Happy April! Er, May? June? Okay, happy July. So I'm a little late back from my vacation. Saw the Atlantis Season Premier last night and the muse started going again. So, updates should be more frequent now, but not nearly as frequent as they were when I was first posting, I'm sorry to say. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed. I only wish that I could have used those reviews to jump start the muse and get back to this sooner.
This lovely, and sadly little, story is a tag to Outcast. More should be coming soon, hopefully.
Of course the infirmary would be busy on the one day she actually needed to be done working on time, Jen decided. Technically she wasn't supposed to be working at all. She had promised him that she would be free. But then one of her doctors had gotten sick and the only other one who could take on their shift had just come off a night shift. Jen had managed to split the shift with another doctor- she would work the morning and they would work the evening.
Despite how busy the infirmary was, Jen thought she was doing an exceptionally good job of keeping her eye on the clock. Only an hour now. All she had to do was make sure she didn't get caught up in anything and she would be home free. Ronon would never know that she had worked today.
Her big, scary alien was returning from Earth this evening. He had gone there with Colonel Sheppard, whose father had just passed away. He and Jen had made plans before he left- for the night he returned. He had made her promise not to work that day, because of her habit of losing track of time. He didn't want to have to hunt her down and then wait for her to finish whatever she was doing. Jen had argued that she wasn't nearly as bad as he claimed, but eventually promised not to be working the day he came back from Earth.
"Dr. Keller?" one of the nurses called. Jen took one last look at the clock before going to see what the nurse needed.
She had just finished running a lab test and was delivering it to another doctor when she caught sight of Ronon sitting on one of the medical beds. Jen glanced quickly at the clock and her jaw dropped. She should have left an hour and a half ago! Where had the time gone?
"Ronon?" she called as she made her way over to him. He started, and then frowned at her as she stopped in front of him. "I am so sorry, it's just one of my doctors was sick and I had to fill in. I meant to be out of here an hour ago, but I just-"
"Here, Ronon," another doctor said, leaning around her and handing Ronon a bottle of pills. He reached for it, but Jen beat him to it, snatching the bottle out of the doctor's hand and reading the label.
"Pain killers?" Jen asked, looking up at him. "What do you need pain killers for?"
"He says he's been feeling sore," the doctor supplied. Ronon growled and his glare hardened until the doctor got the hint and quickly retreated.
"You're feeling sore?" Jen repeated.
"It's nothing," Ronon said.
"You're taking pain killers," Jen said, shaking the bottle. "You won't even take a local when I'm giving you stitches. What happened?"
"I got roughed up-"
"At the funeral for Colonel Sheppard's father?" Jen asked in disbelief.
Ronon shook his head. "Someone built a replicator on earth. We had to stop it."
"Are you badly hurt?"
"Just bruises."
"So why do you need pain killers?"
"I don't want to think about the pain tonight," Ronon said, lifting his hand and running it through her hair. Jen flushed as she heard Ronon's unspoken words in her mind. I want to think about you.
"Dr. Keller," a nurse said. "We need those test results."
Jen stepped away from Ronon. "I just need to finish up with this. I'll only be a minute."
"I'll be waiting," he said, before he grinned. "Promise breaker."
"Watch it," Jen warned. "Or else I'll make you promise not to get hurt on your next off world mission or sparring session." She turned to go, but Ronon pulled her back and pressed his lips against hers.
"Dr. Keller!" the nurse called again, and Jen forced herself to push away from Ronon.
"Right back," she promised.
"I'll be waiting," he said again.