AN: Yep. As so many of you noted, the last chapter was literally a "cliffhanger"…and there's more where that came from!

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

Rescue

"Hey, come back! I'm not going to hurt you!" Sheppard found it hard to sound reassuring when he was running full-out in pursuit of the boy. Still, he had to try. "I just need to ask you a couple of questions!"

The pair sprinted over the rocky terrain, the gap between the ten-year-old boy and the thirty-some man widening perceptibly with every step. Despite his shorter stature the child flew like the wind, his mischievous laughter floating back to the pilot tauntingly. However, the older man thought he recognized the terrain they now covered from his jog that morning, and a knowing smile played on his lips. 'If I'm not mistaken, just over that rise is a dead end where the cliff juts over the sea; unless he can fly, there's no way back except past me.' The boy disappeared over the top of the anticipated rise, Sheppard hot on his heels.

Cresting the hill himself, the colonel stopped short in confusion. Before him lay the promontory just as he expected, but the child was nowhere to be seen. "What the…?" Sheppard began. Staring incredulously at the cliff in front of him, his brows drew together in consternation, "That's just not possible! There's no place for him to go!" He turned around in a full circle in total wide-eyed disbelief.

'Nothing! It's as if he disappeared off the face of the planet.'

A faint cry of "Help! Somebody help me!" floated to his ears over the sound of the crashing waves.

Whirling to face the cliff, the pilot's eyes widened further in horrified realization; 'Oh my God. The kid's fallen over the side!'

Taking off at full speed again, he yelled, "Hang on! I'm coming!" Once he got within a few feet of the edge, he noticed that the stone had been loosened and looked none too steady. To maximize his stability, he threw himself to the ground and low-crawled until he could peer over the edge.

Rather than the relatively small boy he expected, Sheppard was shocked to see a full-grown man clinging to the cliff face with whitened knuckles. Recognition dawned, and he asked incredulously, "Doctor Zelenka?"

Radek's rational mind knew that only a few minutes had passed since he had fallen and Sheppard's head had appeared above him, but it seemed like an eternity. When the cliff edge crumbled beneath his feet he scrambled for grip on the loose stone, his left hand encountering a protruding root at the same time his toes hit a narrow ledge. Hanging on for dear life, he dug the tips of his right hand into the first crevice he could find until they were bloody. The crashing waves far below him threw up a fine, cold mist as they exploded on the jagged rocks that quickly soaked him to the skin, but he was too terrified to shiver in reaction. Face plastered wetly against the frigid granite, he screamed for help until he was hoarse, all the while recognizing that the probability of rescue was nearly nil. By the time the pilot materialized, Zelenka's hands were cold and beginning to cramp, while the toes of his boots barely held their purchase and his legs were beginning to seize up as well. He had just about given up hope.

"Oh, Colonel Sheppard, thank God. I didn't think anyone would hear me." The relief in the Czech's voice was palpable.

Despite recognizing how ridiculous his next question was going to sound, Sheppard couldn't help himself. "I…don't suppose…you saw a kid go by here?"

Radek blinked up at him incredulously through mist-fogged glasses, unable to form a coherent answer. Sheppard grimaced at the inanity of his own question and shook his head as if to clear it. Staring down, he could see both the scientist clinging to the cliff and the jagged boulders far below. "Don't worry, Doc, we'll get you out of this." 'Hold on, Radek, hold on, hold on,' he chanted to himself, as if by force of will he could prevent the scientist from falling.

Zelenka, comforted by the presence of another human being, dared a small peek at the ocean only to gasp audibly and squeeze his eyes tightly shut as a wave of vertigo hit him. He pressed his face further into the rock as he began to hyperventilate.

Sheppard needed to calm him, and fast. Assuming his most soothing tones, he called, "OK, doc, it'll be OK. Just don't look down again. Come on, look up at me." Sheppard kept his voice calm and steady despite the cold tendrils of fear crawling in his stomach; Zelenka must be terrified. Hell, he was terrified! Scooting forward as far as he dared, he tried to maneuver himself to where he could grasp a wrist, but only managed to brush the other man's fingertips. Radek moaned in fear at the touch.

"Doc, I need you to look at me; I'm lowering my belt to you. I need you to grab it and I'll haul you out of there." So saying, Sheppard shifted his position on the path until his knee was firmly wedged behind a jutting outcropping of rock that he hoped could support their combined weight. Once he was satisfied that he was as braced as he could be under the circumstances, he slipped off his belt then buckled it into a loop. Thrusting his hand through the loop, he wrapped it once firmly around his wrist as well; the only way he was letting go was if someone severed his arm. "OK, I'm lowering it now!" he called out.

Radek slowly cracked open his eyes, taking care to look only up at the soldier and the descending line. Once it reached the level of his hand, he stared at the belt as if it were a snake then closed his eyes and keened, "No, I can't."

"Come on, inch your hand over just a tiny bit…" John was encouraging as he literally swung the belt so that it rested on the edge of the scientist's right hand. "You can do it, Radek! Just ease your hand over slowly…you can feel it, right? Just concentrate on inching your hand onto the belt…there's a loop so you won't slip out once you have it…come on…." Sheppard was half hanging over the cliff himself as he tried to cajole Radek into grabbing the leather lifeline; as he saw the scientist's hand slowly moving, he dug in his own toes for a more secure anchor.

Finger by finger Radek's hand eased onto the belt until he had it firmly between his palm and the rocky handhold. Carefully and oh-so-slowly he wound his wrist through the loop. John glanced back and reassured himself that he was as secure as possible before taking the other man's weight, then addressed the trembling scientist. It was clear the other man couldn't hold on for much longer.

"OK, Radek, I need you to hang onto the belt with both hands, and I'll pull you up. Got it?"

"I can't!" The cry was pure terror. "I'll fall!"

John took a deep breath. "You'll fall if you don't. You're already shaking from exhaustion. Come on, We'll start slow. As I begin to pull upwards, it'll be second nature for you to want to grab it with both hands. Ready?"

"Noooo…." The Czech whimpered, then closed his eyes, gulped, and nodded. "Yes…OK. I'll try."

"Don't worry; you'll do it. All right then. On three." Sheppard watched in satisfaction as Zelenka looped the belt around his right wrist a second time. "OK….one….two…." he could see the man below tensing…"three." He began to slowly shimmy backwards on his abdomen, pulling upwards on the belt gradually as he did so.

'Come on, Zelenka, hold on,' he thought desperately. 'Don't let go. You can do it…just a little farther.'

On three, Radek released his hold on the cliff with his left hand, switching it to the leather strap around his right. At the same moment there was increasing pressure on the strap, slowly pulling him upwards. His arms, already spasming from the cold and prolonged effort, began to burn in earnest. Biting his lip to distract himself from the pain, he clung desperately to Sheppard's belt as he agonizingly ascended. By the time movement stopped, his elbows and chest were up onto the cliff edge, giving him a more secure hold. His feet scrabbled vainly for purchase, but only momentarily. Sheppard's hands were suddenly looped under his armpits, hauling him completely over the side and onto solid ground.

The two men lay panting on the path for quite a few minutes, basking in the glow of just being alive. Sheppard was the first to break the silence, rolling over to where he could better see the scientist in the twilight. "You gonna live, Doc?" he asked in concern.

Radek nodded, pushing himself to a sitting position and adjusting his glasses which he had miraculously retained. "Y…Yes, thanks to you. I've never been so frightened in my life; I was certain that I would fall."

"But you didn't. You grabbed that line and held on like a champ." 'Or like your life depended on it,' Sheppard thought, but didn't say aloud. Standing, he brushed the dust off his trousers, then held out a hand to help the other man rise.

Unfortunately the shock of his ordeal suddenly hit Radek full force, and, rather than taking the proffered hand, he wrapped trembling arms about himself and curled into a shivering ball. Rocking back and forth, his eyes glazed over and he began chanting "Oh God, oh God, oh God…" rhythmically.

Sheppard's brows creased in renewed concern as he squatted next to the shaking scientist, wrapping an arm around Radek's shoulders both for warmth and reassurance. "It's OK, you're fine," he repeated over and over, gradually stilling the other man. He wasn't sure how long they sat like that, but the light had dimmed to near-dark and the temperature was beginning to fall. John was loath to disturb Zelenka, but he was increasingly concerned about hypothermia and shock.

"Come on, Radek. You're soaked clear through, and it's getting dark and cold out here. We need to get you back to that nice, warm lighthouse." He chuckled to himself, "Besides, Rodney will be worried."

Still trembling, Zelenka snorted in amusement, then managed a shaky nod. "More likely he will not know we were gone," he muttered.

Gently grabbing his arm, John managed to haul him to his feet. He draped Radek's right arm over his shoulders and snaked his left around the other man's waist, supporting the majority of his weight. "Slow and easy, now. Just keep moving. I'll make sure you don't fall."

As the two men carefully made their way back to the lighthouse in the nearly complete darkness, Radek finally gathered enough wits to ask, "Not that I'm complaining, but what were you doing out on that cliff anyway, Colonel?"

Sheppard shrugged. "Well, initially I was looking for you, but I ran into that kid from this afternoon. When I tried to talk to him, he took off running. I'd swear he ran onto the top of that cliff, but the only person I found was you."

Pulling out a handkerchief to clean his glasses as they walked, Zelenka grunted, 'It seems I now owe the child my life as well." Taking a sideways glance at the pilot, he continued, "I think next it is McKay's turn."

Sheppard chuckled, "If you say so, doc."

TBC….

AN: Uh-oh. Be careful what you wish for…