A/N: Sorry that I slacked off on the updates. To make up for it: two chapters instead of just one.

"Dad?" Jonathan asked as he and John walked back to Elizabeth's quarters. He'd been quiet most of the trip.

"Yeah?"

"I know everything's probably pretty weird and stuff, but…it's not that bad living here, and I bet the Colonel would give you a team again…Would you hate it if you had to stay?"

John sighed, looking at the teen who'd had to be the man of his family since the day he was born. And it showed. "I wouldn't hate it, and I know this isn't fair to you…You know how your mom really wanted to be here, home, instead of staying on Earth?" Jonathan nodded. "My home is eighteen years ago, and I feel the same way about it. But if things don't work out…this life looks pretty good, too." Jonathan slowly nodded.

Arriving at Elizabeth's door, John brushed his hand over the sensor. Both men were surprised to see that Elizabeth was awake and sitting in a chair by the vanity, with Abbie helping her fix her hair.

"What's going on?" John inquired.

"Ask her," Abbie replied. "She won't tell me, just keeps saying it's a surprise."

"What kind of surprise?" Jonathan asked.

"Telling you that would ruin the surprise part," Elizabeth replied with a smile. "I still have a little bit of weight to throw around with the personnel in this city, a few favors that hadn't been cashed in. I thought we should take advantage of the time we have." Jonathan and Abbie looked skeptical, but John just smiled.

"Well then, let's go."

Elizabeth had the transporter take them to the north pier. It was a little bit of a trek from there to their final destination, but as they arrived on one of the balconies, they could see that a picnic had been set up.

"What's on the menu?" Abbie asked with a grin.

"A few special items I brought back on the Columbia," Elizabeth said as John helped her sit down. "Although when I planned this dinner, I didn't expect that there would be four of us to share it." John smiled, sitting behind her so he could be used as a chair-back.

"Glad I could be here."

Jonathan and Abbie were busily unpacking dinner and divvying up the items onto plates. "Oh, wow, Mom!" Abbie exclaimed as she got to the bottom.

"What?" John asked. She happily displayed a plate of crepes, along with chocolate, jam, and sugar.

"I took them to Paris while we were on Earth," Elizabeth told him. "I think we each gained ten pounds." Considering the fact that he could distinctly feel her spine and shoulder blades against his chest, John hated to think of how thin she'd been BEFORE that little trip.

"There's so much good food on Earth," Jonathan told his father. "And so many kinds. They don't know how lucky they are."

"I think it's more like you just didn't know how deprived you were, growing up with the mess hall," he replied with a laugh.

They all had a wonderful time together, the first meal they'd ever shared as a family. John volunteered to get Elizabeth back to her room while Jonathan and Abbie cleaned up and returned their plates and silverware to the mess hall. "That was a pretty nice surprise you had up your sleeve, there," John said as they arrived on her hallway.

"Thank you…I've been trying to make as many good memories for them as I can." He waved her door open, and they went inside. "I'm sorry things are a bit of a mess…I don't think I've finished unpacking yet. I never quite have the energy, or if I do, something else comes up."

John smiled, helping her get situated on her bed. "I've seen worse. You need anything?" Elizabeth shook her head. "Okay. I'll see you in the morning."

"John?" she asked. "Will…will you stay with me tonight?" The both knew he couldn't deny her anything, even if he wanted to. Without a word, he took off his jacket and slipped under the blanket beside her, holding her close in his arms. "Just like I remembered," she whispered.

"What is?"

"This. You. So many nights, I dreamed of this. All I had all these years was the regrets. That stupid fight…the things we never said. I was just scared; I didn't want to lose you. But I did…I always hoped you would have been happy about Jon and Abbie."

"They're beautiful, Liz'beth. You did an amazing job…If I could do that day over, I never would have left on that mission. I would have said the thing I should have said instead of hiding behind my own fears: I love you."

Elizabeth closed her eyes, drawing in a shuddering breath. When they opened again, they were shining with tears. "I love you, too….So much time, wasted," she whispered, her voice barely strong enough to be audible. "All these years, what I would have given for this. An entire night in your arms."

John smiled. "Sleep," he gently told her. "I'll still be here in the morning. We can have breakfast with Abbie and Jonathan."

Her lips curved as well. "I like that plan," she whispered as she nodded off.

As John woke up the next morning, it took a minute for him to figure out where he was. He never had spent an entire night with Elizabeth before, waking up to the sun shining brightly through the window instead of to the alarm on his watch in pitch blackness. As he looked down at her still-sleeping form, he was struck again by how much of their precious time had been squandered.

"Liz'beth," he whispered in her ear. "Still up for a family breakfast? I'm going to go wake up Jon and Abbie, okay?" She didn't even stir, and John smiled to himself. "Maybe we'll make it breakfast in bed for Sleeping Beauty." He shifted out from behind her to get up. "Here, wrap up good," he said, tucking the blankets around her, "You're cold."

There was a little twinge of fear in the pit of his stomach as he realized. She was COLD. And she wasn't moving. "Elizabeth?" John asked, gently shaking her shoulder. "Elizabeth, wake up…Come on, Liz'beth, please." But her eyes remained closed. "Elizabeth…" Her lips were tinged blue – she wasn't breathing.

"What are your kids going to do without you? You've always been their everything…You were MY everything, I just never got to tell you." Gathering her up in his arms, he kissed her forehead. "I've always loved you. And I always will."

After a long moment, he used one hand to activate his radio. "Sheppard to Dr. Beckett…Can you please come to Elizabeth's quarters?"

"Is she all right, John?" he could hear the Scotsman reply.

He took a deep breath. "She's gone."