DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the Stargate Atlantis characters; if I did a certain doctor never would have been killed off… Anyways, a few characters mentioned in this story are my own (they were used in another one of my stories). Also, I don't have a beta so all grammar mistakes are my own and mine alone… I'll try to keep them to a minimum.

TIMELINE: This takes place sometime after Duet, in season two, and before The Return 1&2, in season three, but doesn't really follow any episode. There's a slight mention of the book, War and Peace, Sheppard was reading in Home, season one.

A.N. So here's the first part of my finally completed story. I had this idea before the episode Sunday but have only now managed to finish it… I would like to apologize ahead for any mistakes in the rules or offending any avid American football fans. I still don't completely understand the game but tried my best. Well I hope everyone enjoys it, if you have the time please let me know what you think. I would really appreciate it.

Chapter 1: An ingenious idea

The room was silent except for the occasional page turn and sighs from its only occupant. The sighs themselves were fairly frequently compared to the sound of paper being turned. John Sheppard looked up from his place from the enormous novel, Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, in his lap to check the time. Which turned out to be the third time in the past twenty minutes. Although it was nice and relaxing, if not a bit boring, to finally get a day off, he felt extremely restless just reading in his room.

Sighing, for the unknown number of time, he returned his attention back to his book. He only had two more pages to fulfill his weekly quota of three pages. The ultimate goal was to complete the massive novel within three years and around six weeks. He was only on page twenty and there were 1,136 pages in the massive novel. With the time they had been on Atlantis he had hardly made a dent.

Again sighing, this time in disappointment at his slow reading pace he tried to forget how far behind he was. Forcing his eyes back to the page he had been trying to read for the past half an hour unsuccessfully, he tried again.

He felt himself start to nod off, eyes growing heavy, and slowly closing at their own accord. The words became blurred, running together to form an undecipherable blob. His droopy eyes then caved in defeat, closing completely. His hands slowly started to slip from their place on the novel falling towards the bed. While his head fell forward almost coming to rest on his chest. As his hands slipped off the book completely, the huge volume closed, the sound and shift of weight caused him to jerk awake, his head moving upright and eyes becoming wide open again.

No, he could not afford to take a nap if he was going to meet his quota of three pages. It was not much but it was more possible than his previous quota of five pages. Why bother having a quota if it was impossible to meet?

Rubbing his eyes in hope of staying awake, he opened the novel, and tried to find his spot on the page again. After a few failed attempts he managed to find his place or what he thought was the right place, though he would deny it firmly if anyone asked. Blinking his eyes a couple of times he tried reading once again.

As his eyes wandered away from the text once again he wondered once more why he had brought this book with him. He was not a quitter though; he was determined to fully read the book, even if it was rather dull. Forcing himself to stay on task he looked back at the page. At the spot he thought he had stopped at. He wasn't completely sure though.

Reading, he soon realized he picked the wrong section again as he remembered it. Looking away for a second in frustration, he lost his focus immediately, eyes roaming around his room, looking anywhere but the page of the novel in his lap. Shaking his head, he forced his eyes back to the novel. He could not lose focus. The quota needed to be met.

After a few seconds he was unable to resist the temptation and hazel eyes looked up again and roamed around the room. Trying to remember why he chose this particular book over more interesting ones, he looked around the room. His eyes fell on his football.

Quickly putting down his book without placing a bookmark, John hurried over to the ball. The ball was well used and worn but still one of his prized possession. Running his hands over the ball an idea came to mind. Tossing the idea back and forth in his head, weighing out the pros and cons, he left his room with the football. He would make up the pages tomorrow perhaps or maybe the day after.

As he hurried towards the door with the football in hand he grabbed his jacket. Walking out into the corridor on his way to locate the people he had in mind needed to fulfill his plan he wrapped the ball in his jacket, hiding it from view.

The corridor was empty as he approached his first destination. Reaching the doors of the training room he could hear the sound of flesh hitting the ground. Wincing at the sound, he knew he found his first target. Entering the room he spotted Ronon trying to train some military soldiers, Sergeant Samuel Edwin's team. He winced again when Ronon defeated two of the team members single handedly as the remaining two watching in a combination of awe and horror.

John cleared his throat, unintentionally sparing the remaining two members of the team from Ronon for the time being.

"Hey Ronon, can you spare a few minutes? Actually make that an hour?"

Ronon shrugged.

"Think of it as training. Just for an hour."

"I guess."

"Great. Meet me at the north pier in thirty minutes," pausing to look at Edwin's team he quickly added, "I expect to see the rest of you there too."

He barely waited for their nods before hurrying out of the room in search of the remaining people on his list.

Hurrying down the corridor near the mess hall he spotted two very familiar people ahead, one being on his list.

"Hey Teyla," he called out causing them to stop.

Reaching them he asked her, "I've been looking for you. Are you free?"

"I have no pressing matters on hand. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just putting together a little team training exercise. Just meet me on the north pier in about," he looked at his watch, "in twenty-five minutes."

"I shall see you there."

"Training exercise?" Elizabeth asked, looking at John with confusion clearly written on her face.

"Well sort of. It's more like team bonding with a common goal in mind."

"And you're doing this on your day off?"

"I figured now was a good time."

"What exactly would all of you be doing? I won't have to have Doctor Beckett standing by with a medical team will I?"

"Ah… no… it's nothing dangerous."

Seeing her unbelieving expression he added quickly, "Nothing too dangerous, I mean it's safe. Well mostly, it should be fine. You're welcome to come if you want. The more the better."

"I might just do that," she said giving him a pointed look not believing the activity he had planned was completely danger free.

"I'll see you there then."

Nodding to them he quickly left, before either could change their minds, and made his way to the mess hall.

As lunch was almost over he was not surprised to see the mess hall mostly empty. Looking around, he was relieved to see his third target sitting alone at one of the tables finishing up his lunch.

"Major Lorne."

"Sir."

"You aren't doing anything today are you?"

"No."

"Good, meet me at the north pier in twenty minutes."

"Sure, may I ask what for?"

"You can ask but you'll have to see."

Receiving a somewhat reluctant yes from Evan, he rushed out of the mess hall in search of the rest of his targets. So far, surprisingly, everything was going according to his plan. Grinning he walked towards his next destination and almost ran into Laura Cadman in the corridor by herself. An idea suddenly popped into his head. One that would surely annoy a certain scientist, not that he was going to rub a certain incident that happened a couple months ago in anyone's face but the opportunity was too good to pass up.

"Lieutenant Cadman you wouldn't happen to be free by any chance today?"

"I had nothing planned."

"Great, could you meet me at the north pier in twenty minutes?"

"Sure."

"See you then."

He left quickly before she could ask what for. Now he only had two more intended targets, though he might add to his list if he ran into anyone else before then. The list was not set in stone.

Just as predicted and hoped, he spotted Rodney about to enter his lab. He called out before the scientist could enter his lair.

"McKay."

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy?" Rodney stopped outside the door, clearly irritated.

"We have the day off."

"Your point being? Just because we're not on some mission off world doesn't mean I have nothing to do like some people. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an experiment to run."

John barely resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes. Only Rodney would be running an experiment on his free day.

"We need to go down to the north pier."

"For what?"

"Team training."

"Why?"

"Just because."

"Can't it wait an hour or so?"

"No."

"Whose idea was it?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters."

"The sooner we get there and finish the exercise, the faster you can get back to your little experiment."

Before Rodney could retort the doors opened and Radek walked out. Both scientists barely avoided collision. What was it with scientist and being unable to multitask?

"What?" Rodney all but barked out at Radek.

Seeing the second scientist a similar idea to the one he thought of when he saw Cadman came to mind. Although having Rodney was bad enough it might be interesting to have two scientists participating in his plan. It would not hurt to have more people with the same skills to balance out the teams for his plan either.

"Are we not running the experiment?"

"Of course we are."

"No, not now."

John and Rodney both remarked at the same time.

"Which one is it?" Radek asked, looking at both of them.

"Not now, you both can run whatever experiment you had planned later."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so McKay. Come let's go. The faster the both of you come, the faster the team training exercise will be over, and the experiment can be run."

"The both of us? Zelenka isn't on our team," Rodney jerked his thumb towards the other scientist who had been slowly inching his way from the two team members, clearly not wanting to go.

"Ah… it will be a good experience for him and he needs the training anyways."

"You know I'm perfectly fine staying on Atlantis. I don't need to go off-world anytime soon."

"Nonsense. It will be fun. Come on, let's go."

"Can't it wait?"

"I guess but Ronan was looking forward to the exercise starting in fifteen minutes. He'll probably be upset if it gets delayed. I would hate to be the person who caused the delay. Do you know he took out half of Edwin's team single handedly earlier? I can only imagine what he would do to that person."

The scientists' faces both paled.

"I guess we could run it later," Rodney stammered out.

John nodded and grinned. He led them towards the pier. Thankfully he was slightly ahead so they could not see the smirk on his face as he walked.

"What's in your jacket?" Rodney asked, noticing the bundle John was carrying under his arm.

"You'll find out later."

"Why don't you just tell me, now and to save the anticipation?"

"Hey do you know where Beckett is?" John asked trying to avoid the question and just remembering he was forgetting the last person on his list.

"Why are you asking me? I'm not his mother."

"Obviously but you're always getting injured and a hypochondriac. You must know where he is."

"I don't get injured that often and there's nothing wrong with being worried about one's health. He's probably in the infirmary sacrificing some lab rat for one of his voodoo rituals."

"He doesn't have the day off?"

"I don't know. I don't keep tabs on him."

"Okay, you two continue on to the north pier. I'll met you there."

Without waiting for a response he made his way down to the infirmary, hoping to find his last target.

The corridor was deserted and his footsteps echoed as he approached the infirmary doors. He grinned, he figured no one would be going to the same place he was. After all who would voluntarily go to an infirmary during their free day? Nearing the door, the only sound in the corridor was the echo of his footsteps.

Suddenly at the doors it dawned to him. He was actually voluntarily going into this place. Before the doors he hesitated, maybe this was not such a great idea. John definitely did not want to be on the receiving end of a huge needle anytime soon. Which he figured he might be sooner than later if Carson was extremely opposed to the idea he was going to proposing. Although the threat was almost enough to halt him in his tracks, the benefits were slowly outweighing any misgivings he had.

Now determined to follow through, not only because it would be a good exercise for the doctor to experience but also that it might once and for all prove to the doctor that American football was a true sport to be appreciated. The only major flaw in the plan was it all depended on if Carson's shift was over or if he had the day off.

John walked into the infirmary while still fighting the urge to flee in the other direction. Now all he had to do was determine if Carson was here or not and whether he was free, then leave as soon as possible before being admitted as a patient for some reason. Carefully he made his way through the infirmary avoiding the staff milling around.

He just needed to get to Carson's office to see if he was there or not as he did not appear to be treating any patients. Heart racing and the sound of his footsteps loud to his ears, he made his way to the office.

"Colonel, do you need something?"

He froze, hearing his target's voice. Turning around he was greeted Carson's bemused face. Taking in the doctor's attire, of his uniform and lab coat, John figured his friend would not be free anytime soon. Abandoning his previous objective, he threw out an answer he hoped would not sound too suspicious for his visit to this particular place.

"No, just you know just walking around."

"In my infirmary?"

Seeing the disbelief on his friend's face he cringed inwardly. Okay, maybe that was not the best answer. Quickly trying to come up with a better answer he eyed the doctor's hands worriedly, they were fingering the stereoscope around his neck. John needed another answer before he was admitted as a patient.

"Actually I was looking for McKay but I guess he isn't here so I'll just be leaving."

"I'm sure he'll stop by at least once today."

John shifted on his feet, noticing Carson eying the bundle under his arm with a mixture of curiosity and concern.

"Probably. I'll see you later, then."

He left quickly before the good doctor could ask about what was hidden under his jacket. Barely walking, practically running, out of the infirmary he narrowly avoided a collision with a nurse. In his hurry he failed to hear a soft chuckle from a certain doctor watching in amusement.

It was only once outside the infirmary and in the corridor, he sighed in relief. That encounter was a little too close for comfort. He would have to ask Carson to participate in his little exercise another time.

Standing out on the pier with five minutes to spare he was pleased to see everyone he had ask to come was present or at least walking towards him. Once everyone was together he grinned. In a few minutes his ingenious plan would be in play. Clearly his throat a little, he looked at the people gathered before him ignoring the glare he was getting from one particular scientist.

"Well since we're all here we can get started. I'm sure you'll all wondering why you're here. I figured we could all use a team ah… group training sort of exercise. And since everyone didn't having any pressing plans today would be perfect."

"And what might this exercise be?" Elizabeth asked, worried about the answer.

"Touch football." He said as he uncovered his prized possession, so everyone could see the football in his hand.

His answer was meet with stares, it looked like many were trying to figure out if he was serious or not. Their reaction was not quite the one he was hoping for. Pressing his lips together, forming a fine line, he wondered what was wrong with what he said. None of them seemed exactly excited about the idea.

"You want us to play a game of touch football? I have more important things to do than play some ridiculous game!" Rodney exclaimed breaking the silence.

"It's not a ridiculous game. It's practically a training exercise."

"It's a game not some training exercise."

"It could be. It involves teamwork and good communication. Something everyone needs off-world plus it's good exercise will all the running around that is involved."

"That's just some excuse you came up with."

"He actually has a good point." Elizabeth spoke up.

"You're not actually agreeing with him are you Weir? I thought you didn't like football."

"It might be a good experience. I might not like the game but there aren't any pressing matters or crises on hand at the moment. It might be fun."

"See," John said with a grin.

"You can't force me to."

"Will one game kill you?"

John figured he would not mention that a game usually lasted an hour or so.

"It might. Hey where's Beckett? I thought you were going to force him to come too?"

"I was thinking about it but he's still on duty."

"The lucky him bastard."

Ignoring that comment John asked, "How bad could it be? Just one game McKay, that's it and I won't ask you again… for today."

"Fine but just one game."

"Great so everyone else is okay?"

Everyone nodded though Radek looked a little pale. If anyone was against it no one spoke up especially with the head of their expedition was agreeing to the exercise.

"Okay for teams I was thinking I would have my team plus Dr. Weir and Zelenka. Lorne you would have Edwin and his team plus Cadman."

"Sir, I hardly think these teams are fair."

"They seem fine to me Lorne."

"But you have Ronon."

John turned to his fellow team member taking in his height and muscles. Evan did have a point but he was not willing to admit that out loud anytime soon. He looked at the rest of his team.

"But I have McKay, Zelenka, and Weir. I would say that evens it out."

He glazed over at Elizabeth giving her a silent apology. She shook her head and rolled her eyes, not the least bit offended. Evan nodded in agreement with John's statement.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Rodney demanded, sounding offended. Radek, beside him, just gave John a curious look.

"Nothing just that the teams are fair," stated John.

Placing the football under his arm, he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"So let's get this game started."