[SGA] Dinner
Dinner
Stargate Atlantis. John/Elizabeth friendship, G. Angst. Earth!Fic. Alternate timeline to The Return Part I. 577 words. For the mission_insane prompt what if (full table).Things don't turn out the way they had hoped.
They’ve been back a week and he knows she’s secretly a mess. It doesn’t take Carson’s kind hearted meddling for him to notice, nor a phone call from Rodney, and Chuck. Or not so secretly a mess, he amends mentally poking at the stack of papers on his desk with a frown.
Two days later, he stops by her apartment, or attempts to anyway. He’s stopped halfway up the first flight of stairs by his ringing cell phone. He turns around without answering it and heads back to the mountain. He doesn’t want to know what it is this time.
He’s offworld for most of the next two weeks, ten and a half out of fourteen if you wanted to be exact. It’s one thing after another having nothing to do with the two things he actually cares about.
Rodney calls the first night he’s back. The phone ringing as his head hits the pillow. He picks it up with a sigh and stares at the peeling paint in the corner as Rodney rambles on.
He goes with Carson to pick her up for dinner. It’s not what either of them had intended, but he’d been late leaving and Carson’s rental had been due back that afternoon. She answers the door with ink smeared on her nose.
He laughs and brushes it off without a second thought. She smiles a bit, her finger joining his to rub at the spot.
They step inside and she falls to sit on the couch.
“You ready?” he asks and she raises an eyebrow. “Dinner.”
Her eyes close as her head falls back with a sigh. “I forgot.”
He sighs too and doesn’t tell her that he knows she’s lying.
Dinner is great. Rodney’s unusually excited and keeps them all entertained as Elizabeth sits quietly, smiles occasionally threatening to surface.
She begs off early, turning down dessert, and he offers to give her a ride. She hesitates and then accepts. She’s quiet as he drives, peering out the window at the passing street, a solitary finger playing over the glass.
“You want to go for a walk?” His voice sounds unbearably loud in the silence.
Her teeth work against her bottom lip. “Yes.”
He parks the car at the bottom of the hill. He could’ve gone around the side and parked at the top but he wants to surprise her.
They trudge up the grass together, wind blowing until they both shiver, but it’s worth the view. The smile spreads slowly across her face until it works its way into the corners of her eyes. He can tell she’s speechless but he can’t take his eyes from her to look for himself.
He knows the water down below is reflecting the sunset in brilliant technicolor, but he still can’t look, can’t stop watching her.
They sit and he wraps his jacket around her. He’s freezing now, but she’s happy so he takes it in stride.
“Thank you.” Her head’s against his shoulder as the last ray of light disappears from the sky.
He nods before leaning his head against hers.
“If you look up there you can almost see Pegasus.” He whispers and when she closes her eyes he knows what she’s seeing, narrow towers, blue ocean, miles and miles of windows.
He wraps his arm around her, holding her tighter than he knows he should.
“It’s gone isn’t it?” she finally breathes and he can’t bring himself to say anything.