A/N: Hey, peoples! So this might be the last chapter for a couple weeks (exams and whatnot), but I'll still be working on it. Just really slowly, haha.

Ps. Yes, I backed up my files this time *g*

A/N2: PLEASE READ: near the end of the chapter, there's a small claustrophobic moment. Nothing too horrible, just thought I'd mention it just in case.

STATUS: TBC

RATING: K+

SUMMARY: AU and SLASH McKayxSheppard A Halloween fic! Rodney and his niece Madison buy a new (but old and frankly falling down) house in a small town (cliché enough yet?), which the locals believe to be haunted. Which it most definitely is. Inspired by Rose Red.

SPOILERS: Since it's AU, nothing.

WARNINGS: A bit of swearing. Our boys have quite the potty mouth sometimes.

DISCLAIMER: Everything Stargate Atlantis related is property of MGM. I own nothing.

x x x

**Song for this chapter: Nothing Else Matters by Metallica**

x x x

Last time:

"I think you're crazy now."

"Exactly," the detective agreed with a nod, his lips curving into a grim smile. "Which is why you need to see."

Rodney didn't even bother asking just what it was he was supposed to see.

"Show me."

x x x

As soon as he got the go ahead from Rodney, John nodded and slid out of the diner booth.

"Let's grab Jinto and Ma—"

"Wait," Rodney cut in, grabbing the hem of John's black t-shirt. The scientist looked up at him with wide eyes. "Are you absolutely sure that Madison's in danger?"

John met Rodney's baby blues, his own gaze softening as he nodded almost unnoticeably .

"I'm sure, Rodney. You have to see this."

There was a pause before Rodney nodded and stood, slapping on his game face.

"Alright, let's go then. But what about Madison and that Jinto kid?"

Pulling on his jacket, John glanced at the two kids before saying, "They can stay in the car. Jinto, by the way, goes to the local school. I figured Madison would like to have a familiar face waiting for her when she's enrolled."

Rodney blinked, colouring slightly.

"Oh. That's…that's really nice of you," he said awkwardly, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets.

John smiled lazily, eyes teasing.

"What can I say? I'm a nice guy." He straightened up and hit McKay's arm lightly. "By the way, I got the bill last time, buddy. It's your turn."

"What—I didn't even have any coffee!" Rodney complained to the detective's retreating back.

x x x

"Uncle Mer? Why do we have to stay in the car?"

The gears spun in Rodney's head as he turned in his seat to glance back at Madison.

"Because we're only going to be a few minutes. So you and Jinto might as well stay in the car." His lips quirked wryly. "Besides, you like Sheppard's cop car. All the flashing lights and whatnot."

Madison smiled cheekily before sobering.

"But I forgot my bag inside. It has my drawing books."

Rodney shook his head and sunk back down into the uncomfortable leather seat. He was glad he had never been arrested before. One can't get a chiropractor in the big house.

"You don't need it, Maddie. You can draw later tonight."

"But—"

"There'll be those cool paper place mat things you can draw on in the restaurant," John interjected with one of his trademark goofy grins.

Rodney glanced at him in slight amusement. He wouldn't have been surprised if the man asked for one for himself. Then his brain caught up with what John had said.

"Restaurant?" asked three voices in unison.

John passed Rodney a look.

"Wha—oh. Oh. Right. The restaurant. Where we'll be going to eat. Once we're finished at the house. Gotcha."

Rolling his eyes, John pulled up to the curb outside Stone Manor. After turning off the engine, he swivelled around in the seat to look back at Jinto and Madison.

"Alright, you two. We'll only be a few minutes, but you stay in the car, okay?"

The pair nodded, Jinto even saluting sloppily.

Rodney smiled wryly.

"You can practically see the halos floating above their heads."

Once John made sure all the windows were up and the doors were locked, he and Rodney climbed out and started across the lawn.

"So, where did this restaurant thing come from?" Rodney asked while hopping along, trying to get a chunk of wet grass off his shoe.

John smiled in amusement, instinctively reaching out a hand to steady the scientist.

"I did say I wanted to take you and Madison out."

"Well, yes. But I assumed the diner—"

"The whole 'diner' thing didn't exactly go as planned since someone ruined it."

"And by someone, you mean you."

"Anyways," John continued, clearly ignoring Rodney's interruption. "I've reassessed the situation and decided to go with a nice Italian place once we're finished here. It'll be a good…"

"Distraction?"

"Not what I had in mind, but it'll do."

There was a pause before Rodney asked, "What—uh…what did you have in mind, exactly?"

The only response he received was one of John's patented lazy smiles.

The scientist blinked before chuckling under his breath, lips twitching.

Once they reached the backyard, Rodney was most definitely NOT smiling. Twigs and leaves hung from his coat, his short hair sticking up in odd tufts.

"Tell me just why the hell we couldn't go through the house? What's your fascination with the side 'path'? And I use that term as loosely as possible…"

"Quicker this way," came John's reply. Rodney eyed him with narrowed eyes, completely disgusted that the detective had somehow managed to keep himself twig-free.

"Freakin'…special ops…spikey-haired…" Rodney grumbled under his breath as he meticulously picked off each leaf one by one. He used any distraction he could to keep his eyes off the stone angel that was Prudence. He could practically feel her unseeing eyes boring a hole into his back. Fine hair stood on end, a shiver running down his spine…

A hand dropped down onto his shoulder.

Rodney jolted, head swinging up in surprise.

"Alright there, buddy?" John's hazel eyes were creased in concern as he chewed slightly at his bottom lip, most likely without even noticing. Underneath the lazy and relaxed exterior, he was probably just as freaked as Rodney. But one of them had to keep it together.

Besides, John had some 'splaining to do.

"What? Yes, yes. I'm fine," Rodney answered moodily, trying to ignore the closeness of the detective. He tugged his coat down to brush off any leaves he had missed, determinedly keeping his gaze elsewhere.

There was silence before he felt John move away from him.

"If you're sure. Come on, they're near the back."

"Oh. Wait, what? They? Who they?"

Rodney remained rooted to the spot, starting to become rather frustrated and even more nervous, if that were possible. He could practically see the end of his proverbial rope waving at him. Mockingly, of course.

With an impatient sound, John turned back around and reached out to grab Rodney's arm when he stopped. He let his hand drop to his side, face softening.

"Look, I'm so—"

"Would you stop trying to placate me and just tell me what the hell you're leading me off to?" Rodney snapped out, mustering up a scowl. He crossed his arms over his chest, chin raised against the cold air.

The longer the pair stood there, the more obvious the weight of Prudence's stone eyes became, even though they were standing behind her. They were near the back of the yard, vines still crawling over everything in sight, despite the winter weather.

Rodney's wide but determined gaze left Sheppard's to flicker over the man's shoulder. He seemed to be leading them off into a bush or something. It was hard to tell from all the dying vegetation. It was tall though, about the height of a fence.

He looked back at John, still waiting for an answer.

There was a long pause as John stared right back at him, his eyes flickering from Rodney to the stone Prudence every few moments, seemingly in indecisiveness. Finally he let out a sigh and ran a hand through his messy hair, eyes shutting briefly.

"I…I can't explain." Before Rodney could start up another tirade, he added hastily, "But not because I don't want to. It's just hard to explain. Just…trust me, alright?" He waited a beat before walking back over to the scientist, his fingers taking the hem of the man's coat sleeve. "I know you're cold and tired and stressed and probably hungry—" A smile flickered over his lips. "—but this won't take long. Alright?"

Rodney tried to glare at him, tried to hate the detective with his stupid hair and American drawl and lazy everything, but after a few moments he just sighed and nodded, practically deflating.

"Fine. Just…fine."

John kept his eyes on Rodney's baby blues, his gaze almost apologetic, before he gave a slight, decisive nod.

"Okay," came the simple reply before he turned away once again. His fingers stayed snug holding Rodney's coat sleeve as he led them off across the overgrown lawn. Somewhere along the short distance, their fingers had laced together without a complaint from either man.

By the time they had reached the fence-high vegetation, Rodney was internally freaking out about so many things he could have made a list. The top spot was being battled for by the 'crazy child-eating house' and a certain detective. He found it slightly disconcerting that he thought a maniacal house and a man who he obviously had a thing for was on the same level of scary. Something was wrong with that.

A loud creaking jolted him out of his thoughts.

John grinned slightly.

"Jumpy, much?"

"Oh, shut up."

With an amused but grim smile, John pushed the gate open until the back hit the metal fence with a clang.

'Wait, where did that gate come from?' Cursing himself for his lack of attention, Rodney quickly scanned the greenery, easily figuring out that the vegetation was fence-high because it was covering a fence. John had broken the dead vines that covered the gate and pushed them away before opening it. 'Hence the creaking.' The metal was old and rickety, not to mention spotted with rust.

John took Rodney's hand like it was second nature and pulled him through into the—Rodney didn't even know what to call it. The back back yard?

In the end, he decided it sort of looked like a courtyard. The stonework under his feet had vines running through the cracks, curling around everything in sight. An old crumbling fountain sat in the centre, completely dry. It had probably been dry for decades.

"Well, this is lovely," Rodney muttered, his nose scrunched as he gave the courtyard a once over.

He was deeply disturbed to find more statues, at least seven of them scattered around. Most of them were near the fence walls, dead vines wrapped around the stone bodies. It wasn't the statue part per se that disturbed him. It was simply the fact that they looked like children. Young girls.

He swallowed and took a step back, unknowingly pressing closer to John as a heaviness pushed down on his shoulders. The whole courtyard seemed to just push…shrink down around you…wanting to suffocate—

"Rodney."

Hands gripped his shoulders from behind, John's chest pressing against his back.

"Breathe."

Rodney forced his lips to part, lungs aching for air.

"What the hell is this place?" he asked thickly, using Sheppard's presence to ground himself.

"Remember those seven girls who went missing?"

One hand left Rodney's shoulder as John slipped it inside his coat pocket. He pulled out several pieces of paper that had been folded into fours. Once he was sure the scientist wasn't going to keel over, John let him go to unfold the papers.

"Missing Kids reports," Rodney said in understanding when he caught sight of the first page. "You can't seriously expect me to believe—"

"Just look," John told him. "That's all I ask." He held out the first page, waiting for Rodney to take it before he led him over to the statue in the far left corner.

The girl had long hair pulled up into a ponytail. A bike, also made completely of stone, was leaning against her side, the strings frozen in mid-air. She had a neutral look on her face, neither happy nor sad to be caught in time.

Rodney stared down at the girl. She could have easily passed as Madison. Feeling slightly nauseous, he looked down at the crinkled paper in his hand. The picture matched the stone girl exactly, down to the clothes and everything.

"This isn't possible."

"Rodney—"

"Shut up! And give me those." Rodney snatched the other six papers out of John's hand before stomping around the courtyard, matching the Missing Kids reports to the statues. Each and every one of them had a match, not one was missing.

He kneeled down in front of the last one, Jamie Monroe. She stared back at him, emotionless. Dead leaves crackled under his knee as he raised a hand, reaching out to touch the girl's stone shoulder. He stopped a few inches away before dropping his arm. 'This isn't possible. It isn't. This isn't possible. It…'

John walked up quietly to kneel down beside him, twigs cracking under foot. He put a hand on Rodney's shoulder.

"Everything's going to be fi—"

"Don't tell me everything's going to be fine, Sheppard!" Rodney snarled, Jamie Monroe's report caught in his clenched fist. "This—this shouldn't even be possible! Do you know how many laws of physics—hell, even biology you're breaking here?" Arms flailed, nearly sending him flying back on his butt until John grabbed his shoulders to steady him.

"Rodney," John said firmly. "I mean it. Everything will be fine." He made sure the scientist's wide, blue eyes were on his determined ones before continuing. "Remember Sumner's little girl? Janey? And how I…" His mouth shut for a few moments, muscles tightening in his jaw. He gripped Rodney's shoulders firmly, giving him a bit of a shake. "I won't let that happen to Madison. I swear. I won't let this happen to her. Not again."

"John…"

"Rodney, trust me."

Trust. That was one thing Rodney had never excelled at.

Swallowing roughly, Rodney forced himself to nod, for once really wanting to trust someone completely. It wasn't easy putting all his faith in someone, even if that someone was John Sheppard, but if he were to let himself fall, he wouldn't want anyone else to catch him.

John let out a small breath, head ducking down for a second before his eyes were back on the other man's.

"Good. I won't let you down." They could both practically hear the unsaid, 'I won't fail again.'

Rodney nodded again, his throat apparently having abandoned him. He even forgot about the hard ground and branches digging into his knee, his quick breath coming out in pale clouds of air. The only thing he noticed was the closeness of John Sheppard, the man's familiar presence like a wall around them. A cold breeze blew harshly by, but all he registered was John's warm breath on his lips, their faces inches apart. Rodney's hand gripped John's forearm, the leather slightly bunched under his grip.

John's eyes slowly closed, his long and dark lashes inches from brushing against Rodney's pale skin. His own gaze started to lower, John's hand moving up to the side of his neck…

"Detective! Detective John!"

With a startled yelp, Rodney jerked backwards to land hard on his butt, leaves and branches crackling.

John immediately stood, holding out a hand to the fallen scientist as he looked over his shoulder.

"Who—"

"Detective!"

With narrowed eyes, John hauled Rodney to his feet before dragging him off through the gate, across the yard, and down the side of the house.

"Was that Jinto?" Rodney asked, puffing as he ran along.

"Yes," came the succinct reply, John's gaze fixed straight ahead.

Making it out onto the lawn, the pair immediately bee-lined it for the car. Jinto was hanging out of the previously closed window, waving his arms.

"Detective! Mister Rodney! Madison—"

Realizing that his niece wasn't even in the car, Rodney scowled and snapped, "Where is she? Where did she go?"

Jinto pointed towards the house.

"She said she wanted to get her drawing books. That was almost ten minutes ago! She said she would be fast, before you two got back." The boy looked rather sheepish at that.

Immediately Rodney started for the house, only to be yanked back by John.

"Hold your horses there, buddy." Without waiting for a pissed reply, John turned to Jinto, still keeping a firm grip on Rodney's arm, and said, "We're going to go get her, okay? You stay here. And if anything happens, use the radio. You can do that for me, right?"

Jinto, though looking fairly confused, nodded.

"Sure."

"Great, good. Let's go already," Rodney insisted, forcibly pulling John across the lawn.

"Just taking some extra precautions. Doesn't hurt to be prepared, you know."

"We'll be in and out, real quick. Nothing to get your Boy Scout panties in a twist over."

"Rodney…"

Stepping up onto the porch, Rodney headed for the open door and walked inside, John right behind him.

"Madis—"

Slam.

Both men spun around as the door slammed shut, windows rattling from the force.

Their wide eyes met.

"Oh shit."

x x x

A/N: Finally finished! =D I've been waiting forever to do that RodneyXJohn scene. Hopefully that'll hold all of you until the next chapter *g*

Again, thanks for all the reviews!!