"He's grumpy" Mia said when Elizabeth helped her setting the table the next morning.

"Who's grumpy?" Elizabeth asked, folding a napkin and placing it on John's seat.

"Sheppard junior. I ran into him before you came and he's...he's just grumpy. It's a pretty rare sight, because he's always in a good mood, but today..." she sighed and placed forks and knives beside the plates.

Elizabeth thought about his visit the previous evening, but that couldn't be the reason of his bad mood. Why would it? He had expressed his opinion and she had made clear that she didn't want to hear about it. There was no reason to be grumpy.

It was three hours later when she learned that this conversation actually was the reason. She was on the first floor and had finished making the Sheppard's beds when she ran into him. He groaned at her sight and turned around again to go into the other direction when he turned around once more and came towards her.

"Why am I doing this? Why do I want to help you?" he asked frustrated. Elizabeth looked at him for a few moments before she found words.

"I don't need your help" she returned as cold as ice.

"See? That's exactly what I mean. You don't want my help, because you don't know me. I don't know you either, but...Tell me, why am I doing this? Why do I care about a woman who told me to leave her alone? Why do I care about you although I don't know you? I don't understand it!" he exclaimed and threw his hands in the air in frustration. Elizabeth stared at him, her mouth slightly open in shock. "Could you please say something?" he asked after a few moments when she still hadn't said anything. Elizabeth desperately tried not to do what she was about to do, but it didn't help.

"I worked as a negotiator for the UN. I was being held captive for 2 months in Namibia. I returned about 2 months ago. I decided to take a break from my job and landed myself here. They tortured me. I could have taken the torturing, if there had been a reason why they did it, but there was no reason, they just...they...they were about to shoot me when the rescue came and I...I..." It came out of her mouth without a warning and she struggled to find more words when she felt tears roll down her cheeks. She wiped them away frantically, but they wouldn't stop falling down.

She didn't want to cry and she desperately tried to suppress the sob that threatened to escape her throat. It was pure will that held her back from breaking down completely in front of him. She looked up at him, swallowing down the lump in her throat. She couldn't decipher his expression, she didn't know if it showed pity or worry or just confusion and she didn't really care. All she wanted right know was to stop her tears from falling. She hadn't planned to tell him.

"I need to...I need to get back...get back to work" she forced herself to say, trying desperately to keep her voice calm and steady. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe deeply. She couldn't manage it.

Elizabeth didn't really notice John taking her hand and leading her into a room to her right. He led her away from the corridor where any minute someone could pass by. He closed the door behind him and she turned around.

"I'm sorry, I...I..." she tried to say before she couldn't take it anymore. She started crying bitterly, losing all the control she'd had. She could feel John encircle her with his arms, pressing her closely against him. She clutched the front of his shirt, her tears dripping into his neck.

"I've got you" he mumbled quietly into her hair. He ran a hand up and down her back in a soothing motion. His grip on her tightened when her body began to shake slightly. They stood there for a few minutes before Elizabeth calmed down a bit. She was still crying, but her sobs didn't shake her anymore. She pulled away from him, feeling suddenly ashamed for her breakdown.

"I'll go... I'll go back and..." she mumbled, but John held her back. He wiped away the sticky hair from her face and brushed her tears away with his thumb.

"No, you can stay here for now. I'll go and talk to Mia or Nicholas. I'll take you home then, ok?" he asked softly, tilting her chin up to make her look at him. New tears threatened to fall and Elizabeth lowered her gaze. It was just embarrassing. John pulled her into another hug and slowly walked her backwards until she hit something with the back of her knees.

He gently pushed her down so that she could sit on a bed. He pulled away and looked at her.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, ok? Just lie down and try to relax" he said quietly and Elizabeth lay down on her right side. The pillow under her head smelled like him. He crouched down in front of the bed and stroked some more hair from her face. "I'll be right back" he said again and Elizabeth nodded against the palm of his hand. "Ok" he said and stood up again. He then left the room.

Silent tears were now dropping onto the pillow, leaving a wet spot on the black material. She hadn't cried once over her captivity and now she'd had to break down in front of him. Elizabeth felt ashamed; it was just embarrassing that he'd had to see that. She hadn't cried in front of Julie, there had been no need to, but now, she couldn't help it. Damn him! Why could he make her talk about it? She had tried to stop herself from opening her mouth, but it hadn't worked. She had told him nevertheless.

Elizabeth blinked away her remaining tears and slowly sat up. She placed wet strands of her hair behind her ear and wiped away the wetness from her cheeks. Her shiny eyes then caught something lying on the nightstand. It was reflecting the light that came through the window. Without thinking about it she picked it up. It was a chain with dog tags.

Elizabeth twirled the chain with the two metal plates in her hand and stopped to read a name. 'Sheppard, John'. She was in his room. She looked up and let her gaze wander around the room. It was a big room. There was a desk in front of the window with dozens of folders and other things on top. It didn't look well organized.

The wall next to the desk was framed with a huge bookshelf, very similar to the one she had in her apartment. She looked over her shoulder and found a small white couch in the back of the room with a guitar lying on top of it. There was also another door that led to the bathroom she guessed.

Curiosity taking over, Elizabeth stood up, wiped her cheeks again to check if there were new tears and went over to the desk, the dog tags dangling from her hand. There were pictures on the far corner of the desk and Elizabeth picked up one frame. It showed a man in fishing clothes. He was grinning widely, giving the photographer two thumbs up.

She put it back down and looked at the next one. It showed John and another man in his Air Force dress blues. The man was a bit smaller than John and had dark blond and short hair and his smile was friendly. They were both looking happy.

There was a third picture behind the other two and Elizabeth picked it up. It showed John in front of a sporting airplane. He was wearing sunglasses and a black leather jacket. He was smiling slightly at the photographer and Elizabeth wondered who had taken the picture.

"Feeling better?" a voice asked and Elizabeth let the dog tags drop to the floor in order to keep the framed picture in her other hand from falling. John came over to her and picked up the chain from the floor while Elizabeth put the picture back onto the desk.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...I mean I didn't want to...I..." she stuttered. He had caught her rummaging through his room. This was getting more embarrassing by the minute.

"It's ok. My room is not that interesting, but feel free to take a look around" he said and put the dog tags around his neck and stuffed them under his shirt. Elizabeth watched every move he made. "I told Nicholas that you feel a bit under the weather and that I'll take you home. He told me to tell you to get well soon" he smiled and Elizabeth looked away.

"I'm fine. I can go back to work. I was...that was..." she tried to say, but sighed when she failed to find the words.

"You have the rest of the day off. I'll take you home" he said again and Elizabeth shook her head. He had already let her soak his pillow with tears. That was enough for now.

"No, you don't have to"

"But I want to. Please?"

"I...I don't want to go home" she admitted and turned her back to him. Why was she so talkative around him? It scared her. "Julie is at work and I...I would just sit there and think about...think about it and...I don't want to think about it, I just want to..." she stopped and shook her head in resignation. What was wrong with her? First she couldn't stop herself from talking and now she wasn't even able to say a whole sentence without stuttering.

"Forget?" he offered quietly and she turned around again. Elizabeth nodded. "You will never forget it, the only thing you can do is to live with it, but you will never forget it" he said and looked at her as though he was sorry that he couldn't help her.

"It's just that..." she looked at him helplessly.

"I know" he said sympathetically and looked at her. "Come on, I have an idea" he said and jerked his head in the direction of the door.

"No, I'm fine. I can go back to work" Elizabeth said, but he wouldn't listen.

"Ok, maybe you're fine, but you can't go back to work since I told Nicholas that you're not feeling well and he'll send you home the second he sees you. You don't want to go home and that's why you're going to change your clothes and meet me in front of the house in 15 minutes"

"That's not a good idea" she said and John sighed.

"You are the most stubborn woman I've ever met, you know that?"

"I'm not stubborn, I just think that it is not a good idea" she repeated. One part of her wanted to go with him badly, but the other, for now bigger part screamed at her to get away from him.

"Why not? I told you that you're not working for me, if that's what you mean. I make my bed myself, you don't have to clean my room and I always clear the table after breakfast and occasionally after lunch and dinner when I'm here. I even wash my clothes on my own!" he explained, gesturing wildly with his arms. Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at him. The part of her that wanted to go with him grew stronger by the minute.

"Still..." she began, but he cut her off.

"Ok. I won't force myself onto you. I don't do that. Do whatever you want, it's your choice. I'll be waiting in front of the house for 15 minutes. If you choose to accompany me, great, and if not, still ok" he said and nodded curtly before he left the room. Elizabeth stared after him. Why would he do that? Why bother about her problems? He didn't know her and yet he had comforted her.

One single question from him and she hadn't been able to hold her tears back anymore. He had brought it back to the surface and she had broken down, but yet she felt better than before. She felt lighter, but she didn't want to go home just yet, because she feared that the lightness would vanish as soon as she had time to think about it.

She hurried out of the side entrance 10 minutes later, having changed into her private clothes again and clutching her jacket. She rounded the corner and stopped in front of her car. She found John leaning against the trunk. He was wearing the leather jacket she had seen him wear on the picture in his room.

"I knew you would come" he grinned and pushed himself off the car. "Follow me" he said and they started walking to the other side of the house. When they drew nearer Elizabeth could make out an SUV and a motorbike. She hoped he would go straight to the car, but her hopes just burst like bubbles when he went to the motorbike instead.

"How about you go ahead with that thing and I follow you with my car?" she suggested, eyeing the motorbike skeptically. She hated these things. She felt more comfortable in a closed vehicle with four big wheels instead of two small ones.

"Don't like motorbikes?" he asked.

"Not really" she said and he laughed.

"I see. Ok, let's take the car then, in case I still know how to drive it" he said and gave the vehicle a questioning look. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at him. "I prefer my two- wheeled friend here" he shrugged and went over to open the door for her. Elizabeth got in and he followed her seconds later.

"Where are we going?" she asked when they pulled onto the main road.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you, because you'll probably start yelling at me then" That didn't sound promising. "Don't worry, you'll survive it, I guess" he added.

"You guess?"

"You'll pretty sure survive it" Elizabeth doubted it very much and her doubts were confirmed 20 minutes later when she recognized where they were heading.

"Forget it" she said and folded her arms in front of her chest.

"Forget what?" he asked innocently, pulling the car onto the parking lot of an airfield.

"No way" she said and shook her head. She should have known the moment she had seen him in the leather jacket. The jacket he wore on the picture that showed him standing in front of an airplane. "I'm not going to set foot in one of those things" she declared and gave him a look that left no doubts.

"Who said we were going to fly?" he asked and gave her a questioning look. That caught her off guard and she felt uncertain all of a sudden. What else would they be doing on an airfield?

"I thought...I mean, I...I..." she tried to say and he broke into a grin.

"You thought right and now come on. I won't accept 'no' for an answer" he said and got out of the car, Elizabeth following him grudgingly.

"We can't just go and fly around" she said, feeling uneasy about what lay ahead of her. Talking him out of it would be the best course of action. "You can't just take one of the airplanes, I mean, you can't...can you?"

"Well, since half of this place belongs to me, I'm pretty sure I can" he grinned.

"Half? I thought you own a flight school and everything that comes with it" At least that was what Mia had told her.

"Yes, the flight school is mine, but the ground we're currently walking on belongs to Evan"

"Evan?"

"Evan Lorne. He's...well, there he is" John said and pointed ahead to a man coming out of one of the big hangars. When they got nearer she recognized him. He was the other man on the picture that showed him and John in his dress blues. He was now wearing a jeans and a white t-shirt.

"You're late" he greeted them and John looked at his watch.

"Late for what?" he asked.

"You forgot it"

"Forgot what?

"What day is today?"

"Today is Thursday the 27th and...oh my god! I forgot Mr. Finnigan" John exclaimed and the other man raised an eyebrow at him.

"You threatened to throw me off a plane in case I miss this meeting and now you decide not to come at all. How the hell could you forget the meeting with your favourite and most important investor?"

"I...was he...he's pissed, right?" John asked and ran a hand through his hair. Elizabeth felt uncomfortable beside him. It was her fault that he'd missed that meeting.

"He was at first, but then I told him that you got an urgent call and that you're on your way to the deathbed of your beloved grandmother. He got all teary and we made a new appointment"

"Thank god"

"I'm sorry" Elizabeth said and both men turned their heads to look at her. Evan Lorne rather curious.

"Would you excuse us for a second?" John addressed Evan. The other man nodded.

"I'll be in the hangar"

"Ok, thank you" John said and Evan left them alone.

"I'm sorry" Elizabeth said again.

"What for? I would have forgotten the appointment either way in case you think that you made me miss it. You didn't. I had already forgotten it before I ran into you. There's no need to be sorry, ok?" he said sympathetically and Elizabeth nodded slowly. "And by the way: I prefer spending my day with you instead of sitting in an office to discuss my finances and now" he said and looked up into the sky "I'm going to take you up there"

"I don't like flying" Elizabeth admitted and his gaze wandered back on eye level with her.

"Ok, let's get this straight: You don't like motorbikes and you don't like flying. Just answer me this: do you like Ferris wheels?" Elizabeth gave him an apologetic look.

"Not really"

"Well, sounds like I've got a lot of work to do then" he grinned.

"I don't think so" Elizabeth said and raised an eyebrow at him. He laughed.

"I can be very convincing"

"Really?" she asked provocatively. He stepped closer to her and smirked.

"Really" he said and a shiver ran down Elizabeth's spine at the sound of his voice. She held his intense gaze for a few moments before he took her hand in his and pulled her after him.

"What-?"

"You and I are going to take one of those beautiful ladies in this hangar out for a nice little flight and I told you before that I won't take 'no' for an answer. You wanted distraction, you'll get distraction" he said and pulled her into the hangar.

"I don't..." she tried to protest when he suddenly stopped.

"Elizabeth Weir, do I have to drag you into the backseat? I don't know you for long, but believe me, I have no problems with doing that"

"Maybe she's afraid of flying. Ever thought of that, Colonel?" Evan asked and appeared from behind one of the three machines standing in the hangar.

"She isn't, Major. Elizabeth Weir, Major Evan Lorne" John grinned and introduced them properly. Evan held out a hand and Elizabeth took it. "You're not afraid of flying, are you?" John then asked and looked at her. Elizabeth considered saying 'yes', but she shook her head instead.

"No, I'm not. I can't afford to be afraid of flying, otherwise I wouldn't be able to do my job. I just don't like it very much" she said and then bit her lip. She wasn't working as a negotiator anymore. The only travel she absolved at the moment was driving her car from her apartment to the Sheppard's house. John smiled at her knowingly, but didn't say anything.

"I'll be in the office" Evan said and made his way out of the hangar. John looked around and then called after him.

"Hey, where's...?"

"Already outside in the maneuvering area. Everything double checked and triple checked. You can take your ladies out for a nice flight" he said and winked before he rounded the corner and was out of sight.