A/N: I'm in awe followed closely by goofy grins at the reviews that I received for the Reunion related chapters. A heartfelt thank you to all of you who read, but especially to those that reviewed.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Stargate Atlantis or it's wonderful characters.
Spoilers: Through Reunion in Season 4
On the timeline: Two weeks after Reunion – Season 4
18 – What was the Question
"Have you asked Ronon yet?" Rodney inquired as he set his tray down across from Lorne and Sheppard.
"I keep tellin' ya, no, Rodney. You ask him," Sheppard replied impatiently.
"I can't," Rodney whined, "He'd kill me."
"Ask who what?" Evan asked as he took another bite of his breakfast.
"The genius here," Sheppard waved his fork at Rodney, "Wants me to ask Ronon if he got kissed before we returned to Earth. You know, back when the Ancients sent us packing."
Lorne chuckled, "Are you nuts! It's been two weeks since his friends betrayed him and he's finally starting to ease up on my Marines. Talk about a wounded bear."
"That's right, it's been two weeks, you'd think Sheppard would've found a way to work it into the conversation," Rodney tried to point out.
"Why don't you just ask Katie?" Sheppard asked around the bite in his mouth. "Or have Lorne here ask Marie, they should know."
Evan's head whipped around and Rodney looked at Sheppard like he was speaking Ancient. Both of their heads quickly looked at the table the girls were sharing over near the windows to see if they were within hearing distance. Sheppard watched the guy's shoulders relax when the girls looked preoccupied.
"What? What's wrong with asking one of your girlfriends?"
Lorne smirked as he cleared his throat, "Then they'd know that we know something. And you don't want to reveal that you know something unless you know everything."
Sheppard was a little confused, but Rodney was bobbing his head in agreement.
"This is why it is best to stay out of relationships… too damn confusing." John shook his head. "You know, it could just be a coincidence, I mean… you two are in relationships with two of them, so there was obviously some interest there already. We were all leaving Atlantis… kind of an emotional moment. Laura obviously liked Carson… she did kiss him with your body," John said pointing at Rodney. "Stands to reason that she must have liked him a little."
"And I guess if there was something going on it doesn't mean Jennifer kissed anyone." Lorne agreed while the men watched the girls.
"Or that it happened to Ronon," Rodney agreed reluctantly, taking another bite.
"What happened to me?" asked the gravelly voice behind Rodney about the time he heard a tray touching down on the table next to him.
Rodney's body jumped, startled at the voice and he began to cough; choking on the last bite he'd taken. Ronon hit his back roughly a couple times trying to help him out. The choking scientist lifted his arm up squeaking out, "I'm…fine."
Ronon threw himself in the chair next to Rodney, "What happened to me?"
With watering eyes Rodney looked at Ronon, still trying to control the coughing, he sputtered, "Nothing, it was nothing."
Ronon glared back at him before turning to Sheppard.
"What?" Sheppard asked, not happy that he'd gotten dragged into this conversation.
Ronon continued to glare at Sheppard causing him to eventually squirm.
"Fine," John bit out at Ronon, casting a quick glare at Rodney before looking back at Ronon. "Rodney wanted to know if you'd been kissed right before we all left Atlantis and you went to live with Teyla and her people."
Rodney looked at John appalled, hating that he'd been implicated in the question. When Rodney's eyes snuck a look sideways he was met by Ronon's glare.
"I was just curious because it, uh... seemed that there was a lot of that going on just before we left. The kissing, I mean… and, well… it just seemed that if each of us was in that situation… and there are like..." Rodney looked over at the table the girls occupied, "At least five of them over there, then… well it just seemed like you might have…" Rodney turned back toward Ronon and upon seeing the unchanging glare on Ronon's face – let his voice trail off.
"You should hear yourself McKay," mocked Sheppard, "you sound like a school girl. Katie likes Rodney and Marie likes Evan, so Jenny must like Ronon. It's probably all just a coincidence."
Sheppard looked at Ronon and found that he was now the recipient of the glare.
"What?" John asked Ronon, but when he got no answer, John started to smirk, "Unless of course you did get kissed. Does Jenny like Ronon?"
Ronon growled at him and John realized that he might have pushed it a little too far.
Ronon turned to Lorne, "Marie kissed you before leaving for Earth?"
Evan tried to hide his smile while he nodded and watched Ronon turn his gaze on Rodney. "And Katie kissed you?"
Rodney hated being the focus of Ronon's attention, even if his look had changed to one of curious confusion. "Yes and it seems that Carson and Laura were seen kissing too." Rodney stated trying to deflect a bit of the focus off him.
Ronon looked over at the table of women eating and a moment later moved his gaze to Sheppard. John gave Ronon an almost imperceptible shake of his head before turning his concentration back to his food.
Ronon began to eat his breakfast and his three tablemates breathed a sigh, but it was short lived.
"So you think the girls kissed you because they liked you?" Ronon asked without looking up from the plate of food he was devouring.
"Well, I don't know why Marie kissed me, but yes she liked me… still does." Lorne faltered at the end, not sure where Ronon was going with this. It was like wading through a minefield.
"How did you know?"
This question again came without Ronon looking up from his eating. Lorne looked at Sheppard who shrugged his shoulders, and then he looked to Rodney who still looked a bit panicked. Yep, a minefield, Lorne thought wondering where this line of questioning was leading.
"Well, she kissed me for one thing," Lorne tentatively started, looking at Rodney for some help. It's not like he usually talked about these kinds of things with the guys.
"Katie spends a lot of time with me," Rodney threw out while looking at Lorne trying to gage whether that was a good answer.
Lorne shrugged his shoulders and looked at Sheppard who had the same lost look on his face. Lorne tried one more time, "I guess because she told me she liked me when I asked, or because she invades my personal space, smiles when she sees me…." Lorne took a deep breath, "Ronon, what do you want to know… exactly?"
"Nothin'." Ronon looked at Sheppard, "How long 'til we leave on our mission."
The abrupt change threw Sheppard a bit and he consulted his watch, "About twenty minutes."
Ronon pushed back his chair, "Gotta go."
"You know if you paid attention during those briefings…" Sheppard called after the Satedan until he saw where he was headed. John looked at the Major and saw that he was grinning too.
"What did I miss," Rodney demanded when he saw the smirks on the two men's faces.
John just began to sing under his breath, "Jenny and Ronon sittin' in a tree…"
Lorne picked up for him, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G…"
"You're never going to tell that man you like him are you?" Marie said while nodding her head across the mess hall where Ronon was setting his plate down next to a coughing Rodney.
Jennifer looked over and watched Ronon for a moment before looking back at the girls. She let out a deep breath before she started. "I just… or better yet, we just have not had any time. He has been out on five missions since the whole betrayal by his friends thing, and I've been out on three of my own. Other then a few times we have met up for some running, we haven't really spent any time together."
"Well, running takes a while, what do you two talk about then?" Marie wanted to know.
"We don't talk much, a little about his missions, a little about my day," Jennifer shrugged, "nothing special."
"Maybe if you told him you liked him this conversation wouldn't be so boring," Laura teased.
"When is the Daedalus due to pull out of here?" Jennifer asked.
"Very funny, you know we hang in this galaxy now that the bridge is fixed," Laura taunted.
"That's too bad," Jenn grumbled under her breath.
"We just wish for your happiness," Teyla expressed, "and Ronon's too."
"Thank you, Teyla," Jennifer said while giving Laura a glare. "Please just let me enjoy the fact that he didn't leave. Just for a little while, will ya. I'm sure if Ronon is interested in me we'll eventually talk about it."
Jennifer began to grumble, "Probably not today though since we are both scheduled out on a mission this morning with Sheppard's team," Jenn nodded at Teyla, "and somehow Laura and Lorne." Jennifer slid a look at Laura and shook her head.
"Hey," the redhead replied, "I get bored when we're docked in the city for too long."
"Lord help us all," Marie said rolling her eyes.
"Hey," Katie urgently whispered, "Here comes the big guy."
All of the girl's heads whipped around to watch Ronon take the last few steps toward their table.
Ronon looked slightly uncomfortable having all of the eyes at the table on him, but he quickly looked at Jennifer, "Can we talk…away from here."
Jennifer nodded before quickly getting up to follow Ronon out of the mess hall, but not before she caught Laura's sarcastic remark to the girls, "Maybe today after all."
After Ronon and Jennifer were out of the mess hall Laura and the girls looked across the room to the table that held Sheppard, Lorne and McKay and found them looking back. Sheppard shrugged his shoulders at the girls and Laura noticed that Lorne and Sheppard both looked pleased but McKay looked bewildered.
"Wonder what their ginning about," Laura mused aloud.
"I am not sure," Teyla said in an amused voice, "but Dr. McKay does not look to be sharing in their amusement."
The girls abandoned their table and made their way to Sheppard's
"What are you guys up to," Marie asked as she slid her arms around Evans shoulders and hugged him from behind.
"These two have a death wish," Rodney said standing up as if to make a break for it.
"How so?" asked Laura.
Rodney unconsciously slid his arm around Katie who had moved to his side. "They were singing that K-I-S-S-I-N-G… song while Ronon was still in the room.
Laura grinned at the two, "Did he hear you?"
"We're both still alive," Lorne chuckled, "so I doubt it."
"He seemed a bit intent on the good doctor there." Sheppard added.
"Let's hope so, it's about time he was intent on her," Laura complained. "I was starting to think we were going to have to intervene."
"By we, I hope you meant you girls," Sheppard said looking a little green around the edges. "I don't think he'd hurt a girl, least not a human one."
"Yeah," Rodney agreed, "I'd rather not have any part of anything that upsets that large, brooding alien. I've barely avoided being stunned by him as it is. I think all he's waiting for is a reason."
Katie whispered something in Rodney's ear causing a small smile as they began moving toward the exit of the mess hall. "I'm going to walk Katie to work, see you at the gate," he called over his shoulder.
Evan chuckled causing all the eyes to swing in his direction. "What? It just seemed like a good idea." Evan said while disengaging from Marie to stand up. "I think I'll walk Marie to work too."
Marie smirked at him as he took her hand. Evan looked back at the group and couldn't help the smile on his face, "I'll meet you in the armory in a few minutes."
Sheppard looked back at the remaining group of Teyla, Laura and himself only to find Laura sticking her tongue out at the backs of their retreating friends.
"Been a grown up long, Lieutenant?" Sheppard laughed. "After seeing that I hate to say this… but… time to get geared up in the armory," Sheppard shook his head and headed out.