Fic: "Wicked Whispers", Het: Sheppard/Weir, PG, 1/1
Author: SallyLizzie
Title: Wicked Whispers
Rated: PG
Pairing: John/Elizabeth
Summary: It's all going on in Atlantis General, or is it?
Author's Note: Thanks to lamichelle for the beta.
Lindsey Novak was a mother of two, divorced and had an awful habit of hiccupping when she was nervous. She was also one of Atlantis General’s life flight nurses.
Jumping out the helicopter as soon as it landed, she grabbed one end of the stretcher and lowered the wheels. Her flight partner leaned out the door and handed her the patient’s drip. The elevator doors pinged open and Laura Cadman came rushing over.
“This our guy who knocked himself out halfway up a mountain?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Lindsey nodded, helping wheel him into the elevator. “Hiking with his family, missed his footing and fell for roughly twenty feet before a ridge broke his fall. Vitals are stable but he’s been drifting in and out of consciousness. His wife said his family have a history of heart attacks.”
“Where is his wife?” Laura asked, jotting the information down.
“Taking the children to a neighbour, then she’s heading straight here.”
The door opened and more people stepped in, crowding around them. Laura shuffled closer to Lindsey to make more room. “So, did you hear about John and Weir?” she said quietly.
Lindsey looked up from the patient. “Yeah, I think it’s cute.”
“I wouldn’t call sex on the lounge couch ‘cute’.”
Lindsey’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding!?”
“No,” Laura shook her head. “Ronon said Lorne caught them going at it.”
“Oh my god!”
The door pinged again and Lindsey stepped back so Laura could push the patient out. “Excuse me, make way,” she said, pushing past the other occupants, following her out. Turning the corner, they resumed their conversation.
“So are they dating or what?” Lindsey asked, full of curiosity.
“What does it matter? They were caught having sex in the hospital!” Laura lowered her voice for the last part as a bunch of interns walked past.
“I just like to know when prospective husbands go off the market,” Lindsey said once they’d passed.
They entered the E.R. and settled the patient in a private room for observation. Hooking his drip to a nearby stand, Laura looked across and gave Lindsey a funny look. “Sheppard, really?” she asked pulling a face.
“Hey, kids need a dad and I’d prefer it if he was rich as well as cute,” she laughed. “Anyway, what’s wrong with John?”
“Nothing at all,” Laura shook her head. “I’d just have thought Lorne was more your type.”
Lindsey suddenly hiccupped and quickly picked up the patient‘s medical chart, bringing it up in front of her face. Knowing she wasn’t going to get an answer, Laura changed the topic. “So what did you hear?”
“What?” Lindsey looked up confused and hiccupped again.
“About John and Doctor Weir. You said you thought it was cute,” she said, probing for more information. She finished hooking the man up to various monitors.
“Oh that!” Lindsey said as they walked out the room, happy the patient was stable for now. “Well…” she trailed off, grinning.
~
Elizabeth was perched on the couch, arching her back, when John strolled into the doctor’s lounge.
“Back still hurting?” he asked, picking up the pot of lukewarm tea and pouring himself a cup.
“Yeah, remind me never to take on crazy patients by myself,” she complained, stretching.
He took a mouth full of tea, pulled a face in disgust and swilled it down the sink. He came over and took a seat next to her. “Turn around,” he ordered.
She looked at him in mild amusement but turned anyway. When his hands started kneading the muscles in her shoulders she moaned and leaned forward, resting her arms on the end of the couch. Having better access to her back now, he slid his hands further down, his fingers gently scraping over the fabric of her scrubs. She let out another low moan.
They both looked around as the door swung open and Doctor Radek Zelenka walked in. He nodded a greeting and made his way to the counter.
“I’d give the tea a miss,” John advised, continuing his massage.
Radek nodded again, grabbed a can out the fridge and took a seat at the table, opening the textbook he’d brought in with him.
John glanced over at the man. He seemed to be engrossed in whatever he was reading but John decided to lean closer to Elizabeth anyway, not wanting Radek to overhear what he was about to say. That’s how silly rumours were started.
“Hey Elizabeth, are there any jobs going in your department?” he whispered in what he hoped came off as a casual manner.
“No, why?”
“Just wondered.” He started applying more pressure. “You know, Ronon saw Teyla up there yesterday,” he added after a beat. “He thought she might be going into OB/GYN.”
Elizabeth moaned louder. “Ah, that’s the spot, and no. We did talk about it a while ago but she’s happy where she is.”
Radek coughed causing John to look over, but he still appeared to be engrossed in his book. John leaned back down and whispered, “but why else would she have been up there?”
Elizabeth turned, looking at him over her shoulder. “John, are you trying to tell me you think Teyla’s pregnant?” she asked, amused at his conspirator’s tone.
“Well, she has been late for a few of her morning shifts recently,” John reasoned as Elizabeth let out another, louder, groan.
There was a loud thud and all three looked over to see the lounge door slamming shut. Elizabeth cleared her throat and stood up. “Thanks, John,” she smiled putting her lab coat back on. “That feels much better.”
John held the door open for her. “Anytime,” he smiled back and followed her out, getting back to his rounds.
~
Evan Lorne had his hand on the lounge door, opening it, when Ronon called him over. He let the door go and kissed goodbye to the hot cup of coffee he’d been looking forward to.
“What are you doing down here?” Ronon asked as Lorne walked over.
“Not drinking coffee, that’s for sure,” he grumbled.
Ronon just stared at him. “Well, some of us are going for drinks after work, Friday night. You in?”
“Occasion?”
“Oh, you know… just that the PA school here accepted me,” Ronon said downplaying his achievement.
“Nice one!” Lorne high-five his buddy and patted him on the back. “Definitely, count me in.”
Ronon’s pager bleeped, interrupting them. “Needed in room three,” he said looking down.
Lorne walked over with him. It was on the way back to his department anyway and he could always grab a coffee from the vender upstairs. “Hey, do you know who’s in the lounge?” he asked.
“I saw John go in not long after Elizabeth earlier. Why?”
“It sounded like someone was having sex in there.”
Ronon stopped in his tracks. “When?”
“When you called me over,” Lorne answered, scowling. He moved out the way of an intern piled up with boxes.
“…when John and Elizabeth were in there,” Ronon said, falling into step with him again.
Both stopped and stared at each other. “Room three,” they said in unison, shaking their heads. Lorne didn’t think he’d be able to look at them the same ever again.
~
Zelenka walked into the cafeteria to find McKay sat in the corner with a stack of papers in front of him.
“You know, the kitchen shut six hours ago,” he said taking the seat opposite his colleague.
McKay looked across the table. “I like the peace and quiet,” he said pointedly. “It makes a change to be able to write my reports without endless interruptions of stupidity.”
“I don’t like you when you’re like this, Rodney,” Radek said leaning back in his chair. McKay just huffed and carried on writing.
“I was in the lounge earlier…”
“How nice for you,” Rodney interrupted.
Not discouraged in the least, Radek carried on. “As I was saying, I was in the lounge earlier and overheard Doctor Sheppard and Elizabeth talking.”
Rodney continued to ignore him, scribbling away.
“John said Teyla’s pregnant.” Radek grinned as Rodney dropped his pen.
“Really?” Rodney said startled. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. She has been living with Sheppard for the past few months,” he finished as if that explained it all.
Apparently, for Radek, it did. He stood, bid McKay goodnight and left him alone. Rodney sighed, watching Zelenka leave, no doubt to spread his new found gossip. Of course he did not believe for one moment that Teyla would be stupid enough to sleep with John, but sometimes you had to tell a person what they wanted to hear in order to get some peace. Especially if that person was Radek Zelenka.
~
The next morning, Carson was assigning patients to the interns when he overheard Lorne talking to Chuck at the front desk. Handing over the last chart, he walked over to join them.
“You know Cadman used to be a stripper?”
“Really?” Chuck asked.
“No, but she should be,” Lorne laughed, enjoying winding up the young receptionist.
“Are you sure?” Carson joined in. “Because I heard that’s how she met John, at a strip club.”
Lorne looked at Carson from the other side of the desk. “I heard that was Heightmeyer.”
“So John met Kate at a strip club?” Chuck asked frowning.
“No, Kate met Cadman at a strip club,” Lorne winked, pushing himself away from the desk as two people approached them. Carson walked over to the board to see where he was most needed and Lorne headed up to his department, both men laughing at Chuck, who was scratching his head in confusion.
~
Carson was making his way back to the ER, having just come from a long meeting in the neurology department with Doctors McKay and Caldwell. Budgets were a pain in the ass at the best of times, but more so when people’s health was on the line. However, an interesting little chat with Doctor Zelenka afterwards had helped sooth his mood.
Looking down the corridor, he saw a pile of boxes with two legs stumbling towards him.
“Teyla!” He rushed over. “You shouldn’t be carrying those,“ he said lifting the boxes from her.
“Thank you, Carson,” she smiled. “I know, but I took pity on the poor intern. He’d already taken them to two wrong departments.”
“But still,” Carson gently scolded, shaking his head. “Sorry, where are these going?” he added, raising the boxes slightly.
“They’re stock replenishments for the OR’s,” she answered. “I believe the ER theatres have been done but he was having trouble finding his way to neurology.”
Carson nodded as best he could behind the tall stack of boxes and turned around, heading back where he had just come from. Teyla walked beside him, helping him with the doors.
“So, how are you feeling, love?” he asked.
“I am fine, Carson. A little tired perhaps, but I guess that is to be expected,” she said, thinking about the amount of double shifts she’d been pulling lately.
“Aye, it is only natural,” he said misunderstanding her. “You should increase you vitamins.”
“I have done so, already,” she smiled, knowing they should give her system a boost.
“Of course. I’m sure Elizabeth’s keeping a close eye on you.”
They entered the reception at neurology and Carson put the boxes down, pushing them against the desk so they wouldn’t tumble over. “Stock for the OR’s,” he told the woman behind the desk. “I’ll send an intern up to dispense them.”
“Don’t bother,” exclaimed McKay coming out of his office. “They’ll take forever to get here and then put everything in the wrong places anyway. I’ll get Lorne to do it. I’m sure even he can manage that,” he finished, walking past them.
“Rodney!” Teyla glared at him. “You are lucky to have Evan and you know it.”
“Yes, well…” he trailed off and hurried into one of the operating theatres.
Carson placed a hand on Teyla’s arm. “You shouldn’t exhaust yourself, lass. You need to start relaxing more,” he said, smiling softly at her.
“Sadly, there’s not much relaxing to be had as an OR nurse,” she chuckled.
He looked at her seriously. “Well, maybe you should start thinking about taking some time off then. Just to be safe.” She nodded, slowly, somewhat confused.
They headed back down to the ER and Teyla glanced sideways at him, wondering if there was a reason behind his strange behaviour. She thought perhaps it was the stress of the many meetings he had been privy to recently.
~
John and Ronon walked over to the locker room, ready to go home after a long days shift. Ronon walked in ahead of John.
“You dog,” he said looking behind him.
“What?” John laughed. “Oh, hey, Carson,” he said, spotting him behind the door.
Carson huffed a reply and went back to hanging his white coat in his locker.
“Well, is it true?” Ronon asked, picking up their conversation. “Have you really slept with all the female personnel in the hospital?”
“No, not all of them,” John said laughing.
Carson slammed his locker shut, pulled his hat on and stormed out of the room leaving John looking very bewildered. He shrugged it off though and turned his attention back to Ronon.
“No, the only woman I’ve slept with from here is Chaya, and that was ages ago.”
“Chaya as in Chaya Sar, the hospital’s priest?” asked Lorne, walking in.
“Yeah,” John nodded.
“You dog!”
John rolled his eyes at Ronon. “So what’s up with Carson?” he asked.
“He thinks you’re going to hurt Elizabeth,” Lorne said, pulling a sweater from his bag.
“And why does he think that?” John asked, puzzled.
“Well…” Lorne pulled his sweater over his head and sat next to John on the bench. “He overheard Cadman telling Teyla that Elizabeth had told her that she wanted you.” He mouthed the sentence again to himself, making sure he’d gotten it right. “Anyway, I don’t think it was for your medical opinion, but I’m sure you already know that,” he added, winking.
John had already leapt up, grabbed his coat and rushed out the door by the time Lorne had finished speaking.
“What did I say?
“I don’t know.” Ronon tossed his basketball to Lorne. “Did you hear that Teyla’s having a baby?”
“I heard Zelenka mumbling something about it but you know I can’t understand him on a good day. How about you tell me properly over some hoops?” he said, dribbling the ball across the bench.
~
John had scurried all over the hospital looking for Elizabeth. Eventually, he was put out of his misery when a nurse told him she had seen her outside five minutes ago. John hurried down the corridor and took the stairs two at a time, practically bouncing out the double doors and rounding the ambulance bay to find Elizabeth having a smoke down the alley.
He stumbled to a stop.
“Hey, John. What’s up?” she smiled.
“I…I…” Crap, he really hadn’t thought this through. “Lorne, he said something to me just before,” he finally said walking up to her.
“Really, and what was that?” she asked, intrigued by his odd behaviour.
He stepped forward and took the ciggie from her mouth, holding it to the side. She exhaled, blowing the smoke over his shoulder. Before he could really think about it, he leaned in and kissed her. She stood still, shocked.
“Doctor Sheppard?” a timid voice echoed down the alley, interrupting them. They jumped apart and John turned to see a young intern standing at the entrance. “Doctor Sheppard, you’re wanted at reception.”
“I’m off duty,” John snarled.
“I know but it’s your landlord on the phone and he sounds pissed. Shall I tell him you’re coming?”
“Fine,” hissed John. “I’ll be right there.” He turned back to Elizabeth. “Look, I…”
“Go,” she said, understanding.
He walked away, turned around, and walked over to her again, handing her cigarette back to her. A laugh escaped her as she took the ciggie, half of it burned to ash. He grinned and rocked on his heels, kissing her again. Only this time, she kissed him back.
“I’ll be in the bar,” he smiled nervously. “Come down after your shift and we’ll talk.”
Elizabeth smiled and nodded. She watched him turn into the ambulance bay before stumping her ciggie on the floor and taking a deep, calming breath. She looked at her watch; fifteen minutes until her next scheduled caesarean. Time enough to scrub in and make sure Zelenka was ready.
~
Elizabeth was more than glad to finish her shift. She was always the utmost professional but since her earlier encounter with John, her mind hadn’t exactly been on the job, and she hated not being totally focused; in her line of work it could easily cost lives.
Zelenka hadn’t helped either, informing her about Teyla’s pregnancy. He’d told her without a trace of doubt that the baby was John’s and that was probably why she had moved in with John in the first place. Normally she wouldn’t have given it much credence - Radek and gossip went together like peanut butter and chocolate - but it did explain a lot.
As she walked down the street towards the bar, she willed the hospital to page her back. She needed more time to think, to get her head straight. She reached the bar and released a shaky breath. Pushing the door open and stepping in out the cold, she caught sight of the group laughing in the corner. Teyla was lounged in the big comfy chair with John stood behind, leaning over and placing a hand over her stomach.
She stormed over and responded to his greeting with a right hook to the face. “You bastard, John Sheppard! How can you sit there like that after what you did before?” she cried, her voice resonating amongst the silence of her piers. “Makes sense though, all those questions you were asking before, but why do what you did afterwards? You can’t treat people like that. It’s not fair on me, on Teyla, on the baby…”
“Elizabeth, I’m not pregnant!” Teyla interrupted.
“You’re not pregnant?” she repeated, disbelieving.
“No.”
“But Zelenka said -”
“Zelenka’s the biggest gossip going and you should know better,” John scorned, nursing his swollen cheek.
Elizabeth raised a hand, covering her mouth. “Oh god, John, I’m so sorry.” She could feel her face burning up. She reached a hand out towards his cheek but he swatted it away.
“Missing something, here,” Rodney snapped his fingers, breaking the stunned silence. “I understand the disdain at the idea of Sheppard reproducing but I really don’t think that warrants violence, so are you going to tell us the whole story or leave us to draw our own conclusions?”
“I think there’s been enough storytelling for one day,” John growled. He grabbed Elizabeth by the elbow, leading her towards the door. “We need to talk.”
Realisation suddenly dawned on Lorne and he turned to glare at Carson. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“Didn’t what?” asked Carson, oblivious.
“You did, you told him, didn‘t you?”
“Told him what?!” snapped McKay, getting more impatient with each vague comment.
“Told him that he’d overheard Cadman telling Teyla that Lizzie had told her that she fancied John,” supplied Ronon.
“Lindsey, not Lizzie!” exclaimed Laura, jolting forward to thwap Carson across the head.
“What were you thinking, Carson?” McKay joined in. “You, more than anyone, knows what Elizabeth’s been through. I just hope this hasn’t ruined a potentially good thing for her.”
Carson sunk his head in his hands at McKay’s comment. Laura and Teyla came to sit on the sofa either side of him, Laura hugging him and Teyla placing a comforting hand on his knee and telling him not to worry about it.
“Wait, you think John’s good for Elizabeth?” Lorne asked, shocked.
“I said no such thing,” Rodney muttered then went to get more drinks.
~
John had taken them to the alleyway down the side of the pub where it was quiet and they could talk without being interrupted, save for the guy who had decided to take a leak behind the big dumpsters. He had told her that if she had come in ten minutes earlier, she would have heard them laughing about how that particular rumour had escalated and how absurd both he and Teyla thought it was.
Elizabeth had never felt more foolish. “Well, what about before then, when you kissed me?” she asked.
“I heard you had told Laura that you like me,” John said awkwardly.
“I said no such thing.”
“Oh.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s not true, though,” Elizabeth said quietly, ducking her head.
“Oh.” John grinned.
They stood, looking at one another, and when Elizabeth started swinging her arm nervously, John caught her fingers and pulled her to him. Their lips met and he snaked his arms around her waist. She deepened the kiss but then brought her hands to his chest and pushed back.
“I’m sorry, John. I don’t think I can do this.”
He stepped back and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“I don’t mean to mess you around,” she said, “but I think today has shown me I’m just not ready for another relationship yet.” She dropped her gaze to the ground, ashamed of how much she felt like teenager right now.
John watched her; she reminded him of Cadman’s younger brother, trying to be the big brave soldier. “I could always wait until you tell me you are ready,” he said hopefully.
Elizabeth looked up. “I don’t know if that will be anytime soon,” she told him truthfully.
“That’s okay. I’ll wait ten thousand years if I have to.” He smiled at her, and beamed further when she smiled back. “Friends?”
She laughed. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” she said, sweeping her thumb across his slightly bruised cheek.
“That‘s right,” John nodded. “You put a huge dent in my manly pride.”
Elizabeth raised a brow at his poor impression of a wounded puppy. “How about I buy you a pint to make up for it?” she asked.
John scratched his chin, taking his time ‘thinking’ about it. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and waited impatiently, tapping her foot on the dirty ground.
“Fine,” he finally conceded. “But no more punching. You hit better than I do,” he teased, throwing an arm around her back, hugging her. She chuckled and he let his hand fall to her hip as they walked back to the pub.
Elizabeth held back as John opened the door. “What do we tell the others? I’d rather they not know, I feel stupid enough as it is.”
John paused and thought for a moment. “Ah, we’ll just make something up. You know how much they love a good rumour,” he smirked. She grinned and looped her arm through his as they walked back, laughing, to meet their friends.
Title: Wicked Whispers
Rated: PG
Pairing: John/Elizabeth
Summary: It's all going on in Atlantis General, or is it?
Author's Note: Thanks to lamichelle for the beta.
Lindsey Novak was a mother of two, divorced and had an awful habit of hiccupping when she was nervous. She was also one of Atlantis General’s life flight nurses.
Jumping out the helicopter as soon as it landed, she grabbed one end of the stretcher and lowered the wheels. Her flight partner leaned out the door and handed her the patient’s drip. The elevator doors pinged open and Laura Cadman came rushing over.
“This our guy who knocked himself out halfway up a mountain?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Lindsey nodded, helping wheel him into the elevator. “Hiking with his family, missed his footing and fell for roughly twenty feet before a ridge broke his fall. Vitals are stable but he’s been drifting in and out of consciousness. His wife said his family have a history of heart attacks.”
“Where is his wife?” Laura asked, jotting the information down.
“Taking the children to a neighbour, then she’s heading straight here.”
The door opened and more people stepped in, crowding around them. Laura shuffled closer to Lindsey to make more room. “So, did you hear about John and Weir?” she said quietly.
Lindsey looked up from the patient. “Yeah, I think it’s cute.”
“I wouldn’t call sex on the lounge couch ‘cute’.”
Lindsey’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding!?”
“No,” Laura shook her head. “Ronon said Lorne caught them going at it.”
“Oh my god!”
The door pinged again and Lindsey stepped back so Laura could push the patient out. “Excuse me, make way,” she said, pushing past the other occupants, following her out. Turning the corner, they resumed their conversation.
“So are they dating or what?” Lindsey asked, full of curiosity.
“What does it matter? They were caught having sex in the hospital!” Laura lowered her voice for the last part as a bunch of interns walked past.
“I just like to know when prospective husbands go off the market,” Lindsey said once they’d passed.
They entered the E.R. and settled the patient in a private room for observation. Hooking his drip to a nearby stand, Laura looked across and gave Lindsey a funny look. “Sheppard, really?” she asked pulling a face.
“Hey, kids need a dad and I’d prefer it if he was rich as well as cute,” she laughed. “Anyway, what’s wrong with John?”
“Nothing at all,” Laura shook her head. “I’d just have thought Lorne was more your type.”
Lindsey suddenly hiccupped and quickly picked up the patient‘s medical chart, bringing it up in front of her face. Knowing she wasn’t going to get an answer, Laura changed the topic. “So what did you hear?”
“What?” Lindsey looked up confused and hiccupped again.
“About John and Doctor Weir. You said you thought it was cute,” she said, probing for more information. She finished hooking the man up to various monitors.
“Oh that!” Lindsey said as they walked out the room, happy the patient was stable for now. “Well…” she trailed off, grinning.
~
Elizabeth was perched on the couch, arching her back, when John strolled into the doctor’s lounge.
“Back still hurting?” he asked, picking up the pot of lukewarm tea and pouring himself a cup.
“Yeah, remind me never to take on crazy patients by myself,” she complained, stretching.
He took a mouth full of tea, pulled a face in disgust and swilled it down the sink. He came over and took a seat next to her. “Turn around,” he ordered.
She looked at him in mild amusement but turned anyway. When his hands started kneading the muscles in her shoulders she moaned and leaned forward, resting her arms on the end of the couch. Having better access to her back now, he slid his hands further down, his fingers gently scraping over the fabric of her scrubs. She let out another low moan.
They both looked around as the door swung open and Doctor Radek Zelenka walked in. He nodded a greeting and made his way to the counter.
“I’d give the tea a miss,” John advised, continuing his massage.
Radek nodded again, grabbed a can out the fridge and took a seat at the table, opening the textbook he’d brought in with him.
John glanced over at the man. He seemed to be engrossed in whatever he was reading but John decided to lean closer to Elizabeth anyway, not wanting Radek to overhear what he was about to say. That’s how silly rumours were started.
“Hey Elizabeth, are there any jobs going in your department?” he whispered in what he hoped came off as a casual manner.
“No, why?”
“Just wondered.” He started applying more pressure. “You know, Ronon saw Teyla up there yesterday,” he added after a beat. “He thought she might be going into OB/GYN.”
Elizabeth moaned louder. “Ah, that’s the spot, and no. We did talk about it a while ago but she’s happy where she is.”
Radek coughed causing John to look over, but he still appeared to be engrossed in his book. John leaned back down and whispered, “but why else would she have been up there?”
Elizabeth turned, looking at him over her shoulder. “John, are you trying to tell me you think Teyla’s pregnant?” she asked, amused at his conspirator’s tone.
“Well, she has been late for a few of her morning shifts recently,” John reasoned as Elizabeth let out another, louder, groan.
There was a loud thud and all three looked over to see the lounge door slamming shut. Elizabeth cleared her throat and stood up. “Thanks, John,” she smiled putting her lab coat back on. “That feels much better.”
John held the door open for her. “Anytime,” he smiled back and followed her out, getting back to his rounds.
~
Evan Lorne had his hand on the lounge door, opening it, when Ronon called him over. He let the door go and kissed goodbye to the hot cup of coffee he’d been looking forward to.
“What are you doing down here?” Ronon asked as Lorne walked over.
“Not drinking coffee, that’s for sure,” he grumbled.
Ronon just stared at him. “Well, some of us are going for drinks after work, Friday night. You in?”
“Occasion?”
“Oh, you know… just that the PA school here accepted me,” Ronon said downplaying his achievement.
“Nice one!” Lorne high-five his buddy and patted him on the back. “Definitely, count me in.”
Ronon’s pager bleeped, interrupting them. “Needed in room three,” he said looking down.
Lorne walked over with him. It was on the way back to his department anyway and he could always grab a coffee from the vender upstairs. “Hey, do you know who’s in the lounge?” he asked.
“I saw John go in not long after Elizabeth earlier. Why?”
“It sounded like someone was having sex in there.”
Ronon stopped in his tracks. “When?”
“When you called me over,” Lorne answered, scowling. He moved out the way of an intern piled up with boxes.
“…when John and Elizabeth were in there,” Ronon said, falling into step with him again.
Both stopped and stared at each other. “Room three,” they said in unison, shaking their heads. Lorne didn’t think he’d be able to look at them the same ever again.
~
Zelenka walked into the cafeteria to find McKay sat in the corner with a stack of papers in front of him.
“You know, the kitchen shut six hours ago,” he said taking the seat opposite his colleague.
McKay looked across the table. “I like the peace and quiet,” he said pointedly. “It makes a change to be able to write my reports without endless interruptions of stupidity.”
“I don’t like you when you’re like this, Rodney,” Radek said leaning back in his chair. McKay just huffed and carried on writing.
“I was in the lounge earlier…”
“How nice for you,” Rodney interrupted.
Not discouraged in the least, Radek carried on. “As I was saying, I was in the lounge earlier and overheard Doctor Sheppard and Elizabeth talking.”
Rodney continued to ignore him, scribbling away.
“John said Teyla’s pregnant.” Radek grinned as Rodney dropped his pen.
“Really?” Rodney said startled. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. She has been living with Sheppard for the past few months,” he finished as if that explained it all.
Apparently, for Radek, it did. He stood, bid McKay goodnight and left him alone. Rodney sighed, watching Zelenka leave, no doubt to spread his new found gossip. Of course he did not believe for one moment that Teyla would be stupid enough to sleep with John, but sometimes you had to tell a person what they wanted to hear in order to get some peace. Especially if that person was Radek Zelenka.
~
The next morning, Carson was assigning patients to the interns when he overheard Lorne talking to Chuck at the front desk. Handing over the last chart, he walked over to join them.
“You know Cadman used to be a stripper?”
“Really?” Chuck asked.
“No, but she should be,” Lorne laughed, enjoying winding up the young receptionist.
“Are you sure?” Carson joined in. “Because I heard that’s how she met John, at a strip club.”
Lorne looked at Carson from the other side of the desk. “I heard that was Heightmeyer.”
“So John met Kate at a strip club?” Chuck asked frowning.
“No, Kate met Cadman at a strip club,” Lorne winked, pushing himself away from the desk as two people approached them. Carson walked over to the board to see where he was most needed and Lorne headed up to his department, both men laughing at Chuck, who was scratching his head in confusion.
~
Carson was making his way back to the ER, having just come from a long meeting in the neurology department with Doctors McKay and Caldwell. Budgets were a pain in the ass at the best of times, but more so when people’s health was on the line. However, an interesting little chat with Doctor Zelenka afterwards had helped sooth his mood.
Looking down the corridor, he saw a pile of boxes with two legs stumbling towards him.
“Teyla!” He rushed over. “You shouldn’t be carrying those,“ he said lifting the boxes from her.
“Thank you, Carson,” she smiled. “I know, but I took pity on the poor intern. He’d already taken them to two wrong departments.”
“But still,” Carson gently scolded, shaking his head. “Sorry, where are these going?” he added, raising the boxes slightly.
“They’re stock replenishments for the OR’s,” she answered. “I believe the ER theatres have been done but he was having trouble finding his way to neurology.”
Carson nodded as best he could behind the tall stack of boxes and turned around, heading back where he had just come from. Teyla walked beside him, helping him with the doors.
“So, how are you feeling, love?” he asked.
“I am fine, Carson. A little tired perhaps, but I guess that is to be expected,” she said, thinking about the amount of double shifts she’d been pulling lately.
“Aye, it is only natural,” he said misunderstanding her. “You should increase you vitamins.”
“I have done so, already,” she smiled, knowing they should give her system a boost.
“Of course. I’m sure Elizabeth’s keeping a close eye on you.”
They entered the reception at neurology and Carson put the boxes down, pushing them against the desk so they wouldn’t tumble over. “Stock for the OR’s,” he told the woman behind the desk. “I’ll send an intern up to dispense them.”
“Don’t bother,” exclaimed McKay coming out of his office. “They’ll take forever to get here and then put everything in the wrong places anyway. I’ll get Lorne to do it. I’m sure even he can manage that,” he finished, walking past them.
“Rodney!” Teyla glared at him. “You are lucky to have Evan and you know it.”
“Yes, well…” he trailed off and hurried into one of the operating theatres.
Carson placed a hand on Teyla’s arm. “You shouldn’t exhaust yourself, lass. You need to start relaxing more,” he said, smiling softly at her.
“Sadly, there’s not much relaxing to be had as an OR nurse,” she chuckled.
He looked at her seriously. “Well, maybe you should start thinking about taking some time off then. Just to be safe.” She nodded, slowly, somewhat confused.
They headed back down to the ER and Teyla glanced sideways at him, wondering if there was a reason behind his strange behaviour. She thought perhaps it was the stress of the many meetings he had been privy to recently.
~
John and Ronon walked over to the locker room, ready to go home after a long days shift. Ronon walked in ahead of John.
“You dog,” he said looking behind him.
“What?” John laughed. “Oh, hey, Carson,” he said, spotting him behind the door.
Carson huffed a reply and went back to hanging his white coat in his locker.
“Well, is it true?” Ronon asked, picking up their conversation. “Have you really slept with all the female personnel in the hospital?”
“No, not all of them,” John said laughing.
Carson slammed his locker shut, pulled his hat on and stormed out of the room leaving John looking very bewildered. He shrugged it off though and turned his attention back to Ronon.
“No, the only woman I’ve slept with from here is Chaya, and that was ages ago.”
“Chaya as in Chaya Sar, the hospital’s priest?” asked Lorne, walking in.
“Yeah,” John nodded.
“You dog!”
John rolled his eyes at Ronon. “So what’s up with Carson?” he asked.
“He thinks you’re going to hurt Elizabeth,” Lorne said, pulling a sweater from his bag.
“And why does he think that?” John asked, puzzled.
“Well…” Lorne pulled his sweater over his head and sat next to John on the bench. “He overheard Cadman telling Teyla that Elizabeth had told her that she wanted you.” He mouthed the sentence again to himself, making sure he’d gotten it right. “Anyway, I don’t think it was for your medical opinion, but I’m sure you already know that,” he added, winking.
John had already leapt up, grabbed his coat and rushed out the door by the time Lorne had finished speaking.
“What did I say?
“I don’t know.” Ronon tossed his basketball to Lorne. “Did you hear that Teyla’s having a baby?”
“I heard Zelenka mumbling something about it but you know I can’t understand him on a good day. How about you tell me properly over some hoops?” he said, dribbling the ball across the bench.
~
John had scurried all over the hospital looking for Elizabeth. Eventually, he was put out of his misery when a nurse told him she had seen her outside five minutes ago. John hurried down the corridor and took the stairs two at a time, practically bouncing out the double doors and rounding the ambulance bay to find Elizabeth having a smoke down the alley.
He stumbled to a stop.
“Hey, John. What’s up?” she smiled.
“I…I…” Crap, he really hadn’t thought this through. “Lorne, he said something to me just before,” he finally said walking up to her.
“Really, and what was that?” she asked, intrigued by his odd behaviour.
He stepped forward and took the ciggie from her mouth, holding it to the side. She exhaled, blowing the smoke over his shoulder. Before he could really think about it, he leaned in and kissed her. She stood still, shocked.
“Doctor Sheppard?” a timid voice echoed down the alley, interrupting them. They jumped apart and John turned to see a young intern standing at the entrance. “Doctor Sheppard, you’re wanted at reception.”
“I’m off duty,” John snarled.
“I know but it’s your landlord on the phone and he sounds pissed. Shall I tell him you’re coming?”
“Fine,” hissed John. “I’ll be right there.” He turned back to Elizabeth. “Look, I…”
“Go,” she said, understanding.
He walked away, turned around, and walked over to her again, handing her cigarette back to her. A laugh escaped her as she took the ciggie, half of it burned to ash. He grinned and rocked on his heels, kissing her again. Only this time, she kissed him back.
“I’ll be in the bar,” he smiled nervously. “Come down after your shift and we’ll talk.”
Elizabeth smiled and nodded. She watched him turn into the ambulance bay before stumping her ciggie on the floor and taking a deep, calming breath. She looked at her watch; fifteen minutes until her next scheduled caesarean. Time enough to scrub in and make sure Zelenka was ready.
~
Elizabeth was more than glad to finish her shift. She was always the utmost professional but since her earlier encounter with John, her mind hadn’t exactly been on the job, and she hated not being totally focused; in her line of work it could easily cost lives.
Zelenka hadn’t helped either, informing her about Teyla’s pregnancy. He’d told her without a trace of doubt that the baby was John’s and that was probably why she had moved in with John in the first place. Normally she wouldn’t have given it much credence - Radek and gossip went together like peanut butter and chocolate - but it did explain a lot.
As she walked down the street towards the bar, she willed the hospital to page her back. She needed more time to think, to get her head straight. She reached the bar and released a shaky breath. Pushing the door open and stepping in out the cold, she caught sight of the group laughing in the corner. Teyla was lounged in the big comfy chair with John stood behind, leaning over and placing a hand over her stomach.
She stormed over and responded to his greeting with a right hook to the face. “You bastard, John Sheppard! How can you sit there like that after what you did before?” she cried, her voice resonating amongst the silence of her piers. “Makes sense though, all those questions you were asking before, but why do what you did afterwards? You can’t treat people like that. It’s not fair on me, on Teyla, on the baby…”
“Elizabeth, I’m not pregnant!” Teyla interrupted.
“You’re not pregnant?” she repeated, disbelieving.
“No.”
“But Zelenka said -”
“Zelenka’s the biggest gossip going and you should know better,” John scorned, nursing his swollen cheek.
Elizabeth raised a hand, covering her mouth. “Oh god, John, I’m so sorry.” She could feel her face burning up. She reached a hand out towards his cheek but he swatted it away.
“Missing something, here,” Rodney snapped his fingers, breaking the stunned silence. “I understand the disdain at the idea of Sheppard reproducing but I really don’t think that warrants violence, so are you going to tell us the whole story or leave us to draw our own conclusions?”
“I think there’s been enough storytelling for one day,” John growled. He grabbed Elizabeth by the elbow, leading her towards the door. “We need to talk.”
Realisation suddenly dawned on Lorne and he turned to glare at Carson. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“Didn’t what?” asked Carson, oblivious.
“You did, you told him, didn‘t you?”
“Told him what?!” snapped McKay, getting more impatient with each vague comment.
“Told him that he’d overheard Cadman telling Teyla that Lizzie had told her that she fancied John,” supplied Ronon.
“Lindsey, not Lizzie!” exclaimed Laura, jolting forward to thwap Carson across the head.
“What were you thinking, Carson?” McKay joined in. “You, more than anyone, knows what Elizabeth’s been through. I just hope this hasn’t ruined a potentially good thing for her.”
Carson sunk his head in his hands at McKay’s comment. Laura and Teyla came to sit on the sofa either side of him, Laura hugging him and Teyla placing a comforting hand on his knee and telling him not to worry about it.
“Wait, you think John’s good for Elizabeth?” Lorne asked, shocked.
“I said no such thing,” Rodney muttered then went to get more drinks.
~
John had taken them to the alleyway down the side of the pub where it was quiet and they could talk without being interrupted, save for the guy who had decided to take a leak behind the big dumpsters. He had told her that if she had come in ten minutes earlier, she would have heard them laughing about how that particular rumour had escalated and how absurd both he and Teyla thought it was.
Elizabeth had never felt more foolish. “Well, what about before then, when you kissed me?” she asked.
“I heard you had told Laura that you like me,” John said awkwardly.
“I said no such thing.”
“Oh.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s not true, though,” Elizabeth said quietly, ducking her head.
“Oh.” John grinned.
They stood, looking at one another, and when Elizabeth started swinging her arm nervously, John caught her fingers and pulled her to him. Their lips met and he snaked his arms around her waist. She deepened the kiss but then brought her hands to his chest and pushed back.
“I’m sorry, John. I don’t think I can do this.”
He stepped back and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“I don’t mean to mess you around,” she said, “but I think today has shown me I’m just not ready for another relationship yet.” She dropped her gaze to the ground, ashamed of how much she felt like teenager right now.
John watched her; she reminded him of Cadman’s younger brother, trying to be the big brave soldier. “I could always wait until you tell me you are ready,” he said hopefully.
Elizabeth looked up. “I don’t know if that will be anytime soon,” she told him truthfully.
“That’s okay. I’ll wait ten thousand years if I have to.” He smiled at her, and beamed further when she smiled back. “Friends?”
She laughed. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” she said, sweeping her thumb across his slightly bruised cheek.
“That‘s right,” John nodded. “You put a huge dent in my manly pride.”
Elizabeth raised a brow at his poor impression of a wounded puppy. “How about I buy you a pint to make up for it?” she asked.
John scratched his chin, taking his time ‘thinking’ about it. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and waited impatiently, tapping her foot on the dirty ground.
“Fine,” he finally conceded. “But no more punching. You hit better than I do,” he teased, throwing an arm around her back, hugging her. She chuckled and he let his hand fall to her hip as they walked back to the pub.
Elizabeth held back as John opened the door. “What do we tell the others? I’d rather they not know, I feel stupid enough as it is.”
John paused and thought for a moment. “Ah, we’ll just make something up. You know how much they love a good rumour,” he smirked. She grinned and looped her arm through his as they walked back, laughing, to meet their friends.