A/N And here is four. It's only like two days later, well, in the story, and I know I have to do something with the pink goo. I have deliberately ignored it because it builds suspense. Ducks flying tomatoes. Yea, I know, post or die in this shark pond. But I love every single one of ya.

Guardingangels86, I'm surprised you picked up on that. There is a reason, and if you want to know, send me an email. It's more a personal thing than a lack of want, but if you want to know, I don't mind explaining.

And I'm sorry for the delay in posting. Real life is evil, and comes in the many guises of Algebra homework.

? Space?

"Dr. Weir, we found this strange substance in one of the ventilator shafts. Should we test it, or leave it alone?" Dr. Kavaugnah stood in front of Liz, enjoying every moment of her discomfort with him there.

"I would say so, Doctor. Doesn't that make the most sense?" Lord, how this man annoyed her. Where was Rodney when she needed him? He was often able to run off this pest.

"Yes, but I wanted to make sure it was ok with you. After all, I should check in every discovery with the base commander, no?" Now the jerk was yanking her chain in circles, and he was going to get it if he didn't stop.

"Yes, you should, but that is why everyone has a radio. I could have Dr. McKay show you how to use it, if you like." She finished her sentence with a smug expression as the aforementioned astrophysicist walked into the office. "Hello, Rodney."

McKay's heard jerked up, and he was about to say something, but thought better as he saw Kavaugnah standing there. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt something important." He turned to leave, but was stopped by Liz.

"You weren't interrupting anything, the doctor was just leaving." Liz used the acid tone that implied that he was, in fact, interrupting something but she preferred that he did.

"Yes, I was." Dr. Kavaugnah left the room, content to pester someone else.

"I take it he was making stupid demands again?" Rodney moved behind Liz and began to massage her tired shoulders.

"He wanted to know if he should run tests on a new substance they found. I was trying to decide if 'duh' was an appropriate answer." She let out a sigh and dropped the pen she had been holding. "That feels good."

"You need to relax. No one likes him any way, but he is smart." Rodney grabbed the coffee cup that was currently making a ring on a report and drained it.

"Who's the diplomat now? And that has been there since this morning." McKay's face turned a slight shade of green, frowning at the empty cup.

"That's disgusting. I could get sick from that, you know. Maybe have some allergic reaction that will put me at Carson's mercy for a week." Liz just laughed while he continued his tirade, only stopping when her giggles reached his ears. "Oh, you think that's funny, do you? Maybe I'll just head back to my lab then, close myself off from the world." He turned and left in a pretend huff, Liz still giggling.

'He'll come back. He always does.' He had done this a multitude of times before, but had always come rushing back with a mega-watt grin. Liz smiled to herself. Rodney smiled more in one day on Atlantis than in the entire four months spent in Antarctica.

"He's not coming back." Liz glanced out the door, just to see if he was hidden there. No elusive scientist, but Peter did give her the strangest look. "Have you seen Rodney?"

"He was here a minute ago, but I haven't seen him since." The Brit turned back to his work, then glanced up again. "I think he went to his lab. He said something about 'hibernating'."

"Thank you." Liz turned back to her door and made sure it was closed, telling Grodin not to let anyone in. She made her way down to the scientists labs, not quite sure why an old cup of coffee set him off so. She reached his door, and, predictably, it was closed. She knocked lightly, hoping he wasn't upset or anything.

"Go away." Not exactly the response she was hoping for, but it did confirm his whereabouts.

"Rodney, I'm sure that four hour old coffee won't hurt you. I could have Carson come and give you a shot, though, just to make sure." A rustling on the other side confirmed what she already knew. Rodney hated needles, and would do anything to avoid a shot.

The door slid open, but was stopped short of fully opening by a hand over the controls. "So, are you saying you're sorry, or are you still being nonchalant about the possibility of my illness?"

Liz crossed her arms over her chest and tried to peer over his shoulder. Rodney' lab was uncharacteristically dark without the bright overhead lights the Ancients had seemed so fond of. "Fine, I'm sorry. I'll make sure to leave a note out if my coffee is anywhere near the 'bad' zone." Liz stood on her tiptoes, but was blocked by a mess of brown hair.

"Fine, you're forgiven." Rodney had also moved onto his toes, eager to keep Liz's prying eyes from seeing the inside of his lab.

"Ok, now I'm sure something's up. Why won't you let me see in this door?" Liz pushed gently on his chest, hoping to get him to move, but Rodney was steadfast. His hand was held tightly over the panel by the door, preventing it from opening.

Rodney let out a slight huff, then turned back to look in the room. "I guess I could let you in." He went to move away, but thought better of it. "You have to keep your eyes closed," he announced.

"Rodney, I've seen inside your quarters. How bad could the mess in here be?" Liz was downright confused now, and wasn't enjoying being kept in the dark.

Rodney mistook her look of petulance to be fear and comforted her. "I won't let you run into anything, really. I just was hoping it would take you longer to get here."

"Fine, let me in." Liz huffed as the door opened, but nothing could be seen in the blackness. Rodney reached out and covered her eyes with his hand, blocking out the light from the hallway.

? I'm quite evil, no?

Dr. Kavaugnah scraped a bit of the odd pink substance from the ventilator shaft and placed it in a vial. His continued grumbling had driven away his entire team, but the silence was easier on the ears. 'Who does she think she is, putting me off like that? Ever since those two got together, I never get any recognition.' He held the vial up to the light, still fuming. 'Maybe I can play his immense ego against him, get him to do the hard work.' Kavaugnah smiled to himself and gathered his equipment. Time for a little buttering up.

? Space?

"Well, I'll have to run a few more tests, but I can't see why not. Teyla, you said your people have gone through the 'gate while with child?" Carson slung his stethoscope around his neck in typical doctor fashion, only narrowly missing a bruise on his neck. His collar covered it, and no one had noticed its presence.

Teyla pulled the back of her shirt down and nodded her head. Many women among the Athosians had traveled through the gate with no difficulty, but there was one power higher than the doctor who needed convincing.

"I don't think it's safe, Teyla, and there is nothing you can do to convince me other wise." And there was the other shoe. Surprisingly enough, John continued to speak. "But, if you think it's ok, I won't stop you." Teyla released a breath she didn't know she had been holding and slid off the bed. Dr. Beckett had slipped away sometime after finishing his exam, presumably to run more tests.

"It will be good to leave this world. I have become quite accustomed to traveling around." John put his arm around his wife and began to leave.

"Did you hear about McKay's plan?"

? Space?

Adien Ford pressed himself smaller into the confines of the closet. One moment he had been helping Dr. McKay decorate his lab, and the next he was being pushed into a closet. Well, a closet of sorts. It was only two meters tall, and barely wide enough for a man. The worst part was, there was no door. If anyone looked in his direction, they would see a pair of eyes peering out from the darkness. Not the most comforting sight.

McKay had let Liz into the room, after scattering a few more petals on the floor. Adien thought the whole thing was unbelievably sappy, but maybe that's what the girls wanted. The oddest thing was this had been all Rodney's idea. Who knew that under the snarky exterior was a romantic? Ford tuned his brain to a low roar to better listen to the ongoing conversation.

"What's all this?" Well, she seemed surprised, and in a good way. Rodney must be getting off on the right foot.

"Nothing much." Ford almost snorted at that one. Nothing much? That was the understatement of the century! Rodney had covered his normally drab desk with flower petals, and a single candle stood in the center. More candles were around the room, inside glass globes, but those ones merely gave off a bit of light. Adien thought the whole thing was one big cliché, but to each his own. Liz voiced his thoughts perfectly.

"I don't believe that this is nothing. It seems like you put a lot of work into it." She pressed her lips to his, and Ford was struck with a bout of nausea. 'I thought I outgrew that!' He shifted as to be more in the dark, hiding himself a little better. If only they could quit with the affection! Maybe he was being childish, but this was ridiculous. As if on cue, Rodney pulled back and pointed at the desk.

"Sit. I have something to ask you, and I better do this soon." Liz was still looking excitedly around the room, taking every small detail. The window had been covered with – was that tinfoil? Where in the world did he get that? There were candles scattered around the room, some in places that Liz was quite sure Rodney couldn't reach alone.

Liz sat in the seat Rodney had pulled out for her, hardly aware of what she was doing. "Liz, look at me." Liz quit her survey of the darkened lab and looked deep into Rodney's eyes. The blue orbs were glistening slightly, showing depths of emotion he couldn't begin to speak of.

"Liz, you know I love you." He began fumbling around in his pocket, looking for what he knew was there. "I was hoping you would want to-"he found what he was looking for and pulled it out into the light. "I was hoping you would do me the honor of becoming my wife." There, he had said it. Both he, and unknown to them, Adien, held their breath, waiting for her answer.

"Are you really asking me this?" Liz reached up and rubbed at the tears that had begun running down her face. Was this really happening to her?

Rodney felt crushed, and Ford swore he could see it in the older mans eyes. "Yea, I'm asking, but if you don't want to that's-"Liz cut him off with a finger, pressing it lightly to his lips.

"Yes Rodney, I will marry you." A loud yelp sounded through the room, but it came from neither Liz nor Rodney. Adien slapped his hand to his mouth, but the damage was done.

"I guess you want to know why I'm hiding in a corner of Dr. McKay's office?"

? Space?

A/N It was going to be longer, but I wanted to get this up for all of you. I don't know how this turned out, but it's more of a transition chapter than anything else. The real action starts next time, as our favorite team goes on their first mission since the bug. What horrid things will McKay step in? Will Sheppard find a big leaf? And what in the world is the pink goo? All this and more in the next installment of.....Pauses for dramatic effect..... Growing up Ancient!

Tee hee. I love chocolate; it's my drug of choice.

Peace, Love, and Everything Feline,

Furlings are Cats