Miracle Season
Author: Daniela
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Pairing: John Sheppard/Elizabeth Weir
Rating: PG
Category: Fluff, Humor, Romance
Series/Sequel: No
Summary: They can't imagine ever being apart.
Warning: Spoiler for 'The Return'
Disclaimer: No one of Stargate: Atlantis belongs to me.
Least of all Lt. Colonel John Sheppard. Damn.
Feedback: Yes, please. Every word opens a new gate.
Email: daniforblue@yahoo.de
Released: December 2021
Beta: None
Word Count: 1385
Elizabeth paced her quarters to no avail. She couldn't delay departure any longer. The bags were packed, the formalities were done, the responsibility for Atlantis had been handed over. There was nothing left to give her an excuse to hang around anymore. She couldn't believe she was forced to leave this city - and him.
The man who walked into her quarters right now. "Are you ready?"
She wasn't. She had never prepared herself for the option of leaving. She had never confronted those feelings for him or the chance of ever pursuing them. "What am I going to do on Earth?" Not having you at my side anymore.
"I'm certain they'll offer you a great position after everything you did."
"Nothing will compare to Atlantis." Not without you.
He frowned. "Your options are better than mine."
"Don't you think they changed their minds after all you did for Atlantis?"
"It wasn't that much."
"Oh, John." She shook her head. "You're too humble. You did a lot." She smiled.
He shuffled his feet. "Uh...well...that's it then. Time to say goodbye."
"Yes, I know." She didn't want him to go. But what else could she say to make him stay? What could she do without making a fool of herself? A friendly hug or pat on the shoulder? A chaste kiss on the cheek? A silly confession of her feelings?
"See you at the Gate." He turned away, forestalling every decision she could have made.
"Sure." Her shoulders slumped. Coward, she scolded herself. You deserve to be alone. You deserve a dull life on Earth in equally dull company because you hadn't made a move in almost three years. You are not afraid to travel to another galaxy but to let a man know you like to be with him. Go on then. Crawl back to Earth and pay for your lack of courage. "See you then!"
******
Elizabeth hated to be right in this matter but life on Earth turned out to be as safe and eventless as expected. She suffered through the weeks, stifled by routine and simple tasks, until Carson appeared at her apartment without ringing her first. Though she was thirsty for any change, he less or more had to force her to a dinner he had initiated for their friends. She didn't want to go. She didn't want to see them, particularly John. She didn't want wounds that had barely healed torn open again. Well, Carson didn't let her off the hook. His kind cheeriness concealed an iron will.
Okay. Fine. She didn't regret coming along after all. John was looking as handsome as ever and made her smile easily. Gosh! How much she'd missed him. How much she wanted her life in Atlantis back. The laughter and scares. The adventure. The family.
A few hours later, she was drunk. She couldn't say why. She hadn't had that much to drink, just three glasses from that juicy liquid Ronon had given Carson as a gift parting from their alien friends in Atlantis. The recipe had been infamous on his lost home Sateda. The taste was sweet enough to make her believe the alcohol level was low. She got it wrong. The stuff was as smooth as a conman pretending to be your friend while taking you on.
Even though John was staggering a bit himself, he insisted on bringing her back to her apartment. Inside her lonely place she felt a tremendous need for him, a desire she wanted put out at last. Spurred on by being high she grabbed his arm. "Come here."
He twitched. "What?"
She dug her nails in. She wouldn't let him go. Not today. She wasn't his superior anymore. She was a woman, and he was a man. The man she wanted. Right now. "I need you inside me."
"Elizabeth." The pure surprise in his eyes and voice was endearing.
"Shut up and kiss me." She pulled him in.
"Okay." He put his hands on her ass. "You're the boss."
"Show me I'm not."
"Oh hell! I must be dreaming."
"No. I'm flesh and blood. I'm real." She kissed him hard, and he stopped talking. He yielded to her impatient kisses and restless touching. Together they dropped on the bed and made love the way Elizabeth had hoped for. Passionate. Tender. Satisfying on many levels.
Only the waking up in the morning with him gone was a harsh letdown. Shit! What had she done and what must he think of her? She was lucky she wouldn't see him again any time soon. She had crossed the line, and nothing would be ever the same again between them. She had said the silliest things she remembered only too well. She had opened her heart and soul making herself vulnerable forever. She could never go back to the way it was before. Even though she wished to go back more than anything else.
******
Well. It didn't end on this fateful night. Only a brief time later they needed to refuse command and go back to save Atlantis. Against all odds she and the team succeeded. She was home again. Everything was fine. Though not quite. She shouldn't dare to make things complicated, but she was fed up with the longing she'd not sated yet. Not in only one night. "Don't go," she pleaded her second in command amidst the gate room shortly after their bittersweet return.
He stopped. "What? I need to talk through the weekly schedule with my team. I'm not going far."
She sighed. "I..."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just want... your company."
"Elizabeth..."
"I missed you. I missed you every second on every day. That simple."
"That's okay." His green eyes sparkled. "I missed you, too. We've been through a lot together."
"That's not it."
He stared at her. "Oh... okay."
"I don't want to be apart from you." She stepped into his personal space, close enough to make him understand. "Not now. Being home again."
He did what she had hoped for. He kissed her on the lips, a sensation like traveling through the gateway, even though not their first kiss their first one in public. They had waited so long and wasted so much time. The kiss was plenty intimate and paved the way for further endearments.
"Elizabeth... do you... can it be?"
"Yes, I do." She kissed him back, digging her nails into his arms as if she feared he would leave anyway.
He didn't, no, he pulled her closer, caressing her back. They had so much to talk about, feeling drawn to each other, taking comfort in their newfound intimacy.
She pulled back. "Uh...that's what I had in mind."
"No problem, ma'am. Always at your service." He beamed.
She laughed. "I don't want us to ever say good-bye again."
"Neither do I." He took on an official posture. "Uh, we're standing right in the middle of the Gate room, Elizabeth."
He was right. People had stopped doing what they were doing and gaped at them. Soldiers. Scientists. Rodney McKay.
"Have you nothing better to do?" Elizabeth snapped at them, though she was barely able to keep a straight face, bubbling with happy feelings.
"Well, guys, I know this is Christmas day," Rodney quipped. "Yet there is no mistletoe hanging above, so..."
Elizabeth glared. "I need you to go on and do whatever you were doing."
"Move!!!" Oops! When Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard used that tone, everyone was moving. Everyone but Rodney.
"McKay!" John threatened him.
"Fine!" Rodney huffed. "Don't mind me or anyone. Enjoy life. That's the justified spirit, isn't it?" He trotted away.
Elizabeth burst into laughter.
"What?" John looked amazed.
"That was a Hail Mary."
"Sure. One we'll pay up for a lifetime."
"Don't you think, it's worth it, Colonel?" She pursed her lips.
"I'll show you later." He smirked. "Honey."
"Go now and talk to your team."
"Getting rid of me already?"
"Only to have you come back asap."
"Yes, ma'am." He sprinted up the stairs.
Elizabeth walked to the Gate and touched the rim. She still couldn't believe she was home again and with a worthy man as John Sheppard as her companion. Oh my! You may even call the exile on Earth a blessing in disguise. "Always right there with you, light of my universe."
