Somewhere in the continental Untied States, Dani is screaming at me. She may be initiating murderous plots against me as we speak, so if I'm not heard from within a month, someone notify the authorities! LOL

Don't own SGA or its characters. A little over the limit… okay 151 words over the limit. Sue me.

"Protect me?" asked Jennifer as she slumped against the doorframe of her office. Her eyes caught Rodney's but before she knew it Amanda stepped in between them and the moment was lost.

"Yeah," replied Sheppard as his right hand wearily raked through his hair. His arm fell to his side and his hands made their way into his pockets. "He wants to be able to protect you," his hands moved from his pockets up into the space between to make air quotes as he said, "like a man should." The way he roughly jammed his hands down into his pockets again showed just how much he disagreed with Rodney's reasoning.

Jennifer closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them as she pushed herself off the doorframe. "Thank you, John," she whispered as she stepped past him, her eyes focused clearly on Rodney now that the Colonel and Amanda were out of the way.

Rodney sat up on the edge of the bed and looked up as she walked towards him. There was a look of relief in his blue eyes and the barest hint of a smile on his lips, both of which disappeared almost in a flash.

Jennifer stopped just in front of Rodney and before she knew what she was doing her left hand reached over and carefully touched Rodney's cheek just below his slightly swollen and bruised eye. She studied the area for a moment, her medical mind deducing what Amanda was no doubt putting in his medical file at that very moment- he'd be fine.

Jennifer's hand cupped his cheek and she edged herself forward another few inches so that she was as close to him as she could be without actually getting onto his lap. "Rodney," she whispered as her eyes looked into his and her thumb caressed his cheek, "what are you doing?" She shook her head as her right hand reached over and held his left. "Why are you doing this?"

Rodney shrugged and his eyes looked down to where her hand covered his. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

The corners of Jennifer's mouth turned down to form a slight frown. "Rodney, look at me." When he didn't move after a few seconds she whispered, "Please." It took several more seconds but Rodney's eyes slowly roamed upward until she could see them. "Why?"

Rodney's Adam's apple bobbed furiously for a few seconds, but in the end he simply sighed. "I love you."

Jennifer nodded as she said, "I know that, Rodney."

"And I don't want anything to happen to you." Rodney's eyes looked back down to their hands. He turned his hand so that their fingers could interlace. "And if something did because I couldn't…"

He stopped when Jennifer's thumb jumped from his cheek onto his lips. She loved him dearly and part of her wanted to shout it at him. Part of her wanted to jump onto his lap and prove it to him. In the end she sighed and said, "Whenever I'm in trouble I know two things." She glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then leaned in closer to Rodney so that she could whisper into his right ear, "One, I need to try to keep calm until help comes." She slid her thumb off his lips and added, "And two, I know that no matter the situation," she leaned back so that she could look into his eyes, "you'll be there to save me. Because no matter what, I know you'll do everything you can and that's a lot better than most people got." She smiled as Rodney's face brightened a little, then she let him in on another fact. "And three, I love you."

Rodney smirked. "I thought you said there were two things."

Jennifer smiled as she leaned in towards him. "Sue me," she said before her lips touched his.

A/N: "Save Me" was written by the group Remy Zero and released on their 2001 album The Golden Hum. It is, of course, immensely popular as the theme song for the tv show 'Smallville'.