One Hundred Sparkified Drabbles (51-60) by AndromedaMarine

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Athosian Tea, Part Six (51)

It took the colonel half an hour to convince Rodney that it really was nighttime, and that they really had to return to Atlantis. It didn't exactly matter that their leader happened to be out cold, sprawled on the Jumper bench – John had quite enough of Teyla and Ronon making out in front of him and Rodney's whiny attitude concerning their imminent trip home. John pointed defiantly at the rear of the Jumper, a hand on his hip. "Get in. Now. Don't make me point my P90 at you."

"You don't have your P90," Rodney retorted. "Besides, Liz is lying there. I can't go sit on her."

John smacked his palm to his forehead for the millionth time. "Sit in the copilot's seat. Like you did on the way here. Liz is just fine where she is."

Rodney let out an uncharacteristic giggle. "You kissed her!"

John shoved Rodney towards the Jumper.

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Intervention (52)

Colonel John Sheppard seized the lapels of Rodney McKay's lab coat, dragging him into the corner. John's face was livid. "What the bloody hell did you tell her??"

Rodney wasn't frightened in the slightest. He seemed rather bored, risking a yawn in front of the flyboy. "Nothing."

"Liar," John hissed back after studying the scientist's lousy poker face.

"Something happen between you two I should know about?" Rodney asked, removing John's hands from his lab coat; he brushed off the invisible specks of dust, flattening out what creases John's fists had made.

"No," John denied rather quickly, eliciting a huge grin from the astrophysicist.

"Ah..." Rodney trailed off, pushing past his friend to return to the laptop. "Nothing like intervention to prevent a relationship catastrophe..."

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That Little Thing Called Love (53)

It felt like he'd jumped off the tallest balcony on the control tower. The rushing feeling (of air, if he really had leapt off the terrace) caused his stomach to stay high in the atmosphere (or the Earthly equivalent thereof), and he almost couldn't breathe when he stared up through the glass window of her office. He'd gone to Carson a few times complaining of inexplicable stomach pains (but the good doctor winked and told him it was nothing).

Teyla seemed a proper choice to interrogate about the swooping feeling that accompanied staring Elizabeth's way.

"John, have you ever been in love before?" Teyla asked pointedly.

"Nancy," he immediately said. "But that failed."

"Then it was not true love. The experience you are having is that little thing called love."

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Insanity Part Two (54)

Author's Note: Continued at sparklyshimmer2010's suggestion. May grow into a three parter....

Before it registered in John's mind that Ronon wasn't kidding about Rodney standing behind him the astrophysicist had made it to Major Lorne's seat and was grinning wildly as he passed on the news. John growled, rising to his feet like a feral animal.

"Man, you sound like one of them mutant wolf things in Lord of the Rings," Ronon commented, practically inhaling another chicken leg. "And yeah, Rodney is a freakin' tabloid. Whatever that means."

John nearly succeeded in wrapping his hands around the scientist's throat to strangle him when Liz walked into the commissary.

"Colonel Sheppard, I need to speak with you immediately." Her eyes were full of seriousness.

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No Common Ground (55)

She lay awake each night wondering what would've happened had John not survived the Genii. How would she feel? Would her heart be as empty as she imagined? Somewhere during her midnight ponderings Elizabeth Weir realized she cared for John. Not in the way she cared for Rodney or Carson – in the way she used to care for Simon. For her high school boyfriend. The true love sort of thing. She stopped breathing for a moment after realizing this, eyes wide with fright (as if John could read her mind from down and across the hall).

This was uneven, unfamiliar ground off the edges of that map. Here, there was no common ground. Only love's battlefield. She breathed out, a smile on her face. This would be interesting.

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Page Seventeen (56)

Sheppard didn't get past War & Peace, page seventeen. After that moment in the book (whether from boredom or lack of interest, John couldn't decide which phrase sounded better), he found his mind wandering from the thickly-scrunched words on the paper to the expedition leader. The volume sat on his bedside table thereafter, never moving, collecting dust as the months (and then years) passed.

Suddenly page seventeen seemed begging to be read, what with no expedition leader to think of now. A hole now lay in his heart, gone with Elizabeth on Asuras. So he picked up the book again. Reading to block out the waves of sadness. Reading to forget.

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Six Months (57)

Six months. Six months before Sam told him to pack his things for home. Six months passed with fruitless searching, empty leads and a shattered heart. Six months seemed to creep by, the agony of that absence clawing at his mind, as if a jackal was trying to escape. Six months. The car ride seemed endless, yet it did end, at the long lane leading to Mrs. Weir's home. The Air Force sergeant glanced reproachfully to the backseat, signaling that John had to exit the car. It was time.

"Ma'am," John said thickly when the older woman opened the door. Her confused expression immediately went to tears. "My name is Colonel John Sheppard – your daughter was my wife. I regret to say she was lost in the field six months ago."

A tear escaped onto John's cheek.

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Unspoken (58)

"I swear, Kolya, if you kill her, I'll kill you. And you should know I don't make empty threats."

And he did. Kolya, Genii, staggered back into the event horizon with a fatal bullet lodged in his neck. John caught a collapsing Elizabeth and held her close, not caring if Rodney or Beckett saw. John felt her against him, real, alive, breathing – her hands grasped the back of his vest, clinging to him as much as he clung to her. A mutual feeling, if Rodney had any say.

The lightning hit with tremendous force, and the city rocked with the waves as the tsunami hit the just-raised shield. John let out a sigh of relief. She knew he loved her – even if it was unspoken.

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Overworked, Under-rested, Part One (59)

Sheppard suppressed a chuckle when he wandered into the control room at two in the morning. A single light illuminated a small portion of the room, and John knew exactly who was there. "Elizabeth," he called softly and, hearing a clatter (which might've been an Athosian figurine) and a hurried attempt to catch said object, the colonel ascended the steps leading to his superior's office. "All other personnel went to bed four hours ago."

"Someone has to keep this expedition on its figurative feet."

"You can't do that if you overwork and don't sleep," he rebuked softly. "Don't run yourself into the ground."

She glanced up at him from her laptop.

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No Tragic Ending (60)

John Sheppard awoke in a cold sweat the day after rescuing Dr. Weir from Asuras. Dog tags sticking to his chest he heaved himself up from the bed and pattered to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. It did no good, other than wake him up. It took him several minutes to erase the fear (accompanied by pain and guilt) and remember that Elizabeth was safe in the infirmary, under Jennifer Keller's superb care. He shrugged on an Air Force t-shirt and, foregoing the shoes, palmed the door panel and made his way to the medical wing.

Elizabeth slept peacefully, and as John took her hand he remembered there was no tragic ending.

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Thanks to everyone who's contributed to the reviews! They keep me going... (hint hint) :)