The Beast Inside

[Amz]

Cold, pain, fear. Hours of emptiness, and loneliness.

Though...when Teyla turned her head and peered into the darkness, glowing blue eyes peered back at her. She was not alone, not truly. He was there. Her monster in the shadows.

His presence alone made Teyla feel like she’d been plunged into an icy river, and in a desperate, futile attempt, she tried to move, tried to scream for help, but the words forming on the tip of her tongue would not pass her lips, robbed of breath while the figure slunk slowly towards her with knife at the ready. A yelp escaped her when he finally came to her side, the blade pressing firmly into her flesh.

Blood flowed freely down her arms and into the trenches beneath the metal slab she suddenly found herself strapped to, had she been there the entire time? She looked down to see the red ooze mingling with the congealed remnants of those of her colleagues who’d not survived under Ferian Adair’s knife.

Her colleagues, her friends.

Now there were voices, and the black room was no longer silent as bony fingers reached out, belonging to those beyond the grave, trying to grab her, their voices rising from their whispering accusations, intent to pull her down into the afterlife with them. In a moment of abject terror, her voice returned, and Teyla screamed, thrashing chaotically as the fingers clawed and tore away at flesh.

As it was, the nightmare she was experiencing didn’t immediately end when she woke up being clutched in someone's arms. “NO! LET GO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!” sweat poured down her face and she continued to struggle until the lucid moment began to fade.

The room was pitch black, but the familiar hum of the engine and the specks of stars passing outside her window reminded Teyla of where she was. Hot tears began drying on her face and her body still trembled while she came out of it. She took a sharp intake of breath, then swallowed, beginning to recognize the firm embrace of the person holding her. Teyla could not see, but she had an idea of who it was. Fingers explored and reached for his face, feeling the stubbled jawline of Riggs. She gave a gasp of relief and let her hand fell back to her lap before slumping into his chest.

“Captain…” she pushed the hair away from her forehead and weakly tried to sit up, concern in her voice. “I’m sorry...I didn’t know it was you. I-I sometimes have these nightmares...Did, did I hurt you?”

[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

Riggs was up for the night watch. Part of the way they kept themselves from crossing the line, especially after the heated kiss they had shared a few weeks prior, was taking shifts in the cockpit. Rocco was looking into the Barabel situation, and the two were set to meet up with him again. His feet were on the console as he leaned back into the chair. A cup of caf that had once been hot was now cold, well more luke warm. Riggs hated luke warm coffee. He was about halfway through his watch and had a half a pot left in the galley.

He sat in the booth for a while enjoying the hot cup of caf when he heard some noise coming from Teyla’s quarters. When she started screaming that someone was hurting her, Damon did the one thing he knew he shouldn’t. Riggs hit the override code on her lock and went into the room. She was thrashing and screaming. He was afraid she might hurt herself, so Riggs sat on the edge of the bed and held her.

”Teyla... Tey.. calm down...”

What she said had him concerned. What was he doing to her? Something had happened to her in the past, Riggs had known she was running from something. Was it this? Damon was nearly popped on the nose, but managed to avoid it thanks to six cups of caf. She finally calmed down and looked at him. She called him Captain. Damon hugged her for a while and ran his hands through her hair.

”Hey hey, it’s okay. It’s just a bad dream. Did you want to talk about it?”

Damon didn’t let go. He was still holding, and he would til he told her to stop.

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

She was relieved that she didn’t seem to hurt him, but when Damon asked if she wanted to talk about it, Teyla’s hands balled against his chest and she grit her teeth, shaking her head, “Not yet...just stay with me for now...please.” while taking deep and steady breaths to help calm herself down.

I am not on a table, I am on the Inquisitor's Revenge, I am safe.

She repeated that in her mind over and over until eventually the tension in her muscles began to ease and with that, Teyla slowly allowed her arms to wrap around Damon’s waist, turning more into the embrace. Breathing started to come back to an even state and once she was entirely calm, Teyla pulled back from his arms.

“When I told you a few weeks ago about Coruscant, I only gave you half of the story.” She had finally come to a place where she trusted Damon to share this information with him. This wasn't the way she imagined it being brought up, but it was as good a time as any to tell him the truth. Still, she turned and moved from him, sliding to the edge and gripping the bed. “I was captured, along with several other officers too. We didn’t know for what purpose the Sith wanted us alive, but it didn’t take long before we found out.” Fingers grazed over her abdomen above her silk nightshirt, hiding the several precision cut scars. “They handed us over to a man named Ferian Adair, so he could use us for some kind of twisted experiment. A lot of my friends died, some of them right in front of me. I was there for months, thinking every day was going to be my last. But he kept me alive, kept tinkering with me. I still can’t wrap my head around how I escaped.”

Teyla bit her lip and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this...before. I thought the nightmares had stopped and I...I was afraid if you knew, I’d have to leave.”

[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

Damon only nodded. There was no reson to say anything, and he understood completely that all she wanted was time. First she was just waking up and likely needed to gather her thoughts. Secondly from what he had heard, Riggs was pretty sure Teyla had just been through something highly emotional. He could feel her heart racing as he pulled her closer, which meant he was kicking his boots off and climbing into the bed with her. It was simply more comfortable. Damon was not making any kind of move with what he was doing. This was the wrong time to do that anyway.

He waited for her to be ready to speak. Her heart rate dropped and breathing evened out before she did. Riggs was trying to be a sense of calm for her, though he didn't know if it was really working. PTSD was something Riggs knew intimately. He and Russo had both suffered from it, and it was in part why when they had found each other again they started a physical relationship. It was a band-aid that never fully worked until Gus had told the two to just get over their issues and have a real relationship with real feelings.

When Teyla started talking, Riggs could not believe what he heard. Never in his lifetime had he heard of someone being a human experiment, and the fact Teyla was functioning as well as she was shocked him. It was natural to think Riggs would have asked her to leave if he knew about the nightmares, but that would only make him a hypocrite. If they didn't get in the way, they were not a problem, and this was the first one he knew about in the few months they had been working together.

"Hey... I'm not sending you packing. That is the least of your worries, you got it," Riggs was firm in his tone, gentle, but firm enough for her to know this was not an issue. "I'm gonna have to wrap my head around this all, but you aren't the only one suffering from PTSD on this ship. I get it. I used to drink way more than I do now because of it. The fact you aren't addicted to anything other than caf is amazing." Clearly Riggs was trying to lighten the mood.

The man really had no clue what to say about the information she had given him. He was buying time in trying to figure it out, but he knew she was going to need to hear something. Teyla had just exposed a secret that was an intimate one, a secret that wasn't shared with just anyone.

"I can't even pretend to understand what being experimented on is like... I'm sorry doesn't seem like enough," Riggs sighed. "I want to say more, but I don't know what to say, and I'm not gonna start asking questions that you don't have answers to."

Riggs pulled Teyla as close as he possibly could and invited her bury herself into his embrace. He couldn't fix this one, and he knew it. He did know one thing, women liked to be held, so he just continued to hold her.

"If you want me to leave, I will, but I'm not going anywhere until you tell me you're ready for me to go..."

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

--------

1 Month Later

It was now zero weeks since her last episode, a night which unexpectedly brought Damon to her bunk, where he’d stayed for a good portion for the rest of that sleep cycle. The support and comfort he freely gave had touched Teyla, and she’d never valued him more for the understanding and patience he’d shown her that night.

He’d let her know she could come to him if it happened again, an offer that at first completely overwhelmed her, but now saw her sneaking past Rocco in the cockpit and over to the captains quarters. Teyla had tried several times to sleep that night, but the gruesome nightmares would not quit and she was left with feeling so exhausted that Riggs became option B. The hope being that his presence would help anchor her as it had the first night.

A light sweater was wrapped around her shoulders over the pajamas she wore, and bare feet padded over to his room. He’d given her the passcode, but it still felt like she was being invasive coming to him like this. Fingers went to punch in the code and paused, retreating back in deliberation. Her logic knew that the dreams weren’t real, and she’d learned how to deal with the morning after effects on her psyche long before Damon was ever part of her life. Even still. After a couple moments of rocking back on her heels in indecision, Teyla finally went through and put the code in. She was tired of coping on her own.

Her hair rustled from the wind when the door to his room swooshed closed behind her and Teyla followed the sounds of deep breathing to his bed. Clutching the sweater closer around herself, she gently prodded Damon.

“Damon...hey…” she bit her lip as he roused, feeling guilty for waking him. “I’m sorry for waking you...for intruding like this..."

[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

Teyla seemed to be doing better. One month and no episodes. Riggs was doing his best to not ask, but he was concerned about what had happened. He wanted to know the details of what had been done to her. Was the man who did this still after her? Was that why the Barabel showed up? Riggs didn’t want to assume that was it, but it had been crossing his mind. Still he was there for anything she needed, and Damon had meant that. As he fell asleep all he could think was that hoped everything was going to be fine.

Everything went black quickly. Riggs had been tired recently and sleep came fast. When he came to it took him a while to figure out what was happening. His vision came into focus to center on Teyla standing next to his bed in a large sweater which she clung to her body tightly. Her words were foggy at first, but he understood. She’d had another nightmare.

Damon said nothing at first, he just scooter over and lifted the covers. He hadn’t expected Teyla to come in that night, and the man usually slept in his shorts. Even though space was cold he had enough blankets to stay warm. ”Climb in,” his groggy voice said. ”You’re not intruding,” he added as the fog in his mind started to clear up. ”You had another nightmare again.”

Riggs reached and grabbed and the pair of sweatpants at the end of his bed. He put the pants on quickly, knowing the last thing Teyla wanted was to be in bed with a near naked captain. The kiss they had shared, and the second one that followed, really complicated this situation. Riggs smiled awkwardly as he pulled the covers back over them.

”It’s going to be okay.”

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

She only nodded, when he mentioned her having another nightmare and felt a little better by his reassurance that she was welcome.

To say in the least, it was an awkward moment for her, too, but wordlessly she let her sweater drop to the ground - though not indecent, still wearing pink shorts and a matching tank top - and slipped in next to him on the plush mattress.

Teyla had not come there for any alternative reason, other than to seek out a bit of comfort from someone who had been where she was. Though, even in her exhausted condition, there were a few vividly unwholesome thoughts that she was not immune to thinking when she became keenly aware that he was topless next to her. Those thoughts were immediately cleared from her mind.

There was definitely a closeness that seemed to be developing between them, but she was still not sure what that meant. They had shared a kiss, both of them had seen each other at possibly their lowest points already, and there was that night, where he’d come rushing in to hold her, without any expectations or judgment to pass.

There was contentment being there now.

But these were not thoughts she would be able to sort through in a single evening, certainly not while in his bed.

With one hand she gathered up her honeyed-brunette locks and pulled them over her shoulder, having the courtesy to not let him wake up to a mouth full of hair in the morning, then fluffed the pillow and turned onto her side, facing him, though keeping some appropriate space.

One arm was tucked underneath her pillow, “I feel much better knowing you are here.” she smiled, “Thank you.”

[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

"I know," Riggs answered, not to sound cocky, but beacuse he genuinely knew. Dealing with the nightmares and the PTSD was always better when someone was there, someone that would help by just being a presence.

The cocky side of Riggs did want to make some kind of comment that this was the second time they had found themselves in bed together, but he knew that would go over like a lead balloon. Naturally when she slipped the sweater off and climbed into his bed in shorts and a matching tank Riggs mind went to how easily it could be for things to go in an entirely different direction. He had to supress those thoughts because that was not why she had come to his room. The danger was also how tempting it could be to use that as a distraction, but Riggs didn't want that. He was a hot blooded man, but he found that he was interested in Teyla as more than just some passing fancy. He hadn't admitted that to anyone out loud, but it was there.

Damon reached across and just let a hand rest on her cheek for a moment. His thumb carressed it before the hand slid down her arm and back to his side. His lips pulled up into a smile.

"Same nightmare," he probed wondering if she was in the mood to talk about it, and to find out if she had even gotten any sleep. "I still have them too... not the same thing I know, but mine... they are less, but not gone.

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

She closed her eyes at the brief warming sensation that started when his thumb brushed over her cheek then slid down her arm and opened them again when it left her.

“Not the same...but they all generally have similar elements.” Teyla shifted a little, she probably wasn’t going to fall asleep any time soon anyway. “Normally, I am strapped to his lab table so I am helpless to do anything while he cuts into me, but this time it was the needles. Then some of the other officers I used to work with will manifest in one way or another. This time I saw Veon. He used to be my partner on the force.” Teyla smiled and felt her stomach tighten, she sucked in and blew out a breath, trying not to let emotion overcome the calm she'd found. “He was a stand up guy, could trust him to always have your back. Even when you were wrong, he was loyal that way.” It surprised her, how easy it felt to talk with him about her dreams. Painful, but easy. She had even been able to bring up Veon, a name not mentioned in almost two years.

When Damon mentioned that he still had the nightmares too, she couldn’t help extend the same invitation for him to share. “Do you want to tell me about them?”

[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

Riggs wasn’t sure if he should ask about her partner. The way she talked about him made Damon think there had been a romantic thing between them. He could have been misreading that entirely, but there it was.

Teyla asked about his dreams. Did he want to talk about them? No. She had trusted him with hers though, so Riggs decided that he needed to open up to Teyla. They were mostly what she knew already, which considering the romantic tension that had been building between them recently, Riggs did feel a little awkward.

”They all start the same. I’m in the Captain’s Ready Room just off the bridge of the ship. Russo is in there because I’d just been chewing her out for crashing and causing me to lose time and man hours on mounting a rescue. Really, I was mad because she almost died. I’m about to work the courage to tell her why I’m so upset, and the red alert sounds. We are being attacked, and Jenkins voice is calling for me to take the bridge.”

Riggs looked away for a moment. He hadn’t really wanted to share how they started, but she had asked.

”That’s when everything goes to pot. I relive every single death. I hear the screams, the noises, the explosions. The crew blames me for their deaths. One by one they remind me of how I lived and they died... It always ends with Jenkins... always his dead body sitting in the Captain’s chair, a voice. ‘It should have been you.’”

He forced a small smile. It wasn’t as gruesome as what Teyla described. A sigh followed. Riggs blue eyes searched for something in Teyla’s darker colored ones. He didn’t know what it was he was looking for, permission maybe. Neither one of them were going to sleep well tonight. He reached for her hand.

”I don’t know if they will ever go away... but it’s always easier with someone around to help shoulder the weight. I won’t leave you alone to your nightmares. It wouldn’t be right, and I can’t do it. You’re stuck with me...”

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

There was a moment, a brief one in the silence, where Teyla’s gut clenched with a bit of guilt. Perhaps she should have stayed quiet. She was just about to open her mouth and let him know they didn’t need to talk about anything he didn’t want to, when he surprised her and began telling her about his own nightmares. Teyla turned onto her stomach, propped up by her elbows and watched him, staying quiet for the duration, listening with great intent to everything he was saying.

This was important to her, because Damon was telling her all of this while sober, and making himself available. She wanted to hear his story, however painful, while not under the influence. But it also made everything that much more difficult.

Through his story, there were a few moments when she wanted to reach out to him, hold him as he had her and offer him comfort, but Teyla did her best to respect their boundaries, especially now.

When he had finished speaking, the forced smile did nothing but make her want to put her arms around him more. Despite her efforts though, his hand had reached for hers, and she did not flinch away. Instead, her fingers wrapped around his and she gave his hand a soft squeeze. His face was shrouded in shadow, but perhaps because of their close proximity she could make out his eyes and the expression she saw reflected there. Teyla understood what it was he was looking for and bit down on her lip. No matter how difficult she found it, Teyla did not allow her eyes to break contact with his.

“How about this? I will allow you to help me shoulder the burden...if you will allow me to help you shoulder yours.” she knew what a sacrifice it was for him to make that offer, but she could not let him carry her problems and his own, it was not healthy, especially not alone. She smiled a little, “I suppose that makes you stuck as well?”

[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

The more they talked, the more danger they were in. The two had said nothing to each other about the kiss they had shared, the one both of them could actually remember. It brought certain feelings to the forefront that neither of them were. More had been said about how much of an idiot Riggs had been for drinking himself to the point of being so drunk that he made his move. They had even talked about how he should have taken that leap when he was sober.

What made this moment so hard was they were talking about their deepest and darkest moments. They were talking about the things that haunted them, and yet there was this tug, a pull. The subject matter didn't make this a moment to attempt another leap of faith, yet that was exactly what they were both asking for. He would help her, she would help him, together they would be able to do what they were not doing alone. Maybe if Riggs had told Russo about the night terrors, the fact they only got worse being back in the navy, maybe then she would have left with him, but she hadn't. Riggs had been alone for the better part of the last couple of years, alone with his guilt to keep him company.

He sighed.

"I suppose that's where we are at then... stuck with each other."

A few months ago they may have not liked that prospect, but Riggs found nothing bad about this idea. Eyes could only stay locked for so long, so Riggs looked away before things got any more awkward, yet he found his eyes going to back to see if she was still looking at him. It seemed it was time to take another leap of faith. It was a dangerous idea considering where they were, but drifting off to sleep didn't seem right.

"Just kiss her already!" Riggs could hear the voice of his best friend in the back of his mind. It was exactly what he would say if he was watching this moment from any vantage point.

Riggs shifted in the bed. Jenkins had always been right. Teyla's words about being the people who let opportunities pass them up until they were too late haunted him as well. Before he knew it, Riggs had closed the gap between them, and without much warning, his lips were pressed against Teyla's. It was an odd thing, but this... this was the first thing that seemed to be right in a long time.

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

Teyla’s brow quirked a little and she couldn’t help the small smile that tugged her lips up on one side. “Guess so.”

This wasn’t the first decision they’d had to make together, they were partners, but this time it was different. It was a decision of trust and honesty, of taking whatever they were building on to another level and learning to depend on the other in an emotional way. To be a support for each other. The thought alone was enough to make her feel nervous.

That only grew when Damon looked away.

Teyla knew this was a lot for both of them, but it seemed like Damon was done talking for the night. Her hand left his and she let her head dip down, averting her gaze to the pillow again. She would not bring up anything else, and just be content to flip on to her other side and fruitlessly try sleeping with the millions of thoughts racing through her mind.

She was about to do just that, until she felt the unexpected pressure of his lips on hers.

Needless to say, she was shocked, but it was not unwelcome. All of her thoughts retreated at once, and before she recognized what was happening, Teyla moved closer to him and acquiesced to his impulse by deepening the kiss. A reminder of what had been shared before, but even different than the previous two. Things were changing between them, and she did not resist.

[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

If there was any hesitation from Teyla, Riggs did not notice. She moved closer, deepened the kiss, and he only returned it all the more. It was much more than a kiss, but rather all the feelings which they had been dancing around seemed to be coming to the forefront in that moment together. All the reason why Riggs should stop kissing Teyla were pushed out of his mind. He only wanted one thing in that moment, her.

The two had shared enough of their pasts and their scars that Riggs knew he wanted to move on with her. Things became heated. One kiss turned into five, which turned into fifty. He rolled Teyla onto her back as he rest with his arm under her neck. Riggs smiled as he leaned down to kiss her, this time his free hand started to run under the tank top she was wearing.

His fingers felt the scar tissue, and the stopped.

Riggs stopped.

He pulled his lips away from Teyla and looked at her. The cutting had not just been part of the nightmare, but it had been real. His mind had to process this. As passionate as he had been about wanting blow their relationship past every professional boundary now exhibted a buring anger in his eyes. Riggs was not mad at Teyla, she would know if she looked at him. Damon was mad that anyone could do this to a person.

"Ferian Adair," Riggs repeated the name which Teyla had said a month ago when he first learned of her nightmares.

Damon got out of the bed in a huff and paced along the floor beside his bed.

"We are going to make this man pay. We will ruin him."

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

Teyla’s mind was a fog.

If it were at all possible, she could definitely drown in Damon’s kisses, and she attempted to answer each one with an equal fervor.

Everything they had tried to keep separate no longer mattered, and both of them were incapable of rational thought. Yes, they had their wounds that needed mending and there would undoubtedly be a long journey ahead, but she was willing to start on that path with him. In that vein, Teyla desired more than flesh, she wanted his companionship.

As it was, things continued to progress quickly, but when he helped her onto her back she suddenly remembered an important detail.

Eyes grew wide and her breathing became shallow, chest tightening while the fog slowly cleared.

“Damon, wai-” she tried to say, before he kissed her again.

Then, the inevitable happened.

Everything that seemed right moments before came to a crashing halt as soon as his fingers brushed against the web of scar tissue that covered her abdomen.

A million thoughts raced through her mind while she tried to gauge his reaction, her eyes wide and fearful at the rejection. Her lungs filled with a sharp intake of breath, wishing there was a place she could run and hide. But as her heart began to slow, Teyla began to take notice of his expression. The way his brows furrowed, the deepening frown. His look was not one of disgust, but of anger.

And just like that, he’d left her entirely and she found herself pulling the blankets up to make up for the warmth he took with him.

The next words out of his mouth made her balk.

If it were possible for her jaw to hit the floor, it would have.

“Are you kidding? And how do you intend to do that? Hm? The man can break all the bones in your body and rearrange them in whatever position he likes by just looking at you. I ran from him Damon and I only survived because…” she shook her head. “No, I don’t...I can't! Look, I have met a lot of dangerous sentients, but he trumps them all.” Just saying that sentence aloud made her flinch, made her feel cowardly. She should want to go after him, but all she really wanted to do was run in the opposite direction.

[member="Damon Riggs"]

 

[Damon Riggs]

Damon knew his reaction just threw a cold, wet blanket on whatever fire they had going between them. Teyla seemed ready to stop him before his hand had dared to explore the skin beneath her shirt. It had been too late, and the moment was gone.

He could see her retreating, as though her initial thoughts had been Damon was rejecting her. Soon it was obvious it was not rejection Damon was expressing, but anger. He had been angry that this man could this to her. The scars seemed to have no reason to them. They were random, as though this Ferian had cut into her simply for the pleasure of doing it. This made him upset more than anything he had seen before.

"Yeah, I might just be!"

Riggs responded. HIs anger was only intensified by the fact he cared for Teyla. Whatever had been about to happen with them was not because of some physical desire for pleasure alone. It had been born out of a vulnerable moment.

"Teyla, you don't get it... I don't care how powerful he is. This man hurt someone I care about, deeply. He has to pay."

And there it was. Riggs had made his first attempt to kiss her when he was drunk, and only when he was mad did he verbally express the fact he cared for her as more than a business partner. The physical contact between them didn't require Riggs to specify what he meant by what he had just said either. This wasn't going to make this night get any better.

When Damon had calmed down he stopped his pacing and walked over to where Teyla was. His eyes closed for a few seconds letting everything around him get dark. When they opened again they fixed onto the woman in front of him.

"I can't not try, Teyla. If we can't go after him directly then we will have to get creative, but even gods bleed."

[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

Was she hearing him right? What was he thinking? Dropping that on her now? Teyla glazed over his admittance in her answer. "Really? You don't care? Because you absolutely should care, if you value your life. Not to mention mine and Rocco's. You think I do not get it? I watched him torture and kill many of my friends, people I loved. I'm not willing to risk losing anymore."

Perhaps they had acted to hastily in all of this and had pushed this much farther than what either of them were ready for. Did she care about him? Yes, of course. She never would have said what she had if she didn't, would not have responded to him if feelings weren't brewing under the surface. Either way, one thing was certain, anything admitted on her part never would have happened right after discovering what he just had. Definitely not while angry. Damon was passionate, she accepted that, and had experienced some of said passion first hand, but there was a time and a place.

Damon’s timing couldn’t have been more miserably placed.

She gave an incredulous shake of her head watching while Damon continued in his manic pacing, causing feelings of anxiety to rise that much more. The colour drained from her face while he went on about going after Ferian, realizing this wasn’t something he was going to give up on so easily. When he finally stopped pacing and came in closer, she moved to the edge where he was and sat up on her knees. Fingers grazed against his cheek and she looked him in the eyes. His intentions were well meaning and she appreciated that, but going after Ferian was a death wish.

“Don't act foolishly. Please, Damon. Do not pursue this, do you hear me?” she drew back her hand, eyes falling away from his as she slipped out from his bed, gathering her crumpled sweater from off the floor, pulling it back around herself. “You need to let it lie.”

Teyla knew it would take more than that for him to give up on this, but she wasn’t going to stick around for cyclic arguments over a subject she had her mind made up over.

“I think it's best that I go back to my own room...” everything was such a mess that her goodnight was awkward. She wasn't mad at him, not even upset, but she needed some space to process this night. Teyla slipped around him, gave him a peck on the cheek and drew away. “So...goodnight then.”

[member="Damon Riggs"]