An Intersection in the Ripples Universe.
Caveat: A number of the details herein may be inaccurate - I used my own experience with the USNA as the basis for things like meal service and rooming at the USAFA. If anyone's actually been there and wants to correct me? Go for it. I won't be offended in the slightest.
It seemed simple enough - take the components; build a basic explosive device.
Unfortunately, the instructor failed to mention that they weren't supposed to make the device active. The instructions stopped two stages and one component (not provided) before activation was capable.
Robbie didn't read the directions, and he'd built bombs with a heck of a lot fewer designated components when the situation called for it. And it wasn't like he didn't know first aid, in case someone did something stupid.
Captain Markowitz was not amused.
Most days, Sergeant Koffman loved his job. Or he had before Robbie Cadman came into his life. Now, Koffman was the official liaison between the SGC and the Air Force Academy, and he wished he'd never heard of the US Air Force. When the phone rang and the Caller ID read the main line of the USAFA, Koffman flinched unconsciously.
"Office of the General, how can I help you?"
It was Colonel Hardell. "I need to speak to General Mitchell."
"I'm sorry, sir, the General's out at the moment. Can I take a message?"
"I've left six messages, airman. I want to talk to the general. Now."
"I, uh, one moment, sir." Koffman looked cautiously at the door to the general's office. He knew the general was in there. He also knew that the general had explicitly ordered him not to put Colonel Hardell's calls through. He was saved a potentially career-ending decision by the general himself, who came walking out of said office.
"That for me?"
"It's Colonel Hardell, sir."
"Why is that alarmist calling this time?"
"The colonel claims that Cadet Cadman has demonstrated concerning levels of skill in regards to demolitions."
"So he blew shit up."
"Yes, sir."
"His mother was a demolitions expert; of course he's good at blowing shit up. He blow up a dorm yet?"
Koffman mentally reviewed the colonel's list of complaints. "No, sir."
"He set fire to the chapel? Cause any injury to other cadets?"
"No, sir. Well, yes, sir. But that complaint related to PT, not demolitions."
"Then I don't want to hear about it. They should be glad Sarah McKay decided to go the civilian route. I get more calls from the Mounties..." The general walked back into his office and closed the door, ending the stream of complaints. The voice on the other end of the phone cleared its throat, and Koffman winced.
He really needed to remember that mute button.
Robbie cradled the receiver to his ear. "Every time I talk to you, I have more respect for what you went through after you left."
He smiled at the sound of Lisa's laughter. "Hey, it can't be that bad." She paused, and he could almost hear her frowning over the phone. "Is it?"
He sighed. "No, I guess not. I didn't think it would be so hard, going without her for so long."
"I know. It doesn't get better, exactly, but it gets bearable. Look on the bright side, you're already three months in and you haven't gone mad. Probably not going to happen if it hasn't yet."
"You're so terribly reassuring. With a girlfriend like you, who needs Sarah, yeah?"
There was a pause, and he could almost hear her thinking it over. "I'm not sure if I should be complimented or insulted by that."
"It was a compliment. Er, kind of. Look, have you ever taken English Literature?"
"Um, yeah? Everyone does here. Why?"
"I think the English teacher is trying to kill me. We're reading Pride & Prejudice, and it reads like a bad soap opera. Darcy's aunt? Totally a Hive Queen. It would be vastly improved with a few space battles. Or explosions. Explosions make everything better. The teacher gets mad when I start revising the plot overview, though. Or maybe he just gets mad because I write my notes in Ancient; I'm never really sure. It's hard to pay attention in that class."
"Is this your way of asking for help with your English homework?"
He glanced around, but no one seemed to be within earshot so he followed her switch to English. "Um, yes?"
"Look, I've got a research project running most of the weekend, but I can come out on Sunday. I'll bring Qilin, and you can buy us dinner at Happy Happy Chinese as a thank you."
"But-"
"You want the help, or not?"
He scowled at the phone. "I just miss you."
"Yes, and you'll be missing me more if you don't buy dinner on Sunday. It's not like the owners ever charge Qilin's friends full price."
"It's the principle. Aren't you supposed to pay for things half the time?"
She laughed. "Nope, not on Earth. On Earth, the guy pays. You took that session, right?"
"Yeah, and they said it's just as common to split the bill. You lie like an Athosian Rug sometimes, Lisa."
"You know you love me anyway. Hey, I've got to get going; I've got an early class. I'll call you Sunday when we hit the road, all right?"
"Noted. Be careful."
"I always am."
He hung up the payphone and headed to his room; maybe if he was lucky, Cameron would be up for a few rounds with the Bantos Rods. What he really wanted to do was blow things up, but the liaison from the SGC had warned him that he could only push those regulations so far. As he turned into his room, Cameron's head peered around the corner at him. "I could have sworn they spoke French in Canada."
Robbie gave the most concise response he could think of; he stuck his tongue out.
"Adams, is that Kosher?"
"Dude, I don't know. It's not like my family is orthodox or anything." Adams shrugged and passed the salad down the table. Robbie shot him an exasperated look.
"Does it have meat in it?"
"Um, it's a Caesar salad. I'm sure it's fine. No bacon bits or anything."
Robbie frowned. "Bacon, that's a meat, right?"
Adams rolled his eyes. "Yes, bacon comes from pigs. That means it's meat. God, what do they teach you in Canada?"
"Many and varied things. The first of which was don't eat meat when you're not at home; it's safer that way." Robbie accepted the salad, and used his clean fork to poke through it suspiciously. Satisfied that it was meatless, he claimed two servings worth before passing it down the table.
"Whatever. You must have gone to one really strange JCC as a kid."
Robbie looked up from his plate. "What is a JCC?"
Adams frowned. "Jewish Community Center. You are Jewish, right? The whole Kosher thing isn't just some careful plot to piss off the kitchen staff like you pissed off Captain Markowitz, right??"
Robbie thoughtfully chewed on a piece of lettuce. "Judaism. A moderately popular monotheistic faith centering on a number of mystical 'signs from God' involving a burning bush, the deliverance of sacred commandments, and a sequence of plagues. Also an ethnic minority practicing said religion."
"You left out the briss." Adams said dryly.
Robbie blinked. "I apologize. My understanding of the religion is somewhat haphazard."
Adams nodded slowly. "Right. You know, I just remembered something I need to talk to Capelli about. If you don't mind?" He stood without awaiting a response, and Robbie shrugged and went back to his salad feeling pleased with himself. He'd paid attention in Earth Religions 101.
Robbie emerged from Happy Happy Chinese feeling like he'd been hit by a truck. You heard horror stories about family reunions, but he'd never expected to be subjected to one. Somehow, because he and Lisa had known Qilin before she moved to Colorado, the Yins had decided that they were 'family'. "Mrs. Yin is really scary."
Lisa was right behind him, and in the red glow from the restaurant's neon lights she looked no better than Robbie felt. Kind of shell-shocked. "Doctor McKay scary." Make that very shell shocked. So many faces, so many questions; Robbie would have taken a rotation in the IT department if it would have meant avoiding the well-intentioned inquisition.
He shivered, and started to make his way across the parking lot to Lisa's car. "I can't believe Qilin would willingly marry into a family like that. There's so many of them. And they're so...so..."
"Traditional. I know." She fumbled in her coat pocket for her keys. "I asked her about it one night, about why she'd agreed to marry Sean so fast. Earth, it's not like home, you know? People marry later here, don't have their kids until they're older. Like our parents, well mine anyway. Your mom was younger."
He leaned against her ancient salt-encrusted Subaru Outback, one of the last cars in the lot. "What did she say?"
She closed the distance between them, and rested her cheek against his shoulder. "She said that with them, she belongs. They took her in, no questions asked, because Sean loved her. I don't think she's ever had that before." She let out a quiet breath against his cheek as his arms settled around her waist. "I kind of know how she feels."
"This is a bad idea. This is a really bad idea. I'm not sure you understand just how many ways this is a bad idea." Lisa was shaking her head, staring at him incredulously.
Robbie swallowed hard. "So that's a no?"
"No, no. I mean, it's not a no. It's just a disclaimer. I...Ancestors are you sure about this? Do you know how many people are going to freak out? I mean, my moms are going to try to castrate you. Your dad's probably going to be upset. Your mom is going to laugh her ass off. Sarah's going to have a hernia..."
Robbie blinked. "So that's a yes?"
Lisa looked up, refocusing on him. "Yes? Yes. I did say that, didn't I?"