to the ground, and John crushed his fingers around Michael's throat. Breathlessly Michael leaned forward, slamming John hard on a table.
Kicking himself free from his grasp, John pulled himself up until his face burned in front of Michael.
"You wish me dead and yet I am the only one that can bring her life again! I am not the monster you make of me!"
"Michael, your death sentenced was sealed the minute you laid your hands on her. It's time I finished what I should have done a long time ago."
Forcibly, John kicked Michael away from him, grabbed a metal gadget with three pointed end, lunging forward on top of Michael's body, aiming straight to his heart.
"If you kill me, you lose everything."
And from a distance, he heard her plea, "John. Please, do not."
And the next sound spiked the hairs up from the back of his neck; the cries of a newborn babe.
He stared blankly at Michael. The sharp blade tore through Michael's skin, the slow descend of his blood visible through his clothes.
Quickly, he jerked Michael's body to stand.
"John."
The sound of her voice startled him. It carried something within that caused John to loosen Michael and rush to her side.
Her hair clung to her neck and shoulders. Her skin deathly pale, her darkened eyes had no shine left in them. Shakily, he reached out and tucked a strand of her hair to the back of her face.
His hands felt her cold dry forehead . He leaned over, his tender breath upon her cheek, "I'm here ," he intoned. She reached out to caress his face and nothing else mattered to him.
"It was never my intention to hurt you, to deceive you."
"Stop, Teyla." He looked over to her side and noticed the presence of a tiny form. It caught his attention.
Lovingly, he reached down and touched the newborn's cheek, but then he held his breath as he noticed the colorless pale deadly skin. Nestled against his mom's arms, the tender newborn was unnaturally still.
He panicked. His eyes met hers and all he found was her face staring at him, a pool of tears streaming down her ghostly face.
A pain blackened mist enveloped him. He leaned forward and scooped up her body, but her hand stopped him.
"NO!" she gasped.
"Teyla, I need to get you to Atlantis, quickly," panic evident in his words.
She wrestled with him, her body beneath his arms.
"Please, listen!"
"TEYLA! STOP!"
"Hold me for a minute. There is no time. I have much to say." Breathlessly she pleaded, her fingers tenderly touching his face.
He attempted to lift her off the table, but she shook her head holding the child firmly in her arms.
"Is he not beautiful, John?" she sobbed.
He looked again at the still formed body. Fear, rage, confusion tore his soul at the thought of what it could mean.
"I wished things had been differently between us, John. And yet," she paused.
"Teyla, we will have plenty of time to discuss this after you and the baby have been looked at by Dr. Keller. Now, stop fighting me and let's go."
And then, he felt her body heaved beneath his touch. Her hands withered against his skin. Her eyes deepened in a dark pool liquid.
Pulling his body against hers, her lips reached his mouth, and she muttered her last breath,
"Know this, as I've loved you…my love is true, the same and equal in all things."
A stream of blood strolled out of her mouth.
Her body shook against his hold. He tightened her body and then she stopped.
"Teyla?" He shook her body willing her to awaken, but it lay still in his arms.
He glanced down at the stilled baby, the exact reflection of his mother's face.
"Don't you dare leave me, Teyla!"
He grabbed hold of her body and the child underneath her, arms clashing his chest desperately on top of theirs. His glassy eyes buried on her neck , and his heart raced.
Her limp arms fell to her sides.
His nerves shivered uncontrollably, his stomach hurled and his muscles simply collapsed. His heart stopped beating and in his last breath, a loud shout filled the room rushing through the passageways and forcing its way out into the dark night.
And in the shadows of his flight, he heard a faint familiar voice, "SHEPPARD!"
Chapter 10
Groggily, he awakened. His mind cleared with visions of her face still in his mind.
His lungs heaved; his heart ached and nothing and no else mattered.
He rushed forward, standing upright.
He felt his sides and had no weapons. It didn't matter. Every part of his body had become a deadly weapon upon the first thing that moved in his sight.
"Sheppard!" a mixture of sadness and understanding was in his hoarsely voice.
"Get away from me, Ronon!" a tremor in his voice.
Slowly, he got to his feet, clutching and holding to the railings at his side.
"Sheppard, hear me!" demanded Ronon.
"Where is she?" his voice dry and hoarse carried a threat.
"Sheppard, listen to me!" he raised his voice.
"WHERE IS SHE?" He glares furiously back at Ronon.
"There is no time for this impertinence, Sheppard." Ronon growled.
"I couldn't have said it better myself."
He noticed Ronon's eyebrow rose suspiciously, and all at once John seized with a desire to put an end to the charade.
"Sheppard, calm your anger and simply listen!"
John stared down at Ronon and noticed his weapon was unarmed.
"All I've done is listen. And what good has it done me? She's DEAD!" he stood still. His jaw clenched.
There was a faint scrambling noise from behind Ronon, and the door was hammered thrice until forced open.
"I found it!" Rodney looked anxiously from John to Ronon and then back at John and then stormed out of the room.
Ronon glanced back at Sheppard, "Come on!" He pulled on his shirt and vigorously tug ged John towards him.
And they ran.
John didn't understand, didn't care. But he knew that h was running for his life.
He soon realized that they were in a strange ship; Similar to a hive ship, but not as big.
They ran for what seemed an eternity to John until they finally came to a halt.
"Okay, I've tapped into their systems and this should work," Rodney leaned down, taking a cap of and suddenly two side doors swished open.
Gasping, John cursed at the sight.
Hundreds of bodies hung from the top of the ceiling encased in a pod-like structured filled with a liquid clear substance connected to several tubes injected in their bodies.
John could hear Ronon's growl and felt Rodney's fear.
"We don't have too much time, Rodney. The other ships will be here any minute!"
"No pressure!"
Rodney moved toward the control console and Ronon followed, his stunner arms stretched.
John stood still. Staring at the bodies in front of him, emotions swirling all over him, he couldn't think straight.
"Okay, I think I found something," declared Rodney.
The bodies lowered and John allowed the cases to engulf his being.
"Easy as it may sound, I have no clue how I'm going to do this."
John started to move and without thinking he searched for an unknown.
There were woman, children, old, young, all over. Rows and rows of bodies lined up by the hundreds connected to one source, but for what purpose? Feeding?
He leaned over one woman and stared at her face. She looked normal, healthy almost.
Her eyes were closed but there was movement in them. Was she dreaming?
Moving further, he spotted a room in the far corner. He continued and opened the door.
It looked emptied. Peering in without fear, he glanced around the room and soon spotted a large casket standing, its back towards him.
He moved slowly towards the casket and noticed the similarities of the one they had found in the Aurora ship a couple of years ago which house the aged bodies of the ancient team.
He remembered that he actually laid in one of those trying to tap into the collective mind of the ships crew in order to find out how to recuperate the war ship back to life.
Gently, he inspected the pod. There were some differences to the other pods. It was larger than the one he used and upon further inspection, it was connected to a master console above a large screen.
He touched the console and the screen came to life. On the screen, a motion pictured played.
A little boy with black messy hair held the hand of an even smaller girl with long brown locks of hair bouncing against her back as they walked arm in arm inside a room.
They were giggling uncontrollably trying to hush one another as they stopped near a door.
John moved closer, and realized that these children were inside Atlantis. Scrutinizing the machine closer, John wondered if this was a hidden camera somewhere in Atlantis that he didn't know about. But then, who were the children?
"Would you stop disappearing on us? You are going to give me a heart attack!"
He turned around and found Rodney and Ronon staring worriedly at him.
There were no words to say.
"What is this place, McKay? Ronon asked as he inspected the room.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't quite get to that part of the grounds map." He spitted.
John shrugged his body and turned his attention back to the screen, but to his surprise the images disappeared.
He turned to the pod and Rodney approached the console.
"This is a separate pod unlike the others. Michael has really been a busy mad scientist."
"Michael?" John calls out vehemently.
"Sheppard, you didn't let us explain things to you," began Rodney.
Threateningly, John walked towards Rodney.
"Sheppard!" demanded Ronon.
His body turned toward Ronon who looked directly inside the pod.
Immediately, he rushed to Ronon whose gaze froze at whatever he stared at.
Turning his attention to the inside of the pod, John's heart skipped a beat.
"Teyla!" he gasped.
His hands reach the glass shield and urgently he sought a way to open the pod.
"WAIT!" shouts Rodney, "We don't know what it will do to her to her after all this time."
John turns around quickly, puzzled by Rodney's statement.
"Sheppard, the Teyla we know has not been with us for over a year."
His eyes bore into Ronon's face.
"We never retrieved her from Michael's grasp back on that planet where we came face to face with his beastly creatures." He admitted.
John's eyes widened.
"From what we've gathered, Michael has had encounters with the Replicators. Some sort of an alliance was negotiated among them , and he was able to gather intel of each one of our genetic DNA strands, making it possible for him to ingeniously fuse those from the Nanites into a system of working Wraith DNA causing a new…"
"MCKAY!" John shouted.
"He cloned Teyla."
Nervously, his hands brushed his unruly hair, a clear sign of his frustration.
Shaking his head, he found it impossible to believe.
"No, she was scanned by our medical staff. We would have detected the nanites in her body. She was PREGNANT!" he paced back and forth around the room.
"Well, that's what I was trying to explain to you. She wasn't a Replicator." He stopped his words as John stood still.
John swallowed hard, realization hitting him, paralyzing him completely.
Hastily, he ran towards the pod again.
"Get her out of there!" venom spewing in from his words.
Suddenly, the ship trembled.
"They're here!"
"Michael said we'd had more time!"
Blazing eyes turned towards Rodney.
Shakily, he added, "We had to concede. It was the only way he would give us her location."
Ronon moved closer to John, "We would have never found her, Sheppard. Even I agreed to the compromise."
"You can explain everything to me once Teyla's free and in my arms," he glared at them both.
Rodney moved to the console and pushed a series of controls.
The pod doors unlocked and soon Teyla's body stood just before John.
He stared at her, motionless. A feeling unlike he'd never experienced before tugged at his heart. For him, it had only been minutes that he held her lifeless body in his arms; hers and her child.
Quickly, his eyes fell on her mid-section. Her stomach was completely flat. She wore her black tank top and her black pants. The exact same outfit that she wore on the day Michael had captured her in that hell whole planet that housed his creatures a year ago.
This was simply too much to bear all in a matter of minutes.
He'd seen her die. She had died in his arms. No one could ever make him believe otherwise. Replicator, Nanite, whatever she was, it was nevertheless, Teyla.
For an entire year, he had seeing her suffer, cry, fight, and live beside him in Atlantis. Through the good and the bad, they had lived it all. They had admitted their feelings for one another in the midst of chaos, death, betrayal and complete agony. But they had never strayed from each other. How can he now believe that he was never with Teyla!
He thought back as she spoke her last words to him, "It was never my intention to hurt you, to deceive you. I wished things had been differently between us, John."
He was certain that she didn't know the truth of her being.
And yet, she did acknowledge that at some point, she did know, "Hold me for a minute. There is no time. I have much to say ."
Could have been when Michael told her after he captured her again. And even Michael cared for her, somehow wanted her and her child to live.
He recalled how he watched over her, cared for her and he did in fact deliver her child, "You wish me dead , and yet I am the only one that can bring her life again! I am not the monster you make of me!"
He had so many questions, so many unanswered questions.
"What about Kanan? Was he a part of this plan?" His anger rose and thoughts of vengeance clouded his reasoning.
"He was a figment of her imagination. All part of Michael's plan. And in reality, we aren't even sure what Michael's plan are…were…" Rodney explained.
"What about the baby!?" John hissed.
"He was real, just like she was." John could hear the trembling in Ronon's words.
He was so freaking confused. Nothing made sense. Nothing.
How could he ever make it through it all? No shrink, no pills, no fighting could possibly erase this from his mind. He was completely screwed. He might as well just ask the team to strap him up to a bedpost cause nothing and no one could let these demons out of his mind.
And then he heard her voice, "John."
In his confusion, he forgot that Teyla was right in front of him. The machines all cleared her system and she now stood only inches away from his face.
And all clarity came to full view.
He advanced to her instantly. He skidded two steps and almost joined her inside the pod.
He placed his hands around her waist and with a strong tugged he pushed her body out of the pod and swept her into his arms.
Fanatically, one hand encircled her waist, as the other reached the back of her neck.
A second wave of shots fired the ship and he secured his arms around her waist.
"We gotta get out of here, Sheppard!"
Nothing was going to take him away from savoring this moment.
Teyla was alive, in his arms.
Stepping back to see her face, his eyes met hers.
She looked puzzled, startled.
He lifted Teyla from her feet and spun her around soundly.
"Oh, jeeez! That is so cheesy, Sheppard." He heard Rodney in the background.
Then settling her down, he gazed into her small, upturned face.
"John?" she questioned.
"It's alright, you're safe now," he said huskily.
Leaning his head forward, his chin rested on her head, his hands anchored around her unshakably.
"We really need to go, Sheppard." Ronon bellowed.
He felt her hands roam to the side of his face and slowly he looked down into her contorted face.
"Is everything all right, John?" she asked.
He stared into her bright brown eyes; her face shined illuminating her radiant beauty.
He had been given a second chance, and he'd be damned if he was going to let it go to waste.
"It will be. I promise you that," he whispered reverently.
He bowed his head and pressed her warm hand against his rough stubble cheek, "A lot has happened while you were sleeping."
The ship trembled once again, and Rodney and Ronon ran towards the control console.
"I can't hold this for much longer, you two."
John didn't pay much attention.
"You are acting rather peculiar, John." Her worrisome glance filled him with hope.
Then, he looked into Teyla's eyes, and a hint of glow and something else he couldn't quite distinguish shimmered in her eyes. His eyes were a sparkle with the pure joy of holding her in his arms.
"Well, a series of unfortunate events have finally made me realize what I've missed all these years since I first laid eyes on you."
A smile graced Teyla's lips, her arms tenderly rested on his muscular shoulders.
He held her firmly, drawing her closer to his broad chest. He raised her chin with his fingertips and marveled at her beauty. He gazed down for a long moment before drawing her into a tender embrace. And then without hesitating, he took her lips into the most chaste of kisses.
Author:
jeyla4everPairing: Emmagan/Sheppard
Recipient:
agriope23Rating: PG
Spoilers: Spoilers for All of Season 4
Summary: Replaying her words in his head was enough to make any man lose his sanity.
Part 1
Chapter 8
He hid behind a locked steel gate at the bottom of a stairwell. He looked more sullen than scared, more insane than rational.
Her cries had ceased and as much as he didn't care to think of Teyla being tortured, right now he had no clue as to where she could be and if he could hear her again, it would help him find her sooner.
The tunnels and passageways were sealed off, and he had no knowledge of where he was heading. The musty smell, the cobwebs and wetness all around didn't help the situation either.
And there, he heard her again.
The anguish and shouts coming from beneath the tunnels indicated that he wasn't too far.
And then he ran, his skin crawling with anticipation, his body hungry for pain, his mind ready and set to save her even if it meant sacrificing his life.
Reaching down to grab another shell for his P-90, John continued on his path towards the shouts, the cries; Teyla's echoes of pain.
He reached a darkened passage and soon he heard a voice nearby.
"This is not what I expected. How can this be?"
He froze. Without moving his gaze away from the wall in front of him, John raised the corners of his mouth upon hearing the next words.
"You will not accomplish anything from this, Michael! Let me go!"
Teyla.
John knew her words meant nothing to Michael. This was not a man, not even a Wraith anymore. He was stripped of all remorse, sentiment and any trace of humanity; reasoning was obsolete.
Finding his purpose and waiting for the opportunity was the only way he could get Teyla out of there alive.
Peering in for a moment, wondering what his next move would be, he heard footsteps echoing in the midst of the shadows.
The cool dead air nauseated him. He steered clear and entered another passageway and to his surprise, he had a clear view of the events unfolding in front of him.
The first thing he saw was a table holding a body wrapped up in sheet-like material with two bodies standing on each side of the table. He stared up at them from the depths of the dark room and soon the facial features of the one lying on the table were imprinted in his mind.
Teyla.
His entire body froze as he carefully inspected her from head to toe with a newly heightened sense of sight.
Her pale, limp body was strapped down to the table. Her swollen tummy rose higher than he remembered. Her face was covered in sheen of sweat. Her eyes were completely bloodshot. Her arms were bruised and purple. And her breathing was labored, hard and fast.
All his extremities trembled at her sight. Her vision captured him, and his body instinctively responded to her form.
Stepping back against the wall, analyzing his next steps carefully, John knew he had very little time. Breathing hard, his heart beating savagely, he gripped his P-90 firmly, willing to face his tormentor head on.
Closely he inspected the room. Michael was near Teyla's bed and next to her stood one of his demonic creatures.
In the far end of the room, there were all sorts of gadgets and strange equipment.
Teyla groaned once again, and instantly, John's eyes turned to her. Surprisingly, he noticed that Michael caressed her face, his hands soothing her cries, gently coaxing her to relax her body.
"You must not fight it, Teyla. It will only worsen the situation."
"What have you done to me, Michael? What have you done to my child?"
John stared awkwardly at the heart-wrenching scene. His heart pounded murderously.
He treaded back slowly, stumbling; a crackling noise echoed through the room.
Crap.
The hideous monster growled, advancing with strong might. Soon its drooling mouth and sharp fangs faced John.
They both stare at one another, defiantly.
And then it howled a deadly cry, a war-like noise like John had ever heard before.
The gush of green goop oozed from its abdomen. It lunged forward, again, but the sharp bladed-knife was punctured deeper by John's forceful hand.
"Sorry Buddy. No dancing for us tonight. I have other plans."
The sudden gush of blood splattered across the floor, the severed body slumped back, stumbled and fell backwards with a loud thud.
Unexpectedly , everything went blank for John. For a second, he thought he would lose all of his faculties. All it took was another cry of pain from Teyla , and John's reasoning intensified.
Swiftly, he advanced in the room, his P-90 aiming directly at Michael. John noticed his lack of concern or fear. He could have tried to flee while John slaughtered his pet, but for some inexplicable reason, he hadn't left the room or Teyla's side for that matter.
He set the thought to the back of his mind. This was going to end only one way in John's mind. Not until Michael was dead would he stop fighting.
Rage and fury were the only things keeping John alive… and love. The words made his teeth hurt as intimate as his thoughts rendered him to submission as loud as sirens bellowing on a cold dark deathly winter night.
John turned around and soon, his weapon was aimed directly in Michael's head.
"Are you ready to die, Michael?" With a dark tone, he threatened.
He was nothing like the Michael he was used to seeing. His features evidently more human almost like the first time he was transformed back in Atlantis.
"Do not act harshly, Colonel. It will not be to your best interest."
"My interest is strapped down to a table against her will."
And then he glanced at her. Her body convulsed wildly against the restraints.
"John!" Her voice barely recognizable.
"If I do not attend her, she will die," Micheal admitted.
John's fingers released the trigger, but he missed his target.
"JOHN!"
The hit was long and hard. The impact catapulted John's body up and against the wall.
But her cries fueled his anger, enhancing his vengeance and strengthening his inner being.
Swiftly, he moved across the room, grabbing a pointed spear from a nearby table, launching it across the room.
Strike two.
Teyla shouted his name.
His heart skipped a beat, and his thoughts rambled incoherently.
On the one hand Micheal was getting away, and on the other…
His eyes strayed for just a second in Michael's direction, until... "Teyla!"
"The baby! The baby is coming!"
Rushing to her side, John stumbled on the table panicked at the sight before him.
She looked fragile. He unfastened her straps and quickly, her body lunged forward wrapping her arms around his neck in complete submission.
The gentleness and compassion of the act stirred him violently. His hands instinctively encircled her waist and just in a blink of an eye, everything felt right.
But before he had a chance to say or do anymore, his vision blurred. He stared into her bloodshot watery eyes and thought he heard the slightest tone of her voice calling out to him.
As his body succumbed, he reached out to her, a glinting silver necklace sat just above her heart. It was the same as the one he found in the caves when he first met her in Athos.
But soon, darkness fell on him, swallowing him whole.
Chapter 9
Cheated and confused, John rose with a sharp pain pounding his head. He panicked.
"Teyla?"
He scanned the room for her.
Nothing.
"Teyla?"
He stood, but the hammering in his head grew louder.
"TEYLA?"
"John."
His eyes scanned the room. With blurred vision, he noticed a figure hovering over a bed.
"TEYLA!"
Clumsily, staggering about, John moved closer to the figure. His vision cleared slowly as he approached.
"Get away from her, you son of a BITCH!"
Quickening his steps, he grabbed the nearest thing he could get his hands on lunging it at the figure over the bed.
Michael turned towards John, barely holding the bar against his neck.
The bar clashed to the ground, and John crushed his fingers around Michael's throat. Breathlessly Michael leaned forward, slamming John hard on a table.
Kicking himself free from his grasp, John pulled himself up until his face burned in front of Michael.
"You wish me dead and yet I am the only one that can bring her life again! I am not the monster you make of me!"
"Michael, your death sentenced was sealed the minute you laid your hands on her. It's time I finished what I should have done a long time ago."
Forcibly, John kicked Michael away from him, grabbed a metal gadget with three pointed end, lunging forward on top of Michael's body, aiming straight to his heart.
"If you kill me, you lose everything."
And from a distance, he heard her plea, "John. Please, do not."
And the next sound spiked the hairs up from the back of his neck; the cries of a newborn babe.
He stared blankly at Michael. The sharp blade tore through Michael's skin, the slow descend of his blood visible through his clothes.
Quickly, he jerked Michael's body to stand.
"John."
The sound of her voice startled him. It carried something within that caused John to loosen Michael and rush to her side.
Her hair clung to her neck and shoulders. Her skin deathly pale, her darkened eyes had no shine left in them. Shakily, he reached out and tucked a strand of her hair to the back of her face.
His hands felt her cold dry forehead . He leaned over, his tender breath upon her cheek, "I'm here ," he intoned. She reached out to caress his face and nothing else mattered to him.
"It was never my intention to hurt you, to deceive you."
"Stop, Teyla." He looked over to her side and noticed the presence of a tiny form. It caught his attention.
Lovingly, he reached down and touched the newborn's cheek, but then he held his breath as he noticed the colorless pale deadly skin. Nestled against his mom's arms, the tender newborn was unnaturally still.
He panicked. His eyes met hers and all he found was her face staring at him, a pool of tears streaming down her ghostly face.
A pain blackened mist enveloped him. He leaned forward and scooped up her body, but her hand stopped him.
"NO!" she gasped.
"Teyla, I need to get you to Atlantis, quickly," panic evident in his words.
She wrestled with him, her body beneath his arms.
"Please, listen!"
"TEYLA! STOP!"
"Hold me for a minute. There is no time. I have much to say." Breathlessly she pleaded, her fingers tenderly touching his face.
He attempted to lift her off the table, but she shook her head holding the child firmly in her arms.
"Is he not beautiful, John?" she sobbed.
He looked again at the still formed body. Fear, rage, confusion tore his soul at the thought of what it could mean.
"I wished things had been differently between us, John. And yet," she paused.
"Teyla, we will have plenty of time to discuss this after you and the baby have been looked at by Dr. Keller. Now, stop fighting me and let's go."
And then, he felt her body heaved beneath his touch. Her hands withered against his skin. Her eyes deepened in a dark pool liquid.
Pulling his body against hers, her lips reached his mouth, and she muttered her last breath,
"Know this, as I've loved you…my love is true, the same and equal in all things."
A stream of blood strolled out of her mouth.
Her body shook against his hold. He tightened her body and then she stopped.
"Teyla?" He shook her body willing her to awaken, but it lay still in his arms.
He glanced down at the stilled baby, the exact reflection of his mother's face.
"Don't you dare leave me, Teyla!"
He grabbed hold of her body and the child underneath her, arms clashing his chest desperately on top of theirs. His glassy eyes buried on her neck , and his heart raced.
Her limp arms fell to her sides.
His nerves shivered uncontrollably, his stomach hurled and his muscles simply collapsed. His heart stopped beating and in his last breath, a loud shout filled the room rushing through the passageways and forcing its way out into the dark night.
And in the shadows of his flight, he heard a faint familiar voice, "SHEPPARD!"
Chapter 10
Groggily, he awakened. His mind cleared with visions of her face still in his mind.
His lungs heaved; his heart ached and nothing and no else mattered.
He rushed forward, standing upright.
He felt his sides and had no weapons. It didn't matter. Every part of his body had become a deadly weapon upon the first thing that moved in his sight.
"Sheppard!" a mixture of sadness and understanding was in his hoarsely voice.
"Get away from me, Ronon!" a tremor in his voice.
Slowly, he got to his feet, clutching and holding to the railings at his side.
"Sheppard, hear me!" demanded Ronon.
"Where is she?" his voice dry and hoarse carried a threat.
"Sheppard, listen to me!" he raised his voice.
"WHERE IS SHE?" He glares furiously back at Ronon.
"There is no time for this impertinence, Sheppard." Ronon growled.
"I couldn't have said it better myself."
He noticed Ronon's eyebrow rose suspiciously, and all at once John seized with a desire to put an end to the charade.
"Sheppard, calm your anger and simply listen!"
John stared down at Ronon and noticed his weapon was unarmed.
"All I've done is listen. And what good has it done me? She's DEAD!" he stood still. His jaw clenched.
There was a faint scrambling noise from behind Ronon, and the door was hammered thrice until forced open.
"I found it!" Rodney looked anxiously from John to Ronon and then back at John and then stormed out of the room.
Ronon glanced back at Sheppard, "Come on!" He pulled on his shirt and vigorously tug ged John towards him.
And they ran.
John didn't understand, didn't care. But he knew that h was running for his life.
He soon realized that they were in a strange ship; Similar to a hive ship, but not as big.
They ran for what seemed an eternity to John until they finally came to a halt.
"Okay, I've tapped into their systems and this should work," Rodney leaned down, taking a cap of and suddenly two side doors swished open.
Gasping, John cursed at the sight.
Hundreds of bodies hung from the top of the ceiling encased in a pod-like structured filled with a liquid clear substance connected to several tubes injected in their bodies.
John could hear Ronon's growl and felt Rodney's fear.
"We don't have too much time, Rodney. The other ships will be here any minute!"
"No pressure!"
Rodney moved toward the control console and Ronon followed, his stunner arms stretched.
John stood still. Staring at the bodies in front of him, emotions swirling all over him, he couldn't think straight.
"Okay, I think I found something," declared Rodney.
The bodies lowered and John allowed the cases to engulf his being.
"Easy as it may sound, I have no clue how I'm going to do this."
John started to move and without thinking he searched for an unknown.
There were woman, children, old, young, all over. Rows and rows of bodies lined up by the hundreds connected to one source, but for what purpose? Feeding?
He leaned over one woman and stared at her face. She looked normal, healthy almost.
Her eyes were closed but there was movement in them. Was she dreaming?
Moving further, he spotted a room in the far corner. He continued and opened the door.
It looked emptied. Peering in without fear, he glanced around the room and soon spotted a large casket standing, its back towards him.
He moved slowly towards the casket and noticed the similarities of the one they had found in the Aurora ship a couple of years ago which house the aged bodies of the ancient team.
He remembered that he actually laid in one of those trying to tap into the collective mind of the ships crew in order to find out how to recuperate the war ship back to life.
Gently, he inspected the pod. There were some differences to the other pods. It was larger than the one he used and upon further inspection, it was connected to a master console above a large screen.
He touched the console and the screen came to life. On the screen, a motion pictured played.
A little boy with black messy hair held the hand of an even smaller girl with long brown locks of hair bouncing against her back as they walked arm in arm inside a room.
They were giggling uncontrollably trying to hush one another as they stopped near a door.
John moved closer, and realized that these children were inside Atlantis. Scrutinizing the machine closer, John wondered if this was a hidden camera somewhere in Atlantis that he didn't know about. But then, who were the children?
"Would you stop disappearing on us? You are going to give me a heart attack!"
He turned around and found Rodney and Ronon staring worriedly at him.
There were no words to say.
"What is this place, McKay? Ronon asked as he inspected the room.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't quite get to that part of the grounds map." He spitted.
John shrugged his body and turned his attention back to the screen, but to his surprise the images disappeared.
He turned to the pod and Rodney approached the console.
"This is a separate pod unlike the others. Michael has really been a busy mad scientist."
"Michael?" John calls out vehemently.
"Sheppard, you didn't let us explain things to you," began Rodney.
Threateningly, John walked towards Rodney.
"Sheppard!" demanded Ronon.
His body turned toward Ronon who looked directly inside the pod.
Immediately, he rushed to Ronon whose gaze froze at whatever he stared at.
Turning his attention to the inside of the pod, John's heart skipped a beat.
"Teyla!" he gasped.
His hands reach the glass shield and urgently he sought a way to open the pod.
"WAIT!" shouts Rodney, "We don't know what it will do to her to her after all this time."
John turns around quickly, puzzled by Rodney's statement.
"Sheppard, the Teyla we know has not been with us for over a year."
His eyes bore into Ronon's face.
"We never retrieved her from Michael's grasp back on that planet where we came face to face with his beastly creatures." He admitted.
John's eyes widened.
"From what we've gathered, Michael has had encounters with the Replicators. Some sort of an alliance was negotiated among them , and he was able to gather intel of each one of our genetic DNA strands, making it possible for him to ingeniously fuse those from the Nanites into a system of working Wraith DNA causing a new…"
"MCKAY!" John shouted.
"He cloned Teyla."
Nervously, his hands brushed his unruly hair, a clear sign of his frustration.
Shaking his head, he found it impossible to believe.
"No, she was scanned by our medical staff. We would have detected the nanites in her body. She was PREGNANT!" he paced back and forth around the room.
"Well, that's what I was trying to explain to you. She wasn't a Replicator." He stopped his words as John stood still.
John swallowed hard, realization hitting him, paralyzing him completely.
Hastily, he ran towards the pod again.
"Get her out of there!" venom spewing in from his words.
Suddenly, the ship trembled.
"They're here!"
"Michael said we'd had more time!"
Blazing eyes turned towards Rodney.
Shakily, he added, "We had to concede. It was the only way he would give us her location."
Ronon moved closer to John, "We would have never found her, Sheppard. Even I agreed to the compromise."
"You can explain everything to me once Teyla's free and in my arms," he glared at them both.
Rodney moved to the console and pushed a series of controls.
The pod doors unlocked and soon Teyla's body stood just before John.
He stared at her, motionless. A feeling unlike he'd never experienced before tugged at his heart. For him, it had only been minutes that he held her lifeless body in his arms; hers and her child.
Quickly, his eyes fell on her mid-section. Her stomach was completely flat. She wore her black tank top and her black pants. The exact same outfit that she wore on the day Michael had captured her in that hell whole planet that housed his creatures a year ago.
This was simply too much to bear all in a matter of minutes.
He'd seen her die. She had died in his arms. No one could ever make him believe otherwise. Replicator, Nanite, whatever she was, it was nevertheless, Teyla.
For an entire year, he had seeing her suffer, cry, fight, and live beside him in Atlantis. Through the good and the bad, they had lived it all. They had admitted their feelings for one another in the midst of chaos, death, betrayal and complete agony. But they had never strayed from each other. How can he now believe that he was never with Teyla!
He thought back as she spoke her last words to him, "It was never my intention to hurt you, to deceive you. I wished things had been differently between us, John."
He was certain that she didn't know the truth of her being.
And yet, she did acknowledge that at some point, she did know, "Hold me for a minute. There is no time. I have much to say ."
Could have been when Michael told her after he captured her again. And even Michael cared for her, somehow wanted her and her child to live.
He recalled how he watched over her, cared for her and he did in fact deliver her child, "You wish me dead , and yet I am the only one that can bring her life again! I am not the monster you make of me!"
He had so many questions, so many unanswered questions.
"What about Kanan? Was he a part of this plan?" His anger rose and thoughts of vengeance clouded his reasoning.
"He was a figment of her imagination. All part of Michael's plan. And in reality, we aren't even sure what Michael's plan are…were…" Rodney explained.
"What about the baby!?" John hissed.
"He was real, just like she was." John could hear the trembling in Ronon's words.
He was so freaking confused. Nothing made sense. Nothing.
How could he ever make it through it all? No shrink, no pills, no fighting could possibly erase this from his mind. He was completely screwed. He might as well just ask the team to strap him up to a bedpost cause nothing and no one could let these demons out of his mind.
And then he heard her voice, "John."
In his confusion, he forgot that Teyla was right in front of him. The machines all cleared her system and she now stood only inches away from his face.
And all clarity came to full view.
He advanced to her instantly. He skidded two steps and almost joined her inside the pod.
He placed his hands around her waist and with a strong tugged he pushed her body out of the pod and swept her into his arms.
Fanatically, one hand encircled her waist, as the other reached the back of her neck.
A second wave of shots fired the ship and he secured his arms around her waist.
"We gotta get out of here, Sheppard!"
Nothing was going to take him away from savoring this moment.
Teyla was alive, in his arms.
Stepping back to see her face, his eyes met hers.
She looked puzzled, startled.
He lifted Teyla from her feet and spun her around soundly.
"Oh, jeeez! That is so cheesy, Sheppard." He heard Rodney in the background.
Then settling her down, he gazed into her small, upturned face.
"John?" she questioned.
"It's alright, you're safe now," he said huskily.
Leaning his head forward, his chin rested on her head, his hands anchored around her unshakably.
"We really need to go, Sheppard." Ronon bellowed.
He felt her hands roam to the side of his face and slowly he looked down into her contorted face.
"Is everything all right, John?" she asked.
He stared into her bright brown eyes; her face shined illuminating her radiant beauty.
He had been given a second chance, and he'd be damned if he was going to let it go to waste.
"It will be. I promise you that," he whispered reverently.
He bowed his head and pressed her warm hand against his rough stubble cheek, "A lot has happened while you were sleeping."
The ship trembled once again, and Rodney and Ronon ran towards the control console.
"I can't hold this for much longer, you two."
John didn't pay much attention.
"You are acting rather peculiar, John." Her worrisome glance filled him with hope.
Then, he looked into Teyla's eyes, and a hint of glow and something else he couldn't quite distinguish shimmered in her eyes. His eyes were a sparkle with the pure joy of holding her in his arms.
"Well, a series of unfortunate events have finally made me realize what I've missed all these years since I first laid eyes on you."
A smile graced Teyla's lips, her arms tenderly rested on his muscular shoulders.
He held her firmly, drawing her closer to his broad chest. He raised her chin with his fingertips and marveled at her beauty. He gazed down for a long moment before drawing her into a tender embrace. And then without hesitating, he took her lips into the most chaste of kisses.
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Date: 2008-01-06 09:20 pm (UTC)I'm the kind of person who can't just go 'check out' something on internet. This time around, I've been here six hours. So around exam time, I avoided my computer all around to focus on studying instead.
Then I read this story, written for me and I feel really bad I didn't comment sooner, hence the explanation.
It's beyond great. The plot outline, how you build your story slowly but surely. Suffices to say I love it, thank you so much!!!
Unfortunate events, indeed. :)
no subject
Date: 2008-01-07 09:02 pm (UTC)Glad you liked it. Happy New Years!