A/N: Grace Under Pressure episode tag/fix. Still own nothing. I've accepted it, you need to too.
Like many, I love AT/Sam Carter. But I couldn't leave this episode alone. As a dedicated McWeir shipper, I decided the writers needed my help. LOL.
"You're minutes away from hypothermia." Wow. My hallucination was getting awfully blunt as I neared the end. I think she was tired of hanging out with me and wanted it to just be over so she could go back to whatever it was she was doing when I conjured her up.
"I just…I can't tell what's real or what's not." I turned to face the hatch release in defeat. I was cold, I was tired, and my head hurt more than I thought possible while still remaining conscious. Maybe that's it. Maybe I'm really unconscious. Or maybe I already died.
"Rodney." I knew that voice. And that wasn't Sam. I turned back, and there, instead of Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, treading water in front of me, was Doctor Elizabeth Weir: leader of the Atlantis expedition, one of my best friends, and the last person I expected to see down here.
"Umm…'Lizabeth? Why are you here?" Not that I wasn't glad to see her. I mean, if I'm gonna die; as much as I admire Sam, I'd rather Elizabeth's face be the last thing I see. To finally, hopefully get the confirmation that she cared about me as much as I cared about her.
"Rodney, listen to me. I've never lied to you, and I won't lie now. You're going to die if you don't take this chance. And that's unacceptable. They've fought all day to find a way to save you, and I'm not gonna let you give up and die now. So open the stupid hatch, and get out of here while you still can."
I looked at her for a moment longer, trying my best to make sense of everything. "You're not really 'Lizabeth. She's safe on Atlantis." I knew it wasn't her. I would never let her come down here and risk her life, not for me.
Elizabeth sighed. "Of course I'm not really here. You think Colonel Carter was real? You got hit harder than I thought. No. I'm just a hallucination. Apparently your subconscious thinks you'll listen to me better than her now. Either way, Rodney, you've got to trust yourself. Trust your friends."
"I…I can't. 'Lizabeth, I don't know what to believe. Or who to trust."
"Rodney. Let yourself trust. If nothing else, then trust me. You trust me, don't you?" How could she even ask that? Of course I trusted her! She was the only one other than myself I'd trust, and since I didn't even trust myself at that point, she was all that was left.
Some part of me realized that she WAS me in this case, but who was I to argue with a beautiful, and now wet, woman? "Of course I trust you. But…how do I know you're you? Prove you're you. Kiss me."
She looked shocked, then confused, and then shook her head. "I'm not Sam, Rodney. I'm Elizabeth. Me kissing you would neither prove nor disprove anything, and I'm not going to do it anyway. Our first kiss is going to be something we both get to experience." I raised my eyebrow at her refusal and she rolled her eyes. "Rodney, I'll make you a deal. You trust me now. Open the door and let Sheppard in. Then, when you're safe and sound on Atlantis, ask me again. Deal?"
With a reason like THAT to live for, how could I refuse? I nodded decisively at her, then turned back to the panel and pulled the manual release with a silent prayer. And…nothing happened. I realized the problem and immediately pushed off the wall toward the emergency release by the door. If I was going to do this, I was going to do it with all I had. I had to see if my imaginary Elizabeth was an accurate representation of what Elizabeth would really say and do.
As the door opened, the water drained out and I was left lying on the floor of what was almost my final resting place. As Sheppard dragged me out, I looked back to see Elizabeth smiling at me, leaning against the doorway. She nodded and called, "I meant what I said, Rodney. Ask again. You never know what I'll say." With that, she vanished. Darkness began to surround me, and I surrendered willingly.
An insistent beeping rudely pulled me from the best dream I'd had in a long time, but I kept my eyes resolutely closed tight. Elizabeth was going to be the last thing I ever saw, which to me was the only way to go. If I was still doing to die, I refuse to see anything else and ruin it. The familiar smells of the infirmary assaulted my nose, mixed with a familiar yet subtle perfume. A perfume I knew better than any other smell. I opened my eyes quickly to confirm what my nose told me, and immediately closed them again, trying to clear them away. I reopened them, but nothing changed.
Sitting in a chair less than a foot from my head, was a sleeping Elizabeth. Whether she was real, or my imagination, I didn't know, and didn't care. It was definitely better for her to be the first thing I saw, not just the last. I lay and watched her breathe, and realized my hallucination wouldn't sleep. As that realization hit, I smiled and squeezed the hand I found already clasped in mine.
She woke with a start, looking around for a moment to place her surroundings, and then focused on me. "Rodney! You're awake!" She paused, then said, "You scared me!"
I blinked in surprise. "I didn't do it on purpose. Besides, how do you think I felt?"
She shook her head in exasperation and stood, smiling a bit self-consciously to be caught holding my hand. "I just needed to see for myself that you were okay. You really gave us quite a scare there, Rodney." She started to pull her hand from mine to leave. But I hung on tight. I had a question that I had to ask.
"'Lizabeth. When I was down there…I asked you something. And you told me no. But you also told me to ask again when I was safe and sound up here." She looked at me, clearly confused, since she knew she wasn't there, but on Atlantis the whole time. She opened her mouth refute what I said, but I cut her off.
"I know. You weren't really there. But my mind decided that if I had to go, the only person I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to was you." Her eyes began to shine wetly, but she didn't interrupt, just squeezed my hand again. "So you were there, making me fight. Not letting me give up. And I asked you something. But you said no, to ask you later. So…I'm gonna ask." Amazingly, she let me ramble, and even waited for my question without a word.
"'Lizabeth….will you kiss me?" If she said no, or slapped me, I could always blame it on the concussion. Heck, I could probably get sympathy from her for slapping an injured, obviously delusional man.
She froze for a moment, not even breathing, and my heart sunk. I knew then that Jumper Elizabeth was wrong. The real Elizabeth was repulsed. But suddenly, a huge smile broke out across her face and she leaned close enough for me to see that her eyes had now filled with tears. As she leaned even closer still, she whispered her answer.
"Rodney…I thought you'd never ask.