A/N: Wow, my first SGA story. Shame it has to be so depressing :P But I was feeling a bit down myself after watching Sunday for the billionth time, so I decided to write this up. It started off as a tag but has turned into a full fic somehow.
STATUS: TBA
RATING: T (maybe K+)
SUMMARY: After the devastating effects of Sunday, Rodney and his team are left to pick themselves up and get things back to normal. But for some, it may be harder then others...
SPOILERS: Major spoilers for Sunday. Anything before that is fair game as well.
WARNINGS: Swearing and mild violence. McShep could be seen through squinted eyes, but it's mostly just friendship.
DISCLAIMER: Everything Stargate Atlantis related is property of MGM. I own nothing.
"He was a kind soul. He was...he was a healer. And he will be very deeply missed."
"He's in the OR right now?"
"Every single life Carson saved...is a monument to him. And that gives me great comfort."
"Okay, look. This is all very brave and all-"
"I should have just gone fishing with him..."
"I just made the handoff-"
xxx
Rodney jerked awake, body trembling and sweaty as his ears rang dimly. He could still hear the explosion in his dreams, an unfortunate reoccurrence that plagued his sleeping hours.
It had been nearly a week since the incident with the exploding tumors. No, not incident. Tragedy. One that Rodney would never forget. And hell, he tried. But there he was, shaking and clammy in his niece's bed.
After the funeral, Rodney had taken it upon himself to tell Carson's mother of her son's death. And although it had been the last thing he wanted to do, he knew that he would have regretted it if he didn't. So he had flown to Scotland without a second thought.
Somehow Mrs. Beckett had ended up comforting Rodney instead, something he was neither proud nor ashamed of. He just...was. The past week had flown by in a blur, Rodney's body moving and talking on autopilot. It made things easier, but he knew that eventually the emotional strain would catch up to him and it wouldn't be pretty when it did.
Maybe that was why he had agreed to go to the nearest bar with Sheppard, Lorne, and Ronon. Zelenka had been the smart one. He had gone back to the SGC for some well deserved sleep. And the blonde woman, the one whose name he could never remember, had gone back to Cheyenne Mountain too.
But that was neither here nor there. Since Rodney was on Earth, he knew that he had to go see Jeannie. His sister would have been disappointed had she found out that he was 'in town' and hadn't gone to visit. So he hopped a flight and headed for Vancouver.
The next thing he knew, Jeannie had roped him into staying for the rest of his days on Earth before he had to head back to Atlantis, stating that, 'it's what families do, Mer. They help each other.'
The honest words sent a small smile across Rodney's lips as he stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling of Madison's room.
'And God knows I need help...' he thought wryly before turning his head to peer blearily at the glowing clock on the nightstand. 5:10 am. Three hours until his flight for Colorado left.
Knowing that he wouldn't be getting back to sleep anytime soon, he flung the Princess Barbie comforter to the end of the bed and sat up.
He loved his sister and niece dearly, albeit a bit awkwardly, but he was ready to go home.
xxx
"Mer, you look horrible. Did you get any sleep last night?"
"Enough," Rodney replied with a glance over his shoulder as he hovered near the coffee pot.
Jeannie gave him a look that said, 'enough to get you to the airport and on the flight, you mean', but didn't push it any further. Instead, she gave her brother a long look over.
He was hurting, that much was obvious. Not only was he half dead on his feet with dark circles around his eyes, but he had been quiet. Normally she would count that as a blessing, but now it only concerned her even more. She knew she couldn't blame him though. The man had just lost one of his best friends.
"Are you meeting John and Ronon at the Colorado Springs Airport?"
"Probably just the Colonel. Ronon stands out a bit too much..." A bit of a grin tugged at his mouth before it disappeared and he went back to staring at the coffee pot.
Jeannie chuckled and tugged her housecoat snugly around her before heading over to the breadbox and pulling out a loaf.
"Toast?"
Rodney peered at the package in her hand. "Is that whole wheat? We're not rabbits here, Jeannie..."
Her reply was a roll of the eyes, though she couldn't hold back a smile. Now that sounded more like the Meredith she knew.
xxx
"When are you coming back next, Uncle Mer? You owe me a present since you forgot one this time..."
Rodney stared down at Madison looking all sorts of awkward as she gripped onto his pant leg, peering up at him.
"Err...whenever your mom and dad stop threatening me with tofu and carrot sticks?"
"Meredith!"
He sighed and crouched down, determined to get through this.
'Come on, she's just a kid. Bribe her with something. Kids like bribery.' "How about next time I come, I take you to Toys 'R Us. You like toys, right?"
Madison bobbed her head with a large grin as Jeannie reluctantly let herself smile.
Rodney straightened up feeling rather proud of himself. And, not that he would admit it, a bit happy that he had earned such a grin from his niece.
"Do you bribe the kids on that planet with the shield too?"
With a huff, the astrophysicist immediately said defensively, "I'll have you know that—actually, yes. Yes I do. And they love me for it."
His sister laughed as she moved forward to pull him into a hug. Rodney stood there uncomfortably before awkwardly patting her on the back.
"Take care of yourself, Mer," she whispered into his neck. "And don't forget to keep up with the e-mails."
Rodney nodded, suddenly not wanting to let his sister go. "Of course I will, on both accounts. You know me...I'm Mr. Safety." But they both knew that wasn't what she meant.
"I love you."
A pause.
Jeannie raised her eyebrows.
"Oh, well...you know I love you too."
"And me," Madison piped up. "You love me too, right Uncle Mer?"
Rodney nodded and bent down to pat Madison on the head. "Of course I love you too."
"And daddy?"
"Err...sure, why not."
After pecking Rodney goodbye on the cheek, Madison skipped off into the living room, leaving her uncle to straighten up once more, red cheeked.
Jeannie smirked slightly, unable able to resist. "And you said you weren't good with kids..."
"Actually, I think you said that. I just said they were snot-nosed little-"
"Mer..."
"Alright, alright," Rodney conceded as he gathered his duffel bags that crowded the front hall. "I should be off anyways. Say goodbye to Kevin-"
"-Kaleb."
"-for me."
After another quick and not-so-awkward hug, Rodney made his way across the lawn and onto the sidewalk where a cab was waiting.
"'bout time. I've been waiting here for almost ten minutes," complained the driver as he popped the trunk.
Rodney rolled his eyes and tossed his bags into the surprisingly large space. "Yeah, yeah. I'll make sure to give you a big tip." 'Or not...'
With an amused smile, Jeannie gave her brother a wave before the cab pulled away from the front of her house.
'You'll be alright, Mer. Despite what you think, Carson wasn't your only friend.'
xxx
A/N: Alright, so this first chapter was a little on the short and slow side, but I wanted to get something up before I forgot about it (and my iced tea supply has sadly run out).
I've already started on the next chapter though, so hopefully it should be up soon.
Feel free to press that lovely purple review button! :)