Steps to Healing:

A Ronon and Dr. Keller Story

By: SingingShooter

Chapter 2: First Date

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate Atlantis; I also don't own "I'll be" by Edwin McCain


Dr. Keller had taken Teyla's advice and had worn her green t-shirt with her jeans, taken a shower and as she fidgeted with her hands she tried to fix her hair over and over again until, out of nerves just brushed it straight so that it framed her face. Dr. Keller stood up from her seat and walked around trying to calm her nerves.

'It only a dinner…' she though, true this was the first time she had done anything like this...

Knock…knock went the door

"Coming," said Dr. Keller taking one last look at the mirror, when she decide it was hopeless she went and got the door to see Ronon…a very different Ronon then she had known...at least on Atlantis. He was dressed in dark jeans, a white button down shirt with the top few buttons undone casually with a dress jacket. The dreadlocks that he had been wearing down had been tied back.

"Hi," she managed to breath

"Hi yourself," replied Ronon with a smile

"You… you look very nice," she said

"And so do you," replied Ronon a few quite moments passed before Ronon spoke up again. "So are you hungry?"

"A bit," replied Dr. Keller honestly, but she was more afraid that if she ate something it would just come back up again from her nerves.

"Great," he said and taking her elbow he lead her out of the room and down the hallway as he took her the long way around to the cafeteria. His hand dropped as someone turned a corner, it was Teyla.

"Hello Ronon and Dr. Keller," she said and continued in her intended direction. They both entered the cafeteria mostly it was filled with other couples and groups of people sitting down and talking and eating dinner. They went and got some food and Dr. Keller was about to go to their usual table when Ronon spoke up.

"Lets go outside, it is nice out," he said so she followed him.


Ronon was not used to wearing the Earth clothes, in fact he was not used to wearing clothes that where not the ones he wore during his time as a Runner for the Wraith. Shepard had said that Teyla had said that he looked good in them so he wore them. He stood in front of her door he took a hard knock he was afraid he was going to take the door down.

"Coming!" came her voice from inside he heard her walking though her room and open the door. She stood in front of him dressed in a green button down shirt with a few unbuttoned at the top, the jeans she wore framed her slim figure nicely. Her hair was straight and framed her heart shaped face.

"Hi," she said

"Hi yourself," Ronon said, he then mentally kicked himself for saying something so stupid

"You…look very nice," she said

"And so do you," replied Ronon a few quite moments passed before Ronon couldn't take the awkward silence any more so he asked "So are you hungry?"

"A bit," replied Dr. Keller

"Great," he said and he took her elbow he led her out of the room

'This is kind of nice,' spoke his sub-conscious 'now remember that Teyla said that she would set something up outside, you need to giver her more time take the long way around to the cafeteria,' So Ronon remembering what Teyla told him took the long way to the cafeteria upon hearing some footsteps he realized his hand was still on her elbow and he dropped his hand. It was just Teyla.

"Hello Ronon and Dr. Keller," she said and continued in her direction. They both entered the cafeteria mostly it was filled with other couples and groups of people sitting down and talking and eating. They went and got some food and Dr. Keller was about to go to their usual table when Ronon spoke up.

"Lets go outside, it is nice out," he said so she followed him. They walked out side to the outside eating area to see that Teyla had really out done herself.

A few more couples where outside talking, the whole place was illuminated with rose scented candles at each table the recognized a few faces as they took their food to a table by the railing. They sat down across each other and started eating.

When they where half way though eating when they heard some music playing.

the strands in your eyes that color them wonderful stop me and steal my breath,

Couples started to stand up and slow dance, mustering some courage Ronon asked

"Do you know how to do this?" gesturing to the couples, she blushed

"No I am afraid not…" so they both sat back and finished eating, but it was disturbingly silent with only the lyrics in the back ground.

emeralds from mountains thrust towards the sky never revealing their depth tell me that we belong together
dress it up with the trappings of love I'll be captivated,

I'll hang from your lips

instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above…

'Okay, now what?' when Ronon's Sub-Conscious again 'neither of you know what you are doing, Shepard said you should dance…" that is when the idea hit him.

"Do you want to take desert to go?" he asked

"Uh…uh… sure I guess…." So they stood up and walked though the dancing couples to the cafeteria and grabbed some pie and fruit and walked out, side by side.


The suspense was killing Dr. Keller, the romantic atmosphere, the music and then the dancing…she had no clue what to do or how she should act…she was relieved when Ronon asked if they wanted desert to go…not that she did not like being with him, it was just that it was really awkward…

"Uh…uh… sure I guess…." So they stood up and walked though the dancing couples to the cafeteria and grabbed some pie and fruit and walked out, side by side. They walked for a bit by themselves just side by side. After a while of walking Dr. Keller realized they where over by the living quarters.

"Where are we going?" she asked

"My room," he replied,

'Whoa wait…his room…his room?!' she started to panic 'sex on the first date? Really Ronon? Who do you think I am?'

Ronon turned to face her "you see the whole thing in the cafeteria was planed by Teyla, it was kind of out of my element, so to speak,"

"Yeah… it was a little weird for me to…" Dr. Keller agreed.

"So let's see if we can salvage a bit of this…" he opened the door to his room

It was fairly neat inside his room, a bed with the covers unmade, a night table, a few swords, a book, and one or two other random weapons that she could not name and a woven mat on the floor.

Ronon walked in and placed his pie and fruit on top of his night stand and took a seat in the corner.

"You can sit down you know," he said. Dr. Keller placed her pie and fruit on the nightstand next to him and sat next to him and for a while they where quite.

"In Sateda we would have dinner and then the person who asked would invite them home to talk." He explained

"So what do you want to talk about?" Dr. Keller asked still feeling a little weird being in his room, with just him and with the door closed.

"Anything," Ronon said

"Anything?"

"Yeah, like…how did you get your name?" Ronon asked, surprised by the question Dr. Keller answered

"It was my grandmother's name, how about yours?"

"Ronon was the name of my grandfather," he said. He sat there as if in thought and then asked "What job could you never do?"

"I don't think I could ever be a waitress," admitted Dr. Keller "It is where you go and take peoples orders and give them food and drink." She explained.

"Like a slave?"

"No you get paid but I could never do that because I have never really been….really good at socializing or standing in front of people…" Ronon just nodded as he grabbed some fruit, so with a daring step Dr. Keller asked

"Could you tell me more aboutMelena?" she asked. Ronon seemed taken back and she was afraid that he was mad before he asked

"What do you want to know?"

Relived she asked

"How did you meet?"

"Well," Ronon began as he leaned back into his seat. "It was a dreary day, my company and I were inside training, Rakai, one of my friends got lucky and wounded me just at the stomach, I had to go to the infirmary," he smirked a bit as the told the story, he had made the same approach this time to.

"She was the one that treated me. I had seen her before around, we lived not to far from each other, practically grew up together and I thought she was pretty, little on the weaker side but as she patched me up I noticed how her hands trembled as she treated me." He paused to collect himself. "And I noticed for the first time…how her blond wavy hair framed her face when it was tied back, how lovely she looked in the white nurse uniform." He stopped for a second took piece of fruit, and continued "I asked her if she wanted to get something to eat, and she said yes."

"So when ever we could we where together. I remember the night she told me how long she had liked me and how glad she was that I came to the infirmary that day and asked her to dinner, and I telling her that I was glad to," a few tears leaked out of his eyes and Dr. Keller put her hand on his arm, he did not snatch a way, only continued.

"I remember the first time we made love…and the last…I remember pleading with her to come with me so that we would be saved, I remember watching her burn in the explosion, I remember burring before the Wraith found me." He reached back to one of his dread locks for one of the silver bands. "She gave this to me…the day…the day we decided to be together….forever…" with out realizing it or really knowing what she was doing Dr. Keller hugged Ronon, he wrapped his arms around her and just they just embraced each other.

Finally they broke apart

"Sorry about that," Ronon said

"Hey it is okay," Dr. Keller said "have you ever talked to anyone else about this?"

"Only in passing," he remarked.

"Well this will help," said Dr. Keller. "Talking about it helps a lot," Ronon just nodded.

"So what about you?" Ronon asked

"What do you mean?"

"Did you ever have a special someone?"

"I…I thought I did," Dr. Keller said as she looked down into her hands "I was fourteen, and starting collage. One of the guys in my class flirted with me a lot, and he asked me out on a date, of course I thought I was madly in love with him; he was the first guy that had ever shown interest in me. As soon as I couldn't help him any more in the class ditched me. He used me to pass the class, since then I never got romantically involved with anyone, until now." And with that she leaned her head against Ronon's shoulder.

"You know, I could get used to having you like this," Ronon said and Dr. Keller looked up into his hazel-brown eyes, she felt his arm wrap around her again.

"I think I could get used to this to," Dr. Keller replied.

Ronon grabbed her chin and kissed her, and before she knew it, it was over. He smiled at her and grabbed her wrist.

"It is kind of late Doc," he said, she checked her watch, it read nine o'clock

"Yeah it kind of is," she said. Ronon got up and then pulled her up

"I will walk you to your quarters," he said taking her hand and they walked out of his room and down to hers. They stopped at her door and just stood together.

"So does this mean," Dr. Keller said gesturing to their still locked hands. "That where…"

"Together?" Ronon offered

"Yeah…" Dr. Keller blushed

"Only," Ronon said, "If I can call you Jennifer or Jenny,"

"sure," Jennifer said with a smile, she gave him a hug then stood on her tippy-toes to try and kiss him, Ronon just picked her up the rest of the way so her feet where off the floor, with a quick kiss and a squeal from Jennifer he put her down

"Good night, Jennifer," said Ronon

"Good Night Ronon," and with that she entered her room, got ready for bed and spent the night dreaming of Ronon.


He was walking back to his room after taking Jennifer back to her room, for the first time in a while he felt lighter then a feather and he felt a goofy grin on his face as he walked back to his room. He was so absorbed in his happiness that he did not even see someone coming until he ran into them.

"Oh sorry," he said and he saw who he had bumped into

"Watch where you are going!" snapped the Canadian know-it-all

"Sorry McKay," Ronon said and he kept walking.

"Why are you in such a good mood?" he asked, Ronon just kept smiling and headed to his room.

"Okay fine don't tell me," McKay called after.

In his room Ronon lay on his bed thinking about how the date had gone, and he fell asleep with a smile on his face and with a dream of Dr. Jennifer Keller.


Authors Note: Yay new chapter, now the next one probably won't be out for a while because of school (blah) and so I give you this one now… thank you to all my alerters, favers and reviewers I love you all dearly!!