AN: Thanks for all the reviews; glad you liked Sheppard getting to snark for a change! And with all those comments about "Finding Nemo", I guess I'll have to go to the video store and rent it this weekend. I didn't see it when it was out in theaters - I just thought it was a kids' flick about fish.
DISCLAIMER: The following story is a work of fanfiction, and as such is for fan enjoyment only. All recognizable characters/settings are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is made.
A Day to Forget
By kerravon
4. The Cave
Sheppard glanced at the setting sun. "We need to find someplace to hole up for the night."
"Why?" As McKay became more exhausted, his questions became more petulant.
Sheppard closed his eyes and counted to ten. Opening them again, he replied, "Because we lost our radios and your memory in a river, so now we have to hide from the natives and regroup."
"Oh." Rodney replied, dissatisfied.
As his jaw dropped to ask another question, however, John sighed and held up a hand. "Not…now, OK. Just give me a break here."
To his amazement, McKay did just that, and they trudged forward in silence.
Travel through the rocky ground proved increasingly difficult for the two men as the light began to fail. Rounding a corner, the LTC smiled wearily; it was a cave.
Mostly hidden by the surrounding boulders, the slight crevasse in the stone could only be spotted at a certain angle. Holding up a hand, Sheppard whispered, "Wait here" to Rodney. He really didn't want to deal with the Yoldan equivalent of a bear with an amnesiac scientist in tow.
"Why? And who are you to be telling me what to do?" McKay's memory had shorted out yet again.
"I'm General Sheppard, and you're my manservant Rodney, so shut up and do as I tell you." John had even gotten tired of his own humorous replies over the last few hours, and decided to stick to responses that might get less discussion and more cooperation from the opinionated scientist.
McKay found himself speechless long enough to allow the soldier to disappear into the defect in the rock. Upon squeezing through the narrow entrance, the cave widened into a respectable chamber, fully protected from the elements outside.
Pulling his flashlight from his LBE, he unsuccessfully tried to flick it on. Shaking it vigorously produced a few random drops of water, left over from his previous dunking.
'Of course, why not?' he thought to himself with a grimace. Peering about as best he could, he inspected the chamber. The light from the entrance revealed no signs of recent animal occupation, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Next he noted a slight breeze indicating that fresh air was entering from the back of the cavern. 'At least there's fresh air, and possibly even an escape route. I'll have to get a fire going before I can find out for sure. The cave is enclosed enough to hide the light from the natives, and the air current will keep us from asphyxiating. The darkness will hide the smoke from prying eyes.'
Returning outside to where the confused astrophysicist was staring up at the darkening sky, he announced, "OK, we'll bed down here for the night. Let's get some wood."
As McKay opened his mouth to ask a question, he held up a silencing hand. "Not…one…word." So saying, he turned on his heel and headed for some nearby scrub. McKay, still confused, watched for a moment then shrugged and followed. Soon they had a fair stack of kindling just inside the cave entrance.
Making a small pile of twigs and dry leaves on a flat, clear spot of the rocky floor, Sheppard pulled out his lighter; fortunately, it had dried up enough to function. Within moments flames began to lick upwards; feeding it larger and larger pieces of wood soon resulted in a comfortable warmth.
His frustration having finally reached a boiling point, Rodney demanded, "Now I want to know who you are and why I'm going to ruin my back by sleeping in a rocky cave."
John closed his eyes and sighed, suddenly aware of the inexorable throbbing of both his upper arm and his head. Rubbing his temples with both hands, he released a heartfelt sigh. Opening his eyes again he fixed Rodney with an unblinking stare. "Look, you're Rodney McKay, scientist. I'm John Sheppard, soldier. We're running from Geronimo and his braves, who shot me with an arrow." He pointed to the bloody bandage on his left upper arm. "Something has happened to your memory; not only do you not remember that we've been working together for over a year, but half-an-hour from now you won't remember this conversation." Sighing again, he stood up from the now-blazing fire. "I need to check out the rest of the cave. You stay here and rest; maybe the explanation will stick this time, but I doubt it." Running a hand across his face in exhaustion, he grimaced, "I wish there was a way of reminding you of all this without having to retell it every thirty minutes, but your personality is, unfortunately, completely intact." So saying, he grabbed a particularly long branch to use as a torch and headed towards the rear of the cave.
The hollow didn't extend far beyond the main chamber; a hole in the wall about eight feet up and only about a foot wide accounted for the fresh air, but it was too high up and small to use as an escape route. He held his flaming branch high to get a better look; nope, there was no way they'd scramble through that. He'd just have to guard the front entrance as best he could, then sneak back to the Stargate in the morning. Turning wearily back to the fire, he also realized that he wouldn't be able to stay awake the entire night. Every bone and joint ached, and he was definitely feverish; most likely the arm wound was beginning to get infected, but there was no help for it now. If they could get back to Beckett…
He broke off that thought as he caught sight of Rodney sitting cross-legged by the fire, staring at something in his lap. 'When we reach Beckett, he's going to examine you first, my friend…' Now that they were comparatively safe, he could allow himself to worry. He had no idea what had happened to his brilliant friend, but he suspected it was the water he'd swallowed, as there was no sign of head trauma. While he'd never heard of such a thing, he was reticent to drink anything else on this planet. Fortunately they each still had a canteen firmly attached to their belts; that'd last until morning at any rate.
Coming up behind the seated figure, he asked, "What do you have there?"
McKay looked up at him blankly. "Pencil and paper, but I don't know why. I must have been planning on writing something." He held up a small notebook and pencil for John to see. "The paper seems water-damaged, but it's dry now. Who are you, anyway?"
Sheppard's heart soared, despite the repetitive questions. "You may not realize it right now, but you're brilliant!" This might be the answer, at least temporarily, to one problem. Squatting next to his stubborn friend, he said conversationally, "If I answer your questions, could you do me a favor?"
McKay's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Depends."
John kept his face carefully neutral. "Fair enough. Could you write on the first page of your notebook, 'Read Me'? Write it where you can read it yourself."
McKay looked at him as if he'd grown a third head, then shrugged and complied. "Now tell me who you are," he insisted.
"Flip to the next page and write, 'My name is Rodney McKay'." Rodney did so, then turned to Sheppard again. "OK, Rodney, can you tell me why we're in this cave?"
The pilot blinked, then realized the problem. "No, no. I'm John Sheppard; you're Rodney McKay."
McKay was frustrated. "Then why'd you have me write 'My name is Rodney McKay'?"
John didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "Next page: 'I have amnesia'."
Rodney wrote it down, then jerked his head up, "I do? Know wonder I can't remember…"
"Next: 'The other man in the cave is John Sheppard, my friend'."
After reluctantly transcribing the requested sentence, Rodney began to catch on. "This is for me, isn't it? I take it I've asked these questions before."
Nodding wearily, Sheppard continued, "Flip to the next sheet. Write, 'We're in a cave hiding from the bad guys'."
"Bad guys?" he squeaked as he wrote.
Sheppard nodded. "Next: 'They shot John's arm with an arrow'."
McKay jotted it down, then glanced up at Sheppard's arm. "You are hurt!" he exclaimed, noting the blood on the bandage.
Sheppard snorted, "Observant, aren't you? Next sheet: 'So be quiet and go back to sleep'."
McKay wrote down the words, then looked again at the begrimed pilot. "How many times have I asked these questions, anyway?"
"I've lost count. We're going to try and reach medical help for both of us tomorrow, but the 'bad guys' are in our way." He gestured to the notebook. "Now, try to get some rest. Lie down next to the fire, and set that up on the ground next to you, open to the page 'Read Me'."
McKay smiled wryly. "It just might work; even if I forget this conversation, I think I'll recognize my own handwriting."
John returned the smile. "That's what I'm counting on. You aren't remembering details, but you seem to have retained your…youness, for lack of a better term." He stood and gestured towards the cave entrance, "I'm going to settle down over here where hopefully I can hear anyone approaching." As he passed the woodpile, he grabbed a hefty branch to use as a club, then settled against the wall next to the opening. Despite the coolness of the evening, he felt indescribably hot, but pushed the thought away as irrelevant. He uncapped his canteen and took a long, gulping drink; he'd get medical attention when they got back to Atlantis. Glancing back at the fire, he smiled to see Rodney curled on his side, head pillowed on his folded arm, snoring softly. Easing his left arm into his lap, he leaned his own head back against the cold stone. While he hadn't really expected to sleep much in that uncomfortable position, his exhaustion quickly overcame him, and he nodded off.
TBC…
AN: Thanks for all the feedback, and glad that so many people liked the Q+A section. Some other suggestions people have thrown out (both in feedback and aloud) include: Laurel and Hardy, Hope and Crosby, Bugs and Daffy, Kirk and Spock, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo, Jack and Jill, and Bill and Hillary Clinton(?). Don't ask about that last one, because I don't get it either. One suggestion made for the arm wound: "I was bitten by a Rodent of Unusual Size"!
Now to try and load this up…. Yesterday, every time I hit the 'Load Document' button, a blank screen would result that said 'Done' at the bottom, but when I went to attach the chapter, it said, "No saved documents". I'm guessing that a lot of other people had this problem as well, since there weren't many entries for the 14th…. Anyone know what was going on?