Oops

by Gillian In Oz

"It doesn't make sense," McKay muttered, fingers running over tiny embedded crystals. "The only explanation is that it generated some sort of time-regression field, which enveloped my body and a small section around me. It must have tapped into sub-space for that much energy, which..."

He rambled on for a few moments more, enjoying the fact that for a change no one (Sheppard) was cutting short his fascinating explanation. After a few minutes though the quality of the silence changed and he glanced up, blowing a blonde curl off his forehead.

Sheppard still had one hand over his mouth, he looked like a third of a Wise monkey tableau. Radek was pressed up against the wall as if Rodney's condition was infectious. Teyla was looking fatuously at his blonde hair and Ronon had found his stash of power bars and was bogarting the peanut butter ones, wide eyes fixed on him in fascination as his huge jaw slowly worked.

"What?" Rodney said irritably.

"Shouldn't you be in the infirmary or something?" Ronon mumbled around his mouthful.

Sheppard's head bobbed fervently. Teyla reached out and tweaked a blonde curl.

Radek whimpered.

"Oh, please," Rodney said scornfully, shrugging off Teyla. Typical that the hottest woman in the Pegasus Galaxy waited until he had the body of a five year old before getting all touchy-feely. "As if I would trust that quack Carson to come up with an answer for this one." Rodney glared at Radek, who met his gaze in terror and attempted to dig himself further into the wall with his shoulder blades. Rodney sighed long-sufferingly. "Obviously I'll have to fix this myself. As usual."

"Now now, what's all this then?" Carson arrived at a run, skidding around the corner and screeching to a halt. "Crap," he muttered as he caught sight of Rodney and Rodney stared back with as much dignity as a man could when he was five years old with blonde curls and only an over sized t-shirt to cover his shame.

Behind the doctor his team also arrived at a run, crashing into his back and falling over like skittles. Medical bags and personnel tumbled around the room and Rodney rolled his eyes and turned back to his work.

"I'm surrounded by morons," he muttered.

"He turned into a kid!" Sheppard blurted out as if this had happened a moment ago instead of the longest ten minutes of Rodney's (short) life.

"He was naked," Ronon supplied helpfully, starting on the chocolate power bars. Oddly enough Rodney found he didn't care. Power bars didn't seem appealing right now anyway.

"PB & J," he said, straightening. "Someone get me a sandwich, obviously I'm going to need all my strength to figure this out."

"I'll get it," Radek volunteered swiftly, hope appearing briefly on his haunted face.

"Not you," Rodney ordered and watched in satisfaction as the hope died. "Teyla," he continued. "Get me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And milk," he called after her as she nodded and rushed away. "And cookies!"

"He turned into a kid!" Sheppard said again.

"Yes, yes, Colonel," Carson said kindly, guiding him to a chair. "Perhaps you'd better sit down."

"Typical," Rodney muttered, poking viciously at the innards of the Ancient gizmo. "I get mugged by an Ancient device, again, and Sheppard gets the sympathy, that's just - Ow!" With a zap something discharged, singeing his fingers. "Owie!" Tears filled his eyes and spilled down his cheeks as he sucked his injured digit. "Wah!" he said, jumping off his box and rushing to Sheppard, climbing onto his lap.

"Ack!" Sheppard yelped.

"Owie!" Rodney sobbed.

A tentative hand patted his back. "There there?" Sheppard said in strangled tones and Rodney's tears dried up as he snuggled against a broad chest. Sheppard smelled good. Like sunshine and aftershave and...

"Daddy," Rodney yawned, closing his eyes contentedly. Maybe a nap before lunch...