"But you know, you know, you know. I wanted, I wanted you to stay. 'Cause I needed, I need to hear you say that I love you. I loved you all along. And I forgive you for being away for far too long. So keep breathing, 'cause I'm not leaving you anymore. Believe it. Hold onto me and never let me go." - Nickelback, "Far Away"

After finding out from Mary that Sheppard had returned to his quarters, Evie made a beeline for his room. Once there, she knocked timidly on the door. "Who is it?" she heard Sheppard's voice from within.

"Brooks," she answered softly.

"Enter," came his reply.

Evie took a deep breath and then waved her hand in front of the sensor, closing the door behind her once she was inside.

"Can I help you, Lieutenant?" he asked passively.

Evie bit her lip. She prayed he'd forgive her. Only one way to find out. She walked quickly over to him and, gently taking his face in her hands, lovingly kissed him. When she heard the report he had been holding fall to the floor and felt his strong arms around her, relief flooded her.

When he pulled away, gasping, a moment later, Sheppard said, "I thought I was never to touch you again?"

"Well, I should hope there would be some touching after we get married," she teased. "That is, if you still want me," she said, looking down.

Gently cupping her face and forcing her to look at him, Sheppard murmured, "Of course I still want you." Evie smiled at him adoringly. "Damn, Evie, I'm so sorry about the way I acted. I d--"

"I forgive you, John," Evie cut him off, kissing him once more. When she released his lips, she lightly ran her fingers over the skin around his eye, skin that still had a faint purplish tinge. "I'm sorry, too…"

Sheppard walked over to his closet and retrieved one of his shoes. He pulled a rolled up sock from it and then dug around in the sock, drawing out the ring.

"Interesting hiding place," Evie commented.

"Yeah, and I almost got busted," Sheppard said, and proceeded to tell her about his near-fatal mishap…

"Morning, Rodney," Sheppard said, greeting his colleague sleepily at his quarters. "And to what do I owe this, uhh…pleasant surprise?"

"I'm surprised you weren't up already," Rodney commented. "We leave in forty-five minutes." Sheppard just blinked at him. "Right. I need to borrow a pair of shoes," he said, gesturing to his sock-clad feet. "Mine haven't dried out yet."

"Well, if you hadn't insulted little Lina, she wouldn't have pushed you into the river," Sheppard reminded. When Rodney just frowned at him, he rubbed a hand over his tired face and gestured for Rodney to enter. "Fine. Just grab a pair. But they'll probably be about a size too big."

"I'll live," Rodney replied, selecting a pair from Sheppard's closet. That pair.

Sheppard's eyes widened. "Uhh, Rodney…yo-you don't want those shoes," he said, trying to snatch them from Rodney's hand.

"What, are they your lucky pair?" Rodney teased.

"No, they're just…really uncomfortable," Sheppard insisted.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Rodney said, sitting on the edge of Sheppard's bed and sliding his right foot into the shoe. Frowning when his foot touched something, he removed his foot and examined the shoe. "Eww." He pulled out the sock and handed it to Sheppard. Sheppard closed his fist tightly around the precious sock. "Well," Rodney said, after he finished tying the second lace, "Thanks."

"No problem," Sheppard answered as he watched Rodney leave. Once the door was closed, he breathed a sigh of relief and slipped his hand inside the sock. To his horror, he felt nothing. Worriedly, he turned the sock upside down and shook it over his open hand. Nothing. The ring was still in his shoe!

XXXXXX

After worrying nearly all day about whether or not Rodney would find the engagement ring, Sheppard was glad when the scientist finally returned the shoes later that night. "Well, you were right," Rodney said, pulling off the shoes. "They are uncomfortable."

"I told you so," Sheppard said, praying that Rodney hadn't investigated the cause of his discomfort and discovered the ring.

"Especially the right one. I think you picked up a rock or something."

"Yeah," Sheppard smirked. "A five-hundred dollar rock."

"A what?" Rodney asked, handing back the shoes.

"Nothing," Sheppard said, shaking his head. "Nothing at all." If Rodney didn't get it, he wasn't going to explain…

Evie laughed when he finished the tale. "You know, for an astrophysicist, he misses the obvious quite often," she commented.

Sheppard nodded and slid the gold band onto Evie's ring finger. "I know it can't stay there, but I wanted to do that," he said with a short laugh.

Evie nodded and gazed adoringly at the ring for a moment before slowly removing it. She unattached her dog tags and slid the ring onto the military chain, allowing Sheppard to refasten it. She dropped the tags back inside her shirt and didn't attempt to stop the tears that slowly began to fall. "Why did you have to be so wonderful?" she whispered, resting her head against his chest. She inhaled shakily, the full impact of her decision slowly hitting her. Sheppard held her tightly and kissed the top of her head. "You really think we can do this?" she asked after a minute.

"Yes. I love you, Evie. And that's all that matters." He gently wiped away her tears, then kissed her again, this time with more zeal. If Evie hadn't made her conditions clear earlier, she had no doubt that he would have made love to her against the desk right then and there.

Two Weeks Later

"I assure you, Carson, I'm fine," Evie protested.

"You fell thirteen feet, my dear. I couldn't call myself a good physician if I didn't give you a thorough examination," Carson insisted. Evie sighed. "Now, please hop up onto the table for me so we can get an x-ray." Reluctantly, Evie climbed onto the table and obediently lay down. "You said were having chest pains after you fell, correct?" Carson asked, positioning the lead blanket over her hips.

"Yeah, but that was just because I got the wind knocked out of me," Evie assured him.

"We shall see." He was about to turn the machine on, when he suddenly remembered, "Dog tags?"

"Oh. Right." Evie pulled the chain from around her neck and handed them to him. Carson set them on the table beside him and proceeded to take her x-rays.

When he was finished, Carson removed the heavy cover and helped her off the examination table. "I'll let you know," he said, turning off the machine. When he reached for her dog tags, this time he noticed the sliver of gold between the two metal tags. "Well, this is interesting," he commented, examining the ring. "And is there a gentleman who goes with this lovely ring?" he asked, handing the chain back to Evie.

"Umm…well…I, uhh…" She quickly pulled the chain around her neck, dropping the tags back inside her shirt. "He's umm… Yes?"

"Anybody I know?" Carson asked, obviously amused.

"Maybe…" Evie answered, looking down at her feet.

"Is the reason you're so reluctant because you think I would disapprove?" he asked, standing beside her and leaning his back against the table. Evie nodded, not looking up. "Oh, good Lord!" Carson said after a pause. "Surely not Rodney?"

Evie laughed. "Heavens, no! I mean, I've got nothing against him, but…eww." She shuddered, causing Carson to chuckle.

"Well, I could just guess names," Carson suggested. "But that might take a while."

Evie sighed. "Would this be covered by the whole 'doctor/patient confidentiality' thing?"

"Absolutely."

After having an internal debate, she decided that she could trust Carson. Plus, having someone else who knew would probably be a good idea later on down the road. "John," she said in a barely audible whisper.

"Oh! Dr. Holloway?" Carson asked. "He's a marvelous young man. My congra--"

"Sheppard," she corrected, her voice even quieter than the first time.

Carson was silent for a moment. "Now, Evie," he began. "I don't generally pretend to know anything about military matters, but…isn't that against regulations?"

Evie nodded her head slowly. "Please don't tell anyone," she begged softly.

"Don't worry, my dear," Carson said kindly. "Your secret is safe with me," he promised.

"Thanks, Carson. You're wonderful," she said, lightly kissing his cheek.

XXXXXX

'Ooh, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood,' Sheppard thought to himself as he watched Dr. Bethany Croker stroll past him as he made his way to the gym. He was a few minutes early for his "stick fighting"(as he liked to call it) match with Teyla, and stepped through the gym doors in time to watch the present occupants finish their battle. Currently, Evie was sparring with Hans Schwartz, a very handsome young German immigrant who was currently serving as a Sergeant in the US Marine Corps. "Good morning, Lieutenant," he greeted, setting his bag down in the corner. "Sergeant."

"Morning, sir," Evie panted, ducking a blow from Hans and quickly sending one of her own, catching his chin.

"Nice one, Evie," Hans said, shaking it off.

"Thanks." Evie smiled. "Been practicing," she said, taking another swing.

With quick reflexes, Hans grabbed her fist and twisted her arm behind her back, pulling her body against his. "Me, too," he murmured. Sheppard felt a small twinge of jealousy at their close proximity, but quickly pushed it aside.

Realizing that she couldn't use her weight against his, Evie rammed her free elbow into Hans's stomach. When he doubled over, she stomped on his left foot and used the opportunity to spin free of his grasp. Twisting his left arm out to the side, she kicked the back of his knees and managed to throw him down onto the mat. She quickly moved to pin him to the ground, but before she had a chance to put her full weight on him, Hans grabbed her arms and rolled them over so that he was straddling her. He quickly pinned her arms to the mat with a triumphant grin. Evie struggled against him, but his weight held her in place.

Sheppard stiffened at the intimate position and bit his tongue to keep from spouting off something that he might later regret.

"Nice moves, Hans," Evie said, breathing heavily.

Hans grinned down at her. "Thank you, my dear," he teased.

When he hadn't moved after a moment, Evie said, "Okay, don't take this the wrong way, but you're squishing me."

"Oh!" He quickly released her arms and got off her. "Terribly sorry," he said, reaching his hands down to pull her up.

"You're fine," she said, sweeping a few stray hairs away from her face. "So, you want to do this again Thursday?" she asked, walking over to where she had set her water bottle.

"Definitely," he said with a grin.

"And next time, it's gonna be me pinning you to the floor," she teased.

"We'll see. Keep up the good work," he said, lightly punching her shoulder.

She nodded and took a gulp from her water bottle as he exited the gym.

"I don't like that guy," Sheppard commented once the gym doors had slid shut.

"And why not?" Evie asked, wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Did you see the way he was looking at you?" he said protectively.

"No, I was kind of concentrating," Evie replied, pulling her radio from her bag and placing it back in her ear.

"He was leering."

Evie snorted. "I think you're just paranoid," she said, swinging her small bag over her shoulder and heading for the door.

Sheppard grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him. "I don't want you hanging around him," he said almost possessively, his eyes looking her quickly up and down.

Evie yanked her arm out of his grip. "You don't own me, John," she stated defensively. Sheppard raised an eyebrow. "If that's what you think that ring means," she said with a frown, "then maybe you should take it back. You don't get to dictate my life."

"No, but I can say that I don't want you hanging around that…libidinous muscle-head!" he declared, raising his voice.

"Well, fine then!" Evie said, growing louder as well. "I don't want you sparring with Teyla anymore. Especially not when she's wearing those slutty little outfits that she calls 'work-out clothes!'"

"So what am I supposed to tell her? 'Oh, sorry, Teyla, I can't train with you anymore; my fianceé thinks you dress too slutty'?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something. You could have been Mensa, remember?" she shot back wryly, throwing his favorite gloat back in his face.

Sheppard's next retort was curtailed by the sound of the gym door whooshing open. Teyla stepped through the door and greeted them with a smile. "Good morning, Colonel. Lieutenant."

Without returning the salutation, Evie walked out of the gym in a huff.

"Is she alright?" Teyla asked after a pause.

"She'll get over it," Sheppard said, turning to grab his weapons from his bag. "Let's do this."

XXXXXX

It only took Evie until around lunchtime to realize that she had overreacted. And lost her temper…again. She sighed and began searching for Sheppard. After about ten minutes, she located him in Rodney's lab, sitting in a chair, flipping through a report. "What're you reading, Colonel?" she asked casually.

"An incredibly boring mission report," he answered.

Evie nodded. "Oh, Dr. McKay," she said, looking over at Rodney.

"Yes?" he glanced up from his computer.

"Dr. Beckett needs to see you in the infirmary. He's having some issues with the…with their main computer."

Rodney sighed. "I swear, that man cannot do anything by himself." He got up and began heading for the door. "If you two will excuse me." Sheppard acknowledged his leaving with a slight nod, remaining focused on the report in front of him.

After Rodney was gone, Evie sighed. "Look, I'm really sorry that I blew up at you this morning…" she said, absently wringing her hands as she slowly walked over to him. "I have a bad habit of losing my temper."

"Same here," he sighed, turning the chair around to face her and gently taking her hands in his.

"Forgive me, John?" she murmured.

Sheppard just smiled and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her. "Absolutely," he said and lovingly kissed her.

"You know," she said a minute later as she rested her head against his chest. "We've really gotta stop doing that. Losing our tempers, I mean."

"Oh, but making up is so much fun," he teased, kissing the top of her head.

"Yeah… But I think we need couples' therapy," she joked with a grin.

"How about we just promise to not yell at each other every time we get ticked off?" he proposed.

"Sounds good to me," she answered, kissing him once more.

Their embrace was interrupted, but not stopped, by Rodney's voice as he re-entered the lab. "I ran into Carson in the hall and he said he nev-- Whoa! Okay…come on you two…" They ignored him. "Not in my lab, puh-leeze."

Gently releasing Evie, Sheppard jabbed at Rodney, "Aw, c'mon, McKay, just because you can't get a chick…"

Evie lightly slapped his arm. "Now is that any way to refer to your fianceé ?" she teased.

"His what?" Rodney spluttered.

Sheppard dropped his head to his hand for a moment, then looked back up at Evie, blinking at her with a wry smile.

"Oops."

"Well, well," Rodney said, crossing his arms with a smirk. "When did this happen?"

Evie looked back at Sheppard, who merely shrugged. "I finally accepted a couple weeks ago," she answered.

"Well…good for you two. Just don't let anyone catch you," he said, returning to his computer.

"You're the best, Rodney," Evie said, standing up. Then she returned her attention to Sheppard. "Well, if everything's good between us again, I'll go now."

Sheppard nodded and pulled her in for a goodbye kiss.

Rodney turned around to ask Sheppard a question and frowned. "Ugh. You guys…not in front of me!"