Chapter 59

She looks up from her cookbook, hearing someone knock on the door to her office. It's late and everyone has gone to their room, which is probably the only moment during the day when she can write about the new recipes she's tested and maybe read a little. The rest of the day is devoted to her guests, the garden and the dog. Winter is late this year so she can still spend some time outside and do a little weeding and planning for next year.

Katie has come by a couple of times, happy to see and help her friend. Louise is relieved to see she's moved on and is getting married next year. The summer has been busy, what with friends coming to spend time with her finally and most of her rooms being booked round the clock. She's set aside a few days though for John so they could have time for themselves, those first two weeks they had at the end of spring being way too few to make up for lost time. She thinks about all the lost opportunities they've had over the years to change the course of their lives but then it would probably not have been the same for them, had they not been through all this together.

She lifts her head and sees Bates smiling at her. "Mind if I come in?"

She shakes her head and motions for him to sit. Her dog, who's now reached his adult size, stands and welcomes the visitor then walks back to his mistress and settles back down under the desk. "What can I do for you?" she says. Bates likes to come here sometimes when he's got a few days off and go explore the area. He likes to give her a hand too when there's some handywork to do and John is not around – which is not often these days, she reflects with a sigh.

"I got a call from the SGC. Sheppard has just touched ground and will probably be here earlier than you expected him. Thought I'd keep you posted," he mentions casually and chuckles when he sees her eyes light up.

"Thanks, Sarge," she says affectionately. He's not a sergeant anymore but she still calls him that for good times' sake.

He nods with a smile. He's always been fond of Louise and her cooking too and he's glad she looks so happy these days, especially when John is with her. "You miss him a lot, I see," he says tentatively.

She shrugs. "Goes with the job's description, I guess. I'm trying hard to get used to it though. I knew what I was getting into, ya' know," she answers casually but he knows better.

"But you'd much prefer to be with him..." He sees her hesitate. "I won't tell on you, if that's what you're afraid of," he offers.

She nods. "Guess so, yeah, but woolgathering about it won't change a thing, see. The City is here to stay for now and they don't need him there so they've redeployed him to do whatever badass job they need him for. I'm no military, Sarge, so I'm useless. End of the story," she answers, looking away.

"And you've not discussed it with him?" He sees the underlying pain of being away not only from him but also from her friends.

She shakes her head. "I don't wanna bother him with this and for nothing, might I add, because it won't change a damn thing. I guess I'll have to make do."

"Louise," he says, standing to leave, "I know it's not my business and all and it's not in my best interest because having you here is a blessing but I really think you should talk to him if you're not happy with the situation as it is. Who knows? There might be a solution."

She nods. "I'll take that under advisement, yes. Thank you."

She waits for him until way past midnight. He's called to say he'll have a long debriefing and is not even sure the Daedalus can beam him down, in which case he'll have to take a regular flight to come home. "Go to bed, sweetie. I don't want to keep you up for nothing. I might not be able to get there until tomorrow morning," he's told her but she stubbornly refuses to go to bed, shushing her dog impatiently when he starts whining to get her to bed so he can sleep too. He never does until she switches off the lights, faithfully keeping her company until she decides to turn in for the night.

She rests her eyes for a few minutes, closing her granny's cookbook.

The instructions to what she wants to test are messing up with her head. She'll need to set to work on it when she's well-rested, which is really not the case now. She's worked too much lately, trying to drown her loneliness and worry about where they are and if they're safe. To be honest, John spends every single day off he has with her, but they're way too few to be satisfying and these last few months he's been gone most of the time. Her dreams are filled once more with nightmares and sometimes she spends half of her nights cooking to keep her hands and mind busy.

She wakes up with a start at the sound of the front door being closed. The dog bounds towards the hallway. She calls after him. No matter how many times she's told him to wait for her, his good nature gets the better of him, wanting to see who it is who might be in the mood to play with him.

"This is no guard dog," John had informed her the last time he'd dropped by. "He rather needs to be protected if you ask me. What got into me when I bought him for you?"

She had shaken her head at his antics. "You bought the dog so I wouldn't be lonely, John. I can take care of myself," she'd added, showing him the P14 she keeps in her bedside table.

He'd shaken his head in disbelief. "Still the same reckless little thing," he'd muttered. "You'll make my hair turn gray, you know?" to which she'd cockily answered she wasn't interested in the color of his hair.

"Shep, come here," she calls after the dog again. He bounds back towards her and sits, waggling his tail. She rolls her eyes. "What is it?" she says. "Heard something?"

The dog's name had been a recurrent subject in their conversations during his two-week stay but truth be told, they really had other things on their minds and had settled for calling him Doggy or Puppy, depending on the mood of the day. The next time he'd come home and heard her call him Shep, he'd made a double-take. "You've called the dog after me?" he'd growled, advancing on her menacingly.

She'd giggled so much her stomach hurt afterwards. "Well, you have to admit, John, he's got your puppy looks. Besides, this one I got to order around!"

"Might have heard me, yeah." John walks into her office and folds his arms on his chest. He looks pissed. "How many times have I told you to be more cautious, Léger? The door wasn't locked – again!"

She rolls her eyes. "The house is full of people, John. Besides, I was waiting for you." She rounds her desk and walks to him, tugging at his arms. He complies and wraps them around her. "I missed you," she says sheepishly.

He lifts her in his arms and she wraps her legs around his middle, making him groan. "God, I hope so because I missed you even more," he says and starts moving them out of the office and into their room.

She giggles. "You're not one to make small talk," she banters, all too happy to see him so needy.

He pushes her on the bed and settles on top of her, kissing her until she gasps for breath. "No, Ma'am. I need to make up for lost time. God, you have no idea how many times I've dreamed of doing just that," he tells her, divesting her of her clothes then getting out of his own in the blink of an eye and pushing into her with a sigh of content and not so much as a warning, making her gasp. "God, Louise, you're so tight and warm... I never want to leave this room again," he says against her lips, and smirks, seeing her eyes cloud with need, the forewarning she's ready to topple over the edge already.

She moans and her breathing becomes uneven and he can't help teasing her. "You said the house is full of people, right? Still not much of a screamer?" he smirks and hits that spot he knows is always her undoing, silencing her with a kiss.

He waits for her breathing to slow down a bit before starting moving again. She gasps when he whispers in her ear. "I'm gonna take you long and slow, Léger... long and slow. And I hope you're in no hurry to hit the sack because I intend to love you all night." She could just come from hearing his voice so close to her, promising all she's needed so badly since he left almost three months ago – a lifetime.

She sighs with content and wraps her arms around his shoulders and draws him closer, tracing the pattern of the scars scattered on his back. "I have nowhere else to go, Colonel. I'll hold you up to your promise. Until the crack of dawn, John." Her last word is a whimper as he makes her come again with a smirk on his face.

John doesn't often promise things but when he does, he never goes back on his word. She's got dark circles under her eyes that morning when she serves breakfast. Only Bates smirks as he sees John enter the room casually – being the only one not to ask her if she's doing all right. His former CO kisses the top of her head and then heads towards Bates and the other guests to shake hands. He helps himself to some coffee and sits next to him, making conversation about platitudes with the people around the table then heads back to the kitchen to help her. He walks up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her to him, and kisses her neck. "I shouldn't have kept you up all night," he apologizes, seeing how tired she looks.

"Is OK," she replies, distracted by his kisses. "I don't mind. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't mind being kept up every single night for the rest of my life, John," she says then clams up, realizing he might get the underlying regret.

"I'm not around enough," he states, pouting.

She turns in his arms. "No, it's not what I meant. What I meant is... It's just if we were still on Atlantis, we'd have each other all we wanted. I wish we'd never come back here," she blurts out and then clamps her hand on her mouth, looking horrified. "I'm sorry. Forget I said that."

He kisses her. "No need to apologize if it's the truth. You never mentioned it until now. Are you lonely, Louise?" He bends and looks into her eyes.

She nods sheepishly. "And bored too."

He barks a laugh. "Now, that takes the cake! You barely have a day off but you're bored?"

She shrugs. "I used to feed two hundred plus people and suddenly I only have ten at the most to worry about. Hell, yes, I'm bored!"

He pouts. "We need to do something about it then," he answers and a smile spreads on his face.

"What?" she demands, seeing his gaze turn wicked. "You're onto something," she accuses him.

He looks around innocently. "Don't see what you mean, Ma'am."

TBC