Past:

Rodney awoke to the growing chill that had been creeping into his bones. His eyes catching faint glimmers of dying light of their campfire's embers. No wonder the cave's temperature had dropped degrees.

Harmony lay between him and the fire. She had snuggled up to him in the frigid night for warmth. She was still asleep currently. Her face looked peaceful, while she was asleep.. Not her usual cunning eyes and devious looks, like she had when she was awake. Rodney shook his head and briefly closed his eyes trying not to think about her, and then shifted up to his elbow and reached over Harmony with his free hand, grabbing a stick to poke the fire and tried to spark it to life. He side glanced the tiny bones of the Larris' version of a small chicken that Harmony had found hibernating in a tree hole, before they got to the cave. She cooked it that night. It wasn't much, and he was already starting to feel peckish for breakfast, but at least he had to admit, the girl knew how to take care of herself. He gave a half slant frown to himself. He just mentally rebuked himself not to think about her! Why was he-. He cut his thought off noticing the flames where still, and Rodney noted the lack of bitter breeze. His eyes darted to the snowed in entrance to the cave. His breath caught in his throat. A chill of panic set in, rippling across his spine, as his eyes darted everywhere in the cramped cavern.

Harmony shifted against him, as his breathing pattern became erratic. "Rodney?" Her sleepy voice question. She noticed the stark paleness and startled look in Rodney's eyes. She sat up shivering, as she left the warm rocky floor. "What's wrong? What's happening?" She looked around confused.

Rodney shook his head. "N-nothing. I.. I just.." He moved his hand about trying to talk over the rising panic in his chest. He quickly got up and went to the entrance feeling the ice cold snow, trying to gage how deep it was. "We're- we're snowed in."

Harmony frowned and got up, standing nearby. "Worry not, Doctor. It shouldn't take that long to dig through."

Rodney started pacing, eyes looking for any escape. He started muttering to himself. "Wide open-"

"What are you doing?" Harmony asked, cutting off his chant.

"I-" His fingers flailed wildly. "I have bad claustrophobia."

"Claustrophobia?"

"F-fear of enclosed spaces. I don't do well in these.." He waved his hand about their enclosure. "Situations" He rambled as he paced, and closed his eyes, returning to his mental chant.

Harmony stopped him in his tracks grabbing him by the arms. "It's going to be okay. Nothing bad is going to happen in here."

Rodney let out a short nervous laugh. "You don't know that. We could run out of oxygen. Die from all the camp fire smoke. Hypothermia. Starvation -" Harmony hugged him and he looked down at her confused. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to make you feel better. I assume it's working?"

"Why would that make me feel better?"

"To get your mind off of it? Look, you're the Doctor, not I. What would cure this fear?"

"Well now I'm thinking about it again, and I told you. I'm not that type of Doc-" He gets cut off as Harmony pulls him down and kisses him. She hopes the spur of the moment affection may catch him off guard enough to forget his fear.. And also just because she wants too and a Queen gets what she wants.

He hesitates for a second, mind blank, then on instinct wraps one arm around her embracing her warmth that felt good against the biting artic chill. He lifts his free hand to the back of her hair as they kiss. After a moment, she backs away and smiles up at him. "Get the fire going. I'll start to work digging." He stares at her in silent shock. Mind still and filled with cotton, while his heart races. The sting of cold left behind from her fleeting warmth pulls him back to his senses and he numbly and reluctantly goes to the dead fire pit.

Harmony smirked to herself, as she dug into the stinging ice. She knew he liked her like that. It was just a question of getting him to admit it to himself... And to her court.. Flora on the other hand may object..

Harmony continued to dig. Her expression full of determination, and her mind working on how to get her sister to see reason. She knew Flora wanted her with a local boy her age. No. Harmony knew what she wanted and she was going to get it. Her stance wasn't changing anytime soon on that, and now that she knew Rodney was warming up to her, it only made her even more determined. She'd just have to get her sister and her people to see it her way. They will be the ones she'd have to see to changing their perspective on the arrangement. Harmony knew it was right and that the gods would deem it true. She was sure of it. She just wished they could perceive the Doctor in the way she saw him.

His feet felt frozen solid as he trudged through the deep snow. They had been at this for hours. Trying to navigate the woods that all looked the same. Anything distinguishable was covered in snow. It didn't help that his vision had begun to get blurry. Perhaps from all the blinding bright snow everywhere. At least their tracks proved they hadn't went in a circle.. So far..

Harmony had wanted to stay in the cave, but after two days feeling dreadfully claustrophobic to the point of hyperventilating in the corner, he had to get out. Piercing cold winds hit his face and snow clung to his stubble. His eyes wildly scanning the forest. The claustrophobia was over but his hypochondria was fighting a new panic now. He could only hope that by the time they made it out of the woods, their feet wouldn't need to be cut off from frost bite. He hoped the fact he could still feel how freezing they where was a good sign.

Harmony kept side glancing her companion. He seemed skittish, not to mention a bit shaky. At first she assumed it was the cold, and the potential terrors of the woods. She couldn't stop shivering either, but his shaking was only getting worse by the minute and he seemed.. Very pale? "Rodney?.. Are you all right?"

"Oh, I don't know? I'm going to freeze to death on an alien planet! Do I seem alright to you!?" He snapped in a more irritable and hysterical tone then he meant to convey.

Harmony set a hard gaze upon him, noticing how excessively sweaty and tired he looked. "No."

He let out a sharp 'Ha', avoiding her piercing gaze. A few minutes later he nearly fell, but managed to brace himself against a tree trunk instead. Harmony reached out and he brushed her off. "I'm fine." He took a quivering hand away from the tree, and took and deep breath trying to steady himself. He was feeling dizzy. Was he sick? He was sick, wasn't he? His thoughts taunted him and started trying to list symptoms to possible deathly outcomes, as he stumbled back into pace. Harmony kept watch over him with unconcealed concern.

Present Day:

Rodney felt cornered as he was dragged from his large lab into Carter's small office. As she set to work trying to clear her mess of a desk, his eyes gazed out of the windows, to the gate room beneath. Harmony was there of course. She had followed after them and had been royally pissed that the 'blonde peasant' had dragged away her King just when she finally got him back. Currently, the pint sized monarch was giving the appraising eye to anyone nearby that wasn't one of her knights or squires. Sizing up his 'original' people up. Gaging who was 'worthy' and those 'simple minded' enough, who could be swayed or manipulated to do her bidding. Rodney was glad he wasn't in the poor technician's shoes at the moment. Sometimes Harmony enjoyed her cunning mind games a bit too much, and right now she would be in one hell of a foul mood. "McKay." Rodney snapped his attention back to Carter as she stared at him quizzically. Rodney's smile dropped wondering how long he had been lost in thought. Then guessing why he was brought here began to go on a rambling tangent.

"What is it? What could be so important to take me from the lab at such a critical time Carter? I have work to do, do you know how many projects where put on hold when the Genii invaded? I have-"

Carter raised her hand cutting him off mid sentence stream. "I know you have worked to do Rodney. We all do."

"Great, then can I? He jutted a thumb back to the exit. Bracing himself to bolt out the door at a moments noticed. He really, really didn't want this conversation. Not with Carter, not with anyone.

"No. We need to talk about this." Sam sighed.

"About what?" Rodney played oblivious.

"How about the fact that somehow you're a King of a planet for starters?!" Sam exclaimed exasperated.

"Yeah.."

"'Yeah'? That's it? That's all you have to say?"

Rodney shrugged. "Well the people seem okay with it so if I'm doing a good job, what's the problem?"

"We can't just rule over civilizations, McKay! I knew you were arrogant and full of yourself but this-"

"Hey!" Rodney glared offended. "It's not like I asked to be King! Besides it's not like this hasn't happened before. Didn't your buddy Mayborne become a king?"

Sam grimaced "He's not my-" She shook her head. "This isn't about Harold. It's about you!"

"I get my work done on both planets, what's the problem?"

"Do you even know how to run a country, McKay!? This is beyond your 'monarchy' in your labs!"

Well Sheppard and I were oracle gods before and we got that figured out, so yes I have experience."

"Oracle gods? What!?"

"Nothing.. A game from years ago. Don't worry, we stopped."

"And the girl..?" Rodney flushed and Sam put her head in her hands. "McKay.. Please don't tell me you married a child.."

Rodney grimaced. "She not a-" Sam looked up from her hands and stared at him. He bit his tongue and looked away. "She's not that young." Rodney could feel Sam's stare burn into him and he felt humiliation flash over his face. "I'm not-... I'm not a.. You know.."

"Even if she's not a child.. The age difference is-"

"I know. We don't care about that. Besides you're one to talk."

"Excuse me?!" Carter looked up abruptly.

"Oh please, Sam. Everyone knows you and General O'Neill are a thing. He's wayyy older than you. Probably old enough to be a grandpa by now!" Rodney bantered.

Sam's jaw dropped. She abruptly shut it and her tone dropped to a quiet formal tone. "Does anyone know about you two?"

"Everyone on Larris knows.."

"What about here?"

"I.. I don't know.." Did anyone suspect anything?.. If they did they surely never said anything.. Well.. Until today.. Rodney stared back at Sam, trying to regain his ground. He hadn't done anything wrong! He shouldn't be made to feel awful about his choices. "Honestly Carter, I don't really appreciate your whole judging me attitude right now. Thanks." He raised his chin in his taunting/teasing way. "Besides jealousy doesn't look good on you."

"Jealous? I'm not-"

"Of course you aren't." Rodney snickered. "You where never interested in me because I was too young for you. I finally get it! I always thought it was because I was bad with people and petty but no! I was just too young!"

"Oh please, McKay. That's not-"

"Don't think I haven't forgot about your little game of who you'd rather with Keller. Every guy you picked was the older man!" Rodney grinned finally picking up steam in this conversation.

Sam's cheeks burned red. She cleared her throat trying to get a handle back on this meeting before McKay's babbling could continue. "What if the IOA finds out, McKay? What are you going to do?"

Rodney's spirits lifted and he teasingly half smirked, eyes sliding over to Sam. "Diplomatic immunity?"

Sam gave an exasperated sigh, as she sat back in her chair feeling overwhelmed by todays insanity. "Okay, so you didn't ask to be King.. How did it happen then?"

"It's.. It's a long story.."

Past:

They slowly made their way out of the forest and unto the dirt path. Once he no longer had trees to balance himself, he finally let Harmony take the brunt of his weight. He winced and rubbed his temple with his free hand. His head ached and his stomach was so hungry. They hadn't ate all day. He wiped off the sweat from his forehead. How could he be so sweaty when he was freezing? This wasn't even a hot cold feeling like the flu either. What was this?

"Where almost there." Harmony kept a grip around Rodney's arm that was draped over her, and motioned with her head the direction up the winding dirt road. The castle walls were just getting into view above the hills.

Rodney looked up, then winced hard and groaned as his view of the world spun and darkened. He felt his body fall as his vision became all but black. What he last saw was Harmony's face above him yelling his name.