1 month later
Stepping out of the wormhole Sophie felt relief flooding through her- this was it. She was home. The past few weeks had been so busy that Sophie hadn't had to the time to stop and think, especially about what her mom had said.
Looking round, she felt happiness swell as she saw her friends coming towards her. She had missed them all so much while she'd been away and was so glad to see them.
Handing the bags she came with to the waiting airman, Sophie turned to the approaching group with a grin filling her face,
"I'm back! Missed me?" she exclaimed
"Of course Sophie, it's good to have you back!" Teyla said warmly as she pulled Sophie into a hug.
When Teyla released her, John reached in and pulled her into another hug while saying "I'm really sorry you're gonna have to work with McKay, but its great to have you back, and if he causes you any problem…"
"I'll threaten him. Don't worry!" Sophie said laughing.
"Yes well it's good to have you back Sophie. I was thinking we could start our work in, oh lets say an hour?" said McKay, eager to get to work.
"McKay, she's only just got back, I believe it is better for her to get settled in before she begins work again," reasoned Teyla.
Sophie smiled at Teyla, before turning to Colonel Carter.
"Welcome back Sophie! Go get settled back and you can start your work with McKay tomorrow. Oh, and Dr Keller wants to see you when you have a minute," Sam said with a smile.
Now that the greetings were finished they all began excusing themselves to go back to their work. It wasn't till they had left that Sophie noticed Ronon for the first time. He had hung at the back of the group.
Feeling nervous Sophie walked up to him, indicating to the airman to take her stuff to her quarters.
"Hey," she said shyly.
"Hey," he said his low voice rumbling through her whole body.
She had missed him more than she dare admit.
"So, do you wanna do some sparring later that is as long as I get the all clear from Jennifer?"
"Sure," he said a small smile touching his lips.
"Well I shall see you later then." Sophie said and started leaving, before a gentle hand on her arm stopped her. She turned to see Ronon gazing at her intensely with his deep eyes, then with a swift movement he pulled her into a tight hug whispering in her ear,
"I'm glad you're still around."
Then as suddenly as he grabbed her, he let her go and left the room, leaving a surprised Sophie in his wake.
When Sophie arrived in her quarters she flopped onto her bed, deciding to unpack later. Her thoughts drifted back to the day in the infirmary. Her mind had gone over it a million times and tried to rationalise what she had seen. In the end she given and accepted it as a blessing.
However, she was still troubled though as her mom had referred to 'dark times' that were coming and a 'force like no other' - what was coming? Would they ever be ready for it? She knew it had worried everyone, that's why she'd been called back to earth.
While the IOA basically tried to decide what to do with her, Sophie began missing the home she had found on Atlantis. After much deliberating she had finally convinced the IOA that she would be more helpful back there. So they sent her back to help McKay discover new systems, as with her being half-Ancient she would no doubt be able to access much more of Atlantis. All they could do was prepare for what was to come and Sophie had every intention of winning the coming battle – whoever it was with.
Later that day Sophie arrived in the infirmary. Dr Keller greeted her enthusiastically and then proceeded to prod and poke her before giving her a clean bill of health and the permission to go spar with Ronon.
As Sophie left the infirmary she wondered where Ronon could be. Looking at her watch and seeing that it was already lunch time, she figured her best bet was the mess hall.
Upon arriving she saw Ronon sitting alone eating. After picking up her own tray and filling it with her lunch, she walked over to his table and sat opposite him.
"Mind if I join you?" Sophie asked politely.
After receiving a nod from him she settled comfortably into the chair and began eating her own lunch.
"So Dr Keller gave me a clean bill of health. Wanna spar later?" asked Sophie after a moment.
"You sure up for it?" asked Ronon with mock concern.
Sophie just rolled her eyes "I'm fine. You're just scared. I'm gonna beat the crap outta you."
Ronon looked up from his food and gave her a mischievous grin, his eyes glinting with the cheekiness of his expression. "I know I'll win!"
Sophie shook her head at him "You haven't got a chance...AH!" She yelled as he through a piece of food at her. Of course Sophie retaliated, which caused a full-fledged food fight.
Both Sophie and Ronon were covered in food when Sheppard, Teyla and McKay joined them.
"Hey! What the hell's going on here?" John demanded, yet with a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Oh…err…um…Sorry, Colonel…" Sophie stammered out, a sheepish look on her face. Until she saw John laughing at them, so she threw the food she had in her hand at him. This caused Teyla to erupt in fits of giggles, until Sheppard glared at her.
"Maybe, we should just go get cleaned up?" Ronon suggested to Sophie who was now laughing at Teyla as she watched the woman attempt to stifle her laughter.
An hour later Sophie walked in to the gym with Ronon, both clean after having changed their clothes and showered.
They began there fighting as normal, both whirling around simultaneously attacking and defending. After a while Sophie started looking at Ronon while fighting with him, really looking at him. There was so much she didn't know about him, so much she wanted to ask.
"Ummph!" Sophie tried to catch her breath as she landed flat on her backside after being knocked over by Ronon.
"You stopped concentrating Sophie," he said, that mischievous grin gracing his lips again.
"Yeah, next time I wont," she said as she got up off the floor standing in her fighting stances preparing for another round.
This time she had a plan.
As Ronon completed the same maneuver as last time, Sophie felt herself starting to fall and grabbed Ronon bring him down on top of her.
Giggling as they hit the floor she smiled saying, "and you shouldn't use such predictable moves."
A strange look crossed his face, and then he smiled placing his hands either side of her shoulders. Leaning down close to her, but mindful of not crushing her with his body weight, he whispered in her ear, "This predictable enough?" before kissing her lips delicately.
Neither heard the door of the door of the gym open until they heard "OOPS!" come from the open doorway. Colonel Sheppard stood opened mouthed.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled before walking away leaving the two of them in peace.
As the door of the gym closed, Sophie was already pushing Ronon off and standing up, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
"Sorry, I've…err…gotta go. I'm late for McKay." Sophie said as she practically ran out of the door.
"Sophie Wait!" Ronon yelled after. But just ignored him and continued back to her quarters.
(A/N: Thanks for reading! Please leave a review! And a massive Thank-you to Journeyman07! )