12A/N: This story is just a bit of fluff and was not beta'd. Sorry if there are any mistakes.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Stargate Atlantis or it's wonderful characters.
Spoilers ~ None that I can think of, set probably late season 4 of SGA.
Christmas Tree
Ronon slipped his arms around Jennifer as he peered over her shoulder at what used to be their bed, now littered with boxes and colorful items.
"So where are you planning for us to sleep tonight?"
Jennifer could hear the humor in his voice and it warmed her heart. Since they'd gotten together things had moved quickly. She'd never pictured herself living with a man, at least not until she was married like her parents. If she was truthful with herself, she'd never actually pictured herself married since she'd come to Atlantis. Life was hard, fragile and for some, brief and she didn't delude herself into thinking her life would ever be normal again.
She briefly squeezed his arm, "Don't worry, I'm repacking it all for tonight. It looks worse than it is."
Ronon released her to walk around the bed and pick up a bright red star. "What is all this stuff?"
"Christmas decorations," Jennifer couldn't keep the excitement from her voice. "Most of this I had shipped up on the Daedalus which arrived today." She reached for a miniature nutcracker, fingering the green felt.
Ronon counted at least seven boxes. He reached into one and pulled out a piece of cloth that was rich in texture and red in color.
Jennifer walked around to where Ronon was standing. "Stockings," she said holding up a matching stocking. It was red velvet with white fur around the top opening. "They typically get hung from the mantles of fireplaces, but we'll have to settle for having them hung on the wall."
Ronon looked through the rest of the boxes as Jenn continued to repack them. "All of this will be hung on the walls?"
"No silly, most of it will decorate a Christmas tree. With all the movies you've watched with Sheppard, surely you've seen a Christmas tree."
The warrior looked at Jenn dumbfounded. He was pretty sure he'd remember a movie that had all this stuff attached to a tree. "Nope."
"Well," Doc said thinking, "How 'bout Die Hard? At the beginning of that movie there is a tree. They are having an office party when the bad guys take over. There was a large decorated tree in that movie."
"Don't remember a tree. Do remember the glass that cut the guy's feet and that he single-handedly took out the bad guys." He looked at her with a grin, "You wanna watch it again?"
He looked so hopeful Jenn couldn't refuse. "Help me move all these out of the way and you've got yourself a deal."
Ronon carefully moved a few of the boxes, afraid the fragile items might break. "Where ya going to hang all these?"
"Oh," Jennifer said as she whirled back around, her excitement brimming, "that's the best part. Colonel Carter has given the okay for a team to go and get a tree for Atlantis. This will be the first Christmas the expedition isn't in the middle of a crisis and she thinks it should be celebrated. Lorne promised to bring me back a tree as well."
"I can get you a tree."
"I know, but Lorne's going anyway. It's not a problem."
Ronon turned and made sure he had her attention, "I'll get you a tree." If Jenn wanted a tree, then he would be the one getting it for her.
Jenn smiled on the inside, but tried to keep it from her face as she nodded at him. She should probably scold him for his he-man tactics, but then she'd have to scold herself for secretly reveling in his jealousy and need to give her everything she wanted or needed.
They made quick work of cleaning off the bed and while Ronon went to Sheppard's quarters to borrow the movie, Jennifer popped some popcorn. By the time Ronon returned she'd made enough for a party.
"Hey Doc," Sheppard greeted as she handed him a bowl of popcorn and he made himself comfortable on the couch in the room, "hope you don't mind us crashing your movie night."
Jennifer grinned at the Colonel, recognizing the non-repentant tone and posture that belied his words. "I was pretty sure when Ronon went to fetch the movie there'd be a crowd gathered by the time we started it."
Jennifer turned as a complaining Rodney entered the room, obviously corralled by Ronon. Teyla gave Jenn a knowing smile as she settled with Rodney on the couch. Both women had long ago come to the conclusion that despite McKay's protesting, he enjoyed being included and hanging with the team.
As the movie began Jennifer handed out the remaining bowls of popcorn and then allowed Ronon to pull her down onto his lap in one of the large, overstuffed chairs. This may not have been the way she'd pictured her life, but she wouldn't trade it for anything, she thought as she snuggled into the warmth of the man holding her.
XXXX
Jennifer raced to the gate room when she heard the off-world activation announcement. The thought of Christmas trees coming through the gate had kept her distracted most the day as she tried to get caught up on paperwork in her office.
She held her breath at the railing next to Colonel Carter high above the gateroom floor. She wanted a good view and had been daydreaming all day of this moment of watching the trees come through. Just like her daydreams, she saw the top branches of the trees poke through the event horizon and nothing could keep the grin from spreading across her face. Self-consciously she glanced as Sam only to find the Colonel's grin just as broad causing her to giggle.
"Almost as exciting as waking and running downstairs on Christmas morning as a kid," Jennifer laughed.
"Of course that was usually short lived," Carter laughed back. "Dad would usually yell down to wait for everyone else. I typically spent what seemed like forever sitting on the couch waiting for everyone to come down."
"Only child," Jenn chuckled, raising her hand.
"Lucky," Sam grumbled.
"Once in a while, but there were times siblings would've been nice."
Sam nodded, knowing that she'd not trade her sibling for anything, despite the shaky standing she'd had with her brother most of her adult life.
The gate room was quickly filling with Marines carrying trees of all shapes and sizes. When the Doc finally saw Ronon cross over into the gateroom helping carry a huge tree with the rest of Lorne's team, she could no longer stand still. Jennifer raced down the stairs, feeling a little reminiscent of her childhood as the scent of fresh cut trees filled her senses.
Stopping abruptly in front of Ronon and the Major, she waited impatiently for them to set the tree down. "So which one is mine?"
Ronon turned and growled at Evan who couldn't help but smirk back at the big guy. Not only was Jenn's enthusiasm contagious, but he knew Ronon's growl was much worse than his bite, although he'd never share that with the Marines.
Lorne met Jenn's confused eyes and chuckled. "Your…" Evan paused, do you call a Satedan warrior living with the CMO a boyfriend? "Ronon here wanted to get his girl a really big tree."
"How big," Jennifer asked him and he found it humorous that she didn't bat an eye or even ask Ronon for his side of the story.
Lorne nodded his head slightly toward the big tree they'd just set down. He waited watching Jennifer's face turn to first astonishment, then worry, causing Evan to laugh before setting her straight. "Actually, this is your tree," he corrected, lifting a tree that'd been lying on top of the big tree and had effectively been camouflaged.
Ronon quickly took it from Lorne's grasp and stood it the rest of the way up, turning to Jenn to check for her approval.
Jennifer stepped forward and reverently touched the tip of a branch. She turned to Ronon and broke into a smile that encompassed her entire face, before launching herself into his arms. "It is absolutely perfect."
Ronon steadied the tree while holding her close, "Good," he acknowledged, glad to know that despite being a smaller tree and therefore against his better judgment, it was still what Jennifer wanted.
Lorne met Ronon's gaze and saw the look of thanks there. He gave him a slight nod before looking away to keep from laughing again. Lorne's eyes caught on one of his team mates who smirked back at him, both men thinking of the huge tree they'd had to insist Ronon not cut down for Jennifer. Lorne was looking forward to the many retellings of it he was sure to relive with his team though in the days ahead.
XXXX
Ronon had watched Jennifer decorate the tree, adding first lights, then a type of silver rope. Now she was adding figurines and hollow glass balls. The longer she'd decorated the more he wanted to shake his head and laugh. He thought it and said it all the time, but he truly didn't understand these people from Earth.
First to kill a tree before bringing it into their living quarters had seem to defeat any purpose he could think of. Now looking at the chaos upon it, he was sure he didn't see the appeal at all. However the excitement that Jenn seemed to have was infectious, so he stood and took the box from the coffee table near Jenn and handed her one of the figurines. With a smile flashed his direction she accepted his help and took up humming a tune as she added more clutter to the tree.
After several ornaments he pulled out a glass figurine with wings and held the delicate ornament in his hands, the serene look upon the figures face giving him pause.
"This was the last ornament my mother gave me before she died… an angel to watch over me. I always think of it as her watching over me… a way for her to still be with me for the holidays."
Jennifer had arrived at his side, her gentle fingers lightly outlining the figurine before lifting it and taking it to the tree. He watched her contemplate the tree for a brief moment before finding it a place high on the tree near the front.
Ronon pulled out another ornament and held it aloft, this one of a child dressed in winter gear. He handed it over to Jenn and watched her find a place for it as well. She seemed to carefully consider each place she gave the ornaments upon the tree.
"This one was given to me as a kid by one of my aunts. Not even sure anymore which one, but I always love the way it reminded me of playing out in the snow as a kid."
He handed her another that looked like sticks stuck together.
"When I was a sophomore in high school my dad started taking me skiing, which I had a pretty difficult and comical time getting the hang of," she supplied with a laugh at herself.
The next ornament he handed her seemed to be a bell made of clay.
"This was my grandmother's," she said with a quite smile, handling the bell with reverence.
Ronon continued to hand Jennifer ornaments and she explained the meaning or sentiment attached to each. His perception of the decorated tree changed as she revealed bits of her past. He didn't always understand what she was saying, but he could appreciate the tokens of her life and what was passed down through the generations that had come before her.
He held up one of the many red stars still left in the box and lifted an eyebrow when she didn't immediately offer up the meaning behind it.
"Not all of the ornaments hold special meanings. I just love these red stars. Found them at a department store and had to have them." Jenn looked down into the box Ronon held and he heard her begin to chuckle.
Jennifer lifted out a small squirrel, complete with some fake fur and little feet that would actually clamp onto a branch. "My uncle gave this to my Dad. They were both huge friends of Christmas Vacation," she supplied looking up at Ronon with a grin. "The movie?" she added when his expression didn't reveal any amusement at the revelation.
"Oh my goodness," she laughed as she added the squirrel to a branch about waist high and off to the side, "we are so watching that movie later tonight."
Jennifer added the rest of the red stars before packing away the rest of the ornaments. There were too many decorations for just one tree, but she promised herself she'd try to find a way to display a few of the others around their quarters tomorrow.
After they'd set the boxes aside, Jennifer went to her bedside table and pulled out a box before returning to Ronon's side by the tree. "There was really no ornament Laura could find when she went shopping for me that would adequately portray our lives here on Atlantis," she began as she opened the small box. "But I wanted to commemorate our first Christmas together so I made this."
Jennifer pulled out a white star. It looked just like the red one's she'd already placed on the tree. Ronon saw his name and her's written on the star as well as the year.
"I like it," Ronon assured her as he lifted it from her hands and took it to the tree. He reverently placed the star on a high branch, moved at the knowledge that he was being added to Jennifer's heritage in such a tangible way.
Ronon reached for Jennifer and pulled her closer to himself and the tree before his attention was captured again by the white star and the colorful lights blinking on the tree.
"Merry Christmas, Ronon," Jennifer whispered.
"Merry Christmas," he responded looking down at her upturned face, splashes of color seemed to be dancing against her cheeks. He leaned down and pulled her into a lingering kiss in front of their twinkling Christmas tree.