Chapter Seven

Rodney stalked back toward his lab, his mind racing. He couldn't believe no one would go back for the artifact. Didn't they know how important it might be? How many traps could there be anyway?

He thought about going back for the artifact himself, but he'd probably be stopped before he even had the gate dialed.

"Told you," Radek said as Rodney entered the lab.

"Shut up," he snapped as he went to his laptop.

"Someone's testy," Radek said softly.

"Yes," Rodney glared at Radek, "when someone tells you that you can't go off world and then they tell you the artifact you found isn't worth going back for, you'd be testy, too. More than testy."

Radek said nothing and Rodney went back to staring at his screen.

Rodney was well past bad-tempered when lunch rolled around. He had snapped at most of his staff through the morning and they had given him a wide berth afterwards. He almost heard their sigh of relief when he finally left for the mess hall.

He entered the dining room to find it crowded with people. He grumbled to himself as he got something to eat. His eyes instantly sought out Elizabeth as he left the line. He saw her eating with Sheppard and Carson in the center of the room.

Rodney sighed. Even when I'm mad at her I want to see her. He shook his head and found himself a table.

It wasn't long before someone sat across from him. He looked up from his meal to find John Sheppard in front of him. Rodney glared at the other man, but Sheppard was unfazed.

"How're you feeling?"

Rodney stared at Sheppard, caught off guard by the question. He took a sip of his coffee as he gathered his thoughts.

"I was just told that the book I found wasn't brought back. How do you think I feel?"

Sheppard leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. "I didn't want to risk tripping another trap, Rodney. It was too dangerous to go back to the cave."

"There's a way to trip all the traps without anyone getting hurt," Rodney stated, his mind working overtime. "Let me figure out how to do it and then we can go back and get the artifact."

"You're not allowed to go off world, McKay. Doctor's orders."

Rodney rolled his eyes, not wanting his idea to be shot down so soon. "I can get Carson to give me a clean bill of health, so I can go. Just let me try."

Sheppard stared at Rodney. "We've gone down this road before and it was a disaster. I'm not doing it again."

"It's not going to be like that," Rodney said. "I just…"

"How's the dreams?" Sheppard interrupted.

Rodney glared at him. "I had another one this morning. Now Carson knows."

Sheppard smiled and Rodney wanted to knock it off his face. His erotic dreams weren't a form of entertainment. He wished he'd told no one about them in the first place.

"You need to tell her, McKay," Sheppard said. "She needs to know."

"That I'm having dreams about her or that I have feelings for her?"

"Both," Sheppard said as he snatched a piece of bread from Rodney's tray.

"Not going to happen," he said as he pulled his tray closer to himself. "She'd run for the hills if she knew either one."

"You don't know that," Sheppard said, chewing on the bread. "Tell her and find out."

Rodney stared at the other man. He'd heard that from three different people several times. He sighed and glanced over at Elizabeth, who was still talking to Carson. He had no idea what she felt for him other than close friendship. He didn't want to lose that if it was all she felt and he told her his feelings.

"I've already been over this," he said, staring at his food. "She doesn't need to know how I feel about her."

"You're stubborn," Sheppard said. "Too stubborn for your own good."

John left the table, leaving Rodney alone with his thoughts. He pushed his food around the tray, feeling worse than he did that morning.

Elizabeth woke with a start, her heart racing and her body covered in sweat. She sat up in bed, running a hand through her soaked hair. She had the dream again and she swore she actually climaxed. She took a deep breath to steady herself and climbed out of bed. Something caught her eye as she headed for the bathroom.

She turned and on her nightstand was the cube Rodney had given her. It glowed a light blue. She picked it up, turning it over in her hands. Why was it gleaming? How long had it been doing this?

"Rodney," Elizabeth whispered and quickly dressed. She'd been having these dreams ever since he had given the cube to her. Maybe the two were connected. Either way, she had to tell him.

Elizabeth found Rodney in his lab, working on a device. It was the size of a life signs detector, but was azure in color. The rest of his staff had long since gone to bed, leaving him to himself. He hadn't seen her come in, so she took this opportunity to watch him.

He had the machine plugged into his laptop and he was going back and forth between them. She stepped further into the lab and glanced over his shoulder at the screen. She raised an eyebrow when he looked up at her.

"Elizabeth," he said, surprised. "What brings you here?"

"This," she said, holding out the cube which was no longer shimmering. "I woke up to find this glowing."

"Really?" Rodney asked, his expression changing to curiosity as he looked at the cube.

"I don't know what's making it glow and I don't know why," she said as he took the cube from her. "All I know is that I've been having intense dreams and they started when you gave me that."

Rodney stared at her in stunned silence then back at the cube. He turned it over in his hands just as she had done earlier. She watched him, knowing the wheels were already spinning in his head.

"What kind of dreams?" Rodney asked as he set the cube down on the table. He looked at her, his blue eyes searching her face.

Elizabeth sighed and paced. She didn't know how to tell him she dreamed about him making love to her. "They're intense as I've said. They seem very real until I wake up."

She stopped behind him and looked at the computer screen. She glanced at the device and narrowed her eyes. He couldn't be doing what she thought, could he?

"What are you doing?" Elizabeth asked calmly.

Rodney blinked, obviously caught off guard by her sudden change in direction. He stared at his computer then back at her.

"I thought we made it clear you weren't to go off world, Rodney," she said, folding her arms. "I also don't want you to go back to that planet. That's what you're planning, aren't you?"

Rodney rolled his eyes and looked away. She smiled to herself, knowing she caught him doing something he shouldn't. She pushed it aside, though, for this was too serious a situation. She didn't want him to get hurt again.

"Elizabeth, that book could be extremely important," he said, standing and looking intently at her. Warmth spread through her as she stared into his eyes. She could never get over how blue they were. She put the thought aside and turned away from him.

"It's too dangerous, Rodney," she said, looking at him.

"If those traps are technologically based, which I believe they are, this device will disable them," he said, pointing to the object in question. "If you'll just let me go, I'll have the artifact before morning."

"No," Elizabeth said, stepping closer to him. How could he do this to her? After all they've been through how could he throw his life away for some ridiculous object?

"No?" Rodney repeated, staring at her as if she'd lost her mind. "You really want to pass up this opportunity to bring something valuable back here? Because of a few traps?""

Elizabeth shook her head not believing what she heard. He was willing to risk his life for something that might not even be anything. She wasn't about to let him do it. She stepped closer to him and stared into his blue eyes.

"I'm not going to cater to your ego, Rodney. You're not leaving Atlantis for something that might be worthless."

Rodney stared at her, his expression a mixture of shock and hurt. She hated herself for putting that look on his face, but she didn't want to lose him. She would if he went back to the planet.

"Fine," he said, unplugging the device and tossing it on the table. He didn't look at her as he sat in front of his computer.

Elizabeth opened her mouth, but she didn't know what she could say that would fix the pain she'd caused. She sighed and quietly left the lab.