Title: Curiosity Killed the Major
Author: SlayersGrl
Summary: Major Sheppard lets his curiosity get the best of him…
Disclaimer: As you all know, I don't own Stargate: Atlantis… I'm just messing with poor Sheppard again…

Author's note: This idea popped into my head while I was sitting in rush hour traffic today… At least it kept me amused for the long drive home…

Major Sheppard sat at the briefing room table, impatiently tapping his fingers on the smooth surface. He was supposed to be having a meeting with Dr. Weir about some security procedures, but she was called away to handle a situation in one of the science labs. Not that he minded. He understood that she had many duties she needed to attend to around the base. But now he was extremely bored. As he glanced around the room, he suddenly had an idea.

He stood and slowly walked to the head of the table. He had always been curious as to how comfortable Elizabeth's chair was. Feeling somewhat guilty, he quickly checked the door. Then he pulled the chair out from the table and sat down in it.

"Sweet…" he muttered as he leaned back a little to test the comfort level. It really was a nice chair. Giving in to his most recent childish urge, he lifted his feet, gripped the edge of the table, and gave a shove. He spun around rapidly for several rotations before slowing to a stop. John smiled in delight. At least he had found something to amuse himself.

He spun the chair a few more times before deciding to prop his feet up and simply enjoy the surprisingly comfortable office chair. Swinging his legs up to rest on the table surface, he was surprised to hear a loud cracking noise. He was even more surprised to find himself falling over backwards and tumbling to the floor.

After scrambling to his feet, John quickly surveyed the damage. Apparently, the chair had never been designed to function at such a severe angle. The base had snapped in two and the chair itself had toppled to the ground.

"Crap. Elizabeth is gonna kill me."

He knelt down to see if he could somehow fix the damage. He had just picked up what remained of the base when the door to the briefing room opened.

"Major Sheppard! What are you doing?" a very angry female voice cried out.

"Uh… would you believe me if I said I didn't do it?" he asked, pasting his most innocent expression on his face.

"Right… I left you alone in here, with everything still in tact, for no more than fifteen minutes. And you manage to break my chair!" She strode over to where the object lay in pieces on the floor. "That was my favorite chair…"

"Look, I'm really sorry. I'm sure McKay can fix it."

Elizabeth glared at him. "Let's hope he can, for your sake Major." Then she stormed out of the room.

"I take it our meeting has been rescheduled?" John called out after her. He shrugged at her lack of response. He then scooped the chair parts up and headed off to find McKay. He hoped that the sooner he got the thing fixed, the sooner Elizabeth would stop being mad at him. Calmly ignoring the strange looks he got as people passed him in the hall, he quickly made his way to McKay's lab.

Rodney was distracted from his calculations by the not so quiet entrance of Major Sheppard. He looked up and was startled to see the man standing in front of him holding what appeared to be a piece of office furniture. "What's with the chair?" he asked.

"I need you to fix it," was the reply.

"Why?"

"Because I broke it."

"Why?"

The major sighed in exasperation. "Why what? Why did I break it? I was bored, alright… And I didn't mean to break it…"

Rodney examined the chair more closely. "Is that Dr. Weir's chair?"

"Yes…" John reluctantly admitted.

"She must have been pissed."

He smiled at that comment. "Oh yeah…" Then he returned to the matter at hand. "So, can you fix it?"

After a minute of further examination, McKay nodded his head. "Yeah, no problem." Then he smiled as he thought of something. "But you're gonna owe me one."

"Fine, whatever. Just fix it." He figured owing a favor to McKay was much better than having Elizabeth being angry with him.

The next day, Dr. Weir walked in to the empty briefing room to prepare for her next meeting with Major Sheppard's team. She was extremely pleased to see her chair had been repaired and returned to its place. Although, she wasn't sure the major had been properly punished for his misbehavior.

Patiently, she sat in her seat and waited for the team to join her for the briefing. The four team members filed into the room, Major Sheppard at the rear. "If you'll have a seat, we'll get started," she said. Then she pointed at Sheppard. "Not you. Since you can't seem to simply sit in a chair, you can stand."

John was about to protest, but then he noticed the death glare Elizabeth was giving him. This must be his punishment for the whole chair thing. Well, he could live with that. He walked over to his normal position at the table and then assumed an at-ease position, his legs slightly apart and his hands resting behind his back. He felt like a six-year old being given a time out, but he figured he probably deserved it.

A long thirty minutes later, the meeting ended. John figured Elizabeth had purposely made the briefing as long as possible to prolong his punishment. His teammates gave him sympathetic glances throughout the meeting, but he refused to show any discomfort. He simply conducted himself as he normally would, adding input when he felt it was needed.

Weir ended the meeting and then watched as the others quietly left the room. "Major, may I have a word with you?" she requested as he turned to leave as well. She waited until they were alone before continuing. "That was a very childish stunt you pulled yesterday."

"I could say the same about today," he replied.

She smiled. "Well, consider us even." Then she turned to leave. But she paused at the doorway and added, "And never sit in my chair again."