Word Count:
2,658
Rating:
PG.
Category:
Humour. Friendship.
Story Status:
Complete
Summary:
Season 3. Set
after The Return, Part Two. Jack thinks they are all crazy
and
doesn’t like McKay. McKay won’t
go to sleep, but
Sheppard has a plan…
Written for the SGA_Flashfic
Return Challenge - sga_flashfic contains gen, ship and slash fics.
Beta:
Thank you to Jayne Perry for the beta-reading.
Just Us Few
By Leesa Perrie
Elizabeth had told everyone the good news; that General
O’Neill
said they could stay on Atlantis, much to everyone’s
relief.
Sheppard was particularly relieved to find out he wasn’t
sacked.
After McKay reset the macros so that they could contact Earth and
General Landry via the gate bridge, it was agreed that Woolsey would
return immediately to discuss the situation with the IOA, and to
recommend that Weir and her senior staff not be relieved of
duty.
O’Neill elected to remain for the time being, part of him
curious
to see the city in the hands Elizabeth and the others, and part of him
reluctant to leave it solely in their hands at the same time.
The Daedalus beamed down some supplies; food, drinks, toiletries,
laptops and other assorted necessities, along with a handful of marines
and scientists to hold the fort, so to speak, until those Expedition
personnel who wished to return could be recalled. It then
headed
back to Earth, to ferry back the larger supplies that
couldn’t be
gated to Atlantis via the gate bridge, and some of the personnel that
were not urgently required.
General Landry had been given a list of personnel who should be
considered a priority to contact. The list included a couple
of
doctors, some nurses, gate techs, military, especially Major Lorne, and
scientists, most especially Zelenka. Elizabeth had smiled and
suggested he was probably top priority, to ensure that McKay had
someone to discuss all the new things he was discovering thanks to the
Ancients and the Replicators, so that his brain didn’t
overload
and explode on them.
McKay had merely muttered something under his breath about not
inflating Radek’s ego more than it already was, and went back
to
checking out the newly restored systems.
John persuaded a dubious Carson into piloting Woolsey back to the SGC,
and then returning the next day with a few personnel, on the basis that
he could take the time to nip over to his apartment and check on his
turtles. Carson wasn’t fooled; he knew John was not
looking
forward to facing General Landry and intended to put it off as long as
possible, and if it wasn’t for the fact he was worried about
his pets, he would never have agreed to go.
Once Woolsey and Carson were gone, and the personnel from the Daedalus
were primed in the basics of keeping Atlantis safe, for example the use
of the gate shield, Weir suggested that everybody got some
rest.
Sheppard suggested everyone took rooms close to the control room and
close to each other, as their own quarters were rather too spread out
for his liking, from a security point of view. A suggestion
O’Neill agreed with.
It was an hour after everyone was supposed to have retired, when Jack
wandered into the control room, needing to do a final check before
heading for bed, when he stopped to watch McKay, who was showing no
signs of getting to sleep any time soon, as he worked.
He still didn’t like the man, but had to admit, to himself at
least, that there was more to McKay than met the eye.
He’d
read the mission reports after all, but still found it hard to believe
that McKay – McKay
– of all people was not only on Atlantis’ foremost
team
– their very own version of SG1 as he liked to think of them
– but actually wanted
to be on the team. And the team wanted him, too.
It boggled his mind. Even more so as he now realised just how
much a part of the team he was, and just how much the team seemed to
like the cranky pain in the ass. Even Elizabeth seemed to
like
him, though maybe that shouldn’t be that much of a
surprise. She was quite capable of handling difficult people,
and
seeing beneath their bluster to whatever lay beneath it. And
obviously something good lay beneath McKay’s myriad
personality
flaws.
Even Carter seemed to have mellowed towards the man a tiny
bit. He shook his head at that.
And it was McKay’s plan that saved Atlantis, and therefore
his
own butt. He didn’t like being in the
man’s debt, or
in the debt of the rest of them either for that matter. He
thought they were all crazy. Just what had Sheppard been
thinking
of, bringing along Elizabeth, not to mention that Beckett guy, on a
dangerous mission like this? Definitely crazy.
But perhaps no more crazy than some of the stunts that he and SG1 had
pulled in the past, though usually to save Earth, not just some alien
city, no matter how advanced it may be.
He had a light bulb moment and realised something he hadn’t
really considered before recent events. What he and SG1 had
done
was to protect their home, and what Sheppard and the others had done
was no different.
He’d heard from various sources that none of them had been
happy
back on Earth, even McKay with his hand picked team and the huge
resources thrown at his projects. O’Neill had
assumed they
would adjust, after all, Earth was home and they could keep in contact
with the friends they’d made in Atlantis.
But it wasn’t home anymore, not to them, not
entirely. And
judging by what he had seen of this bunch since the Replicators had
been dealt with, they were more than friends. They were
family.
Even McKay.
Who appeared to be in seventh heaven right now with three ZPMs to play
with, and all the repairs that the Replicators had made.
Obsessed
even, which made him think of Daniel and Sam and how obsessed they
could get with their own projects at times.
Damn scientists got excited by the strangest of things.
Elizabeth appeared by his side.
“I thought you had retired to your room?” she asked.
“And I thought you had.”
“Just felt the need to check on things again. I
suspect I’m not the only one,” she suggested.
“No,” he admitted, looking over at McKay.
“He seems very…dedicated.”
“Very,” she agreed. “He
hasn’t slept since…before we left
Earth.”
“You could make it an order,” Jack suggested,
curious to see if McKay would follow it if she did.
“No. I think I’ll leave it to
John,” she
said, adding wryly. “I prefer to save orders for
more
pressing times.”
He raised an eyebrow at her, but she just smiled, looking back to the
control room as Sheppard entered and approached McKay.
“Besides,” she admitted. “This
holds the promise of more…entertainment value.”
“McKay, you still up?” John asked.
“Hmm,” Rodney replied absently, before the comment
registered. “What? Yes, yes,
I’m still up,
evidenced by the fact that I’m
still up. One would have hoped you’d
be past making such blatantly obvious statements by now,
Colonel.”
“Obviously not,” Sheppard replied with a grin at
McKay’s glare of death sent his way.
“Oh, just go away and bother someone else,” Rodney
said,
irritated by the failure of his death glare. He should have
known
better by now than to waste it on someone as irritatingly immune as
Sheppard was. “I’ll bet Teyla is just
dying to beat
you up with her sticks. I’m sure she must have
missed that
pleasure whilst we were in exile.”
“She’s where you should be, in bed, and we were
hardly in exile.”
“Oh, and what else would you call it?” McKay
quirked an
eyebrow in question, before continuing. “And just how many
team
members did you go through at the SGC, by the way?” McKay
smiled
smugly. “Couldn’t find another me, could
you?”
“There is
no other you, McKay. At least not in this universe,
thankfully.”
Silence fell for a few minutes as McKay’s attention was
diverted by something on one of the monitors.
“So, what’re you doing?” John asked.
“Trying to find out just what the Ancients and Replicators
did to my city whilst I was gone.”
“Your
city?”
“Yes, my
city.
I’m the one that keeps this place running; I’m the
one who
comes up with the brilliant plans to save it from disaster on a far
more regular occurrence than I’d like. So, my
city.”
“Uh, huh, and of course the rest of us never do anything to
save
Atlantis or keep it running either,” John said dryly.
“Oh, you have your parts to play, of course. But
still, my
city.” Though there was a hint of a smile around
Rodney’s mouth as he said it.
O’Neill, who had been watching this with a smirk on his face,
looked at Elizabeth quizzically.
“His city, not yours?”
“Sometimes it’s better to let him have his little
delusions,” she commented with dry humour.
“But I
think he’s trying to wind John up more than anything
else.
Sometimes they’re like a couple of ten year olds.”
“So,” John said nonchalantly.
“You going to get some rest?”
“What? Hmm, oh, later. Do you realise just what we
have
now? I mean, Atlantis was amazing before this, but
now? We
have three ZPM’s. Three!
And the Replicators fixed a lot of the damaged parts of the city,
including some of the previously flooded areas. They even
fixed
the stardrive after Beckett blew it up, but we stopped them before they
could use it. We could fly Atlantis!”
McKay’s
eyes were wide with enthusiasm, and his hands were gesturing wildly.
“And you seriously expect me to rest?
There’s too
much to do, too much to find out about. I need to work out
which
areas have been fixed or not. Just think of all
those new
areas we can explore now, who knows what could be down there?”
“Yeah, black energy clouds, maybe another deadly nanovirus or
three, or even some failed experiment just waiting for an unwary
scientist to come along and get hurt by?”
“Fine. Be like that if you must. But in
amongst all
of that, there could be the answer to dealing with one of our many
enemies in this galaxy and back home.”
John sighed. A manic McKay in the beginnings of sleep
deprivation
was not going to be easy to bring down. He wished Beckett was
here to threaten to sedate Rodney. Perhaps he should have
gone
back instead? A pissed General or a manic
physicist? Not
much between them really.
So, Plan A, to talk the stubborn Canadian into going to bed, had failed
just as he’d suspected it would. Time for Plan B.
Due to the lack of security, they had not only taken rooms close to the
control room, but the food was now in the main rec room, as this was
closer than the mess hall. Plan B depended on that.
“Okay, so not sleeping anytime soon,” Sheppard
commented. “In which case, you need some coffee,
and
I’m betting some food wouldn’t go amiss now
either?”
Rodney paused in his work momentarily.
“Bring me something,” it was part demand, part
request.
“Nope.”
McKay glared at him, and Sheppard crossed his arms, leaning back
against a nearby console.
“Look, you need a break. Ten minutes to eat, and
you’ll feel much better, I’m sure. This
can wait for
ten minutes, surely?” he cajoled.
“Humph. I’ll get one of this
lot,” he waved a
hand at the Daedalus scientists close by, “to go and get me
something.”
“They’ve got more important things to do, like
ensure we
don’t get invaded whilst the rest of us sl… take a
few
minutes out to rest.”
Rodney muttered something under his breath in annoyance.
“Come on, McKay,” John continued to
cajole.
“Food, Rodney. A choice of your favourite
MREs. Not
to mention blue Jell-O and chocolate. Chocolate,
Rodney!
And coffee, lots and lots of coffee…”
“Okay, okay, fine,” Rodney snapped.
“I’ll
take ten minutes to get some food if it’ll shut you
up!”
“Good. You’d better hurry as well, I
believe Ronon’s making quite a dent in the
Jell-O…”
“He’d better leave me some,” Rodney said
grumpily, getting to his feet. “You
coming?”
“I’ll be along in a minute. Just want to
have a quick word with Elizabeth.”
“Fine.”
Sheppard wandered over to where Elizabeth and O’Neill had
been watching as McKay left for the rec room.
“Don’t tell me McKay’s stubbornness has
you beat,” Jack said, expecting more from Sheppard than that.
“You wound me, sir,” John said, a sneaky look
entering his eyes.
“Do I want to ask? Or am I better off not knowing
what
you’ve got up your sleeve?” Elizabeth queried,
knowing her
military commander too well. John gave a quick laugh and
smiled.
“Nothing to worry about,” he reassured
her.
“Teyla, Ronon and myself will be bedding down in the main rec
room, hope you don’t mind. The food and stuff can go next
door.”
“And Rodney will be joining you?” Elizabeth quirked
an eyebrow.
“Yes. He’s exhausted, even if he
doesn’t want
to acknowledge it. A nice comfy couch, some soft soothing
music,
some food and decaf
coffee…he’ll be asleep before he knows
it.
Ronon’s got a mattress from one of the rooms and is going to
sleep in front of the door, so if Rodney does wake up he’ll
have
to get past Ronon…and Rodney’s too smart to try
and tiptoe
past him, especially as he’ll have to actually step over
him…”
“I take it Ronon is a light sleeper,” Jack stated.
“Yeah. Of course, Rodney’s somehow
got the impression that waking a sleeping Ronon is a good way to find a
knife at your throat. Can’t imagine where he got
that idea
from, the guy’s too sharp to wake up like that,”
John
shrugged his shoulders, the innocent expression on his face not fooling
anyone for a moment.
“So I take it Teyla and you will be on the other two
couches?” Elizabeth asked.
“Of course. Back up, just in case McKay gets
brave.”
“Seems like you’ve got everything in hand
then,” she said with a grin and a shake of her head.
“Yeah, we’ve got McKay. I hope
you’re going to
get some rest as well. Or do I tell Beckett when he gets back
that you haven’t slept…”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes at his threat.
“Yes, I’m going. I just wanted to check
everything was fine, which it is.”
“Same here,” Jack said.
They headed down the corridor together, Sheppard saying goodnight
before ducking into the main rec room, where they could hear the sound
of soft conversation.
Jack said goodnight to Elizabeth, and went into his own room next door.
He still thought they were all crazy, but he had to grudgingly admire
their determination to save Atlantis, as well as Woolsey and
himself. It took guts to do what they did, and not just this
recent adventure either.
It was easy to forget that just being here, in the Pegasus galaxy, was
a thing of bravery in itself. Easy also to forget that a
certain
mild-mannered doctor had been off world several times, which took guts;
that a cranky, pain in the ass astrophysicist had risked his life to
save Atlantis and his friends, more than once, even risking his sanity
by taking a large does of Wraith enzyme; that an easy-going, laid-back
pilot had taken control of a city, had protected it at all costs, and
had even worked out how to handle said cranky, pain in the ass
astrophysicist; that a tough diplomat had made hard decisions, had gone
off world despite the fact that all worlds could contain danger, no
matter how friendly the locals might seem, and had earned the respect
of her command staff; something he suspected was not easily done,
especially with Sheppard and McKay.
A little bit of craziness wasn’t such a bad thing.
Sometimes the potential gains far outweighed the risks involved,
something he knew from his time with SG1.
He smiled to himself. He knew that Atlantis was in more than
capable hands.
But he still couldn’t stand McKay.
The End
