MGM owns some of the characters, but most are mine.
A/N: I continue to marvel at how much you like a story about characters from my imagination. Thank you for the reviews, alerts and support. My beta is busy with more important things so all mistakes are mine.
Victoria couldn't keep the feeling of excitement out of her system. Even though she didn't see Master Gunny Richards after her discussion with Lorne, she was happy that she wasn't totally clueless about his actions. He could have pawned me off on Carter or one of the others, but stayed with me. Memories of his smile and the way it lit up his face came to mind as she felt her heart tighten in her chest. I doubt many people get to see that smile.
Her euphoria didn't last long because as soon as she and Sergeant Warrington entered the Gateroom, an obnoxious shout reminded her of the other members of her team.
"Hey!" Doctor Upton called. "Over here, Doctor Parker."
He and his sidekick, Doctor Toledo, stood to the side of Colonel Sheppard, Ronon, Teyla, Raven and Carter. Richards, Lorne and Dusty were still missing, as were Doctors McKay and Zelenka. Anxiety at having two of the smartest men known to man around along with the two jerks in front of her made her forget to feel like a teenager with a crush.
"Gentleman," she said as sweetly as she could muster.
"Bodyguard?" Upton sneered and Toledo chuckled.
"What do you want?" The smirks on their faces and glances at Warrington upset her. She felt no need to discuss her relationships with anyone to these two.
"You need to carry this scanner and survey equipment." Upton's boot kicked a canvas pack on the floor. It was a big black duffel bag that obviously was too full.
The hyena laugh of Antonio Toledo echoed through the departure area because he was obviously overcome with happiness at her misfortune.
"Wasn't the site surveyed the first time?" Victoria knew the answer but had to ask the question to let them know she knew the protocol. Doctors Upton and Toledo went out with SGA1 for the first survey of the planet. More sloppy work.
"We were busy with other more important things," Ryan Upton replied. "Now get a move on before Doctor McKay gets here." The two men walked away.
"I'll frag the bastards for you," Dusty said causally, causing Victoria to jump.
She'd been staring intently at the bag trying to guess how much it weighed so she never heard the female Marine join Warrington behind her. I guess that makes her a good Marine.
"No, because then you'll really get tossed out," Warrington cautioned. "We'll find another way," he muttered quietly to his fellow Marine.
Victoria turned to see that the jovial face of Robert Warrington was gone. It had been replaced by an icy look that shot daggers from his brown eyes. Dusty's finger hovered near the trigger on her gun as she scowled menacingly at the backs of Victoria's colleagues as well. "Didn't you guys have some type of initiation when you got to boot camp?"
The two Marines nodded. Dusty's eyes barely noticed Victoria as she watched the two male scientists attempting to flirt with Teyla.
"Well, this is the same sort of thing," Victoria replied, bending to grab the bag.
A much larger hand got there first and hefted it in the air. "Feels like about twenty, maybe twenty-five pounds," Warrington pronounced in his deep voice.
"Is there a problem?" Richards was the next to join the little gathering making Victoria close her eyes and nearly groan.
"No," she stated as she turned to look up into darkening grey eyes flicking between the soldiers, the bag and her.
"They expect Doctor Parker to carry this, Master Gunny." Warrington held the bag away from his body so Richards could get a good look at it.
"It's fine," Victoria said, fully facing the big Master Gunnery Sergeant. "I was explaining that this is a hazing of sorts…"
"Hazing?" Richards asked with eyebrows raised.
"Yes. Junior scientists have to write monthly reports, do menial jobs like surveying a site and schlepping stuff around," Victoria explained, getting exasperated. The Marines looked as hard as the wall behind them and obviously had no intention of giving the gear back to her.
"Is there a problem?" A new voice asked.
Turning to face another soldier, Victoria groaned. "Yes, Major. Everything would be find if your gentlemanly soldiers… No offense Sergeant Mehra…"
"None taken and it's Dusty," she replied. "Sir, they expect Doctor Parker to carry a heavy pack of materials."
Lorne looked at Richards. "Let me guess, you want to lend a hand?"
"No!" Victoria felt the color rising in her face. "I will not get preferential treatment just because of you and…" She stopped speaking as Lorne started to turn white. "I-I sorry, I…"
One nod from Richards told Warrington to finish hefting the pack over his shoulder.
"No," Victoria begged, knowing that the abuse she'd get from Toledo and Upton after witnessing this would be ten times worse. "You're trained soldiers, not pack animals."
"It's my pleasure to help out, Doctor," Warrington stated. "Sir. Master Gunny." He addressed the other men and then motioned for Victoria to move toward the gate.
The archaeologist continued to fume silently until the first chevron locked on the gate. Even though this gate was not like the Earth one, there was still a sound and flash of light that signaled the commencement of dialing.
Panic began to well up once more as she looked around. Victoria was standing close to Master Gunny Richards who was speaking quietly with Sergeant Warrington. Doctor Zelenka had appeared and announced that Doctor McKay was running late so Teyla said she'd wait for their teammate. The rest of the personnel prepared to leave without Victoria's department head.
"So," Ronon Dex asked, pulling her from her frightened stare at the symbols igniting on the gate. "Shall I push or pull?"
"Huh?" Victoria blinked her eyes to clear her thoughts about what it was going to feel like to be broken down to the molecular level. "Sorry, Ronon. What did you say?"
The Satedan glanced at Richards who was now standing very close to Victoria. "Just wanted to know if you needed to be pushed or pulled through the gate." A slow smile spread over his lips and it appeared he was holding back laughter.
"We've got it covered," Richards replied.
Victoria's head whipped around to see the steady gaze of the Master Gunny directed at the ex-Runner. The corners of his mouth twitched, but the Satedan didn't give in.
Victoria had no idea what the inside joke was so she ignored it as she often did with her brothers. "I might need to be carried." She forced a smile and tried humor to alleviate her fear.
"You got the wrong man for that job," Ronon said, finally grinning. "You'll be fine. We haven't lost anyone in the Gate in ages."
"What?" Victoria turned to face Richards and Warrington.
"Doctor Parker," Richards said, turning his piercing grey eyes to her face from the retreating Satedan. "There is an Ancient city on the other side of the puddle waiting for you to explore it. Piece together what happened there. All you have to do is take a couple of steps and you'll be there."
Victoria's eyes widened as the Sergeant hit on the very reason she became an archaeologist. Can he read my mind?
"Did you ever think of being a motivational speaker? Because that was beautiful." Carter's voice startled the archeologist. "Your words are much better at inspiring than guns, knives, fists, boots…"
"This boot is going to be up your ass if you don't get on point," Richards snapped at Carter.
As the tall, lanky Marine passed Victoria he winked and flashed three fingers at her.
"Hat trick?" she asked, realizing the Marine was taunting his superior once again and got a reaction.
"Uhhh…" Carter moaned looking like he was in pain.
"Hockey?" Richards asked once Carter walked over to stand near Ronon.
"Carter was impressed I'm a sports fan," she confided with a brief look at his face.
"Which sports?" he asked. His eyes were focused on the gate and not looking at her.
"Baseball and football are my favorites," she replied. The easy conversation that she suddenly found herself having with one of the most feared men on Atlantis made her forget about her pending jaunt through a wormhole.
"Mets or Yankees?" he questioned, his eyes looking at her once again.
"Red Sox," she replied unable to hide her smile.
"A rebel." Richards turned his gaze to the gate where the Kawhoosh signaled that the dialing was completed. "Now I'm impressed."
Before Victoria could even acknowledge his outright flirting with her, Pamela's boyfriend came over.
"You have nothing to be concerned about, Doc," Major Lorne stated. He hung his head for a minute, however, before he continued. "The first time through a gate, you can… you can be a little disoriented…" His blue gaze looked up from the floor to catch her eyes.
"Disoriented?" Victoria could tell Lorne was hiding something and it was starting to cause her to panic.
"Just a little dizzy," the Major explained, putting his hands out to calm her. "It wears off quickly. But I don't want you to… fall or anything, so I'll stay close to you. Okay?"
Victoria marveled at how many virtual strangers wanted to watch out for her. Where were these guys when I was the nerdy little sister of the high school jocks? "Okay," she answered weakly.
The large blue pool loomed like a specter before her. It reached at least two stories tall and was wide enough for several of them to pass through. Carter, followed by Ronon, the other archaeologists, along with Doctor Zelenka and Sheppard went through quickly. Sergeants Raven and Mehra were bringing up the rear and stood some distance behind Victoria and the others.
"I'll go a bit in front of you, just in case," Lorne said as he walked toward the gate.
"I'll be sure to tell Pamela how sweet you're being," she said without thinking about the other Marines standing nearby.
Lorne blushed. "Might score me some brownie points, which are always nice to have."
Victoria chuckled as she silently battled a panic attack. Trying to concentrate on the Major's black uniform and his smiling face and ignore the blue expanse before her was nearly impossible. Now that she was even closer, it seemed to dominate her entire consciousness.
"You won't feel anything." Richards spoke from close to her right side in a low, calm voice like the one he had last night while patiently explaining how to use her handgun. "You'll take two steps and suddenly be on another planet. It's that simple."
"For you maybe." She couldn't keep the trembling out of her voice. "Does it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt and I'll tell you about the Major's first time through a gate once we get to the other side," he said even quieter so she had to strain to listen to him.
Victoria tried to smile, but wanted to run. She unconsciously took a step back and bumped into a wall. "Sorry."
The wall chuckled and said softly, "On three. Okay?"
Looking one last time into bright grey eyes, Victoria swallowed and decided to put all her trust in this intriguing man. He hasn't steered me wrong since I met him. Finding courage from his actions on the firing range and the possibility of spending more time with him, she took her final steps into the unknown.
TBC
A/N: Just a filler chapter, but they all have to be done. Please don't stop the great reviews, especially Kali, who requests this story in other reviews. Get an account and then you can PM us authors to your heart's content.
