Secondly, I have taken some liberties with this chapter, and have gone slightly AU. It wasn't until I got half way through writing this that I realised that they didn't have a means of returning to Earth until the 2nd series, whereas this story is set in the first. But I decided that I liked the ending I have planned too much to change it, so it's going to stay slightly AU from now on. Anyway, on with the story.
"You can not be serious?" Judging by the solemn faces that met his own he could only conclude that they were.
"Rodney, I don't like this anymore than you do, but I really don't see that we have a choice."
Rodney hated the way Carson was being so damn calm, and clinical about this. As if John was just another patient. But then had the rational part of his brain been working, he would have figured out that, that was the only way that Carson could cope, could deal with treating his sick and injured friends everyday. Unfortunately for Carson, Rodney wasn't thinking rationally lately, not while his best friend wasted away in the infirmary.
"Of course we have a choice." Rodney snapped, springing from his chair, hands gesticulating wildly, as they often did. "There's always a choice, and this one is clear. Sheppard needs us. His friends, his family." He was glaring now at Ford, and Teyla who had so far failed to back him up. And he couldn't help the small glimmer of satisfaction that he felt, as he watched Ford squirm uncomfortably in his seat. "You may not see it, because you don't want to see it, but down in that chair room I didn't have a choice. He isn't just Major Sheppard, Military Commander, or Major John Sheppard, Superman. He's simply John Sheppard, an ordinary human being, who has been forced to do some extraordinary things. I know it's difficult, for all of us to see him, so…broken. But he needs us, and I think that we can safely say without argument that we need him. I made him a promise, and I don't intend on breaking it."
As he became more and more agitated, he hadn't noticed Elizabeth approaching him. She placed her hand, gently but firmly, on his shoulder, and lead him back to his previously vacated seat, where he sat silently, deflated, his eyes tracking her past the shocked, but silent faces of his team, Sheppard's team, as she made her way back to her own seat.
She sighed heavily, before clasping her hands together, and laying them on the table in front of her. She looked around at the four mournful faces in front of her, before taking a deep breath, and replying, "We all honestly know how you feel Rodney, but we have to think about John, and what's in his best interests. You've tried Rodney, we all have, there's nothing more we can do. We can't provide John with the help that he obviously needs. That's why I have to agree with Carson, and will be filing my recommendation that John return to Earth."
"I am afraid, as much as it pains me to say," Teyla cut in, before Rodney had a chance to react. "That I must agree with Dr. Weir. The Major is clearly not himself. He will will greatly missed, but once he is better then he can return to Atlantis, can he not."
Rodney snorted, but again was cut off from replying by Ford. "I don't think there's much chance of that happening Teyla. If the Major leaves Atlantis then he wont be coming back."
Teyla looked confused, and Rodney couldn't keep silent any longer. "What Ford is so eloquently trying to say is that if the Major gets shipped back to Earth, he'll be locked up in some room somewhere, and forgotten about."
At Teyla's horrified expression Rodney added, "that's what the US Government, and his so called friends," he glared pointedly at Carson and Elizabeth, "think is best for him. Well excuse me if I don't agree with that assessment." With that he stood, and stormed out of the room. The remaining four occupants sat stunned, as they watched as personnel had to literally dive out of Rodney's was as he stalked out of the gate room.
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Rodney found himself in one of the labs, at least they were assuming that it was a lab, that they had discovered a couple of days ago, during one of the now routine searches that they conducted as often as possible. It was far out on the outskirts of the city, and Rodney was beginning to see the appeal of having a lab way out here, as far away from civilisation as possible, without taking a dip in the ocean. Been there, done that, never again, thank you very much.
He needed to focus, to think of a way to fix Sheppard because there was no way in hell he was going to let them ship John back to Earth. He was after all Rodney McKay, Resident Genius, Mr Fixit, Answer Man. How hard could it be to fix one broken Air Force Major.
The best way he knew to focus his mind was to work, often when deep in concentration on one project, the answer to a completely unrelated problem would pop into his head. That was why he'd come down to this lab, not only for the solitude it offered him, but because the non-functioning console provided him with just the distraction he needed.
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Elizabeth couldn't disguise the small gasp that escaped her lips as she entered the infirmary, at seeing John Sheppard, the man who had saved her life countless times, looking so pale, thin, defeated. Nothing had ever stopped him before. They had often joked that he was like the Energizer bunny, whatever you threw at him, he would always bounce back again, good as new. It pained her now to see him like this, seemingly with no hope of bouncing back.
She had thought, after the briefing that maybe Rodney had been right, maybe they were abandoning him when he needed them most. But seeing him here, in his infirmary bed, surrounded by tubes and wires made her realise that they really did have no choice. He was dying, by his own hand, and she had a duty to protect him, not just from the enemy, but from himself as well.
She hadn't realised she's stopped moving, until a comforting hand was placed on her shoulder.
"Elizabeth lass, are you alright?" It was Carson, of course, he was always there to offer a comforting hand, shoulder to cry on, or sympathetic ear. Elizabeth had to fight the tears that threatened to spill over, as she continued to focus on John.
"I've come to tell him of our, my decision. The Daedalus will be here in three days, and John will be on it when it returns to Earth. I hate this Carson, I know he said that a return to Earth is what he wants, but I've also gotten to know him over the past year, and how he's come to think of Atlantis as home. He's not going to feel the same way once he's better." When Carson didn't say anything for several seconds, she added, "He is going to get better, isn't he?"
Carson had been dreading this question, and secretly hoping that it would never be asked. Everyone had just been taking for granted the fact that once John returned to Earth he would get better. Unfortunately the mind didn't work like that. "Honestly. I don't know. I hope so, I really do, but….The mind is a tricky thing Elizabeth, you have to accept the possibility that he may never be the completely recovered. Certainly, he'll never be the same man who stepped through that gate all those weeks ago. I'm sorry, I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but I though you deserved it straight. Sending him back to Earth is his best chance of recovery." There was a brief pause, before Carson added. "I know you've been thinking about what Rodney said earlier in the briefing." At Elizabeth's puzzled expression, Carson chuckled. "No I've not developed mind reading abilities, although they would come in handy right about now. It's all I've been able to think about all day. And as hard as this is going to be on all of us, it has to be done. We're not abandoning him, we're saving his life."
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Rodney had no idea how long he'd been working on the console, but he was becoming increasingly frustrated. Sure, the console was nearly fixed, but he still didn't know what to do about John.
Glancing down at his watch he was surprised to discover that he had missed lunch, and if he didn't hurry he would be missing dinner as well, which was not a good idea considering he was hypoglycaemic, and with his luck, he would pass out, from manly hunger of course, and being this far out it would take them days to find him, by which time it would be late.
Rearranging the last couple of crystals, he couldn't help but feel satisfaction at his ability to once again repair any piece of Ancient technology, not, of course that he ever doubted that ability, as the room lit up around him. The lure of the now glowing console too strong, he decided that he had time, if he hurried, to experiment with it a little, he reached forward, before jumping back in alarm as it sparked, before the room was plunged into total darkness.
"Great, just great"
Fumbling around in his pockets, he was silently thankful for Sheppard insisting that all personnel venturing into the uninhabited parts of the city carry full mission gear, as he felt the solid weight of his torch in his vest pocket. Flicking the torch on, he made his way carefully, the last thing he needed was to break his ankle falling over some stray piece of Ancient Tech that littered the floor, over to the door. Reaching for the panel, he palmed the door release, expecting it to open with a well practiced whoosh, only it didn't, nothing happened.
"OK, McKay. No need to panic. You can fix this, you've done worse." He found, even when alone, that talking aloud helped him to focus on the problem in hand, instead of panicking, which his brain so often wanted to do in these situations. "OK, focus, all you have to do is pull the panel, and rearrange the crystals. Easy, you've done it a dozen times……No, no, no, no. That's not right, it can't be. Oh I am in so much trouble." Opening the panel, he had discovered that the crystals were fried, completely unusable. He was trapped, and the silent darkness that filled the room was beginning to creep him out.
He tapped his radio, "Radek?" No reply, not even static. "Radek? Carson? Elizabeth? Anyone?" Rodney hated how pathetic he would have sounded, if indeed there had been anyone on the other end to hear his call for help, but he was beginning to panic. "Look, this really isn't funny. So if anyone is hearing this please answer." Rodney had no idea what to do. No one knew where he was, he knew for a fact that the sensors didn't reach this far out, his radio was, apparently broken, he was alone, trapped, with no hope of escape. He knew today was going to be a bad day, but he hadn't been betting on just how bad.
A/N: Once again thanks for reading, and please review. It's great to know what you think, and also inspiring me to keep writing.