Chapter 12: Maybe I'm reading this wrong but I think we have a problem.
"You guys are engaged right?" Rodney asked. We'd met back with the rest of Team Sheppard for dinner in the hotel restaurant appropriately named Top of the World - that aptly described both our location and my mood.
"Yeah," John looked at Rodney clearly wondering why Rodney was questioning something he already knew - something he usually got very impatient about with his own staff.
"Then where's her ring?" Rodney looked at John and I expectantly.
"It is customary among my people to exchange betrothal gifts," Teyla offered.
"Sateda too," Ronon agreed. "Didn't have to be a ring though."
"Does anyone else think this is incredibly bizarre?" I asked in disbelief. "I don't know what's worse - the fact that you're all talking about it or the fact that Rodney thought of something I completely missed."
"You forgot about engagement rings?" Rodney asked incredulously.
"Getting married isn't something I've actively imagined Rodney," I said defensively. "It's not like I don't know people get engagement rings - I just never thought about getting one myself."
"You don't want a ring?" Rodney looked almost flabbergasted now.
"Not everyone does," I looked over at John pointedly. "You know, you could step in any time - help me out here."
"I'm still stuck on the fact that I forgot your ring," John admitted ruefully.
"Wait a minute," I held up a hand to stop any smart arse remarks from Rodney over that. "You've actually got a ring somewhere?"
"You said you wanted the whole box and dice," John reminded me. "To me that includes a ring."
"Oh," I don't know why that surprised me but it did. And then the next thought occurred to me. "So where is it then?" I hadn't forgotten we had an audience ... hopefully John would pick up on my hint that it was time to leave that audience behind.
"Upstairs," John admitted. "It was in my stuff back at the SGC - I wasn't thinking about it that first night because I didn't have it on me."
"Well, let's go have a look then," I rose suddenly, grabbing John's hand and dragging him up from the table too. "Rodney will look after everything here, won't you Rodney?" And then I dragged John away, ignoring Rodney's indignant spluttering and Teyla's amused laugh. "See you tomorrow guys," I called over my shoulder, still urging John along with me.
"You're really this keen to see your ring?" John asked in amazement once we were both in the elevator.
"No offense but God no," I laughed. "Good excuse to get out early though – as I remember it we have unfinished business."
"Ah," John smiled, grabbing my hand and pulling me into him. "Now that I understand." He leaned in and kissed me, walking me slowly backwards until he had me pressed up against the wall.
"Hm-mm," someone clearing their throat ... loudly ... brought us back to ourselves.
"Here already," I quipped with an embarrassed laugh, breaking away from John. An elderly gentleman in a very nice suit stood at the open lift doors, thankfully looking at us with amusement instead of embarrassment or censure. He and John exchanged nods before John urged me out and hurried us down the corridor.
It was easy to find our place again once we'd finally achieved some privacy. Every touch, every moment of intimacy meant more to me right then that it ever had before – because we'd signed those papers earlier in the day. And maybe because it was only just hitting me that I'd come so close to being separated from John – I wasn't going to say forever even though if Walker had been able to complete his plan it would have been.
After only been a couple of days I already felt I'd gone a long way forward in terms of my recovery. Having Team Sheppard there along with all the personal distractions with John hadn't hurt ... it was just the break my mind needed. Maybe I'd picked up more than just John's smart arse approach to stressful situations – maybe I'd picked up a bit of his coping methods too.
oOo
"Hey - I was just reading that information they gave us about marriage licenses," I called through to the bathroom where John was finishing up a shower before we retired for the night. "Maybe I'm reading this wrong but I think we have a problem."
"What's that?" John called back distractedly.
"Because we got a license here we have to get married somewhere in Nevada within the next twelve months to make it legal," I explained, getting up and moving into the bathroom doorway. "If that's true everywhere then I can't see how we could ever do anything legally on Atlantis."
"That was part of what General Landry was getting Walter to look into," John replied. "It should be possible to get a dispensation for that, as long as we get someone to register it back here once we're married."
"Oh," I frowned. "This seems a lot more complex than it needs to be."
"Sorry," John shrugged dismissively. "I know you wouldn't have chosen to be an Air force wife but that's what you're gonna be - this kind of thing is par for the course so we might as well get used to it."
"I can do that," I smiled, walking back into the bedroom with a whole host of thoughts running through my head.
oOo
For the next three days we played tourist, sometimes all five of us together but more often than not just John and I. We visited all the casinos ... not to gamble but just to experience the uniqueness of each theme. Well, Rodney gambled and was not surprisingly very good at it. After the first night he too gave it up, telling us it wasn't a challenge and that the mathematics wasn't interesting enough to hold his attention.
As with the airport I was struck by the vast numbers of people living or visiting the city. At odd moments that made me nervous, not enough that I wanted to hide myself away, just enough to know that although I'd recovered alot it would still be some time before I felt completely normal again.
John was like a kid in a candy store, wanting to try everything the hotel had to offer, including the thrill rides. Yes there were rides, the scariest of which was something called Insanity - appropriately as it turned out because you really had to be insane to want to strap yourself into a caged seat and hang over the side of a thousand foot tower while you were spun fast enough to experience three G's of force. I gamely went along with John and ended up feeling pale and shaky while he laughed like an idiot and said he'd had better. Big Shot was no better ... being literally shot almost two hundred feet straight up at a huge speed, over four G's of force for that one ... once I'd escaped back to solid ground I vowed I'd never pay to get the crap scared out of me again and that if John wanted to go on any more rides he'd have to rope Ronon in instead.
I had my payback though, dragging John through the international marketplace fully contained within the hotel. It wasn't the same as actually going to Paris, Hong Kong and New York of course, but I had fun ... and if watching John reluctantly letting himself be dragged from shop to shop with that sexy pout as his only protest added to that enjoyment, well I was only human. I dragged him to the Hotel show as well ... one of those look alike efforts that was totally wasted on me because I wouldn't have recognised half of the real people if they'd stopped by our table to say hello.
The one thing we both agreed was awe inspiring was the observation deck ... to quote the guidebook it was the tallest free-standing tower in the whole of the united states. We could see all of Vegas stretched out around us and began a nightly ritual of spending a few minutes up there just taking in the spectacle of everything lit up with more lights than were anywhere near necessary. It wasn't as pretty or as impressive as Atlantis lit by night but it was pretty close.
oOo
On every one of those three tourist days I'd tried to convince John to take Rodney and Ronon to play golf. There were a stack of courses close by and John should have been all over the idea given his love of the game but he'd declined every time I suggested it. He said it was because he thought all that walking would still be too much for me but when I'd pointed out that he could go just with the others he'd brushed it off, telling me he was happy to wait until we could go together.
But I knew it wasn't just that. It had been six full days since John had rescued me, I was physically almost back to my old self, but he still hadn't left my side for more than a few minutes at a time. So on our fourth day in Vegas I decided it was time for a little chat.
"What's on the agenda today?" I asked casually as we finished up breakfast in our room.
"Not sure," John replied, distracted with the morning paper. Looking up he added "was there something you wanted to do?"
"As a matter of fact there is," I announced. "I want you to take Rodney and Ronon to the golf course. Teyla and I are gonna go do girly stuff."
"I can ... ," John trailed off, obviously realising before he said it how stupid it would sound if he said he could come with us. Frowning he shook his head and muttered "that wasn't fair."
"I know, " I agreed, "but you can't stick to me like glue for the rest of our lives! At some point you're gonna have to trust me to go out there alone."
"I do trust you!" John protested. "It's everyone else I have a problem with!"
"You know you're being just a tad ridiculous, right?" I raised an eyebrow at him expectantly, waiting until he looked away sheepishly. "I thought so."
"So I'm not exactly keen to have you galavanting around a strange city without me," John said defensively.
"How about this?" I decided to offer a compromise. "You go play golf with the boys this morning while Teyla and I shop. I promise we'll stick to the hotel and that I'll stay close to Teyla the whole time. We can meet back in the restaurant for lunch."
"Ah ...," John thought for a moment, looking like he was trying to work out a viable reason not to agree. But of course he couldn't and was forced to concede. "Fine," he grumbled.
"It will be fine," I promised. "And you'll have fun with Ronon and Rodney."
John wasn't happy but he went along with the plan ... heading out in the car with Ronon and Rodney after telling Teyla repeatedly to look after me. Teyla and I shared an amused glance as the two of us stood at the hotel entrance waving them off.
oOo
I don't know about John, but Teyla and I packed a lot into our morning. A satisfying three hours later we all met up again for lunch, with me smiling as soon as I saw that John looked relaxed rather than stressed as I'd worried he would be.
"How'd it go?" I asked, eager to hear what I was sure was going to be an interesting account.
"Ronon was just as much a natural on a real course as he was on the driving range back home," John announced. I looked at him carefully – he had just a hint of that little boy peevishness around the edges. I could understand that though. Spending years learning and perfecting something only to have someone come in and do it with no training really would suck.
"What, even putting?" I asked Ronon. "I'm surprised ... given your usual approach to things."
"It's a stick and a ball," Ronon rumbled with an amused twinkle in his eye. He knew how peeved John was and he was enjoying it!
"What about you Rodney?" I looked at Rodney, just waiting for the complaints.
"I never enjoy walking through nature when we've got somewhere to go," Rodney said sarcastically. "It's even less pleasant when there's absolutely no reason for it! Why anyone would want to participate in what has to be the most frustrating sport on Earth is beyond me."
"We had to give Rodney a shot limit," John shared with me. "Otherwise we'd still be back on the 9th hole."
"Oh, very amusing," Rodney said irritably. "Maybe tomorrow we can do something I've been practising for 20 years – see how you go when the shoe's on the other foot!"
"What could we possibly do that you specialise in?" John asked curiously. "They don't have a 'build your own bomb' shop here, do they."
"I don't know," Rodney muttered, not impressed, "but I'll think of something."
"What about you?" Ronon asked, looking from me to Teyla and back again. "Did you do all that girly stuff Teyla was talking about?"
"We did," Teyla answered, exchanging a secretive smile with me.
"I'm not sure I like that look," John said worriedly, looking at me more closely.
"What, you want to hear about manicures and makeup and hair styles?" I joked.
"No, and I'm kinda surprised you did!" John retorted, grabbing at my hand and inspecting my nails curiously.
"Busted!" I pulled my hand away quickly. "We didn't do all that – only had time to check out all the shops ... and you know, buy a few things."
"Ah," John looked at me in amusement. "How many book shops do they have here?"
"Enough, smart arse," I retorted. "For that you get to carry everything upstairs."
"You got your stitches out," John commented abruptly, putting a hand to my chin and turning my face up to the light.
"Yeah," I agreed, surprised he hadn't noticed immediately. "Hotel doctor did it - said the wound was almost completely healed."
"No scar," John pointed out, examining the site more closely. I still had a faint red line but it was already looking a lot better than I'd hoped for when I'd first seen the damage.
"The doctor said with any luck it should fade completely within a few weeks," I told John with a pleased grin. "Leg wounds too."
"You got anything other than books in those bags?" John changed the subject, sensing that I didn't want to talk about the remaining evidence of what I'd been through.
"Why don't you pick them up and find out," I challenged, more than ready to head back to our room for a rest.
I had to put up with a few more teasing remarks about the weight of my bags ... once up in our room I threw myself on the bed, exhausted. We'd stayed up late the previous night and I was paying for it after my busy morning.
"I can't believe I'm so tired," I complained. "I think I could even sleep for a bit ... if you wanted to join me."
John let his actions be his answer ... in moments he had us snuggled up together on top of the covers. "Are you enjoying your vacation?" he asked softly, moving my hair aside so he could nuzzle the back of my neck.
"Yes," I mumbled, hugging his arm against me as I yawned again. And then I let the tiredness take over and dropped quickly into sleep.
oOo
"Mmm," my awareness returned with the pleasant sensation of someone kissing me. Turning over I smiled sleepily at John. "What time is it?"
"Sixteen thirty hours," John replied.
"Wow," I sat up abruptly, rubbing a hand over my face. "I guess I really was tired." My stomach chose that moment to growl audibly. "And now I'm hungry," I added with a laugh. "Let's get dressed up and eat early. The others can do without us for one night."
Not waiting for an answer I jumped out of bed, grabbing one of my bags from that morning's spree.
"Did you buy actual clothes?" John looked at the bag with interest.
"I did," I agreed casually. "After you were so keen on that dress from the Tower I decided I could make a bit of an effort since the opportunity was there."
"Go on then," John waved a hand, urging me to get moving.
"If I get dressed up, you have to as well," I told him insistently. "That suit you packed for the dinner we were supposed to have at your Mother's favourite restaurant will do nicely."
Grumbling a bit, John pushed up off the bed to change while I disappeared into the bathroom for my own transformation.
Half an hour later I emerged somewhat cautiously, nervous about John's reaction.
"Holy ...," John broke off, getting up and actually walking around me as he checked out my outfit. "Ah ... wow. You look good ... I mean, really, really ... good."
"Glad you approve," I self consciously tugged at the bodice of the dress, not used to having something on that felt so ... exposing. My shoulders and half of my back were left bare by the dress design – hence my feeling just a little bit self conscious. The dress was a rich shifting swirl of bronze and brown, form fitting from the halter neck down to my waist and then flowing in a swath of fabric to my ankles. The best bit was the fact that it was actually two layers – underneath solid bronze satin and on top a sheer see through fabric that added the graduation of colours. I'd even gotten shoes – bronze very high heel ones that could only be described as completely frivolous.
"You're beautiful," John announced appreciatively, "but you're missing something."
"I know I'll probably be cold but I didn't have time to get a jacket to go with this," I excused, adjusting my necklace so the vinculum sat right in the centre of my chest.
"Not a jacket," John walked up to me with a hand in one pocket. Removing it he held a box out to me. "This."
"Oh," I looked down at the box as a bemused smile made its way over my face. "Don't you have to do the honours?"
"This ring belonged to my mother," John explained as he opened the box and showed me the simple white gold ring nestled inside. "It was her wedding ring and I've kept it with me since she died ... never thought I'd want to part with it for anyone – until you."
"Okay, now you're gonna make me cry," I said tearfully, hardly able to believe how moving him giving me a ring actually was. Without ceremony John pushed the ring up my finger, holding out my hand so we could both see it looking so natural there.
"Do you like it?" John asked uncertainly. "I know it's not the classic diamond or anything ..."
"I love this one more than anything else you could have given me," I said with certainty. "This one is me ... and it's you too. It's perfect."
"Good," John melted my heart even more when he pulled my ring hand to his lips and actually kissed it. Looking from my hand back to him I was rendered speechless. And then I remembered we'd been about to go out. Looking at him all sexy and commanding in his charcoal grey suit I smiled happily.
"Don't we look impressive?" I said with a giggle. "Let's go before I get more emotional and end up crying all over you."
Grabbing John's hand I urged him to the lift, pushing the button for the very top floor.
"Where are we going?" John asked curiously.
"I discovered this morning that there's a spot up here where you can eat if you arrange it in advance," I explained. "It sounded like something we should do so I signed us up – the view should be spectacular."
I took the lead once we'd got out of the lifts, guiding our steps down the silent corridor to the door at the very end.
"This is it," I announced, taking a deep breath and then pushing the door open.
There were only two other people in the room but the very layout and set up shouted out what we were really there for.
"Sabina?" John looked at me uncertainly. "Is this what I think it is?"
"If you think it's a wedding then yes," I replied nervously.
Author's Note:
Apologies for the delayed post on this chapter. I was all set to post last night but then I realised I had a timeline problem and I just didn't have the steam to fix it there and then. Even so it's taken me longer than expected to correct it and add in everything I thought was needed to make this chapter better. Hope it was worth the wait. Also, because it's so late I'll have to add an apology to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I'll reply to you all in the morning ... it's 2am here and again I just don't have the energy left to do it tonight.
Next Up? Fortunate Journey Season 4 Chapter 13 ... there be fluff ahead!