Author's Note: Well, after an absurdly long wait, here it is; the next chapter. I'm so sorry about the gap; I've been without a computer for about two months as I moved and went to teaching conferences and such. But now, I have three weeks before the school year starts again, and I am determined to finish! We'll see... Thank you to all who have stuck with me through this crazy fanfic; your reviews give me the inspiration to finish. Hooray for Christmas in July!

ANN: This is also slightly AU now; I didn't follow cannon on who fell in love with who. I just think the whole plot with Teyla's wraith husband is so weird. Also notice that this story includes Dr. Brilo, who is that crazy doctor Carson almost asked to go fishing with him in the Sunday episode. I looked up her name in episode transcripts; that's how much of a geek I am.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the random things of pop-culture, I just throw it in and hope it makes coherent sense. Twilight fans, don't kill me.

Rodney took a deep breath, trying not to panic. His arms were shaky, his palms were sweaty, his breaths were coming in short bursts. It took all his willpower to keep his knees from knocking. He held his weapon out in front of him holding it properly yet stiffly, as if he was made of wood. He did not want to die today.

Ronon watched Rodney on the other side of the training circle, much amused. He had taken up training Rodney after being trapped with him on the Hive ship. For months they had been training... and Rodney was still a hopeless mess. Ronon tried to lure him into moving by lowering his training staff to the side, but Rodney stood there looking puzzled.

"Be aggressive!" Ronon practically roared. "Make me fear you!"

"Okay!" Rodney yelled back, clearly not planning on moving anytime soon. Ronon sighed, and as he continued his slow pace around the circle, his mind began to wander (as it always seemed to do these days) to Teyla.

Yesterday had been so much fun! Even Ronon had to admit that to himself. Teyla and he had met for a sparring session. Teyla had to be one of the most skilled fighters on the base. She fought well, with just the right balance of reserve and ferocity. She reminded Ronon of a jungle cat; slender and graceful, yet powerful and deadly. Her temperament was not that of a cat though; she was kind and cool-headed, serene yet passionate at the same time. She was everything Ronon wanted in a woman, and then some. More importantly, she fit Ronan's personality very well. If only Ronon had a home to offer her, if only he had a place... then things would be different. He would ask her to be his, to fight for her favor even. But the Wraith had ruined it all; Ronon was the last man of his people; a man alone. He might as well not even try. And yet, he couldn't help dreaming that someday... SMACK!

Ronon was brought out of his reverie by a sound and somewhat painful smack on the head from Rodney. "Oh... oh no, I've hit you!" Rodney cried out in horror. "Ronon, I thought you were paying attention. I'm so sorry." Then, suddenly, the enormity of what he had done washed over Rodney like a flood. "Oh my... I've just hit Ronon! I have to go tell Sheppard, he'd never believe me. I can't believe that I was good enough to hit-" At that moment, Ronon gave Rodney a quick blow to the chest, and Rodney shut up, the wind partially knocked out of him.

"Next time you go to hit someone, make sure you hit hard enough so that they can't hit back," Ronon said with a grin. He then walked up to the hunched over Rodney and slapped his hand on his shoulder. "Nice work."

oOo

"...and then, I said that I was so angry at him I thought he should jump off a bridge. And you know what; he did!"

Elizabeth stared in amazement at the woman who had come to share her last morning hour with her. Dr. Brilo, one of Carson's medical staff, was well renowned for her... bubbly extroversion. In fact, Elizabeth had not even seen her pause to draw breath since the visit started a half-hour ago. "She must be part fish; she's got gills somewhere," thought Elizabeth. "There is no way a person can talk this fast and this much without needing to gulp in some air sometime. It's just not possible."

This was Elizabeth's last day of visitors; she was still on bed rest for another couple of days, but Carson had agreed to allow her to go to the mainland on Christmas Eve for the last night of storytelling. She was a little shaky from her excursion the previous evening, but her body was still making progress in its healing, thanks in part to the Ancient antibiotics. In another week, she'd probably be allowed to return to work. If, of course, Elizabeth continued to let her body heal. Elizabeth attempted to take a deep breath (she still had trouble with her breath hitching in her lungs sometimes), and found she was able to inhale most of the way before she felt like coughing. Sighing, she let the air out of her lungs and tried for the umpteenth time that morning to focus on what Dr. Brilo was saying.

"... so after all that I met up with my friend, Gary Clark. He used to be this really geeky guy who loved computers and such, but then he kind of grew out of it and got a job training ponies. Well, horses rather, though I do think they had one pony on the ranch they were on..."

Elizabeth nodded vacantly and her mind turned to other thoughts. Chiefly, they turned to John. Elizabeth smiled as she remembered last night's encounter with her second in command. After the Lanteans got back from the Athosian settlement, John had stopped by to tell Elizabeth the events of the evening. Elizabeth had smiled at his description of the Athosian singles march, and had laughed aloud when she heard how John told Rodney he was not single. After hearing about the rest of the evening, Elizabeth asked how John had answered Rodney's question posed in the jumper.

John had grinned. "Well, I told him a guy like me has a girl through every stargate. Luckily, I think I satisfied him there, but Rodney's a fairly smart guy. He'll start to notice something someday."

Elizabeth had grinned an evil grin. "So, Colonel Sheppard, do you have a girl through every gate?"

"Why Dr. Weir," John had stated, a look of mock indignation causing Elizabeth to chuckle, "how can you think that of me? Do you even know me at all?"

"Yes, and that's what worries me," Elizabeth had blurted out.

John had smiled with his eyes, and sat down on the foot of Elizabeth's bed. He took her hands in his own then, looked into her eyes, and said softly, "you know full well there is only one woman in this galaxy I'd ever give up bachelorhood for." He then leaned forward and kissed her hands; the chivalrous gesture had made her blush furiously.

"... and, are you alright? Elizabeth? You are kind of turning red, can you breathe alright?"

Elizabeth snapped out of her pleasant memory to find Dr. Brilo looking at her with the trained eye of a doctor. Elizabeth shook her head slightly to bring herself back to reality and smiled reassuringly at Dr. Brilo.

"I am fine, thank you," Elizabeth stated. "Just zoning out a little; I'm sorry."

Dr. Brilo, her doctor side pacified, nodded and continued on. "Dr. Weir, you have every right to be zoning out. Why if I were you and had been in your place, I would have..."

Elizabeth felt like her eyes were in danger of glazing over. Would Dr. Brilo ever stop talking?

oOo

Rodney stared at Zelenka, who was holding the slender wrapped package with a mixture of trepidation and awe. "So, are you gonna open it?" asked Rodney. "Well, technically, you don't have to, since it's not yet Christmas, but Christmas eve is tomorrow and I figured we'd not be seeing each other... or might not... as there's no where really to go..." Rodney's voice trailed off as Zelenka continued to stare, bewildered. "What?" asked Rodney.

Zelenka swallowed and looked at the package in his hands. "Nothing, Rodney, the gesture is wery nice... but I'm just surprised. I didn't... I never really thought... I mean, a present! From you; it's wery different."

"Yeah," Rodney said, attempting to sound nonchalant. "I thought I'd show all my employees some goodwill; they say it's the season for it. And anyway, you need this since I kind of blew up your best one yesterday."

Zelenka smiled and opened the package. A brand new slender black maglight lay nestled in the paper, ready for use. Zelenka couldn't help laughing a little. "It vas probably not hard for you to get a replacement; Corporal Daniels has thousands of these things in storage."

"Still," Rodney stated as Zelenka switched the flashlight on, "It was your flashlight Sheppard used yesterday to help me see our disaster in the making. When our device blew, Sheppard dropped your flashlight and it got impaled with shrapnel. And just to let you know, that did come at a price. I had to fix Corporal Daniel's coffee maker in order to get one; who knew that such a small item as a flashlight would cost so much!"

Zelenka furrowed his brows in confusion. "How long did it take you to fix the machine?" he asked.

Rodney frowned. "An hour," he moaned.

Zelenka bit back a chortle. "It's the simplest things in life that are the hardest to fix," he stated.

"Yeah, I agree," Rodney said shortly. "Well, now that you have a light you should get back to work," Rodney finished.

Zelenka sighed and tucked the flashlight into his belt. He could have a number of things to say to his boss about his "gift," but what came out of Zelenka's mouth was "Thank you, Rodney."

Rodney smiled a half smile back. "You're welcome," he said after a pause.

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

oOo

Carson stepped softly into the infirmary. The pile of paperwork loomed in front of him, covering his desk. Carson looked right. No one was there. Carson looked left. Even the shift nurse was gone; it was time to change shifts. Carson grinned; he'd be able to get work done today, he just knew it! He could feel it; it had been slow going in the infirmary this morning, with any luck it would continue to be slow going this afternoon. Quietly, he padded over to his desk. He had just gotten settled and comfortable, when... in walked Colonel Sheppard.

Carson threw his pen down with a sigh and turned in his swivel chair to face John. "What ken I do for ye, Colonel?" he asked, hoping that Sheppard was not here with more worries about Elizabeth. According to Dr. Brilo, who had stayed with her a full two hours and forty minutes that morning (until Elizabeth had fallen asleep), Elizabeth was doing well.

"Doc, I have a problem," stated Sheppard matter-of-factly.

"Is Elizabeth okay?"

John blinked in surprise. "Oh, yes, better than okay I think. No, I have a problem with my story part I have to tell tonight, and I need some medical advice."

Carson grinned in spite of his being interrupted in paperwork. There was nothing a Scotsman liked better than telling a good story. "Alright me boy, tell me what you need help with."

John frowned. "Last we left off, Elizabeth; I mean, Queen Beth, has turned me over to Pennywise because she's almost fully clown. Now, I know we tried retroviruses and such, but with this being a middle-ages themed story, how am I going to get you to create a retrovirus with materials found in clown country?"

Carson frowned. This was a problem. "Maybe I brought them with me?" he stated.

"Yeah, but then you'd have to get a lab where you could put everything together, and with the introduction of Major Lorne I'm not sure we have time for that."

Carson nodded. "Can we capture her and take her back to Camelot and then work on her?"

John shook his head. "I had planned for everyone to come back in a mighty celebration style; the last night of the Nine Nights is supposed to end with hope, and what better way to convey hope and spirit than with a parade."

Carson nodded again, deep in thought. Finally, his face broke into a grin. "There is one fool-proof way; give her a blood transfusion."

John frowned. "A what?"

"A transfusion. Have the main character give her some of his blood so it washes out the clown serum. Or, at least enough to give our Queen a fighting chance."

John blinked. "Kind of like the biological version of the EM pulse?"

"Exactly."

John gave Carson a dubious look. "But everyone's got to know they might not be the same blood type; how can this possibly work?"

Carson chortled. "Sheppard, this isn't real life! Ye are using clowns, Batman, and several other various cultural references even I don't understand to portray life in Atlantis. Seriously, if ye fudge a little on the medical side, no one will notice. Writers do it all the time on TV anyway; I once saw this movie where a guy got beat to a pulp, had his knee shattered, then drove a car off a twenty meter ledge in an indoor parking lot. He was still able to walk away! I mean, come on, how strong do they think the human body really is?"

John smiled at Carson's rant against popular culture and nodded. "A transfusion does have a dramatic side. What are the tools you need for it?"

Carson gave a smile that reminded John of numerous mad scientist movies. Paperwork forgotten, Beckett moved towards his medical supply closet. He began to rummage through it, excited that he got to show off some of the tools of his trade. "What you'll really need," began Carson, "is some fine tubing..."

oOo

Elizabeth sighed as she looked at the clock on her wall. She had one more visitor today before her bed-rest term was over. She had been amazed and honored at the care everyone had shown to her of late; everyone had pulled together and had sacrificed some of their time, just to make her feel comfortable and well-looked after. However, Elizabeth was surprised when she learned the identity of the last team member to make an appearance in entertaining her for an hour. That team member was Ronon.

Ronon was not an entertainer sort of person. He did not make small talk. He was really a man of very few words; what he said was what he thought. Elizabeth didn't know what to make of his upcoming visit. It could be that Ronon viewed visiting her like a soldier would view visiting their comrade; the presence was supportive enough. Coming from a man like Ronon, who seemed to wear loneliness as well as he wore his everyday clothes, the gesture was a huge sign of respect.

Elizabeth's door chimed. "Come in," she called.

Ronon opened the door and stood in the frame, looking for a moment rather intimidating and larger than life. Elizabeth smiled her negotiator smile and waved him over to a chair by her bed. Ronon sat down.

"How are you feeling?" Ronon asked.

"Much better, thank you," Elizabeth replied.

"Good."

Tick. Tick. Tick. The minutes went by in silence. Ronon wriggled in his chair uncomfortably, unsure of what to say. Elizabeth tried a few conversation starters and got nowhere; Ronon was the master of the short answer. Elizabeth fell silent then and began to study him. Ronon was a living legend among the Lanteans at being the best physical warrior on base. The fact that he could beat both Teyla and Sheppard at once if he really needed to earned him an almost revered status; no one dared to look sideways at Ronon. But as Elizabeth studied him, she noticed something in his eyes she had not seen before. A pain of some sort residing there. It gave Elizabeth the information she needed to ask the next question.

"Ronon, why are you here?"

Ronon blinked in surprise. "Sheppard said you needed someone to keep you company for an hour."

Elizabeth smiled a small smile. "True, and I do value your company, but to a person as quiet as you this sort of assignment is torture. And so I believe you wouldn't come here if you didn't have another reason to come here."

Ronon bowed his head. "I need your advice," he stated shortly.

Elizabeth nodded. "Go ahead."

"I think I love Teyla."

Elizabeth suppressed the giggle that rose up inside her and put her calm, cool, negotiator mask on. "You think you do, or you know you do? There is a big difference."

Ronon thought a moment. "I know I do," he said with certainty. "But here is the problem; I have nothing to offer her. I have no family, no heritage, no real possessions even. I am a warrior at heart; how can I make a life for her? Love is supposed to be lived in a time of peace, not war."

Elizabeth sat there for a long moment, considering how she would respond. "Ronon," she began finally, "I think you have a great deal to offer Teyla. You have a family; we are your family. You have a heritage; you are the last surviving member of an entire culture and you will carry that culture on to your children and theirs after. I don't think Teyla is one much for possessions, and Ronon? Teyla is a warrior at heart too. Out of all of us on this base, I believe she can identify the most with you. Love is an interesting thing. It rises out of the ashes to begin again; real love, pure love, is always building up, always hoping, always enduring. Love can endure even war, for those willing to chance it."

Ronon stared at his leader in awe. Where did she come up with this stuff? And yet, what she had to say lifted a great burden off Ronon's heart. He stood then, his face resolved but his eyes shining.

"Don't let her get away from you," Elizabeth said with a grin. "After all, women like to be chased."

Ronon shook his head in amusement. "Thanks," he stated, then he turned and left the room. Elizabeth smiled and shook her head. "Well, that was interesting," she said to herself as soon as Ronon was gone. "I wonder what he will do now."

oOo

The Athosian celebration for eighth night was to honor leaders, for leaders had the hardest jobs of anyone in the community. Leaders were highly regarded among the Athosian people, for it was the leaders that organized life in their chaotic world. The Athosian leader was first to hear about the Wraith and the last to go into hiding. In times of starvation, they had it worst. In times of plenty, they were the last to be served. A leader always put the group before himself. Therefore, on the eighth night, the people devoted a night to honor their leaders, who had always done the best they could for the sake of their people.

The procession toward the cave on the eighth night didn't begin until dark. When it was fully pitch black, a head-wreath made of tangled white vines, red berries, and flickering candles was put onto the leader's head (Holland, in the Athosian's case, since choosing Teyla would be seen through Athosian eyes as a veiled insult towards Atlantis). Everyone else stood in a single-file line behind their leader, making sure they kept their order by placing a hand on the person in front of them's right shoulder. During the walk to the cave, no other lights were to be used, so to find the way into the cave one truly had to hang on to the person's shoulder in front of them and hope that the leader knew where they were going.

John was also offered a crown as a courtesy, which he politely refused. He was the leader of his own team, but he wouldn't side-step Elizabeth's authority by claiming to be the leader of all the expedition. Instead, the Lanteans joined in with the rest of the Athosians, and everyone moved together towards the cave in a long, long line. One would expect such a procession to be solemn, but the Athosians actually were laughing and shouting out warnings to those behind about rocks and tree roots. In fact, it was rather like a romp, only a blindfolded one.

When the story platform torches were lit (all food was eaten before the march to the cave this time, to accommodate for the evening starting off so late), John assumed his stance on the platform and looked out across the sea of people.

"When we last left off," John began, "Queen Tala, the Silver Knight, and Bones had rescued the Gypsy Prince Evano. Meredith melted the servant clowns, and he and the Dark Knight had crashed Pennywise's party. However, instead of recognizing her rescuers, the Queen Beth put a sword to the Dark Knight's neck! Meredith escaped, and the Dark Knight was taken prisoner, in order to be food for Queen Beth when her transformation to clown was complete."

"Now, when the whole thing went down with the Dark Knight, Meredith fled down a narrow passageway. He managed to elude the clowns chasing him long enough to use his magic to turn himself invisible. It was a risky spell; one he didn't like using very much, because while he was under the influence of the spell he could neither eat or drink. And kids, let me tell you, Meredith loves to eat!" (Rodney glowered, but good-naturedly; his appetite was too well known to be a surprise for anyone.)

"When he finished becoming invisible, Meredith jumped into a small alcove that held a door leading... he knew not where. The rest of the clown posse passed his hiding space, and he was about to sneak out when he heard... voices. They sounded like they came from the other side of the door!"

"Meredith pressed himself in the small space behind the door, hoping to evade capture at all costs. Just before the door opened, though, he heard a voice call out, 'STOP! Someone is here; I can hear them breathing.'"

"Meredith held his breath as long as he could, until his lungs could no longer take it. He let out the air with a cough and the voice exclaimed triumphantly, 'See, I told you! Avast, varlet, who are you?'"

"Meredith had no idea what to answer. He certainly was not going to tell the truth! 'I am the wind blowing through your hair,' he finally said, feeling that the only thing to do now was quote song lyrics.' ("Like anyone sings in a horror movie," grumbled Rodney. Carson, who was sitting next to him, rolled his eyes. "Apparently you've never seen Sweeny Todd," he commented. Rodney snuffed. "Like anyone would want to see Mrs. Potts put people in pies. It gives a whole new dimension to Disney as a whole.")

"The voice answered back, 'If you are the wind, how come my hat's still on?'"

"Meredith frowned in confusion as the voice gave a yelp, as if someone had smacked him/her. 'Really, who are you?' asked the much more sensible voice of Queen Tala. 'You must not be a clown or you'd have already come after us.'"

"'Oh Tala, thank heaven! It's me, Meredith.'"

"Queen Tala and company burst through the door then, pushing Evano in front of them. The Gypsy prince tumbled over the threshold but regained his footing quickly, and sauntered across the floor as if he were still in charge of everyone. ("Do I saunter?" asked Lorne to Lieutenant Mickleman. Dusty, who was sitting on the other side of Lorne, burst into giggles.) The Silver Knight followed him; there was no way the Gypsy prince would escape until it was convenient for the members of Camelot."

"'Where are you?' asked Queen Tala. 'You sound as if you are right here.'"

"'I am; I've become invisible.'"

"'Not that again!' exclaimed Bones. 'The last time you made yourself invisible you almost destroyed the whole castle!'"

"'Which is precisely why I chose to do it again,' Meredith shot back. 'Tala, we've found Queen Beth.'"

"Queen Tala's face paled. 'Is she alright?' she asked."

"'No; Pennywise has turned her into a clown. To make things worse, the Dark Knight has been captured. Pennywise is planning to feed him to Queen Beth tomorrow; if we have any chance at all, we need to free him tonight.'"

"Queen Tala looked at the floor, her face sad. 'So, Queen Beth is lost to us then?'"

"'Not necessarily,' Bones spoke up. 'There have been instances where a person infected with clown serum can be restored by giving them a blood transfusion; namely, letting out the clown blood and putting in regular human blood again.'" (Carson beamed.)

"'Really, this is too much!' Evano laughed. 'Have been instances... do your people make it a point to go about getting infected by clowns?'"

"Bones snorted. 'You know the saying that some people have 'acting in their blood?' Well, this is like the same thing. Only instead of being mildly entertaining eye-candy the people become scary man-eating clowns. Queen Tala, I know I can do this; I just need to find some supplies.'"

"Queen Tala nodded. 'You and Meredith go looking for them, then. The Silver Knight, Evano, and I will keep heading to Queen Beth's chambers. Meet us as close as you can get without getting captured in the great hall once you have everything you need.'"

"And so, the two parties once again split."

"While Tala was organizing Plan B, the Dark Knight was taken to Queen Beth's room and was placed in a hanging cage. This stereotypical act of every super-villain was actually what ended up saving the day. If Pennywise had sent the Dark Knight to the dungeons, he'd have been alerted that there were other members of Camelot running around his castle orchestrating random jail-breaks. Instead, he just had a couple of patrols out looking for Meredith, and so the castle was still fairly traversable."

"'I'm hoping your presence will give my Queen an appetite,' sneered Pennywise as he locked the cage on the Dark Knight. 'After all, once a clown tastes blood, they are unable to ever travel back. And once my Queen becomes fully a clown, we will ride on Gondor and devour the whole place! No more winter kingdom, no more enemy, no more people! Just me ruling the world. Me, me, ME... and my little chickadee. I hope you appreciate the originality of this plot.'"

"The Dark Knight snorted. 'Original? This is definitely not original! A woman falls in love with a blood-sucker only to be turned into a blood-sucker later? Seriously? The least you could have done was added a werewolf.'"

"Pennywise looked confused. The Dark Knight looked over at Queen Beth. 'Which is it?' he called out. 'Team Pennywise or Team Dark Knight?' (The Lanteans positively roared. The Athosians laughed as well, though they had absolutely no idea what they were laughing at. "You don't want to know," Dusty had stated to an Athosian who asked her about it later.)

"'Well, it really doesn't matter,' sneered Pennywise. 'In a few short hours, your 'Queen' will no longer exist... at least in the terms that you know her to. I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't last out the night.'"

"Pennywise turned towards the door. 'See you soon,' he chuckled as he exited the Queen's room."

"The Dark Knight looked over at Queen Beth, who was standing with her back to him staring out of the small window. 'What is happening to me?' she asked in a voice barely above a whisper."

"'Beth, you've been taken captive by the clowns. They are turning you into a clown... you must fight this!'"

"'You said I'd be safe in the castle,' growled Queen Beth."

"The Dark Knight flinched. 'I didn't know they'd come through the pipes,' he stated."

"Queen Beth turned to look at him. Her eyes were slits in the dim light, and her face was the color of death. 'I didn't know they could do something like this!' she screamed. 'Everything I was... it's as if it were a dream. As if it never existed. It's fading away, and all I know now is this sense of insatiable hunger... I'm HUNGRY!'"

"She ran up to the cage then and grabbed the bars with both hands, her face mere inches from the Dark Knight's."

"The Dark Knight, to his credit, didn't flinch. He looked her in the eyes and said softly, 'We'll get you out of this. We've brought Bones; he'll find some way to cure you. You won't go through this alone.'"

"Queen Beth nodded slowly, then let go of the bars. 'What if you can't cure me,' she asked."

"'I'll make sure you can't hurt anyone.'"

(The finality of that chilling statement made everyone in the caves freeze. They hung on John's every word. Zelenka once again felt that familiar premonition; it was almost as though because John said those words; they were destined to happen.)

"After a long moment, Queen Beth nodded. 'I accept this,' she said quietly. 'And now, I'll fight my last battle against the clown inside me. Remember your promise; don't spare me.'"

"'I won't. My Queen, can you let me out of this cage?'"

"'No, Pennywise took the key with him when he left. I'm sorry...'" Then, Queen Beth let out a hair-raising shriek and slumped forward."

"'Queen Beth! Are you alright?' called the Dark Knight."

"'My last battle with the clown inside has begun,' said Queen Beth breathlessly. 'One way or another, this will be finished... by dusk tomorrow."

The Athosians clapped and cheered. John smiled and took his customary bow, and the room dissolved into talking.

"How's he going to wrap all this up?" complained Rodney. "It'll take forever tomorrow for him to finish... we're all over the place."

Teyla, who had been sitting with her teammates this evening, smiled. "Ninth night always has the longest of stories. Never fear, we'll have time for the end."

"Speaking of time, can I talk to you for a moment?" Ronon asked Teyla. Teyla looked up in surprise to see Ronon standing over her, reaching out an arm.

"Yes, we have time to talk I believe," Teyla stated, and she got up and followed Ronon out of the caves.

"What is going on with everyone?" Rodney asked. Katie Brown, who had sat on the other side of Rodney that evening, rolled her eyes and sighed. "Men," she stated (rather tragically), "are so dense sometimes."

oOo

Teyla and Ronon walked slowly back to the jumper. The crowd inside the cave was still making-merry; they had a good half hour or so before the party began to break up. Outside the caves it was cold and still, the Athosian night as black as pitch. Stars shown in the sky with extra brilliance; the moon was not out tonight. The wind whispered through the trees, but there was no eeriness to its sound; it sounded almost musical whispering through the leaves.

"It was a good story tonight," Teyla said.

"Yeah, a good story."

"John's a good storyteller."

"Yeah, he is a good storyteller."

Teyla frowned slightly; Ronon sounded odd. Almost as if... as if he were happy. "Ronon, what is wrong?" she queried.

"Nothing," Ronon answered.

Teyla tried again. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Fine. Better than fine." Ronon paused. "How are you?" he asked back.

"Fine..."

"Good," Ronon stated, "good."

Teyla possessed patience, but even that reached its limit from time to time. "Ronon, there has to be a reason you called me out here," she said firmly.

Ronon grinned and said, "wait." He then pulled Teyla off the road towards a tiny copse of trees. He shrugged off his backpack as Teyla stood there amused. "I wanted to give you this," Ronon stated, pulling out from his pack a small bundle.

Teyla curiously unwrapped the bundle; inside a knife gleamed in the starlight. Its shaft and blade were made out of a curious material that was dark and lustrous, and it reflected the light of the stars above. It's pommel was in the shape of a bird of some sort, its wings outstretched to make the quillion.

"My people are warriors; we aren't much good for much else. Among my people, it is a custom to give a knife to the one you care about, so they have an extra weapon if things get ugly. It's said that if you are with the one you are meant to be with, the knife will sing."

Teyla looked up at Ronon, her eyes shining. "Show me," she said.

Ronon took the knife and deftly cut a long blade of grass. Slowly, he drew the grass perpendicular along the edge of the knife. A single tone wavered from the action, clear as a bell. It almost sounded like a voice singing one note, but it had a deeper, richer sound.

Ronon grinned and held back the knife to Teyla. He said, "It sings when you fight too; the wind whipping past works about the same as grass. It's not used very much as a fighting weapon; only as a last resort."

Teyla smiled and took the knife from him. "I am honored to have something from your people, Ronon," she said happily.

Ronon looked at her a little unsure. "Are you honored to have me too?" he asked at last.

Teyla sheathed her knife with the cloth wrappings it came in and placed it safely away in her travel pack. She stood up straight in front of him, tilting her head so that she met his eyes. "I am honored beyond measure," she stated sincerely.

"Even if it would mean... eventually, if all goes well... being the wife of a Runner?"

Teyla furrowed her brows. "I see no runner," she said gently. "I see a man of two worlds; whose people will live on through him. I see a man with a family in Atlantis, a man with courage, bravery, and honor in spades. But most of all, I see Ronon; my companion, teammate, and friend."

Ronon smiled a rare full smile; one that consumed all of his face. He leaned into Teyla, and the two embraced. What seemed like mere moments went by, then Teyla pulled away. "I hear people coming," she said.

The Lantean party was coming back to the jumpers. Teyla and Ronon slid out of the shadows of the forest and joined them, beaming with happiness. On the whole, everyone was so absorbed in the conversations around them that no one noticed their looks of rapture. John, though, caught a glimpse of the pair just as he was closing the jumper's door. He grinned a knowing grin and glanced over at Rodney, who was sitting up front in order to keep John company.

"What?" Rodney asked, looking back at the crowded jumper. "I don't see anything. Except that... is Ronon smiling?"

"Yes, he is," stated John.

"Why?"

John shrugged. "If you don't know I can't tell you."

Rodney frowned. "It's creeping me out. In fact, what's going on with everyone around here? I feel like I'm in an alternate dimension or something. Everyone's happy all of a sudden."

John chocked back a laugh of his own. "It's just the Christmas spirit, Rodney," he said knowingly.