Elizabeth hugged her legs to her chest tightly, setting her chin on her knees. Slow, silent tears strayed their way down her face and every now and then a sob fell through her parched lips. The breeze stung her wet face and she shivered before drawing her arms around herself tighter.

"You're going to get pneumonia like that." Elizabeth jumped at Rodney McKay's voice and turned to spot him. He was standing just outside the door, his unreadable eyes on her form. She didn't bother to wipe away her tears, knowing that he had already spotted them. She looked down, not replying to his original comment. "Carson will throw a fit," he added, walking over to Elizabeth, his hands in his pockets and his steps soft.

Elizabeth looked up at him, her eyes seeing openly what she her mind had denied for so long. There was a shroud of sadness to his eyes, settling over the beautiful irises like a fog; a certain soft drag to his step that had never been there before… "I'll be fine," she whispered. "I'm going to go in a few minutes."

Both of them knew it wasn't true. But for the first time ever, Rodney didn't say a word to it. Elizabeth let her head fall against the wall behind her, her heart giving a painful twist as she realized how much agony her ignorance had put him in. Elizabeth watched as Rodney leaned on the banister, looking out to the ocean and never once at her. She was surprised to feel the tug of sadness on her heart at his lack of communication.

"I'm surprised to see you here," Rodney said finally, his voice hollow. "Don't you have a new balcony to stay on?"

He knew. Elizabeth didn't know how, but at this point she didn't really care. It was enough that he knew she and John were a couple, but knowing that she spent the night nearly every night in his quarters? He'd probably already come to a number of conclusions about this. She didn't think anyone would understand, or believe, that the only pleasure she and John divulged themselves in was lying in each other's arms every night. It was a source of comfort; a relief to the horrors each of them saw and heard about everyday. It was something to look forward to; something that kept a smile on her face during the toughest times of the day. But now, the stolen comforts seemed so reckless, so evil…

Elizabeth sighed, standing up slowly and walking up to the banister next to Rodney. She averted her eyes from his face to the waters. "I can't think of a better place to be than here," she whispered as she stared out into the ocean.

"I can think of a few places for you," Rodney said abruptly. He couldn't help it. He wanted to see Elizabeth happy, but this? It was like rubbing the fact that she and John were together in his face.

Elizabeth closed her eyes softly. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the necklace as she opened them. "I found this," she whispered aloud, opening her hand so her palm was facing him. Rodney looked at her hand, and his eyes widened slightly, surprise written across his face.

"How did—where did you get this?" he asked, almost defensively.

"I…" she paused. She didn't want to tell him where she found it. "I found it a couple of hours ago," she told him, choosing not to answer his question. "Did you…" he looked up at her, eyes once again unreadable. She swallowed tightly. "Did you make this for me?"

Rodney glanced away for a moment before answering. "Yeah," he told her simply.

Elizabeth looked down at the necklace, rubbing the engraving with her thumb. She looked up to see that Rodney had turned away. "What for?" she asked softly.

He looked distinctly uncomfortable as he answered, "Valentine's Day."

"Why?" Elizabeth whispered a beat later, her wide eyes set on him. She needed to hear it from his mouth.

"Because…" he fidgeted, twiddling his thumbs as he spoke. "That's what friends do," he said finally, his voice strained.

Elizabeth bit her lip lightly, disbelieving him. "Rodney…" she said.

Rodney turned to face her. "What do you want?" he asked, bitterness in his voice. Elizabeth took a small step backwards, looking away from his accusing eyes.

"I, I just…" she fisted the necklace and looked at him. "I need to know," she whispered.

"You already know," Rodney replied. He had seen the look in her eyes when she showed him the necklace. With that confirmation of what she had thought, Elizabeth frowned slightly, turning to face the water, trying to keep her composure.

"I…I thought that I was happy with John," Elizabeth said aloud. "I thought it was perfect."

"Why are you doing this to me?" Rodney broke in, and she looked at him, her stomach clenching. He looked at her, his eyes intense, "If your life was so perfect, then go back to it," his voice lost its passion on the last words.

"I don't know anymore," Elizabeth whispered aloud, choking on a sob. "I found this," she opened her hand, "and I just…it wasn't perfect anymore," she blinked, and a tear ran down her face. "There was so much I had been ignoring because I didn't want to believe it, and then it was just there, staring me in the face…" she took a trembling breath. "I love John," Elizabeth whispered. Rodney looked away, biting his lip. "But each time I say it, it feels a little more fake, a little more like I'm using him…" she swallowed tightly. "And then I think of you…and I realize how much I enjoyed whatever it was between us," she closed her eyes, allowing the tears to roll down her face. "I thought I was sure about John…but I'm not anymore…" she hugged herself, tears streaming.

Rodney stared at her for a moment, his throat dried. It hurt more than he would ever admit; to stand here and listen to her doubts about John. She had more or less admitted that there might be something between them…but Rodney blocked it out. It would be so like fate to put the one thing he loved more than anything else in his reach once more before ripping it away again. Nonetheless, he stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her. She clung to his chest, sobbing gently. For a moment, both of them almost allowed themselves to forget about everything, for things to be back to the way they were between them, but it was impossible to forget what had happened, even now. He was numb; she too overwhelmed with emotions.

And nothing would ever be the same between them again.

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed! Please review!

Thanks to
Margaret
PurpleYin
Lucimon
LT
Moondancer
szhismine
Furlings are Cats
and
peanut
for the wonderful reviews! They really made my day :)