With This Ring, SWFicathon fic

[lanna_kitty]

Title: With This Ring
Author:Lanna-kitty
Summary: John and Elizabeth must pose as a married couple in order to negotiate for much needed resources.
Pairing: John/Elizabeth. blink and you miss it Rodney/Teyla. Slight Sam/Jack
Recipient : chiarahhue
Rating: PG-13
Warning:: None:
Spoilers:: Set vaguely in late season 3
Beta: Hermionemalfoy, who deserves a hell of a lot of thanks for both the amazing editing work and the speedy turnaround
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, I'm just playing with them for awhile.
Author's Notes:
Request prompt: Off world mission in which John and Elizabeth have to pose as husband and wife for the duration of their stay on the planet. During their time together there, they realize their growing feelings for each other. Your choice as to how they resolve their "problem”

I hope this is what you kinda had in mind. The story sort of ran away on me, so I apologize for the length. I hope you enjoy it :)


A breeze picked up over the water and ruffled the hair of the people standing on the balcony high above the ancient city of Atlantis. Elizabeth Weir breathed in the scent of the sea and sighed.

“It’s a bit cooler today,” John noted. He leaned against the railing of the balcony, cradling a mug of coffee between his hands.

Elizabeth nodded. “Dr. Coulter says we’re heading into fall. Since we’re further north than we have been the past two years, we might even get snow,” she told him. The meteorologist who’d been added to the expedition in their second year was eager to witness his first winter. The seasons on Lantea were much longer than on Earth since the planet wobbled on its axis far less than Earth did.

“Couldn’t we find a way to keep the city someplace warm?” John groused. He sipped his coffee.

Elizabeth sighed. “We could, but fighting the current uses power we might need for the shield,” she told him.

“Then I’ll just have to enjoy our balcony chats while I can,” he said, coffee sloshing as he saluted her. She smirked back at him and contemplated stealing his mug, coffee and all.

As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, John pulled the mug closer to his chest and leaned back against the rail, twisting so his shoulder casually guarded his beverage. Elizabeth laughed and seriously considered heading out to the small break room where they’d stashed some supplies and a coffee maker so no one had to make the trek down to the commissary from the control room.

The ‘gate activated, putting thoughts of coffee out of her mind. Elizabeth pushed away from the railing and headed inside, John close behind. Chuck was speaking over his radio and nodding to whomever was on the other side.

Teyla stepped from the shimmering blue of the event horizon. Her dark eyes sought Elizabeth in her usual place, then searched the room when she wasn’t found in her customary spot. Elizabeth and John entered the building once more, and Teyla hurried forward as the wormhole collapsed.

“Teyla,” Elizabeth greeted. “Is everything all right? ” She consulted her watch; Teyla was a bit early returning from New Athos.

“Yes, they are doing very well and send their regards,” Teyla said, smiling. “I must speak with you,” she told the other woman, excitement and urgency in her voice.

“Certainly,” Elizabeth said, indicating her currently empty office with a sweep of her arm. Teyla hurried up the stairs. Elizabeth offered John a small shrug before she followed.

John decided Elizabeth and Teyla would let him in on the excitement when he needed to know about it, whatever it was. It was probably something boring.

“A ZPM?” Rodney McKay exclaimed an hour later when he, John and Ronon had been called to hear about Teyla’s findings.

“Yes.” Teyla beamed. “Halling was quite certain that the Mizarans possessed one.”

“They’re not children who rely on it to protect them from the Wraith? Or a civilization that needs it to power their planet or to maintain some kind of time dilation field so people can practice their navel gazing? It’s not being held by post-industrial madmen experimenting with dangerous nuclear weapons of mass destruction? Or protected by an order of Pegasus-style Knights Templar?” Rodney asked.John leaned back in his chair and rubbed his head.

Teyla smiled softly. “No, Rodney. I have been to their world before. Though only once, many years ago.”

“Do you think they’d be willing to give us their ZPM?” John asked.

“That I do not know,” Teyla admitted, “but they are a friendly if traditional people. They have a great reverence for the Ancestors. It is possible that, unlike the people from Dagan, they would be willing to allow us to use their ZPM here.”

“We won’t know until we ask them,” Elizabeth added. “I’m authorizing you to check it out,” she said, nodding to the group at large.

“So, what’s the catch?” John asked later. There had to be one; there always was. Elizabeth and Teyla exchanged a look, and John’s enthusiasm began to crumble.

“As I said,” Teyla began, “they are a very traditional culture and have particular expectations of the people with whom they interact. One such expectation is that adults are entered into unions-marriages, you would say . I was not able to deal with them in any sort of official capacity until after I’d married Jyrus.” John blinked.

“It makes sense,” Elizabeth said, before John or Rodney could say anything.

John didn’t know if Rodney knew about this husband, Jyrus, but from her smooth response, Elizabeth did. Ronon's expression was placid; either he had a better poker face than John knew about, or Teyla had told him that part of her past.

“If you live in a society that has to deal with a threat such as that posed by the Wraith on a constant basis," Elizabeth continued, "you tend to hold on to familial traditions to maintain your culture. We’ve seen it again and again here in Pegasus.”

“Okay,” John said,. “So what does that mean for us? Are we all, “ he motioned to himself, Ronon and Rodney, “married to Teyla for this mission?”

“Not quite,” Elizabeth said. “If anyone asks, Rodney will have a wife back in the city. Ronon’s wife was killed by the Wraith. And you, Colonel? You’re married to me. Teyla and I thought it would be the most logical arrangement for the team. I will give you any additional authority you might need to open negotiations for a ZPM.”

Elizabeth sighed and sat back in her seat. “As much as I dislike the idea of not being completely truthful with these people, we really could use the ZPM, and I don’t trust anyone else to do this mission.” She folded her hands on the table in front of her. “We have a number of married people in the expedition, but only a couple of them are married to each other and none of them have the off world experience. This maximizes our chances.”

“When do we go?” Ronon asked.

“Tomorrow or the day after. Halling has been kind enough to arrange a meeting for us. We’ll know in a day or so when we should go meet the Mizarans,” Elizabeth told him.

“Okay then,” Ronon rumbled and stood. He left the room before the next-irrelevant-question could be asked.

“Dismissed,” Elizabeth said wryly.

“So, who am I married to?” Rodney asked.

“I don’t think it matters, Rodney,” John told him.

Rodney gave him a smug grin. “Then I’ll have to make her up. I think she’s smart. Well, not as smart as I am of course, but smart enough. Legs that go on forever. Short hair. Blonde.”

“A couple PHDs? How about a military woman?” John suggested.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Rodney agreed before he realized he was being teased. “Hey!”

“She needs a name, Rodney,” Sheppard continued, undaunted by his teammate’s glare. “How about Sam?”

Rodney looked disgusted with him and left the room muttering. Teyla rose from her seat, shaking her head at the antics of her teammates and followed.

“So, Honey,” John said, rolling his head in Elizabeth’s direction, “how long have we been married?” He waggled his eyebrows at her, hoping to get the unflappable Dr. Elizabeth Weir to smile. He was rewarded with a laugh.

"Pumpkin?" John lifted his eyebrows innocently.

"You are not calling me disgustingly cute nicknames," Elizabeth insisted. Her tone was serious, but her eyes sparkled in amusement.

John grinned at her and tossed down the gauntlet. "Oh, but Pookie! We should have a solid cover story."

Elizabeth regarded him with a level gaze, and for a moment John wondered if he'd overstepped the carefully drawn boundaries they'd set up.

She assembled the papers in front of her and tapped them against the table. The papers were neatly squared up with her Tablet PC, and she retrieved the whole pile as she rose. John hastily scrambled to his feet just as the corner of her lips twitched into a small, wicked smile.

"Well, Schnookums," she fired back, "you'd better figure out a good cover story before you go." She stood and strode from the room headed her back towards her office.

John followed closely on her heels, down the short hall to the control room. "But Snuggy-bear, you mean you're not going to help me come up with any of this? We at least need a good story for when I proposed," John called.

Several heads in the control room snapped up. Oh, well, in for a penny, in for a pound, John thought. The details of the mission would be around the whole city in a matter of hours anyway.

"Snuggy-bear?" Elizabeth questioned, glancing over her shoulder at him. "That's the best you could come up with?"

"Turtle dove?" John offered. "What about Angel Face?" John snapped his fingers. "I know! How about Lizzy?"

Elizabeth stopped and turned to look at him for a full five seconds before she rolled her eyes and continued onward to her office.

"Keep it up, honey-bun, and you're sleeping on the couch," Elizabeth said dryly.

"Honey-bun?" John repeated back, arching a brow as he continued to follow her.

"Peaches? Smoochie face?"

"Smoochie face?" John questioned, "Now who's reaching?"

"I don't have to reach," Elizabeth told him as they paused by her door. Dr. Zelenka and Dr. Kusanagi were already waiting for her. "I'm you're better half, remember?" With that parting shot she entered her office and shut the door behind her.

Elizabeth sipped her coffee as John's team assembled at the stairs before the gate. Rodney and Teyla were still missing. Ronon and John were cooling their heels by the steps. She wandered over to the small balcony to the right of Chuck's console and leaned over the railing.

"Ready to go?" she asked to the men below.

John grinned up at her from his casual seat against one of the stairway pillars. "We went to the Greek Isles," he called up to her.

"For?" Elizabeth questioned.

"Our honeymoon, of course," John replied.

"Not the Bahamas or Tahiti?"

John grinned broadly for only a second. "More nude beaches in the Greek Isles," he explained with a look of perfect innocence. Of course.

There were some snickers behind her, and Elizabeth knew she couldn't let that volley go unanswered. She smiled sweetly down at him and his schooled look faltered for a moment.

"Okay," she agreed. "And while we were there, you burned your backside in the sun."

The snickers behind her were harder for the techs to contain. John looked truly shocked for a moment; then, something approaching respect flickered across his features before his usual casual expression fell back into place.

John’s expression fluctuated; he was obviously tempted to make some kind of inappropriate comment, perhaps about her treating his wounds, but ultimately no more was said. He saluted her with two fingers and she acknowledged him with her mug and a wry expression.

Rodney hurried into the room with a huge smile on his face. "Good morning," he said as he began fiddling with his vest.

"You're in a good mood," Ronon observed.

"I have the perfect fake wife," Rodney explained, bouncing slightly on his heels.

"You're not going with Sam, the blonde with half a dozen PhDs?" John inquired, smirking.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "No. Go ahead and ask me anything! I have a completely flawless cover story," he said, hands gesturing with confidence as he spoke.

John and Ronon exchanged a look, and Ronon shrugged. Evidently deciding to humor Rodney until Teyla showed up, John feigned thinking of a question.

"Okay," John said. "Where did you meet?"

"Ah! Good one," Rodney said, holding a finger aloft. "We met at an astrophysics conference a few years after we got our PhDs. I'd read some of her work in a journal and we talked over coffee after the keystone lecture. Coffee led to dinner, and dinner led to-"

"I really don’t want to know," John said, waving Rodney off. "So what did you dance to at your wedding?"

"One by U2," Rodney answered.

"Huh. Okay, where did you go on your honeymoon?"

"The big island in Hawaii. I scored us some time on the telescope," Rodney answered, grinning broadly.

"How romantic." John rolled his eyes. "What's her favorite color? Favorite food?"

"Green. But not like a dark hunter green-a nice deep spring green. She likes a good steak and some nice red wine," Rodney explained. "Go ahead, ask me something harder. I know everything!"

"What side of the bed does she sleep on?" Elizabeth called down to them.

Rodney looked startled for a moment. He turned and looked up at Elizabeth. "The left side," he told her. She nodded.

"What does she look like?" John asked. Rodney turned back to him and bounced on his feet slightly.

"She's not quite as tall as I am. She has really amazing eyes,"

"What color?" Ronon interrupted.

"Blue, of course. She's got a great athletic body and legs that go on for miles. She wears her hair long, and she's blonde, and she's got a really sunny smile."

"What's her name?" Elizabeth asked while John coughed something that sounded like "Sam".

Rodney ignored him, or pretended to. "Sandra," he responded, sending John into barely suppressed snickers. "I told you I know everything. My story is airtight." His hands mimed sealing a bag.

"What sounds does she make in bed?" Ronon asked.

Rodney made several indignant noises as his jaw worked. Ronon just smirked back at him. Fortunately for Rodney, Teyla chose that moment to join them.

"What's that?" John asked her, sparing Rodney further questioning. (Not that he had been particularly bothered, Elizabeth considered.)

Teyla was carrying a small leather pouch. She tipped the contents into her hand and held her hand out for him to see. Five rings shone in her hand. Two were silver and two seemed to be carved from a jade-like stone. The last one was a thin gold band with a bright green jewel set into it.

"I know it is the custom of your people to exchange rings with their spouses," Teyla explained.

"Oh yeah, I hadn't thought about that," John said as he picked up one of the silver bands to examine closer. A slim hand picked up the matching one and examined it briefly before she put it back in Teyla's palm. John looked up and met Elizabeth's eyes momentarily. She'd come down to see what Teyla had brought with her.

"Dibs on the neat jade ones," Rodney said, plucking the thicker of the green pair up and examining the intricate carvings. John arched a brow at him, and he shrugged. "The fake wife likes green," he explained as he slid the ring on his finger. It was a bit large, but it'd do.

John toyed with the silver band and met Elizabeth's eyes again. He picked up the matching one and held it out to her.

"With this ring?" he quipped, adding extra smirk. If it was supposed to put her at ease, it didn’t. Queasiness settled in, his joke echoing in her mind.

She stared at the band for a moment before slowly reaching out to accept it. Elizabeth toyed with it before she looked up at the group. She placed the ring on her left ring finger with an exaggerated motion and tried to smile.

"You gonna kiss the bride?" Rodney asked.

“Rodney!” Elizabeth admonished.

“Oh. Right.” Rodney blinked at her as if he hadn’t just sent shockwaves through her system. “Sorry.” She frowned at him, but he was busy examining his ring.

John rolled his eyes and stomped down the steps. "Come on, let's go get a ZPM," he called over his shoulder and waved the group forward.

Elizabeth ascended the steps and watched from her usual place as the gate dialed. The metal of the band was cool against her skin. She told herself her stomach was only fluttering because they might finally, finally acquire another ZPM.

Mizara was a decent looking place, John had to admit. The air was a bit cool, and he could see small piles of snow in the shadowy nooks and crannies of the landscape. The air smelled fresh and clean. Mizara was just leaving winter as Atlantis was entering fall.

They traveled along the road from the stargate on foot through some woods. The road crested over hill and they saw farmland, currently empty and waiting for spring to arrive in full force.

"The village is in the woodlands on the other side of the fields," Teyla informed them. John nodded and let her take point, allowing Ronon to cover their six. A few teenagers were going through the fields, removing rocks and debris from the winter. They waved at the travelers, then bent to their tasks.

John idly spun the band on his ring-finger with his thumb. Elizabeth was feeling guiltier than she let on about not being entirely truthful with these people. He hoped it was worth it.

It was strange to be wearing a wedding band again, stranger still that it didn't quite match his memory of the one he'd worn before. This one was smooth and silver, with a flowing design that the Athosian craftsman had etched into the band. Elizabeth’s had a reciprocal design. They were new and elegant; John was just happy it didn't bite into his skin.

His previous band had been broad and gold, lacking in all adornment. He'd worn it most often on the chain of his dog tags since it hadn't been very comfortable. Here, they'd been advised to wear them openly. Luckily this band was thinner and easy to wear even if he had to fire his weapon. Still, it was odd. John focused back on his task and tried to ignore the unfamiliar feeling.

The road wound around another hill, and they crossed a well-made bridge over a small river. The other side was more forest. Here and there, small green buds were growing on the trees. As they walked, the trees grew larger and larger until it took them more than a minute to walk past a single trunk.

The road began to twist as it wound around the trees. There were small electric lanterns hung on some of the huge trunks. They looked like they'd been cobbled together from lighting fixtures John was familiar with in Atlantis and other Ancient buildings.

During the height of summer, John imagined that the huge canopy blocked out a lot of the sunlight. Even with just the first splash of spring buds on the branches, the temperature in the woodlands had dropped.

Finally the village was in sight-a fact Rodney declared with relief. Multiple times. The outer wall was a combination of wood, primitive stone, and salvaged steel-concrete from some Ancient building. Most of the houses were multiple stories high and seemed to be built around the huge trees. Suspension bridges linked multiple platforms together on the upper levels.

"Well, this is cool," John remarked as they stopped by some curious looking guards.

"It's like something out Tolkien," Rodney said as he gazed around, "or, you know, Star Wars."

"These guys don't look like Ewoks, though," John said, nodding to the armed guards. "Or Wookies,"

The Mizaran style of dress was typical of Pegasus; highly functional with little adornment. There was no mistaking the deadly nature of the naked blades the guard carried at their hips. The small firearms they wore looked antiquated compared to his own P-90, but deadly all the same.

"True." McKay shrugged as he continued to gaze around the place with an expression bordering on delight.

Teyla ignored their nonsensical banter and pulled one guard aside to speak with him. John needed to convince her to watch the movies at some point; even Ronon had caved, demanding a visibly nervous McKay to show him the movies. Apparently, he’d called Ronon "Chewie" enough times that Ronon had become curious despite himself.

Ronon’s only comment had been that it was too bad the 'Lightsabers' were imaginary weapons, which John had thought himself as well-especially after being introduced to the wackiness of the SGC.

A guard was summoned out of the small shelter to take his fellow's place, and the man Teyla had been speaking with motioned for the group to follow him. "Welcome to Mizara," he greeted. "I'll show you to the council's chambers if you'll follow me."

They made their way through the village, and ended up at one of the smaller buildings off to the side of a larger one, where they were introduced to the council of Mizara.

The council of Mizara consisted of three men and four women. All were over fifty and a couple looked like they might be pushing sixty. For Pegasus, this was a great achievement indeed.

John remembered a conversation he'd had with Elizabeth during that first year. They'd been at an Athosian equivalent of a birthday celebration, but she'd taken a moment to hang to one side. She'd looked more pale than usual, and he’d approached.

She’d learned that the birthday they had been celebrating was unusual; Halling was forty years old when most people died before they saw their thirty-fifth birthday. As John had just turned thirty-five, the moment had stuck with him.

After that, John had hunted down Elizabeth's birthday. A ghost of a smile crossed his lips as he recalled the day with pleasure. He'd been pleased with his gift, unorthodox as it was. And, despite the strangeness of meeting a 10,000 year old Elizabeth, the day had ended well.

"John," Teyla's gentle voice called him back to the scene at hand. He'd only been half paying attention to Teyla's rather lengthy formal introduction. "This is Yozel. She is the leader of the Mizarans."

Yozel was one of the two pushing sixty. She was petite and waiflike, but her handclasp was anything but flimsy. Her hair was short and white, spiking up in all directions which only added to the elfin image. Her brown eyes were nearly black and studied him with great interest and intellect. John felt himself straighten to attention under her gaze.

Yozel indicated the rest of the council, and John nodded politely to each in turn before everyone took seats, hoping he wasn’t supposed to remember their names.

"So, you'd like a sunstone of the Ancestors," Yozel said, getting right down to business.

John was a little surprised that she came right out to the heart of the argument, but it was refreshing. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed one of the council members roll his eyes and a pinched expression on another. Apparently her direct manner wasn’t entirely unexpected, nor entirely appreciated here.

"We call them ZPMs" Rodney said, jumping into the conversation eagerly. "Zero Point Modules."

"A sunstone?" John asked, focusing on the implications of that word choice.

Yozel nodded. "There are three of them in this village. Each village has at least one. They are sacred objects, which have been gifted to us over the ages."

"How-" Rodney began before Teyla put a gentle hand on his wrist to get him to be quiet and let John speak. As leader of the Atlantean delegation, protocol dictated that he should conduct the meeting.

"That's, wow. We've never heard of anyone being," John paused, "gifted with them." He watched the council leader for a moment then asked, "You mind if I ask where you get these gifts from?"

Yozel smirked. "Only if you don't mind if we ask what you intend to do with them," she shot back mildly.

"Okay," John said, carefully, trying to think about to what Elizabeth had said was okay to tell these people and what wasn't.

She'd advised him to be as truthful as possible if they did have ZPMs; her discomfort with the relatively harmless lies they’d agreed upon was evident. John was willing to do more than tell a few white lies to get the expedition a ZPM, but he'd be as truthful as possibly for her sake.

"Well," John said, "we use them as power sources."

Rodney made a strangled sound, and John shot him a glare before turning back to Yozel. She was evaluating John very closely, dark eyes focused intently on him.

"You live in a city built by the Ancestors, am I correct?" Yozel leaned back in her seat and continued to appraise John.

"That's right," John agreed.

"You do not have any of these stones?" A white brow arched, and she made a small hand gesture, inviting further comment.

"Well, we have one that's partially full," John said. "The city really needs three to operate at full capacity, and with just the one, we have to be very careful about what we do." John hoped he wouldn’t have to go into further detail. He wasn't about to inflict Rodney's level of detail on a potential ally with access to a ZPM. Rodney shuffled a little bit, but remained quiet.

"We'd love to see how you get them, if that's okay," John added, hoping he wasn't stepping too far out of line. Rodney shifted in his seat, leaning forward just a little bit. Again, Teyla put a restraining hand on his arm.

"Perhaps," Yozel said indifferently. "I need to consult with the rest of the council. Please make yourselves welcome while we discuss the matter." She waved at the building's door in a clear dismissal. She stood and John's team got to their feet and filed out.

Rodney was already muttering excitedly to Teyla under his breath, busily gesturing with his hands. Ronon took up the rear, but John could see he wasn't unaffected by the possibility of multiple full ZPMs. Likely Ronon realized that their ability to fight would be that much better if they had ZPMs at their disposal.

"Well," John said, turning to his team, "that went…okay." He looked over at Teyla for her assessment.

Teyla inclined her head in agreement. "I believe they are willing to hear us out, but if the stones are sacred, they may not be willing to part with them."

"Well, hopefully we have something they'd be willing to trade for. They have a bunch, but I'd be more than happy with one right now," John replied. “Hell, I’d take half of one,” he muttered.

"One?" Rodney questioned. "One? Just one? You heard her, she said they had three here and there were more. Do you realize what that means?" John gave him a Look and Rodney amended, "of course you do, but that doesn't make it any less amazing! And if they really have something that can make a ZPM?" Rodney trailed off, his hand still waving in excitement he didn’t have words for.

"I know," John agreed honestly. "Even if we could get you and your fellow science types just to look at the ZPM maker, that'd be something." John shook his head and slouched against the side of the building. "Kinda makes you wonder why we hadn't met these people before now."

"Ah, well," Rodney began, missing or ignoring that John had intended the comment to be a rhetorical question. "This planet was on our list of places to explore but it was fairly far down the list. We'd have gotten to it in about, oh, three more years."

John rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Rodney."

"Good afternoon," a new voice entered the conversation. John straightened and eyed the visitor.

He was a tall man in his mid-fifties or early sixties. His hair and eyes were both a steely grey and he wore a well worn leather vest over a linen shirt that had been rolled to the sleeves. He had the wiry build of an older man who still used his muscles on a daily basis. He was probably someone important, and even if he wasn't, John wasn't going to piss anyone off on this planet if he could help it.

"You're the people who'd like to trade for one of our sunstones?" he asked.

"If a sunstone is about yea big, and yea tall," John answered carefully, showing the size of a ZPM with his hands, "is mostly yellow and kinda glows? Then, yes."

The man nodded and extended a hand, which John clasped. "I'm Endach. My wife sent me to keep you entertained while she and the council discuss your request. Follow me?" He motioned for the group to follow him.

John fell into step with the older man. "Our oldest makes a decent Saffra wine. I've been looking for an excuse to try it out," Endach said with a friendly smile. John smiled politely, though he had no idea what Saffra wine was, or if he felt comfortable imbibing something while he was on a mission.

John's team followed him through the village. The people seemed mildly interested in the newcomers as they passed. A few waved to their guide or called out greetings. John smiled and nodded at anyone who looked at him directly. He hoped he was being friendly enough.

Endach turned off the main road of the village toward a large stone and salvaged concrete building next to the river. Smoke billowed from the top of the building and they could hear the sound of metal working. There was yard out front with large metal poles and pipes and what looked like farm implements.

Endach entered the building, nodding a greeting to a couple workers who were lounging around the broad open barn-like doors. They seemed to be on some kind of coffee break, or at least what passed for one on this planet.

The interior of the building was a good ten degrees warmer than outside. The lower half looked like it had mostly been constructed by the Ancients. The smooth concrete-like material had been smashed and rebuilt some time in the past, John observed.

"Huh," Rodney mused as they wound their way along the outskirts of the massive foundry.

"What?" John asked.

"Oh, nothing. It just looks like they didn't use any mortar between the blocks. Kinda like the Mayans." Rodney thought for a moment. "Or maybe it was the Aztecs? Anyway," he waved the discussion away, "one of those people."

"Ah," John said noncommittally, filing that information away for later. Elizabeth wasn't an archeologist, but he knew she’d want to hear about it..

John looked around, noting a variety of objects being constructed.. There were some metal hoops he assumed were for barrel bindings, probably for a cooper in town. The horseshoes, if that was what they were, were a good sign. Well established Pegasus civilizations that had a fair number of domestic animals tended to be the ones that were better off.

Of course, if they were well off, the people here might have less of a need for anything the expedition could offer. Still, they seemed to be thriving and that alone made John feel better about begging a ZPM from them.

They finally left the forge and climbed some well worn wooden stairs up the side of the building. There was a tall, covered porch, and John could see steps arching over the space between the forge and the treehouse beside it. Rodney was studying the design of the village from this new angle while Endach headed into the office, telling his guests to sit in the seats outside.

The seats were arranged around a stone and metal fire pit. Ronon crossed his arms and leaned against the railing. Teyla sat carefully on one of the chairs, expertly shifting her P-90 to one side.

John wandered over to the railing. There was a trill of birdsong in the distance and the muted roar of the forges below. They were probably two stories up, so John could see most of the village from the viewpoint. He couldn't help but think of Elizabeth-balconies reminded him of her. Besides, he mused, she'd probably like this place. Ancient ruins and decent people were a rare combination.

Endach returned from his office, and John stepped away from the balcony after one final look. He shifted his gun as he sat down across from Teyla. Time to be diplomatic and play "What would Elizabeth do?"

"So, tell me about your wife?" Endach asked after a few agonizing hours of small talk. The bottle of Saffrasa wine stood on the table. It was sweet, and John assumed it was only mildly alcoholic, but he didn’t want to risk becoming even a little intoxicated. Not wanting to appear rude, he’d been nursing a single drink. He had been considering finding an unsuspecting plant to discard it, but so far that plan was a no-go.

Rodney was downstairs being given a tour of the foundry by one of Endach's sons. When the waiting had dragged on, Teyla had asked to see more of the village, Ronon following her like a silent shadow. John stayed behind to make nice with the locals and be on hand in case Rodney blew up anything downstairs.

"Elizabeth?" John asked, stalling for time. "She's…" John trailed off, unsure what to say. Elizabeth had quickly become one of his favorite people on the expedition. Over the years he'd found out that she was passionate and smart and surprisingly funny when she wasn't buried in work. She was a wicked tease when she deigned to join in on the sarcasm and joking that most of the expedition enjoyed.

Though he tried to ignore it, John also thought she was beautiful. She seemed to be ignorant of her own beauty, though, which, for him at least, made her even lovelier. She'd taken a chance on an unknown officer with a black-mark on his record, and he was eternally grateful. Not that Antarctica was terrible, but, well-nothing compared to Atlantis. Aside from all of that, she was a trusted friend and partner. They'd had to deal with a lot of crazy stuff, but wouldn't have traded it for the world.

He didn't realize he'd begun to smile softly while he thought of his friend, but the expression did not go unnoticed by the Mizaran man.

"You are newly wed?" Endach said with a grin.

John blushed a little and nodded, deciding to go with it. It was more or less the truth and, actually, this could work out in his favor. Who needed Rodney’s wacky planning when the most plausible story was given to you?

"Yeah. We, uhm, she was, er, she is my boss and we, well. . ." John floundered, wishing Elizabeth was here to help make this less awkward. "This is the first time our professional jobs and our, uh, personal lives have...coincided. It's a bit...odd," John finally concluded.

He looked over at the small fire, watching the flames dance in the stone and metal container. John hoped that Endach wouldn’t see he was lying and then kick him off world with no ZPM and no chance of getting one.

The other man nodded his head in understanding. "Ah, I've been there. My wife is also in a position of authority over me and was when we first met. We learned early on to keep professional and personal business in separate places. It was hard, but we managed to find the balance. You will find yours as well," Endach assured him.

"Thanks," John said. Presented with Endach’s innocent sincerity, his guilt was rising fast.

"And children?" Endach asked.

John didn't feel so bad lying now. He sputtered and sipped his drink to cover his shock. Kids? He mentally winced. Of course they'd be expected to have kids. This was Pegasus, where humans were prey. They needed to have kids to survive as cultures. Or so Elizabeth kept telling them.

"Uhm, no kids. Uh, yet," John added, remembering that on this planet that was the whole point of being married. Or something. He still wasn't clear on the exact details. All he'd needed to know was that he needed to be married to have any sort of official say in anything. It was "adult".

"This is delicate to ask, and I only do so because our younger daughter is a herbalist, but is everything-"

"Fine! Everything's fine!" John assured him quickly. "It all works great. Really well, actually. We've just been really, really busy dealing with the Wraith and," John cast about looking for an excuse. The Wraith seemed pretty good for that. He didn't want to blame Elizabeth for the lack of imaginary children for their imaginary marriage. He'd already denied being the culprit. "It just hasn't seemed like it was a good time, you know?" John finally said.

"Do you not want children?" the other man asked, incredulous. John repressed a groan. What was it with touchy-feely alien cultures? Did SG-1 have to go through all this? He'd have to ask Lorne. Details like this weren't in the mission reports, but they lived full lives in base gossip.

A sudden flash of inspiration hit him. Something Elizabeth had joked once after she thought he and Rodney had been particularly childish.

"Well, it's more that we kind of have to be parents to the whole group. Well, Elizabeth more than me, I guess. Maybe we haven't really been trying hard because of that." John felt proud of his answer.

This guy was the head of a successful business, a leader in the community, surely he'd understand the pressures of command and the dedication to duty that entailed.

"But do you not lead your people by example?" Endach asked.

Or not

"I, look. I don't think we're ready yet. Anyway," he looked at his watch, "I think I need to check in with my people at home soon. Elizabeth tends to worry if we don't contact her regularly," John said, changing the subject. The next scheduled check-in wasn’t for another couple hours, but he’d take any excuse to derail the present conversation.

A young boy cambered up the steps at a run. He held out a bit of parchment to Endach and bounced on his heels. The kid was probably twelve years old, and he wore a vest with a little patch on it. John gave him a smile and the kid grinned back, bold as brass.

"Well, if you don't mind sticking around a bit longer, it seems the council has finally reached a decision," Endach said as he read the letter. He pulled a pencil out of his vest and wrote something back on the letter before rolling it up again and handing it back to the messenger. The kid took the note and ran back down the stairs with youthful abandon. John was sure the kid was going to fall off, but he made it down to the ground without any trouble.

"Teyla?" John said into his radio.

"I am here, John," Teyla responded promptly.

"Seems like the council's finally stopped deliberating. Can you and Ronon meet us there?" John said as he and Endach began to descend.

"We will see you there," Teyla confirmed.

"Sheppard out," John said closing the connection. He followed Endach into the forge and looked around for Rodney. McKay was gesturing animatedly with one of the men. A small group had clustered around the two as they spoke, or, rather, as McKay spoke and the other struggled to contribute. John wasn't sure it if was a debate or a discussion. The men didn’t look like they wanted to kill Rodney, not yet at least, so John figured that he'd been making nice with the locals. Or whatever passed for nice in Rodney’s mind.

"Rodney," John called. When McKay didn’t hear him over the din, he called again. "Rodney!"

"Yes, what?" Rodney finally responded, looking around, blinking rapidly. He finally focused on John. "Are we getting a ZPM?" he asked hopefully.

John shrugged. "Don’t know yet. Council wants to see us."

"Oh. Okay," Rodney said. Looking at the other men, he pointed at the door. "I've uh, got to go. Bye."

The men watched him exit with bemused looks.

"Did you play nicely?" John asked teasingly.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Of course I did. Do you think I'd jeopardize trade talks with these people? Because they're not totally helpless. They've actually got some really advanced metallurgy going on here despite having primitive resources by, well, our standards. They're probably as good as the Genii even if they aren’t yet into mass scale production and-"

"Glad to see you got on so well," John said. He hoped Rodney's blunt "praise" hadn't offended people. Generally speaking, people didn't like it when they were told their technology was "primitive."

John followed Endach back to the council's chambers where Ronon and Teyla were already waiting. Endach gave them a friendly wave as they filed back into the stone and wood building.

The Council of Mizara were seated as they had been before. Yozel's expression was inscrutable, but her dark eyes danced. The man to her left wore a very sour, grumpy expression. The rest of the council were carefully neutral or unhappy.

"We're willing to negotiate with you for one of our sunstones," Yozel told them as she stood.

"Thank y-" John began but was interrupted by Yozel's stalling hand.

"We wish to see the city of the ancestors, and we will require something from you in trade. The sunstones are very valuable to us. They are gifts from the ancestors which help protect us from the Wraith," she explained calmly. "However since you also fight the Wraith, and since you inhabit the city of the Ancestors, we are willing to consider an exchange."

"I'll need to speak with my leader. She's uhm, my wife," John said. He wondered if being hyperaware of the lie was making him lay it on thick, or if mentioning their relationship at every opportunity was expected.

Yozel and a few council members nodded. Sensing that the meeting was drawing to a close, John caved to the demanding stare Rodney had been giving him. "Could we maybe see where, or how, you got the, uh, sunstones?"

Yozel considered them for a moment, then nodded. John noticed that a few of the blank faces frowned momentarily. Rodney was tense with excitement again, but was managing to keep quiet-with Teyla’s help.

"Come with me," Yozel said and swept from the room. The Grumpy Old Guy who'd been sitting next to her followed. The rest of the council either began talking to one another or stepped down from their seats to attend other tasks. John and his team followed Yozel and Grumpy out the door.

Yozel was speaking with a guard and soon a few others joined them until John's team was slightly outnumbered. Ronon tensed with the increased number of guards surrounding them. John caught Teyla's eye, and she offered Ronon a few soothing words. He relaxed marginally.

John couldn't blame these people for the added guard. If these were sacred things, and someone wanted them, well, he'd probably add a few well armed guards to make sure his priceless thing didn’t get stolen too.

Yozel led them through the town, past another set of gates and then started down a well maintained path. It was old. More accurately, it was Ancient. Part of the cement had been cracked or broken with age, and there was some moss growing in the cracks and at the edges. The surface was well worn though, indicating that the path was used fairly often still.

"Are we there yet?" Rodney asked him. John rolled his eyes.

"We're still walking so, no."

"You don’t think they're going to lead us into some kind of horrible trap, or sacrifice us on an altar to really disgusting elder gods with unpronounceable names or-"

"No Rodney. Keep it down, would you?"

The path led them toward a high stone wall that had been built using more of the mortar-less stonework. The wall was capped with ornate metal work that gleamed even with the overcast lighting. The shapes were evocative of the geometric shapes found in Ancient structures. They were sharp. Clearly this was a place the Mizaran's didn’t let just anyone into. Yozel stopped at an ornate gate at the base of a tree.

"Oh thank God," Rodney muttered. Teyla nudged him and Rodney was quiet, John shared a smirk with Ronon before retuning his attention to the matter at hand.

The wall extended on either side of the tree and the tree itself had sharp metal affixed to the trunk to dissuade someone looking to climb up it too far. The base had been cut into, and a stone and metal gateway created a doorway. Multicolored streamers with writing hung across the gate and from lines which extended from the trunk to the ground. The effect reminded John of Tibetan prayer flags he'd seen at the monastery near where he'd lived as a teenager.

A single elderly woman, probably a priestess of some importance, sat at the entrance of the gateway. Grumpy, showing the first positive emotion John had seen, smiled and greeted her. John figured she was his spouse. Yozel waited with John and the guards a respectful distance back. He was gathering that it was a customer here for reuniting couples to be given some space to greet one another.

Grumpy and the priestess exchanged soft words out of hearing, and the women nodded. Grumpy sat down, mood much improved as the older woman beckoned the party forward. She raised her hand, and the gateway retracted. She walked into the tree, and small lights lit the well-worn wooden floor as she passed. John wondered if she had the ATA gene or if there was something else going on.

John's team and the Mizarans followed her.

The trunk took a full minute to walk through, but there was finally a light at the end of the tunnel. The trunk opened into a small balcony, which overlooked a rounded crater. Teyla's breath caught as she took in the view,. John glanced over his shoulder and saw that even Ronon had a brow raised.

John had to admit it was pretty spectacular. It was also strangely peaceful. He was reminded of the enclave where he'd spent six months learning to ascend. John hated when Elizabeth went off world, but he had to admit, he'd endure the stress to show her this place. He'd bet she'd love it, balcony and all. Yeah, he'd have to show her this place if he got a chance.

There was a path that wound around the circumference of the crater. It sloped softly down and inward until it met the flat bottom of the crater across from the balcony they stood on. The other side of the hill was covered with a well-kept garden. Ancient ruins stuck up from the ground and bushes showing the first signs of spring grew between them.

As they walked down, John looked around with interest. Rodney, he noted, was focused on the structure which sat in the center of the shrine, as John was beginning to think of it.

It was partially Ancient and partially Mizaran and looked a little like an open pagoda, but the style was wrong. John looked down when the sound of his steps changed as the path ended and realized he was walking on metal.

Rodney took two steps forward before Ronon and Teyla both grabbed his arms and held him back. The priestess and Yozel led the way, offering prayers or respects. . . or something. Their voices were too faint to discern any words.

Finally, Yozel turned and motioned them forward. Ronon and Teyla looked at John. He shrugged, and they dropped their hands. Rondey hurried forward, eager to examine the structure. The rest of his team followed at a more sedate pace.

John looked around the central area. More of the prayer flags, some very old, hung from lines and poles attached to the central structure. The ground was clearly metal here. It was worn from footsteps and the elements. Rodney was darting from side to side under the pagoda.

Finally John joined them. The covering was made of some kind of glass that probably cast neat colors onto the ground when the sun was overhead. The trees around the glade had been cut back so that light could fall into the area.

John examined the metal structure. It was round and looked a little like the ZPM receptacles on Atlantis. Could it really make ZPMs?

"This is where you get them?" John asked in what he hoped was a respectful manner.

Yozel nodded. "The last was gifted to us when I was twelve. Some people will live their whole lives and never see one. I hope to see two in my lifetime," she explained, brushing her hand over the smooth circle with the irised top.

"You get them regularly?" Rodney asked, temporarily abandoning his examination of the structure..

Yozel nodded again. "One every fifty years," she said. Rodney gaped.

"What do you do with them all?" he asked.

"Other villages take them. A village cannot start without them. Sometimes they do not glow when they arrive. Other times the glow is very weak. If that is the case we dispose of them," she said. Rodney looked like he'd been slapped when she told him that particular tidbit.

"Your village has three?" John clarified.

"Yes. We are the caretakers of the Shrine, Guardian, and Stargate,"

"Guardian?" John asked.

"We place a sunstone there, and it keeps the Wraith away," she explained. "This is why they are sacred to us."

"I am sorry, but it was my understanding that the Wraith come here," Teyla said.

Yozel nodded sadly. "Sometimes the Guardian fails. We know it is a machine," she admitted, "But it and the sunstones are gifts from the Ancestors, given to keep us safe.”

John pulled Rodney aside and asked, "So. Do you think this thing makes ZPMs?"

"I'm not sure. I can't see anything that would show us what's going on," he gestured to the area with one of his scanners. "I'm getting energy signatures and we're standing on something, but I can't tell. There aren't any consoles."

John bit his lip then decided it was worth a try. He started to think "open" or "information" or "console", hoping that the glade machine would respond like Atlantis.

There was a scraping sound and part of the floor began to rise. Ronon quickly stepped to one side so he wouldn't be hit. The Mizaran's looked both astonished and alarmed as a console rose from the ground, revealing a viewscreen. The console stopped, and a control pad slid from the main body.

The priestess and Yozel watched with wide eyes as Rodney made a happy sound and pounced on the console. "You're useful to have around, Sheppard," he quipped.

John shrugged. "Elizabeth only wanted me for my genes," he joked back. Rodney snickered, and John's face heated as he realized how that would sound since they were "married". He rolled his eyes and decided to focus instead on watching the slight wind rustle the branches in the trees.

The guards hadn’t appeared threatening so far, and if he'd seen that these people weren't actually going to sacrifice him and his team to some nameless elder gods after luring them there with the promise of a ZPM, he'd take Elizabeth here.

"What did you do?" the priestess asked. "That panel only shows up when we are given a sunstone."

Oops. He hated the explaining part of this job. "Well," John said sheepishly, "we discovered this thing called the ATA gene. Some people have it, some people don't, but it allows you to use stuff like this,. He gestured to the console. "Ancient stuff likes me more than other people. If I think of it, it responds to me."

"He's not allowed to think ‘on’ a lot or he gets into trouble," Rodney added.

"Hey, are you finding out anything useful?" John shot back,.

"This is like all our Christmasses and birthdays come at once," Rodney said. "This is a ZPM machine, and if I am reading this correctly, it's going to spit out another one in a few months." Rodney looked up, eyes shining.

"We expect another one midsummer," the priestess added.

"Great! Can you build one of these?" John asked Rodney. Trading was great, but he’d rather they not have to rely on another group. Elizabeth was probably rubbing off on him, but he didn't really want to take someone else's sacred stuff.

"Uhm," Rodney hummed as he worked at the console. His eyes bugged and he shook his head. "That'd be a no."

"No?" John asked.

"No. It's, well, the machine? It's big," Rodney explained, waving his hands around in excitement.

"How big?" Ronon asked.

"Thirty kilometers wide and, well, about seventy kilometers long," Rodney explained, eyes wide. John whistled.

"That's big,” Ronon said.

"It probably hits the planet's upper mantle," Rodney said as his fingers flew over the keys. "It's definitely geothermally based."

"Like the drilling station?" Teyla asked.

"Sort of, though they had to make it much larger since they have more crust to go through here than they would on an ocean. I wonder if that’s why it makes duds sometimes," Rodney mused.

"Can you set it to make more ZPMs?" John asked.

Rodney plowed through the data, then shook his head. He began to pull out his laptop as he spoke. "No. this thing is already at maximum output." He paused. "Actually, that might be why they get duds." He frowned then said, "Well, that'd make no sense. Maybe they get duds because no one was here to monitor the progress. Anyway," he plugged his laptop into the console and began downloading data, “what if this has been at peak output since the war with the Wraith?"

"You mean to say, this thing has been making ZPMs every fifty years, for ten thousand years?" John asked. "Rodney, that's two hundred ZPMs.

"I said ‘what if’," Rodney said, tense. Aside from his usually surliness, John could tell McKay was humbled by the enormity of the potential treasure they'd stumbled upon. Rodney began scanning the data. "Actually it's only been active the last thousand years." He looked disappointed.

John shook his head. "Rodney, that's still twenty ZPMs." He turned to Yozel and tried to look professional. "Ma'am, I really need to call back home. Believe me when I say I'm sure we're going to try to strike a deal here."

"With that many ZPMs, we could do almost anything,” Rodney hissed at him, as if no one else could hear. “We could probably kill all the Wraith!" Rodney said.

"Don't get too excited," John said, cautious. Ronon had a hungry look ,and even Teyla's glance was a little bloodthirsty. "Power is great, but we only have so many things to power."

"Oh. True," Rodney said deflating. "Maybe we could fix their guardian." He looked over at Yozel. "That'd be worth a ZPM or two, right?"

Yozel looked at John with a gravely serious expression and nodded. "It might be. But there are assurances my people will need."

"Twenty?" Elizabeth sank heavily into her seat. "They have twenty ZPMs," she breathed. It was like a dream. She'd never imagined that there were so many out there. It made the lies they'd told hurt even more. She wondered if she dared to come clean.

"Actually, it's more like fifteen that they know of," Rodney said. "Some have been burnt out and some were made as duds. In four months they will get another, and my data says this one will be okay."

"Fifteen." Elizabeth shook her head. "I'll contact the SGC," she said wonderingly. This news was worth the energy expenditure to call directly from Pegasus. She shook her head again slightly, trying to clear the euphoric daze. "What do they want in return?"

"Well, they definitely want Rodney to fix something they call the Guardian," John said.

"I think we can accommodate that." Elizabeth smiled, arching a brow at Rodney. "What else?"

"Well, they don't know. They want to come here personally, see what we have. . ." John said.

"Do they?" Elizabeth asked. There would need to be security precautions; Atlantis couldn’t afford to allow strangers free access so easily.

John nodded. "I said we had to check in with you. They're pretty well off," John mused. "Lots of domestic animals. Big permanent structures." He smiled at the memory. "Their village is actually really cool," he told her. "Some of the buildings are partially Ancient ruins and some of them live in tree houses."

"Ruins and tree houses?" Elizabeth asked, intrigued. She would have to ask Teyla later.

John nodded,. "The trees are like something right out of Lord of the Rings," he told her, beginning to smile.

"Yes. Right. Whatever. Can we get back to the ZPMs, please?" Rodney broke in. "Elizabeth, you have to let them come visit."

"Rodney, if it were up to me, I would. I have to check in with the IOA and the SGC. I think we can accommodate the Mizarans," Elizabeth told him. He visibly relaxed.

"Oh, good. If we can even get one that'd be something. Uhm." Rodney frantically tapped at his tablet. "I've been compiling a list of things they might be interested in."

"Good," Elizabeth said. "Put together your list and I'll see what the IOA says."

"Right!" Rodney grinned as he practically leapt to his feet.

"You okay?" John asked after Rodney had left. She could hear Rodney calling Zelenka over the radio. No doubt news of the ZPMs would be over the city in under an hour.

Elizabeth had closed her eyes and was pinching the bridge of her nose. "I keep thinking I'm going to wake up. This could answer so many of our problems, John," she said, finally looking at him. He was slouched comfortably in the seat across from her.

He nodded. "We could fully power the city; we could put them in Antarctica; we could put 'em on our ships. This is big."

"We had to lie to do it," she reminded him, an unsettled feeling making her increasingly tense. John was watching her carefully, and for a moment she thought, maybe. . .but obviously the pressure was getting to her..

"Well," he said, thinking. "The Air Force has to have married bigwigs. People higher up the food chain than we are, you know? We could get them to deal with the Mizarans. Uhm, we got "married." Maybe we can get "separated"?"

"Didn't you just admit we were newlyweds?"

"Yes?"

"Wouldn't it be a bit odd if we suddenly got a divorce?"

Elizabeth suppressed a smile as John seemed to think that over unhappily.

She shook her head. "I don't think it work well anyway, John." They weren't really married, but she didn't like the idea of being separated. What if the Mizarans didn't have the concept of an amicable divorce? She didn't want to have to pretend to fight with John. Even when she was furious with him, she couldn't hate him. She knew that he acted out of a sense of honor and devotion to his duty as an officer.

Elizabeth didn't want to even imagine what it would be like if they had to actually be separated physically. John was more than her military advisor. He was her friend. She knew in her heart that she'd mourn the loss of that relationship more than the professional one.

John grumped and slouched further in his seat. Elizabeth hadn't known that particular style of chair could be slouched in until she'd met him. "For once," John said, "it’d be nice if the aliens were understanding of our customs."

Obviously he wasn’t thinking of Teyla or Ronon, but this wasn’t the best time to breach that particular conversation. She shrugged. "It would. But they have the ZPM. ZPMs," she corrected herself. "They're making the rules on this one."

John sighed. "I guess. Well, I suppose we have to pretend a bit longer."

"Sorry," Elizabeth apologized.

"Nah," John grinned. "You're already a lot more fun than my ex was."

"Oh?" Elizabeth arched a brow inviting further comment.

"Well," John's cheeks flushed slightly before he fell back into his cocky-flyboy persona. "You haven't nagged me to take out the trash once. I haven't been yelled at for leaving my socks on the floor, or for the toilet seat being up, or for hogging the covers or going out for a beer with the guys."

She found it difficult to smile. She could see that the situation should have been humorous, but it stung oddly. He sat up in his seat and leaned forward.

"Hey, we'll get a ZPM and then, I don't know." He ran a hand through his hair.

"We'd have to continue to lie every time we saw them. At least for awhile," Elizabeth said. Her eyes widened then narrowed. "What did you tell them about us?" she asked.

"We have ten kids, your mother loves me and knits me a sweater every winter, and for our anniversary I always buy you three dozen red roses and take you someplace warm with sandy beaches," John said nonchalantly. "You were once the unwilling love-slave of an evil dictator, but I slew him in mortal combat to win your hand and heart. You know, the usual." John blinked at her...

Elizabeth's eyes widened and her jaw worked soundlessly before John's grin finally crept out. She froze, then glared at him as she realized he was teasing her.

"Don't scare me like that!" she hissed. "John! What if you had told them something like that?" Elizabeth rubbed her temples and focused on her desk. The man was simply impossible sometimes. He was going to kill her, she was sure of it.

"Well," John began, which caused her head to snap up. She was a little afraid. "I did say we didn't have kids 'cause leading the city is like being parents to a bunch of hyperactive children. . . with ADD. . . who like to run around with knives," he said, drawling out each successively worse addition. She could only hope it wasn't what he'd said verbatim.

Elizabeth considered it before she had to concede the point. Running Atlantis did sometimes feel like she was the sole teacher at a school for a bunch of genius, troublemaking kindergartners. She pinched her lips in a straight line and dismissed the images that conjured.

"Well, I suppose since we have to keep this going we shouldn't get too out of hand with what we tell the Mizarans," she finally said. Elizabeth studied his face as she spoke. "That was actually a good answer. At least it makes sense to me," she said, blushing slightly. "I mean, I think it's kind of obvious that I don’t have any children."

"Don't sell yourself short. Jinto and the kids really liked you when they were here," John said, with certainty.

"They did?" Elizabeth asked, truly surprised. The children had seemed terribly shy around her, giggling whenever she entered the room and making faces at each other. She could only imagine what they thought of her.

John nodded. "Yep. However," he arched a brow and his lips quirked into a hint of a smirk, "after Bates, pretty much anyone other than him was the coolest person in the world, so I dunno. . . ." He trailed off.

"But really," he said, "the kids thought you were pretty cool. You let them have some space to run around; you talked to them like they were people. I think that was a big win with Jinto's crew."

"Oh," she mused. "I didn’t know that."

John shrugged. "Anyway, you should know that Endach guessed we were newlyweds, and I went with it. I mean--.we kinda are?” He looked at her, as if she should have some intelligent response for him. The moment dragged awkwardly until he said, “I think Rodney was a little disappointed that he was never asked about his fake wife."

“Well, he’ll have time for that later, if our relations with the Mizarans go as planned,” Elizabeth said. She enjoyed talking with John, but she now had several important things to accomplish. It seemed John understood this intuitively. He stood and stuffed his hands back in his pockets.

"Well, I'll let you get on with your work. Oh, hey? You think you could tell me when you're going to call the IOA? I want to see them have kittens," he joked before quickly retreating from her office.

Elizabeth watched him go before she set her mind back to work

Continue to part two