Title: Our Mrs. Sheppard
Pairing: Sparky
Spoilers: Nothing specific, but this takes place sometime after The Tower, so I guess anything before that is fair game.
Disclaimer: I still don't own them or Firefly.
Summary: Sometimes John's off-world shenanigans catch up with him. And sometimes Elizabeth gets involved. Sparky.
Author's note: All right, here's the next one. I really want to finish this story before Atlantis starts again in a week. We'll see how that goes. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Please review!!
Chapter 8- The best man
John caught himself glancing up at Elizabeth's desk for what must have been the fiftieth time that morning. Not being able to go off world for the day, he had resolved to catch up on his paperwork. He couldn't bring himself to use her desk, so instead he sat on the couch, his feet propped up on a coffee table that was also covered in papers with a laptop balanced on his lap. It was a familiar position for him when he was working on something with Elizabeth in her office, which was why he kept looking for her even though he knew full well that she wasn't there. While Elizabeth was in Gandria he was responsible for the city, so John had decided to work in her office to be more accessible to the members of the expedition. Well, that was the reason he had initially given himself before just admitting that he was worried about her and wanted to be close to the control room should anything happen. Not that it's going to, he reminded himself.
John sighed and tried to channel his worry for Elizabeth's safety into something more productive, like the weapons training schedule he currently had in front of him. For a while he was more or less successful until his attention was drawn by Chuck entering the office to place a folder and data pad on Elizabeth's desk. Chuck gave him a slight nod and left the office.
John had determined during the course of the morning that he hadn't previously given the man enough credit. Peter Grodin always acted like Elizabeth's secretary in certain ways, sometimes preventing people from seeing her if she was already too busy, trying not to let her be overrun with meetings, and on occasion reporting to him or Carson when she was missing sleep and meals from working too hard. With Grodin's death it seemed that Chuck had started to fulfill that role. John noticed that the majority of the people entering the control room went to Chuck first, most reports were passed to him and then put on Elizabeth's desk, and somehow he had already fended off an attempt from Rodney to talk to John that morning. And Chuck had tried to warn him about Elizabeth's state of mind yesterday morning with the whole engagement debacle. Basically, he had decided that Chuck was kind of awesome.
John went back to his training schedule. Elizabeth would die of shock if she came back and all his of paperwork was done. It was almost worth doing just to see the look on her face.
"Colonel."
John looked up to see Chuck holding out a report. He took the offered folder and quickly determined it was a requisition form for the equipment that he had talked about with Elizabeth earlier in the week.
As he was glancing over it to make everything was included and nothing strange had been added, Chuck explained, "It needs to be signed. Dr. Weir must have forgotten about it before she left this morning and she wanted it sent with the update to the SGC today."
John nodded and started looking around for his pen. It had just been on that stack of papers….
"Here you go sir." Chuck held out a pen, wearing a slightly amused expression.
"Thanks." John gave him a brief smile and signed the report on the last page. Flipping the folder closed he went to hand it and the pen back to Chuck.
"Sheppard you should keep that pen." Rodney's voice interrupted the exchange and he appeared almost from out of nowhere behind Chuck.
Great, now he had to deal with McKay. "And why is that Rodney?" John asked, pretty sure he didn't want to hear the answer.
"It can be your something borrowed and blue!" He announced gleefully.
John rolled his eyes and finished giving the papers and pen back to Chuck, who turned to leave the office.
"Oh, and something either old or new." Rodney continued after a pause, still clearly amused by the joke.
"McKay," John narrowed his eyes.
"But I'm not here to discuss wedding plans," McKay went on, his expression changing to that look he got when he was excited about something scientific. "I have this idea to use-"
"Wait." John interrupted, holding up one hand. To his surprise Rodney actually stopped talking. "Is the city in danger?"
"Well, no." McKay answered impatiently. "Atleast no more so than usual, but if you'd just-"
"Are any of our people in danger?" John asked calmly.
"Not that I know of, but-"
John held up his hand and amazingly McKay stopped talking. Again. There must be something about this office. "Does this have anything to do with turkey sandwiches, golf, or surfing? Or Ferris wheels, even though we don't have one here."
"No, Sheppard." McKay half glared at him.
"Then I don't want to hear about it. I'm not going to sign off on something you couldn't get Elizabeth to agree to when she's not here." Rodney's disappointed look made him think he had guessed the situation correctly. "Now I'm going to lunch." Even though Elizabeth wasn't here he was quite pleased with how the day was going.
Unfortunately that good feeling completely disappeared by late that night.
John looked around the conference room at the assembled people. Rodney, Teyla, and Carson were seated at their characteristic positions around the table. Miller and Stackhouse, the next members in the military chain of command after himself and Lorne, were also present. Absent were Ronon, Lorne, and most conspicuously so, Elizabeth.
John had been waiting in Elizabeth's office, finishing up the last of his paperwork when the time of her arrival came and went. Teyla had joined him after a half hour went by and he tried to reassure her, and himself, that the team was just a little tardy. Then another hour had passed and he had become seriously worried. It seemed like his team always came back late from their missions, but the few times it had happened with Elizabeth she sent someone to check in with Atlantis to let them know of the delay. The fact that they hadn't heard anything meant either she couldn't send anyone or they hadn't been able to make it to the gate, neither a very comforting possibility. There was also a slim chance that she had merely lost track of the time, but the twisting feeling in his gut told him otherwise. When Teyla suggested they call a meeting of the senior staff and military he agreed and was almost out the office door before she finished the sentence. So here they were now trying to figure out the best course of action.
"I say we send a team to look for them." John stated after Teyla had gone over the situation.
"It's only been two hours, Colonel," Carson said reassuringly. "They're probably just a little late."
John shook his head, "If they knew they were going to be late, Elizabeth would have sent someone to tell us."
"Sheppard, maybe she forgot." Rodney offered, the joking matter he had been treating John with over the last day was completely gone.
"No she wouldn't Rodney." He answered, regarding them all with a serious look. "Believe me, Elizabeth has reminded me about checking in so many times that she wouldn't forget."
"I agree with Colonel Sheppard," Teyla broke in. "The fact that we haven't heard anything means that they cannot get word to us for some reason." She gave him a sidelong look, "It might be something as simple as bad weather, but we need to go look."
"I'm sure you all realize this, but it's practically the middle of the night there." Stackhouse reminded them as it was just past midnight in Atlantis and a little later in Gandria. "It's going to be a little hard to look for them in the dark."
"I was thinking we'd take two jumpers, cloaked." John answered. "We can do a sweep for lifesigns around the gate and forest. I remember there being a clearing in the forest not too far from the city. We can land the jumpers there and check out the town for them. Hopefully between the nightvision goggles and moonlight we can see everything. Worst case scenario, we do the scan, watch the gate, and wait until morning to visit the village."
He looked around the table and was pleased to see everyone nodding. "All right then, Stackhouse and Miller assemble your teams. I'll fly one jumper and Hendricks can fly the other one. We'll meet in the-"
"Colonel." Teyla said.
John looked over, but finished relaying the rest of his orders, "-jumper bay in fifteen minutes. And then we'll get them back. Dismissed." John was aware of the fact that it had taken a bit of effort to say 'them' rather than 'her' throughout the entire conversation. He was glad that it was over and they had a plan.
"Colonel," Teyla's voice had a determined edge to it. Everyone froze for a second as they stood from their seats, and then quickly exited the room, leaving John and Teyla alone.
"Yes Teyla," He said with a sigh. He really didn't have time for this, he had to get changed and outfitted-
"You are not going," Teyla interrupted his train of thought.
"What?" John turned back to her, half convinced he hadn't heard her correctly.
"I said you are not going on this mission." Teyla said, firmly looking him in the eye.
"Excuse me?"
"Elizabeth said you weren't to set foot on that planet because she thought something was going on and now it appears she may be right." Teyla crossed her arms and pinned him with a stern look that reminded him quite a lot of Elizabeth. "So you are not going on this rescue mission."
"Teyla, Elizabeth couldn't have known that she was going to get into trouble when she gave that order." He attempted to reason with her.
Teyla continued unfazed, "Besides her order, if something has happened to Elizabeth." John's stomach turned over at that remark. "And I am not saying it has, but you are now the leader of this city. We can't afford to lose both of you."
John stared at her for a moment. He respected Elizabeth's orders and logically he understood Teyla's point, but the need to go find out what had happened for himself was too great. To be stuck here, waiting to find out what had happened, "I don't handle waiting and not doing anything well Teyla." He said softly, dropping his gaze to the table.
"I know that John," she answered in a sympathetic tone.
"And if anything happens to her…." He trailed off, not wanting to finish that train of thought. John took a deep breath and glanced back up at Teyla, "But you're right."
Teyla gave him a small smile and stood there while he relayed the new orders to Stackhouse and Miller. Then they went to Elizabeth's office together.
To wait.
TBC….