Disclaimer: MGM owns SGA; KOI does NOT.
Spoilers: Shrine
Summary: In the proud tradition of How Jennifer Made the First Move and Operation Rodney and Jennifer, a series of standalone adventures or short series documents how a shared interest in geek culture brings together Rodney and Jennifer.
DaniWilder beta read half this installment. Koinekid appreciates her help.
Stargate: Atlantis
The Way to a Geek's Heart
1. Comics
by koinekid
"In case you've forgotten, your little blonde buddy is a sci major too."
Rodney McKay stopped in his tracks, allowing his companion for the last half hour to breeze by. Several steps ahead, Jennifer Keller whipped around, her long golden hair swirling about her head like a shimmering halo. More often of late the Head of Medicine had taken to wearing her hair down while on duty, a change Rodney liked. If it was a change. Before his infection with the Second Childhood parasite, he'd seldom paid attention to such trivialities as Jennifer's hairstyle or the oh-so-enticing way her uniform molded itself to her curves. Nearly losing his life had altered the way Rodney thought about a lot of things.
"Little blonde buddy?" he said.
Jennifer closed the distance separating them, a practical necessity if the soft-spoken doctor wished to be heard in the crowded mess. "You don't recognize the quote? And here I thought my lunch date was a real comic book geek."
Date? Rodney grinned stupidly. "A Batman geek, maybe – and one who's more into the movies and TV series than the comics."
"I beg your pardon, then," Jennifer said, her Midwestern lilt adding a smoothness to her tone that made her so-called date weak in the knees. She explained, "In Amazing Spider-man issue 53 Gwen Stacy makes that reply when Peter Parker invites her to a science expo."
"You're a fan of Spider-man?" Rodney raised a skeptical brow.
Jennifer shook her head. "Not really, but Uncle George was. He caught me watching the cartoon once and tried to suck me into his world."
"Looks like he succeeded if you can quote from specific issues like that." Rodney indicated the exit. Though reluctant to part from Jennifer's company, he didn't want her to be late returning to her work because of him. She hated being late. "Maybe we should?"
Nodding, Jennifer hooked her arm around his and led him toward the door. Rodney became acutely aware of several pairs of eyes resting on the two of them as they passed. Sadly, his chief romantic rival, Ronon Dex, was nowhere to be seen.
"Looking for someone?" Jennifer said.
Rodney blushed. Were he a braver man, he'd tell her that having her on his arm made him the envy of half the men on base. Instead, "So, your uncle got you hooked?"
"Tried to anyway. He was always inviting me and Dad to conventions. And he got me a signed copy of Amazing 53 for my birthday one year."
"That's kind of nice," Rodney said.
"For him. I wanted a stethoscope."
When they reached Rodney's lab, Jennifer released his arm and faced him. "To answer the question that originally started this 'journey into mystery': Yes, I'd love to watch the meteor shower with you tonight."
"Great! That's great."
"Do you want to meet at the observatory, or..." She trailed off, eying him expectantly.
Or what? Rodney grunted, wishing women, especially this one, were easier to read. "The observatory will be packed. I was thinking somewhere a little more..." Intimate. "...private. Maybe the balcony near the west pier. I could set up a telescope. Could be fun."
"You don't need to monitor everything with all those fancy instruments?"
"Someone does, but I'm not the only astrophysicist on Atlantis."
Jennifer feigned shock. "Did I hear that right? Is Rodney McKay putting trust in someone other than himself? I'm impressed."
Rodney frowned. "I trust people."
"Who?" Jennifer planted hands on her hips. "I want names, Mister."
"Maybe I'm taking a lesson from my fellow department head," he shot back, grinning.
That got her to smile.
"Besides," Rodney continued. "I'm configuring the sensors to take readings automatically. Provided nobody screws with the settings, I'll have everything I need tomorrow morning."
Jennifer chuckled. "I suppose that's a start."
"I trust you," he mumbled. "Let you operate on me in a cave for God's sake. A damp cave."
Jennifer squeezed his hand. "I'm only teasing. Tell you what: How about we have dinner first? Pick me up at 1800. We'll make a proper date out of it."
Rodney nodded. So wrapped up was he in the flirtatious atmosphere that he almost leaned forward to kiss her. Catching himself, he smiled awkwardly. "See you at 1830."
"Eighteen hundred, Rodney. On the dot."
"Right. Sorry, 1800."
Jennifer walked away, and something – he wasn't sure what – compelled Rodney to ask, "Jennifer, who was Gwen Stacy?"
A ghost of a smile crossed her face. "Gwen was Spidey's future girlfriend. I'll see you tonight."
Rodney shook his head as he watched her depart. Damn, he mused. Should have gone for that kiss.
To be continued
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