"Why are you here?" Actually, she asked before she thought about it. It was bad. She didn't want to hear the answer. Damn, what was she doing? She was hypnotizing her hands, taking the courage to look back at him. But he wasn't going to say anything; he was just sitting there. When she finally glanced at him, she noticed a little smile on his lips.

Chapter 3

To be honest, Jennifer stopped trying to figure out what he thought. It was impossible. When he straightened up, she got a glimpse of uncertainty in his eyes for a moment. She wasn't sure; it might have been just her imagination. Now, he looked confident again.

"We have been passing each other for a log time," he said. Jennifer smiled gently, but she didn't raise her eyes. She couldn't ignore what he said but she didn't want to attach too much importance to that. It was a bit vague.

"And I worry about you," he added.

"What?" Well, that was unexpected.

"I'm talking about your nightmares. Aren't you afraid to fall asleep?"

"No," she replied. She didn't want to talk about this. Not now.

"I will be fine," she said. And maybe if she keeps on repeating that, it will come true.

"I know that you're a doctor, but you must take care of yourself too."

"Ronon, please, let it be." She tried to sound persuasive.

"Ok," he said and got up. "I think I should go." She took in breath. She wasn't sure if she was glad or not.

"Yeah, of course." She just watched him leave. Before he closed the door behind him, he turned back.

"I'll be next-door. Just if you need something." She could swear that he was going to say something more, but he was standing there and wasn't moving. She felt his dark eyes studying her and was grateful that he couldn't see how she was shivering inside.

"Good night." He didn't wait for her reaction and left the room. Jennifer lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She remembered their moment in the infirmary again. They almost kissed. Almost. They hadn't talked in private since that day. Till today.

She didn't have much experience with men generally. Honestly, she had only one serious relationship and it was a long time ago. But even if she had known many more men, she would never be prepared for someone like him. He was different and it had almost nothing to do with his origin. She was convinced that she could never understand him.

The whole situation was getting complicated. She was supposed to concentrate on the medical stuff, because that problem wasn't solved yet. And what if Ronon was right and someone tried to poison the people? She had to collect all possible samples and get them to the lab. Yeah, that will be the best. And she must stop thinking about him, at least for now.

--

She was going through a long, dark corridor. She had a feeling that she knew the place but she couldn't remember. The door at the end of the corridor was closed. She looked behind her, but no one was there. Then she opened the door.

She recognized the room immediately. It was her childhood room, the place where she grew up. She gasped, when she saw a person standing in the dark corner of the room. She felt the fear inside; she felt the tears in her eyes...

She had the nightmare again. She woke up in the middle of the night and felt a huge relief when she realized where she is. She was in the village and she was safe for now. She must be safe. This dream was different from that previous and even more scary.

She was breathing quickly, but she wasn't able to calm down and stop crying. It was getting worse because it was concerning her home. The only home she ever had before coming to Atlantis. At least she hadn't screamed. She wasn't in the position to explain that to someone else, because she had no idea why this was happening to her.

She didn't remember how, but she finally fell asleep again and the rest of the night was without dreaming. Although she felt still tired, she believed that she would be able to do her job properly. The morning was cold, but the sky was clear and that was a sign of good weather. She smiled, feeling a bit better.

--

It was another busy day and she had no time to wonder about anything. Most of the patients were awake and felt better. She started to hope that it could be just some kind of viral infection and they will be healthy again. They still needed care, but she could be allowed to leave for a while.

When she was on her way to Major Lorne, she noticed the villagers gathering at one of the shelters. Then she saw a woman lying on the ground; the others looked worried. Jennifer ordered them to take the woman to the hospital and followed them. She should have anticipated it. The team hadn't found all what she wanted yet and that's why she wasn't ready. It was her fault.

She treated the patient and sat on the chair, exhausted. She was sure what to do now. She must go back to Atlantis as soon as possible and run all the tests. The local people were learning quickly and will be able to take care of their neighbours without her.

Major Lorne and the team were on their way to contact Atlantis and inform Colonel Carter that it'll take another day or two. Jennifer hoped that everything was ok on Atlantis. While she was pondering on her present home, she saw Kal, the small boy she met the previous day. He ran to her waving.

"Hello, doctor," he grinned.

"Hi, Kal," she smiled back. "How are you?"

"Fine. Did you see my brother?" He was looking at her with his wide opened eyes. She was really glad that she could tell him something positive.

"Your brother will be healthy again," she said. She remembered his older brother. He was one of those that who got sick, but thanks to his age he was recovering quickly.

"He promised me that we will go hunting."

"I'm sure he will keep the promise." Kal nodded, still grinning.

"Do you think you are old enough for hunting?" Jennifer turned to the voice. She saw Ronon standing next to her and smiling at Kal. The boy frowned and took a step back.

"Who are you?" he asked suspiciously.

"I'm Ronon. I'm a friend of the doctor." Kal looked to Jennifer, who nodded.

"I'm a friend of the doctor too," he replied studying the Sateadan. Ronon returned the look seriously. Jennifer tried to suppress laugh, because both of them had the same thoughtful expression on their faces.

"Do you go hunting?" Kal asked after a while.

"I do."

"Will you teach me?" The boy very quickly lost his wariness and now he was looking at Ronon with expectation.

"If we have a time, boy." Ronon glanced at Jennifer who smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"We are leaving tomorrow, why not?" she said. "But Kal needs to ask his mum first."

Kal enthusiastically agreed and ran away. Jennifer watched him and could not get the smile from her face. The boy was cute and she had a feeling she couldn't refuse him anything.

"Doc?" Ronon's voice brought her back to reality.

"What?" she asked feeling a bit stupid again.

"Don't you mind?"

"Why? Because you wanna play with him?" She giggled. "Are you sure you've got the patience to deal with him?" Ronon smirked.

"I'm sure," he replied. "He seems to be an eager young man. He will be a good hunter one day."

Jennifer got serious. "Ronon, I don't know anything about him. About any of them, actually. And if I remember, you were the one who doesn't trust these people."

"I don't," he agreed. "But it's not Kal's fault. He's not the bad guy." Jennifer smiled. Actually, she had no reason to say anything; it didn't depend on her at all. She heard some steps and saw Kal coming back to them.

"My mum said that I can go. Doctor, will you go with us? Please." Jennifer was surprised. Kal was gazing at her and obviously awaited a positive answer. She glanced at Ronon, who looked amused.

"Ok, Kal. I'll go. But I need to come back soon and take care of your brother." The boy laughed. Jennifer felt a bit guilty. She was supposed to spend her time with the patients and not to play with children. Well, not only with children. She chuckled when she saw Kal showing Ronon his brother's bow. The man looked really interested and let Kal explain to him everything. In fact, they didn't need her around.

--

She must have admitted herself that she really enjoyed the afternoon. Kal was untiring and wanted to show them everything. Of course, he was interested in Ronon's abilities mostly. Ronon was answering Kal's questions with a permanent smile and the boy was speaking the whole time.

Unfortunately, time was running too fast and they had to return to the village. She didn't realize how far away they were. The way back took almost two hours. Jennifer was listening to Kal, who was still talking away. She and Ronon were quiet most of the time, but she felt relaxed and comfortable.

It was getting dark and they tried to hurry up. Jennifer had a lot to do and Kal should have been at home already. When they were coming to the end of the forest, Ronon suddenly stopped. Jennifer looked at him, worried.

"Wait here." It was the only thing he said before he left and disappeared among the trees. Jennifer took Kal by the hand and they both sat on the ground. She didn't know what to think but she trusted Ronon and knew that he had a good reason to do that.

Kal looked at her. "Doctor, I wanna go home. Mum is waiting for me."

"I know," she whispered. "You will go home, I promise. But we must be quiet now." She smiled. She couldn't show him that she was scared. They were sitting quietly and waiting for Ronon. When the man came back, he obviously didn't have good news for them.

TBC

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Hi. You didn't think that's gonna be so easy, did you? Prepare that this story will be longer (I hope I will make it as I imagine). Thanks for reading and submitting reviews, I appreciate that. I will appreciate another reviews as well :) I'm getting busier right now, but I will try to update soon, I promise. Thanks Everlovin!