Unexpected by Oparu
Author's Chapter Notes: Thanks for all the reviews, it's been really exciting to write this and have it be so well recieved. Special thanks to my Shannon
Jack is back! Our intrepid explorers finally make it home.
Jack is back! Our intrepid explorers finally make it home.
"Can you run it or not, Rodney?" John pressed as he tapped his fingers impatiently on the console.
"Give me a break," Rodney snapped back. "This isn't like I'm hot-wiring a car. This is a battleship, it's not easy! Having you hound me every second of the last two hours really isn't helping!"
Ronon stood back from them both, smiling in slight amusement. "I'll stay with McKay. Make sure he stays on task. Leave us all the food you've got, and we'll see you in a couple of days."
"You're sure?" John started towards the exit of the bridge, ARG in hand. "I hate to..."
"Oh get out of here," Rodney waved impatiently as he rolled his eyes. "Go see her so you can stop worrying and driving me crazy. I have things to do."
"I'll bring up all the food Carson and Teyla have before we go," John promised as he started to run down the hallway towards the landing bay.
Rodney turned back to the console, shaking off his frustration as he dove into the computer code.
"Thought he'd never leave..." Ronon said under his breath as he leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.
"He is kind of a ball of nerves lately, isn't he?" Rodney complained as he opened on the panels beneath the console.
"Having a child can change a man," Ronon said, shrugging quietly. "My best friend went through a similar transition. One day he was happy, carefree, then..." he waved lazily towards the direction Sheppard had left. "It doesn't get better," he promised Rodney darkly.
"Ah, well, better him than me I suppose," Rodney said absently, digging through until he found the line of cable he wanted. Plugging it into another conduit, he smiled at the console. "Now let's talk," he whispered to it seductively.
"Wake me up when you're done," Ronon suggested as he slid down to the floor and got comfortable.
"Uh-huh," Rodney replied without listening as he disappeared into his work. Ronon smirked slightly in response before settling back.
~*~*~*~
The jumper could barely land fast enough. He'd punched in his IDC, waited for the response and everything else was a blur. She hadn't been in the control room, he'd been watching too closely for the black silhouette that was her to have missed her.
"Little rushed to get home, Colonel?" Jack teased him as he sat up a little in his chair as the co-pilot.
John relaxed into back into his own chair as best he could. The display on the screen showed only the familiar, pleasant readings of Atlantis. "Well," he looked across to the general and then quickly back to the display. "I just, I made her stay..."
"Ah," Jack snorted with amusement. "No one can really safely stay in a big, underwater, shielded city..." he faded off, grinning to himself in spite of his exhaustion. "She's probably in grave danger." He reached over, patting John's hand with his own thin one. "I'll be happy to see Doctor Weir too, as well as eat at least three servings of whatever you call food."
John smiled slightly as he left his seat. "We really lucked out there, Teyla and Ronon brought us some stuff from the Athosians, way, way better than MREs," he promised as his smile grew. "Rodney doesn't think so, but you shouldn't believe him.
Carson met John at the hatch. "Woolsey and the general might be able to make it on their own if you and Elizabeth can give them a hand. I can carry the captain; she really doesn't weigh much of anything."
John nodded idly, but all of his attention was on the slowly opening hatch. She was there. She'd have to be, because no force in Pegasus would have kept him away. She had her back to the jumper for some reason, and he could watch her jolt, startled by the sound as the door headed towards the floor. She turned around, finally, but to him it seemed to happen in slow motion.
His heart was beating faster than it had when he was fighting the Replicators. John forced himself not to jog down the ramp.
When his IDC had come through, her heart had skipped; pounding all the more painfully when it began again. Was it possible to feel so much that everything canceled itself out? Could she be so overwhelmed by one person? Elizabeth had closed her eyes and turned away from the hatch of the jumper. She smiled ironically, wishing she knew if she could blame John or being pregnant for the butterflies in her stomach.
Her head was still foggy, and closing her eyes had only reminded her how tired they were. Rubbing at her eye sockets, she wished vainly her body would pick one thing to nag her about. Straightening her back didn't help the ache as it had a few hours ago and she wondered if she was just that tired. Elizabeth heard the hatch connect with the floor with a deep, metallic thud.
Turning around, she started to smile, promising herself that they'd figure it out. The world had fallen apart around them before and John had always-
"Miss me?" he asked simply, carrying so much more in the question than she would have ever thought possible.
Elizabeth tried to bury her response in her throat, but she made a noise somewhere between a sob and a giggle. "A little," she lied, uncomfortably wrapping her arms around her stomach. "Did you get our people back?"
Jack stumbled down the ramp on his own, stubbornly refusing Carson's help. "Would you just kiss her already?" he grumbled as he sank to the floor of the bay.
Elizabeth caught herself making the choked noise again and covered her mouth with her hand. "Welcome back, General," she managed to get out as the blush ran rampant over her skin.
Jack just grunted as he spread himself out on the floor. "I don't mean to be rude; I just hope it's occurred to the two of you how short life is." He threw out his arms, and stared at the impossibly high ceiling. "This is a beautiful city. Just look at that architecture..." he sighed with contentment. "I'm getting too old to be kidnapped by the bad guys."
John took her arm, making it impossible to concentrate on anything else. He was worried and it was all over his face. His eyebrows were too tight and his eyes were too soft. Elizabeth sighed; realizing she must look worse than she thought.
"That bad?" she whispered to him as he pulled her a step away from the jumper.
"You look like you're going to pass out," John pointed out in his gentlest tone; the one that made her feel like she was breaking his heart.
"I..." she stopped when lying seemed terribly unfair to him. "...I'll throw up before I pass out," Elizabeth admitted with a sigh.
"Oh," he grabbed her other arm and pulled her a little closer. She was still too pale, and it was painfully obvious even in the weak light from the flashlight in her hand. "...still sick to your stomach?"
"I think I'm sick to my everything," Elizabeth sighed with a twisted smile. Putting her head on his shoulder gave him an excuse to hug her to his chest; she collapsed into it.
John buried his hand in her hair, cradling her head against him. "Thank you," he said without explanation, knowing how hard it must have been to know there was nothing she could do to help the people she cared for. "Did you eat?" he nagged when he couldn't keep it back anymore.
Elizabeth shook her head slightly, lifting it a little from his shoulder. "I thought about it," she said as she brought her eyes up to meet his.
Disapproval roamed across his face, overriding his concern just for a moment. "You really should," he insisted when she pulled out of his arms.
She closed her eyes again, sighing as she resigned herself to standing upright. "I will," Elizabeth promised, taking the initiative to kiss his cheek. "Let's get our wounded down to the infirmary, shall we?" she suggested professionally, taking them out of the moment for now.
John tried to smile through his concern and managed to succeed for the most part. "You help the general off his floor and I'll get Woolsey?"
"You'd better believe it's my floor," Jack called from his spot a couple meters away. "It's the best damn floor I've been on in a long time."
Elizabeth crossed to him, lowering her hand as she braced herself. She wasn't even sure how she'd walk to the infirmary, but somehow she found the strength to pull Jack to his feet. The general put his arm around her shoulders, which steadied them both a bit.
"Have I mentioned that you are one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen," Jack teased just to get her to smile.
"Teyla probably looks a bit better than I do," Elizabeth corrected him sarcastically. She didn't think that he didn't know, and she had to concentrate so hard on her next few steps that she missed the look that crossed his face.
"Have to admit you've looked better," Jack answered with a smirk as it started to come together in his head. The stairs were a little difficult; both of them had to keep their hands on the railing to make it down without falling. He could smell the nervous sweat in her hair when it brushed past her face.
"Felt better too," she added under her breath, still frustrated by all of it. "I am glad you're all right."
Jack stopped them, taking a moment to catch his breath. Elizabeth wondered how much of his weight he was holding back. Neither of them was in any real shape for the walk to the infirmary. "Weren't too bad I suppose," he cracked with the ghost of a smile. "Just spent so much time sticking their damn hands in my head that they forgot to feed me sometimes."
"What did they want?" Elizabeth wondered gently, taking the break as an excuse to lower her head. Her vision was starting to black around the edges and the dark corridor was only getting longer on the way to the infirmary.
"Ascension," Jack sputtered as he forced himself up from the wall. "Every damn time, all they wanted to know was everything anyone had ever told me about ascension." He coughed, shaking her with him as he fought for breath. "Which isn't that much, to tell you the truth. Stupid things should have tried for Daniel instead of me," he joked in exhausted bad taste.
"Their leader didn't have much stock in ascension the last time I talked to them," Elizabeth said as she swallowed against the rebellion of her stomach. She closed her eyes and let him lead her feet for a few moments.
"New guy," Jack explained with biting sarcasm. Drawing on his reserves of strength he managed to pull his weight back. "The one who Rodney reprogrammed came back with a new agenda, guess something about him was changed enough that he took over. Niam's the head honcho now."
Elizabeth stopped them, leaving the general against the wall as she bent down and tried to compose herself. She had to balance herself with her hands on her thighs; even taking a deep breath didn't help her stomach quiet itself. Maybe it was just thinking about Niam, after all he'd put her through, but being sick in the hallway was a distinct possibility.
"You okay?" Jack wondered as he pushed himself off the wall. Staggering slightly as he made his way across to her, he touched her shoulder. "Elizabeth?"
Sinking all the way down to the floor, Elizabeth dropped her head between her knees. "Sorry," she whispered with her hand over her mouth. "It's been hard, lately..."
"I see," Jack replied thoughtfully, sitting down next to her against the dark wall of the corridor. "Commando's a new look for you," he said, startling her slightly away from the chaos in her stomach.
"John..." she paused, swallowing quickly. "Got them from the SGC, before we left"
"Stole the puddle jumper to come after me, didn't you?" Jack realized with a quiet smile. His hand ran comfortingly over her shoulder, but his eyes searched the corridor.
Her head dropped again, fighting the losing battle against her increasing nausea. "We did..." she choked a little, swallowing before she finished.
"They wanted to blow up the city," Jack finished for her. "I saw the plan for a foothold situation on Atlantis, didn't really expect a rescue." He dragged himself to his feet, leaning heavily on the wall as he moved down the corridor towards the plant in the corner. The Replicators had let much of the human touches go to waste, including the plants they'd collected from the mainland.
Two weeks without water had left the little tree completely dry, and some of the leaves fluttered dead to the floor as he kicked it towards her. She lifted her head up from her knees and stared at him in mild confusion.
"Not to say that I don't appreciate being rescued," Jack pointed out as he settled down clumsily next to her. "Easier to clean," he explained with a sympathetic shrug as he gestured towards the tree. "Figured it's the least I can do, you did steal a precious piece of Ancient technology and bring it all the way here to save me."
"We did it for Woolsey," Elizabeth joked weakly, turning away from him and grabbing her stomach.
"It's been awhile since I held anyone's hair back," Jack teased again, strangely relieved by the normalcy of the situation.
Starting to giggle, she stopped as stomach acid stung the back of her throat. Elizabeth jerked up to her knees, leaning up over the rim of the pot. The faint smell of dirt and dried leaves seemed out of place in the advanced city.
True to his word, she felt Jack's hands brush coolly across her neck as he collected her hair. "It's all right," he whispered comfortingly. "You're all right."
"No..." she argued, gasping before she finally vomited.
Jack had seen too much in his life to even recoil. He watched sympathetically as what little she had in her stomach poured from her mouth. Her skin was slightly damp around her hair, but it wasn't warm. His suspicions confirmed, Jack listened as she struggled for the chance to breathe. Her diaphragm convulsed again, even though there was nothing left to spill into the dirt. Her fingers went white on the edges of the potted tree.
Coughing a little, she pulled back and Jack caught her shoulders. He held her as she wiped her mouth against her sleeve.
"Sara said eating helped after awhile," Jack remarked to the back of her head. "She never felt like she should, but she felt better when she did."
"Sara?" Elizabeth wondered shyly, trying to ignore the sickly sweet taste vomiting had left in her mouth.
'My ex-wife," Jack said calmly, radiating his serenity through the hands on her back. "She was miserable when she was pregnant." He smiled when she looked up at him in surprise. "It's why we only had one kid; at least, that's what I've always thought."
She shook her head slowly and realized no one had to tell him. "That obvious?" Elizabeth asked as she hugged her chest and sat up a little straighter.
"You know..." Jack began thoughtfully, "...it was John. He had this funny look in his eyes." He pointed at his own eyes, shrugging again. "And Carter told me about John asking Daniel about this symbol you ran into at at that festival."
"I see," Elizabeth responded quietly. Her empty stomach was easier to deal with. She still had the headache to deal with, and exhaustion made her body hurt in a hundred different places. "And that led to me being pregnant?"
"Well, no, but now you've admitted it. Which means I won my bet and I am getting a home-cooked meal when I get back," Jack admitted proudly as he struggled to his feet. "I think I'll ask for swordfish. Carter should be able to find swordfish..."
"You bet?" she demanded incredulously. Starting to stand made her head spin, and only hanging onto the wall and Jack let her keep her feet.
"Yeah," Jack said gently, still smiling. "It gets boring on Earth, we need to wager about the lives of people we know." He winked at her and started walking.
"I'm supposed to be escorting you," Elizabeth chided him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders again.
Shrugging a little, Jack stopped outside the door to the infirmary and fussed with the crystals on the wall until he got it hiss open. "I had a handful of power bars on the way back. Guess I can still bounce back."
"What did Colonel Carter bet?" Elizabeth asked as the general led them to the sink in the back of the dark infirmary. He left her there and headed for the emergency lights in the center of the room.
He turned around, pulling himself up on one of the Ancient medical beds and lay back with a huge sigh of relief. "Dancing," Jack answered with a curious tone. "One night of dancing, where I had to show up wearing whatever she requested." He closed his eyes and shuddered. "Probably a penguin suit."
Elizabeth swished some of the cold water from sink around in her mouth before she spat it out. Washing the edge of her sleeve in the water as well, she noticed how worn the fabric was started to get. How long had it been since she'd had anything clean to put on? "But what did she think? That I wasn't pregnant?"
"Oh no," Jack chuckled as he waved a hand lazily through the air. "She thought I'd hear it in a mission report first, before one of you got up the guts to tell me."
Her eyebrows went up in surprise, and she drank half a glass of water before coming up with a response. "Was there anyone who didn't think?"
"No, not really," Jack told the ceiling through his closed eyes. "Daniel refused to get involved, figured the odds were already just too stacked. Murphy's law and all..."
"I see," Elizabeth managed to say before she started to fade. Her head was pounding so much that his voice sent waves of pain bouncing through behind her eyes. "We didn't," she admitted with more bitterness than she thought she had in her. "We thought we did, God, we've had sex twice since then. John..." She stopped short when Jack's head shot up in surprise.
"You didn't?" he asked with careful patience. Rolling to his side, he propped his head and watched her. The black of her shirt combined with the dark tendrils of her hair made her skin startlingly pale.
"There's an ascended Ancient on Ceol," Elizabeth began, feeling the trembling start in her hands. "She...visited me, while I was alone in the city. She informed me that she'd been conducted genetic experiments on the people of that world, and since John and I happened to be there, and he had LK476-"
His confused expression prompted her immediate explanation.
"The Ancient gene, what you have," Elizabeth said with irritation spilling into her voice. "I looked her up in the Ancient database and she was a scientist, one that seems to have lost her mind since she was."
"Ah," Jack noted softly, turning it over in his head. "I think I've still won my part of the bet," he teased before sitting up with a heavy sigh of resignation. "Come sit down," he suggested next, pointing to the bed across from his. "You look worse than I feel."
"You had power bars," Elizabeth poked back weakly.
"Touché," Jack said with a nod. "So she did something to you."
"She impregnated me in order to further the Ancient gene," Elizabeth snapped in exasperation and disgust. "John has it and I don't," she paused, resting one hand over her heart. "At least, I didn't." She met his eyes, and though he was confused, Jack stayed quiet. "I can turn on jumpers now, not in a useful way mind you, they just flicker for awhile."
"Always liked the word 'flicker'," Jack added absently. He kept smiling, gesturing her over to the bed again. "Still, that's more than most of the population."
"I just hate feeling like I'm being manipulated," Elizabeth argued back, inconsolable in her sense of violation. She took a few steps towards him, wavering when she had to walk without support. On one step her legs buckled and he slid off the bed.
"I'm not sure I can catch you," he admitted matter-of-factly, "I'll try, but you might want to sit down before they have to pick us both up off the floor."
Pulling herself up on the bed took so much effort that her arms hurt from the strain, Elizabeth sat on the edge quietly for a moment; willing the soft beige walls of the infirmary to come back into focus. "She threatened to take it," she whispered to the floor before she managed to lift her head.
"It?" Jack asked, putting a comforting hand on her knee.
"She said if I didn't want the baby, she'd take it away," she stammered out, feeling her voice break. The hand on her knee took hers and held it.
"And for awhile it seemed like a good idea," Jack finished for her. "Trust me; I think it crosses every parent's mind. If I'd just...something...I wouldn't have to deal with this."
"I didn't know you had children," Elizabeth tried to change the subject away before he noticed the tears she was fighting.
Digging around in the pockets of his uniform, he came up with nothing. Shrugging apologetically, he offered the back of his hand. "My son died twelve years ago," Jack clarified with a softness that belied the old pain in his eyes. "It's all right," he added before she could apologize. "Charlie was a great kid. I don't regret him. Any minute of him."
Clinging to his hand for support, Elizabeth bravely let him see the tears she felt running hot down her face. "I'm not ready, this isn't right; it's the wrong time..."
Jack cut her off when he heard footsteps in the hallway. "You're the right people. You love..." he closed her mouth when she tried to protest, "...despite what anyone might have told you, I'm not an idiot." He paused and gave her a wicked grin. "You love him, he loves you and since everyone else in the universe saw it before you did, you're just going to have to accept it."
John emerged into the light from the dark hallway first, Helia cradled in his arms. He set her carefully on one of the beds on the other side. Elizabeth nearly shuddered when she saw the blank eyes of the Lantian captain. She remembered a cold and formidable woman, but Helia had been replaced by an empty shell that lay like a dead thing when John released her.
Teyla followed him, clutching a blood-drenched bandage on her shoulder. Her normally tan skin was pale from blood loss. The coppery stench of blood drifted through the room, but she only had an optimistic smile for Elizabeth and Jack. "It is not as bad as it looks," she promised stoically, "And it certainly could have been worse."
"You're first," Carson promised as he negotiated the doorway with Woolsey's arm around his neck. "It just looks like a puncture wound, but I'd like to get it sutured before you need a blood transfusion."
"Of course Doctor," Teyla sighed as she came to sit next to Elizabeth. The smell of blood immediately set her stomach twisting again, but there was nothing left.
"Now which one of you two was fertilizing the poor dead tree in the hallway?" Carson nagged with a distinctly paternal glare.
Jack pointed at her before Elizabeth had a chance to defend herself. "I'm actually feeling better," he proclaimed proudly with a half smile. "Just hungry..."
John appeared immediately at her side, slipping a nervous arm around her back. She was so relieved by the contact that she barely heard the rest of Carson's ranting.
"Teyla and I discussed it," Carson began cheerfully, "And she'd like to invite you, General O'Neill and you, Mr. Woolsey to the Athosian settlement. They're packing to come back to the mainland, but they have food and fresh air and I think being around people could be good for both of you."
Woolsey nodded, still in a state of shock. Jack managed a smile and shot John a questioning look. "How's their food?" he asked tentatively.
"Good," John answered quickly, paying far more attention to the way Elizabeth leaned against his chest. Her head was spinning so badly the room was a blur. In the haze of her exhaustion, the smell of his dried sweat on his uniform was the only link she had to reality and she clung to it. As she leaned in, putting more of her weight on him; he tucked his hand into her hair.
"I think it's a good idea," John said distractedly. "Things here aren't exactly the best." He glanced around, checking on everyone before he turned to Carson. "I'm taking Elizabeth to bed."
"That's a better idea," Carson agreed without letting her have a say. He opened his medical kit and started making preparations to suture Teyla's shoulder. "No offense," he directed apologetically at Elizabeth, "But, you look like hell."
"Hell or not," she started indignantly, forcing herself to sit up under her own power. "I'm still in charge of this facility."
"Aye, but you won't be if you pass out from exhaustion," Carson shot back as he removed the bandage from Teyla's shoulder. Blood oozed from the dark gash in her flesh and he started to clean it. "Go to bed, I promise Teyla and I can hold things together until you've rested."
With her pain firmly out of her mind, Teyla smiled serenely. "Carson is quite correct," she agreed.
The smell of blood cut metallic through the air and Elizabeth slid from the bed, fleeing the infirmary before her stomach got any other rebellious ideas. "Okay Carson," she acquiesced as John caught her arm to steady her. "I'll behave."
John's tension left his shoulders as he sighed in relief. "Control room?"
Jack groaned as he dragged himself back to his feet. "Lead the way," he said as he collected Woolsey from the corner. "We've been released for now, sent out to pasture for awhile," he joked, gaining strength every moment.
"What about her?" Woolsey asked in a haunted voice as he stared down at Helia. "Do you think you can help her?"
Carson kept his eyes on Teyla's shoulder as he started checking the muscle beneath the skin. "I'll do my best," he promised with a quick nod of his head. "Physically she seems to be all right, so there's hope she'll recover in time."
He nodded quietly, touching her shoulder gently before he left her. "You're in good hands now," Woolsey whispered so softly his voice barely carried.
"How'd he do?" John asked the general in a private whisper.
Jack's jaw softened, caught between pity and respect. "He kept it together; he's definitely got a backbone under his suit."
Elizabeth was too stubborn to let John wrap his arm around her as Jack had. She kept her arms folded over her chest and led the way to the control room with an iron determination not to give in to her weakness. She disappeared into her thoughts, only catching bits and pieces of the conversation.
"Rodney should make it back in a few days, sooner if he gets sick of rations," John explained as they rounded a corner. "The Replicators don't seem to have a key gene, so provided our genius can figure it out..."
"...threaten to call Carter," Jack interrupted sardonically, "Makes him work faster."
"I'll remember that," John promised as he grinned cheerfully. The new ship was terribly exciting. He'd enjoyed every moment of the Orion's short time with them, and unlike that ship, this one was fully functional. Elizabeth could feel his excitement in the bounce of his step behind her. Jack was getting swept up along with it; the two of them trying to decide if they should ask for a new crew to run the Asuran vessel when they got in touch with Earth.
"We haven't yet," Elizabeth reminded them softly; hating to ruin their fun. "The communications system is still a mess."
"Well," Jack started, scratching his head as he thought. "We could just throw them a note. We have that ZPM..."
John held up four fingers, keeping his face stoic as he waited for Jack to realize what he was saying.
"You have four?" Jack choked and started to laugh. "You have four ZPMs?"
"Yeah, but, we broke the city..." John admitted sheepishly. "I guess it is kind of funny."
"Kind of?" Jack turned his head away and lost the ability speak through his laughter. "I don't know if we've ever had four ZPMs that worked, let alone four at the same time."
Both of them started to laugh together, stumbling slightly up the steps as they shared the joke.
Elizabeth just shook her head. Hearing them both find the humor in their situation was oddly comforting. Jack was right, life was too short. Too short to worry about where her child came from. It didn't matter, because it was still John's. Holding on to his excitement in an effort to share it, she forced her fears to the back of her mind.
Clinging to the control panel as she sat down to dial the gate, her hands trembled slightly as she struck the symbols for the Athosians temporary home. Over the edge of the balcony, she watched the blue light of the gate fill the room.
John's voice crackled over the radio to her ear, "I'm going to pop through and introduce everyone, I'll be back in a minute, so leave the shield down," he promised.
"Bring us back some more rations if you can," she reminded him as she rubbed her temples. Perhaps Carson was right, all she needed was a little rest and her head would stop pounding. Yawning as she sent Rodney's computer back into the database, Elizabeth called Mab's logs back up. Marking certain passages to ask Carson about, she started sifting through the Ancient notes. There had to be something.
~*~*~*~
When John reemerged from the gate ten minutes later, the control room was completely quiet.
"Elizabeth?" he called up towards the balcony. Swinging the bag of food over his shoulder, John took the steps up to the controls two at a time. Some time with the Athosians might be just what Woolsey needed; he'd perked up a little when they showed him the warm, comfortable tent they were sharing with him. Jack was falling back into form; the Athosians were already making plans to teach him their way of spear fishing. He'd promised a fish by check in tomorrow.
John rounded the top of the stairs and stopped short. Making a mental note not to tell Rodney what Elizabeth was doing on his computer, he approached her at the desk. Rodney would never forgive her for falling asleep on it. Her hair tumbled over the arm that pillowed her head in a mess of dark curls. Her hand was still on the keyboard, she'd been reading something until her body just couldn't take it anymore. John smiled softly, bending down and lifting her head from the laptop as gently as he could.
Cradling her head back against his chest, he knelt on the floor by her side. For a moment she snuggled into him, instinctually craving the warmth of his body. Shaking her shoulder, John wondered if he'd be able to rouse her at all. Elizabeth moaned softly as he draped her arm around his neck. She was heavy against his chest, and he realized he'd be sore in the morning. He wasn't used to carrying unconscious women around the city.
"Elizabeth?" he tried again, cupping her cheek trying to decide if she'd finally fainted. "I'm going to take you to bed, if you wake up, you can chew me out for it, but until then I guess you're in my hands."
Tucking her legs into his other arm, John stood up cautiously. "See, you've got me so flustered I'm making bad puns." Her weight settled against his chest and he contemplated the stairs. "One step at a time," he reminded himself. "And fix the transporters next."
"Give me a break," Rodney snapped back. "This isn't like I'm hot-wiring a car. This is a battleship, it's not easy! Having you hound me every second of the last two hours really isn't helping!"
Ronon stood back from them both, smiling in slight amusement. "I'll stay with McKay. Make sure he stays on task. Leave us all the food you've got, and we'll see you in a couple of days."
"You're sure?" John started towards the exit of the bridge, ARG in hand. "I hate to..."
"Oh get out of here," Rodney waved impatiently as he rolled his eyes. "Go see her so you can stop worrying and driving me crazy. I have things to do."
"I'll bring up all the food Carson and Teyla have before we go," John promised as he started to run down the hallway towards the landing bay.
Rodney turned back to the console, shaking off his frustration as he dove into the computer code.
"Thought he'd never leave..." Ronon said under his breath as he leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.
"He is kind of a ball of nerves lately, isn't he?" Rodney complained as he opened on the panels beneath the console.
"Having a child can change a man," Ronon said, shrugging quietly. "My best friend went through a similar transition. One day he was happy, carefree, then..." he waved lazily towards the direction Sheppard had left. "It doesn't get better," he promised Rodney darkly.
"Ah, well, better him than me I suppose," Rodney said absently, digging through until he found the line of cable he wanted. Plugging it into another conduit, he smiled at the console. "Now let's talk," he whispered to it seductively.
"Wake me up when you're done," Ronon suggested as he slid down to the floor and got comfortable.
"Uh-huh," Rodney replied without listening as he disappeared into his work. Ronon smirked slightly in response before settling back.
~*~*~*~
The jumper could barely land fast enough. He'd punched in his IDC, waited for the response and everything else was a blur. She hadn't been in the control room, he'd been watching too closely for the black silhouette that was her to have missed her.
"Little rushed to get home, Colonel?" Jack teased him as he sat up a little in his chair as the co-pilot.
John relaxed into back into his own chair as best he could. The display on the screen showed only the familiar, pleasant readings of Atlantis. "Well," he looked across to the general and then quickly back to the display. "I just, I made her stay..."
"Ah," Jack snorted with amusement. "No one can really safely stay in a big, underwater, shielded city..." he faded off, grinning to himself in spite of his exhaustion. "She's probably in grave danger." He reached over, patting John's hand with his own thin one. "I'll be happy to see Doctor Weir too, as well as eat at least three servings of whatever you call food."
John smiled slightly as he left his seat. "We really lucked out there, Teyla and Ronon brought us some stuff from the Athosians, way, way better than MREs," he promised as his smile grew. "Rodney doesn't think so, but you shouldn't believe him.
Carson met John at the hatch. "Woolsey and the general might be able to make it on their own if you and Elizabeth can give them a hand. I can carry the captain; she really doesn't weigh much of anything."
John nodded idly, but all of his attention was on the slowly opening hatch. She was there. She'd have to be, because no force in Pegasus would have kept him away. She had her back to the jumper for some reason, and he could watch her jolt, startled by the sound as the door headed towards the floor. She turned around, finally, but to him it seemed to happen in slow motion.
His heart was beating faster than it had when he was fighting the Replicators. John forced himself not to jog down the ramp.
When his IDC had come through, her heart had skipped; pounding all the more painfully when it began again. Was it possible to feel so much that everything canceled itself out? Could she be so overwhelmed by one person? Elizabeth had closed her eyes and turned away from the hatch of the jumper. She smiled ironically, wishing she knew if she could blame John or being pregnant for the butterflies in her stomach.
Her head was still foggy, and closing her eyes had only reminded her how tired they were. Rubbing at her eye sockets, she wished vainly her body would pick one thing to nag her about. Straightening her back didn't help the ache as it had a few hours ago and she wondered if she was just that tired. Elizabeth heard the hatch connect with the floor with a deep, metallic thud.
Turning around, she started to smile, promising herself that they'd figure it out. The world had fallen apart around them before and John had always-
"Miss me?" he asked simply, carrying so much more in the question than she would have ever thought possible.
Elizabeth tried to bury her response in her throat, but she made a noise somewhere between a sob and a giggle. "A little," she lied, uncomfortably wrapping her arms around her stomach. "Did you get our people back?"
Jack stumbled down the ramp on his own, stubbornly refusing Carson's help. "Would you just kiss her already?" he grumbled as he sank to the floor of the bay.
Elizabeth caught herself making the choked noise again and covered her mouth with her hand. "Welcome back, General," she managed to get out as the blush ran rampant over her skin.
Jack just grunted as he spread himself out on the floor. "I don't mean to be rude; I just hope it's occurred to the two of you how short life is." He threw out his arms, and stared at the impossibly high ceiling. "This is a beautiful city. Just look at that architecture..." he sighed with contentment. "I'm getting too old to be kidnapped by the bad guys."
John took her arm, making it impossible to concentrate on anything else. He was worried and it was all over his face. His eyebrows were too tight and his eyes were too soft. Elizabeth sighed; realizing she must look worse than she thought.
"That bad?" she whispered to him as he pulled her a step away from the jumper.
"You look like you're going to pass out," John pointed out in his gentlest tone; the one that made her feel like she was breaking his heart.
"I..." she stopped when lying seemed terribly unfair to him. "...I'll throw up before I pass out," Elizabeth admitted with a sigh.
"Oh," he grabbed her other arm and pulled her a little closer. She was still too pale, and it was painfully obvious even in the weak light from the flashlight in her hand. "...still sick to your stomach?"
"I think I'm sick to my everything," Elizabeth sighed with a twisted smile. Putting her head on his shoulder gave him an excuse to hug her to his chest; she collapsed into it.
John buried his hand in her hair, cradling her head against him. "Thank you," he said without explanation, knowing how hard it must have been to know there was nothing she could do to help the people she cared for. "Did you eat?" he nagged when he couldn't keep it back anymore.
Elizabeth shook her head slightly, lifting it a little from his shoulder. "I thought about it," she said as she brought her eyes up to meet his.
Disapproval roamed across his face, overriding his concern just for a moment. "You really should," he insisted when she pulled out of his arms.
She closed her eyes again, sighing as she resigned herself to standing upright. "I will," Elizabeth promised, taking the initiative to kiss his cheek. "Let's get our wounded down to the infirmary, shall we?" she suggested professionally, taking them out of the moment for now.
John tried to smile through his concern and managed to succeed for the most part. "You help the general off his floor and I'll get Woolsey?"
"You'd better believe it's my floor," Jack called from his spot a couple meters away. "It's the best damn floor I've been on in a long time."
Elizabeth crossed to him, lowering her hand as she braced herself. She wasn't even sure how she'd walk to the infirmary, but somehow she found the strength to pull Jack to his feet. The general put his arm around her shoulders, which steadied them both a bit.
"Have I mentioned that you are one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen," Jack teased just to get her to smile.
"Teyla probably looks a bit better than I do," Elizabeth corrected him sarcastically. She didn't think that he didn't know, and she had to concentrate so hard on her next few steps that she missed the look that crossed his face.
"Have to admit you've looked better," Jack answered with a smirk as it started to come together in his head. The stairs were a little difficult; both of them had to keep their hands on the railing to make it down without falling. He could smell the nervous sweat in her hair when it brushed past her face.
"Felt better too," she added under her breath, still frustrated by all of it. "I am glad you're all right."
Jack stopped them, taking a moment to catch his breath. Elizabeth wondered how much of his weight he was holding back. Neither of them was in any real shape for the walk to the infirmary. "Weren't too bad I suppose," he cracked with the ghost of a smile. "Just spent so much time sticking their damn hands in my head that they forgot to feed me sometimes."
"What did they want?" Elizabeth wondered gently, taking the break as an excuse to lower her head. Her vision was starting to black around the edges and the dark corridor was only getting longer on the way to the infirmary.
"Ascension," Jack sputtered as he forced himself up from the wall. "Every damn time, all they wanted to know was everything anyone had ever told me about ascension." He coughed, shaking her with him as he fought for breath. "Which isn't that much, to tell you the truth. Stupid things should have tried for Daniel instead of me," he joked in exhausted bad taste.
"Their leader didn't have much stock in ascension the last time I talked to them," Elizabeth said as she swallowed against the rebellion of her stomach. She closed her eyes and let him lead her feet for a few moments.
"New guy," Jack explained with biting sarcasm. Drawing on his reserves of strength he managed to pull his weight back. "The one who Rodney reprogrammed came back with a new agenda, guess something about him was changed enough that he took over. Niam's the head honcho now."
Elizabeth stopped them, leaving the general against the wall as she bent down and tried to compose herself. She had to balance herself with her hands on her thighs; even taking a deep breath didn't help her stomach quiet itself. Maybe it was just thinking about Niam, after all he'd put her through, but being sick in the hallway was a distinct possibility.
"You okay?" Jack wondered as he pushed himself off the wall. Staggering slightly as he made his way across to her, he touched her shoulder. "Elizabeth?"
Sinking all the way down to the floor, Elizabeth dropped her head between her knees. "Sorry," she whispered with her hand over her mouth. "It's been hard, lately..."
"I see," Jack replied thoughtfully, sitting down next to her against the dark wall of the corridor. "Commando's a new look for you," he said, startling her slightly away from the chaos in her stomach.
"John..." she paused, swallowing quickly. "Got them from the SGC, before we left"
"Stole the puddle jumper to come after me, didn't you?" Jack realized with a quiet smile. His hand ran comfortingly over her shoulder, but his eyes searched the corridor.
Her head dropped again, fighting the losing battle against her increasing nausea. "We did..." she choked a little, swallowing before she finished.
"They wanted to blow up the city," Jack finished for her. "I saw the plan for a foothold situation on Atlantis, didn't really expect a rescue." He dragged himself to his feet, leaning heavily on the wall as he moved down the corridor towards the plant in the corner. The Replicators had let much of the human touches go to waste, including the plants they'd collected from the mainland.
Two weeks without water had left the little tree completely dry, and some of the leaves fluttered dead to the floor as he kicked it towards her. She lifted her head up from her knees and stared at him in mild confusion.
"Not to say that I don't appreciate being rescued," Jack pointed out as he settled down clumsily next to her. "Easier to clean," he explained with a sympathetic shrug as he gestured towards the tree. "Figured it's the least I can do, you did steal a precious piece of Ancient technology and bring it all the way here to save me."
"We did it for Woolsey," Elizabeth joked weakly, turning away from him and grabbing her stomach.
"It's been awhile since I held anyone's hair back," Jack teased again, strangely relieved by the normalcy of the situation.
Starting to giggle, she stopped as stomach acid stung the back of her throat. Elizabeth jerked up to her knees, leaning up over the rim of the pot. The faint smell of dirt and dried leaves seemed out of place in the advanced city.
True to his word, she felt Jack's hands brush coolly across her neck as he collected her hair. "It's all right," he whispered comfortingly. "You're all right."
"No..." she argued, gasping before she finally vomited.
Jack had seen too much in his life to even recoil. He watched sympathetically as what little she had in her stomach poured from her mouth. Her skin was slightly damp around her hair, but it wasn't warm. His suspicions confirmed, Jack listened as she struggled for the chance to breathe. Her diaphragm convulsed again, even though there was nothing left to spill into the dirt. Her fingers went white on the edges of the potted tree.
Coughing a little, she pulled back and Jack caught her shoulders. He held her as she wiped her mouth against her sleeve.
"Sara said eating helped after awhile," Jack remarked to the back of her head. "She never felt like she should, but she felt better when she did."
"Sara?" Elizabeth wondered shyly, trying to ignore the sickly sweet taste vomiting had left in her mouth.
'My ex-wife," Jack said calmly, radiating his serenity through the hands on her back. "She was miserable when she was pregnant." He smiled when she looked up at him in surprise. "It's why we only had one kid; at least, that's what I've always thought."
She shook her head slowly and realized no one had to tell him. "That obvious?" Elizabeth asked as she hugged her chest and sat up a little straighter.
"You know..." Jack began thoughtfully, "...it was John. He had this funny look in his eyes." He pointed at his own eyes, shrugging again. "And Carter told me about John asking Daniel about this symbol you ran into at at that festival."
"I see," Elizabeth responded quietly. Her empty stomach was easier to deal with. She still had the headache to deal with, and exhaustion made her body hurt in a hundred different places. "And that led to me being pregnant?"
"Well, no, but now you've admitted it. Which means I won my bet and I am getting a home-cooked meal when I get back," Jack admitted proudly as he struggled to his feet. "I think I'll ask for swordfish. Carter should be able to find swordfish..."
"You bet?" she demanded incredulously. Starting to stand made her head spin, and only hanging onto the wall and Jack let her keep her feet.
"Yeah," Jack said gently, still smiling. "It gets boring on Earth, we need to wager about the lives of people we know." He winked at her and started walking.
"I'm supposed to be escorting you," Elizabeth chided him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders again.
Shrugging a little, Jack stopped outside the door to the infirmary and fussed with the crystals on the wall until he got it hiss open. "I had a handful of power bars on the way back. Guess I can still bounce back."
"What did Colonel Carter bet?" Elizabeth asked as the general led them to the sink in the back of the dark infirmary. He left her there and headed for the emergency lights in the center of the room.
He turned around, pulling himself up on one of the Ancient medical beds and lay back with a huge sigh of relief. "Dancing," Jack answered with a curious tone. "One night of dancing, where I had to show up wearing whatever she requested." He closed his eyes and shuddered. "Probably a penguin suit."
Elizabeth swished some of the cold water from sink around in her mouth before she spat it out. Washing the edge of her sleeve in the water as well, she noticed how worn the fabric was started to get. How long had it been since she'd had anything clean to put on? "But what did she think? That I wasn't pregnant?"
"Oh no," Jack chuckled as he waved a hand lazily through the air. "She thought I'd hear it in a mission report first, before one of you got up the guts to tell me."
Her eyebrows went up in surprise, and she drank half a glass of water before coming up with a response. "Was there anyone who didn't think?"
"No, not really," Jack told the ceiling through his closed eyes. "Daniel refused to get involved, figured the odds were already just too stacked. Murphy's law and all..."
"I see," Elizabeth managed to say before she started to fade. Her head was pounding so much that his voice sent waves of pain bouncing through behind her eyes. "We didn't," she admitted with more bitterness than she thought she had in her. "We thought we did, God, we've had sex twice since then. John..." She stopped short when Jack's head shot up in surprise.
"You didn't?" he asked with careful patience. Rolling to his side, he propped his head and watched her. The black of her shirt combined with the dark tendrils of her hair made her skin startlingly pale.
"There's an ascended Ancient on Ceol," Elizabeth began, feeling the trembling start in her hands. "She...visited me, while I was alone in the city. She informed me that she'd been conducted genetic experiments on the people of that world, and since John and I happened to be there, and he had LK476-"
His confused expression prompted her immediate explanation.
"The Ancient gene, what you have," Elizabeth said with irritation spilling into her voice. "I looked her up in the Ancient database and she was a scientist, one that seems to have lost her mind since she was."
"Ah," Jack noted softly, turning it over in his head. "I think I've still won my part of the bet," he teased before sitting up with a heavy sigh of resignation. "Come sit down," he suggested next, pointing to the bed across from his. "You look worse than I feel."
"You had power bars," Elizabeth poked back weakly.
"Touché," Jack said with a nod. "So she did something to you."
"She impregnated me in order to further the Ancient gene," Elizabeth snapped in exasperation and disgust. "John has it and I don't," she paused, resting one hand over her heart. "At least, I didn't." She met his eyes, and though he was confused, Jack stayed quiet. "I can turn on jumpers now, not in a useful way mind you, they just flicker for awhile."
"Always liked the word 'flicker'," Jack added absently. He kept smiling, gesturing her over to the bed again. "Still, that's more than most of the population."
"I just hate feeling like I'm being manipulated," Elizabeth argued back, inconsolable in her sense of violation. She took a few steps towards him, wavering when she had to walk without support. On one step her legs buckled and he slid off the bed.
"I'm not sure I can catch you," he admitted matter-of-factly, "I'll try, but you might want to sit down before they have to pick us both up off the floor."
Pulling herself up on the bed took so much effort that her arms hurt from the strain, Elizabeth sat on the edge quietly for a moment; willing the soft beige walls of the infirmary to come back into focus. "She threatened to take it," she whispered to the floor before she managed to lift her head.
"It?" Jack asked, putting a comforting hand on her knee.
"She said if I didn't want the baby, she'd take it away," she stammered out, feeling her voice break. The hand on her knee took hers and held it.
"And for awhile it seemed like a good idea," Jack finished for her. "Trust me; I think it crosses every parent's mind. If I'd just...something...I wouldn't have to deal with this."
"I didn't know you had children," Elizabeth tried to change the subject away before he noticed the tears she was fighting.
Digging around in the pockets of his uniform, he came up with nothing. Shrugging apologetically, he offered the back of his hand. "My son died twelve years ago," Jack clarified with a softness that belied the old pain in his eyes. "It's all right," he added before she could apologize. "Charlie was a great kid. I don't regret him. Any minute of him."
Clinging to his hand for support, Elizabeth bravely let him see the tears she felt running hot down her face. "I'm not ready, this isn't right; it's the wrong time..."
Jack cut her off when he heard footsteps in the hallway. "You're the right people. You love..." he closed her mouth when she tried to protest, "...despite what anyone might have told you, I'm not an idiot." He paused and gave her a wicked grin. "You love him, he loves you and since everyone else in the universe saw it before you did, you're just going to have to accept it."
John emerged into the light from the dark hallway first, Helia cradled in his arms. He set her carefully on one of the beds on the other side. Elizabeth nearly shuddered when she saw the blank eyes of the Lantian captain. She remembered a cold and formidable woman, but Helia had been replaced by an empty shell that lay like a dead thing when John released her.
Teyla followed him, clutching a blood-drenched bandage on her shoulder. Her normally tan skin was pale from blood loss. The coppery stench of blood drifted through the room, but she only had an optimistic smile for Elizabeth and Jack. "It is not as bad as it looks," she promised stoically, "And it certainly could have been worse."
"You're first," Carson promised as he negotiated the doorway with Woolsey's arm around his neck. "It just looks like a puncture wound, but I'd like to get it sutured before you need a blood transfusion."
"Of course Doctor," Teyla sighed as she came to sit next to Elizabeth. The smell of blood immediately set her stomach twisting again, but there was nothing left.
"Now which one of you two was fertilizing the poor dead tree in the hallway?" Carson nagged with a distinctly paternal glare.
Jack pointed at her before Elizabeth had a chance to defend herself. "I'm actually feeling better," he proclaimed proudly with a half smile. "Just hungry..."
John appeared immediately at her side, slipping a nervous arm around her back. She was so relieved by the contact that she barely heard the rest of Carson's ranting.
"Teyla and I discussed it," Carson began cheerfully, "And she'd like to invite you, General O'Neill and you, Mr. Woolsey to the Athosian settlement. They're packing to come back to the mainland, but they have food and fresh air and I think being around people could be good for both of you."
Woolsey nodded, still in a state of shock. Jack managed a smile and shot John a questioning look. "How's their food?" he asked tentatively.
"Good," John answered quickly, paying far more attention to the way Elizabeth leaned against his chest. Her head was spinning so badly the room was a blur. In the haze of her exhaustion, the smell of his dried sweat on his uniform was the only link she had to reality and she clung to it. As she leaned in, putting more of her weight on him; he tucked his hand into her hair.
"I think it's a good idea," John said distractedly. "Things here aren't exactly the best." He glanced around, checking on everyone before he turned to Carson. "I'm taking Elizabeth to bed."
"That's a better idea," Carson agreed without letting her have a say. He opened his medical kit and started making preparations to suture Teyla's shoulder. "No offense," he directed apologetically at Elizabeth, "But, you look like hell."
"Hell or not," she started indignantly, forcing herself to sit up under her own power. "I'm still in charge of this facility."
"Aye, but you won't be if you pass out from exhaustion," Carson shot back as he removed the bandage from Teyla's shoulder. Blood oozed from the dark gash in her flesh and he started to clean it. "Go to bed, I promise Teyla and I can hold things together until you've rested."
With her pain firmly out of her mind, Teyla smiled serenely. "Carson is quite correct," she agreed.
The smell of blood cut metallic through the air and Elizabeth slid from the bed, fleeing the infirmary before her stomach got any other rebellious ideas. "Okay Carson," she acquiesced as John caught her arm to steady her. "I'll behave."
John's tension left his shoulders as he sighed in relief. "Control room?"
Jack groaned as he dragged himself back to his feet. "Lead the way," he said as he collected Woolsey from the corner. "We've been released for now, sent out to pasture for awhile," he joked, gaining strength every moment.
"What about her?" Woolsey asked in a haunted voice as he stared down at Helia. "Do you think you can help her?"
Carson kept his eyes on Teyla's shoulder as he started checking the muscle beneath the skin. "I'll do my best," he promised with a quick nod of his head. "Physically she seems to be all right, so there's hope she'll recover in time."
He nodded quietly, touching her shoulder gently before he left her. "You're in good hands now," Woolsey whispered so softly his voice barely carried.
"How'd he do?" John asked the general in a private whisper.
Jack's jaw softened, caught between pity and respect. "He kept it together; he's definitely got a backbone under his suit."
Elizabeth was too stubborn to let John wrap his arm around her as Jack had. She kept her arms folded over her chest and led the way to the control room with an iron determination not to give in to her weakness. She disappeared into her thoughts, only catching bits and pieces of the conversation.
"Rodney should make it back in a few days, sooner if he gets sick of rations," John explained as they rounded a corner. "The Replicators don't seem to have a key gene, so provided our genius can figure it out..."
"...threaten to call Carter," Jack interrupted sardonically, "Makes him work faster."
"I'll remember that," John promised as he grinned cheerfully. The new ship was terribly exciting. He'd enjoyed every moment of the Orion's short time with them, and unlike that ship, this one was fully functional. Elizabeth could feel his excitement in the bounce of his step behind her. Jack was getting swept up along with it; the two of them trying to decide if they should ask for a new crew to run the Asuran vessel when they got in touch with Earth.
"We haven't yet," Elizabeth reminded them softly; hating to ruin their fun. "The communications system is still a mess."
"Well," Jack started, scratching his head as he thought. "We could just throw them a note. We have that ZPM..."
John held up four fingers, keeping his face stoic as he waited for Jack to realize what he was saying.
"You have four?" Jack choked and started to laugh. "You have four ZPMs?"
"Yeah, but, we broke the city..." John admitted sheepishly. "I guess it is kind of funny."
"Kind of?" Jack turned his head away and lost the ability speak through his laughter. "I don't know if we've ever had four ZPMs that worked, let alone four at the same time."
Both of them started to laugh together, stumbling slightly up the steps as they shared the joke.
Elizabeth just shook her head. Hearing them both find the humor in their situation was oddly comforting. Jack was right, life was too short. Too short to worry about where her child came from. It didn't matter, because it was still John's. Holding on to his excitement in an effort to share it, she forced her fears to the back of her mind.
Clinging to the control panel as she sat down to dial the gate, her hands trembled slightly as she struck the symbols for the Athosians temporary home. Over the edge of the balcony, she watched the blue light of the gate fill the room.
John's voice crackled over the radio to her ear, "I'm going to pop through and introduce everyone, I'll be back in a minute, so leave the shield down," he promised.
"Bring us back some more rations if you can," she reminded him as she rubbed her temples. Perhaps Carson was right, all she needed was a little rest and her head would stop pounding. Yawning as she sent Rodney's computer back into the database, Elizabeth called Mab's logs back up. Marking certain passages to ask Carson about, she started sifting through the Ancient notes. There had to be something.
~*~*~*~
When John reemerged from the gate ten minutes later, the control room was completely quiet.
"Elizabeth?" he called up towards the balcony. Swinging the bag of food over his shoulder, John took the steps up to the controls two at a time. Some time with the Athosians might be just what Woolsey needed; he'd perked up a little when they showed him the warm, comfortable tent they were sharing with him. Jack was falling back into form; the Athosians were already making plans to teach him their way of spear fishing. He'd promised a fish by check in tomorrow.
John rounded the top of the stairs and stopped short. Making a mental note not to tell Rodney what Elizabeth was doing on his computer, he approached her at the desk. Rodney would never forgive her for falling asleep on it. Her hair tumbled over the arm that pillowed her head in a mess of dark curls. Her hand was still on the keyboard, she'd been reading something until her body just couldn't take it anymore. John smiled softly, bending down and lifting her head from the laptop as gently as he could.
Cradling her head back against his chest, he knelt on the floor by her side. For a moment she snuggled into him, instinctually craving the warmth of his body. Shaking her shoulder, John wondered if he'd be able to rouse her at all. Elizabeth moaned softly as he draped her arm around his neck. She was heavy against his chest, and he realized he'd be sore in the morning. He wasn't used to carrying unconscious women around the city.
"Elizabeth?" he tried again, cupping her cheek trying to decide if she'd finally fainted. "I'm going to take you to bed, if you wake up, you can chew me out for it, but until then I guess you're in my hands."
Tucking her legs into his other arm, John stood up cautiously. "See, you've got me so flustered I'm making bad puns." Her weight settled against his chest and he contemplated the stairs. "One step at a time," he reminded himself. "And fix the transporters next."