Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly.
Pairings: Sheppard/Lorne
Author's Note: This story contains swearing and references to m/m relationships, but nothing graphic for the moment. However, if that's not your thing, back away now. I would also like to say that any cultural stereotypes in this story are not meant to be offensive, nor taken seriously. This is the first thing I've ever posted, so please be kind if you review.
On a less relevant note, I just got around to watching the first episode of season 5 of A Town Called Eureka. A town full of Kavan Smith clones... y'know, I think I've had dreams like that. Also, I have discovered that the biggest impediment to my writing is not the dreaded writer's block, but Spider Solitaire. Whoever decided to put card games on computers should be shot.
Chapter 2
Daniel was thrilled. He'd been in Atlantis for over a day, and he hadn't been shot at or kidnapped. Instead, he'd been given his own lab, where he'd been able to sit for hours reading through the Ancient database. Or translating the files onto the computer and reading them. Jack would probably call him seven kinds of idiot for enjoying something so 'boring', but then Jack liked fishing so he didn't have a leg to stand on really.
He had no idea what time it was, because really he had far more important things to worry about than getting a watch set to Atlantis time, when the door to the lab hissed open and Dax walked in with a bright smile on her face. She looked a little flushed, her hair tied back untidily and her shirt slightly rumpled. Her uniform jacket was in her hand and she greeted him brightly.
"Dax," Daniel smiled looking up from the stack of notes on the desk in front of him, "Settling in alright?"
"I guess. Just came from sparring with Major Lorne," she said as she claimed a seat on the opposite side of the desk, "That was fun. Not sure he'd agree, but I enjoyed it."
"I take it you didn't tell Major Lorne about the extent of your martial arts training before you started with sparring?" Daniel looked at her with a questioning expression.
"It slipped my mind," she lied glibly, "You know, he told me you don't like him."
"He said what?" Daniel frowned at her.
"Mining artifacts on... P3X-403," Dax prompted.
"Oh, that," Daniel said, the memory falling into place, "Well yes, if they'd called me in when they first found the artifacts a lot of the problems we had there could have been avoided… But as I recall it was Colonel Edwards that was in charge and Lorne was just following orders."
"What happened?" Dax asked. Daniel wasn't surprised by the question, Dax had proved to be curious about all the missions and alien cultures he'd mentioned since they met. Since he rarely found such a receptive audience he was only too happy to relate the story, and she listened with rapt attention When he finished she stared at him for a minute before suggesting that he should find a way to let Lorne know he wasn't bearing a grudge about the incident.
"I suppose," Daniel agreed, still slightly surprised by the idea that the Major had even considered it. Things like that happened off-world all the time and for the most part no-one gave it a second thought once the reports were filed. He hadn't thought about that incident in years.
Dax smiled at him and offered to help with whatever he was doing. He explained that he was trying to search the Ancient database for references to the Ancient inventor Janis and his creations that could help in the war against the Wraith. Or at least that was what he told the SGC so they'd let him make the trip to Atlantis. Really he just wanted to study the life and culture of the Ancients.
Dax laughed at his subterfuge and agreed to help him look though the database. She moved to one of the Ancient terminals against the wall and sat down in front of it. The screen on the wall flickered into life as soon as she laid her hands on the interface crystals and she gazed at the scrolling patterns of Ancient text. She paused for a moment, then started work, her hands flowing over the control crystals.
"You can read it all alright?" Daniel asked as he watched her eyes flicker over the display.
"I'm fine as long as you don't want me to speak it," she said ruefully, "I really have no ear for languages."
"But you can read them?" Daniel frowned, not really seeing how that worked.
"I guess my medium is visual," Dax shrugged waving her hand over the controls so the screen flashed to another page of information, "I learned to write in Tolkien's Elvish in three days."
"Why would you learn to write a fictional language?" Daniel demanded looking up from his notes.
"Privacy," Dax said, "I write all my personal notes and journal entries in it. Computer encryptions can be broken, but very few people would recognise what language it's in, let alone have the patience to decipher it."
Daniel shook his head at this example of academic paranoia. It looked like genius still came with a suspicious nature; they all though everyone was trying to steal their work. They lapsed into silence and Dax turned her attention fully to the Ancient database.
"This thing is amazing, it's like it reads your mind. It's giving me the information before I even finish asking for it," Dax remarked after some time, "But you'd think a race of people who could make their whole city fly would be able to make their computers work without that annoying hum.
"What hum?" Daniel asked curiously. He couldn't hear anything.
"You don't hear it?" she asked with a frown, "It's giving me a headache."
"You sure it's not the fact you've been staring at that screen for the last few hours?" Daniel suggested.
"What? Don't be ridiculous!" Dax scoffed pulling up her sleeve to look at her watch, "How the hell did that happen?"
"What were you reading?" Daniel asked curiously, wanting to know what had captured her attention so fully.
"Well, that's the weird thing, the database kept bringing up random files that distracted me from what I was looking at in the first place," Dax laughed shortly, "It's probably a glitch."
"But you read it anyway?" Daniel stated, not really surprised.
"Well, it brought up biological information on a creature called Flagesallus, it's a whale-like fish that inhabited the ocean of the original Lantean planet," Dax said, "Then the Ancient's research into a genetic degradation in a species of wild canid only found on one planet in this galaxy, a geological survey on a mountain range three times the size of the Himalayas, oh, and there was something on a enzyme secreted by a vine that had some interesting biochemical potential."
"Sounds fascinating," Sheppard said dryly from where he was leaning in the doorway. After Lorne's odd reaction to his attempt to help him back in their office he'd decided to go and bother McKay. He'd heard voices as he walked passed the lab they'd given Daniel Jackson and stopped to see who it was. Dax looked up sharply and winced.
"Oh, not good," she said quietly, swaying slightly.
"You ok Dax?" Sheppard asked his eyes narrowing as he took in how pale she looked.
"Just dizzy," she said waving off his inquiry as she straightened up and moved away from the computer.
"You ill?" Sheppard asked with a frown.
"No, I'm fine," she assured him.
"It's probably the fact she's been staring at that screen for the last three or four hours," Daniel remarked with a roll of his eyes.
"Well I didn't realise it'd been that long," Dax said defensively, "I got distracted."
"I'll never understand scientists," Sheppard shook his head. What could be so interesting that they could lose track of time staring at a screen?
"I don't think it's that anyway Daniel," the young scientist snapped irritably, "I told you, it's that damned hum giving me a headache."
"Hum?" Sheppard repeated, eyeing her curiously.
"It's nothing," Dax huffed, "Daniel can't hear anything either. I'm probably going mad, but I can hear a sort of low electric hum."
"Really?" Sheppard asked, a suspicion beginning to form in his mind.
"Ok, why are you looking at me like that?" Dax asked hesitantly.
"Come with me," he ordered.
"Ok…" Dax said warily, falling in behind him as he headed out of the door. He led her down the corridor and into McKay's lab. McKay was at his desk, muttering to himself as he stared at the screen in front of him. He didn't even seem to notice Sheppard's arrival.
"Hey Rodney," he offered absently as he began searching through the various tables.
"Sheppard, what are you doing?" McKay asked in exasperation as he looked up, "I already told you I haven't see your iPod."
"I'm not looking for my iPod," Sheppard growled. He'd given up trying to locate the elusive music player, either someone had borrowed it and forgotten to mention it, or it had grown legs and walked off on its own. Only on Atlantis could the latter be considered as a viable option.
"Then stop moving things around!" McKay demanded striding over and snatching things out of Sheppard's hands, "You're messing up my lab!"
"Really?" Dax said doubtfully, looking around,'Cause from where I'm standing it's a mess already."
"Well no-one asked you!" McKay glared at her, "And what are you doing here anyway?"
"He told me to follow him," Dax shrugged with a gesture at Sheppard.
"Why, exactly?" McKay demanded.
"I'm looking for something ATA responsive," Sheppard told him, "You normally have a half dozen things lying around here that you want turning on…"
"Here," McKay huffed, grabbing something off his desk and throwing it to Sheppard. He caught the life-signs detector reflexively and handed it to Dax. She took it and studied it. It was a little too big to fit comfortably in her hand and her brow furrowed as she tried to work out what it was. Sheppard moved to look at one of the equation boards, absently noting that McKay still hadn't worked out that his math was wrong.
"Cool, it picks up life-signs," Dax exclaimed, looking at the Ancient device in delight.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" McKay exclaimed plaintively and Sheppard resisted the urge to smirk at his friend's outrage.
"What?" Dax asked, looking between them in concern, "What now?"
"McKay just got a nasty shock, that's all," Sheppard smirked smugly and he could see Dax's confusion deepened.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" she demanded.
"That thing you're holding is a life-signs detector," Sheppard supplied.
"I worked that out," Dax told him.
"It only works for people with the Ancient gene," he explained.
"You're telling me I have the Ancient gene?" Dax asked doubtfully, looking down at the device in her hand.
"You didn't know?" McKay demanded, "You must have been tested at Stargate Command!"
"I never went to Stargate Command," Dax explained, "I had my medical in DC, and the Daedalus picked me from my flat."
"This is just wonderful," McKay complained, "It's not bad enough that everyone thinks she's something special because she's here at General O'Neill's say-so, she has to have the gene too?"
"She can hear you y'know," Dax told the Canadian irritably.
"Stop being so childish Rodney," Sheppard admonished. McKay started to say something undoubtedly snarky and long winded, but Sheppard didn't hear him. He'd noticed Dax sway slightly and moved to catch her before she hit the floor. He looked from the unconscious woman to his suddenly silent friend.
"So what? Now you've got them literally falling at your feet?" McKay demanded after a beat.
Rolling his eyes at the poor attempt at humour, Sheppard straightened up, lifting the young redhead easily. Unsurprisingly given her size she was light enough for him to carry to the infirmary with ease. He didn't see any reason to call for a medical team, he could probably get her there in the time it would take for Keller to get to them anyway.
Dax woke up in the infirmary and cursed unhappily. She'd obviously only just got there since she was still in her uniform and hadn't been hooked up to any of the torture implements yet. Shaking her head she sat up and started to climb down from the bed, but Dr Keller caught her.
"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.
"Getting up," Dax said bluntly, since it was fairly obvious what she was doing.
"You're not going anywhere until I say so," Keller said firmly, "Colonel Sheppard said you fainted."
"I did," Dax agreed, "Could be because I neglected to eat lunch after sparring with Lorne and then lost track of time in the lab. It's just low blood-sugar, I'll be fine."
"I'm the doctor, I'll be the judge of that," Keller said firmly.
"Fine, run your tests," Dax grumbled leaning back against the pillows.
She sat twiddling her thumbs and counting the panels on the ceiling above her bed for the better part of an hour, while Keller ran what must have been every test known to man. She was just starting to consider making a break for the door and the consequences be damned when she heard a voice she recognised.
"Hey doc, I heard that Dax is in here?"
"She's in bed three Major, go on through," Keller said and a moment later Lorne appeared by her bed.
"Hey," he grinned, "Ending up in the infirmary on your first day here?"
"Keep making fun of me and you'll be joining me," Dax threatened with a smile.
"Duly noted," Lorne nodded, "So what happened?"
"I…ah, forgot to get lunch, that's all," Dax shrugged, "And the weird hum in this place was giving me a headache. And now Keller's holding me hostage here!"
"So you have the gene," Lorne stated.
"Who told you?" she asked.
"The hum?" he said, "Far as I can tell only people with the gene can hear it."
"Oh," Dax nodded slowly, "So are you here to help me break out?"
"Maybe if you hadn't take such pleasure in making a fool out of me earlier I'd be more inclined to help," Lorne suggested.
"I think you misinterpreted," Dax offered him a sly smile, "It was the rolling around on the floor with you I enjoyed."
Lorne cleared his throat uncomfortably. He wasn't having a good day.
Ok, that wasn't really true. As much as his sparring session with the young scientist had been slightly humiliating, he could live with it if it got him a repeat performance of Sheppard's massage skills. He still felt completely blissed out from the one he received in their office- though what he'd done in the privacy of his quarters after his hasty retreat might have contributed to that. But sitting alone in his quarters reliving it just led to him driving himself crazy trying to figure out, among other things, if Sheppard had realised the effect he'd had on Lorne.
Deciding that he was risking deluding himself into believing Sheppard's motivations had been anything other than innocent, had driven him out of his quarters again in search of a distraction. When he'd heard about Dax and decided to visit her in the infirmary. It hadn't really occurred that her overly flirtatious nature wasn't something he wanted to deal with right then.
"Dax I can't find anything wrong with you except the fact you need to eat better," Keller announced as she wandered up to the bed, saving him from needing to formulate a response.
"I told you that nearly an hour ago," Dax said irritably, jumping down from the bed, "I take it I can go?"
"Yes you can go," Keller frowned at her, "Though I suggest you go to the mess hall and get something to eat before you do anything else."
"I'm meeting my team there now doc, I'll make sure she eats," Lorne offered.
"Thank you Major," Keller smiled.
"I'm not a child, I don't need to be watched!" Dax objected as she stuffed her feet into her boots and tied the laces viciously.
"You don't want to have dinner with me?" Lorne asked, doubting she would read anything into it. After all, he hadn't responded to any of her flirtations, and he'd already mentioned that he was planning to meet his team in the mess.
"Hmm," Dax smiled faintly, "I guess I don't have anything else planned."
"Don't sound too enthusiastic, I don't think my ego could cope," Lorne told her with a faint smile, earning him a grin in response. He gestured for her to precede him out of the infirmary which she was only too happy to do.
"Not fond of hospitals?" he surmised as she hurried away from the medical bay.
"Not so much," she confirmed, "I'm not a big fan of needles, and the last time I…well there was an incident where a doctor didn't read my medical history and I nearly died."
"Something to do with your allergy?" Lorne asked.
"Yeah, it started out as a simple injury, but they gave me a shot of antibiotics and I happen to be allergic to penicillin. I went into anaphylactic shock," Dax smiled wryly, "I would have been better off letting the rugby team physio patch me up."
"Well, Keller's a good doctor," Lorne shrugged, wishing he sounded more sincere. The truth was he'd always go to Carson, given the choice. There was just something about the Scottish doctor that inspired confidence, and Keller… Maybe it was her youth, or maybe it was because she came across as so timid.
The mess hall was busy when they stepped inside, and Dax looked a little surprised. Lorne explained the rush of people all trying to eat at once was because they were serving Salisbury steak. The look on Dax's face told him that she didn't agree with the many people on the base who considered it to be a favourite. His team were already sitting at a table with their meals and Lorne directed Dax over to join them. They looked up as one when they heard them approach.
"Major, we were beginning to think you'd gotten lost," Sergeant Marks said as they sat down.
"That'd be my fault," Dax said as she settled in a chair, "He had to break me out of the infirmary."
"Guys, this is Dax," Lorne said as they stared at her, "Dax, this is my team; Coughlin, Marks, Kagan and Marcus."
"Hi," she said brightly.
"I don't remember seeing you before," Kagan remarked, studying her.
"I'm new," she replied returning his frank appraisal.
"Wait," Marcus frowned, "The one all the scientists have been going on about all day? I thought I heard one of them say the name was Davis."
"It is," Dax shrugged, "Jadzia Davis, but I usually go by Dax. It's shorter."
"So does this mean she'll be joining our team at some point sir?" Kagan asked, looking at Lorne questioningly.
"At some point?" Dax repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, civilian scientists have to have a certain amount of training before they go off world," the young lieutenant said. Dax looked at Lorne with a grin.
"I'd be careful not to annoy her Kagan, she could kick your ass without breaking a sweat," Lorne remarked casually, masking the exaggeration. His team laughed, until they saw that he wasn't smiling.
"Seriously?" Kagan asked warily, looking the redhead over again.
"What? You think because I'm only 5'2 I can't look after myself?" Dax questioned innocently.
"Dax doesn't really need much in the way of training," Lorne explained.
"So she will be joining the team?" Coughlin asked, "We've never had a scientist before."
"Nothing's been decided yet," Lorne shrugged, he hadn't even thought about Dax being assigned to his team, "It's Colonel Sheppard's choice to make."
He realised as his team nodded in acknowledgement that not one of them was considering that he might have had any personal reason to ask her to join them. They all seemed to assume that his reasoning was purely professional, whether there was anything officially decided or not. While they weren't the same team he'd had before Atlantis returned to Earth, Kagan was the only one who'd never been on his team before. It seemed they all accepted that he wasn't the dating type. That made him frown in concern for a moment before he admonished himself for over thinking things. The increasing time he was spending around Sheppard was throwing him off-balance. He glanced up at his team. Dax was chatting easily with Marks and Kagan. They were the youngest members of Lorne's team, Kagan probably only had a year or two on her.
"Lorne?"
Lorne flinched slightly but automatically looked up when he heard Sheppard's voice. The colonel was standing beside the table looking down at them. There was a hesitant and uncertain air about him, as if he wasn't sure how Lorne was going to react to him. That had to be a first, Lorne thought absently.
"Colonel?" he asked, swallowing hard and trying to force down the memory of Sheppard's hands on him and the images that flashed through his mind as he…
"Stackhouse's team just came back from M6G-549," Sheppard said sitting down, thankfully halting Lorne's train of thought, "It seems that they had a bit of a problem with some bacteria in the water the locals served them. Keller says they'll be out of action for about a week."
"I see," was all Lorne could think to say.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask your team to babysit Drs Parrish and Stevens on their trip to M4X-332," Sheppard said apologetically.
"Yes sir," Lorne groaned wearily, a sound echoed by more than one of his team.
"Don't worry Lorne," Sheppard told him, "It's not for three days yet."
"Is Dr Parrish likely to suffer an extreme personality change in that time?" Lorne asked dryly.
"Sorry," Sheppard chuckled at the plaintive note in Lorne's voice. They looked at each other, grinning, and for a moment all the awkwardness Lorne had felt was gone, replaced by a familiar warmth. He barely heard the conversation going on beside them.
"Something I missed?" Dax asked Kagan.
"Dr Parrish is a botanist we sometimes look after off-world," Kagan explained.
"He's quite possibly one of the most idiotic and annoying people in two galaxies," Sheppard put in, breaking them out of their frozen moment of contemplation.
"This from the man who has Dr McKay on his team," Dax muttered, earning laughter from Lorne and his team.
"I've found much worse people to go on missions with," Sheppard informed her.
"Sorry," Dax said hastily, "I wasn't trying to be…"
"Relax," he told her, "A sense of humour is a rare enough thing in the scientists here that I'm not about to call you on it."
"I didn't realise a complete lack of humour was a prerequisite of the job, sir," she grinned.
"Lorne," Sheppard said slowly as he stared at Dax.
"Sir?"
"Just how much time have you spent with our new scientist today?"
"Ah, a few hours," Lorne shifted uncomfortably, "I wasn't really keeping track. Why?"
"You're clearly a bad influence on her," Sheppard told him, finally looking away from the redhead and back at Lorne, "This calling me 'sir' thing. Though come to think of it you haven't been doing that so much recently…"
"Well you insisted enough times," Lorne mumbled sheepishly, glancing up at his CO, before continuing "But if you want an honest opinion, I'd say Dax's propriety is probably an act."
"Lorne!" Dax protested, making him want to laugh. He'd seen enough to feel fairly confident in his assessment.
"Really?" Sheppard asked, "I'm sensing a story here Lorne."
"Ah, not really," Lorne assured him hastily.
"You really landed yourself in that one Major," Dax told him sweetly making Lorne wince.
"Is there something I should know about?" Sheppard asked as he looked between them.
"No," Lorne assured him firmly. He didn't want Sheppard to get the wrong idea, despite there being a certain wisdom to allowing it. He felt like banging his head against the table. He had problems.
Sheppard and Lorne were the last of the group to leave the mess hall. They'd fallen into easy conversation and not even noticed when the others left. Sheppard had no idea what had been bothering Lorne, but it hadn't taken long for him to get over it. That made it harder to understand, but then, Sheppard didn't have much experience with anything resembling emotions, so he wasn't particularly surprised that he couldn't work it out.
Finding himself standing alone in the hall after Lorne left pleading uncompleted work, Sheppard headed for the nearest transporter and took it to McKay's lab. It didn't even register until he stepped through the doors to find it completely dark, that his best friend was probably busy with Keller. He was already out of the lab and on his way to look for Teyla, when it occurred to him that she would be with her family. Ronon would probably be with Amelia, they had been spending a lot of time together since the city landed on Earth. Sheppard really needed to get his head around the fact that his team had other commitments now. It was easier to remember when he could spend time with Lorne, but that wasn't an option unless he wanted to spend the evening in his office. He was contemplating that versus a night in his quarters with his copy of War and Peace, when he realised that his route had taken him passed Dax's quarters.
He turned back and rang the chime, figuring that he could at least kill a few more minutes checking on how the new scientist was settling in. He'd been too focused on his XO in the mess to ask her then, and she'd looked occupied with Kagan and Marks. And right now he was willing to grasp at any distraction that would stop him from going to his office. It would be far too strange to spend his off hours there given his usual avoidance of the place, no matter how much he was craving company.
He rang the chime again and waited. His connection to the city allowed him to know that the room he was standing outside wasn't empty, but since the door showed no sign of opening he guessed that Dax didn't want to be disturbed. He was just turning away when the door slid to the side, letting the sound of an unfamiliar song drift into the corridor. He stepped inside and the door shut behind him.
He looked around, but didn't spot Dax at first. Then his eyes landed on one of the windows across the room. It was open and he could just make out the young redhead sitting outside with a book and pen in hand, unaware of his presence. He crossed the room and stepped onto the ledge that ran under the window.
"Hey," he said dragging her from her writing and she looked up at him in shock.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him, flipping her book closed and shifting so he could step out onto the balcony.
"I was walking by, thought I'd see what you were doing," he said, climbing out to join her, "When you didn't answer the door straight away I thought you might have called it a night, but then it opened…"
"I was thinking, I didn't even hear the chime," Dax admitted.
"The city can have a mind of its own sometimes," Sheppard grinned, "Especially if you have the gene."
"Another mutant gene. I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually," she said, with a trace of doubt in her voice.
"Quicker than you think," he assured her, "So how'd you end up with Lorne's team in the mess?"
"Major Lorne came by the infirmary and Keller asked him to make sure I ate something, it was the only way she'd let me leave," Dax explained.
"So you're ok?" he asked awkwardly, not really comfortable with this kind of conversation.
"Physically I'm fine. Just low blood-sugar. I don't eat breakfast, I skipped lunch and I'm willing to bet the two hours of sparring with Lorne didn't help," Dax shrugged, "Mentally I'm not sure. Just trying to work out what the hell I'm meant to do here."
"Lorne said you could go on an off-world team if that's what you wanted," Sheppard told her, leaning back against the balcony rail and looking out over the city, "Is that what you want, or would you prefer a lab job?"
"I don't know," Dax admitted, "I can't really imagine being stuck in a lab researching a single science, that was part of the reason I studied multiple specialties, but I don't see what good I'd do on an off-world team."
"You might be surprised," Sheppard shrugged, after all, he'd had requests from people with a lot less relevant scientific backgrounds for a place on a team, "How's the room?"
"A little sunny first thing in the morning," Dax laughed, "I really need some curtains."
"I'd be complaining about the lack of a real door onto the balcony," Sheppard pointed out, looking at the window they'd had to climb through.
"Yeah, there's that," Dax agreed, "But then I can pretty much be comfortable anywhere. I practically lived in my room at university, when I wasn't in lectures. I was never really the social type, and here… Well, I'm just still not totally sure where I fit in here. Everyone seems so…set in their associations I'm not sure who to talk to. I guess it'll be easier when I get an assignment."
"You might not be the 'social type'," Sheppard repeated awkwardly, "But you make an impression. Lorne sounded pretty impressed when we were talking earlier, despite the fact he could hardly move after sparring with you."
"I am sorry about that," Dax said sheepishly, "But I think his fondness just stems from the fact he met a civilian that didn't run screaming from the armoury and could actually shoot straight."
Sheppard chuckled at that, because it was probably true. It was part of the reason he disliked dealing with the new civilians. Most of them looked at the weapons as if they were about to jump up and bite them at any second, even after repeated training sessions. It had taken Rodney months before he could fire a 9mil without closing his eyes and flinching. Speaking of Rodney...
"You don't really seem too concerned that McKay doesn't like you," he remarked.
"I get the feeling Dr McKay doesn't like many people," Dax smiled, "But he'll complain about me for a while then ignore me."
"What makes you think that?" Sheppard asked, grinning at her fairly accurate assessment of his friend.
"If he ignores me he'll expect everyone to forget about me too," Dax said, "I've known people like that before. It's not as if I'll have an opportunity to work with him. He'll be able to forget about me in a week."
Sheppard stepped out onto the pier and pushed himself back into a run. He really wished that Ronon had actually bothered to show up for their morning run, but he could guess what had kept the Satedan busy. He didn't begrudge the guy his relationship, or any of his team theirs for that matter, but doing everything on his own was getting old really fast. He was halfway along the pier before he realised that someone was standing at the edge leaning against the rail. A short redheaded someone, wearing running shoes and sweats.
"I didn't realise you meant it," he commented as he halted beside her. Dax turned to regard him with a strange expression on her face.
"Didn't realise I meant what?" she asked.
"What you said about liking to run," Sheppard clarified as he leant against the rail, "I didn't realise you meant seriously."
"You thought I was one of those people who settles for a few minutes on a treadmill?" she suggested with a grin, then turned back to regarding the ocean, "Hardly. Though after three weeks on that ship I'm a little out of shape."
"That why you're just standing here?" Sheppard asked her.
"Not really. I was just remembering how much I used to enjoy swimming when I was a kid," Dax laughed shortly, "But I'm willing to bet it's too dangerous to swim anywhere around the city."
"I have no idea," Sheppard admitted with a shrug, "You could ask Lorne. He was on his High School swim team so if there's anywhere around the city it's safe to go in the water he'll know. Otherwise you'll have to wait for a trip to the mainland, there are some sweet beaches there."
"Lorne was on the swim team?" Dax laughed again.
"So he told me a while ago," Sheppard nodded, wondering why she found that so funny, "So what did you do in High School? Track?"
"We don't really call it High School in the UK," Dax pointed out, suddenly solemn, "And we don't have track teams, or swim teams or any of that stuff. At least not where I lived. We have football, hockey, and I played rugby. League, not Union; not that that'll mean anything to you."
"Rugby, that's kinda like football, right? We had it at the Academy, but I never paid much attention," Sheppard said studying her.
"I guess, if you're talking about American football, since what we call football you call soccer," Dax frowned, "Same shaped ball except without the laces, lots of running into each other, but without the helmets and padding."
"And you played it?" he stared at her incredulously.
"What? Because I'm short and a girl I shouldn't have been playing sports?" she snapped.
"I wouldn't say something like that," Sheppard shrugged, "But from I've seen here most people like you aren't that..."
"People like me?" Dax repeated coldly.
"Scientists," Sheppard clarified, "They don't tend to go in for the more physical hobbies."
"Most of them were... recommended by... people..." Dax shook her head, "I have to go."
Sheppard barely had time to register what she'd just said before she turned and sprinted away. He watched her leave, wondering what the hell had just happened. He sighed as he shoved off the rail and continued his run. Maybe one of his team would be around for breakfast and he'd have something better to occupy himself with.
Dax had managed to get a better grip on her emotions by the time she'd showered, dressed in her uniform and headed down to the mess hall. The run had helped take her mind off most of what had been troubling her through the night and preventing her from sleeping, until her almost-admission on the pier. Given that she'd already heard of the efficiency of the Atlantis rumour mill, she didn't really need people knowing that most of the physical activities she dedicated her spare time to were prescribed by therapists or anger management counsellors over the years.
Ordering herself to snap out of it, or at least do a better job of hiding her inner turmoil, she stepped into the sparsely occupied mess hall. She collected a mug of tea and an apple, or something similar to an apple at least, and sat down at an empty table.
"You're brave," a voice said.
Dax looked up from her 'breakfast' to find Sergeant Marks grinning down at her. She smiled and waved her hand in a vague gesture for him to join her.
"Why am I brave?" she asked as he sat.
"Eating the local food, and you've only been here a day," he said sipping his coffee.
"It tastes like mango," Dax observed, looking down at her half eaten fruit.
"Wishing you'd picked something else?" Marks asked her as he dug into the plate of bacon and eggs in front of him.
"No, I like mango. I just don't normally eat breakfast," Dax said with a frown, "But Keller says my diet is terrible so…"
"Well if you're joining the team you'll eat whenever you can," Marks laughed, "We go off-world often enough that missing a meal is a terrible idea. You should never be hungry enough to eat some of the stuff we're offered."
"Why are you so sure I'll be joining the team?" Dax asked curiously.
"Major Lorne brought you to meet us," Marks said, "We figure there must be a reason he wanted to introduce us to you, he must know something he's not letting on."
"I see," Dax mused.
"He said you were good at hand-to-hand?" Marks said.
"I have a purple belt in Brazilian Ju Jit-su," Dax explained, "And I did Thai Boxing and MMA for a few years."
"You should come to the gym at 1900, the Major trains some of us in staff fighting. He learned from Teal'c at the SGC," Marks smiled at her, "You can show us what you've got."
"You may regret it," Dax grinned.
"I doubt it," Marks laughed.
"Ok, I'll be there," Dax agreed, feeling like she might find somewhere to fit in after all.
From the mess, Dax made her way up to the control room. She had an appointment to see Woolsey that morning before she did anything else. A technician with the Canadian flag on his jacket, who introduced himself as Chuck, told her Woolsey was still in a meeting with one of the teams. She settled down to wait, leaning against the console.
"So, any ideas on where you're going to end up yet?" Chuck asked her.
"Nope," she said with a wry smile, "I don't even know what I'm doing today until I talk to Woolsey."
"That's disappointing," Chuck sighed.
"Why?" Dax asked, sure there was more going on here than simple curiosity.
"Chuck runs the betting pools here," another tech informed her from one of the other consoles.
"Really?" Dax asked with interest, "So you don't have anything better to take bets on than where I'll end up? What's the favourite?"
"Ah, an off-world team seems to be a popular option," Chuck admitted, "Major Lorne's or possibly Major Teldy's since she has a penchant for requesting brilliant women for her team."
"Thanks," Dax beamed at the compliment, then her expression turned speculative, "So, do you take bets on other stuff?"
"Like what?" Chuck asked uncomfortably.
"Oh come on," Dax said in a low voice, "A place like this? You must take bets on people's personal lives."
"It's been known to happen," Chuck admitted.
"So you know most of the gossip?" Dax asked.
"Anything you've heard about Colonel Sheppard is likely to be true," Chuck assured her quietly, "People like to say he's something akin to our very own Captain Kirk."
"I was actually going to ask about Major Lorne," Dax said.
"You're probably wasting your time," Chuck told her, "Either he's managed to find someone impossibly discreet, or he's celibate. The general thinking is that he left someone behind back on Earth."
"That wasn't why... thanks Chuck," Dax sighed. She chatted with the tech for a few more minutes, hoping it would distract him from speculating too much about her interest in Lorne, but knowing it was unlikely. The conversation was cut off by Woolsey returning to his office and signalling her to follow him.
"So, Dr Davis, how are you settling in?" the leader of Atlantis asked as he settled in the chair behind his desk.
"Fine," Dax assured him as she sat down, studying the office. The things people chose to display in places like this had always fascinated her. They said so much about a person. The fact that Woolsey's office was covered in certificates and diplomas, with only one photograph of a dog, told her that his life was all about his career. He'd probably been seeking some sense of validation through his job for years.
"Major Lorne's report on your training says that you're proficient enough in weapons usage and self-defence to go off-world after you have your basic survival training. It says here he'd be comfortable recommending you for a 'gate team," Woolsey said as he studied his computer, "Nothing from Dr McKay about which of the departments he'd recommend you for."
"That's not so surprising sir," Dax offered, "I think Dr McKay is trying to forget I'm here. Colonel Sheppard discovering I have the Ancient gene didn't endear me to him any."
"Yes, I heard about that," Woolsey mused, "You'll have to be tested for your Chair Interface Affinity. I believe Dr Zelenka can do that if what you say about McKay is true. While McKay may be ignoring your arrival, most of our other Department Heads are not. Dr Klein, from Archaeo-anthropology has requested you for her department, as has Dr Walker from Exobiology, and there's also been a suggestion from Dr Keller that your expertise in the field of genetics may be of great benefit to one of our medical researchers."
"You realise that I'm a PhD, not an MD?" Dax said faintly since it was the only thing she could think of having been confronted with the sudden demand for her. It was unprecedented in her life up to this point.
"I am aware of that," Woolsey agreed, "And I understand that this may be a little overwhelming. You can have some time to consider your options before we discuss your assignment. I'll inform Colonel Sheppard to have your training completed so you can be off-world ready, and I'll allow you to continue working with Dr Jackson for the time being. All the Heads of the relevant departments will be available to you over the next week to answer any of your questions and show you what they're working on. And I'm sure that Colonel Sheppard can arrange for you to join a mission off-world if you feel the need. We can talk about this further next week."
"Thank you sir," Dax managed to stammer before she left the office in a daze. She was still struggling to wrap her head around the situation by the time she made it back to the lab Daniel was working out of. She'd been down to the mess to claim another mug of tea for herself and still beaten the archaeologist to the lab. Although it was still quite early, she reflected as she brought the lights and computers to life with a wave of her hand. She'd noticed that most of the scientists here seemed to be almost nocturnal.
She sat down in front of the Ancient database terminal and it sprang happily to life. For the sake of appearances she managed to locate several files relevant to Daniel's research and sent them to his computer before calling up the information on the enzyme secreting vine she'd been reading the day before. She had some theories about uses for the enzyme but she was going to need more information, and to see if the damned thing was still around since the database was 10,000 years old.
She hadn't got very far when the door opened to admit Daniel, who was trying not to drop the stack of books he was carrying in one arm, a task made harder by the pot of coffee taking up the other hand. Dax slid down from her stool and hurried around to help him, taking guardianship of the books before they fell to the floor.
"Thanks," he sighed, setting down the coffee before frowning at her, "Why are you here?"
"I'm one of those odd people who can get up in a morning?" she suggested brightly as she began to lay out the books, "I came here after my meeting with Woolsey."
"I didn't mean why are you here so early," Daniel clarified, "I meant why are you here, in my lab, instead of in your own?"
"Well that's simple enough," Dax replied, "I don't have my own lab. Not for another week at least."
"Why not?" Daniel demanded.
"Because that's how long Woolsey's given me to think about what I want to do here," Dax shook her head in disbelief, "And amazingly I think I may need all that time."
"Why is that amazing?" Daniel asked with a frown.
"I don't take that long to make decisions," Dax shook her head, "Do you remember how long I thought about whether or not to sign up to come here knowing absolutely nothing about what I was getting into?"
"All of about 30 seconds," Daniel recalled, "I thought you were just really desperate for a job."
"Well I kinda was," Dax laughed, "But still…"
"So, what do you want to do?" Daniel asked.
"What do you suggest? Is it a good job, going off-world?" Dax asked.
"It's the most amazing job, but there will be times you'll wish you were stuck in a lab instead," Daniel said ruefully looking down at his notes.
"I guess no matter what I decide I'll regret it at some point," Dax mused as she sat down, "I'll go look around some of the labs later."
She turned her attention back to the file on the Ancient terminal, wondering if she actually needed to collect samples and run tests to confirm her hypothesis. She read all the files she could find that concerned the enzyme-vine although a lot of it was botany related and she only understood half of it. The most irritating thing was that the Ancient scientists hadn't completed their analysis of the biochemical properties of the enzyme. She sighed unhappily and leaned back from the computer.
Daniel was gone. She frowned in confusion and looked at her watch. It was 1530 hours, past midday and hours since she started work on this. She couldn't believe she'd lost time like that, again. She wondered if it was something to do with the Ancient computer.
"Am I interrupting?" Lorne asked poking his head in the door and seeing Dax staring at one of the Ancient terminals. He'd had a slow morning of paperwork and felt the need for a change of scenery. Anything was better than his office if Sheppard wasn't around to improve the view.
"Not so much," she said with a roll of her eyes, "What can I do for you?"
"I ran into Dr Jackson in the mess and he said you didn't look like you were going to be leaving the lab any time soon," Lorne said stepping into the room and producing a tray as the door slid closed behind him, "Since I doubted you'd want to end up in the infirmary again I brought you lunch."
"You really didn't have to do that," Dax told him, then smiled as he approached, "But I'm not going to say no to some company. Pull up a chair."
Lorne put the tray down on her desk and pulled over one of the spare chairs from the side of the room. As he sat down he glanced up at the screen. It was covered in a mess of open files all in Ancient. He wasn't particularly skilled with the language and couldn't begin to guess what it said.
"You don't even bother to translate this stuff?" he asked gesturing to the screen.
"Not really," Dax shrugged as she examined the sandwiches on the tray, "It doesn't save that much time."
"What is it?" Lorne asked curiously.
"Ah, the Ancients' research into a vine that secretes a weird enzyme," Dax said looking up at the offending data, "I though the enzyme might have a medical application, but their scientists never finished their analysis, so if I want to prove my theory I'll need to run my own tests."
"A weird enzyme?" Lorne asked with a grin, "Is that the technical term?
"What, you expect me to reel off all the science so I can watch your eyes glaze over?" Dax grinned.
"So you think this enzyme could be useful, medically?" Lorne prompted, surprised because that's exactly what he'd come to expect from the scientists in Atlantis.
"I need to run tests to be sure," she shrugged, "Assuming I can get permission."
"Colonel Sheppard says Woolsey wants your training finished so you can go off-world," Lorne said, repeating what he'd been told earlier.
"He told me the same thing this morning," Dax nodded.
Daniel returned to the lab some time later to find Dax and Major Lorne sitting at her desk deep in conversation. He blinked several times in surprise as he realised they were so focused on whatever they were talking about they hadn't even noticed his arrival.
"Dax, Major Lorne," he said by way of greeting.
"Hi Daniel," Dax smiled looking over at him.
"Dr Jackson," Lorne said standing up, "I guess that's my cue to leave. I'll see you later Dax."
"Yeah, bye," Dax nodded as he wandered out of the lab.
"He seems quite taken with you," Daniel observed.
"Yeah, right," Dax said scornfully, "It has nothing to do with the fact you sent him to bring me lunch."
"I didn't," Daniel said with a smile, even though he had mentioned Dax's focused behaviour to Lorne, he hadn't made any suggestions.
"Whatever," Dax rolled her eyes, "He's not interested in me Daniel. I'm certain."
"Really? I must be seeing something different to you," Daniel grinned.
"Obviously," Dax retorted dryly, "I'm pretty sure Lorne doesn't really like women."
"Dax! You can't say things like that!" Daniel protested sounding a little more scandalised than he would have liked to admit.
"God, sometimes you Americans can be such prudes. And we're supposed to be the ones who are backwards and repressed," Dax shook her head.
"This is serious," Daniel said grimly, "You can't say things like that. He's an Air Force officer, accusations like that could land him in trouble."
"I'm confused," Dax frowned.
"People with a liking for the same sex aren't allowed to serve in the US military," Daniel explained uncomfortably, since he didn't particularly agree with that policy, "Dishonourable discharge, prison, that kind of thing."
"You have got to be kidding me!" Dax exclaimed staring at him in disbelief, "That's absurd!"
"You didn't know this," Daniel stated, that much being clear from her reaction.
"Why would I?" Dax asked, "I'm from the UK Daniel. Our military policy is more enlightened than that."
"Lucky you," Daniel murmured, "Just be careful what you say Dax. You haven't discussed your theory about Lorne with anyone else have you?"
"No, I haven't," Dax huffed, "You could have warned me about this Daniel."
"Well if I'd known you were going to accuse the military second-in-command of being gay…" Daniel said.
"I didn't accuse," Dax countered, "And you'll have to excuse me if I don't think it's something to be ashamed of!"
"Dax…are you…" Daniel paused to consider his choice of words, "I mean, I thought you were… the way you act with Lorne, and the guys on the Daedalus?"
"So the two are mutually exclusive now are they?" Dax asked irritably.
She stormed out of the lab with a computer tablet under her arm and rage written clearly on her face. Daniel stared after her in disbelief. He hadn't suspected that Dax might be anything other than straight, but her reaction to his remarks suggested that he'd assumed wrong. He had to wonder if he'd spent too long around the military, even as a rebellious and incessantly curious part of his brain demanded he consider the redhead's assessment of Lorne rather than her behaviour.
"You called me in here for this?" Sheppard demanded as he looked down at the small, unknown and unimpressive looking Ancient device sitting on McKay's desk. He couldn't believe Rodney had called him away from his work for something so trivial. Ok, so maybe he hadn't really been working, but that wasn't the point.
"Will you just turn the damned thing on?" McKay snapped.
"What is it?" Sheppard asked.
"I don't know!" McKay shouted, "That's why I need you to turn it on, so I can see what it does!"
"Why did you need me to help you?" Sheppard demanded, "Couldn't you get Zelenka down here?"
"I needed someone with the Ancient gene, since it's Ancient tech!" the Canadian snapped.
"You have the Ancient gene McKay!" Sheppard pointed out, picking up the device and trying to think it on.
"Yes, but I can't try to activate the thing and take power readings at the same time!" McKay countered.
"It's not working," Sheppard announced, putting the device back on the table.
"You're not even trying!" McKay scowled.
"Would now be a good time for me to interrupt?" Dax asked stepping into the lab.
"Yes!" Sheppard exclaimed in relief even as McKay yelled "No!"
Dax simply stood there with her hands resting on her hips, staring from one from one to the other with her head cocked to one side while she waited for them to argue themselves out. She ignored McKay's scowling, just looking back blandly.
"I am trying to do important research here!" McKay snapped, "Why are you interrupting?"
"This news just in from Galileo; you are not the centre of the universe," Dax told McKay. Sheppard let out a snort of laughter at that, earning him a glare from his friend. He sighed wearily.
"Rodney stop being such a pain in the ass," Sheppard growled, "What can I do for you Dax? I assume you were looking for me and not McKay."
"What on Earth gave you that idea?" Dax asked dryly, then frowned, "Or should that be on New Lantea?"
"Just a hunch," Sheppard said, supposing that the last part was rhetorical.
"I'm wanting to look into something I found on the Ancient database," Dax said, "Since I won't be getting an assignment for at least a week, I was hoping to be allowed to go off-world at some point to collect samples. This is a list of planets…"
Sheppard didn't see the harm so he took the tablet and scrolled through the list. It contained the alpha-numeric designations they used to identify planets, and there had to be at least 30 of them on the list.
"M4X-332 is on this list," he observed after studying it for a minute.
"Huh?" Dax shook her head.
"Parrish and Stevens are going there in two days," Sheppard said. He only remembered because he'd been forced to stick Lorne with the mission and he felt kind of guilty about inflicting the botanist on his 2iC.
"The settlement on 332 is only a few hundred years old," McKay said, looking over at Dax, "You won't find any interesting bits of Ancient pottery there."
"And if that was what I was looking for, that'd be a problem," Dax countered, "But since this is biochem research…"
"I was planning to have Lorne do your basic survival when he came back from 332," Sheppard interrupted with a sigh as he looked over the list Dax had given him again.
"Ok," Dax shrugged in acceptance.
"No…"Sheppard frowned, "It's easier to have you join the mission to 332. I'll…have Lorne do your training before the mission and then you can tag along with Stevens and Parrish."
"If you're sure," Dax said, "I don't want to put anyone out."
"Then you shouldn't have walked in here in the first place," McKay growled. Dax turned and scowled at him before stalking over to the table. She stared at him blandly, before deliberately picking up the device that McKay had wanted Sheppard to activate. McKay spluttered as she turned it over curiously and she closed her eyes. It was only a moment before the device flashed into life and she looked down at it.
"How did you do that?" McKay demanded, snatching the now glowing device out of her hands.
"I have no idea," Dax admitted looking confused by her own actions.
"Huh, looks like the city might have a new favourite person Sheppard," McKay said in an absent tone as he examined the device.
"Great," Sheppard said, "If it gets me out of light-switch duty I can live with that."
"Oh no," McKay shook his head furiously, "No."
"Like you said, the Ancient tech seems to like her more than me. I couldn't get that thing to work, whatever it is," Sheppard waved his hand to the glowing device. Dax smiled, clearly enjoying watching Sheppard make fun of McKay. He looked over at her and grinned.
"I'll talk to Lorne," he told her before looking back at McKay, "So if you need any other Ancient devices turned on you'll call Dax, right?"
"No! No! Sheppard!"
Dax laughed out loud as McKay spluttered furiously at Sheppard's retreating back. She should have followed him out of the lab, but she was busy chuckling. McKay glared at her as he sat back down at his desk. He picked up the device and raised his eyebrows at her.
"Why are you still here?" he demanded.
"Do you need my help with that?" she offered politely, nodding to the device.
"No," he said looking at her as if she was mad.
"It was just a thought," she said holding up her hands in surrender before she headed out of the lab.
Just before 1900 hours Lorne was in one of the gyms with his team. They were wearing sweats and USMC t-shirts and were supposed to be warming up before training, though it looked more like they were just messing around. He was beginning to wonder how he'd got stuck with these guys when the door hissed open and Dax stepped in with an uncertain expression on her face. She was dressed in white gi bottoms and a black vest that proclaimed Sparring: It's better than therapy. A kit bag was slung over her shoulder and her hair was back in its ragged ponytail. Marks, Kagan and Coughlin greeted her enthusiastically and her frown faded.
"Hey Dax!" Kagan beamed, "Marks said you were going to join us."
"I make a point of not turning down a chance to roll around with muscular guys," Dax joked, eyeing them up and down in an exaggerated manner as they whistled and cat-called in response.
"I'm not about to pass up this opportunity either," Kagan grinned coming up behind her and slinging and arm around her in what might have passed for a friendly gesture if not for the wicked look on his face. Dax laughed, even as she dropped her weight, grabbing Kagan's ankle by reaching back between her own and pulling forward. Kagan yelped in surprise as he fell backwards, smacking the floor hard. Dax looked down at him, he'd let go of her almost as soon as his balance shifted and she'd stayed on her feet.
"I think I warned you about her Kagan," Lorne drawled as he smirked down at the young man.
"I guess I should have listened sir," Kagan gasped as he sat up.
"Yeah, you should learn from Lorne's mistakes," Dax told Kagan quietly as she hauled him to his feet.
"Thank you Dax, I heard that," Lorne told her dryly, "You can spar hand-to-hand for warm-up before we get to the staff-fighting."
"So who's first?" she asked with a grin.
