Chapter Two
Rodney stepped into the mess hall and his eyes immediately sought out Elizabeth. He saw her sitting with Sheppard and Teyla. He sighed as the three laughed at whatever John had said. He grabbed a tray and placed food upon it. He carried the tray to the nearest table and sat down, facing Elizabeth.
He had no idea when he took it upon himself to watch Elizabeth. They were hardly out of each other's presence and even then, he thought about her. He sighed again and stared at his food.
Maybe I should talk to Kate, he thought as he pushed his fork around on a plate of eggs. Maybe she'll give me some advice on what I should do.
Rodney laughed to himself. She'll probably tell me to talk to Elizabeth and tell her how I feel. That would go over real well.
He shook his head and dug into his eggs. He watched Elizabeth as she drank her coffee and laughed with her friends.
"So you've been having dreams about Dr. Weir," Kate said matter-of-factly.
Rodney rolled his eyes. "Yes, I believe I've stated that. What do I do about it?"
"How long have you been having them?"
Rodney sighed and thought coming here was a bad idea. He hated seeing a shrink, but he needed someone to talk to. Someone who wasn't going to pass it around Atlantis for their entertainment.
"About a week," he answered as he slumped in the chair across from the doctor. He stared at her, hoping and daring her to say something.
"And they're sexual in nature?"
Rodney fought the urge to roll his eyes. This was getting ridiculous. What was she fishing for anyway?
"Yes, very sexual in nature," he snapped, sitting forward and glaring at her. "Can we move on to the part where you tell me what to do or give me something for it?"
Kate smiled as she wrote something down in her notes. He had a sudden impulse to rip the paper away from her and see what she had written. He knew it wouldn't get him anywhere, so he resisted.
"I'm sure you've already figured that out for yourself," she said, looking at him. "It doesn't take a psychiatrist or a genius to know you feel something for Dr. Weir."
"Thank you for clearing that up," Rodney grumbled as he folded his arms across his chest and leaned back into the chair. "Care to tell me how to fix it?"
"You can't stop dreaming, Rodney," Kate said softly. "And it's not good for you to keep yourself from sleeping. You can either tell Elizabeth how you feel or let these dreams continue to plague you."
Rodney stared at the floor. He didn't want to tell Elizabeth how he felt. He wanted to know how she felt, but he didn't. What if she didn't feel the same? What if she did and he didn't know how to handle it? He sighed, feeling lost.
"I need to think about this," he said as he stood. "Figure out how to tell her."
"Don't take too long," Kate said, smiling. "She might not wait forever."
Rodney walked out the door, still wondering if it was a good idea to talk to Kate. He didn't feel any better. If at all, he was more confused and uncertain than before. He hated feeling like this and decided to take his mind off his dreams by working.
Rodney stepped into the lab and sat at his desk, opening his laptop. He glanced at the coffee pot and saw it was empty. He grumbled about no coffee as he got up and made a pot.
"Ah, the workaholic has arrived."
Rodney turned to see Radek enter the lab. He barely glared at the man before turning back to the coffee maker.
"I'm not a workaholic, Radek," he said as he returned to his laptop.
"That differs from opinion of everyone on Atlantis."
"Says you," Rodney said as he stared at the screen.
Radek said nothing as the two got to work.
It was well past lunch and Rodney was still working. He moved between his laptop and the various screens scattered through out the lab. He stumbled over cables and cords twice, cursing everything under the sun afterwards.
He sat down hard in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. His hand came away wet and he griped in irritation. He had been so focused on getting things done, he had forgotten to eat. He glanced at his watch and cursed again. It was well past the lunch hour and his body was letting him know it. A wave of nausea washed over him nearly causing him to vomit.
Grumbling, Rodney saved his work on his laptop and jogged out of the lab. He nearly ran to the mess hall, hoping there would be something to eat.
He burst through the doors barely letting them open to find the room almost empty. He hurried toward the food and saw there was still some left. He sighed in relief and dished some onto a plate. He turned and saw Elizabeth sitting alone, reading what he could only guess were reports. Her hair brushed the shoulders of her red shirt. A plate of food was placed to her left untouched. A mug of coffee was in her right hand, the reports in her left.
Warmth flooded Rodney's cheeks as he remembered the dream from last night. She had looked so beautiful in his dreams, yet nothing could compare to how she looked now. He couldn't take his eyes off her as his heart raced, threatening to break out of his chest. He took a deep breath to calm himself and forced his feet to take a step.
Before he knew it, Rodney stood near Elizabeth's table. She looked up and his heart nearly stopped at the sight of her green eyes.
"Rodney, how are you?" Elizabeth asked, putting her reports down.
"Starving," Rodney said as he sat down without her asking. "I hadn't had anything since breakfast." He dug into his meal barely noticing Elizabeth's wide-eyed expression.
"I take it you missed lunch," she said calmly.
Rodney stopped chewing and stared at her. He swallowed painfully and looked at his food.
"I wasn't watching the time," he said, meeting her gaze. "I was so busy with everything, I let it slip by."
Elizabeth shook her head and he wondered what she must be thinking. He stared at his food again, trying to come up with something to say, but she beat him to it.
"I don't want you to start neglecting your health, Rodney," she said, getting his attention.
"Believe me, I'm not. I don't like passing out anymore than the next person. I just got carried away."
Elizabeth smiled, sending a rush of emotions through him. He wanted to pull her over the table and kiss her right then. It took all his control to stop himself.
"Do you need to be reminded to eat?"
Rodney glared at her. "I know when to eat, Elizabeth. I don't need a babysitter."
Elizabeth smiled again and took a sip of her coffee. He sighed and returned to eating. He doubted going back to work would keep his mind off Elizabeth. Maybe a cold shower would do the trick.
