TEAM ROMANCE: Fly on the wall, "Entomology For Beginners"
Title: Entomology For Beginners
Author: darth_begbie ( interview)
Team: Romance
Prompt: Fly on the wall
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard (Teyla/Elizabeth UST)
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Summary: Teyla discovers that her Wraith genetics give her the ability to see the world through Sheppard’s eyes.
Once you've read the story, please take a moment to vote in the poll below. Ratings go from 1 (low) to 9 (high), so all you need to do is enter a single number in that range into each text entry box. You'll be able to see the Prompt and Team (Genre) information in the header above.
More details about the voting procedure can be found here.
**
Entomology For Beginners
Teyla was dropping into a deeper state of relaxation. Ronon had finally decided that the bruises weren't a fair price to pay for the chance to slip into a deep meditative sleep. While she was going to miss the opportunity to hit to Ronon repeatedly with a wooden katana, the lack of snoring did allow for a better meditative state. Teyla concentrated on deepening and evening her breathing and felt herself fall into a light trance - like state.
The voices began as a faint murmur in the back of her mind. Similar to the way she perceived the Wraith, yet more familiar. Momentarily alarmed at the thought that there may be Wraith close enough to the city for her to sense them, she decided to pursue the mental connection.
The whispery sound resolved itself into the very familiar voice of Rodney McKay. Not a voice that would expect to hear at this level of consciousness and certainly not a sound that she associated with relaxation.
“You’re cheating!” Rodney is yelling at her? “There’s no other explanation.”
“Maybe I’m just better than you,” she hears John’s voice reply. She looks down and sees a chess board in front of her.
“Hah! You wish, that’s …” Rodney sputters.
“Inconceivable?” She can hear the smirk in John’s voice.
Rodney’s mouth twitches as though he were holding back a smile, “Bite me.”
“Maybe later,” comes the lazy reply. She notices her surroundings and realizes that this game is taking place in the mess hall.
That pulled Teyla out of her vision. She realized with a start that she was going to be late for her planned lunch with Elizabeth. She shook her head to clear it and began gathering up her belongings. As she left the gym she wondered at what she had seen.
Many times half forgotten memories and fragments of old dreams would surface during her meditations. It was often fascinating to reflect on what would spring to the forefront of her mind during such times. She decided that she must have been remembering one of the many such arguments that her two friends indulged in.
As she entered the mess hall, she noticed that John and Rodney were indeed at their usual gaming table with a chess set spread out between them. She was momentarily transfixed until Rodney’s voice broke her out of her reverie. He was accusing John of using underhanded means to win their match. The Colonel responded by pointing out that his horsey guy had Rodney in check.
“For god’s sake, the least you could do is call the pieces by their proper names,” came the agitated reply.
Teyla looked away and saw that Elizabeth had already secured a table and was waving her over. She collected her lunch from the serving table and joined her friend.
“Have they been carrying on in this manner for long?” Teyla nodded at the Colonel and McKay as they set up another game.
“Apparently they’ve been at it for awhile,” Elizabeth looked amused, “Honestly some days it hard to tell which one is playing the organ and which one is wearing the little hat.”
Teyla turned to Elizabeth with a puzzled frown. This prompted the other woman to launch into a description of ‘organ grinders’ and their pet monkeys.
Later on, her thoughts kept wandering to the strange incident earlier that day in the gym. She had initially mistook her vision of her friends for a Wraith connection. That had alarmed her enough to investigate further. She had tried to replicate the feeling by assuming a meditative state in her quarters.
After a time she was once again presented with a vision of her friends. This time they were out on one of the many balconies in the city. Rodney was peering through a pair of binoculars at the horizon. He had turned toward her and the hand that had taken the offered looking-glasses had been decidedly male and wearing a black wristband.
The perspective had changed to a view of the ocean surrounding Atlantis when she had heard Rodney’s voice close to her ear.
“Oh look at that, I didn’t realize we had any spiders in the city,” he remarked in a disingenuous tone. He poked at her head and continued. “That’s a big one too, like a daddy longlegs.”
The view jumped around in a most disconcerting fashion. She could faintly see the Colonel’s arms flailing in her peripheral vision. A strangled laugh caught Sheppard’s attention and again her vision came to rest on the amused scientist.
She snapped out of her trance with a jolt. “Of course,” she thought. She knew that John’s phobia of insects was only exacerbated by his exposure to the Iratus. She contacted Carson and asked if had a few moments to spare. She needed his input on this matter.
Carson had been most illuminating on the subject. He theorized that the Colonel’s exposure to the retrovirus and subsequent cure had left dormant Iratus DNA in his system. She confirmed that it took more effort to open a connection to Sheppard than it did to connect with the Wraith. Teyla reflected that this ability would have been of immense value just over a month ago. The Colonel had gone missing on a routine mission.
They had later recovered him at the home base of a warring faction on the world that they were visiting. It would have saved them a great deal of time and worry if she had known that she could simply link up with him and ascertain his location.
The Colonel had been injured in the attempted coup and the team were still on stand down while he recovered. Carson had ordered all of them to rest. In fact, he had threatened on more than one occasion to have Rodney sedated.
The scientist had been frantic during the rescue operation and had hovered incessantly while Sheppard was in the infirmary. Teyla resolved to become more proficient with this ability. However she was reluctant to mention this situation to John. A man as private as the Colonel was would most likely be uncomfortable with the idea.
Carson had agreed with her assessment but had asked her to test out the boundaries of her abilities and to let him know how successful she was.
“I’m sure that you’ll use the utmost discretion and tact,” he had said and smiled at her.
Teyla had the opportunity to test out her newfound ability few more times during the following week. She had first observed John in the mess talking with Elizabeth over coffee. Admittedly she lingered over this conversation longer than strictly necessary. It was always a pleasure to listen to the lovely brunette’s voice.
She had seen inside the lab from Sheppard’s point of view. Rodney had activated a piece of Ancient technology that they were studying. The small device had sprouted small metallic wings and had zipped around the lab. It had stopped to hover near the ceiling in the lab before Sheppard was able to turn it off.
She had also seen him at practice in the gym with Ronon and had been able to predict the exact moment when the Colonel would land on his ass. It was unfortunate that she could only observe and not act. She thought that John would appreciate a chance to be the one left standing and laughing for a change.
Each time she had only been able to retain the connection a short time before she was jolted out of it. She had finally been able to determine the ’frequency’ of this connection. This would be useful in helping her to be able to connect if an emergency arose and the situation called for it. It would also help her to not accidentally connect and inadvertently spy on her friend.
Carson had asked her to test out her ability to open the connection and then purposely disconnect at a time of her choosing.
Teyla was pragmatic enough to be intrigued by the tactical advantage that this connection could gain the team. However she felt guilty for mentally eavesdropping on a dear friend.
So she picked a time when she was positive that she wouldn’t be intruding on a private moment. She had seen John wander into the lab earlier and decided that it would be a perfect time for her to test the connection. At most she would only be listening in on yet another discussion of Ancient technology.
So she was understandably surprised when the scene solidified and she realized that John was on another balcony with Rodney rather than in the lab. It was a location that she wasn’t very familiar with, they were obviously in one of the more remote spots in the city.
“….so Radek thinks that the shiny hummingbird-wasp thing was some kind of Ancient listening device.” Rodney was saying. “Not very covert but then again…ow! Dammit Sheppard!”
All through Rodney’s explanation she had seen John's hands batting at his back, arm and leg. The last hit had been a particularly sharp slap to the back of Rodney’s head.
“Sorry. Skeeters.” Sheppard drawled.
Rodney cast a suspicious look in John’s direction and continued. “So anyway, I appreciate how quickly you arrived and turned that annoying thing off. I hope I didn‘t interrupt anything important.”
“I was going over my mission reports with Elizabeth when you called. I’m always glad to drop paperwork. Although,” John said thoughtfully, “when I jumped up and left her office, I could have sworn I heard Elizabeth mutter ‘dance monkey, dance’. That’s pretty weird.”
“Hmmm. Maybe its early onset menopause.” At John’s pointed silence, he continued, “ What? It drove my Auntie Marie insane.” He snapped his fingers and said brightly, “I know! We should requisition some bourbon and Dove bars on the next supply run.” His suggestion was met by yet another head smack.
“What the hell, Sheppard,” he rubbed his head angrily, “ Are there even any mosquitos on this planet?”
“Nope.”
Rodney glared at him, blue eyes blazing, “Jackass!”
John’s braying laugh was cut off with a snort. He reached out a hand and rubbed circles on the back currently being presented to him.
“Come on, Rodney,” he cajoled, “don’t you want to see how fast I can turn annoying things on?”
Rodney turned back to him, mouth twitching up at the side, “That was pathetic.” He smiled and leaned forward. Suddenly John’s eyes closed and she could hear soft noises, like lips moving against -
Oh. Teyla immediately cut off the connection, in order to preserve her friends’ privacy. This was unexpected information but not really all that surprising. She smiled to herself and decided that there would be no more tests until the Colonel had been informed. She reached for her head set to give Carson a greatly edited report on her test.
**
THIS POLL IS NOW CLOSED. ANY FURTHER VOTES WILL NOT BE COUNTED.
Poll Vote for this story
Author: darth_begbie ( interview)
Team: Romance
Prompt: Fly on the wall
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard (Teyla/Elizabeth UST)
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Summary: Teyla discovers that her Wraith genetics give her the ability to see the world through Sheppard’s eyes.
Once you've read the story, please take a moment to vote in the poll below. Ratings go from 1 (low) to 9 (high), so all you need to do is enter a single number in that range into each text entry box. You'll be able to see the Prompt and Team (Genre) information in the header above.
More details about the voting procedure can be found here.
**
Entomology For Beginners
Teyla was dropping into a deeper state of relaxation. Ronon had finally decided that the bruises weren't a fair price to pay for the chance to slip into a deep meditative sleep. While she was going to miss the opportunity to hit to Ronon repeatedly with a wooden katana, the lack of snoring did allow for a better meditative state. Teyla concentrated on deepening and evening her breathing and felt herself fall into a light trance - like state.
The voices began as a faint murmur in the back of her mind. Similar to the way she perceived the Wraith, yet more familiar. Momentarily alarmed at the thought that there may be Wraith close enough to the city for her to sense them, she decided to pursue the mental connection.
The whispery sound resolved itself into the very familiar voice of Rodney McKay. Not a voice that would expect to hear at this level of consciousness and certainly not a sound that she associated with relaxation.
“You’re cheating!” Rodney is yelling at her? “There’s no other explanation.”
“Maybe I’m just better than you,” she hears John’s voice reply. She looks down and sees a chess board in front of her.
“Hah! You wish, that’s …” Rodney sputters.
“Inconceivable?” She can hear the smirk in John’s voice.
Rodney’s mouth twitches as though he were holding back a smile, “Bite me.”
“Maybe later,” comes the lazy reply. She notices her surroundings and realizes that this game is taking place in the mess hall.
That pulled Teyla out of her vision. She realized with a start that she was going to be late for her planned lunch with Elizabeth. She shook her head to clear it and began gathering up her belongings. As she left the gym she wondered at what she had seen.
Many times half forgotten memories and fragments of old dreams would surface during her meditations. It was often fascinating to reflect on what would spring to the forefront of her mind during such times. She decided that she must have been remembering one of the many such arguments that her two friends indulged in.
As she entered the mess hall, she noticed that John and Rodney were indeed at their usual gaming table with a chess set spread out between them. She was momentarily transfixed until Rodney’s voice broke her out of her reverie. He was accusing John of using underhanded means to win their match. The Colonel responded by pointing out that his horsey guy had Rodney in check.
“For god’s sake, the least you could do is call the pieces by their proper names,” came the agitated reply.
Teyla looked away and saw that Elizabeth had already secured a table and was waving her over. She collected her lunch from the serving table and joined her friend.
“Have they been carrying on in this manner for long?” Teyla nodded at the Colonel and McKay as they set up another game.
“Apparently they’ve been at it for awhile,” Elizabeth looked amused, “Honestly some days it hard to tell which one is playing the organ and which one is wearing the little hat.”
Teyla turned to Elizabeth with a puzzled frown. This prompted the other woman to launch into a description of ‘organ grinders’ and their pet monkeys.
Later on, her thoughts kept wandering to the strange incident earlier that day in the gym. She had initially mistook her vision of her friends for a Wraith connection. That had alarmed her enough to investigate further. She had tried to replicate the feeling by assuming a meditative state in her quarters.
After a time she was once again presented with a vision of her friends. This time they were out on one of the many balconies in the city. Rodney was peering through a pair of binoculars at the horizon. He had turned toward her and the hand that had taken the offered looking-glasses had been decidedly male and wearing a black wristband.
The perspective had changed to a view of the ocean surrounding Atlantis when she had heard Rodney’s voice close to her ear.
“Oh look at that, I didn’t realize we had any spiders in the city,” he remarked in a disingenuous tone. He poked at her head and continued. “That’s a big one too, like a daddy longlegs.”
The view jumped around in a most disconcerting fashion. She could faintly see the Colonel’s arms flailing in her peripheral vision. A strangled laugh caught Sheppard’s attention and again her vision came to rest on the amused scientist.
She snapped out of her trance with a jolt. “Of course,” she thought. She knew that John’s phobia of insects was only exacerbated by his exposure to the Iratus. She contacted Carson and asked if had a few moments to spare. She needed his input on this matter.
Carson had been most illuminating on the subject. He theorized that the Colonel’s exposure to the retrovirus and subsequent cure had left dormant Iratus DNA in his system. She confirmed that it took more effort to open a connection to Sheppard than it did to connect with the Wraith. Teyla reflected that this ability would have been of immense value just over a month ago. The Colonel had gone missing on a routine mission.
They had later recovered him at the home base of a warring faction on the world that they were visiting. It would have saved them a great deal of time and worry if she had known that she could simply link up with him and ascertain his location.
The Colonel had been injured in the attempted coup and the team were still on stand down while he recovered. Carson had ordered all of them to rest. In fact, he had threatened on more than one occasion to have Rodney sedated.
The scientist had been frantic during the rescue operation and had hovered incessantly while Sheppard was in the infirmary. Teyla resolved to become more proficient with this ability. However she was reluctant to mention this situation to John. A man as private as the Colonel was would most likely be uncomfortable with the idea.
Carson had agreed with her assessment but had asked her to test out the boundaries of her abilities and to let him know how successful she was.
“I’m sure that you’ll use the utmost discretion and tact,” he had said and smiled at her.
Teyla had the opportunity to test out her newfound ability few more times during the following week. She had first observed John in the mess talking with Elizabeth over coffee. Admittedly she lingered over this conversation longer than strictly necessary. It was always a pleasure to listen to the lovely brunette’s voice.
She had seen inside the lab from Sheppard’s point of view. Rodney had activated a piece of Ancient technology that they were studying. The small device had sprouted small metallic wings and had zipped around the lab. It had stopped to hover near the ceiling in the lab before Sheppard was able to turn it off.
She had also seen him at practice in the gym with Ronon and had been able to predict the exact moment when the Colonel would land on his ass. It was unfortunate that she could only observe and not act. She thought that John would appreciate a chance to be the one left standing and laughing for a change.
Each time she had only been able to retain the connection a short time before she was jolted out of it. She had finally been able to determine the ’frequency’ of this connection. This would be useful in helping her to be able to connect if an emergency arose and the situation called for it. It would also help her to not accidentally connect and inadvertently spy on her friend.
Carson had asked her to test out her ability to open the connection and then purposely disconnect at a time of her choosing.
Teyla was pragmatic enough to be intrigued by the tactical advantage that this connection could gain the team. However she felt guilty for mentally eavesdropping on a dear friend.
So she picked a time when she was positive that she wouldn’t be intruding on a private moment. She had seen John wander into the lab earlier and decided that it would be a perfect time for her to test the connection. At most she would only be listening in on yet another discussion of Ancient technology.
So she was understandably surprised when the scene solidified and she realized that John was on another balcony with Rodney rather than in the lab. It was a location that she wasn’t very familiar with, they were obviously in one of the more remote spots in the city.
“….so Radek thinks that the shiny hummingbird-wasp thing was some kind of Ancient listening device.” Rodney was saying. “Not very covert but then again…ow! Dammit Sheppard!”
All through Rodney’s explanation she had seen John's hands batting at his back, arm and leg. The last hit had been a particularly sharp slap to the back of Rodney’s head.
“Sorry. Skeeters.” Sheppard drawled.
Rodney cast a suspicious look in John’s direction and continued. “So anyway, I appreciate how quickly you arrived and turned that annoying thing off. I hope I didn‘t interrupt anything important.”
“I was going over my mission reports with Elizabeth when you called. I’m always glad to drop paperwork. Although,” John said thoughtfully, “when I jumped up and left her office, I could have sworn I heard Elizabeth mutter ‘dance monkey, dance’. That’s pretty weird.”
“Hmmm. Maybe its early onset menopause.” At John’s pointed silence, he continued, “ What? It drove my Auntie Marie insane.” He snapped his fingers and said brightly, “I know! We should requisition some bourbon and Dove bars on the next supply run.” His suggestion was met by yet another head smack.
“What the hell, Sheppard,” he rubbed his head angrily, “ Are there even any mosquitos on this planet?”
“Nope.”
Rodney glared at him, blue eyes blazing, “Jackass!”
John’s braying laugh was cut off with a snort. He reached out a hand and rubbed circles on the back currently being presented to him.
“Come on, Rodney,” he cajoled, “don’t you want to see how fast I can turn annoying things on?”
Rodney turned back to him, mouth twitching up at the side, “That was pathetic.” He smiled and leaned forward. Suddenly John’s eyes closed and she could hear soft noises, like lips moving against -
Oh. Teyla immediately cut off the connection, in order to preserve her friends’ privacy. This was unexpected information but not really all that surprising. She smiled to herself and decided that there would be no more tests until the Colonel had been informed. She reached for her head set to give Carson a greatly edited report on her test.
**
THIS POLL IS NOW CLOSED. ANY FURTHER VOTES WILL NOT BE COUNTED.
Poll Vote for this story