This is a re-write of Chapter 5. It was mostly done to add some stuff and some of Elizabeth's thoughts...
Usual disclaimers: I don't own nothing...
Skinny Dipping with Carson and Teyla
Elizabeth had calmed herself somewhat by the time she reached her desk. Catching Major Sheppard in the transporter, only moments after waking up from that dream had nearly derailed her sensibilities. He'd seem to dominate the whole transporter, he and that hair of his.
She groaned, as she remembered the vivid feeling of his hair running past her fingers, as she had pressed herself against his body… what had she been thinking of?
Dreaming, about Major Sheppard. Major Sheppard of the smirk, of the bed head and the ability to flirt with everything that breathed. Correction, she thought, he could flirt with things that were completely and utterly dead.
But Sheppard was more than a messy-haired, smirking flyboy though.
At least the rash on her face had cleared up. It was the strangest thing, she hadn't had a rash like that since high school, when she and Kevin Jenkins had spent a good hour tussling on her parent's sofa, and it hadn't been arm wrestling they had occupied their attention.
Kevin Jenkins. What a great kisser he had been. Elizabeth smiled to herself. John Sheppard, what a great kisser he was…in the dream. Despite herself she let her mind wander… It was a pity that she was his boss and his friend…. that thought brought her up with a start. What were her and Sheppard to each other? Were they friends? She held her coffee mug and looked out over the steam into her room. She would have answered yes to that question before this morning, but the dream had upset her emotional applecart. Intergalactic bed head indeed! She snorted and half giggled at the mental imagery.
Who wouldn't be attracted to Sheppard? She put her coffee mug down and leant her forearms onto the desk, gazing out through the window onto the balcony and sea beyond. She'd noticed, more than she meant to notice, a good number of the women responding to his undoubted good looks and charm. She'd thought herself above all of that and that she'd been immune to all of that. That somehow the two of them had forged a relationship that went beyond the shallowness of sexual attraction and was based on mutual respect and admiration. They may not always agree on the best action to take, she and Sheppard but she knew he was a good man and like her, always strived to do what was right.
She sighed. This morning had not been cool. She was a grown woman, used to experiencing dreams of that nature, just not necessarily about her ranking military officer. Although, if she were honest, it probably wasn't the first smutty dream involving Sheppard she'd had, especially in the early days when they'd been getting to know each other. However, she was used to the vagaries of her sub-conscious, she knew that feelings of that nature needed an outlet and she'd always managed to live with them, like she managed to live with other basic needs, like eating and breathing. Instead she had reacted like a sexually repressed schoolgirl this morning that had been locked up with a sex beast. She cringed.
Bugger, she would have to apologise to him. Time to work. She picked up her mug and drank some of the now lukewarm coffee, grimacing at the taste. She flipped the cover of the lap-top open and started to work. With some effort, she opened the latest report about mainland grain production, she rubbed her eyes blearily and tried to focus on the figures on the screen.
Two hours later, the sound of voices in the briefing room next door roused her from last week's recycling plant maintenance figures. She checked her watch, the daily briefing wasn't due to start for another five minutes. She could hear McKay as he walked into the room
"And then I was skinny dipping. Right off the West Pier. Carson, me and Teyla. Although to be accurate, we weren't completely naked as such. But we did take most of our clothes off…"
"That's nothing" said a voice, Ford. "I was skateboarding in the corridors. It was the weirdest dream. It just felt so …"
Elizabeth stopped reading the recyling plant figures.
"Vivid?" Rodney replied, "I'll bet, it went on for hours! Teyla ended up getting tangled up in some sort of Atlantis seaweed, and we had to spend a bit of time helping her disentangle herself. That was fun." Elizabeth could almost see the smile on Rodney's face.
"In your dreams Rodney", Elizabeth thought. "Where did your subconscious dig that up from?"
"You don't get out much do you?" said Ford, sounding a little jealous. Elizabeth smiled to herself and got up to walk into the briefing room.
"Who doesn't get out much?" Sheppard had entered the room, carrying a mug of coffee.
"McKay" said Ford. "We were just talking about the weird dreams we had last night"
Weir walked into the briefing room, just in time to catch Major Sheppard turning white.
"Dreams?" he said hoarsely. Then he caught sight of Elizabeth across the table and jumped like a scalded cat. She could almost hear the yowls of the said cat echo around the briefing room.
Elizabeth hoped, fervently, that no-one would ask her about her dreams. She could imagine the conversation…
"Well yes, I dreamt that Major Sheppard sang "Fly me to the Moon" and then pressed me against a wall…" having said that Sheppard had the most exquisite expression of guilt and horror on his face and she suddenly found herself immensely curious to find out what he did dream about.
"I.. er…don't dream" he said at last, flopping into a seat.
Elizabeth was curiously disappointed, it seemed the Major didn't have a vivid an imagination as the rest of his team. Or her for that matter. That train of thought wasn't to be encouraged, however, so she was grateful when Carson Beckett spoke over the radio.
"Go ahead Carson" she spoke into her radio mic.
"Doctor Weir, can you come to the infirmary please?" Elizabeth could see the little frown of worry, furrowing Carson's forehead through the tone of his voice.
"Is there something wrong Carson?" she said, frowning herself.
"I need to speak to you, I've had reports of strange dreams from all over the city"
"Really?" She looked at Sheppard and his two team members, who were suddenly extremely attentive.
"Is Rodney there?" Beckett asked,
"Yes, Carson," Rodney replied.
"Tell me Rodney, did you dream you were skinny dipping off the West Pier, with.."
"Teyla?" Rodney's voice raised an octave.
"I also had the same dream Dr McKay" Teyla's calm voice enunciated across the airwaves.
Sheppard spat his coffee across the table.
The Infirmary
They were all in the infirmary. Sheppard was standing a little apart from the rest of the group, leaning against the wall, arms folded, face impassive, eyes guarded. He hadn't said anything since she had taken off from her chair, but she had she had been acutely aware of him, could feel the energy burning off his body, all the way through the corridors of the city to where they were standing now.
Most of Atlantis, it seemed, had experienced very vivid dreams last night. Not only that, a big proportion of those who had dreamed had had the same dreams. Teyla, Carson and McKay had all been skinny dipping off the West Pier. Ford had been skateboarding in the corridors and Zelenka and Grodin had been playing strip poker in the mess hall with two female scientists. Grodin had lost apparently, and had been down to his socks. All four participants had corroborated that fact.
Which meant, that possibly….
She was not going to go there. The thought that Sheppard had had the same dream as her made her squirm, she rubbed the back of her neck to try and cool herself after yet another rush of heat.
Elizabeth thanked her lucky stars that nobody had asked her what she had dreamt about last night.
"What did you dream about last night Doctor Weir?" asked Carson.
