Hello everyone! This is a sequel to my other SGA story Scars. (I said I'd do a sequel! Sorry it took me six years.) It takes place late Season 5, though I have taken some liberties with the timeline. Hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading!

Ronon woke up before her – the way it usually was. He lay in bed for several minutes as Emma slept on him, breathing slowly and deeply, using his broad chest as a pillow and hugging his torso with one of her smooth legs draped over his. He touched his face to the top of her head as he breathed in. Her hair smelled like lavender, from her shampoo, and tequila, from the night before. After a few more minutes of lying in bed and feeling her take long and steady breaths against his chest, he gently kissed the top of her head and reluctantly got up to prepare for the day's mission. He looked back at her in his bed. Half the blankets were hanging precariously over the edge of the mattress and the sheets had fallen to her hips. She had repositioned herself on her stomach so that her bare back was exposed to the cool room. Her sleeping face, partially hidden by her shoulder, was pointed towards him and her auburn hair lay fanned out across the pillow.

He took a step forward and his foot made contact with something on the floor and sent it rolling: a lime. He smiled to himself as he watched it travel across the room and land in a pile of clothing that belonged to both of them, frantically tossed onto the floor the night before; a mostly-empty bottle of tequila lay on the chair. He hoped she wouldn't be too hung-over today. After taking a quick shower and getting dressed, he picked up the lime and some of the clothes, and then quickly filled a glass of water for her. He strode over to the bed, set the glass down on the nightstand, and sat on the edge of the mattress, tracing a warm hand down the length of her spine. Her eyes fluttered open and she gazed up at him, and then smiled sleepily. He ran his hand through her hair, moving some off her neck, and continued down her pale back again. "I gotta go," he said to her, "Be back in a few days."

She nodded and turned on her side, covering her bare breasts with her arms as she faced him. He smiled to himself again; he was already intimately familiar with every inch of her and found himself amused by her unnecessary gesture of modesty. "Be safe," she said in a hoarse whisper, softly putting a hand on his cheek.

He leaned down and kissed her fully on the lips. She slowly rose up from her supine position and wrapped a hand tightly around the back of his neck, deepening the kiss. He drew her close against him, their chests touching. He pulled away from her and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and she smiled, taking his hand in hers. He searched her face. Say it, he thought to himself, You've loved her for months. Say it. Tell her.

There was a knock at his door that interrupted his thoughts.

"Ronon let's go! Get your ass out here!" Sheppard's voice called. "We're leaving in five minutes…no four minutes," he counted down.

"Shep I'm kinda busy in here," he growled angrily through gritted teeth.

"Shit! Sorry!" he hollered back.

Ronon shook his head and turned back to her. "Bye, Emma," he said, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"Bye, Ronon," she whispered, lightly brushing her fingers along the three birthmarks under his eye.

He strapped his holster onto his leg and disappeared into the hallway. "See ya Emma!" she heard Sheppard yell from outside.

"Bye John!" she giggled, laughing more loudly when she heard him release an exclamation of pain, probably in response to a quick jab delivered by Ronon. She lay back down in the bed, still warm from their body heat, and breathed in deeply, capturing his scent from the pillows.