Trust Once Broken | SGA John Sheppard

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"Are you okay?" Teyla asked more seriously as her gaze settled on Ronon who hadn't moved from his spot. Ronon grunted but otherwise gave no indication he had heard her.

Reassured that Kai was fine, John turned to Ronon. "Come on," John said walking deeper into the room to approach him. "You can thank us later. McKay and Beckett are waiting for us in a jumper on the roof. If we hustle we can get out of this shithole before the Wraith make it up the stairs."

Ronon wasn't going anywhere. He lifted a gun and pointed it at John's chest. "Take Kai and get out of here," Ronon snarled.

"Ronon!" Kai snapped angrily. She shoved forward towards him, but John pushed her back behind him with a sweep of his arm.

John didn't honestly think Ronon was going to shoot him, but accidents happened and John had a propensity for pissing people off. He kept himself between Ronon's weapon and Kai. Ronon wasn't acting like himself and John wasn't going to take any chances. John raised his hands. "Okay, hey buddy, look, know you've been through a lot, but-"

"I'm not going anywhere," Ronon growled resolutely. He refused to even look at Sheppard. John was going to try and make him leave. But they weren't on Atlantis anymore. John wasn't the Colonel here who could order him around. They were on Sateda. They were on Ronon's home world and he wasn't about to take orders.

"I kept Zian safe for you, now get her out of here and leave me alone," Ronon snarled.

"Oh hey, who saved who from those Wraith," Kai snapped angrily stomping forward. She had always thought Ronon respected her as an equal for her abilities now she wasn't so sure. She was tempted to throw it in his face that he had been the one to freeze up when they first arrived, but then she remembered his pained expression as he told her about Melena. She couldn't do that to him. No matter how much of a jerk he was being, he was hurting.

The radio activated. "Hey, what's going on down there?" McKay's voice came through in John's ear. Kai was standing close enough to hear it. "You have 40 Wraith closing in on your position from ground level."

"It seems Ronon doesn't want to leave," John replied conversationally, although his jaw was tight.

McKay huffed impatiently. "Well too bad! You tell that ungrateful example of unevolved humanity that we came all this way to rescue him so he'd better get off his-"

John turned down the volume on the comm at the last second. "McKay says he's very hurt you won't come with us," John said, paraphrasing.

Ronon sat with his back against the wall and hung his head in defeat. All the rage he had felt draining out of him. "I can't," he said. "Keturah and his people, they had a deal. They traded me for their freedom."

John scowled down at Ronon in confusion. "Are you doing this for them?" he asked incredulously. "Those people? The ones on the planet who turned you over to the wraith?"

"It was my fault they were culled," Ronon said through gritted teeth.

"Ronon, the Wraith didn't honor the deal," Teyla told him in a soothing voice. "Keturah and his village, they are all dead."

Ronon looked up at them, first in disbelief, then as he processed what they were saying, rage burned in his eyes as he closed his hands into fists.

"Can we go now?" John asked sarcastically.

"No," Ronon snarled through gritted teeth.

"Why not?" John snapped impatiently. He had been so sure they had convinced Ronon. He was well aware of the time, every second that passed was another second the forty Wraith drew closer to their position.