A/N: This story is a birthday gift for my good friend and brainstorming buddy, LoneRanger1
Many thanks to ladygris, Shadows-of-Realm, dwparsnip and DaniWilder for their assistance with brainstorming and Beta-ing. Even if I didn't use your idea, it's been stored for posterity.
Feliz Cumpleaños, mi amigo!
Sandy
Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon
Chapter 3
All Knight Long
John, Jennifer and Rodney were having a hushed yet heated discussion with Sam about the sleeping arrangements that finally ended when Sam put her foot down, figuratively. "We'll just have to work it out as best we can."
"What if the women sleep in one room and the men in another?" Rodney asked anxiously. He wanted to be alone with Jennifer, but not quite in this way, not yet. Insecurity had kept him from following up their drink with another, more involved date.
"What if they see us? We can't risk insulting them."
John nodded in agreement. "Yeah. They've been friendly up till now. Let's not rock the boat."
Winifred returned at that moment with one of the young girls in tow. The proprietress carried three small, delicate-looking glass carafes and six matching cups on a tray. She bustled into each room leaving one carafe and two cups behind. "Here's tea for you to drink. It's a nighttime tradition. Anya?" The girl stepped forward, a bundle of clothing in her arms. Winifred passed one of the garments to each of the Atlanteans. "If you require a fire to keep away the night's chill, please let Horsik know."
When she was gone again, they held up the off white nightshirts. On most of them it ended mid-calf or lower but on Ronon, it barely reached his knees.
To forestall the inevitable complaints, Sam raised her hand. "Not a word. We'll wear them and keep our weapons with us at all times. Two-hour shifts starting with Sheppard. Ronon, you're next then Mehra and myself. Rodney, you and Jennifer are off the hook for tonight."
Rodney grumbled and complained as he followed Jennifer to the room they were to share but shut up when the door closed behind them. Both were more than a little nervous casting uneasy glances at the king-sized bed.
"Um…" Jennifer looked around for a place to change and found the bathroom, "…I'll change first." She took one of the lamps and closed the door firmly behind her.
Rodney tried not to think of her being naked, even if it was just for a few moments while she got into the nightshirt. To keep from torturing himself with those thoughts, he pulled back the covers on the bed noting there were several layers, a sheet, a quilt and the spread. When it came time to get into bed he would sleep between the top two so she wouldn't have to worry about him crossing the line. Not that he would take advantage of her or any other woman, but he didn't want there to be any question.
By the time Jennifer came out, he'd removed his TAC vest, shoes and socks. He stowed his weapons between their pillows then went in and changed leaving his boxers on underneath as a precaution.
When he came out, she poured them each a cup of the tea. They sipped in silence for a few moments. Rodney fumbled the empty cup and she could tell he was even more nervous than she. They both yawned as they headed for opposite sides of the bed. "I'll, uh, sleep between the covers so you don't…"
Jennifer looked up from tucking her own weapon with his. With a smile she hoped would dispel his concern, she said, "That's not necessary, Rodney. The bed's plenty big enough for both of us and I trust you."
"If you're sure…"
"I am." Lifting her side of the covers, she slipped underneath, adjusted the pillow so the Beretta wouldn't poke her in the head and turned on her side to face away from him. He kept turning side to side trying to get comfortable.
"Rodney! Lay still or we'll never get to sleep."
"Sorry. I'm used to my prescription mattress."
With a sigh she rolled onto her back watching him. "Do you trust me?"
"Of course."
"Good. Face that way." She waited while he complied then scooted close enough they had to share his pillow. Tucking her left arm around his chest, she pulled him close. Sensing his apprehension made her smile just a little. "There. Now go to sleep." Resting her chin on his shoulder she closed her eyes and sighed in contentment. Eventually, he did relax and before long, they were both sound asleep.
Dusty and Ronon each drank a cup of the tea then, while she was in the bathroom changing, he changed in the outer room. The sleepwear and bed didn't bother him as he could sleep almost anywhere and under any conditions. A holdover from when he'd been a Runner, sleep had been a luxury that he'd elevated to an art form.
He was snoring loudly, his energy weapon clutched in one hand, when Dusty tucked her weapons between them. She turned on her side away from Ronon sprawled on the other side and went immediately to sleep.
John scouted out the upper floor while Sam changed and returned to their room when she called. She handed him a cup of tea.
"I'm good."
"It's just tea, John."
He shrugged and drank it down. "Mmm. Sort of sweet and minty. Well, uh, good night." Taking his weapon, he went out in the hall to begin his watch. As soon as the household was sleep he planned on thoroughly exploring the ground floor, maybe even raid the kitchen for a snack.
Pacing the length of the hallway, he paused at the top of the stairs to listen for movement. He could still hear people talking below so he kept to the second floor. On his fourth lap he sat down on the top step and covered a yawn. Resting his head against the wall, he fell asleep between one breath and the next, his weapon held loosely in his lap.
In the room, Sam slipped under the covers and was asleep within seconds, one hand holding her Beretta.
In The Morning
Are We Having Fun Yet?
"Sheppard! John, wake up!"
John opened his eyes to see he was in bed on his side facing the bathroom. Sam was behind him, one hand on his shoulder, shaking him. He rubbed his eyes and rolled onto his back. "I'm up. I'm up."
"What happened last night?"
He didn't like the tone of her voice. She sounded angry and upset. It brought him wide awake and to a sitting position. Sam was kneeling on the other side of the bed, her long blonde hair tousled from sleep. "The hell! How did I get here? The last thing I remember was standing watch. I've never fallen asleep on watch." Now that he was wide awake and able to think more clearly, he remembered sitting on the top step of the stairs and…nothing. Nada. A big goose egg. Sweet Fanny Adams. Zip. Zilch until Sam woke him up. "Oh, crap! We were…"
"…drugged." She climbed out her side as he did the same, meeting her at the foot of the bed.
"Yeah."
"That's not all." Looking pointedly at him, she pursed her lips in amusement and that's when John realized he was no longer wearing his BDU.
"Where the hell is my uniform?" A surreptitious check told him he was still wearing his boxers and t-shirt under the nightshirt. He breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't been in bed naked with his CO, even if she was a beautiful, strong, intelligent, sexy-make that very sexy, woman. "I'm sure I was a perfect gentleman though."
"Believe me you'd know if you weren't." She really did enjoy torturing her 2IC. Her lips twitched and she gave in to a smile as she drew his attention to the dresser against the wall across from the bed. Two P-90s, one Glock and one Berretta had been carefully placed side by side. Also there was the additional ammo, binoculars and other items they'd been carrying in their TAC vests and the pockets of their BDUs, including the neck straps. They quickly checked everything out, satisfied that nothing had been tampered with.
A quick search of the room confirmed that their uniforms were gone. In their places were clothing items similar to that worn by the villagers. They couldn't go out in their nightshirts so they dressed and went into the hall to find that the rest of the team was in the same situation.
John was in black pants tucked into brown knee-high boots with elaborate lacing up the front reminiscent of those rumored to be worn by Robin Hood. His shirt was white with a lace-up front at the collar and fit like it was made especially for him. It was untucked with a black double wrap belt.
Rodney was dressed much like John but in a dark purple shirt with black pants and boots but only a single wrap belt.
Ronon, looking like he'd just stepped out of The Seven Voyages of Sinbad, was the only one who seemed to be completely at ease with his new clothing, his energy pistol shoved into the belt.
To the relief of the three women, they'd been given men's clothing instead of dresses except that their footwear was ankle-high boots made of the same suede-like material. Sam wore midnight blue, Jennifer burgundy and Dusty a deep forest green.
"Is anything missing aside from our clothes?" Sam asked Rodney.
"Our weapons were on the dresser when we woke up this morning along with my equipment and Jennifer's medical kit. All neatly arranged, as if on display and no, nothing's missing."
Sam saw Rodney didn't look at all happy and was keeping his face averted from Jennifer as she was from him. If she didn't know better, she'd have thought they… She mentally shook her head. They wouldn't compromise a mission by engaging in a one-night stand. Besides, neither was the type. They were too competitive, especially with each other. It would never work out.
"Gear up as best we can," Sam ordered. "We're getting some answers, and our uniforms back, if we have to take this…" she slanted her eyes at Rodney, "…quaint little hamlet apart brick by brick."
Sam led the way down to the first floor and found Winifred serving a table in the far corner. When she saw them she hurried over, a delighted smile on her face. "Good day, Lady Samantha. Did you and your companions sleep well last night?"
The rest of the team stood back out of the way. They'd seen the sparks in her blue eyes before and it did not bode well for the object of her ire. "We slept fine. Better than fine actually."
"Wonderful. Please, sit. I will have food and drink brought out for you to begin your day."
"Not wonderful! You drugged us."
"Drugged?" The woman was genuinely confused. "I don't know what you mean."
"You gave us something that knocked us out." The Air Force Colonel gripped her weapon tighter as if that would keep her temper under control and it did help a little. She took a deep breath and inhaled the scents of baking bread, meat, and who knew what else. It made her stomach rumble, but she ignored the needs of her body in favor of her need know. "It was in the tea. What I want to know is why."
The young man from the day before came out of the kitchen and began setting a table for six. He was followed by the same young women. They set large plates heaped with a variety of meats, vegetables, cheeses and bakery items in the center of the table. Apparently the morning meal was eaten family style.
"The beverage you were given at bedtime is a combination of herbs and roots. They are simmered together and the broth consumed to facilitate sleep after a long journey such as you made from Atlantis to Fritheswithe."
"So it doesn't affect your people the way it did us?"
"No, we drink the tea before retiring for the night. Soon we are asleep and our dreams are pleasant."
John leaned close to Rodney and whispered, "Why am I not buying that?" The physicist just grunted and twitched one shoulder. John watched Rodney and Jennifer not watching each other. On the hike to the village they'd stayed side by side even though they'd bickered most of the time. "What's with you and the Doc?"
"Nothing. And in case you haven't figured it out after more than four years of working together, this is my I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it face." For something to do, Rodney took out his scanner and waved it around then compared the readings with the ones the MALP had taken. Not that he thought it would help their situation, but it kept him from having to work to keep from looking at Jennifer.
Moving over to stand by Ronon and Dusty, John crossed his arms, an expression of concern on his handsome face. "Hey, Chewy, what's with McKay? He's usually the first one to the table for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But he's not even salivating."
The Satedan shrugged his massive shoulders.
"Fight with Dr. Keller?" Dusty suggested.
With a shrug of his own, John tuned back in on Sam and Winifred's conversation.
"What about our uniforms, the clothes we arrived in? Why did you take them and leave us…" Sam waved at her team who now looked as if they were escapees from a Renaissance festival, "…these?"
"Your clothing needed cleaning. That is being done as we speak."
Sam didn't like it but she let it go. After all, they still had their weapons and equipment. Aside from someone undressing John and putting him in bed with her without his or her knowledge, no harm was done. And it really was one of the best night's sleep she'd had since taking command of Atlantis.
"Good. Um…" She pointed with her chin at the food-laden table. "Is that for us?"
Winifred's eyes lit up as she drew them over. "Please." She waited while the Atlanteans served themselves. "Eat as much as you like. It will fortify you for the coming battle."
All but Ronon and Dusty stopped with their forks poised in the air. They exchanged apprehensive glances and Sam quickly swallowed her mouthful of food. "Excuse me?"
"As in the past, you have once again come to rid us of Ashkore, the Flame Eater." The proprietress turned toward the kitchen but stopped when John spoke up.
"And that is…" He knew without hearing the answer he wouldn't like it.
To their surprise, Winifred and Hodge smiled. "It's a dragon, of course."
TBC
