Chapter 1

Stargate Atlantis, set in season 3.

I do not own any of these characters.

I am sorry if my English sucks.

I am not a doctor. So if any of the symptoms and/or treatments aren't correct, don't sue me :P

"Why do I need to go?" Rodney replied.

"Because these people provide more than half of our food supply, and we are always welcome to use their planet as a beta-side, and we don't want to do anything that might harm our relationship with them. We need them. Doctor Eisen has already been there, but he wasn't able to make heads or tails of that device."
"So, send Zelenka. He is more than capable enough to fix that device just as easily as I can, and god knows he can use the experience of going off world -"
"Zelenka is down with the flu, as you are very much aware of -"
"And I'm -"
"McKay, I am telling you to go! And it wasn't a suggestion!"
Rodney stared at Elizabeth.
"Fine!"
"Ronon will accompany you"
"What? Just Ronon? Why?"
Elizabeth sighed. "They are very friendly people McKay. Their shield device makes it impossible for darts to come through the gate. You're perfectly safe. And we won't make the Ulisians feel like we think of them as a threat, by coming to their planet with a number of armed marines"
"Maybe darts are out of the question. But there are tons of other things that can go wrong -"
"That's why Ronon will accompany you!"
"But-"
"End of discussion McKay!" Elizabeth answered with a stern tone. "You will leave at 0800 tomorrow morning. Make all the preparations you need before then"
McKay looked at her with a flare of anger. This was gonna put a stop to all of his projects. He was going to get way behind. Not to mention that they wouldn't be taking a jumper to the village. They had to walk the full 5 hours. This was ridiculous. And having only Ronon as company. Sure, in the face of danger Ronon would be No 1 to keep him safe, but outside of danger... what was he supposed to talk to him about? These were going to be two long days.

...

He was walking through the tall grass. For the first two hours he had been trying to keep up with Ronon, but after nearly tripping for what felt like the hundredth time, he gave up. Ronon had tried to nudge him on from the moment they had set foot on the planet, but now Rodney had had it. He was tired, he was hungry, his feet hurt, his legs were burning from the sensation of walking for hours. He was wheezing and a cough burned his throat. He tiredly let himself fall down on a flat rock, just to the left of him. He lay in quite an uncomfortable position, with his bulky backpack still on, but he was too tired to readjust his position. If Ronon wanted him to take one more step, he was just gonna have to force him to do it. For a moment Rodney let his mind wander on the actual possibility of Ronon doing exactly that, and he shuddered. He quickly focused his mind on breathing, just breathing. In and out. In and out. He felt the wheezing quiet down a bit and the breaths came easier.
He was just growing accustomed to the uncomfortable position he was lying in, when something suddenly blocked the sunlight from his face.
"McKay!" He heard Ronon say.
Rodney tried to analyze what he heard in the man's voice. Annoyance mostly, with a slight edge of amusement. And only if you knew the man long enough, you could hear the tinge of worry in his voice as well. Rodney calculated his chances of being able to lie down like this much longer, and came to the conclusion that it would come to a quick end.
"McKay!" Ronon repeated, much louder this time, and Rodney heard the threat in it.
"I am tired, okay!", Rodney whined.
"You might have a body accustomed to running around all day, but I don't! I am a scientist, not a soldier! We have been walking for hours and hours, and now I am tired. My legs are burning, my feet hurt, and do you hear me wheeze, 'cause I sure as hell do!"

Ronon just looked at him with calculating eyes, while Rodney was rambling on and on. Ronon knew that as long as the scientist was rambling on, nothing serious was going on. If he was in real bad shape, or on the verge of collapsing, Rodney tended to act completely different. So he wasn't worried.
"- and... Oh my god! Now I am coughing as well. I probably picked up some nasty decease. The Pegasus galaxy is trying to kill me... again. Oh my god, I'm gonna die out here! I'm gonna die horribly -"
"You're not gonna die, McKay!" Ronon cut him short in his hypochondriac rambling. He was used to it by now, but experience told him that it was better to cut him off, before he got into it too deep.
"You can't know that. The Pegasus galaxy -"
"I'm not gonna let you die!" Ronon said plainly.
"Oh".
Rodney thought about that for a bit, and it seemed to calm him down.
"We'll take a short break. It's not far now" Ronon said.
"Not far? What is your definition of 'not far'? You said 'it's not far' before we even started this trip-"
"About two miles"
"Two? That is still far! You need to lower your rates to the more general idea of 'Not Far'!" Rodney spat at him, annoyed. But inside he was relieved. Only one and a half mile left. They were almost there.

Much quicker then Rodney would have liked Ronon announced that the break was over. Rodney clumsily tried to stand up, but the weight of the backpack made him fall back down again. Ronon grabbed him by his arm and the front of his jacket and easily pulled him up. Rodney muttered a quiet "thanks", with red flushing his cheeks. But Ronon just grunted something undecipherable, and started walking in the direction of the village. Rodney readjusted his backpack and followed the man quickly.

...

They finally neared the village, Rodney was sure of it. They had seen smoke columns rise into the air for a while now, but now Rodney could smell food as well.
'Oh, food! God, I am starving!', and at the thought of food Rodney felt his mouth water and his stomach gave a loud growl. He tried to pick up his pace with the idea of food driving him.

A small smile touched the corner of Ronon's lips. He had recognized the smells from a long distance away, but he knew that as soon as the ever-hungry McKay figured out what the smells were he would try to get there as soon as possible. And he was not disappointed when he heard the stomach of the man in question growl loudly. A smile touched his lips. He knew the man too well.
He saw McKay quickening his pace to match his. He arched an eyebrow. The man wouldn't be able to keep this up for long without tripping over something. He slowed his pace, and fell into step next to McKay. He kept his hands ready for when the man would trip. And again, he wasn't disappointed. They had only managed to walk a small distance at this pace, when McKay tripped over a pointy rock.

Rodney had seen the rock, of course, and he had gradually stepped over it with his left foot. But when the right one had to follow, he didn't pull his leg up far enough, and his foot caught on the rock. He would have sprawled face down in the hard, dry earth if Ronon hadn't caught him quickly by the back of his jacket and kept him upright.
"Thanks" mumbled Rodney, again with red flushing his cheeks.
This time Ronon simply nodded.
They continued their journey, and finally the village came in sight. Not a moment too soon, Ronon thought, because he could hear McKay starting to wheeze again.

Villagers crawled around them as they entered the village. Ronon had never felt easy in crowds such as these, and held his hand closely to his gun. He could see the villagers touching McKay. They touched his uniform, the logo of Atlantis, the bright colored flag on his sleeve. Ronon was glad they mostly left him alone. Finally Rodney had had enough.
"Yes, yes. We're here! Now tell me where your leader is!" Rodney demanded.
'Brusk as always', Ronon thought.
An old man stepped forward.
"You are most welcome, yea of Atlantis".
Rodney nodded.
"This device that needs fixing, where is it located?" he said pointedly. He felt his stomach growl in protest.
"And you don't have something to eat, do you? I'm starving!".
The older man looked unsure of himself.
"Of course, but... would you not rather like to rest first? And we have prepared a feast for your arrival."
"How lovely! But later, if you don't mind. I want to get this finished as quickly as possible" 'and be out of here', he finished the sentence in his mind.
"Be nice, McKay" Ronon grumbled.
"I am being nice" he spat out, annoyed. "They send an alarm call to Atlantis, saying that they broke the device and that they need it fixed up ASAP. Now I'm here to fix it, against my will I might add, and now they want to waste my time on festivals and group hugging? I'd rather not".
Ronon sighed.
A young man stepped forward.
"I'll take you to the device" he said, bravely looking into the man's eyes.
Ronon looked at him closely, and nodded approvingly. The man seemed to be young, smart and with sharp eyes. A brave, young man, one who liked adventure. He reminded him slightly of Sheppard.
"Okay. Well, let's go then" Rodney said.
The man nodded and pointed to the east. Ronon looked in the direction the finger indicated and saw a high mountain rising before them.
"It is quite a climb" the young man said, "but I have put anchors with ropes all the way up to the top, so that should help".
Rodney followed the finger as well and saw with horror that the path they would take ended in a climb up a mountain. And not just any mountain. That thing looked enormous.
'Good god. We have to climb that? This day just gets worse and worse. How do they expect me to make it up that far?'
The man saw the distress on Rodney's face.
"The device is not at the top. It's about halfway there. And the path isn't that steep in the beginning."
"Well, only half way there? Thank God for small favors. How do you expect me to climb all the way up there? I'm -"
"McKay, stop whining! The earlier we get a move on, the earlier we're finished"
"Stop whining? Have you seen that mountain you overgrown ape? I have all this equipment with me. I don't see you carrying anything around, except that big gun of yours of course. How -"
But Rodney was cut short when Ronon took a step closer to Rodney.

"What – Hey!" Rodney exclaimed when suddenly Ronon took a hold of the bulky backpack and maneuvered Rodneys arms out of the handles. As soon as he had the backpack free, he slung it over his own shoulder and put it on. The weight of the backpack surprised him. Of course he had heard McKay say it was heavy, and he knew how many instruments the scientist carried, but he had never quite expected it to be heavy. Now that he actually felt how heavy the backpack was, he was surprised that McKay had walked as far as he did without actual complaining. The man always rambled on and on about everything, but even though his mouth said one thing, he always sucked it up and got the job done. But the man already had trouble keeping a good pace without tripping. Climbing a mountain would be a real challenge, even without his backpack. He was going to need all the help he could get.
"There are delicate things in there, you know. Things that could break! I know I am supposed to fix everything, but being careful with this stuff would help a lot!"
Ronon looked McKay in the eyes, and took the complaint as a Thank you. He gestured towards the mountain.
"It's going to be difficult enough" he gruffly answered, and turned the man around.
"Come!"

Rodney looked at the man. Was he seriously helping him. Of course he was always helping him when he was in trouble, but that the man would think of him before he got into trouble was new for him. Or maybe he had never realized it.
"Come" he heard Ronon say.
It pulled him out of his thoughts, and quickly focusing on the task at hand he followed the man towards the mountain.

\To be continued