Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 10/40

-Chapter 9-

High Tide

"So I get a call from this enraged street vender, who says this guy cheated him out of almost half the cost of the music box. So I meet the vender, find out it's the same guy I'd flown from the city before, and run off looking for him. Meanwhile the street vender is still yelling and cursing and ranting, demanding to get his money. You could hear him all through the marketplace, no kidding." John punctuated his words with exuberant waves of his hands in illustration.

"Hey!" Ronon protested. "It's not my fault you didn't tell me that the intergalactic currency – which is supposed to be the same on almost every planet in this galaxy – isn't valued the same here!"

"I don't understand that," Sheppard mused. "Anyway, that's beside the point, my friend."

Elizabeth laughed. "Go on, tell her what happens next." Obviously she'd heard this story before.

Teyla expectantly turned back to Ronon and Sheppard.

Ronon rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'll tell you – but only so the story will be told correctly. When Sheppard caught up with me, I was on the way back to the Daedalus transport to go back to the city, then on to Sateda and home. Naturally we recognized each other. He hadn't told me he was military, and I hadn't told him I was the same. So, when he explained the situation to me, I instantly introduced myself to him as a Satedan soldier." His eyes narrowed. "It still took over five hours to sort the entire situation out."

Sheppard laughed. "I almost took him to jail and locked him up, just for the heck of it. But I didn't want to cause a big hoopla between the Satedan and Atlantian governments, so I left it alone."

"I almost didn't come back," Ronon muttered. "But Sateda and Atlantis became allies almost two years after Sheppard and I met, so how could we not be friends?"

"We could have been at each other's throats all the time," John said cheerfully. "But, you know, I'm just an inherently lazy person, and I don't like to fight unless I have to."

Elizabeth brushed the last of the crumbs from her sandwich off her hands and squinted up at the sun. "I hate to say this, because I'm having a fantastic time, but I have a dig to get back to. I'm sorry." Smiling, she stood. "Is there another time we could get together?"

Teyla glanced at Ronon from the corner of her eye, not trusting herself to mention a time. Ronon knew this world much better than she, so she deferred to him. He hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. "Whenever would be okay – but I'd prefer to be back to the hotel by 2600 hours when we do meet, if that's okay."

Another thing Teyla couldn't get used to: twenty-eight hours in a day. She was so accustomed to the twenty-one hour days on Athos that getting her internal clock to switch to a twenty-eight hour day was wreaking havoc with her sleeping patterns.

Elizabeth shrugged, grinned, and nodded. "Sure. Just tell John when and where and hope he remembers to tell me." Shooting her friend a look, she waved and headed off.

"Her job is so fascinating," Teyla said. "There's so much to learn from the past."

"She won't let you forget it, either." John pushed his hands in his pockets as the three headed off through the marketplace. "Whenever she's on a dig you can pretty much find her there all the time. She even pitches a tent and sleeps there. She doesn't trust security."

Teyla suddenly found herself missing her tent on Athos. She loved the luxuries Atlantis offered her, but she missed home. Swallowing back the feeling, she smiled and nodded. "It sounds like a very interesting line of work."

"She thinks it is, at least." John glanced at his timepiece and cringed. "Great. I'll see you later, okay? I'm due back in Atlantis in less than fifteen minutes. Bye!"

The two wished Sheppard farewell and continued their stroll through the marketplace. "You do know the currency now, right?"

Ronon shot her a withering look. "Yes, I know the currency now."

Teyla smothered her grin. "Good."

"Why? See something you like?" He gazed around the immediate area, as if to try to find what had caught her eye.

"No. I was just curious. I do not want to be thrown in prison." This time she couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Ronon's face.

Suddenly his expression softened. He gazed thoughtfully at her, his head tilted slightly. "Want to go to the beach?" he asked.

Teyla blinked at the sudden subject change. "Sure." Anything to get out of this crowded marketplace. She was used to the small, quiet spaces on Athos. Here everything was large, crowded, and noisy.

The crowd thinned out once they reached the border between the soft, loose sand and the hard-packed dirt of the marketplace. Teyla took Ronon's arm again as they kicked off their shoes and walked lazily down the beach.

The sun was beginning to go down, throwing beautiful red-gold glints across the water. The ocean was calm, the waves lapping up the sand close to Ronon and Teyla's feet.

"There, see?" Ronon pointed to the distance. "Barely visible on the horizon – do you see that?"

Teyla squinted. "I do not – wait, that is Atlantis!"

Ronon nodded, grinning. "Yes, it is. You can't really see it well in the daylight, but as the sun goes down, if you're standing on just the right spot on the beach, it becomes as clear as it can be at this distance. See why I wanted you to come out here?"

"Yes." They once more returned to their stroll. "It is truly beautiful here."

"You miss Athos." Maddeningly matter-of-fact, Ronon's voice cut through her façade of calm enjoyment of the situation.

Teyla turned her face away, allowing the warm breeze off the ocean to blow her hair and hide her expression. "Yes, I do," she said softly. "But sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the ones we love, do we not?"

Ronon was quiet a minute; there was a certain pained quality in his silence. Then, "Yes, we do."

She turned sharply to look at him. Now he was the one carefully avoiding her gaze.

"Stop." Teyla tugged on his arm to make him obey. "Listen to me, please. I understand that I have been incredibly cruel to you, considering all you have done for me. I apologize. I want to – to thank you, for what you are doing for me."

"Even though I took you away from your home? From everything and everyone you've ever known and loved?"

She hesitated. That was difficult, she had to admit. But. . . "It is not like we will not be able to return, after this is over. We are just – on an extended vacation right now."

Ronon's lips twitched into a small but attractive smile. "I think I like you, Teyla."

For some reason, those words warmed her insides. She felt heat creep up her cheeks, and she glanced away from his intense eyes. "I – think – maybe – I might like you, too."

She could almost feel him grin again. His strong arms encircled her, hugging her tightly. "Thanks, Teyla."

The warmth from her core spread out to envelope her entire body. Was this what love was supposed to feel like? True, intense, soul-mate love? "Thank you, Ronon," she whispered into his chest.

The first few steps from there, with his arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist, were a bit awkward. But as they warmed to each other and their surroundings, things got easier.

As the sun sank toward the far-off horizon, the surf crept higher and higher up the beach. When they reached a narrower strip of the sandy shore, Ronon helped her up a rocky outcrop well above where the tide would hit (when the tide was fully up, the drop would be ten feet into the water, which would be almost fifteen feet deep). Then they sat side by side and watched the sun slowly be eaten by the horizon.

Ronon finally took her hand. "I think we'd better go," he said. "We need to be back at the hotel before it's dark."

"Agreed." Teyla accepted his hand up, enjoying how he casually kept hold of it even after she was standing.

They turned to go. . .and froze.

"I missed you on Athos," the figure standing before them said. "But I can be assured I won't miss you here." The unwavering muzzle of his gun pointed toward them. There was an air of casual disinterest in the way he spoke, and the way he held his weapon. The black cloth mask obscuring his face offered him yet another level of professional precision.

Before Teyla could react, Ronon had placed himself between her and the gun. "Why are you so anxious to be rid of us?" the Satedan demanded. "And how did you find us here?"

Teyla looked down as Ronon pulled his hand from hers, but kept it behind his back. He pointed toward the edge of the outcrop behind her, then slipped it beneath his shirt and unsheathed a knife. She wondered how many more he had hidden on his person.

"You're the prey, I'm the hunter. Do you not understand how this works?" their enemy sighed.

Petite Teyla, sufficiently hidden behind Ronon's lean but tall build, slowly backed toward the edge. She held her breath, hoping she wouldn't fall before she could jump – and that she wouldn't hit any rocks on the way down.

And, more importantly even, that there would be enough water at the bottom for her to dive into and not kill herself by breaking her neck at the bottom.

"Of course I understand how this works. I'm just curious. Besides, I prefer to know the reasons why someone wants to kill me when they do. It helps me be more willing to – you know – accept my fate."

Teyla felt the irrational urge to laugh well up in her throat. Was Ronon actually serious?

The man smiled and shook his head. "No. You're not going to catch me with that."

Teyla's heel hit the edge of the outcrop, and she stopped. Where is Ronon going with this?

"I'm afraid I already have, my friend." Ronon dropped into a crouch so quickly Teyla barely saw him move. "Jump, Teyla!"

As she spun, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye: Ronon throwing the knife. She flexed her knees and then leaped into the air, hoping her still-tender shoulder would be able to handle the beating it was going to get when she hit the water. Then again, if she hit her head or broke her neck at the bottom, it wouldn't matter, would it?

As the water below rushed toward her faster than she liked, she closed her eyes. Seconds later her body sluiced into the water, hands first. She dove down and twisted her body so she'd hit the bottom with her feet. When she felt her shoes hit the sand below, she used the bottom as a springboard and propelled herself back to the surface.

When her head broke through, she greedily dragged in oxygen. A splash nearby made her open her eyes, and she held her breath until she saw Ronon's head bob to the surface.

"Dive and swim toward the marketplace – and be careful of the current!" Ronon told her.

She drew in another deep breath and did as ordered. As she propelled herself through the water parallel to the shore, she wondered how they were possibly going to explain their bedraggled appearance to the people at the hotel.

On the heels of that thought came another: would the assassin be waiting for them there?

-To Be Continued-