Rodney sat at his desk trying to finish his reports. He liked to work late at night, preferring solitude over the crowd of scientists interrupting him throughout the day. But now he was having a hard time concentrating on anything for more than a few minutes other than Dr. Grayson. He remembered his first crush back in Junior High School. He received his only B on a science test when he fell head over heels in love with Jessica Rowan. He had spent most of the class staring at the nape of her neck as he sat behind her. He finally came to with only 15 minutes left to finish the test. He promised himself then that no woman would ever come between him and his work again. It was going to be very difficult to keep that promise around Emma Grayson.
Rodney leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. He reached for his coffee mug. Something about what Zelenka had said kept repeating in his mind. Surely Radek hadn't become so enamored of Emma so quickly as to loose all sense of judgment. Maybe he should look at her report after all. Rodney pulled up the files and glanced at them. He was sure there wasn't anything in there that he hadn't already found. Flipping through the screens quickly, something caught his eye. There were new calculations here. Ones that could prove very beneficial to Atlantis' power supply.
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Emma paced aimlessly around her quarters. She wasn't quite sure if she had scored a victory or not in Dr. McKay's lab today. She was hoping to have a chance to discuss what had happened with Carson, but he was busy with one of the away teams that had returned early with some injuries. Instead she had eaten a quick dinner and returned to her quarters to settle down for a quiet evening with a good book. But it wasn't working. She was still agitated.
Today had not gone as smoothly as she had hoped. She did not like being summarily dismissed by the great Dr. Rodney McKay. At first that crooked smile and his shy awkwardness around her had seemed rather endearing. Then his true nature had been revealed - he was endearing like a lion toying with his prey. She was going to have to be careful around him if she didn't want to be sent back to Archives. He was definitely dangerous.
Emma decided that maybe a late night snack would help her relax enough to fall asleep. She passed quietly through the darkened hallways. Many found the common areas eerie late at night, but she found them comforting. And now that she had the extra Ancient gene, lights turned on for her automatically and doors opened magically as she passed through the corridors. It was like having the wee folk, as Carson called them, looking after her.
Emma entered the commissary near her quarters. It was one of the smaller eating areas, usually used for breakfasts and dinners. There were other commissaries scattered around Atlantis closer to the work areas that were used for larger crowds, but this one was her favorite. She had gotten to know the chef, an older man with a gruff exterior that masked a sweet disposition. He always managed to hide a piece of his homemade chocolate cake for her.
Emma didn't see Rodney at the table in the far corner. He was going over her report. The information she had extracted held interesting possibilities for portable energy generators. They might even be able to get as yet unexplored sections of the city up and running. He was angry at himself for missing it the first time around.
Rodney saw a light come on at the commissary entrance. Irritated, he looked up to see who was disturbing him. It was Dr. Grayson. He watched her, intrigued. She really was quite striking. There was something playful, even kittenish about her. Again he was struck by how this woman who lacked every attribute on his list for the perfect woman managed to increase his heart rate every time he looked at her.
As Emma walked toward the kitchen the light at the entrance turned off and the kitchen light came on. After a few moments Rodney watched her come out of the kitchen, lights turning off and on as she moved across the room.
"How do you do that?" he asked as Emma got nearer.
Emma was startled by Rodney's voice. She had been so engrossed in her own thoughts that she hadn't seen him sitting there.
"Carson, uh, Dr. Beckett is still trying to figure that one out" Emma responded awkwardly. She had not planned on running into Dr. McKay. "I'm sorry, you're working. I'll leave you alone." she started to go, but Rodney stopped her.
"Sit. Sit. I was just going over your translations. They're going to be very helpful."
"Really? When Dr. Zelenka mentioned they had already been..." Emma stopped herself short. She had guessed that Dr. McKay had intentionally given her the wrong report this morning. Her failure would give him the excuse he needed to dismiss her from his lab.
"Yes, well, An unfortunate misunderstanding." Rodney smiled, then quickly looked away. He had been caught red handed trying to trap Dr Grayson, and had felt guilty ever since.
Emma smiled back, then started eating the chocolate cake in front of her.
"Where did you get that?" Rodney asked, eyeing the cake on Emma's plate. He had never seen such a delicious looking cake anywhere on Atlantis.
"This? Oh, the chef usually hides a piece or two away for me."
Rodney eyed her cautiously. The chef had never done anything special for him. Matter of fact the few times he had tried to speak to him about his own dietary needs, the chef had turned and walked away hardly acknowledging Rodney's presence. But he could see how this pretty redhead could turn the man's head. Rodney figured her smile had melted more than one heart, and opened several doors.
"Here, try some." Emma offered him her plate.
Rodney took a bite. "This is incredible. This is the best cake I've ever eaten."
Emma laughed. "I'll ask him to put some aside for you."
"No." Rodney replied quickly. That's okay. I don't want him to go to any trouble on my account." Rodney studied his coffee mug.
Emma watched him carefully. She assumed he had said something that the chef had not liked. Everyone knew about Dr. McKay's talent for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. She continued to eat her cake.
Rodney decided to take advantage of the time alone with Emma. Perhaps if he got to know her better he wouldn't feel quite so self conscious around her.
"So, uh, do you live around here?" Rodney grimaced as the words fell out of his mouth. He was having flashbacks to his college days – trying desperately to socialize with women who were very obviously out of his league.
"Uh huh, I live at the end of this section of living spaces." Emma responded. "It's off one of the smaller hallways tucked away in a corner. It's not very big, but I have a wonderful view of the ocean."
Rodney nodded. If she had caught his double entendre, she had at least had the decency to ignore it.
"How about you?" Emma asked politely. Perhaps if she could get Dr. McKay to feel more comfortable around her, he would let her continue working for him.
"I'm down at the other end. I was lucky enough to get one of the larger quarters with a separate bedroom." Rodney grimaced yet again. How was he going to work around this woman when merely saying the word bedroom made him feel like he was propositioning her.
"That's nice." Emma continued eating her cake. She was savoring every mouthful. Rodney watched entranced as she slowly pulled the fork out of her mouth. No, he was definitely not going to get any work done with her around.
"So, uh, Carson says that you and he are old friends," Rodney mentioned, desperate to fill the awkward silence between them.
"Is that what he said?" Emma tried to sound surprised. Against her better judgment, she added, "Actually we were engaged, but it didn't work out."
Rodney looked at her in utter amazement. Carson had been holding out on him. No wonder he had never introduced her to Rodney. Carson was an idiot to let her slip through his fingers.
Emma looked up to find Rodney staring at her. She had gone too far. Carson had warned her to watch her tongue around Dr. McKay. She had always had a habit of speaking before thinking, and her wit had gotten her in trouble plenty of times in the past. Emma decided she better shut up before Dr. McKay had even more reason to banish her from his lab.
Rodney turned his head away quickly. He would have to stop this habit of staring at her. He started working on his calculations again, hoping he wasn't blushing.
The silence between them became overwhelming. Emma decided she better exit gracefully. "Well, I should let you get back to work, I've kept you long enough. Good night, Dr. McKay."
Emma got up and turned towards the door. Rodney didn't look up.
"Rodney."
"What?" Emma turned back, not quite sure what she had heard.
"Rodney," He glanced up at her, still not daring to make eye contact. "Call me Rodney."
"Good night, Rodney." Emma smiled and turned away. Perhaps she had made some progress after all.
