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.
Note: I thought I'd show you a seating arrangement for you guys, just to make it clearer and easier for you guys to see how it's set up. But I tried to paste an illustration but it didn't work. So I'll just read the names clockwise.
Seating Arrangement:
On one longer side: Ronon, John, Evan, Jamie, Hank and Mike.
At the head of the table: Elizabeth, Carson and Katie.
On the other longer side: Patty, Radek, Rodney, Laura, Marie and Jennifer
At the other head of the table: Nick, Peter and Teyla.
So hopefully this helps.
Present Day (Kalura Restaurant, Palm Springs):
"We have a reservation under Lorne." Evan says to the young hostess in front of the doors to Kalura.
"That's table for eighteen, is that right?" She asks him.
"Yup." He answers her.
"Okay, right this way." She grabs some menus and leads them through the tiny restaurant towards the patio.
As they're all following the hostess, Ronon and John are trailing behind the group. Teyla, Laura and Jennifer are right in front of them. Both men are watching the young male servers eyeing the ladies as they talk among themselves. As soon as they reach their table Marie is already barking orders, telling them where to sit.
Jamie whispers to Marie, "Why are you having Ronon sit between John and Teyla? And Evan's friends sit beside the girls?"
"Because it would be too obvious if I made them sit together. And Nick and Peter are absolute flirts. This would speed up the process. Peter and Nick are total opposites of John and Ronon." Marie whispers back.
"Maybe Ronon, but you forget that John also has a reputation with the ladies."
"Yeah, but unlike John, Peter is a love 'em and leave 'em kinda guy. And he doesn't even hide it one bit. Teyla will see right through him." She explains. "And what's even better is that Peter and Nick haven't even arrived yet. So the words 'fashionably late' will have a whole new meaning.
"Aaah… very sneaky." Jamie says, finally understanding.
X
Two young pretty servers arrive at their table to take their orders. They start with Carson and Patty and work their way down the table, taking opposite sides. Drinks have been served already. The men choosing beers and the women cocktails and wines. Jennifer shifts uncomfortably in her chair, knowing that she's being watched by Ronon even while talking to Teyla. She turns to look at Marie, who's purposely ignoring her.
"Ouch!" Marie shrieks. Jennifer's face reddens when everyone at the table turn to look at them. Marie finally pays attention to her. "What the hell did you pinch me for?" She asks in a whisper as she rubs her thigh.
"I know what you're doing!" Jennifer says to her in a high pitched whisper. Attracting a little bit of attention form their side of the table.
"What am I doing?" Marie asks innocently.
"The carpooling. The pick up from the airport." She answers as she ticks of the list with her fingers. "The rooms." Stressing the last word. "You're doing this on purpose!"
"No, I am not!"
"Yes you are."
"Not!"
"Are too!"
"Fine. You need a push in the right direction." Marie says finally.
Jennifer sighs at this then says "Look, I've made my decision. I'm just gonna go with the flow and let things happen. So just… look, no more meddling. Please?"
"Fine, fine. I'll try. But…"
"No buts!" Jennifer cuts her off before she says anything.
X
Ronon can't concentrate on what Teyla is saying. He can't keep his eyes off of Jennifer. The fact that she's sitting right across from him doesn't help at all. Earlier, before they all left for the restaurant, she came out of her room already dressed in those skinny jeans which are tucked inside her brown suede stiletto boots and a low-cut sleeveless top that draped in the front. She bent down to pull on her boots that were scrunching up and he saw some cleavage. His eyes went wide at the sight of her breasts, he almost didn't believe his luck, but his possessiveness hit him and he almost took off his coat jacket to throw over her shoulders. Good thing she went back to her room and grabbed her almost forgotten brown jacket on her bed and slipped into it before they left the villa.
Once in a while he nods his head and pretends to listen to Teyla, but he's really looking at Jennifer out of the corner of his eye. He can't get over the fact that she's sitting right in front of him. So near, yet so far. Teyla touches his elbow and suggests in a whisper for him to take the seat beside Jennifer and strike up a conversation. He smiles at her 'go-ahead' and is about to stand up to switch seats when Peter and Nick arrive. Two of Evan's buddies from the bureau. Both nice guys, but both playboys too.
X
"Hey everyone, sorry we're late. We got caught up over at the bikini bar at the Riviera." Peter announces as they grab the two empty chairs in between Jennifer and Teyla. "We should all go back there after dinner later. Lotsa beautiful people over there." He adds as he wiggles his eyebrows. From the other side of the table, Laura rolls her eyes at this. Ronon on the other hand sighs in frustration for the bad timing.
"Hi!" Nick says as he extends his hand towards Jennifer. "I'm Nick. And you are?"
"Jennifer." She answers simply.
"Well, hello Jennifer." He says, clearly flirting. "The maid-of-honor, right? So do you know the bride or the groom?"
"Both, actually. I went to school with both of them."
"So you went to Atlantis, the gifted school." Nick states. "Let me guess what your gift is…" he says as he stares at her. "Ability to make guys fall to your feet."
Jennifer gives him an are-you-for-real look then turns back to Marie and tugs on her arm for attention. And when that didn't work, she looks to Teyla for help. But the other new arrival had her attention instead. Jennifer is torn about what to do. She doesn't want to be rude and turn her back on Nick, so without a choice, she sums up her courage and turns her eyes on Ronon and looks at him pleadingly.
Flashback to the Ronon's Birthday (May 27,2000):
"Jen, hey, this is Tyre, my best friend form Hawaii." Ronon tells Jennifer. "He came all the way from Hawaii just to see me." He says as he claps his friend's back. "Tyre, this is Jennifer, my girl." He says as he puts his arm around her shoulders to pull her closer and then kisses her forehead. "Isn't she beautiful?"
"Yes she is." Tyre agrees as he looks at her curiously.
Ronon smiles and then turns to Jennifer again "Can you entertain him for a bit while I go get Shep?" Jennifer nods and turns to Tyre.
"Hi Tyre. It's a really pleasure to meet someone from Ronon's past. It's not often that we get to have a glimpse of it." She tells him.
"Yeah, well, I'm sure you understand why. Did he tell you all of it?"
"Some. Not sure if it's everything though. But I'm just glad he told me." She says as she turns her head to look for Ronon who's still searching, and turns her attention back to Tyre. "What about you, how are… I mean, well, Ronon told me that…"
"That my family was included too?" Tyre finishes for her. "Yeah. We were together when it happened. Surfing. But unlike Ronon, they didn't send me to relatives. I was sent to a foster home. My parents were only children."
"I'm sor…" Jennifer begins to say.
"It's in the past." Cutting her off for the second time. "So tell me, you and Ronon huh?" he asks her as he gets closer. "How long have you guys been together?"
"Uh a month now." She answers, getting wary of him.
Tyre nods at this then moves even closer. So has he told you about Melena yet?"
"Yes, he has. His first love."
"Probably his only love." Tyre mumbles. Jennifer frowns at this. "You know, you kinda look a bit like her. The hair, hers is probably a bit darker, but yeah, you probably remind him of her a lot." Tyre still keeps moving forward, while Jennifer backs up, straining her neck to look for Ronon. "Ronon always had good taste." Tyre says as he backs Jennifer up against a tree. She's trapped as Tyre's hand rests beside her face and lifts his hand to rub a few strands of her hair in between his fingers as he looks at her from head to toe.
From across the garden, Ronon sees the pair. Frowning, he senses Jennifer's discomfort, he walks quickly to her side and pulls her against him. "Tyre." He says stiffly.
"Hey, Ronon, just getting to know your girl here."
"I'll bet you are." Ronon snaps. And then tugs Jennifer's hand to come with him. He swings his arm over her shoulder to pull her closer and whispers in her ear. "I forgot that Tyre can be an ass sometimes." And then pulling her to stand in front of him, he holds both her hands in his and says "Please promise me that you will try not to be in the same room with him when you're not with me."
"Okay. But Ronon, I thought he's your friend." Getting confused with the whole situation.
"He is. But…" Ronon scratches his head and sighs defeatedly. "…he's a bit competitive, he's always been like that. We grew up together, he and Melena and I. And well, Melena and I dated, and he hated it. Everything I had, he wanted. He was always trying to get Melena to ditch me."
"But you're still friends."
"We're the only survivors of the Satedans. There's no one else." Ronon says with a shrug.
Back to the Present Day:
Ronon hears the short-lived conversation between Jennifer and Mr. Suave. He nearly laughed at the line the guy just used. Probably the lamest line anyone has ever used, if you could even call it that. Her uneasiness is obvious as she looks around for rescue. What surprises him the most is that she actually turns to look at him for help too.
So he wastes no time and says to John without taking his eyes off of her. "Switch seats with Jennifer."
"What? Why?" John asks in confusion. He hasn't really been paying attention since he's been simmering since Peter sat down beside Teyla. The man has his arm on the back of her chair, his face too close for comfort, mere inches away from her.
"Just do it." Ronon says in a hasty voice. "Nick's bothering her. Or would you rather that I ask Nick to switch with me, and then Teyla would have to endure him too."
John doesn't even give it a second thought and gets up to ask Jennifer to switch places with him coz he apparently needs to talk to Marie.
Jennifer mouths a silent thank you to him as she gets up and politely smiles at Nick. Then breathing a sigh of relief when she reaches the other side of the table. Although she's a bit confused as to why Ronon would have John switch with her, when he himself could've easily done it.
TBC.