The Writing’s on the Wall - BtVS/SGA - Faith/Rodney McKay - PG
Title: The Writing’s on the Wall
Author: Vesica
Rating: FR-13/PG
Fandom/Characters: BtVS/Stargate Atlantis
Fic-For-All Pairing: Faith & Rodney McKay
Disclaimer: Just a bit of mucking about in other people’s sandboxes.
Word count: 816
Notes: I can’t even write a double drabble right. This was supposed to be for tthdrabbles “thirteen” challenge, but as you can see, the Muse was feeling wordy.
Summary: McKay doesn’t know what’s more annoying - that someone else solved the problem or that the someone was Faith. Strike that - it’s the Faith part that is bothering him. No question.
“You done yet?”
“No.”
Faith kicked her heels against the desk she was sitting on, taping out the rhythm to the chorus of “Fight for Your Right (To Party)”. She hummed a few bars before asking again, “How ‘bout now?”
McKay stopped squinting at the pile of papers in front of him long enough to glare at her. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”
“Nope. You said we could go find some trouble to get into in one of the unexplored parts of the city.”
“I am positive I never said anything even remotely like that.”
“Okay, technically YOU said you thought you’d located a lab worth checking out somewhere out in the boonies and WEIR said to take someone with you and I said I’d tag along and then YOU mumbled something rude and said fine.” Faith shrugged, “Same thing really.”
McKay didn’t even bother to glare at her for that, content to again mumble something to himself.
“So, what’s the hold up?”
“Zelenka was in the middle of trying to get this working again.” He held up a rectangular object with some sort of display screen. “We think the problem is the connection here, but it keep burning through the wires every time we activate it. He said he thought he might have a solution but he didn’t say what and now he’s off larking about.”
Faith snickered. “I thought he got dragged to M8R-227 to do some analysis on air or something. He didn’t seem too happy about going.”
McKay waved her explanation away impatiently. “Whatever the reason, he isn’t here and all I have to go on are his notes - which are half in Czech. There is something here about decay and some numbers. 29 but that’s crossed through…” He squinted, “Is that a 13 or ‘is’? His handwriting is terrible.”
At this rate they were going to be here all day. Faith hopped down from her perch. “Lemme see?”
“Of course,” McKay said with a wry smile. “Why didn’t I think to ask the high school dropout if she could translate Czech?”
Faith ignored him, flipping back and forth between the pages of notes as if checking something. “You can’t be serious, Faith. Give them back and let me get back to work.”
He reached for the notes, but Faith moved them out of his reach.
“It’s a 13. Aluminum?” She flipped back a few pages. “So that’s copper and that’s…I dunno, silver?”
His eyes lit up, mind going a million miles an hour, as he snatched the papers back.
“Of course! There must have been an insulate layer originally but it would have degraded over time and wire that was there melted completely when we tried to activate it. We didn’t think to check for residue. It could work, but we’d still have to account for the-”
He stopped and looked at her as if she’d just sprouted a second head. “How exactly do you know about the thermal conductive properties of aluminum?”
“I don’t. It says aluminum right there.” Faith tilted her head to one side, pointing to a line of hastily scribbled text. “Well, actually it says “al-m-u-n” and some squiggles. His handwriting really is terrible. So, yeah, with the thirteen…”
He was still staring at her. “Again, I ask HOW?”
“Don’t get your panties twisted, McKay. It wasn’t rocket science.” Faith took hold of his chin and turned his head, until he was looking at a periodic table hanging on the wall of the lab. “I’ve had nothing to do for the past hour but stare at that. Aluminum, atomic number 13. Copper's 29. I can’t believe you people don’t have any decent games on these computers.”
Faith let go of him and grinned happily at his sour expression. “So - problem solved. Can we go now?”
McKay blinked a few times, still trying to process what had just happened. “Er…I suppose. I just need to leave some instructions for the tech…what’s her name…to finish the testing.”
“Miko?” Faith suggested helpfully.
“Yeah, her,” McKay was already absorbed in typing out his directions for the next steps of the research.
“I’ll just go get some sandwiches for our little field trip ‘cause there’s no way I waiting for you to have lunch.” Faith started to leave, but thought of something else. “And don’t worry McKay, I won’t tell anyone the…what was that? Oh yes, “the nearly feral street punk with more energy than a gerbil on speed’ solved your big, bad problem for you.”
He almost looked embarrassed for a minute, but the look quickly vanished at her smug grin. He waited until she was out the door before mumbling something else about Slayer abilities and what was most likely an anatomical impossibility.
Not long enough though, as her laugh drifted back to him from the hall. “I heard that too. Keep it up, McKay, and you’ll never find out if I can. And trust me - You wanna find out.”
END.
Author: Vesica
Rating: FR-13/PG
Fandom/Characters: BtVS/Stargate Atlantis
Fic-For-All Pairing: Faith & Rodney McKay
Disclaimer: Just a bit of mucking about in other people’s sandboxes.
Word count: 816
Notes: I can’t even write a double drabble right. This was supposed to be for tthdrabbles “thirteen” challenge, but as you can see, the Muse was feeling wordy.
Summary: McKay doesn’t know what’s more annoying - that someone else solved the problem or that the someone was Faith. Strike that - it’s the Faith part that is bothering him. No question.
“You done yet?”
“No.”
Faith kicked her heels against the desk she was sitting on, taping out the rhythm to the chorus of “Fight for Your Right (To Party)”. She hummed a few bars before asking again, “How ‘bout now?”
McKay stopped squinting at the pile of papers in front of him long enough to glare at her. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”
“Nope. You said we could go find some trouble to get into in one of the unexplored parts of the city.”
“I am positive I never said anything even remotely like that.”
“Okay, technically YOU said you thought you’d located a lab worth checking out somewhere out in the boonies and WEIR said to take someone with you and I said I’d tag along and then YOU mumbled something rude and said fine.” Faith shrugged, “Same thing really.”
McKay didn’t even bother to glare at her for that, content to again mumble something to himself.
“So, what’s the hold up?”
“Zelenka was in the middle of trying to get this working again.” He held up a rectangular object with some sort of display screen. “We think the problem is the connection here, but it keep burning through the wires every time we activate it. He said he thought he might have a solution but he didn’t say what and now he’s off larking about.”
Faith snickered. “I thought he got dragged to M8R-227 to do some analysis on air or something. He didn’t seem too happy about going.”
McKay waved her explanation away impatiently. “Whatever the reason, he isn’t here and all I have to go on are his notes - which are half in Czech. There is something here about decay and some numbers. 29 but that’s crossed through…” He squinted, “Is that a 13 or ‘is’? His handwriting is terrible.”
At this rate they were going to be here all day. Faith hopped down from her perch. “Lemme see?”
“Of course,” McKay said with a wry smile. “Why didn’t I think to ask the high school dropout if she could translate Czech?”
Faith ignored him, flipping back and forth between the pages of notes as if checking something. “You can’t be serious, Faith. Give them back and let me get back to work.”
He reached for the notes, but Faith moved them out of his reach.
“It’s a 13. Aluminum?” She flipped back a few pages. “So that’s copper and that’s…I dunno, silver?”
His eyes lit up, mind going a million miles an hour, as he snatched the papers back.
“Of course! There must have been an insulate layer originally but it would have degraded over time and wire that was there melted completely when we tried to activate it. We didn’t think to check for residue. It could work, but we’d still have to account for the-”
He stopped and looked at her as if she’d just sprouted a second head. “How exactly do you know about the thermal conductive properties of aluminum?”
“I don’t. It says aluminum right there.” Faith tilted her head to one side, pointing to a line of hastily scribbled text. “Well, actually it says “al-m-u-n” and some squiggles. His handwriting really is terrible. So, yeah, with the thirteen…”
He was still staring at her. “Again, I ask HOW?”
“Don’t get your panties twisted, McKay. It wasn’t rocket science.” Faith took hold of his chin and turned his head, until he was looking at a periodic table hanging on the wall of the lab. “I’ve had nothing to do for the past hour but stare at that. Aluminum, atomic number 13. Copper's 29. I can’t believe you people don’t have any decent games on these computers.”
Faith let go of him and grinned happily at his sour expression. “So - problem solved. Can we go now?”
McKay blinked a few times, still trying to process what had just happened. “Er…I suppose. I just need to leave some instructions for the tech…what’s her name…to finish the testing.”
“Miko?” Faith suggested helpfully.
“Yeah, her,” McKay was already absorbed in typing out his directions for the next steps of the research.
“I’ll just go get some sandwiches for our little field trip ‘cause there’s no way I waiting for you to have lunch.” Faith started to leave, but thought of something else. “And don’t worry McKay, I won’t tell anyone the…what was that? Oh yes, “the nearly feral street punk with more energy than a gerbil on speed’ solved your big, bad problem for you.”
He almost looked embarrassed for a minute, but the look quickly vanished at her smug grin. He waited until she was out the door before mumbling something else about Slayer abilities and what was most likely an anatomical impossibility.
Not long enough though, as her laugh drifted back to him from the hall. “I heard that too. Keep it up, McKay, and you’ll never find out if I can. And trust me - You wanna find out.”
END.