A/N: All recognisable characters and settings belong to the creators of Stargate Atlantis. Meaghan Monahan and the AA51, on the other hand, belong to me. For the record, this story is the sequel to Elizabeth's Email, which it would probably be helpful to read before you embark on this one. Please remember to review!

I: Happy Birthday, Colonel...

Elizabeth Weir, independent woman and leader of the Atlantis expedition, murmured something whilst only semi-conscious, then blinked open her eyes and tried to stretch in a way that wouldn't wake John. Sprawled across her body like an ungainly teenager, he simply grunted in his sleep and shifted in his limbs into positions even more uncomfortable for her. Elizabeth gave up, sunk back into her pillows, and glanced at her watch. 4 a.m. It was summer in Atlantis and already the faintest, finest signs of the approaching dawn could be seen colouring the ocean beyond her window. She supposed that she ought to get up, now that she was awake anyway. She'd never been terribly good at sleeping in, even as a child, but, on the other hand, she didn't want to disturb John. Not that it would normally have bothered her much – it wasn't as though the city was going to run itself and there was always work waiting for her. But Elizabeth knew perfectly well that today was his birthday and if a man couldn't sleep until he was good and ready on his birthday, then when could he?

Besides, it also happened to be her day off and she had decided for once to actually treat it as such. Of course, it was no coincidence that she'd made sure the two days coincided.

Elizabeth stretched awkwardly again and this time wriggled a little from beneath him to sit with her back resting against the bed-head. She rubbed the sleep from the corners of her eyes. Truth be told, John was a rotten sharer when it came to beds. He was always taking up much more room than was due to him and she couldn't count the amount of times that she woke with his arm flung over her face. She had gotten quite practised at shoving him back out of what she considered to be her space, but today... She shook her head at herself and ran her hand ever so gently along the beautiful, bare line of his shoulders.

It had been a little over three months since they had returned from the Ancient Area 51 (John's nickname, as usual, had stuck) and Elizabeth had finally admitted her feelings for Atlantis' CO. They'd been sleeping together since then but she couldn't say for sure when it was that he had actually started staying all night. In the beginning that had never happened. They were so determined to keep their professional lives, well, professional, and it was embarrassing, when there was an emergency, to both emerge sleepily and stumbling from the same room. But, some time in the last month or so, they had grown lazy with it. And, of course, he wasn't always there when she woke, no more than she was always there. Life in Atlantis was much too unpredictable for that. Sometimes a whole row of days would pass where neither of them even slept in an actual bed. There were more than a few times when she found herself waking, sore-necked, at her desk. And then he was regularly off-world. But still, her bed had somehow become his bed, and that was all there was too it.

It niggled at Elizabeth, just a little. Her work ethic was still disturbed, if not outraged, by it, despite her best intentions to just relax and roll with her emotions. It wasn't as though there were technically any regulations restricting their relationship – she wasn't military and, in some senses, he was under neither her command nor her employ. But, on the other hand, there were unspoken presumptions… Which was why they had tried to be discreet. Well. She had, anyway.

Elizabeth sighed and wondered if John would be terribly upset if she pushed him away and got up to take a shower. Sitting in bed and doing nothing just wasn't her strong point, though she was improving. But, at that point, she realised that a pair of not-quite-awake eyes had focussed upon her and she smiled warmly. 'Good morning, you,' she said in a gently teasing tone. 'I was just wondering if I should nudge your dead weight off me and get up.'

John groaned slightly and buried his face against her stomach, his stubble scratching her soft skin in a now-familiar way. 'Wha' time is it?' his lips asked against her bellybutton.

Elizabeth let her watch drop from her hand into the gaps between their pillows, before curling the tips of her fingers through his hair, her knuckles grazing the back of his neck where the skin was extra warm from sleeping. 'I have no idea,' she fibbed with a smile. 'But I do know what day it is.'

He must have caught something in her tone, because he looked up at her, blinked long and slow, then smiled contentedly.

'Happy birthday, Colonel,' she murmured.

His smile became a grin as he reached up and pulled her back down amongst the sheets.