This fic is actually a bit of an accident. I had started off with intentions of writing something much sillier, but this came out instead. Er, not even sure if I like it much. Constructive criticism is always welcome! Read and review if you have the time :)
The Silence is Enough
by running out of ink
John Sheppard has a problem. More specifically, he has a problem with authority. Even worse than that, he is the authority now. He has always had a problem being in charge. Not because of the work but rather with the responsibility of so many lives. Not only are his nights filled with worrying about the people in Atlantis, but sometimes also the people of earth. He wonders if there is an alien armada flying towards earth, even while he is laying there snug in his 'Lantean bed.
How many people had been lost since they got here? People he didn't even know the names of. People he had known the names of. People he had been friends with. Sometimes it got to be too much for him, just laying there and thinking. Silently he would put on a pair of socks and take a walk around the city. Often he would go, and just stand on a balcony and watch the city sleeping. He wasn't alone in this habit.
On some occasions Elizabeth would join him there. They would both just stare out at the city, listening to the waves of the ocean crashing into it. The first time they had met there, an accident, they tried to talk. John had hoped it would make the whole meeting seem less awkward, but after a while no more words were said. They would just stand there together, the presence of each other's company being enough to keep them satisfied.
Tonight was another night in which John couldn't sleep; the sound of rain splattering on the windows keeping him awake. After what seemed to be hours of tossing and turning, John got out of bed. He would just take a quiet walk through the city- there would be no standing outside in this weather. Lost in his own thoughts, he padded through the halls, socks silencing his footsteps. While his mind was wandering from thought to thought, his feet seemed to know right where to take him. He stopped suddenly, and looked around. He had been pacing in front of Elizabeth's room, probably for a good half hour. Hesitating, he raised a hand to knock, but before he could the door opened from the inside. A few words were spoken, and then John entered the room and closed the door behind him.