Chapter 5
Rodney McKay had not left Sitnalta's side in two days. One of the Becketts – he forgot which one – had brought over a bed for him, and he had slept there; waking every few hours to check on her. By now he was so tired he had fallen asleep at her bed-side, holding her hand. He knew John and the rest were worried about him, but he did not know how he could just leave her here. It wasn't even as if he could do something about it: he had been locked out of his lab.
"Rodney?" a soft voice called. He woke with a start to find Elizabeth behind him, her hand on his shoulder. On the other side of the bed John, Ronon and Teyla stood. They looked worried. Well, he knew that already.
"What time is it?" he asked; more out of something to say than any real concern. The only thing that concerned him was the cool hand gripped in his own. In all his years he had never been as afraid as these past few days. It was a new and terrible feeling.
When Sitnalta had collapsed a few days ago, he had personally found the strength to carry her all the way here. In fact, he had met the gurney just a few corridors from the infirmary, but he had been unwilling to leave her in the medics' care. Only when he could lay her down on the firm hospital bed did he allow his arms to let go.
Since then both Becketts and Jennifer Keller had run every conceivable test they could think of, but to no avail. As Jennifer had told him: it almost seemed as if Sitnalta had simply lost the will to live.
That had started the beginning of his vigil. Now it was evening again, probably two days later, he reckoned. It seemed like a lifetime.
"Sitnalta?" he asked, leaning over her and softly touching her cheek. She looked cool and serene – like an angel. But one could not love an angel: and he truly loved her.
"She's still the same," Duncan Beckett answered from behind him. As he had stood watch over Sitnalta, one of the three doctors had stood watch over him. He must really be worrying them.
"The same. What does 'the same' mean?" Rodney demanded.
"It means we are doing everything we can," the doctor tried to soothe his friend. But Rodney would not be calmed.
"She's dying, damn it!" He was yelling by now, yet Sitnalta lay as still as ever; untouched by external stimuli. "Why is she dying?"
"I think I know why," Elizabeth spoke up. She looked almost as pale as Sitnalta; and Rodney suspected she slept even less than usual. Now she looked worried and drained and if Rodney had any time to spare for someone else's troubles, he would have been worried about her. "A few days ago Sitnalta told me she thought she was not as separate from Atlantis as she had thought," the dark-haired woman explained. "She said she felt like a ghost. And," she added, "she said she could feel Atlantis shutting down."
"We have not found any proof that Sitnalta and Atlantis are connected," Duncan said. With their new tattoos the two men are easily identified. Duncan's tattoo was much smaller than Carson's, but much more intricate.
"But she did collapse the moment all those people came on board," Teyla pointed out. "And even I can feel a kind of withdrawal in the city."
"Rodney?" a faint voice interrupted the conversation.
"Sitnalta!" Rodney said, his eyes instantly drawn to her pale face. There were bruises under her eyes that worried him. "You're awake!" he inanely stated.
"I heard you talking," she whispered. She smiled weakly, her hand clasping that of her lover. "I am so sorry," she told him.
"Why?" Rodney asked. "What's happening?" He softly kissed the tips of her fingers; afraid any other contact might hurt her.
"I told you I am not Atlantis anymore," she whispered. But before she could continue, her eyes closed and she slipped into sleep.
He looked at her, afraid to even breathe. Then he frowned.
"Suppose it's true that Sitnalta and Atlantis are dying," he said, still looking at his only love. "Why would that be?" A new hope had sprung into his heart: if the city was ill, he could fix it. He could fix anything.
Except this beautiful young that seemed to love him in spite of everything.
"Sitnalta implied something on earth itself is killing the city," Elizabeth answered. "I've been doing some research," she started. "I've been wondering if there was any other reason Atlantis left the Milkyway galaxy tree million years ago."
"Did you find anything?" Rodney interrupted. She smiled wryly, willing to excuse his rudeness.
"No. Whatever had changed had happened after Atlantis had left the Milkyway galaxy." Elizabeth put a hand on Rodney's shoulder. "I have been going through some of the data since we've arrived in the Milkyway galaxy, and that was when all the readings started changing."
"How do you mean?" John asked, barely looking at the woman across the bed from him.
"It's almost as if something in this galaxy – or earth self – is corrupting the data. It's very gradual and I only picked it up, because I spend so much time reading the same files," Elizabeth explained without any malice.
"What you're explaining sounds like an allergic reaction. But could Atlantis be allergic to the Milkyway galaxy?" Duncan asked, frowning.
"Or it needs something that can only be found in the Pegasus galaxy," Ronon said, speaking for the first time since they came to the infirmary.
Rodney was still looking at Sitnalta, his lips pressed against the cool fingers he still held. For the first time in his life he was faced with a decision that would truly test the strength of his friendship with these people. It made his stomach ache; adding to the knot that was already there. But now his heart contracted anew and he could feel his hands slightly shaking. He knew how to save Sitnalta, but to do so he needed the cooperation of everyone he hoped were his friends.
"Then we leave." Rodney said, a fire in his eyes as he looked at each in turn.
"What? Leave?" Jennifer asked as she joined the group.
"What, just pack up and leave?" John sarcastically demanded.
"Look, I know I am an extremely arrogant and selfish man," Rodney said, looking at them but not leaving Sitnalta's side. "There is very little I care for in this world. But I really love Sitnalta. And I care for Atlantis. And I can't just stand and watch as both die. I would rather spend a lifetime in another galaxy than to lose them."
"They'll never allow Atlantis to leave," John sneered.
"Besides, we don't have any power left," Ronon suddenly added. "We burned out the ZPM's."
"Yes, well, I have been doing more research than just checking for reasons why Atlantis left earth," Elizabeth said and Rodney could hear her smile. She was probably the one person in Atlantis who would gladly join him in the Pegasus galaxy.
"I've noticed you've been preoccupied lately," John said. He seemed a bit reserved.
"According to one entry, it seemed as if the Ancients never intended to abandon the city," Elizabeth explained. "In fact it seemed they planned to return to Atlantis the moment the Wraith went into hibernation again."
"We've already found two ZPM's here on earth," Rodney again interrupted her. "Could they have brought along another one? I mean, the city runs on three ZPM's. Three ZPM's to power the city when they return?" He looked at his friends gathered around the bed of his beloved. In their faces he saw support and friendship. In their faces he saw hope.
Elizabeth smiled. "They brought along nine ZPM's."
"Three times three," Sitnalta said from her bed, her voice as faint as before. But obviously she had been aware of the conversation.
"Yes!" Elizabeth exclaimed, gesturing with one hand. "We've only found two. There are seven left out there."
Hope blossomed like a flower in his heart. "How do we find them?" Rodney asked.
"It seems the Ancients left us some really large markers," Elizabeth continued. "It appears that the Goa'uld weren't the builders of the pyramids after all."
"But the first ZPM wasn't found near a pyramid," John reminded them. It appeared that even though he might not like the idea of them returning to the Pegasus galaxy, he could at least respond to the challenge of the adventure.
"No," Rodney exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "But it was found on a tectonic fault-line. It must have shifted since the Ancients buried it."
"Yes. And the next one was found in Egypt, near the pyramid of Giza," Elizabeth ended.
But then the hope was crushed in Rodney's heart.
"But how will we find the ZPM once we're at the pyramids? We can't go around digging until we stumble upon it," he voiced his concern.
"The nanites," Sitnalta suddenly whispered again. "The nanites can detect the casing," she whispered before closing her eyes once more.
"It makes sense," Rodney said, willing to be distracted. "All of the Ancient's technology is interconnected," he told them, fragile hope reborn in his heart.