A/N: I do not own any part of Stargate Atlantis nor any of its characters.
This is written for Intentions Day Celebration on the GATEWORLD forum.
Ronon Dex/Jennifer Keller Appreciation/Ship/Discussion (Doctor & Man Wild)
My second foray into writing.
A big Thank You to hifield and bailey1ak for your help, encouragement and input.
Spoiler Alert. This is a follow-up on Quarantine. Watching Quarantine, Episode 4-13, helps with perspective. It opens on Atlantis during the Quarantine Lock Down in the infirmary:
Unfinished Business
Finally, after exhausting every possibility they could think of to get the infirmary doors open, Ronon and Jennifer slid down to the floor, sitting close, side by side, their backs up against a bed, the only option left was to wait it out. Jennifer leaned her head onto Ronon's shoulder. He turned towards her, leaned over and inhaled the fragrance of her hair. Jennifer turned and looked up…
Ronon stared deeply into Jennifer's beautiful eyes, the stirring of feelings he hadn't had in such a long time raging through his mind.
Jennifer stared deeply into Ronon's indecipherable eyes, a shy love in hers, but with fear of rejection and humiliation in her heart.
They started to lean in, but just before their lips could meet the lights suddenly went out, causing them to pull back. When nothing else happened immediately, they start to lean back in, then all the lights came back on, the doors automatically unlocked and slid open, jolting them apart. They separated and didn't mention it again, the moment apparently lost.
Later that day, after her shift, Jennifer wanted some dinner and went to the mess hall, where she saw Ronon sitting with Sheppard, Teyla and Radek.
She wandered over, "Hi, mind if I join you?" she asked, holding her tray of food.
"Sure, go ahead," Sheppard said, as Ronon slid his feet off the chair next to him.
Jennifer and Ronon shared a quick unsure glance then looked away. The awkward moment wasn't lost on John or Teyla and, as they stared at them, Ronon shot out a gruff "what?" To which John replied with a smirk, "nothin'."
Why was I so defensive, Ronon mentally chided himself.
I guess I shouldn't have read anything into our time together, Jennifer thought sadly, and nothing else was said, as Colonel Carter had started to approach the table.
The following morning, Sheppard found Ronon and said, "We've got a mission with Major Teldy's team and we're leaving ASAP. Grab your gear and head for the Gate Room."
After packing, Ronon swung by the infirmary to see Jennifer and say goodbye. He stopped at the front desk and asked for her, unaware that she was in surgery, patching up an engineer who'd slipped in the lab and gashed his arm. All Ronon got from the harried assistant was a quick nod. As the assistant headed back to the O.R., he was barraged with other requests and immediately forgot Ronon had even asked.
After he'd been waiting a while, his com went off, "Ronon, we're activating the gate sequence in 3 minutes, please report immediately," John called.
Heading to the Gate Room, Ronon was confused about why Jennifer hadn't come out to see him. He wondered what exactly was going on between them, was she avoiding him? Besides, was he just being foolish? How could a smart, sophisticated, beautiful person like Jennifer really have any interest in a rough, brusque, misfit like him?
Later that day, after surgery and her end-of-shift rounds, Jennifer went to the mess hall hoping to see Ronon. Rodney was the only one there, having stayed behind to work out the bugs in the quarantine program. He informed her that Ronon had left on a mission. She felt a little hurt that he hadn't come to say goodbye. It seemed as if Ronon was avoiding her. She started to feel silly to even think that someone as strong, handsome and worldly could possibly have any interest in a shy, drab person like her.
Planet P5C-265:
"We're only in for a short recon," Sheppard said, after everyone had assembled and the gate closed behind them. "Lorne's team was given some intel that there might be an older Ancient facility here, I want teams of two to spread out and report back at 15 minute intervals."
Later that evening they encamped near the Gate after a fruitless day, finding nothing of value in the first group of empty buildings, appearing to have been looted and stripped years ago.
After the meal, as they settled down for the night, Sheppard and Ronon started talking, just shooting the breeze before turning in.
"What's up Big Guy?" John queried when he noticed that his friend had become quiet and introspective.
"Nothing," Ronon replied.
"Oh come on!" John snorted, "We're family, I can tell when there's something on your mind Chewie."
Ronon looked directly at John and in a rare bit of frank openness… " It is true, you all really have become my family. After what happened to Melena on Sateda and then being on the run for seven years, I'm finally feeling like I can let my guard down a little. My mind is going places I haven't visited in a long time."
"Well, we are all here for you," John said quietly. Then he let it go, knowing his friend and knowing how much effort went into just opening up that much.
They turned to discussing the day's adventures for a while and eventually drifted off to sleep.
Atlantis, the following day:
Jennifer's morning started out very routine, with patient rounds and night shift reports to sift through, giving her time to reflect on the previous couple of days. She wondered what troubles these new feelings would probably cause for her. Being so afraid to imagine where they might lead, she was sure they were setting her up for more hurt in her life.
A couple hours later Teyla arrived for a scheduled check up for her pregnancy. "I felt the baby kick and John felt it too" she said beaming.
"Oh, that must be quite exciting" Jennifer exclaimed, doubting if she would ever feel such wonder, getting a wistful look in her eyes.
"What is on your mind?" Teyla asked insightfully.
"I've had a couple interesting days and I'm trying to deal with my feelings about them. I'm not sure what to do," Jennifer said with a disheartened voice.
"Sometimes you just need to follow your heart, even when logic or fear of something unknown try to tell you differently." Teyla said quietly, while giving her friend a gentle hug.
That evening, after the teams returned to Atlantis, debriefed, and handed in their Mission Reports to Colonel Carter, Ronon just wanted some time alone. He needed to try to figure out the stirring of feelings he had suppressed since his wife died on Sateda and he'd been on the run, so he wandered outside to the end of the pier and sat, staring out at the moonlit water.
The rest of the day in the infirmary, after Teyla left, had become hectic, with one minor emergency after another. Jennifer needed to be alone to decompress and work through the emotions she was trying to sort out. She slowly made her way outside, wanting some quiet solitude on the pier to gather her thoughts in the gentle moonlight.
When she saw the outline of someone already sitting there she made a small, irritated "hmmff" under her breath and started to leave, when the person, who obviously had heard her, turned….
To her surprise and severe embarrassment it was Ronon. He hesitated, she hesitated, then he waved as if he wanted her to come over, and rose to meet her.
"Funny coincidence," he said in his gruff baritone as she approached, causing Jennifer to involuntarily blush a little.
They settled down side by side and shared small talk for a while, just like in the infirmary during the lock down, stealing quick sideways glances, thinking they saw the other doing the same, but not daring to hope it was true.
Jennifer's emotions were starting to run all over her, and, recalling Teyla's words to follow her heart, she decided to do the boldest thing she had ever done in her life, she turned…..only to find Ronon staring intently at her…
Jennifer looked deeply into Ronon's indecipherable eyes, fear of rejection and humiliation in hers, but a budding love pounding in her heart.
Ronon looked deeply into Jennifer's questioning eyes and allowed the long suppressed feelings to emerge and then overwhelm him.
As she stared up at him, Ronon started to lean in and said in a husky voice, "We have some unfinished business," just before their lips softly met.