Wow! You all really want to know what is going to happen huh? I sat and wrote this last night during my break as I couldn't make you wait any longer. I'm not 100% happy with it, but I felt it had to go up as you have all waited so long. I'll have another look at it after a sleep and amend what needs amending. So I hope you can enjoy it despite it being a bit shorter and quickly written! Sorry it has taken so long, and thank you all so much for the comments! Keep them coming! :D

John kicked at a small scrunched up empty packet of peanuts that he had thrown across the room just moments before he got to his feet. He took a languid stroll around the Jumper bay for the fourth time in the past half hour, frequently hailing Rodney who didn't even have the decency to answer him. He nodded acknowledgement to a team who passed on their way to leave on a mission and his mood quickly went downhill as he finally accepted that he had been stood up. Kicking the peanut packet out into the corridor, he hoped to see McKay rushing towards him with an apologetic look upon his face, but he didn't. He found it hard to believe that Rodney would have forgotten or slept in as he had spoken with him at suppertime and reminded him of their morning jaunt. Rodney had said that he was looking forward to it, went as far as to say he was eager to speak to Bann properly for the first time in their long friendship. He even conceded that his whole idea concerning the ascension machine had been a simple flight of fancy that John had every right to be worried about, and that it had gotten him excited until the obvious had been pointed out to him. He apologized for his earlier anger and then had left for bed, saying that he would see John in the morning. Though John was sure of the sincerity of his words, the fact that he once again found himself waiting on the tardy scientist, made him begin to worry. He kicked the empty packet harder and watched as it bounced off the leg of a small Athosian who had just turned the corner, accompanied by a towering Satedan.

"Nice shot." Ronon growled, looking anything but impressed.

"Yes, very." Teyla smiled as she picked the packet up and disposed of it in her pocket. "I thought that you and Rodney would have left by now."

"Yeah, seems Rodney has other ideas."

"Perhaps he has slept in?"

"Who knows? You joining us for lunch?"

"I'm afraid we are to meet with and escort the mayor of Taui back to Atlantis for a meeting with Mr Woolsey, although I would much prefer to share a nice meal with you all."

"Maybe next time."

"I look forward to it."

Throughout the short conversation Ronon merely stared darkly at John, his jaw clenched tightly. Only now that there was a lull in the conversation, did the Satedan speak.

"Keep an eye on him." He said, stared pointedly, then walked to the Jumper bay.

Teyla raised an eyebrow and sighed as she said goodbye to John and hurried to catch up with Ronon whose long stride had already carried him to the back of their Jumper.

The warning was as expected as it was ominous. John was not the only one who blamed Rodney's injuries and resultant state on himself, Ronon did also. Both men had always felt it was their responsibility to protect Rodney from himself and any situation that arose which might cause him harm. Both John and Ronon had an unspoken agreement on this matter and while Rodney was aware of them looking out for him, he had very little idea of the lengths they had gone to protect him in the past. The fact was, Ronon felt that John had dropped the ball when they had crashed and while John agreed that the entire situation was his fault, he never got used to Ronon's blame and coldness. Teyla continually reminded them both that it was the wraith who was to blame, for all the good it did. She had tried her best to keep the teams spirit alive, but she knew she was failing miserably and felt frustrated with the situation. It wasn't the first time that she had sat them both down to discuss the problem only to watch them quietly stare at the walls or their feet, anywhere but at each other. Eventually she had come to terms with the fact that John and Ronon had become just as distant as John and Rodney had become close. They still worked effectively together, but there was a slight bitterness to Ronon's eyes when they spoke, which now, was pretty much never.

But Ronon's warning proved that he had the same concerns as John, otherwise he wouldn't have said anything to him at all, so at least John knew he wasn't imagining things. He watched as the two disappeared inside the Jumper then, deciding that Teyla was probably right, he left to go find Rodney. But he wasn't in his room, the mess hall or his lab and a sinking feeling in the pit of John's stomach grew, prompting him to call on Chuck to locate Rodney.

"Scan indicates that Doctor McKay is in the lower level, umm, he appears to be in the ascension lab, Sir." Chuck answered, confirming John's fears.

Thanking Chuck, he hurried down the corridor towards the transporter as fast as he could. His feeling of unease increased as he thought about what he might find when he got there, feverently hoping that he was wrong. Barely having time to stop, he ran into the transporter and felt the warm tug in the centre of his being as it transferred him to one of the lower levels of Atlantis.

The corridors had long been pumped dry of flood water, but it had been left with a strong musty damp smell, ingrained in the walls and floors despite the best efforts to clean them. Normally this level was in darkness, powered down in order to conserve energy, but there was dim lighting the length of the corridor where someone had overridden the commands. John's stomach churned as the ascension lab door opened, but he was relieved to find Rodney sitting on the edge of his wheelchair, staring up at a screen displaying reams of ghostly ancient. His arrival went unnoticed as Rodney continued to stare at the screen while muttering to himself. His tablet was connected to the console in front of him and his fingers danced over it with well practiced ease. It wasn't until John exaggeratedly cleared his throat that Rodney jumped in fright, nearly dropping his tablet as he twisted in the chair to see who stood behind him.

"What...? John? What are...you...? Oh." He finished sheepishly, his grip tightening on the tablet while pulling it closer to his chest, hiding the screen.

"Yeah, oh. You mind telling me why you're down here while I'm making my ass square waiting for you in the Jumper bay?" John snapped angrily, unimpressed by Rodney's guilty look.

"Huh. Is that the time?" Rodney said as he took a quick uninterested look at the watch on his wrist.

"Yeah McKay, that's the time. What the hell are you doing down here? After everything that we discussed yesterday?!" John asked.

Rodney's expression changed from guilt to a look of weary annoyance as he placed the tablet on the ground and unbuckled his seatbelt. "I am simply having a look. I'm not planning on doing anything, merely satisfying my curiosity." He pushed himself from the wheelchair and eased down onto the platform the ascension machine sat on.

"Curiosity? This goes way beyond curiosity." John replied, gesturing to the set up around the platform. Wires and cables lay all around, running between the console and a laptop tucked beneath it. There was other equipment strewn everywhere and now Rodney sat amongst it all, staring up at John as if it was quite normal.

"I'm only wanting to see if it had actually been a viable option. That's all."

"And that's taken what? All morning? All night?" John asked, pretty sure of the answer as there was a considerable amount of energy bar wrappers lying around.

"I already told you I lost track of time. I never got to look at it properly the last time, it really is quite fascinating how much..."

"Yeah, I'm sure it's all very fascinating, but this is the second time that you've kept me waiting and I sure would like to get to Muo before Christmas."

"Well go then, no one's stopping you!" Rodney shouted, his face turning red with anger as his nostrils flared.

John saw the madness in Rodney's eyes, a slip of his self control showing the chaos beneath the near perfect veneer of normality. Gritting his teeth, Rodney lay himself onto his back then reached up into the bowels of the console and then ignored John who stood in mute anger watching him. For the first time in a long time, John didn't care what Rodney did. He suddenly found himself sick and tired of the mans outbursts and crazy ideas, sick to the teeth of arguing and playing the nice guy. As he watched Rodney playing around with cables and crystals, he just wanted to get out of there and clear his head. He knew his anger stemmed almost entirely from his inability to make Rodney see sense, but there was only so many times a person could give advice and have it thrown back in their face.

"Tell you what McKay, do what the hell you like. I'm outta here." Not even waiting on a reply, he spun on his heels and walked towards the door with the intent of leaving.

Then the inevitable happened, and it happened with such speed that later John would question whether or not he would have been able to stop it had he not walked away. Hearing the whirring sound of machinery starting up, he turned back to see Rodney struggling beneath the console.

"Oh God...John? JOHN!" Rodney's fear filled voice told him in a gut wrenching instant that Rodney had activated the ascension machine and wether it had been deliberate or not, he was sure that he wouldn't reach him in time. "John?! Help! I can't get out!"

He ran back towards the scared man, throwing the wheelchair to the side in order to grab him and pull him free. But something was evidently wrong as the console crackled and fizzed, sending an intense shower of sparks over a struggling Rodney who tried in vain to remove himself from the platform. As John reached to take hold of Rodney's legs, a bolt of electricity shot from the console and threw him backwards to land a few feet away. He shakily got back to his feet and a roar tore from his throat when he saw the machine release a powerful bright blue beam down onto the platform. When the machine had first been discovered and had activated, it had snaked a bright light around Rodney's body and removed itself moments later in a graceful and gentle way. But there was nothing graceful or gentle about it this time as the violent force of power that burst from the ceiling encompassed Rodney's entire body in what looked like blue flames that made him scream and writhe in agony.

Staggering back to the platform, John reached and grabbed desperately for the screaming scientist, but every time he tried to even place a hand on him, the eerie blue flames would sear his skin. With every failed attempt, his hands and arms became more burned and blistered but he couldn't stand back and do nothing as Rodney burned. Trying a different approach he kicked at the console in an attempt to stop the machine, but he soon became incapacitated by a loud vibrating hum that filled the room as it grew quickly in intensity until John had to clamp his hands over his ears. His hands did little to keep the noise out as the sound grew so loud as to shake his bones, his knees gave while a pain in his head increased. Thrashing on the ground, it felt as if his entire body was vibrating with the ear splitting sound and he screamed when the pressure became so much that it felt as if his head would explode. Even though the noise filled his entire being, he continued to hear Rodney's shrieking screams as he suffered within the blue flames. Twisting, he managed to turn his head towards the platform and he could see Rodney twitching and jerking until he convulsed so violently that it seemed as if he was going to break in two. His screaming stopped as his eyes flew wide open, his mouth twisted in a silent scream and John attempted to push through his own pain to try and reach him, but the sound interfered with his body mechanics and he found that he could do no more than weakly pull himself into a tight ball.

As abruptly as it had began, the noise stopped as the blue beam vanished, leaving both men gasping and shaking. Tendrils of smoke rose lazily from Rodney's clothes though the material was neither scorched or burned. His body continued to tremble, muscles contracting and relaxing uncontrollably, his head shaking back and forth, yet he was surprisingly uninjured, unlike John. There were no burns or blisters on Rodney's skin and John stared in confusion, his mind addled by pain and shock. He was unable to think straight or coordinate his body to move towards Rodney and he hovered for long moments between consciousness and blackness until the pain eventually passed and gave him back some control. With great effort, he managed to drag himself over to the platform, wary that the machine might activate again. Gripping Rodney's arm, he could feel his body quivering and the burning heat that radiated from him. His mouth opened and closed spasmodically as blood trickled from his ears, the sight of which made John wipe at his own, finding that they too had been bleeding. Rodney's eyes were wide open and glazed, moving back and forth as if trying to focus on something and John was almost sure he saw a spark of blue light cross over those unseeing eyes.

"Rodney?" John shook him gently. "Rodney?" Getting no answer, he picked up his dislodged earpiece and put an emergency call out, and as the replies and questions that came in fell almost silently on his damaged ear, a hand grabbed his blistered arm and he looked down to find Rodney staring at him, pain and fear clearly etched on his face.

"I'm...sorry..."

John grabbed the hand that gripped his arm so tightly and held it until Rodney's eyes slowly closed.

"Help's on it's way Buddy, hang in there." He whispered, terrified of the memories that passed through his mind; of being in a similar position just over two years ago. And although it was an entirely different situation, the similarities were more than enough for John to silently plead for help to come swiftly.

TBC...