A/N: I really hate to do this to you guys, but there will be a two-week posting hiatus, due the fact that I am going to camp and straight from there to New York. I apologize, but promise to double-post for y'all as soon I get back. Only a few more chapters to go... :sob:

"Let's be honest. Perhaps it's alright. It's too much for even you to bear. You've got some nerve to come back here. You're not the only one who can smell fear. I go wild 'cause you break me open. Wild, 'cause you left me here. I go wild 'cause your promises are broken. Wild, don't you get it, dear? You're not the only one who runs on instincts. No, I got instincts of my own. You've got a lot of nerve to come back. Plan your attack and I am still waiting. Did you want something?" - Poe, "Wild"

"Radek?" Rodney asked tentatively as he stood in the doorway of the other man's lab.

"Yes?" Zelenka asked, looking up from his computer. Rodney slowly entered the lab and sat down in one of the empty swivel chairs. "Can I help you?" Zelenka asked after Rodney remained silent for several moments.

"What do women want?" Rodney asked, crossing his arms and frowning.

Zelenka chuckled. "I cannot think of a question more puzzling than that, except perhaps 'What is the meaning of life?'" he replied.

"No, I mean…" Rodney lowered his voice. "What's a good gift to get a woman?"

Zelenka blinked at him for a moment. "Do I have a girlfriend?" he asked.

"What?"

"I am just wondering why you are coming to me with this," Zelenka commented amusedly.

"Because...because you…" Rodney tried, before snapping, "because you're the only person who won't laugh at my pitiful situation, okay?"

Zelenka nodded and then thought for a moment. "Chocolate. Chocolate is always good."

"B-but…I only have a little bit left!" Rodney lamented.

"Well," Zelenka said, returning to typing on his laptop, "there's always flowers. But chocolate is usually better."

"Flowers…"

"Oh, and they love poetry," Zelenka added.

"You want me to write her a poem?" Rodney asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You asked for suggestions, I'm giving you some," Zelenka answered, holding up his hands resignedly.

Rodney sighed. "What rhymes with 'love'?" he asked after a minute.

"Rodney, I would love to help you with your romantic issues, but I am trying to work, please?"

"Fine," Rodney pouted and got up. "Poetry and chocolate, my foot," he muttered, exiting the lab.

After pondering Zelenka's advice for about an hour, Rodney went to his quarters. Standing on his toes, he grabbed the shoebox that was on the shelf in his closet. He set the box down on his desk, opening it and carefully pulling back the layers of tissue paper. There were only six candy bars remaining. He picked up three of them, then thought better of it and put one back. Next, he grabbed a piece of paper and set out to write an "apology" note.

After tossing half a dozen crumpled drafts into the trash can, he decided that he was satisfied with what he had written. After putting away the precious shoebox, he grabbed the two chocolate bars and left. He made his lonely trek down to the lab and stepped inside, first making sure that Mary wasn't present, of course. He reluctantly relinquished the treasured candy at her usual work station and placed the note on top of his peace offering. He fervently hoped that she would forgive him. He hadn't liked a woman this much since he had had a thing for Katie Brown; he and the botanist had separated on friendly terms seven months ago. He cast one last wistful glance at his chocolate before leaving the lab.

Mary returned from her break twenty minutes later. She saw the note on her desk and frowned, recognizing Rodney's distinctive handwriting. Wadding the paper in her fist, she was about to toss it in the trashcan when she noticed the now-exposed chocolate. She decided to give him a chance and gently un-crumpled the note. "Mary, I know this probably won't change the fact that you hate me, but I wanted to apologize anyway. I know what I did was stupid and that it hurt you. But I assure you that it was a one-time lapse of judgment and will never happen again. I hope you can forgive me. - Rodney" Scowling, Mary returned the note to its former crumpled state and hurled it into the trash can. Then she tore open one of the chocolate bars, savoring the sweet taste. She wasn't sure she would forgive him, but she was definitely sure she would never refuse a gift of chocolate.

XXXXXX

Later that night, feeling utterly upset about the whole ordeal, Mary paid a visit to her older sister. They were only three years apart and were about as close as sisters could be. Flopping down onto Kate's bed, Mary lamented, "I hate men!"

"What did Rodney do now?" Kate asked with a sigh.

"Did you miss the whole 'Evie's having his baby' thing?" Mary asked sarcastically.

"Oh," Kate said softly. "That."

"Yeah. So, naturally when I found out, I told him that our relationship was over."

"Naturally. So what's the problem?" Kate asked.

"The jerk wants me back," Mary answered with a slight air of haughtiness.

Kate raised an eyebrow. "Really? Did he come to you and tell you that?"

"No," Mary answered. "But he wrote me a little note, apologizing and swearing that he would be faithful. Oh, and he gave me some of his chocolate," she added after a pause.

"He gave you chocolate from his private stash?" Kate asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, so?" Mary pouted.

"He must be really sorry," Kate observed.

"So, what, you're saying I should go back with him?" Mary asked defensively. "Kate, he cheated on me!"

"I know that, Mary," Kate said calmly. "I'm just saying it appears to me that he's genuinely sorry. I'm not saying that he deserves a second chance, but being a jerk back to him isn't helping anything." Mary frowned and looked away. "You still love him," Kate said after a pause. "Don't you?"

"Kate, would you just stop shrinking me!" Mary snapped in frustration.

"Sorry," Kate said with a half-smile. "I'm just trying to help you so--"

"And don't give me that crap about trying to help me sort out my feelings," Mary warned.

"Well then, what do you want me to say?" Kate asked, crossing her arms.

"Oh, I don't know," Mary groaned and buried her face in Kate's pillow. After silence reigned for a few minutes, she uttered a muffled, "Ymff."

"What?"

Mary turned her head to face her sister. "Yes."

"Yes, what?" Kate asked with a questioning look.

"Yes, I still love him," Mary admitted with a sigh. "Whether or not I can forgive him is another thing."

Kate smiled gently and joined her sister on the bed. "Just remember what happened to Mom," she said, lightly rubbing Mary's back. "I don't want to see you become bitter like her."

Mary nodded. "You know I don't hold grudges well," she mumbled. "I'll be fine in a week or two."

"That's my girl," Kate said with a smile.

XXXXXX

Late that night, Rodney sat in his lab, brooding and attempting to work on a formula that Zelenka had been pestering him about for days. He wasn't really concentrating on the numbers and strange Greek squiggles though; he was thinking about Mary. Maybe he could get Evie to convince Mary that he was only covering for someone else… No, that wouldn't work. Then Mary might ask questions or simply figure it out herself. He sighed dejectedly and tried to concentrate on the figures that were blurring together.

"Rodney?" Zelenka called, entering the lab. "Have you finished yet?"

"No, not yet, Radek," Rodney answered, rubbing a hand over his tired face.

"You've been at it for three days now," Zelenka said, crossing to Rodney and looking at the formula. "Would you like me to take a look at it?" he offered.

"No," Rodney snapped quickly, his pride not allowing him to accept the aid of a fresh pair of eyes. "Just leave me alone. I'll have it for you in the morning," he promised, hoping he would be able to meet this deadline.

Zelenka sighed. "Alright. Do not stay up too late, though," he advised. Rodney nodded, only half-listening, and Zelenka left the lab. Rodney picked up his pencil and returned his attention to the numbers. Wait…was that a four...or a nine? Rodney rubbed his eyes. He was tired and stressed, not a good combination.

"Well, you're up late." Rodney looked up and saw Elizabeth leaning against the doorframe. She smiled and asked, "What are you working on?"

"ZedPM formula," he answered, erasing a mistake and writing down the correct number.

"Sounds exciting," Elizabeth commented. After a pause she asked, "I've been meaning to ask you, did you ever get around to modifying the rest of the jumpers' drive pods for underwater use?"

"No!" Rodney almost shouted. "I've been up to my eyeballs in meaningless drivel the past three days, all right? I'll get to it when I get to it!" At Elizabeth's raised eyebrow, he stared at the floor. "Sorry," he mumbled. "No, I've been really busy lately," he tried again.

"Oh." When Rodney continued working and said nothing further, Elizabeth decided to leave. "Well, good luck with the math," she offered with a gentle smile. Rodney acknowledged her departure with a grunt. "Oh!" Elizabeth turned around and reentered the lab. "I almost forgot. Mary Heightmeyer says to tell you that she completed the research on the bacteria collected from Glendora. She wants you to take a look at it when you can." Rodney sighed. Just when he had gotten his mind off of her… "Rodney?" Elizabeth prodded after a pause.

"Right," he answered. "I, uhh, I'll add it to my list."

Elizabeth nodded. "Goodnight."

"'Night." When she was gone, Rodney let his head drop to the desk as he sighed heavily. He feared the next person who disturbed him would be treated to a full-blown McKay explosion. After resting for a moment, he tried once more to work on the formula.

"Well, look who's still up," came the unmistakable voice of Sheppard.

Rodney dropped his pencil and ran a hand over his face. "What do you want?" he mumbled.

Looking around to make certain that they were alone, Sheppard crossed over to Rodney. "Evie's going in for another ultrasound tomorrow," he said quietly. Rodney began absently fiddling with the pencil, twisting it in his hand. "And she thinks that it would be a good idea if you went with her. You know, keeping up the ruse."

Clenching his fist, Rodney accidentally snapped the pencil in half. "I can't do this!" he cried, pushing his chair away from the desk and throwing the pencil pieces across the room.

"Rodney, I--"

"Rodney do this, Rodney do that, solve this formula, fix that, research this, tend to Evie," he said, his volume increasing as he gestured wildly.

"Rodney, I think you need to calm down," Sheppard said gently.

"Calm down? Calm down!" he shouted, on the very edge of completely breaking down. "I'm being pulled in a thousand different directions, I'm stressed to the max, I'm being forced to play the expecting father, and to top it all off, the woman I really do care about dumps me! Did I leave anything out!" he cried.

"Rodney, I'm sor--"

"I can't do this anymore! I just can't!" he exclaimed, his voice near breaking. He leaned against the edge of the desk and angrily blinked back his tears of frustration.

"Hey," Sheppard said. "You just need a break. You'll be alright." He put his arm around Rodney's shoulders somewhat awkwardly.

Rodney stiffened under Sheppard's touch. Neither was very used to close physical contact. Slowly, though, Rodney sank into the other man, collapsing as if he just couldn't hold his own weight any more. "I need a vacation," he mumbled.

"You need to go to sleep," Sheppard said, lightly putting his arms around the other man after a moment.

Rodney released his friend a few seconds later. "Yeah… Yeah, s-sleep would be good," he agreed tiredly, rubbing his exhausted eyes with the heels of his hands. "But I have to finish this," he said, returning to the formula.

"No, you don't," Sheppard said, snatching the fresh pencil from Rodney and steering him towards the door.

"But I promi--"

"No," Sheppard said firmly, shoving him out the door and down the hall. "Bed."