I originally wrote [most of] this is 2008. I was just going through my stuff when I realized I hadn't finished it (or rather, I had finished it, but realized the end wasn't what I wanted it to be), so I added a bit, and here it is.

There aren't any pairings really. Three are mentioned: John/Rodney (which is so small you might blink and miss it), Rodney/Jennifer (which is nealy as vague), and Ronon/Jennifer (which is slightly more than the other two, but still nothing substantial). I figured I'd give you a heads up.

Enjoy.


Runner

He isn't sure when he became this man.

When he went from being the loner tracking Wraith in the forest, to being… this.

Life used to be simple.

Wake up, run, hunt, kill, run some more, get a few hours of sleep then start all over.

For seven years he lived like this.

It wasn't difficult.

He'd been taught how to track as early as he could remember.

He knew how to remain hidden before he could walk.

It was a simple life.

A lonely life. But a simple life.

He'd learned early on that anyone he got close to was in danger, and made a point not to get close to anyone.

For seven years, he never needed anyone.

He found that living alone wasn't so bad.

He never imagined it would come to this.

He never imagined he would find himself a part of a family.

He never imagined that this family could mean so much to him.

And now he can't imagine life without them.

There was Rodney, who was like a genius kid brother.

At first he'd hated him.

He was cocky and boastful and didn't know when to shut up.

But seeing him like this…

It's hard to watch, even for a moment.

And John, who is so clearly worried, freaking out.

He doesn't want to loose him,

No one does.

Ronon knows there's more there,

More than meets the eye.

But it doesn't matter.

Not to him.

And there's Teyla.

It's not easy for her to show emotions.

It's not easy to say she's scared.

He knows, that annoying as the genius is,

No one wants to loose him.

And Jennifer.

Who, for a moment, ha had thought they'd shared something.

But he sees the way she looks at him.

The worry, the panic.

And he knows…

This girl,

This little Earth girl who caught his eye and wore down the walls…

He knows it's gone.

Whatever they had,

It didn't exist.

He doesn't know how he became a part of this family.

And he doesn't know how when he became so reliant on each and every one of them.

But he is.

He can't loose them.

None of them.

And he's going to do everything in his power to make sure he doesn't.