"So let me ask you somethin' doc…well two somethin's actually, what's like being Sheppard's brother?" the man grinned.
"Ah….why?"
"Well…he just doesn't seem much like a brother type of person…"
"I'm not sure I follow…he's my brother, and my best friend…."
"I'm just asking….lot of people I've heard on the Daedalus say you're on his team because he's just your brother…"
"Uh, I assure you Griffin, the reason I am on Sheppard's team is because I have the utmost skill in science. Now, focus on your flying," mumbled Rodney turning back to his screen.
"As a scientist, does it bother you that most of your work, no matter how brilliant, will eventually be considered misguided? Cause that would bother me." The man suddenly continued.
"I'm sorry?"
"Well given enough time, everything's pretty much proven wrong, right?"
"No," replied Rodney tightly.
"Everything from the Earth being flat to the sun revolving around us…"
"Well, if you wanna go back hundreds of years!"
"Scientists get it wrong more times than they get it right…take the tomato."
"What?"
"Well, after the conquest of Mexico in 1519, tomatoes were carried eastward to Europe, where they were believed to be poisonous."
"Shouldn't you be concentrating on what you're doing?" Rodney growled again.
"I've got it covered. You worry about you." Griffin replied sternly.
"I am worried about me. This is the first flight this thing has had since it was shot down and repaired. It deserves all of your attention."
"It made it to the mainland. If anything was gonna go wrong, it would have gone wrong by now. It took the Italians and the Spaniards to realize that tomatoes are, in fact, delicious," the man replied returning to his previous thought.
"Good for them," mumbled Rodney suddenly wishing his brother was here and to this moron.
"Columbus was Spanish – he figured out the Earth was round."
"He was Italian," growled Rodney.
"So I wonder what it is that makes Spaniards so good at debunking bad science? You're not Spanish, are you?"
"Oh, yes! Of the Barcelona McKays! Now, if you don't mind ..." his words were cut off when the jumper began to shake, he watched as Griffin instantly tried to take control, "what is it? Turbulence?"
"The inertial dampeners on this thing should smooth that out…" his words were cut off but a sharp jolt sending Rodney against the wall, "what the hell?"
"Right drive pod's intermittently switching to reverse thrust." Called Rodney.
"Cut it…I can drive with just the left pod," demanded Griffin.
"It's not recognizing any of my commands," Rodney replied staggering over to another panel.
"Brace for impact!" Griffin called suddenly as he looked at the water they were coming very close to.
"What?" cried Rodney.
"Were goin' down Doctor!"
"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!" he called as the jumper hit the water, jumping for a few seconds then skimmed the top, until it came to a halt and began to sink.
"What the hell was that?" Elizabeth asked as she hurried out into the control room.
"I don't know, I mean…it was Griffin, it sounds like they're in trouble," Zelenka replied from where he sat. It had been his idea to send McKay over to the mainland with the jumper. They had spent nearly two weeks fixing it, and both men had been excited to see how it worked. Rodney had been the one however to go.
"Try to get them on a frequency," Elizabeth instructed as she went back into her office.
"Griffin, McKay, come in please." Zelenka called over the radio.
Rodney slowly felt awareness and pain come back to him, "oh that sucked," he mumbled as he reached up, stunned to see his hands come away with blood all over them. "That can't be good."
"Jumper Six, come in please. Griffin, McKay, come in please." Came the voice of Radek again.
Rodney mumbled silently and quickly pressed the button on his headset, "yeah…" he moaned as he rolled over, stunned to see a pool of blood covering the floor where he had been, proving his head injury was far more severe than he had thought, "we're here," he mumbled.
"Rodney! Thank God! We thought you ... I've been trying to get a hold of you for over an hour. Find Doctor Weir – tell her I've made contact."
Rodney groaned at Radek's overly excited voice as he moved towards Griffin, "hey, you okay?" he asked as eh gently roused the pilot.
"Not so good," replied Griffin.
"Are you all right?" Radek's voice broke through his ear.
"I think we could both do we a visit from Bones," mumbled Rodney weakly. "What the hell happened Radek?"
"The jumper you were flying dropped off our screens, it crashed into the ocean…" replied Zelenka.
"Yes we…" he looked up at the windshield and was stunned, "we're under water." He whispered.
"Yes you are," replied Zelenka.
"Then how are you gonna find us?"
"We've determined the direction of your radio signal…but not the range."
"How deep are we?"
"One two zero zero and falling," mumbled Griffin.
"Radek, you've gonna have to hurry it up we're already twelve hundred feet deep and sinking at a rate of about…uh, twenty feet a minute."
"Very impressive!" Zelenka called.
"Excuse me?"
"Well, we always theorized that the Jumpers could be utilized as submersibles.
"Yes, I theorized it!"
"But twelve hundred feet! It's almost the maximum depth of a nuclear powered submarine," Zelenka replied.
"We are not so keen on setting any records right now Radek, so just…" his words were cut off by a loud cracking sounds. Griffin and McKay watched as the HUD flickered off and the large crack that had formed at the top of the windshield was now spreading down.
"Okay…that's a problem!" yelled Griffin.
"Can you move?"
"Yeah!" Griffin replied not seeing much of a choice.
"Radek the windshield's giving way under the pressure of the ocean!" called Rodney.
"Move to the rear compartment! The seal should be able to hold!" Radek replied.
"One step ahead of you!" Rodney and Griffin made their way back to the rear of the jumper, and Rodney quickly pushed the button to close the bulkhead doors. He watched in horror as they did nothing, "NO!" he yelled as he pushed it again. He moved to another panel and tried again. "DAMN IT!" he screamed.
"The crash probably damaged all sorts of systems." Replied Griffin trying the same button.
"Maybe if you were more focused on flying than enlightening me on the history of tomatoes ..."
"Well, your focus didn't get the drive pod to shut off. I'm still not blaming you."
"Yeah, because it's not my fault!" yelled Rodney in return.
"I have an idea," he hurried to the front section.
"What are you doing?"
"Good luck Rodney," the man jumped into the pilot seat, activating the control to close the bulkhead. Rodney made his way towards the door.
"No what are you doing! Griffin!" he cried, "GRIFFIN!" he yelled.
The loud explosion of water hitting against the bulk head doors caused Rodney to stop screaming, he took a step back, flattening himself against a wall, "why…why would you DO THAT!" He screamed loudly "oh god…" he mumbled as he looked around the pitch black jumper, "wide open fields, wide open fields. You're not stuck in a metal casket under thousands of feet of water. You're in a WIDE open field." He paused trying to breath deeply again, "There. Now….Zelenka. Radek? It's Rodney, come in please." He felt the pressure in his chest start to well again, making it hard to breath, "Radek," he squeaked, "please come in… Now, of course the radio transmitter is in the forward section, which is now flooded with water, which means that you have no way to contact the surface, which means that they have no way to triangulate your position. Okay, alright. You've been in worse situations ...Just because you can't think of them right now doesn't make it any less true. But you're not dead yet. Alright, you can fix this problem – you just need to ... work one step at a time. Now. Gotta find some light. So…all right…Ha! Light! I have light!" as he found a flashlight, "Now…" he whispered as he looked around the empty small compartment. "this really sucks," he mumbled.
Elizabeth sat quietly in her office, while John and Radek stood around her, "I thought you said life support could sustain them for days?" she finally spoke looking up and glaring at Radek
"I said life support would most likely sustain them for days. I had no plans for the ship sinking and the cockpit flooding."
"That's when you lost contact?" asked John.
"Yes, if they didn't make it to the rear compartment in time…"
"They made it!" growled both Elizabeth and John at the same time.
Radek looked between the two and nodded slowly, "still they are going to be much harder to locate now that they are no longer broadcasting…"
"You'll find a way," whispered Elizabeth.
"Look, even if we do locate them, our options are limited…they're already deeper than a rescue jumper's windshield can handle…"
"Look I'll handle the rescue part! You just worrying about finding them," demanded John.
"All right boys, we're on the clock…let's get to work."
"We'll find him," John repeated as he headed out the door, sure Elizabeth was watching his back.
Rodney groaned as he pressed the bandage to the gash on his head, "this really sucks," he mumbled again, "Uh! I'm dropping twenty feet a minute. So pressure increases by one atmosphere every thirty-three feet, so, that's an additional atmosphere every minute and a half. Which means, I'm currently under thirty-seven atmospheres' worth of pressure, and counting. Oh, my! That is a lot. That's ... Okay, I've gotta slow down. Okay, all right, I've gotta stop sinking. No-no-no-no-no-no. Send a message first. Yeah. Check and see if you can get the ... radio transmitter up and running, because they can't find you if you can't tell them where you are. Come on, McKay, priorities! Here we go. Now. There we go. There, right. So ..." he took a deep breath as he looked down at his tablet, his heart was still racing He looked around, then looking back down at the screen to read 'Jumper Interface Activate', "good, that's a step in the right direction…now – how's our radio transmitter? Yes! I know it's inactive! What about the emergency transmitter?" He waited for a few seconds and smiled, "good, now we're broadcasting a signal…All it needs to do is penetrate fourteen hundred feet of ocean, which means that a ... a whopping three percent of the signal will reach the surface, so ... so boost, boost the signal. How much power have we got to work with here? Three hours and five minutes? Oh, you gotta be kidding me! Three hours! What's eating my power? I'm working with flashlights here! Inertial dampeners are active? Well, why? I don't need them! Shut down inertial dampeners." Rodney growled when he read the next message, "Ah, come on! They're draining what little power I have left here! You do not need inertial dampeners while you sink! Now ... You are a piece of junk!" He yelled as he shook his fist at the stupid jumper, then suddenly he sank to the floor, "I'm gonna die!" he whimpered looking around, "I'm gonna die alone…"
Rodney couldn't deny that he was scared of a lot of things, but there was one thing he never wanted and that was to die alone. No matter how much he complained, dying in a small place, with the threat of drowning…alone was not what he had in mind. "John…I need you," he whispered.
"Oh. I'm freezing! Why am I so cold? Oh, no!" suddenly he pressed his hand to his head, "I haven't lost that much blood, have I? Course, it-it could have something to do with the billion or so gallons of freezing water you're surrounded by, you idiot! Alright –I need to heat this thing," he paused, standing up he quickly removed one of the padding from the seats , "and I don't want it cost me a lot of power." He looked up at the jumper, "Can we at least do that, please?"
He quickly disconnected on of the cables from the panels above his head to one behind the bench he looked down at his hands, grimacing at how stiff they felt, then grabbed the tablet again and began to type on it, "Ah, there y'go! See? I'm not greedy. I just don't wanna freeze to death." He paused when he read that the remaining power level at two twenty, "Oh come on!" he yelled. A little heat is gonna cost me forty minutes! Is that really how you want this to go down, huh? You wanna freeze me to death! You sure you wouldn't rather I imploded with you, you, you, you lemon! Do you even have an opinion anyways, you, you ... no. Why? Because you are an inanimate object, huh!" he stopped realizing what he was doing and shook his head, "Does that stop me from talking to you? Oh, no-no-no-no-no, my inanimate friend, because I have been struck upon the head, you see! There. So ... " he paused and quickly started typing away at his screen, "Twenty minutes of power for just enough heat to stave off hypothermia." He replied easily. You drive a hard bargain, my friend, but, uh, you've got a deal. I just made a deal with you! A deal! Let's Make A Deal! You've got a deal!" his giggles suddenly turned to sobs as he ground his fist against his eyes, "That's not funny. What's wrong with me? It's, uh, uh, euphoria, elation, over- confidence, it's, uh ...Hypoxia! I've gotta dial up the CO2 scrubbers or I'm gonna die of hypoxia. That is so funny!" he giggled again. "I'm going to go crazy before I die," he murmured as he continued to work on getting the CO2 levels down.
"Take it over here; move it over here!" called Sheppard as Elizabeth walked into the rear of the jumper and spotted him by the cockpit supervising.
"What's all this?" she asked.
"It's my plan!" he said beaming
"Well I figured that much out by myself, care to elaborate what your plan might entail."
"Well, Doctors Moore and McNab are here to study the ocean on M8R-1229, which happens to be under a thick sheet of ice, so they brought a thousand-foot cable and a pretty powerful winch to lower their instruments."
"Okay…" she said not following
"And Edgar over here is responsible for the magnetic grapple designed to lower the F-302s into our Jumper Bay."
"And you intend to put the two together?" Elizabeth asked.
John beamed again, "Like chocolate and peanut butter."
"Is the mechanism gonna be strong enough to lift a half-flooded Jumper out of the water?"
"No," stated John.
"Then why…"
"Because we don't have to. We just have to get near enough to the surface so we can get McKay and Griffin out with a cutting team and rescue divers."
"Good. How long?" Elizabeth asked.
"Couple hours…"
"You and Rodney have been bugging me for a chance at trying a Jumper as a submersible, but you sure went a hell of a long way to make me say yes!" she grinned.
"Well, you still haven't said it yet," John replied softly.
"I just did," Elizabeth answered.
"Okay…how close is Zee to finding them?" he asked in a soft tone.
"I was just about to ask him…don't worry John, we'll get to them in plenty of time."
"Yeah…" he whispered.
"CO2 scrubbers operating at ... one hundred percent. Well, at least something is. Now, let's see if I can, uh ..." he looked down at the computer screen, the words in front of him becoming blurry, he groaned again, "Oh, why do they have to make these things so small? Look, I need to be the one on the surface saving the poor bastard stuck down here, not actually be the poor bastard stuck down here! By the time Zelenka comes up with a plan, I'll have died of old age!" he cried, rubbing his forehead.
He jumped when he heard a loud wail outside his jumper, "Hello?" he called, he cringed as he slowly stood up, "Are you angry, or are you hungry? Cause I am pretty sure that this thing is an instant case of indigestion, you know?" he jumped when he heard the wail again, no doubt coming from some type of sea creature, he looked down at his bad and realized the message he was trying to send was probably catching the animal's attention, "It's the transmitter! It must be broadcasting at a, at a frequency you can hear! Poor little fella. Poor little fella. I'm, uh, I'm sorry if I'm buggin' you but, uh, but I kinda need to leave this thing on for a bit, you know? Maybe you could, uh, tell my friends where I am, you could, uh, could you do that, huh? Could you go for help, huh? Could you do that?" He paused as he heard the creature groan again, "What the hell am I doing? Well, I'm, uh, treating an alien whale like Lassie!" he paused again when he heard the creature wail again, "Look, OK, if you're not gonna help, then just swim on by!" he yelled, he was surprised to hear the creature become silent "Swim!" he yelled suddenly realizing what he had just said, "Maybe the Jumper can swim! Okay. Cockpit is inaccessible. But most of the control conduits run back here, so if you were really meant to be submersible, then your drive pods should function underwater too, hmm? Which means I can fly you from back here – well, not fly, but I can surface. And even if I get close to the surface, then the emergency transmitter won't have to penetrate so much ocean. Now we're getting' somewhere!" he cried grinning.
"How're we doing?" Elizabeth requested as she approached Zelenka and the other scientists.
"We're making progress…slowly."
"Show me," she asked.
Zelenka nodded and quickly pointed to the screen which had a map of the ocean on it, "We started with the likely location of the Jumper based on the numbers we got while triangulating its position during its brief radio contact with us. We then estimate how far off course it has been taken – if at all – by the various currents, slipstreams, underwater rivers that the Jumper may – or may not – have run into." Pausing Zelenka changed the screen, showing how deep the ocean was and continued, "we then add it's descent speed at various rates."
"That's all you've got? You haven't narrowed the search at all!" she yelled. Then shut her mouth she sighed and shook her head.
"No…if anything we've increased it," whispered Radek sadly.
"I'm sorry Radek, I…how does that count as progress?" she whispered.
"Because we're no longer guessing. We know definitely that the jumper is somewhere in this area…"
"All right."
"Elizabeth, even if we do find them, there's no way ..."
"Sheppard's working on a grapple system that should help raise the jumper," Elizabeth said cutting him off. "We can't afford to give up on him Radek… Sheppard said it's going to be ready in a couple hours, I need you to be read by then."
"I'll do my best," whispered Radek.
"Do better than your best Radek, do Rodney's best, because he would expect no less."
"Elizabeth…it's all a long shot…"
"Radek!" yelled Elizabeth then the stopped, drawing in a deep breath, her tear filled green eyes met his blue ones, "Give Rodney your best, he would give you no less…I don't care how bad the odds are…"
"I will be ready," whispered Radek finally.
"Good," she murmured as she left the room.
Rodney groaned as the words on his keypad were beginning to blur, he felt his stomach churn, "Oh, this little keyboard is killing me! All starting to blur together. I need a new set of eyes," he murmured.
"Let me take a look," came the female voice.
Rodney stopped, gulping he stood up a little straighter, "did I…just…uh?"
"Yes you did," came the reply.
Rodney slowly turned, there stood Sam Carter, smiling at him. Rodney just stared at her, "Sam?" he whispered
"Don't worry, Rodney. We're gonna get you outta here." She replied smiling at him. She smiled as he took a step towards her.
"How did…how are…"
"It's good to see you too McKay," she grinned.
"Oh I've lost it. I've completely lost it," he whispered rubbing his forehead.
"No you haven't," she replied.
Rodney shook his head as he sat down and closed his eyes, he pointed a shaky finger at her and shook his head again, gulping past the nausea rising in his throat, "You're not real…you're not real…you're not real!" he covered his eyes, scrubbing them again wearily.
He felt like sobbing, this was a genius' worst nightmare, being stuck alone in a jumper with some hallucination…while he slowly died.
"Well of course I'm not real," came Sam's obvious reply.
"I'm sorry," he murmured
"I'm three million light years away with problems of my own, of course I'm not real," smiling she walked over and sat across from him.
"Yeah well so what are you doing here?" he managed between gulps.
"You're hallucinating," he replied.
"Oh and how am I doing that?" he growled. Suddenly he felt the familiar twinge in his forehead he groaned again, "is it that bad…" he whispered. He knew it was, Carson had trained them to recognize various degrees of a concussion, and this one was obviously a biggie.
"The way I see it, you're scared. You're a little panicked, you're a lot lonely. You knew you could use some help, so your subconscious is manifesting the one person you know is smarter than you," replied Sam.
"Oh I don't think so!" he said standing up, and groaning when it was obvious that was way too fast.
"Don't start with me McKay!" Sam bit.
"You're very clever…I'll even grant you brilliant; but there is brillian, then there's me!" he said smiling.
"Every time we've worked together, you've been wrong and I've been right."
"Even if that were true; and no one is saying that it is- the fact that you could assert that…"
"Why else would I be here?" Sam asked interrupting him.
"I don't know! Maybe one last romp before I die!" he yelled.
"One last romp! Please we never…"
"Okay! One first romp! But it's romping that come to mind, not your brains blondie…Now you've gotta admit, I'm a handsome man standing…"
"You're essentially arguing with yourself, you realize that…right? Your mind created me."
"Why couldn't I have imagined Elizabeth," he whimpered as he rubbed his forehead again. Suddenly he stopped and looked at her.
"What?" she asked.
"What else am I hallucinating?" he whimpered suddenly as he backed up against the jumper again.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if you're not real, what is? I mean, how-how-how do I tell the difference? How do I know that any of these readings I've been taking are correct?"
"You're not that far gone," Sam replied smiling softly.
"No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no. I, I am unconscious in the Infirmary. I-I'm fine, and this is just a-a-a post-traumatic nightmare, hmm? So come on," he pinched his arm in a desperate whimper, "wake up, wake up, wake up." He slapped his face and cried out suddenly, "Ah!" he gripped his injured head and whimpered, "why didn't you stop me!" he screamed.
"No, no, no – see, you really are in the back of a sinking Jumper. Your readings are correct. You knew you could use some help, and you've got a pretty bad concussion, which you probably just made worse…so ..."
"So – here you are." He whispered weakly as he drew his bloody hand away from his head.
"Here I am," she replied holding out her hands.
"I suppose that's comforting…in a terrifying mental health….kinda way," he whispered as he walked closer to her.
"Why don't you show me what you've done so far?" she asked gently.
"Right…" he whispered.
"Three miles – a very searchable area – and you've narrowed it down, Radek. You did a good job," John said smiling.
"He's too deep. Your grapple's only got a thousand feet of cable," Zelenka added.
"Well, we know the Jumper should be able to dive at least a thousand, so if he's above two thousand, we should still be able to get him with the grapple," John replied.
"And if he is deeper?" Elizabeth questioned.
"He probably is. The area we're searching goes to six thousand," Zelenka pointed.
"When the Wraith attacked the city, you were able to turn the shield into a cloak," John spoke.
"Yes."
"Why can't we do the opposite?"
"Turn the Jumper's cloak into a shield?" Elizabeth asked grinning at John's idea.
"That's right," John replied nodding.
"That would hold back the water, yes, but it would take significantly more power," Zelenka answered.
"We shut down everything we don't need." Suggested John.
"But it would take hours to reconfigure," Zelenka added.
"Take what we need, we'll make the changes down there," John commanded.
"Oh! No-no-no-no-no-no – I cannot possibly ... uh, no!" Radek said shaking his head.
"Radek!" Elizabeth ground out.
"I can't even swim!"
"There's not a lot of swimming under a thousand feet of ocean doc."
"Look Radek, I won't order you to go…"
"John," Elizabeth said warningly, All I'm saying that if Rodney can't turn to you…who can he turn to. He needs you to be down there if anything goes wrong. And you know damn well he'd do it for you."
"Right…" whispered Radek, "Give me a few minutes and I'll get my gear." He quickly wandered out of the room.
John looked over at Elizabeth who sighed, "I'll have Carson standing by…Just bring him home," whispered Elizabeth.
"Don't worry, I plan to…"
"John," she paused, "be careful down there, I don't want to lose both of you."
"You won't," he replied simply.
"Now – given I have a limited amount of time to execute my plan before power levels drop too low, but provided that the, uh, uh,) uh, coding is correct, we surface and at that point they should be able to pick up our regular radio signal and then come pick me up," he shook his head, his head was growing heavy and fuzzy.
"How much power would that kill?" questioned Sam.
"I dunno…most of it," he replied quietly.
"It's a bad idea then…"
"Why?" Rodney asked.
"Well, what if it doesn't work?"
"Then I'm dead!"
"Exactly, bad plan!" she said standing up.
"Oh you're right! I should proceed with one of the other hundreds of possible options available to me!" yelled Rodney, grimacing again as pain shot through his temples.
"Look, I'm not saying that I have a better idea…"
"Well what do you want me to do! Nothing!" he yelled
"Yes," Sam replied simply.
"Oh, brilliant!" he argued.
"Stay warm, stay breathing, stay alive as long as you can…give your team the biggest window of opportunity possible.
"What window of opportunity?"
"For rescuing you."
"Even if they could find me – which, given underwater currents and multiple possible entry sites is next to impossible – how are they gonna get me out of here, huh?"
"They'll find a way Rodney," she said gently.
"No they won't!" He cried, "you and I both know the one person who can figure it all out is stuck in the back of a sinking jumper!" he growled.
"Me," she said grinning.
"Oh, touché!" he growled.
"Look, I hear what you're saying, and I'm telling you you're wrong. You have some very smart, ver motivated people on the surface and the only thing any of them are working on right now is saving you."
"Oh come on! They're planning my memorial service!"
"What about Elizabeth?" Sam sad suddenly, "you don't think she cares! Isn't she worth staying alive! Come on McKay, focus!" growled Sam, "she's not going to give up on you! And what about your brother, John would never give up on you, just like you never stop giving up on him! Then there's Zelenka and Carson, they think of you like a brother too, none of them could give up on you! They all care about you too damn much! You have to hang on. If your plan fails, and it probably will, you could jeopardize their plans and you will die."
"You gonna help me, or not?" yelled Rodney.
"I'll help you stay alive as long as possible, but no – I'm not helping you with this plan!"
"So my own hallucination is saying no to me?"
"You must realize subconsciously that you need to be talked out of this!"
"I can't even hallucinate right!" he cried.
"Oooh ... I, uh, I wouldn't," Sam called some time later, Rodney looked up at her.
"You wouldn't what?"
"I forgot, I'm not helping," she replied.
"No-no-no – do you see something? Did I make a mistake? Seriously – if you, if you, if you saw something, just, just, tell me. You're messing with me!" he yelled.
"Sorry," she said innocently.
"You're trying to slow me down!" he yelled.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she stated.
"Now you sound like John! Don't play mind games with me!" he yelled.
"I am a mind game!" she replied.
"Okay, you're not gonna help me, just stay on your side of the jumper!" he was stopped from further thoughts when the jumper jarred violently, throwing Rodney to the floor, "What now, huh!" he cried.
"Feels like we hit the bottom," Sam whispered.
"Oh, really? Well this is good! Well the chances of us imploding are much slimmer now!"
"But Rodney…'
"No-no-no-no-no-no, no buts, Okay! Can I not at least take a moment to enjoy the one bit of good luck I've had all day, huh?" he yelled.
"This isn't good Rodney…"
"Look, just, just ... just shut up! I mean, you come in here, you don't help me, you say the one plan I've got is bad, you-you claim to be a creation of my mind and yet you are in no way dressed provocatively ..." his eyes wandered to her lower neckline.
"Look…" she pointed to the ground, where water was beginning to flow through the doors.
"Well it's always been there…"
"No Rodney, it hasn't. The impact with the ocean floor must have created a micro-fissure in the hull."
"We're taking on water!" He cried.
"It's funny – I was just actually ... I was just, you know, thinking what would complete this experience would be freezing cold seawater in the compartment, lots of it, and because now the whole imploding thing is kind of off the table, drowning should really be brought back into the equation," he whimpered as he shivered.
"You can fix this Rodney," she said gently.
"There are micro-fractures all along the seems of the jumper."
"You still have fully functioning life support, right?"
"Yes…"
"Then create a positive pressure environment."
"What?"
"If you can increase the pressure inside the Jumper, you should be able to slow the leaking," Sam replied.
"Well, we'll never be able to stop it," Rodney growled.
"I'm not saying we could, but we're trying to buy you time here."
"In order to make death as long and drawn out as possible huh?" he yelled.
"Just max it out McKay!"
"Alright." Sam watched as he tried desprately to use his cold wet hands on the tablet, it was obvious he was having little luck.
"We should probably find a way to heat this water, too…"
"See what a good team we make," grinned Rodney.
"Sure," she mumbled.
"No, I mean it. I really enjoy working with you. Always have. I wonder…I wonder why we never hooked up.
"What aside from the fact that you're petty, arrogant, and treat people badly.
"Yes…"
"Nope, that's pretty much it- petty, arrogant and bad with people."
"Oh, but….you do find me attractive, I mean physically."
"Lets stick to working on my idea," she replied in annoyance.
"No, this is my idea."
"How do you figure?" Sam murmured.
"Well, you don't exist. You think what my subconscious tells you to think! So, really the idea was mine. Oh, wow! I'm arguing with myself about who had an idea first – me or me. I really am petty, aren't I?" he mumbled as he plopped down on the bench.
"And arrogant, and bad with people, yes," she replied.
"Oh, well here we go." He popped his ears as air leaked into the room, "Inbound leakage has been slowed! Well done, Sam!" he grinned.
"Thanks! You too!"
"Come here!" he walked over and hugged her. He could feel very fiber of his body shaking like a leaf.
"Uh! Okay, you do realize what you're actually doing here right?" she said as he tired to press a kiss to her cheek.
"Ah c'mon! You're a figment of my imagination! The least you could do is take your top off!" he said sulkily.
"Your subconscious mind knows that I would never be into that," she said grinning.
"You are the worst hallucination ever!" he yelled.
"Oh, you can't mean that," she said sadly.
"Yes, yes, I do. Now please just leave me alone while I work on getting myself out of this."
"You're not gonna still try and control the Jumper from that little thing, are you?" Sam asked sadly.
"Yes, yes, I am! And I have to do it quickly before power levels drop below fifty percent. So, that leaves me about ten minutes. If you're not gonna help, then please stand back and keep quiet."
"See, this is why I could never have a relationship with you, Rodney. You don't listen to people – you don't trust them."
"I have every reason not to. Look, this whole thing is Zelenka's fault. He was the one responsible for supervising the Jumper repairs. He was the one who said she was ready to fly. He's the one who came to me, embarrassed because he was afraid to fly at the best of times, and suggested a test flight. God, I should have just told him to suck it up but no, no – I said, "Sure, I'll take her out." And now, and now he's all safe and warm and cozy on the surface while I'm stuck down here paying for his mistakes! You'll excuse me if my trust in my fellow scientists is at an all-time low. You want something done right, do it yourself." He groaned again as more pain shot through his head.
The water was up to his thighs, he groaned as he blew into his hands, trying to get circulation through them, "why don't you turn up the heat?" Sam asked as she watched him.
"I did, but it's seawater. Got barely enough power as it is, besides I'm almost done here. What are you doing?"
She wrapped her arms around his chest, "for warmth," she said gently.
"You're-you're not physically here. You can't transfer any heat," he replied shaking again.
"Doesn't mean I can't get you hot," she replied grinning. Backing away she disappeared into the water.
"Excuse me?" he cried.
She suddenly reappeared in a blue bikini top. Rodney felt his head begin to swim. She reached out, and put her arms around his waist, reaching up she pressed a kiss to his lips, "know, I was thinking about what you said. I think you were right." She grinned.
"Uh…I am? Right about what?"
"Well I am your fantasy. It's only fair you should get some," she replied as she kissed him again.
"Really?" he said smiling.
"Yeah," she replied kissing him again.
"I knew it! I knew you were hot!" he said smiling. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, suddenly he pulled away, "shit!" he hissed as he suddenly began to back away from her.
"Don't ruin the moment," she said seductively.
"NO! I know what you're trying to do," he backed away from her again and shook his head.
"One would hope," murmured Sam rolling her eyes.
"You're trying to slow me down again!"
"Well actually I'm trying to do the opposite," she moved towards him, but he continued to back away.
"No. No. You're distracting me. You know I've only got a couple of minutes to execute my plan and you're doing the one thing you know that could possibly slow me down."
"You're thinking too much, come here," she smiled and leaned in to kiss him again.
"No. No, I'm not gonna fall for your plan, Lieutenant Colonel Siren! Besides…I…" he shook his head, "if I wanted to keep warm you wouldn't have been who I thought up," he mumbled as he turned from her and hurried back to his computer tablet, "okay, this program is gonna work and I'm gonna execute it."
"Don't do it, Rodney. It's not gonna work," Sam said gently.
"Oh yeah!" he growled.
"Look, you're cold, you're desperate, you banged your head, you're prime to make a mistake," Sam offered.
"I should have ignored you from the beginning! You've done nothing but slow me down!"
"Rodney…" came another voice, a different one. He slowly turned to see Elizabeth standing there smiling softly at him, "trust her. They're coming Rodney. They're coming and they're going to get you out of here."
"But…" he whispered.
"Rodney…" came Sam's voice again.
"I'm not listening to you!" he yelled at her.
"Please give them a chance!" cried Sam.
"La-la-la-la-la-la-la!" he began to sing like a child.
"Don't do this…" Sam said again.
"I'm there! It's ready! No time to argue."
"It's a mistake Rodney," Sam said gently.
"I trust you'll be gone by the time I, uh…reach the surface," he replied grinning. He reached out and pressed the button. The engines groaned as they powered down, then suddenly the lights go out. Sam began to speak but Rodney quickly cut her off, "Don't ... speak right now. I-I really don't need "I told you so," so …" he replied.
"How much power did you waste?" she asked gently.
"Twenty minutes."
"That's not so bad."
"No, no. We've got half an hour 'til we're completely out of power…I'm dead in half an hour."
The water was to his neck, Rodney was shaking as he heard a familiar sound of the sea creature from earlier, "What, what do you want from me…just, just, just go away," he whimpered. "I think he's ... I think he's just waiting to eat me. I treated him pretty bad," whispered Rodney looking over at Sam.
"The whale?"
"No Griffin, I changed the subject, you of all people should be able to keep up with me."
"Sorry," she whispered.
"He knew we were both gonna die, and he didn't want anything, so ... he ... I don't think I can think of a person ... He was dead ... I don't know ... I just ... couldn't ... He was a brave man ... and I ... It just doesn't seem right, you know?" he looked at her again, "been a bad day," he whimpered.
"You'll get out of this Rodney."
"I don't think would even believe you if you were naked…" he mumbled.
Sam watched as his eyes closed and he began to sink, "Stay with me Rod, stay alert," she whispered softly.
"My plan…was stupid, wh…wha' was I thinkin'?" his words beginning to slur from the cold.
"Twenty: twenty hindsight," Sam replied gently.
"You were right, shoulda listened to ya… Always admired ya Sam….I'm not just tryin' to…." He mumbled.
"I know," she replied gently.
"I'm over you…doesn't matter cause you'll never really hear it…but I've finally moved on…still don't think yer smarter than me….on your best da….maybe like a t…tie," he replied.
"There is a compliment coming, right?" Sam asked.
"Yes. My intelligence aside, you're wiser. You were right." He mumbled.
"Well, you were right, at least subconsciously." She replied.
"Guesss that's somethin'."
"Jumper Six come in! Rodney!" called John.
"According to these readings it's dead, no power," replied Zelenka.
"Let's get a grapple on this thing and go home."
"No it won't work."
"Why not?" Sheppard asked.
"It's taken on too much water. Sensors indicate even the rear compartment is partially full, the cable can't take that strain."
"But we can try!"
"No listen to me. No, it's a matter of simple physics."
"I'm not coming this far without doing something," growled John.
"The shield! We can extend the shield between the two jumpers!"
"Do we have enough power?" John asked.
"Yes. If-if we touch down on the ocean floor to conserve engine power, it should be just a matter of walking between the two Jumpers," answered Zelenka.
"All right, I'll get us closer."
"What the hell was that?" Rodney asked from inside the jumper, waking a little further
"Help," grinned Sam.
"Rodney? D'ya copy?" called John over the radio.
"John?" Rodney couldn't believe his ears.
"Hey buddy, how 'bout you lower your door?"
"I…I…that's prolly not a good idea," slurred Rodney.
"Rod, listen to me buddy, we've got the cloak on the jumper turned into a shield and extended around your jumper. I'm standing right outside," John replied as he banged his hand against the door three times.
"WHAT?"
"All you have to do is open the door and walk into my jumper, come on buddy."
"I told you they'd come up with something," grinned Sam.
Rodney slowly made his way to the door release near the back, but stopped suddenly, "what's wrong?" Sam asked gently.
"What if it isn't John?" Rodney asked, his fogged mind no longer sure what was real and what was a hallucination.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked gently.
"What if it's another one of my hallucinations? What if it's, it's the pessimist in me just wants it all over with?"
"Rodney, you heard the shield come on…"
"Yeah but I hear you!" he cried.
"Rod, buddy, what's the hold up little brother. We need to do this sooner rather than later. This shield won't hold forever."
"You're minutes away from hypothermia Rodney, if you don't have it already…"
"I can't tell what's real and what's not!" he sobbed.
"Rodney, they're here. They did it, let them help you."
"O…okay," he turned back to the release and paused, "John…" he whispered through clenched teeth, we've taken…lotta water on…stand back," reaching up with shaking hands he pulled the lever down and watched in horror as nothing happened.
"Rodney, the secondary release!" Sam cried.
Rodney nodded, taking a gasping breath he dove into the water, Sam instantly followed him down. Rodney found the panel under one of the benches and tugged it. He leaned his head against the floor, as he felt the water chill his bones, suddenly the water was no longer there.
"Rod!" John cried as he ran over to his brother's side. Reaching out he gently helped his brother turn onto his back, "are you okay?" he whispered stunned by how cold Rodney felt.
"I…I…I will be," he whimpered.
"Where's Griffin?" Zelenka asked.
"He was in there," whimpered Rodney as he pointed to the bulkhead doors.
"Okay buddy, let's get you home," John said lifting his brother from the ground to his feet.
"No I need to decompress. Carter told me to increase the pressure." Rodney mumbled.
"Carter?" Zelenka questioned.
"I mean I did…I did…Oh my head," he whimpered. "Oh – see, pal. Sorry you don't get to eat me today," Rodney whispered as they all looked up at the giant sea creature.
"He's how we found you."
"Really?"
"Yeah…thought I almost lost ya," John said smiling gently.
"Knew you'd think of somethin'," he mumbled.
John gently pressed his younger water logged brother onto the bench in the back of the jumper, smiling softly, "hang in there buddy, we'll get you home in no time," John said squeezing Rodney's knee, he then ran for the front of the jumper, intent on getting his baby brother home. Radek sat beside him, "find him a blanket," John commanded as he closed the back of the jumper.
Rodney stood at the edge of the jumper, watching as the door rose and he waved to Sam, who still stood in the other jumper, "thanks," he whispered.
Radek headed back into the back of the jumper and saw Rodney standing there as the ramp closed. Radek grabbed the closest blanket and wrapped it around the scientist's shoulders, "come on McKay," he could feel Rodney shaking like a leaf through the already damp blanket.
"D….don't wanna….be back here….'nymore," mumbled Rodney as he continued to shake and shiver.
"Rodney you sould lay…."
"Please," whispered Rodney through chattering teeth.
"Come," Radek led the astrophysicist to the front of the jumper and down in the co-pilot's chair, assuming Rodney would feel better closer to his brother.
"Hey buddy, come to visit me?" grinned John as he continued to pilot the jumper out of the water as fast and safely as he could. He offered a glance over at his brother, seeing the blue tinge around his ears, mouth and the fingers that were gripping the blanket close.
"John….I'm cold," he murmured.
"I know you are Rod, we're going to have you back to Atlantis in no time, I promise…you'll be fast asleep under Carson's watchful eye in no time." John saw the wet head nod and his eyes begin to slip closed. "Rodney, I need you to stay awake a little longer for me, okay….until Carson gets a good look at that head okay?"
"Hurts," came the mumble as his head began to dip.
"I know Rod," John reached out and flicked his brother in the leg.
"Ow!" cried Rodney opening his bleary eyes enough to glare at John.
"I'm sorry, you need to stay awake, don't leave me hanging here okay," John whispered.
"Cold…and tired…."
"I know you are, but we're already less than fifteen minutes from home, then you can lose consciousness okay…. Just give me twenty more minutes."
John lowered the jumper to the floor of the jumper bay no more than twenty minutes later, and instantly opened the back hatch, "BECKETT!" he called as Rodney's eyes finally slid shut. "Come on partner, stay with me," John lowered his brother to the ground, gently tapping his face.
"Do you have a pulse lad?" Carson came hurrying in with two other medics, holding a litter.
"It's slow…and he's freezing…." John whispered.
"Move aside son," Carson pushed Radek and John out of the way, within seconds they were rushing Rodney up to the infirmary. John looked up and saw Elizabeth standing there, nervously.
"I brought him back," whispered John.
"Thank you," she replied just as softly as she turned on her heel and headed after Carson.
"Radek…I…" John sighed as he looked after Elizabeth's retreating form.
"Go John, I will be by later," Radek offered.
"Thanks…"
"Core temperature is 90 degrees Fahrenheit," called Carson. "I need heating blankets! Someone get him out of these clothes…"
"How is he?" John asked Elizabeth as he came to stand beside her, watching the action from across the room.
"Carson says he's got hypothermia, and possibly suffering from hypoglycemia…God John I never even thought of him not eating the entire time…"
"I doubt he did either, you know Rodney, when his adrenalin kicks in he notices little else…he said something about Sam Carter being there…"
"Colonel Carter?" Elizabeth asked eyeing her friend.
"I don't know, I was going to ask him later…"
"He's lucky to even be alive…" she whispered.
"Yeah, to say the least…how're you doing?"
"Hangin' in there," she whispered.
John smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side again, "just figured I'd protect you," he grinned, "Rodney would want me to," chuckled John.
Elizabeth smiled softly and leaned her head against John's chest as they watched and waited for Carson to tell them something, "thank you for going after him…"
"I couldn't leave him there Lizzy, besides you know Rodney, he would have found some way out," grinned John, "even if it meant riding the whale creature we found back here."
"Some how Rodney doesn't strike me much as a person to ride any animals…" she chuckled.
"Well…he does know how to surprise people."
"Good, you're both here," came Carson's voice a few moments later, snapping them out of their thoughts.
"How is he?" Elizabeth questioned.
"We're pumping him with fluids, we've checked his lungs for any liquid, we're trying to prevent pneumonia, and it looks like he was able to keep most of it out of his lungs so that's in his favor. His temperature is already starting to come, albeit slowly…his pulse and BP are also returning to normal. I've stitched up his head, he has a nasty concussion…but all in all I think the lads' gonna pull through just fine…he's going to be out probably all of tonight, I would hope, but I'll probably try and wake him for breakfast tomorrow if you'd like to come back."
"How was his blood sugar?"
"Not too bad, we were able to get some apple juice in him for a few seconds; he'll make it till morning when we can give him a full breakfast."
"Good…" John said smiling.
"Aye, we've got him covered in heating blankets as well, he's going to be out tonight, I'll be staying here to watch his vitals, you'd all be better off getting some rest, I'll let you know if anything changes."
"Thanks Carson," Elizabeth whispered.
"Can…we at least see him for a moment?" John asked.
"Aye, but only a few moments and don't wake him," Carson said smiling as he reached out and squeezed Elizabeth's hand.
John led Elizabeth over to the side of the bed, Rodney looked pale, compared to the pale blue he had been turning when they had finally gotten them out of the freezing water. He was covered in at least four blankets, breathing slowly, he had a oxygen cannula in his nose.
John reached out and grabbed his brother's hand, squeezing it gently, being weary of the various tubes and lines coming in and out of the arm, and the pulse-ox on Rodney's index finger.
"How many more disasters can we avert before…" Elizabeth sighed as she looked down at him.
"For as long as we can…" whispered John offering her a soft smile.
"Falling for my Chief Scientist was not in my job description," she mumbled as she pushed his hair away from the patch of gauze on his temple.
"Liz…I don't think anything that has happened here so far was in the job description, and if it was…whoever wrote that job description should have warned you first."
"I should tell him…" it was less of a question and more of a statement than anything.
"That's your decision, but I can tell you this much, waiting to tell someone how you really feel…can be a bad decisions, and don't take my word for it. I've spoken with Colonel Carter as well…" he squeezed Rodney's hand one last time before offering her another mile and heading out of the infirmary.
"What have I done to deserve you…to deserve all of this?" she asked looking down at him. "Sleep Rodney, tomorrow we'll talk," she leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
When Elizabeth entered the next morning she was surprised to see Rodney sitting up in the bed, eating eggs, bacon, a cup of coffee and some apple juice sitting in front of him. Next to him sat John, who had on of the bed trays by his side with a chess set out in front of him as he looked at Rodney, waiting for the scientist to make the next move. Carson stood on Rodney's over side, looking over his vitals, "much better lad," Carson announced as he patted his best friend's shoulder.
"Elizabeth, good morning," Rodney grinned at her.
"Nice to have you among the land of the living again, you gave us a bit of a scare," she said smiling at him.
"Gotta keep you on your toes some how," grinned Rodney as he finally moved a chess piece. "Check mate…again," Rodney stated.
"Damn! How do you do that?" John hissed.
"Lad, you might as well stop while you're ahead…or behind as it is," Carson grinned from their side.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," mumbled John as he looked up at Elizabeth and offered a small smile.
"So, how do you feel?" Elizabeth asked, perching herself atop the end of Rodney's bed.
"Not too bad, I'm tired, and I still feel cold…I would love to take a nice hot shower…" he grinned.
"Makes sense…John mentioned Colonel Carter?"
They all watched him blush as he shrugged, "She was a figment of my…concussion. And not a very good one at that…" he mumbled.
"So what, she was like your subconscious telling you how to stay alive?" John asked.
"Certainly seemed like that," explained Rodney as he stuffed more egg into his mouth.
"But why Sam?" Elizabeth questioned.
"Because she's the only other scientists I've ever seen as better than me, and as much as I hate to admit it, she would have been the only person who would have been able to get me out of that aside from Radek," stated Rodney.
"So your subconscious conjured up…your favorite fantasy girl…who just happened to be smarter that you?" John grinned, "I need to do that more often."
"Keep it G rated Colonel," stated Carson as they watched John get a far away sort of look.
"Listen Rod, I'll come back later, challenge you to my favorite game," grinned John as he scooped up all the pieces.
"John, you can't play War any better than you can chess," Rodney called as he watched his brother walked out of the infirmary.
"Aye, tell ye what lad, let Elizabeth help you get dressed and you can go back to your quarters and get a shower if ye promise to come back and let me take one more look at you," Carson offered.
"Really?" grinned Rodney.
"Aye, I figure you've had enough of being cooped up in anything…besides, your temperature is back to normal, your blood sugar also seems normal again…I want to take an x-ray of your lungs once you shower then I'll officially release ye."
"Great, thanks," Rodney smiled as Carson removed to tray of plates and headed off towards his office.
"Rodney I…" Elizabeth sighed as she smiled and offered him his t-shirt, "here," she helped him pull it on over his head then slide his arms through it. She handed him his pants and let him do the rest.
"Feel up to walking?" she asked as she offered him a hand.
Rodney smiled and swiveled out of the bed, touching his feet to he floor he winced, "muscles are sore…" he muttered.
"They were cold for a very long time, the shower will ease the tension."
Within moments they were headed out of the infirmary towards the larger quarters, Elizabeth's arm wrapped around Rodney's helping him move towards his quarters steadily.
"John told me that you gave him permission to come get me…"
"It wasn't like I had much of a choice Rodney, you're my top scientist, and I couldn't leave you there," Elizabeth replied.
Rodney turned around in his doorway and smiled softly, "yes you could have, but you didn't…thanks," he opened the door to his quarters and stepped in.
"Rodney I…" she stopped again, why couldn't she form the words she wanted so badly to say.
He looked at her, wish his deep ocean blue eyes and smiled sadly. He took another step towards her, leaning in, Elizabeth was sure he was going to kiss her, suddenly he moved just enough and pressed a long kiss to his cheek, "me too," he murmured as he turned and headed to his bed.
"I'll just…call me if you need anything…okay?" she whispered softly.
"Right…thanks again," he replied.
Elizabeth stood against the wall just outside his now closed door, quickly wiping at her eyes. It wasn't her job to be soft, to have these feelings. Had his 'me too' meant what she had thought. She knew what she had wanted to say to him, but suddenly she couldn't grasp the thought of him thinking the same thing. With another fast glance at the door she headed down the hallway, to the safety of her office, where everything was at least similar and didn't make her feel…helpless.
Rodney sighed as he stood his hands against the shower stall, the water falling over his head and down his face. He was amazed how good the water felt after nearing dying in the same liquid. His thoughts quickly turned to Elizabeth and he shook his head sadly, he shouldn't be thinking about her, not like this…but at the same time, he had understood her desire to spill her heart out…he just wasn't ready to hear it. If he heard it, then he couldn't continue his life as he always had. He couldn't be blissfully ignorant to her feelings to him. It was better off not saying it, for him he prayed it made it a little less true. If he didn't hear the three words he wanted to hear and say, he wouldn't have to change his life…they wouldn't have to change everything to accommodate one another.