Authors Note: This hasn't been beta-read so I apologize if it has grammar/spelling errors in or if the characters sound a bit off.

Please let me know what you think of this, complaints, suggestions; any feedback would be helpful as long as it is constructive. It is all written already but going through stages of betareading, with this only checked over by myself.

Also please read "Window to the Soul" and "A Sour Taste in the Mouth" the prequels to this. "The Perfect Pair" is the sequel to this, as will be my Christmas fic if I can write it all in time.

Spoilers: For Season One episode "Hide and Seek" but none others I can think of.

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Stargate in any incarnations of course and I'm not making any money, this is just some harmless fanfic fun.

Chapter 2: Something missing, Something not
Elizabeth paced the along the top of the control room, eyes glancing up at regular intervals to the Stargate.
Yearley had sent word through that Rodney had disappeared, Sheppard and Ford following him to rescue.
There had been little communication from the team since then. They'd been instructed to wait at the gate keeping it open and in contact.

She waited anxiously for further transmissions, wondering what trouble Rodney had got himself into this time and feeling sick with worry, hoping he'd be unharmed.

Her ears picked up Grodin calling out "Major Sheppard's IDC is being transmitted, closing shield"
She leant over the railings, watching the team come through, worry sinking deep into her when she didn't see Rodney at first.

Then Ford and Sheppard came through after the extraordinarily concerned Beckett, who had a permanent and deep grimace on his normally happy face.
She hadn't noticed, until she rushed down to meet them, what was wrong.
Sheppard's head looked up, impassive and neutral, what was wrong she thought before turning to the chief scientist of the expedition.

She stared at Rodney, blinking twice, thinking she ought to pinch herself.
The person between Sheppard and Ford was definitely Rodney yet he was shorter, lanky though, longer floppy hair over his thinner brighter but recognizably scared face. It was like looking at him twenty years younger than he should be, which was her best guess as to what was true.

She opened her mouth but couldn't think of a thing to say.
Everyone it seemed didn't know what to say, Beckett looking graven even, something she figured could not be good.

She moved away to let Beckett and some medics lead the boy to the infirmary as Sheppard explained Rodney had no clue who he was or what he was doing here and that this was the result of a wraith draining, even though that made no sense whatsoever.
She frowned, upset by the turn of events, unsure what it meant. It was unsettling to sat the least, the only comfort had been the gracious smile the boy had given at the sight of her.

Carson applied disinfectant over the chest wounds left by the wraith guard. He cringed at the protest Rodney gave from this.

The boy, who insisted on being known as Rodney rather than the impersonal form of McKay, was still rather rattled.
Just as Major Sheppard had explained when he'd dragged the lad up from the water, Rodney didn't seem to know any of them.

It had been a funny sight to see the boy so frightened and yet intrigued by traveling through the gate. They'd had a little trouble convincing him it was real and that it wasn't anything like water, with no possibility of drowning as the three of the team had almost had happen to them when escaping the wraith ship.

Currently the boy was perched quite chirpy on the side of te bed, swinging his legs slowly, talking about how fantastic the whole gate traveling thing was. "...it's so weird, leaves you all tingly but I bet Jeannie would love it here, she'd be so jealous."

Carson looked up from his application of bandages and furrowed his brows momentarily before recalling that Jeannie was McKay's sisters name. He'd only mentioned her once or twice in the months they'd been stranded here, once of those occasions had been when he'd thought he was going to die. It was bizarre to hear him talk so freely about family, at least confirming that some of his memory was intact. Rodney looked like he was being brave, saddened at the thought of being out here without anyone he knew. Carson hated to think how he'd react when they told him he wasn't even in the same galaxy as his parents, sibling or any friends. At least not ones he could currently recall.

"So Rodney what do you last remember?" Carson asked in a friendly manner as he shone his torch in his eyes checking pupil dilation.
"It was Christmas."
The date wasn't too far off from that fact, it would Christmas on Atlantis in about 2 months but Rodney as talking about a Christmas far enough back to be at home.

"Really, you're sure of that?" Carson asked, hoping maybe that was simply the first thing Rodney had thought of and that if he probed further they might uncover his more recent memories just lying in wait.
"How could I not be sure? My parents where fighting like they always do when we all get together. Its pretty memorable"

Carson stopped at the comment, Rodney seemed quite sure as he said that and he imagined it would have to be something you wouldn't forget in a hurry. He felt sympathy suddenly for Rodney, what an awful way to spend a Christmas.
"Fighting at Christmas, did they do that a lot?" he asked wondering what else he could learn form this Rodney. He seemed far more open, willing to talk about almost anything.
"Huh, when don't they more like. They can't agree on anything!"
"Well they musta agreed on somethin, you're here aren't yeh" the doctor proposed optimistically, completely not expecting Rodney's reply.
"Bad example, but yes they did; my sister. She was the child they actually wanted to have."

"Did they actually tell you that?" he asked hoping it was just as always that children felt that way when it wasn't true, imagining a favouritism of their parents.
"Oh yes, on multiple occasions. I think they wanted me to suffer as much as they did."
Rodney said it so matter of factly that Carson was horrified. How could parents be so cruel to their offspring?
And Rodney just accepted it like it was normal and perfectly fine to believe.

Carson swallowed, determined to put Rodney to right. No wonder he could be so self-depriciating at times and so egotistical otherwise. He never had the approval of the most important people in any child's life, so he looked to others even now desperate for it, fishing for compliments to affirm his worth.

Elizabeth entered the infirmary, searching for her friend. She spied him sitting on the end bed looking fairly happy despite the situation but with a deeply unhappy Carson at his side, hand placed on the boys shoulder comfortingly.

She didn't know what she had interrupted with her arrival but Carson's saddened eyes raised up to hers and he broke off his conversation, hushing her into his office.

"Do you have any idea what happened to him?" she inquired as she took a seat.
He shook his head woefully as he reported what he'd discovered.
"Its a bit hard to determine that but I'm sure that whatever it was was triggered by the wraith interaction. The only thing unusual about this was that he was wearing the shield device when it happened."
Weir cut in bluntly, one thing she knew about form the debriefing she'd just called
"I know, Major Sheppard told me. unfortunately they didn't recover the device when they rescued him."

"I'm not sure if that could tell us anything useful. The best I can figure is that the shield had some kind of safety measure that prevented life force being taken away, as you can see he has had years taken off, just not in the way you'd expect."
"What about his memory?"
He'd known this would be the main problem she'd want to know about, it wasn't good news however.
"I think that has gone too along with the years, though I can't say how. He doesn't have a clue what this is all about except what we tell him."

He could tell this put her in a difficult position, they were temporarily devoid of a CSO unless she wanted to put Kavanagh or Zelenka in charge for the time being, something that would grate on McKay when he was better.
"That isn't good, we need him, he's the expeditions chief science officer. There must be someway to get him to remember all he knows."

"Sorry lass, he's stuck this way for now at least. I've got all ma team working on the problem along with the science team who know all about the shield."
She stood up, peering out to the infirmary, before pacing back and forth across the small span of the office.

He spoke up first, voicing his main concern.
"Question is what do we do with him. He's about seventeen as far as I can tell, and along way from everything he knows. Also means he's got raging hormones and a surplus of energy."
"More energy than the Rodney we know? I don't know if Atlantis can deal with a hyperactive McKay" she joked more like her usual self.

He winced at her terming of Rodney's name.
"You'd better stick to callin' 'im Rodney, Dr. Weir. He was quite insulted when Major Sheppard called him McKay on the planet's surface. Asked why did they disliked him enough to call him by his surname."
"Right, okay." she replied squirreling away the nugget of information.

"Do you think he's up for a tour of the base? Its possible he might get some of his memories back isn't it?"
"Aye, tis a good idea but you should be a little careful. I think the lad has a wee crush on you."
She looked confused, as if it was weirdest thing the doctor could have suggested.
"Am not lyin', he was asking all sorts of questions when we brought him down here and most of them were about you. Even asked how old you were, looked a tad disappointed when I told him you were too old for him."
She pursed her lips at the issue but made no comment on it, getting back to business.
"I'll be nice and gentle. I'm sure its nothing though, maybe I remind him of someone familiar"

Carson rather doubted that reasoning but she seemed relieved at the thought. He watched her walk out of his office, over to the lad and extend an arm to him He saw Rodney's whole face light up at her invitation to the tour and it seemed to him that it was blatantly obvious Rodney was at least a little infatuation with their Leader. But it was harmless, so why did it bother Elizabeth so much that the young Rodney might fancy her?

Carson didn't find it too strange, since he was sure the Rodney outside was quite different from the one they knew. He was from a point in his life when he still trusted people mostly and everything was an exciting adventure to him and when it was only natural to be interested in girls more than anything else. There were still all the signs of the man he knew, sarcasm fitting his demeanor but far less of it and oodles of eager energy ready to be spent in the pursuit of whatever he had set his goal on. Only so far Rodney's goal hadn't been science, it had been learning about them all, especially about Elizabeth Weir.