A/N: I opened my e-mail earlier this evening. 31 messages, and almost every one was about this story! That's a record for me. I still hope to post a section each day, even though I still have no idea where this is going. Thanks so much to everyone who has read and/or reviewed. I love reading what you think, and using that to go in a completely different direction. grin
Caldwell rose to his feet, fists clenched, glaring at Kavanagh. The temptation to punch the man was almost overwhelming.
Kavanagh, in turn, stood up, revealing himself to be several inches taller than the soldier. He loomed over Caldwell with all the natural menace of a former schoolyard bully.
"Would you like to know the latest rumors, Colonel? They involve Doctor Weir and yourself," he said calmly.
Surprise quenched Caldwell's anger quickly. He had been flirting mildly with Weir, mainly as a tactic to put her off her guard and see how far he could charm her, but he thought he'd been subtle about it. Or perhaps the rumor mill here on Atlantis was simply starved for new gossip and possible romance was seen everywhere, regardless of evidence or likelihood.
He forced himself to be calm, thanked Kavanagh for his time with stiff politeness, and left quickly. He would have to revise his plan. The Daedalus was scheduled to leave the next day, so he didn't have much time.
He needed to back off, approach the situation dispassionately, from a soldier's viewpoint. He'd become too involved, too eager to find evidence and get Sheppard out of his way. There had to be a vulnerability somewhere that he could exploit, just one person who knew something. And someone had to know something. It just wasn't possible to keep an affair a secret; not in a small, enclosed society like Atlantis, not between two people so much in the public eye as Sheppard and McKay. But the people closest to them, the people who would know, were all ridiculously, blindly loyal to them. He would have to resort to intimidation to learn what he wanted to know.
He ran down a mental list of candidates in his mind, quickly realizing that his best bet was probably with the scientific community. The military people would be either implacably loyal to Sheppard or cling to the 'don't ask, don't tell' rule. The scientists, however, were bound by no such rule, and McKay had a reputation for antagonizing even those who liked him. There was, however, no way to tell who might be willing to talk, or who might have solid evidence.
Inspiration hit him like a bullet from a .357 Magnum. There were really only two people, in all of Atlantis, who would know, beyond all doubt, what Sheppard and McKay were doing to each other. One of them had already proven himself impossible to intimidate. The other…well, McKay had shown himself to be a competent man in a crisis, but he'd seen the fear in his eyes, on his face. Every emotion, every thought, showed plain as day on that face, and Caldwell would have instant confirmation of his suspicions as soon he confronted McKay. He had little doubt that McKay could be either physically intimidated, or threatened with the recall of his precious Lieutenant Colonel back to Earth for an investigation. Better yet, he could approach the scientist as a friend, concerned for Sheppard's career, and induce him to spill everything without any hint of duress.