Chapter 4. Signal.

Rodney could hear his heart hammering from the opposite side of the vehicle. They had been in the car for about forty-five minutes now. Rodney figured that couldn't be healthy. Radek was going to kill himself before they even saw south Denver.

Rodney carefully maneuvered into the next lane to pass a lumbering semi-truck. The pine forest that edged either side of the road since northern Colorado Springs quite suddenly gave way to open fields, hills, and rocky plateaus. It snowed two days ago, but the drifts left in the shadows of the hills were the only evidence. The roads were clear and the sky was a cloudless pale blue. If there was such a thing, it was the perfect day to drive.

"Do you ever signal?" Radek asked just as they crossed the county line.

Rodney took his eyes off the road for the briefest of moments to look at him. "Excuse me?"

Officially no-man's land, at least to Rodney's view. A little two lane road crossed the interstate over their heads and the way ahead was clear of civilization. The farmhouses dotting the mountainous pastures didn't count. If Rodney hit anything, it would have to be because he was trying to.

Radek held his hands up, apparently regretting his question. "Sorry."

"It's been a few years since I've driven anything other than Puddle Jumpers and golf carts," Rodney said. But that was more than Radek had ever driven in this country. "At least I have my license."

"I already apologized," Radek said.

He paused long enough for Rodney to shift uncomfortably. Why did he think that getting off base would be a good thing? Why did he agree to run Radek to the airport? Even worse, to run him and mini-Zelenka back…

"Golf carts?" Radek ventured a moment later.

"To get around Area 51," Rodney mumbled. "Huge warehouses. Easier than walking."

Radek nodded. "That explains a lot."

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?" Rodney glanced at him again.

This time Radek was smiling. "Nothing. Nothing."

"All right," Rodney said. He tried not to sound too patronizing… but, then again, maybe that was exactly what Zelenka needed. "This must be nerve-wracking. So whatever you meant, I forgive you."

Radek laughed. He actually laughed. "Right, thank you."

"You're welcome," Rodney muttered. There must something else for them to talk about.

There was nothing of interest between here and Castle Rock. Just hills, cliffs, rocks, and scrub oak trees. The assorted campsite, farm houses, horses, and cows broke up the monotony in their own backwoods bumpkin way. Radek was watching out the window like he'd never seen a mountain before.

Rodney didn't know what the Czech Republic looked like. Flown over it. Well, probably. Rodney's grasp of geography was deplorable, but he figured his guess was close enough. Moscow might be close in temperature and terrain, right? On the other hand, Russian winters were said to have won wars. The Czech Republic didn't seem to have any snow and wind fighting in its favor.

Think of something, think of something. A tiny little burg called Larkspur flew by. Rodney drove through it once on a whim when he was bored on a Saturday night after an emergency consultation with Stargate Command. It was literally one road. There was a grand total of a gas station, church, park, liquor store, and a fire station. It was too far to live here and work at the base, but it was off the beaten path. Rodney could see someone owning a pond and a cabin up here, getting away for the weekend.

Owning a cabin. Right. Houses. People lived in houses. He could talk about that. "So how's the apartment?"

"I don't know." Zelenka just shrugged. "Nice?"

There was some reservation. Rodney distinctly heard Zelenka say the apartment was not Atlantis. The apartment might have been nice—though he doubted it. It was temporary housing for Zelenka until he found something better, something of his own. It was hard to get a suitable place in two days. Even if the living situation was okay, Rodney knew he'd never be satisfied with work again.

He was practically begging Rodney to get him out of this, wasn't he?

"All right," Rodney sighed. "Enough of this."

"Enough of what?"

"You're coming back to Atlantis," Rodney said. "You wouldn't find any other work as interesting, right? Where else could you—"

"Get continuous verbal abuse?" Zelenka interrupted. "And no respect?"

"I know it's going to be different when you have a child around," Rodney agreed.

Zelenka cast a glance sideways at him. "Less different than you might expect."

Rodney considered what he was trying to say. What was he trying to do? After all, did he really care whether Zelenka stayed on Earth or with the Atlantis expedition? He didn't answer that, but the point was—even if Rodney didn't need Zelenka, Atlantis did. "I can't be everywhere at once."

"Excuse me?"

"What if someday something terrible happens on Atlantis? What if, god forbid, I'm trapped in a room and I can't fix the problem? Who do you think is going to fix it? Kavanagh?"

They both scoffed in unison.

Radek spoke up. "When would you ever be trapped in a room without your computer?"

"I don't know," Rodney mumbled. "But it could happen."

Radek looked at him. His grin was almost more than Rodney could bear, so self-satisfied and smug. "You're saying you want me to stay on Atlantis because I'm a reasonable McKay-replacement?"

"Well, I wouldn't go that far…" Rodney pondered what he thought Radek was. Then it came to him. He grinned with pride. "Discount-McKay. You're Discount-McKay."

"I feel more respected already…"

"Just think about it," Rodney pleaded.

Radek said nothing. That wasn't a good sign. In fact, they rode in silence all the way up to Castle Rock until the road widened just south of Denver. Or maybe he was thinking about it. Castle Rock was gray and dusty, especially coming from Atlantis. The most prominent hill going north was devoid of foliage and the entire town was just a composite of pale tan, gray, and white. Why on Earth would he not want to go back to Atlantis?

Right. Family. Even Rodney thought it was important sometimes. But it was a little difficult to pick up where one left off. Or maybe it wasn't. There was a lot of water under his family's bridges. He was sure he couldn't just drop in on Jeannie unexpectedly.

Just before the last bend in the road before Denver, a thought dawned on Rodney. "Wait." He looked at Radek sideways just as Denver's skyscrapers came into view. "What's her name?"

Radek chuckled. "You probably wouldn't remember it anyway."