fic: Back Home [Pt.1]
TITLE: Back Home - Pt. 1
AUTHOR: renisanz
SUMMARY: A sequel to “Making Up the Past”
CATEGORY: romance, drama (Ronon/Keller)
RATING: PG-13
WORDS: 1,170
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters, but they're fun to play.
NOTES: Spoilers for Season 4: Missing, Quarantine, Outcast, Trio. The story opens with a scene that occurs right before the Prologue, after the morning debriefing but before Ronon and Jen's afternoon nap.
**To clarify, this chapter is meant to explain how Ronon and Jen's relationship developed after the events of Quarantine.
Back Home - Prologue
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“So, you and the Doc are getting pretty serious.”
Ronon raised an eyebrow at his friend before turning to choose a fighting staff from the holding rack, twirling it once to test the weight of it.
Sheppard had meant it more as an observation than a question. Ronon knew that John was aware of his affections for the doctor. He had even given him tips on the best way to initially approach her and make his interest known. Normally Ronon would not have had the need for nor heeded such guidance. Though it had been many years since Ronon had remotely considered such things as courtship and the art of romance, he pretty much knew what worked. Jennifer, however, was from another galaxy, so there were obvious social and cultural differences that he wanted to take into consideration.
He wanted to get it right with her.
So maybe Sheppard had been more than a little skeptical about Ronon's choice of approach. He had told Ronon that it would be good to spend time with Jennifer to find out her interests, what she liked (“Just ask her out”). Ronon found that it was much more easily said than done. At first, it was obvious to him that Jennifer was intimidated by his presence. Whenever she treated him in the infirmary she was professional and polite, but her body language screamed apprehension. He was sure she wasn't really afraid of him as much as unsure of how to relate to him. So, in silence the two of them would sit as she disinfected his wounds, sewed them closed, and the applied dressing with particular care.
Eventually, Ronon found that he preferred to encounter her in this way. He really liked how gentle she was with him. She was well aware that he had a high tolerance for pain, so he wouldn't have complained if his treatment hurt more than a little. But Jennifer actually did not hurt him-at all. She was good at her job, and he admired that about her. And whatever doubts he had about her fitness as Chief Medical Officer on the expedition were slowly put to rest, first when she told him of her survival against the Bola Kai, and then when she had risen to the occasion of exploding an oxygen tank in a desperate attempt to escape from the infirmary during the quarantine lockdown.
Even now, Ronon smiled at the memory of her look of uncertain fear just before he blew the tank. Well, he figured, at that point she was probably game for anything that would keep him from tearing his stitches once again.
And then they had almost kissed.
In the weeks following, he and Jennifer didn't speak about the events of that day. Not that he didn't want to. It was just that, well, they'd both been pretty busy.
Then Sheppard's father had died, and Ronon had accompanied him to Earth for the funeral.
Jennifer had gone off-world on a trading mission along with Col. Carter and Rodney. He had not minded when he saw Jennifer having a drink with McKay afterwards. He actually liked that she was one of the few people that didn't take his crap, and he appreciated the quick wit she displayed when teasing him. Also, McKay had just screwed thing up with Katie, so Ronon was actually glad to see him outside of the lab socializing instead of inside it, burying himself in some experiment.
Before he knew it nearly a month had passed since he'd talked to Jennifer. Ronon supposed that this had been what had been distracting him one afternoon, as he was hosting a training session with the Marines. The one he was sparring with at the moment wasn't particularly skilled, and Ronon was showing him how to best disarm an opponent when fighting with a stave. Ronon had instructed the young man to attack him, without warning. Normally, Ronon would have been ready, but right at the moment his opponent chose to attack, he got a glimpse of Jennifer as she walked past the gym entrance. A second later he saw a flash of light and felt a sharp sting against his brow, followed close behind by the sounds of gasps and “Ooooh's”.
Ronon knew even before he touched his fingers to his brow and brought blood-stained fingertips before his eyes that he would need stitches. Awesome.
“Nice shot,” Ronon said to the dumbfounded Marine who had just inflicted the blow. Ronon tossed his stave to the man as he turned to make his way to the infirmary. He slowed his gait when he saw Jennifer standing in the doorway of the gym. She didn't meet his eyes as he came to stand before her, but her expression was a mix of concern and exasperation as she inspected the cut above his eyebrow.
“Stitches?” Ronon offered.
“Yeah. Stitches.” She sighed and then turned into the hallway. “Come on.”
Obediently, Ronon followed behind her to the nearest transporter.
Thirty minutes later, he returned to the gym for his next instruction session. He had planned to spar, but Jennifer would not release him from the infirmary-would not let him up from the examining table, actually-unless he promised not to do anything that would aggravate his fresh stitches.
“Ah. Didn't know if you were going to make it back,” Major Lorne drawled, as he stood up from the wall he had been leaning against.
There was something strange about Lorne's tone and the smile that tugged at his lips as he signaled the other Marines to circle around the training mat.
Ronon deferred to Lorne to take the Marines through hand-to-hand combat motions, while he watched. He only spoke up if their technique needed correcting. For some reason, though, the Marines seemed particularly distracted, unable to maintain eye contact with him.
At the end of the lesson, Ronon went to one of the window benches to retrieve his water bottle. Lorne came up next to him, put his foot up on the bench, and began retying his shoe lace. “So, uh. . .who patched you up in the infirmary?”
Ronon swallowed and turned to look down at the man. “Dr. Keller.”
“Ah,” Lorne replied.
“Why?” Ronon asked, scratching at the edge of the bandage on his brow.
“Oh, no reason. Just wondering.”
Ronon narrowed his eyes at him but didn't press the issue.
Finished with his shoe laces, Lorne stood and turned to walk away. Then he turned back suddenly, as if he had just remembered something. “I was just asking because I didn't think you would have picked out a Hello-Kitty Band-aid.”
So, was it serious?
“Yeah,” Ronon confirmed, twirling his stave once more as he faced Sheppard in first fighting position.
He was pretty sure he loved her sense of humor best.
You say I'm stubborn
and I never give in
I think you're stubborn
'cept you're always softening
. . .Walking with each other
Think we'd never match at all
But we do
-“My Same” by ADELE
TBC.
Back Home - Pt. 2
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A/N: Yeah, so, this chapter and the prologue, I now realize, are rather interchangeable. Oh well. I hope y'all appreciate my sense of humor. Just to clarify the timeline of this story; these events occur before Midway. I'm working up to it.
This chapter is brought to you by the letters R and K, and inspired by (who else?) Hello-Kitty (I do actually own those Band-aids).
Crits & comments expected and appreciated. Thanks for reading.
AUTHOR: renisanz
SUMMARY: A sequel to “Making Up the Past”
CATEGORY: romance, drama (Ronon/Keller)
RATING: PG-13
WORDS: 1,170
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters, but they're fun to play.
NOTES: Spoilers for Season 4: Missing, Quarantine, Outcast, Trio. The story opens with a scene that occurs right before the Prologue, after the morning debriefing but before Ronon and Jen's afternoon nap.
**To clarify, this chapter is meant to explain how Ronon and Jen's relationship developed after the events of Quarantine.
Back Home - Prologue
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“So, you and the Doc are getting pretty serious.”
Ronon raised an eyebrow at his friend before turning to choose a fighting staff from the holding rack, twirling it once to test the weight of it.
Sheppard had meant it more as an observation than a question. Ronon knew that John was aware of his affections for the doctor. He had even given him tips on the best way to initially approach her and make his interest known. Normally Ronon would not have had the need for nor heeded such guidance. Though it had been many years since Ronon had remotely considered such things as courtship and the art of romance, he pretty much knew what worked. Jennifer, however, was from another galaxy, so there were obvious social and cultural differences that he wanted to take into consideration.
He wanted to get it right with her.
So maybe Sheppard had been more than a little skeptical about Ronon's choice of approach. He had told Ronon that it would be good to spend time with Jennifer to find out her interests, what she liked (“Just ask her out”). Ronon found that it was much more easily said than done. At first, it was obvious to him that Jennifer was intimidated by his presence. Whenever she treated him in the infirmary she was professional and polite, but her body language screamed apprehension. He was sure she wasn't really afraid of him as much as unsure of how to relate to him. So, in silence the two of them would sit as she disinfected his wounds, sewed them closed, and the applied dressing with particular care.
Eventually, Ronon found that he preferred to encounter her in this way. He really liked how gentle she was with him. She was well aware that he had a high tolerance for pain, so he wouldn't have complained if his treatment hurt more than a little. But Jennifer actually did not hurt him-at all. She was good at her job, and he admired that about her. And whatever doubts he had about her fitness as Chief Medical Officer on the expedition were slowly put to rest, first when she told him of her survival against the Bola Kai, and then when she had risen to the occasion of exploding an oxygen tank in a desperate attempt to escape from the infirmary during the quarantine lockdown.
Even now, Ronon smiled at the memory of her look of uncertain fear just before he blew the tank. Well, he figured, at that point she was probably game for anything that would keep him from tearing his stitches once again.
And then they had almost kissed.
In the weeks following, he and Jennifer didn't speak about the events of that day. Not that he didn't want to. It was just that, well, they'd both been pretty busy.
Then Sheppard's father had died, and Ronon had accompanied him to Earth for the funeral.
Jennifer had gone off-world on a trading mission along with Col. Carter and Rodney. He had not minded when he saw Jennifer having a drink with McKay afterwards. He actually liked that she was one of the few people that didn't take his crap, and he appreciated the quick wit she displayed when teasing him. Also, McKay had just screwed thing up with Katie, so Ronon was actually glad to see him outside of the lab socializing instead of inside it, burying himself in some experiment.
Before he knew it nearly a month had passed since he'd talked to Jennifer. Ronon supposed that this had been what had been distracting him one afternoon, as he was hosting a training session with the Marines. The one he was sparring with at the moment wasn't particularly skilled, and Ronon was showing him how to best disarm an opponent when fighting with a stave. Ronon had instructed the young man to attack him, without warning. Normally, Ronon would have been ready, but right at the moment his opponent chose to attack, he got a glimpse of Jennifer as she walked past the gym entrance. A second later he saw a flash of light and felt a sharp sting against his brow, followed close behind by the sounds of gasps and “Ooooh's”.
Ronon knew even before he touched his fingers to his brow and brought blood-stained fingertips before his eyes that he would need stitches. Awesome.
“Nice shot,” Ronon said to the dumbfounded Marine who had just inflicted the blow. Ronon tossed his stave to the man as he turned to make his way to the infirmary. He slowed his gait when he saw Jennifer standing in the doorway of the gym. She didn't meet his eyes as he came to stand before her, but her expression was a mix of concern and exasperation as she inspected the cut above his eyebrow.
“Stitches?” Ronon offered.
“Yeah. Stitches.” She sighed and then turned into the hallway. “Come on.”
Obediently, Ronon followed behind her to the nearest transporter.
Thirty minutes later, he returned to the gym for his next instruction session. He had planned to spar, but Jennifer would not release him from the infirmary-would not let him up from the examining table, actually-unless he promised not to do anything that would aggravate his fresh stitches.
“Ah. Didn't know if you were going to make it back,” Major Lorne drawled, as he stood up from the wall he had been leaning against.
There was something strange about Lorne's tone and the smile that tugged at his lips as he signaled the other Marines to circle around the training mat.
Ronon deferred to Lorne to take the Marines through hand-to-hand combat motions, while he watched. He only spoke up if their technique needed correcting. For some reason, though, the Marines seemed particularly distracted, unable to maintain eye contact with him.
At the end of the lesson, Ronon went to one of the window benches to retrieve his water bottle. Lorne came up next to him, put his foot up on the bench, and began retying his shoe lace. “So, uh. . .who patched you up in the infirmary?”
Ronon swallowed and turned to look down at the man. “Dr. Keller.”
“Ah,” Lorne replied.
“Why?” Ronon asked, scratching at the edge of the bandage on his brow.
“Oh, no reason. Just wondering.”
Ronon narrowed his eyes at him but didn't press the issue.
Finished with his shoe laces, Lorne stood and turned to walk away. Then he turned back suddenly, as if he had just remembered something. “I was just asking because I didn't think you would have picked out a Hello-Kitty Band-aid.”
So, was it serious?
“Yeah,” Ronon confirmed, twirling his stave once more as he faced Sheppard in first fighting position.
He was pretty sure he loved her sense of humor best.
You say I'm stubborn
and I never give in
I think you're stubborn
'cept you're always softening
. . .Walking with each other
Think we'd never match at all
But we do
-“My Same” by ADELE
TBC.
Back Home - Pt. 2
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A/N: Yeah, so, this chapter and the prologue, I now realize, are rather interchangeable. Oh well. I hope y'all appreciate my sense of humor. Just to clarify the timeline of this story; these events occur before Midway. I'm working up to it.
This chapter is brought to you by the letters R and K, and inspired by (who else?) Hello-Kitty (I do actually own those Band-aids).
Crits & comments expected and appreciated. Thanks for reading.