I sleep beside my lover, and I wonder how it came to be. He's mine, you see, and we're the oddest couple this side of the Milky Way. No one really knows what to think of us, so they avoid us, not that Ronon minds. He prefers it when we're alone, when he can put his hands on me without getting stares. He likes his hands on me, I like his hands on me, so it all works out for the best.

Elizabeth had never expected this, this situation with Ronon. She'd never intended to pursue a relationship of this kind while on Atlantis. She considered it unprofessional to engage in a sexual way with people who were essentially her subordinates, and on Atlantis, everyone was. Elizabeth was nothing if not a consummate professional. She's relaxed in friendships with several people on the base; Rodney, Carson, Sheppard, and Teyla had been her closest friends for a long time before he came onto the base. Ronon Dex, a man used to running and trusting no one. The second she'd shook his hand after Sheppard had introduced him, there'd been a look accompanied by a tingle in her nerves. She'd never felt such instant attraction to a man, and by his eyes, she knew that he had felt the attraction as well.

When Ronon and Sheppard had left her alone in her office, they to celebrate Ronon joining the team, she to work on some issues that'd arisen, but one thought had returned to her the night through...she could never be alone with that man. The thoughts of what might happen if she gave in to him resonated in her head night after night until she woke up in the mornings covered in sweat and hotter than the sun.

For months, this tactic worked. They never interacted alone, but even in a crowded room she felt his gaze on her back. There were times when she could swear she felt his caress on her back, but she never looked back to see and she never gave in. Through crisis after crisis, she avoided him and the feelings he evoked, but he didn't do the same courtesy to her. She'd be walking in a hall and hear his footsteps in front of her or behind her and have to duck into a room or engage someone else in conversation, then watch as he walked by, seemingly not noticing her, yet she knew different. He watched her, and she loved it.

Elizabeth didn't let it disturb her though, or so she told herself as she let herself into her quarters late one night. That day had been emotionally, physically, and generally taxing on her. Someone had planted a bomb on Atlantis, or so they'd believed. She'd had to coordinate search teams to cover all of Atlantis, while at the same time supervise the use of Pegasus as a carrier wave to tell all outlying teams to not dial the gate until orders came through that it was okay. Then, suddenly, there is no bomb but the Wraith were on the way while Carson and Teyla prepared some sort of funeral ceremony for a friend of Teyla's. All in all, a very trying day, and Elizabeth just wanted a long hot shower and a nice night of uneventful sleep. As the doorbell dinged, she had a feeling she wasn't getting either.

Without turning or even moving a muscle, she called out. "Who is it?"

"It's Ronon."

She so didn't need this tonight. She didn't want to deal with his stoic and unsettling stares, she didn't want to deal with the unresolved sexual tension that always seem to haunt them. She didn't want to deal with any of it. She was a good head of operations, though, so she opened the door.

"What can I do for you, Ronon?"

His dark eyes took in the fatigue in her eyes, and the slightly wilted stance she took. "I wanted to talk to you."

She didn't move from her position in the door. "About what?"

"About us."

It was surprise and surprise alone that allowed him to slip past her and into her quarters. She turned to watch him take in her cluttered quarters, from the stack of books on an end table to the colorful pillows and throw on the small couch. Behind her, the door hissed shut and she stepped away. "Us? As in Atlantis?"

Ronon smiled. "No."

Always so monotone. Elizabeth gritted her teeth and walked past him to sit on the couch, relaxing for a moment before sitting ramrod straight and gesturing for him to sit. "Then just who are you referring to?"

Ronon took a seat next to her, deliberately crowding her space. He didn't speak, instead running his hand down her arm. She shivered and turned her head to glare at him. "Are you just going to sit there and stare at me? If so, I have better things to do."

"Like what?"

"Like sleep?"

"Okay," Ronon said, standing as if to leave and briefly Elizabeth felt disappointed. Then he reached down and pulled her up, and over his shoulder.

"Ronon! What are you doing?" Elizabeth asked as she unconsciously started to smack at his back.

"You said you wanted to sleep," he replied, and though she couldn't see his face she knew he was amused. He carried her through a doorway and into the bedroom and suddenly she wasn't fighting anymore. She was extremely still.

Elizabeth waited until he'd set her down, and on the bed too, before looking him in the face. He stood by the side of her bed, and she lay on it, though her knees hit the edge and she was only half on it. "What are you doing?"

"Something I've wanted to do for a long time," Ronon grinned, and leaned down. He used his arms to keep himself slightly above her, yet she felt the heat of his body anyways. He didn't touch her in any way, just hovered there just above her, taunting her. His face was only an inch from her's, and she studied it. It's contours, it's quirks, it's scars...it fascinated her...she wanted it...Lord help her, she wanted him.

"It could never work."

"Why not?"

"I'm your commander."

"No...I just choose to listen to what you say. I could leave right now and never come back."

"Why don't you?" Elizabeth asked, feeling anger for a reason she didn't want to admit. She started to push him away, her hands on his chest, but he grabbed her wrists and held them to the bed. Now, she couldn't move unless he allowed it.

"I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"I think I might miss you."

"Oh."

"I don't know why. You're not at all my type."

"Thank God for that."

"I like my women small, lush, silent. You're lanky, strong, and definitely do not need me."

Elizabeth studied the solemn expression on his face and knew he meant it. "I don't need anyone."

Anger lit his face from within. "I know."

She pulled one of her hands from his and lightly touched his cheek. "That doesn't mean I don't want to."

He didn't respond. He stared at her, his gaze sliding down her face to her lips. He wanted to kiss her, they both knew. She wanted to kiss him and more, they both knew. Just as they leaned in, to finally give in to a weakness that'd been building for months, the doorbell rang again.

Instantly, Ronon was off her and moving to stare out the window, physically trying to calm himself, breathing as if he'd run miles without stop. The bell rang again and shakily Elizabeth rose to go answer it. Ronon didn't turn as she left the room, but he heard Sheppard at the door calling for her to answer. Sheppard...his friend...his closest one in a long time...who also happened to be in love with the same woman he was...

Ronon grinned in a slightly malevolent manner and reached down, removing his shirt. He could still hear the low murmurs of two voices in the other room; apparently Elizabeth was asking why Sheppard was there...much as she had with him. There wouldn't be the same outcome this time.

Elizabeth was being bombarded with men tonight. First Ronon, and now John was here concerned about her. She'd looked ill earlier. Did she want him to take her to see Carson? No, she wanted him to leave so she could go jump Ronon. Speaking of Ronon...

"Elizabeth? Who was at the door?" Ronon asked, his face at its poker best when he stepped to the threshold. Elizabeth froze and stared; Ronon had removed his shirt and from the look on Sheppard's face, John was about to lose his lunch.

Elizabeth smiled stiffly and admired the view of Ronon's bare chest, while she tried to make sense of what was going on. "John stopped by to make sure I was alright."

Ronon flicked his eyes over Elizabeth before settling uncannily on Sheppard again. "You're fine."

"I know. He was concerned though."

"She's fine," Ronon said, directing it at the increasingly red Sheppard. John looked like he wanted to scream or hit someone. Elizabeth wasn't entirely comfortable with that look and the staring contest between the two men was not a good thing.

She stepped away from the door and walked silently to Ronon, who only looked at her when she briefly touched his chest. In a low voice, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"I know what he's up to."

"Same thing you're up to."

Ronon glared at her. "Want me to leave?"

Elizabeth sighed. "No. You're trouble, you know that?"

He grinned. "The best kind."

Elizabeth turned without answering. "Was there anything else, John?"

"No, no...I was just...I just wanted to make sure you were good."

"She's very good," Ronon answered for Elizabeth, getting an elbow in the stomach for it.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Elizabeth moved forward to shuffle John out. "You might want to check on Teyla. Her friend died today and I'm sure she's quite distraught."

"Yeah...I'll do that..."

Elizabeth shut the door on him before he finished his reply and started to laugh. It was too funny for words. She was leaning against the wall, gasping for breath, when she felt Ronon's hands on her back.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing...you wouldn't get it...it's a woman thing..."

She turned to him, leaning back against the wall as he leaned in to brush his nose against her's. "Where were we?"

Elizabeth smiled and pulled Ronon down so that she could nip at his bottom lip. "Right here."

Ronon kissed her, a deep searching kiss that culminated in an embrace bordering on dry humping. "Maybe...we should go back to the bedroom."

Elizabeth started to pull up her shirt. "Hell, no...we're staying right here."

And so they did. She spends every night in his arms, and every day wanting to be there. He can do things with his hips that make her scream, and she can do things with her mouth...well...let's not go there. They never hid what they were, since that was a trait neither had. If, late at night, someone happens to hear odd noises coming from their quarters...it's never mentioned...at least not anywhere near Ronon or Liz.

HAHAHA! I love this pairing.