Author's Chapter Notes: Author's Note: Well, we've finally reached the end! I want to thank all the readers and the kind reviews that you left. Seeing the number of reviews go up, even by one, gave me the reassurance I needed to continue working on this! It was a blast!
I have a new Sparky story on the backburner, but I'm giving myself a bit of a break to catch up on some RL things. So keep an eye out, and thanks again!
I have a new Sparky story on the backburner, but I'm giving myself a bit of a break to catch up on some RL things. So keep an eye out, and thanks again!
One week later.
Elizabeth tapped the touch screen on another requisition report from Rodney and set it down on the right side of her desk. She glanced at where the pile had previously been on the left and heaved a sigh of relief.
She was finally done.
Leaning back in her chair, she clasped her hands behind her head and smiled contentedly. Something had changed in her work dynamic. She didn't like leaving her office at night, knowing that the pile of work waiting on her desk would only double in the morning, so she was making a conscientious effort to complete everything by the time her shift was done. Her work ethic had improved dramatically, due to the fact that she usually had plans with someone every evening after work. Carson hadn't even had to call her down to the infirmary and berate her on her lack of sleep.
Elizabeth smirked. Thanks to her military commander, she had been sleeping just fine.
Just then, John Sheppard came walking across the walkway into her office, arms swinging and smiling like he didn't have a care in the world. "Hey," he called out, taking a seat on the outside edge of her desk.
She sat up in her seat. "Hey yourself."
He looked across the desk and let out an admiring whistle. "Wow. You got all your paperwork caught up? Didn't stuff it in a drawer to make it look like you're all done?"
She smiled, then closed her laptop and took her PDA off the dock. "No cheating. Everything's done."
John narrowed his eyes. "That's the third time this week that you've left your office with a clean desk."
Elizabeth gave him an identical look. "And you're keeping count."
He shrugged, then stood up. "So, you wanna grab some dinner?"
"Sorry, can't. Have plans." She rose from her desk and glanced casually at her PDA, then left it on the desktop.
"Oh. Sure. With Teyla?" he asked, sliding his hands in his pockets.
"No," was Elizabeth's short response as she moved around the desk, heading towards the exit.
"'No'?" John replied, following her out. "With who, then?" he asked in a slightly higher voice.
She turned around to regard him when they neared the stairs. "Good night, John," she replied with a tight lipped smile, and descended down the stairs.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Elizabeth left her quarters and began walking through the city. She bit her lip, wishing she had brought her PDA. The person she was having dinner with had emailed her earlier with the specific location, but she had gotten distracted and left it sitting there in her office. It was some obscure place in the city, and she could barely remember the general location, much less the exact spot.
She reached to tap her earpiece and call to ask for directions, but just as her finger almost came in contact with the earpiece the corridors became increasingly familiar. She cleared her throat and glanced nervously down a corridor, and was relieved to not see anyone. She smoothed the faint wrinkles out of her dark jeans and kept walking, looking out the windows to see if anything was familiar.
A faint sound of glass clinking echoed lightly down the hallway, and she made a turn to the left. Sunlight was streaming in an open door at the end, and she walked towards it, a little more confidently.
She walked through the doorway and found her dinner date, wearing an off white, slightly wrinkled buttoned up shirt and a faded pair of jeans.
"Hi."
John turned around and smiled widely. "Hey! I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost," he told her, walking up to her and cupping her face, giving her a swift kiss on the lips.
"Almost," she replied, tilting her head and nodding to the labyrinth of corridors behind her. "So, you picked a secluded spot for a date."
He shrugged. "Had to make sure no one saw us. By the way, you did a good job blowing me off in the control room. Almost had me convinced."
She smiled, then looked back at the balcony to see what he had set up for dinner. There was a blanket spread out on the hard floor, with a standard Expedition storage bin laying towards the back of it. She snickered. "What, you couldn't find a picnic basket?"
He glanced down at it. "Yeah, because that wouldn't have been obvious."
There was a bottle of wine setting next to the bin, with two wine glasses next to it. That must have been the sound she heard down the hallway. Elizabeth lowered herself onto the blanket and picked up the wine bottle, looking at the label. "And yet, you somehow absconded with wine glasses."
John nodded as he sat down next to her on the blanket. "Yeah. The cafeteria lady owed me a favor."
"Oh. She's so sweet."
"Yep." He pointed at the wine bottle. "You want some of that?"
She laughed softly as she handed it to him. "John, you do remember what happened the last time the two of us had a bottle of wine during dinner?"
He twisted the cork out of the bottle neck with a pop and smiled. "No, actually, I don't. Care to remind me?"
In a graceful twist, she leaned over and cupped a hand behind his neck, pulling him towards her. She kissed him, but instead of the chaste greeting kiss that John had given her only moments before, this one was passionate, craving, hungry.
John disengaged and held up a finger, then carefully put the wine bottle back on the floor, up against the wall.
Elizabeth pulled back just enough to meet his gaze and smiled in slight confusion. "I thought we were having dinner."
He smiled, tilting his head as he kissed her neck. Elizabeth was immediately happy that her pale green shirt had a wide neckline, giving him more access.
"Yeah, so did I."
She chuckled and pushed John down onto the blanket, then carefully maneuvered around the bin and straddled his hips.
He looked up at her, slightly startled, and she only shrugged as she began to unbutton his shirt.
"I thought we'd just reenact it."
He smirked at her, and before Elizabeth lowered her lips to meet his again, she began planning exactly how to get that smirk off his face.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Fin.
Elizabeth tapped the touch screen on another requisition report from Rodney and set it down on the right side of her desk. She glanced at where the pile had previously been on the left and heaved a sigh of relief.
She was finally done.
Leaning back in her chair, she clasped her hands behind her head and smiled contentedly. Something had changed in her work dynamic. She didn't like leaving her office at night, knowing that the pile of work waiting on her desk would only double in the morning, so she was making a conscientious effort to complete everything by the time her shift was done. Her work ethic had improved dramatically, due to the fact that she usually had plans with someone every evening after work. Carson hadn't even had to call her down to the infirmary and berate her on her lack of sleep.
Elizabeth smirked. Thanks to her military commander, she had been sleeping just fine.
Just then, John Sheppard came walking across the walkway into her office, arms swinging and smiling like he didn't have a care in the world. "Hey," he called out, taking a seat on the outside edge of her desk.
She sat up in her seat. "Hey yourself."
He looked across the desk and let out an admiring whistle. "Wow. You got all your paperwork caught up? Didn't stuff it in a drawer to make it look like you're all done?"
She smiled, then closed her laptop and took her PDA off the dock. "No cheating. Everything's done."
John narrowed his eyes. "That's the third time this week that you've left your office with a clean desk."
Elizabeth gave him an identical look. "And you're keeping count."
He shrugged, then stood up. "So, you wanna grab some dinner?"
"Sorry, can't. Have plans." She rose from her desk and glanced casually at her PDA, then left it on the desktop.
"Oh. Sure. With Teyla?" he asked, sliding his hands in his pockets.
"No," was Elizabeth's short response as she moved around the desk, heading towards the exit.
"'No'?" John replied, following her out. "With who, then?" he asked in a slightly higher voice.
She turned around to regard him when they neared the stairs. "Good night, John," she replied with a tight lipped smile, and descended down the stairs.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Elizabeth left her quarters and began walking through the city. She bit her lip, wishing she had brought her PDA. The person she was having dinner with had emailed her earlier with the specific location, but she had gotten distracted and left it sitting there in her office. It was some obscure place in the city, and she could barely remember the general location, much less the exact spot.
She reached to tap her earpiece and call to ask for directions, but just as her finger almost came in contact with the earpiece the corridors became increasingly familiar. She cleared her throat and glanced nervously down a corridor, and was relieved to not see anyone. She smoothed the faint wrinkles out of her dark jeans and kept walking, looking out the windows to see if anything was familiar.
A faint sound of glass clinking echoed lightly down the hallway, and she made a turn to the left. Sunlight was streaming in an open door at the end, and she walked towards it, a little more confidently.
She walked through the doorway and found her dinner date, wearing an off white, slightly wrinkled buttoned up shirt and a faded pair of jeans.
"Hi."
John turned around and smiled widely. "Hey! I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost," he told her, walking up to her and cupping her face, giving her a swift kiss on the lips.
"Almost," she replied, tilting her head and nodding to the labyrinth of corridors behind her. "So, you picked a secluded spot for a date."
He shrugged. "Had to make sure no one saw us. By the way, you did a good job blowing me off in the control room. Almost had me convinced."
She smiled, then looked back at the balcony to see what he had set up for dinner. There was a blanket spread out on the hard floor, with a standard Expedition storage bin laying towards the back of it. She snickered. "What, you couldn't find a picnic basket?"
He glanced down at it. "Yeah, because that wouldn't have been obvious."
There was a bottle of wine setting next to the bin, with two wine glasses next to it. That must have been the sound she heard down the hallway. Elizabeth lowered herself onto the blanket and picked up the wine bottle, looking at the label. "And yet, you somehow absconded with wine glasses."
John nodded as he sat down next to her on the blanket. "Yeah. The cafeteria lady owed me a favor."
"Oh. She's so sweet."
"Yep." He pointed at the wine bottle. "You want some of that?"
She laughed softly as she handed it to him. "John, you do remember what happened the last time the two of us had a bottle of wine during dinner?"
He twisted the cork out of the bottle neck with a pop and smiled. "No, actually, I don't. Care to remind me?"
In a graceful twist, she leaned over and cupped a hand behind his neck, pulling him towards her. She kissed him, but instead of the chaste greeting kiss that John had given her only moments before, this one was passionate, craving, hungry.
John disengaged and held up a finger, then carefully put the wine bottle back on the floor, up against the wall.
Elizabeth pulled back just enough to meet his gaze and smiled in slight confusion. "I thought we were having dinner."
He smiled, tilting his head as he kissed her neck. Elizabeth was immediately happy that her pale green shirt had a wide neckline, giving him more access.
"Yeah, so did I."
She chuckled and pushed John down onto the blanket, then carefully maneuvered around the bin and straddled his hips.
He looked up at her, slightly startled, and she only shrugged as she began to unbutton his shirt.
"I thought we'd just reenact it."
He smirked at her, and before Elizabeth lowered her lips to meet his again, she began planning exactly how to get that smirk off his face.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Fin.