“Hello, Kate,” Mac said as he looked up from his pad. “What brings you to the infirmary?”
She smiled, handing him a folder. “Actually, I need you or Carson to sign off on a script for one of my patients, since they’re on medication for a chronic condition as well.”
Taking the folder from her, he walked into his office and sat down to read it, Kate following behind and sitting opposite him. “Right,” he murmured, grabbing a pen to scribble a note and handing the folder back to her. “What you have shouldn’t interact with the prescription he’s already on, but all the same I would prefer if he popped by for a check up.”
Kate nodded. “Of course. I’ll pass it along.” Mac’s laptop beeped. Quirking a brow, she glanced at it. “Something important?”
Mac shrugged. “Not particularly. Kimberly is working on a search program for the Ancient database and I’m testing it out for her. It was just letting me know it hit results.”
“Ah. Yes, I imagine it would make life a lot easier for the departments if the database were easier to navigate. I’ve heard Dr. McKay offer his opinion often enough on the state of it,” she said, grinning.
Mac chuckled. “Aye, he has.” Leaning back in his chair, he eyed her carefully. “So how are you doing, Kate?”
Kate’s eyebrows rose further, her smile bemused now. “Shrinking the shrink?” she quipped. “I’m doing alright. I’m still getting used to having the Ancient technology work for me, to be honest. I find it slightly disconcerting to be able to lock a door by merely thinking about it, for example. Don’t get me wrong, it comes in handy at times, but with my line of work, you can’t help but ponder on what some of the consequences could be under certain circumstances.”
Narrowing his eyes, Mac leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. “Do you think that’s something we need to worry about?” Mac knew that Kate referred to the potential of the control being used against someone. As thorough as the screening had been for the expedition, he was well aware that there were some things that couldn’t always be caught until it was too late. Mac certainly hoped that they never would have to deal with any form of abuse among their people. They had more than enough to deal with in the day-to-day life in Pegasus, in his opinion, without adding that to the mix.
Kate inclined her head slightly. “It’s something I’ll always be wary of. I’ve seen too much not to, truth be told.”
Sighing, Mac nodded in understanding. “Aye, I know.” The laptop chimed again and Mac smiled apologetically.
Kate got to her feet. “I’ll let you get back to work. It sounds like you’ve got some reading to do,” she said easily.
“You let us know if something happens, won’t you?” Mac understood patient/doctor confidentiality, but there were things that he felt needed addressing ASAP if they ever cropped up.
“Of course, Mac. And that goes for you, too.”
“But of course.” Mac agreed readily. “It’s our duty to see to the health and safety of the expedition, after all. In every capacity.”
“So it is.” Kate smiled as she came around the desk and patted his shoulder. “Hope you find whatever it is you were looking for,” she said with a tilt of her head toward the screen.
He grinned. “Thanks. I’ll see you later, okay?”
With a nod of acknowledgement she headed out the door, leaving Mac to pore over his findings. He was rather glad that Carson was out on the mainland today because he had put Kimberly’s program to work looking for anything related to the DNA markers they had discovered, despite Carson’s insistence they stop looking. As he read over the results, his stomach flipped and his mind started to race. The markers were indicators of a soul bond? How was that even possible! Yet it seemed like that was the case.
Needing to confirm what he had read, Mac pulled up the results of the tests again and began to compile a list of matches. It took him a couple of hours to complete it, and, as he read over the names, it dawned on him that the list was incomplete. Every single ATA-carrier was on it – with or without a match in the system – except for Mac and one other.
Evan Lorne.
Mac’s heart beat wildly as he searched for their results. He frowned when he found them in a folder Carson had created and which included at least one of the logs that Mac’s search had brought up. Hand shaking, he clicked open the files and stared at his screen. They were a match. Evan was his soulmate, whatever that meant.
Worse, Carson had known and he had kept it from them. He had asked for Mac’s help, even. Stunned, Mac cupped his hands, covering his nose and mouth, eyes fixed on the markers. He couldn’t have looked away if he wanted to. His mind was spinning like mad on what this might mean for him. For Evan – especially for Evan. Growing up, he had heard people talk of soulmates, of course, but it had always been an over-romanticized notion to him. Something that simply meant two people feeling a profound love for each other, but this? This implied there was so much more to it than that.
Mac felt uneasy, almost unwilling as he minimized the screen when the search chimed again. Pulling up the latest logs, he started reading. The leaden feeling in his stomach got worse the more he read, eventually feeling more like molten lava than lead. The log contained the findings of a researcher into the soulbond, showing some of the core attributes of soulmates.
On the whole, it seemed as the two bonded were – and for some reason Mary Poppins popped in his head – ‘practically perfect in every way’. On some levels, they provided a yin/yang balance, on others, they were equally matched. They would always be drawn to each other and, though they could certainly find love outside of a soulbond if for some reason they never met their mate, they would never be complete without them.
Once a soul bond had been connected and fully consummated, they would gain a sense of each other much like one would with Ancient tech. You would know they were near, if they were hurt, and when they died, it was devastating to the mate left behind. Often, they would follow soon after, but there were a few cases mentioned where the surviving mate lived on, though it didn’t mention details.
Pushing away from his desk, Mac stumbled to his feet and began pacing his office. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real! Yet Mac couldn’t deny that he could feel the truth of it down to his bones. Scrubbing his face, he stared at the back of his laptop.
Evan was his soulmate, and Carson had known. Those were the two things Mac kept coming back to, unable to truly reconcile either. He was beyond pissed with Carson for the lack of honesty – or even outright betrayal – for keeping something as important as this from him. Why had the man not told him? Why had he insisted on stopping the search for further information? It didn’t make sense to him, and it hurt him on a level he couldn’t even begin to name.
And then there was Evan. What was Mac supposed to do now? How on Earth could he tell Evan they were soulmates after learning about Jim? He wasn’t naïve enough to believe that it wouldn’t mess with Evan’s head and heart to learn that the love of his life was not the mate of his soul. Yet how could he not tell? Keeping it from Evan would put him just as much at fault as Carson. Mac couldn’t see how either scenario would be a good thing for them. It would be a blow to Evan no matter what he ended up doing, and he wasn’t entirely certain their relationship, if one could call it that yet, could stand that sort of trial. Even if they were mates.
“Oh, fuck me,” he muttered desperately, lodging his fingers in his hair as he stared up at the ceiling.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“So,” Ioan said quietly while he waited for Kimberly to be done for the day. Casting a furtive glance around the room to ensure no one was within earshot, Ioan added, “It’s movie night tonight.”
Kimberly’s mouth twitched. “You don’t say?” She was falling hard for Ioan, she knew that, but she couldn’t resist teasing him.
The glare that came her way was mild at best and it had her stifling a chuckle. “They’re showing The Wizard of Oz. I thought maybe we could go see it together?”
Kimberly cast him a sideways look, taking in the faux-casual stance he was trying to convey, but she could see the underlying tension by the way his fingers twitched against his thigh. Like he was trying to keep from touching her. It made her smile. “Another date?” she whispered.
Ioan nodded, chewing the inside of his lip. She tapped her chin. “Which version?” she asked, attempting to keep a straight face.
“The Judy Garland one. Mitchell insisted,” Ioan said, sounding amused.
Grinning, she leaned against her desk. “Did he? Well, well, well, fancy that. Alright, then. The Wizard of Oz, it is.” She had the sense to not add ‘it’s a date’. “What time does it start?”
Checking his watch, Ioan shrugged. “About an hour and a half from now, so we’ll have time to grab a bite to eat beforehand.”
Turning back to what she was doing, she nodded. “Guess I’d better hurry up then. I would like to change into something not uniform-ish, if that’s okay with you.”
She could tell he was grinning as he stepped back. “Okay. I’ll leave you to it. Mess hall in fifteen?”
Kimberly nodded. “I’ll see you then.” She looked up to watch Ioan leave. She really was in trouble with him. Ioan appeared to be everything she’d ever wanted in a guy. Handsome, intelligent, loyal, brave, to name a few. And he seemed as taken with her as she was with him. She had never felt such a connection with anyone before, not that she had had a ton of boyfriends. She had been busy with either her studies or work, after all, but she wasn’t a virgin either.
Sighing, she shook her head at herself. It was all well and good, but the fact that they worked together bothered her. Not so much from her own sense of mores on the issue, but because of the regulations they had to work under. Still, she couldn’t wish for things to be different because if either of them hadn’t worked for the SGA, they would never have met at all. And life without Ioan in it seemed to be unfathomable to her already and they hadn’t even so much as kissed yet.
Hurrying through the process of logging out and putting the few things away that needed to be, she made it back to her apartment with just enough time to change into her favorite blue jeans and black knit sweater. Suppressing the nervous flutters in her stomach as she entered the mess hall, she scanned the room for Ioan. Kimberly frowned, feeling a little disappointed when she couldn’t find him.
A hand on her shoulder made her jump, and she turned to find Ioan standing behind her, grinning. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. I bumped into Evan on my way down and got held up. You ready to grab a bite?”
Eyeing him carefully, she tilted her head. “Everything alright with Evan?”
Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Ioan nodded. “Yeah, he just needed to check on something for tomorrow’s mission is all.”
Good. She was glad. She had seen Mac earlier and he had seemed upset, though he refused to talk to her about it. She had gone to check on what he thought of her program now that he had used it for a couple of days. She always liked to have other people check on things like that, because while she knew how something was supposed to work and found it easy to use a program she had created, she had realized early on in her career that the same could not be said for someone not as skilled with computers. Which is why she had given access to Mac, Major Sheppard, and Elizabeth for them to give her input.
Putting on her brightest smile to cover her worry for her friend, she nodded. “Then let’s eat, shall we? We can’t be late for the movie,” she added with a wink as she made her way to the line. They spent dinner talking, mostly about her new search program and Ioan’s upcoming mission to a potential trade world. They were so engrossed, they almost didn’t make it to the makeshift theater on time. The theater was basically a large room that had a blank wall and enough space to place several rows of chairs. Not the most comfortable of ways to watch a movie, but it gave a bit of normalcy and nostalgia that everyone was willing to put up with.
Sliding into their seats, Kimberly noticed Carson and Miko a couple of rows in front of them. Good for them, she thought. As the music started, she leaned into Ioan and whispered in his ear, “I have a feeling we’re not the only ones here on a date.”
Ioan shivered, turning to look at her questioningly. Jerking her head to indicate Carson and Miko, she grinned up at Ioan. “Carson’s been in love with Miko for ages, and she him. They just keep tap dancing around each other. Looks like one of them finally asked the other out.”
There was an unreadable look in Ioan’s eye as he shook his head. “I’m not so sure. I heard Carson talk about the movie at lunch. Miko overheard him and asked about it. She said something about loving old movies and when Carson suggested they go together the man all but stumbled all over himself to reassure her there was no hidden agenda.”
Kimberly groaned, closing her eyes as she rested her forehead against Ioan’s shoulder. “Please tell me you’re joking,” she mumbled.
Briefly reaching up to touch her cheek, Ioan chuckled softly. “Sorry.”
Straightening, Kimberly sighed and shrugged with a ‘well, what can you do?’ look at Ioan. Their eyes met and it took all her willpower not to lean in and kiss him there and then. Oh, how she wanted to feel his lips against hers. Ioan, too, appeared to be struggling before shaking his head and clearing his throat. “Movie?” he asked hoarsely.
Shifting, she sat as close to him as she dared without it being inappropriate and tried to pay attention to the movie. Maybe she could convince Ioan to come to her apartment afterward, and they could finally have that kiss. Or even more.
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