Before Caldwell could retreat, Weir had spotted him through the transparent walls of her office and gestured for him to enter.

"Did you know about this, Colonel?" she asked furiously.

McKay answered before Caldwell could even figure out what to say. "No, he doesn't know anything, Elizabeth. It's entirely my fault. It was my idea, I made Sheppard do it. I know it's against all the rules, and it's probably immoral, and…I needed…I don't know…something to make me feel less impotent. After I learned about my sister…I just wanted to do something that would make me feel good."

"I hope it did feel good, Rodney, because I, for one, am appalled and disgusted. And I don't believe for a moment that Colonel Sheppard is in any way innocent. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was really his idea." She cut off McKay's protest with a glare. "No, I don't want to hear another word. I'll decide what to do about this when I've calmed down. In the meantime, consider yourself confined to quarters, Rodney. Don't even think about contacting Sheppard first, I want to speak to him before you've had a chance to get your stories straight. You're dismissed."

McKay's shoulders drooped as he left, giving Caldwell a pained grimace. He turned back to Elizabeth to see her collapse into her chair and put her hands over her face.

"You did know, didn't you?" she asked quietly. "Don't bother to deny it, Rodney already gave you away. He told me he couldn't bluff to save his life, and he was right. I still don't know how he took Kolya in."

It seemed the cat was out of the bag now, but judging by Weir's reaction to McKay's confession, it appeared that her previous liberal views went out the window when confronted by reality. Perhaps the situation could be salvaged after all.

"I suspected," he told her. "Enough to speak to McKay and advise him to come clean, hoping to at least give him and Sheppard a chance. I'm not sure how they'll react to this back on Earth, though. Sheppard, at least, might find himself in a lot of trouble."

She raised her head to stare at him. "I'd have thought you knew – Colonel, this idea was brought up while we were on Earth. I mentioned it to Colonel Sheppard and Doctor McKay only as a possible last-ditch attempt if it looked like the Wraith intended to strip every planet in the Pegasus Galaxy. Giving away nuclear bombs is not my idea of good trade relations. I had no idea that Rodney would decide to go ahead and manufacture several bombs and put them aside for the future. He and Sheppard have given away three of them to people we have trade agreements with."

It was Caldwell's turn to stare. "He gave away…" It took a few minutes for him to regain his composure. Clearing his throat, he finally said, "Yes, I did know about the plan to give weapons to natives of this galaxy as a last resort against the Wraith, but I didn't know McKay was giving away nuclear devices. Please tell me it wasn't to people like the Genii who might be able to reverse engineer our designs."

"No," she sighed, "he said the casings are sealed and the people he gave them to aren't advanced enough to figure out the technology even if they get them open. No real damage has been done, fortunately. I'd appreciate it if you'd be willing to keep this to yourself. I seriously doubt it would be enough to get Sheppard into any serious trouble, but it certainly doesn't look good that they did this without permission and right under my nose. I think the only reason this happened is because Rodney was so upset about his sister, he needed to do something he felt was constructive."

Caldwell sat lost in thought for a moment. Perhaps this was for the best. He'd had second thoughts about persecuting Sheppard and McKay anyways. He could have found himself in a very bad position, should McKay have realized what he'd been trying to get the scientist to confess.

"I don't see why this has to go any further," he told her. "I'm willing to forget this conversation ever happened. You know McKay better than I do; if you say he won't do it again, I believe you. Now," he smiled at her, "it's time I and my ship were on their way back to Earth. I'll see you in a few months, Elizabeth."

She returned his smile warmly. "Have a safe trip, Stephen," she replied.

He passed Sheppard and McKay on his way through the GateRoom, whispering furiously at each other. Sheppard caught Caldwell's eye as he passed, and winked broadly. McKay turned to see, and a sardonic grin spread across his face. He could feel their eyes on him until the doors closed behind him, and he made his way gratefully back to his own command.

fin

A/N: Virtual chocolates go to Dr. Dredd, who figured out what John and Rodney were up to even before I did.

I was tempted to give this a tragic ending, to tie in with the tragic beginning…but I just couldn't disappoint everyone. You got lucky – I like happy endings.