Stranded

Summary:

Ronon had been on Atlantis for only a few weeks, he was deemed trust worthy and had proven himself a great asset to Sheppard's team.

Assisting Dr Beckett and some of the botanists, Sheppard's team had been assigned 'baby sitting' duty. The planet they were exploring didn't appear to have any apparent dangers, but a presence was needed to ensure nothing happened to the Dr's.

Amelia Banks had been given permission to join Sheppard's team, it was her first time out with the crew and she was really looking forward to it. Was it that she was eager to get some off world experience, or was it that Ronon Dex was there?

Sheppard and Teyla were getting ready to leave via the gate. Everything had been packed up; they were just waiting for the last of the stragglers to reach them before dialing up Atlantis.

"Everyone here?" Sheppard shouted, looking back to see if he could see Ronon and Amelia, they were on back up duty. "Good, Teyla, would you mind?"

Teyla punched in the dialing sequence to the DHD.

"C'mon lets go" Sheppard encourage. "Let's go home"

Everyone started to make their way through the gate. Ronon was bringing up the rear with Amelia and the last of the supplies, as they approached the gate, without any warning, it shut down. Perplexed at the event, Amelia and Ronon looked at each other with puzzled looks.

"What just happened?" Ronon asked, expecting Amelia to know, given her duties in the control centre, he assumed she was an authority on all things gate connected.

"I have no idea, let me re-dial"

Putting down the luggage, moving over to the DHD she re-dialed. The gate activated and just as quickly as it opened, it shut down.

"There's something wrong, it seems to be having trouble staying open". Amelia was unsure of why this would happen. She waited for Ronon to say something but instead, he just picked up the baggage and headed off back to the campsite where they had been staying.

"No point waiting here, might as well settle in for the night, Atlantis will contact us when they fixed it, nothing we can do" Ronon shouted back at Amelia who was still standing at the DHD wondering what was going to happen. She was just about to go for the last of the baggage when the gate started dialing, as soon as the connection was made, a canister came flying through, just before it shut down again.

"Hey! Ronon! We have a message"

Amelia picked up the canister; the note was from Dr Weir.

"We are experiencing technical problems with the gate; Rodney and Zelenka are working on it as we speak. Suggest you return to the campsite and bunk down for the night there. Hopefully it won't take too long to fix, if it seems as though it's going to take some time, we will send through some rations and supplies"

"Technical problems? No shit!" Amelia picked up the bags and followed Ronon.

Returning to their previous resting place, a small cave with a large entrance, Ronon put the bags inside. Amelia started to unpack the sleeping bags and checked to see what they had. Fortunately, they had most of the rations with them; there were only one or two items missing, but nothing too important. Ronon had managed as a runner without any rations and so he was not worried in the slightest.

"Need to get some wood for the fire, will be back soon" Ronon left Amelia to carry on unpacking.

Watching him leave, Amelia didn't take her eyes off him. He really was quite a sight to watch, tall, lean and he had a presence about him. There were plenty on Atlantis who felt the same too; although he didn't seem to be too interested in getting to know anyone. Living on his own, running for so many years, maybe made him preferred his own company. Can't have been easy, unable to stop anywhere for any length of time. Seven years, that's a long time without a woman. Amelia wondered what he must have been feeling; surely, he had 'needs'. Maybe his solitude was all he needed, to know he did not have to run anymore. Either way, she was going to make it her business to find out. This man was unique; he ticked all her boxes, well, so far anyway.

Returning with some wood to make a fire Ronon got busy, he was obviously a pro at this sort of thing and Amelia left him too it. Dishing out the rations, she made herself comfortable. Leaning against the entrance to their 'home' wrapped up in a blanket, she waited for Ronon to rest himself. He sat opposite her, staring at the fire.

He didn't appear to be phased by the delay in returning to Atlantis. It seemed strange, she thought he might have kicked off, after all, he had finally found somewhere to call 'home' and now he just took it in his stride that he couldn't get back there. Ronon continued to stare, almost as if he was somewhere else, maybe he was. Amelia wanted to know where.

"What was it like? Running, I mean, all that time"

"Lonely, tiring"

"Must have been really hard, not being able to stay anywhere for too long"

Ronon turned to look at Amelia but didn't speak before returning his gaze back to the fire.

This was going to be tough but not one to give up, Amelia continued.

"I guess the wraith must have been pretty relentless, but you gave them a run for their money. Can't imagine how much that must have pissed them off"

"They never give up." Ronon rested his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, he exhaled as he did, as if relieved it was finally all over.

"The place where you're from, do you know if anyone else was taken?"

Quickly Ronon raised his head and looked at Amelia, "Sateda….no"

As Ronon spoke the name 'Sateda', his eyes seemed to glaze, he looked away; obviously, his memories of home were haunting him. All of his people, gone, wiped out by the wraith.

Amelia felt sad, his face at this moment was not of a warrior, but of a lost soul, a man who had nowhere to go and who desperately needed his kin. She wanted to reached out to him and hold him.

"Did you have anyone special on Sateda?" She asked, quietly and with empathy.

Ronon raised his head and glared at Amelia but didn't make a sound. Obviously that was a 'yes' but he didn't want to share.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry" Amelia realizing her questions were getting a little too close to his heart, she shut up.

For some time they just sat, Ronon would only move to put more wood on the fire. Amelia was ready to sleep, they had spent a few nights on the planet already and it had appeared that there were no apparent dangers, so decided to settle down.

"You gonna get some sleep?" She asked Ronon as she made herself comfortable.

"Later"

"Okay, Goodnight then"

The next morning Amelia woke to find fresh fruit and a package from Atlantis waiting for her. She smirked at the breakfast that Ronon had laid out for her, he seemed to be taking to this 'hunter – gatherer' role. Eager to see what was in the package from Atlantis she reached for it and quickly opened it. Nice one Teyla! Taking out the fresh clothing and towels. Amelia collected her toiletries and headed for the bathroom. Which just happened to be the most beautiful bathroom she had ever seen, a huge expanse of water, set amongst an oasis of beauty. Large tree's sheltered the lagoon from the winds. Beautiful fragrant flowers grew all around the area; she realized why the botanist had so much fun when they were here taking samples. It was amazing. Removing her uniform, she waded into the warm water clutching her soap. She had kept her underwear on. Swimming into the middle she basked as the morning sun warmed her face. This is paradise,she thought to herself. After a short time, Ronon appear at the waters edge. He was just standing there, watching Amelia wash and frolic in the water.

Realizing she had a voyeur but wasn't concerned, Amelia continued to clean herself. Occasionally she would glance over at Ronon.

"You coming in? It's lovely in here!"

Ronon removed his clothing, much to the delight of Amelia; she had been waiting to see what bounty he had hidden beneath all that leather. He did not go commando, leaving his shorts on, he made his way into the water.

"Want some soap?" Amelia swam over to Ronon, reaching her hand to him. Taking it happily, he moved over to the middle to get some privacy. Amelia smiled to herself. Deciding to leave him in peace, she waded back to the bank. The fresh towels Teyla had sent were greatly appreciated. Laying it on the ground, she lay back, letting the sun dry her body.

After a short time, Ronon arrived and lay next to her, face down. Resting his head on his folded arms, he looked over to Amelia. The beads of water that were still visible on her skin trickled down her sides. Wet underwear clung to her curves. Ronon had not been this close to a woman in many years. A light breeze blew over them, causing Amelia's nipples to harden as the wet bra clung to her breasts. Ronon noticed and almost immediately looked away.

"It could have been so much worse, we are so lucky to have been stranded here" Turning her head to speak

"What?" Ronon lifted his head and stared at Amelia in surprise.

Realizing her error, she corrected her statement "I mean it could have been worse if we had been stranded on a really awful planet, one with no water, or were it was cold or something"

"I guess"

Amelia watched Ronon as he relaxed back down, resting his head to the side facing her, eyes closed. She took the opportunity to examine his body. Smooth skin on his back, apart from his scaring, toned muscles and a beautiful ass. His shorts adhered to his cheeks, emphasizing his physique; he really did have a lovely body. The droplets of water glistened on his skin under the sunlight; she could feel herself becoming excited. Moving her gaze up to his face, he seemed at peace. She wondered what he was thinking.

Turning onto her side, she propped her head onto her hand. She was determined to find out what made this warrior tick.

"I didn't mean to upset you yesterday…I mean… to make you remember, the bad stuff"

Ronon opened his eyes, noticing Amelia had changed position, mimicked her posture.

"S'okay, I'm good"

They stared for a few moments, Ronon examined her features, she was very pretty, here beautiful eyes were dark and yet soft.

"You asked if there was someone special, on Sateda." Ronon looked nervous when he spoke, licked his lips and looked down. "There was, she was called Melena"

"You're wife?"

"As good as. She stayed to take care of the sick at the hospital where she worked, she wouldn't leave them. I tried to get her too come with me and find a safe place to hide, but she wouldn't…..she couldn't….she cared too much…" Ronon trailed off.

Amelia felt sad; she could see by looking at Ronon that he obviously felt guilty, as if he blamed himself in some way.

"It wasn't you're fault Ronon, you know that, don't you?"

Looking at Amelia, his eyes filled, turning quickly onto his back and avoiding her gaze, he covered his face with both hands.

"Yeah, I guess…"

Reaching her hand over, touching his arm gently, Amelia tried to comfort her companion. He didn't move for a while, as if he needed to compose himself. Suddenly getting up he reached for his clothes and left, heading off to the brush. Amelia was annoyed with herself; she had done it again.

Laying back down she waited for a while before getting dressed. Taking in the view of the planet was on her 'to-do' list. She wandered along the trails that had been worn in by the previous inhabitants, although long gone now. Wondering what had happened to them, she couldn't contemplate anyone leaving this place. Suppose it could have been the Wraith.