“Where do you want this, doc?” Ioan asked, trying his best not to drop the heavy box filled with equipment. Williams grunted as he shifted his end of it.
Radek and Mac both turned to the soldiers, unsure who was being addressed. “Ah, yes, yes,” Radek muttered. “Please, put over there, Lieutenant. Next to kettle. Careful please, so as not to break beakers, yes?”
Ioan grinned as they did as directed. He rather liked the little Czech man. “So, doc, how’d you convince the higher ups to okay a distillery?” Ioan asked even as Williams left the room.
Radek grinned mischievously. “Actually, I didn’t.”
Mac coughed into his fist, giving Ioan a sly look. “I did. Alcohol is one of the main antiseptics we can produce, after all. There are many applications,” he added seriously.
Barking out a laugh, Ioan shook his head incredulous. “And they bought that?”
Mac chuckled. “General O’Neill did not take much convincing. In fact, he seemed rather miffed he hadn’t thought of it himself.”
“Nice. I’ve always liked him.”
“General O’Neill is good man,” Radek agreed.
“Well, I’m looking forward to seeing what you two manage to do with this thing,” Ioan said, patting the kettle. “Good luck. I better get back to work.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kimberly surveyed the empty space with a critical eye. “You sure this one’ll work best, Miko?” she asked her friend. She had to admit the room was large enough to house all the sewing paraphernalia and other craft related things. The light in here was great – as was the view – thanks to an entire wall of windows. They’d already discarded several other areas before finding this one and, in all honesty, Kimberly just wanted to be done.
Miko cast another glance around, then nodded. Her face was alight with pleasure at the prospect of working here. “Hai! It will be perfect. You’ll see.”
Smiling, Kimberly chuckled. “You seem pretty eager for this. I didn’t realize you were such a seamstress,” she teased.
Miko turned to her wide-eyed. “I learn to sew when all I could find in shops was clothes for young girls. Is hard to find suitable wardrobe if you don’t want to wear Hello Kitty.”
Markham, who was walking up behind them pushing a cart with sewing machines and bolts of cloth on it, snorted a laugh. Quickly turning it into a cough, he mumbled, “Sorry.”
Stackhouse, following along with a cart full of tables, laughed at his friend. Shaking his head, he grinned at Miko. “Where would you like these set up, ma’am?”
Kimberly’s lips twitched as she fought a smile. She studiously looked out the windows to avoid meeting her friend’s eyes. She heard Miko’s stifled amusement, though.
“Set up here, and here if you would, and leave the rest against the wall. Will figure it out once we have unpacked everything and start working,” Miko said quietly.
Once the sergeants were done, they left the two women to their own devices. Pushing up her sleeves, Kimberly shot a quick glance at Miko. “You know, I’m actually a little surprised that McKay doesn’t have all of us slaving away, trying to figure out every little thing they’ve discovered so far.” Kimberly was fine with getting the household part of the equation over with as fast as possible, but she couldn’t deny wanting to start doing the real work, either. They’d been hard at it for days already, finding places to live, to use as offices, gyms, changing rooms. The list was ongoing but at least they were nearing the end, since this would be one of the last spaces to set up.
Pausing from opening a box, Miko hummed thoughtfully. “I suspect he would, except Dr. Weir has said the tech will be there later and we need to settle in as much as possible first. All we do now is go through everything as we can, organizing as we go. Dr. McKay and Dr. Grodin are busy connecting our computers to the Ancient consoles in the control room and the lab Dr. McKay will be using, and now distillery is set up and running, Dr. Zelenka will help them.”
Kimberly nodded. She knew that, of course, but she had still been surprised by it, knowing how eager Rodney had been to get started. Dr. Weir had a point, though. It was probably a good idea to get things set up as quickly as possible. Who knew what they would need or when, and working out what was where in a crisis situation could prove disastrous. Of course, the same could be said for figuring out all the Ancient technology in the same situation, but they could only do their best.
They worked for a while, sorting through the boxes and getting a couple of sewing machines set up and in working order. They had just maneuvered a small weaving loom – still unassembled – into the spot Miko had picked for it when Ioan knocked on a table to get their attention.
“Hey,” he said, smiling. “How’s it going? Did you two need any help with anything?”
Straightening, Kimberly brushed her hair out of her face and smiled. “No, we’re good, thanks.”
Ioan looked almost disappointed, she thought. Clearing his throat, he scratched the back of his neck. “Okay. Well… Evan said they had the kitchen all set up and would be serving actual food for lunch rather than MREs. Would you like to grab some?”
Kimberly bit her lip to keep from grinning at the hint of a blush on Ioan’s cheeks. She found it far too alluring for her own good, not that she’d admit that to anyone. Well, maybe to a girlfriend after a bottle of wine, but certainly not to anyone else. “Sure. I’d like that.”
He really was cute, she thought as she stared just a beat too long into his eyes. Shaking her head, she turned to Miko. “You hungry?” Without waiting for an answer, she hooked her arm through Miko’s and said cheerfully, “C’mon. Any votes on what’s being served? I say mashed potatoes with gravy, and Salisbury steak, with jello for dessert.”
As they passed Ioan, who was looking mildly disappointed, she slipped her free arm through his and winked. She chuckled at the transformation on his face as the three of them headed toward what had been dubbed the mess hall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Later, Carson, I’m busy,” Rodney said, waving him off before Carson had even finished saying hello.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Carson huffed. “I can see that. When’s the last time you ate, lad?”
“Ate?” Rodney asked confused, actually having to think about his answer.
“Yes, Rodney, ate. You know, that thing you do where you put food in your mouth and generally chew and swallow in order to nourish your body and avoid going into hypoglycemic shock?” Carson snarked, though there was no real bite to it. He knew his friend too well after all this time. When he got absorbed in his work, everything else was forgotten including his basic needs, which in Rodney’s case could lead to dire consequences. It was, after all, why Carson had sought him out in order to make sure Rodney wouldn’t end up in the infirmary.
Finally raising his head, Rodney mumbled, “Idon’tremember… I think I had a PowerBar this morning?”
“A PowerBar. Right.” Sighing, Carson grabbed Rodney’s shoulder and manhandled his friend out of his office. “Lunch for you, lad. No arguments. Doctor’s orders.”
Rodney protested more out of habit than anything else as they walked along the corridor. When Carson didn’t relent, Rodney huffed. “Fine, but there better not be anything lemony in sight.”
“I know, Rodney,” Carson said patiently, rolling his eyes.
Snapping his fingers, Rodney suddenly grinned. “Hey, Carson. How is your gene therapy coming along? Are you going to be ready to test it out soon?”
Carson grinned. “Aye, I am, actually. I think I’ve gotten the right sequence down. It helped to have Major Sheppard’s DNA since his ATA is so much stronger. I’m going to try it on the mice this afternoon as a matter of fact,” he said happily, feeling quite pleased with himself. If this worked, then Rodney and his minions wouldn’t need to bother him for anything gene-related anymore, which suited Carson just fine. If he never had to sit in a chair like in Antarctica again, it would be too soon for him, and Carson was aware that Atlantis supposedly had one as well.
Rodney rubbed his hands together with glee. “And when it’s ready, I go first. Right? That is what we agreed on,” he reminded Carson.
“I know, Rodney. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten.”
When they walked into the mess hall, it was packed. It surprised Carson, though he supposed it shouldn’t now that the kitchens were actually functioning and proper meals were being prepared as opposed to what the military deemed fit for human consumption.
Of course, Rodney lamented the lack of MREs, and loudly so. “But I like them. I like knowing exactly what’s in them. No mystery foods and no surprise lemon.”
Carson had impressed on everyone who would share kitchen duty that there were a few cases of severe allergies among the expedition members. Some of them were already aware of Rodney’s extreme reaction to anything citrus, having worked in the mountain prior to sorting to Atlantis. What Rodney probably wasn’t aware of was that Carson also had made sure that they had taken citrus free cleaners along, so he was fairly confident that there would be no contamination risks for his friend. “Don’t worry, Rodney. No lemons. Now hurry up and get your food, there’s a line forming.”
As soon as they both had their mac ‘n cheese, broccoli, and chicken, they looked around for a table. Kimberly waved them over. “Carson, Rodney, come sit with us.”
‘Us’ turned out to be the Lornes, Major Sheppard, Kimberly, and Dr. Kusanagi, leaving only one seat open. Frowning, Carson opened his mouth to object when Major Lorne got to his feet. “Don’t worry, doc, I was leaving anyway. Have to get back on duty, so feel free to take my seat,” he said with a smile.
“Ah, well, alright then. Thank you, Major.” Carson’s smile widened at the prospect of sharing a table with Miko, then faltered when Rodney took the seat next to Major Sheppard, leaving only the one next to Miko open, with Kimberly opposite Carson.
“C’mon, Carson, before your food gets cold,” cajoled Kimberly with a teasing smile.
Carson glanced at Miko. “Do you mind?” he asked her quietly, his throat suddenly dry. When she shook her head with a shy smile, he took a steadying breath and sat down. “Thank you,” he murmured.
Finding himself tongue-tied, Carson concentrated on his food, though he ended up picking at it more than eating it while the conversations flowed around him. Rodney and the major were discussing Atlantis’ technology, while Kimberly and the younger Lorne brother were discussing the aesthetics of the city.
Kimberly kicked Carson under the table, causing him to hiss and grab his shin. Glaring at her, he mouthed, “What was that for?” Kimberly rolled her eyes, nodded pointedly at Miko and returned his glare. He got the message quite plainly: Talk to her!
Right. He could do that. He could. Taking a drink of water, he gathered his nerve, then turned to Miko. “So how are you enjoying the city so far, Doctor?” Carson flinched. He might as well have asked her about the weather. He was such an idiot sometimes. Still, he couldn’t very well take the words back, so he waited for her to answer.
Miko chuckled, her hand covering her mouth. Clearing her throat lightly, she blushed and couldn’t quite meet his eyes. “Please, forgive me. I like Atlantis very much. Like I told Ioan our first day, I have not known this sense of peace in many years. Atlantis, she feels like home, does she not?”
Carson couldn’t quite help the goofy smile that spread over his lips. “Aye, that she does, lass.”
They made small talk after that, mostly sticking to things related to the city, with everyone participating in the conversation. Half an hour later, Kimberly got to her feet with a sigh. “Suppose we’d better get back to it, too, Miko.”
Miko nodded, then paused as she got to her feet. Leaning in to Carson, she said quietly, “You call me Miko, yes?”
Carson’s eyes widened, as did his smile. “Aye. Thank you, lass. If you’ll call me Carson.”
“Hai. Have a good day, Carson,” Miko murmured, blushing beautifully.
“You, too,” Carson managed a beat late, staring after her as she and Kimberly left the mess hall.
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