A/N: Wow! 13 reviews in less than 24 hours – it's a record for me! Thanks everyone for encouraging me and reading and reviewing. Gosh, I hope the rest of it lives up to expectation! It's going to be absurd… and shippy.
Chapter Two
Before she knew what she was doing, Elizabeth had scrambled up the handholds on the wall, was peeling the cover from the ventilation shaft, and squeezing herself into the metal-lined duct.
Shuffling along on her elbows, her only thought was to take a quick peek into the lab, and confirm her non-suspicions before she went crazy with jealousy and infuriation at her feelings for the Chief Scientist.
A little breathless, and somewhat dusty (so that's where all the dust went…) she reached the grille that opened into the roof space of Lab 1. Not daring to breathe, Elizabeth carefully held the grille with the fingers of one hand, whilst she pushed it out with the other. As it fell out, she managed to keep hold of it to stop it from tumbling down into the room, and she released her breath with a puff of relief.
She carefully manoeuvred the grille to enable her to draw it back into the duct, and she tucked it to one side. Crawling a little further, she peered down into the lab.
Elizabeth's eyes narrowed as she spotted the pair of scientists. It was partly annoyance, as they were right on the other side of the space, and she certainly couldn't hear what they were saying. She felt she didn't have to hear, though… it seemed perfectly plain that they were standing very close to each other. Rodney and Miko. In the Lab. Alone. Well, apart from the Leader of Atlantis hanging out of a ventilation shaft…
She watched Rodney bend his head low. Miko was looking down… something wasn't quite… what were they doing? They must be both looking closely at something, perhaps he was holding it, or her.
They're just too damned far away.
Oh…Look.
Inspection catwalk.
Oh…
No.
Silly.
A/N: Yes, Elizabeth. Very silly. Absurd, actually.
