A/N: I know this new chapter took a while. My Heroes Muses beat the sardines out of all my other muses and they've been nursing their broken bones for a while. They're back now to fight for their territory, so let's see what they've got...

Chapter Sixteen: Move Away

"What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking, sir."

"Don't sir me in that tone of voice."

"Sorry, sir."

"You endangered not only your own life, but the lives of two others as well."

"Yes, sir."

"Are you okay?"

Beth grinned up at Shalimar's concerned face that was still flushed from the verbal lashing he'd just delivered to her and Gordy. "I'm good."

Gordy didn't speak at all; he could still feel the sting of both Colonel Sheppard's glare and Shalimar's. Instead, he waited until the two men had focused on Beth and slipped out a side door. He didn't notice that the third member of their camping party had followed him.

"Gordy," Ronon said softly as he appeared beside the not-so-quickly fleeing warrior. They matched paces and slowly made their way away from the dressing-down that was most likely still going down in Elizabeth's office. "I'd like to speak to you."

"You are speaking to me, Satedan," Gordy said snidely as he met the eyes of the man beside him. Gordy wasn't sure where the attitude was coming from; he'd woken up this morning and had felt incredibly out-of-sorts. He was on a world he didn't know, with people he didn't know, doing things he'd most likely never-have-done before. Maybe it was the freedom Atlantis represented, maybe Beth was a bad influence, or maybe it was just dawning on his mind that he well and truly could never go back.

He would never be the geologist he once was. He'd never have that family he'd once thought of. He was a warrior.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

Gordy hesitated on the threshold of the dining area as that thought resonated in his mind, but he forced a smile on his face as he turned to his companion. "I'm going to die."

Ronon gaped a bit at this sudden statement and his eyes swiveled in their sockets as he took in their surroundings. "Right now?"

Gordy grinned. "No."

Ronon breathed a sigh of relief, he really didn't need another death laid at his feet, and started for the small line of people receiving rations. "Soon?"

"Most likely."

Ronon grabbed some fruit and some cupcakes, before settling for a roast beef (or whatever the Athosian equivalent was) sandwich and heading for a table. Gordy grabbed a piece of Athosian-Equivalent-Apple Pie and followed.

"What brought on this sudden realization of your own mortality?"

Gordy stared over at Ronon with a bemused expression on his face. "That's a whole lot of words coming out of your mouth. I seem to recall you were supposed to be the quiet one."

"Who told you that?"

"Teyla."

Ronon glared at Gordy over his lunch tray. "Don't change the subject."

"Didn't you say you wanted to talk to me?"

"I do."

"Then talk."

Ronon obstinately kept chewing at his sandwich and didn't speak. After several minutes of staring each other down, Ronon acquiesced and broke the silence. "What you saw last night between me and Beth? Don't tell anyone."

"Is that an order?"

Ronon studied the twist of Gordy's eyebrow and shook his head. "No, a request."

"Why you making this request?"

"Her friends would make it difficult for her if they knew what was between us."

Gordy smiled. "There's something between you."

Ronon's face immediately closed down and went cold. "That's between her and me."

Gordy didn't dance around the subject. "Look, he doesn't want to admit it but Shal and me aren't going to be able to stay much longer. Kolya knows Beth was on our planet, he's been pressuring to search for weeks. As soon as we left, he was let in to do his search and something tells me it's not over. I want to know if someone here will be looking out for Beth's interests when we leave."

"Everyone here is looking out for her," Ronon noted, ignoring the emphasis Gordy put on her name. "You make it sound like she'd stay. If you and your leader left, she'd most likely go with you."

Gordy smiled at the naïve man before him. "If you really believe that, then you haven't been paying attention."

Ronon glared. "And what do you mean by that?"

Gordy changed the subject. "When you spend most of your life fighting or training to fight, you miss out on things. You spend so much time with blood on your hands, so much time trying to keep it there or get it off, that life just passes you by."

"You feeling sentimental today, or what?"

Gordy sighed and pushed away from the table. "Or what."


Her quarters were dim and quiet when she finally made her way back to them. Her bed had been made and the entire area straightened up in her absence. Beth felt oddly invaded at the thought of someone moving through her belongings, the few she'd brought with her anyways.

Shal followed her in but stopped just inside the entrance. Beth had been in an odd mood all day, ever since he and Sheppard had arrived near the campsite this morning and forced the trio there to return to Atlantis. Though she'd been her normal cheeky self most of the time, every once and while her eyes would glaze over as if her mind was somewhere else entirely.

"Beth?"

She ignored him in favor of looking out over her balcony. The angle and level of her quarters made it so that she didn't even see any of the other Towers. All she saw was the smooth horizon of the ocean, with small dimples in it winking at her almost joyfully.

Shal finally truly entered the quarters, and followed her to the balcony. "Beth?"

"What?" She asked softly, still not looking at him.

"I got a communiqué from my superiors while you were gone."

She turned to stare at him. "When do you leave?"

"We have two days; then we're expected back."

Beth looked back at the ocean. "I'm coming with you."