WINTER WONDERLAND
By NotTasha
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CHAPTER 13: RATHER BE IN A HOT TUB

The snow fell, pretty little flakes that danced in the cold air. John tucked himself as close as he could to Rodney without moving the man. "Cold as hell," he muttered, his hands deep in his pockets. He kept his gaze on Rodney, afraid of his stillness. "We'll get you out of here," he promised. "Just hang on. You'll be fine."

McKay had damn well better be fine, Sheppard thought. He hated the idea of keeping Rodney lying in the snow. All he wanted to do was get him out of that hollow and get him back to the Ekukians' caves and out of the cold – or better yet, back to Atlantis.

The breeze kicked up and Sheppard squinted against it. He missed his hood. With his back to the open field, he could provide a windbreak and he did his best to shield Rodney from the blast. The wind died down after a moment and John sighed, keeping his gaze on McKay -- still no movement from him.

The snow continued to fall – slowly, beautifully. It was downright peaceful.

"Rodney, this is one crappy place to end up," Sheppard muttered. "How're you doin'?" Pulling his hands from his pockets, he felt the immediate bite of the cold. He worked one hand under Rodney's scarf again, glad to find he was still some warmth under that coat. His cold hands couldn't tell if there was anything too hot or too cold though. He moved his hand deeper into the jacket and winced when he heard a sharp intake of breath.

"What're you doin?" McKay asked quickly. "God, you're like ice! Why are you touching me like that?"

Sheppard smiled, withdrawing the hand. "Just checking," he explained.

"Trying to give me a heart attack!" McKay spat back. "I hope that isn't your idea of fun and high-jinx!" He laboriously moved his free arm about, to tug at his collar, sealing it. "Not a fair way to treat a sick man." His voice was quiet, as if he couldn't put a lot of force behind it. "Can't fight back."

"Figure I had to do something to wake you up," Sheppard responded quietly.

"It wasn't nice," McKay returned.

"Wasn't meant to be," Sheppard told him. He settled himself on his butt in the snow, letting his legs stretch out. "Ahhhh," he let out, glad to have the weight off his hurt knee. When McKay started to stir, probably wanting to get comfortable, too, Sheppard laid a hand on him and said softly, "Don't move."

"Not fair." Letting out an irritated sigh, McKay added, "This is unbearable."

"Yeah, I bet."

"Where's Ford?"

"He went to strip some crap off the snowmobile. Figure we can make some sort of sled for you."

"He went by himself? What if those hyena-dog things are running around?" Rodney's eyes darted about nervously. "You shouldn't have let him go alone."

Sheppard paused, blew on his hands, and shoved them into his pockets again. He kept his gaze on McKay, as the scientist worriedly tried to find Ford. "He'll be fine."

"What were you thinking?" Rodney added. "Shouldn't have gone alone."

"Haven't seen any devil dogs down here," Sheppard told the worried man.

McKay let out a panting breath. "I can't see him."

"He's out of sight right now."

"So, how can you tell that he's okay?"

"I figure Ford can take care of himself."

Groaning, McKay added, "But, they attack so quickly, and I can't see anything from this angle."

"I can," Sheppard told him. "I'll keep an eye open."

"You'd better."

"I will. Nothin's getting close to us."

"What about Ford?"

John sighed and glanced in the direction that the lieutenant had disappeared. "I'll watch out for him, too."

And they sat in silence for a moment. Snow fell lightly around them, making a muffled sound. Funny, John hadn't realized that falling snow could make a sound. He listened to it for a time – the soft zffft – zffft of feather-light flakes impacting into the white world. Disconnectedly, he watched the slow dance.

Turning his attention back to McKay, Sheppard could see just enough of his face, to see that he was failing again, starting to sleep. "Stay awake, McKay," he ordered, pulling a hand from his pocket to again brush off the accumulation of snow from his companion. "I don't want to haul your ass around without you helping out."

"M'awake," McKay countered. He blinked wearily. "You'd think I was miserable enough to be unable to sleep." He groaned. "Having trouble keeping my eyes open." He moved, trying to pull himself into a ball – only managing to hunch his shoulders.

Laying a hand on the scientist shoulder, Sheppard sternly repeated, "Don't move."

Frowning, McKay returned, "If I'm just going to freeze to death, what difference does it make?"

"You're not going to freeze to death," Sheppard tried to assure. "You got your super jacket. It's keeping you nice and toasty."

"But my legs…"

"That's why you have to keep still. Can't have you moving." John continued brushing off the snow, careful to remove what he could from Rodney's legs. They had all worn the insolated snow trousers – Sheppard just hoped it would be enough. If Rodney had no feeling in his legs, was he getting any circulation? God, this sucked. He continued to brush at the snow, as McKay watched the movements with a troubled expression.

John settled, wishing he had his hood. Distractedly, he ran his fingers through his hair, sending down a shower of white.

McKay looked up at him, perplexed when he saw the state of John's coiffure. He blinked for a moment, his eyes searching as if he were trying to find his chain of thought. "What will I do?" he finally asked softly.

"You're gonna keep still."

"No… no… What will I do if… if…I can't ever move again?"

Sheppard blew out a breath, watching it form into clouds. "Don't worry about that right now, McKay."

"Well, I am going to worry because it's bothering me!" McKay snapped back. "What will happen to me if… if I've broken my back?"

"You'll manage."

"They'll send me back, won't they?"

"Well, you see, you have the advantage in that situation because we have no way of sending you to Earth, and…"

"But they will, won't they? When we find a ZPM, they will send me back. You would if you could, wouldn't you?"

"You're not letting me finish."

"Because I'll be pretty much useless to you, won't I?" His voice was soft, yet bitter. "I couldn't be on the team." His voice caught. "I couldn't go off world. There's so much I'd miss out on." He drew in a quick breath. "I hardly believe that all these worlds are handicap accessible," he snipped

Rodney kept speaking, not allowing Sheppard a moment to edge his way in. "And, the city – so much of it needs to be explored, yet how much would I be able to see?" He raised his hand, gesturing. "I have to be able to touch it, to get right in there to truly understand. How can I trust mere reports?" His words came faster. "Other people's reports… what if they miss something… something that I would have seen? Much of the city still can't be easily reached. It'll take months to clear the damage from the storm." One hand reached out, catching John's sleeve again. "What will I do if I can't get around in the city?"

"We'll take care of it," Sheppard responded, doing nothing to remove the hand. "Don't do this, Rodney. We don't know…"

Rodney continued, his voice growing more intense, "I'll be stuck doing lab work. My life. I've spent my whole life in labs, behind computers… I'll have to go back to that. It's not as if I'm not used to that sort of thing. But, I liked fieldwork, you know. I really enjoyed it. Scary sometimes, I mean, it really wasn't my element, but I liked getting out there."

"Would you just listen to me? Rodney, it's not going to happen like that."

"That planet with the… devil dogs." His voice became softer. "Okay, I didn't care for this at all. Don't care for this either." He laughed, a short abrupt sound. "So stupid. It was such a stupid, pointless accident to leave me crippled."

"McKay, you need to knock it off. We'll get Beckett to look at you and then we start thinking about that crap. I'm sure he'll be able to take care of things. Think about it…"

"Think -- that's all I do. That's all I'll be able to do from now on," McKay commented, his voice a whisper. He narrowed his eyes for a moment, then seemed to come to a conclusion. "You know, you wouldn't send me back – not even if you could. Atlantis can't manage without me. But I'd certainly be less useful. They'd probably give me Grodin's position. You could have him on your team." The hand still gripped John's sleeve, gloved fingers twisting the fabric.

"Rodney…"

"You'd like him. He'd fit right in, and he's pretty easy to get along with. A good man – the best. Throws a mean punch, but …"

"Rodney!" Sheppard growled between his teeth. "Would you knock it off?"

"The truth hurts," Rodney returned, keeping one gloved hand clenched at John's sleeve as he shivered. He closed his eyes, squeezing them tight.

"Damn it, McKay," Sheppard returned, feeling tired as hell. "You're putting the cart before the horse. Jumping to conclusions. I know that's what you're good at, making connections in that massive brain of yours, but you're going from Point A to Point Z a little too quickly."

McKay blew out a breath.

"What I'm thinking is, you just hit your back pretty hard," Sheppard continued in a low voice. "You got yourself good and bruised. Either that or the cold has gotten to you. Soon as we get back to Atlantis, Beckett will get you warmed up and you'll be good as new."

Eyes opened and sought him. "You think?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking."

"Because I bruise easily."

"See, just a bruise. Maybe we can even find a Jacuzzi somewhere. You could probably use a good soak."

"Really? You think there might one somewhere? I do my best thinking in a tub."

"Atlantis is huge, and the Ancients seemed to like bein' comfortable. I don't see why they wouldn't have hot tubs tucked away somewhere."

McKay closed his eyes and for a moment looked comfortable. He sighed. "That'd be nice." He glanced up at Sheppard and asked, "You ever go hot tubbing in the snow?"

"Sure," Sheppard replied. "It's a kick."

"Never have done that," McKay sighed. "Just add it to the list of all the things I've never done – never will do."

"Rodney…"

"It's just that… it's just that I'm a little bit… scared."

"Don't be."

"But what …"

"Shhh," Sheppard tried to say, but was cut off by a similar sound – a great huffing breath – a snort. He felt his heart seize up for a moment as he raised his head slowly -- finding himself staring at a great shaggy head. "Oh… crap…" he whispered.

"What? What?" McKay frantically responded.

"Shhh," Sheppard said again. "Don't move."

"Well, that's what I've been trying…"

"Don't move… don't make a sound!" The words were urgent and low, as Sheppard stared back into the big black eyes of a tapa looming over them – so close, the breath from its rubbery snout warmed his face. Suddenly, the cold wasn't that big a deal.

TBC