Author's Note: This was requested from rudhweth and as such, I dedicate this bit of fluff and fun to you! Hope you all like it, nothing to deep and dangerous, just a short piece that highlights the two boys of Atlantis.

Author's Addendum: Thanks PurpleYin, the comedian line was awkward and I fixed it and I did mean superstitious, doh! And thanks everyone for the reviews, I'm glad everyone is enjoying it!

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Flying Lessons

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"No McKay. The answer is no." Major John Sheppard was walking away from the Jumper bay, shedding his outer jacket, and wanting nothing more than finding a strong cup of coffee.

They had returned from another rough mission, barely escaping getting blasted out of the sky by the wraith. They had to play hide and seek for hours before making a desperate run for the gate orbiting the planet.

McKay was acting like he'd all ready had about four cups of coffee too many. "Major, after what happened out there you should know why it's important."

John stopped abruptly, twisting on the heels of his boots, and slamming into McKay who had not slowed his forward momentum. He stepped back, rolled his eyes, and waited for McKay to right himself.

"Mixing you and Ancient technology is like stepping on an old land mine. You never know when it's going to blow up in your face."

McKay opened his mouth to protest then snapped it shut. He had a point. It was time to bring out the big guns. "I'll tell Elizabeth."

"McKay…"

"I mean it." McKay threatened.

John took a deep calming breath, closed his eyes for a second, then opened them up and slowly let out the air in his lungs. "Okay."

"You know she will…" Rodney paused realizing Sheppard had caved, "You will?"

Sheppard rolled his eyes again. He knew he was going to regret this. "Yes, I will. But so help me McKay, if you crash a Jumper no more coffee and energy bars for you…ever."

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"Jumper One, you are clear for launch." Grodin announced, unable to wipe the grin from his face at the earlier conversation between Sheppard and Weir concerning Rodney's flying lessons. He'd never seen Sheppard looking so harassed.

"Flight, this is Jumper One, if we don't make it back Teyla gets the popcorn and Ford gets the game." Sheppard's voice floated across the speaker.

Elizabeth Weir was standing behind Grodin, and pushed the earpiece, "Major Sheppard, good luck. Rodney, don't break it. We've got a limited supply."

Everyone heard the snicker coming from the Jumper, interrupted by a cross McKay, "Very funny. I get sent across the galaxy with a bunch of comedians."

"See you soon…I hope." Sheppard said, cutting off further conversation.

Elizabeth wouldn't mention it, but she was more than a little nervous as well. McKay had this tendency to get in over his head, despite the ability to fix the messes he created. "Be safe." She murmured more to her self then turned to head back to her office and the mountain of paperwork. How the paperwork monster managed to make the trip with them to Atlantis she had yet to figure out.

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"How much longer?" McKay asked. They had been flying for over an hour. He had been eager to start learning and didn't want to irritate Sheppard more than necessary. He had fought down the impulse to ask when he'd start letting him fly but instead for the past hour Sheppard had droned on about dampener's, interfaces, and reading one's mind. What did that have to do with flying?

"You haven't heard a thing I've said, have you?" Sheppard accused.

"Yes I have." McKay said defensively. "You told me all about the ship's systems."

Sheppard didn't look like he totally believed him, but he didn't pursue it. Instead, he pointed to the land they could see through the Jumper's front window, "There. I'm going to land and we'll let you take over."

McKay was smiling like a giddy child on Christmas morning. Sheppard landed the craft without so much as a bump, and stood from the pilot's seat, stretching his back. Ready or not, here it comes. "Okay, now remember, think about what you want the ship to do."

"I know, I know." McKay said impatiently, sitting in the chair Sheppard had vacated.

The Jumper lurched violently upwards at a forty-five degree angle, sending Sheppard sprawling on the floor, smacking his head as he hit the floor of the ship. "McKay!" He shouted.

"Sorry." McKay mumbled. "I didn't know it was that touchy."

"I told you it was." Sheppard said, crawling into the seat beside McKay and rubbing the back of his head.

McKay wisely kept his mouth shut. He was nursing the controls with a little more respect and concentrating on a path. "This isn't so bad."

"You almost sent me through the floor."

"It was a mistake."

Sheppard figured this whole idea was a mistake. He looked through the window and saw the ship was angling upwards approaching a bank of clouds, "Careful, those clouds look bad."

"Bad?"

"Storm clouds are hard to fly in, lots of turbulence…wind shear." Sheppard had to remind himself McKay had no flight experience.

"Oh."

"You can turn now." Sheppard said, noticing the storm clouds were approaching at an alarming rate.

"I'm trying." Rodney was concentrating but the ship wasn't responding.

Sheppard was getting ready to yank McKay out of the seat and take-over when the ship arced to the left, sharply, sending him sliding against the bulkhead. "Good." He grunted.

"I did it!" McKay was beaming. "I really did it."

"Yes you did." Sheppard confirmed, not quite believing it either.

Sheppard was dozing in the seat beside McKay. An hour had stretched into two and then three. McKay had been picking up the Jumper's controls fast but being a physicist it didn't surprise Sheppard that he was a quick learner. The sky was beginning to darken and he figured it was probably time to head back. It had been a success, something that kind of surprised him.

Sheppard pushed himself back against the chair, scrubbing his eyes with a hand, and trying to shake off the drowsiness, "Head back McKay."

"But Major, shouldn't I learn to fly at night…" Rodney started to protest.

"No!" Sheppard interrupted, "It's late, I'm tired. Home. Now."

McKay didn't look happy but Sheppard felt the ship turn and he knew they were heading back towards Atlantis. He cleared his throat, and thought ahead to things he needed to deal with when they got back. He was still trying to secure areas of Atlantis. He was beginning to think it'd take a year to search out every nook and cranny in the floating city. It was huge and full of surprises.

The ship lurched forward startling both McKay and Sheppard. The flight smoothed again and John relaxed, only to be thrown forward as it jerked unsteadily again.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. It's not me." McKay said, eyes wide.

Jumper One began a steep nose-dive, causing Sheppard to sit on the edge of his seat, "Pull it up!" He shouted, panic spreading throughout his body.

"I'm trying!" McKay hollered, voice rising with panic.

Sheppard yanked McKay out of the seat and quickly slid in, taking over the interface and grasping the dire situation. Jumper One wasn't responding. "We're going to crash!" He warned.

McKay quickly secured himself in the seat beside Sheppard, "I didn't do it." He said, shaken by their impending wreck.

Sheppard frantically worked the controls, trying to steer Jumper One over a clear area of land, "Hang on."

The ship bucked, dove and righted just enough to bring the nose up. The ship went belly down into grass and dirt, churning up the ground like a farmer's plough. Sheppard and McKay were thrown forcefully against the controls, rag dolls at the mercy of the forward momentum of the ship. Sheppard's last thought was hoping Weir sent out a search party.

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John woke to darkness, a total and complete darkness that stained his world as effectively as blindness. He groped for something, anything, to grab onto and gain his bearings. His head ached abominably. He touched something warm…a hand? "McKay?"

The thing didn't move. Sheppard moved his hands over the object…a hand and an arm, torso…definitely McKay. "McKay!" He called more urgently.

No response. He kept groping and found his neck, pushing his fingers against his skin hoping to feel the pulsing of blood beneath his fingertips. He breathed out when he did. McKay had probably been knocked out like he had and was taking longer to come out of it.

His eyes were adjusting, picking up small slivers of light from the stars above. He could tell they had made it down intact and upright, two very important points in their favor. He found the radio and tried to raise Atlantis. Not even static greeted his attempts. Damn!

"McKay, you can wake up now." He mumbled, sitting back and trying to concentrate above the rhythmic pounding in his head.

"Why, have you found a way out of here?"

The voice speaking beside him caused him to jump, "Don't do that!" Sheppard took a deep breath to calm down. "I thought you were still out."

"I was." McKay looked around in confusion, "I can't see."

"That's because it's dark."

"Oh good. I was afraid something really bad had happened."

"Something really bad has happened…we crashed, remember?"

"We're still alive Major and Atlantis knows we're out here. It could be worse." McKay said.

"Don't." Sheppard said, raising a finger.

"Don't what?"

"Don't ever say it could be worse."

McKay snorted, "I had no idea you were the superstitious type."

"I'm not…but let's not invite trouble, okay?" Sheppard figured they had enough without asking for more.

They settled into a reflective silence. Sheppard wasn't known for waiting patiently. He thought back to the moments before the crash. What had gone wrong with the Jumper? It had felt sluggish…off. "Any ideas? He finally asked.

McKay peered at him owlishly in the inky blackness.

Sheppard emitted a painful sigh, "That would be a no?"

"That would be a not yet, actually." McKay leaned forward and tapped the console. The panel remained unresponsive, "Major, see if you can tap into the ship's systems."

Sheppard thought about the ship and waited for the screen to flash into being before them. Seconds ticked into minutes. Great.

"Are you trying?" McKay asked impatiently.

"No McKay, I've got this perverse need to stay shipwrecked with you until we're rescued." Sheppard punched more buttons on the panel then looked up to find Rodney staring at him. "That's a joke."

McKay looked back towards his console, "I knew that."

They worked in silence for a while, McKay occasionally retrieving a piece of equipment from the rear of the jumper and accessing the ship's internal systems. It was well into the early morning hours before Sheppard had to admit defeat. Whatever was wrong with the Jumper was beyond anything he could diagnose out here. He hoped McKay was having better luck.

He pushed himself back into the chair, and swiveled around to face the physicist, "McKay."

"What?" McKay didn't look up from the configuration in front of him.

"Do you have any idea why we are stranded here?" He asked, keeping his voice deceptively calm.

Sheppard heard him mumble to himself. "I heard that."

"No you didn't, because if you did, you'd have tossed me out of the Jumper." McKay replied, continuing to manipulate the crystal panels.

"I still might."

McKay froze then regarded Sheppard with a stunned expression.

"Kidding!" Sheppard said.

McKay frowned, "Not that. Occam's razor."

Now it was Sheppard's turn to frown, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Assume the simplest explanation." McKay explained hurriedly.

"I know what Occam's razor is McKay." Sheppard drawled, "What I fail to see is how it applies to our current situation."

McKay rushed forward, dragging his computer with wires dangling, "What is the simplest cause for a vehicle to stop running?"

Sheppard wrinkled his forehead, trying to jump into McKay's line of reasoning. Realization struck like a bolt of lightening, "We ran out of gas?" He asked in disbelief.

"Exactly!" McKay crowed.

"Do these things take gas?"

"Hypothetically Major." Rodney said irritably.

"Hypothetical isn't going to fly us home."

"No, but that might." He pushed against an insignificant looking spot on the console.

Sheppard felt a small hum build within the ship. "McKay…what did you do?"

"If I'm right, and I think I am, it's the recharge button."

"Recharge?"

McKay smiled, "In simple terms."

Sheppard nodded uncertainly, "You think? What if that's the self-destruct?"

McKay remained self-assured, "We'll know in a few minutes, won't we?"

Lights began popping on all over the Jumper, systems reestablishing into a steady beat of productivity. Sheppard quickly focused on the flight operations. It had worked. Whatever McKay had done, worked. "I'm impressed."

"Can I fly home?"

"Don't push it."

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Doctor Beckett eyed his patient's critically, "You'll stay down Major or I'll make you stay down."

"This isn't necessary." Sheppard argued.

"I decide what is necessary here, and I don't want to hear another word. Both you and Rodney suffered moderate concussions. Hard heads or not, you'll be spending the day and night with me, so get comfortable and quit whining." Beckett said sharply, shifting his gaze towards McKay as the man in question prepared to protest, "Not one more word." He enunciated staring at Rodney.

Sheppard and McKay focused forcefully on the ceiling, fighting to keep their protests quiet. Beckett waited for a half a minute then smiled patiently, and left to check on one of the Athosians who had come in with some type of illness. Probably a minor cold but it paid to be safe in this strange new world.

Once Beckett was out of hearing range, McKay looked across at Sheppard, "He's getting scary."

"It's your fault."

"How is it my fault?"

Sheppard turned his head just enough to face McKay, keeping his body still, "You keep winding up here with one injury after another. It's turning Beckett into an overprotective mother hen."

"I can't help it if there's some intergalactic bull's-eye painted on me." McKay defended.

"Karma." Sheppard muttered.

"I heard that." McKay accused.

Sheppard was readying a sniping remark back when they were both interrupted by Beckett's voice, "Shut up both of you or I'll give you something to complain about!"

"Come to Atlantis, it's worth the risk, the adventure…I'm going to kill O'Neill." Sheppard grouched.

"Not if I beat you to it." McKay replied.

Beckett stood out of sight, letting his eyes close tiredly. He reopened them wishing it was tomorrow, "You'll both have to stand in line." He muttered. Twenty-four hours, he just had to put up with those two for twenty-four hours.