A/N: Pre-ship McKeller.
The Friendship Files
Chapter Seven
Not So Random Acts of Friendship
Atlantis - 2300
Jennifer tossed and turned in her bed unable to get comfortable. Though the ambient temperature in her room was a constant 72 degrees she still felt hot and claustrophobic. She needed to feel the night breeze on her face and body. Taking her pillow and blanket she made her way to one of the lesser used balconies on a very high floor, careful to stay away from the edge.
Folding the blanket in half lengthwise then in half again creating a makeshift bedroll, she spread it out, plopped the pillow at the top and sat down leaning back on her hands with her knees up. Turning her face up into the breeze she closed her eyes and inhaled the cool clean air.
A sound startled her and she turned to see Teyla standing there with a blanket and pillow. "I do not mean to intrude, Jennifer. May I join you?"
"Please do. What are you doing out here?"
"Kanaan and Torren are offworld and I have been restless listening for my child's cries."
"I understand. Well, pull up a piece of floor and make yourself comfortable."
Teyla folded her blanket in the same fashion Jennifer had spreading it out a couple of feet from her friend. Closing her eyes, she, too, let the cool breeze brush across her face. She began to relax, letting out a sigh of pleasure.
"If we were on Earth we would be exchanging confidences, painting each other's toenails, doing each other's hair, talking about 'boys' and giggling like school girls, though I didn't actually do any of that in high school."
"Why is that? Were you shy?"
Jennifer laughed. "Yeah, kind of. I was much younger than my classmates and was teased because I was…studious."
"Ah. I have heard the term 'geek' and 'nerd' applied to such persons."
"That's about the size of it. I grew up smart in a small town where being smart was looked upon as a mental disorder."
"Like Rodney."
The doctor blushed and looked down at her hands linked together in her lap. "Yeah, like Rodney." When she looked up again the Athosian was watching her with amusement. "What?"
"Every time Rodney is mentioned you blush. Perhaps you would care to…exchange confidences. "
"Uh…"
"Hey, what are you two doing out here?" Amelia Banks was standing in a small circle of light holding a pillow and a sleeping bag.
"The same as you, I'm guessing." Jennifer waved a hand in invitation. The women were talking and laughing when they heard voices coming down the hall. A few seconds later nurse Marie Cho and Dr. Amanda Cole entered.
Amanda looked around. "Great minds think alike?"
"Apparently." Amelia responded with a smile.
The new additions joined the group and soon they were all laughing and having a great time. They played a few silly games then Amelia brought them all into a huddle and made a motion. It was enthusiastically seconded and she called for a vote. "All in favor signify by saying 'aye'."
There was a chorus of "ayes" with no dissenters.
"The motion is hereby carried. Let's go!"
*****
The five women crept silently through the halls of Atlantis. When they came upon sentries they hid until they passed, mostly because it wouldn't have looked good for the head of medical, one of her doctors, her senior nurse, a senior 'gate technician and a member of SGA-1 to be running barefoot through the halls in their pj's, no matter how modest.
At one point a guard they were trying to avoid, for some unknown reason, decided to just walk back and forth in front of the staircase they needed to use. Amelia said, "I'll take care of this." She rolled the waistband of her pajama shorts bringing them higher, exposing her navel and nearly all of her tanned and toned thighs. Then she reached inside her camisole and brought both breasts front and center maximizing her already considerable cleavage then pulled the elastic from her long hair and shook it out. Barefoot, dressed in pj's and her hair now a loose fluffy dark blonde cloud around her head and shoulders, she hardly looked like the calm, cool professional woman who worked in the city's nerve center.
She pulled her shoulders down and back further emphasizing her…assets and sauntered lazily past the guy, a young Marine who had been stuck on the night shift for way too long. His eyes followed her as she added a little extra oomph to her walk drawing his attention to her firm backside. He called out to her asking what her business was in the area.
"Oh, no business. I was a bit restless so I'm just taking a walk before..." she looked down at his feet and slowly brought her eyes up his body, purposely lingering on the area below his belt before making the final trek up to his face, "…bed. What's your name, soldier?"
"Rogers, Ma'am. Sergeant Lawrence Rogers, United States Marine Corp. Semper Fi!" he tipped an imaginary hat.
"Do you always work the graveyard shift…Lawrence?" She drew his name out, rolling the "r" making it sound like a promise.
"Uh, y-y-yes, Ma'am."
Her eyes dropped down just for a second then came back to his. "Pity." She walked around him and he followed until his back was to the stairs and her friends hiding in the shadows. One by one they tiptoed silently down into the inky depths. "Well, Lawrence, I should be on my way. Maybe we'll run into each other the next time I have trouble sleeping." She headed down the stairs but stopped on the third step, turned and waved to the besotted Sergeant Rogers. "Bye."
Amelia caught up with the others as they waited for her in front of a transport. She bowed as they gave her a quick round of applause. "I'm glad you're on our side and using that power for good instead of evil." Amanda said with a touch of awe.
When they reached their destination, the bar, they hesitated just a moment before entering. Trying to be casual, they headed straight for the bar. The others didn't see Amanda turn and leave.
The room was dim and there were only a few patrons. A couple was on the dance floor slow dancing to a George Strait song, a group of Marines were in the corner playing pool, and Radek Zelenka was playing darts with the female German scientist whose name Jennifer couldn't remember at the moment. In one dark corner was a male and female whom she recognized but didn't know their names. They were, well, making out was the only term she could come up with for what they were doing and not very discretely at that.
"Hello, ladies. What can I get for you tonight?" Eddie the bartender asked them as he polished glasses. If he thought it odd that they were in the bar in sleep attire he didn't show it. In Jennifer's estimation that was the mark of a good bartender.
"Uh, we need…" She chewed her lip as if in thought then decided what the hell, she might as well go for it. Her shift didn't start until after supper and if an emergency came up, well, there were plenty of other doctors on staff that were more than capable of handling the situation. "…a case of beer in bottles, a big bag of pretzels, two bags of pork rinds-one regular, one spicy, a bottle of Jose Cuervo Gold, some limes, cut up, of course, and five shot glasses. Put it all on my tab." Marie whispered in her ear. "Oh, and the biggest bag of milk chocolate M&M's you have…or two smaller bags."
"Excuse me?" Eddie's eyes were wide in shock.
"Shall we repeat the order?" Teyla asked.
"Uh, no, Ma'am. I got it." He reached into the cooler and produced the requested liquid refreshments then went to the storage room for the other items piling it all on the counter. "So, you gonna drink and eat that here or take it with you?"
As they gathered up their purchases, Amelia gave the man a withering look. "Do all bartenders think they're also comedians?"
He smiled and shrugged helplessly. "Yeah, pretty much."
"Well, don't give up your night job."
*****
When they returned to the hall and headed for the transport they noticed that Amanda was gone.
"Where'd she go?"
"Not a clue." Marie told them as they returned to their makeshift bedroom.
A few minutes later Amanda rejoined them carrying a duffle bag. The sound of bottles rattling could be heard when she sat it on the floor. "Hey, does anyone know how to turn the lights up on just this balcony?"
"I can help you with that, ladies." All five women whipped around at the sound of a male voice. It was Rodney McKay.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" Jennifer asked as the others crowded around her guiltily.
"I could ask you the same thing. I saw all of you leaving the bar with enough beer and snacks to, well, do exactly what you're doing. I assume you're having a…slumber party."
"Yeah. It was sort of an impromptu thing." The women exchanged sheepish glances. "Are you gonna tell on us?"
"No, of course not…as long as you let me stay. For a while anyway." They stared at him so long he started to fidget. As one they turned and went into a huddle speaking in intense whispers for a few moments then turned and faced him again.
Jennifer, the unofficial spokesperson for the group, said, "Okay, but only under one condition."
"And that is…?" When she told him the condition he debated with himself for about a nanosecond before agreeing to their request. After all, how often do guys get invited to an all-girl slumber party? Never in his experience.
They brought him into their little group and at Jennifer's suggestion they decided to play a few games. First up: impressions. They chose members of the expedition for each other to impersonate, sometimes putting two together in an ad libbed conversation. Jennifer and Rodney brought down the house with their rendition of a conversation between the expedition commander and its military commander with Jennifer as Woolsey and Rodney as Sheppard. At the end, she took him by the hand and they bowed to their audience.
Afterward, he passed a beer to each of the women and took one for himself, their third. He'd only taken one sip when Jennifer took it away from him.
"Hey!"
"Sorry." She didn't sound repentant at all. "It's time to put up or shut up, McKay!" A chorus of agreement went though the group as they swayed over to the mellow side of the street.
"Okay. Who's up first?" A short intense argument ensued. Each of the women wanted to go first. He brought the disagreement to a halt with a short sharp whistle. "I have an idea. Everyone sit in a circle." While they shifted positions, he reached for one of the empties lined up on the edge of the rail accidentally knocking another off. He watched it fall but they were up so high they didn't even hear the splash. "Oops! Alright, now this is going to be 'Spin the Bottle' with a twist. Instead of kissing, though I admit that would be incredibly, uh, never mind. Instead of kissing, I will massage the feet and paint the toenails of the person the bottle points to. We'll do it again and again until everyone's done."
All were in agreement so he reached between Amelia and Marie and gave the bottle a hard spin. When it stopped it was pointing at Jennifer.
"Do it again, Rodney. I want to go last." He did as she requested and this time it pointed at Amanda. Jennifer helped him take out the bottles of nail polish, polish remover, cotton balls, those weird pieces of foam that went between the toes and several bottles of scented lotion. Sitting down with his back against the wall for support, he squirted a small amount of lotion into his palm while she positioned herself in front of him and extended one leg. He took her foot in both hands and began massaging.
Jennifer watched the look of ecstasy on her friend's face and thought about how good it would feel to have Rodney's oh, so talented hands touching her feet as well as other more…sensitive places. She almost sighed out loud.
*****
Finally, it was Jennifer's turn. She chose a color of polish and handed it to him, letting her hand linger on his just a little longer than necessary.
He looked into her eyes and saw…what? She appeared to be sending him a message that was getting lost in translation. Or was it? If it had been any other woman he might have thought she was encouraging him to take…liberties.
Looking to her left, Jennifer, noticed that Marie was asleep on her stomach, a pillow tucked up under her chest. Amanda and Amelia were talking quietly and eating pork rinds, the spicy ones. Teyla was leaning on the rail looking out over the water, no doubt thinking about Torren and Kanaan. Jennifer could tell from the way he looked at her that Sheppard had a thing for the beautiful Athosian but he'd never act on it as long as Kanaan was still in the picture and it didn't look like that picture was going to change any time soon. Poor guy.
Rodney pressed both thumbs into the flesh just in front of Jennifer's heel and slid them over the arch to the base of the toes over and over, ruthlessly manipulating the foot and driving her almost to the brink of madness. As he'd done to the others, one hand moved up to gently squeeze and stroke her calf. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore! He was about to send her over the edge and she would rather that didn't happen while there were witnesses so she pulled her foot from his grasp. Or rather, she tried to. He refused to relinquish the extremity and they engaged in a playful tug of war. She yelped when he let go suddenly and she fell back, both feet in the air. The look he gave her was so hot she thought she'd melt. He wouldn't do that in front of others and that's when she noticed that Amanda, Amelia and Teyla were also asleep. The idea that they were now the only two awake was very enticing.
He shook the bottle of polish she'd chosen and was startled when she took it from him and set it aside. She rose up onto her knees, crawled toward him then one hand came up to touch him on the cheek. He gasped at the contact then again when her lips touched his, just a small intake of breath. Pulling her onto his lap he leaned her back and followed her down.
Her hand traveled down his neck, across his chest then worked its way under the edge of his t-shirt to touch his skin. He moaned and she swallowed the sound before it could escape. Turnabout was fair play so he lifted the edge of the t-shirt she slept in and used his fingers to examine the ridges of her spine all the way up to her shoulders and down again.
They continued to touch each other through their clothes until Rodney finally put a stop to it. He had a meeting in the morning and sleep beckoned. Pulling her back against his chest, he moved her hair aside and kissed her neck. She sighed in contentment and closed her eyes whispering, "I love you, Rodney." A few minutes later they were both asleep.
*****
When they heard gentle snoring coming from Rodney the other four women lifted their heads, watched the couple sleep for a bit then exchanged self-satisfied expressions. After a group fist bump they got comfortable and were soon asleep themselves.
The End