Chapter Text
It was a couple of months before the results of Dr. Butler's search filtered through to me; I'd expected as much, and had spent my seriously considerable down-time reading. I had no clue to what kind of situation Dave'd had the PDA designed for, but it was sweet: the couple-three times someone grabbed it out of my hands to see what I was reading, it showed the fourth chapter of The Brothers Karamatzov, each time a few pages further ahead. Now, that is a boss-button I can really get behind. Boss-sensor?
Whatever.
What I was reading was enough to scare the magazine out of my P90, so I was grateful, kind of, that the galaxy was pretty calm just then. Not that my team didn't get into trouble, but it was separate trouble, the kind I am supposed to let them alone to get into, and it usually left me hanging out in the city. Rodney fell down a hole with Carter and Keller. Ronon had to go Earthside for a performance review, which wound up including, and getting rid of, a small Wraith invasion. Teyla kept looking for her people, in complete defiance of every "take it easy" command I gave her, which, okay: par for the fucking course, right? My whole team smiles indulgently and goes and does whatever the hell they want if they don't agree with me.
I sent email to Dave a couple of times, and he wrote back to me promptly, so that channel was open. We sent snail-mail back and forth, and neither of us got that, so theory proved. I took it to Carter, Dave took it up with, God help us, the Postmaster General, and we kinda sat back to see what sort of fox the hounds would scare up there.
Dave sent me the twenty people that Dr. Butler had picked, and I spent a solid week poking through the files - got Lorne to help me, and Carter had some things to say, and Rodney poked his nose in once or twice. We really had been suffering both with no psych and with the temps, so it was a project we were all actually behind. We pared it down to five, with a possible sixth, and Carter sent the files under her name back to the SGC. Goal there being to have the IOC take it seriously. God knows what they'd think I might be after, although we spent dinner one night cracking up at Rodney's guesses.
Bernadine Abigail Jernigan showed up in the last batch of newbies before everything hit the fan - about a week before. Lorne had rounded up the military folks, including the female Rangers I'd requested for help on certain specific planets, and was running through roll-call with a list. Rodney was in full voice with his latest batch of teen-aged kittens, all curiosity and pounce, and he and Radek were trying to keep them from killing us all before they got them to the big conference room to orient them. Lorne had detailed a squad of Wojskas to herd them at Rodney's request: the big Poles, between having to deal directly with The Dread McKay and having been told to Think of Wraith, were as grim a set of non-American military as anyone could hope for, and were, temporarily, capable of cowing the newbies into a certain level of compliance.
Later, of course, they would find out Szukała was a complete weakling for baked goods, and Podgórny sang at the drop of a glass, Pług would actually consent to repair rips in your uniform, and would barter for whatever you could offer, and Kwiatkowski was tending a pet plant under Parrish' strict supervision, and their ability to scare the newbies into behaving would be lost. However, by that time Rodney would have them under control. So: worth it.
Medical staff were being corralled by our resident barbie - I really shouldn't call her that, she's quite competent, but she gets on my nerves sometimes. Carter waded into the new medicos, and came out towing a barrel-shaped older woman with pale short hair, and dragged her off to her office, talking a mile a minute. And that was the first I saw of her.
~@~
It was two days and ten visits to the infirmary later (six military, four geek) that I got a call from Carter to attend a meet-and-greet in her quarters at eighteen-hundred. The Daedalus had brought us new uniforms, so I finished explaining the difference between senior scientists and newbie geeks, and when you have to jump-to and why, to the disgruntled or bruised military that had had orientation at the SGC, but no actual geek-experience.
And turned them over to the sergeants, and went to clean myself up. Uniforms with no burns, no stains, and no mended places: bliss! Even made it worthwhile to shave again.
Apparently the meet-and-greet was heads-of-staff plus seconds: Lorne was there, and McKay with Zelenka, and Bar- um, Dr. Keller and Dr. Biro.
Teyla was not there. Not with Halling - which, right, Halling was on New Athos - and not with Ronon. I twitched an eyebrow at Carter, and she lifted her chin at me. Okay, fine. Protocol. I was there as head of military, not as part of SGA-1. We had to limit this meeting, or we would be drowned in the people who wanted to meet her. I'd introduce her to the rest of the team soon.
Dr. Jernigan had a very soft Georgia accent, low and kind, and told us all to call her Bernie, because doctors had to do a lot more work than she did, which made Rodney happy. Carter made sure we were loaded down with snacks and beer, and made us sit down to talk.
"I swear to God that you need to make my mental health a priority, because when I have my breakdown, Atlantis will fall into the sea with those moronic ..."
"I must agree, but not because of imminent stabilizer failure. No, without proper supervision, these learned people will burn entire city down, which takes much talent when city is floating ..."
"I really don't know how those two escaped Kwiatkowski, sir, he's usually much more alert than that ..."
"And," I put in, "I've told all our greenhorns that they are to follow orders only from their sergeants until they are personally presented to the command staff." I sat back with a huff. "Frickin' idiots. I agree with Rodney: until his people are under control, we are all at risk."
Dr. Jernigan blinked brown eyes at us. "This sounds very dangerous, but I don't understand. Aren't all the scientists here very intelligent?"
Rodney sucked in a huge breath to expostulate, and then let it all out wordlessly, falling back into his chair and poking gloomily among his ... vegetables. I frowned. There was chocolate, in cake and in other goodies; but Rodney only had - I caught his glance at B - Dr. Keller. Oh. He only had healthy things on his plate. I left Zelenka explaining to Dr. Jernigan the dangers of highly intelligent people who were used to being the only ones who could understand things in our sort of environment, and went to get some real treats for Rodney.
He really does put his mental and physical health on the line for us every day, and twice as much in a crisis. He deserves to be pampered a little when we can do it. Like right after a Daedalus run. I put together a good plate for him, and decided that Dr. Z. deserved one as well.
"I do, of course, hope to settle in a bit, maybe learn a little about your wonderful city, and get familiar with the hazards, but surely, Dr. McKay, you have only to ask and I will lend a most willing ear." I grinned to myself as I swapped out Rodney's plate - spilling a carrot stick as he failed to let go in time - and doing a much more graceful exchange with Dr. Z. Rodney had competition in the sentence-length division.
I ignored Dr. Keller's glare and settled back into my chair, excusing my own silence with a mouthful of Rodney's broccoli and dip. Chocolate is his thing. Mine - is Terran veggies.
Dr. J. did a really good gather-everyone's-attention set of moves, straight out of my best instructor's class at the academy, and we all obediently paid silent attention.
"I do want to say this, because it had come to my attention Earthside that there have been problems between the military and my profession. Let us not have any such problem here."
She looked around at us. I blinked, heavily.
"It is no part of my mandate to make recommendations, let alone orders, that any person should be either relieved of duty or sent back to Earth."
Carter was looking faintly and grimly pleased.
"My assignment is to assist you all in surviving your work with as much mental health as is consonant with your well-being and your ability to continue to do the work with which you are tasked. I shall do so on request only, and only toward the goals chosen by the person with whom I am working.
"Now, I do have to tell you, and to ask that you tell your people, that all your files have been opened to me. This was not at my request, but appears to be necessary to the kind of work you folks do here. This way, at least I won't have to ask consarned idiotic questions in the middle of a session. Which leads me to my last bit.
"I have been asked to keep my eyes open for situations where people are altered from their normal states, given the kind of compromise to which you all have found yourselves vulnerable. I ask that you pass this along as well."
Rodney was beginning to blow up like a balloon in dismay, and Dr. J finished hastily.
"I'd like to visit with you all in all kinds of situations, just to establish a baseline. If I could have two weeks to settle in and get to know all your folks a little?"
"We are not nice people!" Rodney exploded, and she soothed him down: "Exactly, Dr. McKay, and I need to know what kind of not-niceness is normal so that, for example, should I find you painting daisies on the wall, I'll know to call on Major Lorne and a squad of Marines to escort you to the hospital!"
I couldn't help it. I sniggered myself out of my chair.
~@~
Like I said, it wasn't long after that that the sanitation system hit the big rotor. Teyla was kidnapped while looking for her missing people. I was tossed into the future and got to see what disaster looks like - my poor city. And Michael set a trap for us that, like the idiot I am, I led us right into.
When it was all over, we had gained Teyla, the remnants of her people, her baby, which she named for me and not for Rodney!, and the clone of our lamented Carson Beckett. Go us.
We had lost nearly a squad of my men, most of Teyla's people, a Jumper! and most likely Michael along with it, and Colonel Carter, although at least she wasn't dead, just recalled by the IOA.
And I was confined to bed for the foreseeable future, Dr. Keller having taken extreme objection to my insistence on going after Teyla with my team and, uh, some crushed ribs. And that puncture.
Hey, that piece of rebar wasn't that thick. But anyway, she had taped me up and shot me up so I could go, so staying put afterwards was a small price to pay.
And, to tell the truth, I was a bit tired.