It's a long time since I wrote and thought that an alternative ending my story 'The Atlantis Incident' might be fun, especially from Rodney's perspective. Doesn't make sense without reading the original.

"No! No! No! This is not good!" shouted Rodney Mckay.

Whirling around them, an eddy of blue and green sparks flashed bright against the shiny walls of the laboratory. The ground beneath began to shake violently and loose objects around the room flew from their various locations, hitting the ground and fracturing. Rodney screamed once more, Sheppard might have snarked 'like a baby', and cowered with both hands above his head, attempting to ward off the shards of broken glass, crockery and plastic that were raining down on him.

In the middle of the sparkling whirlpool, the three Sheppards continued to form a tight circle, seemingly oblivious to the chaos surrounding them and chanting a strange throaty language that appeared to be coming from the depths of their bodies rather than their mouths. Rodney could see Ronon and Teyla attempting, but failing, to force a way through the whirlpool with all their combined might and, in the corner of the room, Radek typing on the keyboard of a computer, desperately scanning the image on the screen for a solution.

The sound reached an almost unbearable crescendo that threatened to split his, let's face it, already delicate ear-drums and then stilled as does the eye of a storm. A small hole appeared in the middle of the shimmering eddy and something began to materialize. At first, it looked like a gold coin but as it grew it became apparent that this was not a coin but some kind of plaque or shield. Strange symbols began to appear on the shape that resembled a large teardrop and then, breaking the stillness, it began to spin. As it did, it made a strange whirring sound and sparks flew its edge.

And then, the ancient box began to rattle; to shake. A previously unseen lid flung itself open and Rodney cowered again, firmly convinced that he was finally destined to meet his maker and cursing the uselessness of The Ancients under his breath. How many times had the expedition come across failed 'experiments' which had been mothballed in the bowels of the city? But, to his surprise, nothing came from the box but, instead, the box appeared to be acting as some kind of container for the multitude of glowing sparks in the air around him. The whirlpool slowed as it diminished and then, almost as soon as it had started, the last sparks were sucked into the box and its lid firmly shut with a loud click. Above the box, the shape spun faster and faster and then, with the blink of the eye, it disappeared.

Stillness descended upon the lab. Rodney's ears were ringing and he could feel something wet dripping down his back and he would rather not think about what that meant but he was certain that it would be very, very bad and probably fatal; at the very least, he was sure that his hearing would be damaged forever. Ronon and Teyla had been flung back against the walls and were picking themselves up and checking for injuries, Ronon wincing as he realized his dodgy shoulder had dislocated again. The family trio was out cold: at least that's what he hoped.

He waited for the inevitable end of everything, not quite believing that this could be all. But, as the seconds ticked by and it appeared that there were not likely to be any violent explosions or other secondary aftershocks, he began to hope that, yet again, he had managed to save the day. John stirred and sat up, dazed and confused for a nanosecond before recalling where he was and turning, with a worried touch to his prone wife and daughter. The touch appeared to revive them both and they shifted and sat up only pausing for a second before giving each other a huge hug, little Mona between them, grinning a toothy grin. He saw Cat checking on John, ensuring that he was okay and then kissing him on the side of his head that had only recently healed.

Eventually, John extricated himself and turned to Rodney. "What?" It was a good job, Rodney thought, that years of working together meant he now understood John's shorthand.

"Not sure. I don't know how much you were aware but the box opened and seemed to suck up the power eddy/whirlpool or whatever else it was. If I was a betting man, and I am not, I would say that I have managed to neutralise the 'weapon'. " John snorted and Rodney continued, "Okay, okay, well let's just say YOU managed that for the moment, before we know more about what just happened."

Two months passed and nothing untoward appeared to have happened as a result of the strange end of 'The Atlantis Incident'. Rodney sincerely hoped, rather than believed, that it would stay this way. Maybe there was some kind of Ancient failsafe that prevented the artifact changing time or whatever else it was intended to do. Yet another failed Ancient device now well and truly locked away in the vaults of Atlantis. A little piece of him regretted not owning their own version of the Omega 13 but he was experienced and sensible enough to know that faulty Ancient weapons were best hidden away – permanently.

And here they all were: sitting on 'their' table in the mess hall. Colonel John Sheppard leading the show as always, cracking silly jokes that Teyla and Ronon now, mostly, understood and were laughing along, Ronon rather hysterically. Rodney had once been a loner, but now he had not just this family sitting around the table but his own. Life had certainly changed for him and he sometimes would admit to himself how much he loved every member of this team. From deep down, he felt a chuckle erupting and then it burst out, sharing in the good humour of his friends.

The End.

Or maybe, there might be another alternative?