Ancient History
Chapter One: Cousin
By Ddoskocil
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This is a little fic I wrote because I wanted to see Carson end up with a girl. I would really like to hear what everyone thinks because, at the moment, I'm not sure about this story. I'll update on Sundays. Hope you enjoy.

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Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Sheppard strolled down the hall. "Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard," he repeated to himself for perhaps the hundredth time since his promotion. "Lieutenant-"

"Colonel Sheppard," his radio squawked.

"Sheppard here," he replied, beaming at the use of his newly acquired rank.

"Report to the brig." His smile flew from his face.

"What the hell?" he swore as he navigated through the halls of the Daedalus. The closer to the brig he got, the more his imagination ran wild. He pictured different scenarios in his head as he tried to think why he would be called to the brig. He did not think he was in any trouble, but he could not be sure. He prepared himself for the worst, but he still was not prepared for what he found when the door to the brig opened before him.

"Erika?"

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Captain Erika Sheppard sat with her back against the wall and her forearms resting on her knees. Her honey-brown eyes were closed. Except for the tapping of her boots, she might have been asleep. She heard the door slide open, but ignored it. She did not feel like another tongue lashing from Colonel Caldwell.

"Erika?" a familiar voice asked.

"Oh crap. This day just keeps getting better and better," she said dryly. She sighed deeply and opened her eyes to see John standing at the bars. He frowned at her.

"Long time no see, John," she said, a false smile plastered on her face. "How are ya doing?"

"What the hell are you doing here, Erika?"

"I punched someone," she replied.

"Not why you're in the-you punched someone?" Erika smiled at his confusion, enjoying it slightly. She was about to answer when the door slid open again and Colonel Caldwell waltzed in. Erika steadily got to her feet to stand with her hands behind her back. She looked straight ahead, refusing to look either man in the eye.

"Colonel," she said briskly. Caldwell nodded at her, but turned to John.

"Sheppard. Do you know what this is all about?" he asked as he gestured to Erika. John frowned. Erika dug her fingernails into her palms to keep silent. She glanced at John out of the corner of her eye, but quickly looked away as he turned to her.

"I have no idea, Sir." Erika shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"Captain," Caldwell said as he too turned to Erika. She quickly stopped herself from smirking when she noticed John mouthing the word, his face screwed in confusion. She cleared her throat to cover her laugh as she focused on Caldwell.

"I've already told you, Colonel, Dr. Weir has my orders," she replied wearily. She sighed softly, already sick of the turn in conversation. Caldwell interrogated her twice already about how she got on his ship.

"Dr. Weir?" John asked. "Why didn't I get your orders?"

"Dr. Weir runs the expedition on Atlantis, Sir," she replied carefully. "General O'Neill felt she should receive my orders."

"I'll get to the bottom of this," Caldwell said. He turned to John. "Sheppard." Erika rolled her eyes as he left. She shook her head when she heard him call Elizabeth over the radio. Then the door slid shut and she was alone with John.

"What is going on, Captain?" John asked with venom in his voice. She turned to him with a small sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"It's nice to see you again, too, Jonathon. Congrats on your promotion, by the way." She saw him grin and almost laughed, but caught herself at the last minute. She suddenly felt very relaxed in his presence, not worrying that she was a captain and he was a colonel. With a sigh, she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Erika," John sighed. He grasped the bars and pulled back on them. "What the hell are you doing here? And I don't mean in the brig, although we'll talk about that later."

She pursed her lips together and made a little smacking sound. Might as well hurry up and get it over with. "I've been working at the SGC for the last two years with Daniel-Dr. Jackson. I was picked to come with him, but when he couldn't make it, he told me to take over until he got here. General O'Neill thought it was a good idea. It's no big deal, John."

"It's no big deal? Erika, you joined the Air Force! What the hell were you thinking?"

"You joined the Air Force," she reminded him. "And then you just disappeared." Her voice was cold and her eyes hard, the relaxed mood suddenly vanished. She stared him down, daring him to say anything to the contrary. He looked away first as he rubbed the back of his neck. She snorted and shook her head as she pushed herself off the wall. She paced, her anger building with each step. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked, trying to burn off her frustration. The silence stretched on between them, accented by the tap of her boots against the metal floor.

"Who did you punch?" he asked suddenly. She stopped and looked at him over her shoulder. A small grin formed on her face and her eyes widened mischievously.

"Oh, that. He was just some doctor or something. To be honest, I wasn't really paying attention to his name." He raised an eyebrow. "It's not important who. He was spouting something about McKay being an incompetent ass. I said he wasn't incompetent, blah blah blah. He said it again. I punched him." She laughed a little, but stopped when John eyed her. "Anyway, Colonel Caldwell threw me in here to cool down. It's really no big deal. I'm sure Elizabeth will straighten everything out."

"Elizabeth?"

Before Erika could say anything else, the door slid open a third time. Caldwell and Elizabeth strolled through, arguing. "I have her orders right here, Colonel," Elizabeth was saying as she waved some papers in front of him.

"I don't care, Doctor," Caldwell snapped back. Elizabeth frowned but refused to back down.

"Colonel, General O'Neill himself gave her these orders. She's a part of my team and I will not stand by and let you treat her this way," she gestured to the cell. "I demand that she be released."

"She punched a civilian," Caldwell stated. John put a hand up to stop the argument.

"She had a good reason, Sir," he said evenly. "And I'm sure she's very sorry about it." All eyes turned to Erika. She raised an eyebrow at John. He made a face and she understood. Go with the flow if she wanted to get out of jail.

"Yes, Sir. I'm sorry I struck Dr. umwhat's-his-name."

"Kavanagh," John supplied.

"Yeah, that's it. Sorry." Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at her before she turned to John. Erika kept her eyes cast down at her boots. She did not look at anyone. She was afraid she would not be able to contain her laughter if she caught anyone's eye.

"See," Elizabeth said, not taking her eyes from John. Caldwell frowned. He looked at the three suspiciously but fished a key out of his pocket and opened the cell. Erika hesitated for a second before she calmly strolled from the cell.

"Colonel," she said to Caldwell. He just nodded to her and left, mumbling about being needed on the bridge. Elizabeth waited until the door slid shut behind Caldwell before she turned to John and Erika.

"Okay, what's going on?" she asked.

John looked at Erika then back to Elizabeth. "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

Again, all eyes were on Erika. She scuffed her boots against the floor and avoided looking at them. She felt very uncomfortable with both of them staring down at her.

"Erika?" Elizabeth drawled. The captain took a deep breath.

"Elizabeth, you've met Erika Sheppard, my cousin," John answered before Erika had a chance. She grimaced and groaned and put her head in her hands.

"Is this true?" Elizabeth asked.

"Of course it's true. What the hell is she doing here, Elizabeth?"

"Hey, I'm right here, John," Erika reminded him. "And I already told you why I'm here. I'm running the archeology department for Daniel." She glared at her cousin.

"Is this going to be a problem?" Elizabeth asked, concerned.

"No," Erika answered quickly. She kept her eyes on John. "We aren't really that close. As a matter of fact, I haven't seen him in twelve years. We hardly know each other." She saw him wince and felt a twinge of regret at her words. But the feeling faded as the anger returned. They were words he needed to hear. She stared at him for a few more seconds before turning away to Elizabeth.

"There won't be any problem, Elizabeth." Weir nodded in a knowing manner. She delicately lifted an eyebrow at them, but Erika could not read the hidden meaning behind it.

"Okay," the leader responded with a gentle smile. "But I want to know if it becomes a problem." They both nodded. Elizabeth smiled at them and left. Once more it was just John and Erika.

Erika stood with one hand on her hip and rubbed the back of her neck with the other. She looked around the room, anywhere but at John. The tension grew thicker in the room until finally John exploded.

"All right, Erika! What was that all about?"

"I have to go. Good to see you again, John." Erika opened the door, but he stopped her.

"Erika," he protested.

"Colonel," she replied stiffly. She met his eyes for a brief second before she pushed passed him.