Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Yes, he's called Chuck. Oh, that's right, you usually call him something Canadian and derogatory. I hope you'll give him more credit now, he's going to be replacing Peter, and he needs your help." She gave him her special stare.
He just grunted. "Yeah, okay, whatever."
She sighed. "Well, I guess I'm just stuck in here for twelve hours. Will I be all right for...?"
"Yes, yes. Plenty of air, there should be rations, blankets and so on. Um..." he blinked, pausing.
"Rodney?" She drummed her fingers on her folded arms.
"There's a... um..." he was blushing.
"I most certainly hope there is, Rodney McKay."
"Yes. Chemical toilet in the rear locker," he blurted out.
"Good." She smiled, looking out at Rodney, cross-legged on the maintenance platform, staring at her in dismay. The poor man was clearly horrified at what he'd done.
"Hey. It wasn't your fault. Well, you didn't mean it. I'll be fine. It's just a shame you..." she paused, "No. Not with your claustrophobia. Never mind."
He frowned, and then smiled. "I would have coped. Probably."
"Of course. Well, that's that I guess. Do you have other things you need to be doing?" She knew she'd sounded a touch desperate.
He didn't show it, if he'd noticed. "No. Nothing. I'll just, um... stay here, if that's OK. You know, just in case..." He waved a hand vaguely.
"Of course. Thank you." She was relieved.
They watched each other through the window, each wondering what to say.
"Elizabeth?"
"Yes, Rodney?"
"Sometimes Teyla tells stories, you know, when we are off world. It passes the time."
Elizabeth lifted her eyebrows in amusement. "Really? Could you tell me one?"
He nodded, pleased but... nervous? "There is this one story, I liked it. It explains why there are no birds here."
"I'd like to hear that." She leaned forward over the console, and laid her hands down close to the window.
He cleared his throat, and began. "Well, there was this great warrior once. He was really strong and brave and handsome," he paused for a moment when he saw her arched eyebrow. He cleared his throat.
"So, this warrior, he used to hunt birds. There were birds then, you see?" He waited for her nod, then continued. "One day, he captured the most beautiful bird he'd ever seen. Her feathers were all the colours of the rainbow, and her beak shone like gold. He put her in a cage, and kept her." His eyes flicked up briefly, seeing her smile.
"But the bird was unhappy. She wanted to be free, to fly in the air once more. She kept trying to escape, but the warrior would not let her go. Anyway, time passed and the bird grew weak and ill."He glanced up, and saw her looking quite concerned.
"The warrior was very upset, and let the bird out of the cage, but it was too late. He tried everything, asking healers to come, and tempting her with the best food, but the bird died. He was so upset, the warrior stopped hunting the birds. He destroyed the cage and became a farmer, growing crops instead. The other birds of the air knew the warrior would never hunt them again, but they saw that they reminded him of what he had done, so they all flew away, and were never seen again." He looked down at his hands, fiddling with them in his lap.
"That's very interesting, Rodney. Thank you," she said sincerely.
He shrugged. "It doesn't make a lot of sense, it doesn't even seem to mean anything. I just liked it because it's why there are no birds."
"It certainly passed the time. But I'm afraid I can't think of a story to tell you."
"S'OK. Teyla lets us talk about Earth, whatever, stuff like that." He shrugged.
"Actually, I do recall a story that Teyla told me recently."
"You do? What was it about?"
"It was about you, Rodney."
"Me?" he frowned. "Was it about what a great warrior I am?" He smirked.
"No, actually." Elizabeth took a beep breath. Somehow, on the other side of a sealed door, she felt able to ask him about something that had been bothering her for days. "She told me of a time when she visited Dr Heightmeyer, and met you there."
Rodney went very pale.
"She asked me if I knew about the two of you. I told her I didn't. I told her you would have told me if it was true. I couldn't believe... It's not true, is it?"
He shook his head slowly, "No. Of course it's not true. I was just putting her off the scent. I didn't want her to know I see Kate on a regular basis."
Elizabeth's heart ached and yet lightened at the same time. "Have you seen her since you got back?"
"Yeah. We talked about Peter. There's some things about Atlantis that really suck."
"I know. I'm sorry. But...on the other hand, I'm quite anxious about going back, Rodney. I don't know what everything will be like... at home."
"We won't even be back for very long."
"No."
"I'm quite happy here on Atlantis, despite... everything."
"So am I."
A look of horror crossed his face. "Oh!"
"What? Rodney? What?" She hated it when he did that.
"It's dinner time! I have to eat."
"Yes? So, go. I'll be fine. I'll just choose the least unpleasant option in the ration pack."
"Of course!" He raised one finger, and threw his leg over the side to the ladder, paused, then pulled it back up. "Don't eat yet, OK? I'll only be a minute." He disappeared down the ladder.
Throwing up her hands in frustration, Elizabeth wandered to the rear section, and flopped down on the bench. Half the time she couldn't follow what Rodney was thinking, and for the other half, she wished she didn't know. He was so infuriating. And yet... her relief at having him back on Atlantis had been exposed in sharp contrast to her grief at losing Peter, overwhelming her with emotions. She needed Rodney more than she had imagined was possible, and Atlantis as an expedition didn't seem feasible without him. One year. A whole year, with him at her side. And now he locks her in a puddlejumper. She sighed.
TBC