Hello everyone! Well, here's my next Atlantis story. Now, don't be angry about how this one starts. I will fix it as it goes on, you all know what ship I like so please keep the rotten vegetables till you read it all! Special mention to Ashkash for helping me with the summary. I am also unsure of the title at the mo.
Spoilers: Season 2 as it has Colonel Caldwell in it. I also don't know his first name so I made it up.
Disclaimer: Still don't own anything and my damn inflatable Joe Flanigan still hasn't arrived! Sorry for the outburst.
Worth It
1. It Should Have Been You
Colonel Ryan Caldwell smiled sleepily as he heard humming come from his en-suit Antlancian bathroom. The woman's voice was so soft and gentle it was delightful to listen to. Sitting up and sliding off the bed Ryan made his way to the bathroom and leaned on the doorframe to watch Dr Elizabeth Weir style her hair. It took her a good few minutes before she realised he was there and smiled into the mirror.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye.
Caldwell shook his head. "Well how could I ignore that beautiful singing voice?" He sauntered over to where Elizabeth stood in front of the sink and stood behind her while wrapping his arms around her waist. He lightly kissed her cheek. "You look and sound beautiful everyday."
Ryan grinned as Elizabeth blushed and turned round so she was facing him. Kissing him fully on the lips he responded by gently pushing her against the alien style sink and began running his hands over the bottom of her back.
Finally Elizabeth broke away realising where this was going and as much as she wanted to there was a briefing in half an hour.
"Ryan, we can't." she murmmered and pushed him back slightly. "The briefing."
Caldwell reluctantly dropped his hands and stepped back looking disappointed. "Oh right. Colonel Sheppard's team." He said emphasising John's name which made Elizabeth groan and she marched out of the bathroom.
"Don't start this again!" she warned while pulling on her jacket.
"It's obvious the guy has a thing for you Elizabeth!" Ryan responded raising his voice slightly.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she zipped up the dark blue jacket and turned to give him an exasperated look. "He doesn't Ryan! We're just…really good friends!" She said reassuringly.
Caldwell stared at her for a few minutes then nodded. Giving the Colonel a small smile Elizabeth slowly walked up to Ryan and gave him a light kiss.
"If this negotiation goes well I think we should have a party to celebrate. It would also boost morale." She suggested.
Caldwell made a pensive face and then grinned. "Well with you doing all the talking the party will be guaranteed!"
Sharing another kiss Elizabeth finally said goodbye and left Caldwell's quarters. As he watched her leave, Ryan folded his arms and rocked on his heels. Yeah, this is going to be a good day! He thought happily.
"So it's a agreed that'll we'll have one security team surrounding the Stargate and another in the village?" Dr Weir asked her colleagues surrounding the large table in the briefing room.
"Yup." Responded Colonel John Sheppard, "And Rodney will join you in the talks with Rami and Mekha."
Glancing around the table again the others nodded in confirmation of the plan and Weir smiled.
"Good. That's us ready then." She announced. "Colonel Sheppard brief security teams one and two and check the details with Colonel Caldwell. We embark at 1300 hours."
Standing up the flagship team knew Dr Weir was finished and began to make their way out of the room. Sheppard hung back and waited for Elizabeth to make her way to the doors.
"So, you ready?" he asked her with an eyebrow raised.
"Why, don't you trust me?" Elizabeth questioned with a small pout.
Sheppard shrugged. "I was checking. I know you've been up pretty late the past few nights working on it." When Weir frowned at him, John raised his hand in defence. "One of the nightshift technicians told me. I've not been spying!"
Elizabeth sighed and made her way over the catwalk to the office. Once there she perched on the desk while John remained standing.
"Of course I'm ready. Granted we haven't done this in a while but I'm quietly confident." She assured the officer while he gave her an apologetic smile.
"Good. I was just…worried."
Elizabeth smiled as John looked down at the floor and shuffled his feet like an embarrassed teenager. It warmed her heart that this tough man cared so much about her and felt a pang of regret.
It should have been you she silent told him.
She never knew what went wrong but somehow Elizabeth had ended up with Colonel Ryan Caldwell. Not that she didn't care about him and in a way loved him too. Despite their so-called relationship and after all this time with the leader of Atlantis, Elizabeth still felt a stronger connection with his 2IC.
"I know you were John." She told him gratefully earning a grin from him. "But…it's not your job to worry about me."
At that remark John gave a sad smile. "Right. It's Caldwell's."
Elizabeth sighed. "That's not what I meant" and she knew he knew that.
They shared a moment just gazing at each other both thinking 'What if'". But the moment was interrupted by a knock at the door. Both looked towards the clear door and their hearts sank when Caldwell entered.
"Sorry. Am I interrupting something?" he asked shooting an annoyed glance at Sheppard.
Sheppard stood to attention. "No Sir! Just checking over today's schedule." He assured his CO.
Ryan looked between Elizabeth and Sheppard. He appeared to be satisfied with Colonel's response and gave them both a nod. "Good. Are we ready to brief the security teams?" He asked directing the question at John.
"Yes sir."
"Right let's go then."
Both officers gave Elizabeth an awkward smile then left the room along with the tense atmosphere. Elizabeth let out a relieved sigh as she watched them walk away, obviously making small talk or discussing the mission.
Damn, could that have been anymore uncomfortable? She wondered.
