(Extra)Ordinary Day
Title: (Extra)Ordinary Day
Author: psychicvanity
Rating: G
Prompt (including the number!): 180. Elizabeth/Laura - A lazy summers day at the beach.
Word Count: 832 (ooh, right on the wire there!)
Spoilers: None, far as I know.
Warnings: None, I think.
Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis, Elizabeth Weir, and Laura Cadman are not owned by me. They are the property of MGM. I just do this stuff for fun.
Elizabeth Weir fidgeted with the blindfold over her eyes and shifted in the copilot's seat of the Jumper. "Laura, really, I don't have time for this."
"Yes, you do," came Cadman's voice from somewhere on her left. The woman sounded insufferably smug. "I snuck a peek at your day planner. Nothing all day long."
"But I have reports that are due, and you-"
"Elizabeth," Laura stopped her firmly. "You need a day off, okay? And here we are." The Jumper settled and Laura led her out by the hand.
Elizabeth stepped out into the sunlight. She could hear birds and smell salt and... Laura gently untied the blindfold and Elizabeth gasped at the sight. "The beach! Oh, Laura, the beach!" An unpeopled stretch of white sand stretched out before her, far as the eye could see. Cadman smiled at the delight on Weir's face.
"Surprise," she said. "Come on, help me unload." Laura had thought of everything, Elizabeth found as they unpacked the back of the Jumper. Boogie boards, lounge chairs, sunscreen, towels, even a picnic. Elizabeth wondered where her friend had found all of this, but dismissed it as irrelevant as the lieutenant dragged her into the water.
Elizabeth Weir was an international and intergalactic diplomat who had brokered treaties with planetary powers with practiced ease. She spoke multiple languages and held multiple degrees. She was leader of an expedition to another galaxy. In short, she was completely badass. This did not stop her from giggling and splashing in the ocean like a little girl.
Elizabeth and Laura spent all day at the beach, playing in the surf, challenging each other to see who could build the biggest sandcastle (Laura), and laying out in the sun. It was the nicest day Elizabeth Weir had had in a long time.
Sometime in the afternoon she feel asleep face down in her lounge chair. She'd only meant to lay there for a second, letting her back get its share of tan. But the next thing she knew she was blinking awake to find the sun on its way down. Laura sat in the sand beside her chair, rubbing more sunscreen into her back gently. "You were starting to burn," Cadman said quietly. "You ready to eat?"
Elizabeth sat up, clutching her unfastened swimsuit top to her chest. Laura had laid out the picnic on the shore under the setting sun. It was beautiful and the scene made Weir smile. She refastened her suit and sat down next to Cadman in the sand. They ate real food, food from Earth, and talked while the light slowly disappeared and the stars came out.
Laura told Elizabeth about her family and childhood; her amazing parents, her annoying older brother, and her two cats. Elizabeth thought she could listen to the lieutenant forever, but Cadman only had so much to tell. Finally she looked over at Elizabeth. The moonlight was bright and illuminated the beach almost as well as the sun had. "What about you, Elizabeth? What about your family, your life?"
Elizabeth Weir looked out at the starlit ocean and smiled softly. "I grew up in California, on the beach. I spent just about every day out there, surfing and running the beach. When I was working at the Ancient outpost in Antarctica, that was what I missed the most. The sun.
"When I came here, to Atlantis, it was almost like home. It was wonderful to be out of the cold, to live on the ocean again. But I still missed the sun. It wasn't the same." She paused, weighing her words. Normally, she wouldn't say anything like this. But the dark and Laura's beautiful face framed by her moonlit hair made her bold. "Then I met you. I saw your smile. And it was just like having the sun again."
Laura was quiet for a long time and Weir nervously started to wonder what she was thinking. Finally the young lieutenant said softly, "Elizabeth, can I kiss you?"
Weir nodded breathlessly and Cadman leaned forward. Their lips met and they shared their first long, slow kiss under the alien moons of their home. They broke far sooner than either would have liked and Cadman said, "We need to get back."
Elizabeth agreed, a little sadly. The two women gathered their things and headed back to the Jumper. As they strapped into the cockpit, Elizabeth reached over and took Laura's hand. "Laura, thank you. For today. It was perfect."
Laura blushed prettily. "I'm glad I could make you happy. It's worth it to see your smile."
Elizabeth reached out and touched her face. "I want to make it up to you, thank you properly." Laura looked confused for a moment. Weir raised her eyebrows suggestively. Cadman's blush got deeper, but she grinned widely.
"I'll come to your quarters as soon as I get all my junk squared away."
Elizabeth gave Cadman a quick kiss as she started up the Jumper. "I look forward to it."