Grace watched helplessly as Ronon turned for the stairs. She remained rooted where she sat, his words echoing in her ears. He would take Anara. She knew he would. His words had not been a mere idle threat. Belatedly, she realized he was waiting for her. Grace forced herself to rise from the chair, to put one foot in front of the other. There would be time for this argument later, and no doubt it would be an argument. A fight to outdo all the others they'd ever had.

Ronon's gait was steady and determined as he descended the steps. When his booted feet his the bottom, she saw the slightest hesitation. As she came to a stop beside him, she could see that his knuckles were white where he gripped the railing. He audibly drew in a deep breath, his voice low as he watched Anara through the open doorway. "I don't want to scare her."

A mirthless chuckle escaped Grace before she could think better of it. Ronon cut her an unamused glare. She surveyed him, darkly amused that the most imposing man she'd ever met was intimidated by a toddler. Though his hair was shorter, the curls that she'd never really seen in full display before did nothing to detract from the reminder that he was as stunningly beautiful as he'd ever been. The dark blue t-shirt stretched over his broad chest, and though he wore a plain pair of dark jeans, and no visible weapons, he was just as much a human weapon as he ever had been. Ronon Dex was a weapon of mass destruction, there could be no doubt about it.

She swept a hand toward the living room, gesturing for him to precede her. She was angry with Lorne, angry with Ronon, but most of all, she was angry with herself. None of this was Anara's fault. And worse… it wasn't really Ronon's fault either. It was hers. It all rested squarely on her shoulders.

As Ronon headed through the door, she knew what she had to do. This wasn't about her. It wasn't about him. It was about Anara, about doing the right thing for the little girl who was tossing banana slices at the tank. Grace didn't even blink when one piece beaned Bo directly in the head. "Anara, turn the TV off. I want you to meet someone."

One last chunk of banana went sailing toward the tank, landing in the water. Bo dove off his floating plank, following the piece of banana toward the bottom. Anara turned back to the coffee table and reached for the remote control. Grace took a seat on the couch, watching as her daughter slowly manipulated the buttons. It always took her a few tries with most things that required finer motor control. Ronon sank onto the ottoman nearby, watching Anara closely, watching her struggle. He edged forward, one hand snaking out. "Let me help."

"No." Grace spoke quickly. "She can do it. Just give her a minute."

As if on cue, the TV screen went dead and Anara dropped the remote to the table with a clatter, holding up four fingers in triumph. "I did it in five times!"

Grace gave her an encouraging smile and reached out for the expected high five. Anara's hand connected with her own before the girl turned to Ronon expectantly. "High five, please!"

Ronon obediently lifted his hand and Grace saw the unfettered delight filter in as Anara's little palm smacked his. His gaze flicked to Grace for explanation. Grace gave a tiny smirk. "When she does something in less than five tries, we do a high five. It's another little way to sneak in some work on gross motor skills." He nodded as if he understood, but she knew there would be more unwelcome questions later.

She cleared her throat and waited for Anara to settle back against the couch, leaning. "Anara, this is my friend Ronon Dex."

Anara's gaze flicked to Ronon, who sat stock still on the ottoman, his posture speaking of an effort to make himself seem smaller. He leaned forward, elbows braced on his knees, fingers laced together. "It's nice to meet you, Anara."

The girl stared at him in open curiosity and then pushed herself up from where she'd been leaning and taking a laborious step toward him. Christ, her kid had never seemed so tiny since the day she was born. "You're big." Anara pronounced solemnly. Grace's heart skipped a beat when Ronon's eyes connected with hers over the top of Anara's head. She wished she knew what he was thinking, because for once, she couldn't read his eyes. He'd shut her out completely. What was going through his mind?

Ronon's heart felt like it was going to hammer its way out of his chest as his daughter made her way to him with slow, careful steps. She stared at him as if sizing him up. It took everything in him to remain still, to let this tiny human he'd had a hand in creating study him like McKay studied one of his science projects."You're big." She finally pronounced.

Relief flooded him. Had he passed some kind of muster? "Very." He agreed, glad when his voice was level.

Anara gave him a smile that reminded him of the one his mother had given, back when he'd been young and his father was still alive. A flash of even teeth, a grin that was conspiratorial, and a hand on her hip. "We have the same name."

"Yeah. We do." Ronon's confidence began to grow as he realized the girl wasn't the least bit afraid of him. "You know what else?" He had her attention now. Ronon continued with a smile. "My mom's name was Anara."

"Like me!" She chirped her answer at him and for the third time in his life, Ronon tumbled head over heels in love with a girl.

The ache in his chest eased and his vision blurred again as he chuckled. "Yeah. Just like you."

He glanced at Grace, at a loss as to what to say next. She seemed content to let him navigate this one as he wished though, and for just a split second, he was overwhelmed with…what was that? Gratitude. Ronon's eyes lowered back to Anara, who was getting gradually wigglier. He couldn't wait a single second longer to claim this child as his own. It wasn't the affirmation before witnesses there would have been at her birth, but it was enough for now.

Without stopping to think of the consequences or that he could be making a huge mistake, or even how he was saying it, Ronon reached out to rest a hand on top of Anara's head. "This child is mine."

Grace's eyes widened a fraction and for a moment, he saw panic in her eyes. Ronon retracted his hand and grinned at Anara. "You're weird." She pronounced easily. It would seem his kid was as blunt as he was.

"I know." Ronon didn't try to deny it.

"Why did you…" She reached up and patted him on top of his head in demonstration. "do that?"

The kid was observant, there was no denying it. "It's just my way of saying that I'm your dad."

And there it was. Anara stared at him for a second, her brow furrowing before she turned her gaze to her mother. Ronon's heart constricted and he waited for a reaction. A second later, her face scrunched up. "Like Scooter's dad? And Ava's dad?"

"Yes." Grace nodded. "Just like their dads. This is your dad."

Understanding began to dawn and Ronon stared at his daughter, his breath still refusing to come. Anara thought about this revelation a second longer and then nodded. "Okay." She drew out the word, long and slow and then turned her eyes to Ronon once more.

Clumsily she reached up and patted the top of his head once more. "My Dad." And just like that, she grinned and then reached for the remote control again.

Ronon straightened, his eyes flying to Grace as he tried to process what had just happened. "Did she just-"

"Oh yeah. She did." Grace nodded and rose from her seat. "I'm going to start dinner. Enjoy watching Dora."

His gaze lowered back to where Anara was steadily attempting to manipulate the power button on the remote. Ronon resisted the urge to help, staring at his kid as the screen leapt to life. He was still staring at her, attempting to process that she not only seemed to have grasped the concept, but she'd accepted it without any kind of apparent trauma, and then she'd mimicked his affirmation. She was smart. Just as scary smart as her mother. Satisfaction at this little realization made pride unfurl deep in Ronon's belly. His kid was fucking smart. McKay was going to die.