(no subject)
Title: Poker Night
Rating: PG
Spoilers: The Real World
Summary: Ladies' Poker Night on Atlantis!
A/N: Written for the August #3 challenge on
sparky_sparks, and as a semi-sequel to my fanfic "Tequila", which can be found here.
“Ok, ladies! It is time once again for my favorite night of the week…Ladies’ Poker Night!” Dr. Maria Rodgers sauntered into the off-duty room brandishing two decks of cards, a couple of cartons of poker chips, and a large canvas tote bag.
“Nice, Doc.” Laura Cadman shook her head and took the chips with a grin. “So, wasn’t this your week to bring the beer? I could definitely use one after the week I’ve had.” She set the cartons on the table and began to pull out the chips.
“Anything you need to talk about, Laura?” Kate Heightmeyer leaned forward, resting her forearms on the table, and fixed Cadman with a concerned gaze.
“Back off, Heightmeyer.” Laura’s smile and slightly teasing tone easily belied the harsh words. “When I need a shrink, I’ll be sure to gate back to Earth…after all, everyone knows Dr. Mackenzie is the best.”
Kate laughed aloud and sat back in her chair. Mackenzie had been a running joke at the SGC for many years now. Of course, he was a qualified psychologist, but he had a notorious ability to inspire distrust among his patients.
Laura turned her attention back to the physicist currently unpacking tortilla chips and a jar of salsa from her large bag. “So, where’s my beer?”
Maria didn’t look up as she emptied the bag of chips into a basket on the table. “Oh, I didn’t bring any beer.”
Laura froze in the middle of stacking poker chips, and the room was suddenly silent. Maria looked up at the unexpected stillness. Laura was sporting a look of utter horror and bewilderment, Teyla appeared slightly disappointed, and Kate just seemed amused.
“Excuse me?” Laura sputtered incredulously. “Rodgers, you can’t have a poker night without beer!”
Maria tried very hard not to laugh at Laura’s expression. “At ease, Cadman! I brought alcohol, just not beer.” However, this didn’t seem to faze the distraught lieutenant.
“But it’s poker night!” Cadman exclaimed, looking close to exasperated. “And…Teyla loves beer!”
Maria sighed, and tried to explain her reasoning. “Well, I figured Teyla should try something different…and Kate doesn’t really like beer that much, anyway.” Laura rounded on Kate, who plastered an innocent expression onto her face and shrugged. Laura rolled her eyes, then suddenly whipped back to face Maria, a mischievous glint in her eye.
“What did you smuggle in from Earth?”
Maria grinned and reached into her bag, dramatically lifting a ridiculously large bottle to the table. “Ladies, I present for your enjoyment: the finest tequila to be found on Earth! Well…at least, the finest to be found at my local liquor store.” She reached once again into the bag and retrieved an equally large bottle of bright green liquid. “I thought perhaps margaritas, in honor of Elizabeth’s first poker night with us.”
Maria was grinning from ear to ear, but the rest of the group just looked confused. “I didn’t know Dr. Weir liked margaritas,” Cadman commented. “She always struck me as…I don’t know…a wine person, I guess.”
“Normally, she is,” Maria admitted. “But trust me, Cadman. Tequila brings out a whole other side of Dr. Elizabeth Weir.”
“Yes, unfortunately it does. And it’s a side that no one will be seeing anytime soon.”
All four women turned toward the door to see Elizabeth walk in, still wearing her Atlantis uniform. After much cajoling, Maria had finally convinced her old friend to join in the weekly poker game, despite Elizabeth’s protests that she was a terrible player. Maria was pretty sure she knew why: her friend had a terrible poker face for a world-famous diplomat. At the moment, she could read Elizabeth’s emotions extremely easily. She wasn’t exactly angry, but neither was she thrilled to see the bottle of Patron on the table.
“Oh, come on, Liz! You need to relax, and you know that tequila will help with that.” Maria tried to hide her smirk, but failed miserably. The corner of Elizabeth’s mouth quirked upward, but she held her ground.
“Maria, you know that I can’t afford to be incapacitated…”
“You’re off duty!” Maria wasn’t going to let this one go without a fight.
“…in case something comes up, an emergency.”
Teyla suddenly spoke up, glancing cautiously around the table. “Is there something I should know about this tequila?”
Kate answered in her typically clinical manner. “There’s nothing wrong with the drink, but everyone reacts differently to it. For most, tequila is no different from any other form of alcohol. However, some people get sick, while others are more susceptible to anger or other strong emotions.”
Maria flashed a quick grin, “Liz here just gets really drunk, really fast.”
“Which means,” Elizabeth chimed in, “that I am not having a margarita tonight.” Apparently, the expedition leader wasn’t ready to give in just yet. She seemed determined to draw out the debate as long as possible…typical of her relationship with her best friend. We’d never have stayed friends this long if we didn’t argue as often as we do! Maria mused.
She gave an exasperated sigh and faced her former roommate, hands resting on her hips. “Elizabeth, you need some time to relax, let loose, and have fun with your friends for a while. Don’t make me force Cadman to use her feminine wiles to get an alcoholic prescription out of Carson!”
At that comment, Laura nearly choked into her margarita, and her cheeks burned as red as the stack of poker chips in front of her. Teyla chuckled slightly, and Kate tried to hide her grin behind her hand.
Elizabeth and Maria both grinned, but Maria didn’t back down. Aside from the scientist’s personal longing to relive old times with her friend, Elizabeth really did need this. Maria knew how much the incident with the replicator nanites had really disturbed Liz, probably better than Kate or even John knew. She was pretty sure Liz had never shared with anyone on this expedition the particular piece of her past that the nanite situation had drug back to the surface. Maria remembered and understood, and she knew that Elizabeth really did need to unwind.
Elizabeth seemed to read the good intentions in Maria’s eyes; she nodded, smiled, and took a seat at the table. “Ok, fine. But just one. And Maria, if you breathe one word of this to John…”
“What does this have to do with Colonel Sheppard?” Teyla asked in a slightly puzzled tone.
Maria grimaced under Elizabeth’s glare. “I kinda accidentally told him about Liz’s reaction to tequila. Hey, it’s not entirely my fault! How was I supposed to know you’d listen to the song with someone else in the room?”
Cadman snapped her fingers repeatedly, a gesture that never failed to remind the others of McKay…curiously, the mannerism first appeared after the double consciousness incident the previous year. “Hey, does this have anything to do with why the Colonel starts humming every time you enter the room?”
Elizabeth scowled, sipped her margarita, and rolled her eyes at Maria. “You know, you come back to the dorm room wearing only a tablecloth one time, and your roommate never lets you forget it…”
Kate laughed, and Cadman leaned forward, intrigued. “Now, that sounds like an interesting story.”
“Yes, it is.” The others waited expectantly for the rest of the story, but Elizabeth merely continued to stack and arrange her poker chips. Maria shot Cadman an I’ll tell you later look, and began to shuffle the deck of cards.
Elizabeth finished arranging her chips and leaned thoughtfully back in her chair. “I just wish there were a way to give John a taste of his own medicine.”
Maria stopped mid-shuffle, a scheming expression slowly dawning. “Well…maybe there is…”
Teyla cocked her head to the side. “The song is becoming rather annoying…” A slow grin spread across her face as the idea sunk in.
“I’m always up for a good practical joke.” Everyone turned to stare incredulously at Kate after that announcement. “What?” she asked innocently. “I like humor…provided it isn’t psychologically damaging.” She paused to take a sip of her margarita. “Plus, he’s skipped out on the last three appointments I’ve tried to make with him.”
Elizabeth grinned, shook her head, and muttered, “Hell hath no fury…”
Maria straightened in her seat and dealt the cards to each player. “In that case, ladies, ante up. This poker night and planning meeting for Operation Embarrass the Pants Off of Colonel Sheppard has officially begun!” She tapped her cards decisively on the table.
Draining the last of her margarita, Kate smirked. “Hmm…now there’s an idea…” Teyla rolled her eyes and nudged the psychologist to signal that the bet had passed to her.
“As long as there’s no potential for a court martial, I’m in,” Cadman added nonchalantly as she regarded her hand.
Elizabeth tossed in a couple of chips and grinned. “Don’t worry, Lieutenant. After all, I am the boss.” Maria laughed, noticing the slight alcoholic flush already creeping to her friend’s cheeks. This would be an interesting game!