The next morning Emily settled into her lab with a big mug of coffee, ready to work. She looked up when Dr. Weir knocked at the door a few minutes later. "Oh, Dr. Weir, please come in."
"I'm on my way to some negotiations, but I thought I would stop in for a moment. Have you checked your email yet this morning?"
"I just arrived. Has something happened?"
"We had an unscheduled data burst a few minutes ago. The SGC wants you to know that Dr. Daniel Jackson will be arriving in two weeks to help you with the data entry for the translation software. He was recently captured by the Ori and is currently in recovery, but he is eager to join you to work on this project and will come as soon as he is able." Weir seemed to be watching her reaction closely.
"Oh my God. Is he ok?" Emily stood, shocked.
"I don't know the details, but I must assume he is or he wouldn't be planning to make the trip so soon." Weir hesitated, then seemed to come to a decision. "Dr. Freedman, you should be aware that when you came through from Earth, I was advised by the SGC that you were involved in a romantic relationship with Dr. Jackson. Now, I'm hearing rumors that you're involved with Dr. McKay. This concerns me."
"Oh." Emily gaped and struggled to come up with a reply. "I'm afraid you were misinformed, Dr. Weir."
"About which relationship?" Weir looked skeptical.
"About Dr. Jackson. We went on a couple of dates. We weren't romantically involved."
"I see." Weir fixed her gaze squarely on Emily and continued, "Then I trust your involvement with Dr. McKay will not affect your work, or his?"
"Of course not," she stammered, surprised that such a statement was necessary.
"Good. Because there is no one more capable in two galaxies than he is at solving the many problems we face here in Atlantis. I don't want to lose my best scientist to an ill-fated, romantic dalliance."
Emily's eyes widened with shock at this response but Weir had already swept out of the room. She sank back in her chair and tried to comprehend what had just happened. She was surprised one person could say so much with so few words. Weir was suspicious of her for some reason, though beyond the inaccurate allegation of her relationship with Daniel, she couldn't understand why.
She felt shaken. If she had somehow earned Weir's negative opinion, that could be hard to shake, and could make a continued existence here tenuous. She just hoped Dr. Weir would give her a chance to change her mind. She would have to strive to maintain behavior that was completely above reproach by any possible means of interpretation.
A couple of hours later, Rodney popped his head into her lab and pounded on the doorframe a couple of times with his open palm. "I just thought you should know that I'm heading back to the planet. I won't be back for lunch and probably not dinner. I'll be lucky if I get an MRE, or something today. Why don't you eat dinner with Zelenka? I told him to come get you at dinnertime, ok?"
"What? Rodney, wait a minute."
"Can't talk now. I'm late," he said, gesturing behind him with his thumb.
Over the radio, she heard Sheppard's exasperated voice, "McKay! We're waiting in the jumper bay!"
Rodney pointed at his ear, "See? Keep your radio on. I'll call you when I get back." He nodded and waved, before turning and swiftly walking off.
She sat back down, stunned for the second time that day. She just hoped he would be safe today and that the cultures he was negotiating with didn't go to war while he was still there.
When Radek stopped by at dinnertime she raised her eyebrows at him. "So you're my surrogate dinner date, today, I see?"
Radek looked uncomfortable. "So it appears."
"I'm sorry. I hope he didn't make it some kind of order. I can't imagine what he's thinking!"
Radek frowned. "He's thinking you're too skinny and can't afford to miss any more meals. You do realize that you rarely eat lunch and starved yourself for three days during the whole ascension thing?"
She sighed. "Leave it to a scientist to say exactly what he's thinking." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Is that what he actually said to you?"
Radek looked at the ceiling, his lips pursed, then said, "It was inferred."
She rolled her eyes and said in Czech, "Let's go."
She liked hearing Radek's stories of growing up in Czechoslovakia. Though his family had been poor, they'd been happy and had managed well, including sending their gifted son to University where he'd thrived.
A couple of other Czech nationals joined them. Talk turned to general base talk—who was working on what project and how those projects were faring. She was glad she was getting the opportunity to meet more people. She still hadn't met very many people outside of Rodney's circle.
She mentioned that to Radek as they walked back to their respective labs.
"Have you given any more thought to coming to karaoke tonight? You could meet people from across the base. Military and science. All types attend."
"I guess I could. It sounds like Rodney won't be around this evening. Should I bring anything?"
"No. Just yourself. We take turns bringing in alcohol. Last month someone brought Jagermeister which was nice. I'm not sure who's turn it is this month."
She smiled. "Ah, Jagermeister—not as good as Becherovka, though, I bet?"
He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You know your Central European liqueurs? No, not as good. But easier to get." He smiled and ambled back to his lab.
She worked for a couple more hours, then went back to her quarters to change into some casual clothes before wandering into the spacious room that had been converted into a karaoke club for the evening.
Tables and chairs were arranged in a half-circle around a platform, co-opted as a stage. A full-sized mic had been set up, as well as a video screen to display the lyrics, and some imposing speakers. There was actually quite a crowd already assembled. They were milling around, mingling, and listening as a young woman belted out, "Love is a Battlefield."
Emily edged around the room, looking for a familiar face, when Radek bounced up to her, face florid and smiling. He had clearly been drinking for a while. "Emily! Come meet some people. We are drinking some stout stuff tonight! We have some really nice vodka and my friend Leo has brought out the first batch from his new still."
She raised her eyebrows at that and he hunched a bit and grinned. "Oh, shush now. It's perfectly safe, I assure you!"
He turned, ushering her into a cluster of people and started introducing her. Someone pressed a stainless steel mug in her hand. She sniffed it, not sure if it was the vodka or the home brew because it was clear. It seemed to have a faint piney odor and she wondered what she was getting herself into. She felt out of place and uncomfortable, but knew she had to start somewhere. She was never going to meet anyone if she spent all her time in her quarters and her lab.
She took an experimental sip of the drink and concluded it must be the home brew, distilled in the style of gin, it seemed. It wasn't bad. It warmed her quickly, relaxing her tense muscles. She reminded herself to go easy. There wasn't anything to water it down with—no need to repeat her last disastrous adventure with exotic alcohol.
It appeared to be 80's night, which was good because it meant happy pop music; no one would be droning 'Stairway to Heaven.' Radek urged her to add her name to the list of performers but she demurred. She wasn't about to drink enough to let loose of her inhibitions the way she had in grad school. She scanned the room and made eye contact with someone familiar standing nearby—the nurse that had come through the intergalactic bridge with her.
The woman sidled up to her. "Dr. Freedman. How are you adjusting to Atlantis?"
"Well, I guess. I'm sorry, I seem to have forgotten your name?"
"First Lieutenant Nancy Wagner." She nodded and pointed to the cup in Emily's hand. "Leo's moonshine?"
"Yes, I think so. Tastes sort of like gin, I guess."
"I'd watch out for him. He's, um, persistent." Wagner frowned slightly and raised her eyebrows. "In fact, I hope you'll forgive me, but I'm going to make myself scarce right now." Emily watched in confusion as Wagner turned and walked away.
The scientist Lt. Wagner spoke of materialized, asking Emily if she liked the spirit she was drinking. He topped off her drink before she could protest and began to regale her with information about his still and his occupation on Atlantis. He was a geologist that went out on survey teams and in his spare time he liked to tinker with a still, attempting various types of distilled spirits.
She excused herself when Radek stopped by to tell her that Rodney was calling for her on the radio. She stepped out in the corridor, where it was quieter, to answer the call.
"This is Dr. Freedman. Dr. McKay, are you there?"
"Emily. Yes. We just got back. Zelenka says you're at the karaoke thing? Stay put. I'll meet you there. I'm in the infirmary for my post-mission checkup. It'll be another twenty minutes."
Emily turned, intending to slip back into the music-filled room, and bumped into Leo. He had apparently followed her. He seemed intent on expounding on his still and how it functioned. She maintained a patient, blasé demeanor and sidestepped back into the room, Leo not noticing that she was trying to get away.
Radek grabbed her shortly thereafter, pulling her toward the back of the room. "You should meet Bertrand. He studies languages as a hobby. He's a French engineer, only here for a short time." Radek pushed her into Bertrand's orbit and wandered away. She noted Leo had followed, insinuating himself, as she introduced herself to Bertrand.
Bertrand seemed taciturn, so she was about to excuse herself when Leo mentioned she was a linguist. Bertrand narrowed his eyes and rattled off a comment in what she could only guess was arcane old French. She answered him as best she could, perplexed by this. He then shot off a question in an obscure German dialect and she answered him in kind, as well as she could manage. She watched, nonplussed, as he bid her good day in what she could only guess was Frisian. She surmised she had not passed his test, and tried to keep her amusement to herself as Bertrand moved away in a huff. Rodney's ego had a rival in that guy.
Leo was pressing another drink into her hand. She wasn't sure where she had left the first one and tried to refuse it, but he was very insistent. He congratulated her on her repartee with Bertrand, which she thought was strange since he couldn't have had any idea of what they'd said. Finally, she took the drink hoping it might give her a way to extricate herself, but he kept blocking her way and blathering about something.
She couldn't really tell what he was saying because he was somewhat soft-spoken and she had inched close to the speakers in an attempt to find Radek or just get closer to the crowd to possibly join another conversation. She looked around and could see Radek across the room, his hands animated in front of his face as he tried to communicate something to her. She hoped he would facilitate extraction. She waved to him and tried again to excuse herself from Leo so she could look to see if Rodney had arrived, but Leo wasn't cooperating. He was getting more forward now, touching her arm in an unwelcome way, and expounding dramatically about something, maybe an unusual mineral composite he'd discovered. She wasn't sure. The fact that he kept finding creative ways to block her escape was all that she was really certain of.
She was about to lose her temper when a hand gripped Leo's shoulder from behind and he swung around, revealing Rodney with a sneer on his face. While she hadn't heard much of what Leo had been saying, she heard every word that Rodney enunciated in Leo's face.
"The lady is trying to get by. Kindly step out of her way."
Leo shrugged off Rodney's grasp and seemed to think about challenging him for a second before he noticed Rodney was still in off-world gear, a gun strapped to his thigh. Then he backed down and turned away. Rodney grabbed her arm and started leading her toward the entrance.
After a moment of shock, she shook him off. He frowned at her and put his arm around her instead, still guiding her to the room's entrance, one shoulder hunched forward with determination. As they neared the door, Radek pounced on her from the side, exclaiming he had someone else for her to meet. When he saw Rodney's thunderous expression, though, he raised his eyebrows and backed away.
She waved at him, ignoring Rodney's foul mood for the moment. "I'll see you tomorrow, Radek," she called. Then she followed Rodney out into the hallway.
"What the hell was that?" he asked in an exasperated tone. He seemed calmer now, but she didn't like where this was going.
"What is this? 1952? What do you mean what the hell was that?"
He looked tense and his speech was clipped. "You've been drinking, haven't you?"
"Last I checked I was over 21, Dr. McKay." She felt defensive. She wasn't sure what had just happened. What had gotten him so angry?
"You do realize that the men outnumber the women on this base by about four to one. That room could be full of predators." His eyes were darting around and he was shifting his weight from foot to foot. He was angry, she thought, but not completely sure of himself.
She grabbed his arm and forced him to look at her. "I can handle myself, McKay. I wasn't having any trouble."
"What, you liked that guy?" He looked deflated.
"Of course not! I was trying to get away from him so I could find you. I would have managed it eventually. He's just a boring old geologist doddering on about his. . . geology stuff. You didn't need to get so mad. You probably gave him a heart attack with your combat vest and your gun and your machismo."
He sat down on the edge of one of the white lounge chairs that dotted the hallway. "Machismo, huh?" He rubbed his face with his hand. "Do you have any idea how hot you are?"
"What are you talking about? Don't be ridiculous. What's gotten into you?"
"You seriously don't, do you? You don't see the way guys look at you." He shook his head.
"I like it when you look at me." She sat down next to him. "I don't understand why you're so mad."
He lowered his voice and grit out, "Emily, that guy wanted to sleep with you."
She rolled her eyes. "No, I really don't think so and anyway it doesn't matter because I'm not interested in anyone else. How can we be having this kind of conversation? We've been dating for what, five minutes? This is silly. Let's just go. You must be hungry. Let's go get something to eat."
"What's that?" He pointed at the cup in her hand.
She hesitated. Why was she still holding that stupid cup? "Gin."
"Let me guess, the geology professor was keeping it full for you?" he asked sarcastically.
She sighed with exasperation. "Ok. So I'm oblivious. Completely oblivious. I think we already established that. Are you happy now?" She set the cup on the floor. "I've managed this state of complete and utter oblivion, without any major mishaps, for more than thirty years. I've never gotten myself into a pickle that I couldn't manage to get out of on my own in all that time—and now, tonight, you decide that I was about to be attacked in a room full of people singing karaoke?"
He huffed and shook his head. "I never said that."
"What are you saying?"
"I don't know. I'm tired. I just walked into that room and I didn't expect to find some guy. . . hassling you. I may have overreacted. A little."
"A little?"
"Ok. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I had a terrible day and, yes, I totally overreacted. A lot. I'm sorry. You're right."
"Look—I would have handled it. I don't need to be rescued."
"Ok," he said tiredly.
She sighed and then looked up. "Do you hear that?" She stood up and walked over to the stained-glass doors and peered back into the room. The dulcet tones of a U2 ballad were coming from within. "Do you know who that is—singing?"
He looked confused and annoyed. "No."
"Guess," she said with wide eyes.
"I'm sure I have no idea, Emily," he said dryly.
"That's Radek! Wow, he's pretty good, too."
He stood up. "Are you too mad to help me find some food?"
"Of course not. Which way is the mess from here?"
They grabbed a couple of sandwiches and waters in the mess and then walked to Rodney's quarters so he could get rid of his gear. She examined the photos and plaques he had so carefully arranged on the wall while he changed. He came out of the bathroom holding up his toothbrush. "I'm too tired to beat around the bush. Am I invited over tonight, or not, and if I am, am I allowed to bring my toothbrush?"
She giggled. "Yes and yes." She was surprised he felt he needed to ask. He stayed over every night. And why hadn't she thought about the toothbrush sooner? She sat down on the bed and opened a bottle of water as he proceeded to pack a small overnight bag.
He flopped down on his stomach beside her and opened a sandwich. "You know, your bed is surprisingly comfortable. I could totally sleep in tomorrow. It is technically Sunday, tomorrow, you know."
"On Earth?" she asked. She wasn't clear on how time might be different on this planet. They still got up when the sun came up was all she was sure of.
"Yep. We don't really observe much in the way of time off, here, do we?" he commented.
"I didn't observe much in the way of time off back on Earth either," she replied.
"Want to take the day off tomorrow? Stay in bed all day?" He was trying to be nonchalant; he didn't even look up from his sandwich.
She felt a pulse of excitement shoot through her, but Weir's warning from the morning was still ringing in her ears. She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "Tempting. Maybe just sleep in a little? I've got a lot of work to do."
"You don't have a deadline anytime soon. I am your boss after all." He rolled over, laid his head on her thigh, and looked up at her with big innocent eyes.
"You're very bad, Dr. McKay. But I do have a deadline. Dr. Jackson is coming in a couple of weeks. I just heard this morning."
"Oh, that guy?" He scrunched up his face. "Please. He's not your boss. I am. You need a day off. You work too much."
"I do? What about you?"
"Exactly. You need a day off—with me."
"I don't know."
"What? It's just a day off. Elizabeth tells us we should take days off all the time."
She frowned. "She does? That's not the impression I got."
He looked like he was perplexed.
She decided to change the subject. "You shouldn't have asked Radek to babysit me today. That was embarrassing, Rodney."
"What? I just wanted you to have someone to eat dinner with. You like Radek. I don't know why, but you do."
"And he's non-threatening to your machismo?"
"Mm. My machismo. Don't remind me about that here. I don't have any of those little yellow square packets down here in my quarters." He shot her a devilish grin.
She smiled, a thrilling feeling settling low. "We'll have to put in a small emergency stash."
"Yes. My quarters are a lot closer to the mess and the labs."
"You're terrible." She thunked him on top of the head with her sandwich.
"Don't ruin a perfectly good sandwich. Don't you want it?"
"Not really." She handed it to him.
He picked up his bag and headed out to the hallway, starting to unwrap the second sandwich.
She followed. "Did Sheppard give you a hard time at breakfast after I left? I thought I heard the beginnings of something."
"Um. Yes." He pointed to himself dramatically. "He said if I don't stop walking around with this dumb smile plastered on my face, he won't let me go on any more missions. He said I'll get shot."
She chuckled. "That could be a problem. I intend on keeping you smiling."
That reminded her that she hadn't asked him about his mission. "I'm sorry. I didn't ask you how things went today. Did you convince them to get along?"
"Barely. It's going to be touch and go, but hopefully we got things straightened out. We're letting Elizabeth take over from here."
"Oh, that's good. You know, um. . . I've been thinking about something. I don't know what you might think about it."
"What's that?"
"Well, we're spending a lot of time together."
"Mm. Yes." His arm snuck around her.
She smiled. "You sleep over every night. . . ."
He raised his eyebrows.
"Well, you bringing a toothbrush—of course you should definitely have a toothbrush in my quarters. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. I just, I mean, isn't it silly that you waste so much time going back and forth between our quarters every day?"
"What are you saying?"
She took a deep breath and just blurted it out, "I've got a perfectly good shower and lots of closet space and well, my quarters are large—there's plenty of room for two people. Maybe you should bring some clothes and that fuzzy blue bathrobe up to my quarters?"
He caught her by the arms and looked giddy, "Really? You think so?"
She was taken aback by his enthusiastic response, "Don't you?"
"Well, it occurred to me, of course, as a practical thing, but I didn't know. . . I mean, it's so soon, isn't it?"
"What difference does it make? We're basically cohabiting anyway. How can a bathrobe and some clothes make a difference? It'll save some time. Time we can spend together, or at work. You think this is a big step?" She was suddenly worried that she had made a mistake bringing it up.
"Well, isn't it?" He looked confused.
"Let's not complicate things by putting a scary label on it. Let's just have fun, ok?" She put a hand on his chest and smiled playfully. "If things don't work out, I promise I won't throw all your things out here in the corridor and burn them. I'll be civilized."
His brow furrowed. "You think things won't work out?"
She rolled her eyes and said, "No! I think they will, silly." She glanced down the corridor. They were alone for the moment, so she reached up to plant a quick kiss on his lips to reassure him, but he surprised her by pulling her closer for something more amorous, his hand sliding down her backside, crushing her hips into his.
When they reached her quarters he reached in his pocket and pulled out a small object. He looked shy as he pressed it into her hand.
She mentally told the door to her quarters to shut behind them and opened her hand to reveal a nickel-sized gold charm with an intricate, crown design carved on it. She looked at him, surprised. "Where did you get this? It's lovely."
His chin was on her shoulder and he was hugging her from behind. He reached out a finger and flipped the charm over in her palm. The other side revealed a miniature portrait, like those commonly made in 15th to 18th century Europe, painted with impossibly small detail. It was a likeness of Rodney with a noble and condescending expression on his face. She gasped with surprise. "What on Earth? How? What is this?"
He shrugged and kept hugging her. "I downloaded some images into the game for fun. The people of Geldar got a little carried away with them. There were portraits of me everywhere. They offered me this one and I thought you might like it."
"Portraits of you? You aren't kidding, are you?" She tried to imagine how that could possibly happen.
"Mm. One of them is about twelve feet tall on the side of a building." He nuzzled her neck in that spot he knew drove her mad.
She breathed deeply, trying to stay focused on what he was saying, on the gift.
"Will you take me there? I want to see it." She turned to look at him. He was managing to look both embarrassed and proud of himself at the same time.
"I doubt it'll last long. They're pretty disillusioned with our interference."
He was nuzzling her neck again and she was having trouble concentrating.
"God, you're so hot," he murmured.
He pressed her close and his hands were wandering under her shirt. It wasn't long before she lost all conscious thought altogether.