"Colonel Sheppard!"
John stopped and slowly turned around. "Rodney."
"What do you think you're doing!"
"Right now I'm heading to the mess to get something to eat."
"That's not what I'm talking about!"
"So I've gathered."
"When Carson goes off world with us, why do you always pair us off?"
"Ah, that."
"Yes that!"
John looked around and then grabbed Rodney's arm and pulled him into a nearby deserted lab. "Why is this such a concern for you?"
"You know my feelings on the matter," Rodney stated, clearly not wanting to say anything more.
"Yes, I do. Which is why I don't understand why you are now protesting."
Rodney glared.
"I still think you should tell him."
Rodney glared again and then turned to leave.
"Oh, Rodney. Just for the record, pairing the two of you together on missions has always a smart tactical decision. You usually try and pair the civilians together and keep them out of danger. And it's my understanding that I'm not the only one to do this. You could speak to Major Lorne if you had any other concerns."
Rodney quickly left the room, ignoring Teyla who was walking by. "What is wrong with Rodney?" she asked John as he exited the room.
"He got a little upset because he thought I was pairing him and Carson up on missions to torture him."
"I see. I still don't understand why he does not speak with Dr. Beckett."
"I think Rodney thinks he would be rejected."
"We must do something. He is injuring himself just so he can go the infirmary."
"Really? And he's on my case about pairing them off on missions." John shook his head. "Okay, so do you have a plan?"
Teyla smiled. Maybe after this she would talk to Rodney about getting Col. Sheppard and Dr. Weir together.
"You wanted to see me Colonel?" Carson asked as he entered John's office.
"We're friends, right?"
Carson suddenly got very worried. "I would think so."
"And friends help each other out, right?"
Carson smiled. "Would you like me to find out how Elizabeth feels about you? It's pretty obvious, but if you want to be sure."
"What? It's obvious how Elizabeth feels for me? She feels for me?" asked John, suddenly forgetting the original reason why he asked the doctor to see him.
"Aye. I would have thought that after you had recovered from the retro-virus, still sorry about that."
"It's not your fault and would you stop apologizing!"
Carson nodded really having no intensions of apologizing. "Everyone was shocked when you didn't do anything after that. Even after you got back from Lt. Ford's little mission."
"Wait, everyone?"
"Aye. I believe it is one of the bets that Radek has in his betting pool."
"Elizabeth is still upset that she can't find out who's behind that pool."
"You haven't told her?" a shocked Carson asked.
"Why would I do that? I've bet on a few of those bets myself. Radek and I have an understanding. I won't tell Elizabeth and he keeps it from getting so far out of hand that she has to take action."
"I see."
Just then John remembered his original mission and decided to casually get back on course. "Did you know that there are quite a few bets about Rodney?"
"I know about a few," answered Carson. "Radek said I couldn't bet on any of them because I would have inside information."
John snickered to himself. "Yeah, he wouldn't let me bet on a few of them for that reason too. But my favorite, and one he did let me bet on, was when our favorite Canadian would finally get his head out of his ass and admit to the person he's been pining over since we got here that he likes them."
"Oh? I haven't heard of that one." Carson sat down, suddenly very interested in where this conversation was going. "Who is it? They only people I could think of who it would be, he's already asked out on dates and they went horribly."
"I really shouldn't tell since when I placed this bet, Radek made me swear that I wouldn't get involved."
"How would telling me get you involved?"
John continued as if he hadn't heard Carson's question. "Although, that stipulation was on getting Rodney to admit it, not the other way around."
"Colonel?"
"Yes?"
"How do you know who Rodney's be 'pining' over? He hasn't told me of any long term crush."
"It's very obvious."
"Oh, just like your feelings for Elizabeth?"
John paused. "Are they that obvious?"
"I think the only person who doesn't have a clue is Elizabeth herself, and that's probably because she's so caught up in her feelings and trying to keep them separate from her job."
"So the only person who is not aware of my feelings is the one person I would want them to be known to, right?"
Carson nodded.
Just then John's watch beeped. "I've got to get going. Meeting. We should continue this talk later."
"Alright."
"But I do want you to think about what I said."
"If you want," replied a confused Carson as John left the room.
Through out the rest of the day, Carson did indeed think about his conversation with John in between his research and treating Rodney for a slight electrical burn. But it wasn't until he was eating dinner with Rodney, John, Teyla, and Ronan that what John was trying to tell him made sense. 'The only person who is not aware of my feelings is the one person I would want them to be known to.' That was the reason why he had no idea who Rodney had been pining over since they got here. It was him.
"Carson, you alright?" asked John.
Carson looked up into the concerned faces of his friends. "I'm fine. I just finally figured out what's been bothering me all day, is all. Excuse me, I have quite a bit of work that I need to be doing."
John raised an eyebrow and exchanged a glance with Teyla as Carson left.
"So Rodney," started John.
"No. Whatever it is, no."
"Ah, come on. You have to tell him some time. He's gonna start thinking that you hate him if you keep on protesting being paired up with him on missions."
"Well, if certain Colonel's would stop volunteer certain doctors, who have no business going on dangerous missions, to said dangerous missions, then I wouldn't have to object."
"Mckay, just go tell him that you want to have sex with him and save Sheppard and Teyla the trouble of setting the two of you up," Ronan said before he left, leaving a gaping astrophysicist behind.
Rodney turned to his remaining teammates. "I should tell him."
"That's what we've been trying to tell you!"
Rodney nodded, stood up, and left.
"Do you think he will actually tell Dr. Beckett?" asked Teyla.
"Probably not."
Rodney approached the infirmary with apprehension. He really couldn't believe he was actually going to tell Carson how he really felt. Where this sudden burst of bravery came from, he would never know.
"Carson, would you just tell the man!" he heard right before he was about to enter Carson's office. He couldn't hear what Carson said in return, but he did hear the next burst loud and clear. "They why the hell are you still here and not screwing him into next week!"
Rodney was filled with intense jealousy and fear. Carson liked someone else.
"You won't have to wait long. He'll be in here later complaining about some mystery illness or scratch that only you can see or heal. If you don't tell him then, I'll do it for you." Just then the office door opened and Dr. Brio stepped out. "Dr. McKay." She quickly looked over her shoulder and then back to the doctor in front of her. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?"
"I uh," he stammered.
"Illness or scratch?" she asked.
Realization hit Rodney like a wraith stunner. It was him! Carson wanted him! Now filled with his usual confidence, he replied, "Both."
Dr. Brio raised an eyebrow. "I would offer to help, but I know you'll just ask for Carson." She gave Rodney a wink as she went back to her rounds.
Rodney strutted into Carson's office and the locked the door. "Carson."
"Rodney."
"You want me."
"What!" a very stunned Carson replied.
"You want me."
"How did you come by this brilliant deduction?"
"I overheard part of your conversation with Dr. Brio. You want me."
"So what if I do?"
"Well, I have the same feelings for you."
"I know."
"So, I figure. Wait. You know! How the hell do you know?"
"Everyone knew, Rodney."
"Well, why didn't say something?"
Carson shrugged. "I figured I'd wait until you came to me," he answered, not really wanting to reveal that he had only figured it out a few hours ago.
"Well, that's just great."
"Aye. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got work to be doing."
"You're kicking me out? After we just revealed that we like each other as more than friends?"
"Well, there is not a lot we can do about it at this moment, so yes."
Rodney just stared at Carson as he looked over the results of a test that were in front of him. "Dinner tonight?"
Carson looked up. "Yes, usually there is dinner at night."
"Stop being such a smart ass. That's my job. I was asking if you would like to go to dinner with me tonight?"
"We always have dinner together."
"Well, yes. But I was hoping that it could be more in a date capacity."
"Oh."
"Oh, what?" Rodney asked when it became clear that Carson was not going to elaborate.
"I'm sure that would be fine. Just don't go asking anyone else to join in on this date of ours."
"I wouldn't. That wasn't me! That was Cadman!"
"Nevertheless."
Rodney glared and stood up. "Right. Dinner in my quarters at the usual time?"
Carson just nodded as he went back to his test results. After a few moments Rodney left, a little stunned by what just happened.
Dinner that night was just that, dinner. It took three weeks of Rodney being Rodney for him to get Carson into bed. The morning after that momentous occasion, Rodney walked around the city acting like he was king of the universe. Everyone expected this behavior to last quite a while now that he actually had Carson, so they were very surprised when the next day Rodney was avoiding everyone and took to hiding in his lab. Eventually Radek broke in and found out that Rodney was sporting a few quite impressive hickies on his neck. And so it went. Whenever Rodney's ego got to large, you could bet that the next day he would be trying to hide the hickies on his neck or not be able to sit for the entire day.
The people of Atlantis had finally found a way to control Rodney: threaten to tell Carson.