RATING: PG-13 for language but that is probably overkill.

SEASON: First season, Tag for Hot Zone

MAJOR CHARACTERS: Sheppard and McKay

CATEGORYy: Humor, perceived angst

SUMMARY: Tag for Hot Zone, John and Rodney discuss SG1, friendship, and a road trip to Vegas. Sheppard/McKay friendship. One-shot (complete)

SPOILERSs: Rising, Hide and Seek, The Defiant One, Hot Zone, and a wee one for the Terminator Movies.

FEEDBACK: Yes, please. I'm new here and would love to know what you think.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own SGA, SG1, Star Trek, the Terminator Movies, Austin Powers, SNL, The X-Files, When Harry Met Sally, Airplane, The Dukes of Hazard, Any Network Newscasters, Ben and Jerry's, Circus Circus, The Mirage or any other Las Vegas "establishment". (I am however working to pay off my home in Henderson so if you sue me that will never happen.) All these brand names are owned by various megacorporation that should really have much more important things to do than worry about little ole' me and my fanfic fetish. And yes, they are all mentioned in this story! And no, I am not making any money off of it.

NOTES: Several years ago, before I even knew of the existence of I swore to put aside my writing of fan fiction to concentrate on family, work, and my own original fiction. Well, here I am again and I am surprised to find myself in SGA of all places. Not because I don't enjoy the show, but because of how few episodes I have to work with, especially since I haven't seen them all. So, there could be technical/character mistakes. If so, please let me know. Anyway, who can resist Sheppard and McKay interaction? Also, I really enjoy a good humorous one-shot, so here's my humble contribution to the pot.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: For all the wonderful writers of SGA fics. I have to say that this fandom has some of the best writers I have come across on This story has not been Beta-ed, mainly because I don't have one. So, all mistakes are mine. Other than that, I blame the damnable bunnies!

Tokens

by Liketheriver

No one could deny that the sunsets on Atlantis could really be spectacular. Dr. Rodney McKay leaned comfortably against the railing on one of the many balconies that afforded front row seating for the array of colors on display during the finale to a rather extraordinary day. Not that there were many ordinary days on Atlantis, but this one had started with a potential plague and ended with a naquadah-enhanced nuclear blast in the upper atmosphere of the planet. No, the day definitely was not ordinary, but unfortunately par for the course, when you got right down to it. The door to the balcony swooshed open admitting a second man onto the elevated veranda. McKay didn't turn, but could tell from the long, clipping stride of boots on balcony that Major John Sheppard had joined him. It had been Sheppard who had provided the means to McKay's method for destroying the virus- detonate a naquadah generator above Atlantis to produce a large enough electromagnetic pulse to disable the electronic nanovirus. Fortunately, it had worked. All hail the conquering heroes, Sheppard and McKay save the day! Again. Honestly, Rodney thought, they were going to have to give them a raise if they kept this up.

Sheppard took up a mimicking stance against the railing next to McKay. Neither man spoke for several minutes as they both seemed content to just watch as the lavenders of the sunset slowly deepened to amethyst before them.

Finally, McKay broke the silence. "I really thought I was going to die."

"Yeah, me too."

"You too, what?"

"What?"

"Don't what what, me. I asked you first."

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: What?"

McKay let out a deep sigh as if explaining a simple task to a rather dim child. "You said 'yeah, me too.' To what were you agreeing? That you also thought I was going to die or that you thought you were going to die as well."

"Well, both, I guess."

McKay let out a huff. "Please, why in the world would you even think that you were going to die?"

"I did detonate a thermonuclear devise above the planet."

"Major, you're a highly skilled pilot, the best on Atlantis; you were in no real danger at any time."

Sheppard smirked. "Well, you are right about that highly skilled pilot part."

"Exactly," the physicist agreed ignoring the major's gloating. "I, on the other hand, was saved by shear dumb luck, no skill involved."

"I wouldn't say that. You have plenty of your own skills. You figured out how to take out the nanite virus thingy using an EMP."

Rodney waved his hands at the idea as though swatting away gnats. "Yes, yes, but that was after I should have already been long dead. It was just dumb luck that my body accepted the ATA gene-therapy and therefore, the virus didn't cause my brain to explode at a very inopportune time."

John couldn't think of anytime that would be opportune to have your brain explode but he ignored the comment and went on. "Look, you talk like dumb luck is a bad thing. There have been plenty of times when dumb luck has saved me in the past, saved us all. You should be happy you're lucky. Count it as a blessing." He patted the physicist on the back and received a skeptical head bobble in response. "Hell, when we get back to Earth, I'm taking you to Vegas. We could make a fortune with luck like yours."

McKay seemed to consider the possibility. "Vegas would be nice," he conceded. "It's been a while since I was in Vegas."

"Oh, I've spent lots of time in Vegas. I know all the best strip clubs." Sheppard bragged.

The scientist gave him a disgusted look. "After all these months trapped on Atlantis, you mean to tell me that the first place you would go in Las Vegas is a nudie bar?"

"Okay, first off, I'm a little disturbed by your use of the term 'nudie bar.' And secondly, maybe you're right. First, we hit the buffets!"

"Now you're talking!"

"And not one of those cheap Circus Circus buffets, either. One of the high-class spreads with prime rib and lobster."

"I hear the Mirage has a nice setup, kind of pricey but after being stranded in a different galaxy, I think we're entitled to splurge a little."

"Damn straight!" Sheppard puffed out his chest. "And after gorging ourselves on meat and seafood and deserts…"

"Oooh, do you think they will have cheesecake?" McKay interrupted. "Oh, oh, and soft serve ice cream? I really miss ice cream."

The major deflated momentarily. "You know, so do I. What I wouldn't give for a pint of Ben and Jerry's New York Super Chunk Fudge."

"Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is my favorite."

"Well, you can't go wrong with a classic." McKay nodded his agreement and they sat in silent reverie of frozen confections trapped on the other side of the known universe. After a few seconds of daydreaming, Sheppard shook himself out of his memories and puffed his chest out again. "And after we gorge ourselves, then we hit the nudie bars."

"Damn straight!" McKay slapped the railing in agreement. "So, when do we hit the casino floors?"

"After the food and Tand A, of course."

"Oh, of course." They lapsed into another silence as they stared out across the Atlantean sea.

Finally, Sheppard bumped McKay's shoulder with his own. "So, you really think I'm the best pilot in Atlantis?"

The scientist rolled his eyes. "Of course you are, and unfortunately for everyone within bragging distance, you know it. Although, I have a theory that that may have more to do with your ATA gene than anything else. It really is quite extraordinary that the gene seems to manifest naturally in so many military types, particularly air force..."

Sheppard cut off the scientist before he could collapse into one of his never ending diatribes. "You know, you may be on to something. After all, General O'Neill had it as well."

McKay gave another snort. "Please, I know the General, and you, sir, are no Jack O'Neill."

Sheppard gave the scientist a sneer. "Well, you're no Daniel Jackson," he stated defensively.

McKay crinkled his nose in disgust. "Of course I'm no Daniel Jackson. I'm absolutely nothing like Daniel Jackson. He's a soft scientist, for Pete's sake, an archeologist. I'm not really sure how archeology got the '-ology' tacked on it in the first place. Why in the world would you even think to compare me to Jackson? If anyone, I would have thought you would compare me to Samantha Carter. At least she's an astrophysicist."

The major stood up straighter. "First off, Doctor, I didn't compare you to Colonel Carter because I didn't want to imply any unresolved sexual tension between us like there is between O'Neill and Carter. Secondly, she's a lot more buff than you are."

McKay squared his shoulders and took a breath to protest, then released it as he regarded his companion. "She really is exceptionally buff, isn't she?"

Sheppard relaxed into the railing. "Especially in her arms. You can really see it when she wears one of those sleeveless black tops."

"She's a little like Linda Hamilton in the Terminator movies." McKay provided.

"T2" Sheppard supplied in turn.

"Of course, T2. She only had that big fuzzy hair in the original and then she was dead in the third."

"Well, sure," the major agreed. "Yeah, O'Neill really made out in the eye candy department for his 2IC. I mean, don't get me wrong, Ford's a great guy, but he's just not as nice to look at as Sam Carter."

"I wouldn't complain too much, Major," McKay consoled. "I think we lucked out in the other areas."

"How so?"

"Just look at Teyla, she's a much more attractive alien than Teal'c."

Sheppard nodded his head in agreement. "You've got a point there." He considered for a moment, and then asked, "So who do you think would win in hand to hand combat, Teyla or Teal'c?"

The physicist thought for a few seconds before responding. "Hmmm, Teyla definitely has the speed, but Teal'c has the reach."

"Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought, too."

"Although they can both do that raised eyebrow trick." Rodney continued, trying his best and failing to raise a single eyebrow. "That must be an alien thing, Teyla, Teal'c, Spock, Sam Donaldson."

"The newscaster?"

"That's the one."

"Isn't he Canadian?"

"Not that I know every Canadian, but, no, you're thinking of Peter Jennings."

"Oh, right."

"So, anyway, we scored with Teyla and we definitely scored with Weir." McKay tallied off their points on his fingers.

"How so?" Sheppard asked.

"Well, the SGC has O'Neill and before that they had Hammond."

Sheppard returned his gaze out to the ocean. "I never met General Hammond."

"He was a nice enough guy, for an Air Force officer, but he was very….bald."

"Bald?"

"He looked a lot like Scully's father on the 'X-Files'," the scientist supplied as a way of description.

"Oh, well, Elizabeth Weir definitely beats him in the hair department then."

McKay let out a harsh laugh. "She beats him in all departments."

"So, the chief science advisor thinks that Dr. Weir is attractive, huh?" Sheppard's voice took on a teasing adolescent tone.

The scientist glared at him. "You are such an asshole. I don't know why I even bother talking to you sometimes."

With a chuckle, the major tried to appease his teammate. "Take it easy. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't any truth to the McWeir rumors I've been hearing."

"Ha, ha, that's rich, Major. Personally, I prefer the Sheyla rumors any day."

Sheppard's face took on an almost dreamy quality. "Yeah, me too." Catching the shocked yet humored look on McKay's face, the major cleared his throat. "For their pure entertainment value."

The scientist snickered. "Of course."

John looked for someway to change the subject. "You know, come to think of it, there are a lot of similarities between SG-1 and our team." He smiled slightly at the term 'our team'. It just sounded right. "We have our token alien slash hot babe, our token up and coming young military 2IC, our token genius who also doubles as our token pain in the ass civilian,…"

McKay's disgusted voice broke in, "Our token Captain Kirk wannabe and smartass commanding officer that the brilliant civilian genius doesn't have to take orders from…"

Sheppard raised his voice and overrode the comment, "But will because he wouldn't stay alive for five seconds on a mission if he didn't."

McKay lifted his finger to make a point, "Ah, ah, ah, Major. You're forgetting about my dumb luck."

"You know, you're right." Sheppard began poking his finger into Rodney's chest. "It was dumb luck that I was born with a very strong ATA gene and got talked into coming on this expedition in the first place. It was dumb luck that I picked an Ancient devise to take a rest in and accidentally activated it so that you could find out about my very strong ATA gene. It was dumb luck that I drew that flight for General O'Neill and ended up in a location that gave me the opportunity to rest in that Ancient devise so that you could find out about my very strong ATA gene. All this time I thought it was my dumb luck that put all these events into motion so that I would find myself stuck here in Atlantis with you on my team. Ends up it was your dumb luck just taking me along for the ride so that I could save your sorry brilliant civilian genius ass from getting whumped time and time again."

John expected McKay to be livid by the time he had finished his little rant, but instead he had just pursed his lips in thought. "You know, Major, you may be on to something there. Perhaps the entire cosmos has conspired to bring us together so that you, the big strong fly boy, can protect the enormous cranial capacity that is trapped inside my puny frail body."

Sheppard detected the sarcasm in his companion's voice and decided to continue. "Yep, that about sums it up," he said with a smile.

McKay's blue eyes flashed with rage. "Listen here, Major Sheppard," he hissed with added emphasis on the military rank. "I don't need you or anybody else protecting me. I am an extremely well educated and highly skilled scientist. I can calculate, manipulate and postulate my way out of just about any situation you or Weir or the Wraith or the Ancients or anyone or anything can throw my way. Brawn isn't going to solve one tenth of the problems we run into in the Pegasus galaxy. It's going to be creativity and ingenuity and good old fashion brain power. But in case you failed to notice, if the situation presents itself where brute force is the only alternative, I've learned to shoot my way out, if necessary, as well."

Sheppard spread his arms with a wide smile. "Exactly!" he drew the word out to prove his point.

Rodney blinked in confusion at the major's reaction to his little tirade. "Wh..What?"

"Sure, you were lucky that your brain didn't explode, but you were unlucky you were there in the first place. These things tend to even themselves out in the long run." The scientist just continued to blink, so John continued. "The point is, you still figured out how to save all the people that didn't have the ATA gene and that was skill, pure and simple." Rodney just continued to regard the major with a slightly confused look on his face. "So, are you done being angsty?"

"Angsty?" McKay repeated the word the way John often did when he was learning some new technobabble from the science department.

"Yeah, earlier, you were being all angsty about almost dying."

"Not that I believe the word actually exists in any reputable dictionary, but when, precisely, was I being angsty?"

Sheppard cleared his throat. "And I quote, 'I really thought I was going to die.' End quote."

McKay screwed up his face. "Well, yes, I did say that, but I wasn't being angsty."

Now it was Sheppard's turn to look confused. "You weren't?"

"No, I was just stating a fact."

"You were?"

"I'm truly quite relieved that I didn't die. Elated, actually. In fact, I'm out here trying to figure out how I want to celebrate."

"You are?"

"Of course. I mean, wouldn't you want to celebrate if you had thought you were going to die a horrible death but didn't and then managed to save the vast majority of the population of Atlantis."

Sheppard furrowed his brow. "Wait a minute, I think I did do just that and, yes, I do want to celebrate."

"Excellent! So do you have any ideas?"

"Well, we could start with chow and go from there," he suggested.

McKay ducked his head in agreement. "Sounds like a plan. I hear we're having macaroni and cheese for dinner." And there it was, the patented Rodney McKay double snap, pop, hand jive, complete with the McKay heel-toe-heel rock, patent pending.

Sheppard smirked at the light that twinkled in McKay's eyes at the thought of one of his favorite meals. "Then we better get going before it's all gone." They started for the door and Sheppard noticed McKay shaking his head with a scowl. "What now?"

"Honestly, Major, Daniel Jackson?"

John stepped in front of the physicist and crossed his arms over his chest. "You know, for a genius, you sure can be slow on the uptake." Before the man could protest, he continued. "I was going for the whole military and civilian odd couple best friend thing."

Rodney regarded his teammate with mild surprise. "Really? You think of me as your best friend?"

John hung his head sheepishly as he admitted, "Well, I don't know if we're there yet, but there is definitely potential."

McKay opened and closed his mouth several times. "I..I'm at a total loss for words."

Sheppard continued to regard his boots. "There's a first time for everything, I guess."

"I'm touched. Really, I'm honest to goodness touched."

"But evidently this isn't the time," Sheppard mumbled, but Rodney didn't seem to hear.

"So how far along are we?" McKay asked hastily.

John glanced quickly at the scientist then looked over the man's shoulder, suddenly very interested in the grey swells. "Oh, I'd say 60-40 in favor."

McKay seemed disappointed. "Really? I would have thought saving you from the uber-wraith from hell would have moved us further along."

"It definitely pushed us past the midway point." Sheppard conceded.

"Still…only 60-40?" McKay obviously wasn't satisfied with his standings.

Sheppard shrugged. "Maybe I've been holding back some."

"Holding back?"

John took a deep breath. "I thought… you… probably… already have a best friend and its no fun having a best friend who already has another person for a best friend." John shook his head at how much he sounded like a twelve year old.

"Who do you think is my best friend?" McKay asked anxiously. Sheppard found it disconcerting how excited he seemed to be about the whole conversation.

"Beckett, of course." The answer seemed so obvious. "I mean, you've known each other for a while, you are both scientist, both foreigners."

Rodney snorted. "Its not like Canada is across the Atlantic Ocean from the United States, Major. After all, we do share the same continent, its just a little latitude line that separates the two countries. And Carson is a great guy, yes, of course. It's just…" Sheppard raised his eyebrows and Rodney continued. "It's just that he can be so incredibly Scottish at times. I mean, he is all about cricket and rugby and the BBC. He knows nothing about hockey or baseball or network television. And he's constantly pestering me about eating and my blood sugar and sleeping. My god, it's not like I'm going to slip into a coma if I skip a meal. I get a little cranky, a little nauseated, maybe a little shaky or light headed. I would have to go like days, maybe as little as twenty-four hours, I'm not sure, I try not to push it, but definitely more than a meal, maybe two, before it became serious." Sheppard just regarded him patiently as he rambled and silently began to worry about when the doctor had last eaten. Noticing the look on the major's face, Rodney wrapped things up. "It doesn't matter," he stated tersely. "And everything is 'wee' and 'laddy' and 'cheeky'. I swear the more worked up he gets, the more he sounds like Fat Bastard."

Sheppard chortled. "Those 'Austin Powers' movies really crack me up."

Rodney smiled smugly. "Mike Myers, comic genius and fellow Canadian."

"You know SNL really went down hill after he left."

"I couldn't agree with you more! And that's just it, I could never have this conversation with Carson. If I mentioned SNL to him he would think I was talking about a sino-nasal lymphoma or some such medical condition."

"Okay, you've made your point," Sheppard acknowledged with a chuckle.

Now it was Rodney's turn to stare at his feet. "Actually, I'm just surprised you don't already have someone as a best friend."

"Okay, I'll bite, who?" John asked.

McKay considered for a second. "Well, it couldn't be Teyla, because of the UST…"

"Yeah, I've seen 'When Harry Met Sally' although I never considered myself a Billy Crystal sort of guy."

"And Teyla definitely isn't a Meg Ryan sort of gal." McKay supplied.

John snorted out a laugh. "No, she sure doesn't come across as the girl next door, I mean with the weapons and the fighting and the body." He looked up to see Rodney holding in a smirk and gave him a death glare.

The scientist cleared his throat nervously and continued. "Anyhoo, I guess I always thought it would be Lt. Ford."

Now it was Sheppard's turn to purse his lips in thought. "Yeah, I could see that. I mean Aiden's a fine 2IC and can be a blast to hang out with. He's just so… young." McKay gave him a questioning look. "I don't think he's seen a single 'Airplane' movie."

"Surely, you can't be serious."

"You see," the major spread his arms in way of explanation, "that would have gone completely over his head. And he doesn't get any of my 'Dukes of Hazard' references."

Rodney's eyes lit up. "I loved 'Dukes of Hazard'! That is, when my parents let me watch it. Well, when they didn't know that I was watching it. And Daisy Duke! Now, Teyla is definitely a Daisy Duke kind of gal."

"Except for the fighting and the weapons and the way she would kick your ass if she knew that you were comparing her to Daisy Duke." Sheppard warned him.

Rodney waved him off. "She wouldn't know what I was talking about. I'd just tell her Daisy was a mighty warrior from the Kentucky tribe and be fine."

Sheppard grinned evilly. "Not if I explained it to her."

"You wouldn't." The scientist's eyes darted nervously when the major continued to smile. "Oh, God, you would." He swallowed visibly. "Okay, let's just pretend this conversation never happened."

John swung his arm around Rodney's shoulder. "Sounds like a plan. Now, let's get some food and start this celebration. Who knows, if things go well, we could move up to 70-30 by the end of the night."

As the two men resumed their walk to the door Rodney asked, "How long do you think it would take us to drive to Las Vegas from Colorado Springs?"

John mentally calculated for a few seconds. "Oh, I'd say twelve, thirteen hours tops."

"Hmmm, grab a cooler full of snacks, pick up some good tunes, get our hands on a sweet ride. Oh! Maybe a convertible! That would make a pretty decent road trip, don't you think, Major?"

"Road trip to Vegas- sounds like the sort of thing best friends would do. I'm in."

"We could make it in one day, if we switched off driving."

"Well, that depends. You can drive in a straight line can't you?"