sam_gamgee (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sam_gamgee) wrote2008-12-18 11:39 pm
sam_gamgee) wrote2008-12-18 11:39 pm
Entry tags:
SGA fic: Gaijin, part 21/40
Gaijin, Part 21/40
The complete header can be found in part 1.
Previous parts can be found here.
“Are you sure about this?” Teyla asked as Rodney adjusted his robe and shouldered his pack – which now contained a number of items he had accumulated while on Lapras.
His Lantean items had been divvied between Ronon, John and Teyla’s packs. They all also had an extra bag – Teyla, Ronon, and John carried things that had been given as trading tokens. Rodney’s was full of things the Laprans had given to him to take with him. He didn’t know how they had gotten it together so quickly and he wasn’t even completely sure what all was in it.
“Yes, I’m sure,” he replied as he adjusted the straps and grabbed his staff and bag. Looking up at her, he added, “I need to do this. Okay, I’m ready.”
The foursome headed into the caves and then into the tunnel, joined by Kirby, Jillian, and Kelly. John gave them a wary look, but Rodney waved it off and spent most of the journey talking to them, wanting his last few hours with them to last as long as possible.
When they reached the ‘Gate, Kelly handed the dialer to Rodney. He plugged it in and, with shaking hands, tapped in the address for Atlantis. The ‘Gate initialized and kawooshed as it has countless times before. Rodney couldn’t help but stare at the shimmering wormhole for a long moment before John put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and sent his IDC through.
Suddenly having an idea, Rodney scrabbled in the front pocket of his pack and pulled out his own IDC, plus a piece of paper and a pencil – which he used to scribble down Atlantis’ address. “Here,” he said, handing them over to Kelly. “I want you guys to have these. If you ever need help, put in this address and, once the wormhole stabilizes, turn this on and press this button,” he showed them how. “That will get you through to us. Just tell them to get Rodney McKay and we’ll help you.”
“Okay,” Kelly replied a little uncertainly.
“Just in case,” Rodney told him and Kelly nodded.
“Are you coming, Rodney?” John asked and Rodney looked over his shoulder to see that Ronon and Teyla had already gone through. John was waiting for him, and had Rodney’s stuff at his feet.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Rodney muttered under his breath and Kelly, Kirby and Jillian looked at him, amused. He looked over all three of them for a long moment, before giving them each a bear hug. Pulling away from Kelly, he said, “I’m going to miss all of you. Thank you for everything.”
“Be happy, Rodney-kun,” Kirby replied.
“We’ll see each other again, Rodney-chan,” Kelly told him.
“And we’ll miss you too,” Jillian replied with a small smile.
Rodney let out a small breath as he turned and headed up the steps of the ‘Gate’s dais. He *wasn’t* going to cry, damnit. When he reached John, he gave him a small nod and John headed through the ‘Gate. Rodney looked back at his little family and raised his hand in a wave. They repeated the movement and he stepped through the ‘Gate.
When he stepped through on the other side, Rodney reflexively took a breath as he reoriented himself. He was subconsciously aware of the ‘Gate dissipating behind him and felt a twinge of sadness.
“We were beginning to wonder if you’d changed your mind,” John told him with a wry grin from where he, Ronon and Teyla were waiting for him.
“Well, I made a promise that I’d come back for at least a little while,” Rodney replied nonchalantly, as if this whole thing had been planned all along.
“Rodney,” Elizabeth said, approaching him cautiously, as if he wasn’t really there.
“Elizabeth,” Rodney replied with a small bow. “It’s good to see you again.”
She impulsively threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Rodney slowly returned the hug, more than a little shocked at her action. “You’re really back,” she said more to his shoulder than to him.
“Yes, I am,” he replied, unsure of what to do, as he gently rubbed a circle on her back.
She tentatively stepped back and quickly wiped her eyes, giving him an apologetic smile. “I’m sure you’ll want to get settled in. Your quarters are still available if you want them.”
“Sure,” he replied with a shrug.
“Debriefing will be in an hour,” she said pointedly to all four of them.
Rodney nodded as he headed to his quarters, dimly aware of the people around him. He knew in his mind, that even with the probable expansion of the expedition over the past four cycles, Atlantis still had fewer people than Lapras. But it still seemed like there were more people around and between them and the hard walls of the city by the time he reached his quarters, he felt claustrophobic.
As soon as he entered his quarters, he dropped his bags and staff on the bed and headed out onto his balcony to take in deep breaths of air, feeling himself slowly relax. Once he felt calmer, he headed back into the room and looked around.
Everything looked the way he remembered it, which felt oddly comforting. The discomfiting part was that it looked like he had only been gone a short time, not four cycles. It hadn’t been completely cleared out like he had figured it would be – and it was still as clean. The only thing that was different was his desk; it had been completely cleared off. Any papers and laptops that were on it had disappeared, though he assumed that they had been taken down to the labs so the other scientists could use them, which he approved of. Also missing were the dirty coffee mugs, food wrappers, and partially eaten food that had been strewn on his desk along with his papers – and would have been a biological hazard by now.
He took off his robe and boots, carefully laying the robe over his desk chair and placing his boots at the end of his bed and propped his staff in the corner of his bed and the wall. He pulled his moccasins out of his pack and slipped them on. He sighed as he looked around the room again, trying to figure out where to start.
He opened the drawers in his dresser and found only one completely full with his Lantean clothing, the other two had a few scattered remnants. He put his Lantean clothes in the bottom drawer and consolidated the odds and ends into the right half of the middle drawer. He emptied his pack and put his Lapran clothes into the top drawer.
He began carefully unpacking the bag from the Laprans. He smiled when he pulled out the pouch on top – it had been filled with foodstuffs for his journey. There were also two pouches of water. Beneath that was a new set of clothes – shirt, pants, and moccasins. He found a few other practical things in the bag – a tinder starter, a comb and towel, a set of sheets, and a blanket. He smiled fondly as he pulled each thing out, thinking of the people who would have contributed the items.
Wrapped up in the blanket was a tea set Rodney remembered admiring and he placed it on top of his dresser, wondering what Kelly had used to barter for it. Wedged into a corner at the bottom of the bag, Rodney found Kirby had packed his medicine pouch with everything he’d need. As he took a quick stock of what exactly he had, he found a small bundle among the herbs and he carefully opened it. Inside was a delicate glass ornament. Rodney held it up to the window and it glittered in the setting sun. He realized that Jillian had made him a dream catcher and smiled as he carefully hung it on his bed.
He quickly changed the sheets and blanket on his bed to the Lapran ones and stowed the Lantean ones in the dresser. After putting everything away, he ate a snack of dried fruit and jerky and looked around his room with a sigh. It was going to take some getting used to.
The door chime sounded and Rodney started, almost choking on his water. “Come in,” he called between coughs.
The door slid open with a slight whoosh and John came in. “Here’s your things,” he said, dropping his pack on Rodney’s desk. “Settling back in okay?” he asked as he looked around.
“I guess so,” Rodney replied as he cleaned up the remains of his snack and inwardly dared John to comment on his changes. His defensiveness surprised him. If only John acted like he had actually been gone for three years and not just over to the mainland for a jaunt to the Athosian settlement….
John intercepted him as Rodney crossed over to the desk and he put his hands on Rodney’s waist. “I missed you *so* much,” he whispered, his voice raw, and leaned into to kiss Rodney.
Surprised, Rodney jumped back, jarring the desk. “Ow,” he said, rubbing his hip. “I missed you too, John,” he replied. “But I’m not –” He shook his head and turned to the pack. “I can’t do this right now.”
“What was that?” John asked, sounding surprised, hurt, and curious all rolled up into one. But he didn’t close the distance.
“I said I’d better get this unpacked before we have to leave for the debriefing,” Rodney replied as if nothing had happened.
Rodney carefully took out the water bottles, energy bars, glycerin tablets, epi pens, writing pens, and writing tablets. “That looks like everything,” he said as he handed back John’s pack, not commenting on the absence of his laptops, data pads and various accoutrements.
“I haven’t said anything about the IDC code yet,” John said. “I figured you’d want to tell Elizabeth yourself about that one.”
“Okay,” Rodney replied. “We should get going. The briefing’s going to start soon.”
John looked at his watch and then around the room, confused. He knew Rodney hadn’t been wearing a watch when they came through the ‘Gate and he had never kept any clocks in his room. But he was right on the money. “Yeah, we have about five minutes. How did you know that?” he asked, incredulous.
“Lapras is on the same time rotation we are,” Rodney replied as he grabbed his medicine pouch and headed out, a confused John following behind. “The only difference is that they have a ten month rotation cycle compared to our twelve. When you don’t have the sun or some sort of timepiece to tell you what time it is, you get very used to being able to just know what time it is.”
“Well, I guess that’s kind of cool. Did you develop any other superpowers while you were away?” John asked dryly.
“Don’t mock me, Colonel. I can still kill you with my brain.”
“I don’t doubt that,” John muttered.
They walked the rest of the way to the conference room in silence. Once there, Rodney quickly slipped into the empty seat between Teyla and Ronon. John gave him a confused look, but said nothing as he sat on the other side of Ronon and across from Rodney. Elizabeth came in with Radek Zelenka, Major Lorne – who was on crutches – and a man Rodney was fairly certain he should know, but couldn’t place, and they all took a seat. Carson limped in last and took the final seat next to John.
Rodney couldn’t take his eyes off of Carson. The man had limped in and sat down heavily – which was unexpected. There was also something wrong with his left hand. Rodney couldn’t quite place what it was, but it nagged at him. He watched as John leaned over and said something quietly in Carson’s ear. Carson shook his head and murmured something back as he flexed his hand. John said something else and Carson chuckled, his mood brightening.
Rodney was surprised at them. Well, at John specifically. He could tell right away that, Carson at least, definitely had feelings that weren’t exactly platonic. And Sheppard was either playing it very cool for once or was oblivious. Rodney was betting on the latter, knowing his teammate. And he knew that John wouldn’t have come on to him in his quarters if he and Carson were in a relationship.
“Let’s get started,” Elizabeth said. “This debriefing will be conducted in parts. I want to, first, make sure we’re all on the same page as to what’s going to happen now that Rodney’s back. Then I would like Rodney to go get a full examination – standard precaution, while I debrief John and his team about their mission. After all of Carson’s tests are done, the relevant people will reconvene for where we go next.”
There were murmurs of assent as she paused before continuing on, “First off, welcome back, Rodney. It’s great to have you back with us. For the time being, I’d like Radek to stay in charge of the Science Department until you’ve finished readjusting to Atlantis.” Both men nodded in agreement. “And for the next few weeks, I am going to have Major Lorne assigned to you as an escort.”
“What?” Rodney was completely taken aback by that. “Why?”
“Safety precautions,” Elizabeth replied calmly. “You should know – you helped write the rules.”
“I know,” Rodney replied with a sigh. “But don’t you think that *nothing* *happening* in the four cycles I was gone would indicate that the Laprans and their trading partners don’t really care about Atlantis? Your own dealings with the Morykons should be proof of that.” He slumped back in his seat. “This is insane,” he muttered, crossing his arms.
“What was that?” Elizabeth asked.
“Nothing,” Rodney replied insolently.
“I would think that your use of the Lapran language and the fact that you’re still wearing Lapran garb would be more than enough cause for concern. And you said you’ve been gone for four cycles. How long do you think you’ve been gone?”
Rodney let out a huff and started to explain as if he was talking to a room of three-year-olds. “Four cycles. One cycle is ten months. Each month is thirty days. Therefore, I’ve been gone for a total of 1200 days, or three years, three months, and fifteen days – give or take a few hours.”
“I have a feeling we can all safely assume that that really is Rodney McKay,” John quipped.
Rodney glared at him and replied caustically, “Thank you for that scientifically astute observation, Captain Obvious.” Turning his attention back to Elizabeth, he said, “If you really wanted someone to keep an eye on me, please don’t insult both Major Lorne and myself by wasting both of our time. I could *walk* faster than him right now.”
“But I’m pretty sure I could take you out with my crutches before you got very far,” Lorne replied calmly and without batting an eye.
“That’s why,” Elizabeth replied. “Besides, he doesn’t have anything else to do for the next two months while his leg is in the cast, therefore he will be your escort until we get things straightened out.”
“Who’s the new guy?” Rodney asked before Elizabeth could get any further.
“Dr. Johan Darby,” the stranger replied. “I’m your mandated replacement. And I will gladly give you back your position on the team as soon as I’m allowed.”
“What are your credentials?” Rodney asked him warily.
“I have a doctorate in biogeochemistry and engineering. I came over as part of the original expedition. And I’m from Podunk, Mississippi, by way of Area 51 and Goa’uld technology.”
“That’s good. But, seriously – Johan?”
Darby just shrugged in response. “At least that wasn’t my fault.”
“Rodney, why don’t you, Carson and Lorne head down to the infirmary and get started?” Elizabeth asked, her tone implying that it wasn’t actually a request. The three men nodded and left the conference room.
“It’s good to see you again, Rodney,” Carson said as they headed for the transporter. “John always believed we’d get you back.”
“It’s good to see you too, Carson,” Rodney replied, as they stopped outside the transporter, and put his hands on Carson’s cheeks. “And you too, Major Lorne,” he added with a slight bow. “Well, we all know about Sheppard’s ‘leave no man behind’ complex.” That earned him a snicker from Lorne as they stepped into the transporter.
When they reached the infirmary, Lorne plopped down onto a bed near the doorway and Carson led Rodney farther back.
Sitting down where indicated, Rodney quietly asked, “So what happened?”
“His foot made a detour into a sinkhole and the rest of him kept going on its original course,” Carson replied in a business-like tone as he pulled out a thermometer and a blood pressure cuff.
“No, I mean with you,” Rodney managed to get out before Carson stuck the thermometer in his mouth.
“It was an exploding brain tumor a few months after you left. Thankfully, the total damage was minimal compared to what it could have been.”
“Do I want to ask about the exploding tumor, or just be quietly grateful that I wasn’t here?”
“Be quietly grateful,” Carson replied as he strapped the cuff around Rodney’s arm.
Carson did a thorough examination and, when he was finished, said, “From my preliminary analysis, you’re healthier than when you left. You’ve lost the excess weight and your blood pressure is down. And you have no apparent symptoms of anything that you might have caught while you were there. I’ll know more about everything else when I get the test results back in a few hours. So I have no reason to keep you here. Why don’t you go get something to eat? We wouldn’t want your hypoglycemia to kick in.”
“Thanks, Carson,” Rodney replied as he hopped down from the exam table. “I’ll see you in a few hours.” He bowed slightly to Carson before crossing the room and waking the dozing Lorne. “If you want to have any chance of keeping up with me, you better come along and get something to eat.”
The next morning, Rodney woke up disoriented and, for a fleeting moment, terrified that he had been captured and taken prisoner. Then it slowly settled in that he was back in his quarters in Atlantis and that he wasn’t technically a prisoner – or, at least, that Elizabeth would never technically call it such.
He got up, made quick work of getting dressed and making himself presentable before heading down to the mess hall. There were a few scattered groups already eating when he got there, and a few people looked at him in either shock or surprise as he got something to eat and sat down. But no one approached him as he ate.
Once he’d finished eating, he debated where to go and ended up heading out to the control room. He figured that if Elizabeth was having him escorted everywhere for the time being, she wasn’t going to let him in the labs just yet.
“Welcome back, Dr. McKay,” one of the technicians said.
“Thanks… uh… Chuck?” Rodney asked, thinking he looked familiar and the tech nodded.
“You’re a hard man to find, Doc,” Lorne said, coming up behind him.
“I highly doubt it, Major,” Rodney replied, turning to him. “We both know that if you’re tailing me, Elizabeth more than likely will keep me out of the labs for the time being. That drastically cuts down the places I’d be.”
“But the control room?”
Rodney shrugged. “I figured it would be a good place as any to hear about whatever’s going on. And I might get to annoy Elizabeth in the process for thinking I’m a threat.” He sat down in an empty chair next to Chuck. “You may as well get comfortable, Major. I’m not planning on going anywhere for a while. So… what can you two tell me about my replacement – Dr. Johan Darby?”
Both men shrugged. “He’s a nice guy,” Chuck said.
“He can hold his own in a fight,” Lorne added. “He tends to keep to himself, though, when he’s not working. Seems to get along with the team – including Sheppard.”
“What do you mean – ‘including Sheppard’?” Rodney asked, intrigued.
“From what I heard, he didn’t want to add anyone to the team – he wanted to leave your spot open. But Dr. Weir made him.”
“Interesting,” Rodney replied. “So, what else have I missed?”
“Some of the expedition members have gotten married,” Chuck told him, “and there are a few kids running around Atlantis now.”
“The Wraith are no longer a threat,” Lorne added. At Rodney’s questioning look, he said, “We turned them on Michael and things just went downhill from there. There are still a few around – but they’re hardly a threat and we’re slowly weeding them out.”
As Rodney had figured when he met with Elizabeth just before lunch, she barred him from the labs for the foreseeable future. She also didn’t assign him to anything else, pending an assessment by Heightmeyer – which he got out of the way that afternoon after Carson reported to Elizabeth that, as far as he could tell, Rodney was healthier now than when he’d left. Heightmeyer also pronounced him healthy – aside from a slight case of Stockholm syndrome that wouldn’t affect his every day life.
Rodney plopped down into a seat next to Chuck the next morning. “Are you always here?” he asked.
“Usually,” Chuck replied without looking away from one of the monitors. “It’s what happens when you work the day shift. Still on probation?”
“Yep. All that’s missing are the handcuffs,” Rodney replied. Hearing the odd snap of Lorne’s crutches, he added, “Oh, here they are.” Leaning back and looking at Lorne upside down, he said, “I could’ve sworn I lost you.”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” Lorne replied as he dropped into a nearby chair, panting slightly. “You’re not that hard to follow when you’re up early and not wearing one of the Atlantis uniforms.”
“If you’re going to be here for a while,” Chuck said, looking at Rodney, “you may as well tell us what it was like where you were.”
“Especially after we told you about everything that’s happened in Atlantis over the past three years,” Lorne added.
“Well, I don’t know where to start, really,” Rodney replied with a shrug. “I lived with a people whose technology is the other end of the spectrum from the Ancients. But, I will admit that their knowledge of their environment is pretty astounding. They live on a desert planet that has ongoing sandstorms and they’ve been able to thrive there around an anomalous cave system that has a spring inside.”
“I heard they have a different language,” Chuck said. “Would you mind speaking some of it?”
“I think our valiant ‘Gate technician is getting a little hungry for a taste of the off-world life,” Rodney said to Lorne and they both chuckled. “The Laprans do,” Rodney told Chuck, “unlike most planets – which Lorne can attest to.” He thought for a moment, before saying, “And I miss them – more than I thought I would. If I had known that, I might not have come back. I might have just told Sheppard, Teyla, and Ronon that I was happy to see them, but that I was fine and happy where I was and to let everyone else know. But my curiosity got the better of me and here I am. And now I don’t know if Elizabeth will let me go back.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Chuck replied with a grin. “What did you say?”
“Just that I missed them and that I hope I can see them again one day.” Rodney looked over his shoulder towards Elizabeth’s office. “I hope I can convince her to let me do it. The Laprans aren’t a threat – they really don’t care about taking over Atlantis. And neither do any of their trading partners.”
The days settled into a routine for Rodney. He’d wake up at 7:00 am, get dressed in his Lapran clothes, and head down to the mess hall for breakfast. After a few minutes of searching, he’d find something suitable to eat, still missing Jillian’s cooking. He would usually end up being joined by one, or more, of either his old teammates, Carson, Radek, or Chuck. Very rarely did Lorne join him; despite being in the Air Force, he thought 7:30 was an ungodly time to be awake if it wasn’t a necessity. They both knew where Rodney would end up anyway, so they figured it was a fair deal.
During the long shifts, Chuck was usually able to get Rodney started on stories about his time in Lapras, but it was Lorne who usually kept him going. Rodney found that he enjoyed talking about it, even if he had to be consistently reminded to speak in English – to Chuck and Lorne’s amusement. Through his story-telling and ensuing conversations, Rodney found that he did enjoy Chuck and Lorne’s company and that he and Chuck had more in common than simply being Canadian and their love of hockey. And Rodney found that he enjoyed Lorne’s sense of humor and how at ease he was with his surroundings.
Because of this, Rodney found himself considering Lorne as a bound friend and wondering how he’d take it. Lorne seemed like a good anchor and Rodney knew Kelly would approve of him. He was curious if Lorne would go for it, though. He knew it was an odd concept and that it would probably take Lorne a while to agree to it, if he didn’t say no outright. He would just have to think about the presentation some more.
In the evenings, Rodney, Chuck, and Lorne would normally go to dinner together when Chuck’s shift finished. Some nights, Rodney would hang out with them afterwards and either play cards or chess. He even taught them some of the Lapran dice games – which they got a kick out of playing. Other nights, he would go back to his room and go through his staff forms and then meditate. In every instance, when he went to bed, he fell asleep thinking of Lapras and the people he had left there.
“Do you think there’s anyway I could get some paper and something to write with?” Rodney asked Lorne one morning when he finally showed up.
“Sure,” Lorne replied with a shrug. “I’m sure Elizabeth will allow you a letter in lieu of a phone call. We can swing by my office at lunch time.”
Both Rodney and Chuck chuckled. Making light of Rodney’s “prisoner” status had become second nature among the three of them. “Sadly, that wouldn’t work either, since they don’t have a written language,” he replied. “I was thinking last night, though, that it would be good if I wrote all of this down,” he tapped his temple, “before I forget any of it. I’m sure the anthropologists and whoever else would love to get their hands on it.”
“I’m surprised they haven’t been swarming over you already,” Lorne commented as he sat down. “You’ve been back for a few weeks already. I could probably see about getting you a computer if you want – it might be quicker.”
“Dr. Weir probably told them they weren’t allowed near him until she said so,” Chuck commented.
“And she’s probably trying to make sure that I don’t go crazy or something first – so she probably won’t let me near a laptop either,” Rodney commented as he looked over towards her office. “This is insane. I’m sure she knows by now that I’m not going to suddenly go crazy. I’ve seen a bunch of teams come and go through the ‘Gate – including Sheppard’s. And nothing’s happened.”
“But you know she’s just being careful,” Lorne replied. “You know what things have been like.”
“I do,” Rodney replied, his anger rising. “And that’s what stings the most. I can understand the Laprans not wanting me to have contact with Atlantis – I’m an unknown element. They don’t know what I’m capable of or what my intentions are. Add in a different language and that spells a whole lot of trouble. But Elizabeth knows me and knows what I’m capable of. And you’ve all met the Morykons. If they’re worth trusting and they think that the Laprans are worth trusting, that should go a fair way when I come home. I shouldn’t be treated like a damn prisoner!” He smacked his hand on the console.
“English,” Chuck murmured as he looked past Rodney to Elizabeth’s office and saw her looking out at them. “You don’t want to give her any ammunition to use against you.”
“It’s not like I have anything to lose,” Rodney commented. “Is it lunchtime yet?”
It took Rodney a few days to get everything written out, and he spent most of the time murmuring under his breath as he went along to make sure he got it right. But he found it to be oddly comforting to write down the Laprans’ history and stories. The writing itself went easier than he had expected, though he occasionally stumbled over how to spell a word in Lapran. Once he was finished, he rewrote it and cleaned it up before moving on to translate it all into English.
“Okay,” Rodney said, putting down the pen for the last time and straightening the sheaf of papers. “I think I’m ready to make a break for it,” he said to Lorne.
Lorne nodded and stood, easily positioning his crutches under his arms as he said to Chuck, “If we don’t make it back alive, please take care of my plants and you can do whatever you want with the art supplies.”
“I’ll see you both for dinner, then?” Chuck replied straight-faced, though his eyes shown with amusement.
“God willing,” Rodney replied. The three men laughed and Rodney and Lorne headed out, Rodney’s papers cradled in the crook of his arm.
“Hello, Dr. McKay,” a woman greeted them when they entered the main anthropology lab. Rodney gave her a quick bow, but drew a blank on her name. “Major Lorne,” she added with a nod of her head.
“Hi, Dr. Tamoura,” Lorne replied with a nod as well.
“So you actually are capable of using people’s names,” Rodney dryly commented to Lorne.
“I only do it with people I’m not close to,” Lorne replied.
“How can I help you?” Dr. Tamoura asked, getting up from her workstation and coming over.
“Oh, right,” Rodney replied. “I – uh – I thought my experiences with the Laprans might be of interest to someone here, so I, uh, wrote down their history and stories – both in Lapran and in English.” He shifted the papers so they were practically shielding him.
Dr. Tamoura’s eyes lit up. “This is wonderful, Dr. McKay. May I?” She held out her hands and Rodney slowly handed the papers over to her, suddenly shy about doing so. Dr. Tamoura took them from him and began flipping through the English version. “Oh, this is amazing,” she said.
“It loses a little something in the reading,” Rodney commented, “since they have an oral tradition and lack a writing system. But I didn’t want to forget any of it.”
She looked up at him as if he was holding the Holy Grail. “I’m sure you’re a busy man, Dr. McKay, but would you mind recording at least some of this for us?”
“Sure,” Rodney replied with a shrug. “I’ll do all of it if you would like – in both Lapran and English, I presume?”
And now she looked like he had just given her both the Holy Grail and a verified map to the Fountain of Youth. “That would be *amazing*,” she said. “When can you start?”
“Whenever you want me to,” Rodney replied.
When they left a few hours later, Rodney had set up a few times when he could come in and record the Laprans’ oral traditions as well as answer some questions about their culture and his experience with them.
And with that weighing heavily on his mind, he said to Lorne, “I have something to ask of you. I know it’s going to sound weird and it’s okay if you don’t want to, but would you consider being my bound friend?”
“That’s like best friends, right?” Lorne replied thoughtfully.
“That’s the simple way of saying it, yes. But for Laprans, there’s a lot of gravity to it.”
“Why me? You seem to get along just as well with Chuck. And what about one of your old friends or your teammates?”
Rodney shrugged. “Too much time has passed with most of them. I don’t know where to start with them. Besides, I don’t think that I’d be comfortable doing something like this with them. And Chuck –” Rodney shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t get the same vibe from him that I do you – that –.” Rodney huffed. “I don’t know how to explain it. Why are you closer with some people over others, when they’re all equal in merit?”
Lorne shrugged. “I get what you’re saying, though. What would my end of the bargain be?”
“You’d get a free pass to dump all of your shit on me whenever you want – among other things. But think about it and let me know,” he said as they turned into the mess hall and Lorne nodded.
“So, what’s on the agenda today?” John asked, plopping down across from Rodney at breakfast one morning.
Rodney shrugged a shoulder as he set down his fruit cup. “I’ll probably hang out with Lorne and Chuck this morning, like usual. Then this afternoon, I promised Dr. Tamoura I’d start recording the English version of some Lapran stories. After dinner’s still free if you wanted to do something.”
“Actually, I’m giving Lorne the day off today,” John told him. “I figured he’d like some time to get a few things done. And it’ll give us some time together, since we’ve hardly seen each other since you came back.”
“Well, that’s very thoughtful of you. I wouldn’t want to keep you from anything, though. I know Elizabeth’s always after you to get your paperwork done.”
“Actually, I’m all caught up,” John replied with a smile.
“Okay, then you’re going to help me figure out how to convince Elizabeth that I’m not a threat and that I don’t need Lorne babysitting me – as much as I’ve come to enjoy his company.”
“Maybe if you didn’t spend so much of your time in the control room, she might consider it. It does look a little suspicious, you know.”
“I’m sure it does, but I’ve also come to enjoy Chuck’s company and I don’t want to give that up either. Besides, what else would I do? We both know I’m not going to be allowed back into the science lab.” As John opened his mouth, Rodney added, “You know what I mean. Me being in the anthropology lab is completely different.” He stood. “Well, if you’re ready, let’s go.”
They bussed their trays – John’s still with most of its food on it – and headed to the control room. Chuck looked at John suspiciously when they entered, but Rodney simply shrugged and sat down as Chuck and John greeted each other.
“Where’s Lorne?” Chuck asked as John made himself comfortable.
“Day off,” Rodney replied. “And I think he genuinely deserved it,” he added with a bit of a glare at John.
“Hey, don’t blame me,” John replied, holding his hands up. “If I had anything to do with it, you would’ve been completely reinstated and back on the team as soon as Carson cleared you.”
Chuck quickly and adeptly changed the topic and the morning passed easily enough, though both Chuck and Rodney were a little uncomfortable with John’s presence. Rodney suddenly and acutely was aware of the amount of time he had been gone. As easy as it had been to talk to John before, Rodney felt like the man before him was now a stranger.
When they left to meet with Dr. Tamoura, John said, “I want you to know, I have been talking with Elizabeth to get you your positions back – both on the team and in the labs. But she’s taking her time deciding what she wants to do.”
“Thank you, Colonel,” Rodney replied.
“And,” John lowered his voice, “I was hoping we could pick up where we left off before…” he paused for a moment, “before – you know.”
“I don’t know,” Rodney replied truthfully. “I’m a different person, as I’m sure you are as well. You have to remember that I thought I was going to be with the Laprans for good, Sheppard. I moved on.”
Lorne was waiting for them at the entrance to the anthropology labs and Rodney was surprised at how thankful he was for his presence. “I remembered as I was eating breakfast that I promised I’d help today, since they’ve got a number of people out in the field,” he told them by way of explanation. “I’ll drop him off to you when we’re done, if you want, Colonel,” he told John.
Rodney could feel the weight of John’s gaze for a moment before John turned to Lorne and replied, “Okay. Just radio me when you’re done.”
As they headed into the lab, Lorne told Rodney, “I also made a decision and this seemed like the kind of thing I’d tell you in person. I accept your offer – Lord knows we all need someone to keep us grounded.”
“Great,” Rodney replied with a grin as they sat down at the prepared workstation. “Let me know when you’ve got some free time and we’ll do the ceremony.”
Lorne snorted as he prepped the recorder. “Doc, right now time isn’t an issue.”
Continue to Part 22
The complete header can be found in part 1.
Previous parts can be found here.
“Are you sure about this?” Teyla asked as Rodney adjusted his robe and shouldered his pack – which now contained a number of items he had accumulated while on Lapras.
His Lantean items had been divvied between Ronon, John and Teyla’s packs. They all also had an extra bag – Teyla, Ronon, and John carried things that had been given as trading tokens. Rodney’s was full of things the Laprans had given to him to take with him. He didn’t know how they had gotten it together so quickly and he wasn’t even completely sure what all was in it.
“Yes, I’m sure,” he replied as he adjusted the straps and grabbed his staff and bag. Looking up at her, he added, “I need to do this. Okay, I’m ready.”
The foursome headed into the caves and then into the tunnel, joined by Kirby, Jillian, and Kelly. John gave them a wary look, but Rodney waved it off and spent most of the journey talking to them, wanting his last few hours with them to last as long as possible.
When they reached the ‘Gate, Kelly handed the dialer to Rodney. He plugged it in and, with shaking hands, tapped in the address for Atlantis. The ‘Gate initialized and kawooshed as it has countless times before. Rodney couldn’t help but stare at the shimmering wormhole for a long moment before John put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and sent his IDC through.
Suddenly having an idea, Rodney scrabbled in the front pocket of his pack and pulled out his own IDC, plus a piece of paper and a pencil – which he used to scribble down Atlantis’ address. “Here,” he said, handing them over to Kelly. “I want you guys to have these. If you ever need help, put in this address and, once the wormhole stabilizes, turn this on and press this button,” he showed them how. “That will get you through to us. Just tell them to get Rodney McKay and we’ll help you.”
“Okay,” Kelly replied a little uncertainly.
“Just in case,” Rodney told him and Kelly nodded.
“Are you coming, Rodney?” John asked and Rodney looked over his shoulder to see that Ronon and Teyla had already gone through. John was waiting for him, and had Rodney’s stuff at his feet.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Rodney muttered under his breath and Kelly, Kirby and Jillian looked at him, amused. He looked over all three of them for a long moment, before giving them each a bear hug. Pulling away from Kelly, he said, “I’m going to miss all of you. Thank you for everything.”
“Be happy, Rodney-kun,” Kirby replied.
“We’ll see each other again, Rodney-chan,” Kelly told him.
“And we’ll miss you too,” Jillian replied with a small smile.
Rodney let out a small breath as he turned and headed up the steps of the ‘Gate’s dais. He *wasn’t* going to cry, damnit. When he reached John, he gave him a small nod and John headed through the ‘Gate. Rodney looked back at his little family and raised his hand in a wave. They repeated the movement and he stepped through the ‘Gate.
When he stepped through on the other side, Rodney reflexively took a breath as he reoriented himself. He was subconsciously aware of the ‘Gate dissipating behind him and felt a twinge of sadness.
“We were beginning to wonder if you’d changed your mind,” John told him with a wry grin from where he, Ronon and Teyla were waiting for him.
“Well, I made a promise that I’d come back for at least a little while,” Rodney replied nonchalantly, as if this whole thing had been planned all along.
“Rodney,” Elizabeth said, approaching him cautiously, as if he wasn’t really there.
“Elizabeth,” Rodney replied with a small bow. “It’s good to see you again.”
She impulsively threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Rodney slowly returned the hug, more than a little shocked at her action. “You’re really back,” she said more to his shoulder than to him.
“Yes, I am,” he replied, unsure of what to do, as he gently rubbed a circle on her back.
She tentatively stepped back and quickly wiped her eyes, giving him an apologetic smile. “I’m sure you’ll want to get settled in. Your quarters are still available if you want them.”
“Sure,” he replied with a shrug.
“Debriefing will be in an hour,” she said pointedly to all four of them.
Rodney nodded as he headed to his quarters, dimly aware of the people around him. He knew in his mind, that even with the probable expansion of the expedition over the past four cycles, Atlantis still had fewer people than Lapras. But it still seemed like there were more people around and between them and the hard walls of the city by the time he reached his quarters, he felt claustrophobic.
As soon as he entered his quarters, he dropped his bags and staff on the bed and headed out onto his balcony to take in deep breaths of air, feeling himself slowly relax. Once he felt calmer, he headed back into the room and looked around.
Everything looked the way he remembered it, which felt oddly comforting. The discomfiting part was that it looked like he had only been gone a short time, not four cycles. It hadn’t been completely cleared out like he had figured it would be – and it was still as clean. The only thing that was different was his desk; it had been completely cleared off. Any papers and laptops that were on it had disappeared, though he assumed that they had been taken down to the labs so the other scientists could use them, which he approved of. Also missing were the dirty coffee mugs, food wrappers, and partially eaten food that had been strewn on his desk along with his papers – and would have been a biological hazard by now.
He took off his robe and boots, carefully laying the robe over his desk chair and placing his boots at the end of his bed and propped his staff in the corner of his bed and the wall. He pulled his moccasins out of his pack and slipped them on. He sighed as he looked around the room again, trying to figure out where to start.
He opened the drawers in his dresser and found only one completely full with his Lantean clothing, the other two had a few scattered remnants. He put his Lantean clothes in the bottom drawer and consolidated the odds and ends into the right half of the middle drawer. He emptied his pack and put his Lapran clothes into the top drawer.
He began carefully unpacking the bag from the Laprans. He smiled when he pulled out the pouch on top – it had been filled with foodstuffs for his journey. There were also two pouches of water. Beneath that was a new set of clothes – shirt, pants, and moccasins. He found a few other practical things in the bag – a tinder starter, a comb and towel, a set of sheets, and a blanket. He smiled fondly as he pulled each thing out, thinking of the people who would have contributed the items.
Wrapped up in the blanket was a tea set Rodney remembered admiring and he placed it on top of his dresser, wondering what Kelly had used to barter for it. Wedged into a corner at the bottom of the bag, Rodney found Kirby had packed his medicine pouch with everything he’d need. As he took a quick stock of what exactly he had, he found a small bundle among the herbs and he carefully opened it. Inside was a delicate glass ornament. Rodney held it up to the window and it glittered in the setting sun. He realized that Jillian had made him a dream catcher and smiled as he carefully hung it on his bed.
He quickly changed the sheets and blanket on his bed to the Lapran ones and stowed the Lantean ones in the dresser. After putting everything away, he ate a snack of dried fruit and jerky and looked around his room with a sigh. It was going to take some getting used to.
The door chime sounded and Rodney started, almost choking on his water. “Come in,” he called between coughs.
The door slid open with a slight whoosh and John came in. “Here’s your things,” he said, dropping his pack on Rodney’s desk. “Settling back in okay?” he asked as he looked around.
“I guess so,” Rodney replied as he cleaned up the remains of his snack and inwardly dared John to comment on his changes. His defensiveness surprised him. If only John acted like he had actually been gone for three years and not just over to the mainland for a jaunt to the Athosian settlement….
John intercepted him as Rodney crossed over to the desk and he put his hands on Rodney’s waist. “I missed you *so* much,” he whispered, his voice raw, and leaned into to kiss Rodney.
Surprised, Rodney jumped back, jarring the desk. “Ow,” he said, rubbing his hip. “I missed you too, John,” he replied. “But I’m not –” He shook his head and turned to the pack. “I can’t do this right now.”
“What was that?” John asked, sounding surprised, hurt, and curious all rolled up into one. But he didn’t close the distance.
“I said I’d better get this unpacked before we have to leave for the debriefing,” Rodney replied as if nothing had happened.
Rodney carefully took out the water bottles, energy bars, glycerin tablets, epi pens, writing pens, and writing tablets. “That looks like everything,” he said as he handed back John’s pack, not commenting on the absence of his laptops, data pads and various accoutrements.
“I haven’t said anything about the IDC code yet,” John said. “I figured you’d want to tell Elizabeth yourself about that one.”
“Okay,” Rodney replied. “We should get going. The briefing’s going to start soon.”
John looked at his watch and then around the room, confused. He knew Rodney hadn’t been wearing a watch when they came through the ‘Gate and he had never kept any clocks in his room. But he was right on the money. “Yeah, we have about five minutes. How did you know that?” he asked, incredulous.
“Lapras is on the same time rotation we are,” Rodney replied as he grabbed his medicine pouch and headed out, a confused John following behind. “The only difference is that they have a ten month rotation cycle compared to our twelve. When you don’t have the sun or some sort of timepiece to tell you what time it is, you get very used to being able to just know what time it is.”
“Well, I guess that’s kind of cool. Did you develop any other superpowers while you were away?” John asked dryly.
“Don’t mock me, Colonel. I can still kill you with my brain.”
“I don’t doubt that,” John muttered.
They walked the rest of the way to the conference room in silence. Once there, Rodney quickly slipped into the empty seat between Teyla and Ronon. John gave him a confused look, but said nothing as he sat on the other side of Ronon and across from Rodney. Elizabeth came in with Radek Zelenka, Major Lorne – who was on crutches – and a man Rodney was fairly certain he should know, but couldn’t place, and they all took a seat. Carson limped in last and took the final seat next to John.
Rodney couldn’t take his eyes off of Carson. The man had limped in and sat down heavily – which was unexpected. There was also something wrong with his left hand. Rodney couldn’t quite place what it was, but it nagged at him. He watched as John leaned over and said something quietly in Carson’s ear. Carson shook his head and murmured something back as he flexed his hand. John said something else and Carson chuckled, his mood brightening.
Rodney was surprised at them. Well, at John specifically. He could tell right away that, Carson at least, definitely had feelings that weren’t exactly platonic. And Sheppard was either playing it very cool for once or was oblivious. Rodney was betting on the latter, knowing his teammate. And he knew that John wouldn’t have come on to him in his quarters if he and Carson were in a relationship.
“Let’s get started,” Elizabeth said. “This debriefing will be conducted in parts. I want to, first, make sure we’re all on the same page as to what’s going to happen now that Rodney’s back. Then I would like Rodney to go get a full examination – standard precaution, while I debrief John and his team about their mission. After all of Carson’s tests are done, the relevant people will reconvene for where we go next.”
There were murmurs of assent as she paused before continuing on, “First off, welcome back, Rodney. It’s great to have you back with us. For the time being, I’d like Radek to stay in charge of the Science Department until you’ve finished readjusting to Atlantis.” Both men nodded in agreement. “And for the next few weeks, I am going to have Major Lorne assigned to you as an escort.”
“What?” Rodney was completely taken aback by that. “Why?”
“Safety precautions,” Elizabeth replied calmly. “You should know – you helped write the rules.”
“I know,” Rodney replied with a sigh. “But don’t you think that *nothing* *happening* in the four cycles I was gone would indicate that the Laprans and their trading partners don’t really care about Atlantis? Your own dealings with the Morykons should be proof of that.” He slumped back in his seat. “This is insane,” he muttered, crossing his arms.
“What was that?” Elizabeth asked.
“Nothing,” Rodney replied insolently.
“I would think that your use of the Lapran language and the fact that you’re still wearing Lapran garb would be more than enough cause for concern. And you said you’ve been gone for four cycles. How long do you think you’ve been gone?”
Rodney let out a huff and started to explain as if he was talking to a room of three-year-olds. “Four cycles. One cycle is ten months. Each month is thirty days. Therefore, I’ve been gone for a total of 1200 days, or three years, three months, and fifteen days – give or take a few hours.”
“I have a feeling we can all safely assume that that really is Rodney McKay,” John quipped.
Rodney glared at him and replied caustically, “Thank you for that scientifically astute observation, Captain Obvious.” Turning his attention back to Elizabeth, he said, “If you really wanted someone to keep an eye on me, please don’t insult both Major Lorne and myself by wasting both of our time. I could *walk* faster than him right now.”
“But I’m pretty sure I could take you out with my crutches before you got very far,” Lorne replied calmly and without batting an eye.
“That’s why,” Elizabeth replied. “Besides, he doesn’t have anything else to do for the next two months while his leg is in the cast, therefore he will be your escort until we get things straightened out.”
“Who’s the new guy?” Rodney asked before Elizabeth could get any further.
“Dr. Johan Darby,” the stranger replied. “I’m your mandated replacement. And I will gladly give you back your position on the team as soon as I’m allowed.”
“What are your credentials?” Rodney asked him warily.
“I have a doctorate in biogeochemistry and engineering. I came over as part of the original expedition. And I’m from Podunk, Mississippi, by way of Area 51 and Goa’uld technology.”
“That’s good. But, seriously – Johan?”
Darby just shrugged in response. “At least that wasn’t my fault.”
“Rodney, why don’t you, Carson and Lorne head down to the infirmary and get started?” Elizabeth asked, her tone implying that it wasn’t actually a request. The three men nodded and left the conference room.
“It’s good to see you again, Rodney,” Carson said as they headed for the transporter. “John always believed we’d get you back.”
“It’s good to see you too, Carson,” Rodney replied, as they stopped outside the transporter, and put his hands on Carson’s cheeks. “And you too, Major Lorne,” he added with a slight bow. “Well, we all know about Sheppard’s ‘leave no man behind’ complex.” That earned him a snicker from Lorne as they stepped into the transporter.
When they reached the infirmary, Lorne plopped down onto a bed near the doorway and Carson led Rodney farther back.
Sitting down where indicated, Rodney quietly asked, “So what happened?”
“His foot made a detour into a sinkhole and the rest of him kept going on its original course,” Carson replied in a business-like tone as he pulled out a thermometer and a blood pressure cuff.
“No, I mean with you,” Rodney managed to get out before Carson stuck the thermometer in his mouth.
“It was an exploding brain tumor a few months after you left. Thankfully, the total damage was minimal compared to what it could have been.”
“Do I want to ask about the exploding tumor, or just be quietly grateful that I wasn’t here?”
“Be quietly grateful,” Carson replied as he strapped the cuff around Rodney’s arm.
Carson did a thorough examination and, when he was finished, said, “From my preliminary analysis, you’re healthier than when you left. You’ve lost the excess weight and your blood pressure is down. And you have no apparent symptoms of anything that you might have caught while you were there. I’ll know more about everything else when I get the test results back in a few hours. So I have no reason to keep you here. Why don’t you go get something to eat? We wouldn’t want your hypoglycemia to kick in.”
“Thanks, Carson,” Rodney replied as he hopped down from the exam table. “I’ll see you in a few hours.” He bowed slightly to Carson before crossing the room and waking the dozing Lorne. “If you want to have any chance of keeping up with me, you better come along and get something to eat.”
The next morning, Rodney woke up disoriented and, for a fleeting moment, terrified that he had been captured and taken prisoner. Then it slowly settled in that he was back in his quarters in Atlantis and that he wasn’t technically a prisoner – or, at least, that Elizabeth would never technically call it such.
He got up, made quick work of getting dressed and making himself presentable before heading down to the mess hall. There were a few scattered groups already eating when he got there, and a few people looked at him in either shock or surprise as he got something to eat and sat down. But no one approached him as he ate.
Once he’d finished eating, he debated where to go and ended up heading out to the control room. He figured that if Elizabeth was having him escorted everywhere for the time being, she wasn’t going to let him in the labs just yet.
“Welcome back, Dr. McKay,” one of the technicians said.
“Thanks… uh… Chuck?” Rodney asked, thinking he looked familiar and the tech nodded.
“You’re a hard man to find, Doc,” Lorne said, coming up behind him.
“I highly doubt it, Major,” Rodney replied, turning to him. “We both know that if you’re tailing me, Elizabeth more than likely will keep me out of the labs for the time being. That drastically cuts down the places I’d be.”
“But the control room?”
Rodney shrugged. “I figured it would be a good place as any to hear about whatever’s going on. And I might get to annoy Elizabeth in the process for thinking I’m a threat.” He sat down in an empty chair next to Chuck. “You may as well get comfortable, Major. I’m not planning on going anywhere for a while. So… what can you two tell me about my replacement – Dr. Johan Darby?”
Both men shrugged. “He’s a nice guy,” Chuck said.
“He can hold his own in a fight,” Lorne added. “He tends to keep to himself, though, when he’s not working. Seems to get along with the team – including Sheppard.”
“What do you mean – ‘including Sheppard’?” Rodney asked, intrigued.
“From what I heard, he didn’t want to add anyone to the team – he wanted to leave your spot open. But Dr. Weir made him.”
“Interesting,” Rodney replied. “So, what else have I missed?”
“Some of the expedition members have gotten married,” Chuck told him, “and there are a few kids running around Atlantis now.”
“The Wraith are no longer a threat,” Lorne added. At Rodney’s questioning look, he said, “We turned them on Michael and things just went downhill from there. There are still a few around – but they’re hardly a threat and we’re slowly weeding them out.”
As Rodney had figured when he met with Elizabeth just before lunch, she barred him from the labs for the foreseeable future. She also didn’t assign him to anything else, pending an assessment by Heightmeyer – which he got out of the way that afternoon after Carson reported to Elizabeth that, as far as he could tell, Rodney was healthier now than when he’d left. Heightmeyer also pronounced him healthy – aside from a slight case of Stockholm syndrome that wouldn’t affect his every day life.
Rodney plopped down into a seat next to Chuck the next morning. “Are you always here?” he asked.
“Usually,” Chuck replied without looking away from one of the monitors. “It’s what happens when you work the day shift. Still on probation?”
“Yep. All that’s missing are the handcuffs,” Rodney replied. Hearing the odd snap of Lorne’s crutches, he added, “Oh, here they are.” Leaning back and looking at Lorne upside down, he said, “I could’ve sworn I lost you.”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” Lorne replied as he dropped into a nearby chair, panting slightly. “You’re not that hard to follow when you’re up early and not wearing one of the Atlantis uniforms.”
“If you’re going to be here for a while,” Chuck said, looking at Rodney, “you may as well tell us what it was like where you were.”
“Especially after we told you about everything that’s happened in Atlantis over the past three years,” Lorne added.
“Well, I don’t know where to start, really,” Rodney replied with a shrug. “I lived with a people whose technology is the other end of the spectrum from the Ancients. But, I will admit that their knowledge of their environment is pretty astounding. They live on a desert planet that has ongoing sandstorms and they’ve been able to thrive there around an anomalous cave system that has a spring inside.”
“I heard they have a different language,” Chuck said. “Would you mind speaking some of it?”
“I think our valiant ‘Gate technician is getting a little hungry for a taste of the off-world life,” Rodney said to Lorne and they both chuckled. “The Laprans do,” Rodney told Chuck, “unlike most planets – which Lorne can attest to.” He thought for a moment, before saying, “And I miss them – more than I thought I would. If I had known that, I might not have come back. I might have just told Sheppard, Teyla, and Ronon that I was happy to see them, but that I was fine and happy where I was and to let everyone else know. But my curiosity got the better of me and here I am. And now I don’t know if Elizabeth will let me go back.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Chuck replied with a grin. “What did you say?”
“Just that I missed them and that I hope I can see them again one day.” Rodney looked over his shoulder towards Elizabeth’s office. “I hope I can convince her to let me do it. The Laprans aren’t a threat – they really don’t care about taking over Atlantis. And neither do any of their trading partners.”
The days settled into a routine for Rodney. He’d wake up at 7:00 am, get dressed in his Lapran clothes, and head down to the mess hall for breakfast. After a few minutes of searching, he’d find something suitable to eat, still missing Jillian’s cooking. He would usually end up being joined by one, or more, of either his old teammates, Carson, Radek, or Chuck. Very rarely did Lorne join him; despite being in the Air Force, he thought 7:30 was an ungodly time to be awake if it wasn’t a necessity. They both knew where Rodney would end up anyway, so they figured it was a fair deal.
During the long shifts, Chuck was usually able to get Rodney started on stories about his time in Lapras, but it was Lorne who usually kept him going. Rodney found that he enjoyed talking about it, even if he had to be consistently reminded to speak in English – to Chuck and Lorne’s amusement. Through his story-telling and ensuing conversations, Rodney found that he did enjoy Chuck and Lorne’s company and that he and Chuck had more in common than simply being Canadian and their love of hockey. And Rodney found that he enjoyed Lorne’s sense of humor and how at ease he was with his surroundings.
Because of this, Rodney found himself considering Lorne as a bound friend and wondering how he’d take it. Lorne seemed like a good anchor and Rodney knew Kelly would approve of him. He was curious if Lorne would go for it, though. He knew it was an odd concept and that it would probably take Lorne a while to agree to it, if he didn’t say no outright. He would just have to think about the presentation some more.
In the evenings, Rodney, Chuck, and Lorne would normally go to dinner together when Chuck’s shift finished. Some nights, Rodney would hang out with them afterwards and either play cards or chess. He even taught them some of the Lapran dice games – which they got a kick out of playing. Other nights, he would go back to his room and go through his staff forms and then meditate. In every instance, when he went to bed, he fell asleep thinking of Lapras and the people he had left there.
“Do you think there’s anyway I could get some paper and something to write with?” Rodney asked Lorne one morning when he finally showed up.
“Sure,” Lorne replied with a shrug. “I’m sure Elizabeth will allow you a letter in lieu of a phone call. We can swing by my office at lunch time.”
Both Rodney and Chuck chuckled. Making light of Rodney’s “prisoner” status had become second nature among the three of them. “Sadly, that wouldn’t work either, since they don’t have a written language,” he replied. “I was thinking last night, though, that it would be good if I wrote all of this down,” he tapped his temple, “before I forget any of it. I’m sure the anthropologists and whoever else would love to get their hands on it.”
“I’m surprised they haven’t been swarming over you already,” Lorne commented as he sat down. “You’ve been back for a few weeks already. I could probably see about getting you a computer if you want – it might be quicker.”
“Dr. Weir probably told them they weren’t allowed near him until she said so,” Chuck commented.
“And she’s probably trying to make sure that I don’t go crazy or something first – so she probably won’t let me near a laptop either,” Rodney commented as he looked over towards her office. “This is insane. I’m sure she knows by now that I’m not going to suddenly go crazy. I’ve seen a bunch of teams come and go through the ‘Gate – including Sheppard’s. And nothing’s happened.”
“But you know she’s just being careful,” Lorne replied. “You know what things have been like.”
“I do,” Rodney replied, his anger rising. “And that’s what stings the most. I can understand the Laprans not wanting me to have contact with Atlantis – I’m an unknown element. They don’t know what I’m capable of or what my intentions are. Add in a different language and that spells a whole lot of trouble. But Elizabeth knows me and knows what I’m capable of. And you’ve all met the Morykons. If they’re worth trusting and they think that the Laprans are worth trusting, that should go a fair way when I come home. I shouldn’t be treated like a damn prisoner!” He smacked his hand on the console.
“English,” Chuck murmured as he looked past Rodney to Elizabeth’s office and saw her looking out at them. “You don’t want to give her any ammunition to use against you.”
“It’s not like I have anything to lose,” Rodney commented. “Is it lunchtime yet?”
It took Rodney a few days to get everything written out, and he spent most of the time murmuring under his breath as he went along to make sure he got it right. But he found it to be oddly comforting to write down the Laprans’ history and stories. The writing itself went easier than he had expected, though he occasionally stumbled over how to spell a word in Lapran. Once he was finished, he rewrote it and cleaned it up before moving on to translate it all into English.
“Okay,” Rodney said, putting down the pen for the last time and straightening the sheaf of papers. “I think I’m ready to make a break for it,” he said to Lorne.
Lorne nodded and stood, easily positioning his crutches under his arms as he said to Chuck, “If we don’t make it back alive, please take care of my plants and you can do whatever you want with the art supplies.”
“I’ll see you both for dinner, then?” Chuck replied straight-faced, though his eyes shown with amusement.
“God willing,” Rodney replied. The three men laughed and Rodney and Lorne headed out, Rodney’s papers cradled in the crook of his arm.
“Hello, Dr. McKay,” a woman greeted them when they entered the main anthropology lab. Rodney gave her a quick bow, but drew a blank on her name. “Major Lorne,” she added with a nod of her head.
“Hi, Dr. Tamoura,” Lorne replied with a nod as well.
“So you actually are capable of using people’s names,” Rodney dryly commented to Lorne.
“I only do it with people I’m not close to,” Lorne replied.
“How can I help you?” Dr. Tamoura asked, getting up from her workstation and coming over.
“Oh, right,” Rodney replied. “I – uh – I thought my experiences with the Laprans might be of interest to someone here, so I, uh, wrote down their history and stories – both in Lapran and in English.” He shifted the papers so they were practically shielding him.
Dr. Tamoura’s eyes lit up. “This is wonderful, Dr. McKay. May I?” She held out her hands and Rodney slowly handed the papers over to her, suddenly shy about doing so. Dr. Tamoura took them from him and began flipping through the English version. “Oh, this is amazing,” she said.
“It loses a little something in the reading,” Rodney commented, “since they have an oral tradition and lack a writing system. But I didn’t want to forget any of it.”
She looked up at him as if he was holding the Holy Grail. “I’m sure you’re a busy man, Dr. McKay, but would you mind recording at least some of this for us?”
“Sure,” Rodney replied with a shrug. “I’ll do all of it if you would like – in both Lapran and English, I presume?”
And now she looked like he had just given her both the Holy Grail and a verified map to the Fountain of Youth. “That would be *amazing*,” she said. “When can you start?”
“Whenever you want me to,” Rodney replied.
When they left a few hours later, Rodney had set up a few times when he could come in and record the Laprans’ oral traditions as well as answer some questions about their culture and his experience with them.
And with that weighing heavily on his mind, he said to Lorne, “I have something to ask of you. I know it’s going to sound weird and it’s okay if you don’t want to, but would you consider being my bound friend?”
“That’s like best friends, right?” Lorne replied thoughtfully.
“That’s the simple way of saying it, yes. But for Laprans, there’s a lot of gravity to it.”
“Why me? You seem to get along just as well with Chuck. And what about one of your old friends or your teammates?”
Rodney shrugged. “Too much time has passed with most of them. I don’t know where to start with them. Besides, I don’t think that I’d be comfortable doing something like this with them. And Chuck –” Rodney shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t get the same vibe from him that I do you – that –.” Rodney huffed. “I don’t know how to explain it. Why are you closer with some people over others, when they’re all equal in merit?”
Lorne shrugged. “I get what you’re saying, though. What would my end of the bargain be?”
“You’d get a free pass to dump all of your shit on me whenever you want – among other things. But think about it and let me know,” he said as they turned into the mess hall and Lorne nodded.
“So, what’s on the agenda today?” John asked, plopping down across from Rodney at breakfast one morning.
Rodney shrugged a shoulder as he set down his fruit cup. “I’ll probably hang out with Lorne and Chuck this morning, like usual. Then this afternoon, I promised Dr. Tamoura I’d start recording the English version of some Lapran stories. After dinner’s still free if you wanted to do something.”
“Actually, I’m giving Lorne the day off today,” John told him. “I figured he’d like some time to get a few things done. And it’ll give us some time together, since we’ve hardly seen each other since you came back.”
“Well, that’s very thoughtful of you. I wouldn’t want to keep you from anything, though. I know Elizabeth’s always after you to get your paperwork done.”
“Actually, I’m all caught up,” John replied with a smile.
“Okay, then you’re going to help me figure out how to convince Elizabeth that I’m not a threat and that I don’t need Lorne babysitting me – as much as I’ve come to enjoy his company.”
“Maybe if you didn’t spend so much of your time in the control room, she might consider it. It does look a little suspicious, you know.”
“I’m sure it does, but I’ve also come to enjoy Chuck’s company and I don’t want to give that up either. Besides, what else would I do? We both know I’m not going to be allowed back into the science lab.” As John opened his mouth, Rodney added, “You know what I mean. Me being in the anthropology lab is completely different.” He stood. “Well, if you’re ready, let’s go.”
They bussed their trays – John’s still with most of its food on it – and headed to the control room. Chuck looked at John suspiciously when they entered, but Rodney simply shrugged and sat down as Chuck and John greeted each other.
“Where’s Lorne?” Chuck asked as John made himself comfortable.
“Day off,” Rodney replied. “And I think he genuinely deserved it,” he added with a bit of a glare at John.
“Hey, don’t blame me,” John replied, holding his hands up. “If I had anything to do with it, you would’ve been completely reinstated and back on the team as soon as Carson cleared you.”
Chuck quickly and adeptly changed the topic and the morning passed easily enough, though both Chuck and Rodney were a little uncomfortable with John’s presence. Rodney suddenly and acutely was aware of the amount of time he had been gone. As easy as it had been to talk to John before, Rodney felt like the man before him was now a stranger.
When they left to meet with Dr. Tamoura, John said, “I want you to know, I have been talking with Elizabeth to get you your positions back – both on the team and in the labs. But she’s taking her time deciding what she wants to do.”
“Thank you, Colonel,” Rodney replied.
“And,” John lowered his voice, “I was hoping we could pick up where we left off before…” he paused for a moment, “before – you know.”
“I don’t know,” Rodney replied truthfully. “I’m a different person, as I’m sure you are as well. You have to remember that I thought I was going to be with the Laprans for good, Sheppard. I moved on.”
Lorne was waiting for them at the entrance to the anthropology labs and Rodney was surprised at how thankful he was for his presence. “I remembered as I was eating breakfast that I promised I’d help today, since they’ve got a number of people out in the field,” he told them by way of explanation. “I’ll drop him off to you when we’re done, if you want, Colonel,” he told John.
Rodney could feel the weight of John’s gaze for a moment before John turned to Lorne and replied, “Okay. Just radio me when you’re done.”
As they headed into the lab, Lorne told Rodney, “I also made a decision and this seemed like the kind of thing I’d tell you in person. I accept your offer – Lord knows we all need someone to keep us grounded.”
“Great,” Rodney replied with a grin as they sat down at the prepared workstation. “Let me know when you’ve got some free time and we’ll do the ceremony.”
Lorne snorted as he prepped the recorder. “Doc, right now time isn’t an issue.”
Continue to Part 22