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 "Young at Heart" 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 6: A Solution To Nothing

Finally the wraith fell backwards, the suction of its hand failing.
McKay felt confused but concentrated on the plan he remembered, shoving his hand into his trouser pocket and clasping the recovered personal shield that his re-aged self could now use.

A light green tinge passed over McKay quickly after the wraith withdraw and Sheppard and his men readied themselves for resistance, aiming at the two wraith whilst Beckett pulled McKay onto his feet, covering the man with a survival blanket.

They'd made a hasty retreat from the room, with some firefight as they ran towards the escape hole. Luckily no one was hit by the stunner of the lone attacking guard and they all emerged on the surface relieved at the missions outcome.
All except McKay. He looked shaken but not shocked as John had thought one might be after that.

The reopened chest wound bled through the shirt they'd provided him with but it seemed of no concern to the man. His face was haggard, expression tight in thought. All in all McKay didn't look so pleased to be alive as they made for home.

The rest of the team joked about, chatting and clapping McKay on the back but the man only mumbled weak replies of gratitude. One small comment about how he could do with the young if he could have the memories too but not his usual fair.

He sidled up to the scientist whilst the others prattled about in the background.
"Why aren't you happy, you look like you'd rather be dead."
"Thank you for rescuing me... and thanks for watching my back."
The words were normal, if a little serious for McKay's sensibility but he was still glum, saying them without much conviction apart from the last part, where he at least sounded grateful.

Sheppard said nothing else, not sure what was bothering Rodney, content to watch him and try to figure it out for himself.

There had been the pain, excruciating, as the memories and life had been forced back in his body. Made worse by the slow motion effect of his life passing by, like reliving every second, relearning all you knew. Then there was the consideration of rewatching every awful moment you wanted to forget, seeing all the mistakes you'd made over the years and how he'd not achieved what he'd dreamt of. It might have been alright if his life had had more happy moments than sad but it hadn't, leaving him melancholy but disturbed most by the knowledge of the last day.

For a second he had merely blinked, the scene unraveling in his brain as the memories sank in.
Then he'd got to it and they'd got moving, escaping to the surface drenched from the journey out of the lake.
He was back and they had the shield again, everything looked fine, on the surface.

The gate symbols lit up, the tight group in the control room watching anxiously.
She was the first to jog down the stairs as soon as the incoming wormhole was established.
They came through, half of them damp from their trek into the lake.

She let out a breathe she didn't know she had been holding at the sight of him.
He smiled at her in a familiar way, like the smile that his younger self had used when looking at her, that made her heart melt

He was alive.
And the right age too; the plan had worked. She felt relief at her decision being the right one, or at least that it had resulted in the best outcome.

Grodin and a few of the other scientists met him half hugs and pats on the back, Rodney smiling a little at each of them.
But she knew something was wrong, Sheppard's eyes were shifty, worried and watching Rodney.

She was the last to approach him, Beckett pestering Rodney about his injury. She spoke a few words, finding them hard to come by, her mind not functioning properly and she went to embrace him with a friendly hug but he dodged it. His eyes avoiding her hurt look and making excuses about accompanying Carson.

As Carson led Rodney away she heard Rodney bat away the concerned questions of his friend, sounding embarrassed almost to have the man fuss over him.

It wasn't until later that she saw him again. He was smartly dressed in uniform and dry, presumably having had his cuts attended to as well.
She'd sensed it wrong to go to him at the infirmary, not knowing what was the problem but not wishing to make it worse.
Several hours had passed from, he'd taken his time to come to her.

His knock on the door was light, more of a rap, as if he hoped to miss her there.
"Come in Rodney. I was hoping you'd drop by."
She tried to sound cheerful but she couldn't shake her concerned tone.

He stumbled in, still avoiding her gaze unusually and saying little.
"I wanted to apologise."
"What for?" she asked, finding his statement odd, just like his behaviour.
"For before, what i said when i was younger. It was silly, don't what i was thinking."
"Don't to worry, it was refreshing having you around. nice to see you different, more open.

It obviously wasn't what he wanted to hear; his control lost with his frustrated reply. Everything abut his crying out to protest her placification of his actions.
"But their were reasons I am different, am like I am now and it just leaves me feeling foolish and embarrassed I said those things, it was sooo amazingly inappropriate."
The last bit of what he said was stressed most and now she could see what the problem was. She smiled good naturedly, sure she get him to see it was fine with her.
"But you didn't know that."

"I should have, its not the kind of thing to bring up"
She let go of her smile, seeing there was little she could say to convince him. It was eating away at him, nagging him, making him feel guilty...but that was only because he was letting it.

"Rodney why are you so concerned about this? It was a crush, nothing serious and you were a younger version of yourself with elevated hormonal levels as Beckett said himself. There's nothing to worry about, its said and done. Its in the past."
Surely he could see the truth in that?

Only he couldn't apparently.
He looked at her for a moment anguished more than she had ever seen him, as if about to contest what she had said remorsefully. Instead he stared at her, his mouth a grim line, before leaving quickly with no goodbye and not looking back. He brushed past Grodin without apology, the computer technician calling out angrily after Rodney before turning to see where he'd rushed from.

She smiled lightly and reassuringly at Peter, pretending all was fine, that what had gone on was nothing out of the ordinary.

Inside she felt distraught and confused. What had he meant to say, though his tense holding back at her final sentence had probably said enough for her to guess. Silently telling her what she thought, that no, it wasn't in the past, that his feelings hadn't changed, that it only happened to be that a younger open naive perhaps version of himself would admit it for him. Not knowing any better than to.

But she couldn't be sure of that she thought as she closed her door for some privacy.
And somehow she didn't want to be sure about it, a disturbed contentment to leave it be in the comfortable realm of friendship.

There was a confusion settling over the situation left at the end of conversation, unsettling her but she got on with business swiftly, reports beckoned as always. Forcing her feelings to the depths of her mind as she had a tendency to do, as her job often required her to. It was a skill she had gotten good at using, to the extent her life could depend on it but she found herself using it more and more where Rodney was concerned.

She sat down, neatening the papers, starting on them and ignoring all else. She had to get on with work regardless of anything else that happened. Things happened here; injuries, deaths, the unexpected of all kinds but she always had to carry on no matter of how she felt, she was their leader, Atlantis didn't wait for her.

A/N: If you think this feels like an unresolved ending, with Rodney and Elizabeth hanging on there then you'd be right because this is the 3rd story in a series of 4 (or maybe even 5). If you want to read more the fourth story is up now on my profile and is called "The Perfect Pair".