A/N: I do not own Stargate Atlantis. As much as I would like to..hah.

I hope y'all don't hate me too much after the past couple of chapters, haha! Enjoy!

**Later in this chapter, Nikki wears a dress. I put the link to the dress she wears on my profile page. If you want to see what it looks like, go check it out.

Chapter 7

About five days after John Sheppard was released from the infirmary, he was finally put back on active duty. He and Nikki had decided to wait to have their date until he was back to a hundred percent.

The entire time he was recovering, he had been trying to figure out some way to make it up to Nikki for missing their first date by being put in a coma and making her worry non-stop for three days. Some impression he made.

For the past couple of days, he had been fidgety and kind of distracted. Teyla had been the only one to really notice it at first until she mentioned it to the rest of the team.

They were sitting at lunch the day John was put back on active duty. McKay had been rambling on and on about some kind of new discover he had made. John was tuning him out, trying to figure out what he can do for their date that was tonight.

"Are you even listening to me? Sheppard. Sheppard. Colonel!" John snapped out of it and turned to look at Rodney. His whole team was watching him. "What? Did you say something?"

Rodney raised his eyebrows and got a worried expression on his face. "What is up with you?"

He shook his head. "What do you mean? I'm fine."

Teyla rested her hand on John's forearm. "John, you have not been yourself lately. You have been…distracted. Is there something wrong?"

John looked down at his food. "Yeah. I've been trying to come up with some way to make it up to Nikki for, you know, missing our first date because I was in a coma. Tonight is our second attempt at a date. And I have no idea what to do."

He looked up at Teyla and sighed. She smiled, "I would be more than happy to help you plan, if you wish, John."

Ronon nodded, "Yeah, me too." Ronon looked at McKay, who just sat there staring at the group. He kicked Rodney. "Ow! Okay! Me too. Although I don't know how much help I'll be." Ronon rolled his eyes and continued eating.

"Thanks guys. So. Any ideas?" John looked back at Teyla and then at Ronon.

They spent the next two and a half hours trading ideas back and forth before John was finally satisfied with that they had come up with. He thanked his friends and then took off out of the mess hall to go get things ready. He only had three and a half hours before he had to be at her door.

He went straight for Elizabeth's office to get started.

sgasgasgasgasgasga

Three and a half hours later, he was standing outside of Nikki's quarters. He was wearing black dress pants, a white button down shirt with the first couple of buttons undone, and a black jacket. He wanted to look his best for the date, but he didn't want to be too dressed up. That just wasn't like him.

He straightened his jacket and ran a hand through his messy hair. He let out a nervous shaky breath and waved his hand over the door sensor.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. McKay always called him Kirk for being the never-failing ladies man, but he really wasn't. Sure, he knew how to throw his smile in their direction and catch his eye, but when it came to actually dating, it made him more nervous than walking right onto a battlefield, guns blazing.

What if he said the wrong thing? What if he made a move and she didn't want him to? What if he made the wrong move? What if he didn't make a move when she wanted him to? Tons of what if questions were swirling around his mind never ending. The first date was always the worst for him.

The door opened and Nikki was standing there looking as beautiful as ever. She had her hair down and slightly curled at the ends. She was wearing a blue and white sundress.

"Wow. You look absolutely amazing." She smiled, "You don't look too bad yourself there, handsome." He smiled and held out his elbow for her.

She put her arm through his and he led her through the halls towards the jumper bay. "So, where are you going?"

He looked down at her and smiled. "You'll have to wait and find out when we get there." She rolled her eyes but followed him. They walked into the jumper bay and she narrowed her eyes at him. She was starting to get suspicious. He looked down at her again. "Just trust me, okay?" She nodded as he led her into the back of one of the jumpers. He sat down in the pilot's chair and radioed the control room. "Control room, this is Sheppard. I'm taking jumper one out for awhile. We'll be back in a little while."

"Copy that, sir. We'll leave the porch light on." "Good. See you in awhile. Sheppard out."

Nikki sat down in the co-pilot's chair and just watching Sheppard work the controls. "You really are a mystery, you know that, John?" He smirked and nodded. "That's not the first time someone's told me that. Might want to get comfortable. It's about a half hour ride to where we're going."

She rolled her eyes again and sat back in the chair. They made small talk during the flight. And then suddenly, Sheppard started dropping lower, but there wasn't land for miles still. She watched as he maneuvered the jumper closer and closer to the water. "Um, John, what are you doing?" "Just watch and see. You'll love it."

He dipped the jumper down into the water and continued forward for a couple more minutes. Where was he taking her?

That's when she looked up and saw a big coral reef looming up ahead. When they reached it, he dropped the jumper down onto the bed of ocean they were at. He turned and looked at her reaction. She was gazing admiringly up at the beautiful site. There was tons of different colored coral everywhere, along with what seemed to be thousands of pretty colored fish swimming here and there. Some had been startled by the jumper, but they seemed to be fine now.

"John…this…this is beautiful. How did you find this place?" He smiled and stood up. He moved to the back of the jumper and retrieved a basket and a blanket. He moved back into the cock pit and then closed the doors to the rear compartment. He spread the blanket down on the floor against the door and set the blanket down on top of it.

John walked over to Nikki and held out his hand. "Would you like to join me and enjoy the view while we eat?" She looked up at him with the biggest smile on her face. She took his hand and followed him over to the doors. They sat down on the blanket and he unloaded the basket.

He had brought turkey sandwiches, some grapes, slices of apple, and some wine. "Care for some wine?"

Her smile got brighter. "Please." He dug out two wine glasses and poured both of them a glass of wine before distributing the food. "Hm. Turkey sandwiches, fruit, and wine…" He grimaced and set down the bottle. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'm not that great of a cook, so I had to bribe the kitchen staff."

She placed a hand on his. "You didn't let me finish." He looked up at her with a question in his eyes. "With a breathtaking view. I love it." His smile was almost as bright as hers. He looked over at the coral. "Yeah, it sure is a nice sight."

"I wasn't only talking about the coral." He turned and looked at her. She was staring at him intently. "Neither was I." They both blushed a little and took a sip of wine.

They ate their meal and finished their first glasses of wine. He poured them another glass each and set the bottle off to the side. They were already halfway through the bottle.

He put all the leftovers into the basket and set the basket on one of the seats sitting next by. He made a snap decision and wrapped his right arm around Nikki's waist and pulled her over to him. She gasped a little at first, but then snuggled into his side to get comfortable as they stared up at the view.

"So tell me, John, why did you go to all of this trouble? I would have been satisfied with sitting on one of the balconies in Atlantis."

He looked down at her with a smile in his eyes. "I wanted to make it up to you for missing our first date. You know, with being in a coma and everything. And making you worry for three days. Didn't really seem fair to me so I thought I'd do something special."

She looked up at him with such a warm, beautiful smile. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?"

She giggled and shook her head. "No? Well, I need to change that now, don't I?" His smile stretched onto his face, "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my entire life." She blushed a little at his words. He leaned down and placed his lips on hers. She kissed him back and carefully set her glass down to the side and he did the same. She placed her hand on his chest and then ran it up to wrap around his neck. He cupped her face with his left hand and then slowly slid his hand down her neck, down her arm, and then rested it on her waist.

They took it slow at first, adjusting to their position, their surroundings, the new sensations they were experiencing. Then she inched closer and managed to wrap both arms around his neck instead of just the one. He raised his over hand to rest on her back as he brought her closer to him.

As things started to heat up a little, the lights suddenly turned off. They didn't even seem to notice. They kept getting closer until they were pressed up against each other. John slowly slid them down to lay on the floor.

He wasn't going to take things too far tonight. It was only their first date, after all. They laid on the floor in each other's arms as they kissed each other passionately. She rolled on top of him and he let her. She kept running her hands up and down his chest. He kept rubbing circles into her back to keep his hands from roaming too far.

She pulled away to catch her breath. She looked down at him and they stared into each other's eyes. "Well, I can honestly say that this is the best date I've ever been on. Not to mention the first time I've ever been on a date with someone with such high standing in the military. I didn't think you were allowed to go on dates with someone under your command."

He smiled and nipped her lips once before responding. "Only if they're in the military or on my team. You're neither, so it's not against the rules." "Ah, I see. Well, that's too bad. I like being a rebel."

He rolled his eyes and chuckled. He kept nipping at her lips, but it wasn't getting him anywhere. She kept teasing him. He pushed his head up and brought his lips to her neck. He kissed up and down her neck, making her lean into him more. He kissed his way up her jawline and then traced her lips with his before finally letting them rest on hers.

Her teeth grazed his lips and his lips parted. She slipped her tongue inside his mouth and started exploring. He let her explore for a while before he started using his tongue to battle for dominance. He slid hers out of his mouth and then his tongue into hers. They kept going back and forth for a good fifteen minutes before they pulled apart to catch their breath again.

He looked up at her with a lopsided grin on his face. "How the hell did I manage to get a date you with?" She laughed and shook her head. "You know, I was just asking myself that very same question."

He rolled his eyes and then glanced at his watch. They had been gone for hours already. It was probably time they start heading back since they had a half hour ride home. Especially since he had to get up real early for a mission the next morning.

"As much as I would love to stay here for a while longer, we should probably start heading back."

She took his wrist and looked at her watch. She sighed and nodded. "You're right. We both have to get up super early tomorrow." They sat up from their position, but she didn't move off of him quite yet. She was straddling his thighs while he sat there with his hands rested on her legs. He reached up and pecked her lips one more time.

He looked around and noticed that during their little make-out session, they had knocked over his glass of wine. "Uh oh…McKay is going to be pissed at me." She chuckled and reached for her own glass. She downed most of the glass with one drink and then offered the rest to him. He smirked, downed the rest of hers, reached for the bottle, and took a big swig.

She rolled her eyes. "Show off." He laughed wholeheartedly, took another drink, and then recorked the bottle. She stood up and moved to help him clean up the mess. He placed the glassed in the basket while she folded up the blanket and then laid it on top of the basket. He didn't have anything to clean up the spilled wine with, so he would have to come back and do that after they had gotten back to Atlantis.

They made the trip back home. This time it wasn't that silent. They were laughing and telling more stories the entire way there. Not that the alcohol had anything to do with it…

When they got back to Atlantis, he opened the rear compartment doors and then the rear hatch. He grabbed the basket in one hand and then entwined his fingers on his other hand with Nikki's.

Halfway back to her quarters, she had reached inside and grabbed the wine bottle. They finished it off before they reached her door. They were both laughing and had huge smiles on their faces. He set the basket down on the floor, wrapped his arms around Nikki, pulled her into him, and their lips met moments later. They stayed like that for a few minutes, neither wanting to break away.

Finally, John pulled back and stared down at her admiringly. "Good night, Nikki." She smiled up at him and then pecked his lips one last time. "Good night, John."

She walked into her room and he watched as the doors closed behind her. He picked up the basket and made his way to the mess hall with the hugest smile on his face.

He walked in and found one table occupied. He hadn't thought anyone would be in there since it was nearly one in the morning. He set the basket inside the door to the kitchen and made his way over to the table where his team sat. He sat down and they looked up at him. Ronon got a huge grin on his face at the sight of Sheppard swaying slightly and a huge grin plastered to his face, his eyes a little glassy.

"So, how'd the date go?" Sheppard's grin got even wider as he sat back in the chair and got comfortable. "Oh you know, it went well." Ronon snorted and leaned towards him. "Shep, you reak. Have you been drinking?"

He hadn't told them that he had already planned on taking wine with him. He hadn't thought that was a necessary detail. "Just wine." Teyla laughed at the sight of her friend. "How much did you drink?"

He looked like he was concentrating on someone. "Um..the whole bottle, I believe."

McKay snorted. "You do realize we're going on a mission first thing in the morning, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But I had fun. Well, I had more than fun. But you don't need to know that."

Ronon's smile got even bigger. "So, what did you two lovebirds do?" John rolled his eyes, but then launched into his recounting of their date. Leaving out how passionately they had made-out though. He wanted to leave some details to the imagination. He practically sprang up from his chair right as he was done with his story and swayed a little when he got to his feet.

Teyla reached out a hand to steady him, but he brushed it off saying he was fine. "I will see you all at 0500 hours. Don't be late!"

As he staggered his way to the door, he heard Ronon yell out, "Yeah, don't be late, Shep!"

He smirked and made his way to his quarters. He opened the door and went straight to his bed. He stopped to take off his jacket, but then face-planted the mattress. He was out before his face hit the pillow.

sgasgasgasgasga

0445 hours the next morning, he awoke to the sound of his alarm going off. He looked at the clock and his eyes widened. He was supposed to be in the gate room in fifteen minutes. He got up as quickly as he could, changed, got his boots on, grabbed his side arm, and practically ran out the door, no time for a shower. He booked it down to the locker room to get ready. He had a whole one minute to get to the gate room on time. He put on his tact vest, clipped on his p90, grabbed on extra clip just in case and tucked it into his vest, grabbed his shades out of his locker, grabbed a radio, and ran out of the locker room. He made it to the gate room five minutes late.

His team, as well as Lorne's team, and an extra science team that included Nikki, were all set to go. He walked up the stairs and stood next to Ronon. "And you were the one who told us not to be late." "Oh shut it." Ronon smiled and slapped his hand on his friend's back. It was obvious Sheppard was hungover from the night before.

Lorne walked over to him and dropped his voice. "Are you okay, sir? You don't look too good."

John smirked and checked his p90 to make sure it was in working order. "I'm fine, Major, just had an…interesting night last night." He couldn't stop as his eyes flicked over and made contact with Nikki's. She smiled in his direction. "Ah, I got it, sir. No worries." He looked back at Lorne as he smiled and moved away. Nikki walked up beside him and dropped her voice as well.

"Man, you look as bad as I feel. It probably wasn't the smartest to top off that bottle last night."

He laughed and turned to look at her. "No, but it was fun. Just wait until next time."

He winked and her smile grew. "Oh, I can't wait." "Good. It'll be even better."

They entwined their fingers for a minute, relishing in the feel of the other's touch before letting go. John signaled to Chuck they were all set.

He so couldn't wait until their next date. It was going to be a blast.

Sooo...what did you think? How was their first date? Review and tell me what you think! And give me some ideas for some more chapters. I'm not sure where the next chapter will lead them yet. Enjoy!