Sorry it's been awhile. Hopefully this more shippy chapter will make up for it. (Sparky, of course.)
Chapter 9: Realisations
"Arrgh! Rodney, would you stop dropping it!" John shouted angrily as Rodney dropped the crib on his foot for the fifth time.
"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm sure a crib shouldn't weigh so much, I mean, this thing is huge. You do realise that it is the baby and not Elizabeth that will be sleeping in this thing, don't you?" Rodney sarcastically snapped as they gently, well, as gently as possible, put the crib down in the nursery.
Since Anna had been born, Elizabeth was stuck in the infirmary and John had gone out of his way to find quarters, quite near to his own, big enough to have suitable living space, a nice bathroom and a couple of bedrooms for both mother and child. During the last couple of days, John had retrieved lots of furniture items from the mainland, which the Athosians had kindly offered, along with lots of baby clothes, but had failed to keep in mind that he couldn't carry everything by himself. And so, he went to his team for help. Well, he had gone to Ronan for help, but he had said that he couldn't, as he had agreed to train some of the military, and then he had gone to Teyla, but she had promised to help the Athosians with their crops. So, as the last and only resort, he asked Rodney, and now he was kicking himself for it, with the temptation to kick Rodney instead, slowly, but steadily, getting stronger.
"Rodney, please, can you just…stop! Look at this place…" He said in amazement, as they walked back into the fully decorated and furnished living space. "I was born to decorate, seriously, I should have been an interior designer; this place is amazing."
Rodney turned to his grinning friend in disappointment. "Honestly Colonel, could your head get any bigger? Why do some people have to be so full of themselves?" Rodney shook his head.
Sheppard stopped grinning and faced Rodney before raising an eyebrow and leaving the room.
"What?" Rodney asked as he followed Sheppard out of the room. "What was with the eyebrow?"
"Nothing, Rodney, even your complete lack of self-awareness is not going to put a downer on my day." John said cheerfully.
"Really," Rodney said sceptically, "because I can easily…whoa, what do you mean 'lack of self-awareness'?"
"Yes really," John replied, ignoring his question, "because I'm taking Elizabeth to dinner."
"I see." Rodney commented suggestively as they rounded a corner. John stopped.
"What do you mean 'I see'?" John said warningly.
"Hey, if you're not gonna tell me about the self-awareness thing I don't see why I should-" John glared at Rodney, McKay rolled his eyes. "Fine. It just seems you and Elizabeth have been getting very close over this last week, that's all."
"Meaning?" John asked, as he started walking again and Rodney quickly caught up.
"Meaning even though she can't remember anything, it doesn't mean that you and her in any sort of relationship would not be seriously frowned upon. She's not in leader mode, John, hence the fact she is completely open and allows all of us to get to know her a lot more intimately, I mean look at her and Teyla, in these last couple of days, they've become like sisters, it's just crazy, I mean-"
"Rodney!" John effectively cut Rodney off. "Your point?"
"That's she been completely open and is willing to develop far more intimate relationships with all of us…" Rodney said obviously, "…especially you."
Rodney stopped as they came to the infirmary's entrance. "Just be careful Sheppard. I mean you wouldn't be like this with Elizabeth if she was, you know, remembering everything. You wouldn't have attempted a relationship before this whole thing…" Rodney said, surprised by Sheppard's distant gaze and silent answer. "…would you?"
John snapped out of it and smiled at Rodney. "Of course not." He clapped a hand of Rodney's back. "Thanks for the help, Rodney. When I'm a famous designer, I'll be sure to dedicate by book of '50 ways to brighten up your home' to you."
Rodney grinned. "You do that. And when I get the Noble Prize, I'll…" He trailed off, shook his head and started to walk way. "What am I kidding? The only person I'll be dedicating my Noble Prize to is me!"
John smiled at his friend's familiar arrogance, as he entered the infirmary, but stopped in his tracks, as he was blessed with one heck of a sight. Elizabeth was holding her baby, holding Anna's hand and smiling when her daughter started to smile herself.
"Hello Anna, aren't you the most beautiful thing in the world, yes you are…" She whispered, as she stroked her baby's head lovingly.
"She obviously gets her looks from her mother." John smiled softly, as Elizabeth looked up in surprise and blushed slightly at the compliment.
"Hey…" Elizabeth smiled.
"Hey, may I?" John indicated to her bed.
"Please," Elizabeth nodded. John sat on the edge of the bed and just as he was about to ask, Elizabeth read his mind and handed Anna over to him.
John grinned like a kid in a candy store, as he held Anna. "Hey kid, how you doing? I hope you've good for your mum while I've been gone." John looked up at Elizabeth.
"Hasn't cried once."
"Not once," John said in exaggerated amazement to Anna, "Wow, you are a good girl."
Elizabeth smiled at the sight before her, unsure whether to tell John her news right there. Over the last couple of days, Elizabeth had started to remember things. When Carson talked of certain medical terms, she had understood, when Rodney had mentioned technical equipment, she had known what they were used for and when she went for a walk with Anna, she had passed strangers in the halls and known their names without much thought. Over the last couple of days, memories had come flooding back to her and she knew that she Dr. Elizabeth Weir, world-renowned diplomat or 'the White House's favourite', as the military called her. She remembered Earth and Atlantis and had a vague idea about what her life had been like, but all the memories weren't there…yet. She couldn't wait to tell John the huge news, but decided to wait till John took her out to dinner. 'His treat', he had told her. John's voice drew Elizabeth out of her own thoughts.
"What?" She asked.
"I said, why don't we go to dinner now? Carson can't wait for some along time with this critter…" John rolled his eyes at himself, "Sorry, critter is just, it's like a term that's used to-"
Elizabeth smiled. "It's okay, I know what it is."
"Oh…" John said surprised, as he handed Anna over to one of the nurses and took Elizabeth's hand and dragged her out of the infirmary. "I didn't realise it was a common term with the Believers."
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As Elizabeth entered John's quarters, she gasped at the sight before her. A dinner for two; the table covered with a white cloth, candles lit and flowers in a vase, similar to orchids, in the centre.
"It's beautiful, John." She turned to look at him. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." He said sincerely, kissing her temple and embracing her. "But you should see your quarters, I'm not gonna lie to you, I've got some sort of gift."
Elizabeth laughed and looked up at him, without moving out of their cuddle and replied seriously. "You certainly do."
"Yeah, well…" He coughed awkwardly, not knowing how to receive the compliment. He released his hold and held out a chair for Elizabeth. She sat down graciously and smiled in thanks. He then sat down himself in the chair opposite and revealed her plate of food. Sandwiches. Turkey sandwiches.
"How romantic…" She said sarcastically.
"Hey." He said, feigning offence. "There are limited choices in the mess hall, I worked with what I had."
"And picked your favourite meal." She raised an eyebrow and unfolded her napkin to lie it on her lap.
"Yes, and picked my favourite meal." He watched her unfold the napkin, slightly taken aback at how she knew how to use it, but was interrupted by her voice before she had the chance to reply.
"I wanted to thank you John. You have been…amazing. Everything you've done, you've really made me and Anna feel welcome. You didn't have to be so kind, but you were, are, and for that I will forever be grateful." She said, eyes brimming with tears.
John reached out to grasp her hand with his own to comfort her. "Hey, don't go crying on me now, this is supposed to be a happy evening." She smiled through the tears, but after the last week she had turned into a bit of an emotional wreck and she was finally letting go.
John's eyes widened at the shock of Elizabeth Weir crying in front of him. Firstly, because the Elizabeth Weir he knew wouldn't cry in front of anyone, in the risk of that leader mask cracking and secondly, he hadn't a clue how to deal with women, any woman, sobbing her eyes out.
"Ssssh, don't cry, hey, um…oh geez…" He got up from his seat and came around the table to bend down in front of her. "Look," He said, grabbing her napkin and wiping away her tears, "I know this is difficult…you've just had a baby, you're adjusting to a new home, your husband is…well, he's not available right now, and so you're entitled to be a complete mess." John smiled, as Elizabeth let out a small laugh. "See, there you go, I want to see that gorgeous smile you got…"
Elizabeth looked at him in surprise. "You've said that before…"
"What?" John said in confusion. "No, I haven't…"
Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, you have, you said, 'look at that gorgeous smile' and then you said something else, I can't pinpoint the memory, but you have…" She trailed off, as the tears stopped coming and she took the napkin to wipe away the tears properly.
"I don't…" John's jaw dropped in realisation, "Oh my God, you're remembering things…"
Elizabeth grinned. "Most things, actually…and I remember that I really missed you."
John smiled softly. "I missed you too, you should have told me early, I mean, have you remembered everything or what?" He left the question hanging, waiting for her to fill in the blanks.
"I can remember my whole life, it's just particular memories that are still floating about, but always hit me at unexpected times, you know…." She stopped as she noticed John's staring. "What? Why are you staring?"
John smiled sheepishly. "Oh nothing…" He stood up and scratched the back of his neck.
"What?" She stood up herself. "You can tell me if something's bothering you."
John looked uncertain, before taking a deep breath and replying quickly. "I really wanna kiss you right now."
Elizabeth grinned and blushed. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." John smiled nervously.
"Well, let me save you the trouble…" She pulled his neck down, so her lips could connect with his own. The kiss was sweet and tender, but as it became more heated, a memory came rushing into Elizabeth's mind.
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A little more than a year ago….
"No, John…" Elizabeth said, breaking the kiss. "We can't and you know it."
John ran a hand through his hair. "This is so not fair."
Elizabeth smirked. "Well, don't you sound like a mature adult." She commented sarcastically.
"Well, it's not!" John shouted seriously. "I have never had a proper relationship with a woman, well yeah, maybe a relationship, but not one with any feelings, just with lots of sex and lots of…well, that's about it, but no feelings. And now, I find myself falling head over heels over you, and you're so not my type. I mean you're funny, intelligent, witty, sweet, kind, beautiful with a beautiful laugh and a gorgeous smile…" John's anger released, as Elizabeth blushed and smiled. He smiled lovingly. "I mean, look at that gorgeous smile, and because of some stupid, stupid rules, I can't be with the first and last woman I love." He sighed.
Elizabeth felt butterflies in her stomach. "The woman you love?"
John's eyes widened at his confession, before smiling. "Well, yeah…kinda," Elizabeth grinned as she took a step towards him. "Don't be getting any ideas though, I'm not one of these girly, sissy-" He was silenced with a small kiss on the lips.
"Just leave it for now, John. We've got awhile yet, I mean there are no particular rules, as I'm not military, but while the IOA are hovering over our heads, we just…can't. Let's just wait…a few months." Elizabeth tried to compromise.
"A few months?" John whined. "You've got to be kidding with me?"
Elizabeth smiled seductively. "Aren't I worth it?"
"Yeah, I guess." John relented. "But this is so not fair." He huffed.
"You said that already." Elizabeth stated as she walked to the balcony doors to go inside.
"Yeah, I know, I'm five, whatever." John sulked, as he followed a chuckling Elizabeth back inside.
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Present time….
Elizabeth stopped kissing John as the memory faded away. She grinned.
"What?" John said impatiently, annoyed at the kiss being ended. He smiled curiously. "Okay, now look who's staring…"
She kept grinning. "You love me."
John raised an eyebrow. "You got that from a kiss." John said sceptically.
"No silly. You said it on the balcony, you said I was the first and last woman you love."
John smiled back at her, as he remembered. "Aaah, you remember that do you?"
Elizabeth nodded and grinned, kissing him again and then looking at him seriously. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" He asked puzzled.
"Running off with those people, getting married, getting pregnant-"
"Hey. You were so obviously drugged and as for the 'getting pregnant part', you love Anna, you don't have to be sorry for that for my sake." He cupped her cheek.
"I know. But if I was gonna have a child, I guess I would have liked it to, well, you know, be with you." Elizabeth confessed.
"Yeah, well, Anna's gonna need a father figure and well, I can pretty much do anything so…" He looked at her expectantly.
"That'll be great." She kissed him on the cheek with thanks.
"And anyway," He smiled deviously, "I think I can help you out with the next one…" He said guiding her to the bedroom.
"The next one?" She raised an eyebrow. "Getting ahead of yourself there, aren't you?"
"Maybe, I agree, we'll wait." John nodded, before pulling her into a heated kiss. "But, I'm gonna need practise all the same." And before Elizabeth had a chance to reply, John's lips crashed on to hers again.
TBC….
Hope you liked. That was a very shippy chapter. Please Review! Please! I need ideas about what to do with Freya and Fagen, I have some ideas, but input would be greatly appreciated. Lots of love, hugs and kisses Kit xx
