Chapter 5/ Rodney's demise
The atmosphere on Atlantis went from a ragging battle to a death silence, Ronon was helping Carson to get Rodney to the gate. Teyla knew that despite Rodney's shameful luck this was a bad omen, the air was thick and she was unable to say one word of luck to Carson. In the control room, Zelenka dialled Earth and was talking to the Stargate Command.
"We have a medical emergency, Doctor McKay is dying, Doctor Beckett is coming with him through the wormhole. The city has suffered a lot of damage but thankfully, the Daedalus arrived so we are ok for the moment. Send a medical team and get radiations experts quickly."
"Understood." said general Landry. "Open the iris." he said to sergeant Harriman.
The general immediately called "Medical team to the gate."
Carson left through the gate leaving Ronon, Teyla and Radek staring at the wormhole, it was as if everyone was stand still unable to move or say a word. Radek came out of his trance first: "We have to pull the shield back on!" and he went to the console, assessing the city damage at the same time, meanwhile Ronon and Teyla exchanged a worried look.
Above Atlantis, the Daedalus was still fighting the Wraith. Blasts could be heard and three out of the four inhabitants of the city were trying to fix what was fixable, it was not a pleasant task but something to occupy their worried minds.
An half and hour later, Colonel Sheppard landed on Atlantis having destroyed the last Wraith Darts, However he got a cold welcome. Nobody seemed to notice him at first.
"What the hell has happened to you, we won!" he exclaimed, pacing from left to right. He looked pointedly at Ronon who just went back to wiring a computer.
Silence was all he got from all of them and that was very frustrating.
"Come on! Ronon, Teyla? Where are McKay and Weir?"
"Doctor Weir is in the lab..." replied Teyla not looking at him.
"With Rodney?"
No one answered to that, Zalenka was on his computer glancing from time to time at Sheppard; Teyla had tears in her eyes but said nothing.
"Alright I will go ask Elizabeth!" he said leaving the room. It was unusual for the team to be that quiet and this began to worry him.
When he entered the labs he saw Elizabeth curled on the floor sobbing, she was shaking badly, a hand touching the floor where Rodney had been earlier.
John approached her slowly: "Elizabeth what's going on? Are you all right? Nobody wants to say anything..."
She just said one word, shakily: "Rodney…" and continued to weep on the floor.
John touched her arm to comfort her but she went crazy, stood up and ran out of the room as fast as she could. She ran and ran without knowing where she was going; when she stopped, she was on a balcony above the ocean and collapsed crying on the railing.
She immediately felt the cold breeze of the ocean on the path left by her tears, this cold wind hitting her face was the only thing real in her mind; the cold was everywhere but above all it was in her heart. She was clueless as to what her feelings for Rodney were; she just knew the pain was too much for her body. A piercing feeling was tearing her apart, "Not Rodney!" she gasped. "Please not Rodney!" she begged to the ocean.
John was shocked; there was no word for what was going on in his head at that moment. He had been on the Daedalus, returning to Atlantis when the distress signal came in. He had been told about the Wraith trap but didn't really understand what was happening on Atlantis. When he got there, his pilots instincts kicked in and he went to chase the Darts. So the news about Rodney left him speechless, the words "Rodney's dying" spiralling in his brain.
Rodney was his friend, his teammate, and the arrogant genius bastard that saved his life countless times. And now that is was his time to save Rodney, there was nothing he could do. "Powerless" was not a word John Sheppard used frequently but today, that word haunted him.
He prayed Carson would manage to save him. "Please save Rodney!"
How long she stayed out there she didn't know but she was still conscious when Ronon and Teyla arrived, having been looking for her for hours after John told them what had happened. They divided in search parties and it was Ronon who first hear her muffled sobs down a corridor on the east side of the city. The sounds came from the small balcony, discovered only a few weeks ago on this unexplored part of Atlantis.
"Doctor Weir, you really should come back inside, we were worried about you..." said Teyla concerned, with one hand holding Elizabeth elbow, she mentioned to Ronon to help her carry their leader.
Ronon helped her stand up " Can you walk?" he asked, she nodded and walked along with them. She never uttered a word as they walked through the city. She was trying to think but couldn't get pass the pain.
They escorted her to her quarters where she could finally calm down. She laid on her bed, holding a pillow to her chest. What had happened in one day was too much for her to assimilate. The thought of Rodney's body on the floor was enough to send into an uncontrollable sobbing fit.
She didn't know, she just didn't understand... Rodney's last words to her were a blessing and a burden. He was her best friend. NO! That was not true! He was more than that! However, she just would never accept it as long as he was working for her... And now, he was dying. That was enough to freeze her heart. She was going to lose him for good without knowing what could have been between them.
Ahhhhh! That's sad! Well thank you so much for the reviews! And keep reading, I have three chapters left, maybe more!
