Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Stargate Atlantis or it's wonderful characters.
2 – Recklessly
Lorne wandered into the infirmary looking for Keller. She'd not been at dinner, Cadman had informed them that she'd had to pull a double shift. He worried she might be avoiding him but he hoped it wasn't the case. He felt like the whole stupid kiss goodbye thing was really growing into something huge and they should probably talk about it.
He spotted the Doctor in question across the floor. He moved up behind her and leaned in close, "Are you avoiding me?"
Jennifer held back a startled scream, but just barely, as she turned around and faced Evan. "It's not a good idea to sneak up on a doctor, especially at night when she's the only doc on duty. What would you've done if you'd given me a heart attack?"
Evan grinned, boy he'd missed her, "Is that the one where you give aspirin? Or is that for a stroke?"
Jenn gave the Major a glare that said she didn't find him funny, before turning back around to the chart on the counter and finishing her notations. She grinned just a little to herself. It was a little unnerving to be alone with him, not certain where any conversation would go and so wanting to avoid talk about the other morning, but she'd missed him and his team.
Evan moved up beside her and leaned against the counter, "You didn't answer my question," he reminded her quietly.
"You've been out on missions the last couple of days. Beckett asked me to pull a double shift for some scheduling problems he was having. I'm not avoiding you."
"Good," Lorne uttered, not entirely convinced. "I was hoping the incident after breakfast a few mornings back wasn't making you uncomfortable. I still think we should talk about it. Can you spare a few minutes?"
"This isn't such a great time, Evan," Keller said, not quite meeting Lorne's eyes. "I don't want to talk about it at work. We're good though, we don't really need to talk." Jennifer was hoping that time would take care of the awkwardness and they'd be back to golden any day, at least that was the hope.
"I'll let you get back to work for now," Evan reluctantly agreed, "but I do think we need to talk about it… soon."
Jennifer looked at him and nodded, knowing he'd be persistent.
"Night Jenn," the Major said as he squeezed her elbow lightly before turning to go.
"Night Ev," she replied as she watched him leave.
Jennifer managed to avoid him for two more days. Between missions, work and sleep she'd remained elusive to him, but that was to end shortly. Evan was leaning against the wall just outside the doors to the infirmary waiting for her to get off work. He'd check with Beckett during dinner in the mess hall tonight and he'd readily told him Jenn would be off at about 10 pm.
He wasn't sure what exactly he was going to say, but he wanted the air cleared quickly. He could swear he was getting glares from Cadman and it was causing odd glances from his guys. When he sat down for dinner tonight, he was informed that he'd just missed her and he'd decided - enough was enough.
Evan had watched Dr. Biro enter the infirmary a few minutes earlier and knew the shift change would happen in a matter of minutes. And how creepy was it that the doctor who performed most autopsies in Atlantis had the graveyard shift?
Jennifer's voice calling out goodnights on her way out of the infirmary brought his wandering mind back to the present. He watched Keller take a few steps in his direction and he smirked when he watched her come to a startled stop as she finally noticed him lounging in the hallway.
"Good evening, doctor," Evan greeted her with a smile.
"Major," Jennifer acknowledged. "I'm guessing it's not a coincidence - you being in this hallway at the end of my shift."
"Not at all," he conceded.
Jenn gave a sigh of resignation, "Well… you might as well walk me home then. We can have this 'talk' you want there."
Lorne fell into step with her and within a few minutes the door to her room was closing behind them. Evan began pacing slowly, not even realizing he was doing so at first. He didn't know why being in her room made him nervous, it never had in the past.
Jennifer stood just inside her door and watched the Major pace. She couldn't think of a time they'd ever been ill at ease around each other. She'd hit it off with him and his team about as easily as she had with Laura.
"Evan, you can quit beating yourself up. I know it was an accident and that it didn't mean anything."
Although it's what he'd been hoping to hear, it didn't give him the type of relief he'd been expecting. "Completely," he agreed. "So does that mean you'll stop avoiding me?"
"I haven't been avoiding you, you conceited freak," she laughed at him. Maybe she'd been a little quick to say yes when Beckett asked if she'd take a few of the extra shifts, but he did need the shifts filled until Dr. Cole came back from her extended mission. "I didn't make up your mission schedule. You've been kind of busy lately, Ev." Jenn looked at him shrewdly; "Unless maybe you've been avoiding me?" she teased him.
He finally relaxed a bit, "You're right, we've just been busy… and I have another mission tomorrow that's an overnighter too."
Jennifer was grateful to see him calming and his pacing had slowed to near non-existent. She couldn't help but tease, "Is that in case this conversation doesn't go well?" she asked raising her eyebrows.
"You can never be sure how things will go when talking to a woman," he bit back sarcastically, trying and failing to hide his grin.
Jennifer took a step closer so she could playfully punch him in the arm and was rewarded with him pretending it hurt.
"I've actually done something similar before," Jenn started thinking that sharing might take the sting of embarrassment away. "I was away at college and you know how you get in the habit of talking a certain way to people." She watched him nod his head, but she didn't think she was explaining it quite right. "Well, I used to talk on the phone to my dad almost daily while I was at college. I think it kind of freaked him out to have his fifteen year old daughter living away from home."
"Completely understandable," Lorne interjected, following along with Jenn's story, not sure where it was going yet, but thankful things seemed to be on more solid footing.
"Well at the conclusion of each phone call I'd end it with 'love you, bye'."
Evan began to grin, beginning to see exactly where this story was headed.
Jennifer grinned back, embarrassed as she relived the moment, but enjoying sharing the memory with Evan. "I was talking one day to my financial advisor about my scholarships and such. When the conversation came to a close I found myself saying 'love ya, bye'."
She looked down at the ground and Evan was glad because he had a huge grin on his face he couldn't have hid.
"The worst part," she continued, "is that I still had to deal with him for two more years and I always wondered if he'd heard it and what went through his mind when he did? How long did he rehash that phone conversation? I know I did for months," she confessed wryly as she looked back up at Lorne.
She saw him grinning and trying to hold back a laugh. She had to grin with him. She knew part of it was from her story, but she also knew that part was from the adrenaline rush of this whole awkward moment they were in.
"I did learn something about you though, through this," Jennifer told him, a look of mischief in her eyes.
Lorne felt his chest tighten at her look, "What would that be?" he asked cautiously.
"You've been in at least one long term relationship."
The Major looked at her skeptically.
"At some point in your past you were comfortable with that parting gesture." Jenn wasn't sure why she didn't just say kiss, but she really hadn't wanted to.
"Still don't know what happened… I was saying goodbye and then…" Evan trailed off, the scene flashing through his mind once more.
"You kissed me," Jennifer finished for him, suddenly wanting to label it since he seemed to be having difficulty doing so. What was wrong with her, they'd been doing better. Their old banter had only just shown itself in a glimpse of grins and here she was almost challenging him. She was glad he couldn't read her mind, she'd hate for him to know how often she'd really thought about the incident. Wondering at the cause and what thoughts ran through his mind immediately after. Were they similar to hers? She'd been embarrassment for him and concerned that he'd be worrying about her instead of concentrating on his mission.
"Look Evan," she tried to sound matter of fact, she wanted to completely ease his mind and keep the footing they'd gained previously. "It was just a kiss. Put it out of your mind, I've already forgotten about it."
"That wasn't a kiss," he denied, not sure why he was feeling defensive about it.
"Okay…," Jenn replied, feeling a little less on solid ground suddenly.
"That wasn't a kiss," Lorne insisted, "if it'd been a kiss you wouldn't have been able to forget it so easily." He realized after the words left his mouth how argumentative he was being. Wasn't forgetting about it what he'd been hoping for?
He dared to look at her and saw the confusion in her eyes and had to admit even he was having trouble following this conversation.
"I'm sorry, Evan," Jennifer began carefully, "I didn't mean to imply that…"
Lorne didn't let her finish. He took the two remaining steps into her personal space and pulled her into his arms quickly, kissing her hard.
Jennifer didn't know what hit her. One minute she is treading water in this conversation or argument, she really wasn't sure which it was, and the next Evan had claimed her lips, his embrace hard and unyielding.
Initially Evan was trying to prove a point, but when her lips began moving under his he lost all thought and just allowed himself to feel. As the feelings became more and more intense he broke off the kiss to catch a breath. Looking down at her lost expression and heavy breathing he finally came to his senses. What was he doing… and with Keller?
"So… umm," Lorne tried, pausing to take a breath, "yeah, maybe avoiding me was a good idea after all." Lorne looked around her room and when he failed to collect his thoughts he figured he just needed to get away from her, for both their sakes. "I should go… mission to prepare for."
Jennifer nodded, not trusting her voice. She watched him walk slowly to her door and exit. She wasn't sure how much longer she stood there after he left, but she did come to the conclusion that Evan was right, the incident a few mornings ago definitely wasn't a kiss.