AN: Thanks for the positive reviews on the last chapter. Don't worry, everything's going to become less frustrating soon ^_^ Thanks for reading this story and enjoy the sparkiness in this chapter.

Down to Earth

The moment the credits started rolling, John's hand moved away from hers.

Elizabeth let out a small breath and slowly stretched her fingers, because they felt a bit stiff. The warmth of John's touch lingered on her skin, and she stared at her hand in amazement. It still looked the same on the outside, but she was sure that on the inside, it would never be the same again. The feel of John's hand on hers was nothing like the hug they shared a few weeks ago. Back then, she was so relieved to see him alive and well, she did the first thing that came to mind upon seeing him. The moment had passed quickly, and they had bigger things to worry about at the time.

The last hour, however, was not lost on Elizabeth. She'd printed every single second into her mind, and the only reason she knew she hadn't stopped breathing throughout the whole ordeal was the fact that she hadn't fainted.

John had grabbed her hand.

"Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth snapped out of her thoughts. She focused her attention on John's face. He was looking at her strangely.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" she asked.

John immediately looked the other way. He even shifted away from her in his seat. "Did you... like the movie?" he asked nonchalantly.

Elizabeth mentally slapped herself. "Yes." She tried to remember the names of the two main characters, but failed spectacularly. Much as she liked to watch feel good movies, the real world meant a whole lot more to her. For example, the things that were going on in her life right now where more interesting than any movie she'd ever seen. "Did you?"

John shrugged. "It was okay, I guess." He shot her a careful grin. "I've seen worse."

People around them were starting to get up, and Elizabeth slowly came to her feet as well. Against all expectations, she'd eaten most of her popcorn and, as expected, John's box was completely empty. She briefly wondered where his popcorn had gone, because the contents of the box certainly didn't fit inside his stomach. John's belly was too flat for that. Then again, the man exercised a lot, and it probably didn't matter what he ate.

John got up. He still looked a bit nervous, and Elizabeth realized she must have a similar expression on her face, because she felt like a clumsy teenager on their first date and there was nothing she could do to regain her posture. She was positive she'd start shaking the moment she tried.

Still, it was strange to see the most self-confident man she'd ever known, except maybe for one Rodney McKay, wear a similar expression. Was John thinking about his hand, too? She doubted it. Her commander officer was probably thinking about something else, the men he'd lost or the threat they were going to face the moment they got back to Atlantis.

Or washe thinking about his earlier actions? If he was, she was sure that was a bad sign. Elizabeth knew John wasn't the Kirk Rodney made him out to be, but she had seen him in action with Chaya. Her CO's feelings for the Ancient woman had been very clear to them all, because he'd done nothing to hide them. She knew enough about John to know that if he liked a woman, he didn't hesitate to let her know.

Did John regret grabbing her hand? It would explain the nervousness. John was courtly enough not to want to hurt her feelings, and he probably noticed her red cheeks the moment the lights went on. Maybe he was thinking about a way to let her down nicely. It wasn't his fault she couldn't keep her feelings in check.

"Shall we?" She nonchalantly waved in the direction of the exit. People were already starting to make their way out of the room.

After a second, John nodded. "Sure."

They were quiet during their walk back to the car. Elizabeth didn't know what to say, and John didn't talk. She could only guess what was going on inside his head. Sometimes she wished she could read minds, because that would make complicated situations like this so much easier.

As far as John was concerned, they were friends. And who was she fooling? Two days ago, she felt the same way.

She only wished that knowledge would make the pain inside her chest go away.

oOo

John reached the car before Elizabeth did. Instead of opening the door to the driver seat, he turned around to face her. She startled.

"Did I make you uncomfortable?" he asked, concern visible in his hazel eyes.

Elizabeth's mind was so busy trying to grasp how he could possibly make her uncomfortable, that she couldn't form a coherent answer right away. "Er..." was all that came out of her mouth.

John nodded shortly. "I'm sorry." He turned around and got in the car.

Elizabeth processed this action a lot faster, and took a step forward without thinking. "John?"

John's gaze didn't meet hers. "I don't know what I was thinking," he told the wheel, all the while powering up the engine.

Elizabeth didn't understand what he was getting at. She did know one thing: they were going to get to the bottom of this. "What are you talking about?" She walked around the car and sat down in the passenger seat. He wasn't looking at her, and she fought the urge to grab his chin and make him turn his head toward her. Forcing John Sheppard into doing things he didn't want to never ended well. Kolya could confirm that.

"What is it that has you so concerned?" she tried again, fixing him with an intense glare.

John still refused to look at her. "It won't happen again," he said dismissively, and it was obvious he didn't want to continue the conversation.

Elizabeth wasn't ready to let the subject rest just yet. She frowned. "Are you talking about going to the cinema? Because quite frankly, you're the one who convinced me to go." She was assuming he wasn't talking about eating popcorn or - suddenly, it hit her. "You meant holding my hand? Was the experience so horrible that you never want to do it again?"

That finally got him to meet her gaze. His head snapped up the moment the words left her mouth, and he looked so horrified she suspected he didn't even notice he was finally looking her in the eye. Or at least it didn't seem to bother him anymore.

"Why - why would you say that? Why would you think that?"

Elizabeth inclined her head. John's behaviour over the past few minutes was indication enough he regretted his actions. John seemed to get that as well, because he pulled his gaze away and stared ahead for a while, before turning off the engine and studying his hands. "I shouldn't have grabbed your hand. I still don't know what I was thinking, or why I even acted on my stupid thoughts for that matter..." He was silent for a moment. Then, "I'm sorry for what happened. I just hope you can forget this ever happened, because I'm not sure that I can... I don't think that I can live with myself if I scared you away."

Elizabeth took a deep breath and shook her head, hoping the action would make the world start to make sense. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work. "John, why would I need to forget anything that happened tonight? Why - why did you grab my hand?" That wasn't the question she'd been about to ask, but she found herself curious. Obviously, he thought he shouldn't have grabbed her hand, which was true from a professional point of view, but still... Why had he even done it in the first place?

John let out a dry laugh. "I don't know. It felt right."

"Do you make it a point to grab someone by their hand when it feels right?" The question was idiotic, but she had to make a few things clear.

John's next words were spoken so quietly she had to lean a little bit closer to make them out. "Not someone... never just someone."

"Teyla?" Elizabeth mentally kicked herself. What was she doing? She'd picked up on the close relationship between the beautiful Athosian woman and her military commander months ago, but she'd never even considered bringing it up.

John frowned. "Elizabeth, did you mind my grabbing your hand?"

Elizabeth sat back in her seat. She hadn't expected him to turn the tables. "No." Now it was her who refused to look him in the eye.

John regarded her silently for a moment. Then, she slowly shook his head. "No."

"What?" Elizabeth couldn't help but meet his gaze again.

"I never felt like grabbing Teyla's hand."

The relief that flooded through her felt surreal. It was childish to be jealous of the only female member on John's team, but Elizabeth had often wondered what she missed out on while the team were away. Hearing John admit he didn't have feelings for Teyla was the best thing she'd heard all day... year. No, that wasn't true. The best thing she'd heard had been his voice after she thought he was dead.

Realizing she had to say something, Elizabeth nodded. "Okay, so..." She trailed off, uncertainly searching his hazel eyes. He had grabbed her hand, which meant... which had to mean... did it? She wanted to hear him say it, yet she was afraid the words would make her cry.

John opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again a second later. He, too, didn't seem to be able to find the proper words to be having this conversation.

Elizabeth couldn't ask him directly, but there was a reason she'd become a diplomat. "Knowing I didn't mind, would you do it again?"

In the dim light from the street lights she could just make out the careful grin that appeared on John's face. He didn't answer her question. Instead, he reached out and lightly placed his right hand on top of hers, giving it a brief squeeze before pulling his hand back, watching her face intently.

Elizabeth allowed herself to grin at him, too.

Having seen her reaction, John's grin turned into a disbelieving smile.

It would have been so easy to forget about everything else, to get lost in the hazel eyes looking at her, to let go of everything that plagued her mind. But there were thoughts stored away in her head, important matters that refused to be ignored. Elizabeth's grin disappeared altogether when she considered the situation. "John..."

John's grin fell from his face. Don't his eyes seemed to plead, but she couldn't think of anything to reassure him. She met his gaze, hoping her eyes showed him everything she felt right now.

He nodded slowly, pulling his faze away from hers and staring out into the night.

Elizabeth closed her eyes. No words had been spoken, but she knew they were both thinking about the same thing. This unexpected turn of events had surprised them both, and the idea of their feelings being mutual was wonderful, but that still didn't change the positions they were in. She was his boss, and even though they hadn't had a proper talk about their feelings yet, they could never act on them. Their jobs prevented them from doing so.

It was frustrating and, most of all, it wasn't fair.

"I could quit."

Elizabeth gasped. "You don't mean that."

John was still looking out the windshield. He didn't say anything, but his defeated posture told her enough.

She lightly touched his shoulder. John immediately leaned into the touch, and they sat there for a while, staring out into the dark.

Never in her life had Elizabeth experienced a moment that was so bittersweet. And never had she even come close to experiencing something with someone so special.

TBC...