Chapter Two

Once again thank you to my lovely beta...thanks hon. :)

Not mine don't sue

Spoilers are up to "Aurora" for this story.

"Rodney!" John Sheppard turned and stomped over to where the scientist was hovering over a patch of dirt. He had one of his scanners out and was in his "genius" mode. Meaning, he hadn't heard a word the irate Colonel had been shouting at him for the past few minutes.

"Oh for Pete's sake." John mumbled belligerently under his breath. This mission sucked. The planet was hotter than Hades and it smelled funny. Yes, he knew that sounded strange, but it didn't make it any less true.

It stunk like dirty laundry. Dirty laundry that had been sitting in a moldy, damp, basement for two weeks. The whole planet gave him the creeps. What kind of a planet had an orange sky? The kind that could give you a heat stoke in record time. It cast an eerie tinge to everything around them. Lakes, trees, and yes, even their skin looked sickly in John's dry, wary eyes.

He scanned the tree line for about the Hundredth time that hour. The hair on the back of his neck wouldn't settle. Maybe it was just paranoia, but he felt like they were being watched.

John wiped his forehead and focused on accomplishing his immediate goal. Getting McKay's attention for more than point two seconds. A challenge on a good day.

"Rodney," he gave a good natured slap to the back of his teammates skull and felt a flicker of satisfaction when the scientist's shoulders tensed. "Got your attention now?"

McKay half turned and glared up at him through squinted blue eyes. "Do you mind?" His lips curved in a classic Rodney "I'm smarter than you" smile. "Some of us actually have work to do on missions." He waved his hand toward the rock John had been leaning on minutes before. "Please go back to your post Colonel. You're blocking my light."

If anyone else had spoken to him in that manner, he would have given them a severe verbal beating. This, however, was Rodney McKay. Sarcasm was just one of the services he offered on a daily basis. He was arrogant at times, whiny at others, and could be extremely irritating and bossy. You could always count on him to tell you exactly what he thought on any matter with no sugar coating whatsoever. John wouldn't have him any other way.

"Ladies and Gentleman the comic styling's of Dr. Rodney McKay." He dropped to one knee so he was eye level with his friend. "Don't quit your day job," he smirked.

"Very funny." McKay punched a few buttons on the data pad.

"Seriously though Rodney, I don't think it's possible to block out the light on this world. How many suns does it have again?"

McKay sighed and set his instrument down. "Three Colonel. I'm trying to work here."

"You gonna be done soon. I hate this planet," he said mostly to himself.

"I'd be finished a lot sooner if you'd stop interrupting me," McKay snapped.

"Yeah, yeah," John stood and started to walk away. He took four steps before he stopped and did an about face. "You know you're a lot more testy than normal. What's your problem Rodney?"

His friend's eyes widened but he said nothing.

"I'm serious. You've been extra snappy since we got here. Something bothering you?"

McKay pursed his lips and stared anywhere but at John. Okay, I'll take that as a yes. Things had been a little strained between them since Sheppard had told Rodney he had to earn his trust back.

John regretted it now, but was too stubborn and proud to admit it. Those were qualities he and Rodney both shared. It tended to cause a lot of things to go unsaid between them. A festering wound only got worse, and this one was a fountain of infection.

He had let it get bad. All John could do was hope it wasn't too late. Rodney wasn't the easiest person to get to know, but John had found he was worth it. He had a feeling there had been a lot of lonely periods in his friends life. McKay always seemed surprised when he asked him to lunch or when he dropped by his lab for a friendly little chat. To think someone had never had the simple pleasure of friendship was a thought that made his heart heavy.

Then he'd gone and put a kink in that relationship. True, McKay had screwed up…big time, but he'd apologized and realized what a jackass he'd been.

McKay had apologized.

There was a time when he wouldn't have thought it possible. Rodney never ceased to surprise him. He should have accepted it. That's what friends did. He just didn't know how to tell him they were okay now.

He trusted him.

How did one bring that up? John had already passed up on a hell of an opportunity when Rodney had saved his behind again by coming after him in the virtual environment. Gotten John out of his cell and given him a wake up call. Had he thanked him…nope. Rodney had been trying like hell to fix things. The problem was John had been too hurt to acknowledge it.

Something he would never admit to anyone was why he had been so mad after the "incident." It wasn't just that Rodney had blown up a solar system. It was that for a few moments, John had actually thought Rodney was going to stay and let himself be blown up right along with it.

That was the day he'd realized how much he'd grown to rely and depend on their ever growing friendship, and it had scared the crap out of him. John had never thought he'd let anyone get this close again. He'd lost too many friends to the battle field. Now he was losing another, but by his own doing.

It was time to stop being afraid and start mending this wound.

"Rodney look…"

"Colonel I'm sorry if you feel I've been ruder than normal. But, I really need to finish my analysis so we can figure out if a Zed Pm is on this planet. Besides, I don't want to make any more mistakes." Something flickered behind his friend's eyes, pain maybe, it disappeared before John could be sure. "You're not the only one who's tired of this place," his gaze was piercing.

Rodney turned back to his work and began ignoring John again. Oh yeah. Festering.

"Okay that's it we need to…."

His radio crackled to life. Perfect. "Colonel Sheppard."

"Go ahead Teyla," John shrugged at McKay who had risen, and was standing in front of him. The two other members of his team had been investigating another "strange" reading two miles from them.

"I believe we may have a…..situation."

His eyes locked with Rodney's and he saw the apprehension he was feeling reflected back at him.

The hairs on his neck were working overtime now. "What type of situation?"

end chapter two

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