"You need something like this?" Eldon asked grinning as he held up the knife for the four teammates to see.
"What about the guards?" Rodney spoke first.
"They stepped away. No-one's watching."
"Will you help us?" Teyla inquired from her place beside Sheppard.
"If you'll help me," Eldon replied simply.
"How?" Sheppard shot in return.
"Fix the ship, let me leave with you."
"Oh for God's sake! How many times do I have to tell you ..." however Eldon cut him off before he could finish.
"I know you can do it. I could see it in your eyes when you were working that you were holding something back from us."
"Rodney?" John returned glaring at his brother.
"Nobody could fix it. I don't care who you think I am, or what you think you saw in my eyes, but it is totally, completely impossible." Rodney growled in response.
"Torrell and his men are gonna return soon." Eldon stated.
"He'll fix it," John said suddenly, he could see it, there was indeed something there. The liar, John felt anger flare through his veins.
"I just said I couldn't!" Rodney gasped.
"You really suck at lying, Rodney. We have a deal."
They dove through the gate to Atlantis, John turned and watched as Elizabeth's jumper came through the gate, he felt himself begin to breathe again.
He looked over his shoulder for the first time, he could hear Carson's deep brogue hollering halfway down the hall. Rodney, Teyla and Ronan were by his side.
"Everyone okay?" he mumbled.
"Yes," Teyla replied as she looked at Eldon.
"I'm good," muttered Dex as he stood up slowly, as though testing his powerful body.
"Rodney?"
"Huh?" Rodney asked looking up.
"You all right?" John was well past angry, somehow his damn brother always managed to get into the tight spots and somehow John always had to get him out.
"Uh…little dizzy," he mumbled truthfully.
"Colonel!" Carson called as he hurried to their sides. John instantly pointed to Rodney who was becoming pale.
"When was the last time you ate?" Rodney simply shrugged and felt Teyla press a cereal bar into his hands.
"He'll be fine," Carson said smiling softly.
John was pissed, angry, frustrated and yet again his anger and frustrations were directly related to the idiot brother he'd been kin to for the past twenty odd years.
He pressed his hand against the key pad to Rodney's lab; after a two hour debrief with Elizabeth and another hour taking a nice hot shower, John was nearing how he normally felt again.
Rodney however, apparently wasn't: he sat in his chair, still dirty, probably smelled worse than he looked. His hair mussed up as he stared at something on his computer screen.
"Rodney…"
"Shh!" Rodney hissed.
"Rod, it's nearly midnight, whatever you're working on can't possibly be that important."
"How would you know?"
"Rod, we need to talk…"
"I'm busy…"
"Yeah, well you're also a terrible liar, look Lauryn is crying for you and frankly I'd like for you to shut her up. Now get your ass out of this chair."
"Why can't you just leave me alone?" Rodney asked suddenly.
"Excuse me?"
"Seriously, why did you have to come on this stupid mission, why did you have to pick me for your team? You obviously don't trust me!"
"Whoa, back up there…"
"Admit it Colonel, you don't trust me, in fact the only reason you listen to me is because I've saved your ass at least twice."
"Rodney…."
"You're supposed to back me up! Me, your own brother, and yet once again you sided with some criminal, am I so worthless that you'd choose someone else over your own blood? I may be egotistical but you're the only person that can bring me down faster than my own father!" growled Rodney.
"Rodney I…"
"Call me when we leave for our next mission," mumbled Rodney as he moved away from his desk and stalked out the door.
"well, that went well," John mumbled quietly as he watched his brother retreat.
"He has every right to be angry with you," Teyla spoke as she threw her weight into the blow.
"I'm not denying that!" hissed John as he dropped to the floor. "I'm just saying I think he overreacted."
"Perhaps, but it's true what he says, you two have not been as close…if I may ask, but what has happened?"
John paused for a moment, still sitting on the floor and shrugged, lost in his thoughts, "I honestly don't know, I mean we always used to be best friends. Now we're here and suddenly I wanna kick his ass, and he wants to like blow me up or somethin'. It's just suddenly he's not the same man…"
"You mean Lauryn has changed him?"
"No, not even that, he was different before that, he's just…changed."
"And you have not?"
"I suppose I have…but, I don't know Teyla, if I did, I probably wouldn't be sitting here getting my ass kicked by you."
"I am always here to help John, and to…kick your ass," she said grinning.