Here's another! Hope you like it! (Again, very sleepy – I apologize.) Only 4 more chapters left, I think.
Ronon stared at her, looking exactly as she did two days earlier. It was strange. Although the nurses had removed her makeup for sanity reasons, she still looked like she was going to a party. Her hair and nails were done, but instead of wearing a ball gown, she was wearing a hospital gown. To him, it almost looked like she had spontaneously fallen asleep from a night out. He looked at her perfectly manicured hand and the IV injected into it, then took it in his, stroking the back of it with his thumb. He thought back to the few moments they had had together just before the attack. He could still feel her small frame shaking with sobs as he held her to him. The image of her bright green eyes, full of tears, looking up at him was seared into his memory.
Scientists and soldiers alike carried the injured into the infirmary. All of the pale faces were a blur to him. No one in particular stuck out in his mind though he was sure he recognized over half of them.
"Lorne!" Ronon called out, still watching the doorway as Lorne rushed in, supporting a tall woman against him. Long curtains of dark hair covered her face, her injured body doubled over.
"What is it?" Lorne answered in a strained voice.
"What's the situation out there?" he asked urgently.
"Marine reinforcements were beamed down and they surrounded the Wraith that were guarding us," he explained, staring fixedly at the woman he had just entrusted to a nurse. "Took them by surprise, got the upper hand and we were able to get the injured out of there. We're still trying to flush out the rest running loose throughout the city," he continued.
"The ZPM?" he pressed on.
"Secure, last I heard," he informed him. "I'm going back out there to help the reinforcements," he stated, heading to the door to leave. "Coming?" he frowned expectantly when Ronon didn't immediately follow.
Ronon caught Dr. Keller's eye. "Go," she mouthed to him, nodding.
He glanced back at Emma one last time and followed Lorne to join Sheppard in the hunt.
"You love her…don't you?" a quiet voice behind him asked, pulling him back to the present.
He turned around to see Dr. Keller and didn't respond at first. "It's only been three months," he rumbled as an answer.
"It doesn't matter," she challenged, shaking her head, "I…I see the way you look at her," she pressed on, taking a step nearer.
"What do you mean, Jen?" he asked, his voice low.
"There's…something in your eyes when you look at her. It's like you can't get enough of her." She paused. "It's not…it's not like how you used to look at me," she chanced timidly.
He looked over at her.
"You looked at me with…longing or…nostalgia," she continued, "But you look at her and I can just tell you love her," she finished, her conviction growing with every word.
Ronon still hadn't let go of Emma's hand. It was cold and clammy. He suddenly wondered if she was warm enough, if she had enough blankets. His voice came out raspy and barely audible when he finally spoke. "You're right," he admitted.
Dr. Keller gently put a hand on his shoulder. "I promise we're trying everything we can to get her out of this. Get some sleep," she insisted, "It's been nearly two days."
He nodded slowly and settled back into his chair to rest, still holding onto Emma's hand.
"What are you doing?" he asked Dr. Keller as she injected something into Emma's IV.
"We're trying to figure out why the Wraith couldn't feed on her," she said, "We've done all kinds of scans on her DNA, but nothing's showing up."
Ronon sat in silence for a moment as Dr. Keller changed the dressings on Emma's chest, then turned her on her side.
"Why'd you turn her like that?" he asked again.
"Oh," she uttered, "Bedsores – don't want her to get them," she simply explained.
He nodded and stared down at the fresh bandages across her pale chest. "She has this illness…" he said slowly, "It makes her cough."
"Asthma?" she frowned, pulling out Emma's medical chart.
"Yeah, that's it," he confirmed, "She took two hits off her inhaler that night," he recounted, "Once when I was…with her before and again right before we set out for the control room. Maybe there's something in the medicine," he shrugged.
"Wait really?" Dr. Keller asked, astounded, "But…that would be groundbreaking," she breathed.
"Will it help her?" he asked.
She paused. "No," she said softly, "If this turns out to be true, then it could mean that we could make every human resistant to Wraith feeding…at least for a while. But…she's past that point," she sadly explained.
"How long can you keep her like this?" he asked, his eyes following the length of the tangled tubes and wires of the ventilator attached to her.
"Indefinitely, theoretically. But…it's not a life worth living, Ronon, you know that," she said honestly.
He nodded.
"Look," she started, "I want to let you know that if she wakes up – "
"When," Ronon corrected sternly.
She took in a deep breath. "When she wakes up," she resumed, "She'll have some serious memory issues."
"What kind of issues?" he questioned, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.
"She should retain her long term memory, but she may not remember events close to the trauma or she might have trouble making new memories for a few weeks after waking up," she revealed.
Ronon said nothing.
"I'll start running some tests on the asthma medication," she whispered decisively, leaving them.
Thank you thank you, everyone! Please read and review!