Summary: After the events of Before I Sleep, Sheppard decides the Atlantis crew need a video night…

Pairings: Sheppard/Weir

Rating: G

Spoilers: Up to Before I Sleep

Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis and its character don't belong to me

A/N: Hey guys, I blame Nat for this fan fic, cos I just called her and then of course we were talking about Atlantis and…well…then…there's this…and I'll let you read now :D

Trust

"So why are we doing this again?" Lt. Aiden Ford asked, passing the popcorn bucket to Dr Rodney McKay.

"Sheppard's idea," McKay replied.

"Well I thought it would be nice to do something…Earth like," Major John Sheppard replied, grabbing the popcorn from McKay and offering some to Dr Elizabeth Weir, who refused, before taking a handful.

"What is exactly the point in a video night?" Teyla asked from her position on the chair nearby.

"Well it's so we can watch movies and pretend our own insane lives don't exist for a couple of hours," John said.

"Well, Major, since you organised this, what were you planning on watching?" Elizabeth said.

Teyla was seated on the chair to the left of John, Elizabeth and McKay who were seated in that order on the sofa, and Ford was seated on the final chair to McKay's right. The whole thing had been John's idea, he'd decided that Elizabeth needed something to distract her from her own death earlier that day.

"Star Trek," McKay said. "I already put it in the DVD player."

"We're not watching Star Trek, McKay," John stood up, walked over to the DVD player and pressed the 'open' button. "We're supposed to be forgetting about real life, not watching it on tape."

"Well then what do you suggest we watch?" McKay asked. "Pride and Prejudice?"

"And what would be wrong with that, Rodney?" Elizabeth looked at him.

"Oh lets just all mock the Canadians taste in movies," McKay muttered.

"Would you rather watch ice-hockey?" John asked.

"Yes, actually," McKay said.

"Hunt For The Red October," John picked up the DVD, ignoring McKay.

"Getting away from real life, remember John?" Elizabeth said. "No war movies and no sci-fi."

"Double Jeopardy?"John put down the Hunt For The Red October and picked up Double Jeopardy.

"Why does it matter which one we watch? Do they not all perform the same task?" Teyla asked.

John opened the DVD player and placed Double Jeopardy in. Closing it he pressed the close button and walked back to the sofa, sitting down next to Elizabeth. He was worried about her, earlier when he'd seen her on the balcony she'd been upset, distant, nothing like the Elizabeth Weir he spent most days around.

She had a perfectly good reason to be upset, she had just watched herself die as a 10, 000 year-old woman, that would disturb anyone. But he was still worried about her.

Ford got up and switched the lights off. As the room fell into darkness and the movie started John risked a glance at Elizabeth. Her eyes had clouded over. She wasn't watching the movie, her mind was elsewhere. There was nothing he could do, he turned back to the movie, only hoping that she would eventually start to watch the movie, rather than thinking about the days events.

After about half an hour Ford seemed to get bored and wandered out with the excuse that he still had a mission report to finish, Teyla followed soon after, claiming she had to do 'something', being extremely vague about what exactly that was.

"I guess this wasn't their kind of movie," Elizabeth said after the two of them had left.

"Well it's not exactly my favourite type of movie either," John replied, looking at Elizabeth, then past her at McKay who'd fallen asleep, almost falling off the sofa.

"Not his either," John said. "Why are we watching it again?"

"I like it," Elizabeth smiled at him, without the smile really reaching her eyes. "But I'm not really watching it."

"I know," John replied, flicking the movie off. "You…wanna talk?"

"Not really," she replied.

They were in the dark now, only the small light coming from the control room, drifting in from far away.

"Are you sure?" he asked, barely able to make out her face in the dark.

"No," she sighed. "She spent 10, 000 years alone in another galaxy to save us…to save…them…"

"Hey, she's you…that's a brave thing to do, I admire you for it," John said.

"It wasn't me…" Elizabeth said.

"Yes it was," he said, quietly.

"I don't want to believe that, it scares me."

"Hey, it scares me too," John replied. "What she told us, how we all died, how she…how you saved us…"

There was no reply, she fell silent and sat completely still.

"Hey…you have two hours left of your birthday, how about we go and celebrate?" John smiled.

She looked at him. "What exactly do you have in mind?"

"A picnic" he announced.

"A picnic?" she raised both eyebrows at him. "Where exactly?"

"I know the perfect spot," he said, standing up. "Come on."

"We're just going to leave Rodney here?" she said.

McKay conveniently let out a loud snore at that point.

"How could we possibly disturb him? He looks so cute," John grinned.

Elizabeth stood up, eyeing the drool sliding out of the corner of his mouth. "Cute isn't the exact word I'd use to describe him. Come on, show me this good picnic spot you found."

"First we need food."

"Lead the way, Major," she said, half-mocking him.

OoO

They wandered out of the room and made their way towards the food storage. Elizabeth looked around the base, she couldn't look at it in the same way she had that morning. Now it was something different, something that she had saved, without actually ever having done so. In one expedition everyone around her had died, yet here they were, alive.

She couldn't make sense of it. A year ago she had never heard of the SGC, and here she was in another galaxy, apparently for the second time. In fact the entire time she'd been alive she'd also existed here in another galaxy, frozen.

She shook her head, it was all too much.

She stopped walking.

"Hey, you OK?"

She looked up at John. He seemed really worried about her, and somehow that was a comfort to her. He understood that she needed her own space, yet somehow was still there for her when she needed someone.

"Fine," she replied, starting to walk again.

He grabbed her arm and turned her around. "Hey…"

She wanted to burst into tears, it was all too much for her, but she couldn't, not in front of anyone else. Yet standing there, his hand on her arm, looking at her with concern in his eyes, she wanted to just lean in and hug him and burst into tears.

He seemed to understand this, because at that moment he pulled her towards him and placed his arms around her. She leaned her head against his shoulder, still trying to push away the tears.

She felt comfortable there, strangely enough, in the semi-dark of the corridor, John's arms wrapped around her. She'd always felt comfortable around him, from the moment she'd seen him sitting in that chair she knew he belonged on Atlantis, she'd known she'd wanted him around. And she was glad she'd fought for him, glad O'Neill had talked him into joining them.

She couldn't imagine Atlantis without him.

She lifted her arms and hugged him back briefly before pulling back.

"Thanks," she said.

"You're welcome," he replied, smiling slightly.

She felt something inside of her go funny when he smiled. What was that? There was no way she had feelings for him, she couldn't, that would be unprofessional, against everything she'd always stood for.

But as she still looked into his eyes she knew she was lying to herself. There was something there. For a moment she lay a guilty thought on Simon before pushing him away from her mind. He felt like another time, another life, so many millions of years away that he played no part in her life anymore.

"Food?" she managed to choke out.

His soft smile continued to spread on his face. "Sure."

OoO

He watched her as she ate her second slice of cake. There had been half a cake still lying around which John had decided would make a good birthday cake for her. He smiled. She seemed less upset now, since he'd hugged her. He'd been getting the feeling all day that all she needed was a good hug, but it seemed wrong of him to hug her. She was technically his boss.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, suddenly, still staring out over the still ocean.

"Doing what?" he asked, not sure what she was referring to.

"Why are you being so…"

"Nice?" he offered.

"Was going to say caring," she replied.

He shrugged, brushing his arm slightly against hers and suddenly realising the close proximity of their bodies.

"It's your birthday, I'm just being a good friend," he replied.

She smiled slightly. "At least your present came in handy."

"Not exactly what I had in mind for it's use," he said, thinking back to the ashes of the old Elizabeth.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"For what?" he replied.

"Being there…here…" she said, this time looking at him.

"It's almost midnight, we should…" he pointed at the door.

"Of course," she said, standing up.

The two of them began to pack up the leftovers of the picnic when John stopped and stood up straight again. She looked at him.

"What?" she asked.

He watched her for a moment, as if assessing the situation like some kind of military thing. Then he reached forward and took her hand.

"I was worried about you today," he said. "I've never seen you like that…it's scary."

She didn't seem sure what to say. He reached forward with his other hand and brushed back her hair behind her ear. He didn't move his hand from the side of her face.

"John…" she started.

He leaned forward and she felt the sudden contact of his lips against hers. The kiss lasted only a few seconds before he pulled back.

"Happy Birthday, Elizabeth," he said again.

He let go of her hand and grabbed the picnic basket, starting to head back inside. Elizabeth stood, stunned, for a few moments, before following after him.

She mentally thanked the other Elizabeth for saving them, otherwise she would have been the one having to live out her entire life in a foreign galaxy, alone. At least now she had others around her, people she cared for.

She looked at John's back and smiled.

She was definitely glad he'd made it on the mission.

A/N: Watcha think? This is my first…finished Atlantis fan fic lol…