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.
Spoiler Alert!!!
Note: So I liked Remnants. By the way, I dunno if I'm reading too much into it but did you guys notice how Keller reacted to Woolsey when he mentioned Amelia... she got all defensive and stuff. I'd like to think that that was the case. That she still has a thing for Ronon... if you know what I mean. But then all evidence points towards her choosing Rodney. Still a Ronon/Keller shipper. But I have to be honest, it seems that they're putting a lot of emphasis on Rodney and Keller, especially with the next episode that's coming up.
Present Day (February 15, 2009, Palm Spring International Airport):
"Rodney! Radek! Over here!" John calls them, gesturing for them to come over as he sees the both of them and Radek's family standing by the baggage carousel. Rodney is struggling to grab his luggage off of the carousel.
John, Ronon, Evan and Marie have already gotten their luggage. So Ronon walks over to them to help out. Tina and Derrick hold their mother's hands as Patty walks towards the group. Radek leaves Rodney behind with Ronon. As Ronon gets the last suitcase he sees Carson and Katie walking from the other end. Putting the suitcase down, he looks over at John and nods over to Carson. Making a funny face and then nodding over to Rodney.
"What?!" Rodney asks.
"Nothing." Ronon says with a snort.
"Oh you find it funny, huh." Rodney says. "Well haha! I'm so glad that I've provided you with amusement.
Ronon pulls Rodney in for a hug. "Haven't changed a bit, man." Than patting him heavily on the back, he walks over to Carson. "Doc. Good to see you." He says, giving the man a hug, too. "Katie, how are you?" He asks Carson's wife, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Very good, Ronon." She tells him. Sending Rodney an uneasy glance and then looking back at Ronon she asks him. "What about you, Ronon? I hear you're doing really well."
"I am, I am. They want to renew my contract. Still thinking about it though." Ronon informs her, as he grabs her heavier suitcase. "But I dunno. I just got an offer, actually."
"Well, that's good then, right?" Carson jumps in the conversation. "That means you're doing really well then, right?"
"I guess so." Ronon says with a shrug and a smile. They all step out the double automatic doors of the airport.
"Wow, the weather is great here." Radek comments as he's settling his children down on a nearby bench.
"Yup! Sunny Palm Springs!" John says, beating his chest like Tarzan. The kids laugh at this. John had already won the kids over with his jokes. "Summers here are nasty though. sometimes it reaches 120 degrees. So hot that it feels like the inside of an oven.
Evan explains to everyone that his sister and her husband will be picking them up. "Will they be bringing an RV or a bus?" Rodney says sarcastically.
"They're bringing 2 vans, Rodney." Marie tells him.
"I still don't think we'd fit. Not unless we leave your bags here." He tells her with a smile.
"Ha ha!" Marie says mockingly. "Actually, Laura's picking us up, too. So that's another SUV. And…" Disguising her words with a cough "…Teyla." John's ears perk up at this.
Just in time, Laura pulls up in her Infiniti SUV. She hops out of her car and runs towards Marie. "Hi!" She screams, hugging her tight. "Oh my God! I missed you!"
They're both jumping up and down like they used to when they were younger. "I know! Hold on, is your hair becoming redder?" Marie asks her, taking a handful of Laura's long red hair. Laura just shrugs.
And then turning to Evan "And you! I'm going to leave the 'I'll-kill-you-if-you-hurt-her-speech' for the reception." Smiling really wide and then giving him a hug, too. And then turning to everyone else, she spots Radek and his family. Walking towards them she says "So she's the reason why you didn't want to take neither me or Marie to prom." She says jokingly. And then hugging Patty she confirms "Patty, right?"
"Yes it is." Patty says "And you must be Laura. It's a pleasure meeting you."
"And who are you guys?" She asks, looking down at the kids.
"I'm Tina, and this is my brother Derrick."
"Well, Tina, we're gonna have so much fun, I can tell you all the crazy and dir…"
Radek cuts her off before she says anything that what give his children ideas. " Laura, how are you? Still playing with explosives?"
"As a matter of fact yes… well no, more like deactivating them. I can tell you more about…"
"Uh, no, I think that'll be enough." Radek says, pointing at his kids with his eyes. Laura realizes what he means and winks at him. And then walks over to Carson and Katie to say hi. She then moves on to talk to John and Ronon. At that very moment, two vans pull up. It's Evan's sister, Jamie, and brother-in-law, Hank. Marie had gone back inside to meet up with Elizabeth and Mike whose plane had landed a few minutes earlier. And luckily their luggage was one of the first ones to come out.
Finally, Laura spotted Rodney, detached from the rest of the group. "Well, well, what do we have here? Rodney McKay!" Laura says as she saunters over to him.
"Laura." He says almost professionally.
John and Ronon are looking at him funny. They've always known that he's been weird around girls. Especially Laura. "How much do you want to bet that Laura's gonna have him panting for her all over town this whole week?"
"Dude, I say he's already panting." Ronon says, laughing and shaking John's hand.
"Why so stiff McKay?" Laura says with a big smile on her face, making Rodney flush. "I heard that you don't have a date to the wedding yet." She tells him as she flicks invisible lint from his shoulders.
Rodney swallows and then says "So?"
"Oh nothing," She says, smoothing his collar, "It's just that, since I don't have a date, and you don't have a date, then maybe…" Rodney looks at her expectantly. "…we could help find dates for each other." She finishes with a naughty smile. Rodney instantly looks deflated and stomps off in a huff. Laura starts giggling then calls after him "Oh, come on Rodney! I was just playing with you!" And then following him to where he stalked off to, she says "Come on, I'll be your date, and you'll be mine. It'll be fun. And then we can meet in the coat closet and make-out."
Everyone starts laughing at this. Suddenly out of nowhere, Jennifer and Teyla ask no one in particular "What's so funny?" Ronon gets up and he and John turn suddenly at the sound of their voices. Jennifer, who is carrying a bundled up Torren in her arms, stiffens at this, not realizing that he was there since he was crouched down on his knees.
Evan's the first one to break the ice. Walking quickly to Jennifer and Teyla to give them both hugs. Kissing them both on the cheeks, too. And then Marie comes up next to hug her other best friend and then turns to Teyla for a hug, too. Soon almost everyone have said their hellos already. Almost, except for John and Ronon. Ronon is staring intently on the bundle in Jennifer's arms. He visibly relaxes when Patty and Katie gush over the baby, and Jennifer introduces him as Torren. This time it's John who stiffens.
Marie suddenly says "Okay, Radek, Patty and the kids, your luggage are already loaded up in Hank's car, so you can go ahead. Mike, Lizzie, you're riding with me and Evan in Jamie's car." And then turning to Rodney, Carson and Katie "The three of you are with Laura."
"What?! I am…"
"Can it, Rodney." Evan warns. "You were the one who wanted to get your bags in the first car that came.
And then Marie turns to John and Ronon smiling wickedly. "You boys get to ride with these two lovely ladies here." Marie says, gesturing towards Teyla and Jennifer, who both looks surprised.
Not wanting to cause a scene, Teyla presses the button on her key to open the trunk of her SUV. Pulling Jennifer along with her and opening the passenger door. Teyla whispers to Jennifer "You're sitting up front with me, okay?" Jennifer nods as she straps Torren in his car seat for the second time that day. It seems so natural for her to be doing that. Like She and Teyla have been friends forever.
John looks at Ronon. "You never mentioned that they were good friends."
"I never knew. This is the first time I've seen them together since high school. Even then they weren't really close." Ronon replies. Also confused as to what was happening.
"Come on people, we need to get to our hotel. It's already 2:30. We need to settle down and clean up." Marie announces to everyone before getting in the cars. "If you want snacks, there is the hotel restaurant. Or you could walk down to the strip it's only a block away. Only five hours til dinner time. I suggest you make use of it. It's your last chance to do anything without the group." And then smiling naughtily she adds. "Come dinnertime, you're all mine. And you'll do my bidding at least until after the reception." She tells all of them as she rubs her hands together. Evan smiles at this but Marie turns to look at him "Oh, sweetie, that includes you, too." His smile disappears quickly. John and Elizabeth laugh out loud at this.
X
Rodney is sitting in the front seat of Laura's car, fuming. "What the hell is up with these people?" He complains, waving his hands. "Can't they read? The speed limit says 40, not 10!"
"Rodney, do you notice the driver's head?" Laura asks pointing at the car in front of them.
"There isn't one." He answers, not exactly sure what Laura was getting at.
"My point is, Rodney, a lot of people who live here are retirees. They like the weather here." Laura explains to him "Now that driver is most likely an old lady or man. So try to be a little patient.
"Whatever." He says, cutting the conversation.
Katie finally speaks up and says to Laura "I heard that you turned down being the maid of honor."
"Yeah, well, Marie was having a hard time choosing between me and Jen. I volunteered not to do it." Laura looks over her shoulder to answer Marie. "I'm not a very organized person, and being the maid of honor requires being that way. You cannot count on me planning the bachelorette party. Or all those cake tasting thingies." Then laughing she adds. "I left all that up to Jennifer. She had to endure weekends here in the summer. Helping out with the reservations and preparations and all that."
X
As they're driving down Tahquitz Canyon Rd., Teyla looks over at Jennifer. She and Jennifer had been talking non-stop since they left San Diego. And now their both back to being quiet. An awkward silence. Behind her, Ronon is playing with Torren, and once in a while looking at the back of Jennifer's head. And then looking at the rear view mirror to catch Teyla's eyes. Silently asking her 'what's up'." John is staring out the window, trying really hard to ignore the tiny pokes he's getting from his tiny seatmate. Teyla keeps driving, following Laura's car. Looking at her dashboard she sees that it's about 65 degrees out. Such nice weather in the middle of February. She definitely loves San Diego, but it's nice to be in not too cold weather once in a while. Looking over at Jennifer again, she catches her eye. Jennifer smiles sheepishly at her. Unsure what to do next.
X
Arriving in front of the Viceroy, they all get out of the cars. The men and valet start grabbing the luggages. Teyla had parked the furthest, so the valet hasn't had a chance to help with the baggage just yet. So the girls decide to help Ronon and John. Ronon and Jennifer grab a Gucci weekender at the same, time. Jannifer blushes furiously at this. Ronon wins out and sets it on top of his suitcase, knowing how girls react when their expensive purses aren't handled with care. Teyla and John have already begun to argue about her helping while holding Torren on one hip. Like a godsend a valet comes to help them out. They girls stand aside as the car is being unloaded faster.
TBC.