"So I hear McKay’s on babysitting duty,” Lorne said from the pilot’s chair in Jumper One.

“Yes,” Teyla answered, a small smile passing over her lips. “He appeared quite eager to watch Torran.”

The major shook his head in disbelief. “For some reason, I don’t picture McKay as Father of the Year material.”

“I had my concerns as well,” Teyla admitted, thinking about how many times over the years Rodney complained about children. “But, Rodney has already shown that he is more than capable around my son.”

A comfortable silence settled over the cabin. Lorne and Teyla had been assigned by Woolsey to check on the people of planet MSR-721, making sure they had not been infected with the Hoffman virus. As they were entering the planet’s atmosphere, the jumper sharply lurched forward.

Lorne heard the sickening thud of Teyla’s skull hitting the jumper panel. “Teyla?” he called, unable to look away from the controls that were demanding his attention.

Her body falling to the floor as the jumper continued to shake violently was his answer.

“Damn it,” he hissed, wondering why a race as advanced as the Ancients couldn’t come up with the idea of putting seat belts in the jumpers. The major continued to push buttons, but they were sluggishly responding. They was no way he would be able to land, he knew, watching the planet’s surface getting larger by the seconds. A controlled crash was his only option.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Teyla’s body tossed around the cabin. Taking a deep breath, he pushed his focus back to the controls. Quickly, Lorne punched the coordinates for the best crash site he could find. As soon as he was finished, he knelt down to Teyla, covering her body, hoping to protect her from the force of the crash.

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Everything was terribly out of focus when Teyla opened her eyes. Before she could process anything she saw, the intense pain running through her body registered. She let out a soft groan.

Suddenly, a blurry, yet handsome man entered her line of vision. “John?” she asked, unable to focus on the dark-haired man in front of her.

“Um, no,” came the awkward answer. “It’s Major Lorne.”

Major Lorne. Jumper. MSR-721. Bits and pieces of the day started filtering back into Teyla’s mind. She touched her head gingerly. “What happened, Evan?”

He shook his head. “I can’t tell for sure, but I think we ran into some kind of electro-magnetic field. The controls went all screwy as soon as we entered the atmosphere.”

“How far are we from the settlement?” she asked, refusing to let the pain lure her back to unconsciousness again.

“Fifteen, twenty miles, best guess. Most of our systems are offline,” he said.

Teyla attempted to push herself up, her vision becoming clearer. “We must leave now. The nights here are extreme.”

As soon as she put pressure on her left ankle, her leg collapsed. Reacting quickly, Lorne grabbed her before she fell to the ground.

“You’re in no condition to go anywhere, Teyla. From what I can tell you’ve got a nasty concussion, your ankle is either sprained or broken and your shoulder is dislocated. Check in is in an hour. When they don’t hear from us, I’m sure Woolsey will send someone after us.”

Teyla, however, was not reassured. “How will they know about the electromagnetic field? They will be in as much danger as we were.”

To her surprise, he smiled. “I already took care of that. Subspace communication is down, but short-range comms are working. I already recorded a message and have it automatically broadcasting on a secure channel.”

This seemed to put Teyla at ease. She shifted slightly, causing a searing pain in her side. “I believe I have a broken rib as well,” she said, gritting her teeth.

Lorne swore under his breath. He fumbled under the jumper seat and pulled out a first aid kit. Teyla heard him rustling in the box for a few seconds. “Here,” he said, shaking a few aspirin in her hand.

She looked at him disbelievingly.

“Well, it should help a little,” he said, slightly embarrassed. “I’m no Carson Beckett.”

This earned him a small smile. She took the medicine from him and dry swallowed them. “Thank you,” she said, leaning against the back of the jumper chair.

He pulled out some gauze and poured some rubbing alcohol on it. “Sorry,” he said as he pushed the cloth against her head.

She hissed as the cool liquid burned her laceration.

“Almost done,” he said, wiping the dried blood off her forehead. “There,” he said, pulling away, “good as new.”

“I am so tired,” she admitted softly.

“No sleeping when you have a concussion. Keller would chew me out if I let you do that,” he said. Though his tone was light, he was worried; Teyla’s injuries were not anything he could treat.

“I am trying to stay awake,” she said softly.

“Just talk to me,” he instructed. “Tell me what’s new in the world of Torran.”

“Considering he is the subject of much talk around the base, I suspect there is not much you do not know,” answered Teyla. She wrapped her good arm around her body. “It is cold.”

He knew there were no blankets in the jumper, so he took off his jacket and put it around her. “That should help.”

Teyla tried for several minutes to fight the lure of unconsciousness, but it was becoming increasing more difficult. “Have you been working on your paintings recently?“ she asked, hoping the conversation would help keep her awake.

He shook his head. “You know, after what happened with Carson--the one that died--I haven’t had much of a desire to paint,“ he admitted. “It’s amazing, isn’t it? That he’s back?”

Teyla nodded. “It is not often that people are fortunate enough to get a second chance like that,” she whispered, not having the strength to speak any louder. “Perhaps now that we have that chance, it would allow a healing. Maybe painting won’t be painful for you any longer.”

Lorne thought about it for a minute. It was true; there was a part of him that was considering painting Carson a picture when he returned from Earth.

The chattering of her teeth disturbed the silence in the cabin. He sat on the floor next to her and gently rubbed her uninjured arm through the jacket, trying to warn her up.

She looked at him appreciatively. “Thank you.”

The major knew she couldn’t hold on much longer. Lorne watched as her eyes fluttered closed. “Teyla!” he called loudly, but she didn’t stir.

Now there was nothing he could do but wait.

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Two hours later, Lorne’s radio crackled in his ear. “Major Lorne, this is Sheppard. Do you read me?”

He tapped his earpiece. “Yeah I’m here.”

“Good. McKay has your position. We’ll be there in a couple of minutes.” He paused. “How’s Teyla doing?”

Lorne looked beside him where Teyla was still sleeping. “She’s been better, sir. She’s been in and out.”

“All right. Then let’s get her home,” The major could hear the worry in his CO’s voice.

Moments later, Lorne heard another jumper landing next to them. With a thought, he opened the back door to let them in. Sheppard was first in the cabin, followed closely by Keller, McKay and Zelenka.

Sheppard’s eyes widened as he took in the sight of Teyla. Keller knelt down next to her. “Teyla! Can you hear me? It’s Jennifer,” she said.

Teyla’s eyes fluttered open. “It is good to see you,” she said softly.

Keller looked up to Lorne and Sheppard. “Could you guys take her to the other jumper? I want her in the infirmary as soon as possible.”

Swiftly, the two men carefully lifted her to her feet. Acting like crutches, they led her to the other jumper. As they set her down, she looked at the major. “Thank you, Evan.”

He knew she wasn’t just talking about the way he attempted to make her feel better, but the way he opened up to her as well. A blush colored his cheeks. “Don’t worry about it,” he said.

And maybe, he thought, he would go back to Atlantis and get started on that painting.