Disclaimer: the usual etc etc

I always wondered why they call it friendly fire. Doesn't seem real friendly to me...

Friendly Fire.

John, Rodney and Teyla watched from the trees as the two darts zig zagged across the clearing. Ronon and Major Lorne and his men had managed to make it to their jumper and were airborne and cloaked.

Thanks to Rodney twisting his ankle they had lagged behind. Now they stood, fifty yards from the cloaked ship. So close and yet so far.

"I'm sorry," Rodney said flexing his right foot and wincing. "It's dark. I didn't see the hole."

"Maybe if we wait they'll go," John said.

"I believe that they know that we are here," Teyla said. "Or they would have gone to the village by now."

"Colonel ?"

John tapped his radio. "Yes, Major," he said.

"Perhaps we could uncloak and draw them away," Lorne said. "There are only two of them, sir."

"Be careful," John said. "There may be more around."

"Yes, sir."

The second jumper decloaked and the darts immediately turned towards it.

The trio watched as the jumper sped away. Suddenly they fired two drones. The first one destroyed one of the darts. The second exploded at the base of a large tree only feet away from where they were standing.

"Watch it, Major," John said. "That was close."

"Sorry, sir."

"Look out !" Rodney yelled. He stepped forward and hit John squarely in the back with both hands.

John went sprawling face first in the dirt just as the tree crashed down on top of them.

oOo

It took several minutes for the dust to clear enough for John to see. He coughed and spluttered and got to his feet. "Teyla ?" he yelled. "Rodney ?"

"I am uninjured," Teyla called out from the other side of the massive tree.

John couldn't see through the leaves. "Rodney ?" he yelled. "McKay !"

He pushed the branches away and then he saw him, pinned beneath the huge trunk. He wasn't moving.

"Oh my God," John said moving towards him. "Rodney," he said touching his arm.

Rodney groaned and moved his arm. John flinched back, startled. Rodney turned his head towards him. "What the... hell...?" he said.

"The tree fell on you," John said looking around. "You're pinned beneath the trunk. I thought you were dead."

Rodney coughed and gasped. He looked up at John. "I'm not...complaining," he panted. "But why am... I still alive ?"

"The branches further up," Teyla said making her way around. "They are supporting the weight of the tree. Stopping it from crushing you."

"You OK ?" John asked. "Can you breathe ?"

Rodney shot him a look. "Barely... hurts," he coughed and winced. "I think my ...computer took the ...brunt of it."

John scratched at the ground. It was much too hard to dig him out. He tapped his radio. "Major," he said.

An explosion in the distance signalled the end of the second dart. "Yes, sir," Major Lorne answered.

"That drone brought a tree down and McKay's pinned underneath it," he said. "Get over here, ASAP."

"Yes, sir."

A few moments later the jumper landed in the clearing. Ronon was the first out of the door. He ran over to them. "Can I help ?" he said.

"I don't think even you can lift this one," John said.

"Won't know unless we try." Ronon moved to one of the bigger branches, got his shoulder underneath it and pushed.. The tree moved a fraction of an inch before dropping back down as he relaxed his grip.

"Ow !" Rodney yelled. "Felt that..."

"Sorry," John said.

"We have some C4," Lorne said.

"Oh no no no no no no," Rodney gasped. "Not with... me under here ...you don't."

"You don't have much say in it, McKay," Ronon pointed out.

"Not a good idea, anyway," John said. "We've got no way to shield him from the blast."

"We could get some engineers and equipment," Lorne said.

"There might be more darts by the gate," Teyla said.

"And they've probably got a wormhole established to stop anyone using it," John said. "At least for another half hour."

"Need a lever," Ronon said looking around. "A big one," he added.

Ronon disappeared into the trees and came back out a few minutes later with a tree limb in his hand. He wedged it underneath the tree and braced himself. John, Lorne and the marine pilot also braced themselves against the limb. Teyla crouched down by Rodney.

"OK," John said. "If we get it to move you can pull him out."

Teyla nodded and grabbed Rodney's arms.

"For the... record," Rodney said. " I don't think that this is... a good idea."

"Got a better one ?" Ronon asked.

"No..."

They pushed together and the tree started to move but before there was enough room for Teyla to pull Rodney out the tree limb snapped and the trunk fell back into place.

Rodney cried out in pain, gasped and started to cough. "Oh my God..." he said. "Enough...already." Eyes squeezed shut he concentrated on trying to breathe as Teyla released him and placed her hand gently on his shoulders.

"Looks like we have no choice," John said. "OK," he turned to Major Lorne and the marine. "Take a cloaked jumper up to the gate. As soon as you can get through, gate back to Atlantis and bring back some engineers and equipment."

"Yes, sir," Major Lorne replied and they ran to the craft.

"Now what ?" Ronon asked.

"Now we wait," John said sitting down.

oOo

Rodney was finding it increasingly harder to breathe. Since he couldn't get a deep breath he had to keep panting and the lack of oxygen was making him dizzy. His chest and back hurt and he kept coughing up blood, which also hurt. "Has it been..." he gasped. "Thirty eight minutes... yet...?"

John checked his watch again even though it had only been a couple of minutes since he last looked. He tapped his radio. "What's happening, Major ?" he asked.

"We've got a problem."

"I don't want to hear that."

"There was another dart up here. We got him but not before he redialled he gate."

"So how long ?"

"About thirty five minutes, sir."

"Crap !" John said tapping his radio.

"What ?" Ronon said.

"There was another dart. Redialled the gate."

"Oh no..." Rodney said quietly.

"We gotta do somethin'," Ronon said.

It was starting to get light as one of the two suns crested the horizon. John walked out to the clearing. "I got an idea," he said looking at the fallen tree.

oOo

Ronon was standing on the open back door of the jumper. John was hovering the craft a few inches off the ground.

"OK," Ronon was saying. "Back, back... about another foot... careful... stop."

John lowered the craft to the ground, got out of the pilots seat and walked out of the jumper and back to where Rodney was pinned. "Right," he said. "I've got the door of the jumper positioned under one of the main branches. When I lift it, Ronon and Teyla will pull you out. Any questions ?"

"What if it ...slips ?" Rodney asked.

"It'll probably kill you," Ronon said.

John shot him a look and Ronon shrugged. "Or you can slowly suffocate," John said.

"Gee, thanks," Rodney said.

John crouched down in front of him. "We're gonna get you out of this, OK ?" he said. "I owe you big time. It shoulda been me under there."

"This wasn't how I ...planned the heroic ...rescue bit," Rodney said. "Let's get this... over with..." he added.

John slapped him lightly on the shoulder and ran back to the jumper as Ronon and Teyla positioned themselves by Rodney ready to pull him clear.

John gently lifted off and the tree limb, caught on the door, started to lift the tree. Rodney gasped in pain and took a breath as the weight of the tree was lifted off his back. Teyla and Ronon quickly pulled him out. Teyla tapped her radio. "He is clear of the tree," she said.

"OK," John said pulling forward and letting the tree drop with a resounding crash. He parked the jumper and ran back to the others.

Rodney was on his hands and knees, coughing up blood and gasping for breath, one hand clasped across his chest.

Teyla looked worried. "We need to get him to Doctor Beckett," she said helping to support him.

John nodded as Ronon and Teyla helped Rodney into the jumper and laid him on the bench in the back.

John jumped into the pilots seat and Ronon took the seat next to him as Teyla stayed with Rodney.

oOo

Back in the gateroom Carson and a medical team rushed Rodney to the Infirmary. Major Lorne walked up to John and Ronon.

"How is he, sir ?" he asked.

"Too early to tell," John said.

"You better pray that he'll be OK," Ronon said glaring at him.

Major Lorne looked pale as the Satedan walked away. "It was an accident, sir," he said.

"I know, Major," John replied. "But the results are the same."

oOo

"Why do you call it friendly fire ?" Teyla asked several days later as they visited Rodney in the Infirmary.

"Yeah," Ronon said. "Seems kinda unfriendly to me."

"The term was originally adopted by the US military to refer to fire from allied or friendly forces," Rodney said. "Did you know that General Stonewall Jackson died as a result of friendly fire ?"

"Really," John said slowly.

"Yeah, I looked it up," Rodney continued. "Not like there's anything else to do here."

"Ya know the rules, Rodney," Carson said walking over to them. "You're supposed to be resting."

"Hey I'm just happy to be breathing."

"Aye. There aren't very many people who can get hit by a tree and live to tell about it."

"How is Major Lorne doing ?" Teyla asked.

"Well he wasn't actually the one that fired the drone," John said. "And I understand that the marine that did still has another two weeks of KP duty. The kitchen floor's never been cleaner..."

oOo

Coming up next...(works in progress)

Transformation (from an idea by Samandjackforever - thanks Dani ;) )

and Second Sight (from an idea from Graffiti Kiss)

love reviews

debbie