As I felt bad for taking so long to post chapter 8 I thought I'd get this one up too. As always taa for the reviews, always bring a smile to my face (well, unless they totally pan my writing in which case I scowl) but so far you've all been kind to me with this one.

I was watching the episode Home again from season 1 and I'm sorry but they're so setting it up for a John and Liz ship. It then becomes obvious later on in the Storm/Eye. Do you not agree? Sorry, just had to voice my opinion instead of shouting at the TV! (Great, you must all think I'm very mad huh? Lol.)

ErabuHikari: I know I don't normally give much away in my author's notes but there will be no robots I'm afraid, LOL. Or will there? Hmmmm…

johnliz4ever: Thank you so much for the review and saying such nice things about my descriptions. I actually have a picture of a sunrise like that in my head which is where my inspiration came from. Don't worry I used 'unmistakingly' and I'm not sure it's a word either!

Chapter 9

Elizabeth took another gulp of coffee and glanced at the paper in front of her. She had been up since the nightmare and once recovered from the experience by the window decided to give upon sleep and explore the house. But not before John had become very touchy during his sleep and Elizabeth had to fight the urge to wake him up and satisfy them both.

After roaming the hall and ransacking each room she had finally noticed it was almost 8 and that John would be awake soon. Not wanting to freak him out again she had made her way to the kitchen and made coffee and breakfast.

Placing the mug back on the table Elizabeth continued to read the fascinating article about space anomalies but was distracted by the thumping coming down the stairs. The door burst open and her husband walked in with a bright and cheery face.

"Good morning!" He almost sang and gave her a peck on the cheek. Seeing his breakfast and cup of coffee sitting out for him he grinned. "You made me breakfast? Thanks!"

Sitting down at the other end of the table he began to munch on his toast and watched Elizabeth. "Whatcha reading?"

"Just stuff about space." Elizabeth told him and then closed the paper to show how unimportant it was.

"Space huh? It's a big place and that was pretty vague." John stated and Elizabeth shrugged it off. "Okay. Did you sleep better after you woke up?"

The concern was back in his eyes and she became worried he would see just how tired she was from lack of sleep. "Yeah, until someone's hands began roaming." She said with a smirk and he smiled guiltily.

"Sorry. Still haven't grown out of that." He admitted but she knew he didn't want to. "So, looking forward to dinner tonight?"

"Yeah. I was meaning to ask you, are they married?"

"Yeah, for almost a year now. You uh, missed the wedding." He told her adverting his eyes for only a second. "They've been great neighbours."

There was an awkward silence, which Elizabeth decided to break. "How long do you have off? I don't want to keep you away from the job too long."

"Oh I've got till next week. Don't worry. They know I need this time with you."

Elizabeth shot him a grateful smile. "Good. So, what do you have in store for me today?"

At this question John stood up and walked round beside her. Standing up so he could hold her Elizabeth slipped her arms around his waist.

"I thought we could go into town for a while, maybe pop in to see Rodney."

"Right, it's Saturday!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "We could have lunch with him!"

John smiled at her excitement. "Sure. Why don't you get dressed and I'll phone him?"

Elizabeth had forgotten she was still in her pyjamas and blushed. He's my husband for god's sake! He's seen me naked!

"I'll grab a quick shower first." She told him and then reluctantly left him to go upstairs.


"Oh please! Ice hockey is way better than football John!"

"Rodney, you don't even like the damn sport!"

"That's not the point!"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes as they continued arguing over the petty subject and sipped her glass of orange juice. They had just had a lovely lunch in the local café in town then John had to bring up the latest American football match. The conversation had then rapidly declined into a battle between the American and Canadian sports.

"What about baseball?" She asked in the hopes of joining in but was met by two 'are you kidding?' look so kept quiet.

"Football is more manly" John stated.

"Right and I suppose large guys with massive wooden sticks are just girly huh?" Rodney shot back.

"Football players bash into one another. Now that's brutal!"

"Hockey players bang into walls!"

"Balls cause some nasty damage if thrown in the wrong direction!"

"Oh and pucks are just delightful to hit with!"

John opened his mouth to respond but couldn't think of anything else to say. Both men glared at each other then John finally decided to take the high road.

"Didn't' your little sister ice skate?"

"That's…that-" Rodney stuttered and then bowed his head as if to surrender and John let out a whoop.

"Wow. That was…stimulating!" Elizabeth muttered sarcastically. "You know I really think I learned something here today."

John smiled apologetically and Rodney scowled at her. "Nice to see you've got your sense of humour back Liz!"

"Thank you Rodney." She said and John laughed.

Despite the pathetic discussion that had just taken place the afternoon had been quite relaxing being with her husband and best friend. Although they had trouble seeing eye to eye they both seemed to genuinely care for Elizabeth and she appreciated them both being there. Now she was looking forward to tonight's meal with Aiden and Teyla.


John whistled as he stirred the chicken sizzling in the roasting pan and Elizabeth watched him from the doorway. He was wearing a black long sleeved shirt with the top two buttons undone along with another pair of dark jeans. He looked hot she decided and realised this man seemed to turn her on more than Simon ever did. Or at least I imagined he did she thought a bit confused.

After another few minutes of silent observing John noticed her standing in the doorway and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey." He said and then sat the spatula on the worktop. Elizabeth walked forward taking in the mouth-watering aroma filling the kitchen and saw John look her up and down.

Searching through her closet Elizabeth had found she owned many different outfits and decided to go for a dark brown halter neck and a fitted black skirt with black sandals. She watched John take in her appearance and then run a hand through his hair that was slightly less wild than normal.

"You look, wow!" Was all he could say and she grinned shyly at him. "It's been a while since I've seen you in something like that."

Elizabeth slowly walked up to him and placed her arms around his neck. "Well maybe tonight you'll see a little bit more after our guests leave." She suggested in a silky voice to which he raised both eyebrows in surprise.

"Really?" He asked and she kissed him gently so answer him. "You know I could phone and cancel dinner-"

Elizabeth giggled and pulled away. "Oh no! I want to see Aiden and Teyla. You'll just have to wait."

John groaned and then both jumped when the pan hissed loudly. "Whoops! Nearly burnt dinner!" He joked and Elizabeth picked up the wine glasses and went to set them on the dinning room table.

Half an hour later the doorbell rang and Elizabeth went to greet their friends. As everyone sat laughing at a story involving John and a potty mouth grandma Elizabeth allowed herself a minute of contentment. For the past hour they had all been enjoying the evening and she had been gently reminded of Teyla and Aiden's lives.

Aiden was in the marines and so spent a lot of time abroad. At the moment he was on holiday and trying to spend as much time with friends and family as he could. Teyla was a nursery teacher and also taught kickboxing in her spare time. They both had been through some rough times with their families but were deeply in love, which was very apparent. At points during the evening she saw John glance at her and they would share a small smile relishing in the pleasant atmosphere.

Now all three courses were finished John was topping up the wine and Aiden was explaining how he managed to get knocked out during a paintball match with some friends including John.

"I'm running as fast as I can from Stackhouse, John's trying to cover me when I dive out of the way and…" Aiden trailed evidently embarrassed by the events when John finished for him.

"And he banged his head!" He blurts out and everyone burst into laughter. "Most of us have bruises or cuts from the pellets but Aiden manages to sustain the most critical injury by showing off!"

Just as Aiden began protesting at John's last remark Elizabeth suddenly felt dizzy and suddenly she was in a darker room sitting at an unusual table across from Teyla, Aiden and John. They were still talking away but she couldn't hear what they were saying and noticed they were wearing different outfits. All three were wearing the Atlantis jackets Elizabeth had written and had memories about.

Staring at John she suddenly became aware of a voice calling to her and noticed it was he who was speaking to her.

"Liz? Liz? Are you okay?"

Shaking her head Elizabeth saw she was back in the brightly lit dinning room and the other three were watching her with concerned faces.

"Yeah. I'm fine. " She uttered and then stood up. "Sorry, too much wine probably. I'm just going to the bathroom. Excuse me."

As she left the room she could feel their watchful eyes follow her and immediately splashed her face with cold water when she was in the bathroom. Gazing worryingly at her reflection in the mirror Elizabeth scolded herself for ruining a lovely evening. Wait a minute; it's not completely ruined. She realised it was just a stupid illusion! And as she left the bathroom she was determined to have a normal evening.


The rest of the night went by fine and as the couple said goodnight to their neighbours Elizabeth let out a happy sigh while kicking off her sandals. Going back into the dinning room John grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Of course I am, why?" She asked innocently not attempting to hide her tipsiness.

"I just thought you were acting a bit odd earlier, you know during that a paintball story?" He prodded gazing at her with apprehensive eyes.

"Oh, I'm fine. "Elizabeth assured him. "I was just feeling the effects of the wine. It's been a while since I've had that much to drink!"

John laughed at her as she pointed accusingly at him. "Yeah it was part of my elaborate scheme to take advantage of you!"

"I thought so!" She said narrowing her eyes playfully and then kissed him forcefully. Expecting him to respond as such Elizabeth was surprised when he pulled away. "What? Do you want to tidy up first?"

John shook his head. "No. I have something to give you. Come upstairs."

As he led them to their bedroom she frowned as he opened the top drawer of his bedside cabinet and took out a small jewellery box.

It took Elizabeth a minute to realise what exactly was in the box and she gasped slightly when it came to her. Walking up to her John sighed.

"I was going to wait until I brought this up in case things didn't go well and I know you've only been home two days…but I feel like things are finally back on track."

Elizabeth smiled seeing his nervous expression. "I feel the same way."

His smile was one of relief and he took a deep breath before carrying on. "When I…lost you, I kept this hoping one day I would put it back on you finger. Now…" He opened the box to reveal a sparkling diamond engagement ring and a silver wedding band. She recognised them immediately and looked up to see John gazing lovingly at her. Smiling back she stifled a giggle as he knelt on one knee and gently took her left hand.

"Elizabeth, will you do me the honour of wearing these rings again?" He asked in a hopeful voice and Elizabeth honestly thought she was going to cry.

"Yes." She whispered and bit her lip as he slid both rings onto her fourth finger.

Trying to push back the tears Elizabeth pulled him back up and hugged him tightly. She knew he was fighting the tears as well by his ragged breaths and they stood in the embrace for several peaceful minutes.

Having used this time to compose themselves both pulled back to look intently at each other. John leant in first giving her a tender kiss which she matched. The loving kiss soon became more heated and John's hands began to roam over her bare back as hers ruffled his hair. As his hands made their way down to the bottom of her back he gently pushed her against the wall and Elizabeth gasped when he moved his mouth to her neck.

The moment was becoming more passionate and Elizabeth shivered at John undid her skirt and let it fall to the ground. She then responded by unbuttoning his shirt as he continued kissing her and took great delight in feeling his own bare skin once the shirt had been disposed of. Not wanting to stop there she proceeded to undo his belt and let John get rid of the rest while he teased her neck with light kisses.

John then grabbed her waist and began pulling her back to the bed and as he sat down Elizabeth practically straddled him. He used this opportunity to release the tie on her halter neck and Elizabeth undid the bottom button while he removed her strapless bra.

Pausing for a moment John looked at Elizabeth while cupping her face both breathing heavy. "I love you." He told her and she smiled back.

"I love you too."

Their declaration was then sealed with another breath taking kiss and Elizabeth pushed John back so he was on his back. After a minute of teasing him he then flipped her so he was above her and began trailing kisses down her body.

Elizabeth closed her eyes and groaned in ecstasy feeling John move down her body, knowing this was one experience she wanted to be real.

A/N: Aaah! I just wrote a kinda raunchy scene! Or was it pathetic? Let me know please. Also I dropped in a few spoilers from season 1, did you pick up on them?