Thanks for a couple of your ideas they kinda conflicted with each other so I sorta mingled them together a bit, p.s thank you for the reviews. I've got over 1300 hits so far and I think that's a good thing (? Do most people get a lot more), but only 7 reviews so if you want your ideas put into the story you have to tell me (i.e. REVIEW PLEASE!) Anyway on we go. Another p.s I have one swear word and I'm not sure how rating works so I'll just pre-warn you, I think I might put the rating up one and the 'can't eat can't sleep' thing is off of a Mary-Kate and Ashley film and I know that because my baby sister religiously watches them.

Chapter 3: Changes

John and Elizabeth got out the taxi, which as John reminded Elizabeth, he had so graciously paid for and made their way down the street, until John stopped and looked at the building in front of him in amazement.

"And here we are!" Holding his arms out in a grand gesture and grinning like a kid in a candy store.

Elizabeth crossed her arms and frowned before raising an eyebrow and turning to him.

"It's a run-down pub." Tell me this is a joke. John smiled and held up a finger.

"Correction. It's a run-down Irish pub!"

Elizabeth frowned again. "Okay…….and that makes it better how?"

"Well…you said you were Irish and so you 'could hold your liquor'", he did apostrophes with his fingers in the air, "so I thought 'ah…she's Irish, she drinks…Irish pub it is!'" Smiling happily.

From any other man, idiot! From him, adorable. Crap! This is soooo past physical attraction! To Elizabeth, John was a cocky flyboy, man of mystery, knight in shining armour and a five year old all rolled into one and he had all the best qualities from each one, but one thing that certainly leapt out at Elizabeth was his generosity. For as long as she had known him, he had always discreetly done things for her that weren't necessary, that were sweet and thoughtful. And even though, she guessed, he probably did it for a lot of other people; she silently hoped that his sweetness was reserved just for her.

"Well, then…what are we doing just waiting outside?" She said, smiling brightly.

John beamed at her response. "I was hoping you'd say something like that, let's go inside!" He jogged to the door and held it wide open for her. "Madame." He said in a deep voice.

She smiled, "Well, I don't mind if I do."

On the inside, the pub, to Elizabeth, was just as run down as the outside, but even with the stench of booze, crappy music (that wasn't even Irish) playing, and leather booths that looked like they seen better days (about 50 years ago,) it somehow did remind her of her trip to Ireland as a girl where she met thick-accented relatives who she couldn't understand and were barely related to her. What were the chances? She thought ironically. So it was an Irish pub, but the whole strong bladder thing could be a problem, as since she had been on Earth she had neglected to ease her liver back into drinking alcohol as the stuff just wasn't there on Atlantis and well, once you're body isn't used to alcohol, it is very, very, very easy to get drunk. That could be a problem! John snapped her back out of her daze.

"Bob, Jimmy, hey buddies!" Elizabeth looked to her left to see John manly hug two men of similar build.

"Would you look at that! After all this time his hair can still defy gravity!" Bob and Jimmy started laughing.

"Hey! At least I've got hair!" John nodded in the direction of the completely bald man on the left.

"True. Bob was gonna do something about it, but his plan backfired, he went even more bald!" Jimmy said sniggering.

"How could he go more bald?" John said in amusement.

Bob got his beer from the counter and seeped it. "Yeah, Jimmy that's a damn good question! Care to explain?"

"Er guys, before you do that, I'd like you to meet Elizabeth, she's a…" he turned to Elizabeth and smiled wistfully, "…a very good friend of mine."

"Elizabeth, this is Bob, the bald one and Jimmy, the blonde one…they went to the same academy as me," John said, introducing them to each other. Bob and Jimmy directed knowing smirks at John and he went wide-eyed and mouthed 'no.' Elizabeth, completely unaware of this, held out her hand and smiled diplomatically.

"It's nice to meet you." Jimmy embraced her in a bear hug, nearly killing her in the process, and gave her a lop-sided grin must be an air force thing!

"Hey Lizzie!" He said cheerfully, Bob nodded his head in greeting as he drank his beer, "so you and John are…very good friends, are you?"

Elizabeth shifted uncomfortably instantly realising where this was going. "Well, yes…we met each other at work."

"Yeah, John told us about that on the phone, the same place where you all spend 24 hours together, isolated?" Jimmy questioned.

"Yes…" Elizabeth said cautiously.

"Must be hard. I wonder…what could one do for all that time…together?" Jimmy smiled as Bob promptly choked on his beer.

John, meanwhile was mouthing extremely rude words to them all effectively meaning 'shut the f up!"

"Funny," Elizabeth said smiling, "I always wondered what an all man air force team would do when they had to be isolated in hot war zones, sweating as all their clothes just cling to their bodies and jackets come off and those sexy aviator sunglasses are put on…I suppose sometimes you just have to make do with what you've got." Jimmy and Bob burst into laughter.

"That's classic!" Bob said. "I like you, come, sit, drink." He said pulling a chair from the bar as they all sat down. "Bartender! A bottle of your best…vodka!"

By the end of the evening, John looked around him, throughout the night they had drunk, danced, had fun, but as he talked with Bob and his current relations with women…many women, Elizabeth was too drunk to mind, he realised that what he had before was…boring. It had occurred to him that, since Atlantis, he'd changed.

And what really brought that to mind was the fact that beforehand he'd never really cared about the person he dated as long as the sex was good and the company was okay. Funny, that it took his friend Jimmy dancing with and being a little too friendly with Elizabeth for his liking that he, not so much realised, but came to terms with the fact, he was in love with Elizabeth Weir. A kind of 'can't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, world series' thing that you know is only going to come knocking on your door once and if you let it go past…well, there are no second chances.

She was his closest friend on Atlantis and probably in any galaxy, but she was also his boss and maybe the Air force would have been okayish with it, but, with his track record, trying to pursue a relationship with the expedition leader surely equalled a one way trip back to earth and that was one risk Elizabeth would most certainly not let him take.

So, believing he was doing the right thing, John decided there and then that yes, he was smitten with his Elizabeth Weir and yes, he would do absolutely nothing about it.

Then, doing the gentlemanly thing, he said goodbye to his very drunk friends and escorted his very drunk female companion back to the hotel where he ushered her to bed, took off her shoes, arranged her bed covers and while she hugged him inappropriately goodnight and mumbled random things into his chest, he rested her down and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight Elizabeth, sweet dreams." After which he left a note on her side table and took his leave, remembering to ask the man at the desk to send someone to lock her room and not wake her for breakfast until…well, until she had recovered.

What was on the note? What will happen next? I, unlike others, have no plan so just send me your feedback and I'll see what I can do, I combined Beach chickJASSNL and Alexanderetta's ideas I can do that for you too! Unless it's particularly crap (just joking…….or am I?)"