Sitting at the end of the dock under the night sky, Jen gazed across the glassy, reflective surface of the old mill pond, her mind struggling with just how out of place she actually felt in a spot she'd once called home. She wiggled her toes under the water, her ankles turning lazy circles. Ripples floated out across the surface, gently rocking the overgrown reeds that flanked the dilapidated wooden dock. With a sigh she leaned her head against Ronon's shoulder and tipped her head back, her eyes lost in the giant sparkling blackness overhead. Millions of stars and planets glittered down at her, laughing behind their secrets.

As a child she'd come here to stare up at the heavens, wondering just how anyone could possibly think they were grand enough to be the only planet in the universe with life. There were too many stars, too many possibilities to make Earth the only one with human life – or any life for that matter. All anyone had to do was just sit and look and the answer was obvious.

And now, staring up at the milky way, she found herself wishing for a completely different set of stars.

And it was all his fault.

She closed her eyes and let her other senses free.

Music and laughter drifted across the water from the barn along the far side, the party now in full swing. She felt the soft, cool slide of the water over her feet as she swirled them back and forth in time to the slow rhythm of the twangy, country tune. The warm evening breeze tickled on her upturned face, soft and inviting. Bullfrogs carried on a conversation in the reeds beside the dock while the smell of pine and freshness carried across the air.

She smiled to herself. It was nice to be able to take a trip through the gate and not worry about being eaten by the local flora or fauna, attacked by native's who thought jumper's were devil ships come to eat them, or any other Pegasus Galaxy kinder-surprise.

"What are you grinning about?" Ronon's low growl shivered down her spine.

"Nothing." She laughed, pulling her feet up out of the water. "Everything." She turned and straddled his lap, hooking her arms around his neck.

"Problem?" He raised an eyebrow when she leaned down and kissed the side of his neck just above his tattoo.

"Nope." She wriggled against him.

"Sure?"

"Yup." She kissed the underside of his jaw, forcing his head back so she could switch to nibbling on the other side of his neck.

"I don't believe you."

"You shouldn't."

He felt himself laughing, his arms around her waist as he leaned back, tugging her higher up his body. She moved her head, her mouth seeking his, and he answered with his own. It didn't take long for him to need to pull away, her sexy wriggling against his lap making him a little more than warm.

"Problem?" She asked, repeating his earlier question.

"Nope." He smiled.

"Sure?"

"Yup."

"I don't believe you."

"You shouldn't."

Jennifer laughed and crawled off his lap to sit beside him on the dock. She grabbed her sandals and slipped them on, accepting his hand as he helped her to her feet.

"Come on." She smiled, slipping her fingers through his. "Let's go get my money."

He nodded. "Then what?"

She turned slightly, and glanced over her shoulder, giving him a very slow, very wicked little grin while she walked backwards, the spike of the heels adding an extra sway to her hips. "Then…" she said slowly. "Then… I'm going to introduce you to an ancient Earth tradition."

"Oh yeah?" He raised an eyebrow, pulling his eyes slowly up to hers, wondering if the night was getting warmer… or just him. "What's that?"

"Lookout Point."

Inside the barn, the bright lights of the overhead lanterns shone down on the crowded floor, bathing everyone in a colorful glow. The music was loud, the crowd was happy, and people danced and mingled without a care.

Once again, Ronon felt the surge of incredulity to know that these people – this entire planet – had never known the Wraith. Living their lives in fullness, the promise of death by old age. Until he'd come to Earth, he'd never heard of anyone living past seventy years, much less eighty, ninety, or even a hundred. Yet here they stood, milling together, young and old. And some of the old were ancient. No one but himself and Jennifer had any idea of what could be, had these people been born across the universe.

It still staggered him.

Jennifer's fingers tightened in his and he let her lead him forward, glancing down – the lights showcasing the barely-there dress she was wearing. He looked further, and had half a mind to drag her right back outside again. In the darkness of the evening air, he'd known she wasn't wearing much, but here, under the lights of the lanterns, she was wearing a hell of a lot less than he'd like in a crowd this size.

The single piece of material swayed over her hips as she walked, and ended just past the top of her hips. He had absolutely no idea how she was able to stand in those shoes, or sit without the material exposing everything below her waist. The upper half of her back was bare save for the weak little straps stretching up over her shoulders to hold the material over the front of her breasts.

When she turned to smile over her shoulder at him, he felt a surge of possessiveness and stepped closer, pulling her into his side.

She squealed and staggered in her shoes, giving him the opportunity to loop his arm around her waist to steady her.

She laughed. "You been taking lessons from Sheppard?"

He shrugged. "No idea what you're talking about."

"Yeah I bet." She smiled, gently shoving him away. "Come on, Romeo. We're almost done."

"Romeo?" He questioned, following her through the crowd.

At the front of the barn they stepped outside and into a large open area, staggered with groups of people, boisterously celebrating. She lead him up the hill towards a large house, and paused in the darkened shade of a huge tree, releasing his hand. An overly loud group of people stood a few feet away under a string of lights hanging beneath the overhang of the front porch. There were at least a dozen, and Ronon was pretty sure half of them were well on their way to having a hangover in the morning.

Jen grinned up at him, placing her hand on his chest. "I'll explain later – but will you wait here for a second?"

He nodded, curious about her request which was accompanied by a huge smile.

"Oh this is going to be fun." She laughed softly to herself, and stepped away from the tree.

When she reached the group, the young men and women stepped forward, nods and calls of Hey Jenny surrounding her. A couple of the men whistled sharply, which she ignored. Ronon watched as she hugged a young redhead. Two men also stepped forward to give her a hugged greeting, which straightened Ronon's spine as she leaned higher to give each man a quick kiss on the cheek, the material of her skirt riding up the top of her legs.

A third man, after giving her a long, slow once over, suggested she might offer him a dance before she left. The brunette beside him bristled and Ronon watched as Jen turned the man down with a shake of her head.

A forth woman stepped up, nodding to Jennifer, her voice loud with drink. "Oh, come on, Jenny. When are you ever going to get a better offer?" She laughed, nodding at the young man who'd just proposed the dance.

"She's not." Another man replied, earning a round of laughter.

Ronon eyed the woman with the loud mouth. Sally. Apparently the one who was throwing the party, and the one Jennifer had come to collect money from. He crossed his arms, and waited.

Sally laughed at Jennifer. "Jenny's come to give me her twenty bucks. Haven't you?"

"So it's the same bet?" Ronon heard Jennifer ask, wondering what the two women were betting on.

Sally grinned widely. "Of course it's the same bet."

"Come on, Sally." The woman who'd hugged Jen sighed loudly. "Don't you think it's time you let Jenny alone?"

"Nope." Sally shook her head, taking a long pull from the bottle she held. "A bet's a bet. Jenny's here alone, she came alone, and she's leaving alone. Aren't ya, Jenny?" She snorted loudly, her snickers quickly joined by most of the others. "Well that's enough to lose. Just like every other year."

The group continued to laugh, obviously at Jennifer's expense. Ronon stepped forward, but Jennifer held her hand behind her back, her palm up, then she switched to one index finger. He hesitated, and held to the shadows, waiting to see where it was all going.

Jen held out her hand to Sally. "You owe me twenty."

Sally coughed, and looked at the men in the group behind her, then turned back to Jen. "One of these guys?"

"Oh hell no." Jen laughed, smiling at the woman she'd spent years wanting to slap.

Sally raised an eyebrow, pretending to look around. "Don't see anyone else. He's invisible?" She laughed loudly, inciting a chorus of guffaws from the others.

The condescending smile on Sally's face wasn't going to get to her this time, Jen thought with incredible enjoyment. The woman drove her absolutely batty every time Jen ever attended a social function of any merit.

Poor Jenny, alone again. Poor Jenny, can't get a date. Poor Jenny, skipped school and sex ed. Poor Jenny wouldn't know what to do with a real man.

This time, Jen didn't need to feel the heat and goosebumps running across her bare back to know Ronon was now standing behind her.

The shocked look on Sally's face pretty much said it all.

Jen felt herself grinning like a madwoman, and couldn't stop herself.

She knew damn well just how good Ronon looked wearing that tightly pulled navy t-shirt he'd borrowed from Sheppard – it stretched across him everywhere – accenting every movement his upper body made. Hell she'd had a hard enough time keeping her fingers off him - and he'd come here with her. And the leather pants and boots only served as a testament to the bad boy aura he was oozing.

Sally was staring.

Hell they were all staring.

Ronon leaned down and kissed Jennifer's bare shoulder. "Are they bothering you?" He growled, and straightened to his full height, glaring at the gathered crowd.

Jennifer almost burst out laughing when each of the men automatically took two steps back.

"No." She smiled, leaning comfortably back against him. "I was just saying goodbye. Wasn't I?"

Everyone nodded, except Sally, who was still standing with her mouth open.

"Ready to go?" Ronon asked.

"Yup." Jen nodded.

Without a care of how it would look, or who told who what later, she let out a laugh of pure delight as she turned towards Ronon, leaping up, knowing he'd catch her against him. His arms landed under her bottom and she hooked her legs around him, kissing him lightly before looking over her shoulder to the woman who was standing open mouthed in front of the stunned crowd. Two of the other women were giggling behind their hands, and one was giving Jen a thumbs up behind Sally's back.

Jen winked at Sally. "Don't worry, Sally. You can just pay me next time."

Turning back to Ronon she couldn't stop smiling. "Let's get out of here."

The redhead let out a whoop, and the brunette smacked the man standing beside her. "Now that's how you make an exit."

Jen felt Ronon's rumbling laughter against her chest as he carried her up the hill, her own laughter echoing as she left the crowd staring after them.

Jennifer sighed and snuggled closer, her fingers lazily tracing Ronon's collarbone. He lifted the edge of the blanket up over her shoulder, then tucked his free arm under his head and stared up at the midnight sky. After the party, she'd driven them out of town, taking a long, winding ride down a narrow road that ended at an old, abandoned factory on the edge of a small lake. Armed with a half-dead flashlight, they'd climbed to the top of the roof and made love beneath to the light of the moon and stars.

They now lay in silence, wrapped in a large plaid blanket, the sounds of the night falling in around them.

Jennifer giggled, pulling his gaze. "What?" He asked.

She shrugged, then laughed softly. "I've lived her my whole life and this is the first time I've ever been up here."

"Good." He grunted, the grinned. "I like it."

She laughed. "You would."

"You don't?"

"I do." She burrowed against him. "I guess there's something to that saying about making love under the stars…"

"That mean you'll be coming camping with me next time we hit the mainland?"

"Good god, no." She snorted.

"Why not? I thought you liked it."

"That's right. I like it. Here. Not someplace I could be eaten by a killer squirrel!" She laughed. "At least here I know it's safe."

Safe.

Ronon let the word echo through his mind. Safe. "Yes." He admitted softly, his hand absently caressing her lower torso. "It is…"

"Is what?" She murmured.

He placed his palm possessively over her abdomen. Her body was firmer here, her skin smoothed over a tiny bump just below her navel. Covering. Protecting. His child. Their child. "It's safe here." He admitted softly. "It's not there."

"Mmm." She nodded, then he felt her body jump and she lifted her head. "What?"

"What…" He frowned.

"What do you mean it's safe here, not there?"

"It's safe here." He shrugged. "No Wraith. No… killer squirrels…"

"So?" She sat up abruptly, and Ronon didn't miss the bite in her tone.

"I'm just saying…"

"Oh, I know what you're saying all right…" She shoved herself up onto her feet, the blanket dropping around her.

"Jennifer…" He hopped up, reaching for her when she suddenly turned and spun away. "What are you doing!?"

"Going home!" She snapped, walking quickly across the rooftop towards the stairs, completely naked.

Ronon grabbed the blanket and ran in front of her, blocking her in. He dropped the blanket around her shoulders but she shrugged it off. "Don't!"

"Jennifer!"

"Move."

"Jennifer…"

"I said, move." She dropped her hands to her hips and glared up at him.

"You're not leaving…" He growled. "You're not wearing anything!"

"HA!" She stepped back and flung her arms wide. "So? So what! If it's so safe here then that shouldn't be a problem, should it!"

Ronon stepped forward. "What's wrong with you?"

"Me?!" She exclaimed. "Me? There's nothing wrong with me! You're the one who's suddenly decided that I'd be safer without you!"

"I… what?" Ronon scowled, unable to make the connection between what he'd said and what she was saying. "Jennifer, I never said…"

"Don't you dare give me that." She pointed her finger at him. "You… you…" She took a deep breath, her hand wavering when her voice cracked. "You don't want me to come back with you, do you?" She whispered, her head shaking slowly side to side. "You're leaving me behind…" Then she dropped her head and burst into tears.