CHAPTER 10 ELECTROMAGNETIC STORM
Carson was all but whistling when he went out and John couldn't help but toss a puzzled look at the door. He huffed a breath and moved over to where Stephanie stood, looking back toward the door and shrugging her shoulders slightly at John.
"I can find my way around...I'm sure. Don't put yourself out on my account. You're obviously annoyed with me for some reason, and I'd certainly hate to add to that annoyance."
Her small chin rose and those green eyes stared back at him unblinkingly. He swore, causing those eyes to widen slightly.
"Hell... I'm not annoyed with you. I'm just in bad mood – getting dragged back and forward to earth for what is essentially a domestic earth problem, will do that to me. But it's not your fault, and I'm sorry. For making it seem that it is. You hungry?"
His sudden change of mood caught her off balance a little and she attempted a smile.
"So, a truce then? Yeah, I could eat... now that the nausea has finally gone. I don't remember the last meal... so it must have been a while ago."
She passed in front of him, heading for the door and it was an automatic reaction for him to reach out a hand to place on her hip, to guide her. Her eyes dropped down to that hand, and she wondered at his need for touch and suspected that it may have contributed to his bad temper. Those feelings of awareness that she had been experiencing... perhaps he was not immune either and was attempting to push them away.
She stepped away from his hand, deciding to make it easier on him. It was a two way street. She had no desire to acknowledge that awareness either.
He gave her the tour, rather than take her directly to the mess. Something in him wanted to see those green eyes light up the way they had before, and even though it was dark, he led the way out onto the east pier, watching her eyes as he tipped her face up towards the sky.
"So, Colonel. Astronomy 101. Doesn't exactly help me out here..." A hint of laughter softened her voice and when she turned to look at him, he got what he had been looking for. Those eyes had lit up with more than just a little warmth and were now twinkling with excitement. "I can look up there and know that I am no longer back on earth, and that is more than just a little overwhelming, and that streak of light over there?"
He moved closer, following her arm that stretched upward and looked back down at her face that was tipped up.
"Not a shooting star, then?"
He laughed. "Not so much, no... could be a ship, although it would have appeared on our long range sensors and I'd have been called into the control room before now. There are a lot of anomaly out here that could cause something like that. It's funny – I used to lay out on the grass at home when I was a little boy and just look up, and think... that is where I wanted to be."
He moved from behind her and rested his back against the railing, looking at her now.
"And this is exactly where you are, Colonel. Every little boy's dream..."
"Yes, every little boy's dream..." but it was at her he was looking, not up at the stars and feeling that impatience come back he pushed away from the railing and shuttered his eyes slightly.
"Let's go eat." He clicked on his radio, after flicking a glance down at the woman who looked up at him, no doubt a little puzzled by his constant mercurial changes of moods.
"Sheppard here. Meet you in the mess, Rodney? Got someone I want you to meet. You guys should get along just fine..."
He clicked off his radio having made the decision. He'd do Rodney a favour. This was one pretty woman, and McKay needed someone to practice his man/woman skills on. It seemed that whenever he had a shot at it, he blew it. John thought that maybe, he could steer her in the direction of someone like minded, and if he could help his friend out? And hell... it would also help him out. Because he was having trouble keeping his hands off her, and that sent all sorts of alarm bells ringing. Time to push temptation towards another.
Rodney had snagged a blue jello and was waiting at a table when they arrived. He looked up and his eyes widened slightly when he saw the woman that John had beside him. Mentally he groaned. Sheppard likely coming along to show off a new conquest, and he pushed down an innate jealously of the man. Hell, if he looked like Sheppard, then he supposed the women would be flocking around him too.
" Dr Rodney McKay. Meet Dr Stephanie Mandel." John stood back in satisfaction to see if his little plan was going to work. He watched Rodney's eyes widen and knew that it was not just him registering the fact that she was a doctor and damned pretty, but the fact that John had introduced him using his title. Something John very rarely did.
"Uh... pleased to meet you. Heard a couple of rumours, about why you're here. Ran into Sam actually...Alzheimers?"
Stephanie smiled, and sat down in the chair that John had pulled out for her. He mimed a drinking action and she nodded at him, and noted that he left fairly quickly, and wondered at that.
"And you, Dr McKay? What is your specialty?"
Rodney's smile was smug. "Astrophysics, actually."
Her smile dimmed just a little. "Theoretical or practical?"
Rodney huffed a self important breath and she pushed down a groan. She had met his type before. Egotistical, arrogant and considered themselves the top field of science at the expense of all other science fields. She discreetly scanned the room, hoping that John would return very soon and found him at the hot drinks counter, talking to one of the mess hall staff, a pretty woman who was looking up at him with more than just a subtle invitation in her eyes.
It seemed the Colonel had an established fan base here in Atlantis and she gave herself a small shake. She would certainly not be adding herself to that. Rodney had taken to staring in fascination at his blue jello and she decided that she would simply find her own way to her quarters... or find someone to ask and smiling down at Rodney she calmly wished him a goodnight, and sought escape before John could come back with the hot drinks he had been getting.
Although they would likely be cold by the time he dragged himself away from his fans.
And with that somewhat uncharitable thought in mind, Stephanie left the mess and wondered a little aimlessly around the hallways, a little too proud and a little too embarassed to simply stop and ask someone for direction.
It was near tears and just a little angry that she ran into a hard body that was striding too fast around the corner of one of the hallways – one that she was sure she had been up and down more than once. Strong hands reached out to steady her and when she looked up into the concerned eyes of Colonel Sheppard, she felt that anger, irrational really, blossom even further and stepped hurredly away from his steadying hands.
"Hey, I've been looking for you. Why'd you run off like that?"
"I'm surprised you even noticed... you seemed pretty involved in your... conversation."
Something crackled and sparked in his eyes and he reached for her again, crowding her back against the wall in the hallway. He looked dangerous, that expression in his eyes changing, and she looked up him in fascination. She watched as his head lowered and when his lips slid across hers, almost experimentally, she released a breath she didn't even realise she was holding, and those hands she had tried to keep at her sides, rose and curled around his neck.
"Ah, hell...didn't want to do this. Crap."
Hazel eyes opened and he rested his forehead against hers, enjoying the feel of her hands as they stoked his neck.
"I'm thinking that it probably wasn't a good idea... no."
Reluctantly he pulled away from her, jammed his hands in his pockets and looked down at her flushed face.
"Impulse... gotta learn to curb those. They get me into trouble every time... come on. I'll show you to your quarters. Perhaps that streak of light we saw in the sky was an electromagnetic storm... would contribute to heightened emotions and overactive imagination."
She giggled a little at that.
"So once the storm passes, it'll all be over?"
He sighed, dramatically. "I'm hoping..."