SquidgeWorld Archive

Kamloops
by Jalabert

"Of all places for the Puddle Jumper to go down it had to choose this place," John said. He pulled out his radio and tried to raise Teyla with no success. "She should be back at the Jumper by now," he said worriedly.

"I'm sure she made it, sir," Aiden said with a slight wince.

"Well, where the hell is she, then?" John demanded impatiently. "We need those medical supplies."

"She probably can't communicate through the storm, sir. And as bad as it looks out there she's better off staying put, anyway."

"You need those meds and that splint," John argued. "I knew I should have gone myself."

"Teyla knows these woods better than either of us. She was right; you could easily have gotten lost."

"She could get lost too, in white-out conditions."

"Major Sheppard."

John sighed in relief as Teyla's voice came over the radio.

"Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Teyla. Where are you?"

"I'm in the Puddle Jumper. I've got the med kit but Dr. McKay has refused to let me return to you. He says it's too dangerous."

John and Aiden exchanged a look. Aiden nodded grimly and John relented.

"He's right, Teyla. Stay put. Ford and I will tough it out here."

"Are you sure, major? I am willing to take the risk--."

"I'm not," John said firmly. "You stay safe and out of the weather. As soon as it clears you can come and get us."

"Very well, major. Be careful."

"I will, Teyla. Sheppard out."

John stuffed the radio into the pocket of his parka and crossed the floor to where Aiden sat, his back propped against the wall of the small shack they'd found just before the storm took a turn for the worse. Atlantis' premier field unit had been sent to explore the planet that John had promptly labeled "Kamloops" over the lieutenant's strong protest. They'd found no sign of human occupation, just a few temple ruins, a deserted village and a herd of what looked like very short buffaloes. Rodney had flatly refused to venture out into the snow, but John, Teyla and Aiden had braved the cold to go and search the area.

Aiden and John were currently holed up in the only intact building, approximately a mile from the Puddle Jumper. They'd been forced to land it near the Stargate. The terrain would not allow them to land any closer to the deserted village. A short distance from the shack, Aiden had slipped on the ice and probably broken his ankle. Teyla and John had half-carried, half-dragged him to the shelter of the shack. The wind had picked up and a storm was clearly brewing. Once Aiden was settled, Teyla headed back to the Jumper for medical supplies. There would be no getting Aiden out of there without Rodney's help--or at the very least some sort of splint.

"Another lovely day at the Shanks Shack," John said with false cheer as he slid down the wall and sat beside Aiden.

"The 'Shanks Shack,' sir?"

"Nice alliteration, lieutenant," John replied. "Yes, the Shanks Shack. I once went skiing in Kamloops and met a guy who bore remarkable resemblance to--. Never mind. Suffice to say we spent a lovely weekend in a tiny cabin much like this one," John said looking around. When his eyes returned to the lieutenant's he saw Ford staring at him open-mouthed. "Flies, lieutenant."

"Huh?"

"Well, maybe not in this weather; but your tongue could freeze its ass off," he teased.

"What?"

"Never mind, Ford," John said as he dug around in his pockets for an energy bar.

"Did you just say what I think you just said?"

"It was a joke, lieutenant!"

"I meant about the cabin."

"Oh. Sure," he said with a full mouth. "Why?"

"Don't ask, don't tell, sir?"

"I didn't say we slept together, lieutenant..."

"Did you?"

"Hell, yeah. He was hot!" John smiled at the memory and Aiden smiled at John's dreamy look. John caught him at it but pretended not to notice. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"Me, sir? Tell anyone what?"

"Good man, Ford. So how are you holding up?"

"Never better, sir," Aiden replied grimly.

"Hang in there, lieutenant," John said empathetically, placing a hand on his shoulder before he slid forward towards the hearth. "Let's see if we can start this thing."

"I don't recommend that, sir."

"Why not? Would you rather freeze to death?"

"I'd rather freeze to death than suffocate, sir. That fireplace hasn't been used in who knows how long. We have no way of knowing what's up the chimney. If the flue is blocked we could set the whole place on fire or create a hazardous smoke condition."

"You're a regular ray of sunshine, Ford. All you've done since we got here is list the number of ways we could die," John said as he got to his feet. "We may be stuck here a while and we've got to keep you warm or you'll go into shock. Any ideas?"

"I'm fine, sir."

"Stop playing the good soldier, Ford. I can see you shivering."

"Actually, the wall is vibrating in the wind. Sir."

"Terrific," John spat. He rummaged around the shack and came back a minute later dragging a large trunk. "Move over here away from that wall."

"I may be all that's holding it up, sir," Aiden said lightly as he carefully scooted over to lean against the trunk.

"Did I call this the Shanks Shack? It should be called the Shit Shack." John opened his backpack and searched for his survival gear. "Is it time for more meds?"

"Another hour, sir."

"You know, you don't have to call me 'sir' 24/7, Ford."

"You don't have to call me 'Ford, 24/7 but you do," the lieutenant countered.

"Not true. I never call you 'Ford' after eleven hundred hours."

"When have you ever seen me that late?"

"Last week when we stayed up playing cards."

"Till you wimped out, you mean."

"Till you wimped out, sir," John corrected.

"Oh, so when I'm insulting you--."

"Yes, do so respectfully," John said with a chuckle.

"Sir, yes, sir," Aiden said with a smile. He eyes looked slightly glazed so John accelerated his search and pulled out his survival blanket.

"I'm going to put you into a survival cocoon. You look shocky."

"Yes, sir."

"You know the drill; I'm going to have to get this under you." Aiden braced himself and pushed himself up off the floor. John quickly slid the foil wrap under him and then quickly wrapped it around his body as he'd been trained to do. "Let me know if you need the other one."

"I'm fine, sir. Besides, you're probably going to need it."

"Me? Nah, I'll be fine. I spent six months at McMurdo. This weather is downright tropical by comparison," John said confidently. "Now, where were we?" he asked, determined to distract Aiden as much as possible.

"We were talking about last week's poker game, sir."

"Lose the sir, Ford."

"Lose the Ford, sir."

"Did you cheat?" John asked bluntly, not trusting himself to pursue a more informal relationship with the young officer. Not when they were isolated on a distant planet in a dark cabin lit only by the bluish light of the storm-filled sky. Not when Aiden looked so vulnerable it was all he could do not to pull him into his arms and kiss him. As it was, if the storm didn't let up soon, John would probably have to wrap himself around Aiden in order to increase his body heat. He was going to do that only as a last resort, both to preserve the lieutenant's dignity and his own commission.

"Hell no, I didn't cheat! Can I help it if you people can't focus?"

"Who could focus with that Swedish scientist constantly leaning across the table in that low-cut sweater? I don't know how you managed to remain calm the whole time. She was sitting right next to you--fawning all over you most of the evening."

"She was trying to cheat. She kept putting her hand on my thigh, hoping I'd show my cards. Every time she did it, her hand went a little higher."

"And yet you kept your cool."

"Well, hey! She was putting on such a good show for the rest of you dirty dogs that I just took advantage of your distraction."

"Don't tell me you weren't tempted."

"I wasn't tempted," Aiden said seriously.

"Bullshit!"

"Did you see me lose my cool?"

"No," John pouted. "I don't get it."

"I don't get it, either," Aiden replied. "You just outed yourself a few minutes ago and now you're telling me that she had you all hot and bothered."

"I'm a guy! Like you said, we're dirty dogs. Anything that gets me off turns me on."

"Well, I'm a bit more particular," Aiden said. John frowned. "Ask me later," Aiden said as the radio came to life.

"Major Sheppard? Lieutenant Ford?"

"Go ahead, Teyla," John replied.

"How is the lieutenant?"

"I'm fine, Teyla."

"He's holding his own," John said with a reproachful look, "but he needs medical attention as soon as possible."

"Dr. McKay and I have rigged a harness. The snow has let up enough for us to try and use it to air lift Lieutenant Ford out of there."

John and Aiden exchanged a look.

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"Of course it's safe, major," Rodney replied. "Do you think I'd jeopardize your safety just to get off this hellhole of a planet and into a warm bed with a cup of cocoa? Don't answer that."

"We're on our way," Teyla said.

"Well, lieutenant, looks like we're going home."

"Pity," Aiden replied. "I was just about to ask you about your weekend in the Shacks Shank...uh, the Shanks--."

"Another time, Ford. I think we need to get you aboard the Jumper and back to base so we can check out that ankle."

"Sir, yes, sir."

"And don't you fall asleep on me, now. I'm now carrying your scrawny ass out of here."

"Yes, sir," Aiden said with a yawn.

**

John strode down the hall toward the infirmary and saw three women coming toward him, apparently engaged in conversation about his second in command. One of them was the Swedish scientist.

"Poor Aiden, he looks so sad about being in a cast," one woman said.

"I know. We should go by his quarters later and cheer him up," a second one replied. They fell silent as John walked by, smiling in acknowledgment.

"Woof!" the first woman said.

"You're telling me. This base has even hotter men than the SGC. Too bad Aiden is gay, though," the Swedish woman sighed.

"He is not!" the others protested.

"Yes, he is! I practically threw myself at him last week--."

"Practically?" the first woman snorted.

The women stopped to talk at the intersection. John also stopped, shamelessly eavesdropping on their conversation.

"...And he didn't even notice. I finally went to his room and came right out and told him point blank that I wanted to screw him. He apologized and said--how did he put it? He said he wasn't interested in the opposite sex."

"Maybe he was just trying to let you down easy."

"Why should he?"

"Well, let's face it, girl--."

John didn't bother to listen further. He smiled as the pieces of the puzzle that had been bugging him since that poker game all fell neatly into place. He walked into the infirmary just as Aiden was being carefully helped to stand up on his crutches.

"Going somewhere?" John asked.

"Just to my quarters, sir. I'll be off the duty roster for the next four weeks with this fracture."

"Come on, I'll walk you," John said as he fell in beside the smaller man.

"Being laid up is going to be boring as hell," Aiden complained as soon as they were away from Dr. Beckett's domain.

"I'll come by and visit--keep you company."

"That'd be cool, sir."

"Great." John couldn't wait to tell him about his trip to Kamloops.

END