Chapter Three – Home Sweet Home
After the plane landed, John and Elizabeth went to collect their luggage; Elizabeth however, was one bag short.
"I'm sorry m'am, as soon as we locate your missing luggage, we will notify you immediately," said the woman in charge of baggage claim; a little too chirpily for Elizabeth's liking. Elizabeth gave the woman her details, while John went in search of a taxi.
As they neared Elizabeth's parent's house, John noticed Elizabeth had tensed up again.
John leaned over and touched her shoulder gently, "Lizzie, you're going to need to relax a little. Otherwise you're going to break that lovely watch of yours, into tiny little pieces." Elizabeth glanced down at her father's pocket watch; she hadn't realized she had been holding it so tightly.
"It was my father's watch. Mother gave it to me before I went away to college. I always play with it when I get nervous or when I feel like I need to somehow be closer to Dad." Elizabeth cringed; god that sounded so cheesy. I really have to stop rambling about my family, Elizabeth scolded herself.
John went to reply, but stopped himself when the taxi pulled into the Weirs' driveway. Elizabeth took a deep breath and went to get out of the car, when she quickly turned back to John.
"That reminds me; don't call me Lizzie if you ever plan on having children." She said, smiling sweetly, glancing down at John's crotch.
John smirked; raising his eyebrows, surprised by her ferociousness.
"Elizabeth!" A high pitched voice screeched across the yard. Elizabeth spun around.
"Mum," Elizabeth slowly walked over to her mother who was standing on the porch, wearing a vivid red suit with a white filly shirt sticking thru the V-neck of her jacket, accompanied by a wild looking hat that had feathers attached to it; sticking up all ends.
Elizabeth reached her mother and gave her a gentle hug.
"Mum, you look like you're going to the races." Elizabeth looked tentatively at her mother's hat.
"Don't be ridiculous Elizabeth, this is the latest fashion!" Mrs. Weir opened her arms and did a quick spin. "Julie said- you know Julie, the one from the country club…" Elizabeth resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Yes, she knew about Julie; one of her mothers 'friend-of-the-week' women.
"…well she said I looked fantastic!" Mrs. Weir continued, not bothering to wait for reply from her daughter.
"Oh mum, this is so not the time for you to be yourself." Elizabeth muttered under her breathe.
"And this is your date, I suppose," Mrs. Weir said, looking over Elizabeth's shoulder at John. Before Elizabeth could answer, John came and stood next to Elizabeth; wrapping his arm around her waist.
"John Sheppard," John reached out and kissed Mrs. Weir's hand whilst giving her a dazzling smile. Mrs. Weir raised her eyebrow at him.
"Mrs. Weir, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard nothing but good things about you." Mrs. Weir cocked her head slightly to the side.
"I wish I could say the same Mr. err…"
"Call me John,"
"John," Mrs. Weir corrected lazily. "However it seems my daughter has neglected to tell me such information."
"I could say the same about you." Elizabeth glared at her mother, who knew perfectly well what Elizabeth was referring to.
John glanced between the two of them. Mother and Daughter seemed to be having an unspoken argument, using only there eyes.
"Where should we put these?" John asked Mrs. Weir, picking up some of the luggage.
Elizabeth was disappointed that her step father wasn't there to greet them. Mrs. Weir informed them that he had gone to help Isabelle with some last minute wedding plans.
Elizabeth carefully sat on the bed, as she looked around her room, cringing slightly at all the old posters that littered her walls.
Elizabeth tried to ignore the sound of the shower coming from her bathroom. Mrs. Weir decidedly put John and Elizabeth in the same room. Seems as though she wanted, in some small way, to make it up to Elizabeth for her earlier behavior, and threw out the old rule of separate rooms for non marital couples.
Actually, it was more trying to ignore the fact that Elizabeth had a naked John Sheppard in her shower.
"Elizabeth?" John shouted from the shower. "Would you mind grabbing my shampoo from my bag?" Elizabeth slid off the bed in search for the shampoo. When she spotted it, she grabbed it out of his bag and went towards the shower.
John didn't seem to care much for privacy, as he had the bathroom door wide open. As Elizabeth neared the shower, she cleared her throat.
"Here's your shampoo," John opened the shower curtain so that he was in full view in front of Elizabeth. Elizabeth's eyes widened and darted straight down; much lower than John's stomach area.
John reached over and pried his shampoo bottle from Elizabeth's hand.
"Thank you," John grinned. Elizabeth, realizing what she was doing, quickly covered her eyes with her hands.
"God John, I'm so sorry!" Elizabeth exclaimed; feeling her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. John gently took Elizabeth's hands away from her face.
"Go ahead, take a look, its part of the package," John smirked at her, blatantly ignoring Elizabeth's embarrassment. Elizabeth laughed nervously, taking a step backwards.
"I'll just w-wait out there," Elizabeth pointed towards the bedroom whilst fumbling over her own feet.
As Elizabeth got to the door, John started to sing.
"Remember me to one who lives there, she once was the true love of mine."
Elizabeth turned around, "Do you always sing Johnny Cash in the shower?" She asked, smiling.
John pokes his head 'round the shower curtain. "Only when I know a beautiful woman is listening," He grinned cheekily at Elizabeth before continuing.
"I'm a-wonderin' if she remember me at all, many times I've often prayed in the darkness of my night, in the brightness of my day."
Elizabeth smiles softly to herself. She wasn't used to being complimented on.
Elizabeth went back into the bedroom and went in search for her pajamas.
"Oh my god," Elizabeth pulled out all her clothes out of all the suitcases she brought with her.
"What are you doing?" John asked, fresh from the shower; ready for bed.
"My toothbrush, hairbrush and my pajamas were in the suitcase the airport lost!" Elizabeth pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on.
"Well I might be able to help out with that," John sifted through his bag and pulled out a clean, navy blue button up shirt.
Elizabeth just stared at it.
"What? I think you'll look very sexy in this," John said, clearly amused.
Elizabeth snatched the shirt from John and headed towards the bathroom.
"You're welcome Elizabeth!" John shouted after her. Elizabeth waved her arm at him and John couldn't help but notice her hips were swaying seductively as she closed the door.
While John was lying in bed, Elizabeth apologized about the bedroom arrangements, however adding that they were both adults and could respectively share a bed.
John watched her, wearing his shirt and to his disappointment a pair of pants, as Elizabeth grabbed pillows and put a barrier in between them on the bed. John smiled softly, Elizabeth was certainly different to anyone he had met before.
She wasn't the usual type he normally attracted to. However John found he couldn't stop looking at her. Elizabeth was beautiful in a graceful, lady like way. He loved looking at her soft curly tendrils that kept falling in front of her eyes.
John didn't think he'd ever find someone's nervousness to be incredibly sexy.
John was shaken out of his thoughts when Elizabeth's voice seeped through.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" John asked sheepishly.
"Why did you get into this err… business?" Elizabeth repeated, still arranging the pillows between them.
"Well my mum was a hippy and a prostitute; you know combining the two for like "free love." Anyway, she insanely inappropriate with me; she used to wash our laundry in my bath water… while I was still in it!" Elizabeth sat on her side of the bed and gently caressed his arm.
"My god," She breathed.
"As an adult," John continued, "I needed to find ways to experience intimacy and sex but with rules that couldn't be violated." John stopped. Elizabeth and John locked eyes and for a moment Elizabeth felt like she was gaining a glimpse into the real John Sheppard.
John broke out into a huge grin. "I'm just screwing with you, Elizabeth." Elizabeth glared at him as John started laughing.
"You ass!" Elizabeth chuckled slightly, punching his arm where she had previously been caressing it.
Elizabeth got under the covers on her side of the bed and stared at the ceiling. As sleep slowly overcame her, Elizabeth heard John mumble, "Night 'lizabeth."
And with that, Elizabeth slowly drifted into a peaceful, deep slumber.