Chapter Six

as usual not mine don't sue

thanks to my beta as always :)

Warning angst ahead. You have been warned

Who knew silence could be so deafening, especially the uncomfortable kind. Thirty-three minutes of silence to be exact. Rodney hadn't spoken a word, it was probably a record of some kind, sadly it wasn't a record John ever wanted to try to break again. He had been trying to work up the nerve to say something to fix this, anything, but he was at a loss. Hell, he deserved his friends anger.

The only good thing was that they were heading towards the Stargate, albeit in a roundabout way. John had figured that the most direct path was pure stupidity at this point. The smart move was to take a route that would lead them to the gate and also keep them away from their stalker. True, he might try and ambush them at the gate, but John was anticipating that, so he'd handle it when they got there.

They were basically following a huge, deep, ravine around the forest which led right to the foot of the Stargate. It was an easy landmark, so there was no way they'd get lost. The downfall was if they slipped, they were pretty much screwed. John kept them a good two feet from the edge at all times and made sure he was in the lead to pick up on any possible weaknesses in the ground. A crumbling ledge was certain death as well.

You'd think Rodney would be in sarcasm heaven with all of this crap to whine about, but his friend had said nothing. He simply followed, less than a few steps behind John, and remained eerily silent.

John couldn't remember a time he'd felt more alone. He had to fix this no matter what, once they got back he'd have plenty of time. They'd have another "heart to heart" if he had to drag the words out of McKay. Yep, he'd fix this once they got back to Atlantis.

John had been keeping a safe distance from the ledge but after ten more minutes of head splitting silence his curiosity got the better of him. He inched closer to the edge of deep canyon and sneaked a peak over the side.

"Damn Rodney. It's deeper than the Grand Canyon and much cooler looking! Wow! What do you think could have made something like this?"

It stretched for miles, the edges were jagged and sharp. It was as if someone had taken an ice cream scoop and spooned out a chunk of earth.

It was so awe inspiring he forgot momentarily that he and Rodney weren't speaking. John squinted against the harsh sun light and struggled to see the bottom as he absently waved for McKay to come closer.

Rodney's soft, unsure footsteps approached from behind, stopping inches from his back. John could feel his friends eyes boring holes into the back of his head. Oh yeah, that's right.

John sighed and turned to face his friends surprisingly sad and wary stare.

"Rodney would you say something already?"

Rodney spoke to him all right, John just didn't like what he heard.

"Why did you pick me for this team?"

John felt his jaw drop, of all the things he expected, this was not one of them.

"What?" John managed.

"Why John?" His friends voice was beyond tired. He sounded defeated...no lost.

I picked you because you're the most brilliant man I've ever met, you're brave despite yourself. Most importantly you're the perfect compliment for me and the team. He would have said all of that if Rodney had given him a moment to spit it out.

"Never mind. I don't think I want to know. Someone probably ordered you to do it. Look, I want to get this off my chest ...and I wanted you to be the first to know. You deserve that much." His hands were fidgeting with the zipper on his jacket and he kept biting his lower lip, "I've decided to resign from my position on this team I think it's the best for all involved, you especially. It makes no sense, I cause more trouble than anything else. I'll inform Elizabeth when we get back." By the time he finished he was sweating even more and appeared breathless. Rodney hadn't taken a breath in between sentences, it was as if he were scared to give John a chance to interrupt.

John stood near the ledge swallowing the bile in his tight throat. He was desperately trying to think of the right words to say to make this right. Anything to make Rodney see how wrong he was about all of this. How the hell did I screw things up this much? All he managed to do was whisper his friends name. "Rodney."

"Don't. I need to relieve myself." He tried to smile. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

John watched Rodney disappear into the trees. This couldn't be happening. No, I won't let this happen. Screw later. They had to talk now, it was a conversation that was long overdue. He wouldn't allow Rodney to resign, he was irreplaceable as a teammate...and a friend. That was exactly what he was going to tell him, once he found him.

John made it to about two feet from the tree line when he felt those hairs start dancing on the back of his neck again, unfortunately it was too late.

"Looks like I finally caught up with you. Smart move taking an indirect route. Too bad I can track you wherever you go." The deep male voice came from right behind him. John heard the click of a weapon and stiffened reflexively.

Sheppard bit back every obscenity that was on the tip of his tongue and slowly turned to see the face of their stalker.

John let out a small, exasperated laugh. The son of a bitch was wearing a black, skin tight mask.

"You have the worst timing ever you know that?" John snapped.

"Sorry but business is business, you know how it is, gotta feed the family."

Get him talking Sheppard. "Look I'm sorry to disappoint but we don't have anything. There wasn't anything there, no ZPM, no energy source, so sorry about all the trouble you've gone through. I'm afraid it was for nothing. " John flashed him a "so there" smile.

John could see the creases of the mask turn up around the area of the hunters mouth. "That's where you are wrong. There's two energy sources on this planet, and I'm looking at the biggest one right now."

John got a sinking feeling in his gut.

"You see this little device." The man waved a small device that reminded Sheppard of a flip top cell phone. "It has been tracking you two from the moment you arrived. You an your friend are worth a lot of money to my employers."

What the hell was special about him and Rodney?

"Who are you?"

"My name is not important. What you need to know is that I'm a bounty hunter, and well you and your friend who I'm sure will be easy to catch unaware, are the bounty."

John shook his head and prayed McKay was safe and sound, maybe he could at least escape this death trap of a planet.

"You especially are going to make me a rich man. Someone with as much ability to activate that damn ancient tech. They'll pay a fortune for you at the market. You're friend not as much, but anyone with the gene will fetch a decent price."

Of course. He'd never thought about it before, but the ancient gene was rare, and worlds needed those with it to use any weapons, gadgets, or communication devices the Ancients may have left lying around. He'd just never anticipated a black market on human beings. There you go again, underestimating greed. If he got out of this, Atlantis would have to be warned. Yet another threat in the Pegasus Galaxy. If they found out about Doctor Beckett's gene therapy. John suppressed a shiver at the thought.

"I guess that's why you're weapon didn't do any permanent damage huh?"

"You are a smart boy. Don't want to be damaging the merchandise. Now if you would kindly toss me your sidearm and then get on your knees?"

Seeing no other options John tossed his weapon towards the bounty hunter and started to kneel.

"This will keep you unconscious for a few hours. Not permanent, but it will hurt like hell."

The hunter raised the gun, and fired but his shot was diverted by a certain scientist barreling into him, so it only grazed John's shoulder.

Pain still ripped through John's body but he didn't lose consciousness. He watched as Rodney wrestled with the bastard for the weapon. They were rolling on the ground dangerously close the edge.

His best friends was fighting for his life and John could do nothing but watch. Tears stung his eyes as he struggled to move, but he only succeeded in causing himself more agony getting his fingers to twitch a few times.

Then his world ended.

The ground where they were rolling on began to fracture, John could see a thin split slowly spread out until there was a loud cracking sound.

Rodney's eyes met his for a brief moment, they were filled with a quiet acceptance.

Then the ground gave way.

There were screams.

Then nothing.

John had seen it, but refused to believe it. Rodney had not just fallen off that ledge, Rodney had not just died to save a man who didn't deserve that kind of loyalty, Rodney had not just...

He didn't even know he was crying until the first silent sob racked his body. John could barely breath, and he no longer felt any pain from that alien weapon.

Some of the feeling returned to his limbs and he managed to crawl to the ledge. It didn't truly hit him until he looked down and saw nothing. Rodney was gone. No one could survive a fall like that. Despite that he screamed for his friend. Willing him to answer, praying for a miracle. He screamed until his vocal cords wouldn't work, till his throat was raw. When he couldn't scream anymore he vomited, it was laced with blood.

A small voice in his head told him it was because he'd been yelling like a mad man for probably an hour. John didn't care, at this point all he wanted to was to get away from the place where he'd lost his best friend.

He couldn't stare down that cliff anymore, so he stood on unsteady feet. The combination of dehydration, grief, and the lingering effects of that damned weapon had him in daze. He stumbled through the forest, barely aware of what he was doing, only knowing he should be heading somewhere. He just couldn't remember where.

John had no idea where he was or how long he'd been walking but he knew he couldn't go any further. His body gave out and he collapsed in exhaustion against a tree and embraced the numbness that replaced the feeling of overwhelming loss. Not feeling at all was far better than the alternative.

He pulled his legs against his chest and closed his eyes willing himself out of this nightmare.

"I'm so sorry Rodney." John whispered as he drifted into unconsciousness.

end chapter six

So should I go on:) Just kidding, i'll update as soon as I can. Hope you're all enjoying this fic.

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