jadesfire | Fic: Milk Run (SGA)

Apologies to my flist for spamming today, but I just realised that I never got this one posted up properly...

Title: Milk Run
Author:

jadesfire2808
Words: ~1300
Genre/Rating: Gen/PG
Spoilers: Episode tag to "The Shrine". Sort of. Set after it, anyway.
Notes: Written for

pollitt as part of the Fandom Free For All. Huge thanks to Z, Donutsweeper and Rusty for hand-holding and beta.

Summary: The life of a soldier is long periods of boredom interspersed with brief moments of terror. This is one of the former.

Milk Run

The ball hit the wall next to Rodney's ear with unnerving precision, proximity making the noise almost unbearably loud before it bounced back across the hut.

"I can't believe you brought that."

"What?" The ball took flight again, hitting just the right spot on the floor to bounce off the wall by Rodney's other ear and land back in Sheppard's hand. One of Sheppard's boots knocked against his, and Rodney shifted, trying to find a comfortable spot on the hard floor. Apparently the local furniture didn't extend to chairs.

"John," Teyla said, and even she sounded a little irritated, "I do not understand the significance of this...activity. You said it was traditional on Earth?"

"You did not tell her that."

Rodney's glare didn't seem to affect Sheppard in the slightest. "I think I said that it had great cultural significance, which it does," he said, smiling a little smugly and throwing the ball again.

Before it could hit the wall this time, Ronon's hand came out and caught it with an almost painful smack. "Great cultural significance?" he asked, lifting one eyebrow a fraction.

Sheppard shifted. Apparently Ronon's glare was more effective than Rodney's. "Sure. You remember Steve McQueen? In the movie? With the guns?"

"Many of your movies are very similar," Teyla said, glancing at Ronon then back at Sheppard. "And many of them involve guns."

"Butch Cassidy," Sheppard said, sitting up a little straighter against the wall. "Holding up banks? Jumping off cliffs?"

"Don't they die at the end?" Ronon asked.

"Well, yeah, but he was in this other movie--"

"Where everyone else dies at the end," Rodney put in.

"Whatever." Sheppard waved his hands vaguely. "In this other movie, Steve McQueen spends a lot of time in solitary confinement. So he…" The hand waving got even more vague as he trailed off. "…bounces a ball. A lot."

"You know," Rodney said, as Ronon and Teyla stared at Sheppard with their usual 'Earthlings are very strange' expressions, "I'm pretty sure there was more to it than that."

"Probably. We'll put it on the movie night list when we get home." Shifting again, Sheppard dropped his head back, flinching as some loose plaster floated down around him. "If we ever get home."

"It has not even been half an hour yet." Teyla reached out and brushed some of the plaster from Sheppard's shoulder, while Ronon held the ball up for closer inspection.

"As much as it pains me to do so," Rodney said, trying to find a way to sit that didn't hurt his back quite so badly, "I've got to agree with Sheppard. I mean, is this really the best use of our time? Sitting around, waiting to find out if the village elders will deign to release us from their 'waiting house'?" He couldn't resist drawing the air quotes.

"It's a mission, McKay," Sheppard said, although he was looking at Ronon. He seemed to be trying to get the ball back purely through the power of his intense stare. It could take a while.

"A mission for us? I thought Woolsey had a whole bunch of new people assigned to meet and greets?"

"I believe Mr Woolsey felt that-" Teyla broke off sharply, and although she smiled when Rodney turned to her, he hadn't missed the flash of movement. Usually it was Teyla kicking Sheppard in the ankle, not the other way round.

"This is the mission we got, so this is the mission we're on. End of story." But Sheppard wouldn't meet his eye, and Rodney was fairly sure that wasn't entirely related to the ball that Ronon was now squeezing experimentally between his thumb and forefinger.

Rodney tilted his head, trying to get Teyla to look at him if Sheppard wouldn't. "Teyla?"

She smiled at him, and he noticed almost absently that it was the kind of smile she used to prevaricate with. It fooled most of the people they traded with, but at some point, Rodney had gotten to know her well enough that he recognized that smile.

He frowned and her eyes slid away from his, first to Ronon, then to Sheppard, who had shifted his gaze to the wall between Rodney and Ronon.

"Will someone just tell me what you all know that I don't? Because that's usually a pretty short list." Rodney folded his arms and glared at them in turn. Ronon was unmoved, of course, but Teyla and Sheppard glanced at each other.

Teyla must have lost that briefest of staring matches, because she looked up at him, meeting his eyes properly this time. "I believe Mr Woolsey felt that it would be better for you to have an easy mission. At least until we are sure that you are fully recovered."

"What?" Rodney's hand went automatically to the almost-healed scar on his forehead. Just as automatically – and apparently without looking – Ronon reached out and slapped his hand away. "He knows that Jennifer cleared me for duty, right? Did she tell him that I'm not better? Did she tell you that I'm not better? Oh no." His stomach rolled and he got to his feet, trying not to pace because he'd just end up falling over someone. "I'm not better, am I? I mean, I thought things were going okay in the labs but maybe Zelenka was just being nice to me. Or, okay, not likely but maybe if someone told him to be, he might be. I can't believe that none of you said anything!"

"Rodney." Sheppard was on his feet, as was Teyla, but Rodney pushed away the hand that she stretched out towards him.

"I can't believe this. Don't you think I'd want to know if I wasn't better? It was bad enough last time, knowing what was going on but this? This is so much worse."

"Rodney!" This time, Sheppard yelled loud enough that it seemed to echo round the small, bare room. "would you come up for air at some point? Geez." He ran a hand through his hair, showering plaster dust all over his jacket again. "Woolsey just thought we should start back easy, and since this mission was coming up, I said we'd take it. Nothing more, okay? We haven't been on a milk run for a while. I thought," he added, with emphasis, "it would make a nice change."

"Also," Teyla put in, "the Hafret cultivate a berry that tastes very much like chocolate."

Rodney blinked. "For real?" Again, he recognized the smile Teyla was giving him, and this time, he felt some tight knot in his stomach unwind a little. "Chocolate?"

"There is a rumor," Sheppard said, shrugging a little. "But if we don't just sit patiently and wait, we're not going to find out, are we?"

"I guess not." Rodney went to rub at his forehead again, then stopped and pushed his hands into his pockets instead. "A milk run, huh?"

"That's the idea. So unless you're adding dairy intolerance to your medical file, I suggest we all just sit down." Putting one hand against the wall, Sheppard lowered himself to the floor again, crossing his legs at the ankles.

Smiling a little sheepishly at Teyla, Rodney carefully sat down next to Ronon. The floor was still cold and uncomfortable, and the walls were still sending down the occasional shower of plaster dust but…well…

Chocolate. Even Rodney probably had enough patience to wait for that.

Sheppard had tilted his head back again, eyes closed, but Teyla was looking at Rodney, still smiling, just a little.

"We're waiting, then?" Ronon asked, contemplating the ball again.

"We're waiting," Sheppard confirmed without opening his eyes.

Ronon grunted, rolled his shoulders and threw the ball.

Boing

Thwack

"Ronon."

Rodney grinned and settled against the wall. It was good to be back.

Author's note (added later): I realised about halfway through replying to comments on this fic that I mixed up Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in my movie references. Since no one had noticed, commented or emailed me to tell me so (including my 4 betas!), I'm going to assume this is a common failing and leave it at that. Apologies to them and anyone who actually knows what they're talking about when it comes to iconic blue-eyed actors

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blackmare-9.livejournal.com

Oh, this really made me smile.

Thank you. Just warm and lovely.

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