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: This happens after chapters 31 ad 32, since both chapters happened at the same time.
Spoiler Alert!!! I absolutely loved Vegas by the way, I thought that it was one of the coolest episodes ever, even if we didn't see Teyla or Ronon. Looooved the soundtrack to the episode. Just really fitting. And I really thought that the wraith was Fucking awesome. A rocker wraith! Who would've thought, huh?:)
Present Day (February 16, 2009, The Riviera):
"Ladies!" Jack says, leaning down to plant a kiss on Sam's head. "How are we doing?"
"Great!" Marie says, giggling.
"Well you look happy." Evan says as he approaches the group.
"Yes I am! I am getting married!" She replies.
"Lucky guy." Evan comments, smiling at her.
"He sure is." Marie says.
X
"Do you mind if I take my husband away for a bit, Rodney?" Katie asks as she pulls Carson away.
"Oh, yes, go ahead. I'm just gonna sit here-" He says, looking around for a chair.
"Come on Rodney." Laura says, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the bar.
Rodney turns around to say to Carson "You and me," Pointing to himself and then to Carson. "We're not finished yet. We still have to sing-"
"The Rembrandts!" Carson finishes for him.
"I'll be there for you-" Rodney begins to sing.
Laura cuts him off and says "Buy me drink Rodney."
"I've had 5," Holding up one hand then another finger from his other hand "no 6 shots of-"
"Tequila." Laura finishes for him. "Yes, I heard. And surprisingly, you're still standing."
"I know." Rodney says excitedly. "You, I mean, I, I am such a trooper!"
"Yes you are." Laura agrees with a laugh.
"I don't think I can handle anymore though." Rodney says. And then out of the blue "You are sooo hot!"
Laura bursts out laughing. "I think, Rodney, that that is the best, wait no, the ONLY compliment you've ever given me."
"Yeah. Well you are. I love your hair." He says, sniffing her head. "So red. Like fire. I think that we should've gotten together in high school. That would have been fun."
"Nope. I don't think so, Rodney." Laura says.
"No? Why not?" He asks with a pout.
Laura pinches his cheeks. "Coz we would have driven each other nuts."
"True." And then turning to the bartender he says. "Bartender! A drink for the lady." The bartender looks at him and then to Laura, shaking his head, wondering at how a nerd like Rodney could get a beautiful girl like Laura.
X
John and Ronon are standing to the side holding their scotch as they watch three guys hover over Jennifer and Teyla. Flirting.
"You know, you both could always walk over there and talk to them." Evan says as he walks up to them.
"Yeah, that's what we plan to do." John says without taking his eyes off of Teyla. Ronon just snorts.
"Any day now." Evan says.
"Look, you worry about your bride-to-be over there." John says, nodding over to the direction of where Marie is at. Marie is touching everyone. Even people she doesn't know. A dreamy smile on her face. "Is she on ecstasy or something."
"Nah. She's just really drunk." Evan answers. "The last time she was like this was the night after I proposed. Which means she's really happy. It's a good sign. I usually let her be."
"I'll have what she's having." Nick says, nodding his head towards Marie who had just touched a stranger on the shoulder to feel the texture of his jacket.
X
"So are you ladies from around here then?" One of the guys asks Teyla and Jennifer.
"Nope. We're here for our friend. She's getting married on Sunday." Teyla replies.
"I guessed as much." Said the same guy. "This is a small town so you tend to see the same people around here. Night after night."
"So what do you ladies do for a living, if I may ask?" Guy number two asks.
"Teyla has her own yoga studio." Jennifer answers, not wanting to put the focus on her.
Unfortunately, Teyla switches it back to her and says "And Jennifer is a doctor."
"A doctor?" The third guy asks, clearly surprised. "A full fledged one?"
Jennifer just nods.
"How old are you?" Guy number two asks.
"Old enough to drink and be a doctor at the same time." Jennifer asks. Shifting uncomfortably. Not from the three guys they are talking to, but from the looks Ronon is giving her. Ever since the guys arrived he had been staring at her. She can feel the heat of his stare on the back of her neck. Not a bad one. In fact it was the good kind of nervousness. She hasn't had the butterfly feeling in her stomach for a very long time. Not since the last time they were together nine years ago. Only he could bring out those feelings in her.
Surreptitiously, she turns around and still finds him staring at her. Their eyes lock.
X
As their eyes lock, Ronon finally decides to make his move. He walks towards her, not taking his eyes off of her. Suddenly, only a few feet away from her, his path is cut off, a tall brown haired woman spills a little bit of her drink on his shirt.
"Oh shit! I am so sorry!" The girl says as she tries to clean his shirt up with a napkin.
"It's okay, really." Ronon says gruffly, still looking at Jennifer over the other girl's shoulders.
The girl suddenly looks up at Ronon. "Ronon Dex?" Ronon looks slightly down at the girl who's only a few inches shorter than him. She looks familiar but can't quite place her. "You don't remember? I can't blame you. The last time I saw you was high school." Ronon still looks confused. "Amelia, Amelia Banks. Cole now. I was on the lacrosse team at Atlantis High."
"Amelia-" And then it hits Ronon. "Right, I remember now. Weren't you captain or something?"
"I was." She replies. Glad that he remembers her. "So I'm assuming you're here for Evan's wedding."
"Yeah. You too?" Ronon asks, glancing at Jennifer.
"Kind of. I live here. I work for the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. Evan's cousin, Kevin Kemp, we're really good friends. He called me up a week ago, asked me to go with him to the wedding. Said that he'd rather not go with his girlfriend, that it would make it seem so serious, and since I live here and I know his family, I'm convenient."
"What an ass." Ronon says jokingly.
"I'm used to his antics." Amelia says. "Anyway, he won't be here until tomorrow though."
"So you're here for the bachelorette party then?"
"Oh, it's tonight? I thought Kevin said it would be tomorrow night." Amelia turns her head to look behind her, noticing that he keeps staring at something behind her. It's hard to tell with all the people around so she turns back to look at him.
"Thought so, too. But I guess the reservations were switched. Something to do with the spa and golf schedules." Looking past her, catching Jennifer staring at the back of Amelia's head, then seeing that Ronon was watching her, she blushes and turns back to the guys that are talking to her. He smiles, secretly satisfied that she seems jealous.
"So does Kevin know?" Ronon just shrugs. "He's gonna be so disappointed. The guy is such a player." Amelia says.
"So how come you're out tonight?" Ronon asks her.
"It's my night off. Weird schedule."
X
A few feet away from them, Laura watches the exchange between Ronon and Amelia, and then Jennifer and Ronon. Looking at Amelia closely, she recognizes her. She walks to where Marie is seated and says "Sweetie, you sober?" She asks Marie.
"Abso-fuckin-lutely." Marie replies enthusiastically.
"Oh, you are so not!" Laura says with a laugh. "But anyway, see that chick-" Laura asks, pointing at Amelia. "The one flirting with Ronon."
Squinting. "Is that Amelia Banks?"
"Yup." Laura answers.
"She's not flirting. And it's not Banks anymore." Marie tells her.
"Huh?"
"She got married right after high school." Marie says. "To Patrick Cole, remember? And I think they're still happily married. At least that's what Kevin says."
"Kemp? Evan's cousin?"
"Yeah. She's his date." Marie explains. "I can't believe that I didn't remember that she lived out here. I could've invited her."
"So she's married, then?" Laura repeats.
"Yup. Almost nine years now." Marie confirms.
"Okay. Good. I thought that I'd have to interfere. Coz I know that back in high school Amelia was always working out with the guys at the gym. And a lot of the guys were really into her. It won't do any good if she starts hanging around Ronon." Laura says.
Marie's eyes widen suddenly. "I have an idea."
"What?" Laura asks warily.
"Come on." Marie says, standing up and dragging Laura with her towards Ronon and Amelia.
X
Jennifer subtly looks at Ronon and then at Amelia. She stares at the back of Amelia's head and then finally recognizes her when she turns her head around.
Flashback to the morning of the Homecoming Game (October 22, 1999):
Jennifer walks into the training room looking for Ronon. They had gotten their notes mixed up during one of their tutorials. She's desperate to get her notebook back. Not because of the notes she had taken, but because of what she scribbled down everyday during homeroom. His name. Over and over again.
As she looks around her she sees him spotting for Amelia Banks. The captain for the lacrosse team. When they are done Ronon helps her put the weights back to their place. Amelia looks up at him and smiles, reaching up to wipe away the sweat that has formed on his forehead. Jennifer stiffens. Embarrassed at the intimate moment between the two of them. She looks around the room trying to find something to focus on, but Ronon spots her and then walks over to her.
"Hey."
"Hey." Jennifer says back to him.
"I was just um – Amelia asked me to spot for her. Cole usually does that, but he's with the coach right now." Ronon explains.
Jennifer is a bit relieved and unsure as to why he's telling her this. "I um, I think you have my notebook." Jennifer says as she waves his notebook. "I have yours."
"Oh, okay, hold on." He grabs his gym bag and unzips it, pulls out her notebook and brings it to her
Before she can take it she asks "You didn't open it, did you?"
He pulls her notebook behind his back away from her and says. "What if I did?"
"Did you?" Jennifer asks, trying to keep her face calm.
"Maybe." Handing her the notebook slowly.
"Well you shouldn't have." Jennifer bites back and then quietly apologizes. "Sorry." She quickly walks away, hugging her notebook to her chest. When she reaches the door she looks back to see Ronon still watching her, a small ghost of a smile on his face. And then she looks away as Amelia walks up to him lifting her hand to touch his upper arm with a big smile on her face.
Back to the Present Day:
Jennifer blushes when she sees that Ronon has caught her staring at Amelia. She quickly turns away. As she turns back to listen to the guys who have been flirting with her and Teyla, she quickly gets bored and looks around in time to see Marie dragging Laura towards Amelia and Ronon.
She watches both girls tap Amelia on the shoulder and then Marie pulls Amelia in a hug. Jennifer watches Ronon with sad eyes as he listens to the three girls reminisce.
TBC.
Note: It's a bit confusing. But all three scenes, the ones with Ronon/Amelia, Jennifer and Marie/Laura are happening all at once.