Thank you! I always see John as having difficulty with shifting gears, all the way back to the first episode where he was all WAIT WHAT ME IN CHARGE HUH ELIZABETH, and you're absolutely right about the laconic exterior -- he uses it both because it makes him look less like he's freaking out, but also because if he didn't, he actually would explode.

This is clearly turning into a series of stories in my head, and I'm really looking forward to writing more of them. I've yet to figure out precisely how John calms Rodney down, what his pause button is in the way that for John it's not being able to do anything right at that moment.

I don't think I know that song! Is it available online anywhere?