Title: Stranded
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: McWeir
Summary: Rodney is stranded on a planet. When he's finally rescued, he's different.
Disclaimer: I don't anything, except the story.
Chapter One
The puddle jumper slipped through the gate and into the blackness of space. Below was the planet, all browns, greens and blues. Rodney McKay read the data scrolling on his computer screen.
"I'm reading life signs down there," he said. "Most likely animals."
"How about energy readings?" Sheppard asked from the pilot's seat.
Rodney glared at him. "I'm getting to it, Mr. Impatient. Give me a minute."
Hearing Sheppard's chuckle, Rodney rolled his eyes. Typing on the keys, he changed the search perimeters and a blip appeared on his screen.
"Found it," he said.
Sheppard brought up the map of the planet and Rodney pointed to the location.
"There, in the middle of those trees."
"Good. I'll find a place to land and we'll check it out."
Rodney stepped out of the puddle jumper onto the plains covered with brown grass. A warm breeze ruffled the prairie creating waves. The breeze carried with it the sound of birds singing and the scent of wheat.
"Well isn't this picturesque," he said, bringing out his detector.
"The map showed it was this way," Sheppard said, leading the way.
Rodney rolled his eyes, pointing to the detector. "Then why did I bring this out?"
"Just in case the map was wrong," Sheppard said in a voice that grated on Rodney's nerves.
Shaking his head, Rodney turned on the device and followed the others across the field. The screen came on, showing a blip several meters ahead of them.
"Looks like the map was right," he said, pointing toward the forest. "It's on the other side of those trees."
"Good. Let's go check it out."
Looking up at the sky, Rodney asked for patience. Shaking his head, he jogged ahead of the group and took the lead. To his left was a sudden drop off and he made a note to give it a wide birth. He didn't like the idea of a long tumble down the valley.
"Don't get lost," Sheppard called.
"Shut up!"
Ignoring Sheppard's laughter, Rodney led the way into the forest. The sun filtered through the thick canopy, leaving spots of sunshine dotting the forest floor. Bird song sounded loudly around him, almost deafening. He barely heard the beeping of his device, telling him he was drawing closer.
"We're almost there!" Rodney called over his shoulder. "A few more meters."
The trees thinned and the ground sloped upward. Climbing the hill, Rodney found himself in the center of a clearing. He looked around him, searching for the source of the beeping.
"Find anything?" Sheppard asked, coming to stand beside him.
Rodney looked at his detector then spotted a flash of light. Smiling, he pointed toward it.
"There," he said and headed down the hill toward the object.
"Wait up!" Sheppard shouted after him.
The object came into view and Rodney slowed his pace. The object stood two feet tall and was covered with vines and moss. Excitement grew inside him and he wanted to dance with joy.
"Here!" Rodney called, turning off his detector. Heart racing, he removed the overgrowth.
"It must be good, you took off at a dead run," Sheppard said.
Rodney ignored the others, concentrating on uncovering his discovery.
"Why would something like this be on a planet with nothing on it?" Sheppard asked.
"Maybe there used to be something here," Rodney answered, staring at the device.
Other than its silver color, the brick looked uninteresting. Rodney knew better and lifted the device from its pedestal. Turning it over, he ran his fingers along the smooth surface. Finding a small indention, he smiled and pressed the button.
"Hello," Rodney said when the top slid to the side and lights blinked in the sun.
"Interesting," Sheppard said over Rodney's shoulder. "What is it?"
Rolling his eyes, Rodney stood. "I'm going to have to take it back to my lab in order to answer that."
"Then let's go," Ronon said.
Sighing in annoyance, Rodney followed the others toward the hill. Attempting to get a head start on analyzing the object, Rodney rolled the device in his hands. He pressed the top of the device, but nothing happened. Narrowing his eyes, he turned the device over and pressed the bottom.
"There has to be a way to open this thing," he whispered, bringing the object closer.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Rodney vanished. He fell sideways down the drop off, hitting his leg on the side of a rock. He cried out, loosing his grip on the object.
"Rodney!" Teyla's surprised voice called out to him.
Trying to stop himself from sliding down any further, Rodney grabbed a protruding tree root. Breathing hard, he looked up, hoping to climb back up. A shine of silver caught his eye. Before he was able to move out of the way, the device collided with his head.
Elizabeth left her office when the gate activated. Standing at the balcony, she watched as John Sheppard's team came through the gate. The puddle jumper floated up to the jumper bay.
Smiling, she headed toward the shuttle bay to greet them. It was then she noticed Rodney wasn't with them.
"Where's Rodney?" Elizabeth asked, worry building within her.
Sighing, John looked at Ronon and Teyla before turning his attention back to her. "He fell down a ravine. We tried to go down after him, but the ground was slippery. Ronon nearly slid twice."
"There was too much vegetation to see exactly where he might be," Teyla mentioned.
Elizabeth ran a hand through her hair. "Let's continue this in my office."
Leading them to her office, Elizabeth tried to keep herself calm. She didn't want to think how badly Rodney might be injured.
Concentrate on finding him.
Elizabeth stood behind her desk, her arms folded across her chest. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the three in front of her.
"We'll go back and find him," John said in a voice of determination. "We're not going to leave him on that planet by himself."
"I know," Elizabeth said.
"We've only been on that planet for twenty minutes," John continued. "He couldn't have gotten far."
"You've been on that planet for longer than that, John."
John stared at her as if she had lost her mind. "What?"
"You've been gone for five hours."