Author's Note: Another uberly short chapter. Please comment! I am nearing the end!
"I heard you were out here," John said, stepping outside onto the cool balcony. "I thought you were goanna get some rest."
Elizabeth shrugged, somewhat perturbed by the intrusion. "I'm still trying to get used to having the necessity to eat again."
John frowned, stepping up beside her. "Wish I could say I know how you feel…"
Elizabeth chuckled lightly, a comfortable silence falling between them.
"Sam told you she was leaving?"
John, taken by surprise, didn't reply at first.
"She wants me to replace her," Elizabeth went on. "Cleared it with the IOA and everything."
John hesitated. "…Oh…" Another pause. "…Well, that's good. …I guess…." He was being careful not to sound too thrilled, but to sound happy for Elizabeth at the same time. The whole thing came as such a surprise to him, he wasn't sure how he should be expected to react.
Elizabeth chuckled again. "John, please. Drop the act—I know you want to talk her out of it as much as I do."
John considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "No," he said. "Sam must know what she's doing. The reason she came here was for our benefit; she wouldn't just leave unless she knew she'd be leaving us in good hands."
Elizabeth frowned, staring out at the cascading ocean that was so like the one back on Lantea. "But I'm not that person," she said quietly. "Sam is. She was always the person for the job—not me. I just don't have what it takes for a command like this; I never did."
John frowned, watching her with a disapproving glare. "Sam is a great leader," he said matter-of-factly. "She's also a great friend. But she can't replace you, Elizabeth."
Looking out on the ocean, Elizabeth inhaled deeply, the lump in her throat creating a small choking noise as she did so. Sniffing, she suddenly threw her arms around John, tears soaking through the fabric on his chest.
"God, I missed you so much…"
John, taken by surprise, awkwardly hugged her back. No more words were spoken—only Elizabeth's silent tears as they rolled down her cheeks and soaked into John's shirt. They stayed like that for some time before John wrapped his arms fully around her—the awkwardness gone. He had missed her too.
V
"When were you planning on telling us?"
Sam looked around and spotted John leaning in the doorway, his eyes roaming over the sea of boxes and papers in a look of disapproval. Smiling weakly, she placed the sealed box she was carrying carefully on top of her latest stack and leaned back against her desk.
"Thought you'd find out sooner or later," she said with a sigh. "Guessed there was no point in me telling you."
John grinned slightly and stepped inside, his hands folded casually behind his back.
"You're really going through with this, then?"
Sam shrugged. "Like I said—I figure the IOA's already sorting through a new list of candidates. Might as well beat them to it."
"You've had a great year, Sam. Give yourself a little more credit then that."
Sam smiled appreciatively.
"My personal feelings aside," she said, silently thanking John for the compliment. "There's no way the IOA's going to let that last little adventure get past them."
John frowned, letting the subject hang as Sam resumed her packing.
"Besides," she continued after a short silence. "It's not like I could've stayed here indefinitely. I have my own team back home to look after, remember?"
"Right," John agreed unenthusiastically. "Mitchell's probably blown up the SGC by now."
Sam grinned.
"So, when do you leave?"
"Tomorrow," Sam said, carefully stacking her array of photographs into box and sealing it with a roll of tape.
John nodded. "And you really think Elizabeth will be able to resume command?"
"The IOA don't like it—they want Woolsey back, no doubt—but apparently the President's on my side, so that kind of seals the deal."
"At least she's civilian," John said sarcastically, earning an amused smile from Sam.
"Bunch of hypocrites," she muttered, shaking her head. "A civilian's not acting in their best interests and they assign someone military. That doesn't work out, they go back to civilian command."
"Yeah, well… that's the IOA for you."
Sam sighed, and a long silence fell between them.
"You want me to help you with that?" John asked finally, noticing how Sam was looking over the giant stacks with a tired look.
She looked up at him, slightly surprised for a moment, then smiled graciously. "Sure. Thanks."
For the remainder of the time, they packed and stacked and carried boxes, chatting comfortably about anything from Teal'c's changing hair styles to what was being served in the mess hall that day.
By the time it got to be too late and they had run out of things to pack, John realized he's become torn about this whole "Sam leaving" issue. Over the year she'd been in command, the two had become good friends. That, and Sam was one of the most respected commanders he'd ever served under.
At first, he thought he couldn't ask for anything more than to have Elizabeth as commander of Atlantis again; but now, at the same time, he didn't want Sam to leave.
They said their good nights and went their separate ways, John with an empty, twisted feeling in the pit of his stomach.