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Moments Like This

Chapter 5 – Asking for Trouble

John was jostled into consciousness the following morning, his deep sleep preventing him from realising where he was for a good few minutes. By the time it finally dawned on him that the reason he'd woken was due to the warm bundle he had wrapped in his arms, she was shifting around to face him. He felt himself tense as the sleepiness cleared and he realised he had yet to discover Elizabeth's reaction to his sleeping next to her.

Listening to her breathing even out again, he bent his neck slightly so he could see her face. To his surprise, she'd grasped his t-shirt in one hand and buried her head against his shoulder, her pretty face as peacefully relaxed as he'd ever seen her. An onslaught of emotions he wasn't ready for suddenly overwhelmed him, and he tightened his arms around her protectively, his right hand moving over the tangled curls of her dark hair.

"John," she breathed, so quietly he wasn't entirely sure he hadn't imagined it. He felt her slender fingers tighten their hold on his shirt, making him wonder what she was dreaming.

From the weak sunlight streaming through the large Atlantian windows, John guessed it was pretty early in the morning. Early enough that he could probably make his escape from the room and not be seen, but a traitorous part of his consciousness was very interested in his sleeping companion's reaction to this situation. It would go one of two ways; either she'd be embarrassed that she'd been caught in his room, or she'd be royally ticked off that he hadn't woken her.

John studied her sleeping profile for a few minutes before he laid his head back on his pillow, his mouth accidentally brushing Elizabeth's forehead as he moved.


She woke by what felt like a kiss to her temple, a warmth and security surrounding her like she hadn't felt in years. Disorientated, she opened her eyes slowly, seeing only a dark blue shirt collar not even an inch away. And the collar belonged to the shirt she had a fist full of in her right hand. She had a fairly good idea who the wearer was, and as she tilted her head back, her suspicion was confirmed.

"Oh my god," Elizabeth whispered in shock, thinking herself the only one awake.

"Well, good morning to you too." John's voice was light, as if testing the waters. His arms unwound from their tight embrace of her body, and she was sure she spotted a flash of unease on his face as his hazel eyes studiously avoided hers.

"How long have you been in my room?" She asked; her head still clouded with sleep and her limbs refusing to let her sit up.

His patented Sheppard-smirk appeared then, his gaze finally falling to hers. "Liz, you're in my room."

She finally managed to take in her surroundings, the memory of the previous night flooding back. John inviting her to use his Jacuzzi in his absence, the immense fatigue she'd been feeling all day, and then lying down on the bed, vaguely registering that John's scent on the blankets was lulling her to sleep. What she didn't remember was when her military commander had returned to the base and to his room.

"So I am." She replied in a casual tone, forcing herself to sit up. Unsure whether a blush was colouring her cheeks, she pulled her duvet-covered knees to her chin, circling her arms around them before chancing a glance at her smirking 2IC.

"So…" John drew out the word, his mischievous expression giving away his enjoyment of the situation.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him, her embarrassment at odds with the warm feeling he was invoking in her by smiling at her that way.

"Liked my bed better than yours?" He teased gently.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

He shrugged, the cheeky grin widening as he replied; "It's not everyday I find my boss in my bed."

"Your boss?"

"Yeah, that'd be you."

"I thought we had more of a joint command, Major." She levelled her emerald –coloured eyes at him, a silent challenge to contradict her.

"So long as I don't piss you off too much, you mean."

It was Elizabeth's turn to smile, donning a deliberately hurt expression. "It's not that difficult to stay on my good side, is it?"

"Well…"

"That was a rhetorical question, Major."

He tilted his head to the side adorably, his expression a perfect example of the wounded puppy-dog she could never say no to. "Oh, Liz. You spend the night in my bed and then revert to formalities in the morning? I'm hurt."

Shooting him a withering stare, she moved to get up, immediately realising she wasn't fully dressed. "I should get back."

"Missing something?" He asked innocently, his straight face doing nothing to hide his smugness from her.

"Yes." She replied, trying to sound impatient but failing to suppress a slight smile. With her back to him, she scanned the room, searching for the pile of clothes she'd shed the previous evening.

"Anything… in particular?"

Ignoring his question, Elizabeth continued to seek out her remaining garments with her eyes, but gave up, realising she couldn't move from the bed without giving her 2IC more to look at than she cared for him to see.

For now at least. She chided herself for the traitorous thought entering her head.

"John, where are my trousers?"

"Trousers? Black ones… cute little pockets on each side?" He asked, his face creasing in mock-concentration.

She sighed, pinning him with her best-unimpressed look. "Yes, those ones."

"Nope, haven't seen them."

"John!"

She could've laughed at his contrite expression, but his green eyes were still alight with playfulness. "This is one of those times where I get you pissed at me, right?"

"That depends, if you lend me some BDUs I might forgive you."

His head tilted to the side again, his face lighting up as if a realisation had dawned on him. "You sleep in my bed and now you want my clothes?"

"John," she said with exaggerated patience. "Please."

"Well," he replied, practically bouncing from the bed. "Since you asked so nicely."

She really wanted to hit him. Badly. But at the same time, it was moments like this she treasured. Little moments they seemed to steal, where no threats existed, no enemies, no horrific possibilities and no endless responsibilities. Just enjoying each other's company – a little too much in her case, as she had to remind herself again all the reasons she just could not be in love with this man.

"Any colour preference, Elizabeth?" His grin made her heart melt, eliciting a genuine smile from her as she tried to stop herself watching him.

"I'll let you choose."

"I don't think I have any mini-skirts…" He had his back to her, busy rummaging through the cupboard against the far wall - too busy to notice the pillow on a direct course for his head until it was too late. He bent down to pick up the makeshift missile, his eyes betraying the amusement he felt at her action. "Now that wasn't nice."

She laughed and held out a hand to protect herself, trying her best to look remorseful as she watched him advance towards her with the same weapon she'd just used. "John, don't."

"Don't… what?" His voice rose in pitch, accompanying a playful grin as he watched her draw back, a smile on her face as if she didn't believe he'd actually hit her with the cushion. She sat still on the bed, trying to decide whether to sacrifice her bare legs to his eyes and run, or fight back.

Once he was within a close enough distance he swung the large pillow at her side, laughing at the decidedly un-Elizabeth squeal he received in response. She managed to grab a hold of the pillow before John raised it out of her reach; tugging at it with a strength he had no idea she possessed. Maintaining his end of the tug-of-war, he reached down with his free hand to pick up the second pillow from the floor, promptly throwing it at his opponent.

"John!" She cried, somewhere between laughter and annoyance that he was winning. As he came at her again, she moved off the other side of the mattress, taking the blue bed sheet with her and holding it around her waist. She bent to retrieve the cushion from the floor, spinning just in time to catch her adversary off-guard, right in the stomach.


John laughed as he caught sight of her complacent grin, watching her for a minute as she caught her breath. Her big green eyes were alight with mirth, her dark hair in tangled curls around her pretty face, and she was still keeping hold of the sheet around her legs, not realising one strap of the red tank top she wore had slipped from her shoulder. Suddenly it hit him like a tonne of bricks. He was in love with her. Completely and totally… in love with her.

Her next shot was to his left side, shaking him from his reflections with a jolt. He retaliated quickly, seizing her pillow before she could get a better hold on it again. She gazed at him squarely, her free hand raised in a placating gesture as she said his name again. He watched her as she circled him warily, climbing on to the bed.

"Let's call it a draw." She suggested with a smile, cautiously observing any movement of the soft artillery he held in each hand.

He smirked at her, closing the distance between himself and the bed, holding her gaze as he moved. "I play to win, Liz."

She ducked the first pillow he threw, the yielding material hitting the back wall with barely a sound. The second ended up on the floor, kicked away as they both lunged for the first one, Elizabeth forgetting the sheet around her as she threw herself forward. John heard her laughing squeal again he grabbed her arm, pinning it to the bed just inches short of their prize.

"Okay, okay…" she tried to get out through a mass of giggles. "You win."

"I usually do." He smirked at her, his hand moving ever-so-slowly down her side before reaching her waist, where he moved his fingers lightly over her, grinning when he got the desired shriek at being tickled.

"John, don't… John!" As she struggled to fight him off, somewhere in her mind told her these situations where happening with increasing consistency, and there wasn't a single fibre of her that didn't enjoy every second of it.

Through the haze of movement and laughter, all of a sudden his mouth had closed over hers, kissing her softly before he realised what he was doing. He barely had time to register her lips responding to his before a shout behind them tore them away from each other.

"Oh my god." McKay's disgusted voice greeted them.

John practically leapt up, turning to sit facing his unwelcome visitors, hoping to shield a – he guessed - very embarrassed Elizabeth from his team-mates' view. His luck really wasn't holding, it seemed.

"Sheppard." Ronon smiled smugly, crossing his powerful arms across his chest. "Dr Weir."

"Doesn't anyone knock around here?" John asked, his irritation evident.

"Actually we heard what we thought was calls for help… obviously that wasn't the case, but Ronon here wanted to check it out. Hero complex and all that." McKay explained with his usual lack of diplomacy. He then shot an icy glare at John. "You realise I'm scarred for life."

"Well thank you for that, but we're both just fine." John assured them sarcastically, pulling one hand through his dark ever-messy hair.

Neither man made any move to leave, seemingly enjoying their COs' embarrassment. "Was there anything else you gentleman wanted?" Elizabeth spoke up, her voice holding the authority it always did, despite the change of scenery. John shot them both an aggravated glare in an effort to add to that authority, knowing all too well he wouldn't hear the end of this from either of them. It was always so much easier to enjoy a mission when he was the one with the upper hand on the banter.

"No, I think we've seen enough." Ronon replied with a deep chuckle, turning to exit the room as McKay did the same.

"Too much." Rodney's words reached John before the doors slid shut behind them.

He turned to Elizabeth, wary of her reaction. "Guess I should've locked that."

Rewarded with a slight smile, he watched as she pulled her knees up to her chin again and idly wondered if it was a defence mechanism. "Why do I get the feeling today is going to be a difficult one?"

"Hey, I thought you were the optimist."

She rearranged the sheet around her again, sending him a beseeching look. "If I promise not to throw anything at you, can I have those BDUs now?"

John smirked back at her. "Actually, you left all your stuff in the bathroom last night."

The narrowing of her eyes was the only response he got for that as he watched her rise and move to the door of his bathroom, the blue sheet that had become an improvised skirt trailing behind her. He grinned to himself as she disappeared from sight, relieved at both her reaction to the previous evening and to the unexpected intrusion of his teammates minutes before. He wasn't sure exactly what he'd expected, but he had been sure she wouldn't act as though this was a perfectly normal situation.

It was only a few minutes later when Elizabeth emerged, clothed as she had been the day before and distractedly dragging one hand through the mass of dark curls in an effort to neaten her appearance. "I'm going back to my room." She told him with a casual smile, heading straight for the main door.

"Hey, wait." John caught her hand quickly as he stood, his height surpassing hers as she looked up at him. "Are you okay?"

Her brows furrowed in confusion as she held his gaze. "Shouldn't I be?"

"Well, forgive me for asking, but you don't usually wake up in here not knowing where you are."

She crossed her arms over her chest, an inquisitive smile curling her lips. "I was tired, John. I fell asleep."

"You don't sleep enough." He replied quietly, mimicking her pose.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I need to get back. Thanks for the use of your room." She smirked at him, a hint of flirtation in her eyes.

"Anytime." He grinned back at her, his hazel eyes warm with sincerity. He paused before adding; "You know… the room across the hall is identical to this one…"

"What are you getting at, Major?"

"Well, I'm just saying you could move into that room instead… big bath tub, nicer bed…"

She laughed at his endearing grin. "You don't like your existing neighbours?"

"It's empty. There was some minor damage from flooding but I'd be happy to fix the place up for you."

She glanced at him suspiciously. "Is this so I don't evict you from this room? I was kidding, you know."

"I know." He stared at her with a warm smile, holding her gaze without speaking for what seemed like hours.

"Okay then." She agreed, returning his smile with her own.