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It'd started as a quick meet and greet with the people of PXR-5T6, where Evan took his team plus a couple extra botanists to help understand the population's issues with crop yield. He sat back as he watched David and Katy Brown geek out over something botanical that the Alicarian's planet managed to produce, and got dizzy when one of the Marines got in on the mix. Who knew Stacks had a green thumb?
As they broke for a midday meal, Evan found himself sitting next to the animated David Parrish, who was still going off about stamens and wind patterns and the magnetic properties of the planet's pollen. He understood very little but smiled nonetheless at David's enthusiasm. But that smile dimmed each time Katy would reach over and grasp onto his arm, and they would share some form of a botanical inside-joke. He'd been much too single for far too long, and David reminded Evan of the first man he'd ever kissed. Tall, lean, with an infectious smile and hair that looked soft to the touch.
It was sad that just the thought of running his fingers through David's hair gave him a hard-on.
Once the meal was over, Cadman called for Evan, which drew his attention away from the scientists. Two hours later, as the sky started to darken, he wandered back to the main hall. "Hey, Stacks," he called. "Where's Parrish and Brown?"
"Out back, sir," he replied. "They said-"
Stackhouse was cut off by a toppling table, extinguished candles rolling across the floor. And standing behind the table was Katy Brown, her face covered in dirt and blood.
When Katy finally was coherent enough to talk, she explained that she and David had walked a nearby trail to get some samples. David had lost his balance and fallen, and she'd lost her footing trying to get to him. "I couldn't get to him," she said as Stackhouse cleaned her wounds, hissing at the sting of antiseptic. "He's not very far; maybe 500 yards past the treeline."
"Okay, Cadman? Head back to the 'jumper and call for a search team. Then take Stacks and the Doc here back to Atlantis for medical care."
"What about you?" Laura asked, already packing up her supplies.
"I'm gonna head out and look for David," he replied. He stopped, then raised his hand to his radio and clicked it over to active. "Lorne to Parrish?" he called. But all he got in return is static.
The tribal leader of the Alicarian's came over. "I'm sorry, Major Lorne?"
"Yes, Nuanood?" he replied. She was a strong, charismatic leader who had united many tribes, and was 125 if she was a day.
"These storms. We have had them many times, including once when Sheppard's team visited. Your communication devices - they will not work until it has subsided."
"Great," Lorne replied. He turned to Cadman. "I'll just come get some flares from the 'jumper, then."
~*~*~
The wind picked up as soon as Lorne left the treeline, and the flow of rain grew heavy as the skies darkened. He stopped every ten feet or so to check his position and searched for the landmarks Katy'd told him about until he came to a section of the path that showed evidence of being disturbed. Each side had been lined with rocks, but in one part, water puddled where rocks would have been. Evan knew, from all the hiking he'd done over the years, just how to scoot down the hill. And careful as he might be, he still ended up with a few splinters in the palm of one hand, and cuts on the other.
"David?" he called over the howling wind. "David!"
He looked around the darkened area and was just about to call again when a splash of pale orange caught his eye. He squinted for a closer look, then wiped the water from his eyes. Just a few dozen feet away was a darkened section of terrain, the entryway barely lit by flames. Evan trudged against the wind until he was just feet away from the cave, then called, "David?" as he inched closer.
"Major?" Evan barely heard above the wind. David's voice was ragged, apparently exhausted, but Evan relaxed just a bit. He stepped into the cave, finally sheltered from the wind, and found a disheveled, dirty botanist, laying near a small fire.
"Hey," Evan said as he kneeled at David's side. "Went on a little field trip, did you?" Evan started to pull out some supplies, including a warming blanket. He handed it to David, but before it was even unfurled, he started checking for injuries. "Anything broken?" he asked. And even though he was letting his hands check David's legs, his arms, he maintained his status as team leader and didn't let his mind wander.
"A couple ribs," David said. He winced as he got up to a seated position. "Katy okay?"
"She'll be fine," Evan said. "Just a few cuts and scrapes." He went through some checks that Carson had taught him, to make sure David wasn't concussed. When he was satisfied, he reached into his pack and pulled out a couple of pain relievers. "Take these," Evan said, then handed over his canteen. He felt a bit better when David swallowed the pills down, then handed over the water.
As the wind outside roared, Evan said, "Be right back," and then grabbed a few pieces of wood. Two pieces that were just inside the mouth of the cave were dry, whereas others were soaked. He placed them near the fire for them to dry out.
"You know," Evan said as he sat down next to David, "if you wanted some quiet time with Katy, you could have just asked to borrow one of the 'jumpers."
David looked at him like he'd sprouted leaves. "What?" He blinked owlishly. "Me? Katy?"
"Yeah," Evan said as he pulled out a couple of MRE bars and handed one to David.
"Major," David said, but his voice trailed off. "I," he started again but stopped.
Evan studied him for a second, growing anxious as David's complexion turned a bit green. "Are you okay? Are you having a reaction to the medication?"
"Major," David said again, then pinched the bridge of his nose. "Me and Katy? No. Katy's interested in McKay." He turned away and looked at the fire, then added, "And Carson, too, for some reason."
The silence stretched for a few seconds, but David spoke again before Evan could respond. "And besides. I'm not interested in Katy. Or any woman, actually."
Evan looked at him and said, "Ahh." But when the weight of what David said finally registered, Evan turned from the fire to David where he found a deep blush across David's cheeks. "Oh," he finally said as he warmed his hands near the flames. He glanced back to the fire, and then to David once again. Before he could overthink it, he decided to match David's confession with one of his own. "So looks like we've got that in common," he blurted.
As pickup lines went, it wasn't his best. But based on the gentle smile that started on David's face, it looked like it worked.
The wind picked up and caused Evan to shiver. "Want to share the blanket?" David asked as Evan leaned toward the fire again. David lifted the silver blanket and Evan started to scoot forward. But it was then that he realized just how wet he was, and how dry David was. He didn't want to get an already injured man even sicker.
"I'm soaked," he protested.
"You could always take your clothes off and hang them by the fire to dry," David said. As soon as he said it, his face went an even deeper shade of beet, and he dropped the side of the blanket he was holding up. "I mean... Shit! I'm sorry, Major."
Evan couldn't help but grin. "Not on a first date," he teased.
The moment hung there until they both broke the silence with laughter. And a week later, safe and back on Atlantis, Evan broke his first date rule.