For the LiveJournal community letter love, the letter Q...spoilers for season 2's Trinity.

Quantum

It started immediately after the disaster with Project Arcturus. Rodney had barricaded himself in his lab whenever he wasn't off-world, keen to make amends for his mistakes. He had even taken to having his meals in there or in his room, anxious to avoid any unnecessary interactions with non-scientific members of the expedition. Despite her cajoling, John had refused to make any effort towards easing Rodney's guilt, and Teyla had felt that it was up to her to restore the confidence in her team member and friend.

"Teyla, was there something you wanted?" She hadn't realised that he had noticed her presence in the doorway, his eyes barely leaving the Ancient device in his hands.

"I have brought you coffee, Rodney."

Now she had his attention. A genuine smile crossed his face, the first that she had see in almost a week, and she couldn't resist smiling back. She entered the lab and he met her halfway, hands outstretched and eager to accept her gift. Their fingers met around the mug, and she was surprised to feel such a strong heat emanating from him. As he raised the gift towards his mouth, he realised that she had only brought the one mug.

"Oh, do you want some of this?" Before she could answer, he had crossed the room to pick up a glass beaker and pour half of the liquid into it. She laughed as he handed the mug back and brought the beaker to his lips. His eyes closed as he took a sip, giving the impression that coffee was a luxury that he rarely indulged in, though she knew that the reality was quite the opposite.

Her attention turned to the large chalkboard behind him and the mass of writing adorning it. Rows of equations, some finished and others leading only to a large question mark intrigued her. Rodney followed as she walked up to the board, deep in thought.

"That's just some of Radek's scribblings. Nothing of interest really."

"What does it mean?"

"Nothing. It's pointless, it's all wrong anyway."

"Then what is the right way?"

He sighed heavily before placing the beaker on a nearby bench. "Teyla, there is no way that you could understand Schrodinger wave functions without having a basic understanding of quantum mechanics -"

"Teach me."

"What?"

She closed the gap between them. Reaching for his hand, she entwined her fingers with his before returning his gaze. "I want you to teach me quantum mechanics, Rodney."

"Wow. That has to be one of the sexiest things anyone has ever said to me..." His voice trailed away as she cocked an eyebrow in reply. Rodney cleared his throat and reluctantly untangled his fingers as he turned to the board.

"Right, well the first thing that you need to know is that electrons have the properties of both particles and waves. They have a mass, yet their probability distribution displays an interference pattern typical of a wave. Oh, wait. Do you even know what an electron is?"

She shook her head as she lifted herself onto the bench opposite him. As she listened to Rodney talk in the animated fashion that she had become so fond of, Teyla smiled to herself. The Rodney McKay that she knew and loved had returned.