That afternoon Emma continued working on the translations. She knew it had to do with some kind of energy converter, but just what the technical specs translated into completely baffled her. She was having trouble understanding the engineering concepts. She had come upon this kind of problem before. Just because she could translate the text, didn't necessarily mean she could understand the translation.
She thought about asking Dr. McKay but decided against it. She knew he was looking for a reason to get rid of her. Perhaps Dr. Zelenka would help. It would just take a few minor calculations translated to help her get through the most difficult section. Once that was done, she could easily finish it.
A little later she had her opportunity. Dr. McKay had grudgingly gone upstairs to a briefing giving her a chance to talk with Radek alone.
"Radek, I was wondering if you could help me with a few of these technical terms." Emma hoped she didn't sound too anxious.
"Of course, I'd be happy to," Radek beamed, glad to finally have a reason to work more closely with Dr. Grayson. He had tried approaching her a few times earlier in the day, but each time Rodney had given him the evil eye, sending him back to his work station.
Radek looked at the text Emma was working on. He went through the first few screens, surprised at what he saw. "Is this what Dr. McKay gave you?"
"Yes, is something wrong with it?" Emma was concerned. By the look on Radek's face she was worried that she had really messed up. "I've been able to translate the text, but I'm afraid I might have reversed some of the figures in the calculations. These technical specs are new to me."
"It's just that this report is very old. We finished with it months ago. If Rodney was going to give you something to work on, he could have picked something a little more useful."
"Oh," Emma was disheartened. Dr. McKay may keep her in the lab because Dr. Weir had ordered him to, but that didn't mean he was going to actually use her. She had been reassigned to her own private Archives annex right here in his lab.
Both Emma and Radek heard Rodney returning. Emma put her finger to her lips and shook her head ever so slightly, signaling him not to mention any of their conversation to Dr. McKay.
Rodney turned the corner entering the lab at a brisk pace. He had forgotten some reports he needed for Dr. Weir. He had been forgetting quite a bit since meeting Dr. Grayson. There was something else he knew he was forgetting, but couldn't remember it no matter how hard he tried. He stopped suddenly noticing Radek standing over Emma. Had he interrupted something? They had obviously been deep in conversation. Rodney's heart sank to his stomach. He was gone only 10 minutes and Radek had already moved in on her.
"Is something wrong?" Rodney asked.
"No, nothing's wrong" Radek turned away and returned to his workstation.
"I just dropped some papers, Dr. McKay, and Radek was kind enough to help me pick them up." Emma responded quickly. She hoped Rodney would buy her story and get back to his meeting.
"Oh. Okay. Well, carry on." Rodney said rather half-heartedly. 'Radek,' he said to himself. She was already calling him Radek. She was still calling him Dr. McKay. Maybe he had been a little too intimidating when they first met. Maybe he should have gotten to know her first before deciding he wanted to get rid of her.
Rodney decided that he would much rather stay here with Emma than return to the briefing but didn't know how he could do that without raising suspicion. In just one morning this woman had turned his life upside down. If Dr. Rodney McKay suddenly stopped going to senior staff meetings to hang around with his new lab assistant, surely people would talk.
He started to leave, turning back slightly to look at the two of them. Something had been happening, but he wasn't quite sure what he had walked in on. He saw Radek and Emma at their respective work stations, seemingly totally engrossed in their work. And that gnawing feeling was back. If only he could remember what it was he had forgotten.
Radek waited a few minutes after Rodney left before returning to Emma.
"Thank you for not saying anything." Emma said softly. "I don't want to alienate Dr. McKay my first day here."
"I don't think that's possible" Radek smiled warmly at her. Everyone had heard about Emma's new abilities, making her a minor celebrity among the scientists. He was glad she was working on his team. If what he had seen of her work was any indication, he believed she had a lot to offer. But still, there was something strange happening here. Radek didn't know why Rodney had given her that report to translate, it wasn't like him to make such an obvious mistake.
"Let's take another look at those files."
Radek and Emma continued working on the text. Radek helped Emma with the technical terms explaining to her the theories behind the work. She learned quickly, and was able to reinterpret the information finding new insights into the data. At the end of a few hours' work they had made real progress on the report.
"This is amazing." Radek said. "There's information here we completely overlooked."
Emma was thrilled. "So I guess I contributed after all."
"Contributed what?" Rodney asked as he entered, hearing the end of their conversation. "I hope Dr. Zelenka hasn't been keeping you from your work," Rodney snapped, hoping he didn't sound jealous. He had known this woman less than a day but already felt possessive of her.
"Dr. Grayson has been working on the files you gave her and..."
Rodney panicked. He remembered what he had been trying to remember all day. The old report he gave Emma to translate. He had forgotten to retrieve it from her once he realized he wasn't so eager to get rid of her. He knew Radek would recognize it immediately. "Let me see that." He quickly interrupted Radek, swooping down on Dr. Grayson's desk. Unfortunately, his close proximity to her didn't help matters. All thoughts of work vanished from his head yet again. Trying desperately to focus, he pretended to read the screen scrolling quickly through the files.
"Oh no!" Rodney exclaimed a little too emphatically. "I gave you the wrong report! How silly of me! I'll take that right now." Rodney quickly closed the file, sending it to his own computer where he could dispose of it later. He returned to his desk pretending to look for something, trying to act as natural as possible. "I can't seem to find that report I really did need translated. Oh, well." Rodney looked at the two nervously. He had no idea if they were buying his act. "Why don't you call it a day and we can start fresh tomorrow morning. I'll have it by then."
Rodney tried to keep his cool. While he was at the briefing, very little of which he heard, he was thinking about Dr. Grayson. The thought of her running back to Archives now was more than he could bear. If she found out that he had set her up to fail he was sure she would leave of her own accord, just as he had originally intended.
Emma stood up, a little confused. "I'd like to continue working if you don't mind. I don't feel like I've accomplished very much today. It's still early."
"No, no, that's quite alright. We'll get along fine without you. Until tomorrow. Goodnight." Rodney was desperate to get her out of the lab. He needed to figure out what to do next.
"Dr. McKay, really. I don't want any special treatment. I can do my share of the workload." Emma was starting to get irritated. Not only had Dr. McKay given her a report that didn't need translating, he was dismissing her early. How was she going to prove she could contribute if he wouldn't let her do any work.
"I said tomorrow," Rodney shot back irritably. He hated the way his voice sounded.
Frustration rose in Emma. The light on her desk flickered. She saw the startled looks on Radek's and Dr. McKay's faces. "Must be a short." Emma quickly turned off the light. 'Focus,' she reminded herself. Destroying office equipment will get you thrown out of here for sure.
"Good night, Dr. Grayson," Rodney stated firmly.
Emma straightened up, working to regain her composure. The overhead lights dimmed slightly. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow," she responded coolly. Carson had warned her to curb her temper. Now she knew why. Two stubborn people in one lab could lead to trouble, not to mention a few broken light bulbs.
"Fine," Rodney responded, trying to sound calm. "Anyway, I'm sure you have some place to be, something to do." Rodney quickly bent over his computer screen. She probably had a lover waiting somewhere. One of those muscle bound military types who were always hanging around getting in the way of his work. Now they would be getting in the way of him and Emma. The geeky scientists always lost out to the military.
"Fine." Emma managed to barely get the word out of her mouth.
"See you tomorrow morning, Dr. Grayson." Radek called after her. She turned to see him smiling. He winked at her reassuringly.
"Goodnight." Emma managed to smile back. She left still working to control her temper.
Rodney said nothing. He was buried in his computer typing away. He prayed that Radek would not come over to see what he was doing – there was nothing but jibberish on the screen.
He felt Radek staring at him. Rodney continued typing furiously, pretending not to notice. "What!" Rodney finally burst out at Radek. "Is there something you want to say to me!"
Radek held his stare a few moments longer. He was enjoying making Rodney squirm – it happened so rarely. "That was not a very nice thing you did to Dr. Grayson today."
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." Rodney quipped. He really didn't want to discuss this right now.
"You gave Emma an already translated report. You knew you were never going to look at it.
"Emma? You two became quite the friends while I was away. I suppose you're meeting her for dinner later."
"No, I'm not. You entered before I had a chance to ask her. But that's okay. It's not often I get to spend the afternoon alone with such an attractive woman. I can ask her tomorrow."
Rodney looked up at Radek. "So, uh, you think she's attractive?" Rodney's voice sounded insecure – something more suited to a high school sophomore.
"Maybe. Why, do you think she's attractive?" Radek watched Rodney closely.
Rodney declined to answer. This conversation was taking a very bad turn. "I have to get back to these files. If you have anything else you want to say to me, please do so quickly."
For a brief moment Radek thought about not telling Rodney of Emma's findings. But they were too important. "You should take a look at her translations. You might find them very interesting."
Rodney continued typing. "I doubt it will do much good, but if you insist. I will. Later. I'm sure she's found nothing even remotely new to me."
Radek went back to his work. Things had definitely become more interesting in the lab thanks to Dr. Emma Grayson. She seemed to make Rodney a little nervous. And he had a ringside seat to the action.
