fic: Save Room [2/3]
TITLE: Save Room - Pt. 2
AUTHOR: renisanz
SUMMARY: Ronon dind't know what he was expecting when he entered the infirmary that evening, but it wasn't this.
CATEGORY: comfort, pre-ship
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I don't own 'em, but this plot bunny kept nagging.
NOTES: Spoilers for Season 4. Events occur right after "Missing."
Save Room - Pt. 1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stock still he stood in the doorway. Funny, he would think later, that he could face a menacing Wraith no problem, had killed over a hundred while on the run. He found this situation all the more terrifying. He wasn't used to having to deal with things you couldn't shoot away. Dr. Keller was obviously upset about something, something that caused her at this moment to be on the verge of tears.
“Oh. . . Ronon. You scared me.” She was clutching a picture frame to her chest. She turned away from him, and appeared to be looking for something on the desk. He could see her hand as she quickly wiped the finger of her right hand across both her eyes, and sniffed. She faced him once more. “Uhm. . .did you need something? Another late night of sparring?” she smirked.
He blinked twice, “No,” cleared his throat. “I didn't see any other doctors around. . .my shoulder's been bothering me the last couple of days. . .” He winced infinitesimally, avoiding her gaze. It wasn't exactly a lie. He had completely healed after having the knife of glass that has lodged in his shoulder during the Replicator attack removed. Still, he hadn't taken it easy on the injury after being released from infirmary. He was used to dealing with pain and this was the last thing for which he would have sought medical treatment. And it definitely wasn't hurting right now.
“I'll come back later,” he shifted his weight between both feet, fighting the urge to run from the room.
“No, it's fine,” Dr. Keller was saying now. She seemed to have composed herself in the short time since he'd startled her. “Just sit here, and I can give it a quick look,” she said, motioning toward the edge of her desk.
He was about to hesitate once more, but she her expectant look gave no question that she wouldn't take “no” for an answer. She was the boss in this domain. Ronon smirked at the thought.
She placed the picture frame on the on opposite end of the desk from where she had indicated for him sit. Ronon didn't let it go unnoticed. “What is that?”
Jennifer looked flustered for a moment. “What?” She followed his gaze to the frame. She gingerly picked it up and revealed a photo to him. “It's a photo of my mom and dad. I took it a few months before my mom passed away,” she finished quietly.
He took in the black and white photograph, an older couple smiling back at him. The woman, Keller's mother, was smiling brightly at the camera. Her father focused an admiring gaze on his wife. One of his arms was wrapped around her shoulder, the fingers of his other hand tightly entwined with his mate. Ronon felt the something tighten in his chest at the sight-a memory from a life long gone.
“They look happy.”
“Yeah,” Jennifer agreed. “They were. Very.” She looked at the photo once more, and then set it back on the edge of her desk. “Ok. . .I'm gonna need you to lift up your shirt. You don't have to take it all the way-“
In one swift motion Ronon had reached behind his head, grabbed his shirt at the middle of his back and was now holding the material loosely in his lap.
“-off. Okee-dokee.” She narrowed her eyes incredulously. “I thought you said your shoulder was bothering you.”
“I've learned to ignore it.” Right, which is why he was at the infirmary right now.
If Dr. Keller noticed the gaping flaw in his logic, she kept it to herself, to Ronon's immense relief.
She did, however, roll her eyes, shaking her head. “I know you're used to being the 'tough guy' around here, but you probably could have avoided this if you had maintained the physical therapy regime that was given to you to help your shoulder heal.” She pressed around the still fresh 3-inch scar that was left at the join of his shoulder and chest. He fingertips were unexpectedly cool and soothing against his skin. Carefully, she put her left hand underneath his bicep, her right hand resting lightly on his forearm, indicating for him to lift up his arm. He relaxed and let her guide his arm in a full range of motion. He finally felt a bit of discomfort when she lifted his arm so that his elbow reached above his head, and again when she moved his bicep was lateral to his chest, arm bend at the elbow. Ok, so now his shoulder actually was sore. He told her as much.
Dr. Keller lowered his arm back to a resting position against his side. She sighed slightly, thinking. She absently brushed her hair away from her face once more, and with both hands quickly twirled the ends of her hair together to keep them back, exposing the creamy white skin of her neck in the process. Ronon was looking at her the entire time she did this. It was a simple gesture in itself, but for he found it incredibly . . . alluring. He allowed his gaze to travel down the line of her neck to the hollow of her throat, down once more to linger only a moment to the delicate lace of the camisole top revealed by the few buttons left undone at the top of her shirt.
He immediately snapped his eyes back up to her face when he noticed her head shift back in his direction. He had been blatantly checking her out, and she was too distracted to notice. He'd seen her come up with diagnoses much more quickly, and this was just a pain in his shoulder.
“Are you okay?” He allowed himself to ask. He tilted his head slight to meet her eyes, his way of conveying that his concern was genuine.
She returned the eye contact for only a moment, seemingly considering something. A slight blush rose in her cheeks. “Yeah . . . It's been a long day. I mean, your shoulder is fine. I'd recommend you get with a physical therapist and so he can recommend some stretches you can do to loosen up the muscles. You sustained a rather serious injury, considering. Everyone heals differently, so the pain may not ever go away completely, but I'm sure that's something you can manage.” She smiled slightly.
He shrugged, pulled his shirt back on with markedly less ease than it took for him to shed it.
“You really should try to take it easy on that arm though, or at least not strain yourself and then ignore it. You know that's your body's way of telling you to stop,” she lectured. Her eyes no longer wavered, her lips pursed in slight exasperation. It was this expression in particular that drew his attention to the split in her lip, evidence that she hadn't survived the Bola Kai encounter completely unscathed. He was more than a little unsettled as to how the injury stood out in contrast to her otherwise pristine complexion.
“Ok. I'll try.” It was the best he could offer. Life on Atlantis didn't stop for him to heal from minor injuries.
“Ok.” She conceded.
They stared at each other, the air of the office growing awkwardly tense with things left unsaid.
“So,” Ronon started after a moment. “I'm good to go?”
“Sure,” she smiled vaguely gesturing towards her office door.
Ronon hopped off the desk, finally on his way to bed.
“Hey, Ronon. . .” Dr. Keller faltered for a moment.
He pivoted effortlessly on his heel to face her. “Yeah?”
She opened her mouth as if to say something, then, seeming to reconsider, closed it again. This much be serious. Slowly, Ronon's stepped back into the office, closing the door quietly behind him. “What is it?” he prodded gently.
She was twisted her hair away from face one more, this time in a nervous gesture. She leaned against the desk, shaking her head in what Ronon perceived to be an effort to clear her thoughts. When she finally eyes finally met his, her eyes, glistening once more, seemed to bore into his very being.
“What's it like to kill someone?”
TBC
Save Room - Pt. 3
AUTHOR: renisanz
SUMMARY: Ronon dind't know what he was expecting when he entered the infirmary that evening, but it wasn't this.
CATEGORY: comfort, pre-ship
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I don't own 'em, but this plot bunny kept nagging.
NOTES: Spoilers for Season 4. Events occur right after "Missing."
Save Room - Pt. 1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stock still he stood in the doorway. Funny, he would think later, that he could face a menacing Wraith no problem, had killed over a hundred while on the run. He found this situation all the more terrifying. He wasn't used to having to deal with things you couldn't shoot away. Dr. Keller was obviously upset about something, something that caused her at this moment to be on the verge of tears.
“Oh. . . Ronon. You scared me.” She was clutching a picture frame to her chest. She turned away from him, and appeared to be looking for something on the desk. He could see her hand as she quickly wiped the finger of her right hand across both her eyes, and sniffed. She faced him once more. “Uhm. . .did you need something? Another late night of sparring?” she smirked.
He blinked twice, “No,” cleared his throat. “I didn't see any other doctors around. . .my shoulder's been bothering me the last couple of days. . .” He winced infinitesimally, avoiding her gaze. It wasn't exactly a lie. He had completely healed after having the knife of glass that has lodged in his shoulder during the Replicator attack removed. Still, he hadn't taken it easy on the injury after being released from infirmary. He was used to dealing with pain and this was the last thing for which he would have sought medical treatment. And it definitely wasn't hurting right now.
“I'll come back later,” he shifted his weight between both feet, fighting the urge to run from the room.
“No, it's fine,” Dr. Keller was saying now. She seemed to have composed herself in the short time since he'd startled her. “Just sit here, and I can give it a quick look,” she said, motioning toward the edge of her desk.
He was about to hesitate once more, but she her expectant look gave no question that she wouldn't take “no” for an answer. She was the boss in this domain. Ronon smirked at the thought.
She placed the picture frame on the on opposite end of the desk from where she had indicated for him sit. Ronon didn't let it go unnoticed. “What is that?”
Jennifer looked flustered for a moment. “What?” She followed his gaze to the frame. She gingerly picked it up and revealed a photo to him. “It's a photo of my mom and dad. I took it a few months before my mom passed away,” she finished quietly.
He took in the black and white photograph, an older couple smiling back at him. The woman, Keller's mother, was smiling brightly at the camera. Her father focused an admiring gaze on his wife. One of his arms was wrapped around her shoulder, the fingers of his other hand tightly entwined with his mate. Ronon felt the something tighten in his chest at the sight-a memory from a life long gone.
“They look happy.”
“Yeah,” Jennifer agreed. “They were. Very.” She looked at the photo once more, and then set it back on the edge of her desk. “Ok. . .I'm gonna need you to lift up your shirt. You don't have to take it all the way-“
In one swift motion Ronon had reached behind his head, grabbed his shirt at the middle of his back and was now holding the material loosely in his lap.
“-off. Okee-dokee.” She narrowed her eyes incredulously. “I thought you said your shoulder was bothering you.”
“I've learned to ignore it.” Right, which is why he was at the infirmary right now.
If Dr. Keller noticed the gaping flaw in his logic, she kept it to herself, to Ronon's immense relief.
She did, however, roll her eyes, shaking her head. “I know you're used to being the 'tough guy' around here, but you probably could have avoided this if you had maintained the physical therapy regime that was given to you to help your shoulder heal.” She pressed around the still fresh 3-inch scar that was left at the join of his shoulder and chest. He fingertips were unexpectedly cool and soothing against his skin. Carefully, she put her left hand underneath his bicep, her right hand resting lightly on his forearm, indicating for him to lift up his arm. He relaxed and let her guide his arm in a full range of motion. He finally felt a bit of discomfort when she lifted his arm so that his elbow reached above his head, and again when she moved his bicep was lateral to his chest, arm bend at the elbow. Ok, so now his shoulder actually was sore. He told her as much.
Dr. Keller lowered his arm back to a resting position against his side. She sighed slightly, thinking. She absently brushed her hair away from her face once more, and with both hands quickly twirled the ends of her hair together to keep them back, exposing the creamy white skin of her neck in the process. Ronon was looking at her the entire time she did this. It was a simple gesture in itself, but for he found it incredibly . . . alluring. He allowed his gaze to travel down the line of her neck to the hollow of her throat, down once more to linger only a moment to the delicate lace of the camisole top revealed by the few buttons left undone at the top of her shirt.
He immediately snapped his eyes back up to her face when he noticed her head shift back in his direction. He had been blatantly checking her out, and she was too distracted to notice. He'd seen her come up with diagnoses much more quickly, and this was just a pain in his shoulder.
“Are you okay?” He allowed himself to ask. He tilted his head slight to meet her eyes, his way of conveying that his concern was genuine.
She returned the eye contact for only a moment, seemingly considering something. A slight blush rose in her cheeks. “Yeah . . . It's been a long day. I mean, your shoulder is fine. I'd recommend you get with a physical therapist and so he can recommend some stretches you can do to loosen up the muscles. You sustained a rather serious injury, considering. Everyone heals differently, so the pain may not ever go away completely, but I'm sure that's something you can manage.” She smiled slightly.
He shrugged, pulled his shirt back on with markedly less ease than it took for him to shed it.
“You really should try to take it easy on that arm though, or at least not strain yourself and then ignore it. You know that's your body's way of telling you to stop,” she lectured. Her eyes no longer wavered, her lips pursed in slight exasperation. It was this expression in particular that drew his attention to the split in her lip, evidence that she hadn't survived the Bola Kai encounter completely unscathed. He was more than a little unsettled as to how the injury stood out in contrast to her otherwise pristine complexion.
“Ok. I'll try.” It was the best he could offer. Life on Atlantis didn't stop for him to heal from minor injuries.
“Ok.” She conceded.
They stared at each other, the air of the office growing awkwardly tense with things left unsaid.
“So,” Ronon started after a moment. “I'm good to go?”
“Sure,” she smiled vaguely gesturing towards her office door.
Ronon hopped off the desk, finally on his way to bed.
“Hey, Ronon. . .” Dr. Keller faltered for a moment.
He pivoted effortlessly on his heel to face her. “Yeah?”
She opened her mouth as if to say something, then, seeming to reconsider, closed it again. This much be serious. Slowly, Ronon's stepped back into the office, closing the door quietly behind him. “What is it?” he prodded gently.
She was twisted her hair away from face one more, this time in a nervous gesture. She leaned against the desk, shaking her head in what Ronon perceived to be an effort to clear her thoughts. When she finally eyes finally met his, her eyes, glistening once more, seemed to bore into his very being.
“What's it like to kill someone?”
TBC
Save Room - Pt. 3