The hall seemed to stretch on forever as Rodney and Ronon struggled to get a very inebriated Air Force Colonel to his room. There was much staggering involved. And there was singing. Really bad, off-key singing that hurt Rodney's ears. He may have no sense of the art of music as his piano teacher claimed, but his technical proficiency remained, and he knew off-key singing when he heard it. The fact that Colonel Sheppard appeared to be some kind of idiot savant with an endless repertoire of power ballads only made the torture to Rodney's eardrums more painful.

After they finally made it to the room and unceremoniously dumped Sheppard onto the bed, Rodney straightened up rubbing the small of his back and turned to Ronon. "You go on to bed. I'll make sure Dennis DeYoung here gets tucked in okay."

"You sure you can handle him?"

Rodney looked down at the apparently passed-out Colonel and smirked. "I'm pretty sure he's out for the night. I'll just make sure he's comfortable."

Nodding, Ronon left. Rodney sighed and shook his head at his team leader. "You're going to feel this in the morning, Colonel," he murmured. Moving to the foot of the bed, he had just begun tugging at Sheppard's shoestrings when Sheppard suddenly sat up.

"Whoa," the drunken Colonel articulated.

"What?" Rodney asked in concern.

"Dizzy."

"Yeah, well, so not surprising," Rodney said with a smirk. "Maybe next time the Grand Poobah of a village invites you to a private party, you'll step away from the open bar."

"I'll have you know, Dr. McKay," John said, trying to sound indignant but only managing drunk, "that I only drank a teensy little drink. Hardly more than a thimbleful."

"Sure you did," Rodney said in patent disbelief.

The look John gave him was probably supposed to be a glare, but he couldn't seem to get the muscles in his face to fall into the proper pattern. Rolling his eyes, Rodney returned his attention to John's bootlaces.

"Hey!" John said pulling his feet back and turning so that he was sitting on the side of the bed. "What're you doing?"

"I was trying to help you take your boots off," he said, crossing his arms and frowning at the swaying Colonel.

"Oh," John said. The giggle the escaped from his mouth was rather disturbing. "I thought maybe you were trying to get me naked." The leer didn't work any better than the glare had.

"Yes, Colonel, that's exactly what I'm trying to do. I'm going to take advantage of you in your drunken state."

"Won't work, you know. I'm combat trained."

Rodney couldn't help it; he felt a smile tugging at his lips. "I'll keep that in mind," he said with a grin.

"Damn straight," John stated with an emphatic nod. The motion made him start to list to the side, but he managed to catch himself before he toppled over. Upright again, he pointed a finger at Rodney. "I won't let you take advantage of me, but I will let you kiss me."

Rodney's grin disappeared to be replaced with a look of shock. "Excuse me?"

John tilted his head to the side and closed one eye. "That's better," he slurred. "I was startin' to see two of you." A hiccup followed this announcement and John's eyes widened as he grabbed his stomach. "Oops."

"Oh, god," Rodney moaned. "Please don't tell me you're going to throw up."

John sat there for several seconds as if trying to decide if he wanted to be sick or not, then his lips twisted into a lop-sided grin and he said, "Nope, everything settled down again. Now, what were we talking about?"

"You were seeing two of me."

John narrowed his eyes and then waggled a finger at Rodney. "Ah, ah, ah. We were talking about kissin', as in you," he pointed his finger at Rodney, "kissin' me." His finger pointed back at himself.

"No, you were talking about it," Rodney clarified. "I was having a minor panic attack. Look, Colonel, why don't you lay down again like a good boy and go to sleep."

"Not till you kiss me."

"I am not going to kiss you."

"Why not?"

"Because," Rodney said pronouncing every word clearly, "you are drunk. You do not really want me to kiss you."

"Do too."

"Colonel," Rodney said with a sigh.

"Have you ever thought about kissing me, Rodney?"

"Please lay back and go to sleep," Rodney begged.

"Ah ha!" John said loudly causing Rodney to flinch. "You have, haven't you? You've thought about kissing me."

"Colonel, please," Rodney whined.

"Kiss me, and I promise I'll lay back and go to sleep."

Rodney crossed his arms over his chest and said flatly, "And when you wake up in the morning and remember all this, can I expect a punch on the jaw? "

John somehow managed to look truly shocked. "I wouldn't hit you, Rodney. You're my friend."

"And what kind of a friend would I be if I kissed you when you're drunk?"

John seemed to consider this for a minute. "Well, would you kiss me when I'm sober?"

"No," Rodney said even though his heart skipped a beat at the thought.

"Then, see? You need to kiss me now." John scrunched up his face as if he were thinking very deep drunken thoughts. "Do you think it's wrong for friends to have sex?"

"Oh, god," Rodney moaned. "Colonel-"

"Kiss me, Rodney," John demanded in a low throaty voice.

Rodney looked at him helplessly. God, he wanted to so badly, had wanted to for months now. But for all his lack of social graces, he didn't take advantage of people who were not in control of their faculties. And he certainly didn't want to take advantage of John, who really was his friend, and who would never, ever ask Rodney to kiss him if he were sober no matter how many times Rodney dreamed about that very thing. John lifted his hand toward him and Rodney tried to resist, but his hand reached out without his permission. Their fingers intertwined and John tugged him gently until Rodney was sitting beside him on the bed. John lifted his free hand to Rodney's face and traced his fingers along Rodney's jaw, then leaning forward he placed his mouth on Rodney's.

All of Rodney's higher brain functions shut down completely as John's mouth opened over his. His tongue slid inside Rodney's mouth and he slowly stroked Rodney's tongue as if he had all the time in the world. Rodney heard somebody whimpering and only realized it was him when John pulled back and smiled a loopy, satisfied grin at him. He grabbed Rodney's head and leaned in for another kiss, but before his mouth made contact, his eyelids fluttered shut and he went limp against Rodney's body.

Rodney's heart leapt into his throat and he patted John's face calling, "John. John!" It was only when he realized that John was breathing evenly that the terror drained away. Rodney sat holding Colonel Sheppard's unconscious body tightly against him while he brought himself back under control.

After a few minutes when Rodney's heartbeat had slowed to something resembling normal and he'd stopped shaking, he managed to get John lying down again. Returning once again to the Colonel's boots, he finally pulled them off. Picking up a coverlet, he tossed it over the sleeping man. Leaning down, he caressed the side of John's face and then brushed a kiss against his brow. "Good night, Colonel," he said softly. "I hope to god that you don't remember anything in the morning."

Stepping away from the bed, Rodney left the room and headed for his own bedroom.

~~~

When John awakened the next morning he was aware of two things: his bladder felt that it was about to burst and his head felt like someone had whacked him with a two by four. Blearily opening his eyes, he blinked in the filtered sunlight that slipped in through the slats of the shutters. Pushing aside the thought that he should just take out his sidearm and end his misery, he struggled up to sit at the side of the bed.

At first he didn't know where he was, but then memories of the day before started to seep in. They were on a trade mission to a planet the Ancient database named Patelka, one of the few planets they'd visited recently that had so far escaped the Wraith culling. They'd come across a village a few miles from the Stargate, and the village leader, Merrikan, had greeted them warmly. It had been mid-afternoon when they'd arrived, and after hours of talking trade and Wraith, Merrikan had shown them to a small residence set aside for visitors where they could spend the night. He had then invited Sheppard, as the leader of his team, to a special reception with the elders of the village. It was from there that John's memories got a little fuzzy. He remembered a halfway decent meal and then a ritual drink. The drink had tasted very similar to Nyquil and John had been glad that only a small amount had been served.

From then on, he really didn't remember much of anything.

Standing with a groan, John had to reach out and brace himself against the bed until a wave of dizziness passed. He then stumbled into the small washroom that adjoined his bedchamber. Taking care of his needs, he quickly washed, shaved, and brushed his teeth. He rounded out his toilette by dry-swallowing four Tylenol. Grabbing up his pack, he left the room to find his teammates.

He was less than happy to find two of them sitting at a table in the garden basking in the bright, very bright, way too bright, sunshine. Snatching his sunglasses out of his jacket pocket, he put them on and then went to join Teyla and Ronon.

As he slid into a seat, Teyla smiled at him. "Good morning, Colonel. You are well this morning?"

"Fine," John said shortly taking note of the amused gleam in her eyes. "Where's McKay?"

Ronon shrugged and picked up the large cup that had been sitting in front of him. He took a long drink and then said, "He took off to poke around the village. Something about finding out if there was anything here worth trading for except cow patties."

"He would not explain what these 'cow patties' were," Teyla said.

John just shook his head and stood up again. "That's just McKay's idea of a joke. Look, I'm going to go find him, make sure he doesn't do something to insult the locals. If Merrikan comes around, tell him I'll be right back."

It didn't take long to find Rodney, the village not being all that big. As soon as Rodney spotted him though, John realized that something was wrong. First Rodney had gone pale, then he had looked panicked, then he had straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin, and then he'd put on his best supercilious face. John sighed wondering what mess Rodney had gotten into this time.

"Good morning, Colonel," Rodney said with what John thought was a touch of defiance.

"Rodney, what are you doing out here?" The irritation John felt at having to hunt Rodney down when he was suffering a blinding headache was evident by the snarl his voice.

Rodney blinked and John thought he saw a hint of...hurt? The chin went up a little higher and Rodney said, "Just checking out the village to see if they might possibly have something more interesting to trade than the Patelkan version of Cheese Whiz."

Despite the pounding of his head, John had to smile. "I thought it was cow patties."

"Is there a difference?" Rodney asked with a sniff.

John laughed and then winced in pain. Rodney took one step forward, concern evident on his face.

"Colonel, are you all right?"

John sighed, and spotting a bench that wrapped around the thick trunk of a shady tree, walked over to it and sat down. "I seem to have one hell of a hangover," he confessed resting his head against the tree trunk.

"Ah, yes," Rodney said perching next to John on the bench. "You, uh, appeared to have overindulged a bit last night at Merrikan's party."

John closed his eyes. "Really didn't. They had some kind of ritual drink at the end of the dinner. I don't know what it was, but I'm beginning to think it was the Pegasus version of Rohypnol. I don't remember anything after I drank it."

"Really?" Rodney asked perking up.

John reached up and removed his sunglasses and stared narrow-eyed at Rodney.

"You want to tell me what happened last night that you're glad I forgot about?"

"What? Nothing. Nothing happened."

"Rodney."

Rodney jumped up and said, "What do you say we go have breakfast?"

John scowled again and then pointed his finger at him. "Rodney," he barked. Pointing at the bench beside him he ordered, "Sit!"

Rodney sat.

"Now," John said. "What happened last night?"

Rodney swallowed, gave John a sideways glance and then, as if a light bulb went off in his head, he turned to John with just a bit of a smug smile and said, "Power ballads."

"What?" John asked in confusion.

"Power ballads," Rodney repeated looking at John and smirking. "You were singing power ballads, and not very well, I might add. Your rendition of Lady was especially excruciating."

John looked at him in horror. "Please tell me you're joking."

Rodney grinned. "Unfortunately, I'm not."

"Oh, god. Did anyone hear me? Besides you I mean?"

"Well, no, I don't think... Yes, the entire village."

John groaned again and pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes. "If I ask you to shoot me, would you be a pal and do it?"

Rodney snorted. "While there have been times when the thought of shooting you has crossed my mind," he said, his voice tinged with amusement, "I really don't think Elizabeth would be very happy with me if I did."

John sighed, closed his eyes, and leaned his head back against the tree again, his headache throbbing just that little bit more to make his misery complete.

As he sat with his eyes closed waiting for the pounding in his head to subside a bit, he noticed that McKay was being unusually quiet. Opening his eyes a crack, he surreptitiously observed Rodney. The expression on Rodney's face seemed to be equal parts relieved and anxious, and John began to suspect that drunken singing wasn't the only embarrassing thing he'd done last night.

Opening his eyes the rest of the way and sitting up straight he demanded, "What else?"

"What?" Rodney asked with a start turning to look at John with wide eyes.

"Rodney," John said, drawing out the name. "What else happened last night?"

"Nothing. Nothing important," he said, his hands flitting in the air nervously. "Ronon and I got you to bed, and you passed out."

John stared at him with narrowed eyes. The longer he stared the more nervous Rodney got.

"You suck at lying, Rodney."

Rodney jumped up again and said, "I'm not lying, Colonel."

John sat back again, crossed his arms, stretched out his legs and said, "You're lying right now."

Rodney crossed his arms and John almost laughed at his attempt to look indignant. He was such a terrible liar. Giving Rodney his fiercest 'I'm getting pissed' look he said, "Sit back down and tell me what really happened last night."

Rodney's mouth opened, then closed, and then he sat down next to John with an aggrieved look on his face. "Fine," he said. "You want to know everything that happened, I'll tell you." He turned at looked at John then, his expression one of distress. "Just remember, you wanted to know."

John sat up and for the first time started to feel concerned. "Jesus, Rodney, what the hell did I do?"

Rodney swallowed, lifted his chin, and said, "You kissed me."

John looked at him in shock for a second and then he started laughing. Gasping for breath, he wiped the tears that streamed down his face, and tried to bring himself back under control. He'd almost succeeded when he caught sight of the offended look on Rodney's face, and then he started laughing all over again.

Rodney stood up again and said, "I'm so glad I was able to be such a source of amusement for you this morning, Colonel. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if I can find something to eat."

He turned to walk away, but John reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him back again.

"Aw, come on, Rodney," he said with a grin. "Don't be mad. I laughed at your joke, didn't I?"

"Yes," Rodney said with quiet dignity. "I'm glad you enjoyed the joke. Now if you'll just let me go..."

John stared at him, beginning to believe that Rodney wasn't joking.

"Sit down, Rodney," he said gently. After a slight hesitation, Rodney sat, but he didn't look at John. "You weren't joking, were you? I really did kiss you?"

"No and yes."

"Oh." John stared ahead, feeling a bit sick at himself. "I...wow...I'm...I'm sorry, Rodney. I wouldn't have forced myself on you if I'd hadn't been drugged or drunk or whatever I was last night."

"I realize that," Rodney said. He glanced at John then and said "Though to be perfectly honest about the whole thing, you didn't exactly force yourself on me."

John felt his heart start to beat faster, and he said, "You, um, you were okay with it then? With the kissing?"

Rodney looked down at his clasped hands and said, "Not...not really. Kissing you when you were intoxicated was taking advantage of you."

John felt his breath catch a little at Rodney's words. "Taking advantage of me?"

Rodney didn't answer, just stared ahead, worry and shame evident on his expressive face.

John looked at him for a long while, his thoughts in a whirl.

"So," he finally said trying to keep his voice even. "You didn't want to take advantage of me by kissing me when I was drunk. Does, um, does that mean you'd kiss me when I'm sober?"

Rodney turned his head away so that John could no longer see his face. John heard him sigh and then he said, "We had this conversation last night though, of course, you don't remember it." Rodney looked at him then. "No, of course I wouldn't kiss you when you're sober."

"Oh," John said the feeling of disappointment sharp in his chest. He sat there for a while trying to recall at least some little bit of the kiss. It was a total blank. He could see that talking about it upset Rodney, but he didn't like not knowing exactly what he'd done.

"Tell me how the whole kissing thing came about," he said. "I mean did I just grab you and kiss you?"

Rodney looked off into the middle distance, his unhappiness with the conversation evident in the tense set of his shoulder. "Do we really have to talk about this?"

"I need to know what happened, Rodney," John said in as calm a voice as he could muster.

Rodney sighed and nodded. "I thought you were passed out, and I was trying to take your boots off so you'd be comfortable to sleep. You woke up and accused me of trying to get you naked."

"I-" John started in a shocked voice.

Rodney waved his hand, interrupting him. "You were joking. Drunk and joking. There was some bantering back and forth and then you said you wouldn't let me take advantage of you but you would let me kiss you."

John frowned. "I thought you said I kissed you."

Rodney sighed tiredly. "Yes, you were the one that actually initiated the kiss."

"So I did force myself on you."

"No! You were...persuasive."

"So it was mutual."

"As much as it could be with you stoned out of your mind, yes."

John was silent for a while, considering what Rodney had told him. He wanted to keep pursuing the matter, but his pounding head kept interfering with his thought processes. And even if he were clearheaded, he realized, here and now was not the place to discuss this. Standing up and slipping his sunglasses back on he said, "Let's get back to Ronon and Teyla and finish this mission."

Rodney's mouth tightened into a thin line, but he nodded and stood up, silently following John back to their teammates.

John somehow managed to keep his mind focused on the mission. Merrikan had apologized profusely for the drink. It turned out that John's reaction, though not unknown, was very rare. As compensation for his pain and suffering, they were able to trade a few labor-saving devices for not only the Cheese Whiz/cow patties that actually tasted pretty good but also for a fair amount of fresh fruit that would be ripe within the month. During the whole of the trade negotiations, Rodney had remained silent, not even questioning whether the fruit being offered was citrus. John did the best he could to hurry the negotiations along without insulting Merrikan and his people. He really wanted to get home; he and Rodney still had a lot to talk about.

It was a relief when they finally entered the puddle jumper and took off for the home. They debriefed quickly, and then headed to the infirmary for their usual after-mission examinations. John was less than happy when he learned that Beckett wanted to keep him for a few hours.

"Aw, come on, doc, I'm fine," he protested. "I had a bit of a hangover this morning, but I'm feeling better now. The headache's almost completely gone."

"Aye, well, we don't know what other reactions you might have to the substance you imbibed, Colonel," the Scot insisted. "Therefore, I'm going to keep you until the blood tests come back normal. You can just relax for a wee bit."

The doctor patted him on the knee and turned to the others dismissing them. They all said their goodnights; well, all except Rodney who simply hopped off the examination table and left. With a resigned sigh, John leaned back in the bed he'd been assigned and waited out his confinement.

~~~

It was well after midnight before Beckett released him, telling him to get some rest. Ignoring the doctor's orders he first headed for Rodney's lab. He was surprised to find it dark since Rodney usually spent the first evening back from any mission that didn't land him in the infirmary catching up on work. Leaving the lab area, he headed for Rodney's quarters. This was better anyway, he thought. Lifting a hand, he knocked softly on the door. When there was no answer, he knocked again, more loudly this time.

The door slid open and a sleepy, disheveled, cranky McKay snapped, "What?" He blinked and looked surprised when he saw John standing there. "Colonel, w-what are you doing here?" he stuttered.

"We need to talk, Rodney. Can I come in?"

Rodney's eyes widened and he said, "I...Colonel, it's kind of late. Can't this wait until tomorrow?"

"No," John said firmly. "It really can't."

With another resigned sigh, Rodney stepped back and waved John in. The light was low, and John could see that the bed covers were thrown back. Turning his attention back to Rodney, he saw that he wore a rumpled t-shirt, his pants were zipped but unbuttoned - evidence that they'd been hastily pulled on before opening the door - and his feet were bare. John suppressed the smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"So what is it, Colonel," Rodney asked tiredly. "What more can we possible say about what happened? I apologized..." He stopped talking and frowned as he thought. "Or maybe I didn't. If not, I apologize now. I can also guarantee you that it will never happen again."

"You can guarantee my actions, Rodney?" John asked just a little amused.

Rodney scowled at him as if irritated by his obvious obtuseness. "Of course not, Colonel. I can guarantee my own, however. I allowed you to kiss me even though I knew it was wrong. The fact that you haven't kicked me off the team-" He looked at John worriedly now. "Is that why you're here? To ask me to-"

"No!" John interjected before Rodney could take the thought any further. "That's not why I'm here."

Rodney searched his face for a minute and then nodded, his relief obvious. "Fine," he said. "So, can we get on with this? I'd like to get at least some sleep tonight."

John swallowed, nervous for the first time since coming in the room. He was pretty sure that Rodney hadn't been completely honest with him, and he could only hope that the plan he'd come up with while stuck in the infirmary achieved the desired result.

"Okay, Rodney, here's the thing. You've told me what happened, but I still don't remember anything."

Rodney nodded slowly. "Okay."

John crossed his arms over his chest and looked as serious as he could. "I don't like having this blank spot in my memory, so I think the best, most efficient way for me to fill in the blank is to reenact the event."

"You want to reenact the kiss?" Rodney said his eyes widening in shock.

"Yes," John said stepping forward. "Now, I was on the bed, right? Was I lying down?"

He waited for an answer and when one didn't come, he said, "Rodney? Was I lying down?"

Rodney blinked. "This is insane. You cannot be serious."

John put his hands on his hips and scowled. "I'm very serious. I'm not comfortable with this loss of memory. If we recreate exactly what happened, then I'll have that memory restored."

"It won't be restored," Rodney argued. "At best, it'll only be a near approximation."

"Which is better than the nothing I have now," he insisted.

Rodney still didn't look convinced. "I still don't understand why-"

"So," John interrupted, "I was in bed, right?"

Rodney scowled at him and then threw his hands up. "Fine," he said. "But I just want to go on record by stating that this is a very bad idea. A very, very bad idea. And you were sitting on the side of the bed."

John smiled to himself and sat on the side of the bed. "Now what?"

Rodney swallowed nervously. "You told me to kiss you."

"Okay." Looking up at Rodney he said, "Kiss me, Rodney."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Not like that," he said glowering at John. "It was all throaty and sexy."

John blinked. "Throaty and sexy?"

Rodney blushed to the roots of his hair. "Look, I said this was a bad-"

"Kiss me, Rodney," John said his voice husky and full of need.

Rodney stopped talking and stared at John, his eyes dilated slightly. Licking his lips, he said softly, "Yeah, like that."

"Now what," John asked, keeping his voice rough.

Rodney licked his lips again and said, "You reached out your left hand to me."

John did. Rodney reached out and slipped his fingers in between John's. Without thinking twice, John gently tugged bringing Rodney down beside him. Rodney's eyes widened again. "You sure you don't remember what happened?"

"Is that what I did?" John asked staring into Rodney's blue eyes. Rodney nodded.

"Then what?"

"You touched my face with your right hand and then kissed me."

John reached up and lightly traced his hand down the side of Rodney's face, ghosting his fingers along the whisker-stubbled jaw. His heart was racing and he could feel his erection growing. Leaning forward, he slid his lips lightly across Rodney's. Pulling back slightly he asked, "Like that?"

Rodney was panting and his eyes were locked on John's mouth. "No," he finally said. "It was more...there was tongue."

John's cock leapt and he felt his fingers tighten around Rodney's. Licking his lips, he leaned forward with his mouth slightly open and pressed his lips against Rodney's mouth again. He slid his tongue out and traced around Rodney's lips, teasing them open. When Rodney finally allowed him entrance, he slipped inside, exploring, savoring, tasting the hot, wet interior of Rodney's mouth, slowing stroking his tongue over Rodney's, sucking gently on Rodney's tongue. He continued to kiss Rodney until he heard him moan, and then at last he pulled back.

Pressing his forehead to Rodney's, he gasped for air and asked, "Then what happened."

"Then you passed out," Rodney whispered, the fingers of his free hand digging tightly into John's hip.

John pulled back slightly. "Just like that?" he asked. "I kissed you and passed out?"

Rodney licked his lips again, his pointed pink tongue causing a white-hot flash of need to pulse through John's body. "You, uh, you leaned in like you were going to kiss me again, but you passed out before you could."

"Like this?" John asked. He leaned forward and captured Rodney's mouth again, his tongue once again stroking Rodney's tongue, his teeth nibbling Rodney's lips. He could feel Rodney pressing into him, answering his kiss, his strong fingers pressing tightly enough into his hips to leave bruises. When they pulled apart again, Rodney gasped, "You didn't kiss me a second time. You passed out first."

"Oh," John said, his hand sliding down from Rodney's face over his shoulder, down his back, past his hip, and along his thigh. His mouth hovered only millimeters above Rodney's. "Well, it was obviously what I was going to do though, right?"

"Yes," Rodney whispered.

"I probably would have done it a third time, too," he said before taking Rodney's mouth captive yet again. This time Rodney pulled his hand free of John's and reached up to capture the back of John's head. Instead of just allowing John to lead the way, he became an active participant. By the time the kiss ended, John was shaking with his need.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?" Rodney demanded breathlessly.

"Is it anything like this?" John asked and taking hold of the hand still clasping his hip, he pulled it around and pressed it against his raging erection. Rodney moaned and squeezed the hard shaft, stroking through John's pants. John's moan echoed Rodney's and he thrust his hips forward.

"Rodney, please," he begged.

"God, yes," Rodney said and pushed John back until he was lying flat on Rodney's bed. Seconds later, Rodney's warm hand made contact with John's aching flesh.

It was some time later that a naked, sweaty, sticky, thoroughly sated John Sheppard pulled away from Rodney and flopped back down on the bed. He could hear Rodney drawing in deep gulps of air, and he managed enough strength to curl his lips into a contented smile. Reaching out, he found Rodney's hand. Taking hold, he intertwined their fingers and squeezed gently. Rodney squeezed back.

"So," John said at last when his breathing was under control. "Can I take it that you really don't have a problem with kissing me when I'm sober?"

Rodney huffed out a laugh. "You could have told me you were gay."

"Not exactly something I'm going to advertise, Rodney. I kind of like my job," John said dryly. "And can I just mention that your sexual orientation never exactly came up in conversation either?"

"And my complete inability to connect with women never made you suspicious?" Rodney asked, his own tone of voice hovering around sarcastic.

John turned on his side, propped his head on his hand, slid his other arm over Rodney's stomach, and grinned. "Nah. I just thought you were being a total geek."

Rodney scowled at him, and John laughed and leaned forward to kiss him. "This is better though," he said when he pulled back. "Now I get to keep you for myself."

Rodney shook his head. "I still can't believe you want me."

John raised an eyebrow and slid his hand down to capture Rodney's wet, flaccid cock. "What does this tell you?"

"That it's very, very happy right now."

John laughed, gave Rodney another quick kiss, and then slid off the bed and headed for the bathroom.

As he walked across the room, he began to think about what kind of gift basket he could send to Merrikan. After all, if it hadn't been for the Nyquil roofie he'd been slipped, he never would have kissed Rodney, and then he wouldn't get to have all the memories they were going to make together.

The end