A/N: Well, this is going to be a series of one-shots about HAIRGEL. And John for that matter. Hope they're good enough for you :)

It had only been a dare, a stupid dare that had started all of this off. How Zalenka had been roped into playing the stupid game he had no idea, it didn't help that Rodney had threatened him with a lack of coffee for a month.

Here he was, sneaking about the living quarters with his every move being monitored by the cameras. When the time came Rodney was going to pay for the prank. Turning another corner he crept down two more doors before glancing around and making sure that nobody except the cameras were watching him.

Jerry rigging the control crystal he waited, holding his breath, as the door slid open to reveal the home of his dare. He took one last gulp before stepping across the threshold and muttering prayers for this to not be his death as the door shut behind him and all he had as a comfort was Rodney's guidance, directions and warnings from the comm unit.

To say that Colonel John Sheppard was angry was an understatement. He was seeing red. He had just gotten back from a simple recon mission that was actually an ambush from the wraith and for the whole three hours he had to put up with one of the new scientists screaming every time she heard a gunshot or wraith stunner, even the kawhooshing of the gate caused her to scream.

That was just the beginning. Getting back to Atlantis Rodney wanted to use him as a lab rat again. In the infirmary for his post-mission checkup, he found out that he had been exposed to some form of radiation from the planets rising temperature in the atmosphere, which resulted in the chemical scrub down.

He had given himself the rest of the day off after taking a nice long shower, wanting to catch up on reading more of his book.

After pulling on his shirt he towel dried his hair and ran a hand through the now dry mop and watched as it sagged to the form of his skull. Sighing he opened the bathroom cabinet and instinctively reached out his hand for the pot that stood where it always was. But his hand grabbed air and taking a proper look at the area he found everything in its usual spot but that one pot.

Frantically he searched the cupboard, almost throwing everything onto the floor in hopes that it was hiding. After this he ransacked his bathroom to find that it wasn't in the actual room. He grumbled to himself, knowing that that was his last pot until the next shipment came in within the next three days, before storming through his room in search of what he secretly called his glory.

'Where could it be? Where is it?' He thought to himself as he sat on the edge of his bed running through all of the places that it was likely to be. The top of his list was the bathroom considering that that was where it lived and he flopped back onto his bed in annoyance. Running a hand over his face he stared at the ceiling and thought about what he could possibly do.

Zalenka sat in his lab, anxiously glancing at the door every few seconds in hopes that he wasn't caught out. He'd hate to be under his wrath, he terrified the scientist to say the least. "Oh calm down Radek, look, he doesn't even know," Rodney reassured him, showing him the camera footage of the person of their talks looking down right angry and annoyed.

"But what if he finds out," Zalenka proposed, not liking the outcome of his idea.

Rodney shrugged his shoulders, his face glowing from the smug grin that filled his face.

He was going to find some, which was what John told himself as he started for the door. Glancing at the mirror he stopped, seeing his floppy hair, before turning around and rooting through a box to find the baseball cap he kept in there. Pulling it on he nodded at the temporary situation before running his hand over the control crystal.

Stepping out he turned towards the direction of Major Lorne's office before stopping in his tracks again. He hadn't heard the familiar hiss that greeted him every time he stepped through a door. Turning around he found the door still open and when he swiped his hand over the controls again, it wouldn't close. After the third and fourth attempt he opened the crystal tray and looked at the crystal arrangement. Something was off to him.

Replacing the cover he changed his direction and headed in the opposite direction, knowing full well where he was going to find some of what he needed.

Arriving he entered the room and opened a few drawers and found his very precious pot. Cradling it to his chest he closed the drawer and glanced around the room, his eyes falling onto the coffee pot that was used by the entire science department. An evil grin filled his face as he stuck his item in his pocket and left the room, heading straight for the commisionary.

He ignored the odd looks he gained as he almost ran to the mess and into the kitchen. Putting in the request and happily receiving his item, he ran back, the questions of why he was wearing a hat going in one ear and out of the other. Someone had to pay.

Rodney was up for another night of tinkering with another unknown piece of ancient technology. Finding his cup empty he went over to the coffee machine and filled up his cup, ignoring the piece of paper that was stuck on top of the machine. Bringing the now full cup to his lips he spat it out almost instantly, and that's when his eyes found the paper.

He picked it up and found Radek's handwriting scrawled across it, "He found out."

John laughed at the idea of the entire science department on decaf coffee for a month as he tucked his pot of hair gel underneath his pillow, keeping it safe as he snuggled down to sleep happily for the night.

A/N: more will come, tell me what you thought please. :)