…and slowly opened his eyes. He was in the infirmary, lying on a bed that felt incredibly soft against the bruises that covered his aching body.
Rolling over, John found himself gazing at the sleeping form of Elizabeth in the next bed. She was beautiful, he thought, looked so peaceful in slumber.
His musings were interrupted by the appearance of Dr. Beckett, who looked pleased to see his patient awake.
"Welcome back, Colonel," he said with a smile, going to John's bedside to check his instruments.
"How long was I out?" John murmured, as the doctor moved to check on Elizabeth.
"Three days, approximately," Beckett replied absentmindedly.
John groaned. "Three days?"
"Don't worry, you'll be out of here in no time," Beckett reassured him. "There's really not much wrong with either of you. A few bruises, bit of oxygen deprivation, nothing serious."
John nodded slowly, allowing his gaze to fall on Elizabeth again as the doctor went to check on other patients.
A few moments later, Elizabeth opened her eyes to meet the colonel's gaze. She blinked slowly, trying to comprehend.
"Are we dead?" she whispered.
John gave her a tender smile. "No," he responded softly. "We're still alive."
Elizabeth couldn't help but smile back, a little shyly. "Oh," she said.
John raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" he echoed.
Elizabeth blushed slightly. "I guess I wasn't expecting to wake up," she said with a sad sort of smile.
"Neither was I," John admitted. "I guess we just got lucky."
"I guess," said Elizabeth.
When Dr. Beckett returned to see how his patients were doing, he found them gazing ardently into each other's eyes, completely silent. The doctor's own eyes flicked from one to the other, and he frowned slightly. What had they been up to in that cave?
To dispel any fantasies born of passion that would bring them grief later, he cleared his throat loudly, causing both patients to start and look up at him.
"Elizabeth, I see you're awake," the doctor said briskly. "As I was telling Colonel Sheppard, I think you'll be good to go fairly soon. Maybe a couple of hours before the last tests come in, then I'll let you go."
Elizabeth smiled weakly. "That's good," she said.
As Beckett nodded and walked away again, Elizabeth turned her gaze back to John, but the colonel was facing the other direction.
--
As Elizabeth was working diligently at her desk a few hours later, having just been released from the infirmary, there was a soft knock on her door.
"Come in," she said, without looking up from her work.
The door opened, revealing Teyla on the other side. Elizabeth, glancing up at the door, smiled and paused in her work. "Teyla, hello."
Teyla smiled back, stepping into the room. "I heard you were out of the infirmary," she said. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better," Elizabeth replied with a smile. "I think I can safely say that I'm completely recovered."
"I am glad," said Teyla warmly. "For the first few days, we were afraid you would not awaken."
"Frankly, I'm surprised we did," said Elizabeth wryly. She opened her mouth to say more, but closed it again as she spotted John standing behind Teyla at the door.
Teyla, seeing the other woman's expression, turned to see who had interrupted. "John."
"Teyla," said John pleasantly.
"I hope you are well?" Teyla inquired.
John nodded. "Yeah, think so."
There was a moment of rather awkward silence; then Teyla cleared her throat uncomfortably. With a muttered "Excuse me," she slid past John and out of the room.
Elizabeth watched John with raised eyebrows. When Teyla was gone, she said, "Was there something you needed?"
John took a step into the room, letting the door close softly behind him. "We need to talk."
"Do we?" Elizabeth replied.
Taking a few steps forward, John placed his hands on her desk and leaned forward ever so slightly, as though he intended to tell her a secret. "What happened in that cave…" he began quietly, but Elizabeth interrupted.
"Don't," she said softly, not looking at him, but staring down at her hands instead.
John tilted his head, trying to see her face. "Don't what?"
"Don't talk about it," said Elizabeth, a slight tremor in her voice. "I don't want to deal with it right now."
"Elizabeth," said John gently, "we have to deal with it now. If we don't, we might never deal with it at all."
When she remained stubbornly silent, John sighed and turned, leaning against her desk and half sitting on its edge. After a moment of uneasy silence, he spoke again, quietly, without looking at her. "You know that I've always had issues with following orders, chain of command and that sort of thing. But I've always taken the regulations concerning relationships seriously, maybe because I've never been interested in anyone I'm not supposed to have a relationship with… except one." He paused, glancing up to see that Elizabeth was looking at him again. "You," he added.
Elizabeth cleared her throat, glancing away and then back at him. "I have feelings for you too, John," she said softly.
John slid off her desk and walked around it. As he reached the other side, Elizabeth stood to meet him.
"This can't be allowed to go anywhere," John whispered.
Elizabeth looked down. "I know… but it's hard."
"I meant you can't talk about what I'm about to do," John clarified. When she looked up again, he leaned forward, taking her face in his hands, and kissed her.
The kiss was passionate, full of warmth and a longing that bordered on need. When they finally broke apart, Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment, realizing that in all probability, this was the end of their short-lived relationship.
John touched her cheek gently, and she opened her eyes again, to see him gazing sadly at her face. She smiled at him, but it was a tearful smile, lacking in sincerity.
"I guess this is it," she whispered.
"Yeah," said John softly. "This is it."
There was a long silence.
"Will you be okay?" John asked finally, his eyes concerned.
Elizabeth bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah, I think so," she said, swallowing hard.
John watched her face for a long moment. Finally, he nodded, decisively, and turned to leave the room.
"John –"
He turned back to face her from the open doorway. "Yeah?"
Elizabeth opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She closed it again and looked down. "Nothing," she said.
John stood there for another minute, watching her; then he silently turned and walked away, leaving the door open behind him.
Elizabeth stood behind her desk for several long moments. After a while, she walked around her desk. Going to the door, she closed it, then returned to her desk, sat down in her chair, and went back to work.