Summary: Rodney has a couple of things he's very attached to stolen from him and replaced. Will he get what he lost back? And more importantly, will he want them returned? Wingfic
Rating: T
Length: 10-15k
Setting: Early Season 5

Oh, For the Wings of a Dove!

"Another day, another new world in the Pegasus Galaxy," Rodney said heavily. "I wonder what marvels of farming equipment and what pinnacle of mud hut technology they have reached in this place."

He huffed and waggled his scanner-holding hand around. He was half hoping that perhaps if he tilted it in the right direction, he might pick up a power reading showing a hidden spaceship, advanced race, or maybe even a ZPM. Right now though, he would have settled for anything to pique his interest other than the cultivated fields they were walking past along the well tended and surprisingly smooth footpath.

Rodney still found cause to continue grumbling though. "This path is hurting the soles of my feet! What the hell did they make it out of? Hard pressed iron?"

Teyla turned back slightly from where she was leading the group and said, "Perhaps we should have informed them of your visit and they could have laid out feathers?"

Ronon chuckled and John smiled. However, Rodney's mood instantly worsened. "Oh yes. Laugh it up now, but I'm not letting you borrow my pumice stone later when you start complaining about your sore feet and blisters!"

Ronon's face dropped and he deadpanned, "You've the only one complaining, McKay."

John nodded. "Maybe you could visit the infirmary when we get back and get Keller to have a look for you?"

Rodney felt his already eggshell thin layer of calm shattering. "I'll have you know, my visits to the infirmary are because I'm injured! I'd never take advantage of Jennifer and visit the infirmary for no reason!"

Teyla pursed her lips as she kept a lookout for any danger and did not let her guard down, even though the landscape around them was quite tranquil.

"A splinter or a paper cut? They're not injuries," Ronon said smoothly.

"Maybe not to you, Mr 'I could lose my leg and not notice!' But I can't possibly work if there's any damage to my hands. For a start, I bleed all over the computers when I press the keys! And who knows what would happen to some of the devices I handle if they got blood on them?!"

Ronon shrugged, but Rodney could see the dismissal in his eyes as well. Rodney already knew that the former Runner thought he was a weakling, and in comparison to the mighty Ronon Dex of Sateda, most people were. At least, that was the impression he gave out. Rodney tried not to let it get to him as best he could as he said, "Well then, Conan, I'd like to see you save the city from the Wraith using only the power of your mind and access to the mainframe! I'll keep doing that and leave the heroic staggering while at death's door to people who don't have any nerve endings.

Ronon glared at him. "I've got them. I just ignore them and don't whine about it all the time. Unlike some people."

Rodney opened his mouth to give a hot reply which he would probably regret, but Teyla suddenly stopped and held up her fist. She said, "We are not alone."

Despite Ronon and Rodney's seemingly unfriendly chat, Ronon, John and Teyla encircled the scientist and faced outwards so that they could protect him.

Rodney switched his scanner to a lifesigns detector and pointed past John. "There are five lifesigns behind us, coming through one of the fields.

"Animal or human?" John asked.

Rodney sighed in irritation. "Mineral? Vegetable? I don't know! It's a lifesigns detector! This isn't a computer game, Sheppard! It doesn't reveal the names above the readings or what they are. They are not red for bad guys or green for good guys!"

"That is a shame," Teyla said in a superior voice like she was talking to a slightly annoying child.

A man, flanked by four others, all dressed in simple farm clothes emerged from the field. It looked like they had just been working and had heard the team going past.

Sheppard lowered his gun slightly when he saw that they were not immediately aggressive and did not appear to have any weapons. He said, "Hi there! My name's Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan, Dr Rodney McKay."

The man at the front held his hand against his chest and his companions did likewise. They all bowed slightly and Rodney raised his eyebrows. The apparent leader said, "I am Tarro. I bid you welcome to our world. Follow us to the village if you would like to meet the leader of our people."

John smiled at them. "Okay. Thanks."

Tarro's eyes took in the team and Rodney thought he saw a flicker of something hostile in the man's face, but it quickly vanished and was replaced by an unnervingly insincere smile.

As they walked, Tarro placed a hand in his pocket and then held back while his four companions led the way; which turned out to be where the team had been going anyway.

Rodney could not help his growing unease and the feeling he had that they were now hostages being led at gunpoint, but he knew it was just his healthy sense of paranoia talking to him again and he tried to ignore it.

Tarro came over next to Rodney and walked alongside him. He pointed at the scanner and said, "Dr Rodney McKay. You are not like the others..."

"What do you mean?" Rodney said nervously.

Tarro laughed unkindly at Rodney's obvious fear. "Forgive me! I mean that you are not a soldier as you did not have one of those strange artefacts pointed at us like your friends."

"A gun? No. I'm a scientist." He waved the scanner around, "This can read energy signals and lifesigns… among other things."

Tarro gave him a blank look and Rodney sighed. "Energy? Like shields... plasma weapons, ZedPMs... No? Alright... it keeps Wraith ships airborne and culling."

Tarro shrugged, "This 'en-ar-giya' have you found any yet?"

"Nope. And it's 'energy.'"

"Oh. Well, what would you do if you found it?"

John laughed, "Don't get him started!"

Rodney tweaked the scanner back to reading energy signals and sighed dreamily. "Depends what it was. Study it first to find out and then try to figure out how it works and if it can be reverse engineered."

Tarro was looking at him vacantly again and it annoyed Rodney no end. "Try to make another one," he supplied.

Tarro pointed at the scanner Rodney was clutching tightly in case the native try to steal it from him, and asked, "So, your power is in your hands for study and reversing?"

There was a small snort of amusement behind him from either Ronon or John... or both of them, and Rodney rolled his eyes skyward. "You could say that."

Tarro kept a watchful eye on Rodney for the rest of the walk and it made Rodney very uncomfortable. It was almost like he was his own personal escort and if he had tried to get away, he had a suspicion that he would be grabbed and held back.

When they finally reached the settlement, Tarro and his companions took them to the largest of the mud huts and Rodney huffed, "I knew it! They only just left caves. We won't find anything here'"

Tarro narrowed his eyes, but did not speak.

He led the way into the hut and his companions, or guard dogs, as Rodney saw them, remained outside. Teyla and Ronon went first, followed by Rodney and John.

Rodney knew there was something terribly wrong the moment he stepped through into the darkened inner room beyond. He heard John walk in behind him and there was a quiet swish and the room was suddenly plunged into pitch darkness. There was a faint hiss and dizziness engulfed Rodney and he sunk down to the floor and landed on his knees. His eyes fluttered shut as he keeled over sideways and then his awareness joined his sight as it faded out to black as well.

"Ouch!" Rodney grunted as he woke up. He winced and mumbled sadly, "Oh, ow ow ow!"

An urgent male voice nearby said, "He can still feel it! Quickly, increase the painkillers. We have no need to cause him pain when we have the means to alleviate it. We are not barbarians."

"But, Tarro, it is already very high."

"That is unimportant. Heighten the dosage."

Rodney gradually came back to full awareness. He was even able to open his eyes as the pain faded away to a dull throb and ache travelling through both of his arms and shoulders and part way into his chest and back.

He was lying down on his back and looking up at a featureless white ceiling. The room was incredibly bright and clean. His sluggish mind connected the dots very slowly, as whatever drug he had been given numbed his nerves as well as his thoughts. Clean. Sterile. Pain. Drugs... Hospital? But not any Earth hospital.

He tried to move his legs first and then his arms. He hissed. Big mistake, big mistake!

What was Tarro doing there? And why couldn't he move?

"Why am I tied down?" Rodney blurted. He could feel tight bands around his ankles, thighs, shoulders, chest and abdomen. There was also a strap across his forehead so that he could not turn his head to see what was going on. These guys were obviously very thorough. He was slightly flattered that they would think he was that strong and threatening. Flattered and terrified.

His chest was cold and the breeze across him ruffled the fine hairs against his skin, tickling him slightly and informing him that they had taken his shirt while they did whatever it was that they were doing to him.

"What's going on? Where's the rest of my team? Why do I need painkillers and why am I being held like this?"

Tarro's voice replied, "That is a lot of questions, Dr McKay. You are a man of learning, as I am too. Perhaps you will be grateful for what you are about to become and how you have helped us."

"What are you talking about?" Rodney asked in a high panicked voice.

"You will see in time."

The minion said, "The drug has worked. He is nearly ready for stage two. Shall I increase the painkiller dosage again?"

"Not yet. Let us see what happens first."

Rodney's heart pounded in fright and he wriggled against the restraints, but he could not even move, let alone free himself. "What's going on?"

There were multiple clunk and hissing sounds all around him and he screamed as pain shot through him from multiple points. He tried to arch upwards away from the bed and roll away from the source of the pain, but he was held back by the firm restraints tying him down. It felt like he had just been stabbed by many knives all at once. They had jabbed into several places on his upper body; the sides of his chest, his abdomen, upper and lower arms, and hands.

The white ceiling above dimmed to grey as he sobbed and whimpered noisily. He could hear the two men talking, but he couldn't make out any words above the sounds he was making.

The pain diminished to a sharpness he could just about bear and his sight ramped back up to full again. He was able to force laboured words from his mouth, "What are you doing to me?"

Tarro came over and entered Rodney's very limited line of sight. Rodney gasped and frowned, "Hallucinations! What kind of drugs have you given me?"

Tarro shook his green scaly head and narrowed his lizard eyes, "Painkillers mainly. The other drug we gave you helps with the bleeding and replacement process."

"Bleeding? Replacement?"

Tarro blinked and grinned. Rodney stared at him as he showed row upon row of tiny pointy teeth. It was unnerving, seeing a lizard talking and with intelligence behind its catlike pupils and yellow eyes.

A dark and slimy forked tongue shot out of Tarro's mouth and ran along the outer edge of lipless mouth and teeth before he spoke, "You have something we need, so we are taking them from you."

Rodney said angrily, "I need everything I have. Thanks."

"We need them more. Anyway, you will not be left incomplete. We have found suitable replacements for what we take. Who knows; you may be thankful once the procedure is complete."

Excruciating pain was now running all along both of Rodney's arms, it was like his outstretched limbs were being consumed by fire and there was no end or relief from the agony as it constantly assailed him. Soon, he was no longer able to think or speak and had no choice other than to surrender his rational thought processes while his body screamed at him for it to be over.

"Tarro! The blood in tube three is being drawn too quickly!"

The walking and talking lizard, Tarro, hissed and turned away. "That is one of the chest tubes, we cannot cycle his blood through the machine if it is not placed back inside his body at the same rate or we will fail and kill him."

Rodney's hearing was fading and he felt weak and tired. They were sucking out his blood and pumping it through a machine? To what end?

Alarms suddenly sounded nearby, but he was too sleepy to let them bother him. Even the pain was lessening as he floated away. There was a shout of, "Hurry! We are losing him!"

Rodney hummed nonchalantly and no matter how strong he was, he could no longer fight the wings of sleep smothering him as the life was literally sucked from his body.

TBC

A/N - Um, ow?