A/N: Help, I slept in! Thanks for all the reviews, I seem to be touching a few nerves here, hehe. And you're all correct, Elizabeth really is a bit of a noodle in this fic. Quite absurd. Still, makes for good angst, I think…

Chapter Five - DOWNDRAFT

John went straight up to Elizabeth's office, and leaned against the doorframe. She hadn't even noticed he was there. He cleared his throat.

She looked up, and smiled pleasantly. "John. What can I do for you?"

He took a few steps into her office, and sat down opposite her. "Perhaps you can tell me why you're upsetting Rodney." He raised an eyebrow.

A hardness veiled her eyes. "He should learn to treat women with more respect."

John leaned back. "Oh, yeah? Who says he doesn't?"

Elizabeth avoided his gaze and kept silent.

John leaned forward. "Is there something you want to tell me? Because I don't know if I can put up with you two fighting any more. It's disturbing my appetite." He smiled wryly.

She drew herself up tall in her seat, and peered down at him. "Drop it, John. It's none of your business."

He smiled slyly. "Funny, he said the same thing." He raised his eyebrows, inviting her to comment.

She narrowed her eyes and was almost hissing as she spoke. "That man has always disregarded the right of every woman he's worked with to a decent standard of behaviour. He's arrogant, egotistical, and… misogynistic."

John was puzzled. "Yeah, but you kinda knew all that. Rodney told me about stuff he said to Carter, and I'm willing to bet she told you. None of his female colleagues has ever complained… well, not on that basis. And he's always treated you just fine. All last year, you were best of friends. He's never undermined your authority like… well, like I might have done once or twice. So what's with the new attitude? I need to know, because it's just got out of hand." He ended with a deadly serious tone.

Elizabeth swallowed. She furrowed her brow, clearly considering what John was saying.

He watched her, and recognised the confusion of a combatant who had forgotten their objective. Like they had been living under some doctrine that might just be shattering around them. Well, it was now going to go one way or the other. Opponents like that were either about to surrender, or become extremely dangerous.

She began to talk, her eyes half closed, as if trying to recall. "I thought he was my friend. I thought he cared. But then we went back to Earth." She paused for a moment, and then continued, even more quietly, "I left Simon, I had to. I went to Rodney's apartment. I needed a friend. But he wasn't there." She shut her eyes, and just sat very still.

John frantically tried to remember the events of almost a year ago. They had gone back through the Stargate. Elizabeth and Rodney had taken time out to go home. He'd stayed at Cheyenne Mountain; he hadn't anywhere else to go, not really. He remembered Elizabeth coming back early, unexpectedly. He remembered going to get Rodney. He'd volunteered to pick him up, just to get some fresh air. He, too, remembered that Rodney hadn't been there. The Canadian had been upstairs, at the neighbour's…

"You went to Rodney's?"

"Yes."

"And he wasn't there?"

"No."

John swallowed. This was all very tricky, really. "Do you know… where he was?"

"Yes. The old woman next door told me." She still had her eyes down.

"Did you see him?"

"No. He was with her."

"But you do know nothing happened, right? And even if it had…?" John leaned forward a little, anxious to catch her eye.

John had thought Elizabeth was a reasonable negotiator, a fairly skilled diplomat, but when he saw the performance in front of him, he knew for sure she was good. Damn good.

"What do you mean? Nothing happened?"

She didn't know, did she? He couldn't believe it. She'd burned with some kind of twisted jealousy inside for a whole year? This was just not possible… was it?

"He was staying with his cat, I guess. The cat was there, so he was there. OK, she was there too, but he swears nothing happened. And you know Rodney, if anything had happened, he would be the first to brag about it."

She was good, but not totally perfect. Her eye twitched slightly when he said 'you know Rodney'. He smiled. Maybe there was hope for her after all.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

What did she think he was? Rodney's minder? "Well, that girl, she was hot. And she made a real good show of liking Rodney a lot. I don't know what he did, but it didn't look like she thought he was a pig any more. You know, like he said on that mist planet? Anyway, I don't know how nothing happened, but I swear, there's no way anything happened."

Elizabeth looked down for a long moment.

"Elizabeth? Are you OK?" John didn't know whether to leave or what.

"No. No, I don't think I am. I'm going to my quarters." Elizabeth rose from her chair, and just walked out, her eyes fixed ahead.

John blinked. He had no idea what to do. Should he follow? Tell Rodney? Maybe he could eat dinner, go watch a movie, and try to forget what just happened. So he did.

TBC

A/N: I love John sometimes. He's so laid back.