Thanks for all the alerts and reviews.
Thanks again to mcat for the Beta and Sofie for title idea. Here's the final chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter Ten
14 months later
The sound of their baby crying echoed in John's ears as he stirred awake at the noise. His right arm was wrapped around Elizabeth's waist as she slept next to him— Correction, pretended to sleep. The noise had woken her up just as much as it had him, but she was being stubborn and wasn't budging. Sighing, he removed his hold on her and pulled the covers back, getting up to see their child, who lay in a cot at the end of the large double bed.
Lying on her front, Elizabeth sneaked a peak before burrowing her head in the pillow to help stifle a giggle when she caught John trying to calm their baby. He wasn't succeeding.
"This isn't funny, Missus," grumbled John over the noise. Nearly every night, their baby woke up, crying for something; usually Elizabeth would deal with the problem, knowing if she just needed feeding or a nappy change. John's eyes widened at the latter thought. "God, please don't let it be that." He hated that task, but thankfully he was safe from it this time; it seemed she just wanted feeding.
He carried her over to the bed and placed her down in the middle so they lay on either side of her. Then he walked into the kitchen area set up for them to retrieve her milk bottle.
When he returned to the room, Elizabeth was sitting up cross-legged with their baby in her lap, and not surprisingly she had stopped crying. "You sure about the name for her?" he asked as he reclaimed his place on the bed and handed her the bottle.
"Don't you like it?" Questioned Elizabeth as she took the bottle from his outstretched hand. "I think Grace is a lovely name. She is, after all, our lucky charm."
"It's a gorgeous name; just making sure you're happy with it. Of course, had she been a boy, Brad short for Bradley would have worked just as well," teased John. He played with the rim of Grace's nose when she finished drinking and she tried to grab his finger.
"Well if we ever have a boy, you can choose the name."
John's eyes lit up. "Seriously?"
"So long as it's not Bradley."
"She's a Princess just like her mom. I'm certainly a lucky man." John leaned forward to give her a kiss. "We were very close to losing the both of you that day."
Flashback: 14 months earlier
It was John who had shot Kolya the minute he let Elizabeth go. The second it was clear to move, John rushed to her side. "Oh God!" He automatically removed his jacket to press on the wound in her side.
In all the confusion he could just hear Bates calling for someone to dial Atlantis and call Dr. Beckett. But somewhere in his mind, even he knew the Doc would never make it in time. "I love you, Elizabeth. You got to hold on for me."
He took hold of her hand the minute she had faded, and he squeezed it tightly before screaming in anguish.
Everyone stopped giving orders to each other and turned to face their fallen leader and saw John's head resting on hers. They were all surprised by what happened next. There was a bright white flash that engulfed the two of them, and the next thing John felt was Elizabeth's breath on his face. He found himself looking into her eyes. "Elizabeth."
Still getting over the shock, John removed the jacket from her side, somehow knowing it was no longer needed—and he was correct. Any signs of the wound had vanished, only the pool of blood on the floor by his knees remaining. "But how?"
End Flashback
"We were lucky Grace has the gene. Only according to Dr. Beckett she wasn't strong enough to use it yet, but the minute you touched me she sensed you, and was able to tap into yours to heal me. So in effect, I have both of you to thank."
The End.
Notes: I added the Brad scene in for the GW Sparky fans as part of an ongoing theme, which gets mentioned now and again ;).
Stories coming soon! Scientific Experiment, Three's a Crowd and for the YOTS group Forget Me Not.