AN: Hi everybody. I guess this is the chapter you've all been waiting for. Thank you for your patience. Oh, and thanks for the reviews ^_^

Down to Earth

If John was surprised by her love confession, he didn't show it. But the emotion she saw in his eyes was much worse than surprise – it was gratitude.

Elizabeth tried to grasp why John would feel grateful to her, but her mind refused to give her the answer she wanted. She hadn't given him anything, merely thrown his words back at him. Clearly, she was going to have to ask John about it – only now didn't seem like the right time. They'd just confessed to loving each other, and they were going to need to think of a way to make things work between them.

"So…" John drawled, obviously having no intention to say anything that made sense.

Elizabeth cocked her head to the side. "What do we do?"

John was still standing too close to her, and she shivered when he shrugged. The air around them was tingling, not just with movement but with suppressed feelings as well.

"There has to be a way," Elizabeth began, but she stopped short when John made an exasperated sound. "What?"

"Elizabeth, the time you spend thinking on a way to suppress your feelings could also be spent on figuring out a way to be together," he said, eyes boring into hers.

Being here, standing impossibly close to him, made his suggestion make so much sense. If she wanted to clear her head, she would have to leave this room right now.

"Stop running, Elizabeth," he said gently. "If you want to make this work, I promise we will make this work. All you need to do is say yes."

"I…"

Stop running. An image of her father's face appeared in her head, his kind eyes – just the way she remembered them –gently blinking down at her. You wouldn't be able to tell his true age by looking at his face, so youthful it looked. His eyes were sad. "Elizabeth. I wish… there was a way for me to see you live. To watch you be happy." He coughed, and even though she couldn't see them, she knew his shoulders were shaking. It was what they had done when he told her this all these years ago. "Child," he continued in a shaky voice. "Just promise me you will look ahead – see if you've taken the path you wanted to take. Stop running – and make sure you're going in the right direction. Watch what's waiting for you at the end of the road…" He hadn't been able to say anything after that; lungs too busy sucking in much needed air. Three days later, he died.

She had been too busy arranging the funeral and informing friends and loved ones to mourn at the time… and when all that was done, she'd buried herself in her work, never pausing to – to look of what was ahead of her.

Stop running – and see if you're going in the right direction.

Elizabeth stared up at John's face. He was watching her face intently. Maybe he was wondering why there were tears welling up in her eyes. He didn't look offended or disgusted with her small breakdown, instead stepping forward to hesitantly place a hand on her shoulder. When she didn't move away, he wrapped both his arms around her. "It's okay," he mumbled, a bit awkwardly.

Seeing John's face clearer than ever before, even though her sight was troubled by tears, Elizabeth realized that this was where she needed to go. This was the road she needed to follow, if only to see whether it would lead to what she truly wanted – happiness.

She owed that to her father. She owed that to herself.

And in that moment, she knew she'd made her decision. She wanted to be with John. There was nothing complicated about that. It was time she set her fears aside and start living – start being happy.

She hugged John in return, fingers drawing small circles on his lower back. "Yes," she whispered softly. "Yes."

oOo

He didn't ask anything.

For that, Elizabeth was strangely grateful. She knew she was going to explain everything to John, because crying over the exchange of love confessions wasn't a good place to start. But he had given her the opportunity to remain silent – and his trust made her feel special, accepted.

The memory of her father had hit her so sudden that she knew there would have been no suppressing the tears. No one had ever reminded her of her father the way John did a few hours ago.

Add to that the break-up with Simon, the many meetings, the testing of her leadership, the questioning of John's abilities and the question of whether she would ever find a way to be with John – and you had a pretty decent motive to burst into tears.

Elizabeth tried to think of the last time she cried. She couldn't remember.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on John's door. He was inside his quarters, she knew, because he'd told her to visit him the moment she felt up to it.

The door opened, revealing the recently promoted Lt. Colonel to her. He sent her an asking smile, and she sent him a watery one in return. She was ready to talk, ready to explain everything, but she suspected it would take some time before she could pull herself together again.

It wasn't quite the way she'd expected promising John that they would try to persuade a relationship to feel, but then again, things hadn't taken expected turns at all lately. And if this was how it was to be – then so be it.

With a soft thud, the door fell closed behind her.

oOo

"There's still one thing that's bothering me," Elizabeth had to point out, before leaving John's quarters. The door was already open, and she quickly closed it again, for she did not want any base personnel to overhear their conversation.

"What's that?" John asked. He was grinning, something he'd been doing for the last – Elizabeth checked her watch – forty minutes now. He was going to have to watch it, because he must be very close to giving himself a cramped jaw, and she didn't think that would do his kissing abilities any good.

She had just enough time to mentally kick herself before remembering the question she'd been about to ask. "When I told you I loved you, you… seemed almost grateful. I wondered why."

John shook his head, grin still present on his face. "I don't deserve it."

"What?" Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him. If he was going to say he didn't deserve her love, he was in serious trouble.

"Your love." John's grin became even more boyish. "Not in my wildest dreams had I imagined you could actually love… me. You deserve so much better."

She was already shaking her head at him before he was finished with the sentence.

He saw it and laughed. "But I'm far too selfish too step aside. In fact…" He took a step closer to her and Elizabeth's breath caught. How was it that his presence could do that to her? How had she not noticed the effect he had on her during the last twelve months?

Or had she, and had she been unwilling to accept it?

She didn't know, nor did she care. All she knew was John was standing in front of her – feeling the same way she did.

The IOA didn't need to know. The SGC didn't need to know. They'd have to be discrete, yes, but that was something she was good at and… having John by her side would make the trouble of hiding their special bond worthwhile.

Two seconds later, their lips met.

John's mouth was hesitant at first, gently moving against hers, as if asking for permission. She opened her mouth in response, while cupping the back of his head with both hands, drawing him closer. She felt his arms encircle her waist.

Even if aliens invaded the SGC that very second, neither John nor Elizabeth would notice. Both leaders were too caught up in the moment – too busy drinking each other in.

oOo

"Oh, that's just so typical!"

Elizabeth and John exchanged a grin, recognizing the voice before seeing the person the voice belonged to.

John set his mug down on the table. "Morning Rodney."

They were sitting in the Mess, having decided that while the food was objectionable at best, they needed coffee and tea to start the new day. Elizabeth didn't normally eat breakfast, for it took her stomach longer to awake than the rest of her body, but drinking tea was an essential part of her morning ritual.

The scientist came up behind John, stared down over the Lt. Colonel's shoulder and huffed in annoyance. "Of course you would get a cup of coffee while I have to settle for tea." He put – no, threw was a better word for it – his tray down and sat down beside John, sparing Elizabeth a brief glance before digging into his eggs and cheddar cheese.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows at John, who smilingly shook his head.

Rodney raised his head, expression like a kid whose birthday had been cancelled. His mouth was full of egg, but that didn't seem to bother him. "Stop that," he told them, before continuing to chew like his life depended on it.

John raised one eyebrow. "Stop what?" He deliberately took a huge sip. Unlike Rodney, he'd been just in time to get a cup of coffee before the machine was wheeled away to be refilled.

"That thing you two always do," Rodney said, gesturing with his hands as if to indicate what, apparently, they always did. He stuck his fork into his eggs again, stopping short when he saw their impassive faces. "Oh, come on. Are you telling me you don't know?" He shook his head, at the same time sticking his fork into his mouth.

Elizabeth frowned. John shrugged at her.

"There!" Rodney exclaimed, accidentally spitting out a piece of egg that sailed through the air and landed in Elizabeth's tea. Rodney didn't even notice. "You're doing it again." Agitated now, he put down his fork and knife. "Exchanging looks and smiles and all that. Very cute – but I'd rather you not do it at my expanse."

"Exchanging looks and smiles?" John repeated dumbfounded. Elizabeth was just as surprised. Sure, she and John were sometimes able to communicate without talking, but she didn't know it happened so frequently even Rodney had noticed.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Yes. The eye-sex thing. You," he added, jabbing a finger in John's direction, "should give me your coffee. I need it."

"Excuse me?" John said, apparently not having as much trouble with the word 'eye-sex' as Elizabeth. In fact, she had to look away for a moment because she was positive her face was turning red.

Rodney picked up his fork again. "Did you work through the night?"

"No."

"There you go. You don't need coffee. Here, let me-"

"Hey. Keep your hands off my cup, McKay."

"Oh, come on. We're supposed to be friends. Friends share."

"Even if you hadn't kept your entire chocolate stash to yourself, I wouldn't believe you."

"Just – all right, what do you want in return?"

Elizabeth closed her eyes while the boys continued bickering. She stood by her decision to try to persuade a relationship with her second in command, but obviously they were going to have to be very discrete about it. The last thing she needed was for Atlantis personnel to inform General Landry or, even worse, the IOA about the change in relationship between Atlantis' leaders. Last year, it wouldn't have been that big an issue, because they were cut off from Earth. But now that the Daedalus was going to make regular trips to the Ancient city, they would have to be very careful.

"What? No, I will not buy you a model airplane."

"Your loss."

"Major-"

Elizabeth looked up just in time to see John take one big sip, emptying the cup instantly. McKay's open mouth snapped shut and he aggressively jabbed his fork into his food, sending bits of cheese all over the table.

"Rodney, would you watch it," she said, somewhat irritated. "Your eating manners leave a lot to be desired."

All she got in return was a moody grump.

When she and John exchanged another look, she could swear she heard a growl from across the table.

Deciding it was best to leave the scientist to his coffee-free breakfast, Elizabeth came to her feet. "I'm going to Dr. Jackson's lab. Have a nice day you two."

With that, she walked off.

Spending the day with John seemed like a wonderful idea - up until two minutes ago. After Rodney's exclamation, she didn't think she should push it. Waiting until lunch before seeing John again seemed like a manageable task.

She checked her watch. Still three hours to go.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled her hair behind her ears and entered the elevator. It was going to be a long morning.

TBC…

AN: I think it will take one more chapter to wrap this story up. Thanks for reading and please take some time to review. I would really appreciate the gesture.