Not Another Chair Story
Story 5 - A Lousy Can of Rain Pt 1
Written 2009-present.
Teyla Emmagan waited until her old friend had taken several steps out of the Puddlejumper before moving forward, placing her hands at his shoulders. Halling tipped his head to hers and they paused there comfortably, before drawing back to exchange warm smiles.
"It has been too long, Halling," she said.
"Hopefully you will not have forgotten everything about me in the meantime, or our people."
Teyla tipped her head to the side, though did not shake it completely. "I could not ask for a better reminder than one who is as wise a leader as myself."
"I brought Jinto and Wex with me," Halling said, waving back behind him. "I hope that is all right with your Doctor Weir."
"I...don't see a problem, though it would be best they do not attend the meeting."
Halling's smile disappeared into a bland expression just as his son and Wex came in front of him, but Teyla noted the shining amusement in his eyes. Her friend explained without a hint of anything more than detachment, "Jinto wished to see the city again before his coming of age. He also wanted to bring a present for Colonel Sheppard."
Peering into a small cloth bag as Jinto loosened the leather drawstring, Teyla nodded slowly and likewise kept her cheeks tightened against the promise of her returning smile. "I see. That is very thoughtful and very useful - Colonel Sheppard will be...very pleased. Shall I take you to him in the infirmary or…"
"I remember where everything is, I think," Jinto interjected. "And anyway, Wex can help me. He's still just a kid though and I'll be an adult in one season - "
"One whole season, Jinto! Tana is going to be an adult next week."
"And Tana is someone special?" Teyla asked aside to her friend.
Halling paused to flash her the barest of smiles and lowered his voice while the boys began running out of the 'Jumper bay. "I would prefer to let fate take its course, if it will. If not...there are many others with more tolerance for my son's ways."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Sheppard itched to start climbing the walls of the infirmary. He told himself that this was only a typical response to being cooped up for several days, and didn't dare think that it might be some sort of residue. Leaning back on the bed, he lifted his arms and mimed rocket noises as he moved his fingers over the wide ceiling.
"How are ye feeling today, John?" inquired the all-too-familiar brogue of Carson Beckett.
John dropped his hands immediately and stuffed them into his pockets, swinging upright so quickly he nearly kicked the CMO. He rolled back his shoulders slowly, affecting a shrug after a few seconds then rested one of his hands on the side of the bed. He answered around a bored yawn, "Fine. Good as new."
Carson set down his clipboard on the bed beside his patient and smiled. "I take it ye haven't had any urge to spin any webs of late?"
"Carson, I'm not going to point fingers," John told him. "But the least you could do is stop kidding around. I get enough of it from my men."
"I'm sorry, lad. It wasn't my intention to - "
A long-suffering sigh later, John slid off the bed to stand on his two feet. "Yeah, I get it. You didn't mean for me to get blue and scaly. But next time can you make sure that the itchy rash that I got afterwards really goes away?"
"I thought ye said ye were fine," Carson mused.
"I am! I am, mostly. The last part of me to turn pink was kind of...personal, if you know what I mean. And it still - itches just a little."
John squirmed when, at his words, the CMO's gaze switched from mildly puzzled to knowingly amused. The maddening smile tweaking Beckett's lips was due north by comparison to John's little problem. Carson's sage advice was delivered calmly. "Well why don't ye stop scratching? It's not likely to look decent in public."
"Carson!"
The doctor chuckled. "Have ye tried not thinking about it?"
"I've been having a little trouble with that," Sheppard admitted, rather quietly when he noticed a pair of nurses entering the infirmary.
"So have the mice."
John's face darkened. "What - you didn't say anything about mice!"
"Alright, John, yer clear to go," Carson announced without meeting his eyes. "And donae worry, the mice all turned out fine. Which is what ye'll be if ye stop scratching. Ye might go blind."
"Stop scratching what?" the Colonel asked indifferently, watching the nurses out of the corner of his eyes. He hoped they hadn't heard any of that.
Carson patted him on the arm, using the motion to shove his friend towards the door. The king of Atlantis kept his tone light, ignoring the indignant scowl hiding beneath John's smirk. "I have to see Heightmeyer with Nena - God help us. Oh! Hullo Jinto, hullo Wex. I'll see ye later perhaps?"
"Carson, don't you dare," John muttered.
Already the two boys were advancing right to them, somehow magnetised to the exact point where they weren't wanted.
"Donae do anything I wouldn't, now would ye?" Carson placated with a grin, before he became digitised particles.
John turned, grumbled towards the window, and spun back around. By the time he was facing the two young Athosians, a broad grin painted his features and his arms were comfortably at his sides. Yep, casual. Nothing better to do. Nothing worse to do either…
"Is he still seeing that chair?" Jinto wanted to know. John noted that his voice was several pitches deeper than last time they'd met.
"Do you still have chocolate stuff?" Wex latched on.
Slapping his back pants pocket and locating the fun-size Snickers bar, John couldn't help but mentally sing praises to Rodney always requiring a little pick-me-up whenever the Colonel visited the labs. Most people assumed that Dr Meredith Rodney McKay, as a certified geek, would naturally find an arch-nemesis in the peanut. Not so, but the myth did add to the mystique. Rodney didn't refer to it as that, of course. His wording was something along the lines of "the element of surprise".
Tearing the chocolate bar in two, John tossed each piece to the boys, noting that Jinto seemed to have sprouted almost up to his shoulder-line. The kid had no right to be getting so damn tall...except he probably wasn't much of a kid anymore. The Pegasus Galaxy wasn't exactly the 'burbs. John said coolly, "Yeah, Dr Beckett made an honest woman out of the chair. Now was it a quick tour you wanted, or a story - I've got this great story about Rodney destroying - "
"Major Sheppard, I got you something!" Wex cried abruptly, holding out a dirty bundle.
"We got it, we both did," corrected Jinto, snatching the bag. "And his name is Colonel now, remember?"
Wex looked up at John, puzzled. "Why did you change it?"
Jinto had the answer for this one. "The same reason I'm going to change my name once I'm a man like Colonel Sheppard."
"What's that?" Wex asked.
Jinto affected a disturbingly familiar smirk. "Because I can. Colonel Sheppard, here's your present, Teyla said you'd like it."
Gingerly holding it up with his thumb and forefinger, John flicked his eyes between the two of them. They weren't looking at him, rather glaring at each other. In the second his attention had been taken up with the bag, someone must have kicked the other. Judging by the faint redness spilling over Jinto's cheeks, the younger boy must have got the drop on him. John pulled open the bag and stared.
"She didn't say that, she said - " Wex began arguing.
John cleared his throat. "I'm betting she said it was thoughtful."
"Yes that's it! Do you like it?" Jinto asked enthusiastically.
Digging his fingers into the rock salt and pulling it tight into a grainy fist, John welcomed the sting against his palm. He had the sudden forbidding foresight that the story of his mutation into a bug-man had spread faster than Rodney could swallow half a full-sized Snickers bar. He supposed it should have been sweet...the kids remembering that salt really pissed off Iratus bugs. But the chafing reminder of his nether regions soured his mood again.
"Just what else has Teyla been telling you?" John demanded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"No, absolutely not. I see Rodney has not volunteered and, unlike our head of department, I have many duties with which to busy myself. No, ne. This is my final answer. And children, children are smelly. Very smelly and they cry a lot."
Radek Zelenka, backed into a corner and waving a cup of coffee and his PDA in front of him, was in a bit of trouble. He liked to think of himself as more agreeable than a certain astrophysicist, but he also thought he held a bit more logic in his brain than most human specimens. Adding Meredith Beckett into today's equation was going to complicate things and remove any proper result after the equals sign.
On the other hand, he liked being able to feel all of his extremities.
Nena slowly paced closer to his safe corner, humming softly to Meredith as she adjusted the weight of her child around her hip. She smiled down briefly before transferring this look to Zelenka, who didn't buy it for a moment.
"It is only for an hour," Nena told him. "I know you are very busy. But I am busy too, and if I don't impress this Dr Heightmeyer…I do not know what the IOA will do."
"What is this about?" Radek asked, springing from his crouch against the wall.
Fear flickered over Nena's face. "The IOA requested a short evaluation on Carson's mental stability and they want to know if I'm a threat! Like I would harm any of you!"
Zelenka warily eyed her over the rim of his glasses. "Like you would not harm Dr Biro, yes?"
"That's totally different."
"...actually yes, I would agree. She is terrifying."
"So please just look after Meredith for a little bit?"
"Why me? Why not Bates or Lorne or, ah, anyone but me?"
"Because you have that chess program," Nena reminded him. "Which is very brilliant, for a human."
"Ah."
"You are the only one who can undo Meredith's playing."
Radek held out his arms and squeezed his eyes shut. When he heard laughter, he popped open one eye and smiled sheepishly. Nena gently passed over her daughter, adjusting the scientist's limbs until she was satisfied.
"Oof, she must be eating as much as Rodney," muttered Zelenka.
Nena raised an eyebrow, then shrugged - much to Radek's relief. Waving her hands, she nodded happily as the wall reshaped to form a crib. The last finishing touch was an Athosian toy Teyla had gifted - a petrified flower that sealed tight seeds within it to act as a rattle. A smiling Wraith face decorated it, which Radek thought was rather morbid, but didn't dare say so.
"Meredith, behave!" Nena dropped a quick kiss on the top of her daughter's growing tufts of hair. "You will make your Da very worried!"
Radek shifted his charge a bit so he could look down into her face. "Ha! Should I not be the one worried?"
Meredith blinked her blue eyes in response.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elizabeth Weir could not have imagined the agony that either John or Radek were experiencing right that moment, otherwise she would not have wished to trade places when Sgt. Donald Bates gatecrashed her meeting with Halling and Teyla. Already there had been the customary offer of chairs, and the gentle knock-back that signalled some sort of dissatisfaction. As a result, the three of them stood between the chairs in Elizabeth's office, while the expedition leader entertained thoughts of leaning back onto her desk for some comfort.
"I was not informed of this...man's arrival," Bates stated, filling the door way with muscle and the added definition of a BDU. "Everything relating to the security of Atlantis needs to be run by me first."
Elizabeth pressed her lips together and did not scream. However, she allowed herself to fall into the temptation of keeping upright against the desk, fingernails shuddering against the fine surface of the table. Bates had mellowed enough not to run onto the scene every time something happened, and even shared a meal or two with Teyla in the mess, but when it came to what he perceived as outside threats...ignorance was usually the best policy that Elizabeth kept for him.
Teyla moved to bodily shield her friend, but Halling touched her arm. She let him pass to meet Bates at the door, where he stood sideways, addressing all in the room. "This is not acceptable, Dr Weir. We must be allowed to access the ancestral ring without having to speak to so many of your people first. It is our right to visit our friends."
"I'm not saying you can't," Bates shot back. "We just need to make sure you're keeping it clean."
"Sergeant, are you inferring - " Teyla began.
A black-clad blur barrelled into the room before slamming to a stop in front of the desk. Rodney McKay lifted his eyes up from his e-notebook and took in the scene around him. Seemingly finding nothing out of place, he posed his question to Elizabeth. "Am I interrupting the pow-wow?"
"Rodney!" She blew out a breath of relief. "Of course not. Is there something wrong?" Please stay. Please stay.
Rodney hmmed, face vacant while he retrieved the relevant data. Then he burst into his usual dialogue. "I had a few ideas - came to me while I was on my way to my lab - and since Carson isn't likely to escape Heightmeyer soon, I thought I would tell you what I'm going to do, and Carson will probably do it - with your permission of course."
Bates glowered. Halling shifted on his feet.
"I think I will get some coffee for everyone," Teyla murmured and glided out of the room before Elizabeth could stop her.
Rodney stared around at everyone. "What, is it spaghetti day in the mess? Have you ever noticed how on spaghetti day there always seems to be a distinct lack of focus in the labs, and it's probably to do with the carbohydrates sending them all to sleep. I'm right, aren't I? It is spaghetti day."
"No, Rodney…" Elizabeth didn't bother to explain.
Bates stepped forward and waved elaborately at the remaining Athosian. "You can take a seat."
"After you, Sergeant Bates," Halling responded dryly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Neutral grey seats that comfortably faced each other in front of a wide window did much to extend the feeling of space in Doctor Kate Heightmeyer's office. She did not consider it an office – it was the base of many exercises and layers to build upon with those who came to her. The door was never locked and all were welcome, though some had to be given more than a push into the room. Discretion was key, and the windows faced away from most of the city, so any pensive gaze directed out onto the ocean met only endless horizons.
Standing by the door, Kate crossed her arms loosely, hands curled around her elbows. Unable to see her watch, but knowing that her latest visitors were already late, did not affect any of her calm and friendly appearance. A spike of apprehension dove from her sternum to gut, but a deep breath expelled it.
Finally, the door slid open.
"Are we late?" asked the woman standing in the corridor.
Kate smiled. "Of course not. Please, come in."
"Don't lie to me, Dr Heightmeyer. We are late."
"I'm sorry, I didn't think it was that important to - "
"Nena," Carson Beckett cautioned in a low voice, creeping into the room and pulling his wife with him.
Sometimes the person entering Kate's office would pause for a moment to take in the water or the weather and make some sort of comment. Carson did no such thing, settling down into one of the armless chairs with ease. He patted his knees briefly, until he noticed that Nena had not followed him all the way over. Carson's cheeks dented slightly, though his lips did not curve to match the dimples forming. His eyes flicked down to the floor.
Nena moved to stand impassively behind him. Her expression was as blank as a powered down computer screen. Undaunted, Kate let this pass, and sat opposite the couple.
"I'm Kate," she introduced herself. "I've had quite a bit of experience with this sort of thing, but I also specialise in couple's counselling, if you have need of it."
A bar of light swiped from head to toe of Nena. Heightmeyer drew in a breath but blew it out just as quickly to cover her discomfit. Carson fiddled with the zipper on his jacket.
"Alright, let's start with you, Nena," Kate continued lightly. "Tell me about yourself."
Nena glared. "I am in control of all of Atlantis' systems and could sink it if I wished to. And you don't want to make me do that. Don't pretend this means anything to you, Dr Heightmeyer. The IOA's message to you was clear. I read it myself."
"Love, ye donae make this easy..." Carson muttered.
"Carson, you remember what she tried to do to you!"
"To be fair, the lass thought I was crazy," the doctor pointed out, smiling genuinely. "No offence to ye, Dr Heightmeyer, but ye were completely wrong. As ye can see, Nena is sentient and capable of appearing as ye see her now. There is a fair amount of corporeality she is capable of."
"And you met her through the chair, is that right?"
"Aye but - it's..." Carson paused, then blurted, "It's not like it sounds!"
"Oh, isn't it, Carsie-buns?" Nena asked sharply.
"Love, ye know what I mean. Yer more than a chair to me, and ye have been for some time now. I married ye, didn't I?"
"You forgot that you married me!"
"Well now, I didn't plan on my memories getting wee bit hazy after we shared and ye explained that to me - "
Kate held up both hands and made an indistinct sound in her throat that nonetheless drew their attention. "Um, if I might ask, what happened when you married?"
"The connection altered my life signature," Carson explained softly. "I lost a few days of my memory and started to have some control of the city's systems."
"Did this upset you, Nena?"
Nena's eyes flashed through streams of coding before settling back into a plain green. "Dr Weir said you knew how to read things, but you are just like every other human! This has nothing to do with you, or your Stargate Command. Or the IOA – you can tell them that! I am this city and you are nothing but visitors, here at my grace."
"So where do I fit into this, my dear?" Carson snorted.
"Oh I don't know, maybe you should figure out what this sounds like! I can still fry your brain!"
Kate clenched her fingers in her lap. Her teeth scraped together as she tried to keep smiling. Only fifty-four minutes to go...
"It has been too long, Halling," she said.
"Hopefully you will not have forgotten everything about me in the meantime, or our people."
Teyla tipped her head to the side, though did not shake it completely. "I could not ask for a better reminder than one who is as wise a leader as myself."
"I brought Jinto and Wex with me," Halling said, waving back behind him. "I hope that is all right with your Doctor Weir."
"I...don't see a problem, though it would be best they do not attend the meeting."
Halling's smile disappeared into a bland expression just as his son and Wex came in front of him, but Teyla noted the shining amusement in his eyes. Her friend explained without a hint of anything more than detachment, "Jinto wished to see the city again before his coming of age. He also wanted to bring a present for Colonel Sheppard."
Peering into a small cloth bag as Jinto loosened the leather drawstring, Teyla nodded slowly and likewise kept her cheeks tightened against the promise of her returning smile. "I see. That is very thoughtful and very useful - Colonel Sheppard will be...very pleased. Shall I take you to him in the infirmary or…"
"I remember where everything is, I think," Jinto interjected. "And anyway, Wex can help me. He's still just a kid though and I'll be an adult in one season - "
"One whole season, Jinto! Tana is going to be an adult next week."
"And Tana is someone special?" Teyla asked aside to her friend.
Halling paused to flash her the barest of smiles and lowered his voice while the boys began running out of the 'Jumper bay. "I would prefer to let fate take its course, if it will. If not...there are many others with more tolerance for my son's ways."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Sheppard itched to start climbing the walls of the infirmary. He told himself that this was only a typical response to being cooped up for several days, and didn't dare think that it might be some sort of residue. Leaning back on the bed, he lifted his arms and mimed rocket noises as he moved his fingers over the wide ceiling.
"How are ye feeling today, John?" inquired the all-too-familiar brogue of Carson Beckett.
John dropped his hands immediately and stuffed them into his pockets, swinging upright so quickly he nearly kicked the CMO. He rolled back his shoulders slowly, affecting a shrug after a few seconds then rested one of his hands on the side of the bed. He answered around a bored yawn, "Fine. Good as new."
Carson set down his clipboard on the bed beside his patient and smiled. "I take it ye haven't had any urge to spin any webs of late?"
"Carson, I'm not going to point fingers," John told him. "But the least you could do is stop kidding around. I get enough of it from my men."
"I'm sorry, lad. It wasn't my intention to - "
A long-suffering sigh later, John slid off the bed to stand on his two feet. "Yeah, I get it. You didn't mean for me to get blue and scaly. But next time can you make sure that the itchy rash that I got afterwards really goes away?"
"I thought ye said ye were fine," Carson mused.
"I am! I am, mostly. The last part of me to turn pink was kind of...personal, if you know what I mean. And it still - itches just a little."
John squirmed when, at his words, the CMO's gaze switched from mildly puzzled to knowingly amused. The maddening smile tweaking Beckett's lips was due north by comparison to John's little problem. Carson's sage advice was delivered calmly. "Well why don't ye stop scratching? It's not likely to look decent in public."
"Carson!"
The doctor chuckled. "Have ye tried not thinking about it?"
"I've been having a little trouble with that," Sheppard admitted, rather quietly when he noticed a pair of nurses entering the infirmary.
"So have the mice."
John's face darkened. "What - you didn't say anything about mice!"
"Alright, John, yer clear to go," Carson announced without meeting his eyes. "And donae worry, the mice all turned out fine. Which is what ye'll be if ye stop scratching. Ye might go blind."
"Stop scratching what?" the Colonel asked indifferently, watching the nurses out of the corner of his eyes. He hoped they hadn't heard any of that.
Carson patted him on the arm, using the motion to shove his friend towards the door. The king of Atlantis kept his tone light, ignoring the indignant scowl hiding beneath John's smirk. "I have to see Heightmeyer with Nena - God help us. Oh! Hullo Jinto, hullo Wex. I'll see ye later perhaps?"
"Carson, don't you dare," John muttered.
Already the two boys were advancing right to them, somehow magnetised to the exact point where they weren't wanted.
"Donae do anything I wouldn't, now would ye?" Carson placated with a grin, before he became digitised particles.
John turned, grumbled towards the window, and spun back around. By the time he was facing the two young Athosians, a broad grin painted his features and his arms were comfortably at his sides. Yep, casual. Nothing better to do. Nothing worse to do either…
"Is he still seeing that chair?" Jinto wanted to know. John noted that his voice was several pitches deeper than last time they'd met.
"Do you still have chocolate stuff?" Wex latched on.
Slapping his back pants pocket and locating the fun-size Snickers bar, John couldn't help but mentally sing praises to Rodney always requiring a little pick-me-up whenever the Colonel visited the labs. Most people assumed that Dr Meredith Rodney McKay, as a certified geek, would naturally find an arch-nemesis in the peanut. Not so, but the myth did add to the mystique. Rodney didn't refer to it as that, of course. His wording was something along the lines of "the element of surprise".
Tearing the chocolate bar in two, John tossed each piece to the boys, noting that Jinto seemed to have sprouted almost up to his shoulder-line. The kid had no right to be getting so damn tall...except he probably wasn't much of a kid anymore. The Pegasus Galaxy wasn't exactly the 'burbs. John said coolly, "Yeah, Dr Beckett made an honest woman out of the chair. Now was it a quick tour you wanted, or a story - I've got this great story about Rodney destroying - "
"Major Sheppard, I got you something!" Wex cried abruptly, holding out a dirty bundle.
"We got it, we both did," corrected Jinto, snatching the bag. "And his name is Colonel now, remember?"
Wex looked up at John, puzzled. "Why did you change it?"
Jinto had the answer for this one. "The same reason I'm going to change my name once I'm a man like Colonel Sheppard."
"What's that?" Wex asked.
Jinto affected a disturbingly familiar smirk. "Because I can. Colonel Sheppard, here's your present, Teyla said you'd like it."
Gingerly holding it up with his thumb and forefinger, John flicked his eyes between the two of them. They weren't looking at him, rather glaring at each other. In the second his attention had been taken up with the bag, someone must have kicked the other. Judging by the faint redness spilling over Jinto's cheeks, the younger boy must have got the drop on him. John pulled open the bag and stared.
"She didn't say that, she said - " Wex began arguing.
John cleared his throat. "I'm betting she said it was thoughtful."
"Yes that's it! Do you like it?" Jinto asked enthusiastically.
Digging his fingers into the rock salt and pulling it tight into a grainy fist, John welcomed the sting against his palm. He had the sudden forbidding foresight that the story of his mutation into a bug-man had spread faster than Rodney could swallow half a full-sized Snickers bar. He supposed it should have been sweet...the kids remembering that salt really pissed off Iratus bugs. But the chafing reminder of his nether regions soured his mood again.
"Just what else has Teyla been telling you?" John demanded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"No, absolutely not. I see Rodney has not volunteered and, unlike our head of department, I have many duties with which to busy myself. No, ne. This is my final answer. And children, children are smelly. Very smelly and they cry a lot."
Radek Zelenka, backed into a corner and waving a cup of coffee and his PDA in front of him, was in a bit of trouble. He liked to think of himself as more agreeable than a certain astrophysicist, but he also thought he held a bit more logic in his brain than most human specimens. Adding Meredith Beckett into today's equation was going to complicate things and remove any proper result after the equals sign.
On the other hand, he liked being able to feel all of his extremities.
Nena slowly paced closer to his safe corner, humming softly to Meredith as she adjusted the weight of her child around her hip. She smiled down briefly before transferring this look to Zelenka, who didn't buy it for a moment.
"It is only for an hour," Nena told him. "I know you are very busy. But I am busy too, and if I don't impress this Dr Heightmeyer…I do not know what the IOA will do."
"What is this about?" Radek asked, springing from his crouch against the wall.
Fear flickered over Nena's face. "The IOA requested a short evaluation on Carson's mental stability and they want to know if I'm a threat! Like I would harm any of you!"
Zelenka warily eyed her over the rim of his glasses. "Like you would not harm Dr Biro, yes?"
"That's totally different."
"...actually yes, I would agree. She is terrifying."
"So please just look after Meredith for a little bit?"
"Why me? Why not Bates or Lorne or, ah, anyone but me?"
"Because you have that chess program," Nena reminded him. "Which is very brilliant, for a human."
"Ah."
"You are the only one who can undo Meredith's playing."
Radek held out his arms and squeezed his eyes shut. When he heard laughter, he popped open one eye and smiled sheepishly. Nena gently passed over her daughter, adjusting the scientist's limbs until she was satisfied.
"Oof, she must be eating as much as Rodney," muttered Zelenka.
Nena raised an eyebrow, then shrugged - much to Radek's relief. Waving her hands, she nodded happily as the wall reshaped to form a crib. The last finishing touch was an Athosian toy Teyla had gifted - a petrified flower that sealed tight seeds within it to act as a rattle. A smiling Wraith face decorated it, which Radek thought was rather morbid, but didn't dare say so.
"Meredith, behave!" Nena dropped a quick kiss on the top of her daughter's growing tufts of hair. "You will make your Da very worried!"
Radek shifted his charge a bit so he could look down into her face. "Ha! Should I not be the one worried?"
Meredith blinked her blue eyes in response.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Elizabeth Weir could not have imagined the agony that either John or Radek were experiencing right that moment, otherwise she would not have wished to trade places when Sgt. Donald Bates gatecrashed her meeting with Halling and Teyla. Already there had been the customary offer of chairs, and the gentle knock-back that signalled some sort of dissatisfaction. As a result, the three of them stood between the chairs in Elizabeth's office, while the expedition leader entertained thoughts of leaning back onto her desk for some comfort.
"I was not informed of this...man's arrival," Bates stated, filling the door way with muscle and the added definition of a BDU. "Everything relating to the security of Atlantis needs to be run by me first."
Elizabeth pressed her lips together and did not scream. However, she allowed herself to fall into the temptation of keeping upright against the desk, fingernails shuddering against the fine surface of the table. Bates had mellowed enough not to run onto the scene every time something happened, and even shared a meal or two with Teyla in the mess, but when it came to what he perceived as outside threats...ignorance was usually the best policy that Elizabeth kept for him.
Teyla moved to bodily shield her friend, but Halling touched her arm. She let him pass to meet Bates at the door, where he stood sideways, addressing all in the room. "This is not acceptable, Dr Weir. We must be allowed to access the ancestral ring without having to speak to so many of your people first. It is our right to visit our friends."
"I'm not saying you can't," Bates shot back. "We just need to make sure you're keeping it clean."
"Sergeant, are you inferring - " Teyla began.
A black-clad blur barrelled into the room before slamming to a stop in front of the desk. Rodney McKay lifted his eyes up from his e-notebook and took in the scene around him. Seemingly finding nothing out of place, he posed his question to Elizabeth. "Am I interrupting the pow-wow?"
"Rodney!" She blew out a breath of relief. "Of course not. Is there something wrong?" Please stay. Please stay.
Rodney hmmed, face vacant while he retrieved the relevant data. Then he burst into his usual dialogue. "I had a few ideas - came to me while I was on my way to my lab - and since Carson isn't likely to escape Heightmeyer soon, I thought I would tell you what I'm going to do, and Carson will probably do it - with your permission of course."
Bates glowered. Halling shifted on his feet.
"I think I will get some coffee for everyone," Teyla murmured and glided out of the room before Elizabeth could stop her.
Rodney stared around at everyone. "What, is it spaghetti day in the mess? Have you ever noticed how on spaghetti day there always seems to be a distinct lack of focus in the labs, and it's probably to do with the carbohydrates sending them all to sleep. I'm right, aren't I? It is spaghetti day."
"No, Rodney…" Elizabeth didn't bother to explain.
Bates stepped forward and waved elaborately at the remaining Athosian. "You can take a seat."
"After you, Sergeant Bates," Halling responded dryly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Neutral grey seats that comfortably faced each other in front of a wide window did much to extend the feeling of space in Doctor Kate Heightmeyer's office. She did not consider it an office – it was the base of many exercises and layers to build upon with those who came to her. The door was never locked and all were welcome, though some had to be given more than a push into the room. Discretion was key, and the windows faced away from most of the city, so any pensive gaze directed out onto the ocean met only endless horizons.
Standing by the door, Kate crossed her arms loosely, hands curled around her elbows. Unable to see her watch, but knowing that her latest visitors were already late, did not affect any of her calm and friendly appearance. A spike of apprehension dove from her sternum to gut, but a deep breath expelled it.
Finally, the door slid open.
"Are we late?" asked the woman standing in the corridor.
Kate smiled. "Of course not. Please, come in."
"Don't lie to me, Dr Heightmeyer. We are late."
"I'm sorry, I didn't think it was that important to - "
"Nena," Carson Beckett cautioned in a low voice, creeping into the room and pulling his wife with him.
Sometimes the person entering Kate's office would pause for a moment to take in the water or the weather and make some sort of comment. Carson did no such thing, settling down into one of the armless chairs with ease. He patted his knees briefly, until he noticed that Nena had not followed him all the way over. Carson's cheeks dented slightly, though his lips did not curve to match the dimples forming. His eyes flicked down to the floor.
Nena moved to stand impassively behind him. Her expression was as blank as a powered down computer screen. Undaunted, Kate let this pass, and sat opposite the couple.
"I'm Kate," she introduced herself. "I've had quite a bit of experience with this sort of thing, but I also specialise in couple's counselling, if you have need of it."
A bar of light swiped from head to toe of Nena. Heightmeyer drew in a breath but blew it out just as quickly to cover her discomfit. Carson fiddled with the zipper on his jacket.
"Alright, let's start with you, Nena," Kate continued lightly. "Tell me about yourself."
Nena glared. "I am in control of all of Atlantis' systems and could sink it if I wished to. And you don't want to make me do that. Don't pretend this means anything to you, Dr Heightmeyer. The IOA's message to you was clear. I read it myself."
"Love, ye donae make this easy..." Carson muttered.
"Carson, you remember what she tried to do to you!"
"To be fair, the lass thought I was crazy," the doctor pointed out, smiling genuinely. "No offence to ye, Dr Heightmeyer, but ye were completely wrong. As ye can see, Nena is sentient and capable of appearing as ye see her now. There is a fair amount of corporeality she is capable of."
"And you met her through the chair, is that right?"
"Aye but - it's..." Carson paused, then blurted, "It's not like it sounds!"
"Oh, isn't it, Carsie-buns?" Nena asked sharply.
"Love, ye know what I mean. Yer more than a chair to me, and ye have been for some time now. I married ye, didn't I?"
"You forgot that you married me!"
"Well now, I didn't plan on my memories getting wee bit hazy after we shared and ye explained that to me - "
Kate held up both hands and made an indistinct sound in her throat that nonetheless drew their attention. "Um, if I might ask, what happened when you married?"
"The connection altered my life signature," Carson explained softly. "I lost a few days of my memory and started to have some control of the city's systems."
"Did this upset you, Nena?"
Nena's eyes flashed through streams of coding before settling back into a plain green. "Dr Weir said you knew how to read things, but you are just like every other human! This has nothing to do with you, or your Stargate Command. Or the IOA – you can tell them that! I am this city and you are nothing but visitors, here at my grace."
"So where do I fit into this, my dear?" Carson snorted.
"Oh I don't know, maybe you should figure out what this sounds like! I can still fry your brain!"
Kate clenched her fingers in her lap. Her teeth scraped together as she tried to keep smiling. Only fifty-four minutes to go...