AN: Thanks for all the kind reviews! I love hearing what you think - it helps me adjust the content of future chapters

SPOILERS for "Trinity"

SUMMARY: After the events in "Trinity", Sheppard and McKay's relationship is strained at best. But is stranding them in a remote lighthouse with only Zelenka as referee going to help them work things out? And what about the dead scientist who used to own the place?

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.

Deus Ex Machina

By KerrAvon

6. A Close Call

The three men quickly fell into a routine. Zelenka and McKay were in the lab all hours of the day and night, coming up for air only when forced by hunger or exhaustion. Sheppard arose with the sun, checked the inside and outside of the lighthouse for any sign of attempted entry, then went for a run. On nice days he'd jog the edge of the cliff; in inclement weather he stuck to the established roads and paths. By the time he returned, Radek was typically finishing breakfast preparations, so they all ate together. Afterwards the scientists would retreat to the basement while the colonel would attack his paperwork or procrastinate in the library. After one disastrous dinner prepared by Rodney (one would think a 'rocket scientist' would know that you can't 'stir-fry' salad), the unspoken agreement was that John would cook the evening meal. Fortunately he really did enjoy cooking, so the whole group grew to anticipate his creations.

Sheppard, having just returned from the village with an armload of groceries, found himself fumbling with the code on the door lock as he tried to balance his purchases in the other arm. The day had been cool for summer, but bright and sunny, so he enjoyed the walk tremendously. Over the past five days he had actually felt his muscles unclench, and McKay didn't seem as annoying anymore. As he shifted the bag, careful not to drop the eggs, he suddenly caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Whirling quickly, he found himself face-to-face with the child he'd seen in the library the night they'd arrived.

The boy was red-haired all right, with freckles on his face and a sparkle in his eye. He appeared older now that John got a good look at him, closer to ten or eleven. He wore jeans complete with ripped knees, a blue-and-white horizontally-striped shirt, and dirty canvas shoes. He had smudges on his face from playing, and grass stains over clothes and skin. The mischief in his eyes was reflected in the grin on his face. John couldn't help but smile back.

"Hey there," he said, trying to start a conversation. Setting the bag slowly on the ground where he was standing, he held his hands out nonthreateningly. "My name's John; what's yours?"

The kid grinned wider, but didn't reply. Instead, he took a single step backwards as if daring Sheppard to follow him.

"Look, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to meet the neighbors." John carefully didn't move for fear of frightening the boy off.

The child was far from frightened. Instead, he made what Sheppard could only assume was a rude gesture, then stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry. Giggling at the joke, the child turned and took off towards the village.

"Wait! I want to talk to you!" In a heartbeat Sheppard was after him, chasing down the path. Despite his own good physical condition, the boy quickly outpaced him and disappeared from view. Panting, the colonel gave up and trudged back towards the lighthouse.

About ten yards away from the door he heard an odd grinding, followed by the sound of skittering pebbles. Thinking that the boy might have returned to play 'chase' again, he whirled around. Nothing. No movement anywhere. His eyebrows creased as he tried to determine the source of the odd noise. It seemed to be coming from the lighthouse itself…

He glanced back just in time to see an enormous stone fall from the tower and crush his bag of groceries before the door with a sickening thud. "Son of a….!" he cursed, dashing to the building. His first instinct was that the child had somehow doubled back, sneaked upstairs, and pushed it off. However, his entire exchange with the kid had lasted under three minutes, and nobody was that fast. Examining the rock, it was also obvious that no ten-year-old boy could have shifted it, much less dropped it with such precision. No, it had probably just broken from the old building, and sheer bad luck guided its landing. Staring upwards, he tried unsuccessfully to see where it had come from. High above him, around the fourth floor, he thought he could see a raw spot where it had fractured off, but he couldn't be certain. Grunting, he shoved the rock and rolled it aside, clearing what was left of his sack. The food was crushed beyond recovery.

He picked up a broken eggshell and gave a low whistle. "Well, kid, I owe you one. That would have been my head if I wasn't chasing you." Inputting the security code of the day, he pushed open the door. "I guess we'll make do with what we have in the kitchen tonight."

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Dinner that evening was a sullen affair, as McKay and Zelenka disagreed as to how to proceed and had argued loudly and vehemently for most of the day. The destruction of the fresh vegetables and eggs did nothing to improve their mood, although there was much speculation as to why the child had appeared when he did and whether or not he was somehow responsible.

"Nah, it was just coincidence," concluded John as he cleared the table.

"Still, it is interesting that only you have seen the child," replied Zelenka.

John shrugged, "Yeah, you two don't get out much."

"Yes, well, we're working on the prototype. And I'd like to make at least one test run before we turn in for the night." McKay stood and started towards the door.

Radek, in uncharacteristic anger, shot, "No, Rodney. I keep telling you that there is something wrong with the feedback equations. It is too dangerous."

"What? I keep asking you to point out the flaw, and you can't. Could it be because, oh…I don't know… there isn't one?" McKay snarled.

This whole conversation sounded eerily familiar, and John involuntarily flashed back to Doranda. There was no way he would let Rodney destroy another planet; besides, this one was heavily populated, and he kind of liked those village kids. It was time for a command decision.

"McKay, if Zelenka says wait, we wait. We've only been here five days and you're already talking trial runs. We've got well over a week still to go, and I'm sure Elizabeth will let you stay longer if you think you need it."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "That's not the point. We are ready to test out the model; Radek's just afraid to do it."

"Yes, Rodney, I am afraid." Zelenka slammed both palms on the table for emphasis. "I am afraid of being blown to bits by an untested device containing enough Naquada to power Atlantis for a year!" Throwing down his napkin, he waved an index finger beneath McKay's nose. "We have been through this. We need to run more simulations. I tell you something is wrong!"

"Rodney…" Sheppard began warningly.

"Oh, come on. Just because Doctor Ignoramus…Doctor Irrational Ignoramus…over there says no," McKay objected.

"That's it. I am going for walk. If you insist on creating explosions, please to do it while I am out!" Radek's English became more stilted when he was upset. Grabbing his jacket from the rack by the door, he punched in the code and was gone into the dimming evening light.

Sheppard turned to the senior scientist. "Very mature, Rodney. Reminds me of the kid earlier; you know, the one who stuck out his tongue to make a point." A deadly glint in his eye, he concluded, "My decision stands. Until you both agree to proceed, you will be running nothing but computer simulations. Or do I need to remind you that it's 'an inexact science', or that this prototype is what killed Dr. Seinlein?"

McKay, who had been glaring defiantly up to that point, suddenly looked away, unable to meet Sheppard's eyes. "Yes…well…umm…OK, I'll wait for Radek to agree." Jerking a thumb over his shoulder, he stammered, "I'll just go down…and…go through a few more computer trials, shall I?" Without waiting for a reply, he slumped out.

Sheppard called to his departing back, "I'd better go find Dr. Z. The grocer said it's supposed to storm tonight, and I don't want him to get lost." Snagging his own jacket, he hurried out after the diminutive Czech into the gathering darkness. 'Now if I can only figure out which way he went…'

Pausing for a moment on the doorstep, he scanned his surroundings for any sign of the smaller man. Instead, a flash of red hair caught his eye, interrupting his previous mission. "Hey! I want to talk to you!" he cried out, breaking into a run. The scamp grinned gleefully and took off; the chase was on.

Zelenka for his own part stomped off in a crimson huff. He had worked with insufferable, pompous scientists before, none of whom had McKay's brilliance, nor were they as infuriating as McKay was. Perhaps it was precisely because Rodney was so gifted that he was so irritating. He was like a kid with a science fair project who ran a few trials then extrapolated the rest of the data out of boredom; McKay's mind jumped to the most logical conclusion provided by the initial observations, and then acted. His intelligence made him right ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the time, but the point-one percent of the time that he was wrong…it was spectacular. Radek did have to admit, however, that McKay's tendency to jump to conclusions and quickly act on them had certainly come in handy with many of the crises they had almost daily. But if he would just slow down and do some of the tedious detail work when they weren't in a rush…he could be amazing.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Zelenka stopped, sighed heartily, and stared out over the ocean. Water had always been calming; as a young man he often found himself on the Charles Bridge staring at the Vltava River as it flowed beneath his feet. On Atlantis he had merely to go out onto any balcony whenever McKay became too much to bear. Tonight his feet had subconsciously taken LTC Sheppard's running trail along the cliff edge, so now he stood watching the majesty of the sunset in neon hues of pink, orange and gold spread out before him. Picking up a pebble from the ground at his feet, he flung it with all the might of his pent-up frustration out towards the sea. The water was too far down for him to hear the splash, but it felt good to do nonetheless. Sighing once more, he decided to walk just a few more minutes before turning back. He definitely didn't want to be wandering around after dark.

He hadn't gone more than a few yards before, rounding a corner, the ground suddenly gave way beneath his feet. With a startled yelp he slid over the edge of the cliff…

TBC….

AN: An evil cliffie! Finally some action! (Bet you thought I'd whump Sheppard first, didn't you?)