Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate Atlantis whatsoever as awesome as it would be.

Summary: One of the Atlantis teams get kidnapped while on another planet and it is up to Sheppard, Ronon, Teyla and Rodney to save them from the trouble that they've gotten themselves into. Ronon ended up saving one of the girls that were on the kidnapped team and the two start to develop an attraction towards one and another and maybe into more. While they are getting used to being in a relationship with one and another after not being in one in so many years, things happen and tradgedy strikes. How will they overcome the obstacles in the path of their love? Ronon/OC

Chapter eight

"Well Natalie I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that you are free to leave," Keller said to Natalie the next day when she finished doing one last test on Natalie to be sure that she was on the mend and that none of her wounds had opened up and broken the stitches.

"Happy?" Natalie questioned with a grin. "More like ecstatic." she said as she hopped off of the bed that she had been forced to stay in. "So can I leave?" she asked hopefully.

Keller rolled her eyes at how eager Natalie was and nodded, "Yeah you can go, but," she started before Natalie could leave. "Don't do anything too strenuous that would delay your healing time."

Natalie pointed at herself with a look, "Me? Come on I would never do that." she said to her with a smirk.

"I'm serious Natalie," Keller said with a sigh. "I know you, you've been in here too many times for me to not know you. So please, don't do anything that would be bad for you." she begged her, not wanting to have to deal with Natalie coming in to the infirmary every other day because she didn't listen to her.

Sighing Natalie gave Keller a soft smile, "Don't worry Keller I promise to not overexert myself okay." she said as she grabbed the change of clothes that Emilia had brought her to change into once she was released from the infirmary.

Staring at Natalie for a few moments Keller nodded, "If I hear about you doing something that you aren't supposed to I wont hesitate to put you into solitary." she threatened jokingly and walked away.

Closing the blinds around her bed Natalie didn't hesitate to strip out of the hospital clothes and into her normal everyday ones; she put on a loose fitted long sleeved scoop neck shirt, a pair of grey corduroy pants that were a tad bit too long and her boots. Once she had those on Natalie sighed in relief, glad to be in her own clothes once again. They made her feel that much more normal and like nothing had happened over the last two weeks.

Natalie wasted no time in high tailing it out of the infirmary, she wanted to spend as less time there as she could, she hated hospital's and anything that had to do with them. For a few minutes Natalie just wandered around Atlantis, not sure what she should do or where she should go but soon she grinned to herself and decided to go hunt out Ronon. He saved her after all from that awful planet, Natalie at least owed Ronon a thank you for risking his life to save her's.

After looking all over the place for Ronon, Natalie was unable to find the massive man. He wasn't in the gym, wasn't in the weapons bay, or in the conference room or anything like that. It seemed as if he just disappeared.

Shrugging to herself Natalie decided that since she couldn't find Ronon she's just go to the mess hall and get some food, it's been way too long since she's had real food and not the bare minimum stuff that she and the others had on Abaroia and even then they got the reject food that no one else would eat.

"Hey Nat," Emilia said as Natalie was walking towards the mess hall. "They finally let you out of the infirmary huh."

Natalie nodded, "Yeah, thank god. I was starting to feel like a caged animal and was going to resort to physical violence if they wouldn't let me go." she said with a halfhearted smirk on her face.

Emilia snorted in amusement when Natalie said that, "I'm sure Keller would have just loved that hmm." she responded with a small chuckle.

That just made Natalie shrug, "At least they would have people to heal then."

That made Emilia stare at her friend incredulously until she burst out laughing, "Evil little thing aren't you." said with a smile. "No wonder half of the men here are scared to piss you off."

"They aren't scared of me," Natalie defended. "Besides I'm picky. I want a guy who can actually take me in a fight and handle me and not be intimidated because I'm a weapon specialist." she said to her.

"Mmhmm," Emilia said in an unbelieving voice. "that's what they all say."

Natalie shook her head at her friend, "Whatever. I'll see you later." she said to her.

"See ya," Emilia responded as she got in a transporter to go to a different part of the city.

Shaking her head at her odd Italian born friend Natalie headed towards the mess hall, she was hungry and she'd be damned if she didn't get some food before the lunch shift was over.

Walking into the mess hall Natalie headed straight for the food, not even paying attention to anyone that was around her that she knew. The food took over all else. Grabbing a tray and balancing it on her arm that was in a cast Natalie started to pile food onto her plate, for most of her adult life Natalie thought of herself as a somewhat vegetarian but now after being on that planet for so long all Natalie wanted to eat now was some meat. Once she filled her tray up with food to the brim Natalie looked around for a place to sit, after a quick glance around the room Natalie smiled to herself when she saw Ronon sitting alone at a table in the back.

Taking a deep breath Natalie headed over to Ronon's table, before she was able to make her presence known and talk to him he looked up at her expectantly most likely wondering why she was standing in front of his table.

"Hey Ronon, I wont bother you for too long but I just wanted to come over and say thanks." she said hesitantly, she didn't know Ronon very well so she wasn't sure if she should approach him or not.

"What for?" he asked with his gravelly voice and looked up at her.

Natalie looked at him as if he was mentally insane, "Because you saved me Ronon. You saved me when I thought I was going to die." she told him seriously.

He looked at her for a few moments before he responded to that, "It's what I was there for, to save you and your team. Anyone else would've done the same thing." he told her with a shrug.

"No they wouldn't have Ronon," Natalie said shaking her head. "Most people who know they can't win leave. Not to mention people don't go against their commanding officer's orders like you did." she said and gave him a wryly smile. "Sheppard told you to leave and you didn't, if you wouldn't have done that I would be dead or worse." she said and shivered at the thought of what Altozia would have done for her if she was left on that planet.

"I don't leave people behind," Ronon told her simply. "I know I could save you and I did. N one deserves to be left on a planet like that." he said and then gestured to the chair in front of him with his fork. "Sit."

Natalie's eyes wined for a second not believing that Ronon, Ronon Dex was offering to let her sit down at the table with him. He didn't talk to many people that weren't his teammates and when he did it was usually when he was teaching some of the people on Atlantis new self defense moves or something like that. Not wanting to pass up this offer Natalie sat down in the proffered seat knowing that this was a once in a lifetime kind of thing.

For a while neither spoke, both comfortable with the silence that had settled between them but when the silence was broke it was Ronon who spoke up first. "You're a good fighter."

"Thanks," Natalie said and with a half smile and looked down at her tray. "I've been learning to fight since I was a kid, I'd hope that the past ten years had taught me something. "We're you expecting me to know nothing?" she asked him genuinely curious.

Ronon shrugged at that, "Didn't know you so I couldn't judge you," he told her. "But seeing you fight, very few people would have fought as hard as you with the injuries they had. You would have been a good soldier on my home planet Sateda." he told her honestly.

Hearing that Natalie looked up at him and stared into his eyes and smiled softly, "Thank you but I'm no soldier Ronon." she said and looked away from the table for a moment and then back at Ronon. "Never have been never will be, I didn't want to die there and I knew that I only had myself to count on to get out of there."

"You're good with weapons and loyal, you'd be a good soldier." Ronon said staring at her with his intense green/hazel eyes. "Trust me, I know."

Just as Ronon was about to respond to that John and Rodney decided to walk up and join the two specialist's at the table, interrupting the one on one that Natalie and Ronon were having but what can you do, friends have the worst timing sometimes. the second John said down he stared at Natalie and smirked.

"So how's miss Badass doing today?" John asked with a grin.

When he said that Natalie rolled her eyes and bit into the apple that was in her hand, "I'm not a badass Sheppard." she told him shaking her head at him in annoyance.

John laughed when she said that, "Yeah, right." he said looking at her doubtfully. "Not gonna even start to believe that Nat, especially with what Lorne and Emilia told us. Your a glutton for punishment."

At that Natalie gave him a solemn smile, "I did what I needed to." she said and looked down at her tray with glazed over eyes – thinking about that place and that week she and her friends were there made her shiver.

"You were brave," John argued with a determined look on his face.

Natalie shook her head at that, "I wasn't brave. I just did what I had to to get out of there, anyone else would have done the same thing if in the position."

"No," Ronon said shaking his head. "Not many people would have done the same thing as you did. You sacrificed yourself so that you could try and look at the place you were being kept and see if you could find a way to escape. Once you did that, you let yourself get recaptured so that you could tell your team what you saw and to make a plan of action to get out." he said to her seriously.

It was at that moment that Rodney decided to butt into the conversation, "In my opinion you should have kept on running to the gate and come back to Atlantis. We could have rescued you sooner instead of having to put yourself and you friends from obvious ungodly amounts of torture."

Natalie looked at him sharply and glared, "I didn't ask for your opinion did I McKay." she said reverting to use his surname so he knew that she was pissed. "Besides, I wasn't about to abandon my friends to suffer that kind of fate. Would you?"

Rodney shook his head slowly, "No but -"

"Rodney!" John reprimanded. "Just shut up, you're talking yourself into a grave as it is." he said with a heavy sigh.

At that Rodney huffed but didn't keep his mouth shut, "At least I didn't get anyone killed on that planet." he responded childishly.

Hearing that Natalie inhaled sharply, not believing that Rodney had just said that to her. So far, Natalie has barely had time to deal with the death of James and now here he is shoving it right in her face, blaming his death on her. Looking at Rodney darkly Natalie took pleasure in the shocked and frightened look he had on his face from what he just said, obviously he did not plan on saying that to her.

"You Rodney," Natalie growled threateningly. "Are a selfish pig, a little fucking canuck, pig." she stated angrily. "Do you even have any feelings whatsoever?"

"I-" Rodney started but was cut off by Natalie.

Natalie shook her head at him, "Don't answer that, none of your sad excuses are good enough for that insult." she told him breathing heavily. "How would you react if I said something like that about your team or your family, because that's what James was to me McKay. James was my family."

Both Ronon and John watched as Natalie chewed Rodney out and then spit him back up again – metaphorically of course. They had to give props to Rodney though for not even making an effort to defend himself verbally from her, Natalie had every right to yell and insult him and even cause him bodily harm but thankfully Natalie has yet to receive her weapons back since getting out of the infirmary.

"Go to hell!" Natalie yelled at Rodney loud enough for most of the mess hall to hear and then she stomped off out of there leaving her uneaten tray of food at the table.

Stalking out of the mess hall Natalie nearly ran into Teyla as she rounded the corner, Teyla tried to stop and ask Natalie what was wrong but Natalie didn't answer. All she told Teyla was to go to the mess hall and ask McKay why she was in such a mood, and then she continued on her way through the hallways so that she could go to her room and sleep, hopefully she'll be able to forget about the terrible conversation she had with Rodney.