A/N: Thank you to my wonderful readers - insanekitty19, hifield, Crye 4 Me and madwhiskey, for all of the positive feedback. Welcome also to my new reader, Raiegh! This chapter took me so long to write (I rewrote it three times!) despite it being reasonably short. Ronon's POV is fairly short because I didn't want to draw out what we already knew from the show. Because I've never written for this fan base before, I wasn't sure how far to go with Sara's POV. I left off at a fairly safe point so let me know if you want more and I'll go further in future chapters.

Ronon POV

I looked down from the top of the building on which I stood. The wraith destruction of my home world was total. Every way I turned, all I could see were fallen buildings and deserted streets. Down below, the bodies of my comrades lay where they had fallen. Still dressed in full body armor, they had died without even receiving the honor of a burial.

"Are you okay?" A voice behind reminded me of Sara's presence. I did not trust myself to speak, and so I gave her a brief nod in response. She approached and stood next to me at the guard rail, and we looked out over the city together. Try as I might, I could not keep my eyes from seeking out the remains of the Satedan hospital. It stood in the distance off to my right, broken and defeated, an empty shell of what it had once been. I closed my eyes and saw again the rows of people who were too sick or frail to leave their beds. I felt the chaos as the corridors filled with more and more people who needed medical assistance. Once again I heard the words that had turned my life upside down. "I can't, Ronon...I can't go." I shook my head and looked away as the memory became too much. "We should leave," I said to Sara, "There's nothing more to see here."

Sara POV

I squeezed the last of the water from the tips of my hair and began to comb it out. Beside me a pot simmered over the open fire and the tantalizing aroma of rabbit stew made my stomach rumble with anticipation. I looked out across the lake that stretched out in front of me. The last of the suns rays reflected off its surface and not a breath of wind disturbed the birch trees that grew around its edge. After the destruction I had seen today, it was hard to believe a place like this could still exist on the same world. I found myself wishing I had known Sateda before the wraith had come. I shot a glance across the fire at Ronon. He had been moody and silent for most of the day and I had done my best to leave him alone to work through his thoughts. I was surprised when he turned and met my eyes now. "How are you doing?" I ventured.

He shrugged. "About as well as can be expected." His gaze shifted back towards the lake, and I followed his line of sight.

"I'm glad you bought me up here," I said. "It's beautiful."

He nodded, and I watched him draw his left knee towards his chest and rest his arm on top of it. He was silent for a moment, and I was surprised when he spoke again. "I used to play up here when I was a kid," he said.

I raised my eyebrows. For someone who usually shared so little about himself, it was a shock to hear him offer something about his past so freely. Despite my curiosity, I managed to keep my tone casual. "I can see why," I agreed as I put my comb down and ran my hands through my still damp hair. "It's a great place for swimming."

He shook his head. "I used the trees for target practice."

I frowned. "You played with a gun?"

He nodded. "A triple barrel."

I smiled, somehow that didn't surprise me as much as maybe it should have. I turned my head a little and looked at the trees behind us as I tried to imagine him as a boy. Before I could speak again, he leaned forward and lifted the lid off the pot. "Looks like dinner's ready," he said.

I nodded and reached for a plate to pass to him. Earlier, we had stopped on the way out of the city and taken a few supplies from one of the houses we passed. As uncomfortable as I had been with the idea, Ronon had obviously felt the same way because when I met up with him again outside, he appeared to have taken very little. He handed me back a plate filled with food, and we ate in a comfortable silence. It had grown dark by the time we finished, and I took the plates down to the waters edge to rinse them clean. When I returned, Ronon still sat beside the fire where I had left him. He looked up as I approached and held something out towards me. "Want some?" he asked.

I recognized the smell of bourbon and looked at the small hip flask he offered. For a moment I hesitated and then I took the flask and bought it to my lips. The liquid burnt a hot trail down my throat and then settled in the pit of my stomach. I handed the flask back to Ronon and took a seat in the grass at his side. Nobody liked to drink alone - and I guessed that after what he had seen today that was how he felt. It was probably futile, but I hoped my presence might somehow help to ease his burden a little. He passed me the flask again and we sat and looked out across the lake together for a few moments. The moon cast a pale sheen over the surface of the water, and as I looked up at the sky I saw the stars had come out. I took another small sip of bourbon, and swallowed. "I forgot how good it feels to be still," I said.

Ronon nodded and took the flask as I passed it back. "I've never been very good at being still," he admitted.

I turned my head towards him a little. There were no words that could erase what he had seen today, but I knew if I didn't make some kind of attempt to acknowledge it, the weight of everything we didn't say would continue to hang in the air between us. I bit my lip and then spoke, "I'm sorry you didn't find what you expected here today."

He did not look at me, and for a moment I wondered if I had spoken out of turn. I saw him take another mouthful and then he finally spoke. "I found what I expected," he said, "Just not what I hoped."

It was my turn to fall quiet. I averted my eyes just as he turned his head to face me. He stared at me for a moment before he spoke. "It's good you came," he said.

I looked at him in surprise. I hadn't expected him to say something like that, and it pleased me more than I would admit. I shrugged my shoulders and kept my tone casual, "It's not like I had a heap of other offers," I said.

He smiled a little. We both knew it was true. I was a nobody with nowhere to go.

"There must be other survivors," I said, anxious to turn the conversation away from my own predicament.

"I doubt it," he said. His eyes turned back towards the lake. "A true Satedan would never have abandoned their home world."

I felt that was a fairly broad assumption, given the ruins Sateda was now in - but as I could not claim to know his people, I did not argue the point. My hair was now almost dry after my swim and I shook it out to let the air get to the few strands that remained damp. Shampoo and soap were two of the items I had taken from the house and I felt cleaner now than I had in months. I drew my knees up to my chest and turned my head to look at Ronon. I was surprised to find he was already watching me, and something in the way he held my gaze made my breath catch in my throat for just a second. When he looked away, I realized I had forgotten entirely what I had been about to say. I struggled for something to break the silence. "So what do you plan to do now?" I asked.

"Continue the fight against the wraith," he replied without hesitation.

I realized he had taken a different meaning to my question - as opposed to where he might go or who he might see - but somehow his reply made sense to me. I nodded my head and we lapsed back into silence again. When he offered me the hip flask next, I shook my head and declined. I saw him screw the cap back on and return it to the inside pocket of his coat that lay on the ground behind us. As he straightened up, his eyes were back on my face again. I turned to look at him, and found he was staring at me in exactly the same way as he had a couple of minutes before. This time he did not look away though, and I suddenly became aware of how close together we were sitting. His gaze held mine - green eyes framed with thick black lashes - and I felt my heart skip a beat. He leaned towards me slowly, and a moment later his mouth come into contact with mine. His lips were soft and gentle and I closed my eyes as I began to respond. The tips of his whiskers brushed against my chin and upper lip, they were long enough to be soft rather than abrasive, and I moaned a little as the kiss became deeper. I parted my lips to allow him in further and my heart raced as the tip of his tongue nudged against my own. When he finally released my mouth, I panted for breath.

He smiled at me, his eyes soft. "I've been wanting to do that again," he admitted.

I blinked, lost for words. His eyes still held my own and I reached out and traced the outline of his jaw with my fingertips. He closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly to follow my touch. I realized that as long as I had gone without human contact, he had survived for much, much longer. I lowered my hand and watched as he slowly opened his eyes again. This time it was I who instigated the kiss. I placed my lips upon his and felt him reach to cup my jaw with the palm of his hand. His thumb stroked my cheek while his long fingers grazed the sensitive skin behind my ear and down the side of my neck. He released my lips for a moment, "Lie back," he instructed, as he slipped his hand around behind my head and guided me towards the ground. When I lay comfortably, he braced himself on one arm above me and used the other to gently smooth the hair back from my face. "Your skin is almost completely white," he said as he looked down at me.

I smiled. It was true that my skin was extremely fair, but next to the deep olive tone of his own, almost anyone would appear pale. I ran my fingers up the arm that he leaned on, and then let them slip back down to the leather guard at his wrist. "Do you always wear these?" I asked.

He shrugged, obviously surprised by my question. "Pretty much," he replied.

I nodded. I wanted to tell him that I found them incredibly sexy, but I didn't want to appear foolish. "They suit you," I replied simply.

He gave me a puzzled smile. "Really?"

I nodded. Already I regretted my comment. I didn't want him to know how closely I sometimes watched him. I sat up and angled my head to kiss him again, and just like that the topic was forgotten. With his lips on mine again, I reached to touch the warm skin on his upper arms. His shoulders were solid muscle, and I ran the palms of my hands across them and down over the hard arches of his biceps. I felt his fingers trail downwards from the hollow of my throat to trace the outline of my left breast, and my breath hitched in my throat. He pulled back and gave me a questioning look. I realized he had mistaken my desire for hesitation, and in response I reached out and grasped the bottom of the thick woven vest he wore. I lifted the fabric up, and he complied by raising his arms so I could pull the garment off over his head. My eyes fell to his chest and I saw the muscles there flex as he reached for me again. A shiver of anticipation ran down my spine and settled in my loins. I noticed a tooth of some kind dangled from a leather strap and hung over his breast bone. Beneath the tooth I saw a smattering of fine hair and then below that, the scar from his encounter with the wraith. I hadn't told him about the identical scar that I carried, and suddenly I felt apprehensive about revealing it to him. The scar tissue was still an ugly pink color against my pale skin, and I knew it was anything but attractive to look at. I felt him reach for the zip that ran down the side of my halter top and I held my breath as he slowly eased it down. I wore no bra - the leather fitted snuggly enough to provide the support I needed - and my breasts sprung free from their confines as the top slipped position. I watched his eyes fall to my chest and I saw him hesitate and then frown.

He looked at me. "The wraith did this to you?" he reached out and gently touched the tip of the scar.

I nodded, and glanced down at his fingertips. Most of the scar, along with my breasts, was still concealed behind my top, and for that I was grateful.

He shook his head slowly, and his eyes left my face to stare at the ugly blemish. "When?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "It was probably before they inserted the tracking device. The wound was raw for the first few days after they released me."

He grit his teeth and I saw a flash of anger pass over his face. I flinched, and he must have seen me do so, because his expression suddenly softened again. He reached to tilt my chin towards him and as his mouth found mine, I felt myself begin to gradually relax. He lifted the edge of my top and I raised my arms so that he could remove it completely. He guided me back to the ground and his lips left my mouth to burn a hot trail down my neck towards my breast bone. He paused over the disfigured skin there and looked up at me. "I hope this is one memory you never get back," he said, and placed his lips over the scar the wraith had left.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat - I had not expected to receive such tenderness or understanding. The attraction I felt towards him grew deeper, and I realized I no longer seemed to have any control over it. His mouth shifted from the scar, the wraith - as well as everything else around me - ceased to exist as he took my nipple in his mouth. I wove my fingers through the thick dreadlocks in his hair and arched my back towards him. The movement bought us closer together and I felt the hard length of him pressed against my thigh. Desire flooded my loins. I reached for the thigh strap that held his gun holster in place and flicked it undone. His lips caught my other nipple and I let out a small gasp as my fingers felt for the second, larger belt that rested low upon his hips. The leather was soft and supple through years of wear and the gun belt sprang free without hitch. I removed it a moment before he straddled me. He ground his hips against mine in a slow circular motion and then inched himself down to kiss my stomach. I lay back and closed my eyes. A moment later I felt him undo my belt and lower my leathers down off my hips...

It was a long, long time before I got to sleep that night, but when I finally did it was deep and dreamless.