Rodney boarded the small plane and settled in his seat next to the window. John took the aisle, leaving the middle seat between them empty as the few other passengers on the flight settled around them.
"Not much interest in flying to New York today, I guess," John said. He glanced around the mostly empty plane as the flight attendant closed the door, and the 'fasten seatbelt' symbol lit up above them.
"It's Tuesday," Rodney replied. "No one flies on a Tuesday. Besides," he continued, "I didn't think we'd be flying commercial, anyway. Didn't you have a plane the last time we tried to go do this?"
"No, a friend of mine has a plane," John replied as they started to move away from the gate. "And he wasn't in town this time."
"You could always ask if the pilot would let you fly this one," Rodney said with a cheeky smile.
"Funny," John replied, though his tone said he wasn't in the mood for the teasing.
Rodney glanced over at Sheppard, but he had no idea why John was so tense, especially considering they were supposed to be having a relaxing trip. John had been acting strange ever since the meeting with Landry, and Rodney still couldn't figure out why. The plane reached its cruising altitude a few minutes later, and Rodney let the matter drop.
If John wanted to talk, he would talk, he reasoned as he took out his laptop computer and opened the file for his half-written presentation.
"I thought this was supposed to be a vacation?" John said as Rodney read over the last few lines of his speech and started to type.
"For you, it's a vacation. I still need to finish this, and I'm running out of time."
"You still haven't finished it?" John asked.
Rodney looked up with a scowl. "In case you've forgotten, I've been busy the last few days," he retorted.
John grunted and picked up the backpack at his feet.
Rodney watched as John pulled a book out of the backpack and decided to push his luck. "I don't suppose you want to tell me what's wrong with you?"
John shrugged as he opened the book. "Nothing."
"It doesn't seem like nothing," Rodney replied. He glanced at the empty row of seats in front of them, then at the two women sitting across from them, and lowered his voice. "Is it about Vance?" he asked and couldn't hide the touch of nervous fear in his voice. "I thought you said the IOA team would catch him."
John shook his head. "It's not Vance," he replied. He pursed his lips and set the book on the seat between them. "I just have a weird feeling." He paused and stared at the front of the plane. "This was all too easy," he muttered more to himself than to Rodney.
"What was?" Rodney asked. "It's not like I'm the first scientist from," he glanced up at the ceiling, hoping his message was clear, "to get invited to speak at a symposium. Zelenka went to one a few months ago. And I heard Volkov was invited to some sort of geology conference next month. The SGC has always taken care of the arrangements."
"That's not the weird part," John replied. He tapped the cover of the book with his finger. "It didn't take much convincing for Landry to let us make a side trip to Niagara," John said with a frown. "Something else is going on."
Rodney ducked his head and concentrated on the computer in front of him.
"Rodney?" John asked.
"Hmm?" Rodney looked up with what he hoped was an innocent expression.
"Out with it," John ordered in a low hiss. "What did you do?"
"Me? Umm, nothing." Rodney's fingers inched toward the keyboard, but John closed the computer with a snap.
"McKay?" John drawled.
"It wasn't me," Rodney replied. "If I, umm, had to guess," he glanced at John and muttered, "Elizabeth."
John sat back in his chair. "She talked to Landry?"
"Umm, maybe?" Rodney replied.
"Why?" John asked, his tone suddenly hard.
Rodney shot John an impatient glare. "Seriously?" he hissed with another glance at the row of seats across from them. "Why do you think?"
John stared at him for a moment, then scrubbed a hand over his face. "Heightmeyer," he said.
Rodney nodded. "Exactly."
John dropped his hand and narrowed his eyes. "Is that why you kept dropping those hints about wanting me to come back here with you? Elizabeth roped you into this little conspiracy of hers, too?"
Rodney winced at both John's accusing tone and the word conspiracy. "No!" he exclaimed, and lowered his voice when the two women sitting across from them turned to stare. "I mean, Elizabeth may have said something, too, but if you remember, I was trying to ask if you wanted to come before everything," he glanced across the aisle and ended in a whisper, "with the sanctuary."
Rodney saw John twitch at the mention of their past mission and mentally kicked himself. Good job, he berated himself. Remind him of the thing you're supposed to be trying to help him forget.
"I didn't," he started to say, but John ignored his attempt to apologise and picked up his book. Rodney waited a moment, but when Sheppard opened the book and started to read, he sighed and reached for the laptop.
He had reached the highlight of his presentation when he felt a shiver up his back and turned to find John watching him.
"What was the other reason?" John asked.
"What?"
"You said Elizabeth was one reason you wanted company on this trip," John said. "What was the other reason?"
"Oh, you know," Rodney tried to obfuscate, "like you said to General Landry. Rochester is close to Niagara Falls, and since we didn't get to go the last time we were here …" He glanced at John and let the sentence peter out when he saw Sheppard wasn't buying the excuse.
John shook his head. "That's not it," he said. He shifted in his seat and studied Rodney. "What's the real reason you wanted company for this conference?"
"I-I don't know what you mean," Rodney replied and crossed his arms over his chest. "The conference was close -"
"You really are a terrible liar," John said.
Rodney glowered and turned to stare out the window. The view was nothing special, endless squares of irrigation circles broken up by the occasional small town.
"I talked to Radek," John said as Rodney continued to peer down at the world below.
Rodney jerked around in his seat.
"He may have mentioned something about how he suspected your reception at this symposium wouldn't be the triumphant return that you had led us to believe. Something about jealousy and people not taking your ideas seriously?"
Rodney blew out a breath. "Zelenka talks too much," he muttered.
"He was concerned," John replied. "He suggested to me it might be nice if there was one friendly face in the crowd when you went to this symposium." John stopped speaking, and Rodney glanced over at him. "You could have just come out and asked instead of dropping cryptic hints."
Rodney hunched his shoulders and refused to look at John.
"Was he right?" Sheppard asked.
Rodney reached for the computer, hoping John would drop the subject, but Sheppard pulled the computer off the little table and dropped it on the empty seat between them. "Rodney?"
"Fine, yes," Rodney hissed. "As much as I want to stand up in front of my so-called peers and regale them with some new theory that hasn't even crossed their puny minds yet, I'm also keenly aware that everyone in that room will be there mostly to see if I've gone completely around the bend."
"Why would -" John started to ask.
"Do you remember how things were when we first arrived in -"
John shot him a glare, and Rodney pressed his lips together. "I haven't published a research paper in almost a decade," he said instead.
"So? It's not like -"
"Publish or perish isn't just a quaint turn of phrase," Rodney interrupted with a scowl. "If you want to stay relevant, if you want the scientific community to continue to take you seriously, you have to give them something to prove you still have what it takes."
Rodney rubbed his forehead in frustration. This was why he hadn't been able to come out and ask John to come with him. This was not a conversation he ever intended to have with anyone. He had resigned himself to the choices he had made a long time ago. He didn't want or need John's pity regarding his standing in the scientific community.
He glanced over at Sheppard, saw John wasn't going to let this go, and pinched the bridge of his nose as he considered how much to say. He dropped his hand and turned to John.
"Taking the job at …" he paused and gave John a significant look, "I made a choice. I knew I would likely never publish anything ever again. But the opportunity to study …" He stopped again and sighed. "The chance to make the next world-changing breakthrough, it was too good to pass up."
He glanced out the window. "I was never well-liked, and I'm not sure I was even that well-respected," he admitted. "I wasn't interested in playing the games required to cultivate either within the rest of the scientific community. I found most of my 'peers'," he mimed the quote marks, "were incapable of grasping the sort of things I knew were right. I left them to their small-minded tasks and thought my work would speak for itself."
He looked over at John, surprised to see the concerned expression on his face. "So, no, I'm not expecting this weekend to go very well," he finished with a rueful smile.
John studied him for a moment longer, then handed back the computer. "You could have just told me that, you know."
Rodney snorted. "Just like you could have said you needed to get away from …" He let the sentence peter out as he glanced from John and then up at the roof of the plane.
John studied him for a moment longer. "Maybe," he admitted.
Rodney shook his head. "Whatever. Now, if you don't mind, It's a four-hour flight from Denver to New York, and I want to put it to good use." He opened the computer and heard John chuckle as he picked up his book.
By the time they landed, Rodney had most of his lecture written. He didn't feel any better about what would happen before and after he gave his talk, but at least he wouldn't embarrass himself for the two hours he had for his presentation.
He waited as John checked in with the rental car company, signed out the car Landry had arranged, and then followed John outside to the row of waiting vehicles. The sun was shining, but the temperature had to be somewhere in the teens. Rodney zipped up the coat he'd been given in the SGC and clutched his computer bag to his chest as a gust of wind blew past.
"I thought we agreed we weren't going to visit Niagara in the winter," John said. He dumped his backpack, Rodney's carryall, and the garment bag with the two suits that Sergeant Harriman had found for them into the trunk.
"It's April," Rodney replied. He climbed in on the passenger side. The door slammed closed thanks to another gust of wind, and Rodney groped for his seatbelt as John settled behind the wheel. "The first day of Spring was a couple of weeks ago."
"Still, I'd be surprised if it was more than fifty-five degrees today. I think we may be in for a chilly vacation," John said as he pulled out of the rental lot and followed the GPS directions to their hotel.
~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~
The next morning, Rodney stood in the bathroom of his hotel room, buttoning his shirt when he heard a tap on the door connecting his room to John's. He walked back into the main room in time to see John walk into his room wearing jeans and a collared shirt.
"You ready to go?" John asked as Rodney sat down and tied his boots.
Rodney glanced out the balcony door at the bright, sunny day and stood. "So what now?" he asked as he followed John out of the room and down the hall to the elevator.
"First, breakfast," John said. "I need coffee."
The hotel provided a buffet breakfast, and Rodney loaded his plate with eggs, toast, and bacon, then grabbed a cup of coffee and followed John over to a table.
"Seriously, what do we do now that we're here?" Rodney asked as they ate.
"Didn't you ever take family trips as a kid?" John asked as he started on his breakfast.
Rodney shook his head. "Spending days on end trapped in a car with my parents? I'm glad I was spared that agony."
"My family took a road trip every summer," John said with a wistful smile. "We went to state parks around California. Mount Rushmore. The Grand Canyon."
"Sounds nice, I guess."
"It was. Most of the time," John replied and picked up his coffee cup.
Rodney gave him a quizzical look, but when John refused to elaborate, he stood and went back for more coffee.
John glanced out the window next to them as Rodney sat back down. "Looks like we may have caught a break with the weather," he said. "Should be a nice day to see the falls and maybe do some hiking over on Goat Island."
Rodney made a face. "Hiking? Seriously? Don't I get enough of that at home?"
John smiled. "The exercise is good for you. Can't spend all of your time in your lab."
Rodney snorted and finished his eggs.
"All right, how about we start with the main attraction and go from there," John replied.
They finished eating, and John led the way out of the hotel. Harriman had chosen well in terms of their hotel, and it was only a short walk to the Niagara Falls State Park grounds. They wandered around the mostly deserted grounds until they found an observation deck overlooking the falls.
Rodney leant on the railing and watched the torrent with a sense of awe. Even at a distance, the thundering sound of the water was loud, and he watched as rainbows danced in the spray.
"You can see why Tesla built his power plant here," he muttered after a few minutes.
John shook his head with a smile.
"What?" Rodney asked.
"You have one of the wonders of the natural world in front of you, and that's your takeaway?"
Rodney shrugged. "It was a stunning scientific achievement," he replied. "Tesla's power plants lit up whole cities, something no one else thought possible at the time. Edison's direct current idea wasn't nearly as efficient."
John studied him for a moment. "Sounds like you can relate."
Rodney huffed out a breath and stuffed his hands in his coat pockets. "Maybe."
They stood watching the cascade of water crash into the gorge below for a few more minutes, then John said, "Stay here. I'll be right back." Rodney glanced over at him, and John continued, "Part of the fun of visiting places like this is to do all the tourist stuff." John nodded at a boat inching closer to the Falls below them. "I'll be right back."
He returned a few minutes later and handed Rodney a ticket and a plastic pouch with a blue rain poncho inside.
"Come on," John said. "The boat leaves in ten minutes."
They boarded the boat with the few other passengers, and Rodney listened with half an ear as the tour guide explained how the falls were formed from melting glaciers at the end of the last ice age. As the boat neared the falls, Rodney felt the thundering noise in his chest as much as he heard it. He leant on the railing of the boat, watching the torrent of water, felt the spray on his face, and found he was smiling.
He glanced over at Sheppard standing beside him and noticed John was smiling too.
"Picture, gentleman?" a voice said from behind him.
Rodney turned around and found a young man with a camera standing behind him. "Photos are five dollars each," the man said. "Makes a nice memento." He looked from Rodney to John and held up the camera with a hopeful expression.
Rodney shook his head, but John draped an arm over his shoulders. "Sure, why not," John said.
"Is this another one of those tourist things?" Rodney asked as the photographer readied his camera.
"Something like that," John replied. "Just smile."
Rodney sighed and stood stiffly at John's side, trying to smile.
The man took several photos, made a note on a card, and handed the card to John. "You can see the pictures at the visitor's center when we dock and choose which ones you want printed. Pictures are ready in twenty-four hours."
"Thanks," John said and tucked the card in his shirt pocket with a nod.
The boat docked thirty minutes later, and John and Rodney spent the rest of the day exploring the area around the Falls. They visited the Cave of the Winds, took in more breath-taking views of the Falls, then found the exhibit on Tesla and Edison where Rodney regaled John about Tesla's genius and how no one believed him about his ideas about alternating current. The weather was pleasant and warm, and at John's prodding, Rodney grudgingly agreed to a hike around the rest of the island as well.
They walked back to the hotel in the early evening, and Rodney had to admit, this had been a good day. One of the reasons he had never bothered with visiting the Falls before was that he couldn't see the point of staring at a waterfall. But spending the day with John, he'd discovered the experience had as much to do with sharing it with someone as seeing the sights.
"Thanks," Rodney said with a shy smile at dinner. "This was … this was fun."
John nodded. "Yeah, it was." He paused for a moment, then added, "We have some time tomorrow before we need to leave. We could cross the border. It's only about an hour and a half from here to Toronto. In case there was anything you wanted to do or, you know, see."
Rodney set down the wine glass in his hand and shook his head. "My parents are both gone and Jeannie lives in Vancouver now. And even if she were still in Toronto, she's made it pretty clear she doesn't want to have anything to do with me."
John ducked his head, and Rodney tried to cover the uncomfortable silence. "I wouldn't say no to a Tim Hortons run, though."
"We're not crossing the border for coffee," John replied.
"Your loss."
"I think I'll live," John said. "The pictures from the boat tour will be ready tomorrow morning. If there's nothing else around here you want to do, we can head to Rochester after that."
"Fine," Rodney grumbled, and John grinned.
They were walking back to their rooms when Rodney heard a ringing noise coming from John's pocket. "You have a phone?" he asked.
John nodded and took a small cell phone out of his pocket. "Landry wanted to make sure we checked in with him occasionally."
"Why didn't I get a phone?"
John ignored him and answered the phone as they walked.
"Sheppard."
Rodney crossed his arms over his chest with an indignant scowl as John listened to whoever was on the other end of the call. "What if we were sep -" He started to hiss but stopped when John froze and pulled Rodney to a stop next to him.
"They're sure?" John asked and glanced over at Rodney. "Yes, sir. I understand." He listened for a few more seconds then hung up.
"What's wrong?" Rodney asked as John charged down the empty hallway toward the elevator. Rodney raised his hands and hurried to follow. "Hey! Who was that on the phone?"
"Landry," John said with a grunt as he pushed the call button for the elevator.
He glanced inside the elevator car, then pushed Rodney inside and stabbed the button for their floor. A few moments later, the doors opened on their floor, and Rodney was about to step out when John grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Do you mind?" Rodney asked and tried to pull his arm free.
"Stay behind me," John ordered as he left the elevator and started down the hall to their rooms.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Rodney hissed as John stopped at a corner and glanced down the intersecting hallway.
"Not here," John told him.
John led the way past Rodney's room and unlocked the door to his room. He made a quick scan of the room, then pushed Rodney from behind. "Inside," he said. He followed Rodney into the room and closed the door.
The room was the same as Rodney's. A pair of beds sat against one wall with a narrow table between them. The wall opposite the beds had a hutch for a television and a small desk. The connecting door between their rooms stood between the hutch and the desk.
"Did you leave the connecting door unlocked?" John asked as he checked the bathroom and then the door to the small balcony.
"No," Rodney replied. "What is going on?"
"That was Landry," John said as he prowled the room.
"So you said," Rodney told him but clamped his mouth shut when John glared at him.
"The IOA team moved on the apartment where they thought Vance was staying in Thailand."
"And something went wrong," Rodney surmised as he sank down on one of the beds.
John nodded. "He wasn't there. The man they found inside the apartment said he'd been paid to stay there for a month and to make a show of wandering around the city. When he was shown a picture of Vance, the man confirmed that was who had paid him."
"So the IOA has no idea where Vance is now?"
"No," John replied. "Give me your keycard."
"What? Why?" Rodney asked as he handed over the key for his room.
"You're staying in here tonight. I'll go get your stuff and be right back."
Rodney started to argue, but John had already left the room.
He stared at the closed door for a few seconds, then stood and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his trousers. He found the coin John had given him in one of the pockets, pulled it out, and twisted it in his fingers as he paced from the door to the balcony. If the IOA had been tracking an impersonator for weeks, that meant Vance could be anywhere by now. So where would he go? Rodney wondered. Was he still in Thailand? Somewhere else in Asia?
"He couldn't be here, could he?" Rodney muttered as he paced. "He wouldn't be stupid enough to come back to the States, would he?"
He heard the lock for the door click, dropped the coin back in his pocket, and spun around. John walked in holding his carryall and computer bag. "Here," John said as he handed over the bags. "I'll take the bed closer to the door."
"You don't really think Vance would try to come after us again, do you?"
John checked the door to the room and made sure the security lock was in place. "I don't know," John replied. "It could be Vance knew the IOA was getting close to him in Thailand and wanted to throw them off, but there's no point in taking chances."
Rodney watched as John checked the balcony and drew the curtains. "Are we going back to the SGC?" he asked.
John sat on the other bed with his elbows resting on his knees. "Do you want to go back to Colorado? The Daedalus isn't due for at least a week."
Rodney sat with his back against the headboard of the other bed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Would it matter? Vance has proven the SGC's security isn't impregnable. He already managed to kidnap me there once."
"I wasn't with you then," John told him with a low growl, and Rodney looked up in surprise.
"What happened before wasn't your fault, you know."
"Since the only reason Vance took you in the first place was to get back at me, I think I'm at least partly to blame," John told him with a scowl.
Rodney started to argue, but he dropped it when he saw the rigid set of Sheppard's jaw. "So what are we going to do? As much as I'm not looking forward to what may happen at the symposium, I don't want to just ditch it either."
John stood and walked over to the bathroom door. "Vance knows the truth about Atlantis. Chances are he has no idea about this conference or that you've been invited to it. As far as he knows, we're still in the Pegasus galaxy."
"And yet, I'm sitting here instead of in my own room," Rodney pointed out.
"Covering all of the bases," John replied. "We'll go to the conference as planned. But you aren't going anywhere unless I'm with you."
Rodney scowled. "I'm an adult. I don't need a babysitter."
"We stick together," John told him, and his expression told Rodney there was no sense in arguing.
"Fine," Rodney acquiesced and picked up the computer bag. "If you don't mind, though, I need to finish my presentation," he said as he stood and walked over to the desk.
~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~
John stood at the balcony door the next morning, staring out at the grey skies and drizzle. Just as well we planned to leave today, he thought to himself as the shower shut off behind him.
He knew Rodney thought he was overreacting to the news Vance had slipped the IOA cordon, and maybe he was, but he wasn't going to take any chances of Vance getting a second chance at killing either of them. They would attend Rodney's conference then get back to the SGC as quickly as possible. The sooner they were safely back in the Pegasus galaxy, the happier he would be.
"I hate being cold and wet," Rodney said a few minutes later as he walked over to John and stared out the rain-speckled door. He turned his back on the dreary weather, sat in the desk chair, and tied his boots.
"Guess we got lucky yesterday was so nice," John replied. "Which reminds me, we need to stop and pick up the photos from the visitor's center."
"I still can't believe you bought those," Rodney grumbled as he packed his toiletries in the carryall and stuffed the laptop back in the computer bag.
"It'll be something to show Teyla and Ronon," John said as he picked up his backpack. "Besides," he added, "it's better than the 'I Love Niagara Falls' t-shirt I was going to make you wear when we got back."
Rodney stared at him in distaste. "I guess the pictures aren't so bad."
John smiled. "Come on. We'll get checked out, eat something, pick up the pictures, and head out. With this weather, it's going to take longer to drive over to Rochester."
He stepped out of the room and checked the hall, then led the way back to the elevator.
"Checking out?" the hotel manager asked as John stopped at the front desk.
"Yeah," John replied and handed over the credit card Landry had given him. "Need to be in Rochester by this afternoon."
The manager nodded as he printed out a receipt and handed it to John. "You might want to take the state highway over to the 490," the manager said. "There was a pile-up on the I-90 about an hour ago. Going to take most of the day to get it cleaned up."
John grimaced. "Thanks for the information," he said.
"Have a safe trip," the manager said with a smile as John pocketed the receipt and picked up his backpack.
"Hang on a sec," John said as Rodney turned toward the hotel restaurant.
"Why?"
"I want to check something," John replied and walked into the hotel bar.
A television over the bar showed a reporter standing alongside a wet road with several emergency vehicles visible in the background. "So far, officials are saying no one was killed in the crash that involved dozens of cars as well as two semi-trucks," the reporter said. "However, at least five people have been taken to area hospitals with serious injuries. Roads are slick and icy in areas, and the State Patrol is reminding drivers …"
"Okay, we can go," John said and led the way across the lobby to the restaurant.
"Problem?" Rodney asked once they had their food.
John shook his head. "Nope. Looks like we'll need to take a different route to get to Rochester, is all."
Rodney stared at him for a moment then started eating.
After breakfast, they stopped at the Niagara visitor's center long enough to pick up the photos taken the day before, then John followed the GPS directions to the state highway.
Rodney glanced through the package of pictures, then stuffed them into the computer bag at his feet. "So they don't get damaged," he replied to John's questioning glance.
John smiled to himself and said nothing.
Everyone else seemed to have the same idea for avoiding the interstate, and traffic crawled along at a snail's pace on their way out of town.
"Something else I'm glad I don't have to deal with in Atlantis," Rodney said as they slowed to a stop again.
John chuckled. "Can't really disagree with you." He eased the car forward a few feet and stopped again. "Hopefully, it won't be so bad once we get out of town."
It was late morning by the time they left most of the traffic behind, but by then, the drizzle had changed over to light snow and John was forced to slow down again as visibility became an issue. The occasional car passed them going in the opposite direction, otherwise, they were alone surrounded by farmland.
They stopped for lunch at a roadside diner, and when they came out an hour later, the snow was coming down harder.
"Lovely," Rodney grumbled as he zipped his coat higher.
"It shouldn't last," John said as he started the car. "The snow's not even really sticking to the roads. Hopefully, we'll get clear of it by the time we get to Rochester."
The afternoon light dimmed as more clouds rolled in, and John turned on the car's headlights, trying to see through the falling snow. They hadn't passed any cars since leaving the diner, and John checked the GPS more and more often.
"Did you get us lost?" Rodney asked after the fourth time John glanced at the screen.
"No," John replied. "I was just checking how much farther we had to go."
"And?"
"Looks like we're about halfway …"
John saw something in the road ahead of them, and he had only a few seconds to realise what it was and what it meant.
"Hang on!" he exclaimed and tried to swerve around the spike sticks. Unfortunately, the road was slick from the snow and rain, and before John could correct their slide, the front wheels hit the spikes and were instantly shredded. Momentum took over, and the car swerved again before rolling onto the passenger side and then the roof.
John was only vaguely aware of what was going on around him when the car finally stopped moving. He had a brief view of snow falling in front of him and then nothing.