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TITLE: Comfort
SUMMARY: Teyla could not bring herself to delve into John's pain; he would share it if he wished, in his own time.
CATEGORY: vignette, angst, friendship
RATING: PG-13
NOTES: As far as I know, other than an anonymouse request, and the John/Teyla babyfic that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
allisnow is never going to get, I'm done. Oh, wait - another Teyla/Lorne fic and then we're done. This one is for doxymom who wanted John, Teyla, H/C and the theme of 'mothers'.
Comfort
She found him in his rooms, standing by the window with a letter crumpled in his hand. "John?"
He didn't turn from his contemplation of the storm outside, of the rain that dashed itself across the transparent material of the windows. "Yeah."
"Elizabeth said you left the meeting very abruptly." Teyla was not in the habit of following John when he was in a 'mood' but her instincts had been nagging her until she went to find him. "You have received news from Earth?"
He glanced down at the letter, the grim, bleak light falling harsh across his features and the planes of the letter. "My mom's dead."
Teyla had not known he still had family on Earth. "I am sorry."
He shrugged. "I'm not." Yet his posture and his withdrawl indicated the lie and they both knew it.
Another gust of wind splattered water across the windows with renewed force, the pattering clear in the silence as she came to stand beside him.
It was instinct that had brought her here, and instinct that made her stay when he said nothing more. Instinct was rewarded as he spoke quietly. "Tell me about your mom."
Teyla glanced at him, met the intensity of his gaze, looked away, uncertain of what she should say. "She was taken by the Wraith when I was ten." Her skin chilled at the memory of the scattered, limping survivors of that culling, peering through the darkness for loved ones that were no longer there. "My father was never quite the same again. He was the chosen leader of our people, but my mother was his support."
She remembered the cool, sweet voice in all her childhood memories, calling her in for dinner, chiding her for mischief, vibrant with rage at something her daughter had done.
John said nothing, but still she could feel him listening.
"It was she who taught me the ways of the woods. We would spend all day foraging in the forest. She taught me how to listen for creatures, how to track living things, what roots and plants were edible." Teyla swallowed, remembering another culling and the buzzing that had invaded her mind as the Wraith came by. "She taught me to listen for the Wraith. My gift comes from her."
Teyla shivered slightly, pulling the jacket closer around her. "They say I look like her. But I always thought she was beautiful - the most beautiful woman in the world." She shrugged. "What one always thinks about one's own mother."
The good-natured grace, the calm competence, the laughter and love in her eyes as she looked at her family - Teyla's body was cold, but her heart remembered the warmth of her mother's affection.
"I'm sorry."
Surprised, she looked at him. "Why?" Her memories of her mother were old but not painful, weathered with time and loss, tinted with pleasure.
He turned away and didn't say anything for a while. "You're lucky," he said at last. "I wish..." But there he stopped and said no more.
Teyla was aware that the Atlantean family relationships broke down, that ties and connections were lost, never to be regained. She could not bring herself to delve into John's pain; he would share it if he wished, in his own time. She touched his arm, gripping him with her fingers in firm reassurance.
When his arms slipped gently around her, she let him take tactile comfort in her presence.
He need not grieve alone.
- fin -
SUMMARY: Teyla could not bring herself to delve into John's pain; he would share it if he wished, in his own time.
CATEGORY: vignette, angst, friendship
RATING: PG-13
NOTES: As far as I know, other than an anonymouse request, and the John/Teyla babyfic that
allisnow is never going to get, I'm done. Oh, wait - another Teyla/Lorne fic and then we're done. This one is for doxymom who wanted John, Teyla, H/C and the theme of 'mothers'.Comfort
She found him in his rooms, standing by the window with a letter crumpled in his hand. "John?"
He didn't turn from his contemplation of the storm outside, of the rain that dashed itself across the transparent material of the windows. "Yeah."
"Elizabeth said you left the meeting very abruptly." Teyla was not in the habit of following John when he was in a 'mood' but her instincts had been nagging her until she went to find him. "You have received news from Earth?"
He glanced down at the letter, the grim, bleak light falling harsh across his features and the planes of the letter. "My mom's dead."
Teyla had not known he still had family on Earth. "I am sorry."
He shrugged. "I'm not." Yet his posture and his withdrawl indicated the lie and they both knew it.
Another gust of wind splattered water across the windows with renewed force, the pattering clear in the silence as she came to stand beside him.
It was instinct that had brought her here, and instinct that made her stay when he said nothing more. Instinct was rewarded as he spoke quietly. "Tell me about your mom."
Teyla glanced at him, met the intensity of his gaze, looked away, uncertain of what she should say. "She was taken by the Wraith when I was ten." Her skin chilled at the memory of the scattered, limping survivors of that culling, peering through the darkness for loved ones that were no longer there. "My father was never quite the same again. He was the chosen leader of our people, but my mother was his support."
She remembered the cool, sweet voice in all her childhood memories, calling her in for dinner, chiding her for mischief, vibrant with rage at something her daughter had done.
John said nothing, but still she could feel him listening.
"It was she who taught me the ways of the woods. We would spend all day foraging in the forest. She taught me how to listen for creatures, how to track living things, what roots and plants were edible." Teyla swallowed, remembering another culling and the buzzing that had invaded her mind as the Wraith came by. "She taught me to listen for the Wraith. My gift comes from her."
Teyla shivered slightly, pulling the jacket closer around her. "They say I look like her. But I always thought she was beautiful - the most beautiful woman in the world." She shrugged. "What one always thinks about one's own mother."
The good-natured grace, the calm competence, the laughter and love in her eyes as she looked at her family - Teyla's body was cold, but her heart remembered the warmth of her mother's affection.
"I'm sorry."
Surprised, she looked at him. "Why?" Her memories of her mother were old but not painful, weathered with time and loss, tinted with pleasure.
He turned away and didn't say anything for a while. "You're lucky," he said at last. "I wish..." But there he stopped and said no more.
Teyla was aware that the Atlantean family relationships broke down, that ties and connections were lost, never to be regained. She could not bring herself to delve into John's pain; he would share it if he wished, in his own time. She touched his arm, gripping him with her fingers in firm reassurance.
When his arms slipped gently around her, she let him take tactile comfort in her presence.
He need not grieve alone.
- fin -
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