"No!"
"But..."
"Rodney, no!"
"It would be under controlled conditions!"
"No. No, there will be absolutely no 'shrooming in Atlantis!" Elizabeth shot back, adding, "I didn't think you'd even need me to say that."
Across the table, John and Carson were both smirking as they held back their laughter. The two had known ever since Rodney had happily shared the news that he'd found a plant with medicinal properties that their illustrious leader wouldn't allow testing. Whether or not the plant would help supplement the drug stores, Elizabeth wouldn't care – illicit drugs, be they in Milky Way or Pegasus, were still illicit.
"Now, if we're done," she looked between the senior members of the expedition as she spoke, receiving nods. "Alright, then I say this meeting is concluded for today."
In a rare instance of patience, everyone had at least managed to get to their feet before Rodney said, "Elizabeth..."
"Oh, for the love of... Rodney, let it go!" She told him and glared at John who had finally given into his amusement, laughing hard at his best friend. "And if you ask me again, I'll burn them – on the south pier, by myself."
Carson managed to slap his hand over Rodney's mouth quickly enough to stifle whatever remark he had. She was a woman suffering from lack of sleep; prodding her verbally would not end well. "Come along, Rodney," he ordered and led his lover from the conference room with John in their wake, still laughing heartily.
"Shut up, Sheppard!" Rodney told him as they started down the corridor toward the mess hall. "It's not that funny."
"Fuck yes, it is. Rodney – what'd you think she was gonna say? 'By all means, have the biologists and the botantists toke up on alien mushrooms.'"
Despite his comment, John's eyes were twinkling with mischief. Most people would have expected John to admit to youthful indiscretions, but he'd never had the chance to indulge in a bit of law breaking – his father would have killed him and the Air Force wouldn't have tolerated it. That didn't mean he didn't think of it now and again, wondering as people did about the unknown.
"I didn't expect her to say that!" Rodney replied, though he really had. Now, he had a few fond remembrances of being splayed out in a chair, lazily tossing out ideas to other students while his graduate school roommates munched popcorn. They were among the handful of instances he could ever recall being completely relaxed and he'd have loved a chance to feel that way again.
John snorted and the trio entered the mess, still amused.