The ship came to a steady halt as it settled into in the 'jumper bay. The gentle hiss as the engines powered down seemed unreasonably loud to Rodney's already throbbing head. He honestly couldn't remember ever being so tired before. Even including all the many, many all-nighters he'd begun to see as standard since he came to Atlantis, let alone the siege when he'd stayed awake for days on end. Zelenka was still asleep, drooling in a most un-endearing manner.

"Open the door." Sheppard ordered sharply from the front of the 'jumper. McKay watched as Suddrick didn't even raise his head as his hands danced over the console. The hatch slid open even as Sheppard returned to the rear of the compartment.

"Let's get out of here." The Colonel suggested, tapping Radek on the shoulder, "Doctor Z? You with us?" his esteemed colleague groaned and muttered something incomprehensible. Sheppard frowned,

"That Czech?" Rodney shrugged,

"Sounded like nonsense to me. But then, so does most of-"

"McKay?" came a quiet murmur; he sat up straighter, peering over at his friend,

"Radek?"

"Stop talking please." Bourne sniggered, Rodney glared at him, but it was half-hearted at best. He was so damn tired.

"Come on Doc, up we go!" Sheppard hooked an arm under Zelenka's shoulders and hauled him to his feet, "Bourne, help McKay. Suddrick?"

"Sir?"

"Go report to Doctor Weir." Mortified, the Major slipped past. Rodney frowned a little. As gratifying as it would be to blame Suddrick for his little dip, holding a puddlejumper absolutely still was an incredibly difficult task. The damn thing jittered like a hoverfly. Besides, if he'd had his usual excellent balance instead of an already spinning head he wouldn't have fallen.

Probably.

He tried to give the Major a sympathetic 'isn't he an idiot' look but was entirely possible he just grimaced. Either way, Suddick just raised his eyebrows before heading out of the 'jumper.

Sheppard followed the Major with Radek all but draped over him. Rodney closed his eyes for a second, leaning back against the 'jumper wall. The cool metal was blissful against his fevered skin. He'd get up in a minute…just a-

"Doctor?" He blinked sleepily. Bourne was looming over him, looking half-concerned, half-nervous. Sheppard must have been angry. "Do you need me to get a medic in here?"

"No!" He forced himself to his feet, swaying perhaps but he was up! "That won't be necessary thank you! My legs work perfectly-" his knees buckled slightly and he began to sink to the floor, "-fine" A hand gripped his arm and he was back on his feet, this time an arm round Bourne's shoulders. He blinked, trying to clear the fog from his head as the Lieutenant began to lead him out. "Umm thanks." He mumbled, ignoring Bourne's look of concern as he strove to contain the shivers which had begun again. With the Lieutenant's help he stumbled out of the 'jumper, prepared the face the wrath of the terrible entity known as Carson.

Who wasn't there…? Instead Bourne led him over to a waiting gurney with a nurse standing by. Radek was being wheeled out with Suddrick nowhere to be seen. Sheppard however was standing next to the nurse, probably checking her out. You'd think two ascended chicks would be enough for the guy! Did he have to nab all the girlson this plane of existencetoo?

Sheppard interrupted his thoughts, "Looks like you got lucky McKay. Carson had to go down to the gym, apparently someone dislocated their shoulder. But don't worry; he promised he'll be waiting for you." The nurse rolled her eyes; Sheppard just grinned and patted the gurney, "So what are you waiting for McKay? Hop up."

"W-w-wait!" Rodney pulled away from Bourne's supporting arm. If he was being wheeled to the infirmary how would he escape? Some more coherent part of his brain argued he was being foolish. He was injured, ill, and more than a little exhausted. He would be better off facing the music with Carson than carrying on like this. There was no chance any self-respecting witch doctor would pass him to go on the mission today; if he was honest with himself, he wouldn't blame them.

But still, he wasn't feeling logical. He was really getting pissed off with the universe in general. He'd been through a lot that morning; all for the good of Atlantis he might add, and the last thing he felt like doing was being scolding like a little child.

And now everyone was staring at him.

He cleared his throat, trying not to sway on his feet as he protested defiantly, "I can walk, I'm not completely infirm I'll have you know. Though if the food gets much worse around here-"

"McKay-"

"I won't be responsible for-"

"MCKAY!" He shut up. Sheppard looked at the nurse,

"How 'bout I walk McKay down there." She looked doubtful, "We'll be there in five minutes, tops." The medic glanced in his direction, sizing him up no doubt. He froze, every muscle tense in the effort not to fall over. Finally she sighed.

"Five minutes?"

"Five minutes." Sheppard assured her.

"Okay…but if he has any dizzy spells, or loses consciousness, call the infirmary right away."

"He is standing right here!" Rodney groused, the nurse simply gave him an exasperated glance before heading for the door, Bourne following with the gurney.

And then it was him and Sheppard.

"Sooo McKay. What's with the sudden aversion to catching a ride? Usually you'll do anything to avoid walking." Rodney closed his eyes briefly, not realising he was swaying again till Sheppard suddenly put a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"Easy." The Colonel cautioned. "Let's get to the infirmary eh? I bet the Doc'll be pleased to see you." At the mention of Carson, the Colonel grinned. "So why the sudden urge to walk? Trying to stave off the Doc? Because I have to tell you, it's never worked for me." They left the 'jumper bay, Rodney concentrated on putting one foot firmly in front of the other. How to escape?

"I thought it might be helpful to dry off first. Never liked swimming, gives you a chill." He replied finally. An idea struck him, "In fact I'm going to my quarters first. Have a hot shower, always does the trick."

"Rodney, you're not going to your quarters."

"What, I can't take a shower now? Who are you, the anti-mother?"

"You can take a shower when Carson's checked you out."

"Oh please, I swear the man gets some kind of thrill out of ordering bed baths."

"Shy McKay?"

"There are some things Colonel, a man should be allowed to keep to himself."

"Too bad Cadman didn't let you then."

"Can you stop bringing that up?"

"No." Rodney was about to retort when he realised they had stopped. Outside his quarters.

"Colonel?"

"McKay."

"We're…um"

"Outside your quarters, yes. Want to let us in?"

"Us?"

"You don't think you're escaping that easily do you? Open the door." Confused, Rodney put his palm against the scanner, the doors sliding open. So star-trekish, he would never stop loving that. Sheppard followed him inside, pointing at the bathroom door. "Five minutes, I'm coming in. So if you do want to keep things to yourself, I suggest you get a move on." Rodney was about to protest before noticing the expression on the Colonel's face. It suddenly struck him that Sheppard had been in the crash too and must be hurting, not to mention he'd also taken a little dip. He was probably longing for a rest too.

"Fine." He agreed, albeit reluctantly. "But no going through my desk. Top secret research projects and all."

"Your collection of trading cards? Don't worry McKay; your secret is safe with me." If only looks could kill. He collected a fresh uniform and left the Colonel making himself at home, his booted feet on the desk no less. Did the man have no decorum?

In the bathroom, he looked about for a means of escape. And came up with….nothing. If he had a toolkit he could pry a few panels off the floor and maybe escape through the conduits below. But he hadn't counted on Sheppard following him in, and the Colonel would probably hear any escape attempts anyway.

With nothing else to do, he took a shower.

Ten minutes or so later, he left the bathroom in fresh clothes; looking, if not feeling, much better. If he didn't move his head much the dizziness subsided, and at least the bone-deep shivers were gone. If he had to face Carson, at least he wouldn't fall over or similarly embarrass himself.

"Made yourself at home Colonel?" he enquired with more energy than he felt, the Colonel didn't stir.

"Colonel?" He walked round to face him, only to find Sheppard fast asleep in his chair.

"Sleeping? I thought you military types were supposed to be good at staying awake?" He muttered, "I mean, hello! Injured man here, what if I-" He froze.

Sheppard was asleep. The door was over there. He could just go andget on with his day. Sure, Carson would catch up with him eventually, but maybe he'd be okay by then. It was possible, right?

Possible, yeah right.

With only a little guilt at leaving Sheppard to face Carson's inevitable wrath, he slipped out the door.

He headed straight down to the labs, testing on the new weapon was due to begin in twenty minutes but most of the science team was already at work. They looked up briefly when he entered, acknowledging his presence with a 'Good Morning Doctor' or a nod before returning to their business. He did a brief round, reassigning tasks and correcting errors before getting on with his own work.

The weapon was a work of genius, (obviously it was his idea). Currently the best they could do was shoot as many rounds as possible into a Wraith and hope it ran out of life before they ran out of bullets. Very inefficient, not to mention life threatening. Their weapon was something else.

The 'gun' would fire a small device into the Wraith with all the force of a bullet. Instead of simply passing through however, the device would implant itself in the Wraith's body, several electric tendrils would then cause shocks throughout its nervous system. The more the Wraith moved, the more intense the shocks. The result would be pain, and eventually paralysis, the entire nervous system shutting down. Whilst it might take a few minutes to actually kill a Wraith, it would disable them almost instantly. Giving its erstwhile victims ample time to flee.

Or, you know, fire.

An hour later things were proceeding well. The actual device was almost complete. It just needed adjusting in order to strengthen the shocks being emitted before being implanted into the 'bullet' container.

Rodney was studying the energy output readings when it happened. Ford of all people had come in. Being one of the most qualified weapon experts on base (at twenty five, how? The man was practically a teenager) Dr Ronsell had wanted his advice on the firing mechanism for the device. Ford was of course unable to resisttaking a look atthe actual 'bullet' as well as the gun mechanism.

"So this thing can kill a Wraith?"

"Yes Lieutenant, that's the idea." Rodney had little patience His head hurt terribly and he felt nauseous again. Ford had obviously never learnt to see with his eyes, not with his hands however, and had actually picked up the device, with his hands in his sleeves!

"Lieutenant will you put that down!" He snapped,

"Afraid I'll break it?"

"It's a highly charged electronic device designed to paralyse an alien nervous system. Shockingly enough I'm more worried about the damage it could do to you."

"Aw thanks Doc." Ford smirked, still not putting the device down, "I'm sure that-" and his sleeve slipped, his hand brushing against the device.

"Ford!" McKay lunged for him, the damned device implanted so fast and if it did…he knocked the Lieutenant's arm away-

Ninety nine times in a hundred the device would have fallen harmlessly to the floor. It hadn't been in real contact with Ford's skin, not enough to attach at any rate. And even if it had hit Rodney when falling, his arms were usually covered in his SGA jacket, the same jacket that was destroyed in the ocean earlier. His arms were uncovered save for his short sleeved blue shirt.

As the device was knocked from Ford's hand, it hit his bare arm, just long enough to dig red-hot tendrils into his skin. A cold sensation ran through him like ice down his spine, before every muscle in his body seized up in agony.

He felt curiously detached as people began to gather round him, catching him as he fell, yelling things he couldn't hear. He really was going to die. From his own creation no less. It was oddly appropriate in a terrifying kind of way. Death because of his own genius.

At least he'd be in good company, didn't all mad scientists die this way?

Sorry! So long without a chapter! As a reward for your patience and the many lovely reviews, I've made this chapter longer than usual :) You guys are so great. Anyone know where a girl can get a beta? I hate betaing my own stuff! I'm hardly impartial!

Anyway, to see more Rodney whumping, h/c moments, and soon, scottish fury as only Carson can vent, do the 'chicken tonight' dance or leave me a review :)

Carson is only getting madder, but I'll hide him away if no one reviews ;)