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You've got mail!
Rodney rued the day that he allowed Woolsey's newest aide to set up the package notification system. With the every-three-day physical connection to Earth through the Gate Bridge, there was a constant flow of goods to Atlantis in the form of supplies and personal packages. Oh, there was still a thriving black market for some things but those tended to be more exotic since everyone could now order their own case of chocolate on a regular basis.
Rodney opened the message to see what the package was. Packages were x-rayed before even getting into the Mountain, but they were not opened unless they looked suspicious. Rodney had several orders of books -- okay, and some snacks -- on order and he wanted to see which package this might be.
Whoa! He hit the jackpot today! There actually were six boxes that were most of an Amazon order he was waiting for. Oh, good! His present for John was there, too!
Rodney swung by the lab since he'd need a cart or something to manage all the boxes in one trip. He knew he could take more than one trip but what fun was that?
"Bring that back this time!" Radek yelled after him as he left the lab. "Is not your personal cart!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Rodney waved a hand dismissively. Actually, John would usually bring it back because it cluttered up their apartment. But Rodney would have said the same if it were Radek making off with a cart.
He ran into Harry, who evidently also had something delivered.
"Oh, thank Merlin you have a cart!" Harry grinned. "I have too many boxes to carry and would have had to make an extra trip!" Magic was still a secret so Harry couldn't just lighten or shrink the boxes since someone might notice and ask questions.
"Must be a good delivery day," Rodney replied. "I have six boxes myself. Hence, the cart!"
They had to wait a few minutes, since two of the soldiers were ahead of them and they also had four boxes each.
"What's with the huge delivery?" Rodney asked.
The Corporal on duty looked up. "Hey, Dr. McKay! Evidently, the SGC had a backlog of stuff waiting to be delivered, so today's shipment was pretty much only personal packages. Just about everyone has multiple boxes being delivered."
"Cool!" Harry breathed. "Maybe the things Sev has ordered will finally be in there."
"He has to come down and get his own packages, you know," the Corporal said.
"Oh, yeah! We know," Harry nodded.
There had been a more-than-awkward incident when one half of a couple -- who thought they were in an exclusive relationship -- had picked up a package for his boyfriend. Then it turned out that the package contained a romantic gift for a third person. The fallout from that had Sheppard sending the cheating boyfriend back to Earth and Woolsey declaring that everyone had to pick up their own packages.
The Corporal brought out both Harry's and Rodney's packages.
"Any of that for the lab?" Rodney asked. They shared a lab where they tested the interaction of Magic with Ancient technology. Being the only Wizards on Atlantis, besides Severus of course, and with the general population not aware that Magic existed, it meant that they had to do most of their work on their own.
Harry shook his head. "No. This lot should be all personal things. Back to our place will be fine."
"Not a problem!" Rodney said.
"Glad we have a few days without a mission," Harry admitted. "Sev has some things growing in hydroponics that are almost ready to harvest and I've got a couple of papers due for class, so I need to work on those."
"Which classes?"
"Comparative Lit and Cultural Anthro," Harry replied. "The Lit paper is almost done but I've barely started the Antro paper. Getting stranded for three days on Waleria put me behind."
"Well, at least it was only bad weather and not something worse!" Rodney laughed.
"Wish I could explain that to the Anthro teacher!" Harry replied with a grin.
With the growing population on Atlantis, the SGC had expanded the military connection to online universities. It was available to anyone in the military and civilian contractors, with a special tuition rate subsidized by the SGC to those on Atlantis. Rodney had bullied Harry into working on a Muggle Bachelor's degree and Harry was now two-thirds of the way through a degree in Physics. Harry had admitted to Severus that the non-degree courses were just as fascinating, giving him information that he'd never run into elsewhere.
The program also put a flag on their student record that they were 'deployed' and faculty were required to be flexible with deadlines. Didn't mean students didn't have to make an effort but they wouldn't be penalized for being out of contact and unable to submit assignments on time.
"Valentine's Day is coming," Harry said peering at Rodney's packages. "One of those our project for John?"
Rodney felt himself blushing. "Yeah. Which is why I wanted to get these now, while he's out with Lorne for the day."
"Can I see it?" Harry begged
"What are you, twelve?" Rodney laughed. "You'll see it later. Let it be a surprise!"
"Oh, all right!" Harry grinned.
Rodney went to Harry and Severus' apartment first, to let Harry take his boxes inside.
"See you tonight?" Harry asked.
"Movie night!" Rodney nodded. "I think it's Severus' turn to pick."
"Oh, yes! He has something picked out but won't tell, so I can't wait to see it," Harry grinned. "See you later!"
In his own apartment, Rodney unloaded the packages from the cart, putting most in plain sight so John would see them. They were snacks they both liked and some specialty socks that John seemed to like better than the military issued. Although, now that he thought about it, he took the socks and put them with the last box. They could be a Valentine's present.
With the establishment of contact with Earth and new allies in Pegasus, there were a plethora of cultures and cultural holidays that occurred. While every day is a holiday sounded good in theory, the reality was that it wasn't very efficient in practice. Woolsey had pulled together a group representing several of the major cultures and they hammered out a calendar of official Atlantis holidays. Everyone who worked on the city also had a handful of 'floating' holidays -- pun not intended but frequently referenced -- to use if the holiday one wanted to observe wasn't part of the official list.
Somehow, the Pegasus natives had been enchanted by the idea of Valentine's Day, a day for love and lovers, and it had made the cut as an official Atlantis holiday.
While John's Valentine's present was in an Amazon box, the contents were from the Weasleys' specialty shop and he knew he couldn't disturb it before John opened it. He put a Notice-Me-Not on the box and quickly wrapped the socks. He knew if he didn't do it now, he might not get a good chance later. He put both packages on a shelf in the room they used as needed as an office.
Satisfied that he had done well, Rodney went on with his day.
John also had several packages that he brought in later that night.
"Dammit! If I knew the cart was here, I could have used it!" John complained with his awkward arm-full of packages.
"Should have called," Rodney replied. "I would have been glad to bring it to you."
"Too late now," John shrugged. "It was more awkward than anything."
"Get anything good?"
"More golf balls!" John grinned.
Rodney rolled his eyes. "Only you! And I suppose you need more chips?"
John nodded. "I have some but I could use more. When you have a chance."
Somehow, John had talked Severus into taking up golf. Rodney suspected that Severus had agreed originally to 'be a good sport' especially when Harry and Rodney were spending so much time together in their lab at the beginning. Severus didn't have the same athleticism that John did, but he was more methodical in his approach which made him reasonable competition for John.
John had continued to use the space he had used with 'Rod' for driving practice and the chips were locator chips so they could retrieve balls from the ocean. A few always got lost, hence the need for more balls and more chips.
"You get anything interesting?" John asked.
"A new case of popcorn. Which is perfect timing since we ran out last week," Rodney said. "And those seasonings you liked so much."
John's eyes lit up. "Excellent!"
"You can make a big batch to take tonight. Movie night," Rodney reminded him.
"Even better. Thanks!" John leaned in for a quick kiss.
Rodney moved closer. "Do we have to be anywhere?"
"Not that I know of," John smiled and drew Rodney closer.
Harry smirked at them when they came into the lounge at almost the last minute.
"Popcorn!" John offered the huge bowl they used. "Freshly made."
"Thank you, John," Teyla grinned. "I understand you have received packages and I was wondering if I may have some of your empty boxes?"
Rodney shrugged. "I think we can give you quite a few. Do you have something you need them for?"
"A small project," she said. "I wish it to be a surprise."
"Oh! Sure then. Hey! I have the cart from the lab still. I'll load it up in the morning and bring them to you!" Rodney offered.
"That would be helpful. Thank you!" Teyla said.
For some unknown reason, Severus had picked Sharknado for the night's movie. It made for a fun night as they threw popcorn at the screen and laughed at how outrageous the entire story was.
"I'm not sure you get to pick again for a while," Rodney groaned. "That was awful."
"You had fun, admit it," John poked him.
"I have watched some implausible movies but that takes the cake!" Rodney protested.
"We agree!" Harry nodded.
"You! You knew what you were doing!" Rodney pointed.
"I simply picked a movie to provide at least mild entertainment for an evening," Severus kept a straight face but his eyes crinkled.
"You were trolling us!" Rodney gasped.
"I was assured that the movie was so bad that it is good by Sergeant Matias," Severus said calmly. "It has lived up to that statement."
"Oh, great! You're asking Marines for movie recommendations," Rodney groaned.
"I understand there are more movies in this franchise," Severus went on. "The Sergeant has assured me he has access to them all.
Even Harry threw his popcorn at Severus for that.
Rodney took a cartful of boxes to Teyla the next morning. "Is this enough? I have a few more but I didn't want to part with all of them."
"Oh, no. This is perfect! Thank you Rodney!"
Rodney made a point of letting Radek know he had returned the cart in a -- relatively -- timely manner. Radek rolled his eyes and went back to work.
John's present went unnoticed in the corner of the office. Rodney kept an eye on it but figured it was safe.
Valentine's Day was actually a Tuesday, but being an official holiday it meant special food in the mess and reduced working hours wherever possible. In areas like Security or the Mess, workers took turns taking holidays off. It seemed to work, which is all Woolsey really cared for.
Rodney got the box down from the shelf and he found John sitting with a box on his lap in their living room.
"Here," Rodney held the box out. "Open it carefully."
John slid the box off his lap. "Sit and do the same. Don't shake it or turn it over."
Rodney sat down next to the box and suddenly could see air holes. "John! What did you do?"
John shrugged. "Just thought, maybe it was time."
Rodney carefully peeled off the wrapping and raised the box. There was a small animal cage in the box and he used both hands to lift it. He peered into the end.
"Oh! Aren't you lovely!" Rodney cooed. He stuck a finger through the mesh and the small cat inside hesitantly sniffed at him.
"She may be a little shy," John said. "It's been mostly me taking care of her."
Rodney sat the cage down on the table in front of the couch and opened the door.
"You want to come out?" Rodney asked softly. He waited patiently.
A small, furry head finally stuck itself out of the box. Rodney slowly put his hand in front of the cat and she sniffed again.
"Mrrph?" she chirped.
Trying to telegraph his moves, Rodney reached out to pick the cat up. She looked at him and as he brought her close, she snuggled into his chest.
"Oh!" Rodney sighed happily.
"She seems to be pretty laid back," John said. "I've only had her for a couple of days but she seems to be pretty calm. She hasn't freaked out, anyways."
Rodney leaned in for a kiss. "She's perfect! Does she have a name?"
"Well, I've been calling her Ada," John admitted. "Ada Lovelace and Valentine's day kinda seemed to go together."
"You sap!" Rodney grinned. "Hey, Ada! Glad you came to Atlantis." He looked at John. "Okay, yours is cool but in a different way! Open it."
John carefully peeled the paper off the package to reveal the stasis box inside. He lifted the lid to see what looked like an oval, white stone about the size of a volleyball. He looked up at Rodney.
"Pick it up carefully," Rodney said. "Hold it in your hands."
John took the object out of the wooden box and held it between his hands.
"Not too heavy," John admitted.
"Okay, think 'hatch' at it," Rodney said.
John's eyes got big. "Rodney? What did you do?"
"It's safe," Rodney assured him. "Go on."
John took a breath and steadied himself. He closed his eyes and Rodney could see him focus. The object started to develop cracks along the top. John opened his eyes to watch.
The bottom of the object stayed whole but the top started to crack into pieces.
"Keep your hands on it," Rodney said softly.
John brought the object closer to his chest so he could peer into the inside. "What is it?"
"Give it just another minute," Rodney said.
There was a large crack and a chunk fell off the top. A small black head popped through the opening and it looked at John. It was obviously mechanical but... it wasn't.
"Rodney!" John's voice held a touch of awe.
"Talk to it." Ada perked up to see what was going on. Rodney held on to her firmly so that she wouldn't interrupt the bonding process.
"Hey, you!" John said softly. "You're so pretty! I can't wait to see more of you. You going to come out of there?"
The head tilted in consideration and started to wriggle around. John put the object on his lap and used one hand to steady it. He reached out the other hand to help break away the shell.
"Oh! There we go! Okay. Look at that! You have wings." John broke away more of the shell so the creature could get out of the container.
"Hold on to her and think 'mine' so you imprint on it," Rodney said.
"That's easy..." John scooped the creature out of the shell and held on to it gently but firmly with both hands. Rodney could see John focus for a moment and could tell when John made the connection. It chirped at John and John drew it close to his chest.
"Rodney! It's a dragon!" John breathed.
"Well, technically, it's a robot but it's powered by magic which gives it a touch of sentience. It's not really alive but it's as close as it comes."
John ran a hand over the back of the dragon. "I can feel that it's a robot but yet it's not."
"It's a specialty toy and, right now, one of a kind," Rodney explained. "It's something Harry and I have been working on but we don't have the time or expertise to do the work that needed to be done to create the dragon body. Harry got his Weasley friends to do the work and we gave them the information they needed to imbue it with the spells needed to make it come to 'life'. They get to build and sell more of them, and Harry and I get something to experiment with without having to do the tedious building."
"It's beautiful! Thank you!" John leaned over for a kiss. "Do I have to feed it or anything?"
"No, but I need to push a bit of magic into it once in a while," Rodney said. "That's the part we're experimenting with. It should be every two or three months but I'll do it monthly in the beginning. Harry and I will keep notes on how long it seems to go with a small push of magic and, after the first month, start stretching it out to see how long we can go."
"He or she?"
Rodney shrugged. "It's really gender neutral, so you can use whatever you want."
"Will it fly?"
"It's supposed to," Rodney said. "You need to give it permission explicitly and then tell it when to stop. That's so it doesn't fly off if it's unattended. If you forget, well, we'll find out what happens."
"Does it have a name?"
"That's left for you," Rodney said.
John looked the dragon in the eye. "How about Neta, for Neta Snook? She taught Amelia Earhart how to fly."
A cheerful chirp came from the dragon.
"Okay then, welcome to Atlantis Neta!"
Just then the door chime rang.
"Enter!" John called.
Harry and Severus came in. "I had to come and see it."
John held the dragon out slightly. "Neta, meet Harry and Severus."
The dragon looked at both men and chirped cheerily.
"Oh! She's so cute!" Harry cooed.
Severus took a step closer. "It is quite realistic," he said. "Will she go to anyone else?"
John shrugged. "Don't know yet. Hold out your hands." He held out Neta and she transferred to Severus'.
Neta leaned in against Severus, rubbing her head against his chest. "Oh!" he said softly.
"Everyone is going to want one, you know," John said. "Will they work for anyone that isn't magical or ATA positive?"
Rodney shrugged. "They should. The connection won't be as robust, but it's about the same. The issue will be the price. Toys like this won't be cheap, especially in the beginning. Your Neta is really a prototype and it'll be a while before they'll be on the market."
"Then I'm going to go with that it's something you built for me in the labs," John said. "That way you don't get pestered about getting more."
"Good point," Rodney nodded.
"Come on," Harry said. "There's a party and I don't want to miss out on the best food. There's even chocolate cake!"
John laughed. "Sure, let me... okay, how do I put her away?"
"Sleep will turn her off and wake will turn her on," Rodney said. "Keep her in the box, that will help keep her 'charged' so to speak."
John took Neta from Severus, who seemed reluctant to part with her. "Sleep," John said softly. Neta chirped and curled into a ball. John took the rest of the shell out of the box and put her in.
Ada went back into her carrier after everyone had a brief cuddle with her.
When they got to the mess, Rodney saw that Teyla had put their boxes to good use to make something resembling a tree. She had used fairy lights and strung them through holes in the boxes and had it lit up in a corner of the room.
"Huh. I never would have come up with that!" Rodney said. "It looks nice!"
"Thank you! I had some help from Evan and David," she admitted. "I wanted to honor the spirit of the holiday but was not quite sure how to do that."
"That's why they're the art guys!" Harry chimed in.
A Month Later
John looked around the shambles that was their apartment.
"Well, that'll teach me not to turn Neta off when we go to work in the morning," he admitted with a sigh.
Rodney scooped up Ada who was still playing with various scraps of paper that were strewn around the room. "And, you miss! You're going to need to go into your cage when we're not here!"
Neta and Ada had been quiet when they left that morning, which was why neither John nor Rodney had given them a second thought as they left for work. Evidently, the cat and the dragon had 'played' together during the day, shredding any available paper and knocking anything on a flat surface to the floor. There were a couple of broken items but, luckily, nothing that couldn't be replaced.
"Neta!" John called and the dragon came to him. She chirped cheerily at him. "Oh! I guess you had a fun time, then!" Another cheery chirp. "And who's going to clean up this mess?" Neta tilted her head and chirped again. "Okay, bedtime for a bit. Sleep." Neta chirped and curled up. John put her back in her box.
"Let me see about getting a broom or something," John replied.
"Well, at least they get along?" Rodney hazarded.
John leaned in for a kiss. "There is that!"