Work Text:
Hearing the email alert chirp from her laptop, Jeannie finished drying the last dish and put it away before sitting down to see what had arrived. As she'd hoped, several items in the weekly databurst from Atlantis had been forwarded to her, and she was pleased to see an email from John as well as the usual five or six from Mer. She'd been waiting impatiently for their reactions to the book Madison had recorded for them, hoping that they had appreciated how much work Madison had put into reading each page with a zeal approaching her uncle's dedication to perfection. Scanning the subject lines, she selected the one that looked most likely to hold what she was looking for.
From: mrmckay@secure.sgc-atl.gov
To: jeanniemiller@gmail.com
Sent: January 31, 2010 6:55:13 PM
Subject: A thank you and reciprocal gift for Madison
Attachment: batman_181.zip
Dear Madison (and Jeannie),
John and I want to thank you for the book you sent. It was a delight to hear Madison's voice reading to us and she did a very good job, especially with the inflection and tone. In return, we recorded something for Madison, although age-appropriate materials are rather scarce here. John suggested the Batman comic he gave me for Christmas, so I scanned the pages for you to look at while you listen. Jeannie, while I believe it's no more frightening or suggestive than a Harry Potter movie, it's up to you to decide. If it's not appropriate, then please send us something that is and we'll try again.
We hope you enjoy it.
Uncle Mer and Uncle John
Waiting for the zip file to finish downloading, Jeannie opened John's email next.
From: ltcjsheppard@secure.sgc-atl.gov
To: jeanniemiller@gmail.com
Sent: January 31, 2010 7:14:27 PM
Subject: Batman #181 - The uncut version
Attachment: batman_181_mckay_sheppard_take1.mp3, recording_session.jpg
Hey Jeannie,
Mer just told me he sent you the files for Maddie, so I thought I'd send along the uncut version too because I think it's pretty damn funny even though Mer doesn't agree. He's still cranky about Maddie's book slipping open on the bookcase so it started talking right when he was stepping out after a shower. He nearly had a heart attack because he thought he somehow??? flashed his poor innocent niece.
I'm warning you your brother has quite the mouth on him sometimes, so parental discretion is definitely advised when you listen.
Teyla took the picture before she and Ronon bailed on us. Too bad, I thought she would have been a great Poison Ivy. Better than me, anyway.
Hugs to you and Maddie and a big sloppy kiss to Kaleb (not really) from me,
John
Downloads complete, Jeannie plugged in her earbuds and clicked on John's mp3 file.
"…lost it thinking choreographing fight scenes with Ronon in this room was a good idea!"
"Hey, at least they would've been realistic sound effects. Too bad he and Teyla decided to go visit the Athosians instead. Still think she'd be a great Poison Ivy."
"Yes, well. You're probably right about that, but this was supposed to be you and me recording for our niece, although as a team project it would have been…."
"Mer. Read."
"What? You've been recording all along? Let me…."
"I've got it. Just sit there and chill. I turned it on after they left and we'll edit all the mistakes out later. It'll be fun. Now read."
"Fun. Fine. Batman issue number 181, 'Beware of Poison Ivy.' Read by Dr. Rodney McKay as narrator and title character with Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard as incidental characters and sound effects."
"A little formal for Maddie, isn't it?"
"It's accurate."
"It's boring. C'mere, grumpy."
"You know, you can't always win an argument by kissing me."
"I can't? Wanna bet?"
"Ah, ah, ah. You just stay over there or we'll never get this done. Starting again. Batman issue number 181, 'Beware of Poison Ivy.' Read by Uncle Mer and Uncle John."
"Much better."
With a smile and shake of her head, Jeannie adjusted her earbuds and settled back in her chair to enjoy the long-distance hug.