499 words. Set during 'Trio'. I'm getting there Ice.

"How are your hands?" asked Jennifer as she leaned forward and maneuvered her head so that she could get the end of the straw in her mouth. The staff of the Mess had gone above and beyond in setting her and Rodney up for the evening: they'd led her and Rodney to a table near the balcony doors close enough to the 'bar', such as it was, if they needed anything but far enough away that they could have some privacy, and just as they'd gotten comfortable their drinks arrived, already opened and poured into glasses complete with bendable straws.

Rodney raised his hands in front of him and gently flexed them. "They're still pretty numb actually," he replied as he placed his hands on the table. "That stuff should be part of the standard survival kit for anyone who goes off world with Sheppard."

Jennifer snorted and raised her bandaged right hand to her mouth to help keep the drink she'd just taken from spraying out onto the table. When she was finally able to swallow the liquid she gave Rodney the laugh she knew he was waiting for.

He smirked as her laugh died down and she had to admit he looked incredibly cute when he let loose a little.

A second later however, all traces of his smirk disappeared and his lips turned downward into a frown that was so pronounced it made Jennifer's stomach flip.

"What's wrong, Rodney?" she asked as she straightened up in her chair.

Rodney shrugged and said, "Nothing."

Jennifer leaned forward and reached over so that her bandaged hand covered his. "Rodney?" When he looked into her eyes she smiled and said, "Please."

Rodney looked unsure for a moment, but then he sighed and his eyes looked down to the table between them. "I never could make Katie laugh," he looked up as he nodded towards Jennifer and added, "at least not like that." Rodney shrugged and his eyes looked down to her hand resting upon his. "She'd always laugh, but I knew it was to be polite or because she thought I wanted her to laugh." He looked up to Jennifer again. "I really didn't mean to hurt her."

Jennifer nodded. She believed him with all her heart. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that Rodney McKay was incapable of deliberately hurting Katie… it just wasn't in him.

"She knows that, Rodney," Jennifer said as she rubbed his hand. "We've established that you're a nice guy. You can't help it if you two weren't… compatible."

At Rodney's dubious look Jennifer said, "You need to turn the page, Rodney." She leaned forward so that she was closer to him. "Don't let what happened ruin what could come along."

She wasn't sure what she expected, but when he leaned forward so that they were only inches apart her heart raced.

Rodney smiled and said as his free hand covered hers, "Maybe you're right."

Jennifer smiled again. "I know I am."

A/N: "Turn the Page" was written by Bob Seger and released by him on his 1973 album Back in '72.