Jen felt the warmth of the blanket first… the haze of sleep scattering slowly into the place of dreams… leaving her fuzzy… but comfortably numb. Then the ache started, cutting into the desire to return to sleep, and pulling her back into consciousness. She felt the burn. A sharp itching and tightness between her shoulder blades and briefly wondered why she was sleeping on her stomach.

She never slept on her stomach.

She cracked open one eye.

Room?

This wasn't her room.

This was… The tavern.

Balkan?

Why was she back on Balkan?

She moved her arm and instantly regretted the sharp pull that shot through her upper body. But with the pain came clarity and she remembered everything.

She shot up with a gasp, fighting the fear that ripped through her for falling asleep. She hadn't set the timer. Dizziness swarmed through her head as fought free of the sheet and blanket. Material tangled her legs and her bare feet hit the floor awkwardly. Her ears buzzed sharply as the room swam and she felt herself falling. Warm hands grabbed for her arms and she shrieked, swinging out as she fell.

"Jennifer, stop." Ronon's command cut through the terror and she gasped, feeling the cold wooden floorboards through her palms and knees. Her body shivered violently, the sheet twisted around her waist and legs.

It wasn't until a blanket landed around her body that she realized why she was so cold.

She was completely naked beneath the thin layer of cotton.

Her hands grabbed for the edges of the quilt and she scrambled forward with a soft cry. Her heart hammered in her chest, the dizziness swaying her movements as she half crawled, half slid towards the wall, wedging herself into the corner. She could feel the heat in her face as she looked up at the man standing a few feet away. She tightened the blanket around her body and stared at him wide-eyed, her breath coming in short bursts while she struggled to keep her heart inside her chest. The adrenaline faded with the realization that he'd stayed.

He hadn't left her.

He hadn't…

She buried her face in the blanket, embarrassed to no end to think she'd actually thought… God, what he must think…

"I think," he answered softly. "You were scared."

"My clothes?" She finally managed to croak out.

"I needed bandages." He replied, then angled his chin towards the small dresser on the far wall and the folded pants, shirt, and overcoat Solen had helped appropriate. "I got you more."

She blinked up at him. Bandages. He'd said bandages. "You got it out?" She whispered.

He nodded.

Jen didn't realize just how badly she'd wanted it out… wanted it gone… wanted the safety of anonymity until she saw him nod. Relief washed over her with such a wave she had to close her eyes to keep from sliding further down the wall in a pool of blubbering tears. Tipping her head back she slumped sideways against the wall, wedging her right shoulder further into corner. She could barely contain the tears at knowing she was truly free of the horrible device. She swallowed several times before she was able to find her voice.

"Thank you." She finally managed, barely louder than a whisper.

"You're welcome." He answered, his voice closer.

She opened her eyes and looked up. Ronon squatted in front of her. "You better not have pulled my stitches." He said softly, lifting a large mug off the table beside the bed and holding it out to her.

Jen fought the edges of a smile. "That used to be my line."

"It still is." He said firmly.

Still tangled in the sheet, and now draped in the huge blanket, she tucked the edges of the quilt under her arms and wriggled out a free hand. Accepting the mug, she felt a shock of warmth in her hand as it was sandwiched between the side of the mug and his fingers, as he helped her steady it against the trembling in her fingertips.

"Soup." He answered, once she had control of the mug. He rocked back on his heels and turned until he was seated against the wall beside her, sitting between her and the bed. Close enough to be a presence, but far enough he wasn't touching her. Part of her wanted him closer… touching… but she remained where she was.

As did he.

She lifted the mug to her nose, the deep earthen smell tingling her nostrils. Her stomach immediately burned in anticipation and she raised it to her mouth. The warm liquid fell quickly, and without care of how it must look, she downed the entire thing.

Ronon watched her drain the mug with barely a breath and silently cursed himself for not realizing just how hungry she must be.

"I'll get more." He offered, reaching for the empty mug and moving to stand.

"No." She grasped his wrist tightly, the desperation in her voice reaching down into his soul. "Don't leave." She said quickly, then released his arm with a snap and quickly hid her hand beneath the blanket. "I mean… I'm fine. Too much will just make me sick."

He saw the fear in her eyes and lowered himself back onto the floor. Reaching out he dropped the mug onto the table and settled himself back against the wall, hearing her shaky exhale. He straightened his right leg out, and bent his left, propping his arm on his knee in an attempt to look more relaxed than he felt. The position suddenly reminded him of their time locked in her infirmary and he felt a sudden urge to lean closer... offer her his shoulder again. Let her know he was there... as long as she needed him to be. But he held still... not wanting to spook her any more than she already was.

They sat in silence for a few moments before he asked one of the hundreds of questions bouncing around in his mind.

"Todd knows where Atlantis is." He reasoned, glancing sideways at her. "Why the tracker?"

She rocked her head side to side against the wall. "It wasn't Todd."

His head turned.

"It was one of the… ah… members of his… alliance." She shuddered, pulling her legs in tighter against her body.

"Why?"

She shook her head, and turned towards him, her eyes lost in the memory. He watched the way her fingers shook slightly as she brushed the wayward bangs off her forehead. "Insurance? None of them trust each other. I think he wanted to make sure Todd kept his end of the deal and cured the virus. He seemed pretty adimant I understood it wasn't his choice that I was there. I kind of got the impression he wasn't too happy with Todd. I think he realized that... um... well... you guys wouldn't be too happy when you found out. Apparently they don't like that we keep blowing up their hive ships. He said it was to make sure he could find me if Todd screwed up." She shrugged and closed her eyes briefly. "All I know is it hurt like freekin hell."

"They left you… awake?"

Her eyes sharpened into focus and looked directly into his. She shook her head and snorted softly. "Of course."

Anger boiled out from deep inside and escaped with a low growl. He took a deep steadying breath and exhaled slowly. Vengeance later. Answers now.

"Where'd he get the technology?"

Jen inhaled sharply. "He didn't. I think he stumbled across one of Michael's old labs. In fact... I'm sure of it. Some of the research I found looked too much like Carson's level of detail. And I found mention of the cloning procedure causing side-effects. My Wraith physiology knowledge sucks, but that's what it looked like. I think.. somehow... if he's using Michael's procedure, then Michael made it work only if the clones carried the hoffan virus. He used it on Carson to keep him safe from wraith feedings - at least that's what Carson thought. But somehow, Michael included it as part of the function of creating the clone, because the clone doesn't get sick from the virus. They just carry it. Otherwise they could just clone a food supply. I think the fall out is worse. Clones carry the Hoffan virus. So they need both the cure, and the clone. Without more research, there's no way I can be sure. We could test the... other me... but... I just didn't have enough time to study it without having to hide what I was doing. I definitely don't think the other Wraith what Todd was up to. He kept me pretty isolated. They all knew I was... well... me... but they never mentioned a... a replacement. I sure as hell didn't mention it! I didn't want them to have any reason to think I wasn't the only one who could help them. Figured it was probably the only reason they didn't just... kill me. I got the impression that Todd was trying to, you know, keep them out of it for a reason. I just don't know what that reason was. Or why." She shook her head and let out a long sigh.

"How'd you get away?"

She smiled at him, a true smile, and for a brief moment her eyes held a sparkle of the woman he ached for. "I told you Todd didn't know about the sparring lessons. He um… he thought I wouldn't try anything."

"But you did."

She nodded, her smile wider. "When he sent me to the lab on the planet, he sent six guards. But only one guard would come into the lab to check on me at a time. I totally kicked his ass. I wish you could have seen it."

"So do I." He answered. In more ways than one. "Six guards?"

"I have been listening, you know." She said with a snort, leaning over to ram him briefly with her shoulder before straightening back up. "I took his stunner."

He couldn't stop the smile from twisting up the edges of his mouth. "I see."

She nodded. "I shot the second one outside the door, and… then the other two at the end of the corridor. It took me about ten minutes just to find the exit, damn corridors all look the same. The last two guards weren't expecting me either." Then she shrugged and glanced away, her smile faltering then fading with a soft sigh. "Then I ran for the gate. I almost dialed Atlantis… luckily I remembered the... stupid tracker... and picked one of the uninhabited planets I could remember, first."

"The underestimated you." He said quietly.

Jen shook her head. "They underestimated you."

He frowned.

She pursed her lips and looked away, staring blankly at a spot on the wall across the room. "One of the things you learn as a doctor... is how to listen. How to take the life story your patient is telling you and... pick out the important pieces. Pull out the facts that matter and discard the rest. You hear everything, but you have to listen for that one thing that might be the key to making them better. The key to finding the cure." She sighed softly and angled her head, glancing at him from beneath her bangs. "You never talk about..." she licked her lips. "About when you were a runner. Not directly. But... I'm a good listener. Better than most. And sometimes, you let things slip." She offered him a faint smile.

"Slip?"

"When we were... sparring... and you would explain why I had to stand a certain way, or move a certain way. I started to think more and more about what you learned... and why. I guess that's when I began to... to listen. Not just... hear you... but really listen. Like... in mission briefings, when you and John discuss strategy? Or... when you and Teyla talk about different tribes of people you know and why they do things the way they do? Or when you're telling Rodney not to do something that would get him killed?" She snorted softly. "You don't realize you're doing it, do you?"

He shook his head. No. He hadn't realized he was doing it. And he hadn't realized she'd been paying such rapt attention to him. He hadn't realized it at all.

She nodded quickly, reciting things back to him as though reading from a manual. "Don't stay in one place more than a few hours. Don't steal food people would gladly pay for. Don't turn down a free meal. If they're eating it, it's not poisoned. If you don't find a village within twenty minutes of the gate, turn back. Deep tunnels can sometimes block the transmitter signal. Don't bother hiding your tracks - they're not looking at your feet, they're using a scanner. Um... Magnetic rock confuses their scanners. Tavern keepers aren't to be trusted. What else?" She pursed her lips, then smiled as she remembered more. "Get new gate addresses from fellow travellers. Don't drink non-moving water. If you can't out-run them, out-wit them."

Ronon stared at her, unbelieving. His expression must have lost all semblence of practiced composure for she took one look at him and laughed softly. The sound washed over him like a warm spring rain. She was crazy. Insane. Brave. Strong. Beautiful.

And he was completely stunned.

"Don't look so surprised." She smiled. "You're a good teacher."

"Apparently." He finally managed to answer. "You learned... all that... from me."

She nodded. "Indirectly, yes. Like I said. I'm a good listener."

He shook his head, still unable to fully believe what he'd just heard.

"What?" She smiled.

"Sheppard's Marines could take a lesson or two from you."

She snorted, dropping her head back against the wall to stare up at the ceiling. "Lessons in pathetically horrible luck and near-death-experiences 101. Coming right up."

He shook his head. "You outwitted them, Jennifer. Trained soldiers could do no less."

She rolled her eyes and frowned, angling her head back towards him. "Ronon, it's only been ten days."

"Only." He repeated, surprised. He hadn't asked her how long. He'd assumed two days. Maybe three. But ten?

She made a face. "Barely a blink to what you had to go through."

"Hey." He frowned, angling his shoulder so he could turn closer towards her. "There are runners who don't last a day."

"Runner." She snorted. "You say it like it's a title. Me? Panicked scurrying maybe. Frantic bursts followed by sporadic naps in the bushes. No running from Hunters. It was just a leash. A horribly scary and incredibly terrifying leash, but a leash none the less. It was their way of keeping tabs on their... property. They weren't trying to kill me, they were just trying to-"

"Catch you." He answered sternly. "It is no different. You did fine."

"I did not." She snorted. "The first thing I did was try to find someone – anyone – who'd get word back to the city."

"A smart move."

She took a deep breath. "Except no one would listen. No one but Solen. I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay him for his help. He's the only one who believed me."

He furrowed his brow and waited for her to explain.

"I guess without the uniform, and accompanying marines, I was just some crazy woman on a mission. Solen remembered me. Well, he remembered you, anyway..." She finished with a soft smile.

He shook his head. "No one would help?"

"No. And the minute I tried to get someone to help get that… that… thing out of me…"

"They made you leave."

She angled her head. "I can't really blame them."

"I can." His fingers reached for the left side of her jawbone, feathering lightly across the fading bruise.

"Actually that didn't have anything to do with removing the tracking device." She answered, her fingers pressing his hand against her cheek. She closed her eyes briefly and leaned against his palm. "What he wanted in trade for food I wasn't willing to give."

"What!" Her eyes opened automatically when his hand jerked against her face. He held the fury in check and concentrated on breathing.

She smiled again, and his stomach righted itself.

"Don't worry." She grinned. "I broke his nose."

He exhaled. "You did."

"Told you I was paying attention during our lessons." She nodded, dropping her arm and releasing his hand. "Punched him right in the face. But… then I felt bad. So I set his nose back in place for him."

Ronon reluctantly moved his fingers away from the side of her jaw, and gave her a slow grin. "You did, huh."

"I left with a loaf of bread, two bricks of cheese, and a bottle of the most disgusting wine." Then she laughed and buried her chin in the blankets. "I guess he felt guilty."

"Hmm." He answered, trying to picture it in his mind, then deciding he was much better off not knowing. The more he knew… the more he was going to want to find the man and show him more pain than just a broken nose.

They sat in a moderately comfortable silence before another question popped to the front of his thoughts and he let it out.

"You should have asked for a doctor." He blinked over at her. "Sheppard. A team of Marines. A jumper. Hell, half the city would have been here in full battle mode if you'd called."

The expression on her face shifted into a lost, sad, look and her cheeks pinked while she chewed her lower lip. "I'm sorry." She whispered with a shake of her head. She rolled her face away and stared up at a spot on the edge of the window a few feet down the wall.

"That's not what I meant." He shifted closer and reached out, gripping her delicate fingers between his larger ones. "I'm not sorry I'm here."

Her fingers squeezed his, but she continued to keep her face averted. "I am sorry, Ronon. For all of this. I wasn't really thinking all that clearly… I guess… I guess I… was just being selfish."

"Selfish?"

She sighed softly, and adjusted the blanket so she could hug her legs, but still keep a frantically tight grip on the fingers of his left hand. Dropping her chin she stared at a spot on the floor. "After we left the Daedalus… Todd… Todd lead me to believe the ship had been destroyed like he'd planned. With everyone on board. He told me everyone was dead. He told me you were dead." She rolled her head to the side and rested her cheek on her knees, looking up at him through a mess of bangs. "I thought it was my fault."

He saw the sadness in her eyes and willed it away. Brushing the hair back from her face with his free hand, he used his thumb to wipe a rogue tear away from the side of her nose. "Nothing was your fault."

She lifted her head, angling her upper body towards his. "I should have listened to you. I didn't. If I'd listened… none of this would have happened. I thought…" she held up her hand to stop him when he opened his mouth to interrupt. "I thought I'd killed you."

"Jennifer…"

"No, Ronon. Please. Let me explain. I don't… I don't want to not say this."

He waited.

"At first I refused to do anything for him. For Todd. For his alliance." She said with a slight smile. "I couldn't think straight. I figured he'd already killed you all… why bother? I told him to send me home, or kill me there. Because I wasn't going to make his life any easier."

"I doubt he was very… happy… with that."

"No." She shuddered. "He wasn't."

"What happened?"

"He said I'd make a tasty snack." She pursed her lips and closed her eyes. "I told him I hoped I gave him heartburn." Then her voice dropped. "I thought for a moment he was really going to do it."

"Jennifer."

She opened her eyes. "He didn't obviously. But he did tell me he'd lied about the Daedalus being destroyed… and if I ever wanted to see my home and my friends again… I'd find the cure. I didn't know what to believe. But I know I wanted to believe. I think…" She blinked, then shook her head. "No, I know. I know. When I was running for the gate, all I could think about... was you. I… I had to see for myself. To see you were alive. That you were okay. I just… I just had to see… you." She sighed. "You. Not… John… or Rodney... or Teyla… or anyone else. I mean I do… want to see them… of course. I would have taken anyone. But the one person I wanted to see... was you."

"Me."

She nodded, her voice a quiet whisper. "When Todd told me you... made me think you were... dead. Gone. I... fell apart. Completely. I couldn't even begin to think of... being... without you. I'd never even considered it before but to suddenly be faced with the thought that you... weren't there any more? Then to find out you were fine. Alive. I swore if I could ever be given the chance again... I'd tell you."

"Tell me what?"

She snorted, then smiled. "You're really going to make me say it, aren't you?"

He frowned, confused. "Say what?"

She rolled her eyes, and looked away, took a deep breath, muttered seize the day, and turned back towards him. She rocked her head, using the motion to flip her unruly hair away from her eyes. Her fingers tightened around his, and her other hand was gripping the edges of the blanket so tightly her knuckles turned white. She bit her bottom lip, released it, swallowed, then blurted out "I love you."