By the time the movie had finished, John was highly amused to see that Elizabeth had fallen asleep on the couch beside him. "Someone's up past their bedtime," an officer joked, but John motioned them away, not wanting to wake her. He knew how little sleep she got on average.
"You want me to carry her back to her quarters?" Aiden quietly asked him.
"No, I think we should just leave her here."
"There's a briefing in the morning," Grodin told him. "She'll have your head if she sleeps through it." John rolled his eyes.
"I'll get her to the briefing in time."
"Have you ever been on time for anything in your life?" Aiden asked.
"If I was about two feet taller, I wouldn't hesitate to kick your ass," John shot back. "Get outta here before you wake her up." They obliged.
John carefully put Elizabeth's feet up on the couch and then found a blanket and pulled it over her. He was torn between getting some sleep himself in his quarters and not leaving her alone, and finally laid down on another couch to get some rest. The lights in the room automatically dimmed once the sensors no longer detected people moving around.
A few hours later, though, John was pulled awake by the sound of a voice. "No…don't…." he quickly realized it was Elizabeth.
"Wake up," he told her as he shook her shoulder, squinting as the lights came back on. "Elizabeth, wake up, it's just a nightmare." Her eyes finally opened, and she looked around the room wildly.
"Where are we?"
"Just in one of the rec rooms. You fell asleep when we were watching a movie; you're okay." Elizabeth's breathing finally slowed to a normal pace. "That must have been some dream," he told her, noticing she had pulled her knees up under her chin defensively. "Wanna talk about it?" Elizabeth was silent for a long moment.
"I…I don't remember," she finally said. "What time is it? We should get to bed."
"Yeah…I can walk you to your quarters."
"I'll be fine, John. Honest," she added when he looked like he was going to protest. "Good night."
"Night," he replied and watched her go.
Morning briefings were never John's favorite place to be, but there was one bit of news reported that brightened his mood – they'd gotten the gate operational again, and the off-world that had been previously scheduled for that afternoon could transpire as planned.
Well, almost as planned.
"Major Sheppard, where do you think you're going?"
John, standing in the middle of the Gate Room, cringed at the sound that came from the control room. Even as a child, Elizabeth's voice had that certain authoritative quality to it that let him know was about to get it.
"My team's scheduled for an off-world," he replied, gesturing to Teyla and the officers that were standing around him, all ready to go. As Elizabeth descended the staircase and pulled him aside, John was vaguely aware of the fact that everyone else in the room was trying to hide snickers as its two most senior – and two youngest – expedition team members conversed.
"You wave good-bye and then go find something to do," Elizabeth told him. "Did you HONESTLY think I was going to let you through the gate?"
"Why not? You're still running the city."
"From an office! We have no idea what going through the gate would do to you."
"Maybe it'll fix us."
"Or maybe it'll turn you into an infant! Until Rodney has determined exactly what happened, you're off active status, clear?"
"Yes, ma'am." There were a few audible snickers at that – she definitely didn't LOOK like a 'ma'am' at the moment – but Elizabeth ignored them all, turning and heading back upstairs. John took a seat at the bottom of the steps to see his team off.
"Good luck," he heard her call to the team as the gate dialed up. He couldn't help but think that the sight before him was WRONG. He was supposed to be with his team. He was supposed to wave to her when she called down over the balcony. Their normal routine was something that John had taken for granted as of late, but he promised himself he wouldn't do that in the future if – no, WHEN Rodney fixed things.
After two hours, John was bored out of his mind. "Lizzie?" he teasingly asked as he entered her office. "Liz?" She didn't look up from the screen in front of her, and considering her recently-diminished size, he couldn't see her face around it to know if she was even paying any attention to him until,
"Are you trying to speak to me?" Elizabeth dryly asked.
"What, you never had a nickname when you were a kid? Everyone called you Elizabeth your whole life?"
"What do you need, John?" He knew that tone well – it meant he was getting on her last nerve.
"How do you do it?"
"Do what?" Elizabeth asked.
"Sit here and watch and wait while we go off-world? The waiting part is driving me nuts."
"It's part of being in command."
"Well, then I'd really hate to have your job."
"Was that all?" She sounded exhausted, and John instantly felt bad. His intention hadn't been to annoy her; he just wanted someone to talk to that he didn't have to look up at in order to do it.
"Sorry…Is there anything I can do to help you? With your work?"
Elizabeth looked up in surprise, her head poking out from behind her monitor in order to look at him. "Are you serious?"
John shrugged. "Well…yeah."
"Check in with Rodney and see if he's made any progress…and then debrief your team when they get back." John nodded, heading out the door.
"Can do."
"John?" He stopped, turning back.
"Mmm?"
"Thanks." The genuine smile he saw on her face made up for the boredom he was undoubtedly going to have to suffer through with Rodney. She'd been cute as a kid…not that she wasn't beautiful as an adult…
Okay, John, that train of thought stops right here, he scolded himself as he left the office. End-of-the-line, last-run-of-the-night, train stops here. That's Elizabeth – Dr. Weir, and just…no.
Unfortunately, John's visit to Rodney had led the pint-sized scientist to request that the Major be his lab rat for the afternoon. John debriefed his team, and then returned to the science labs as per demand. "Make this quick," he said as he sat on a table.
"It's not like you have anywhere important to be," Rodney shot back.
The fact that he was about to have what was seemingly a child start experimenting on him suddenly popped up in John's mind. "Shouldn't Beckett or someone…you know – of legal age – be baby-sitting you down here?" he asked. Rodney picked up a needle.
"I wouldn't be taunting the person with the sharp objects right now if I were you." John kept his mouth shut while his blood was drawn.
"You were one of those kids that got the crap kicked out of him daily in grade school, huh?" he asked once McKay was finished.
"This coming from one who was undoubtedly doing the pummeling."
"I only gave a kid a swirly once."
"How kind of you," Rodney sarcastically sniped, putting a slide with the blood he'd just drawn under a microscope. John watched him for a moment.
"Anything?" he finally asked.
"I'm not going to waste my time with a scientific analysis you wouldn't understand anyway."
"Thank God for small favors," John muttered. "You drag Elizabeth in here, too?"
"I got blood samples from her in her office."
"Samples? As in plural?"
Rodney rolled his eyes. "Yes, John, that is what an 's' denotes in the English language."
"You're only sticking me once!"
"Relax – Elizabeth's second vial was for Carson."
"Is she sick?"
"I didn't ask. He just said that he'd been trying to get her in for a routine physical and a blood test for weeks with no results, so he wanted my help. If you want answers, why don't you talk to him – or better yet, talk to Elizabeth herself."
"Fine." He started to get up.
"AFTER I'm done with you," Rodney amended.
TBC...
