Thanks to everyone who reviewed. You guys are awesome! The consensus seems to be that more character development for my OCs is good, so that's what I plan to do. Thanks for helping me out!

Ronon was up at the crack of dawn for his usual morning run with Sheppard. He stretched as he waited for the latter to join him. A few seconds later, Sheppard trotted up to greet his friend looking wide awake, bright eyed, and ready to go. Without preamble, Ronon set off at a steady trot, which Sheppard followed with ease. After they had been at this speed for a while, Ronon, smiling wickedly, fired the intensity up a notch. Or ten notches. Sheppard kept up with the larger man, but breathed a little more heavily with the effort. "Why do you always do that?" Sheppard got out between breaths.

"'Cause I can," Ronon answered simply.

"Well, it's not very nice." Ronon grinned at that.

The two men ran in silence for the hour or so that followed, enjoying the bite of fresh morning air and the sting of rigorous exercise. Suddenly, Ronon spoke. "You're better today."

"Better than what?" Sheppard panted, lagging a little behind,

"Better than yesterday," Ronon responded. Sheppard waited for him to elaborate, and, to his great surprise, Ronon opened his mouth to say more. "You were weird yesterday. Out of character."

"Yeah. Sorry. About. That." Sheppard said between heaving pants. "Okay, enough. Enough." Sheppard stopped and clutched his knees as he recovered his breath. "Jesus, Ronon! How. Do you always manage. To make me run. To within an inch. Of my life?"

Ronon looked down at Sheppard as the latter dripped sweat onto the floor. "Maybe you're getting old." Many brave men would have run at the look Sheppard gave Ronon at that moment. Ronon merely waited with a raised eyebrow for his offended running partner to regain his breath. Sheppard did not take long to recover, and was quickly upright and wiping sweat from his brow. "So what happened yesterday?"

Sheppard stiffened and remained silent for a while. Then, he asked Ronon "Remember the time you came to Earth?"

"Yeah. For your father's funeral."

Sheppard nodded. "It's been a year and a day since his death. Got me thinking about all that could have been, all that wasn't because the two of us were too damn stubborn to make it happen." He sighed and shook his head. "You wanna grab breakfast?"

"Sure." Ronon led the way, as he always did when there was food or fighting involved. They were a long way from the mess hall, which was all the way across the city. The walk back was an enjoyable prospect, however, with the crisp morning air blowing on their faces and the waves of the ocean singing its familiar song.

Suddenly, Ronon stiffened and held out a hand to stop Sheppard. "What did you see?" the latter whispered and he reached for where his sidearm usually rested.

"There's someone there." Ronon pointed to a tall column a few yards from them. He edged closer with impressive stealth for someone so large. Sheppard followed close behind.

"It's too early for someone to be wandering so far from their quarters. Maybe another jogger?"

"Why's he hiding, then?"

"Good point."

The two men sprang to either side of the column at the same time, inciting a startled yell from the person lurking behind it. "Ahhh!"

"Marie?"

She looked up at Sheppard in irritation. "Why would you do that?"

"Why were you hiding here?" Sheppard shot back.

"Because I wasn't particularly inclined to having a chat with anyone just now. I heard someone coming, so I decided to step out of the way until whoever it was had gone."

Sheppard frowned and squinted slightly. "Okay," he said slowly.

"Am I excused?"

Sheppard nodded, flashed a small smile at Marie, and stepped out of her way. She nodded at him, then at Ronon, and walked away. In a second, she had disappeared around a corner. Sheppard looked over at Ronon, a thoughtful expression on his face. "What do you think she was up to at this hour, all the way across the city?"

Ronon did not answer right away, but stared intently at the spot where Marie had just disappeared. "Exploring enemy territory," he answered in a slow, contemplative manner. "We used to send young Satedan soldiers to look around like that. Usually right before we invaded."

Sheppard thought about that for a few seconds. "You know," he said at last, "I had the same suspicion."

Some of this chapter was devoted to giving an explanation for what seemed like out of character Sheppard behavior. Some readers have commented on it, and I can see where they're coming from. Sheppard was a little too...emotionally involved where McKay and Marie's relationship was concerned. On a normal day, I see him as disapproving but not overly emotional about it. I'll try to be more careful with him in the future :)