Pairing: Sparky, with mentions of Teyla/Ronon

Spoilers: This takes place in season 3 after 'McKay and Mrs. Miller' so spoilers up to that point.

Disclaimer: I don't own them, if I did things would be going much differently this season

Summary: Elizabeth discovers just how creative betting is in Atlantis, which leads to some surprising results.

Author's note: Here is the next chapter. Please review!

Chapter 14- Indications

"You'd tell me if anything was going on, right." Rodney asked.

John looked up from his lunch to find Rodney staring at him with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. Elizabeth had a meeting, so they were alone at the table in the dining hall. The fairly early hour of their lunch meant that the dining hall was relatively empty with people scattered lightly throughout the room.

"Huh?" He replied, wondering what Rodney could possibly be referring to.

"You'd tell me if something was going on with you and….ah…..Elizabeth. Wouldn't you?"

John started coughing as he almost inhaled a mouthful of water instead of swallowing it. "Rodney, what in the hell are you talking about?" He managed to get out.

"I've just heard some things…"

"And you decided to bring this up in the middle of the mess hall," John urgently pointed out.

"Oh, nobody can hear us," Rodney replied, casually waving his fork. "You didn't answer my question."

"No, McKay. There is nothing going on between Elizabeth and me. Where did you get such a ridiculous idea?"

"Well, I heard a few things. That's nothing new really, but then I noticed that you guys have been spending a lot of time together. And you've managed to get Elizabeth to movie nights. And there was the thing with the transporter a few days ago."

Wow, Elizabeth and I must be doing a great job if we have Rodney, who is usually oblivious to these kinds of things, thinking something is going on, John thought.

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you," John sighed. "Elizabeth and I are good friends. We've been spending more time together because I'm stuck on Atlantis. I'm also trying to get her to relax a little bit. That's all."

"Okay." Rodney said. He looked like he was going to say something else, but thought better of it and started in on a piece of pie.

"Are you sure Elizabeth knows that's all?" He quietly asked a few minutes later.

John sharply looked up from his jello and noticed Rodney couldn't quite meet his eyes, but rather seemed to be concentrating on swirling the remnants of the apple pie around the plate with his fork.

"What do you mean?"

"All I'm saying is that Elizabeth is one of my oldest and closest friends and I don't want to see her get hurt. So if there is a chance she could be misinterpreting things, then-" Rodney was now looking at him directly in the eye, as if measuring his response.

"Hold on there Rodney." He interrupted. "I would not do that to her. You may have cast me as a Kirk, but I care about Elizabeth too much to see her get hurt too."

There was a pause as Rodney studied him for a minute. "Okay," he nodded. "I believe you."

"Well, I'm glad we cleared that up," John replied a little sarcastically.

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Elizabeth was in her room later that evening trying to read her book, but she couldn't concentrate. Her thoughts kept returning to a certain messy haired Colonel and the scheme he had somehow managed to talk her into 4 weeks ago. Now that they were here at the end she should be relieved that it was over, that she didn't have to mislead her staff (even if they deserved it), didn't have to worry that they were take things too far, but she instead found herself wishing that the end wasn't so near.

She really had enjoyed spending as much time with John as she had recently. He had been one of her closest friends on Atlantis before all of this, but now they were even closer. Mornings at breakfast, afternoons with coffee and evenings spent in each other's company had showed her another side of John Sheppard. She knew about his family, his childhood, and much of the blacked out parts of his file. In the transporter the other day he had even told her about his failed marriage. And he knew her better than anyone here as well. She knew that after the bet she would have to put the professional distance back up between them. They were acting too familiar with each other and it was noticeable. But the thought of drawing back from him, even a little, left her aching in a way. Before her mind could venture much farther down that particular path, however, there was a sound at her door. Getting up off the bed she opened the door to reveal John.

"Hey," She said, a little startled to see the subject of her thoughts at her door. "Come on in."

"You're not going to believe the conversation I had with Rodney today." He said once the door had closed.

"Oh?" She questioned and sat down on the bed, trying to clear her previous thoughts away so that she could concentrate on what John was saying.

"At lunch today he asked me about us." John revealed, clearly amused, as he perched on the corner of her bed.

"Really. If Rodney has noticed.."

"Then we've done a really good job." John finished for her.

"I guess we have." She replied.

"Hey, are you okay? You sound a little distracted." John asked with obvious concern.

"Oh, I'm fine." She reassured him and then decided to say something that was close to the truth. "I was just thinking about the end of the bet. I think we should go for the closet one. The other one is going to be too hard to pull off."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. In hindsight, I don't know how we thought we were going to do that."

"Yeah."

They both lapsed into silence as Elizabeth played with a corner of her comforter, not looking at John sitting next to her. I should just enjoy the time we have left with this and not worry about afterward.

"Elizabeth?" His hand stretched out to still hers where it was unraveling an edge of the blanket and gain her attention.

She looked up to see John's features shaded with a nervous expression. Not really thinking, she laced her fingers through his. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to say…" John paused and his hazel eyes seemed to bore into hers. "I've really had a lot of fun the past month…. And I couldn't have asked for a better partner in crime."

"I feel the same way." She answered quietly. John's eyes seemed to draw her in even further as silence stretched between them again, this time with an added undercurrent. Their hands were still joined, his fingers warm in between hers.

"I should go and let you get some sleep." John said a minute later. He stood up. "It's getting late."

"Yeah," She nodded, a little confused by his sudden departure.

"See you tomorrow morning for breakfast," Elizabeth quietly called out as he made his way to the door.

"Sure."