Help from Unexpected Places: Runner tag
The next chapter's kicking my ass, so I figured I'd post this tag. Very inconsiderately, they spent the whole episode off Atlantis, so I just added this tag. Enjoy!
Runner
This day had been far too long already, and it wasn’t over yet. Ronon was settled for now; John had made his own report and was now compiling the reports of everyone else who had been on the team.
“Sir?” Major Lorne tapped on his door frame. “My computer shorted out while my report was sending. It get to you alright?”
John glanced at the screen-currently showing a half-finished game of FreeCell. “Your report?”
“Came through five minutes ago,” Alice reported, swinging her legs. “It’s intact.”
“Yeah, it came through,” John said, glancing up. “You alright?”
Lorne blinked, rocking back. “Yeah, I just…I thought I heard something. Someone down the hall, probably.”
“Thought you heard something,” John repeated, glancing briefly at Alice.
“He has the gene. He may be hearing me,” she said, sounding far too interested for John’s peace of mind.
“That happen a lot?” he asked.
“No sir.”
“Just here in the city?”
“In the ‘Jumper, earlier.” He shrugged. “My radio’s probably mistuned. I’ll get someone to look at it.” He started to turn away.
“Yah!” Alice yelled, and he halted, glancing around. “He’s definitely hearing me, John.”
“Why isn’t he seeing you, then?” John wondered.
“Sir?”
“Sit down, Major. We need to talk.”
It was the first time he’d tried to explain it, really; Teyla had accepted without understanding, and he hadn’t realised exactly how insane it sounded.
“…Atlantis talks to you.”
“Not Atlantis. Exactly. A program, a research program.”
“A research program…that manifests itself as a blonde girl.”
“Yes.”
“That only you can see.”
“Yes.”
“And I can…hear. Sometimes.”
“Apparently, yes.”
“But Dr McKay has the gene.”
“Artificially. I’m told that’s not as strong. Major, you must have seen stranger things at SGC.”
“As strange, anyway.” He glanced around. “She here now?”
“Yeah. She doesn’t get to meet new people much.”
“Meeting them isn’t a problem, it’s interacting that tends to slow things down,” Alice pointed out.
Lorne was frowning. “Something…something interacting something?”
“Well, that’s not going to be much use,” Alice muttered.
“I heard that,” Lorne warned her. He looked back at John. “And no one knows about this?”
“Teyla. Sort of. It’s not the kind of thing you put in the leaflet; ‘Your Commanding Officer may pause to consult invisible beings from time to time.’ “
“I’m not invisible,” Alice protested.
“Effectively, y’are.” He looked at Lorne. “You’re not hearing things.”
“She sees everything the scanners do?”
“A lot of it’s under privacy lock, but yeah. Internal and external. Unless they’re malfunctioning.”
“I can’t do anything about malfunctions! I can’t affect the wiring or the power supply. You know that.”
John shrugged innocently. “I didn’t say anything.”
Lorne rose to his feet. “I should let you two talk.”
“Yeah.”
“I like him,” Alice said, deliberately loud. Lorne slowed, grinning over his shoulder before heading out.
“Suck up,” John accused her.
“Yes,” she agreed. “Of course I’m sucking up to the guy who hears one word in three and can’t see me at all. I’m tired of being understood all the time. Takes the fun out of everything.”
“Definitely…”
“Too much time in McKay’s computer,” she recited, rolling her eyes. “Yes, so you keep telling me.”
“Shame you’re not learning, isn’t it?”
“I’m learning how to lose at FreeCell.”
“Life skill, that.”
“Apparently, yes. How did you correlate your reports before I started doing them for you?”
“That’s delegation! Important for any leader.”
Alice grinned, hopping down from his desk. “More or less important than losing at FreeCell?”
“About equal. Hey? Keep an eye on Lorne for a bit.”
She nodded, turning away and vanishing midstep, and John settled in to read the last couple of reports.
Runner
This day had been far too long already, and it wasn’t over yet. Ronon was settled for now; John had made his own report and was now compiling the reports of everyone else who had been on the team.
“Sir?” Major Lorne tapped on his door frame. “My computer shorted out while my report was sending. It get to you alright?”
John glanced at the screen-currently showing a half-finished game of FreeCell. “Your report?”
“Came through five minutes ago,” Alice reported, swinging her legs. “It’s intact.”
“Yeah, it came through,” John said, glancing up. “You alright?”
Lorne blinked, rocking back. “Yeah, I just…I thought I heard something. Someone down the hall, probably.”
“Thought you heard something,” John repeated, glancing briefly at Alice.
“He has the gene. He may be hearing me,” she said, sounding far too interested for John’s peace of mind.
“That happen a lot?” he asked.
“No sir.”
“Just here in the city?”
“In the ‘Jumper, earlier.” He shrugged. “My radio’s probably mistuned. I’ll get someone to look at it.” He started to turn away.
“Yah!” Alice yelled, and he halted, glancing around. “He’s definitely hearing me, John.”
“Why isn’t he seeing you, then?” John wondered.
“Sir?”
“Sit down, Major. We need to talk.”
It was the first time he’d tried to explain it, really; Teyla had accepted without understanding, and he hadn’t realised exactly how insane it sounded.
“…Atlantis talks to you.”
“Not Atlantis. Exactly. A program, a research program.”
“A research program…that manifests itself as a blonde girl.”
“Yes.”
“That only you can see.”
“Yes.”
“And I can…hear. Sometimes.”
“Apparently, yes.”
“But Dr McKay has the gene.”
“Artificially. I’m told that’s not as strong. Major, you must have seen stranger things at SGC.”
“As strange, anyway.” He glanced around. “She here now?”
“Yeah. She doesn’t get to meet new people much.”
“Meeting them isn’t a problem, it’s interacting that tends to slow things down,” Alice pointed out.
Lorne was frowning. “Something…something interacting something?”
“Well, that’s not going to be much use,” Alice muttered.
“I heard that,” Lorne warned her. He looked back at John. “And no one knows about this?”
“Teyla. Sort of. It’s not the kind of thing you put in the leaflet; ‘Your Commanding Officer may pause to consult invisible beings from time to time.’ “
“I’m not invisible,” Alice protested.
“Effectively, y’are.” He looked at Lorne. “You’re not hearing things.”
“She sees everything the scanners do?”
“A lot of it’s under privacy lock, but yeah. Internal and external. Unless they’re malfunctioning.”
“I can’t do anything about malfunctions! I can’t affect the wiring or the power supply. You know that.”
John shrugged innocently. “I didn’t say anything.”
Lorne rose to his feet. “I should let you two talk.”
“Yeah.”
“I like him,” Alice said, deliberately loud. Lorne slowed, grinning over his shoulder before heading out.
“Suck up,” John accused her.
“Yes,” she agreed. “Of course I’m sucking up to the guy who hears one word in three and can’t see me at all. I’m tired of being understood all the time. Takes the fun out of everything.”
“Definitely…”
“Too much time in McKay’s computer,” she recited, rolling her eyes. “Yes, so you keep telling me.”
“Shame you’re not learning, isn’t it?”
“I’m learning how to lose at FreeCell.”
“Life skill, that.”
“Apparently, yes. How did you correlate your reports before I started doing them for you?”
“That’s delegation! Important for any leader.”
Alice grinned, hopping down from his desk. “More or less important than losing at FreeCell?”
“About equal. Hey? Keep an eye on Lorne for a bit.”
She nodded, turning away and vanishing midstep, and John settled in to read the last couple of reports.