Chapter Text
They had met in the Daedalus, four of the new civilians brought on to accommodate the growing population of Atlantis. The people on the Daedalus trip this time were mostly filling newly needed support roles, jobs that in previous times had just been done by the people who were already there. However, now that the Wraith threat was subsiding and the city’s defenses were back online, the city was moving out of its survival stage.
One of the roles that was getting filled was IT. All these scientists, especially McKay, were getting tired of their workflow getting interrupted by needing to fix their own computers and networks. They were all intelligent people who possessed the skills to do it, but once they saw someone other than Woolsey with a PA, the scientists threatened a riot. That’s where Scout and Dan came into the equation. Both of them had been contracted off and on by the SGC for setting up rudimentary networks and servers on planets of scientific or archaeological interest.They were seen as the best people for the job given their constantly proven ability to MacGyver any sort of tech with a couple U-Haul boxes of spare parts.
Beyond that, Daniel Jackson himself kept them on-call for his own reasons. It was no secret that he wasn’t the best with computers, nor did he really care to be. Their service was often times less than pleasant, but it was fast and effective. As an added bonus, Scout was never opposed to a little bit of data entry if the price was right, so he frequently called her for help cataloging his artifacts. The best thing was that neither Scout nor Dan showed any interest at all in what they were doing, not even phased by the Stargate when they first went through it. The closest thing to interest either of them showed was making childish jokes like calling the gate the “Interstellar Butthole” or betting on who would be the “red shirts” of the mission.
Meanwhile, the civilians on Atlantis were also pushing for a less militarized security team. Being as many of them were simply not American, tensions started to rise by having all the president’s best and brightest handling basic security matters. Not that the military personnel were overly thrilled with dealing with cases like “Someone stole my keyboard” or “This ring from my father is missing” either. That’s where Nathan and Tony were going to step in. Both were over-qualified for the job as they’d been homicide detectives in their former lives, but they were chosen largely due to their most recent success: helping General Jack O’Neill use the new parking meter downtown.
Jack had known he needed to pick a non-military security team for months at that point. However, issues like which potatoes made for best mash and his sg teams getting shot at were taking priority. When the two strapping young lads came out of the police station and asked if they could help him, only a few months before the Daedalus was set to leave, he figured they’d do. One of the contributing factors what that Nathan’s moustache “really made him look like a cop”. As though all the stars aligned, their service records were impeccable and neither one of them had many earthly connections. He expedited the process of getting them fit for Atlantis so that he’d never have to hear about the security squabbles again.
Once all these new support personnel were on the Daedalus, they had 18 days to waste. The vast majority of these people were giddy as they sat in the mess hall on their first day leaving Earth in the rearview. They were all standing around talking amongst themselves at the time where Daniel Jackson was scheduled to give an address. It was going to be some sort of “thank you all for coming and filling all these jobs” speech that could have been an email. However, given the circumstances, it didn’t really matter. Everyone on that ship was on the opportunity of a lifetime and they were grateful for the experience.
Nathan and Tony joked around with each other stood amongst the 30-odd people waiting for Daniel. As their point of contact had been Jack up until that point, they’d never met Daniel. They’d heard he was some sort of super-genius, but that was what they’d heard about everyone who had anything to do with Atlantis. If not a super-genius, they were highly decorated military officers.
Nathan and Tony were neither. They were from the suburbs of Ohio and Illinois respectively, both of whom were pushed through university for their sports-prowess more than their intelligence. Nathan had dreams of becoming a lawyer but failed the LSAT multiple times, quickly realizing there was more to being a lawyer than arguing. Tony was deluded into thinking he’d be an NBA star despite clocking in at (being generous) 5’9 and going to a college with what was essentially a beer league basketball team. Both of them ended up cops out of circumstance rather than desire; it was just luck that they ended up liking what they did enough to become good at it.
Daniel showed up in the mess, only about five minutes late, and started seemingly trying to do a headcount. When that didn’t work, he got everyone’s attention and announced he’d be taking roll, a remark that made Nathan and Tony snicker at one another.
“Wow, elementary school much?” Nathan snerked lowly to Tony. Tony punched his partner’s shoulder lightly and stifled laughter.
“That dude looks like if a high school chemistry teacher had a bastard with the Hulk, bro.” Tony replied in the same low tone between both their giggles. They were soon snapped out of their joking by Daniel loudly calling Nathan’s name, sounding annoyed as though he’d noticed the two behaving like teenagers. They froze, instantly reverting back to being in trouble in high school, a feeling they had both been overly familiar with.
“Nathan Brooks?” Daniel called out again when no one replied to him. Nathan winced slightly as he realized he was being called for roll and not because he was in trouble. He raised his hand lazily.
“Yeah, here.” He announced. Daniel’s face spread into a smile.
“Cool, thanks.” Daniel said. “Shouldn’t be any trouble finding you in a crowd… um-” He continued quickly as he looked for the next name. Everyone looked at Nathan upon hearing Daniel’s remark causing Nathan to roll his eyes and sigh.
“Let’s answer some questions before they happen, here, folks. I’m 6’5. Yes, I’m tall, yes, the weather is fine up here and no , I didn’t play basketball. Call the next name, doc.” Nathan asserted. Daniel nodded, with his eyebrows raised as he swiftly returned to calling roll.
Daniel called out names for a while without a hitch. Nathan and Tony looked around at everyone as they announced themselves, noting to each other in hushed tones what jobs they thought they’d be filling based off appearances. They started off honestly, but as they grew tired of hearing names followed by “here” they grew meaner in their assessments. Most of their assessments from F onward weren’t even jobs, just minor insults.
Everything halted, though, as Daniel called out a name that struck everyone as outlandish. It didn’t help that Daniel had to call it out a number of times and it still wasn’t met by anything.
“Has anyone seen Danger MacKenzie? Better known as Dan? Red beard, a little shorter than Nathan?” Daniel asked. Heads began shaking as Tony turned to Nathan with wide eyes and a grin.
“There’s a dude, who’s your height with a red beard like some sort of Viking , named Danger MacKenzie ? Bro, he has got to be on security with us!” Tony hushed, enthusiastically. Nathan returned the devilish grin, laughing quietly.
“Dude, I hope so, cuz, like, I don’t wanna have to fight Danger the Viking.” He replied.
Daniel up at the front sighed. “Alright, how about his sister, Scout MacKenzie? Also pretty tall, brown hair? Probably has her lip rings in, even though she knows she’s not supposed to have them?” He asked, practically begging at that point.
A woman Nathan and Tony had learned carried the name of Greta Holmes raised her hand. Daniel pointed at her with a nod and she began speaking. “Um, yes. I saw they girl you’re talking about. She was out of uniform and playing cards… I think she was in the airmen wing?” Greta said, cautiously. Daniel rolled his eyes.
“Oh, yeah… that sounds like her… probably euchre.” Daniel muttered to himself though the mess hall was quiet enough that everyone heard. He looked over at Vala who had been standing off to the side for only a couple minutes. “Vala, would you be able to retrieve Scout and probably Dan from their euchre game?” he asked. Just as Vala was nodding, a tall, sturdy girl in go-go boots and a mini skirt sauntered into the room next to the Viking-looking man of legend.
“No need, guys, we’re here. The bowers were very kind to me today by the way, if you even care ” the girl announced, making her way into the crowd.
Nathan and Tony looked at each other at the exact same time both with a self-satisfied yet devious smirk plastered on their faces. “Dibs” they hushed in unison, as though she was the last popsicle in the freezer rather than a real human person.
Roll finished off without another hitch and then Daniel gave something of a speech. It was around the five minute mark, relatively casual, and mostly just thanking everyone for coming. Afterwards, he suggested that they all help themselves to their last donut for what could be a while and get to know each other. A welcome offer for the two detectives as they hadn’t really thought about donuts when they agreed to go to Atlantis.
The two power walked over to the donuts the moment they deemed it to be socially acceptable, perhaps even a little before. It was more donuts on three out-of-place folding tables than either of them had seen in their lives. The boxes were stacked two, sometimes three high; it was Homer Simpson’s idea of paradise and it wasn’t too far off for a cop either. Nathan side-eyed to Tony as he simply yoinked a box off the top, as though telling Tony he might want to do the same, which he did.
They then walked off into an empty space in the mess hall to survey a place to sit, each holding their perhaps ill-gotten boxes of donuts. It was only a couple minutes before they saw Scout and Dan also absconding with a box of donuts each and retreating to a table in the corner closest to the door. They watched as the siblings giggled, proud of their heist sitting next to each other on the bench side of the table. Nathan signalled for Tony to follow and they walked with purpose over to their table.
Upon arrival, they each swung out a chair and threw themselves in heavily. The siblings looked up, each with a blonde cop sitting in front of them, and instantly ceased their conversation. Nathan looked at Scout sitting across from him and gave her his usual boyish smile. He then placed his entire box of donuts on the table, prompting Tony to do the same.
“We like the way you guys think.” Nathan said simply. Scout snickered and leaned back in her seat, more relaxed.
“Glad to see that other people going to a strange planet know to look out for number one….” She replied, her eyes cutting around the room. “Look at these losers, taking one donut each when half the defense budget was just blown on Dunkin… fucking rubes.” She scoffed. She looked back at Nathan and then to Tony who were both watching her intently. “So what are you guys in for?” She asked, her tone more chipper than before.
Nathan leaned back in his chair lazily. “Tony here and I are here for security. Something about lost and stolen items. Easy shit.” He replied, opening up his box of donuts. Scout nodded thoughtfully, her eyes cutting to her brother who was eating a donut and staring off into space. Annoyed by her brother’s inattention, she poked him on the shoulder repeatedly until he looked at her like he’d just woken up from a nap.
“Dee Dee, these guys are security. What’s the vibe?” She asked him. Dan shrugged and took a bite out of his donut.
“I dunno! You’re the people person, dude!” He replied, confused though a little louder than he had intended. “I don’t know anything about vibes, dude. Wha’d’ya mean?” He continued. Scout rolled her eyes.
“Well, last time you were like ‘who even are these people’ when I made us friends so forgive me for trying to include you in this process.” she snipped. She looked back at Tony and then Nathan. “Well, since it’s apparently entirely up to me… I’d like to extend and invitation to form an alliance with us.” She said, sweetly, nearly batting her eyelashes at them. Tony nodded but Nathan leaned forward in his chair and looked her dead in the eyes.
“Tell me, Scout. What would an alliance with you entail?” He asked, sternly yet low. Scout, too leaned forward, shrugging off Nathan’s attempt to throw her off.
“My brother and I bring a combined ten years of experience with the SGC to the table, about eight of those years were spent off-world. We know all the key players, even in Pegasus. Beyond that, we each brought 3 cases of liquor with us, 10 external hard drives full of movies, TV, music, sports games and… let’s just call it other media . Plus a stereo and a PA system for unsanctioned parties in lesser-travelled parts of the city.” She explained. She leaned even closer to Nathan, her eye contact unwavering. “My question to you, is what do you bring to the table?” She asked, sharply. Nathan grinned at her.
“If you’re gonna be dealing in contraband, you’re gonna need a few people on your side, sweetheart. You’re gonna need some people looking away, vetting trades, keeping some mouths shut… I think you know my partner and I are able to provide you with all those services. Y’know, for a price… ” He mused, bringing his hand up to move a stray lock of hair away from her face. She grabbed his wrist tightly just before his hand made contact with her hair.
“I’ll ignore a pet name, but you don’t touch me, pig. I don’t care how pretty or necessary you think you are.” She hissed. Nathan brought his head down slightly and looked back up as a subtle nod. “Good, I’m glad we’ve got this understanding.” She continued, releasing his wrist. “Now, from what I’ve heard from my guys in Pegasus, it’s more of a barter economy than anything, so I can’t guarantee any… Fiscal kickback, but what I can guarantee is unlimited access to the digital supply and a sizable portion of our liquid supply. I can elaborate on details later, when we’re more secluded, but this isn’t a supply that I intend on seeing dwindle. I have contingency plans for all supplies, even the ones I haven’t discussed, however those are details I would prefer to discuss in a bit more privacy.” She finished, watching as Nathan’s pupils changed in size at the mere mention of more privacy.
“I think this is the beginning of a very powerful friendship, Miss MacKenzie…” He hummed. He leaned back only slightly from her though he could still feel the warmth of her breath. “I’d like to agree to this alliance between us… and I accept your invitation to your quarters later to discuss the more… intimate details of our arrangement.” he continued. Scout grinned, leaning back as she put her hand across the table. As Nathan reached his hand in for the shake she took her hand back and spoke again.
“I’m looking forward to what will be a very profitable friendship, but I like to know the full names of those I’m going into business with… Especially when they know mine.” She reminded, her half smile causing one of her eyes to squint slightly. Nathan returned the more warm smile.
“Forgive me for my rudeness, Detectives Nathan Brooks and Tony Marken at your service.” He replied. Scout took his hand firmly and gave a quick shake as she thanked him for his introduction.
When Scout and Nathan finished their conversation and leaned back eating donuts, Tony and Dan looked at each other a little confused. There was almost a feeling on incompleteness to their conversation, like a movie had cut off an hour before the ending. The two that had not been involved with the conversation had been so captivated by it. So captivated, in fact, that they’d forgotten for a moment how goofy the situation actually was.
“Don Corleone ass” Dan muttered after a few beats of silence. Tony was the first to crack at the remark but Scout and Nathan weren’t far behind.
“Listen, man, Ferengi Rule of Acquisition number 9: opportunity plus instinct equals profit” Scout snickered as her joke spawned more laughter from her brother. Nathan and Tony laughed as well, but mostly because the other two were laughing. Frankly, the two detectives had just assumed she was citing an actual economic principle.
Their laughing soon attracted the attention of Daniel who had been talking with the new batch of research assistants. He was familiar with Scout and Dan’s giggling, familiar enough to know it was usually bad news. It was for that reason that he had to do a double take when he saw who they were sitting with. He didn’t know off the top of his head who Nathan and Tony were job-wise. However, he did know they were the two that were acting like high school jocks in an english class during his roll call.
Daniel walked over to the table, horrified to think he had perhaps inadvertently created a super group of troublemakers. He was a couple paces back when he realized that each and every one of them had taken a full box of donuts, a sight that made him give a sigh. At that point, Scout noticed him and waved him over.
“You guys really took liberties with ‘help yourself’ didn’t you…” Daniel huffed as he pulled over a chair from a neighbouring table. Nathan quickly exchanged a look with Scout although she was unfazed.
“Uh, yeah Daniel, we did, but only because you guys blew a buncha money on ‘em. C’mon man, you bought up a whole Dunkin and there’s like 50 of us on this whole ship. We’re just saving ourselves from day-olds, so really we’re heroes.” Scout replied, casually. Daniel blinked a couple times and then again sighed.
“I mean not to mention, type 2 diabetes is a silent killer, so I mean, it’s better we have these donuts than the older people. I mean because of our fast metabolism, right?” Tony added. Nathan and Dan nodded in agreement as Daniel weighed the pros and cons of pursuing the donut angle.
“Well, Tony, Nathan, I see you’ve made friends with the IT team.” Daniel stated, determining that the donuts were a lost cause. Nathan grinned and flashed Scout a wink before turning back to Daniel.
“As a red blooded man, do you really need to ask that question? I mean, man to man, are you gonna tell me that you wouldn’t befriend this beautiful young woman?” He asked. Daniel rolled his eyes, looking disgusted.
“I’m sorry, what is that you do, Nathan?” Daniel demanded. Nathan laughed.
“I’m a cop, doc. Tony and I are homicide detectives, CSPD.” Nathan replied, gesturing to his partner. Daniel bounced his head around slightly.
“N’yeah… of course you’d be a cop,” Daniel murmured. He turned his attention over to Scout, locking eyes with her as he tried to gauge if Nathan’s advancement had been welcome or not. “Well, Scout and Dan are very good at what they do… in fact, the commanding officer of the military on Atlantis, I’ve heard, is eagerly awaiting Scout’s arrival. Uh, something about, um… A new weapons database, he said, I think.” Daniel continued. Scout snickered.
“Sheppard! What a goon! I love that dude! What, the stupid idiot can’t keep track of his P-90s?” Scout asked. Daniel laughed gently at her assessment of Colonel Sheppard.
“Beats me. I told him about that database you made for my artifacts and he was interested to see what you could do with the armoury. Said he needed, and I’m quoting here, a ‘robo-Radar’ which I think was referring to the MASH character.”
Scout blinked a few times before she said anything, trying to figure out how funny it would be to insist she had no idea what MASH was. However she settled on: “ That’s what you guys talk about? Dude, how the fuck do you have friends?” which elicited a scowl from her direct superior.
“Sheppard and I are coworkers . I don’t talk about spreadsheets with my friends in a regular social capacity, I assure you.” Daniel replied, just as sassy as ever. Tony and Nathan stifled some laughter, prompting Daniel to ask what was so funny.
“You just straight up coworker-zoned this poor dude!” Tony snickered, gesturing vaguely. Nathan whacked Tony with the back of his hand gently on Tony’s shoulder.
“If you ever coworker-zone me, you can forget about being on my Spotify-” Nathan took his phone out of his jacket pocket and smacked it on the table. “ and don’t even think about my SportsNet subscription. I’ll change that password so fuckin’ quick ” He continued, pointing down at his phone. Tony looked at Nathan wearing a dim smile that thinly disguised his hurt.
“I’d never coworker zone you, Snooker! You’re my brother!” Tony’s earnest tone drew some strange looks, but only a smile from Nathan.
“Good! You’re family, man, I mean that!” Nathan replied, patting Tony on the shoulder.
The other’s watched in awe as they tried to understand the last 45 seconds of dialogue between the two men. Had they not articulated earlier that they weren’t actually related, no one would have ever assumed otherwise.
There were subtle differences between the two that compounded to make them look different enough to tell them apart. Nathan’s moustache, stature and signs of age definitely were the most obvious differences.
However, their faces were different; Tony’s face was softer, more of a boy next-door type. He had gentle, round blue eyes that seemed all wrong for a cop. He belonged as the love interest in a Hallmark Christmas movie. One about a business woman returning to her small town in New England for the season. The kind of boy who would stay close to his home town after college and have Sunday dinner with his recently-widowed mother.
Nathan, though, was a different story. He was still blonde-haired and blue-eyed, but he was more rugged. If he’d had a bit cleaner of a crew cut, he would have been the perfect cop. His eyes were beady and sunken, nestled in crows feet despite his young age. His nose was jagged, like it had been broken and healed a few times, with faint freckles scattered on it, extending below his eyes. His scruffy, generally unkempt face left room for only a few possible occupations: cop, cowboy and disappointed father. The type of man to exclusively drink PBR and chainsmoke Marlboros in a dark corner of his home, brooding about whatever troubles plagued him. His boyish smile was the only evidence that he had once been anything but a man tormented by ghosts of the past.
Despite these differences, on first glance, they both looked like average-looking blonde white dudes. Brothers was a reasonable assumption, goofy pains in the ass was another. The fact of the matter, was that everyone on the Daedalus on this trip to Pegasus, wasn’t really interested in knowing either of them. Aside from some of the ship’s crew, they were the token meat heads.
Nathan and Tony continued to invite each other to the next four years of family events, ignoring everyone else in the vicinity. Eventually, Daniel and Scout looked at each other and then each gave Nathan a puzzled look.
“Um… You’re aware that you won’t have SportsNet in Atlantis, right?” Daniel asked, hesitant to potentially be the bearer of bad news. Nathan stopped himself from inviting Tony to Thanksgiving 2028, gob agape.
“Uh, I mean, yeah, no internet means no SportsNet, I’m not an idiot” He snipped. He squinted, his eyes nearly becoming slits “Damn, dude you really think cops are that dumb?” He asked. Daniel rolled his eyes.
“Well, yes, but that’s not really… my point… exactly…” Daniel trailed off, unsure of how he would phrase his next question without coming off as more rude than they already thought he was. Scout took notice and shifted her eyes between him and Nathan quickly and gave a subtle nod.
“I think we’re all just confused because you were talking about banning Tony from your Spotify and SportsNet, so I think Danny was more asking, like, if you… Cancelled… those things before leaving, kinda thing…” She spoke slowly, unsure of how they would even rectify the issue quickly if he’d actually forgotten.
Instantly Nathan’s face went gaunt, his eyes that had nearly been slits before now wide in horror. “Fuck.” He muttered. He looked to Scout and then Daniel. “Will it just keep coming out until my card’s declined?” He asked, timidly. Daniel shrugged and Scout nodded as Nathan’s head fell into his hands. “Jesus Christ, I’m gonna lose my house, aren’t I?” his words were muffled but the agony wasn’t lost.
“Not over a couple monthly subscriptions, you moron! don’t be so dramatic!” Scout scoffed. Daniel glared at her.
“Hey, Scout, uncalled for, okay?” He scolded. He then turned his attention Nathan who was giving Scout a thousand yard stare. “I’ll get in touch with your POA and get them to cancel your subscriptions and anything else that you may have forgotten to cancel. Worst case scenario, you’re charged for another month, maybe two.” Daniel reassured him gently. Nathan grimaced, causing a ruckus among everyone involved to start going in on him. “You didn’t set up a power of attorney? Are you insane ?” Daniel demanded, louder than all the others.
Scout started giggling incessantly. “Dude, you are so fucked!” She shrieked through laughs. Tony scowled at her.
“What’s wrong with you? A man is going to lose his house and you’re laughing ?” Tony looked over at his partner who’s brow had sank over his eyes as he shot daggers through his latest business partner. “We’re in a spaceship , flying to some planet in another galaxy ! We can’t just pull over and call the bank! Stop calling him an idiot, he just made a mistake.” Tony continued, firmly. Scout shrugged.
“Where I’m from, we call out stupidity where we see it. I’m doing a public fucking service, stop booing me! I’m right!” Scout exclaimed, still treating the situation as a joke. Tony opened his mouth to say something but Scout shushed him. “Listen, I’m not a monster, I understand the gravity of a man falling into financial ruin. I also recognize the humour in the situation, fucking sue me.” She started. She reached a hand across the table and pointed at Daniel. “The reason why I’m laughing and not engaging with your panic is because I know that guy right there. I know him and I know he’s going to fix this shit. It may be grudgingly and sarcastically, but he’s going to fix this for you. I’ve watched this man fight off a small army of hostile aliens using only a fucking handgun . Trust me when I say: he’s got your fucking back.” She finished.
Daniel bounced his head around again making yet another non-committal noise. He then noticed Nathan’s eyes falling on him. The poor man looked like a baby animal caught in a trap. “N’yeah… She’s right. C’mon, Nathan, let’s get this sorted out.” He predictably, sounded a little annoyed as he stood up, waving for the young detective to follow him.
Nathan lit up and jumped up, grabbing his donuts and phone in one quick motion. “Hell yeah, Doc! I owe you one big time, man! I mean it, thank you so much, bro!” He abruptly pulled Daniel into half a hug in his excitement, accidentally knocking Daniel’s glasses with his donut box.
Daniel winced and his lips curled in on themselves to form a White Person Smile. “Four doctorates… Four doctorates and the closest I get to respect is Doc” Daniel said in a sigh as Nathan released him. When asked by Nathan to repeat what he had said, he replied with “Uh, yeah, I’ll remember that next time I need… Your services… Whatever those, uh, might be… ” while fixing his glasses.
As luck would have it, there was a JAG on board. He, too, was one of the new additions to the Atlantis Support Team. He was going to Atlantis for roughly this purpose anyway. Due to Atlantis’ ZPM, it was possible for people to go through with selling their houses or updating their finances. His other main job was essentially to make sure they avoided committing intergalactic war crimes.
The JAG was willing to help Nathan and they all worked together in Daniel’s quarters for a few hours to figure everything out. Eventually, it was decided that Daniel would be Nathan’s POA mostly out of convenience. While Nathan had said that he might be able to find a suitable replacement, Daniel had pretty much resigned him to being the permanent fix as they’d gone through and scratched out all his relatives one by one. It was all as good as fixed, or at least a plan was in place for a fix with paperwork and everything with plenty of time left to go over to Scout’s quarters.