Coming Back

By Hannah554


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was rare that she saw him this still, even in his sleep he would move, unconsciously brushing his fingers over her skin. Right now the only movement he made was the slight rise and fall of his chest as his body struggled to breathe. He’d lost consciousness several hours ago and his stillness frightened her as much as anything else. She was losing him, could see it in the fading colour of his skin and the slowing beeps of the machine that was monitoring his heart.

She couldn’t even go to him, was stuck standing here on the opposite side of the glass window, the only thing that protected her from the virus that was taking him away. She’d even requested a bio hazard suit but the Alarans had said no, they didn’t want to risk losing containment by allowing people into the room when it wasn’t necessary. Maybe it wasn’t necessary to them but it felt like it was to her, all she wanted to do was go into the room and hold his hand, tell him to hold on and come back to her. He’d told her he wasn’t ready to leave her yet but there he was being pulled away by an enemy neither of them could fight. His guns and her words were both useless here and she hated the fact the all she could do was stand here and watch as he slipped away.

Rodney and Carson hadn’t slept for almost two days now, both of them working non stop with the science team and the Alaran scientists to find a cure. The Alarans had expressed their sympathies and tried to apologise for exposing him to the virus but Elizabeth had no interest in politics or diplomacy at the moment, she just wanted to get John back.

His heart had stopped twice already and she feared the damage that could have done to him, she’d felt like her own heart had stopped with it both times, fear gripping her and refusing to let go until John’s heart started again. The doctor had told her it was a miracle he was still alive at all, their records showed that once a person had lost consciousness the virus had killed them within a few hours. He was fighting, using every bit of strength in him to hold himself here and Elizabeth wanted so much to believe that it was because he didn’t want to leave her, that it was her who was keeping him alive. It was probably irrational, maybe even vain but she clung onto the thought anyway.

She was tired, had been awake longer than Rodney and Carson and despite being told to rest she couldn’t have shut her mind off even if she wanted to. Her legs ached, she didn’t even know how long she’d been stood there but she’d barely left that room since John had collapsed and even with all their advancements the Alarans had failed to provide seating in the observation room.

It was at that moment that the door to John’s room opened, several figures clad in the bright red bio suits entered, swarming around John and she hit the intercom button beside the large window hoping to hear what was going on. She recognised Rodney and Carson’s voices amidst the Alaran accents and a moment later one of the figures walked over to her. It wasn’t until they were stood right in front of her that she recognised Rodney’s face through the helmet.

“We have the cure,” he told her simply; there was none of his usual arrogance in his tone, just relief and exhaustion.

There were so many emotions running through her at that moment that all she could was nod her head and watch as Rodney returned to the others. She wasn’t willing to accept it yet, no matter how much she wanted to, she’d never be able to handle it if she accepted that she was getting John back only to have him ripped away from her again. Instead she watched from the window, holding her hope at bay.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They’d been back from Alara for a few hours and Elizabeth was exhausted, instead of going to her room as Carson had instructed she had come to her office. She’d been gone for three days and the paperwork had piled up, breeding to cover her entire desk. She knew if Carson found out she was here he’d probably have her sedated and dragged to her room and in all honesty she was too tired for this, she’d barely slept in the last few days and her mind was struggling to focus.

Finally giving up she left her office and headed toward her room, walking straight passed it to where John’s room was. She knew he’d be sleeping but she needed to see him, she’d barely had the chance to talk to him since he’d collapsed on Alara, he’d had doctors surrounding him most of the time. When the doctors hadn’t been there his team mates had and she didn’t have the right to be alone with him then, it would have been selfish.

The doors to his room opened and she stepped inside, he was asleep in his bed so she silently changed into one of his shirts. She got into the bed and turned onto her side to face him, running the fingers of one hand over his cheek and remembering just how close she’d been to losing him this time. He stirred slightly and half opened his eyes, searching for what had woken him.

“Lizabeth?” he questioned in a whisper before his eyes had even focused on her and she could see just how tired he was, the virus had taken a lot out of him but Carson had reassured them that with a few days rest he’d be back to his usual self.

“Sorry,” she whispered just as quietly “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

He shifted, his arm finding her waist and pulling her closer to him on the bed so her body was pressed against his. “I was hoping you’d come,” he told her and she smiled slightly, kissing his jaw before she found his lips, kissing him softly, the first time she’d been able to do so since he’d left for his mission over three days ago.

“I love you,” she said quietly, only the second time she’d said that to him and he smiled, as though the words had succeeded in driving away the pain he’d been through.

“I love you,” he replied and Elizabeth realised that the words really did take away the fear and the pain even if it was just for a few seconds. “I told you I wasn’t ready to leave you yet,” he stated and she closed her eyes as the memory of how close it had been this time returned to her once again. She reached out to him unconsciously, her hand gripping the fabric of his top tightly as she buried her face in his neck.

“It was too close this time,” she whispered, her voice still managing to crack despite her efforts to stop it.

He tightened his arms around her and kissed the top of her head “I came back.”

She took a deep breath, breathing out all of the fear and dread that had gripped over the last few days. “I know,” she said, closing her eyes and allowing the knowledge that he was alright to sink in and within seconds she was asleep.