(A/N This is probs the longest chapter I've ever written you should be proud. On another note if you haven't read Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker you totally should, once you mellow to the fact that she's basically shoving the message down your throat it's pretty good. Plus you can learn about the Trojan war without trying to trudge through the Iliad.
Yay learning.
Now relating to the story I have decided I will also do a chapter from Rodney's POV because he's funny and I love him.)
The world was so fractured. Laughter drifted by him and music spun and twirled round his ears as the hazy shapes in front of him shifted closer and closer and... "John!"
"Huh?" He blinked and refocused his eyes watching lazily as the concerned face of Elizabeth Weir swam into view.
"Oh Doctor, I was just..." Any other person would be visibly scrambling for words at this point but he wasn't allowing his internal panic to show as he realised he'd been...
"Having a nap, John?" the headmistress helpfully supplied.
"Yeah, that." he replied sheepishly from his strangely comfortable position, propped diagonally in the corner of the main hall with the help of his cane.
She quirked an eyebrow at him before ushering the guy he hadn't noticed lurking behind her forward a bit. He was pretty sure she was still talking to him but he was too busy once again taking in the slightly calmer features of Dr McKay. He, in return was regarding John with a piercing stare that swept over him, as if he were calculating all the minute details of John's life in one glance, to be filed away and forgotten. Notably there was a clear moment when the other man spotted his cane as a brief hint of confusion passed over his expressive face.
"...so I'll leave him here and be off then" Wait, what? Obviously having tuned back in at exactly the wrong moment, John stood quickly and wheeled around in an attempt to catch Dr Weir before she left. Unfortunately he was too late and she was already, with impressive speed, halfway across the hall. It almost looked like she was running away from something.
McKay looked as panicked as he felt as they stood opposite each other silently, his feet shuffling ever so slightly from side to side.
"So-
"I'm er-
John grimaced apologetically and motioned for the other man to go first.
"I'm sorry about the other day, I have hypoglycemia and I was running a bit low on snacks and no-one warned me of the change in arrangements so I took it out on you, unnecessarily. Sorry." John could now tell that the slight tinge to McKay's voice that he'd noticed earlier was in fact a Canadian accent and, even at the immense speed at which the apology was delivered, he could also tell it was sincere.
"McKay" Holding up his hand to forestall more anxious rambling John continued "It's alright, you just took me by surprise a little. And I didn't mean to take your room, I just went where they told me to go. If it really bugs you that much you can have it back as long as management don't have a problem with it."
"Ah no, it's alright see my problem with the toilet-" he started before John cut him off
"Woah, do I really want to know why you have a problem with the toilet?"
McKay blinked at him for a second before understanding dawned "Oh no no no, it's nothing like that, it's my cat."
What even. "Why would your cat have a problem with the toilet?"
Apparently it was obvious because there was a pause where he didn't seem to know how to answer that. "That's the only bathroom with two toilets in, I don't know why, they let me have it because I have a litter tray that goes around the toilet seat."
Okay, this was almost making sense to John now. Though to be honest he wasn't sure how this staff party-thing had turned into him and McKay huddled in a corner talking about cats going to the toilet. He'd worn a suit and everything.
"So your room change now forces you to clean your cat's litter out like anybody else?" he grinned.
"Oh no, of course not, I pay someone to do that for me!" McKay must have not been able to stand John's poleaxed expression for very long because he started laughing only a few seconds later. Maybe the guy wasn't that bad after all.
The conversation moved on though there was a pause where McKay hadn't seemed sure how to address him and then got offended when John reminded him what his name was.
"No I knew that, my IQ is off the charts , I can remember someone's name but you seem to be calling me McKay for whatever frat-boy reason so I didn't know if you wanted me to call you John or not."
Modest wasn't he. John levelled a mildly amused stare at him. "I'm calling you McKay because you never told me your first name."
If it were possible the shorter man almost seemed embarrassed at the reminder of his rude introduction the other day. He held out his hand to John, his mouth twisting upward as he spoke;
"Rodney McKay, call me Rodney."
"Alright McKay. Call me Sheppard." John replied.
"Really?!" The indignant squeak was too much and the two shared a laugh as they continued to make small talk for the next few minutes until Elizabeth called for everyone's attention.
Later that night John would reflect on the fact that overall the welcome party had gone relatively well for him, excluding the whole literally being caught napping ordeal. He hadn't embarrassed himself too much, he'd only gotten slightly drunk and he'd proved his social skills weren't too out of practice. McKay had even turned out not to be as much of as an asshole as he'd seemed at first sight, perfectly willing to stand by John for a few hours and point out which of the other teachers he should avoid. Apparently one of the chemistry teachers with long hair, glasses and a permanently affronted expression (Kavany?) was an idiot unworthy of McKay's attention so he wouldn't even expand on why he wouldn't like him.
But it was good, it was great in fact and now all he had to worry about was that in a few days he'd be tasked with teaching over 500 hundred reluctant boys the joys of exercise, because that always went well. Unexpectedly he was looking forward to it, as in those strange dread-filled moments before the chopper takes off and you realise the storm is a lot closer than you thought. For the first time in his life he had somewhere to be rather than somewhere distant to run to. The universe is full of surprises.
(Friday August 29th, 3 days before school opens)
John poked his head round the doors of the main hall and sighed in relief. He'd been told he had to start eating breakfast there, where all the other teachers ate, fortunately no one had specifically said he had to actually eat at the same time as them. Of course he had nothing against them, in fact he was becoming quite friendly with some of them now but he didn't want to mess up his routine and he just wasn't really feeling up to company on a day when he still had so much to do. He also wasn't one of the air force's best strategists for nothing of course! (They hadn't actually called him that but people tended to recognise that he thought well on his feet)
So here he was currently staking out the entrance to see where the food was and determine if he had enough time to run in, shovel some down and run off again, he really needed to work on his timetable.
Eh. Might as well try. Shuffling in quietly, and avoiding tapping his cane on the hard floor, he headed for the table with what looked like the quickest foods; after years of living off MREs he wasn't particularly picky. Despite that thought the food all looked pretty good, even if it was only the cold stuff out, so John figured he had enough time to grab a bit of everything. Sadly it was at the point where he'd just finished piling up his plate when his instincts told him there was someone coming and in a split second decision he dived headfirst under the table. Crap. Really didn't think that one through.
Though why someone was here already was weird, most people wouldn't be up for another hour. But it could just be the kitchens laying out the rest of the food? That made perfect sense and therefore he was panicking unnecessarily. On the other hand wasn't all the food already out?
While the rational part of John's brain was telling him that someone else had just gotten up early he couldn't stop his combat-hardened muscles tensing in preparation to spring out and confront them. No it'd be fine, no-one had any reason to break into an empty school...except it was an old building, typical private school so maybe they did have valuable items lying around?
The sound of metallic scraping caught his attention and like someone had flicked a switch everything froze. Over the throb of his own heart pounding John could hear the screams of his men dying around him, feel the heat burning on his face and sand and grit mixing in the sweat pouring off his brow. He had to get out of here, he had to get back to the medical chopper, they couldn't fly without him, he needed to get out, to go, now!
Leaping out at the attacker he was in the process of bringing his fist down on their face when he recognised the shocked expression of Rodney McKay as the other man let out a particularly high pitched squeal. Oops. That stopped him dead in his tracks and the two men were once again awkwardly facing one another as John slowly came down off his adrenaline high, hands shaking where they now hung placidly by his sides.
"What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to scare me? I apologised! I thought we were fine, but no you'd rather jump and scare me half to death before breakfast. Why are you even here it's six in the morning? Honestly some peo-" That was probably the moment that he noticed John's equally wild expression as he broke off suddenly and stared. "John? Sheppard? You alive in there?"
John blinked slightly and gave himself a little time to refocus "Ah sorry Rodney, I was getting breakfast and you startled me coming in and then I uh" yeah he didn't really think he was going to explain his way out of this one. Why could they not just meet while walking along and have a polite conversation like normal people.
Rodney apparently had more tact then even he himself seemed to believe because he refrained from questioning John further and began chatting quickly whilst picking up food at an equally rapid speed, paying careful attention the little labels attached to each dish that John had only just noticed. "At least all it takes for you to say Rodney is frightening me half to death. Now" his back straightened and he turned to John once more "you want to pick up your food and go back with me?" Right yeah John probably should do that, bending down he retrieved his plate from behind the tablecloth (ignoring Rodney's disbelieving expression), and in a half daze began to follow the not-so-abrasive-after-all physics teacher from the hall.
(A/N I'm totally working, this is work you see nothing oops)