Go Suck a Lemon - Sam Carter/Rodney McKay (Stargate)
Title: Go Suck a Lemon
Author: Jackie (Bringer of DOOM)
Spoilers: Sam's basic history, "48 Hours," "Redemption," "Moebius," and Atlantis' "Letters from Pegasus."
Email: tiana@moorecc.com
Personal Website: Prometheus Rebound: A Fanfic Archive
Notes: I'm actually a little early! That's pretty unusual. Feel free to add recs if you'd like. Most of my background for the characters was referenced from the Gateworld Omnipedia.
“Go Suck a Lemon”
The Sam Carter/Rodney McKay Essay
Sarcastic, snarky, and always at odds with each other - these are the foundations of Sam Carter and Rodney McKay's dynamic relationship in the Stargate universe. However, they manage to work together when the occasion requires it, and seem to have even grown somewhat fond of each other in the recent past. I'm not going to focus too much on Rodney's infatuation with Sam, since that's insanely canon to begin with; it'll be more on the small reactions Carter has to what he says, and the little things that show she really is attracted to him.
“I'm just...trying to bond.”
“...Why?”
Dr. Rodney McKay was first introduced on the SG-1 episode “48 Hours,” as the know-it-all pompous astrophysicist, meant to be something of a foil for Sam. He studies in the same field she does, but he's much more arrogant about his work; always convinced he is the one who's right. In “Redemption” we find out that McKay has always wanted to be a pianist, but he was only a “fine clinical player, no sense of the music whatsoever,” according to his instructor. McKay is now a fully-functioning member of the Atlantis team, where he tells everybody on the base what to do, how to do it, and bite their heads off when he's not the one doing it in the first place.
Captain Samantha Carter has a history that is more spread out through the SG-1 series, since (obviously) she's had quite a bit more screen time than McKay. She graduated top of her class at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and spent some time flying in enemy lines during the Persian Gulf War. Sam's mother died in a car accident when Sam was young, and this separated Sam and her brother from Jacob (their father), for a time, but Sam later forgave him. Sam was also possessed by the Tok'ra Jolinar, who later died to save her life and left a symbiote marker in Sam's body, allowing her to control Goa'uld technology. She later butted heads with McKay in his premier episode “48 Hours.”
“You know, we're obviously going to have to get over this physical attraction thing if we're going to work together.”
Carter and McKay are instantly at odds with each other in “48 Hours,” presumably from the moment that McKay said he wasn't particularly thrilled at actually seeing the Stargate in person. However, once the two get past their pride, they act as scientists do (albeit, more argumentatively than most) by listening to each other's viewpoints and breaking them down to their cores, to find out if they work or not for the situation at hand.
McKay says, after their argument over the Stargate problem, while they're eating lunch, “God, I wish I didn't find you so attractive. I've always had a weakness for...dumb blondes.” Though Carter was obviously stung by some of the things he said before this, she takes this as a complement of sorts, and seems to blush before she offers a retort. “Go suck a lemon.”
This episode, in particular, shows the differences in Carter and McKay's personalities. McKay is a realist, who takes very few risks, and when he does, they are calculated to the point where they're very unlikely to go wrong. This is part of the reason why he's such a renowned scientist. Carter, on the other hand, takes a lot more risks, and tends to lean more towards the theoretical part of the scientific spectrum. The reason she takes more risks is, as McKay put it, in part due to her personal connections to the team she's a part of. McKay seems not to have many emotional attachments at all, though again, we are not allowed to see much into his personal feelings or life in this episode.
In “Redemption,” as well, the pair manage to put aside their differences to find a way to save the world from an exploding Stargate. When Jack and Carter come back from their first attempt at destroying the Stargate, McKay shows his concern, though in a sarcastic tone of voice, making this easy to miss. “You're lucky, there's no way of telling how much damage an unstable hyperspace window could've caused.” There's a moment of silence as he stares at her and Carter gives a little smile, while everyone else wonders what the hell's going on, besides their usual bickering like an old married couple.
“Hey, Anubis, this is your agent. You're playing it way over the top; can you get serious, please?” Though this line is a bit inappropriate for the moment, it does underline how ridiculous Carter's previous statement about 'asking Anubis to stop his attack' sounds. Apparently Carter realizes this as well, since she gives a half-frustrated, half-amused sigh and a grin she quickly covers up before asking, “And you were saying?”
Also, throughout their escapade to save the planet for the second time, Carter and McKay still manage to joke around, sarcastic as they may be in doing so. As many people notice, their relationship at this point seems adolescent: insults and funny-faces and physical attractions abound!
All of this changes when Carter gets zapped by the EM pulse. McKay's first reaction is to run away from the danger; something we would all naturally do, for fear of being electrocuted. He comes back almost immediately after Carter gets hit, and states, “She's not gonna be happy when she wakes up, is she?” Then, a moment later, “She is...gonna wake up, isn't she?” This is the first instance we see where McKay isn't merely infatuated with Carter. He actually cares about her, and her well-being. He visits her in the infirmary a while later, admitting to her things he has never told anyone before, like his lifelong dream of becoming a pianist being crushed by his instructor. This also signifies what I believe to be a large step for McKay: he's shown that he trusts someone, which we haven't seen in him before. When Carter asks why he's sharing all of this with her, he falls out of sync with whatever rhythm he'd been following in order to remain relaxed around her, and reverts to his old nervous habit of joking: “Hospital gowns turn me on.” He ends the (fairly one-sided) discussion by admitting he was jealous of Carter, and that she was an artist, someone he admired. She visibly softens at this abrupt statement, and reassures him that the accident wasn't his fault. She also seems to relax around him, though in a different sort of way; it's as if she finally realizes that McKay is human, too.
Even as McKay asks if he could hold anything while she got dressed, Carter still finds him rather ridiculous. But she holds back a chuckle as she grabs her things to get ready to leave.
Carter, General Hammond, and two arguing scientists walk towards the control room, and we notice that Carter immediately leaves the other three in order to come over to the silent McKay, looking into the Gateroom. She asks him what he's thinking, which shows more of the fact that Carter values his opinion. He wonders what the “little alien guy's doing down there,” which leads Carter to question Jonas on the conclusion that will save the day once more!
At the end of this episode, Carter admits to finding McKay attractive, though she still despises him. She then gives him a kiss on the cheek, which takes McKay by surprise, leaving him standing there with a shocked expression on his face for quite a while.
“That means you don't hate me!”
Carter shrugs. “Maybe. Too bad for you.”
McKay's face falls. “Why?”
“I was more attracted to you when I did.”
“Really?” And McKay runs off to contemplate this further.
Carter and McKay's relationship plays off again in “Moebius,” though this time we are given the impression that Carter has no feelings whatsoever (other than annoyance and general creeped-out-ness) for McKay. However, this is an alternate universe, and things do change. We are, at least, given the canon that no matter which universe they are in, McKay will still be in love with Carter. Carter remains ambiguous, as her main romantic interest is (and likely will remain to be in the near future) Jack. In the current and hopefully remaining timeline and universe, Carter and McKay at least share some of their feelings for each other, much as Carter hates to admit it.
And in the Stargate: Atlantis episode “Letters from Pegasus,” we find that McKay has not yet forgotten about Carter.
“God - you see, I love blondes, especially with the, uh, the short hair. Mmm. Samantha Carter - if you're watching, the torch is still burning - sadly, soon to be extinguished, but, uh...You know, you should know - I think you are just...so...well, you're great - you're really, really great, and, uh, I would go so far as saying you're the hottest scientist I've ever worked with. In fact, there's probably not a night that goes by that I don't, uh, find myself, uh...okay, Ford, let's, let's lose that.”
This is as far as McKay gets to telling Carter his feelings; but for all we know, Ford may have kept that bit of the tape in the final cut, and Carter likely has seen it already. Her reaction? Well, that's anyone's guess. Some of the producers and writers are hinting at another big SG-1/Atlantis crossover, though, which would give McKay an opportunity to show Carter he's learned to take risks and impress her for once.
“She is...gonna wake up, isn't she?”
Sam Carter and Rodney McKay balance each other out perfectly, though not in the way most would agree on, to be a balance. They are both horribly proud of their work, and of their differing philosophies on science and life. However different their viewpoints may be, at the end of the day, the pair work things out. I consider it to be something of a Ron/Hermione (from Harry Potter) ship: bickering friends who haven't really gotten it right yet.
“Nothing can stop the destruction that I bring upon you! Oops, sorry, never mind.”
I've found this pairing intriguing mainly because I'm a sucker for the snarky ships, and this (no doubt about it) is a very snarky pairing. There's also still room for them in the canon. True, true, Jack/Sam will probably win out in the end, but in my mind Carter and McKay are still snogging off in a storage closet somewhere. Nobody could really tell if a long-term relationship would come of this ship, but I can definitely see either a serious short-term relationship, or a not-so-serious long-term relationship between the two. The long-term one comprising mostly of petty insults and occasional snogging. Maybe a date or two. You never know. And now that Jack won't be around as much...well. Anything is possible, eh?
“Very sexy. Very, very sexy.”
Resources
You can get a lot of Stargate-related info at www.gateworld.net, though beware, for they do harbor spoilers there. Also, the official Carter/McKay fanlisting is here.
Recs
Avon Calling by Nel is a nice little ficlet about what happens right before McKay leaves for the Atlantis mission.
Alyse's Web Collective. If you browse the Stargate Het, it's almost all Carter/McKay. Mostly drabbles, but clever nonetheless.
Know Me Broken is a longer, but lovely and touching piece by Sage, giving us a much more delicate look into the pair's relationship. Also a wonderful insight into the characters and the human mind.
Arrested Development, by Ruth,is a hilarious look into what would happen if Sam and Rodney moved in together. The sequel can be found here.
Daedalus Rebound, my little addition to this archive, since there isn't much Carter/McKay fic around. An AU “Siege Part III,” if you will. Bombs and chocolate and geeks all around!
Author: Jackie (Bringer of DOOM)
Spoilers: Sam's basic history, "48 Hours," "Redemption," "Moebius," and Atlantis' "Letters from Pegasus."
Email: tiana@moorecc.com
Personal Website: Prometheus Rebound: A Fanfic Archive
Notes: I'm actually a little early! That's pretty unusual. Feel free to add recs if you'd like. Most of my background for the characters was referenced from the Gateworld Omnipedia.
“Go Suck a Lemon”
The Sam Carter/Rodney McKay Essay
Sarcastic, snarky, and always at odds with each other - these are the foundations of Sam Carter and Rodney McKay's dynamic relationship in the Stargate universe. However, they manage to work together when the occasion requires it, and seem to have even grown somewhat fond of each other in the recent past. I'm not going to focus too much on Rodney's infatuation with Sam, since that's insanely canon to begin with; it'll be more on the small reactions Carter has to what he says, and the little things that show she really is attracted to him.
“I'm just...trying to bond.”
“...Why?”
Dr. Rodney McKay was first introduced on the SG-1 episode “48 Hours,” as the know-it-all pompous astrophysicist, meant to be something of a foil for Sam. He studies in the same field she does, but he's much more arrogant about his work; always convinced he is the one who's right. In “Redemption” we find out that McKay has always wanted to be a pianist, but he was only a “fine clinical player, no sense of the music whatsoever,” according to his instructor. McKay is now a fully-functioning member of the Atlantis team, where he tells everybody on the base what to do, how to do it, and bite their heads off when he's not the one doing it in the first place.
Captain Samantha Carter has a history that is more spread out through the SG-1 series, since (obviously) she's had quite a bit more screen time than McKay. She graduated top of her class at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and spent some time flying in enemy lines during the Persian Gulf War. Sam's mother died in a car accident when Sam was young, and this separated Sam and her brother from Jacob (their father), for a time, but Sam later forgave him. Sam was also possessed by the Tok'ra Jolinar, who later died to save her life and left a symbiote marker in Sam's body, allowing her to control Goa'uld technology. She later butted heads with McKay in his premier episode “48 Hours.”
“You know, we're obviously going to have to get over this physical attraction thing if we're going to work together.”
Carter and McKay are instantly at odds with each other in “48 Hours,” presumably from the moment that McKay said he wasn't particularly thrilled at actually seeing the Stargate in person. However, once the two get past their pride, they act as scientists do (albeit, more argumentatively than most) by listening to each other's viewpoints and breaking them down to their cores, to find out if they work or not for the situation at hand.
McKay says, after their argument over the Stargate problem, while they're eating lunch, “God, I wish I didn't find you so attractive. I've always had a weakness for...dumb blondes.” Though Carter was obviously stung by some of the things he said before this, she takes this as a complement of sorts, and seems to blush before she offers a retort. “Go suck a lemon.”
This episode, in particular, shows the differences in Carter and McKay's personalities. McKay is a realist, who takes very few risks, and when he does, they are calculated to the point where they're very unlikely to go wrong. This is part of the reason why he's such a renowned scientist. Carter, on the other hand, takes a lot more risks, and tends to lean more towards the theoretical part of the scientific spectrum. The reason she takes more risks is, as McKay put it, in part due to her personal connections to the team she's a part of. McKay seems not to have many emotional attachments at all, though again, we are not allowed to see much into his personal feelings or life in this episode.
In “Redemption,” as well, the pair manage to put aside their differences to find a way to save the world from an exploding Stargate. When Jack and Carter come back from their first attempt at destroying the Stargate, McKay shows his concern, though in a sarcastic tone of voice, making this easy to miss. “You're lucky, there's no way of telling how much damage an unstable hyperspace window could've caused.” There's a moment of silence as he stares at her and Carter gives a little smile, while everyone else wonders what the hell's going on, besides their usual bickering like an old married couple.
“Hey, Anubis, this is your agent. You're playing it way over the top; can you get serious, please?” Though this line is a bit inappropriate for the moment, it does underline how ridiculous Carter's previous statement about 'asking Anubis to stop his attack' sounds. Apparently Carter realizes this as well, since she gives a half-frustrated, half-amused sigh and a grin she quickly covers up before asking, “And you were saying?”
Also, throughout their escapade to save the planet for the second time, Carter and McKay still manage to joke around, sarcastic as they may be in doing so. As many people notice, their relationship at this point seems adolescent: insults and funny-faces and physical attractions abound!
All of this changes when Carter gets zapped by the EM pulse. McKay's first reaction is to run away from the danger; something we would all naturally do, for fear of being electrocuted. He comes back almost immediately after Carter gets hit, and states, “She's not gonna be happy when she wakes up, is she?” Then, a moment later, “She is...gonna wake up, isn't she?” This is the first instance we see where McKay isn't merely infatuated with Carter. He actually cares about her, and her well-being. He visits her in the infirmary a while later, admitting to her things he has never told anyone before, like his lifelong dream of becoming a pianist being crushed by his instructor. This also signifies what I believe to be a large step for McKay: he's shown that he trusts someone, which we haven't seen in him before. When Carter asks why he's sharing all of this with her, he falls out of sync with whatever rhythm he'd been following in order to remain relaxed around her, and reverts to his old nervous habit of joking: “Hospital gowns turn me on.” He ends the (fairly one-sided) discussion by admitting he was jealous of Carter, and that she was an artist, someone he admired. She visibly softens at this abrupt statement, and reassures him that the accident wasn't his fault. She also seems to relax around him, though in a different sort of way; it's as if she finally realizes that McKay is human, too.
Even as McKay asks if he could hold anything while she got dressed, Carter still finds him rather ridiculous. But she holds back a chuckle as she grabs her things to get ready to leave.
Carter, General Hammond, and two arguing scientists walk towards the control room, and we notice that Carter immediately leaves the other three in order to come over to the silent McKay, looking into the Gateroom. She asks him what he's thinking, which shows more of the fact that Carter values his opinion. He wonders what the “little alien guy's doing down there,” which leads Carter to question Jonas on the conclusion that will save the day once more!
At the end of this episode, Carter admits to finding McKay attractive, though she still despises him. She then gives him a kiss on the cheek, which takes McKay by surprise, leaving him standing there with a shocked expression on his face for quite a while.
“That means you don't hate me!”
Carter shrugs. “Maybe. Too bad for you.”
McKay's face falls. “Why?”
“I was more attracted to you when I did.”
“Really?” And McKay runs off to contemplate this further.
Carter and McKay's relationship plays off again in “Moebius,” though this time we are given the impression that Carter has no feelings whatsoever (other than annoyance and general creeped-out-ness) for McKay. However, this is an alternate universe, and things do change. We are, at least, given the canon that no matter which universe they are in, McKay will still be in love with Carter. Carter remains ambiguous, as her main romantic interest is (and likely will remain to be in the near future) Jack. In the current and hopefully remaining timeline and universe, Carter and McKay at least share some of their feelings for each other, much as Carter hates to admit it.
And in the Stargate: Atlantis episode “Letters from Pegasus,” we find that McKay has not yet forgotten about Carter.
“God - you see, I love blondes, especially with the, uh, the short hair. Mmm. Samantha Carter - if you're watching, the torch is still burning - sadly, soon to be extinguished, but, uh...You know, you should know - I think you are just...so...well, you're great - you're really, really great, and, uh, I would go so far as saying you're the hottest scientist I've ever worked with. In fact, there's probably not a night that goes by that I don't, uh, find myself, uh...okay, Ford, let's, let's lose that.”
This is as far as McKay gets to telling Carter his feelings; but for all we know, Ford may have kept that bit of the tape in the final cut, and Carter likely has seen it already. Her reaction? Well, that's anyone's guess. Some of the producers and writers are hinting at another big SG-1/Atlantis crossover, though, which would give McKay an opportunity to show Carter he's learned to take risks and impress her for once.
“She is...gonna wake up, isn't she?”
Sam Carter and Rodney McKay balance each other out perfectly, though not in the way most would agree on, to be a balance. They are both horribly proud of their work, and of their differing philosophies on science and life. However different their viewpoints may be, at the end of the day, the pair work things out. I consider it to be something of a Ron/Hermione (from Harry Potter) ship: bickering friends who haven't really gotten it right yet.
“Nothing can stop the destruction that I bring upon you! Oops, sorry, never mind.”
I've found this pairing intriguing mainly because I'm a sucker for the snarky ships, and this (no doubt about it) is a very snarky pairing. There's also still room for them in the canon. True, true, Jack/Sam will probably win out in the end, but in my mind Carter and McKay are still snogging off in a storage closet somewhere. Nobody could really tell if a long-term relationship would come of this ship, but I can definitely see either a serious short-term relationship, or a not-so-serious long-term relationship between the two. The long-term one comprising mostly of petty insults and occasional snogging. Maybe a date or two. You never know. And now that Jack won't be around as much...well. Anything is possible, eh?
“Very sexy. Very, very sexy.”
Resources
You can get a lot of Stargate-related info at www.gateworld.net, though beware, for they do harbor spoilers there. Also, the official Carter/McKay fanlisting is here.
Recs
Avon Calling by Nel is a nice little ficlet about what happens right before McKay leaves for the Atlantis mission.
Alyse's Web Collective. If you browse the Stargate Het, it's almost all Carter/McKay. Mostly drabbles, but clever nonetheless.
Know Me Broken is a longer, but lovely and touching piece by Sage, giving us a much more delicate look into the pair's relationship. Also a wonderful insight into the characters and the human mind.
Arrested Development, by Ruth,is a hilarious look into what would happen if Sam and Rodney moved in together. The sequel can be found here.
Daedalus Rebound, my little addition to this archive, since there isn't much Carter/McKay fic around. An AU “Siege Part III,” if you will. Bombs and chocolate and geeks all around!