Part 17 – Time for a Change
Weeks later, so it seemed to John, he was finally released from Carson's clutches with strict instructions to take life easy until he was cleared for light duty. After the bathroom fiasco, John didn't intend to disobey Beckett but in his humble opinion, he was fit enough for duty now. Resigned to more days of boredom, he ambled along to his quarters and thought the door open for the first time in nearly seven weeks.
The sight that greeted him wasn't bad but somehow the room felt gloomy and dark. Someone had cleared up a little by the look of things and his bed was newly made up. The drapes were pulled across the window at the head of his bed and for some reason they looked drab and gray leaving John to wonder when they had last been cleaned.
It was crazy but he suddenly felt the need to do some spring-cleaning starting with the curtains. Dropping the bag containing the things he'd used in the infirmary, he dragged over a chair and stood on it to get the drapes down. Amazingly, once the curtains no longer covered the window, the room suddenly became light and airy.
Looking at the drapes, he contemplated what to do with them. Then a big smile lit his face. He would personally take them to the laundry because he wanted to thank the ladies for helping him in his plight. After all, they could have thrown the bug thingy away and told no one. A shiver passed through him, what was it about him and bugs in the Pegasus Galaxy anyway? He was beginning to acquire a genuine phobia.
Twenty minutes later, John entered the laundry room to find Alison Gibson busy emptying one of the large machines. He coughed slightly to let her know that he was there.
Alison got up and turned, wanting to give the intruder an earful for making her jump but the instant she saw it was Sheppard, her face lit up. "Oh my, Colonel, it's…umm…good to see you up and about. Are you feeling better?"
"Much better, thank you," John replied with a big grin, "I…err…wanted to thank you for handing the bug over to Dr. Beckett. I guess without that find, I would be dead."
Alison looked at him shyly. "You're more than welcome, Colonel. Thank goodness Mary Harper found the thing still in your sleeping bag."
John tried to remember who that was but he couldn't put a face to the name. "Mary Harper?"
"Yes, pretty young women who used to work here but after her help, Dr. Weir transferred her to do office work. That's what she was trained for anyway."
John nodded. "Well, I guess our paths will cross sometime and then I can thank her personally."
Alison smiled thinking that would please Mary. "Yes, I'm sure she'd like that," she answered him. "Now what have you got in that bag?"
John looked down at the bag he'd almost forgotten about. "Oh, these are some drapes from my quarters, I think they're somewhat gray looking so I…"
"You want them washed?"
"Yeah, but there's no hurry, I can sleep without them."
"I'm sure you can, Colonel, but I'll get them back to you as soon as possible." Alison told him just as her new assistant came out of the back room. John thanked her and ambled out.
"Who was that?" murmured the assistant with an appreciative sigh.
"A little more respect, girl. That was Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, military head of this city and all round nice guy."
"Umm…a yummy one too," the girl said wistfully.
Oh, no, Alison thought, here we go again.
-SGA-
Several days later, John's drapes still hadn't arrived back in his quarters. However, like he'd told Alison Gibson, he could sleep without them but the morning light falling on his face from the window behind his bed, kept waking him an hour or so earlier than normal.
Therefore, he had the option of either chasing up his drapes or moving his bed. Moving the bed seemed the better option, so he assigned the afternoon for a major change about. It would give him something to do anyway because reading and inactivity was slowly driving him up the wall. This morning, he had wanted to go to Menzur with Ronon, Teyla, and a few medical personnel to deliver some antitoxin and the instructions on how to produce it, and of course, Galen's payment, but Carson had flatly refused to let him go. So after a quick lunch with Rodney, he excused himself and headed back to his quarters.
Firstly, he tidied things away, placing smaller objects like his surfboard, guitar, skateboard, and the like against the wall that would stay the same. Then he moved his table over to the opposite side, followed by other pieces of furniture until only the bed was left. He dragged the bed, which wasn't very heavy and repositioned it so that the window was on the right hand side. After he was satisfied with that, he started reconnecting his computer, followed by his other things and was so busy that he failed to notice Elizabeth standing by his door until she spoke up.
"I wondered what all the noise was. Doing a major clear up?"
John looked over to her and smiled. "Yeah, long time overdue."
Elizabeth hadn't been near his quarters for quite a while. She shuddered as she recalled the events of the retrovirus conversion when his room had seemed so dark. "Well, I must say it looks brighter in here even without the lights on," she observed.
John laughed a sound Elizabeth loved to hear. "Yeah, it makes quite a difference without the drapes."
Elizabeth moved over to the window and looked at the lovely view. "And you can see the sea better without them."
"Yep that's true. Wonderful view isn't it?"
Elizabeth nodded absentmindedly. "So are you going to put them back up?"
John looked puzzled "Them back? Oh, you mean the drapes."
"Yes," Elizabeth answered wondering what else he thought she meant.
"Maybe, it depends on whether I still keep waking up from too much light in the room. Normally, I can sleep whenever and anywhere when necessary but these last few mornings, the sun beaming directly on my face has woken me up early. That's why I've moved the bed."
Elizabeth looked at him, soaking in the fact that he was alive and back to his normal healthy looking self. "And you're sleeping alright apart from that?" she questioned.
John turned to her and gave a little snort. "I'm good. No problems there."
"That's good to hear." Elizabeth replied somewhat aggravated by his usual reluctance to talk.
John must have sensed her frustration as he sighed loudly. "Look, I'm sleeping better since I've been back in my own quarters. Never could sleep very well in the infirmary anyway. They keep the place too darn warm for my liking."
Elizabeth smiled at that but before she could say anything, John continued. "I know you're worried about my…err…feelings over this whole matter but to tell you the truth, I still can't remember much. I only remember being sick and feeling very ill. Then there was pain, lots of it but it's somewhat vague, unclear. Carson said that being in a coma probably allowed my body and mind to heal somewhat. He said a certain amount of amnesia is normal, it's almost as if the mind doesn't want to remember what the body went through, so it's been sort of down classified. Not that I want to ever go through that kind of pain again."
"And I hope you never have to, John." Elizabeth whispered.
"I do remember…" John hesitated looking suddenly unsure and embarrassed. "I…I remember you holding me and feeling somehow secure. It's vague but the warmth of your friendship, everyone's friendship kept me going."
Elizabeth looked at him face on. "I'm glad we could help, it was a natural thing to do."
"Thanks, it means a lot to me."
"I know it does, John. We're all family aren't we?"
"Yeah, the closest I've had since…" He broke off and moved over to the mysterious picture of his younger self with a kindly looking man. Picking it up, he began to speak softly. "You asked me once if this was my father and I told you no." He paused again still unsure whether to tell Elizabeth but eventually, he found the courage to continue. "His name was Tom Richardson, flight instructor and mentor to a lonely boy. He encouraged me to look to the sky and reach for the stars."
John didn't say anymore, so Elizabeth gently encouraged him. "What happened to him?"
"Died far too young. Damn cancer," he muttered, and Elizabeth heard a distinctive catch in his throat.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yeah, it's a long time ago." John looked wistfully out of the window. "I wonder what Tom would say if he knew I'd reached the stars?"
Elizabeth moved over and touched his arm lightly. "I'm sure he would be very proud."
John turned to her and smiled. "Yeah, especially as I keep getting into trouble, just like when I was a kid."
Elizabeth laughed, "A real hand full then?"
"Yep, I gave my father plenty of reasons to shout at me and believe me, he did."
John didn't say anymore so Elizabeth left it at that, at least he'd opened up a little, even if it was like extracting a tooth but it was far more than she'd expected. "Well, I'll leave you to your rearranging."
"Oh, I've nearly finished just a few small details and the replacement of that stuff," he said, pointing to his surfboard and things. "I've been meaning to ask you about the Athosian. What happened to him? Teyla's been kind of reluctant to talk about it."
"I think she feels responsible for his actions."
John looked alarmed. "That's crazy. From what I heard, the guy was obsessed with her and acted out of jealous rage."
Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, that's what Kate said but convincing Teyla is another matter. She feels that if she'd acted differently things may have been otherwise."
"I don't see how but I'll speak to her about it when she's ready. So what happened to him?" John asked again.
"Kate has been giving him medication and it seems to have worked. He went back to the mainland several weeks ago and has integrated back into the society. Kate is keeping an eye on him but he'll have to take the medication for the rest of his life by the looks of things. Hopefully, he won't cause anymore trouble." Elizabeth answered.
"Does he know I've recovered?"
"Yes, Teyla has kept nothing from him and apparently, he even seems a little remorseful about his actions."
John looked a little doubtful, "That could be the case, but I think I'll avoid the guy."
Elizabeth nodded slowly. "From what Kate has told me, Davon probably won't have acted on his hatred if Kavanagh hadn't of intervened." Elizabeth's loathing of the scientist came through in her next sentence. "That awful man used Davon's sick mind to carry out his own devious plans. I hope he gets what's coming to him."
"Still no news then?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm afraid not. He's only been on earth for eight days and I don't think they really know what to do with him."
John turned to meet her eyes. "He'll pay for his crime one day, Elizabeth, I'm sure of it."
"Maybe, but I keep thinking that if only I hadn't…"
John interrupted her. "Look we've been through all this before. None of this was your fault. You have to let go of your guilt or the creep will have won." John reached out and touched her arm lightly. "It's over with, Elizabeth, and he's out of your hair forever."
Elizabeth suddenly felt her mood lighten. "Make that our hair, John. He was a bad choice from the beginning and may I add, not my choice. SGC recommended him and I just went along with it."
John went to open his mouth to say something when the door chime suddenly sounded. As he moved over to answer it, Elizabeth slipped into the shadows, as she didn't think it would look good if it were not one of the team.
Passing his hand over the controls, John let the portal open and came face to face with the laundry superintendent. "Oh, what can I do for you, Miss Gibson?" he asked politely.
John expected her usual straightforward answer but she looked at him somewhat sheepishly. "I'm so sorry, Colonel, but there's been an accident with your drapes."
"What kind of accident?"
"An accident of the holey kind," she answered quickly.
"And they're beyond repair?" John asked, trying to keep a straight face.
"Err…yes."
"Well, I'm not going to asked how the accident occurred but I guess they were older than I thought."
"A lot older," Alison murmured. "Try ten thousand years and they didn't like our washing power."
John chuckled. "Then I guess I'll have to live without them."
Alison still looked sheepish. "I'm sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it. You people do a good job."
"Why thank you, Colonel." Alison commented as she turned to go.
"You're welcome!" John called after her.
As soon as John closed the door, Elizabeth burst out laughing. "Well, it looks like you'll be curtain less for a while at least."
"Yeah, it does look that way, doesn't it?
"We could always get some sent from Earth?" Elizabeth put in.
"Or I could get someone to knock up a pair using the camouflage material we have in plentiful supply."
"You can't sew?"
John held up his hands. "Two left hands."
"I could make you some but it could take years."
John looked at her longingly and smiled. "I can wait."
"I'm sure you can," Elizabeth whispered. She met his gaze for several long heartbeats and there was no doubt in her mind that she loved him, but no matter what she may feel, she needed to keep a professional distance for the good of the expedition and for John's sake. She was sure that John would agree.
Kavanagh's words had disturbed her somewhat. Did she really show more concern for John than she did for others? She didn't think so, at least she tried not to make a preference, but it was difficult as John had made a habit of finding trouble quicker than a magnet. The very nature of his job meant that he was first in the line of fire and she knew he'd have it no other way. She didn't fight the SGC to have John by her side as a lover, no matter what Kavanagh may have accused. But then again, his accusations had been partially based on jealousy of Sheppard, but she secretly wondered how many other people felt the same way?
No, she could not, would not, stop worrying about him every time he was late or injured, and she vowed to protect him whenever she could. John was a good friend, her companion in leadership, and her protector. They had been through to much together to make it otherwise, and what wasn't there to love about John.
Quickly breaking eye contact, she murmured. "Well, I still have plenty of paperwork to do, so I'd best get back to my office."
John simply nodded and as she walked to his door, she felt his eyes follow her. Quickly opening the portal, she turned and whispered. "It's so good to have you well again."
John smiled and watched her go until she was out of hearing range. "I love you, too," he murmured softly
tbc
The idea for this chapter came about after watching certain season three episodes and wondering why John's drapes have gone. I'm sure the room is the same one from season two but everything is moved around. Hope you enjoyed it and please review. I've decided to write an epilogue and it should be posted soon.