Next Update: Saturday, July 8th.

---

The Last To Fall

---

"I have a list of personnel here with me," Elizabeth's voice cut through the crisp morning air of Opalus. The outline of the 'gate was clear behind her. After she and Rodney had come through, it had only taken seconds for it to disconnect. "When I read off your name, answer 'here' so we know you're not – "

Dead.

She faltered, unable to say it.

Rodney was standing at the edge of the crowd and his eyes scanned the gaunt collection of people in the uncomfortable silence. His chest tightened as he made a quick mental estimation. There must have been nearly one hundred people left in the City, dead or dying. A numb feeling engulfed him as Elizabeth began to read off the list.

"Simpson?"

"Here!" cried a voice. Rodney looked toward her. She was clutching her forearm, wincing in discomfort, but her eyes scrutinized the crowd relentlessly, trying to find someone. He could see the desperation in her eyes, even from so far away, and he quickly moved his eyes elsewhere. He could only handle one heartbreak at a time, and the current one, his, was taking precedence.

"McKay?"

"Here," he said hollowly. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he acknowledged that he should feel blessed that he'd survived. But 'should' and 'is' were two very different things.

As the names continued to be read, he sought out his friends in the crowd. Every time he found someone, relief flooded him, but when he didn't, the cold ball in his stomach tightened. They must be in the back of the cluster, he told himself.

"Kavanagh?" No one answered. Several people looked around tensely. Rodney saw Elizabeth's hands shake as she clutched the list of names tighter. "Doctor Kavanagh?" she said again, louder this time, some part of her hoping that he had just not heard her voice. Silence pressed down upon them.

Rodney saw Simpson suppress a sob.

Elizabeth's eyelids fell for a moment, but she'd collected herself again in a moment and made a mark upon the list. "Kusanagi?" she continued, but her voice was hollow, empty.

"She's dead," Rodney spat the words from his mouth. He couldn't bear it, couldn't bear being subjected to that overwhelming silence again. That silence that spoke so loudly, screams of hope and fear and pain… Numerous eyes moved to him, and he knew the bitterness inside of him had leaked into his words like venom.

Elizabeth made another mark.

"Sheppard?" her voice came out as nearly a whisper. She couldn't lose him, either. He was her Colonel, her backbone.

"Here." Both Rodney and Elizabeth turned, and John simply looked stoically ahead. He knew John felt the emptiness, too.

Slowly, Rodney moved his eyes away from his friend and back to Elizabeth as she continued reading down the list. It was bittersweet; for every person here and alive, there was another person dead, their body abandoned. For every joy at someone being alive, there was a stab of agony for a victim.

The time crawled past, and many people sat down, he among them, their trembling legs finally giving out. Reality sunk in slowly. What happened back in the City kept running through his mind, over and over again. He could've done so much more. If only he'd calibrated the sensors better –

"Ronon?" Elizabeth looked around hopefully, looking for the telltale hulk. Rodney's eyes roamed across the crowd, too. He had seen Ronon when the Wraith had begun streaming into the 'gate room, the warrior's sword flashing as the Wraith circled around him… "Ronon?" she repeated. He clenched his jaw and looked at the ground. Unbidden, thoughts and memories of Ronon flew through his mind.

The Wraith had finally beaten him, after all.

Rodney and John were alive, and Ronon was gone. His eyes searched for Teyla, and with relief he found her standing at the edge of the group. Her lithe, toned body was covered in bruises, and silent tears were running down her face. Even then, she seemed more dignified than the rest of them.

Looking about, Rodney realized that she was not the only one that had tears running down her face. Everywhere his eyes fell the salty streams ran or sadness lurked or numbness overwhelmed. So many lost… Each time no 'here!' was called a sharp jolt of pain ran through him. They'd dealt with loss before, but not like this…not this many, not this close together…

They had lost the City, lost their colleagues, lost the battle.

He wondered if they'd lost themselves in the carnage.

"Bates?"

Silence.

A mark.

"Caldwell?" With a jolt, he realized that the staff of the Daedalus had been in the City that day. It seemed so long ago that he had read that memo…

Again, the silence came. A black line through his name.

"Novak?"

Soft sobs were the only noises in the grassy meadow they occupied. An image of her flashed through his mind, and he bowed his head.

So many…too soon…too much to comprehend…

His eyes stung and he hated himself for being here. Being here while all of these people were gone, gone forever. Good people, the brave and the loyal. None of them deserved to die, not even the most disliked. Not like that; not watching their enemies as they slowly stole their life away.

"Lorne?" He noticed that Elizabeth's knuckles had gone white, her face pale. She looked as if she would pass out any moment. On any other day, Rodney would be there next to her, holding her, supporting her. But now, he felt only the pain, only the numbness and agony. Control of his body had flown from him, along with rational thought. The only thoughts that ran through his head now were memories of those left behind.

"Here," a weak voice called. He saw Marcus Lorne sitting on the ground, a blonde nurse attending to what appeared to be a dislocated arm. He remembered trying to get her attention days ago, flirting blatantly when she finally turned to him.

It all seemed so unimportant now.

"Zelenka?"

"Here," Radek said firmly, glasses in hand as he wiped his eyes with his shirt sleeve. Rodney wondered in the brief pause that followed what he would do if Radek had not made it through the 'gate. He was one of his closest friends, along with -

"Beckett?"

This time he was among those who wept softly in the silence.

---