A/N: In an effort to be more responsible with my updates, I uploaded this story on Monday! Yay! We'll see how long I can keep this up. I really don't have much more to say today. But thank you for your patience with me and your continued support throughout this long story and even longer updates at times.

As always, Like, Follow, Favorite, Subscribe, and Review.

Much Love,

JR.

Recap:

Military red tape and paperwork looming of the horizon, Sophie catches Ronon in the hallway outside his quarters in the early morning in a compromising situation. Uh oh.

Episode 12 Part 4

Resident Wing. Hallway outside Ronon's quarters. 0535 City time.

They hadn't moved by the time he returned and shut the door behind him. The redhead, whose name he still didn't remember looked profoundly smug like she had won something as she pulled her long coat tighter around her bust. Why Ronon wondered. She was wearing a pair of shorts under it he knew. Couldn't see them at the moment the way she was holding it closed but he had seen clothes under it when she was messing with his door sensor.

Turning on Sophie, he mentally groaned at her shuttered and blank look. Sophie was the woman who wore her emotions on her sleeve, although he didn't understand the expression he understood the meaning, and here she was closing herself off to him?

"Now," she began calmly, taking the strap of the crossbody bag she wore off and setting it against the wall by his door in a very slow exaggerated way. Uh oh, he thought. He knew exactly why she had done that. She didn't want to be encumbered by anything if she needed to move quickly. "Does someone want to explain to me what I saw?"

Anxious to get his explanation out before the other female could spin her tale, he began. Apparently, she had the same idea but in a different way because she snorted and began talking too.

"I was in bed, woke up to her-

"He certainly did and it was very nice-"

"-and my door sensor chiming-"

"Is that what we're calling it now? After all, we're all adults here-"

Sophie threw up her hands. "Both of you stop talking." She ordered with the air of decidedly annoyed momma, something he remembered quite well from his own mother, and wisely went silent.

"Can't handle that he might want someone other than you?" The redhead asked, grinning smugly. "You're just the latest flavor you know? He always comes back to me."

Sophie, who had turned her attention to the talking woman, tilted her head to the side and Ronon inwardly cringed. What was it with earth human females and not knowing when to shut it, he wondered and almost winced when she turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

Looking him over from head to toe, what she didn't see was a man caught doing something he shouldn't. What she saw was a grumpy man who had just rolled out of bed. Taking a deep breath, she leaned against the wall turned her eyes back to the woman who was doing her level best to piss her off. "Connors." She sighed, shaking her head sadly at the woman in question. "Do shut up before you embarrass yourself." Coughing a heartless little chuckle, Sophie smirked. "Oops. You already did that."

She turned back to Ronon and waved for him to begin talking. "Your version?"

He told her the truth, without embellishment, just the way he had been trained by his own matriarch before her passing in the attack. Even more bluntly than his reports, which was saying something. "Woke up. Door ringing. Came out. Saw her trying to break in. Wanted to know why. She kissed. You came."

"Of course that would be what-" Connors began before Sophie held up her hand again, cutting her off.

"When I want your explanation, I'll ask for it." His tiny blonde growled, turning her attention back to the larger, curvier redhead with all the patience of a wraith queen. "You're already on report with your department head for your behavior in the labs yesterday when you tried to get me fired for incompetence."

Ronon glared at the woman in question who had gone instantly from trying to be provocative to furious.

"You are!" Connors screeched. "If you had done your job correctly I never would have been exposed to-"

Still smirking, Sophie laughed aloud. "If you had followed orders and not been pissed off that I was brought in over you, or been a mature adult instead of the child in combat boots I see in front of me Lieutenant Connors, then you wouldn't have been exposed to the virus." She turned back to Ronon who was now looking down at anywhere the other woman touched and wiping his mouth off on his arm. "Don't worry, she not contagious. Otherwise, Keller never would have let her out of the infirmary. Which is where you've been all night." Her eyes slid to the woman in question again. "Or did you think I didn't know the movements of anyone I work with? Like the fact that you and Private Regan have an understanding."

Connors when as red as her hair, sputtering but before she could say anything else Sophie had tapped her comms. "Colonel Sheppard, I'm very sorry to disturb you this early but I'd like to make a report. This is Doctor McIntyre." Waiting for him to respond, she patted Ronon on the arm. "If you want to shower off her perfume, I think I can wait with her until security shows up. And I'd be grateful to get her stink off you."

Ronon blinked. That was it? Seriously? Grateful for it, he kissed Sophie soundly as the other woman screeched "security?"

Sophie smiled against his lips, catching the redhead by the hair when she tried to get past her after seeing she was being ignored. "I got this. Go get ready for breakfast. Luka and I are hungry."

Once he was gone, Connors swung at her but missed by the proverbial mile when Sophie ducked under her arm and tripped her with a very quick leg sweep.

"Not a wise thing to do, Connors." She sighed, letting her back up with a sigh. "I already have you on dereliction of duty, disobeying a direct order, attempted breaking and entering, and now attempted assault?" She tisked, dodging to the side when the larger woman flew at her and slammed into one of the recessed window casings. "Bad enough the man didn't want you but must you really ruin your career as well?"

"Mac?" Sheppard replied to her summons on the comms finally. "Where are you?"

Not even winded, Sophie ducked again under a wildly swung hand with some of the longest nails she had ever seen extended like claws at the end of the slashing fingers before she stepped back and answered. "Hallway outside Ronon's. You might want to bring a few couple of marines. I have a lieutenant here that's a couple of chips short of a cookie and looking for blood."

Ducking again, she spun low once more, wondering if the woman would ever just get tired of the song and dance she was doing and actually learn or if she would give up first. "And tell Rodney that he's going to be down a science team member."

"On my way." He replied. And if ever there was a long-suffering sigh she thought hearing his exhale over the comm while she bent so far back her hair swept the floor as the other woman decided to punch at her like a boxer.

"Take your time." She breathed, kneeing the woman and sending her into a coughing fit. "Are you done yet?" Sophie asked, growing concerned. Not at Connors coughing, that was slowing, after all, she hadn't kneed the woman very hard. But at the ferocity with which Connors was attacking.

She knew the only exercise that Connors ever really got was her nightly bed sport with whatever poor schmuck fell into the hypersexual woman's bed that night, and there were more than a few if rumor and the woman's own bragging were to be believed. But this kind of fighting was almost maniacal. Not something she would expect from a fellow scientist who was never out in the field and had only minimum military training despite her rank.

"You feeling okay there Connors?" She asked, watching the other woman stagger slightly as she straightened against the wall. "Dizzy? Sweating? Nausea? Anything abnormal?"

"What do you care?" Connors snarled, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.

Sweating yes, she could see it glistening on the other woman's face. Dizzy would explain the uncoordinated moves or lack of training, Sophie thought sending the woman to the floor again by doing nothing more than stepping out of the way. Taking a good look while she was down, Sophie saw wide blown pupils and tapped her comms again. "Med team to Resident's Quarters. East pier. Second level. You might want to be in Hazmat. It's Connors."

Connor's jerked on the floor and began foaming at the mouth. Without thought, Sophie pushed her over onto her side and held her head away from the hard metal floor. Tapping the comms again Sophie yelled for Jennifer. "Jen! Connors is burning up and seizing. Foaming at the mouth, blown pupils, labored breathing." Careful fingers pressed gently just under Connors' jaw. "Heart racing. She needs transport now!"

In a flash of light, Connors was gone and Sophie was pushing to her feet racing into Ronon's quarters.

"Mom?" Luka asked, looking up as she came barreling in. "What's wrong?"

"Did Ronon touch you when he came in?" She asked heading for the bathroom, waving him back to his seat.

"No. Why?"

"Medical is on their way." She said hitting the bathroom door sensor. "When they get here tell them where we are, ask for your grandmother and Keller. Tell them possible secondary exposure to whatever virus Lieutenant Connors has. As soon as Gran gets you cleared you go home with her and you stay there!"

It tore at her knowing that he was undoubtedly scared, her little man who took everything so calmly until she panicked. But if she went to him the way she wanted, his exposure level would skyrocket. "Ronon! Tell me you washed your mouth out!" She yelled as the door slid open, billowing out steam.

"Sophie!" He growled in surprise, seeing her turn the water in the sink on the hottest setting and thrust her hands under the spray. "What's wrong?"

Pouring disinfectant onto her hands, Sophie kicked back at the door sensor, slamming the door shut behind her. "Connors was exposed to something in the Labs." She explained, scrubbing her hands frantically. "She started seizing in the hall. You and I were possibly exposed. You more so. Medical is on their way. So help me if you die before you move in with me I'll kill you and bring you back to clean up the blood."

"Shit." He cursed, scrubbing harder.

"If we're already infected, this won't do a damn thing." She warned. "And we don't know if it will affect us and how because of the Furling DNA."

"But if this disease began in Pegasus there's a good chance." He growled. "I know. Kisan Fever all over again. Is Luka okay?"

"Did you touch him anytime after was got here?"

Ducking under the water, he took some of the nearly scalding water into his mouth and gargled it before answering. "Closest I've been is when he walked in and brushed past me."

Nodding, she looked down at her clothes. Connors had never connected with her, but she had been close enough to breathe all over her. Quickly she pulled off her shirt and jeans. "Not the way I had thought to get naked with you with first time but move over. Medical is probably gonna put us through a Decon shower anyway."

"Why Doctor McIntyre!" Ronon teased. "You imagine getting naked with me?"

"Frequently," Sophie admitted. "But bigger fish to fry at the moment, my dear." Then laughing bitterly, she grumbled. "At this rate, we'll be in separate quarantine rooms our entire honeymoon."

"Over my rotting corpse."