Ronon decided to do something he hadn't done in awhile. He didn't usually listen to the Atlantean rumor mill, but one particular story which Rodney had been able to confirm, had caught his attention. So he had walked to the infirmary with his damaged Marine and took his place behind him just like what seemed like so long ago. He smiled at the surprise in the Doc's eyes when she approached the bed to see to the Marine. She smiled bashfully back and set about tending to the battered Marine. When he was finished she sent him on his way, but Ronon stayed behind.

Jennifer sent the Marine on his way and expected Ronon to follow. Her breath caught in her throat when he stayed firmly rooted into place. His eyes looked into hers, and butterflies were let loose. She wondered if he was staying for the same reason she thought he was staying. After his harsh reaction at being turned away, she was certain it wasn't going to be easy. Was it? She tried to swallow the dry lump in her throat, but it stuck and she knew she wouldn't be able to trust her voice. She had wanted this moment for so long, but her stomach was being bombarded with a stampede, her voice had taken trip through the stargate to PX2-who knows where, and to add to it all her knees were starting to feel like the vast ocean surrounding them.

She was just staring at him. Ronon had wanted her to be happy. He didn't want her to be happy with Rodney, but he had decided he would let her be happy with Rodney. The pain almost hurt worse than loosing Melena, simply because he still had to see the Doc every day. Passings in the hallway made his stomach ache, trips to the infirmary threatened to simply rip him in two. Amelia had been nothing like Jennifer. He had known from the start that they would never be more than just friends. She was a capable fighter, but that very well may have been the problem. He had always felt drawn to the healers. Melena was delicate, elegant, and nurturing, yet she was determined, and had a fire in her that burned like the sun. When he saw Jennifer, he had seen the same wonderful qualities in her.

Now she stood before him and he didn't know what she wanted, what she was thinking at that moment. His earpiece crackled as a call for a medical team to the gate room blared. A team was coming in hot and their 'geek' was injured. Ronon silently cursed his luck as Keller rounded up her things and rushed to the gate room. He didn't quite have the heart to follow her.

Ella strolled down the hallway with her nose in yet another file. She was studying it so intently, confusion clouding her face, that she almost collided with Doctor Beckett. As she looked up to apologize, the confusion grew thicker. She began to slowly back away. The file slid out of her hands as she darted around the corner.
Carson's eyebrows raised as he reached down to collect the file. He was wondering what had unnerved the lass so thoroughly, but he didn't have to wonder long. It was the file of that tragic Sunday, the one he didn't even remember. She was probably wondering why he wasn't dead. Carson tucked the file under his arm and rubbed his temples. Worried that this might be bad.

Ella flattened herself against the wall and tried to catch her breath. Surely there was a logical explanation for the man who was supposed to be dead that was roaming the halls. Ella shook her head, trying to unjumble her racing thoughts, trying to make sense of the chaos. As she ciphered through her brain, sifting out impossibilities, she wished she would've been able to keep ahold of that file. Maybe there was an explanation. Maybe, by some magnificent feat he was able to evade the blast. Maybe.

Ella sighed, sliding down the wall. Why was this place so confusing? Why was the Murphy that Rodney whined about the ruler of this expedition? Why did Atlantis change everything she thought she knew?

She ignored the people walking by staring at her like she had lost it. After arguing with Daniel while he was in her head, she had gotten used to them. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. All she really wanted was for everything to make sense again. She had fooled herself into thinking things were close to normal. Normal was how everything was before that day. The horrible day that the wraith took her, saw the defiance she'd learned from Ro, and put a chip in her back. But now she realized, now she knew, things would never be the same. The fourteen years that she had spent running had given the galaxy time to shift under her feet. Dead men roamed the city like nothing had happened. Wraith acted almost human. What was wrong? Why had all this happened?

A tear threatened to spill out of the corner of her eye, and Ella laughed. Why was she crying? She was confused, not sad. Wasn't she? She leaned her head against the wall and heaved a shaky sigh. Even after all the sifting she was still just as confused as ever. She didn't know what was wrong. Or maybe she did. She pretended like nothing was wrong, walked around like the world was at peace, ignored the war inside her.

She always fought it herself, and just enough to keep them at bay. Maybe if she let someone fight with her, she would feel better, but what if she didn't. She would have exposed her soft underbelly for no reason. She had to decide whether or not that was a risk she was willing to take. The words echoed like a loud bass drum through her head.

Share.

Don't share.

You'll feel better.

You'll just expose your weakness.

It will set you free.

You'll give someone something to hold over your head.

Ella shook her head violently, willing the voices to go away. She heard a voice again, but this time it was very real.

"Ella?"

Ella tried her best to blink away the tears before she looked up towards the tentative voice. Daniel's face, clouded by concern, looked down at her. She tried to smile up at him, but it simply caused more tears to spill over.

Daniel sat down next to her, back pressed firmly to the wall, and peered over at her. He tried to read her face, but it was stony and her expression was guarded. He laid his hand on her arm and willed her not to shut him out.

"Ella, what's wrong?"

Ella was shaking her head, but she stopped and thought for a moment. Hadn't she just been wishing for a confident? Now the one soul in the galaxy who really knew her, knew everything, was sitting next to her. She knew he would listen, and he would care, because that was who he was. She started hesitantly, unsure how much she was willing to divulge.

Then it all began to flow.

It didn't matter that they were sitting in the hallway on the floor. It didn't matter that she had been separated from him for awhile and hadn't seen him in abundance since then. It didn't even matter that she wasn't completely straight on the things she was feeling. Everything began pouring out in a flow of words and tears, including her confusion about Doctor Beckett. Traumatic experiences he had already seen blended with underlying emotions that were buried so deep Daniel couldn't have recognized them unless he concentrated hard. The minutes rolled by slowly and gently, and more and more bubbled out of Ella. As she delved deeper into her emotions with Daniel by her side and his hand on hers for support, she began to feel more stable. Smiling up at Daniel, she rested her head on his shoulder and sighed contentedly.

She truly seemed happier now. Things had been flowing out of her for awhile, much like when they had first melded. He saw more and more of her as time progressed, saw the wounds that were still fresh, saw the ones that had been newly reopened. He wanted to fix it, just like always. Sam had mentioned something about that right after he descended-the first time. How could he cure her for good? He didn't want this to be one of the things he couldn't fix. He sighed and laid his head on top of hers. He knew she needed comfort, and that was as good a place as any to start.

A/N: Awwwww. ;) I like this part. What do you guys think so far? Just a second of your time would mean so much. Not that I'm begging. This doesn't sound like begging, right?