As a Runner, I never thought about the future. It was always a nebulous thing, soaked in improbability - something only happy people were allowed to fathom.

-E-

Ronon stood off to the side. Beckett had just stepped through the gate and immediately set to work, muttering under his breath about the conditions and exposure. It was the same stuff he'd mentioned just over a year ago while performing the same procedure on Ronon.

Which brought him to the current object of interest: the small blonde woman sitting on a rock nodding along to Beckett's description of the procedure. Teyla had a good four inches on her. Up until then, she was the shortest person he'd known. Eva stood at 5 feet, and didn't even reach his shoulders.

Eva's eyes were guarded as she examined the instruments Beckett was setting down next to her.

It would be painful. Hopefully, she'd follow Sheppard's advice and take the painkillers.

Though if she was anything like him, she'd refuse. Judging by the insistent murmuring emanating from the doctor, she'd done just that. Ronon recognized the steely determination in her eyes and the hard set of her jaw. She wouldn't budge. Beckett simply slumped his shoulders and went back to his equipment.

She had two scars running across her face. One starting an inch above her left eyebrow and cutting down to the edge of her jaw, and the other crossing at an angle over it, going over her eye. The skin was the pale pink of old wounds, not fresh ones.

Most people couldn't boast that their facial scars didn't detract from their appearance - but she could. They gave her an edge and managed to enhance her rough beauty. It helped that she bore them with grace, not hiding them when she talked to people.

Aside from her terseness, she came across as direct. Honest.

"You know," Sheppard murmured to his left, and Ronon turned his head a fraction of an inch to give the Colonel his attention, "It might not be a bad idea if you sat with her, seeing as how you can probably relate to her the most out of all of us."

"She seemed to like Teyla." He'd noticed the smile she'd given Teyla when the athosian had given her observation of the situation. If the corners of her mouth quirking up a fraction of an inch could be called a smile.

Sheppard smiled and shrugged. "Everyone likes Teyla. But you're still better suited for the job. I think she'll trust what you have to say more than us."

Ronon grunted and Sheppard smacked him on the back as he strode over to where Eva was sitting. He picked up a nearby log and plopped it a foot away from her and sat down. She didn't flinch, green eyes watching him warily. He folded his arms across his knees.

"Beckett knows what he's doing."

She evaluated him. "I don't doubt that."

"You doubt that we'll actually help you. You think it's too good to be true." Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. He suspected most people wouldn't have caught it if they weren't looking for it. "You're waiting for us to deceive you, because that's all most people have done."

"Yes."

"It's what I thought when I was still a Runner." He shifted on the log. He didn't like talking about his experiences, but felt he should say something. "I'm still here."

Beckett came back, ready to begin. "Are you sure you won't take the anaesthetic? It'll make this a lot easier, love."

She stared at him, and Ronon nodded once. "Just enough to dull the pain." Beckett sighed in relief and smiled gratefully at him.

He came back with a needle and Eva tilted her head forward, brushing her short blonde hair away from her neck. Beckett injected the drug and patted her on the shoulder. "Should take effect here pretty soon," he explained. "Then we'll be ready to remove the device. You are going to have to remove your shirt, though."

Without warning, the small woman started doing just that. She deftly unlaced the sides of the leather shirt and began tugging it over her head.

Ronon swivelled on the log, and just barely registered an odd look pass through her eyes before he couldn't see her. He did it out of respect more than anything, and would have left had Sheppard not asked him to sit with her.

Aside from that, he had the distinct feeling that she found his presence... comforting? She appeared to be less on edge, perhaps because they both had one thing in common.

Well, two, he qualified silently to himself. They each sported a particle magnum.

He found himself wondering how good she was at hand to hand combat. Probably really good. Twelve years (something he still found hard to believe, yet the evidence was sitting here staring him in the face) as a Runner had probably honed her ability to defend herself whenever necessary. Though come to think of it... she didn't appear to be much older than 25. Which meant she'd been taken when she was a teenager. Why the Wraith had selected her for Running instead of simply feeding off her...

Of course. She was one of the rare people immune to the feeding process. "You're immune."

He heard her shift on the rock. "I am." There was a definite pause as Beckett arranged his tools on the ground next to her, while Teyla stood off to the side, assisting him in whatever capacity he required. "Figured it out from my age?"

"Wraith don't turn teenagers into Runners." She must be very brave, with a strong will to survive.

"I was 15 when they culled my planet."

"This might still hurt," Beckett interrupted, "I'd really rather you lie down, but I can already tell you won't. I shouldn't need to say this, but if you flinch... well, it won't be pretty."

Ronon scooted his log closer and offered Eva his arm to lean against. After a momentary pause, small fingers wrapped around his arm, curling over his muscles, and her head leaned into his shoulder. "Do it."

AN: Ugh, I don't think I'd want to have surgery done on me without being knocked unconscious. Especially with something so close to my spine. Thanks for reading and reviewing, guys! :) I really do love the feedback!