AN: Thanks to everyone for their support; Shadow is still MIA, however. We're hoping that he's still alive and will eventually remember where 'home' is, but it's been 8 days now…

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

11. To Err is Human

As the two men hiked back from the cliff edge after inspecting the sites Sheppard identified, Cleary shook his head in concern. "Look, this is a real problem; that was clearly attempted murder. The exhaust hose in the basement was also intentionally pried off, as was the stone that nearly crushed you."

"Tell me something I don't know," muttered John bitterly. Going over the information with the Constable only to reach the identical conclusions was frustrating to say the least. Throw in a headache, strained back muscles, and sleep deprivation, and even Sheppard had to admit that he was hardly in peak form.

Cleary empathized. "Look, you're beat, and you're going to make mistakes trying to manage this on your own, maybe deadly mistakes. Whether you like it or not, I'm going to call the Ministry and have them contact your people." He held up a hand to silence John's objection. "I'm not saying you have to leave. At the very least I would expect them to send some extra security personnel."

Sheppard paused. Cleary was right. He was exhausted and could easily miss something. Rubbing a hand across his eyes as they walked, he nodded. "Yeah. Good idea." He paused before concluding, "I just can't figure out how they're getting in."

Cleary chuckled. "As you said before, that's my area of expertise." His eyebrows drew together, and he continued, "Until your people get here, I'd like to keep an eye on things. Either I or one of my men will be checking on you."

Sheppard nodded, too tired to argue. "Sure. What's Sgt. Aule look like?"

Cleary smiled, "About fifty, a taciturn old coot, about as tall as me but much thinner, and a face made of tanned leather."

Sheppard crooked a grin. "Sounds like he and McKay will just love each other."

"Yeah. When he gets done with his family business, I'll be sure to send him by." Cleary grinned back. By this time they had reached the front door of the lighthouse and went in.

Sgt. Sparso snapped to attention as the two men entered, jumping up hurriedly from his chair. "Constable Cleary, sir! I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

Cleary made calming motions with his hands. "At ease, Sparso. Anything happen while we were out?"

Sparso, still keeping his back straight, let his shoulders slide forward slightly. "No, sir. The scientists have been in the basement all day, and there's been no attempted entry in that time." The youngster was nervous around his superior and anxious to make a good impression. Sheppard figured this was the most responsibility he'd had since he'd found Dr. Seinlein's body.

Cleary recognized this as well. Clapping a hand to his shoulder, he said, "Good work, son. Now let's get out of here and leave these people to their work." As the two turned to exit, he called back over his shoulder, "I'll phone the Ministry first thing in the morning; they're closed now except for a few emergency personnel." The door clicked shut behind them, and Sheppard carefully keyed the lock.

Rolling stiff shoulders to ease the knot of tension that had settled there, John flopped onto the couch in the front room, too tired to move any further. 'I'll just rest a minute before I tackle Rodney...' He leaned his head back, his eyes had shut of their own volition, and he was sound asleep.

An hour or so later, growling stomachs drew the scientists from their work. As the door to the basement opened, McKay called out, "Colonel Sheppard? Are you back yet?"

Zelenka caught sight of the snoring figure on the couch. Head lolled back, arms akimbo, Sheppard was the picture of exhaustion. Pointing at the sleeping man, he hissed, "Quiet, Rodney, you'll wake him." As McKay opened his mouth to comment, Radek whirled and pointed a finger right at his colleague's nose. "Not…one…word. He saved my life yesterday."

Rodney's jaw closed with an audible snap. Radek nodded in satisfaction, then continued quietly, "We can forage dinner for ourselves, I think. After all, you are the one who likes MREs; anything we cook should be better than that." Wordlessly, the pair headed into the kitchen and eased the door shut.

A gentle shaking of his left shoulder two hours later brought John back to consciousness from a blissfully dreamless sleep. "Colonel Sheppard, wake up. It is time for dinner." He blinked his eyes open and stared blearily at Zelenka, who smiled in return.

Suddenly alert, Sheppard's eyes flew to the code box by the door; to his relief it was still set. "Sorry about that; I must've dozed off." Standing, he headed for the kitchen where a decent-looking pot of beef stew sat simmering on the stove. Taking an appreciative whiff, he exclaimed, "Wow, this smells great!" Ladling out a large bowl he continued, "Sorry about not making dinner tonight; I guess I was more tired than I thought." Taking a spoonful, he critiqued, "You really outdid yourself, Radek."

Zelenka shook his head in denial. "No, no. Dr. McKay cooked."

Sheppard held the bowl at arm's length and examined it critically.

Noting Sheppard's stance, Radek smiled sheepishly and admitted, "With a little supervision, of course…After his success with the eggs this morning, he wanted to try something more…ambitious."

"Of course he did." Sheppard unsuccessfully hid a grin as he dug into the tasty meal, then a thought occurred to him. "How are you doing, Doctor Z? You were still pretty shaken at breakfast."

Radek shrugged. "I recover quickly. Where I trained, I had to; if I showed weakness like this morning, I would have been cleaning out my desk by noon."

"You did fall off a cliff yesterday" John commented sarcastically.

Zelenka gave a depreciating smile. "Ahhh, but that was yesterday. This is today."

"Well, I don't know how things were back in your country, but around here we allow ourselves to admit the occasional weakness, the occasional mistake. It's part of being human. After all, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger."

Radek's eyes narrowed calculatingly. "Like Arcturus?"

John nearly choked on a chunk of potato, then used the resultant coughing fit to avoid answering the question. As Radek rushed to get him a glass of water, he had to admit to himself, 'Yeah, I guess Rodney just made the mistake of being human. He certainly has been trying to learn from it. He really has been listening to Zelenka and running the simulations as he suggested.' As the coughing subsided, he glanced around the room, noticing the other man's absence. "Hey, where is the good Dr. McKay anyway?"

Zelenka shrugged. "Rodney and I ate earlier; we let you sleep. He said he 'needed a soak' and went to take a bath."

That sounded like an incredibly good idea to Sheppard's aching muscles. When they had originally explored the lighthouse they had found four small bathrooms with showers off of the living quarters on the third floor, as well as one huge bathroom with a whirlpool tub for relaxing on the main floor. The linen closet just opposite it was filled with thick, absorbent towels and terrycloth robes worthy of a 4-star hotel, indicating that Dr. Seinlein wasn't above appreciating some of the finer pleasures of life. "You going in next?" he asked Radek, expecting an affirmative answer.

"No, I wasn't planning on it."

John flashed a tired smile as he said, "Then I call 'dibs'," and went to the stove to get a second helping of the stew.

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After he finished dinner, Rodney had piled his dishes in the sink with the comment, "I cooked again; tell Sheppard it's still his turn to wash up!"

Radek smiled. "I will be certain to convey your sentiment to the Colonel when he awakes. Where will you be?"

Jerking his thumb down the hall to the bathroom, he replied, "I thought I'd take a nice, relaxing bath. I'm still suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, you know."

Schooling his face to innocence, Radek commented, "I was unaware of the curative properties of hot water on that condition, Rodney. You should submit a study on it. Perhaps you could get a grant."

"Har-de-har-har. Very funny," McKay grimaced, then flounced down the hall, snagging a couple of extra-thick towels and a robe from the linen closet on the way.

Running a tub of steaming water, Rodney slowly peeled out of his grimy clothes with a sigh and dropped them unceremoniously to the floor, slightly surprised when they didn't stand on their own. 'I really should wash them before they develop language skills…' Kicking the pile to the corner of the room, he set the towels on the table beside the oversized tub and hung the robe on the hook provided. Next he scrounged the bar of soap from the sink and tossed it into the water. He carefully tested the temperature with his toe and, finding it satisfactory, slowly eased into the whirlpool. Reaching for the control behind him, he turned on the massage jets and settled back with a deep, heartfelt sigh. "Every scientific lab really should have one of these," he purred to himself. Glancing around the oversized tiled room, he decided that the only thing he would change would be the clock that projected from the wall just to the side of the safety rail. 'No one should be reminded of the time while they are relaxing,' he thought disapprovingly. 'Still, that's the only thing I'd change about this room.' He leaned his head onto the preformed headrest and closed his eyes. Outside he could hear the drone of voices as Radek apparently roused the colonel.

The passage of time is a relative thing when one is so relaxed. Rodney eventually became aware of an uncomfortable niggling at the back of his mind. It felt…as if someone were watching him. Eyes popping open, he glanced frantically about the room.

There, in the now-open doorway, stood the redheaded boy. Jumping up, McKay hastily grabbed a towel from the table and wrapped it around his waist. "Hey, you!" he shouted. "What are you doing here? How did you get in?"

The boy's eyes widened at the verbal barrage; he whirled on a dime and ran from the room. Rodney, determined to get some answers this time, seized the safety rail as he rushed to follow him. In his hurry he pulled too hard and jerked the top from its attachment to the wall. His forward momentum catapulted him forward even as the rail was yanked backwards into the protruding clock. As he fell he caught his toe on the lip of the Jacuzzi, causing him to pitch forward. With a horrified yell he hurtled towards the floor, unable to slow his descent despite desperately-flailing arms. Cracking his forehead on the sink, he saw stars and heard a loud, sizzling, electric pop. He hit the tile with an ungraceful thud as the lights went out.

TBC….

AN: Poor Rodney! It's about time he got whumped, too.