For Daniel, Vala and Mitchell's last night on Atlantis there was going to be a party of sorts. It also meant that the rest of the expedition could have a night of fun. Everyone was going to have the night off. Laura was actually looking forward to it. She was going to wear a long, dark green dress with medium sized straps and no sleeves. Laura and Cadman were going to do each other's hair or rather Cadman was going to do Laura's hair and her own.

Laura was keeping everyone guessing about what she was going to wear. After two days of Cadman nagging her to see her in her dress Laura had finally relented. When she had stepped out of the bathroom Cadman's face had split into a grin. "Lorne is gonna freak when he sees you in that. And when I say freak I mean in a good way. That means that Heightmeyer will be gone and you and Lorne will finally get to be a couple by the end of the night." She had said. Laura hoped she would be right.

Going to get ready on the night of the ball, Laura walked towards Cadman's room. She had managed to find a bag of sorts to hide her dress from prying eyes. Almost everyone would be there; people were so excited that no one could keep their attention on whatever job they were supposed to be doing. Laura had announced the day before that her team had the whole day off. Laura walked past McKay's lab to hear him shouting at someone. Poor bugger thought Laura and smiled to herself when she realised who he was shouting at. It was Lorne. He had apparently activated something he shouldn't have. She stuck her head in the door and pulled a face behind McKay's back and she quickly bolted when he had burst out laughing. This incensed McKay more when he realised that there was no one there when he had turned around.

Giggling she rang the bell to Cadman's quarters to announce her arrival and then let herself in.

"What are you giggling at?" asked Cadman.

"Oh you know. Just McKay shouting at Lorne." she looked sheepish before adding, "Which I may have made worse."

"Ah I see. So ready to get your hair done?" Laura looked at her worriedly, "What are you gonna do?"

"You'll just have to trust me." Cadman said wickedly. An hour later Cadman and Laura were almost ready. They put the finishing touches to their outfits. Once done they left Cadman's quarters and walked towards the mess hall.

The mess hall looked completely different. There were streamers everywhere. There was even a few helium balloons as well as the normal ones. They had even managed to get a disco ball. Spotting Daniel and company Laura began to walk over to say hi when she spotted Lorne and Heightmeyer there. Seeing them she turned on her heel and was about to head in a different direction when Cadman grabbed her and said, "I don't think so. Come on. You can't avoid him all night. Besides how will you know what Lorne thinks if your not around him?" Laura didn't say anything as she was dragged over to the group.

"Hey everyone! Wow doesn't this place look different?" asked Cadman cheerfully.

"Yeah it does." Daniel replied. Laura was shifting on her feet uncomfortably. Everyone could feel the tension. Sheppard tried to break it by saying, "Wow. You ladies look very nice."

"Thank you sir. You have no idea how long it took me to get ready…" Cadman said laughing and then pointed at Laura and said; "yet it only took her five minutes! And somehow she still manages to look stunning. What do you think Lorne?" Lorne hadn't stopped staring at her since they had come over and this hadn't gone unnoticed by Heightmeyer. Before he could reply Laura said, "Excuse me. I'm hungry." She left hurriedly and walked over to the buffet table. She picked up a plate and placed some food on it, then proceeded to go outside for some fresh air.

Once outside she let the breath out that she hadn't noticed she'd been holding. She gripped the railing with her spare hand to steady herself. What was I thinking coming here tonight? She asked herself. When no answer came she began to pick at the food she had picked up, when a voice startled her.

"You do look stunning." She turned around and faced Lorne.

"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself. Oh I'm sorry for getting you in trouble with McKay."

"Don't worry about it. You having a good time?" Laura shrugged her shoulders. "Its not to bad. I'd probably enjoy it more if the shrink wasn't shooting me death glares every five minutes." Lorne's face darkened before he said, "Yeah. Sorry about that." He stopped and listened to the music filtering outside. "Can I have this dance?" he asked her. She looked at him and smiled, "Course you can. What song is playing?"

"Everything I do (I do it for you)."

"I like that song. Prefer Summer of 69 though." She said laughing. He pulled her closer to him as they swayed to the music. They were so lost in their own little world that they didn't see someone watching them. Once the song was had finished Lorne put his hand on her cheek and gently pushed her head up so that she was looking at him. He leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips. A small groan escaped from her as she deepened the kiss. Gasping for air slightly they pulled apart and looked at each other. A cough from behind them brought them back to reality. Lorne spun around.

"How long have you been standing there?" he demanded.

"Just arrived. I was worried." Heightmeyer replied.

"I was just getting some fresh air. Is that a crime?" he asked her annoyed.

"No. Like I said I was worried. Who else is out here?"

"No one. I'm out here alone." Laura was hidden in the shadows.

"You coming back in then?" she asked him. Lorne sighed and followed Heightmeyer back into the mess hall. Laura waited ten minutes and then went back in herself.

She walked over to the group and said, "I'm off. Daniel, Vala, Mitchell, it was lovely seeing you all again. Don't be strangers." She smiled at them and gave each of them a hug. She left the mess hall smiling and headed towards her quarters. Then everything went black.