Sighing he stepped closer to the prone form and said, �Now, that is an�� he paused, searching for the right word, �interesting� place for that.�
�Hmmm?� Tanner mumbled, opening his eyes. The younger man scowled at his captain and then smiled. �Mornin�,� he greeted softly.
�Were you at least comfortable?� Chris asked, pointing at the table.
Vin shook his head and sat up, moaning and clutching his back. �I think that I would be more comfortable if I had fallen through ice, got out again, my hair frozen and then walked ten miles over broken glass,� he replied softly.
�That bad?� Chris answered, chuckling lightly.
The pilot nodded. �Table�s awful hard, cowboy. Ain�t fit for sleeping on.� Climbing down, he moaned again and began rubbing his back.
�You aren�t old enough for back pain,� Chris chided, shoving him toward the door. �Go get changed. You have duty in two hours.�
Tanner moaned once more, this time at the thought of having to work feeling the way he did. Chris chuckled as the younger man left the room, heading for his quarters. Shaking his head, Larabee turned around and looked at the workbench. In his search for a place to lie down, Tanner had shoved all the artifacts that Daniel had left out into a messy pile and had laid down on top of the journals that had been left there.
The door opened behind him and he heard, �What�s this?�
The captain turned to see his chief archeologist staring in shock at the mess on the table. �Last night it was Tanner�s bed,� he said, grinning.
�This must be what my mother warned me about,� Jackson mumbled, moving over to the table and beginning to sort out the artifacts and journals.
Chris blinked and asked, �What do you mean?�
Daniel smirked and said, �My mother always told me that if I didn�t put my toys away, someone might come along later and break them.� Grinning, he added, �This must be what she meant.�
Chris grimaced, not really certain whether to be amused or horrified by what had happened. Suddenly, deciding to be amused, he stifled a chuckle. �At least he didn�t fall asleep in the hallway,� he said softly. �I practically fell over Jack this morning.�
Daniel smiled. �I don�t think Vin feels that way,� he said. �The floor�s nice and flat, this table wasn�t.�
�I�ll send him in to help you,� Chris offered.
Jackson shook his head. �No,� he said. �Blair and Declan decided to throw the party, they can clean up this mess.�
Chris nodded, chuckling softly. The two men had stayed up the latest, feeling that they had to help Inez clean up after the party was over. They�d be exhausted this morning and having them tidy the Archeology lab would definitely be Jackson�s idea of the perfect punishment. Shaking his head, Larabee made his way back to the bridge, suddenly quite glad he�d switched with Jack and stayed on duty during the party. The crew was likely to have some very tired members today.
�Happy New Year,� he said softly, as he passed a rather sleepy-looking southerner.
�Happy?� Ezra repeated. �I supposed, since it means that last year is over,� he said. Smiling, he said, �The revelers had some difficulty finding their quarters last night and Mr. Wilmington ended up sleeping with me.�
Chris� eyes widened. �He must have loved that,� he said laughing out loud.
Ezra smiled. �Seeing the look on his face this morning was worth the sleep I lost to his horrible snoring,� he stated gleefully. Chuckling softly to himself, Ezra headed toward the Archeology Lab.
End
