Sorry this update took so long. Work is a bitch. Oops. Wonder if I have to up the rating for saying bitch? Oops. Said it again.
"I want you here tonight
I want you here
'Cause I can't believe what I found
I want you here tonight
I want you here
Nothing is taking me down, down, down...
Except you my love. Except you my love..."
-Damien Rice, I Remember
Elizabeth barely felt Ronon's lips touch her before she ducked and stepped around him. "Don't do that."
Ronon smiled and turned to follow her, his hunter eyes easily and unnaturally following her movements well in the dark. "Do what?"
"Kiss me. Touch me. Affect me."
"Why would I stop doing that? I enjoy it."
Elizabeth bared her teeth. "Well, so what? Stop it anyways."
Ronon smiled, his grin white and predatory in the dark. The whiteness was courtesy of Dr. Beckett (seven years of not brushing your teeth was vaguely disgusting), but the predator-ness was all Ronon.
Elizabeth suddenly had an idea. "Wow. Look what you did to my wall."
Ronon turned to look, and upon seeing nothing, realized he'd been tricked. He turned to look for Elizabeth, but the swishing of the doors already told him what his senses had alerted him to seconds ago. She was gone. Ran. Escaped. Panicked. Easy to hunt.
Across Atlantis, in the kitchen area of the cafeteria, Sheppard and Teyla sat over cups of coffee and freshly made chocolate chip cookies. They'd both been drawn here by the cookies, but the late hour meant they'd been the only ones. Slight awkwardness made the atmosphere tense, though Teyla's outward serenity as usual let nothing revealed. Sheppard, on the other hand, twitched, blushed, and glared, all on a cycle of seconds. Finally, he spoke.
"So...we slept together."
Teyla immediately nodded. "That we did, Colonel."
John nodded. "Was I any good?"
"You were considerably intoxicated."
"Is that a no?"
"That is a no."
Silence.
"Can I try again?"
"That you may, Colonel."
"Now?"
"I'm eating a cookie right now."
"We can bring the cookie."
Teyla seemed stunned for a moment, but then nodded. "That is agreeable, Colonel Sheppard."
Together they rose, making for the door with their cookies. With a laugh, Sheppard slung his arm around Teyla's shoulder, muttering as he did. "You can call me John."
Ronon tracked Elizabeth all the way through Atlantis. She'd stopped briefly in her office to get her headset (only tellable because of the small dust outline on her desk that was now empty), then hurried out again. She was heading upward, towards the central spire of Atlantis, one of the few places that were rarely used. Ronon didn't know why she'd be headed up there. Of course, he rarely knew what she was thinking. Mayhaps that was part of her charm? With his skills and training, it was often idle course for him to use people's body movements against them, reading their intentions and sometimes their minds often before even they realized what they were doing.
For instance, yesterday's staff meeting. Without speaking, and by studying the people in said meeting, Ronon knew that Colonel Caldwell was attracted to Dr. Weir, Sheppard and Teyla were exceedingly attracted to each other, and that Dr. McKay had a slight attraction for Colonel Sheppard (only detectable by the crossing of his legs toward Sheppard, and the vague inclination of his head).
However, Ronon had never been able to read Dr. Weir. Elizabeth. She was always serene, not moving unless necessary, always taking her time with her words. She hid herself amongst her stillness and silence. Hid her feelings and needs. None of the others noticed it, but she did. Those secrets made him want to search her out. Find her. He himself had hid himself, physically, emotionally, for seven years. Now that he was opening himself, he wanted someone to share it with. Sheppard, while a good friend, was still a friend, and one he'd known only months. Elizabeth. Ronon felt like he'd known her forever.
So Ronon followed her to the heights of the city. For some reason, each step he took seemed like a bigger one. Like he was making a commitment he didn't anticipate. One that he wouldn't regret. One that might never be fulfilled, but the promises were laid out. The ball, as they say, is in Elizabeth's court.
At the top of a long flight of stairs, the upper most balcony on Atlantis, is where Elizabeth was found. She was staring into the horizon, deep in thought, but fundamentally aware that he was there.
Ronon didn't approach her. As the sun slowly started it's trek in the day sky, he stayed in the shadows and watched. Surprisingly, when she spoke, he jumped. For once, he'd been anticipating she'd be silent. As usual, he was wrong about her.
"I was hoping, in some part of me, that you'd give up and go back to your room. I have no luck, and another small part of me is glad." She pauses and shakes her head, sending her brown curls shaking about her head, a small halo formed by the growing sun rays. "What happened on our recent mission was...unexpected." She turns to look at Ronon, and he steps out of the shadows, bringing himself within reach on the small balcony. "Unexpected, but not unwanted. I'm not used to my wants being fulfilled, not here. I've seen myself as the impeachable leader here for too long. I forgot that part of me was human. Was a woman."
Ronon, who'd long ago forgotten how to be human and was slowly learning again, gently took her hand. Things would be said. Things needed to be said. For the first time, though, silence would do. Today, the Avarians would arrive and Elizabeth had things to do. He would give her time. They had all the time in the world...so to speak.
Short chapter, but HEY! Only a few chapters left. They can't all be six pages long.
