MGM owns SG1, SGA and all characters except any OCs.

A/N: Spoilers for SG1 48 Hours. This should probably be a crossover story, but I'm putting it here because Rodney and Jennifer belong to Atlantis.

Thanks Betherdy Babe and Destiny Brighthope for their help. Destiny, thanks for the title and a few lines.

Doctor Jennifer Keller sat in the busy Red Square Restaurant in Moscow staring at the happy family sitting at the table in front of her. The mother and father were doting on two little girls and a smile spread over Jennifer's face as she remembered her own parents fussing over her at that age. Her idyllic family was shattered almost fifteen years ago with the death of her mother in a car accident. She wasn't bitter about it, so she joyfully watched the family.

"No. No. No. Oh wait. Nyet. Nyet limon." an angry voice that rose in pitch spoke from the table behind her. "Isn't there anyone here who speaks English?"

Jennifer turned to see the back of a brown-haired man waving his menu at an angry waitress. The older woman had a scowl on her face and started yelling at him in Russian. The physician had spoken Russian at her nana's knee since she was a toddler and understood that this woman was laying into the man about his desire for citrus fruit, which was extremely hard get in Russia during the winter.

"Argh! I'm deathly allergic to citrus. If you put lemon in any of this it'll kill me," he growled.

Jennifer was instantly on her feet and speaking with the waitress. It was a natural instinct for the Midwesterner to help, especially if someone's safety was in jeopardy.

Rodney was ready to leave when he heard an angelic sound next to him. His blood pressure lowered as soon as it registered in his brain. He quickly looked from the angry waitress, who could obviously break his spine if she chose to, to the owner of the voice. His blood pressure shot back up but for a different reason than anger.

A young blond with hair in a ponytail hanging past her shoulders stood before him. With her features unobscured by her hair, Rodney observed that she had brown eyes, which conveyed a warmth he'd not known since early childhood, and a smile that spoke of the capacity for much humor as she shared a laugh with the waitress.

He would be the first to admit he'd always liked short-haired blonds with light eyes but he'd gladly make an exception for this woman. As his eyes flashed over her petite frame with curves in all the right places, a slight smile touched his lips.

The woman glanced at him with a smile of her own, which showcased an innocent beauty that caused his eyes to widen, and then she looked back to the waitress all the while speaking in Russian. Please let her speak English, he found himself chanting as the waitress turned back to him. Oh who cares what she can understand, talking can be overrated.

The waitress chuckled, smiled at Rodney and headed for the kitchen. The young woman, who looked barely out of her teens, was looking at him and he realized he'd yet to say a word since her arrival. "Uh. What did you say?"

"I said you would die if you ate citrus and she really didn't want to clean up the mess," his savior replied.

"Thank goodness you speak English. No one in this Godforsaken land will acknowledge they know what I'm saying. Having allergies is so hard when eating in new places," he continued. The desire to keep the woman around longer turned the brilliant man into a babbling imbecile. "You've gotta be careful not even a drop of lemon or orange touches your food. It's extremely taxing."

"I'm glad I could help. The waitress said nothing on the menu has even a touch of citrus. It's not a common ingredient in Russian cuisine," she continued. "And considering the season, even less likely."

"Thank you for your help," Rodney said. "Will you join me for lunch? Assuming you're not leaving?" Please don't let her leave, I've got to see that smile again. The instant attraction was unlike the usual physical desire for a beautiful woman he felt. There was something about this woman's voice and general demeanor that drew him in. Of course her shapely curves under the sweater and khaki pants didn't hurt either.

"I guess so, my lunch companion ditched me," she confessed.

His loss, Rodney thought before muttering, "Have a seat…"

A smile crossed the man's lips as his brows rose creating the cutest little crease adorning his forehead. He nodded to the seat opposite him as she continued to stand and look him over, taking in his slightly messy hair, which she had the desire to run her fingers through, and the light stubble on his face. Jennifer knew she shouldn't sit with a stranger and have lunch, but she was leaving tomorrow morning and he was cute. It's not like he can attack me in the middle of a restaurant.

"Ah, thanks." Jennifer quickly sat down as she felt warmth spread over her cheeks. You are acting like a teenager, get a grip. "I won't have much of a chance to speak English for a while, so I won't pass it up."

"And where are you going that you'll only speak Russian?"

Before she could answer the server came over with a bottle of water for the blue-eyed man and a beer for her. The man raised a brow again as he watched her pour her beer into a glass.

"I'm from Wisconsin so football and beer were a staple in my house on Sunday," Jennifer said with a laugh. "The alcohol is less likely than water to upset my stomach. I've got a long trip ahead of me and the last thing I need is to be sick."

"That's why I've got these," the man showed her some tablets and then dropped one in his water.

"How did you get water purification tablets? They're usually reserved for disasters." Jennifer looked closely at the man to see if she recognized him from any of her orientations.

"My… company provides them to me," he said, looking a bit sheepish.

"Whom do you work for?"

"You haven't answered my question," he smiles and took a drink of his water. "So I won't answer yours."

"I'm here with Doctors Without Borders," she offered. "I'm a doctor. Obviously." Smooth, Keller, real smooth. Jennifer didn't have a long history of meeting and talking with unknown men who obviously affected her, so she felt unusually flustered.

His eyes widened again and she swore the blue got brighter, like the clear skies over the countryside where she grew up. "Lucky me. It's always good to have someone around who can save my life."

"How much saving do you usually need?" Jennifer raised her own brow, smirked and quickly raked her eyes over him. Why she was flirting so much was unknown to her, but this man made her want to tease him.

The grin that split his face made him look much younger than the serious, angry expression he had when she arrived at his table. "I've been known to get into some trouble." He laughed. "Haven't had allergic reactions in almost a decade because of my hyper-vigilance. Now my hypoglycemia is a constant problem though. My job is very important and I often get caught up in work and forget to eat."

"Okay," Jennifer put a hand up. "Listen. I'm not going to diagnose you or get you free drugs or…"

"Oh, no, no, no. I'm not asking you to be my doctor or anything like that. Although you'd be the prettiest doctor I've ever had. Our current one is an annoying Scotsman."

Jennifer was shocked at the compliment in the midst of his babbling. Being a physician she always encountered people who ran through their medical history and wanted a second opinion on the spot. She had been concerned that lunch would turn into a virtual physical exam.

"You have a company doctor?"

"Yes. I work for… a multinational company that's doing some pretty advanced research so we have physicians around in case something goes wrong. I'm an astrophysicist and an engineer," he added. "Oh, I'm Doctor Rodney McKay."

"Doctor Jennifer Keller."

Their server returned and took their orders. Rodney trusted Jennifer to help with his menu selection and he enjoyed the opportunity to watch her as she spoke to the now-smiling waitress. The woman from Wisconsin had this sweetness to her that normally turned him off. Rodney McKay wanted women who knew what they wanted and went after it. Being a blond with a nice body definitely helps, though. Somehow he doubted Jennifer would sit across from him for long if he told her that he'd love to see what was under the bulky white sweater she was wearing so he kept his thoughts to himself for once.

"So, Doctor McKay…"

"Rodney," he quickly interrupted. The sound of her voice calling him Doctor and her youthful appearance was invoking several fantasies he'd rather not think about in public.

"Jennifer," she replied with the smile he enjoyed seeing. "So, Rodney, are you a rocket scientist?"

"That is such a ridiculous description of what physicists do," he said, feeling annoyance overwhelm him. Make that dumb blond.

"You said you're an astrophysicist, which means you deal with space, and an engineer, which means you build things. Currently the only things I know we build to go into space are rockets or powered by a rocket. Hence, rocket scientist." Her brown eyes were twinkling and he thought a smile was playing at her lips again.

Rodney had no response for her reasoning. For the unenlightened to the nuances of physics, she had a sound argument. Deciding to not lose his temper with her – it was losing his temper that sent him to this exile – he explained as best he could what he did without revealing any secrets.

A new sound came from the beauty sitting across from him. Laughter. A high, sweet sound that made him smile for no reason. "I went to Harvard and my roommate's boyfriend was a physics major. He hated when she called him a rocket scientist. He was a particle physicist."

"So you want me to hate you?" Rodney couldn't help but continue to smile.

"No, I was just seeing what reaction it would get out of you. You're the kind of person that's easy to tease."

"Great. As if being transferred here two days ago isn't bad enough, I need to relive my youth of being harassed for being a genius with some woman I just met. Thanks." Rodney took his water to offer her a toast, which only made Jennifer laugh harder.

"I'm sorry to bring up bad memories. I had my share of getting picked on too," Jennifer added, her laughter dying down.

"I couldn't imagine what for." Rodney took a drink of water and once again let his eyes wander over her.

"I graduated high school at fifteen and just finished medical school with a residency within ten years," she offered.

"That's not normal in the States is it?" Rodney asked. "Are you a child genius?" No way I could find another pretty blond with intelligence in the same week.

"I've never taken one of those tests, so I have no idea. I skipped three grades in school and got my Bachelors in under three years," she replied, a scarlet wave covering her face. "And you said the States? Where are you from?"

"I'm Canadian," Rodney replied, still marveling at her news about being smart.

"No way!" It was Jennifer's turn to look shocked.

"What's wrong with being Canadian?"

"I thought you guys were supposed to be polite and kind. You were yelling like an obnoxious American tourist when I got here." Once again laughter threatened to overtake his companion.

"Oh, Hardee-Har-Har." Rodney shook his head and rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry if my desire not to die by citrus poisoning ruined your image of my countrymen."

Laughter finally erupted once again and this time he couldn't help but join in.

Their meals arrived and they talked for half an hour through lunch, coffee and dessert, moving naturally from topic to topic with an ease that Rodney almost never experienced with a member of the fairer sex.

Jennifer nearly choked while laughing at Rodney's reference to her bleeding-heart nature. "I'm perfectly content to save the world one patient at a time. I'll leave saving the entire world to the smartest man on it."

"As you should…" Rodney lifted his bottle to toast her once more when he saw her eyes widen and all color drain from her face. "What's wrong?" Rodney quickly turned to see a large group enter the restaurant and yell loudly at one another in Russian.

"I, um, I need to go." Jennifer reached for her bag, which she'd set next to her foot. "How much do I owe you for the lunch?"

"W-wait, what do you mean you've got to go? We-we've just started talking…" Rodney couldn't explain the panic that set in. Never had he connected with another person so quickly and his desire to keep her around pushed him to reach across the table and grab her hand. It was soft and fit into his perfectly.

Her eyes widened as she pulled her hand away. "I-I need to get going. I hope your job goes well."

"When will you be back in Moscow?" Desperation crept into his voice and unsettled him. Clearing his throat he tried to regain his normal confidence. "We could catch up."

"I'm not sure when I'll be back." She was on her feet and Rodney shot up to stand between her and the door.

"Can I have your email or a number I can reach you at?"

"I'm not going to have access to…"

"Jenny!" a loud voice shouted over the noisy group of Russians.

Rodney's head swiveled around and saw an older man with grey hair, a long black coat and red scarf around his neck heading toward their table. That must be her companion and he doesn't look happy.

"I have to go." She smiled and grabbed a few bills from her purse. "Thanks again for lunch."

"No." Rodney put his hand around hers, crushing the money in it. "It's my pleasure and I'd like…"

"Jenny, who's this?" an angry voice spoke from behind Rodney.

Rodney let go of Jennifer's hand and turned with the most arrogant look he could muster and said, "Doctor Rodney McKay."

"McKay? I don't remember a McKay on the team?" The man looked past Rodney at Jennifer.

"Rodney's a physicist, Dad," she replied.

Her voice was softer and lacked the confidence it had while they talked. Rodney was relieved this man was her father but annoyed that he obviously frightened her.

"How do you know my daughter?" The older Keller crossed his arms and glared.

"I just helped him with some… with a potential…"

"Jennifer saved me from a potential allergic reaction to my lunch," Rodney replied.

"Not surprised. Jenny always has a weakness for those in need." The man looked past McKay. "Come on, Jenny, we'll be late. We're leaving on an earlier train."

"I'd say Jennifer's strong for helping others, not weak," Rodney said. He looked at Jennifer with her lips parted in shock.

"Jenny, go. Now," her father commanded.

"No. I haven't thanked her properly yet." Rodney leaned down to press a kiss to Jennifer's cheek and whispered, "RMMcKay at USAF dot gov." He pulled back from the stunned young woman. "Thank you, Jennifer."

TBC

A/N: I hope you enjoy and please leave a review if you do. I'll see how far I can take this as the idea had been bugging me for days.