Carousel (part 11)

McKay followed Sheppard silently down another hallway, stopping when he noticed that the Major had turned and was facing him. "Now what?"

Dark eyes studied the pale blue ones before him before answering, "I could ask you the same thing."

Confusion clouded the doctor's face as he tried to decipher what on earth the other man was talking about.

"You, McKay. You're too quiet and that scares me."

"I'm thinking. A novel concept to some," raising a brow to Sheppard he continued, "I suppose."

"Now, see, that's what I'm used to. What are you thinking?"

"You said that maniac fired seven shots at the door. I'm positive I only heard six. How certain are you that he only has four shots left?"

"You're right; he did fire six at the door. He also took a shot at me back in the workroom."

Rodney's jaw gaped open. "Did you get hurt?"

Sheppard shook his head, "No. He was trying to intimidate me."

"Did he hurt Beckett or Zelenka?"

"No, Beckett was looking after Zelenka when we left."

Once again, the two men continued walking .

Rodney's pace was slowing remarkably and he was dragging his feet. Sheppard recognized the signs of fatigue in his friend and knew he had to keep him alert. "McKay."

"What?"

"Talk to me."

"Major, I'm tired and you want me to tell you a bedtime story?"

Turning to face the scientist once more, he was met again by the raised brow waiting for an answer. So, he raised his own in return. What happened next threw him for a loop. The scientist began to laugh. Not the normal 'Hey, that was funny' laugh but that of someone who was punch drunk, ass dead, ready to fall over and sleep for a week tired. This was not good. Watching the man hold his sides as he leaned against the wall and begin to slide to the floor was even worse.

"No, no, no, McKay," he said as he grabbed the man by the arms and lifted him back up on his feet. "You need to stay up. If I let you sit, you aren't going to be able to get back up."

"Why?" the doctor whined in exhaustion.

"Why, what?"

Rodney sighed, "Why don't you take the personal shield and go down there and take this Collin fellow out? What do you need me for?"

Oh, this was not good. "First off, the bad guys name is Kolrin and secondly the shield is calibrated to work on only you."

Rodney didn't appear to hear him as he continued to ramble on. "Oh. I thought someone told me his name was Collin. Could be worse, you know. His mother could have called him Colon. That would have been a crappy name."

Sheppard couldn't stop his own laughter and soon both men were hanging on to each other so as not to fall down. Pulling McKay's arm over his shoulder, he guided the weary scientist down another corridor.

"Major, I haven't felt like this since," waving his hand in the air, he scrunched his face in concentration, trying to think, "since Karen Stillson and I grabbed one of my parents bottles and got wasted behind the science lab in high school."

Encouraging his friend to talk, John perked up at a 'Life of McKay' story. "Did you get caught?"

Rodney shook his head before a slight blush colored his face. "Drinking behind the lab, no. Skinny dipping in the school pool, yes."

"McKay, you dog." Grinning down at the scientist, he watched the blush deepen. "What happened?"

The next several minutes were filled with laughter as Rodney recounted his tale, and by the time he had finished they had made it to the lift that could take them to Sublevel 8. Suddenly serious once more, he nodded to the lift, "Do you think he's down there waiting for us?"

John studied the lift, "Yeah."

"Crap."

"McKay, what if…?"

"Spit it out, Major. If you've got an idea better than us appearing down like there on the transporter like pigeons at a shoot, I'm all ears."

"Your story."

"I'm not following you."

"Swimming, McKay. The Ancients had to have a way to fix the outer submerged sections of Atlantis."

Rodney's mouth fell open as he stared at Sheppard. "A submersible. Why didn't I think of that?" Seeing the Major about to respond, he glared, "That was a rhetorical question."

Shepard grinned, watching the scientist mull over possibilities where such a vehicle may exist. Clearly, Rodney was back in the game.

"Sublevel 4!"

"What?"

"Sublevel 4. When we were studying Sublevel 4, Grodin found a large chamber on the schematics near the hull wall. It must be a submerged external access." Turning abruptly from the lift, Rodney headed in a new direction. "Are you coming,?" he called over his shoulder impatiently.

SG: A

Sheppard would almost classify McKay as giddy while following the scientist down several flights of stairs. He had to reach out and catch the man twice before the doctor took a header from missing a step. Beckett was going to have his ass in a sling for sure, dragging Rodney down here instead of back to the infirmary. Nevertheless, with Grodin and Zelenka out of the picture, and this wack job idolizing Kavanaugh, Rodney was his only option.

Walking out into another dim abandoned corridor, McKay stopped and looked to Sheppard. "Kind of spooky down here."

"Is that the technical way of saying you don't like the dark?" the Major teased.

"Why do I even bother," Rodney grumbled, leading the way to a large double paneled doorway. Turning to Sheppard again, he drummed his fingers and looked expectantly to the Major.

"What?"

"I'm waiting for you to open the door."

Sheppard stared at him a moment before waving his hands over his head, "Open sesame."

Nothing happened.

Rodney huffed in disgust, "The door panel, Major."

"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?"

"Oh, please. How many times have you busted me for entering a room before you while we're out on some mission?"

"Oh, so now you admit to ignoring me?"

"That's not the only time," he replied dryly.

Sheppard hid a smile with a glare. Placing his palm on the symbols, the door 'whooshed' open, revealing pitch-black nothingness. "Honey, we're home," he called out, only to hear a slight echo. "Wow, it must be huge in here."

McKay merely nodded as he traced his hands over the wall inside the doorway. "Found it," he called, activating the lights.

A low steady hum filled the darkness before the overhead panels activated, flooding the chamber with intense bright light.

"Oh, wow," both men breathed simultaneously as they took in all that was before them. Four submersibles, half the size of the Jumpers, were parked neatly in a row. Behind them, equipment of all shapes and sizes covered the back wall. And, in front, two massive doors large enough to allow the ships to pass through.

"Grodin is going to be so jealous," Rodney whispered.

Sheppard walked over to the first ship, touched the side panel, and then stood back as the door slid smoothly open. Cautiously taking a step inside, he let out a low whistle. The setup was similar to the interior of the Jumper, except there was only seating for two and the cargo bay was much smaller. "I gotta have one of these." Poking his head back out the door, he searched for Rodney. Spying him over by a control center, he shouted, "Well? Can you open the doors?"

Rodney rolled his eyes before returning his attention to what he had found. Carefully pressing several sensors, he was delighted to see the panel activate. Apparently, his adopted ATA gene worked these controls. Standing back, he rubbed his hands together before lightly letting them run almost on remote control across the board. Soon another loud hum filled the room as the large doors smoothly slid open, revealing deep water darkness.

"Sweet!" Sheppard shouted as he made his way over to the opening. Cautiously reaching his hand out, he jerked it back as the cold seawater enveloped it from the other side of the protective shield. Running back over to the submersible, he climbed into the control seat and activated the small vessel. Lights flickered on as the small ship warmed up. "McKay, get in here," he yelled.

Within moments, Rodney's head poked through the doorway. "We have got to come down to the lower levels more often."

Sheppard pointed to the empty seat beside him as he pressed the controls to close the sub door. "I say, as soon as we bust this kid, we come back here and play before letting anyone else know about this."

Both men sat back in their seat while Sheppard guided the small craft out the door, into the darkness. Looking to Rodney, he smiled, "Here goes nothing."