Kavanagh fumes as he walked back from the cafeteria after lunch, bringing an extra large mug of coffee back with him. Today had been particularly trying. Only yesterday had he told Parrish that he'd need her to take charge of the department again for a while and this morning she hadn't shown up. Honestly, he was rethinking placing her in charge, none of the new staff seem to have any work ethic. Robinson and Dalley are both out without explanation too. Women!

He got home early that day, eager to share his news with his lovers. Unfortunately neither of them were back yet. They'd only moved into the new, larger quarters that McGregor had suggested to David a couple of weeks ago and the place still seemed eerily quiet and impersonal. But at least now they had an fully-fitted little kitchen. Much better than the sparse kitchenlet in the old place. Thinking that it would be a nice way to celebrate, he decided to cook them a meal.

Of course he'd forgotten the only time he could actually cook was when he had Nick standing over him, literally holding his hand. An hour in, the sparkling new kitchen was a complete mess and he was covered in a mixture of Athosian flour, spices and some green, liquid stuff he couldn't identify.

Giving up, he sat down on the table and waited for Nick to come back. He knew he should probably start cleaning up at least but he was tired and frustrated. Some of David's paper was lying around on the table and he dug out a pen from the bottom of his pocket and started scribbling.

Nick, I love that you manage to turn me into a relatively decent cook.
David, you have the prettiest eyes I have ever seen in real life.
Nick, your smile - that deep genuine one that brings out your dimples and lights up your eyes, yeah that one - makes my day.
David, I don't know how it happened but I'm a better person when I'm with you.
Nick, you're who I think of to make me feel better when the morons are driving me crazy.
David, All of my best dreams star you.
Nick, that line of your neck, I love biting that. To mark you as mine.
David, I love to suck on your bottom lip.
Nick, I love you.
David, I love you.

Before he even realised it, he'd written dozens of little messages by scribbling down whatever came to mind, but all of them sincere, from the heart. He smiled, reading over them and actually seeing them for the first time. In a surge of uncharacteristic sappiness, he placed them all over the quarters. Some in obvious places, inside David's laptop, under the cushion of Nick's favourite chair. But most of them went in more awkward places, behind the photoframe on the top shelf, underneath the shoe box at the bottom of the wardrobe, places where they may not be found for weeks or even months.

After Nick's visit, he couldn't get back into the work and it was almost lunch time anyway. So he left the lab to grab a few sandwiches and a couple of cups of coffee from the mess hall and took them to David's lab.

They've been talking for a while and he's just finished telling him about his argument with Nick last night. "I don't really know what happened. Things just got out of control." He murmurs burying his head in his hands. "But now he doesn't want me anywhere near Jazlyn."

He had picked Jazlyn up from her first day with the new nanny on his way back home from the labs as David had asked. Neither Nick or David were here, something going on with Bates and Moore. But he and Jazlyn had been getting along fine. He had even managed to feed her something vaguely healthy. That was before he mentioned it was bedtime and the waterworks had started. He'd left her to cry for a while, thinking she may just tire herself out but she'd only gotten louder and louder.

That's how he's ended up pacing back and forth across the room, rocking a very loud, wailing Jazlyn in his arms. "Sssh now, it's ok. They'll be back soon. There, there." He says frantically, rubbing her back and practically shouting in order to hear himself over her screams. It doesn't seem to do any good at all.

Finally, getting frustrated, he plops her down on a chair. "Hey listen to me you little brat. If you don't start behaving yourself right now, I'm gonna tell Weir she can send you wherever the hell she wants." He's hoping that will quieten her. It seems to work, as she pauses for a moment, but then she starts screaming again with renewed vigour.

"Ok, ok, look I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Please, please be quiet. I promise your Ami and Abu will be back soon." But nothing he says seems to calm her. He's about to give up and call Nick when he has a odd flashback of his Mom singing to Owen when they were younger. It's strange, he didn't think he had any positive memories of her. Still it had worked for Owen.

"Hey kid, want me to sing to you?" That gets her to stop sobbing for long enough to nod. "Ok, ok, fine." He murmurs, picking her up again and rocking her slightly against his hip. "Mmmm I don't know any children songs." He realises suddenly, finding the hole in his brilliant plan.

This sets her off again, so thinking quickly, he starts murmuring the first thing that comes to mind.

Jazlyn had been bouncing around all evening at the thought of seeing the kitten with David. She'd wanted Nick to come too, but he was still uncomfortable with Zelenka. And there was no way Kavanagh was going to McGregor's house so he could watch the little kid could play with Colonel Kirk. He didn't even want her to be influenced by the likes of him. But she kicked up a real fuss when he tried suggesting they don't go and he quickly got over-ridden by the other two.

"Just watch her carefully, will you." He whispered to David as Nick gave Jazlyn some last minute etiquette lessons. They both kissed David and Nick added one on to Jazlyn's cheek, as they left.

They stand still in the room for a minute, it feeling unnaturally quiet. "I have something for you." Cal says all of a sudden. He goes to the desk and brings out the carefully wrapped remaining chocolate treat. "Teyla gave these to me. We saved you one." He takes it out and looks at with obvious desire. "Of course, this is the last one. You might have to fight me for it."

Though David had been calm and quiet over the comm, he could hear the urgency in his voice. The subtle way in which his accent showed through, especially on the ends of words, when he was panicked. He quickly finishes loading the rest of the samples on the mass spectrometer and programs the machine.

Parrish is still off gallivanting across the galaxy with Colonel Kirk, as if there aren't enough grunts to do that kind of thing. Sighing he shouts at Simpson instead. "Simpson, all your attention - there." He emphasises the point on his way out by lightly pulling her from her desk and pushing her toward it. He doesn't stick around to hear her complaints. He knows she'll do it anyway, she's always had a pretty decent sense of what's important.

He quick steps all the way to the messhall but David and Nick are already there when he arrives. Not bothering with food, he heads straight towards their table. It's only when he gets closer that he sees a small child sitting in between them.

"Nick, you ok?" He quickly does his usual post-mission sweep, at least of all the parts he can see. "Who's this? Did you find a run-away?"

The Wraith had all been taken care of. Nick and the other pilots had bought the people on the mainland back to Atlantis. And now was everyone's chance to catch their breath before the hectic pace of their normal Atlantean days caught up with them again.

Once things are stabilised in the lab, Kavanagh heads back to their quarters. He's already overheard Sheppard ordering Nick to get some time off. Whilst walking he comms David. "Davey, you probably heard by now, but by some complete fluke we managed to win out again. The Wraith are all gone. Saera's fine. Nick and I are heading home. Come join us."

He passes plenty of people in the corridors, either wanderless and confused or working off the excess adrenaline or like he was, making sure the people they cared about were ok. Thankfully most of them ignore him. Katie Brown looks like she's about to stop him, she's eyeing out his now nasty bruise but he makes his conversation with David more apparent and speeds past. She just smiles. "Tell Davey I'm glad he's not blown up."

Eventually he reaches his destination and enters, closing the door behind him. He throws off his jacket. "Hey Nick, you here?"

McKay still has him doing nothing but watching the power levels and ensuring they don't drop below the needed level, or just as bad, spike. Though an important job, almost anyone on the science team could do it and it's sends out a clear message that McKay can't put his personal feelings aside to put their resources to the best use in a crisis. Bad leadership skills. It's something he plans on bringing up later.

For now, it means he has plenty of attention to spare so after his check in with David, he's taps into the comm system to see how they're doing. He's relieved to hear Nick's voice informing Sheppard that the Wraith in the city have been neutralised.

"Kavanagh to Lorne. Good job. But it sounds like they could do with a hand on the mainland, the Wraith darts have us out-numbered but we still have two 'jumpers free. Oh and Nick, David's sister is out there. He's a little panicked."

He pauses to glance at the power levels - still holding steady - thanks to David's new ZPMs. He catches sight of himself in the reflective console. The make-up David so carefully applied, what feels like days ago but was only been a few hours earlier, has worn off and the ugly, purple bruise is blooming across his jaw. He sighs, not much he can do about it now, at least everyone's too busy to notice it.

For the third time in a row, he faces the other direction and sneezes into the handkerchief with the letters NML embroidered with care in the corner. The flour, the cause of his irritation, was everywhere. Lightly dusting his sleeves, sticking to his hands and a smudge of it had even managed to get on his cheek.

"Nick!" He complains. "When you asked me to help bake David a cake, I thought you meant in an advisory capacity. As in from the other room. Or possibly via email. You're the cook anyway. Can I not just do the chocolate parts when you've finished." He whines but there's a gleam in his eyes. Spending time with Nick doing something so mundane, so ordinary is far more enjoyable than it has any right to be.

Between Nick's charm and his angry suggestions and subtle guilt trips, they'd managed to get all the ingredients to give David a proper Birthday meal. And 'borrow' out the main kitchen to prepare it in. Of course their botanist was away, but all being well they were expecting him back soon.

He stumbled backwards after she left, letting the door close itself. He tried to reach on the couch again but collapsed on the floor close enough that he could lean against it. His knees were curled in close to his body and his head bent low in his hands. His breath was coming in short, irregular, shuddering gasps and he tried to get control of them again. But before he could manage, his stomach started churning and he crawled to the bathroom. Not making it to the toilet in time he was sick all over the tiled floor.

Exhausation milled with a dozen other emotions he couldn't process and he slid down against the wall. He tapped his comm, not bothering to select a specific channel. "Nick...I...Are you busy?...Can you come home?...Please?" He stuttered over the radio.

Once again, he found himself alone and bored in their quarters. Nick and David's stuff was scattered all over the place but both of his lover's were busy. Beckett had promised that he could go back to work later this week, but wouldn't even consider letting him back sooner. Despite the fact that he'd figured out body-swapping machine and was obviously well again.

Fed up of fuming and reading through the latest batch of science journals that were so wrong it made him want to kill things, he'd started picking up random things and putting them away. Two thirds of the living space was tidy before he'd even realised he was cleaning. He'd shaken his head in horror and kept going. Somewhere along the way Nick and David had managed to domesticate him.

With that done too, he started working on the project for David's birthday. Nick would be upset he'd started without him, but he was pretty certain he could bring him around.

After the infirmary, he'd gone to the control room. He decided it was easier to just ignore the strange looks and pointless offers of help and had tracked down the unexplained power spike within moments. Transferring the location to a handheld interface he let it lead him to the right place.

It wasn't until he was in the room and already crouching down in front of the machine that he thought to look around. As soon as he did, he was hit by a flood of memories, he'd worked so hard to suppress. Being held down against his will. Feeling trapped and helpless. His body forced to betray him. He closed his eyes, leaning against the wall and tried to block them out, replace them with images of Nick and David. David who'd come for him then and who needed him know. Gathering his strenght, he crawled back to the machine and started assessing the damage.

The nightmares are getting less frequent, or maybe he's just getting more accustomed to walking up with tears streaming down his face. At least now it's only the odd night when it's the screaming that wakes him and therefore his concerned lovers.

The days are getting better too. Beckett still won't let him back to work yet but the number of pain killers needed to keep going are steadily going down and his appetite is improving. He's following strict exercises to gain back the fine motor control in his left hand. Until now the overall weakness meant he could only walk around their quarters. Even going to the infirmary normally required help but this morning he was told he needs to get more exercise.

It's almost lunch time but he doesn't think he can face the mass of people in the mess hall. The encounters with McKay's lot in the infirmary have still been terrifying the hell out of him. He's waiting for the other shoe to drop. But reluctantly he leaves the quarters and slowly walks through a couple of corridors and around pier 3. With his head still full of everything that's happened and everything that's changed, he's not really thinking about where he's going. Only when he realises he's reached Nick's office, does he stop, a little startled. The glass on the door is opaque and he can't see if there's anyone in there so he chimes the door panel.

Kavanagh was still stuck in the infirmary. Nick and David both had to leave for a while but had promised to be back and help his convince the medical staff he was fit enough to at least be sent back to their quarters on bed rest. Lots of bed rest. Less emphasis on the rest.

He was flicking through reports from the chemistry department and glanced at other things that caught his attention, starting with the most recent and working backwards. He hadn't gotten all that far. The cocktail of drugs and occasional bursts of pain keeping his attnetion span pretty low. But he kept up at it, if nothing else, keeping busy meant he didn't have to think back on the last few days.

I agree to go on one little, at the time I thought, simple mission and they think I've signed on for life or something now. More of that ore from PXX 7366 - which Weir insisted we dub "Alendronite" after the planet it was found on - was accidentally discovered on a different planet when one of Sheppard's teams were scouting for Ba'al. The new kid is worried Ba'al could use it in - well the same way we intended to - as an efficient power source. Obviously they want to try and keep that from happening so Weir's senting Nick and a couple of others to extract it. Now here's the part I don't get. Nick spent years as part of a mining unit. He really doesn't need me holding his hand. Yet, Weir won't see logic. Mainly I think she's still punishing me for some imagined slight.

He stops gathering his notes to look over to the bed where David and Nick are still cuddled together asleep. Smiling, he puts the stuff down on the desk. There's still a few hours before the mission. Time that could be spent much better than on complaining, he thinks as he burrows in between both of them.

"Come on David, time to wake up." He quietly purrs into his ear, nuzzling him. Knowing Nick, being the lightest sleeper, would wake up at the slightest nosie.

((OOC: This wonderful piece of babble was worked on by all three of us. We thought it'd be easier to post like this.))

( The 'first' date )

He gathered all his stuff. There were three large packs. He didn't want to leave behind something he might need in the analysis. Putting one over his shoulder and dragging one each in each hand, he stumbles his way to the 'gate. Weir and Lorne have already taken all the excitement out of this mission. So he ambles slowly, stopping every few minutes to readjust the heavy packs. As such, he's the last one there. Nick's team are already there and look to be in various states of agitation.

Ignoring Nick completely, he talks to no-one in particular. "Well? What are we all standing around here for? Some of us have time that is actually worth something." He shuffles the bags again, glaring menacingly at one of the marines at random - he never could be bothered to remember names of the not important people.