Mid-Western Ramblings

The Alphabet Game

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 01:22:38 GMT

Was visiting the livejournal of one of my favorite authors, boz4pm, and she had posted this game: You're given a letter and then have to list 10 things that you love starting with that letter. She gave me "T", so here goes:

1. Tomatoes - favorite summer salad is Insalata Caprese, which is simply sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, olive oil & salt & pepper. Yum!
2. Tromping through the woods. Especially in the springtime, when everything's in bloom. :)
3. Turtles. They're just so cute. :D
4. Testosterone. It makes for deep voices, hairy chests and other manly bits that I am rather fond of... ;)
5. Turkey Day, otherwise known as Thanksgiving here in the States. Wonderful day full of family, tons of food and just plain gluttony & sloth. Good times!
6. Trader Joe's - the unique grocery store. The nearest one to me is in Chicago, and fortunately, I have to go to Chicago twice a month on business. If you use your own bags, you're entered in their monthly drawing for a free bag of groceries, and I was last month's winner!!! Go me! :)
7. Tulips.
8. Tussionex. It's a narcotic cough suppressant, and the stuff is liquid gold!!!! When my doc prescribes it to me, I use it sparingly so it lasts as loooooonnnnngggg as possible, heh.
9. Tent camping. I specify "Tent" with camping, because a lot of people I know who go camping really mean "parking in the woods and sleeping in my pop-up trailer" which, to me, isn't camping at all. I love sleeping in a tent, in a sleeping bag, on a little air mattress - it brings back wonderful memories of childhood when we'd go camping with my grandparents in northern Michigan. It was always a great time!
10. Tostitos with lime. I can say no to pretty much any potato chip, but if you hand me a bag of Tostitos with lime I'll chow down the entire bag in one sitting. I don't even need salsa. And if I'm also drinking a Corona at the time? Dude, totally doomed. The two together are a lethal combination to my diet. :)

So if anyone wanders through here and wants to play, post a comment to this message and I'll give you a letter. Once you've responded with your comments here, copy/paste them on your own livejournal and invite others to play along. Let's see how many people we can get involved!

Yes, still alive (barely)

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:54:11 GMT

I can't believe it's been more than a year since I've visited my own livejournal. Sad, pathetic and way too representative of my live in general right now. (shakes head in disgust) It just seems that if I *do* spend time on my computer, it's to see what other people are doing rather than create something of my own. Well, between that and work being a complete troll trying to take over my life and crises with my kitties - I just haven't felt like sharing with anyone who might wander through here.

Anyway, I went over to Gateworld.net to check out the interview with Martin Gero, writer for Stargate: Atlantis as I had heard it was pretty dismissive of the anti-Keller folk but was instead greeted with the incredibly sad news that Don S. Davis, the wonderful, warm actor who played General Hammond on SG-1 passed away yesterday from a massive heart attack. He was the same age as both of my parents, and stuff like that just makes you stop and think, you know? It makes you want to rush out and just grab on to your loved ones, because it reminds you of just how ephemeral life can be. So very sad. My heart goes out to his family and friends.

You can get to the announcement here.

WOO HOO!!!! Carson to be back in Season 4!!!!!!!!

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 13:35:30 GMT

Happy happy joy joy, happy happy joy!!

The Save Carson site has just posted the news that Atlantis show runner Joe Malozzi has stated that they WILL be bringing Carson back at the end of Season 4 in a 2-parter. Keep in mind, it's just for the 2-parter, but he said that it would be left open for the character to return after that. Of course, I'm incredibly excited(ohmygoshohmygoshOHMYGOSH!!!!), but I consider this only to be a battle won, with the war still to be waged. I will not be truly happy until Carson (& Paul) are back on the show, full-time!

For the full story, Click Here.

New Fic - Let it Snow

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:29:27 GMT

Title: Let It Snow
Author: amokeh
Rating: PG
Pairings: Sheppard/Beckett, slash
Spoilers: none
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Like someone would pay me for this?
Author's Notes: Submitted for the Baby It’s Cold Outside! Challenge at The Beckett-Sheppard Community. This is unbeta-ed: any mistakes are my own.
Summary: Carson & John, alone in a mountain cabin. Really, that pretty much sums it up.

Carson stood at the window, leaning against the sill as he watched the snow fall thickly outside. It had started shortly after he and John arrived at the cabin two days earlier, and didn’t seem to have it in mind to stop any time soon. They had decided on a drastic change of scenery for their leave, and since Atlantis really didn’t have a winter, John felt that vacationing in the mountains would be a nice change of pace. Although the snowstorm had put a crimp in John’s plans to instruct Carson in the finer points of snowboarding, they hadn’t minded being snowed-in that much, as it meant they had nothing on their agendas but each other.

It was a quiet morning; the only sounds breaking the stillness were the soft susurration of wind brushing against the cabin, the hypnotic drip-drip-drip of the coffeemaker and the gentle crackling of the fire behind him. Carson sighed contentedly, enjoying the peace that was so very different from their normal, daily life. Days were rarely peaceful or quiet on Atlantis. There was just so much to do, so much to learn – whenever he tried to rest there he always felt guilty for doing so, as if he was wasting time better spent on research.

The abrupt noise from the coffeemaker as it signaled the end of its brew cycle not only broke him out of his reverie but also woke up his lover, still curled up in the mountain of blankets they had laid in front of the fireplace. Not to sleep under – the fire was much too warm for that. But the hardwood floor really wasn’t that conducive to snuggling or to any other activity that involved two naked bodies whose focus should be on one another, not on how difficult it was to get comfortable with unyielding planks beneath you and an overly skinny boyfriend on top of you.

“G’mornin’,” Carson called softly over his shoulder, turning slightly to watch John push the blankets aside and blearily reach for the sweatpants he had carelessly tossed onto the sofa the previous evening. He couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped as John got slightly tangled up in the pants and blankets, almost taking a nosedive into the soft cushions. Steadying himself with one hand against the arm of the sofa while he pulled up the sweats with the other, he blinked up at Carson, grinning lazily.

“Mornin’,” John drawled, as he tied the drawstring around his slender waist. “Been up long?” he queried, looking around the room for his tee shirt.

“Not very,” Carson replied, “Just enjoying the quiet and the snow.”

John had moved around the couch, still searching. “Hasn’t stopped yet, huh?”

“No, it’s still going strong.” Carson grinned as John bent over to check under the table. “It’s on the other side of the sofa, love. I put some force behind the throw, apparently.”

John tossed a smirk in Carson’s direction as he rounded the table to head where Carson was pointing. “Well, apparently, someone was in a hurry to get it off of me.” His eyes lit and he nodded as he found the wayward garment. As he picked it up, he rejoined, “I wonder why that was?” He smiled hugely at Carson as he pulled the shirt over his head.

Carson clucked in mock disappointment. “Well, now you’ve gone and ruined it. And such a lovely view it was, too.” He leant back against the broad beam of the casement and watched contentedly as John ambled slowly over to him. John's face was still soft from sleep, his clothes were hopelessly wrinkled, his feet were bare and his usually rabidly perky hair lay flat on one side of his head with the rest pointing in every other direction. Perhaps Carson was a little biased, but he couldn't help thinking that John had never looked sexier. John didn’t stop moving until he was flush up against Carson, draping his arms over Carson’s shoulders as he leaned in for a kiss.

The kiss was like the snow: gentle and quiet, filling Carson with a sense of peace. Their lips slid sensuously together; tongues came into play, but more to become reacquainted at the start of a new day rather than to instigate anything more energetic. Carson sighed into John’s mouth as he wrapped his arms around the taller man’s waist, holding John firmly but not tightly.

Finally, the kiss ended as softly as it began, and John rested his forehead against Carson’s, breath warm against his cheek. “Good morning,” he whispered.

“You said that already,” Carson whispered back. He could feel John smile against his face.

“Well, it bore repeating,” John answered, pressing a soft kiss against Carson’s cheek. He slid one hand up to Carson’s neck to lightly thread his fingers through the hair at the nape as he pulled away enough to make eye contact. Warm, hazel eyes met blue as John smiled, gently, contentedly.

“Aye,” Carson smiled back. He closed the slight distance between them, brushing his lips against John’s and murmured, “It’s a very good morning.”

fin

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 00:04:24 GMT

I make jewelry for people when I have the time, and I had a request for 2 necklaces from the same person, but she requested them last spring and last fall respectively. I *just* finished them yesterday. Which says a lot for how little spare time I have. Actually, that's misleading: I do have time, but it's not in one big block, you know? And in order for me to pull out all of my beads and supplies and sit down and design something and make it, well - I need at least 3-6 hours depending on what I'm doing. Anyway, I've posted a pic of one of the necklaces (the spring one). The other one just refused to photograph well, so I'll try it again tomorrow when I can photograph it in natural light. I really like how it turned out - it's sterling silver/natural browns (tiger eye, coconut shell, brown mussel shell heishi, picture jasper nuggets). Anyway, I'm very glad to have these both finally done. Now all I'll need to do is make matching earrings for the brown necklace, but I'll find out what style of earrings she wants tomorrow when I show the necklace to her. :)

New Beckett/Sheppard Fic

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 02:06:03 GMT

Title: Try, Try Again
Author: amokeh
Rating: PG
Pairings: Sheppard/Beckett, slash
Spoilers: Irresistible
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don’t own them. Not making any money off of them.
Author's Notes: Huge thanks to Kyrdwyn for her beta work on this. :D This was actually an idea I had for a team fic/Carson whump fic which I tweaked to submit for the Romance Challenge (first date) at The Beckett-Sheppard List
Summary: On their way back to the gate after a peaceful off-world visit, a sudden run-in with the native wildlife puts Carson and John between a rock and a hard place. Heh.

The first time they tried, it was a series of random power outages causing various systems to shut down without warning. It was amusing at first, watching people walk into doors that didn’t quite open fully or passing by a door and hearing a startled yelp as someone’s hot water shut off in the middle of their shower. However, when one of the science teams became locked in a lab as the air vented, well, things went from mildly frustrating to life threatening quite quickly. Which, for Atlantis, was par for the course, really. Everything turned out all right in the end; they got the doors open, the scientists out and no one was hurt badly. But the dinner was cold, the candles burned down and they were both too tired to do anything but reschedule.

The second time they tried, Carson went to the trouble of hauling cushions and food out to one of the more remote balconies, but as John was on his way there, he was called to the Gate Room. Major Lorne’s off-world team returned early – but without the Major. A misunderstanding with some previously-friendly natives necessitated a hastily-put-together rescue mission. Lorne was brought home safely, although with a concussion that required overnight monitoring. John had to return to the planet with Elizabeth over the next several days to smooth things over, so, once again, they rescheduled. It had taken Carson a couple of hours to haul everything out to the secluded spot he had found, and it took him a couple of hours to haul it back again.

The third time they tried, well, Lucius Lavin happened. Enough said.

Afterwards, neither of them seemed too happy with the other and, by that time, it seemed to both that maybe fate or God was trying to tell them something. So, in a mutual, if unspoken, agreement they gave up trying altogether.

And of course, that’s when they finally succeeded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Rodney, if you don’t stop fidgeting, I’ll never get this bandage wrapped tight enough.”

“I’m bleeding to death here, Carson! And I’m not fidgeting! I’m sure the sheep you practiced your voodoo on to get that rag you call a degree were a lot harder to hold down! Oh, wait – you probably tranquilized them first, didn’t you? Silly me, expecting you to practice your so-called ‘medicine’ on a conscious patient. You’re probably not used to anything that does more than bleat back, hmmmm?”

“For god’s sake, McKay, can it or I’ll knock you out myself!” John snapped, cutting Rodney off mid-rant.

“You’re not bleedin’ to death, Rodney. It’s just a scratch, but because of the location I’d rather wrap it tight to keep it from getting worse,” Carson stated, patiently. He knew Rodney was just being Rodney, but it would really help if the man would shut up and stop trying to do ten things at once while he was trying to wrap his shoulder.

Rodney swung the Life Signs Detector around again, narrowly missing clipping Carson’s head, earning him a glare from the doctor. “I’m telling you, something was there! It just must be out of range now!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah – whatever you say, McKay.” Rodney’s belittling of Carson might not be noisome to the physician himself, but John found it increasingly annoying. With as much time as Rodney spent in the infirmary, it was John’s opinion that he should be a little – no, a lot – more grateful and appreciative of their efforts to keep him alive. But as he leaned against the rock face next to the pair of scientists with his P-90 at the ready, keeping a watchful eye on the woods around them, he had to admit to himself that he was a bit overprotective when it came to Carson. But then, someone had to be. The doctor was usually too busy taking care of everyone around him to look out for himself.

That wasn’t the whole reason for his overprotective-ness, though. As he watched the handsome Scot work on their friend and colleague, he also had to acknowledge the steadily-growing attraction that neither of them had been given a chance to explore. Every time they had tried to spend some time together, alone, they had been thwarted by emergencies and their respective obligations. It was uncanny; as if some cosmic prankster was getting his kicks by keeping the two of them from hooking up. John smiled to himself at the thought of a Pegasus equivalent of Q. But, as Carson finished wrapping Rodney’s shoulder, John’s smile faded. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of the doctor’s nimble hands, simultaneously strong and gentle – and something deep within him fluttered with arousal, imagining those capable hands traveling over his flesh, stroking and caressing his bare skin, and.....John gave himself a mental shake, quickly pulling his gaze away. This was neither the time nor the place to think about getting naked with Carson.

Movement off to his right served as a welcome distraction. A flash of brown leather and a lion’s-mane head quickly identified the newcomer as Ronon. “Anything?” John asked.

“Nah. Saw some animal tracks, though. Fresh, too.” Ronon glanced at the pair on the ground. “How’s he doin’?”

“Animal tracks?” Rodney gestured wildly at John. “See, I told you I saw something!”

“He’s doing fine, Ronon,” Carson replied, ignoring Rodney’s outburst. “He has just a wee bit of a scratch, but he’ll be right as rain in no time.” He started re-packing his kit as Rodney carefully pulled his shirt back in place, soft ‘ow’s punctuating every movement. “In fact, as soon as I get everything loaded back up and Teyla’s returned, we can be on our way.”

“What?” Rodney snapped, “Shouldn’t I be lying down or resting after blood loss?”

Carson cut him off before he could really get going. “Rodney, you lost maybe a tablespoon’s worth. I’ve lost more when I’ve cut myself shaving. You’ll be fine.” He caught John’s gaze and grinned, giving him an exaggerated eye roll. John smirked back, sharing his amusement. As long as Rodney was griping, they knew he was all right.

“Sheppard,” Ronon lazily nodded towards the trees to the right of John’s position. John turned his head in time to see Teyla silently approach.

“See anything?” John asked.

“I saw nothing but our passage,” she responded, moving to stand next to him. She tilted her head in Rodney’s direction, her eyes asking the question.

“Him? Oh, he’s dying.” John deadpanned. Teyla raised an eyebrow in response. “Yeah, we figured we’d just let him bleed out as we dragged him by the feet back to the gate.”

“Oh, that’s just lovely, Colonel. Thank you so much for your concern.” Rodney groused back as he fastened his vest. “That’s the thanks I get for repeatedly saving your ass, and practically losing my arm in the process...”

“Wait a minute – how exactly did you save my ass by walking into a rock the size of a ‘Jumper?” John cut him off, pointing at the boulder in question.

Just as Rodney was taking a breath to respond, vituperatively, Ronon interceded, “Can we get back? They’re serving cake tonight in the mess.”

“Cake?” Rodney’s attention was suddenly focused on Ronon. “What kind?” He looked very hopeful.

“Chocolate. I saw the boxes.”

“Hm.” Rodney quickly got his pack on, barely wincing as it passed over his ‘grievous’ wound. “Well, chop chop, people. No point in standing around all day.” He quickly strode past them, LSD in hand.

John, Ronon, Teyla & Carson all exchanged amused glances, and hurried after the physicist, who was making his way purposefully around the rock face. They caught up with him before a sharp turn in the trail, where he had stopped to scan the area with the LSD, a confused look on his face.

“What is it, Rodney?” Carson queried, worried.

“Hm? Oh, I’m not sure.” He punched a few buttons on the device, then shook it and looked at it again.

“McKay, it’s not a Magic Eight Ball. Either there’s something there or there’s not.” John came up behind him, viewing the small screen for himself.

Rodney grunted in response. “It’s weird. I saw something, just a flash, and now it’s gone.” He looked around them, again scanning the woods for whatever it was showing up as a blip on his screen. Seeing nothing but trees, he gave an exasperated sigh and hit a few more buttons.

“Well, if there’s nothing there anymore,” John suggested in a reasonable tone, “why not keep moving?” At Rodney’s distracted nod, John turned to the others. “Okay. Ronon – you’re up front with McKay. Doc, you’re in the middle with me, and Teyla – watch our six.” The rest of the team quickly moved into their assigned positions. “Okay, stay sharp everybody. Let’s get going.”

Ronon prodded Rodney, and smirked, “C’mon, doc. I’ll make sure you don’t walk into anything else.”

Rodney gave him a dirty look, but started to move slowly, his eyes never leaving the LSD screen. The rest of them followed, scanning the woods to their right as they walked. The trail led them down and around the large rock outcroppings, which were becoming less steep as they got further away from the cliffs protecting the village they had visited. Rodney stopped a few times, each time frowning at the Ancient device in his hands, turning around in a circle to check out the woods, only to shake his head and continue on without further comment. The fourth time he did it, John had lost patience.

"What is it, McKay? Do you see something or not?" he snapped, moving up behind the scientist.

"That's just it, Colonel," Rodney sniped back. "Something just pops up on the screen, and then, just as suddenly, it's gone." He shook the device and then thumped it with the heel of his hand for good measure, looking very frustrated.

"That's all right, Rodney," Carson reassured him, coming up behind him and laying his hand on the other man's shoulder. "We know you're doing your best." Rodney made a face, but John could tell he appreciated the doctor's support. "Now, I'm no geologist, but could there be something in the rock that's interfering with the signal?" Rodney's head snapped up at the suggestion, and he glared at the rocks next to them. John turned to look at the physician, who shrugged, "It just seems to me that we've been getting these intermittent readings for the entire time we've been walking around these cliffs. Maybe it's a coincidence; as I said, I'm no geologist."

"No, but you may have something there," Rodney replied, a sour look on his face.

"Well, whatever may be interfering with the signal," Teyla softly offered, "I do not believe we are in any danger. The woods feel....normal to me. I feel no sense of threat."

"Neither do I," Ronon agreed. "And the longer we take to get home..."

"Less chance of cake, right," Rodney muttered, distractedly. He sighed, heavily, and looked at John, who just gazed blankly back, as if to say 'your call.' "Right." Rodney tucked the device back in his vest, somewhat forlornly. John gave him a reassuring slug in his (uninjured) arm and Ronon tugged at his pack, forcing him forward.

"Okay, people - cake ho!" John punched his fist in the air for effect, to which Teyla rolled her eyes good-naturedly. They moved as a group down the slight hill as the path curved around the rocks. As they turned a particularly sharp corner, they came face to face with the source of Rodney’s blips.

The animals looked like a cross between a wild boar and a mountain goat, with small tusks and shaggy fur; there was a whole group of them, and the sudden appearance of the Atlanteans startled them greatly. Actually, it was a toss up as to who was taken more by surprise: Rodney and Ronon, at the head of the group who, respectively, let out a startled high-pitched yelp and whipped his blaster up to "fire" position, or the animals, who all started squealing/hooting and began to frantically run up the rocks in an effort to escape the intruders. Unfortunately, the herd's stampede caused the already loosely packed rockfall to crumble apart and begin rolling down towards the team below.

Many things happened at once: John shouted, "Move, people!" as he grabbed a hold of Carson's jacket, moving them back up the trail; Ronon grabbed Rodney with one hand and pulled/dragged him into the trees as fast as they both could move; and Teyla ran, flat out into the woods, calling for the others to hurry.

John and Carson had gotten no more than a few steps up the trail, when a decently-sized boulder hit the ground directly in front of them. John yanked Carson back, and was about to pull him towards the trees when he caught sight of another boulder falling right towards them. Spying a slight overhang of the low cliff face, he pushed Carson under it, and they both fell against the rock wall, John pressing the physician as flat against the rock as he could. Everything around them seemed to be rumbling and vibrating, but nothing more than dust actually hit them. He had no idea how long it lasted, but it felt like forever with his body flush against Carson's, the feel of Carson's heart racing beneath his, both of them panting against the dust and the fear. It felt like the entire mountain was coming down around them.

Finally, the rumbling stopped. The air was thick with dust, and as John tentatively pulled away from Carson, he had to pull the collar of his jacket over his nose and mouth to avoid choking on it. His eyes were stinging too badly to see anything yet, but he could hear the others calling their names.

"Teyla! Ronon! We're over here!" John yelled, as he felt Carson's hand fumble blindly for his shoulder. He knew the feeling; his own eyes were tearing up from the dust too much to actually focus on anything in front of him. He grabbed Carson's hand as he took a step forward, and called out again, "Rodney, Teyla - everbody oka...oof!"

Oh, that wasn't good.

He had walked into a rock. Literally. He opened his eyes, and though his vision was still pretty hazy, the wall of rocks in front of him was actually easy to see.

"John? Are you all right? What...oh, bloody hell!"

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."

"Colonel? Sheppard, where the hell are you guys?" Rodney was sounding pretty panicked. John could sympathize.

"Uh, Rodney? Do you see the new wall of rock in front of you?"

"Yeah, we're....oh, crap! This is *so* not good!" Definitely panicked. "How are we gonna get you out of there? How are we gonna get them out of there?" That last one was directed towards Teyla and Ronon.

"Colonel Sheppard, is Doctor Beckett with you?" Teyla’s voice floated over the rocks in front of them.

"Aye, Teyla, I'm here,” Carson responded, “and unbelievably, we both seem to be fine, other than suffering from dust inhalation." The aforementioned dust was starting to settle, and John pulled his tee shirt collar up to wipe his eyes. That did the trick, and he was able to see just how trapped they were.

The rocks had fallen less than three meters behind them, tumbling back towards the rock wall they had been pressed against. The crescent-shaped ledge that had protected them from being crushed had also directed the rock slide behind and all around them, effectively closing them in. It was well over two meters high with small- to medium-sized holes in between the larger boulders, through some of which the other side could be seen. Nothing big enough to crawl through, however; not that that was even an option, as the rocks were shifting even as he looked at them. He glanced over to Carson, who was examining a slender vee-shaped space on their left, created by the rocks rolling almost flush with the cliff. The gap started about a meter off the ground and, at its widest point, wasn't large enough for either man to squeeze through.

"Ronon - over here, lad." After a few seconds and the worrisome sounds of rocks grinding together, Ronon's face was visible on the other side of the vee.

"Cozy." The Satedan leaned his head around the rocks, careful not to push against any of the boulders.

"Do you think we can get through here if we widen the hole?" Beckett asked, hopefully.

The large man didn't answer right away, scanning the rocks on his side carefully. "Maybe. Maybe not. The pile is pretty unstable."

"Oh, thank you for stating the obvious! Of course they're unstable, the mountain just fell apart!"

"Rod-neyyyy...you're not help-ing." John sing-songed, keeping his tone light in an attempt to reassure the physicist. As Rodney spluttered out something about Air Force Colonels not taking their imminent death seriously enough, John leaned in next to Carson, trying to peer through the vee himself. His eyes caught Ronon's, and he asked quietly, "Do you think we should chance moving some of these rocks by hand?"

Ronon held his gaze and replied, solemnly, "I wouldn't. The way they're stacked, they could just as easily fall in, and you really don't have much room to run in there."

The softly spoken answer drew a muttered, "Damn!" from Carson, and John grimaced as he looked around their temporary home. It was about four meters long and less than two meters wide at the base. But they had plenty of air as there was open sky above them and they weren't in any immediate danger, so it definitely could be worse. He gave a resigned look at Carson, who merely sighed in response. He turned back to the Satedan and instructed, "Head back to the gate with the others. There's nothing you guys can do for us now. A team can come back with equipment and braces to get us out of here safely."

"What?! Are you insane?" They could easily hear, if not see, Rodney trying to scramble over the rocks to get to the opening.

"Rodney, your IQ is mighty, but it can't move stone." John was gratified to hear Carson snort behind him. At least he could make *someone* laugh.

A dirty hand grabbed at Ronon's shirt, and pushed the larger man against the rock wall as Rodney lurched into view, huffing with anger. "We can't just leave you here, you..." His voice trailed off as he saw exactly how small a space they were trapped in. "Oh," Rodney deflated, his eyes darting around the tiny area. "Wide open fields, wide open fields," he muttered, his face going pale.

"Rodney, for god's sake, breathe, man!" Carson pushed next to John, reaching for the physicist to calm him.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Rodney panted out, and leaned his hand against one of the rocks forming the slant of the vee. The slight pressure was enough; the small boulder immediately shifted, and so did all of the stone above it. Ronon snatched Rodney back away from the hole, and as rocks started raining down in front of them, Carson and John pulled each other back to the opposite side.

"Carson!"

"Sheppard!"

Once again, dust reigned. But this time, it was only for a brief moment; the air cleared quickly, and they could see that they had lost about a meter of space where they had been standing, as well as most of the opening. The fall looked a little more solid, but there were still enough larger boulders high up on the pile that tottered precariously upon their perch to discourage thoughts of simply climbing over them.

"Colonel Sheppard? Doctor?" Teyla's voice sounded very close. John looked to his right and could see Teyla peering in through one of the larger holes.

"We're fine - just a little dustier," John coughed out. Teyla pulled away from the hole, but was back in a few seconds to carefully ease a water bottle through to them.

Carson moved to hurriedly retrieve it from her. "Thank you, love. We might need a few more of those as well, if you can spare them." Very quickly, two more bottles followed and, after some shuffling on the other side, Rodney's face appeared again, looking very anxious and apologetic.

"Here, take a few power bars, too. I've got extra." Rodney handed them through, and Carson took them, gratefully.

"Thank you, Rodney," he smiled at him, then looked down at the wrapper. "Chocolate Chip, Rodney? But these are your favorite!"

"Whoa," John took one from the doctor. "He likes us. He really, really likes us!"

"Brat," Carson swatted the pilot affectionately.

"Are you guys going to be all right in there? I mean, I could stay and keep you company..."

"Thanks for the offer, but we need you to figure out how to get us out of here," John grinned at him. "After all, we count on you to repeatedly save our asses, remember?"

Carson chuckled next to him, "That's right, Rodney. Don't worry - we'll be fine. We'll just sit and have a rest, that's all."

"Right," John chimed in. "We'll have a picnic." He grinned at Carson, who smiled back. And if the smile didn't quite reach his eyes, well, he wasn't going to be the one to point it out to Rodney. "Anyway, the sooner you leave, the sooner you can come back for us, right?"

"Right," sighed Rodney. He didn't like it, but...what else could they do? "Just...sit tight, okay?" he offered, tremulously, as he pulled back cautiously from the hole.

Ronon snorted loudly as he took McKay's place at the hole. "Now who's stating the obvious?" He shared a quick, if mirthless grin with John before looking at him very solemnly. "We'll be back soon. Don't touch anything."

"Thanks for the tip," John snarked back at him. He was about to tell him to be careful going back when Carson gently pushed in front of him.

"Ronon," the Scot spoke softly, "Make sure Rodney eats somethin’. His blood sugar usually drops when he's overly stressed."

"I'll take care of him, Doc." Ronon moved back from the hole, to be immediately replaced by Teyla. She carefully reached her hand through the hole, and both men took their turn to squeeze it firmly.

"We will take care of Rodney," she quietly reassured them, "and you must take care of one another."

Without looking in Carson's direction, John replied, "You can count on it." She nodded, then pulled her hand back through the hole and she was gone. Both men stood silently, listening to the retreating footsteps. When all was quiet, they looked at one another with no trace of their earlier humor. Carson motioned to the ledge behind them and picked up a bottle of water as he moved towards the solid rock wall. Sheppard grabbed the other two and followed, setting them on the newly fallen rocks to the left so he could shrug off his pack. Carson followed suit, and soon they were free of gear and sliding down the wall to sit side by side. Water bottles were distributed, along with a towel from Carson’s pack, and they both took the opportunity to clean some of the dust off their faces and necks. John took a big swig of the water, swishing it around his mouth to clean out the dust, and spat it out to the side. Carson grunted and did the same, then finished off the rest of his bottle in silence.

Neither of them spoke for several moments. John was just about to break the comfortable silence when his radio chirped in his ear. Apparently, Carson's did, too, as they both reached up to tap their headsets at the same time. Seeing John react as well, Carson aborted the motion and let John reply. "Sheppard here. What's up?"

"So, are you still okay?" McKay's voice sounded plaintive.

John sighed and let his head fall back against the rock. "We're fine, Rodney. We're sitting."

"Oh. Okay." Silence. "Well, we're on our radios, you know, so if you need anything..."

"Got it, Rodney. Thanks. Sheppard out." He could see Carson's chest shake a little with held-back laughter out of his peripheral vision, and he turned to look fully at the doctor, a puzzled grin on his face. Carson dared a glance at him, which, for some reason, prompted him to shake harder. Having no idea what was cracking up the Scot, but finding himself starting to grin in response, he asked, "What? What's the joke, Doc?"

Carson squeezed his eyes shut and tucked his chin to his chest, trying to keep from losing all control. "You do realize," he croaked out, gasping a little, "that he's goin' to call every five minutes, don't you?"

John’s groan in response quickly turned into a chuckle. “Yeah, but imagine if he had stayed behind…”

“Oh, lord, that would have been torturous!” Carson’s mirth died down a bit and he settled into a deeply-dimpled smile. John just sat there, admiring the view for a minute. While Beckett was always attractive (at least in John’s opinion), when he smiled or laughed he was simply…breath-taking.

His eyes still on the man next to him, John began, “So, since we’re stuck here for a while…” His voice trailed off as Carson turned to look at him, the smile still on his face, causing John to momentarily lose his train of thought.

Carson looked at him, questioningly. “Yes, John?”

John swallowed hard, but decided to forge ahead. “Well, you know how we’ve been trying to spend some time together...”

He had Carson’s full attention now. “Yes,” the Scot nodded, his smile gone. “I…well, to be honest, I figured you weren’t interested any more, at least, not after the whole Lucius fiasco.”

Startled, John’s eyes locked on Carson’s. “Not interested? Why would you think that?”

Carson looked very uncomfortable, but to his credit, he didn’t break their gaze as he replied. “I just made such a mess of everything,” he said, miserably, “I made a right fool of myself, I compromised the security of the city, I…”

John cut him off. “Hey, don’t even think like that, or think for one second I thought any less of you.” He reached for Carson’s hand, and Carson gripped it back, tightly. “You were drugged, Carson, everybody was under that guy’s spell. I don’t hold you, or anyone else responsible for anything you or they did or may have said.” Carson’s eyes searched his, wanting to believe his words. John squeezed his hand, stroking his thumb over the other man’s, trying to convince him with the simple touch as well.

“But…” Carson started, looking slightly confused, “after, you acted so distant, I just figured you were disgusted with me, with the way I acted, especially in the ‘Jumper.” His face turned red a little at that, remembering his emotional breakdown while “de-toxing.”

“No!” John was quick to deny his words. “That wasn’t it at all!” John shook his head, chagrined. He took a deep breath before continuing, very softly. “I was jealous.” He grimaced at the admission.

“Jealous?” Carson sounded incredulous, and John couldn’t blame him. Feeling very sheepish, he looked away from Carson’s too-blue eyes, and instead focused on the bottle of water he was holding, rolling it back and forth against his leg, nervously.

“I know, it’s lame, but…you were just so into that guy. I know, I know,” he was quick to cut off Carson’s indignant response, “it wasn’t your choice, you were drugged. I *knew* that, but, well, sometimes you just, you know, feel the way you feel, I guess.”

There was a moment of silence as Carson digested that, and then John felt the other man shift so he moved closer, his leg pressing against John’s. Their hands still linked, Carson gently tugged at John’s arm to get his attention. “Hey,” he prodded softly, “You really don’t need me to tell you that you had no reason to be jealous, do you?”

John snorted. “No, believe me – intellectually I know that there’s as much chance of you being attracted to someone like *that* as, well, Teyla being attracted to Kavanaugh.”

It was Carson’s turn to snort. “Well, thank you for likening me to Teyla in that equation.” John looked up at Carson, who was grinning kindly. John grinned back.

“Well,” he drawled, “Teyla is pretty hot, so it’s a good comparison.” His grin widened as Carson flushed slightly.

“You think I’m ‘hot,’ do you?” Despite his blush, the Scot was still capable of gentle teasing.

“Oh, yeah,” John whispered. “Extremely.” At that moment, he fully registered how close Carson was, their shoulders and thighs touching, their noses centimeters apart and suddenly, his mouth went dry and his heart sped up. Both of their grins faded as their eyes met and the heat between them ratcheted up several notches. Carson’s vividly blue eyes drifted down to John’s lips and then darkened as the pilot licked them, nervously.

“So…” John whispered, leaning almost imperceptibly closer to the other man.

“So…” Carson responded in kind, his eyes moving back up to John’s, intense.

“Back to what I was saying about us spending time together…”

“Yes?”

“Does this qualify?” John’s voice was softly teasing.

“Qualify as what?” Carson’s brows raised in mock-confusion.

“A date? I mean,” he gestured to their surroundings, “we’re in an exotic locale.” Carson huffed at that, but John continued. “We’ve got food and drinks,” he jiggled the bottle in his hand.

Carson sniggered, “Hardly qualifies as a picnic, John. That’s basic prison fare, in my opinion.”

“Hey, work with me here,” he joked, squeezing the other man’s hand. Carson squeezed back and tipped his head, considering. “We’re alone.” John’s voice dropped on the last word, and Carson’s eyes darkened to indigo.

“Aye, we’re definitely that,” Carson replied quietly, his breath ghosting across John’s cheek as he leaned in even more. They were close enough now that their noses were almost touching. “But I’d hardly consider this a date, stuck here behind a wall of rock…” His voice trailed away as John closed the distance between them, his lips brushing warmly against Carson’s. “Oh,” the Scot breathed, but didn’t speak again as their lips met more fully, the kiss gentle, tentative, as each man shifted to turn slightly towards the other. Carson was gripping his hand almost painfully, so John resumed his gentle thumb-stroke, coaxing the doctor to loosen his hold. Carson’s other hand raised slowly to cup John’s cheek, the fingers barely grazing the soft flesh as he stroked gently down towards their joined lips. John had been holding his breath, but at that delicate touch let it out suddenly, shuddering as he dropped the water bottle and raised his own hand to caress up the side of Carson’s face and tangle his fingers in the thick, dark hair at his temple. It was slightly gritty from the dust, but he didn’t care as he slid his hand around to cup the back of Carson’s head, lightly stroking the shell of one ear with his thumb. Carson moaned into his mouth, and the kiss became hotter, wetter as they melted against one another. Lips parted, tongues met and mated languorously, and, as Carson’s hand began a slow slide down beneath the collar of John’s tee-shirt, their headsets chirped, amazingly loud in the complete stillness.

Both men jumped at the sound, smacking their foreheads lightly together. “Crap!” John exclaimed, one hand going to his forehead, the other reaching up to tap his headset. Carson was rubbing his own head, alternately wincing and grinning at John.

John grimaced, shaking his head in dismay and responded, curtly, “Sheppard here.”

“Colonel?” It was Rodney. Of course. “Everything okay?”

John sighed heavily, and glanced at Carson, whose eyes were shining with laughter. “Yeah, Rodney, everything’s just peachy.”

“Oh. Okay, uh, well, you know, just checking in.” Rodney’s voice sounded a bit strained.

“Seriously, Rodney, we’re *fine*. Really. If anything catastrophic were to happen, you’d be the first to know. I promise.” He rubbed his head again, and watched as Carson raised one hand to cover his mouth, his dimples deepening with barely-suppressed mirth.

“Sheppard.” That was Ronon.

“Yeah?”

“Can I really drag him back by his feet?”

The bark of laughter escaping the man beside him made John chuckle in response. “Sure, if you can stand the non-stop bitching, go for it.” He could see Beckett’s shoulders shaking in his peripheral vision. Forcing back the laughter bubbling up in his chest, he determinedly did not look at the man directly; he knew that if he did, he’d lose it, too.

“John, we will strive to restrain Rodney’s paranoia, and will not bother you again until we reach the gate.”

“Thank you, Teyla. Sheppard out.”

He keyed off his headset and finally dared to look at Carson. Catching his look, Carson just gave it up and leaned against his companion, laughing helplessly. It was too much; Carson was just too adorable that way and John let the laughter take him over as well. It didn’t last long, but it was enough to melt away all of the tension that had been building up between them over the last several weeks. As the last of their laughter died away, and they leant against one another gasping for breath, John reached again for Carson’s hand, and drew it up against his chest, a silent apology and thank-you. Carson sighed and let his head gently fall to the side to rest against John’s. After a few moments of silence, Carson offered, “Well, he *did* manage to wait almost 15 minutes before calling us again.”

John smirked in response, “True, there is that.” He slightly rocked his head against Carson’s, a gentle caress, and fell silent, just enjoying the companionable closeness. After a few moments, he felt Carson shift against him as the other man pulled away slightly to rummage for something in his pack. John swiveled his head to see what Carson was doing. “Whatcha lookin’ for?” he lazily queried.

Carson gave a short grunt as he struggled with his pack. “A blanket,” came the brisk reply.

“A blanket?” John asked, his voice teasing. “You cold?”

A huff of laughter was the response. “Hardly. Ah, there it is.” John settled back against the rock to watch as Carson unfolded the blanket. “Scoot forward,” he directed, pointing towards the rockfall in front of them. John obeyed and watched as, with a flick of his wrists, Carson flapped the thin material out to lie where they had just been sitting.

Carson started smoothing it out and John moved to help. “So, taking a nap, then? Am I that boring?” John drawled, jokingly.

Carson grinned at him and then colored pink. “Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of making out.”

John gasped, pretending shock. “Doctor Beckett! That’s so forward of you!” He grinned at Carson, who grinned back despite the deep blush across his face. “I…kinda like that.”

“I thought you might,” Carson shot back, lying down on the blanket and motioning for John to join him. John grabbed their jackets to use as pillows and quickly did just that. Once they were situated on their sides, face to face, John’s hand leisurely trailing down Carson’s arm, Carson murmured, “You know, for a first date, this isn’t too bad.”

“You mean, despite the almost getting killed part, being trapped behind a highly unstable wall of rocks and the added excitement of Rodney potentially chiming in periodically?”

Carson chuckled deeply. “Aye, besides that.” His hand raised to lightly stroke John’s cheekbone. “It isn’t what either of us had planned, but…”

“But,” John continued his thought, “things here, in Pegasus, don’t always go according to plan?”

“Aye,” Carson replied. He opened his palm and laid his hand flat against the other man’s cheek, his thumb softly stroking John’s lips until they parted. “But, I think we shouldn’t balk at what’s given us.”

“Beggars can’t be choosers, you mean?” John’s voice was breathy and deep, as he captured Carson’s thumb between his lips, flicking the calloused pad with his tongue and gently sucking.

Carson’s own lips fell open with a gasp. “No,” he breathed out, “What I mean is, life is so precious here, and it could be gone in an instant.” He pulled his thumb from John’s mouth, the wet sound of it making both men breathe a little harder. Carson pulled John’s head to rest against his own, catching his breath. Then he pulled away a bit and looked John in the eye as he said, “We should make the best of the opportunities for joy we’re given, no matter how they may seem at first.” John nodded, and raised his own hand to gently touch Carson’s face. If it was shaking a bit, well, neither man saw fit to mention it.

They lay like that for a few moments, just breathing each other in. Finally, John spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. “I still expect dinner and a movie.”

“Brat.”

~fin~

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 00:39:14 GMT

Unfortunately, I'm currently single myself, but it *is* an excuse to eat chocolate. ;)

We (the people in my locale) are in the middle of some seriously crappy weather - getting dumped on with lots and lots of snow! Because, apparently, the 42 inches we've already gotten over the last 30 days hasn't been enough... ::heavy sigh:: You know, I wouldn't mind it so much if it weren't so bitterly cold. It's terrible - 18 degrees is like a heat wave these days! AND I have to drive to Chicago on Thursday for the J-O-B, which I'm *really* not looking forward to in this mess. :(

At any rate, if anyone reads this, stay warm with your sweetie and have a great day tomorrow!

hugs,
amokeh

My first Atlantis Fic!

Sun, 04 Feb 2007 00:14:28 GMT

Title: Is That Stuff Sold by the Gallon?
Author: amokeh
Rating: G
Pairings: Sheppard/Beckett, established relationship
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Obviously, I don’t own them. Wish I did, though. Well, at least Carson – I think I could get by with just renting John. VBEG
Author's Notes: This is my first attempt at anything larger than a double drabble within the Stargate universe, so please be gentle with me. :D Tecnu (C) is an actual product that saved my life when I had poison ivy 5 years ago. I always have a bottle of it handy for when I’ve been out tromping through the woods. And, although it should be sold by the gallon, it is not. :( Written for the "Dialogue" Challenge at The Beckett-Sheppard List
Summary: Sheppard is once again in need of medical attention after suffering from "exposure" off-world. Heh.

"Unscheduled offworld activation!”

Elizabeth shot out of her office at the gate tech’s loud announcement, her heart already racing. “Colonel Sheppard’s team?” She queried, anticipating the worst.

Chuck nodded. “Dr. McKay’s IDC, ma’am.” At the same time, Rodney’s voice could be heard over the radio, requesting that the shield be lowered for their return.

Tapping her earpiece, Elizabeth asked, worriedly, “Rodney? Is everything all right? Do you need medical assistance?”

It was John who responded. “Uh, no, we don’t, Elizabeth.” In the background, she could hear Rodney arguing, “Oh, don’t be an idiot. I mean, look at...ow!”

Elizabeth shared a look with Chuck, and rolled her eyes in pseudo-exasperation. “All right, you two. Don’t make me give you a time-out.” Chuck grinned and keyed off the shield. “The shield’s down; you can come home.” She turned towards the active wormhole, expectantly.

“Thank you,” Sheppard replied, his voice laced with sarcasm. A few seconds later, the watery event horizon shimmered and Teyla serenely walked through first, followed by Rodney, who was rubbing the back of his head and muttering to himself. Then came Ronon, who was grinning which, okay, was a bit unusual, but all of them looked healthy enough. She was just about to ask where the Colonel was when he stepped through the horizon, wearing a blanket.

Only a blanket.

Oh. My.

He had it pulled tightly around him, hunkering down into it, as if to conceal as much of his body as possible. He had managed to cover himself all the way from his feet to halfway up his face; she could just make out the tips of his fingers holding the blanket in place and his face from his cheekbones up, all of which was very red. She looked at the rest of the team for some explanation and did a double take. Ronon was carrying John’s clothes. When he saw where she was looking, his grin got even bigger.

Elizabeth walked quickly down the steps, shaking her head in disbelief. ‘This was supposed to be an ordinary, peaceful trade mission.....”

Rodney stopped her, mid-sentence. “Oh, it was peaceful. Nobody shot at us or tried to sell us to the Genii or anything like that." Despite his reassurances, he looked decidedly uncomfortable about something. She waited for him to continue, but instead of rambling on like normal, he was studiously looking everywhere but at her. She mentally winced. If Rodney wasn't talking....

Elizabeth turned to John, hoping for some explanation. “Then what happened? I mean, how....” she trailed off, waving her hand at him to indicate his current state of undress.

“Uh, do we really have to discuss this here?” John’s voice was slightly muffled behind the thick cloth and he was shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. “I’d really like to go to the infirmary now, if that’s all right.”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him. “I thought you said you didn’t need medical assistance?”

What little of John’s face she could see looked very embarrassed. “I just didn’t want to do this here, in the control room.”

“All right.” Elizabeth decided not to give him a hard time about it. He really did look very uncomfortable; she could see that he was twitching under the blanket. “But I want a full report as soon as Carson’s done with you.”

John sighed, then nodded. “Right. Uh, I’ll see you guys later.” He nodded to the rest of his team as he headed out of the room. “Oh, and Ronon?

“Yeah, Sheppard?”

“Burn those. Just in case.”

After he was out of sight, Elizabeth turned to the others and asked, “Do I even want to know?”

****************************************************************

It had been a pretty easy day in the infirmary. The only patients Carson Beckett had seen were a young marine with a mild case of achilles tendonitis and a chemist with a bad head cold. He was valiantly trying to catch up on his reports when he heard the distinctive sound of one of his nurses, Jan, clearing her throat from the open doorway.

Pulling his attention away from the paperwork in front of him he asked, “What do you need, love?” Instead of answering, Jan just shook her head, grinned, and waggled her finger at him, in the “come here” gesture. “What is this, now?” he asked, getting up to follow her as she led him to the treatment area. Sitting on one of the beds was his lover, wrapped tightly in a blanket. He allowed his gaze to travel down the material-covered body and back up again. John’s ears and cheeks were bright red, but Carson could also see redness below the blush that nothing to do with embarrassment. John met his eyes and, somehow, managed to convey chagrin and resignation with a slight duck of his head and shrug, barely visible beneath the wrap.

Carson sighed heavily. “Och, right then. Thanks, Jan – I’ll take it from here.” As she left, she pulled the privacy curtains around them, and Carson stepped up to the table, leaning his hip against it as he crossed his arms over his chest. “So.....how did it go?” he asked, his voice full of gentle humor.

John glared at him, but there was no real heat behind it. “It was actually going really well,” he started, loosening the blanket slightly so it lowered enough that he could speak unhindered. The redness that Carson had only seen a hint of a few seconds earlier was now quite visible in splotches across John’s lower face, chin and neck. “They liked us. We liked them. They invited us to a banquet. We accepted.”

“Uh huh,” Carson murmured, pulling away from the bed and moving in front of his patient. He reached for the blanket, and John let him tug it away, exposing his upper chest. “And then what happened?” Carson asked distractedly, as he focused his attention on what appeared to be a very angry rash, erupting in slightly raised bunches across his lover’s torso and neck in no discernible pattern.

John absently began to scratch at one of the patches. “Well, apparently, they’ve got this tradition.” He paused and Carson looked up at his face. John was grimacing, but whether it was from discomfort or chagrin, he couldn’t tell.

“And what tradition would that be?” Carson let the blanket fall back into place to cover the colonel’s body, resting his hands on his hips.

“Uh, it’s a show of good will, and trust,” John started, having trouble meeting Beckett’s eyes. He started to itch at his legs. “You see, the newcomers – that would be us in this particular instance – walk through the village, uh, to show that they have nothing to hide and the villagers toss various flowers at them, welcoming them and blessing them.” John offered a weak, pained smile. “I mean, just a simple ritual. No harm, right?” He looked at Carson, hopefully, “Elizabeth’s always telling us to make nice with the natives, so....” His voice trailed off as Carson looked back at him, his face totally blank.

“Hmmm,” Carson offered, non-committal, and then lifted up the blanket again, staring at the pattern of eruptions on John’s chest, the light bulb clicking ‘on.’ “So,” he started, jovially, pushing the blanket totally out of the way to see the full extent of the damage. “I assume you agreed to this before they told you about the ‘naked’ part.”

John looked at him directly, his smile this time more genuine, albeit embarrassed. “That would be a ‘yes.’” He resumed his light itching as Carson moved past him, gathering some supplies out of a nearby cabinet. “We figured it wouldn’t be a big deal since everybody was gonna be naked, and good will is...”

“Wait a bloody second!” Carson interrupted, turning back to him. “Everyone?” He looked at John incredulously. “Not only you, but the rest of the team and the villagers, too?” John nodded, his big grin giving way to a wince as he inadvertently scratched too hard at a spot. Carson stared at him and then let out a loud laugh, shaking his head. “Only you, John.” Carson chuckled, “Only you could go through the stargate and find the only nudist camp in the Pegasus galaxy.” They shared an amused look, and then Carson went full-on into Doctor mode. “All right, then,” he pushed past the privacy curtain, raising his voice slightly as he continued, moving away, “Obviously you’re having an allergic reaction to the oils from the flowers, but I’d like to get a skin scraping to make sure that’s all it is.”

John could hear him rummaging through supplies across the room. “You’re gonna scrape my skin?” He made an ‘ew’ face. “Is that really necessary?” He subconsciously pulled the blanket back around him for protection.

“Aye, it is,” Carson replied, sounding a bit closer. “Unfortunately, we’ve found out the hard way too many times not to take things for granted here.” Although John didn’t like it, he couldn’t argue against that particular logic. He could hear some shuffling noises as if Carson was pushing things around a drawer or shelf. “Och, there you are, ya wee bugger,” he muttered, under his breath. “While we’re waiting for the test results to come back, we’ll treat this like we would a case of poison ivy.” He re-entered the curtained-off area, arms full of supplies. He dropped everything on the table next to John: towels; a sealed package with what looked like a mini-plastic spatula and a slide; gauze; creams; and a bottle of....John tilted his head to read the packaging...Tecnu. Weird name, he thought to himself as Beckett prepared a syringe. John pulled his attention away from the funky-named bottle and eyed the needle warily. Carson explained, “Think of it as liquid Benadryl (TM), love. It’ll set you right faster than the pill form.” He reached for an antibacterial wipe and looked pointedly at John’s arm, buried beneath the blanket.

John sighed, leaving go of the material and offering his arm to the good doctor. “Okay. Great. Whatever. Just – make this crap go away, please?” he whined, itching at his stomach with his other hand.

“I’ll do my best, love.” Carson gave him the shot quickly, knowing his lover’s distaste for needles. The skin scraping went even faster, John refusing to look the entire time. “I’m done,” Carson informed him once the slide was in its protective cover. “You can look now, ya big baby.” He affectionately ruffled his hair as John looked at him a little sleepily. Obviously the antihistamine was kicking in. “All right, now. While you take a little nap, I’ll wash you down with this,” he grabbed the bottle of Tecnu as John started to tilt to the side. “Och, no, love – hold on just a wee bit. Let me put some towels down first.” John nodded and concentrated on sitting upright while Beckett hurriedly spread towels across the bed. “Okay, you can lie down now.” John immediately complied, and let his legs fall bonelessly to the side as Carson arranged the towels under him. As John lay watching him, Carson grabbed the bottle again, muttering to himself, “A whole village of people, naked, pelting a naked parade of visitors with flowers...” He snorted and looked amusedly at John, who gave him a drunken grin in response. “Ya know, back home, that would have made the ten o’clock news.” He moved next to John and popped open the bottle. “But here, it’s probably not even the strangest thing that’ll happen this week.”

“Heh, prob’ly not ev’n t’day. Wha’s tha stuff, anyway?” Sheppard slurred, getting sleepier by the moment.

Carson had already squirted it across John's rash-covered chest, and was gently rubbing it in using circular motions. “It’s the best stuff to break down plant oils, love. This way we can be sure none of the nasty stuff you were exposed to lingers long enough to give you any more problems.” He glanced at John’s face to see him watching with a half-lidded gaze. John looked so young and unguarded, that he couldn’t resist leaning down and placing a soft kiss on his lips. Although sleepy, John was still awake enough to respond, drawing out the kiss to something that left both of them wanting more. Carson reluctantly drew back. “That’s enough of that, love,” he whispered. “You’ll get me in a state, and you’re in no shape to do anythin’ about it.” They shared a smile: John’s sleepy and Carson’s deeply dimpled.

“I’m sorry, Cars’n,” Sheppard murmured, his eyes closing. “’I’ll make it up t’you, lat’r...” he dozed off completely before he could finish the thought.

Carson smiled at him, fondly, then kissed him lightly again, barely brushing their lips together. “Aye, love, I’ve no doubt of that.”

fin