Lt. Colonel John Sheppard was not a vain man.

Okay, maybe he was a little vain. But when you looked like he did, it was understandable, right? The ladies loved him. Heck, everyone loved him.

Everyone...except you.

You didn't laugh at his smart remarks. You didn't get all blushy or giggly when he complimented you.

He didn't get it.

He tried to be charming. But you still seemed...aloof. Polite, but not interested.

What was the deal with you?

Sheppard decided to just...go with it. He wouldn't try to win you over anymore. No, he wasn't sulking. Or obsessed. He totally didn't sit there sometimes and glance over at you, wondering why he couldn't crack you.

And no, that diagram Beckett made about people not always liking him was not helpful. Doctors were supposed to help people, not mock their problems. It was just...unprofessional. And Sheppard would know all about being unprofessional. The amount of write-ups and complaints he'd had about his apparently sometimes unprofessional behavior was a testament to that...

Still, he sighed as he took a seat opposite you in the mess hall. Most of the team was already there - Teyla, Ronan, Rodney - you. But there was someone else there too. A new guy. Sitting next to you.

And you were talking with the new guy. Smiling at him. Like how you were supposed to smile and laugh for him, damn it.

Sheppard definitely wasn't frowning or sulking as he eyed them. He tried to sound cool, unbothered, as he picked at his breakfast.

"Oh, hey. Who's the new guy?"