Thanks again for the lovely reviews. I've been a bit whumped by RL issues lately, so its nice to read your lovely reviews and know you're liking the story.Thank you! :)
This chapter is a little shorter than the last... sorry. It was a good stopping place. ;) Probably one or two more chapters left to finish the story :)
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Teyla couldn't help the feeling of dread that persisted within her and if there was one thing her mother taught her, was to always listen to her instincts.
"Heed them well, Teyla, for they will not lead you astray…"
Teyla pushed through the snow, shallower as she ventured deeper into the forest. She knew much of the fear she felt stemmed from John's grave condition and Ronon's uncertain fate, yet there was more; a nagging, persistent feeling that something was not right. Her pace slowed as she reached the outskirts of the village and she knew instantly that her instincts had been right.
A village such as this should be bustling with activity but where she expected to hear the noises and voices of a healthy, vibrant community, she only heard silence. Small tendrils of smoke still drifted up from charred buildings and scattered, bodies laid crumpled on the ground. Nearby, a lone, Wraith soldier lay dead in the snow. Teyla took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Many of the peoples that Atlantis worked with provided intelligence at their own risk. It was always a possibility that the Wraith would learn of their activities, especially with well disguised worshippers all over the galaxy.
Breathing heavily, Teyla looked around at the few bodies that remained but she did not venture further into the village. There were too few bodies to account for everyone and the Wraith, embroiled in a civil war over dwindling food supplies, would not leave any viable food source behind. She knew, without doubt that the living had been culled, the desperately wounded fed upon on the spot, and the dead left where they fell.
Her gaze narrowed at a ravaged body and she swallowed a hard lump in her throat. Malneks had been here. No wonder they'd been so aggressive. Volatile by nature, the death of the village, the bodies left behind… the taste of human flesh, all had made them that much more dangerous.
John and Rodney…
Turning away, she took a deep breath and hurried back towards the glacial field.
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Elizabeth stopped at the foot of the lowered ramp on Jumper One and stared for a moment at Zelenka. His gaze was riveted on one of the control panels and he muttered quietly in Czech. He looked down at the Life Signs Detector in his hand, his words turning questioning before he returned his attention to the panel, his mumbling continuing.
Elizabeth cleared her throat lightly, but still managed to startle him.
Zelenka jumped slightly before looking at her. "Dr. Weir. I did not see you there."
Her smile thin, Elizabeth walked up the ramp. "It's okay, Radek. How goes it?"
Zelenka looked back up at the control panel. "I think I know what Rodney did. It's brilliant, really. I would not have thought of it."
In spite of her worry, Elizabeth's smile deepened slightly as she watched realization dawn on him as what he said sunk in.
"Please do not tell him that I said that," Zelenka looked over at her and arched his brows imploringly.
Elizabeth nodded. "Rodney probably doesn't need to know you said it," she agreed.
"Perish the thought," Zelenka muttered as he made a slight adjustment on one of the Ancient crystals. "I think I will have the necessary adjustments completed in about a half hour."
Elizabeth nodded. "I'll inform Major Lorne and Dr. Beckett so the team is ready when you are." She turned and walked back down the ramp. At the bottom, she paused and looked back at him. "Nice work, Radek."
Zelenka paused in his work long enough to smile back. "Thank you."
Elizabeth left him to his job and walked towards the exit to the Jumper Bay, the Infirmary her next stop. She held tight to her resolve and silently prayed the three wayward members of her expedition could hang on, just a little longer.
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"R-odney…" John muttered.
Keeping his own teeth from chattering, Rodney looked down at John. "What?"
"Ro-non," John managed, with apparently as much emphasis as he could. In spite of the stuttering hitch to his voice, it still was heavily slurred.
And yet, Rodney could her conviction behind his words… a conviction he had was pretty sure John Sheppard would carry to his grave… but that's not going to be today! Rodney insisted. "What about him?" He asked.
"M…mo-re then… yr… telln… me…" John insisted. He tensed and groaned.
Rodney swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "What? No! Why do you always read things into everything? And didn't I tell you to stop moving around so much?"
"… suck at… lyin'…" John insisted. "… should play… poker… cl-ean ya… ou-out…"
"Funny," Rodney snapped, in spite of his concern. Even half dead, he's still an irritating son of a… "Nothing is wrong, so stop being paranoid! Ronon went to get help from Atlantis."
"be-en… too lo-ong…"
"How the hell would you know? You were buried in the snow, nearly died and you've been lucky to be half conscious since then. Somehow, I think your sense of time is a little skewed." Rodney pursed his lips and fell silent. In spite of everything, he refused to treat Sheppard any different. As long as he didn't get all serious and mushy, Sheppard would believe things were going to be okay… at least, Rodney hoped he would…
"M-kay…" John answered quietly.
Rodney took a deep breath, craned his head and managed to make eye contact with John. Beyond the pain and weakness, he saw a knowing glint in John's eyes. The colonel knew something was wrong, and no amount of protesting by Rodney would change his mind. Damn his instincts! Rodney swallowed. "Everything is going to be okay," he insisted quietly.
John stared at him for a moment longer, before his head jerked in a weak nod.
Rodney nodded back, once, curtly. "Good because you…" his voice trailed off as he heard something that made his blood run cold. "Can't be…" he whispered.
"M-kay…?"
In his arms, Rodney could feel John's body tense, before a hoarse, weak cry escaped John's mouth.
"… wh-at…"
"Shh!" Rodney listened again, fervently hoping his ears had been playing tricks on him, but the lone howl that echoed around him forced him to face the truth. "Malneks," he whispered, "oh no…"
"aw… h-ell…"
Rodney instantly tightened his grip as John's body tensed, though weakly, against his grip.
Instantly, John cried out in pain, his voice strangled by the cold that shrouded him.
"Hey! Knock it off!" Rodney insisted. "Maybe they won't find us."
"Not… a ch-ance…" John pulled against him again and this time his weak cry broke under the pain.
"Didn't I say knock that off?" Rodney insisted. He pushed down his fear, smothering it with determination. It was something he'd never realized he'd had until he'd stepped through a Stargate and ended up stranded in the Pegasus galaxy. Since then, he'd learned the value of throwing the panic on the back burner and finding ways to survive. He wasn't always successful at it, but this time, with Sheppard injured and helpless, he had to be. "Lie there like a good boy so I don't have to worry about you and can focus on trying to keep the two of us from end up as a hot dinner!" He looked around as another howl answered the first, this time closer. His gaze fixed on the low sun, rapidly making its way down towards the horizon. As if the Malneks weren't bad enough in the daytime, once it was dark, they'd get all the bolder.
Rodney let go of John with his right hand and fumbled for his sidearm. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts he sighed in exasperation before grabbing the fingers of his glove with his teeth and ripping it off. He grabbed his sidearm and held it tightly, his arm resting on John's side.
Rodney felt John's hand move, the motion just barely preceding the colonel's words.
"Gi-ve me… gun…"
Rodney stiffened. "Not going to happen!" he insisted, "but that gives me an idea…" Once again using his teeth, he pulled his left glove off and shifted his sidearm to his left hand. He plunged his right hand under the blanket again, feeling his way down John's side. His hand halted as John tensed and winced. He turned his head and looked his friend in the eye. "Did you break some ribs too?"
"prob-bly…"
In spite of the situation, Rodney's irritation got the best of him. His shoulders sagged and he rolled his eyes in disgust. "That's need to know information! Stop being so damned stoic! What else did you hurt?"
"M-kay…"
"What?" He snapped. Rodney's head jerked up as another howl echoed across the glacial field. He squinted and barely made out moving forms… almost shadows in the growing dusk, roaming along the distant tree line.
"n-ows… prob-bly… not the.. time…"
Rodney abruptly looked down again. "Good point." He felt his way down John's side and wrapped his hand around the colonel's side arm, before hastily pulling it out.
"Gim-mie… that…"
"Are you nuts?" Rodney lifted the sidearm away from John's body. "If you can actually see straight, I'll eat my glove! No way!" He stared at the distant, slowly moving shadows, his breath quickening as adrenaline coursed through him. We're so screwed…
"R-dny…"
Rodney looked down at his friend. "What?"
"Get… outtahere…"
"What?" Rodney tensed, "No!"
"C-nt… fight 'em with… sidearms… prob-bly… too many…"
"I am not leaving you here." Rodney never tore his eyes from the shadows. His hearing was sharpened by adrenaline and he could discern snaps and snarls as the shadows moved out of the trees and slowly meandered onto the glacial field.
"mo-bile… can get… away…" John insisted.
"Not happening." Rodney shook his head for emphasis even if it was just to himself. He stared at the Malneks as he psyched himself up for what he knew was coming.
"Its… an order…"
"Civilian, remember?" Rodney retorted.
"my… team…" John tensed in a moment of strength as he pulled against Rodney's grasp. "Go-o!" he insisted.
"No!" Rodney snapped loudly. He looked down at John and met the colonel's groggy but determined look with a baleful one of his own. "Now shut up so I can concentrate!" He held John's gaze until the colonel looked away. His head jerked in what could've been a nod, but Rodney wasn't sure. After one more second, he looked up and fixed his gaze on the slowly approaching Malneks.
"d-on't fire… untl ya haveto…" John managed.
"Yeah," Rodney answered quietly. He felt strangely calm for someone facing his own death, but Rodney decided not to dwell on it. He reflexively tightened his grip on the gun in his right hand, before flipping off the safety with a quiet click.
"Rdny…?"
"Yeah?" Rodney didn't spare a glance down at his friend, but rather kept his eyes fixed on the distant but approaching Malneks.
"You're… good friend…"
Rodney took a deep breath. "Yeah, well, you too. But if we survive this, I never said that."
He felt and heard John's weak chuckle and somehow found a small smile in response.
"Me… either…"
Rodney's smile faded as the Malneks drew closer.
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Pausing just inside the door to the infirmary, Elizabeth looked around, catching sight of one of Carson's medics, Carolyn Lansing. Elizabeth smiled slightly at the medic and walked up to her.
"Dr. Weir," Carolyn nodded once.
"Lansing," Elizabeth nodded back. "Is Carson still attending Ronon?"
Carolyn looked towards the OR wing then back to Elizabeth. "Yes. He and Dr. Sanson should be done soon though. I think Carson said something about talking to you when he was finished."
"How is Ronon, do you know?"
Carolyn smiled. "He was stable when they took him in to repair the damage. Carson said, and I quote 'he's as strong as a bloody ox.'"
Elizabeth chuckled, partially because she had no doubt Carson said those exact words but also because Ronon's prognosis was good. She looked past Carolyn as the OR wing doors opened and Carson walked through.
Carson smiled at both of them but fixed his gaze on the medic. "Carolyn, love, would you be sure there's a somewhat private spot for Ronon when he comes out of recovery?"
Carolyn nodded and walked off.
"Carson?" Elizabeth raised her brows slightly.
Carson's smile persisted. "He'll be fine. Sport a couple of scars, but otherwise I don't expect any complications. He's tough, that one."
Elizabeth smiled in agreement. "He is."
"How goes Zelenka's work?" Carson's small smile faded.
Elizabeth inhaled deeply as her smile disappeared as well. "He says he's almost done."
"Aye," Carson pulled his surgical cap off and scrubbed his scalp. "Ronon's in good hands, so I'll be takin' a seat on that Jumper if you don't mind?"
Elizabeth nodded once. "I wouldn't dream of objecting, Carson."
Carson threw his cap on a nearby desk. "I'll just get my pack ready. Excuse me."
Elizabeth watched him go for a moment, before turning and heading for the infirmary exit. She tapped her headset. "Major Lorne, the modifications to the Jumper are nearly complete."
"Copy that, Dr. Weir," Lorne responded. "I've got my team together. We'll head right up to the Jumper Bay."
"Sounds good Major, Weir out." Keeping her face impassive, she buried her worry as she headed towards Ops. John was a fighter, so was Teyla and even Rodney. They'd find a way to make do… to survive, until help got to them.
And that help was coming.
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There was a reason Rodney was a scientist… he would've sucked as a hunter.
Okay, Rodney reasoned as he tried to shake off the downright weird thought, there were a lot of reasons… but since coming to Pegasus, he'd done a lot of things that he swore he'd never do and firing a gun was one of them.
He had nothing against them, really, he just believed they had their place, and that place wasn't in the hands of someone as brilliant as he.
But then he'd met life sucking aliens hell bent on killing them all.
Amazing how life's curveballs can change your perspective.
Rodney's grip tightened on the gun. Sitting in the snow, facing down a pack of blood thirsty wolf… things, wasn't exactly the situation he wanted to be in but deep down he knew he had no choice. Leaving Sheppard wasn't an option no matter how much the disgustingly heroic colonel insisted on it. Rodney glanced down at his friend's wild dark hair, untamed by the ordeal. You'd never leave me…
"M-ky…" Sheppard stuttered.
"What?" Rodney's reply was short, but it was all he could manage and still keep his voice even.
"St-stand up…"
Rodney sighed. "We've been through this. I'm not leaving you. Period."
"I didn't say g-go…" Sheppard managed, "st-stand…more… m-mobile…"
Rodney's eyes darted back and forth between the fanned out but approaching Malneks for a moment, before he nodded. "Right." He pulled himself away from Sheppard and gently eased him to the ground.
Somehow, Sheppard managed to push himself up on an elbow. "And g-gimme a… damned…g-gun…"
Rodney froze in a squat and looked down at his friend. "What the hell," he muttered. "We're probably screwed anyway…" He pressed one of the guns into Sheppard's hand.
"that's… the s-spirt…" Sheppard managed as his hand wrapped around the nine mil.
"Right." Rodney took a moment to look at his friend. "Just don't shoot me."
"S-savin' that… for wh-when I feel bttr…"
Rodney couldn't help but roll his eyes at Sheppard's comment. He slowly stood just behind Sheppard. His gaze never left the Malneks as the lead animals stopped for one moment and raised their heads. Even from a distance, Rodney could see that their gazes were fixed on him and he swore he could see a glint in their eyes, although if that was real or a trick by the setting sun, he wasn't sure. Not that it mattered. It only took the Malneks a moment before they decided that Rodney and the man he was protecting were their next pray. Lowering their heads close to the ground they snarled and resumed their course towards him and Sheppard.
Rodney had never been hunted before… unless you counted the Wraith, but this… this was different somehow. Carnal… base and terrifying in its own way. He felt a shiver race up his back and in spite of the chill a cold sweat broke out on his brow. He slowly raised his gun, the grip of hands tightening. Sheppard said nothing and Rodney wasn't sure if he was just focusing all his strength on the coming fight, or if it was just that there really wasn't anything left to be said between them. Rodney suspected it was both but in some small way, felt better for Sheppard's presence. The man may be half dead, but if there was one thing he knew about Sheppard is the man was tenaciously strong when he had to be… and this was one of those times. Deep down, Rodney knew the Malneks would probably take him down; kill both him and Sheppard…
… but they were going to get a hell of a fight for it.
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yeah, yeah, I know... you all probably don't think a cliffie is a good stopping place, but it was...really! ;)