Now, this is short andTeyla isn't in it, but it all builds on chapter one and helps with chapter three. Plus I couldn't resist having McKay give Shep a bat of a hard time.

Thanks for all the reviews!!

THE LAST OF THE POPCORN

How McKay Embarrassed Sheppard (Part 2/3)

When Rodney McKay walked into his lab and saw Major John Sheppard sitting there, he really wanted to stop the smirk he felt spreading across his face. He wanted to milk the information he'd just received for all it was worth. He wasnted to savor the moment, as it were.

But he couldn't. He was not good at bluffing. As it was he barely stopped the giggle, and oh yes, it would have been something of a giggle, from escaping his lips.

Luckily he managed to mostly cover it with an "Oh, hello Major." Of course Rodney wasn't exactly graceful, so Sheppard caught it.

"What?" McKay saw the way John's eyes narrowed. He knew the Major could see through him, knew that John could see plain as day that he was trying to keep something from him, but hey, how often did Rodney get to make Sheppard sweat something?

"Oh, just things. You know… normal things." His hands were flying everywhere. He might burst out laughing.

"Well pretend I don't know."

"Ah, well, hmmm. I heard it from Zelenka, so the information is second hand. Or is that more like fifth or sixth hand? It's like a game of telephone, Major. So it isn't necessarily true, but I could see it being true." Rodney's smirk had grown to a full blown smile, "Anyway, Zelenka heard it from, uh, Kirchner, I think her name is. Who heard from Alan Rhoads who heard from Crosswell who over heard it when that Snowden girl was talking in the Mess Hall with-"

"Jeez, McKay you sound like a little girl in high school . Just spit it out already!"

Rodney folded his arms and leaned back against one of the tables, near its edge, doing to his best to look like the man with the upper hand. "Apparently, Teyla saw a couple of your marines playing a little game of hockey" it was McKay's sport so there was smugness in his voice as he said it, "with their dinner knives."

John's eyes and ears seemed to perk up, and McKay figured he was putting it all together. A game played with knives - which were utensils. And what else are utensils?

"And she asked if that was anything like" he looked over Sheppard's head for a brief second, like he was trying to find the word, "spooning."

"What?" Rodney might not be good at bluffing, but he was at least getting better at reading people (so long as they were his team mates anyway) and Sheppard just told him that that game of telephone rung true. "Why would she say that?"

The slightest hint of red seemed to be making its way into Sheppard's cheeks. Oddly enough, Rodney found it slightly endearing – which made him feel slightly nauseous. He could see Teyla and Sheppard having a thing, or a thing that became, well, whatever – that wasn't really his business. They seemed to work well enough together, but he worried that something might happen. What if they broke up and some awkward tension split the team? That could lead to him-them, all of them getting hurt. Or he-they, they could all get killed on a mission. And that kinda bothered him. A lot actually, and not just the part of him that was included in they.

He looked at the pink that was becoming redder and decided; they should enjoy as much happiness as they could before some disaster befell them. And he really couldn't help but goad Sheppard now. "I think there was mention of you teaching Teyla how to spoon?"

"Shut up McKay." John stood and made his way towards the door and was sure to bump shoulders with the scientist as he passed. McKay turned on his heels as the Major crossed the threshold and moved into the hallway.

Hand on his shoulder; he shouted "Good luck with that!"

With a smile he set about what he'd been there to do.

TBC

R and R...I promise the next chapter has spooning :)...