Promises Made, Epilogue

Major John Sheppard tightens his tie and brushes some lint off the front of his jacket. He double checks in the mirror to make sure that the oak leaves on his shoulders and ribbons on his chest are straight before leaving his quarters. This is definitely one thing on the required packing list that he never thought he'd use, but the Teynes had insisted on a formal celebration to mark their reunification.

It's been a little over two months since the first peace talks.The weeks since the end of the formal negotiations have been spent assessing the damage caused by the civil war and determining where Atlantis can provide help. It has become increasingly apparent that the Teynes will not be a strong ally in the fight against the Wraith – they have to focus on protecting themselves first. Luckily, the farms that survived the civil war can still yield enough fresh food to feed the Teynes and provide ample amounts to Atlantis.

Overall, not a bad outcome. Atlantis now has a constant source of fresh food to supplement the replicators until the Athosian crops are ready for their first harvest. And while they haven't increased their military strength, everyone agrees that it's good to have friends in this galaxy.

John doesn't like to dwell too much on what this mission could have cost them. Elizabeth has relived that enough times for both of them.

The nightmares didn't start right away. The first night in the ruins, she slept peacefully, curled up in John's arms as they got what little amount of rest they had time for. The next few nights in Atlantis were spent in anesthetized numbness. Turns out Elizabeth had a slight fracture in her cheek bone and Beckett didn't think she would get any sleep otherwise.

When the dreams did come, they were painfully real. Elizabeth is in the clearing again, but it's Karna who fires, not Ralen. The dreams are all variations on the same theme. In some, she can feel every bullet as Karna continues to fire round after round into her. In others, she watches as the bullet slowly leaves the barrel of the gun, moving inexorably towards her, and she can't move to save her own life. But the worst of Elizabeth's nightmares is her falling to the ground with her eyes open. She sees John run into the clearing and Karna turn to fire. In her imagination, John isn't wearing a vest and she knows that Karna's shot is a fatal one.

Even on the first night the dreams began, Elizabeth comes awake to find John sitting on the edge of her bed. His arms wrap around her trembling body and he reassures her that everything is okay. She tells him, in a shaky, tear-filled voice, about the nightmare she's reliving while he calmly reminds her how none of it happened. That she's alive and he's alive and Karna can't hurt them anymore.

Eventually, he tells her about his own version of the dream, but his are all the same. In every one, it's her dead body on the ground. Her blood he's brushing away from her face. Her eyes that are open and empty, staring up at him as he hears Karna's cruel laughter. John comes awake with a gut-wrenching fear that his dream is reality and what he thinks is real is just a delusion. The fear doesn't leave him until he sees Elizabeth again. Which is why he's always there when she wakes from her own nightmare.

They fall back asleep in each other's arms. The bad dreams kept at bay by the heart beating next to their own. In the mornings, Elizabeth always wakes alone, but the still warm sheets next to her are a reminder that John was not a dream. Both of their nightmares have faded over time and neither one mentions the loneliness that fills the empty spot next to them in bed.

John is pulled out of his dreary thoughts when he stumbles onto Dr. Beckett and McKay standing in the hallway. Their quarters are in another wing, so he isn't expecting to see them in this corridor. Both men are wearing formal suits and are arguing, which is normal except for the suits.

"I still think we should make it two out of three."

"Aw, come on, we already decided on a single toss."

"Fine. You toss, I call."

"Okay...here goes."

"Wait! Are you going to catch and flip it or let it hit the ground?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Of course it matters. I don't know if I trust you not to try and flip it to go your way."

"Carson, your belief that I can catch a spinning piece of metal in mid-air and know exactly how to flip it in the right direction astounds me."

"What are you two doing?" The way the two men spin around guiltily has Sheppard immediately on guard.

"Major Sheppard. We thought you'd be in the gateroom by now." McKay looks over and notices the dress blues. Damn. He's never going to compete against a bunch of military dress uniforms.

"Good evening Major. You're looking quite dapper this evening."

"Thanks doc. Looking pretty spiffy yourself." Sheppard looks over at McKay. "Guess that goes for you too."

"Thanks." McKay's voice is dripping with sarcasm and Sheppard grins.

"So you mind telling me what you're doing here?"

"What? We can't just be holding a conversation in the hallway?" McKay couldn't sound innocent to save his life.

"When that hallway is nowhere near the gateroom or your quarters? No, you can't."

Sheppard stares them down until the two start explaining.

"Well we thought that-" starts Beckett.

"Since both the High Minister and Grand Commander have wives going to the celebration," interjects McKay.

"That Dr. Weir should also have an escort."

"Oh really?" John wishes he'd thought of that.

"Yes," Beckett replies. "She agreed."

"Did she now?"

"Well she didn't seem opposed to it when we mentioned it the other day," says McKay.

"So you thought you'd take it upon yourselves to escort her?"

"Yes," responds Beckett.

"Both of you?"

"That's what we were trying to decide..." Beckett is starting to look a little guilty and trails off.

"You weren't." Sheppard turn to McKay who gulps.

"It's really the only fair way."

"You were going to flip a coin for Dr. Weir?!"

"Yes?"

"No."

"No?"

"No." The two men don't argue with that particular look on Sheppard's face.

"So we're gonna...?" asks Beckett.

"Go to the gateroom before I decide Dr. Weir needs to know about this."

"Right! Let's go Rodney."

"I knew that wasn't going to work," mutters McKay as they walk away.

"Why didn't you say so then?"

"Well, I..."

Their bickering voices fade away as Sheppard walks to Elizabeth's quarters. He knocks on the door and it slides open almost immediately. Elizabeth is standing in the doorway with a surprised smile on her face and he's left a little speechless.

Elizabeth is wearing a strapless evening gown in deep blue. It hugs her figure and then flairs out a little just past her knees. The dress is simple, yet elegant – he thinks it suits her perfectly. She's managed to pull her short hair back with only a few curls framing her face. A single strand of pearls accentuates her slender neck.

"You look...amazing."

Elizabeth blushes a little, but doesn't turn away from his appreciative gaze. She reaches out to straighten his tie, liking a reason to step closer, and brushes a finger over his various ribbons.

"You're looking very handsome yourself, Major."

"You know what they say about women liking men in uniform."

"Oh I'm sure you'll have all the women swooning tonight." Elizabeth steps back into her room and motions for him to follow. "I just have to put my earrings on and I'll be ready to go."

She walks over to the mirror over her dresser and starts to put on matching pearl earrings. He finds something incredibly sexy and intimate about watching as she tilts her head and slides the earrings into place.

"Actually, there was only one woman in particular I was hoping to impress and she's in here, not out there."

Elizabeth's eyes come up in surprise to meet John's in the mirror. They don't normally do this. They tease and flirt, but they don't imply it goes any deeper than that. He walks over to stand directly behind her.

"You're not quite zipped up."

Before Elizabeth can react, John deftly zips the last inch on the back of her dress. He feels her shiver as he runs his hands lightly up her bare back and shoulders, then down the length of her arms. Their eyes are still locked together as they look at their reflections.

John gives a small tug on one of her hands and she turns to face him. He brushes his knuckles against her cheek, knowing that Elizabeth will smile at the familiar movement. There's still a hint of the large bruise that once marred her face, a reminder that he almost lost her – again.

"You know," John says softly. "We're going to need to stop almost dying or getting killed. Everyone is starting to think we're jinxed."

"I will if you will," she responds just as softly.

John's hand moves slowly from her cheek to cup the back of her neck, careful not to mess up her hair. He dips his head closer to hers. Their lips are only an inch apart when he suddenly stops and pulls back.

"I want you to know...before we do this...there'll be no going back...this means...you mean...so much more...um..." John knows he's rambling, but he can't stop. He should have just kissed her. Talking always gets him into trouble. But this is important to him. She's important to him.

"John." Elizabeth is smiling. She's more than a little flattered that the idea of kissing her for the first time has reduced the normally cocky pilot into a rambling teenager. She half expects him to say that he like likes her. "I know all that already. Just shut up and kiss me."

They are both smiling when their lips touch for the first time. The first kiss is soft, tender. The second is exploratory. The third has heat behind it and Elizabeth realizes that doing this now, in her quarters, with a closed door and about fifty Atlantis team members waiting for them in the gate, not to mention another hundred or so Teynes on the other side, is a bad idea.

Elizabeth starts to pull back, but John follows and she almost loses herself in the fourth kiss. She realizes that this flyboy does have every reason to be cocky – not that she'd ever tell him that. John looks confused and a little hurt when she finally succeeds in pulling away. Elizabeth smiles and places her hand against his chest to soften the distance she's put between them.

"There are about 150 people waiting for us."

"Mmm...yeah, forgot about that."

"Apparently. And besides, I think we should take it a little slower than where that last kiss was taking us."

"Slow. Yeah. That's probably a good idea."

Elizabeth is pretty sure John doesn't really agree because he's staring at her lips and has one hand caressing the nape of her neck while the one on her hip is pulling her closer against him. John catches a sensitive spot where her neck meets her shoulder, making her shiver and him smile. She takes a full step back and he drops his arms with a sigh. Elizabeth straightens her dress and puts on a stern face.

"We should go."

"Okay, but I think you need to fix your lipstick."

"And you should probably wipe yours off."

John looks up at the mirror and, sure enough, his lips are a pretty shade of crimson. Elizabeth laughs and hands him a tissue. He wipes the lipstick off his lips while she reapplies hers. John offers Elizabeth his arm as they leave her quarters.

"May I escort you to the celebration, Dr. Weir?"

She places her hand in the crook of his elbow.

"Why, I'd be honored, Major Sheppard."

They walk out of her quarters to an uncertain future that suddenly looks much brighter.

The End.


Yes, I've jumped completely AU with this storyline. Hope you readers don't mind. Sorry it took so long for the update, but my imagination jumped ahead to the next one and made it hard to focus.

Is it just me that has this desire to see Sheppard in dress blues? O'Neill always looked so yummy in his and I would love to see the Atlantis guys in theirs. I'm such a sucker for a man in dress uniform.

Next up...Dreams Come True