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This is it.

She woke up with a start. It had felt so real. So evil. She pushed the covers back and swung her legs out, so they were dangling over the side of the bed. She combed her fingers through her hair. The clock on the wall said it was ten till six.

She had grown accustom to waking up early. The whole time John had been gone she would wake up because the nightmares were so vivid, so life like. She couldn't tell if it was reality or not.

She reached for the cool ground with her naked foot. Warm meeting cold. Tiptoeing to the bathroom, she let out yet another sigh. Turning the faucet to freezing, she dipped her hands into the cool liquid. The water refreshed her senses.

She needed to take a walk.

He hadn't been able to sleep since Cameron left him to rest. Tossing and turning seemed to suite him best at night. Reminding him that he had come so close to never seeing them again – never seeing Elizabeth again. He figured sleep wasn't going to come so he threw off the sheets covering him – they were suffocating anyways – and grabbed a pair of sweats. It was time for some fresh air.

After walking around the base for a while, checking out the different labs – Rodney would have enjoyed them – she finally figured out why sleep wouldn't greet her. Why she still wasn't tired.

It had become routine for her, something she did either every night or every morning, especially since John had gone missing. Watching the sun slowly rise and set always put her at ease.

She made her way up to the elevator. A different guard posted at its entrance.

He nodded in acknowledgement.

"Good morning." She stepped into the elevator, the doors creaking as they closed.

The moment the heavy metal opened, a brisk breeze rushed in. The sky was still dark but off in the distance she could see the light, ready to envelope its surroundings.

She made her way to the chain link fence her and Sam had talked by earlier and sat down.

Only a few more minutes and the sun would grace her with its presence.

The guard at the elevator entrance had let him go, no questions asked. If he had been on Atlantis, it would've been 20 questions from Caldwell.

The familiar ding, letting him know he had made it to ground level, startled him out of his trance like state. He had been thinking about her again. That's all he seemed to be able to do lately. Thinking about their trip back to Atlantis. Thinking. Thinking about how she was doing – how long she might have left before Chaya's gift left her completely. Thinking about spending more time with her and not having to worry about consequences because clearly there weren't any.

As he made his way out the doors and out into the open space before him, he noticed the red shirt that claimed his heart so long ago. Or at least the wearer of the red shirt. It was a good color on her. He wasn't really sure why, but it just fit. He treaded softly so not to disturb her.

She could tell that he was trying to be stealthy, but who was he kidding. She was Elizabeth. And he was John. She always knew when he was behind her.

"Couldn't sleep either?" She turned to look at him.

Man. He had tried, but failed miserably. Sneaking up on her was never easy. "How do you do that?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Do what?"

"You know. In Atlantis on our balcony, no matter how hard I try, you always know I'm behind you. Every single time. And just now, you knew. How do you do that?"

She thought it was funny that he was so baffled by her ability to know when he was around. To be honest, she didn't even really know herself. Their balcony was a different story. She knew that only one person would ever go out there while she was. And that person was John Sheppard. But every other time, she just got the feeling that he had been watching her. Not a creepy feeling, but something deeper. Sort of like he was thinking about her and she could feel that. It had nothing to do with Chaya's gift. It just was a feeling. She always got it when he was around.

"I just do." That seemed to satisfy his curiosity because he didn't ask about it again. Instead he sat next to her on the hard ground.

"Why are you out here?" He looked into her eyes.

"Same reason you are I presume." She smiled and he smiled back.

"The sun."

"It'll greet us in a few minutes."

"You couldn't sleep, could you?" He always seemed to know what she was feeling. Just like she knew when he was hovering.

"No."

"Nightmare?"

She let out a deep sigh. "Yeah." She leaned into him, her head resting against his shoulder.

"Kolya?"

"You always know."

"No, I just know you." He wrapped his arm around her. This was it. This is what it was supposed to be like. "It's okay you know. I'm here. We're alright. Everything's going to be okay. It'll all work out." He knew that she was worried about everything. About Caldwell, about getting home, about the Genii. "I've got you."

"Promise me something."

"What?"

"Never let go."

"I promise."

"Good."

He rested his head on the top of hers, holding her close.

"John?"

"Yes?"

"I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"The whole time all I wanted was for you to come home. I just kept wishing that you were here again. It hurt so much. All I wanted to do was walk into your room and know that you were okay. There were times when I would just sit in my office and wait for you to come waltzing in. Waiting for your smile. But it never happened. I had almost given up." She was crying again. She couldn't believe she still had tears left to shed. It felt like all she had been doing lately was crying. But she couldn't help it. She had come so close to losing him. And now he was back. She was completely happy for the first time in a long time. He was back.

"I'm here now." He said wiping away the fallen tears. "And I'm not going anywhere."

"Good."

Five minutes went by with them just holding each other.

"Elizabeth?"

"Hmm?" Her eyes were closed. She was snuggled up against him.

"I love you."

Her eyes were open now. She moved away so she could look at him. It was her turn to surprise him.

She leaned in, her left hand on his chest; her right hand on the back of his neck to pull him in. She kissed him passionately and lovingly. A kiss that topped every other kiss. A kiss that would have turned heads. And then it was over. They were breathing heavily now. He was looking deep into her autumn eyes. "I love you too. More than you know."

They sat there for another hour. The sun rose just like it does every other day. The walked back inside just like they used to. Only now they weren't in Atlantis. They were in the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. But they weren't gong to be for long. Because as soon as they exited the elevator, Daniel was waiting for them. It looked like he had been running. Out of breath he told them the good news. Caldwell was no longer aloud to step in like he had without strict orders from Landry or the President. Elizabeth and John were free of all and any charges that might have been brought up against them. And the best news was yet to come.

"The President would like to tell you this part for himself. He's on hold in Landry's office."

"Wait. You're telling me the President's on hold for us?"

"Yes, that's what I said."

"Can we do that? Put the President on hold I mean."

"Do you want him to wait any longer than he has too?"

"Oh, right."

They hurried off to Landry's.

He picked up the phone. "This is Colonel Sheppard speaking. Yes sir. Yes ... of course sir," A smile made its way across his face. "Thank you Mr. President. Yeah, I'll tell her. Thanks again, alright. Bye." And with that the hung up.

"Tell me what?"

"He said that everything's fine as long as he's invited to the wedding." He laughed at the last part.

"Wedding?"

"Oh right! I didn't tell you?"

"No you didn't."

Cameron stepped in at this point and reached out to give John something. "This was harder to find than I thought it would be."

John accepted it. "Thanks."

"John what's going on?"

"Well, you see before I came out to sit with you, I ran into Landry about two hours before. He told me everything. Caldwell. Atlantis. Us. Everything. And when he told me that it was all fine, that we could have a relationship, I just knew."

"Knew what?"

"Shh. Just wait. I went looking for Mitchell, and told him the good news. Then I sent him on a wild goose chase. Which I will forever be in his debt for."

"John? Wild goose chase for what?"

"For this." He knelt down on one knee, opening his hand to reveal a beautiful ring with two clear crystals on either side of a deep red crystal. "Elizabeth Weir, will you marry me?"

"Oh, John, it's beautiful." She started crying again.

"I'll take that as a yes."

She draped her arms around him. "Of course it's a yes. When did you even have time to ..."

"Remember when Radek and Rodney found that mining cave a while back?"

"Yes."

"Well, it wasn't really useful at the time, but I went back with Rodney and decided to bring some back. It was going to be your birthday present, but ... well I sent it back to Earth to have it set. Last night I realized that when we go back to Atlantis, I don't want to hide my feelings for you anymore. I want everyone in Atlantis to know that I John Shepard love you Elizabeth Weir."

"In that case," And with that they were both in the gate room, them and SG1 and Landry included. The gate came to life – the destination Atlantis.

"Let's go home." With the last of her abilities gone, they turned to wave goodbye. These people meant a lot to the both of them. They would forever be in debt to them all.

"We'll write."

"We all expect an invitation." Mitchell was happy that things worked out the way they did. There weren't two people who deserved each other more.

"You'll get one." Then they were gone. Just as easily as they had came.

They exited on the other side. Rodney and Carson running down the stairs to greet them.

Elizabeth looked up at John He kissed her on the top of her head. Then he leaned in and whispered into her ear.

"We're home."

That's it guys, thanks for all the reviews. You all were very helpful. Hope to hear from you all in the future. Tell me what you thought of the ending. Catch ya later. HeartyJessica