Thanks to annem57 for beta-ing
Prologue
Following the failure of Project Arcturus at Doronda, Doctor McKay had been pulled from off-world duty as well as suspended as Head of the Science department. Despite the valid reasons behind the decisions, the Atlantis personnel en masse ostracised the scientist.
Four weeks following the Doronda incident, Mckay was allowed to return to off-world duty, but only due to an illness on Major Lorne's team. By this stage, rumours of McKay's fall from grace had reached the Genii, who saw it as the perfect opportunity to abduct the scientist and put him to work for their own goals.
The days following Rodney's abduction had been difficult.
Major Lorne's team had been blaming themselves, extremely critical of their own actions. They had hated the fact that they were 'babysitting' the physicist. They had pushed him away, walking faster than they knew he could maintain, forcing him to half run the entire time. By the time they had realised that their contact had betrayed them to the Genii, it was far too late. Rodney was far from them, unconscious and being led away. If they had just treated him as they normally should, the outcome could have been very different.
Elizabeth was likewise blaming herself. Following Doronda, she had chewed McKay out, demeaning the scientist in front of both civilians and military alike. She had removed him from his position and all but confined him to his quarters. While she had intended to visit with him in the days that followed, but other things kept popping up delaying her. The rest of the personnel followed her example of ignoring Rodney, monkey see monkey do after all. It had taken less than a day to shun Rodney, turning him into a social pariah overnight. And what good had it done? No matter how many teams she sent out now to try and find any information about the scientist's abduction, her guilt over her treatment of him would be difficult to assuage.
Teyla and Ronan were going offworld as much as possible. Neither of them had agreed with how Rodney had been treated and they had made their feelings known both to Rodney and to any who dared spurn him in their presence. McKay for his part, was grateful to not have been completely abandoned by those he cared about, but as the days grew into weeks, it began to take its toll on him. Everything had changed now. Following the announcement of Rodney's abduction, the entire base seemed to collectively realise that they had gone too far and now it was too late. Ronan had walked into the gym and beaten a hole clear through a punching bag to vent his anger lest he hurt someone. Teyla had meditated until her legs hurt, then prayed to the ancestors until her voice was hoarse. When the pair ran into each other, they nodded in understanding and began searching offworld with every contact they could, returning Atlantis only to pass on any information they had before leaving again. Neither would rest until they found their friend. Neither would give up hope.
Carson was beside himself. He had busied himself devising possible treatments for whatever possible injury of illness could befall Rodney. Without fail, the nurse on duty would be there beside him, giving him a sounding board. Every time he thought he exhausted the possibilities, he would go and inventory the medical supplies, with whatever member of his nursing staff happened to be there. This would continue until someone thought of a possible malady that could occur, when Beckett would return to solving that potential problem. Despite his hypochondria, the medical staff had a soft spot for Rodney. Despite his protestations of them working 'voodoo', whenever something broke in the infirmary or they needed extra resources for something, he would be there as quickly as he could, often solving the problem in minutes. Everyone who worked under Carson had become concerned for Rodney's mental health and now that he was gone, they were all united in making sure that no matter what scenario could have befallen him, they would be there, ready to render aid and do no harm.
Radek was nearing his wit's end. He could never understand how Rodney had been able to cope with the workload he had, constantly being interrupted by every small issue that occurred. He now truly understood why McKay believed that those around him were idiots when they couldn't be trusted to make decisions that wouldn't kill everyone without supervision. He had noticed that now that Rodney was truly missing as opposed to simply being restricted from the labs that the whispers about him had suddenly stopped. It was truly astounding how in the blink of an eye, it seemed as everyone finally realised the sheer amount of work that the head of science for the city had done, without acknowledgment or thanks.
As the days became weeks, Sheppard knew how much he had been to blame. Not only had he completely shut out everyone for weeks, he had effectively implied that is was fine for those under his command to do the same to Rodney. When Ronan had voiced his frustrations at Sheppard, by pinning him to a wall and making him listen, he hadn't given credence to what he was being warned about. Now he understood far too well. By ostracising Rodney and not stopping others doing the same, he never allowed the scientist the chance to regain his trust. And he had only himself to blame. He had tried to keep himself occupied by going on offworld missions to try and find the man he had called his best friend, only to come back empty handed and more frustrated. It had only taken a couple of days for Sheppard to realise that the City itself was mad at him. Lights no longer came on by themselves when he entered a room. The transporters refused to work for him, forcing him to walk the long way. Even the doors begrudgingly opened.
On so many days, John found himself outside Rodney's quarters, missing what he had lost. He reached up to the door control out of habit, only to be greeted by nothing. The door remained stubbornly shut. At first some had thought that it was just a malfunction, but when none could be found, the realisation had dawned on a few. Atlantis itself was protecting the last remnant of Rodney McKay from defilement. Even the military officers knew not to approach McKay's door. When one had suggested that they blow the door up, the next time he entered a transporter, he found himself at the far side of the East Pier facing a long walk back. Sheppard knew that if McKay was not found, the City would never be the same again. In fact, it might never let him or anyone else forget how much they had failed the man who had saved Atlantis countless times. Sheppard resolved that he would do whatever it would take to rescue his friend, to restore the trust that had been lost, both with Rodney and the City.
The weeks slowly turned into months and life had to continue. For the Atlantis Expedition, it seemed that life had changed too much for anyone's liking. While research had continued and new discoveries were made, no one was keen to forget that Doctor McKay was no longer with them. Nor would the majority accept that he was lost forever. A few months after his disappearance, Colonel Sheppard, Major Lorne, Doctor Weir, Doctor Zelenka, Teyla and Ronan gathered to read over the latest intel. The group had decided that until they had seen a body, they would continue the search for Rodney, no matter what. The intelligence report they had received confirmed many of their fears. Shortly after his capture, Mckay had been tortured by the Genii and forced into working on Ancient artefacts. That was unsurprising, but the disturbing part of the intel was a that McKay had been forced to activate an unknown device, which then exploded, leaving no trace of either it or the Doctor.
"I refuse to believe it." Ronan said simply. "He's survived, I know it."
Sheppard nodded. "I agree. I think this is just propaganda."
There was silence for a moment before Weir spoke.
"Then we continue looking. At least we know that Doctor McKay was alive for several weeks following his kidnapping. Major Lorne, go to the next planet and see if you can dig up anything."