Supplemental
A sort of Tag to Lost Boys and the Hive
Thanks to ga unicorn for the wonderful and patient beta. All other mistakes are mine. Yeah, I know they don't belong to me… g
Part One
Rodney could feel it surging through his veins. Adrenaline rushed alongside the enzyme as he battled the men instructed to keep him captive.
Wham!
One after another he conquered each of Ford's goons. Rodney recorded it as a series of still pictures in his mind. Later, he would remember them and tell everyone what he had done. How he, Rodney McKay, again saved the day.
The crystals.
The whole point was to retrieve the crystals for the DHD. He searched frantically. Time was not on his side. There. Opening a drawer he saw them, gathered them into his hands, and rushed towards the door. He yanked it open.
His eyes bulged at the sight before him. A wraith loomed in the doorway, his open hand raised in readiness to strike.
"I've come for my enzyme."
The alien's hand plunged deep into Rodney's chest.
Pain exploded. It felt as if the creature was suctioning all his life out of his chest. Rodney caught sight of his hand, his arm, the skin shriveling up. He cried out, realizing one fact:
He, Rodney McKay, smartest man in two galaxies, was about to die.
Rodney's eyes flew open. His breaths came in short bursts. Sitting up in bed, he pulled at the sweat laden jacket that clung to his body and let the cooler air from the ventilation blow over him. Beneath him, the blankets were rumpled but otherwise untouched. He tried frantically to remember why he'd come to bed like this but the memory didn't appear to exist.
Still only half awake he scanned the darkened room searching for anything to tether him to reality.
The clock.
Rodney sighed, his body sagging with relief. 0530 hour. Then he realized what that time actually meant. Today he had scheduled their monthly meeting among the science personnel to begin at 0600 hours. Normally, Rodney liked to schedule them early. But today it was just too early.
He wearily dragged himself from bed grumbling the entire time as he showered and dressed. At this rate he wouldn't even have time enough for a cup of coffee. And right now Rodney desperately needed, at the very minimum, two cups. He yawned once more, scrubbed a hand over his face and wished this feeling of utter exhaustion would leave.
Carson had warned him that this could happen. The effects of the adrenaline that kept him going after the enzyme wore off would only last so long. And unfortunately it appeared Carson was correct.
Limbs barely responding to his commands, Rodney made his way to the meeting. "Someone had better have started a fresh pot of coffee," he mumbled to himself.
On the way, he passed two people jogging in the opposite direction and wondered at the sudden increase in enthusiasm for exercise. Sheppard's marines were always doing the physical stuff anyway, but recently the science and support staff seemed to have developed an excess of energy too. Rodney scowled but wished for a moment that he could have some of whatever they had found. It certainly had to beat the levels of exhaustion he was feeling now.
Standing in the doorway of the empty conference room Rodney twisted his wrist to check the time on his watch. Where was everyone? That was the whole point of calling a meeting: to have them attend. Was his staff so incompetent that they couldn't even get to a meeting on time? Even Zelenka hadn't bothered to show.
He glanced down and checked the scheduler on his tablet once more. There it was. Meeting: 0600 hours. Frustrated, he lifted a hand to his comm..
"Zelenka, this is McKay."
"Zelenka here."
It surprised him, angered him that Radek didn't even seem apologetic. "Where are you?" he demanded.
"In Dr. Weir's office. What is it you need?"
Rodney shut off the comm.. and hurried up the stairs and across the catwalk before barging into Elizabeth's office.
The two, one on either side of the desk, looked up in surprise to see him.
"Where is everyone?"
Radek adjusted his glasses. "Everyone?"
Rodney felt as if he had just stepped into the twilight zone. Both Elizabeth and Radek stared back at him, genuinely confused.
"I called a meeting for 0600 hours. You were supposed to be there." He pointed in the direction of their general meeting room.
Radek shook his head. "Rodney, you sent an email canceling that meeting."
"I did?" He searched his mind for any memory. Again, nothing.
Elizabeth rose from her seat behind the desk. "Are you all right?"
Rodney waved a hand in the air. "Yes, yes of course. I did. I guess that goes to show you what missing that first cup of coffee will do to you."
Radek nodded. "I imagine with you, Rodney, there is some truth to that."
"Well, I guess I better go find that cup." He turned to leave, acting as though he were searching for some important piece of data on his tablet, when in truth he had no idea what it even displayed at the moment or if the device was even still on.
"Don't forget our own meeting later this morning. 0800 hours," she called out to him.
"Uhm… of course."
Minutes later, Rodney paused in the doorway to the mess. The clanking of silverware on trays, the scraping of chairs on the floor as they scooted out from under the table, the seemingly incessant talking made him hesitate. His head was beginning to pound in rhythm to the sounds around him.
Someone looked up from one of the tables and stared right at him. Then another. And another. And he knew what all of them were thinking: Rodney McKay was loosing it.
He decided to bypass the mess. For once in his life he could wait on the coffee.
oooOooo
As soon as he entered his lab he pulled up a stool and powered up his laptop. He had to know for sure. Opening his email he ignored the newer messages for the moment and accessed his sent folder. Sure enough, there it was in all caps: ATTN: MEETING POSTPONED.
He squeezed his eyes shut, pinched the bridge of his nose and slumped down on the stool. Why couldn't he remember? And why was he so exhausted even though he had slept for what… at least twelve hours last night? It puzzled him, and there was nothing worse than a puzzle he couldn't solve.
"Dr. McKay?"
Rodney jerked rigidly upright. Dr. Klisen, one of the science team who worked closely with Dr. Kavanaugh, stood next to him, brow creased with concern.
It seemed that was the only expression Rodney inspired anymore.
"Dr. Klisen," he replied stiffly. He glanced back at the laptop. "I was going through reports yesterday and noticed that I hadn't gotten your report on the newest device acquisition from your mission with your team last week."
The man appeared contrite, embarrassed even, as he brought his hand to his forehead. Klisen was a part of one of the secondary teams that gated off world. "I'm sorry about that. I'm afraid with all the recent activity in the city I thought I had already sent it." Klisen stopped for a moment, thinking. "In fact, I'm sure I sent it."
"Yes, well if you had sent it, then I'm sure I would not be requesting it right now, now would I?" Rodney sighed deeply. Finally, he said, "Just resend it."
"Of course." Dr. Klisen turned to leave but stopped in the doorway. "I was on my way to get a cup of coffee. Can I get you one?"
McKay's eyes brightened but he refused to appear too grateful. Instead he turned back to the screen, scrolling down, intent on finding some information on the computer. "Sure. Thanks."
As soon as Klisen had left, McKay leaned forward and checked on his files. Nothing. So he had been right. Klisen hadn't sent it. Just in case, he did a search on the document.
There it was. He had deleted it himself. But why? And when?
He checked for the deletion time. It had been yesterday around the time he went to lay down. Just how tired had he been? Typing in the commands, he told the computer to restore it.
File data corrupt. Cannot restore document.
Corrupt? Why would it be corrupt? Pulling his stool closer, Rodney accepted the cup of coffee that Klisen set next to his desk, without so much as a nod of appreciation. He was lost in the computer. He needed an answer.
oooOooo
"I figured you'd be down here," the voice said from behind.
Rodney jumped. "Do you mind? You almost gave me a heart attack and after my recent experience with the enzyme, I'm a little reticent to endanger my health for awhile."
Sheppard grinned. "You'll be all right."
Rodney scowled at him. "So did you acquire a license to practice medicine since our last mission?"
"You'd be surprised what I've picked up all the times I've been in the infirmary."
"Yes, well, we already have one witchdoctor practicing his voodoo here. You'd do well to stick with piloting." Rodney turned back to his laptop, hoping Sheppard would take the hint and let him work.
"Well, seeing as how I have your attention now," Sheppard drawled, "I just wanted to see how you were doing."
"Fine," was his quick, if not somewhat stilted response.
Sheppard moved closer to his work table. "How long have you been down here?"
"Not long," he responded absently, going back to his work. It was bad enough that Carson felt it a personal responsibility to watch over him since he almost overdosed on the Wraith enzyme. He didn't want anyone else close enough to realize he was having problems he couldn't explain. Thankfully, Sheppard didn't pursue it.
"We have to meet with Elizabeth in a half hour. What say we go get a quick breakfast?"
"Maybe later." Rodney fished out a power bar out of the drawer and peeled back the packaging, still intent on the information flashing across the screen.
Sheppard snatched it from his hand, took a bite out of it, and made a face. "Let's go get some real breakfast."
OooOooO
"Thought you guys weren't coming," Ronon said to them once Rodney and Sheppard had gotten their trays and were pulling their chairs out to sit.
"Rodney had to find a stopping point."
Rodney didn't respond. Instead, he concentrated on salting his eggs to disguise their blandness. It didn't seem to matter what galaxy he was in, eggs were still virtually tasteless. As he raised a bite of food to his mouth, he realized he must not have been focusing. Sheppard had said something but obviously he had missed it.
"And you thought all I could do was beat your butt in training," Ronon said.
"I wouldn't go that far," Sheppard responded. "You know what they say."
"No, I don't." Ronon's expression challenged Sheppard, as he bit down on a piece of meat he had speared with his fork. "What do they say?"
Rodney laid down his fork and held up his hand to interrupt, "Please, don't give him 'the bigger they are the harder they fall' spiel."
"I don't have to. You just did." Sheppard grinned at his friend. "Besides, it's true."
"Only if they fall," Ronon reminded him, spreading some Athosian butter on his toast.
Rodney rolled his eyes. Just another day in the life of Sheppard and Captain Caveman.
"Are you all right, Rodney?" Sheppard asked, genuinely concerned.
"Nothing a cup of coffee won't cure."
Sheppard looked up from his own cup. "If that's so, don't you think you should've been cured already?"
"Some days it takes more than others." Rodney didn't wait for another argument. He wanted – no needed – a cup of coffee. He got up and hurried over to the coffee urn.
His hands shaking, Rodney concentrated on placing the cup in position under the spigot and pressed it to release the coffee. Half way through he felt an unwelcome wave of dizziness wash over him. He grabbed the edge of the small table to steady himself.
Sheppard appeared behind him, taking the cup from his hands. Rodney grabbed for the creamer, trying to hide the shakiness he felt. "Thanks, I just needed to… uhm…" His voice trailed off as he tried to put his thoughts into words. It felt as he was a bit intoxicated and the words came a bit slower and somewhat slurred.
"You needed to eat," Sheppard finished for him, grabbing a few extra packets of sugar and poured them into the cup. Then he opened an extra packet and handed it to Rodney. "Here, eat this."
Rodney lifted the sugar to his mouth and the world seemed to tilt and right itself. Black and gray spots appeared before his eyes. At first there were just a few, but within seconds the spots crowded in on him, forcing his world to go black.
A shocked silence fell over the mess. Several people came over to see if they could help. Sheppard instructed one of them to get him a bottle of that sports drink the Daedalous had recently brought to Atlantis. The man turned and quickly disappeared into the crowd.
"Rodney! Come on buddy." Sheppard knelt at Rodney's side, suddenly feeling very guilty. He shouldn't have taken the power bar, but it had been the quickest way to get his friend to take a break and eat a real meal. Worried, he reached up and tapped his earpiece. "Carson, this is Sheppard. We have a medical emergency in the mess. I think Rodney's sugar just went south."
"I'm on my way."
"Can I help?" Ronon asked, from Sheppard's side.
Sheppard noted the confusion in Ronon's expression. "Yeah, when he wakes up I need you to help me get him to drink this."
Ronon's eyebrows lifted in a look of disbelief.
"Rodney has a condition," Sheppard explained. It was easy to forget Ronon hadn't been here long enough to experience one of these moments. "If he doesn't eat, he passes out."
"So why didn't he eat?" Ronon pinned him with a questioning look.
Sheppard fought the urge to grin but Rodney's eyes were fluttering open. "Come on. We need to get some sugar down you." He took the open sport drink and held it in Rodney's hand as his friend took a sip from the container.
Carson walked into the door. "Drink, Rodney. Don't sip it like it tea time with your mum. At least if you don't want an IV."
Rodney grumbled. "I see how you are. Can't even see how I am before you're threatening me with weapons."
"Aye, here in this galaxy we all need a weapon. I just prefer needles to a P90. Now drink." The doctor watched while Rodney drained the bottle. Then he pricked the scientist's finger, letting the blood fall onto the stick in the Glucometer. After a few seconds the device emitted a beep, causing Carson to frown. "Hmm."
A look of worry crossed Rodney's face. "Hmm? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Just that your blood sugar wasn't as low as I expected." Carson glanced over at Sheppard. "Is this all he's had?"
Sheppard nodded. "Yeah, we contacted you soon after he went down."
Carson turned back to the scientist. "When was the last time you had something to eat? Something more than a powerbar."
Rodney shrugged, trying to remember. Lunch yesterday maybe? Another thing he couldn't quite remember.
"That's too long then." Carson sighed and instructed Sheppard, "Makes sure Rodney gets something to eat, preferably something with protein. Then I need to see him in the infirmary."
"Why?"
"I just want to take some blood samples, not put you up for an overnight stay. I don't think the nurses could handle that so soon after last time."
"I can't," Rodney tried.
"He can," said Sheppard firmly.
"I can't. I have a briefing with Elizabeth in-" Rodney glanced at his watch. " – ten minutes."
Carson shot Sheppard a look. Sheppard stepped away to radio her but returned moments later.
"Now you either find your way to the infirmary after you eat or I can have Ronon carry you."
Ronon looked as surprised as Rodney.
"Captain Caveman to the rescue," Rodney grumbled.
Sheppard face broke out into a wide smile. "You used to watch that cartoon too, huh?"
"Canada is not without its shows. Some we even get before the States."
John smirked. "Well, you're in the Pegasus galaxy now, so you know what it feels like to have to wait."
OooOooO
Rodney felt their stares as he dropped into one of the chairs across from his team. He was later than he had intended but Carson had insisted on drawing enough blood out of his system to feed a vampire through an Alaskan winter.
"That was quick," Sheppard noted.
Rodney shrugged. "Yes, well, I think I've logged enough time in there recently. No need to prolong the visit."
Elizabeth folded her hands in front of her on the table. "At least we know why you were acting so odd earlier."
"Odd?" Sheppard raised an eyebrow.
Rodney waved them off, relieved for the moment that Elizabeth felt she had her answers. "Well, shall we get started? In case you haven't noticed, I've lost quite a bit of this morning that I'll never get back." He flipped open his laptop, quickly pulling up the file he needed. His fingers itched to be doing something. Nervous energy flowed through his veins. Under the table, his knee bounced to an unheard rhythm. "Beside, knowing my luck, Klisen and his team will blow something up if I leave them alone too long."
Ronon snorted. "They're not the only ones. You and Sheppard seem to have the same habit."
"Must not be too bad. You joined the team." Sheppard wadded up a piece of paper, leaned back in his chair, and aimed for the wastebasket. "Soon enough, they'll be including you in that statement."
Rodney chose that moment to ignore them. He couldn't believe the amount of energy he suddenly had. Finally. Maybe this signified a turning point in his current state. He had begun to think exhaustion would remain his companion throughout the rest of his life.
"dney?"
He stopped typing and looked up, catching the tail end of his name. "Did you say something?"
Sheppard's eyebrows lifted, giving him a sharp look. "Just how much sugar did they put in your drink?"
Rodney shrugged and then went back to typing. His fingers refused to stay still. "A little, I'm sure."
"I'm sure."
Elizabeth must have been ready to continue. "I understand from intel you received that there is a possibility of a ZPM on Px4-653?"
Sheppard nodded. "We sent out the MALP yesterday. Looks like a lot of ruins near the gate, but most of it's overgrown with vegetation."
They finalized mission plans and were ready to dismiss the meeting when Teyla spoke up. Throughout the meeting, she had been abnormally quiet, even for her.
"What are supplements?"
The room grew suddenly quiet. All eyes focused on Teyla.
"Where did you hear that?" Sheppard asked.
"I overhead some discussion about this supplement. Does Carson now charge for these?"
Sheppard's eyebrows lifted. He leaned forward on the table. Why hadn't he heard any such discussion? "On Earth, many people buy pills that do a variety of things. Most people buy them for energy." He looked pointedly at Rodney who knee was still bouncing underneath the table.
"Maybe that explains why some of the white coats've been asking for lessons," Ronon suggested.
Teyla said, "It is true that many people have suddenly seemed to have acquired a sudden enthusiasm. It has been most odd."
Elizabeth looked up. "Did anyone indicate where they were getting these supplements?"
Teyla shook her head. "No. Although, I only heard a portion of the exchange. After that they were out of hearing distance. I can not even tell you who the men were. It was late and I was out for a walk."
"So they don't know you were there?" Sheppard asked.
"No, I do not believe so."
"How are they getting them?" Rodney scrolled through the screen before him. "I don't see anything on the manifest logs for the Daedalous. And Carson guards that stuff with his life."
"What if it wasn't listed on the logs?" Ronon asked.
Teyla asked, "Could they be coming through the gate?"
"Possibly . But regardless, we need to find out. Everyone knows the rules here clearly state that only medical personnel can provide medication, vitamins, etc. Being in a foreign galaxy we can't afford for anyone to experimenting," Elizabeth said.
Sheppard nodded in agreement. "But if we start having Carson drug testing everyone, we might not find out where it's coming from."
Ronon fingered his blaster. "I could find out."
Sheppard put his hand out. "For now, I think we'll try something a little more subtle."
"We'll have to suspend gate travel," Elizabeth noted. "I can't take any unnecessary risks right now."
"Understood." Sheppard stood and motioned for Teyla. "Feel like taking a walk?"
OooOooO
Just after 0100 hours Rodney came to the realization that he wasn't going to get any sleep. His mind was whirring with thoughts that made no sense.
Maybe a walk on the east pier would clear his head. His imagination had to be running away with him. There was no way he had just seen a wraith in the bathroom doorway.
Yes, that's all he needed: some fresh air. His hand reached up to his chest, willing himself to breathe slower. Maybe all this exercising the other scientists were doing wasn't so bad after all.
The wind from the Lantean sea swirled around him as he stepped outside onto the eastern pier. Rodney slowly walked the long distance to end of the pier and stood watching the waves as they rolled in. It was absolutely fascinating. He wondered why he didn't come out here more often.
Sucking in a deep breath of the cool night air, Rodney couldn't believe how good it felt to breath. With each successive breath he could envision his lungs expanding, deflating. He tilted his head back toward the stars. Yes, he thought, this was the right thing to do. He could probably stay here all night. The stars seemed brighter tonight, as though each one of them had the power to light up the night sky all by itself.
A sound came from behind, causing him to ease around. There against the city wall, blocking the door was a wraith. Had it followed him? He hadn't imagined it? Why hadn't Teyla felt its presence? Why hadn't the city's sensors detected it? Question after question raced through his mind, one after another until they ran together.
His eyes scanned the area. Another one appeared over to the left. There wasn't anywhere to go if he wanted to escape. Suddenly the night air seemed to change from the free flowing oxygen of before to something that clogged his lungs, took up too much room, not let him get more.
Sheppard.
Yes, he needed to alert Sheppard. Tapping his earpiece, he whispered, "Sheppard! Come in."
"Sheppard here." The voice sounded groggy.
Rodney rubbed his eyes. When he lifted his head again the wraith were gone. Suddenly embarrassed he considered ending the connection.
"Who is this?" The colonel's voice now sounded irritated.
"Uhm… never mind," Rodney said finally after several more seconds of silence.
"Rodney?"
"Sorry, I uh… must have activated my omm.. while I was asleep." Oh that was lame, Rodney thought. He was a genius! Couldn't he come up with something better than that?
"Where are you?" John could hear what sounded like the surf in the background. Rodney wasn't sleeping. Concerned, he pushed back the blankets and reached for his clothes.
"I… uh.. . just stepped outside for a minute. Taking a stroll on the east pier."
Something was definitely wrong. He could hear the quick pace of Rodney's breaths. Sure Rodney was known for his panicking during a crisis, but at night? On Atlantis? Too many things just weren't adding up.
"Actually, I wouldn't mind a little fresh air. Maybe even a cup of coffee. How about you?" he asked calmly.
As he entered one of the transporters, Sheppard kept up an ongoing conversation with his friend. Rodney's answers seemed stilted, unfocused, but at least his breathing had evened out as they spoke. Still Sheppard was worried. Very worried.
"Wraith," Rodney's voice, no more than a strangled whispered, burst through his omm..
"Rodney's what going on?" Sheppard quickened his pace. "Are there wraith out there?"
Rodney didn't answer.
Sheppard commanded, "Control, I'm on my way to the east pier. I may need backup. Possible wraith sighting."
He ran through the door, stopping short at the sight before him. John crossed his arms as the cool wind raised goose bumps on the exposed skin. There at the end of the pier stood his friend, staring out into the ocean. Rodney, arms straight at his sides, seemed to not notice the cool night air or the fine mist blowing onto him from the waves below.
"Rodney?"
Rodney jerked around at the sound. He stumbled and then reached out, as though searching for something to steady himself.
Sheppard sprinted down the pier, watching helplessly as Rodney fell. He skidded to a stop, a spray of water met him where Rodney had stood only seconds before.
"Rodney!" he shouted, but his friend had already disappeared beneath the water. He keyed his mike. "This is Sheppard! We have an emergency on the east pier. Man in the water. I repeat, man in the water." He didn't wait for a response. Ripping off his boots and radio, he dove into the water.
--TBC--
