"Elizabeth. Would you mind if I sat next to you?" Teyla stood over Elizabeth in Atlantis' commissary, clutching her tray.

"Oh, of course," she replied, gesturing to the empty seat beside her and sighing.

"Is there a problem?" the Athosian woman frowned as she took the seat. She watched as Elizabeth seemed to internally debate whether or not to divulge her troubles.

"Actually, Teyla, it's about John. I presume you heard about the intruder in my quarters at Easter?" Teyla slowly nodded. "Well, that was him. He left some chocolate eggs."

"Ah, yes, he told me you had a tradition involving chocolate eggs at Easter time. But I presume it doesn't require that you sneak into another's room?" a small, knowing smile formed on her lips.

"No... You might also have heard of the human tradition of revenge. Or prank wars?"

"You want to...get him back for it?" Teyla raised her eyebrows. She swept her gaze over the rest of the mess hall's occupants, then leaned in closer. "John appears to be easily scared," she whispered, before standing up and walking away. Elizabeth stared after her, and cogs began to turn in her mind. It was time for a visit to the John-Sheppard-Pranking specialist himself.

Elizabeth wandered into the lab in question, a place she didn't often find herself in. But, then again these were special circumstances, weren't they? The 'specialist' was hunched over a rectangular piece of technology they had acquired on their latest mission.

"Hello?" she called, inching closer. The scientist jumped and turned round, almost sending his coffee cup flying off the work top.

"What?! Oh, Elizabeth. What did you want?" Rodney McKay's expression was positively priceless, like a little boy with his hand caught in the cookie jar. The surprise on his features was just rare enough to be amusing.

"If I remember correctly, you and John tend to settle your arguments with pranks, don't you?" she asked, testing the ground. It wouldn't really come as a surprise if one (or both) of them held some resentment towards the other for 'past battles'.

"Y-yes," the words tumbled out of his mouth in an awkward fashion. "Why?"

"Well, I'd like your help to pull off my own prank," she braced herself for his reaction.

"This is a joke, right?" McKay queried, but his nervous smile slowly faded as he received no reply. "Oh. You weren't joking, were you? What do you want to get him back for?"

"A little Easter prank, that's all," she told him, and watched as a much more confident smile came to light.

"Come with me, I know exactly what to do..."

John Sheppard smirked to himself, as he prepared for Atlantis' annual Halloween Ball. It had been nearly six months since he had broke into Elizabeth's quarters and planted the Easter eggs, and she had yet to come back with her revenge. He chuckled and made for the door. At least he did, until it clamped shut before him. He stepped back, then forward again. Even waving his hand before the sensor wouldn't make it budge.

"Fine then, don't let me out," he huffed, and reached for his earpiece. "McKay? Hello... McKay?! Fantastic..."

"Does he not even suspect it yet?" Teyla spluttered, exchanging looks with Elizabeth. The diplomat shook her head, bursting out in fresh, uncharacteristic giggles when the lights in her victim's quarters flickered and died. He stumbled in the dark as something seemed to dawn on him.

"Alright, McKay. This isn't funny," he scowled.

"Oh, yes it is," Rodney smirked, sat beside the two women. He threw himself back into the codes he was typing into the system. "How do you like halluci-wraith?"

Sheppard had just about become accustomed to the restricted amount of light, when he heard the crumbling sound of feet upon carpet and his eyes darted around the room. But he couldn't find its source. Then it flashed before his eyes. Pale, white, ghastly face. Accusing eyes. Limp, lifeless hair. And nails that could claw your eyes out. Wraith.

"Arghh!" he grunted, and dodged a hand swooping directly for his chest. "Help! Someone! Ah, dang it! Like anyone can hear..."

Then the door slid open, the lights fluttered to life, and there wasn't a single trace of Wraith. A figure moved out of the doorway.

"Elizabeth."

"John."

"That was...revenge?"

"Yep," she nodded, rocking back on her heels. "but Rodney and Teyla helped me. I'm sorry about that last part. McKay went a bit too far, so I told him to stop."

"Err, thanks for that. You had me for a minute there," he smiled. Only when he finished talking did he notice how close they were stood... As if on automatic, he leaned down while she reached up to place her lips on his. The kiss burned, sparking a stellar sensation, even as it deepened. The world around them froze and ceased to turn. They were oblivious to everything except the other. What they didn't know was that they were still being watched by the very same monitors used to carry out the deed. Especially when John said,

"Would my wicked witch like to join me at the Halloween ball?" and when Elizabeth replied with,

"Yes, I think she would."

Some things would never change. And the two of them wouldn't have it any other way.