Eruwaedhiel Weir

The Future Grim 5/?

2006-11-16T05:56:29Z

Title: The Future Grim
Rating: PG
Pairings: John/Elizabeth.
Summary: AU-set in the future, the world is under the cruel power to the 'Electorate' and Elizabeth is the leader of the resistance, John is recruited to help them and with his and Elizabeth's combined specialties, will they win?
Warnings: Not really 'cept for a little violence.
Beta: My regular beta is currently living it up in paris! or...maybe she's back in England now but either way she's not here with me *pouts* so forgive any boo boos please.
Disclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.
Author's Notes: Idea just kinda popped out of my fron!
Feedback: Is Teh love

John whined as Sasha slapped his hand again.

“You don’t do it like that.” She demanded and took the small chunks of metal out of his hand.

They had been sitting on the floor of what he guessed was a briefing room. It was the same one that Dr. Weir had told him about the ball in the day before and the same room that was filled to the brim with hairy scary rebels, so he guessed that’s what it was.

“Then will show me?” he asked and the small girl rolled her eyes.

“You weally are a slow learner.”

“You weally need to practice you ‘R’s” he teased and she smacked his hand again.

“I’ll tell my mommy on you…” Sasha leant closer to him and whispered. “…she’s scary.”

John laughed and started to tickle her. “Your mom isn’t scary.” He laughed as she giggled against him, trying to fight off the tickles whilst rolling on the floor laughing along with him.

“Oh she’s scary.” A voice boomed from the doorway and they both immediately stopped what they were doing and looked up too see Elizabeth’s silhouette.
He had to admit her timing was impeccable. There as she stood with her hands on her hips, with the breeze in the hall collecting her long jacket only slightly and her face hidden by the shadow of the room hiding her face, she really did look intimidating.

“Are you sure that’s a good thing to be telling your daughter?” John watched the men that followed her into the room as she walked across the room and picked Sasha up off the floor before looking down at John still sprawled across it.

“Sure it is.” she said and she and Sasha grinned at each other.

“John, this is Major Lorne.” Elizabeth pointed to the man standing behind him and he quickly jumped up to his feet.

“John Sheppard.” He held his hand out the shake it and Lorne looked at him for a moment.

“This is the one you brought in to save the world?”

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders and Lorne finally took his hand to shake it.

“Nice to meet you.” He grinned and patted John on the shoulder before walking past him.

“Lorne arrived last night, he’s here to go over what we learnt last night and pass it on to the other camps.”
John nodded, moving to stand beside her at the table. Ronon pushed his way past and shoved himself between John and Elizabeth. Grabbing Sasha’s hand he grinned and completely ignored the man glaring at him.

Elizabeth just smiled and sat Sasha down on the table between her and Ronon.

“I gather from most of the men there last night that they are planning to bring supplies in through the eastern route, here.” Elizabeth pointed to a red cross on the map that she had unfolded.

“And you think they are going to have a shipment with them?” Lorne asked cryptically and John’s brow furrowed.

“Shipment of what?”

“Yes I think so. I can’t be sure, I think they are taking stronger precautions with even their own thoughts, as Mr Sheppard over here couldn’t find more than a kinky woman amongst the crowd.” She smirked and he held his hands up defensively.

“Hey! She found me! Trust me, I was as freaked out as you.” He cringed remembering the pineapple woman, knowing he’d never be able to look at one the same way again.

“But honestly I don’t think they’d try that route if they didn’t have one, it’s just too deserted not to take that chance, they’d have to try.”

“Hey! Can someone fill me in here? Please?”

Elizabeth looked up at Ronon who shrugged his shoulders, then at Lorne who mimicked the gesture. After a moment she lifted Sasha off the table and stood her on the floor.

“Sasha honey, can you go and find Uncle Carson and stay with him until I come and get you?”

The little girl frowned and Elizabeth ran her hand over her curls. “Please?”

“O-Kay.” She drew out and made a show of slowly dragging herself out of the room.

The room was silent for a moment, all of them watching the door until Elizabeth spoke, sure that her daughter was out of hearing range.

“A shipment of children John.”

His eyes opened wide and he looked at all of the men’s solemn faces. “Children?”

“Moving them up into Canada to the warehouses where they’ll be beaten and tortured to work for the electorate making their products and technologies. Yes.” John stared at Lorne for a few silent moments after he spoke.

“That’s…”

“I know.” Elizabeth whispered nodding her head. “We’ve gathered as many as we can in the past, and moved them to safer locations in the country.”

“And you do this a lot?”

“Not in about 2 years, we haven’t had access to any of their shipments due to the secrecy of the Electorate. We knew certain things that we could pick up via the radio but they realised that we were tracking their communications and they censored them. We’ve cracked a few though mind tapping is at the moment, the best fact finding tool in our possession.”

“And that’s why you need me?”

Elizabeth laughed. “Trust me Colonel, we don’t need your skills as a telepath, we’ve got many more capable than you.”

“Well then why?”

Elizabeth smirked. “Because you never leave a man behind.”

John’s jaw dropped and he thought that perhaps, if she weren’t right there in front of him and Ronon weren’t right behind him, he would have fainted.

“I knew I recognized your voice!” she grinned wider as he waved his fingers at her. “It was you! You were that diplomat in Russia!”

“You saved my life, Colonel Sheppard.”

“But that was over thirteen years ago. You…you, I can’t believe it!”

“I got out of the Electorate because of you Colonel. I thank you for that.”

Images of their time together played across his mind, suddenly flashing back in rapid succession. He remembered helicopters, bullets flying this way and that. A young diplomat was caught amongst the fray and he knew that the Electorate had ordered him to abandon her but he couldn’t, not when he had a helicopter at his disposal and the ability and will to help her.

He’d run across the battle field right then and there, dodging bullets in order to get to her. He pushed her to the ground and told her to stay down as he fought back.

It took them three hours to get out, he had a terrible concussion and she could barely move, she had several broken ribs and a broken leg and he had to carry her to the chopper.

He remembered seeing her face when he woke up in the Electorate hospital. He remembered her smile and her soft hands on his arm. The second time he woke up the room was darker. There were people all around and they told him that she hadn’t survived the initial crash.

“I…I thought you were dead.” His voice trailed off and she held her arms out wide.

“I’m alive, I swear.”

“I didn’t believe them, I didn’t think you were dead and I tried to find you.”

“I know.”

“You know?” his brow furrowed in confusion.

“I’m a natural telepath John, I know a lot of things others don’t.”

“Right.” He grinned. “But this is great! I thought I’d never see you again!”

“I’m here. And we need to get back to the mission at hand.”

“Of course.” He grinned, moving closer beside her and she smiled to herself before turning back to the map.

The Future Grim 4/?

2006-11-09T23:21:21Z

Elizabeth strode back into the meeting room where a crowd of her men had waited for them to return. Rodney sat in the far corner waiting patiently for her to walk up to him and hand him to power source.

She did so in silence before walking out of the room, leaving all of them shocked.

“What did you say to her?” Ronon growled, swiftly moving up beside John.

“I didn’t do anything!” he defeneded.

“I didn’t ask you if you did anything, I asked you what you said!”

“I SAID nothing!”

“Ronon, leave him alone…”

“Stay out of this McKay.”

“It wasn’t his fault.”

“How do you know that?” Ronon moved from beside John, to meet eyes with Rodney.

“Because I just know. Now, I think it’s best if you left now.”

“He upset Elizabeth! I wanna know why.”

“Ronon.” Teyla’s soft warning tone was enough to silence the man and he growled before following her out of the room, with the others in tow.

John and Rodney stood in the centre, staring at each other.

“She never does that you know, she always debriefs as soon as she returns. What happened?”

John sighed deeply and paced the room. “We got into a bit of a bind.”

“What kind of bind?”

“Do you know a Simon?”

Rodney grimaced. “All too well, insufferable bastard killed my research grant with the Electorate, and is unfortunately for Elizabeth, Sasha’s father.”

“Yeah, he kinda caught us when we were in your old lab.”

“Sounded the alarm?”

“Not before a bit of an argument between him and Dr.Weir.”

“Hmm…but that’s not normally enough to crush Elizabeth, she’s never been that silent before.”

“Well…um…”

“What?” Rodney moved closer to him, eyes narrowing.

“Her father was seen helping us out.”

Rodney’s face went stark white. “He’s dead.”

“She said she’d never see him again.”

“That’s because they’ll kill him…oh god…he was a great man, the best of us.”

“I suspected something like that about him.”

“Yeah…” Rodney’s attention on John faded as he fiddled with the power source wrapped in John’s jacket. “I…I gotta go…there are rooms down the hall, you can sleep there.”

John just nodded as Rodney walked out of the room, ignoring John whether he had other queries or not.

***

John strolled quietly down the hall, he could hear people talking softly here and there, see families inside their rooms, talking to their children and he could see that what Dr. Weir had here, what she had created was really quite amazing.

They seemed to be free of most fears, their children were with them and safer than they would be in the orphan camps. John knew that his sister was there, at age sixteen, she was too young for them to let her stay.

He never understood why the Electorate had done it, why they felt the need to take the children away. Why they’d kill them or beat them or torture their parents for simply trying to protect them.

He couldn’t help but feel a sense of what the holocaust may have been like. He knew that those people had suffered greatly and he knew that he could never understand the kind of pains that they felt, but he imagined it was something like this.

What was the world coming to?

Walking past another one of the small apartments they had down in their little underground city, John heard a familiar voice.

“"Can one be well while suffering morally? Can one be calm in times like these if one has any feeling?" said Anna Pavlovna. "You are staying the whole evening, I hope?"

"And the fete at the English ambassador's? Today is Wednesday. I must put in an appearance there," said the prince. "My daughter is coming for me to take me there."”

He listened intently to the voice, the harsh tones and the lofty expressions as she read with the grace of a cultured actress.

Overwhelmed by his curiosity, he peered around the corner to see if he could find her beyond the crack the door was left open.

From his vantage point he could see her, sitting with her back against the head of a tiny bed, her long legs stretched out and over the side with her daughter curled up against her, her tiny arms wrapped around her waist as she read, listening to every word.

“"What can one say about it?" replied the prince in a cold, listless tone. "What has been decided? They have decided that Buonaparte has burnt his boats, and I believe that we are ready to burn ours."
Prince Vasili always spoke languidly, like an actor repeating a stale part. Anna Pavlovna Scherer on the contrary, despite her forty years, overflowed with animation and impulsiveness. To be an enthusiast had become her social vocation and,…”

She stopped suddenly and he held his breath. “Why did you stop mommy?”

“Ronon is that you?”

John bit his lip. He didn’t want to be accused of spying on her, but he couldn’t have her believe she was going mad.

Slowly, he pushed the door open and smiled nervously. “I’m sorry, it’s me actually.”

The hostility that he expected in her eyes didn’t greet him. “What are you doing here?”

“I…I was trying to find a room, Rodney said there were some empty ones down this way, he said I could stay in one.”

“There is one across the hall.” She instructed, pointing without dropping her eyes from his.

“Right, thanks…”

He stood there for a moment, two sets of marvellous green eyes staring at him before he reluctantly turned to leave.

He could hear her start to read again and he smiled.

“sometimes even when she did not feel like it, she became enthusiastic in order not to disappoint the expectations of those who knew her…”

He quickly spun back around and she stopped once again. “You are reading War and Peace?”

Dr. Weir looked down at the book then up at him again and nodded. “Yes, why?”

“Oh nothing it’s just…I read that once…took me a year.”

“You are funny.” Sasha stated rolling on the bed laughing. “Takes me two weeks tops. It’s my favorite.”

“You’ve read it before now?” John’s look was disbelieving and Sasha pouted, climbing up to kneel on the bed so that she could be close to him.

She studied his face intricately, every line, every mark, every scar for a few minutes with her mother just sitting behind her, so far not moving from her original position.

“I like you.” The little girl stated and John grinned.

“You do?”

“Yep, you are silly; I like people who are silly. My mommy can be silly when nobody but me is looking, it’s fun.”

“Well thank you.” He smiled genuinely. “I like you too.”

He glanced over her shoulder at Dr. Weir who had been watching him the whole time. The woman confused him completely and yet fascinated him to no end.

He wanted to know her story but, he thought, perhaps that would have to wait until their story came to an end, and she could tell him if she wished.

“You want to play ca-knuckles with me tomorrow?”

“Um…sure, though I don’t know what that is.”

The little girl laughed and plonked herself back beside her mother. “I will teach you.”

“Well that sounds like a great idea, until tomorrow Milady.” He bowed his head and she laughed again.

“Good night Dr. Weir.”

She was silent and nodded her answer and he turned to leave the room.

“Good night…John.” She said softly and he smiled over his shoulder when she had finally used his name.

He felt perhaps she was going to come around eventually and he may just get that story after all.

The Future Grim 3/?

2006-11-08T02:47:02Z

“You’ve gotta get it Elizabeth!” John heard a man bellowing up a dark hallway in the underground bunker that served as their base as well as their home.

“Yes Rodney, I know! Would you give it a rest!” she shouted back and staggered backwards when she almost collided with John.

He grabbed her by the waist to steady her and she smiled gratefully, nervously pulling his hands from her hips.

“You scrub up nicely Colonel.”

“I asked you not to call me that…and thanks, you look amazing too.”

Elizabeth smirked. “I didn’t say you looked amazing…I said you scrubbed up, but I’ll gladly take the compliment.”

John grinned, realizing that he was falling in love with her dry wit.

“Elizabeth! Stop ignoring me!” the man bellowed again as he came bumbling out of another hallway.

“Rodney! SHUTUP!”

He immediately silenced and turned to the other man with them.

“Rodney McKay…you must be John Sheppard.” He held his hand out to shake it and John took it hesitantly, wondering how Elizabeth could yell at him so severely and the man didn’t even seem phased.

“Elizabeth I don’t want to have to stress again how important it is.”

“Rodney I know it’s important and I’ll get it, just stop bothering me about it.”

John looked between them in confusion. “Get what?”

“Oh ah…” Elizabeth bit her lip. “It’s a sort of power source Rodney was working on when he was in the electorate; we have to get it, so that we can run this place on a little more than jumper leads.”

“Oh…will that be hard.”

Rodney went to speak but Elizabeth cut him off. “Ah no, well…you won’t have to worry about it, I can get it…I’ll just need you to fend off anyone that might realize if I disappear for a little while.”

“Right.” John nodded his head.

“EXCUSE MY COMING THROUGH!!!” John grabbed Elizabeth around the waist and pressed them up against the wall as a little ball of dark curls barreled past them.

Elizabeth immediately brushed him aside and reached out and grabbed the back of the little girl’s collar and yanked her back against her.

“Sasha! I’ve told you before, don’t run in the halls.”

“But, the monsters were attacking I have to get away before they get us!”

Elizabeth smiled apologetically at John but he just grinned and watched her kneel down to the little girl who couldn’t be more than 7 years old.

“Sasha, please don’t run in the halls, you know there is a lot of dangerous stuff down here. I promise when this is all over we’ll find you a park, a beautiful park and we’ll go there everyday so that you can play.”

“Mommy, what’s a park?”

“It’s a beautiful place with trees and grass, where children play and dogs run and everyone is happy and safe.”

The pain in her voice was so obvious that John could almost feel it too; he shared a glance with the man called Rodney, knowing that her description was anything but completely true, then looked back down at Elizabeth.

“I think I like it.”

Elizabeth brushed the loose curls out of her daughter’s eyes and smiled. “I’ll find you some pictures when Mr. Sheppard and I get back.”

“Where are you going?” little Sasha looked up at John almost venomously as if he was taking her mother away.

“Nowhere important sweetheart, you just be good for Rodney and Uncle Carson and keep the other kids out of the way of the soldiers and I’ll be back to read you a story tonight.”

She nodded her little head and stepped back, Rodney placed his hand on her shoulder and Elizabeth straightened herself up, brushing her hands down the front of her red gown.

“Ready?” she asked him and he just nodded letting her walk ahead of him.
***

“I didn’t read you as the mother type.”

Elizabeth glanced at him but was silent for a moment. “Neither did I really, it just sort of happened.”

“Her father isn’t around?”

Elizabeth’s eyes flashed fearful for a moment, but he pretended not to notice. “He ah…no, no he’s not.”

John just nodded, he could feel that there was more to that than met the eye, even without his telepathic abilities he could see that, but she was so hard to read.

“So, she’s allowed down in the bunker with the soldiers?”

Elizabeth looked in his direction and blinked a few times. “Well, considering the times Colonel I wouldn’t want her anywhere else. I know that New York isn’t the safest place in the world but she’s safer here with me, than off in those prisons they locked all the children up in. she’s safe as long as no one knows she’s there, as are all of the other children, we protect them…”

“I had a family once…” she turned to him quickly, finding it hard to see his face in the dim light of the tunnel. “…I didn’t have any kids but…I had nieces and nephews and…they’re all gone now.”

“I’m sorry.” She whispered and he smirked at her.

“It’s ok; it’s not your fault. I was in the electorate at the time, the raid on their town was what made me turn…I thank them for that, in a way.”

“It’s funny how the most vicious atrocities in human history make you open your eyes.”

“Yeah…”

***

“I still don’t know why you asked me to do this. You don’t even know me…how are you going to know that I have your back if something goes wrong?”

Elizabeth smirked as they made their way up the steps. “Trust me Colonel, if I didn’t know I wouldn’t have asked.”

“How’d I know she’s say something like that?” John muttered under his breath.

{I hope you know that I know exactly what you just said.} She whispered and he felt it in his mind as she looked down at him from the top of the stairs.

{You’re going to let me talk to you like this? in your mind?}

She smiled, never once moving her mouth. {For the sake of privacy, only tonight. You find anything interesting, do NOT say it aloud.}

Her tone was light but he never felt the hint of authority leave it.

{Got it}

“Ma’am.” He grinned and linked his arm with hers.

“Thankyou.” She took it gratefully and they made their way into the ball without a fuss.

***

The room was filled to the brim with Government officials; the heads of the Electorate made their rounds and planted what seeds they needed to spread their influence.

John felt disgusted to be in the room with them and due to the new link he shared with Dr. Weir, he could feel that for some reason, contrary to what he had thought of her in the beginning of all this, she was frightened.

“You ok?” he asked, holding her gloved hand a little tighter.

“Yes I’m fine. Come on, we better get started.” She slipped her hand out of his and pulled her shawl off her shoulders.

Before John could answer a large burly man made his way over to them. “Lizzie!” he grinned and she smiled, genuinely and John studied her.

“Hello senator, how have you been?”

“Oh you know, the usual, indigestion, over compensation for the foul deeds of colleagues…how are you? Young Sasha following her studies well?”

“Yes she is thank you.”

“I have to do my thing, but see me before you leave; I have some new stories for her.”

“I’ll be sure to do that.”

With that the large man walked away and John smiled at Elizabeth. “Friend of yours?”

“I have many friends here Colonel…”

{But none of them know you lead the resistance?}

“Perhaps not, but that doesn’t make me like them any less. A lot of them are good people simply corrupted.”

“And what defines a good person Doctor, if they are corrupted? Kind gestures and a friendly smile?”

She glared at him fiercely and walked ahead into the crowd.

About an hour later John stood by a back wall studying the crowd, and in particular the tall brunette dressed head to toe in blood red, floating effortlessly from group to group. She did it with an ease that astounded him and every new group she entered seemed to greet her like they had known her for years.

He began to wonder what exactly she used to do in the Electorate.

“Discovered anything new, Colonel?”

He startled as she spoke close to his ear. “Um…not really. Just that the blonde over there likes men with my hair, the red head seems to like…well any man, and the other blonde over there has a fetish for pineapples.”

She screwed up her nose in confusion and he waved his hands in fear. “Trust me; you don’t want to know what I saw in her head!”

Elizabeth laughed openly and he felt the coldness that had fallen over them in the last hour, melt away.

“You didn’t talk to anyone else?”

“No one else would talk to me, and standing behind some of them trying to listen in didn’t go down too well.”

“Well lucky I’ve got enough for the both of us.” She winked mischievously and he grinned. “Now we had better get Rodney’s power source or he’ll never let me live it down.”

***

John followed Elizabeth as they made their way towards the darkened labs of the Electorate headquarters. John hadn’t noticed, but earlier the burly man that greeted them had slipped a pass into her hand.

“You sure do keep your connections.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Never know when they’ll come in handy.”

They heard the footsteps of a guard coming down the hall and Elizabeth quickly shoved John into a small crevice in the wall.

“Dr. Weir! It’s good to see you, you’re looking well.”

“You too Emmit, you have a good night.”

After a few moments the guard was gone and Elizabeth pulled john out again. “Sorry about that.”

“No worries.” He straightened his suit and rubbed a hand over his slowly healing knee.

“Here, Rodney’s lab is this one.”

Elizabeth pushed the door open and they were greeted by darkness.

“He said that it was in a safe, above…” she bit her lip then jumped with excitement. “…Above a sofa!” she pointed to the back of the room where a crude rendition of a Monet masterpiece hung on the wall.

“Wasn’t much for artistic taste?”

“Yes well, Rodney is Rodney.” Elizabeth smiled and hitched her skirt to stand on the sofa.

“You be careful standing there.”

“Worried about me Colonel?”

“Worried about leaving without my guide…I might run into the pineapple lady again.” The look of sheer terror on his face made Elizabeth laugh.

“Almost got it…” she turned the dial a few times, on the safe door that was hidden behind the Monet.

“Ah Dr. Weir…”

“Just a second…” she was deeply concentrating on her task when he quickly grabbed her around the waist, slapped the painting back over the safe and pushed her down into the sofa. He leant over her, removing his jacket as she stared up at him in confusion and shock.

“What are you doing?”

“Play along.”

Before she could protest he slammed his lips against hers, pressing her deeper into the sofa and running his hands over her waist.

“Colo…well for Christ sake John if you are going to do that, do it properly!” she rolled him over; propping herself up on her elbow to rip his shirt open. John ran his hand along the exposed skin of her thigh sticking out through the long split in her gown and lost himself in her kiss, not even noticing the door clicking open, even though it was the reason for their somewhat heated exchange.

“Elizabeth?”

It was only then that they noticed the light had been turned on and there was a tall dark-haired man staring at them.

“Simon, hello.” Her voice was cold and John couldn’t help be realize that she didn’t once attempt to climb off him, if he had to assume, he’d say she was clinging to him for some reason.

“How’s Sasha.”

“Better.”

“Right.”

“Anyone wanna clue me in?” John asked and Elizabeth looked down at him.

“John Sheppard, Simon Wallace, Sasha’s father.”

Bells started ringing in John’s head. “Oh.”

“What are you doing here?”

Elizabeth looked back up at Simon, almost glaring. “We were invited.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“What Simon…” Elizabeth finally climbed off John and stood. “…afraid of my being here?”

“No.”

“Yeah, ok. What are you in here for anyway?” she sat down next to John, making sure he didn’t think they were going to leave first.

“Just looking for something I left behind.”

“Oh yes…this is your lab now isn’t it…”

He nodded.

“Nice of you to discredit Dr. McKay like that wasn’t it…I thought it was a kind gesture coming from a colleague, friend even.”

Her sarcasm was astounding. And John couldn’t imagine being more astonished by a woman ever before.

“Elizabeth what were you doing in here?”

“Well Simon if you couldn’t tell…then you are an even worse lover than I remember.”

“Knocked you up though didn’t I!” there was more venom in that than John had expected and perhaps even a little smugness.

“You are a bastard you know that! She hates you! I wish that hurt you, but I know it doesn’t!”

“I NEVER WANTED HER TO BEGIN WITH, YOU CAN KEEP HER!”

“Fine!” Elizabeth stood up, ripped the painting off the wall, throwing it behind her and opened the safe. She grabbed the power source out and wrapped it in John’s jacket before handing it to him. “To hell with you Simon. We don’t need you anymore.”

She stormed across the room and slapped him across the face before leaving.

“You’re on her bad side…I can imagine that’s a scary place.” John grinned and quickly followed her out.

Alarms started to blare as soon as they made their way halfway down the hall. “RUN!” Elizabeth shouted and grabbed his arm.

They ran through the building and out into the party, Elizabeth ran through the crowd with John close behind her, dodging the guards that tried to get to them.

“Lizzie! Lizzie!” she quickly darted through the crowd towards the sound of her name and they found the large burly man by a side doorway.

“Give Sasha my love, and be careful my girl, you are too young to fail this.” He handed her a bag and touched the side of her face tenderly and she kissed his cheek.

“I love you.” She whispered and ran out the door.

“Take care of them lad.”

John nodded, though slightly confused by their actions, to be honest the whole night was confusing him but he followed her all the same.

***

“Ok we’re out now…what the hell was that?!”

Elizabeth kept walking ahead of him, wobbling on her high heels as she made her way down into the tunnel.

“Dr. Weir?” she continued to ignore him, splashing through the water that trickled through.

He lent forward and grabbed her arm but she wrenched it from his grasp.

“WHAT!?”

“Elizabeth…”

She let out a puff of breath and turned her head to look up at him; her eyes wide and full of tears. “He was my father…” she whispered.

“That man that let us out?”

She nodded. “I’ll never see him again.”

“Elizabeth…I…”

“Look, just forget it.” She grabbed the power source from his arms and started down the tunnel without him.

“Hey, don’t think I’m just gonna drop it like that.” He ran after her.

“Why not? You don’t know me; you aren’t bound to this cause like I am! You are free to come and go but I have to see this through. Just say goodbye and go.”

“HELL NO!” her eyes widened, she hadn’t expected this kind of reaction from him. “I made a promise to your father and whether I knew who he was or not I never go back on my promises, I’m in this now…whether you like it or not.”

“Whatever…” she stumbled a little as she turned to head further down the tunnel but he didn’t attempt to help her. In her current state he knew trying to offer aid would only make her worse, a woman like her didn’t take kindly to emotional turmoil.

The Future Grim 2/?

2006-11-07T01:42:43Z

John could feel his feet walking up stairs, there were whispers in the air but he couldn’t feel anymore than two people near him.
As they descended more stairs, down deeper than they had climbed he could feel an almost eerie cold seeping through and the faint scraps of light filtering through the scarf all but disappeared.

“Sit him over there.” He heard a woman’s voice and it sent a shiver through him, he knew that voice, he’d heard it before.

Her tone was authoritive but not menacing, and as he listened to the clink of her heels on what he figured was concrete, he guessed she was about five foot seven, due to the length of her strides, and about ninety pounds.

“Are you measuring me Colonel?” She questioned and his brow furrowed in confusion.

“Who are you, and how do you know that?”

“Remove the blindfold, and leave us please.”

A moment later John felt what could only be Ronon’s hands removing the blindfold, as Teyla had been a whole lot more gentle. Then he was met with the sight a beautiful brunette standing in front of him wearing a long black coat with a red lining he could just see folded back against her leg as she perched her booted foot on the edge of a low chair. Her clothes were tight though they didn’t look restrictive and her hair was loose in flowing dark curls.

He heard the door close behind him and then she started to move towards him.

“I know a lot about you Colonel.”

“Please don’t call me that.”

She raised her eyebrow. “Well then what am I going to call you?”

John smirked. “John is fine.”

She shook her head and walked across the room with her hands clasped together. “I can’t call you that, we aren’t close enough, it’s just the same that you can’t call me Elizabeth.”

“That’s a bit of a cold view.”
She turned quickly, her eyes meeting his for a moment before they turned hard.

“I am Dr. Weir, leader of the resistance.”

“John Sheppard, hell raiser, pleased to meet you.”

He noticed the slight quirk of her lips and smiled at himself for almost breaking through what he surmised as a somewhat hard shell.

“You were trained by the Electorate to detect things that other people can’t, to measure things that other people can’t see. You measured me when you arrived in this room.”

“True, but I don’t see how you knew that.”

“Birds of a feather Colonel.” She smirked and he realized that she had measured him too, why he couldn’t pick up on that fact to begin with surprised him, normally he knew when someone was reading him.

“I don’t have the same artificial ability though, that is why you didn’t know when Ronon brought you in here.”

He startled as he realized it was almost like she had read his thoughts. “What do you mean?”

She rolled her head from side to side biting her lip. “My ability to do what you do, and more…I didn’t learn it. The others think that I did when I was in the electorate but I was born with voices in my head.”

John could see a softness in her expression that he had a feeling no one else had seen before, and on this woman, vulnerability frightened him.

“If you don’t mind me asking…why are you telling me this?”

She was silent for a moment, staring at the wall ahead of her.

“Because I think you may understand how it feels to not be sure which voice, which thoughts, which nightmares are your own.”

His eyes met with hers and he smiled, nodding his head slowly.

“I thought you might.” Her voice became softer and she knelt in front of him.

“Are you willing to join us, to help us?”

“I don’t see what you could possibly need me for.”

Elizabeth smirked. “My people, they are fighters, rough and most of them have good hearts but you know the ways of the Electorate, you were in their circles just the way they think I still am.”

“And that means?”

“It means, Colonel, that we can get at them from the inside, you and I and then my men can be waiting to knock out the pawns.”

John seemed to ponder it for a moment. “What if we are caught, then all of this is for nothing.”

She stood up straight in front of him and looked directly down at him. “We won’t get caught, we can’t.”

“You don’t sound like you believe that completely.”

Elizabeth sighed. “I have to believe it. It’s the only thing that keeps us going. We will win, but I can only assure my people of that if you help me.”

“And if I refuse?”

Elizabeth met his eyes and he stared up at her. He became nervous under her scrutiny before her lips twitched into a smirk.

“You won’t, you’ve already agreed.”

“Hey! Do that again and I’ll read your mind, see how it makes you feel.”

Elizabeth grinned. “Try it Colonel, I’m sure the task will prove rather impossible.”

She laughed as she left the room, her long coat billowing in her wake before she closed the door.

“Great.” He muttered. “What the hell have you gotten yourself into this time John?”

***

John staggered into a room full of large, hairy and scary looking men. He could feel them all looking at him, but he made his way towards the table in the centre, where Dr. Weir stood with her hip leaning against it and her arms folded across her chest.

“I see Carson has patched you up?” she smiled and he nodded, self-consciously touching the small bandage strips on his brow.

“Good doctor you’ve got down here, thanks.” He patted his injured leg, gesturing to her like it was as good as new.

She smiled. “He is the best.”

“So, you got your ape to come and get me for what exactly?”

A growl built up in Ronon’s throat and Elizabeth gently touched his forearm. “It’s alright Ronon. Just…go and sit with Teyla.”

The large man glanced between Elizabeth and Sheppard warily then turned and moved to sit next to the smallest soldier in the room, never taking his eyes off the pair.

“I wanted to ask you to join me on a little reconnaissance mission.”

John raised his eyebrow and picked up a pamphlet off the table. “…To the Electorate state ball?”

“Yes.” She stated matter-of-factly and he rolled his eyes.

“You want me, to go to a ball with those Nazis?”

“You don’t have to enjoy it, just gather Intel. and make it look like you enjoy it.”

John scrunched up his nose. “Don’t you have anyone else that can go?”

Elizabeth turned and looked around the room. “Surely Colonel, take your pick…which one do you think is better suited to go to the ball, or better yet, be my date for the evening?”

He looked between her soldiers and her for a moment, there was a vast difference in appearances and it was in that moment that he wondered how a woman like her had come to lead a resistance of men like them. He scratched that curious thought for a moment, looking at her again.

“You are right…but I still don’t think I can be helpful”

“You’ve got similar abilities as me, all you need to do is tap into their minds and take the information you need whilst looking like you are enjoying the party and my company…how hard can it possibly be?”

John shuffled on his feet uncomfortably. Her presence was becoming enough to unnerve him in the matter of hours he’d known her. How could a night of being her date be any worse?

Though as he studied her, pondering his decision, picturing her in an evening dress was, in all honesty, an alluring thought.

The Future Grim

2006-11-07T01:24:14Z

John ran as fast as he could, scrambling over fallen debris wherever necessary to avoid his pursuers. He wouldn’t call himself a trouble maker, he’d gotten his mouth into trouble with the electorate several times but he was adamant those times were due to their strictness and fondness for prisoners of war.

As he staggered through the back streets he couldn’t help but look ahead of him to the main roads and think in pain that this mountain of debris and fallen buildings, of ash and dirt and machine gun shells used to be New York City.

The electorate had taken charge of the city fifteen years ago sprouting ideas of a better world, of a world where none suffered, where disease had cures that worked and children didn’t have to fear the streets at night.

What a bold faced lie it had been.

The electorate had spread across the world like a plague, taking city after city and when the people fought back…well, their cities became leveled.

John had heard of a resistance that planned to undermine them, though he didn’t believe it existed. He went about fighting them in his own way and it worked somewhat, for taking small forces by surprise. But he knew one man couldn’t save the world.

He quickly ducked as a cloud of dust sprayed past his head, a bullet hitting the cement wall right beside him. He couldn’t head for the main road that would be too dangerous at night. Breaking the curfew would only bring more electorate soldiers after him.

So he turned, ready to fight them off as best he could. There were five; it’s not like he hadn’t taken that many before. Although weaponless and bleeding from the thigh didn’t help his current situation.

Before he knew it one of the soldiers collapsed forward on his face, with a wound in his chest that looked like a canon had fired from behind him. In the space he left a menacing looking man stood, with dreadlocks framing his harsh features and the smoking barrel of a gun still raised.

John helped as best he could but the man was fast, taking out another three before John managed to knock down the guy closest to him.

“So who are you?” John asked, tripping over one of the bodies as he moved closer to the man.

“You are John Sheppard?”

“Depends on who’s asking.”

“Follow me.”

The large man turned around and began to walk down deeper into the darkened alley without so much as a glance back.

John had to run to catch up to him, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“So, who are you? If I’m going to follow you I’m gonna need to know that, and seeing as you know my name which I find quite bizarre, I think it’s only fair I know yours.”

“I am Ronon, bodyguard to the leader of the resistance, that’s all you need to know, now be quiet.”

“Where are you taking me?”

Ronon glared at him. “I though I told you to be quiet.”

“Just answer it and I’ll shut up, cross my heart.”

Ronon growled. “To see the leader of the resistance.” He continued to walk in silence and John felt silent beside him for a time.

“So what’s he like?”

Ronon just laughed and didn’t answer, and they made their way through a half demolished building quietly.

***

Ronon dragged him through many buildings, weaving in and out as if he were hiding his tracks. They made their way to a sewer tunnel and John turned up his nose for a moment, before finally giving in and following the large man down.

They followed the tunnel for an hour, until a light could be seen up ahead and the water that trickled underfoot gave way and followed a different path.

Ronon took the lamp from a short woman that stood in an archway and she inclined her head to him, before waiting for John to pass then following behind.

He glanced back at her a few times, noticing her young features and her strong yet kinder eyes than Ronon’s.

They climbed three flights of stairs before crawling out of a hatch and onto a street that seemed as though it was on the outskirts of the city, right over the old docks.

Ronon grabbed John by his jacket collar and held him so tightly and high that he thought his toes were going to leave the ground.
“Teyla.”

Immediately he saw the short woman pull a scarf from her pocket and lift it to his eyes.

A Night Off-World :Part of the Boredom Series

2006-09-28T02:34:49Z

Title: A Night Off-World
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: John/Elizabeth.
Summary:
Line: "What's that smell?" "I don't know..." "It's... you!" "Hey!"

Objects: Salt, lighter, purple pen

Warnings: None, no spoilers.
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Disclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.
Author's Notes: Another installment into the Boredom Series.
Feedback: Is Teh love.

Rodney reached across the table for more of the steak. It wasn’t from a cow, John could see that just by looking at it, but it did taste a lot like it. Ronon and Rodney certainly liked it and Teyla was warming to it.

John could see that, at the head of the table, by the king’s side, Elizabeth hadn’t touched a bite of hers. Probably thinking the same thing he was.

“My God Rodney could you put any more salt on that!?”

Rodney raised an eyebrow, before ignoring the Colonel’s comment and munching down on enough meat to last John four mouthfuls, six for Elizabeth or Teyla.

“I would like to propose a toast.” Everyone looked up at the king as he stood.

“To the Lanteans, to their enchanting leader…” John inwardly winced at the look that passed from the king to Elizabeth, to her cleavage bursting out of the dress they had given her that looked about two sizes too small in the corset area. Not that he was complaining at all, but he didn’t like the way that man looked at her. “…and to our continued friendship and alliance that will hopefully last many years to come.”

“Thank you, King Dagan.” Elizabeth smiled diplomatically and calmed the blood boiling in John’s veins with a simple glance in his direction.

“Let us feast and rejoice in new friendships!”

John poked at the steak and, regardless of his friends digging in with no ill effect, it still didn’t look sanitary, so he opted for the safer looking salad.

***

“Having fun?”

Elizabeth turned around to see John step out onto the terrace outside the large ballroom, where she had found a moments solitude. “It’s… different.” She smiled softly, turning back to gaze at the never-ending expanse of forest before them.

“The king certainly seems to like you.”

Elizabeth started to nod until she caught sight of his devious smirk. “Oh that’s very mature, Colonel.” Elizabeth pulled her shawl around her shoulders, covering the exposed flesh and John pouted.

The wind gently shuffled her curls over her shoulder and the moonlight illuminated her frame as John stood back by the doorway.

John stepped up behind her. He expected her to flinch or step away, but as he rested his hand on her shoulder and slowly pushed her curls aside, she dipped her head to the side, much to his surprise.

“You really do look beautiful.” He whispered, pulling the shawl off her shoulders to fall down to her waist.

“Thank you.”

The sound of someone clearing their throat caused John to jump away from Elizabeth quickly. She felt the loss of his lips on her neck the moment the cool breeze touched her again. “King Dagan…” Elizabeth greeted, slightly nodding her head to him.

“Madame Elizabeth, I did not know that your affections were otherwise engaged.”

Elizabeth’s mouth gaped open for a moment. She glanced at John and nervously pulled at her shawl. “Ah, well you see…”

“There is no need to excuse your behaviour Madame, for a lady to be in such a situation publicly with a man, she must of course be bound to him. I will pry no further and intrude no longer.”

“Your majesty I…”

He cut her off, turning quickly. “Do not argue the point Madame, I do not wish to envision you in a bad light.” He touched her cheek gently before turning his back to her and going back inside to the party.

“I hope we didn’t make him angry.”

Elizabeth turned around to John. “No, I don’t think so, a little heart broken perhaps, I think he may have gotten the impression that I liked him or something.”

“Oh really? And why would that be?”

“I… I don’t know, it was just the impression that I got, a girl knows when a man is hitting on her…”

“Looked like his sons were too.”

Elizabeth giggled. “Yes, I did talk to them quite a bit at dinner.”

“Hmm, yeah, I bet none of them would know your face if they smacked into you.”

“Cheeky.” Elizabeth playfully glared and John smirked.

***

“So we have to share a room?”

The maid nodded. “The king has informed me that you require joint accommodations due to your marital status.”

Rodney choked on his power bar. “Marital status!?” He shrieked.

Teyla and Ronon looked at John and Elizabeth questioningly.

“Um… The king kinda caught us on the terrace.”

Teyla nodded in realization. “Ah and as the belief of this world that a man does not touch a woman inappropriately until they are wed…”

They both nodded.

“Hey! What does she mean by inappropriately?”

“Nothing Rodney, forget it.” John turned to head for their room.

“No, no I wanna know, what’d you do?”

“Come, Dr. McKay, we are all in need of rest.”

Rodney reluctantly followed Teyla down the hall.

“Goodnight Ronon.” He smirked at Elizabeth and John glared at him.

“Night.”

***

“John would you help me with this?”

Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed, wearing nothing but her corset and undergarments.

“I thought you said I couldn’t come out until you were changed?”

“Yes, well, I didn’t anticipate this much difficulty.”

“Well alright, but you had better be decent.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she heard the bathroom door creak open and bare feet padding across the room behind her.

“Oh…”

“What?”

John had seen it in his dreams before, but to see Elizabeth on an emperor bed, complete with posts and red and white silk drapes, wearing nothing but a corset, her underwear and stocking suspenders, he was a little bit aroused to say the least.

“Are you staring at me?”

John cleared his throat. “No, why would you think that?”

“Because you were silent for nearly a whole minute, it’s a big room, but not that big.”

“Oh, that. Sorry.”

“Can you just get the tie and then I’ll be fine.”

John lent over the bed and slowly undid the tie in the back of her corset. “I don’t know why they insisted that you and Teyla wear those anyway.”

“It’s their custom, John.”

“So you are OK with having your clothes pulled so tight that you can’t breathe or eat?”

“I ate.” Elizabeth stood up, holding the now open corset over herself.

“No you didn’t, I saw you… you looked at that steak-ish stuff with the same confusion I did.”

“Well… OK, I am kinda hungry.”

John smirked. “Lucky I’ve got my pack then isn’t?” Elizabeth grinned as he ran over and opened it pulling out two power bars.

John opened the bar for her and handed it over.

“Thanks.”

Elizabeth looked between her hand holding the bar and her hand holding her corset up. She glanced at John who was watching her intently. She knew that she was the one to insist that they take their relationship slowly, but a little teasing couldn’t hurt could it? If it was for a good cause… like putting on her robe without losing her power bar.

After several moments of deliberation Elizabeth decided to drop the corset and she did, though the devilish smirk on her face was unintentional.

She saw John gulp as he scanned her from toe to top. And she found herself grinning as she munched on the chocolate flavored energy treat. “Have you seen my robe?”

John shook his head.

“Hmm, well, I’ll have to look for it then.”

John watched her as she walked around to the other side of the room casually and then bent over to search through her bag, every now and then flipping her hair over her shoulder only for it to slip back down beside her face again. “I…”

Elizabeth stood up and turned to John. “Yes?”

“I don’t think you need one.”

“But I’ll get cold.” She pouted.

John slowly walked towards her; he took the final piece of her power bar from her hand and raised it to her lips. Elizabeth took it into her mouth slowly and grinned at him.

She shivered as his arm snaked around her bare waist.

“I can fix that… if you want.”

Elizabeth smiled and touched his cheek, considering it for a moment before she grinned and faked shivering against him. “I think I do.”

John didn’t need anymore coaxing. He lifted her up off the ground and she shrieked with laughter before he threw her down on the bed.

***

John grinned as Elizabeth shuffled in her sleep in front of him.

He quickly put the cap back on his pen, but unfortunately wasn’t fast enough to prevent Elizabeth rolling over and catching him with it. “John, why do you have a purple pen?”

John grinned innocently and threw it over his shoulder. “No reason.”

Before she had a chance to counter him, his lips were on hers and he was rolling her onto her back.

***

Ronon made his way down the hall towards Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Weir’s room.

Rodney had chickened out of waking them up, suffering severe after-effects of whatever drink they had provided at the ball and complaining that if he was the one to wake them, he knew that John would attempt to kill him.

Ronon suspected that the pain in his head was rather from over indulging than excess liquor, as no one else seemed effected by it.

Coming to their door, he didn’t bother to knock, instead walking straight in and standing beside the bed, just looking at them.

Dr. Weir was face down in the pillow, Sheppard in a similar position beside her but with his arm across her bare back. The sheets were twisted and wrapped around them awkwardly and Dr. Weir’s legs were uncovered.

He didn’t even have to guess what had happened here.

“Ronon?”

He looked at Sheppard who had lifted his head groggily.

“Breakfast is ready.” He stated and turned to leave.

But he stopped himself and looked them over one more time, focusing longer on the barely covered sections of Dr. Weir, before he smirked and left the room.

***

“Where are Dr. Weir and Colonel Sheppard?” Teyla asked as Ronon walked into the large dining room and Rodney looked up from his food.

“Indisposed, but I let them know breakfast was ready, they’ll be out soon.”

Teyla nodded but Rodney still looked confused.

***

“What’s going on?” Elizabeth rolled over onto her back and John smiled.

“Ronon was just here, he says breakfast is ready.”

Elizabeth rubbed a hand over her eyes nodding absently, until his words sunk in. “Wait! Ronon was here? In this room?”

“Standing right there actually.” John pointed to the spot on the floor next to Elizabeth’s side of the bed.

“And you let him, knowing that I was naked right in front of him!”

John shrugged. “He didn’t seem offended. He didn’t seem to mind either.”

Elizabeth glared at the smug Colonel before climbing out of the bed. “Come on, we had better get to breakfast.”

John just smiled as he looked at her lower back as she walked into the bathroom.

***

“Sheppard, Elizabeth… nice of you to finally grace us with your presence.”

John rolled his eyes at Rodney and Elizabeth completely ignored him.

“I trust you slept well Madame Elizabeth, Colonel Sheppard?”

“Yes we did, thank you, Dagan.” Elizabeth said graciously, while John just sat, smiling smugly.

“We are terribly disappointed that you are leaving us today.”

“As are we your majesty, but you must understand the need for us to return home.” Elizabeth didn’t notice Rodney trying to catch a glimpse of something behind her as she spoke.

“I understand indeed, so, in light of your need to return home, please dine with us once more.”

Elizabeth smiled and nodded her head. “I’m sure that will be no trouble.”

***

“They sure do eat a lot here.” John rubbed his stomach as they walked back to the ‘Gate.

“I didn’t think they were over-eaters.” Rodney mumbled out through a power-bar.

John just looked at him.

“Dr. Weir, did you enjoy your time off-world? As you haven’t had the chance of late.”

“Yes Teyla, I did, thank you.”

“I’m sure you did.” Ronon smirked and John glared at him.

The tall guy shrugged and kept walking without another word.

“So…what was the deal with that whole “Marital status” stuff the king was on about? You guys aren’t even together.”

John and Elizabeth looked at each other and Teyla rolled her eyes. “Sometimes, Dr. McKay, you are clueless.”

“What?!”

The four walked ahead of him and Rodney stopped. “I don’t get it!” He had to run to catch up.

Rodney watched as John reached behind Elizabeth and lifted the back of her shirt, showing off the small of her back and Rodney gasped.

Right there just above the hem of her pants was one sentence written in purple marker.

“Colonel Sheppard’s sex kitten.”

He hadn’t seen that coming but he hoped that John felt his death was worth writing that on Elizabeth.

***

They neared the village that surrounded the Gate. Some of the kids came running towards them and a small girl ran up to Elizabeth and latched onto her waist, while some of the boys surrounded John and Ronon, asking about their guns and various things they had in their vests.

John didn’t notice one of the boys pull the lighter out of his back pocket.

Teyla stood next to Rodney. “What’s that smell?”

“I don’t know…”

Elizabeth sniffed the air looking at Rodney. “It’s… you!”

“Hey!” He protested.

“No, Rodney, you’re on fire!”

He turned around quickly and started to panic as he saw the smoke.

They all laughed as he jumped around frantically.

John ran over to the little boy holding the lighter and took it from him. “This isn’t a toy.”

“But it made you and your friends laugh.”

“That doesn’t mean that it’s a toy, OK, fire is dangerous.” The little boy nodded but couldn’t help laughing as Rodney continued to bound around.

“Why is it always my ass?!”

“Stand still, McKay!”

“MY ASS IS ON FIRE!”

“I know that Rodney! But you’ve gotta stay still so we can put it out.”

As he said that a large bucket of water was thrown in his face.

Elizabeth fought back her laughter, hiding her smile behind her hand. Teyla smiled slightly and John and Ronon grinned widely as Rodney stood there, ass smoking and looking like a drowned rat.

“That’s a good look for you Rodney.” John grinned.

“Oh is it now… I wonder what a good look for you is, maybe the look on your face when I tell Elizabeth that you branded her.”

Elizabeth spun around at a speed that John thought would break some kind of record and she glared with a piercing quality that made him cower in fear.

“What?”

John laughed nervously. “It’s nothing really, Elizabeth, Rodney is exaggerating.”

“Exaggerating? You wrote ‘Colonel Sheppard’s sex kitten’ on her back!” Elizabeth eyes narrowed but she did nothing, much to Rodney’s confusion.

“Rodney, dial the ‘Gate.”

“But… But isn’t Colonel Sheppard in trouble?”

“Rodney… Dial. The. Gate.”

“I will do it Dr. Weir.” Teyla smiled kindly.

“Thank you, Teyla.”

With that the two women walked towards the DHD leaving John, Ronon and Rodney to follow.

John smacked Rodney upside the head and he shrunk down. “OW! What was that for?”

“For being an ass!” John walked off after the girls and Ronon laughed.

“What are you laughing at?”

He just kept laughing and followed the others.

The End.

Until We Meet Again.

2006-09-27T06:43:36Z

Title: Until We Meet Again.
Rating: M
Pairings: John/Elizabeth.
Summary:                Fly, fly little wing
                          Fly, where only angels sing
                          Fly away, the time is right
                               Go now, find the light
.
Warnings: MAIN CHARACTER DEATH.
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Disclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.
Author's Notes: Made myself sad on this one. I will update this post later, with the song Fly By Celine Dion that i have used in this fic.
Feedback: Is Teh love.

They walked along the ridge that followed the tree line around and away from the Stargate.

The city was in a low mountain pass and John had guessed, perhaps, 5km from the ‘Gate. Rodney wasn’t happy about that.

Ronon walked up ahead, followed by Elizabeth who was, to John’s surprise, keeping pace with Teyla while he and Rodney walked behind.

It wasn’t that he had been expecting her to complain, that wasn’t her way and he knew that she’d suffer great agony before admitting to a stomach pain far worse than any description she’d be willing to give. She was strong and it was on these kinds of missions, that he saw that in her the most.

They were walking to meet a people called the Mankarians. A small society with an amazing grasp of science and technology, Elizabeth was hoping to trade for food and perhaps weapons if what they discovered here was as wondrous as their allies had told them.

John smirked at Elizabeth as she glanced over her shoulder, smiling at the fact that for the last kilometer or so, Rodney and his complaints hadn’t let up.

John listened to the odd sounding birds in the trees and the whistling of the wind through the leaves. There was a slight rumble that he felt through his feet and suddenly froze in place.

“What?”

John held a finger over his lips in a gesture to silence Rodney’s question. “Didn’t you feel that?”

Rodney gave him an incredulous look. “No, I didn’t, but if you insist on stopping like this every so often, at least find me a park bench. It could get very old, very fast.”

John rolled his eyes.

“Is everything alright back here, gentlemen?” Elizabeth smirked, walking back towards them.

“Yeah its fine, I just thought I felt something.”

“Like a tremor?”

They all turned to Ronon. “Yeah, you felt it too?”

The Satedan nodded.

“I felt no such tremor.”

“Neither did I.”

John flinched. “There! There it is again.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “Still nothing, Colonel.”

All of a sudden there was a loud, bone curdling, crack. The entire team turned towards the source of it to see the cap of the mountain above them crumbling, almost in slow motion.

“RUN!” John shouted and the team turned as quickly as they could to run from the debris.

Rodney threw aside is complaints in favor of fleeing with everyone else, as Teyla and Ronon ran so much faster than the others. Elizabeth tripped on a fallen log as John launched himself over it. He quickly bolted back and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her with him as he ran.

Elizabeth’s ankle was twisted, making it harder for the pair of them to run. John chanced a glance behind them to see the boulders and dirt tumbling down the side of the mountain, quickly gaining on them.

The rumbling sounds that surrounded them were deafening and roaring. John could hear Elizabeth’s ragged breathing in his ear but all other sounds around them were muffled by the falling mountain-top.

“Elizabeth, can you move any faster?” John tried to keep any and all annoyance out of his voice, but he couldn’t help feeling that he had yelled at her. It wasn’t her fault that they could no longer see their friends up ahead, and it wasn’t her fault that she had tripped. It was his job to protect her and he couldn’t even protect her from a fallen log.

“I’m trying John, but it hurts.”

“I know, but we got to keep moving, OK… can you make it?”

Elizabeth took a few deep breaths and grit her teeth. “Yeah, I can make it.”

He couldn’t help the pride that swelled inside of him for a moment as she said those words, though her brow was creased in pain and her words came out in shorts bursts of breath.

“Oh CRAP!” John exclaimed as he glanced back and saw the rubble not a few meters behind them. They weren’t going to make it, he could see it and it terrified him. Elizabeth tried to glance back but he held her closer so that she couldn’t turn around and he kept pushing them to run faster.

John’s feet slipped as the ground gave way and they found themselves falling down a deep crevasse, Elizabeth screamed as they fell and John winced as he heard her yelp in pain before they stopped rolling and the cave filled with darkness.

There was silence for a time, until John found his flashlight in his vest pocket and switched it on, searching for Elizabeth. He dug around for a while, calling her name, but she didn’t answer. “Elizabeth? Elizabeth!” He could still hear bits of rock crumbling outside, but the main event had passed, leaving them trapped in what appeared to be some sort of cave.

He heard a groan behind him and quickly ran towards it.

“Elizabeth!” He dragged rocks off her and dusted the dirt off her face. He’d never seen her looking so beaten. Her face was covered in cuts and there was a deep gash above her eyebrow, surrounded by a harsh purple bruise. She winced as she tried to sit up and he could only surmise that it was broken ribs.

“You ok?”

She breathed in sharply, grabbing her side before smiling softly. “I’m fine.”

John smirked and rubbed some of the dirt out of her eyes, checking the gash on her forehead. He could see that she’d taken a nasty bump. “No, you aren’t, but I’m going to get you out of here.”

She just nodded.

John began to dig at the fallen rubble, being sure to keep Elizabeth talking. Mostly so that he knew she wasn’t falling asleep, but partly so that she knew he wouldn’t give up.

John spent hours digging, calling over the radio, with no answer. Elizabeth’s voice became barely a whisper several times, forcing John to stop what he was doing to run back over to her in fear.

“Elizabeth! Elizabeth you have to stay awake, you’ve got a concussion.”

“Yeah…” She smiled sleepily and John grabbed her face, with a hand covering both of her cheeks so that he could force her eyes to look at him.

“Don’t sleep, Elizabeth.” His voice was forceful and her eyes flew open for a moment.

“Yeah, I can do that.” She licked her dry lips and smiled gently when John’s thumb caressed her cheek. “Are you this gentle with all the team-mates that you try to save?” She asked with a smirk.

John blushed and pulled his hands away. “Nah… just… don’t sleep, alright?”

She nodded her head, keeping her eyes on him as a sort of anchor.

John went back to digging.

***

“John?” Her voice was soft and hard to hear over his digging.

“Yeah?” John crawled over beside Elizabeth and she turned her head to see him.

“What is your family like?”

He visibly winced; he glanced around the cave trying to avoid her piercing gaze being nearly the only thing he could see in the darkness.

“Please John, I just want to know you before… before I…”

“You are not going to die!” John cut her off forcefully and Elizabeth smiled.

“Maybe not, but why ruin my last chance to know the real John Sheppard, if it is indeed my last.”

She had a point, he couldn’t deny her that. He couldn’t really deny her anything, but he could never see himself telling her that.

She reached out and with blood-stained fingers caked in dirt, she rapped her fingers around his. Her hold was weak but firm. “Please, John.”

Slowly, not meeting her eyes, he nodded his head. “My mother died when I was 10 years old. I missed her for so long and I didn’t understand why she had to leave. They told us that it was the alcohol, but I knew the truth, it was the only thing I did know out of all of it.” John looked up and met her eyes. “My mother never drank, my father used to hit her and beat her, sometimes I could hear it from my room, sometimes I’d sit on the staircase and I could see it. My brother Michael always told me to stay away from it, that when he was 18 he would take me and mom away.” A tear streamed down Elizabeth’s cheek as she listened. “My mom died on my brother’s 18th birthday.”

“John… I…”

“There was a big court case, my dad won and he took me home with him. I don’t think I left the house for five weeks straight but I can’t be sure… after about the third week I couldn’t stand on my own two feet. He told me that I was worthless, that I was all her and that the devil was inside me. I never knew he was religious and believed in that stuff, but I realize now that it was a figure of speech. My brother wasn’t aloud to visit. He tried several times, but the courts couldn’t help him. After about 2 years he stopped trying. I haven’t seen him since.”

“What happened to your father?”

“Died in a car accident. He’d been drinking; he was so far over the limit that the police were amazed he was conscious.” There was silence in their little cave and John glanced at Elizabeth when he heard her sniff. “It’s alright, my life wasn’t all bad.” He smiled, softly squeezing her hand that still rested in his. “I went into foster care when he died. They tried to track down my brother but all they could find out was that he was in the Air Force, working in some foreign country but they couldn’t reach him. So, I was offered to a nice family who already had two kids older than me, Jacob and Andrea. I got along well with Andrea, she was nice and made sure that I felt welcome, Jacob wasn’t so welcoming, but I could never say that he was mean. I grew up; I joined the air force mostly to find my brother. But my problem with authority landed me in Antarctica and I figured, well, if I can’t find Mike, then I guess solitude is good enough.”

“Do you think you’ll ever see him again?”

John shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe, I hope…” John’s eyes fixed on Elizabeth’s and suddenly she felt so much closer to him than before. “I hope that you get the chance to meet him, I think he’d like you.”

Elizabeth blushed. “Well if he’s anything like you then I’m positive I’ll like him too.”

***

“It took me five years to realize that I didn’t love Simon.”

John turned around, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his shirt. “What?”

“Simon…”

John sat down on a rock; he pulled his canteen from his pack and took a swig, before holding it out and helping Elizabeth take tiny sips.

“…he was my fiancé… before Atlantis.”

“Elizabeth, I never knew…”

“No one did. I don’t know why I didn’t say anything, I guess it was because we were never coming back.”

John nodded slowly. “So how did you realize that you didn’t love him?”

“Well…” She blinked away some of the dirt in her eyes. “I just realized you know.” Her voice was nervous, but he mentioned nothing of it.

“I’ve never had a serious relationship.”

“No?” There was a playful tone to her voice and John smirked.

“Don’t act so unsurprised.”

“Sorry.” She cleared her throat but starting coughing violently. John ran towards her, sat her up straighter and lifted the canteen to her lips. Elizabeth tried to drink but she turned her head away as she felt a trickle of blood out the corner of her mouth.

John wiped it away with his thumb and Elizabeth could see tears forming in his eyes. “Don’t cry for me, John.”

“But what if I can’t…”

She cut him off. “I trust you.”

John met her eyes, and he could see that there was a lot more there than there was when they had left for this ‘peaceful’ mission. “OK.”

***

John gripped her jacket tightly and shook her with all he had.

He could still feel her breath on his face, faintly, but she was alive. Though he couldn’t wake her. He patted her face gently and he shook her and shook her, calling her name, but she didn’t once open her eyes. He pushed violently at the wall of rocks in the entrance, throwing his whole body at it.

“HELP! ANYBODY! PLEASE!” No one answered, but as he glanced back at her motionless form, he couldn’t stop fighting; he couldn’t leave her like this.

“I’m scared, John…”

He almost missed it.

If he hadn’t have taken that breath at that moment, he wouldn’t have heard her whispered statement. He ran towards her, pulled her into his arms, wrapping her into his warmth the best he could. Her body was like ice and her breathing raspy.

“Come Elizabeth, just hang on.”

“John… I don’t want to die.”

“You won’t, Elizabeth…” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m going to get you out of here.”

“Always the gentlem…” She coughed. “Don’t cry for me...” Her voice died out and her hand slipped from its caress on his face as her breathing stopped.

“Elizabeth?” He shook her. “Elizabeth!!”

She didn’t wake.

John lifted her hand and touched his fingers to her wrist.

“No!”

Tears poured from his eyes as he bundled her close to him.

He pulled his knees up, getting her lifeless body as close to his as humanly possible, trying to infuse some of his life into her.

***

“Over here!” Teyla shouted, running towards the covered entrance.

“It looks like a cave.” She nodded as Ronon stepped up beside her.

“You think he’s in there?”

They both glanced at the new man with them that had insisted that he join the rescue mission mere hours after arriving on Atlantis.

“I thought I heard a voice coming from this direction, it sounded like shouting, I think it’s or best chance.”

The Colonel nodded. “Alright then, let’s start digging.”

***

John couldn’t let her go.

Tears rolled down his cheeks and into her hair.

He could hear voices beyond the rocks, but he didn’t have the energy, nor did he care, if they were real. As the voice got louder he clutched Elizabeth’s body closer. Rocks started to tumble off the mound in front of them, until he could see light shining through.

“Colonel Sheppard?” It was Teyla. He wanted to call out to her, but he couldn’t lift his attention off Elizabeth, she looked peaceful. Like she was sleeping. “Colonel, we’re going to get you out.”

They started to dig faster, he could hear it. But he didn’t want to face them. He hated them. They were too late.

“John?”

He looked up and he cowered away. His father stood before him and he wanted to shelter Elizabeth from him, protect her from him. “What the HELL are you doing here?”

“John, we came to get you out.”

He could see beyond his father to Teyla and Ronon, both silent and shocked to see Elizabeth’s lifeless form curled up against him.

“Don’t TOUCH ME!” He shuffled away, pulling her with him as the hand, that hand, reached out for him was pulled away.

“John, I’m not dad, I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Mike?”

Realization dawned and John fought against the bright light of the sun coming through, to try and see his face.

“It’s me John, its Mikey.” More tears poured from his eyes as his brother smiled. “You’re going to be OK.”

“No, no, I’m not. I can’t leave her…”

“John, you know that we would never leave Elizabeth’s body behind.” He glanced at Teyla, but he shook his head.

“No, she’s scared, I have to go with her.”

A tear fell from Teyla’s eye and Ronon looked down at her.

“John, you can’t go with her, you are needed here.”

“No Michael. You may have given up on your promise, you may have turned your back on the people you loved, but I’m not you! I am not leaving with you! I’m going with her.”

“John, she’s dead.”

John’s jaw hardened in determination. “I know.”

The brothers stared at each other. Mike looked down at Elizabeth and he could see the cuts on her face and the bruises, the line of blood running from her mouth under her chin.

“Give me your sidearm.”

“No John.”

“Give it to me now or I’ll make you do it!”

“John, no! I’m not going to let you kill yourself!”

“Fine! Then you do it! If you ever do anything for me, if you ever loved me, you’ll do it!”

“John…”

“DO IT!” He screamed. “Ronon, don’t let her see.”

With a tear in his eye Ronon turned to Teyla. He wrapped his arms around her, turning his back to John so that neither of them would see it.

“Do it now, Michael… I love her.” He whispered brokenly.

“John…” Mike lent down beside his little brother. “She wouldn’t want this.”

“How the HELL would you know what she wants?”

Michael reached out and pulled gently at Elizabeth’s shoulder, freeing her face from being buried in John’s chest.

“Look at her John, look at her face.” John slowly turned to see her, eyes closed and peaceful, she looked beautiful regardless of the cuts and the dirt.

“But I don’t want to go back without her.”

“She’ll always be with you John, just like Mom, remember?”

John nodded and held Elizabeth tighter, burying his face in her hair. “It isn’t fair, she didn’t deserve this.”

“No, she didn’t… but all we can do now is make sure that she’s remembered.”

“I could never forget her.” John looked up at Mike with fresh tears on his cheeks.

***

John stepped out of the Air Force issued vehicle and slowly walked up the steps to the church. It was full inside, full of tears, of sadness, of emptiness.

She’d touched the lives of so many.

John could see her mother up the front, staring straight ahead, not moving, not even breathing by the looks of it. There was a space next to her.

He’d received a call the day after arriving on Earth, from Elizabeth’s mother. Saying that while she’d never met him, never even seen his face, her daughter had spoken fondly of him and he deserved a place by her side.

But now, looking at that empty seat amongst her family, her friends and her colleagues… he couldn’t bring himself to take it, not after watching her die. Not after resigning himself completely at fault.

After the music stopped for the end of the service, the priest stepped up to the lectern.

“It has been requested, by family and friends, that these men carry Elizabeth Weir to her final resting place. I call the brother of her father, Andrew Weir, her brothers, Anthony, Matthew and David Weir. Dr. Malcolm Jones; God-Father, friend and mentor and Lt. Col. John Sheppard…”

John watched as the other five men emerged from the crowd, stepping up to take their places at each handle of the coffin. But his feet wouldn’t move. He couldn’t believe that he would be included in this; these people didn’t even know who he was.

There were whispers in the crowd, as people turned around searching for him, yet none of them knew the face that they sought.

It was then that she looked straight at him.

She met his eyes and he knew that, like her daughter, he could never ignore her gaze, never dismiss it. For some reason she knew who he was, she knew why he was here and she wanted him, of all people, to carry her daughter.

Shaking away his fears, he took one step. Then another, then another until he was being watched by the crowd as he walked down the centre of the church aisle.

He stepped up to the front, on the opposite side he saw her Uncle and nodded his head to the older man, who returned the gesture with no words spoken, before all six bent down to pick her up.

Gently, slowly they lifted her casket up to their shoulders and to the sound of Celine Dion’s ‘Fly’, they walked.

Fly, fly little wing
Fly beyond imagining
The softest cloud, the whitest dove
Upon the wind of heaven's love
Past the planets and the stars
Leave this lonely world of ours
Escape the sorrow and the pain
And fly again

John could feel the tears on his cheeks as he listened to the music, the words and how true they were.

Fly, fly precious one
Your endless Journey has begun
Take your gentle happiness
Far too beautiful for this
Cross over to the other shore
There is peace all one word
But hold this mem'ry bittersweet
Until we meet.

The crowd followed them out the large doors and to the hearse where they placed her casket and all six of them were ushered to another car. John’s eyes didn’t leave the car in front of them.

Fly, fly do not fear
Don't waste a breath, don't shed a tear
Your heart is pure, your soul is free
Be on your way, don't wait for me
Above the universe you'll climb
On beyond the hands of time
The moon will rise, the sun will set
But I won't forget

They carried her across the wide open fields of the cemetery, with the snow falling softly on their shoulders.

John’s gloved hands gripped tightly at the chrome handle as his tears reemerged.

Once she was placed above the grave, each of the men immersed themselves back into the crowd of Elizabeth’s family. And John felt alone as he stood there, at the side of her coffin covered with roses. His hands hung at his sides and he refused the urge to pull his black tailored coat tighter around himself.

He felt a hand slip into his and squeeze it gently before he glanced down at the source.

“I loved her.”

“I know.” She whispered and they stood together, watching as Elizabeth was lowered and John’s heart broke once more.

Fly, fly little wing
Fly, where only angels sing
Fly away, the time is right
Go now, find the light.

The End.

The Queen's Choice

2006-09-27T02:34:20Z

Title: The Queen's Choice
Rating: PG
Pairings: John/Elizabeth.
Summary: He could happily lie in the tall grass of their meadow and listen to her, but the guilt that was beginning to weigh down on him was becoming too hard to bear.
Warnings: None
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Disclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.
Author's Notes: Story respnose for sparky_sparks challenge for a Regency Era fic.
Feedback: Is Teh love.

So hail to the morning wherever it dawns down on me
it's now that I get to thinking,
Some castles lie way beneath the sea. - Sandi Thom, Castles

~

He wasn’t normally one to watch those who had not given their permission; less likely was he to do that to a lady.

But for all of his efforts, he could not look away.

He watched as she delicately made her way towards the waters edge, to where the softly flowing stream trickled over rocks.

Now when she lifted the base of her skirt and held it high to her waist, he should have turned his head. Propriety told him that to see a ladies undergarment was terribly inappropriate.

But she intrigued him so.

Her long chocolate curls, held up in beautifully ornate hair pins, though gracefully placed, did nothing to aid in preventing stray locks from falling in her eyes. Her soft, alabaster, feet were hesitant as she tested the water. Then, with a childlike and enthralling shriek, she jumped into the water that covered her feet and drenched the ankles of her panty-hose.

He had never seen anything so beautiful.

Silks adorned her body, lace upon her breasted corset and jewels hung elegantly around her neck… though for all her decoration and poise she laughed with the innocence of the child that she was.

He watched her dance in the water, feeling the freedom of it rushing against her legs and the ecstasy of its cool, refreshing touch dancing with her, arms reaching up into the sky and laughter filling the air.

He was completely taken by her, so much so that when he lent forward on a branch he did not notice before it was too late that he had given away his position.

Her head shot towards him and her green eyes flared with fear.

She quickly grabbed at her dress, lifting it high so that she could run from the water. She grabbed her cloak as she went, holding it close to her chest as he called out to her.

“Milady, please… do not flee!”

She stopped with her back to him for a moment and then turned her head. Her curls hung over her shoulder, softly framing her face. “You would dare shout after a lady, sir?” Her voice was strong and unafraid.

He hung his head for a moment. “My apologies milady, I merely wished to beg you, do not think me a lowly voyeur.”

“Explain to me why I should not?” Her eyes were questioning, beautiful and striking, yet cunning and intoxicating.

“Please miss, believe me when I tell you I meant no ill will.”

She studied him for a moment, taking into account his raven and unruly hair, his tall and muscular yet graceful stance. A man with such presence would have put her off in any other setting, yet not this man. She wondered why. “I do believe you.” She said it before she could really think it through. “May I ask your name, sir?”

“I am but a humble Shepherd…”

She raised an eyebrow. “You do not wish to tell me?”

He didn’t answer.

“Very well then.” She quickly swung her cloak over her shoulders, tying it around her neck.

“Good day to you sir, whatever it brings you.”

He was about to nod his head in return when she turned around and he gasped at the sight of the crest on her cloak and dropped to his knees.

“Milady, forgive me, I did not know!”

She turned back quickly, to see him face down in the moss. It was then that she realized what she had done.

“Majesty could you ever forgive a man his ignorance?”

There was silence for a moment, where she considered her answer.

She’d never come across a situation such as this before, a man so willing to speak to her without pretense or preparation… and she had ruined it with the simple knowledge of her identity.

“I could…” Her voice was playful and she could see his head slightly lift in curiosity as she began to pace in front of him. “If such a man was willing to keep encounters, such as this one, to himself?”

He looked up at her then, not saying a word.

“If the royal guard were to know that their Queen was playing in the forest… now what example would that set?”

He couldn’t help the slight smile that grew on his lips, one which she hesitantly returned. He stood slowly, standing nearly half a foot taller, yet barely intimidating to the young queen.

He noticed the glint in her eyes…and the beginning of her game. “Perhaps then… Majesty…” He slightly bowed his head “…in reward for his silence, you would honor this man with another visit?”

For a moment she looked appalled, but as her green eyes studied his hazel ones, she found herself getting lost in them. She blushed slightly and turned her head away before looking up at him again, feeling the flutter in the pit of her stomach as this raven haired stranger looked into her soul. “I suppose, if I were properly motivated, I could find myself here once again…”

He smirked and lent towards her. “Only if you were to permit me, my Queen…”

His breath was warm against her face as he lent even closer. Her breathing became ragged as she had never before felt a man’s presence so close. Her heart beat faster as his hand reached out… “You are stepping dangerously close to an offence punishable by death…”

Her voice was a strangled whisper, but it was clear all the same and he stopped moving.

“My apologies, my Queen.” He stepped away from her, turning away and missing the look of disappointment wash over her face. “I should not have been so foreword… could you forgive me again?”

Wrapping her arms around herself, she sighed and smiled kindly. “I should go… it is getting dark.”

“Will I see you again?”

She smiled softly; she bit her lip for a moment then grinned. Quickly she moved towards him and left the lightest of kisses on his cheek. “I believe so, Mr… Shepherd.”

He laughed out loud as she gathered up her dress, grabbed her shoes from the bank of the stream and ran through the trees until she was out of sight.

***

To the young Shepherd’s knowledge, the Queen was not going to return.

His hopes to see her again were faint at best and he was shocked when he sat by the stream the following evening and he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He gasped in surprise and turned to see her there, smirking and attempting to hide her laughter.

“I did not believe you would return, your Majesty.” He inclined his head slightly.

“Please… my name is Elizabeth; I would wish someone to use it in my lifetime.”

“Very well M… Elizabeth.”

She grinned and took his hand, pulling him with her as she ran through the forest.

“Where are we going?”

“To where the world cannot find us!” She laughed, turning back to him with her long curls hitting her in the face as they ran together.

***

For days they would meet amongst the trees, under the cover of dusk.

He marveled in her ability to talk for hours without missing a beat. Talking about anything and everything as though she didn’t have a care in the world. And in those moments, he was honored to see the young woman behind the mighty monarch.

He’d avoided telling her his name for so long. He’d met her by the stream everyday, listened to her stories about her childhood, about what made her laugh, what made her afraid. He had held her hand as she twirled a long blade of grass within her fingers as they walked along the banks of the river.

He could happily lie in the tall grass of their meadow and listen to her, but the guilt that was beginning to weigh down on him was becoming too hard to bear.

Some days it was easier, when she’d laugh and play games, but when she would lay back against the soft grass, look up at the sky and he could see the reflection of the stars in her eyes… he realized that he had grown to love her.

And of all things that could come of their time together, that would be the worst.

“Are you alright?”

He startled when he heard her voice. He reached out for her hand and smiled softly. “I’m fine.”

“You know, sir… we have spoken often and I still do not know your name…” The smirk on her face was playful, and so was the look in her eyes as she lent over him. But the question made him feel anything but.

He had been avoiding it, because he knew that when he told her, she’d hate him, or worse, never talk to him again and that he didn’t think he could bear.

“Come now it’s getting late; you have to get back to the palace if you want to be ready for the festival tomorrow.”

“But what if I don’t want to attend the festival?” She pouted and it took all his willpower to fight her.

“You have to go…”

Elizabeth sat back in the grass and brought her knees up to her chest. “I don’t want to marry; I don’t need this ridiculous festival to find a suitor, why can’t I just stay here with you?”

“You don’t even know me.”

She moved closer to him with hope in her eyes. “I’ll get to know you, we can learn everything there is to know about one another and we can leave all of this behind.”

“You would give up your kingdom, your people and their welfare, for me?”

She was frozen for a moment, before sadness filled her eyes. “I don’t want to feel this. I’m not wise enough to lead my people, I don’t have the knowledge and yet… I don’t want some King from a foreign land to come here and marry me for it… why does life have to be so hard? Why can’t I marry you? I could be a shepherd’s wife.”

He smiled kindly and gently touched her cheek. “No, you couldn’t and I wouldn’t want that for you. Your beauty and intelligence would be wasted. You need to lead your people and you need to go to the festival.”

“But I don’t want to!”

“Elizabeth…”

She cut him off. “What right do you have, sir? To tell me what I am and am not capable of?!” He stood to face her. “What right do you have to say that I am unworthy of being a shepherd’s wife?!”

“Elizabeth you are mincing my words… please…”

“Good night, sir.” Her voice was bitter and angry.

“Please Elizabeth…” He grabbed her wrist. “Don’t hate me for saying what you know in your heart to be true.”

Her anger deflated and slowly a smile grew on her lips. “I’m sorry… I just… sometimes I wish I wasn’t born to this.”

“I can understand that.” His answer was quick and he noticed the strange look that she gave him, but he brushed it off. “So, are you going to attend the festival?”

She nodded slowly, casting her eyes down. Gently he rested his fingers beneath her chin and guided her face to look at him.

“Would you show me?”

He was confused. “Show you what?”

“What it’s like to feel loved.”

He ran his fingers over her cheek, gently, slowly brushing the hair from her face. She watched him patiently, as he lent towards her and she could feel his warm breath on her lips.

She was frozen for a moment, as his lips touched hers, but hesitantly she kissed him back, closing her eyes and savoring the new sensations.

The deep and passionate kiss was painfully fast, leaving Elizabeth standing free of his hold with her eyes still closed.

“Was it all that you wanted?”

“More…” She breathed out and he smiled.

“Elizabeth, I do love you… but this cannot be…”

“Why?”

He hated to see such pain in her eyes; it wasn’t fitting for her beauty to be shadowed by a frown. “Because you don’t know me…you may love me, but you have no idea who I am… and you would not love me if you did.”

“How do you know that? How do you know my love isn’t strong enough to withstand the knowledge of your name…that is all that I want…just your name?”

He sighed and held her hands within his, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.

“I am not who you might think I am.”

“What does that matter? What could be so terrible in your past that we can’t overcome?”

He shook his head. “It isn’t my past… it’s my present.”

“So? We’re both strong…”

“You’re young Elizabeth, you wouldn’t understand.”

Her face hardened in anger and she pulled her hands from his. “You are right. I don’t know you at all!”

As the first tear broke through she ran from him. He tried to follow her, but she disappeared amongst the trees.

***

Prince John followed his father and mother the length of the grand entrance to the palace.

He could see all around, the beautiful masks and costumes of the Queen’s guests. Lines and lines of young princes and nobles were all poised to offer her their hand in marriage.

He wasn’t so excited.

He had spent many months in this country, seeing things and feeling things he’d never thought possible. He couldn’t help but feel that the Queen was not going to choose him as her King. He had ruined his chance before it was even handed to him.

They followed the long procession of guests up the grand staircase to the large, beautifully decorated ballroom.

His eyes lit up as he saw the Queen, sitting upon her throne, watching her people dance. Her eyes were young, but her posture and grace created an image of a ruler with far more experience than her 18 years.

He watched her as she watched the people and he noticed that her warm, inviting, persona was a mask. She was acting, quite convincingly of course, but acting nonetheless.

She was a million miles away, perhaps in a lush forest, where none of this mattered.

He pitied her in that moment, where he could see just what pained her.

John stepped up to the throne behind his parents, as his family was announced. He wondered for a moment, if the light returned to her eyes because she could feel his presence, or because her rival stood before her.

His father, King Rupert of Taurana was the most hated rival of the Queen of Atlantis and her father before her. Even Prince John was ashamed to be offering his hand in marriage, for she would likely tear him down just to prove her power over them.

But something inside him told him that she would never do such a demeaning thing, that acts like that were reserved for people such as his father, a man he loved and hated with all of his heart.

“King Rupert, Queen Jezebel and the Prince, John of Taurana.”

They were announced and all three bowed their heads.

But John found himself looking up at the Queen as she stood over his father. “King Rupert… I suspect it is your son that you offer me as truce.” It was a statement, not a question and as the room silenced, John knew that everyone knew it.

Her armies defeated Taurana in the largest battle between the neighboring kingdoms in 100 years. She had been far more hospitable about the ongoing war than his father had, and he admired that in her. Especially for a woman five years his junior and almost 38 years younger than his father.

She was amazing in her analysis of battles and often destroyed her enemies whilst skillfully avoiding casualty. She was diplomatic and loyal to her allies; this earned her many friends amongst the neighboring countries and their leaders.

“I offer you the hand of my son, your Majesty, in honor of our ongoing truce and alliance.” King Rupert bowed his head and she slowly lowered her hand to rest on his crown.

“I accept your offer King Rupert, but I do not yet accept your son as my husband.”

The king bowed his head again, and stepped away from her leaving a path for her to step down towards Prince John.

“Do you accept you father’s pact, Prince?”

He was somewhat startled by her question, he had not expected her to treat him as though he or she had a choice in the matter, as he believe they did not.

“I do your majesty; I am at your will.”

He could see her lips twitch beneath her golden mask and she tilted her head to the side. There was a hint of recognition in her eyes and in that moment, he feared it. “Raise you mask, Prince.”

John hesitated for a moment. “Perhaps, your Majesty, we could remain mysterious, as this is what the festival intends?”

She smirked and held her hand out to silence King Rupert, who felt the heat rise to his cheeks, ready to command his son to comply. “Dear Prince, do you think I would harm you by knowing your face?”

“No, your Majesty, I simply do not wish to frighten you.”

She laughed out loud and the room laughed with her. Hers was an angelic tone, only muffled by the up roar around her before she raised her hand and the room silenced once again. “Prince John, I have heard rumors of your attractiveness from many… I assure you, you will not frighten me.”

Slowly, hesitantly, the Prince raised his black mask and stood to meet her gaze.

She stood frozen in that moment as she recognized his face. “…The Shepherd.” Her voice was barely a whispered, but he knew exactly what she had said.

“Elizabeth…”

She cut him off, anger rose in her throat and her eyes brimmed with tears. “I am the Queen of Atlantis, you will not address me so informally, Sir!”

He bowed his head quickly, fighting the hate in his heart. Hate for himself and hate for his father. “I apologize my Queen, it was not my intention to offend… as it was not my intention to lie.”

She studied him, as his head slowly rose, everyone in the room was confused and none understood what seemed to be a private moment between the two apparent strangers.

“Could you forgive a man his stupidity?”

She focused on him for what seemed like an eternity, remembering their first encounter, where she met a shepherd and he met a girl dancing in a stream, before she let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. “Perhaps, Sir… if I were properly motivated.”

He smiled at that and she smiled back through the tears that she willed to fade. None had noticed the light shimmer beneath her eyes and she thanked her mask for this.

“Then, your Majesty, if you would permit me… may I have this dance?”

Slowly she raised her hand and he took it whilst placing a light kiss upon the back. “I would be honored.”

The crowd parted as they walked out onto the floor and the music began to play again.

She lost herself in that waltz, as his hand moved to the small of her back and he held her hand to his chest. Emerald was lost in deep chocolate as she calmly followed his lead and her people watched in awe.

“Do you think this is possible?”

John sighed and looked down at her. “Do you think you could accept the son of your enemy?”

The young queen smirked. “The son of my enemy? No. But the man whom I love? Perhaps.”

He smiled openly down at her. And she grinned like a child, like the first time he had met her. “Would you accept this man if he promised himself to you, if he broke all ties to the kingdom from whence he came?”

She stopped dancing and dropped his hands staring at him. “I could never ask you to do that.”

He smiled and took her hand in his once more. “I was not suggesting that you do… I will do it, if you wish me to marry you. I will give you anything.”

“I could not ask you to give up your kingdom, your inheritance.”

He glanced around the room, making sure that no one was watching them; he knew that somewhere someone would be, but he could worry about that later.

He gently moved a curl from her eyes and rested his hand on her cheek. “I love you… I fell in love with you the first time I met you. If you wish I will marry you and be yours forever. You are all that I want…”

Slowly she nodded her head and he smiled. Letting go of her hand as she stepped back and the music came to a stop.

“The Queen will now announce her choice.”

Her eyes widened as she looked up at the podium, where her head council had just spoken. With one final glance at John she walked towards it.

“Lords, Ladies, I thank you for joining me tonight and I now wish to announce to you all my engagement, to Prince John of Taurana.” She smiled openly as she held her hand out to him; he took it and kissed it gently before she urged him to step up onto the podium with her.

Their were many disappointed men in the crowd, though thankfully their scowls were covered by masks… Elizabeth finally understood the purpose of the festival, where the happy were free to wear no mask, and the disappointed were covered from sight.

Pulling her mask from her face, she raised her hand and threw it into the air, closely followed by John’s and the crowd erupted in applause.

The head council of the Queen, the Earl and Knight of Landry who had become a father to her, stepped between them and held her hand in his left, and John’s hand in his right. He held their hands in the air and silenced the cheers.

“I give this union my blessing and pray that many years of happiness befall her royal Majesty and he who is deemed worthy of her love.”

The crowd applauded again, but the young couple heard none of the cheers, for their focus was on each other.

The End.

Sun Kissed

2006-09-22T05:05:59Z

Title: Sun Kissed
Rating: PG
Pairings: John/Elizabeth.
Summary: John Sheppard was really going to suffer.
Warnings: None
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Disclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.
Author's Notes: This idea actually came from Torri herself who said she'd like to see them have a beach party on Atlantis, and Rachael added that she'd probably have to wear a gold bikini.
Feedback: Is Teh love.

John Sheppard was going to suffer.

Elizabeth sat with a towel wrapped around her.

She couldn’t believe that she’d let John talk her into this. She couldn’t believe that she’d let him con her into it with those puppy-dog eyes and that “I’m so painfully cute, please don’t refuse me, I’ll cry” face.

He was going to cop it later.

He’d better hope he doesn’t sleep tonight.

Elizabeth watched her people on the beach. Mostly it was a lot of the men that were there for a day of surfing. A lot of the scientists had declined the invitation and Elizabeth had been a little nervous leaving Rodney on Atlantis where he could cause all sorts of trouble.

But John had convinced her to come.

She watched as a group of Marines played a game of football and some of the airmen surfed the large waves that crashed against the shore. She tried very hard to ignore the lean and muscled body of one in particular as his board cut effortlessly through the waves.

She was managing, at least she believed that she was, until he stopped in the shallows and picked up his board. Her breath hitched as he flicked his head back, shaking the salt water out of his raven hair. He jogged up the beach toward her, water glistening on his chest and she had to fight herself to avert her gaze.

“Aren’t you coming swimming, Elizabeth?” It was an innocent question, asked purely because he had invited her on this little outing and so far all she’d done was sit on the beach and hide under a large towel.

“Umm, no thank you John, I’m happy just to watch.” She wanted to hit herself for how that sounded.

“Ah, well, suit yourself… I’m going to teach Ronon and Teyla how to play beach volleyball.” He grinned, raising his eyebrows in that gorgeous, excited way that he does, before dropping his board in the sand beside her and running off toward the large Satedan and the short Athosian, who’d been given a golden bikini as a gift from an anonymous source.

Elizabeth found herself watching the young woman as she ran about the sand with ease, playing and feeling no self-consciousness whatsoever. It made Elizabeth’s feeling of self-consciousness increase tenfold.

It wasn’t that she was ashamed of her body; she liked it and she’d worked very hard over the years to stay trim. But watching her young friend and the amount of eyes that followed her made a woman feel more than a little inadequate.

She flinched a little as John glanced her way. He beckoned her over but she just shook her head with a tiny smile. He beckoned again and, of course, she refused again. She watched as he tried to teach them how to hit the ball.

Major Lorne, on the other side of the net, launched the ball softly over and Teyla smacked it back with ease, learning quickly.

But Elizabeth had to laugh at Ronon; the large man was having trouble holding his hands right.

She knew it was both hands together, thumbs side by side, but Ronon couldn’t seem to get it right. John tried valiantly to teach him, but the more he missed the ball the more he became frustrated and angry.

Elizabeth watched with amusement as it started an argument between the two men.

She grinned when the next ball was lobbed over the net and Ronon dived for it but missed yet again and gained himself a mouthful of sand. She lurched forward, ready to get up and help John when the six-foot tall Satedan came barrelling towards him, but she remembered herself and sat back down, pulling the towel closer.

Ronon tackled John into the sand and Elizabeth laughed from where she sat, seeing Teyla trying to pull him off and Lorne avoiding all contact.

They managed to call a truce and Ronon tried again. He hit it this time but it barely rose above the height of his hands before it fell lifelessly into the sand. The glare he shot John could have killed him twice over and Elizabeth threw her towel to the ground and ran over to help before any damage could be done. “You have to relax your arms.”

She took hold of Ronon’s hands and shook them a little. She didn’t notice that everyone had gone silent, or that Ronon was staring at her. “Here, hold your hands together.”

He kept his eyes on her, but he did as told.

“That’s right. Now, hold your arms out… Major, would you mind?” Lorne stared at her, unmoving. “Major?” She urged and he cleared his throat before stepping back to lob the ball over again.

Elizabeth held Ronon’s hands in hers and he watched her as she lent forward, reaching their arms out to hit the ball. His focus fell from her to the ball as it flew with ease back over the net and Elizabeth turned around and grinned at John in triumph.

She’d taught the caveman when he couldn’t.

“Oh you think that’s good, do you?”

“I think I managed where you failed, Colonel.” She raised an eyebrow and only then realised that his eyes had never been on her face. Elizabeth glanced around and she could see that their immediate group were all focused on her. It was then that she noticed what she had done.

Her towel had been discarded and now she stood in nothing more that a black bikini in the centre of their volleyball court.

She blushed slightly and began to walk back towards the safety of her towel.

She startled suddenly when John reached out and grabbed her by the waist. The feeling of his hands on the bare flesh of her stomach sent shivers through her but she composed herself before meeting his gaze.

“Don’t cover up.”

It wasn’t an order, nor was it a request. There was a look in his eyes that she couldn’t read, though she found herself smiling at it.

She didn’t answer, but she turned around to see the smiling faces of her team and grinned in return.

“Wanna play? Seeing as you obviously know how.” John asked with a genuine smile.

“OK.”

And so they paired off in teams.

Elizabeth found herself loosening up as they played. She was on a team with John and Ronon, while the other team was comprised of Lorne, Teyla and Carson.

She dived for the ball and managed to get it over the net by little more than a hair and laughed when John jumped up and down with excitement.

He helped her off the ground as Teyla lined up her serve.

The ball was passed back and forth with neither team gaining the upper hand. Elizabeth smiled kindly at Ronon when he asked for help and she smacked John’s arm when he even thought about teasing his alien friend.

The sun was starting to set as their game was nearing the end. Everyone on the beach had gathered around them to watch as it had become more and more intense.

Carson lined up the final serve for the game and with a sift jump and smack, the ball was over the net and flying towards John.

Elizabeth stood up close to the net, ready to hit the ball if it fell short, but was completely oblivious to that fact that it was her back, shimmering with sweat, that had caused the Colonel to miss the shot.

The ball hit him square in the head and bounced into the air.

Ronon caught sight of it and jumped for it, launching himself across the court. He landed face down in the sand but managed to keep the ball in play. Elizabeth hit it up and over, smacking it hard into the sand on the other side, winning the game.

John was knocked out of it by her squeal of excitement and Ronon’s hand slapping him on the back. He jumped up and down and ran towards Elizabeth, grinning widely before picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder.

The team laughed as he ran towards the waves.

Elizabeth screamed and cried out for help but no one came to her rescue, leaving John bolting towards the ocean and diving into water, soaking them both.

Elizabeth fought her way to the top and gasped her air. She wiped her hair out of her eyes and glared at the man that sat beside her. “You’ll pay for that.”

“No, I won’t.” He grinned and she wanted so badly to smack that grin off his face right there and then. But the sparkle in his eye practically made her melt.

They stared at each other.

John watched as the cool salt water tricked down her face and he lent towards her.

“What are you doing?”

He smirked and lent closer to her, seeing by the blush in her cheeks and along her neck that she knew exactly what he was doing. “I’m going to kiss you.”

She couldn’t speak. She just watched him, letting her eyes drop to his lips as he licked the sea water away.

“Barbecue’s ready!”

They both flew apart and Elizabeth’s blush reddened even further.

John stood up and held his hand out for her. She took it with a smile and he helped her stand.

John let her walk ahead of him as they made their way up to the small area they had made around the Puddle Jumper, to where Sergeant Barnes had been cooking the steaks and sausages.

“Your eyes better not be where I think they are, Colonel.” She didn’t bother to look over her shoulder as she smirked.

John followed with his eyes, the fresh salt water glistening in the twilight as her hips swayed ahead of him. His eyes fell to her backside and the small patch of material covering her. “Oh, they are exactly where you think they are Ma’am, don’t you worry.”

Oh yes, John Sheppard was definitely going to suffer.

***

What Dreams May Come: Chapter 8

2006-09-21T02:03:56Z

Title: What Dreams May Come
Rating: PG
Chapter: 8 of 8
Pairing/s: John and Elizabeth, Teyla and Ronon
Spoilers: None, this is entirely AU.
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Summary: What life would be if a different path were chosen. John, Elizabeth, Ronon and Teyla grow up together.
Dislclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.
Author's Note: This is now the FINAL chapter, after much thinking (no it didn't hurt) I've decided (with the help of my beta) that ending it here is for the best, it's a better ending.
I hope you guys have enjoyed this, and please, leave as much feedback as possible.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

John tossed and turned in his bed.

His wounds had begun to heal, but sleep had become impossible as focus turned to his memory, or lack of it, rather than the physical injuries that plagued him.

He remembered flashes, faces… a song, or more a tune, that wouldn’t go away. He could remember glimpses but they were never clear and it was really starting to annoy him.

He glanced over at Morana, asleep in her bed and her father not far from her. He smiled and thought of how grateful he should be for their help, but he couldn’t help thinking they were hiding something from him.

He was about to roll over when he noticed something glittering in the moonlight… something just peeking out of Morana’s pocket.

His curiosity got the better of him and he crawled across the floor towards her bed.

Gently, trying not to wake her, he started to pull on the object. He discovered after a moment that it was a chain and it seemed to just keep going until two flat pieces of metal clanked down onto the bed.

He tensed up for a moment as she rolled over but breathed out when she didn’t wake.

He sat back on the floor and studied them intently… they were identification of some kind… for a Major John Sheppard.

He said that name over and over in his head several times and it started to sound very familiar.

Almost like he had been saying it for years…

He read the details on the tags:

Mj. John Sheppard
AB+
US Air Force
10824435

He looked between the tags and Morana for a moment, wondering how, or more importantly why, she had kept them from him.

He ran his fingers over the engraving, grinding his teeth in anger until he noticed a small piece of paper on the bed beside her, one that had obviously fallen out of her pocket along with the tags.

He picked it up and studied the back of it:

“Don’t forget me, John.
xxx Elizabeth.”

Slowly, almost fearfully, he turned the photograph over in his hand and in that one moment, that one profound second of clarity, his memory came rushing back to him.

He saw faces and places, he heard names and laughter. There was a dog that he brought in secret and a child that was sent away. The memories were a jumbled mess as they came back, but he remembered them all in startling clarity.

But some memories stood out amongst them all.

A small plastic ring from a candy machine.

And a porcelain faced doll that made this green eyed woman smile.

Elizabeth… he remembered Elizabeth and that she was waiting for him.

“Oh god… what have I done?”

“Oh… no.”

John looked up as he heard the muffled curse. And he glared as she studied the objects in his hands. There was silence between them for a moment, until John worked up the effort to make his voice sound calm. “Why?”

Her eyes were wide as she looked up at him. “I…I…”

“Why?” He repeated, harsher.

“I didn’t want you to leave.”

“That’s it!” He stood angrily. “That’s it! You just didn’t want me to leave? Can’t you see that I have a life that I have to go back to… can’t you see that there are people waiting for me!?” He held the photo of Elizabeth out to her and she turned her eyes away from it. “I’m meant to marry her… don’t you understand that… don’t you care about what this has done to her? She most likely thinks I’m DEAD!”

“I’m sorry…”

“How could you do that Morana? I thought you cared… I thought you wanted to help me!”

“I did… I mean I do, I just…” A tear fell from her eye. “When I saw you, lying there like that, I just wanted to… I wanted to be the one that you carried an image of in your pocket.”

John breathed deeply for a moment. He glanced between Morana and the picture of Elizabeth.

“I LOVE her.” He emphasised the word. “Do you understand? I can’t believe you’d try and make me forget her.”

“I… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologise…”

“But, please…” Her eyes were pleading but John just turned around and left the hut.

He grabbed his jacket and pulled it on before she ran out and tried to grab hold of his arm. “John… Please!”

He shook her off him. “DON’T touch me.”

Morana’s father stepped out of the hut rubbing his eyes.

“I need to know the best way to the closest US Air Force base?”

The little old man nodded and pointed west.

“Thank you.” John started to walk down the thin dirt road.

Morana tried to run after him but her father held her back. “You never had his heart child, forget him.” He whispered in his own language and she broke down in tears.

***

Elizabeth pulled her graduation cap off her head as her friends crowded around her, hugging her and congratulating her.

She’d passed her courses and obtained a few degrees… she’d even been offered a position to train with a UN delegate to become a negotiator but none of it meant much without John there to hug her and kiss her and squeeze her with pride until it hurt.

She hadn’t resigned herself to believing he was dead… not yet.

They still hadn’t found his body. They’d discovered both of his friends, Mitch crushed by his own plane and Dex, halfway between that and a small village.

But no John.

In her heart she believed he was still trying to find his way home.

And that’s when, amongst the crowd of her friends and family, she caught a glimpse of official blue. She knew it wasn’t Jack because he was behind her with Sam. She craned her neck to see over them and noticed the top of an Air Force cover.

“OH MY GOD!” She screamed and forced her way through the group.

She ripped off her graduation gown, freeing her legs clad in jeans, to run full tilt towards him.

The others turned around to see what it was she was screaming about and the entire group silenced and stared as she launched herself at him, wrapping her legs around his waist as he spun her around.

“Oh, John! Where on Earth have you been?!” She slapped his arm but then grinned and kissed him soundly.

“Oh, you know… bombed, chased, suffered memory loss and internal bleeding… the usual.” He grinned and she kissed him again.

“It’s been so long I thought… we thought the worst.”

John looked up at her seriously, holding his arms around her waist tighter. “I made a promise Elizabeth… and I told you, I fully intended to keep it.”

Elizabeth dropped down to stand on her own and grabbed his hand, dragging him over to the group that welcomed him with open arms and relief that he was indeed alive and well.

***

John didn’t want to waste any time.

He dragged Elizabeth out that very same week to get her a new, real, engagement ring and within the next two weeks they had set a date for the wedding.

There were a few debates about the location but eventually they agreed that the ceremony would be at the mountain lookout at sunset. The reception would be provided by the Air Force at the heritage listed function house on base, a beautiful old building with large open rooms and chandeliers.

Elizabeth picked out her dress and spun around in a circle in front of John. Her mother stood to her left with a scowl on her face as Elizabeth spun.

“Do you like the dress, John?”

He studied her for a moment, taking in every curve and sparkle of the dress. “You look like an angel.”

“See mom, he likes it…” She turned back to John. “Mom thinks it’s unconventional but I like it without the veil.”

“No Elizabeth, I simply stated that you could at least have something traditional.”

“I’m having a white dress aren’t I, mom? When we all know I’m not…”

Her mother cut her off. “Elizabeth Weir! I will not have you speaking so crudely!” She exclaimed.

“Well you didn’t exactly give me a chance to say it.”

“I don’t need to, I know what you were going to say and I assure you, I do NOT need to know the details.”

John smirked and Elizabeth giggled behind her hand.

***

It was only two days before the wedding and, as John paced their room, Elizabeth started to worry that he was getting cold feet.

“Are you nervous, John?”

He looked at her quickly. “No! Oh God no, Elizabeth. I love you, I can’t wait to marry you…” He took her hands in his.

“Then why are you pacing?”

“I… I was trying to think of the best way to tell you.”

“Tell me what?” He studied her eyes for a moment, before moving up onto the bed and climbing under the covers beside her.

“What happened to me…out there.”

Elizabeth glanced away. “I thought you weren’t ever going to tell.”

“Oh, I wanted to, so many times… but when I saw you in that dress the other day, when it hit home that this is all real, I knew I had to tell you.”

“OK then, John…I’m listening.”

He took a deep breath and started to explain everything that he had done and seen, how he watched his friends planes go down and how he knew it was his fault. How he tried so hard to save Dex, but it was no use.

He told her about the dreams he had while he was there, of her, of their past. He glanced at the porcelain faced doll on her nightstand as he told her about Morana and what she had done.

Elizabeth ran her fingers gently across his cheek as he told her how much pain it had caused when he realised what it must have been like for her living day to day with no knowledge of what had happened to him.

She told him about what she went though, that while traumatic, no where near as painful as his ordeal. She had friends and family and an annoying man who wanted to sleep with her to fight off, that filled up her time.

He had endless days of nothingness, only the familiar face of a stranger in the mirror.

***

They went into their marriage with no secrets and no stories left untold, because they told each other everything on that night.

John stood on the edge of the lookout with the minister by his side and Rodney, Carson and Ronon on the other side.

They watched as Laura walked down the aisle in her green bridesmaid dress, then Sam in her blue one, and finally Teyla in purple.

Elizabeth had insisted on a wedding with as much colour as possible, hence why each bridesmaid wore a different colour and each groomsman wore coloured ties to match their partner.

Elizabeth walked down the aisle with her father, much to her mother’s insistence that she wasn’t to walk alone.

She grinned at John from the end of the aisle, and he graciously took her hand from her father and turned her towards the minister and the setting sun.

***

They waltzed to ‘The Book of Love’ by Peter Gabriel at the reception, and partied to ‘And we Danced’ by The Hooters. John laughed out loud when he realised Elizabeth was drunk and giggly.

The reception went on until the early hours of the morning and John was content to sit back and watch as his new wife humoured his friends by dancing at least once with every one of them. She even danced with Teyla and Sam; a testament, really, to how drunk she was.

But he didn’t have the heart to stop her fun.

Especially not when she ran over to him and dragged him onto the dance floor.

Being extremely careful that he didn’t stand on her dress that was now trailing a considerable length across the ground since she removed her shoes, they stood closely together and shared a dance.

***

They staggered into the hotel room around 4 in the morning and Elizabeth collapsed face down onto the bed.

John laughed out loud as she rolled over and glared at him.

“Don’t think you are getting off that easy, mister!” She waved her finger at him.

She leant up and before he had a chance to react she grabbed him by his tie and pulled him down onto the bed with her.

“You wanna see what the girls got for me?” Elizabeth slurred and John laughed as she crawled out from under him and stood up on the bed awkwardly, though still possessing the sense of grace she carried in a sober state.

Slowly she undid the back of her strapless dress and let the gown drop and pool around her feet.

John stared up at her, looking her over inch for inch and mentally noting to thank the women his wife called friends for their amazing taste in undergarments.

Later.

The End.

What Dreams May Come: Chapter 7

2006-09-18T06:44:29Z

Title: What Dreams May Come
Rating: PG
Chapter: 7 of 9 (HAHA, CHECK THAT OUT VOYAGER FANS, hehehe)
Pairing/s: John and Elizabeth, Teyla and Ronon
Spoilers: None, this is entirely AU.
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Summary: What life would be if a different path were chosen. John, Elizabeth, Ronon and Teyla grow up together.
Dislclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

John woke slowly.

His eyes were heavy and his head ached as he opened them.

He could see a light shining through the cracks in the walls and a small wrinkled face peering down at him.

“Who are you?” He asked as he tried to sit up, but firm hands pushed him back down, muttering stern words in a language he didn’t understand.

As he looked around the room, he noticed another face watching him from a dark corner, a young woman who left the room as soon as he met her eyes.

“Where am I?”

“Village…” The stern-faced old man said in broken English. “You have name?”

He blinked a few times, trying to think, but it just wouldn’t come. “I… I don’t know.” His eyes opened wider in panic. “How did I get here?”

“Daughter find you in forest… she get hunters, bring you to me… no name, no mark.” The old man pointed to a Velcro patch on his shoulder where some kind of patch would go. “You sleep now.”

Then the man left the room.

He wanted to stay awake, he wanted to know what was going on, what had happened…but his eyes were heavy and his body was tired. Perhaps a few hours sleep wouldn’t hurt, he thought as he let himself drift into sleep.

***

He watched as a hand trailed over soft silky skin, her shoulder illuminated by the sun pouring in the window, creating a golden glow around her.

He smiled as she rolled over, deep brown curls falling in her eyes as she buried her face in his hand, the hand that had been caressing her shoulder so gently.

“Morning…” She mumbled, without opening her eyes.

“Morning.” He answered. Trying to understand how he had gotten here and why it felt like he was meant to be here, with this woman, for some reason that eluded him.

Slowly she opened her eyes and he was slightly taken aback by the depth of green in them. “What are you thinking?”

He smiled and brushed the curls that still hung in her eyes out of the way. “That you’re beautiful.” She giggled. It was a soft sound, barely audible but pretty and delicate all the same. “Elizabeth?”

“Mmmm?” She closed her eyes again, snuggling closer into his side.

“What happened to me?” He didn’t know why he thought she would know, he didn’t even know how he knew her name, but he did.

“What do you mean?”

“How did I get here?”

She opened her eyes once more and smiled, touching his cheek gently. “This is just one stop on your journey.” She whispered.

***

John’s eyes shot open suddenly and he sat upright in the bed. He grabbed his head for a moment as it pounded but it soon subsided and he glanced around.

“Where were you going?” A woman’s voice asked and he turned quickly to see the same young woman from before, standing in the corner.

“I don’t know.”

She stepped towards him and sat down on a stool by the bed. “What do you remember?”

“Umm…” He eyed her for a moment, then slowly he started to remember something… Darkness, fire… a woman and a dream that almost felt like a memory. “I remember a face, broken, yet… beautiful. I remember green eyes and silk clothing.”

“And yet you do not remember who you are?”

He glanced down at his feet. “I guess, perhaps, she is more important to me… whoever she is.”

The young girl looked away from him and he could see certain sadness in her eyes that he couldn’t place.

“Have I offended you?”

“No!” She said quickly. “No, you haven’t…”

She quickly stood and left the room. She stopped just outside the door and pulled a small piece of paper out of her pocket and a chain with two metal pieces on it, she studied them for a moment and the names imbedded on each.

Green eyes.

She focused on the green eyes and the broad smile of the woman in the photo and then tucked them back into her pocket and went about her chores.

***

Ronon followed Teyla around the campus, searching for Elizabeth’s dorm.

They looked everywhere, searching the wrong dorms, then apparently they were in the right one but she wasn’t there.

They found Carson walking past them and sighed in relief.

“Carson!” Teyla called out and he jogged over to them.

“We’ve been looking all over this place for Elizabeth… but it’s good to see a friendly face.”

Carson smiled down at Teyla. “It’s good to see you two as well.” His smile suddenly faded away. “But… Elizabeth won’t exactly talk to anyone right now.”

“Why?”

Carson looked up at Ronon. “Well, she’s adamant that John is fine…”

“Where is she?” Teyla asked softly.

“In the Library.”

“What’s she doing in the library?”

Carson shuffled uncomfortably. “Ah…studying herself into an early grave.”

“Can you take us to her, Carson?” Teyla asked kindly.

“Sure… this way.”

***

Elizabeth sat at the back of the library.

Her head was as deep in a book as she could possibly get it without touching her nose to the pages. And her feet were up and crossed on the chair opposite.

A man’s voice invaded her privacy. “Heard your boyfriend skipped out on you.”

“Go away…” She muttered, pulling the book even closer to her face.

“I’m sorry, but it’s not that simple.” He pulled the chair out from beneath her feet and she jerked forward.

“HEY!” She shrieked, glaring up at the man.

“I just figured you might want some company… seeing as your boyfriend left you… that’s what I heard.”

“Well, your sources are wrong.” She looked back down at the book that she wasn’t even reading anymore.

“I don’t see how, I’m pretty resourceful.”

Elizabeth turned away. “Please go away.” She whispered as a tear escaped her eye.

“Hey… if you want to talk…”

“Why the hell would I want to talk to you?” She snapped bitterly.

“I don’t know, I mean if he was cheating on you or something…”

She cut him off. “FOR CRYING OUT LOUD HE HASN’T LEFT ME! WOULD YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!” She screamed, earning her the worst ‘you die now’ expression from the librarian.

Grabbing her books, Elizabeth got up and ran down to the other end of the Library.

For the first time, amongst his unrelenting pursuit of Elizabeth, Simon didn’t follow her.

***

John slowly, cautiously, made his way out of the hut.

He blinked against the harsh light of the sun, but his eyes adjusted quickly. He stood there watching the people going about their daily lives. He’d been there for over a month now, recovering and trying desperately to remember who he was and where he came from.

He saw Morana from across the camp and she walked up to him with a smile. “Good morning… it’s good to see you up and walking.”

He’d wondered for a while why she spoke English so well while so many of the others barely uttered a word. She was comfortable with him and had helped him to recover, but the others seemed to view him as an outsider.

“Morning…” He muttered, still watching the people.

“Would you like to go for a walk?”

He finally turned to her and smiled gratefully. “Yeah, sure.”

***

They walked for a while in silence.

She watched him struggle with his cane a little, but never offered to help; she’d learnt not to in their time together. “It’s beautiful today…” She tried to start conversation and though he did look up to the sky, he didn’t say anything. Morana sighed. “What is it that goes on inside your head?”

He turned to her quickly. “I’m sorry?”

“You are like this everyday. You walk around like you are lost deep in thoughts of something, but what are you thinking about…?”

“Oh… ah, well…this place…” He gestured to the trees and lush grass that surrounded them. “It kinda reminds me of something… ” He squinted his eyes, trying to remember. “There… there was a little girl and a doll… a boy tried to hurt her…”

Morana bit her lip for a moment and then grabbed his arm. “Let’s go see the lake.” She grinned and pulled him with her.

***

Elizabeth curled up on the porch outside her dorm with a bottle of wine and Sedge at her feet.

The small dog was no longer a puppy, but still small enough to fit on the chair with her.

She watched the cars drive past and buried herself in thoughts as she’d come to do every night now, hoping he’d just step up onto the porch, holding his arms out with a cheesy grin on his face and say, “Honey! I’m home!” with laughter in his voice.

But he never came.

“Hey Elizabeth…”

She turned slowly at the sound of the soft Australian accent. “Hey Hannah, Hello Ky… how are you guys?”

They smiled at her. “We’re good…you know us…weird issues, always overcoming them for some unknown reason… we were worried about you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah…”

“Isn’t that the second bottle tonight?” Ky blurted out and Elizabeth sighed.

“Maybe…”

Hannah glanced at the half emptied bottle and the dog snoring happily at her feet. “She’s cute.”

Elizabeth looked down at Sedge with a smile. “Yeah, John left her for me when he left…”

A tear trickled down her cheek and Ky slapped Hannah’s arm. Hannah shrugged as if saying ‘Well, how was I supposed to know?’ and Ky rolled her eyes. “Well, we’ll leave you too it… I hope the twat here didn’t upset you too much.”

Hannah glared at Ky and Elizabeth smiled softly. “No, you guys are great, thanks for the concern, but I’ll be fine.”

“OK, well, if you need anything, just let us know… we aren’t good for much, but we’ll attempt to cheer you up…somehow. Probably by doing something stupid.”

“Thanks guys, but I’m fine, really.”

They both nodded and walked into the building, not seeing Elizabeth’s smile fall away and the tears start to flow.

What Dreams May Come: Chapter 6

2006-09-15T06:52:00Z

Title: What Dreams May Come
Rating: PG
Chapter: 6 of 9
Pairing/s:John and Elizabeth, Teyla and Ronon
Spoilers: None, this is entirely AU.
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Summary: What life would be if a different path were chosen. John, Elizabeth, Ronon and Teyla grow up together.
Dislclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Elizabeth and Sam were playing with Sedge on the floor of their room when there was a knock on the door.

Sam got up to answer it while Elizabeth giggled as the small dog tried to tackle her.

“Jack, hey!” Sam grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck. He hugged her back, but the effort wasn’t there. “What’s wrong?”

“Is Elizabeth here?”

Elizabeth looked up when she heard her name.

“Yeah, she’s here… Jack, what’s wrong?”

He walked into the room and sat down on Sam’s bed. Elizabeth just stared up at his sombre expression and clutched Sedge close to her. “It’s John, isn’t it?”

Jack couldn’t speak for a moment, as he watched tears well up in her eyes.

“What’s happened to him?”

Sam sat down next to Elizabeth and took her into her arms.

“His plane was shot down…” Elizabeth gasped. “Just outside of Kabul. We don’t know if there were any survivors because the area hasn’t been cleared. No one has been able to go in and see if he’s alive.”

Elizabeth buried her face in Sam’s shirt as she cried. Sam held her tighter as Sedge waddled across the room and sat at Jack’s feet.

He looked down at the little dog, her expressive brown eyes sad, as if she understood the pain that weighed heavily over the room.

***

John crawled out of the wreckage.

He ducked his head inside the cockpit and pulled out the picture of Elizabeth. It was slightly charred on one corner, but her smile still shone through. He tucked it into his breast pocket, grabbed his 9mm and headed in the direction he’d seen saw Dex go down, hoping that his friend was alive.

He staggered over rocks and lost his footing in a stream. His head started to spin and John reached up, holding his forehead only to realise that blood was sliding down the side of his face. He brushed it aside. He saw smoke climbing over the trees and he headed toward it.

John pulled rubble aside as he climbed through, searching for any sign. “Dex?” He called, but didn’t hear an answer. He pulled away sheets of metal and jumped back when sparks flew towards him, then he stopped suddenly, as he heard a pain filled moan. “Dex!”

Finally, came a muffled response. “Shep…”

“Dex! Hang on, I’m coming!” He dragged one final sheet of metal away to see his friend bloodied and bruised. John grasped his hand quickly. “Dex! I’m here, can you walk?”

“I… I can try.” The other man choked out.

John wrapped an arm around his shoulders and tried with of all his strength to lift his friend up. It took them several attempts, but they finally stood on their feet, leaning heavily on each other.

“What… do… we… do… now?” Dex asked breathlessly.

Determination marred John’s features. “We try and find Mitch, that’s what we do.”

Dex just nodded and lent on John as they started to walk.

The blistering heat scorched them both, baking them in their suits. Dex begged to rest but John pushed him on, they had to find Mitch before it was too late.

Dex tripped on a rock, almost sending the two of them down, but on one knee, John caught their fall, sending sharp stabbing pains all the way up his leg.

“Mitch!” He called out, but just like the first time there was no answer.

The wreckage of Mitch’s plane wasn’t far from Dex’s and they found it through the smoke and dust.

John sat Dex down on a rock and began to dig for his friend.

“Mitch! Mitch!” Still, no answer came.

“Shep!” John didn’t turn around, he kept digging. “Shep.” Dex said in a breathless voice. And after the third try, John finally turned and he just pointed.

John turned his head to see what Dex could see and the warmth of tears forced their way into his eyes, though he wouldn’t let them fall.

Mitch lay, no more that 30 yards away, his face cut and bruised, his arm so obviously broken and his body crushed within the cockpit of the crashed plane. John dropped to his knees, feeling utterly deflated.

He had failed him and that, in John’s mind, was unforgivable.

***

Elizabeth climbed to her feet.

She shook Sam’s arms away and moved from both her and Jack.

“Elizabeth, you need…”

She cut Sam off. “What? What, Sam? What do I need?”

Sam’s previous sentence died on her lips.

“I… I have to go…” Elizabeth paced the room, back and forth, turning around and back again, feeling useless and the need to do something, anything, whilst knowing that there was nothing she could do.

“Elizabeth, maybe you should sit down.” Jack was standing now, moving towards her.

“NO!” She batted his hands away. “No! I need…I need Ronan, no, Teyla…”she stopped and wept for a moment. A desperate sob tore from her. “I want Carson…” She ran from the room, stopping in the hall when Sedge yelped.

Sam and Jack stood in silence and watched her as she scooped up the tiny dog and ran out of the room again.

“She’s going to crack.” Sam stated and Jack turned to her.

“For the first time, I really don’t know what we could do to prevent that.” He whispered and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

***

“Shep…We have to…keep moving.”

John looked up at his friend, the one that was still alive and it all clicked back into place. He had to live. He had to stand, because he couldn’t live with the guilt of two deaths on his shoulders.

Forcing himself to rise, he dragged Dex to his feet and wrapped his arm across his shoulders. He could hear his friend suck in a sharp breath at the jolt of pain and that’s when he knew that Dex had to have broken a few of his ribs.

They staggered like that for hours, the scorching heat doing nothing to hasten their pace.

John glanced at Dex and he could see that he was nodding off whilst still doing his best to stay upright. “Come on Dex, you’ve gotta stay with me. We’ve gotta get to the border.”

“Can’t we just rest for a minute? I just wanna sleep for a little while.”

John shook him and held his body higher. “No, Dex, come on buddy. You can sleep back at the base, just stay with me till we get there.”

“Shep, tell me about your girl?”

John smirked through the blood and dirt caked on his face. “You planning on stealing her from me, Dex? Well, I’m sorry, but she’s not into ugly.”

They both laughed and Dex started to cough, holding his hand against his ribs. “I’ve never had anyone to live for… not like you. What’s it like?”

John breathed out. “It’s worth it, that’s for sure.”

John started telling him everything about Elizabeth, about their life together in the faint hope of keeping him conscious.

***

Carson startled as his door burst open and Elizabeth staggered inside.

“Elizabeth?” He saw the tears on her face and the dog clutched in her arms. “What’s happened?”

He led her over to the bed and sat her down; she tucked her bare feet under her and curled herself around the puppy that just snuggled into her. “It’s John.”

“Oh dear God!” Carson’s eyes widened and he wrapped his arms around his friend. “What happened?”

“His plane was shot down. They don’t know if he’s alive.”

“Oh… you have to have hope lass, how else will he find his way if you don’t believe?”

Elizabeth raised her head and looked him in the eyes. “It’s not that easy, Carson.”

He brushed the curls out of her eyes with a gentle warming smile. “Of course it is. You are his angel, who better to lead him home than you?”

Elizabeth snuggled her nose into the top of sedge’s head. “I hope you’re right Carson… ’cause I don’t know what I would do without him.”

“He’ll make it…” Carson fingered the small plastic ring proudly worn on her finger. “He’s gotta make true on his promise yet. And he hasn’t broken one to date.”

Elizabeth smiled faintly through her tears.

Carson gave her a small smile in return. “You want me to call Ronan and Teyla for ye?”

Elizabeth just nodded.

***

“Whoa! Dex… stay on your feet!” John clutched his friend desperately as his feet finally gave way and the two stumbled to the ground in a heap, losing their strength and rolling into a stream.

“Leave me, Shep…”

John sat up, forgetting his fatigue almost completely and crawled over to his friend. “What are you talking about, buddy? We’re almost there.”

Dex shook his head, his breath raspy and laboured. “I can’t make it, Shep and you know it. I’m just slowing you down.”

“You… you aren’t. Come on…we’re so close.”

“Forget it Shep, you’ve got a girl back home waiting for a fancy wedding…don’t disappoint her on account of me.”

John batted away a tear. “She won’t mind Dex, honestly… she’ll understand.”

Dex shook his head, unable to muster the energy to argue anymore.

“We’ll rest here, just for a little while… then we keep moving.” John said forcefully and Dex just nodded whilst letting his eyes close.

***

John woke with a bright light shining in his eyes.

He blinked against it, trying to fight off the glare and see where it was coming from, until an almost ethereal form took shape before him, forming a beautifully feminine silhouette.

“John… Do you like my dress?” He heard a voice float down from the figure and he recognised it almost immediately.

It was Elizabeth.

“Mom thinks it’s unconventional…” The voice continued, oblivious to his surprise, “but I like it without the veil.” She spun around in a circle and he watched her, in awe of her beauty in the long white gown.

“Elizabeth…” He choked out and she smiled down at him.

“What’s wrong, John?”

“So tired.”

“Oh, come on Johnny, you can’t sleep now…you’ll be late for the wedding! Dad needs you at the house in an hour. You don’t want to upset me do you?”

John had to admit that her pout rivalled even the pout of the Sheppard. “I don’t know if I’m gonna make it Elizabeth, my head is so sore.”

She lent down beside him, he closed his eyes for a moment, praying that she was really there. Then he heard the sound of her rhythmic breathing in his ear. “I won’t accept surrender, John Sheppard. I won’t accept a life without you…”

His eyes opened wide and he blinked several times to clear his head. She was no longer wearing the wedding dress, it had been exchanged for jeans and a sweater.

“Now get up!” She said forcefully. “Get up, John Sheppard and you start walking or so help me…!”

John slowly crawled to his feet, dragging himself up with all of the strength that he had left.

He managed to get over to Dex and reefed the unconscious man across his shoulders. He wavered for a moment but Elizabeth wrapped her arm around his waist and helped him move.

They shared the load of Dex’s weight and managed to move faster than he had been going before. John relied on Elizabeth’s arm around his waist for support as she helped him carry a friend she had never met before through a war zone.

As they started to climb the hill that led to the border, John’s feet began to drag.

“Don’t give up on me now!” She ordered and shuffled Dex to rest across her shoulders and John’s. “We can do this… together.”

Her determination got him over the final hill and he could see the border gates up ahead.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Elizabeth…” He whispered, looking down at her, only to see that she was gone and he was falling back to the ground.

The last thing he saw was Dex on the ground behind him and then everything faded to black.

SG1 Ficcie for Napalm

2006-09-14T23:37:59Z

Title: Schrödinger
Rating: PG
Pairings: Sam/Jack, Sam/Narim (to save confusion).
Summary: "Her secret is safe with me; all their secrets are safe."
Warnings: None
Beta: No beta today, she's at the dentist.
Disclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.
Author's Notes: This little ficcie is for napalm_isis OMG i finally wrote it! it's hardly worth the wait but my lovely napalm_isis this is for you!.
Feedback: Is Teh love.

I’ve been to many places; I’ve seen so many worlds and people, harbour so many of their secrets.

They confide in me, many of them and others simply do not expect me to say what I overhear in the shadows.

I remember the great towers of my home, falling in a fiery blaze, walls crumbled and people fled, and he stood there watching them leave.
That was the last time I saw him, my friend, my guardian.

He cared for me and loved me. I don’t know how I can repay him, now that he’s gone.

I can never share his secrets, of how he loved her so. He told me once that he knew in his heart that she loved another, but he hoped a small part, no matter how miniscule, belonged to him.

He’d never know it, but it did. I sat by her side as she cried for him. As she took me into her arms and prayed for the world to change, for time to go back and save him…just him, that’s all she asked.

She does indeed love another that I know for sure, but she never says it in words. It’s in her eyes when she speaks his name. In the tone of her voice.

Her secret is safe with me; all of their secrets are safe.

Because I am a cat. Who is there that I would tell the tales, of Samantha, Narim and the fall of Tollana?

I am Schrödinger, the keeper of secrets.

The End.

Kirking

2006-09-13T06:54:36Z

Title: Kirking
Rating: PG
Pairings: John/Elizabeth.
Summary: John and Elizabeth's position is compromised.
Warnings: none...well...vague sexual references...nudity, but who can really see it?
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Disclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.
Author's Notes: No idea where this came from.
Feedback: Is Teh love.

Rodney made his way down the hall towards Colonel Sheppard’s quarters.

He wouldn’t tell the Colonel this, for fear of a life-time of teasing remarks, but Rodney was actually quite excited to be receiving a flying lesson in the jumper today. And another thing he’d never tell the Colonel was that he was fairly stoked it would be John teaching him, he was the best, he had to admit. Even if Carson’s ability to fly in a straight line under John’s tutorage hadn’t improved, others had.

He rounded the corner. There weren’t many people about but Rodney was an early riser, always had been. The night crews probably hadn’t even changed to the morning shift in the control room yet.

Coming up to Colonel Sheppard’s room, Rodney knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

“COLONEL!” Even his yelling bore no response.

He decided to do the one thing he could do. He broke in. Rodney pulled the centre crystal out of the control panel beside the door and bridged the two others with it before grinning wildly when the door whooshed open with ease. Rodney was met with darkness.

Unusually dark, considering the light filtering through the halls.

“Colonel?” All he heard in response was a groan over near where, he assumed, the colonel’s bed was.

He made his way towards it and halted for a moment as the blinds started to open on their own, filling the room with sunlight. Rodney was quite shocked by what he saw.

Instead of the single body he expected to be there, there were two.

He studied them for a moment. He could see the form of Colonel Sheppard and the outline of a woman’s figure under the sheets, but her face was buried in the pillow and her head partially covered by John’s arm.

“Colonel?”

John rolled over slightly, blinking against the light.

“McKay?” His voice was groggy and his comprehension of the situation not yet fully functional in his pre-coffee state.

“Yeah, Colonel, have I come at a bad time?”

“Nah… RODNEY!” John shrieked and sat upright in the bed. He sent the woman tumbling for a moment but steadied her and placed a pillow over her head as she continued to sleep. She didn’t even flinch at the movement. “What the hell are you doing in here?”

Rodney stuttered. “I… I, we have a lesson today… remember the puddle jumpers?”

John ran a hand over his face. “Yeah, but why are you in my room?”

“Well, I thought I’d come get you, make sure you didn’t forget.”

“Rodney…”

John’s voice was angry and Rodney could tell he’d made a terrible mistake coming here. But now that he was here, he was curious about the brunette in the bed beside him, still sleeping silently. “Who’s that?”

John glared at Rodney and then glanced at the woman. “Rodney, out! NOW!”

“But I just want to know who it is.”

“You don’t need to know. I think it’s time for you to leave.”

Rodney craned his neck around John and took in the line of her waist as her back was completely exposed. John noticed Rodney trying to see her and lent back to cover her from his view.

“McKay!”

“What?”

“Out! Now!”

“Fine, whatever… it’s not like I care or anything.” As Rodney turned around he caught a glimpse of her hip and he gasped and turned to Sheppard. “That’s Elizabeth!”

John was like a deer caught in the headlights. “What? No it isn’t!”

“Yes it is! You’re sleeping with Elizabeth!”

“It’s not Elizabeth, McKay, now get out!”

“It’s Elizabeth and I’m not leaving until you admit it.” Rodney put his hands on his hips and stood firm.

“Why on earth would you assume it’s Elizabeth?” John subconsciously held the pillow over her face further.

“That tattoo on her hip, Elizabeth has one just like it… see…” he moved over and pointed to the small word on her hip written in Phoenician letters.

“How the hell would you know that McKay?! And don’t touch her.” He slapped the scientists hand away.

“I’ve seen it before.” Rodney smirked and John rolled his eyes.

“You haven’t slept with her McKay, don’t even attempt to make me think that you have, I won’t believe you.”

“Whatever… but its Elizabeth.”

“Huh…” a mumbled voice came from beneath the pillow and John prayed that she’d just fall back to sleep. His prayer went unanswered.

“I heard my name.”

“AH HA! I knew it was her!” Rodney exclaimed as Elizabeth sat up and looked at both men with confusion.

Rodney stopped his celebrations for a moment to stare at Elizabeth. John rolled his eyes and held the pillow out in front of Elizabeth’s bare chest.

“Oh, thanks.” She blushed, taking hold of the pillow.

“McKay, you can’t say anything about this.”

Rodney looked appalled. “Like I would! That’s insulting Sheppard, that you’d think I couldn’t keep a secret!”

“Rodney, you can’t.” Elizabeth was finally waking up, though still rubbing her eyes.

“S…sure I can.” They both looked at each other, then at Rodney, with very sceptical looks on their faces. “Well, so I’ve never had a reason to prove it, but I can!”

“John, I should go…” Elizabeth started to climb out of the bed. John grabbed her wrist.

“No, he’s leaving first.”

She sat back down and sighed. She didn’t want to sit through this anymore, she was still so tired.

“McKay, if you let this out you’ll most likely end up with Caldwell as your military commander.”

Rodney pondered it for a moment. “But Elizabeth would still be in charge?”

“Most likely.”

“Then that’s not much incentive there, Colonel.”

John visibly sighed and Elizabeth squeezed his arm gently, trying to ward off the frustration.

“Fine!” His anger started to show. “What about if it happened the other way around, and Elizabeth is sent back to Earth and we are stuck with some stuff-shirt politician who doesn’t have a clue what’s going on here!”

“John, I’m a politician.”

John glanced at Elizabeth and faltered for a moment. “Well…y…yeah but you are pretty, and you aren’t stuff-shirted. Anyway… McKay is that enough incentive for you?”

McKay nodded. “I suppose.”

“So you won’t say anything?” Elizabeth’s voice was soft.

“Is this for real?”

“What do you mean Rodney?”

“Is this a real relationship? Are you two actually a couple with feelings or is it just a fling?”

“What does that matter to you McKay?”

“It matters because Elizabeth has been my friend a lot longer than you have Colonel, I don’t want to see her hurt.”

“It’s a real relationship Rodney, with real feelings, you don’t have to worry about me, but I appreciate it.”

Rodney smiled softly. “Well alright then, your secret is safe here.”

“Thank you.” They both breathed out at the same time.

“But I don’t want any unpleasant mental images, OK.”

“What…” John smirked. “Like this?” He turned around and pulled Elizabeth under him, kissing her soundly.

“Ewww! Yes, like that! For God’s sake, have some decency!” Rodney scurried out of the room and John laughed against Elizabeth’s lips.

“So how did he know?”

“Know what?” Elizabeth wrapped her arms around John’s neck.

“How did Rodney know your tattoo well enough to identify you by it when it’s in such a…” John ran his fingers along the tattoo, sending shivers through her. “…Private place.”

“Oh, that…We were drunk…”

“You Slept with Rodney!?”

Elizabeth’s eyes opened wide. “WHAT!? John, no! Never! Rodney was there when I got it!” John’s shock visibly subsided. “How could you even think I would sleep with Rodney? He’s defiantly not my type.”

“Well… good.” John’s voice was smug, but she could tell he was relieved.

“Good?” She played along.

“Yes, Good… Because you are mine!”

“Oh, am I now?” Elizabeth smirked and John nodded.

“So I can’t go and…”

John cut her off. “No.”

“And I can’t…”

“No.”

“But what if they all really, really…”

“No.”

Elizabeth pouted. “Well you don’t get to Kirk anymore.”

That nickname that Rodney had given him usually hurt, but with the smirk on her face and the mysterious glint in her eye, he knew it was all in good fun.

“I haven’t Kirked since I fell for you… cross my heart.”

Elizabeth seemed to think for a moment. “But John, without knowing when and/or if you have fallen for me, how am I supposed to know if you have or haven’t stopped kirking?”

John was struck silent for a moment, she was amazing, she always had a way to completely ruin him with one sentence. “I…” She smirked and watched him expectantly. “I suppose this means you want me to tell you when I fell for you?”

“It’d be nice.” She replied casually.

“Hmmm…” John bit his lip, staring up at the head-board of the bed, trying to look like he was having a battle within himself.

After about five minutes Elizabeth rolled her eyes and slapped him on the arm.

John laughed out loud and grinned down at her. “I’d have to say that I fell for you... the first time I kissed you…no, the first time I witnessed you commit everything within your grasp to finding a way to save me, and my team.”

“John…”

“Hang on, I’m on a roll…” Elizabeth licked her lips. “It could have been when I first saw you… because even then I knew there was something special about you… but then I’d be lying about not kirking because there have been a few women who’s attention’s I’ve attracted.” John smirked.

“John… it doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does. We need to sort this out.”

Elizabeth touched his cheek gently and smiled. “No, we don’t. John, all I need to know is that it happened… did it?”

John nodded slowly. “Yeah, it did, a long time ago.”

“Good.” He lent down to kiss her when suddenly the door whooshed open.

“For god’s sake! MEREDITH!” John growled at the figure that rushed into the room.

“Colonel? I’m sorry for the intrusion, but Dr. McKay said that I could find Dr. Weir here.”

Elizabeth looked around John’s shoulder, using his body to protect her nudity.

“Radek?”

The Czech nodded.

Elizabeth quickly sat up and pulled the sheet tightly around herself as John jumped from the bed and quickly pulled on his sweats. “I’m gonna KILL him!” He yelled as he stormed past Zelenka and out of the room.

Elizabeth stared at Radek and he fought as hard as he could to avoid looking at her. “Dr. Weir… I just wanted to speak to you for a moment if I could.”

Elizabeth held a finger up to silence him for a moment and lent over for her radio on the night-stand.

“Just a second, Radek.” He nodded. “Ronon?”

“Dr. Weir?”

“Sorry if I woke you Ronon but could you please find Colonel Sheppard and keep him away from the armoury.”

“Why?”

“He’s had a sudden urge to kill Dr. McKay and I’m afraid that he might just go through with it this time.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Elizabeth put the radio down on the bed and smiled sweetly up at Radek. “What was it you wanted, Radek?” He stared at her. “Radek!”

He snapped out of it. “Oh, sorry Dr. Weir…it was just about the new scientific protocols regarding the device that Colonel Sheppard’s team discovered.”

“And this couldn’t wait until the briefing this morning?”

He shuffled uncomfortably. “Well Dr. McKay told me that it would be best if I discussed it with you right away. He said that you weren’t busy and that you wanted to be informed of our ideas as soon as possible.”

“He said I wasn’t busy?”

“Yes Ma’am.” Radek nodded, but she noticed he was getting uncomfortable.

“Radek can you please step outside so that I can get changed?”

“May I ask why?”

She gave him a strange look. “Because, Dr. Zelenka underneath this sheet I am utterly and completely naked…and I don’t want to kill Rodney whilst in that state, now will you please either turn around or leave.”

“Oh…I’m very sorry, I didn’t follow your point, I will leave, please forgive my intrusion.”

“I do Radek, it wasn’t your fault and Rodney will suffer accordingly.”

Radek smirked discreetly before leaving the room.

The End

Dancing.

2006-09-13T06:00:57Z

Title: Dancing
Rating: PG
Pairings: John/Elizabeth.
Summary: Jeannie walks the halls of Atlantis and finds something she did not expect.
Warnings: Slight spoiler for "McKay and Mrs. Miller"
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Disclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.
Author's Notes: I didn't think that there was enough John/Elizabeth in this ep so i made my own.
Feedback: Is Teh love.

Jeannie walked through the halls quietly, just taking in everything about the city. She was going to be leaving in three days to go back home to Caleb and Maddison. She missed them terribly but seeing this place, seeing a different side to her brother had been well worth the trip.

Not that she’d ever tell him about his part in it, his ego didn’t need any more stroking.

Jeannie didn’t really know where she was going, but if she kept to Dr. Weir’s warning and stayed in the well lit areas, she knew she’d be fine wether she got lost or not.

She rounded a corner and became curious by a shadow dancing across the hall. She couldn’t hear much up ahead, bar a soft beat of music that she couldn’t yet identify so she inched further down the hall. She was curious, yet in an alien city… she figured that could be costly.

Curiosity did, after all, kill the cat.

She could see light spilling out of a doorway and laughter started to filter into her ears. She smiled slightly and moved towards the door, hoping not to interrupt whoever was inside.

What she saw hadn’t been what she expected.

Dr. Weir stood in the centre of the room; she was wearing a tight red tank top and very short sport shorts. Definitely not something she would have thought the stoic Atlantean leader would wear.

She had given Jeannie the impression that she was a kind and compassionate woman, though closed off and distanced. She had a commanding presence, yet here she was, a ball of giggles as the man that stood behind her held fighting sticks over her head and breathed his words down the back of her neck.

She couldn’t see his face very clearly. But there had only been one man she had met since coming here that wore his hair in just that bed-hair kind of way.

She watched them for a moment, as he started to sway her hips with his. He held her wrists gently and directed where she was to swing the fighting stick.

It was when she’d try and turn to face him, that he’d tickle her side and force her to face ahead as she laughed and begged him to stop it.

They reminded her of Caleb and herself before they were married. She remembered him teaching her to play tennis, though she never got any better. She remembered teaching him to cook… and now he does it all the time.

It was nice to see that people here could have such normal relationships regardless of what they faced every day.

It made her smile.

Jeannie watched a little longer as Dr. Weir dropped the sticks to the ground. They made a wooden sound barely registering as offensive over the soft instrumental Spanish music. It sounded like a variation of the tango but she couldn’t be sure.

All that she knew was that it was a very sensual beat.

As the music picked up in tempo, the Colonel spun Dr. Weir around until her face was inches from his. She didn’t giggle this time, just stared into his eyes and let him lead her in a passionate dance.

She could hear their bare feet pounding on the hard floors of Atlantis and even her heart began to race with the heat of the dance.

His hand gripped tightly to her lower back, as she ran her fingers through his hair.

It was sudden and unexpected.

But Jeannie in that moment felt like she was intruding on something sacred.

Something secret.

The fire in their eyes was powerful and consuming. She wanted to walk away but watching them dance was amazing. They had truly missed their calling, or perhaps… their gifts were simply limitless, as many of the people here.

She watched them as they spun and twirled, as he dipped Dr. Weir and as he ran his hands up her back and down the length of her thigh.

Jeannie watched until she couldn’t watch anymore.

After being married for 4 years, she knew all too well where this was going.

She smiled to herself as the couple moved closer to each other and the Colonel lowered Dr. Weir down onto the bench by the side of the room and gently touched his lips to hers, she could hear Dr. Weir’s very feminine laughter as she made her way down the hall, leaving them in peace.

***

“Hey Mere…”

Rodney rolled his eyes. “Why do you insist on calling me that?”

“It’s your name.” Jeannie looked genuinely confused, so he waved it off.

“What did you want?”

“Oh, nothing, really… it’s just, I didn’t know Dr. Weir and Colonel Sheppard were together.”

Rodney dropped what he was doing and looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“You know, like a couple, boyfriend, girlfriend, partners…”

“Yes, I know what the word means, what makes you think they’re together?”

Jeannie shrugged. “It’s just the feeling that I got… well I didn’t get it when I met them, but I’ve got it now.”

“Well they aren’t, never have been, you’re most likely just imagining it.”

“Really…” Jeannie smirked. “So the fact that I just saw them doesn’t count?”

“Saw them? Saw them how?”

“I’m not going to tell you, that’d be an invasion of their privacy.”

“Come on Jeannie, this isn’t a game.”

Jeannie was a little taken aback by the genuine worry in her brother’s eyes. “What’s so bad about it?”

“Jeannie, you don’t understand. If it’s true and they really are together… the whole of Atlantis will pay if they’re caught.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little over dramatic?”

“No, not this time… if they are found out, Atlantis will never be the same. And if he hurts her…”

It finally dawned on her. “You like her.”

“What? No I don’t.”

Jeannie smirked again. “You have a thing for her. You like her.”

“Jeannie, that is ridiculous.”

“You can’t lie to me, Meredith. You like your boss and you are jealous of Colonel Sheppard.”

“I’ll admit she’s an attractive woman…” Jeannie raised her eyebrow and he conceded. “Alright fine. She’s a very attractive woman, but I am no way romantically interested in her.”

“Then what’s with the macho bravado about protecting her? She seems to me like the kind of woman that can do that herself, let alone scare the crap out of most men.”

“It’s not about protecting her… it’s about Atlantis. You don’t know it Jeannie, but she is skating on very thin ice with the IOA and if she’s found out we could lose her and that definitely won’t benefit anyone.”

Jeannie’s eyes dropped down. “You mean she can’t have any relationship on Atlantis?”

Rodney shook his head. “No. She just can’t with Colonel Sheppard.”

Jeannie’s brow furrowed. “Well that’s not fair, what right does the military have to say that she can’t be with him?”

“It’s military politics; she’s his commanding officer…”

“And they can’t have relationships with their subordinates?”

“Exactly.”

“Well, then I guess this stays between you and me.”

“Yeah…wait, what?”

“This, we aren’t going to tell anyone, not me, not you, tell no one that I even mentioned it.”

“But Jeannie, we have to put a stop to it, if she’s caught…”

She cut him off. “Rodney… she deserves to have him and I know it. If you had seen what I saw, you’d know it too.”

“But, but he’s Kirk!”

Jeannie laughed. “I very much doubt that, he seemed to only have eyes for her.”

Silence descended over them for a moment before Rodney smiled softly.

“What?”

“You called me Rodney.”

“Oh shut up, Meredith.”

The End.

What Dreams May Come: Chapter 5

2006-09-13T05:27:28Z

Title: What Dreams May Come
Rating: PG
Chapter: 5 of 9
Pairing/s:John and Elizabeth, Teyla and Ronon
Spoilers: None, this is entirely AU.
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Summary: What life would be if a different path were chosen. John, Elizabeth, Ronon and Teyla grow up together.
Dislclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

It took her all night to drive there.

Stopping only to fill her travel mug with enough coffee to keep her awake, she arrived at 8am. Stepping up to Ms. Sheppard’s front door, she raised her hand to knock, but the door opened before she got the chance.

“Elizabeth!” The older woman squealed with delight and hugged her tightly. “Come in sweet, you look so tired.”

She feigned a smile. “I am, a little.”

“I’ll get you some coffee. In the meantime, what you came for is on the back step.”

Elizabeth slowly walked towards the back door. She glanced out the small window in it but could see nothing, until she opened it up to reveal a tiny white puppy staring up at her with a giant red bow around its neck.

“Oh my god.” She whispered and John’s mom stepped out of the kitchen as she picked up the puppy and brought it inside. “Oh, she’s beautiful.”

“John said you’d like her.”

“Oh, I do! She’s gorgeous.”

“What are you going to name her?”

Elizabeth looked up from nuzzling the puppy with her nose. “Umm… Sedgwick.” She held the dog out in front of her and studied her. “Yep, she looks like a Sedgwick.”

“Does that name fit a girl?”

“I have no idea…” Both women laughed.

“How about that coffee?”

“Yes, thank you.” Elizabeth grinned and took the puppy to the couch.

She noticed there was a small envelope hanging off sedge’s big red bow. She gently undid it and opened the envelope.

“Elizabeth,

I know I can’t be here, but I hope that this helps. When you hug her, think of me, and I’ll be there with you. When she sleeps on the bed, think of her as me and don’t kick her off.

I love you, Lizzie Bear.

John.”

Elizabeth smiled as a tear slipped down her cheek.

“Are you alright, dear?” John’s mom asked as she sat the coffees down on the table.

“Yeah I’m fine, it’s just… I already miss him.”

Elizabeth stayed with John’s mother for a few weeks, trying to get used to the fact that the man she was going to marry was in a war zone.

***

She went home to her dorm to see that he had, indeed, followed through on his promise.

There were letters waiting for her. Piles of them. One for every day that he’d been away. They talked about trivial things; about the food in the mess hall, the mud between the tents that made it near impossible to go anywhere without getting covered in it.

He talked about his two friends, Mitch and Dex, and the tricks they played on him. How they played cricket in the snow and flew supply runs into the mountains to the villagers that had been struck by the war going on in their backyard.

She was happy that he wasn’t in the middle of the fighting; it relieved her that he was one step closer to safe.

He talked about the rain and the villages, about a group of children that loved to hear his stories about home. He wrote that he’d told them about her and about his life in America and he laughed each time they asked about her. Was she pretty? Was she nice?

Reading the letters made him seem closer to her.

***

John sat at the table in the mess, where he sat every day with a cup of bad coffee and a pen, writing to Elizabeth.

“Don’t you run out of stuff to write? It’s not like it’s interesting here.”

John looked up to see Dex sit down in front of him. “Nah… I just tell her anything, everyday things that I’d tell her anyway. It kinda keeps her close by.”

His friend smirked. “That’s sweet. Never took you for the sweet type, Shep.”

“Yeah, well, Elizabeth is special.”

“So she’s this one that you’ve been with all your life?”

“She’s one in the same.”

“Haven’t you ever wanted anyone else? You know, test the field a little?”

“No.” John got up from the table to get another coffee. “I’m going to marry her Dex, you just watch.”

Suddenly the alarms sounded around the base.

“Shep! Dex! We gotta go!” Mitch called, sticking his head through the doors.

“What’s going on?” John called after his friend as they ran for the airfield.

“We’re going in! They’ve called for all squadrons to head for the mountain pass, there’s been an attack on Kabul!”

John and Dex grabbed their flight suits and headed for their planes. John jumped into the cockpit; he kissed the picture of Elizabeth that he kept there, then pulled on his helmet and released the lever to close himself inside. They took off in rapid succession, forming a pattern in the sky.

“You guys, follow my lead.” John ordered and his two friends fell into sync with him. “Don’t get separated.”

They flew over the villages, through the clouds of smoke from the burning buildings and could see Kabul just up ahead.

He heard Dex in his ear. “Shep, we can’t make it.”

“What? Why?”

“Up ahead, enemy tanks are lined up on the bridge.”

John sized it up. He’d never done anything stupid before, he’d kept his promise, but those tanks where the only thing between them and Kabul.

“We’ve gotta risk it.”

“WHAT!” Dex screeched.

“Shep, you’re insane.” Mitch added.

“No, I’m not… we can do this, we’ve done manoeuvres far worse in training.”

“Yeah, but in training the targets weren’t fighting back.”

“Come on guys, we can make it! I know it.”

There was silence on the line, as they moved closer and closer to the bridge and the tanks lined them up.

“Alright Shep, we’ve gotta get to Kabul somehow.”

“What about you, Dex?” John asked his other friend.

“Alright.” Came the reluctant response.

“OK… on the count of three, we fly. 1... 2… FLY!”

The three sped up.

John glanced down at Elizabeth’s smiling face and prayed that they’d make it.

They flew over the top of the tanks, dipping and whirring past them, too fast to be hit. John’s heart raced as the tanks turned quickly and shot at them from the opposite side.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mitch go down and that’s where it all went bad.

Mitch’s plane crashed into the trees and Dex followed not a moment after. John, against his better judgment, circled back around to see if they had survived. All he could see was fire and smoke, burnt trees and debris from both planes.

When something stuck the side of his plane and in a fast swirling spiral down towards the ground, John’s world went black.

What Dreams May Come: Chapter 4

2006-09-07T23:03:32Z

Title: What Dreams May Come
Rating: PG
Chapter: 4 of 9
Pairing/s:John and Elizabeth, Teyla and Ronon
Spoilers: None, this is entirely AU.
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Summary: What life would be if a different path were chosen. John, Elizabeth, Ronon and Teyla grow up together.
Dislclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Elizabeth woke up happy.

She’d missed John and now he was right there, sleeping peacefully behind her with his arms wrapped securely around her.

“Whatcha thinkin’?”

His voice surprised her in the darkness. “Nothing, really.” She whispered and snuggled into his embrace.

There was silence for a time, where nothing but their breathing could be heard then John spoke. “I’ve been posted to Afghanistan.”

Elizabeth sat bolt upright in the bed and looked down at him. “You WHAT?”

John sat up and placed his hands on her shoulders. “It’s OK, Elizabeth, I’ll be fine…”

“No! You won’t! People are DYING over there!” She jumped out of the bed and dragged the blanket with her, wrapping it around herself as she went.

John grabbed his boxers off the floor, then went to follow her. “Elizabeth… its okay…”

She turned around quickly. “NO! IT’S NOT! I’ve never told you before because I didn’t want you to change your dreams because of me and my stupid ideals, but John… you can’t go to war! I can’t… I hate war, I hate everything about it and I hate what it means. Why do you have to go!?”

John sighed. “Elizabeth it’s my job, it’s what I’ve been trained to do…” Tears streamed down her face now. “I don’t want to leave you any more than you want me to go, but Elizabeth…” His voice became a whisper. “I was born to fly.”

She turned around and stared out the window. “I know…” She said in a whisper and he closed his eyes.

“Elizabeth… I don’t want to hurt you.”

“THEN DON’T!” She yelled , turning around with a look of fear on her face that John had never seen. The depth of her pain, clouding her beautiful features, was something he had never associated with her before.

He stood silent for a moment, staring at her staring at him. “I don’t want to Elizabeth… but I have to.”

She ran towards him, wrapping her arms around him as tightly as she could, burying her face in his chest. “Promise me, John. Promise me that I will see you again.”

John kissed the top of her head and brushed the hair away from her eyes. “Elizabeth…” He raised her head gently to meet her eyes. “I’ll come home… I swear it.”

She smiled slightly and sniffed. “You had better.”

“Come ‘ere” He wrapped his arms around her again.

They had two weeks together before John left.

By that time Elizabeth had accepted that he wanted to go. She knew that he had signed up knowing that there was a chance this would happen and she had accepted it then, but she was in no way at peace with it.

On the morning of his departure, she drove him to the base. It was only a 20 minute drive from the university and it was made in silence most of the way, though he stared at her the entire time. “You’re very quiet.” John watched Elizabeth for a moment after he spoke but she didn’t answer. “Elizabeth, please talk to me… I’m not going to see you for months.”

She glanced at him for a moment and melted under his pout. “John, what do you really want me to say? That I want you to go, that I’m happy?”

He looked at his shoes. “No.”

“Well, good, because I’m not. And I won’t.”

“Well… can we at least say goodbye without this hatred hanging over us?”

“John, I don’t hate you… I never could, it’s what you are going to do that I hate. I hate that you are going to kill people, I hate that you are going to fly an aircraft over enemy territory… and don’t even think about trying to tell me that you won’t be, I know you John Sheppard and I know what is happening over there.”

He sighed. “You are right; there is the possibility that a lot of that will happen…” Elizabeth parked the car and turned to him. “But that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be careful.”

She raised her eyebrow and smirked. “John, careful isn’t in your vocabulary.”

“Sure it is.” He defended.

“John, my mom’s garden is still recuperating from your go-kart phase.”

“Right… I forgot about that.”

She giggled. “Mom hasn’t.”

“Well, I’m older now and I’ve got something to keep me careful.”

“Oh, really?” She raised her eyebrow again as he took her hand. “And what’s that?”

“You.” He ran his thumb across the back of her hand. “If I’m going to marry you one day, I’ll have to come back, now won’t I?”

“That’s true…” Her voice all of a sudden went soft. “You really want to marry me?”

John lent closer, inches away from her face. “Who else in the world could I possibly want?”

Elizabeth blushed. “So, is that a proposal?”

“It’s the best I’ve got…” John rummaged through his pocket for a moment. “I… I don’t have anything to give you.”

“John that’s OK, I don’t need a ring, I just need you back safe.”

“No, no. You need a ring.” John jumped out of the car, ran around to her side, hurriedly pulled the door open and grabbed her hand. “Come on, I’ve got an idea.”

He pulled her towards the main building.

“John, where are we going?” She asked as he pulled her through the halls, passed the dorms and down to the offices.

“You’ll see. How much change do you have in your pockets?”

“None, John. Why?”

“It’s alright, I’ve got about $2, OK… here.” He led her up to a children’s vending machine.

“A candy machine?” She questioned.

John grinned. “Yup, let’s just hope I get the one I want before my money runs out.”

Elizabeth laughed openly as he started to place his quarters into the machine.

It took three tries for the one John wanted to come out. And he grinned in triumph before holding it in front of her.

“See, told ya… you need a ring.” John grabbed her hand and slipped the small plastic ring on her finger.

Elizabeth smiled down at it. “It’s beautiful, John.”

“So that’s a yes?”

“That’s a yes.”

“ALL 53RD SQUADRON TO THE TARMAC.”

The speaker sounded and Elizabeth jumped. “Is that you?”

John hesitantly answered. “Yeah, that’s me. Come on.” He took her hand again and they walked together out to the tarmac.

Elizabeth held him back as they got closer to the plane. He turned around wrapped his arms around her waist.

“I’ll miss you.” He whispered.

“I’ll miss you, too.”

John slowly lent down and kissed her deeply, holding her tighter.

“Come on Shep, we gotta go.” A young man tapped John’s shoulder and he reluctantly let go of Elizabeth.

“I’ll write you everyday.” He told her.

“And I’ll answer.”

“Oooh, Elizabeth… I almost forgot, I left a present for you. It’s out the backyard of my mom’s house. She’ll know what it is.”

“I’ll go there straight away. I love you, John.”

“Love you too, Lizzie Bear. I’ll see you soon.” He waved and headed up the stairs with his friend.

“That’s your girl, Shep?”

John nodded. “Don’t even consider it Dex.”

“I wasn’t… I was just gonna say that you are one lucky SOB.”

“Oooh nice.” John glared at his other friend.

“That’s real mature, Mitch.”

Elizabeth stayed until the plane took off. Tears ran down her cheeks as she waved goodbye, before heading back to her car.

She sat in her car and made sure her tears had dried enough to drive, before pulling out of the car park and heading straight for her home town.

***

Lion's Arse.--The Boredom Series

2006-09-06T05:35:51Z

Title: Lion's Arse.
Rating: PG-13 to be safe.
Pairings: John/Elizabeth.
Summary: RDA movie, A pin and the line "You're a lion's arse, you know that right?"
Warnings: none...well...yeah none. It's kinda funny...
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Disclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.
Author's Notes: Here is the story= I had hit boredom like a sledge-hammer to the head and i asked venom69 to give me an idea for something to write. she told me "Write a fic that has purple undies, a postage stamp and the line "you want to what?" And so now, because that was fun, i've decided to keep on bugging her for prompts, and here is another one for venom69.
Feedback: Is Teh love.

It took 3 hours and 42 mins, according to John’s watch, to convince Elizabeth to come to movie night.

He followed her around all day, he went to briefings with her, talked over the top of her when she was in said briefings and laughed out loud in serious moments. He sat in her office and stared at her until she became so uncomfortable that she threw a book at his head, missing by a millimetre.

“I could teach you to aim better, you know…”

Elizabeth glared at his offer and looked back down at her computer screen.

Her breaking point was the pin. He spent 20 minutes setting it up, and was quite proud of himself for it.

Kavanaugh was scheduled for a meeting with Elizabeth, one on one, but John decided he had to be there too, if only to try and influence her decision further.

He’d set a pin to sit upright in the chair that was to be occupied by Kavanaugh’s whining ass, the chair which he knew Elizabeth would diplomatically offer the annoying uppity scientist with a major chip on his shoulder concerning Elizabeth.

But his plan backfired.

Elizabeth led Kavanaugh into her office, John grinned as he noticed her guiding him towards the pin. But at the last minute she turned him around and offered the opposite chair, stepping back a little to take a seat opposite him.

John’s eyes widened in panic as he watched her lower herself into the chair. He could see it coming a mile away. He could sense his punishment already ringing in his ears.

It was painfully slow, and John found himself staring at her backside before the loud ear-piercing shriek resounded around the room.

Elizabeth jumped right out of her chair, and a few feet off the ground by John’s perception. Kavanaugh looked at her like she was on some kind of drug and would most likely put that in his monthly whinge report.

John ran towards her, trying to steady her as she jumped around.

“Elizabeth, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean…”

Her face was red with fury as she rubbed her backside. “Oh you are going to pay for that John Sheppard.”

Her tone of voice was frightening in the confined space of her office, where there was only two exit points, both of which he’d have to pass her in order to reach. “It wasn’t meant for you.”

“What the HELL is going on here?!”

“Shut up!” John and Elizabeth yelled in unison and Kavanaugh silenced.

“I just wanted you to come with us…”

John’s pout and puppy-dog face was finally having the desired effect and he could see the cogs spinning in her head. “Fine! If it means you’ll leave me alone to do my job without the fear of being pricked by a pin then I’ll go. Just leave… NOW!”

John threw her a mock salute and grinned triumphantly before running out of her office.

Elizabeth was tempted to trip him up as he ran passed her, but the adult in her forced that impulse down.

***
John searched through the shelves of movies brought over by the Daedelus, trying to find something to suit everyone.

He couldn’t find much that he hadn’t seen, so he settled for one of the few, whether it be good or terrible, and put it in the player.

Elizabeth was the first to arrive, to John’s surprise and he noticed with a slight smirk that she was walking funny.

“Are you ok?”

Elizabeth just glared at him and made her way over to the sofa, kicking off her slippers that John had only just noticed, were pink piggy slippers. And tucked her legs under her.

“I get the best spot.” She said with a childish huff, and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Wouldn’t want it any other way.” He sat down beside her.

They waited nearly 20 mins in virtual silence until Teyla, Ronon and Rodney arrived, arguing about something and dropping themselves down in different chairs around the room with no grace whatsoever.

Rodney stared at the large screen impatiently, wondering why there was nothing on it, Teyla had a large bowl of popcorn secured against her tightly with Ronon eyeing it off and receiving a slap on the hand every time he tried to grab for some.

John started up the movie and all eyes turned to the screen.

“What are we watching?”

John threw the DVD case at Rodney and he caught it barely.

“Aww… this movie isn’t any good…”

“Its fine Rodney, we haven’t even watched it before.”

“Sure we have… oh… no…” Rodney thought for a moment. “No you’re right, we haven’t.”

“What is it?”

John glanced at Elizabeth as she asked. “It’s called ‘Through the eyes of a Killer’”

Elizabeth’s eyes lit up. “Is that with that really sexy guy that was in… Oooh what’s that show?” She looked at Rodney and John who just stared at her. “OH! MacGyver! It’s got him in it doesn’t it?”

John nodded slowly.

“What?” They were still staring at her.

“Nothing…just never heard you say ‘sexy’ before.”

Elizabeth glared at John. “There is a lot about me, Colonel, that you do not know.”

“Obviously.”

“Was that sarcasm?”

“No Elizabeth, it was genuine relief.” He rolled his eyes.

“Why are you two so snippy all of a sudden?”

They turned to Rodney then to each other. “It’s John’s fault.”

“MY fault?!” He was stunned. “I wasn’t the one that refused my Oh so polite invitation to movie night!”

“NO… But you WERE the one that put a pin on MY chair! And I STILL can’t walk properly!!”

John tried really hard not to laugh, he valiantly tried, harder than he’d tried anything in his life, but the image of Elizabeth jumping up out of that chair and shrieking like she’d seen a snake in the toilet made it so hard to fight.

She glared at him hard and when the rest of the room erupted in laughter, John could no longer hold it in. He felt terrible, because she was right and it really had been his fault, but he just couldn’t help the laughter.

Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest and stared straight ahead.

“Oh, come on Elizabeth… don’t be like that, surely you can see the funny side to it?”

“You really are a lion’s arse, you know that right?”

“Now I don’t understand that, but I know there was an insult in there somewhere.”

“Oh be sure Colonel. Be sure that there was an insult in there.”

She turned to the screen and lent against the back of the sofa, refusing to look at him again. The rest of them fell silent as the movie began to start and Elizabeth could feel something moving across her leg. She didn’t say anything at first, she knew it couldn’t be anything else but John’s hand.

She watched out of the corner of her eye as the blanket over her legs started to move slightly, but not enough for the others to notice.

“Better?”

She heard him whisper in her ear as his hand rested on her backside and started to massage, making a silent effort to fix the damage he had caused.

“Not yet.” She smirked.

He grinned.

The End.

What Dreams May Come: Chapter 3

2006-09-05T23:52:41Z

Title: What Dreams May Come
Rating: PG
Chapter: 3 of 9
Pairing/s:John and Elizabeth, Teyla and Ronon
Spoilers: None, this is entirely AU.
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Summary: What life would be if a different path were chosen. John, Elizabeth, Ronon and Teyla grow up together.
Dislclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Elizabeth passed all of her courses in school. She finished at the top of most of them and went off to Harvard excited. Unfortunately, John was on a training assignment on the day that she had to enrol, so she went alone.

She fit in fine, she thought, settled in comfortably and she liked her roommate. An Astrophysics major, Samantha Carter.

Rodney and Carson also went to Harvard, so she knew if she needed a friend, those two would be there.

Rodney was in the same classes as Sam and when he found out that she was Elizabeth’s room mate, he nearly passed out. He was equally as surprised when he found out that her boyfriend was a Lieutenant in the Air force and quite a bit older.

Carson was enrolled in Harvard medical, and Elizabeth spent a lot of her time with him more than Rodney. They were great friends but she had a short fuse when it came to Rodney and his arrogant demeanour.

She liked university, she decided. She had always loved to learn and was excited about any new book she could get her hands on. She loved politics and history, the written word and people, woman in particular, who had changed the way the world thought on a subject like equality or freedom. She admired philosophers and was inspired by revolutionaries.

She wanted to learn about America’s history, about her ancestors but yet, she wanted to learn about those of other countries; Europe with its age old temples and monasteries, Britain with its medieval castles and ruins, she wanted to learn about Australia and the convicts and colonies, the creation of the federation and the reconciliation for Aborigines.

She added three more languages to the two she already spoke fluently, and picked them up quickly, talking to John on the phone in French and Italian and confusing him whilst impressing him all at once.

Elizabeth’s classes were often the early ones, like Carson. That meant that most of their class time coincided with the others and they’d go out for coffee and talk for hours in the afternoons, waiting for Rodney to join them whenever he chose to show up instead of following Sam around and trying to outsmart her.

They had a regular meeting place, the café by her dorm. It was simply a nice, easy place for each of them to reach and they’d meet there every Monday for lunch without fail.

***

Elizabeth was waiting for Carson on their regular Monday until he rang her and told her that he had an exam that morning that he’d totally forgotten about. She decided to order on her own as she knew Rodney wasn’t likely to show.

“Is this seat taken?” A man’s voice asked and Elizabeth looked up.

“Umm no, but…” She didn’t get to finish before the tall man with dark hair sat down and smiled at her.

“You have lovely eyes.” He stated and she blushed slightly.

She’d managed to avoid the interference of other men on her time, apart from Rodney and Carson. Or perhaps, because of them, they were always with her and she was thankful for that, she didn’t have time to be batting off the advances of some young punk who thought she’d fold. “Umm, thank you… who are you?”

“Simon. Simon Wallace.” He held out his hand for her to shake.

“Elizabeth Weir.”

“Hmm…” He sat back. “That’s a pretty name…suits you.”

Elizabeth averted her eyes; he was making her uncomfortable being so upfront with her. “I’m sorry, but why are you sitting here?”

He looked at her like it was a ridiculous question. “I couldn’t exactly let a pretty woman sit here all on her own… could I?”

Elizabeth shuffled uncomfortably in her seat.

“Look I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable, it’s just… I know your boyfriend and …”

She cut him off. “You know him?”

“Yes, we have certain classes together.”

Elizabeth was confused. “Classes?”

“Yeah, that guy that I see you here with everyday, he’s in some of my med. Classes.”

Elizabeth giggled.

“What’s so funny?”

She shook her head. “Oh its… he’s not my boyfriend… that’s Carson.”

“There is a difference?”

“Carson is my friend; he has been since high school.”

“Oh… ” Simon smirked. “So I take it you are single then?”

Elizabeth gathered up her books and picked up her coffee. “No… actually, I’m not.” And she walked away before he had a chance to retort.

***

Elizabeth spent a lot of her time in the On-Campus Library, studying and reading in general. It became her haven in summer, with the air-conditioning and fans.

Typically, the hottest day of the year, said air-conditioning broke down, and she was forced to study in the heat, with her tank top sticking to her skin.

“Hey there, again.”

Elizabeth looked up to see the tall man from the café, Simon. “Hello.” She answered politely and looked back down at her book, oblivious to his eyes looking her over.

“You know, you never told me what you were studying here.” He said, taking the seat in front of her.

“You didn’t ask.” She continued to chew on her pen, not looking up at him as she spoke to him.

“Well, I’m asking now.”

Elizabeth sighed and stopped reading. “This is pointless, you know.” She said suddenly and he lent back.

“What is?”

“This… you, trying to seduce me or something, I’m not going to go out with you, so your efforts are futile.”

Simon smirked. “Oh I don’t think so, obviously your boyfriend isn’t nearby, and because I haven’t seen you with him… my chances aren’t that slim.”

Elizabeth screwed up her nose in disgust. “That’s appalling. I’d never cheat on John…”

“Are you sure?”

Elizabeth was angry now. She slammed her books down in a pile and picked up her notepad. “Yes, I’m sure, you jerk.”

“OOOH, feisty.” He winked and she fumed as she walked away.

***

Elizabeth sat on her bed with the door open as she painted her toenails.

She’d finished all her studies for the semester and she was so worked up over that Simon and his vulgar suggestion that she decided a night of indulgence was in order, so she had a bar of chocolate and a bottle of wine lined up on her bedside table with crimson nail polish being carefully painted onto her toes.

Sam had the door open so that they would hear the music that a group of girls were practicing in a room down the hall. It was lovely, she had to admit, they were very good, playing the flute and violin, but Sam had disappeared an hour ago and she couldn’t be bothered to get up and close the door to have some time alone.

She would be glad for it though as a man in dress blues walked up the front path outside her building.

***

Two girls sat outside on the step, one with long red hair and the other short and blonde.

“Hi there.” The redhead said taking a drag from her cigarette.

“Hi…”

“Are you looking for someone?” The blonde asked, eyeing the bunch of roses in his hand.

“Um yeah… Elizabeth Weir, do you know her?”

“Yeah she’s up on the third floor… what are the flowers for?” The blonde asked.

“They’re for Elizabeth, you twat.” The redhead said, taking another drag.

John looked at them somewhat confused. “What are you doing out here anyway?”

“I’m smoking out here because my room mate, Hannah, doesn’t like me smoking in our room.”

“And Hannah is?”

The blonde raised her hand. “That’s me, and this is Ky.” She grinned.

“You are out here because she doesn’t like you smoking in your room and you are sitting right beside her while she smokes?”

They both nodded like there was nothing odd about that.

“Nice to meet you.” He started to slowly walk passed them.

“Nice to meet you too!” They called after him as he made his way inside, shaking his head.

***

Elizabeth could hear movement in the hall, she could hear whispers and giggles and it made her curious.

She could see out her door that some of the girls had stepped out of their rooms, and she was startled when a man stepped up to her open doorway.

He was wearing dress blues, his posture was straight and he held his cover in his hand, though his face was hidden by a large bunch of roses.

“Delivery for Elizabeth Weir.”

“John?”

He tilted the flowers to the side. “Who else would it be?” He raised an eyebrow.

“JOHN!” She jumped up and ran towards him, completely disregarding the wet nail polish on her toes as she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist.

“Mmm…I missed you.” She murmured between kisses.

“I missed you, too.”

She dropped back down and stood on her own feet as he handed her the flowers.

“How’d you know where I was?”

She walked across the room searching for a vase.

“Umm, there were these two girls out the front, Ky and…Hannah I think, they told me where you were.”

“Oh yes…I know those two…they’re sweet, if a little…different.”

“Yeah it was the funniest thing, they were sitting outside because Hannah isn’t a smoker and didn’t want Ky smoking in their room, but she was sitting right next to Ky, while she smoked.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Yeah, they do that a lot, their logic is a little sketchy.”

“Are they from New Zealand? They sounded like they had accents.”

“No, no, Sydney.”

“Australia?”

“That’s part of it.” She smirked and wrapped her arms around his waist, kissing him softly.

“So…” John smirked. “How much did you miss me?”

Elizabeth shrugged and laughed as he kicked the door shut, locking out the prying eyes of her friends in the hall.

New Fic--The Boredom Series

2006-09-05T06:59:12Z

Title: The fic born out of bordom
Rating: PG-13 to be safe.
Pairings: John/Elizabeth.
Summary: Purple undies, a postage stamp and the line "You want to what?"
Warnings: none...well...yeah none. It's kinda funny...
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Disclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.
Author's Notes: Here is the story=I had hit boredom like a sledge-hammer to the head and i asked venom69 to give me an idea for something to write. she told me "Write a fic that has purple undies, a postage stamp and the line "you want to what?" and so this was born. this is for venom69.
Feedback: Is Teh love.

Rodney was busy with his head down under one of the consoles of the control room, with Zelenka silently dozing in the chair beside him.

He had to slap his leg every now and then when he needed a different tool as he worked at repairing and also investigating some of the controls. He knew it was late; that Zelenka had repeated over and over before giving in and falling asleep at his post.

Rodney was a night owl, he liked to work long into the darkness and it often baffled his friends as to why he did this, but he refused to explain something that their weak minds couldn’t possibly fathom.

He slapped Zelenka’s leg for the fourth time and heard the Czech snort and wake quickly, before reaching across the console to collect the tool.

Rodney waited patiently for him to pass it, but gasped for air as Radek dropped the heavy object right onto his stomach, essentially knocking the wind out of him.

“Radek! You idiot! What did you do that for?!”

Radek didn’t answer, just stared straight ahead.

“Radek!” he slapped his leg again but the Czech’s focus was unwavering.

Slowly, Rodney climbed out from underneath the console, silently cursing and gritting his teeth as he hit his head on it before he was equally as stunned as Zelenka.

The two scientists watched in silence as delicate feet balanced precariously along the control-room railing.

Rodney’s eyes drifted from the feet up long and slender legs to where he prayed to every god he’d ever heard of, that this was really real.

He knew Radek would be drooling, for he himself couldn’t fight the urge to stare at her, wearing nothing but purple lace panties and a worn, loose pink knitted sweater that hung off her shoulder, as she danced along the rails.

He couldn’t believe his eyes.

Her hair was loose and hanging in her eyes, her smile was sweet and focused on her task. He’d never seen her like this. It was strange. Rodney wanted to step forward and ask her what was going on, but he was frozen to his place as she continued to draw the attention of the entire room.

Some stared for the tone of her laughter, one they had never heard from her, and others, mainly the men, stared for the fact that there was a half-naked woman dancing along handrails with her long legs and taut stomach exposed.

She swung slightly over the edge and Rodney lurched forward hoping to god that she didn’t fall. But she steadied herself and laughed.

“Am I dreaming?”

Rodney glanced down at Zelenka and rolled his eyes. “Yes, Radek, you’re dreaming.” He slapped him on the arm and walked towards Elizabeth.

“Elizabeth… what are you doing?”

She didn’t answer, just continued to walk back and forth across the rail.

“Elizabeth… is everything OK?”

She looked up at him and grinned. “Chocolate sauce.”

He wrinkled up his nose in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“Marshmallows. Marshmallows and Chocolate sauce, that’s what I like on my ice-cream.”

Rodney glanced at Radek who had gathered himself and moved up behind him.

“That’s nice Elizabeth, but what are you doing here… in your underwear?”

“Dancing.” She ran along the rail and Rodney visibly winced when she almost fell.

She followed the rail all the way to her office and jumped down onto the bridge as the door opened for her.

They all watched her back as she went inside and began to fiddle with the things on her desk.

“What the hell is wrong with her?”

Radek shrugged. “I don’t know Rodney, but she looks very…”

Rodney silenced him by lifting a finger in front of him with a glare. “Don’t even say it…this isn’t a time for you to go on about your little crush.”

“It’s not a crush! She is a very attractive woman…” Radek protested and Rodney rolled his eyes as he was cut off.

“Where is Elizabeth!”

They turned around quickly and both men’s eyes widened as they saw Colonel Sheppard standing at the top of the stairs in his undies, looking around the room frantically.

Rodney and Radek both stared and pointed towards her office. Unable to speak as the strange events kept unfolding.

John bolted past them towards her office and waited for the door to open before grabbing her by the shoulders and spinning her around to look at him.

“Mmm…are you the chocolate sauce?” She looked him up and down and he shook his head.

“Elizabeth, its John…we have to get you back to bed.”

Elizabeth pouted and shook her head. She tried to pull out of his hold but he just held on tighter. “I don’t want to.” Her voice was forceful but he didn’t succumb to it.

“Come on Elizabeth…it’ll be fun, you can have your ice-cream…” He offered, and her eyes sparkled for a moment before she fought from his grasp and ran to the other side of the office.

“You can’t catch me.” She taunted, shaking her hips from side to side.

“Come on Elizabeth… please?”

She bit her lip with a grin and shook her head.

Rodney and Radek stood in the doorway, watching the exchange.

“Sheppard…what the hell is going one here?”

John glanced at him. “She’s sleep walking, Rodney.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah, Oh. We’ve gotta get her back to bed before she embarrasses herself, or worse…”

“Can I mail you to Singapore?” Elizabeth asked, walking over to Rodney, licking something seductively before slapping his forehead.

Radek tried to contain his laughter, but as Rodney turned to him, and he saw the large postage stamp on his forehead, he was done for, and he doubled over.

“You, I’d post you to my bedroom.” She sauntered over and licked John’s chest before sticking another stamp to the same spot and then looking into his eyes.

John swallowed deeply then glanced at the other two men with a nervous chuckle. “She’s kidding.”

“No, I’m not…I want to feel you right now…right here…” she slowly ran her fingers down his chest towards the waist of his boxers.

“You want to what?” Rodney shrieked and she winked at him before turning her attention back to John.

“Elizabeth, this really isn’t the time or the place…”

“I don’t care…” She lent up to kiss him, moving her hand even closer to his boxers before he grabbed hold of her wrist to stop her.

Elizabeth dropped back and pouted. “Why are you being so mean to me?”

“Elizabeth we aren’t being mean… just please, we have to get you back to your quarters.”

Her smile returned. “Will you come with me?”

John glanced at the others who he could tell were eagerly awaiting his response.

“Ah… sure, if it means you’ll go back to bed.”

“Oh I’ll go back to bed alright.” Her voice was playful and her actions seductive.

“Come on then…”

“Carry me.” She rolled her head over his shoulder so that he couldn’t possibly keep moving without knocking her off her feet.

Hesitantly, knowing that he was going to be teased about this for years to come by the two scientists that had witnessed it, John lifted her up into his arms, with an arm around her waist and one under her legs as she snuggled into his chest.

“Mmm, warm…”

Her voice drifted off and John sighed, inwardly grateful that she had fallen back to REM sleep.

He passed the two scientists that were trying not to laugh, though failing miserably, and walked down the stairs.

He’d ensure their silence later.

The End.

What Dreams May Come

2006-09-04T23:04:13Z

Title: What Dreams May Come
Rating: PG
Chapter: 2 of 9
Pairing/s:John and Elizabeth, Teyla and Ronon
Spoilers: None, this is entirely AU.
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Summary: What life would be if a different path were chosen. John, Elizabeth, Ronon and Teyla grow up together.
Dislclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.

Chapter 1

Life went on and they went to school everyday.

They went up a grade and John noticed that Ronan and Teyla were suddenly closer than they used to be. Girls started to get an interest in John but he didn’t return it all that much.

There was the occasional flirting that he did at lunchtime but he never found himself a girlfriend… and didn’t really think that he wanted one, not like the rest of the grade, who seemed to think it was a pre-requisite for teen years.

He wanted his best-friends back, he wanted Teyla and Ronan to pay attention to him and he wanted Elizabeth to come home.

He had seen her last year at Teyla’s party. They’d had so much fun, laughing and playing soccer like old times, but she had gone back the next day, away from them and hadn’t returned since. He missed her and he hadn’t realised how much until he saw a brunette standing in the front quad at school, her curls hung in her face as she tried to read a map.

‘New girl’ he figured and headed towards her. He hated how most of the new kids were treated and tried to help them out whenever he could.

“Hey there! Do you need some help?”

She didn’t look up at first. “Umm, yeah I’m looking for the…” She broke off and stared at him. “Johnny!” She squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Lizzie! This is great...!” He stopped suddenly and grabbed her shoulders. “Wait. What are you doing here?”

Elizabeth grinned. “Dad said that my school was ridiculous, I hated it there, so he said I could come home and come here.”

John was ecstatic. “This is awesome!” He exclaimed. “You’ll be so surprised, so much has changed…I mean can you believe it…Ronan and Teyla are boyfriend and Girlfriend.” He whispered and Elizabeth giggled.

“Come on!” He grabbed her hand and dragged her into the school.

“You can come to my home room today, they’ll tell you where you have to go tomorrow once you get to your first class… what is your first class?”

Elizabeth looked down at the diary she’d been given. “Um, Art History.”

“Ooh cool, that’s Mr Peterson, he’s awesome. Lets you do whatever you want and talk in the class and everything, only requirement is that you do your work.”

Elizabeth just smiled as he grabbed her diary and started telling her about all the teachers that she was going to have, the good and the bad, warned her who to be extra nice to and who wouldn’t care if she stood on her head and kicked the principal.

Lunchtime came quickly and John went to her English classroom to get her so that she wouldn’t get lost.

“This school is so big…” She looked up at the tall ceilings around the library that was positioned in the centre of the school.

“Yeah it is, but you get used to it… here, we sit out here.”

He led her out into a courtyard full of 10th graders. Elizabeth stood back for a moment, a little scared of them all, so much taller than her. They may have only been in the grade above her, but they seemed a whole lot bigger.

“Hey…what’s wrong?” John asked softly and reached out for her hand.

“It’s just…are you sure I should be out here, I’m not in the 10th grade, won’t I get in trouble or something?”

John laughed. “No, of course not. You can sit wherever you want and seeing as your friends are out here, you have as much right to it as the rest of us…besides, we don’t want to go without you, so come on.” He pulled her outside.

“Elizabeth!” Teyla squealed and ran over to her friend hugging her tightly.

“Hey, when did you come back?” Ronan asked when Teyla finally let her go.

“I just started here this morning, John’s been a big help showing me around.” She smiled in his direction and for a moment she would have sworn he blushed.

“Here, Elizabeth you’ve gotta meet our friends. This is Carson…”

Elizabeth smiled down at the boy sitting on the ground against the wall. He smiled up at her kindly, his blue eyes sincere and genuine as he said “Welcome.” in a broad Scottish accent.

“And Elizabeth, this is Rodney…” She went to reach out to shake his hand but John grabbed hers and pulled it out of the other boys reach. “Careful Lizzie, he bites.”

The other boy rolled his eyes. “Seriously John, if I wasn’t a better man than you are I’d hit you right here and now.”

“Oh really…is that so?” John smirked at Elizabeth. “Then how about you do it and prove to all of us the tough man that you are.” John offered.

“I…I…oh forget it Sheppard.” Rodney stormed off.

They all laughed.

***

Elizabeth took no time to settle in; she became part of the chess team with Rodney and the debating team with another friend of John’s, Marcus Lorne. She joined the Cheerleading squad with Teyla, just for a bit of girlish fun, they had said.

They started their routine up again, of walking together too and from school together.

Elizabeth loved it and she had missed it so, being with her closest friends.

***

The seniors dance rolled around and Elizabeth went out shopping with Teyla to help her find a dress as her father was totally useless for that kind of thing and simply gave the girls his credit card and a $500 limit.

It was a given that Ronan was going to take Teyla, everybody knew it. What seemed to intrigue everyone though was that John had yet to ask anyone.

Elizabeth had overheard some girls in the bathroom, one talking about how she hoped he’d ask her. She didn’t realise in that moment, but later she worked out that what she had felt was jealousy.

Elizabeth knew that as a junior she wasn’t invited unless asked by a senior. She didn’t have a senior boyfriend so her chances of going were zero to none.

Until she overheard a group talking in the quad, she noticed that it was the same girls from the bathroom. Chaya Sarr, a girl in John’s grade who followed him around like a little lost dog.

“Can you believe it, he asked a junior!” One said with a disgusted look on her face.

“Really! Who?” Another asked.

“I don’t know, but whoever she is… she’s going to pay for stealing my man.” Chaya said bitterly and Elizabeth wondered who it could be.

When she walked into the courtyard at lunch, she saw Rodney there and he smiled in her direction before going back to his reading, most likely astrophysics. Elizabeth had wondered for a long time how he could understand those books that were so above his grade.

She walked around the corner in search of John but only found Teyla and Ronan sitting against the wall talking quietly with each other.

“Hey, Elizabeth!” Teyla grinned.

“Hi, have you guys seen John?”

“Umm, nope…haven’t seen him since gym.” Ronan shrugged and shook his head apologetically.

“Thanks.” She turned to leave them alone but then nearly collided with John as he walked around the corner.

“Elizabeth! Hey!” He greeted with a massive smile.

“Hi John.”

“Where you going in such a hurry?” He asked, sitting down on a stool.

“Umm, I was looking for you actually.”

“Really? What for?”

“Umm, no reason… just wondering where you were.”

Teyla and Ronan watched the somewhat uncomfortable exchange.

“Where were you anyway?”

“No where, just coming back from class. I got you something.” He held out a small package and she placed her folder on the table to take it.

“What is it?”

“Open it.” He smirked and she did, slowly.

She opened it up to reveal a beautiful red and gold sequined mask. “What is this for?”

John grinned. “It’s for you…for the dance.”

Elizabeth was surprised. “For me! I thought…aren’t you taking one of the girls from your grade?”

“Why would I take one of them, they are invited anyway, and I don’t really feel like spending an entire night tied to one… they are a bit of a drain.”

“Especially Chaya…” Teyla muttered and John nodded, then turned back to Elizabeth.

“So, what do ya say? Will you come?”

Elizabeth looked down at the mask, then up at him again. “Sure.” She giggled and he hugged her.

“That’s awesome! It’ll be so fun, all of us going to a dance together!”

That afternoon Elizabeth told her dad that she’d been invited by John and he told her mother that she’d been invited by the teachers for good behaviour… it was a good system they had.

He took her out and bought her the dress she had admired since she went shopping with Teyla and it felt like only moments had gone by until the night of the dance.

Elizabeth’s mom did her hair in tight curls pulled up with a tiny tasteful tiara. Her makeup was light, but still too much in her mother’s opinion for a girl her age.

She waited on the front step for the others to arrive and she was surprised to see that a limousine pulled up outside her house, with John and Ronan sticking out the sunroof in their tuxes.

“Your carriage, m’lady.” John said with a bow of his head and she smiled openly.

“Why thankyou, Kind sir.” She giggled and pulled on her mask before climbing in the door to be met with Teyla’s smiling face sitting between John and Ronan’s feet.

***

Ronan led Teyla inside and John and Elizabeth hung back for a moment.

“You alright?” He asked and she smiled, taking a deep breath.

“Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just… I’ve never been to a school dance before. We didn’t have them at my old school.”

John grinned. “Well we’ll just have to make it extra special for you then.” He grabbed her hand, curling his fingers between hers and led her inside.

The music was loud and Elizabeth could hardly hear herself speak, but the gym was beautiful. Someone who didn’t go to the school wouldn’t have even known it was a gym at all, with all the silver and purple decorations. There were fabrics draped across the walls and mirror balls suspended high up on the ceiling making the entire room sparkle.

“You want some punch?” John asked at her side.

“Pardon?” She dragged her eyes away from the sparkling lights. “Oh… ah, yes please.”

John smiled and let go of her hand, leaving her there and walking over to the table full of food and drink.

“Well, well, look who we have here…”

Elizabeth turned quickly as she heard a girl’s voice. “Chaya…?” The girl nodded.

“That’s me. I heard that a junior had taken my guy… didn’t think it’d be you.”

“Excuse me?” Elizabeth’s eyes followed her as the girl circled around her.

“You are here with John Sheppard, aren’t you?”

Elizabeth swallowed. “Ah…yes.”

“Here’s your punch Elizabeth.” John said, loud enough for Chaya to know he was standing right behind her.

“Thankyou, John.”

“Hi Chaya… whatcha doing?” John asked nonchalantly as he passed Elizabeth her drink.

Chaya didn’t say anything, just stormed off.

“Is she always like that?”

“Who, Chaya? Yeah… don’t let her get to you. We were chem. Partners last year… she thinks she owns me for some reason.”

“But she doesn’t, right?”

John looked at Elizabeth curiously, wondering where a question like that had come from. “No…of course not.” Elizabeth just nodded. “Hey! You wanna dance?”

Elizabeth smiled. “Sure, OK.”

John took her hands and led her out onto the floor. A slow song came on and she wrapped her arms around his neck, he rested his hands on her waist.

“Thankyou John, for inviting me.” She said softly into his shoulder.

John smiled and kissed her forehead.

“Couldn’t think of anyone else I’d want to invite.”

Elizabeth held on tighter after his statement and smiled into his shirt.

***

The night passed quicker than she would have liked. She danced with Ronan, Carson, Rodney and even the Czech exchange student Radek, who she was told by Rodney, had a huge crush on her. But most of the night she danced with John. Until the lights came on and it was time to go home.

The limousine had only been rented for picking them up in style so the four walked home together.

They dropped Teyla off first, but Ronan wanted to ‘talk’ to her for a moment, so Elizabeth and John said their good nights and walked on ahead.

They were walking passed John’s house and Elizabeth noticed that he made no effort to turn and walk inside.

“What are you doing? You house is right there.” She pointed and John smiled, taking her hand.

“I can’t let my date walk home alone, that wouldn’t be proper and not to mention ungentle manly.”

“OK.” She said softly and let herself be led by him.

“Here you go.” He said as they stepped up onto the porch. “Home sweet home.” He grinned like a Cheshire cat.

“Thankyou John, for tonight… I had a lot of fun.”

“Well, I’m glad…”

John started to look uneasy. He shuffled his feet along the ground and steered his eyes away from hers.

“John, are you alright?”

“Yeah…ah, Elizabeth, can I ask you something?”

“Sure…”

He glanced at her for a moment, seeing her concern. “Um…would you…ummm…” He took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eyes. “Would you like to be my girlfriend?”

Elizabeth thought she was going to stagger backwards. “Umm, I…John, I don’t know what to say…”

“You don’t have to say anything…I mean, you don’t have to I was just…”

She cut him off softly. “I’d love to.”

John looked at her wide-eyed. “You would?” She nodded. “Cool.”

They stood in silence for a moment. Elizabeth fiddled with the tassel on her bag and John shoved his hands deeper into his pockets.

“So what now?” he asked.

“Umm, I think you kiss me.” She said shyly and he looked up at her with a smirk.

“Okay…”

It was a moment before either of them moved and then, slowly, John stepped towards her. He gently wrapped an arm around her waist and moved his face closer, gently, briefly touching his lips to hers. Then he pulled away and stared at her, her eyes were still closed.

“You OK?”

She nodded. “Would you do it again?”

John lent in again, touching his lips to hers once more, a little harder, but still hesitant. And she smiled against his mouth.

“I liked that.”

He grinned and let her go. “I did too.”

“Goodnight, Elizabeth.” He began to walk down the front steps as the light in the foyer of her house turned on.

“Goodnight John, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You can count on that.” He waved and started walking back up the street.

Elizabeth was greeted by her father in his robe, squinting against the porch light.

“Hi Daddy.” She said with a bounce in her step and ran up the stairs to her room. He just watched her go with a smirk on his face.

Elizabeth ran up to her room and closed the door. She took off her beautiful mask and pinned it up on her corkboard alongside the card her friends had given her before she went away. Elizabeth went to sleep with a smile on her face.

She couldn’t wait to see what tomorrow would bring.

Elizabeth started Cheering at all of John and Ronan’s football games. She and Teyla would always cheer the loudest when either one of them scored, earning them glares from their cheerleading captain, Chaya, while the girls just laughed.

Teyla got a job in the diner where John’s mom worked and they’d all spend their afternoons there, talking and making out in the booths.

John and Elizabeth were far more discreet than Ronan and Teyla, favouring the quite places behind the football grandstand and in John’s living room. They never went to Elizabeth’s house, John was a secret to her parents and he respected that. He’d known what her mother was like since they were little kids, so he didn’t question it when she told him she couldn’t tell her.

They stayed together all through high school; and not even Chaya Sarr came between them. Elizabeth went to their graduation assembly where John decided to tell her that he was joining the Air force.

She was a little worried at first, but didn’t tell him. She saw how his eyes lit up when he told her he was going to be a pilot, and she didn’t have the heart to say how much she hated the armed forces.

Teyla became assistant manager to John’s mom and on her days off she studied for college to hold her scholarship.

Ronan took up an apprenticeship with his dad as a garden landscaper.

And John signed up for the young piloting program. He had to move to California for the cadet school, which meant leaving Elizabeth. He told her that he’d find another Job and stay until she finished school but she refused to let him hold off on his dream, she was going to Harvard next year anyway, so they would be separated this year or the next, it didn’t matter.

“Are you sure?”

Elizabeth smiled and took his hand in hers. “Yes, John I’m sure, we can visit each other. You’re talking like it’s a whole world away.”

“Well it is… a few states.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Exactly, a few states. We’ve got weekends and holidays, it’ll be a piece of cake.”

“I’m not on the bus yet Lizzie; you’ve still got…” He looked at his watch. “…2.5 mins to change your mind.”

Elizabeth slapped his arm playfully as he held her tighter around the waist, not wanting to let go.

The bus started up and Elizabeth looked up at it.

“It’s time to go John.”

“Suddenly I don’t want to so much.”

Elizabeth smirked and kissed him deeply.

“Let her go John, you’ll see her in a month, you loser.” His mother laughed and John kissed Elizabeth again, softly, then let her go. He hugged his mom and climbed onto the bus.

“You look after her.” He ordered and the two women looked at each other then to him.

“Who look after whom?” His mother asked and John smirked.

“Both.”

Then he was on the bus and they watched him and waved as it pulled out.

What Dreams May Come

2006-09-04T00:50:07Z

New fic.

Title: What Dreams May Come
Rating: PG
Chapter: 1 of 9
Pairing/s:John and Elizabeth, Teyla and Ronon
Spoilers: None, this is entirely AU.
Beta: Ky ( venom69)
Summary: What life would be if a different path were chosen. John, Elizabeth, Ronon and Teyla grow up together.
Dislclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.

Little Johnny, Teyla and Ronan all scuffed their feet along the ground as they made their way down the street.

They did this every morning; John would set out when his mother left for work and he’d walk to Teyla’s where she and Ronan would already be waiting. Then they’d all head to the farthest end of the street to pick up Elizabeth.

John and Ronan were both seven years old. John was mischievous and fearless, crashing his go-cart 6 times into Mrs Weir’s front hedge before thinking to put brakes on it.

Ronan may have been seven, but he could easily pass for nine or ten. He was taller than John and he was quite a rough looking boy who followed John around like a shadow.

“You jump, I jump.” was their motto… right off the main street bridge one Easter.

Teyla was six and a cute little tomboy. Her hair was always out everywhere and her blue baseball cap always sat securely backwards on her head.

Elizabeth was the youngest. At five years old she was Daddy’s little princess and her Mothers china doll. She always had red ribbons in her hair and cute little summer dresses.

Her mother didn’t trust the rough-neck kids in the neighbourhood and often tried to deny Elizabeth playing with them… but her father always intervened, which is the only reason why she let John walk Elizabeth to school, under the proviso that he showed up at their house promptly at 8 o’clock, his shirt was clean and his hair brushed.

The other condition was that he be alone.

So that’s where they were this Fall morning, walking down the hill towards Elizabeth’s house.

Once they got close enough, Ronan and Teyla would hide behind Mrs Johnston’s hedge while John went up to the door.

As he made his way along the garden path out the front of the large house he did up the top button of his school shirt and brushed down his unruly hair to be greeted by Mrs Weir.

“Um… good morning, Ma’am.” He greeted with a shy smile. “Is Elizabeth ready?”

She looked him over. “Good Morning Jonathan, no tie today?”

“Ah, no ma’am, it’s laundry day.”

“Hmm, alright then… LIZZIE BEAR!” She called and then John heard the thumping he heard every morning.

He looked up at the ceiling as he heard footsteps along the wooden floors upstairs, heavy footsteps followed by a crash of something then the image of a tiny girl in a red floral dress barrelling down the stairs.

“Morning Johnny!” She boomed and he smiled.

“Come on then… Good day, Mrs Weir.” He waved over his shoulder as he led Elizabeth down the path.

“Where is Teyla?” Elizabeth asked excitedly and John grinned.

“Over here.” She heard a whispered voice and smiled at John before following it.

“BOO!” Ronan jumped out and startled the little girl.

“Ronan, that was mean…” Elizabeth slapped his arm and he just laughed in response. “Come on, we’d better get to school.”

John took Elizabeth’s bag and swung it over his shoulder before undoing his top button and taking her hand. Elizabeth stopped him for a moment and studied him closely, her little eyebrow rising in the inquisitive way that could only be hers. Slowly, she lifted her hand and ruffled his hair up.

“Much betterer.” She beamed and he smiled before taking her hand again and leading her down the road with the others.

John, Teyla and Ronan kicked a can playing soccer down the street around Elizabeth as she skipped away to her own tune. They crossed the blue bridge over the gully and followed the trees around the back of the shopping centre.

John grabbed Elizabeth’s hand again, instructing her to stop and look both ways before they crossed the road.

They reached the school and Elizabeth said goodbye to Teyla and Ronan as they ran off to class.

John took Elizabeth to her classroom, only leaving once she was inside and sitting on the rug, smiling up at her kindergarten teacher, before heading for his own class, with the promise to pick her up that afternoon.

That was their routine.

It never changed except for, perhaps, the choice of game they played on the way to school.

***

After school they’d play in the streets until the lights came on.

Elizabeth’s mother would call her in at least an hour before that and they’d all make a mad dash to tidy her hair and dust off her dress.

They remembered the night Elizabeth had gone home with mud on her dress and one ribbon missing from her hair… they all remembered that.

Elizabeth hadn’t come out for a month and her Mother driven her to school.

Most of the teachers at school thought that the group were the most unlikely of friends. John and Elizabeth particularly; they wondered why a boy of seven would want a five year old following him around.

But John never saw her age, she was his best friend and he didn’t try and ignore it, especially when a fifth grader by the name of Mervin Kavanaugh decided he was going to tease her and steal her dolls at recess.

She had taken a toy to school for ‘show and tell’ that day.

A beautiful doll her father had brought her from China; it had silk clothing and a porcelain face and she happily sat in the playground on the edge of the field as her friends played soccer when Kavanaugh came over and knocked the doll out of her hands and it’s face shattered on the ground.

Elizabeth looked down at the doll for a moment, frozen as she stared at it and then looked up at the bully with his ponytail and glasses too big for his face.

And she started to cry.

Loudly, wailing and hitting the boy.

John and Ronan stopped playing instantly and turned to the sound of her scream to see her punching and kicking at the boy twice her size.

“Aww, poor little Lizard’s dolly broke…” Kavanaugh teased as he effortlessly held her away from him.

“You a bully!” She cried and tried desperately to get at him, but he just placed a palm on her forehead and held her at arms length.

“HEY!” John yelled and Elizabeth stopped thrashing and turned to him.

“Johnny he broke my doll!”

John saw the tears streaming down her face and the broken doll on the grass. And it angered him.

“Why don’t you pick on someone your own size, Mervin?!” John yelled.

“What? Like you?”

“No…” Ronan pushed John aside. “Like me.”

Kavanaugh bit his lip and stepped back. “You aren’t worth my time.” He glared and turned to leave.

Ronan wasn’t giving up. He had gone too far this time and he grabbed Kavanaugh by the shoulder, swinging him around and punching him in the face.

A fight broke out between Ronan and Mervin’s friends; John grabbed Elizabeth’s hand and dragged her out of the way of a swinging fist. He tried to help her salvage what was left of her doll but there was no use, its face was shattered and he knew this wasn’t going to go down well with her mother.

Ronan and Mervin ended up in detention. Mervin looked scared but Ronan didn’t care, he’d been in detention before and knew that, contrary to popular belief, they can’t hurt you in detention.

Their parents were called up to the school.

Ronan’s dad came, Mervin’s mother and John’s as well, seeing as he was being trialled as an instigator.

They called Elizabeth’s house and her nanny was sent to pick her up.

It was almost a week later that they saw Elizabeth again, John walked up to her front door the following Monday with his hair brushed and his tie securely around his neck, trying to look as presentable as possible so that Elizabeth would be allowed to walk with them again.

John took what Mrs Weir dished out to him, her anger and her hope that John would steer her daughter clear of such violence in the future.

He was thankful that he’d been given yet another chance to set it right.

They managed to last for a long time without getting Elizabeth into trouble. They stayed away from the mean kids and Ronan set his reputation in stone so that whenever she was with him, no kid dared to tease her.

It wasn’t until John, Ronan and Teyla left for high school that they worried for Elizabeth but they were hopeful that she’d last her final year and follow them on without a bruise to show for it.

John didn’t stop walking her to school though the others had to because the high school was on the other side of town and out of their way.

But John didn’t stop.

He’d leave her at the gate in the morning and pick her up in the afternoon. He’d take her past his mother’s diner where they got donuts and orange juice and were sent on their way.

Elizabeth liked John’s mom, she was young and made her laugh. She worked two jobs, one at the diner and one at the casino in town. John rarely talked about his dad but Elizabeth got the feeling that he hadn’t been a nice man from the small amount of information he had let slip through.

She always felt comfortable at John’s house, always welcome. The house was a lot smaller than hers and there was no one to bring her food to her, but that never bothered her. She just liked their company instead of rattling around alone at home when her father was overseas and her mother was out with her country club friends.

They all still played in the streets. Games that, at an older age and no longer amused by her dolls, Elizabeth played too. They played cricket in the middle of the road and grabbed the gear and ran whenever someone yelled ‘CAR!”

None of the four had imagined that when the time came for High school, Elizabeth would be sent to a different one than them.

It was an all girls school upstate, where they taught manners and etiquette, foreign languages and literature. Elizabeth’s argument was that she already knew these things. But because her father was on yet another business trip, her protests fell on deaf ears.

They were all there when her mother took her to the bus stop.

John’s mom had insisted that they see Elizabeth before she left and she’d driven the three remaining friends there to say goodbye.

Teyla hugged Elizabeth and Ronan shook her hand. John stood before her and held out a box wrapped in brown paper.

“It’s not as pretty as it used to be… but I tried.” He said softly, scratching his nose and not meeting her eye.

Elizabeth stared at the box and wondered what it was. She didn’t open it there; she tucked it into her hand luggage and kissed him on the cheek.

“You are my best friend John Sheppard.” She stated and he grinned.

“You’ve always been mine… Lizzie Bear.”

Elizabeth climbed onto the bus and waved goodbye to her friends before the bus pulled out.

About fifteen minutes into her trip she remembered that she hadn’t opened the box. She pulled it out and stared at it for a moment before she peeled back the wrapping and lifted the lid.

She smiled openly at what she saw.

It was her beautiful China doll, but with a few personal touches.

She noticed that the dolls clothes were a little worn and she had patches, her face had cracks held together by what seemed to be super-glue and her eyes were painted green.

She pulled the doll out of the box and noticed an envelope flutter onto the seat. She placed the doll down and opened the envelope to see a hand-made card.

It had pink flowers and red ribbon around the edges. Her name was written in purple glitter and on the inside there were three messages:

One from Teyla that said she would see her at her birthday and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Ronan’s said that he would always be her bodyguard, she just has to say the word and he’d join a girl’s school, dignity be danged.

John’s message made her smile.

He told her again that she was his best friend, that even when they were younger, she had always been so. He asked her not to forget him and that when she came back, he’d be there to play whenever she wanted.

Elizabeth then didn’t feel so bad about going to a school so far away, knowing that whenever she came back, they’d be waiting.

She hugged the doll close to her chest and fell asleep with her head against the window, the card held tightly in her hand.

eruwaedhielweir @ 2006-08-25T16:43:00

2006-08-25T06:46:22Z

Title: The Runner
Rating: PG
Pairings: John/Elizabeth.
Summary: Weir Centric, Elizabeth understands now, what it was like for Ronon.
Warnings: None
Beta: Ky ( venom69 )
Disclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.
Author's Notes: Don't really have much to say, apart from...I like this fic.
Feedback: Is Teh love.

John couldn’t believe he’d been at this for 10 years now.

Going through the ‘Gate, getting shot at, coming home. It was a fairly regular thing and never felt like a job, as such… until 6 years ago.

Until their entire expedition was turned from a research adventure into a search party.

She’d disappeared along with Major Daniels’ team. “A peaceful negotiation mission,” she’d told him, no need for her knight to accompany her.

He’d insisted but she was just as stubborn as he, if not more, and she’d made him stay behind.

Three days later they got the information that the city had been levelled. Major Daniels and his teams’ bodies were found not far from the gate, bullet holed and charred… almost unrecognisable.

He didn’t know wether to be relieved or disheartened that she wasn’t with them.

And so for the six years since, he had searched. Unofficially of course, for the IOA would never approve of such ‘misuse of resources’.

***

Elizabeth had been on the run for nearly six years.

She was tired, she was hungry and she so desperately wanted to go home. Never in her life had she wished for normalcy more than these last few years.

She’d lost track of her Atlantean uniform long ago, in a last ditch attempt to fit in. She’d never thought she had it in her, to last this long… on the run… from the Wraith.

If someone had told her 7 years ago that she would be a runner for the Wraith, fighting and fleeing village after village, setting traps and relying on guns for her survival, she would have scoffed in disgust.

But, here she was.

Eating where she could grab a meal, fighting off the travelling hands of men she would have been terrified to face before.

She could compare herself to Teyla now and understand the woman’s need for agility and ability in the fighting arena.

She had skills now: with weapons, with her hands, with her wit… and she used them to survive, rather than her life before this madness.

She’d laughed at herself more than a few times, at the thought of what John would think, seeing her like this. He’d probably laugh too. Then again… he could be so different to the cocky flyboy so many knew him as.

Elizabeth travelled alone, always alone.

She’d met kind people on the different planets she’d visited. Some gave her food, some gave her shelter, but she could never stay long.

A group of young girls once, in a quaint little town, took her and dressed her up. They put flowers in her hair and beads around her neck. They gave her a ruby red dress and she wore it with a smile and a deep breath, for the corset-like bodice was, in a word, restrictive.

They were hurt when she left and insisted that she stay, their brother had taken a shine to her and he was kind and intelligent… but Elizabeth’s mind was on one thing… and her heart was with another.

No matter how many soft smiles and gentle touches he bestowed upon her, he could see it in her eyes that she would never stay. So the girls insisted that she keep the dress, that no one else could suit it so beautifully.

Elizabeth had taken it with a tear in her eye and left before the sun rose.

But it wasn’t fast enough. She had heard from a trading convoy that the small village had been culled.

None survived.

Elizabeth modified the dress. She wore the bodice with her brown leather pants that she had traded for a year earlier, and her knee-length leather coat that protected her from the wind and the cold.

Anyone who knew her before would not know her at a glance today.

Her hair was long and dark curls and often pulled up high on her head. Her trusted gun was always securely strapped to her hip. She had one knife in her boot, one close to her breast and no hesitation in using either.

The gentle, diplomatic and almost naive Elizabeth Weir had died with Daniels and his team.

***

John stepped over a large boulder, listening with only one ear to Rodney’s constant squawking about the distance. He had known for a time now that Rodney’s complaining was purely out of sentimentality… to keep up the dynamic they once had.

Teyla and Ronon walked in silence like they always had, only closer these last few years. The loss of Elizabeth had brought them together, the look of emptiness in John’s eyes had forced their relationship, and he didn’t feel a hint of bitterness against it at all.

They made their way towards a village in the midst of repair. There were dirty faces all around, some watching them, some too focused on their tasks.

There were young families, trying to find each other, parents searching for children that were not coming home, wives looking for husbands that had gone to fight an enemy that had no need for battles of attrition.

A man grabbed Teyla by the sleeve, his eyes pleaded for help before they realised that his chest held the mark of the Wraith, that he had been left on the mere edge of his life.

She lowered him to the ground as he spluttered about a woman in red before he was gone to a place of eternal peace.

John looked up from the man and studied the village. It was singled out, that he could see. And by the look in Ronon’s eyes, he knew that the big man was thinking the same thing.

A runner.

***

Elizabeth staggered towards the cave, her wound was a flesh one, nothing more, it would heal in a matter of days. But the screams of the townspeople would never heal; they would just be added to the long line of people waiting for her at the end of this life, waiting for their retribution.

She tried to tell herself that it wasn’t her fault, that she couldn’t prevent it, but that only managed to convince her of the fact, it didn’t stop their faces from haunting her dreams on the very rare occasions that she slept.

There was one upside; she hadn’t had any paperwork for the past six years, but somehow even with a slight chuckle, that didn’t compensate.

Elizabeth could hear footsteps outside. She tightened a ribbon around the gash on her arm with her teeth, and pulled her gun from it’s holster.

Edging towards the entrance of the cave she tried to see outside. It wasn’t until she was almost all of the way out that she managed to catch a glimpse of dark, flyaway, hair over the ridge and her breath caught in her throat.

She’d know that mop anywhere, even after so many years.

***

They searched for hours.

Ronon was adamant that the runner hadn’t left, he so often stayed on the planets after the culling, only because after the Wraith gave up searching it was safe for a time, until they realised that he’d never left.

As he tracked the runner, they had learnt that it was a woman. Ronon’s sense of smell had told them that and Teyla confirmed it with the theory that women were purely lighter on their feet and, as such, harder to detect.

John spent the time searching through the trees, determined to find her and offer her the same freedoms that they had given Ronon, a freedom earned, he believed for any runner. Especially when they had never before encountered a female one.

He and Rodney were lost in their own regular sentimental bickering when the small group came to a halt. It took Rodney walking straight into Ronon’s back for the two to realise what Ronon and Teyla were staring at.

John’s eyes travelled up her legs, over the knee-high boots, noticing the cling of the leather pants and the accentuation of her bust in a red bodice before he reached her face.

She looked no different to the day he had seen her off, still as beautiful, like time had not even worried to bother her. Her hair was longer, but a lot could be said of that as an immensely good thing.

Her eyes locked on his and there was a silent exchange.

She let him know in that one glance just how much she was hurting.

The others crowded around her, Teyla hugged the life out of her, Ronon lifted her off the ground and she laughed at his broken mask. He could be a softy, she’d always had her suspicions.

Rodney greeted her slowly, cautiously as if not believing it to be true… but in the end, he embraced his old friend with the warmest of hugs the scientist had ever mustered.

John couldn’t leave it to that.

He couldn’t be satisfied with a hug and a ‘Welcome back, we missed you!’ He did the only thing that his heart was urging him to do. He took her into his arms and he placed his lips to hers, kissing her soundly, with a passion and fire that had raged within him for six years. She fought back, wrapping her arms around his neck as his curled around her waist, pulling each other closer as if attempting the universal impossibility of becoming one being.

***

She refused to return to Atlantis at first. In fact, she begged to remain, if only out of shame for the lives that hung on her shoulders.

But a moment alone with John convinced her that it was for the best. Atlantis missed her, her people missed her and more importantly, Carson could remove the part of her that forced her to run.

John sent Ronon and Rodney back to Atlantis and they fetched Carson as quickly as humanly possible.

They returned and upon seeing her, Carson’s eyes filled with tears… he had never been one for hiding behind a macho exterior.

Elizabeth hugged him and kissed his cheek, removing her jacket for him to wince at the ugly scar on her alabaster shoulder.

He removed the device with ease and John carried the still-anaesthetised Elizabeth back to the ‘Gate.

***

It had been so long since Elizabeth had woken in a bed, with real sheets and real pyjamas.

She sat up and looked around to see that she was in the room that she had once called home. It was no different from when she left. Eexcept, she noticed, a few male possessions throughout the humble living space.

Elizabeth made her way to the window, wincing a little at the numb pain in her shoulder from the surgery.

She watched the waves crash outside her window, and looked up at the tall towers surrounding her.

After six years of running and blood and death, she was home.

Arms curled around her waist from behind and a chin rested on her good shoulder. She turned her head to see his face and smiled softly, placing her hands over his on her stomach.

***

John never told Earth that they found her, she would only be a statistic if he did.

In times of crisis the city turned to her once more. She was never officially re-instated as the Atlantean leader, but that didn’t matter to them, in Atlantis she had always been their leader.

Her gun was always securely on her hip and she wore the red bodice in remembrance of the young women who had died as a result of her mere presence.

And slowly, painfully, John taught her how to fight the nightmares that plagued her in the night.

***

The End

Brand spanking new fic!

2006-08-25T06:42:05Z

Title: Toy Soldiers
Rating: PG-ish, implied character death
Pairings: John/Elizabeth
Summary: Weir centric. Atlantis is falling. Based on the Martika song 'Toy Soldiers'
Warnings: None.
Beta: Ky (venom69)
Disclaimer: Any of the characters, places or television shows depicted in this fic are not owned by me. I am using them simply for the means to entertain and in no way make a profit from the distribution of this story.
Author's Notes: If anyone wants to hear the song i can upload it. just comment and let me know.
Feedback: Is Teh love.

Step by step
Heart to heart
Left, right, left
We all fall down
Like toy soldiers
Bit by bit
Torn apart
We never win
But the battle wages on
For toy soldiers.

Toy soldiers .- Martika

***

Elizabeth hadn’t looked at Atlantis like this before.

She’d always felt somewhat detached in this place: at home, yet separate from everyone else.

But this was different, this was her own doing.

Girl’s nights and team nights never included an invitation for her, though it was never meant out of hostility. Her people cared, of that she didn’t doubt and she cared for them. She’d give her life for them if only to prove that fact.

And she stands in her office now, tears in her eyes and anger in her heart as the greatest city in the galaxy falls around her. She knows that her resolve to prove her worth will never falter.

They fire their weapons.

The Wraith have come crashing through the ‘Gate and the last of her people have been sent in the only remotely safe direction they could think of: the mainland.

But she was cut off from all that.

The towers fell around her and fires rose up with the force of the strikes against the colossal spires. The ‘Gate room was full of Wraith moving slowing forward to encompass the entire city with the terror of their very being.

She can’t hear them through the glass; it’s almost as if it isn’t real without the sound. She can see their deaths; she can see their pain and their will to fight with all that they have, which hasn’t been much these last few months as the endless battles consumed them.

Elizabeth wants to help them, but what can she do?

John’s told her before that she’s not a fighter. She can defend herself, yes, but taking the offensive is a whole different ball game. She can’t help but think they look like tiny toy soldiers, fighting and dying for the sake of the child that holds them in the palm of his hand.

She feels like that child.

With all of the power of her position and the power to watch over them, while she remains unharmed.

The battle will never end and eventually they will find their way to where she resides, in the glass office that held so many memories of better times, of happier moments and unrequited longing.

All she has to do is press the button that John begged her not to take and it’d all be over. All she can hear is his banging on the door outside, as she sits in her chair and watches over her people fighting for their path home.

He didn’t want her to do it.

It was his cross to bear and she knew that he’d hate himself for a long time to come, but she had taken the remote right out of Rodney’s hand before anyone had a chance to react. She remembers the chase, still fresh in her mind.

She ran down the corridor from Rodney’s lab, glancing behind her every now and then, praying that John didn’t catch her.

She was thankful that he hadn’t, because she didn’t know if she would have been able to go through with it if she’d seen the pain in his eyes and felt his arms latch onto her.

She locked herself in her office, with the torn faces of her team outside, her friends… her family.

She was doing it for them; she convinced herself as she tore her eyes away from his and looked down at her people.

Toy soldiers in a line, one by one and they are falling down.

She can end it now.

She knows all that she needs to know.

Many of her people will live, the Wraith will not.

She will be remembered as a woman who made the ultimate sacrifice.

A martyr.

As she looks into John’s eyes she can see the pain she has caused, she can see Ronon’s strong arms around his shoulders, pulling his friend free of the door and forcing him down the stairs.

She watches the path that he takes as her tears stream down her face and she doesn’t dare wipe them away.

He loves her.

And as he stands at the base of the Stargate and looks up at her with tears in his eyes, she knows that he always respected her.

His love is all she needs to know, when she presses the button and closes her eyes to wait for the city to fall and take her with it.

The end.

Drabble-ish little fics.

2006-08-23T22:53:07Z

Hey there,
These are just a few short fics...I don't know if you'd call them drabbles, i've never really understood the definition of what makes a drabble a drabble, so these are just short little fics.

First up:

Pairing: John/Elizabeth
Show: Stargate Atlantis
Rating: PG
Title:

He was gone too long again.

Elizabeth stood still, back straight and eyes dry as she watched the gate shut down.

Darkness clouded her heart as the three battered and beaten team members stumbled onto gurneys without their leader.

Perhaps this was the last time she would get her miracle. Perhaps she already had the last.

Elizabeth took a deep breath. She tucked his dog tags into her jacket and held her head high.

He would come home, they would let their secret out together; and besides, she had to give his tags back, didn’t she?

Pairing: Tony/Kate
Show: NCIS
Rating: PG
Title:

Kate walked into the bullpen.

“Morning Kate.” Tony chirped. Kate glanced at him and he winked.

She looked around at the rest of the team, staring at her and awaiting her response.

She waved at the others, and smiled shyly to Tony. “Good morning.” She ran a hand through her unbrushed hair.

“Have a good night Kate?” Tony asked with a smirk and she looked around, wondering why everyone was still staring.

“Yes…Tony, what is this?”

“Well…” Tony got up and walked over to her desk. “It’s just that I didn’t think you’d be the one to let the secret out.”

Kate looked down at her NCIS jacket and saw the embroidered ‘Dinozzo’ on the breast pocket.

“Shit.”

Pairing: Phoenix/Wolverine
Show: X-Men: The Last Stand
Rating: PG
Title:

Logan walked down towards the forest at the farthest end of the mansion grounds.

He glanced back at the massive house as the storm clouds gathered overhead. Ororo was upset, obviously.

He walked into the trees, where no one could follow and whistled with his fingers.

There was an unnatural silence in the trees that night.

He waited for a moment and then he saw the red of her coat through the shrubbery.

“Logan what you did… I…” She whispered as she stood before him, her long red hair blowing between them.

He cut her off. “I couldn’t kill you.” One tear trickled down the animal’s cheek.

“It’ll be our secret.”

She smiled and took his hand as they walked deeper into the forest together.

Pairing: Sam/Jack
Show: Stargate SG1
Rating: PG
Note: Episode tag for 'The Other Side'
Title:

Sam stared at Jack, his back to the iris and his eyes glued to hers. Neither of them could look away from each other because of the pain their secret held.

She narrowed her eyes to him, hating the fact that in that moment, she hated him.

“Carter!” Jack called, running down the concrete hall after her as she attempted to leave. “What got into you?”

She stopped. “Don’t worry about it Sir.”

“Why not? You just race out of the ‘Gate room without a word and I’m expected to think everything is fine and dandy?”

Sam turned around, desperately fighting the water in her eyes. “Sir, you let that man die.”

“He tried to kill us!” He defended.

“He begged for help! We could have taken him prisoner, sent him to another planet! Something! Anything but MURDER!” She yelled, a thousand emotions flashing across her face in quick succession as her mind and her heart went to war against each other.

“He was a casualty of WAR, CARTER, you of all people I would think would understand that!”

She silenced and stared at him for a moment. “And you of all people I would have thought would have a heart.”

And then she walked away, before she had a chance to cry.

Pairing: Kate/Gibbs
Show:NCIS
Rating: PG
Title:

“I’ll miss you; you know… I’ve never been able to tell anyone that before.”

“I’ll always be here, Gibbs.”

“Yeah, but you aren’t here.”

Kate sighed and ran her fingers across his worn cheek and she felt him shiver at her touch. “This is the way it is Jethro, you can’t change it.”

He looked into her eyes and she could see a tear in his. “I know.” He whispered.

“I have to go now, Jethro.”

He gripped her hand tightly, it sent a shiver down his spine because she felt like ice, but he gripped it all the same. “Stay… please, just a little while longer.” He begged.

She had never seen him like this before. “Ok.”

He sunk down with his head on her lap. “Kate…”

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t tell your God that I cried.”

Kate laughed openly, a full angelic tone that carried through the air and warmed him inside. “It’ll be our secret.” She whispered as she disappeared.

Pairing: Katheryn/Chakotay
Show: Star Trek Voyager
Rating: PG
Note: For Ky venom69
Title:

“What happened, Captain?”

“It was a simple miscalculation…” Kathryn started to explain then glanced to Chakotay by her side.

“On my part.” He jumped in. “I was flying the shuttle when we crashed.”

Kathryn glared at him. “Commander, what are you doing?”

He didn’t answer her, only smiled and turned back to the crew. “I crashed the ship, it was a simple error, I should have seen it, but I didn’t”

They all looked at him sceptically; it had been a simple error, something any crewman would have picked up, certainly a starship Commander wouldn’t miss something like that.

“Commander, why did you do that? I would have told them.” Kathryn asked once they were alone.

“No. It’ll be a secret.” He shook his head. “It’s OK, because your dignity is more important than mine.” He said softy with a gentle smile and walked passed her.

Pairing: Gibbs/Abby
Show: NCIS
Rating: PG-ish
Note: For Amy riverstar_aura
Title:

“You don’t think he knows do you, Abbs?” Tony asked in a panic.

Abby smiled. “Of course not.” She said whilst grinning.

Tony stopped pacing and glared at her. “You told him didn’t you?”

She continued grinning, but didn’t say a word.

“Abby…” He said warningly.

“Tony I didn’t tell him!” She exclaimed.

“What’s this secret, Dinozzo?” Tony spun around and froze.

“Hey Boss…” He ran passed him. “Never mind!”

“Abbs?” Gibbs asked, while handing over her Caff-Pow.

“Oh, just Tony’s Prince Albert.” She said with a smirk and Gibbs laughed wholeheartedly.

“Oh that’s never gonna get old.”

“Yeah Tony getting drunk and getting a Prince Albert! That’s hilarious…but Gibbs…how did you know that he did it?”

“How else would he get so many women?”

“What does a prince Albert have anything to do with the amount of women Tony sleeps with?”

Gibbs smirked. “I’ll show you later.”

Pairing: Catherine/Grissom
Show: CSI:Crime Scene Investigation
Rating: PG
Title:

“Gil…I…”

He cut her off. “Catherine, I won’t tell anyone. But you are off the case.”

“What!” Catherine exclaimed.

“You are a liability on this one; I’m not going to let you incriminate yourself.”

“Isn’t that up to me?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“It is, but it’s up to me to protect you.”

“Protect me from what?”

“Me.” He whispered.

Catherine nodded her head and said nothing more; she walked out of his office and watched from outside the window as he planted the evidence that would prove their suspect had done it.

She had never seen Gil so determined before, so she let him do it and told no one.

It was their secret that she was ever there at all.

All Beta-d by venom69