A/N: Yes, it's been two years since I had one of these. For this story Quarantine didn't happen. I'm borrowing Doctor Ulyana Lutrova from RoryFaller's story Rhapsody in Red Square. Thanks, Betherdy Babe, for the help.
Spoilers for Duet.
Jennifer was busy unloading a washer in the laundry room when two other women entered with small bags. There was a laundry service but the modest woman could never send her most delicate items to be washed by someone else so every Friday night she did laundry.
"Da, I vorked vith him in Moscow," a tall blond woman with a thick Russian accent stated to her shorter, black-haired companion, a new linguist in Radek's department.
"Was he a jerk then? I've never heard anything good about him except that he's super smart."
"Doctor Rodney McKay is the definition of arrogant," the Russian said. "Although he vas not bad in bed."
"You slept with Rodney McKay!"
"Da. Several times." A heavy laugh filled the room.
Jennifer's eyes widened as she dropped her laundry basket spilling the contents and knelt down unnoticed by the women. Her heart was beating furiously in her chest as she imagined Rodney having sex with that woman and then finding out the woman was talking about him years later. One thing Jennifer knew about her good friend was that he was a very private person when it came to his personal life.
Even thought he'd been dating Katie Brown for months no one saw them together, not to mentioned that until Jeannie arrived last year, few knew he had a sibling. If this woman's going to spread rumors about Rodney, I've gotta stop her.
Jennifer didn't question her natural instinct to attack. Jealous of the intimacy the Russian might have had with McKay was a tiny part, but this woman had the real potential to hurt Rodney's feelings and that was totally unacceptable.
Unable to leave without being seen, the CMO continued to kneel and listen to Ulyana-as the linguist called her-talk about Rodney's sexual prowess. When the conversation turned to Rodney's current relationships, the linguist laughingly told Ulyana about Katie Brown.
Jennifer hated Katie Brown because she was the woman Rodney wanted. The botanist was sweet and gentle in a way Jennifer could never be. Whenever the physician was around him she teased him about some strange dream he had, debated his views on anything and everything and scolded him for saying or doing the wrong thing. Not the traits a man wants in a girlfriend.
Once the gossips left the laundry room, Jennifer hit her radio, "Laura, I need your help."
"I'm on it," Lieutenant Cadman replied.
Katie Brown stared out at the ocean from her office near the greenhouse. Doctor Ulyana Lutrova had just stopped in to have a little chat. The engineer wanted to let Katie know that she didn't come to Atlantis to rekindle a relationship with Rodney. The botanist stared in quiet shock as the Russian woman explained how she and Rodney once had a sexual relationship.
Rodney and his team were off world and not due back for another couple of days. Katie wasn't sure what to do about Doctor Lutrova's announcement, which several members of Katie's department had overheard. A deep embarrassment filled the redhead because she and Rodney hadn't had sex yet. Lutrova's comments about Rodney's difficulties in certain areas were insulting so Katie wondered why this woman was telling her all these things. It was also obvious she only wanted to cause angst for Rodney when he returned, but Katie was unable to do more than say, thanks for letting me know.
After several minutes Katie decided that this was ultimately Rodney's problem. He's dealt with worse things than a spiteful old girlfriend. Nodding her head with more certainty, the botanist got back to work and left the issue of Doctor Ulyana Lutrova for her boyfriend to deal with.
"Can I ask a question?" Marie Cho said after a bite of pizza.
"Marie, you don't have to be so formal." Laura laughed as she took a drink of beer.
"Why is everyone affiliated with the Apollo an ass?" the nurse said with a straight face.
The other woman gathered in Jennifer's quarters all laughed.
"You can laugh, but I'm serious," Marie continued.
"We're laughing because we agree with you," Laura said. "Every jerk I served with at the SGC is on that boat."
"They take after their CO," Lindsay Novak added. "And the rumor is Doctor Lutrova is on the Apollo because she slept with some Russian official."
"What?" Jennifer asked.
"She always attaches herself to powerful men to get ahead," Lindsay said as she took a drink of beer.
"Well, her days of getting ahead are gonna end," Jennifer said with steel in her voice. "She can't come to Atlantis and bad mouth people…"
"People?" Marie asked as her eyes twinkled with laughter.
"Yeah, Jen," Laura offered. "Who are you trying to kid? We all know you want to get back at her for talking about McKay."
"Rodney's got a girlfriend," Marie reminded. "Why don't you let her defend him?"
"Katie would never confront anyone. She's too nice. Rodney's my friend and I don't like anyone spreading rumors about my friends. Especially when they're not here to defend themselves." Jennifer crossed her arms and glared at the other women to challenge her.
"So you're McKay's champion?" Laura asked.
Jennifer continued to glare. "Rodney's with Katie. He's just my friend."
"Laura forced him into that relationship," Marie said as she cocked an eyebrow at the Marine.
"I nudged him." Laura looked away form the others and seemed to be deep in thought.
"Rodney's with Katie. That's a fact. He's my friend and I know he'll be furious to have personal things from his past paraded around the base. So what are we going to do to stop this woman?" Jennifer said.
The other women all exchanged glances as Jennifer concentrated on getting more pizza. They were an unusual assortment: a female Marine, a physician from Wisconsin, the most senior nurse and Head of Engineering from the Daedalus. There was no way they should be friends, but they were…because of Jennifer Keller.
A knock at the door caused them to look up.
"Who's that?" Lindsay asked.
"I asked Katie to come," Jennifer said as she stood and walked to the door of her quarters.
"What?" Marie exclaimed.
"She is Rodney's girlfriend," Jennifer offered.
Katie Brown was shocked at the plotting that she just put an end to. As the botanist returned to her quarters from her encounter with Doctors Keller and Novak, Marie and Lieutenant Laura Cadman, she contemplated the evening's conversation.
Doctor Lutrova's gossiping made its way to the other woman, which horrified her, but not as much as the reaction it inspired. Jennifer wanted to confront the Russian, Cadman and Marie had a slew of pranks that could be played on the Apollo engineer-putting Nair in her shampoo, putting irritable material in her laundry-and Novak even suggested modifying the transporter to send her to the farthest reaches of the base.
At first Katie was flattered Doctor Keller wanted her to come to her girl's night. The botanist avoided the CMO whenever possible. Jennifer Keller was highly intelligent, funny and beautiful, exactly the type of woman Rodney was attracted to. I'm none of those things. As she found herself doing since Samantha Carter took over the base, Katie wondered why the physicist was with her.
Their first few meetings came to mind. Rodney had been wandering through the new greenhouse when they literally bumped into each other. Even the botanists knew of Rodney's reputation so when he smiled and laughed it off, it left her feeling giddy.
As time went by and the incident with Laura hung over them, she thought he'd never try to see where their dinner could have led without Cadman's intervention. When they finally did start dating – dinners, movie nights and occasional walks on the pier – they talked about Rodney and his adventures. Katie was content to see Pegasus through his eyes and be there when he had time for her.
The amount of time he had for her seemed to have decreased lately. Of course the war with the Replicators took a great deal of his time, but that was over. If you removed his job from the picture and his time with Sheppard, what was left should have been for his girlfriend. Instead it's reserved for a girl who's only his friend.
Ever since Jennifer almost died on some mission with Teyla, Rodney seemed to shower the physician with attention. Katie had caught him staring at Jennifer while she ate lunch with Ronon and Teyla and she was ready to tap him before he finally heard her calling his name. It was after this that Katie developed a minor dislike for the CMO.
Now that Jennifer wanted to call out the Russian to defend Rodney, it made Katie think long and hard about her relationship with the physicist and where it was going.
Katie had her entire conversation planned for the first time she and Rodney were together when he returned from his mission. Unfortunately he returned early, ran into Ulyana in the control room and a firestorm erupted. The botanist heard about it from Doctor David Parrish after he rushed in to see her. He'd said that Rodney had gone to the infirmary when it was over.
The botanists moved quickly through the corridors, which were abuzz with stories about Rodney and the Russian. She averted her eyes and was glad that David Parrish stayed with her as they made their way to the infirmary. His presence always calmed her, as Rodney's never did.
Once they reached the infirmary Katie asked Marie where Rodney was. The nurse looked stunned to see the botanist and waved toward an area in the back. "Doctor Keller is still with him so I'm not sure if he is taking visitors."
"Okay. I'll let him know I'm here," she replied and then turned to David. "Thanks for keeping me company."
"Uh, sure," the male botanist looked like he wanted to say something, but smiled and squeezed her hand. "If you need me for anything, I'll be in the greenhouse."
Katie felt an unusual tingling in her hand after David let go. I don't remember that happening before.
As she approached a darkened alcove off the main infirmary where Rodney was supposed to be, she heard Jennifer speaking in a soft voice. "I'm sure she didn't count on a restraining order being enforced in another galaxy."
"Lucky we have such a stickler for the rules running security," Rodney replied in a voice Katie never heard before, it was soft and passive.
"I'll be sure to thank Master Gunny the next time I see him," Jennifer replied in a similar tone. "I should let you rest. The cold compress and relative quiet back here should help the migraine go away. I know I curl up here when I get one."
"You suffer from them too?"
"It must be the curse of a genius mind," Jennifer replied with a slight chuckle.
"No. You don't have to leave," Rodney replied. "Your voice is soothing."
Katie couldn't stay any longer. The way Rodney spoke to Jennifer brought tears to her eyes. The Rodney she dated never wanted her around when he had a migraine. He slammed the door in her face once when she tried to bring him dinner after he suffered one.
Next Morning
"Rodney?" Katie asked from the doorway of his office.
"Katie, is everything okay?" The physicist closed his laptop and seemed to have a slight flush to his cheeks. "I-I'm sorry I didn't…"
"Are you okay?" she asked, suddenly nervous. The botanist has stayed up late into the evening and by the time she went to bed, she had her conversation mapped out. Now that she stood before him, her greatest fear was that he'd yell at her. She'd never been witness to one of his rants but the rumors were too many to not be true.
"Yes," he replied. It was obvious he wanted to be anywhere but under steady gaze. "And you?"
"Not so good at the moment." It was always hard to hold anything back from him since he was usually so honest. To see him struggling to hide something, which Katie was certain she could identify with, gave her the courage she needed. "We need to talk."
"That doesn't sound good." He stood up straighter and crossed his arms.
"It doesn't have to be bad," she replied, trying to smile. "I'm sorry this had to happen now. I mean after what happened yesterday, which doesn't…"
"You're dumping me!" he shouted. An angry expression took up residence. "It's because of that-that Siberian wench. She took advantage of me. I was upset about my assignment. She used…"
"Rodney, please stop. I will admit she was the catalyst but something else sent me here this morning." Katie interrupted. His ego demanded he act upset, but she could see his heart wasn't in it. Relief was the major emotion she gleaned from the physicist, which was what she hoped he would feel. Now he's free to pursue the woman of his dreams.
"Catalyst. What…"
"Rodney, stop," Katie snapped harshly. "You know we've been doomed from the start since when our first kiss was forced by another taking possession of you."
Rodney sat down and looked defeated. "You're right. Cadman messed stuff up, but… well… I thought we moved beyond that."
"Oh Rodney, you don't think we have a future any more than I do." Katie hoped she wasn't wrong about her assumptions that she made last night as cross across from him.
"We-we don't?" he stammered as his eyes fell to the desk.
"Rodney, we don't have a future because you're in love with someone else."
Rodney nearly tipped over in his stool and Katie couldn't help but laugh.
Jennifer couldn't do it. She couldn't sit in the mess hall and watch Katie and Rodney laughing while they ate. When David Parrish sat with them, Jennifer thought that Rodney was going to leave and allow her to eat in peace but he didn't.
"Looks like Katie survived Ivana Hump-a-lot," Cadman stated.
Lindsay blew milk her nose and Marie pushed the Marine in the shoulder and nodded towards Jennifer.
"I need to go." Jennifer got up and headed to get rid of her trash.
"Jennifer," Rodney called somewhat breathlessly.
"Rodney." Jennifer couldn't ignore him even if he was going to ask her opinion on what to name his children with Katie. "How are you feeling this morning?" She turned to face him and saw fear in his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"N-n-nothing, I…"
"Did something happen with Doctor Lutrova? I'm glad to see you with Katie. I was afraid she might have done something to damage your relationship." Jennifer was concerned for the man she loved. He seemed to really want things to work with Katie, so Jennifer would help him with that relationship even though it would kill her inside.
"She did."
Katie noticed Jennifer leaving the mess hall and nearly shouted at Rodney to make a move.
David chuckled from Katie's side. "What do you think he'll do?"
"I told him to do something from the heart, but not to take as long as he did asking me out after the Cadman incident," she replied, hoping that Rodney believed her when she told him how Jennifer had a crush on him. The way his eyes lit up told her that she was correct in assuming he returned the interest.
"Sometimes going after the one you want is so frightening that you settle for the one you have even when you know it's not right."
Katie's eyebrows rose as she stared at her best friend. "That's really deep, David."
"Read it in a self-help magazine."
Tears streamed out of Katie's eyes as she grabbed his hand. "I'll stop picking on you about those articles."
David returned the pressure on her hand and suddenly gasped, "Wow."
"What?" Katie swung around to follow David's eyes.
Everyone in the mess hall watched in stunned silence as Rodney and Jennifer kissed long and hard in front of the exit. A single person started clapping to break the silence.
Katie and David looked to the back of the mess hall to see Master Gunny Richards standing next to his chair. Within seconds the mess hall was full of cheering, catcalls and fists pounding on tables.
Once the couple came up for air, Laura Cadman's voice rose about the noise, "Way to go, McKay. That was almost as good as the one we laid on Carson."
A/N: I'll let you all imagine what happened with Rodney and his old flame. I realize this one is a stretch but it's been bugging me for a while and my conscience demanded I stop being nasty to Katie.
The prank ideas are courtesy of a friend, who shall remain nameless to protect her identity ;-)