A/N: Ok everyone. Only one more chapter to go. I'll try to post it as soon as I can. I hope you enjoy this one!

"You're keeping me from work" Elizabeth said into the receiver and paged through a folder on her desk.

"No, I'm not" Julie's statement was drowned in the loud rumbling outside.

"For the millionth time: I haven't seen your copy of...whatever it is that you're looking for"

"Still lifes"

"Still lifes. Why would I need a book about still lifes?" Elizabeth asked unnerved. Now the loud rumbling came from Julie's end. She even spoke a bit louder when she answered.

"That's art, Elizabeth. I thought you are interested in art"

"I am, but not in...Julie, I don't have your book" she said with finality, hoping that it would shut Julie up. There was a sigh.

"There's an apocalypse outside. I need some company and since you're not here I have to call you instead" Julie said. Her words were accentuated with more rumbling from her side of the telephone.

"I'm not in Washington, because I have work to do. You're keeping me from that work" she said. Julie groaned.

"You're no fun, Elizabeth"

"No, Julie, not today"

"It's late. You should stop working"

"Listen, I'll call you tomorrow, ok?" Elizabeth said and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her headache was getting worse with every spoken word.

"Ok" Julie said and Elizabeth could clearly hear the disappointment in her friend's voice.

"Good"

"Did you hear anything from John yet?" she quickly changed the subject and Elizabeth wished she would just hang up.

"No, I haven't. Evan said not to worry, but..." she trailed off with a sigh. It wasn't easy not to worry about him when she didn't know how he was doing in Namibia. She hadn't heard a single word from him in over 5 weeks, neither had Evan. He had told her more than once that it didn't have to mean anything and she wished she could be as optimistic as he was.

"He'll be fine" Julie assured and Elizabeth nodded tiredly.

"Yeah" she said. There was a moment's silence.

"And you're sure you haven't seen my book?"

"Goodnight, Julie" Elizabeth said emphatically.

"Yeah, G'night"

Elizabeth let out a long breath when she put the receiver back down. Heavy raindrops were drumming against the window of her office. Julie was right. It was already late. The sky outside was dark and the lights of New York were a colorful blur in the rain.

Normally Elizabeth would be already in her apartment at this hour, but she had to rework a few things she hadn't gotten done two days earlier. She practically hadn't been able to get anything done on that day.

She didn't know how long she had buried herself in the papers in front of her when a voice startled her.

"You're up late" She closed her eyes with a sigh.

"I know" she said. I'll be done after this file. I..." she started, but then froze, her head snapping up to the door. It was John. His dress uniform was a darker shade of blue around his shoulders where the rain had soaked it. His hair was shining wetly, but it obviously didn't seem to mind for it was as messy as ever. "What are you doing here?" she asked, shocked. He scraped his nail over the doorframe.

"My flight was rerouted to New York. The airport in Washington is closed because of the weather. Seems to be pretty stormy over there. I thought..." he trailed off, but she didn't really listen. She got up from her chair in an instant and strode to the door to pull him into a hug. He sucked in a harsh breath and tensed. Elizabeth pulled away again and her eyes fell onto an unnoticed bandage above his right eye.

"Are you ok?" she asked worried. He shrugged slightly.

"Small cut over the eye, a few cracked ribs. Nothing serious" he said and Elizabeth nodded curtly before she hugged him a second time, gripping the lapels of his jacket tightly.

"Are you ok?" he asked in return and she could feel him hesitate to hug her back.

"We haven't heard from you in over five weeks. I was worried" she said and pulled away, leaving her hands on his shoulders. She studied his face. He looked incredibly tired.

"You were?"

"Namibia, John. Not my best memories" she said and her hands slid off his shoulders.

"I know. I'm ok" he said and lifted his hand as though wanting to touch her cheek, but stopped and balled it into a fist before he let it drop down again.

The gesture hurt more than she would have expected.

"How did you get hurt?" she asked and took a few steps back to allow him to fully enter her office. He closed the door behind him and then walked over to the dark window.

"My helicopter went down" he said and looked at her over his shoulder. "Technical defect. Wasn't as bad as it sounds" he assured and looked back ahead.

"John, I..." she started, but John interrupted her.

"You seem to be the only one who's still working. Yours is the only window that's still illuminated"

"Paperwork. When did your helicopter go down?" she asked and walked over to her desk to put several folders onto a stack.

"Day before yesterday"

"That was the time I couldn't get any work done" she mumbled more to herself than to him.

"What?" he asked and turned around to face her.

"Nothing" she said and shook her head dismissively. There was a moment's silence and Elizabeth joined him at the window. She knew that she had to say something, she even knew what she wanted to say, she'd had over five weeks to think it all through and yet she couldn't find the words. "Promise me one thing" she said after a while and he turned his head to the side to look at her. "Next time you want someone to keep an eye on me, do it yourself" she said and he laughed quietly. She had missed that sound.

"You heard my message?" he asked and Elizabeth nodded. "I take it Evan didn't do his job well?"

"The opposite I'm afraid. He made it his mission to check up on me at least once a day"

"He's dedicated"

"Yeah, so I've noticed" she said and there was another moment of silence. "Look, John, I'm..."

"Don't. It's ok"

"No, it's not. I was unfair. I..." but he silenced her with a finger on her lips.

"It was me who made a mistake, not you. I'm sorry, but there's no need for you to apologize" he said quietly and held her gaze. Then his eyes dropped to his index finger that was still sealing her lips and she noticed him straighten his shoulders ever so slightly before he withdrew his hand. An expression of resignation appeared in his eyes and he wanted to turn away, but Elizabeth hooked her fingers in between the space of the buttons of his jacket and held him back. He looked at her surprised.

"I miss you" she said in a voice barely above a whisper. There was a variety of emotions playing in his eyes. Hesitation was written all over his face when he finally lifted his hand and cupped her cheek, his thumb caressing the underside of her eye. Then a small smile ghosted over his lips before he leaned down to rest his forehead against hers. Elizabeth closed her eyes briefly.

"I miss you, too" he said. A smile spread across her face and she let her head drop to the crook of his neck. The collar of his jacket was cold and wet against her cheek. He smelled like the wind and the rain outside and his skin was warm. His hand soon found its way into the curls on the back of her neck.

Elizabeth didn't know how long they had stood there like that when she unburied her head from his neck, a sudden thought crossing her mind.

"Does Evan know you're back?" she asked. John looked confused for a moment at the sudden change of subject. Then he smiled.

"Yeah, I called him from the airport. I left a message"

"Good. Do you already have a place to stay for tonight?" she asked. John smiled.

"You offering?"

"Well, I've got a pretty comfortable couch" Elizabeth said and pushed herself away from him. She snatched her briefcase off the floor beside her desk and shut the lid of her notebook to put the computer inside the bag.

"Ouch. I deserve it I guess" John said and she gave him an evil smile.

"Pretty much, yeah" she said and turned off the lamp on her desk before she went over to the door. "You coming?"