Author's Notes: As I noticed my muse and beta making similar comments in the reviews for the last chapter, I also would like to state that I do not condone getting drunk. But Evie isn't me. ;)
This chapter has slight spoilers for "McKay and Mrs. Miller". Also, remember that this is an alternate timeline and the "canon" events that I incorporate are happening at different times than they did on the show.
I profusely thank my beta, Commodore Norrington, for helping me with those certain scenes, and my muse, Tigger, for giving me the ideas for several others. You two are the first recipients of the Cookie (TM) award.
Four Years Old - November 2010
"I started to fall and the silence deafened. Head spinning round, no time to sit down, just wanted to run and run and run. 'Be careful,' they say, 'don't wish life away.' Now I've one day and I can't believe how I've been wasting my time. In 24 hours they'll be laying flowers on my life. It's over tonight." - Jem, "24"
"Hey, Meredith, you done with that report yet?" John called teasingly as he and Evie entered Rodney's lab. Rodney's sister Jeannie had left over a week ago, but John still enjoyed taunting Rodney about his name.
"For the last time," Rodney cried, "I had it legally changed!"
"To what? Mer-Mer?" John laughed.
"Ha, ha, so funny," Rodney said wryly. "It's Rodney Nathaniel now, thank you very much."
"Nathaniel an old boyfriend of yours or something?" John joked.
Rodney rolled his eyes. "Nathan Fillion. Firefly."
"Fine. But I've still got that picture Jeannie gave me of you with your underwear on your head." Sheppard smirked triumphantly.
"Oh, come on!" Rodney protested. "I was five!"
Evie could see that Rodney didn't find it funny anymore and stepped in to try to fix things. "Careful, John; if you don't stop calling him Meredith and teasing him about the underwear thing, I'll tell him one of your stories…" she warned.
"Oh, go for it," John grinned. "You got nothing on me."
"Wanna bet?" She smirked, remembering some of the stories that Matt and Jake had told her. "Oh, Rooodneeey…" she said, walking over to the scientist's side of the room.
"What?" he sighed.
"You ever kissed a man?" she asked.
Rodney shot her a death glare of disdain. "Do you really have to bring that up again?"
Evie's eyebrows went up. "Oh! Right. Umm… You ever made out with a man?"
He gave her an odd look. "Umm…no…"
She giggled. "John did. His friends set him up with a transvestite during his first year at the Academy." She laughed again. "Poor baby didn't find out unti--mff." Realizing where she'd been going only a few seconds before, John had quickly crossed the room and clapped his hand over her mouth.
Rodney grinned smugly. "Ooh, defensive…" he noted. "What'd you do? Wet your pants when you found out?"
"No, I didn't," John answered, slowly removing his hand. "We're talking about me, not you."
Rodney snorted then snarked, "Well, I hope you got your money back."
"Hey, I only sleep with willing chicks!" John countered in his defense.
"Excuse me?" Evie cried.
"Not anymore!" he assured her.
"So, what am I, a duck?" she asked, incredulous.
"Dig yourself outta this one, smooth talker…" Rodney grinned. Suddenly he had a thought. "Actually, Evie, now that you mentioned a duck… when you stick your lips out you do kinda--"
Evie shot him a glare. "You know, McKay, this started out with me defending you."
Rodney paused as he thought about this, then said, "Quite right. Carry on."
XXXXXX
Evie was on her way to say goodbye to Michael, who had begged Elizabeth to let him tag along on the scientific mission to Lokar. Zelenka, along with Kavanagh and Campbell, was traveling to the small planet to help the natives with a pest problem. Ever since Michael had read about the Lokars in the Ancient database, he had been dying to study them for himself. After pleading with Elizabeth for several minutes, he had finally gotten her to concede and he was due to leave with the others in fifteen minutes for their two-day task.
With a dreamy far off look and her nose stuck in a book, Evie wasn't watching where she was going and ran right into Lieutenant Cadman as the other woman was leaving the Gateroom.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Laura said with her easy smile. "I should have been watching where I was going."
"No, no, it was my fault like usual," Evie assured with a chuckle as she bent to pick up her book. Laura reached for the bookmark that had fallen from the pages and paused to look it over when she saw that it was a photo strip, the kind taken in mall photo booths. The first picture showed John and Evie cracking up over something Evie couldn't even remember now. The next was the traditional "silly face" picture with tongues sticking out and faces contorted. The third was an adorable picture of the two of them just smiling, with Evie's head resting on his shoulder. The last one, at John's insistence, caught them in a kiss.
Not recognizing her commanding officer with just the cursory glance, Laura smiled. "Looks like fun," she said and moved to hand the pictures back. Suddenly she squinted at the man in the photo and a look of realization crossed her features. Looking up at Evie with a straight face, she observed, "Your boyfriend looks a lot like Colonel Sheppard."
"Funny, huh?" Evie laughed nervously as she took the strip from Laura and placed it back firmly between the pages of her book.
"Well, you do look cute together," Laura replied with a smile.
Nervously chewing on her bottom lip, Evie begged, "Can you just…forget you saw those pictures?"
"Forget I saw what pictures?" Laura answered with a wink.
Evie breathed a sigh of relief and smiled gratefully at the other woman. "Thank you, Laura."
"Don't worry 'bout it," Laura said, then resumed walking.
Glad that a potentially sticky situation had been averted, Evie continued into the Gateroom, where she was surprised to learn that it was Zelenka -- and not Michael -- on whom they were waiting. Radek was up in Weir's office, running over his plan once more with Elizabeth and receiving final instructions.
"Remember, I want regular radio contact. Oh, and don't let Dr. Murphy get himself into any trouble," she said with a grin as she went to return to her chair, brushing lightly against him as was her usual teasing custom.
This time, however, he caught her arm. "Dr. Weir…Elizabeth," he began hesitantly, swallowing. She looked at him with concern; he was unusually tense and the use of her given name by the shy scientist had gotten her attention. "Before I go…"
"Radek," she interrupted, not liking where he seemed to be going. "You're going to be fine. The only possible danger I can think of is that Kavanagh will finally figure out how to take the safety off his gun," she said with a smirk, trying to inject humor into the potentially awkward situation.
"Please, just let me speak," Radek insisted gently.
"All right," Elizabeth agreed hesitantly, perching herself on the edge of her desk.
"These years, in Atlantis, have been so unbelievable, so neuvěřitelný," he said, trying to figure out how to best word himself.
"The discoveries we've made have been amazing, yes," Elizabeth agreed.
"That is true," he replied, frowning, "but it is more than that. The people I have met here have become my closest friends…my family," he paused, lowering his eyes. "My drahá."
Racking her mind for a minute to remember what that word meant, Elizabeth couldn't stop her eyebrows from shooting up when she recalled the meaning and realized what Radek was saying. While he had occasionally used the word before, he had never used it in reference to her, never called her his "beloved."
When Radek finally met her eyes, he saw the shock there and blushed, quickly looking away. He smiled a small smile as best he could and turned to leave.
"Radek…" Elizabeth called, stopping him for a reason she didn't know.
He turned around and looked at her expectantly.
"I…" She faltered and her shoulders sagged slightly. "Good luck on the mission."
She saw his face fall as he nodded and left.
Once the glass door had closed behind him and he was out of hearing range, she kicked the side of her desk. "Damn!"
XXXXXX
The Lokars were just as fascinating as Michael had been hoping for-- anthropologist "fascinating," anyways. While he took notes and learned about their customs and culture, the three scientists were busy trying to help the natives with a small problem. A big problem, actually. A four foot tall, two hundred pound problem with lots of teeth and a mean disposition.
When Lorne's team had visited the planet a week ago, the inhabitants of the large village had implored that Lorne and his men help them fend off creatures that they had named "Chrts." The Lokars had lived in relative peace until the carnivorous beasts began attacking them "three moons ago." By the time the Earthlings had visited the planet, eleven of the Lokars had been killed and…eaten.
Lauren Campbell, kind-hearted animal lover that she was, insisted that the creatures ought not be slaughtered simply for "seeking out sustenance." So Radek suggested that they try something that had worked for an SG team on a previous occasion. According to the mission reports, a team of SG scientists had been able to repel the beasts of P7R-669 with a continuous high-pitched transmission that was too high frequency to bother humans but apparently annoying or painful enough to keep the creatures away.
Zelenka and Kavanagh worked on setting up the device that would broadcast the signal, while Campbell explained to Razog, the leader of this Lokar village, how the machine worked and what to do in case it should malfunction.
"Are you sure you calculated correctly, Doctor?" Radek asked as Kavanagh reached to turn the machine on.
"Yes, Radek," Kavanagh said with an agitated sigh. "I've told you a hundred times, I'm sure I calculated correctly. I always do."
The Czech rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Pošetilý sobec."
"And we are…in business!" Kavanagh declared proudly as the green light on the device began blinking.
"We shall see," Radek said skeptically; he wasn't sure if they had selected the correct frequency, although the tests done on certain Earth animals showed that most species avoided the noise. The two scientists moved their project into the small hut Razog had set aside to shield the device from the elements. Then they followed the generous man to his home, where they would be staying the night. The last three times the Chrts had attacked, they had come out during "the death of the moon," and the scientists had timed their arrival to coincide with the new moon so that they could test their "weapon." Fortunately, the team had an uneventful and delicious dinner and then retired to the small pallets in Razog's hut.
XXXXXX
A shrill cry in the middle of the night brought the Atlanteans running out of the hut. "Alle! Alle! Chrt!" cried a small boy, pointing to the nearby forest from which a constant low growl was emanating. The four scientists quickly ran down to their outpost.
"Why is that thing coming?!" Kavanagh cried, checking over the device. "It's working, it's working!"
"We must not be using right frequency or it would not be here!" Radek snapped. "Maybe this idea will not work for it."
Suddenly, there was a snuffling noise at the entrance and the four scientists whirled around to find a hideous Chrt staring at them in the beams of their flashlights. Its enormous head was covered with large, spiky bumps and its green eyes appeared to be iridescent. Drool spilled from both sides of its open mouth and its teeth looked akin to a velociraptor's. Its hulking brown body was hunched forward, as if the creature's weight was supported on four feet, but was only held up by two stumpy legs.
It stared at the humans, looking almost…confused. Then it began snuffling and stamping its feet, sniffing the air, searching for something.
"This was supposed to repel it, not attract it!" Kavanagh hissed, increasing the volume of the frequency.
Immediately the Chrt let out a low moan and began salivating more, sniffing desperately.
"Campbell, you're the animal person," Michael said, his hand resting awkwardly on his nine millimeter. "What's it doing?"
"I don't…" Suddenly she noticed something about the creature's current state, something that made it apparent what it wanted. "Oh, crap!"
"What?"
"I think… He's looking for a female," she explained.
"Why here?!" Kavanagh asked, glaring at her as if it was her fault.
"How should I know?" Lauren shot back, though she was careful not to raise her voice. "Maybe we imitated its mating call or something!"
"So, we'll turn it off!" Kavanagh said, reaching for the switch.
"I don't know tha--"
As soon as the device went offline, the Chrt let out a howl of rage. Before anyone had a chance to respond, it charged at Kavanagh. The scientist reached for his weapon, but the beast's teeth were upon him before he could withdraw his gun. The others had reacted quickly, Kavanagh's chilling screams filling their ears, but their bullets seemed to be having little effect on the creature.
When the screams had been silenced and the scientists had nearly emptied their magazines, the Chrt let out a high shriek and stumbled away from Kavanagh's shredded body. Michael, Lauren, and Radek continued to shoot at it until it collapsed in a corner, where its violent trembling came to a stop.
Lauren couldn't tear her eyes from the gruesome sight of her colleague. "Is he…?"
"He has to be," Michael winced. What little of Kavanagh's insides hadn't been eaten lay spilled on the floor.
Lauren suddenly felt hands on her shoulders, turning her away from the carnage. "Come," Radek said gently, "we must report back to Atlantis."
After assuring Razog that the Chrt was dead, the three solemn scientists made their way back to the Gate, unaware that they were being carefully followed.
Once there, Michael dialed Atlantis while Radek tried his best to console a very shaken Campbell. "So, which one of you wants to tell Dr. Weir what happened?" Michael asked as the Gate began lighting up. His only answer was two loud cracks. He whirled around and saw a blur of movement before something hard connected with his skull and everything went black.
"Incoming wormhole!" Chuck called as the Atlantis Gate activated. He looked at the computer and waited.
"Who is it?" Elizabeth asked, walking over to his chair.
"I don't know, ma'am," Chuck answered. "There's no IDC." The both watched the screen and waited for the incoming traveler to identify themselves. T o their puzzlement, the Gate shut down instead.
"Sergeant?"
"I didn't touch anything, ma'am," Chuck answered, holding up his hands.
"The Gate malfunctioned?" Elizabeth queried, looking over the railing at the giant ring.
"Possibly."
"Well, I want you to run a diagnostic," she requested, turning to leave.
"Yes, ma'am."