Prodigy, Interrupted
Rated: PG
Category: Sam/Rodney Friendship, Take It As You Will.
Season: Four
Spoilers: None for SGA, 'Redemption II' for SG-1
Summary: Rodney Receives A Very Special Birthday Gift.
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The members of the Atlantis expedition had developed a sort of tradition regarding birthdays, and this one was no exception.
They didn't have parties or obvious celebrations, but they'd found their own way to remember their friends.
As Rodney McKay slipped into his quarters after a very late dinner on a very long day, he found a small pile of unwrapped gifts on his desk.
There was one from Sheppard and one from Teyla. Another was from Zelenka. There was even one from Ronon.
And then there was the biggest one.
It stood out because of its size and because it was wrapped. That was a rarity on Atlantis due to conservation of resources and was part of why this little off-season Santa act had begun. No one liked to just hand over unwrapped gifts, so they delivered them in secret as surprises to be discovered.
Rodney wasn't sure whether to be concerned or intrigued about his strange package, especially since it appeared to have no tag, but eventually curiosity won out over caution and he opened the gift.
As he started to tear off the wrapping paper, a simple card of folded paper that he hadn't noticed earlier fell onto the floor.
McKay stopped to retrieve and read the card.
McKay-
Not everyone can be a prodigy. Sometimes it takes time to find your way.
-Carter
Rodney's brow furrowed in confusion. Frankly, the idea of Sam giving him any sort of gift was bizarre, and the card was an enigma in itself. He'd thought that the present was somehow from Kate, even though she was back on Earth for a brief vacation, or maybe even from Jeannie and Caleb. But Sam? The idea floored him, and he hadn't the foggiest idea what she might have gotten him.
The package was about four feet long and about a foot deep, but only about five inches high. The long flat box had no markings, and Rodney couldn't imagine what could be inside.
He finally gave up on trying to guess the box's contents after a long moment and slit the tape on one end of the box. He then opened the flaps that had concealed his gift and slipped one hand inside the package. It encountered a hard plastic rectangular object, and Rodney slowly pulled the object from the box.
As the rectangle came into view, Rodney's eyes widened in supreme shock.
For as the gift appeared, it finally revealed its identity.
Perfect keys of black and white showed themselves one by one.
Rodney snorted out a small laugh of disbelief.
His hands held a keyboard. One of a type he hadn't used in years.
Without any conscious thought, his fingers found their way to their proper places on the instrument, and somehow it just felt right.
Within minutes, McKay found the power adapter and the headphone jack for the small piano.
And then his fingers moved. They weren't perfect, but they remembered far more than Rodney would've ever envisioned.
Long into the night, the overworked scientist filled his solitary world with music of his own making, and a broad smile graced his face.
It was the first time in twenty years that Rodney McKay had played piano, but it wouldn't be the last. He was destined to play many more concerts to his audience of one, and when his eyes found those of Samantha Carter early the next morning as he entered Atlantis' briefing room a few minutes late, he would give his CO a nod of thanks.
Sam smiled at the gesture, and Rodney knew it was understood.
Later that day, McKay would offer a stumbling, uncomfortable, verbal thanks, but Sam's real reward wouldn't come until months later, when Radek Zelenka would casually remark that Rodney seemed a little more relaxed in the lab lately as he handed her the biannual personnel reports that he'd somehow been goaded into organizing.
As Sam perused the files, she noted something in McKay's record with interest. It was a handwritten note by Dr. Keller in the margins of Rodney's medical chart.
Patient no longer hypertensive. Recommend trial discontinuation of blood pressure medications.
Sam leaned back in her chair and grinned. She couldn't be certain that her gift had anything to do with Rodney's health, but she wondered if somehow McKay's inner artist had finally found his way out of the shadow of the clinician, and she decided she liked the idea that maybe he had.
And since she'd recently overheard Sheppard grousing about McKay's new habit of humming annoyingly on missions, she decided she could take at least some of the credit for that.
Suddenly, an argument outside her office windows attracted Sam's attention and brought her out of her reverie. It was none other than Rodney McKay, berating a junior scientist.
Colonel Carter decided two things in that instant.
One, that anything that lowered McKay's blood pressure was a good thing, and two, that anytime anyone could take credit for anything regarding Rodney McKay, it was a very good thing.
A very good thing indeed.
And even better if it was her.
Sam smirked to herself for just a moment, then sighed and stepped out into the control room.
After all, it was another day, and she had work to do.
Including knocking her resident prodigy down a few pegs.