Thanks again for the reviews although I don't think I'm getting as many as before. But hey, at least I know some are enjoying this. I'm really enjoying writing it (hence them being posted so quick). Especially this chapter even though it is very long. Also, never been to Washington DC so I saw this picture of the Lake Roosevelt and thought it looked nice. Sorry if anything is inaccurate!
Jenn R: Don't worry I was going to explain how she ended up there. This chapter is going to be a lot longer than the rest.
johnliz4ever: Here it is so your knees won't get too sore! LOL.
Ashkash: As always thanks for the long review. We'll hear about Teyla later on, promise! Dr Who fan too? We are definitely on the same wavelengths! LOL.
TubaPrincess: Well done for the good guess about them being married.
Chapter 6
Elizabeth was lost for words. John Sheppard stood before her claiming they were married and she could not think of anything at all to say. Married? We're married? Speak Elizabeth, speak damn it!
"Uh, we…" Elizabeth stuttered but nothing coherent came out.
John looked away and then back to her. "You really couldn't remember, huh?"
Elizabeth mutely shook her head and John let out a sigh. Glancing around the room he nodded and sat down against the wall next to the door. Elizabeth snapped out of her daze and sat against the opposite wall and the two waited for the other to speak. Realising she had not said anything half decent since he told her Elizabeth decided it was her turn.
"Um, how long?" It was a lame question but it was the best she could do.
"Uh, how long we've been married or…?"
Elizabeth shrugged. "Tell me everything." When John opened his mouth to protest she held up her hand. "Please, I need to know."
John nodded again and then took a minute before he began. During this minute it became apparent to Elizabeth that this was going to be very difficult for him.
"Well, we met four years ago. We had both been invited to a formal dinner hosted by the president for our roles in Afghanistan."
"You're in the air force?" she asked.
"I was. I'm now in the local police force." When Elizabeth raised an eyebrow he explained further. "I wanted to be, uh, closer to you." She smiled understandingly with a hint of regret. He had given up his career for her, and she couldn't even remember their life together.
"So, once I'd been at the party for a decent amount of time I left."
"You hate formal gatherings," Elizabeth noted and he smiled. "I at least know that about you."
"Yeah, once the president left I made my exit too. But, it seemed I wasn't the only one." He smirked as he said this. "I went to hail a cab and there you were waiting as well. While we waited we sort of struck up a conversation and moaned about how we hated these formal dinners. I then suggested we get coffee and, that was that."
None of the events sounded familiar to Elizabeth, but then again, she had been to many formal dinners in DC and hated most of them. She often found them boring and if she had met John at one of these it certainly would have brightened up the evening.
"I guess you don't remember that, huh?" John said sadly.
"No, I'm sorry. In my memories we met in Antarctica and, even though we got along, we still had trust issues. To me you're a really good friend John." She neglected to add her secret desire to be more than just that.
"Yeah, and according to your other world you're still with Simon." When Elizabeth frowned he elaborated. "You're ex-boyfriend. He caused a big fuss when we got engaged." A flash of anger appeared in his eyes but his voice remained calm.
"But, I'm guessing everything worked out okay in the end." Elizabeth suggested and he nodded with a smile. "What?"
"Nothing, I was just uh, remembering the night I proposed to you." As he said it a faraway look came over him and Elizabeth wished she could see it too.
Quietly she said, "Tell me about it."
Gazing at her Elizabeth could see the love in his eyes and her heart skipped a beat. Suddenly she wanted nothing more than for this reality to be real.
"Well, we had been living together in DC for almost a year. So, July 11th we had dinner and then I took you to the Lake Roosevelt Park."
Elizabeth smiled hearing the park's name. It was her favourite place in DC and could picture the lake at sunset. It really was beautiful to see. "I love that park"
"I know. We watched the sunset and then…well, I proposed. Oh, and you said yes." He added and Elizabeth laughed. "We sat for hours and looked at the stars. I guess your fascination for them carried on into…that other world."
Elizabeth close her eyes and thought over the story he had just told her. Biting her lip she whispered, "I can see it." Opening her eyes again she saw John gazing at her longingly. "So, we got married" she stated hoping he would carry on.
"Yeah, we had our honeymoon in Hawaii." As soon as he said that Elizabeth closed her eyes and was flooded by visions.
FLASHBACK
As the hotel room door swung open John carried his new wife over the threshold and she giggled. Seeing the room she gasped and lifted her head to look at her husband.
"It's beautiful!" She exclaimed.
John nodded and kissed her gently on the lips. Setting her down on the floor Elizabeth kissed him back but they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Uh, sorry. Here are you bags sir."
John nodded and turned back to Elizabeth. "Give me a minute okay?" He walked back to the door and she looked around the room. There was a massive king size double bed with cream covers and a modern couch opposite it. Walking by the bed Elizabeth pulled back the curtains, which revealed French patio doors, and she opened them.
She was met by a gentle breeze and an astonishing view. Gasping she walked out onto the balcony and stood in awe of it's view. She could see the blue ocean with a touch of green in it and clear blue sky that stretched for miles.
Suddenly a pair of hands had slipped around her waist and John's chin rested on her shoulder.
"How amazing is this John?" Elizabeth murmured and she could feel him smile.
"Very. But not as amazing as you." He kissed her lightly on the cheek and Elizabeth spun and kissed him fully on the lips.
The kiss soon became more passionate and John began leading Elizabeth to the bed. As they moved, almost in perfect harmony, they began pulling off the few clothes they had on while still kissing lovingly.
And that night they made love for the first time as a married couple.
END FLASHBACK
Elizabeth's eyes flung opened and took a shaky breath.
"I…I remember it!" She exclaimed and John cocked his head to the side.
"Really?" He asked astonished and both rose to their feet. They smiled at each other excitingly and John walked up to her. "You really can remember that night?"
"Yes, the view was spectacular." She said and then grinned cheekily. "We stayed up all night."
John grinned back and Elizabeth could see the tears in his eyes. This must have been so hard for him she realised and wanted to know where it all went wrong.
"So, what happened? How did I end up here?"
The happiness fell from his face and he moved back slightly. "Um…"
"Please John. I know this hard for you. But I really have no idea what happened." Elizabeth pleaded. He sighed and nodded but remained a safe distance away.
"We had only been married for 5 months when you were asked to go back to Afghanistan and something happened. I'm not sure because it was classified and you didn't want to talk about it. There was some mention of a hostage situation but I never discovered what really happened. When you returned you were distant, " He choked out the last part and Elizabeth grabbed his hand. Looking up startled at the intimate act and he squeezed her hand.
"Please, what happened?"
"I honestly don't know. After we were married everything was perfect. Sure we had our ups and downs but what new couple doesn't? But when you came back we began arguing more. It was like you didn't want to be around me and then you became mad when I had to leave for the air force.
We wouldn't even sleep together some nights, you slept in the guestroom. I even tried suggesting you get some professional help but it just made you angrier. Sometimes I caught you writing in one of those journals and when I asked you about it you started babbling about people and other planets. It was as if you were somewhere else. Then, one night, you came to me and…you know."
Elizabeth stifled a small smile at his childlike expression as if embarrassed saying the word 'sex'. His dark eyes removed any humour she felt and realised something horrible happened. "What did I do?" She cautiously asked.
"When you woke up you didn't know who I was. You started screaming and tried to run away from me. Whenever I approached you started yelling at me, at one point you called me…Koyla." He said still struggling to tell her. "When I got too close you began hitting me and then…you got my hand gun and pointed it at me."
Elizabeth let go of his hand and stepped back. How could she have done that? Fighting to keep her breath steady she managed to gasp out, "I didn't, did I?"
His eyes told her everything and she shook her head pushing away the tears. "No, no, I would never hurt you John!"
John sighed fighting his own tears and pulled up his top. And there it was – a scar almost 4cm long on the left side of his chest. "You…you didn't even call for an ambulance. It wasn't until Rodney happened to call round and he saw what had had happened and called 911." He lost the fight and a single tear rolled down his cheek.
Elizabeth's breathing became erratic again and she fell to the floor. The reality of what she'd done was too much to think about. Even in Atlantis she had never fired a gun. John ran a hand through his hair again and leaned against the wall. Both struggled to calm down and finally silence filled the room. Seeing Elizabeth was clearly shaken up by this John carried on with the story reluctantly.
"I was in a coma for almost a month and took me four to recover after I woke up. Rodney had taken care of everything and at first I was furious that they had put you in here. But when I came to see you…you referred to me as Major and then a Lt. Colonel. And, although you still talked to me as if we were friends, you were formal. All you ever talked about were people, half of them I had never heard of, other planets and…about Simon."
His voice hitched at the name and Elizabeth groaned. In this other so-called imaginary world Simon had been her partner. She and John were just two people thrown together by the mission to the Pegasus Galaxy.
"When the Dr Beckett showed me those journals, it seemed as though you'd been living another life. And you cared more about Simon than me."
Elizabeth's head snapped up at that last comment. "No, that's not true! While, yes he is my, I mean was my boyfriend, I still care a great deal for you John. I always have!"
They stared at each other and finally John seemed to accept her explanation. The atmosphere was tense again and neither knew what to do. Watching him carefully, Elizabeth realised what it was John needed and how she was going to get out of this tiny padded cell.
Slowly she rose to her feet and walked up to him. Reaching out Elizabeth gently brushed his cheek with her hand and he grabbed her wrist holding it there.
"John, I'm so…I'm so sorry for what I've done." She told him enjoying feeling his hot skin in her palm. It seemed to ground her and finally she was willing to accept this to be her reality. "But I'm better now. I promise. I just need time to figure things out."
His eyes told her he understood and removed her hand but still held it tightly in his. Cupping her cheek he lowered his head and looked deep into her eyes.
"I love you Liz. I never stopped." He whispered and he gently kissed her on the mouth.
At first Elizabeth was surprised but then realised it felt so natural and let herself kiss him back.
A/N: Long winded I know! Next one might take longer but I'll try my best.
