The Long Way Home

Chapter Fifteen: Reprieve

Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love
Like I'm the only one who knows your heart
Only girl in the world...

Rhianna - Only Girl In The World

John was asleep. His chin was resting on his palm so his head was tilted towards the screen of his laptop as she watched from the solid doorway with a small smile spreading across her features. He'd been burning the midnight oil recently.

Cass had barely seen him over the past few weeks, she'd been covering Carson's shifts at the Infirmary while he worked on some gene research with the Hoffans. The people of that planet thought that they had been working on a vaccination that would stop the Wraith from feeding on humans. Unfortunately they were decades away from getting anywhere with the formula. However with Carson's help and advanced technology it would appear he had stepped up the process and they were getting ready to put a prototype into action.

John had been spending a lot of time offworld recently, mission after mission through the Stargate had taken it's toll on him. She had seen the exhaustion set on his features over the past few days. He rubbed his eyes a lot when he was tired, his handsome features had looked haggard.

Cass stepped into the room, setting the mug of coffee beside the laptop before blowing lightly into John's ear. He jerked awake as his hand slipped out from underneath his chin. Her delicate hand was on his shoulder, her thumb rubbing light circles over the knots in his shoulder.

"Sleeping on the job Major?" Cass teased in a low tone before placing a butterfly kiss upon his unshaven cheek.

"Hm." John uttered, his fingers curling around her slender wrist and gently pulling her arm around his neck so that she was hugging him around his broad shoulders. "Just resting my eyes."

"I don't believe you." Cass's breath ghosted over his ear, as she withdrew from his weary body.

"Hence why you brought me coffee." John responded gratefully as he leaned forward to take the mug between his large hands.

Cass dropped into the chair across from John, crossing her legs as she propped her chin up on her hand watching him intently.

"I appreciate this." John said toasting her with his cup.

"You look like you needed it." Cass told him simply.

That's what John liked about Cass, he didn't feel pressurized by her in anyway. As far as she was concerned he was busy, they would make time for each other if they could. He enjoyed stolen moments like this. It was a moment of silence in his busy mind, a fragment of their connection. She always knew what he needed without the words ever emitting from his mouth.

"All these mission reports just keep piling up." John told her, rubbing his hands over his rugged face.

"With great power comes great amounts of paperwork." Cass said sympathetically, raising her eyebrows knowingly.

"Here's me thinking you were gonna quote Spiderman on me." John retorted before drinking deeply from his mug.

"Spiderman's too whiny." Cass informed him with a grimace. "Batman however, he has a lot of things going for him. Broody, dark and intimidating with the best Detective skills in any comic franchise. "

John rolled his eyes in response to her list before speaking.

"What is it with you and McKay?" he asked her. "The two of you are like D.C's main supporters. Marvel is so much cooler The X-men, The Incredible Hulk..."

Cass snorted at his statement.

"Really?" she scorned. "The Incredible Hulk was one of the best things to come out of Marvel?"

"Whoa, whoa." John held up his hands in mock surprise. "You think I don't know your judging my comic book collection based on the movies you've seen?"

"They were bad John, I mean literally awful. I turned off Hulk half way through because my brain started to shut down at the stupidity of it." Cass informed him, gesturing with her hands.

"See you have to read the comics and see how his story develops. It's actually quite endearing in a large, smashing things kinda way." John told her humorously.

Cass held up her index finger indicating she'd just had an idea.

"Ah ha, I see where the impulse comes from." Cass uttered light heartedly before she pointed at him. "You do the whole John smash thing when you go off world."

"Hey people shoot at me." John told her with a shrug. "I just shoot back. I can't help it if they find my personality a little..."

"Your a smart ass." Cass interrupted as she looked at him pointedly. "That is what makes people want to shoot at you."

"They don't usually manage to hit me." John said with that charming boyish smile settling across his rugged features.

"Please I have seen that bullet hole." Cass reminded him, patting the indentation in his right thigh knowingly.

John chuckled as he ducked his head staring into the recesses of his coffee mug. His fingers were wrapped around the heated mug warming his cool fingertips.

"Your the only one that has." he told her before clearing throat gruffly."Your working tonight right?"

It sent a little possessive streak running right through Cass at that knowledge. That was her claim to him, he wasn't her possession and she would never see him like that but she was glad he was her person. He was dominant and dependable. Each scar that patterned his body was a piece of his history and Cass liked being the only one to know the story behind each and every one of them. She adored running her eager fingertips over the raised flesh and kissing them until John's only memory was of her mouth.

"Sadly." Cass answered in response to John's question.

"Maybe I'll come by." John said nonchalantly. "You know see how people in the Infirmary are doing."

Cass understood the meaning hidden underneath his words. He wanted to see her. She had taken a step by entering his work environment as his partner and yet again their relationship was changing. It showed him she was comfortable with their situation and that he was permitted to do the same. The relationship was becoming more than a secret and John was content with the fact Cass was taking the words he had spoken on the beach seriously. He didn't want what they had to be some sordid and hidden affair.

They were partners, he couldn't tell her to her face yet but he thought this was for life. Cass was more than just his girlfriend. John had never believed in soulmates, hell he had never believed in souls until now but when he looked at Cass he knew that his beliefs were shifting. He felt like God was sparing him from a life of aloneness by blessing him with this woman. She was becoming everything to him and he had never realized he needed her until she had stepped into his life.

Cass cast him a final smile before she rose to her feet and slipped right out the door.