Notes from author: This'll eventually be a romance fic between Rodney Mckay and John Sheppard. I rated it high because later on it'll get higher and more explicit. I'll update as soon as I can but until then enjoy this. And review!
Summary: Something happens that splits up the team and lands Rodney alone without anyway to get back.
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate Atlantis or the characters or anything to do with it. So there…
Chapter One
It hurt to think, it hurt to move…it even hurt to breathe. He couldn't seem to remember…anything really. The floor was cold beneath his back and the oddly shaped bricks pressed awkwardly into his already bruised back. He tried to open his eyes, but even the smallest hint of light threatened to burn his eyes away.
How long have I been here?
He was unsure of…everything. He didn't know where he was, why he was in this condition or even who he was. The only things that were coming through to him was the pain of what seemed like every one of his muscles contracting and the slow, steady sound of water dripping.
Slowly he started to think rationally through the pain. List of things he knew:
he was injured
he couldn't remember anything
he was alone
he was….scared
This was hardly an adequate start to trying to deal with his problems. He could come up with a list longer than his arm about what he didn't know and this hardly helped him with anything except scaring him further.
Eventually he managed to raise his arm enough to swipe at his eyes. The added protection that gave from the insistent light eased him enough to gradually open his eyes without flinching too much. Looking around he saw that the room was small, a rotten wooden door seemed to be clinging to the wall on its last breath and the walls themselves were dripping with dirty water that puddled at the edges.
He wasn't sure why he was here, certainly he wouldn't live in a place like this. It seemed to be an overwhelming belief that he shouldn't be here, that he didn't belong. It gave him a sort of hope that he had somewhere better to go. Though the hope dimmed the longer he was alone and suffering in pain.
However, the door eventually slammed open and a severe looking woman came bundling in. She took one look at the slumped heap in the centre of the room, shook her head and tutted in annoyance.
"He's on your property they say, means you have to deal with him they say. Stupid lazy idiots! Can't do a thing right…."
Her tirade was cut short when she saw the bleary eyes looking up at her. She seemed to melt then, loosing the stern spinster aunt look, and turning into a clucking mother hen.
"You poor dear. You'll be okay, just need some mending."
She took his head in her arms and started to dab at an unknown cut. He had to wince in pain as it met exposed flesh. It obviously wasn't designed to be patient friendly, so the sting overwhelmed him for a second. It was all he could do to blink up in confusion at the lady while she tended to his wounds. She seemed to care and took extreme caution to make sure all his open wounds were soothed.
"Sorry bout the room. They just dumped you here without a say from me. Not that they'd listen mind you, all they think about is how to get through everything easily. We'll get you into a warm bed soon. I bet you're hungry. Are you hungry?"
She seemed to just prattle on without considering that there was no reply from her patient. After finishing with her face she sat back and just looked at him.
"I'll go get me lads, they'll move you."
With one last pat on the head she left the room, leaving him to slowly fall back unconscious. He didn't even notice as she came back with her 'lads' and carefully helped him out of the dank room into a friendlier one. He also missed her finishing looking over him for visible wounds and slept through her giving him a thorough cleaning. He wouldn't have noticed if the roof had collapsed on him and stayed like this for a couple of days until he awoke again.
He eventually awoke to the clean smell of fresh cooking and the refreshing feeling of warm sheets on his back. Opening his eyes he saw that he was in a hut of some sort, the wooden walls held herbs and blankets, obviously placed to keep the heat in.
Movement was a bad idea as the unused muscles protested at any kind of stretch. However his groan seemed to alert someone who'd been watching, as a scratching noise accompanied by a little face peering up at him appeared from the foot of the bed. The little girl seemed to content to just stare at him, her wide, little eyes never left his as she decided what she thought of him.
With a giggle and a flick of her hair she shot out of the room at top speed and disappeared from his sight.
He was still confused. He had no memory or any idea where he was but at least he felt much better, his muscles ached but his head was pain free. He lifted himself up to a sitting position and prepared himself for a wait. He knew that if he tried to walk he'd fall down. In this instance he didn't have to wait long as the door soon opened and the woman who'd helped him before came through. On seeing him awake and responsive she smiled and sat down next to him.
"You're awake." It wasn't really a question, more a statement of fact. She reached behind her and grabbed a pitcher of water. Pouring it into a smaller cup she offered it to him. "You've been asleep for a while, we were worried for a while but you'll do."
He took the water gratefully, his parched lips were finally able to get sound through them, and he had a lot of questions that needed answers too,
"Where am I?" Surprisingly this was the first question he asked. He would've preferred to ask the 'who am I?' question but something was holding him back.
"You're on Slofara. Great world as it's mainly forest. Hard to the wraith to come get us."
Now he was extremely confused. Different world? Wraith? They pressed into his sore mind and made him wince.
"You mean I'm on a different world? What happened to earth? How did I get here?"
His battered mind couldn't seem to comprehend new information. He didn't know of the Stargate or the fact that he was in a different galaxy. He was starting to get hyped up and was only stopped as the lady placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back down onto the bed.
"Calm down. Yeah you're on a different world. I'm confused though how you don't know why. I have no idea what happened to earth and you were found next to the Stargate in a heap. Those louts that live near there carted you off to the old ruins and then told me to deal with you. Why don't know?"
"No." He had to tell her something, there was too much of a gap about what he didn't know and he doubted he could hide it for long.
"Oh, what's your name?"
"I don't know."
"What! How you not knowing your name?"
"I don't know! All I remember is…nothing." He raised his hand up to his head and rubbed his brow gently.
"Well… you'll be fine. We need to be giving you a name. You can be…Kalen. That'll be okay. I'm Tamar by the way and the little child that ran out is Raley. You'll meet the others later, but I see you're tired. Get some rest and you'll be out and around soon."
She shuffled out of the room quicker than he could blink. Well that answered no questions. Kalen was now slightly mad about the fact that he was lacking information. But his little talk with Tamar had drained him and he easily fell back asleep again.
He found over the next few days that he generally got his strength back. He still had many bruises and bumps, not to mention a few open wounds that were started to heal over into impressive scars. He met the others that lived in Tamar's small settlement and learned that they were survivors left over from battle involving an enemy called the wraith. The other had thought about it and decided that it was probably the same case for him. It all fitted in with the injuries and the fact that he was alone. What other explanation made sense?
He learned to fit into the group and joined in with the day to day life. Kalen was initially reluctant to delve into the heavier aspects of manual labour. Anyone looking at him could tell he wasn't the most manly man who would fell a tree with ease, but he had no option in his present climate so pushed himself to repay the kindness of Tamar and her 'family'. He actually found himself enjoying the work. The pattern that followed gave him a sense of stability, something that was in contrast to his ever-chaotic mind.
Looking around he smiled as he finished that days work. For some reason he hadn't pushed into the whole Stargate possibility in explaining who he was. Kalen just settled down into this new life with no fuss and was excepted by all.
However not everyone was so keen to forget about the forgetful man. His real family had lost him and was extremely worried about the whereabouts of one Dr Rodney McKay.
Flashback"Get back to the Gate." Colonel Sheppard shouted through his radio as the wraith dart flew over their heads.
"Colonel they are closing in on our position." Teyla Emmagan warned her team-mates as she managed to dial through to Atlantis and key in the vital code. "Atlantis we are under attack by the wraith – please stand by."
Ronan Dex stood next to the gate shooting at the darts as they attempted to scoop up the team. He was in position to go through the gate but was waiting for Sheppard and McKay to get closer. They had been scouting the ruins on this world when they had accidentally triggered a wraith beacon, and in a matter of hours they had appeared and descended on the unknowing team.
Sheppard and McKay appeared from the rise and made towards the gate.
"GO!" Ronan moved backward still shooting at this command and retreated after Teyla into the horizon. Both men arrived at the gate and dived towards it. Sheppard being faster entered first followed moments later by McKay. However the moment that McKay entered the wormhole the wraith dart had shot at the gate.
In the Atlantis Gateroom many stood waiting for the last members of the team to come through. The colonel came flying through the gate landing heavily on the floor, he turned to watch for McKay to come through and was incredibly surprised when the wormhole just disengaged with a pop. The whole room looked on in horror as no snarky scientist appeared raving about the wraith and having to run away from them again.
Sheppard looked toward the control room and sprang into action. "Redial NOW."
Weir looked on shocked as she came to terms with what was going on. "Colonel we can't just open a wormhole, there are wraith there."
"We have to go back and get McKay – he was just behind me."
"Colonel…" she began.
"No, we go get him now." Weir couldn't help but let the control operator dial back to the planet. Immediately Sheppard's team and some of the officers working in command went through again.
But there was no sign of Dr McKay or the wraith, they had both disappeared, leaving behind no hope that they would ever see their friend alive again.
End Flashback
Of course initially they hadn't believed that Rodney had truly been taken. They launched a puddle jumper, sent out the Deadalus. But none had come up with anything. The wraith had disappeared as soon as they had come leaving no trace. The wraith weren't the most patient people and with a dwindling food supply there was no doubt that Rodney had been…been…eaten by now. There was no hope.
Especially his team who blamed themselves for Rodney's death felt this lack of hope. Sheppard had been certain that Rodney was right behind him, he described it as him being a hair breath behind him. But believing this fed a whole lot more guilt into himself. Why hadn't he waited a moment more? Sheppard felt like he would live with the death of Rodney forever, he had lost his best friend and for some reason this was leaving a gaping hole inside him.
A kind of vacuum was felt throughout Atlantis. Those who were closest to him as well as those who worked with him were unsure of how they were going to operate the city without McKay's expertise. Although many were 'brilliant scientists' no one knew more about the city than Rodney and those left behind after him were slightly lost without his wicked tongue spurring them on.
Six Months Later
They say that life has to go on and it did. Kalen learned that he had a knack dealing with the trickier parts of the basic engineering systems that were set up on Slofara. He managed to help their harvesting efforts, which were hard anyway as the planet was covered in forest. Also he had been exploring through the ancient ruins and found some interesting things using the technology that they had found with him. He didn't totally understand it but he found that the device gave off energy.
It was day when he was working that Raley came running to find him as he was working. Her breath came in short pants as she grabbed onto his shirt.
"Wraith…"
Kalen didn't need to be told twice, he grabbed Raley around the waist and slung her over his shoulder. As he got closer to their compound he could hear the shrill sounds of darts flying overhead. He diverted his path by ducking back under the trees and going towards the underground caves that would shield them from the wraith beams.
Arriving he deposited Raley in a safe corner before shouting out for Tamar. He saw others from the area already in residence, their frightened faces showing the pure horror of the situation that many had seen before all to often. Kalen dodged some of the others before going back into the forest all the while shouting for Tamar. He wouldn't admit it but his was frightened. It was the first time in his memory that a culling had occurred and the sense of helplessness was overwhelming. However his concern for his mentor was stronger than his fear and he braved the storm to find her.
Gaining on their buildings he heard a sound that was foreign to the whirring of the darts. To his ears it sounded like controlled bursts, but he didn't have time to think about this new aspect, he needed to find Tamar so carried on running. Entering Tamar's cabin he found her sprawled on the floor unconscious – a blast from one of the wraith weapons had blown apart part of her home – knocking her over. Kalen dropped to his knees and gently lifted her up, wincing at the knot that was forming on her forehead.
He was about to get through the door when it opened before him and another person came through. The stranger was dressed in a dark navy blue and pointed some sort of weapon at him. At seeing him, the man seemed to blanch. They just stood there in a sort of silent tableau until another scream of a dart invaded the vacuum that they had created.
The man whispered almost in disbelief into the silence…
"McKay…"
It knocked Kalen into action and he hastily turned round and jumped through the hole that the wraith had caused. It was too much on his already fragile mind and it was easier to run. He didn't look back to check that he wasn't being followed he just wanted to get to the safety of the caves, he could deal with the rest later – when there was a later.
He made it to the caves and carefully placed Tamar on one of the makeshift beds. He turned and narrowed his eyes as the man came through after him and was followed by a couple of others, all dressed in the same sort of uniform. Kalen narrowed his eyes in confusion, as they couldn't seem to stop looking at him.
"McKay…"
It was rather awkward as they just stood there with their mouths' open. Kalen just looked at them blankly before stooping down to tend to Tamar, a thin trail of blood was inching down her face and he was afraid that she really was hurt. However, the strangers weren't content for this man to ignore them.
"McKay." What seemed to be the leader of the group said to Kalen. "What the hell are you doing here? We thought you were dead."
Kalen just stared at them blankly, the whole room had frozen at the arrival of these strangers and was watching them with interest.
"What are you talking about? Who are you?" Kalen backed up slightly looking at the men like they were crazy.
The strangers shared a look that seemed to answer all questions for them. After the look between them they looked back at Kalen.
"You don't…know?"
Kalen shook his head and glared at them like the answer was obvious. "You are?"
"I'm Major Lorne and you…you…"
"They named me Kalen. How do you know me?"
"You're one of us. You work in our city and your name is Rodney McKay."
Kalen blinked and stared at the major, at the moment he wasn't in a position to believe anything. Reinforcing this was the sound of another explosion overhead and the whimpers of the people hiding in response to it. Kalen ducked in an automatic response, shielding Tamar from falling dirt from the ceiling.
"Did you bring the wraith down on this planet?" To Kalen there would be no other reason. The planet had never been raided by the wraith before and with 'his' people arriving, they came.
"No. The wraith go where they want."
Kalen ducked again as another blast hit the ground above them. Calling over to the others he left them to tend to Tamar while he figured out who these people were.
"Why am I here then and why are you here now?" Kalen searched for answers to questions that had bothered him throughout his time on this planet. If he was wanted why was he left here? Did he really belong somewhere else?
"We thought you were dead. Six months ago it seemed that you were taken by the wraith, no trace of you was found."
Kalen paused and raised his eyebrows in disbelief. He didn't know whether to be happy about that fact or whether not to believe it at all.
"We're here on a routine mission. Why are you here, I mean, how?"
Kalen was reluctant to talk about himself as he didn't really trust these people, however the choice was taken out of his hands when Tamar sat up and decided to join in with their conversation.
"He was found next to the ring." She paused as if trying to remember. "He seemed to have come through at a speed that caused him immense injuries."
"Really?" Lorne seemed to be weighing up something in his head at this comment.
"Are you from the same world as Kalen?"
"Yes, his name is Rodney McKay."
"That does not suit him, Kalen is a much better name." One of the other men from Lorne's team snorted at this comment and gained a glare from Tamar. "You are all from this Earth place then. Will you be taking him back there?"
Lorne's team looked at each other in a sort of panic. They didn't know what sort of information an unknowing McKay had leaked.
"Earth?" Lorne tried to as nonchalant as he put forward this question, well, as nonchalant as Lorne can be.
"When Kalen arrived he initially couldn't comprehend that he was on another world. He was seriously injured and we tended to him and now he is part of our family."
Lorne looked up in disbelief as he never thought McKay got along with anyone and the fact that they were calling him family was nothing short of a miracle on this planet. He was surprised, however that McKay had not stepped in and given his vocal opinion on what was going on. He had a mouth like a steam train and this quieter side of McKay was shocking at best.
Things quieted down, as the people in the caves seemed to lose the motivation to speak. The only sounds were the bangs from explosions above, the wraith seemed to be in a vengeful mood as even to Lorne's ears it sounded destructive. After the damage had stopped and it was clear that the wraith had left a blanket of tension invaded the cave. It was obvious that no one knew what was going to happen next, they were afraid to go out side in case they saw the true destruction of their homes. Kalen could only think inside his own head, he didn't know these people and yet they knew him. It would be more than likely that they would try and get him to go with them, did he really want to?
After a hesitation he got back what was left of his confidence. Standing up he turned to Tamar.
"I'm going to check the damage and see if the area is safe. Wait here." He briefly looked at the team before heading out to the mouth of the caves. Hearing a rustling he was surprised to see Lorne and his men following him. "What are you doing?"
Lorne winced slightly. "You don't think that we're letting you go out there alone, do you?"
Kalen didn't listen to him and just kept on walking. He winced slightly as the light hit his eyes, the trees gave some cover but the brightness still stung slightly. Moving over the rough ground easily he came towards where he lived. The wood structures were nothing but charred remains, some of it still burning. There was nothing he could do now except tell the others. Turning back he was stunned to be blocked by the others.
"What!" He shot out, he was not in the mood to deal with this sort of situation, his home had been destroyed and he was being plagued with issues that he couldn't cope with.
"There is nothing left here. You should come back with us." Lorne was wishing that he had McKay's team with him at the moment. He knew that it was more than likely that Ronan would just shoot him and drag him home, but he himself didn't have that option. "You belong back with us. The other people from this planet can come too, we can rehabilitate them, help them rebuild."
Kalen just looked at them like they were crazy. How dare they come and lay claim to him and take him away from his family. Shaking his head he walked past Lorne and followed the trail back to the cave. He knew he'd have to tell them that their homes had been destroyed, and it tore him up inside. He didn't want to hurt them, but he knew that it was inevitable.
As he entered they looked to him with eyes full of hope, but all he could do was shake his head slowly. A couple of the women started to cry and the children just looked on in confusion. He didn't know what to tell them, to build from scratch again was impossible. He looked behind him and saw Lorne, could he accept their offer? It sounded so weak, he didn't trust them at all, but what options did he have otherwise.
Sighing he turned back to his family. They would decide together. "They said we could go with them."
It was a statement of fact, clear and simple. He would wait for their reaction before he decided anything. Tamar, of course, had to the bravest and answer first.
"Why? We are strangers to you and it's awfully kind of you to offer such a thing. Maybe it is just that you want our friend Kalen back and we will become worthless to you after he has agreed."
Tamar was blunt to say the least. She went in headfirst and would not rest until she figured someone out and trusted them.
"With all respect ma'am, we've done this before with other planets regardless of who is involved." Lorne had never been a big one for words and his sense of humor was slightly twisted. Tamar could stare water from a stone and they were probably evenly matched in intimidation techniques.
Kalen just tuned out. His mind was busy formulating backup plans and other options that they could use, he didn't realize that the others were looking at him expectantly.
"Kalen!" He woke up as Tamar punched him on the arm. He looked around shocked at the action.
"What?"
"While you have been asleep we have decided."
"You have?" Kalen wondered how much he had missed.
"Yes. We are going with them."
"That was quick."
"You were off again, do not worry it will be okay. They seem to be alright." Kalen could only nod as she took over, ordering the others to gather up their meager belongings that were left. Some were still crying and there was exclamations at the destruction of their now former home. Kalen grabbed what was left of his stuff and helped Tamar sort out hers, she was still injured from the attack so he took directions from her and did her packing.
As they got closer to the gate he started to feel fear. Fear of the unknown and fear of who he would meet. He was not the man that Lorne had said he was and he wondered if they expected him to be that man.
One of Lorne's men activated the gate and Lorne spoke over his radio to his command center.
"Atlantis, this is Lorne. We have refugee's coming through."
An unfamiliar female voice replied. "Major, what happened?"
"We were attacked by the wraith, we found shelter and…something else." He glanced towards Kalen as he said this as if he was trying not to shout some big secret out loud. "We also have some wounded."
"Explain major." Another unfamiliar voice, this time male, came over the line.
"It'd be best if you opened the gate and you see for yourself." A second pause while those on the other side looked at each other in confusion.
"You're clear."
Lorne signaled to one of his men and Kalen's people were escorted through. Kalen hung back, unsure, he looked towards Tamar and was reassured by her dominant nod. He and Lorne were left lastly, Lorne seemed to be waiting, with a deep breath Kalen took the step forward into the event horizon of the gate.
He exhaled it to what seemed like the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. The room was simple in design, but the technology looked incredible and the people seemed confident, swarming around doing their jobs with a calm ease. However the room seemed to become silent as they saw who had followed the others through the gate. Some were openly gaping, while other looked at each other in shock. Kalen just wrinkled his nose in disgust of what he saw as a awkward situation.
Dr Elizabeth had been having a regular day. All had been running smoothly and Major Lorne's team was due in about an hour. So she had been surprised when halfway through the meeting with Colonel Sheppard's team the alarms had gone off signaling an incoming wormhole. As she got to the control room she looked towards the technician.
"We're getting Major Lorne's IDC ma'am."
"He's not due for another hour." This from Colonel Sheppard, who surprisingly knew the outbound schedule better than she did.
"We're getting a radio response." She nodded in confirmation.
"Atlantis, this is Lorne. We have refugee's coming through." She could only sigh, this had become all too common recently, with the added weight of the wraith pressing down on unknowing planets.
"Major, what happened?"
"We were attacked by the wraith, we found shelter and…something else." Now that was odd, he sounded reluctant but excited. "We also have some wounded."
Weir nodded to the technician he was immediately onto the infirmary calling them to the Gateroom. She looked at John, raising one elegant eyebrow.
"Explain major." John didn't like the sound of Lorne's voice, there was something there, something that seemed out of place.
"It'd be best if you opened the gate and you see for yourself." Both him and Weir looked at each other in confusion, he gestured to Ronan who nodded and went down the Gateroom stairs followed by Teyla. If anything was wrong with the team, they would provide a protection of sorts.
"You're clear."
The technician let the shield down and a marine followed by confused scared people came through. Immediately medical personal started to cluck around them, checking for the most innocent of injuries.
A pause seemed to come between the last group of refugee's and Lorne, like he was hanging back for something. At last a solitary figure stepped through. Sheppard had to look twice, it looked like…no it couldn't be…McKay.
Sheppard just stopped, the whole room stopped. The shock was evident. All that went through his mind was 'he's dead, he can't be here' but was proven wrong as that person did this impression of a small kitten. A wrinkling of the nose that seemed so Mckayish that it could be no other person. The spell of floating wonderment ceased as Lorne followed through and the gate shut down. The medical people started moving again and the scientists in command went back to checking screens and wires (or whatever it is they do).
Looking at Weir they both moved at the same time towards the stairs. They almost ran down the stairs to the new arrival. Teyla and Ronan looked at them in confusion, they both wondered too how their dead friend was now standing in front of them.
"McKay."