Missing scene for "Intruder".

This went through several revisions (this was the 4th version), much to the dismay of my poor put-upon beta'er, Jen, who was forced to read every one of them. The first version was longer and had more h/c, but this version seemed to fit into the confines of the missing timeframe, and the feel of the flanking scenes, the best. Also, I need to apologize to Jen, since it was originally her plot bunny. (It was such a cute and cuddly bunny that I had to snatch it for myself when she was done.)

ANOTHER BLUE SHIRT BITES THE DUST

"Lindstrom! Lindstrom, are you reading me?" When it became obvious the scientist couldn't hear him, Rodney picked up the phone. "Lindstrom! Are you reading me?" He could see the flash of warning lights on the monitor. "What the hell are you doing? The airlock's opening! Override the system!" He watched helplessly as Lindstrom called to him for help. "Lindstrom!" he called desperately. The airlock opened, and Lindstrom was sucked into space within a fraction of a second. Rodney stared at the monitor in horror. "Oh my God!"

Rodney stared at the screen for a long moment, still trying to wrap his stunned mind around the events. One second Lindstrom was alive and well, the next, gone. Blown into the vacuum of space. Lindstrom may have been new to the Atlantis mission, but Rodney had worked with him before. They had gotten along surprisingly well. Rodney had no delusions about the way his fellow scientists perceived him. The easy-going Lindstrom had managed to completely ignore Rodney's acerb nature. In fact, McKay had been the one to encourage the scientist to apply for this mission. He leaned his head against the wall, trying to block out the memory of Lindstrom's face and his frantic cries for help before the airlock opened. After a few seconds, he succeeded and flipped the intercom switch. "Colonel Caldwell, this is McKay."

"Not now, Doctor, we have an airlock breach and the computer won't let us re-pressurize that area."

"I know that," his voice caught and he coughed several times.

"Doctor?"

Rodney cleared his throat. "Lindstrom was in the airlock."

"What!"

"There was a coolant leak…" He paused to catch his breath.

"Nevermind, I'll be right down."

oOo

People rapidly cleared a path as Caldwell made his way down to the power distribution room. On the way, he radioed for both a medical and a security team, then belatedly called Weir and Sheppard, giving them what little information he had. Two people had died on his ship and that was two too many. Had the entire ship gone insane? Cameras, door controls, and now airlocks? He arrived at the same time as the medical team. "What the hell is going on?"

Rodney pointed to the monitor. "Lindstrom…coolant leak…airlock," he managed to squeeze out between short gasps.

Weir and Sheppard arrived in time to hear the response.

"Coolant? What kind of coolant?" Beckett eyed Rodney worriedly and turned to confer with the Daedalus medic who had accompanied him.

"I appreciate your concern, Carson, but I'm fine."

Beckett ignored him and unlooped his stethoscope from around his neck. After listening to Rodney's chest a few moments, he took the oxygen mask the medic offered, and handed it to the scientist.

Rodney obediently took a few breaths before handing it back to Beckett. "I need to run a diagnostic."

With long-suffering patience, Beckett replaced the mask over the scientist's face and proceeded to check his pulse. "Your heart is racing."

Rodney pulled the mask off again. "Yes, well, I just saw a colleague blown out of an airlock. Despite what some people may think," he snapped, shooting Sheppard an angry look, "Things like that do affect me." The last bit came out a little squeaky and Rodney took a few more breaths of oxygen before lowering the mask again.

"Ford," thought Beckett, sadly. He had walked in on an argument between the two men just a few days ago. Rodney had apparently made some comment in regards to the missing young lieutenant, undoubtedly displaying his usual lack of tact and diplomacy judging from Sheppard's response. The new lieutenant colonel had been in the middle of accusing Rodney of being a cold, unfeeling, hard-hearted son of a bitch when Beckett had interrupted them. Weir had taken both men aside separately, informing Rodney that Sheppard had been to see Ford's family and was obviously still upset, and reminding Sheppard that just because Rodney lacked interpersonal skills didn't mean he wasn't affected by the loss of their teammate. Since then, the men had appeared friendly enough towards one another, at least on the surface. Those who knew them well, though, could tell there was still a certain distance between them, almost as if they needed to find their balance again. Beckett forestalled any reply from Sheppard by placing the oxygen mask back on Rodney face and shooting the newly promoted lieutenant colonel a warning glance as he checked Rodney's pulse again.

Annoyed, Rodney lowered the mask and twisted his wrist from Beckett's grasp in irritation. "I already told you - I'm fine." He needed to solve this, find the reason for Lindstrom's death. He owed the man that much. And he couldn't do it with Carson fussing over him.

Beckett knew a lost cause when he saw one. Rodney's color had improved, and though he was still raspy, he was no longer coughing. Further intervention on his part would only antagonize the scientist further. "He's right - it appears he didn't inhale enough toxins to cause any permanent damage." He grasped the wrist of the hand in which Rodney was holding the oxygen mask and pressed it firmly to the scientist's face one last time, though he knew it was a wasted effort. "Although a few more seconds of exposure would have been quite a different story." Rodney might refuse to acknowledge it but they needed to understand how close they had come to losing three scientists that day instead of two.

"Thank you, Doctor," replied Caldwell.

Beckett gave Rodney's shoulder an encouraging pat before he and the medic left.

END