fic: "With Kid Gloves" . PG . team sga au fic
Title: "With Kid Gloves"
Author: renisanz
Summary: From ozsaur : Daycare Center AU - Three of the team run a daycare center. The fourth wants to enroll his or her young child.
Category: Team/Gen
Rating: PG
Word count: 2,955
Warning/Spoilers: There's vomit.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.
Notes: Written for team_sga AU Fest 2009. This is sort of a prequel to the story I have in mind. The idea sort of ran away with me, so after I set all the characters up, I didn't know where to go, and then things got down to the wire and I wasn't able to do the grand plot I had in mind. Many thanks to tielan for helping me sort out where I wanted the story to go (eventually), and bailey1ak and journeyman07 for betaing. :)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
John Sheppard had a feeling the rest of the week was going to hell.
It was Monday.
Elia had vomited shortly after breakfast for the third time in as many weeks. John couldn't bring himself to be upset at the young girl. “Hey Marie,” John greeted as he walked into the first aid station. The woman turned, giving him full view of the slight four year old seated on the cot against the wall.
John fixed a gentle smile on his face as he approached the pair, his eyes focused on Elia's shy gaze. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
“Ok,” the girl replied in a small voice. “Am I going home again?”
John looked to the nurse for the answer. “No, sweetie. You don't have a fever. Your mother will pick you up at the regular time.
The girl nodded, and she seemed almost relieved by Marie's answer.
“Sounds good,” John said to Marie. “You just rest up til your mom comes.” He gave Marie a look, and she stepped away from Elia, following John out into the hall. Before they crossed the threshold, Elia called out. “Mr. John?”
“Yeah?”
“Will you tell Mr. Rodney that I'm sorry about his shoes?”
.: Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz :.
John searched for Mr. Rodney McKay in the teacher's lounge, then the kitchen. No sign of the man. After a brief word with Miss Katie, he headed down to the basement. There he found Rodney pantless, sitting on top of the washing machine.
John opened his mouth and quickly closed it again as he strolled into the room. Noting the cup of blue in the other man's hand, and the four other empty ones discarded on either side of his legs, he decided to let that be the first topic of conversation.
“You know that stuff is for the kid's snack, right?”
Rodney frowned around his spoon before removing it from his mouth. “Hey, I got vomited on. God knows what kind of microbes are swimming in my blood at this moment,” he whined.
“You work at a pre-school stuff happens. If you're so concerned about her getting you sick, why don't you just take off?”
Rodney glared at him for a millisecond before releasing an audible huff, his shoulders slumping in defeat with the action. “And just who will fill in for me? Despite what you may think, I do realize the importance of molding these young minds.”
“You work in the nursery.”
“Exactly,” Rodney gestured with his spoon. “Infants are in a very delicate state...”
John waved his hand, not ready to hear Rodney go on another “tabula rasa” rant.
“Whatever. If I catch you raiding the food again, I'm gonna take it out of your pay. You can buy your own Jell-O, you know?”
Rodney waved his hand dismissively, a gesture that never failed in grating John's nerves. “Sure, sure. I'll replace the ones I've eaten. Jell-O's not served until Wednesday.”
“You memorized the lunch menu.”
“Uh, yeah. I have to be vigilant in making sure I'm not poisoned by some sinister citrus concoction they cook up in the kitchen. Some of us care what we put into our bodies.”
“In your case, I find that hard to believe.”
Rodney squawked in protest, and John smiled.
“Just get some pants on,” John nodded at Rodney's bare legs, “before some poor kid wanders down here and you end up in jail while their parents own this place.
Footsteps sounded on the staircase, and both men turned to see Amelia slide to a stop at the base of the stairs. “Whoah,” Amelia said, looking between the two. Great. Amelia seemed pretty cool, but he was sure he would now have to bring up 'why it's mandatory for all Atlantis employees to keep their pants on at all times while on campus' during the next staff meeting.
“Hey, John,” she said, her brown eyes focused on Sheppard's face. “There's a woman upstairs wanting to meet you, Teyla Emmagan.”
John looked confused.
“She said she has an appointment to meet with Dr. Weir and get a tour of the academy,” the young woman explained further, hoping her boss would have some idea of what she was talking about.
It dawned on him then. Crap. “Oh. Right,” he said running a hand through the mess of his black hair. He knew better than to think the action would in any way tame the unruly hairs. He remembered Dr. Elizabeth Weir mentioning it when she listed off the things that needed attending to while she was away at that conference.
John spared one last glance back at McKay, who was now standing with his hands folded in front of his boxers, as if that would somehow shield them from Amelia's view.
When John looked back at her, he was surprised to find her staring intently at the pattern on Rodney's undershorts.
“Is that....Planck's constant?” she said, her eyebrows raised in a mix of amusement and disbelief.
“Get some pants on, McKay. Now,” John ordered, before jogging up the stairs.
.: Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz :.
“So,” John said as he walked beside Amelia down the hall, “This Mrs. Emmagan...?”
“Yes,” Amelia acknowledge, slowing her pace.
“What am I supposed to be doing again?”
“You know you're kind of my boss, right?”
“Technically, Dr. Weir is your boss. I'm just the money.”
“Oh, right. Silly of me to forget,” Amelia said as she nodded. John thought she was trying way too hard to keep a straight face.
“Ok, I'm the boss for just this week. That means I can delegate, right?”
“Yeah, bosses do that,” Amelia chuckled. Apparently, Amelia could no longer ignore Sheppard's pleading glare. She raised an inquisitive eyebrow as she turned her head to face him, pausing in the hallway. “I'm pretty familiar with the the highlights of the school. I'm pretty sure I can give Ms. Emmagan an engaging tour of our facilities.”
“Hey, that's an excellent idea.” John smiled. “I'll just say a quick 'hello' and then you can do your thing.”
“Whatever you think is best Mr. Sheppard.” Amelia smirked. Suddenly, her gaze dropped to the stack of papers in her arms. She looked like she just noticed they were there. “Hey, you know, we're having a field trip to a farm at the end of the week and are short of parent chaperones. So, I'll put you down as an alternate,” Amelia said, as she pulled a pen from the bun of silky brown hair tightly secured at the nape of her neck.
“Sure, whatever,” John mumbled.
“Great,” Amelia smiled brightly at him and continued walking.
John fell in step behind her. Amelia rounded the corner and was immediately halted as she stumbled into a tall, hulking figure. She stumbled backwards, and instinctively John put his hands out to steady her. Larger hands beat him to it.
“Hey, Ronon,” Amelia said. John couldn't see her face, but she sounded...out of breath.
“Uh, huh,” Ronon said. His hands still clasped Amelia's upper arms. The tall man was regarding Amelia with a look that John couldn't quite place. Only when Amelia physically stepped back away from Ronon did he let his hands drop away from her.
“I was looking for you guys.” He nodded back towards the front desk. “There's a lady...”
“Yeah, we know,” John said. “We were just headed that way.”
“Cool,” Ronon nodded. “You guys seen, McKay?”
“Laundry room,” John and Amelia said in unison.
“Wait...” John piped up before Ronon disappeared around the corner. “Who's minding the nursery?”
“Miko,” Ronon shrugged.
Oh, right. John nodded.
.: Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz :.
Finally, they approached the lobby area. A woman rose from her seat against the wall, greeting Amelia with a warm smile.
“Sorry for the wait Ms. Emmagan. Our director, Dr. Weir, is out of town for the week. However, I thought you should meet Mr. John Sheppard, the owner of our facility.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Sheppard,” Teyla said as she extended her hand to him.
He took her hand, the skin cool and her grasp against his palm was firm. Tawny skin and cinnamon hair that seemed to glow in the soft light that filtered through the curtained bay windows of the front room. Somewhere in the back off his mind, John was thankful for his mother's fondness for natural lighting.
“It's John,” he said, his eyes never leaving hers as her fingers slipped from his hand. “Shall we get on with the tour?”
John never saw Amelia roll her eyes, he being only half aware as she hurriedly listed the things about the center that he would need to highlight for Ms. Emmagan. “...and don't forget the field trip at the end of the week.” Amelia's serious tone finally cut through the haze, as if subconsciously reminding him to maintain a semblance of professionalism.
Right. Potential client.
“So, Mrs. Emmagan...”
“Miss, actually,” she interrupted, “but you may call me Teyla.”
“Alright. Teyla.” John liked saying her name. “So, how'd you hear about Atlantis?”
“I mentioned to my son's pediatrician, Dr. Keller, that I was looking for a day care in which to enroll him. She listed a few facilities I might be interested in. Atlantis Academy was one of them.”
“So you're saying we've got some competition in winning your favor?”
“I am keeping my options open,” Teyla replied.
“Well, let's get on with the tour then,” John said. He gestured for Teyla to walk beside him. He looked in his hand and found that Amelia had placed a checklist there. “Let's start with the nursery.” McKay better have gotten his pants on by now, John thought.
.: Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz :.
John was relieved to see that McKay had redressed his lower half, as he and Teyla stood in the doorway of the nursery. He never got used to the sight of McKay in his element, in this case, standing with a two-month-old baby in his arms, a pale blue burping cloth draped over his shoulder, one hand supporting a bottle as the infant hungrily sucked down its contents.
And then there was the recording playing in the background. Teyla inquired if it was the “Baby Einstein” tapes she's heard so much about.
“Not exactly,” John drawled. He remembered the tiring diatribe Rodney went into whenever those inferior recordings were mentioned. No, McKay's pupils deserved better, which turned out to be a recording featuring a curriculum customized by Rodney himself.
Dr. Weir was skeptical at first, but John didn't see the harm in it, and it gave Rodney something constructive to do, rather than complain. What was really weird was seeing how the babies responded to it. Apart from the fact that it was McKay, it was actually pretty good, which kinda freaked John out. A lot. He had no idea how someone could make physics-for-babies (“It's never too early to have a basic understanding of how our universe works”) appealing in the least, but by some stroke of genius, Rodney McKay pulled it off. John would never admit this to Rodney, of course, but if he pretended that it wasn't Rodney talking, and just, you know, some random entertainer, the voice coming over the speakers was actually pretty soothing. Sort of.
“Is this new,” John said, gesturing vaguely to where the sound was coming from.
“Hmm,” Rodney said, as he looked up, the self-satisfied expression leaving his face for one of confusion.
“This music sounds different than before,” John pointed out. Ok, so maybe he'd been listening to this stuff a lot. So maybe he had actually learned stuff from listening.
“Oh, right. Well, Miko actually remastered it, and maybe added some background vocals. Something about needing a female voice to balance it out, blah blah. She's competent at it, anyway,” McKay finished.
“Yeah, ok.” John gestured to Teyla who had been standing, quietly observant at his side. “This is Teyla Emmagan. I'm showing her around, trying to convince her why Atlantis is the best place for little uhm...”
“Torren,” Teyla supplied.
“Torren,” John repeated, as if he'd need to get use to saying the name.
“Well, I'm sure he's a joy and all that,” Rodney mumbled as he placed the baby in it's crib.
John took that as his cue to leave. Rodney wasn't exactly a people person. Or rather, a big-people person.
“It was nice meeting you, Rodney.” Teyla nodded as John directed her towards the door.
John winced as Rodney waved a little too dismissively at the parting pair, fortunately at Teyla's retreating back. Yet another thing to bring up at the staff meeting. McKay was on fire today, it seemed.
Teyla stopped walking, suddenly, and turned to regard him, her dark eyes unreadable. The corner of her mouth quirked almost imperceptible, and then she said, “Tell me something about you, John.”
“Me?”
“Yes. What do you like?”
“College football, ferris wheels, and anything that goes over 200 miles per hour.” At her wide-eyed expression, he added, “with appropriate child restraints of course.”
Teyla pursed her lips as she made a noise that sounded enough like she was clearing her throat to mask her barely stifled laughter. She inclined her head, acknowledging Mr. Sheppard's consideration for child-friendly vehicles that traveled at high speeds.
“May I see the physical activity area now?”
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“It is unusual to find a day care with so many men on the staff, if any at all,” Teyla said as she and John looked in on the gym area.
“Oh, you noticed that, huh?” John replied, regarding her out the corner of his eye.
“Yes,” Teyla answered. “It is difficult not to.”
She was smiling, John observed, as she watched Ronon help right the fallen toddlers who tumbled along the obstacle course made from padded blocks and cylinders of various sizes.
“I like that he is not afraid to get on their level. The children do not appear at all intimidated by him, as adults naturally would be if only for his sheer presence.”
“Yeah, Ronon's really good with the kids.” John winced, as he hazarded another glance at Teyla. All those years at Stanford...one would expect a guy to come out with a better vocabulary. Teyla was looking at him now, but he didn't allow his gaze to waver. “I mean, I think they feel pretty safe with him. He's really protective and the kids trust him.”
“And the parents?” Teyla inquired.
“Some are wary at first, understandably so, but we haven't had any complaints so far,” John informed her.
“He may actually be the reason so many single mothers choose to enroll their children here.”
John turned to regard her fully at that. “Oh, really?”
Teyla turned as well, the ghost of a smile bowing her mouth, “Are you surprised at that possibility?”
Jealous, maybe? is what she seemed to be asking. John was wise enough not to tread near that minefield.
“Lunch time is in a few minutes. I'm sure we can rustle up an extra juice box for you.”
Teyla exhaled a laugh and turned her attention back to the children on the gym floor. Ronon was getting them ready to walk over to the cafeteria, lining them up by height.
She turned back to him, her features schooled once more. “Very well, Mr. Sheppard.”
John turned, nodding for Teyla to follow, and she fell in step beside him as they walked.
.: Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz :.
John set down their trays on the picnic table positioned under the ample shade of an elm tree. Teyla had requested that they withdraw to somewhere private, and while his office seemed like the obvious choice, it was a disaster, at the moment, and Elizabeth's space just seemed to impersonal.
Teyla slid onto the wooden seat across from him and busied herself with arranging her food-a grilled cheese sandwich, fruit cocktail cup, and a juice box of fruit punch. John's meal mirrored hers, though he had one extra juice box because, hey, one of the perks of being the boss.
“So, you're single?”
“Excuse me?”
What was wrong with him today? “I mean, er, you're a single parent?”
“I don't see how that's relevant.”
Yeah, John, and you'd think the “Miss” would give that away. “Well, quite a few of the kids here come from single parent homes, and, uhm...You're right. I don't really know where I was going with that.” John finished lamely as he ran a hand through his hair.
“Look, my mom started this place. She wanted to create a type of uhm... haven. The men on the staff? That was mostly mom. She believed that it was having a positive male figure present was just as important as that of a mother.”
“And you?”
“Me?”
“Yes.” Teyla took a sip from her juice box and swallowed before continuing. “Do you agree with her philosophy?” He thought of his father, his parents, how they were before his mom left. He couldn't imagine asking a nine-year-old to choose which parent to go with in a divorce. He'd stayed with his father, somehow thinking it would make his mother stay.
She'd left anyway.
Later John learned that his mother knew something about his father that he would learn of years later. His father wouldn't change.
John looked up into Teyla's face, brown eyes patiently waiting for his answer. “I think it's good to have a balance.”
Teyla inclined her head, her eyes never leaving his. “I agree.” She smile faintly, and then they didn't speak any more about nurturing or childhoods or fathers.
He watched her through the lobby window as she walked across the parking lot to blue Prius. Maybe the rest of the week would still be hell, but today had been ok.
.:ABC:.