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Chapter 1 - Discord

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Charging down the hallways of Atlantis, hot on Teyla's heels, John Sheppard was furious. He and Teyla had returned from their latest mission so angry with each other, they weren't speaking. Along with McKay and Ronon, they had done their duty and reported to the infirmary for their required checkup. McKay had happily made himself scarce and even Ronon tried to make himself appear smaller so as not to be seen as a viable target. Immediately after Dr. Keller had released them, the chase had been on.

"You can't run forever, Teyla!" John yelled.

At that, she spun around and marched straight up to him. "Is this where you want to discuss this? Here?"

She motioned to several stunned passersby, who had no idea what they had stumbled onto. At the sight of all the shocked faces, John lowered his voice to a growl. "My quarters, right now."

"Fine," she hissed back at him.

In a few minutes, they had reached John's door. He stepped forward and opened the locked door with a wave of his hand and the two entered the room ready for a fight.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" he yelled. "You were given a direct order. I told you no one was supposed to go into that building! Those people were already itching to get rid of us after the McKay incident and that was a simple violation of etiquette. If you had been caught, they would have killed us all."

"What else could I have done? I am going to find my people, John! I owe it to them," Teyla fired back.

Shaking his head, he said, "We don't know that they had any information on Michael's operation at all, let alone anything having to do with the Athosians."

"John, there was something in there they did not want us to see."

"And for all we know it was their secret recipe for biscuits. You knew how sensitive they were on the whole subject and you risked all our lives on a hunch. You're letting your emotions get the better of you, Teyla, and it's clouding your judgment. As of this second, you are suspended from duty."

Teyla was stunned into silence. She couldn't believe what he had just done. He'd tied her hands. She wouldn't be able to continue her search. She felt the traitorous tears starting to boil to the surface and turned her back on John. "For how long?"

"Until I decide I can trust you again."

Still facing away from him, she asked, "Can I go, Colonel?" A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Fine."

With that, Teyla turned, her face avoiding his, and left as quickly as she could. As soon as she was gone, the doors slid shut.

In frustration, John slammed his hand into a pile of books on his nightstand. War and Peace, in addition to a few other rather large books went flying against his wall. John immediately regretted having done it, because his hand started screaming in pain.

Dr. Keller was used to seeing John Sheppard in the infirmary, but rarely was it twice in the same hour. "It's just a sprain, Colonel. We'll just get it wrapped up and you'll be as good as new in a day or so."

He was surprisingly quiet. Usually she was able to get a few smart comments out of him, if he wasn't busy out and out complaining. She found his silence a little disconcerting. She set about doing her job and wrapped the injured wrist.

The look on Sheppard's face told her that he clearly wasn't going to talk, but she figured it couldn't hurt to try anyway. "Can I ask what happened? I know you told me that you hit a pile of books, but … You and Teyla didn't … I just mean, you two were pretty angry earlier … "

John just stared at her and muttered, "No."

Jennifer nodded and decided it would be best to just put her head down and keep out of it for the time being. She finished the wrap in no time.

"Okay, you're all set." John was up and out of his seat in an instant. She yelled after him, "Do you need anything for the … "

He was already out the door.

" … pain?"

Teyla sat with Rodney and Ronon at breakfast the next morning. She had not slept well and instead of a proper meal, she was nursing a cup of coffee. The Earth drink was well known for being Rodney's drug of choice, but typically Teyla preferred fruit juice or a good Athosian tea. Ronon noticed that she was a bit off and gave her a questioning look.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired this morning," she said.

At that point, Rodney piped in. "So, when are you going to tell us what happened? Zalenka mentioned something about having seen Colonel Sheppard's wrist all wrapped up. You didn't, uh … you know … do your ninja thing?"

"No, I did not, Rodney. We simply had a … discussion," she responded. No sooner were the words out of her mouth, but Sheppard walked into the mess hall. He and Teyla locked eyes as he made he way over to the food counter. In an instant, he decided to use one of the privileges of his rank. He jumped the line, made quick work of choosing his breakfast, and with no ceremony, carried his tray out of the mess hall.

"I guess he's still mad, huh?" Rodney observed.

"I have been suspended."

Ronon sat up in his chair. "For how long?"

"I do not yet know." At the sight of the stern expression on Ronon's face, she tried to appease him. "I disobeyed orders. He is within his rights."

"They were hiding something," he mumbled. "I would've done the same thing."

With a mouthful of powdered doughnut, Rodney chimed in. "We aren't even scheduled to go offworld until next week. I'm sure this will have blown over by then."

She sincerely hoped he was right. Teyla made up her mind right then to apologize to John. For her people. She could swallow her pride if it meant having a chance of getting them back.

He was avoiding her. For days, she had tried talking to him at mealtimes, but he would disappear like he had that morning. She had waited for him after his sparring session with Ronon, but he made an excuse about needing a shower. Teyla eventually grew tired of the chase and went back to the scene of their blowup; John's quarters.

It was late. Sheppard had been busy all day in meetings and Teyla had just finished up at one of her poker nights. She had no idea what to expect from him, but she screwed up her courage and knocked on the door.

A minute later, bleary-eyed and messy-haired, John opened the door.

"Teyla." His face was inscrutable.

"May I come in?" she asked. He said nothing. He just stepped aside and put his arm out, motioning for her to enter. "I did not mean to wake you."

"It's no problem. You wanna sit down?" He gestured to an armchair in the corner.

"Thank you," she said as she sat down.

John sat down on his bed and waited for her to start talking. It took her a few moments.

"I should not have gone behind your back on Lythera. You were right. I put everyone at risk."

"Yes, you did."

"I am sorry, John," she said. She stared into his eyes, desperate to get an idea of what might be going through his mind. He pursed his lips, the way he always did when he was thinking. It hurt her more than she realized to think that perhaps he would not accept her apology.

John broke the silence, suddenly. "Why didn't you come to me, Teyla? Why take such a risk?"

"You would not have understood," she answered.

This time, it was his face that looked hurt, but it was only for the briefest of moments. He got up from his bed and opened the door for her. When she got up to leave, he said, "We're leaving for Vadeena at 0800." For a moment, she was confused. The team wasn't supposed to be going anywhere for three more days. "You asked to go visit the Seer, remember?"

She nodded her head and continued out the door. Before she got very far, he called after her. "I would've at least had someone watching your back, Teyla." He went inside his room and the door slid shut behind him.