Authors Note: Written for the LFWS, round 5 on sgahcchallengers at livejournal.

Characters: Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex

Spoilers: None

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The litany played through Rodney's mind as he cleared the cave entrance, dragging a very heavy semi-conscious Satedan while also doing his best to duck a barrage of poison-tipped arrows. His heart thumped in time with the rapid-fire words as he struggled to get the man's ridiculously long legs clear the entry way.

Ronon groaned when his upper body hit the ground more abruptly than was intended. Rodney would have apologized if he'd had the breath, but he could do little more than collapse against the cave wall. Life and death situations might be a lot more commonplace in his life these days, and he figured he held his own with the hero thing, but that didn't mean he had the endurance of Hercules, able to drag overly hairy Pegasus aliens with a single bound.

Sheppard and Teyla had drawn off the majority of their pursuers and would be back before long. Regrettably, a pair of hunters, who were obviously a little farther along the evolutionary chain than the rest of the pack, had doubled back. And now his only option for protecting Ronon from the wrath of the half-naked, arrow-wielding natives was to get him into the cave. Apparently their evolutionary chain only went so far – they viewed the cave as sacred ground and wouldn't enter.

Rodney looked up in shock as a soft sound split the air. Another arrow clattered to the ground mere centimeters from Ronon's legs. So much for catching his breath. Obviously the ground wasn't so sacred that the hunters couldn't stand outside and pick them off.

Ignoring the odds, and his back, Rodney dashed back out in the line of fire and heaved his friend farther into the darkness. For extra protection, he rounded a slight bend. Unless the arrows had radar tracking capabilities and targeting computers, they should be safe for a while.

"Thanks." Ronon slurred.

Rodney settled to the ground beside the Satedan. The big man had a goofy grin on his face. Along with temporary paralysis, intoxication was an effect of the poison.

"Yeah, yeah. You won't thank me later when I tell everyone how I saved your sorry behind while all you could do was lay there and drool."

The larger man moved sluggishly to wrap his arms around Rodney in a drunken bear hug.

"Ugh. Come on! They don't pay me enough for this!"