“AR-1 and 2, coming in hot,” Chuck announced as he lowered the shield.

Ioan’s heart tripped as it always did when his brother’s team was in trouble but he pushed it down and got into position. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Bates do the same. Ioan frowned at the fierceness he read in the other man’s posture. He didn’t care for it one bit. If he were honest, he didn’t much like the man in general. Not many on the city did. Bates was a hardass with a temper. He was the one in charge of base security and, to Ioan’s mind, the responsibility had not done the man any favors to his attitude.

Any further thought was pushed aside when stunners came through the gate, followed closely by both teams. Ioan had only enough time to register no major casualties when one final stunner came through the gate just before the shield came back up, hitting McKay square in the face who immediately crumpled to the floor.

“McKay!” Sheppard yelled, dropping to his knees.

Ioan stared in abject horror at the still form of Rodney, as Sheppard frantically checked for a pulse. Ioan knew he had found it when the Major’s body seemed to go lax with relief.

Hitting his com, Ioan barked, “Medical team to the gate room, stat! Man down.” Hurrying over, Ioan’s eyes roamed over the others before resting on his brother. Only then did he notice that Evan was limping. Slipping an arm around his waist, Ioan helped him to the stairs so he could sit down. “You okay? What happened?” he asked quietly.

Evan shook his head. “Nothing. Just tripped over a loose rock on the way to the gate. I’ll be fine.”

“And the mission? You weren’t due back until tonight,” Ioan pressed.

“The Wraith arrived about two hours after we got to the planet. They kept the gate open for a while before we finally managed to dial out. We can scratch that address off the list for possible Alpha sites, obviously,” Evan said with a groan as he attempted to stretch his leg.

Ioan frowned. Another Wraith attack? How many did that make now, where AR-1’s team had encountered them shortly after arriving on a planet, Ioan wondered.

Carson stopped in front of them to check on Evan. “You alright, lad? Think you can make your way to the infirmary on your own?”

Evan glanced at Ioan, then nodded even as Ioan said, “Don’t worry, doc, I’ll make sure he gets there.”

Carson flashed a brief smile, then hurried back to Rodney who was being put on a gurney. Glancing behind them, Ioan frowned at a scowling Bates. The man looked like he was about to explode. He radiated suspicion and anger – not a good combination in Ioan’s book. He shared a knowing look with his brother as he helped him to his feet. They both agreed that trouble was brewing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I’m sorry about this, Halling,” Evan said quietly as he prepared to take off. They were ferrying the Athosians to the mainland – a compromise between Weir and the Athosians while they figured out how the Wraith got their intel that continuously seemed to jeopardise their missions.

It didn’t sit well with Evan that the Athosians had been treated more like prisoners than friends, or that Bates had been stoking the fire behind the paranoia that seemed to have come over Weir. Granted, he could see as well as the next person that there was something going on, but his gut told him that Sheppard was right about the Athosians and that there were no spies among them.

Halling sighed, shaking his head. “As am I, Major Lorne. I truly hope that one day your Dr. Weir will find her trust in us again. Perhaps our settling on the mainland will aid with that.”

Offering the man a small smile, Evan nodded. “Perhaps.”

The trip to where the Athosians would be putting up camp took less than half an hour. Evan offered to help get everything moved, but Halling waved him off. “No need, Major Lorne. We will manage. This is not the first time we have had to start again.”

“Alright. Remember, if you or your people need anything, call us. We will be there,” he stressed, though he could tell from some of the faces around him that not all the Athosians shared his belief.

Halling, however, nodded. “Thank you, Major.” Evan was touched when Halling made to do the Athosian greeting – though Evan had long since learned it was used both in greetings and goodbyes, as well as offers of support and comfort.

Touching his forehead to Halling’s, Evan murmured, “Be safe, my friend.”

“And you,” Halling replied softly.

With one final glance over the first friends they had made in Pegasus, Evan went back to the jumper and made his way back to the city.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rodney glowered, arms crossed over his chest as Bates dumped the contents of the bag on his desk. Rodney knew full well that John would never have ordered Teyla’s belongings searched and that he would be pissed once he found out Bates had gone behind his back. “You want me to go through her stuff?” he asked incredulously.

Bates, who had already turned to head out the door, glanced over his shoulder with a determined look in his eye. “We’re looking for weapons, transmitters, recording devices. Anything that looks like it’s beyond the Athosian level of technology.”

Taking a deep breath, Rodney stared at the ceiling, trying to keep a tight rein on his temper. “And if I don’t find anything, do we move on to a strip search?” He was feeling queasy. Teyla was his friend, too, and there was just no way she would betray them.

Glaring at him, Bates ordered, “Just do it,” and walked away.

“This isn’t right,” Rodney muttered to himself as he reluctantly began sorting through his friend’s belongings. He continued talking to himself as he methodically poured over everything. “See, there’s nothing here. I can’t believe Bates could be so-.” He cut off as he fingered Teyla’s necklace. Something seemed off about it, so he carried it over to his computer and began to do a search through the database. His stomach dropped down to his toes as a single, condemning entry popped up on his screen.

He knew Bates would want to know as soon as possible, but Rodney just could not bring himself to radio the sergeant. Instead, he hurried over to the infirmary, certain he would find John there. His thoughts kept snarling, twisting him up inside. Regardless of what the database said, he couldn’t believe Teyla capable of working for the Wraith. John trusted her implicitly. That had to mean something, didn’t it?

The relief Rodney felt at seeing John sitting next to Ford as he walked into the infirmary was instant. “Major! I err… Oh, Ford. How are you feeling? Pins and needles everywhere?” he asked, genuinely concerned for his teammate. He remembered only too well what it felt like to get hit by a stunner, and not just because he was still dealing with the aftereffects of it off and on.

Ford looked bashful as he explained he had managed to dodge the stunner only to hit his head on a rock on his way down. So merely concussed, Rodney thought, his mind already spinning back to Teyla and what he had uncovered. “Er, Major, there’s something I need you to see,” he urged, walking off without waiting to see whether John followed. He was only vaguely aware of Ford calling after them, but his actual words never registered.

The closer they came to his lab, the worse Rodney felt because it meant he would soon be the one to provide immutable proof that Bates had been right about their friend. “What the hell is this?” John asked as soon as he spotted Teyla’s things on Rodney’s desk.

Taking a deep breath, Rodney briefly closed his eyes before meeting John’s. “I know how it looks. Special request from Sergeant Bates.” Oh, how he hated that look in John’s eyes. The one that said he was hurt by his betrayal.

“I’m gonna bust that son of a bitch,” John growled.

Rodney didn’t doubt that. He sighed. “Major.” He needed to keep a level head. Rodney couldn’t appeal to John right now, so he used his title instead, hoping to get through to him.

“Teyla has nothing to do with this,” John protested vehemently.

Jaw clenching, Rodney steeled himself. “Thing is, he was right,” he said quietly.

The anger in John was replaced by shocked disbelief as he gaped at Rodney, who wished he didn’t have to deliver the news. “I know, I was as surprised as you are,” he murmured, unable to keep eye contact. Turning to his computer, he pulled up the information on the necklace. “Look at this.”

He beckoned John over. “It’s her locket,” he said, holding it up to compare it to the image on the screen. “It’s a transmitter. It’s been broadcasting a continuous signal. I wouldn’t even have noticed if I hadn’t been looking for it specifically,” he confessed, his gut churning.

John released a long breath of relief, much to Rodney’s surprise. “I found it,” John admitted.

Rodney stared at him, dumbfounded. “What?”

Meeting his gaze, John confided, “I found it. On her planet, the first time we met. Teyla took me to the old ruins. That,” he said, pointing to the locket, “was half buried in dirt. I gave it to her.”

Mind racing over the implications, Rodney snapped his fingers. “But that means-,” he paused, then snapped his fingers again, already walking at a clipped pace, clutching the necklace. “We need to talk to Elizabeth. Now.”

Bates was already with Elizabeth when he and John entered the room she had been using to ‘interview’ the Athosians. Rodney tried not to dwell on that as it still made him uneasy to know just how quickly the light of suspicion had been cast on an innocent people. On their friends. Still, with Bates here, it would be easier to allay any further concerns regarding Teyla. He hoped.

Tossing the necklace on the table in front of Elizabeth, Rodney walked back to stand next to John. “The locket’s signal isn’t strong enough to travel very far, certainly not through subspace. Now, my guess is there are probably relay devices on certain planets that pick up the transmission and then alert the nearest hive ship. Those were the planets where we were attacked.”

“Boy do we owe a few people an apology,” John said with a pointed glance at Bates, who still seemed determined to be right no matter the evidence laid before him. Rodney felt oddly pleased that John was remaining so calm.

Elizabeth shook her head and sighed, relief at Teyla’s innocence apparent. “Teyla had no idea that she was giving away your position.”

Rodney smiled, happy that she at least was finally beginning to understand and accept what was going on. John nodded, murmuring, “She said it was a present from her father. She lost it when she was a kid.”

Putting the last pieces of the puzzle together, Rodney nodded to himself. “It was probably dormant until Major Sheppard picked it up, activating it.” Well didn’t that make perfect sense. Everything John touched that was Lantean seemed to work for him, so why not that locket.

Bates looked less convinced. “If she wore it as a kid, how come they weren’t attacked back then?”

Rodney stared at the sergeant, only barely refraining from asking the man if he was really that stupid. “Didn’t I just say it was dormant?” he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

Bates shrugged, apparently really as dumb as he looked. “But if it’s activated by touch, then-.”

“You’re not listening,” Rodney retorted, counting silently to ten in order to keep his cool as he gave the sergeant a look that plainly said he was too stupid to breathe the same air as him. “Major Sheppard activated it.”

Elizabeth seemed to get it as she leaned forward. “As far as the Wraith are concerned, Teyla is just another human being.”

Rodney nodded. “They would have no interest in tracking her. Now Major Sheppard on the other hand,” he said, jerking his thumb to the man in question.

Elizabeth finished his sentence. “Has the Ancient gene.”

Grinning, Rodney nodded. “Exactly. Now at one point, the Wraith and the Ancients were at war. The Wraith created or adapted this device to detect Ancients,” he explained, noting that Bates finally seemed to be getting with the program.

John grimaced. “So some Athosian thought this would make a nice little necklace?”

Blinking, Rodney stared at John. Was he kidding? “How could I possibly know that? What am I? Answer man?” As much as the question irked him, it took Rodney a few seconds to realize that it had been rhetorical and that John was trying to hold back a grin. Right. Of course. Giving himself a shake, he tried to let it go. “The point is-.”

Elizabeth interrupted him. “It wasn’t Teyla. Or any of the Athosians.”

A light bulb seemed to suddenly go off for John. He leaned on the table, eyes focused on Elizabeth. “If that’s the case,” he intoned carefully, “then we can use that against them.”

Rodney was equal parts proud and horrified as John laid out his plan. If he were completely honest with himself, the Wraith terrified him more than anything he had ever encountered. Beings that would steal your life from you by essentially ‘eating’ your energy and that looked like tricked out Marilyn Mansons to boot? Yeah, that was the stuff of nightmares. Right up there with clowns and Moby Dick.

An hour later his team along with AR 2 and 3 had gathered and they were going over John’s plan again. Rodney was wringing his hands, trying to control the nervous jitters coursing through him – or was that still the aftereffect of that stunner? He wasn’t sure.

John frowned at him, his hand on his hip. “You seem nervous.”

What? What did he mean he didn’t have to do this, Rodney wondered. Lifting his chin stubbornly, he forced his body to still. “No. No, I’m part of this team. I’m doing this.”

Bemused, John smiled at him. “Yes, you are. I just said you seem nervous.”

Rodney blinked in confusion. “Oh. I thought you said I didn’t have to do this,” he confessed. Wishful thinking, he supposed. “Damn right I’m doing this,” he added, as much to convince himself as John. He might still be new at this whole ‘team’ thing and having one another’s backs, but there was no way in hell he would let John go on this mission without him there.

John grinned. “Yes, you are.” Rodney couldn’t quite keep from smiling at the obvious approval in John’s voice.

Shaking his head, Rodney tried to focus on what Ford was saying and before long he and the rest of AR-1, 2, and 3 were back on the planet, preparing their ambush. Rodney had to consciously remember how to breathe, fighting the rising fear as Ford radioed John to let him know they had four Wraith incoming. John pressed lightly against his side. “You still look nervous.”

Swallowing hard, Rodney tried to put forth as much confidence as he could. He knew John was worried about him and he had to do what he could to alleviate his concern. He would not be the reason this mission would fail, and he would most definitely not be the reason John got hurt. “No. No, I’m good. I can do this.”

Eyeing him carefully for a moment, John finally nodded. “I know you can,” he said reassuringly. Oddly enough, it made Rodney feel a little better. And then there was no more time for worrying. No more time for fear as they launched their attack. Everything went as planned, much to Rodney’s astonishment. At least right up until the Wraith they had taken down activated his self-destruct and blew up, nearly taking them with him.

Rodney was momentarily stunned from the blast. John appeared to fare little better but his experience in the field seemed to help him recover much quicker. John grabbed his wrist, his tone urgent. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” he croaked. “This is fun for me.” It wasn’t, but no need to tell John that. They still had to finish what they came to do. “Go. Help the once-over’ll be fine.”

With a worried look, John got to his knees and touched his cheek briefly before getting to his feet. Once he was gone, Rodney allowed himself a few moments to regain his breath. Once he was sure everything was still functioning as it should, he followed after John. He was glad to see that Ioan, Evan, and the rest of their teams were largely okay. The Lorne brothers were standing on either side of John, all three with guns – or in John’s case, a Wraith stunner – trained on their captive.

Helping Teyla to her feet, he patted her arms as he gave her a quick once-over. “You hurt?”

Smiling tiredly, she shook her head. “I am fine, thank you, Rodney.”

Rodney grinned or tried to. They had done it. They had captured a Wraith and without any casualties.

 

next

“Bloody hell,” Carson muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. He checked his screen again, shaking his head. Well didn’t that just beat all. Soulmates. He and Mac had been searching the database for days without much luck until he had run across the information currently on his screen. It didn’t mention much, made no explanation of the why or how of it all, but there was enough there to confirm that the markers they had discovered were those of a soul bond.

“Right.” Carson saved the data on a thumbdrive, closed out of the log, then copied some of the DNA results after stripping the identifiers from them to preserve his patients’ privacy. Tapping his earpiece, he sighed. “Elizabeth, have you got a moment? I have something I need to discuss with you.”

“Of course, Carson. My office? Or do you want me to come there?”

“Your office, I think. I’m on my way.” Closing his com, Carson headed out of the infirmary. When he passed Mac, he pulled him aside and spoke in low tones. “I need you to take over for a while, I have a meeting with Weir.” Pausing, he pondered what – if anything – to tell the young man.  Mac, I think we should put the research on hold for now. There’s no rush, after all, and I don’t want the other projects to fall behind, alright?”

Mac looked puzzled, but nodded in agreement. “You’re the boss.”

Patting his arm, Carson tried to smile. “There’s a good lad.” He felt a little sick to his stomach, keeping what he’d learned from his friend and colleague, but he needed to figure this out first.

Of course, that feeling wasn’t helped by the knowledge that Miko was his soulmate. It made him question everything. As he made his way to Elizabeth’s office, Carson couldn’t stop cataloging his feelings for Miko. Was he truly infatuated with her because of who she was – a beautiful, smart, kind-hearted woman – or because they were soulbound?

Carson knocked on the door. “Elizabeth?”

Smiling warmly up at him, Elizabeth put her pad down and gestured for him to take a seat. “Carson! What was it you wanted to talk about? Is everything alright?”

With some reluctance, Carson thought the door closed, then locked. He didn’t want any interruptions for this because he wasn’t certain he would be able to get it all out otherwise. Handing her the thumb drive, Carson cleared his throat and sat down. “Have a look for yourself,” he said quietly. He watched her carefully as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.

“What exactly am I looking at?” she asked, glancing up at him.

“A potential problem, I think. Mac and I have been trying to figure out why the gene therapy didn’t take on everyone. While doing so, we stumbled across an anomaly in the DNA of those with the ATA gene – both the natural and the therapy induced ones. What you’re looking at are the markers we found.” Leaning forward, he pointed them out for her. “The thing that caught our attention was the fact they seemed to mostly come in pairs, and that no two pairs were alike.”

Frowning, Elizabeth sat back in her chair, steepling her fingers as she watched Carson carefully. “Okay. So what have you found out?”

Taking a deep breath, Carson laid his cards on the table. “After some digging in the database, I discovered that those markers indicate a soulbond. The pairs in question are soulmates.”

Eyes wide, Elizabeth gaped at him. “And what does that mean, exactly?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest. All I know for sure is that I have one, and that I’ve been attracted to her for as long as I’ve known her. I’ve also noticed some patterns among the members of the expedition.”

“What kind of patterns?” she asked, but from the speculative way she was eyeing him, Carson thought she had a good idea already.

“There have been friendships that have formed in fast order. Attachments are becoming apparent in several cases. To my knowledge, no one has flaunted regulations yet, but if the soulbonds have the effect I think they do, then that can’t last much longer.”

Elizabeth nodded thoughtfully. “Right.”

Wringing his hands, Carson gazed at them a moment before meeting her eyes again. “The thing that bothers me is, do we tell them? Do we have the right to tell anyone they have a soulmate. Or for that matter, do we have the right to withhold that information?” His stomach churned at that, knowing he already had withheld it from at least a few people. “Is it cruel to do either? I just don’t know.”

Humming under her breath, Elizabeth nodded. “I see your point. Quite the dilemma.” Tapping her fingers on her desk, she frowned as her eyes drifted toward the control room. After a minute or two, she sighed and turned her attention back to Carson. “I don’t think there are any easy answers here, Carson. For now, let’s keep this to ourselves while we figure it out. We’ll both try to think on how best to handle the situation and then we can discuss it further. Fair enough?”

Carson smiled grimly and nodded. It would have to do.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Get this off of me,” John ground out, panting with the effort of trying to move with Ford and McKay as they carried him between them toward the jumper. “Soon as we get inside.”

Clenching his jaw, John refused to acknowledge the look the lieutenant shared with Rodney. They had tried to remove the giant tick that had latched onto his neck already. John shuddered at the memory of it. He had never hurt as badly as he had after Ford had tried shooting it off.

“Go, go, go!” Ford yelled at Teyla who stood waiting by the hatch. “Tell Markham to take off the second we’re inside!” Teyla nodded grimly and disappeared from view to relay the order.

Rodney grunted with the effort of hauling John over the ramp while Ford covered their six and closed the rear hatch. As soon as it was up, they lowered John to the floor, back resting against the hatch. He was exhausted, hurting everywhere, could barely move, and he was decidedly not. Happy.

Ford went up to the front to talk to Markham, urging him to fly faster. The jumper jolted and John groaned, “Taking fire! Taking fire. Get some altitude.”

Oh God, why? Why did this have to happen? Just his stupid luck to run into the stupid bug’s… web… and have it latch onto him. John’s gut twisted as he recalled the Wraith walking calmly up to him, watching him while John struggled to remain semi-upright. He had thought for sure he was dead, that the Wraith would seize the opportunity and feed on him then and there, but after a minute it had simply walked away. That’s when John knew he was in serious trouble – as if the excruciating pain lancing through his body hadn’t been clue enough.

“Okay,” Ford called back. “I think we’re close enough to dial the gate.”

Rodney huffed in annoyance as he paced back and forth before kneeling by John’s side. “Yes, yes! Hurry up and get us back!”

Fuck, he hurt, and he couldn’t move properly. He couldn’t get remotely comfortable either, giant tick around his neck notwithstanding. He kept trying to sit up, to grab at the thing to pull it off. To do something – anything – to help, but nothing did. His throat felt thick when he saw the worry written on the astrophysicist’s face. John wished he could hold the man, reassure him. Since he couldn’t, he took a shallow breath and repeated his earlier demand. “Get this damn thing off of me.”

“We can’t,” Teyla said firmly, looking as worried as Rodney.

Gaze fixed on Rodney, John tried again. “Cut it off!”

Rodney, however, put his hand on John’s shoulder and ignored his plea as he called to Stackhouse, “As soon as we’ve established a connection, radio ahead and tell them we have a medical emergency!”

John could just tell out of the corners of his eyes that both Teyla and Rodney had firm grips on his shoulders, but he couldn’t feel them. It took him a second to realize that he couldn’t really feel anything anymore from the neck down, aside from the lingering pain that emanated from where the damned bug was latched on.

He heard Teyla take a wavering breath as she looked to Rodney with something close to panic in her eyes. And that scared John more than he would ever admit. He might not have known Teyla for very long, but he was pretty certain that there was little that truly frightened or even phased the woman, yet John’s predicament had her flustered beyond anything he had seen yet. Not even when she had been taken captive by the Wraith had she been this rattled. “There must be something we can do for him?” she asked Rodney.

John could see the gears going full speed behind Rodney’s eyes as he thought over their options. “There’s an emergency first aid kit behind the pilot’s seat. Get it.”

How that was going to help, John had no idea, but he kept his mouth shut and his eyes locked on the man next to him. Rodney met his gaze, and John could see how much the stoic resolve cost his friend. “Major, everything we do to try to remove it makes the pain worse, now try to stay still,” Rodney admonished. John didn’t have the heart to tell him that not moving wasn’t going to be much of an issue pretty soon, so he just nodded.

“Is there no way to go faster?” Teyla asked, stepping up between Markham and Stackhouse.

Without bothering to turn around Stackhouse said tersely, “He’s just trying to get us back in one piece.”

John had the fleeting thought that Stackhouse seemed oddly protective of Markham. The tick tightened its hold on John’s throat and John tried again to shift. It was getting harder and harder to move. Rodney dug frantically through the medical kit, discarding item after item as he grumbled, “What am I expecting to find in here that’s gonna get rid of that thing?”

“Something for the pain,” Teyla replied with strained patience.

Sitting up, Rodney held up a bottle of pills and huffed. “I doubt Tylenol is going to do it,” he said, tossing it aside. “He needs a doctor! How much longer?” he yelled at the three up front.

John wanted to tell Rodney to calm down, to tell him everything would be okay, but it was taking everything he had just then to not cry out. That damned thing just seemed to be burrowing its claws in deeper with every breath he took. He was vaguely aware of Ford telling Atlantis they were inbound and to be ready for a medical emergency, and of him telling Elizabeth in brief terms what had happened. All he could think about, though, was for them to hurry up already.

Suddenly there was a scraping sound and the jumper lurched hard enough to bounce John’s head against the ramp, knocking him unconscious.

How long John was out, he had no idea. Keeping his eyes closed, he did a quick assessment of his situation. The bug was still attached, apparently not going anywhere, but at least it wasn’t trying to throttle John anymore so there was that. He tried to wiggle his toes. Nothing. Same with his fingers. Well, crap. That was not a good sign. On the bright side – and by ‘bright side’ he meant ‘definitely a bad thing’ – the pain was gone. He was still in the same position as before he blacked out, which meant they hadn’t gone through the gate yet.

Carefully opening his eyes, he spotted Teyla about a foot from him, rifling through the medical kit again. What had happened? Did someone get hurt? Well, besides him, of course. “Hi, Teyla.”

Teyla’s head whipped up, relief stark on her face as she rushed to his side. With effort, John turned his head to face her. “Are you alright?” he muttered.

She blinked, apparently surprised at his concern for her. “I’m fine,” she assured him.

Grunting, John tried – and failed – to shift. “Something tells me we haven’t made it to Atlantis yet,” he said, hoping to deflect the question he saw in her eyes.

“No,” she murmured, seemingly deflating.

Taking a breath, John started to ask why when his eye caught the shimmering blue of the event horizon and he froze for several heartbeats. Ford and Rodney were standing in front of it as if they had been arguing. At the moment, though, Rodney was staring at him with such heartbreak in his eyes that it tore at John. “Ford?”

The lieutenant came to his side, but John’s focus remained on the event horizon and on Rodney, who looked hurt that it wasn’t him John had called on. Despite the fact John could see for himself, he couldn’t help asking Ford, “What is that?” Though he meant it more in a ‘what the hell happened and why are we here’-way.

“We’re stuck, sir,” Ford muttered.

“We’re what?” John couldn’t quite figure out how that was possible.

“In the gate,” Ford added curtly.

Taking a deep breath, John tried to remain calm. “You mean my day just got worse?” The looks of guilt and pity that flitted across his teammates’ faces struck John hard. Especially the despair in Rodney’s. It made John feel awful. Worse than he already was feeling, because he hated that he was putting his friends through this.

He had always hated to be the cause of grief for those he cared about but this was ten times worse for the simple reason that over the past several weeks – or was it months? – Rodney had come to mean so much more to him than just a friend. Part of him was kicking himself for never having acted on his feelings, and now it would be too late. John was going to die and Rodney would be left behind, never knowing how much he had meant to John.

Then again, it was probably for the best that Rodney was unaware. It would be totally unfair for him to have it taken away. They had been spending a lot of time together lately and had talked about basically every subject under the horizon. John knew how few true friends Rodney had always had, though it had gotten a little better since coming to Atlantis. He also knew the kind of luck the other man had had with relationships of any kind and for a wonder, it was worse than John’s own – ex-wife notwithstanding.

Rodney seemed to grasp for something to hold onto, mentally. An anchor that would keep him from going adrift as he seemed to be in danger of doing. So John wasn’t at all surprised when Rodney began explaining what he believed had happened with the drive pods, ending with, “There’s no way of knowing really, but… if you know some way of manually retracting the mechanism?” He sounded almost hopeful in spite of himself. It was nearly enough to make John smile. Nearly.

John took a moment to really consider, but he already knew the answer. He sighed, eyes fixed on where the cockpit was supposed to be. “Yeah. Cockpit on the left,” he said, his heart sinking to somewhere around his navel.

Rodney’s jaw flexed, jerking a thumb to the event horizon. “The cockpit is regrettably de-molecularized at the moment, but uh, what about somewhere back here?”

John shook his head. “No.”

“No. Didn’t think so. I’ll just be over here taking some readings. Feel free to talk among yourselves.” Rodney sounded terse, closed off, as he grabbed a pad and turned his back on them. John didn’t care for it one bit. He could tell how much it frightened the other man to see John hurt and Rodney not have the answers, but there was nothing John could do so he remained quiet.

Teyla stayed by his side, offering what comfort she could, though John knew she was feeling helpless and that she was growing more worried by the moment. Not so much for her own predicament but for his. Ford went to sit opposite Rodney, as if trying to will the other man to succeed. John for his part, lay watching Rodney as he poked at his pad. Not just because he wanted him to find a solution, either. No, John couldn’t not take his fill of this man while he still had the chance.

Suddenly, Rodney got to his feet and reached past Ford, closing the bulkhead doors and pitching them in darkness. “Ah, sorry,” he mumbled, flicking on his flashlight. John managed a small smile, already getting why he had done it even before Rodney explained it to the others.

Ford apparently wasn’t grasping it quite as quickly, and Rodney’s panic and fear which had been bubbling just below the surface came to the forefront. He got into an argument with Ford. “McKay,” John said quietly, trying to get his attention. “McKay! Knock it off.”

Rodney turned on him, angry and hurt and frightened. “Oh, excuse me if I’m the only one that comprehends just how screwed we are!”

Shooting him a level look, John ground out, “Don’t talk to me about screwed!”

That brought Rodney up short. He looked crestfallen as what he said and John’s reality sunk in on him. “Right. Right. Sorry,” he mumbled, unable to look at John.

John’s heart went out to the man. Taking a calming breath, John added with as much confidence as he could muster, “And let’s not give up on Markham and Stackhouse either. There’s plenty of time to solve this thing, but you’ve got to stop using your mouth and start using your brain.”

Rodney swallowed hard a few times before apparently finding his voice again. “I’m sorry. I react to certain doom a certain way, and-.” Pausing, he took a steadying breath and began to look around the compartment. “Maybe there’s a way to manually retract the pods.”

John doubted it, but he would sooner die than say so. “Maybe there is.” He had to try to keep his team’s hopes up. It was the least he could do. Hell, it might be the only thing he could do just then. He wasn’t sure he would make it much longer, but if there was even the slightest chance that his team would make it through, then it was John’s responsibility to try as hard as he could to get them there.

Teyla placed her folded jacket behind John’s head, cushioning it. “You seem stronger.”

“No, it’s…” He hesitated, then decided to tell them the truth. It was one thing to keep their hopes up, it was another to lie to them altogether. “It’s that the pain’s not so bad now.”

“Well, that’s good isn’t it?” came Ford’s response.

“No, it isn’t, Lieutenant. My hands and feet are numb, I can barely move them. I’ve lost all feeling in my extremities, and the feeling is creeping up.” Closing his eyes briefly so he wouldn’t have to see the sickening fear in Rodney’s eyes as he stared at John, he continued, “What I’m trying to say, Lieutenant, is that if you don’t get this damned thing off me, I have even less time than you do.”

Chancing a glance at Rodney, John’s throat tightened with regret. Maybe he shouldn’t have been as blunt. Maybe he should have spared them the knowledge after all. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

While Rodney set to work with a look of grim determination, John had Ford contact Atlantis. He spoke to Carson about the bug, wanting to know if there was anything they could do that they hadn’t already tried in order to remove the thing. Teyla chimed in at one point, sharing her belief that the bug was related in some way to the Wraith and that it shared their ability to heal itself.

In the end, Carson had gotten a kit similar to the one they had in the jumper as well as what they had in their personal inventory from their tac vests, and he and Ford worked their way through. As Ford attempted again and again to find something that would affect the bug, John was starting to lose hope. His thoughts were starting to feel sluggish and he could feel his time running out.

Ford poured water on the creature and it reacted with the salt he had sprinkled on it on the previous attempt. Suddenly the pain that had gone came rushing back with a vengeance and John cried out, his body going rigid. He couldn’t speak, and for a moment he couldn’t move. Next thing he knew, it felt as if the creature had taken control over his motor functions and he practically threw Lieutenant Ford across the jumper, startling Rodney into shorting something, which in turn caused the jumper to move forward just enough for the event horizon to breach the bulkhead doors.

John lay panting, his body once more immovable as the pain ebbed away. “Please don’t do that again,” he croaked, grimacing.

Elizabeth’s voice came over the coms, “How’s Major Sheppard?”

“I’m still here.”

“Hang in there, Major. We’re working on the problem.”

“I know you are.” And he did, he just wasn’t confident it would do him any good. Especially not after what had just happened. John felt absolutely wretched, everything hurt, and he had almost no energy left. Glancing to Rodney, he felt his resolve crumble. If this was his only chance to tell Rodney he was in love with him, then he had to take it. Somewhere in the back of his mind, part of an old Tennyson poem came to him: ‘Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all. Maybe there was some truth to that.

“Listen, er… I’d like to say something while I still can.”

“Don’t!” Elizabeth cut him off. “You’re gonna get through this.”

John chuckled hoarsely. He had meant to just talk to Rodney, forgetting he was still on the coms. Showed how out of it he was getting, really. “If I was,” he managed, “then the Wraith wouldn’t have let me go.” He was so tired. He could barely keep his eyes open anymore. “I guess he just saw me as good as dead,” he admitted, his speech beginning to slur every couple of words, “because he just walked away. So,” he cleared his throat, trying to focus on Rodney, “what I wanted to say, was-,”

Again, Elizabeth cut him off, telling him to save it for later. He really needed to not be on the com right now, he thought fuzzily. How was he to tell Rodney how he felt if people kept interrupting him? And why was Elizabeth assuming it was her he was trying to say something to? Oh. Right. She was who was on the com, which was still on. John opened his mouth to clarify his intent when Ford cut in, “We should send him through the event horizon.”

Was everyone intent on not letting him speak? He glowered at his lieutenant, but he didn’t seem to notice. John was vaguely aware of Carson vetoing the idea of sending him through the gate with the bug still attached when a thought occurred to him. “Hit me with the defibrillator.”

Ford gave him an incredulous look. “But the doc said that would kill you.”

Glancing up at Ford, John nodded. “That’s the idea.”

The look of consternation on the lieutenant’s face was almost worth it, John thought. He was starting to feel the blackness creeping up around the edges of his mind even as Carson explained what John meant. Finally, Teyla and Ford were ready to hit him with the defibrillator. Ford hesitated for a moment, and while John gazed on Rodney, he summoned all the strength he had left and turning to Ford, ordered, “Do it!” putting as much bite into it as he could muster.

Pain lanced through him as the electricity jolted him and then he knew no more.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

An annoying beeping sound woke John up much sooner than he would have liked. He gasped when the realization he had survived hit him. A hand grasped his tightly, followed by a whispered, “John?”

He opened his eyes slowly, wincing at the brightness and the light immediately dimmed. Ah, one of the perks of being on Atlantis, he mused, a smile playing on his lips. He turned his head to Rodney who was still holding his hand as he hovered over him. “Hey, Rodney,” John croaked, throat parched.

Jaw set stubbornly, Rodney glared down at him. “Don’t you ever put me through that again, John Sheppard,” he ground out.

John blinked in surprise at the vehemence in Rodney’s voice. “Good to see you, too, Rodney,” he said, not quite sure how to react.

Rodney harrumphed, then appeared to relax a little. His eyes softened as he gazed at John, making him feel warm and cared for. John squeezed Rodney’s hand, murmuring, “We made it.” Way to state the obvious, but what else could he say?

Giving him a crooked smile, Rodney nodded. “Yes, we did, no thanks to you.”

Putting on a hurt face, John pouted. “Not my fault that tick-,” he started, only to have Rodney cut him off with a quiet, “I almost lost you.”

John’s heart tripped at the pain in his friend’s voice. “I know. I’m sorry.”

Before John knew what was happening, Rodney leaned down and brushed his lips over John’s forehead. “Rodney,” he rasped as he reached up to pull the man’s head down for a kiss, oblivious to their surroundings.

It was soft, sweet, and over far too quickly. Rodney pulled away with a goofy smile on his lips, one that John was fairly sure was mirrored on his own. “Regulations,” Rodney reminded him regretfully.

Casting a quick look around the thankfully empty infirmary, John locked eyes with Rodney. “Hang them. We’ll be careful.”

“You sure?” Rodney asked, a touch of insecurity lacing his voice.

Threading their fingers together, John nodded. “Positive.”

 

next

Radek shifted uncomfortably as he watched Carson administer the therapy to Kavanagh. He wasn’t looking forward to receiving the treatment himself – the very idea that his DNA would be rewritten gave him fits, never mind the fact that Radek hated needles – but he couldn’t quite hide his amusement when Kavanagh whined like a baby as he was injected.

Sometimes he wondered just how Kavanagh had managed to be placed on the expedition. Thus far, he had made no favorable impression on Radek. The man was self-centered, foolish, and complained about everything while taking blame for nothing. Radek rolled his eyes at the man’s, “Ow! What are you trying to do? Jam the needle in until it comes out the other side?”

Carson scoffed. “It was barely a pinch and you’re already done, so off with you.”

Scowling – Kavanagh’s default setting, in Radek’s opinion – Kavanagh rolled his sleeve down. “So how long before I know this worked?”

Carson had already explained this several times that Radek had heard as he had waited, which meant Kavanagh had as well. Still, Carson went over it once more, and with more patience than Radek would have believed possible. “There’s no way to be sure. With Dr. McKay, it took a few hours, but I haven’t heard back from everyone yet. Just be careful around Ancient technology for a day or so until we can be sure the therapy took, or not. And before you ask, the gene therapy either takes, or it doesn’t. Far as I can tell, there is no middle ground.”

Still grumbling, Kavanagh left the infirmary. Radek let out a sigh of relief. “Finally, he is gone.”

Grinning, Carson patted the bed and Radek dutifully took a seat. “Aye, he is a bit of a handful, isn’t he?”

“You do not even know half of it,” Radek assured as he held out his bare arm. Turning his face away as Carson picked up the syringe, he tried to relax. “Please, be quick.” A pinch, and a feeling of pressure as Carson gave him his dose and it was over. “Thank you,” Radek sighed, flexing his fingers. Giving Carson a conspiratorial look, he added, “I am glad I do not have to go off world. Would hate to always be poked and prodded.”

Clasping Radek’s arm, Carson chuckled. “No worries, lad. As long as you stay out of trouble, we will keep the poking to a minimum. Afraid of needles?”

Radek nodded emphatically. “Unreasonable, I know. I cannot help it.” Hopping down, he couldn’t quite contain his curiosity. “How many have received treatment now?

Carson cleaned up after himself and sighed. “Well, Elizabeth’s had her shot, but it didn’t take. You’re the last of the science departments to get one, and this afternoon Mac and I are starting on the military contingent. We felt it best to have you lot done first, since you are the ones who are dealing with Ancient technology the most. Major Sheppard agreed, mostly because there are several of his men who have the gene naturally, so he has a few pilots already. He’s eager for more, though, and understandably so.”

Radek nodded. “Makes sense. What is ratio so far, do you know?”

Carson shook his head. “No idea, lad. It seems to be completely random, and like I told Kavanagh, we haven’t heard back from everyone that’s received the therapy yet.”

“Will let you know if anything changes,” Radek promised.

“Thank you, lad. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some paperwork to finish before lunch.”

“Of course. Must go back to lab, too, before Rodney explodes,” Radek quipped.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I just heard back from Sergeant Stackhouse,” Mac said, poking his head into Carson’s office. “His ATA took, so since he was the last to receive the therapy, anyone who hasn’t noticed any changes probably won’t.”

Putting his pen down, Carson sighed and stretched his arms over his head. “Right then. Thanks, Mac.”

Nodding, Mac headed back to work, leaving Carson to his thoughts. Tapping his earpiece, he began the arduous task of calling in people to come in to draw blood so he could attempt to figure out why the therapy was only partially effective.

Deciding to get a head start, Carson pulled up the results of the tests he’d already run. He was looking at each of the three ATA groups: natural carriers, those with successful gene therapy, and those who had rejected the ATA gene. It was a very small pool, but it was a start. He methodically poured over each strand, taking careful notes as he went.

Carson spent the next few days immersed in his data, only pausing long enough to eat and sleep, leaving the day-to-day medical care to his staff. A thought was niggling at the back of his brain that wouldn’t quite form but bothered him all the same. All around him, ever since they had arrived in Pegasus, he had noticed changes in the members of the expedition. Some were relatively minor and understandable, considering their situation. And it wasn’t something that was really blatant, either. He wondered whether he ought to discuss things with Kate to see if she had noticed anything, or whether it was his own imagination. After all, they were a long way from home and it was only natural that people would form bonds of friendship under their circumstances. But was that all it was? Carson wasn’t at all sure anymore.

Especially when he kept stumbling over that particular marker he had found. Several times now, he had found matches in that DNA mutation. So far, they appeared to come mostly in identical pairs, and were never the same from one pair to the next. He was baffled as to what that might mean, but his gut was telling him he was on to something. Something important.

Could those markers have anything to do with what he was seeing all over the city? Hearing Mac’s laughter from the other side of the infirmary, Carson looked up to see the man talking to Major Lorne. He smiled, then suddenly remembered an article Rodney had given him just prior to their leaving Earth. Pushing his chair back, he hurried to his desk and rifled through the drawers in search of that paper. After a couple of minutes of rummaging, Carson finally found it and sat down to read. He had only glanced at it before, but as his eyes roved over the pages, he knew he was on the right track. If friendship was partially determined by DNA, then perhaps those markers he had found determined a deeper connection.

Putting the paper back in the drawer, Carson got to his feet. “Mac,” he called out, getting his attention.

“Aye? What is it, Carson?” Mac was still smiling widely, his focus still partially on Major Lorne who had turned around, too.

“Would you mind terribly giving these results a look? I need a second pair of eyes to make sure I’m not missing anything,” Carson hedged.

“Sure, I’ll be right there.” Mac sighed and shot Evan an apologetic look. “Sorry, Evan, but it looks like I have to get back to work. I’ll see you later, yeah?”

“Of course,” Evan replied, then added to Carson, “Later, doc.”

Carson waved him off, his mind already back on his data. He felt a little uneasy, pulling Mac into this, as one of the pairs Carson had found was for Mac and Evan, whatever it meant. Clearing his throat, he came to a decision and hurriedly pulled the results of their tests from the group. Better be sure of the findings, he figured, before potentially messing with their lives.

Mac settled behind the computer Carson had been working at and immediately got to work, Carson hovering close by. “Well that’s weird,” Mac said after a while. Glancing at Carson, he frowned. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. Are they all like that?”

Carson nodded grimly. “Aye, seems so. Did you notice any pattern?” he asked as nonchalantly as he knew how.

For an answer, Mac pulled up four sets of results, which happened to be Rodney’s and John’s, Miko’s and Carson’s own. Pointing at the markers, Mac said thoughtfully, “The marker here is new to me, though it appears to have a mutation of some sort. The mutation between Major Sheppard and Dr. McKay is the same, as is the one between Dr. Kusanagi and yourself. But the two pairs are completely different from each other. Far as I can tell, there’s several that match up, but also a few of the ATAs, be it natural or therapy, that have a marker but no one with a matching mutation. It’s rather disconcerting, to be honest.”

“You’re not wrong, there,” Carson muttered under his breath. With a sigh, he added, “Any thoughts on what it means?”

Mac shook his head. “No, but since it’s related to the ATA gene, I wonder whether the Ancients mentioned it in one of their logs.”

“Aye, I was wondering that myself. You up for helping me research?”

Flashing a grin, Mac nodded. “Of course. This is a mystery that needs solving because not knowing is killing me.”

“There’s one more I’d like you to look at before we begin,” Carson said as he reached over Mac to pull up Teyla’s results. He had asked her permission to run a DNA test on her as well, in hopes of finding some answers, but he hadn’t had much luck. He had found something odd with hers, however, that had him just as stumped as the mystery markers.

Peering back at the screen, Mac frowned. “What are these?” he asked, pointing at the very spots that Carson had noticed. Teyla had mostly human DNA, but there was something there that was both completely foreign and vaguely familiar to Carson. He just couldn’t pinpoint why or how.

“I was hoping you might have an idea. Maybe this is what is normal for Pegasus humans, who knows. It just seemed strange to me to have the Athosians look so similar to us – or the Ancients for that matter – and yet have these discrepancies. So far, I haven’t managed to convince any of the other Athosians to part with their blood, so I have nothing to compare it to.”

Mac frowned, seemingly trying to remember something, then shook his head. “No, we don’t. I was trying to think if we did any bloodwork on the Athosians who were injured during the rising, but all we had was a few bumps and bruises, and a broken bone or two.”

“Aye, well, maybe in time then, eh?” Carson sighed, feeling weary. Perhaps it was time for a break.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Evan put down his tray and sat down opposite Mac. “So what did Carson want?” he asked, popping a french fry into his mouth. They were starting to run low on the perishable foods, so unless they came across some potatoes on one of their trade missions, this might be the last chance for them. Evan sincerely hoped they would find something comparable, because fries were one of his guilty pleasures.

Mac grinned and his eyes lit up. “It seems we have a bit of a mystery on our hands with the ATA gene. Carson found some oddities that we can’t explain, so we’re going to go through the Ancient database to see if there are answers to be had there.”

Evan chuckled. “You seem pretty into the whole mystery thing.”

“Aye, but of course! That’s what science is all about, isn’t it? Solving the great mysteries? Finding answers where there were none?”

Evan quirked his brows. “Always enjoyed Sherlock Holmes,” he quipped. “So the game’s afoot, huh?”

Mac’s laughter reached his eyes, and the sound thrilled Evan. “Indeed it is, Watson, indeed it is,” Mac said with a wink that made Evan’s cheeks flush. “Starting tomorrow, at any rate.”

Evan nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak, Kimberly all but fell into Mac’s lap. “Hey, you two,” she said with a grin as she wrapped her arms around Mac’s shoulders. Evan felt a stab of jealousy at the easy interaction between them, but he firmly stamped it down. He had no right to feel any such thing, after all.

Mac put his arm around Kimberly’s waist as she said, “How’s my favorite doctor?”

Laughing, Mac rolled his eyes conspiratorially at Evan. “You only say that now, Kim, because it was Carson who did your last post-mission exam. When it’s my turn, he’ll be your favorite again.”

Kimberly shrugged, an unrepentant smile on her face. “You have a point.”

Ioan joined their table, carrying both her tray and his. He mouthed, ‘Sorry,’ as he tilted his head toward Kimberly and Mac, who bantered easily. Evan gave a shrug and a ‘What can you do,” look, to which Ioan grinned knowingly.

Leaning in, Evan whispered, “How’d it go?” Ioan and Kimberly had taken a jumper to the mainland earlier that day, ostensibly to do some reconnaissance, but Evan knew better.

Ioan’s eyes cut to Kimberly. “She’s really something,” he said sotto voce. “We found a little beach not too far from here and talked for hours.”

Raising a skeptical brow, Evan murmured, “Just talk?”

Shooting his brother a narrowed glance, he shook his head. “Yes, Evan,” he said, half-annoyed, half-exasperated. “Just talk. I don’t want to screw this up by going too fast. It already feels like I’m on a fast train here,” he admitted.

That, Evan could understand all too well. Their attention was drawn by Mac’s, “So do you guys have any plans for tonight?”

Ioan shook his head. “No, not really. Well, nothing beyond typing a quick report on the recon we did earlier,” he said.

Kimberly groaned. “Yes. I have to finish the report for Rodney. It’ll take me most of the night to finish.”

“How about you, Evan?” Mac asked, sounding hopeful.

Meeting the other man’s eyes, Evan found it difficult to look away, so he didn’t. “No plans as of yet, why?”

Mac shrugged. “I thought perhaps we could watch a movie? Relax for an evening while we can before we get swept away in either research or some emergency or other.”

Kimberly slipped off Mac’s lap and began eating her dinner. From the corner of his eye, Evan could just see her looking between him and Mac with amused interest. He did his best to ignore her. To not let his thoughts dwell on why she might be amused, or why she had that knowing look on her face. Clearing his throat, Evan smiled. “Sounds like fun. What did you have in mind?”

Mac waved his hand. “Whatever you want to watch, really. I’m open to anything.”

And couldn’t that be taken up for interpretation, Evan thought. Casting his memory back to the extensive library that Vala and the rest of SG-1 had managed to put together before they left, Evan grinned. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”

The four of them chatted easily over the rest of dinner until Ioan and Kimberly had to get back to work, leaving Mac and Evan alone at the table. Mac leaned back in his chair as he watched Evan closely. “So have you figured out what you want to watch yet?”

Evan shook his head. “No, not really,” he admitted.

Getting to his feet, Mac chuckled. “Well, come on then. Why don’t we go to my room and we’ll figure it out from there?”

Swallowing hard, Evan nodded. Up until now, they had only spent time together in public areas. They hadn’t ventured to apartments at all, and while the prospect of being alone with the man enticed Evan, it also made him nervous. The pull he felt toward Mac, though, seemed to trump everything, and Evan found himself nodding agreement before he could think better of it.

Mac grabbed his laptop and booted it up as soon as they got to his room, then handed it to Evan. “Be my guest. I’ll be right back,” he said before disappearing to the bathroom, leaving Evan to his thoughts. Scrolling through the library of movies on the central database that everyone had been hooked up to, Evan tried to focus on just finding a movie.

He had just settled on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when Mac returned. Glancing at the screen, Mac grinned. “Ohh, good one. Haven’t seen that in a while.”

Offering him a pleased smile, Evan relaxed a little. At least he had made a good choice. Placing the laptop on the small table in front of the sofa, they watched in companionable silence for a while. It took Evan a bit to realize that Mac was paying more attention to him than he was the movie. Shifting, he shot a questioning look at Mac.

Mac shrugged. “Nothing. Was just thinking I’m glad you’re here.” Ducking his head, Evan twisted his fingers in his lap as Mac continued, “I’d like to get to know you better, Evan.” The man sounded sincere and his voice was so tender that it made Evan raise his eyes to find Mac smiling at him in a way that had something inside Evan melt away.

Clearing his throat, Evan gave a small smile of his own. “I think I’d like that, Mac, but…” At Mac’s concern, Evan hurriedly added, “I’d appreciate it if we could take things slow. It’s… been a while.”

Mac shifted in his seat so he faced Evan and leaned forward, reaching for his hand. With his thumb stroking the back of Evan’s hand, he met Evan’s eyes thoughtfully. “Tell me about him,” Mac prodded gently.

Surprised, Evan gaped at him. “How did you know it was a ‘him’?”

Light laughter spilled from Mac’s lips and he looked genuinely amused as he teased, “Because unless I’m very much mistaken, and that rarely happens, you are as gay as I am.” Turning more serious again, he gave Evan’s hand a squeeze. “So what happened to him?”

Swallowing hard, Evan fought back the emotions that welled up inside of him. Both those that still belonged to Jim, and those that had started to be all Mac’s. His voice barely above a whisper, Evan told Mac everything about Jim. How they had been together for three years before he had asked Jim to marry him. How they had planned out their future, only for it to be snatched away one night by a drunk driver, two months before their wedding.

“Oh, Ev, I’m so sorry.” Mac released Evan’s hand only to pull him into a comforting hug. “I’m so, so sorry. How long ago was that?” Mac murmured in his ear as he held him.

Evan closed his eyes, breathing deep. He felt completely overwhelmed by it all. The way Mac smelled, how it felt to hold him in his arms, and to be held? “Five years,” Evan croaked, clenching his eyes shut. Had being in Jim’s arms ever felt like this? Evan couldn’t remember and that made it all worse.

They sat like that for a long time and the credits were rolling when they let go. Scrubbing his face, Evan cleared his throat several times in hopes of pulling himself together. “Sorry,” he muttered.

Cupping Evan’s cheek, Mac smiled sadly. “You have nothing to be sorry for, love.” Evan blinked in surprise. “Ah, sorry. I probably shouldn’t have,” Mac said quietly as he pulled his hand away.

Shaking his head, Evan quickly stopped Mac’s movement. “Don’t. It’s… it’s okay.” And it was. More so than Evan was willing to admit. Ioan was right. No matter what happened between him and Mac, it was time for Evan to take a chance and risk his heart again. Carefully and slowly, baby steps all the way, but still a chance.

 

next

“How are you feeling then, Rodney?” Carson asked as he took the man’s vitals. AR-1 had just returned from a trading mission, and since it had only been a couple of days since Rodney had been given the ATA therapy, Carson wanted to make sure all was well.

Rodney scowled. “I’m going to be black and blue this time tomorrow.”

Raising his eyebrows in alarm, Carson looked up, then turned his attention to John when he piped up from the next bed, “Aww come on, McKay. It wasn’t that bad. So I pushed you down. It’s not my fault there were rocks hidden under that pile of leaves, and at least you didn’t get beamed up by a dart.”

Somewhat mollified, Rodney nodded. “True. I suppose bruises do beat being eaten by the Wraith.”

“Indeed, Dr. McKay,” interjected Teyla who stood waiting her turn to be checked out. “We were very lucky to have escaped the culling.”

Carson blinked as his eyes met Major Sheppard’s. “Again?” Wasn’t this the third time their team had walked in on a culling?

The major’s jaw set, he nodded. “Yeah. Say, Teyla, were the Wraith always this active?”

Teyla shook her head. “No, Major. It has not been that long since the Melorans were culled. They should have been safe for another generation at least.” She sounded both puzzled and extremely worried.

Major Sheppard scowled down at his arm as the nurse took his blood. Carson felt for the man. He knew that he blamed himself for waking the Wraith and the subsequent loss of life his actions had brought about. Sighing, Carson shook his head and shared a knowing look with Rodney, who seemed genuinely concerned for his teammate.

Getting ready to take Rodney’s blood, he tried to push thoughts of Wraith out of his head so he could focus on the here and now. “I’m going to have to take a little more than normal, Rodney,” he cautioned.

Alarmed, Rodney stared at him wide-eyed. “Why? Is something wrong?”

Smiling reassuringly, he patted his friend’s thigh. “No need to worry, I just need to run some tests to see how the gene therapy’s affected you. See if there’s anything that I need to be aware of, or that needs tweaking before we start to administer it to the rest of the expedition.”

“Well, if you must,” Rodney conceded with ill grace. “I feel perfectly fine, you know. Not like I grew a second head or anything.”

Fighting a grin, Carson ducked his head and kept his thoughts that while what he said was true, he thought perhaps that Rodney’s head had gotten a little bigger. Carson wasn’t stupid enough to say that aloud, however. He liked having warms showers, after all.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Penny for your thoughts,” his brother said quietly as he bumped Ioan’s shoulder.

Ioan felt the heat rise on his cheeks as he cast a sidelong glance a couple of tables over to where Kimberly sat having breakfast with several colleagues. Running his fingers through his hair, he sighed and turned to look at his brother fully. “You’ll think I’m nuts.”

“Guess you’re safe then, because I already do, so spill,” Evan teased, earning him a glower.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her,” Ioan confessed. “It’s insane, I mean… I’ve been into girls before and stuff, but nothing like this.”

Evan leaned forward a little to see past Ioan in order to check out Kimberly. “I can honestly say you’ve never met a girl like her before. She’s way out of your league,” he said, grinning. “Gorgeous, funny, beautiful smile. Incredibly smart. She could run circles around both of us, intellectually.”

Grumbling, Ioan sunk lower in his seat. “Tell me about it.” Tracing the edge of his plate with his finger, he stared morosely at it. He could tell from the corner of his eye that his brother was watching him closely.

“You really have it bad for her, don’t you?” Evan asked finally, his voice low and gentle.

Scrubbing his face with both hands, he nodded. “Not that it matters. Regulations won’t allow it-” Ioan started, only to have Evan cut him off.

“Screw the regs, Ioan. Don’t get me wrong, the rules are there for a reason, and I’m all for them on the whole, but we’re in another galaxy, in case you hadn’t noticed. On top of that, it isn’t looking very promising on the ZPM front from what I can tell, so who knows if we’ll ever get back home. What are they going to do? Court-martial us? Throw us in the brig? Decommission us? They can’t, Ioan, they need every single one of us.”

Ioan sat up straight, shocked at the vehemence in his brother’s voice. Both he and Evan had been brought up to believe in following orders. Leaving no man behind. Everything that the Air Force stood for. They both held it sacred, and yet here was Evan basically telling him to flaunt the regulations.

Evan’s jaw twitched stubbornly, a look of defiance in his eyes that Ioan hadn’t seen there in a very long time. “Don’t give me that look, either. It isn’t like I’m suggesting mutiny here, or going on a murder spree. All I’m saying is, at some point Dr. Weir and Major Sheppard are going to have to realize that the rules from back home can’t all apply here in Atlantis. It isn’t feasible in the long run. We’re basically a new colony now, Ioan. Surely you realize that, too?”

Tilting his head, Ioan gazed thoughtfully at his brother. He had to admit, he had a point. They were cut off from Earth and unless they started to look to the Pegasus natives, there would be very limited options for the people of the expedition when it came to dating. Ioan caught sight of Mac and Carson walking into the mess hall out of the corner of his eye, and suddenly another thought occurred to him. He grinned. “Your inciting to break the rules wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain Scottish charmer having gotten under your skin, would it?” he teased.

Turning his head to see who Ioan was looking at, Evan blushed. Even so, he feigned nonchalance when he refocused on his brother. “Don’t know what you’re on about. Carson and I are just friends.”

“Uhhuh, yeah,” Ioan said, grinning wryly,” because that was who I was referring to.” Mac’s laughter rang from across the mess hall and Evan’s blush deepened, proving Ioan’s point. Ioan nudged his brother’s arm, his smile fading as he grew serious. “All kidding aside here, Ev, but it’s about time. It’s been what? Five years since Jim passed away?”

A pained expression flitted over Evan’s face at the mention of his late fiancé. “Yeah, I know,” he ground out hoarsely as he fidgeted with his napkin, refusing to look at Ioan.

Placing his hand on Evan’s wrist, Ioan sighed. “Jim wouldn’t want you to be alone forever, Ev. You know that. I haven’t seen you interested in anyone since he died. Not until Mac, and if he’s the one who has you paying attention again, then I say go for it.” At Evan’s flinch, Ioan added quickly, “Finding someone else attractive doesn’t mean you’re betraying Jim’s memory, Evan. Hell, it doesn’t even have to mean that you’ll end up with Mac. For all you know, it is just infatuation and it leads nowhere aside from friendship, but that’s still a chance worth taking, isn’t it?”

Casting a sidelong glance to where Mac stood talking to a couple of nurses, Evan sighed. “You’re right,” he said quietly, cupping his hands in front of his face. “I know you are, Ioan. I just… I still miss Jim. Every day. I don’t know if that’ll ever really go away.”

Ioan nodded in understanding. “Whoever you end up with’ll get that, Evan.”

“Yeah,” Evan said with a sad smile. Shooting another look at the doctor, he sighed. “It’s stupid. It’s as if I can’t even help myself around him,” he mumbled under his breath.

Chuckling, Ioan tapped his brother’s foot with his. “Yeah, I noticed.” Then sneaking a peek at Kimberly’s table, he sighed, too. “I know the feeling. Guess we’re both pretty gone, huh?”

Evan snorted, rolling his eyes. “Oh no. You’ve got it way worse, little brother. You’re hell and gone already. Now, what are you going to do about it?” he challenged.

The look in his eyes told Ioan the subject of Evan’s infatuation with Mac was firmly closed for the time being, which was fine. Evan knew Ioan was there for him if he needed someone to talk to. Scratching the back of his head, he leaned back in his chair and stared at Kimberly as he gathered his thoughts. “I don’t know, man. Not like I can ask her to go out with me on a date.”

Raising his eyebrows, Evan huffed. “And why not?”

Turning to his brother, he gaped at him. “Have you forgotten where we are? In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a decided lack of nice restaurants and cinemas around here.”

A sly smile formed on Evan’s lips and his eyes twinkled with mirth. “Yeah, but the city has great views, the mess hall will pack a picnic if you ask them, and the logs say there’s land several miles from here. You have the gene, so you could pilot a jumper and take her for a ride.”

Ioan blinked, mulling that over. “That actually doesn’t sound half bad. Except… there’s no way I’d be given permission for that, Ev.”

Quirking a brow, Evan grinned. “Have you forgotten that with Sumner gone, I’m second in command again? Besides, Sheppard and I have already talked about sending people to scout the mainland, so if you don’t mind taking a few scans and stuff, you’d have a good excuse on paper.”

Ioan stared at his brother, perplexed. “You’ve got it all figured out, haven’t you?”

Taking a sip of water, Evan nodded, looking smug. “Yep.” All humor suddenly gone, he met Ioan’s gaze and murmured, “I’ve got your back, Ioan. No matter what.”

“Thanks, Ev.” Ioan smiled, then swallowed hard when Evan urged him to go ask Kimberly out already. Steeling himself, Ioan wiped his sweaty palms on his thighs, got up and walked over to her table. “Hey,” he managed, trying to smile.

“Hey, yourself,” Kimberly said, beaming up at him, amusement and curiosity clear in her eyes.

“Can I talk to you for a sec?” Ioan hedged, casting a furtive glance to her companions.

“Sure.” She followed him out into the hallway away from prying ears. “Everything alright?”

She watched him carefully, which made him laugh nervously. Good grief, why did he have to feel so jittery? It wasn’t as if he’d never asked a girl out before. Still, this felt… different, somehow. “Yeah, sorry, I just… I didn’t want to do this in front of everybody.”

Surprised, she stared at him a moment. “Do what?”

Biting the corner of his lip, Ioan rubbed the back of his neck. “Er… ask you out?” he asked stupidly, flinching. “Sorry, I didn’t… I mean.” Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes briefly, then tried again. “I was wondering if you’d like to go on a date with me.” Ioan crossed his fingers behind his back, waiting anxiously for her answer. Seriously, what was he, fifteen again? It was ridiculous how his stomach was trying to tie itself into knots over this woman.

Kimberly was obviously fighting laughter, as her mouth twitched and her eyes fairly danced as she watched him flounder. “A date? With you?” she clarified, and Ioan felt his heart sink to his knees. A giggle escaped her as she reached for his hand and squeezed it. “I’d like that a lot,” she mused, eyes intent on his.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Carson peered at his screen as the results of Rodney’s DNA test post-therapy came up. Pulling up both Rodney’s pre-therapy results and Major Sheppard’s results for comparison, Carson carefully went over every change he could find. It never ceased to amaze him just how little was still known about the human genome, really. Carson had noted long ago, when he first started doing research after General O’Neill’s encounters with Ancient technology, that there were some minor differences between ATA and non-ATA people. It was what had led him to the gene therapy, after all.

Frowning, he checked against the two others. “Well, this is odd,” he murmured. Pulling up General O’Neill’s DNA results, he compared them to both Rodney and Sheppard’s, but the discrepancy wasn’t the same. If you could call it a discrepancy. Post-therapy, Rodney appeared to have a marker in common with the major, but that same marker wasn’t present in General O’Neill. Or rather, O’Neill had a marker, but it was slightly different again from the other two men.

“I wonder,” he murmured as he found his own DNA results and checked it. Like O’Neill, Carson, too had a marker in the same area, but it was different again from the other men. Sitting back in his seat, he frowned up at the ceiling as he let his thoughts drift. In all his years as a geneticist, he had never encountered the like. He’d seen genomes that differed because of a variation in species, like rat to mouse and such. Or even human and Ancient, but this appeared to be something else entirely. Filing it away for later thought, Carson focused on what was pertinent: whether the therapy worked. The rest, he would figure out at a later date, since it was apparent that there were variations within the ATA itself. He promised himself he would find out what that meant.

 

next

They spent the next few minutes going over all the applications they could think of for the shield. John couldn’t believe their luck. If there were more of these things, it could make all the difference for his men out in the field. “Hey, McKay, did you find any others?”

Rodney shook his head, looking dismayed. “No. The log did mention there were several made, but I was only able to locate this one.”

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, John scowled. “Did it mention-?”

“No,” Rodney cut in. “It didn’t say anything about where the others might be. They might be somewhere in the city, though. I mean, it isn’t like we’ve managed to explore even an eighth of the place, after all.”

Nodding, John conceded the point and settled on hoping they’d come across them at a later date. Eyeing Rodney, he contemplated what else they could do to test this shield of his. Pulling his knife from its sheath, he held it up, again asking for silent permission which he was granted. Tossing the knife between his hands twice while he thought how best to try, he once again opted for the other man’s thigh. It was the safest area he could think of should something go wrong.

Slashing down, he let out a yelp when the knife connected with the shield. Between the resistance of the forcefield and the slight jolt of energy on contact, it was definitely not a pleasant experience for John. Rodney, however, didn’t appear to have felt a thing and stood grinning triumphantly at him. “Okay, what next?” Snapping his fingers, he pointed to a chair. “Hit me with that.”

Giving him a skeptical look, John shrugged and did as requested, swinging it with all his might at Rodney’s upper back. He dropped the chair on his toes, unable to hold onto the thing once it hit the shield. John’s arms weren’t too happy either. Frowning, he glanced at McKay. “Anything?”

“Not even a tickle!” Rodney practically giggled with glee.

A tickle. John suddenly grinned as the thought crossed his mind that perhaps the shield was intent-based somehow. Hey, this was alien technology, after all. Who knew what the Ancients were capable of.

Rodney took an involuntary step back at the sudden change in John’s demeanor as he stepped closer. “Major?” he squawked, holding out his hands reflexively.

John swooped in, intending to tickle the other man’s sides, but was thwarted by the forcefield again, though this time there was no shock from the contact.

“Nothing, huh?” John said pensively. Stepping back and scratching the back of his head, he hummed. “I wonder how it’d hold up against a fall?”

Eyes widening, Rodney smirked. “Like from the balcony?” At John’s nod, Rodney’s grin grew broader. “Let’s go!”

They didn’t quite run up to the gate room balcony, but it was a near thing and several people turned their heads. Ioan even called out after them, “Where’s the fire, sir?”

John called back with a grin, “No fire, Lieutenant. Just science.” That was his story and he was sticking to it. So what if John got a kick out of messing around with this shield? Or that watching Rodney get this excited was more enticing to him that it should be.

Still, by the time Rodney and John made it up to the balcony, they had a little bit of a following. Everyone was curious what they were up to. John was sure it had as much to do with the fact that they’d been hurrying through the corridors as it was seeing Rodney this gleeful. John was well aware that Rodney had a reputation of being a bastard, and that he hadn’t been much liked in the mountain. Not that John cared about that. He knew better than most that a reputation wasn’t always warranted, and that they didn’t always sum up the whole of a person.

“You sure about this, McKay?” John asked, his stomach knotting at the thought of this not going as they both thought it would. It was all fun and games until someone broke their neck, after all, and he was getting rather fond of the astrophysicist.

Rodney waved his concerns off, rolling his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“Okay,” John muttered under his breath as he gave Rodney a shove, sending the man flying backwards over the railing, much to everyone’s shock.

Leaning over to make sure Rodney was alright, John looked up as he caught Elizabeth’s, “Oh my God!” from the opposite balcony.

“Did you see that?” John grinned.

“Yes, I saw that,” she bit out. “What the-?”

Below them, Rodney jumped to his feet, throwing his hands up in the air in victory. “I’m fine,” he called up.

The delight on Rodney’s face, as well as the proof that he truly was okay, turned the knots in John’s stomach to butterflies. At least, that’s what it felt like to John. He knew that falling for the guy would mean nothing but trouble considering the regulations, so he did his best to stomp down on his attraction – and there was no denying to himself that he was attracted to Rodney.

John practically skipped down the stairs in his eagerness to congratulate his friend. “Look,” Rodney said, beaming up at Elizabeth and Peter who were on John’s heels. “Beckett’s gene therapy worked! I was able to activate this,” he added, pointing to his chest. “It’s a er, a personal shield. Acts like a protective skin.” Rodney’s hands were moving rapidly as he explained the device. “I’m invulnerable. Here, I’ll prove it.” Turning to Peter, he grinned. “Hit me.”

Without so much as a second’s thought, Grodin took a swing at Rodney with what would have been a right hook hard enough to knock any man on his ass. What happened instead was Peter cried out in pain as he cradled his hand in disbelief, while Rodney merely looked smug. “Well you didn’t have to swing so hard.” Glancing at John, he added, “And notice that he didn’t even hesitate?”

John grinned and turned his face to try to hide the satisfaction he felt that Grodin was hurt after that. He had definitely taken note of the man’s immediate reaction to Rodney and he found it didn’t sit well with him. It made him wonder just how poorly people thought of Rodney.

Elizabeth huffed. “I’m still trying to understand why you thought it was a good idea to test that out by having someone throw you off a balcony.”

Rodney and John exchanged knowing looks and Rodney said conspiratorially, “Oh, that wasn’t the first thing we tried.” As he explained what they had done prior to the balcony incident, Elizabeth’s face turned ashen so John hurriedly pointed out that he had aimed at non-lethal areas. Mostly.

Throwing his arms wide, Rodney beamed. “I’m invulnerable.”

“Aren’t you the one who’s always spouting off about proper and careful scientific procedure must be adhered to?” Elizabeth asked skeptically.

“In-vul-ne-ra-ble,” Rodney sing-songed, flailing his hands in time.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Elizabeth sighed. “Alright. Take it off. Let’s go have this meeting.”

“You’re just jealous,” Rodney muttered.

“Oh yes, green with envy,” Elizabeth retorted with a roll of her eyes.

Rodney made to grab at the device but when his hand encountered the shield, his previous look of elation turned to one of dawning horror. “Uh oh. This could be a problem.” When everyone turned to look at him, he cast a panicked glance at John. “I can’t get at it.”

Narrowing his eyes, John stepped closer and reached out to try for himself, making sure to put everything he had in thinking ‘off’ at the device. Nothing. Cold dread settled in John’s stomach. “Just checking,” he offered apologetically.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Well, Major, did your team encounter any indigenous life forms on your second trip? I heard your first dalliance in Pegasus was rather eventful,” Mac said jovially as he stepped up to Major Lorne’s bed.

The major’s team members groaned in unison, while the major’s face turned crimson. “C’mon, doc. How did you hear about that?” Lorne asked.

Mac chuckled, placing a cuff on the major’s bicep to take his blood pressure. “Word gets around, Major. What can I say? I’m told you were quite the sight. One of the nurses kept the lei you left after your check up and has it hanging in the office.”

“Oh, God,” Lorne moaned under his breath as he closed his eyes. “Please, doc. Don’t remind me of that mission. Like, ever.”

One of the major’s men chuckled, “Aww come on, sir. Guy like you doesn’t have anything to be ashamed of, trust me.” He winked at Mac, who laughed as he eyed the major.

“Stevenson, if you know what’s good for you, you will keep your mouth shut or you’ll find yourself on KP duty for the next three months. Got it?” Lorne growled.

Mac shivered slightly in response. Casting a sly look at him, Mac grinned. “Don’t worry, Major, your secret’ll be safe with me,” he said sotto voce.

Lorne appeared nonplussed as he stared at him. “What secret?”

Eyes traveling downward discretely, Mac indicated Lorne’s bulge which Mac had noticed becoming a bit of an issue as the conversation had gone on. No doubt, the major was remembering that mission and seemed to mind it less than what he pretended. It made Mac incredibly curious, but he would never ask the man about it, and certainly not in front of his men.

If anything, Lorne’s cheeks reddened further, which didn’t help Mac in the slightest as far as his own reactions to the man went. For all that this was their first interaction, Mac had paid close attention to the major from the first time he had laid eyes on him back in the mountain. Their paths simply had never crossed before now. Deciding to throw him a lifeline, Mac smiled. “Today’s mission went better, then, I take it?”

Sighing in relief, Lorne nodded. “Yeah, doc, it did. Well, in the sense of nothing happening at any rate. Unfortunately it looked like the natives either fled the area recently, or something happened to them, but there was no one around.” After Mac had listened to his heart, Lorne added, “I’m Evan Lorne, by the way. I don’t think we’ve met yet, have we? I’m usually pretty good with faces, but…”

Grinning, Mac straightened up and held out his hand which Lorne took. “Pleasure to meet you, Major. The name’s Muiredach MacTavish. Mac, to my friends.”

Lorne’s face twisted slightly as he tried futilely to pronounce Mac’s name. “Just call me Mac, please, Major,” Mac said amused, squeezing the man’s arm.

“Deal, if you’ll call me ‘Evan’ instead of ‘Major’.” Evan sounded relieved and pleased, but Mac could tell there was an all too familiar question brewing behind the man’s eyes. Sure enough, after they’d gotten through most of the examination, it came. “Muiredach? What kind of a name is that? I’ve never heard it before.”

With a sigh, Mac settled on the edge of the bed and folded his hands on his lap. “It’s an old Irish name that means ‘lord’, and you could say I was given the name out of an extreme sense of loyalty to country. Which might seem strange, since I’m from Scotland, but my mother was half-Irish and half-Scottish, my father Scottish, and the name Muiredach also is used in Scotland. My mother, God bless her soul, was very proud of our heritage and my parents had moved to London a month before I was born for my father’s job – or rather, my Da moved, and my Mum and I followed as soon as we could. Also, I’m their only child, so my mother felt it fitting as I was her ‘little lord’.”

Evan let out a low whistle. “Wow, that’s… pretty great, actually.”

Mac gave a derisive snort. “Aye, I suppose it is. It just wasn’t so grand growing up with a name like that, if you catch my drift.”

Chuckling, Evan scratched his jaw. “Yeah, I suppose you have a point, there. Kids can be cruel.”

“Indeed, they can,” Mac agreed as he got back to his feet and placed a tourniquet on Evan’s arm. “Just your blood sample left and you’re free to go.”

Evan’s jaw twitched as Mac pierced his skin with the needle. “So, doc. Did anything interesting happen while we were gone?”

Mac shot him a knowing look. He knew diversionary tactics when he saw them, and he had to admit that he was amused that the man seemed to have an aversion to having his blood drawn. “Aye, you could say that. Dr. Beckett’s ATA therapy had its first human test subject this morning.”

Intrigued, Evan tilted his head. “ATA therapy?”

Grinning, Mac explained about the gene therapy they had devised and that Dr. McKay had received the first dose earlier that day. His smile faltered and was replaced by a frown of worry when he got to the part where McKay had put on a personal shield and now couldn’t take it off again. “He was in here just before you arrived, actually.”

“Is he okay?”

“Aye, for the moment at least, but unless we can figure out how to turn off the device soon he’ll be in a spot of trouble.” At Evan’s querying look, he added, “He can’t even eat or drink or anything else if you catch my meaning.”

“Oh! Yeah, that… Hmm.” Evan frowned down at his boots for a bit, then turned his attention back to Mac. “I’m sure they’ll figure out something.”

“No doubt,” Mac agreed. “Alright, that’s it for you, Major. Until next time.” Mac smiled warmly at Evan, pleased when the other man’s cheeks flushed slightly as he nodded and headed off to be debriefed.

A few hours later, Mac was sitting in the office going over some paperwork when there was a knock on the door. Eyes widening in surprise, Mac started to get to his feet. “Evan? What can I do for you?”

Evan waved him off with a small smile, indicating he could remain seated. “Nothing. I stopped by to check on Ford, figured I’d pop my head in and say hello.”

“Ah, yes. The lieutenant’ll be fine. Just needs a few days rest and some lotion for his skin. Though the man needs to learn to stay away from energy beings,” Mac teased. It wasn’t really a laughing matter, of course. Ford had been extremely fortunate not to have been hurt worse in the encounter. Still, Mac couldn’t do anything for it. He felt inordinately pleased that the other man had dropped by. Eyeing him carefully, he took in the way the major seemed to bite the corner of his lip, the way his gaze kept flicking away from Mac only to return again as if he couldn’t help himself.

Evan’s cheeks flushed as his eyes landed on the lei hanging on the wall behind Mac, slightly off to his right. Mac didn’t even need to check to know that was what had caught the man’s attention. He could tell simply from the way Evan’s blush deepened. Mac fought to contain his grin, though he was certain he was failing miserably at it.

Clearing his throat, Evan stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Right, well… I’ll head back to work then.”

Still trying to stifle a grin, Mac managed a, “See you later, Evan,” just as the other man walked out. Shaking his head, he allowed himself a chuckle before turning his attention back to his paperwork.

Carson was busy with a patient when Major Sheppard radioed, “Medical team to the gateroom!”

“On our way, Major,” he replied before shutting the com. Mac grabbed the first aid kit and beckoned a nurse to follow him as he took off running. When they got to the room, Mac took a few seconds to asses the situation. Rodney was beginning to sit up, with Elizabeth, Dr. Grodin, Teyla, and Major Sheppard hovering over him. Evan and his brother stood off to the side with twin looks of concern on their faces.

Kneeling down beside Rodney, he went through the motions of checking the man’s vitals even as Rodney grouched, “Thank you. Take your time.” Rodney tried to stretch, but couldn’t move very well judging by the ginger way he shifted. “Ugh, man down.”

Mac suppressed a grin. “Come now, Rodney, don’t be such a baby,” he muttered, pressing the stethoscope to the man’s chest to listen to his breathing.

“I’m not being a ‘baby’, Mac!” Rodney protested in a huff. “You try evicting a giant energy monster from the city and see how well you fare.”

“Did you now?” Mac said, impressed with his friend. With a nod at the nurse, they each grabbed Rodney by the elbow and shoulder and helped him to his feet.

Looking exhausted but beaming with pride anyway, Rodney straightened, his chest swelling as he confirmed, “Yes, I did, thank you very much,” and off he went, telling Mac in great detail about how they had lured an energy creature that was hiding on Atlantis to the gateroom with a naquedah generator in front of the open gate. How instead of the M.A.L.P. leading the creature through the gate, the being instead drained the thing of its power and feasted on the generator. How it had continued to grow until it had expanded all the way to the steps, and how Rodney had bravely stepped into the shrouded being and tossed the generator through the gate at great personal risk.

Mac’s eyes flitted over Rodney in assessment as they walked. “What about your shield?”

Rodney gave him a triumphant, if tired, smile. “Oh, it fell off after the creature drained it of energy.”

Eyes widening, Mac shook his head in astonishment. “You don’t say. In that case, I do believe you’re quite lucky to be on your feet at all,” he murmured.

As they slowly made their way to the infirmary for a more thorough check up, Mac glanced over his shoulder. He smiled at Evan who was trailing behind them, his brother walking beside him with an amused glint in his eyes. At Mac’s raised eyebrow, Evan shrugged. “Just making sure you get him to the infirmary okay. You know, in case he ‘passes out’ again.”

“Thank you, Major,” Rodney said, sounding somewhat petulant.

“Aye, thank you, Major,” Mac repeated, but with sincerity in his voice. He had a feeling that life in Pegasus would prove very interesting, indeed, and for a myriad reasons. He fervently hoped that one Evan Lorne would be one of them.

 

next

“Hey, McKay. Got a minute?”

Rodney looked up absently to find Sheppard standing in the doorway to his office. Blinking stupidly, he nodded. “Sure, Major. What can I do for you?” Somewhere in the back of his mind, Rodney wondered at his easy acquiescence, since he was rather busy and didn’t normally appreciate being interrupted.

Flashing a grin, Sheppard stepped inside and the door closed apparently of its own volition, though more likely the major had thought it closed. When he got to the desk, Sheppard randomly picked up a doodad and muttered, “Huh. Cool, I can hear music in my head.” Shaking his head, he put it down and reached out for something else – a small green thing about the size of his fist – seemingly unable to help himself, but Rodney grabbed his wrist to stop him.

“I’d rather you wait until I’ve done some more research on these items, Major. You can play lightswitch later. Now, what was it you wanted?” Rodney prodded, only remembering to let go of the man’s wrist when John cocked an eyebrow.

“Right. I want you to join my team.”

“You… what?” Rodney frowned in confusion. “What team?”

Rolling his eyes, John huffed. “My gate team? I want you on it.”

“But… why?” For the life of him, Rodney couldn’t fathom why the major would ask him of all people. Sure, he was the smartest person here, but he wasn’t unaware of his limitations. Gate teams had to deal with unknown and often dangerous situations. They had to be fit, which Rodney most certainly wasn’t, and they had to deal with people, which Rodney definitely wasn’t the best person for. In his entire career at the SGC, he had never been in the field, and he had liked it that way. Hell, up until stepping through the gate to come to Atlantis, he had never even been through a gate at all! Labs were safe, and tech he – mostly – knew how to deal with. Even if it was alien.

Sheppard gave him a level look, then held up his hand and began counting off his reasons. “One, you’re the smartest person I know. Two, you are the foremost expert on Ancient technology. Three, because of your previous positions within the SGC and Area-51, you’ve had the most exposure to alien tech of anyone on this mission. And last, but not least, because I feel you would be a good asset to the team.”

With each example, Rodney’s heart thumped a little faster. He certainly knew all those things about himself. Well, the first three at any rate. But to hear the major tell him so… it meant something to Rodney. It actually meant a whole hell of a lot, if he were completely honest with himself. No one ever really gave him that kind of credit except himself. Oh, sure, people knew his credentials and made use of them, but to hold it up to him like this? Never mind being asked to do something as important as joining a gate team?

He felt his cheeks heat a little with elation at the prospect of being on Sheppard’s team. He couldn’t stop the goofy grin, nor unfortunately the somewhat excited if insecure, “Really?”

The fond look Sheppard gave him did funny things to Rodney’s stomach. Then again, he had skipped lunch today, so maybe he was just experiencing hunger pangs. “Yes, McKay,” John said gently. “Really. What do you say?”

Casting his eyes around his office for inspiration – or an excuse, he wasn’t entirely sure which because as thrilled as he was at being asked, he was also a bit frightened – he mumbled, “Well, like you said, I’m the foremost expert on Ancient technology. It would be bad if I got hurt or killed, even. The city wouldn’t survive without me,” he blustered. An obvious exaggeration, but all in all not too big of a one in his opinion.

“Do you really think I’d let that happen?” Sheppard looked at him skeptically, and for some reason that same feeling Rodney had had that first day in Pegasus resurfaced. No, the major wouldn’t really let anything happen to him, but accidents did happen after all. It wouldn’t do to forget that, Rodney figured.

Checking his hip against Rodney’s desk, Sheppard crossed his arms and grinned. “C’mon, McKay. Would you really let someone else have the glory of finding us a ZPM?”

And that was just unacceptable to Rodney and from the look on the major’s face, he knew he had hit his mark. “Alright, fine,” Rodney blustered. “Just so you know, I’ve never fired a gun in my life.”

Sheppard’s grin widened and his eyes seemed to light up. “Don’t you worry about that, McKay. We’re going to be spending some time on the shooting range to get you qualified. You’ll need to at least be able to defend yourself.”

Rodney gaped at the man, unsure of his feelings. In part he was horrified at the idea of having to shoot anyone, but a tiny voice in the back of his head was pointing out that spending time alone with Sheppard would not be a bad thing at all. To Rodney, the man was like an intricate puzzle that just eluded his abilities to solve and if there was one thing he could not stand, it was not knowing something when it was important. Though why it was important, Rodney had no idea.

“Right. Okay,” he stammered, gesturing to the chaos that was his desk. “In that case, I’d better get back to work, then.”

Clapping Rodney’s shoulder, Sheppard said jovially, “Attaboy, McKay. We’ll start tomorrow at oh-eight hundred.”

“That early?” Rodney squawked, eyes wide in shock.

“That late, you mean?” Sheppard teased with a wink. “Better get your beauty sleep, McKay. Don’t be late.”

It took Rodney a minute to realize that Sheppard had actually left. Shaking off the stupor he found himself in, he returned to work, only to be interrupted hours later by Carson radioing him. “Rodney, if you still want to be the first to receive the gene therapy, you’ll need to stop by my office first thing.”

Straightening so fast he cricked his back, Rodney spluttered, “It’s ready? You sure?”

“Aye, Rodney. Now, did you want to be the first or should I go looking-?”

“Of course I’ll go first,” Rodney snapped.

“First thing in the morning, then,” Carson piped through his ear, sounding far too amused to Rodney’s liking.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“It should be illegal to be up this early,” Rodney groused upon entering the infirmary at half past seven the following morning. “I haven’t even had-,” he paused, eyes widening at the mug Carson was holding out for him. “Oh! Coffee! Gimme!” Rodney said, making grabby hands.

Shaking his head, Carson rolled his eyes at his friend. “I know better than to ask you to function before you’ve had your first cup of coffee, Rodney. Now here, sit,” he said, patting the bed.

Draining the mug, Rodney placed it on the table before hopping up on the bed. Carson cocked an eyebrow and suppressed a grin. “I’m surprised you’re so eager to volunteer for this, Rodney,” he said while preparing the syringe.

“Oh, you know me, always eager to help.” Was Carson kidding? Like he would be able to resist the chance to be able to work the Ancient tech himself?

Giving him a skeptical look, Carson tied the tourniquet above Rodney’s elbow. “So, did you have any questions about the process? I mean you are a scientist.”

Rodney scoffed. “Er, yeah. I’m sorry, but er, medicine is about as much of a science as, oh, I don’t know, voodoo?”

Slapping Rodney’s elbow a little harder than Rodney felt completely necessary, Carson said tersely, “Right.”

“All I need to know is that it will enable to me to use Ancient technology like Major Sheppard… or yourself,” Rodney added almost as an afterthought.

“Yes,” Carson agreed amicably. “Hopefully. You are the first human trial.”

That gave Rodney pause. Of course he knew he was the first to be given the therapy, but he hadn’t really considered that that meant it hadn’t be tried on humans before. “W-why now?” he asked, suddenly feeling uncertain. “I mean, if this is possible, we need as many people with the gene as we can get.”

“Well, actually, without FDA approval it’s virtually impossible to-,” Carson trailed off when he noticed the look of discomfort on Rodney’s face.

Suddenly, Rodney wasn’t at all sure this was such a good idea anymore. Every B-movie he’d ever seen that involved gene manipulation began to play itself out in his head. And when Carson mentioned using a mouse retrovirus to introduce the therapy, Rodney started to feel a little ill. Before he could protest, though, Carson pierced the skin of his elbow and injected the serum into his system.

Wincing, Rodney clenched his fist, surprised to find something in it. He hadn’t even realized he had taken it out of his pocket during Carson’s little speech.

Carson glanced at what he was holding as he finished up with Rodney. “What’s that?”

Tossing the device in his hand, Rodney grinned. It was the same one Sheppard had tried to pick up the day before. After the major had left his office, Rodney had done a little digging and found an entry on the thing in one of the logs from one of the myriad Ancient scientists. As far as he could tell it was sort of like a personal shield, and now that he was going to be part of a gate team, that didn’t seem like such a bad thing to have.

“This? Oh, nothing. Just something I found in one of the research labs. Something the Ancients were experimenting with,” Rodney hedged.

Raising his eyebrows, Carson sounded worried when he asked, “Do you know what it is?”

Gazing at the device, Rodney gently stroked its edge with his thumb. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure.” At least, he hoped he was. He really hoped he was. Clearing his throat, he sat up a little straighter. “So, how long before we know this worked?”

Carson shrugged as he tidied up. “Eh, it could take some time. Just go about your day and let me know if you notice any changes.”

Pocketing the device, Rodney hopped to his feet. “Will do. Er… I should be safe to go to target practice, right?”

Looking over his shoulder in surprise, Carson gaped. “Target practice? What do you need target practice for, Rodney?”

Beaming with pride, Rodney bounced on the balls of his feet, his hands clasped behind his back. “Major Sheppard asked me to be a part of his team.”

“You don’t say?” Carson replied, seeming pleased. “Aye, Rodney, you should be fine. Just go about your business as usual.” After a pause, he added mischievously, “Remember, Rodney, the barrel of the gun is supposed to point away from you.”

“Oh, ha ha,” Rodney scoffed. “Very funny.”

As Rodney headed out the infirmary, Carson called after him. “Be careful, Rodney, and good luck.”

When Rodney arrived at the shooting range, Sheppard was already there. Without taking his attention from checking the guns laid out before him, he muttered, “You’re late.”

“Oh, am I? Sorry, I had to stop by Carson’s first thing.” Rodney actually blushed, a sinking feeling in his stomach at the thought of having disappointed the major before they had even begun. What if he changed his mind about letting Rodney on the team?

Sheppard abruptly looked up, concern on his face as he inspected Rodney carefully. “Everything alright?”

Grinning, Rodney rocked back and forth. “Oh yes, everything’s fine. Well, maybe. Hopefully,” he added when he saw the man’s eyebrows try to climb up to his hair. Waving the major’s concerns aside, he said with more confidence than he really felt, “The ATA therapy was finally ready, so if you’re ignoring the fact that my DNA is being rewritten quite literally as we speak, then yes, I’m perfectly okay.”

Flashing a grin, Sheppard nodded. “Good. You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Rodney said, gulping as he wiped his suddenly sweaty palms on his pants.

First, the major walked him through the various guns they would be using on a mission. He showed Rodney how to safely operate each one before he allowed Rodney to take his first shot. They were focusing on handguns for now, leaving the P90 for when he had more experience.

The theory behind everything came easily enough to Rodney. It was the actual holding the gun and having it recoil with every shot that threw him off. Every time he squeezed the trigger, Rodney wanted to shy away from it, which was absolutely the wrong thing to do. Sheppard remained patient throughout, calmly explaining the steps again.

When Rodney still had trouble not flinching with every shot, Sheppard tapped his shoulder and held out a different handgun. “Here. Use this instead.” A questioning look only made the major roll his eyes and point to the target. “Shoot.”

Shaking his head, Rodney sighed, took his stance, and fired – only to nearly drop the gun completely in shock. “What the hell, Sheppard?” Was he playing some kind of joke on him? If so, it was not funny! That time had been much worse than the others.

Raising his eyebrows in challenge, John merely pointed to the target again. “Keep firing. Trust me.”

Watching him closely for a while, Rodney weighed his options. He could throw in the towel and for certain lose any hope of actually going on away missions, despite the invitation. Or he could do as Sheppard said and trust that he knew what he was doing. Biting his lip, Rodney quickly ran several scenarios through his head, but all of them resulted in the same. He honestly had no idea why, but he did trust the man in front of him, and trust wasn’t something Rodney was known to give easily.

“Okay,” he finally said, gripping the gun and turning back to the target. He fired ten times, only hitting the board twice, and he just could not keep from flinching. Feeling utterly disappointed in himself, he gently put the gun down and scrubbed his face in annoyance. “I’m sorry,” he said when he finally looked Sheppard in the eye. “I’m just no good at this.”

Clasping Rodney’s shoulder, Sheppard gave him a reassuring smile. “Sure you are. Or at least, you will be.” Handing him the first gun again, he tilted his head toward the target. “Try again.”

Frowning, Rodney accepted the gun and after taking several deep breaths and casting a dubious look at his teacher, he tried again. And hit center mass of the target, the lesser recoil practically a relief. With a whoop, Rodney flailed his hands, still holding the gun, all but forgotten. “Oh my God! Did you see that? Did you see?!”

With quick, efficient movements, Sheppard grabbed the gun and removed it from Rodney’s hands with an admonishing look. “Yeah, McKay. I saw. Great shot.”

Blushing, Rodney started to babble, talking with his hands as much as his mouth like he always did when he got agitated. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. But did you see? I hit it! Right in the chest, and I never thought I’d be able to and then you switched guns on me and the recoil got worse and I reallyreallyreally thought I was just going to screw up completely and then you’d never let me go on the team and-.”

“McKay!” Clamping a hand over Rodney’s mouth, Sheppard sighed. “Just be careful next time, okay? Guns aren’t toys. Now come on. Try again. You have to practice so you can get a perfect shot every time.”

Rodney nodded, wide-eyed. He was mortified that he’d first started waving the gun around and then basically word-vomited all over the major. Though now that he thought about it, the man didn’t seem phased in the slightest. In fact, unless Rodney was very much mistaken, he thought he detected a hint of pride in his eyes as he watched Rodney.

Sheppard lifted his hand away slowly and flashed Rodney a grin. “Ready?”

Taking a deep breath, Rodney nodded again. They spent another half hour on the range before calling it quits. Rodney was fairly pleased with himself. He hadn’t managed another kill shot as the major called it, but he had hit the target more often than not in the end.

Sheppard smiled as he set about cleaning the guns before putting them away. “You did good, McKay. You keep it up, we’ll make a crack shot out of you yet.”

Rodney snorted. He doubted that very much, but he would be happy enough if he could hold his own in the field. He hated the idea of becoming a liability. That reminded him of something. He fished the device out of his pocket and held it in front of him as he thought ‘on’, just to see if the gene therapy had done anything yet. “Yes!” he cheered, loud enough to make the major jump.

“McKay?”

Grinning, Rodney felt as if he had just been given the best gift ever. He stuck the device to his chest where it remained, glowing faintly. “It worked,” he said triumphantly. “Carson’s voodoo actually worked!”

“That’s great, McKay.” Sheppard both looked and sounded genuinely pleased for Rodney. “Isn’t that that thing I was about to pick up yesterday?” Rodney nodded as John tried to touch it only to be met by a forcefield that caused the area the shimmer with green light. “Whoa… is that-?”

“A personal shield? Yes, yes it is,” Rodney gloated. “Go on. Try to hurt me.”

Frowning in disbelief, Sheppard shrugged, then kicked Rodney in the shin. Or, he tried to. “Ow!” Hopping on one foot, the man scowled at him briefly before the implications sunk in. Then his expression shifted to one of childlike delight as he pulled out his gun. He held it up, silently asking for permission which Rodney gave by virtue of waving him on. Sheppard hesitated a moment, apparently trying to judge where he would do least damage in case things went wrong, then fired at Rodney’s leg.

The bullet ricocheted off to the side, embedding itself in the partition. Eyes shining with glee, they grinned at each other and in unison declared, “This is so. Cool!”

 

next

“Where do you want this, doc?” Ioan asked, trying his best not to drop the heavy box filled with equipment. Williams grunted as he shifted his end of it.

Radek and Mac both turned to the soldiers, unsure who was being addressed. “Ah, yes, yes,” Radek muttered. “Please, put over there, Lieutenant. Next to kettle. Careful please, so as not to break beakers, yes?”

Ioan grinned as they did as directed. He rather liked the little Czech man. “So, doc, how’d you convince the higher ups to okay a distillery?” Ioan asked even as Williams left the room.

Radek grinned mischievously. “Actually, I didn’t.”

Mac coughed into his fist, giving Ioan a sly look. “I did. Alcohol is one of the main antiseptics we can produce, after all. There are many applications,” he added seriously.

Barking out a laugh, Ioan shook his head incredulous. “And they bought that?”

Mac chuckled. “General O’Neill did not take much convincing. In fact, he seemed rather miffed he hadn’t thought of it himself.”

“Nice. I’ve always liked him.”

“General O’Neill is good man,” Radek agreed.

“Well, I’m looking forward to seeing what you two manage to do with this thing,” Ioan said, patting the kettle. “Good luck. I better get back to work.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kimberly surveyed the empty space with a critical eye. “You sure this one’ll work best, Miko?” she asked her friend. She had to admit the room was large enough to house all the sewing paraphernalia and other craft related things. The light in here was great – as was the view – thanks to an entire wall of windows. They’d already discarded several other areas before finding this one and, in all honesty, Kimberly just wanted to be done.

Miko cast another glance around, then nodded. Her face was alight with pleasure at the prospect of working here. “Hai! It will be perfect. You’ll see.”

Smiling, Kimberly chuckled. “You seem pretty eager for this. I didn’t realize you were such a seamstress,” she teased.

Miko turned to her wide-eyed. “I learn to sew when all I could find in shops was clothes for young girls. Is hard to find suitable wardrobe if you don’t want to wear Hello Kitty.”

Markham, who was walking up behind them pushing a cart with sewing machines and bolts of cloth on it, snorted a laugh. Quickly turning it into a cough, he mumbled, “Sorry.”

Stackhouse, following along with a cart full of tables, laughed at his friend. Shaking his head, he grinned at Miko. “Where would you like these set up, ma’am?”

Kimberly’s lips twitched as she fought a smile. She studiously looked out the windows to avoid meeting her friend’s eyes. She heard Miko’s stifled amusement, though.

“Set up here, and here if you would, and leave the rest against the wall. Will figure it out once we have unpacked everything and start working,” Miko said quietly.

Once the sergeants were done, they left the two women to their own devices. Pushing up her sleeves, Kimberly shot a quick glance at Miko. “You know, I’m actually a little surprised that McKay doesn’t have all of us slaving away, trying to figure out every little thing they’ve discovered so far.” Kimberly was fine with getting the household part of the equation over with as fast as possible, but she couldn’t deny wanting to start doing the real work, either. They’d been hard at it for days already, finding places to live, to use as offices, gyms, changing rooms. The list was ongoing but at least they were nearing the end, since this would be one of the last spaces to set up.

Pausing from opening a box, Miko hummed thoughtfully. “I suspect he would, except Dr. Weir has said the tech will be there later and we need to settle in as much as possible first. All we do now is go through everything as we can, organizing as we go. Dr. McKay and Dr. Grodin are busy connecting our computers to the Ancient consoles in the control room and the lab Dr. McKay will be using, and now distillery is set up and running, Dr. Zelenka will help them.”

Kimberly nodded. She knew that, of course, but she had still been surprised by it, knowing how eager Rodney had been to get started. Dr. Weir had a point, though. It was probably a good idea to get things set up as quickly as possible. Who knew what they would need or when, and working out what was where in a crisis situation could prove disastrous. Of course, the same could be said for figuring out all the Ancient technology in the same situation, but they could only do their best.

They worked for a while, sorting through the boxes and getting a couple of sewing machines set up and in working order. They had just maneuvered a small weaving loom – still unassembled – into the spot Miko had picked for it when Ioan knocked on a table to get their attention.

“Hey,” he said, smiling. “How’s it going? Did you two need any help with anything?”

Straightening, Kimberly brushed her hair out of her face and smiled. “No, we’re good, thanks.”

Ioan looked almost disappointed, she thought. Clearing his throat, he scratched the back of his neck. “Okay. Well… Evan said they had the kitchen all set up and would be serving actual food for lunch rather than MREs. Would you like to grab some?”

Kimberly bit her lip to keep from grinning at the hint of a blush on Ioan’s cheeks. She found it far too alluring for her own good, not that she’d admit that to anyone. Well, maybe to a girlfriend after a bottle of wine, but certainly not to anyone else. “Sure. I’d like that.”

He really was cute, she thought as she stared just a beat too long into his eyes. Shaking her head, she turned to Miko. “You hungry?” Without waiting for an answer, she hooked her arm through Miko’s and said cheerfully, “C’mon. Any votes on what’s being served? I say mashed potatoes with gravy, and Salisbury steak, with jello for dessert.”

As they passed Ioan, who was looking mildly disappointed, she slipped her free arm through his and winked. She chuckled at the transformation on his face as the three of them headed toward what had been dubbed the mess hall.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Later, Carson, I’m busy,” Rodney said, waving him off before Carson had even finished saying hello.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Carson huffed. “I can see that. When’s the last time you ate, lad?”

“Ate?” Rodney asked confused, actually having to think about his answer.

“Yes, Rodney, ate. You know, that thing you do where you put food in your mouth and generally chew and swallow in order to nourish your body and avoid going into hypoglycemic shock?” Carson snarked, though there was no real bite to it. He knew his friend too well after all this time. When he got absorbed in his work, everything else was forgotten including his basic needs, which in Rodney’s case could lead to dire consequences. It was, after all, why Carson had sought him out in order to make sure Rodney wouldn’t end up in the infirmary.

Finally raising his head, Rodney mumbled, “Idon’tremember… I think I had a PowerBar this morning?”

“A PowerBar. Right.” Sighing, Carson grabbed Rodney’s shoulder and manhandled his friend out of his office. “Lunch for you, lad. No arguments. Doctor’s orders.”

Rodney protested more out of habit than anything else as they walked along the corridor. When Carson didn’t relent, Rodney huffed. “Fine, but there better not be anything lemony in sight.”

“I know, Rodney,” Carson said patiently, rolling his eyes.

Snapping his fingers, Rodney suddenly grinned. “Hey, Carson. How is your gene therapy coming along? Are you going to be ready to test it out soon?”

Carson grinned. “Aye, I am, actually. I think I’ve gotten the right sequence down. It helped to have Major Sheppard’s DNA since his ATA is so much stronger. I’m going to try it on the mice this afternoon as a matter of fact,” he said happily, feeling quite pleased with himself. If this worked, then Rodney and his minions wouldn’t need to bother him for anything gene-related anymore, which suited Carson just fine. If he never had to sit in a chair like in Antarctica again, it would be too soon for him, and Carson was aware that Atlantis supposedly had one as well.

Rodney rubbed his hands together with glee. “And when it’s ready, I go first. Right? That is what we agreed on,” he reminded Carson.

“I know, Rodney. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten.”

When they walked into the mess hall, it was packed. It surprised Carson, though he supposed it shouldn’t now that the kitchens were actually functioning and proper meals were being prepared as opposed to what the military deemed fit for human consumption.

Of course, Rodney lamented the lack of MREs, and loudly so. “But I like them. I like knowing exactly what’s in them. No mystery foods and no surprise lemon.”

Carson had impressed on everyone who would share kitchen duty that there were a few cases of severe allergies among the expedition members. Some of them were already aware of Rodney’s extreme reaction to anything citrus, having worked in the mountain prior to sorting to Atlantis. What Rodney probably wasn’t aware of was that Carson also had made sure that they had taken citrus free cleaners along, so he was fairly confident that there would be no contamination risks for his friend. “Don’t worry, Rodney. No lemons. Now hurry up and get your food, there’s a line forming.”

As soon as they both had their mac ‘n cheese, broccoli, and chicken, they looked around for a table. Kimberly waved them over. “Carson, Rodney, come sit with us.”

‘Us’ turned out to be the Lornes, Major Sheppard, Kimberly, and Dr. Kusanagi, leaving only one seat open. Frowning, Carson opened his mouth to object when Major Lorne got to his feet. “Don’t worry, doc, I was leaving anyway. Have to get back on duty, so feel free to take my seat,” he said with a smile.

“Ah, well, alright then. Thank you, Major.” Carson’s smile widened at the prospect of sharing a table with Miko, then faltered when Rodney took the seat next to Major Sheppard, leaving only the one next to Miko open, with Kimberly opposite Carson.

“C’mon, Carson, before your food gets cold,” cajoled Kimberly with a teasing smile.

Carson glanced at Miko. “Do you mind?” he asked her quietly, his throat suddenly dry. When she shook her head with a shy smile, he took a steadying breath and sat down. “Thank you,” he murmured.

Finding himself tongue-tied, Carson concentrated on his food, though he ended up picking at it more than eating it while the conversations flowed around him. Rodney and the major were discussing Atlantis’ technology, while Kimberly and the younger Lorne brother were discussing the aesthetics of the city.

Kimberly kicked Carson under the table, causing him to hiss and grab his shin. Glaring at her, he mouthed, “What was that for?” Kimberly rolled her eyes, nodded pointedly at Miko and returned his glare. He got the message quite plainly: Talk to her!

Right. He could do that. He could. Taking a drink of water, he gathered his nerve, then turned to Miko. “So how are you enjoying the city so far, Doctor?” Carson flinched. He might as well have asked her about the weather. He was such an idiot sometimes. Still, he couldn’t very well take the words back, so he waited for her to answer.

Miko chuckled, her hand covering her mouth. Clearing her throat lightly, she blushed and couldn’t quite meet his eyes. “Please, forgive me. I like Atlantis very much. Like I told Ioan our first day, I have not known this sense of peace in many years. Atlantis, she feels like home, does she not?”

Carson couldn’t quite help the goofy smile that spread over his lips. “Aye, that she does, lass.”

They made small talk after that, mostly sticking to things related to the city, with everyone participating in the conversation. Half an hour later, Kimberly got to her feet with a sigh. “Suppose we’d better get back to it, too, Miko.”

Miko nodded, then paused as she got to her feet. Leaning in to Carson, she said quietly, “You call me Miko, yes?”

Carson’s eyes widened, as did his smile. “Aye. Thank you, lass. If you’ll call me Carson.”

“Hai. Have a good day, Carson,” Miko murmured, blushing beautifully.

“You, too,” Carson managed a beat late, staring after her as she and Kimberly left the mess hall.

 

next

Peering at his screen, Rodney was still coming down of the adrenaline rush from having the shields collapse and the city rise to the surface. Of all the possible outcomes he’d come up with, that had not been one of them, but he was more than happy to be wrong just this once. Elizabeth had wanted another day in the city and now they had however long they wanted as far as he could determine.

All around him people were starting to organize. Now that the imminent danger was over, they could begin settling in for the long haul. He paid no mind to all the goings on, though. He was too busy trying to figure out their status.

With a sigh, he straightened when Elizabeth approached him. “The last zero point module is depleted, but limited power has returned now that our generators aren’t going to hold back an ocean. Life support systems are working but the planet’s atmosphere is breathable. Notwithstanding the inevitable allergens,” he added with a slight grimace.

“So… now can our naquadah generators supply enough power to the shield for defensive purposes?” Elizabeth asked hopefully.

“Not even close,” Rodney said dryly.

“On the surface without a shield? We’re target practice,” Sheppard supplied, frowning in displeasure.

“I’m acutely aware of that, Major, but thank you for reinforcing it.” Rodney couldn’t keep the sarcasm from his voice even if he’d been willing to try. What was it about these military men and always stating the obvious? He’d thought the major might be cut from better cloth than he was used to dealing with, after their time in Antarctica, but maybe he was wrong.

Taking a steadying breath, the major stepped up to Rodney. “When can you tell me where the Wraith took Colonel Sumner and the others?” The calmness with which he spoke had a hint of danger to it.

Rodney gave the major a patronizing look as he explained, “Even with the six symbols Lieutenant Ford provided, there are still hundreds of permutations.”

With a level look, Sheppard cut him off. “Seven hundred and twenty.”

Rodney blinked, momentarily stunned into silence. “Yes,” he finally managed. At Sheppard’s head tilt that clearly said, Well there you go then, Rodney continued. “I knew that of course.” Clearing his throat lightly, he added, “I’m just surprised you did.” He really hoped he wasn’t blushing because the fact that Sheppard had so readily supplied that number was more of a turn on for Rodney than he’d ever readily admit to.

Sheppard didn’t seem to notice, though. “Take away the coordinates you can’t get a lock on and that’s your one. And when you find it, send a M.A.L.P.”

Rodney’s mouth worked silently but, unable to think of a worthy response, he walked away to do as ordered. And since when did he follow orders so easily? He was vaguely aware of Elizabeth taking Sheppard aside, but Rodney was already too focused on his task to pay them any heed.

It took him a lot longer than he would have liked to hit the right address. By the time he had the M.A.L.P. ready to go, both Elizabeth and Sheppard were in the control room. “Go ahead, Rodney,” Elizabeth said.

Sending the M.A.L.P. through the event horizon, Rodney held his breath. He knew that whatever findings it came back with, people’s lives would depend on it. The disappointment that washed over him when the readings came back with no atmosphere was visceral. The confirmation that the machine had been sent through a space gate – and since when did those exist? – hit home when first the planet and then the gate itself spiraled into view.

“Well there goes that M.A.L.P.,” Rodney muttered.

“It’s in space,” Sheppard said, nonplussed.

“You sure this is the right address?” Elizabeth hedged, hopeful there was still a chance.

Rodney nodded. “It’s the only one we could get a lock on,” he replied bitterly.

Elizabeth sighed. “Very well. Shut it down.” Passing by the major, she paused. “Sorry.”

Sheppard grimaced, giving her a curt nod.

Annoyed as Rodney was about the loss of a perfectly good piece of equipment, he was more put out by not being able to give Sheppard the one thing he would need for Elizabeth to greenlight a rescue. And then it hit him. Snapping his fingers a couple of times, he straightened from his console and turned to the man. “Come with me, Major.”

He didn’t wait to see if the man followed, Rodney simply walked off. Neither of them spoke until they hit the small aircraft hangar. “I remembered someone reporting finding these before the whole shield thing happened.”

They stood at the entrance, taking a moment to take in the scope of what they were seeing. There were several spaceships parked in the area, and the bay itself lit up as Sheppard moved forward. When they got to the nearest ship, Rodney indicated where to open it and they stepped inside. Rodney firmly squashed the irritation at the tech coming to life for the major. Now was so not the time to be focused on that.

Sheppard moved to the front of the ship, looking intrigued.

“Think you can fly it?” Rodney asked.

Glancing over his shoulder, Sheppard gave him a half-grin. “Why don’t we find out?”

Which is how Rodney found himself sitting in the co-pilot’s seat as the major attempted to get the ship airborne. It took him a couple of attempts before he was satisfied he wouldn’t crash it into anything, and the entire time Rodney was equal parts thrilled and horrified as they made a tight circle in the bay.

“You did good, McKay. This ought to bring Dr. Weir around,” Sheppard said firmly.

Clearing his throat, Rodney nodded. “I’ll go get her, shall I?” he ventured. At the man’s nod, Rodney hurried back to Elizabeth’s office. When he finally got there, out of breath from both running and excitement, he wanted to smack himself. Why hadn’t he simply thought to page her on the coms and have her meet them in the bay? Ah well, too late now, so he might as well get on with it.

As they walked, he explained what they’d discovered. Elizabeth still seemed uncertain about the prospect of mounting a rescue, and it didn’t help matters when they entered the bay with no major or ship in sight – or rather, the vessel they had taken for a spin. It was just gone. There was an odd humming that hadn’t been there before, however.

“What is that noise?” Elizabeth asked, looking around for the source.

“I don’t get it, he was right here,” Rodney exclaimed, confused. “Major?!” When the ship decloaked behind him, Rodney turned in shock and before he could think better on it, waved stupidly, feeling ridiculous.

“You wanted a technical advantage,” came Sheppard’s voice over the coms.

Elizabeth seemed impressed, as well as reluctant. “Alright. So you can fly this thing. That doesn’t mean you can pull off a rescue.”

“Doctor,” Sheppard said firmly. “This is why you brought me here.”

Was it getting warm in here, Rodney wondered as he took in the absolute confidence of the man in the cockpit. He couldn’t put a finger on exactly why, but in that moment he fully believed Major Sheppard to be capable of just about anything he set his mind to.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

John tried to familiarize himself with the console while he waited for the rescue team to settle in behind him. Ford took a seat next to him, looking more like a kid being allowed on his first carnival ride than a Marine about to head out to cause trouble.

“Alright, gateship-1, ready to go,” Ford said with a huge grin.

Shooting him an incredulous look, John wondered who had thought up that ridiculous name. “Gateship-1? A little puddlejumper like this?” he scoffed.

“It’s a ship that goes through the gate,” Ford defended. “Gateship-1,” he said, as if that settled the matter.

“Oh no, no, no. That’s all wrong,” John said, smirking and shaking his head. Did these people know nothing about naming a ship? It was obvious to John that the lieutenant had never piloted a ship before.

“Dr. McKay thought it was cool,” Ford said with a hint of petulance in his voice.

“Oh,” John muttered. That certainly explained some of it. Suppressing a grin, he added, “Okay, well it’s official.” Ford nodded as if he’d gotten his way, but his smirk vanished when John continued, “You don’t get to name anything. Ever.”

Switching on the coms to the control room, John said smoothly, “Flight, this is puddlejumper,” shooting an amused look at the man next to him he added, “We’re go for launch.”

John bit his lip as Rodney’s voice came over the com. “Err, this is flight. I thought we were going with gateship?”

“Negative, flight.” He definitely enjoyed messing with the man a little too much for his own good.

“Standby.”

John could well imagine Rodney’s reaction just from how he’d sounded, but he still wished he could have seen his face. When Rodney came back, John could hear the annoyed capitulation in his voice. “Fine. Puddlejumper you are clear for launch.”

John nodded. “Dial it up, Lieutenant.” It was go-time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

If John were completely honest with himself, he would admit that the longer he and Ford walked around the Hive ship, the more unsettled he became. Things had been eerily quiet from the moment he had landed the puddlejumper on the planet, and that just didn’t bode well. To put it in terms his brother used to say: his spidey sense was tingling.

A single Wraith passing near them was all the life they’d come across so far and apparently, Ford was of like mind. “I thought getting in was going to be the hard part, but that’s the first one we’ve seen,” he said, planting C-4.

John wasn’t naïve enough to believe that things could ever be this easy, however, so he remained vigilant as they moved ever inward in search of their quarry. Pulling out the handheld device the jumper had spit out, he looked at the screen. “Moving dot should be him,” he mused. Just to make sure, he ordered Ford to walk a few paces in the opposite direction. “Yeah, that’s you.”

“So,” Ford said with a smirk, “we got ourselves a lifesigns detector.”

Suppressing a sigh, as well as an eyeroll, John murmured, “We can name it later.” Taking another look at the screen, he chose a path and headed out, hoping to find the right dots.

After a few minutes, a cluster of them appeared and before he could see them, he heard Teyla whisper, “Major?”

“Shh!” Creeping up to the enclosure, John did a quick headcount. “Are you alright?”

“How did you find us?” Teyla asked, seeming uncertain he was truly there.

Halling was right on her heels with, “Is my son alive?” He looked both hopeful and fearful of John’s answer.

Giving him a quick reassuring smile, John said, “He’s well and waiting for you.” Halling heaved a sigh of relief. Scanning the cell once more, John frowned and turned to Bates. “Where’s Colonel Sumner?”

Grimacing, the man replied, “He was taken by the Wraith.”

Teyla added, “We do not know where.”

“Well, how about when?” John’s sense of foreboding had increased in leaps and bounds at the news.

A tiny spark of hope returned at Teyla’s, “Not long.”

Contacting Stackhouse, he ordered them to create a diversion. He wasn’t sure what he might be able to do, but John knew he had to at least try to get Sumner out. He hadn’t come all this way just to leave the man behind. Turning to Ford, he ordered, “I want you to plant more C-4, and in about twenty I want you to blow a hole in these cells and get these people out. I should be able to find the colonel with this,” he added, holding up the handheld device. He refused on principle to think of it as a lifesign detector just yet. “There aren’t that many Wraith around.”

Ford’s jaw clenched. “You’re the only one that can fly us out of here, Major.”

“I know. And I’ll fly us all out of here, including the colonel,” John assured with more confidence than he actually felt.

“I’m saying I should be the one to go, sir.”

John had to hand it to the lieutenant, he had a point. But like the man said, John was the only one who could fly them out and therefore also the only one that could operate the device, which left him few options. “Twenty minutes, I’ll find him,” he repeated before starting off, trusting Ford to follow his orders.

This place was a freaking maze. So many twists and turns it was all John could do to keep track of them so he would be able to find his way back. Still, he had yet to come across another lifesign, which was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it meant no other Wraith. A curse because he had yet to locate Sumner.

Suddenly, the silence was shattered by a piercing scream that John instinctively knew was Sumner’s. Keeping one eye on the screen, he followed the sound until he could go no farther. The sound was ahead and below him, so he went to all fours and crawled to a small space to peer down. What he saw made his breath catch. Some tall woman was doing something to the colonel’s chest and Sumner appeared to be aging right in front of his eyes!

He had no idea how it was happening, but he had to do something to stop her killing the colonel. He put three bullets through her back, and immediately followed by killing one of the other Wraith in the room with them. The female let out a shriek. John had to duck for cover as a third Wraith fired an energy weapon of some sort at him.

When he turned back and shot again, he paused, unable to believe his eyes. The female was standing, not a wound in sight, and Colonel Sumner was all but a living husk. Sumner stared John right in the eye with a look that said quite plainly: Shoot me. End this already. Please. John knew that look. Had seen it on several occasions in the field, but had up until now never had to act on it. He’d always persevered and managed to get the other person to safety – or they had been killed by someone else before he could think twice about the matter.

Not this time, however. This time, John knew it was up to him to end Sumner’s suffering. He knew it, he understood it, and it filled his gut with dread. Still, there was no other choice to make. Sumner was as good as dead already and not taking the shot just meant prolonging his pain. Steeling himself, John took his time to get the shot right, and with a nod, fired, aiming at the hand on Sumner’s chest. “I’m sorry,” John muttered under his breath as he watched the man collapse in a heap.

John stared in disbelief as the female Wraith glared up at him, acting for all the world like the wound on her hand was of no matter. He had a split-second to wonder about the look of triumph that crossed her face before his world went black.

When he came to, he was propped up against a table, being held in place by one of the Wraith guards. Out of the corner of his eye, John saw the female approach. “How’s the hand feeling?”

She turned her hand as if to inspect it, then grinned at him. “Much. Better,” she gloated.

Well, damn. “Sorry to hear that.” And he truly was. He had put four bullets in her and none of them seemed to have done her any lasting damage. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would take for her to die.

As he lay there trying to think of a way out of this mess, the female paused and began rummaging through his tac vest. Taking out the handheld device she examined it carefully with a look of disbelief, then demanded, “How did this come to you?”

“I don’t remember,” he tried, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of an answer. The guard thumped his head against the table in retaliation. Yeah, that was definitely unpleasant, and that thing was much stronger than it looked. John was sure he was in some serious trouble here.

Just when the female raised her hand to attack him, John heard gunfire and one of the guards went down, soon followed by the one that was pinning him down. As soon as he was free, he clicked his radio, rolling off the table as he shouted, “Light it up!”

He grinned in satisfaction at the sound of multiple explosions. The female began to shriek at top volume, sounding the alarm. John scrambled to his feet, grabbing the weapon of the fallen guard. It looked spear-like, and he figured if bullets didn’t damage her, maybe that might. Rushing her, he jammed it right through her chest where a human’s heart would be. “That has to kill you,” he grunted as she gurgled in shock.

She slid to the floor when he pulled the weapon from her. Keeping his eyes on her, he asked Ford, “How’d you find me?”

“Treadmarks, standard issue. Sir, let’s go!” Ford looked around uneasily.

John glanced at him, impressed. He was about to compliment the lieutenant on his tracking skills when the female rasped, “You don’t know what you have done. We are merely the caretakers for those that sleep.When I die, the others will awaken. All of them.” A smile formed on her lips as she passed away.

Swallowing hard, John turned to the table and grabbed the device. “What’s she talking about?” Ford asked as John glanced at the screen. “How many are left?”

The screen started to fill with dots so quickly, it was hard to tell them apart. It felt as if a stone had landed in his gut as John looked up at the ceiling which began to light up. What he saw there, filled him with trepidation. Writhing forms, all waking up, and they would be after them all. Ford handed him a gun. “Sir, we need to leave.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Checking Kate’s chart, Mac smiled at her. “You’ll be right as rain in a couple of days,” he assured. “Though unfortunately you’re going to have to miss the party.”

Chuckling, Kate winced, holding a hand to her head. “So are you, doctor. The first one on Atlantis.”

Mac shrugged, eyes roaming the rest of his patients – a few of his expedition members as well as a couple of Athosians that had been injured either during the attack on Athos or the surfacing of the city. Turning back to Kate, he grinned. “I’m sure there’ll be plenty of others. And Carson promised he’d have some food and drink sent up for everyone here in a few, so we won’t lose out completely.”

“Small comfort,” Kate murmured, “but one I’ll happily take, all things considered.” She adjusted her position in the bed, wincing once more.

“You lie back now,” Mac admonished. “You have a minor concussion as well as severe bruising. You’re lucky you didn’t get hurt worse than you did, so don’t go aggravating things.”

“Yes, sir.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Teyla watched her people with fondness as they mingled with the Lanteans. She had believed she would never see them again after she had been captured by the Wraith. To be with them now, to see Halling reunited with his son, it filled Teyla with hope. Hope was a new emotion for her. Determination. Loyalty. Love. Fear. Those she was well familiar with, but hope she had never before dared express. Thanks to Major Sheppard and his people, she felt she finally could.

She saw a chance to stand up to the Wraith. To maybe do more than that, even. These people around her, who had welcomed them with open arms even though they didn’t know one another, had weapons and knowledge no one she knew possessed. Surely that had to mean things were about to change, and for the better. She needed to believe that. For her own sake as well as that of her people. They had lost their home, but perhaps they would no longer lose any of their friends and families.

Even as she thought about all of this, she observed the Lanteans, too. Noting several instances where people kept circling back to a specific person. A look that lingered just a little longer than normal. A casual touch. It made her smile, as well as wonder what their relationships were. How much they differed from her own society.

Behind her, she could hear Dr. Weir and Major Sheppard speak. Her heart ached for him when he said, “I still have to live with it,” when Dr. Weir reminded him he could not have saved his colonel. She agreed wholeheartedly with her assessment. She knew all too well the treatment a human received at the hands of a Wraith, and she was all too aware there was no cure for being fed on by them.

“I’m beginning to think you were right,” Major Sheppard continued, sounding morose. “I have made things much worse. And I haven’t exactly made us many more friends out here.”

Turning, Teyla watched as Dr. Weir took in the people gathered there. “No? Look around you,” she said, smiling warmly.

Teyla walked over to them. “I agree, Major Sheppard.” Placing her hands on his shoulders, she leaned forward. After a moment’s hesitation, the major met her halfway and completed the Athosian greeting of friendship. Smiling up at him, she said sincerely, “You have earned both my friendship, and that of my people. With our help you will make many more friends.”

She meant that, too. She would do whatever she could to help these new friends. Not just because she felt she owed them, but because it was the right thing to do.

 

next

“The M.A.L.P. reads full viability, and no immediate signs of activity around the stargate but it’s pitch black.” Dr. Grodin read off the data on his pad as it came in.

Sumner took in his men, his jaw tightening as Sheppard joined his team. Glancing up to the balcony at Dr. Weir, he suppressed his desire to go up and give her his opinion. How dare she interfere with his command! Giving her a look that plainly said, ‘Are you kidding, lady?’ he could only sigh at the look of determination she gave him in return.

If the situation weren’t as dire as it was, he would have taken the time to argue his case, but as things stood, he had little choice. Atlantis was running out of time and they needed to find a safe planet to evacuate to before the city’s shields failed. Sumner would just have to grin and bear Sheppard’s presence for now. There really was no time to argue the matter. Accepting the G.D.O. from Dr. Grodin, Sumner turned to his men and barked, “Let’s move out!” and stepped through the gate.

Once on the other side, everyone got into formation and even Sheppard fell into line. The area was clear, so he ordered his men to fan out in search of civilization. A few minutes after they had started, a commotion at the end of the line got his attention. Making his way over, Sumner bit back a growl. Sheppard. Of course. Casting a dismissive glance over the spectacle in front of him – two small boys and one adult male all but cowering in front of the major and Lieutenant Ford – he asked sarcastically, “Everything okay here, Sheppard?”

“Yes, sir. Just a couple of kids.”

Lowering his weapon, Sumner sighed. Yeah, he was sincerely going to regret having to deal with the major. He could feel it in his bones. When the man who’d been protecting the children got to his feet and seemed to loom over Sumner, he automatically raised his weapon to the man. He didn’t much care for it when people towered over him. Not that Sumner was short by any standard, but still.

“Halling,” the man said to Sheppard.

Sheppard looked confused as he replied, “I don’t know what that means.”

It took everything Sumner had in him not to roll his eyes as he said incredulously, “That’s his name.”

“Oh. Halling. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Are you here to trade?” Halling asked.

Sheppard nodded and, sounding more and more like an idiot in Sumner’s estimation, replied, “Trade. Yes. We’re… we’re traders.”

Nodding, the man turned his attention to the boy next to him and knelt down so he was eye level with him. “How many times have I told you not to play in the woods after dark?” Sighing, he touched his forehead to the boy’s and added, “I’m just glad you’re safe.” Getting to his feet again, Halling looked at Sheppard once more – and wasn’t that just terrific – and said, “Teyla will wish to meet with you. Come.”

Halling placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder and together they guided the team to a camp nearby. Barking out orders for two of his men to stay by the gate and contact Dr. Weir, Sumner sorted the rest of his men back into formation. The entire time they were walking, Sumner stewed over the situation. He wasn’t best pleased with what he’d seen so far of Sheppard’s abilities and it just confirmed his opinion on the man.

As they walked, Ford approached him. “If you don’t mind my asking, sir. I noticed you had a problem with Major Sheppard.”

Glancing briefly over his shoulder at the man in question, Sumner turned to Ford and said, “I have a problem with his record. I don’t like anybody that doesn’t follow the proper chain of command.” Sumner hoped the young lieutenant would take that to heart. He had a lot of potential, but was impressionable still and he didn’t really want to have Sheppard be a bad influence on the kid.

Ford looked back toward Sheppard. “Yes, sir.”

Good, he’d gotten the message. Shifting his attention back to his surroundings, Sumner’s mouth tightened. The camp they were approaching was primitive at best. What little he could see of it showed absolutely no sign of technology, which wasn’t a good thing in his estimation.

Halling escorted them inside a tent and Sumner suppressed a sigh. Yep, primitive and of no use to him or his people. As Halling let the woman know they wished to trade, Sheppard pulled his night vision goggles off and ran his fingers through his hair in a disarming fashion. “Oh, it’s… it’s nice to meet you.”

Sumner stifled a snort at the image of a schoolboy taking off his cap in church came to mind. As the woman introduced herself as Teyla Emmagan, daughter of Tagan, Sumner took on introductions of him and his team. He couldn’t see how this diminutive tribal woman could be of any help, so he didn’t feel the need to be anything but direct. Then again, he was rarely anything but, anyway. “We have very few, specific needs-,” he started.

“We do not trade with strangers,” Teyla cut in empirically.

“Is that a fact?” Sumner muttered, reassessing her.

“Well… then we’ll just have to, err… we’ll have to get to know each other,” Sheppard said, offering her a charming smile. “Me, I like ferris wheels, college football, anything that goes over two hundred miles per hour.”

Sumner gave him an incredulous look even as Ford leaned into Sheppard and whispered, “Sir, that isn’t going to mean anything to them.”

Sheppard muttered from the corner of his mouth, “Feel free to speak up, I’m just trying to break the ice.”

Raising a brow, Sumner had to hand it to Sheppard, still he had a job to do. “These people can’t help us and I’d really rather not waste the time,” he said softly.

Before Sheppard could reply, Teyla spoke up. “Each morning before dawn, our people drink a stout tea to brace us for the coming day. Will you join us?”

Sheppard smirked and stepped forward. “I love a good cup of tea. Now you know something else about me. See? We’re practically friends already.”

Sumner’s lips twitched as he watched the interaction between the major and Teyla. Perhaps there was more to Sheppard than he’d initially thought. He’d warmed the woman up to them much faster than Sumner had believed possible. Away missions never went quite as smoothly in his opinion, but to Sheppard it seemed… easy. Maybe there was hope for the man yet.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Attention all personnel. This is Dr. Weir. As you may be aware, power levels are dropping and the shield is failing. We are going to have to abandon the city as soon as we possibly can. When Colonel Sumner reports he has found a safe place, I need each and every one of you to sort out quickly and quietly.”

Evan and Ioan exchanged ominous looks before turning to the balcony as one. Dr. Weir beckoned them upstairs and they double timed it. “Gentlemen. I’m going to need your help. Major Lorne, with Colonel Sumner and Major Sheppard gone, you’re next in line for command of the military contingent. We need to organize an evacuation, and we need to do it fast.” With a glance to Dr. McKay and Grodin, Elizabeth added, “Dr. McKay and his team are doing everything they can to minimize power usage and to boost what power Atlantis has with our generators, but I’m afraid it isn’t enough. I’m counting on you, Major.”

Evan nodded. “Yes ma’am. We’re on it.”

The brothers saluted her, then headed back to the gate room where Evan began barking out orders to sort through and gather the essentials for survival. Crazy as it was, considering they had spent so much time preparing and gathering ‘essentials’ prior to coming to Atlantis, he knew they would have to pare down even further. They might not have time to get everything through, after all, and people would be the most important.

Evan noticed Ioan talking to a couple of people who Evan thought were part of the medical team. He recognized Carson as well as a few of the nurses, but the young man with dark hair and a ready smile that stood next to Ioan he was unfamiliar with. Shaking his head, he scolded himself. Now was not the time to worry about who was who, or for checking anyone out, no matter how attractive they were.

A few hours later, but still faster than he would have believed possible, Evan had everything that was deemed absolutely essential set close to the gate for immediate evac, and he had sorted personnel in groups nearby. Everyone had been given specific orders on what to take and when.

The city was experiencing frequent tremors as more and more of the shield collapsed and people were starting to panic. Evan had to set a couple of Marines on guard duty to make sure everyone kept their cool. He noticed that Carson had put several of his people on standby as well, which Evan was grateful for.

Kate Heightmeyer was walking around, offering words of comfort and reassurance everywhere she went. When she reached Evan, she smiled at him and patted his arm. “How are you holding up?”

Evan gave her a tight smile in return and tried to look self assured. “Better than most, I guess.” It wouldn’t do to seem frightened, after all. He was in charge and people looked up to him.

Kate seemed to get that as she nodded. “If there’s anything I can do, let me know, alright?” she said sotto voce.

“Thanks, Kate,” Evan murmured.

As she moved on, Evan walked over to Ioan who was talking quietly with the young woman he’d pointed out to him, and Miko. “Hey, Ioan. Everything okay here?”

“Yeah, Ev, we’re fine,” Ioan assured.

Turning to the women, Evan smiled with as much confidence as he could muster. “Dr. Kusanagi, Dr. Smyth.”

Kimberly grinned. “Kimberly, Evan. How many times do I have to remind you?”

Evan chuckled. “Kimberly, then. Not causing any trouble with this one, are you?” he said, jutting his thumb at Ioan, who smacked his shoulder in retaliation.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Major. I-,” she started jokingly, but cut off when the city shook violently.

“Attention all personnel,” Dr. Weir radioed, “prepare for immediate evac!”

Evan looked up to the control room and saw McKay trying to dial out, but before he could establish a connection, the stargate engaged.“We’ve got an incoming wormhole!” Rodney said, stunned.

Excusing himself, Evan hurried up the stairs just in time to hear Grodin say, “I’m reading Lieutenant Ford’s identification code.”

“Let him in!” Elizabeth shared a hopeful look with Evan, who sent up a quick prayer that it was good news.

Evan headed back down the stairs in case he needed to help, but faltered in his steps when he saw a slew of indigenous people come through after Major Sheppard. Elizabeth came running down the stairs, demanding to know who they were.

“Survivors from the settlement,” John said. “We were attacked. Sumner and some of our men got taken.” Frowning, he looked around as the city trembled again. “What’s going on?”

Beckoning Ioan over to help rally the new arrivals so they were out of the way, Evan suppressed a sigh at the news. He couldn’t help but think they’d gotten out of the fryer and into the fire. He was vaguely aware of Elizabeth and John arguing, but Evan was too busy trying to calm everyone. Many of the refugees John had brought along appeared to be in shock, while some were excited and in awe of the new surroundings.

Then the city began to shake worse than it had up till that point and things began to come crashing down, sending people sprawling and scrambling for cover. Evan could hear cries of pain from several directions and people crying out in terror. It was all he could do to keep it together himself. Clasping Ioan’s arm, he focused on keeping his little brother safe and pushed thoughts of drowning and of hurting their family as far away as they would go.

 

next

“Here, let me help you with that, ma’am,” came a voice behind them. Kimberly turned to see Ioan lifting the heavy backpack and helping Miko settle it on her shoulders. The poor girl nearly sagged under its weight, but with some minor adjustments from Ioan, she was soon on her feet and stable.

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Miko said shyly.

She waited for her turn and smiled gratefully when Ioan directed his attention to her. “Thanks, Lieutenant. Appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. These things can be tricky at times, and with how much you ladies have packed in them, it doesn’t help,” he teased. “And please, call me Ioan,” he admonished gently. “You, too, doc.”

Kimberly shot back, “Like yours is any lighter.”

“Hai! Then you must call me Miko,” Kusanagi added almost in tandem with Kimberly.

Kimberly stifled a chuckle at the obvious pleasure on Ioan’s face. She knew from Miko that Ioan had been in the mountain for a while now, just like his brother, even if she herself had only met him a week ago. Miko wasn’t one to easily get to know, or to get on a first name basis with, so it said a lot about Ioan that she’d granted him the use of hers.

A movement behind Miko caught her attention and her eye fell on Carson as he tried to push his way past a couple of soldiers. The look on his face was equal parts longing and she thought some jealousy, too. As he walked by them, she offered him an apologetic smile, earning a wan one in return. She knew Carson was smitten with Miko – it was an open secret to anyone who paid attention.

She sighed. There were times that she thought it might be a good idea to forcibly smack her friends’ heads together in order for them to get closer already. Seriously, sometimes both Miko and Carson were far too shy for their own good. Though in Carson’s case, it was part shyness, and part him being too much of a gentleman to force his company on anyone.

Catching Ioan’s questioning look, she gently shook her head, hoping he’d catch the hint and not ask. Thankfully, with another scrutinizing glance, he nodded and excused himself. “Gotta go get in place. We’re one of the first ones out if the gate connects,” he said, already making his way to the gateroom.

“See you later!” Kimberly called after him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

If John were completely honest, he was feeling a little intimidated. Okay, a lot intimidated. The whole mountain – or at the very least, the level they were on – seemed to be crawling with people, most of whom would be walking through the stargate with him.

To another galaxy.

And wasn’t that a trip and a half he really rather wouldn’t focus on right then, because John wasn’t at all sure his nerves could handle it. Everything had gone so fast, and there’d been so little time, all things considered, that they hadn’t managed to send John through the gate even once in order to get him used to the idea. The very thought that he would be going to another planet in another galaxy boggled his mind, though he worked very hard to keep an outward calm.

Things would be difficult enough on this mission without giving anyone ammunition to use against him because they felt he wasn’t up for it. Sumner already believed him to be less than honorable or brave. No need to add fuel to that fire.

And yet, when Sumner approached him just as the gate started to dial out, reminding him who was giving the orders, John simply couldn’t help himself. “That’d be Dr. Weir, right?”

The look Sumner sent him was pure ice and venom. John could’ve kicked himself for opening his big mouth, but then he’d always been a bit of a smartass and it tended to bite him in the rear, so why would this time be any different, really.

John turned his gaze over the crowd around him until he noticed the large window above them. He nodded and smiled when he noticed General O’Neill watching them. The general’s lips quirked as he nodded a greeting in return. John felt he wouldn’t have minded being under his command at all. From what he’d been able to tell the few times he’d interacted with the man back in Antarctica, they shared a similar sense of humor, and he seemed to John to be someone you’d want to be at your back when things went south.

John’s smile widened when he caught sight of Rodney leaning over one of the technicians. The sound of the wormhole engaging made John jump and he turned on his heel with wide eyes as he took in the phenomenon. Never in his life had he imagined anything like this, but it was real, and happening, and he was going to have to step through that thing any minute now.

His throat suddenly dry, John swallowed, and as the M.A.L.P. got sent through the event horizon, he purposely turned his attention back to Rodney, who was leaning closer to the screen. The sudden grin flashing on the other man’s face made John’s stomach flip. He couldn’t tell if it was due to nerves or something else, but right in that moment, he didn’t care. The look on Rodney’s face meant one thing and one thing only: they were actually going to Atlantis.

He lost sight of Rodney for a second as he disappeared out of the room, soon followed by Elizabeth. Sumner was barking orders, telling everyone to stay put until he and his team had cleared the immediate area. Elizabeth’s contradiction that she go with them had John suppressing a smirk. Yeah, this was going to be interesting, he was sure.

As soon as the all clear came through, John started up the ramp. He honestly had no idea what to expect. He’d promised himself he would go with the flow, but as he was faced with the shimmering surface he had to know. Turning to the lieutenant next to him, he asked, “What’s it feel like?”

The man’s expression grew dead serious. “It hurts like hell, sir.” For three seconds, John couldn’t breathe, then the young man’s lips morphed into a full blown grin as he cried out, “Woohoooo!” and leapt backwards through the gate.

John stood for a moment, unsure what had just happened. Rallying himself, he muttered, “Right. Piece of cake, John. Isn’t that what McKay said? Just take a step and walk on through. Next thing you know, you’re on Atlantis.” So, taking a deep breath and screwing his eyes closed tight, that was exactly what he did.

The instant John stepped foot on the city, he felt it. There was something here. A sense of ‘home’ washed over him in such a profound way that John couldn’t recall ever feeling it before in his life. The place had minimal light, almost as if it were in sleep-mode. Casting his flashlight around, he was in awe. There wasn’t much he could see yet, but he could feel it – whatever ‘it’ was. Glancing around, he couldn’t tell whether anyone else had experienced the same as he had, but he didn’t think so.

“Secure the immediate area,” Sumner ordered, indicating who he expected to go where.

Slowly moving toward the steps opposite the gate, John noticed people going off to check out the corridors that branched from the room. Everything was still as dimly lit as when they’d arrived, until John took his first step on the stairs. It lit up, as did each subsequent one, with panels along the walls coming to life as well. John had the uncanny feeling it had something to do with him.

“Huh.”

John glanced over his shoulder at the sound and smiled when he saw that Rodney was right behind him. “The lights are coming on by themselves,” John murmured. Continuing forward, more and more lights switched on and not just where John was, either. He could see the areas come to life around a few of the others he’d been told had the gene, too.

Rodney peered down and then nodded, first to himself, then to John, who barely caught the whispered, “Stupid genes.”

John paced along the edge of the room, always keeping the gate in his sights, while Rodney rummaged around behind him, clearing the consoles. John couldn’t help but be amazed at the sheer amount of stuff that came through the gate. Several pallets had already come through, and still they kept coming. So did the people. The room was filling up rapidly, and from John’s estimation they were nowhere near done. He had his orders, though. As much as he would have liked to go down to help, he’d been told to secure this area after all.

Finally, after a good half hour, the steady stream of goods and people dwindled, and once the last person was through, Elizabeth contacted the SGC and told them to cut power to the gate, which they did, but not before General O’Neill sent through a large bottle of champagne. John could definitely appreciate the sentiment behind that.

John shared a look with Elizabeth, who nodded in understanding. They were well and truly on their own now, no turning back.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They stepped through the gate side-by-side a full ten-count after the major had gone through. Ioan’s eyes widened as he stepped onto the city. “Do you-?” he asked Evan without stopping the sweep he’d already begun.

Clearing his throat, Evan nodded. “Yeah, it’s… weird, but… not. Isn’t it?”

The brothers shared a glance that spoke volumes, both of them aware that there was something about this place that neither could understand. Yet they each knew in their bones that they’d made the right call in joining the expedition.

“You two, help sort everyone as they come through the gate and clear the immediate area,” Sumner ordered.

“Yes, sir,” Ioan and Evan echoed, turning to do as ordered. Ioan tried to pay close attention to the faces of his fellow expedition members, and he thought he could tell who had the gene and who didn’t by their reactions alone. Some had a more visceral response than others, he noticed. He couldn’t help but wonder what it was about Atlantis that affected everyone so – what it all meant.

“I don’t know, Ioan,” Evan said as if reading his mind. “But I’m sure they’ll figure it out.”

When Kimberly and Miko stepped through, pushing a large cart in front of them, Ioan asked quietly, “Do either of you feel anything?”

Kimberly shook her head, but Miko’s eyes widened even further than they already were as she nodded, her voice barely a whisper. “Yes. I sense something. Not sure what, but… I have not felt peace like this in many years.”

Peace. That seemed as apt a description as Ioan could think of. They didn’t have a chance to talk more as additional people came through the gate who needed his attention, so he firmly pushed any further thoughts on the matter aside as he focused on the task at hand.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rodney felt like a lifetime of Christmases had arrived all at once as he slowly worked his way through figuring out what was what in what he had dubbed the control room. He made sure to keep his com open, so he had a steady stream of reports coming in from all over Atlantis – or at least as far as they’d been able to get to. The city was huge! And the things that were being reported made Rodney’s blood rush. Spaceships. Various labs. Tech he didn’t even have a name for yet! Oh, but he was itching to get his hands on it all. To discover Atlantis’ innermost secrets.

He finally managed to hook up his laptop to a console and had just called up some stats when Carson called him to tell him about the holo-room he’d discovered. “You have to see this, Rodney. It appears to be the history of the Ancients,” came Carson’s voice in his earpiece.

“I’ll be there as soon as I get Dr. Weir. I’m sure she’d like to see it, too.” Closing the com-line to Carson, Rodney took one last glance at his screen, frowning. “Huh, interesting.” Shaking his head, he went to find Elizabeth.

Spotting his quarry, Rodney called out, “Colonel, Dr. Weir-”

“We’re underwater,” John said, awed.

“Yes, I, uh, I was just coming to tell you. Fortunately there’s some sort of a forcefield holding back the…” Rodney looked up as he came level with the major and paused, stunned. “The water,” he finished lamely. “Boy that is impressive, isn’t it?” he muttered, gazing out into the vast ocean.

John nodded, and for a moment they all simply stood in quiet contemplation. After a minute, Rodney shook himself. “Err… Dr. Beckett has found something you should see.”

Rodney almost wished they could have remained at the window a while longer, but there was so much to see, so much to discover. When they arrived at the holo-room, Carson was already playing the recording. They watched the thing play out and Rodney felt a little queasy. He had a sinking feeling that these Wraith were no joke if they sent the Ancients running with their tail between their legs.

Carson had just started a third run through of the recording when Grodin entered the room and whispered in Rodney’s ear. “Power levels are dropping rapidly. Part of the shield’s just collapsed and sensors are picking up several areas with flooding.”

Crap, that was decidedly not good news.

 

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