Title: Matchmakers
Summary: Why does John always pair Teyla and Ronan together? Elizabeth and John discuss it.
A/N: This idea came to me as I was watching "Phantoms". John/Elizabeth is established.
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"How many times has it been now?" Elizabeth asked, as she looked up at her dinner companion.
"At least five," John answered, taking a bite of his pasta.
"And they're still not getting the hint?" Elizabeth asked, gathering more pasta on her own fork.
"Apparently not," John replied.
"I don't know what else we can do," Elizabeth said with a sigh. "They're just not responding to your efforts."
"I know. You'd think they liked the way things were," John said.
"But we know better?" Elizabeth asked in a suspicious tone, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Yes, we do," John replied, a smile creeping onto his face in response.
There was something about Dr. Elizabeth Weir that always made Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard smile. He watched her as she dropped her head and took another forkful of pasta. Their increasing closeness ever since she had been infected by the nanites was feeling more and more comfortable by the day; Sheppard often wondered why it had taken them so long to spend time alone together. They were, after all, indefinitely in Atlantis, and had to find some form of companionship.
Dr. Weir looked up from her plate to find Sheppard watching her. "What?" she asked fondly.
"Nothing," he replied, looking down at his own plate.
"John," she said quietly. He looked back up. She glanced away for a moment before looking back at him. "This is nice."
"Yes, it is," he replied, his trademark smile returning to his face.
They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes each contemplating the benefits of their new-found relationship as they continued to eat their dinner in the privacy of Elizabeth's personal quarters.
"So," Elizabeth eventually started. "What do you think?"
"About what?" Sheppard asked absently.
"What do we do about Teyla and Ronon?" she asked.
"What can we do?" Sheppard asked in reply. "I've paired them together every chance I get. And still nothing."
"I don't know," Elizabeth replied with a shrug. She paused in thought and then said, "What if we're just direct with them?"
"You want to take action?" Sheppard asked in surprise. "What happened to the diplomatic approach?"
"You're the one who's been saying it'll never work," Elizabeth replied, avoiding the question.
"Yeah," Sheppard said. "So, tomorrow, you'll take Teyla and I'll take Ronon?" he asked. Then he too paused. "On second thought, maybe you should take Ronon. He wouldn't shoot you."
"He wouldn't shoot you, John," Elizabeth said with a laugh.
"Best not to take chances," Sheppard responded.
"Fine," Elizabeth said. "Coward," she mumbled.
"Hey," Sheppard said playfully.
"Do you want to take a walk?" Elizabeth asked.
"Now?" Sheppard questioned.
"Why not? It's a beautiful night," Elizabeth said.
"All right. Why not?" Sheppard obliged with a smile.
They stood and Elizabeth led the way out of the room. As they walked in silence through the halls of Atlantis, John slowly slipped his hand into Elizabeth's. She looked down at it and then up into Sheppard's face with surprise. As they had been trying to keep their relationship as low-key as possible, public displays of affection were not characteristic for the couple.
Sheppard shrugged. "No one's around," he said quietly.
Elizabeth squeezed his hand and leaned in a little closer to Sheppard as they continued on their way. They made their way out to a balcony overlooking the clear water surrounding the city. As they stepped out onto it, they turned to each other and moved in closer, before something caught their eyes at the same moment.
Teyla Emmagan and Ronon Dex stood in a silent embrace on the other side of the balcony. Neither noticed the appearance of the Sheppard or Dr. Weir. Sheppard cleared his throat to announce their arrival.
Teyla and Ronon quickly pulled out of the embrace and turned to the newcomers.
Teyla blushed and said, "Colonel Sheppard, Dr. Weir. Ronon and I were merely…" She trailed off, unsure of how to explain herself.
Dr. Weir smiled and glanced at Sheppard. Then she turned back to Teyla and said, "No need to explain."
Teyla glanced down and noticed, for the first time, that Sheppard and Dr. Weir were holding hands. "Yes," she said with a smile. "It appears we are not the only ones with a secret."
Sheppard and Dr. Weir both looked down at their clasped hands and then let go immediately. "Yeah, well, go back to whatever it was you were doing," Sheppard said to his two teammates. "We're going." With that, Dr. Weir and he turned and left the balcony, in search of an emptier place.
"I guess we didn't have to do anything," Elizabeth said with a smile.
"Are you kidding?" Sheppard asked. "It had to be all the times I paired them together."
"Sure, John, whatever you say," Elizabeth said, placating her companion. She led the way out to another balcony and turned to him, stopping his retort with a kiss.