A/N: Okay I succumbed and wrote another chapter. Don't you guys make this a habit now! All this throwing plot bunnies, that I can't resist, at me...if you keep this up I don't know what will happen. Anyways Thanks for all the nice reviews! You guys are the best!
Anywaysthere is aoriginal character that I mention in this fic and for those who are interested, I introduced the character Deena in one of my other fics which is in relation to the episode "Before ISleep," and my theory on howSheppard found out Weir's birthday. The fic is called "Mums theWord" and that can also be accessed in my profile, since I can't link the site here.
Chapter 4
Elizabeth tossed in her bed and pulled her blanket tighter around herself. She wondered why she was so cold all of a sudden. Then she remembered she was still sitting outside with John on the east pier…
Suddenly Elizabeth's eyes snapped open. She found that she was back in her own comfortable bed. She sat up and tried to shake the sleep from her mind. She looked around her room perplexed and noticed sunlight creep through her window.
Elizabeth thought that getting out of bed would clear up her confusion, and she walked towards her bathroom door. She groggily reached out her hand and opened the door.
"John?" Elizabeth was even more confused now. She blinked several times thinking her eyes were playing tricks on her, but every time she opened her eyes John still stood in front of her. The first thought that crossed her mind was why would John be in her bathroom? Then she realized her mistake. She had opened the door to her room instead of her bathroom.
"Good morning," John said with a chipper voice.
Elizabeth tilted her head to one side and looked at John. "Are you always standing outside my room door?"
John rubbed his hand over his chin. "No," he said looking around, "but right now it looks like I camp outside your room doesn't it?" He furrowed his eyebrows waiting for Elizabeth's reaction.
"Very much," Elizabeth said, still squinting from sleep. She combed her hand through her hair and walked back into her room. John stood at her door, unsure if he should follow or not.
At the sight of her bed, Elizabeth sluggishly staggered towards it and lay down on her side. "Why are you here so early John?" Elizabeth asked in between a yawn.
Taking her question as an invitation, John entered. "Teyla asked me to drive her to the Mainland today. I was wondering if you wanted to come along."
"When were you planning on going?"
"Some time in the afternoon."
"Afternoon…Why are you here asking me this at the crack of dawn?" Elizabeth asked looking at John through the slits of her eyes.
"I wanted to make sure you didn't have any plans for the rest of the day."
Elizabeth yawned again. "I don't know. My days are always full of surprises. Especially when you go off-world."
"Since I'm not going off-world today, there shouldn't be any surprises. So want to come. It's been a while since you've been to the Mainland. Don't you want to visit the Athosians and make sure they are all right? And I think Halling has a thing for you," he said with wink.
Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked at John. "Halling does not have a thing for me," Elizabeth said. "The Athosians just send him to talk to me every time because his statuesque stature is suppose intimidate me. Besides I think it's more likely Jinto has a thing for you."
"Of course he does. I'm his hero," John smiled sheepishly and sat down on the end of Elizabeth's bed. "So are you coming?"
"Ask me after I've had my coffee," Elizabeth said, burying her face in her blanket.
"You know you don't look much like a leader, talking to me when you're lying in bed and cranky," John teased.
"Out," Elizabeth commanded pointing one hand towards the door without looking up.
John chuckled to himself as he got up to leave. "Fine, I'll bother you later."
"Oh joy," Elizabeth muttered into her blanket as the doors to her room closed.
"Are we ready to go?" John asked as soon as he walked into Elizabeth's office.
Elizabeth looked at John blankly. "Go where?"
"To the Mainland. I asked you this morning if you wanted to go, but you told me to ask you again after you had your coffee. Are we ready to go?" he asked again.
Elizabeth gave John a perplexed look. "You're asking me as if I had already agreed to go."
"I figured since all the SG teams are back, and I'm not going off-world and getting into trouble. You can go to the Mainland for a couple hours without the City sinking." John saw that Elizabeth was still unconvinced. "And the other day you said you haven't been to the Mainland in a long time. So let's go. Teyla is waiting for us at the jumper bay," John said. Not waiting for Elizabeth to answer, he walked towards the control room.
Elizabeth reluctantly got up from her desk, said a few words to the technician on duty in the control room, and fell into step with John as they climbed up the stairwell leading to the jumper bay.
"What did I tell you about volunteering people without first asking for their permission?"
"I didn't volunteer you this time. You said you wanted to go, and out of the kindness of my heart, I'm offering you a chance to go. Now stop worrying. You told what's-his-name where you were going. So if anything happens I can get you back in twenty minutes," he assured her. "Besides you're going to be with me all day. What trouble could I get into?" he said.
"John, you have a knack for getting into trouble no matter how much I keep my eye on you."
John gave Elizabeth a boyish grin, headed into the jumper, and took his seat in the pilot seat. Elizabeth followed John and found Teyla in the back compartment putting her bags down.
"Hello Teyla," Elizabeth said.
"Doctor Weir," Teyla said with a nod. "Major Sheppard told me that you might join us today."
"Yes, John can be very persuasive at times," Elizabeth said rolling her eyes at John. "I see you are taking quite a bit of things with you."
"There are always many things I must bring back to my people, especially when they are on the Mainland."
"I understand. Is there anything you need help with?" Elizabeth offered.
"No thank you, Doctor Weir. I am just about done," Teyla said.
Elizabeth left Teyla to her preparations and sat down in the co-pilot seat next to John.
As soon as they reached the Mainland, Teyla went off to visit her people. Leaving John and Elizabeth to wander around the Athosian village. They walked around the tents and talked with the villagers here and there. Elizabeth recognized most of the Athosian from their short residency in the city, though there were names of some that slipped her mind.
Everyone seemed to be settling in the Mainland well, and Elizabeth was relieved. She felt terrible for having to uproot them from their home planet and move them here, but things seemed to be turning for the better. At least she hoped.
Elizabeth smiled as several of the Athosian children ran around the area playing tag. She recognized Wex and Jinto and waved to them. Jinto returned her wave excitedly and continued in his game of chase with Wex and several other children.
"What do you usually do when you are on the Mainland?" Elizabeth asked John.
"I usually just…wander," John said, resting his hands on the P-90 that hung on his vest.
"Wander. That sounds fun." Elizabeth clasped her hand behind her back and continued wandering the rows of tents with John.
"You know I should be reading reports right now," Elizabeth said.
John gave Elizabeth a sidelong glance. "What are you trying to do?"
"Me?" Elizabeth looked at John innocently. "I'm not trying to do anything. I was just thinking out loud."
"Right," John narrowed his eyes. "Aren't you enjoying this change of scenery? Don't you get sick of being in the control tower all day?"
Before Elizabeth could answer, an Athosian woman approached them.
"Doctor Weir. Major Sheppard, it has been many days since you've visited us," the woman said.
For the life of her, Elizabeth could not remember the woman's name. Elizabeth thought it best to answer her greeting with a smile. "Yes, it has been a long time," she said. "I have been quite busy. I'm glad to see that everyone seems to be doing well."
"Thank you, Doctor Weir." the woman said and turned her attention to John. "Major Sheppard, do you still remember me?"
John furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "Of course I remember you. You are Deena," he smiled proudly.
Deena smiled. "I remember the last time you visited was when I gave you the little jar."
"That's right," John nodded. "Remember that jar I gave you for your birthday?" John asked Elizabeth. "Deena, here, made it."
"I see. It is a beautiful jar," Elizabeth said to Deena. "Thank you."
"There is no need to thank me. I only placed the jar in Major Sheppard's possession. It was him who gave you the gift."
"That's very true, but I just want to say that the work you did on it was exquisite."
"Thank you. You are too kind, Doctor Weir." Deena smiled and quickly excused herself when she saw her friend. "Enjoy your visit here," she said and departed.
John and Elizabeth continued walking in silence, until they reach a small path that led into a forest.
"I guess this is a path the Athosian's made. Want to check it out?" John asked.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Elizabeth muttered, following John down the small dirt path.
"Because you hang around McKay too much. What could go wrong? It's not like we could get lost. We'll just keep on the path," John said gesturing to the dirt path they were on. "Unless the trees move, we should be fine," John assured her.
"I'm not worried about the trees moving. I'm more worried about you going off the path."
"Me going astray? Inconceivable," John said giving Elizabeth his most innocent look.
John continued down the path and reached his hand up to pluck a flower from a low hanging branch of a tree. The crimson flower had five petals and its appearance was similar to a hibiscus. John took a sniff of the sweet smelling flower and gave it to Elizabeth.
"This is for you," he said, "and look, it matches your shirt."
Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. She graciously accepted John's gift and smelled the sweet scent of the flower.
"What's this for?" she asked.
"Nothing…yet."
"What do you mean by yet?" Elizabeth looked at John suspiciously.
John pretended not to hear Elizabeth's question and continued walking. Eventually the dirt path led to one of the crop fields that the Athosians had been growing. Since the sun was near setting, there was no one in the fields.
"And now here is the tour of the crops on the Mainland." John said in a tour guide like voice. .
"You didn't know this was here, did you?" Elizabeth said.
"Of course, I knew it was here. I just neglected to remember it was here."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I don't know much about agriculture, but it looks like the crops are doing well. Which is a good sign."
"Yes, a very good sign. We can stop going to the Manarans for food. I just don't like that Smeadol guy, he so…slimy." John made face.
"John, be nice. They are our allies."
"Allies that sold us out to the Genii," John said bitterly.
"At least we know the land here is able to yield crops, that means we won't have to worry about starving, or depend on allies that might sell us out."
"Good," he said and started walking back in the direction they came. Elizabeth unfamiliar with the area followed John assuming he knew the way back.
"We should get back and check on Teyla. It's starting to get dark," Elizabeth said.
John nodded and continued walking. Then Elizabeth started to notice that John was looking around as if he was searching for something.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Uh…" John scratched the back of his head. "Does this place look familiar to you at all?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "This is my first time in here, nothing looks familiar."
"This place doesn't look familiar to me either."
Elizabeth glared at John. "What?"
"Remember when you asked me why I gave you the flower? That 'yet' means now."
"If your implying that the flower is to make up for you getting us lost, it doesn't," Elizabeth said.
"It was worth a try," he shrugged.
"So what are we going to do now?"
"Well Teyla hasn't contacted us yet, so we still have time to find our way back."
As if on cue, John's radio crackled to life and Teyla's voice came through.
"Major Sheppard, where are you?" Teyla said.
"Doctor Weir and I were surveying the crops the villagers were growing. Are you ready to leave?"
"I see. Halling tells me that the harvest for the year will be aplenty," Teyla said.
"That's good do hear," John said.
"As for leaving, I'm sorry I did not tell you sooner, but Sena was able to convince me to stay here for the evening. You can send someone to pick me up tomorrow."
"That's fine. We'll see you tomorrow then. Take care."
"Thank you, Major."
After John finished talking to Teyla on the radio, he looked at Elizabeth who found a log to sit on.
"Good news. We can go home now," John said.
"And how do you propose for us to go home when we are lost?"
"I never said we were lost. I just said that this area doesn't look familiar. There is a difference." Elizabeth looked at him doubtingly. John looked back towards the direction they came. "Since we came for that way," he pointed to the direction behind them, "we should go straight."
"All right, let try going straight," Elizabeth sighed.
They continued walking straight for some time. Elizabeth trudged behind John and watched the sky change into hues of red, purple, and blue as the sun set. Elizabeth had a feeling they were going the wrong direction, when she asked John for his flashlight.
"John, we've been walking this direction for almost an hour. I think we are going further and further way from the village," Elizabeth said sitting down on a slab of rock.
"We aren't going the wrong way. This is a short cut," John insisted.
"The last short cut you took, led you to the secret underground hatch of the Genii," Elizabeth said shining the flashlight in John's face.
John squinted and used his hand to block the light from his face. "How did you know?"
"It was in Rodney's mission report."
"He wrote that?"
"Among other things." She moved the light away from John's face and shined it into the darkness of the forest. "Don't you have a compass or something?"
John patted his vest pocket and a disappointed face. "Rodney took it in our last mission and never returned it to me."
"Moss grows to the north…on earth. Do you think that applies to here?" Elizabeth asked.
"I don't know. I never paid attention to Rodney when he explains things."
"Do we have any other means of finding a way back to the village other than wandering around like idiots?" Elizabeth asked with a hint of irritation.
"Celestial navigation," John said with a smile.
"Celestial navigation?"
"Yes, why not? Sailors use it all the time."
"Sailors on earth had constellation to go by,"
"So do we."
"And you are obviously not a sailor."
"I navigate a spaceship. I'm a sailor of the skies," John said.
Elizabeth looked at John. "You're not serious."
"I'm very serious. You didn't think I made up those constellation sessions just to spend time with you."
"I thought you made up those constellation sessions to annoy me and force me to relax."
"Well, today I'm going to prove to you that those sessions were not a complete waste of time."
Elizabeth remained sitting and twirled the flower in her fingers as she watched John looking up at the sky. "Do you see any constellations we made up?" she asked shining the flashlight in the general direction John stood.
"I think I see Puddlejumper, but it's hard to tell. Too many trees. We need to find a spot with fewer trees. I think there are fewer trees there." He said to himself pointed forward.
Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows and followed John. Her attention remained focused on the ground in front of them. She didn't feel like tripping on overgrown roots or step into a hole, but John was so engrossed with finding a better view of the stars he didn't bother to watch where he was walking. Elizabeth was waiting for him to trip on something.
She sighed and rolled her eyes as she listened to John muttering to himself. She hoped that they were going in a direction that would lead them somewhere familiar, or maybe if they were lucky, they would run into some Athosian hunters, who could lead them back to the village. Reluctantly she kept moving her tired legs forward.
As they continued walking forward, John noticed that the trees seemed to get thicker and he could barely see the night sky. He was starting to doubt whether he could pull off using the stars as a means of navigation. He was sure Elizabeth would never let him live this down. Then he noticed that there was a spot where the trees were sparse. Before he could make his way towards the spot, a hand grabbed him firmly on his arm to stop walking.
John looked down at his arm and recognized Elizabeth's hand. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Elizabeth only looked at John and shined her flashlight on the stump that was waiting for John to trip over.
"Maybe you should pay attention to where you walking. You don't want to trip and bump that pretty little head of yours," Elizabeth said and let go of his arm.
"You think I'm pretty?" he smirked.
"I think you're insane. We've been wandering around these woods for how many hours? And you refuse to admit you're lost."
"Take this moment as an experience of a lifetime."
"If we don't find a way out of here, we'll spend a lifetime here," Elizabeth muttered.
"Is that so bad?" John asked. Elizabeth only shook her head. "We're not going to spend a lifetime here. We are just admiring the view longer than we planned. You know, a little spontaneity."
"If we have to walk any farther, you're going to have to carry me home."
"Again?" he groaned, stepping around the tree stump and continue towards the spot where the trees were sparse.
"I didn't ask you to carry me back to my room last night," Elizabeth said trudging behind him.
"Well you kind of fell asleep on me."
"You could have woken me up."
"I was being a gentleman, and let you sleep," he replied.
"I guess you have your moments and thank you," she said, leaning against one of the trees and shining the flashlight around to see if there was anything that could help tell them where they were. Everything looked the same to her. She gave up and pointed the flashlight down on her shoes.
"Your welcome. I'm glad you approve of my moments," he said looking up at the sky with his hands on his hips.
"So what did you wish for?" Elizabeth asked, shining the flashlight on John's watch then on to his face.
"I wish I knew where the hell we are," John muttered.
"I meant last night. You said you were going to tell me what your wish was."
John finally peeled his eyes away from the sky, only to be assaulted by Elizabeth's light. "I thought you fell asleep."
Elizabeth giggled at the face John made when he realized the light was on his face. "I did, but I remember you offering to share your wish before I fell asleep."
"Well, that time has passed. I was going to tell you last night, and not tonight." He stepped out of the beam of light and walked towards Elizabeth.
"We are lost in the woods," she reminded. "The least you could do is tell me what your wish was. I told you mine."
"I gave you a flower," he pointed out.
"We are still lost."
John knew he wasn't going to win this argument with Elizabeth. Especially when he had no clue to where they were.
"Okay, you win," he conceded. "My wish was more selfish than yours."
"How so?"
He leaned onto the tree next to Elizabeth and took the flashlight from her hands. "I wished that we would always have moment like this. Where we can both enjoy each other's company, and shine flashlights in each other's faces."
"Really?" Elizabeth was touched, but the light in her face was distracting her.
"Yes, I never thought I could enjoy someone's company as much as I enjoy yours," he said looking down, shining the flashlight on his watch.
"That is very sweet, John. Who knew John Sheppard was such a sweetie."
John shined the flashlight into Elizabeth's face again. "You did not just call me a sweetie."
"It was meant as a compliment," Elizabeth laughed as she tried to block the light with her hands. "Give me that." She took the flashlight back from John and gave him the flower to hold instead.
"I know and I appreciate it, but I have a reputation to keep. What would my enemies think if word got out that I was a sweetie?"
"They would think twice about engaging in combat with you."
"It's more likely they would make fun of me than engage me in combat."
"Then you have the advantage. While they are laughing at you, you can shoot them. Catch them off guard."
"I still rather not be called a sweetie."
"All right," Elizabeth sighed. "I guess your wish came true rather quickly."
John looked at Elizabeth. "What do you mean?"
"You wished for more moments where we can be alone in each other's company…"
"I guess so, but I didn't plan this whole getting lost part," he said smelling the flower Elizabeth returned to him.
Elizabeth smiled as she lowered her head and looked at her shoes. They both leaned on the tree in silence. Enjoying the moment.
"Do you hear that?" Elizabeth suddenly asked.
"Hear what?"
"I think I hear water."
"Water?"
"More like waves," she said turning her head to the direction she heard the sound.
This time it was Elizabeth who led the way. She used the flashlight to light her way and followed the sound. The further they walked. The louder the sound became. Elizabeth started to walk faster towards the sound and eventually they emerged from the forest onto a beach.
"Hey, you found the beach," John said.
Elizabeth smiled, "I guess I did."
"And now I can see the stars clearly," John said with a satisfied smile.
"Are you still going to attempt celestial navigation?" Elizabeth rolled her eyes and walked closer to the shore and sat down in the sand. It was good to be sitting again. Her feet ached from walking around for so long. She didn't want to walk anymore, but they were still technically lost. She stretched her legs out and watched the waves roll in and hit the shore.
"I think I've found our North Star," John said sitting down next to her.
"We have a North Star?"
"I think its north," he shrugged. "Anyway we have to go that direction." He pointed back towards the forest they walked out of. John saw Elizabeth roll her eyes. "But I guess you figured that out, without having to look at the constellations for direction. So much for celestial navigation," he mumbled.
Elizabeth smiled and kept her gaze on the ocean and looked in the general direction of the Atlantis. It felt odd for her to be out of the City. Sitting on this beach almost made her forget that she was on another planet and in charge of an expedition. For the moment everything seemed normal.
"Do you want to head back now?" John asked.
Elizabeth shook her head. "Maybe in a little bit," she said, leaning her head against John's shoulder.
"You're right, my wish did come true rather quickly," John said, and placed the flower he still had in Elizabeth's hair above her ear. "It's moments like these that I wished for," John said.
He didn't have to look down at Elizabeth to know that she was smiling.