Takes place after "Duet".

FREEFALL

Sheppard stopped by the mess hall for an early morning cup of coffee before heading out to his favorite balcony. He had already walked several steps onto it before he realized it was currently occupied. Carson Beckett and Laura Cadman were leaning on the railing overlooking Atlantis, deep in conversation

Sheppard paused, unsure if he would be interrupting, but Beckett turned and saw him.

"Good morning, Colonel," he greeted, smiling.

Taking the greeting as an invitation, Sheppard walked over to join them at the rail. It appeared that Lieutenant Cadman, like Sheppard, was enjoying a cup of coffee and a few minutes of peace before her duty shift started - not to mention the company of a certain Atlantis physician.

"Morning, Doc," Sheppard said. "Lieutenant," he acknowledged with a nod of his head, including her in his greeting.

"Good morning, Sir," replied Cadman cheerfully, obviously not at all uncomfortable to have been found in Beckett's company by her commanding officer.

Sheppard grinned inwardly at the idea of McKay being forced to share his mind with such an uninhibited personality.

She drained the last of her cup and checked her watch. "Duty calls. I enjoyed our talk, Carson."

"I'll see you tonight at the movie then?" Beckett asked.

"You betcha," she replied, grinning. "It's Braveheart!" She leaned in and said something that Sheppard couldn't quite catch but he did hear the word 'kilt' and saw Beckett turn bright red before she gave the doctor a grin and a friendly slap on the arm. "Sir," she said, giving Sheppard a nod before exiting the balcony.

Carson turned to watch her leave.

"You two an item now?" Sheppard asked. Though he made it a point not to interfere in the personal lives his subordinates unless it affected their work, he was curious.

Carson shrugged and smiled before turning back to look over the railing. "She's a lovely lass."

"I'm not sure that's how McKay would describe her." He received another grin in reply. There was a yell from above and Sheppard only had a split second to realize someone flashed by the balcony, plunging towards certain death below. He bent over the railing and watched in horror, then relief, as a parachute blossomed open and the jumper began heading towards the north pier in lazy circles. A touch on his arm startled him.

"Sorry," said Beckett handing him his now empty, and slightly chipped cup.

Sheppard took it numbly. He hadn't even realized he'd dropped it. Glancing back and forth between Beckett and the jumper a few times, he noticed the doctor didn't seem quite as surprised by the incident. He narrowed his eyes, "You know something about this?"

The doctor leaned on the railing, watching the brightly colored chute continue its decent. "I'm guessing that'd be Dr. Suzy Yamamoto."

"And just what the hell does Dr. Yamamoto think she's doing?"

"Apparently, it's called base jumping."

Before Sheppard could question him further, his radio came alive with a multitude of panicked transmissions. It took him several minutes to get them all straightened out. In the meantime, the parachute continued to float lazily toward the ground, concluding in perfect landing on the end of the pier. He radioed Lorne. "Please invite Dr. Yamamoto to…" He wanted to say 'the brig'. "…my office. You'll find her on the North pier." He turned his attention back to Beckett. "A little warning would have been nice, Doc."

"I didn't know what she was planning to do on her day off or I would have let you know, Colonel," said Beckett, looking guilty nonetheless.

"Any other hobbies of hers I should know about?"

Beckett snorted before he realized Sheppard was far from amused. He wracked his brain trying to place the bits and pieces of the various files he had read. "Origami and horseback riding…I think?"

Sheppard muttered something unpleasant under his breath. Taking one last look towards the north pier, he headed back inside and down the hallway towards his newly acquired office.

"Colonel!"

He stopped in his tracks and turned to see Beckett standing in entrance to the balcony.

"Judo, too," he said, then cringed when Sheppard stared at him stonily before deliberately turning away and continuing toward his office.

Technically he had no jurisdiction over the civilians in a non-military situation so he knew he needed to walk a fine line. He could expect little, if any, support from Weir. He suspected that she'd tell him that the expedition member's hobbies were none of his business. Of course, what she really meant was that civilian hobbies were none of the military's business. For such an accomplished diplomat, she could see things strictly black and white when she wanted to…or rather camo and white. She certainly never went out of her way to make things easy for the military personnel she worked with, not even a certain recently promoted lieutenant colonel. What Elizabeth didn't know though, wouldn't hurt her. By the time Dr. Yamamoto arrived, he had pasted on his most charming smile. He was expecting someone short and dark-haired but managed to suppress his surprised when a medium-height blonde walked in instead. He nodded a dismissal to Lorne. "Please have a seat, Doctor," he said, taking one himself, "Coffee?"

"No thank you, I never drink the stuff. Terrible for your body."

Sheppard considered saying that it was probably a hell of a lot safer than flinging one's self off the spires of Atlantis, but held his tongue.

"Interesting hobby you have there," he said indicating the parachute she had tucked under one arm.

"Yes it is." She was flushed and obviously still a little high from the adrenaline rush.

He saw she wasn't going to make this easy for him. "You caused quite a stir."

"Did I?" Her tone clearly said she had dealt with close-minded people before and had little doubt he fit neatly into that category.

It irked him. He hated being predictable. "Yes, I received no less than twelve calls this morning from various individuals and departments. Dr. Kavanagh apparently caused a panic in the physics lab when he started screaming that Wraith paratroopers were attacking the city."

"I see, Sir."

She sounded contrite but Sheppard could see the corner of her mouth quirk with a suppressed smile. He held his own smile firmly in check. "Only my men call me 'sir'. Call me either John or Colonel, whichever makes you more comfortable." He poured every ounce of charisma he could muster into his smile but she was apparently charm-proof.

"Are you forbidding me from further jumps, Colonel?"

With that one word she had made it clear that she knew he had no jurisdiction over her. "Not at all. Your…hobby…is your business. I'm just requesting that you inform one of the sergeants or me before you indulge in this particular hobby in the future -- so that we can anticipate and curtail any problems that may occur as a result."

She considered his request a moment; obviously surprised that he wasn't going to try and forbid her from jumping altogether and stood, holding out a hand. "I think I can do that, Colonel."

Sheppard smiled and stood, taking her hand in his own and pumping it once before releasing it. "I appreciate your cooperation."

"In honor of our newfound…understanding…I should tell you that I'm planning on making several more jumps today."

"Thank you. I'll inform the appropriate personnel."

She gave him a brief smile before turning towards the door. She stopped at the threshold and turned back, "Care to join me, Colonel?" One eyebrow raised in challenge. "I brought extra chutes."

"No. Thanks. I'll stick with coffee," Sheppard said raising his cup towards her in a toast. She gave him a mock salute before disappearing out the door.

Suzy rounded the corner and paused.

"Well?" asked the person who lounging in the hallway, just out of sight of Sheppard's office.

Suzy held out her hand expectantly. "He said I could keep jumping, just asked me to inform him first. Didn't so much as raise his voice once."

Elizabeth Weir reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a Snicker's bar and slapped into into Suzy's hand with a wry grin. "Payment as promised."

Suzy tucked the candy bar away in her jumpsuit. "Now can I ask why?"

"It's good training for him," Elizabeth replied smugly. There was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes as she added, "and it's fun for me."

END