One
She wakes up as an alarm sounds through the room and her first impulse is to tell Evan to shut this damn thing up… and then reality comes crashing down on her. She's in her own quarters, without Evan, and she fell asleep about two hours ago, because she just wouldn't stop tossing and turning over the stupid argument they had had last evening. The alarm's still ringing, reminding her of the fact that in half an hour she has to be in the Control Room, ready to take off for three days off-world.
Groaning she gets up, trying to focus on the mission before her, but all her sleep-muddled brain will come up with is the row from yesterday and her impulse to leave him a message stating that she's sorry for running out like this, because she doesn't want to leave for three days like this. But she made a decision yesterday, and she'll stick to that. He really needs to see that he can't go on excluding her from this paperwork business. And that his jealousy is totally unfounded and downright stupid. But he was right with you running away from certain… issues, the mean little voice from yesterday is whispering again. She pushes it away again, telling herself that this wasn't the point of the whole thing and only his cover for his weak jealous accusations.
Grumbling, she turns off her shower and puts on her BDUs, all the while telling herself that she now needs to focus on the damn mission, not a stupid lovers' spat she can take care off when being back.
Still not in her best of moods – if you aren't much of a morning person anyway having to get up after only two hours sure isn't the best way of starting the day – she arrives at the locker room. Luckily enough she made it there as the first one. Would have been just this side of embarrassing if she'd arrived last – being the commanding officer of this mission and everything. Sighing she starts gearing up her TAC vest, when Meyers arrives. "'Morning, ma'am. Had a long night?"
He grins, and she curses every morning person of the two galaxies she knows. And she curses him for being totally oblivious whom she owes the long night to. Well, partially. "'Morning, Sergeant. Yeah, you could say that. And no, I don't want to talk about it."
He checks his P90 and puts a packet of spare ammunition in one of the pockets of his vest. "Wouldn't dare dreaming of it, ma'am." Doesn't hold him back from forming his own thoughts on her "long night", she's sure of that. He's a Marine, and he's male. No matter if he's married or not, she knows exactly where the minds of male Marines like to wander. His earlier allusions to conversations among the NCOs were proof of that as well.
"'Morning, Laura! Sergeant." God, not another morning person. She really likes Jennifer Keller, even with those insecure tendencies and the sometimes weird sense of humor, but right now she's only seconds away from snapping at her. "Whoa, you really look like hell, Laura."
"Thank you, Dr. Rosy Cheeks. That's exactly what a gal wants to hear this time in the morning." Okay, now she did snap. Keller just backs away, slamming into Teyla who just arrived at the scene.
"Oh, sorry." Keller turns around and jerks her thump at her, pretending to whisper to Teyla: "Beware of the Lieutenant's wrath. Something… or someone didn't let her sleep last night."
Teyla just lets a half-smile show and says: "I am sorry for arriving late, Laura. Torren had a little trouble with teething, and Kanaan needed my assistance to calm him down."
She takes a deep breath and holsters the Beretta. Come on, Cadman, these people didn't do anything to you. And you're supposed to spend three days off-world with them. Better play nice. "Not a problem. Now… everyone geared up?" She throws a look around and apart from Keller, who still seems to have a little trouble with clipping everything to the right places, everyone is set. "Erm… you need any help, Doc?"
"No, I'm perfectly fine… once I find out where this is supposed to go… and… hey, wait, is that a weapon in there?" Oh, Keller just discovered that there belongs a Beretta to the leg holster she has trouble with putting on. Shouldn't she by now know that everyone of them is supposed to carry a sidearm with them nowadays, most of all after a few cases of scientists' almost abductions in the last few weeks?
"It certainly looks that way, ma'am.", Meyers supplies helpfully and she can see that he barely holds back a smirk. Most probably his thoughts mirror her own on the subject of Keller and going off-world.
"I am not going to carry that thing with me." Mh, she thinks. Someone's getting a little amnesiac?
"Yes, you are. You remember patching up Doctors LeCroix and Simmons two days ago? That happened because they refused to take their sidearms with them as well. When will you lot ever learn, huh?" Keller rolls her eyes at her, while Teyla and Meyers have now obtained their places at the sidelines, Teyla with a frown on her face and Meyers with his usual "I'm just the resident NCO and solely here to enjoy the show"-face. One day she's so going to get back at him for always using his rank as an excuse to watch other people getting at each others' throats.
"I'm a doctor, Lieutenant. I don't shoot people… I usually put them together after the shoot-out. And anyway, this is going to be a trade visit to our allies, right? I mean… what could possibly go wrong?" That produces a simultaneous eye rolling from herself and Meyers and a small cough from Teyla. "What?"
"Now we're doomed. Thank you very much, Doc." She really can't decide between simply being unnerved and a little pissed at the Doc or being seriously amused.
"With all due respect, ma'am… you're starting to sound like Dr. McKay. That is, if you don't mind me saying it, scary." There is an amused smile now on Teyla's face who has wisely chosen to stay out of this until now.
"Hey, she just said the "What could…"-sentence. That would worry everyone. Now, be a good girl and put that pretty little Beretta back into the holster, Doc. And no more mentioning of Dr. McKay and me in the same sentence from you, Sergeant." Now it looks like Keller is resorting to pouting at any moment. And Meyers seems to enjoy himself immensely. She wonders what passed around the NCO ranks shortly before this mission. Probably he was alternately admired and pitied for having to go off-world with the three of them.
"Jennifer… I might adhere to what Laura is saying. Given the increased number of attacked and abducted civilian scientists in the last few weeks, it really might be wise for even the healers to carry some weapons for their self-defense. If I remember it correctly, even Carson is carrying one whenever he goes off-world." Now Teyla finally decided to bring some reason into this. But yeah, she could have thought of that Carson-argument herself before.
Jennifer Keller, though, doesn't seem really fazed by it. "He can do as he sees fit, but I ain't touching a weapon. Really, I knew a few kids who played around with that stuff back home and…" She has a look at her watch. They're already near overdue, and if she doesn't herd this flock up now, Sheppard will hail them and then she'll have her splendid record of smooth missions with her in command ruined. Alright… so she's got only two missions where she was in command here under her belt, but those two did go smoothly. More… or less.
Time to put her foot down and show the straying sheep who's boss around here. "Doc, I'll say this only once: The weapon stays on or you stay here."
Keller shrugs and makes a big show of totally not being interested in the mission. "So what? Everyone knows I'm not keen on going off-world, anyway."
Yep, she's anticipated that. And she's been suspecting that Jennifer Keller nowadays is merely using her reputation of having an aversion to going off-world when she needs it and is otherwise quite fine with it. But she's got something up her sleeve as well. "Oh, but weren't you eager to get your hands on those herbs they have at that planet just a few days ago?"
Keller's eyes grow large and she knows she's won. But the little doctor chooses not to go down without a fight. "Wait… where do you know that from?"
She allows herself a smug grin. "Lets just say… from time to time I actually listen to what people tell me."
With her face dark, Keller shoves the Beretta back into its holster and grumbles: "The minute I get back, Carson Beckett is a dead man."
She really wants to laugh out loud now, because Keller on the war path is a very glorious sight to see, but decides that this wouldn't really do her authority much good, so she just jerks her head.
"Come on, people, let's get this over with." With that, their merry little band sets off to the Control Room.
When they arrive there, Sheppard is already waiting for them at the 'Gate ramp, ostentatiously looking at his watch and tapping his foot. "15 minutes, Lieutenant. That's a new record." Hey, she's never been unpunctual! Alright, sometimes she stretches her time pretty much, but she always arrives on time, even if it's in the last minute.
She walks up to him and simply says: "We had a slight disagreement on off-world armament protocol that needed to be sorted out, sir."
Sheppard smirks and raises his eyebrows at Keller. "Ah, Dr. Keller been a naughty girl and refused to carry a sidearm again?" She doesn't turn around to Keller, but she's pretty sure that the young doctor is coloring furiously at Sheppard calling her a "naughty girl". Hell, she would probably be coloring if Sheppard called her… wait. He already did. Better not go there now, because that would just serve to remind her of Evan, and she's determined not to think of him for at least another day.
"Exactly, sir."
Sheppard shoots a look towards Keller's right thigh and grins with appreciation. "I see you got to solve the situation in your favor."
"Yes, sir." She can't quite keep the smug edge out of her voice and is almost positive that Keller will get back at her at the next girls' poker night. Or maybe even before that.
"Good work, Lieutenant. Last team CO needed half an hour." Actually… that last team CO had been Evan, and she can still hear the huffing and grumbling and cursing from when he came back from that mission ringing in her ears. But no more thinking of him. At least not for today.
She shrugs. "Well… sometimes all it needs is a woman's touch."
Sheppard almost looks like he expected another answer, but that's all she's ready to give him at the moment. No use letting him know of that stupid row. "Alright… get going, the whole lot of you."
She just nods. "Yes, sir."
But before Sheppard can give the command to dial up, Teyla speaks up from behind her. "John… I told Kanaan he can come to you if anything comes up with Torren. I do hope it is alright with you." The request doesn't surprise her, even though she still finds it hard to adapt to the fact that ass-kicking Amazon Teyla has a second life as the loving mother of an infant son. What does surprise her is the look that shortly crosses Sheppard's face at the mentioning of Kanaan. Jealousy? Dislike? She can't really put her finger on it and before she knows it she has decided to ask Evan about what he thinks is going on between these two. She's had her suspicions, but… ah hell, the mission, Cadman, she tells herself. The mission.
The look of usual nonchalance is back on, anyway, and she's probably just been imagining things. "'Course it is. Anyone else of you got any last minute request? Shall I take care of the Major in your absence, Lieutenant? You know, make sure he eats and drinks enough, gets enough sleep…"
Aw, he just had to come up with something like that, right? She resists looking at either of her team mates, because she's pretty sure to find them enjoying Sheppard torturing her with that. She wonders if he has any idea how much of a sore spot he just hit. "No, I think he's pretty capable of that on his own. He's a real big boy, you know." She wishes that wouldn't have sounded so bitchy. Hopefully, Sheppard will leave Evan alone with this.
"Right, I figured as much." Regardless of what she thought before, that somewhat quiet tone in Sheppard's voice makes her hope that he does know what his 2IC is presently doing to himself and that the Colonel will look out a little for him as long as she's gone. As much as he hurt her with his comments, she knows he'll worry about her, and she's afraid of what could probably happen if all of that – his duties, the lack of sleep, the paperwork and the worrying – culminates. But she'd rather rot in hell than tell anyone, so she's grateful when Sheppard finally says "Now get going, all of you." and commands Banks to open the 'Gate.
A/N: Whoa, finally got around up-dating. And I'm a little afraid that this one-week intervalls will go on for quite some time longer, because although I have my laptop back (with a new hard drive and ventilation) it's still continuing to bother me. For one, I don't have any MS Office stuff installed (and writing with WordPad is simply a pain in the neck) and secondly, yesterday it started to get wonky again (the same way it did before I had the hard drive and the ventilation replaced... I feel seriously cheeted by TPTB out there). Anyway, new chapter, hope you enjoyed it :)