Carson stared disgustedly at John's back as the Major hurried out of the infirmary. "Coward," he thought. As soon as the man realized that Pete was missing and that Elizabeth might find out, he'd found a lame excuse and conveniently vanished. Carson shook his head. Both leaders could be bloody idiots at times. Anyone with half a brain (with the possible exception of Rodney, whose social skills could rival those of a sea slug) could see that John and Elizabeth were attracted to each other. The only ones who weren't aware were the individuals in question. Though, considering the prospect of Elizabeth Weir discovering a mischievous alien puppy doing God-knows-what, perhaps John's disappearing act wasn't such a bad idea.
Carson turned to Jinto. "All right. We've got to find your little buddy quickly, before he gets into trouble. Any ideas where he might have gone?"
At that moment, Jinto's stomach rumbled. He was hungry, having not eaten anything since before leaving the mainland. The same thought occurred to the man and the boy at the same time, and they headed towards the mess hall.
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Pete couldn't believe his incredible good luck. After sneaking out of the infirmary, he had wandered down the long halls and quickly lost track of the twists and turns he had taken. But he was too distracted by what he had found to mind very much.
Pete was standing in the corner of a large room that smelled like food. Although there were many of the large, two-legged creatures, none had noticed him yet. Most were sitting at long tables, but a few were standing by a counter that was the source of the tantalizing odors.
The puppy was hungry. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten, and his belly hurt! Surely no one would mind if he took just a tiny snack. But just to be sure, he would try not to let anyone see him.
Pete began to move towards the counter with the food. As he passed under the tables, he could hear fragments of conversations.
"... Athosian women are pretty hot... What? There's no harm in just looking."
"... kind of a hardass, but nothing like Sumner..."
"... McKay is such a jerk. Just for once I'd like to win an argument with him."
"Yeah. Or if not, then to glue his mouth shut..."
The floor under most of the tables was pretty clean, but Pete was able to grab a few scraps. This only whetted his appetite, but fortunately he was approaching his goal. He squirmed into a corner between the counter and the wall and found himself staring out at a pair of shoes. Their owner was saying, in a whiny voice, "What do you mean you're out of beef stew?"
"I'm sorry, Dr. Kavanagh. You should have come earlier."
"Don't you tell me what I should have done! You should have been keeping track of the supply."
The server shrugged. "We've still got these root veggies."
Pete wondered what root veggies were. Maybe something like that plant thing over there? He edged out to get a closer look.
"Jesus Christ!" yelled the whiny voice as the pair of shoes jumped back. Pete looked up to see that the pair of shoes were connected to a pair of legs, which in turn were connected to a large body covered by a white coat. A face surrounded by hair pulled back in a pony-tail glared down at him.
Pete yelped loudly, his tail tucked between his legs. He darted around the shoes and headed for a door at the rear of the kitchen, stopping only to grab the "root veggie" in his mouth.
"What the hell?" gasped the server.
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As they approached the mess hall, Carson and Jinto could hear the commotion inside. "I think we're too late, lad." Carson whispered. The two of them peeked into the room. A crowd was gathered next to the serving counter. To Carson's disgust, Kavanagh was in the middle of it.
"I don't know what it was!" Kavanagh snapped. "Looked like some kind of rat."
"Actually, I thought it looked more like a dog," put in the young man who had been serving food, earning a look of contempt from the pony-tailed scientist.
A woman's voice spoke up. It took Carson a moment to place it as Dr. Simpson's. "I saw it, too. It was definitely a dog." It was now her turn to glare. "I can't believe you kicked a little puppy!"
"Hey, I didn't kick it!" Kavanagh held up his hands, aware of the hostility now being directed at him.
"That's only because it moved too fast for your foot to actually connect with it!" retorted Simpson. Realizing that they had just missed finding their wayward pup, Carson and Jinto backed away, leaving Kavanagh to his well-earned trouble.
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Pete padded cheerfully down another of the endless corridors. Although he had not been physically injured by the mean two-legged thing, his feelings had been hurt. But he felt better now that he had tracked the man's scent to where he lived. Revenge was sweet! Now he was ready to continue exploring.
Pete made his way to a truly cavernous room. Several large, rectangular boxes lay around the room, one of which looked like it had partially exploded. Wires were springing out of one entire wall, and many strange pieces of metal lay next to it.
Another of the two-legged ones was lying half in, half out of the box. He wore round, shiny things over his eyes, and the fur on the top of his head seemed to have a mind of its own. Right now, he was making odd noises that Pete could not completely understand.
"Yes, McKay, I am trying to repair the jumper. No, I don't need your help at the moment." There was a pause, then, "It's Zelenka! Z-E-L-E-N-K-A! Pitomec! You are not only one with technical skill. You are, however, only one without social skill." There was another pause, during which Pete could faintly hear another voice yelling. Then the first voice said, "Enough. I will not break your precious jumpers. Go back to doing... whatever it is you do to justify your existence."
Before Pete could hide, the man stood up and caught sight of him. "My God! I don't believe it. A dog!" He moved to pet Pete, who jumped back. "Don't worry, little one. I'm not going to hurt you." The man crouched down and extended his hand. After a moment, Pete cautiously crept forward to sniff at it. Deciding the man could be trusted, he gave the fingers a quick lick.
The man, whose name apparently was Z-E-L-E-N-K-A, grinned and reached out again to pet him. "I did not think to ever see puppy again. You are very cute, yes? All the women will love you. I wonder if Dr. Weir likes dogs," he mused, running his hand along Pete's back. Then Zelenka stopped suddenly and said, "Hmm... I've heard that dogs make great -- how you call it -- 'chick magnets'." Pete didn't know what a chick magnet was, but he decided he didn't like it because it made the man stop petting him. The dog gave an impatient huff and butted Zelenka's hand to make him continue.
"There you are!" came a familiar shout. Uh-oh. That was his friend Jinto, but Pete wasn't ready to end his exploring yet. He darted away from the approaching footsteps and ran towards an exit on the opposite side of the room.
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"Bugger!" swore Carson as they watched the dog vanish into the distance. They had been so close to catching Pete ("the bloody mutt", as the Scot was beginning to think of him). The longer this took, the more likely it was that Elizabeth would find out before they apprehended him.
Carson looked up to the sound of Zelenka clearing his throat. The Czech engineer looked gleeful. "Friend of yours?" he asked. Carson didn't even bother to dignify that with a response. "Or maybe that is a patient."
"Radek..." the physician growled.
"I have heard you threaten Major Sheppard to get him to behave, but I did not think you would try a cross-species transformation to turn him into German Sheppard. Truly, you are talented geneticist."
A chill crept into the Scottish brogue. "You know, I've been hearing that there's a thrivin' black market in alcohol around here. I'm sure folks would be upset if we found the source and shut it down."
"Ah, yes." said Zelenka. "That would be a pity. It would also be difficult for your staff, having so many people go into withdrawal." But Carson noted that Zelenka stopped the smartass remarks. "So what is the reason for your little friend's visit?"
Carson gestured to Jinto, who explained the day's events thus far. Although Zelenka managed to keep a straight face, it was not without difficulty. Carson said, "Son, I'd appreciate it if you kept this under your hat, so to speak. It wouldn't do to have people panicking about an animal from outer space."
"Of course not," said Zelenka solemnly as the unlikely pair followed Pete out of the jumper bay. Then he snickered. "We also would not want this information to fall into wrong hands." He couldn't wait to hear what happened when Dr. Weir did learn about their new mascot.
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Pete was beginning to feel tired now and his leg was hurting. The puppy was still at an age where he needed frequent naps. He'd eaten and wandered around much of the inhabited parts of the city. But he wished he had paid more attention to where he was going, since now he wanted to go back to the place where his leg had been fixed.
Not knowing what else to do, he pushed onward. Something or someone would surely come along to help him. But the more he walked, the more that the halls began looking like each other. He whimpered softly to himself.
At last he came to the widest doorway he'd ever seen. Pete decided that, no matter what he found inside, he would also find a place to take a nap.
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Elizabeth Weir turned to Peter Grodin. "Did he just say weather forecasting?" Grodin shrugged. Unbeknownst to either of them, they were being watched. It was a predator that hid in the shadows. A predator that crept on all fours. A predator that... panted and slowly wagged his tail.
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After passing through the door to the Gate room, Pete had quickly been overwhelmed by all the sensory inputs. He'd found himself on a balcony surrounded by consoles covered with hundreds of tiny blinking lights. Everything overlooked a giant ring embedded in the floor. He didn't know what to make of any of it. He was used to trees and grass and the flowing stream outside their camp. Although he'd enjoyed himself today, he was ready to go home.
Pete watched the tall two-legged creature dressed in grey. She radiated an air of quiet strength, like the alpha of a pack. Maybe she would be able to help him. But when she showed no signs of even noticing him, he decided he couldn't make it any further without napping a little. He crawled towards a dark room situated off to the side, jumped into a comfortable chair, and promptly fell asleep.
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"Say again, Major Sheppard?" Grodin asked into the radio. He was greeted only by static, and shook his head. "There seems to be atmospheric interference blocking their signal. We can try again in a little while to see if it's cleared."
"Thanks. I'll be in my office until then." Elizabeth began walking, then stopped and looked back. "Have you heard anything about the rumors of something loose on the base? I've heard everything from a rat to a baby kangaroo."
Grodin smirked. "I've heard some, but since most seem to involve Dr. Kavanagh, I didn't put much stock in them."
Elizabeth said in mock reproach, "Be nice, Peter!" Ignoring his muttered "why?", she entered her office, then started to laugh. "You've got to see this!"
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Carson and Jinto entered the Gate room and approached Elizabeth's office. They'd given up trying to find Pete on their own. It was time to bite the bullet, face Dr. Weir, and take it like men. They were prepared for a dressing down, so they definitely did not expect what they found instead.
Elizabeth was sitting on the floor, lightly stroking a sleepy Pete. Pete had rolled over on his back to allow Elizabeth to give him a belly rub. Both of them appeared very relaxed, which was something Carson hadn't seen in Elizabeth for a long time. If he'd known this would help, he would have shanghaied Pete much sooner.
Elizabeth looked up to see Carson and Jinto watching her. Jinto looked surprised, but Carson had a gentle smile on his face. Carson whispered, "Elizabeth, meet Pete. Pete, meet Elizabeth."
She looked up and put a finger to her lips, "Ssh, he's almost completely out." As if in agreement, Pete gave a sleepy-sounding "Wurf?"
The three humans quietly crept out of the office. Once outside, Carson told her, "Pete is Jinto's dog from the mainland. Jinto asked me to treat a cut on his leg."
"He's adorable! But how did he manage to get into my office?" Elizabeth watched as Carson and Jinto looked at each other. "Let me guess, it's a long story."
"Very."
"You can tell me later. Anyway, John and Teyla should be back from their scouting trip in a little while. We'll meet in the briefing room when they get here." She laughed to herself at Carson's and Jinto's almost identical expressions of relief. Did they think that she was going to get mad?
TBC
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A/N
Come on, you didn't really think that Elizabeth was going to bite their heads off? She's gotta miss her dog, Sedge. :-)
Many thanks to those of you who reviewed. Please keep it coming! I live on this stuff.
gatelover313, kippling croft, Rhin Ariel, nebbyj, PurpleYin: Isn't he cute? I based him partly on my own dog when she was a pup.
nebbyj: I really loved reading James Herriot's books. My favorite is James Herriot's "Dog Stories", appropriately enough.
rogue1503: Since the Athosians are farmers, I also would have thought they'd show some of the animals. So I decided to do it myself!
Merlin71, Belisse, Out of Phase, potterfan: Thanks! I'm having a lot of fun writing this. It definitely helped pass the time in the airport yesterday when I missed two connecting flights due to delay...
Emma: I'm also trying to figure out where this is going. :grins: This is going to be slightly AU, since Carson isn't on the mainland "innoculating wee babies." But it will also be a closer look at our heroes during the events of these episodes
jennamagig: I'd love to see your happy dance! ;-) Anyway, glad you like. I was definitely going for cute when I wrote Carson's scenes with Pete.
All right everyone, fun's over. The whumping begins next chapter!