Take my hand

Estellio

Rating: Pg (K)

Summary: Just a few shots from Rodney and Elizabeth's life so far. Don't know how to describe this one except I think they have a hand-fetish. Mcweir. Angsty.

IOIOIO

"I would say doctor, calm down, you're embarrassing me." Weir said, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet as Rodney came to stand next to her.

"I've never been more excited in my entire life." He said, more still and pensive than Elizabeth had ever seen him. He was both scared and excited and Elizabeth couldn't blame him. What they were about to do was…incredible.

Reaching out she took his hand and gave it a squeeze, smiling encouragingly at him. She saw Colonel O' Neill smile and look away, his eyes darting to find Sam Carter no doubt. McKay turned to her as chevron eight locked, smiling as the room exploded in cheers and applause as the blue whoosh of the wormhole exploded out.

This was it. This was the moment her whole life had been building up to and with a squeeze of her hand, they made their way to the gate.

In true O' Neill style, once they all had gone through, a bottle of champagne rolled through and Dr. Elizabeth Weir, the leader of the Atlantis expedition, the first woman to set foot in another galaxy, the girl who had looked to the stars and who wanted to make a difference, was more scared than she had ever been in her life. Hoisting the bottle she looked for the one thing in this galaxy she could count on. She spotted him on the balcony, behind Major Sheppard but he was lost in his own little world so she instead nodded to the Major, smiling to cover her nervousness. What would this galaxy hold for them?
It didn't take long to discover it contained life sucking fish and as they partied, Elizabeth left and Rodney watched her go sadly.

Rodney found her on the balcony, over looking the wide expanse of the ocean around them. The breeze was cool and held no trace of salt, so similar and yet so alien. He saw her shiver lightly and he took off his beige and blue jacket, draping around her shoulders. She jumped, turning in surprise.

"Rodney…I didn't hear you come out." She returned her attentions to the ocean, worry clearly etched on her face.

"Everything will be alright Elizabeth. You'll see, everything is going to work out okay and we'll be home with a whole new realm for humanity to explore." She smiled at his words, turning her head to look at him from beneath dark eyelashes.

"I'm sure I've heard that somewhere before." She teased, smiling softly. Rodney slipped his arms around her as she began to shiver. "Sumner is dead. He died because of me." She said softly, after the longest and most awkward silence he had ever heard.

"It's not your fault. Even if you had known about the Wraith, would you have still have come? Ask yourself that, cause I know I would have. Elizabeth, you're a great leader, give it time, everything will be alright." They stood there in companionable silence for a while. "We should go back inside, Xena warrior princess and Major hair Problem will be waiting for us." Elizabeth chuckled slightly and reached to take the hand Rodney had on her shoulder. She squeezed it and he returned it with a reassuring smile.

"You're right, I would have come. All we can do is make the best of this all."

"Between my brains, your looks and the amount of hair spray in Sheppard's locker, I'm sure we can pull this off." She chuckled slightly, pulling away and walking back inside, leaving the woman Elizabeth Weir and her friend Rodney McKay behind on the balcony and slipping into the role of Leader of Atlantis with the Head Scientist at her side. They were friends, nothing more…or at least, she believed they were nothing more. It took a near death experience involving Rodney for her to realise the truth, and it didn't take long for that to come.

At first it had been humorous but as the day dragged on the coil in Elizabeth's stomach had been twisting tighter and tighter and tighter, and as Rodney stood there now, the shield in his hand she knew that this could be it. He placed it back on his chest and made his way into the cloud and Elizabeth promised herself she wouldn't cry. She was a big girl now…she wouldn't cry…but that didn't stop her running to his side when the mist cleared, heart in her mouth and the adrenaline pulsing through her unlike anything she had ever felt before.

This was the beginning of the realisation that maybe he was more than just a friend and a confidant but by no means the end. Not too long had passed before she had a gun pointed at her and nothing between her and death…except Rodney's body as he stepped in front of the barrel. His solitary shell might be able to deflect people but she highly doubted it could deflect bullets. He made up a story about Command Codes and when he looked at her she saw the pain in his eyes. The fear of loosing her or seeing her get hurt. It wasn't until they were huddled out in the rain, Kolya behind them, a gun pointed at her still, that he tried to voice his feelings.

"If this doesn't work"

"It will."

"I'm just saying…"

"IT WILL!"

"I'm sure that it will but in the unlikely event that it doesn't."

"Rodney." She couldn't hear the words, not here, not now. She needed to hear them when their life wasn't in peril.

That was why, as she watched Rodney on the monitor a few weeks later, dieing from a nanovirus and imparting his last few words of wisdom, she didn't press the comm.. She didn't proclaim her undying love but when he got the all clear from Beckett and returned to her, she did run to his arms and in the privacy of his room, they just held each other for a while, a long while. Until they finally pulled apart, her hand sliding down Rodney's arm to take his hand and give it a friendly squeeze, her eyes telling him the words she'd never voiced.

And in an alternate timeline, as Rodney screamed his pain, the Wraith's hand on his chest drawing his life, his own hand reached out to grab the already cold hand of his love, Elizabeth Weir.

"I love you." He whispered to the decrepit shell and he saw her breath her last…his own breath was soon to follow.

In their timeline though, the Deadalus came and when it was all over, they stood on the balcony together and Elizabeth placed her hand atop of his, he turned his palm up and took it, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He was there for her and always would be. He loved her and even though he didn't say it…for them…that was enough.

IOIOIO

A/N: Aren't I becoming the angsty little one-shotter? This has the least dialogue I've ever written and is possibly also the shortest, I don't know why I wrote this only that I did. At least I know my muses aren't dead yet (Pokes one)

Muse: Ow! Hey!

Me: Oh, sorry.

Muse: Woe is me!

Me: ACH! NO MORE ANGST!

Aaaannnyyywaaaay. Feel free to review and tell me what you think. I crave reviews and constructive criticism is especially welcome.