Chapter 3:

A/N: Ok, I guess I'm ducking tomatoes and other things. Other than writing a couple cliffhangers, I have been good this year, so there is a certain individual or two I wouldn't mind finding under my tree. What? No? C'mon I'll be good next year.

Thanks to Dr. Dredd for a couple ideas I expanded on. Great minds think alike?

It took several minutes for the noise to die down again. "Now what you've all been waiting for, the person occupying my office tomorrow will be…" A hush fell over the mess hall. Dr. Weir looked at the slip of paper, then at the waiting faces, trying to stretch the moment out as much as possible. When she sensed the crowd was ready to mutiny, she announced, "Dr. Radek Zelenka." More than one person let out the breath they had unconsciously been holding and started cheering. Zelenka looked a little surprised at the reception he was getting. He kept pushing his glasses up on his nose and looking around, not quite sure what to make of the situation.

"Great. Just great," muttered Rodney. "How an I supposed to maintain order in the lab after tomorrow? Once Zelenka and Kusanagi get a taste of power, they'll be questioning my every calculation, every decision."

"Maybe you'll get to see what they're truly capable of," said Sheppard good-naturedly, attempting to calm down the dethroned science head, He himself was secretly looking for to a day out of the line of fire, although he was afraid his 'closet geekiness' would get outed.

Rodney, however, refused to be placated. "Can't I swap with someone, I mean come on, the infirmary?"

"I'll see you tomorrow," smirked Ronon, sealing the deal.

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Dr. Weir, clutching her mug of coffee, hurried towards her office, momentarily forgetting it was not her office today. Oh well, if anyone asked, she could always blame it on breakfast. Who knew until today that Dr. Simpson had spent a year in culinary school? Although the omelet could have used more onions, she mused. "I will definitely have to get 'complete' resumes from everyone." Dr. Weir was so lost in thought she almost tripped over Colonel Sheppard sprawled out on the floor, head under one of the consoles in the Gate room. Miko Kusanagi was standing nearby looking at the readout on a laptop. Dr. Weir had always found her shy, but intense. Today, however, she appeared to be quite animated and clearly relishing her position.

"Uh Dr. Kusanagi, are you sure there's something wrong here? Everything looks fine here." Colonel Sheppard poked his head out for a moment, his hair messier than usual.

"Looks fine, here too," Miko whispered to the female tech standing next to her. Dr. Weir felt a slight twinge of jealousy. Miko was getting to do what Elizabeth always secretly wanted to do: order John Sheppard around. She took some comfort from the slightly disappointed look on Miko's face; Sheppard was her second choice. "Check again. I'm not sure if the crystals are properly aligned." Sheppard ducked his head back under. Well, Elizabeth was going to enjoy this while she could, she'd drawn 'Gate room' as an assignment.

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The infirmary was full of action, mostly the flinching kind. Kavanaugh sat on one of the beds holding a bleeding finger. Apparently he'd been assigned to the kitchen and had been chopping onions for the omelet until he missed, nearly taking off his finger in the process, and clearly required stitches. Now he was alternating between glaring at the 'medical personnel' and howling with pain, most of which ended when Ronon glared back. Rodney himself was squirming at the sight of all the blood, trying not to look, but unable to look away. Carson's 2IC quickly stepped in, this was clearly something for trained medical personnel, but stopped when Dr. Karsch, one of the engineers, laid a hand on his arm.

"I think I can handle this," he said softly with a thick German accent. Rodney nearly fainted

"What?" sputtered Kavanaugh, who was about to protest the obvious malpractice, when a look from Ronon stopped him midwhine. The look said, 'A real man would have stitched up the wound himself, even if he'd have to fashion the sutures himself.'

Dr. Karsch quickly irrigated the wound and injected lidocaine. Kavanaugh didn't even protest after another look from Ronon, which said, 'Anesthetic? For a tiny cut? You heard what Dr. Beckett took out of my back, and I didn't need it.' The wound was quickly sutured, and even Carson would have been proud of the job the engineer did.

"How? Where?" asked Carson's 2IC.

"Mandatory service. Every man had to spend a year in the military after high school in Germany. I was a conscientious objector and spent two years in civil defense as an EMT. Learned all sorts of things, never thought I'd put them to use, until today."

Yes, today was going to be an interesting day.

TBC

A/N: Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Carson and Lorne. There will be more.