Author: Jadelyn Tate
Story: Falling In the Black
Rating: T (just to be safe--it won't get up to NC-17 but I honestly don't know how mature it will get)
Disclaimer: I own no one but Nicole Scott.
A/N: This focuses mostly on an OC dealing with life in the Pegasus galaxy from Season one through…whenever I end it. :D Also, this is for my own personal prompt challenge of 50 prompts. If I get enough interest, I may LJ community the prompts.
Thanks: To wild_force71 (aka Wild Force Ranger on ) for all her help as a sounding board. :D Also, Alice is her creation.
Prompt: # 37 - Games
"Hey! Get back here!"
"…the hell?!" Major Sheppard nearly tripped over himself at the shout. Looking around, he frowned. Dr. Zelenka was running down the hall, looking somewhat abashed as Dr. Scott and Sora ran after him.
"Radek, quick, in here!" Major Sheppard turned around, frowning when Radek ran straight into one of the transporters where Peter was standing. The two men grinned at the women as the door closed in their faces.
"What's going on?" John asked but neither woman answered him.
"Nicole and Peter organized a game of capture the flag," Elizabeth said and John nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned to find the civilian commander just behind him. She smiled as the two women discussed the quickest way back to their base spot. "I believe it's those two, Teyla, and Miko against Peter, Radek, Aiden, and Carson."
"And you allowed this?" he asked, somewhat amused when the Genii woman and the linguist disappeared inside the transporter. Elizabeth chuckled.
"The eight of them all asked for the afternoon off, they were so excited," she told him as they moved to the mess hall. "Though I think it took some work to get Dr. Zelenka and Carson to agree to participate."
"Teyla's playing?" John asked curiously.
"Last time I saw Teyla, she was grinning as she hid their flag," Elizabeth told him with a smile. "She said they had a similar game on Athos and it has been a while since she played."
"So you're okay with them running around Atlantis?" John asked and Elizabeth chuckled.
"They're actually only playing in certain areas where it's unlikely they'll break something," she assured him. "I'm actually asking to join them the next time they play."
"Really?" John asked a slow smile on his face. "Sounds like fun. Count me in too."
~~*A*~~
An hour later, John walked into the mess hall and found the eight men and women laughing and talking. A blue piece of clothe was in the center of the table like a badge of honor as Nicole fussed over Radek.
"REMATCH!" Aiden shouted, still hyped up with energy, as John approached with his dinner. The four women all laughed good-naturedly as Radek and Carson both groaned.
"I take it you all had fun," John said, plopping down next to Aiden. The young lieutenant grinned at him as Teyla nodded.
"It was most enjoyable," she agreed, eyes twinkling.
"Let me guess, the ladies won?" John asked, grinning at the groans from the four men.
"They actually had a really good strategy at the end," Peter admitted and then ducked his head as several wadded napkins were thrown at him from his three teammates.
"Oh?" Elizabeth asked, coming over with Rodney. She was grinning. "What did they do?"
"Miko led Dr. Zelenka and Dr. Gordin around in circles while Teyla and Nicole distracted Dr. Beckett and Lt. Ford and I grabbed the flag," Sora said, grinning. Carson muttered something about wiley charms under his breath and the four women burst out laughing. John glanced at Elizabeth and smiled.
"So, when you do rematch, I'd like in," he told them.
"Me too," Sergeant Bates said, popping up at the end of the table. He was smirking. "Sounds like it'd be…fun."
"I'm in," Elizabeth agreed. "And we could probably grab Katie Heightmeyer and one of the female soldiers to even the teams if Rodney joins us."
"While I'm sure it would be interesting to outsmart everyone, I have a project," Rodney said, shrugging. Radek and Miko nodded.
"I think I will take rain-check," Radek agreed. The scientist looked more windswept than normal but there was a certain surprised happiness about him that told John he had really enjoyed himself despite his initial reservations.
"Me too," Miko said, ducking her head with a blush. "I had fun but I have a project too."
"Alright, so, next Saturday?" Aiden spoke up, grinning as he waved around a sandwich. "Bates, Sheppard, Carson, Peter and myself against Dr. Weir, Dr. Scott, Teyla, Sora, and Dr. Heightmeyer?"
"Sounds like fun," Elizabeth said, smiling as Nicole told the lieutenant to call her by her first name and Teyla told him to stop splattering her with food.
~~*A*~~
The next Saturday found the ten participates prepping. The women had a piece of red cloth while the men had a blue. Elizabeth had cleared the game for a part of the city that was seldom used so they wouldn't run over or into anyone and a city-wide notice about the game kept most people away from the area.
Peter had fiddled with some extra headsets so each team could converse with each other without the other team overhearing. He'd also added an all team connection so when someone got tagged, they could tell everyone. John decided it was easily the most high tech version of capture the flag he'd ever played.
The rules were set (including not using a life-sign detector or the database to track movement) and the two teams split up. John kept lookout as Carson and Aiden debated where to put the piece of clothe. Finally deciding on top of one of the decorative arches in their base corridor, the two men turned to John.
"Anything I should know about the women?" John asked. Carson and Peter exchanged looks.
"Watch out for Nicole," Peter told him seriously. "She's about as sneaky as Teyla when she wants to be."
"She snuck up on me four times," Aiden admitted with a grimace. "Had me tagged before I even realized she was there."
"Alright, what about the others?" John asked, absently thinking the woman was always surprising him.
"Sora and Teyla are sneaky too but aren't as quiet as Nicole," Carson told them. "She said her quietness is a product of helping raise four siblings, all of which had a habit of trying to sneak out of the house once they hit their teenage years."
"Wonderful," Bates said, wincing. "Which means she probably has really good hearing too."
"Yeah, that would explain a lot," Aiden agreed.
"John, you ready?" Elizabeth's voice came over their headset. He tapped it quickly and looked at the four men. They all nodded at him.
"Ready," he replied. "First to get the others flag back to their base wins."
"May the best women win," Katie said, using her own headpiece. John heard soft laughter before the two women cut the connection.
"Let's move out," John said and he, Carson, and Bates went in opposite directions, leaving Peter and Aiden at the male base. He felt oddly weird to be sulking about the city without a weapon, he decided, leaning around a corner to make sure no one was there. An idea came to him and he grinned as he made a mental note to try and find some way to play paint ball.
"Carson is heading to jail," Nicole's voice came over the headset. The woman sounded impossibly smug.
"So is Bates," Teyla added. John bit back a groan. He'd been really hoping the head of security would avoid being caught.
"Katie is heading to jail too," Aiden's voice came out and John pumped a fist in the air as he ran down a hall. The sound of a transporter made him duck around an arch. Looking around the corner, he smirked. Elizabeth was inching along the wall. He waited as she slowly made her way towards him. Grinning, he finally stepped out and tapped her.
"Jail," he said and she jumped.
"Damn!" she muttered as John hit his headset.
"Elizabeth's heading to jail," he said, grinning at the woman. He frowned suddenly as Elizabeth smirked at him.
"So are you major," Nicole said from behind him as a hand patted him on the head. John groaned.
"John's heading to jail with Elizabeth," Nicole said as she flitted away. Elizabeth grinned at him.
"So…three women against Peter and Aiden," she told him. John's eyes widened. He looked at his watch and cursed mentally. It had taken the five women less than fifteen minutes to tag out three of the five men while only one of the women had been tagged out.
"Katie's free," Sora's voice came over and John bit back another groan. Make that four women against Peter and Aiden.
"How'd you do that?" he asked as they headed to the transporter and the area designated as "jail."
Elizabeth grinned at him. "Never underestimate the power of a group of women, John."
"You have Nicole, Teyla, and Sora, how is that fair?" he asked and Elizabeth smirked.
"They balance out the three military men on your team," she told. "At least, they're supposed to."
The jail area came into view and John winced. Bates was not happy.
"Teyla got me as I crossed a hall," he told John as Elizabeth moved to stand in a corner. Carson joined the two military men.
"Nicole came out of nowhere," Carson said and John nodded.
"She and Elizabeth tag teamed me," he told them. "I got Elizabeth and Nicole came up behind me and tagged me out."
"How the hell are we losing? No offense to them but…they're civilian women!" Bates said and John shrugged.
"We underestimated the opponents, Sergeant," he told him. "When we get out of here…"
"We don't do that again," he agreed as Peter appeared next to them.
"Take Bates," John ordered and Peter nodded. The two men disappeared, Peter tapping his headset to update everyone.
"Er, Major?" Carson asked. John turned and groaned. Katie and Elizabeth laughed as they took off. "They're heading to our base corridor, aren't they?"
"Yeah, they are," John agreed. "And Aiden's alone unless Bates and Peter get over there quick."
"We're going to lose again, aren't we Major?" Carson asked and John winced.
"It's looking that way," he agreed. "Of course, even if they get to the corridor, they still have to find the flag and I don't think any of them are tall enough."
"Thanks Major!" Sora said, grinning at him from the opposite side of the line. She tapped her comm. and told Elizabeth and Katie to look near the ceiling as John cursed. Sneaky woman!
"Peter is heading back to jail," Teyla spoke up, overlapping with Nicole saying the same about Aiden. John groaned again. Bates was now facing off against all five women on his own.
The men were doomed.