Not Alone Anymore

Madi ran into Josie in the lunch line the next day.

"So," Josie enquired, glancing around to make sure a certain Satedan wasn't lurking nearby, "What happened last night?"

Madi rolled her eyes at her friend's prying, keeping the girl in suspense while she selected her meal. "Nothing of any interest to you, I'm sure," she drawled. "Colonel Sheppard had called for a team briefing, and asked Ronon to find me, that's all. Like I said, there's nothing going on between us."

"I know, I know. Just teasin' ya," Josie giggled, "So what did Colonel Sheppard want? You goin' offworld again?"

Madi caught the slight hint of jealousy in the other woman's voice, and felt slightly guilty for the news she was about to share. "Yes, this afternoon. Actually, Colonel Sheppard has asked that I take a position on his team." Josie's smile faded somewhat, so she rushed on, "Of course, when I am not on missions, I will still be working in the Infirmary with you and Dr. Beckett,"

Josie seemed somewhat mollified with this. "Well, that's good. Hey, maybe if you go anywhere interesting, you could bring me back a nice little souvenir or somethin'?"

"Agreed." Madi promised.

When they were done eating, Madi excused herself to go gear up. She met the others in the Gate room, and once a last-minute equipment check was done, Sheppard called up to the technician to begin dialling the gate.

"We are not taking the Puddle Jumper?" Madi asked, slightly uneasy at the thought.

"There is a settlement not far from the gate," Teyla explained, "We will walk. It is no different than going through by ship," she assured the younger woman, guessing the source of her unease.

The Gate kawhooshed, and Sheppard led his team up the steps and dissappeared into the event horizon, followed by McKay and Teyla. Madi hesitated at the last moment, somewhat intimidated by the rippling pool mere inches from her face.

"It's alright, you get used to it," Ronon said quietly beside her. He grabbed her smaller hand in his, and she didn't doubt that he would drag her along behind him if she refused to go willingly. Better to face her fears on her own terms, she thought, putting on the bravest face she could muster. She took a deep breath, and they stepped into the event horizon.

It was strange to emerge on the other side and suddenly feel the wind and the warmth of the sun. Madi let go of the breath she'd been holding, almost laughing at her own nervousness.

"See, wasn't so bad, was it?" Sheppard asked, sharing an amused glance with Teyla. Adjusting his grip on his P90, he motioned with his head that they should be off.

Ronon gave her hand a tiny squeeze, and she flushed with embarrassment at having forgotten she was still clinging to him. "Forgive me," she muttered, snatching her hand away. He flashed her a grin, his eyes glinting with amusement and...pride? She couldn't be sure, it passed too quickly. But for some reason, the thought of him being somehow proud of her was rather pleasing.

A well-worn trail led away from the gate, disappearing into the nearby forest. Teyla dropped back to walk with Madi, and they linked their arms companionably as they walked. "It will be pleasant to have another female on the team," the older woman confessed, leaning in conspiratorily so the others would not overhear, "Having two voices of reason will certainly be better than only one!" They both snickered quietly, earning them a warning glare from Sheppard.

"Am I gonna have to separate you two?" he asked in mock-concern, "I don't want you plotting, or scheming, or whatever it is you girls do for fun. You hear?"

"Yes, Sir," Teyla replied seriously, though her eyes were still laughing.

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They were about half-way to the village when Ronon -- who had wandered ahead a little ways -- came running back, his gun drawn. Immediately, the group tensed.

"I heard voices over there," the big man pointed, in response to Sheppard's questioning look. "Half a dozen, maybe more. Human."

"Perhaps it is a hunting party?" Teyla suggested.

"Maybe," Sheppard agreed, "But if it's not...? Best to check it out." He motioned for the others to spread out, and stepped off the path in the direction Ronon had indicated. The rest followed suit, even Dr. McKay, who reluctantly pocketted his data-pad to draw his sidearm.

Madi crept carefully and soundlessly through the brush, her senses all alert for signs of whoever Ronon had heard. A twig snapped somewhere ahead of her, and she tightened her grip on her weapon, moving closer. She scrambled across a dry riverbed, and peered cautiously over the ridge of it's opposite bank. There were two men, dressed as soldiers, resting near a tree a few yards away. Not entirely sure what she should do, she decided to turn back and inform the others.

Just then, shots rang out from deeper in the forest, and the two soldiers jumped to their feet. Startled, Madi ducked back down below the ridge, accidentally setting off a slide of loose stones, which clattered down the sides of the bank. A hail of bullets struck the ridge where her head had just been, sending even more dirt cascading down on her. Heart pounding, she raised her P90, aiming up towards the spot she could hear the two men approaching. One of them came into view, shouting to his comrade as he turned his pistol towards her. Without thinking, she fired, hitting him several times but not killing him, to judge by his screams of pain. He dropped out of sight beyond the ridge.

She lowered her weapon and turned to run further up the riverbed, only to find her way suddenly blocked as the second soldier leapt down in her path. She attempted to bring her gun up to shoot him, but he was faster and managed to knock it from her grasp with a stiff-armed blow to her wrist. Instinctively, she raised her hands to defend herself, her brain somehow registering through her fear that at least he wasn't armed. She sidestepped quickly, and was able to duck out of the way of his first punch, but his second connected with her abdomen with enough force to drive the breath out of her lungs, even through her protective vest. The third smashed into her face and drove her to her knees. A kick to her ribs sent her sprawling backwards onto the stony ground.

She lay there dazed, spitting out the vile taste of her own blood, and watched in fear as the man slowly stepped nearer, a crazed glint of satisfaction in his eyes. He never saw the shadowy figure that leapt at him from the ridge above, nor the blade that ran him through. He simply crumpled to the ground as Ronon drew his sword free from his flesh.

Tears of relief stung her eyes at the sight of him, and she struggled to raise herself. "You alright?" he asked gruffly, helping her to a seated position. She nodded weakly, gingerly cupping the left side of her face. He pulled her hand away to get a better look. She had a small cut beneath her eye, and her nose was bleeding but didn't appear to be broken. Satisfied that she wasn't too badly hurt, he stood up and reached out his hand to pull her to her feet. She winced slightly at the pain in her side, but she seemed steady enough on her feet.

Sheppard's voice called out from a little ways away, and Ronon responded, directing the rest of the team to their position. "One of 'em's still alive," he informed the Colonel, pointing over the ridge.

"Good. You and Teyla go see to him," Sheppard replied, giving them each a meaningful look. As the two of them moved off to interrogate the wounded man, he turned his attention to Madi. The poor girl looked like hell, and was probably scared senseless to boot. "Here, let's get that bleeding stopped," he said gently, offering her a field dressing and instructing her to tilt her head forward. "This wasn't exactly the kind of 'welcome to the team' I'd had in mind," he admitted.

By the time Ronon and Teyla returned, Madi's nose had stopped gushing, and she'd managed to wipe away at least most of the dried blood. "Who were those men?" she asked.

"Rogue Genii," Teyla replied, an unfamiliar edge to her voice. "Kolya is apparently trying to expand his network of spies." She glanced meaningfully at Sheppard. "Apparently, they were planning to recruit some of the villagers."

"Right. Well, all in a day's work," Sheppard sighed, wondering if Kolya would ever stop being a thorn in his side. "Back to the business we came for, then." He gestured for the others to follow him back towards the path to the village.

"You shouldn't have brought her."

Ronon's voice stopped him in his tracks, and he turned to face the bigger man. Everyone else fell silent.

"While I value your opinion," Sheppard replied, trying his best to keep his voice level, "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't question my --"

"She's not trained." Ronon cut him off, "She'll wind up getting herself killed. I can't keep coming to the rescue every time she --"

"How dare you!" Madi hissed, marching her way between them. Turning her back pointedly on Ronon, she faced Sheppard. "I've proven to you twice now that I can defend myself with your weapons. The man I shot was not enemy to my people, but to yours. Does this not prove me willing to fight for you? I have offered you my help in any manner you required it. If you now deem that offer to be lacking, then tell me now, Colonel Sheppard, and I shall take my leave of you."

Though she was much smaller in stature, Sheppard found himself taking an instinctive step backwards at the rage he could almost feel boiling off her. "Now hang on a second," he said, "I'm not saying Ronon's right here. You have proven yourself useful with a gun." She smiled in grim satisfaction, and Ronon opened his mouth to protest. "But," he continued, stressing the word, "I'm not saying Ronon's completely wrong either. You obviously could use some lessons in unarmed combat. Am I wrong?" Madi glanced away, knowing that he had a point. Sheppard nodded. "So. When we get back to Atlantis, we're gonna figure out a training schedule for you. And Ronon, I'm putting you in charge of it. Got it?" He looked long and hard at each of the two team-members in front of him, satisfied that they both appeared somewhat chastened. Spinning on his heel, he made his way back towards the path, praying that there would be no further surprises for the rest of the day.

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"My God, honey, what happened to you?" Madi was just leaving the infirmary when Josie came around a corner in the hall and spotted her swollen and bruised face.

"I don't want to talk about it," she sighed, wanting nothing more than to curl up in her bed and go to sleep.

"Okay," Josie replied meekly, "Then how was the rest of your day? Jen up in the Control Room said she saw you and Ronon --"

"Ugh! I don't want to talk about any of it!" Madi snapped. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face her friend. "I'm sorrie, Josie. I've just...I'm really tired, and I've had an awful day. Perhaps we can get together tomorrow?"

"Sure," the other woman replied, offering a sympathetic smile. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Madi stepped into the transporter, offering the most sincerely apologetic smile she could muster as the doors closed in front of her.

Thankfully, she reached the door to her room without meeting anyone else. She punched in the lock code, and made her way to the shower. She stood for a long while under the steaming water, letting the stress and worry from her day melt away. Finally, when she felt as though she could no longer stand the pounding heat, she turned off the faucet, shook the water from her hair, and lay down onto her bed. Within moments, she was sleeping soundly.

It was still dark when she woke. She lay staring up at the ceiling for a while, though she knew she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. In her mind, she relived the previous day's events, and the hurtful words of Ronon and Colonel Sheppard. She knew brooding about it wouldn't help, so she forced herself out of bed, convinced that some air would help clear her head. And at least at this hour, she was guaranteed that there would be no-one else around.

The sight of the city the Ancestors built never ceased to inspire awe. Even at night, the city still shone with light. It was a stark contrast to the black expanses of ocean and sky, and at least it gave her something else to dwell on for a while.

"It was not my intent to insult you."

Gods, did the man ever sleep? Madi kept her gazed fixed on the lights of the city, hoping that if she ignored him long enough, he might go away. She should have known better.

"In your first battle, you succeeded in drawing first blood. To a Satedan, that is worthy of honor." He leaned over the railing beside her, hoping she would make some sort of reply. When she didn't, he went on. "You're strong. You survived ten years on your own. You just need to learn to focus that strength; use it to your best advantage. I can teach you that. But only if you'll let me."

"Colonel Sheppard has already commanded me to do so," she reminded him tersely. "Do not worry, I will gladly learn all I can. I should hate it if you were forced to 'come to my rescue' again."

Ronon chewed his lip as his careless words were thrown back in his face. "I didn't mean it like that," he said quietly, cursing his social ineptitude, "I just meant that I might not always be there to help you. If I hadn't been there today..." He trailed off, unable to continue the thought.

Madi nodded, feeling her anger dissipate. "You are right," she said at last, "Forgive me, Ronon. You saved my life, and for that I am grateful. I will accept your instruction, and I promise I will not disappoint you." She placed her hand on his arm, hoping that he would be able to see her earnestness.

"So, friends?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"Friends." She smiled as she clasped his hand and shook it.

"Well, since we're both up," Ronon flexed and stretched his arms, "Whaddya say we get started on your training?"