Chapter 8 - Confessions
A few hours later, Rodney stopped outside the lab to see how his experiment was going. He began to get worried when he couldn't hear anything by tapping into the com line, and wondered if he should open the door to check on Radek and Melody, just in case they had killed or maimed each other.
The door slid open at the touch of a button. "Radek, Melody? Are you in here?" Rodney poked his head into the lab and scanned the room. He couldn't see them, but he could hear something going on in the darkness on the back of the lab. "Are you guys back here?"
"Rodney, if you step one foot in this lab, I will personally kill you." Mel's voice came from the darkness.
"And I will help her." Radek's voice sounded like it was coming from right near Mel's.
"Do I need to get Carson?" Rodney liked the sounds he was hearing.
"No, and if you do not get out of this lab right now, I will make sure that Carson will have to perform surgery on you!" Radek's voice had more anger in it than Rodney had ever heard.
"Okay, I'm going! Is there anything that I should tell Elizabeth?"
The boot made contact with the door since Rodney had closed it behind him.
"Now that he is out of here, should we get back to business?" Radek asked his wife.
A few hours later….
Rodney was coming out of his lab when he spotted Mel looking out over the railing.
"So, how was your incarceration?" Rodney made sure to stay out of her reach.
Mel turned her tear-stained face towards him. "I couldn't tell him about how bad I got."
Rodney moved closer, knowing she wouldn't hurt him for locking her up with Zelenka. "He'd understand. Radek is an understanding kind of guy."
Mel's laugh grated on Rodney's nerves. "I implied that I was depressed after…Oh, man, I never told you why I was depressed."
"Tell me now."
"I had been pregnant…" Mel's voice shook. "I had been pregnant and when I was eight months along, the doctors had to deliver her because she was dead." Mel's eyes closed and more tears appeared at the edges.
"Oh my god, Mel, I never realized…." Rodney was stunned.
"I never told anyone about Isabelle. Most of our superiors at Area 51 knew because it was in my dossier, and General Hammond knew for the same reason, but they all left it up to me to disclose it to my co-workers."
"Why are you telling me now?"
"Because I have this overwhelming desire for someone else to know why I was so bad. And I'm trying to build up the courage to tell Radek."
"There's no time like the present." Rodney nudged her with an elbow.
Melody shot him a dirty look. "Yeah, I'll go to my estranged husband who I just reconciled with and tell him that I was a depressed alcoholic after he left me."
"Estranged? I thought you were divorced."
"Well, it turns out that we both thought that the other had filed. So we're still married."
"That has to count for something." Rodney nudged Mel again.
"But will it be enough?"
Rodney sighed. "Remember, Radek is an incredible guy. He must be a saint for putting up with me on a daily basis for all these years. I don't think he'll turn his back on you this time. He is probably not the same guy he was when you were together."
Mel shot Rodney a look of apprehension. "I guess you're right about now being the right time."
Rodney grabbed her in a one-armed hug. "Good Luck."
