The Brothers McKay
Oct. 24th, 2008 04:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
So... I made a post about an Alternate Sibling Challenge and I wrote this all like RIGHT after issuing the challenge.
The OC/Stargate:Atlantis/One Tree Hill.
Ryan McKay is Rodney's McKay's brother, and gave up his career in science to be married to Brooke Davis and have a family with her.
It's sort of an alternate take on the SGA ep "McKay & Mrs. Miller". Open ended, but... i like it...
John Sheppard walked behind his friend and teammate, Rodney McKay, as they headed up the front walk of the house McKay's brother lived in. It was a nice house, on a quiet street, so they weren't expecting the sudden shriek and a little blonde haired girl to come barrelling out the front door and latch onto McKay's leg.
"Uncle Mer!" she cried happily.
"Hello, Lily," McKay said, sounding resigned.
"Lily McKay, where the hell did you go?!" a voice called from inside, sounding a mix of amused and exasperated, and a minute later a short, blonde, and muscular, man emerged from the house, frowning in irritation first, then confusion. "Mer?" he asked, surprised. "What the hell?"
"Didn't anyone ever tell you that swearing stunts a child's intellectual growth, Ryan?" McKay grumbled, awkwardly picking Lily up and balancing the giggling girl on his hip.
"Yes, because we obviously turned out idiots," Ryan McKay replied, rolling his eyes as he approached. He took his daughter, planted a kiss on the top of her head and set her down. "Go finish," he told her.
"But..."
"Now, Lillian," Ryan ordered. Lily pouted but hurried inside with a dramatic sigh. Leaving Ryan to turn and face McKay. The brothers stood in silence for a long moment, McKay looking almost shy and Ryan appraising. "What the hell have they been feeding you? You look like shit," Ryan finally said, arms crossed over his chest.
McKay snorted. "We can't all spend six hours at a gym every day," he replied, relaxing slightly.
"I haven't been to a gym since Lily was born, Mer," Ryan said, shoving his older brother's shoulder. "Trust me, chasing after her is more than enough of a work out for anyone. Brooke's ready to market her as an exercise tool."
"Right, Brooke," McKay said, rolling his eyes. "How is Little Miss Fashion?"
"Do not start in on that, Meredith," Ryan growled. "Just because my wife doesn't have a half dozen degrees..."
"You left halfway through your second physics degree because of her!" McKay protested. "You could have been completely brilliant, make huge strides in the field, but she convinced you..."
"Don't," Ryan repeated, his tone holding a strong warning. "I chose what was best for me. I chose to be who I wanted to be and not who anyone else, including our parents and including you, wanted me to be. I know you wouldn't be happy in suburbia with a wife and kid, but I am."
"You gave up..."
"I gave up going prematurely bald and being sent to Siberia for pissing people off, Meredith!"
"He's got you there, McKay," Shepaprd said. "But what's with the Meredith?" he added.
"It's his name," Ryan said. "Meredith Rodney McKay."
"Your name's Meredith?" Sheppard asked.
"There's a reason I go by Rodney," McKay growled.
"Yeah, but you are the one who gave me permission to call you Mer," Ryan said.
"Because you couldn't pronounce Rodney!" McKay argued.
"I was two," Ryan explained. "Both 'Meredith' and 'Rodney' came out as gobbled up messes. It came down to either 'Mer' or 'Rod', and he preferred Mer."
"Our father laughed whenever anyone called me Rod," McKay grumbled.
"Finished, Daddy!" Lily yelled from inside, and Ryan gestured for them to follow him.
"I'm guessing you're Sheppard?" Ryan asked. "Mer's mentioned you in his exceedingly rare letters."
"Yeah," Shepaprd replied, smirking at McKay, who scowled. "Our workplace is kind of... remote and inaccessible most of the time. But Rodney does good work."
"I don't doubt it," Ryan said. "My brother is a genuis."
"No one there wants to give me anywhere near enough credit," McKay commented.
"Even though his ego says he's about three times as smart as reality says," Ryan added with a grin. They walked into the living room, and Ryan went over to crouch beside the coffee table where Lily had, at first glance, been coloring. "Looks right," he said. "Your the one who taught me about the stars, Mer, what do you think?" Ryan said, waving McKay and Sheppard over.
On the coffee table was stretched a star map that had been printed without any labels. But in carefully written crayon, Lily had labelled all the biggest stars and a dozen or so smaller ones. "That's..." McKay began.
"Really cool," Sheppard supplied.
"Daddy gave me a list of names and list of cord nates, and I had to find them," Lily said, misprounouncing a word, but still showing her own intelligence.
"I'm working on a Deep Space Telemetry project," Ryan said. "I know I'm not getting even close to the real story, since they've got me plotting routes between stars, which everything I know says isn't possible yet, but... Anyway, Lily likes working with me," he concluded, placing another kiss against her temple. "You can go play now, baby."
"But I wanna hang out with Uncle Mer!" Lily protested.
"Hey, I'm a friend of your Uncle Mer's," Shepaprd said, hunkering down near them. "Maybe you could show me around your house? I'll bet you've got some really cool stuff."
"It's okay, Lil," Ryan agreed when she looked at him for permission. He watched Lily lead Sheppard up the stairs, glancing at McKay. "He's not some kind of a freak, is he?" he asked belatedly.
"He is, but not in a bad way," McKay said, waving a dismissive hand. "I need your help. Actually, our project needs you help, and you have to come with us, so where is the little wife so she can be a mother for once while you do something worth..."
"Brooke is at work, but she'll be home soon," Ryan said. "And my daughter is more than worth it," he added pointedly.
"You know I didn't mean it that way. But imagine what she could do if she was inspired by her brilliant father?" McKay said.
"Oh God help us, Meredith is here," Brooke Davis-McKay said from the doorway as she kicked off her shoes.
"He needs my help," Ryan said.
"And he admitted this?" Brooke replied in feigned shock.
"I really don't like you," McKay said, eyes narrowed.
"Feeling is mutual, bald boy," Brooke replied.
"Will you let Ryan out to play at his passion for a little while?" McKay asked in a condescending tone.
"Meredith," Ryan said warningly.
"It's science, math, physics," McKay said, pressing on, though in a slightly nicer tone. "It's all the things he used to love and dream about."
"Mer... what are we talking about?" Ryan asked.
"It's classified," McKay said. "And if you come, you'll be gone a while..."
"How long is a while?" Brooke asked.
"Because I can't just disappear on Lily," Ryan added, although his eyes said he was interested.
"A month and a half, maybe two months," McKay admitted.
"I could take the time off, make sure she doesn't have time to miss you," Brooke offered. "And as long as we tell her you're helping Uncle Mer out of a jam, I'm sure she'll be okay with it."
"Mommy!" Lily called as she and Sheppard came back downstairs. "This is Uncle Mer's friend John, he's a pilot and he says Uncle Mer helps him save people!"
"Seriously?" Brooke asked, glancing between Sheppard and McKay.
"Hey, Lil?" Ryan asked, crouching down. "Uncle Mer and Mr. Sheppard need my help with something, but if I help them, I'll be gone a couple weeks, maybe a couple months. Would that be okay, or do you want me to stay with you and Mommy?"
"You can go, Daddy," Lily said, smiling. "If Uncle Mer asked, it must be really important."
Sheppard snorted. "The kid's right, it is," he said.
"Then I guess I'll help," Ryan said, standing up. "How long before we leave?"
"An hour?" McKay said.
"He was stubborn about figuring it out on his own before he caved at the last minute," Sheppard explained.
"Let's go get you packed, Daddy," Lily said matter of factly, taking his hand and dragging him upstairs.
Once they'd disappeared, Brooke turned to McKay. "If he comes back to me with so much as a scratch, I will hunt you down and hurt you, Meredith Rodney McKay," she warned.
"We'll keep him safe," Sheppard promised before McKay could snap out an angry retort. "And hey, our coworkers don't let McKay get killed, and he pisses everyone off regularly."
"They'll probably all adore him," McKay muttered.
"He's very likeable, unlike some people," Brooke replied. Then, she stepped forward and hugged McKay, who grudgingly returned it. "His eyes haven't lit up quite like that in a long time, Rodney," she said.
"Well, I'm offering him the chance to do what he loves..." McKay began.
"Yeah, work side by side with his big brother," Brooke said. "You're an ass, but he misses you. He misses working with you on problems."
"Well, hopefully we can get this fixed and get him home to you quickly before my staff mutinies to replace me with him," McKay grumbled, though he was almost glowing with the news that Ryan missed him.
"They'll have to go through me first," Brooke said. "And I think you remember, I fight dirty."
"Yes, I do remember the stilletto that almost caused my pinkie toe to need amputation," McKay snarked, although his tone was almost affectionate now.
"Don't let anything happen to either of them, alright, Mr. Sheppard?" Brooke said. "Ask Mer what I do to people who piss me off. The stilletto and toe thing is nothing compared to some of what I've done."
"Thankfully I wasn't the target of that stuff," McKay said, shuddering. "That woman is a force to be reckoned with. She's almost as crazy as Laura Cadman!"
"I'm gonna guess I should take that as a compliment?" Brooke asked Sheppard, who was grinning.
"Daddy's ready," Lily said as she pulled him back downstairs, a single small duffle slung over Ryan's back.
The End... For Now
The OC/Stargate:Atlantis/One Tree Hill.
Ryan McKay is Rodney's McKay's brother, and gave up his career in science to be married to Brooke Davis and have a family with her.
It's sort of an alternate take on the SGA ep "McKay & Mrs. Miller". Open ended, but... i like it...
John Sheppard walked behind his friend and teammate, Rodney McKay, as they headed up the front walk of the house McKay's brother lived in. It was a nice house, on a quiet street, so they weren't expecting the sudden shriek and a little blonde haired girl to come barrelling out the front door and latch onto McKay's leg.
"Uncle Mer!" she cried happily.
"Hello, Lily," McKay said, sounding resigned.
"Lily McKay, where the hell did you go?!" a voice called from inside, sounding a mix of amused and exasperated, and a minute later a short, blonde, and muscular, man emerged from the house, frowning in irritation first, then confusion. "Mer?" he asked, surprised. "What the hell?"
"Didn't anyone ever tell you that swearing stunts a child's intellectual growth, Ryan?" McKay grumbled, awkwardly picking Lily up and balancing the giggling girl on his hip.
"Yes, because we obviously turned out idiots," Ryan McKay replied, rolling his eyes as he approached. He took his daughter, planted a kiss on the top of her head and set her down. "Go finish," he told her.
"But..."
"Now, Lillian," Ryan ordered. Lily pouted but hurried inside with a dramatic sigh. Leaving Ryan to turn and face McKay. The brothers stood in silence for a long moment, McKay looking almost shy and Ryan appraising. "What the hell have they been feeding you? You look like shit," Ryan finally said, arms crossed over his chest.
McKay snorted. "We can't all spend six hours at a gym every day," he replied, relaxing slightly.
"I haven't been to a gym since Lily was born, Mer," Ryan said, shoving his older brother's shoulder. "Trust me, chasing after her is more than enough of a work out for anyone. Brooke's ready to market her as an exercise tool."
"Right, Brooke," McKay said, rolling his eyes. "How is Little Miss Fashion?"
"Do not start in on that, Meredith," Ryan growled. "Just because my wife doesn't have a half dozen degrees..."
"You left halfway through your second physics degree because of her!" McKay protested. "You could have been completely brilliant, make huge strides in the field, but she convinced you..."
"Don't," Ryan repeated, his tone holding a strong warning. "I chose what was best for me. I chose to be who I wanted to be and not who anyone else, including our parents and including you, wanted me to be. I know you wouldn't be happy in suburbia with a wife and kid, but I am."
"You gave up..."
"I gave up going prematurely bald and being sent to Siberia for pissing people off, Meredith!"
"He's got you there, McKay," Shepaprd said. "But what's with the Meredith?" he added.
"It's his name," Ryan said. "Meredith Rodney McKay."
"Your name's Meredith?" Sheppard asked.
"There's a reason I go by Rodney," McKay growled.
"Yeah, but you are the one who gave me permission to call you Mer," Ryan said.
"Because you couldn't pronounce Rodney!" McKay argued.
"I was two," Ryan explained. "Both 'Meredith' and 'Rodney' came out as gobbled up messes. It came down to either 'Mer' or 'Rod', and he preferred Mer."
"Our father laughed whenever anyone called me Rod," McKay grumbled.
"Finished, Daddy!" Lily yelled from inside, and Ryan gestured for them to follow him.
"I'm guessing you're Sheppard?" Ryan asked. "Mer's mentioned you in his exceedingly rare letters."
"Yeah," Shepaprd replied, smirking at McKay, who scowled. "Our workplace is kind of... remote and inaccessible most of the time. But Rodney does good work."
"I don't doubt it," Ryan said. "My brother is a genuis."
"No one there wants to give me anywhere near enough credit," McKay commented.
"Even though his ego says he's about three times as smart as reality says," Ryan added with a grin. They walked into the living room, and Ryan went over to crouch beside the coffee table where Lily had, at first glance, been coloring. "Looks right," he said. "Your the one who taught me about the stars, Mer, what do you think?" Ryan said, waving McKay and Sheppard over.
On the coffee table was stretched a star map that had been printed without any labels. But in carefully written crayon, Lily had labelled all the biggest stars and a dozen or so smaller ones. "That's..." McKay began.
"Really cool," Sheppard supplied.
"Daddy gave me a list of names and list of cord nates, and I had to find them," Lily said, misprounouncing a word, but still showing her own intelligence.
"I'm working on a Deep Space Telemetry project," Ryan said. "I know I'm not getting even close to the real story, since they've got me plotting routes between stars, which everything I know says isn't possible yet, but... Anyway, Lily likes working with me," he concluded, placing another kiss against her temple. "You can go play now, baby."
"But I wanna hang out with Uncle Mer!" Lily protested.
"Hey, I'm a friend of your Uncle Mer's," Shepaprd said, hunkering down near them. "Maybe you could show me around your house? I'll bet you've got some really cool stuff."
"It's okay, Lil," Ryan agreed when she looked at him for permission. He watched Lily lead Sheppard up the stairs, glancing at McKay. "He's not some kind of a freak, is he?" he asked belatedly.
"He is, but not in a bad way," McKay said, waving a dismissive hand. "I need your help. Actually, our project needs you help, and you have to come with us, so where is the little wife so she can be a mother for once while you do something worth..."
"Brooke is at work, but she'll be home soon," Ryan said. "And my daughter is more than worth it," he added pointedly.
"You know I didn't mean it that way. But imagine what she could do if she was inspired by her brilliant father?" McKay said.
"Oh God help us, Meredith is here," Brooke Davis-McKay said from the doorway as she kicked off her shoes.
"He needs my help," Ryan said.
"And he admitted this?" Brooke replied in feigned shock.
"I really don't like you," McKay said, eyes narrowed.
"Feeling is mutual, bald boy," Brooke replied.
"Will you let Ryan out to play at his passion for a little while?" McKay asked in a condescending tone.
"Meredith," Ryan said warningly.
"It's science, math, physics," McKay said, pressing on, though in a slightly nicer tone. "It's all the things he used to love and dream about."
"Mer... what are we talking about?" Ryan asked.
"It's classified," McKay said. "And if you come, you'll be gone a while..."
"How long is a while?" Brooke asked.
"Because I can't just disappear on Lily," Ryan added, although his eyes said he was interested.
"A month and a half, maybe two months," McKay admitted.
"I could take the time off, make sure she doesn't have time to miss you," Brooke offered. "And as long as we tell her you're helping Uncle Mer out of a jam, I'm sure she'll be okay with it."
"Mommy!" Lily called as she and Sheppard came back downstairs. "This is Uncle Mer's friend John, he's a pilot and he says Uncle Mer helps him save people!"
"Seriously?" Brooke asked, glancing between Sheppard and McKay.
"Hey, Lil?" Ryan asked, crouching down. "Uncle Mer and Mr. Sheppard need my help with something, but if I help them, I'll be gone a couple weeks, maybe a couple months. Would that be okay, or do you want me to stay with you and Mommy?"
"You can go, Daddy," Lily said, smiling. "If Uncle Mer asked, it must be really important."
Sheppard snorted. "The kid's right, it is," he said.
"Then I guess I'll help," Ryan said, standing up. "How long before we leave?"
"An hour?" McKay said.
"He was stubborn about figuring it out on his own before he caved at the last minute," Sheppard explained.
"Let's go get you packed, Daddy," Lily said matter of factly, taking his hand and dragging him upstairs.
Once they'd disappeared, Brooke turned to McKay. "If he comes back to me with so much as a scratch, I will hunt you down and hurt you, Meredith Rodney McKay," she warned.
"We'll keep him safe," Sheppard promised before McKay could snap out an angry retort. "And hey, our coworkers don't let McKay get killed, and he pisses everyone off regularly."
"They'll probably all adore him," McKay muttered.
"He's very likeable, unlike some people," Brooke replied. Then, she stepped forward and hugged McKay, who grudgingly returned it. "His eyes haven't lit up quite like that in a long time, Rodney," she said.
"Well, I'm offering him the chance to do what he loves..." McKay began.
"Yeah, work side by side with his big brother," Brooke said. "You're an ass, but he misses you. He misses working with you on problems."
"Well, hopefully we can get this fixed and get him home to you quickly before my staff mutinies to replace me with him," McKay grumbled, though he was almost glowing with the news that Ryan missed him.
"They'll have to go through me first," Brooke said. "And I think you remember, I fight dirty."
"Yes, I do remember the stilletto that almost caused my pinkie toe to need amputation," McKay snarked, although his tone was almost affectionate now.
"Don't let anything happen to either of them, alright, Mr. Sheppard?" Brooke said. "Ask Mer what I do to people who piss me off. The stilletto and toe thing is nothing compared to some of what I've done."
"Thankfully I wasn't the target of that stuff," McKay said, shuddering. "That woman is a force to be reckoned with. She's almost as crazy as Laura Cadman!"
"I'm gonna guess I should take that as a compliment?" Brooke asked Sheppard, who was grinning.
"Daddy's ready," Lily said as she pulled him back downstairs, a single small duffle slung over Ryan's back.
The End... For Now