Sheppard whistled a little as he strolled down the corridor. Things were going as they should, the last 5 offworld missions had been not only casualty-free but had resulted in potentially profitable alliances with new races. The botanists had successfully cloned a potato plant. Chocolate had arrived from Earth with the most recent shipment on the Daedalus.
Yes, things were really going pretty well.
Then he walked past an open doorway at which he was not given to pausing, since it was a lab assigned to Kavanagh for his pet projects, just in time to see Kavanagh's fist collide with Mckay's face.
"What the hell!" Sheppard's eyes quickly scanned the room. There were no clues to Kavanagh's behavior. A few artifacts lay around in various stages of repair. Zelenka was wrapped around the scientist's shoulders, slowing him down. Kavanagh snarled, his eyes wide and feral with a look Sheppard had never seen in them before.
McKay started to pick himself up and Kavanagh lunged for him. Sheppard dove in, adding his weight to Zelenka's, and they pinned him down.
"Dammit, Kavanagh, stand down!" Sheppard bellowed as the wiry scientist struggled off the floor. Somehow he was shaking both of them off. McKay was reaching for his gun.
"Rodney, no!" Sheppard freed a precious hand, knocked the gun from McKay's trembling gasp.
"Stop it! Goddamn it you two, stop it! Jesus motherfucking Christ!"
The tall, slender body went suddenly still. Zelenka shifted his grip for a tighter one, muttering the scientist's first name over and over again. A sob struggled up from somewhere deep in Kavanagh's quivering belly, his knees went wobbly with sudden, horrified acceptance and he half collapsed against them, one hand clapped over his mouth.
"Rodney! I want some fucking answers, now!"
"I—I—" For once McKay didn't seem to be able to find any words. Zelenka supported Kavanagh as he sagged, panting, his legs loose and nerveless. Sheppard glanced at them and released his handful of Kavanagh's collar, slowly and cautiously. The little Czech gathered in Kavanagh's shaking shoulders, still talking but now in his native language, a rapid patter that spoke of barbed wire in black and white, of a single train moving forever away down a long, mist-shrouded track. Kavanagh moaned and shook his head, hiding his face against Zelenka's jacket. Sheppard looked at Rodney, then back at Zelenka and Kavanagh.
"Zelenka?"
"I was here to talk with Peter. Something important. How do you say, a—a heart to heart? Dr. McKay comes in. I say, now is not good time, but as usual, he has mouth open and ears shut."
"Not a good time—what?" Sheppard blinked. McKay swallowed and looked at him, a tinge of apprehension in his eyes. Sheppard groaned.
"Kavanagh, you wanna tell me what's going on?"
The scientist's body curled inwards, protectively. He shuddered violently against the dull fabric of Zelenka's coat and gasped, tears running silently from the corners of his still-wide eyes. Zelenka's hand came up to press against the side of his head.
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Some time earlier..
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Elizabeth Weir sat, staring at the message on her screen, one of several in the latest transmission from Earth. Her hand stole up to cover her mouth as she read the last sentence.
She touched her communicator.
"Science lab. McKay here."
Elizabeth frowned slightly. Normally something in her responded on a level she had never quite dared explore to the nasal, more-than-a-little-insecure aggressiveness that was McKay's signature sound. But today...She sighed and touched the communicator again.
"Is Dr. Zelenka there? I'd like to speak with him."
"He's right here. Working, I might add. As hard as he ever does." Rodney's smirk was as audible as a genuine smile would have been. Elizabeth pursed her lips.
"If you can spare him for a few moments..." She let an edge of tension color her own voice.
"I'd like to see him in my office."
"Your wish is my command. Rodney out."
Elizabeth sighed heavily and steepled her hands, resting her forehead on the tips of her first two fingers. The communicator squawked again, suddenly, and she jumped.
"Anything I should know about?"
She considered for a second.
"I'll hold a full briefing of the science team at 4:00. Let everyone know, would you?"
"That sounds serious."
"It could be. But I don't want anything getting ahead of itself. Let's plan for 4:00 and just keep on our toes till then. Good enough?"
"I'm a-quiver to ask how high, but you didn't really tell me to jump, so..."
Elizabeth smiled in spite of herself. Entirely inappropriate as always.
"Just stay sharp, Rodney."
"Sharp's the word. McKay out? Pretty please?"
"Yes, Rodney, that's all. See you at 4:00."
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She was still staring at the message when Radek Zelenka wandered into her office, looking disheveled and slightly ill-at-ease.
"Dr. Weir?"
"Radek. Thank you for coming." She rose.
"I have something important I'd like to trust you with. I'm sorry to add to your responsibilities but..."
"No, no, of course. Whatever you need." He clasped his hands in front of him.
"How-how can I help?"
"I'd like you to talk to someone. About a personal matter. I'm going to have to ask you to be both discreet and...sensitive."
Zelenka cleared his throat and looked at her sideways.
"Am I going to be...spy or something? This seems very...sneaky."
Elizabeth sighed.
"I wish, actually. Here, I think this is the simplest way to explain." She beckoned him closer, indicating the message on her screen. Zelenka's face went suddenly still and emotionless.
"You have read my files, of course, Dr. Weir?"
She watched him closely.
"I have. Is it too much to ask?"
His back straightened slightly.
"No. I am..." He looked her directly in the eye, light glinting off his round-lensed glasses.
"I will do my best."
"Thank you, Radek. I know you'll find the right way to tell him."
Zelenka's eyes met hers, soberly.
"There is no right way, Dr. Weir. I...I do not know if you understand."
"I hope I do. Thank you." She placed one hand on his arm and he flushed slightly, reaching up with his other arm to adjust his glasses.
"I should go...see him..."
Elizabeth nodded and he turned to go.
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McKay's brows knitted as he stared at the results of the tests Kavanagh had just turned in.
"Why, that lazy, incompetent-I can't believe this."
"What is it?" Simpson looked over but Rodney shut his mouth tightly. An uneasy feeling from his conversation with Weir was steadily growing in the back of his mind. It was making him even edgier than usual. He ignored Simpson and hunched over the results, already building sentences in his mind. This was going to be sweet. If there was a right person to take out some excess energy on, it was Kavanagh.
Simpson persisted, her eyes curious and a little too eager.
"I can go, if you need me to. I'd be happy to-"
"No." Rodney bit off the word.
"This is the last straw. I'm going to talk to him myself. Simpson, can you keep the rest of these...people from immolating themselves or disabling half the city while I'm gone?"
Several faces around the room turned hastily back to their respective assignments. Rodney snorted, spun on one heel, and strode out of the room without waiting for a reply.
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The air in the room was still and close and as tense as Sheppard's face as he waited for an answer, his eyes darting from face to face. Zelenka let his hand slide up until it covered Kavanagh's ear and spoke, his voice low and careful.
"Colonel Sheppard, there was accident. On Earth. Entire family was in car. There was...no survivor."
Sheppard sat back on his heels, his hands dropping as he stared at Kavanagh.
"Damn."
"Yes. This was...really not good time."
Sheppard looked at McKay, who had sat down with a thump and was watching him with fearful eyes. Sheppard shook his head a little.
"But it was something important, right? What was it, Rodney? What did you, uh, have to say?"
McKay shrank into himself.
"I, uh..."
Zelenka looked at him. He rallied himself, set his mouth.
"I had some, some questions about the power distribution tests from last week. There were portions skipped. It could have, ehm, affected the results of the final—"
"But inquisition can wait, yes? First funerals, then performance review." Sheppard noted with some surprise that Zelenka's voice was even less steady than Rodney's. He met the small man's eyes. There was something hard and broken in the eyes that looked back at him. Pieces of glass, lying on the ground, forever past reclamation. Sheppard broke eye contact.
"My parents." Zelenka offered it before Sheppard could ask.
"Both together, at one time. I do not understand at first, when they tell me. I can hear nothing but birds, wings in my ears. Black birds in front of eyes. Like a hurricane, their wings."
Kavanagh's eyes were closed tightly but he was starting to breathe again. Zelenka scooped up his cracked glasses from where they lay, folded them and put them in his pocket.
"I think...is best if you go. For now."
Sheppard swallowed and nodded. He and McKay stood together, exchanging glances.
A few seconds later Kavanagh and the little Czech were alone in the room.