Jennifer had two more missions on her schedule for the week. Both went without even a minor incident. John and Evan seemed to be pleased with the outcome, earning her a reprieve from the teasing she'd endured after many bad missions.
Her luck held as well in her personal life. Jennifer hadn't received another letter since the last one she'd found during the mission at the clinic. However, she had a feeling that wouldn't hold up for very long. Several times, she wanted to tell Evan or Sheppard about them, but she found herself too embarrassed.
A few days later, she ended a long morning shift exhausted. Jennifer sincerely hoped Earth would be sending back more infirmary staff... specifically doctors with surgical training. As of now, she was the only doctor in the city who could handle most surgeries. It seemed like every time she was off shift, a team would come back injured and required her assistance.
A long hot shower was on her mind as soon as she opened her door. The paperwork had piled up again on her desk, forcing her to work quickly and multi-task between the required reports needing to be finished as well as checking on a few patients. Searching for her robe, she discovered it half covering a chair in the corner of her room. Pulling off clothes on her way to the shower, she discarded them on the floor and stepped into the hot spray. She must have stood there for minutes before moving to wash her hair and finish cleaning up.
Unable to stand any longer, she toweled herself dry and wrapped her aching body into her robe. Groaning, she willed herself to walk to the bed and tumbled onto it, wet hair and all, and fell fast asleep.
Three hours later, she woke up, feeling refreshed. Then Jennifer glanced at the clock. With a groan, she sat up. Noting how long she slept, she realized it would throw her off the rest of the night. Whenever she took a long nap during the day, sleeping that night was always a challenge.
Jennifer grabbed her clothes, changed, and headed to a late lunch. Her hair, which had still been wet when she woke up, tumbled into waves. A few nurses had mentioned she was lucky that her hair was naturally wavy and didn't need to be styled in a time crunch.
As she passed a few personnel, she sensed some sort of excitement in the air. Hearing the random comments about a party made her realize that tonight was the big social event everyone had been talking about for weeks.
She didn't know anyone well enough to sit by in the mess hall. It was about 1500 in the afternoon, when most had already eaten lunch and none were thinking about dinner. Jennifer had begun her shift at 0300 today, so her schedule was completely off.
It surprised her when Lorne's team- at least Anderson and Miller- walked in, grabbed their trays, and headed towards her. Pleased to have someone to talk to, she smiled at the men.
"Hey guys," she greeted. "Just getting back?"
Miller grunted. "Yes. I thought I was going to starve to death in that post-mission debriefing. Woolsey kept going over the littlest of details. Even Lorne was getting irritated, which doesn't happen often."
Anderson didn't even look up but sent a quick greeting to her before grabbing his fork. He began shoveling in the food as soon as he sat down. Jennifer watched, amused.
"Glad I was the one you sat by, guys," she grinned. "Just in case Captain Anderson chokes on his pork chop and needs the Heimlich Maneuver."
"Funny, doc," he mumbled, looking up finally since he had to chew before he could resume clearing the plate. "My stomach was so loud, even Sheppard could hear it from across the table."
Evan came up to the table and set his tray down. It was piled with more food than usual.
"Jen, I'm pretty sure Woolsey needs to be reported," Evan said, cutting into his meat. "The acting CMO of Atlantis should be aware that he's trying to starve military personnel."
Jennifer laughed. "That's what I'm hearing." She finished her own food, not at all surprised when Anderson went up for seconds.
"Ready for the party tonight?" Miller asked both of them.
They both groaned. Evan looked at Jennifer, shrugging. "I guess I'd sound like an old man if I admitted I'd rather catch up on some sleep."
Miller snorted. "That you would, grandpa." Knowing full well he could get away with teasing his CO off duty, he pushed on. "Just make sure to bring your cane and we'll see that you get back to the nursing home tonight."
Evan kicked him under the table.
"Well, then, I guess I won't admit the same thing. Even though I just took a three hour nap after my shift. Anyways, I better get some paperwork done in the infirmary before everything starts tonight. See you both later."
Miller watched his CO's eyes follow her as she made her way out the door. When she exited the mess hall, he turned his eyes back on Miller.
"What?" Evan said, defensively..
Slowly smiling, Miller looked at Evan innocently. "Nothing." Changing the subject before Evan realized he had been caught, Miller watched Anderson sit back down. "I hear there are going to be prizes for the winners during the games tonight. You guys hear any rumors?"
Anderson nodded. "Yup. I know one of the organizers. That botanist—Michelle—well, she said her department was in charge of them. They got Woolsey to approve a few ones I'm sure will have people fighting for."
Evan's interest picked up. "Like what?"
"One's for the ladies... a date with Sheppard, believe it or not. Surprised they didn't hit you up for that too. Ronon got talked into offering a private training lesson," Anderson grinned. "Other than the ladies, what man would take that? Like I really want an extra beating from that man. There's one that let's you and someone else leave the city and spend the day wherever you choose, as long as it's on an approved list of safe planets."
"Really?" Evan asked, finishing his meal.
"Yeah, you interested, boss?" Anderson asked.
Evan nodded. "Jen and I were talking on that last planet. It'd be nice to visit there off duty."
His two officers looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Typically Evan, although he was friends with Jennifer, referred to her as Keller or "doctor" in front of his men. It was the second time during the conversation he'd slipped. "So if you won," Miller asked, deciding to be the brave one, "you'd ask Dr. Keller to go with you?"
"Sure," Evan shrugged. "She needs a day off. I could paint, she could read. It'd be nice." He narrowed his eyes on the men. "Why?"
"Nothing, Lorne," Miller said, shaking his head at his CO's denial that Keller meant more to him than just friends. "You'll find out soon enough. Hopefully."
Jennifer stepped into the large room, discovered recently by a few military personnel. It must have served as a large gathering place for the Ancients, possibly a place to hold city-wide meetings. Skip forward to the present day, it made a great location for the social committee's Game Show party.
Colorful decorations placed in several corners of the room made Jennifer feel like she was back on Earth, attending a high school or college party. And making her feel like the awkward kid looking around the room for someone she knew.
"Hey," Evan said, brushing her shoulder. "Did you just get here?" He was already holding a can of Pepsi. The last shipment from the Daedalus contained party supplies the committee requested, including soft drink beverages.
"Yup," she replied, relieved to see him. As much as the inhabitants of the expedition saw each other, Jennifer didn't find much time to socialize outside of the infirmary. Unless she had treated someone, Jennifer found she still hadn't met many of the expedition members.
"Dr. Keller," Anderson said, smiling at the doctor. "Glad you made it. Lorne was wondering when you were going to get here." He smiled at his CO, who sent him a censuring look. "Ah, can I grab you a pop? They brought back a ton on the last shipment."
"Soda, Anderson. It's called a soda," Lorne grinned.
Anderson crinkled his nose. "What? No, man, only southern folks call it 'soda.' And old folks." Turning to Jennifer, he waited for an answer.
She grinned back at Anderson. "Sorry, Captain," she shrugged. "I'm from Wisconsin. And we call is soda."
"Doc," he said, setting his Coke down and putting an arm around her shoulders. "We need to talk. Now, where I'm from in Michigan, it's called pop. Say it with me now," he waited for her to repeat it with him. "Pop. Now doesn't that roll off your tongue better than 'soda?'"
Evan laughed at Anderson's ease with Jennifer. If it had been anyone else, he would've immediately set out to get her away from them.. especially anyone who placed an arm around her like that. But his team members were genuinely just friendly toward her.
Rodney, who'd been overhearing, stepped in. "Actually, Anderson, it's more than a Michigan thing." Happy to grab everyone's attention, he paused dramatically. "It's a debate the Americans have... usually something to talk about at a dull party... present situation excluded, of course. But anyways, in the States, most northern regions call carbonated beverages 'pop.' The southern states refer to them as 'coke,' which confuses the heck out of me... if I want a Pepsi, then I call it a coke? Ah, well, furthermore, states to the far west, a few patchy areas in the midwest, as well as the New England states call it a 'soda.'"
"And that," Anderson chimed in, completely amazed, "is way more information than I wanted to know on that debate, McKay." He tugged Jennifer in the direction of the refreshments. "Come on, our team and SGA-1 is about to battle it out in Family Fued."
To her amazement, Jennifer began to loosen up and have fun. Anderson grabbed her an A & W root beer and escorted her to a chair. They game started just a few minutes later. Watching Lorne and Sheppard's team compete on an Atlantis version of Family Fued had her rolling in her seat with laughter. Radek hosted, much to the dismay of McKay, which caused several arguments during the game. Laura Cadman, whom she absolutely loved talking to when she was on Atlantis, sat next to her, hissing Sheppard's team and screaming victory when Evan and the guys got ahead in the game. In the end, Lorne's team pulled off a victory, earning them each a prize— a goody basket of food from Earth.
McKay, obviously a sore loser, muttered something about a rematch before running over to the Jeopardy game area, where he was playing host. Jennifer laughed as she saw the categories posted about each column: Atlantian termonology, Sheppardisms, Athosian people, name that disaster, Wraith devices, and mess hall grub.
Evan leaned over, whispering in her ear, making Jennifer jump a mile. She caught the faint smell of his aftershave as he pulled her close to him. "Rumor has it that two out of the five questions in the fourth category revolve around a Keller mission." He ran away from her before she could land anything on him, making her laugh. For the second time today, she felt flutters in her chest after talking with him. Shaking her head, she told herself to get a grip. No need to complicate her life and ruin a good friendship, she thought.
Nevertheless, Jennifer followed his retreat over to the American Gladiator set up. There, Ronon stood waiting for challengers. As she wandered to the area, Jennifer overheard a few people say that about ten military guys had tried and failed so far.
"What's the prize?" Jennifer asked a group of scientists.
"A trip off world, your choice of destination," one replied. "Why? Thinking about trying for it?"
"Please," she retorted. "Do I look stupid?"
The crowd began to murmur as someone approached Ronon. Seeing it was Evan, she moved forward.
"Better grab your medical kit, Dr. Keller," Woolsey murmured next to her.
Sheppard came from behind both of them. "Actually, he may just surprise us. Lorne's been getting extra training from Ronon a few nights a week."
"Ah," Jennifer said. "So that's why he's been listed as a visitor in the infirmary so much lately. I haven't had a chance to ask him. I've been working odd shifts this week."
Ronon had set up a few tasks to test both a competitors speed and agility. Due to the limited resources, he couldn't replicate many of the actual events he had watched on Sheppard's DVD of the series, but he did a good job with what he had at his disposal. When the whistle sounded, both men took off running. It shocked many when Evan just barely trailed Ronon throughout the entire course. The first task was weight lifting, where the men had to bench press ten counts, overseen by a major who frequented the weight room with Ronon. Evan lagged slightly behind Ronon but made up for it on the jump rope, where he sailed past the warrior after Ronon got tangled once in the rope. Everyone cheered for Evan, glad for the man who was the obvious underdog.
The next task would prove to be the hardest... the two men had to stand on a narrow platform with a staff. Whoever knocked the other person off first would have the shortest route to the next task, leaving the other to make their way up through additional obstacles. The two men battled for several minutes, until Evan shocked everyone and caught Ronon off balance, sending him teetering sideways and falling off the platform.
A Wraith stun gun was set up at the end of the course. The opponents had to take a shot at a target and be able to land three in the inner circle. Although he was used to his hand gun, Evan made off with the shots after a few tries and ran to the finish line just ahead of Ronon.
Jennifer cheered, happy to see that he'd won. Ronon grudgingly congratulated the man, handing him an envelope with his prize. She'd wanted to congratulate him, but was pulled by Laura in the opposite direction to partner up with her on Win, Lose, or Draw along with a few nurses.
As the night wore on, Jennifer's eyes began to get heavy. Despite her enjoyment, she finished the game and left to grab some water at a nearby table. Within a few minutes, Evan's team, minus the Major, came up to her table.
Adams was grinning, bragging about winning a living quarter's upgrade at the Wheel of Fortune table. "Man, I'm outta that dinky room. You guys saw it. It's smaller than your private bathrooms."
"Hey, we didn't always live in those rooms," Anderson said. "But even I'll admit your room seemed like it was designed for a small kid or something."
Miller slapped Adams' back. "We'll help ya move tomorrow before lunch. 1100 hours. Be ready."
With laughter crinkling his eyes, Evan arrived and sat down, unable to stop smiling.
"What's up, Lorne?" Anderson asked.
He looked at Jennifer. "You know that nurse on nights right now? Tricia or something?" She nodded. "Well, she just won a date with Sheppard on the Wheel of Fortune table."
Sheppard chose that minute to sit down. Evan tried his best to stop laughing, but failed.
"Lorne, you have to sleep sometime," Sheppard warned. "And I swear, I'll get you back for this."
Miller looked at the two commanding officers. "What did he do?"
Glaring at Evan, Sheppard paused to take a long drink. "Only planted a rumor that the prize was to go out with him, not me. Ronon was in on it too. Guess they found it funny since this nurse has the hots for the major over here."
Jennifer would have scolded them for poking fun at one of her nurses, but even she didn't get along with Tricia Grady, who'd arrived a few months back. Not saying a word, she just patted Sheppard's hand.
"Well, at least she won't hit on you during the date," Jennifer consoled, then looked slyly over at Evan. "Or maybe she'll give up on Ev and move on to bigger and better things."
"Hey," Evan said, flicking a straw wrapper at her. "Who you calling bigger and better?"
Sending him a look that could only be interpreted as an act of flirtation, she shrugged. "Rumor has it Sheppard's a sure bet as being a better kisser." Batting her eyelashes, she sent Evan an innocent look.
"Ohhhhhh!!!!" The guys at the table roared, grinning as Jennifer slam dunked their CO. Evan sat, dumbfounded as he watched her come further out of her shell right before his eyes. Added to the fact that she was blatantly flirting with him, his heart leaped in his chest. Sheppard laughed, forgetting his recent irritation with Evan.
"And that, gentlemen, is how you gracefully exit a room," Jennifer said, standing up. "But because I barely got here without getting lost and it's getting late, I'd love to ask one of you men to escort me back to my quarters." She looked pointedly at Evan, raising her eyebrows. He grinned, starting to stand up and thinking it was a peace offering, when she diverted her gaze to Adams. "Lieutenant, would you do me the honors?"
Adams looked at Evan, who was grating his teeth as the men shouted again, clapping at Jennifer's ability to poke fun at him for the second time in minutes. Deciding to push his lucky streak for the night and not have Lorne angry with him, Adams leaped up.
"Sure, Dr. Keller," he said formally, hoping to show Lorne he was just doing a good service and not trying to hit on the doctor.
As they two walked away and the rest of his team moved to play another round of a game, Sheppard turned to Evan. "Man, she sure has gotten over that shy thing. I'm beginning to like this version of the Doc."
Evan just looked at Sheppard, shaking his head. "You and me both," he murmured under his breath.
The next day, Evan found himself with a day off and nothing to do. Looking at the master schedule, he saw Jennifer had the day off as well. Opening a private communications channel to Sheppard, he asked and was given permission to cash in on his winnings from the previous night. Verifying that he could return with Jennifer to the planet they'd visited a few weeks before, he began to pack up his supplies.
He headed towards the infirmary, knowing full well he would find Jennifer there even on her off day, he walked into the room. Breathing a sigh of relief that Tricia was not on duty, he headed to her office. Marie, the infirmaries head nurse, was sitting next to Jennifer and looking over some paperwork.
Evan knocked on the wall, announcing his presence. Seeing him, Jennifer reddened slightly, probably remembering her bold teasing from the night before.
"Hey," he said, ignoring her embarrassment. "Marie, think you can spare Keller for a few hours?"
Marie looked over at her CMO, who was looking at Evan different than she had seen her look at him before. "Ah, yes, major. I'm actually fully capable of finishing this up on my own. And Dr. Keller is supposed to be off today."
"Great," he held his hand out, helping her stand. "I have the perfect romantic day planned for us." Grinning at Jen's shocked expression, her watched her eyes fly wide opened. Placing an arm around her waist, he guided her towards the door of the infirmary, clear in front of all staff who watched them walked by. Judging by their equally shocked expressions, he was assured that as soon as they left, the rumors would start flying.
In the hallway, he dropped his arm, laughing at her silence. "What? You seem to be less brave without my guys around."
Tongue in cheek, she just shook her head. "I should've known I'd pay for all of that. Now you're going to have my entire staff thinking we have a thing going."
Evan held his tongue with what he wanted to say. "Not your entire staff... just a few nurses. I didn't see any doctors around. Anyways, let's swing by your room. We're leaving in a few minutes."
"As in, off-world?" Jennifer returned. "You're kidding me. On a mission?"
"No," he shook his head. "I won that prize last night against Ronon. The one where you get to spend the day somewhere else. Thought you'd enjoy going back to that planet and read a book while I paint. You can keep me company."
"Seriously? Who else is going?"
"Just us," he said, wagging his eyebrows, knowing full well they were in hearing distance of a few men patrolling the halls. "Why would I bring someone else on our date?"
Jennifer just closed her eyes as the men both looked up, surprised. "Seriously. I'm going to kill you." Seeing that she had no choice, she hurried into her room, grabbed a book, and quickly changed in her bathroom to capri Khaki's and a short-sleeved top that had a habit of riding down her shoulders. The strapless bra she switched into made sure no straps were showing.
Knowing she wouldn't be long, Evan looked around her room and stayed standing. Spying an envelope with her name on it near the door, he picked it up.
"Hey, you know you have a letter on the floor over here, Jen?" Evan called out as she flew out of the bathroom. It took him a second to adjust to her in clothes other than her uniform. The deep purple of her shirt made her look even more beautiful. He eyed the silver hoops she had put in her ears and the light hand of makeup she must've added in the bathroom, wondering if she'd done that for him.
He shook his head. Neither one of them were interested in dating. So why was he thinking of her more than a friend after knowing her this long?
Evan didn't realize she'd paused, glancing at the note like it was going to attack her. She reluctantly took it, setting it in her drawer. "It's nothing," she lied, picking up her stuff. "Let's go."
Grabbing a pair of flip flops she was so fond of on her days off, she turned back to the room and snatched a blanket off her bed.
Confused at her reaction, he decided not to push her on it. For some reason, the note made her looked stressed, which was the opposite feeling he wanted her to feel today. She worked too hard, and the prospect of them spending a few hours away from the city made him want to forget anything on either of their minds.
Especially this growing feeling of attraction he was beginning to feel for her. Noting how the shirt she wore kept moving off her shoulder slightly, revealing a creamy pale amount of skin, he sighed. Fat chance of that happening today, he thought.