"So. Sacrifice. Your plan includes somebody dying." Mckay's voice tightened as the tingles washed down his spine and pure adrenaline hit.
"Mm-hm." One of Kavanagh's hands lifted and came up to his face.
"What about…what we talked about? Is that off the table now?"
"I wouldn't say that. But we are on a schedule."
Mckay choked a little.
"Look, just—tell me clearly what you want. All right? We can go from there. I'll help you with whatever you want as well. Ascending, whatever. Assuming it doesn't involve me dying, anyway, or putting the city or anyone else here at risk. And if it has to be somebody, me or somebody else I mean, I'll…listen. Anyway. That's fair, isn't it? More than fair. Generous even. Right? So tell me."
"I've said too much already." The soft voice was growing remote. Mckay realized Kavanagh's thoughts were turning in a different direction, moving away from his voice, slowly but inexorably disconnecting. He could almost feel the chill as Kavanagh's hand stopped touching him.
"Kavanagh. Kavanagh. Talk to me. Don't let this go any further. Look what you've done already. Is this you? Is this who you are?"
Kavanagh's head came back around at the blunt sincerity in Mckay's last words.
"Who I am…" He looked down, playing with the sheet.
"That's it. I'm right here. Talk to me." Mckay's eyes searched for his, trying to force a connection.
The other scientist hesitated. His eyes darted up and Mckay saw a flicker of something pass through them. Was that regret? Apprehension? Mckay took a short, cautious breath, keeping eye contact.
Kavanagh looked down, his hand sliding tentatively over Mckay's.
"What if we started over? Imagine that last time didn't happen? I think if we, if we went according to plan…"
"Didn't happen…" Mckay stared at him, shaking his head a little in disbelief, his face wrinkling. A surge of red-hot anger shot through him as he digested Kavanagh's words, leaving him shaking and erasing for a second the terror. For a second he fought to contain the fury rising, prickling through every nerve of his body. He thought he might have it, he almost had it but then Kavanagh's eyes turned maddeningly hopeful, his face sliding into a slack, infuriating stupidity and McKay's head stopped forming logical thoughts. He jerked his hand away.
"Are you kidding? Are you fucking kidding? Fat chance, Kavanagh! What's done is done. If you think there's any way in two galaxies I'm forgetting or forgiving what you've done, you're sadly mistaken! I—"
Kavanagh looked at him silently for a few seconds. Mckay faltered, the words dying on his lips as he watched the face across from his go hard and angry and then expressionless. Something about the set of his eyes sent a deathly stillness right into Mckay's soul as Kavanagh gripped his hand again and leaned in, the device freezing his fingers in place when he would have curled them under in a last defiant gesture. Mckay tensed as the other scientist's mouth neared his ear, but he only whispered a word into it before putting his head back into the hollow of Mckay's shoulder.
"Good."