Previously: Iskaan came to visit Anna since she's still taking extra good care of her ankle (since she twisted it in chapter 77). Because Rodney finally showed up (in chapter 78), everyone else is ready to find the rest of Sheppard's team since they've been missing for long enough (since chapter 74), thank you very much.


Chapter 80. Go to Your Head.

Radek knew he was coming, but it was surprising when Rodney walked into the lab anyway. Radek stood from his chair, though he wasn't sure why. Rodney looked… well, okay. He'd looked better. But he'd been gone for over a week, drugged and imprisoned by someone who used to be a friend and was presumed dead. And now Rodney expected himself to get back to work like nothing had happened.

His team needed him, so of course Rodney expected himself to just get back to work.

"Good to see you up and about," Radek offered.

"Hm, yeah, thanks." Rodney walked into the lab with the carriage and attitude of a man trying desperately to keep it together after a night of nothing but alcohol. "I've got the coordinates of a culling that's gonna happen sometime soon, and I know where the hive ship was when it started."

"Find out when it will get there?" Radek guessed. He navigated his computer through a series of portals to find the information Rodney was talking about. He'd already finished it, mostly. Started as soon as the most recent mission report came through, which happened almost as soon as Rodney could put together a cogent sentence.

"And if we have time to get there first, yeah," Rodney answered. "Sheppard, Ronon, and Teyla are on the hive ship."

"Yeah, I read that," Radek mumbled. He shot his calculations over to Rodney's machine. "I just finished with some rough estimates."

Sheppard's team was insane, yes, but even they wouldn't do something like this—run off on a suicide mission to destroy a single hive. That was crazy. Radek didn't want to come to the conclusion, and he knew Rodney was avoiding the conclusion with every far-flung theory he had.

They were dead.

They were alive.

But they were dead.

Silence as Rodney tapped on his computer's keyboard. He paled. "That doesn't give us a lot of time."

"Hardly any," Radek agreed.

"Did you take into account, um…?" Rodney kept tapping and didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he said, "I guess, at the very least, we can warn the planet of the impending culling."

Radek just watched, since there wasn't a lot he could do. He knew that there would be a mission through the 'gate, no matter how much time they had. They were going to try to rescue Sheppard and the others. Radek had to admit that was what he would want if it were his team.

Funny how facing danger like that made people closer. And Radek hadn't even done anything dangerous.

But Rodney was going through the 'gate again. Radek was sure he wasn't the only one questioning the wisdom of this plan. Rodney was essentially a recovering drug addict. He said he was fine, but anyone with two eyes had to see that he was hanging by a thread off the edge of sanity. His eyes were bloodshot, and he hunched over his keyboard much more than normal. Even if the biological difficulties of coming off a near-death high weren't enough, he had to be mentally spent.

"Rodney," Radek said quietly.

"Yeah, what?" Rodney glanced at him for a moment, and then went on, "Oh, yeah, this is fine."

"That's not what I was going to say…"

"Oh. What, then?"

Radek didn't know what to say. There wasn't anything he was going to say to convince Rodney what an awful idea this was. "You're going on the mission, then?"

"Well, there isn't a mission. Not yet. But there will be, as soon as I tell Elizabeth we need one." Rodney stood up and looked around for his tablet. Blinked blearily.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Radek sighed. Maybe, if he just asked a few questions, Rodney would realize: this was insane.

Rodney just shrugged in answer, like it didn't matter. "They need me," he said.

"They need you at your best," Radek corrected. And, even if it wasn't clear to anyone else, it was clear to them. Rodney was a disaster.

"Yeah, well, this is all I got," Rodney snapped. "You're not going to do it, and someone needs to get them back." He paused and stared, giving Radek too much time to think. "Anything else?"

"It's my team going now," Radek said.

"Yeah, so?" Rodney started out of the lab, leaving Radek no choice but to follow him out if he wanted to continue this conversation.

"So, I'll go."

Rodney flat-out halted his march down the walkway, turned, and laughed in his face.

"You? Ha! You hate flying in atmosphere—forget about in space. You've never been on a Wraith hive ship, you've never even seen a Wraith! No, no, this is my team, and I'm getting them back."

Not that Radek hadn't considered the possibility that Rodney would despise him for the rest of eternity—even more than usual, of course—if Radek went on this mission instead and failed. He had no idea what to expect for all the mission reports he'd read about the Wraith. This was exactly the kind of dangerous mission he didn't want to participate in.

"You want the best chance they have of getting back," Radek corrected. "Look at you."

"What's wrong with me, huh?"

"At your best, you're…" What was he saying? At his best, he was better than Radek could ever hope to be, yeah. That went without saying, so he didn't say it. "You aren't at your best. Can you see anything at all?"

"So what? I mean, I slept! Yeah, I was loaded with a cocktail of anti-nausea medication, beta-blockers, pain relievers, and… you know, other stuff. But there was also sedative in there somewhere." And the look on his face said both of them knew that could hardly be called sleep.

Instead of saying something else, he turned right around and went on his way to the transporter to go to the Central Tower. Radek followed him there despite half-hearted objections.

Rodney walked across the bridge to Elizabeth's office, and Radek followed.

"Well, look at you," Elizabeth said pleasantly.

"Ah, yes," Rodney said, casting a glance back at Radek as if to say, See? You idiot? "Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as the idiom goes."

Radek never more wanted to say something like, Really? Are you all crazy? And before he knew it, there he was. "Excuse me—what?"

Elizabeth and Rodney both turned to look at him.

"Radek thinks I am physically—"

"And mentally," Radek put in. Because it was more that part. Rodney was physically incapable on a regular basis. He didn't say that, though. He never said that.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rodney demanded, whirling on him. "I am fine! I'm completely fine; look, ask Elizabeth. Elizabeth—Carson gave me a clean bill of health. I didn't die, I'm off the enzyme, I'm back on Atlantis. I'm fine."

Elizabeth nodded a little, seeming to take in everything she'd just seen. She seemed as calm as the sea on a breezeless day. "Let's back up a few steps. What happened out there and where are the others?"

Rodney sighed and seemed to pull his thoughts together. He gave Radek a glare that Radek supposed should have been threatening first. "I think I told you Ford's alive."

"Yes, I got that much." Elizabeth sighed as if that was the most unbelievable part of the story. Not the part where a just-recovered Rodney was going back through the 'gate on a rescue mission.

"He gathered up a little gang, doped them all up on the enzyme. They're the ones that caught us, drugged us, and coerced Sheppard, Teyla, and Ronon to join them on a mission to destroy a hive ship."

"Yes, but, Rodney, you never explained exactly how they planned to do that," Elizabeth jumped in. "Since the hive ship was in space…?"

"Yeah, they managed to steal themselves a dart," Rodney said, waving that away as if it were trivial. "Look, when they didn't return from the mission, I realized something had obviously gone wrong. I have the coordinates to the planet that the hive ship was headed towards to cull."

"And a timeframe for how long it will take for the ship to get there," Radek put in.

Elizabeth looked between them with a nod. "So if the team is still alive, maybe captured on the ship, there's a chance we can rescue them."

"Yeah." Rodney's face fell, and he finished, "At the very least, we can warn the planet."

"You'll send Major Lorne?" Radek asked.

Elizabeth nodded and didn't say anything. Looked at him like she expected him to talk, though.

"I'll go," Radek said. "Instead of Rodney."

"Now, hang on a second," Rodney snapped, and took a step toward Elizabeth. "Zelenka's overreacting. He thinks this whole enzyme-slash-incarceration thing has gone to my head, but it hasn't."

Elizabeth sighed and held her hand up to stop any further conversation. "Rodney, I want to believe that you're in top condition and you're the best for the mission right now…" She seemed to weigh the options in her head for half a moment. "But you've been out of the infirmary for, what, an hour maybe?"

"So?" Rodney asked.

"After being there for less than forty-eight hours, and the fact that you don't see that as concerning… concerns me." Elizabeth nodded to Radek.

Radek's heart sank. He didn't think Elizabeth would actually agree with him.

"I'll alert Colonel Caldwell," Elizabeth said. "I want everyone ready to go in an hour."

"I should go, too," Rodney said weakly.

"Rodney," Elizabeth scolded.

"I will do everything I can to get them back," Radek offered. It wasn't much of a comfort, probably. In all likelihood, things were about to go very badly. In an hour, he was going to be in space. He'd better go tell Anna…

There wasn't time.

Colonel Caldwell was eager to get going, and the Daedalus was ready to fly. Radek had never seen Rodney so angry in his life, but he decided not to address it. He followed him around, spitting out instructions on how to carry out a rescue mission. Like there was an instruction manual for things like this.

Colonel Caldwell and Lorne joined them on the way to the Daedalus. Before Radek knew it, he was walking off Atlantis and onto the spaceship. It was a neat ship, it was true. He loved the idea of a spaceship. Who wouldn't? It was just flying it… Although, in all the eighteen or nineteen days it took to get here from the Milky Way galaxy, he had managed to avoid anti-anxiety medication.

"The plan is to get in, beam them out, and then leave. The things I will be doing are strictly technical," Radek said. It was why he was going instead of Rodney. Rodney seemed to be having a hard time grasping little details like that.

"Do we have enough time, is the question," Colonel Caldwell said.

"Yes," Rodney answered.

"We think," Radek put in.

"We should," Rodney said over him.

"We hope," Radek finished with glaring at Rodney to shut his mouth and leave it at something slightly less than a sure thing. Not only for Radek's sake, for everyone on the Daedalus that was going to give it their best to get the team back, but also for Rodney. He pretended he knew everything for sure. He didn't know how to not be sure.

"It'll be close, yes, but using the Daedalus, you might be able to get a radio lock on Sheppard and the team in the hive ship. If they're still alive, you can beam them out."

Radek sighed. "Yes, Rodney, we know the plan…"

"Alright, let's get this bird off the ground." Caldwell moved off toward the bridge.

Lorne hesitated between Rodney and Radek. He looked at Rodney. "Coming with us?"

Rodney sighed. "Right." He hung his head, and started for the airlock.

"Rodney," Radek called, guilt goading him to say something, but he didn't know what. When Rodney turned back, Radek realized he had no idea what to say. "Um… take care of Anna for me, while I'm gone?" Why he decided to say that of all things…

Rodney looked equally baffled. "Uh… yeah, sure, okay." He hesitated a few moments before heading out.

Lorne smiled as he watched Rodney leave. "Alright. Ready for this, Doc?"

Radek shook his head. He wasn't ready. He wasn't ready at all.

#

Doctor McKay wandered into the infirmary, looking lost.

Anna had talked to Radek on radio after they decided on the rescue mission for Sheppard's team. Anna wasn't sure, but Doctor McKay had to be feeling defeated. Useless. Anna knew the feeling, except she was pretty sure she was useless to begin with. She didn't need a sprained ankle to augment the inclination.

She gave Doctor Beckett a tiny motion to let him know Doctor McKay was here. Doctor Beckett took his eyes off Anna's ankle to look.

"Keep working on those exercises," he said, rising to meet Doctor McKay. "Hello, Rodney. Feeling okay?"

Doctor McKay shrugged. "I don't know."

Doctor Beckett nodded like he expected that, smiled gently. "I see. Well, just because I can't detect any of the enzyme in your system doesn't mean that your body isn't still returning to equilibrium. Take a seat and I'll have a look. Let me go get you something." Doctor Beckett went to gather some equipment or medication or something.

Doctor McKay looked around for somewhere to sit and chose the bed across from Anna. He took one look at her slightly-swollen and discolored ankle. "What happened to you?"

Anna shrugged, continuing with the rotations Doctor Beckett showed her. "Went to the mountains with some Athosians and sprained my ankle pretty badly."

Doctor McKay just stared at her foot.

"You okay?" Anna asked.

He glanced up. "Hm, yeah."

"Radek told me about the mission," she offered apologetically. "I hope they're okay."

"Yeah, me, too."

Maybe he wasn't as "okay" as he said. Anna didn't blame him. She wouldn't be okay in his position, either. "I was here when they brought you in, and you regained consciousness," Anna said quietly. "It was kind of scary. I wouldn't be surprised if, you know, you weren't okay."

"Yeah… see, the thing is, under the influence of the enzyme, I was sure I was making perfect sense. It was everyone else who sounded crazy." He frowned and shook his head quickly. "But Carson says it's gone. So it is. So I should be on the mission."

He sounded like he was just saying that to convince himself. Not Anna. Anna wasn't sure what to say, except that he didn't look good. He looked like he was angry and in pain.

"No offense," he said suddenly, "but your dad is an idiot and has no idea what he's talking about."

Anna tried not to show her surprise. It didn't matter because Doctor McKay wasn't looking at her anyway.

"He managed somehow to convince Elizabeth that I was basically unfit for duty. Look at me." He looked up and motioned to himself. He was wearing his uniform, he looked more-or-less like he always did. Except there was something a bit different that Anna couldn't figure out. "Do I look unfit to you?"

Of all the questions Anna thought she'd never hear from Doctor McKay… "I don't know anything about it."

"I'm perfectly normal."

Anna wanted to say that calling Radek a moron to her face wasn't normal, but, then again… maybe it was a little normal. "I guess. But if you aren't, don't you want someone trying to save Sheppard and the others who is working at one-hundred percent?"

"Only because he was lucky enough to be lounging around on Atlantis because I was imprisoned by Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Who are only merry because they're all high, by the way."

Anna smiled. "Well, he has been sitting around the quarters with me because I haven't been able to go anywhere," she said. "I think he was getting bored. I was getting bored…" She sighed and watched him for whatever he was going to say next.

He was being a little more… unpredictable than usual. She had to agree with Radek on this one. Doctor McKay shouldn't have been on this mission. "Well… I think I'd take being bored before imprisonment."

"Me, too," Anna agreed.

Doctor Beckett came back and started talking to Doctor McKay. He took some blood, made him go take a few other tests, and gave him a few pills. Doctor McKay swallowed them almost immediately without asking what they were. With that, he sat back on the bed next to Anna's. Sighed.

Doctor Beckett watched him with concern for a few seconds before turning his attention back on Anna. "Alright. How's the ankle?"

"Tired…" Anna sighed.

"Time for a break, then," Doctor Beckett said. "Would you like help getting back to your quarters?"

Anna looked around the infirmary. It didn't look like there was going to be an emergency any time soon. She looked at Doctor Beckett hopefully. "Is it okay if I stay for a while?"

"Oh, aye," Doctor Beckett said. "Let me know if you need anything." He looked at Doctor McKay and added, "Both of you."

Doctor McKay and Anna nodded in synchronous. When Doctor Beckett walked away, Anna looked to Doctor McKay. He didn't ask if it was okay if he stayed, but it was fairly obvious he wasn't going anywhere, either.

"I have a question," Anna said.

Doctor McKay raised his eyebrows at her.

"Well, I was thinking… I've been doing a lot of practical sort of homework," she started. "You know, how to reroute power and put things together and I was hoping sometime… I could do something… actually practical."

"Something practical?" Doctor McKay smiled slightly. "Like a job?"

Anna shrugged. "Something like that, I guess."

Doctor McKay turned, pulling his feet up onto the bed and leaning back. He folded his hands on his chest and seemed to think seriously. Either that, or it was the strangest question he ever had. "Huh. Well, we'll see."


A/N: I always wondered how it took Rodney, like, no hours to come off that stuff. Meanwhile, no one except Kanayo is being killed on a hive ship right now. I'm probably missing something. Like the fact that Rodney's the star. But I don't think this is beyond the realm of possible. Seems a tad more realistic (ha what is realistic) to me, but you be the judge. Regardless… is what I'm doin'. Because Rodney's not the star this time.
Okay, maybe he's a little bit of a star.

Thank Yous & Etc.

MissMeow1968- Thank you! Glad to see you again, and I'm glad you approve. I couldn't wait to fit in a nice little story or two with Lorne in here. Especially since "The Game" is a thing. "Oh, yeah, baskets!" I feel like Zelenka and Lorne are friends. They tolerate each other very well.


Next time: I'm gonna kill him.