AN: Thanks for the encouraging reviews!

If you're not a fan of the Sheppard/Weir pairing, you might want to consider dropping out at this point, because there will be plenty of sparky moments from now on.

Down to Earth

May it be an evening star
Shines down upon you
May it be when darkness falls
Your heart will be true
You walk a lonely road
Oh, how far you are from home

Elizabeth could barely comprehend how relieved she felt as she drove back to the SGC. She had expected to feel guilty, sad or maybe even sorry about breaking up with Simon, but either the situation hadn't fully hit her yet, or she had simply made a wonderful decision.

The conversation she had been dreading for days was over and a heavy burden had lifted itself off of her shoulders. She felt free, relieved and happy and the world around her seemed a lot more beautiful now that she actually took the time to enjoy the sights.

There was one downside to her new state of freedom: she no longer had a house on Earth. Granted, the SGC had offered her private quarters, but the idea of staying underground for the next couple of weeks didn't seem appealing to her. Still, it would be nuts to rent a room for such a short amount of time. Within weeks, she would be on her way back to Atlantis. No, the SGC would have to do, no matter how much she despised its dark corridors.

The marines posted outside Cheyenne Mountain let her pass after she showed them her identification card and she parked the car in an empty spot. As she turned off the engine, she reminded herself of the fact that at the very least, most of the briefings were done by now and she would not have to spend much time inside the base.

It was something.

The elevator was empty and Elizabeth busied herself checking her wallet, making sure every card was still tucked inside. It was the only object she'd retrieved from her house. She hadn't expected to need one in the Pegasus Galaxy last year, and that was the reason why she'd left it behind, but now that she was back on Earth, she knew that she couldn't do without money.

She had left most of her belongings behind at her – no, Simon's house. She couldn't bring all her stuff back with her to Atlantis, for there were strict regulations about personal items. It was probably just as well. Once she'd be back in Atlantis, her belongings would only serve to make her feel miserable. They would remind her of Simon and the life she used to have.

The idea of leaving behind everything that had once seemed important to her didn't seem unappealing to her. Maybe she would come to regret her decision later on, but at this very moment, the lack of strings to her old life added to the feeling of freedom.

Saying goodbye to Sedge had been hard. Her loyal dog had made a fuss when she gave it a hug goodbye, and Elizabeth had wondered whether the animal knew it was never going to see her again. She realized how lucky she was to have a conscientious man like Simon take care of her dog. Sedge was in good and capable hands. That thought gave her some comfort.

The elevator doors opened and she stepped out of the cabin, almost bumping into the person waiting on the other side.

"I'm sorry," Daniel Jackson offered from where he was kneeling on the floor; already gathering the books that had fallen out of his arms. "I tend not to notice people when I'm reading."

"Well, maybe you should stop reading in the middle of the hallway," an amused voice drawled from their right.

Elizabeth turned her head. "John," she exclaimed, surprised to see him here.

John strode over to them and sank through his knees to pick up a book before handing it over to Dr. Jackson. "Elizabeth." He nodded in the direction of the kneeling archaeologist. "Daniel bumped into me, too, this morning. Only in my case, he didn't even notice and waltzed right over me."

John looked good, Elizabeth decided. More relaxed than she had seen him in some time. Of course, since they'd stopped the Wraith from coming to Atlantis, it stood to reason he had finally gotten some well–deserved sleep.

Dr. Jackson came to his feet, offered her an apologetic smile and stepped into the elevator.

"So," Elizabeth said, tearing her eyes away from the closing doors. "What are you still doing here?"

John shrugged. "This place is as interesting as it gets. It's strange…" he paused. "I spent the last twelve months wondering whether I'd ever see Earth again, and now that I'm actually here, I don't know what to do with myself." He gave her an apologetic smile.

Hearing John admit to this surprised Elizabeth. What surprised her even more was that she could relate to him. Much as she hated the idea of staying at the Stargate Command for the upcoming weeks, she had no idea where she would go to if she were to leave the base.

"I know what you're talking about," she told him. "I never would have believed Earth would one day seem overwhelming to me. There are so many cities and countries to explore. I honestly wouldn't know where to start."

John nonchalantly leaned against the wall. "You don't have any plans?"

Elizabeth regarded him silently for a moment. "None as of yet," she said eventually.

He nodded slowly. "Okay."

It was in that moment Elizabeth realized that John did not have any family on Earth. And if he did, he didn't keep in touch with them. His refusal to send a message through the Stargate a few weeks back had definitely caught her attention. She knew how close he was to his team members she briefly wondered if he felt alone without them by his side.

On impulse, she gestured down the corridor. "Walk with me?"

John smiled and fell in step behind her. "So, " he said conversationally, "done anything interesting yet?"

She shook her head. "Nothing interesting, no. I haven't gotten around to anything yet."

John snorted. "Briefings are a royal pain in the ass, aren't they? I think I'm about done debriefing, but I kinda tuned out during the last one, so I'm not exactly sure." He was silent for a few moments. Then, "That's why you're here, right? To debrief?" He practically spit out the last word.

Elizabeth gave a friendly nod to a bypassing scientist and quickened her pace a bit, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "No, I'm not."

John took a few huge steps to catch up with her and shot her a curious look.

She sighed. "I'm staying inside the mountain, much as I dislike this place." Her gaze dwelled down the corridor and the lack of windows once again saddened her. What with the base being underground, she knew daylight was not an option, but the artificial light unnerved her to no end.

There was no response and she realized John must have picked up on the fact that she no longer had a home to go back to. He'd known about her plans to go see Simon, but she hadn't seen him over the last couple of days and for all he knew, she could be reunited with her former lover again. He hadn't asked her about Simon yet and she imagined that was modesty on his part. It was considerate of him, but she knew she wouldn't mind if he just popped the question.

They reached her quarters. Elizabeth stopped and turned to face John. "So," she said, repeating his earlier words.

"Yeah."

She wasn't used to not knowing what to say to him. In Atlantis, there had always been something for them to discuss, and making small–talk had been no problem for them either. But here, on this new base were people she didn't know and members of the IOA roamed the corridors, it felt a bit inappropriate to have a friendly conversation with her CO.

Elizabeth shook her head. That last thought was ridiculous and John deserved better than that. Not only was he her CO; he was one of her closest friends as well, and the idea of shutting him out was ridiculous, not to mention rude. "Would you like to come in?" she asked.

John raised one eyebrow. "Sure."

She nodded and opened the door to her quarters. It was dark inside. Elizabeth once again considered herself lucky that she would be returning to Atlantis within a month. Working at the SGC hadn't been entirely unpleasant in the past and the people were welcoming and friendly enough, but the facility made her feel a bit claustrophobic. On top of that, not being able to hear the sound of the ocean at all times was an unnerving experience as well.

John made a small irritated sound behind her and a moment later, the lights came on. Elizabeth turned around and saw that his hand was resting on the light switch. She smiled.

"You really expected them to come on by themselves?"

He grinned sheepishly. "I've already bumped into two doors that refused to open up for me – and this morning, I stood in my shower for at least two minutes before I realized that I would have to turn it on myself. It's weird."

She cocked an eyebrow. "You've become lazy, John Sheppard."

"I know." He curiously looked around the room. "It looks nice," he said. "I think it's bigger than mine." He smiled. "And much tidier, of course."

Elizabeth started towards the bed and heaved her backpack on top of the neatly made covers. "I never thought I'd ever say what I'm about to say, but I think it's too clean." She sighed. "I hate messy rooms, but this base makes me want to spoil paint all over the place."

It was silent for a moment

She slowly turned around and studied her CO. His face was perfectly blank, but she knew what he was thinking. "You don't like it here either."

"That's not entirely true," he defended himself. "The gym's quite nice, actually. Thanks to Teyla's lessons, no one's been able to beat me yet."

"That's what you do all day?" she asked.

John dropped his gaze.

Elizabeth mentally shook herself. "Well, I don't even like the gym," she joked. "I'm worse off than you." Making John feel uncomfortable hadn't been her intention. What he did in his free time was his business. It was just strange to realize neither of them belonged in this world anymore. They had no idea what to do with time on their hands.

She pulled two red shirts out of her pack and opened the closet. If she was going to stay here for another few weeks, she might as well try to make the place feel a bit more comfortable.

She turned around to see John curiously peeking into her pack.

Putting her hands on her hips, she raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing, Major?"

He looked up and gave her an innocent look. "I was just looking if you happen to have anything other than red."

Elizabeth snatched the pack away from him. "Don't you think you would have noticed if I did," she asked, only half joking. Suddenly, a thought entered her mind. "Wait a minute, I do have a blue and a brown shirt," she reminded him.

John rolled his eyes.

Not knowing whether to be irritated or amused, she unpacked the rest of her clothes and carefully re–folded them.

"It's not like you have anything other than black to wear," she countered when she was done.

And that was true. She couldn't remember a single time she'd seen him out of his standard uniform on Atlantis, hospital scrubs aside. For a moment, she pictured him in jeans and a white shirt. She quickly erased that thought from her mind.

"That's different," he told her. "I'm supposed to wear my uniform at all times. You, however, are not." His eyes narrowed. "You seriously don't have anything else to wear?"

Elizabeth started to open her mouth to tell him that she did – only to realize that she didn't. Or at least, not anymore. She'd left everything at the house. Abruptly closing her mouth, she stared intently at a spot just above John's left shoulder.

He coughed. "Well, these clothes are all right, of course," he said awkwardly. "I mean, they're nice. It's just that they're all the same color and…" he trailed off.

It was a good thing he'd stopped, because he'd been in the middle of making a complete fool of himself. To be honest, Elizabeth thought it was a bit cute – and she was not going to speculate on where that thought had come from.

"Oh, I see," she said lightly. "Well, since my clothing bothers you that much, I should probably fall head over heels to buy myself some new garments." It wasn't a bad idea actually. If she was going to stay in Atlantis for some time, which she assumed she would, she'd need more clothes anyway. "If even John Sheppard makes comments about my wardrobe, I must be a sad case," she teased.

She almost smiled at the way he raised his hands apologetically. "I didn't mean to – you are evil," he added, once he spotted the sparkle in her eyes.

Elizabeth shrugged. She was acting like a silly teenager – and enjoying every second of it. The teasing act was ridiculous, of course, but it did take her mind off matters that she did not want to dwell upon right now. Their playful banter reminded her of the way Rodney and John usually interacted. Thinking about the duo's interactions made her realize she was probably a poor substitute for Rodney. Annoying though Rodney might be, he knew exactly how to keep John occupied. It made her wonder what the scientist was doing right now.

An idea entered her mind. "Since you seem to know exactly what I should be wearing, why don't you come with me?" she suggested.

John looked taken aback. "I'm sorry?"

The question had popped out of her mouth before she knew it, but now that Elizabeth thought about it, the idea didn't even seem that unappealing. "We could head into town tomorrow," she said. "It would be a good opportunity to buy Teyla a souvenir and get some extra clothes to bring back with us." Seeing that he wasn't convinced yet, she tried a different tactic. "You haven't set one foot outside the mountain since you got here and I would like some company." That sounded reasonable, she thought. She shoved aside the thought of how it would look like if they were to leave the base together. Just because she was John's boss, technically, didn't mean she couldn't interact with him on a social level.

Right?

John still looked a bit uneasy. "If you're sure…"

"I would like you to come along," she assured him.

He shot her a grin. "Then, yeah – it would be nice to get out of this damn mountain for a change."

Elizabeth nodded. "It's settled, then."

A silent moment followed. They were gazing at each other, both unsure of what to say next.

"I should…" John gestured at the door.

"Right," she hastily agreed.

John gave a quick nod and turned around to leave. "They're serving meatloaf tonight," he said over his shoulder. "You might like to try finding something else to eat. I've taken extra precautions myself and befriended a marine who has a stash of chocolate in his quarters."

Elizabeth smiled. "The SGC's meatloaf isn't so bad," she lied, cocking her head to the side. "I will see you around, then?"

John placed his hand on the door handle and turned around to face her again. "Yep." He offered her a small smile. "So… see ya."

"Likewise."

Once John was gone, Elizabeth stared at the closed door for a few seconds more. She knew that nothing would ever be able to make her feel happy about residing inside a mountain complex, but having John around sure helped a lot.

As she absently pushed her backpack back underneath her bed, she felt a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Yes, having John around would make things a lot more interesting.

Now, if only she could find a substitute for meatloaf tonight, maybe this day wouldn't be so bad after all.

May it be the shadows call
Will fly away
May it be you journey on
To light the day
When the night is overcome
You may rise to find the sun

TBC...