Rodney stared at the machine in front of him. Most other days he would be actively trying to figure the device out but today he had absolutely no interest in it. His lab staff looked at him questioningly from time to time but wisely stayed away. Poor Radek Zelenka had already gotten some stripes take off his back when he asked McKay if something was wrong so they decided to leave him alone.
It was almost time to go eat and everyone in the lab (with the exception of Rodney) was eyeing the clock with anticipation, wanting to escape the room and their leader's foul mood.
As McKay rubbed his eyes, he saw the clock. "Noon...go eat so you guys might actually do something productive this afternoon!" he groused. He certainly didn't have to tell the lab staff twice! The lab was cleared in record time with Radek Zelenka leading the charge. As he watched them go, he felt a slight sense of longing to go with them, to be one of the group but he shook it off.
Just then, Carson Beckett stuck his head in. "Rodney, can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked cautiously.
"Well, since you already are, I guess it couldn't hurt..." McKay replied sardonically. Carson glared at him and Rodney felt a tiny twinge of regret that quickly passed.
The doctor sat down across from him and looked at him seriously. "Rodney, you're not going to want to hear this.."
"So why bother?" the man in question muttered as he studied his shoes.
Rodney's head snapped up as Carson blew. "Because we care about you! You're miserable and we all can see it, Rodney! You keep pushing everyone away who tries to get close to you. We want to help you but we're only going to keep trying for so much longer."
"I..." McKay began.
"I'm not done yet!" Carson thundered in return and Rodney gaped at him in utter shock. The Scotsman's voice softened a little. "Rodney, there are people here who would be your friends if you'd only let them..."
"I have friends!" McKay snapped.
"Not real friends. You have associates and colleagues yes, but who do you talk to when you're had a bad day? When something makes you want to run around the base cheering? When something scares you? Or makes you want to tear your hair out?" Carson asked, looking at Rodney straight in the eye. The scientist met his gaze defiently until he finally couldn't look the medical doctor in the eye anymore.
"Just think about what I've said, Rodney...you can't be unhappy forever...you deserve more than that."
Rising to his feet and looking over his shoulder, Carson left the lab. Rodney sat there, his thoughts a whirl as his staff came filtering back in from lunch, wondering what kind of mood their superior was going to be in now.
"Radek, I'm going for a walk...call me if anything comes up." he said tersely. "Yes, Doctor McKay." Zelenka replied respectfully as Rodney got up and stalked out the door of the lab. "YES! He's gone! Lab party!" someone called out. The others laughed a little and Radek allowed one of them to turn on the cd player she had secreted under her desk. The techies (with the exception of his royal highness Rodney McKay) enjoyed music while they worked.
From outside the lab where he'd stopped to tie his shoe, Rodney slowed his movements. His fellow scientists were...well... happy that he was gone. Feeling about as tall as a blade of grass, he began to walk briskly away. What he did he need them for, anyway? He was the genius around here and everyone knew that genius was misunderstood.
Before he could round the corner, he saw Sheppard talking to some of the SFs. Thomas Gamana was talking about something and even from his distant vantage point, McKay could tell he was bragging about something. Creeping closer, he strained his ear to hear what the young man was saying.
"...so then I TOTALLY got her number and no one else even came close." Thomas said, grinning.
"Come on, Tommy, stop bragging. You're turning into Mini McKay." Sheppard joked.
As the three men laughed at this, Rodney's heart sank into his shoes. He was just a joke, a figure to ridicule. Nevermind that he had saved the entire city more times than he currently kept track of. Turning away, he walked blindly, water stinging his eyes for the first time in longer than he cared to remember. He needed to be alone for a while and the balcony seemed like the perfect place to be.
Carson finished picking up the files that had blown all over the place and arranged them back into neat piles on his desk. Sighing, he set to work putting them back in the order he'd had them in. As he came across McKay's file, he glanced at it. His movements stilled, then his blue eyes went wide. Crap...the haggis is in the fire now for sure! he thought to himself. Abandoning his files until later, he flew out of the infirmary and into Dr. Weir's office.
She looked up at him, surprise written on her face. "Carson, what's wrong?"
"Oh I messed up good this time!" he fretted as he began to pace again.
Elizabeth tensed. "What happened?" she asked again.
"I swear, I had NO idea!" he pleaded.
"Carson Alan Beckett, for the love of all that is Scottish, just tell me already!" Weir snapped. He stopped pacing and looked at her. "How do you know my middle name?" he asked.
"Who cares? GET ON WITH IT!"
He looked down at the ground. "Well...I went and chewed Rodney out, then looked at his personnel file and.."
"And what?" Elizabeth asked patiently. She was going to get it out of him sooner or later...she preferred sooner!
Carson sighed. "Today is Rodney's 40th birthday."
The only sound that answered him was the thud of Elizabeth's head as it hit her desk.
