Fic: Full Disclosure
Title: Full Disclosure
Author: caroly_214
AU: langford_u
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Rising
Word count: 3,329
Pairing: Sparky (Sheppard/Weir)
Summary: Written for the AU ficathon for melyanna, who wanted a story explaining “Why Doctors Sheppard and Weir decided to become professors instead of doing other things with their considerable talents.” This was originally going to be very different, but John and Elizabeth were in strange moods and took this in directions I never intended. So if you don’t like it, it’s their fault! :-) Many thanks to control_freak80 for her fabulous beta. Any mistakes that remain are mine.
Elizabeth put the last final exam on the stack and rubbed her eyes. Grading exams was one of the worst aspects of being a law professor - though one of the joys of law school was that there was only one exam per semester. John was forever complaining that lofty law professors had a much easier time than lowly math professors. She always replied that it wasn’t her fault he got into the wrong profession, which only made him pout more (which, if Elizabeth was honest with herself, was the whole reason she retorted back at him; John was adorable when he pouted).
Feeling herself drift off into a light sleep, Elizabeth leaned back into her chair, too tired to make the effort to move over to her armchair. She was just starting a very pleasant dream, involving John in a Speedo and a deserted tropical island, when two male voices woke her. Elizabeth considered getting annoyed at the interruption, but one of the voices assured her she would soon have real!John, whom she had found over the course of the few months they had been dating was far superior to fantasy!John (although fantasy!John was often far less exasperating).
Sure enough, a few seconds later, there came a short knock at her door, and before she could tell him to come in, the door opened and a frazzled-looking Dr. John Sheppard walked into her office, running his fingers though his hair, leaving it in greater disarray than normal.
“Hi, Elizabeth,” he sighed, collapsing on her loveseat.
Elizabeth smiled and went over to join him. He really was cute when he looked pathetic like this; though, come to think of it, John was cute no matter what he did. It was part of his charm - and he was extremely charming.
“What’s wrong,” she asked, sitting next to him and brushing his cheek with a kiss.
“I just finished grading the final exams for my ‘math for girls’ class, and it’s a good thing we’re curving the grades, because if we weren’t, half the class would fail. I spent class time going over the same concepts over and over again, and they never got it. Half the class put in just enough effort to get a passing grade and the other half just didn’t understand, even though they tried. I’ve been teaching for years, and never have I had such a miserable experience as I have this semester.”
Much to Elizabeth’s surprise, John’s voice sounded discouraged. She knew he had been frustrated many times over the past semester and had done her best to ease his troubles - a task that had been made much easier by their new relationship.
She took his hand in hers and squeezed it. “I’m sorry, John. But there’s only so much we can do in our role as teachers. Some students don’t want our help, and some students we can’t help.”
John squeezed her hand back and gave her a crooked smile. “I know. But it doesn’t make it any less frustrating.” He sighed loudly and threw his head back. “It’s times like this that I wonder why I took this job.”
Elizabeth frowned as she realized something. “Why did you?”
He turned his head and frowned at her. “Huh?”
“Why did you take this job? I mean, you don’t exactly seem like the professor type.”
“What do you mean? You don’t think I’m the quintessential dreamy, absent-minded professor?” John smirked at her, his good humor apparently restored.
Elizabeth smirked back at him and raised her eyebrow. “No, that’s Daniel.”
“True.” John nodded sagely, then started. “Wait. You think Daniel’s dreamy?”
She couldn’t help but laugh at his alarmed expression. “Daniel is cute, but he’s not my type.”
John started smirking again and leaned closer, slipping his arm around her shoulders. “And what type is your type?”
Elizabeth pretended to think very hard. “Well, I’m not really sure. I once met this one math professor who was kind of cute, but - ”
Anything else she might have said was lost as his lips covered hers and she let herself be caught up in the moment. Although the campus-wide speculation was that John Sheppard was an amazing kisser, Elizabeth could testify that the gossip didn’t do him any justice.
When he released her, she pulled back and lightly smacked him on the arm. “That was nice, but don’t think you’re going to distract me. I want to know why you became a teacher.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s something I don’t know about you.”
“Fine. I became a teacher because I was on the run from the Russian mafia, and I figured it would be a good idea to hide out in the Nebraska cornfields.”
Elizabeth smacked him again. “I’m serious, John. We’ve been friends for over four years and have been dating for five months, but there are things I still don’t know about you.”
John pouted at her and rubbed his arm where she had smacked him. “Ow. That hurt. I thought lawyers solved their problems with words and not violence.”
“We do, but I make an exception in your case,” she replied, raising her eyebrow.
John merely glared at her and rubbed his arm more, showing no inclination to answer Elizabeth’s question.
She decided to take John’s suggestion and use her well-honed legal skills on him. “Come on, John, tell me. I’ll make it worth your while if you do.”
He perked up at this. “And how exactly will you make it worth my while?”
Taking his hand in hers, she used her other hand to rub his arm where she had smacked him. “Oh, I think we can negotiate that later. For now, let’s just say I’ll owe you one.”
“You’ll owe me one? I can live with that. Just a fair warning: I intend to call in that favor very soon.”
Elizabeth smiled. “I have no objections.”
John smirked at her, and it was such an evil expression that she almost regretted making the offer, but her curiosity overcame her good sense. Besides, she was sure she’d get some pleasure out the favor he requested.
“So, what did you want to know again?”
She almost smacked him again, but figured it would only make him delay longer. John could be stubborn that way. Instead, she arched her eyebrow in warning; he grinned back at her.
“Okay, okay. I’m afraid the story probably isn’t what you want to hear. Truth is, I sorta fell into it.”
He paused, as if to see how she would respond, but she merely tilted her head to indicate that he should continue.
He sighed a long-suffering sigh, and pulled her closer to him. Adopting a tone suited for telling stories to small children, he spoke again.
“Once, a long time ago, not so far away, a math grad student was escorting an important personage to a special seminar, or something like that. I wasn’t really paying attention.” Elizabeth nearly giggled at his tone of voice and method of explaining his past, but stifled it, afraid he would stop if she did. After all she had done to get him to tell her the story, she wasn’t going to jeopardize it now.
“Alas, while the poor, young, handsome grad student was left to his own devices, he came across a few individuals who were having a very difficult math issue. Apparently, his reputation had preceded him and before he knew it, he had been invited to explain the math issue to the people. As he did so - and very well, if I may say so myself - one of the people in the room thought this grad student was extraordinary and he went to bring important people to watch. A moment later, some very important people walked in, including the head of the program. Now, the head of the program was a woman not to be trifled with. And she took it upon herself to convince the young, poor, handsome grad student to join her program and start teaching. The grad student wasn’t too sure about it, so the woman played dirty and sent another important person to him, an important person who meant a lot to the student and convinced the student to give it a whirl. He did, and sure enough, he was good at it and it seemed like he’d found the thing he was meant to do. So here I am. Happy now?”
Elizabeth was happy, though she felt a slight niggling jealousy at the power this unknown woman had had over John. “So, whatever happened to the head of the program?”
“Her? We became good friends. She was a good mentor. A truly extraordinary woman.” He gave her a sly sidelong glance. “Actually, you remind me of her.”
This revelation, instead of reassuring her, made Elizabeth even more jealous. “Did you ever date her?”
John looked at her quizzically. “No, I didn’t. First, she was my boss, and though there weren’t any rules about it, it wouldn’t have been very professional, would it? Second, she was seeing someone, though, confidentially, he was somewhat creepy and had bad hair. Third, her hair was straight, and I’ve always preferred curls.” As if to prove his point, he ran his fingers through her auburn curls. “And last, somehow I knew she wasn’t the one for me.”
Elizabeth smiled, touched. “And did you ever find the one for you?”
John frowned, looking as though he was thinking very hard. “Well, I once met this one law school professor, and she was kinda cute, but - ”
Whatever John was going to say was lost as Elizabeth covered his lips with hers. He wasn’t the only one who could pull that trick.
As they broke apart, John smiled at her tenderly, and continued running his fingers through her hair. “So, are you happy now?”
Elizabeth smiled back. “Yes, I am. Somehow, that makes sense.”
She laid her head on John’s shoulder, content. She had meant what she had said. John’s story fit with his personality quite well. It was more like him to fall into something than to plan it, whereas she planned every detail. She was sometimes amused by how well they fit together, despite the differences between them.
They sat on her loveseat contently for several minutes, John stroking her hair, until he suddenly stopped and nudged her. “Hey, so why did you start teaching?”
Elizabeth had become drowsy as John stroked her hair, and hadn’t really paid attention to what he said, so she responded, “Hmmm?”
John shifted so that he could see her face. “I said, why did you start teaching? After all, I told you, so it’s only fair that you should tell me.”
Elizabeth was too drowsy to have a coherent conversation. “Later, John. I’m comfy now.”
John pushed her off of him. “No, no, no, no, no, Elizabeth. You forced me to tell you, now turnabout’s fair play. Tell me.”
“John…” she whined, pouting and trying to snuggle up against him again. He wasn’t the only one who could pout.
But John was having none of it and held her away from him. It was times like this, when he was being stubborn, among other things, that fantasy!John seemed a lot better than real!John. And if he’d only let her go to sleep curled up against him, she could have both real!John and fantasy!John. She could hear that deserted tropical island calling to her again.
“Elizabeth…” he said, and Elizabeth could hear the warning in his voice. Instantly awake, she looked up at him warily.
He gave her a dangerous smirk while tightening his grip on her arms ever so slightly, and she knew she was in trouble. His words a moment later confirmed it.
“Either you tell me, Elizabeth, or I’m going to have to take extreme measures.”
She knew exactly what she meant. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth pondered the situation. It was extremely unfair that she was ticklish and he was not - a fact that he used to his advantage at every conceivable opportunity. But then again, she didn’t want to give into him so easily. Her reputation as a hard-nosed negotiator was on the line.
The situation called for a ploy. Sighing, as if in resignation, she said, “All right.” As he loosened his grip on her arms, she twisted out of his hold and rolled over the side of the loveseat, landing on her feet, facing him.
He was shaking his head ruefully. “I knew I shouldn’t have taught you all those self-defense moves. You know you’re just delaying the inevitable.”
She grinned back at him, unrepentant. “That’s what you think. Come and get me, math-boy.”
Before she finished saying the last word, she started sprinting for the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw John vaulting over the loveseat. She made it to the door, nearly slamming into it, and reached for the handle. Just as her hand closed around the knob, John slammed into her from behind, spun her around so that her back was to the door, and pinned her to the door with his own body. Elizabeth began to shriek as he pinned her, but barely got a sound out before his lips came crashing down on hers. She knew she should put up at least a token protest, but once John began kissing her, all her thoughts and cares disappeared and she melted into him.
Vaguely, she noticed a strange pounding coming from behind her back, but ignored it until she heard something that brought reality crashing back around her.
“Dr. Weir?”
It was Peter. She had forgotten he was still here; well, truth be told, she had forgotten everything except for John and his kiss.
Realizing that Peter must have heard at least some of what had just happened, Elizabeth felt her cheeks flame. Extracting herself from the kiss and ignoring John’s murmured protest, she called out, “I’m fine, Peter.”
“All right, Dr. Weir. Just checking. I’ll be going home in a minute. See you tomorrow.” Peter tried to keep his voice neutral, but she could hear his smirk. At least she was providing him with entertainment; with what she and John (mostly John) put him through, Peter deserved something in return.
“Have a good evening, Peter,” she called and then turned her attention back to John. From his expression, it seemed as though Peter wasn’t the only one being entertained at her expense. She started to scowl at him, but he scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to the loveseat, all while ignoring her protests. He sat back down on the loveseat, settling her on his lap. She tried to escape, but John had apparently learned his lesson, because he kept his arms tight around her.
“Now, Dr. Weir,” he said, giving her his best mock-menacing look, “you are going to tell me why you became a law school professor. And if you do not, I will tickle you.”
Elizabeth glared at him but knew he had won. Being tickled was one of her pet peeves, which, of course, was why John did it, or threatened to do it, so often.
“Fine. I was tired of actually being a lawyer and President Hayes called me and suggested I come to Langford, so I did. Happy?” Elizabeth knew she was being petulant but she figured he deserved it.
She started to wriggle out of his grasp, but he tightened his grip. “I don’t think so, Elizabeth. I want the full story.” He moved one of his hands so it was against her ribs and started tickling her gently.
Elizabeth cursed her body as it betrayed her and she started giggling. “Okay, okay, you win! Just stop.”
John stopped tickling her but kept his hand on her ribs, an unspoken threat.
She sighed and began drudging up memories from her past that she would rather have not revisited. “Do you remember what I told you about why I went into law instead of foreign relations?” When he nodded, his expression grave, she continued, “After that fiasco, I could have done anything I wanted. I had a doctorate in political science and a law degree. But I took Simon’s advice and went to work at a large D.C. law firm. It was a defense firm, so we did a lot of litigation. I was good at it and was on the track to becoming a partner.”
She paused for a moment and John moved his hand from her ribs and reached over to take hers. She squeezed his hand and smiled tremulously at him, getting an encouraging smile back.
“Working at the firm was a nightmare. Eighty-hour weeks were the norm. And though most of our clients were scumbags, I still had to defend them. At first, I was able to convince myself that I was doing a service to society by defending my clients as best I could. Our adversarial legal system only works if both sides are adequately defended. Or so I told myself. It only took a couple years before I started becoming cynical. I hadn’t even realized it until I ran into an old friend from college who asked me where my ideals had gone.” Elizabeth paused a moment, remembering the shock she had felt at that moment. “I couldn’t answer her,” she whispered.
John pulled her against his chest and she let her head rest on his shoulder. He began to rub her back soothingly and she relaxed into his embrace.
“Finally, I realized I had to get out. Things had been rough with Simon for a while. We were both working so many hours we barely saw one another. And then I received the phone call from President Hayes, and he told me he would recommend me for a position as a law professor here at Langford if I wanted it. I thought about it long and hard and I realized I did want it. I knew I could regain my ideals, maybe do something good with my degree, if I could teach students to do something good with their degrees. So I gave my notice at the firm and told Simon I was moving to Nebraska. Everyone told me I was insane. There were some nasty scenes, which only convinced me that I was doing the right thing. And here I am, and I don’t regret it. Coming here was the best thing I ever did.”
Elizabeth felt drained but also relieved. Somehow, sharing bad experiences with John made them better.
John was silent for a moment, then began speaking, his tone teasing. “Of course it was the best thing you ever did. If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have met me.” He shifted her head so they could see each other’s face, and the impish expression on his face made her smile. It was impossible not to smile when faced with so much adorableness.
“You’re right. Meeting you has made it all worth it,” she teased, though they both knew she was only half joking.
Elizabeth snuggled up against him and felt herself begin to drift off for the third time in an hour. Unfortunately, also for the third time in an hour, John woke her up.
“None of that, Elizabeth,” he said, standing up and lowering her to the ground. “We need to get you some food, and then into bed. Come on.”
“John,” she protested, but he cut off her protests by pulling her in for another kiss. Releasing her, he whispered, “Besides, I think someone owes me a favor, and I know exactly what I want.”
Meeting his gaze, she saw the wicked expression on his face and mirrored it with one of her own. As they left the office, Elizabeth thought of the work piled on her desk and decided it could wait. Tonight, she was going to have fun.
Author: caroly_214
AU: langford_u
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Rising
Word count: 3,329
Pairing: Sparky (Sheppard/Weir)
Summary: Written for the AU ficathon for melyanna, who wanted a story explaining “Why Doctors Sheppard and Weir decided to become professors instead of doing other things with their considerable talents.” This was originally going to be very different, but John and Elizabeth were in strange moods and took this in directions I never intended. So if you don’t like it, it’s their fault! :-) Many thanks to control_freak80 for her fabulous beta. Any mistakes that remain are mine.
Elizabeth put the last final exam on the stack and rubbed her eyes. Grading exams was one of the worst aspects of being a law professor - though one of the joys of law school was that there was only one exam per semester. John was forever complaining that lofty law professors had a much easier time than lowly math professors. She always replied that it wasn’t her fault he got into the wrong profession, which only made him pout more (which, if Elizabeth was honest with herself, was the whole reason she retorted back at him; John was adorable when he pouted).
Feeling herself drift off into a light sleep, Elizabeth leaned back into her chair, too tired to make the effort to move over to her armchair. She was just starting a very pleasant dream, involving John in a Speedo and a deserted tropical island, when two male voices woke her. Elizabeth considered getting annoyed at the interruption, but one of the voices assured her she would soon have real!John, whom she had found over the course of the few months they had been dating was far superior to fantasy!John (although fantasy!John was often far less exasperating).
Sure enough, a few seconds later, there came a short knock at her door, and before she could tell him to come in, the door opened and a frazzled-looking Dr. John Sheppard walked into her office, running his fingers though his hair, leaving it in greater disarray than normal.
“Hi, Elizabeth,” he sighed, collapsing on her loveseat.
Elizabeth smiled and went over to join him. He really was cute when he looked pathetic like this; though, come to think of it, John was cute no matter what he did. It was part of his charm - and he was extremely charming.
“What’s wrong,” she asked, sitting next to him and brushing his cheek with a kiss.
“I just finished grading the final exams for my ‘math for girls’ class, and it’s a good thing we’re curving the grades, because if we weren’t, half the class would fail. I spent class time going over the same concepts over and over again, and they never got it. Half the class put in just enough effort to get a passing grade and the other half just didn’t understand, even though they tried. I’ve been teaching for years, and never have I had such a miserable experience as I have this semester.”
Much to Elizabeth’s surprise, John’s voice sounded discouraged. She knew he had been frustrated many times over the past semester and had done her best to ease his troubles - a task that had been made much easier by their new relationship.
She took his hand in hers and squeezed it. “I’m sorry, John. But there’s only so much we can do in our role as teachers. Some students don’t want our help, and some students we can’t help.”
John squeezed her hand back and gave her a crooked smile. “I know. But it doesn’t make it any less frustrating.” He sighed loudly and threw his head back. “It’s times like this that I wonder why I took this job.”
Elizabeth frowned as she realized something. “Why did you?”
He turned his head and frowned at her. “Huh?”
“Why did you take this job? I mean, you don’t exactly seem like the professor type.”
“What do you mean? You don’t think I’m the quintessential dreamy, absent-minded professor?” John smirked at her, his good humor apparently restored.
Elizabeth smirked back at him and raised her eyebrow. “No, that’s Daniel.”
“True.” John nodded sagely, then started. “Wait. You think Daniel’s dreamy?”
She couldn’t help but laugh at his alarmed expression. “Daniel is cute, but he’s not my type.”
John started smirking again and leaned closer, slipping his arm around her shoulders. “And what type is your type?”
Elizabeth pretended to think very hard. “Well, I’m not really sure. I once met this one math professor who was kind of cute, but - ”
Anything else she might have said was lost as his lips covered hers and she let herself be caught up in the moment. Although the campus-wide speculation was that John Sheppard was an amazing kisser, Elizabeth could testify that the gossip didn’t do him any justice.
When he released her, she pulled back and lightly smacked him on the arm. “That was nice, but don’t think you’re going to distract me. I want to know why you became a teacher.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s something I don’t know about you.”
“Fine. I became a teacher because I was on the run from the Russian mafia, and I figured it would be a good idea to hide out in the Nebraska cornfields.”
Elizabeth smacked him again. “I’m serious, John. We’ve been friends for over four years and have been dating for five months, but there are things I still don’t know about you.”
John pouted at her and rubbed his arm where she had smacked him. “Ow. That hurt. I thought lawyers solved their problems with words and not violence.”
“We do, but I make an exception in your case,” she replied, raising her eyebrow.
John merely glared at her and rubbed his arm more, showing no inclination to answer Elizabeth’s question.
She decided to take John’s suggestion and use her well-honed legal skills on him. “Come on, John, tell me. I’ll make it worth your while if you do.”
He perked up at this. “And how exactly will you make it worth my while?”
Taking his hand in hers, she used her other hand to rub his arm where she had smacked him. “Oh, I think we can negotiate that later. For now, let’s just say I’ll owe you one.”
“You’ll owe me one? I can live with that. Just a fair warning: I intend to call in that favor very soon.”
Elizabeth smiled. “I have no objections.”
John smirked at her, and it was such an evil expression that she almost regretted making the offer, but her curiosity overcame her good sense. Besides, she was sure she’d get some pleasure out the favor he requested.
“So, what did you want to know again?”
She almost smacked him again, but figured it would only make him delay longer. John could be stubborn that way. Instead, she arched her eyebrow in warning; he grinned back at her.
“Okay, okay. I’m afraid the story probably isn’t what you want to hear. Truth is, I sorta fell into it.”
He paused, as if to see how she would respond, but she merely tilted her head to indicate that he should continue.
He sighed a long-suffering sigh, and pulled her closer to him. Adopting a tone suited for telling stories to small children, he spoke again.
“Once, a long time ago, not so far away, a math grad student was escorting an important personage to a special seminar, or something like that. I wasn’t really paying attention.” Elizabeth nearly giggled at his tone of voice and method of explaining his past, but stifled it, afraid he would stop if she did. After all she had done to get him to tell her the story, she wasn’t going to jeopardize it now.
“Alas, while the poor, young, handsome grad student was left to his own devices, he came across a few individuals who were having a very difficult math issue. Apparently, his reputation had preceded him and before he knew it, he had been invited to explain the math issue to the people. As he did so - and very well, if I may say so myself - one of the people in the room thought this grad student was extraordinary and he went to bring important people to watch. A moment later, some very important people walked in, including the head of the program. Now, the head of the program was a woman not to be trifled with. And she took it upon herself to convince the young, poor, handsome grad student to join her program and start teaching. The grad student wasn’t too sure about it, so the woman played dirty and sent another important person to him, an important person who meant a lot to the student and convinced the student to give it a whirl. He did, and sure enough, he was good at it and it seemed like he’d found the thing he was meant to do. So here I am. Happy now?”
Elizabeth was happy, though she felt a slight niggling jealousy at the power this unknown woman had had over John. “So, whatever happened to the head of the program?”
“Her? We became good friends. She was a good mentor. A truly extraordinary woman.” He gave her a sly sidelong glance. “Actually, you remind me of her.”
This revelation, instead of reassuring her, made Elizabeth even more jealous. “Did you ever date her?”
John looked at her quizzically. “No, I didn’t. First, she was my boss, and though there weren’t any rules about it, it wouldn’t have been very professional, would it? Second, she was seeing someone, though, confidentially, he was somewhat creepy and had bad hair. Third, her hair was straight, and I’ve always preferred curls.” As if to prove his point, he ran his fingers through her auburn curls. “And last, somehow I knew she wasn’t the one for me.”
Elizabeth smiled, touched. “And did you ever find the one for you?”
John frowned, looking as though he was thinking very hard. “Well, I once met this one law school professor, and she was kinda cute, but - ”
Whatever John was going to say was lost as Elizabeth covered his lips with hers. He wasn’t the only one who could pull that trick.
As they broke apart, John smiled at her tenderly, and continued running his fingers through her hair. “So, are you happy now?”
Elizabeth smiled back. “Yes, I am. Somehow, that makes sense.”
She laid her head on John’s shoulder, content. She had meant what she had said. John’s story fit with his personality quite well. It was more like him to fall into something than to plan it, whereas she planned every detail. She was sometimes amused by how well they fit together, despite the differences between them.
They sat on her loveseat contently for several minutes, John stroking her hair, until he suddenly stopped and nudged her. “Hey, so why did you start teaching?”
Elizabeth had become drowsy as John stroked her hair, and hadn’t really paid attention to what he said, so she responded, “Hmmm?”
John shifted so that he could see her face. “I said, why did you start teaching? After all, I told you, so it’s only fair that you should tell me.”
Elizabeth was too drowsy to have a coherent conversation. “Later, John. I’m comfy now.”
John pushed her off of him. “No, no, no, no, no, Elizabeth. You forced me to tell you, now turnabout’s fair play. Tell me.”
“John…” she whined, pouting and trying to snuggle up against him again. He wasn’t the only one who could pout.
But John was having none of it and held her away from him. It was times like this, when he was being stubborn, among other things, that fantasy!John seemed a lot better than real!John. And if he’d only let her go to sleep curled up against him, she could have both real!John and fantasy!John. She could hear that deserted tropical island calling to her again.
“Elizabeth…” he said, and Elizabeth could hear the warning in his voice. Instantly awake, she looked up at him warily.
He gave her a dangerous smirk while tightening his grip on her arms ever so slightly, and she knew she was in trouble. His words a moment later confirmed it.
“Either you tell me, Elizabeth, or I’m going to have to take extreme measures.”
She knew exactly what she meant. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth pondered the situation. It was extremely unfair that she was ticklish and he was not - a fact that he used to his advantage at every conceivable opportunity. But then again, she didn’t want to give into him so easily. Her reputation as a hard-nosed negotiator was on the line.
The situation called for a ploy. Sighing, as if in resignation, she said, “All right.” As he loosened his grip on her arms, she twisted out of his hold and rolled over the side of the loveseat, landing on her feet, facing him.
He was shaking his head ruefully. “I knew I shouldn’t have taught you all those self-defense moves. You know you’re just delaying the inevitable.”
She grinned back at him, unrepentant. “That’s what you think. Come and get me, math-boy.”
Before she finished saying the last word, she started sprinting for the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw John vaulting over the loveseat. She made it to the door, nearly slamming into it, and reached for the handle. Just as her hand closed around the knob, John slammed into her from behind, spun her around so that her back was to the door, and pinned her to the door with his own body. Elizabeth began to shriek as he pinned her, but barely got a sound out before his lips came crashing down on hers. She knew she should put up at least a token protest, but once John began kissing her, all her thoughts and cares disappeared and she melted into him.
Vaguely, she noticed a strange pounding coming from behind her back, but ignored it until she heard something that brought reality crashing back around her.
“Dr. Weir?”
It was Peter. She had forgotten he was still here; well, truth be told, she had forgotten everything except for John and his kiss.
Realizing that Peter must have heard at least some of what had just happened, Elizabeth felt her cheeks flame. Extracting herself from the kiss and ignoring John’s murmured protest, she called out, “I’m fine, Peter.”
“All right, Dr. Weir. Just checking. I’ll be going home in a minute. See you tomorrow.” Peter tried to keep his voice neutral, but she could hear his smirk. At least she was providing him with entertainment; with what she and John (mostly John) put him through, Peter deserved something in return.
“Have a good evening, Peter,” she called and then turned her attention back to John. From his expression, it seemed as though Peter wasn’t the only one being entertained at her expense. She started to scowl at him, but he scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to the loveseat, all while ignoring her protests. He sat back down on the loveseat, settling her on his lap. She tried to escape, but John had apparently learned his lesson, because he kept his arms tight around her.
“Now, Dr. Weir,” he said, giving her his best mock-menacing look, “you are going to tell me why you became a law school professor. And if you do not, I will tickle you.”
Elizabeth glared at him but knew he had won. Being tickled was one of her pet peeves, which, of course, was why John did it, or threatened to do it, so often.
“Fine. I was tired of actually being a lawyer and President Hayes called me and suggested I come to Langford, so I did. Happy?” Elizabeth knew she was being petulant but she figured he deserved it.
She started to wriggle out of his grasp, but he tightened his grip. “I don’t think so, Elizabeth. I want the full story.” He moved one of his hands so it was against her ribs and started tickling her gently.
Elizabeth cursed her body as it betrayed her and she started giggling. “Okay, okay, you win! Just stop.”
John stopped tickling her but kept his hand on her ribs, an unspoken threat.
She sighed and began drudging up memories from her past that she would rather have not revisited. “Do you remember what I told you about why I went into law instead of foreign relations?” When he nodded, his expression grave, she continued, “After that fiasco, I could have done anything I wanted. I had a doctorate in political science and a law degree. But I took Simon’s advice and went to work at a large D.C. law firm. It was a defense firm, so we did a lot of litigation. I was good at it and was on the track to becoming a partner.”
She paused for a moment and John moved his hand from her ribs and reached over to take hers. She squeezed his hand and smiled tremulously at him, getting an encouraging smile back.
“Working at the firm was a nightmare. Eighty-hour weeks were the norm. And though most of our clients were scumbags, I still had to defend them. At first, I was able to convince myself that I was doing a service to society by defending my clients as best I could. Our adversarial legal system only works if both sides are adequately defended. Or so I told myself. It only took a couple years before I started becoming cynical. I hadn’t even realized it until I ran into an old friend from college who asked me where my ideals had gone.” Elizabeth paused a moment, remembering the shock she had felt at that moment. “I couldn’t answer her,” she whispered.
John pulled her against his chest and she let her head rest on his shoulder. He began to rub her back soothingly and she relaxed into his embrace.
“Finally, I realized I had to get out. Things had been rough with Simon for a while. We were both working so many hours we barely saw one another. And then I received the phone call from President Hayes, and he told me he would recommend me for a position as a law professor here at Langford if I wanted it. I thought about it long and hard and I realized I did want it. I knew I could regain my ideals, maybe do something good with my degree, if I could teach students to do something good with their degrees. So I gave my notice at the firm and told Simon I was moving to Nebraska. Everyone told me I was insane. There were some nasty scenes, which only convinced me that I was doing the right thing. And here I am, and I don’t regret it. Coming here was the best thing I ever did.”
Elizabeth felt drained but also relieved. Somehow, sharing bad experiences with John made them better.
John was silent for a moment, then began speaking, his tone teasing. “Of course it was the best thing you ever did. If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have met me.” He shifted her head so they could see each other’s face, and the impish expression on his face made her smile. It was impossible not to smile when faced with so much adorableness.
“You’re right. Meeting you has made it all worth it,” she teased, though they both knew she was only half joking.
Elizabeth snuggled up against him and felt herself begin to drift off for the third time in an hour. Unfortunately, also for the third time in an hour, John woke her up.
“None of that, Elizabeth,” he said, standing up and lowering her to the ground. “We need to get you some food, and then into bed. Come on.”
“John,” she protested, but he cut off her protests by pulling her in for another kiss. Releasing her, he whispered, “Besides, I think someone owes me a favor, and I know exactly what I want.”
Meeting his gaze, she saw the wicked expression on his face and mirrored it with one of her own. As they left the office, Elizabeth thought of the work piled on her desk and decided it could wait. Tonight, she was going to have fun.