This is my story

Elizabeth entered her quarters at half past midnight. She finally finished the paperwork that was due with tomorrow's report to Earth.

Six death reports and personal messages to families.

A Wraith attack. Two survivors. Two.

There was a knock and she opened the doors to find John. He must have been waiting. Immediately, she went into his arms, the tears she'd been holding back escaping.

"I shouldn't have-" she began.

“Shh…” he soothed. “You did the right thing. Come on.”

He led her into the bathroom and started running a bath. She was silent, only moving when required as he undressed her. Gently, he sat her down in the tub.

She hugged her knees and stared straight ahead. She could see steam coming up from the water, curling and twisting in the cooler air.

“I should have-" she tried, her mind going over and over the events. The briefing before the mission. Sending reinforcements after the emergency call.

“You did what you could,” he interrupted, dipping a cloth in the water and running it over her shoulders.

“Did I?” she asked, resting her chin on her knees as a sob escaped. “We've lost so many.”

“We're in a war,” John said simply.

"I used to help prevent wars,” she reminded him, turning her head to look at him. “What happened?”

He didn't reply for a long moment. Instead, he ran the cloth up and down her back. It began to soothe her.

“You went from mediator to the one making the tough decisions,” he finally said.

Carefully, he poured some water over her hair. It hung wet and loose in her face, but she didn't bother to move it.

He was right. Before, she'd do her best but ultimately things weren't up to her. She also hadn't been privy to all the information. Now? Now she knew all the gritty details. Now it was all up to her.

He worked shampoo into her hair, his fingers firm. He was massaging more than necessary and she sighed.

“That's nice,” she admitted, closing her eyes. He focused on the base of her skull for a few moments and she felt the tension leaving.

“I know. Lean back.”

She tilted her head back and he rinsed her hair with warm, fresh water.

“Here,” he said, handing her the cloth and disappearing into her room.

She quickly washed the rest of her body. He returned and held up a large towel.

“I didn't know Wrath were that close to the planet,” she said uncertainly. They couldn't have known.

“No,” he replied, wrapping her in the towel and rubbing her arms. “We didn't know.”

We. Reminding her that they were in this together.

She leaned her forehead against his until he stepped back and helped her out of the tub.

Dry and in pajamas, she climbed into bed.

“Stay?” she asked. 

“Scoot,” he replied, undressing to his underwear.

It was a tight fit on the small, single bed, but they made it work.

“I did the best I could,” she finally said, hugging him and resting her head on his chest. “We did the best we could.”