One Month Later

"Did you get it?" Jen grabbed Laura's arm and yanked the young Lieutenant into her office. Her heart skipped a beat to see her friend, knowing just what it was Laura was bringing with her from Earth.

"Just call me Catwoman." Laura grinned, sliding her rucksack of her shoulder and setting it into the middle of Jen's desk.

Jen rushed to the door and swiped her hand over the access, locking them in. She'd been nervous enough asking Laura to help three weeks ago… now that it had actually come full circle she wasn't sure she was going to be able to keep herself from turning into a raving lunatic before morning. The timing was crucial, and she was going to need a miracle to pull this off without messing something up.

Laura dug into the knapsack and pulled out a wadded up sweatshirt, which she quickly unwrapped, revealing a long, thin box about the size of an egg carton. Its darkly smooth wooden finish reflected the muted overhead lights back at them, the seam between the lid and the base barely visible in the fine craftsmanship.

Jen exhaled, and stared at the box hopefully. "That's it?"

"That's it." Laura grinned.

When Jen reached for it, the Lieutenant jerked it back and held it out behind her. "Oh no!" She wiggled her index finger in front of the doctor's face. "Before I hand this little puppy over…" Laura glared. "I need to be sure you realize exactly what you're doing."

"I know what I'm doing." Jen smiled, reaching for the box.

Laura side stepped, keeping the prize out of reach. "You realize that once you do this, you can't just take it back."

"I know." Jen sighed at the old argument. "If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't be doing it."

"Now's the time to change your mind…" Laura backed around Jen's desk, putting the paper covered surface between them.

"I'm not going to change my mind." Jen followed her around the desk, but Laura skipped out the other side and back to the front.

"I'm just saying you need to be sure."

"I am sure." Jen held her hand out, palm up.

Laura moved the box further in behind her back. "It's not like you're giving him a scarf or something."

"A scar… Oh for god's sake. Would you just hand it over?"

"I'm just watching out for your best interests."

"My interests don't need babysitting, now gimme!" Jen dove for the box but Laura was faster.

"Imagine how you'd feel if he changed his mind?"

"Laura!" Jen exclaimed, dropping her hands onto her hips with exasperation. "I'm not going to change my mind! Now give me the damn box!"

"Sheesh." Laura snorted, handing over the parcel. "Who crapped in your corn-flakes this morning?"

"I'll have you know I had a muffin." Jen snatched the small case away. She turned towards her desk and set it gently on top, wriggling the tightly fit lid up off the base of the wooden box. When Laura sidled up beside her Jen covered it firmly with both hands, anchoring it to the desk.

"I just wanted to see." Laura pouted.

Jen narrowed her gaze and eyed her friend warily. "You've had it for eighteen days." She pursed her lips. "I'm sure you've already seen it several times."

"Would I do that to you?" Laura exclaimed.

Jen raised an eyebrow.

"Well, okay, maybe I did check it out…" Laura admitted, holding her hands up in defeat. "But I only did it with your best interests at heart!"

"Uh-huh."

"I had to make sure everything was done right, didn't I?" Laura batted her eyes innocently. "I mean… your instructions were pretty freekin' specific."

With a sigh and a knowing shake to her head, Jen lifted her hands, earning her a grin from her best friend. Shifting the lid side to side, she finally separated it from the base of the small wooden container. Setting the top onto the desk she delicately flipped open the soft red cloth inside and stared at the item cushioned in the bottom.

"Wow." She exhaled, her fingers hesitating only a moment before lifting her prize from the folds of the satiny material. "It's fantastic."

"Yeah." Laura exclaimed. "Told you the man's a genius. I mean, just look at the detail! How he worked with it to begin with I'll never understand."

Jen turned it over in her hand, feeling the heavy weight. "Does it work?"

"Oh it'll work." Laura nodded. "Although I'm not sure he'll ever use it."

Jen grinned and set it back into the cushioned box. "He isn't supposed to use it." She said softly, sliding the material across the top and reseating the lid. "It just… needs to be… you know… real."

Laura turned so her hip was leaning against the side of the desk. She reached forward and crooked her pinky, hooking the leather strap that lay half hidden beneath the collar of Jen's jacket. Pulling the cord out, she let Ronon's large silver ring fall into the palm of her hand.

Jen lowered her chin and looked at the ring nestled against her friend's fingers.

"You're really going to go through with this." Laura said quietly. "Tradition and everything?"

Jen nodded. "Yeah. I really am."

"And if he doesn't?"

Jen took a deep breath, and exhaled the answer she'd been telling herself for the past three weeks. "Then I'm a fool."

"No." Laura carefully lowered the ring and let go. It bounced once against the outside of Jen's lab coat and lay still. "Then he is."

Jen glanced up at her friend, the weight of the ring around her neck pulling at her heart. She blinked back the tears that had been skirting the edges of her emotions all day. "I have to know."

"I know, sweets. I know." Laura nodded, snapping her arms around her friend's neck and hugging her tightly. "And just so long as you know… if he breaks your heart? I'm going to drop kick his ugly ass through a space gate."

Jen couldn't help but laugh.

Laura released her and stepped back. "Before I forget…" She dug into the front pocket of her knapsack and handed Jen a small folded card. "Your Dad said he's expecting one hell of an explanation." Laura grinned. "His words, not mine."

Jen took the card, her heart squeezing tightly knowing she'd see her father's handwriting inside. God how she missed him. She flipped open the small card and read the brief note, her laugh mixing with a half sob.

"Yeah," Laura nodded in agreement. "It's perfect, huh."

Jen smiled in agreement, and set the folded paper on top of the lid of the dark wooden box.

"Now, are you sure you want to do this tomorrow?" Laura asked. "I mean, you can wait a couple of days… weeks… months…"

Jen shook her head furiously. "Are you kidding? Marie already thinks I'm a basket case. If I don't do it now she's either going to quit, or do it for me."

Laura grinned. "That bad, huh."

"Oh yeah." Jen shook her head, thinking of all the idiotic, half-brained, completely blond things she'd done or said she'd sent Laura on her quest.

"Their mission is still on for tomorrow?"

Jen nodded. "They're scheduled to leave at oh-seven-hundred."

Laura glanced at her watch. "And you're working until…"

"Two A.M. So I'll be… sleeping… when he… they… go to leave."

"Okay, tomorrow it is. You got everything straight?"

Jen nodded, clasping her hands nervously. "Yeah. I think so."

"You think…"

"I know?"

Laura sighed, and plopped down into one of the guest chairs. "Sit. We're going to make sure you can do it with your eyes closed."

"I need my eyes closed?"

"Only if you want to walk into a door." Laura said sarcastically and pointed at the empty chair beside her. "Now sit."

Jen sat.

Ronon stared up into the darkness, feeling the restless skip of Jennifer's heart as she lay across him, her limbs tangled around his. She'd gotten off shift hours ago, but she hadn't slept more than a few hours. Normally she dropped like the dead, not even stirring when he extracted himself from the bed, yet tonight she snapped awake every time he breathed differently.

She'd been on edge for a couple of weeks. Distracted at times to the point of seeming to be lost. Whenever he'd ask, she brush it off and apologize, but he could see the edges of something worrying her. The first week he'd attributed it to her clone's duties with Carson, but after their check-in came and went without incident, he couldn't help but feel there was something else bothering her.

Something she was keeping from him.

"What's wrong?" He finally asked, glancing at the clock next to his bed. He'd have to hit the shower in a few minutes if he was going to make their scheduled departure. But he'd forego it if he thought she'd give him an answer.

"Just… can't sleep, I guess." She whispered, her bare shoulder shrugging up slightly beneath his forearm. Her arm tightened across his chest and she burrowed deeper against him.

"Why not?" He knew she hadn't had anything unusual happen on shift, other than the new recruits from the Daedalus needing standard physicals. He couldn't think of anything that would cause her undo worry save for the mission they were leaving on… but it was a friendly planet. "It's a friendly mission." He suggested, wondering if it was his departure that bothered her this early morning hour.

Ronon felt her smile as her lips brushed the bare skin of his collarbone. "Yeah, and friendly in this galaxy means squat."

"We're just negotiating."

"Again… Pegasus."

"I tell you what." He smiled, rolling onto his side and pulling her tightly in against him, flinging his leg over hers to pin her to the mattress.

Jen squirmed futilely, and laughed. "What?"

Happy to see laughter in her eyes, and not the worry he feared was there, he lowered his head. "I'll be back in two days." He nuzzled her neck, grinning when she shuddered and broke out into goosebumps.

"And?"

"And then…" He lifted himself up and flipped her onto her back, lowering his weight on top of her.

"Yes?" She hooked her fingers over his forearms and gave him an expectant glare.

"When I get back…" He trailed a short line of kisses from her ear down to her collar bone.

"When you get back…" She repeated, her voice dropping to a throaty whisper.

"I'll…" Leaving the thought unfinished he lifted his head and glanced at the clock. "Uh oh, gonna be late." With a wide grin he hopped quickly up off her and moved towards the shower. He felt the pillow connect with his backside and laughed.

A few minutes later he emerged from the shower, and quickly dried himself off. Jennifer was sprawled sideways across the bed, lying on her stomach, her arms hugging his pillow. He raised the lights in the room enough to find his things, quickly dressing while she watched him through sleepy eyes. Moving towards the bed, he threaded the buckles on his holster around his thigh.

"Two days." She ordered, rubbing her hand across his lower back when he sat beside her to yank on his boots.

"Two days." He promised, leaning down to kiss her temple. "Now get some sleep."

"Yeah, yeah." She muttered, burying her face in his pillow.

Grabbing his knives off one of the chairs, he slipped two into his boots, several more into various hidden pockets in the seams of his pants and coat, and a few more he tucked up into his dreads. He glanced around at the chair and the floor beneath, looking for the sharp blade he usually carried against the small of his back.

Jen's laughter distracted him and he turned.

"Loose something?" She grinned up at him, her face half covered in the blankets.

He dropped to his knees and looked under the bed. "Nope."

"Sure about that?" She snickered.

"Yup."

"You know if you weren't such a slob maybe you be able to find your stuff."

"I'm not the slob." He raised his eyebrows when she threw off the covers and climbed out of the bed.

"Oh and it's all my fault you throw your clothes everywhere." She snorted, yanking one of his discarded shirts down over her head. It settled down over her, nearly dropping to her knees.

"I'm pretty sure I wasn't the one complaining about someone wearing too many articles of clothing…" He smirked when she flushed.

"You're going to be late." She sputtered, turning him towards the door. "I'll look, you go."

"It's the one with the-"

"Sharp pointy end…" She snorted, placing both her hands against the small of his back and trying to shove him forward. "I know… Now would you just go."

He grinned and turned, dropping quickly to steal a kiss. "Only if you promise to see me off wearing that."

She laughed against his mouth. "In your dreams, Dex."

He sighed and stared down at her slight form drowning in his shirt, the neckline falling off her shoulder to the point where it almost bared her left breast. Long, bare legs dropped out from beneath the hem, her hair mussed from sleep, a soft smile playing the corners of her mouth.

Oh yeah… dreams was definitely where he was going to be keeping this particular image.

Her eyes flickered briefly while he committed the vision to memory and his smile faltered. "You sure you're okay?"

She blinked and whatever it was slipped away again, hidden behind her smile. "I'm fine." She said softly, lifting herself up onto her toes to kiss him quickly. "Now go. Before I think of some bizarre medical reason that will keep you locked in your quarters for the day."

Without looking he waved his hand over the door access and backed into the hallway. "Two days." He growled, getting a full on picture of her standing in his room wearing nothing but his shirt.

Jen laughed. "Would you go already!"

With a grunt of displeasure at just what he was walking away from, he turned on his heel and strode down the hallway, wondering just when it was he'd lost his mind.

Beautiful naked woman in his bed vs boring trade negotiations.

Sheppard was most definitely going to owe him for this.