Dr. Carson Beckett was a humble man. It made him the doctor he'd become, and he was careful to never assume anything about anyone. He'd experienced McKay's egocentric attitude enough to handle it but always found Kavanagh's outright arrogance beyond irritating. Because of that humility, it startled him to see Javan standing in the door of his tiny clinic the next morning. He'd arrived early and set about making certain he could pack up all of his supplies as soon as Sheppard and his team decided where the Kians and Athosians would settle. Over the last seven weeks, he'd spread out, using beds that Shani and Javan had provided to make the small house into a functioning clinic/hospital.

Now, however, he casually strolled into the main area and nearly dropped the roll of gauze he'd carried in as Javan stepped into the room. "Och! Javan, I wasnae expectin' ye to be there!" As usual, his Scottish accent thickened when startled.

Javan smiled at him. "I apologize, Dr. Beckett."

Carson gave him a pointed look, having already asked Ataliya's leader to call him by his given name. He quite liked Elizabeth's fiance and respected the man because of the villagers' respect. "What can I do for you?" he asked, gaining control over both the roll of gauze and his pounding heart.

To his surprise, Javan closed the clinic door. "I was hoping to speak with you one on one, as Elizabeth would say."

Carson nodded. "Shall I make some tea?"

"Might be a good idea." Javan took a few moments to look around as Carson went into the kitchen to prepare their tea. As the Ataliyan studied the place, Carson studied him. In the intervening year since Atlantis's destruction, he had learned that being a doctor also meant being a psychologist. He'd been taught to read human behavior in order to assist him in diagnosing his patients. But, lately, he found himself worrying less about their physical well-being and more about their emotional health.

Javan was no different, though the man likely didn't understand what being in Elizabeth's life meant. Not yet, anyway. As he worked, Carson saw the tension in Javan's shoulders, the way his face fell when he thought no one was watching. When the tea was ready, Carson carried a cup to the man, motioned to a comfortable chair and sighed. "Just come out with it, son."

Javan raised an eyebrow in a remarkable imitation of Elizabeth's quirk. "Nothing gets past you, does it?"

Carson wanted to say that it didn't, but he couldn't. He'd been just as blindsided by Gisli's betrayal as Sheppard had, but having known Dahlia as well as he had made it bearable. At least the Genii as a whole weren't out for their blood, but only a rebel faction of the Genii wanted revenge. What are we coming to when that makes me feel better? he wondered. Instead, he gave Javan a noncommittal nod.

Clearly deciding to dive into the deep end, Javan met his eyes. "Shani told me she wishes to join your people when you leave Ataliya."

"Aye," Carson agreed. "An' I told her I'd be honored to have her help if you would allow it."

Javan gave him a strange look. "With all due respect, why would you say something like that? You are not from my world."

"Aye," Carson said again. "But your culture is very similar to one we have on Earth. I know that ye don't control Shani's life by any stretch of the imagination, but I also know that she's under your protection. I wouldnae do anythin' to violate that."

"And I appreciate that, more than you know." Javan set aside his tea. "But I cannot keep her here if she wishes to leave.

"Shani is a strong woman, Dr. Beckett." He stood and began pacing around the room again. "She has seen things that make men pale and fall ill. Her work as a healer is what has driven her from the time she was a young child. Even while married, she did what she could for her village. Since her husband's death, she has thrown herself into her work with single-minded focus. I believe she sees healing as her calling, and she wishes to pursue that calling wherever it takes her."

"And she thinks it will take her with us?" Carson asked the question even though he knew the answer. He wanted Javan to feel comfortable speaking about the situation and didn't want to give the impression of a "know it all."

"Yes." Javan whirled. "I am willing and happy for her to leave Ataliya. But there is one thing I must ask of you."

"Me?" Carson pointed at his own chest, surprised.

Javan smiled at the motion. "Dr. Beckett, among my people, a woman's eldest male relative provides for her when she becomes a widow. That includes protection. Most of the time, this involves taking in an elderly mother, but Shani is still young. She still has much life ahead of her. While she is not innocent, she is still very naïve about how the galaxy works. I cannot have her leaving Ataliya without the knowledge that she will be looked after by a man I trust."

Carson suddenly straightened as the import of what Javan was saying hit him. "You—You're—Me?" he asked again.

Javan actually chuckled. "Yes, Dr. Beckett, you. You are the reason Shani wants to join your people, and I believe that she is safe with you around. I would not trust her security to any other person."

"You do know I'm a doctor?" While Carson knew that "security" could mean anything from safety to future, he wanted to make certain Javan had thought this through. "I'm not a soldier."

"And yet the men tell stories of how you defended your infirmary on Kiah just as if you'd been trained to do so all your life." Javan moved to his side. "Dr. Beckett, you have much you can teach my sister. And I know that she is safe with you. All I ask is that you make certain that she has what she needs and the safety she needs. I do not ask that she be allowed to escape harm or given preferential treatment, for that is not why she is joining you. Just. . . ."

Carson reached out and touched the other man's shoulder, stopping the flow of words. "I give you my word, Javan. I'll see to your sister."

The relief on the other man's face was obvious. He sagged ever so slightly and nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Carson smiled as Javan headed for the door and left him alone. Dealing with families of his patients was nothing new. Having the protection of one of his assistants turned over to him when he lived in a galaxy as dangerous as Pegasus, however, was. The sheer responsibility of what had just happened fell onto his shoulders, and he reached for a chair as he sat down. "Oh, crap!"

oOo

Sateda was as quiet as the last time the group had visited. The tall buildings of the central portion of the city rose into the air, empty, gutted symbols of the planet's fight against the Wraith. This time, Ronon was prepared for the silence and devastation. Since his last visit after the removal of his tracking device, he'd only returned twice: once when he thought he'd be coming home, and again for the Day of Remembrance.

Sheppard spoke softly, and Lorne's team fanned out behind him as they came through the gate. They only had eight men to survey the area, but Sheppard knew where he was going. He immediately took lead, leaving Ronon to bring up the rear as usual. Nothing about this world pricked Ronon's "danger sense," as Beckett called it. But knowing the Genii had been here made him uneasy.

Finally reaching the hiding place where they'd kept the Jumpers, Ronon took up a guard position at the door while McKay practically started salivating. The entire place was powered by several Genii generators and something none of them had seen before. The alien technology was new to McKay, and the physicist wanted to immediately tear it apart and work on it.

"McKay!" Sheppard growled. "Is. It. Dangerous?"

"What? No, it's not dangerous," McKay answered in his manner that suggested the question was idiotic to begin with. Ronon hated that tone, but he'd come to understand that McKay could figure a way out of almost anything technological. Grudging respect had grown up around the two men even if they didn't spend much time together outside of the evening meal.

Deciding that Lorne and Sheppard had the inside covered, Ronon took a tour of the complex. A series of warehouses had been built years ago to house something. He'd never cared enough to find out what they were. At that time, he'd been working to get Melena off of Sateda before the Wraith came. Now, he wondered exactly what had been housed here, if anyone had died to protect it, or if it had been scavenged in the intervening years by those who stumbled across yet another dead world. The warehouses were completely empty save for crates of supplies. Some of them held rotted food and decayed burlap bags that once held flour and wheat. Others had rusted machinery that no longer worked or had any hope of working. The sheer devastation of his planet got to Ronon, but he felt like he could live here now. The grief of losing Melena had faded as he'd been around others who also lost men and women they cared about. Seeing Olina go through the loss of her family also helped, but he knew that time had simply dulled the pain. He would eventually feel it again, and he wasn't looking forward to it when it happened.

After an hour of touring the area, the group determined that any Genii once inhabiting the place must have fled when Kolya died. That is, if Kolya had left anyone there. The commander had been arrogant enough to think that they'd have Kiah all to themselves and likely hadn't made provisions for failure. It was just like the man that Sheppard described from their year in Atlantis.

Heading back to the gate, McKay, Sheppard and Lorne chatted about the logistics of bringing the Kians here. It would be a hard life, one where they literally started from scratch. They'd be dependent upon other worlds for food and supplies until they could till the fields and plant their own crops. With Sateda's winter fading into spring, the air would soon warm and the ground would be ripe for those crops. They'd have enough scavenged from Kiah to plant a crop, as well as seed that Javan had offered them.

Moving through the gate from Sateda's cold into Ataliya's warmth was a shock to the system. Ronon shrugged out of his long coat and headed immediately for Elizabeth's home. Olina waited, and he refused to break his promise to her. The group would gather later and discuss their options. But, for now, his mission was to ensure a heartbroken woman had no further reason to worry.

In Elizabeth's home, both Shani and Olina sat with their laps filled with fabric. As soon as he appeared, Shani rose and headed for the kitchen. Ronon knew it was a ruse to give him some privacy with Olina. That young woman eyed him hesitantly but with a tiny smile nudging up the corners of her lips. Ronon idly thought that it would take his breath away if she ever truly smiled. Instead of saying this, he perched on the edge of the couch.

"You came back." Her soft voice broke the silence.

"I promised, didn't I?" He met her eyes when she nodded. "Olina, I know it'll take time for you to learn this, but I don't break my promises."

"I know." She swallowed. "So, when will we leave?"

"You're ready to move on?"

"I'm ready to be away from her."

Ronon didn't need clarification. Since her visit to the dungeon, Olina had not spoken her sister's name one time. Nodding, he sighed. "Sheppard and Lorne want to meet tonight to talk. I'll be there and know something more afterward. You should probably be there, too."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You're Geir's daughter." It was a simple answer, but it held an abundance of meaning. In the last few weeks, he'd been working to help her realize that she also had a people to lead. "Because of that, Sheppard will want your input."

"Can you not make that decision for me?"

"No." He hated being blunt, but he knew that she needed to step up.

Another tiny nod later, she gathered the fabric. "If you will excuse me. . . ." She left him sitting on the couch staring after her.

oOo

Late that night, Olina lay in her bed and stared at the ceiling. The three people in the room with her rested, though none of them slept. Ronon refused to go to sleep until everyone else had, and Teyla snored ever so slightly. It had become habit to listen to those comforting sounds when the nightmares and memories woke her and to depend on them. Now, however, she was robbed of that comfort and felt as if every eye in the place was upon her.

Pushing up, she gathered the dress she'd taken to wearing for nightclothes about her body and crept from the room. Lorne shifted as she closed the door, and Teyla rolled over in her bed. Only Ronon did not move, though Olina felt his eyes following her steps. She ignored them and made her way into Elizabeth's garden. It was a tiny area enclosed by tall rock walls, but the bench had become something of a refuge. She could sit out here and think while trying to ignore the conversation inside. These people were friends and comrades. She was the outsider. And she often felt it even if they did not mean to make it that way.

Ronon had been right to insist she go to the meeting that night. They had gathered in Javan's large home, welcomed by Elizabeth and served by Shani and Demir. To Olina's surprise, Shani had settled next to her and proceeded to listen closely. Those from Atlantis were concerned about safety, and many of them took comfort in the idea that Sateda was a dead world. A perfect hiding spot from the Wraith, they called it. McKay jabbered on and on about the technology, something Olina had not understood, while Ronon broke down their options for housing. Only Olina had thought of farming and crops. The group had deferred to her as the authority though Teyla's people also knew about farming. In the end, it was decided that the group would try both tava beans and the corn from Kiah. Since Sheppard also wanted to be self-sufficient, other crops would eventually be added into the mix as time went by.

Now, hours after the meeting, Olina could not rest. Her mind kept returning to that awful day on Kiah, when her life changed to what it was now. She was grateful for Ronon's presence that day, thankful that Javan had stopped her from following through on what her anger demanded. But she was still bleeding inside, unable to press past that one betrayal.

A barely-discernible scuff was all the warning she had before Ronon settled onto the bench next to her. In his characteristic way, he said nothing but waited for her to speak. The moonlight played over his dreadlocked hair and shadowed his face, but she knew that kind eyes stared at the well across the garden. Finally, she shifted. "I am sorry for waking you."

"You didn't." His voice was just as soft as hers.

Olina nodded. She did not have much to say about the meeting that day, only that she could not wait to get off this planet and away from the memory of what had happened. Tears sprang into her eyes, uncontrollable as more grief slammed into her. Instead of dissolving into a sobbing mess, however, she blinked them away and tried to hide it. Ronon saw anyway and put a hand on her shoulder. Looking at him, she sighed. "Does it ever go away?"

"The grief?" His hand moved to pull her close to his side as his eyes went back to studying the far wall of the garden. "No. But it gets better. Others come along and help the emptiness. And you learn to heal. The scar stays, but the pain eventually fades."

More tears spilled down her face. "I feel like all I do is either cry or mope. I do not want to be this way, but I cannot move on. I cannot forget seeing my father lying there, calling her name and weeping for what had been done to his people."

Ronon's grip on her shoulders tightened as she spoke. No more words were said for a time as Olina regained control over her emotions. After almost two months, she'd expected to be in a much better place emotionally. But the ever-present reminders of what she had lost pressed in on her. Finally, Ronon stirred. He rose to his feet and took her hand, pulling her up. "You should rest."

"So should you." She looked up into his face. "Thank you, Ronon. For being there."

He nodded. She had said that many times before, and he had answered just as many times. Tonight wasn't about words, and she sensed the change between them. By leaving Ataliya, they would leave their nightmares behind. Yes, the emotions would stay the same, but the constant memories would fade. Or so she hoped.

oOo

Within a week, the plans to move the massive group of refugees from Ataliya to Sateda had been solidified. A departure date was set, and Javan's people planned a huge farewell feast. Shani attended with mixed feelings. Carson had accepted her help with his work, and she was off to face a new life. Her step-children, most of them older than she was, were happy to see her moving on in life while worried that she had made the wrong decision. Demir wanted to join them as well, but Javan chose to keep the boy close. He was a grown man, but Javan clearly wished to groom him as a commander for Ataliya's army.

Two days after the feast, Shani rose before dawn and looked around her room. Most of it was the same as before, but she had taken a few things. Her clothing was the rough, work clothes she rarely wore but would last for a long time. She had taken only one fancy gown, a yellow affair that could be saved for celebrations. Over time, she hoped to come back and take more things with her, but she also wanted to keep her belongings easy to transport. She would have a tiny one-room home to call her own until such time as Sateda had been secured and settled. The last week had entailed dozens of trips to the other world as the Kians transported belongings, equipment, scavenged seed from Kiah, and any number of other supplies to Sateda. They were ready.

In the great room of the house, Shani watched as Sheppard, McKay, and Carson shared long hugs with Elizabeth. Those men were like brothers to Elizabeth and would miss her terribly. Their faces showed both a weariness with their situation and an excitement with their new adventure. Shani wasn't sure what to expect. She had always lived in luxury on her world but was not afraid to experience hardship. Or so she believed.

Finally, Javan turned to her. After a long moment in which neither of them said anything, he pulled her into the biggest, longest hug he'd given her since the day her husband died. Tears sprang to her eyes as she realized that she would no longer have his steady presence beside her. For just a moment, fear nearly caused her to back out of their arrangement. But Javan's trust in her ability to survive kept her from doing something she'd regret.

Leaving the house was harder than anything she had ever done. Carson fell into step with her, carrying his own pack of belongings and offering to take hers. Shani shook her head, preferring to hold her own pack. It was part of her life, now. She needed to do for herself.

When the Ring of the Ancestors came into view, Shani stopped in her tracks. The wormhole, as Dr. McKay called it, was already active. The shimmering blue "puddle" suddenly became more significant than it had ever been. By stepping through, she was leaving everything she knew behind. That thought had played through her mind several times that morning, feeling more and more redundant with every moment.

Carson had also paused with her, giving her a person who would not judge her for her decisions. Shani watched as Kians and Athosians patiently stepped through the gate. Finally, she glanced at the man at her side. "Are you ready?"

A smile blossomed, making his eyes sparkle in the bright Ataliyan sun. "Aye." The simple answer held an excitement that Shani could not understand.

She nodded for him to precede her, and he gave her one last smile before stepping through the horizon. Taking a final breath, she turned around to look at her home world one last time. You will return, she told herself. This is not forever. But something was changing with this departure, and Shani wanted to remember Ataliya as it was today: the sun bright, the sand warm, and her brother's village rippling in the heat waves. Finally, she faced the Ring and stepped through to her new life.

~TBC