McKay had closed his eyes on their descent of the hill and regretted it immediately when he impacted on something cold and wet. He broke the surface of the fetid lake/pond/whatever, coughed out a lungful of water and kicked his way over to the edge. With arms that felt like lead, he hauled himself up and simply lay on the side of the embankment.

When he cracked an eye open he could see Sheppard still in the water, leaning over the edge with his head resting on his arms and his eyes closed.

"Well that was……fun," Sheppard muttered dryly.

McKay continued to lie flat on his back, feeling all kinds of uncomfortable in his wetter clothes.

"I told you it was slippery," he said and spat out a leaf.

There was a prolonged silence in which McKay lay perfectly still, cursing their situation and Sheppard making no attempt to get out of the water.

"You dragged me down here."

McKay, painfully aware that he couldn't leave him in the water forever, sat up and offered Sheppard a hand.

"Oh come on, you were about to take a nose dive down here yourself a few minutes ago."

"I had it under control."

He managed to drag the drunken man out of the water and they both knelt on the ground making tentative movements in their wet clothes.

"I don't think I could get any more wet today," McKay grouched.

Sheppard hit one of the pockets on his TAC vest and watched with great enjoyment as water spurted up and out of it.

"It's the small things that amuse you isn't it?" McKay snarked.

Sheppard smiled.

McKay looked up at the hill they had slid down. There was no way they were getting back up there. It was a moving mass of slippery mud and water, with no footholds, nothing. And it was still raining.

"After you," Sheppard remarked pulling at his wet t-shirt and grimacing.

"No, after you."

Sheppard pulled off his boot, tipped out some water and then started struggling to put it back on, "I was always told it was ladies first."

"Hardy ha," McKay returned with a scowl.

He angrily activated his earpiece, "Lorne!"

"Doctor McKay, are you okay?"

McKay considered their situation. Were they okay? No.

"McKay?"

"We've fallen down the ridge."

There was a moment's silence before Lorne answered, "Sorry?"

"The ridge, we.." Sheppard shot him an aggrieved look, "I lost my foothold and we fell."

"Are you injured?"

"No….we're," he watched Sheppard closely undecided as to whether he really was alright; "I think we're okay."

"We're nearly with you now. Just stay where you are."

McKay signed off and sagged back onto his heels. He was tired, he was aching and worst of all he was hungry. He was wondering where his last power bar had gone when he suddenly realised that his hands felt distinctly naked.

"Oh no," McKay started patting down his pockets, "Oh……..no."

Sheppard was busy pulling twigs and leaves out of his hair to witness his panic, "What?"

"I think…..I still have mine but where's…" McKay was overwhelmed with a sense of dread.

Sheppard stopped preening his hair long enough to recognise what McKay had done. His face dropped.

"You lost my gun!" Sheppard snapped, "You……."

"I must have dropped it on our way down."

And it was a long way down. McKay could feel the bruises already.
"Well…… find it," Sheppard ordered.

"It could be anywhere."

"Try the hill," Sheppard suggested blinking and rubbing at his face.

"Did you just miss the part where I said it could be anywhere? It could be at the bottom of that…that…pond for all we know."

"Then dive in and get it."

"Are you insane?"

Sheppard pushed himself up onto his knees, went to stand and obviously decided against looking for his handgun because he paled and clamped his eyes shut. The man never stopped. Even three sheets to the wind he was still trying to command, still trying to be pro-active and in charge.

Their day wasn't turning out very well. McKay should have known this would happen. Their mission's hardly ever went without a hitch.

"We'll get you a new one."

McKay pulled his 9.mil out of his calf holster. If it fired it would be a miracle.

Sheppard sighed, "This day goes from bad to worse."

"Don't say that."

McKay wasn't exactly superstitious but he was getting a weird feeling that something was wrong.

"Well it does and you said it early so don't tell me-"

Sheppard continued to ramble on, slurring and making big arm gestures as he talked. He was animated when he was drunk.

"And then we fell down here!"

"I wouldn't be down here if it wasn't for you, so as I was saying, this day can't get-"

McKay stood up and hauled Sheppard up to his feet "It just got worse."

Sheppard was swaying again, "What?"

McKay pulled Sheppard backwards and pointed his handgun at the wraith that was descending the hill and coming straight for them.

It took a second for Sheppard's addled brain to catch up with the situation and he muttered a 'shit' before saying, "Shoot it!"

McKay wanted to run away. Every impulse in his body screamed retreat, but with Sheppard in the state he was in, there was no way they would get away.

McKay pulled the trigger and his first shot went wide, the second hit the dirt by the wraith's foot and the third hit home. It barely flinched.

"Oh God, it's still coming!" McKay shrieked in a panicked voice, "What do I do? What do I do?"

"Keep firing," Sheppard said helpfully, "Where's my knife?"

"Ronon has it," McKay said pulling the trigger again.

The wraith reached them and Sheppard pushed McKay out of the way.

"Colonel!" McKay shouted through the rain.

Sheppard could be an idiot sometimes.

The wraith regarded Sheppard with an amused look and batted him out of the way.

McKay kept firing. The wraith was making jerking motions as each bullet struck but still didn't seem to be slowing.

McKay didn't know what to do. His bullets didn't seem to do anything and Sheppard was still lying on the ground, dazed by the blow he had taken. If he was sober then he would be dealing with this situation. He'd be the one firing and McKay would be the one on the ground.

"Sheppard!"

He managed to fire off another shot and moved backwards, trying to draw the wraith away from Sheppard's prone body. He would never forgive himself if…….

He shook his head. No. He couldn't think like that. He had to be Sheppard. He had to be in control, strong willed, proficient and above all else, brave.

"Sheppard!"

Who was he kidding?

He fired again and this time his bullets seemed to affect the wraith. It stopped, swayed and gripped its shoulder with a howl.

McKay ran over to Sheppard, where he was beginning to stir, dragged him up to his feet and headed back towards the water.

"We need to run!" McKay shouted.

"You go," Sheppard said, "Leave me behind."

McKay continued to step backwards, eyes searching for a way out. They were pinned between the wraith and the water with no escape.

"I'm not leaving you behind."

"I'm not going to have another death on my conscience."

It was a pleading voice. Pathetic, desperate and unlike his friend. Sheppard was a born protector and this time he was the one in need of protecting. He was the liability.

"You still have time to get out of here."

"I'm……I'm not leaving you."

"Go!" Sheppard shouted angrily and looking remarkably sober.

McKay watched the advancing wraith and swallowed thickly. He felt sick to his stomach and his heart was hammering against his rib-cage. He could have ran, the old McKay would have, but instead he met Sheppard's glare and shook his head.

"Rodney."

The wraith was getting closer.

"No!"

"Don't die because of me."

McKay didn't say a word.

"Rodney."

He wasn't leaving.

Before he could react, Sheppard snatched the gun out of his hand, shoved him away, went to fire off a shot and was struck by the wraith again. Sheppard might have felt capable but his reflexes were off and his actions were slow.

This time he sailed backwards into the fetid water, disappearing under the murk.

McKay grabbed the fallen weapon, squeezed off another shot and started to back up flicking his eyes between the still waters and the wraith.

"You activated the device," the wraith snarled, "Ancient."

McKay was confused. What device?

He fired off another shot. How many was that? Sheppard always told him to count his expended bullets but in the confusion he hadn't.

He'd watched Sheppard on the shooting range. He'd fire, one, two, three….always counting out loud. He never waited for the inevitable click, click of an empty magazine because he always knew when to stop and re-load. McKay didn't have a clue. He hadn't been counting out loud.

"What device?" McKay asked stalling for time and edging back again.

With the rain and the thunder and the impending darkness, he couldn't make out if Sheppard had got out of the water. He risked a glance and saw the waters were being pelted with rainwater and there was no sign of Sheppard.

"Sheppard!"

The wraith continued forwards, stalking him, hand reared upwards.

"Sheppard!"

Oh god, he thought, this is it. I'm going to die. I'm going to die a horrible, painful death and Sheppard got to drown peacefully.

McKay waited for the unavoidable.

All of a sudden, the wraith was being peppered with bullets. It snarled and dropped to the ground in a boneless heap. McKay jumped when it made one last grasping attempt to reach out to him and then it gargled black blood and stilled.

McKay turned, expecting to see Lorne and the cavalry on the ridge but he was a little surprised when he saw Sheppard standing at the base of the hill with a 9mil in his hand.

Sheppard aimed at the dead wraith and fired off a few more shots into its head, then he took an unsteady step forwards and sank to his knees, "I found my gun," he said before dropping to the ground himself.

"Sheppard!"

McKay ran over to him and turned him over. Sheppard was unconscious and he didn't know if it was the alcohol or if he had a real injury. He patted him down, checking for injuries and tried to shake him back to the world of the living. When that didn't work, he cursed, sat back on his heels and stared up at the ridge, willing Lorne to make an appearance.

"Hurry up," he muttered and looked over to the dead wraith.

He gave Sheppard a prod.

"And you can wake up as well."

Sheppard didn't stir.

Okay, so the wraith had been disposed, but there was still another one out there and as McKay had no idea how many bullets he or Sheppard had fired he decided to replenish his ammo. He had to do something useful. He ransacked Sheppard's tactical vest and pulled out a new magazine. Something else fell out at the same time and he realised that it was the rock…..their supposed ZPM, and it was flashing.

"What is………"

He examined it with new eyes. He hadn't noticed that before.

"The energy readings….." he muttered.

"M' awake," Sheppard mumbled.

"Thank god!"

The device forgotten, McKay palmed it and helped Sheppard sit up.

"Are you okay?"

Sheppard groaned out a reply, "I'm drunk."

"I know that."

"The wraith?"

Sheppard was the only man alive that could get absolutely hammered and still be concerned about a friends safety. He just couldn't seem to enjoy his time for reckless abandonment.

"Dead. Although, it's probably not dead and it's going to spring up any second and…"

"It's dead," Sheppard said reluctantly passing the 9mil to McKay.

Sheppard seemed confused, his reactions slow and sloppy. He'd been more lucid earlier but now…….he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Did you hit your head?"

"No, just……the drink."

McKay watched him closely as he scrubbed a hand through his spiked hair. Sheppard wasn't lying. If he was, then he would have said he was fine. The fact that he admitted to feeling drunk, which in turn meant he felt like crap, was enough to convince McKay that he was actually okay.

"Doctor McKay!"

Through the rain, McKay could just make out figures above them.

"Major?"

"Are you okay?"

"We're fine."

"Follow the ridge around and we'll meet there. I don't think we can get down this way!"

"Just fall down it like we did!" Sheppard shouted back and McKay slapped his arm.

"What about the other wraith?" McKay called out, shielding his eyes from the rain.

"Dead."

Dead. McKay felt relief flood his veins and he let out a strained laugh. Dead.

"What's funny?" Sheppard asked scrunching up his face.

McKay ignored him, "Okay Major. Come on Colonel, time to stand up."

"Give me a second," Sheppard slurred tiredly.

McKay remembered the rock in his hand.

"What's that?"

"Our ZPM," McKay said.

"Our what?"

"It's not really a ZPM, you know that. Are you okay?"

Sheppard waved a hand at him and rubbed at his head. He was going to feel even worse in the morning.

McKay placed the rock on the ground and grabbed another chunky rock by Sheppard's feet.

"What are you doing?"

McKay held a finger up.

"What?"

He needed to be accurate and Sheppard was distracting him. He bashed the rock as hard as he could..

"Why are you doing that?"

McKay sighed, "Wait."

The rock suddenly gave way and exposed what lay inside. There was a small circular disc with a flashing light.

"That….." Sheppard reached for it with a clumsy hand and held it up, "That's….."

McKay snatched it back, "It's a wraith tracking device. Just like the one Teyla had in her necklace."

Sheppard blinked.

"That's how they tracked us?"

"And we activated it," Sheppard said groaning.

"Yes."

McKay did the only responsible thing and started to smash it with his lump of rock. It took several attempts but eventually the casing splintered open exposing the device's guts, then the insides crushed under the pressure and finally the blinking light made one last pathetic blip and it went dead.

"We should get going," McKay said, feeling a little more in control. In command.

Sheppard groaned and held out his hand. With a bit of effort they managed to get him standing, but he was leaning heavily into McKay's side, eyes closed and jaw set.

"Are you feeling okay?"

Shepard shook his head.

"Can you walk?"

Sheppard nodded.

"Okay," McKay held onto Sheppard as tightly as he could and started to move off, "Home time."

Tbc……………………………….

A/N: Oh you know that can't be it….right? evil grin