Chapter 2: Anxious to Leave

A/N: A F.R.E.D or Field Remote Expeditionary Device is the vehicle used for hauling tools and equipment through the gate.

Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay were walking through the hallway leading towards the gate room. Both of them were fully geared up and obviously ready to go 'off-world'.

"So tell me," the soldier asked the scientist walking beside him, "where are we going again?"

"R6X-432," he replied curtly, "the planet with that destroyed Ancient outpost, where Jennifer is helping the locals dealing with some disease."

"Ah," John said while giving him a questioning look.

"We should be perfectly fine though, don't worry. Jennifer said it shouldn't affect us."

"Well, Rodney that's very – uhm – unlike you, not to worry about getting ill or catching something." Col. Sheppard sounded surprised while he studied the scientist closely.

"Jennifer said it would be okay. I trust her and her judgment," Rodney said plainly.

John's surprise – and maybe a little disbelief – became clearly obvious to his teammate now.

Sheppard asked incredulously, "I never thought… Isn't medicine some sort of wacky, voodoo thing to you?"

Rodney was startled by all of this, because he hadn't wanted to give so much away and also because he didn't think John would notice it. He said, "Well, uhm, well you know, lately … over the last weeks, I have … uhm … changed? No, rather started to … eh."

John started smiling and patted Rodney's back, "You have it bad. Really bad. I must say I'm surprised."

"I do? Huh? What do you mean? I'm not crazy or anything. I just… uh… Oh, let's get back on topic." Rodney said defensively and added, "It's none of your business anyway… and don't give me that look."

John's smile only got broader, but he quickly dropped it, not wanting to embarrass the astrophysicist any further. He didn't want to get him too riled this soon. He liked the fishing too much at the moment. He would first have to find out a little more.

He also should have expected this to happen. He knew they would. The McKay from the alternate reality sure had been happy with Keller. Still, he never thought it would affect or even change – or so he hoped – the scientist as much as it had.

This was something completely different from his normal behavior. It was certainly different from the 'thing' Rodney had had when he had been involved with Katie Brown. Although, Rodney did say he was going to propose to her. He almost did and then… well that quarantine thing had happened. He was happy for his friend because clearly the doctor was a good thing for him.

Trying to get on the good side of his friend again, John said, "Well, it's not. You're right, but I'm happy for you Rodney."

He did like this 'new' McKay. To start with, he was a lot less grumpy and obnoxious than usual. Clearly Keller could see right through the genius. He thought she could probably see the real McKay, just like he could, or so he liked to think he could. It was however, still a mystery to him, how someone as smart as McKay could be so oblivious at some really simple things.

Rodney said, "You are?"

Yes, Sheppard thought, Rodney sure was a mystery. Keller probably also needed a lot of patience and initiative. She must be quite charmed by him.

They continued walking through the hallway. "So," Sheppard asked, "how's it going with the lovely doctor?"

"Well, she said the people of R6X-432 are really grateful for all our help. All her help I should probably say. She's really amazing. You should have seen her when Woolsey wasn't, at first, going to let her help those people. Anyway, it looks like they are all going to be fine. The people of R6X-432, I mean. Not Woolsey. All thanks to Jennifer, obviously." Rodney replied, a look of glee on his face.

Sheppard thought he was probably thinking of the little collision between Keller and Woolsey the other day. That doctor sure was persistent, especially when it came to helping people.

Sheppard was just about to say that this wasn't what he had meant with the question, but Rodney continued, "You know, she had the… that disease thing, controlled in just three days." He said with a look of pride on his face, which was normally reserved only for his own brilliant ideas and accomplishments.

"And it was bad, believe me." He added

The spiky haired Colonel started smiling yet again and Rodney continued, still oblivious to how much he was giving away, "Apparently they want to thank us, her, for everything and Jennifer has asked me to visit again. Something to do with some piece of alien, probably Ancient technology. At least that's what she thinks it is. She's probably right though, what else could it be, and if she says so? I wonder what it might be. Maybe some cool new weapon, or energy source, or…"

Rodney continued to guess, more and more widely, what sort of marvelous technology they would discover this time. Sheppard only hoped it would be useful or at least not harmful and wouldn't cause a lot of trouble as usual. There had been a time when he would not have been that cautious and he would have joined Rodney in his ramblings over what sort of amazing weapon it could be, but experience had taught him otherwise. Ancient technology was great, but it certainly had some serious downsides sometimes.

Now, John Sheppard knew exactly why he had to go with Rodney, but he asked anyway and interrupted the now wild fantasies of the scientist about the new piece of Ancient technology. "So, why do I have to come again?"

McKay stopped talking, clearly he had forgotten Sheppard was there and in his surprise he hadn't quite understood what the Colonel had said. He asked, "What?"

"Why do I have to go with you?" Sheppard repeated patiently.

"Well, Jennifer asked me to come, so I asked Woolsey, and he said… Actually he gave me a lecture first, sort of… Probably still annoyed with Jennifer… He said that I needed some eh… Well not so much protection – I'm perfectly capable to take care of myself! – Rather a companion, or something like that. The point is that he didn't want to let me go alone. It was like he thought I would get lost or into trouble and it was irresponsible to let me head out on my own. I thought it was stupid … I'm the smartest person around here."

Rodney fell quiet and hesitated for a moment before he continued, "But he's still in command here… Actually he made that pretty clear… Never seen him…"

Rodney hesitated again. He didn't finish his sentence and got back to answering John's initial question.

"So I asked you to come with me, because I said to that little dictator Woolsey that you would accompany me back to the planet." Rodney said.

He sounded indignant. Apparently Woolsey was far from McKay's favorite person today.

"Well," Sheppard started to say, but Rodney went on.

"He actually had me finish that stupid project first, cost me nearly two hours. Could have been one hour, if Zelenka hadn't got in my way all the time. Surely, he could have found somewhere else or found someone else to bother. Can you believe that?"

"Uhm, well," Sheppard tried again. This time however Rodney stopped rambling in his path to the gate room and turned to look at him. Sheppard thought Rodney first gave him a look that meant: 'Just dare to say something nice about Woolsey or Zelenka or disagree and I will punch you in the face.' Then Rodney's demeanor suddenly changed. He actually looked worried now.

"You do want to come, don't you? You're geared up and all? And it… uh… and still, it would be good… uhm, to have some company on the walk to village… and such… I know it's a favor, but who else was I going to ask? And surely, if you went with me, Woolsey couldn't say no to that, could he? It's a nice planet, lots of sun, no rain, not too warm, not too cold. There are no dangerous plants or animals, no hostile 'other things' or primitives with arrows... Only really friendly people and they are generous too, especially with drinks and such. There's this beautiful beach, it's really nice." Rodney pleaded, evidently a little bit scared that the Colonel would say no.

"Please?" the scientist added.

Now Sheppard was really surprised. Rodney saying 'please', giving him so much credit and trying this hard to convince him that this was some sort of paradise, certainly in comparison to some of the other planets he had visited. He was thinking about, saying 'no' to mess with his friend, but quickly changed his mind, thinking that this was quite interesting and could get a lot more interesting. He sure wasn't going to miss this. Besides, Rodney had it already more than hard enough, obviously with himself too. He felt a lot of empathy for him now.

"Sure. Yes, I would like to go with you, I'm here, aren't I?" Sheppard assured McKay.

"Oh, well yes you are," Rodney replied grateful. "Thanks!"

"No problem. You're welcome, besides I still owe you one, don't I?"

"Yes you do," Rodney said, remembering the favor his friend had asked him a couple of days ago.

It was probably wise not to let McKay wander around on an alien planet all by himself. Sheppard had to agree with Woolsey. The 'little dictator' had probably been right to demand that McKay got someone to go with him. As 'McKay' always got in some sort of trouble, besides it would be nice to observe this 'new' McKay further. He was certainly intrigued. Maybe, just maybe, there would be a nice beach.

Rodney felt reassured that he would finally be getting to go to the planet. He started walking again with a new and lighter tread.

"Rodney," Sheppard asked when walking along with the scientist again, "what about that thing you were working on this morning? Didn't you say, that it was 'super' important and that you had no time for anything else?"

"Well actually, I already figured that one out. Zelenka should be more than able to handle it alone. Besides, it wasn't that important after all. Now that you mention it, Zelenka was really annoying me about it. Still, I am the head scientist of this expedition and if there is some new piece of alien technology found, which I have been specifically asked to examine myself, I can pretty damn well decide to go to R6X-432 and examine it myself. I can! I am still in charge of that." Rodney said, getting more and more irritable.

Sheppard quickly intervened, not wanting to go there. He had far more enjoyed McKay's good mood of a few moments ago. "Sure you can," he interrupted.

"Yes I can, and I will." Rodney firmly agreed.

Yes, Sheppard thought, Keller definitely had him in her power.

Sheppard was still musing about all of it – while Rodney continued complaining about Zelenka and some of his 'annoying and incompetent underlings' – when they arrived in the gate room. They met up with the base leader, Richard Woolsey.

"Dr. McKay, Colonel Sheppard, I see you have yourselves ready to go. Have you completed your work on the device, Dr. McKay? And Col. Sheppard, you're joining Dr. McKay on his trip?"

"Yes," they both replied.

"Very well, then. You have permission and join Dr. Keller on R6X-432," Woolsey said stiffly.

"Finally," Rodney sighed.

"I expect you to check in, with your findings, Dr. McKay. Seeing as you said this could be an important discovery. I hope you spend your time on the planet well." Woolsey pointed out, his voice sounded very formal and dry, even more so than usual.

Rodney just glared at Woolsey, while Sheppard looked between the two of them. Woolsey however looked away from the scientist, clearly not wanting to discuss it any further and probably avoiding another run in with him.

"A word please, Colonel."

Sheppard followed Woolsey up to the control room while McKay started to check the equipment they would be taking with them. There were three fully loaded, standard SG-model, radio-controlled, little vehicles, also known as F.R.E.D.s in the gate room. They were packed with food, water and other liquids, medical supplies, blankets, tools and many other things. They were all going to supply Dr. Keller, her team and the people of R6X-432.

McKay noticed that there were also other packages that he didn't recognize immediately, but that wasn't what he was interested in. He was waiting for the fourth vehicle to arrive, because that would be the one, he was responsible for.

He tapped his earpiece: "McKay to Zelenka."

Zelenka replied over the radio, "Go ahead Rodney."

"Where are my instruments and the rest of the material I ordered to be packed? I clearly remember stating that I wanted them in the gate room before I got here. I've not even left yet… nothing around here ever gets done properly... Do I really need to do everything myself?"

Zelenka sighed. Rodney was probably just annoyed that he still hadn't left yet. He and Woolsey had probably had another run in. He replied calmly, hoping that Rodney would leave as soon as possible and he would finally be able to relax for some time. "They should be there any minute now. Do not worry, I checked everything myself. They just had a little problem with some of the larger pieces. The Daedalus is assisting them however. Your 'toys' should be beamed down any minute now."

Just as Dr. Zelenka said that, a bright flash of light signaled the arrival of a fourth vehicle, with all sorts of weird packages piled on it. If the other ones were fully-packed, this one was definitely over-packed. Rodney's face cleared up at the view of all this marvelous technology.

"Oh, finally," Rodney said. "Well, thank you, Radek. Better late than never, I guess."

"Well, goodbye Rodney. Enjoy your stay on R6X-432."

"I sure will. It will be quiet. Since I will be alone, I will be finally able to get a lot of work done really fast, without your constant interruptions or other incompetent people getting in my way all the time. Please try not to break too much while I am gone, will you? Now, I'm going to check if everything's here."

Radek muttered something angrily in Czech and turned off his radio. "He's driving me mad," he said angrily. The Czech scientist was obviously tired sick of Rodney's demeanor towards him.

His female assistant next to him agreed, "Hopefully he will see Dr. Keller soon."

"Yes, hopefully," Radek answered. "It's only been a day since he returned from visiting her on that planet. If he has a problem with her being there, why doesn't he take it up with her. But no, oh no, he has to…" Radek sighed.

"I don't understood what she sees in him," the woman interjected.

They continued to discuss Rodney and his behavior of the last days due to his involvement with Jennifer Keller, but like everyone else, they didn't understand the first thing about it.

In the meanwhile, Sheppard and Woolsey were talking in the control room.

Woolsey asked, "Colonel, I trust you understand why you're going with Dr. McKay to this planet?"

"Yes, sir."

"Keep him out of trouble will you? We already have more than enough problems right now."

"I will do my best, sir."

"I suppose I can't expect more than that, Colonel."

"Don't worry about us. I think he'll probably listen to Dr. Keller though, and she's smart enough to keep herself out of trouble, most of the time." Sheppard reassured Woolsey.

"I sure hope you're right, Colonel." Woolsey shook his head meaningfully and sighed, "Those two…"

It was clear that they were driving the poor man crazy. "You should have been here two hours ago when Dr. McKay came into my office to demand that I let him go off-world. You should think that this particularly piece of technology is going to solve all the mysteries of the universe. You and I both know better."

Sheppard only nodded as Woolsey continued. "Make sure he does investigate that particular piece Ancient technology properly though. You never know…" he smiled, as the Colonel was clearly shocked that he understood so much of what was going on.

Obviously, Sheppard thought, I'm not the only one who has noticed it.

"I will," Sheppard replied, thinking he would get lucky if McKay would listen to him while he was there with Keller. Maybe she could help him.

"I'm actually surprised you're going with Dr. McKay to the planet. I thought you would be going to the mainland to help out some of the biologists again?" Woolsey asked casually.

Sheppard thought the man deserved a lot more credit than he was given. To know something like this and point it out in the way he just had. Clearly, the man did know after all what was going on at 'his base'.

"Well actually, I changed my mind and like you said, Rodney couldn't go that planet alone, now could he?" Sheppard answered.

"Hmm, I see," Woolsey said. "This wouldn't, however, have anything to do with Dr. Johnsons?"

"No, not really, but I'm sure Kate is fine," John said trying to sound as indifferently as possible, but then cursing himself silently for using her first name.

"Okay well good luck. I see Dr. McKay is already eagerly waiting to get going," Woolsey said, not giving anything away about what just had happened.

He pointed at McKay who was obviously very anxious to leave. "I will not hold you two up any longer."

"Thank you, sir."

Woolsey walked over to Amelia Banks. "Amelia will you dial the gate please, so that Dr. McKay and Col. Sheppard can get going?"

She nodded and started to dial the gate, while Sheppard joined McKay who was lining up the vehicles with a remote.

"What was that all about?" McKay asked Sheppard suspiciously.

"Nothing! What's up with you?" Sheppard said irritable. He was still feeling uncomfortable about his conversation of a moment ago.

"Nothing. Just waiting, to get going. Everything is ready." Rodney replied.

The gate activated and the 'whoosh' of the unstable vortex flattened into a blue puddle.

"Finally," Rodney said, as he now turned his attention back to the remote guiding the four vehicles towards the gate.

Sheppard noticed the last vehicle and asked Rodney incredulously: "Rodney, what's all that? Will that even fit through the gate? Did you really have to bring along your entire lab?"

"Oh don't you start too! I couldn't even fit my entire lab on board the Daedalus, so this is only a little one, just some pieces," he exaggerated, while giving Sheppard an irritated look. "Zelenka has already given me enough of a hard time. Woolsey said I could only use one, so this is what you get for limiting my capabilities."

John decided the wisest thing to do would just be to say nothing, so he watched McKay guiding the vehicles through the gate and kept his mouth shut.

The last one miraculously went through the gate without any problems. McKay almost ran after them, obviously not capable of waiting any longer.

Sheppard just glanced backwards and nodded at Woolsey before he followed Rodney and stepped through the gate. The blue puddle of light dissolved in thin air.

TBC