Scars are for siblings Chapter 8, a stargate: atlantis fanfic

Disclaimer:I own nothing involved in this story.

I hope you didn't all leave, I'm really sorry for not updating sooner!! I hope you can forgive me and I'm sorry if there was any undue sadness in the last chapter! I hope you like this chapter. Oh, and one more thing, watch the times closely in this chapter!!

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January 18, 2008, 8:38pm

"So how's the patient?"asked John as he bounded into the infirmary.

"Dr.McKay will be fine, the head wound bled a lot, but it's not serious,"replied Dr.Kellar with a soft smile.

"Oh yeah? I heard Rodney got hurt by the new girl, is it true?"asked John, feigning nonchalance.

"Yeah, I heard that one too, but I don't think it's true,"replied Dr.Kellar, glancing at where Rodney's bed was,"I think it was mostly just an accident, you know they got excited and Rodney got hurt."

"Right,"said John shortly, glancing at Rodney's bed,"So how long's she been there?"

They both looked at where Miranda sat vigilantly by Rodney's bed, holding is hand.

"All day,"said Dr.Kellar sadly, her big doe eyes shining.

"I thought you said it was an accident,"said John confusedly, tilting his head to the left.

"Yeah, it was,"said Dr.Kellar,"but try telling her that."

John glanced back at her,"Do you mind if I talk to her?"he asked.

"I don't know how she'll react, but you can try,"said Dr.Kellar with a shrug,"Only, I just finished reading her medical file, and I think you need to tone it down a little, she might not react well to seeing you."

"Right,"said John, walking past her, headed towards Rodney's bed.

"Oh, one more thing, lose the jacket,"said Dr.Kellar, almost as an afterthought.

John nodded, not even turning to look at her, shrugging off his jacket as he walked away.

January 18, 2008, 8:42pm

Miranda was miserable, this wasn't going the way she'd hoped.

She and Rodney had corresponded for months, and he's never been able to tell her about Atlantis, but he'd kept promising that she'd one day be allowed to come here.

And finally, after all her hard work, having to earn a Ph.D. in astrophysics, joining the stupid Marines, then finding out she had to join the Air force if she wanted to join him, so she'd finally clawed her way up the ranks, and finally she'd been able to come here, and within her first few hours she'd ended up in the infirmary. Then she'd managed to get Rodney hurt.

"This isn't the way you said it'd be,"she mumbled tearfully to him, caressing his hand with her thumb.

"What did he say it would be?"asked a soft voice next to her elbow.

She jumped slightly, quickly wiping the few stray tears on her face away, she looked over her shoulder at John.

"He said, he promised it'd be like nothing I'd ever seen,"she said softly, looking at him sadly, tears still glistening on her cheeks.

John smiled gently at her, settling down in the second chair next to Rodney's bed,"Well, he's right, most of the time anyway,"said John in a low, soothing voice,"This place, Atlantis, it's not like anywhere you've ever been, the stuff that happens here, most of it I don't understand, but it's still really cool."

She blinked,"Really?"she breathed softly, leaning towards him slightly, her emotions playing across her face like a movie.

John nodded, a small grin gracing his lips,"Yeah, it's pretty damn cool,"he whispered, laughing lightly, staring into her dark blue eyes.

She grinned hesitantly in return,"Well, I hope it picks up soon,"she whispered, feeling a warm, fuzziness in her chest and stomach, tears still glittering on her cheeks.

John gently reached a rough, calloused hand forward, towards her face.

She pulled away sightly, a sliver of fear shining through.

"No...no...shh...it's okay..."soothed John gently, looking deeply into her eyes, his own eyes begging her to trust him.

She stopped, looking at him hesitantly.

He continued to reach forward until his soft, rough, calloused, fingers reached her face. He gently grazed his fingertips across her cheeks, tenderly brushing the tears from her soaked face.

"There,"he said quietly,"that's better isn't it?"

She gave him a small smile,"Thanks,"she whispered, gratitude shining through.

John smiled,"Not all guys like me are bad,"he said gently, getting to his feet.

"Wait, where are you going?"she asked, slightly dismayed.

"Well, I'm guessing Rodney's gonna wake up soon, and I'm sure he'd rather see a pretty girl by his bed than a guy who he punched this morning."said John with a small laugh, massaging the ring bruise he sported over his left eye.

"Sorry about that,"said Miranda quietly, not looking at him.

John grinned mischievously,"Well, it's no big deal, after all, Rodney's going to lose his favorite pen tomorrow, so I don't mind."he said, rubbing his hands together, grinning.

She couldn't suppress a laugh, trying to stifle her giggles.

"Ha ha, I got you to laugh, a big victory for me,"said John as he walked away backwards,"Oh, and congratulations on getting assigned to my team, I'm sure Rodney will be pleased."

She grinned hesitantly,"Yeah I'm sure..."she said faintly, watching him as he walked away, shuddering as the memories of Anthony resurfaced.

January 18, 2008, 8:54pm

Miranda sighed as she watched Rodney's chest rise and fall rhythmically.

"I'm so sorry Rodney..."she thought dejectedly, twiddling with her thumbs,"It's always my fault you get hurt..."

She looked at his face, the bandages on his head standing out like white ribbons of light against his dusky hair.

She sighed again, her heart aching as she realized just how much she didn't fit in here.

She swallowed the massive lump in her throat,"Well, I guess I should stick with you, you've always done it for me,"she said, reaching out to stroke his ebony brown hair.

She felt a deep chasm in her chest and a deep longing to feel Rodney wrap his arms around her, to tell her it would all be okay, and that he would always love her, no matter what.

She laughed a little bitterly, thinking about the hundreds of times he'd actually done that for her, and all the times she should have done it for him, but hadn't.

"I guess it's always been you saving me, never the other way around,"she said, her voice dripping with self loathing.

She sighed, leaning forward and resting her head on his shoulder, still stroking his hair with one hand.

She closed her eyes, wishing that he would wake up and tell her it was going to be okay, but she knew he wouldn't, Dr.Kellar had him on sleeping medication.

"I wish I had some medicine too...it would make me feel better..."she thought, then her eyes jerked open, horror flooding her entire body.

"NO!!...Don't you dare start thinking like that!! You know better than that, you don't want to get addicted again!!!"she shouted at herself in her mind, whimpering audibly, burying her face into Rodney's warm shoulder, wishing he would wake up.

Her shoulders began to shake with silent sobs, tears soaking Rodney's shoulder, she'd never, in her entire life felt so alone, except for those years she'd been with Him, but even then, Rodney had somehow come to her rescue.

She sobbed like a little girl, not letting a sound escape her, desperate for someone, anyone to come and tell her it would be okay.

But no one came.

Eventually, her sobs dried up, and her shaking subsided, and she stood shakily next to Rodney's bed.

Then, she climbed up into the bed with him, curling up into a ball and snuggling close up against his chest, resting her head on his shoulder.

She sighed discontentedly, feeling only slightly better now that she was next to Rodney, closing her tired eyes and fell into a deep, nightmare soaked sleep.

January 19, 2008, 1:47am

Rodney awoke slowly, the feeling in his body coming back gradually, section by section.

Finally, he felt his whole body regain feeling, except for his left arm and shoulder, it felt like there was weight on it.

Then, it moved, and then it moved again, then a soft sound escaped it, a whimper.

Rodney forced his groggy eyes open, looking down at his chest.

A mass of reddish-brown, coppery hair was situated on his shoulder, the hair glinting silvery in the moonlight that streamed through the high windows.

Rodney was immediately alarmed,"Miranda, Miranda, Miranda!!"he whispered fiercely, shaking her gently.

She jerked awake, flailing around as she felt someone else in the bed,"Get off of me!!"she shrieked,"get out of my bed!!"

"Your bed!!"snapped Rodney indignantly,"For your information, this is my bed!!"

She stopped fighting him, gasping and panting, sucking in huge gasps of oxygen,"Rodney!!"she gasped,"Oh Rodney!!"

She threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest,"You're awake, you're awake!!"

"Yes, I'm awake,"said Rodney sardonically,"Now can you tell me why we're in bed together, because I'm going to be so pissed if I don't remember what happened."

She laughed a little hysterically, sitting back, wiping her eyes,"Well, I just...I felt really bad about getting you hurt..."she said nervously.

"Oh, so you made up for it by sleeping with me, when you thought I wouldn't remember?"asked Rodney sarcastically, crossing his arms.

"No!!"she said angrily, smacking him on the arm,"That's disgusting!!"

Rodney snorted,"Right, so why else were you in my bed, I know it's hard to resist me, but still,"he said, teasing her subtly.

"Yuck!!"she practically shouted,"That's disgusting, Meredith!!"

Rodney's face went from amused to horrified in an instant,"That's not fair,"he whined,"At least you don't have a horrible name!! And keep your voice down, or else Dr.Kellar will come and kick you out."

She blinked, a slow, dopey smile forming on her lips, her eyes twinkling.

"What?"asked Rodney, annoyed, his arms still crossed.

"You don't want her to throw me out..."she said, grinning even more widely.

"What? No...that's not it at all..."denied Rodney, looking everywhere except at her.

"Yeah...yeah...you like me...admit it!! You like me!! You want me to stick around!!"she cried happily, her eyes sparkling with suppressed mirth.

"Oh that is so..."began Rodney condescendingly, but then she launched herself him, cutting him off.

He collapsed back onto the pillows as she slammed into him, squeezing him until he groaned, and he tried to push her away.

"Okay...okay...you win, you can stay, but you have to stop crushing me,"said Rodney tiredly.

She grinned happily as she sat up, her hair askew in every direction, her face glowing.

Rodney sighed in annoyance, but inwardly, he was pleased that she cared about him this much.

"Hey, before I woke you up, you were whimpering in your sleep, what was that about?"Rodney asked her, leaning forward slightly.

Her face drained off happiness,"It's nothing..."she mumbled, staring at her hands rather than look at him.

The next thing she knew, Rodney had leaned forward and pulled her into his arms, holding her close.

"Listen, Kitty-Kat, I know that it's not nothing,"whispered Rodney tenderly, stroking her hair,"I know that it's bothering you, and I want you to please tell me, so that I can help you, because it hurts me to see you like this."

She simply gaped wordlessly, her eyes wide, amazed, yet again, about how much he cared for her, she swallowed,"It was just a nightmare..."she mumbled hoarsely, wrapping her arms around him numbly.

Rodney sighed heavily, then he pulled her into his lap, rested his chin on he head, stroking her hair,"Kitty-Kat...I'm so sorry, please, please tell me about it."

She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder, snuggling closer into his embrace,"It was about...you...and Anthony...it was that time...back in Ontario...remember?...Only...I was too late in calling the police, and he...he...he killed you Rodney."

Her voice broke, and she broke into massive, shuddering sobs, her whole body quaking with each harsh sob.

Rodney didn't speak, instead he just held her, rocking her gently, stroking her hair, not letting the fact that he wished he could travel back in time and murder Anthony, show through the mask.

Finally, her sobs lessened, and they finally stopped,"Done?"asked Rodney gently, pulling her away slightly to look into her eyes.

She nodded, wiping her eyes,"I feel so stupid..."she choked,"This is the most I've cried in years, and it was in one day."

Rodney chuckled slightly,"It's okay, I get it,"he said, pulling her into a tight hug.

She smiled as they separated, grinning as she looked into his eyes, loving the way the moonlight illuminated his face,"Rodney?"she asked uncertainly.

"Yeah?"he asked, smiling back at her.

"Can I stay with you tonight? I don't know where my quarters are,"she said, flushing slightly, dropping her gaze.

Rodney smiled,"Sure, and then tomorrow we can get you unpacked in your quarters,"he said gently, lying down and pulling her down as well.

She smiled hugely, settling herself comfortably in next to him, snuggling up close to him, resting her head onto his shoulder again, cuddling up to his chest.

Rodney suppressed a grin as he put his arms around her and held her close in a comforting way,"Goodnight Miranda,"he said quietly, closing his eyes.

"Goodnight Rodney,"she replied contentedly, closing her eyes and drifting almost at once into sweet, happy dreams.

She sighed once more, content, she had what she wanted, Rodney had his arms wrapped around her, and she knew he loved her.