Hi! Sorry for the delay. So I expanded this chapter, but it's still quite short. Hope you still like it.
He was sure that she had been avoiding him. Every time he walked into the commissary and she was there, she would quickly finish her food and leave. If they passed each other in the corridors, she would say hello to him, then continue on her way as if she were in some perpetual hurry. And since they discontinued their Spanish lessons at night, he hardly saw her at all during his downtime.
Instead of finding refuge in off-world missions now, he wanted to get them over with as fast as possible. On base, he could see her, if only for a split second, and he was starting to feel like he lived for those split seconds. She was avoiding him, that much was certain, but he didn't know why and had no idea how to fix it.
"Ronon, is something troubling you?" Teyla asked him, peering up into his face as they walked through a vast field to get to the village. There had been rumors that this planet had recently acquired a zero point module but they didn't know what purpose it served. McKay insisted that they check it out. Ronon was convinced that McKay just needed some brief time away from Zelenka, the Wraith database, and the languages lab. Again, his thoughts seemed to inevitably come back to Emma. He noticed Teyla was still looking up at him with concern in her eyes.
"I'm fine," he shrugged off.
Teyla pursed her lips and nodded.
"How much further?" McKay whined.
"Rodney, have you ever played the quiet game?" Sheppard called back to him.
"The quiet game?" Teyla repeated with interest.
"Yes. I hate it. Always lose," McKay responded, "Why?"
"Because I really need you to shut up," Sheppard answered, "We're not on exactly friendly terms with the natives and we don't want to go –" Suddenly they were surrounded by men holding rudimentary rifles. " – disturbing them," Sheppard finished, lowering his own P-90.
"Aren't you worried?" Lacey asked her, taking a large bite of her salad.
"Worried about what?" Emma questioned, looking up at her.
"Ronon and the team were due back hours ago. It was supposed to be a simple mission. I guess not," she thought out loud, "Haven't been heard from," she informed her.
"What? I had no idea," Emma told her, panic bubbling in her stomach. "You mean like they can't even establish radio contact?" she asked quickly.
Lacey shook her head. "Nothing," she replied quietly. She paused. "I'm surprised," she finally revealed, "I thought you and Ronon were a thing," she said, squeezing more lemon onto her lettuce greens. "Didn't you say you two almost – "
"Almost," Emma quickly stuttered, shaking her head and closing her eyes. As soon as she did, images of that moment played across her mind. She wrenched her eyes open. "And once," she said sternly. "Anyway, that's over," Emma quietly stated, looking back down.
"Hmm pity," Lacey murmured, distracted. "Oh fuck it! I want the curry," she groaned in frustration, standing up to go back in line for more food.
He'll be fine, she told herself. They'll get out of there safely like they always do. McKay will think of something or they'll muscle their way out or another team will be sent to save them. He'll be all right; she willed it to be true. Besides, it's over.
The days that followed were painful. Every time Emma had a moment of downtime, she would see something and it would remind her of him and then she would think about where he was and what he was doing, hoping he was still alive. Even when she wasn't relaxing, it affected her. Her work was slipping too; she was forgetting basic translations she should have known and repeatedly found herself looking up the same kinds of things in Dr. Jackson's notes. Her dreams at night were the worst, though. They were a mix of premonitions of Ronon's slow death, alone, or they were flashbacks to that moment in the corridor when he had beat up the corporal. But in her dreams, he didn't stop with the marine – he continued right on to her. It didn't matter which kind of dream she had, but she continuously woke up during the night in cold sweats, frequently in tears.
After four excruciating days, she heard news that SGA-1 had finally made it back safely. It was all she could think about, but she made sure not to show it. However, the tight knot that had formed in her stomach since Lacey had told her they were missing didn't seem to ease up at all. If anything, it felt like it had constricted even more.
Eventually, the moment she had been simultaneously dreading and longing for arrived. She and Ronon crossed paths. Pretending to be engaged in her reading, she briefly looked up at him, smiled and said "hi." She continued to walk but Ronon stopped dead in his tracks.
"That's it?" he asked expectantly and angrily.
"Yes?" she answered cautiously, playing dumb.
"I just thought…forget it," he snarled, turning his back on her and walking away.
"God dammit!" she whimpered as soon as he was out of earshot, turning on her heel and continuing on her way.
Please read and review everyone! Thank you so much! :)