Author's note: Okay, so this chapter is really long. But it was so much fun to write! Notice the Sparky is coming out. I'm a Teyla/Ronon fan as well, so there will be that too. This was a more serious chapter, with less spoofs due to John's mood. Don't worry, there will be tons more spoofs to come. Oh, and the nursery rhyme at the end is put in as a nod to my best friend, who said that that particular rhyme should be the theme song of John's life (maybe not that bad, but I can totally see it). Enjoy, and thanks for all the reviews!
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate Atlantis. Sob.
The next morning dawned bright and cheerful, though Elizabeth definitely didn't feel cheerful. She groaned as she sat up in bed. Last night, she had still had to do some housekeeping things before going to bed; approving duty rosters, jumper schedules, gate dialings, and the like. It made it so that she didn't go to bed until around one-thirty, two. And her work day started at six.
Elizabeth felt like she was one hundred years old. Her bones ached, and the cold from the caves felt like it had permanently set into her bones. She felt like she wanted to go back to sleep, but her dreams were haunted by snatches of the replicator incident, and she didn't want to relive those.
Feeling like the walking dead, she dressed and meandered towards her office. A mountain of paperwork lay on the desk before her; there was so much she had to do before she could even consider getting some work done that she felt like she just wanted to cry. "I need a secretary," she mumbled as she downed two cups of coffee to fortify herself for the morning's e-mails. Then, with a third cup on a coaster on her desk, Elizabeth began to attack the piles of paper. She had only been working a couple of minutes, however, when the first interruption came. It took a moment to register, though. When it did, it was still fairly unbelievable. It sounded like there was a fight coming from the Gateroom.
Elizabeth ran out on her office balcony, afraid of what she might see... and disbelieving of what she did see. There below her, her flagship team of Atlantis was embroiled in an argument... boys vs. girls.
A Jumper was parked before the gate, looking ready to depart. In fact, Chuck was at the gate controls looking rather impatient. The back of the jumper was open and Ronon, John, and Rodney were barring Teyla from entering.
"Why can I not come with you?" Teyla asked angrily.
"Because you're not invited," said John in a teasing voice. Rodney snickered.
"You said this was a trade mission! You said... you needed my help locating a planet in a winter cycle. You said it was all for your story... and yet you will not let me go along with you?"
"Sorry," John said, not sounding sorry at all. In fact, he seemed fairly jubilant.
Teyla, for lack of a better word, growled at John. "Well, I hope your trade negotiations fail!" she shouted, still angry that he had apparently ditched her.
Elizabeth stepped closer to the edge of the balcony, figuring she needed to make her presence known now. "Colonel Sheppard! Exactly where are you going with that jumper?"
John peered up at Elizabeth and gave her his best prankster smile. "You should know; after all, you cleared it last night."
Elizabeth felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her as Teyla glowered towards her general direction. The look on her face was not pleased; it said, "So you're in this too." But before Elizabeth could say anything that would clear up the situation, Sheppard closed the jumper door, and the three men flew off through the gate. Teyla turned on her heel and walked out. Elizabeth felt terribly confused and irritated. Since when had her city gone crazy? "Apparently, four hours of sleep was too much," she mumbled to herself as she walked back to her office.
"Tell Colonel Sheppard I want to see him the minute he gets back," Weir told Chuck.
oOo
Elizabeth didn't have to wait long. A measly forty minutes passed, and then John was requesting permission to land. Chuck let the shield down and let them through. The jumper slid through the iris and floated up towards the jumper bay. But then, it stopped in midair and hovered. Elizabeth stared in shock as the back door opened again and out of it fell... snow. Fine, pristine, powdery snow.
Elizabeth was down in the Gateroom in moments, followed by Teyla, Radek, Lorne, and pretty much the rest of the base. Teyla stood in front of them all, her eyes shining with a sudden understanding.
"I love the snow," she whispered happily. "Every year, my father always took me to a winter planet, just for a day."
"Yeah, well I hope you appreciate this," Rodney said with a grumble, "cause it was backbreaking labor to get all of this in here!"
"A little labor never hurt anyone," Sheppard teased back, his eyes shining as well. Then, he looked at Teyla and said, "It was all Ronon's idea. He wanted to get you something special. Merry Christmas!" After a beat, he looked at the rest of the expedition members. "Come on, everyone! Let's have a snow day!" he said.
Weir watched besotted as her entire staff flung themselves into the snow, throwing it at one another, making snow angles, building small and rather soggy snowmen. Teyla stood under the jumper door, twisting and turning under the drifts that fell down from the jumper.
"I must be out of my mind, I must be crazy," thought Elizabeth as she racked her brain trying to figure out when she had authorized all this. It was all too much for her to take in, and she just turned around and made her way back to her office where at least the paperwork made sense.
"What's wrong with Elizabeth?" asked Ronon as she turned away, not even attempting to have fun with the snow.
John frowned. "I don't know. I'll ask her," he replied.
oOo
Elizabeth sat in her office, feeling an entire pool of strange emotions twisting though her. First, there was annoyance at John for making the Gateroom unusable for the moment. Then, there was the annoyance at John for not clearing this properly with her (that she could recall). Then, there was the annoyance at John for doing this for Teyla... well, that was irrational. Why shouldn't he like Teyla? She was smart and brave and beautiful. Besides, it was year three, after all. John should have someone to grow closer to. And yet, for some reason Elizabeth couldn't explain, it galled at her that John should choose Teyla.
"Come on," one part of her mind said to her. "Why would John like you? You and he definitely don't see eye to eye most of the time, and when you do agree it is over nothing that really matters. Besides, you have a city to run; you have no time for love."
"Love?" shouted the other part of her mind. "Maybe not love, not right away... but why should he pick Teyla over me? What does she have that I don't have? John... makes me smile. He makes me feel good when I am around him. And he'd risk his life for me. If that's not the beginning of love... I don't know what is."
Both these ideas swarmed through Elizabeth's head, igniting a war in her mind that her body was too tired to deal with at the moment. So when John came through her office door seconds later, she responded the only way that made sense.
"John, just go away," she stated fiercely
John frowned and leaned on her desk, still looking at ease. His eyes had taken on a suspicious tint though. "Now, that's not a kind way to talk to your second-in-command," he replied.
Elizabeth gritted her teeth. She felt like yelling and crying at the same time, and having John in front of her did not help her to feel any more charitable. "Where did you get permission to pull of what you did?" she asked suspiciously.
John's frown only deepened slightly. "From you," he stated. "Don't you remember doing it... it was on the jumper request I sent in last night."
Elizabeth was afraid of this. Last night was little more than a blur, and if she had signed off on it... well, she had to live with it. But that still didn't make her any less angry. In fact, it made her even more so.
John picked up on her anger; it was almost as if sparks were flying between them. "What?" he finally said, annoyed by her angry glare. "You signed off on this mission... you even commented that it was great to let Atlantis have a white Christmas! We talked about this a couple of nights ago at dinner. So why are you acting like this? Why not go out and enjoy it?"
"I bet Teyla is enjoying it immensely," Elizabeth spat out before she could restrain herself.
"Of course Teyla is enjoying it... it was meant for her. Everyone else is enjoying it too. In fact, if you weren't such a grumpy old lady, you'd let your guard down and have some fun as well."
"What did you call me?" Elizabeth shouted, standing quickly, her eyes blazing.
Sheppard flinched but didn't back down. "I called you a grumpy old lady," he stated. "You... locking yourself in here instead of allowing yourself to have fun has set you apart from the rest of the base, and not in a good way. And bringing Teyla into the whole mess... why would you? She didn't even know what we were doing."
Elizabeth felt stung. She tried and tried her best to run this base well daily, and the fact that such a significant event was approved by her when she had no knowledge of it was a glaring mistake. Besides this, her second-in-command was now angry, and this tore at her, chastising her and adding fuel to her fire at the same time.
"Get out," Elizabeth stated flatly, her voice dangerously low.
John scowled and turned on his heel, not even bothering to glance back. Elizabeth sank to her desk and sat there staring numbly at the screen.
oOo
Actually, when John had presented the snow idea to Elizabeth, he had presented it as a "wouldn't it be cool if we could do this," and not an actual, "I'm bringing snow through the gate tomorrow." So really, Elizabeth shouldn't have been too mortified. John always bent the rules whenever he could, and sometimes even when he couldn't. He really couldn't credit the snow idea though, for it had been Ronon's idea all along. Ronon had wanted to surprise Teyla with a snowstorm since snow was one of her favorite things and she so rarely got to see it (Athosians settled by the coast where snow just turned to rain in the sky.) Actually, the amount of sentiment Ronon put into the plan surprised John, and as he watched the two building a snowman together he felt a wave of understanding.
"Ronon's got the hots for Teyla," he thought, approving. Even though Ronon said Teyla and John would be good together, John could see that Ronon and Teyla would be a far better match. She was joyful and at peace, yet her heart held a fire that complemented Ronon's built-in inferno. On missions they often paired off together, and they were able to move through the brush so well it was as if they were one body instead of two. They made a strong match.
"Hey buddy," Sheppard said as he sauntered over to Ronon. "How's your man coming along?"
"Not good," Ronon assessed as the snowman's stick arm fell out of it's snowball socket.
John grinned and looked over at Teyla, who was busy creating a face on a snowball. "How'd your present go over?"
"Good," Ronon grinned, watching Teyla with a certain look that said, "she is so mine."
"Well, good!" John said as he turned and headed for the control room. As he passed Elizabeth's office, he felt the sudden urge to go make amends... and yet he did not. After all, why should he be sorry? It was Elizabeth who had gotten out of shape. And yet, John had the strange feeling that he had missed something important. Something was wrong.
oOo
The night fell clear and dark over Atlantis. About half of the city trudged out to the mainland for this night. As John understood it, the Athosians had different celebrations they participated in on different days. The second night was the most somber night; it was the night of remembrance for all who had come before. Everyone on the mainland had painted a light-blue stripe under their eyes to symbolize tears, and there had been little to no talking permitted all day. Therefore, it was a gloomy party indeed that settled down into the caves that evening. The gloominess suited John well; he was in a bad mood. Elizabeth had not come.
He had not spoken to her before he had to leave to get ready for the evening. Actually, after vaporizing the left-over snow with the gate and mopping up the rest of the slush, John had no time to do much of anything. It had been a challenge to find time to eat! And he was still angry at Elizabeth then. Now, as he stood on the platform dressed in the mirrored robes, his own face heavily painted, he sorely missed her. It had been good to have a friend to talk to before the ceremony began. At least his team and Carson had come! John stood tall, focused his eyes on his friends on the ledge, and began the next part of his tale.
"The next day the clowns, led by the evil Pennywise, planned their attack. So silent were they about it, though, that on the outer fringes of Gondor not a single soul had the slightest warning. In fact, it was a rather beautiful day in Camelot, and everyone was rejoicing because the first snow of the year had come. Everyone was out and about, enjoying the cold weather and each other's company. Everyone that is, except for Queen Beth."
"For some reason, she stood at her palace window, afraid to come down. It had been said that she had received a dream the night before, in which a clown had taken her away from the snowy mountains into the depths of the earth itself, where the walls of stone seem to beat like a heart. So unsettled was she by her dream that she stayed alone all day, letting no one see her except for the Dark Knight."
"'What is the matter?' the Dark Knight asked, for the life of him not knowing what he could have possibly done wrong. (Here Carson shook his head in amusement; there was nothing on base Carson didn't know about, it seemed. Elizabeth had often vented to him in the past; maybe Carson had gotten an earful. John would have to ask him about her later.)"
"Queen Beth fixed her fire-eyes on him and replied, 'I have a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, as if... as if the world I know will end today. I don't know where this feeling is coming from, but it is a feeling of dread... a feeling of the certainty of death.'"
"The Dark Knight was just about to point out that she was safe and protected in a strong castle made of stone when the Knight's squire Robin ran through the doorway." "'Sir!' the young man shouted, terrified. 'The Clowns have been sighted on the southern border; in great numbers they come! The Silver Knight is planning a counter attack and Queen Tala is arming.'"
"The Dark Knight made ready to leave, but then thought better of it and stated his intention to stay near Queen Beth. But the Queen would have none of it; she ordered him out of her chambers and sent him to the fight. It was fine by the Dark Knight, but how he wished later he had stayed!"
"The Knights and Queen Tala rode out at dusk, intent on keeping their borders safe. They fought bravely and well, though the battle was disturbingly easy. Every time they advanced, the Clowns would retreat instead of fight. Every time they pulled back to their borders, the Clowns advanced. It was a strange dance, and after a time they began to feel that something else was up. By dawn, they had devised an advancing strategy that would hopefully trap the Clowns in a valley. But before they could start doing this, the Clowns had a massive retreat, following some unheard command to withdraw back into their own country, the country of Volkswagen. Not a town on the border had been touched."
"'Let us return,' said the Dark Night uneasily. 'I have a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.'"
"They reached Camelot at midday and it looked no worse for wear. Everyone was going about their day to day business. When the Dark Knight entered the castle, he asked right away for the whereabouts of the Queen Beth, and was informed that she had not arose yet."
"'She retired last night soon after you all left,' the steward had said. 'However, her night must not have been a restful one. We heard her screaming and kicking, which we attributed to her nightmares. After all, it is not the first time she's called out from terrible dreams.'"
"'Did you not even think to check on her?' Queen Tala asked, entering the room on the tail end of the conversation."
"'Check on her? Why? Camelot is as safe as a baby's cradle.'"
"The Dark Knight was already running before the steward stopped speaking."
"Down hall after hall the Dark Knight ran, his mind not daring to dwell on the possibilities of what might happened to his Queen. Door after door in the Queen's expansive apartments he checked, shouting as he went, but she was not in one of them! At last, he came to the final room; her bedchamber. He braced himself for what he might find."
"The curtains and blankets of her bed were shredded, as if she had used them to shield off a monster. The wall behind her sink, which piped in the water for her vanity, had been busted through, and the Dark Knight could see a narrow passage between her wall and the wall of the next room. It would be a tight squeeze, but... you could fit a person behind there. If that person didn't struggle. If that person was unable to struggle. The thought made him so angry that he almost missed the clue left behind by the demented enemy: a playing card with the picture of a Joker in a sailboat." (Strangely, no one got this except Ronon, who had stayed up all night the previous night in order to watch It.)
"'What shall we do?' asked Queen Tala. It was later, and everyone had gathered for a council of war to plan their next steps."
"'We should go after these Clowns,' the Silver Knight said. 'Not much is known about their territory, but the Lore-Master Meredith will have at least partial maps of their realm.'"
"'Key word: Partial!' exclaimed Meredith. 'We don't even know how old these maps are; the information is severely out-dated. Besides that, once you get inside the Clown's country, how are you going to move about? Everyone will be able to see you for what you are, it's not as if you can blend in. This whole idea is a bad idea from the start.'"
` "'Maybe not,' Bones chipped in. 'I believe I can create a type of paint that will cover our faces and make us look almost as bad as they do. Then, all we need is a little hair dye and some garish clothing... I believe we can pull it off!'"
"'Can?' confirmed the Dark Knight. 'Then by all means we will! Bones, gather everything you need. Meredith, we're going to need every map of their area we can get. Silver Knight, we're going to need plenty of weapons.'"
"'I can help get those,' Queen Tala said, rising."
"The Dark Knight rose as well. 'No, you will not get those,' he stated firmly. 'You are not coming with us.'"
"'What?' she angrily cried. 'I fight the Clowns on a day to day basis, and now you tell me I am not good enough?'" (Here Teyla was smiling, the conversation humorously familiar to her.)
"As everyone scurried off to gather their items, the Dark Knight took the Queen aside. 'You are the only ruler our people have left,' he stated. 'If you die, our spirit will die as well. We have already lost our heart; how can we loose our spirit? No, you must stay. Do not make me restrain you.'"
"Queen Tala marched off, angrily muttering under her breath. However, she was not among the men when they gathered again to pack supplies and plan their journey. They stayed up the entire night, plotting and preparing, but by midnight they were sorely exhausted. 'Get some sleep,' commanded the Dark Knight. 'We will do no good to anyone this tired. We will all head out... at dusk tomorrow.'"
With that, John ended, and the Athosians somberly nodded their heads towards him. Everyone then gathered up their blankets and departed, quiet as they came. John was exhausted; the gloominess which hung over the people's heads had infiltrated his story and had brought everyone down. Halling had mentioned that John did very well for second night, but John barely heard him. His mind was on other matters... chiefly Elizabeth.
oOo
There was little to no ribbing in the jumper that night. Of course, Rodney had complained about the use of Robin and had demanded that he be put into the story more. Teyla had remarked on John's cleverness to weave the events of the day into a proper story, and Ronon had shrugged and said it was alright (too somber for his taste; to a Satedan, stories were just giant boasts told over large quantities of alcohol). The jumper eventually grew silent, and Carson took his turn up in the front with Sheppard. He had noticed John was in a bad mood from the first and had suspected it had something to do with Weir, though he hadn't seen her (except in passing) for a good week or so. He tried to start a conversation a couple of times, but each time it fell flat. Finally, he got frustrated and blurted out, "Just go talk to her, lad! It'd be better than spending your life away brooding."
John turned to Carson and grinned a small grin. "How did you know I'm having women trouble?" he asked.
Carson rolled his eyes. "I'm not blind, ye know! I can see that you care a lot for her. And if she cares for you like I think she does... ye should be fine! Just... start out apologizing. Whatever you did; whatever she thinks you did... it doesn't matter. Just throw yourself at her mercy and trust me, ye'll have a much better conversation."
John laughed at this, his spirits rising a little. "When did you get so wise about women?" he asked.
Carson shook his head, his eyes still merry. "When I was a wee lad. It's the technique I used for me mum!"
oOo
After docking the jumper, John felt completely exhausted. But there was one person he still had to see if he could get any restful sleep that night. In the Gateroom, John had observed that Elizabeth's office light was still on. That in itself was bothersome; it was nearly midnight, and John knew she hadn't been getting much sleep lately. He walked quickly past the couple people who were on the night shift and noticed her office door was closed. He knocked quietly. No answer.
"Elizabeth, it's me," John called. Still no answer. "Dr. Weir," he called, switching on his com. Still no answer.
John scowled. He had a quick thought pass through his brain that maybe she wasn't in there. But that made no sense; the lights in Atlantis were censored and only were on if they picked up a heat signature in the room. Someone had to be in there. John activated the door panel and keyed in his code. The door slid open easily, as it normally would have. John walked into Weir's office.
For a moment, John wondered if the censors really were malfunctioning. Elizabeth's chair was vacant, and a quick turn around her office showed that there was no one behind him. And then, John saw an arm stretched out on the floor.
In a few quick steps he had skirted the desk and he stood in shock, unprepared for what he was seeing. Elizabeth was sprawled on the floor, small patches of blood pooled around her mouth. Her breath came in ragged gasps that sounded like they snapped and crinkled, and her forehead was burning up. John quickly called Carson to come to Elizabeth's office and then he knelt down beside her, trying to assess what had happened. Her body felt like a furnace, and though her skin was clammy it was also pale as the moon. She didn't respond to any of John's gentle queries, and John felt his heart nearly stop. He held her hand as he waited for Carson to come, squeezing it tightly as if that would make her hold on more.
"I thought everything was fine," John thought. He was completely shocked. Whatever she had been going through, whatever was wrong... she had kept it totally a secret. Until it was too late. In fact, the whole situation reminded John of a nursery rhyme he had heard when he was young. Ladybug, ladybug fly away home. Your house is on fire and your children are alone. Elizabeth had certainly been alone tonight... and for all John knew, it may have cost her her life.
