The Deep End 3/4
This chapter is rated PG-13. Thanks to everyone for reading so far!
~ ^ ~
Despite having all the love and affection in the world for her friend, she was going to kill Teyla. Having been unable to sleep, Teyla, in all of her infinite wisdom, had decided to get up and start cooking. At 5:30 in the morning. Normally, they both waited until close to 8AM to begin cooking. The earliness wouldn't have been a problem if it had not been for the fact that they had neglected to bring the turkey pan down from the top shelf in the cabinet the night before. Said turkey pan was about as large as Teyla herself, and so not only did it come off of the shelf, so did half the contents of the cabinet, leaving a muzzy, disheveled Elizabeth to vault downstairs and find her friend half-buried in baking pans. She could still hear the clatter of metal hitting her linoleum floor some hours later.
After a couple of hours of unenthusiastically mixing and stirring, the turkey, cornbread, and dressing were all in the oven. The mashed potatoes would be put on the stove once dinnertime neared. The salad was mixed and placed in the fridge to stay fresh while they waited to eat. While Teyla got herself cleaned up, Elizabeth handled straightening up the kitchen. Ronon knocked lightly on the back door just as she finished.
"Merry Christmas," he rumbled as soon as the door opened. His large hands awkwardly thrust the pumpkin pie he was carrying in her direction. Elizabeth smiled softly, moving aside to let him into the room.
"Thank you, Ronon. Merry Christmas to you, too."
Ronon shrugged off his coat and hung it up.
"Make yourself at home," Elizabeth continued, "I'm going to get cleaned up. Teyla should be out of the shower soon. You know where everything is, feel free to turn on the satellite, I think John hides the remote under the right-hand cushion."
Ronon nodded, agreeing, "That's always where I find it."
She nodded lamely once before setting the pie on the counter. "I'll be back."
She darted up the stairs to shower and change. Twenty blissful minutes later, she sauntered down into the den, only to spy Teyla and Ronon jumping apart guiltily upon her entrance.
"Don't mind me," she grinned, tossing a teasing look at Teyla.
"You have no room to talk, Elizabeth," Teyla retorted. "I pity John's poor mother next week."
Both women laughed and Teyla reached over, handing Elizabeth a glass of eggnog.
"Shall we?" she asked, nodding toward the living room, where the few gifts they would be exchanging nestled under the tree. Nodding, the other two followed her out of the room and down the hall.
Teyla and Ronon settled on the floor at the base of the couch, and Elizabeth sank into the space alongside the tree. They always took turns handing out their gifts to one another. This year it was her turn to go first. Teyla's present was the closest, so she started with that.
"This is from me," she told her, handing the gold-wrapped gift over. "And this is from John. It's actually for you both."
Teyla eagerly tore into the wrapping paper, grinning wider than she ever seemed to normally. Once the gift was revealed to her, her eyes grew wide and she bit her lip.
"They're beautiful, Elizabeth. Thank you."
Elizabeth nodded, smiling. She had known that the intricately designed tea set and meditation supplies would be an instant hit.
John's gift was also met with warmth. The Visa gift card wasn't much, but it was enough to cover dinner on one of their vacation nights, though knowing those two, it would be used for campfire food instead of a romantic meal.
Elizabeth passed Ronon his gift next, watching as Teyla's eyes went wide. As Ronon unwrapped the awkwardly packaged gift, Teyla began to chuckle. Elizabeth glanced at her once, but Teyla shrugged and made an effort to contain her mirth. Then she realized that Ronon was looking at her as if she had grown a second head.
"A pogo stick…" Ronon rumbled, sounding more confused than she would have expected, given Teyla's insistence that it was what he wanted.
Elizabeth lunged with a throw pillow, clobbering the side of Teyla's head with it. Teyla simply cackled, not even making an attempt at playing innocent. She'd been had. She continued her pillow assault on her friend until Teyla finally cried uncle.
"I told Elizabeth that you always wanted a pogo stick for Christmas when you were a child," Teyla explained, wiping laughter-induced tears from her eyes. Ronon nodded thoughtfully.
"It does seem like fun," he concluded finally. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Elizabeth replied automatically, some of her embarrassment having worn off. Teyla reached over and patted her hand.
"I got you good, Elizabeth, you have to admit."
"That you did. That you did," Elizabeth agreed, pursing her lips and pretending to glare at her friend. Teyla simply smiled back.
"I believe it is my turn now. Trade spots with me."
Teyla handed her a large box. "This is from both of us."
As she opened Teyla and Ronon's gift, she was once again struck by how well her friend knew her. She had been quietly eyeing that particular set of pajamas for months, and somehow Teyla had found out. She had also shelled out a pretty penny for them, no less.
"How did you know?" Elizabeth breathed into Teyla's shoulder, hugging her friend tightly. Teyla's soft laughter warmed her.
"I saw you lingering over them many months ago. You don't normally do that, and so I knew they were something special to you."
"Thank you. Thank you both," she added.
Running a finger lightly over the silk, Elizabeth watched as Teyla fished out another small package from under the tree. She handed it to Ronon almost shyly.
"I know we agreed, but I saw this and thought of you."
Ronon took the package and nodded, reaching into his coat. Elizabeth smothered a triumphant laugh when he brandished a gift almost the same size. Not exchanging presents, right.
"It's okay, 'cause I got you something, too."
They were silent as they opened their gifts, finding identical Swiss Army knives underneath a layer of tissue paper. All three of them laughed, and she watched her two friends touch foreheads with exasperated affection. Despite trying to avert her eyes and give them the privacy they deserved, she got a glimpse of Ronon ducking his head and stealing a quick, more than friendly kiss. There was one mystery solved.
As per tradition, once all parties present had exchanged gifts, the floor was opened up for the free for all of the remaining goods under the tree. Both she and Teyla reached for the packages from their mothers first, laughing at their predictability, even as they tore into the wrapping. Her mother's gift was a treasure: a first edition, leather-bound book of poetry, all in Latin. She was instantly lost in the text, reading aloud in the barest whisper, the dead language rolling off her tongue as easily as any modern one. She hardly noticed the remaining gifts piled at her feet. However, she did take notice of the pillow Teyla hurled at her.
"Open the rest of your gifts, Elizabeth."
"You sound like my mother," she groused. "If I want to spend half the morning reading a book, I will. I'm a grown-up," she insisted, sounding much like she had at sixteen when she'd had the same argument with her parents.
"Brat," Teyla retorted warmly.
Her reply was to stick her tongue out at her friend. Beside Teyla, Ronon laughed, stretching his hands out over the couch.
Finally, she was able to settle her new book on the floor, though she kept it close just in case. She opened the gifts from her brother's family, smiling at the hand-drawn Christmas cards, the gift card to a department store, and yet another chenille throw to drape over the furniture. This one would go well on the couch in the den.
Eventually, John's gift was the only one left. She picked up the box, turning it over in her hands. A surge of apprehension filled her; he had been so excited about her seeing his gift finally, but so distant with his affection otherwise. What if he'd gotten her something light-hearted, without strings, and she had gone past his comfort line again with his gift?
"I doubt it's anything live, Elizabeth."
"Hush," she ordered, swatting in Teyla's direction before tugging at the tape on the box.
Although the box itself was rather large, her actual gift was a wrapped book-shaped object surrounded in tissue paper. Tearing the brightly colored paper away, she barked out a laugh. John had covered up the actual title with construction paper and scribbled two words, 'Pool Maintenance', instead.
"Pool Maintenance for Dummies," Ronon read. "That sounds like an insult."
Elizabeth shook her head, peeking at the inside cover and shutting it before Teyla could be nosy and look as well. This book would most definitely not help her maintain the pool. Her cheeks already felt hot and she knew that soon, her entire face would be bright red.
Trust John Sheppard to give her Kama Sutra for Dummies for Christmas.
Part of her wanted to put it away and wait until she was alone to continue investigating her present, but instead she opened the cover again. John's almost indecipherable scrawl told her to turn to page 52, promising it wouldn't embarrass her in front of Teyla too much more than it already had. She did as he asked, and immediately an envelope fell into her lap. Closing the book and setting it down, she slid a finger under the edge of the envelope, breaking the seal and removing the contents. A certificate and another note greeted her. She nearly whooped with joy after studying the documentation. He had given her a year's worth of flying lessons. A year. With him, or with any instructor she wanted, he promised in his note. He also confessed that getting the time off for New Year's hadn't been his motivation for working so much the last month or so; it had been to help pay for the lessons. He had known immediately that she loved being in the air, and so the extra time was worth it.
Flipping to the end of the book, per his instructions, she once again realized that her reservations had been for nothing. As usual, John Sheppard managed to surprise her. Even while he appeared to have swept the more personal aspects of their relationship under the rug in favor of the more physical ones, this proved that he was always thinking about them.
She bit her lip, reading his final note over and over. No matter how many times she went through it, her eyes continued to linger on the last few lines.
Assuming the offer is still open, I'd like to move in when my bed does, as long as it's after the first of the year, 'cause I can get out of lease without penalty then - I was just too chickenshit to say so earlier, even to you. I'm not very good at saying important things. Especially about feelings and whatnot. And I don't mean love of football, or chili con queso dip. I mean other loves, for others, for you.
Part of her expected the words to fade away, having existed only in her imagination. She knew they were real though, because she could hear John in every line. She could see him licking his lips and tugging at that impossible hair of his as he thought of the best way to say what he wanted to say. He had to have been mulling this over for some time, given the courage behind his words, despite their goofy, awkward turn.
She wasn't aware that she'd been biting her lip until the tang of blood registered on her tongue. She had been so nervous about ‘them’ lately that she hadn't even expected John to do what he'd done and say what he had - the fact that he had only scared her more.
She licked the blood off her lower lip and took a deep breath. Rereading the letter once more only confirmed his sincerity, and she finally found the guts to settle her eyes on the postscript.
I do, you know.
End of Part 3
Part 4
~ ^ ~
Despite having all the love and affection in the world for her friend, she was going to kill Teyla. Having been unable to sleep, Teyla, in all of her infinite wisdom, had decided to get up and start cooking. At 5:30 in the morning. Normally, they both waited until close to 8AM to begin cooking. The earliness wouldn't have been a problem if it had not been for the fact that they had neglected to bring the turkey pan down from the top shelf in the cabinet the night before. Said turkey pan was about as large as Teyla herself, and so not only did it come off of the shelf, so did half the contents of the cabinet, leaving a muzzy, disheveled Elizabeth to vault downstairs and find her friend half-buried in baking pans. She could still hear the clatter of metal hitting her linoleum floor some hours later.
After a couple of hours of unenthusiastically mixing and stirring, the turkey, cornbread, and dressing were all in the oven. The mashed potatoes would be put on the stove once dinnertime neared. The salad was mixed and placed in the fridge to stay fresh while they waited to eat. While Teyla got herself cleaned up, Elizabeth handled straightening up the kitchen. Ronon knocked lightly on the back door just as she finished.
"Merry Christmas," he rumbled as soon as the door opened. His large hands awkwardly thrust the pumpkin pie he was carrying in her direction. Elizabeth smiled softly, moving aside to let him into the room.
"Thank you, Ronon. Merry Christmas to you, too."
Ronon shrugged off his coat and hung it up.
"Make yourself at home," Elizabeth continued, "I'm going to get cleaned up. Teyla should be out of the shower soon. You know where everything is, feel free to turn on the satellite, I think John hides the remote under the right-hand cushion."
Ronon nodded, agreeing, "That's always where I find it."
She nodded lamely once before setting the pie on the counter. "I'll be back."
She darted up the stairs to shower and change. Twenty blissful minutes later, she sauntered down into the den, only to spy Teyla and Ronon jumping apart guiltily upon her entrance.
"Don't mind me," she grinned, tossing a teasing look at Teyla.
"You have no room to talk, Elizabeth," Teyla retorted. "I pity John's poor mother next week."
Both women laughed and Teyla reached over, handing Elizabeth a glass of eggnog.
"Shall we?" she asked, nodding toward the living room, where the few gifts they would be exchanging nestled under the tree. Nodding, the other two followed her out of the room and down the hall.
Teyla and Ronon settled on the floor at the base of the couch, and Elizabeth sank into the space alongside the tree. They always took turns handing out their gifts to one another. This year it was her turn to go first. Teyla's present was the closest, so she started with that.
"This is from me," she told her, handing the gold-wrapped gift over. "And this is from John. It's actually for you both."
Teyla eagerly tore into the wrapping paper, grinning wider than she ever seemed to normally. Once the gift was revealed to her, her eyes grew wide and she bit her lip.
"They're beautiful, Elizabeth. Thank you."
Elizabeth nodded, smiling. She had known that the intricately designed tea set and meditation supplies would be an instant hit.
John's gift was also met with warmth. The Visa gift card wasn't much, but it was enough to cover dinner on one of their vacation nights, though knowing those two, it would be used for campfire food instead of a romantic meal.
Elizabeth passed Ronon his gift next, watching as Teyla's eyes went wide. As Ronon unwrapped the awkwardly packaged gift, Teyla began to chuckle. Elizabeth glanced at her once, but Teyla shrugged and made an effort to contain her mirth. Then she realized that Ronon was looking at her as if she had grown a second head.
"A pogo stick…" Ronon rumbled, sounding more confused than she would have expected, given Teyla's insistence that it was what he wanted.
Elizabeth lunged with a throw pillow, clobbering the side of Teyla's head with it. Teyla simply cackled, not even making an attempt at playing innocent. She'd been had. She continued her pillow assault on her friend until Teyla finally cried uncle.
"I told Elizabeth that you always wanted a pogo stick for Christmas when you were a child," Teyla explained, wiping laughter-induced tears from her eyes. Ronon nodded thoughtfully.
"It does seem like fun," he concluded finally. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Elizabeth replied automatically, some of her embarrassment having worn off. Teyla reached over and patted her hand.
"I got you good, Elizabeth, you have to admit."
"That you did. That you did," Elizabeth agreed, pursing her lips and pretending to glare at her friend. Teyla simply smiled back.
"I believe it is my turn now. Trade spots with me."
Teyla handed her a large box. "This is from both of us."
As she opened Teyla and Ronon's gift, she was once again struck by how well her friend knew her. She had been quietly eyeing that particular set of pajamas for months, and somehow Teyla had found out. She had also shelled out a pretty penny for them, no less.
"How did you know?" Elizabeth breathed into Teyla's shoulder, hugging her friend tightly. Teyla's soft laughter warmed her.
"I saw you lingering over them many months ago. You don't normally do that, and so I knew they were something special to you."
"Thank you. Thank you both," she added.
Running a finger lightly over the silk, Elizabeth watched as Teyla fished out another small package from under the tree. She handed it to Ronon almost shyly.
"I know we agreed, but I saw this and thought of you."
Ronon took the package and nodded, reaching into his coat. Elizabeth smothered a triumphant laugh when he brandished a gift almost the same size. Not exchanging presents, right.
"It's okay, 'cause I got you something, too."
They were silent as they opened their gifts, finding identical Swiss Army knives underneath a layer of tissue paper. All three of them laughed, and she watched her two friends touch foreheads with exasperated affection. Despite trying to avert her eyes and give them the privacy they deserved, she got a glimpse of Ronon ducking his head and stealing a quick, more than friendly kiss. There was one mystery solved.
As per tradition, once all parties present had exchanged gifts, the floor was opened up for the free for all of the remaining goods under the tree. Both she and Teyla reached for the packages from their mothers first, laughing at their predictability, even as they tore into the wrapping. Her mother's gift was a treasure: a first edition, leather-bound book of poetry, all in Latin. She was instantly lost in the text, reading aloud in the barest whisper, the dead language rolling off her tongue as easily as any modern one. She hardly noticed the remaining gifts piled at her feet. However, she did take notice of the pillow Teyla hurled at her.
"Open the rest of your gifts, Elizabeth."
"You sound like my mother," she groused. "If I want to spend half the morning reading a book, I will. I'm a grown-up," she insisted, sounding much like she had at sixteen when she'd had the same argument with her parents.
"Brat," Teyla retorted warmly.
Her reply was to stick her tongue out at her friend. Beside Teyla, Ronon laughed, stretching his hands out over the couch.
Finally, she was able to settle her new book on the floor, though she kept it close just in case. She opened the gifts from her brother's family, smiling at the hand-drawn Christmas cards, the gift card to a department store, and yet another chenille throw to drape over the furniture. This one would go well on the couch in the den.
Eventually, John's gift was the only one left. She picked up the box, turning it over in her hands. A surge of apprehension filled her; he had been so excited about her seeing his gift finally, but so distant with his affection otherwise. What if he'd gotten her something light-hearted, without strings, and she had gone past his comfort line again with his gift?
"I doubt it's anything live, Elizabeth."
"Hush," she ordered, swatting in Teyla's direction before tugging at the tape on the box.
Although the box itself was rather large, her actual gift was a wrapped book-shaped object surrounded in tissue paper. Tearing the brightly colored paper away, she barked out a laugh. John had covered up the actual title with construction paper and scribbled two words, 'Pool Maintenance', instead.
"Pool Maintenance for Dummies," Ronon read. "That sounds like an insult."
Elizabeth shook her head, peeking at the inside cover and shutting it before Teyla could be nosy and look as well. This book would most definitely not help her maintain the pool. Her cheeks already felt hot and she knew that soon, her entire face would be bright red.
Trust John Sheppard to give her Kama Sutra for Dummies for Christmas.
Part of her wanted to put it away and wait until she was alone to continue investigating her present, but instead she opened the cover again. John's almost indecipherable scrawl told her to turn to page 52, promising it wouldn't embarrass her in front of Teyla too much more than it already had. She did as he asked, and immediately an envelope fell into her lap. Closing the book and setting it down, she slid a finger under the edge of the envelope, breaking the seal and removing the contents. A certificate and another note greeted her. She nearly whooped with joy after studying the documentation. He had given her a year's worth of flying lessons. A year. With him, or with any instructor she wanted, he promised in his note. He also confessed that getting the time off for New Year's hadn't been his motivation for working so much the last month or so; it had been to help pay for the lessons. He had known immediately that she loved being in the air, and so the extra time was worth it.
Flipping to the end of the book, per his instructions, she once again realized that her reservations had been for nothing. As usual, John Sheppard managed to surprise her. Even while he appeared to have swept the more personal aspects of their relationship under the rug in favor of the more physical ones, this proved that he was always thinking about them.
She bit her lip, reading his final note over and over. No matter how many times she went through it, her eyes continued to linger on the last few lines.
Assuming the offer is still open, I'd like to move in when my bed does, as long as it's after the first of the year, 'cause I can get out of lease without penalty then - I was just too chickenshit to say so earlier, even to you. I'm not very good at saying important things. Especially about feelings and whatnot. And I don't mean love of football, or chili con queso dip. I mean other loves, for others, for you.
Part of her expected the words to fade away, having existed only in her imagination. She knew they were real though, because she could hear John in every line. She could see him licking his lips and tugging at that impossible hair of his as he thought of the best way to say what he wanted to say. He had to have been mulling this over for some time, given the courage behind his words, despite their goofy, awkward turn.
She wasn't aware that she'd been biting her lip until the tang of blood registered on her tongue. She had been so nervous about ‘them’ lately that she hadn't even expected John to do what he'd done and say what he had - the fact that he had only scared her more.
She licked the blood off her lower lip and took a deep breath. Rereading the letter once more only confirmed his sincerity, and she finally found the guts to settle her eyes on the postscript.
I do, you know.
End of Part 3
Part 4