1800 Hours, Commissary, City of Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy
Rodney slowly made his way into the commissary and looked around. Please don't let Sam be here with SG-1. No one over there, and no one over there, so he must be safe for the time being. Thank God. Sam sure knows how to ruin a person's perfect mood. Yeah Jennifer not being able to give some attention to 'The Rocket' sure is a downer to the evening, but at least the other women will know what a great lover he is. That makes up for the totally untrue 'little' remarks form earlier.
"McKay," came the tough, gruff voice of Ronon.
Damn! He just knew that he would have to face up to the guy sooner or later, but he was really hoping to avoid hearing about his 'combat training' for a while yet.
"Ronon," McKay acknowledged, trying to avoid the inevitable topic by not mentioning it.
"Ready for tomorrow?" Ronon got right to the point. They were both getting some food.
"No," Rodney admitted morosely.
"It's not that bad, McKay," Ronon gave a rare grin. "I'll take it easy. Five mile run on the mainland for a warm up and then we can work on some hand to hand in the gym."
Five mile run??? Oh shit! What's he trying to do? Kill me???
"Five miles?" he asked in a high pitch. God. He sounded pathetic even to himself.
"In full gear," the Satedan answered him. "Shouldn't be too bad for such an in shape kind of guy like you."
Rodney groaned. He just knew his bragging to Jennifer and Sam on that one mission would come back to haunt him. Now it was. Five miles in full gear? Does Ronon know about his medical condition? He needs constant access to food to keep up his sugar levels. A five mile run with Ronon was sure to screw up his body chemistry. Hand to hand? Ronon could squash him like a bug. There goes any hope of getting some loving from Jennifer tomorrow. He'd be too dead to even appreciate any attention, and 'The Rocket' will definitely be in la la land.
"What time," Rodney asked, clearly resigned to his fate.
"0430 hours," Ronon answered as they got to the team table and sat down.
"That figures," Rodney said with a deep sigh.
"Rodney!" Sheppard said in a loud, and for some unknown reason, a happy voice. Doesn't he know that Rodney was seriously fucked? Obviously not.
"You don't have to sound too happy," McKay grumbled as he took a bite of his steak. He'd asked for and got two steaks, three baked potatoes, some stuffing, four large slices of garlic bread, and a big bowl of pudding. He'd wait and see if he could get any pie for dessert.
"Aww, is the big, bad combat stud down in the dumps about training tomorrow?" Sheppard crowed. He ignored the slightly angry look that Teyla was shooting at him. John knew she did not like making fun of someone's misery, but this was too good an opportunity.
That sounds like a challenge! Rodney was now in full defensive mode. He could not let such an assertion stand for any reason.
"No," he said firmly. "I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow. I can take it."
"Good," Ronon said with an evil gleam. "We can make it a ten mile run and add stick fighting to tomorrow's training session." He didn't dislike McKay, but he wanted the man to think twice before making comments like he did to Sam and Jennifer. He also had to admit to a bit of jealousy. He liked Jennifer, too, but she had chosen McKay. That wasn't McKay's doing from what he could see, but he was still jealous.
"Great," McKay said with a bit of false bravado. He was so screwed. Oh well. At least Jennifer was a doctor and could take care of him. Ooh. That may work. Hot doctor taking care of needy patient? Yes!!!
"Have fun, Rodney," Sheppard said from his side of the table. He was elbowed in the ribs by Teyla and Rodney had to stifle a grin at that one. It wouldn't do to piss off anyone at the moment and have even more torture added to his routine tomorrow.
"I think maybe Rodney could use a partner in his training," Teyla directed a comment at Ronon.
"NO!" John exclaimed sharply, though he knew he was so fucked at that moment.
"It would make things easier," Ronon said with a chuckle and rare smile. He knew just what Teyla was getting at.
"You will join them tomorrow," Teyla told John with a definite 'I will be obeyed' tone and glare. She didn't mind teasing, but John had crossed the line in her opinion. When she was sure he was done protesting, she continued. "Now let us enjoy our dinner. I for one am hungry."
"Now that I can understand," Rodney said eagerly. He could always count on Teyla to have her priorities straight at the important moments.
"You're always hungry, McKay," Ronon snickered.
"Hey," Rodney jumped to the defensive. "I have a medical condition. Can I help it if I need the energy?"
"We know, Rodney," John answered. "We just like giving you shit."
The rest of dinner went fairly smoothly. Rodney liked these times with his team. Granted they got on his nerves at times, and he was sure the reverse was true, but he felt they were family. That was important to him now that he had reconnected with his sister and her family. He was still the most brilliant person around, but he was willing to tone it down a bit with his team. He may need their help one day, after all. They'd also shown how loyal they were when his alternate reality self had been on Atlantis and they had let him know after the guy had left that they preferred the Rodney McKay of this reality more.
2200 Hours, Rodney McKay's Lab, City of Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy
Rodney was busy working on his ZPM idea when he was interrupted by the last people he wanted to see right then. General O'Neill, Sheppard, and Daniel Jackson. Damn! He was just about to call it a night and get some much needed rest in preparation for the torture that was sure to be meted out the next morning. He'd also added another chapter to his scientific memoirs that he was constantly updating since a total genius like him always had something to add to such a priceless addition to history.
"McKay!" General O'Neill snapped out in his commanding general's voice.
"What?" McKay said frantically as he looked around to make sure that nothing was out of place or messed up. O'Neill was here on an inspection assignment, after all.
"We need your help," Daniel said, taking over for Jack.
"With what?" the nervous scientist asked.
John placed an arm around Rodney's shoulders and leaned in. "We need you to hack into the security monitors to General Carter's quarters so we can listen in on what's being said."
"What?!?!?!" Rodney exclaimed. He could see any hopes of living past the next day vanishing very quickly, and that was only if it was Sam who found out. If Jennifer found out, it would be worse. The Rocket would never get any again, if the Rocket was allowed to survive the inevitable onslaught and maiming.
"They've been in there gossiping for three hours now," Sheppard explained. "Now what could possibly hold their attention for that long?"
"How should I know? I'm not a girl," Rodney huffed. He wasn't about to admit to the whole 'if you had to choose who would it be' game when he, Sam, and Jennifer were in that Genii mine. That was not manly at all.
"Think, McKay," O'Neill spat, clearly frustrated. "They're talking about us. That's the only explanation."
"Why?" Rodney asked.
"Are you really that clueless?" Sheppard asked with an incredulous look on his face.
Daniel decided to intervene, though he shared John's surprise. "Consider the diet, exercise, and all that has happened to us since we arrived," he began. "Also consider how after each of these 'Girl's Nights' there seems to be something added to the whole business. Does it make sense now?"
"I guess," McKay sighed. He knew this wasn't going to end well, so he may as well just get on with it. He turned to the computer and started opening some ports to the main security centers. It took only a few minutes before he was able to produce a real time feed from Sam's quarters. He pulled out some ear pieces and handed them to the others, but didn't take one for himself. "You can listen in with these," he told them. "The program gives you ten minutes and then shuts off."
"Aren't you curious?" Jack asked.
"I'm in enough trouble as it is," Rodney sighed morosely as he thought of the combat training the next day. He stood and gathered his things. The lab locked itself when it was empty, so he wasn't worried, and he had shut down his work computers as he was creating the feed. "I'm going to bed after a small snack."
"Night, McKay," they chorused without looking back as they peered anxiously at the screen.
"Yeah, right," McKay muttered as he walked out of his lab, knowing that something would go wrong. It always did in cases like this.
2330 Hours, Quarters of Rodney McKay, City of Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy
Rodney was just getting into bed when it happened. He'd had his snack of a couple of sandwiches, some candy bars, and a bowl of chips washed down with some soda. Then he'd wrote a quick letter to his sister before getting ready for bed. He had just pulled the covers up when he heard the unmistakable sound of a transport beam and then the white light on his bedside table. He ordered the lights on and looked to see what had been beamed into his quarters. He groaned when he recognized it. A tube of lubricant and a box of tissues! Then he saw the note next to them. He picked it up and opened it.
"It seems my Little Energizer Bunny has been a bad little boy this evening. I guess The Rocket will be flying solo for a while until this dies down. Here are some supplies to make the flights a bit easier. Sorry, Rodney, but Rule Number One in this relationship is never, never, interfere with Girl's Night. The General, Daniel, and Sheppard are getting their punishments meted out right now. Now get some sleep and I'll see you after your training session with Ronon. Don't worry. I have all my needles ready to give you a thorough exam when you get back. Love, Jennifer."
Great! That's just fucking great. He has a horrible day and was facing a disastrous day the next day, and now he and the Rocket were on solo duty for the time being. Self-love was definitely over rated in his opinion, and he was confident that The Rocket was in complete agreement with that view. What was the point of being a Love God when there was nothing to love? He would have to worry about this the tomorrow, though. He was in desperate need of some sleep. Laying back down, he closed his eyes and tried not to think of what he could be doing right at this moment. Instead, he dreamed about what sort of hell the General, Sheppard, and Daniel were facing. It brought a smile to his sleepy face. Yep. If he went down, at least the others were joining him. Now if he could only convince Ronon to go easy on him. He fell asleep before he could complete that exercise in futility.
Unbeknownst to him, four women were watching on a special security screen in Sam's quarters laughing at the expression on Rodney's face as he saw what was left and read the note. Mission accomplished.