Part Five: Afters

"Don't you like jello?" McKay was tucking into the blue offering that Zelenka had pushed across the bed table.

The Czech had a face the colour of some alien autumn leaf, his nose swollen horribly. He shifted a little uncomfortably. "It's OK, Rodney. You look like you need it more than me." His voice was thick and indistinct through his injuries.

After a moments silence, Zelenka spoke again. "I didn't even see him, not really. So fast." He swallowed, and pulled the infirmary sheet tighter around his chest.

"Hey! You couldn't have stopped him!" McKay cried, mouth still full.

"But that is the point, Rodney. He knows I could have stopped him. Over-ridden the controls. Shut down the gate. Anything. He is smart. But it is frightening to think of him alone out there…What will he do?"

Spoon mid-air, McKay stopped in thought, "I don't know. Aren't you mad at him?"

"Mad? Why would I be? He is not himself, true? We must find him and get our Aiden back…Do you forget that he and I almost died together once?"

"How could I? But…yeah…that's right…you two were next…" McKay recalled the nanovirus that had killed five of his colleagues, and almost claimed many more.

"Indeed. We have shared much, all of us." Zelenka looked through his puffy eyes at his boss, "Rodney. You have to find him. Promise me you will help Major Sheppard to find him."

McKay blinked, considering the depth of feeling showed by everyone he had talked to. Sure, he knew Sheppard would never leave a man behind, but wasn't this hopeless? There was a whole galaxy to search. To search for a man determined to evade them, and who could do a very good job of that.

Zelenka sensed McKay's speculation about the hope they still held for Ford. "What? Do you want me to promise you more jello?" he tried to smile, but it hurt too much.

McKay finally answered, "No, dammit. Bribery won't help. I just…I mean, optimism isn't my strongest…" He sighed, considering the abilities of himself and his colleagues, calculating possibilities, "OK, you just watch…we'll find him. Sheppard, Teyla and I will find him, Beckett will fix him…You can feed him jello."

"It is a deal." Zelenka winced as he smiled, then leaned back and let himself drift into a welcome sleep.

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A/N: Well, glad I did that. Hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for all the kind words, author alerts, favourites, etc. Gives me a warm fuzzy feeling!