A/N: Heading back to the gate house. Please make sure you have all your belongings when exiting the ride. Thanks for all the great reviews.

Chapter 19

McKay stood in the doorway to one of the many balconies on Atlantis. He clicked his headset. "Got him. He's fine. Give me 20 minutes."

Rodney stepped quietly out on to the balcony. "Thought I would find you here. Closest one to the infirmary, didn't think you could go much farther." Rodney slid down the wall to join Sheppard sitting on the floor. "Thought Beckett was about to have an aneurysm when your bed was empty. At least you brought the R2 unit with you."

Sheppard looked at his oxygen tank and nodded.

"Had to get out of there. I needed quiet."

"I can do quiet." McKay sat for a solid minute in silence. "OK, now that's over with, we need to talk."

Sheppard shook his head and sighed, "Figured as much. You were right of course."

"Right? Right about what exactly. There are so many things I'm right about; you'll have to be more specific."

John quirked the corners of his mouth up. This was good. This was normal. This was McKay.

"I lost my "wittle Ford". You know when I was avoiding the killer jelly, Ford was there." John looked out over the water. The sun would be setting soon- more normalcy. "He was my own little Jiminy Cricket. I had my trusted second in command back. It wasn't real, but he helped me. It felt good."

Rodney was listening attentively and nodding in the right spots. "I hit a nerve with the betrayal of trust didn't I?"

"Yes. He did not trust me. I did not trust him. I failed him twice. Three times if you count my home visit." Sheppard turned his half lidded gaze towards McKay. "And then the one person I trusted more than anyone else; the one person who I could always count on; he abused my trust. He failed it. He became a mere, frail mortal." John fixed Rodney with a desolate stare. "You are only human. I tend to forget you are only human when your Herculean efforts are so common place."

"A mere, frail mortal? Never." Rodney contemplated for a few seconds. "Herculean, definitely. Human yes. Even I forget. That was put to the test though. You know the scariest part of having that thing linked to me? I liked it. I cared enough in the beginning to try and hide Teyla's gift. I somehow convinced him not to kill you outright . But after he and I killed Ryals and Burns, I enjoyed being that way: the strength, the confidence and the singular purpose- destroy."

"No, you didn't enjoy it. He-who-must-not-be-named enjoyed it. You are consumed by unrelenting guilt. Although, I wish I could leap over balconies in a single bound." Sheppard almost sounded as if he yearned for it.

"Have to admit, that was cool. Be careful what you wish for." Rodney even let a smile play briefly across his lips. It faded into a frown. "Nothing else was though. Everything else was inexcusable and abhorrent. Think I had to apologize before? Double duty now."

"Sun's setting," said Sheppard changing the subject.

"How do you deal with killing Colonel?" Rodney asked changing the subject himself. "I killed about 15,000 Parcinese and Ryals and Burns."

"Know how that goes Rodney."

Rodney nodded in understanding.

"You deal with it by balling it up into a very tiny pebble, hide it in a deep dark place in your subconscious and let it fester until you are a drooling mess," Sheppard offered while giving Rodney a sly, sideways glance.

"Good, already doing that."

"Or, you talk about it with whoever you need to. You won't be able to view it objectively for awhile. When you can…It'll get easier." Sheppard rubbed at his chest and winced. "It'll never leave you, but the pain will fade. You'll find yourself living in the moment, but don't let it consume you."

Sheppard closed his eyes and let the sun's warmth wash him. For a few moments, the only sound was the hiss of the oxygen tank.

McKay studied Sheppard. He had not missed the wince. His complexion was a mixture of gray and flesh tones. His skin looked like the computer generated camouflage on the uniforms. Green and white was back in his eyes. Sheppard disturbed the silence with a sneeze expelling a few thousand defunct nanites. After the initial exodus, the remaining nano-bots were leaving by any normal means.

Rodney scooted quickly away.

"For Christ's sake McKay, I'm not contagious. It's not like you can catch the bionic flu."

"I know; you have the equivalent of pneumonia. It was just an involuntary reaction. Speaking of which, I think it is time to get back inside before you do catch the real thing." McKay stood up and held out his hand.

"Are we cool Colonel?"

"No, I'm cool. We will be fine."

McKay gave him a perturbed scowl that morphed into a smile. They walked back into the halls of Atlantis.

"When you apologize to Teyla, I'd make sure her sticks are nowhere near." Wryness was loaded in Sheppard's voice.

"Too late Colonel, too late," he replied rubbing his backside. "Oh, she wants to see you when you're better. Something about discussing hitting a girl."

Sheppard's mottled color drained from his face. "Crap."

"Think you already did that."

Sheppard shot him his patented shut-the-hell-up-McKay glare.

"At least Colonel, you did not punch Radek. My life is officially forfeit." They walked silently. "Although, making Elizabeth think she was no longer head of the expedition for six hours is hard to top even for that deceptive Czech."

As they say, revenge is best served cold and with a side of spite. He had waited; the Wraith came first. Then he knew the one thing that an alpha female would go ballistic over, getting her leadership role taken away. He was giving her the equivalent of a prank pink slip. It was cold. It was vicious. It was perfect.

As he told Dr. Demento, he was patient. He waited until after the trip to Earth. He waited until the Daedalus was on its way home. He waited until a huge data communiqué had come from Earth.

He slipped the email in and waited for the fireworks to start. The email pretty basically relayed that Kavanagh's rant had been investigated; her request to keep Lt. Col. John Sheppard was taken into account; and the Wraith threat was reassessed. She would be relieved when the Daedalus returned.

He had help. Communications were conveniently down for a diagnostic so she could neither get confirmation or denial. He found a stash of post it notes. He, Rodney and Carson papered her office. They labeled everything with a destination: incinerator, Goodwill, Sheppard, McKay, Beckett or Emmagan. Her prized mask had Goodwill labeled on it. Her chair had McKay. So on and so forth.

Her reaction had been priceless. The anxiety, the turmoil, the cussing that had some of the marines blushing. He had her going for six hours. He was her voice of counsel. "They can't get away with this. We'll talk to O'Neill." Etc.

She figured it out when she walked into her office after the redecorating. She took it in great stride. It was a crowning achievement. He knew she would not reciprocate the gesture. Even better.

Sheppard weakly clapped McKay on the back. "Don't worry; I've got your back Rodney." They shuffled down the hallway. Elizabeth, Carson, Ronon and Teyla briskly approached them from the other direction. All with worried expressions on their faces.

It was time to get back to the abnormal.

The End

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A/N: After a few requests, I decided to let you in on what the Colonel did to Weir for revenge (see Pavilions of Hadrius). I did not feel that Rodney's reaction to the trauma could be done in a chapter. I will have to include it in the next story. Please no stone throwing or poking with pitchforks. Please let me know what you thought of the story as a whole. I really enjoyed writing it! TTFN