AMONG THE STARS - by NotTasha
Here we go... the last two chapters. Enjoy!

PART 20: JELLO CUPS

"Hey?" a voice hissed. "You… you awake?" The voice was just barely familiar. Someone he'd met somewhere… but where? Not sure… nope…. Not entirely sure.

"Rodney… you awake, huh?" It was someone was entirely too peppy to be part of the expedition. "I think you're awake… are you? 'Cause I'm tired of talking to myself. Can you wake up? Come on…" the voice took on a whine.

But Rodney was still tired. He ached. He just wanted to sleep.

"Aw…" the voice sighed.

Then something struck him with a CLOP, right in the middle of his forehead. Eyes shot open, and Rodney stared, blurrily, at the ceiling of the infirmary. "What… what was that?" he groaned.

"You're awake! Great!" the voice proclaimed in a loud whisper. "Hey! How you feelin'?"

His side hurt. He felt all musty and fuzzy. He ran his tongue over his teeth as he looked around, first to his right, noting an empty bed – its blankets all mussed about. He turned to the left and spotted Ronon, splayed out and asleep in a chair beside him -- his mop of hair at eye level.

Must be nice to never have to comb it, Rodney mused. That's why he kept his own hair short – just swipe with the comb and he was done.

He paused, not sure what to make of the situation. The voice hadn't sounded like Ronon's.

"Hey! Don't wake him up!"

Rodney lifted his gaze, taking in the speaker -- the occupant of the other bed. It was that redheaded pirate. What was his name?

"It's me… Rix! Rix Mills!"

"I know that!" Rodney's voice came out a little rough. "What did you throw at me?"

"Oh… a jello cup."

"You threw a jello cup at me."

"Hey, it was empty! I wouldn't dump a douser."

"Why are people always throwing things at me?" Rodney asked with a despairing groan.

"I dunno. Maybe you make a good target?"

"It was a rhetorical question!"

Rodney squinted as his vision came clearer. The pirate was sitting up in the next bed, propped up by several pillows and a dinner tray sat before him.

"Do you know where I can get more of this?" Rix asked, pointing into an empty Jello container. "They cut me off at seven."

McKay frowned at Rix's getup. "What happened to your head?" he asked, finding his throat dry when put to the task.

"Oh…I hit it," Rix responded, running a finger around the inside of the Jello cup, hoping for more. "Don't remember much of that," he stated as he frowned at the emptiness of the plastic container.

Rodney squinted at him. "What's with the bandana on your head?"

"Bandana?" Rix said, stumbling slightly over the word – obviously, it was new to him. He gave the knot on the festive red cloth a tug as he gave up on the Jello cup. "Maria got it for me," he said proudly. "She's pretty. Not as pretty as Teyla, but awful nice."

"Yeah…" Rodney responded, regarding the man narrowly. Jeez, I must be out of it.

"I told her that I didn't like the way the bandage looked on my head, I mean – it was all white, and they cut my hair back a bit. Wasn't nice to look at. So she found this to cover it up. Teyla found the black eye-patch. I like it. Carson says my sight should come back in that eye, but thought I should keep it covered until then."

"Hey, how'd you manage to bean me with that jello cup if you have no depth perception?" McKay inquired.

Rix shrugged. "I had six tries," he stated. "One of 'em had to hit something."

"My head!"

With a chagrinned look, Rix admitted. "I was kinda aiming for your chest – or anything. You make a good target. I figured I had a chance… eventually."

Rodney looked about, finding empty jello cups surrounding him. He batted one to the ground, muttering, "Great… just great."

Rix's expression became bleak as he said, "But that's just it, isn't it? I don't know what I'll do if my sight doesn't come back. I can't be a pilot if I don't have two working eyes."

"Carson said it'll come back?"

Rix nodded.

"Then it will," Rodney snapped.

Relief washed over the Bogachiel, until he said, "I don't even know where the Ironspot is."

Rodney frowned as he tried to remember. The last time he'd seen it, the Ironspot had been situated, fixed but untested, in the gateship bay. "I take it, it's not on the space station anymore?"

"Oh, the space station blew up. MAATAUW! Big explosion." He stopped talking suddenly, aware that his exclamation may have awakened the Satedan. He let out a sigh of relief as Ronon continued to slumber.

"Ah yes. How could I forget? And the Ironspot?" Rodney asked. "It… was operational? Yes, yes… of course it was. I fixed it."

"Oh yeah, I flew it right off. 'Course, it was Teyla who flew it afterward."

"Teyla flew the Ironspot? How…"

"Oh, she's smart as a sido. She even used the crane. I think I love her," Rix admitted, his face going all soft in contemplation of the Athosian.

"Oh….okay," Rodney returned with trepidation.

Rix pointed to the eye patch and said again, "She gave me this!"

McKay gave a lopsided grin, imagining how Teyla might accept this pirate admirer. "The eye-patch, the bandana…. It's all very fitting," McKay told him. "Yeah, you have a good look going. All you need now is a parrot."

"A parrot?"

"A bird. A talking bird that repeats everything."

"Repeats everything?"

"Yeah. You'll need that, and a peg-leg or a hook."

"Really?" Rix frowned, wondering about this statement.

As Rix pondered, Rodney regarded Ronon again, seeing that the man appeared well. Rodney tried to remember about the others. He could half-recall hearing them speak, but it could have been just his drugged mind making up scenarios. He frowned, wondering about that. His mind, after all, was quite active and capable of offering him exactly what he wanted.

He cleared his throat and asked, "Teyla, so… she's okay?"

"Oh, she's fine. She's better than fine. She sure is pretty!"

"And the colonel?" Rodney went on. "Have you seen him?"

"You mean 'John'?"

"Yeah," Rodney responded.

"Oh, sure. He's fine," Rix brushed off the question. "He's been here a lot. At least one of your friends is always here." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Didja know Ronon got into Zeno's spacesuit?"

"Spacesuit? Him?" Rodney said, surprise in his voice.

"Yeah. Went outside the ship and everything."

"When? Why?"

"To get you out of that dome. You locked yourself up good. Yeah, I don't think he liked doing it though."

"Huh, imagine that."

"Carson comes 'round here a lot. He's hard to understand sometimes. Talks funny, like a rook in a cote, you know?"

"Yeah…" McKay responded, not wanting to know.

"Been other folks, too. I can't keep track. I've been sleeping a lot." He touched his head. "I hit my head. Did I tell you that?"

"Yes, you did," McKay replied unpleasantly, and then added with false casualness, "So, we all made it home safely."

"Well, there's you and me that got tangled." Rix went silent for a moment. "But, Wortley and Zeno…" he said their names softly. "They didn't make it."

Rodney tried to remember. The name 'Zeno' was familiar, but 'Wortley' was lost on him. He'd always been horrible with names, and this just proved the fact. Zeno, he recalled suddenly, wasn't that great a guy. And if Wortley was the woman who'd shot him (and what kind of name was 'Wortley' for a woman?) … well, she wasn't nice at all.

Rix opened his mouth as if to say something, but shut it instantly as Ronon made a grumbling sound and tried to rearrange himself on the too-small chair. Mills sunk into his pillows, looking warily at the big man until he settled again.

Once he was sure that Dex wasn't going to open his eyes, Rix whispered, "Don't wake him."

"Why not?"

"He scares me."

"Ronon?" McKay returned, ignoring the fact that the man's face twitched at the sound of his name.

"He doesn't like me," Rix said.

Rodney turned his head slowly, looking to the empty bed on his right, and swiveling back to take in the uncomfortable looking Sadetan, slumped down in a chair that was far too small for him.

Rix went on, "He's guarding me…"

"If he was guarding you, he'd be awake."

"I don't know."

"There's probably a guard outside the door if that makes you feel better."

"He wanted to kill me."

"Aw, he's a pushover."

"Pushover?" Ronon growled and he sat up stiffly, rubbing his head as he turned to McKay.

"Ah… pushover… it means… you like to push things over… a lot…" McKay backpedaled.

Rix nodded, as if he knew this, and Ronon just gave Rix a narrow look, but quickly returned to McKay. "You're awake."

"Yes, yes… awake. That's evident, isn't it?" McKay snapped, trying to cross his arms over his chest, but getting tangled in the IV lines.

"Good to see that," Ronon stated. He frowned, not knowing what to say next. He glanced to Rix, wondering of the talkative pirate would fill the gap, but the Bogachiel had leaned back in his pillows and was apparently feigning sleep to avoid any confrontation with the Satedan. Ronon chuckled softly.

"So you find this awful funny, do you?" McKay groused as he gave up and let his arms drop beside him.

The comment brought Ronon's attention back to McKay, seeing how pale the man was, noting the tightness of his expression. IV bags still hung around the man's bed.

There'd been a commotion upon their return. McKay had been taken away at first to be worked on by Beckett and his crew, then brought to this bed. Beckett had spent a lot of time fretting over things around McKay's bedside. Ronon didn't understand any of the terms that were thrown around. He just felt the palpable fear that clung to this space for too long.

The fear eased – every time Beckett came back and checked on McKay, the concern seemed to lessen, until this calmness descended. Then, Beckett said, "He's gonna be fine. Just a matter of time 'til he wakes."

But the monitors still monitored, and the IV's still dripped their concoctions into McKay to make him 'better'. Ronon hated the whole set up – but he had to admit, he liked the results, and he had great admiration for the doctor.

"I asked you if you thought this was funny?" McKay asked again, pettishly.

"Funny? Not really," Dex responded truthfully. Even Rix had scared him, when Beckett said that they might need to drill into the man's skull if there were further sign of brain swelling – but that seemed to right itself, and Rix had been sleeping and waking for the past day. He often awoke in a panic, not knowing where he was or how he got there.

In all, it hadn't been a good time for any of them. "Not funny at all," Ronon repeated.

McKay seemed to relax a little, grimacing as he tried to get comfortable.

Ronon's forehead creased as he realized something. "Why do you have all those jello cups all…"

"I don't want to talk about it!" McKay said, giving one of the cups a kick. He grimaced at the movement, and swore softly under his breath.

"Feel like shit, huh?" Ronon asked, because he didn't know what else to say.

"Well, yes! I'm not feeling great." McKay rustled about, making faces as he failed to find a comfortable position, only making matters worse. He sucked in a breath and groaned, then raised his gaze to meet Ronon's, asking hopefully, "Think I can get some of the good drugs?"

Ronon pressed himself upright, looking happy to have something to do – other than being forced to just sit and converse. "I'll get Beckett," he declared.

"Hey, are Teyla and the colonel are okay?" Rodney asked quickly, needing to verify the information – because Rix could be wrong – you know, head wound and everything.

"Yeah, they're fine," Ronon confirmed. He stood a moment longer, meeting Rodney's gaze to ensure McKay had heard him. "We're fine." Then he turned and sauntered off to find someone.

"Think you can find me some jello, too?" McKay called after him. "Some cups with jello actually in them?"

Ronon kept moving, making no sign that he'd heard.

Rodney was about to repeat his request when he heard Sheppard call out, "Look who's up!" as he strode into the room.

A grin lit the colonel's face as he moved past the mostly empty beds. The only other patient was Cpl. Dunne, asleep and sporting a long cast on one leg.

Sheppard passed Ronon on his way through the infirmary, and the two exchanged a glance, before Sheppard continued on his way toward Rodney. Ronon went in search of someone to harass.

"Colonel," McKay declared, hiding a yawn. "It's a bit past your bedtime, isn't it?"

"Yeah, well," Sheppard drawled as he sat on the empty bed at Rodney's right. "Figured I'd check up on you. How's it going?"

Rodney directed a thumb in the direction Ronon had disappeared. "Ronon's getting the drugs," he responded.

"Gotcha. And, ah, what's with the empty jello cups?"

"Would you forget about the jello? One-eyed Pete was using me for target practice!" McKay sniped as he kicked a couple more cups off the bed.

Sheppard smiled then, a little wickedly, as he leaned forward and snagged something from the little bedside table. "If you're going to get strung out, then you won't be wanting to see this, I guess." He held up a device.

"A laptop," Rodney confirmed, annoyed.

"Your laptop," Sheppard said, handing it over.

With a curious expression, Rodney reached out one hand to grasp the computer, surprised at how heavy it felt. His arm had no strength.

"Careful," Sheppard chided. "You don't want to drop this one."

"It's not mine," McKay shot back, pulling it into his lap. "Mine had black stuff on this side, and the cover was scratched to hell."

Sheppard didn't want to think of what else had been on the laptop when they retrieved it. "We had to clone your last one. You really should play nicer with your toys. We're going to have to take them away from you if you don't treat them better."

Rodney frowned, turning the new laptop over in his hand, not understanding. His expression fell as he remembered dropping it… he'd dropped it down that shaft, the central core… he couldn't hold onto it and climb.

Then it dawned on him. He lifted his gaze, his face framed with a silly smile. "The data from the supernova? Is it here? Did you save it? Is it verifiable? Is it all here?"

"How the hell should I know?" Sheppard retorted as he stretched out on the spare bed.

Rodney smiled, and cracked open the computer, booting it up as he leaned back in his bed. He yawned, widely. As he pulled up the data, Rodney grinned and glanced to Sheppard. "Oh, this is good…"

John yawned, not bothering to cover his mouth, as he watched McKay fiddle with the laptop, tip-tapping his way through the supernova. The physicist was almost salivating.

"Incredible," Rodney said in a hushed voice. "Amazing!" He studied the data a moment then lifted his head, explaining an excited, "OH! I just remembered!"

"What?"

"The… the… ZPM?" McKay moved one hand animatedly as held the laptop in place.

"Oh yeah… that." Sheppard grimaced a bit. "Not much power left in it," he explained. "Pretty near depleted."

"Oh…" the word had a deflated quality to it this time. "Seems that's always the case."

"That space station was on its last legs. It wouldn't have lasted too much longer. Might be enough power left on the thing to run a couple toasters."

"Oh," Rodney said again, and turned back to the laptop, looking tired and spent.

"Still," Sheppard added. "I like toast. I'm sure we could use a lot of toast around here."

"Hmmph," McKay muttered, turning his attention back to the display. "I take it, the entire science staff has been over this information already, right?"

"Nope," Sheppard said, popping the word as he spoke it. "Cloned it and left it to you."

That brought the smile back to the scientist as he settled in with the laptop, data scrolling over the screen, lighting his face. "You think…" he started, and then paused to yawn, "you think the reason Rix was so concerned about this data was because of their pirating activities?"

Sheppard cocked his head, giving the sleeping Bogachiel a glance. "Yeah, probably thought that the station recorded their comings and goings. Might have caught them sailing their schooners into port with their Jolly Rodger flying, lowerin' their mainsails, and toting in their chests full of doubloons."

McKay nodded, closed his eyes for a moment, and then fluttered them open again. "Don't think it captured any of that. The system was too concerned with recording the supernova data to be detailing what was going on at the docks and under decks."

"I wonder how much stuff they had piled up in that room," Sheppard contemplated, wishing he'd had a chance to see the treasure room. He'd been there when the cache on PX1-H0H was found, and the boys in the science labs were still going through the crystals and devices that were secreted there – the gold and jewels from that previous treasure trove were kept under lock-and-key somewhere in the city, in case such booty was ever needed in a trade.

"Yeah," McKay said with a wide yawn. "Wish I'd had the time to check it out. Too bad you weren't able to get the loot out before you got the station blown up."

"What? Me?" Sheppard exclaimed.

"You could have calmed down Warty."

"Wortley… and you're the one who trapped her in an airless compartment."

"Oh… yeah… I guess I did do that." His head dipped and bounced back up, bobblehead-like. "Still, too bad, huh?"

Eyes narrowed, as Rodney watched the information flash past. Minutes passed, and slowly the eyes closed, fingers relaxed.

By the time Ronon came back with a rumpled-looking Beckett and a cup of jello in each hand, Rodney's chin was on his chest and his hands were at his side.

Sheppard stood, and relieved Rodney of the laptop. He'd take it back to Rodney's quarters as an incentive to get better quickly. Plus, it could always be used to bribe the scientist into behaving himself if he offered Beckett any trouble – be a good boy, and we'll bring it back.

"He was awake and talking?" Beckett verified as he took the chair by the bedside, and took Rodney's blood pressure one more time.

"Yeah," Ronon told him, as he dumped the jellos on Rix's handy dinner tray. "Talked a lot."

Beckett made a satisfied sound as he took his reading. And he gave Rodney a little pat on the arm as he released the cuff. "Good lad, Rodney," he said softly. The doctor checked on the IV's, adjusting them, humming.

"So," Sheppard tried. "It's all good?"

"Aye, it looks like he's gonna be just fine." Carson cocked his head and added, "So, now that you know that, you boys can go on to bed now. No need to be hangin' around here all night. He's seen you."

"I'll stay," Sheppard volunteered, getting comfortable on the bed. "Ronon, your shift's over. Might as well head to your quarters."

Ronon stretched his shoulders, shrugging one and then the other. "Yeah, probably should. Teyla will be back in the morning," he reminded Sheppard.

"Yeah, we'll double team him," Sheppard replied. "So you might as well scram."

Ronon nodded and pressed a hand to McKay's shoulder before he turned, lumbering out of the room without another word.

Beckett watched Sheppard for a moment longer, considering dismissing the colonel as well, but thought better of it. "See you in the mornin'," he declared and turned back to his room. He passed Claire, the nurse on duty, as he moved through the infirmary.

He realized that Ronon could have just as easily summoned her instead of getting him out of bed, and he chuckled at Ronon's single-mindedness.

Claire gave him a curious look, looking as if she wanted to ask about his well-being. He waved her off and she returned to her book.

Meanwhile, Sheppard stowed the laptop in the table. He figured a sick man deserved something to brighten his day. On the other side of the bed, one green eye opened and Rix stared back at him.

"So…" Mills started softly. "When's Teyla getting here? Oooo! Jello!"

Sheppard shook his head, chuckling softly. "Go to sleep, Rix," he ordered and decided to get some sleep himself.

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TBC - just an epilogue to go!