Atonement

At least they were safe; that was Rodney's one condolence in all of this. At least, that was what he was prepared to tell Sheppard when the unconscious Colonel decided to rejoin the land of the living. Though he had a powerful sense of self preservation, Rodney hated the idea of leaving someone behind, especially Atlantis' leader and one of his closest friends, simply so he could save his own skin. But she hadn't asked his permission, she'd ordered them to leave her behind; and even though Teyla was technically in charge with John incapacitated, the Athosian had acquiesced with Elizabeth's command. It seemed the multilingual diplomat had a sacrificial lamb complex that rivaled her military commander's. Rodney knew, however, that her plan was really the only viable one; Sheppard needed immediate medical attention and they had run out of options. That hadn't made it easier though, and Rodney knew that everyone felt the loss of Dr. Weir's presence keenly.

Teyla was trying to coordinate a rescue effort, but the fact that the Ontarish had unusually high security for being such a technology stinted society made the planning process difficult. She had contacted Earth and let them know the situation, but the Daedalus was busy helping in the fight against the Ori and Caldwell wouldn't be able to make it to the Pegasus Galaxy anytime in the near future. Ronon was trying to help the Athosian leader shoulder the load, but he was even more irritable than usual and his gruff comments and perpetual scowl had everyone walking on eggshells around him.

As for Rodney, he had thrown himself into his work, snapping at the other scientists and constantly arguing with Zelenka, who had become more withdrawn and morose in the past couple of days. Rodney honestly felt badly about the way he was treating everyone, but it was better than actually examining the reason he was behaving that way.

To top it all off, the whole situation was only going to get uglier once Sheppard regained consciousness; because as badly as the rest of them were handling Elizabeth being gone, John's reaction would be ten times worse.

"Kilburne, these equations still don't add up and I don't have the time to fix your mistakes, so either figure them out on your own or ask Zelenka to help you; either way, I don't want to see your face until your formulas are correct," Rodney pushed the handheld back at the physicist, who quickly sulked off, looking for all the world like a kicked puppy.

Ignoring the looks the other scientists were giving him, Rodney rubbed his face tiredly and turned back to the simulation he'd been running, only to bump smack into Teyla.

"Oh sorry, I didn't see you there. I was just going to…Um…was there something you needed?" Rodney stammered in lieu of a greeting.

"You should not take out your frustration over this situation on your colleagues," Teyla raised a disapproving eyebrow.

"Ah yes, well the thing is…"

"Colonel Sheppard is awake," she smoothly interrupted his excuse, getting to the purpose of her visit.

"Oh, ah, well that's good." In reality Rodney felt the swirling of two conflicting emotions, mostly relief, but there was a strong undercurrent of distress.

How were they going to explain to Sheppard that they had left Elizabeth behind?

SGASGASGASGASGASGASGASGASGASGASGASGA

"We did what?!" Sheppard's exclamation quickly dissolved into a coughing fit.

"Easy Colonel," Dr. Keller placed a hand on his arm and shot his visitors a warning glance.

Teyla moved closer to his bedside, looking more distressed than Rodney had ever seen her, "I am very sorry Colonel, but Dr. Weir gave us implicit instructions…"

"That wasn't her call to make!" Their battered team leader's eyes were wide with shock and disbelief.

Rodney decided to intervene, "Look, you were hurt and we had to get you out of there. If Elizabeth hadn't helped us, none of us would be here right now."

"If there had been any other way…" Teyla's voice had softened considerably as she tried to reassure her friend.

Sheppard leaned his head back against the pillows and closed his eyes, "Okay, so what are we doing to get her back?"

Ronon and Teyla exchanged a hesitant glance. "We've hit a few snags trying to work out a rescue plan," the tall Satedan unfolded his arms, watching the other man for his reaction to the news.

John pushed himself up and started to swing his legs over the edge of the bed.

Dr. Keller was on him in an instant, "And just where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to get Elizabeth back," his tone was challenging, his eyes icy.

Keller wasn't fazed in the slightest, "Just what exactly made you think you had my permission to leave the infirmary?"

"Someone has to do something!"

"Colonel, we are doing the best we can," Teyla hurried to reassure him, "Everyone has been working day and night…"

Sheppard suddenly stopped in his escape attempt and froze, fixing his wide eyes on the Athosian, "Night and day?! How long have I been out?"

Rodney grimaced, "Three days."

John's breath escaped with an audible whoosh, "Three days?" He looked like he'd just discovered Bigfoot was real.

Silence, filled with tension and weighted by things unsaid, settled into every nook and cranny of the infirmary. Long moments passed before Sheppard finally shattered the unbearable quiet, "How did we escape?"

It was Ronon who eventually answered, "Dr. Weir was told that she would be taken to see the Chancellor, so she told us to be ready to go, that she would create a diversion."

"What kind of a diversion?"

"We are not entirely sure," Teyla gracefully shrugged her shoulders, "One moment all was calm, and the next, all the guards exited the room and Ronon was able to lodge a knife in the cell's control panel, enabling us to escape."

John gave Ronon a halfhearted smile, "One to keep and one for them to find, eh?"

The Satedan regarded him somberly, "Something like that."

Another long silence threatened to fall, but Dr. Keller quickly intervened, "All right everyone, the Colonel needs his rest."

John exhaled sharply and turned his face toward the wall.

Teyla and Ronon exchanged another look, then walked out of the infirmary side by side.

Rodney started to follow them, but paused before he reached the doorway, "We will get her back Sheppard; no matter what it takes. You have to believe that."

John didn't acknowledge his friend's statement, didn't even flicker his eyes in his direction. Rodney waited a few moments for a response, then sighed and turned to leave.

"Thanks McKay," the Colonel's voice came out barely above a whisper.

Rodney swallowed hard, "No problem."

He hoped against hope that Elizabeth would be returned to them safe and whole, for all their sakes.