Description: After traveling to a new world the SGA team quickly becomes allies with a small society of people focused on science. But their new allies, the Dalilans, provide a very curious discovery. One that has them asking for a time out

Pairings: John/Elizabeth, Ronon/Teyla (implied), Carson/Laura

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, SGA or any of the such. Only my characters and the plot, but SGA can use the plot if the pairings stay in tact :P

A/N: Special thankies to my eta Ajla who read this chapter before I posted it. And Super Big Thankies to everyone who reviewed my last chapter! I was so happy I decided to update early and maybe update again this weekend depending how things go with school. So thank you so much everyone:D

Please enjoy the chapter. :)

It was 1 A.M. when John decided to leave his bedroom and go for a walk, he quickly pulled a black shirt over his head and changed into his normal pants. Being the second in command John didn't want the people he lead to see him in his pajamas pants – he took his duties as Colonel very seriously. One of those self-appointed duties was to check up on Atlantis' leader: Dr. Elizabeth Weir and make sure she actually goes to bed at a semi-reasonable hour.

After a short walk and a few nods at the skeleton crew along the way, John was at Elizabeth's office. "Why am I not surprised that you're still working?" He asked while leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed.

Elizabeth looked up and gave him a small smirk. "Why am I not surprised that you're here to see me?"

John took that as his queue to come in and sat down on his normal spot on her desk. "Maybe because I come here every night to tell you the same thing: Elizabeth you need sleep."

She gave him a small smile before returning to the papers in front of her. "Yes I think that's the reason why I'm not surprised." She started to thumb the edges of the papers. "But John I have -"

"Too much work to do." He interrupted, knowing that was her response.

Elizabeth's smirk grew, he was definitely asking for it for being such a wise-ass. "Yes and since the ceremony this afternoon took up a big bulk of my time I need to finish. Besides I feel like I have more energy than normal."

John glared back at Elizabeth, "Well you still look tired, and those reports can wait until the morning. C'mon Elizabeth you need to go to bed."

Elizabeth continued to read over her papers, "What I need is to finish."

"Lizzy . . ."

Elizabeth looked up and gave John a warning glare with a raised brow, "Don't call me Lizzy."

John smirked, "I had a feeling that would get your attention." He beamed with pride.

Elizabeth merely shook her head. "John . . ."

"How was your end of the party earlier? Since we were in the cheap seats we couldn't see much." John joked with a wink.

"I had a nice time." She replied with a dreamy smile.

John frowned slightly at this, "Commander What's-His-Face seemed to enjoy your company up there."

Elizabeth leaned in closer with a small smirk playing on her lips, "Really? You think Commander Charles enjoyed having me up there? I didn't know you could see that since you were in the 'cheap seats'"

She caught him, but the smirk on her face wouldn't let John admit this as he also leaned in closer. "I, myself, wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't for Rodney. He kept pointing it out."

Elizabeth shook her head a little, "Then maybe I should thank Rodney for the concern."

"Hey I didn't say I wasn't concerned. It was -" John cut himself off – he couldn't win this battle. The smile on Elizabeth's face grew wider knowing that he was stuck.

"Even if it was me it was only because I was . . . Well, concerned about you that's all. You knew how much I distrusted them."

Elizabeth leaned closer to catch John's eyes. "But they're our allies John, I trusted them." She began to lean back, "Besides I had a few training sessions with Teyla – I can take care of myself."

John nodded, Teyla and Elizabeth have been sparing with each other for a few months now. It started out as something necessary: to teach her self-defense, but now on the occasions when John walks by the room with Ronon all they can hear is laughter. Teyla later told him they were "bonding" like Earth women do. Although whether or not "bonding" like Earth girls was a good thing he still hasn't decided. . .

"I know you can take care of yourself, but that's not the point. I want to protect you." John said without fully realizing the extent of his words until after he said them.

Elizabeth looked shocked for a moment while a small amount of pink spread across her cheeks. She finally let out a small smile and leaned in closer. "What do you mean Colonel?" She asked with a glint in her eyes and an evil playing grin on her features.

A smile began to sweep across his face. "Well, Doctor Weir, I'm saying that I want to take care of you and protect you." John said while leaning his body closer to Elizabeth's.

Elizabeth's smile grew wider. "And why is that Colonel?" She asked while getting as close to him as their current positions would let them - with her in her chair and John sitting on her desk.

"Because . . ." He said while bending down closer to her. "I . . ." His face was only a few inches away from hers so close their breaths were mingling with each other.

"Elizabeth where's the sample water the Dalilans gave us?" Rodney suddenly asked while standing in the doorway.

Elizabeth immediately perked up to her professional stance while John rolled his eyes and grumbled incoherently before turning around to give Rodney the best evil glare he could muster up.

Rodney looked back and forth between Elizabeth and John, "Oh! Was I interrupting something?" He asked pointing both of his fingers back and forth in the opposite directions.

"Well now that you mention it you-"

"No." Elizabeth interrupted while giving John and understanding look. "You weren't Rodney. Now what did you want again?"

"Ah! Yes! Well I need the sample water that we got today from the Dalilans. I was going to run a few tests on it right now."

John looked at his watch, "At one forty-five A.M.?" He asked skeptically.

"Yes well science never sleeps now does it?"

"What about your precious "beauty sleep"? I mean there's a lot to work to be done on you."

"Ha ha. Very funny. But I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about those Nobel Prizes I'll win."

John shook his head while rolling his eyes, he didn't feel like dealing with Rodney's ego, especially after ruining what was about to happen with Elizabeth.

"I think Carson is still running a few tests on it." Elizabeth told him since she saw the bickering between the two finally stopped.

"Thank you Elizabeth. Now if you'll both excuse me I have a Nobel Prize to win." Rodney replied with a big smile on his face as he left the office.

Both Elizabeth and John watched as he left before looking at one another. A small blush crept on Elizabeth's face as they both thought about what would've happened if it wasn't for Rodney.

"Well . . . I'll just get back to work now." Elizabeth said while straightening out her papers on the desk. "Good night John." She said while maintaining her professional composure.

John shook his head at this. "Oh no. You're going to bed Elizabeth. You need sleep – it's been a long day."

Elizabeth nodded to herself, "I will. After these papers are done."

A small smirk appeared on his face, "Doctor Weir don't make me pick you up and tuck you into bed like a child."

This remark caught Elizabeth's attention as she gave her attention back to her friend, "Really? I'd like to see you try, Colonel." She replied back with an eyebrow raised and a sly smile.

"I thought you would know better by now, Lizzy, you should never take me up on a bet." John replied with a huge smirk as he jumped off the table.

Rodney walked down the hallway towards the clinic. "It's a bit creepy with only the emergency lights on. I should talk to Elizabeth about that"

He grinned to himself thinking about Elizabeth and the scene that he interrupted. He wasn't completely blind to the spark between them but it's been getting faster between them lately. If they wait just a little bit longer then he'd win the pool they have going around. If something happened tonight then Zelenka would've won and Rodney couldn't have let that happen.

"Carson?" He called while entering the medical research area, "Beckett? Are you here?"

He walked over towards Carson's desk to spot a yellow post-it sticking to his computer. Rodney frowned while snatching the note.

'Rodney,
If you're reading this you're most likely looking for the sample water. I didn't get a chance to run some scans due to Lorne's team getting back with a few injuries. So I'll give you the sample first thing in the morning once I'm done.
Sincerely,
Dr. Carson Beckett'

Rodney shoved the note in his pocket; he'll have to complain to Beckett about this tomorrow. He's holding back scientific discovery! Of course a little note wasn't going to stop him, "It has to be here . . . Somewhere . . ." He mumbled to himself.

After ten minutes of searching Carson's lab area, desk, and other places where Carson usually conducted his research Rodney finally found it in a clear medical preservation case – all locked up.

"Note to self, also talk to Elizabeth about giving me a set of keys to the preservation case." Rodney said to himself rather bitterly while pulling out the post-it Carson left.

He read it over again and saw a post standard at the end. Joy.

'P.S. Please don't search for the sample: it's locked up in the preservation chamber, and please Rodney, go to bed. I know it's late.'

He shoved the note back in his pocket. Fine! I'll go to bed only so I can be wide awake when I talk to you about this!

Rodney left the office with a humph, his future Noble Prize will have to wait a night.

John woke up at 6:45 AM – Atlantis standard time, slightly earlier than normal. To be honest he hadn't slept well, he was still expecting something . . . anything really - an attack from the Dalilans in some form of that freaky water, a sudden medical emergency, even a sudden stomach rejection from the foreign food, but nothing happened, everything was normal.

John sighed to himself as he striped his clothes and hopped into the shower. "Maybe Elizabeth was right. They seemed like nice people and, although we got stuck in the back seats, it was a nice ceremony." He reasoned to himself while letting the hot water roll off of him. Still . . . It's not like we've had wonderful experiences with allies before. Can Elizabeth honestly blame me for being suspicious?

After washing up John got out of the shower, got dressed in his usual black t-shirt and pants before leaving his room to visit Elizabeth, hopping she'd join him for breakfast.

"Colonel Sheppard!" A voice called out and John immediately turned around to see Teyla as the source with Ronon right next to her.

"Teyla, Ronon." He nodded to both, "Good to see you two up early."

Teyla nodded, "We decided to get a quick morning spar in before the debriefing at eight. It was going along wonderfully until . . ." Teyla shot a playful glance at Ronon.

"I'm hungry." He stated flatly while returning the same gaze to Teyla.

"Well what a coincidence! I was about to go get a bite to eat too, after I visit Elizabeth in her office." John said in a chipper voice.

"But Dr. Weir isn't there. . . . We went to see if she'd join us for breakfast but the door was shut and she wasn't inside."

"What?" The news surprised John, she was always up and in her office by at least seven. He glanced down at his watch – seven thirty. "That's not like her."

"Perhaps she is still tried from yesterday's activities?" Teyla tried to look for a reasonable solution.

"It was big party. I don't think Dr. Weir has been to something like that before." Ronon added before turning his full attention back to John. "Has she?"

"Well . . . I'm sure not for a long while – I don't think the parties at the White House are festive like that, and we haven't had one here. . ."

"Then that must be the cause." Teyla concluded with a smile. "Do not worry, John, I'm sure she is alright – she is probably just tired."

Ronon nodded before looking further down the hall to the dinning quarters. "So, you want to eat with us?" He asked.

"Nah, I'll eat later. I just want to . . ." John mumbled off while pointing in the opposite direction.

Teyla nodded. "We shall see you in the debriefing then."

Ronon placed a reassuring arm on John's shoulder for a moment "Good luck finding her." He said before joining Teyla.

"Thanks guys." John replied with a grin. "Later." He quickly waved and headed off for Elizabeth's office.

"Elizabeth?" He asked while opening her office and sticking his head through the door, hopping she'd just came in. But she wasn't there. He checked their balcony. "Elizabeth?" - Also not there.

Erg. You're kidding me. Where else can she be? Hmm . . . Well she doesn't go there very often but maybe she is in dinning hall. John checked his watch once more. Ten 'til eight. Maybe I'll catch her – it's worth a shot. John ran down to the dinning area and saw Ronon and Teyla sitting next to each other in a table with what looked to be Rodney sitting across from them – talking of course, actually complaining John'd guess based on his exaggerated gestures. Ronon looked like his nerves were being tested and Teyla was putting on her polite face.

Finally, Teyla caught sight of John peering in. She pleaded with her eyes to come there and make the man across from them stop. John shook his head and finished his scan for Elizabeth, but of course she wasn't in there. He mentally sighed as he pointed to his watch to give Teyla an excuse to leave. She nodded gratefully as John left the door before Rodney could see him.

The last place she could be is the meeting room. John thought to himself as he hurried to it. Peering inside he could see it was empty.

"I see you're getting here early, Colonel." Caldwell said in a friendly voice. Ever since the Goa'uld was removed it was a little eerie to see a friendly Caldwell - it was a nice eerie, but eerie all the same.

"Yes sir. I was just looking for Eliz-Dr. Weir. I haven't seen her all morning. Have you seen her, sir?"

Caldwell looked a little bewildered for a moment. "No, Colonel I can't say that I have. Have you tried calling her on the radio?"

John could've kicked himself right then and there. How did he not think of that? "Umm . . . No, sir . . ." He replied a little sheepishly. It was the most obvious thing to do and he didn't think of it!

"That's okay Colonel, here:" -- Weir this is Caldwell. Weir this is Caldwell are you there? -- The two military men exchanged looks for a few moments as a few people passed by them to claim their chairs in the debriefing room, including Rodney, Ronon and Teyla who stayed around a little bit to see if everything was all right before John gestured for them to go in.

-- Dr. Weir? -- Caldwell called again.

-- Colonel Caldwell? This is Lieutenant Laura Cadman. Sir we have a problem with Carson Beckett I'd suggest you, Dr. Weir, and Colonel Sheppard come to his quarters and see him – immediately. --

John froze for a minute. If something happened to Carson then could something have happened to . . . "Elizabeth!" John said while dashing off to her room – mentally thanking Laura for indirectly suggesting another place to search.

"Colonel!" Caldwell called after him.

"I'm checking on Elizabeth, take Rodney and go check Carson out." John called back, slightly pausing in his run to turn around and relay his end of the message. He didn't even wait for a response before turning back around and heading for Elizabeth's room.

"Elizabeth?" He called out while knocking on the door. After about thirty seconds with no response John began to lose some of his composure. "Elizabeth!" He called again, now pounding on her door. Again no response. Frustrated, he went over to the panel and pressed in his overwrite code as the doors slid open for him.

He quickly entered the room. "I knocked several times so if you're naked I just want to say that I've warned you so you can't blame me." He said in a nervous joking voice. In a way, he was hoping he would suddenly hear Elizabeth screaming "GET OUT!" At the top of her lungs while covering herself with a robe, just to know she was okay. Although, receiving a "Good morning John, I'm sorry I didn't hear the door." Would be just as nice. Any response would be nice.

John finally made his way over to the bed and saw a figure sleeping under it. A smile of relief spread across his face as he looked at her figure curled beneath the sheets. Just like I left her last night.

His small smile widen at the memories of picking Elizabeth up and tucking her into bed. She was so tired that, after the initial commands such as: "Put me down Colonel!" and "John! I need to finish those papers! Put me back down this instant!" she ended up falling asleep right in his arms.

"Elizabeth." He said softly as he leaned over the bed. "Elizabeth it's time to wake up." He continued while reaching over and beginning to shake her slightly. His hand immediately withdrew as he realized the person under the covers was much, much smaller than Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth?" He asked as he rolled the figure over.

"Five more minutes." A small curly haired girl mumbled as she rolled over to face John.

John's eyes widened. "Elizabeth!" He shouted in surprise. "Elizabeth! Is that really you!"

The small girl in the bed rubbed her eyes groggily. She tilted her head and gazed back at John but didn't say anything only watched him.

-- Colonel Sheppard, this is Caldwell. I don't know how but it looks as thought Dr. Beckett has been turned into --

-- A child. -- John interrupted. -- Same with Elizabeth. --

-- Does she remember you Colonel? -- Caldwell asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

The thought never struck him before: Elizabeth losing all memories of him, of her journey, what he almost told her last night, it stung. -- I don't know yet sir . . . --

He could hear Caldwell sigh over the radio -- Keep me posted. --

John continued to look back at the small Elizabeth, she was a cute little kid. Her red silk pajamas were too big for her and the shirt tilted to one side. Her eyes were still their normal bright green, and her hair was in it's normal curls with a little fuzz from bed head.

Finally John saw a look from the child that could only belong to Elizabeth. One eyebrow was raised in a skeptical look towards him. That's Elizabeth's look! She has to remember me, she'll start giving me a hard time for being in her room any moment now!

The little girl finally spoke while maintaining eye contact with John. "Who are you? Where's my mommy and daddy?" She asked.

End Chapter 2