I know I'm flinging these chapters at you but it's because I've got assignments coming up so I was hoping to finish this first. As of the 2nd of June I'll be on holiday so I'll be writing more fics. I should have said in the previous chapter that nursery is I think the round about the same stage as kindergarten in America. I wasn't sure if Americans used that expression so Teyla was basically a kindergarten teacher. But if you knew that then sorry for insulting your intelligence! LOL.

Yup, the bits from season 1 included Suspicion and Hide and Seek.

Chapter 10

Elizabeth smiled as she felt her husband's breath tickle her bare neck and continued drawing circles on the back of his hand. John's arms were protectively wrapped around her naked waist and she had her back to him. She knew he was fast asleep but Elizabeth was too scared to copy him for fear of having weird dreams again. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin their amazing night together.

Glancing at the alarm clock Elizabeth saw it was nearly 8 AM so she gently removed John's hands from her skin and quietly slid out of bed. She giggled when John groaned unconsciously and felt proud of the fact she could do that to him even when he was sound asleep.

Just as she was about to leave the bedroom Elizabeth suddenly found herself staring at a stained glass door that slid open to reveal a dull corridor. Glancing behind her she saw an unusual looking bed in an alien looking room. She immediately recognised it as the quarters she imagined living in on Atlantis.

Feeling the panic rise within her again Elizabeth shook her head violently and left the room. Walking quickly down the dark corridor she kept looking around her with frantic turns of the head before jumping with fright spotting her reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Taking slow steady breaths Elizabeth grasped the rim of the sink and stared at her pale self in the mirror.

"This is real, this is real…" She mumbled quietly and glanced at the shower.

Reaching for the taps she made sure the water was relatively warm before placing her whole body underneath the flowing stream. Keeping her face completely in the water she tried to push away the images of Atlantis that she had tried to assure herself were illusions and only illusions. Her real life was here with John.

Then why do you keep seeing these visions Elizabeth? Why do things feel out of place? Who are you really?

"No, no…" she gasped into the water and then jumped again when she felt a body pressed up against her.

"Morning Liz" John whispered and she turned to see him grinning.

The warm water flowing down her body along with the sight of John with her in the shower was enough to push any nagging thoughts of this reality out of the window again.

And as John captured her wet lips in a passionate kiss Elizabeth wrapped her arms around him and they made love again pressed up against the damp wall.


When the salad was placed in front of Elizabeth she had to hold back the nausea she felt rising to her throat. It was the middle of the afternoon and the couple had just dragged themselves out of bed. Despite feeling completely satisfied Elizabeth was now thinking over the images she had seen and glanced up at John as he drank his coffee. She knew he was extremely happy about last night, having been frustrated for so long without her, and she really didn't want to wreck his good mood.

But she was finding it hard to forget about Atlantis again and knew, having encountered that mist race when they first arrived in the city, the only way to deal with situations like this was to confront them. At first weary that this could be another reality fabricated by the non-corporeal race Elizabeth watched her 'husband' carefully but could not find any flaws.

Sighing sadly Elizabeth pushed her plate away along with the mug of steaming black coffee, which caused John to look up from the newspaper he was reading.

"What?" He asked eyes wide with concern.

"John, what's going on here?" She asked firmly staring straight into his eyes.

A look of confusion spread across his face. "Huh?"

Elizabeth looked down at the table and then back up. She knew he was going to act hurt once this conversation started but she couldn't allow that to stop her from obtaining answers.

"I keep seeing images of Atlantis." As John's mouth opened to respond Elizabeth jumped in first. "I know it's meant to be a delusion but I'm beginning to doubt that. Who are you really?"

John also pushed away his plate and mug. "Liz, it's me – John. Your husband. I'm not some alien or evil man trying to kill you. Atlantis does not exist, I do."

Staring at him for a few minutes Elizabeth saw the hurt and frustration flashing in his eyes but was not going to buy it. Just as she was about to respond John stood up and came round to kneel beside her chair.

"Liz, I know this has been hard for you." He admitted placing a hand over hers. "But surely last night was proof enough of my love for you and how real this reality is."

Elizabeth gazed at him for a minute and then slowly nodded her head in acceptance. Leaning forward to kiss him she savoured the feel of his lips and silently prayed the images would stop coming to her.

"Why don't we go out for dinner?" He asked his eyes displaying a look of anticipation. "Just the two of us? Then we could take a stroll and look at the stars, huh?"

Laughing at his childlike expression Elizabeth kissed him firmly on the lips as a way of confirmation. "Sounds like a date!"


Holding each other's hands tightly John and Elizabeth strolled along the quiet local park admiring the bright sky. It was clear of clouds allowing the stars to shine brightly and Elizabeth couldn't take her eyes off of them. After walking a fair distance John pulled her off the cement path to a grassy opening and both sat down.

They had just had a delicious Italian meal and the couple had welcomed the fresh air. Glancing around seeing other couples and families exploring the park Elizabeth was reminded of being on holiday and was amazed at how warm and content she actually felt.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw John fall back so he was lying down and laughing she mimicked him. Heads and arms slightly touching they both gazed at the sky.

"You know I've never been good a naming the stars or constellations." He noted and pointed up to a group. "What's that called again?"

Elizabeth turned to stare at him in disbelief. "You don't know that one? Orion's Belt?"

"Right!" John exclaimed and rolled his eyes. "Hey, it's been a while since I've watched the sky!"

Elizabeth laughed at his poor attempt for an excuse but then let it die away when she realised what he had just said. John was a smart man. A very smart man. And having been in the air force as a fighter pilot or flying Black Hawks surely he knew more than that about the sky? The uneasy feeling had returned and it wouldn't budge, especially when he began asking more questions about constellations. For a man who had been trying to convince her alien worlds didn't exist John was sure curious about their own universe.

Ignoring his question about another group of stars Elizabeth sat up and began looking around the park again. It was perfect. Too perfect. One aspect that struck her as odd was the lack of rubbish or bins. There were no sounds of nearby traffic or birds in the trees. Come to think of it there wasn't even a breeze and the trees stood perfectly still. She then noticed too that the other visitors had now strangely disappeared. It was only her and John in this perfect park.

"Liz?" John asked as he sat up beside her and gently grasped her arm.

Unable to look at him Elizabeth picked herself off the ground and began walking away. She was now shaking with fear positive she was not in the correct reality and whimpered when John grabbed her arm and spun her to face him.

"Liz what the hell is wrong with you!" He shouted and she shuddered at the loudness of his voice. When he saw this he relaxed his tight grip and then gently cupped her cheek. "Why don't we go home and enjoy the rest of our evening, huh?"

Seeing the mischievous twinkle in his eyes again it was then Elizabeth realised what his weapon had been all this time. Sex. Whoever this man really was had used her confused feelings for the real John Sheppard to abuse her mind and trust - but why?

Thinking back to whenever she had had a vision John had conviently become touchy feely. The first time, two nights ago, his hands had supposedly wandered during his sleep exciting Elizabeth. Then last night he had returned the wedding rings and then made love to her causing her to wish Atlantis was not real. And then this morning when she had seen her quarters and the city's corridor John had joined her in the shower and again pleasured her into believing this was the real reality. When she had questioned him he had then declared his love again for her and moved on to discuss their evening plans.

Staring horrified at him Elizabeth stepped back and raised her hands waiting to defend herself.

"Stop it!" She cried and glared defiantly at him. "Who the hell are you and why are you doing this?"

At first the he pretended to look offended by the accusation but it soon dissipated and was replaced by a snarl. "Pathetic human! No wonder our kind find it so easy to feed on you! "

Elizabeth tried to hold back the scream as the ugly, terrifying appearance of a Wraith, replaced the handsome exterior of John Sheppard.