Chapter 2
"Well, that was a complete waste of time." Rodney announced as he punched the 'Gate symbols into the DHD. "Six hours of searching and nothing to show for it except sore feet."
"You're telling me you didn't yourself at all?" Lorne asked, not trying at all to hide the sarcasm in his question. Rodney looked up and rolled his eyes.
"Oh, I'm sure the scenery is nice, but I didn't travel how many light-years to look at trees and go for a hike. I could do that any time."
"Really?" Ronan grunted. He raised an eyebrow at the scientist. "You can't tell."
"Oh ha, ha." Rodney snapped. "You slay me."
"Ronan," Sheppard said warningly. He didn't want to have to break up another argument between the two in which Ronan's stolid silence got McKay worked up into a red-faced fit. As amusing as it was, he didn't need to have is top astrophysicist dying of a coronary ten seconds before they returned to Atlantis. "Rodney, just dial the 'Gate."
"What do you think I've been doing, Colonel?" Rodney snapped over his shoulder. Just as he finished speaking he punched the last symbol and the 'Gate activated. As soon as the wormhole connected John sent through their code.
"Ok, kids, time to go home."
"Finally," Rodney grumbled as he stalked toward the event horizon. "I'm starving."
Oo0oO
Sheppard wasn't at all surprised to see that the light in McKay's lab was still on—despite the fact that today had long since become yesterday. He had a suspicion he knew what was keeping the man awake and normally he would have just left it alone, but if these dreams were becoming a constant problem for McKay he wanted them taken care of.
Not for the first time he found himself wishing poor Kate Heightmeyer was still alive. Not that Rodney would have listened to her, either, but it would have been nice to have someone back him up.
"Why are you still here?" Sheppard demanded as he strolled into the lab. Rodney looked up and gave him a glare that had most people turning around and leaving immediately without another word. John, however, was nicely desensitized to McKay's glowers. He just crossed his arms and leant casually against the nearest table. "As far as I know there's nothing life-threatening that needs to be averted and I don't think we've quite made it up to the eleventh hour on anything."
John raised one eyebrow meaningfully.
"And I thought you were planning on actually sleeping tonight."
Rodney glared at Sheppard and though he was trying to look menacing, John could see the silent plea in those blue eyes. Rodney just wanted to be left alone. He wanted Sheppard to just let him wallow and ignore their conversation from earlier.
Really, John thought to himself, you think the guy would have figured it out by now.
Rodney dropped his gaze back to his laptop.
"I couldn't sleep." He mumbled lamely, typing absently at random keys. Sheppard wondered if he was even paying attention to what he was doing any more. He was tempted to peek around to see what the scientist was doing. Probably just playing solitaire. He had caught Elizabeth doing that more than once when she was trying to look busy so people would leave her alone.
"You can't sleep?" John's tone of voice implied that he was obviously unimpressed by that excuse. "Rodney, it's 3:30 in the morning. You're due to be up in another three and a half hours. How can you not sleep?"
Rodney glanced up at him and flashed a smile that was anything but convincing.
"Easy." He said and motioned to a cup of coffee next to his laptop. John frowned.
"And how many is that?" he asked, knowing full well that it wasn't going to be the first.
McKay frowned thoughtfully and Sheppard knew the man must be tired if he was actually giving the question careful thought. He must have been trying very hard to stay awake.
"Um, thirteen. I think."
Sheppard's mouth fell open.
"Thir—" John's jaw snapped shut and he shook his head. "Go to bed, Rodney."
"I—I can't." Rodney shook his head and he gestured at his computer. "I've got work to do…"
"Wow. That's lame even for you, McKay." Sheppard sighed. "Look, are you trying to avoid those dreams?"
When Rodney didn't answer Sheppard knew he had his answer. He sighed.
"Look, Rodney, just go to bed. If you don't I'll have Keller sedate you."
Rodney scowled up at John. Sheppard gazed back calmly until Rodney finally gave in.
"Fine!" he snapped and slammed his laptop shut—proving to John that he really hadn't been working on anything important because he hadn't bothered to save anything. "But I want you to know that if this crackpot idea of yours doesn't work, it's on your head."
Sheppard scrubbed his face with a hand. He wanted very much to be in bed himself, but he had trouble sleeping when he knew his best friend and top scientist was working himself into knots because of dreams.
"This morning you sounded convinced." He said through his hand, trying very hard not to yawn.
"Yes, well, now I'm not." Rodney told him sharply, sounding far too defensive. "A man is allowed to change his mind, you know. Even me."
"Rodney, the worst that could happen is that you don't realize you're dreaming until it's too late. So just wait until the next time you have the dreams. I'll tell you what—if this doesn't work and you keep having these dreams and you're convinced that getting that 'Gate address will make them stop, we can always have Keller hypnotize you or something. That always seems to work."
"Oh, great. More voodoo. Just what I need to ease my mind." Rodney mumbled.
Sheppard sighed and pushed himself away from the table.
"Rodney," he said heavily and looked his friend square in the eyes, "just go to bed. You're not helping yourself by drinking enough coffee to stop your heart. You're not helping Elizabeth, either."
Sheppard knew that last remark had been a bit underhanded, but he needed something. He still thought these were just dreams—he'd had enough weird dreams to know—but McKay had managed to convince himself that they weren't. John would play along if that meant getting Rodney to sleep more than half an hour a day.
Rodney's mouth tightened and he gathered up his laptop. He passed Sheppard without saying a word—proving he also thought that his last remark had been a bit below the belt—but he paused at the doorway.
"Good-night, Sheppard."
"'Night, Rodney." John allowed himself a smile. "Sweet dreams."
Rodney rolled his eyes and mumbled something that no doubt ended in an insult as he left without responding. Sheppard chuckled and started back to his own quarters.
Time for a three hour nap.
Oo0oO
Rodney couldn't believe it. The entire control room was empty—completely devoid of life save for himself. Where the hell was everybody? Universal coffee break? And what on Earth was he doing here by himself?
And without coffee, no less.
Rodney was just reaching for his radio, ready to shout at whoever answered that he didn't deserve to be left out of such things (especially when coffee was involved), when the 'Gate below him activated.
"Unscheduled off world activation!" Rodney shouted even though he knew no one was around to hear him. It just seemed appropriate. Seconds later the event horizon burst into space and sank back into the ring, leaving a shimmering wormhole in its wake. The shield automatically went up to cover the exposed intergalactic tunnel.
As Rodney turned toward his computer screen, ready to read any incoming IDC's, he gasped.
A dream! This was a dream. He remembered now. And he had had this dream before. Many times. And if it was the same one then that meant—
"Incoming transmission." Rodney murmured to himself, suddenly feeling very cold. His stomach knotted in apprehension. He remembered this dream far too well. He turned toward the Ancient viewing screen and there, sure enough, he saw Elizabeth's face appear—just as he remembered her. Numbly Rodney reached out and hit the button to activate audio.
"Hi, Elizabeth." He said, managing to speak through the lump in his throat. "Long time, no see."
Elizabeth blinked and she looked momentarily confused. For a moment Rodney wondered if it was because he hadn't answered her call with the standard, "I thought you were dead!" But, of course, that was impossible. A heartbeat later he convinced himself that he had simply imagined it because when he looked again her face had softened into that calm, patient expression he knew—and missed—so well.
"Hello, Rodney. It's good to see you."
Rodney choked back the tears he felt welling up behind his eyes. Damn it, this was just a dream. Wasn't it?
But no. He had been the one that had told Sheppard that it wasn't.
"Elizabeth—" Rodney swallowed, trying to dislodge the lump in his throat. God, he missed her so much… "Elizabeth, where have you been? The Replicators said you were… said you were dead."
"I know." Elizabeth said and her eyes were suddenly sad. "For a while she—I—Elizabeth and the others thought it was true. But Oberoth lied. I'm very much alive, Rodney."
Well, that sure sounded familiar.
"Where are you, Elizabeth?" McKay blurted, focusing on the matter at hand. His dream-mind seemed fogged and he was having difficulty not veering off into random conversations. That was not like him at all, but he had the overwhelming urge just to talk, like they had all the time in the world. "Where are you right now?"
Elizabeth bit her lip.
"I—I can't tell you, Rodney. I want to but… they'll know if I do. You'll have to figure it out for yourself." Her face softened into a smile and Rodney felt his heart skip a beat. "I know you will. I trust you."
"Elizabeth, please…" Rodney begged and he felt the tears begin to fall despite his best efforts. He blinked when the video started to jump, warning him that he was about to loose the connection. "No! Damn it, Elizabeth, how am I supposed to know where you are?"
Elizabeth smiled sadly.
"You always did look for the impossible solution." She said quietly. "Don't try so hard. Sometimes the answer is—"
"Elegant in its simplicity." Rodney mumbled quietly. Elizabeth smiled and nodded.
"It sounds like you've been talking to John. I have to go, Rodney—"
"No…"
"Don't give up, Rodney. I'm waiting for you. I'm alive. And remember… I lo—"
The 'Gate suddenly deactivated, severing the video link and taking Elizabeth's face with it.
Oo0oO
"No!"
Rodney sat up in bed as he shouted the word, startling himself. He sat for several minutes waiting for his heartbeat to slow down. When he was finally confident that he wasn't about to have a coronary he reached up to rub his hands over his eyes. He paused when he felt moisture on his fingers and he pulled his hands away, staring at them in surprise.
He'd been crying.
Rodney swore and rolled over, snatching the ear piece off of his bedside table. Shoving it into his ear he tapped it once.
"Sheppard."
No response.
"Colonel."
Rodney waited, but there was still no response from the other side. He tapped the radio again.
"John!"
"Rodney?" John's voice sounded heavily muffled over the radio and his answer sounded more like, "Rrfnie?" McKay realized he was probably talking with his face still buried in his pillow. If he kept sleeping like that he was going to end up suffocating himself one of these nights.
"Sheppard, are you awake."
There was a long pause.
"No." Sheppard answered finally. His voice was still muffled by the pillow and Rodney could barely hear him.
"Sheppard, I had the dream. Just now. Well, at least it felt like just now. I know time's all relative when you're sleeping, but—"
"Rodney." John interrupted and his voice sounded clearer, so he must have turned his head so he wasn't speaking through a layer of down feathers. "Are you planning on letting me go back to sleep?"
"I need to talk to you." Rodney answered. There was another long pause—long enough to make Rodney suspect that Sheppard had simply fallen back to sleep.
"I'm not leaving this room." Sheppard answered finally.
"But—"
"But I'm too damned tired to kick you out if you show up here." Sheppard interrupted.
Rodney heaved a sigh of relief and he allowed himself a smile.
"Thank you, John." He breathed. "I'll be there in a minute."
"You owe me breakfast." Sheppard answered.
"I'll pick up something on the way there." Rodney promised. He was already out of bed and pulling on real clothes.
"Don't forget the bacon."