A.N.1: Hi! This is just a short little ficlet inspired by a prompt on the Gateworld Sparky thread. The prompt was 'on a clear day you can see forever'. Enjoy!

Storytime

"What's it like, on Atlantis? Is it pretty there?"

Elizabeth looked down at the little girl lying in the bed and smiled warmly. Layla was the daughter of the town's high councilor, and had taken such a liking to Elizabeth during the team's diplomatic visit that she had insisted on her being the one to tuck her in for the night. Councilor Lorren had apologized at first for his daughter's behavior, but had soon given way under Elizabeth's assurances that she really didn't mind.

She drew the blankets up further around the girl's shoulders and sat down on the edge of the bed, twisting so she could see her face. "Yes," she began with a smile, "it's very pretty. It's beautiful. It's a city of light and color and salt air, full of sparkling glass towers and large airy hallways. Mysterious too. You never know what you're going to find around the next corner."

"Wow…" whispered Layla, snuggling her doll closer. Elizabeth laughed softly.

"Yeah, that's what I say a lot of the time. And it's completely surrounded by water, like an island. And, there's a place high up at the top of the tallest tower where you can stand for hours and look at the ocean. Have you ever seen the ocean?" Layla yawned and shook her head, her eyes sliding closed. "Well it goes on and on… and, if you're in the right spot, on a clear day you can see forever."

"Wish I lived there," Layla muttered sleepily.

Elizabeth smiled and brushed a strand of blonde hair away from the girl's face. "It is a nice place to live. Good night."

She didn't answer directly, only mumbled something - the only word Elizabeth caught was 'forever'- and then she was completely asleep. Being careful not to make any noise that might wake her, Elizabeth slowly got up from the bed and turned to walk out of the room, jumping in surprise when she saw someone standing in the door way. Still mindful of the sleeping girl, she only glared at him as her heart tried to resume its normal rhythm.

"Oops. Sorry!" whispered John with an apologetic smile, the sparkle not leaving his green eyes. He was leaning comfortably against the frame of the open door, his hands in his pockets and his black hair wild as always, his smile still oh-so-charming.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth quirking as she walked past him out into the hallway. He stood up straight and pulled the door shut silently behind her, "Didn't mean to scare you." Elizabeth gave him an uh-huh-sure-you-didn't look, and they started walking back towards the banquet hall where the rest of the team were feasting with the townspeople. "I just came to check up on you, see if you needed any help getting the kid to sleep."

"Oh, I think I managed rather well," she said, smiling and glancing at him as they walked. "So how long were you standing there?"

John laughed. "Long enough to see you didn't need my help." He glanced at her and licked his lips nervously. "That was really nice, what you were saying about Atlantis. I usually don't think about it much, but you're right. It is beautiful."

She was surprised at this un-John-like admission, but touched nonetheless. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He tilted his head towards her, then faced forward again as they walked, hands back in his pockets in typical laid-back Sheppard style. "Still, my favorite part was when you were describing our balcony. It got me thinking… the food here's actually pretty good, and I remember hearing Radek say before we left that tomorrow was going to be a clear day back home... I figured maybe…"

It took Elizabeth a moment to catch what he had said at the beginning. Wait, our balcony? She was about to call him on what had obviously been a slip of the tongue when she suddenly realized that she had stopped thinking about it as the balcony and started thinking about it as theirs a long time ago. She smiled as he finished outlining his plans for the next day's lunch and nodded to herself as she pretended to be thinking it over.

"Let's see… good food, good company, a spectacular view…" She turned to him and grinned. "I'm sold."

A.N.2: Thanks for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated! :)