"Sheppard!" Rodney called as he peered into the open doorway. He waved a flashlight beam over the walls and sighed when he realised the room was empty. "Come on, come on. Where are you?"
He knew time was running out. John wasn't going to last much longer. He ran down the corridor and glanced at the scanner, hoping to see a blip telling him Sheppard was still alive and close by.
There was no scanner and other than the small flashlight, he didn't have any of his usual gear.
"What the hell?"
Cold air wafted down the hallway, and Rodney shivered in his shirtsleeves.
"Doesn't matter," he muttered as he hurried down the dimly lit hallway.
He glanced into the next room, waved the flashlight around, and shook his head. So far, all of the rooms he had found were empty. There was no evidence that anyone, much less a rogue Genii commander or Sheppard, had ever been there.
Rodney stopped at the junction of two hallways, looking left then right, and felt a stab of fear in his stomach when he realised he didn't know where the rest of the team was.
They must have split up to cover more area, he decided. The Wraith had already fed on John twice. They had to find him before it was too late.
He turned down the right-hand corridor and continued his search.
Have to find Sheppard, he told himself. John is counting on you. You can't mess this up.
The new hallway wound aimlessly through the building and was no better lit than the previous one. The only difference was the doors along this new corridor were all closed.
Maybe this is the right place after all, he thought, stopping in front of one of the doors.
"Sheppard?" he called as he opened the door and stepped inside. He moved the flashlight over the room and froze when he heard a low chuckle from the far corner.
"Doctor McKay," Kolya drawled as he walked out of the shadows and into the flashlight beam. "How nice to see you again."
Rodney took a startled step back, holding his right arm close to his chest, and glowered at the Genii commander. "What," his voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. "What did you do with Sheppard?" he demanded.
Kolya looked Rodney up and down and smiled. "So you are here to rescue Sheppard?" He laughed low in his throat. "You're too late," Kolya added. "Sheppard is gone."
Rodney stared at Kolya, unwilling to believe what the Genii commander was telling him. "What do you mean he's gone? Gone where?"
"Where doesn't matter," Kolya replied. "What matters is you failed."
Rodney shook his head. "You're lying. I know he's here somewhere."
Kolya laughed harder. "Did your precious bond tell you that?"
Rodney felt the blood drain from his face. Kolya knew about the link? How?
Kolya's hand closed around Rodney's right arm and a knife blade flashed in the dim room. "I think I'd like to hear more about this link you have with Sheppard."
Rodney twisted out of the hold and slammed the door shut.
"Sheppard!" he yelled as he ran down the hall. "Where are you?"
No one answered, and Rodney ran faster.
Sheppard had to be here. All of his research said Sheppard would be here. The problem was the building, and the hallways seemed endless. How was he supposed to find John in a sea of doors and rooms?
He opened another door and jumped backwards when a Wraith looked up from a desiccated body on the ground.
"John?" Rodney whispered, staring at the faceless corpse.
"You're too late," the Wraith replied in a low growl, glancing down at the body. "Sheppard is gone."
"No!" Rodney wanted to shout, but what came out was a hoarse whisper.
"There is no need to mourn," the Wraith continued, closing the distance to the door. "You will be joining him shortly."
Rodney skittered backwards and slammed the door shut.
A loud crack sounded, waking Rodney with a start. The room was dark, and for a moment, he thought he was still in the endless hallway.
A flash of lightning lit the room, showing him the picture hanging on the wall of him and John standing side by side on the deck of a boat and the carved wooden pickup truck sitting on its shelf.
"Quarters," Rodney mumbled. "Just another bad dream."
A clap of thunder shook the room, making Rodney jump as he pushed aside the sweaty bedcovers. He sat on the edge of the bed, listening to the rain hitting his window, and scrubbed a hand over his face.
Another sleepless night, he thought, scowling at his traitorous pillow. On top of his fears that Kolya or the Wraith would kill John, Rodney had spent a day worried that he wouldn't find John in time. That he would let Sheppard down when it mattered the most.
It wasn't that long ago that he and Ronon were trapped in a Wraith hive ship headed for Earth with no chance of anyone ever finding them or stopping the Wraith from entering the Milky Way galaxy.
"Could you overload the engines and blow up the ship?" Ronon asked.
Rodney stared at him in disbelief. "How is that an escape plan?"
Ronon glanced up and down the hallway. "I never said it was an escape plan."
"Well, how is that a plan?" Rodney demanded.
Ronon turned and glared. "You're the one who said there's no way out of this. If we're already dead, I say we take them with us."
Rodney felt a shiver down his spine as what Ronon meant sank in. "I suppose I'd rather die as a hero than as a meal," he replied.
"So you can do it?"
Rodney blew out a breath and nodded. "Yeah, probably."
He'd been about to put Ronon's plan of blowing up the hive ship into motion when Sheppard had strolled into the Wraith control room as if they had all planned to meet there. Rodney had stared in disbelief as John told them about hitching a ride on the hive ship and convincing Michael to help rescue them.
John had come halfway across a galaxy to find him, Rodney had told himself more than once after they'd received Kolya's first message. The least he could do was find Sheppard somewhere in the same quadrant.
"And what do I get for thanks?" Rodney grumbled. "'Thanks for showing up,'" He mimicked.
He rubbed his burning, scratchy eyes, then dropped his hand. Pulling an all-nighter when Weir or Sheppard needed another last-minute save was one thing, but he'd been short on sleep even before Kolya had captured John.
More thunder rumbled overhead, and Rodney glanced out the window at rain pounding on the glass, distracting himself from thinking about Kolya, Wraith, and what had almost happened to John.
"You need to find more 'gates for the 'gate bridge," he muttered. "You need to get the macro working, or the whole 'gate bridge idea is moot. Oh, and you still need to talk to Sheppard about what happened with the link."
He glanced at the wooden pickup truck, stood, picked up the silver challenge coin next to the toy, and plopped back onto the bed.
"Then there's your side project of finding a different way to harvest vacuum energy to recharge the Zed-PMs."
He stared at the coin, flipping it over in his fingers as he considered the vacuum energy problem. He hadn't found any concrete information on how the Ancients harvested energy from subspace pockets. Doranda and the Arcturus weapon had proven that harvesting energy from their universe was impossible, which had left Rodney trying to think outside the box.
Radek entered the lab carrying a folder and walked over to the work table. "Latest reports from the teams on the mainland," he said, setting the folder on the corner of Rodney's desk.
Rodney glanced up from the computer. "And?"
Radek shrugged. "The botanists have made several new discoveries." He gave Rodney a significant look. "I'm sure if you were to talk to Doctor Brown -"
"Anything else?" Rodney asked, glaring at Zelenka. He caught a glimpse of Radek's knowing smile before Zelenka turned away and Rodney scowled.
"The mapping project is going well," Radek continued. "The cartography team is surveying the next section of the river. They are now close to fifteen kilometers from the Athosian village."
Rodney grunted. "I'll read it later," he said with a distracted wave and focused on the computer.
"What are you working on?" Radek asked. He walked around the table and studied the information on the computer screen. "Vacuum energy?" he asked, and Rodney heard the censure in Zelenka's tone.
"Do you mind?" Rodney growled.
"I am surprised you are still investigating the possibility."
"One Zed-PM is not going to power the city forever. We need to figure out how the Ancients harvested the energy."
"Even if you discover a way to gather the particles, we do not know how the Ancients designed the crystals to hold that energy."
"I've already solved that part."
"Oh?"
Rodney sighed and looked up from the computer. "There are dozens of dead Zed-PM crystals on Haven. If I can find a way to harvest the energy, there has to be a way to recharge those crystals."
Radek stared at him, then crossed one arm over his chest and pressed a finger to his lips. "There's always a different universe," Radek suggested.
"What?" Rodney exclaimed, shaking his head. "Maybe you should go to the infirmary. Let Beckett do a brain scan or something."
"We cannot harvest the vacuum energy from our universe -"
"Thanks for stating the obvious," Rodney grumbled.
Radek frowned. "And we have not discovered any of the Ancients' records on how they harvested the particles from subspace."
Rodney scowled. "So you jump directly to science fiction?"
Zelenka ignored the sneering tone. "There is a growing body of evidence showing that the concept of a multiverse isn't so far-fetched as once thought."
Rodney snorted. "Of all the dumb ideas …" He started to say but stopped as a series of equations bloomed in his head.
"Rodney?"
"A near-infinite number," he muttered. He thought about the 'gate bridge macro he'd been working on for the last week. "If you can create a bridge between galaxies, would it be that hard to create a bridge between two universes?"
Rodney sighed, flipped the coin over in his palm a few more times, then stood and placed the coin back on the shelf next to the wooden truck. In the month since the conversation with Radek, Rodney had not mentioned the vacuum energy project to John. Weir knew about it. So did Carter and a few others at the SGC, but Rodney had yet to work up the nerve to tell Sheppard about his idea.
"Something else you need to tell him about," he told himself. "And won't that be fun."
Another flash of lightning strobed the room, and thunder cracked a few seconds later. Rain pelted the window, and Rodney shook his head.
"No point in trying to go back to sleep," he decided. "Between the storm and the nightmares, you aren't going to get any rest."
He shed the damp t-shirt and sweatpants he'd slept in and headed for the bathroom.
Showered, shaved, and dressed in a clean uniform, Rodney left his room and headed for the transporter. He glanced at the closed door to Sheppard's room as he passed and frowned.
It had been painfully obvious that John had been avoiding him for the past day and a half. Rodney stepped toward the door, raised his hand to knock, then sighed and dropped his hand. He stood in front of the door for a few seconds, then continued down the hall toward the transporter.
For once, you know exactly what happened, he told himself. Even you can understand why he wants to try and forget the whole thing with the Wraith ever happened.
He glanced back down the hall at John's door, then tapped the sensor for the transporter.
The problem was he needed to talk to someone. He had no idea how to deal with what he had experienced through the link. He had felt John dying. He had felt Sheppard's emotions in those last few minutes. He had experienced the fear, the anger, and finally, the acceptance.
How was he supposed to tell anyone other than John about any of that? he grumbled to himself, much less his fear that if the link did that once, it would likely do it again. He wasn't sure how he felt about John suddenly knowing how afraid he was in a situation. Rodney was sure John would not be happy when he found out what the link had done.
The transporter doors opened, and Rodney grimaced when he saw a few early risers roaming the halls near his lab. He managed to avoid any conversations, entered the lab a few seconds later, closed the door, and glanced from the files on his desk to the computer on the work table.
Paperwork or project? he asked himself, even as his feet carried him to the work table.
He booted up the computer and, after a brief hesitation, opened the program with his vacuum energy research and reviewed his notes for creating a containment chamber to house his parallel space-time bridge.
"Gotta come up with a better name for that," he muttered as he started typing.
The sounds from the storm were muted in the lab, but he still heard the occasional rumble of thunder over the next few hours as he worked. By the time his computer alerted him he needed to meet the team for breakfast, he had filled one computer screen with lines of equations for his new containment field theory, and he was working on a second computer outlining the physical requirements for building the actual containment housing.
Rodney stared at the equations on the screen and sighed. Zelenka's idea of pulling the vacuum energy particles from a parallel universe could work, he realised. "Which means you're going to have to tell Sheppard and the team," he decided as he saved the two files and powered down the computers.
Which would be the easier conversation? he wondered as he walked out of the lab. Telling John he was once again messing with vacuum energy or telling him what had happened in the jumper with the link?
A few minutes later, Rodney walked into the mess hall. Thanks to the storm, the light in the room was dim, even with the wall sconces lit. The breakfast rush was in full swing. The food line stretched past the waiting stack of trays, and most of the scattered tables were full of scientists and military personnel.
Lightning strobed the room in a series of bright flashes, and thunder rumbled several seconds later.
"How much longer is this going to last?" a young woman at one of the nearby tables asked as Rodney walked toward the line waiting for trays.
"Might be a few days," her companion replied. "I saw the data last night. Looks like a slow-moving front."
Rodney ignored the rest of the conversation as he glanced around the room. He found Teyla and Ronon sitting at a table near the windows and nodded when Teyla waved. Sheppard, he noticed, was nowhere to be seen.
Where was John? he wondered as he glanced at the door. Over the last three years, he could count on one hand the number of times he had arrived for their team breakfast before Sheppard and still have fingers left over.
John didn't magically walk through the door, and Rodney shrugged. He shuffled through the mess line, adding a plate of pancakes and a cup of coffee to his tray, and walked across the room to where Teyla and Ronon sat waiting for him.
"Good morning, Rodney," Teyla greeted as Rodney set his tray on the table and slid into the chair across from Ronon.
"Morning," Rodney replied. He poured syrup over his pancakes and looked up when he felt Teyla staring at him. "Problem?"
"You did not sleep well again last night," Teyla said, and Rodney could tell from her tone it wasn't a question.
"It was the storm," Rodney replied, cutting into the stack of pancakes. "Kept waking me up."
He glanced at Teyla, gauging his success with the fib, saw her skeptical expression, and shrugged. He ate several more bites and tried to ignore Teyla watching him.
"Have you talked to Colonel Sheppard about what happened to you in the jumper?" she asked.
"No," Rodney replied bluntly and focused on his pancakes.
"Rodney -"
Rodney clenched the silverware in his hands and leaned toward Teyla. "Look, I've tried," he muttered, low enough to not attract attention from the Marines seated at the next table. "He's not exactly making it easy." He glanced from Teyla to Ronon and then the door. "I don't suppose either of you has seen him this morning?"
"Saw him earlier," Ronon replied. "Said he was going for a run."
Rodney snorted and speared a piece of pancake with his fork.
"How much earlier?" Teyla asked.
Rodney's fork hovered near his mouth as he waited for Ronon's answer.
Ronon shrugged. "Before sun up."
So he's not sleeping either, Rodney thought as he chewed the bite of pancake. Would John have even been in his room if you had knocked earlier?
More lightning strobed the room, and the rain sheeted down the windows.
Sheppard entered the mess hall a few minutes later, and Rodney watched as he found his breakfast and walked over to their table.
"Colonel," Teyla greeted with a smile.
"Teyla," John replied. He sat next to Rodney and nodded to Ronon.
The Marines at the next table finished eating and left. Rodney double-checked that no one else was seated nearby, gulped a swallow of coffee, and glanced at Teyla.
"There's, umm, something we need to talk -" he started to say.
"All of this rain must be a relief for Halling and the others," Sheppard interrupted as thunder rumbled overhead.
Rodney scowled. He was tempted to call Sheppard on what he was doing but didn't relish getting into a fight in the mess hall where most of the base would see it.
Teyla frowned, and Rodney noticed Ronon watching Sheppard. So they're worried too, he realised. It's not my imagination.
"It is a mixed blessing," Teyla replied. "While the moisture is needed, too much rain can be just as bad as too little. Halling should be calling today with an update on the village. I will know more this afternoon."
John nodded and stabbed at his eggs.
"What about the kids?" Ronon asked.
"They should all be fine in another few days," Teyla replied, sipping from her cup.
John glanced at Teyla. "What's wrong with the kids?"
Teyla set down her cup. "It is nothing to worry about. Several of the children have come down with quelan fever."
Rodney looked up from his plate in surprise. "What? I was out there last week. First the flu, and now some weird Pegasus galaxy disease wants to kill me?"
Teyla smiled and shook her head. "There is no need to worry. It is a common childhood illness. Rada and the others know what to do."
"Still, a little warning would have been nice," Rodney grumbled. He finished his coffee and was about to broach the topic of the link again when he heard his name over the radio.
"Rodney, are you there?" Radek called.
Rodney sighed and tapped his earpiece. "Yes. What now?"
"I thought you should know I have the finalised data from the autonomous planet surveys. I have already informed Doctor Weir. She would like to meet in an hour to discuss sending teams to physically check the planets."
"Fine," Rodney replied. "I'll be in my lab in fifteen minutes. You can show me your results, and we can organise a plan for Elizabeth."
"Understood," Radek said. "Zelenka out."
Rodney tapped his earpiece, finished the last of his pancake, and stood.
"Is everything all right?" Teyla asked.
"Radek has the data on the next group of planets we need to investigate for the 'gate bridge project," Rodney replied, picking up his tray. He glanced at John and added, "I'll, umm, see you guys later."
Rodney dumped his trash and left the mess hall without a backward glance. Now what? he wondered as he walked. John was still determined to avoid him. Maybe Teyla or Ronon will have better luck getting Sheppard to talk to him.
More lightning flashed, and the rain pounded against the windows as he walked down the hall toward the nearest transporter.
He entered his lab a few minutes later and found Radek, bundled in a knit sweater and holding a tablet computer, waiting for him. "Just make yourself at home," Rodney grumbled as the lab door closed behind him. He saw the worried crease across Zelenka's forehead but ignored it as he walked over to the work table.
"Are you feeling all right?" Radek asked.
Rodney snorted and opened the laptop he'd left on the table. "You're one to talk. Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"
"I am feeling much better," Radek replied.
Rodney heard the nasal quality in Radek's voice and shook his head. "You don't sound like it," he replied, taking in Zelenka's chapped, red nose and the dark circles under his eyes. "And you look awful."
"I did not think you cared," Radek said with a crooked smile.
Rodney grunted. "Who said anything about caring. I just don't want to get sick."
'Ahh,' Radek mouthed as he pulled out the stool on the other side of the work table and sat. "What is your excuse?"
"Excuse me?" Rodney growled, looking up from the computer.
"You look as though you haven't slept in days."
Rodney scowled. He had avoided having this conversation with Carson. He had no intention of telling Zelenka what had happened with the link before he could talk to Sheppard.
"You said you had survey results?" he asked with an impatient wave of his hand.
Zelenka opened his mouth, then shook his head and tapped the tablet screen. "Yes," he replied. He handed Rodney the tablet and continued, "MALP and UAV images for the next three possible planets with abandoned stargates."
"Three?" Rodney asked, looking up from the computer. "In case you've forgotten, we need seven more 'gates if this idea is going to work."
"Technically, there are four planets with potential 'gates," Radek said. "Collecting the stargate on M2X-418 should be safe without further investigation."
Rodney glanced at the data for M2X-418. "Bit of a bold assumption," he muttered and heard Zelenka sigh. "Just because it's a cold planet doesn't mean people aren't living there. Need I remind you about Lurra?"
"Look at the atmospheric data," Radek replied. "The atmosphere is thin and made up of nitrogen and methane. The surface temperatures are near negative 180 Celsius."
"Why put a 'gate on a world like that?" Rodney asked himself more than Zelenka as he skimmed the data.
"Mining?" Radek suggested. "The database mentions several metal ores present near the surface."
Rodney looked up in surprise. "The database? That's ten-thousand-year-old information. Why didn't you send a MALP?"
"The MALP is not rated for those temperatures." Radek pushed up his glasses. "I included it on main list for the Daedalus to retrieve the stargate without further need to investigate. Aassuming, of course, it is not buried in ice."
Rodney grimaced and scanned the rest of the information. "What do we know about the other three planets?" he asked, skimming the report.
"Not much other than basic information. All three 'gates are planetside instead of in orbit. We sent UAVs to each planet in addition to a MALP. We have several days' worth of atmospheric information, not to mention the aerial images."
"And?"
Radek shrugged. "All three planets have temperate climates and breathable atmospheres. The MALPs found no pollutants in the air or large concentrations of life signs."
Rodney skimmed the data for the remaining planets and stopped when he saw the photographs from P4J-631. "When were you going to tell me there were Ancient buildings on this planet?"
"We don't know -"
"What does that look like to you?" Rodney demanded, pointing to one of the buildings.
"It does look similar to the tower here in Atlantis, but -"
"What else would it be?" Rodney studied the grainy photos of the ruined buildings surrounding the tower, which was nestled in a valley with stands of aspen and cottonwood trees. Tall pine and spruce trees crowded the valley's edges. He flipped through the rest of the images, then looked up at Zelenka.
"I count at least three villages."
"There may be as many as five," Radek said. He picked up the computer, tapped the screen several times and flipped the screen around. "If you look closely," he pointed at two other pictures, "there appears to be something at the edges of these images."
Rodney took the tablet computer, studied the photos for several seconds, and nodded. "If these are all Ancient structures, there could be far more technology on that planet than just a 'gate." He handed back the computer and stood. "I need to talk to Elizabeth. I need to see what else might be there."
"Umm," Radek said.
Rodney turned and saw Radek's pensive expression.
"What now?"
Radek sighed and shook his head. "Nothing, I suppose," he replied. He followed Rodney over to the lab door. "Let's go talk to Doctor Weir."
Rodney led the way out of the lab and back up the hallway to the transporter. He glanced at Radek several steps behind him and grimaced. He knew what Zelenka wasn't saying. He wasn't an idiot. He knew something was wrong with Sheppard, but since John had been avoiding him for the last two days, he wasn't sure what to do about it.
He remembered the trip to New York after John had been trapped in the Ancient sanctuary. Getting away from the city had helped then, he decided. Maybe that's what John needed. Something normal, like a simple planet survey, to help him forget about Kolya and almost dying.
He stopped in front of the transporter and hesitated. Are you thinking of what's best for Sheppard or yourself? he wondered, then shook his head and waved his hand over the sensor.
The door whispered open, and once Radek joined him, Rodney tapped the map section for the transporter nearest the control room. The doors opened a moment later, and Rodney strolled into the control room, ignoring Chuck and the other techs seated at the consoles as he walked into Elizabeth's office.
"Rodney?" Elizabeth said, looking up from her computer. "I didn't think we had a meeting scheduled."
Rodney heard a snicker behind him, glared at Zelenka, and waved away Elizabeth's comment. He sat in one of the chairs fronting Weir's desk and said, "We have news."
Elizabeth sighed, then glanced at the door, waved Radek into the office, and closed her computer.
"What sort of news?" she asked, clasping her hands together on the desk.
Rodney snapped his fingers several times, and Radek handed over the tablet computer.
"We have the preliminary data on three planets with possible stargates we can use for the 'gate bridge," Radek said as he sat next to Rodney.
"I see." Elizabeth pursed her lips, glanced at Rodney, then focused on Zelenka.
What was that look for? Rodney wondered.
"I'm assuming you found something?"
"Yes, well, no," Radek amended, "but that is the point, no? To not find anything?"
"Oh, good grief," Rodney interrupted. He pulled up the reports with the MALP data and turned the tablet so Elizabeth could see the screen. "There are four more planets with 'gates we can harvest. Three of them should be surveyed to make sure the planets really are abandoned. And one of them," Rodney twisted the computer back to face him, pulled up the images of the buildings, and flipped the computer back around, "one of them had an Ancient settlement."
"It might be the remains of an Ancient settlement," Radek clarified.
Rodney scowled at Radek. "What we can see of the architecture looks Ancient." He turned to Elizabeth and added, "I need to see what else might still be there."
"Rodney -" Elizabeth said.
"Who knows what other technology we might find," Rodney pressed. "There might even be another Zed-PM."
Elizabeth frowned. "I'm not sure -"
"Sounds like we have a mission," Sheppard said.
Rodney looked up in surprise and saw John leaning against the doorframe. "How did -"
"Saw you and Radek heading this way," John replied. "Figured you would be going to talk to Elizabeth about those planets you mentioned at breakfast." Sheppard stepped into the office and stood against the wall behind Rodney's chair. "When do we leave?" he asked Elizabeth.
"Colonel Sheppard," Elizabeth replied, handing Rodney the computer with the MALP data. "I'm not sure sending your team on a mission so soon after what happened with Commander Kolya is the best idea."
Sheppard scowled, and Rodney saw John's hands clench into fists before Sheppard hid his hands behind his back.
"Lorne and Valdés are still out with the flu," John countered, his tone stiff and precise. "You have three planets to survey and three teams. The math seems pretty simple to me."
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, then turned to Zelenka. "Radek, would you give us a moment?"
"Oh, umm, yes, of course," Zelenka replied with a nervous glance from Elizabeth to Sheppard. He took the tablet computer, inched between John and Rodney, and closed the office door behind him.
Elizabeth waited until the door closed, then turned to John, her expression stony. "You are out of line, Colonel."
Rodney saw a muscle in John's jaw clench and realised Sheppard was trying to keep his temper in check.
"How many times do I have to keep telling everyone I am fine," John growled.
Elizabeth clasped her hands loosely on the desk. "You cannot be that blasé about what happened."
John shook his head and grasped the back of Radek's vacated chair. "Elizabeth, I know you're concerned, and I appreciate it, but I know how to deal with what happened to me."
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips into a thin line.
"Carson agrees I'm medically fit," John continued, "and I talked to Heightmeyer. As ordered."
Rodney twisted around in his chair, not bothering to hide his surprised expression. "You did? Umm, when?"
John ignored the question and stood straight. "Do you have a better plan?" he asked Elizabeth.
Elizabeth sat back in her chair. "Yes, actually. We can either wait for Major Lorne to recover, or Rodney can join Sergeant Thompson's team as they investigate …" she glanced at Rodney.
"P4J-631," Rodney muttered, rattling off the designation for the planet with the Ancient tower.
"P4J-631," Elizabeth parroted.
"Umm," Rodney said, raising a finger. While he was eager to explore the ruins Zelenka had found, he did not relish the idea of exploring an alien planet without Sheppard, Ronon, and Teyla to watch his back.
"McKay is part of my team," John countered before Rodney could say anything. "He doesn't go anywhere without my authorisation."
"Excuse me?" Rodney exclaimed. His momentary hesitation at exploring an alien world without the rest of the team morphed into annoyance at the idea of anyone, even John, dictating his movements. "Don't I get a say in this?"
"No," John replied, never taking his gaze off Elizabeth. "He doesn't go anywhere without the rest of the team."
Rodney glowered at Sheppard.
"Then we wait for Lorne to recover -"
Rodney sighed and shook his head. "We can't afford to wait."
Elisabeth turned her piercing gaze toward Rodney.
"If this is all a plan the pair of you hatched to get back into the field …" Elizabeth accused.
Rodney impatiently waved aside the statement. "Finding possible Ancient tech aside, we're behind schedule with the 'gate bridge. The Milky Way 'gates are all nearly in place. We need to get the rest of the Pegasus 'gates aligned if you want this project to test on time."
Elizabeth glanced at Rodney, then looked up at John. After a moment, she sat back in her chair and sighed. "All right, Colonel. I will talk to Carson and Doctor Heightmeyer. If they agree with your self-assessment, I will consider sending your team to one of the planets on Radek's list."
"P4J-631," Rodney said. "We need to go to P4J-631."
Elizabeth glared at him.
"Thank you," John replied. He turned on his heel and left the office without a backward glance.
Rodney stared at Sheppard's retreating back, then leaned back in his chair and blew out a breath. Be nice if he made up his mind, Rodney grumbled to himself. For two days, I can't get Sheppard to even say two words to me, and now he's deciding where I go and who I go with?
Rodney closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Rodney?" Elizabeth said a moment later.
"Hmm?" Rodney replied. He opened his eyes and glanced across the desk.
"Was there something else?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, umm, no." Rodney stood and hurried out of the office.
~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~
The Wraith's feral grin was all the warning John had before he felt a cold, clammy hand slam into his chest. He had only a momentary glimpse of the Wraith's ecstatic expression before the pain overwhelmed him.
"Ahh, at last, the hunger is sated," the Wraith drawled as his clawed fingers dug into John's chest.
John felt his skin tighten and his muscles wither as the Wraith sucked his life force from him. He glanced down and watched the skin on his hand wrinkle and thin. Age spots marred what was once smooth skin, and he saw the clear outline of the bones in his hand as the Wraith growled in pleasure.
His bones ached, and he could barely breathe, but the Wraith didn't stop.
"Goodbye, Sheppard."
John woke in a cold sweat as the drawling voice of the Wraith faded. He took several deep breaths, then sat on the edge of the bed, scrubbed a hand over his face and glanced at the clock on the desk.
Four-thirty am.
"You managed more sleep than last night, at least," he muttered.
He dropped his hand and blew out a breath.
With the debrief out of the way and the reports written, as far as he was concerned, the mission and everything that happened was now a closed book. Except for the nightmares, he reminded himself with a grim smile.
If Elizabeth, Carson, and Heightmeyer wanted him to move on, he grumbled, they needed to let him get back to work. The last thing he wanted was to sit around, letting the memories fester.
John sat for a few minutes longer, then shook his head and stood. A long run, a hot shower, and breakfast, he decided. That was his private therapy, and it had served him well in the past.
He found a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, quickly dressed, and left his quarters.
John strolled into the mess hall two hours later, feeling more relaxed. The run had done wonders to shake off the last dregs of the nightmare, and the hot shower had relieved some of the tension in his back and shoulders.
The light in the usually cheerful mess hall was again dim and gloomy, the watery sunlight doing little to brighten the room. John glanced at the low-hanging clouds and heard a low rumble of distant thunder.
"Coffee," he muttered, making his way to the carafes at the end of the mess line.
He filled a cup and, glancing at his watch, realised there was still at least an hour before Teyla or Ronon, much less Rodney, joined him.
Better here than your office, he decided. Even with the mission reports complete, there were still after-action reports to review from the active 'gate teams and the watch reports for the gateroom guard detail. With Lorne out sick, that also left John to deal with more of the day-to-day paperwork, which, given the choice, he'd rather avoid.
He found a table in a corner and entertained himself by watching the comings and goings of various scientists and Marines as he sipped coffee.
Radek entered the mess hall with a few of McKay's other scientists. After gathering their food, he smiled at John and then sat, listening to the two men and the woman argue about something to do with conversion rates.
Thompson walked through the doors a few minutes later, nodded to John, and joined the rest of his team at a table not far from the scientific huddle. Garcia still looked a little tired, but John noticed all four of them seemed excited about something.
Elizabeth must have told Thompson about the survey mission, John decided as he watched the Marines a few tables away.
The threatened rain started as Radek and the scientists left the mess hall half an hour later, and John watched the drops streak down the window as the wind picked up and thunder rumbled louder.
John glanced at his watch, then headed for the mess line. He took the offered plate of pancakes and bacon, refilled his coffee cup, and was seated back at the table when Ronon entered the room.
"Sheppard," Ronon greeted a few minutes later. He set a loaded tray on the table, sat beside John, and dug into his breakfast.
By the time McKay arrived twenty minutes later, Thompson's team was gone. John had finished eating and sat sipping his fourth cup of coffee.
Teyla glanced out the window as more thunder rumbled overhead and sighed.
"Teyla?" John asked, seeing her pensive expression.
Teyla set down her teacup and shook her head. "It is nothing, Colonel," she replied.
"Doesn't seem like nothing," Ronon said and ate a bite of pancake.
Teyla smiled. "I had a message from Halling yesterday. Several low-lying areas near the village fields have begun to flood, and the edges of the sinkhole are crumbling, making walking in that area treacherous."
"What about the village itself?"
"The village is safe for the moment. However, Halling is concerned that if the rain continues, it will do more harm than good. The seed we received from Hyram has sprouted and is doing well in the dry conditions. However, too much rain now will drown the seedlings before they can flourish."
"Before, you were concerned that it wasn't raining," Rodney said.
Teyla sipped her tea and sighed. "Yes. However, too much rain can be as problematic as too little."
"According to Mattings, this," Rodney waved a hand toward the rain-streaked windows, "probably won't stop for another few days."
John's forehead creased. "Mattings?"
"Mmm," Rodney replied as he chewed. He swallowed and added, "British climatologist. Bores anyone within hearing of his theories about Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar."
An image of a tall man with neatly trimmed dark hair rose in John's mind. "I think you mean Matthews."
"Whatever," Rodney replied with a shrug. "The point is, it's probably not going to stop raining any time soon."
John glanced at his watch. "The meeting with Weir is in ten minutes," he said with a significant look at McKay and Dex.
Rodney bolted the last of his bacon and gulped his coffee.
John waited until Ronon finished the rest of his pancakes, then stood and led the way out of the mess hall.
They were outside the conference room when the doors twisted open, and Thompson's team strolled past.
"Grab your gear," Thompson ordered. "We'll meet in the gateroom in twenty."
Garcia, Masters, and Daley nodded as the team left the control room.
Rodney gaped after them, then stormed into the conference room. "Tell me you didn't assign Thompson's team to P4J-631."
"And good morning to you too, Rodney," Elizabeth replied with a stony expression.
"McKay," John hissed.
Rodney glowered at John, then sat in one of the chairs scattered around the table and crossed his arms over his chest. "I thought I was fairly clear that we needed to be the ones to investigate that tower."
Elizabeth waited until Teyla and Ronon sat on the other side of the table, then clasped her hands on the table and turned to John.
"I talked to Carson and Kate Heightmeyer last night."
John felt his shoulders tense.
"Carson agrees there is no medical reason to keep you grounded," Elizabeth continued.
"And Heightmeyer?" John asked.
Elizabeth hesitated, then said, "She has several concerns …"
John started to argue but stopped when Elizabeth held up a hand.
"She has several concerns, but for now, she is willing to sign off on limited duties."
John clenched his hands under the table. "How limited?"
"No missions involving first contact or the Genii." Elizabeth held up a file folder. "Since this is a presumed abandoned planet and so far all of our preliminary data supports that hypothesis, she has agreed that investigating P4J-631," she glanced at Rodney, "should be all right."
John relaxed and nodded.
"According to the data we gathered from the UAV," Rodney said as Elizabeth passed out file folders, "the Ancient tower is in a valley. It shouldn't take long to fly a jumper -"
"Not sure taking a jumper is a good idea," John said.
"What? Why not?" Rodney demanded. "The closest village is still twenty kilometers from the 'gate. And the tower is even farther away. You might want to go on a multi-day hike, but I don't."
"The villages are back in the trees," John replied. "Nowhere to land."
Rodney scowled at the images of the trees growing near and around the buildings. "So we land in the open valley and walk in from there."
John studied the images for a few moments, weighing his options. McKay's mission to find abandoned 'gates aside, what John wanted was some peace and quiet and a little time to let the memories of Koyla and the Wraith fade. For him, a multi-day hike was exactly what he thought he needed.
"Would not any sensor data gathered by the jumper's systems be of value?" Teyla asked.
"Thank you," Rodney said. "See. No one wants to hike that much."
John looked up from the pictures and found Rodney watching him. On the other hand, how much peace will you get with Rodney complaining every few miles? he thought with a wry smile.
"All right," he said, "we'll take a jumper." He looked at Elizabeth and added, "Even with flying most of the way there, this will not be a quick mission. These villages and the tower are pretty spread out."
Elizabeth nodded. "You have a week, Colonel. Learn what you can and report back. If you find anything interesting, we can decide how to proceed."
"Understood," John replied.
NOTE: Dialogue from No Man's Land written by Martin Gero