SIX DAYS LATER, ON THE SURFACE OF AN UNNAMED PLANET
"So Bri, what exactly did you tell Atlantis to do?" Lilah poked her stick into the fire, stirring up embers that swirled away on the gentle breeze.
The two girls sat next to the 'jumper, leaning against its side. Bri had talked the jumper into showing them the emergency exit from the cockpit, it hadn't been comfortable, but they had gotten out and it would be amusing to watch Rodney's reaction when he discovered that the 'jumpers had been keeping secrets like that from everyone.
"I didn't tell her to do anything, I asked if she would be willing to show Rodney what she showed us when we first linked with her." Brianna stared into the fire broodingly for a minute, ignoring Lilah's shocked look.
"You asked her to do that?" Lilah was deeply shocked. She knew that Atlantis had placed a great amount of trust when she showed the pair what she had. Atlantis had, in effect, bared her soul and allowed them to see her deepest fears, and desires, for Atlantis was truly alive.
"Lil, she would have done this a long time ago, except she didn't like Rodney because he distracted John. I had to explain to her that Rodney didn't know what he was doing, and that he couldn't control it. She understands now, and she's forgiven him." Brianna leaned her head back against the side of the ship and smiled slightly. "Hey, I think they're almost done."
Lilah watched as her lover rose to her feet and walked to the back of the puddle jumper, resting a hand lightly on its side in a gentle caress that opened the rear hatch. She knew why they were doing this, and why Brianna had chosen this way, but it still seemed like Bri had parts of a plan that she was keeping to herself. Even after years of partnership she still didn't understand her lover's need for secrecy upon occasion. But that was part of who Bri was, and she really wouldn't change it even if she could.
Rodney blinked his eyes, at some point he had ended up flat on his back on the floor of the 'jumper, but the most disturbing thing about waking up like that was seeing Brianna leaning over him, upside down and tilted slightly to the left.
"Ow." His voice felt rough and scratchy, as though it had gone without use for a long time.
"Welcome back to the world of the living Rodney." Brianna's voice was wry, and she seemed amused at his predicament.
'Why shouldn't she be?' the 'jumper whispered in his mind.
Rodney waved an accusing finger skyward, "I do NOT want to hear it right now, and why did you have to knock me out anyway?"
'I did nothing, you passed out due to an extreme influx of information your conscious mind could not handle.'
Lilah snorted and mumbled, "Passed out from information overload my ass. He fainted."
Rodney glared at her. "I did not faint. And why am I still hearing Atlantis?"
Brianna grinned at the exchange, "You're hearing what John, Lil and I have heard every day since we arrived. She likes to correct us, but we can't really object, since she's saved my life at least three or four times since I've been here."
'You know very well that it's six.' The 'jumper's voice was mock angry in a very amused fashion, as though Bri and Atlantis had had this conversation before.
Lilah confirmed Rodney's suspicion when she rolled here eyes and muttered "Not again," before grabbing Rodney by the arm and hauling him to his feet. "They'll be at this for hours, come outside and we'll see if the water's ready for tea."
Once outside Rodney lay down on his back by the fire, staring up at the stars revolving slowly through the heavens.
Later, when the fire was burnt down to embers, and Brianna was dozing beside Lilah, Rodney asked out loud "Why me?"
Lilah looked up startled, "Was that a rhetorical question or are you looking for an answer to some specific situation?"
Rodney glanced at her, "Well I was talking specifically about why you dragged me to the ass end of the galaxy, but if you have the answers to more general situations I'll be glad to have those too."
Lilah sighed. She knew that she and Brianna now saw a side of Rodney that no one else had seen, possibly because they had proven that they trusted him with their secrets, but this seemed like a deeper question than she had ever heard him ask before.
She suddenly understood why Bri had asked Atlantis to trust this snarky, ill-tempered scientist like they did. The encounter had changed him subtly. She could tell already that the change would hide when Rodney put his mask back on, but underneath he would understand, really understand, why Atlantis meant so much to them, and why John was so willing to risk everything for her. Rodney was going to be able to commit, now that he understood why John took such risks. The hard part was going to be convincing John of that.
Lilah stirred up the fire to buy some time as she put together her answer. "Trust." She knew the cryptic answer would not be enough to satisfy him, but it was a starting point, and it was part of the truth.
Rodney blinked; he'd expected something a little more…well longer. "What?"
'Oh elegant reply,' Atlantis commented. Rodney ignored her.
"It all comes down to trust really. John has, hidden himself away from the pain, but he doesn't know that the pain is gone. Someone needs to talk him out of where ever he went. John really doesn't know me, not to the point where his subconscious trusts me explicitly. Brianna is his sister, but she was the one who performed the surgery, we think John, or rather John's sub-consciousness doesn't trust her enough to let him out. It knows that she was the one who inflicted further hurt, and even if he knows in his mind that this was one of those times when a greater hurt was needed to take away the pain, his heart doesn't believe that. However he trusts you, more than you realize, and he does listen to you. I know it seems like he doesn't, but he pays attention, and tries to understand the things you tell him, even though he wears a mask as you do."
Rodney lay still, absorbing what Lilah had told him, then he focused on the more immediate problem. "So how am I supposed to talk him out of this thing then? I have no clue how to even start!"
Lilah chuckled, "That's why we're here Rodney, we'll talk you through it and help you as much as we can. You won't be going into this alone."
"That's a relief."
"We'll start in the morning. Now get some rest Rodney, nights are short here."