So I've been watching a few Season 5 episodes and totally did not know that Woolsey completely replaces Carter! Whoops! So first of all, I'm going to say that this is an AU story only in that Carter doesn't leave (I'm just saying this to help reconcile my own OCD about the flow of the timeline). Therefore, let's say this takes place late Season 5. Ronon's fresh off his Keller crush.

Anyway, this chapter finally has some actual Emma – Ronon face-to-face interaction. Hope you all like it!

"I will not let you spar with my son until he is twenty years old and you are an old man," Teyla laughed as they headed to the sparring room together.

"Teyla, if I start sparring with him when he's younger then he'll be a stronger fighter sooner," Ronon argued good-naturedly.

"If he lives to an older age," Teyla grinned, "Against you, I would not be so sure."

"I'd go easy on him!" he offered.

"I think my instruction shall be sufficient," she said with an air of finality, "Unless you are suggesting that my training is not adequate," she said slyly.

Ronon backed off, smiling crookedly.

They walked in silence for a moment.

"Fifteen," he proposed, "Instead of twenty."

"Seventeen," Teyla compromised, raising an eyebrow.

"Fine. When he's seventeen. Not a day older," he agreed.

Lacey and Emma turned the corner, arm in arm, giggling and talking loudly. It echoed throughout the hall space. Ronon became agitated and let out a quiet growl as he and Teyla were forced closer to the wall when they passed. They were acting like teenage girls. He glowered over his shoulder at the pair; Lacey did the same, looking at Ronon and whispering something to Emma, then kept walking. Again, Ronon felt annoyed. Why couldn't they just keep their inane gossip within their quarters?

"In the meantime," Teyla went on, evidently not having been perturbed by the two young women, "Why don't you stick to sparring with me, instead?" she asked as he and Teyla continued on their way.

He heard uneven footsteps on his way back to his quarters from a late night in the gym and rounded the corner carefully, ready to pounce if necessary. Most people on the base weren't up this late, and if they were, they were usually relegated to the control room. As he turned the corner, he caught a glimpse of long auburn hair reflecting in the moonlight and immediately knew who it was. She was stumbling and clutching onto the wall for support. He sped up to help her. "Are you all right?" he asked urgently, grabbing both of her arms.

She looked up into his face. "I'm a little drunk," she giggled, falling against the wall, "But shhhh don't tell anyone. Don't tell Col. Carter," she said, her eyes wide, grabbing onto his shoulders, "She'll send me right back to Earth and I don't want that."

"Ok," he laughed quietly, standing up straight.

"I'm Emma," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake.

He took it in his. "Ronon Dex."

"Ronon," she said, narrowing her eyes. "You keep staring at me," she said bluntly.

"I…didn't realize I was doing it," he replied, scratching the back of his head.

"You do," she said boldly, "but I don't mind," she yawned.

"You are a beautiful woman," he reasoned, repeating Colonel Carter's statement from a few days earlier, "Apparently a lot of men here think so," he added. She wouldn't remember any of this the next day, he figured.

"No. No no no," she said, shaking her head, "You can't fool me," she pushed her index finger into his chest, "You're just like those boys I used to know. You're just like the football players and the frat boys and their friends who always took advantage of me. You're just like every guy I ever knew ever," she said, her eyes losing focus.

"See that's where you're wrong. I've never played football and I have no idea what a frat boy is," he shrugged, smirking at her.

She stared up at him looking perplexed. "I need to go to bed. Good night," she suddenly stated. She turned around to walk in the direction she had just come from.

"Emma," Ronon began, "where are your quarters?"

"South," she answered, pointing ahead of her.

"That's not south," he told her.

She turned back to him and squinted at her surrounding, thinking hard but looking helpless.

Ronon sighed. "Come on, let's go this way," he suggested, taking her arm and leading her in the right direction.

"Thank you," she smiled, following his lead.

"Why are you up so late?" he asked her.

"I was with my friend Lacey," she answered, slurring her words, "She's great and we drank a LOT of wine."

"Yeah, I can see that," he mumbled, somewhat amused by her state.

"And then she brought out the tequila," she continued, paying no attention to him, "And I'm from Texas!" she cried, "I can't refuse tequila. A lot of shots. A LOT. It was Jose Cuervo…it wasn't even good tequila…" she murmured to herself. "How does the saying go? 'Wine before tequila and it'll feel ya' … no that's not it," she gazed at the ground, "'Tequila before wine and you'll feel fine'? No. 'Wine before liquor never sicker!'" she shouted, proud of herself for remembering correctly, "Oh fuck," she muttered, her face falling as she realized what she had done.

"Most people don't drink like that here," Ronon stated gruffly.

"Are you judging me?" she asked flirtily, looking sideways up at him.

"No," he shook his head, "Just letting you know," he said sternly.

"It's ok," she said brightly, putting a swing in her hips, "I'm 25. I'm still a baby," she declared coquettishly. "STOP."

"What is it?" he asked quickly, reacting to the urgency in her voice.

"This is my room…I think," she said distantly. She paused, studying the door. "Yes. Yes it is," she decided. "Well thank you and good night, Ronon," she said formally. Then, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed the tip of his nose. She waved and disappeared into her room. A little stunned and bemused, Ronon turned around to go back to his own quarters.

Several yards ahead of her, she recognized his slow, arrogant gait, arms swaying at his sides. She picked up her pace to catch up with him. "Buenos días!" she called to the group of Spaniards passing her who waved back. Ronon must have heard her voice, because he stopped and turned around to see who was behind him, shoving his hands in his pockets. She skidded to a halt. "Hi," she started.

"Hey," he replied shortly as he furrowed his brow.

"I um…" she took in a deep breath, "I don't know how to say this but um…I have a very uh vague recollection of running into you last night," she stammered awkwardly, talking with her hands.

He raised an eyebrow. "You did," he smirked.

"Right," she grimaced, "I hope I didn't do anything too inappropriate. I have a tendency to be uh…" she looked to her left, "over affectionate when I'm drunk."

"You were fine," he said, staring down at her.

"Anyway, thank you for helping me get back to my room," she said earnestly, crossing her arms across her chest, "That much I remember. You were really kind."

"It's a big city," he said, "Anyone could get lost in it."

She uncrossed her arms and opened her mouth to speak. She closed it again. "I hope I didn't make a horrible impression on you," she blurted out, nervously crunching her shoulders together and looking beyond him, "I know everyone sees me as the young, maybe immature girl on base and I'm just so embarrassed that I actually proved that right to you last night," she looked into his eyes, "I'm honestly not that girl…" she shook her head, "most of the time," she laughed. "I just…don't have very many friends here yet and was having so much fun with Lacey," she confessed to him.

He wanted to call her out and tell her what she had said was ridiculous. She had more friends on this base than anyone he knew. Everyone adored her and she had only been here three weeks. And nearly every airman, marine, or scientist under thirty five found her attractive. He saw the way they all looked at her. "I understand," he said simply.

She nodded. "Anyway, I figured I'd do damage control," she said, taking a deep steadying breath in, "And also, I just want to introduce myself again…sober," she laughed uncomfortably, "I'm Emma," she smiled holding out her hand to him.

He was taken aback by her dazzling smile and her bright green eyes. Colonel Carter was beyond right – she was stunningly beautiful. With the exception of when he had caught her eye the first moment she had stepped through the gate, he had never truly admitted it to himself before. But he had never really been this close to her in the daylight before either. "Ronon," he responded in a low voice, shaking her hand.

"Right," she sighed, "Well, I gotta go to work again," she said, gesturing vaguely behind her.

He nodded once a crooked smile tugging at his lips.

"Bye," she said awkwardly, biting her lip.

The gears in his mind operated rapidly as he reevaluated his entire opinion of her as she walked away from him. "Emma," he called back to her.

She turned around on the spot, fidgeting with one of her fingers.

"There's a small group going to the mainland in two days," he stated. "You might wanna go. First time off base."

"Yeah," she nodded eagerly, "Definitely. That would be amazing."

"Take care of that headache," he teased with a sly smile as he continued on his way.

"Oh, I will," she laughed.

Please read and review! Thanks! :)