The Puppet Master

Chapter Three - Minty Fresh

He forgot about any peace offering until much later. Spent the afternoon consulting Elizabeth and Bates on city security measures, then a couple being thrashed by Teyla in what passed for an Atlantis gym.

"You have not been practising," she scolded, putting her weapons back into the cloth sack she housed them in.

"You always say that," he retorted.

"And it is always true."

He pulled a face. "I tried asking Halling but he said it wouldn't be a fair fight. I thought his leg would have healed by now."

She smiled, and turned away, slow enough for him to see it.

"Hey! What? That's a lie. I knew it!" He pointed a finger at her. "What?"

She pressed her lips together, clearly trying to stifle a laugh. "I believe he is afraid of breaking you."

He was aware of his mouth opening and closing several times without emitting any sound. "Well," he managed, "perhaps you could tell Halling that I'm stronger than I look."

"One would hope," she replied, then turned her back on him before he could respond.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He followed her out into the corridor, and stood there whilst she purposefully ignored him. "Teyla!"

She picked up her pace, left him alone, muttering to himself. Decided to have a long talk with Halling the next time he was on the mainland.

It was only on the return trip to his quarters, flushed and dripping with sweat, that he remembered to drop in on the scientist.

Sat on a stool beside a lab bench, McKay turned upon his entrance and gave him a disgusted look. "I hope you're going to shower before you inflict yourself on anyone else."

Sheppard lifted one arm and sniffed cautiously. Pretty foul, he decided, but he wasn't going to give McKay credit and flashed him a grin. "Minty fresh."

The scientist muttered something under his breath which sounded a lot like 'gorilla,' then turned back to the bench. Sheppard grinned, and sauntered across to stand behind his friend's shoulder.

Scattered across the surface of the bench were various unfamiliar metal parts and a number of cut wires. At one corner was stacked a small pile of flat, hexagonal pieces of silver that seemed to Sheppard to be vaguely familiar.

"Isn't that the device we picked up yesterday?"

"What?" McKay picked up one of the squares and stared at it for a long moment. "Oh. Yes."

He viewed the jigsaw critically. "You going to be able to put that back together again?"

"Probably."

"Probably?" he joked. "I thought you could fix anything." And he dropped his hand onto McKay's shoulder.

Instantly McKay jerked away as though he'd been stung, recoiling, a shudder rolling through his body. "Don't touch me," the scientist snapped, his voice a harsh rasp.

Sheppard dropped his hand, trying to hide his shock. "Sorry –"

"Yes, well –" McKay paused, his voice returning to a shade of normal. "I don't want to share your bodily fluids, thank you." He wouldn't look at Sheppard, his gaze fixed on the lab bench, but knotted shoulders were visible beneath the regulation blue.

He tried to change the subject. "You've not forgotten movie night tonight, I hope? Teyla's choice, you can't miss that. And it's your turn to bring the snacks."

This time the scientist turned, and present Sheppard with a careful mask, a mock grimace and a roll of his eyes. Sheppard didn't buy it. "And where would you suggest I look? We ran out of popcorn months ago."

"And there's the challenge," he replied, failing to feel amused. He waited a moment but McKay turned back to the bench without another word. "Right. I'll see you later?"

"Mm-hmm," came back the non-committal response. "Shower first."

He threw a sloppy salute but it was a wasted effort. Walked slowly, laboriously to the door and then was out in the corridor without McKay having looked up.