AN: Something just occurred to me as I edited this chapter. I wrote that Elizabeth was gone (presumably true to canon), but they are on the same planet they were on before the battle with the Human-form Replicators, as it is inhabited by the whale-fish. Um, I'm gonna say, for sake of sanity and continuity, that you can just pretend that every Water Planet is inhabited by giant whale-fish. Yeah, that works!

Also, please don't forget to R&R!

Chapter 2

John was hiding.

Okay, well, he couldn't admit that to himself, but that was exactly what he was doing. Truthfully, he was still pissed at Rodney for this whole mess; after all, if Rodney hadn't run his big mouth, he wouldn't have had to punch him. Square in the face. Right in front of Carter. Nice going, John, he scolded himself, real smooth move, there.

He knew he should just apologize, put everything that had happened today behind him, but he couldn't. His pride wouldn't let him, and neither would his rebellious streak. No one could tell him what to do – not his father, not his CO when he'd been in Afghanistan, and not Colonel Carter. It wasn't that he didn't respect her; he really did, almost as much as he had Elizabeth Weir. But when he felt that someone had been wronged, he always had to be the one to fix it, even if it meant going against the "rules".

Or punching his best friend in the nose.

As much as he hated to admit it, Carter was right. If they wanted to keep her here as leader of Atlantis, and keep the IOA from permanently setting up shop in the Pegasus Galaxy, he had to make things okay again.

Sighing, Sheppard got up off his bed and opened the door, just as his intended target came into view in the hallway. He stopped on the threshold, wondering if he should just go back in and close the door. His more humorous side, though buried under tons of guilt, somehow managed to come through and picture Rodney likewise losing his nerve, running away like a girl. He stifled a smile, still too hurt by his friend's actions to try to be funny.

"Oh," Rodney said, mildly startled to see him there, "I was just looking for you."

"Yeah. Me, too."

"Really?"

"Yep."

There was an awkward silence as they both stood there, simply staring at each other. Then, Sheppard ducked back into his room, and returned with two sweatshirts and a six-pack of his favorite beverage – beer.

"Come on," he told Rodney, "let's go to the Pier."

The East Pier was always quiet this time of night; the Daedalus had left earlier in the day, and no one but Sheppard really came out here after dark, anyway. It was his favorite place to go and think, letting the ocean waves wash away his troubles, if only for a while. Now, it smelled of salt and seaweed, but it was neither unpleasant nor overpowering, and the waves rushed toward them in great billows, crashing on the rocks below the pier. He suddenly found himself wishing he had his surfboard; the whitecaps he could see seemed to beckon to him, willing him to go for a ride atop them.

Instead, he flopped down on the surface of the pier, and Rodney silently followed suit, his legs dangling over the edge. He, too, had a healthy respect for the ocean, but in a slightly more negative way. He'd had many bad experiences in that cold water, and his mind continually recalled the hundred-foot whale-fish that hunted the planet's sea. He'd rather not find out the hard way what they ate, thank you very much.

Still, he had to admit that the ocean surrounding Atlantis was a beautiful sight, especially at night. The moon's light glittered over the surface of the water, making it seem like an ocean full of jewels, and when a particularly large wave hit the bottom of the pier, the spray that reached him felt cool and calming.

"You want one?" Rodney heard Sheppard ask, and he looked over to see the colonel holding a beer out to him. Nodding, he took it and popped it open, but didn't take a sip yet.

Sheppard popped open his own can, and took a gulp from it. As he swallowed, he stared over the water, as if he could see the mainland from here. This was it, he knew; one of them would have to say something, but truthfully, he was afraid to be the first. Steeling himself with another swig of his drink, he shifted his position a little, and then said, "Uh, so I've been thinking. I shouldn't have hit you like that. I'm sorry, Rodney."

Rodney turned to look at him. "That's okay, John. I deserved it."

Sheppard shook his head. "No, you didn't. I overreacted. I should've just walked away."

"Maybe, but the things I said were horrible, and untrue. I should have never jumped on you like that."

"Are you gonna let me apologize, or what?" Sheppard asked then, and Rodney held up his hand in apology. "Thank you. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I shouldn't have done what I did in the first place, messing around with Teyla like that. I just…I was so keyed up, I needed to have a little fun for once – something that didn't involve explosives or high speeds."

Rodney nodded silently at that. He understood how John felt – maybe not in the same way, but still, he knew what it felt like to have a ton of nervous energy, and no way to release it. Most of the time, he could find something to help – a side-project or hobby he'd been meaning to pick up again – but in those odd times when there was nothing to do, he often wondered how he kept himself from climbing the walls.

"You were right, you know," he said quietly.

Sheppard shifted his gaze to look at him out of the corner of his eye. "About what?"

"I was jealous…" Sheppard's blood pressure raised a bit, until Rodney added, "that you guys were having fun without me. I mean, I still don't ever want to be thrown over your shoulder and stuff, but…well, you know what I mean."

Sheppard grinned. "Yeah, I know."

"The point is, you and Teyla and Ronon are the closest thing I have to family beside Jeannie. You guys may not always understand my scientific babblings or whatever, but at least you treat me like a person, like I have feelings. Most people don't; they never have, not even when I was a kid. I've always respected that you don't let me get away with saying or doing something just because I'm a genius, that even though I'm a civilian, you hold me to the same standard as you would any military person under you."

Sheppard nodded at that. "I just need to know that everyone in my team is on the same page, that's all. And to be honest, you're really never that hard for me to handle."

Rodney grinned faintly at him, then turned back to the ocean. He nipped at his beer every few moments, letting the bubbles tickle his nose and throat. Beside him, John was just finishing his off, and had begun to swing his legs back and forth over the pier's edge, imagining that he could actually kick the waves that rolled more than three stories below him.

"You know," Sheppard suddenly said, "right after I hit you, I felt really bad for it. I was too angry to apologize, though. And if I'm really truthful, it wasn't because you said that stuff to Teyla."

Rodney eyed him curiously, then set down his beer and leaned in a little. "What do you mean?"

Sheppard sighed, rubbing a hand through his perpetually-messy hair. "I mean…" he looked up at the moon, not believing he was actually about to admit this to anyone, let alone Rodney. "I was mad because you caught me flirting with her."

Rodney's blue eyes widened into saucers. He let his mind flow over what his friend had just said, and when he was sure he'd heard correctly, he murmured, "I knew it."

"What? No, Rodney…" John began, but Rodney paid him no attention.

"All this time, all these years, I knew you had a thing for her, but you were too afraid or whatever to act on it!"

Sheppard grabbed Rodney by his sweatshirt and pulled him close. "You wanna quiet down, before the entire city hears you?" When his friend had nodded and calmed down enough, he explained, "It wasn't that I was afraid. I just didn't think she ever felt the same way I did. The way I still do. Plus, our alliance with her people was too important to screw up, and…well, I got comfortable with our relationship the way it was. Is. Whatever!"

He threw up his hands, frustrated with his inability to accurately explain his feelings, and then distracted himself by opening another beer. Rodney sat there, his mind suddenly a jumble of thoughts and feelings. He'd never seen John Sheppard look so helpless, at least not when it came to talking about women, and it startled him. He knew that after Nancy, John had never even tried to settle down with a single woman, but now he wondered if that was another thing John was afraid of – of failing at having another "stable" relationship.

"Why don't you just talk to her, then?" Rodney asked.

"I just told you why. If she doesn't feel the same…"

Rodney shook his head. "No. That's an excuse, and you know it. Teyla's enough of a…lady…to tell you exactly how she feels without making you feel like even more of an idiot. It's not like she's gonna laugh at you or something. She's not like that."

"But…" Sheppard began, but Rodney cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Look, John, I know you really suck at feelings, but if you really love her –"

"I never said I loved her."

Rodney ignored him. " – then you need to tell her, and find out just what she thinks. Otherwise, you could be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. Trust me, you could do worse than be with her, and any man worth anything would cut off their arm to be you. As if they don't have enough reason already."

"Rodney…"

"I mean, look at yourself, John. You're handsome, charming, witty. You're not freakishly smart, or socially awkward, or…" Rodney sighed. "Face it, John. You're every woman's dream."

Sheppard sat there, stunned. What could he say to that? As he thought, a single memory popped into his head, and he took a sip of his beer before he spoke.

"You know, when I was in tenth grade, there was this girl. Name was Heather Swenson. Prettiest girl you ever saw – long auburn hair, sparkling blue eyes, freckles everywhere – all the guys drooled over her. And me, well, I was skinny, kind of awkward and gangly. Girls liked my dimples, but because I was never a really talkative kid, they got bored with me pretty fast."

Rodney found it hard to believe that Sheppard could ever be quiet, especially as a teenager, but from the colonel's sheepish gaze, he supposed it could be true.

"Anyway, there was this party at her friend's house, and me and a couple buddies were invited. We were pumped, of course, 'cuz each of us swore we were gonna ask Heather out that night. Well, we had a great time, swimming and just having fun, you know?"

Rodney nodded silently, wondering where this story was going.

"Okay, so there I was, just sitting on the deck, playing a guitar someone had brought out from the house, when Heather comes right up to me and starts to talk to me. I couldn't believe it. I was so nervous, I could barely answer her. I was also oblivious to the fact that I'd eaten enough food to choke a horse, and something in there wasn't agreeing with me. Just when she asked me out, my stomach decided to try and empty itself right then and there. I had just enough time to lean over to the bushes beside the deck before I puked my guts out. She was obviously grossed out – couldn't get away from me fast enough. After that, she never spoke to me again."

"What happened to her?" Rodney asked, and John shrugged.

"She ended up marrying one of my friends. One of the guys who'd gone to the party with me. She got stomach cancer five or six years later, and died soon after that."

"Wow."

"Yeah." He paused to tip the final contents of the can in his hand into his mouth. "The irony is – and, by the way, I'm not glad it happened to her at all – the cancer probably made her throw up every single day. But, you know what they say about karma, huh?"

"Yeah. One thing I still don't understand, though."

"What's that?"

"If you were so shy and all that, how in the world did you end up with Nancy?"

Sheppard gave him a sardonic grin. "More irony."

"Huh?"

"She was at the party, too. After Heather ran off, Nancy came over to see if I was okay. Of course, we lost touch for a little while after high school, since she went off to college and I went to the Air Force, but…well, you know the rest."

Rodney nodded. John had told him as much as he was comfortable with a few years ago, in this very spot.

"Point is, I've never been as comfortable around women as everyone seems to think. I still don't know what to do with myself when one of them starts crying."

McKay laughed at that. "No one does, my friend." Then, he realized what he'd said, and quickly looked away. After all that had happened, he wasn't sure John would still want to be his friend, much less his best friend. Staring down at the beer he'd picked up again, he asked, "So, are we okay?"

Sheppard's gaze returned to the ocean. After a moment's thought, he nodded. "Yeah. We're okay."

Carter was just about to leave her office, when Sheppard and McKay walked in. They were talking with each other, McKay smiling at something the colonel had just said.

"Good evening, you two," she said then, and both men came to stand before her desk, Sheppard automatically taking up his military "at rest" stance. Subconsciously, Rodney mimicked him, his hands clasped behind his back and his legs slightly apart. Carter hid a smile at that; she had to at least pretend to be in professional-mode.

"Colonel Carter," Sheppard greeted her with a small grin.

"I take it you both have worked out your differences, then?"

Rodney nodded emphatically. "Yes. Yes, we have."

"Without your fists, I presume?" She asked, looking pointedly at Sheppard, who at least had the grace to duck his head guiltily.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, casting a sidelong glance at his friend. Rodney glanced back, and lightly shrugged one shoulder.

Carter now allowed herself to smile. "Good. And you're early, too. It's only Twenty-one-hundred. My report will not include your earlier disagreement."

Rodney sighed loudly in relief. "Thank you, Sam."

She nodded, but her smile was replaced with a more serious expression. "Let me warn you, however; if either of you ever pull a stunt like that again, you'll be on the first ship back to Earth before you can even blink. You dodged a bullet today, but you won't be so lucky next time, I promise you." She stared at each of them in turn. "Am I clear?"

"Understood," Sheppard answered immediately.

Rodney was just as fast with his reply. "Yes."

"Okay, then. You may go."

As they left, she called out, "Oh, and Colonel Sheppard?"

He turned back, a curious glance in his eyes. "Yes, Colonel?"

"Try not to use anyone else like a sack of potatoes."

He stood there, unsure of whether she was being completely serious or not. When the corners of her mouth twitched upward, he gave her his most charming smile and replied, "I'll try real hard, ma'am."

TBC...and Gahhh at Sheppard's charming smile!