Energy and Drinking

Chapter 23: Energy and Drinking

Dawn woke to the persistent sound of her door. She groaned burying her head in her pillow. “Go away!” she yelled. Her pillow chuckled. She lifted her head to see Ronon grinning at her.

“Am I a constant source of amusement for you?” she growled. She could feel his amusement increase. She made to get past him to answer the door but he stopped her, placing his hands on her waist. He leaned up and placed a kiss on her lips. Only the door ‘bell’ ringing again stopped her from staying where she was.

“There is a dead man on the other side of that door,” Ronon said.

“You said it,” she said adjusting her t-shirt. She opened the door. On the other side was Rodney, looking extremely uncomfortable.

“Morning,” he said with a twist of his hands.

“Can we help you, McKay?” Dawn asked crossing her arms impatiently.

“Um, well,” he began.

Ronon walked up behind Dawn, “I’d hurry before she does something rash,” he warned.

“Well, we got a lead on our Wraith friend. We’re taking a Jumper to the Stargate nearest it and flying to a Hive ship,” Rodney said in one breath. “We’re set to leave as soon as we’re ready.”

Dawn paled placing her hand on the doorframe. “We’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Rodney nodded, “Good.” Then he walked quickly away.

Dawn went quickly to her bedside table pulling out her journal, then her gun from under the bed. She walked to the dresser pulling out her leather bag and shoving the journal inside. She paused on her way to the bathroom to look at Ronon, “I don’t think John would appreciate you showing up in bedclothes.”

“Pixie?”

“Ronon, we have a couple hours worth of waiting around in the Jumper and while McKay works on the Hive. We’ll talk then,” and she disappeared into the bathroom.

As the water ran over her, Dawn took a moment to think about the last week. Exactly a week ago she had woken up in Ronon’s bed. Since then things had well… really not changed, except waking up in his arms every morning. They worked the days away training and offering their expertise where it was required. John had alluded to them getting a single large room, but Dawn had given him a look that ended that.

She shook her head. She had to concentrate on getting ready. She looked at herself in the mirror, her lock picks keeping her hair up. With a thought she grabbed another knife out of the dresser, it was smaller than the ones she normally carried, but she had a feeling it would be needed.

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“Everybody ready?” John asked as Rodney dialed the ‘Gate.

Dawn looked around the Jumper. It was a little crowded with Sheppard’s and Lorne’s teams onboard. She could tell Ronon was annoyed. From what she’d gathered it had to do with the fact that she was only carrying six knives, her lock picks, and her gun. However she couldn’t enjoy the moment yet, she had some work to do.

Closing her eyes she focused on the piece of her soul that was connected to Ronon. She loved the feelings she got from it, the completeness that went with it. Gently she pulled the link, ‘Ronon?’ she whispered through it. When she didn’t get a response, through the link or even a change in his emotions she tried again.

After a few more attempts she tried a new technique. She focused on one of her visions of the past. She pulled a memory of playing Monopoly with Anya and Xander to the front of her mind and pushed it through the link.

“Is something wrong Ronon?” Teyla asked.

Dawn opened her eyes to see Ronon looking at her. Ronon stood and asked Telik to trade seats with him. When he was seated Ronon asked quietly, “What are you doing Pixie?”

She grinned, “Testing our communication.”

“I saw you, a guy with dark hair, and a girl sitting around a table.”

“That’s Xander and Anya.” She closed her eyes pulling an image of a normal breakfast at home. “That’s my mom and Buffy.”

“Interesting,” he told her.

“Let’s see if I can show you something else,” Dawn pulled an image of the alternate version of Teyla and sent it to Ronon. Barely above whisper she told him, “It’s part of another Atlantis, one where I didn’t interrupt things.”

“When did you see that?”

“As part of the dreams after I kissed you,” she looked at Teyla, “it is one of the dominate differences in the two realities.”

“Secrets, secrets, are no fun,” Henderson sing-songed.

Dawn looked at him, “Shut up Brian.” She leaned forward, “I think you are the only person I know who is more annoying then me when bored.”

“That’s possible?” John asked from the driver’s seat.

“More than you know,” Lorne said, “the worst part about her not being on the team is they can’t keep each other entertained anymore.”

“So he’s gone back to talking our ears off,” Telik added.

Dawn laughed at the put upon expressions from her former-teammates. She shook her head and pulled her journal from her bag. She opened it, setting it on her lab. She reread the entry she had made about the mission.

“What is that Dawn?” Lorne asked from where he sat across from her.

“Journal entry, trying to recall something from one of my dreams,” she said with a shrug, “I think it might be relevant.”

“What language is that?” he asked.

“Hmm?” Dawn looked at the entry focusing on what she had written as opposed to its meaning. She frowned.

“What?” Ronon asked.

“I–” she looked up, “Ronon, I wrote this entry in over a dozen languages. Including Ancient.”

“Why would you do that?” Teyla asked.

“I don’t know,” Dawn flipped through the ten or so pages she had written on, “I was in a hurry when I wrote it. I was trying to get all these details before it disappeared. I must’ve used the most convenient words.”

“And somehow English doesn’t work for you?” Henderson asked.

“Some of these symbols represent ideas instead of individual words,” Dawn explained, “completely in English it would have been another five pages, at least.”

“I’ve mentioned you’re scary right?” Telik said.

“Once or twice,” Dawn admitted returning to her journal, she felt Ronon’s curiosity. “Later,” she whispered. She pointed to his head, “try sending me something.”

“Anything specific?”

“Try for a memory, something simple.” She went back to reading her journal. It was nearly five minutes later when she had a picture of a blonde woman and little girl in her head. “Jeannie and Madison?” she asked.

Ronon nodded, “how did you know?”

She pointed to Rodney, “sometimes I glimpse them around him.” She sent him a memory, “guess.”

“Spike,” he replied, “hair gives it away.”

“Okay,” she sent him another one.

Ronon frowned, and then shrugged.

“Drusilla,” Dawn told him. “Tell me what you see.”

“A house,” he said, “front door, stairs. To the right is a dining area. To the left is a couch, chairs, small tables, many pictures.”

“It’s the house in Sunnydale,” she said, “Did you see the entire setup of the house?”

“Yes.”

“Cool.”

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Dawn walked behind Teyla onto the Wraith ship.

“Do you feel that?” she asked looking around the ship.

“I feel nothing Dawn.”

“It’s weird,” she continued with a look around, “like a presence, but not…”

“That’s vague,” Telik told her.

“A family trait,” Dawn assured him.

“Sheppard,” Ronon called pointing to something on the ground as he kept moving. Dawn could feel his concentration and grim determination.

“Teyla, do you feel anything living here?” Dawn asked.

“I do not.”

Dawn holstered her weapon. “I do, but I think it’s the ship…”

“How can that be?” Telik said from behind them.

“This is organic matter,” she guessed, “Candrima is the spirit of Atlantis. This seems just as likely.”

They reached the bridge. Sheppard sent Lorne’s team to check the ship, while Rodney set up to try and get the ship running. Dawn saw Teyla step towards the main controls.

“Don’t,” Dawn warned quietly.

“I have done it before,” Teyla assured her.

“And it takes a lot out of you.”

“No one else can access the ship.”

“I’m not saying they can. Let Rodney get a few things going, see if he even finds something worth while.”

Teyla slowly nodded.

“What did you touch?” Rodney practically yelled at Ronon as the ship powered up.

“Nothing,” Ronon said defensively, “I think.”

Dawn started reading the words as they flowed over the screen. She walked over to stand next to Rodney, “Does that say what I think it does?”

“You can read Wraith?” Sheppard asked.

“It’s a deviation of Ancient ain’t it?” Dawn clarified.

Rodney started to babble at what he read on the screen, “That says ‘Top Secret!’”

“That’s what I thought,” Dawn said.

“But there is nothing else,” Rodney said with a sigh, “no description of what type of facility.”

“It’s a secret, Rodney. They aren’t going to leave details out for anyone to read,” Dawn looked at Teyla. “Ready to try something?”

Teyla walked forward and again Dawn stopped her. She repositioned her hand to touch Teyla’s neck. She reached into herself.

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Sheppard watched as Dawn closed her eyes and touched Teyla. He looked at Ronon, “what is she doing?”

Ronon shrugged.

“Okay Teyla,” Dawn said, concentrating, “Step onto the platform.”

Teyla stepped up to the controls, Dawn still with a hand to her neck.

The lights dimmed to focus on them.

“I can see it,” Teyla said, “the coordinates. I’m setting a course.”

“Teyla?” Sheppard asked.

“I’m fine John,” Teyla looked at him a beat, “it’s easier than last time.”

“Can you get…” Rodney stopped himself when they felt the ship shutter into motion. “Okay.”

Sheppard was amazed concerned, “Are you alright?”

“I am fine John,” Teyla said with a bit of impatience, “but this takes a bit of concentration…”

“Okay.”

He saw Ronon walk behind Dawn.

“Ronon,” she said without opening her eyes, “don’t. Touch. Me.” Sheppard gaped. It wasn’t that she had said it with any type of animosity, it was that the way she said it was a deadly finite edge to it.

Ronon took two steps back. His hands up in the universal sign of surrender.

“The ship is clear sir,” Lorne said with a look at the two women.

“Good,” Sheppard said glancing between the members of his team, “that’s one less thing to worry about.”

It was a solid two hours before Dawn spoke, “Shit.” Ronon was moving before Sheppard could stand.

“Get Telik,” Dawn said the edge still in her voice. Ronon was gone.

“Dawn–” Sheppard started.

“No time,” she said.

Telik came in with Ronon at a run, “what’s wrong?”

Dawn reached her hand out towards him, her eyes closed. “I need a little help Kenny.”

Telik stepped forward without hesitation, “at least this won’t hurt like training with you.”

Henderson and Lorne walked in.

“What’s going on?” Lorne asked.

“I don’t know,” Sheppard snapped, “Dawn asked for Telik.”

Henderson and Lorne exchanged a look.

“What?” Ronon asked.

Henderson stepped forward, “She’s done this once before…”

“Done what lieutenant?” Sheppard asked.

“Drawn a bit of energy from us,” he explained, “when I got injured on P39-MX6, Dawn healed me. It was deep though, and she had been injured herself. When she healed me she was glowing slightly.”

“She turned to me and Telik,” Lorne said, “asked if we could spare a bit of energy… at first we thought she meant we were going to have to carry her back. But then she touched us, she only held on for a moment. When she let go it only felt like I wanted to sleep.”

“Why did she ask for Telik specifically?” Sheppard asked.

“When Dawn had drawn energy from Telik, there had been no side-effects,” Lorne rubbed his arm, a signature nervous gesture, “Dawn speculated that he may more compatible with her process because of… magic in his family line.”

“Magic?” Rodney said from where he had been trying to read the Wraith script.

“It was her belief,” Henderson jumped in, “Dawn hasn’t said anything about it since.”

Sheppard looked at the two, “why haven’t I seen anything about this before?”

“It wasn’t something either of them wanted it shared,” Lorne said looking at his CO with an expression, “it was one of those things you’d have no idea how to even start in a report.”

Sheppard sighed; he definitely had some experience in those.

“Teyla,” Sheppard asked softly, “how long?”

“Almost there. There is another hive ship over the planet.”

“Keep us out of sensor range.”

The ship shuddered. “I put us in orbit around the moon,” Teyla said.

Dawn let go of Telik who stumbled back slightly. Henderson sat him on the ground out of the way.

“Sheppard,” Dawn said through gritted teeth, “grab Teyla.” She opened her eyes as Sheppard approached. Dawn released her hand from Teyla’s neck, falling to her knees immediately. John grabbed Teyla who started to sway.

Ronon reached Dawn.

“Hey,” she said to him.

“Don’t ‘hey’ me Pixie,” Ronon said.

“Just tired,” she patted his leg, “please don’t get yourself stunned. Me and Teyla will rest, be ready to drive if it comes to that.”

Sheppard nodded, “we’ll leave Lorne and his team to watch them.”

Dawn pulled on one of Ronon’s dreads, “stop scowling, we just need a bit of rest. We’ll pull your asses out of the fire if you get in trouble.”

Ronon grunted at her. She just smiled at him.

“We should get going,” Sheppard decided.

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“That was dangerous,” Teyla said.

“More for you than me,” Dawn replied, “if you had touched the controls without me you’d be more wiped out. And without your gene we wouldn’t have gotten here.”

“How did you know?”

“Dreams,” she sighed wearily. “Nightmares, visions… let’s just say it’s nice not to have to relive the past or deal with alternate realities.”

“There is more isn’t there?”

“A bit,” she smiled slightly, “I think I definitely ticked Ronon off for the moment… and he’s really going to be irritated with me before this all ends.”

“You know what’s going on down there.”

“I have a general idea. Ronon’s emotions help to identify some of it. I’m just hoping I won’t get them killed.”

They sat in silence for a while.

“You care deeply for Ronon, don’t you?” Teyla finally asked.

Dawn opened her eyes. She was too tired to think of something, so she used the simplest ideas. “He’s my equal, my other half, my partner, my soul mate. Took us a bit to figure it out, but not as long as some.”

Teyla smiled softly. “He’s been different since the day you knocked him down in the woods of Kant’ya.”

“Considering he didn’t like me at first… I don’t know if that is a good thing or not.”

“It is,” she made sure that Lorne’s team was far enough away, “I believe he did not know what to think of you.”

Dawn snorted, “Honestly, I don’t know what to think of me half the time.”

“You do not let it show.”

“Teyla, really, I’d like to have this heart-to-heart, but,” she glanced at her watch, “we have less than an hour before the boys may be in trouble. And I need a power-nap something awful.”

“Of course,” she watched as Dawn drifted off.

“Don’t take it personally,” Lorne sat next to Teyla, “she rarely stays awake that long after stuff like this.”

“You have been a good friend to her Evan.”

“She reminds me of my sister.”

“You miss her?”

“And watching her kids grow up,” he smiled sadly, “I just hope one day to be as happy as either of them.”

“You know?”

“Wasn’t hard to figure out. She used to rant about something he did to make her mad. Classic Earthling speak for ‘I have a huge crush.’”

She smiled at him.

“Get a bit of sleep, Teyla,” he said softly, “if she says the Colonel is going to need saving, she’s probably right.”

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“Ahh!” Dawn yelled coming completely awake. “Damn it Ronon!”

“What’s wrong?” Teyla asked as Lorne and his team approached.

“Ronon got stunned,” she grunted with a hand rubbing her chest, “I imagine all of them did.”

“Can you talk to him?” Henderson asked.

Dawn looked up in surprise, “How did you…?”

“In the Jumper,” Telik said, “it wasn’t that hard to figure out.”

“And here I thought we were being coy,” she snarked.

“Dream on Summers,” Lorne smiled at her, “so what’s the plan?”

“I need to wait until he wakes up.”

“Got enough energy to do that?” Telik asked.

“Linking with Ronon is kind of my natural state,” Dawn explained, “I don’t use any energy to do it.”

“Well that’s a relief,” he joked.

“We got a dart,” she said seriously, “inbound, from the surface.” Dawn smirked, “it’s Todd.”

“I can not believe the Colonel named the Wraith,” Lorne said with a sigh.

“Teyla, open a hanger bay for him,” Dawn took off at a run.

“Dawn!” Henderson called after her. He looked at Lorne.

“Go,” Lorne said, “you won’t catch her. But we can at least tell Ronon we tried.”

Henderson took off after her. He was halfway to the Dart bay when he saw Dawn come around the corner talking animatedly with the Wraith.

“You’re lucky I know you were her prisoner,” he heard her say, “or I’d have shot you.”

“I am impressed at your restraint,” Todd hissed in response.

“I’m growing as a person,” she shrugged, “so can you tell if this hive is battle worthy.”

“From what I have seen it is not.”

“I had feeling you were going to say tha–” Dawn gasped putting a hand to her chest and groping for the wall.

“Dawn,” Henderson closing the distance between them, “what’s wrong?”

She waved him off, “Just Ronon and his more volatile emotions.” She stood up letting out a long breath, “Let’s get to the bridge.”

She let Todd onto the platform before she closed her eyes and concentrated on communicating with Ronon. Dawn sent ‘stop and breath.’ When he responded that he wanted to kill something, she told him to wait a little longer and he could kill any Wraith he came into contact with.

“This ship cannot hold up in a battle,” Todd informed them.

“Again, not surprised,” Dawn said grabbing her journal and flipping frantically through it.

“Is now really a time to write in your diary?” Telik asked.

“Journal,” she told him, “and I am trying to remember what happened next.”

“Next? Dawn?” Lorne asked.

“They are going in to meet the Queen…” she twisted her hands, “Teyla, Brian, Kenny, I will need all of you ready to go in case my plan falls through. It’ll mean the difference between Rodney’s life.”

“Geez,” Henderson joked, “no pressure.”

“Save the jokes Brian,” Dawn sighed, “at least until we’ve saved the boys.”

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Dawn sat on the floor. She rolled up her sleeves and looked at Henderson and Telik who sat on either side of her. “If this fails, I won’t say anything,” she told them, “Teyla will be skimming the Queen’s mind. I’ll grab her…”

“And we grab your arms,” Telik concluded. “We got it kid.”

“Don’t hesitate,” she told Teyla.

“I will not,” Teyla assured her.

Dawn pulled at her link with Ronon. She showed him the Queen and felt him tense even further. She used his emotions to determine what was going on. When he showed her the Queen she flashed him a picture of the knife she had slipped into his boot, the extra she had grabbed when the day had started, it now seemed like days ago. But she warned him, if he couldn’t get to it, not expose it.

She suddenly felt his fear and rage. It didn’t take a picture of Rodney and John’s panic to make her latch onto Teyla. She pushed her energy to Teyla and gently pulled from Telik and Henderson. She could feel Ronon’s confusion as Teyla fought the Wraith Queen’s mind. Dawn had given her directions around the base so that she didn’t have to use any energy to extract information. Once the Wraith Queen opened the cell Dawn pulled a ribbon of energy from Telik and pushed it completely to Teyla to let her hold on a moment.

Dawn sent the image of the knife in Ronon’s boot to Ronon. She withdrew her hands from Teyla and shook off Henderson and Telik. When she heard Teyla gasp and felt Ronon’s grim satisfaction she knew the Queen was dead. She sent a layout of the base to Ronon, giving him the best option as a way out. Then Dawn was dragged into the black.

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It was a throbbing headache that woke Dawn. She groaned putting a hand to her forehead.

“You are infuriating Pixie,” she heard Ronon whisper.

She sat up, “Ronon.” She looked around. Sheppard was driving the Jumper. Lorne, Teyla, and Rodney were in the forward compartment. She was in the back with Ronon sitting next to her. Telik and Henderson were back to back on the other bench, both were asleep.

“Hey,” Lorne told Sheppard, “Sleeping Beauty is awake.”

“Nice of you to join us!” Sheppard called back.

“Destroyed the facility and the hive?” she asked rubbing her head.

“Yep,” Rodney snarked, “even let Todd get away. Great day!”

“Nice,” Dawn commented. She looked at Ronon holding out her hand, “may I?” He lifted an eyebrow but slipped his hand into hers. She siphoned off some of his energy, just enough to reduce the headache. At the same time she saw things as they appeared through his eyes. She opened her eyes. Quietly she told him, “If you had touched me when I was helping Teyla fly the hive ship, I would have taken energy from you. I knew you would need it. Telik was going to stay on the ship, he could spare it. You couldn’t.”

“Doesn’t stop you from being infuriating Pixie,” he told her. “So are you going to explain?”

She saw her bag next to her foot. She reached down and pulled out her journal. She sighed, and then spoke loud enough so the others would hear, “I showed you the Teyla from an alternate reality, one where I never existed, or interfered, or whatever…” he nodded slowly as she flipped through the pages, “this is something that happened in her reality. There seem to be some things that I didn’t affect. Others I prevented from happening simply by being.

“When I had the vision I wrote it all down. Just in case. And then I looked for certain things to use as cues. The abandoned Wraith hive ship was obscure enough…”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Teyla asked.

“Because I didn’t see any of you die,” she said, “If I had mentioned this… we would have gone on this mission a week ago. And that leads to a whole new set of causality problems.”

“You maneuvered certain things though,” Rodney added, “you kept Lorne’s team behind, and prevented Teyla from coming.”

“She wasn’t supposed to go,” Dawn said, “only you three.”

“Why didn’t she go in the other reality?” Sheppard asked.

“Same reason she didn’t in this one, navigating the ship took too much out of her.”

“What about the knife in Ronon’s boot?” Rodney asked.

“Figured it worked for a variety of scenarios,” she explained.

“Why couldn’t you have just told us to destroy the base?” Sheppard looked at her.

“Todd,” she explained, “for some reason, I have yet to understand; he needed to survive this…”

“We went through all of that for a Wraith?” Rodney stated.

“No,” Dawn raised her hand, “I only got the bare bones, what exactly the facility was or the significance was lost on me.”

“You have ten pages,” Lorne said, “how is that the ‘bare-bones’?”

“I had a lot of visual information to sort through. Most of this describes the layout of the base, the sequence of events, anything I might have been able to alter.” She looked back at Ronon, “Somehow you couldn’t avoid getting stunned?”

He shrugged at her, “hazard.”

“Really wish you’d stop that,” she told him rubbing the center of her chest.

“You know you’re going to have to explain this to Carter, right?” Sheppard said.

Dawn closed her eyes, leaning her head against the side of the wall. “Wake me when I have to explain it again.”

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Jennifer was not surprised to see Sheppard and Lorne’s teams make their way into the infirmary. Ronon carrying Dawn was a bit of a surprise. Telik and Henderson barely keeping awake was a little off.

“What happened?” Carson asked as he walked in.

“I was just getting to that…” she replied grabbing Sheppard before he could move past. “What happened Colonel?”

“A little bit of power drain,” he told her.

“Power drain?”

“This is one of those things only Dawn can explain,” Sheppard told her.

“Enough said,” Jennifer said before ordering labs for everyone and starting to look over Dawn.

It would be nearly an hour later that Dawn woke. “Hey Jen.”

“Dawn heard you would explain why half the away team came back more than half-asleep. Something about a ‘power drain’?”

“We talked about this once. After the glowing thing, I told that I was drawing energies from other dimensions. I can draw it from other people too.”

“You told me you hadn’t actually done it.”

“Well,” she twisted her hands, “I have. It’s nothing big… Ronon is the easiest to pull from, but I haven’t tested the limits of that, wasn’t eager to at the moment.”

“Henderson and Telik?”

“I’ve pulled from Kenny before, he’s more compatible. There had to have been a witch in his line less than six generations ago. Brian’s only barely compatible.”

“And Teyla?”

“She was the one I was feeding energy to most of the time. She’s exhausted due to the use of Wraith tech.”

“But not Lorne, Sheppard, or McKay?”

“Lorne is absolutely not compatible. I’ve never tried with John or Rodney.”

Jennifer sighed, “Okay well, you all look fine.”

“Okay,” Dawn said, “Jen when does your shift end?”

“Eight.”

“Want to have dinner with me?”

“Sure.”

“Good, lots of things to talk about.”

“Considering it’s been nearly two weeks… yeah.”

“Great, see you then.”

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Dawn arrived just before eight. “Ready?”

“Go lass,” Carson told Jennifer.

“Thanks Carson.”

“Bye Carson,” Dawn called.

Carson finished the report he was working on and shut down his computer. He took off his lab coat and left it on his chair. He headed for the pier where Sheppard had invited him to have dinner with him and Ronon.

“Where’s Rodney?” Carson asked when he saw the two men sitting on the ledge.

“Having dinner with Katie,” John said handing him a beer. “Here Doc.”

“What’s the occasion?” Carson accepted the can before sitting.

“To Ronon,” John said lifting his can in salute, “and his marriage.”

Carson frowned as the Satedan sent John an irritated look. “I missed a wedding?” he asked.

“No,” Ronon took a sandwich from the stack.

“Come on Ronon, I’m sure it’s what Dawn and Jennifer are talking about,” John coaxed.

“John, neither of you is explaining,” Carson said with a glance between the two.

“Ronon and Dawn,” John said simply.

“Well, I think we all saw that coming,” he commented, “but that doesn’t explain anything lad.”

“Well, with the exception of a few incidences and what Teyla, Rodney, and I walked in on, they haven’t said much.”

“Dawn hasn’t said anything? That’s unlike her,” Carson laughed slightly, “although that would explain the lack of complaints…”

“Complaints?” Ronon asked.

“Oh yes, you two would have a spat or something and she’d some into the infirmary to talk to Jennifer,” Carson grinned, “I could always tell when she been there, patients would complain of not being able to sleep because of yelling. And there has been a decrease in sparring accidents.”

John laughed.

“So marriage?” Carson asked.

“I believe Dawn used the phrase ‘ball-and-chained,’ actually,” John admitted.

Ronon looked behind them at a tower across on one of the other piers.

“What’s wrong Ronon?” John looked at Atlantis.

“Just Dawn,” Ronon told them.

“Where lad?” Carson looked as well.

“The shorter tower on the pier.”

“You can see her?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know?”

Ronon shrugged, “I just do.”

“Did I mention their marriage is more supernatural than anything else?” John asked innocently.

“No, you definitely left that out.”

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“What a view,” Jennifer commented.

“I spent most of the holiday climbing these towers,” Dawn told her as she pulled the tab of her beer.

“So what have you been up to?” Jennifer asked popping a few grapes into her mouth.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? Is ‘nothing’ the reason you haven’t come into the infirmary since I got back, ranting about something Ronon did?”

“Basically.”

“You aren’t saying something.”

A blush crept up Dawn’s cheek. “Well, yeah, Ronon and I are kinda… together.”

“What!?” Jennifer looked at her with the widest eyes. “Since when?”

“The morning you returned,” She laughed a little, “you said I’d be asleep and I was… with Ronon.”

“Dawn! You cretin! You kept this to yourself for a week, I should be insulted,” Jennifer teased.

“Well you are the only one to talk to about it.”

“Why is that?”

“You’re my age, from Earth and know me better than most.”

“Awww,” Jennifer pretended to wipe away a tear, “so that explains the recent drop in sparring patients.”

“Ha ha!”

“Seriously though Dawn,” Jennifer said, “You have to start talking.”

“About what? The fact that I’m in most senses of the word ‘married’?”

“Married? To who?”

“Ronon.”

“Okay, I’ve missed a step.”

“No, really you were there when he saved my life, you were there right before I kissed him, and you had just returned when we kissed again. Oh and figured out why I was crazy when he was gone.”

“Dawn I’m still stuck on you married to Ronon.”

“It’s not that unbelievable. It just happens to be mostly supernatural…”

“So I didn’t miss the wedding.”

Dawn laughed, “No. No wedding.”

“So straight to the honeymoon.”

“Jennifer!” the blush on Dawn’s cheeks grew.

“Hold on you don’t get embarrassed,” she studied her friend, “I’ll drop it.”

They ate in silence for a few moments.

“Jen, I’ve never…” she had to resist using one of Anya’s crude gestures.

“Never?”

“I was seventeen with an over-protective sister. Then Kant’ya was like my own personal training hell. And now I’m on Atlantis.”

“Never?”

“Jen!”

“Sorry, it’s just hard to believe. Has Ronon pushed the issue?”

“No, much more a gentleman then the brats you dealt with in college.”

Jennifer frowned a moment, “but you said you were sleeping with Ronon.”

“Yeah, catching z’s, literally.”

“You haven’t talked to him about this.”

“I started to, but I got so irritated with myself,” she downed another part of her beer.

“Is there a particular reason you wanted to talk to me?”

“No,” she smiled, “I just needed to get away from the guys for a night.”

“And down a few drinks?”

“Something I don’t allow myself often. But considering we all came out of this last mission alive. And I managed to irritate Ronon beyond belief… yeah I deserve it.”

“What did you do?”

“Well…”

888888888

It was nearly two when Dawn finally made it back to her room. She and Jennifer had spent most of the night out on the pier. She could feel Ronon’s amusement and irritation most of the night; but also his longing and exhaustion.

She changed and headed for Ronon’s room. When she reached it she found he wasn’t there. She knew he’d find her. So she stood at the window staring out onto the ocean. It was an odd vision that filled her. The flower she saw around Rodney flashed before her, then a diamond ring. Then tears and Katie’s desk empty. She breathed deeply as her vision swam.

She was distracted when the door opened. Dawn turned to see Ronon supported between Carson and John. They froze when they saw her.

“Crap,” she heard John whisper.

“I thought he lead us here because she wasn’t going to be here,” Carson looked at John.

Dawn sighed, “What happened?” She helped them maneuver Ronon to the bed.

John shrugged. “We ate, drank, and talked…”

“Talked about what John?” Dawn asked. She had a sneaking suspicion.

He didn’t answer, Carson did, “Your marriage…”

“John!” Dawn sighed, her feelings twisted, “and he started drinking, heavily?”

“Actually,” Carson said, “it was talking about you that made him a little… liberal.”

“Me?”

“Yes, lass,” Carson said, “I think we may have been asking harder questions than he had thought about.”

“Such as?”

“If you decided to go live on Earth. Or if you decided to leave Atlantis for somewhere else in Pegasus,” John explained.

“Children, a marriage by your customs, family, living on Atlantis…” Carson rattled off.

“You two are brilliant,” Dawn rubbed her temple in exhaustion. “Thank you for helping him back.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow lass,” Carson said walking out the door.

John looked a little uncomfortable, “I’m sorry. In my job some times we don’t get to see the future. The idea that anything more lays beyond the fight is… hard to imagine. It’s just so rare that something good like,” he waved his hand vaguely around the room, “this happens… I guess I needed to be able to glimpse it, like you can, even if just for a moment.”

Dawn could see John’s sincerity. “I understand. For a moment to know what is beyond the running and the fighting…” She smiled sadly, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight Dawn,” and the door closed behind him.

Dawn looked at the bed, Ronon snoring as he slept like a log. She grinned slightly. She removed Ronon’s boots. Then she lay down next to him and placed her head on his chest. Through his shirt she could hear the steady beat of his heart.

She was nearly asleep when Ronon turned on his side and pulled her into his arms. She felt his nose in her hair, he inhaled. Through her connection to Ronon she felt a soul-deep contentment.

“My Pixie,” he breathed.

Dawn felt her heart swell as she was pulled into sleep.




I hope you will Review these last three chapters. It’s amazing what a review does for my writing. Next?? “Quarantine”……. What could I possibly do????