Major Wooing (or How to Woo a Major in Ten Easy Steps)

Chapter 9

Summary: The fun isn't always the destination, it can be the journey in getting there.

8. Make sure she equates you with fun

Rodney McKay had been called many things, intelligent, dedicated, arrogant and even selfish, but he'd never been called a fun person. And while the rules were working well so far, Rodney feared his lack of social skills would ensure defeat this time.

How was he supposed to be fun?

Instead of trying to be fun, Rodney concluded the next best thing was to do something the Major found fun. When he suggested building a small-scale model of the Puddle Fighter, he knew immediately he'd suggested the perfect project. The Major's face had lit up like a child's on Christmas morning.

Which is how he found himself trying to sneak through the halls of Atlantis.

Dressed all in black, they moved quietly through each section of the city without detection. It had taken a few minor programs to hide their life sign signals so they could pass through the city undetected. The Major's training helped them dodge the military patrols and civilian population with an ease that both awed and frightened Rodney.

Their destination was a remote lab on the outskirts of the city, far enough away to allow for privacy and uninterrupted work on personal projects. Because, while Elizabeth was fine with the idea of personal hobbies as a means of keeping up morale, keeping out of the sights of an infatuated Kavanagh was proving difficult.

Keeping out of the gun sights of an infuriated Sgt. Bates was proving to be damn problematic.

It was well known around the city that Bates had the hots for Kavanagh, though no one could yet fathom a reason why. Rodney shuddered at the thought that he'd managed to get caught up in their messed up love life. He couldn't fathom why Kavanagh had turned his attention on him or why Bates seemed to think it was his fault.

The sound of footsteps could be heard down the hall and the Major pushed him up against the wall to hide their location until the patrol passed by. The feel of the Major's lean, slightly sweaty body pressed up against Rodney's own was enough to steal his breath away.

It was then that Rodney realized the Major was humming the theme of a familiar tune.

"Mission Impossible?" Rodney hissed softly.

"What?" Major Sheppard asked, then smiled thoughtfully. "Oh, that."

"I know, I know, you watched the show in your misspent youth and saw the Tom Cruise movies so many times you could have bought stock in Hollywood."

Sheppard tensed as the footsteps approached and relaxed only as they continued on, moving away from their location. "Ah - no."

Despite being hidden in the shadows, it was still possible for Rodney to see the Major was blushing. "No? Then what?"

"DC Cabs."

"What does Mission Impossible have to do with taxi service in your country's capital city?"

Sheppard let out a long breath and dared a look at Rodney. "No, it was a movie about a group of misfit taxi cab drivers in DC who, in the end, banded together to save the day. They - they sang the theme to Mission Impossible."

"It's some horrible, B-rated movie that you're going to make me watch the first chance you get, right?"

When that quirky smile appeared on the Major's face, Rodney discovered that having fun with the Major wasn't as hard as he had initially believed.

"That's a date."

---tbc