Thanks to PurpleYin and Peanut for reviewing!

Sorry this took so long, I haven't felt much like doing anything in the past few days. And work is driving me crazy, I swear!

Anyway, I have a couple tests this week so I hope to get more done after those are out of the way!

Enjoy!


Workday Wonders: Chapter Two

"Think off." McKay said.

"What?" Sheppard responded without looking up, he was still trying to wiggle his wrist free.

"What do you mean 'what'? It isn't complicated, think off, you know, to get this thing off of us." As much as he liked the man, he sure did seem to be dense about some things, and to think he passed the MENSA test.

Sheppard glanced up at McKay, and back at the device. He squared his shoulders, took a breath, and squinted at it. When nothing happened he closed his eyes, as though that would help him.

It didn't.

McKay rubbed his free hand over his face. He wasn't sure how long he could be in this close of a proximity to Sheppard. "Together this time." John nodded his agreement, and both men looked down at their hands.

McKay and Sheppard walked as quickly as they could to a lab on the other side of the control tower, trying to do so as gracefully as possible and not allow the city's residents to see that they were literally leashed together. McKay was hoping to find something there, some machine or tool strong enough to break the bond that held him to the Major.

McKay just wanted to get the device off, run his tests without problem, and have a peaceful lunch with Elizabeth. It occurred to McKay that Sheppard was walking slower than he, and he thought that maybe he was trying to make sure that they were together through lunch.

John smiled nonchalantly at the people they passed in the corridors. If John thought he could work it so that he could sit in on Rodney's lunch…meeting and be free for his own dinner with Elizabeth, he had another thing coming.

"Think again…" he muttered to himself. He walked ahead of John and pulled his and John's arms forward, showing his impatience.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I said this is your fault." Rodney shot back at him unhappily.

"What?" his voiced said he was insulted, but Rodney thought otherwise for a moment. Even if it had been John's touch that activated it, he hadn't asked to have such a strong ATA gene, and he really didn't need to bust John's chops about it.

"Did I stutter? This. Is. Your. Fault." He punctuated each word. Even as he spoke he found he remotely regretted it. He wanted to be a nice guy; he didn't want to push away a friend, one he felt that he'd only really just established as such.

"How is it my fault? It didn't open until you touched it!" two could play the blame game.

"Yes, well, I touched it earlier. Clearly you're the one who activated it, everyone knows my gene use isn't as good as, oh say, yours." He looked at Sheppard, the need to change being quickly replaced by a need to be separated.

Close proximity was something he'd never been comfortable with, not even with family. When he had to ride the bus to school he'd try as hard as he could to look undesirable, or take up as much space as possible so no one would sit with him. Those seats were too small to begin with, and he usually had fragile things with him.

Like his spirit. He thought about it, was he the cause of his own unhappiness, did he subconsciously try to avoid friendships? He went out of his way to make sure no one sat with him…no, no he wasn't doing to himself, he'd asked Elizabeth to lunch hadn't he?

But getting stuck to Sheppard…he truly did think he had a friendship with John, an odd one, but it was there none the less. Sure they bickered and argued, but when it came right down to it, Sheppard would do anything to ensure the scientists safety, and vice versa.

"You touch it and the next thing you know we're practically holding hands." McKay continued. A couple of other scientists walking their direction sent the pair a look, and John smiled politely, while McKay shot them an ugly look in return. "This is unbelievable."

They reached the lab that McKay thought to hold the answers they were looking for. He puttered back and forth in the room, looking for something, John straggling behind, slowing him down.

"You know, usually I wouldn't really mind watching you work, but now-" he was cut off as McKay pulled something from one of the crates, and boxes, "Someone brought bolt cutters to another galaxy?"

"Well there are many earth made things here, which at some point could require some form of cutting or other. What would you suggest we use?" He was trying, this was just one thought on a list of many. There wasn't much he could do because he didn't know what it was, or what it was made of, but it wasn't like the Major was offering any ideas up. 'How usual' he thought, 'he'll wait till the last minute to try and make himself look like the hero…'

Damn Sheppard and his touching things.

"I don't know, aren't there some ancient scissors lying around somewhere?" he shrugged, "No offense, I just don't think bolt cutters are going to do anything for us."

McKay stared blankly at him, "Ancient scissors? Well let's not knock it till we try it, ok Major?"

After nearly ten minutes without success, McKay dropped the bolt cutters and looked around the room. John, picked the cutters back up, placing them on the few spare inches between their hands, and then lifted a near by hammer. McKay tried to stop him, tell him was a stupid idea before he did it, that it didn't matter how pressure or force they applied to the cutters, the material was just too strong for it.

McKay wretched his hand away as John slammed the hammer down, the bolt cutters slipped off and snapped in half with the impact of the hammer.

"What the hell did you do that for? I could have hit one of our hands! What the hell is wrong with you?" Sheppard shouted.

What was wrong with him? Oh, where to begin…

"I was afraid you were going to miss."

"I don't miss. You got damn lucky there McKay, but don't ever, ever try something like that again." Rodney narrowed his eyes at the man, he hated be bossed around, especially when it came to technology matters.

'Friend, he's your friend.' He thought as he suppressed the urge to strike out. Violence would get them nowhere, and McKay couldn't very well hit the man and run for cover. He continued his scan of the room spotted what he hoped would work.

He moved over to it, a still sulking Major behind him, "A torch? You want to burn our hands off instead of getting them crushed?" he asked.

Rodney rolled his eyes, "It's…kind of a torch, there have been a few modifications. Think of it as a laser torch." At the Major's skeptical glance, he continued, "Relax, it's very precise, the aim is amazing."

After a few minutes of nothing happening, John took the torch and gave it a go. Again nothing happened; the metal didn't even get very hot.

"It must have some kind of buffering system." McKay said. John turned it off and threw it down on the table, "What are we two? We don't throw expensive, irreplaceable things." John rested his head on his free hand. He was as put out as McKay. Both men could stand to be around each other, which, frankly, surprised the hell out of McKay. Not because he could stand the Major, he didn't make it to difficult, he was a people person, but because the Major could stand to be around Rodney. But all in all, you know what they say about good things; only Rodney wasn't sure when this would come to end, because as far as he was concerned it was already enough.

"Look, lets just go back to my lab, let me run a few tests, see what this stuff is made of and I'll figure something out. Before lunch, so you're going to have to walk faster."

"Why before lunch?" Sheppard asked with a smile, "Afraid I'll steal your food?"

"Yes, something like that." His voice was a bit icy, and he didn't care for the tone he, himself had used, but if the Major was going to play children's games, Rodney would treat him as he would another child.

That makes one more thing to change; be nice to kids, even if they are dumb and annoying.

They'd made it about half way there before anyone stopped them, the stood shoulder to shoulder, trying to hid the predicament they'd gotten themselves into, because Ford would have a field day with it.

"Sir, I was talking to Teyla few minutes ago, she was wondering if you were gonna show up for that training session or not."

"What?" Sheppard asked, whipping his hand up to look at his watch. Unfortunately he wore his watch on his left, and currently bound wrist, and McKay's hand shot up with his. John missed it, but McKay, for the briefest second, found the Lieutenants face quite funny.

The young man's eyes widened, momentarily, and his brows came together, and his mouth opened. And then, what he did next McKay found very distasteful, he laughed. It was then that John realized what he'd done.

"Shut up Ford." He said lowering his hand.

"It's just…" he contained his laughter, but couldn't stop the toothy grin that spread across his face, "What are those, like, Ancient handcuffs? And of all people…"

"Yes, yes, you have a very keen eye Lieutenant, but unless you have anything of use to add, which I doubt, I really do need to do something."

"Is that something, holding the Major's hand?" Ford laughed. John shot him a disbelieving look, "Sorry Sir." He amended, standing straighter. McKay knew the news of this event would be all over base by dinner, if not lunch.

Ford continued, "Actually, one time, my cousin and I got into some trouble because we were fighting with each other a lot, so my Grandpa tied us together like that," he indicated their hands, "and wouldn't lets us apart until we got along."

"How'd you guys pee?" Sheppard asked after a moment.

McKay spun his head so hard; he thought he'd pulled something. Of all the things to be worried about, that was what John wanted to know?

Sometimes life seemed so hopeless. You could make all the advancements in technology, or human relations, or in anything, but these were the people you had to rely on to use and make sense of them.

"Is that really all you're worried about?" McKay asked.

"I don't know…should I be?" Sheppard retorted, raising an eyebrow. Ford snickered, still trying to hold his laughter back, but the smile he wore gave him away.

"Oh, oh, a gay joke, how cute. Could we just get on with it please?" Rodney started to move away.

"Ford, I'm warning you right now-"

"I'm done laughing Sir, I swear." He smiled innocently, "Should I tell Teyla to reschedule?"

Sheppard squinted at the man as he was being dragged away, he knew what was going to happen, "Yeah, and -" it was too late. No sooner had Ford heard the word 'yeah', before he trotted off down the hall, no doubt to find Teyla and tell her what he'd seen.

Or maybe he'd go to Elizabeth first. Rodney sure hoped not.


Wal-la. Hope you liked, please read and review! They're what keep me going! ;)