Soo I just wanted to say that I've actually written the whole story already and so there's no chance that the story won't be finished. I will publish a chapter with a few days in between, depending on how much time I have to fix it up and proof read, between school and hobbies and such but the whole thing will be out before this year has ended, probably before December comes around even :)

Please read and enjoy!

I.

JOHN

He had never liked dressing up in his dress blues, for a funeral ok that was expected, when someone got a medal he would not complain, but dressing up in his best clothes just to receive a pompous slime ball of a man was not a good reason in John's book to take out his dress blues.

Standing in front of the mirror in Cam's sleeping quarters which they did not share anymore for the time being, John kept adjusting and re-adjusting his collar. He was not by a long shot feeling comfortable and by the many looks Cam kept throwing at him; John knew his lover had noticed.

They still had about three hours until this Norman Fields, the representative chosen by the IOA to come to Atlantis for this small excursion, would arrive. Then again, if one considered how hectic the week had been with people moving back to their old rooms, clothes, stuff and more stuff moving through the corridors, this was probably better, it had gotten much more complicated than John could ever have imagined.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"They're not worth that much…"

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"You seem nervous." It was not a question but a statement.

For the first time since he had put on his uniform, John turned to watch Cam. It was odd how secure and safe he felt when he watched Cam. Nowadays he just needed to think of Cam for that warm and fluffy feeling to appear in his chest.

"God I feel stupid!" not even a second after he had blurted out the words, John wanted to take them back. It was not as if Cam should need to listen to his worries, especially as they did not come from anything else but a gut feeling he had had since they had found out about this small farce constructed by the IOA.

"Stupid? About what?"

"It's nothing…" mumbled John turning back to face the mirror.

"John… we've spoken about this, you know you can tell me anything."

"I know… It's just that, I've got this really odd gut feeling that something bad will happen," admitted John.

He could hear Cam moving around behind him and then a pair of strong arms circled his waist. Pulling him closer, until his back was pressed flush against Cam's chest.

"It'll be okay, John," murmured Cam into John's neck, "we'll just have to be a bit more careful than normally, let's just hope this Norman Fields isn't a total bastard."

"With my luck I don't think that'll happen."

"Don't give up before it has even begun," chided Cam.

John did not say anything to that. He knew he was probably overreacting but trust was not something that came easily to him and this whole thing smelled worse than a rotten corpse a long way. And it was not as if he had a very good relationship with the IOA.

"Either way," said John breaking away from Cam, "I need to talk to Ronon and Teyla, hopefully they won't have to suffer because people on earth are idiots."

"Yeah, yeah, you go meet up with them and we'll see each other in the gate room, I still have some files to go through about our new allies," said Cam.

Just as John was about to exit the room, he found himself pressed up against the wall by Cam. His body kept firmly in place by Cam's, their lips smashed together in a heated kiss. The kiss did not end before both of them were out of breath and their breathing labored.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"The kiss."

Instead of answering John's question, Cam stole another kiss, this one a bit more gentle but much more intense. Not sure of what he was supposed to do, John still a bit dazed by the kissing, leaned heavily against the wall, watching as Cam left the room. It did not strike him before he was halfway down the corridor on his way to meet up with Ronon and Teyla that, that kiss was probably the last kiss he would share with Cam before this Norman had left Atlantis, and God knows how long that would be. It was a depressing thought, and one John would rather not think about.

It was not a hard task, finding Teyla and Ronon. Not ten minutes after he left Cam's quarters, John found himself sitting in the mess hall at a small table with both of them. He had run into them just as they were on the way out from one of the training rooms.

"You seem tense John, are you okay?" wondered Teyla giving him a concerned glance.

John shrugged off the question, not really all that into talking about his thoughts or feelings about everything that was going on. He knew Teyla only meant well but talking about it would not exactly make matters better. If he was to go by the look she was giving him, John was sure that Teyla too understood that he was not feeling up to talk about it.

"So when will this Fields guy get here?" asked Ronon.

"We've still got an hour and forty-seven minutes of freedom," said John checking his watch.

For a moment John drifted into himself, not listening to whatever Ronon and Teyla were discussing, or more accurately Teyla was discussing and Ronon was just grunting or nodding his opinion. The mess hall was slowly filling up with people dressed in either military uniforms, or scientists in their better clothing wearing their white jackets indicating their position on Atlantis. While watching John could happily note that most people looked about as uncomfortable as he felt in his dress blues.

He did not snap back into reality before he felt Teyla put a light hand on his shoulder.

"Yes?"

"I need to get Torren to his father but I am sure everything will run smoothly until I get back," said Teyla.

"Of course, you just enjoy your time with Kanaan and Torren," reassured John her.

Teyla was going to spend two weeks with the Athosians, there was not much free time and so she usually took every opportunity that was offered. Torren's birthday was coming up and John wanted Teyla to be able to spend that with both her son and partner. It was not as if she would be needed on Atlantis, while the inspection was going on, as the gate travelling would be minimized as much as possible.

John and Ronon watched as Teyla walked out from the mess hall. In a way, even though he was happy that Teyla would at least be spared from two weeks of this madness, John knew he would miss her. Especially her calmness and rational way of looking at things, her diplomatic skills would be missed. Because, if there was one thing that he was sure of, then that was that by the time this Norman went home, back to earth, there will have been many encounters that have not ended well.

"So Chewie, what'll you do?"

A grunt was the only answer he got, before Ronon also stood up and left. John guessed that his Satedan friend was on his way to the infirmary. Since Ronon had started to date Doctor Keller, John had noted with just a bit of humor that Ronon, who before when hurt almost had to be dragged unconscious to the infirmary, now almost never left the infirmary in favor of being with his girlfriend.

"Your welcome, it's nice how you give such long and informative answers," called John out after Ronon, sarcasm lacing his voice.

"Did both Ronon and Teyla give up on you?" It was pure reflexes that John reached for his gun by his side.

"Jesus Lorne, give a man some warning, I didn't hear you come."

"Sorry about that sir." John brushed off the apology with a wave of his hand.

"So Major Lorne, are you ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," said Evan with determined look on his face.

John really hoped that what Evan was saying was the truth, because he was not as sure that he was ready. They would need to show a strong and calm outer appearance for everyone else on Atlantis, it would do little good to freak out.

"Good, have you seen Rodney?"

"McKay? Actually, I spoke with him just before I came here, if he suddenly haven't gotten a stroke or something, then I'm sure he's still in his lab, blowing off some steam before he has to play nice with the other children," said Evan.

"A stroke?"

"Well, he looked a bit stressed and not too pleased over the changes going on right now. Then again, my guess is that he's mad over having to lay down some of his extra projects for the time being and that he won't get back to P87-225 to check out those labs we found there."

"Knowing Rodney, it's likely the latter that annoys him more," said John with a small snort.

It would not surprise him at all, if Rodney was still grumbling over the fact that he would have to put aside his most interesting extra project and probably the most useful so far. If what Rodney had found out so far was true, then there was a very big chance that they would be able to figure out how to build their own ZPMs.

"Let's just hope he'll be able to take it up again," said John.

"Yeah, it would be great if we could be able to manufacture our own ZPM," Evan said with a small nod, "if we want to give this fight with the wraith our all, then we really need more ZPM."

"I couldn't agree with you more, Major."

A quiet moment passed as both men thought about all their losses. It was not easy being the one in command, but John was happy he had Evan as his SIC, he was not sure he would have survived this long without the other man's help. If nothing else, then the sheer amount of paperwork would have killed him.

It would have been funny if it just was not, to think that if he had not been swayed by Elizabeth's pretty words about adventure and other galaxies, then he would probably still be flying big shots in Antarctica. He would not have had any idea about the Stargate or Atlantis, and he would probably not have met Cam again.

It was a heavy burden being the military commander of Atlantis, but on the same time he would not want to have it any other way. Atlantis was his home, where he had found himself, the love of his life and many good friends.

"Sir? Sir, Colonel Sheppard?" John broke away from his thoughts when he felt an arm on his shoulder.

"Yes?"

"I think it's time for us to make our way to the gate room, sir," explained Evan not looking overly enthusiastic about it; "it's almost time for Mr. Fields to arrive"

Taking a look at his watch John almost sighed. He had not noticed that he had been sitting at the table for almost two hours.

"Well then Major Lorne, let's get this over and done with."

"Yes sir."

STARGATE: ATLANTIS

'Don't kill him. Don't kill him. Don't kill him. Nothing good will come out of it, except for giving me a lot of pleasure in seeing him die painfully.'

From the second Norman Fields, IOA representative stepped through the gate John knew he would not like the man. Everything about Fields screamed slime ball and creep. Everything from his overly polished shoes to his hair slicked back as if it made the man look handsome. And as if that was not enough, the first thing that came out from the man's mouth was a complaint. Had it not been for the years he had collected in practicing self-restraint then John was quite certain things would have gotten ugly fast.

Right now they were all, and by all John meant himself, Cam, Evan, Rodney, Keller and Fields, sitting by the conference table that Woolsey had brought with him when he was in command of Atlantis. They were waiting for Fields to start talking; right now he was just sitting there looking at them with that sleazy arrogant smile on his face. It was unsettling to say the least.

Trying not to show his discomfort, John fell back on old well used strategies to keep people from getting too close to him. It was not hard and slowly he could feel his emotions freeze, his face going completely blank his eyes turning cold. Most people found it creepy how he could just turn off his emotions, but it was something John was glad over knowing how to do, it kept the worst nightmares gone, and it made the killing easier, it made the regrets fade away. As his psychiatrist had said, it was not healthy but it was one of the few ways he knew how to cope. Meeting Cam had made things easier, made him stop trying to keep his emotions at bay, but sometimes like now it was just easier for him to put some distance between his emotions and himself.

Sitting up straighter in his chair, John waited for Fields to start speaking; something told him the man liked it rather a lot to hear his own voice. He had not taken his eyes off the man since they had sat down but when he did a fast sweep with his eyes over the others in the room, it seemed as if they had had much the same thoughts about the man that he had had. Everyone in the room were eying Fields with suspicious eyes.

"Well then shall we stop wasting time and get started then."

John grinded his teeth together, it was not their fault that Fields had wanted to see his accommodation and that he had not been pleased by them and had demanded a knew room and then he had stopped to make remarks on everything he had seen. And then when they finally had gotten to the conference room the goddamn man had only sat there looking at them as if they were not worth his time, it was infuriating. It reminded him how his father had looked at him at times and even then this really took the price.

"While I'm here, the IOA have granted me the rights to interfere if I see it fit," started Fields handing Cam a sheet of paper marked with the IOA stamp. "As of now, if I give you an order you'll do as I say."

No one spoke. The silence that stretched through the room was mindboggling; the sheer amount of negative feelings that were directed towards Fields would have filled up the whole Pacific Ocean. What was even odder, at least in John's opinion was that Fields seemed to be completely ignorant of it, which was seriously weird as even John had noticed the change. Or maybe the man noticed but decided to ignore it, after all if he was telling the truth and the paper he had produced was real then there was not much anyone on Atlantis could do about the temporary change of leadership.

It took all of John's willpower not to do or say anything that he would later come to regret. He could feel the metallic taste of the blood, when he bit down on his tongue a bit too hard. He had a hard time focusing on what was going on, and kept wishing for the meeting to finally end. Everything that was said just washed over him like a small wave of water, once in a while he would get his head back into the discussion but mostly he just sat quietly on the side letting the others do the talking.

"… And that's all for now. Dismissed!"

John had not caught what came before the dismissal but he did not care, right now he was so tired and so angry that he knew nothing good would happen if he opened his mouth. He had not taken such a disliking to anyone in a very long time, but there was just something about Fields that rubbed him the wrong way. It would not matter how long Fields stayed, it would be too long of a time for John to be comfortable with it.

He had almost exited the room when he was stopped by Fields nasal voice carrying across the room.

"Yes sir?" John almost spat out the words, keeping his face as blank as possible.

"That hair of yours, cut it, after all we don't want to set a bad example for the troops, now would we?"

For a split second John entertained the thought of mouthing off, but thought better of it. He did not need any more black marks in his book than he already had. So instead he settled for a curt nod before he left the conference room as fast as possible. He needed to put as much distance between himself and Fields, if for nothing else then for his own sanity's sake.

This quickness to judge and anger worried himself a bit. It was not often that he let his anger take control like that, especially not with a person he had known for such a short period of time as this. He could not say that anyone else but perhaps Kolya and Terry Kindle from his school years that had been able to piss him off to this extent.

Entering his room, John threw himself on his bed. It would be weird, sleeping alone once again. To think that only a few years back he had felt very uncomfortable if someone slept beside him, he had almost been unable to sleep because he did not trust the person sleeping beside him enough. It was such a drastic change to how things were now, now he could not phantom sleeping without Cam beside him keeping him warm. Or maybe not too much had changed, after all he only slept well when he had Cam beside him, or maybe someone from his team, everyone else were still dangerous and unfamiliar territory.

Burying his head in his pillow, John applauded him on his ingeniousness, while moving back to his old room he had switched his own pillow for Cam's so that even if they could not sleep beside each other, he would still have something with him that reminded him of his lover.

In the end, even though the bed was cold and just a tad too spacious for only him, John fell asleep not long after he had lain down on the bed.

RODNEY

"Useless… completely stupid, I hate the IOA as if they actually ever do anything, just wait, soon we'll probably only have citrus in this place…"

"You know talking to yourself is the first certain sign that you're crazy, Doctor McKay."

"AAHH!" Rodney shrieked and almost dropped the pad he was holding when he whirled around to face his 'attacker' "Major Lorne, give a man a warning or something! God if I'd had a stroke then who'd save you people from total destruction every week or so?"

Rodney after the first shockwave had worn off let himself appreciate the man standing in front of him. Lorne really was a good looking guy, nice, social and seriously popular not only in the Pegasus Galaxy but even on earth, Rodney had a long time ago come to the conclusion that he would never have a chance with the guy but that did not stop him from enjoying some eye candy when it was presented to him. After all, even if Lorne was gay, then the DADT would stop anything from happening.

"I don't think you have to worry about any strokes quite yet, Doc," chuckled Lorne, smiling in a way that made Rodney melt.

"So what're you doing here Major?"

Turning away, so that he was standing with his back towards Lorne, Rodney continued to work. Half of the reason or more likely ¼ of the reason was that he still had work to do, while the rest ¾ were because if he watched Lorne any longer, he would start to drool. He had seen the younger man in many different attires; combat clothes, civil clothes, almost no clothes at all (don't ask it was a mission!) but so far Rodney had to admit that Lorne looked by far the best in his dress blues. Of course, Rodney knew Lorne had been wearing his dress blues at Carson's funeral but at that time he had been a tad too sad to care about Lorne, also he had at the time been going through a small phase of denial and had tried to ignore the Major as much as possible.

Brushing all thoughts of sex and Lorne out of his mind, Rodney collected himself enough to be able to look at his visitor.

"So will you answer my question or not?"

"I'm on my way to the mess hall and then I thought it'd be better if I came down to make sure that you don't forget that it's only about two hours until Mr. Fields arrives and that you have everything ready and done."

Rodney watched Lorne with an annoyed twitch in his eye, but on the inside he was practically jumping of joy. He knew the Major was just doing his job, but that did not stop him from feeling a certain kind of smugness about the fact that Lorne willingly came down to the labs to associate with Rodney.

"Yeah yeah, I'm just about to finish this. Don't worry Major; I won't be late for the welcoming of this moronic IOA man."

"Okay, well I should probably be going, don't get too into your project Doc."

"Of course I won't, don't worry I'll be there," said Rodney absentmindedly.

He did not move nor did he take his eyes off his pad before he heard the door close behind Lorne. Letting out the breath he did not even notice he had been holding before he started to feel a bit lightheaded, Rodney slumped down in his chair. He was royally fucked; at least he had not gotten a hard-on this time.

After Rodney had had his small time-out angst session over his feelings for Major Lorne, he went back to his project, pushing everything else out of his head. It did not take long for him to get back into his project, for every small discovery he made, Rodney got more and more excited.

He did not notice how the time ticked away before he was once again taken by surprised this time it was not Lorne but Zelenka who almost gave him a stroke. And if Rodney would have anything to say about it, he would rather get the stroke from Lorne scaring him than Zelenka.

"What is it with people today?! Are you people hell bent on giving me a stroke?" snapped Rodney.

"It's almost time for Mr. Fields to arrive trough the Stargate, Major Lorne sent me here to make sure you're on time," said Zelenka, already putting away Rodney's stuff.

Grouching and muttering Rodney let Zelenka put away his stuff, he hated it when people did that because it always meant he never found it when he needed it afterwards but after working alongside Zelenka for about six years now, Rodney had gotten used to his coworkers odd traits, including his way of arranging things.

Walking beside Zelenka, Rodney noticed that the Chez was also dressed in his better clothes and wearing a white coat showing that he was a scientist and not part of the military, Rodney too, was wearing a white coat after many buts.

"Geez, what kind of guy demands to have a welcoming committee when he arrives?" muttered Rodney.

"An unpleasant one," was the only reply he got from Zelenka.

Even if Rodney would have remembered this small almost miniscule conversation, swap of words a few days later, for the first time in probably ever, he would not have had the need to add anything, because Zelenka had described Norman Fields spot on with one word.

Rodney was standing beside Evan, they were all standing in a very clear hierarchic way, with Commander Mitchell first then Sheppard beside Mitchell then Evan and then him, he did not even care to see in which particular order the others were arranged in behind the 'leaders' of Atlantis. Because there was no denying it, they as in Mitchell, Sheppard, himself, Evan and even Jennifer was the Atlantis committee that took care and decided things on Atlantis. Of course, Mitchell and Sheppard had most to say but then again Rodney would never in a million years want either man's job.

He was stopped in his musings when the Stargate activated. There was an instant reaction, it was as if most people in the room held their breaths or was just oddly nervous. Beside him, Rodney felt how Evan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as if he was preparing himself for every possible route and outcome; it was unsettling to say the least.

And then, a man stepped out. Rodney did a fast assessment, the man was tall somewhere between Sheppard and Mitchell maybe, he was broad over the shoulders but Rodney could see that the man was not the biggest athlete. What really made Rodney take another look was the disgusting slicked back hair, as if it made the man look handsome. If nothing else, Rodney had a hard time deciding whether it would be easier to use the man's shoes or hair as a mirror, both were equally as polished and well ridiculously looking.

"Welcome to Atlantis Mr. Fields."

"Colonel Mitchell, I see you got the message," drawled Fields completely ignoring Mitchells outstretched hand.

"Got it in time, my ass! It came through yesterday evening…"

Rodney was rewarded with Evan's elbow in his side for his small comment but luckily it seemed as if no one else had heard him, which in a way was probably for the better.

"Well sir, if you give your bags to Lieutenant Bower and Sergeant Grant they'll make sure they get to your room safely then…," Fields cut off Mitchell halfway, completely ignoring the annoyed look he got.

"If it's all right with you Colonel, I'd rather see the quarters for myself before we start with the meeting," said Fields in a sickly sweet voice.

Even if the words were polite enough, there was no doubt about it; it was no question but a command. Rodney had the urge to say that he had better things to do than wait for an slimy IOA member to check out his quarters so that they could have this completely unimportant and unnecessary meeting, but it would probably not have been appreciated.

Evan dismissed everyone else but they who would be at the meeting and of course the Lieutenant and Sergeant who had drawn the short straw and had to carry the man's bags. Yes, the marines had actually drawn straws to see who would have to do it, as no one had volunteered for it. Rodney guessed that it was either Sheppard or Evan who had come up with it, because it was common knowledge that neither man liked stone, paper, scissors very much. Why they did not like the game was a mystery and Rodney suspected it would stay that way for a very long time.

The small party of people had barley gotten away from the gate room when Fields found his first flaw; they had no cameras how could they expect to keep track on what was going on now? And then completely ignored the explanations that there were surveillance they had after all the monitors that showed where everyone were and of course, the heat sensors. Rodney actually had to literally put a hand over his mouth not to snap and the man, apparently there was something wrong with everything on Atlantis, if it was not the people then it was the interior, blah blah, blah the man was a nuisance.

By the time they reached the quarters that had been picked for Fields, the air was thick with annoyance, in the few minutes the man had spent on Atlantis he had managed to upset a lot of people. Rodney was sure it was some kind of record.

"This is it?"

"Sir?" It was Mitchell.

"Aren't there any bigger rooms, this is barely the size of a closet!"

That was total bullshit, Fields had gotten a room in exactly the same size as everyone else on Atlantis had, or most had. As there were bigger rooms, but so that it would not be unfair on those who did not get a bigger room, had Weir and Sheppard in the beginning decided that no one would get the bigger rooms, and even after Weir and the first year they continued with this because it worked, no one had yet complained. It was not as if the rooms were small, for one or two people they were quite sufficient.

"Sir, everyone has rooms like these," Rodney had to applaud Mitchell in his head.

They may not get a long great, more often than not they disagreed but if nothing else the man believed in fairness and equality. And by the somewhat steely undertone in his voice he was not impressed by Mr. IOA.

"That wasn't what I was asking, I asked are there bigger rooms?"

"Yes sir, there is," shot Mitchell back in exactly the same way as before.

"Then Colonel Mitchell, please show me to one," drawled Fields giving Mitchell a sardonic smile.

It was annoying how Fields every time said the word Colonel passed his lips, he put emphasis on it, as if it was something lowly or worthless. It was degrading and annoying as most people on Atlantis respected Mitchell, hence the title Commander that they had bestowed on him, if no one else, then that man deserved his title. The total lack of respect that Fields seemed to have for them on Atlantis, rubbed Rodney the wrong way, seriously would it kill the man to show even the barest hints or respect? The man did not even know them or how things were run on Atlantis.

Grinding his teeth together, his lips forming a thin line, Rodney ignored all his primary instincts of snapping at the man. Looking at Sheppard, Rodney was pleased to note that he was not the only one displeased by this small farce.

"Jesus if the man takes up any more time with his idiocy then we'll never get to the meeting…" grumbled Rodney.

"Relax Doc, try not to let him get to you, you're better than him." Rodney almost jumped out of his own skin when Evan's voice floated past his ear.

They were standing so close that they were almost toughing; if he would take even half a step right then he and Evan would be toughing. It was an odd feeling of lust, love and despair that came over him. It was as if the whole world had stopped moving for a millisecond when their arms touched, and Rodney did not snap out of it before Evan moved forward hurrying after the others that had already moved on. Rodney hoped no one had noticed that small encounter but it seemed as if Lady Luck was with him that day, as everyone seemed to be more concentrated on keeping their opinions of Mr. Fields hidden.

Dragging his feet, Rodney stayed completely quiet for the rest of the twenty minutes it took before they were all seated in the conference room. The air was tense, all hopes and dreams of a fair 'trial' had been shattered the moment Fields opened his mouth.

"Well then shall we stop wasting time and get started then."

The nerve of that man! Rodney really wanted to strangle Fields, he made it sound as if it was their fault that he had taken such a long time and being in general and ass.

"Of course," started Mitchell but did not get any further.

"While I'm here, the IOA have granted me the rights to interfere if I see it fit," started Fields handing Mitchell a sheet of paper marked with the IOA stamp. "As of now, if I
give you an order you'll do as I say."

The silence was suffocating, no one had expected that. Rodney did not even have to look at Sheppard to know that the man was not having any positive thoughts about the new change in the command structure, even if it was only temporary.

"E-excuse me, but you don't have any authority over the army…" started Mitchell but was once again cut off.

"For the time being I do have, Colonel, so you'd better remember that. If I deem it necessary then I'll take charge if not…. Either way on to more important things, while I'm here, there will be no unnecessary gate travelling, no aliens on Atlantis, if there are some big decisions to make you ask me first, is it understood?"

A murmur of 'yes sir' followed but it was clear no one really liked the changes. Of course, they had already decided to cut down on the gate travelling for the time being but most the things he was expecting them to do was ridiculous. Rodney's head was spinning from all the childish and totally useless rules Fields was rambling up. So far Rodney had counted at least twenty of those rules and even more of Atlantis' rules that the man had changed in some way, it was frustrating to say the least.

"…Of course, gentlemen I expect these rules to be followed and enforced." Finished Fields with a satisfied quirk of his lips.

"Is there anything else you wish us to know?" asked Mitchell the sarcasm clear in his voice.

Then again, his words could not have been more spot on, for the whole hour Fields had been the one talking, making sure they knew all of his rules, but no one else had gotten a word edge vice in between. The man was not interested in keeping peace between him and the people on Atlantis he was only interested in himself and maybe in getting someone kicked out.

"No not exactly, I expect an office to have been made ready for me by tomorrow morning Colonel Mitchell, and with every ones personal files on it, that's all for now. Dismissed!"

Rodney was the second one out the door but it did not stop him from hearing Fields rude commentary to Sheppard.

"That hair of yours, cut it, after all we don't want to set a bad example for the troops, now would we?"

Rodney braced himself for the sarcastic/ flippant commentary from Sheppard but it never came. Looking at Mitchells ramrod straight back that sagged just a millimeter in relief, Rodney could tell he was not the only one relieved that Sheppard had for once not mouthed off.

Murmuring a few quiet good nights, Rodney headed for his quarters. He needed some time to think and put everything that had happened that day in perspective. He almost dreaded the debriefing he would be having with Zelenka and the other department heads, no one of them would be over joyous about the changes.

No, he was not going to think of that right now. No, he was going to take a long and hot bath and try to forget everything that is the IOA, wraith and a certain Norman Fields.

So this chapter was a bit longer than the first, I hope it was good :) Please Review and tell me about your thoughts on the story.