Okay, so yet again, I'm doing another well-known scene between the two of them. I promise more original things are coming sooner or later if I go much further with this story. The basics had to be done first.
Thank you, DaniWilder, for taking the time to read this over for encouragement and beta.
Oh, and it seems I'm making a habit out of exaggeration… enjoy.
The McKeller Firsts
Chapter 3: First Breakfast
"After our first exchange of words, weeks, practically a month - a year had you asked me at the time - had gone by and I was dying for your attention." Leaving her seat, she emphasized her words with small, distracting rubs to his shoulders. "Breakfasts with you always seemed to be there, I don't think I even remember the very first one," she sighed wistfully.
"Then I finally get to tell my entire side of the story." Rodney grinned next to her through the wanted disturbance of his work. "It all began one dark and stormy night…" He took on an evil glint to his eye as he started with the classic horror story opening.
Jennifer swatted his arm with a laugh. "Tell it the right way. I want to enjoy my story time."
"All right, fine. Once upon a time, four words you'll never hear me say again by the way, there was a…"
"Not even when you tell stories to our little boy or baby girl some day?" Jennifer threw caution to the wind with her interruption and waited for his reply with bated breath and lip-biting teeth.
"I said four words you'll never hear me say again." There was a hesitant pause that hung in the science lab's air for what seemed longer than it probably was. "I would never deprive our children of a proper story-telling or reading daddy."
That was good enough for her. Pause or not, he had spoken what he truly meant and she would leave it at that. "Continue then, please." She nodded her consent.
Rodney promptly gave a little nod in return and went back to his previous enthusiasm. He looked away from her and back to the computer screen in front of him, not caring to see the wide grin she would no doubt flash him as he began again, "Once upon a time…"
The table was empty and wiped clean by the kitchen staff save for one picked over tray. The rest of the mess hall had two to three people per table; there was no end to the line or food on cheesy omelet day whenever the Daedalus returned from Earth, and definitely not on a weekend morning. The tray remained on the table, serving little purpose but to provide easy clean up for the dripping cheese that was drying on whatever surface it fell on should that clean up ever come.
Rodney had his eyes glued to a tablet with the latest diagnostics needing his review on the screen when another tray joined his on the table. It took a moment to surface from his reading in order to answer the feminine voice he may have imagined speaking to him. His searching blue eyes glanced up right into the smiling face of the new doctor, Jennifer Keller. He may have learned her name only recently but he wasn't about to forget it anytime soon. "Did you say something?"
Jennifer was looking right at him and still had her hands on her tray, not quite settling in. "I asked if you wouldn't mind if I joined you?" She repeated politely and glanced around at the other tables.
Probably looking at all the damage she's doing by sitting with me. If she's willing to put up with the teasing, why not? "Uh, sure."
"I certainly was not! And for that fact, I was more than willing to sit next to you in any circumstance." Jennifer disrupted him for a second time.
"All questions and commentary will be addressed at the appointed time towards the end of the story," Rodney lightly brushed aside her indignant objection, hoping to have effectively stopped any further protests.
"I let you interrupt," she argued pointedly.
An eyebrow was raised challengingly.
A mumbled "Fine," was its only response.
"You sat down after that and miraculously started chatting with me openly about anything on your mind. I was pretty confused actually, what was this beautiful woman doing sitting with me? I can't remember half of what you said, but I do know I received the right to call you Jennifer somewhere in that conversation."
"I remember that part. I was going off about some hypothesis I was testing after researching a bit in the database when you interrupted me, something I should be allowed to do now by the way…" She stopped mid-sentence to give him the full meaning before huffing lightly at his indifferent face. Noting his consistent typing, Jennifer returned to the story, her voice leaving out the exasperation she felt.
"Did the test end up working in the end?" Rodney asked with interest.
"Yes, Doctor McKay. It…"
"Ah, Rodney. I mean, if you'd like, you can call me Rodney," he interrupted almost diffidently.
A warm smile crossed her face as she replied, "Rodney then. Call me Jennifer… or Jen, whatever suits you." There was a certain flirtatious tone in her voice and she knew it. When's the last time a guy had you this wrapped around his finger so quickly? Never. The realization had her smile growing along the sides of her face all the more quickly.
"I believe I was quite enthralled by you, Doctor McKay." She nodded theatrically.
"I know the feeling. Not even a pending Wraith attack would have made me want to leave that table."
"We didn't need a Wraith attack to be split apart that day, just one intrusive Colonel." Jennifer gave a supportive smile.
"Just one annoying, can't-stay-out-of-your-business, intrusive Colonel," Rodney growled.
"So you're a dog person."
"Absolutely," she nodded decisively, "and will be until the day I die."
"See, I could never really get used to dogs around me. Cats were fine, but dogs were too much trouble. They bite and jump and…"
"But you would love one if you had one, right?" Jennifer picked up her napkin and wiped away the stray cheese on her lips.
"I…" Rodney glanced at her lips, both of which were reddened by the wiping. "Of course. They've gotta have at least one good quality."
"Like their cute puppy eyes," the relatively new doctor supplied, "It's really hard to resist them, you know."
"Oh I do. I had one with the most expressive eyes you've ever seen for maybe four hours when I was younger. You leave the slightest of cracks in the door and he's gone. I still wonder what happened to that little guy. Didn't even have the license for him yet."
"I'm so sorry, Rodney," Jennifer started.
"It's okay, maybe he's somewhere be… McKay," He reached up and touched his ear piece, speaking the last word to the voice on the other end of the line. "I… But… Would you... I'm not… let me talk already, will you? I'll be right there," Rodney consented resignedly. "Sheppard wants me in the control room five minutes ago, I have to go."
There was an odd sort of smile on her lips as she spoke, "I'll catch you for lunch again some other time then?"
"Ah, yeah, that would be great." Rodney got up from their shared table, leaving her sitting in her spot yet. "Good. I'll see you around."
"Yes you will." The strange smile turned into a more recognizable one; she was happy. To finally be able to stop talking to me, I'm betting.
"Try again pessimist."
"Yes, I know that wasn't the reason now. I'm just saying that's what I thought at the time," Rodney explained with his hands waving in circles for exaggeration over the keyboard.
"Still doesn't mean it wasn't overly pessimistic," the current CMO replied from her stool.
"So I was a little wary, you can't exactly blame me. How often does a beautiful woman seem happy to sit and talk with me for what, two hours? Not often, I'll tell you that," the physicist responded, suddenly swiveling in his chair to face her. "And did you ever realize Sheppard seems to be at the base of everything between us?"
"I can honestly say I haven't. What I am noticing is the fact that we're in a room alone and Sheppard is the focus of our conversation," Jennifer pointed out, a playful look about her face and one perfectly arched eyebrow teasing his eyes away from her own.
With an upturn of his lips and a motioning finger drawing her over to him, he answered, "Easily fixed."
I'm sorry for the semi-long wait, but to make up for it, I wrote two chapters at once! The fourth chapter is done as well, just needs a read from the wonderful Dani for beta and it'll be up in no time.