A/N: I used Markham instead of Stackhouse, because I don't know if Stackhouse has the gene, I don't think I've ever seen him in the pilot's seat.
Workday Wonders: Chapter Six
McKay thought sleeping next to the Major would be difficult, he completely forgot that in the morning he'd really want to take a shower. He wasn't quite sure how that would work. Would they stand with their offending hand held out, beyond the curtain?
He woke, much to his own dismay, with his arm over the Major's slowly rising chest. He was breathing deep, signifying that he was still in the thralls of sleep.
McKay let out a sigh of relief; John couldn't hound him about it if he didn't know it had happened. McKay moved over, and off the man next to him, he spared a glance at his right hand, it was still bound in the ancient device. It looked like he wasn't going to get out of going off world. He really didn't see why John wanted to go back to that planet anyway.
He used his free hand to push himself up, and then grabbed the papers from the table next to the bed. He'd been looking over these all day yesterday, and no solution had made itself known. It was times like this he wished he wasn't the one everyone depended on; he wanted someone he could to run to and demand they come up with the answer; it's what happened to him all the time.
He laid the papers on his lap, and pushed the air from his lungs with frustration. It shouldn't be this hard. They should have been able to think it off, most Ancient technology ran on thoughts, and what didn't was still worked with push buttons, something this cylindrical device conveniently lacked.
So if the answer wasn't buttons or thoughts, then what?
The question had been plaguing him for the entire day before, and would continue to until he could figure it out. It just didn't make any sense, and he hated it. He hated not knowing, he couldn't function or help if he didn't know what was going on.
He turned the laptop to face him and he began going through the energy readings that were recorded during the night. He'd let it run the whole night through, and hopefully something would show up.
There was movement to his side and he turned to see Sheppard rubbing his eyes. "Ugh…" he moaned, McKay wondered if the Major were a morning person. He'd never seemed really grumpy in the mornings, "McKay…I didn't think you'd ever get off me."
"What?" he squeaked.
"Do you have a teddy bear or something in your room? You must, cause people don't just up and hold on to things like that over night." He rubbed his stomach. McKay was hungry too, and they were going on a mission today, so food was something they would have to do soon.
"I don't have any stupid teddy bears." In truth he really didn't. No one had ever given him any kind of stuffed toy, and he wasn't sure he'd have wanted them anyway; he was much more interested in the scientific even when he was a child.
John ran a hand through his hair, and grimaced. It felt slick, almost greasy, "I'm going to have to wash my hair, at the very least. I can't go out to another planet feeling dirty."
"What's the matter Major, afraid the local girls wont fall in love with you?"
"Just get out of my bed."
They walked to the bathroom, and toward what they had decided was the Ancient's equivalent of a sink. McKay looked at himself and the Major. They couldn't very well change clothes, unless they wanted to cut their shirts off, and that was a dumb move considering the limited number of clothes they had. His blue shirt contrasted sharply with the Major's black one, but at least they could change their pants and underwear.
John turned the water on and leaned his head down, and splashed the cool water onto his face, then moved over so McKay could do the same thing. McKay had to hand it to the guy; he was a good man, sometimes too good. McKay didn't understand, but he wasn't raised to really understand either. He was raised to be his own best friend. He wondered what John's family life had been like. Were his parents real parents? Did they care for him, and nurture his spirit?
McKay moved away from the sink, and John went back and lowered his whole head into the stream of liquid this time, using his free hand to make sure his entire head was exposed to the water.
"Can you hand me the shampoo?"
McKay turned in a small circle; the bathroom was obviously not a place the Ancient's visited often. They were quite small, just enough room for a sink and tub/shower of sorts. He picked up a white bottle and read the label.
"Pantene Pro-V? Isn't that a girl shampoo?"
The Major huffed, and grabbed the bottle from his hand, "Some of us actually care about our hair." He said with a smile. Rodney raked his fingers over his head. Male pattern baldness ran in the family, it wasn't his fault his hair line was running away from his face.
An hour, two sets of clean pants and underwear, two coffees and a quick breakfast later, they entered into the briefing room. They sat down and Sheppard smiled at everyone like nothing unusual was happening, and Rodney sat his laptop on the table before him. If they couldn't leave the jumper than he planed to spend every second looking at the information he had. Even if he didn't know where to start, he knew not looking would get him nowhere even faster. Things don't just fall out of the sky to make it all better.
At the head of the table sat Elizabeth. Teyla and Ford were to her left, Markham to her right.
"I don't think I have to remind anyone that is specifically a mission to pick up food. Please, don't do anything to irritate the natives. Rodney, Major, I expect you two to keep to your words, and stay in the jumper."
"Sure thing." John told her with a smile. Rodney glared at him; did he always have to be so damn suave?
"Ok, then bring us back something good." She smiled, "Dismissed."
Everyone stood, and filed out of the room, save Sheppard and McKay. John wrapped his fingers around his P-90, while he hadn't been able don a vest, he insisted he have his gun. Military types, if they weren't capable of killing something then they didn't feel alive.
McKay felt dumb for making fun of him, he too had still latched his side arm to his leg, and he'd found another bag to carry his gear.
"You two be safe. I don't want to hear you were being pests. Or that you left the jumper."
"Dr. Weir, you wound me." Elizabeth raised her eyebrow at John; McKay rolled his eyes, but was inclined to agree. Did she really think Sheppard would be able to do anything that Rodney didn't want to do?
"Please Elizabeth. I have no intention of letting this beast have anything his way today." McKay said, hoping to disperse her worries.
"I believe you, but he can be very persuasive."
"Hi, names Rodney McKay. Pain the ass, stubborn, annoying, will get his way if it kills him, it's a pleasure to meet you." He extended his hand, like he was about to shake her hand. Elizabeth smiled, and it was John's turn to roll his eyes, "Besides, I'm not a woman, his charms definitely wont work on me."
"Let's go McKay; they're probably waiting for us."
Everyone that wasn't stuck to another human being sat in the front of the puddle jumper, leaving Sheppard and McKay alone in the back compartment. They were at their destination in an instant, one of the awesome benefits of 'Gate travel.
John and Rodney stood the doorway connecting the front and back portions of the ship. When Sheppard had first come to this planet, McKay had stayed behind, working with Zelenka, feeling food negotiation to be below him, and now he realized why the Major had wanted so much to come back.
They left the Stargate, flying up and over the tree tops. The 'Gate was high on a mountain top, and as they flew out over the edge of the mountain the view stunned Rodney. He'd never been an outdoorsy person. The athletes were outside, along with God knows what pollens, and bees. Bees that could kill him. But this place was amazing.
He gazed through the window, in silent shock, while the Major let out a contented breath.
Sunlight streamed through the front window, illuminating everything. They were above a valley now, green cascaded over it. It was lined on two sides by deep gray, forest lined mountains, another side opened into wide plains, dotted with villages. On the fourth side McKay could just make out the water. The ocean pounded on the shores, spraying salt over the nearby grounds, and tossing the trees in the wind. A single river cut through the valley, its origin hidden in the forest at the base of the mountains, and emptied into the ocean. From the forest came, what McKay assumed would be rather large creatures running wild after the river.
He wished he had a camera, thank God for his photographic memory.
They set down near a village, in an open field. It wasn't something McKay was comfortable with, not that he totally expected something bad to happen, but if it did, they were out in the open, sitting ducks. They might as well paint a bulls-eye on the jumper.
"Why are we landing here?" he asked.
"Well, because it's only going to be, Teyla, Markham and me carrying the food. We don't want to have to walk a mile." Ford said, standing at the rear of the jumper, waiting for the door to lower completely.
"And if the Wraith show up? I mean, we could die because you three are too lazy to walk a mile!" he said. Ford stood taller, trying to loom over him. He opened his mouth to take a shot at McKay, but Sheppard waved him off. The young Lieutenant glared at McKay, and walked down the ramp.
He shouldn't have called him lazy. Ford worked hard, and wouldn't let anything happen to them. At least not to the Major and for the first time Rodney was glad to be stuck to the man.
He really needed to make an effort to be nice to Aiden, he was young, and probably not in need of parents, but McKay wanted to show himself, as much as anyone else that he wouldn't be like his parents. He wanted to be able to support people instead of just making them feel insignificant.
"We have no reason to believe the Wraith will come." Teyla said, offering comfort.
"We'll be fine Teyla, you guys go have fun." Sheppard told her.
She joined Ford at the bottom of the ramp, Markham behind her. A nod from Ford was all they got before the group headed toward the village.
"What are these guys getting in return for their food anyway?" McKay asked, reaching for his bag.
"The usual, some med supplies, some info on the Wraith, and I think they wanted us to help rebuild damaged homes."
"Oh." McKay removed his laptop from his bag. He still hadn't begun to go through the readings from the night before, and every passing second meant he'd have more to look at. "So now that we'll be sitting here until their done, what did you have planned to do?"
He shrugged, leaned back, and tilted his head to see the computer screen.
McKay leaned over the computer, and turned it away from John. It wasn't that he didn't want him to know what was going on; he just hated having people look over his shoulder. It made him nervous, and then he would start to feel like he should have an answer by now, and if he didn't then he was stupid. He knew being labeled stupid, the kind of stupid that meant you were incompetent, was likely never to happen. But the other kind, the kind that said you let people the people who counted on you down, and they thought you were good at what you do…that was different. That was something he'd heard many times, often from his own mouth.
He looked at the screen, and something caught his eye. He straightened up, this could be promising. It looked like at some point early last night; there had been a slight decrease in the energy out put of the device.
He scrolled back the screen to see what time it was when this had occurred.
10:56 PM.
Where were they at ten fifty-six last night? He thought back…
They were in bed already. Was it unconsciousness that had done it, did they need to sleep to get it off? No, that didn't make any sense. Wouldn't it have been off by now if that had been the case?
"I have to pee." Sheppard said.
"What?" McKay said, he was on the verge of knowing something and he was going to have to walk Sheppard to the bathroom? Again?
"Come on, the woods are just over there, we can do a little looking around. Twenty minutes tops."
"What about what Elizabeth said?"
"She didn't say we had to hold it in." he stood, taking McKay's hand with him, "I can go right here, it wont bother me." McKay wasn't sure if he was lying or not, he was sure Sheppard would never…well, go number one, or two for that matter, in a puddle jumper, let alone in front of McKay. But he didn't want to risk it.
"Fine, fine." He sat his laptop down, and walked off the ship with John. John contacted Ford to let them know what was going on, in case the three made it back with the first of the load, before he and McKay did.
Rodney already felt like he should regret the choice. They walked into the woods and disappeared.
Ok, well, more later. Got to go now, it's my Grandma's birthday. R and R please!
