Not Alone Anymore

"Keep your hands up and open. Balance your weight...stay loose. Keep your eyes on mine." Madi mimicked Ronon's stance as well as she could. "Good. Now, your opponent's hips will tell you where he's planning to move; it's more important to watch his eyes, which will tell you where he's gonna strike." To demonstrate, he flicked his gaze to her left shoulder, then lunged. She jumped back, startled, but managed to bring her arm up to block his slashing hand. "Very good."

She flushed with pride at his praises, committing each of his instructions to memory. Hands up...knees bent...watch the eyes...That was the part she found most difficult. She'd never before had to focus so intently on another person's eyes, having them stare just as intently back at her all the while. Especially when that person had Ronon's intensity. More than a few times she had to fight the urge to look away, simply because his gaze was so piercing. Only once did she actually falter, but the stinging slap he delivered to her arm was enough to bolster her determination. She knew he was going easy on her; she had watched him sparring with the marines enough to know how much force he could put into even a practice hit. Shaking it off, she regained her stance, and successfully parried his next attacks.

After an hour or so of going over the basics, he was pleased enough with her progress to call an end to the session. They made their way over to the mess just as breakfast was being set out.

"You were a soldier on Sateda, were you not?" she asked, helping herself to a second bowl of jello as they filled their trays.

"Specialist," he confirmed, speaking around the half a bagel he'd shoved in his mouth.

"Was that where you learned to fight?" she inquired, following him to a table. Through the windows, she could see the sun rising.

"Mostly," he nodded, hunkering himself over his plate. "But my dad taught me a lot, when I was younger."

"You do not often speak of your family," she observed casually.

He gave her a guarded look, then turned his attention to his meal.

She kicked herself mentally. "I am sorry, I did not wish to bring up an unpleasant subject for you," She smiled apologetically, but he was still preoccupied with his scrambled eggs. Glancing down, she suddenly got a better idea of how to convey her message.

"Would you like my jello?" she asked, proffering the small bowl. He glanced up at her, then grinned, and the awkward moment passed.

A while later, a bleary-eyed Sheppard strolled in, surprised to see the two of them. He made his way over to join them, narrowly avoiding being skewered by the fork Ronon was wielding to illustrate a point in his story. "Well, you two are up early," he commented, taking a seat beside Madi to avoid any utensil-related injuries. "So, you two manage to patch things up, or what?"

Ronon snorted, and Madi managed a smile. "Yes, Colonel. What was said yesterday need no longer be of concern. We have also made a start on my training,"

"Good. I'm glad." Sheppard smiled in satisfaction, thankful to have narrowly avoided what could have been a big upset to his team. "Hey, you gonna finish that jello?"

Ronon just glared.

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Madi gaped in shock over the stack of papers on the desk. Josie just smiled back at her impishly. "What? I'm just sayin', if it were me gettin' man-handled by the guy, that's what I'd be thinkin'."

"It's not like that," Madi replied, blushing, "It's training."

"Uh huh." Josie didn't sound convinced. "You just try an' tell me that when he's got you pinned to the floor, breathin' all heavy in your ear."

Madi shot her a glare, turning her attention back to the papers in front of her. Sometimes, she couldn't believe how dirty her friend's mind could be. Even worse, she was afraid of the effects the girl was having on her own thoughts, especially the ones concerning her new sparring partner. Though she would rather die than admit to it, she had actually caught her mind wandering several times recently, into subjects that were not entirely appropriate regarding her teammate.

"Sorry to interrupt, ladies," Dr. Beckett called, poking his head around the corner, "But Madi, m'dear, we're all set up now."

Madi sighed in relief, finding this new round of tests to be a welcome distraction. She sat patiently while Beckett applied the head and arm bands, and checked their sensors. Once he was satisfied, he took a seat across from her. "Right. Now, I need you to think back to when Ronon was injured. Try to re-enact whatever it was you did to him in the Jumper."

Madi took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure what Dr. Beckett hoped to achieve by all this, but she was at least willing to try, for his sake. "I...I wanted to stop the bleeding," she said, concentrating on that thought for several moments before opening her eyes. "Anything?" she asked hopefully.

Beckett glanced at the screen beside him, then shook his head disappointedly. "No, I'm afraid. Maybe..." He trailed off, as an idea struck him. "Maybe we should try this a different way. Here, pretend that I'm Ronon." He scooted his chair closer, taking her hand and placing it on his shoulder. "Arrgh! Oh, Lord, I am in pain! Och, it hurts!"

Madi chuckled at his horrible impression, but decided to give his idea a shot. She closed her eyes again, taking herself back to when they'd been attacked by that creature. She was running...running for her life. Ronon was with her, urging her to go faster. Then she was in the Jumper, she was safe -- but Ronon...he cried out in pain. The beast, it was going to kill him. She didn't remember shooting the creature, only pulling Ronon the last few feet to safety. Then they were both in the Jumper, and Ronon was bleeding. There was so much blood...she had to stop the bleeding before --

Beckett's startled cry and the ensuing crash brought her back to reality. "Dr. Beckett?" she asked dazedly, opening her eyes. She found him to be sprawled on his back on the floor, his overturned chair beside him. "Carson! Are you alright? Carson!" She quickly knelt to check on him, as Josie and another nurse came running in to see what the commotion was about. Between them, they managed to get a rather sheepish-looking -- but otherwise unharmed -- Beckett back onto his feet.

Brushing off their ministrations, he turned to the monitors to check his printouts, ignoring the faint smell of burnt plastic. Snatching up the paper strips excitedly, he scanned their results. "Yes...yes! We're onto something!" He beamed at Madi. "Weir's office. Now."

Madi shrugged helplessly at the nurses' questioning looks, barely taking the time to disconnect herself from the now-fried machines before racing after the doctor.

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"My God, Carson! Are you sure you're alright?" Weir asked again as they waited in the conference room for the rest of Sheppard's team to arrive. After hearing Beckett's brief outline of his discovery, she felt that it might be a good idea to have the rest of the team present as well.

"Och, I'm fine," he assured her again, pacing excitedly. Madi watched him with concern from where she sat hunched in her seat.

"This had better be good," McKay griped, walking through the door slightly ahead of the others. "I was right in the middle of something big, and if I get back to find that Zelenka or one of those other screw-ups has been messing around with my --"

"Rodney," Weir gave him a warning look, "Take a seat."

The others ranged themselves around the table. "What's going on?" Ronon asked seriously, taking his cue from Madi's tense attitude.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Beckett began, leaning onto the table, "I think we've made a breakthrough." All eyes were on him expectantly as they waited for him to continue. "Right. Now, we've discovered that Madi here has the unique ability to sense large outputs of energy. Z.P.M.s, our own naquadah generators...Anyway, as ye all know, I've been taking intermittent ECG's and monitoring her synaptic activity since she arrived." Everyone nodded, hoping he would come to a point soon. "Well, I did notice a slight drop in the readings after the incident on M2X-327, but they were minimal. I'd dismissed the matter as stress-related, though it appears I may have been wrong. We attempted today to re-create the events from that mission, and we were successful. Quite successful." He rubbed his shoulder absently. "The last bit of data I was able to recieve show a marked drop in her readings, which coincided exactly with the moment she...shocked me." he finished, unsure of how else to explain what he'd felt.

"When she...what?" Sheppard asked, glancing between the girl and the doctor in confusion.

"Aye, I know how it sounds," Beckett sighed, "But that's the only way I can describe what happened. She zapped my equipment, and knocked me clear onto my back."

Madi sunk lower into her chair, and Teyla reached beneath the table to give her hand an encouraging squeeze.

"So what, we're talking, like, super-powers here?" McKay piped up, an almost excited glint in his eye.

Sheppard shot him a 'shut-up' look, then turned back to Beckett. "What are we talkin' here, Doc?"

"Well, I'm hoping to run some more experiments, using some tissue and blood samples. But for now, I can conclusively say that not only is the young lady able to sense energy, but she seems to be capable of controlling it to some degree as well. I'll hopefully know more soon."

Everyone took a moment to let this news sink in. Finally, Dr. Weir turned to the girl. "Madi? How do you feel about all this?"

Madi sighed, then offered the woman a wistful smile. "How should I feel? I am as surprised by my so-called talents as you are. And yet --" She shared a secret smile with Ronon. "--You have all been more than willing to accept me as I am. I trust that Dr. Beckett will soon find some insight as to why I am...as I am. Until then, life goes on." She rose and offered Dr. Weir a parting bow, and the meeting was ended.

Afterwards, Teyla pulled her aside. "You seem to be taking this all rather well," she observed, "I must admit, when I first learned of my own...abilities, it was quite a nerve-wracking experience."

Madi shrugged. "I am simply thankful to have such understanding friends," she replied, "And I know that Dr. Weir and her people are simply curious by nature. Enough so to venture to a whole new galaxy. Though I have begun to wonder..." She shared a conspiratorial smile, losing a bit of her seriousness. "Perhaps it is not we who are different...but maybe them. After all, I am able to feel the energy of this place, and you can speak to the Wraith with your mind. And Ronon, well..." She paused for a moment, thinking. "Does bestial rage count as a talent?"

They both laughed. "In his case, I would believe it," Teyla agreed.

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Madi met Ronon in the gym at their appointed time, eager to work off some stress.

"Okay, so you've pretty much got hitting down. Today, we're gonna move onto holds."

Suddenly remembering some of Josie's recent comments, she balked at the idea. "Um, are you sure?" she asked hesitantly, "Maybe we should, you know, go over some of those punches again. Or something," Anything.

He gave her a quizzical look, but waved her off. "Nah, you'll do fine. Now, to start with..." He moved behind her, wrapping his arms around her middle and effectively pinning her arms to her sides. "How would you get out of this?" he asked, always encouraging her to go with her instincts.

With his strong arms holding her firmly against him, and the feel of his warm breath against her cheek, escape was one of the furthest thoughts from her mind. At the same time, though, she couldn't stand for him to see her lack of focus. "Um, well," she drew as best she could on his previous lessons, fighting to put his distracting proximity from her mind. "Uh, your shins are exposed," she tapped him with her heel to imply a strike, "And, since your arms are around me, your face is unguarded." She tilted her head back to bump his nose.

He released his hold and stepped away, impressed that she was learning so quickly. "Good. Always be mindful of your opponent's weaknesses. You're too small to hope for a fair fight," She shot him a teasing glare at his jab to her diminutive stature. He chuckled. "Okay, let's try it from the front." He grabbed her again, pulling her close.

Again fighting to keep her thoughts on training, she puzzled for a moment over the new scenario. With her arms pinned, she couldn't even manage to scratch him, let alone deal any sort of blow. And the way she was positioned against him severely limited her range of motion. Finally, after a long moment -- one she was tempted to draw out just a little longer -- she was forced to give up. "I honestly don't know. There is nothing I can do when you have me like this."

"Never think like that," he admonished her, "There's always a weakness. Find it."

She thought again, concentrating on the positioning of their bodies. He had left some weak spot for her to find, she was sure. The only one she could think of was...

"Well, there's this," she brought her knee up to catch him in the groin, but misjudged the distance and ended up striking him a little harder than she'd intended.

He grunted in pain and reeled back a step, doubling over to brace his hands on his thighs. "Good one," he gasped.

Her hand flew to her mouth as she realized she'd actually hurt him. "Oh Gods! Ronon, I'm so sorry...I didn't --"

He raised his hand to silence her, though he still couldn't quite stand upright. "Don't worry, I'm...fine..." he lied. He couldn't help but chuckle though, having brought this on himself.

Seeing him start to laugh, she was able to see some of the humor in the situation. "Well, well," she teased, "It seems the mighty Ronon was finally taken down by a little girl. What will the others say?"

"Hey, this isn't over yet," he raised an eyebrow at her. "Let's see you get out of this!" He launched himself towards her, catching her entirely off guard and swinging her up over his shoulder.

She squealed in surprise and flailed helplessly for a moment, poking him several times in the kidneys. "Put me down!" she laughed.

"I dunno, I could do this all day," he bounced her easily on his shoulder, earning another squeal of protest. "Maybe I'll go see what's goin' on over in the mess."

"Don't you dare!" she cried indignantly as he started towards the door. She renewed her assault on his kidneys, but to no avail.

"Ronon, put the nice lady down," came a man's voice from the doorway.

The big man did as he was told, lowering her gently to her feet. Madi felt herself turning red as she turned to see Colonel Sheppard eyeing them both with amused curiosity.

"I'm not...inturrupting anything, am I?" he asked.

"No, Sir," Ronon replied, "Just, uh, training."

"I can see that," Sheppard drawled, crossing his arms. "Well, when you're done with that, don't forget you're supposed to be going with Teyla to meet her contact on Toreeno. Though you might wanna leave the trade negotiations to her this time, huh?" He raised his eyebrows meaningfully.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ronon assured him.

"Trading? Could I go too?" Madi asked, glancing hopefully between the two men.

Ronon shrugged, turning to Sheppard for approval. "I don't see why not," the Colonel replied, "Just stick together, and stay out of trouble, you hear?" He gave them each a pointed look before leaving. He shook his head as he walked back to the transporter. Well, at least those two weren't at each other's throats...