"Look, all I am saying is I think I could take her." Rodney glancing around at the two other men at the mess hall table with him. John's eye roll could have easily been felt across the city, as Ronon shook his head.
"You could hardly take the one time a bird got into your office."
"Hey, that thing was big and aggressive." Both John and Ronon alike laughing at the memory of the entire situation from months prior. They were all pretty sure Zelenka had a recording of the petrified scientist attempting to escape the panicking animal.
"Well tell you what McKay, come down and spar with us, find out how lethal little can be." John suggesting as he set his fork back down on his tray.
"Sorry I am a bit too busy with important things; besides, I don't want to know what Carson would do to me if I gave her a bloody nose or something."
"Your just chicken cause you know you would lose." Rodney glared, seeing both men attempting to hold in laughter.
"I would pay to see her slam you to the mats." Ronon joking as John nodded his agreement.
"She wouldn't even need her second set of eyes for you, Rodney."
"Pick on Rodney day today is it?" the sarcasm thick, as he looked down at his food before glancing over. "Speaking of the devil."
Forrest and Carson walked side by side, each holding their tray of food. They had managed to sleep through breakfast, leaving them to enjoy lunch. They were able to spot the three men and happily walked over to their table. "Morning sleeping beauties." John commenting, watching as Forrest sat down next to Ronon, and Carson next to Rodney. "We get to hear about yesterdays little adventure?"
Carson glancing up to Forrest, who had happily started to eat. "I guess we could." He paused, thinking of the best way to tell the tale. " Well, things were going great, till we got ready to leave and Castiel decided it was a great time to tell us a storm had kicked up." He explained, as Forrest then chimed in.
"Cas said it did not feel too strong from the village, and we had flown in quite a few decent ones ourselves before, so we loaded on and took off. Was not till we made it over the mountains that he realized the storm was much worse than he thought." She was attempting to focus on her food and trying not to focus on Carson across from her. "Well, we got sucked into the heat of it. Could not do much about it. Castiel tried to get us to the ground for nearly an hour but in the wind like that landing safely was just about impossible."
John nodded, knowing full well what kind of winds the three had been faced with, in a jumper it was one thing, on a living breathing animal he could not imagine. "So I was holding on for dear life when she somehow manages to climb from her saddle to mine. Starts untying the leg straps on the saddle!" There was a smile on his face as he explained it, but she rolled her eyes.
"If you had been a bit more useful I would not have had to. Anyway, Cas and I knew there was one way down. So I had to get him detached from the saddle so we could jump."
"Wait, as in jump off the dragon?" Rodney asking as he looked between the two,
"Yes Rodney, only she failed to tell me about that part."
"Like you would have gone willingly."
"Aye. So Castiel dives, and we end up free falling." The banter between the pair had not gone unnoticed, as John and Rodney passed glances. Ronon simply staying quiet and listening.
"He did catch us in his paws, seeing as we were more protected in them than on his back. He makes a crash landing. Carson passed out when we hit."
"Next thing I know, we are on the ground, soaking wet covered in mud and Castiel has a compound fracture on his wing and a concussion."
"The problem is, the pain Castiel was feeling drifted over to me. Because of the bond. So I dosed him up pretty high on Morphine to keep him kinda sedated, and allow the painkiller to drift over to me. Keep me somewhat sane."
"You still should have given yourself some," Carson commenting, making her shoot him a rather annoyed look.
"You would have had to then deal with Cas and me loopy on your strange drug. You would not have enjoyed it."
There was a laugh shared between the two, as the other three stayed rather quiet. "Anyway, we needed to find somewhere to hide, get out of the damn rain, so we started walking, trying to find somewhere. Even in the trees the rain was hard enough to keep constantly drenched, we were knee deep in mud most the time." Carson explained as he allowed Forrest a moment to eat, "Things were great until she noticed we were being hunted by whatever the hell those things were."
"I doubled us back on our tracks and noticed them. From there, things got a little crazy."
"They weren't already?" Rodney had already found himself in a slightly panicked state thinking of the situation.
"No, we managed to keep pretty calm till they decided to close in. Carson managed to drop one of them, and the others sorta went cannibal on it. Gave us enough time to get a head start."
"Then you pushed me off a bloody cliff."
"Okay, you know what? We were cornered, and I know damn well you would have hesitated in jumping. Anyway, they corner us on a cliff overlooking that river, and yes, I did push Carson over the edge with Castiel. I jumped after them."
They were all silent, as Carson picked up the story. "Turns out someone does not know how to swim; once I got Castiel on the bank, I had to go back in after her."
"Thank you for saving me by the way. So then, we wandered around again till we found the log we were able to hide in. Waited for you guys and that is pretty much it." She said as she glanced up at Carson, who was grinning from ear to ear.
"Not quite as exciting as everyone would like to think it was. I took a shower last night, but I still think I can feel the mud."
"I feel bad for the nurses in the infirmary with Castiel; I am sure he still smells like wet dragon."
"What does that smell like?" Rodney jumping in as the two doctors looked over at him. "Um, like wet dog only worse." Carson explaining as Forrest gained a puzzled look. "They are an animal on Earth we keep as pets." She nodded her understanding before John sighed.
"Well, better get the story consistent on both ends, Dr. Weir will want to hear it. Oh, actually, you ready for today Forrest?"
She looked at him puzzled, "Ready for what?"
"Mr. Woolsy will be here later today; I believe you and Castiel have interviews with him. I think he said he wanted to meet with Malco and the others as well."
"Oh shit.. I forgot about that." The four men all watched as she sighed, and rested her head on her hands. "I really was not wanting to leave the city today at all…"
"Well, Dr. Weir did give us both the day off, I am sure she could have all that pushed to tomorrow." Carson suggesting, able to watch the stress of the idea come to her eyes.
"Yeah, I will even help with that if I have to." John adding on as they all say for a moment. "They should be dialing in the next 20 or so minutes. We should probably be up there to greet him." John suggesting as he began to get up from the chair he was in.
"Probably a good idea." Forrest agreeing as she looked down at her near-empty tray. *Hey, meet us in the gate room in a few minutes?* She quickly received the agreeing emotions of Castiel. *Of course, I will be there shortly*
John had hung back with Rodney, considering Ronon had managed to disappear into the city in hopes of avoiding the IOA visitor. They had hung back just enough, so they could both watch Carson and Forrest interact without being overheard. "Well, the talking is a bit more, exciting between them." John suggesting with a lifted eyebrow, trying to figure out if they always walked that close to one another.
"Well, at least on something not medical. I have caught hints of their conversations in the infirmary; they sound like this." Rodney quickly shutting down a bit of hope for John that the outcome of his bet had started to drift in his favor.
"But, I do think that managing to sleep at the same time is a bit interesting." John looking over at Rodney, who was puzzled for a moment before his eyes closed and he just about visibly shuddered.
"No, sorry he is not that bold how many times do I have to explain that to you?" There was a smirk.
"I don't mean like that, get your damn mind out of the gutter. They could have just stayed watching a movie, talking about things, fell asleep in the others quarters. Not saying it was intimate McKay." Rodney lifted a finger, his mouth partially open before his hand reformed into a fist and his mouth closed. Knowing full well arguing on the matter would likely make things worse.
Carson smiled as they rounded a corner, watching as Castiel bounded over to them. His body shrinking down as the dragon glided onto Forrest's shoulders. He watched, as the dragon curled around her shoulders and neck. His face pressing into the side of hers, as she giggled and scratched him behind the ear. That laugh, it made him giddy himself. The way it was contagious to him is what drew him in, things that spread were usually something he needed to stop, but not that. Her eyes danced with her smile, as she looked over at him, and Castiel jumped from her shoulders to his. The dragon's paws holding lightly to his shirt without tearing the fabric as he curled onto Carson's shoulders.
He had become close to the animal, then again he spent more time with him than anyone else on base. Carson knew the scales on Cas's belly were not rough to the touch, but smooth as he felt the dragon press against him. Then how he did not feel a warmer body to his own, but a cooler one. Like when he would flip his pillow in the middle of the night to the cooler side. He laughed, as Castiel repeated the same pressing to Carson, who had learned it was a means to show affection quite common among dragons. He reached his hand up, scratching in the same spot Forrest always did, just under the dragon's ear, feeling his neck arch into the contact just like a cat would. Being allergic to cats, Carson had never really known if he was a cat person, but he had come to learn the past few months, he was a dragon person. He enjoyed Castiel's simple way of going, and understanding.
Forrest smiled, watching as Castiel happily greeted Carson. She was more than thankful they both seemed to like one another; she had heard the horror stories on Loonrian of bonded pairs having issues with romantic partners not meshing well with their dragon. That did not seem to be the case here as she watched. *Come on, enough harassing him into scratching your ears.* Her call was heard, as Castiel lifted his head away from Carson and hopped back to the floor, growing as he did to walk with them. His head now level to theirs again.
*Ready to meet Mr. Woolsy? Richard is his first name I believe.* Castiel seemed to send his own amused tone. *Ah yes, that is today, though I am sure many things have been pushed to tomorrow?* *we are hoping for that* *He is looking at you again little one* She resisted the urge to lean over and smack the dragon on the neck, as she glanced over to see the adoring look that came from Carson.
"You know, you're not subtle." There was no one in the hallway when she said it smiling, seeing as Rodney and John had fallen back farther behind them, but she watched as his jaw went slack and his eyes averted to look at his feet,
"Um, I can't help it love sorry."
She smiled, "I think it would be safer, and easier for us both to keep things a little, well, private. Just for now. Even more so since the boss's boss is going to be here a few days." She stopped for a moment, taking a light hold of his arm to turn him.""Aye can understand that." He said as he enjoyed the moment of proximity to her, even if Castiel was a few steps away. "Just a wee bit difficult to not stare at someone like you, even more so when you realize that person is yours." He could see how she tried to hold in the grin that his words created, her smile a bit crooked as she let her eyes hold his for a moment, before turning to walk again.
She was thankful that Castiel stayed quiet on the matter, as they walked side by side again in silence. Castiel moving just ahead of them as the gate room opened up before them. The familiar sound of those working at the controls of the city. She had done her best to learn most everyone's names and with Castiel's help. Then had come the challenge of attempting to teach the other dragons. She had at least managed to get Malco and some of the more important figures in the clans good with the senior staff's names, but even then there were still challenges. Cazador always seemed to mix up Teyla and Elizabeth, when as Rikarie thought Ronon's name was Ryan. Slow progress, but progress none the less. She watched as Castiel bounded up the stairs, landing softly next to Elizabeth who smiled at him warmly before looking down at the two doctors who had begun to walk up the stairs. "How are we this morning?" She was curious, knowing Carson well enough. The way he moved and looked was different than usual. His posture upright, and how bright his eyes were given the past 24 hours seemed strange. She had questions but refrained as the pair stopped next to her.
"Good actually, nothing a hot shower and a good night's sleep couldn't fix." Carson the first to respond, as Forrest listened and then heard Castiel laughing loudly in her head. *Shut the fuck up Cas. * The tone could have killed, as she watched the dragon just behind Elizabeth wink at her.
"Well, we had to be somewhat presentable for our visitor. I was hoping though that we could possibly push our interviews with him to tomorrow? While Cas and I both feel much better it would probably be best we had one more day to recover. We are happy to introduce ourselves today."
Carson glanced over at her, able to catch how she had sped up her words, and seemed to be in a rush to get them out. It was not like her, at least in his experience, to talk that rapid. "I have already planned for that, as I said, you three all have the day off." She had caught it, the way Forrest seemed to nearly stutter at the request. But paid no mind, even if she was already asking herself questions and attempting to piece together what may have happened in the past 24 hours, that was causing both doctors to be slightly different in their manner.
Before anyone could speak again, it was John who bounded up the stairs. Taking a stand between Forrest and Carson as Castiel turned his head to the gate. "Just on time." He smirked as all of them turned to the gate, watching as the chevrons began to lock into place.
Carson glanced over at Forrest, slightly annoyed by the fact that John had taken the space between them. Then again, right now he almost didn't agree with her suggestion of keeping things private as much as it went against what he normally thought. It had not been a day since she had opened the door to his room yet he wanted to ensure that others knew a claim had been made. He knew how the men of the base could be when it came to the female occupants, and while he knew Castiel would be the one to ensure no one tried anything, he felt the need to make sure others knew she was his.
It left him somewhat conflicted, in doing what he wanted or listening to her request. He shook his head, causing Elizabeth to give him a sideways glance that he ignored. This could wait, till they had introduced Forrest and Castiel to the IOA member about to step through the Stargate. After all, they had the entire day to themselves, and he knew they could easily talk later on.
The gate roared to life before them, and as always it left Forrest in a state of awe. She doubted she would ever grow tired of watching the strange ring, seeing as it had been around for so long. How it had gone unnoticed to her people puzzled her, but then again maybe they did know. She may have been an upper-class Loonrian, but she was not high enough to know her government's secrets.
She sighed, as she felt Castiel's soft breath on the back of her arm, glancing just slightly to see the light grey of his nose. But all focus was on the gate, as a single man stepped into the city. The two had been told of him, and while reviews had been mixed, they leaned more towards the sour side. But Forrest and Castiel alike were never ones to judge on stories, meeting people face to face usually gave them all they needed, much due to Castiel's keen ability to judge character. The man before her was dressed highly, and the way he walked into the room reminded her much of her father, a man of law. They had not yet seen what a suit was, at least in person. A few of the cartoons they had seen depicted them, but this was different.
He had a briefcase in his hand, as he walked to the base of the stairs and looked up to them all, his eyes landing on Castiel and not wavering. "Mr. Woolsey, welcome back to Atlantis." Elizabeth's voice was warm and welcoming, something Forrest, Castiel, and the other dragons alike had come to enjoy the sound of.
"Dr. Weir, Colonel Sheppard, Dr. Beckett. It is good to see you all again." In that instant she was reminded, he was no Loonrian, in the way he smiled ever softly with his greeting letting his seriousness slide for a moment.
"I am sure you would like to meet the newest members of the city." Elizabeth stepping slightly to the side, as he walked up the stairs.
"Oh, yes of course." He stopped before Forrest and Castiel, both quick to note that Carson and John had moved away to stand more behind them quietly. "Dr. Atla, and Castiel I presume, I am Richard Woolsey." He looked at them both curiously, as Forrest smiled and offered her hand out to him.
"Please Richard, call me Forrest." She could see the moment of confusion, as he took her hand. "I'm sorry. In my culture, it is sporadic to use one's title and last name. As I have explained to the others before our titles are used in first introductions, the day we receive it, and the day we die."
Woolsey nodded his understanding, as much as he tried to focus on the conversation Castiel held his attention as he stood next to Forrest. As he let go of her hand, the dragon quickly took it into his paws, giving it a soft squeeze as the dragon dipped his head. Carson and John did their best to hold back looks of amusement, as the IOA member's face seems to drain of color at the dragon's forwardness.
"Castiel is excited to meet you as well; we have both heard much." John had to give the pair credit, they both were behaving well. He did not expect much of an issue from Forrest, but Castiel on the other hand already had a bit of a reputation as a prankster.
"Well, it is nice to finally meet both of you. I would like to start our interview as soon as possible if we may." He was right to business, as Elizabeth laced her fingers together.
"Mr. Woolsey, Forrest, Castiel, and Carson alike for that matter, have today off. They had quite the ordeal yesterday off-world, and all of them needed a bit of rest. They wanted to make sure they introduced themselves to you though."
He thought for a moment, before speaking again. "Well, if the debrief from yesterday has not been done I would like to sit in. If not could I read the report." Forrest did not need to even look behind her to feel Carson slightly tense at the idea of reciting their story once again, only this time to the person who could truly make their lives hell.
"Actually we were just getting ready to, this way please." Elizabeth was quick to turn and offered no escape from the debrief that had already been scheduled. Richard walked past Forrest and Castiel, both noticing the sideways glance to the dragon. *He is very nervous of you isn't he?* She glanced over, watching as John took off after the two dignitaries, leaving Carson at her side.
*Very much so, it is quiet enjoyable.*
She caught the off feeling of her partner, *You do not like him?*
*He reminds me too much of your father and his friends* The dragon said no more, but strangely walked away.
"Is he alright?" Carson's voice snapping her out of her concerned thoughts.
"I think so, just not getting the best vibe is all." She was reassured by a familiar smile as they both began to walk across the control room towards Elizabeth's office. "He is not the only one to not get the best vibe from the man. Does not take a dragon to know that."