Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own SGA.

Author's notes: This takes place during season 4 up to "Midway". From there it breaks off from canon…so I suppose you can consider this AU. This part is not a happy one, but stick with me…I always love a happy ending! As usual, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

This story is a present for my dear friend, Lea, who is one of the kindest people I have had the pleasure of knowing. Happy birthday and God bless!

Balloons floated throughout the room, streamers spanned the length of the room, shards of wrapping paper were scattered on the floor despite the best efforts to clean it all up. It was the signs of a quintessential birthday part for a three year old.

Teyla walked to where John was standing, watching everyone delight in the festivities. "It is difficult to believe he has grown up so quickly. There are times when I can recall his birth in excruciating detail," she said quietly as she watched her son, Gatan, play with his newly unwrapped toys.

He winced at the memory. "There are times I remember it that well. Not one of your best moments," he responded playfully. "Still, three years old. Soon he'll be expecting to be able to go cruising in the jumper."

She smiled as she watched her son smash two toy cars together. "Somehow that would not surprise me."

After a few more minutes of playing, Gatan looked at Teyla. "Can we have cake now, Momma?"

"Yes, please," chimed in Rodney, barely containing the urge to lick his lips.

John rolled his eyes. "Better not let the kiddies get too anxious," he muttered as he crossed the room to where the cake was displayed. He grabbed the large dinosaur cake with three unlit candles and set it in front of Gatan. "Do you remember what to do?"

The boy nodded. "Yes! Blow out the candles!"

John grinned. "Don't forget to make a wish."

Confusion fell on Gatan's face. "A wish?"

Kneeling down so he was eye level with him, John nodded. "It's something that you really, really want more than anything in the world. But, you can't tell anyone. It's a secret."

Gatan nodded solemnly. "I won't tell."

Teyla used her Athosian lighter to light the candles. After they were lit, everyone started singing "Happy Birthday" to Gatan. Once everyone stopped, he blew out his candles. "I wish I had a blaster like Ronon," he said. Realizing his mistake, he put his hands over his mouth.

John grinned. "We'll have to work on the whole keeping-a-secret-thing."

A couple of hours later, John carried Gatan inside Teyla's quarters and set him on his bed after he fell asleep in the mess hall.

"Thank you," Teyla said quietly as she closed the door to Gatan's section of the living quarters. "I did not expect for him to fall asleep so suddenly."

John shrugged as he smiled. "He's been talking about today for weeks. He did have a pretty exciting day." His grin was unreturned; Teyla looked preoccupied. "You doing ok?"

Her smile was forced which raised John's level of concern. "It is…" she paused before continuing. "Though this is a day of celebration, I cannot help but to think of my people…and Kanaan."

Understanding her sorrow, John opened his arms to embrace Teyla. "Come here," he instructed gently.

Without hesitation, she walked towards him. He absorbed her grief instantly. Though she felt better, she didn't pull away. She was content to stay in his arms and receive the comfort of a friend. He closed his eyes as the events from over three years ago played in his mind.

Things had been relatively quiet on Atlantis when Teyla received a tip from one of the villages she had traded with often of where her people were being held. Despite being nearly full-term, she had asked, no, begged, Colonel Carter to be able to go with the team to follow the lead. Reluctantly, Carter said yes, but only on the condition that she stayed in the cloaked puddle jumper until John's team deemed the area safe. Knowing that was the best deal she was going to be offered, she agreed.

The four of them loaded into the jumper and went through the gate. Rodney eyed Teyla's stomach apprehensively. "You are sure you're not going to go into labor, right? I mean, none of us are exactly trained for that kind of thing."

She plastered a phony smile on her face. "I assure you, Rodney, the birth of my child is not immanent. Finding my people, however, is."

Rodney wisely remained silent while John scanned for a place to land the jumper that was near the gate. Teyla walked to the front and sat next to John. "You doing ok?" he asked quietly.

"I will be much better once I find out how my people are doing," she answered softly. "I can only hope this information will lead us to them. It has been over six months since they have gone missing." Subconsciously, she rubbed her stomach. "Time is running short."

Though John had been jealous when he first found out about Teyla's pregnancy, he soon found pity for her. She was truly alone. Her strength and courage during this difficult time made him respect her even more than before.

He landed the jumper several hundred feet from the gate. "It shouldn't take us that long. Keep your radio on."

"I will."

"And if we run into any trouble, you dial up the gate and get back to Atlantis. No waiting for us," John said, looking worried.

"I will be safe, John. The welfare of my child is my top priority," she assured him.

John nodded to Ronon and Rodney and exited the jumper. According to the information they received, the Athosians were being held in some kind of old building on a planet that everyone thought had been abandoned many generations ago.

In the distance, John saw the dilapidated building. It looked as though it was barely standing, most of its structure exposed. As they approached it, the stench of rotting flesh hit John's nose. Suddenly he knew this wasn't going to be a rescue mission. With Ronon and Rodney by his side, John walked inside the building.

As they walked down the hallway, the horrific nature of the situation was tangible; even Rodney was uncharacteristically quiet. John looked around, noticing mold covering most of the ceiling. The sound of rodents scurrying across the concrete floor seemed deafening in contrast to the eerie silence the blanketed the rest of the building.

The strong odor led the three to the end of a hallway where a door was open slightly ajar. John exchanged a glance with the rest of his team before pushing the door open completely. Immediately the stench reached and grabbed them, forcing them to gag.

Inside, they saw dozens of rotting bodies piled on top of each other. John's eyes fluttered closed as the people he once knew lay there motionless and decaying.

"Who is going to tell Teyla?" Rodney asked shakily, breaking the heavy silence.

Quickly John volunteered, leaving the two with the bodies to find some kind of clue as to who committed such atrocities. As he walked back, he tried to mentally prepared himself for Teyla's reaction, but knew that there was no way he was ever going to be prepared.

How does one tell a friend that everyone she had known her whole life was dead?

The door on the back of the jumper opened, responding to his mental command. Teyla stood up, a wide smile on her face. Once she saw John's expression, however, her face fell.

"Do not tell me. I must see it for myself," she firmly requested.

He nodded slowly and silently led her back to where they found her people. John watched as her eyes grew in horror as her mind processed the appalling smell. When she walked into the barely lit room where her people were piled, she let out a gasp and collapsed to her knees.

Both Ronon and Rodney stopped their search and watched Teyla cry.

After a few tense moments, she drew a deep breath and looked at Ronon with a deathly glare. "Who did this to my people?"

He looked at her with understanding. Both of them were orphans, the last of their kind. "We found this," Ronon said, holding out an object that looked like a piece of an arm.

"We think it's from one of the creatures that Michael created," added Rodney.

Fury was born the moment she heard his name. "We must find him. This will not be allowed to go without consequences," she said with a harshness he had never heard before.

"We will," John assured her.

Teyla spent the next several hours identifying as many bodies as she could. Often times, due to the decay, a piece of jewelry or fabric was the only thing she could use to deduce who the person was. Near the bottom of the pile, she gasped as she saw the face of her former lover. "Kanaan," she whispered, her voice shaking. "You never knew." She rubbed her stomach.

With more determination than before, she identified the remainder of the corpses. All of her people had been accounted for. Ronon came back with the gurney and loaded the last of the Athosians on it.

Outside the building, John and Rodney built a large pyre. Though her people had been defiled, Teyla needed to honor them in death. She lit the fire as soon as Ronon placed the last body. Moments later, Teyla's voice carried throughout the empty town as she sung a song of mourning. John's skin tingled at the power of her voice: tragic yet strong.

Teyla finished her song and watched the fire burn for several minutes. Suddenly the reality was too much to bear. She turned to John. "I must go."

John nodded. "All right," he said, leading his team back to the jumper.

They made it back and John walked Teyla to her quarters. When they approached their destination, Teyla turned to John and said, "If you do not mind, I need some time alone."

Without waiting for his response, she walked inside. The door slid between the two of them.

Despite her polite request, John stayed, taking a seat against the wall by her door. He knew the night would be long and wanted to be there in case she needed him.

He was pulled from his memories when she shifted in his arms. "Thank you for giving me so much support during that time, John. I do not know what I would have done if you…and the others had not been there for me."

He refrained from running his hand through her hair. "I will always be here for you," he softly promised.

She pulled away from her with a smile on her face. "That is because you are my closest friend."

He returned the smile. "And you are mine."

Completely unaware to him, her kind words sparked a kindle in his heart.

To be continued...