Ripley, Wick, Flea, Bennett and Slovak came back minus the jumper and looked to be in worse shape than they really were. "Oh God," Jennifer Keller and her medical team swirled around them. She looped an arm around Ripley's waist, and clamped a gauze pad against her bleeding side. "What happened?"

"We came, we saw, we kicked their ass," said Ripley unenthusiastically. She saw Ronon beside Shep. He stepped forward, but a word from John had him remaining behind. "Ambushed. They took the jumper, don't know what for, they couldn't get her going."

"Lie down," Jen ordered as Ripley sat on the edge of the bed.

"Wick?" was the question.

"He's fine," Keller reassured her and watched the woman lower herself down onto the bed. Keller cut away Ripley's shirt. She glanced over to where Wick was flirting with a nurse over a bad gash in his arm and smiled. Omega would always return with the same spirits they left in.

"Nice shooting." Slovak passed by Ripley looking the same as always after a rough mission, handsome and a little dangerous with barely a scratch. She grinned at him, and checked Flea out.

"Flea?"

The youngest smiled at her from where he was getting sutures on his temple. "I'm good Chief; you and Wick got most of it."

"Bennett?"

Owen grinned roguishly. "Everything's intact." He patted below his uniform belt. She rolled her eyes. "Just letting you know the Bennett line will continue."

"And be filled with idiots," Slovak stated with a smirk. Owen shot him the finger. Ripley sighed softly and watched Keller work on her side. Her eyes flitted to the door as Ronon entered. Jess, in all her glory, shoved past him and was at Ripley's side in less than ten seconds, cooing.

"Oh my God, you poor baby," Jess hugged Ripley's neck and ignored the sailors disgruntled growl. "I'll go cut the bitch that did this." The Air force pilot drew back with her vicious promise.

"Chief pretty much took care of that one," said Wick helpfully. Ronon wandered casually over to Wick. "Wanna know what happened to your woman, big guy?" The SEAL asked with a sly smile. Ronon inclined his head. "Set down the jumper outside of town, got ambushed. They knew we were coming. Ripley took a lot of the shrapnel from mines they'd set up. They got the jumper which means someone on that planet has the gene, or the technology to make the gene."

"So, what do we do?"

"Nothin', Rip rigged an explosive." Wick grinned wickedly. "It should be going off in," He glanced at his watch. "Three seconds." Ripley smirked over at her 2IC. "Bitches ain't got nothin' on you Toddy."

"Don't take my jumper," Ripley said simply. "And I won't blow you up."

"And that's why we love you," responded Jess. Ripley grinned at her. Keller moved away from the sailor, surveyed her work. "How long is she out?"

"At least two weeks, no gym, no missions, no hockey." Jennifer smiled as Ripley winced at the last item. "It's hard Rip, but you gotta heal."

"Story of my life." She got to her feet with the help of Jess and arched a brow as Ronon offered his arm, and held the bag of gauze and wrappings in his other hand. She noted the nudge Jess gave her and the sly, glittering look of a woman in love. Ripley latched onto the strong, warm arm of Ronon and limped her way beside him to her room.

"Wanna be more obvious Jess?" Wicked asked with a chuckle.

"Sometimes she needs a little push."

"Or a full on shove," Bennett quipped and helped Wick off the bed. "Well, the gents of Omega will retire in my room for a round of Halo. Shep?" He glanced toward Jess' fiancé, daring him to decline Man Night. His gaze shifted to Jess who nodded. "Jesus, did you just—never mind. We'll take it. Let's go Shep." Bennett grabbed John's arm and hauled him along.

0-0-0

"Hold on, hold on," Ripley winced as she leaned on the wall for support.

"At the rate we're going I may as well carry you," said Ronon darkly. "What were you thinking?"

"Depends on what you're referring to." Ripley leaned onto his arm, his arm wrapped around her hips to assist, he pondered as they limped the last few feet.

He finally scowled at her. "You left the jumper, fought the hostiles, dated Baxter, and started letting yourself waste away…." He let her rest on a wall, he cornered her. "And you're around like some super-

"Hey, hey, hey!" She held up her hands. "Easy Tex. First I left the jumper for a reason, same with fighting hostiles, I'm not letting myself waste away and what exactly does Baxter have to do with any of this?"

"Everything, you know damn well he has everything to do with you going off on some half-assed attempt—"

"Enough," Jess was on the scene now, her brown eyes blazing, her golden skin flushed with anger. "She is hurt, she is tired—"

"She can speak for herself," Shep intervened now. "Sexual tension," he muttered to his fiancé. "Let it go." He pulled her away, slowly, forcefully. "Let's go honey, Halo is calling."

Ripley watched them turn the corner, and slowly turned her head to look at Ronon. He met her gaze steadily. "Inside." She jabbed a thumb at the door that was hers, and led the way in, as soon as it shut behind him, she sat on the bed, weary to the bone.

Ronon opened his mouth, and then shut it. He had no excuse for what he had said. He had meant every single word. She waited, patiently. Sometimes, he realized, it was hard to remember that the two of them had arrived at nearly the same time, and had grown alongside each other. He had watched her struggle, adapt, overcome—and watched it crumble with one break up. "I don't understand why you're trying to kill yourself." He finally said, her scoff had his scowl deepening.

"I'm not trying to kill myself, believe me that part is purely accidental." She flopped backward onto her bed, ignored the sharp pang in her back. "Is this about Baxter?"

"Yes—no, maybe…" Ronon ran his fingers through his hair, and ignored her grunt of disapproval. "Look, Rip…I watched you, I watched you with him….every single day I saw less and less of you. What was I supposed to do?" He walked over to the bed; she sat up and shook her head, shrugged. "I watched you die from the inside out…you gave up hockey, working out—he took everything you were."

"Now, wait a goddamn minute…."

"I've waited for too long Ripley." Ronon broke her off with nothing more than the truth. "I've tried like hell to put you out of my mind, but I can't…" She turned her head toward him, arched her brows. "I'm gonna go start a bath for you." He walked toward her bathroom, she stared after him confused.

Ronon walked to the futuristic tub, hit some buttons and watched as steam hot water poured in from a wall spout. He hunted down the wintergreen bubble bath he knew she preferred when she was sore and dumped half the bottle in. The bubbles frothed and foamed toward the top. He turned away from the tub knowing the water would shut off when it sensed it was high enough. She hadn't moved. "Undress or I'll do it for you."

"Promises, promises." She remarked teasingly. He growled at her, walked over and promptly yanked the hospital gown from her arms. Her smile fell, and her brown eyes lit with a dare. He reached for her bra, and she stopped him. His large hands went straight to her trousers, with a deft flick of his fingers he had the button undone and zipped. She swore quietly as he tugged the pants off her torso, tossed them and her socks over his shoulder.

"You gonna do it now?" He asked impatiently.

"Just for that, why don't you do the rest?" She taunted. He cocked his head at her, and decided a challenge was a challenge, and Satedan's never backed down. He knelt in front of her, green eyes locked on brown as his fingers slid slowly to the back of her bra. Her breath quickened, his lips curved slightly in a knowing smirk. "Go for it," she teased with a wicked grin. "I can handle it; the question is, can you?"

Ronon grinned in response and undid the strap; he slid the bra slowly down her arms and gazed at her full breasts, round, with pink nipples. "Hell of a tan line you've got there, Rip." He commented casually.

"Spanks Ronon," She smiled at him and swung her legs across her bed, departed on the other side, she shed her underwear along the way, and gave him the view of a luscious round bottom. "Next time you let me know if you wanna go for the full view." She said over her shoulder, and let the bathroom doors slide shut.