Fortunately, McKay had not eaten all the food. He was too busy pestering the chef about whether he could have blue jello for dessert at lunch time instead of red. The chef rolled his eyes and said through gritted teeth that he'd see what he could do.
John smirked, sympathising with the chef, and poured himself a cup of coffee. Rodney McKay, the head scientist, was an irritating guy at the best of times. Sheppard picked up his tray and followed Teyla through the almost-empty room to a table out on the sun-lit balcony. He breathed in the ocean air and looked out over the city of Atlantis, which was slowly awakening after another night. Never before had John Sheppard felt more at home than when in the city. Even when he returned to Earth on the battle cruiser Daedalus, he always found himself desperate to return to the city of the Ancients. It seemed to have that effect on everyone, but this was of no surprise to John. The city was truly remarkable, for it was not just a city, it was also a spaceship. A spaceship that until almost two years ago, had lain on the ocean floor for 10,000 years, after being submerged by its creators. The Ancients – the builders of the stargates, had been forced to sink and abandon Atlantis due to the increasing threat of the Wraith. The Ancients had then returned to Earth through the stargate, and so the city had remained untouched for 100 centuries, until a group of people from Earth managed to re-establish the wormhole from Earth to Atlantis and set up home.
However, it was not all plain sailing. As soon as the team arrived, they discovered that the shield holding back the ocean was about to fail. As evacuation plans were put into place, the city suddenly experienced a full shield failure. But thanks to a fail-safe system put in place by a resourceful Ancient, the mechanism holding the city to the ocean floor shut down, and Atlantis began to rise until it came to rest on the surface of the water. And so it has remained since then, an amazing spectacle for anyone with an aerial view – an entire city in the middle of the ocean.
John exhaled and sat down, taking a sip of coffee.
"Better?" asked Teyla.
"Mmm." John replied, inhaling the strong aroma. "I'm not gonna be able to walk for days though" he added with a smile. "I don't think I have any more muscles left to pull."
"Perhaps tomorrow we should spend more time warming up." She replied. "We need to make you more….flexible." John raised his eyebrows. "How else will you manage high kicks?" Teyla added, ignoring his response.
"What sort of warm up did you have in mind?" asked John innocently.
"Oh, I believe a 30 minute run should suffice." She said, smiling at the look of disgust John was suddenly giving her. "If we start early, we are unlikely to get in anyone's way."
"Define 'early'", he replied cautiously.
"How does 5 o'clock sound?"
"Oh, perfect." John said sarcastically. "I can't wait."
"Good morning Colonel, Teyla" said the familiar voice of one Rodney McKay, who had appeared behind Teyla holding a cup of coffee.
John looked up and nodded, Teyla returned the greeting. "A bit early for you, isn't it Colonel?" Rodney directed at John with raised eyebrows.
"Colonel Sheppard and I have been training." Teyla replied, ignoring the dirty look John was giving Rodney, cutting him off from the sarcastic response he was about to give the scientist.
"Hmm. Really."
"Yeah", John said, surprisingly cheerfully. "In fact, we were planning on going for a half-hour run tomorrow morning. Why don't you join us?" Teyla looked at him questioningly, wondering what he was up to. "You could bring Lieutenant Cadman, I've heard she likes a good morning run." John winked at Teyla.
"Oh yes, ha ha. That's very witty, colonel. My sides are splitting." Rodney said trying not to show how awkward he suddenly felt, as he recalled the memory of having Laura Cadman's mind trapped in his body after an encounter with a Wraith device. She had found ways of manipulating the scientist's body when he was asleep, including going for an un-Rodney-like jog resulting in several pulled leg muscles, as well as many more experiences too embarrassing to mention.
"Anyway, I couldn't if I wanted to." McKay added. "I have things to do."
"Oh. That's a shame." John replied, unconvincingly. "Maybe another time."
"Hmm. Maybe. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to um… I have things to do."
"Please, do not let us keep you if you are busy", Teyla said, relieved that the sarcastic exchanges were coming to an end. The pair had been known to go on for much longer.
"Yes, of course, uh, thank you Teyla." said the scientist, taking a last swig of coffee and walking towards the door, placing his mug on the counter as he left.
"You really cannot help yourself, can you?" Teyla asked John, who was just finishing his own cup of coffee.
"What? It's just a bit of fun. Besides, it's McKay. He needs to lighten up."
"Perhaps. But you know, you are not as dissimilar as you think." She replied with a slight gleam in her eye, as she rose from the table.
"You have got to be kidding me. No way am I like that guy. I'm not all…" He waved his arms about. "Neurotic." John finished with a decisive nod.
"Hmm. Well, if you'll excuse me colonel, I promised Halling that I would visit the mainland today. I have not seen my people in some time."
"Sure, d'you want me to fly you out in a Jumper?"
"No, I will be alright. Dr. Beckett has already said he will take me, he has some medical examinations to perform anyway." She said. "But thank you for the offer."
"Okay, well, I'll uh… I'll see you later then."
Teyla nodded, and started to follow McKay out of the door.
"Be careful!" John called after her. "You know what Carson's flying's like." He grinned.
Teyla turned to face him. "He is improving" she replied with a smile, before continuing out the door, placing her tray next to Rodney's mug as she went.
'Yeah, but "improving" isn't always good enough.' He said to himself as he watched her go.
Suddenly, John's radio crackled.
"Colonel Sheppard?" said a familiar voice on the other end.
John tapped his receiver. "What is it, Lorne?" He replied to the small microphone attached to his earpiece.
"Uh, you might wanna come deal with this sir." He said, sounding exasperated. We're in the Jumper bay. I'd be grateful for some…assistance, sir." John could hear raised voices in the background.
"On my way, Major." John sighed. He got up and placed his tray on top of Teyla's, before making his way out the door. He took a route that would allow him to pass his living quarters, and so he could stop off on the way to pick up his P-90 machine gun. Just in case. You never know what you might find in Atlantis. The Jumper bay was on the other side of the city, a large hanger originally filled with 12 cylindrical spaceships, affectionately named Puddle Jumpers by the colonel. However, over the past couple of years, several of the craft had been destroyed.
John wasn't too concerned about the incident Lorne mentioned, if it had been urgent the Major would have been more serious and informative. But, Lorne had specifically asked for his help, so he decided he'd better get there sooner rather than later. He doubled back to the mess hall and stopped when he reached the transporter that was next to the door. He walked in and pressed the area closest to the Jumper bay on the map of Atlantis that had appeared on the screen in front of him. The doors closed and reopened seconds later on the other side of the city. John was still amazed at the advanced level of technology the Ancients had mastered.
He walked through the doors to the hanger and saw Major Lorne standing with Carson, Rodney and the Czech scientist Dr. Radek Zelenka. From what he could hear, they were in the middle of a heated discussion. 'That explains all the shouting', John said to himself, remembering the radio message he had received from Major Lorne minutes earlier. Lorne was doing his best to talk over everyone, but with little success. John noticed that he was in his casual clothes, meaning it must be his day off. 'Poor guy', thought John. 'His day off and he has to deal with this lot.'
"Look, I have examinations to do on the mainland" came the familiar Scottish tones of Doctor Carson Beckett. "It's already been arranged. All my kit's here."
"And I've already told you," snapped Rodney "Zelenka and I are running diagnostics on the Jumpers. You can't take any of them out."
"Is that so?" Beckett replied in an irritated voice. "And who decided that you could do that then?"
"Uh, Doctor Weir did, actually." said Zelenka quietly. He wasn't as forward as McKay was.
"Well, that's rather odd, because I asked her yesterday if it was alright to travel to the mainland and she said yes!"
"Look-" began Lorne.
"GUYS!" yelled John, fed up with all the noise. As far as he was concerned, it was too early in the morning for an argument. Everyone jumped and turned to look at him, having not noticed him arrive minutes earlier.
"McKay," John said, speaking as calmly and rationally as he could manage despite the death glare he was getting from the scientist. "Would it be possible for you to let Carson and Teyla have one Jumper and run your tests on the others? Then, when they get back, you can have the Puddle Jumpers all to yourselves."
"Not really." said Rodney, exasperated. "Zelenka and I have to-"
"McKay." John said, amazed at his self-composure. It was easy to lose your temper with the Canadian scientist. "It wasn't a question."
"Well it sure as hell sounded like one" Rodney shot back.
"Okay then, maybe it was a question. But it was rhetorical. Meaning that there's no flexibility in what I said."
"But Colonel Sheppard," Zelenka said. "We were just about to-"
"Look, if Carson has some medical exams to do, he can do them. Teyla hasn't seen her people in a couple'a weeks. They can have a Jumper."
Rodney rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. "Fine." He said, clearly irritated. "But don't blame me if something goes wrong…"
Carson smiled. "Right-o" he said. "Who wants to help me load this stuff up then?" He indicated to a large pile of equipment behind Lorne, and nodded at the nearest Puddle Jumper.
"Oh, I'm sure McKay and Zelenka will be more than happy to help", replied John, trying not to smirk. Rodney scowled. Zelenka sighed, and went to pick up one of the bags.
"Good." said John in as cheerful a voice as he could muster. "I'm glad it's all settled." He turned and started to walk away, Major Lorne jogged after him.
"Thanks for that, sir." He said, catching up to the colonel. "I was about ready to snap."
"Well, it's your day off, I thought I'd give you a break. Besides, you just gotta put your foot down occasionally. Order them if you have to."
"But they're not military, I thought we couldn't give them direct orders?"
"Yeah, I'm aware of that. But McKay knows that we're the ones that keep having to save his ass every time he gets in trouble. So…he usually does something if you tell him." John replied. "I mean, yeah, he kicks up a stink and sighs and moans and goes in the huff for hours, but you just have to remind him of the last time you shot the guy that was about to floor him – he soon gets the message."
"I like your thinking, sir." Lorne answered with a smile. "I'll have to save McKay's life more often."
"Well, I try and do it as infrequently as possible." John added with a mischievous grin, walking into the transporter. "Keeps him on his toes." Lorne laughed and watched the door close behind the Colonel.