"Well, it's good to have you back in the real world. ... At least, I think it's the real world ... I could be infected right now, which makes me the one..."
"John ... don't."
"Sorry."
John flashed her a quick smile before leaving the control room. Elizabeth watched him go before focusing her attention to the pocket watch in her hand.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He found her at an even later hour sitting by herself in the commissary, nursing luke-warm coffee, eyes fixated on nothing in particular.
"Hey"
Elizabeth looked up to find John Sheppard's eyes regarding her own. "Oh hey", the smile didn't quite reach her eyes.
"I would have thought you'd want to be getting some shut eye by now", John said as he joined her at the small table. He tried to keep the worried tone out of his voice, but he noticed her stare-off's with inanimate objects quite a few times in the last couple of days. He suspected she was reliving some of that life she'd had in her mind while the nanites were having their fun. He also suspected it was far worse that what she let on.
Elizabeth looked at him sheepishly. "I think I had enough sleep when I was in my own head to last me quite a while", she replied, leaning back in her chair and taking a sip of her coffee. The face she made when she tried to swallow the murky brew made John chuckle, and she promptly spit it back in the mug before pushing it far ways from her on the table.
"Yeah well, that doesn't really count in the real world does it? Sure would be nice though, to dream of getting a decent amount of sleep", John finished before yawning. This set Elizabeth off too as she tried to hide it behind her hand.
"Oh believe me, it was anything but nice." Elizabeth's face took on a dark expression, which John duly noted.
"You wanna talk about it?", he asked softly.
She regarded him for a moment with a half smile and a raised eyebrow. "No", she replied just as softly.
"It couldn't have been all that bad? You did say you were back on Earth, didn't you get to see any familiar faces?"
"Sedge", she smiled softly, staring at the tabletop, "And my mom."
John smiled too; it wasn't that often Elizabeth Weir opened up about anything, let alone something this personal.
It was then she looked up into his eyes once again, realising how easy he'd gotten the information from her. She was supposed to be the diplomat with the well-honed manipulation skills.
"You know what, I probably should get some sleep", she said, rising from her chair. Truth was, she was practically nodding off then and there. She'd only caught a few catnaps since being released from isolation less than forty-eight hours earlier and didn't want to admit yet again that she wasn't all that thrilled about the idea of sleep. On a rational level she knew the nightmare was over, on the other hand, she was more than a little unsettled with regard to her time spent in `Washington'. Her only constant being the shadowy figure of John reaching out to her from another galaxy.
"I'll walk you", John offered as he too rose from the table and followed her out of the commissary.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They traipsed the dimly lit halls of Atlantis in silence, falling into step quite easily, yet, John could see the slight look of trepidation on Elizabeth's face as her quarters came into sight.
She suddenly spun around, taking a few steps backwards so she could see his face. "Hey, you know, I don't think I'm that tired after all. What do you say to a game of cards?" she asked, trying to give an air of hopefulness.
"Um, yeah sure", John replied with a questioning look, "Why not." She flashed him a grin before turning around to swipe her hand to open the door.
Once they were inside, Elizabeth took off to rummage through her cupboard for a pack of cards while John took a good look around Elizabeth's place, trying to make some sense of the woman. "Nice digs", he remarked.
Elizabeth spun around with a deck of cards in hand. "Well the leader has to live in style" she quipped.
They sat down and Elizabeth began to shuffle and divide the cards.
"So, what are we playing?" John asked her as she concentrated on divvying up cards.
"Hmm? Oh..." Elizabeth realised she hadn't actually picked a game, let alone one you could play by dividing up the cards. "...Go fish?"
John laughed. "I don't think I've played that since I was eight!"
"Well then, time to awaken that inner child of yours John Sheppard, plus anything is better than Solitaire right about now..." she trailed off.
John wondered at her words. "So you got to see Earth and all you did was sleep and play Solitaire?" The question was clearly intended to pry for more information, but Elizabeth's intensive study of her cards coupled with fatigue let it slip her guard.
"Well there wasn't much else to do in that place", she finished, finally catching on to what he was doing.
"What place?"
"Ah, never mind. Eight of Spades?"
"Go fish."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Forty-five minutes later, and with two games under his belt, John sat across from Elizabeth, watching her half-lidded eyes sweep over her cards once more. "You know what", he started, "I think I'm gonna head off, you know we've got that briefing first thing tomorrow." They didn't, but Elizabeth was so out of it she didn't question it.
"No, wait please...let's just finish this game first." She tried to keep the desperation out of her voice, but she knew John had picked it up.
"What's going on Elizabeth? I just have to take one look at you to know you're dead on your feet."
"Nothing", she replied with wide eyes, trying to hide her tiredness.
"Elizabeth", he said more softly, this time letting the worry show on his face, if only to get her to tell him what was wrong. He took the cards from her hand, dropping them on the table before taking her hand and leading her over to sit on her bed. He sat down on the cushions beside her bed, still holding her hand. "What's wrong?"
Elizabeth hung her head, closing her eyes. "I...I, I've been having some trouble sleeping lately", she said softly, somewhat embarrassed at finally admitting it.
"Have you spoken to Carson? Or Dr Hightmeyer?"
"No."
"Look, Elizabeth", John started, "I'm certainly no expert on these things, but...I am here if you ever want to talk about anything. I'll be here to listen. And I'm not just saying that to suck up to the boss..." Elizabeth chuckled softly. "I'm saying it `cause I'm your friend."
She was touched. He made it sound so inviting to want to just throw herself into someone's arms and get it all out. But she was too tired to cry, and the small amount of mist gathering in her eyes was starting to sting. She tugged experimentally on the hand John still held in hers and he rose to his knees so that he was somewhat at eye level with her. He took a fleeting look at her washed out face before releasing her hand and wrapping his arms around her. It took a few seconds for her to do the same, resting her arms and head on his shoulders as he practically held her upright. "Thankyou", she whispered into the warm silence.
They stayed that way for a few minutes, comfortable in each others space before John realised her breathing had evened out. Gently he lowered her sleeping form to the bed, lifting her feet and removing her shoes. He returned to the cushions by her side, studying the more peaceful expression on her face, lines softened, relaxed features. He tucked a curl of hair behind her ear, stirring her slightly as she mumbled in her sleep, reaching for him once more. John took a hold of her hand as she settled and stood guard against her demons.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sunlight streamed in through Elizabeth's window, warming her face with its glow. As she woke, she felt safe and happy, a stark contrast to the cold dark hospital in her mind. She rolled to her side, something soft tickling her nose, forcing her to open her eyes. Hair. Messy black hair. John's hair.
She propped herself up on one elbow, looking down at the sleeping man attached to the shaggy mop. He lay on the pile of cushions next to her bed, head resting on her mattress, drooling slightly, hand still grasped in hers. He had stayed with her.
The sight of him lying there causing something inside her chest to swell and a smile to break out on her face. She removed her hand from his, giving into the urge to touch his hair, running her fingers through the soft strands.
A hitch in his breathing let her know he was awake, but she couldn't bring herself to remove her hand, letting it run down the side of his face as he lifted his head to look up at her.
"You ok?" he asked, making her chest ache even more. She smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back, a similar ache in his own chest. She kept her hand against his cheek as she leaned towards him and he rose so that they were face-to-face, mere millimetres apart. She felt his warm breath seconds before he brushed his lips lightly against her.
"Yes", she replied on whispered breath as she softly returned the kiss. "Yes."
The End.
A Touch of Reality von Magnavox
Story Bemerkung:
Sparky fluff, pure and simple. This is the first thing I've written in like 6 months – RL and all that jazz, so I'm practically a fic virgin again.hehehe, be gentle ;)
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