Not Alone Anymore

Madi had never seen such a busy marketplace, merchants having come from many worlds to trade their goods. Before they'd left, Sheppard had provided her with a small pouch of currency. Though she, Ronon, and Teyla did not earn a salary like the rest of the Atlantis expedition, they were at least provided with a modest personal allowance. And since they were a bit early to meet Teyla's contact, they were left with a bit of free time to explore the wares on display. Plus, Ronon's intimidating manner meant they always got a fair price.

Madi found a tiny carving of a bird that looked remarkably life-like, and immediately thought of Josie, remembering the other girl's affinnity for the creatures. She bought it, as well as a carved fish for Dr. Beckett. She stowed the treasures for her friends away in her bag, and started browsing the stalls for herself. She tried to remain practical, though it was difficult with so much dazzling variety. She found a new comb, a serviceable jacket she could use for off-world missions, and some new trousers. She also enlisted Ronon's help in selecting a new knife, since her little hunting knife was of little use defending against anything larger than a small rodent. Satisfied with her purchases, she counted the rest of her coins, and decided to save them for another day.

Seeing Teyla at a nearby stall, she wandered over to see what the other woman was admiring so intently. A beautiful selection of finely crafted jewels were laid out on the table. Teyla was busy poring over a collection of gold bracelets, though Madi thought them to be a little much for her tastes. Though she had to admit, there were some stunning necklaces on display. The merchant spotted the one that had attracted Madi's eye, and held it up for her to try. The delicate silver chain was hung with tiny green stone drops that sparkled in the sunlight.

"It matches the color of your eyes exactly, m'lady," the balding middle-aged man gushed, hoping for a sale.

"It is lovely," Madi replied, reluctantly handing the necklace back, "But I'm afraid I can't."

"You should get it," Ronon stated, appearing suddenly at her side. "It looks good on you."

Flushing at his compliment, she shook her head. "I've spent too much today already...and we haven't even had supper yet. Another time, perhaps." She dragged herself away from the booth before she could be prevailed upon to change her mind.

Teyla's negotiations for trade went smoothly, and the man they'd come to meet implored them to stay the night and enjoy the hospitality of his inn. Having already cleared just such a possibility with Sheppard, they happily accepted. They ate a hearty meal, and enjoyed listening to a local group of musicians who provided the entertainment in the inn's main room. The inn attracted quite a crowd, and at one point in the evening, Teyla spotted a familiar face across the room. "Is that...Dolara?" she wondered to herself, "It is! I have not seen her in ages. Do you mind if I go and say hello?" she asked the others.

"Go ahead," Madi assured her, "I'm sure Ronon and I can manage without you for a while. Visit with your friend." They watched Teyla's back disappear into the crowd, leaving the two of them alone at their little table in the corner. She raised what was left of her ale at the man across from her. "At least I have you to keep me company," she teasingly toasted. She drained the glass, and Ronon reached across to pour her another.

"We don't get too many nights like this, to do nothin'," he observed, leaning back in his chair comfortably.

"No, I suppose not," she said, "It is a shame some of the others didn't join us. I'm sure McKay would be disappointed to have missed such a wonderful meal."

"Nah, I'm kinda glad they're not here," he replied, narrowing his eyes at her.

She wasn't sure what he meant by that; surely it would be pleasant to spend a night off with friends. She let it drop, though. "Well, since they are not here," she took another long draught on her ale, "Perhaps we will talk about them. Tell me a funny story; something that happened before I came."

Ronon thought for a moment, before breaking into a grin. "Did you ever hear about the time McKay wound up hanging upside-down in a tree?"

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Even as a child, Madi couldn't remember ever having laughed so hard. Teyla certainly didn't know what she was missing. Suddenly reminded of the other woman, Madi turned to glance across the room to the table where the other woman sat with Dolara and her group. Ronon followed her gaze, and nearly choked on his drink. "Man, that guy's got guts," he exclaimed, noticing the looks the man seated next to Teyla was giving her.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Madi asked, apparently not noticing whatever it was he was seeing.

"He's flirting with her," he explained, smirking as Teyla continued speaking, completely oblivious to the man's attentions. "And she doesn't seem to know it," he chuckled.

"How can a person not know when someone is flirting with them?" she wondered innocently, "Is it not the point to be somewhat obvious about your attraction?"

"You'd be surprised," he drawled, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well, I suppose I wouldn't really know," she admitted, glancing down at her glass and missing his exhasperated sigh. "How many of these have I had, anyway?" she giggled, motioning to him for another refill.

"Not enough, if you're still seein' straight," he joked, though he was careful not to let her get to the point where she might be sick. He'd have a hell of a time explaining that one to Sheppard.

It was quite late by the time Teyla returned to their table, and most of the other patrons had either gone home or to their rooms. "We should probably turn in as well," Teyla remarked, glancing around the almost empty room.

"Did you know that a man was flirting with you?" Madi slurred in a dramatic whisper. Ronon laughed.

"What...? You're drunk!" she exclaimed, glaring at the big man across from her. "What have you been saying to her?"

"Nothin'," he shrugged innocently, still smiling.

Teyla pulled the younger girl to her feet, where she swayed alarmingly for a moment or two. "Ronon, help me get her to bed." she instructed, "Then you and I are going to talk."

"I look forward to it," he mumbled, swinging Madi easily up into his arms and carrying her up the stairs. By the time he laid her down gently onto the bed, she was already sound asleep. He pulled the blankets up to her shoulders, then stepped back out into the hall where Teyla was waiting for him, no doubt ready to flay him alive.

"Just what exactly do you think you are doing?" she hissed, trying her best to keep her voice low, so as not to disturb the other guests or the girl in the room behind her.

He raised his hands defensively. "So she had a few drinks. What's the big deal?"

"That is not what I meant, and you know it," Teyla glared, her jaw clenching in anger. "Now, I do not know what was said between you two tonight, but this cannot happen again. Understood?"

They stood glaring at each other for a long while. "Fine." Ronon conceded, turning back to their room and throwing himself down onto his bed moodily.

Teyla sighed as she curled up in the bed beside Madi, marvelling at the trouble the big man always seemed to get himself into. Although, on the bright side, she was glad that at least no-one had ended up bleeding, this time.

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"Feeling better?" Ronon teased when Madi finally emerged from her quarters and found her way to the lounge. They'd returned to Atlantis early that morning, and she'd spent the better part of the day trying to sleep off her hangover. As such, they'd had to postpone their sparring session for the day.

"I hope I did not say anything foolish last night," she worried.

"Nothin' too bad," he admitted, wondering just how much of the night she actually remembered.

"Good," she sighed in relief.

"And have we learned from this experience?" Sheppard prodded good-naturedly.

"Yes!" she replied emphatically, sinking onto the couch between the two men. "I do not even want to think about drinking again,"

Ronon and Sheppard shared a chuckle.

"So what are we watching?" she asked, stealing a handful of popcorn from the large bowl on Ronon's lap. He swatted at her hand playfully.

"Just a little ol' zombie-killing gore-fest called 'Dawn of the Dead'," Sheppard explained, hitting play on the remote.

"Sounds charming," she replied sarcastically, settling herself further into the softly padded cushions.

"Why, did you wanna watch somethin' else?" Ronon asked, earning him a questioning frown from the other man.

"No, no," she insisted, "I will watch your movie. Besides, 'He who has the remote holds the power', is that not correct, Colonel?" She smiled, quoting one of his often-used arguments regarding proper lounge ettiquette.

"Exactly," he agreed, leaving his seat for a moment to flip off the lights. "But I keep tellin' ya, off the clock, it's John." He offered one of his most charming grins. Madi muttered a quiet acceptance, glancing away shyly.

Ronon smiled to himself, knowing full well that the girl likely had no clue what Sheppard was playing at. He fully intended to keep it that way, too, if only for the fact that Sheppard seemed mildly irritated by the fact that he couldn't seem to draw Madi's attention. The man could really stand to have his ego deflated a few notches.

"Hey, John, will ya keep it down? Some of us are trying to watch the movie," Ronon remarked, grinning evilly at the glare Sheppard shot him over Madi's head.

By mid-way into the film, Madi was cringing into the back of the couch, her knees drawn tightly up to her chest. She recalled what Teyla and the others had said about the movies not being real, but some of the scenes she was seeing seemed almost terrifyingly life-like. Why the people of Earth seemed to take such delight in scaring themselves, she had no idea. She jumped as yet another score of zombies surprised the hapless heroes.

Seeing how engrossed she was with what was happening on-screen, Sheppard picked his moment to non-chalantly 'stretch' his shoulders, bringing his arm to rest on the back of the couch behind her.

Contrary to what Ronon thought, Madi was fully aware of the intent behind Colonel Sheppard's actions. She also knew -- thanks mostly to the gossip that the other women in Atlantis enjoyed sharing -- that his off-duty attentions were more of a personal hobby than a sign of actual attraction, and she was far from being the only target of his charms. So far, she had simply tried to ignore him, but apparently to him, that was like issuing a challenge. She didn't feel comfortable giving in to his attentions, since not only was the man technically her Commander, but he obviously seemed to think too highly of himself as it was. That left her with only one other option.

Not taking her eyes from the screen, she lowered her knees and pulled her feet around to the side, between her and Sheppard. This forced her to shift slightly closer to Ronon, and she closed the distance even further by reaching over him for another handful of popcorn. Ronon stiffened slightly as her arm came to rest against his, but thankfully, he didn't pull away. A few moments later, Sheppard's arm dropped back to his side in defeat. Madi smiled to herself, pleased that her little ploy had worked, and that neither of the two men seemed any the wiser.

She missed the smug look that Ronon passed Sheppard over his shoulder.

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Madi laughed as she and Ronon walked back to their rooms, while he categorically listed every move he would have made differently if faced with a horde of zombies. "Well, when the undead attack, I'm sticking with you," she chuckled. "By the way," she paused awkwardly, "I...I hope you didn't mind how...close I was sitting during the movie."

"Why would I mind?" he asked, keeping his gaze straight ahead; he'd been almost painfully aware of how close she'd been, and he didn't quite trust himself to look at her at the moment.

"I just hope I didn't make you uncomfortable," she continued, "It was...well, to be honest, I was trying to stay away from Colonel Sheppard. He was acting...rather bold, this evening." She flushed slightly at her admission.

"Oh, you noticed that?" he asked, half surprised.

"Oh please, how could I not?" she rolled her eyes. "The man is not exactly subtle,"

"I guess not," he replied, chaffing at the irony of the situation. To be honest, he'd been planning to use the 'stretch' move himself, but Sheppard had beaten him to it; now he was kinda glad.

"I just, well, I didn't want you to get the wrong idea," she said, forcing a smile. Even though she'd been having 'wrong' ideas all night...

"Hey, any time," he offered, thankful that they were almost to their quarters. This conversation was killing him. He returned her cheerful 'good-night' as she let herself into her room, and hurried down the hall to his own chambers. As the door slid shut behind him, he leaned back against it, his brow forrowed in thought. When the hell had this happened? When had he started thinking about Madi this way?

Sure, he'd gotten along with her pretty well right from the start. They more or less understood each other, and she herself had declared them friends. And yeah, he'd made it as difficult as possible for Sheppard to flirt with her, but then again, he did that with any girl Sheppard was trying to put the moves on. But he couldn't deny it: last night -- and even yesterday in the gym -- he'd been the one flirting with her. Not that it had done him a whole lot of good, since she hadn't seemed to notice...

Or maybe she had, but was pretending not to, like she'd done to Sheppard. Maybe that was her way of telling him that they were only friends. Damn, why hadn't he thought of that? Well, at least he hadn't had the chance yet to make a complete fool of himself.

Still, there was no doubt that he found her attractive. He'd always had a thing for red-heads -- especially ones with a temper, and he'd had a glimpse of hers. And there was something about the way her green eyes lit up whenever she was happy, and how she was always at the ready with her infectious smile. He even enjoyed her casual touches, where he would normally shy from the contact with others. Tonight, when he'd felt the soft skin of her arm brush his, it had taken quite a bit of effort not to lean into her warmth. Continuing her training tomorrow was going to be hell.

Shoving all the little unwelcome thoughts from his mind, he made his way into a cool shower, then off to bed.