PARADISE
By NotTasha
PART 15: BASTARD
"Get up and fix it. That's an order!" Sheppard barked.
The tone of the Sheppard's voice shocked Rodney, who glanced up with wide, blood-shot eyes, before putting on a haughty expression. "Not military… can't order me," McKay responded, trying to sound proud, but ending up sounding pathetic and absolutely worn out.
"I don't care. You've slept long enough. What do you think this is? A vacation?" Sheppard continued, his voice uncompromising. "You broke it. You fix it. We're all trapped here until you get off your ass and get it back together."
Ford watched the exchange, trying to keep the surprise from his face. McKay's expression was so lost, that Ford nearly spoke, but he held his tongue.
"You're not doing us any good like this," Sheppard went on. "Make yourself useful for a change."
"Useful? Okay, okay…" McKay fussed around, looking startled and hurt. He frowned when his hand touched something and he came up with a power bar.
Sheppard turned away, remembering how he'd neglected to give it to McKay when he'd asked for the bar earlier. And he's been hungry all this time… "Ford, get him upright. We're going to move him over to the DHD and he's going to tell us how to put it back together, right now. You've wasted two days. No more pissing around."
Ford did as he was told, helping the doctor to sit up, trying to ignore the groans and pain-filled utterances of the man. "Hang on, Doc," Aiden encouraged softly. "Just hang on… I got you. Let me do the work. I won't let you fall over, okay?"
Once he was certain that Ford had Rodney sitting, Sheppard turned to them and said, "I'll give you enough time to eat that, but then you're fixing this damn DHD once and for all, you got that?"
"Rather hard not to hear you," McKay responded, as he tried to open the power bar with one hand, his other hand seemed useless. Ford took the food from him and peeled back the wrapper before handing it back. "Thank you, Aiden," Rodney muttered as he took it, his hand trembling even more than before. "I really don't feel so good," he admitted to the Lieutenant.
"Yeah, I know," Aiden responded. "I'm sorry about this." He squatted beside the physicist, keeping one hand at his back, to steady him. McKay felt terribly warm and was hardly able to keep upright without help. His coloring looked awful. The soldier looked up, watching as Sheppard turned on the light from his P-90 and set it up next to the DHD, then grabbed Rodney's weapon and did the same. The pieces were still scattered near the base of the unit.
McKay laboriously chewed on his peanut-butter bar. Teyla was awake as well, dipping a cup into their drinking water. She brought it to Rodney, smiling warmly at him, wrapping one hand over his to help him drink.
She watched the major's rough movements as he cleared a space around the DHD. "He is angry," she stated to Ford.
Aiden sighed and nodded, knowing the man was furious – but at himself more than anything – for what he had to do to Rodney in order to get home.
McKay worked at consuming his meal, seeming unaware of what was around him. Sympathetically, Teyla laid one hand on Rodney's good shoulder, feeling him shaking, feeling his heat.
"Doctor McKay needs to sleep," she whispered to Aiden. "He is very ill and it is unwise to do this now."
Ford gave her a chagrinned expression. "This is my fault." He patted McKay's back softly, wishing he could make this up to him.
Sheppard strode toward them, nodding curtly at Teyla, and then said, "Get him up and walk him over there. We're not going to be wasting any more time!"
"Ah yes, I like this. Being awakened…in the middle of the night… forced from my bed… to finish up projects."
"If you'd gotten it fixed the first time we wouldn't need to do this," Sheppard responded bluntly.
Nodding dumbly, McKay finished the last bite of his power bar, then drank from the cup that Teyla helped hold. Ford counted to three, and then he and Teyla brought Rodney to his feet. It was a struggle, as Rodney swayed and nearly lost his balance, trying to stay off his bad leg, but his companions didn't let him fall.
Sheppard watched, his hands crossed over his chest, his face set and steely, although his eyes revealed a deep-seated worry and a horrible guilt as McKay offered no further complaints. The trio staggered forward, McKay biting his lip as they moved, until they were beside the DHD and the major. Ford kept a P-90 in one hand. Teyla leaned hers against her leg.
"Now what?" Sheppard asked, pointing at the crystals and other components strewn about them. "What goes in first?"
McKay licked his lips and let Ford and Teyla keep him upright. "That one," he said, pointing to a violet crystal.
Sheppard snatched it up as somewhere in the woods the sound of the laughing, gibbering, droning creatures seemed to be getting closer. McKay cringed.
"Where does it go?"
McKay pointed to the interior of the DHD. "There, in the open space on the far left."
The night dragged on, as McKay pointed out the pieces and explained how and where they fit into the unit. Piece after piece made their way back into the DHD. Sheppard felt himself breathing easier at the sight.
But there'd been nary a complaint out of Rodney; he seemed to be putting all of his energy into instructing Sheppard on how to finish the work he'd started. He was shivering, at times hardly able to keep his eyes open.
The earth shook again. Teyla and Ford held McKay, keeping him up as the whole world tilted around them. Sheppard clutched onto the DHD, staring down at the parts he'd managed to reconstruct, praying that nothing was knocked off-kilter.
I will not start again! We will not go through this again!
When it was over, he looked up. Ford had one hand carefully on McKay's chest, avoiding the bandaged shoulder. Teyla was talking in that pretty language that McKay nodded to. Sheppard wondered if McKay understood it – was it Ancient?
Gazing about at the darkness, Sheppard contemplated what kind of paradise this was – volcanoes, earthquakes, demons… there was no doubt in his mind now – this was hell. The torment wasn't over.
McKay looked played out, not really standing at all as Ford and Teyla kept him upright. He stared at the ground near his feet.
"McKay!" Sheppard called. "No slouching. Get back to work." And they got back to work.
Shepard hated it, hated every moment. Every time Rodney seemed to be drifting off, he'd yell, snap, shout at him, trying to keep him working, to finish up this job, berate him – whatever it took. McKay would nod, and continue to instruct in that ever-quieting, spiritless voice.
God, I'm a bastard, Sheppard thought, knowing that Rodney never looked at him, not once since this started.
If this is paradise, give me Atlantis any day. Give me Antarctica.
Now Rodney was quiet again, offering no further instruction. Head down, he breathed in gasps. Prisoners of war didn't get treated this way.
Can't stop now. "What do we do with this?' Sheppard asked, picking up one of the remaining pieces.
"Nothing, it's broken," Rodney answered softly, leaning heavily on Ford. His eyes were hardly open, and the light of the P-90's made his face look white as the moon. "Redundant… not needed."
"What about this?" Sheppard asked, pointing to a promising looking crystal that rested near the base.
"Cracked," McKay muttered, his head drooping further forward, his eyes closing. "Not important."
"And that one?" Sheppard found another piece.
"Useless."
"What then?" Sheppard asked. "What do I do now?"
McKay didn't answer, his chin resting on his chest.
"McKay!" the major shouted – and Rodney snapped his head up. "What's next!? Don't fail me now! We're almost done! What do I do now?"
"S'done," Rodney said softly.
Sheppard spun, looking anxiously at the gate, expecting to see it blank and ready, but those three dastardly chevrons still glowed at them, mockingly as everything else on this planet had done. "NO! It's not finished yet, McKay!" John shouted, turning in time to see Ford and Teyla almost lose their grip on the physicist as he finally went down.
Sheppard jumped forward, kicking over one of the precariously balanced P-90's, grasping onto Rodney and helping Ford and Teyla get him to the ground. Rodney was panting, his eyes half open, and his face as pale as a sheet in the odd light thrown up by the flashlights.
"Rodney," Sheppard called, placing his hands on either side of McKay's face, feeling how damn hot he was. "Rodney, can you hear me? Rodney?" The sharpness was gone from his voice as he called, desperate for an answer. "Come on, Rodney, answer me. We're almost done. I swear… come on, answer man – just one more. The chevrons are still there. How do we reset it? We've got to fix this, Rodney. Please… come on…We've got to get you home."
But Rodney continued his gasping breath, his half-open eyes not seeing.
It was then that the laughing, chortling, near-starved creatures came at them again.
--
TBC
A/N: boy... what a meanie...