A/N: Beginning dialogue taken from Gate World and the rest is mine. Enjoy! Unbetaed. Mistakes are mine

Chapter 9- After The Lost Tribe

Jennifer walked with a rush in her step as she headed toward Rodney's lab. The last three weeks had been crazy for the couple, first there was what happened to her on M33-985 and most recently with the Wraith on the Daedalus and Rodney being taken hostage by rogue Asgard, she wondered what was else was going to go wrong. That thought weighed heavy on her mind and she was ready to take her relationship with Rodney to the next level. Before the nervous woman left the infirmary, she grabbed the small square wrapper from the cabinet so there would not be any little accidents. Keller was about to make the final turn to get to the labs when Ronon caught up with her.

"Hey!" The Satedan jogged to catch up with the rushed physician. He started to see the woman differently since their almost kiss months ago and recently with the sparring lessons and then most recently what happened on the Daedalus, maybe she him in a similar way that he did her.

"Hey," she really was not in the mood for small talk. After the Wraith incursion on the Daedalus, the burly man made her uncomfortable.

"You all done for the day?" Ronon asked.

"Uh, Doctor Cole's taking my shift, yeah." Jennifer replied. And I'm going to try to seduce my boyfriend.

That was the news the warrior wanted to hear, "Wanna get something to eat?"

She winced slightly at the awkwardness, "Um, uh, listen. Um, I'm really glad you came on the mission. I mean, without you there, we'd probably all be dead." Jennifer smiled slightly, trying to find a way to put him down easy. She started to fiddle the prophylactic in her pocket. "But ... I just wanna be clear, because, um ..." she did not think this would be as awkward if she was not seeing one of his teammates. "I just want you to know that, uh, I'm kind of ... seeing someone." And it's pretty serious. She was not ready to say whom.

"So?" Ronon covered his disappointment well.

"I just didn't wanna give you the wrong ..." her forehead crinkled in confusion.

"I didn't ... I just, um, I just wanted to get something to eat. I'll just see if Sheppard or McKay want to join me," he knew the last line was unnecessary, but said it to show he had other options.

Rodney is mine for the night. You can have John. "Okay," Jennifer replied quietly before walking off.

Ronon sulked off toward the mess hall, not pleased with being turned down. It had been worth the chance and thought he must have read the situation wrong.

"Hey, buddy. There you are. Where you headed?" John caught up with his teammate.

"Going for something to eat. You want to come?"

"Was headed there anyway. Was that Keller I saw leaving?" Sheppard looked to see where the blonde physician had gone, but he had a good idea where she was headed.

Ronon nodded, "Yeah. She had someplace she was in a rush to get to," a small frown crossed his face. "Are you friends with her?" he wondered if John knew if there was truth to her words or if she was using an excuse.

John shook his head, "Not really." But he had a feeling that once her relationship with Rodney became public knowledge that he would be getting to know Jennifer better. "Why?"

Dex shook his head, "I kinda of asked her out and she said she was seeing someone. Was just wondering..."

"She is seeing someone," he replied. John had not asked Rodney about Jennifer since confirmed they were seeing each other two months ago, but the physicist's and physician's absence from meals told him things were going well.

"Ah. Okay," was the only thing Ronon said. "You know who it is?"

"Can't say. Made a promise."

Rodney had been working on some calculations for the new gate when he got a cramp in his backside. "Ow," he jumped off the stool and started to clench and unclench his butt cheeks to try to get rid of the cramp. After a minute, he succeeded and sat back down.

Jennifer had witnessed Rodney's little dance and was very amused. Once he sat down, she snuck up behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, "Can I see those moves without the pants on?" she rested her chin on the top of his head. This was the first time she had a chance to see him since they returned Atlantis and Rodney was out of the Asgard suit and she was relieved he was being himself.

"I...umm... I got to finish these calculations," he was having difficulty concentrating with Jennifer's arms around him.

"Do it in the morning," she let go of his shoulders and spun the stool around so they could be face to face. The weary expression was written all over his face, "Or better yet have someone else do it." Jennifer cupped his face between her hands.

"Someone else?" Rodney asked unsure that was a good idea. "Why would I do that?"

A sly smirk grew on her face, "A better offer came along?" The frisky woman lowered her head to his and their lips connected in a rough and passionate kiss.

"Oh..." Rodney quickly caught on or so he thought. "Just how much of a better offer?" he asked with a coy smirk.

Jennifer pulled the wrapped condom from her pocket to show him, "Better enough?"

That caught the physicist off guard, "Are you sure?"

She nodded, "Yes, I don't want to waste anymore time." Jennifer closed the space between them so she was almost sitting on Rodney's lap. "I want to. I'm ready," she said with absolute certainty. In the last couple of weeks, they had done more than just kissing and always stopped short of making love, but tonight Jennifer did not want to stop. "Are you ready?"

There was no way Rodney was going to turn down an offer like that. "I am," he said quietly. He was more than ready to make love for the first time. Sex, he had before where he only cared about his needs, but now it was all about Jennifer.