Chapter Two

Elizabeth woke; feeling as if someone had pulled out her eyes and rubbed them against a cheese grater before putting them back in upside down. The skin around her eyes was sore and she realised that she must have cried herself to sleep.

She sat up in shock as she remembered falling asleep in John's arms. Elizabeth mentally cursed herself. She hated people seeing her when she felt vulnerable. She smiled. At least it had been John, not someone else. And his warm arms around her had been so comforting.

Getting out of bed she got ready for the day ahead. After showering and getting dressed, Elizabeth picked her radio off the stand next to her bed. By chance she glanced at the digital clock and swore as she read the time.

"11am? Damn!" Fitting her radio onto her ear and grabbing her laptop from her desk, Elizabeth rushed out of her quarters, towards the control room.

Elizabeth half walked, half ran to the control room, gaining surprised looks from people in the corridors. As she entered she heard the end of a conversation between Rodney and John.

"She's going to be really mad at you, Sheppard." Rodney was saying, checking something on his tablet.

"Only if she finds out it was me and she's not going to find out, is she, Rodney? Elizabeth needs the sleep; it's not like she's missed anything this morning."

Elizabeth walked up behind John and smiled. She did feel a lot better after a good sleep. She couldn't yell at John for that. "I take it you're the reason why my alarm didn't go off this morning then?"

John spun around to face her, startled by Elizabeth's presence. He smiled sheepishly. "Morning Elizabeth."

"John?" She raised her eyebrow and John winced.

"Yes?" He looked so innocent and Elizabeth had to force herself not to laugh.

Elizabeth sighed and shook her head. She waved her hand at John, telling him to forget about it, and headed into her office. Before the glass door slid shut she heard the beginnings of another conversation between John and Rodney.

"Why do you never get in trouble with her?" Rodney whined.

"Because, Rodney. Just, because." Elizabeth smiled as she saw John smirk at the annoyed scientist.

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Elizabeth had been working on reports for the last three hours. In her hand she held the core of what was once an Orple. It was a type of fruit which had just been found on the mainland. After it had been deemed safe to eat it had become a favourite in the mess hall and Elizabeth's favourite fruit. They tasted like a cross between and orange and an apple, and tasted surprisingly delicious, which is why Sheppard had name them Orples.

She threw the Orple core into the bin next to her desk and tried to return to her task of reading reports. Her head felt fuzzy and she couldn't focus on the words. Deciding that all she needed was fresh air, Elizabeth left her office, heading towards the balcony behind the control room. John was sitting next to Rodney, who was doing…something, and looked incredibly bored. Ronon and Teyla were visiting the Athosians for a few days, meaning that there were no missions for Sheppard's team.

As Elizabeth passed them, the ground seemed to move in front of her causing her to stop and raise her hand to her forehead. She suddenly felt very hot. From the corner of her eye she saw John get out of his seat and walk towards her. Everything seemed to be merging together in one big blur. Something unexpectedly exploded in her head, creating a burst of pain. The last thing she remembered as the world around her faded out, was the muffled sound of John calling her name and a pair of strong arms catching her before she hit the floor. It suddenly went black.

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The smell of disinfectant assaulted her senses as she started to wake up. Sounds of machinery grew louder, as did the sound of people whispering near by. It was obvious that she was in the infirmary. Wincing in pain, Elizabeth opened her eyes. Everything was blurry but she could make out the figures of three people standing at the foot of her bed.

"She just fainted?" Elizabeth could make out Carson's Scottish brogue.

"Yeah, she looked like she was going to go out on the balcony but she stopped and sort of swayed, like she was feeling dizzy. Then she collapsed." She could tell that John was concerned.

Her throat was dry and hurt when she tried to speak. Instead she tried to sit up; wincing in pain once again as her body protested.

"Elizabeth?" Rodney noticed her failed attempt first.

The three men walked over to her. John looked like he was going to reach for her hand but as his eyes flicked over to Rodney and Carson he decided against it. Carson pulled out his penlight and Elizabeth winced in pain for the third time that day as the sharp light hit her eyes. Realising he was hurting her, Carson pulled away.

"I ran some blood tests after Colonel Sheppard brought you in here. Nothing noticeable has been detected but I've got people double checking them. Physically you seen fine. I couldn't tell you why you collapsed." John poured out a glass of water from a jug on the bedside table and passed it to Elizabeth as Carson finished speaking.

"How long have I been out?" She asked, her throat still soar, but noticeably better after the water.

"About two and a half hours." John replied.

Elizabeth closed her eyes briefly. Her head hurt, although there was a considerably less amount of pain than before she had collapsed. Elizabeth tried to get out of the infirmary bed, ignoring Carson's objection.

She failed for two obvious reasons. The first reason being that her body still screamed in unexplainable pain; the second reason being John Sheppard. He laid his hands on her shoulders and pushed her gently back down. When he removed his hands, Elizabeth found herself missing the strange warmth John's hands had brought her, despite the uncomfortable ache they'd caused.

"Elizabeth, we still don't know what made you collapse. We've got to keep you in the infirmary." Carson admonished.

"But I feel fine!" She was lying and she knew Carson could tell.

Gently, Carson prodded her arm. Before she could stop herself, Elizabeth gasped in pain. John looked concerned, yet confused.

"For some reason that we can't discern, your body is extremely sensitive to touch. So sensitive that it causes your nerves to react in a way which makes your brain believe you're in pain. You're not leaving the infirmary Elizabeth."

Elizabeth sighed in defeat. Satisfied, Carson and Rodney left; most probably to look over her blood work again. Elizabeth looked up at John who hadn't moved. Once again he went to take her hand, but then remembered what Carson said and thought better of it. Elizabeth smiled and grabbed John's hand, regardless of the pain it caused. Once again she felt the odd sense of warmth.

"Elizabeth. I know this is a stupid question, but how are you feeling?" Elizabeth smiled again.

Ignoring the pounding of her head which was gradually getting worse Elizabeth answered the question. "I feel fine, John."

At his disbelieving look Elizabeth closed her eyes and exhaled. "John I really don't want to talk about it."

John smiled sadly, spoke, "We'll figure this out 'Liz'beth. Get some rest," and left, leaving Elizabeth once again longing for the warmth he brought.

Watching him go, Elizabeth closed her eyes sadly and fell into a restless sleep.

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So there's chapter two. Liking it so far? See this was longer than the first chapter wasn't it?! lol