Disclaimer: If you think I own it, you obviously haven't paid attention to my ship... They'd be married by now.

A/N: They said something anti-my ship! Darn them! My reaction to 'The Long Goodbye'. Review, please!

Forever Hello

He woke up to Teyla standing beside his infirmary bed. When she noticed he'd regained consciousness, she cast a quick glance at Elizabeth before sitting down.

"John. How are you feeling?" Her voice was a whisper, what he assumed was a nod to the sleeping woman next to him.

"Fine." He kept his voice low as well. "That was a very weird time."

"It was." She smiled. "I apologize for almost having killed you, John."

"Don't worry about it. That... thing had us all in a difficult position." He was unwilling to say the name of the thing that had taken over Elizabeth and almost destroyed Atlantis. "At least you were able to wait long enough."

"I am glad I was as well." She gently wrapped her hand around one of his. "I am truly pleased you are alright."

"Listen, Teyla..." He shifted uncomfortably. "About what I said, when I was not myself... The whole 'he cares for you more than you know' thing..."

Her mouth quirked and she patted him softly on the shoulder. "I understood that it was simply the alien entity trying to buy time for life. I will not expect you to pursue me romantically."

"That's a relief." He winced, then tried to correct himself. "I mean, I do think you're beautiful. And I love you like a sister. But I just don't…"

She laughed lightly, cutting him off. "I understand, John. No need to…" She searched for the unfamiliar phrase. "Dig yourself in deeper."

"Ah."

"I will leave you to your sleep, then." She rose and left the room. He sank back into his pillows with a sigh.

"Still putting out fires from your time as Thalen?"

He turned his head to see her eyes still closed. "You're awake?"

"No, I hold conversations in my sleep." Her eyes opened, an amused smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

"Ah. Yeah, I suppose I am."

"At least she understood. Imagine how it would have been if she'd thought you were being serious."

He cringed. "Yeah, that would have been difficult. She's like a sister, not…"

"Yes, I believe we've established that." She raised an eyebrow in that look she reserved for when he'd done something particularly stupid.

There was silence for a few moments, then he turned gingerly on his side so he could see her better. "You know what I thought before I agreed to host this guy?"

"What?"

"That thing that was in you said, 'Don't worry, Colonel, I'll be discreet,' and I went, 'Dear God, I'm going to sleep with Elizabeth.'" He frowned. "Even though I knew that it wouldn't really be either of us. It was a very weird thought."

She got a funny look on her face, a cross between acute embarassment and horror. "You're right. We could have, if they'd actually been married... I suppose the only reason I never thought that is because by the time I knew what was happening she'd already taken over."

"Yeah. All I knew was that you'd asked me to be your thing's husband for a while so they could say their last goodbyes... and that you sounded like a hopeless romantic."

"I am. But that wasn't me."

"I know." He sighed. "Maybe it's better for our working relationship that they were trying to kill each other."

That got another perfectly arched brow. "You think our working relationship couldn't survive us being intimate?" She rolled slightly and tucked one arm under her pillow for a better position to speak to him.

"No, I think our working relationship couldn't survive us being intimate without us choosing it in a rational manner, considering the consequences."

Her eyes widened. "So you think that if we decided to sleep together, that'd be fine."

"Well, yeah." He flashed that smile at her, the one that would have made her knees buckle if she'd been standing.

"John, is this your convoluted way of saying you want to sleep with me?"

"No!" He sounded offended, and for a moment something in her heart twisted. "I'd never presume to say that without first asking you to dinner... then asking if I can kiss you, again, cause that was a really great kiss... THEN I'd tell you I'd love to make love to you."

"Ah." Her voice was weak, and she closed her eyes as though to block the world out while she worked through that statement.

"Elizabeth?"

"Hmm?"

He was worried that he'd said the wrong thing. "I didn't mean to push you into that, really, it's just... we're in kinda weird circumstances and I just wanted to let you know..."

"John?"

"Yes?"

"I understand. No need to dig yourself in deeper." She mimicked Teyla and he winced. Her eyes opened again and smiled across the two foot gap between their beds.

He stretched out an arm and she reached for it, tangling her fingers with his. "I just thought I'd tell you... I liked the idea of being married to you."

"Hmm?"

He laughed, thumb tracing small circles over the back of her hand. "Even though it wasn't us, it was a nice fantasy for a while."

"Until you realize Thalan wanted to kill Phoebos."

"Yeah."

"John... If you really think our working relationship could survive all that..."

"I do," he hastily interjected.

"If you do, then I'd love to have dinner with you. And yes, you may kiss me at the end of it. And the making love part? We'll see when we get there."

A/N: Tadaa.