Disclaimer: I'm only going to say this once: I don't own any of the characters and I'm not making money off of doing this. This is simply for fun.
Present Day (February 15, 2009):
Last minute packing. He's always hated packing. Somehow he always leaves something behind. Either in his condo or the hotel he's staying at. He should be used to it by now. Two hours before his flight to Palm Springs and he's still double checking his bathroom for things that he needs. Looking at his ticket again, his flight is at 12 noon and they get there an hour and a half later. He and John are flying to Palm Springs along with Marie and Evan. In three and a half hours he's going to see Jennifer again. This time he'll make it right. He won't even ask her why she left anymore. The past is the past. He'll talk to her. And he'll make her fall in love with him. Looking at the photo of them that's sitting on his nightstand he suddenly remembers what he's forgetting. Going to his closet he pulls out a box from the overhead shelf. As he rummages through it, he finally finds what he's looking for.
Flashback to Ronon's 18th birthday (May 27, 2000):
"Hey, did you see what Teyla got for me?" Ronon asks Jennifer from behind as she's helping the maids put away the food.
"Yeah, I did. That's really cool Ronon." Jennifer says with a smile.
At that moment, Teyla's mother, Tagan, approaches the pair. "Jennifer, honey, let them do that." She says, pertaining to the servants. "Why don't you two rest? It's been a really long day." She says to them with kind eyes.
"Thanks Aunt Tagan." Ronon says to her, giving her a hug. Jennifer smiles up at the older woman before Ronon pulls her towards a secluded spot in the garden.
He's already holding Jennifer's messenger bag in one arm. Jennifer sits on a swing suspended on a tree branch. He pulls out her present for him. He wanted to wait to open her present. Save the best for last. For some reason, he always felt so selfish when it came to her. He wanted open her present with her only. As he unwraps the box, his face lights up. It's a camera. A Nikon professional camera. One that he'd been looking for for so long. He moves closer to Jennifer and pulls her against him for a long kiss. "Thank you." He says to her. Then letting her go, he puts the new film, that she included with present, in the camera. He looks around the garden for something to shoot. Then smiles as he looks back at her. She's sitting back down on the swing, Her head resting against the rope suspension, watching him, smiling. He quickly snaps a photograph of her. Taking her by surprise.
Back to the Present:
As Ronon stares at the camera Jennifer gave him for his 18th birthday, his phone rings. "Hey, Man, I'm all set. I'll be there in half an hour." He tells Sheppard. He tucks the camera carefully in his hand-carry bag. The cab he called for has been waiting downstairs for five minutes now. Grabbing all his luggage, he leaves his condo with one thing on his mind. Jennifer.
X
"Hey buddy." John says, shaking Ronon's hand in greeting. "Evan and Marie are on their way right now. We just need to wait a few minutes and we're all set. One of my men is taking us to the airport. So you all set? All psyched up."
"Yeah, man. Can't wait." Ronon says almost too eagerly. John notices this. Ronon's different today. Happier.
"You seem happy." John states matter-of-factly.
"So?"
"I'm just saying, man. You seem different." John replies.
"I dunno." Ronon shrugs, then continues to say "I brought the camera." Ronon tells him. "The one Jennifer gave me."
"Yeah?" John smiles. "Does that mean you're gonna start taking pictures again?" Ronon just shrugs. "That's good, man." Ronon sits quietly, thinking. John breaks the silence and says "Look, dude, I know I haven't really been a big supporter of Jennifer." John starts to say as he leans his forearms on his knees. "I mean, I liked her back in high school. But after she left you, dude, I saw you. I saw how miserable you were." Raking his fingers through his messy hair, John continues to say "I'm sorry that I couldn't help you out as much..."
Ronon interjects and says "Dude, you were there for me for the most part, but you were going through some stuff, too." Ronon leans back on the chair, looking at John he tells him "I never really thanked you." John looks at him expectantly. "This is me saying 'thanks'." Ronon says, rolling his eyes. John smirks at this. "Just promise me that you won't do anything to, um, well make her uncomfortable or whatever. I really want to fix this. I want... her."
"Ronon, buddy, I swear. I won't do anything to come between you two." John says, raising his right hand. "Besides, it's not like you're the only one with problems. I gotta face her eventually. I mean, if you and Jennifer work out..."
"If?" Ronon asks incredulously.
"Don't be cocky man." John says with a laugh. "If, and that's a big 'if', you and Jennifer work out, then that would mean another wedding. So that means seeing Teyla again."
"I think that it's time that you guys patch things up. There's nothing that's holding either of you back, you know."
"I know. I just don't know if she'll have me. I mean, I got married. I should have just waited and not done the first stupid thing just to get back at her."
"You were mad." Ronon tries to reassure him. "She knows that. And she misses you man, she told me so herself." Realizing that they've become too serious. The both of them suddenly become quiet. Getting uncomfortable for spilling their guts, and they're not even drunk.
As if on cue, Evan and Marie arrive. Marie is on the phone talking quietly and quickly. Evan is carrying and pulling along their luggage. Evan gets to them first. John and Ronon get up from their seats to help Evan with their things. "So what did I miss?"
"Uh nothing." They both say at the ssame time. John clears his throat and says "That's a lot of baggage there, Ev."
"Well, when you're travelling with a woman, you usually have only one piece, the rest is hers." He says, nodding towards 4 luggages. And then with a laugh he continues "And this one's getting married."
"I don't see why you can't ride together." Marie says over the phone. Pausing for a bit and listening. "It'll be fine. It's just that I think it would be better that we would only have a few cars around. See, when there are more cars, people tend to go their own way. Someone's gonna get the idea to separate form the group and do their own thing. I want to keep this intimate. I Promise, it'll be okay." Marie reassures the other person on the other line. "I'll see you when I land. Bye!" And then she hangs up the phone.
Evan whispers in her ear. "I thought that we weren't going to interfere."
"No, you said that we shouldn't interfere. I never agreed." She whispers back. "Beside, Ronon and Jennifer are miserable."
"And John?" Evan adds.
"John just needs to get laid." Marie says with a smirk. Turning to Ronon and John, she says "Hey guys! You all set?" And then more pointedly at John she asks him "Are you gonna behave, John?" Her eyebrows raised.
"Yeah, yeah." John says with a smirk. Crossing his heart in gesture. Marie turns to look at Ronon and winks at him, a secretive smile plastered on her face. ronon looks confused at this.
"So, when we get there, we've already got a ride." Evan says as they're loading up the Expedition. "We get there at 1:30 in the afternoon. Our ride will pick us up from there and take us to the Viceroy." Then turning back to the guys he says. "Have you seen the brochure for the place?"
"Evan, sweetie, you told me to pick a place. So I picked. I don't care if you tell me a hundred times that it's too girly."
Ignoring Marie he says. "It's too girly. A lot of frou frou stuff. But at least it's really close to downtown. We can actually just walk to the bars and restaurants."
"Cool. See, now that's what I like. No need to drive. When we're too drunk or wasted, we can just walk back to our hotel room." John says as he rubs his hands together.
Ronon laughs at this. "Is the Hotel up a hill or down?"
"Why?" Marie asks.
"Coz if it goes downhill from the bars, then you can just roll me back down when I get too shit-faced." Marie laughs hysterically at this.
"We should just rent golf carts." John suggests. "At least we can drive down the sidewalks."
"Now that is an idea!" Evan says in agreement as the four of them pile in the SUV.
"Can we get something to eat before we board the plane?" Ronon asks.
Remembering again what he and Ronon were just talking about earlier before Evan and Marie arrived, John says in response "Yeah, and something to drink. I need a drink. A stiff one."
TBC.
Note: I figured that since Torren was named after Teyla's father, and Teyla said that she is the daughter of Tagan, then Tagan must be her mother. so I'm doing it like that. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.:)