Summary: Some time after Happy birthday
Rating: PG13
Beta comancherider:
Disclaimer: I ain't got no money, and nobody'd be daft enough to pay me for this.
AN: chiarahhue's wonderful reviews incited me. twice!
"Oh Jooohhnnnn," Elizabeth singsonged with an evil grin as she slowly reached into her pocket.
"Oh no! No no no. Eliiiiizabeth!" But even as he whispered the admonition, she could see his pulse jump in his throat and his pupils dilating. A certain recognizably military surroundings-check being done.
He looked at the familiar, worn cardboard with a puppy-pout, slowly backing into the not-anywhere-deep-enough for what she wanted to do to him alcove behind him. "You are insatiable," he grumbled huskily.
"For you, yes." He couldn't quite help returning the soft grin she said that with.
John opened his eyes after she'd been asleep for a solid 10 minutes, carefully crawling out from the arm thrown across his chest; glad he'd managed to catch enough emergency calls meant for her in the last few months that she'd finally lost the habit of snapping awake at the least provocation.
He stepped lightly to where he'd thrown her pants earlier, checking the bed as he went to make sure she was still sleeping peacefully. He reached into her pocket and pulled out the ragged, unreadable cardboard, smiling softly at all the memories they'd pilled on it in the last year; aware, as he always was in these quiet moments, of how his body hummed with satisfaction these days. Of how much easier it was to stay calm through all the damned provocations the Pegasus galaxy still insisted on throwing at them when he knew there was a beautiful, brilliant, loving woman just waiting to jump his bones; to hold him and be held.
Shaking himself out of the reminiscing, he moved more quickly, the need for silence lessened now that he'd accomplished the theft. A few minutes later, he snuck into the typing pool office.
Elizabeth was too busy to be grumpy on her birthday this time around; too many people asking stupid questions and bringing even more ridiculous arguments to her attention. Halfway through the afternoon she was ready to strangle the next person through her door. Realizing how close to loosing her calm she was, she reached in her pocket; a habit she'd gotten into whenever she was stressed, or worried, or sad. A physical link to comfort when John wasn't there to offer it with his presence.
This time she frowned in consternation, getting up to search her pocket fully and still not finding it. She stilled as she mentally retraced her steps. She had it last night... and she did put it back in her pocket... Yes, she did. It must have fallen out when John threw her slacks across the room...
She sat back down, discontented but refusing to do something so clingy as to go and look for it. Grow up Elizabeth, you hardly need a piece of cardboard to make him do anything... But it was a present... and such a sweet present... She snarled silently at herself, getting back to her work determinedly.
Her expression must have been murderous because she actually got a couple hours of peace after that, and then John at his most puppyish showed up and dragged her away, neither of them aware of the indulgent smiles from their people as she humoured his playing and they walked off together.
Once they were away from the control room, John convinced her to close her eyes and trust him and then he guided her carefully to a balcony and stepped away from her. "Open your eyes," he whispered.
The first thing Elizabeth saw was John on one knee in front of her, wearing the sweet smile she'd come to recognize as meaning he was feeling introspective and affectionate; quietly loving. The second thing she saw was the pillar being him, leading her to realize which balcony they were on. They hadn't come here all that often, it just wasn't on their usual routes; which had been her reason for choosing it, a year ago.
By the time her eyes swung back to him, he was holding out something in the palm of one hand; something that refracted the setting sun into a rainbow of rays. Her breath caught as he nodded to his palm with a grin. Stepping closer, she saw that the sparkling was caused by a ring made of some strange but strong-looking metal, coiled meltingly around something that looked like crystal; and beneath the ring, a small laminated piece of paper.
Feeling emotions about to overrun her usually strong defences, she reached for the card first to give herself a moment, one finger caressing the ring longingly as she passed it.
It was a printed photocopy of a familiar cardboard, with the words 'Do it!' freshly handwritten over it, along with a slightly smaller note, 'Good forever'. She looked at John with tears blurring her vision, reaching to put her free hand palm to palm with his, the ring tight between them.
He was watching her intently and spoke reassuringly when she focused on him, "The original is on your night table. Will you marry me, 'Lizabeth?" he smiled temptingly, "I love you. Always will. And I do have plans to beat last year's..."
She bent down and kissed him gently, tasting the salt of her tears and holding on tightly to his hand. "Yes. Forever yes, John Sheppard."