December 9th
Day eight of Evan's absence dawned bright and sunny. Never had Jennifer been so at odds with the world around her. It was early even by her standards, barely dawn. Breaking with her habits the past few days, after dressing for her day she moved immediately to the advent house, finding the number nine after a brief search. Tucking the small scroll into a pocket Jenn left her room, her feet following the familiar path to Evan's balcony.
It wasn't really his balcony of course – Jennifer just thought of it as his, because she'd watched him paint there and because it was where she'd seen him in those months before they'd discovered each other. Spying Evan standing there was how she'd known he liked the sunrise … maybe he hadn't noticed her just because she'd used that knowledge to choose the ornament she'd placed on the tree for him. The fact that she's known him that well had helped bring them together … and the balcony would always be special to her as a result.
The doors whooshed open ahead of her, closing smoothly as she moved to the railing. The sea was calm, a grey blue so close to Evan's eyes it brought tears to her own.
"I miss you," she whispered, letting her tears fall without trying to suppress them.
The wind gusted suddenly, the fresh air cold against her cheeks rousing her. What was she doing, standing there feeling sorry for herself like the worst kind of drama queen? Crying because things weren't going her way. "Pull yourself together," she thought firmly. After checking the rest of the possible planets from the DHD on 990 and finding nothing, they had a fair idea where Evan and his team were situated. The Daedalus was less than a day away from Atlantis too - she just had to be patient. Besides, if she wanted Colonel Caldwell to approve her inclusion on the trip to Olesia she'd have to present a much more together front than she was right then.
Taking out Evan's latest message for her, Jennifer unrolled it, wondering what reason he'd give that day.
"I'm better with you than I could ever be without you."
"Oh Evan," Jennifer smiled fondly. She'd known he had a romantic side but never expected he'd be so eloquent in writing, nor know exactly the right things to appeal to the deepest parts of her heart. Even after a year there were still things to learn about each other, new things to cherish on top of the old. Rolling the small scrap of paper up, Jenn put it back in her pocket carefully, content with her thoughts.
She heard the unscheduled off world activation – someone was dialling in unexpectedly. Since that wasn't an unusual occurrence, day or night, Jennifer ignored it. Turning her attention back to the sea she let its calm serenity imbue her with a matching calm.
"Doc, Sheppard here. You awake?"
Tapping her earwig, Jennifer answered. "I'm here Colonel."
"Get yourself down to the conference room," John advised.
"Did something happen?" Jennifer asked hopefully, already moving.
"Yeah, we just got a call from Olesia."