AN: When I first started this story I planned on writing one chapter a week, and for a while it worked, but then rl and HP7 plotted against me and delayed this chapter by many weeks. I've allready started working on the next chapter, which hopefully won't take as long to finish as this one.

Thanks to anyone who has reviewed and also those that poked me these last few weeks. Without you it probably would have taken even longer before this chapter was done.

Chapter 6

The tall, well groomed man frowned as he heard his assistant approach his office. He knew she wanted to talk to him about the latest economic projections for Oberoth and he knew they wouldn't be good. The town had suffered when Pegasus Systems closed its doors. A lot of people had lost their jobs and as a result, a lot of people were in debt. Something needed to be done and it needed to be done fast.

And even though it probably should be, Oberoth's economic crisis was not his main concern.

What troubled him most was a man staying in a beach house on the Californian coast. It annoyed him to no end that it was still troubling him. This should have been taken care of by now. His so-called 'expert' had assured him it was a piece of cake; that nothing could go wrong. That had been two days ago and he hadn't heard from the man since and that bothered him. Had something gone wrong? Had he been arrested? Were they closing in on him? He wanted to be able to sleep again at night, to not have to lie awake worrying about this anymore, but he knew his nights would stay restless until he got that phone call.

He'd been staring at his phone a lot for the past two days, waiting for it to ring. His mood alternated between despair and anger, and he had to fight hard at times to keep his composure and temper in check. A few times, he'd been close to just picking the phone up and hurtling it across the room out of sheer frustration, but he knew he couldn't do that. He had to keep up appearances, fit in. There could be no clues at all that he was involved in something other than the everyday ordinary goings on of his business. Well, as everyday and ordinary as it ever got in Oberoth.

If it worked… when it worked, he should be beyond all suspicion. He had to be as shocked as everyone else in town upon learning of Rodney McKay's death. He would show his dismay combined with shame at the way they had treated the scientist.

What a terrible accident. Who could have ever predicted… Maybe we've been too hard on him. He could already hear the lamentations. Especially from those who had made the Doctor's life a living hell.

His conscience gnawed at him, but he ignored it. Doctor McKay would have to be sacrificed for the greater good. His greater good.

He cleaned the lenses of his glasses and called in his assistant. When would he finally receive that phone call he was waiting for?

ooooo

There was something wrong with the clocks, Rodney thought. It had to be much later then the time they stated. Five minutes had passed since the last time Rodney had checked the time. It had only been an hour ago since Jinto and he had lunch and it was way too early to start fixing dinner. He wondered briefly if there was some sort of freak time dilation field that caused time to go slower then usual. He snorted. This was real life, not some science fiction series. No, he just had to accept the fact that time passed just as fast as it always did. Maybe if he would stop looking at the clock every five minutes and started concentrating on his projects on his laptop and on Jinto, time would go faster. He wasn't sure it was going to work, but he could at least try it for an hour or so. He was a scientist after all; it would be a good experiment.

He looked at Jinto, who was sitting on the floor and was drawing a very colourful picture. Rodney couldn't tell what it was from where he was sitting, but he was sure the boy would tell him once it was finished. Rodney rechecked some of his calculations on his laptop and wondered if Jinto's reaction when his father told him he was staying away for the day and maybe a night too had been normal. Rodney had expected the boy to be upset, but he didn't seem to mind at all. And Jinto had smiled when his father told him that Rodney would be staying with him the whole time.

After his father left, Jinto had given Rodney the grand tour of the bungalow. Rodney thought this was a good thing for two reasons: it would be something to pass the time and it was also good to know the layout of the bungalow so he could plan escape routes, should it be necessary to leave in a hurry. The tour began in the living room and ended in Jinto's bedroom where he proudly showed Rodney all of his toys and since the toys were out, they had to be played with. That had kept them busy until lunch. After they finished their meal and cleared the plates Jinto started colouring and Rodney had the chance to get some work done. At least that had been the plan, but kept getting distracted by the way time just wouldn't move.

He looked at the phone. Maybe he could call Sheppard and find out how things were going, but then he realised he had no idea what his phone number at the beach house was. The phone was there so he could call others, not that he was going to, and not for others to call him. He hadn't given out his number to anyone, so nobody would be calling him anyway. Rodney wondered if the reason that Sheppard hadn't phoned was because he hadn't memorised his phone number either. He sighed. They really should have planned this thing better.

He saved his work and closed his laptop when Jinto appeared at his elbow with a big glass of apple juice and a challenge to a game of Mario Kart. One game turned into a tournament and then another one and Rodney completely forgot about Jinto's naptime. Jinto conveniently forgot to mention it too. Because he had missed his nap, getting Jinto to bed on time after dinner was easier then Rodney had anticipated. The boy had tried to protest, saying he was a big boy and could stay up late, but he was already half asleep when he brushed his teeth and changed into his pyjama's and he was out like a light as soon as Rodney had tucked him in for the night.

Rodney gave the sleeping boy a kiss on his forehead and went back to the living room. He almost felt sorry that Jinto had to go to bed. At least while they were playing, time seemed to go at a normal pace. Now time was slowing down to snail pace again. In fact, Rodney was sure that if time and a snail would race, then the mollusc would win.

After making himself a cup of coffee, Rodney went back to the living room and tried to get some work done. After staring at the same calculation for 30 minutes he realised he wasn't getting anything done. He closed the laptop and started to wander through the house. The only room he skipped was John's bedroom. Jinto had shown him where it was, but he didn't want to invade the man's privacy by going in. All in all, it was a nice house: roomy and comfortable without being too spacious and cold.

Back in the living room he turned the TV on. He sipped his coffee as he flipped through the channels, but nothing caught his attention for more than a few seconds. There was just nothing interesting on, not that he expected there to be. He put the remote control down and started studying the contents of the room; the books on the shelves, the paintings on the wall, the picture on the side table. Jinto had told him that the woman in the picture was his mother. Rodney walked over to the table and picked up the photograph so he could take a better look at it.

The woman in the picture looked beautiful, elegantly dressed. Her outfit matched her green eyes. She radiated confidence, but Rodney could see something else in her eyes. Sadness? He wondered briefly when the picture had been taken before putting it down and returning to the sofa and settled in for what he thought could be one of the longest night of his life.

ooooo

It was just after sunrise when John snuck back into his own apartment and quietly made his way to his son's bedroom. He stood in the doorway for a while, watching his son sleep. He looked happy and peaceful, like he didn't have a care in the world. He had really missed Jinto while he was at Rodney's place. He contemplated calling home several times: once he had even started dialling before he stopped himself. Even though he really wanted to talk to his son, calling also meant talking to Rodney and that would distract him. And a distraction was something he just couldn't afford. He needed to stay focussed. He hadn't been surprised, but did feel a bit hurt that Rodney hadn't called him either. John had secretively hoped that Rodney would call, even it was just to check up on how things were going, but he probably realised that John needed to stay focussed on the job. And it wasn't like Rodney had another reason for wanting to talk to him.

Jinto turned in his sleep, knocking his Tigger plushy on the floor in the process. John walked over to the bed, picked up the toy and placed it in his sleeping son's arms, smiling as the boy hugged Tigger's soft body. He then adjusted the blankets and after giving his son a belated good night kiss, he made for his bedroom. He really needed to get some sleep.

He stopped when he heard a sound coming from the sofa where Rodney was sleeping. He was murmuring something in his sleep. Unlike Jinto, Rodney didn't look relaxed. Tension radiated of him in waves. He looked like he could jump up and run out the door any second now. Rodney hadn't woken yet, so John crept stealthily into the room and frowned at the man shifting uncomfortably in his sleep on the sofa. He looked exhausted, even in sleep and his limbs were held stiffly and close to his body as if to protect himself.

John felt a wave of sympathy at the thought that the man was so tightly wound, he couldn't even get some rest in his sleep. He grabbed a blanket and carefully covered the sleeping man, making sure not to wake him. He wanted to hold him in his arms again and tell him everything would be all right, but he knew now wasn't the time or the place. He watched Rodney sleep for few more minutes and went to his room and crawled into bed to get some rest for the first time in 24 hours.

ooooo

Rodney woke up to someone softly poking his cheek. His hand came up of its own accord to swipe at whatever it was that woke him it. Whatever it was giggled. He opened his eyes, blinked a few times and saw Jinto standing next to the sofa, still dressed in his pyjamas. Rodney wondered if John looked like that when he was Jinto's age. He concluded he probably did, since Jinto looked so much like his father. He yawned and sat up straight, folding up the blanket and putting it next to him on the sofa. He didn't remember getting the blanket out last night, but he didn't remember falling asleep either.

"Daddy's home," Jinto said happily. "He's sleeping".

"He is? I wonder when he got home."

"Dunno," Jinto said, looking at Rodney. "Do you think I should wake him?"

Rodney stretched and rotated his neck and shoulders, wincing a bit at the popping sounds.

"No," he decided. "We should let him sleep; maybe he came home really early this morning."

"I hope he doesn't stay in bed all day. My other daddy does that a sometimes."

It was the first time Rodney heard Jinto mention him. "Really?" he asked, trying to get Jinto to open up a bit more.

Jinto nodded. "Sometimes he works nights in the hospital and then he sleeps during the day. And then I have to be really quiet, or else he gets mad at me."

"I don't think your dad will stay in bed all day. And he wouldn't be mad if you woke him either."

"Want to watch cartoons?" Jinto said, changing the subject. "It's Saturday. There are always lots of SpongeBob cartoons on Saturday."

"I have a better idea. Why don't we have breakfast first and then we'll watch cartoons."

"Yay!" Jinto yelled and then covered his mouth with his hands. "Daddy's sleeping", he said, startled. "I forgot."

He followed Rodney to the kitchen and climbed on a chair so he could reach the cupboard where the cereal was kept.

"Daddy doesn't want me to stand on chairs, but I do it at home all the time. Mommy sometimes sleeps in and then I get hungry."

He put the Fruit Loops on the kitchen table and then went to fetch the bowls.

"She's going to have a baby," Jinto told Rodney as he put the bowls on the table. "That's probably why she sleeps so much. And sometimes she doesn't feel well."

Rodney nodded and poured the cereal and milk in the bowls.

"My other daddy, his name is Simon, sometimes says it's my fault. That mommy doesn't feel well, because of me. Do you think he could be right, Rodney? Mommy says that everything will be fine when the baby is born, but I'm not sure. Maybe I will make the baby sick too." Jinto looked down nervously and started to stir his Fruit Loops.

Rodney's heart wrenched at the sight in front of him. He wasn't a fan of kids, never had been and made no secret of the fact. But there was something about this child that just brought out the protective instincts in him. He came to stand next to Jinto, and lifted his chin so Jinto could look him in the eye and see he wasn't lying.

"Simon is wrong, Jinto," he told him. "It's not your fault if mommy isn't feeling well. It's just something that happens to woman when they are having a baby. It has nothing to anything you did or didn't do. Your mom told you that, didn't she?"

Jinto nodded.

"And she knows what she's talking about, because she had you and she was fine after that, wasn't she?"

Jinto nodded again and looked up, and Rodney saw hope, but also lingering doubt in his eyes. Rodney didn't know Simon Wallace, but he already hated him for being the one responsible for making Jinto feel this way: the way he had felt when he was Jinto's age. Believing his parents when they told him everything that went wrong was his fault.

"And the baby? What if the baby gets sick?"

"That happens sometimes, but it won't be your fault. And no matter what happens, your mom loves you and so does your dad.

"Simon doesn't love me," Jinto said, like he didn't matter to him. But Rodney knew that it did. He used to pretend that he didn't care that his parents didn't love him, but that never stopped him from hoping that they would. Never stopped him from trying to be the best, so they would notice him and tell him he did well. It never happened though and he learned to live with it. Learned to armour himself against the hurtful remarks that never stopped, but the walls he built to protect himself didn't just keep his parents out, but everybody else as well and that was something he didn't want for Jinto.

"Why do you think Simon doesn't love you?" Rodney asked, making sure to keep the anger he felt towards Jinto's step dad out of his voice.

Jinto was pushing his fruit loops down under the milk and watching them bob back up again, before eating a few bites.

"He says I'm a loudmouth and a… a troublemaker."

"How long has he been living with you?"

"Since I was two. I'm going to be six next month. It's daddy's birthday this week, but I'm not sure how old he is." Jinto smiled. "Maybe we can have a party and cake and then you have to be there too."

Jinto continued eating his cereal, drank a glass of apple juice and seemed to have forgotten their topic of conversation. Rodney hadn't though. It was obvious that Jinto's home life left a lot to be desired. Did his father know? Had Jinto confided in him too? Maybe he should talk to John about it.

ooooo

The rest of that morning was filled with watching cartoons. Jinto had been horrified to learn that Rodney had no idea who SpongeBob was and felt it was his duty to fill the gap in his knowledge by telling him everything he knew about each character on the show. Rodney's mind boggled at the information that was spewed at him. It was the most idiotic thing he had ever heard of. A sponge that lived in a pineapple with a snail that was really a cat. If it had been up to him, they would have gone back to playing Mario Kart. Not that Mario was a much better concept that SpongeBob, but at least the racing was fun and also good for hand-eye-coordination. The only reason he hadn't suggested it was the happy look on Jinto's face as he explained everything to him. So he listened to everything Jinto had to say about the cartoon and wondered briefly if the boy was going to quiz him about it later.

It was around noon that John Sheppard made his appearance, unshaven with red rimmed eyes. He was buttoning up his shirt as he entered the living room.

"Good morning," he said.

Jinto jumped out of the chair, ran to his father and hugged him. "You're staying here today, right daddy?"

"Yes, I'm staying here. Did you miss me?"

"I missed you lots. But it was fun that Rodney was here."

John ruffled his son's hair. "Did you keep him busy playing games?"

"Rodney likes to play games," Jinto said defensively.

John lifted Jinto's chin so he could his son straight in the eyes. "I'm sure he does," he said with a grin. "Otherwise he wouldn't have played them."

Jinto's face lit up. He smiled back at his father, gave him another hug and then jumped on the couch for another SpongeBob episode.

John looked in Rodney's direction. "How would you feel about a cup of coffee?"

Rodney got up immediately. Not only because he could really use a cup of coffee, but also because he realized Sheppard wanted to talk to him and didn't want Jinto to hear what he was about to say. "Coffee? I would love a cup." He got up and followed John to the kitchen.

Rodney drank his coffee quickly and put the cup down on the kitchen table, ready to hear the news. John didn't seem to be in a hurry and sipped his as he leaned against the kitchen counter. The only thing that kept Rodney from pacing was the fact that he had his hands on one of the chairs. That way, if the news was bad, he'd have something to hold on to, although now that he thought about it, maybe he should sit down instead. He started to make a list of pro's and cons of sitting versus standing, but he stopped when he heard John ask him if he wanted to know what had happened the day and night before.

"Of course I want to know."

"Nothing happened. Nothing happened during the day and in the evening. All was quiet until about 3 am when I heard a sound on the verandah..."

Rodney gripped the chair he was standing behind, his knuckles turning white and quickly contemplated sitting down again. Then Sheppard continued.

"I walked to the glass door and waited…"

Rodney blinked a few times as his brain processed what John was saying. "You did what?"

"I walked to the door," he repeated.

"Are you insane? You were supposed to call the police when you heard something and instead you just walked up to the door? The glass door!" Rodney was getting more and more worked up as he spoke. "What were you thinking?! Did you even have a plan, or were you just going to turn on the lights, open the door, rush out and take out the bad guy's with your amazing karate moves?" He had let go of the chair during his rant and was demonstrating some of the moves he'd seen in the movies.

John looked sheepishly at the floor and shuffled his feet a bit. "Well you know they do say. That the best defense is a good offence."

"And I'm sure that would have looked great on your tombstone after you got yourself killed," Rodney said, agitated. He tried to keep his voice down, so that Jinto wouldn't hear it. He probably heard enough fighting at home. A fight here was the last thing he needed.

"Hmm, nice one, but I was thinking more along the line of 'I know some place you haven't been. I've been everywhere.'" John waited a few seconds to see if Rodney would recognize the line, but when it was obvious he didn't he continued. "Anyway it doesn't really matter, because there was nothing to attack. The noise makers were a couple of raccoons. They were scurrying across the patio and sniffing some of the plants. When I turned on the lights and clapped my hands, they took off."

Rodney couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Do you think it was raccoons the first time too?"

"Possibly."

Rodney felt a sense of relief flood him and he let himself fall down on the chair. "Raccoons." He couldn't believe it. All this time there had been nothing for him to fear. He started laughing. "All this time that I've been afraid, it was just raccoons. I ran across the beach in the middle of the night to get away from a bunch of oversized rodents." He took a few breaths to calm himself. "You must think I totally over reacted."

John finished his cup of coffee and put it down on the counter. "If I thought you were over reacting, I would have said so when you showed up that night. Also I wouldn't have offered to stay in your house. It wasn't raccoons who gave you an electric shock. They also didn't remove the nails from your balustrade."

Rodney's relief was so complete that he brushed away John's words of warning. "Do you still think it's all a big sinister plan? I know I used to think that, but…"

"Now you don't?"

Rodney looked up and saw the determined look on his face. And even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer, he still asked: "You do?"

John saw the hope in Rodney's eyes. He wasn't sure anymore. It could have been accidents, but he didn't want to dismiss what had happened either. Not sure how to answer the question, he shrugged.

A shrug wasn't what Rodney had expected and the lack of a real answer bothered him a little, but just when he wanted to tell John to answer the question, Jinto stormed into the room like miniature tornado. He headed straight for Rodney and climbed in his lap.

"Can we go swimming at your house today?"

Before John had a chance to say anything, Rodney answered: "I don't see why not."

ooooo

Rodney enjoyed himself more in the next few days then he ever thought possible. He'd put the little accidents out of his mind and tried not to think about the hostile citizens of Oberoth. The few times he did think about the town that was once his home, he felt a slight setback in his new, happier outlook on life and he told himself it was all the more reason he had to banish that town from his mind completely.

Everything seemed to be going his way. The raccoons hadn't been back after Sheppard scared them away. His research was going well. Jinto came by every day and so did his father, but unlike Jinto and Rodney, John never swam. He seemed content to just watch them.

Still laughing at Jinto's antics, Rodney climbed out of the pool. He moved the long chair so it was in the shade again, reapplied the sun screen and sat down on the chair using his towel as a pillow.

After making himself comfortable on the chair, he looked at Sheppard and smiled at him and after what seemed like an eternity, John smiled back.

"If you want to swim with us, I wouldn't object." he offered.

"Maybe I will sometime."

Rodney stretched and stared at the cloudless sky, feeling more at ease then he had in a long time.

"Daddy, look!" Jinto yelled. "And you have to look too, Rodney!" he added.

They did as they were asked and watched Jinto do a somersault of the diving board. They applauded as Jinto surfaced again. After receiving praise from both his father and Rodney for his amazing dive Jinto was beaming with pride, climbed out of the pool and ran back to the diving board again.

"Where did he learn to swim like that?" Rodney asked. He had been curious about that since he first saw Jinto swim.

"His mother taught him. When Elizabeth was in university she was on the swimming and diving team, and she won several competitions."

Rodney watched Jinto as he jumped in the pool again. "That explains it."

John nodded. "Jinto got his talent from her."

"If he keeps swimming like that, I'm sure that he could be in a swim team too, when he gets older. And speaking of getting older, I understand it's your birthday soon."

He smiled vaguely. "How did you find that out?"

"I'm pretty sure you already know how I found out, so I'm not going to answer that. Jinto wants to buy you a present."

"He doesn't have to do that. Just having him here with me is the best birthday present I could ask for."

"Jinto disagrees. He wants to get you something very special, so I was wondering… would it be okay with if I took him with me so he could buy something for you?"

"Where would you go?"

"That town just beyond the hills. I don't remember what it's called, but I passed through there on my way over here and I remember seeing a few stores. I'm sure Jinto can find something for you in one of them.

"When do you want to go?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"I see that the two of you have this thing all planned out."

Rodney smiled. "Don't blame me. It was all Jinto's idea. He used his puppy dog eyes on me. There is no way I could say no to that."

"No, I guess you couldn't." John watched his son who was now swimming under water, and Rodney saw the love in his eyes… and also a gnawing pain.

"Jinto is a great boy, John. You can be proud of him," he said softly.

"I am proud of him"

"But…" he said, not sure if he should encourage him to continue. Despite John's laid back attitude, he was consumed by emotions. Rodney didn't want to pressure him, but now was the right moment to get a little bit more personal. Besides, he wanted to know if John was aware of Jinto's situation in his mother's and stepfather's house.

"Why do you think there is a but?"

Sheppard tried to keep him at a distance, Rodney realized. "Because there is always a but. All people have flaws and no situation is perfect."

"Are you speaking from personal experience?"

"Who isn't?"

John's eyes narrowed, but he stayed perfectly still until his hand moved to his shirt pocket, looking for something that wasn't there.

"I could really use a cigarette right now."

"When did you quit smoking?"

"Two months ago."

"You quit because of Jinto?"

He nodded.

"There isn't anything you wouldn't do for him, is there?"

"He's my son." John replied, as if that explained everything. And, Rodney realised, to him it did.

Watching John, Rodney realised he had just been given the opening he needed to ask the question that had been on his mind since breakfast that morning. "Did Jinto ever tell you how things are at home?"

That got him John's full attention. "What do you mean?"

"Is he happy there?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because of something he said to me."

Sheppard got up and put his hands in his pockets. "What did he say?"

Rodney waited a while before answering. Maybe he shouldn't continue this and just stay out of it. After all Jinto was John's son, not his, but thinking it through a little longer he realised he had to do this, for Jinto's sake. Because when their roads parted and the Sheppard's wouldn't be a part of his life anymore, he knew he would feel guilty if he hadn't done something to help the boy.

"He said that his stepfather didn't love him. Do you think it's true or is Jinto exaggerating a bit?"

John tensed as he listened to Rodney. "I don't think he's exaggerating."

"So he told you too?"

"Yes."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Do?" Sheppard clenched his fists. It was obvious to Rodney that he was trying very hard to control his anger. "What can I do? I abandoned him. When he was born, all I thought about was my career. I can't come crawling back to Elizabeth now and criticize the way she's raising our son."

"But if he's unhappy…"

"He loves his mother. You did know that, right?'

"I do."

"Then you see my problem."

Rodney looked away from John. He was right. Rodney could see the problem; he just didn't have an answer for it.

John sat down again. In a subdued tone he continued. "I hate what is happening, but I don't know what I can do to change the situation."

"Maybe you could talk to Jinto's stepfather. You could tell him…"

"That would only make the situation worse. Simon Wallis hates my guts."

"Isn't it possible for you to get custody of Jinto or maybe get joint custody?"

"Elizabeth would never agree to that."

"Because she's afraid you might leave the country again on assignment and take Jinto with you?"

John ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Maybe… I… I don't know what I'm going to do yet."

Rodney wished he had the perfect advise to give to John, but he was always bad at stuff like this and just because he really wanted to help didn't mean he would magically turn into someone who knew what the right thing was to say or do. Looking at the man sitting in chair opposite him, he now understood his pain more. But in this case understanding alone wasn't enough.

ooooo

John was only half listening to Jinto's chattering. They were walking along the beach to their house having spent the entire afternoon at Rodney's place. Jinto was high as a kite, full of 'Rodney this' and 'Rodney that', and John just smiled and let the boy chatter on while his thoughts drifted a little. A lot had changed in John's life in the last few months: He had left his job, for the moment anyway, and got his son back. And now he was struggling with emotions he had never dared to deal with before.

Was this what life was like when you finally faced you feelings? One thing was certain: He wanted his son to be happy, like he was now. He knew that if Jinto went back to his mother and stepfather, things would go back to the way they were before and maybe getting worse, because he didn't see the situation improving any time soon. Taking his son away however could create a whole new set of problems.

Part of him wished he could stay here forever, even though he knew he couldn't. Jinto had grown attached to Rodney, loved him even. John wasn't the only one who knew that. Rodney knew it too. And his son was so happy here, but it wasn't permanent. But he also couldn't let him go back to being so unhappy with his mother and Simon. Something had to be done, if only he knew what the right thing was.

John shook his head. He didn't know what to do, and any train of though he followed led him to Rodney. He honestly didn't know what to think of the other man, of what he felt for him. He had an urge to protect him. Rodney needed someone to take care of him, but there was more to it than that. If he had been in this situation a few years ago, there wouldn't have been a problem. He would have just slept with whoever it was and moved on. It had been his standing operating procedure.

'Had been' was right. It wasn't anymore. Not with Rodney. It wasn't because he wasn't attracted to the man, because he definitely was. He wasn't going to do anything about it though. He had made a promise and he was going to stick to it. And maybe if he repeated this often enough he would believe that it was only his promise to keep Jinto from being hurt that kept him away from Rodney. That it had nothing to do with his fear of hurting Rodney in the process as well.

There was just something about the scientist that drew John to him. He was living with a sadness and pain that had little to do with the hostility of a town that had turned on him. John didn't feel he knew Rodney well enough to pry into his past and background and he respected his privacy, but he was so curious to know. McKay would probably find his restraint hard to believe and he couldn't blame him. He'd had some really bad experiences with people who were in the same line of business he was.

They had nearly reached the path that lead to their bungalow. Jinto was skipping ahead of him.

Respect. It was one of the things people didn't seem to care about anymore. Self-interest was the most important thing. Doing whatever was needed to get what they wanted, not caring who got hurt in the process.

His train of thought was interrupted by Jinto who was pulling on his arm.

"Can we have pancakes tonight daddy? Please?"

John smiled at him. Rodney was right: the puppy dog eyes were hard to resist.

"Pancakes it is, if you make it to the house before I do. Ready, set…."

John watched Jinto sprint off before he even said the word go. He grinned. They were having pancakes tonight. The healthy food would just have to wait until tomorrow.

TBC.

I know some place you haven't been. I've been everywhere. Is from the song I've Been Everywhere by Johnny Cash from his album Unchained.