Unexpected by Oparu
Author's Chapter Notes: Elizabeth and John return home and try to make sense of their situation.
"Are ye feeling all right otherwise?" Dr. Beckett set down his post-mission physical report on his desk. "Just under the weather a bit? Dehydration can be a nasty business."
"I'm all right." Weir took a long, slow sip of water, hearing the ice clink against the plastic. "Do you know what was in the samples of the beer we brought back?"
"So far not much out of the ordinary-" He shrugged politely. "I know it's not in yer nature to let your hair down and run wild in the streets, but I hear there's a lot to be said for atmosphere."
"Atmosphere?" She finished her water and accepted another glass.
"Ye know, dancin' and carryin' on. Sheppard said it really was quite a lovely party." Beckett grinned and winked at her. "Wants to go back next month. Might go with him."
Weir shook her head slowly. "I'll take that under advisement." The slightest rise in her eyebrow belied her amusement. Thank you doctor. I'll see you at the mission briefing tomorrow."
"Aye, I do have to attend those, don't I?" His eyes glimmered in amusement for a moment. "Unless I can convince you that my knowledge of the way you woke up this morning is worth a little R and R-"
"Tomorrow doctor." Weir patted his shoulder and fled the infirmary.
She settled into her chair with her coffee. Carson had insisted on water, even suggested orange juice, but it was hard to break from coffee. People passing beneath her office headed for the cafeteria. Lunch still didn't seem like a good idea so she attempted her work. The glare of her laptop only added to her headache. Barely through the first page of Zalenka's report on why exotic particles would prevent them from ever using alternate universes to recharge the ZPM, the knock startled her away from her reading.
"Hey- am I uh-" John stared down at his boots, forcibly keeping his hands at his sides. His stiffness belied his discomfort as he finally looked up. "Interrupting something?"
"Just a report I can assure you I have the wrong doctorate to understand." Rubbing her temples slowly as she looked up, Weir managed to smile weakly. "I knew I should have gone into astrophysics."
"You could be down there, in the lab with McKay." desk, echoing her smile faintly as he tried to find a place for his stupid hands. "Wouldn't that be something? You two, saving the day together."
Shuddering slightly, Weir closed her laptop. "Maybe wading through the reports isn't so bad after all." Clinging to her coffee cup instead, she leaned back in her chair. "How's your head?"
"Like the day after graduation." He settled gratefully into a chair across from her. One of the trinkets from her desk making its way into his hands. "Except that I'm old-older than I was, and I guess my liver doesn't want to play."
"It's been a long time since I felt like this." She traded him a cup for her hand-carved statue. "I don't know if I even want to put a date on it." Pulling her elbows in towards her chest, Weir tried to put her concerns out of her mind. "Do you remember anything?"
Sheppard took a gulp of coffee and shook his head. "I don't really. Maybe bits and pieces. Dinner was good."
Elizabeth smiled slightly, just like Simon, men always remembered if their food was good. "We danced-" Releasing her cup, she settled back in her chair. Her fingers found each other and settled on the desk.
A curl of dark hair brushed past her ear, and he remembered it touching his face. He remembered her in his arms, the warmth of her body when he asked her to dance. "Maybe that's how it-" He shouldn't be looking at her lips. That delightful little curl on the right was not what he should be noticing. "How we-" He tightened his eyebrows. "If we even-" John's eyes crashed to the floor.
"Slept together." Her words hung like a flag in the air. Fluttering before they hung still between them.
His chair squeaked as he jumped back from her desk. "Yeah, there's that."
"I can't tell you I remember being with you." Tilting her head thoughtfully, Elizabeth watched him struggle behind his eyes. John's hair was still a mess from the morning. She wondered if he'd even combed it. Maybe he just ran his fingers through it and went on with the day. What did it feel like? Would she remember touching it someday?
John tried to relax, letting the tension out of his shoulders as much as he could. Pulling his chair back to its place as he forced himself to look at her without seeing her naked shoulders rise above the blanket. "But you can't say that you don't."
"You're right." Elizabeth leaned forward, leaving the back of her chair to be closer to him. "I can't say either way." Her fingers rubbed tension out of the back of her neck. "I wish I could. Carson said we might remember."
Quickly tapping his foot on the floor, John contradicted her. "We might not."
"I want to ask you something," Leaving her chair to circle to his side of the desk, Elizabeth perched on the edge. "Promise me you'll tell me, if you remember. Even if you don't think I'll-"
His gaze burned through her doubts. "I'd tell you." Standing up brought him dangerously close to her. He remembered the smell of her hair from that morning. Shrugging the desire to grab her shoulders and kiss her until he remembered. "I'll be mortified because you're my boss and I-" If he moved half a step forward they'd be touching. "But I'd tell you."
If she reached up and grabbed his head she could kiss him. With the wetness of his lips against hers, and the pulse of his neck beneath her fingers she'd have to remember. "Thank you John." Curling her fingers around his wrist would have to suffice for the moment.
Letting her fingers slide down into his hand, John surprised her as he squeezed it for a moment. "As you wish." His eyes crackled as they met hers. Green was too intense of a color. He was smiling softly, as if she'd missed the reference and it was his own private joke.
Releasing his hand felt like a mistake. Elizabeth returned to her chair without daring his eyes again. "I'd better get back-" She was speaking to an empty room. Without him her breath seemed to echo. The headache she'd forgotten about for his entire visit would no longer be ignored.
She hadn't seen the film. That much was obvious. So until the movie night when she inevitably watched it, she'd have no idea what he said. What he'd just admitted. John felt himself blush, grateful for the safety of the corridor. She'd smiled at him. Touched him, and he loved it. He was grinning like an idiot. He had to be. He mussed his hair with his hand and searched for his composure. He was still grinning, but maybe it wasn't so bad.
Thanks to Shannon
"I'm all right." Weir took a long, slow sip of water, hearing the ice clink against the plastic. "Do you know what was in the samples of the beer we brought back?"
"So far not much out of the ordinary-" He shrugged politely. "I know it's not in yer nature to let your hair down and run wild in the streets, but I hear there's a lot to be said for atmosphere."
"Atmosphere?" She finished her water and accepted another glass.
"Ye know, dancin' and carryin' on. Sheppard said it really was quite a lovely party." Beckett grinned and winked at her. "Wants to go back next month. Might go with him."
Weir shook her head slowly. "I'll take that under advisement." The slightest rise in her eyebrow belied her amusement. Thank you doctor. I'll see you at the mission briefing tomorrow."
"Aye, I do have to attend those, don't I?" His eyes glimmered in amusement for a moment. "Unless I can convince you that my knowledge of the way you woke up this morning is worth a little R and R-"
"Tomorrow doctor." Weir patted his shoulder and fled the infirmary.
She settled into her chair with her coffee. Carson had insisted on water, even suggested orange juice, but it was hard to break from coffee. People passing beneath her office headed for the cafeteria. Lunch still didn't seem like a good idea so she attempted her work. The glare of her laptop only added to her headache. Barely through the first page of Zalenka's report on why exotic particles would prevent them from ever using alternate universes to recharge the ZPM, the knock startled her away from her reading.
"Hey- am I uh-" John stared down at his boots, forcibly keeping his hands at his sides. His stiffness belied his discomfort as he finally looked up. "Interrupting something?"
"Just a report I can assure you I have the wrong doctorate to understand." Rubbing her temples slowly as she looked up, Weir managed to smile weakly. "I knew I should have gone into astrophysics."
"You could be down there, in the lab with McKay." desk, echoing her smile faintly as he tried to find a place for his stupid hands. "Wouldn't that be something? You two, saving the day together."
Shuddering slightly, Weir closed her laptop. "Maybe wading through the reports isn't so bad after all." Clinging to her coffee cup instead, she leaned back in her chair. "How's your head?"
"Like the day after graduation." He settled gratefully into a chair across from her. One of the trinkets from her desk making its way into his hands. "Except that I'm old-older than I was, and I guess my liver doesn't want to play."
"It's been a long time since I felt like this." She traded him a cup for her hand-carved statue. "I don't know if I even want to put a date on it." Pulling her elbows in towards her chest, Weir tried to put her concerns out of her mind. "Do you remember anything?"
Sheppard took a gulp of coffee and shook his head. "I don't really. Maybe bits and pieces. Dinner was good."
Elizabeth smiled slightly, just like Simon, men always remembered if their food was good. "We danced-" Releasing her cup, she settled back in her chair. Her fingers found each other and settled on the desk.
A curl of dark hair brushed past her ear, and he remembered it touching his face. He remembered her in his arms, the warmth of her body when he asked her to dance. "Maybe that's how it-" He shouldn't be looking at her lips. That delightful little curl on the right was not what he should be noticing. "How we-" He tightened his eyebrows. "If we even-" John's eyes crashed to the floor.
"Slept together." Her words hung like a flag in the air. Fluttering before they hung still between them.
His chair squeaked as he jumped back from her desk. "Yeah, there's that."
"I can't tell you I remember being with you." Tilting her head thoughtfully, Elizabeth watched him struggle behind his eyes. John's hair was still a mess from the morning. She wondered if he'd even combed it. Maybe he just ran his fingers through it and went on with the day. What did it feel like? Would she remember touching it someday?
John tried to relax, letting the tension out of his shoulders as much as he could. Pulling his chair back to its place as he forced himself to look at her without seeing her naked shoulders rise above the blanket. "But you can't say that you don't."
"You're right." Elizabeth leaned forward, leaving the back of her chair to be closer to him. "I can't say either way." Her fingers rubbed tension out of the back of her neck. "I wish I could. Carson said we might remember."
Quickly tapping his foot on the floor, John contradicted her. "We might not."
"I want to ask you something," Leaving her chair to circle to his side of the desk, Elizabeth perched on the edge. "Promise me you'll tell me, if you remember. Even if you don't think I'll-"
His gaze burned through her doubts. "I'd tell you." Standing up brought him dangerously close to her. He remembered the smell of her hair from that morning. Shrugging the desire to grab her shoulders and kiss her until he remembered. "I'll be mortified because you're my boss and I-" If he moved half a step forward they'd be touching. "But I'd tell you."
If she reached up and grabbed his head she could kiss him. With the wetness of his lips against hers, and the pulse of his neck beneath her fingers she'd have to remember. "Thank you John." Curling her fingers around his wrist would have to suffice for the moment.
Letting her fingers slide down into his hand, John surprised her as he squeezed it for a moment. "As you wish." His eyes crackled as they met hers. Green was too intense of a color. He was smiling softly, as if she'd missed the reference and it was his own private joke.
Releasing his hand felt like a mistake. Elizabeth returned to her chair without daring his eyes again. "I'd better get back-" She was speaking to an empty room. Without him her breath seemed to echo. The headache she'd forgotten about for his entire visit would no longer be ignored.
She hadn't seen the film. That much was obvious. So until the movie night when she inevitably watched it, she'd have no idea what he said. What he'd just admitted. John felt himself blush, grateful for the safety of the corridor. She'd smiled at him. Touched him, and he loved it. He was grinning like an idiot. He had to be. He mussed his hair with his hand and searched for his composure. He was still grinning, but maybe it wasn't so bad.
Thanks to Shannon