Linger, John-Teyla & Ronon, 'AU Season 5'
Title: Linger
Summary: Ronon’s unofficial duty is to keep an eye on Sheppard. What he learns is quite interesting.
Characters: Ronon, John & Teyla
Pairings: John-Teyla
Rating: K+
Spoilers: AU, season 5
Ronon’s unofficial duty - handed down to him by Carter’s replacement, Mr Woolsey - had been to keep an eye on Sheppard. He didn’t like it but after the way he’d found Sheppard in his room three days ago, pacing, punching walls and just about pulling his hair out, he wondered if maybe an eye kept on Sheppard would be best for them all. Who knows what that Wraith hybrid had did to them.
Ronon still felt a strange sense of guilt that they hadn’t managed to get there sooner; that they’d been stupid enough to let Sheppard fly the Jumper onto Michael’s ship and rescue Teyla by himself. If they had all gone together it would have saved them all time and energy and he wouldn’t need to be sitting here wondering what happened between Sheppard, Teyla and Kanaan back on Athosia, or what was going through Sheppard’s mind.
He watched as Sheppard picked at his food; Ronon had noted that his appetite was as fluctuating as his moods. Today it seemed he was sullen and not hungry and the bagel on his plate was paying the price. Sheppard reached across his body with his right arm to scratch the back of his neck, which Ronon noted was rather red from the continual action. He also thought he saw a change in the colour of Sheppard’s skin on the back of his hand - a bruise, most likely; that wall in his room had taken some serious damage.
Suddenly, Sheppard’s face scrunched up and if Ronon hadn’t been paying close attention, he may have missed the way Sheppard’s head turned minusculely to the right, his chest rising further up as he took in a deep breath.
“What is that?” Sheppard asked, his eyes closing for a moment. There was a low sound coming from Sheppard’s throat and Ronon almost thought he was purring but then Sheppard’s eyes opened, his sharp focus on Ronon’s face. He just shrugged and Sheppard shook his head as though clearing a fog. “What you want to do today?”
Ronon grunted and shrugged again, reaching out to take the largest piece of bagel from Sheppard’s plate and popped it in his mouth. There was no point in good food going to waste, was there?
“Sparring’s always good,” Ronon offered when it seemed Sheppard didn’t have anything else to say. When he looked up, Sheppard had his eyes closed and his nostrils were flared and Ronon looked around. “What is it?”
Sheppard’s eyes didn’t open but his head turned slightly as though seeking something.
“You seriously can’t smell that?”
“No,” Ronon said, disgruntled. It was true that he had better senses than Sheppard - especially smell - and the fact that Sheppard was smelling something he wasn’t was rather odd.
“It’s like... Christmas,” Sheppard said and Ronon frowned but didn’t say anything. The strange sound started in Sheppard’s chest again and this time Ronon was sure it was a purr. “Holy crap...” Ronon watched as Sheppard shifted in his seat, his eyes popping open and focussing on something on the other side of the room. Ronon followed his gaze, travelling over swarms of geeks and marines before settling on the only thing that would make Sheppard react.
Teyla was standing there, her own eyes equally as wide and wondering, her mouth parted slightly. He could hear Sheppard’s heavy breaths of disbelief, quiet murmurings that he couldn’t quite make out and Ronon couldn’t help but look between the two of them.
Something was definitely going on.