A/N: Here it is... the final chapter of my first SGA fic! This story didn't turn out exactly the way I'd planned when I was thinking it up, but all in all, I don't think it was a bad first attempt! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the first two chapters! I apologize for Ronon's section being so short, but this is the longest of the three, so hopefully, that will make up for a bit! Please don't forget to drop me a line after you've finished reading to let me know what you thought and hopefully, I'll be back soon with another story!
John
John could feel all eyes on him as he made his way through the thick trees, P90 raised as they drew closer to the cave. Three days. Three fucking days of searching and scouring this God-forsaken planet and Rodney had been literally under their noses the entire time.
"It was a shield," Zelenka had explained as soon as they'd stepped through the gate, flanked by Lorne and his own team of Marines.
"Why the hell didn't we figure that out sooner?" Sheppard growled, his eyes flashing dangerously at the Czech scientist. It wasn't until Lorne stepped between them, resting his hand on his CO's chest that John realized he'd actually taken a step towards the smaller man.
"Because as much as I hate to admit it, I am not Rodney. When we did not immediately get a reading in this area, we simply assumed that they had gated off-world. A fair assumption, of course. It wasn't until after we realized that the last address dialed was Atlantis that we…" he'd trailed off at the murderous look in Sheppard's eyes and had slunk back to the back of the group.
That had been nearly an hour ago and John hadn't heard a peep from the scientist since. He could practically hear Rodney in his mind, berating him for scaring his scientists because as much as Rodney liked terrorizing them, he was as protective of Zelenka and the rest of the crew as John was of him.
"If we get you out of this, buddy, I'll give your whole fucking department that stash of chocolate as a peace offering. But not until we've got you back," the whispered to nobody in particular.
From the back, Zelenka spoke up, pulling John from his thoughts. "Colonel Sheppard!"
"What is it now, Radek?"
"This is the place. There are at least fifteen life signs directly beneath us."
"Any way of knowin' which one is Rodney?" Lorne asked, though John was sure he already knew the answer.
"We have no way of distinguishing life signs, but…" the old scientist trailed off, shoving his glasses back up on his nose as his gaze met John's.
"But what, Zelenka?"
"I am not a betting man, Colonel, but if I was, I would say this one is Rodney." Stepping through the team of Marines and scientists, Zelenka stopped in front of John, pointing at the screen.
John faltered for a fraction of a second before his eyes drifted down to the screen without his consent, sucking in a loud breath when he realized which dot Zelenka was pointing to.
The one that was flashing slowly.
"Sonofabitch!" He cursed, running a hand through his messy hair as he drew in a sharp breath. "Ronon, go back to the gate. Dial it up and have a medical team on standby. Tell Chuck to check in every ten minutes and—"
"No," the Satedan growled, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I don't have time to argue with you! I'm ordering—"
"No," Ronon said again. "My mistake, I want to be the one to fix it, Sheppard. Send somebody else."
"I will go," Teyla volunteered, squeezing John's arm reassuringly as she passed. "Let him help you, John."
For a brief moment, John seriously fucking debated sending Ronon back to the gate anyway. The Satedan had been the one to screw this up from the beginning, and if he was being honest with himself, he was still angry enough with the other man to let him suffer a little longer, but common sense won out in the end and he nodded.
"Alright. When we get inside, we split up in teams. I want teams of two Marines and a scientist and nobody," he trailed off, flashing an angry look at Ronon, "gets left behind. Are we clear?"
There was a chorus of 'yes sir' as the large group split up into smaller teams, with Ronon migrating closer to him. He could see the lines of worry etched on the Satedan's face and despite John's desire to hold on to his anger a little longer, he felt it slipping away quickly.
"Alright, Big Guy. Let's bring him home, huh?"
Ronon nodded curtly in agreement as he led the way into the cave, and even in the darkness that was illuminated only by the lights on their P90s, John could see the tension radiating throughout Ronon's body.
Taking a deep breath, he followed after the Satedan, gun gripped tightly in his hand as he listened carefully for the sounds of any movement from below.
"The scanner is indicating that we should turn left," Zelenka called out, his voice coming out in little more than a harsh whisper.
"Turn left? There's just a wall here. Are you sure you've calibrated that scanner right, Doctor?" Lorne asked.
"I am positive, Major."
Pausing in front of the wall in question, John glanced back at Zelenka with a questioning glance before he reached out to touch it. A quiet gasp escaped him when he realized that something was definitely different; it wasn't the cool, damp feeling of the rock that surrounded them.
Pressing against it, it opened silently, revealing a large tunnel lit by torches. "Radek, are you…" John trailed off when the sound of a hoarse scream reached his ears. "Rodney!"
"Straight down the hallway and to the right! Three life signs moving down that corridor!" Zelenka called as John and Ronon took off in a sprint, leaving the rest of the group trailing behind them.
The sound gunfire echoed in the large hallway as John opened fire on the three guards, dropping them quickly. "Radek!"
"Four more moving this way! Three coming from the left, one from the right!"
"How far from Rodney?"
"Four hallways."
"Sir, my team will take the left. Looks like it's all interconnecting tunnels. We'll create a diversion, hopefully draw them away from the center," Lorne offered, already issuing orders to his Marines at John's nod.
Without needing to be told twice, both John and Ronon started down the other hallway, taking out the lone guard as they passed. Another scream echoed through the hallway from deep inside the cave.
They moved almost silently through the caves, following the sound of the hoarse cries as they moved farther away from the gunfire.
"We're getting close," Ronon muttered, pausing as the hallway forked.
"Which way?" John pressed, tightening his grip on his P90.
"Left," Ronon decided, nodding at John as they stepped into the other corridor, both stopping short at the sight in front of them.
The hallway opened up into a large room, lit completely by torches. In the center of the room sat Rodney, struggling weakly against two large men as a third gripped his hand. For a moment, all John could do was stare until the sound of a loud crack followed by Rodney's scream reached his ears, forcing him into motion.
He was vaguely aware of the sound of Ronon's blaster charging just seconds before he took out the two men holding Rodney down. The third turned, his eyes wide in surprise before John launched himself at him, P90 forgotten as they both toppled to the floor.
The only thing John was sure of was that he wanted this man to feel as much pain as possible. He drove his fist over and over again until the man's face, taking pleasure in the feeling of his nose shattering under his fist. It wasn't long before the native went limp against him, but try as he might, John couldn't stop himself until he felt Ronon's heavy hand against his shoulder.
"Sheppard. We need to go."
He felt Ronon pulling him up before the Satedan pressed the gun back into his hands. "Rodney?" He asked, his voice hoarse.
"Bad shape. He needs help now."
Turning back to chair, John had to swallow back the bile that rose in his throat at the sight of his scientist. He was slumped over in the chair, his head resting against his chest. Even from where he stood, he could see the unnatural angle of several of Rodney's fingers and it was all he could do to keep from unloading his gun into the unmoving body of the man who'd broken them.
"He's still…?" John trailed off, the question hanging in the air, but Ronon nodded, holstering his blaster once more.
"Barely."
The sound of his radio crackling in the otherwise silent cavern startled him slightly.
"Colonel Sheppard? This is Major Lorne, please respond."
"We've got him," Sheppard said by way of greeting, watching as Ronon lifted the scientist from the chair carefully, his face set in a dark frown. "What's your status?"
"Enemy has been neutralized. Two of the teams have already fallen back to the entrance to wait on your return, sir. Teyla assures me that a medical team is waiting at the gate. Can we be of any assistance?"
"Negative. We'll meet you at the entrance."
"Copy that, sir. Lorne out."
"Let's move," John barked, swallowing hard as he chanced another glance back at Rodney. Nodding at Ronon, he started towards the hallway when the weak voice reached his ears.
"… Dex?"
"You're safe, McKay," Ronon assured him. "We've got you."
"Thought… thought you weren't coming." A wet cough erupted from his mouth, the sound sending shivers down John's spine. "It's… it's about time."
"We don't leave our men behind, Rodney," John reminded him. "And like it or not, your ass belongs to me."
"Never… never thought I'd…" he trailed off again, coughing loudly. "Be so happy t' hear you say tha'. Can we… can we go home now?"
"You got it, buddy."
Three Days Later
Shifting in the hard plastic chair, it was all John could do to stifle his verbal complaints. As much time as they spent in the damn infirmary, he would have thought that Carson would have at least commandeered more comfortable chairs from the conference rooms. Anything would be better than these torture devices.
Lifting his feet, he propped them up on the bottom rail of Rodney's bed, leaning back on two legs as he returned his attention to the comic book in his hands. It was the same one he'd been attempting to read for the last three days, though he already knew it was to no avail.
Releasing a loud sigh, he closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his messy hair before lowering the chair to all four legs. Leaning forward, he dropped his head to his hands, massaging his aching temples before he spoke quietly.
"You've gotta wake up soon, buddy. These chairs are murder on my back."
"They're uncomfortable for a reason, Colonel."
Glancing up at the sound of the voice, John cocked an eyebrow at Carson as the doctor as he made his way over to the side of Rodney's bed, checking the various tubes and wires.
"Yeah? And what reason would that be?"
"To encourage visitors to actually leave and get some rest. They're not meant to be occupied for three days straight."
"I'm not goin' anywhere," John replied stubbornly as he leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest defiantly.
"I know what you're doin' here, John, but I'm not quite sure why. Do you really believe that this is what Rodney would want? For you to sit here and sulk for days at a time?"
"This is Rodney we're talkin' about, Doc."
"Fair enough," Carson conceded with a quiet laugh. "But I think he'd rather have you around for reasons other than because you're beatin' yourself up over what happened. There's nothin' you coulda done."
"That's bullshit, Carson!" John spat, pushing himself to his feet, comic book forgotten. "We walked away! We left him behind and he thought we weren't coming back!"
"I'm quite sure it was the bloody fever talkin', Colonel."
"Well, I'm not. I mean sure, it's probably because of the fever that he let it slip, because we all know how loose-lipped Rodney gets when he's not fully functional, but something had to have happened to make him think that and dammit, I'm not going anywhere until I find out what it was!"
"'Scuse me."
Both men jumped at the sound of the rough voice and John's eyes widened almost comically when he realized it came from the bed. "Rodney?"
"Were you expecting someone else?" The scientist growled, his eyes fluttering sleepily as he tried to keep himself awake. "Dying man here. Can you two take your argument outside?"
"Not a chance. It's about time your lazy ass decided to join the land of the living."
"Sorry. Trying to not die is really, really tiring. Who knew, right?" He grumbled, wincing as a wet cough escaped him.
"How are you feeling, Rodney?" Carson asked, reaching over to checks his eyes, unable to contain his smirk when Rodney batted his hands away weakly with his uninjured hand.
"I'd be better if you two would shut up and let me sleep."
"In a minute. I need to finish checkin' you over."
John didn't miss Rodney's impatient sigh, nor did he miss the way he winced when he tried to lift his injured hand.
"Easy, buddy. That bastard did a number on your fingers before we got to you."
The scientist frowned darkly, his blue eyes going in and out of focus as he glanced up at John. "What… what exactly happened?"
"Some of the natives on P28M34 went a little nuts when you got too close to their sacred cavern or whatever the hell it was. Looked like a giant cave to me, but whatever. Ronon thought he heard something and went to check the perimeter, but when he got back, you were gone."
"He left me."
The words were quieter than he expected, but they left him breathless all the same. "We didn't stop looking for you, Rodney."
"You… you should have. Don' need me anyway, do you?"
"Rodney, I—"
"'M tired, Colonel. Exhausted, actually, so if you don't mind…" he trailed off, his words hanging in the air.
"I'm not going anywhere," John responded stubbornly as he sank back into his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.
The scientist eyed him for a moment before he nodded, releasing a quiet sigh.
"Rest. I'll be here when you wake up and then you and I are going to have a long conversation."
"I look forward to it," he responded dryly before he shifted just slightly on the bed, allowing his eyes to close.
Settling back into the chair, John started to reach for his comic book again when he decided against it in favor of watching his scientist. Rodney was paler than normal and his lip was finally beginning to heal from where it had been split by that bastard's fist. A white bandage covering his broken nose stood out brilliantly against the numerous cuts and bruises that covered a good portion of his face, and fingers on both hands had been splinted. A total of six had been broken before they'd ever reached the cave and John was positive that the sound of the seventh being snapped was a sound he would never forget.
He pushed the thoughts from his mind as he leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the lowest railing of the bed as he linked his hands behind his head, settling in for what he was sure was going to be another long wait.
Several Hours Later
Jerking awake at the sound of footsteps, John was on his feet in a second. His heart was pounding in his chest as he reached for the sidearm that wasn't there, and he relaxed only when he spotted Ronon's tall figure coming into view.
"You really need to stop sneaking up on people," he scolded, sinking back down into his chair with a sigh.
"Sorry," Ronon responded with a shrug, though if the smirk on his face was any indication, he wasn't sorry at all. "How's McKay?"
"Still the same. Woke up for a few minutes awhile ago, but he's been out of it since." Reaching up, John ran his fingers through his hair and sighed again. He could feel Ronon's eyes on him, though when he turned, he was surprised at the look of remorse on the Satedan's face.
"Sheppard—"
"It's over, Ronon. He's back and right now, that's all the matters."
"But…" he trailed off when John held his hand up, his body tensing for impact when John pushed himself to his feet again.
"It's as much my fault as it is yours, buddy," John assured him, clapping the taller man on the shoulder. "I should have sent you to Teyla and stayed with Rodney. I know how he can be when he thinks he's found something."
"I shouldn't have let him out of my sight."
"You're right about that, and I can promise you that if you ever do that again, there's no place in this Galaxy that you'll be able to hide…" he trailed off, his eyes flashing angrily before he nodded. "But this time, we'll chalk it up to as a lesson learned and move on."
"You'll… you'll forgive me if I want to let him wallow in his own self-pity for a little longer," Rodney responded, his voice hoarse as his eyes fluttered open slowly.
Both men turned towards the sound of the voice, eyes wide as Rodney attempted to sit up against the bed.
"All right, McKay?" Ronon asked, lowering himself into the chair that John had recently vacated.
"I've had better days."
Nodding curtly, Ronon turned to John, offering a slight smirk. "Go on. Take a break. I'll watch him."
Eyeing the Satedan briefly, John nodded in response. "I know you will." Clapping Ronon on the shoulder gently, John turned his attention to Rodney, offering the injured man a slight grin. "Glad to have you back to the land of living, Rodney."
"Yeah well…" He winced slightly when he pulled on the stitches in his side. "It's good to be back."
John lingered for a moment longer, watching as Rodney settled back against the white hospital sheets, his eyes fluttering closed once more before he made his way out of the infirmary.
The Next Morning…
"Carson! This is ridiculous! I'm far too important to this expedition to be held against my will in this damn infirmary without access to a laptop! Do you have any idea how many problems I could have solved in the time we've been arguing?"
It was all John could do to keep from laughing as he stepped into the infirmary, bag in hand, though he schooled his face into a blank expression as he approached Rodney and Beckett.
"It's good to see you're feeling better, McKay."
"I'm fine! Now would you please tell this voodoo practitioner that there's no need to keep me here any longer? God knows what Radek's blown up and if I have any hope of fixing it before dinner, I need to go now!"
"Rodney, I can't let you go! Do you have any idea just how much blood you lost? We still haven't gotten that bloody infection under control and until we have, I'm afraid you're not goin' anywhere!"
"Carson!"
"No arguments! Now lay back like a good lad and shut up!"
"Alright, alright. Doc, why don't you go take a break, huh? I'll keep Rodney company until you get back." John offered, barely suppressing a smirk when Carson muttered an angry 'good luck' under his breath and stalked out of the infirmary. "You know, I don't think berating and talking down to the doctor with all the big scary needles is a good idea."
"And keeping the man who controls the water temperature hostage isn't a good idea either. You just wait until I get out of here! He's going to have cold showers for a week!"
"Harsh, McKay. Way harsh."
"Did you actually have a purpose for coming or did you come just to torment me?"
"A little bit of both," John replied with a grin, sinking down into the chair beside the bed before he pulled Rodney's tablet out of his bag. "Make it quick. Ronon and Teyla have strict instructions to intercept Beckett, but there's no telling how long they can hold him off."
Rodney snatched the equipment from his hands, his eyes lighting up excitedly as he powered the tablet up, his fingers flying over the screen. It was only a second later, however, that his face twisted in an ugly scowl. "Idiots. I work with idiots. I had hoped that Zelenka was a little less idiotic than the rest of them, but judging by this…" he trailed off, shaking his head.
"What is it that you're working on?"
"It's too complex for you to even begin to understand," Rodney snapped, his eyes never leaving the screen. "Unfortunately, if Chewbacca hadn't let the angry natives have their way with me while the two of you were back here having a grand old time, then this would have been finished by now!"
John was almost positive that Rodney had no idea what he'd just said, but the words were like a punch to the gut, and all at once, everything clicked into place. Things had been weird between them since they'd returned to Earth and until now, John hadn't been able to pinpoint exactly why. "He's not replacing you, Rodney," he blurted out, a dark frown on his face.
"What?"
"Ronon. That's what this is about, isn't it?"
"Don't be stupid. Of course this isn't about Ronon. This is about me getting shot and tortured!"
"But that's why you thought we weren't coming for you."
He watched as the scientist's fingers hesitated slightly before Rodney lifted his eyes to meet John's. "I… I knew you were coming."
"That's not what you said."
"Well, what else was I supposed to think?" Rodney asked, dropping the tablet his lap. "Ever since he joined the team, you… you… I'm not like him, Colonel. I don't have a cool gun and I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with... with one of those sticks! I… I have no place on your team. That's what you said. You said you didn't need me."
"Listen, Rodney…" John trailed off, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "Listen, I'm not… I'm not very good with words, okay? In fact, this conversation probably ranks right up there with the 'It's not you, it's me' speech in my top ten 'List of Conversations I'd Like To Never Have', so I'm going to say this once, but if you ever repeat it, I'll deny it. Are you listening?"
"I'm listening."
"You've been a part of my team from the beginning."
"That's it? That's your heartfelt speech?"
"I'm not finished yet," John complained, releasing a loud sigh. "If I didn't want you around, I wouldn't have picked you in the first place."
"But you said—"
"I know what I said, Rodney, but I didn't mean it! I was teasing! I tried to tell you that, but you stomped off and avoided me for the rest of the day, so I didn't exactly get a chance to clear things up!"
"Oh, so it's my fault now? Well doesn't that just figure!"
"Would you just shut up and let me finish?"
Crossing his arms over his chest, Rodney let out an indignant sigh and narrowed his eyes at John. "Please, by all means, continue."
"Thank you. Anyway… I know I've been giving you a hard time, okay? But really, when you think about it, I've always given you a hard time. It's kind of what I do."
"But only with me. You don't do it to Teyla and sure as hell don't do it to that… that overgrown poor excuse for a frat brother and you never did it to Ford either."
"That's because I have… other ways of bonding with them?" He frowned, slouching back into his chair. "Do you understand now?"
"So… wait a minute, let me get this straight. Your idea of bonding with me is teasing me?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, you're the only one who ever gives it back! It's… it's our thing, you know? I mean, me and Ronon have the cool guns to play with and with Teyla, we've both got sparring. With Ford, it was a military thing, and with you…"
"You're really awful at this."
"I told you that already. Listen, I'm sorry, okay? I don't say that very often, but it was really never my intention to make you feel like you weren't a valued member of my team, but I can promise you, I only give you such a hard time because I like you. If I didn't, I wouldn't even talk to ya. God knows it would save me more than just a couple of headaches."
For a moment, Rodney said nothing, his eyes returning to the tablet as he lifted it off his lap, his fingers hovering just over the screen. "You… you really mean that?"
"You're damned right I do." Pushing himself to his feet, John offered the scientist a lopsided grin before he patted his leg reassuringly. "You just remember what I said. This goes no further than this room. Can't have everyone thinkin' I'm going soft."
"Of course not," Rodney responded with a slight nod as he looked up, offering John a slight smile in return. "And John?"
"Yeah, buddy?"
Rodney hesitated slightly. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it… Really, don't ever mention it." Grinning broadly at his scientist, John offered a half wave as he made his way out of the infirmary, missing the relieved look that passed over Rodney's face as he sank back down onto the bed.
Later That Night.
"Ah, Rodney!" Teyla greeted, a bright smile on her face as John and Rodney stepped into the large room. "I see Doctor Beckett has finally agreed to release you."
"Actually, we staged a break out," John corrected, guiding the injured man over to the large plush couch in the center of the room. "Easy, buddy."
"I'm fine," Rodney sniffed, waving John's hand away as he sank down onto the cushions with a groan. "Much better than those infirmary beds. You'd think as much time as we spent there, they would at least invest in quality mattresses. I mean really, our team practically keeps them in business."
"You've got a point there," John agreed, sinking down on the other side of Teyla as he grabbed the bowl of popcorn from her hands. "Are we ready to get this night under way?"
"I believe so, yes," Teyla responded with a smile as she grabbed a drink, pressing it into Rodney's hands.
"Wait a minute… where's Chewie?"
"Ronon agreed to sit this one out," John responded with a partial shrug, shoving a hand full of popcorn into his mouth. "I thought that after everything that's gone on—"
"Oh no, no, no, no! If I have to suffer through that stupid football movie one more time, then he should at least have to suffer through it too! He's part of the team now anyway, so we can't just leave him out!"
"Ronon's not big into just hangin' out, McKay."
"Too bad. He's part of the team, he should have to suffer right along with us!"
It was all John could do to suppress his smirk as he offered his scientist a shrug. "Alright. Whatever you say."
Nodding more to himself than anything, Rodney opened the top of his drink, settling back against the couch as John radioed for Ronon.
It wasn't long before the large Satedan slipped into the rec room, trudging over to the couch before plopping down onto the cushions beside Rodney. Releasing a quiet grunt, he glanced over at the scientist. "All right, McKay?"
"I'd be better if Sheppard could find a different method of torture. Nobody really likes football."
"Couldn't agree with you more," Ronon decided. "Too girly for me. Not enough people getting hurt."
"That's what I said! I mean, not about the people getting hurt thing, but it's not exactly a real man's sport."
"Which is why," John interrupted, raising his voice slightly before he offered his teammates a broad grin. "We're not watching the football video."
"Oh thank God," Rodney sighed. "So what are we watching?"
"Well, we all know how much you hate football, Rodney, so we figured we'd pick something a little more up your alley," John smirked, pushing himself to his feet as he walked over to the large screen.
"Well… what is it?" Rodney asked impatiently.
Slipping the movie into the DVD player, John made his way back to the couch, laughing as he tossed the case to Rodney. "Here you go, buddy. Thought you and Ronon could bond over that."
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me. The Mighty Ducks? Really?"
"Well, there aren't that many movies about hockey, now are there?"
"What is 'hockey'?" Ronon asked, plucking the bowl of popcorn from the John's hands as he settled back against the couch.
"McKay, I'll let you handle that one," John decided, offering Teyla a slight wink as he wrapped an arm around the back of the couch, letting the sound of Rodney's explanation wash over him, assuring him that the scientist was really going to be okay.
