PEOPLE WATCHING

Author: Tipper
Disclaimer: MGM and others own them. I own nothing and no one; no infringement is intended and no profit is being made.
Parts: One
Characters: in order of appearance, Beckett, Weir, McKay, Grodin, Sheppard and...the current resident bad guy scientist that everyone loves to loathe.

Spoilers: Passing reference to Childhood's End.

A/N: Just a character study, of sorts. Everyone else is doing it, so, what the heck. Was tempted to call this "As The Gate Turns" but it would shock me if that hasn't been used over in the SG-1 fandom by now. It's just so obvious!

Description: Just another day in the Gate Room–complete with bad puns, mini-crises and arguments–watched through the eyes of Beckett and Weir.

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Doctor Carson Beckett settled back in his chair, easing tired muscles into the softness of the fabric, leaning just enough to prop his feet up on the metal banisters separating this small balcony from the rest of the Gate Room below.

The balcony itself was off to the side, almost directly above the Stargate, and it looked across at the main control room opposite. It was just wide enough for two people standing to look down on the happenings below, but really had no clear purpose. The corridor ended here, at the wall to the outside, and during the day, was normally lit up by the sun pouring in the yellow, stained glass window. But, it being night, the window was dark and the lights from the rest of the room didn't reach this far back.

Meaning, he sat in shadow, invisible to anyone down below unless they were looking directly at him.

With a contented sigh, he opened up the MRE on this lap, peeling back the foil and smelling the...ugh...rather awful cooking. Turkey, or at least, what he assumed was turkey, with brown gooped gravy, creamed corn and mashed peas. Ah well, at least it was hot and nourishing. He remembered his father rattling on about the rationing during the War (even blaming his lack of height on it). He never thought he would know what it was like, and Lord knows he never thought he would know what it was like because he'd be stranded in another galaxy! Man, what he wouldn't give for a nice curry and some Iron Bru.

The Coke fizzing away in the cup he'd placed on the ground next to his chair really wasn't cutting it. Bloody Americans. Ah well.

He leaned back, feet up on the banister, food on his lap and drink by his side...and settled in to watch his favorite show.

"Carson?"

The MRE nearly went flying, and it was only by pure luck that he didn't jostle the chair enough to knock over the drink by the chair's leg. His utensils both ended up on the floor with a clatter, though, and his eyes watched disconsolately as his napkin floated away down the hall.

"Aw, for the love ah..."

An amused chuckle met his ears as he looked up to find Elizabeth Weir picking up the napkin at her feet and heading over to hand it to him. Then she stepped back to lean against a support pillar, her arms crossed, to stand in as much shadow as he was sitting. There was no hiding the brightness in her eyes at the Scot's predicament as he tried to resettle his dinner.

"For heaven's sake, woman!" he moaned, "Ya just can't sneak up on a person like that! You're liable to give 'em a heart attack!"

"My apologies," she replied, though there was no actual apology in the tone, "I just happened to see you heading down here and was wondering what you were doing. Apparently," she looked at the dinner in his lap, "you don't like the mess hall?"

Carson sighed, shaking his head at her as he wiped the fork he'd dropped on the napkin, "No, no, just...um...," his eyes squinted, a sure sign he was trying to think of an excuse for his odd behavior, but lying was not his strong suit. Finally, he sighed, digging the fork into his creamed corn as if wanting something else to focus on, "A'right, if you must know..."

"Actually, you know what? It's okay," Elizabeth said suddenly, as if just figuring out she was intruding on something. "I should have realized you wanted to be alone. It's just...a rather odd place since you're not really alone here." She looked down over the Gate Room which, as usual, was filled with activity. Her eyes flitted up to the control room opposite, where she could see Rodney with his arms crossed listening to something Grodin was telling him. The head scientist had his head down, staring at the floor, his expression neutral. Grodin finally finished speaking, and McKay looked up to meet the Englishman's eyes. Even from here was it extremely easy to see McKay's response, delivered with a tiny smile. "No." And he turned and walked away. Grodin stood for a moment, obviously a little flabbergasted, then looked up, gripping his hands into fists as he searched up high for answers. Then, audibly, they heard him yell to McKay, "What do you mean, no! You can't just say no!" as he chased after him.

Beckett chuckled, and Weir looked down at him. Beckett schooled his face and looked up. He raised both eyebrows and she sighed.

"I'll leave you alone then," she said, turning.

Beckett watched her walk away, back down the corridor, when it occurred to him why she had come in the first place. She hadn't been looking to check up on him; she had been looking for a break—just as he had done.

"Wait, lass, wait," he called, stopping her. He saw her look over her shoulder, and, fisting his fork, he beckoned her back, ignoring the small lump of creamed corn that fell off of it onto the sleeve of his jacket. "Come back."

She waited a moment longer, looking this time towards the control room, where Grodin had followed McKay over near another control panel and was now gesturing wildly with his arms while Rodney pretty much ignored him, then turned and headed back to Carson.

The doctor smiled, "I'm sorry I don't have more than one chair, but feel free to join me, if you like."

Elizabeth looked puzzled, "doing what exactly?"

"Ah, well, see," Carson motioned to the floor and, after one more second of hesitation, Elizabeth actually sat down, sitting cross-legged, "here's the thing. As you may have noticed, we lack one of the essential items in most households these days—no televisions." He smiled slightly, and Elizabeth nodded back. "Now, I'm not a dedicated watcher, and, honestly, I rather like not having them around, but there is one thing I do miss." He blushed a slight bit, which Elizabeth noticed with a hint of a smile, wondering a little at what was coming. "See, when I was growing up, me gram, she used to watch a lot of soaps. All kinds. The glitzy American ones with their big houses and beautiful people, the cramped English ones which were so different in look but the same in story, and, lately, she's become addicted to those really bright Australian ones. And, as I've taken care of her most of her life, it being mostly just her and me, I used to get the blow by blow of everything that was happening." He shook his head, "Funny thing was, even though I rarely watched the shows themselves, I became sort of secondarily addicted to them as well, through her. It was a great form of escape, to hear about these people, to feel like they were almost part of your family, to watch them grow and change and form relationships and the like..." He looked away, back towards the gate room, "And I miss it. But then I realized," he looked back at her, "I have something now I didn't have then...a really big family to care for and watch grow, which is so much better."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, "A family?"

"Oh, I know, we don't all get along, and there's been tension and some bad blood, but there's been a lot of good as well." He smiled, "Watching the relationships that have formed, even the ones that would have seemed impossible back home, has been one of my favorite things to do." He waved out at the Gate Room, "This is my TV. I come here to sit back, relax, and just people watch."

Her eyebrows raised, and she looked out as well.

"For example," Beckett said charmingly, "watch this."

Elizabeth leaned forward, to peer over the bars, just in time to see Major Sheppard storm into the Gate Room.

He was smoking. And not from a cigarette. His hand was patting down his hair, from which wisps of grayish smoke was rising.

"McKay!" It was a bellow.

Grodin and McKay both turned up in the control room, and McKay's voice answered, peevishly, "What?"

"Get your ass down here!"

"I'm busy!"

"That wasn't a request, McKay! Get...your...ass...down...here!"

Rodney sidestepped Grodin, who sighed but followed him, and they walked over to the balcony to look down at Sheppard, standing in the center of the room below.

"I said I'm..." Rodney paused, the disdain on his face melting into a smile. "Why, Major Sheppard, are you smoking?"

"Why, yes, Doctor McKay," Sheppard sneered back, "I am. How very observant of you."

"What did you do?"

"What did I..." Sheppard's eyebrows shot up, "Me? You think I did this to myself?"

"Probably. I assume you had a disagreement with your Flowbie?"

If possible, the Major's eyebrows rose even higher, "Flowbie? McKay! You asked me to check on some, as you put it, bizarre phenomenon, occurring near one of the generators. Turned out to be a bit of a short in your patching systems."

"Patching systems?"

"That damn computer you hooked up to one of the power stations was having an explosive fit. I bent down to try and unhook it from underneath, and the next thing I know, my hair's on fire."

McKay's smile blossomed into a full grown grin, despite the information that one of their computers had died. He glanced at Grodin, but the man was already on his way to shut the power down to that sector. Down below, the Major was patting his head, still puffing up wisps of smoke. When Grodin rejoined him, leaning against the bars and giving Rodney a nod, McKay returned his attention to Sheppard.

"Well, I'm sorry Major," Rodney's eyes were bright, and the tremor under his voice was not fear or anxiety related. Sheppard glared back at him.

"Don't you dare laugh!"

"Laugh? What? Me? Obviously this is a serious..."

"You are laughing! I can hear it in your voice!"

"Now, Major, perhaps you're overreacting, after all...you've had a bit of a shock."

Sheppard took a couple steps forward, "Oh, don't go there, McKay."

"Oh, come now, surely you don't think I'd want to, eh, fan the flames," the scientist's grin was huge now, "so to speak."

"McKay!"

"Sorry, sorry, just...seeing you down there...all fired up..."

"Damn it!" Sheppard ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time. McKay just burst out laughing, slapped Grodin on the shoulder, and took off in a different direction. By the time Sheppard got up to the balcony, Rodney was long gone.

The Major rounded on Grodin, who took a step back at the glare he received, "Where is he?"

"Where's who?" Grodin replied, lifting up his hands in a warding off gesture.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at that, glancing sideways at Carson—she was surprised Grodin hadn't immediately given the scientist up. But Beckett was happily munching away on his peas, a knowing smile on his face.

"Grodin...," Sheppard hissed.

"Um...well...to be honest, he just sort of..." Grodin backed away some more, "he just sort of vanished into thin air...you know, like," he looked up at the tiny smoketrails still floating up off the Major's head, "smoke..."

Sheppard growled, taking a step forward, and Grodin jumped despite being unable to keep a smile off his face. The major shook his head, glanced once more around the control room, then headed off in the most likely direction after McKay.

Carson was chuckling, pushing around the turkey on his tray and shaking his head. Weir smiled, staring up at him.

"So?" she asked, "That was pretty funny, granted, but..."

"Oh, that was argument number three, that I know of, that the major and Rodney have had so far today," Carson told her, shoveling some turkey into his mouth and talking around it. "The first one I heard about because Rodney came in to see me to complain. I didn't really get the gist of it, but, apparently, the major was complaining that Rodney hadn't shown up for a training session in hand to hand fighting, or some such, and gave our man a dressing down in the Control Room. Rodney tried to explain he had to oversee the repair of some system or other, but...well, it sounded like a pissing match." He swallowed, and stabbed at the peas, "Then, a little while later, Ford came in with a bloody lip," he glanced at Weir, at her upraised eyebrows and shook a hand at her, "no, no, Teyla just got in a good hit while he was teaching her to box," he took a deep breath, "Anyway, Ford told me that Rodney had just yelled at the Major for not showing up to help repair a system that needed some nudging from the Major's, shall we say, talent? Rodney's control of the gene isn't good enough, and they needed the Major's help, and he didn't show up. Needless to say, Rodney was a bit put out, and he yelled at the Major when he found him, much in the same way the other had yelled at him earlier. Really rather fun." He popped the peas in his mouth.

"Fun?" Elizabeth shook her head, "Doesn't sound like fun. I don't like the idea of my head scientist and my head of military operations yelling at each other."

Beckett swallowed again, shaking his head as he did so, "Oh, come now, Doctor Weir, you've heard them arguing. Haven't you noticed anything odd about it?"

She frowned, "Odd?"

"It never gets ugly, at least, not in the sense that one thinks when two people who hate each other argue. They snap at each other, like dogs playing on a beach. I mean...oh, here, look...round two...watch closely now..."

Elizabeth turned her head, unable to help herself.

Rodney walked into the Gate Room below, cradling a laptop. He was inspecting it, lifting it up and turning it around, checking out the visible damage to the outside, where the plastic had been scorched, shaking his head.

Grodin spotted him out of the corner of his eye, jumped up from the station he was working at, and practically leapt down the stairs. Rodney spoke quietly, even angrily, but not loud enough for either Carson or Elizabeth to hear. He handed Grodin the computer, and the Englishman nodded, turning and leaping back up the stairs with it. McKay followed more slowly now that his hands were free, rubbing at the back of his neck—a sign he was frustrated by something.

He was about half way up when he realized someone was standing at the top, waiting for him.

Major Sheppard had his arms crossed over his chest, and was staring down at McKay with fairly pissed off expression.

McKay grinned, "Cooled down, have we? Lost your spark, so to speak?"

Sheppard took a deep breath, "McKay, next time you need someone to fix one of your mistakes, don't involve me."

Rodney's face instantly darkened, his mood as changeable as a cat's. "One of my mistakes?" he hissed. "One of my mistakes? Well, I'm sorry that I can't make everything in this city work as perfectly as you, Major Sheppard," he snapped, climbing up the last few steps to meet Sheppard at the top, "but we do our best! And you know perfectly well that your ATA gene is vital for ensuring we can even start interfacing half the systems here, so don't think you're not going to help me, either!" He stood up his full height, trying to reach the Major's eye level, even though Sheppard was a good three inches taller, "You will help, end of discussion."

He moved to get past him, but Sheppard grabbed his arm.

"Then you're not missing any more training sessions," the major stated. "End of discussion."

Rodney took his arm back with a shake, "I have to keep this city working, Sheppard, and that's a 24 hour a day job, I have to prioritize..."

"You'll come...if you want to keep going through the gate."

"Are you kidding?" McKay opened his arms wide, and pointed towards the gate, "You actually think our purpose in going through the gate is somehow up to you? This is a scientific exploration, Major. You need a scientist!"

"And you're an idiot if you think I'm not going to make sure you're prepared to handle whatever is out there! The entire safety of the team is only as strong as its weakest link and, currently, that's you."

"Weakest link? Oh, I'd like to see you get out of half the scrapes we've ended up in without me. A little energy field on a planet with no one over the age of 25 ring a bell?"

"You get us into half of those scrapes to begin with!" Sheppard retorted. He affected a sort of dazed expression, lifting his voice a little, "oh, um, could we just head that way for a bit? I've got some interesting readings here..."

McKay's eyes narrowed at the imitation, "Oh please," he crossed his arms, "Major 'well-let's-check-it-out' Sheppard. You're one to talk! Admit it," he patted his chest, "you need me!"

"I could take someone else. Zelenka, maybe. At least he'd listen to me, and he's as smart as you, as far as I can tell...and I bet a better fighter."

McKay snorted, "Zelenka is an engineer, Major."

"So?"

"So, he doesn't have the right breadth of knowledge I do! At least not yet. You need..."

"Doctor McKay!" Grodin's voice was tense and a little panicked, and both Sheppard and McKay looked towards the control room.

Over by Carson, Elizabeth got to her knees, ready to get to her feet.

"They'll call you if they need you," Beckett said softly, "You're all right."

Her jaw tensed, but she didn't step up to her feet.

Sheppard followed McKay as he jogged over next to the Englishman. Grodin said something very quickly about level three and Rodney nodded, his eyes darting back and forth across the readouts Grodin was showing him. Sheppard stepped back, waiting as McKay reached over the Englishman and started typing into the laptop in front of him. Grodin continued to talk rapidly, and McKay nodded looking towards another control area. "Good idea. Go do it," he said, loud enough for Carson and Elizabeth to hear. Grodin jumped to his feet and went to the other control panel. McKay, meanwhile, kept typing, his fingers flying, sitting in the chair Grodin had vacated.

Sheppard leaned against the control panel behind him, watching. He tilted his head slightly.

"Watch the major's face, Doctor," Carson said softly to Elizabeth. "What do you see?"

Elizabeth frowned, then smiled, "He's impressed."

"And he's proud of him. Always is, though he never lets Rodney see it," Carson grinned. "He'd never let Rodney off his team," he added, "that'd be like, in American terms,trading the starring quarterback for the mascot. When you've got the best, you keep the best, even if they're a pain in the ass. And, alternately, Rodney would be miserable if he wasn't with the Major, knowing full well whose missions are the most important. He also has absolute faith in the Major's abilities, something I don't think he feels about any other soldier here. Whenever they come back from a mission, Rodney can't wait to tell me about what Sheppard did this time."

Elizabeth nodded, "I see."

"Aye, but I don't think you get it all yet..." Carson hinted.

After a moment, McKay smiled and hit one more button with a flourish. Grodin sighed, his shoulders slumping where he was standing a few feet away, and headed back. McKay smiled at him, then, still smiling, looked over at the major. The smile faded.

Sheppard grinned, and said something that sounded like "Crisis averted?"

"Of course, but do you see what I mean?" McKay said, all pissy again.

Sheppard had moved so that his back was to the Gate Room as he answered, but whatever he replied, McKay just gave him a wry look, followed by an eye roll, then a smug smile. Sheppard shoved him on the arm, and McKay grinned, rubbing at his shoulder where the major had hit him unconsciously.

"Doctor McKay," a different voice echoed from the room below, and Elizabeth instantly cringed, recognizing the nasal quality of the voice. Carson leaned over to look down, and she did as well, settling back into her seated position.

"Ah, now, here we go," Beckett said sagely.

Doctor Kavanagh stood in the Gate Room, a palm pilot in one hand and his other hand resting in a fist on his hip. He was holding up the palm pilot towards the control room as McKay and Sheppard both looked down at him.

" Kavanagh?" McKay replied.

"What the hell did you just do to level three's power?" the doctor demanded. "You know full well that my team was on that level working on the scanner controls. And you deliberately cut us off in the middle of an important experiment! And now look at our results!" He shook the palm pilot, "completely useless! You've wasted hours of our time with your...shenanigans."

"Shenanigans?" McKay looked over at Grodin, who had stood and was shaking his head, a contemptuous look on his face. There was no question of what Grodin thought of Kavanagh.

"It's a strange thing, McKay and Kavanagh," Carson mused, stopping Weir again as she looked to get to her feet, "they're both arrogant, brilliant and rude, but McKay has one more quality that Kavanagh sorely lacks..."

"Let me guess," Weir muttered, "humanity?"

Carson couldn't resist a laugh at that, but shook his head, "I was going to say altruism, but to each their own." He indicated the room with a jut of his chin, "but take a look at that."

McKay had jogged down the stairs to the Gate Room and taken Kavanagh's palm pilot. Interestingly, Sheppard had followed, and was standing just behind him, looking a little over his shoulder as McKay scrolled through the information Kavanagh had downloaded.

"You're right," Rodney said, looking up and handing the palm pilot back, "these readings tell you nothing of use."

"Because we weren't allowed the controlled environment you promised us!" Kavanagh spat back.

McKay sighed, stating as calmly as he could, "there was a short near one of the generators, I had to shut it down in order—"

"A short," Kavanagh gave a nasty laugh, "Right, tell me another one. You did this deliberately to—"

"Hey now," Sheppard interrupted, throwing on his most charming smile, "he's telling you the truth there, buck-o. I can even show you the burnt hair to prove it," and he even started to bend over, pointing to the top of his head, but Kavanagh just backed off.

"Please, spare me the sight of your obviously questionable personal hygiene, Major. This doesn't concern you."

"My what?" Sheppard frowned, stepping forward, but McKay put a hand on his chest, stopping him. He looked at Kavanagh, and, oddly, looked a little tired.

"Listen, doctor, you're not hearing me. We had to shut it down. If I had had a choice..."

"Oh, you had a choice," Kavanagh snipped back, "I know your game, McKay. You think I haven't seen the way you've wheedled your way to the top position here? How everyone looks to you for answers first? You've belittled everyone on the scientific team so much that they have actually come to believe you're smarter than they are! Oh, but I know what you're doing. I'm not falling for it. I'm every bit as smart, if not more so, and you're scared that people will figure that out! So, you sabotage my work." He leaned in, "and I'm not going to let you get away with it."

McKay had actually stepped back, his face openly surprised. He blinked a few times, then stepped forward again, "I'm sorry, what? I heard lots of rushing hot air, but nothing that actually made any sense. There's obviously a problem with the vent controls in this room. Could you repeat that?"

Kavanagh's jaw clamped shut, then he shook his head, "I'm not letting you get away with it, McKay."

Sheppard snorted, still standing at Rodney's back, "You know, Kavanagh, there are a lot of incredibly smart people on this base, McKay included, but, you're right," he smiled as Rodney looked back at him with a puzzled expression, "It would be wrong to put you in their class." He leaned forward, "Because you're not as good as they are. Perhaps you'd be better suited for something simpler, easier to handle." He met McKay's now amused eyes, "You got something like that, McKay? Something someone of Kavanagh's obviously limited intelligence could handle?"

Kavanagh was spluttering, "How dare you, you military punk—"

"Oh, I think I could think of something," McKay grinned, now arching an eyebrow at Kavanagh. "Perhaps the major's right, doctor." He grabbed the palm pilot out of Kavanagh's hands before the taller man could stop him, "this might be a little out of your league."

"Give that back!" Kavanagh looked to make a lunge at McKay, but Sheppard held up a finger and shook his head, a very obvious warning on his face. The tall scientist backed down, a hint of fear in his eyes at the look the major was giving him.

Still grinning, oblivious to their goings on, McKay fiddled with the palm pilot, hit a few keys, then handed it back. "And part of the reason he's right is because the equations you are using as the basis for those readings are completely wrong. Even if you had managed to finish whatever diagnostics you were working on down on level three, the results would still have been completely inaccurate." McKay crossed his arms, a patronizing smile on his face, "You might want to check with Peter. He can give you the correct ones. In fact," he looked up towards the balcony, "maybe Peter should be the one in charge of the diagnostics you're performing..."

Kavanagh's face turned beet red as peered down at the mini computer in his hands, his jaw muscles flexing. After a moment, he made a sound like a frustrated gnat, and turned around to walk away.

Suddenly, a piece of wadded up paper flew past McKay to hit Kavanagh squarely on the back of the man's head. The scientist whipped around to see McKay glancing at the major, and Sheppard with his hands behind his back, staring up at the ceiling overhead for no obvious reason, tipping back and forth on his toes and heels. Kavanagh glared at McKay.

"Oh, very mature, Rodney," he spat when McKay met his eyes again, turning again to leave.

McKay lifted both eyebrows, then turned to face Sheppard. The major glanced at him, read the expression, and immediately adopted a hurt look.

"What?"

"Where'd you get the paper?"

"Paper?"

McKay tried to look annoyed, but he couldn't for very long. With a small smile, he shook his head, "Thanks," and turned back towards the stairs, "Not that I needed the help."

"No, but it was funny. Besides," Sheppard walked towards the exit, scooped up the paper he had thrown, then jogged after Rodney, "he insulted me."

"Oh, right," McKay was waiting for him on the stairs, and he peered at the man's hair. "How is your hair, by the way?"

"Ah," Sheppard shrugged, "bit singed. It needed a cut anyway. Getting sorta long. Feel like some coffee?"

Rodney shrugged and turned to walk the rest of the way up the stairs, Sheppard with him. As he did so, he called up a question to Grodin as to whether he'd finished routing power back to level three.

"Yes," Peter yelled back, then looked up as Sheppard and McKay walked back into the Control Room. "Do you really want me to take over for Kavanagh?"

"Nah," McKay chuckled, "You'd be bored out of your mind—I wouldn't torture you with anything that mind-numbing. Want me to bring you back some coffee?"

"Sure," Grodin was already focused back on his controls, though both Carson and Elizabeth saw the pleased smile at the compliment appear on his face after the major and McKay were past him. A moment later, the two men were gone around a corner.

Elizabeth stood up. Carson put his finished dinner tray on the ground, put his hands behind his head and smiled up at her. She met his eye, a smile on her face.

"I see," she said, nodding at him. "Thank you for that. It's good to know."

"Aye, it's a strong bond, and getting stronger, which both of them seemed to need. But, you know, those two are just the tip of the iceberg," Carson promised her. "Care to join me here for dinner tomorrow? There are a lot of people on this base..." he waggled his eyebrows.

She smiled, leaning against the bars, "I might." She nodded out at the Gate room, "though it does feel a little like spying."

Something came to her then, and she looked around, just as Carson finished off the last of his soda.

"Wait a minute, if you've been watching us for a while," she tilted her head, "then you've been watching me as well?"

"Aye."

She raised an eyebrow, and he nearly choked on the drink as he realized what he'd just admitted to. Putting it down, he waved a hand at her.

"Oh, no, now, hold on there. There's nothing to be concerned about, doctor. You helm the ship, and you do it right well. It's a wonder to watch."

She arched both eyebrows, then smiled.

"Okay," she said, her eyes narrowing, "I'll take your word for it. Thank you for an...enlightening...time, Carson."

"Ah, you're welcome."

Turning, she walked away, a little more self-conscious than normal for a few moments, then less so as she reached the better lit areas.

Beckett busied himself with gathering up his things, when he spotted Teyla walk into the Gate Room.

He put his stuff back down as Teyla walked up the stairs, just as Elizabeth reached them.

"Doctor Weir," Teyla's voice called out, ringing a little in the space, "May I speak with you a moment?"

Elizabeth turned, and nodded, "Of course, Teyla," she glanced a little bit in Carson's direction then said, "follow me."

With a nod, Teyla followed as Elizabeth headed towards her office.

"Nuts," Carson said, pulling his stuff together again. He loved watching the two of them. He knew well the term "alpha males," but to his mind, the best example he'd ever seen of it was Doctor Weir and Teyla facing off in a room together. Teyla bowed to no one, and neither did Weir. It was an interesting...if strained...relationship, and one he looked forward to seeing grow.

Yup, he thought to himself as he stood up, pushing the chair back into the corner where he hid it, having a real family to watch over was much more fun.

Though the food could be better. He could absolutely murder a Mars bar right now. Bloody Americans...

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The End