A/N: And here we go. Final chapter. There will probably be a short epilogue in the next few days though. I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did! If you did, please let me know!

Many moments passed. They floor didn't swallow her, and John didn't leave. Elizabeth climbed to her feet, and tried for the bluff. "This is not what it looks like, Colonel." Her subtle emphasis on his rank rather than his name didn't deter John at all. He merely raised an eyebrow and waited. She stared at him for a moment, and then sighed in resignation.

"Okay fine. It probably IS what it looks like. But it's not for the reasons you're thinking. Addie threw up on Rodney, and he needed new clothes. I'm not going to have him walking through Atlantis in a…." Elizabeth slammed her mouth shut with an audible snap, but it was too late. John's other eyebrow rose to mirror the first. His jaw hung open for a moment, and then he broke into a grin so large, it was all Elizabeth could do to not remove it for him.

"Fine. Think what you want. But I have to get these back to Rodney." She turned on her heel and walked away. It took John about 3 seconds to realize she'd left, and then he quickly hurried after her.

"Aww…don't get upset, Elizabeth. I think it's…sweet." Elizabeth rolled her eyes and walked on. She quickly reached her door and opened it. Rodney stood on the other side of the room, staring out the balcony doors.

Elizabeth stopped in her tracks, entranced by the sight. With the sunlight shining through the balcony door, all she could see was his outline, and her breath caught at the indescribable beauty of the scene before her.

Hearing the door, Rodney began to speak as he turned. "Lizabeth. Finally. I was starting to wonder what took you so…" He saw John and froze, his hand subconsciously going to his waist to grip the towel firmly. "Sheppard."

John's grin returned in full force, if not bigger. "Ummm…Rodney. Good morning, I take it?"

Rodney glared. "Oh yes, Colonel. I decided my regular soap fragrance wasn't quite me, so I figured I'd try a new scent! Eau de Vomit. Care to try it out yourself? I'm sure it would be an improvement over that stuff you wear now." Elizabeth stifled a laugh at Rodney's snark. She had gotten so used to the gentle Rodney she saw every evening that she'd forgotten how skilled he was at cutting people off at the knees when provoked.

However, John's smile never dimmed. He'd learned long ago that Rodney was a tootsie roll pop. Hard and tough on the outside, but squishy in the middle. Rodney realized John wasn't going to retaliate, and he seemed in no hurry to leave.

"Oh come on! Either get in here or leave! But stop holding the door open to advertise my current fashion statement." John laughed and stepped forward, letting the door slide shut. Rodney raised an eyebrow and scowled at John. "Fine, stay. Just…be quiet. Addie is finally sleeping." He walked over to Elizabeth, taking his fresh clothes with a grateful smile, and then headed into the bathroom to get dressed.

It was less that 10 minutes later, but by the time Rodney emerged, Elizabeth and John were sitting comfortably on the couch, Addie supported on John's knee and looking quite happy to be there. He looked at Elizabeth with a question as he walked towards her and sat on the arm of the couch at her side. Their eyes locked and she shrugged, cocking her head a bit, and then settled back. Rodney stretched his arm along the back of the couch for leverage and Elizabeth subconsciously leaned into him.

John watched the silent communication and couldn't help but feel a bit like a voyeur. There was nothing improper about their actions, and yet he still felt like he was somehow privileged to see something special. He quickly turned his attention back to Addie.

"Sprout, I hope your parents are taking good care of you. If not, you know your Uncle John's got your back, right?" Rodney opened his mouth to retort then barked a short laugh as Addie blew a raspberry at John first.

"She's got your number, Sheppard. And her name's not Sprout!" He knew it was hopeless. He couldn't count the number of times he'd told John that, and it only seemed to encourage him.

"First of all, she knows her Uncle John loves her. Secondly, she's growing like a weed. Would you rather I call her Weed?" He turned to grin at the other two as Addie laughed at something only she knew. At the sound, Rodney looked down with a grin as Elizabeth looked up at him. Their eyes locked again, sharing something no one else could understand and John once again felt like an intruder. He cleared his throat and stood.

"Well…I need to get going. Breakfast, workout, all that stuff." He handed Addie over to Elizabeth, nodded to Rodney and headed out without another word.

Elizabeth looked puzzled, but couldn't think of anything they had done to cause John's abrupt mood change. She gave Addie a kiss on the forehead, and handed her to Rodney. "I need to get going too. I've got a meeting in about 20 minutes."

Rodney juggled Addie to one arm and quickly headed for the desk, and returned holding a powerbar. "I know. It's not much. But it's better than nothing." Elizabeth's stomach growled loudly and she laughed, taking the powerbar.

"I hate these things. They make my breath stink for the rest of the day." She made a face and he laughed.

Without a thought, he winked. "Don't worry; I'll eat one too so it doesn't matter." The second the meaning of his words hit her, Elizabeth's eyes went wide, and then she blushed prettily.

"Why, Rodney McKay? Are you flirting with me?" Rodney looked at her for a moment, and then shrugged uncomfortably. She grinned and stretched forward, kissed him on the cheek and whispered, "Because if you are, let me know. I have breath mints, so it shouldn't be a problem."

With that, she headed out with a wink and grin, leaving Rodney with a faraway look in his eye and holding his cheek.

Three meetings and four hours later, Elizabeth trudged back to their quarters tiredly. –Hmmm…I wonder when I started thinking of it as ours and not just mine?- The answer was pretty clear. At about the same time she'd started to think of Rodney as hers too – that first night when she'd found him asleep on the floor, and if she was honest, probably even earlier. As far as she was concerned, they were a family, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Now…if she could just find a way to convince Rodney.

She entered her quarters and looked around, and smiled tenderly at the site of Rodney reclining on the couch, asleep. Addie was sprawled out on his chest, quiet snores sounding through the room, echoing Rodney's louder ones. Elizabeth grinned and decided to leave them alone. Rodney hadn't slept at all last night and they looked comfortable. As a huge, unladylike yawn seized her, she decided a nap was in order. She headed to her bedroom and was asleep within two minutes of her head hitting the pillow.

A quiet mumbling slowly made its way into her consciousness, dragging her awake unwillingly. She opened her eyes, frowning when she saw the shadows that had grown considerably since she'd fallen asleep. She dragged herself out of bed and padded towards the living room, the fog over her brain heavy and thick. As she reached the doorway, the mumbling became clear and she looked around to locate the source.

Rodney and Addie were sitting on her desk chair on the balcony. She approached the door and was about to let him know she was awake when she heard her name. Feeling a bit guilty, but not enough to stop herself from listening, she leaned forward.

"Addie, what are we gonna do?" He got quiet for a moment, then continued. "Yes, I know. Mommy loves you. How could she not? But where do I fit in? I mean…your mom is an amazing woman – so far above my level. She's smart like me. That's good. But she's all those things I'm not. She's beautiful, and funny and good with people. She's never gonna be interested in someone like me."

He paused again, and Elizabeth imagined him watching Addie for an answer. Her thoughts were verified when he continued again. "Yes, I know she likes me. Sweetie, your mommy's my best friend. But how can I chance ruining that? She's the first person who's even been able to look past my bluster and see me. I can't lose that. I'd rather have her as my friend than nothing. I….I love her too much to risk losing her."

Elizabeth raised a hand to her mouth to try to muffle the gasp, her eyes welling quickly. She backed away silently and hurried to her room. She sat down numbly on the bed, her mind whirling with all she'd heard.

She knew Rodney cared for her. She cared for him too. He was her best friend. And the father of her daughter. They would forever be linked through that, no matter what else developed.

-What do I want to develop? Do I really want to risk what we've got now to maybe have a chance at something more?-

Before the thought could even fade, her heart responded with a resounding "YES!" She smiled as she thought back to the last couple of months. The late night deep discussions. Introducing Addie to life on Atlantis. The knowledge that someone was always there and wanted to hear what she had to say. The overwhelming rightness of it all.

She knew what she had to do. She just had to figure out how.

It was well into the night when Rodney returned to their rooms. – Hmm…when did I start thinking of it as ours and not just hers?- He smiled as the answer hit him. When Addie had slept through the night, he'd started waiting for Elizabeth to send him back to his quarters in the evenings. But as the days went on, and the order still didn't come, he began to relax. He realized she didn't mind his company and he settled in.

He entered the living room quietly. He'd missed dinner as he finished a project and he knew Elizabeth and Addie would already be asleep. He walked quietly to the bedroom door and peeked in. He saw Elizabeth sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning forward to talk to Addie, who lay in her cradle, sleeping quietly.

"Addie, I have no idea what I'm going to say. How do I let Daddy know I want him to stay? To be a real family? What if he's just staying because he loves you?

Rodney's eyes went wide as he watched the scene before him. He drew in a deep breath and held it, waiting for her to go on. Elizabeth looked at the door out of the corner of her eye to make sure Rodney was still there. Once she was sure he was listening, she smiled slightly and continued.

"I mean…what if he doesn't know how much he means to me? What if he thinks I don't care?" As she talked, she slowly turned her head until she was looking at Rodney, but continued talking as if to Addie. Her voice dropped to the barest whisper as the first tear dripped down her cheek. "What if he never realizes how important he is to me?"

Rodney felt everything around him fade, until the only clear thing in the room was Elizabeth. His mouth moved, but no sound came out. Elizabeth rose from the bed and walked closer to him, not stopping until only inches separated them. "How do I tell him I love him?"

Rodney closed his eyes as he exhaled fully. When he opened them again, Elizabeth saw the tears glistening. He reached a trembling hand up to rest against her cheek. "You…you love me? Really?"

Elizabeth smiled and nodded, reaching her own hand up to his cheek to complete the circle. She tried to swallow the emotion in her throat to answer him, but she knew if she tried to say anything, she'd never get anything to come out. She answered him the only way she knew she could – she leaned forward and stretched up to gently kiss him, then drew back slowly.

Rodney reacted without thought. He slid the hand on her cheek around to the back of her neck and pulled her forward until their mouths connected again. It was sweet and gentle and everything he'd imagined it would be all those mornings he'd laid spooned up with her watching her sleep.

It could have been minutes or hours later, he'd never know. But finally the kiss came to an end and they separated. At some point, her arms had moved to wrap around his neck, and her fingers toyed gently with the short hairs she found there.

Theirgazes locked and he saw all the love he felt for her, reflected in her gaze. She smiled at him and stepped back, letting her hands slide down his arms and taking both his hands in hers. She tugged him gently walking backwards towards the cradle. Once they were standing in front of it, she turned, and leaned her back against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Together they watched their daughter sleep for several minutes before Elizabeth turned in his arms and kissed him again. She pulled back after a few moments and walked to the bed, pulling the blanket and sheet down.

"Well…it's been a long day. I think it's time for bed."

Rodney smiled and nodded, and turned to go. As he reached the door, Elizabeth called quietly, "Rodney?"

He turned back and smiled gently in question. Elizabeth pulled the blanket down on the other side of the bed, and then looked up to meet his gaze.

"Aren't you coming to bed?"