TITLE: Deals Made
AUTHOR: DramaLexy
SUMMARY: The deal that she offered wasn't the deal that they took. Shweir. Post-Conversion.
DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Even though I really really wish they were.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: After watching the Siege, I thought that the Genii gave in a little too easily to Elizabeth's deal. So I took that and ran with it. Hope you enjoy.
John Sheppard was pretty sure that if Beckett knew he was no longer in his bed in the infirmary, he'd be getting an earful from the doctor, but he considered the mission he was currently on to be worth the risk. He hadn't been out of the infirmary in almost two weeks, and although long-sleeves would still be a crucial part of his wardrobe for the next several days, he was feeling a lot more 'normal,' whatever that meant.
He had expected to see some surprise on Elizabeth's face when he knocked on the doorframe to her office. However, it was the thing in her eyes – fear? – that he didn't anticipate. "J-John," she stammered, getting up from her desk. "Has Dr. Beckett released you?"
"He thought a little field trip might do me some good," John easily lied. While Elizabeth had gotten up and moved to stand in front of her desk instead of behind it, he noticed that there was a good distance between them. And he could see a small hint of purple on her neck that the turtleneck she was wearing couldn't quite hide. A mark left by his own fingers.
"I wanted to come and talk to you," he began. "To apologize."
Elizabeth shook her head. "You don't have to."
"Yes, I do. And I want to. I…I never meant to hurt you, Elizabeth."
"I know that."
"I truly am sorry."
"It's all right, Colonel, really." She'd taken a few steps closer to him, but was still just beyond arm's reach. John took a step forward, wanting to see her reaction. He was happy that she didn't step back.
"Are you hungry?" he asked.
"I just had lunch a little while ago."
"Really?"
Elizabeth cracked a smile. "Yes, really. I do, on occasion, actually take care of myself."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. How about just a coffee then?"
"I've got a whole stack of reports I should be working on," she declined. "Besides…" she added with a knowing look, "Carson should be here looking for you soon, shouldn't he?" John grinned.
"Yeah, probably. I'll see you later, okay?" She nodded.
It was another two weeks before Sheppard was returned to active status. By the end of his recovery period, the only thing keeping him sane was the fact that he'd returned to doing fight training with Teyla. Other than that, life was quite boring. He knew every single inch of his quarters and was actually thinking about moving to new ones. The day that Beckett finally said he was clear for active duty became a John Sheppard holiday.
"Everybody set?" he asked his team as they all assembled together in the gate room. Rodney, Ronon, and Teyla nodded. John made a motion above his head, circling a finger in the air. "Dial her up," he called to the officer at the DHD. The chevrons began lighting up on the Stargate.
It was an easy mission, just going to check out a planet that could be a potential alpha site, should they ever need one again. They still had the one site they'd used during the last siege of the city, but Elizabeth liked options, and John had to agree with her.
As the event horizon appeared, John turned around, looking up toward the control room to find the city's leader. She was standing at the railing, like always, watching them and John gave her a little smile and a wave, but he noticed that her own small smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Something was going on.
By the time the team returned, it was late at night in Atlantis. Their potentially uninhabited planet had turned out to be anything but, and they'd spent a rather nice afternoon with the natives. After debriefing his team and changing out of his uniform, John wasn't too surprised to discover that Elizabeth was still in her office, despite the late hour. "You should take a break," he told her as he leaned on the doorframe.
"I will soon."
"Have you eaten tonight?"
"I managed to con a protein bar off of Rodney after you guys got back."
"Wow, I'm impressed."
"Thank you."
"You want me to go get you some real food?"
"I doubt the mess is still open."
"That's okay. I'm pretty sure I can handle making a couple sandwiches on my own."
Elizabeth seemed to consider the offer for a moment, but shook her head. "I should really just get these finished," she told him, indicating the reports in her hands.
"All right…Hey, Elizabeth?" She looked up. "We're okay, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"Just…you'd tell me if there was something going on?"
"We're fine," she said with a nod. "Go get some rest; we've got a staff meeting at 0830." He nodded and left, no more reassured than when he'd arrived.
TBC...