A/N: I own nothing, and I promise to put them neatly back in their box when I'm done.
I thought it was about time for some humour, so here you go. The angst is still there though, where would we be without it?
It was about lunchtime when John noticed Elizabeth hadn't got up from her desk much during the morning. He and the team were on a break, on Dr Beckett's order, so John had nothing better to do than wander around the city. Standing quietly out of her sight, he watched as she finally stood and the tiny grimace that skittered across her features caught his attention. With a smirk easily recognized as scheming, he headed down to the gym.
Elizabeth was halfway through a mission report when Ronon walked into her office. She looked up and couldn't read the tall man's expression and while that wasn't unusual, something about it bothered her.
'What can I do for you?' she asked after a minute's silence.
Ronon just smiled and headed for the desk. He gestured for her to stand and warily, she complied. In a few moments, although later she couldn't say how, Ronon was walking out of the command center with a very bemused Elizabeth in his arms. Observers could hear the leader start talking to the Satedan, basically telling him to cease and desist, but it was a one sided conversation.
0o0o0o0
'Will you put me down now?'
'No.' Ronon turned a corner and a very confused Carson appeared. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and stifled a groan. She'd thought she was starting to get through to Ronon, maybe even convincing him that she'd walk wherever they were going… Clearly, she'd been wrong.
'Well now, what have we here?' Carson asked, approaching in his normal, business-like manner.
'She's hurt her knee.' Ronon was his usual eloquent self.
'It's fine,' Elizabeth assured the doctor, 'it's just a little stiff.' She smiled winningly, but Carson only frowned and shook his head.
'The last time you said that, you could barely walk.' He shook his head again, and gestured for Ronon to follow.
'Who put you up to this?' Elizabeth asked quietly, knowing he probably wouldn't have done this on his own.
'It's part of being Satedan,' Ronon hedged. From her position against the warrior's chest, Elizabeth allowed a gentle, dangerous smile to touch her lips. She doubted that…
0o0o0o0
John wandered in as Carson was finishing his examination. He nodded to Ronon as he took his place at the warrior's side.
'So, this is where everyone got to,' he said, smiling, as he turned to Elizabeth. 'Never thought you'd come in here voluntarily…'
'I was given a very compelling reason,' she replied, her gaze meeting his evenly, 'Ronon can be surprisingly persuasive when he wants to be.'
'Yeah, I think that's why Teyla takes him on diplomatic missions.'
'I thought it was because I have better table manners than you,' Ronon supplied. There was a pause, and Elizabeth nodded politely. She could have voiced a few reasons, but she thought it prudent to say nothing of them in the present company. John just rolled his eyes at the other man. A few minutes later, Ronon departed, saying something about heading for the gym. Elizabeth watched him go, more amused than she would let on. She expected John to leave too, but the man stood by her bed and looked at her. For a moment, she thought he was staring into space and she just happened to be there, but then she realized that his focus was closer…
'What is it?' she asked, raising her gaze so it met his. There was a slight frown on her forehead and John glanced at it before looking away.
'Just wanted to make sure you're okay.' It was softly said, and for a moment Elizabeth wasn't sure that she heard him correctly. In that pause, she realized why Ronon hadn't been inclined to listen to her.
'You told Ronon-'
'I simply suggested that you may need some help getting to the infirmary.' The cheeky, happy-go-lucky smile was back on his face, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
'Really?' she replied, raising an eyebrow, 'that's all you suggested?'
John ran a hand through his hair. 'I may have mentioned the last time you got like this…' He shrugged, his gaze turning away from hers. She let him, lowering her head slightly. Last time, it had been John how had bullied her into seeing Carson.
'Well, now that you're in good hands…' John spoke softly, despite the apparent change in his focus. Elizabeth nodded without looking at him, lost in a thought. She blinked in shock as she felt a gentle hand lifting her chin so her gaze met his. 'You take care, all right?'
'Of course,' she replied, her voice barely a whisper. For a moment, they stayed like that, staring at each other, trying to tell each other so much in a simple look. Then John smiled and, with the briefest of caresses, dropped his hand to his side. He smiled at her again, and left. Elizabeth watched him go, hoping that no one else had seen that too short moment. It was too delicate to survive an observer.