Dr Weir was puzzled, how do you misplace a full-grown man? He was there one minute, and then he was gone.

"Rodney, is Major Sheppard with you?" Elizabeth asked as she entered one of the labs Rodney was working in.

"Elizabeth, you know John is banned from here, and the labs off the main south-west hall, and the computer station, and the isola…" Elizabeth cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"I get it Rodney." She said with a small grin. "Do you know where he is?"

"Last I heard he was teaching Teyla how to make smores in the commissary."

"That's not possible." Weir replied looking away.

"I know, I ate the last bag of marshmallows, really should have brought more."

"No, I mean I just came from there and Teyla said he left an hour ago."

"Beats me. Probable exploring somewhere."

"Probably. Thanks anyway. Oh and for the record, there is still one more bag of marshmallows." Weir grinned and winked, leaving Rodney gaping, open-mouthed.

The Next Day

Oh not again Liz thought as she knocked on John's door. Where the hell is he? The transporter came to life at the end of the hall and Ford greeted her with a smile.

"Dr Weir, is Major Sheppard with you?" he asked.

"No, I was just looking for him."

"Oh, well tell him we're about to deal the first hand and if he wants in he better hurry." Ford said jumping back into the transporter.

This went on for another week before she could take it no more. After Sheppard and his team had cleaned up and debriefed Weir following a one day mission to a planet that proved, "totally useless" as John had phrased it, the team decided to watch a movie if the projector was free.

"I think I'll pass." John said standing up.

"Will you be joining us Dr Weir?" Teyla asked.

"I'd love to, I just need to finish up a few things here and I'll be right down." She replied.

"You'll probably make it through the whole movie before she stops working." John said with a smirk.

The team left the room and Weir kept her gazed fixed on John, and as she suspected, he changed course and headed in the opposite direction to his quarters. Grabbing the small tracking device, she locked on to the signature she assumed was his and began to follow him, always maintaining a safe distance.

It was another 15 minutes before he finally seemed to have stopped, and it was going to take another 5 minutes to reach his location. Elizabeth found herself wandering through a part of the city she had not seen or read anything about yet, it looked the same on a basic level, but there was something different about it. There were no labs, or massive computer consoles, conference style rooms. Weir smiled as she figured out what it was, it looked almost like a boarding school dorm, and it was. Or the Atlantis equivalent anyway.

Near the end of the hallway, a room was lit up, and Elizabeth knew he was in there. But what he was doing she would never have imagined. She was suddenly unsure what to do. Go in, find out what he was doing, leave and ask him later on, or wait for him to tell her, which she was sure he would do if it were important…she hoped he would. Her question was answered for her.

"You know you're good, wasn't until the third transporter I even realised you were following me." John said as he poked his head out the door.

"John what are you doing here?" Weir asked.

"What are you doing here?"

"I asked you first." She replied.

"The expert in intergalactic politics comes up with 'I asked you first.'"

"John." She said sternly.

"Come in and see." He said disappearing back into the room.

She had no idea where to look. Tables covered in various objects and tools were everywhere.

"Didn't it bug you, that in all the reports that came out of the SGC, that there was never an "entertainment" side to any of the planets they visited. Not one of them said 'We completed the negotiations peacefully and then took in a show at the local hall.' I know I was only was given a brief synopsis of a few of the reports in my prep for this trip. But even now, on our missions, no concept of performing arts, and more to the point, music." John said gesturing to room.

"Major Sheppard, are you telling me you have been coming here every night to, make music?" She asked joining him at a table.

"Well trying to. But so far, I've only been able to really master one thing. Right now, I think I'm tuning a violin, although they are a little different on earth, they have strings." He said without looking away from the instrument.

"I'm, amazed. Why didn't you tell anyone about this." She asked.

"Well, I wanted it to be worth coming to see first. And I knew you would crack and follow me eventually." He said finally looking at her.

"How come you didn't bring an instrument as your personal item?" She asked.

"Because I don't own one." He replied.

"But how…how do you know music without owning an instrument?"

"I used to play. As a kid, before I decided to become a pilot, I'd play any instrument you put in my hands." He said.

"You must have had lessons for years."

"No only one, and I refused to ever again."

"Ok, you're not making any sense…wait, are you one of those "by ear" players?" she asked surprised.

"If that's what you want to call it. I guess yeah. If I hear it, and I know the instrument, I can usually work it out and learn to play it. The lesson I went to, I was 8, my teacher at school had told my parents I was some prodigy and gave my parents the name of a music teacher."

"So what happened?"

"The music teacher told my parents he would never teach a child who couldn't read music. The fact I'd just played him 10 straight minutes of Beethoven meant nothing." John said putting the 'violin' down.

"So what, you gave up?"

"No I played in school for fun, but then when I got into the academy and realised what I was meant to be doing, it became a hobby."

"Just when I thought you couldn't surprise me anymore." Weir said shaking her head.

"So what's the one?"

"The one what?"

"The one you have mastered?"

"Oh!" John jumped up and moved to a large heap covered in a sheet. "You'll love this."

John pulled back the sheet and at first she thought it was a giant circular hatbox on four legs, until she looked closer, and could not contain the gasp that escaped her lips. It was huge, glass, and breathtaking. The clear casing revealed the intricate series of rods and silver cables that were inside it. And a piece of the circular part was cut away to make room for the row of what must have been keys.

"A piano!" She said moving closer.

"A hell of a piano at that. I can not even begin to work out the mechanics or science behind it, but it is amazing."

John was acting like a kid, she hadn't seen him this happy since he had pushed Rodney off the Gateroom balcony.

"What?" he asked.

"Sorry?" she replied coming out of her daze.

"You're smiling."

"Sorry, it's just this side of you is very… different. Very Metrosexual.

"HEY!" John exclaimed.

"I said Metro." Elizabeth replied with a laugh.

"Yeah well, just don't say it too loud."

"So." Weir said looking back to the piano.

"So." John mimicked.

"Aren't you going to serenade me?" Weir asked pulling a seat over to the piano.

"No."

"Oh come on, not even 5 minutes of Beethoven's fifth?"

John found himself, once again, wanting to do it, simply to make her happy, and that bothered him. Bothered him a LOT.

Sure, she was beautiful, but she was his boss. She was smart, but she was his boss. She was not afraid to bust his balls in front of a crowd, but she was his boss, he respected her more than he had anyone else, but she was…oh screw it, he was totally into her and THAT was a problem.

He knew it would happen, when she had scheduled the meeting to invite him to Atlantis, telling her he had to think about it was a formality. He knew as he left the room that if she was going to another planet he was going with her.

And here they were, on said planet, sitting side by side at the giant birthday cake shaped piano.

"I'm not that good." John said, suddenly nervous. "I was bragging."

"Well I know that." Weir said nudging his arm. "But I'm sure you are very good. Prove it."

John placed his hands over the keys and they began to glow slightly. He took a deep breath and began to move his fingers over the keys. The instrument may have been a piano in theory, but it put earths to shame as far as sound went. They notes seemed to echo, and sounded fuller as he produced each one. She was about to comment on it but was silenced as John began to sing softly.

I want love, but it's impossible
A man like me, so irresponsible
A man like me is dead in places
Other men feel liberated

I can't love, shot full of holes
Don't feel nothing, I just feel cold
Don't feel nothing, just old scars
Toughening up around my heart

His raspy voice became louder as did the playing, intricate light patterns began to move over and around the glass.

But I want love, just a different kind
I want love, won't break me down
Won't brick me up, won't fence me in
I want a love, that don't mean a thing
That's the love I want, I want love

I want love on my own terms
After everything I've ever learned
Me, I carry too much baggage
Oh man I've seen so much traffic

But I want love, just a different kind
I want love, won't break me down
Won't brick me up, won't fence me in
I want a love, that don't mean a thing
That's the love I want, I want love

So bring it on, I've been bruised
Don't give me love that's clean and smooth
I'm ready for the rougher stuff
No sweet romance, I've had enough

A man like me is dead in places
Other men feel liberated

But I want love, just a different kind
I want love, won't break me down
Won't brick me up, won't fence me in
I want a love, that don't mean a thing
That's the love I want, I want love

Elizabeth sat in silence. She knew she was crying, she was cursing herself for it but she couldn't help it. "Just when I thought you couldn't surprise me anymore." She whispered looking up at him, their close proximity suddenly becoming very obvious to the two of them.

John had no idea what to do, the lights, the music; it was straight from one of the trashy romance novels Rodney thought no one knew he was reading, smuggled in with the textbooks that had been brought to Atlantis.

"Liz, I…I really want to kiss you right now." He managed to say. "So, if you don't want to be kissed, you better leave."

Elizabeth, not trusting her own voice, leaned in the small distance that was separating them and placed a soft, all too swift kiss on his lips. She had not even pulled back far enough to look at him before he had claimed her lips once again, slowly exploring her mouth with his own.

After a minute or so, a need to breathe forced them apart, but John refused to lose the physical contact, and rested his forehead against hers. In some way he was wishing he could tell her all he could not say, telepathically. Maybe she would just know, he thought.

Her fingers had begun to lightly trace the edge of his jaw and cheeks.

"John." She finally whispered. "We can't." she said, not pulling back though.

"So not what I wanted to hear."

"We have to think about this place first, not ourselves."

"I'd prefer to be selfish." John murmured. Elizabeth laughed softly and nuzzled her face into his neck.

"I can't forget it Liz, I'm sorry." John kissing the top of her head.

"We don't have to forget it, we may have to ignore it for a while." She said reaching up and kissing him softly once more. "Play it again Sam." She said to him with a grin.

"You know that line wasn't actually in the movie?" John said turning back to the piano.

Tomorrow would be another briefing, another mission, and another planet. Tomorrow they would be Sheppard and Weir, colleagues, comrades fighting a war, but that was tomorrow.

Tonight, tonight they made music.