A/N – Thanks to RodneyIsGodney, who inspired this reality with a certain photo she posted on the GW Forum while my mind was in a receptive mood…

Chapter 10 – Falling Into Ice

Rodney flew from the archway into the next reality. Except he did not fall like he expected and the cold sensation did not dissipate as it had done after every shift. He opened his eyes when his stomach lurched horribly due to a familiar sensation he had hoped never to feel again.

He was completely weightless and floating at an alarming speed towards a looming wall. He had a brief glimpse of stars as they flitted past his vision when he glided past the window.

He released a breath he did not even realise he had been holding in a mist of fog in the frigid air and started to shiver uncontrollably as the cold rapidly seeped through the thin material of the shirts covering him. He breathed in and then out in a shallow airless gasp containing nothing that could possibly sustain him for very much longer.

The fear from the fact that he could not breathe properly only made it more difficult for him to get enough air to fight down the panicked fluttering of his heart against his ribs and remain conscious.

Although, he had a more urgent need not to slam into the wall still approaching him, so he rapidly turned in the air so that his feet were pointing towards it. His belly protested as a wave of nausea enveloped him in the weightlessness. There was nothing in his stomach for him to lose, except hunger, so he swallowed quickly and braced himself for the impact.

His legs bent at the knee when he hit the wall, almost like he had just jumped from a great height in normal gravity. He could not prevent it as he pitched forwards and let go of the scanner. He had still had the device clutched in his violently trembling and numb fingers, but it floated away when he lifted his hands up to save his head from smacking into the wall.

The muscles across his chest tightened as his arms finally managed to stop his momentum. Rodney whimpered softly as his back wrenched around the site of the tracker implant and he tore some of the stitches holding the skin over his chest together.

He recoiled and soon drifted backwards away from the wall. He grabbed at the scanner as it spun around end over end in the room. He held it close to his body as he closed his eyes and wheezed in what little oxygen had been pressure sealed in the room when Atlantis' power had finally been depleted.

The starlight from the tiny window cast a ghostly hue on the whole room and Rodney welcomed the weightlessness, but not the crushing cold which had now completely numbed the pain from his cuts and the bruising ache from his shoulder.

He inhaled a shaky breath and glanced blearily at the starry void outside Atlantis in the reality where he had been thrown. He dimly wondered why he was not just an instant block of ice.

"Freeze dried, McKay," he muttered, starting to become delirious as the cold clutched his heart and he continued to float backwards limply.

He looked in front of himself and watched as a trail of blood hovered in the thin air pocket of the gravity lacking room, marking his path away from the wall he had hit.

"Hmm," he sighed in disinterest as his senses started to fail and his eyes slid shut.

Another violent and involuntary tremble made Rodney open his eyes again. It was a difficult task, as it felt like his eyelashes were glued together with ice. He licked the frost off his lips and muttered shakily, "Come on, McKay…just a few more seconds and you'll be back on a nice warm version of Atlantis, surrounded by the wonders the many universes can throw at you…"

He spun in the air again and coughed, but there was no pain as more blood leaked out of his slashed chest and floated into the air in gory dark red bubbles. He could no longer feel his fingers, but the scanner was still in his hand when he passed under the arch and then collided with the control console.

He held onto the small panel as tightly as he could, but he could no longer feel the touch of the metal or the buttons beneath his fingers as he tried to activate the arch to get himself out of the cold and virtually airless room. He blinked slowly and grimaced as his hands shook uncontrollably and made any dextrous work impossible.

He fumbled with the scanner when no power was forthcoming and pulled the panel off the back, using his fingernails to claw underneath the device and get at the internal workings and crystals.

His latest inhalation rattled in his chest and his rasping breaths were still not providing his brain with enough air. He felt a light-headed weariness overcoming him and he started hyperventilating in panic as he seemed to use up the last of the trapped air to sustain himself. He gritted his teeth, but they soon unclenched and chattered together so badly that every bite echoed unpleasantly in his head.

He desperately pried the power crystal from the scanner. He knew he needed the tiny device to survive what the cruel hand of the multiple universes had deemed it would throw at Rodney McKay next time.

The most pressing issue at the moment was just finding some air and warmth, so he pushed the crystal into the control panel and powered up the arch.

Rodney had a fleeting view of the current condition of Atlantis just before he was sucked backwards still in mid air. He wrapped his arms around his chest as he flew and furrowed his brow in confusion over what he had just seen.

What was left of Atlantis in this reality was badly damaged due to asteroid impacts. It was also on a collision course with a nearby sun. He dimly thought that was probably why he had not been turned into an instant ice-lolly.

He no longer had any more time to think about it as he was suddenly surrounded by light and pulled through the arch once more.

Rodney rolled out onto the floor and felt like he had been tossed into the middle of the Sahara Desert, the room was so hot.

He closed his eyes tightly as he winced and continued to shiver, but his breathing was a little easier as the air was now laced with sweet oxygen. The sensation rapidly came back to his chilled appendages with a vengeance. He groaned as his eyes started to water in pain as the sting from his chest built up and tore into him as his nerves came back to life.

He rolled onto his side and pressed his hands against his chest as the tremors from the cold went away and were replaced by those caused by pain.

He turned over onto his back again after a few agonising minutes and continued to hold his arms over his chest to try and soothe the ceaseless sharp feeling of the Wraith Queen claw marks.

He gazed up at the ceiling in the dimly lit arch room and felt another biting and nagging feeling in between his shoulders from the way the Wraith had cut through his delicate skin and forced their barbaric technology inside him.

He rubbed his left arm without realising it and mumbled, "Now I'm fully trackable, by both the Wraith and the Ancients."

He steeled his nerves, rolled over onto all fours and pushed himself up with a grunt. "Okay, that's enough of that, time to find out about this fun, new place."

He grimaced when he saw a little of his own blood smeared on the floor where he had just been lying. He was unsure whether it had come from his back or chest, but whichever it was, he knew it was not good news.

Rodney staggered over to the control panel to try and get some more information, but before he reached it, the door to the room suddenly opened.

"Who, Who's there?" Rodney asked as his weakly pounding heart sped up even further and white lights tinged the edges of his vision.

Two heavily armed marines came in and swept their eyes and guns around the room rapidly. The torchlight from the weapons passed across Rodney's face and blinded him. He flinched as he raised his hands up and called out, "Don't shoot!"

The marines kept their guns pointing at him and one of them shouted back towards the open door, "Clear!"

Another man entered the room and Rodney lowered his hands down in shock. The marines shifted and tightened their grips on the guns warily and continued to point them at his chest as he whispered in shock, "Lieutenant Ford?"

Ford looked at him, but had not raised his own gun where it remained strapped to the front of his tac vest, "Lieutenant? I've been a Major for a few years now."

Rodney smiled, "Major Ford! Wow, this is a strange reality."

Ford frowned in confusion and took a step forwards between his two men and grabbed the P90 cautiously. He narrowed his eyes at Rodney, "And who the hell are you?"

"Hmm, well I'm dead, aren't I? And, no, I'm not from this reality. I need a power source to get through this archway and get home. How did you find me anyway?" Rodney's hands were starting to shake again as the initial adrenaline rush from the marines finding him wore off. He felt a bone deep weariness threatening to overcome him.

"We saw a life sign suddenly appear on the sensors and were dispatched to investigate."

The Major was still giving him a blank look and Rodney asked desperately, "Uh, don't you remember me?"

Ford looked confused for a moment as he hesitated and Rodney saw his eyes darting about in an unfocused manner, almost like he was trying to access a long forgotten and buried memory. He looked up suddenly and said incredulously, "McKay? Yes, I do remember you! Not very well, but what little remains of my memory from before the siege threw that name at me."

Rodney pressed a hand against his chest to try and stem the flow of blood still steadily leaking out of him and asked, "But what about the Wraith enzyme and your crazy turn?"

"Crazy, huh, doc? Well that's one way of putting it. I hope I'm not crazy now, but I seem to remember, none too clearly though, that you died on the very planet where I was eventually rescued from my 'crazy turn.'"

"Oh," Rodney sighed softly and winced with his eyes tightly closed as the exhalation moved his torn skin painfully.

Ford asked in concern, "Hey, you alright?"

"Not really," Rodney mumbled.

Ford's eyes suddenly widened and he lifted his P90 up and pointed it at McKay's chest. The combined harsh white light of all three guns aiming at the scientist showed that there was a shiny patch over his chest. Dark red liquid ran between his pale fingers as he clutched himself as firmly as he could.

Ford reached up to tap his radio, but Rodney held up his free hand and cried, "No, don't call anyone!"

"But you're bleeding, McKay."

"Oh, my, you're almost as clever as Colonel Obvious!" Rodney hissed in annoyance as his legs wobbled and threatened to give up on holding his weight.

Ford smirked, "Sheppard? Yeah, he is a bit like that! Hey, he'll want to see you, McKay, after all these years. Where did you come from?"

"Another reality that I really need to get back to!" Rodney said breathlessly as he drew in a slow lungful of air to minimize the movement of his chest. "Can you do me a huge favour?"

Ford indicated for his team mates to lower their weapons and went over to Rodney. He helped the injured man to sit down as his knees finally buckled under the strain and then he grabbed a bandage from his tac vest. Rodney's arm fell down limply as he sat there and concentrated on not passing out. Ford pressed the bandage against the scientist's chest and wrapped it around his back.

Rodney asked, "You got any paper?"

Ford shot him a questioning look and as he was so close now, Rodney saw his terrifying black iris from the Wraith feeding he had endured and survived. He flinched back slightly and Ford's hand moved away from where it was stemming the blood flow.

Ford quickly looked away and Rodney thought he saw shame passing across the man's face. It was like a dark shadow and an expression far removed from the almost carefree attitude that Rodney remembered from his fated team mate in his own reality.

Rodney asked again, "You must have some in that tac vest of yours. There's usually just about everything in there and I should know!"

Ford nodded and tore open a velcro pocket. He pulled out a small notepad and a pen and handed them to Rodney.

McKay started to scribble feverishly in the notepad and smeared a little blood on the pages as he wrote. He spoke as he worked, "So, what happened here? How did I die and how did you survive?"

Ford frowned, "Survive? What?"

"You know, on the planet with the sun that all but burnt my skin off?"

Ford's expression darkened again and he said, "I caught up with a wild man living out in the forest. It was too late for you by then…"

He suddenly sat right back and glanced at Rodney with a lopsided grin, "Oh, this is too weird! How can you be here even though you're dead?"

Rodney sighed in annoyance as he looked up from where he was writing out a long list in the notepad. He let his eyes unfocus as he stared across the room and did not look at Ford, "Obviously I'm not dead, just not from this reality." Rodney felt his anger levels building as he had to spell everything out for the Major. He did not remember how he had coped with it when Ford had been a part of his team.

"Oh, yeah," Ford said and he relaxed and leant in towards Rodney again. "Anyway, this wild man had set up some traps, something about Wraith chasing him and they were swarming through that forest all the time. It all happened pretty fast, although I was really drugged up back then so it went by in a blur."

Rodney frowned, "The wild man? Ronon?"

"We never found out his name."

Rodney felt an unsettling coldness washing over him, which had nothing to do with his near freezing or the blood loss. He clenched his teeth in anticipation of the next part in the tale.

"You got caught in one of his traps. I think it was a leg trap of some kind. It wrapped around your ankle, yanked you up and held you hanging upside down."

Rodney grimaced as Ford gestured wildly and expressively with his hands. He remembered the pain and humiliation all too well. More than that though, he remembered the fear that he was about to be split open by the insane Ford's bullets in his reality as he had hung there completely helpless.

"It did more than trap you though, it killed you. I shot the wild man, I'm not sure why. Revenge probably." Ford chuckled nervously and patted Rodney's back.

McKay cried out weakly and hunched forwards as the tracker in his back shifted.

"Oh, sorry, doc. After that, Sheppard and Teyla soon caught up with me, stunned me to oblivion and dragged me back here to go cold turkey."

Ford shuddered and closed his eyes briefly and then stared at Rodney as he continued to write in the notepad. It was almost as though he was awaiting an appraisal of his latest mission report.

"So, you killed Ronon?" Rodney said flatly, feeling anger that the Satedan had never been given a second chance in this reality and had died before he could be freed from the Wraith's clutches.

Rodney quickly pushed aside his emotions about Ronon and chanted his new mantra in his head; it was not his reality. He did not need to heap the grief of an infinite number of bad decisions and nightmare realities upon his battered frame or he would collapse in a sobbing heap and never recover.

He hoped it worked this time as it had utterly failed him in the previous reality. He had felt rage and horror inside him when he had seen what was left of Earth as it had become only an empty planet devoid of the billions of lives it had once had living upon it.

He shook himself from his thoughts and asked in morbid fascination, "So, how did the leg trap manage to kill me? I survived in my own reality. A little bruised and with a bad sprain, but certainly not dead."

Ford looked uncomfortable, "It actually tore most of the ligaments in your leg and you, uh, bled to death inside."

"Oh!" Rodney looked down and stopped writing. He grimaced and passed the notepad back to Ford. "I need all this stuff to get home. Can you get it for me?"

The Major cast his eyes over the list and then raised his eyebrows at Rodney, "First off, I think you need to come with us to the infirmary and get that looked at." He gestured at the darkening bandage wrapped around Rodney's chest. "Then I'm sure Sheppard and the others would like to see you again." He smiled excitedly at Rodney, "I expect they've got a lot of questions!"

Rodney felt anger building inside him and he snapped, "No more questions! No more reunions just to be torn away again! I'll die if I stay here and if you're not going to help me, just give me your scanner, if you've even got one, and leave me alone!" Rodney slumped his shoulders down and buried his face in his hands as his breath hitched sharply.

Ford flinched and stood up. He backed away and stood with his marines as they twitched nervously at Rodney's raised voice.

Ford said in a placating voice, "Alright, McKay. I'll see what I can do, but I can't get you a weapon and it's going to be difficult to swipe any of this gear without arousing suspicion."

Rodney pressed a trembling hand over the bandage wrapped around his chest and muttered miserably, "Right now, I think I'd just settle for some painkillers." He sighed sadly and closed his eyes as his constant pain jabbed tiny knives into his frayed nerves and wore him down even further. He added, "Without any questions."

Ford came over and crouched down next to him with his brow furrowed. He gently squeezed the scientist's upper arm and said, "I'll see what I can do, McKay. Just, uh, don't go anywhere."

Rodney looked up at him incredulously and Ford returned a wry smile. The Major then opened more pockets on his tac vest and handed Rodney some pills, a bottle of water and all the power bars he could find.

Rodney mumbled, "Thanks." He then took some of the painkillers before munching his way through the power bars hungrily.

He suddenly had a nasty thought and his eyes widened as he rapidly blurted, "You need to really hurry, Major! I've got one of those tracking devices in me just like Ronon did." Ford gave him a blank look and Rodney elaborated, "The wild man you killed! There's a chance the Wraith could pick it up at any moment and come here."

"Oh," Ford looked a little rattled and then he straightened up and merely said, "Okay."

The Major left the room with his team and Rodney drank nearly the entire bottle of water before he lay down and stretched out on his back and let the weariness drag him into a fitful sleep.

Rodney awoke when he felt a sharp and painful pull across his chest. He opened his eyes tiredly and saw that the last person he had expected to see was kneeling down next to him with her lips pressed together in concentration.

Ford was standing above her and holding a bright flashlight as she restitched the lacerations on Rodney's chest. McKay whispered, "Jennifer?"

"Hmm, oh, hello." She said distractedly as she pulled another stitch through Rodney's skin.

He did not see any recognition in her eyes as she briefly looked into his face and smiled reassuringly. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was on the wrong side of the tiger cage at feeding time."

Jennifer grinned up at him and tilted her head, "Well, that's not really surprising. Major Ford told me you used to be in his team and died before I came to Atlantis."

Rodney shot Ford a scathing look and muttered angrily, "I thought I told you not to tell… ah!" He cried out with his lower jaw trembling and closed his eyes as Jennifer put another stitch through one of the cuts.

Ford looked down at him sadly and then shrugged, "Didn't think it would hurt. She doesn't know you, McKay, and she has even less of a reason to tell the others."

Rodney opened his eyes again and blinked away the tears, "Alright, thanks. But what about the stuff I asked you to get?"

Ford grinned at him in triumph, "I got most of it. I still can't give you a gun, but with Dr Keller's help, I got all the medical supplies you requested."

"And more…" Rodney said, smiling as he gazed up at Jennifer's frowning face while she continued to work.

He inhaled a deep breath and Jennifer paused for a moment and waited. She kept her eyes on his bare chest as it fell back down when he exhaled in a long sigh. The concentration never left her face as she resumed her stitches.

She started to speak as she neared the end of the last cut, "I'm giving you some antibiotics. These wounds are fairly recent so I hope we can catch the infection before it takes hold, but no promises unfortunately. The Pegasus Galaxy has many different microbes we've never seen before."

Rodney nodded in gratitude. She finished her last stitch and cleaned the wounds gently. Rodney winced and tensed up as the pain broke through the anaesthetic she had given him.

She looked at him in concern and rested a hand on his face as she said, "I really want to take you back to the infirmary so that we can take care of you properly."

Ford cleared his throat and she glanced up at him to see the warning look. She sighed and returned her attention to Rodney, "But the Major says I can't or it'll bring the Wraith down on Atlantis and kill you anyway."

She frowned down at her hand against his face and Rodney closed his eyes as he revelled in her calming caress. He was badly hurt and in so much pain, but her touch soothed it all away from him.

She quickly drew her hand back and looked at him with a puzzled expression. She then raised her eyebrows and helped him to sit up before she wrapped a fresh bandage around his chest.

Rodney considered asking her to investigate the Wraith tracker, but he did not know how much time he had left before the random killing malfunctions tried their luck against him once more.

It seemed that Ford had probably told her to leave that one too, by the look that passed between them. All that she did was clean and bandage the wound, but otherwise left it alone.

He would really rather not stay on Atlantis with the tracker in his back for too long or he would call the Wraith down to obliterate whatever Atlantis was like in this reality.

Jennifer passed him a clean shirt and jacket and he pulled them on over the bandage which felt snug and reassuringly tight against his skin. She pressed a packet of tablets into his hands and put her other hand around his neck. Rodney shivered a little and she said, "There's a nasty bruise on your shoulder as well. It's not broken your collar bone, but it'll be sore for a while."

Rodney nodded and smiled, "Thanks, Jennifer."

She narrowed her eyes at him briefly and then returned the expression with a little confusion playing across her face which made her smile go lopsided.

Rodney chuckled and with her help he stood up. He felt much stronger after the food and her care and was able to stay upright with a minimal amount of trembling in his muscles.

Ford handed him a rucksack and he winced as he held onto it, but he could not put it on over his bruised shoulder. He was not given a gun though, until Jennifer folded her arms over her chest and glared at Ford.

Ford sighed and reluctantly pulled a gun holster and belt out of his own rucksack and handed it to Rodney. He muttered, "Against my better judgement…"

Jennifer's face softened a little and Rodney felt gratitude overwhelming him so much he had to keep hold of the gun belt after he had strapped it around his waist so that he did not draw the alternate Jennifer into an incredibly awkward hug.

He said sincerely, "Thanks, both of you. Once I'm gone I suppose you can tell the others. Although you might not want to as it would create too many questions." He turned to Ford and asked, "What about your men?"

Ford shook his head, "They came to Atlantis after you died. I already asked them not to tell anybody about this and I can trust them."

Rodney nodded and said dismissively, "Good, good. Well, I need to leave."

They both stayed there and he waved his hand around in annoyance, "You can't stay here! Unless you want to get pulled out of your reality forever!" His voice broke at the end and Jennifer furrowed her brow at his despair.

Rodney hung his head down and rubbed his face in hopelessness.

Jennifer walked over to him and grabbed his wrist as he dragged it across his forehead. She drew his arm away from his face and said, "Hey, no need to be like that."

Rodney stiffened up as she continued to hold his arm and then relaxed. He was among friends. Even though Jennifer did not know him, he felt the tension leaving him in her presence.

He said sadly, "It's just I've been passing through all sorts of hellish realities and never one where I can stay." His breath hitched and Jennifer held his arm more securely and squeezed gently.

She said, "You'll get back."

"How can you be so sure?" Rodney asked as he lifted his chin to gaze up at her.

"I just have a feeling." She looked a little confused, like she had not really thought about what she had said before it came out of her mouth.

"Yes, well that usually works." Rodney said smiling brightly.

She grinned back at him and then her hand slipped down to his and she said, "Well, good luck!"

Rodney nodded and then pulled his hand out of her grasp as he turned. He was unsure what would happen next if he held her hand for too long.

Jennifer hastily packed away her gear and Rodney drew out the hand scanner and one of the power crystals he had asked for. He reconfigured the scanner and pressed it against his left arm to read the implant from the Ancients.

He sighed when he saw, not unexpectedly, that he was still far, far from home.

Ford nodded at him and then he locked eyes with Jennifer one last time. She smiled back at him, before she turned and left the lab behind Ford.

Rodney shook his head as he walked the familiar path back to the control panel and inserted the power crystal. He sighed tiredly as he once again powered up the arch.

He then held his breath and closed his eyes as he was dragged backwards. Praying that he did not get sent to a reality where Atlantis was nothing more than debris in space. He breached the portal and went ever onwards in his quest to stay alive for long enough to get home.

TBC

PS – Say the chapter of this title out loud quickly and you may realise something…