Chapter 3

Ronon woke the next day, and from the moment he opened his eyes he instantly regretted it. His eyes burnt and his head was pounding so hard he felt like someone was punching him repeatedly. He became aware that he could barely move his head. When he tried, he got a shooting pain the whole way down his neck and shoulder. Slowly he realised that he had achieved his goal of passing out where he sat. Pushing himself up off his chair his back and legs protested too, but not as much as his bladder, and he set of to find somewhere to empty it.

On his way back he spotted two figures coming out of a nearby hut-like building – Sheppard and the woman. She had an air of satisfaction about her that made Ronon's stomach turn. Sheppard looked none to steady on his feet.

"You look like shit, buddy." he said on seeing Ronon.

"You don't look too hot yourself, Sheppard!" This was a lie. Even sporting the just out of bed look, Sheppard looked stunning, the jeans and t-shirt not doing Ronon's morning urges any favours whatsoever. Again pulling his coat over the growing bulge, he noticed that Sheppard looked a lot paler than usual, but judging by the pounding in his own head, he guessed that he looked like death too.

"We need to go." He threw a glace the woman's way "Now!" He didn't wait for Sheppard's response; instead he headed towards where McKay and Teyla were saying their goodbyes.

The walk back to the gate was more refreshing than he expected, and even though it was a cool day, Ronon took off his coat to try and let out some of the heat he was still retaining from the alcohol. Even with McKay's constant complaining about how terrible his hangover was, Ronon felt positive that getting back to Atlantis would do something to take his mind off Sheppard. He'd made sure that he set off for the gate at a quicker than normal pace, to make sure he was ahead of Sheppard, and even went as far as pulling McKay along with him making sure he wouldn't be in the Colonel's proximity. If he got too close to the Colonel, he'd be able to smell the woman on him; and he had enough problems as it was.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

The compulsory post-mission check-up went without incident - Beckett's lecture on the irresponsibility of drinking so much when off-world with people they've only just met, notwithstanding - and the team went their separate ways from the Infirmary.

"Ronon, wait up!" He heard heavy footfalls behind him, followed by another instruction to wait, so he had to turn and face Sheppard. "Hell of a night hey buddy? Looking half embarrassed and half pleased with himself, the Colonel continued, "Tell you the truth, I don't even remember all of it, so it must've been a good one! I did bring a couple of bottles of that wine back with me though, if you're interested!"

Before he could stop himself, Ronon had rolled his eyes and let out a frustrated growl. A puzzled look spread across Sheppard's face.

"Everything OK?"

"Fine…everything's fine. I just want to shower and get proper some sleep." he said impatiently, immediately regretting his tone of voice as he saw Sheppard's disappointed look.

"OK, that's cool." Sheppard said, reaching out to pat his team-mate's bare shoulder. They stood looking at each other for what could only have been a couple of seconds, but felt a lot longer. Sheppard's hand was sending heat and shivers through him at the same time. "Get some rest." Sheppard ordered, then turned and walked away.

Entering his quarters, Ronon shook his head and muttered to himself "Come on Ronon, get your shit together." He quickly undressed and got into the shower, the water as hot as he could stand to help ease his aching muscles. As he stood there feeling the water running off his broad muscular shoulders down the rest of his body, he found himself thinking of Sheppard…again.

He couldn't shake the image of him dressed in those jeans and t-shirt. Cursing himself, he tried to concentrate on coming up with a modified training programme for the new Marines, but that led to him imagining a sweaty Sheppard training with them, and a surge of heat in his groin made him hard within seconds. Determined not to do anything about it, he washed roughly, pushing deep into his muscles until it was so uncomfortable that all thoughts of Sheppard were forgotten.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

After two hours of trying unsuccessfully to sleep, persistent thoughts of Sheppard swimming in his mind, Ronon headed to the gym. After a long mission Teyla was usually in there making up for lost time and always willing to spar. As he entered he saw her there and was met by a sense of relief – he could work his frustration out this way - but the relief was short lived. Sheppard had beaten him to it, and judging by the sheen of sweat of them both, they'd been there some time.

"Hey buddy, what happened to getting some sleep?"

Ronon shrugged, and picked up some sticks. There were some Marines on the other side of the gym, he'd spar with them. He took a couple of steps before Teyla spoke.

"I'm afraid I cannot stay any longer Colonel, my people are expecting me on the mainland. Ronon, maybe you could take my place?"

It was the last thing he needed, but couldn't come up with a plausible excuse not to spar with Sheppard, so he nodded and headed their way instead. By the look of the Colonel he wouldn't last long anyway. He was even paler now, and his squint gave away the headache he was obviously trying to mask.

"Maybe you should call it a day Sheppard, you look like hell."

"Hey" he protested "You owe me a chance to kick your ass!"

"To try!" Ronon corrected him, smirking.

After fifteen minutes it was obvious that no matter how much he protested, the Colonel was dead on his feet. With little effort, Ronon knocked his legs from under him, and pinned him easily to the mat.

"I think it's time you gave in!" he said, feeling his heart beating much faster than it had only a few seconds before. He became aware that he was pressed over Sheppard's crotch and he eased his weight off him slightly as he felt the familiar twitch and heat building in his own, and willing it to stop.

Sheppard lay there looking up at him - watching him – his eyes travelling over Ronon's face and neck until he licked his fuller than usual lips. Raising his hips slightly, in almost a whisper he said, "No Ronon, I think it's time you gave in."

Gasping as he realised that Sheppard was hard beneath him, Ronon began to push his weight up, but it was too late. Sheppard had already felt the larger man's arousal, and a satisfied smirk spread across the Colonel's face.

TBC...