Chapter 6- Prisoner of a Mind

Following the cleaning up after the never-ending team bonding training session, Major Sheppard, Teyla, and who they thought was Rodney McKay, headed to the mess hall. They were standing in line, Teyla first then Sheppard and McKay, chatting about something Garin couldn't have cared less about. Ford had some military business to attend to and excused himself from their company earlier in the gymnasium.

Dr. Garin Trelio so far had been successful at playing the impossible part of Rodney McKay, he had already gotten through one session with Heightmeyer without raising her suspicions. He actually was having fun, being able to talk to people like that, and them expecting it.

Garin eyed the choices at the table, saw a bowl of fruit, and reached out for it.

"No, no, no, don't even touch that!"

Garin jolted his hand back, "Why not, McKay?"

"Because I am deathly allergic to citrus! One bite and you would kill me!" Rodney was now sitting on a chair watching.

"I have not accessed that part of your memories yet."

"That's should have been one of the first things you did! Since you obviously can't handle being me, let's just trot down to your office and put you back in your computer."

"As I have said, that won't be happening. I could however find a way to delete you, McKay, so don't press your luck."

Rodney crossed his arms and bowed his head, his lower lip quivering and his eyes watering.

John had seen the little moment of McKay almost willingly grabbing what was clearly was a citrus fruit, and it raised his reservations a little more. The trio found a table and sat down, Garin by himself on one side.

"So, McKay, how's Garin?" John stuck his fork in a type of salad made with some sort of cousins to Earth rice and vegetables.

"From what Kate tells me, he's dandy. He hasn't surfaced except when she requests."

John asked, "You haven't… talked to him?"

"No, but she said it is usual this early." Garin took a sip of his water.

Teyla questioned, "Is it possible you'll be allowed to return to your work soon?"

Picking up a piece of meat with his fork John commented, "The city won't fall apart without you, but the sooner you're back the better for all of us." He moved the fork to his mouth but missed, and the gravy covered piece fell on his shirt.

Garin avoided Teyla's question, "Need a bib, Major, to go along with that black eye?"

John picked the piece of meat off, "That'd be the day, the military commander wearing a bib to dinner."

Teyla smiled, "Perhaps we could personalize it, what do you suggest Rodney?"

"How about 'I am not a baby, I am the Military CO'? "

John stood up, "You two have it out for me don't you? I'll be right back, going to change my shirt."

Rodney watched, wondering how they couldn't tell that Garin was masquerading as him.

Garin focused his sights on Teyla. "You have some terribly beautiful women here McKay. Teyla, Elizabeth, Kate, that nurse Carolyn, a few of the scientists…"

Rodney suddenly became very protective, "If you touch one of them I'll-"

"You'll what? And you forget I am looking for someone to be my wife's body."

"I'll think of something! You can't do this to someone else, it isn't right! … Oh god…" He rubbed his face apparently just realizing what 'husband and wife' would mean for him and whoever Garin chose. He got very quiet.

This was the first full day Rodney didn't have any control over his body, and already he was so frustrated he wanted to scream forever. It was simply too much to take. He wanted to sink down to the ground, but he couldn't give up… there had to be a way out of this, a way to fight Garin, but it's hard to fight someone who can read your mind and knows what you're about to do next.

Xxx xxx

Dr. Heightmeyer looked up from her desk, "Good morning…"

"Rodney, of course." Garin replied as he sat down in the chair over in the sitting area.

"I was just checking. You are early." She stood and picked up McKay's case file and the recorder.

"I thought I'd get this done with as soon as possible."

"Anxious?" Kate walked over and sat opposite him.

"Extremely. I want to get back to the somewhat normal of my life around here."

"That is completely understandable."

Rodney couldn't watch, he was tired of watching. It was now the second full day of this and he was getting extremely emotionally drained. After dinner the previous day, he had sat through another session that Garin played him, and played him to a tee. Garin had made the choice to not have his character of 'Garin' come through in the night's session.

Rodney was walking around in front of the Gate, by the two ridiculously orange couches that Garin still had there. Who had orange couches? He sighed and sat on the edge of the one that he had originally had.

Someone had to know it wasn't really him, someone had to solve the riddles of 13B and fix this. One of his geeks just had to break Garin's code on his computer, but meanwhile Rodney would fight.

He looked at the other couch, 'No too big…,' and decided to try something smaller. He folded his hands and thought of his coffee mug…sitting there on the other couch… but nothing happened. He couldn't control even that little thing, and it hurt. He lowered his head. The thought crossed his mind that maybe being in a constant state of blackouts wasn't such a bad idea.

"Is it still you Rodney?" Kate asked after just requesting to speak to Garin.

"Yea, that's good right? I mean is he gone…?" Garin acted.

She didn't say anything for a moment, but then continued the session.

Xxx

Major Sheppard walked into the debriefing room to find Heightmeyer, Beckett, and Weir already there and discussing what Kate and Carson had decided to do about Rodney McKay.

"Are you sure he's up to it?" Elizabeth asked the doctors.

"Up to what?" John sat down.

"Rodney returning to work." Kate replied and then continued, "I can't keep him from working indefinitely, and it's not as if we can ship him back to Earth. Being back in his element would do him some good. Garin hasn't surfaced since yesterday morning, and only then only because I asked. I've instructed Rodney to keep track of his time and report any experiences of amnesia to me."

John looked around at the group, "That's it?"

"I am continuing sessions with him every morning to monitor him."

Elizabeth added, "He, however, is not going on any missions for a couple of weeks, or until we are positive this episode has passed."

That satisfied Major Sheppard a little bit, at least they were still showing caution. "Beckett, ever figure out what Garin was injecting into Rodney's system?"

"The chemical is a sulfur-based compound, not a narcotic or a stimulant. So I have to keep running tests to determine what it exactly did."

"We're late, aren't we?" A British accent-laden voice sounded a tad sheepishly.

"Yes, actually you are, but you weren't the only ones." Elizabeth shot a teasing glance at John. Peter Grodin and Radek Zelenka took seats on Carson's side of the table followed by Teyla Emmagan and Lt. Ford.

Carson filled them in. "Rodney's going back to work, but not off-world, and Kate will be continuing sessions."

Elizabeth sat looking around at the assembly. These were probably the closest people to Rodney out of the whole expedition, and they all still looked worried. It had been a taxing past two days, this being the third morning since Garin had punched Major Sheppard outside the infirmary. It also weighed heavily on her mind that her Chief Scientist was going through something like this. They needed him and everyone on the expedition knew it, no matter if they didn't care for him.

She spoke, "I want you all to keep on eye on Rodney. Not following him around, that would most likely do more harm than good, but watch him nonetheless."

The others nodded in agreement, secretly planning to already, before she said anything.

---

Garin strolled into the lab, without an escort, to the shock of everyone in there who thought McKay was still on medical leave. Kate had let him work that day, and until there was a recurrence of 'Garin.'

"What's everyone glaring at? Get to work people!" He snipped, and the scientists went back to whatever they were doing before.

There had been rumors about how Rodney's leave coincided with John suddenly sporting the black eye, but since they were seen walking around together, the rumors had died down.

Garin found where Rodney usually worked and sat. He looked at what these Earthlings had been doing recently in Atlantis and thought that they had done a remarkably resourceful job with what they had. Second evolution of his and his people's form indeed. He thought they had an inquisitive spirit.

Xxx

Radek and John walked quickly to the lab after the meeting broke up, they didn't even have to think about where McKay would be. Peter had gone back to the Control Balcony, Carson and Kate to their offices, and Elizabeth to hers. Ford and Teyla went off to go sparring.

They moved into the lab, and sure enough there was McKay badgering the female Asian scientist Miko over one of the computers, "No, no, no, this code first, then this one. Unless you want to blow us all up!"

John coughed, "McKay."

Garin looked up and snipped, "Major. Zelenka. How nice of you to join us."

"I was about to leave, work to do elsewhere." Radek nodded to John, picked up his laptop, and promptly left.

Garin directed his speech at John, "Where is he going?"

He shrugged, "Like I would know."

---

Radek turned on his radio as he headed into the transporter, "Peter, do you have time?"

"Possibly, for what may I ask?"

"I'm going to 13B, may need your help."

"I'll meet you there in a moment."

Radek stepped out and headed down the hallway until he came to the door of the lab. He opened the door and walked in. It was still the same as the one and only time he had been there, the day before Rodney started having black outs. The desk was by the far wall, with a built in computer, keyboard, and monitor and an attached panel on the top, equipment on the counters, and cabinets, one with a keypad, which they hadn't been able to open, yet. He sat down behind the desk and powered up the computer.

True to his word, a few moments later Peter walked in.

"Close door." Radek said without looking up.

"Oh right, this being secret and all." Peter closed the lab door as Radek turned on his radio. "We're working on it, Major."

"Mmhmm." John mumbled, avoiding talking since McKay was a few feet from him in the main lab.

Peter walked over to the desk, "So this is where Garin came during the first black out, and we want to know why."

"Yes."

"And only Major Sheppard knows we're here and he's watching Rodney."

"Yes."

"Why is he the only one?"

"Because it might turn up nothing, and the less that know the better."

Peter nodded in understanding, he had been the one to see Rodney walk in here as Garin. "Then maybe we'll find out why this place was locked up like a safe too."

The computer was now fully on, "It requires a code to access it, and then from what Rodney and I could tell, it will also be encrypted."

Peter sat in the other chair that had been there, "Let's get to work, and then we'll move on to that strangely locked cabinet."

They opened their laptops and after a few minutes of working Peter found something. "Radek, did you know that locked cabinet is drawing a small amount of power?"

"Really?" He looked over at the screen on Peter's laptop, "So it is. Strange."

"Very."

They went back to work, determined to solve the mysteries of the lab.

Xxx

A couple of hours later, after putting 13B back the way they found it, Peter and Radek met Major Sheppard in the hallway outside the Gateroom.

"Anything?" John quietly asked.

The two scientists shook their heads and Peter replied, "Whoever that lab belonged to was intelligent and protective of his work."

John sighed, "Can you hack into the computer?"

This time they nodded and Radek answered, "With time."

Xxx xxx

Garin walked back to Rodney's quarters after a long day in the main lab working on the team's on-going projects of power supply, keeping the city running, and researching newly found technologies. It was strange to him how they didn't know how a lot of the devices worked, but he couldn't simply come out and tell them or he would blow his cover.

He sat down, closed his eyes, and opened them in the world he had recreated for Rodney. He saw him sitting on the ground in front of one of the couches resting against it, his eyes closed. Garin sat down on the opposite couch, "You and your people seem to be in awe of my city."

Rodney opened his eyes, "Your city? You don't sound what's the word, sane."

"What did you think, the city built itself?"

"You designed the city?" Rodney was still sitting on the ground.

"Atlantis was flown here to Pegasus a couple million years before I was alive. I led the team that… restructured it to better withstand a Wraith attack. When the original architects constructed it, they couldn't imagine we would encounter a hostile race with rival technology. You obviously have no comprehension of its abilities. After spending time accessing your brain, I've come to understand that you couldn't submerge the city if the need arose. You would be… as you say… sitting ducks on the surface for when the Wraith arrive. They will not be merciful. Though I do believe you could have figured it out, with time. You are a genius among your people, as I was. I'll just have to submerge the city again, after a suitable power source is secured."

Strange as it was, Rodney was a little flattered that this Ancient admitted he, Rodney McKay, was a genius. But to Rodney, Garin seemed more like a mad scientist than a genius. He crossed his arms and didn't respond to this new information.

Garin kept talking, "You disabled the grounding stations to power the shield during the storm, interesting solution. Of course we never had to do that since power wasn't an issue, but whatever works."

Rodney now bowed his head, but kept his eyes blankly looking up at Garin. He was wondering why Garin Trelio felt the need to talk to him like this. It could be because he was the only one who knew who Garin really was, that Garin was walking around in his body, pretending to be him. It all was surreal to be talking in his mind with an Ancient scientist who was responsible for the last revamp of Atlantis… and he wanted to scream.

"Goodbye Dr. McKay, I have some business to attend to."

Now Rodney lifted his head, "What business?"

"I have to make a certain compound, much more potent of course so it will only take one dose."

He got off the ground as he was yelling, "No! You can't! I won't let you!" but by the time he got to the other couch, Dr. Garin Trelio was gone.

TBC…