Ronon stood staring out at the sea. For some reason it calmed him. There hadn't been a large body of water anywhere near where he grew up on Sateda, but he had been to so many places since then, and had lived on Atlantis for so long now. Suddenly he was aware of another presence on the balcony. He was about to wish he could get a moment to himself when he turned and met Ella's blue eyes. They were sparkling with more than their usual ferocity.

Ella stepped boldly onto the balcony and waited for Ronon to face her. When he did she simply stared for a moment. Then she began, slowly but without a trace of hesitation. "Why did you do it?" She knew he'd know exactly what she meant, so she didn't bother to elaborate. Unlike Rodney, she didn't feel the need to continue speaking after she had made her point.

Ronon sighed and also began slowly, but not without reluctance. "I thought I was going to lose you. I went to talk to him, but I got angry."

Ella looked away and gently shook her head with disbelief. "Ronon," she said sadly, almost bitterly, "you always get angry."

Without saying anything else she pushed away from the railing and turned to leave.

Ronon wanted to stop her. He wanted to grab her wrist, to pull her close to him and make her understand how afraid he was of losing her. It didn't matter if it was to the wraith or to a guy, she was his. She filled every void there was in his heart and could heal every hurt. All the pain of his crazy trauma-filled life melted away when she skipped into the room and slipped her arms around his neck. Now she was striding away as if it was nothing. He was sure he couldn't stop her, so he watched her go as his heart wept. The farther she got, the more firmly his shield slid into place.

Ella tried to put one foot in front of the other. Walking away like this was so hard. Ro had given her a home and loved her. How could she walk out on him? She tried to turn around, but her will of stone wouldn't allow it. It was determined that Ronon learn his lesson. She tried to tell herself that he really was scared, but the little girl inside her that saw Ronon as a warrior and a hero wouldn't allow it. A silent tear rolled down her cheek as she continued on down the hallway.

Teyla expected to find the sparring room empty, but she heard fierce warrior's cries coming from the doorway. She stepped into the doorway and saw Ella with a large staff. Her boots looked like they had been hurled at the wall by the way they were crumpled against the corner. Ella was twisting the stick around her, then flipping over and around it, then kicking and twisting the stick again. She punctuated each movement with a fierce cry. She seemed to be struggling with the invisible enemy she was facing, fighting hard against something unseen by Teyla. She didn't want to disturb the Satedan woman, but her presence was noticed before she could leave.

"Teyla," Ella asked, breathing somewhat heavily, "is there something I can do for you?"

Teyla stepped forward and inclined her head. "I did not mean to disturb you, but you seem troubled."

Ella turned away from Teyla and was silent for a moment. When she turned back a hard resolution had covered her face in a thick mask.

"I'm fine."

Teyla didn't believe her, but she nodded anyways. As she turned to go Ella whirled back to life, fighting with her shadow.

The pain of standing still was unbearable. When she was still, she was thinking. At the moment, thinking hurt worse than working her muscles until they turned to jell-o.

Ella stopped suddenly as she pondered. Jell-o sounded good.

Sam wandered to the infirmary, pulling a chair up to Daniel's bedside and plopping down in it. She smiled at him cheerfully and said, "I heard you got hurt again."

Daniel flashed her a 'haha, very funny' look, then returned her smile.

"Yes, apparently I got between Ronon and Ella. That's not a very good place to be." As he finished he gestured to his forehead and smiled wryly.

Sam nodded in agreement.

"Well, you know, it's nice to actually see you. I've been so busy that it took me a while to realize I haven't actually seen you. Ella with your goofy smile pasted across her face doesn't count."

"Goofy?" Daniel exclaimed, faking a wound. Then he and Sam began laughing. As their chuckles died down, Daniel sighed. "So, how's leadership treating you?"

Sam groaned. "Well, the botany lab just exploded, if that tells you anything."

Daniel winced. "That bad, huh?"

Sam just nodded.

Jennifer could see the two old friends from her office. They were talking and laughing as if they'd never been apart. She quietly radioed her staff, telling them to give the two room to catch up, then smiled. As she did her paperwork the two talked on into the night.

Ella angrily jabbed at her bowl of blue jell-o. As she lifted a bite towards her mouth, it jiggled out of her spoon. She groaned and jabbed at the jell-o again. She pushed the full bowl away and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't notice Rodney sit down cautiously beside her until he quietly cleared his throat. Her withering glare shifted from her jell-o to the scientist beside her.

"What?" She bit the word out harshly, not even bothering to soften her anger.

Rodney swallowed hard, trying to figure out why he was sitting here. Sheppard. Sheppard had seen Ella sitting alone jabbing her jell-o angrily and sent him over to see what was wrong. Why he had felt obliged to actually come over and put himself well within the danger zone was beyond him. His mouth hung open as he stuttered, trying to find something to say.

Finally he managed to get out a, "How are you?"

Ella turned her head away angrily, her long braid whipping across her back as she did so. "McKay, I'm so not in the mood for your rambling. Just go away."

Rodney jutted out his chin and took a deep breath. "No." He faltered for a moment at Ella's pointed gaze, but he mustered up his courage and continued. "Something is obviously bothering you. I'm not sure if we are exactly friends, but I'm not heartless."

Ella was only able to continue her stare for another moment before she wavered visibly. Rodney placed a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it away and stood. As she headed to the exit, she called coldly called over her shoulder.

"McKay, I just want to be alone."

Rodney couldn't believe the sadness that he saw in Ella's eyes. He didn't know why, but he was compelled to make her feel better. He stood and chased her to the door. He didn't catch her until they were a good distance down the hall. He put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her around to face him. "That's what you want, but is it what you need?" He looked into her eyes as they began to water. He wasn't sure why, but he pulled her to him. She began sobbing in the middle of the hallway, not caring who saw, but Rodney was sure she would care later. He guided her gently into a nearby room and let her cry, still unaware of what was hurting her so badly.

As her sobs subsided, she seemed to realized whose shirt she was clutching with all her strength. She unclenched her fists from his now very wrinkled, wet shirt and wiped at her face with her hand.

"Sorry."

Rodney surprised himself by smiling gently. "You needed it." He didn't realize until she pulled away that his hands were around her back. Try as he might, he couldn't find the usual feeling of awkwardness that was so heavy between them. This moment, this friendship, it felt real.

Ella looked up into Rodney's eyes and saw the gentle smile twinkling in the dim light. As she looked around, however, her face slid into a subtle frown mingled with confusion.

"Rodney, are we in a closet?"

Rodney glanced around the small room briefly, inspecting it for the first time. Upon seeing their predicament he chuckled and nodded. "Yes, I suppose we are."

Daniel rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses and sighed. Another day, another artifact. He was just grateful he had gotten away from the sterile smell of the infirmary. He heard a gentle knock at the open door and looked up from his stone tablet. Ella smiled at him, but he could see it was fake. He drug a stool to the empty area beside him and waited for her to sit down. As she did he noticed the faint tear stains on her cheeks.

"Ella, have you been crying?"

Ella sighed and looked up at the archaeologist, her eyes drifting to the stitches on his forehead. She sighed as her eyes moved back down to her lap. She had come here to check on Daniel, but she should've known he would notice. She slowly nodded, still staring at her lap. Placing an arm around her shoulders and a hand under her chin, she felt him lift her face. He was making her look into his eyes, making her face someone. Of course he'd know exactly what she needed to mend. She blinked back tears, wondering how she had any left. Everything was silent for a moment until Daniel spoke gently.

"Ella, you don't need to just talk to him. You need to fix this."

Ella clenched her fists and pulled her face out of Daniel's hand. "What if he doesn't want to?" She spat bitterly.
Daniel gently scooped her face up again, this time with both hands, and locked his blue eyes on hers. "Do you know how I knew you and Ronon didn't fix things right?" Ella shook her head, still blinking back tears. "Because fifteen minutes after you left me in the infirmary, five battered marines showed up, and they kept coming."

Ella's eyes widened and her breath quivered slightly. She gratefully squeezed Daniel's hands, still resting on either side of her face, and rushed off.