Chapter 2 - The Bath House

Jennifer stared after him, until she felt the elder's hand at her elbow. He ushered her to the edge of the village, towards a low building. It was totally different from the residential reed and straw huts. The walls were made up of roughly hewn stones, that were fitted together so well that hardly a crack showed. The house was thatched with a flat wooden roof with a chimney in the middle that emitted clouds of steam. The elder stopped in front of the low door.

"My daughter is expecting you inside, and will take care of you," he said. "We will see each other later at the banquet."

The door was opened from within by a red-haired, freckle-faced young women. It was Vyga, the elder's only daughter. Except for her and two brothers, one of them severely crippled, Quoram and his wife had lost all their other children to the terrible scourge. Vyga and her husband Tarom were expecting their first child, already evident in her slightly rounded belly. In fact, Vyga she had been one of the first to receive the serum, in order to protect her unborn child. She smiled broadly when she saw Jennifer.

"Welcome," she said happily.

"There will be another guest of honor tonight," her father informed her. "Specialist Ronon Dex will be here shortly to prepare for tonight's feast. I will send Tarom to assist him."

"How wonderful that there are two of you. It's so much more enjoyable this way," Vyga declared. Before Jennifer could ask her what she meant, the young woman had ushered her into the house, and through a doorway on the left.

The room Jennifer found herself in was obviously a dressing room. The temperature was a bit higher than outside in the corridor, there were gaily patterned mats on the floor, and in one corner sat a chair with a high back, that was obviously meant for hanging up discarded clothes. Vyga opened a trunk in one corner, and pulled out a rectangular piece of cloth, a kind of sarong, striped in a variety of vibrant reds and yellows.

"You can wrap this around yourself after you have undressed," she instructed Jennifer, and without further comment left the room, pulling a curtain across the doorway.

Jennifer sank down on the chair, and leaned her head against the backrest. Her thoughts were in turmoil, everything had happened so fast. Instead of stepping through the ring into familiar territory, here she was, getting ready to take part in some unknown cleansing ritual, together with the man she had secretly been yearning for for months. And he had been here before, and judging from his reaction the experience had not been altogether pleasant.

She was racking her brains, trying to think of a plausible excuse that would get her out of this, when she heard the outer door opening, and the sound of voices.

"The doorway on the right, Specialist Dex," she heard a man say. "Dr. Keller is already changing."

The footsteps died away, and Jennifer looked at the sarong she held clutched in her hands. No, she would see this through. After her outburst about huts and furs Ronon probably considered her a sissy already, so she would not add to that perception.

Glad that at least she was not expected to go through with this totally naked, Jennifer slipped out of her uniform and underwear, and wrapped the sarong around herself. It was rather short, and barely covered her bottom after she had knotted it around her breasts. She was just debating whether she should get another piece of cloth from the trunk for a two-piece outfit, when Vyga returned. She, too, was only wearing the sarong, but hers was a more subdued earth color. Without a word, she took Jennifer by the hand, slung back a heavy hide that was completely blocking another doorway, and led her into the next room.

This was clearly the source of the chimney on the roof. Steam was billowing from several vents, and boiling hot water was coming from a pipe in the floor. Almost half of the room was taken up by a raised platform. And at the edge of the platform sat – Ronon. His sarong was striped in different shades of green, and he wore it slung low around his hips. The sight of his half naked body took Jennifer's breath away. The Satedan was dripping wet, and the way his sarong was moulding itself over his thighs did not leave much room for imagination.

When Jennifer was finally able to tear her eyes away from the sculpted muscles on his chest, shoulders and arms, she met Ronon's gaze, and realized that he had been scrutinizing her as well. Nervously, she tried to pull down the hem of her sarong, but then she felt Vyga's hand in her own again.

"Come," the young woman said, and led Jennifer to a shallow basin next to the hot water pipe. A big wooden bucket half filled with water sat next to it, and Jennifer watched as Vyga used a wooden ladle to pour boiling water into it. She tested the temperature with her elbow, and then gestured to her guest to step into the basin. Jennifer did, and Vyga took a shallow bowl and began pouring body warmth water all over her. Jennifer noticed that now that her sarong was wet the material stretched, so that it came down almost to her mid thighs. It made her less self conscious

When Vyga was done, she led Jennifer to the platform, where Ronon by now lay stretched out, his head resting on a thin cushion. Jennifer climbed onto the platform, and realized that it was hot – the steam from the volcanic activity must have been funneled inside. There was a second cushion lying not far from Ronon's head, so she crawled over and rested her own head on it as she lay down on her back. The heat that was seeping into her felt wonderful. She could feel her muscles relax, and her whirling thoughts slow down.

It was hard to tell how long they were lying there, side by side. From time to time Vyga or her husband would come and pour more water over their feet, legs, arms and heads. Jennifer kept her eyes closed throughout these ministrations. She did not want to risk breaking the spell. But then she heard a deep voice almost purring in her ear: "Heavenly, isn't it?"

Jennifer's eyes flew open, and she turned her head – and there, hardly more than 4 inches from her nose, was Ronon's face, propped up on his hand, with the elbow almost touching her shoulder. Damn, that man could move silently! Her hands were itching to touch him, to run her fingers over his chest and shoulders, but she fought down the impulse and sat up instead, pulling up her knees and wrapping her arms around them.

"Yes," she answered, "it's really nice."

Ronon stretched lazily, like a big cat, and came to his feet in one fluid motion. Then he held out his hand to her, and said with a grin, "Nice?" He shook his wet dreads, droplets of water flying everywhere. "I'll ask you again after the next part."

"The next part?" Jennifer asked nervously. "What next part?"

"You'll see," the Satedan replied, and without any discernible effort he pulled her to her feet and swept her up in his arms. He stepped off the platform, and carried her through yet another doorway.