A/N: Thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing. Thanks to Renisanz for the beta it definately changed this chapter into something worth reading. This chapter happens in the middle of the episode Reunion. As a refresher if needed – Ronon and his Satedan friends along with Sheppard's team are on a joint mission to take out a Wraith facility. When they enter the facility they part ways to cover more territory. When the bullets start flying Ronon runs back through the stargate to get help from Atlantis.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Stargate Atlantis or it's wonderful characters.

Spoilers: Through Reunion in Season 4

On the timeline: Reunion – Season 4

15 – Release

About four hours later Laura walked into the infirmary looking for Marie. Her voice over the com link had sounded worried, but cryptic. "I need you in the infirmary as soon as you can get here." Laura didn't see Marie right away, but sitting on an infirmary bed while dodging a determined technician with a swab of antiseptic, was Ronon.

"What are you doing back? The mission over already?" Laura looked around the infirmary, but didn't see anyone else being treated. She tilted her head sideways and looked at him speculatively, "I heard you weren't coming back?"

"Needed reinforcements, heading out in just a sec," he said batting away the technician's hand again. He turned to the man, "I said I'm fine," he growled at him before standing. "Gotta go," he said as he nodded at Laura.

Laura spotted Marie waving her over.

"What's the worry, Marie?"

"Jenn is going to kill me… but, I called her when Ronon came in. I guess the mission isn't going well, Evan is gearing up to head back out with Ronon, Colonel Carter and two Jumpers full of Marines. Anyway… she said she was busy and wouldn't be in the infirmary until later." Marie looked at the red-head with worry in her eyes, "You've heard that Ronon is leaving Atlantis at the end of this mission with his friends?"

"Yes, during dinner last night it was all the gossip."

"Did Jenn seem ok with it," Marie asked anxiously.

"Jenn was a little quiet, but she said she was ok."

"Yeah, well, I don't think that she is as "ok" as she claimed. She always treats Sheppard's team, especially Ronon." Marie raised her eyebrows at Laura for emphasis.

"Let's go find the slacker?" Laura replied sarcastically.

"What are you doing?" Laura sing-songed as she and Marie settled in Jennifer's room.

Glaring at the two girls, Jennifer tried to remember why she was friends with them. "I'm trying to enjoy a much needed morning off," she shot Marie a look of annoyance, "or at least I was."

Laura took in Jennifer's appearance, from her puffy eyes, to the fact that she was still in her pajamas in bed. "Sure you are."

"Sweetie," Marie said trying to be more sympathetic, "We're a little worried about you. How are you doing knowing Ronon won't be coming back?"

"Obviously," Laura butted in, "Not well, do you see how puffy her eyes are."

"Hey," Jennifer yelled at the Lieutenant, hurt.

"And she's still in her pajama's," Marie pointed out.

"I am…uh…laying right here you two," Jennifer tried to complain.

"You know what?" Laura asked turning to Marie excited, "She's in love with him!"

"What," Jennifer demanded, knowing that she was turning red.

"Sweetie," Marie quietly cajoled, "It is kind of obvious."

Jennifer threw her face in her pillow and rolled onto her stomach to hide her rapidly heating face. Marie and Laura moved to the foot of the bed and sat down facing their embarrassed friend.

"Do you want to tell us about it?" Marie asked gently while rubbing Jennifer's foot through the blankets.

"Yes, do," Laura agreed, "Don't leave out any of the details."

Jennifer rolled over and looked at the two and knew they weren't going to leave her alone. They were her friends, why would they leave; she certainly wouldn't if it was one of them.

"Ok, but then you promise to leave it alone. He's gone and there isn't any reason to dwell on it," Jenn said as she glared at the two goons perched on her bed. "This morning, before he left, Ronon came to say goodbye…"

"While you were in your PJs," Laura laughed.

Jennifer tried to kick the red-head through the covers, but failed miserably. "Of course not, I was dressed for work at the time. No more interrupting… anyway… Ronon came by my room this morning. He said goodbye and then… he… he kissed me."

"He what?" Laura yelled, her eyes huge.

"She said he kissed her," Marie restated for Laura before turning and grinning at Jenn. "So… don't stop there. How was it? Did you kiss him back? Did your toes curl?"

Jenn grinned back at Marie, here she had been so focused on Ronon leaving, that she hadn't really spent any time thinking upon the fact that she'd been kissed by Ronon. It had been a great kiss too. Remembering his husky voice telling her to "come 'ere" sent shivers down her spine even now.

"That good, huh?" Laura teased pulling Jenn out of her thoughts.

She blushed looking from Laura to Marie before bobbing her head up and down. "Oh yeah, that man can kiss," Jenn stated causing Laura to squeal.

"Don't get too excited, you haven't heard yet that when he kissed me I cried." She couldn't help it. She'd been dreaming of Ronon kissing her. After their talk last night of why he was leaving she'd been resigned to the fact it was just not going to happen.

When he'd lower his head to hers and kissed her this morning, she'd momentarily been surprised, then overjoyed. But the shadow of his leaving and why he was in her room eclipsed that joy and she was unable to hold back the tears.

The shift of her bed brought her back to the present and she found herself flanked by her friends. Laura put her arm around Jennifer's shoulders and Marie took her hand.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Laura soothed.

"How did he handle the tears?" Marie asked her quietly.

"I could tell it was stressing him out, so I told him I was just really bad at goodbyes." Jennifer noticed that Laura didn't look pleased and she continued. "What was I suppose to do? He was about to go on a dangerous mission. The last thing he needed to be thinking about was that his kisses made me cry."

"Kisses? Like more than one?" Laura tried to clarify.

Jennifer glared at her with a growl.

"What?" Laura asked.

"Seriously?" Marie admonished the red-head.

"You know you were wondering the same thing," Laura shot back.

"Can you reach down deep and find your girlie side for a minute, you jarhead," Marie asked exasperated.

She turned back see a small smile on Jennifer's face, "Damn Marines," Marie muttered before taking a deep breath. "Did you tell him how you feel or that you wanted him to stay?"

"I did ask him why he couldn't stay here with us and still be their friends, but Ronon has such deep seated feelings of loyalty to his fellow Satedans… he really does think they need him, and he may be right," she sadly related.

"Besides, I'm sure he knows how I feel..." Jennifer trailed off as she noticed the skeptical look on her friends faces. "I initiated the second kiss," she defended herself. "And when he asked why this goodbye kiss was going so differently from the goodbye kiss I gave him so many months ago I told him. I said that when I kissed him back then there were not these type of feelings involved." Jennifer looked at both of them and noticed that their faces had not changed. "What?" she asked frustrated with the whole conversation.

"You don't actually expect him to make that leap do you? The man has trouble articulating more than a couple sentences at a time," Laura sarcastically replied.

"It doesn't matter anymore, he's gone. Besides, it's not like we won't see him anymore. There will be joint missions and things, I'm sure." Jennifer took a deep breath, "Now, I heard Colonel Carter gather together teams for the search and rescue mission, I should probably go ready the infirmary for their return."

When the girls looked ready to object Jennifer cut them off, "You promised to leave it alone. Now, I'm going to get dressed again so we can get going. The infirmary is going to be pretty damn full with Sheppard's team, plus the two sets of Marines Sam took with her, I could use a little help to get them all through their physicals quickly."

At least the full infirmary would help keep her mind occupied with something other then the missing Satedan.