Something To Talk About

Summary: Gossip turns up about a relationship, and Sam Carter asks John Sheppard to take care of it. It leads to guitar playing and a relationship blooming . . . Set in Season Four, includes Jack/Sam romance . . . Well, we're obligated to keep it going, they're the pair that started all this!!!

Genres: Fluff and Slush, General, Humor, Other/Misc, Romance

Warnings: None

Rating: PG

Chapter Title: Chapter 2 -- "Talking"

Author's Notes: This chapter was inspired by the fic, "Sweet Cowboy Comfort" by Anuna Command Dynamics and a certain old episode of "American Idol." I needed to correct the wrong!

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Chapter 2 -- "Talking"

John left Sam to her mountain of paperwork, wandering the city for about fifteen minutes until he decided that walking past all these different places wouldn't get her off his mind. They only served to remind him more and more. He turned one last corner and found himself outside his door.

He sighed as he walked inside, a sudden feeling of safety sweeping over him as the doors locked. He went to his windows, opening the glass, pulled off his jacket, throwing it carelessly on the floor near the bathroom. He glanced in the mirror. Just wearing his black shirt and pants with the guitar seen in the corner, he felt a bit like Johnny Cash. He grinned for no reason and then turned to pick up his guitar. He sat down on the end of the bed, softly running his fingers over the steel strings until he found the rhythm that he was looking for.

Moderately, he started voicing, "People are talking, talking about people . . ." The song by Bonnie Raitt appropriately matched his situation. Really, as he was saying the words he was just sing along, but as he kept singing he realized exactly what he was talking about. "They keep sayin' we laugh just a little too loud, stand just a little too close, we stare just a little too long--"

And then someone was at his door, lightly knocking. He set his guitar down on the bed and walked to the door. He opened it, it seemed more slowly, as he saw Elizabeth Weir standing there, a smile on her face that slightly turned into a frown. She stared at John until he realized that he'd been staring at her like the idiot that he was. "Elizabeth, hi, come in," he said, stepping back.

She stepped into his room and took in the surroundings before John allowed the door to shut and followed her into the main area. "What's up?"

Elizabeth turned around. "People are talking."

"Talking about people?" he said, a grin threatening to break through.

She smiled. She stepped just a little closer to him. "I heard you playing from upstairs. I thought I should come down."

"Why? What's wrong?" A pause, and then: "Am I tone-deaf and no one has told me?"

She smiled again. John had succeeded so far in making her smile twice in one minute. She stepped closer to him.

And then both of them heard Rodney's grating voice in their earpieces until he realized that he didn't need to talk to them at the moment and ended the call. John quietly scowled. "Next time we go to Earth, remind me to bring back a lemon tree. Then we can plant it here and have plenty of ammo."

Elizabeth couldn't resist breaking down into a laugh. Rodney and lemons were one of those jokes that had lasted forever, but coming from John's lips it was like hearing it for the first time. She sighed, and then looked back up to him. "I laugh just a little too loud, don't I?" she said, slightly frowning.

John ignored the frown and stepped closer, closing the gap between them. "I've heard them saying that we stand just a little too close, stare just a little too long, you know."

"And kiss just a little too much?"

John smiled slyly. "Actually, that's one I haven't heard. Yet."

Elizabeth stood on her toes and gently placed a kiss on John's lips, producing a small smile from both of them. She signed as John leaned forward and their foreheads touched. Between Teyla's people, it was like a handshake. But for John and Elizabeth, it was their private sign of affection during the tough times, reminding them of their bond.

"You know," John whispered, "if everyone on Atlantis can come up with this about us, maybe we should try making up some stuff about Sam and Jack O'Neill."

"From what I've heard, we don't need to." She stepped away and sat down, picking up John's guitar and running her gentle, graceful fingers over the strings and lines.

"Why . . . is that?"

"You can't make up a rumor about something that's true," she said matter-of-factly.

"What? It's true?!?!"

"Jack was the reason that Sam is here. He can keep a close eye on her, but without the direct contact."

John's face screwed into a thoughtful frown. "But isn't Atlantis still under General O'Neill's oversight?"

"Actually, no. The Atlantis expedition is now under the oversight of the IOA and Stargate Command. Jack oversees the SGC, but because Atlantis isn't directly under him, the two of them are permitted to have a relationship."

"Wow. So, when did this start and how do you know?"

"It started just before she came here. And I know because I read the transfer orders and saw the chain of command. Also, woman's intuition. I can tell when her head isn't in the Pegasus Galaxy, and she's slipped a couple of times now."

"Huh. I never would've guessed. I mean, eventually I would've guessed but that's interesting."

"Yeah." She set his guitar back on the bed and looked back at him. "Is there something wrong?"

"Was the song a dead giveaway?" John asked immediately, sitting down in the chair opposite her.

Elizabeth smiled. "Yeah, sort of."

"Oh. Well, Carter asked me to come by when I got a chance because she said that there was a matter that needed to be discussed and resolved."

"The two of us?"

John nodded. "Seriously, there are rumors, and given everything that's happened lately, people are starting to take them very seriously."

"Well, it's not like we can deny the rumors. After all, they are true," she said, glancing at him.

"Yeah. But it's not like we can avoid them either. Rodney's been giving me a lot of grief about it."

"Yeah, but he's also the one who started .com. If need be, we can blackmail him."

John sighed. "Oh God. I'm already rubbing off on you."

They sat in silence for a minute until Elizabeth softly said, "John?"

"Hmm?"

"The song that you were playing when I came down? Can you keep playing it?"

"Yeah, sure." He got up and sat next to Elizabeth, supporting his guitar on his thigh and glancing right to Elizabeth. "I'll start over."

He started playing an acoustic version, and while he started singing, she sometimes would chime in.

"People are talkin, talkin' 'bout people, I hear them whisper, you won't believe it, they think we're lovers, kept undercover, I just ignore it but they keep sayin' we . . . Laugh just a little too loud, stand just a little too close, stare just a little too long. Maybe they're seein, somethin' we don't darlin . . ."

"Let's give them something to talk about," Elizabeth suddenly sang out, a smile on her face.

John smiled and sang backup for the chorus. At the end, when they both sang, "How about love?" they burst into laughter.

"Oh my word," Elizabeth said as John paused. "John, is there anything that they could do to us for having a relationship?"

"Technically, I don't think so. You're not military, and as far as the city goes you're not my leader anymore. Honestly, I don't even know why Sam brought it up."

"Maybe to take the heat off of herself. While there is nothing wrong with our relationship, Sam and Jack's is still not surrounded by the best circumstances."

"True. And in any case, chain of command not withstanding, Sam is a lieutenant colonel and Jack is a major general. That's a huge jump," John remarked.

"Maybe we can help," Elizabeth said.

"How?"

"By taking the heat off of their relationship. Seriously," she said, turning to John and grinning, "let's give them something to talk about."

TBC