Title: The Return

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis

Characters: Amelia Banks, Richard Woolsey

Prompt: 006 Hours

Word Count: 574

Rating: G

Summary: She just hoped he was okay, wherever he was. Future!fic. Amelia/Ronon.

*

"Amelia?"

It was the second time Mr Woolsey had called her name in the last minute, trying to catch her attention.

"Mm?" She answered, looking up from her daze to meet his questioning eyes. "Oh, sorry." She sat up straight in her chair. "Yes, Mr Woolsey?"

She earned one more questioning gaze then he returned to the matter at hand. "Have Sheppard's team checked in yet?"

"No, sir," She replied swiftly and confidently – she had been keeping up to date with that detail herself. They were now two hours past their scheduled update time and it was soon to go up another hour.

Woolsey was thoughtful for a moment, pressing his lips together in a way that Amelia noticed he did when he was starting to get nervous about something. She started to panic. If the leader of the Atlantis expedition was nervous, shouldn't she be? She opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off, seeming not to notice.

"I'm sure they have a perfectly good explanation," He said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Keep me updated, Amelia." And with a quick thank you, he walked back across the bridge to his office.

Before long, she was back in her dream – or nightmare – world. Where were they? They could have gotten lost, or hurt or even been taken captive in the time they had been gone. At least the wraith was out of the picture now. But it didn't ease her nerves in the least.

She suddenly got a determined look on her face. Getting up from her chair at the control desk, she marched into Woolsey's office. She had a right to know what was going on.

"Sir, I believe we should send a search party." She announced before Woolsey had probably even noticed her presence. He looked up slowly from his notes to meet her burning eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure in a few hours..."

"No, I believe we should send Lorne and his team now." To further emphasise her point, or maybe showing self-doubt in her authority, she crossed her arms over her chest. A piece of highlighted hair fell from the usually perfect bun she held it in but she hardly noticed.

"Amelia..." He started, paused for a moment, thinking over the phrasing of his next statement. "I know this must be hard for you with Ronon..."

"Sir, this has nothing to do with..."

"Amelia," He said her name this time in a tone that told her to not interrupt him. "I know this is hard for you – and for all of us." He amended quickly, seeing her expression. "This is the first mission since returning from home, so of course it might go a bit differently than we hoped. I'm sure Sheppard and his team have already made contact with the alliance and have just been caught up in talks of some sort, okay?"

The way he ended the conversation ended her protests. She gave a quick nod.

"That is all." She nodded again.

On her way back to her station, she couldn't help lifting her left hand to look at the ring that sat on her finger there. It sparkled in the faint light of the evening. But the sight and feel, as she brushed her thumb across the diamond, didn't bring a smile to her face as it usually did. She just hoped that her Ronon was okay, wherever he was.

*