Hey guys! Thanks so much for everyones reviews, its lovely that
people take the time to write such long ones I love them! Ideas aren't
coming so fast for this fic anymore I'm afraid so hopefully they'll
start again now S2 airing again :D
Moments Like This
Chapter 7 – Accidental Indiscretions
"Are you sure you've done this before?"
John turned to her, amused by the unconvinced raised eyebrow she was throwing his way. Due to waiting for the next shipment of supplies to be delivered via the Daedalus, they had had to wait nearly six weeks to make a start on re-colouring her room. It had given her 2IC more than enough time to tease Elizabeth endlessly about her choices for redecorating, as well as sparking off many requests from other personnel to do the same. How she'd managed to talk Stargate Command into sending several dozens of tins of paint he didn't know, but it seemed that most of the down time the past few days had been spent redecorating rooms all over Atlantis.
Elizabeth had argued that the interior design spree was good for morale, as Caldwell wasn't impressed with many of his men helping Atlantis residents with their own rooms. It was quite amazing how the new expedition members had become part of the team so quickly, friendships built and trust gained. There had been in-depth discussions about the modifying the rooms of Atlantis, shortly before John had found each of the walls had an inbuilt blanking system, reducing anything on the surface to dust. The science teams had had a field day with this new discovery, shortly before sparking off the on-going 'make-overs' all over the city.
It was John who had swiped enough of the requisitioned paint for Elizabeth's room, as she had been knee-deep in negations with two separate worlds, both of which promised to be worthwhile potential allies. When he'd finally managed to drag her from her work before anything else became too important to miss out on, he had persuaded her some painting would be therapeutic.
"I tried painting my room when I was fifteen, and it was far from therapeutic, John."
He shot her a grin, passing her a roller and a tin of paint. "Well you didn't have me there, and I happen to have done this more than once, with great success."
"I suppose that's somewhat reassuring." She replied, the glint in her green eyes matching the playfulness of her tone.
"Liz, that hurts." John told her with a wounded puppy-dog expression, giving her a little push in the direction of the far wall.
Two hours had passed before either knew how long they'd been working. John turned to watch her subtly, nearly laughing out loud when he saw just how much of the light red she'd managed to get on herself. Apparently feeling his eyes on her, Elizabeth met his gaze with a questioning smile.
"If you're about to make fun of me, don't."
"I would never do such a thing." He assured her, his smirk a complete contradiction to his words. They watched each other in a mesmerised silence for a few minutes before John moved forward, reaching out to touch her cheek, the vibrant colour of the paint contrasting sharply with the paleness of her skin in a large smudge down the side of her face. Her large eyes looked up at him in surprise at his sudden closeness, but she didn't back away. He held her intense gaze, his fingers absently caressing her cheekbone.
"John?" Her soft voice was barely a whisper as she started to reach up, her lips headed straight for his.
"Mmm," Was his only answer as their lips collided, the built up tension and the number of failed attempts from interruptions pouring into the passionate kiss. His free hand found its way up to rest on the curve of her waist, as hers were entangled in his dark hair, urging him closer to her until he eventually backed her up against the wall.
Neither remembered that wall was the one Elizabeth had been painting minutes earlier.
As his left hand found its way underneath her top, he felt her breath hitch at his touch on her skin. He pulled away, anxious not to push her into something she didn't want. He respected her and their friendship too much for that. He realised he hadn't needed to worry when he looked her, a shy smile lighting up her lovely face as she slid her hands from his broad shoulders and down his arms. John continued caress her paint-stained face, leaning back in to kiss her gently. As he pulled away a second time, he spotted wisps of bright red in her hair, stopping him in his tracks.
"Uh oh."
Her confused frown accompanied her movement as she followed his gaze, her hand moving to her hair as she let him propel her body away from the newly-painted surface. John couldn't stop the laughter bubbling up inside him as he saw the colour now imprinted down her back. Her dark jeans were mostly untouched, but the black shirt she wore was covered in paint.
"It's a good look on you." He grinned and she shot him an unimpressed stare, trying her best not to let her smile break through. He ran his hand down her back, enjoying being able to touch her. She laughed at him when his fingers came away with transferred paint on them, but caught the playful glint in his eye before he tightened his hold on her. He pressed his finger to her nose with a victorious grin, not releasing his grip on her as she fought to escape.
"John! I have enough paint on me already!" She argued, grasping his wrist in an effort to stop any more of his attempts at finger-painting.
"While that's true, I doubt I'll get another chance at this." His hold on her loosened slightly as she twisted in his arms, fighting playfully until she eventually weakened and let herself be pulled backwards against his chest. Elizabeth relaxed in his arms, enjoying the comfort of his toned muscles surrounding her, her head falling back to rest on his shoulder as she surveyed the damage done to their work.
"I think it's safe to say you have more paint on you than on the wall now." John replied smugly, his voice soft against her ear, before bending slightly to drop gentle kisses to the exposed curve of her neck.
"Something I have you to thank for."
"Blaming me will only get you in trouble, Liz."
"As much as I'd love to stay here and spar with you, Colonel, I need to change these clothes." His soft lips against her neckline sent shivers down her spine, and she forced herself to turn in his arms to break the spell, smiling up at him as a devious expression crossed his handsome face.
"Well… my Jacuzzi happens to be just across the hall. Has bubbles and everything." He breathed huskily, his mouth so close to her nose that she could feel his five o'clock shadow,
Her smile widened and she narrowed her eyes teasingly. "You've mentioned the bubbles before; I didn't take you as the bubble bath sort, John."
"I'm not really," he sighed dramatically, looking away as though he was embarrassed before catching her eyes with a truly disarming grin. "I'm more the share-a-bath-with-a-beautiful-woman sort."
Elizabeth tried to hold back a laugh at his expression, the warm feeling she usually had when he flirted with her intensifying as he cupped her face in his hands to kiss her again. "Now why doesn't that surprise me?" She sent him her infamous raised eyebrow expression before extracting herself from his embrace, moving towards the door.
John caught her hand as she stepped around him. "You are planning on coming back, right?"
"So you can paint me some more?" She flashed him an amused grin, sensing the feel of his eyes on her back as she left the room.
"Hey!" He called after her, realising she'd successfully avoided his question; he broke into a jog to cover the short distance to catch up with her.
"Are you following me, Colonel?" She asked in a teasing tone, continuing to walk in the direction of her present quarters, having put off moving her possessions into her new room until they'd finished remodelling it.
Placing himself in front of her, John stopped her movement by resting his hands on her slim hips. "Have dinner with me?"
Her smile was soft as they stared at each other for a few seconds, but they were interrupted as she opened her mouth to reply.
"Ah, Colonel, just who I wanted to find."
John pulled his hands back, fighting the urge to sigh significantly and send a pointed glare at his interruption-prone team-mate. "What do you want now, McKay?"
"I have a device in my lab that needs…" McKay's voice trailed off as his gaze travelled over Elizabeth, taking in her red-splattered clothing. "Ah, Elizabeth, you have a little…" He gestured his hand over his own face to demonstrate the stains, and John shot her a smug grin.
"Thank you, Rodney; I'm on my way to change now." She gave him her polite, professional smile, ignoring the enjoyment clearly written all over her 2ICs face.
"Okay, well Colonel if you could come with me." Rodney didn't even wait for an answer, turning back in the direction he came from, and expecting his team-mate to follow.
John hung back until McKay was a good distance away before leaning in to kiss Elizabeth soundly on the lips. "I'll come find you at seven." With that he moved off quickly to catch up with McKay, leaving her once again smiling and shaking her head. She berated herself mentally for her actions, wondering if this was such a good idea.
Falling in love with John Sheppard would spell trouble for Atlantis surely? Raising a hand to rub her temples, she wondered who she was kidding; falling in love with her 2IC was no longer a possibility she could steer clear of while safely in the future tense. Right now, the recently promoted Lt. Colonel had managed to get around her defences, surpass all her ethical and professional morals, and assign himself the man she couldn't stop herself from loving no matter how hard she tried.
"So," McKay broached, his usual smirk adorning his face.
"So… what?"
"You and Elizabeth…"
"Are none of your business, McKay." John finished for him, picking up a strangely shaped object that looked suspiciously like a miniature puddle jumper.
"If you wouldn't mind, Colonel," the scientist swiped the object from his team-mate's hand and set it safely on a shelf behind his desk. "I only ask of course, because you two seem somewhat inseparable these days."
Sheppard didn't reply, continuing to scan the desktops absently at the equipment and tools he didn't recognize, but McKay's perceptive eye didn't fail to notice the slight smile that flickered across his face. Curiosity got the better of him as he wondered when the two leaders of Atlantis had become so close. Not only that, but he considered Elizabeth a friend, and he knew without a doubt something must have changed between she and John purely because in the two years on Atlantis, there wasn't a single time he saw her smile at anyone the same way she smiled at John.
"Why am I here McKay?"
"Oh, right, yes." Passing the soldier a small cube, he stood back and folded his arms, a smug expression on his face. "That is something the Ancients appear to have been working on."
"And it does… what?" John asked, his tone bordering on impatient.
"Well, as far as I can tell, I suspect it's a sort of health detector."
"A health detector?" Raising the pitch of his voice slightly in disbelief, he turned the object over in his hand.
"Yes, try to think about your general health and see what happens," Rodney snapped in response.
"And why exactly couldn't you do this?" John asked, never the less doing as he was asked. A purpley-pink glow suddenly emanated from the device, spreading over his hand and then disappearing with a quiet beep back into the object. "There's something on the screen now."
Rodney grabbed the small device back, studying the tiny screen. "It's in Ancient, something about your arm but other than that perfectly healthy." He continued to watch the readout, trying to decipher the few words her couldn't understand. "I think that's supposed to say 'abrasion'. You have an abrasion on your arm?"
"Yeah, that'd be courtesy of Wraith Bug Volume II. Hasn't quite healed yet." John told him reluctantly, loath to even think about it. "Are we done?"
"Date with Elizabeth?"
John narrowed his eyes dangerously, his patience with the aggravating scientist running out fast. "Stay out of it McKay, it's none of your damn business." Stalking out of the lab, he shook his head at his team-mate's unique ability to wind him up, deciding the gym would be the best place to go before meeting Elizabeth later.
