I am testing out my skills now. I'm trying my hand at writing McKay and Sheppard, and honestly it was so much fun to write. Hopefully it is an enjoyable read. Same rule applies though. You can read this story in conjunction with my other Atlantis fics or on its own.


Friends

"You think Atlantis could be alive?" John asked twirling a pen in his fingers as he leaned his elbows on the table.

The clicking on Rodney's laptop ceased for a moment as he looked up over its screen, his round face twisted in a sort of pondering frown.

"I don't know… maybe." He muttered, staring straight ahead rather blankly. "...It would sort of make sense actually, given how little we know about her."

"Her?" John asked with a wry smile. "Her?"

"What?" Rodney grumbled, looking back at his computer. "What else am I going to say? 'It'? Doesn't sound very personal. Besides it seems the appropriate connotation to use in this situation. Ships on Earth are always referred to as female. Something about the early explorers enjoying the female reference… I don't know. They were all really simple minded back then. But. Atlantis is a ship… well, both a city and a ship but… same rules should apply. It would only make sense to refer to Atlantis as 'she'."

John smiled to himself, leaning back on his chair and lifting his feet, resting them on the tabletop as he stuck the end of the pen in his mouth. "Yeah, sure, but you just seemed a little too eager to call her 'she'. You been having some fantasies Dr. McKay?"

"What? No. Hey, get your feet off my desk!" Rodney exclaimed, a little flustered.

John raised his brows accusingly. "You don't sound very convincing. You might want to see to that Mr. Seer drama-whatever."

"It is the Sears Drama Festival… and I won it. Thank you very much." Rodney glared at him. John did not let up. "Fine. Have I had fantasies about a beautiful supermodel Ancient woman with the soul of Atlantis who is the first alien woman not to be attracted to you, but me? Yes. YES! There, will you just-"

"That's a little harsh, don't you think?" John interrupted, pouting quite comically.

"Harsh? HARSH?" Rodney exclaimed then began counting on his fingers. "Hmm. Lets see shall we? Teyla, that Ancient priestess, that other one, the two princesses, your space pirate girl, Teyla again… basically every single woman you've ever said 'hi' to have fallen at your feet. I wouldn't even be surprised if Elizabeth and even Sam had a little thing for you."

John shrugged. "Well… there was that one time with Sam…"

"WHAT?" Rodney exploded, his face bright scarlet with sudden rage.

John chuckled. "Relax, McKay, I'm kidding."

McKay heaved a massive sigh of relief, calming down considerably.

John made a little face as he picked up some metal cube from McKay's desk and looked at it. "What… you really think I'd tell you if we ever-"

Rodney glared at him with pure hatred.

John threw on a passive expression. "I wouldn't. That's just not cool. Come on. Bros before-"

Rodney reached forward, wrenching the cube from John's hands. "Get out."

"What did I do?" He whined, throwing his hands up in innocence.

Rodney grumbled to himself, rounding the table and returning to work. "…stupid perfect solider boy… stupid hair… I wish we had clowns in Pegasus, I'd sick them all on you."

"Hey!" John protested, but couldn't help chuckle painfully. That threat was just a little too personal.

McKay gave him one last dirty look before going back to his work.

"Jennifer know about these particular fantasies?" John inquired, not at all ready to depart as requested.

"Of course she does, we tell each other everything." Rodney replied without looking up.

"Really?" John questioned, his voice registering substantial surprise. He was actually disturbed by that thought.

"No!" Rodney nearly shrieked. "How stupid do you think I am? You really think she'd put up with me if I told her everything going on up there? My mind is like some serious Mad Hatter territory. "

John thought about the time he'd been in McKay's head… out on that rowboat while Rodney willingly dreamed a whalers nightmare. He made a face. Nope. He really didn't think she would stick around.

"Point taken." He mumbled, chewing on the end of the pen again. Rodney rolled his eyes and went back to work.

"So, what do you think she's called? …Atlantis."

Rodney groaned, his shoulders sagging. He looked up, over the top of the computer screen, to see John still with the pen in his mouth folding a piece of paper into a simple airplane. What was he…? Where had he gotten…? Rodney frowned and looked around the computer, noticing the stack of important files next to where Sheppard's feet had been.

"Hey! What are you doing? I have to submit those!"

John met his gaze holding the airplane aloft.

"How much you want to bet I can get this to land on your laptop?"

"Pointed towards the door?" McKay scoffed. "It would be impossible. Improbable pointed in any direction. There would be no way you could be certain that-"

"Twenty bucks." John declared, never breaking eye contact, and threw the plane.

The airplane made a perfect wide loop away from the door, around the desk they occupied and then lazily came to rest on the laptop's keys, where McKay had been working.

"Wha…" Rodney stammered, staring at it then John.

"That's twenty bucks, American. Not your Canadian stuff. Its like monopoly money. I'm over it. The thrill is gone for me." John declared, reaching over the computer screen to retrieve his plane.

"That… that was just a fluke." Rodney declared, suddenly coming back to himself at the threat he would have to pay out any money at all.

"Oh really?" John challenged, narrowing his gaze, he glanced around the room then pointed. "Filing cabinet."

Once more, pointing the plane in an entirely different direction, he threw it. And once more it obeyed his call and after a calm, leisurely glide around the room, came to a gentle landing atop the filing cabinet.

He grinned widely as Rodney's face registered shock. The doctor picked up the airplane with a confused frown.

"How did you…?"

John, still highly pleased with himself, withdrew another paper randomly from the pile, leaving the first plane in Rodney's possession.

"What? Everyone can do that."

"I can't." Rodney confessed, his face still a blanket of surprise. "Can't even make one that flies in a straight line."

"What… really?" John asked incredulously. Then he remembered the week of Jumper training with Rodney and wasn't so surprised anymore.

Rodney's brows raised a minuet degree, emphasizing the degree of shame he felt, before he shook his head and came back to his senses. He looked at John, making yet another airplane from his important files.

"Hey! What are you….?" Rodney gave up trying to stop him and instead asked a question he should have a long time ago. "...why are you even here? Don't you have some place to be? Where's Teyla? Shouldn't she be babysitting you?"

"She's napping with Torren." John replied with a little shrug. "I drank the last Red Bull I got from Jackson's girlfriend last time I was on Earth… couldn't sleep if I wanted to."

Rodney continued to stare at him rather incredulously as so many unanswered questions came to mind.

"Want to see how far we can fly one of these babies?" John asked, standing as he raised a brow in silent challenge.

/\

Teyla found them sometime later seated on the floor in the hallway outside Rodney's lab, papers spread out around them, folding manically. They were creating what looked like crude ships or birds out of the paper.

They both looked up when she approached. Rodney grinned though, folding even faster when John jumped to his feet, abandoning the construction of yet another plane to eagerly reach for the baby she toted. She handed Torren over without a word, barely glancing at John as he kissed the baby's head and mumbled something incoherent to him. Instead she focused all her attention on Rodney.

"What are you two doing?"

"I'm teaching Rodney to make paper airplanes." John explained, giving her a quick smile.

"I can make them, they just never really fly… well." Rodney protested.

Teyla smiled at him regardless before looking back at John with confusion. "For what purpose?"

"It's fun." John declared brightly. "Here. Rodney, show her. But use mine."

"Mine's good. See." Rodney retorted, clamoring to his feet with a plane. "Look. It's exactly the same as yours."

"No its not. Yours barely fly. Mine went all the way to the tower." John insisted, pointing at the spire in question before returning his hand to cradle the precious baby he held.

"That's just because there was a wind. If there hadn't-"

"You're just jealous." John interrupted then looked at Teyla, all charm. "He's just jealous. His barely fly."

She raised her brows, displaying proud understanding, and accepted the arm he looped around her shoulder. Her arm encircled his waist and the two stood there as Rodney held out the airplane over the railing. He threw it gently and they all watched it soar. It traveled in a perfect and true straight line all the way to the nearest tower before veering off towards the left and disappearing between the smaller spires.

"See!" Rodney exclaimed. "Mine fly."

"That one was mine." John defended, glaring at him.

"No it wasn't." Rodney protested, looking slightly ashamed and maybe even a little cornered… the tell tale sign he was lying. Behind his back he discreetly dropped the other airplane he had held.

"I saw that!" John exclaimed, pointing at Rodney with the hand that hung on Teyla's shoulder.

She laughed at the pair of them. They were impossible.


Were the characters true to their nature? Let me know because I have plans for them in the future.