Old Acquaintances and Revelations
A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter. Now it's all getting rather dramatic
Being with John was always breathtaking, but also frustrating for Elizabeth. She had him on the weekends, but she didn't see him weekdays as much as she would have liked. She was busy with her work and he was busy with his. She wasn't complaining though. Whenever he was around he sneaked after her and stole kisses from her when no one was looking.
John didn't care if someone saw them, but she didn't want that. She didn't want Mr. Robbins or Mia to see her making out with John Sheppard who they considered their boss.
Elizabeth stood in her living room and looked out of the window. A soft blanket of white was covering the ground and heavy snow flakes were falling down. It was mid January and she had missed the snow for Christmas.
John had spent New Year's Eve with Julie and her and he had probably made Elizabeth the happiest person in the world at exactly midnight when he had kissed her and had whispered in her ear that he'd fallen in love with her. They had disappeared into her room just moments after that and Julie had complained the next morning for leaving her alone. She then had squealed in delight when Elizabeth had told her the reason for their disappearance.
"There was a call for you in the morning" Julie said and joined her at the window, handing her a cup of tea. Elizabeth looked at her hopefully. It was Saturday afternoon and she longed to speak to John. She hadn't seen him all week and unfortunately he was busy meeting his investor.
"It was Michael Henderson. He said he is going to call you back this evening" Julie said and Elizabeth's face fell. Apparently the UN hadn't given up on her. Michael had been her boss while she had worked for them.
"Did he say what he wanted?" Elizabeth asked and took a sip from her cup.
"No, he just asked if he could speak to you. They want you back" Julie concluded and Elizabeth nodded slowly. Michael had told her after she'd told him that she wanted to take a break that he would check on her. Now he had. "Do you want to go back?" Julie asked and Elizabeth thought about it for a few moments. She liked to work for the Sheppard's, but she also started missing her old job.
"I don't know" she said. Going back to the UN meant not seeing John anymore, maybe not even at the weekends.
"What are you going to say?" Julie asked and Elizabeth sighed.
"I have no idea. I like being here, coming home every evening and sleeping in my own bed. You know how rarely I've been home then" she said. Julie nodded.
"Maybe he just wants to check on you" she said half-heartedly.
"Yeah, maybe"
Michael had called back on Saturday evening and had in fact wanted to know how she was doing - along with offering her to come back to her old job. Elizabeth had expected it and had told him that she would think about it. She wanted to talk to Julie and John first.
It was Monday and almost lunchtime when Elizabeth came back into the kitchen to get the porcelain for lunch.
"We need three place settings" Mia said and rummaged through one of the drawers to get the silverware. Elizabeth frowned at her.
"Is the young Mr. Sheppard home today?" she asked. She knew for a fact that John was on the airfield to get to know his new winter course. Mia shook her head.
"No, Caroline Sheppard is back" she said.
"They have a daughter?" Elizabeth asked surprised.
"Kind of. Daughter-in-law"
"But they don't..." have another son, she finished silently. John was their only child. Elizabeth put the plates down carefully, because her hands were shaking.
"She's John Sheppard's wife. She was in Vienna the previous 5 months. Apparently she's back. Mrs. Sheppard just told me that they would have lunch together" Mia said. Elizabeth stared at the younger woman. Did she just say that John was married? She clutched the edge of the table to steady herself.
"He's married?" Elizabeth asked in a hollow voice she barely recognized as her own. Images of New Year's Eve flooded her mind. Images of her and John dancing and kissing and John telling her that he had fallen in love with her. It had all been a lie.
"You didn't know? They are married for 4 years now. Dad told me that it was a beautiful wedding. It was held in the backyard" Elizabeth felt a big emptiness invade her body. It had happened again. "Elizabeth, are you ok?" she heard Mia ask and felt a hand on her shoulder. Elizabeth blinked several times to focus on the concerned face in front of her. A switch in her head suddenly turned. She straightened her back and concentrated on Mia.
"I'm fine. Just felt a bit dizzy" she said in a voice that was her own again.
"You're sure about that?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry" she said and let go of the table to prove her point.
"Ok" Mia said, not really sounding convinced. Elizabeth smiled at her reassuringly and went over to the drawer to extract the rest of the silverware.
"Mia, I'm fine" she said again when she noticed the other woman still looking at her. She then put the plates and the silverware on a tray and carried it into the dining room.