Disclaimer etc. in the first chapter.
When they all got back to the Sheppard-Mayrand home, Elizabeth was too tired to do anything but drop onto the couch. It had been a long time since she'd eaten that much.
Although it had started out just as a trip for ice cream, almost as soon as everyone was in the car the kids had begged Kathy to take them by their school so they could show it to Uncle John. This led to seeing their favorite park, their best friends' houses, and somehow by the time they were ready for ice cream it was time for dinner.
David had pleaded to go to some crazy Jewish deli with a carousel in the parking lot and wind up toys along all the walls and ceilings, even inside the tabletops, covered with glass. The portions were huge, and such a nice change from what she ate on Atlantis or at the SGC that Elizabeth had devoured hers. She was almost too full for ice cream, but neither Hanna nor John would hear of her turning it down, so she'd topped her big meal with a gigantic bowl of Extreme Moose Tracks.
Eric had expressed some concerns about feeding the children so much sugar just before bed on a school night, but Kathy had taken the "extra long" way home so both David and Hanna were drowsy by the time she pulled into the driveway. Each parent took a child and carried them upstairs to brush their teeth, while Elizabeth and John waited in the living room.
Leaning back against the cushions, Elizabeth rested a hand on her belly. Beside her, John sprawled bonelessly against some pillows. She rolled her head along the back of the couch to look at him.
"Do you ever sit properly?"
He smiled lazily at her. "Only when it's an important meeting with a superior or I'm trying to make a good impression."
Elizabeth made a face at him. "John, I can count on one hand the number of times you've actually sat up straight, or even in a chair, in my office."
"So?"
"You're saying you don't want to make a good impression when we have a meeting?"
"I'm saying I don't feel like I'm on trial and have to be on my best behavior when we have a meeting," he responded.
"Oh."
Silence fell between them then, comfortable at first but soon stretching into awkwardness. From the floor above them they could hear the murmur of voices as Eric and Kathy got the kids tucked in, and just when Elizabeth was about to say something, anything, probably something stupid, she heard footsteps on the stairs.
"Elizabeth," Kathy was saying as she came into view. "I've changed the sheets in Hanna's room and put out towels for you in the bathroom."
Elizabeth sat up straighter, clasping her hands in front of her and ignoring her stomach's protest at the movement. "Thank you, Kathy. I really appreciate you putting me up like this."
"It's no big deal. I'm sorry to do this, but I have to get some work done before I head into the office tomorrow morning so I'm going to have to leave you to your own devices." Kathy gave them both an apologetic smile before turning to head to the master bedroom.
"Don't apologize!" Elizabeth said. "We descended on you unannounced; we can't expect you not to be busy."
Eric spoke up. "I've got a program I need to do some work on as well." He gestured down the hall in the direction of the office. "If you need anything, though, just let me know. John, the remotes for the TV are in the side pocket of the recliner."
"Thanks, Eric," John said, although he made no move to get them.
Once both the other adults had left to their respective projects, John finally pulled himself upright on the couch. He turned so he was leaning against one arm and could more directly face Elizabeth.
"So, what did Kathy talk to you about today on the porch?"
Elizabeth had a good poker face, John reflected, but he had known her long enough that he could read her eyes. He saw her briefly consider her earlier conversation and make a decision to tell him part of it, but not all. That was okay. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know everything his sister might have said, although it did leave him with a little worry about what childhood tales she might have been storing up over the past twenty years.
"She was concerned, John," Elizabeth said at last. "However long it's been, she's still your family, and she just wanted to make sure you were well."
That was it? He was surprised. "She didn't say anything else?"
Elizabeth's lips quirked upward slightly, and John got a feeling she knew what he was asking. "Like what?"
John fidgeted uncomfortably and licked his lips. "Nothing. It's just..."
"Just what?"
"Uh, earlier, before you came up here, I think I might have accidentally given her the impression..." He looked around the room, desperate for a distraction, but none presented itself. Elizabeth was no help either, watching him struggle for words with a slight smile that said she wasn't going to smooth this conversation over for him.
"I, uh, accidentally might have made her think we were... involved. She, uh, didn't say anything about that?"
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and was silent for a moment. John idly pulled at the cuffs of his sleeves. When she finally spoke, it wasn't to answer his question. "Accidentally?"
"It was slip of the tongue!" he protested. "Because we aren't." He paused for a moment, tilting his head to one side and looking at her. "Are we?"
Elizabeth drew her legs up onto the couch cushions and angled her body to face him more directly. "She asked me what we are to each other. And I wasn't sure what to say. Because I'll admit to being confused. All those coffee breaks, the walks, the time we spend together back on Atl – in the city," she corrected herself, remembering that although they were alone in the room there were four other people in the house, none of whom had clearance.
As she spoke, John realized she was right. In any other situation, he might say they were dating, that they were "involved." But their situation wasn't like any other. They spent most of their days in another galaxy, worrying about the possibility of an alien attack and technology they couldn't understand instead of the price of gas and whether there was milk in the fridge. Hell, he hadn't even kissed her since that "celebratory" kiss after he received Kathy's first letter. Not that he hadn't wanted to, because eating lunch with her, watching her drink coffee, he'd paid enough attention to her lips to wonder about it.
Well, he'd always believed actions spoke louder than words, so he leaned forward on the couch, eyes on hers, slowly enough the she could tell him to stop if she wanted to. He slipped a hand behind her neck and her eyes fell closed and her lips parted slightly and then his lips slid over hers and they were kissing and all John could think was "At last" and –
"Hey, Johnny, I – whoops!" Kathy's voice startled them both, and they separated abruptly and awkwardly to turn and look at her over the back of the couch.
"I, um, I just wanted to tell you that Eric and I will probably turn in soon because I have to be up at five and I was going to leave you a set of spare house keys on the kitchen counter in case we're gone when you get up, and I'll just be leaving now."
She started back into her bedroom, then turned and shot Elizabeth a smile. "Right hand, huh?"
Elizabeth blushed slightly while John looked at her in confusion. Then she lifted her eyes to his and they locked gazes for a moment before John spoke.
"So, I guess we are involved then?" Elizabeth's smile was answer enough.
John wasn't surprised when he came into the kitchen the next morning to find Elizabeth fully dressed, standing at the counter and drinking coffee while she read the newspaper. He was still wearing pajamas pants and a t-shirt, figuring that even though it had been twenty years, Kathy was still his sister and he was too lazy to get dressed before he'd had some coffee. It had not been a restful night; he'd kept replaying their interrupted kiss in his mind, only this time Kathy didn't intrude and the kiss led to other, even more, interesting activities.
"Morning," Elizabeth said quietly, turning a page of the paper. It was the national news section, John noticed as he grunted a reply, and he wondered briefly how many of the big name people mentioned in the articles she had known in person.
He ran a hand through his hair and caught Elizabeth watching him, smiling fondly. Yes, he knew women seemed to find his perpetually messy hair endearing, but did they really have to always stare at it with that look that made him feel about six years old? Not what he wanted to feel, especially given the kinds of dreams he'd had last night. Realizing that he was being grumpy, even in his own head, he hastily reached for the coffee pot and poured himself a mug. He could function perfectly well in the early mornings and on much less sleep than he'd had, thanks to his training, but that didn't mean he was pleasant to be around before his first cup of coffee.
"Kathy and Eric leave?" he asked after the first gulp helped restore a little of his humanity.
"Yes, and the kids are off to school as well."
He grunted an acknowledgement and downed the rest of his coffee. Putting his mug in the sink, he looked around at the kitchen, at a loss for where breakfast food was. Upon seeing his confusion, Elizabeth folded the newspaper over so she could hold it in one hand and still read it, and without looking opened a cabinet for the bowls, another for the cereal, and a drawer for a spoon. John mumbled a thank you and fixed himself some breakfast, finding a full carton of milk in the fridge.
Without consulting each other, they both moved into the dining room. Elizabeth took one seat along the side of the table, eyes still on the paper, and John pulled out a chair opposite her. They sat in companionable silence, her reading and him eating, until he finished and told her he was going to head upstairs to shower and dress.
When he came back down twenty minutes later, John found Elizabeth drying their breakfast dishes. She was humming under her breath and looking out the kitchen window, and John felt an almost irresistible urge to come up behind her and slip his arms around her waist. He took half a step forward, but Elizabeth heard him and turned to face him as she placed the last bowl on the counter.
"You look a bit more presentable now," she said with a smile.
He grinned back at her. "I feel it. Did Kathy say what time everyone would be home tonight?"
"She said she'd be back around 4, in time to meet David and Hanna's bus, and that we should plan on dinner around 7. We're having one of Eric's specialties, apparently."
"Any thoughts on what you want to do today?" he asked as she folded the towel and hung it on the oven door.
Elizabeth shook her head. "Not really. I do want to pick up a calling card someplace, though, so I can get in touch with my brother."
John nodded slightly, masking the flash of guilt he felt at her words. Here she was spending her free time on Earth with him to ease his way back into his family, and she wasn't even going to be able to see her own parents.
She saw through the mask, anyway. She always did. "I want to be here, John. I wouldn't have been able to see my parents even if I hadn't come up here for you. They're traveling abroad right now."
It didn't ease his guilt much, but he accepted her answer anyway, for her sake. "So, we'll go find a drug store or something and figure things out then?"
"Sounds good," she said.
They wound up driving in circles through suburban neighborhoods for a while before they found their way back out to a main road. Once there, John stopped at a gas station with a mini mart. As Elizabeth picked up a phone card and a couple of news magazines, John perused the aisles of food.
When she was done checking out, Elizabeth turned to get John and found him standing directly behind her with armloads of food. "Hungry?" she asked.
"I've decided what we're going to do," he answered, dumping everything on the counter in front of the clerk. "We're going to have a picnic! Full of good old American junk food."
She pulled one bag from the pile. "Cheetos?"
"They're good!" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Well, they are. And I've missed them, so we're going to get them." He gestured to the back of the store. "Why don't you go get a couple of hotdogs and decorate them for us, and pick out a couple of drinks, too."
Elizabeth shook her head at him, but did as he suggested. She could hear John asking the clerk where the nearest park was as she loaded up one hotdog with mustard, relish, and onions, just the way he'd said he liked them. She put just a touch of mustard and relish on her own, grabbed a couple of bottles of soda from the case on the wall, and returned to the counter.
They took two wrong turns getting to the park, but since it took them by a beautiful old town hall, Elizabeth didn't mind. "Tom would love this," she said, gazing out the window.
"Your brother? The architect, right?" John asked and she smiled, pleased he remembered.
They found the park at last and set up on a bench near some playground equipment. As they ate their junk food, complete with Cookies 'N' Cream Hershey bars he'd picked up for her chocolate addiction (she didn't have the heart to tell him she preferred European chocolate), they watched a group of children too young to be in school play on the bars and tires and slides.
"Do you ever think about kids?" Elizabeth asked. Her eyes widened and she pressed her lips together – she hadn't meant to ask that.
John was quiet for a moment, and Elizabeth wondered if he was going to respond. "Sometimes. I mean, maybe someday. With the right person, I guess," he said, eyes studiously looking anywhere but at her.
They fell into an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the rustle of a bag as John finished off the last of the Cheetos. He licked orange powder from his fingers – a move Elizabeth found incredibly distracting – and picked up the bag, holding it out to her like a trophy.
"Do you think anyone would notice if I snuck some of these into my pack?"
Startled, Elizabeth let out a peal of laughter. She risked a look at his face, and the wounded puppy dog expression made her laugh even more.
They got home shortly after six, having stopped in a book store for Elizabeth, and later at what Elizabeth called a "gadget store" for John, before finding their way back to the park to enjoy just walking under Earth's sky, on Earth's grass, with Earth's wind in their faces.
Dinner was, as promised, spectacularly delicious, although the meal was rather tense. David was in trouble for yelling at Kathy when she told him to do his homework, and Hanna was playing up being the "good" child by being exquisitely polite. When the food was gone and the table cleared, both kids were trotted upstairs to finish homework and go to bed.
"Kathy?" Elizabeth said as the other woman came back downstairs. "Would it be all right if I used a calling card and made a call on your phone?"
"Of course," came the reply. "You can use the phone in the office if you like; you can shut the door there for more privacy."
"Isn't it kind of late to be calling your brother?" John asked, knowing that Tom lived somewhere east of them.
"There's only a two hour difference," she said. "And Tom likes to stay up late."
As Elizabeth walked down the hall to the office, Kathy came fully into the living room, a box in her hands. "John? I found those pictures of Mom I was telling you about, if you want to look at them."
John looked up at her from his seat on the couch, and swallowed. "Okay," he said, hoping his uncertainty didn't show in his voice.
