70: Arcane SunnyD_lite Care Package SGA G 1/1

[sunnyd-lite.livejournal.com]

Title: Care Package
Author: SunnyD_lite
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Rating: G-ish
Spoilers: Mostly McKay and Mrs. Miller and Echoes
Word Count: 1,534
Prompt: 70 Arcane
Disclaimer: I do not own SGA, or any of the characters mentioned herein. Just playing! Other disclaimers at the end.
Feedback: Gimme the good the bad and the ugly!
A/N: This is a tag to Echoes. There is a key plot point I'm improvising (more details at end) Thanks to bigsciencybrain for a real world fact check, and my bestest beta spiralleds for checking in on Saturday to see if I need things looked over!
A/N: No slide rules were hurt in the writing of this fic.



Rodney opened his "personal exposure to radiation" spreadsheet, adding data from their latest misadventure. Maybe he should have Carson start scanning for various cancers? No, he should have the botanists search for cancer curing machines in the Ancient databases. Hadn't one of the reports mentioned something about cancer?

The door to room chimed, then opened, interrupting that thought.

"Colonel, just because you CAN open any door in the City, doesn't mean you should." Adding an exaggerated sigh, he continued. "Anything I can help you with? Because after translating whale to English and turning the ZedPM into a plug-and-play accessory to the Deadalus, I'm guessing you want the third impossible thing before breakfast."

"H'uh.” Sheppard shrugged as he sauntered into the room. “Thought that was six impossible things."

"That's believing six impossible things, Alice. I don't believe them; I get them done and why am I being graced with your presence at…" He glanced at his computer screen. "02:00?"

Typical, Sheppard avoided the question. "So, Chuck said you got a package in the Daedalus' mail-drop."

"The lab always gets supplies. They're on a SUPPLY RUN. Did another dose of radiation actually make you stupider? Doesn't that hair protect your brain?" The fact his foot tried to push the box under his desk was neither here nor there.

"Hey, lay off the hair! And this was a personal package. Not for the labs. Not your journals. Whatcha get?"

"This is your business, why?" Okay, that sounded waspish even to him. And it had been a surprise to get a personal package. His sister had been serious about keeping in touch.

"Come on. You got the good chocolate, didn't you?" Sheppard dropped to the bed and looked up at Rodney with an expression of anticipation.

"It's from Jeannie. And a painting from either Madison or Kelab; it's hard to tell." Rodney pointed to the wall under his degrees where the primary colours and dripping paint strokes showed a picture of three big people and one girl all holding hands. "I guess she liked the gift I sent her."

"Uncle Mer?" Sheppard read the large printing above the figures. "Is that what she calls you?"

"Not if I can help it," he muttered. "Anyway, since you're here, Jeannie had something for you."

Sheppard lit up like a Christmas tree at that comment. "For me?"

"Oh don't get that excited. Teyla and Ronon got parcels, too. For some reason she seems to think of them as extended family or something." Jeannie had always been better at the social niceties. He was still surprised at what she'd sent him.

"McKay, no holding out on the presents." Sheppard leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees, but his glare was undercut by his smirk.

"Fine." He threw in the obligatory eye roll, but couldn't contain his own interest in what Jeannie had picked for Sheppard. They hadn't spent that much time together, had they? He tossed a box wrapped in metallic paper at his friend.

After giving the rectangle a little shake, he started opening it. "It's early for Christmas," Sheppard commented as he slowly untied the ribbon and began to carefully remove the tape.

"Don't tell me you're one of those! Are you planning on saving the paper? Just tear it!" Maybe lack of sleep was getting to him, but then he'd always liked the American idea of gift boxes that you could just open without delay.

"Yes, I'm going to save it. Even with the 'supply runs,' it's not like there's a Hallmark store nearby. Plus your sister took the time to wrap and I, for one, am going to appreciate it." And that was Sheppard's 'you moron, don't agitate the natives' tone.

"Fine, Colonel Conservationist. What did she get you?"

"Hold your horses, McKay! I'm getting there." He paused to smooth out and then fold the shiny burgundy wrappings.

"You're just doing that to annoy me now. I could have withheld the gift."

"To face the wrath of Jeannie when I didn't send a thank you? And you call yourself a genius." He tugged at the end of the plain cardboard box and pulled out a folded chess board, the kind that held the pieces in the middle between plays.

"Cool!" Sheppard unhooked the catch and poured the pawns and other pieces onto the bed spread. A note followed them. He picked it up and perused it. "Mennonite carved chess set, using birch and black walnut wood. Sweet." He began picking up and running his hands over the figures.

He looked so pleased. Almost as excited as when they’d found the Aurora. No, Rodney wasn't jealous of his sister's success. The fact he'd never considered getting the Colonel a present was neither here nor there. They were best friends; shouldn't he know what Sheppard would like?

"Um, maybe we should play sometime, just so that I can tell Jeannie that you liked it."

"If it's to reassure Jeannie," Sheppard drawled. He looked up from the knight he was holding. "What did she get you?"

"Not so much a gift as returning something. Although I did give it to her when she started her undergrad degree, so I guess it is a gift." It was odd. He was proud of it, but wasn't sure if Sheppard would understand. It was special, something the two of them had shared and he didn't want anyone to tarnish that.

"Less tell more show." Sheppard had dropped the chess piece and held out his hand, as if expecting Rodney to cough it up.

"Fine." Reaching beside his computer, he picked up and then opened the flap of a slender, worn leather case. He tipped it so that the object fell into Sheppard's hand.

"A slide rule?" Well at least he knew what it was.

"Yes, a slide rule, from my grade eight math teacher. Once I'd clearly grasped the entire math curriculum by mid-October, he gave me an independent study on slide rules. From that I started tinkering with calculus. At graduation, when I won the math prize, he presented me with that one."

"A Rietz model. I haven't seen one of these in ages." Sheppard was gently pushing the runner up and down the rule.

"The Rietz has the most logically layout and wait a minute, how do you know that? We both grew up with solar pocket calculators; why would you know about TYPES of slide rules? I mean it's arcane, even for me." He sometimes forgot that Sheppard had a geeky side, but this was extreme. "Did you have one? What kind?"

Another Sheppard shrug. "Some of the places my dad was stationed had various levels of tech. Plus, one of my teachers was a little paranoid, cold war and all that, and wanted us to be able to calculate without electronics," he offered casually, like that wasn't the largest bit of childhood history he'd ever told Rodney.

Sheppard pulled out the middle slide, playing with the sine scale. "And I read Heinlein. He was always on about slide rules. Figured if his kid characters could use them, then..."

"And why doesn't it surprise me that you read, Have Space Suit-Will Travel?" Not that he hadn't liked the book; brains winning over brawn had been a touchstone when faced with school yard bullies.

"Hey, you're the one who knew the title from one plot point."

"But I'm the geek. I'm supposed to know this stuff. Even in college most of the others didn't know how to use one. It's why I wanted Jeannie to have it, so she knew being smarter wasn't bad, just us." Now he wondered if he'd actually told her that. Chances were he hadn't. He'd been so proud of her, getting into a prestigious program on scholarship. Christmas was coming; maybe he could schedule a visit? They did have a ZedPM now.

"I liked the presentation of logarithms. Plus, it worked to impress the smart chicks. Want to see who's faster, me with the slide rule or your mighty brain?" He was slouched on the bed, looking up at Rodney through his now droopy bangs.

"Fun as that sounds, let's do it when my brain's not been scrambled and stirred by whale sub-sonics and solar radiation." Was that a look of disappointment crossing Sheppard's face? Why would… Did Sheppard want to hang out? NOW? Wait, this was a guy who got hurt flying the jumper close to the whales because Rodney wanted to see them. Maybe, if he wanted this, it was the least Rodney could do.

"I guess we could take that chess set on a test run. I'm assuming you play?" Jeannie must have found that out. Why didn't he know about it? They could have been playing between Civilization rounds. If Sheppard was any good, and Rodney had a feeling he just might be.

"Could do. Hey, given your poor brain, I'll even let you be white." He gathered the pieces and began to set up the board on the bed. "Are you going to join me or what?"

There wasn't anything scheduled for early tomorrow. And it would probably be a short game. "Sure, Colonel. White it is."

-fin-

A/N: Okay, I couldn't remember if they'd been playing chess at this point. I know McKay mentioned Chess in The Intruder and that they play at the end of The Game, so I'm pretending they haven't yet. If I'm wrong, please let me know.
A/N: Yup I reference Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland for the six impossible things conversation.
A/N2: Thanks to Eric of Eric's Slide Rule Site without which this story could not have been written.
A/N3: Yup I read Heinlein's Have Space Suit –Will Travel in grade school and like Rodney I remembered the slide rule scene. No wonder I like the guys so much!