Title: Trapped

Author: Chaps1870

Pairing: McShep

Rating: NC17

Disclaimer: Alas, they do not belong to me. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter One

Rodney stepped into John’s room not bothering to knock. He hadn’t done that since they’d stopped with the sex. He’d wanted to say it was more than that, but Sheppard made it clear from the start that it was a way towards release, nothing more. Rodney was sure they could have made it more if Caldwell hadn’t stepped in and made a point of clarifying all the ‘rules’ upon his arrival. No doubt he’d gotten wind of the freedoms some of the Atlanteans were indulging in without repercussion and it didn’t fit in with his ‘military’ mindset.

The newly promoted Lt. Colonel Sheppard promptly called a halt to his and Rodney’s liaisons, citing it wasn’t worth the risk and it was just buddyfucking anyway. Right? Well maybe for John. Rodney had seen it as more but was willing, albeit reluctantly, to forgo any advancement of the relationship rather than endanger Sheppard’s career or their friendship. He’d tried to argue that he could be discreet, but John’s priorities weren’t Rodney’s and they hadn’t been together in over a month. The fun ended amicably but Rodney still missed their time together and was pretty sure John did too, despite his protests.

Knowing and acting on it were two different things and Rodney kept his hands to himself. Walking into Sheppard’s quarters to the sound of the shower was too good to pass up and Rodney made a beeline for the bathroom. He leaned against the doorway, watching as Sheppard finished his shower. Although, by the looks of things he was doing more than showering.

Smiling, Rodney eyes brightened. “I could get that for you.”

John startled, his hand stilling on his erection as he leaned heavily into the wall, letting it support his weight. He closed his eyes and continued where he left off, smirking at McKay, “I’ve been doing it for years. I think I can manage.”

Crossing his arms, Rodney teased, “It appears you have things well in hand but think how much better it would feel with my hand there instead of yours.” John’s hand moved faster and Rodney grinned, unable to stop from commenting further, “A finger in your ass might just do the trick, Colonel.”

John’s knees buckled, his hand gripping his throbbing erection as he came hard, splattering the shower door with evidence of his release. Rodney snorted in satisfaction and turned away, leaving John to finish on his own. He grabbed one of Sheppard’s magazines and sat on the bed, flipping through the pages while he waited.

Appearing moments later, Sheppard flashed him an irritated look. “Very funny.”

Rodney didn’t bother hiding his smugness. “I thought it was rather ingenious on my part and in no way conflicts with Caldwell’s don’t touch rule.”

Glaring, John snapped, “Drop it, McKay. It’s not gonna happen.”

Shrugging, doing his best to appear nonchalant, Rodney sniped back, “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

Barely hiding his frustration, Sheppard masked it with a tinge of anger. “Well, knock it off. I can’t take the chance and you know that, so stop!”

Raising his hands in defense, Rodney sighed, “Fine, fine. So I’m assuming you haven’t found my replacement.”

John grabbed his coat and stormed out of the room. Rodney followed, a smug smile gracing his face as he called after him, “I’m guessing that’s a no.” There was a bounce in step that hadn’t been there in almost a month.

*******

The trip to MX3-949 was routine. Find the power source, hopefully a ZPM and return to Atlantis. Accepting it as routine should have been warning enough but McKay’s earlier behavior had left John feeling slightly off kilter all day. Rodney hadn’t pursued the matter and John didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Damn if the man could catch him off guard time and time again. Still, he refused to give the scientist the satisfaction of winning.

Kneeling down beside the console that McKay was presently crammed under, Sheppard smiled then spoke louder than was necessary, “How’s it going?”

A thump followed. “Damn it! Can’t you announce yourself like a normal person?” Sliding out and seeing the satisfied grin on Sheppard’s face, Rodney glared at him, “Oh that’s very mature, Colonel.” Rubbing the red spot that was already forming on his forehead, Rodney continued his tirade. “You could have caused me brain damage with your twelve-year-old mentality, Colonel. Go clean a gun or something equally productive. I’m busy.”

McKay moved to scoot back under the console when Sheppard stopped him, unfazed by his remarks. “How long is this gonna take?”

Rodney glowered impatiently, ducking his head under the console to inspect the control crystals he’d been rearranging for the last few hours, trying to spark some life into the dead console. “I’m sorry to task your attention span, but some things require more than two minutes to figure out.”

Rolling his eyes, John looked at his watch and drawled, “It’s been four hours, McKay. While this may be a wet dream for you, the rest of us are out there broiling in the sun.”

“My sympathies, Colonel. Next time I’d suggest sunscreen for your delicate skin. I thought that the point of this mission was to find a power source.” He peeked out and gave Sheppard a pointed look. “That is what I’m doing.”

John nudged McKay with his foot to keep his attention when he tried to return to his work. “The second sun comes up in an hour and I don’t plan on being here for that, so you have ten more minutes to pack it up. We’ll come back another day.”

Swatting the man’s foot away where it batted at his thigh, Rodney snapped, “I can’t just leave in the middle, Colonel. It doesn’t work that way. And stop kicking me! Besides, I’ve only a few more crystals to inspect and if that doesn’t work then I’ll be out of ideas and we can go home.”

“Cool.”

“Yes, very cool,” said Rodney, dripping with sarcasm as he continued working on the crystals.

Sneering good-naturedly, John moved over to the door, hoping to catch a draft coming in. It was hot outside and he thought being in the shade of the building might be cooler, but it was actually hotter inside without the breeze. No wonder Rodney was cranky, being trapped in here for four hours.

“Oh no!”

John straightened and asked nervously, “McKay?”

“Umm…” Rodney scooted out from under the console with a crystal still in hand. “You might want to get out, Colonel.”

“Rodney…What did you do?”

Rodney was on his feet, his eyes darting between the crystal in his hand and the console. An ominous roar filled the room and both men looked up, frozen momentarily by the sound. Rodney recovered first, more aware of the eminent danger than Sheppard. He bolted for the door, pushing John outward, “Run!”

It was too little, too late and the room exploded around them, landing them both in heap amongst the rubble.

Chapter Two

Teyla and Ronon were both blown off their feet in the explosion, but neither was injured but for a few scrapes and bruises. A thick cloud of dust still filled the air, making them both cough as they tried to find Sheppard and McKay amidst the rubble. They’d both heard McKay yell at the Sheppard to run, but they could only watch as the building collapsed around their teammates.

Rushing to where they’d last seen them, Teyla and Ronon stopped in their tracks, staring blankly at the sight in front of them. Sheppard was on the ground, ahead of Rodney and only half covered in rocks. McKay was much worse, barely visible under the pile of debris. Even more alarming was the domed force field that enclosed the area around the collapsed building, including where McKay lay. Thankfully, Sheppard lay more out of it than in.

Ronon rushed forward, only to shout angrily when he accidentally brushed the force field in his attempt to get to McKay. Holding his tingling hand, he shifted several feet to the left and was hurriedly working to uncover Sheppard. Teyla stood long enough to see that she wasn’t needed before addressing Ronon, “I will return to the Stargate and bring back help. Will you be alright here?”

“Yeah, go,” said Ronon, working to free Sheppard. Only his lower legs remained buried and there was little Ronon could do about it since they were within the force field. Sheppard was coming around slowly.

Confused and sore, John opened his eyes and stared up at Ronon. His throat scratched as he asked groggily, “What happened?”

“The building collapsed on top of you.”

John closed his eyes, remembering. They flew open and he looked around for McKay. Glancing to the side, he caught a glimpse of Rodney’s hand as it peeked out from under a pile of rock near his feet. “Rodney!”

Sitting up, John tried to move closer, but was held tight in a vice-like grip and he noticed for the first time the faint tint of blue that covered his lower legs. It surrounded the remains of the building, including Rodney. Instinctively, he reached out to grab McKay when a spark of blue light shot into his hand. Jerking his arm back in alarm, John grimaced in pain. “What is that?”

“Some sort of shield,” Ronon said, squatting beside Sheppard.

“Pull me out,” said John.

Ronon shifted and wrapped his arms under Sheppard’s and around his chest. “Ready?”

“Just get me out,” growled Sheppard, tensing as Ronon began to pull. The shield sparked wildly and John hissed in pain about the same time a moan came from Rodney. Both men stilled and watched as Rodney’s hand fluttered and went still. Leaning closer to the shield, but careful not to touch it, John spoke, “Rodney, can you hear me?”

Scrambling over the rocks, Ronon looked down at the scientist. It was impossible to tell how he was doing without being able to touch him and all that was really visible was one arm and the back of his head. The rest of McKay was pretty much covered in debris.

The big man shrugged. “Not much I can do.”

Ronon lightly touched the force field to emphasize his point and John jerked in response to the spark that flashed across the shield. He grabbed his legs, “Shit. Don’t do that again.”

“Sorry,” said Ronon, duly admonished for causing Sheppard pain. Looking down at McKay’s still form, Ronon wondered aloud, “Reckon he felt that too?”

A hand gripped John’s ankle, making him look down. Seeing Rodney’s hand, he startled, “Rodney!” Other than the hand tightening, there was no other response from the scientist.

“Come on, Rodney. If you can hear me, squeeze my ankle,” insisted John, resisting every urge to reach out and touch. There was nothing for several seconds of anxious waiting before Sheppard felt it. A barely discernible pressure indicating Rodney was awake and aware. John wasn’t sure if he was happy about that or not. Well he was happy Rodney was alive, but seeing him under the debris and conscious tore at places he didn’t know existed. “Hang in there, Rodney. We’re working on getting you out.” Another small squeeze and the hand went slack, resting on John’s ankle.

Ronon was up and pacing behind them both. Unable to take the waiting, he began moving the rocks that surrounded Sheppard, clearing the space. Finding McKay’s datapad he set it aside and continued the busy work. He only stopped when Teyla arrived, having run the whole way. “They are coming. They are bringing the jumpers.”

Dropping beside the Colonel, Teyla asked, “How are you doing?”

Sheppard shrugged off her concern. “A little bruised but I’m good. Did you tell them to bring Zelenka?”

“Yes, I explained about the shield,” said Teyla. Her eyes drifted to the fallen scientist. “Has he woken?”

John’s eyes never drifted from Rodney, his voice subdued as he answered, “Yeah, but he didn’t say anything.”

Dropping a hand on his shoulder, Teyla said reassuringly, “We will get him out when the others arrive.”

It was then that two jumpers arrived overhead, the rear hatches opening as soon as they settled. Lorne and several soldiers immediately set about cleaning the area around the downed men while Dr. Zelenka and Carson both rushed to speak to Colonel Sheppard, their support staff lingering in the background.

Sheppard gave a brief warning, “Don’t touch the shield.”

Radek immediately went for Rodney’s datapad, asking questions as he tried to access any information that Rodney might have found. “What happened, Colonel?”

Leaning back on his hands, letting them support him as Carson looked him over, John answered Radek, “I don’t know. One minute I was talking to McKay and the next he was pushing me out the door, telling me to run.”

“Do you know what he was working on?”

“He was trying to get the console to work. He said he only had a few more crystals to try and then we could go. Next thing I know the building is shaking and I wake up covered in rock and trapped in the shield.”

“Have you tried getting out?”

John resisted rolling his eyes. McKay was definitely wearing off on him. “Yes, I tried to get out. I’m stuck. When Ronon tried, the shield sparked and it hurt, so don’t even think it.”

“Hmph,” said Radek absently, his eyes busily scanning the information on the datapad.

“What?”

“I’m not sure. The information is incomplete.” Radek looked up, surveying the shield. “Shortly before Teyla informed us of what occurred, we received some unusual alarms in Atlantis. I am wondering if the two incidents are related. Perhaps he triggered some sort of security measure.”

“Yeah, yeah, great. Can you shut it off?” asked Sheppard, wincing when Becket tugged on his shirt to look at his back. He snarled at Carson when he prodded a couple of the really tender spots.

“Does that hurt?”

John shot him a frown, “Oh course it hurts. I was under the rocks.” He shrugged his shirt back down and answered in a calmer voice, “It’s just bruised. I’m fine.” His attention was back on Zelenka as he asked again, “Can you shut it down?”

“I do not know how if the control console is behind the shield,” admitted the scientist. “If it is related to Atlantis’ problem, perhaps we can find something from that end.”

The shield began to brighten then and just as suddenly a ribbon of blue light shot from the console, first to Rodney and then towards John’s legs in a wild display of sparkling energy. Sheppard tensed, his eyes clenched tight and his teeth clamped down as the pain hit him.

As the shield intensity grew, he fell back, arching in pain as tendrils of energy danced across the part of his legs still within the shield. The web of blue energy encompassed all of McKay and everyone froze as the scene played out. Sheppard was writhing in pain and even over the static hum of the light show, they could hear Rodney cry out. Only those closest to the two men could see the whiteness in McKay’s fingers where he gripped the Colonel’s ankle. The surge lasted several seconds and then was gone, leaving John heaving for air as his body relaxed, the pain gone as quickly as it had come.

Carson was at his side in an instant and Zelenka just stared wide-eyed at the shield. “It is smaller.”

John’s eyes shot open and seeing that Rodney’s head and part of his arm now outside the shield, he glanced down at his own legs, glad to see that one leg was now free and only his other foot was still trapped.

He shouted to the others, “Help, McKay. Get those rocks off him.” He tried to help, but the trapped foot made moving awkward and painful. It didn’t stop him from trying as he scooted closer, scrabbling for rocks and pushing them out of the way.

In short order, Rodney’s head and shoulders had been cleared of debris and Carson was leaning over him trying to assess the damage. With the rocks gone, it was clear that Rodney was badly hurt, blood staining the collar of his shirt. His face was pale and his eyes glazed with pain as he tried to recover his breath. Tiny tremors, evidence of his suffering, were now visible and Carson began issuing orders to his staff. There was little he could do. Rodney lay on his stomach, one arm still pinned beneath him and the other only partially freed from the shield.

Lowering himself as close as he could to Rodney, John was practically face to face with him. “Rodney. Open your eyes, talk to me.”

Rodney’s eyes remained shut and his lips barely moved as he muttered in a raspy whisper, “Can’t…move.”

“You’re buried under some rock and trapped in a force field. We’re working on getting you out. You gotta hang in there.” The hand that held John’s ankle was still painfully tight.

Carson reached for Rodney’s hand and tried to pull it free but met with resistance. “I need to get an IV in, Rodney. You need to let go,” insisted Carson softly, carefully prying Rodney’s fingers loose from John’s ankle.

Rodney muttered and Carson had to lean close to hear his whispered words. He sighed as Rodney repeated them, “I know it hurts. If you let go I can give you something for the pain. I can’t give you too much, but it’ll take the edge off.” One by one, Rodney relaxed his shaking fingers. Carson let out a long breath of relief and set to work. “Can you tell me where you’re hurt?”

With a stuttering breath, Rodney answered, his voice almost inaudible, “Chest…leg…my hand…” Eyes fluttering shut, he drifted off again.

Sheppard watched on as they cleaned and bandaged the wound at the back of McKay’s head and Carson administered an IV through the back of Rodney’s hand. It was the only place Carson could get to. It would help replace the fluids Rodney was losing. His clothes were already soaked with sweat and the hot sun wasn’t helping any. The second sun was up and the temperature was hovering around a hundred and twenty degrees, making everyone irritable. It would be another couple hours before the second sun began to set, cooling it down to more manageable temperatures.

Calling out to Major Lorne, John ordered, “Get a couple men to rig a shade over McKay and whatever you do, don’t touch the force field.” Lorne nodded and set a couple of his men to the task. Sheppard gestured to Radek, his voice harsher than he intended, “What the hell just happened to the shield?”

Radek held the datapad, shaking his head. “I do not know, Colonel. The energy surge was unexpected.” He hesitated, then added as he looked down at Rodney, “It has made the shield smaller so this is something.”

“Something?” shouted John, angrily. “Did you see how much pain he was in?” He wanted to yell at how much it hurt him, but it didn’t seem appropriate considering it had only surged over his legs. It was painful to think how much agony Rodney had suffered as the energy bolts covered his entire body. Glancing at Radek, John could see the despair in the scientist’s body language. Guilt replaced John’s anger. “Sorry.” Rubbing the sweat off his brow, he asked quietly, his eyes wandering back to Rodney, “Can you free him?”

Sadly, Radek shook his head, trying to avoid looking the Colonel in the eye. “I am sorry. I do not know what we can do as long as we are out here and the console is in there.” He pointed to the control console that sat inside the circle of crumbled rock, all surrounded by the shimmering blue force field. “I will send a message to Atlantis, see if they can help, maybe find something in the database.” With nothing more to say, he returned to the other scientists as they huddled together to come up with some sort of solution.

Chapter Three

John watched as his own hand slowly found a resting place on Rodney’s upper arm and didn’t make an effort to pull it away. Screw Caldwell and his homophobic rules. “How’s he doing, Carson?”

Carson shrugged, his eyes showing his worry for his friend. “He’s unconscious, thankfully. I’ve got him stabilized for now, but without being able to get to him, I’ve no way of knowing how badly he’s injured.” Looking at John, Carson asked, “How are you doing?”

“Sore.”

“That’s not what I mean,” said Carson.

John slowly lifted his head, his gaze meeting Carson’s and seeing a sympathetic understanding. He sidestepped the questioning look. “Just make him better and I’ll be fine.”

Shifting, John tried to move so his own body sheltered Rodney from the worst of the sun as his men worked around them both, constructing a more permanent shade. Time dragged, but John seemed oblivious to anything but Rodney. With infinite care, he helped Carson cool the scientist, who only emitted an occasional and far too infrequent response.

“Colonel?”

“Hmm?” said John, shielding his eyes as he looked up at Radek. The man appeared very nervous and hesitant. Whatever was on his mind didn’t bode well. “What is it you don’t want to tell me?”

“Um…we would like to test shield.”

John looked at him skeptically, his own anxiety rising. “Test it. How?”

“The shield decrease was preceded by a disturbance in the field. If this is true and not merely coincidence than we may be able to free Rodney sooner.”

Stunned, John stared for a fraction of a second resisting the urge to shout about the insanity of the plan. He did his best to remain calm. “You saw what that so called disturbance did to Rodney. Do you really want to put him through that again?”

“No, but I do not see any other options. I do not think that him lying buried under all that rock can be good for him either,” said Radek despairingly. Clearly he was worried about his friend and the untold damage Rodney might be suffering under the rocks.

Rubbing the sweat at the back of his neck, John closed his eyes. Opening them he asked, “What about Atlantis? Have they figured anything out?”

“They have found schematics for this site, but so far we have been unable to figure out what the site was intended for. Whatever Rodney did, it triggered the alarms on Atlantis, but we still do not know why.”

John frowned. “So you want to force the shield to shock him, just so it gets smaller?”

About that time the shield began to sputter and Radek jumped back in alarm, watching in horror as the console once again emitted the bolts of blue energy, aiming unerringly for Rodney. The scientist’s body jerked, arching under the electrical web that enclosed him. John didn’t fair much better. Even the energy darting over his entrapped foot was enough to send him writhing on the ground in pain. It was heart-wrenching to witness and they were helpless to do anything but wait it out.

When it was over, Rodney slumped back to the ground and began vomiting. In the position he was in, he ended up lying with his cheek in the puddled mess. The closeness made him gag, even though his stomach was empty. Rodney didn’t have the strength to move away even if he could. Sheppard lay on the ground, trying to find his breath.

The surge had again decreased the size of the field and shouting alerted John to the change. Seeing Rodney’s labored breathing, a combination of retching and the weight on his back, John and Radek both scrambled forward and removed rocks from Rodney’s upper back. It wasn’t much, but every foot of untrapped Rodney was good. Doing all that he could, John returned to kneel beside McKay’s head as Zelenka hurried to check the latest readings on the shield.

Carson was scooping away the contaminated dirt from under Rodney’s head, removing the foul substance in an attempt to make the scientist more comfortable. Handing Sheppard a canteen, Carson spoke, “See if you can get him to drink some. Not too much though. I don’t know what kind of internal injuries he might have and I’d rather not exacerbate that. Don’t let him move his head.” His professional tone did very little to hide the internal turmoil or helplessness that was there in Carson’s eyes.

Nodding, John took the canteen and bent over a shivering Rodney. Shock was setting in and Carson was doing his best to control the situation. Cupping his hand, John poured some water into it and tried getting Rodney to drink. It was clumsy and messy but he managed to get his friend to take some. “Rinse and spit.” Rodney complied but it was more rinse and drool. John wiped his face and started the process over, this time letting Rodney swallow.

It was followed by a strained sigh, “Thanks. Bedside manner…sucks.”

John found it hard to smile seeing the effort it took for Rodney to even speak those few words, but he did his best to lighten the mood. “Yeah, next time I’ll be sure to pack a straw.” His expression turned serious as Rodney tried to laugh and ended up coughing painfully. “Easy.” Resting his hand lightly on Rodney’s back, John rubbed it in lazy circles as his eyes darted frantically to Carson.

The doctor was already cutting away McKay’s shirt to see what the damage was. John wasn’t encouraged by the frown on Carson’s face as he pressed a stethoscope to Rodney’s exposed back nor the startling purple bruising that marked his pale white skin.

Carson gestured towards the Colonel for a private discussion, away from Rodney. Bending close to the scientist, John spoke, “I’m gonna check on a few things. I’ll be right back. You be okay?”

Rodney gave a very small nod and closed his eyes. John gently stroked his back one more time before joining Carson, who had brought Radek into the discussion. He ignored Carson’s frown when he limped over to them. His foot was throbbing inside his boot, but at least he could put weight on it. He hadn’t realized it was even hurt until he’d tried to stand up.

“Okay, Carson, out with it,” said John, his eyes drifting anxiously to Rodney.

“I don’t like how he sounds or the way he’s still buried. I have no way of knowing how badly he’s hurt, Colonel. His vital signs aren’t good and judging the pain he’s in, he’s not doing well.”

John rubbed his face wearily. Times like this he really hated being in charge. When his decisions affected Rodney it made it that much worse. “What do you suggest?”

“Radek thinks they can force the shield smaller.”

“At what cost to Rodney?” John ground out, piercing Radek with a dark glare. “Do you really want to put him through that again? I only felt a portion of what he’s going through when that shield goes off and I’ll tell you…” His hands clenched into fists as he continued, “it’s not pleasant.” Not pleasant was an understatement. It was more like fire dancing across all his nerve endings.

Carson sighed, “No, no I don’t, but we may not have a choice, Colonel. I don’t know how much longer we can afford to wait. We need to get him out of there.”

Eyes drifting to Rodney, John’s heart ached to see him still half buried under the rubble. The part of him that was free, just past his upper back, was covered in deep bruises. It was impossible to know what the rest of him looked like, but the evidence so far wasn’t encouraging. John looked at the expectant faces of Carson and Radek. He hated being the one in charge sometimes, the one that had to make the decisions. Wiping his sweaty face on his shirt sleeve, the hot sun immediately forced the beads of moisture back to his skin.

“Damn it,” huffed John, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He looked back at Rodney then turned to Radek, “Give me a few minutes to tell him what’s going on. I don’t want you to just spring this on him.” Radek nodded and John glanced at Carson. “Can you give him something for the pain?”

Carson shook his head. “I’m reluctant to give him anything too strong and compromise his breathing any more than it is. I need to know how badly he’s hurt and the level of pain is my only indication at this point.” There was genuine sorrow in Carson’s voice as he spoke, “I’m sorry, I can’t do more for him. Until he’s free and I can determine the damage, I’m leery of giving him anything too strong.”

“I know.” John twitched with the need to return to Rodney, but hesitated, hating to be the bearer of bad news. Drawing a deep breath, he sighed, “Give me a minute.”

Returning to Rodney, he found him asleep, or unconscious, it was hard to tell. Dropping down beside him, he reached out and gently shook him awake. “Rodney?”

The scientist’s eyes fluttered open, glazed over in pain and possibly fever. It was impossible to tell with the heat that rose off the ground in waves. The sun was baking all of them and even with the shade it was unbearably hot. For Rodney, there was no relief. He blinked back to awareness, his mouth opening but only a croak came out. Grabbing his canteen, John dribbled some water into Rodney’s mouth. The sigh of relief from Rodney’s parched lips was painful on more levels than John thought possible.

“Better?” asked John, glad that Rodney couldn’t see the way his hands shook as he recapped the canteen. Rodney closed his eyes and nodded, barely. “Stay with me, I need to talk to you.”

“Tired…hot.”

“Yeah, I know, but I need to tell you something.”

Even in his condition, Rodney must have sensed John’s hesitation. His eyes opened and he looked up at John, panic edging into his features, “What?”

John dropped his head and took a deep breath before he spoke, “Zelenka wants to test the shield. He thinks if we can cause a disturbance, it’ll decrease the radius, maybe let us get you out.”

Rodney’s panic intensified as he realized the implications of what John was saying. His breathing increased sharply and he struggled to move, even pinned as he was. Unable to free himself, Rodney pleaded with John, “No, no, no. I can figure it out. Let me talk to Zelenka.” The effort left him breathless and his eyes drifted shut as he continued to mumble weakly, “Don’t do this. There has to be some other way…just need to figure it out…please.”

Leaning closer, John spoke softly, his hand drifting to Rodney’s upper back without thought. “There’s no time, Rodney. Carson’s gonna have a coronary if we don’t get you out soon. He can’t hover here. It’s driving him crazy.”

There was no response from Rodney, just the trembling beneath John’s hand. Closing his eyes, John dropped his head to his chest and sighed in a half strangled whisper, “I’m sorry, Rodney. If there was any other way…” He squeezed Rodney’s shoulder and leaned back on his heels, “I’m sorry.”

Lifting his head he nodded to Radek, watching as the scientist gave a sad nod in return before turning to the group gathered at the edge of the shield several meters away. Radek spoke to Ronon, who backed a few steps, then forcefully threw himself into the shield.

Shocked by Ronon’s actions, John was ready to leap to his feet when Rodney let out a blood curdling scream. Rodney’s hand scrabbled in the dirt as he tried to pull himself away from the pain that lanced through his body. With the shield and rocks holding him firmly in place, it was a pointless effort and only made the futility of it more distressing. It was agonizing to watch and John reached out to take his hand. Just before he made contact, a blue spark shot out, catching his hand and making him yelp at the sharpness of the pain.

Tears streamed from Rodney’s eyes unbidden. He looked at John, pleading through wild, red rimmed eyes. His mouth opened but no sound came out as he tried to draw in air, his body so tight with pain that even his lungs refused to work. John panicked as Rodney turned redder and more frantic. Lurching to his feet, he covered the short distance to Ronon in a second and body slammed him, sending them both to the ground, but clear of the shield.

They both looked up as the shield sputtered and got smaller. A quick glance at Rodney and both men scrambled to their feet. Others were carefully clearing away more exposed rock, but the scientist was still enclosed within the shield from the waist down. John lost it and vented at Radek, “What the hell was that? You said a test, damn it, not an all out attack.” John turned on Ronon, “And what the fuck did you think you were doing?”

Radek did his best to remain patient, “It is not his fault. When I explained that we needed someone to do the test, Mr. Dex volunteered.” Pushing up his glasses that kept sliding on his sweat covered nose, Radek added remorsefully, “I was hoping that a large enough counterforce might overcome that field’s affects. I am sorry.”

Hands clenched in tight fists, John fought for control over the situation. The only thing that saved Radek from further violence was seeing Carson rushing to Rodney’s side as he was uncovered. John gave Radek and Ronon a dark, piercing look before storming back Rodney.

By the time he knelt beside his friend, the anger had been replaced by deep concern. Rodney was panting for air, his body still tense as he twitched uncontrollably. The pain clear in the almost inaudible whimpers Rodney made as he struggled to find relief from his suffering. Carson was busily cutting away the remainder of his shirt, while John tried to soothe Rodney, who was fighting to get his pinned arm out from under himself. Grabbing Rodney’s arm, John tried to calm him, “Settle down, Rodney. You’re only making it worse.”

Rodney must have found a reserve of energy because his patience snapped. Twisting his head, the scientist glared at John and hissed through clenched teeth, “It…can’t…get…any…worse.”

In the next instant, his arm was free and his hand spasmed open, revealing the source of some of his pain. In his badly burned palm was a crystal, barely distinguishable with the blood and tissue that covered it. Carson gasped and John stared in shock, his stomaching rolling over at the sight. The crystal had apparently been drawing on the energy and burning Rodney’s hand each time it surged. John instinctively reached out to remove it, when Carson stopped him with a firm grip on his forearm. Casting Carson an angry look, he stilled when the doctor shook his head with a determined expression on his face. “I’ll do it, Colonel.”

Rodney was shaking and sweating heavily as he ground out, “God, somebody… do it!”

“It’s burned, Rodney. I don’t want to contaminate it any more than necessary,” said Carson, grabbing several items from his kit as he issued orders to the other medical personnel for supplies and pain medication. John couldn’t make himself watch, instead he concentrated on distracting Rodney. As John switched places with Carson, he was surprised when Rodney lifted his head enough to follow him to the opposite side.

John reached out to stop him, but it was too late. “You shouldn’t be moving.”

The effort exhausted Rodney and his head sank back into the dirt. His voice spoke of his pain and despair, his eyes pleading desperately, “Don’t…let them…do that…again.”

Reaching for Rodney’s good hand, John gripped it tight. “I won’t. I promise.”

They sat that way, John holding Rodney’s hand as Carson worked on the other. Rodney had him in a death grip as fresh tears leaking out his tightly closed eyes. “Hurts.”

“I know, he’ll be done soon.” John looked over to Carson for confirmation and got a quick nod.

“Hurts…every where,” moaned Rodney.

Carson spoke to one of his staff then to Rodney. His voice sympathetic, “We’ll give you something more, but I can’t give you too much, Rodney. I’m worried about your breathing as it is and oxygen is out of the question.” He added lightly, “We can’t have you blowin’ up now can we?”

Rodney sighed when the drug coursed through his veins dulling the pain. John watched as his features relaxed for the first time since being trapped. “Better?”

His eyes closed, Rodney answered quietly, “Hmm. I…I…”

“What?” Tell me,” insisted John, still holding Rodney’s hand. Seeing Rodney’s discomfort, John tried to lighten his mood, “This isn’t where you were going to reveal your undying love to me or something is it?”

Rodney actually smiled, “No… I was… saving that… for later.” John felt the grip on his hand tighten despite Rodney’s words and he squeezed back.

John sat beside him, thinking he’d fallen asleep when Rodney muttered groggily, “Need… talk to… Zelenka.”

“I’ll get him,” said John. Rodney nodded and drifted off.

Chapter Four

When Sheppard returned with Zelenka, Carson was sitting with Rodney under the canopy of shade, trying to cool him down as he continued to monitor his vitals. Rodney was obviously asleep, or too drugged to care. Both John and Radek ducked under the shade. Wincing as he stretched out his aching foot, John turned his head away hoping to hide the pain from Carson.

“How is he doing?” asked Radek, hesitantly, his guilt over Rodney’s present state obvious.

“Better I think, without all the rocks on his back. I can only do so much out here. I don’t dare sedate him without being able to monitor him completely. He’s got a few broken ribs and some serious bruising. I wasn’t expecting his hand to be burned like that, so now we have to worry about infection. Burns can be nasty under the best of conditions. He said his leg hurts, but I’ve no way of knowing why or how bad.”

John frowned then turned to Radek, asking curiously, “If the crystal is out here and not in McKay’s hand does that mean it won’t try shocking him now?”

Radek shrugged, “We know now that the shield was supposed to decrease incrementally as it has been doing. However, ten thousand years is long time to expect it to still work as it is supposed to. Rodney triggered something and having the crystal in his hand gave the machine a target, so to speak.”

Hearing Zelenka’s voice, Rodney began to stir, “Radek?”

Kneeling closer, Radek answered softly, “Yes, Rodney. I am here.”

“Show me… what you… have?” said Rodney, his eyes glassy and his voice drawled in his drug induced state.

“Yes, yes of course,” said Radek, desperate for some meaningful input into the problem. As smart as the other scientists were, they did not possess McKay’s insight and Radek found himself missing the sharp intellect of his colleague. He tried holding the datapad for Rodney to read, but it proved impossible. Radek related what he knew, trying to get from McKay what he’d discovered prior to their arrival. After half hour of Rodney drifting in and out and Radek pulling him back, they were both frustrated.

According to Rodney, the facility was an Ancient detention area or in short, a prison of sorts, meant to keep the worst of the worst in stasis and away from the main population. When Rodney had activated the once dead console it considered him an escapee and had triggered the defensive shield, which in turn alerted Atlantis, hence the alarms they’d received. Explained that way it all began to make sense, but it still didn’t explain why they couldn’t turn the shield off. Surely the Ancients had a way to enter the facility once the shield was activated.

When it appeared that Rodney could do no more, Radek sighed, no closer to an answer than he was before. Rodney’s eyes fluttered open and he began drawing in the dirt, his hand shaking with the effort. They all watched in fascination as he drew a circle then placed eleven dots around the circle at equal intervals. With the last of his strength, he muttered, “Answer.”

Radek stared at the dirt until Sheppard nudged him. “Well?”

Scratching his head, Radek sighed wearily, “I have no idea.” He did a rough sketch on the datapad, muttering as he walked back to the other scientists. His head down, he was almost to them when he suddenly stopped, and dropped to his knees. Setting the datapad aside, he swept away rocks and dirt then lurched to his feet, dropped down several meters later and repeated the frantic sweeping. His colleagues stared at him as if he’d lost his mind.

Radek jumped to his feet and began issuing orders. John and Carson watched as he barked at his scientists when they hesitated. When they finally understood what he wanted they set to work while he rushed back to Sheppard. His face was alight with excitement, “The picture. The large circle is the shield. Around it are eleven circles.” He pointed to where his team was working to clear the stone pads. “Those are what Rodney drew.”

John tried to curb his own excitement and hope. “And how does this help Rodney?”

Radek’s enthusiasm deflated and his shoulders slumped. “I do not know, but it is something. We just have to figure out what.”

Motioning to Carson, John spoke, “Stay with Rodney. I need to check this out.”

He rose to his feet, grimacing as he put weight on the injured foot. He limped along with Radek until they reached the first circle. John asked as he toed the stone. “What does it do?”

“I don’t know, Colonel. Rodney seems to think it was important,” answered Radek. “I do not know how clear his thinking is. It may be nothing.”

John shook his head, “No. He was pretty adamant about not wanting to force the shield smaller again, so he was pretty desperate to find a solution. He was on to something.”

Radek nodded, “Yes, but what. Why would circles around a prison be significant?”

Trying to figure out where they stood, John reasoned out loud, stating the obvious, “So the shield would activate if someone escaped. So the entrance or exit from the prison would have to be inside the shield or what would be the point.”

“I suppose, but how does that help us?”

John continued his line of thought. “Okay, so the prisoner is now inside the shield and an alarm goes off in Atlantis, alerting them to an escape. Only they don’t have to worry about escape because the shield is holding the prisoner. Right?”

“Yes that makes sense and the shield became progressively smaller until they arrived. The question is why?”

“Well, a smaller field would make it easier for them to contain the prisoner. Kind of like circling the enemy, moving closer until he has no chance for escape.”

Radek suddenly pointed his finger skyward as he made the connection, “Yes, yes, yes, that is it.” He darted between two of the circles. “The circles would be inside the shield originally, inside the building itself. Once the shield was small enough there would be enough room for the Ancients to enter building and stand between shield and wall of the building.”

John smiled. “Eleven security members.”

“Exactly.” Radek raised his voice to those loitering about the ruins. “I need you to step onto the stone circles. Eleven of you.” When they hesitated, he clapped his hands. “Spe`chati, quickly.”

When everyone was in position, John and Radek watched nervously. When nothing happened, John scowled, “That went well. Now what?”

Radek chewed on a nail as he stared at the expectant faces of those standing on the stones, shifting uncomfortably as if on display. “That’s it! They do not have gene. It would only register Ancients. We need people with gene to make it work.” He muttered under his breath, “I hope.”

“How many do we have here?” John asked, glancing around to see if he could remember who had the gene and who didn’t. “Me, Lorne, Carson, Zamora…”

Radek added a few names, “Kusanagi, Jamal…that is only six.”

Sheppard called to Lorne, “Take the jumper. Tell Weir we need six people with the gene to get here ASAP. Wait for them.”

Carson spoke up quickly, “Major Lorne, please take Samuels and Raskin back with you and bring the Prusha’s back with you.”

“We only need five, Colonel,” said Radek, puzzled by the number.

Shaking his head, John explained matter-of-factly, “No, Carson’s staying with Rodney.”

“Ah, of course.” Radek added, nodding towards where Rodney lay, “Perhaps you should check on him while we wait.”

“Good idea,” said Sheppard, hurrying back to McKay, who was staring blankly at the ground. “Hey, Rodney, you still with us?”

“Unh.”

“Is that a yes or no?” teased John, hoping to get a more enthusiastic response from his friend. Rodney’s pale complexion and raspy breaths were disconcerting. He was sweating heavily, either from heat or fever, it was hard to tell. Carson was diligently cooling him down as best he could in the sweltering heat. Rodney closed his eyes with a sigh as the coolness touch his skin

John squinted as he looked up at the two suns sinking lower on the horizon. “It’s gonna get cold soon.”

Red-faced and sweaty, Carson sighed tiredly, “I can’t say it would be unwelcome after this heat. Although, I don’t think it will be doing Rodney any favors. I’d rather not deal with him getting chilled at this point. He has enough to worry about.”

“Carson?” questioned Sheppard quietly, seeing the deep lines of concern on the doctor’s face.

“He’s not doing so well. His blood pressure is very low with the painkillers I’ve given him, but without proper monitoring I don’t dare give him more, so he’s in a quite a bit of pain. His breathing is getting worse and lying on his stomach can’t be helping if his ribs are broken. The fact that he’s not moaning about it is not a good sign.” Carson tried to remain professional, but his helplessness became a sigh of frustration, “His hand was very badly burned and I don’t think bein’ out here in the dirt is doin’ it any good. He’s already runnin’ a fever and I’ve no idea how badly he’s injured. He could be bleedin’ inside for all I know and there’s not a thing I can do about it.”

“Thanks for the pick me up, Doc,” sighed Sheppard, his shoulders slumping with his own frustration. Reaching for the rag that Carson was using to cool Rodney, John took over, wiping away the beaded moisture from the scientist’s face, neck and back.

Rodney stirred, muttering about the pain, but otherwise was still. John tried to offer reassurances, “We’ll have you out of there real soon, Rodney.”

Drawing a painful breath, Rodney stammered very softly, “Hurts… need…to tell…you…”

John interrupted, his voice had an edge to it, “No, you don’t. You can say all you want when we get out of here.”

Hand scrambling in the dirt, Rodney tried to reach for Sheppard, “Need… to say…this… please.”

His chest tightening, John glanced at Carson nervously. Carson caught his gaze, his eyes speaking more than words could, “I need to get a few things from the jumper. I’ll be right back.”

Watching until Carson was out of earshot, John looked down at Rodney, who was staring absently, his eyes unfocused. “You said you wouldn’t do this.”

“Lied.” Rodney tried to smirk, but it came out a rough cough, causing him to groan as it racked his body. It took a bit for him to regain his breath. “I just… need… just…in case.”

John’s mouth went dry and it was hard to respond given the ache in his chest. His voice came out hoarse with emotion, “You’re gonna be fine, Rodney.”

“Shut up…” The impatience of Rodney’s tone was lost in another cough. Several shuddering breaths later he continued, “Know you…don’t see me… the same… just buddyfu….” His eyes closed, the effort draining him and leaving him exhausted.

Reaching out, John nudged at him, his hand shaking with the rising fear. “Rodney, stay awake.” Rodney didn’t move, having drifted back into unconsciousness. John’s hand squeezed lightly as he muttered under his breath, “Damn it, Rodney. You can’t leave me now.”

The wait seemed forever and Carson only returned to John and Rodney as the other jumper arrived. Sheppard was on his feet, waiting for the rear hatch to open before it even settled on the ground. As soldiers and scientists appeared, John began issuing commands, getting everyone into position. Standing near the stone pad closest to Rodney, he took a deep breath, nodded to Carson and stepped forward. The shield shimmered for a second but stayed on and Sheppard shouted to everyone, “Think off!”

In the next instant the shield disappeared with an almost anticlimactic silence. Carson didn’t waste a second and began issuing his own commands. “Move those rocks off him, carefully.”

There was a flurry of activity, everyone mindful that McKay was under the debris. Minutes ticked by as he was slowly uncovered, his muted cries punctuating the silence. Beckett and Sheppard both sat on opposite sides of Rodney, doing there best to keep him from thrashing as more of his legs were exposed. He was panting heavily and desperately trying to get away from the sudden onslaught of pain.

“Stop….please stop. My leg…god…stop,” whimpered Rodney, trying in vain to reach for his leg. Everyone but the two men backed away once the area was cleared. Carson grabbed Rodney’s hand to keep him from touching the now exposed limb. Even without a thorough examination, Carson knew it was broken. Rodney’s thigh was obviously swollen and if that wasn’t enough indication, then the fact that the right leg was now three or four inches shorter was a dead give away. Carson cringed inwardly. Having the bones grinding against each other every time Rodney moved had to be excruciating.

Leaning closer to Rodney, Carson spoke in a calm, reassuring voice, “You need to settle down, Rodney. Stop moving. You’re only making the pain worse.”

Rodney tried to relax even as his body trembled in pain. He begged Carson through tear filled eyes and gasping breaths. “Please… give me… something.”

Shaking his head, Carson closed his eyes very briefly. This was one of the dangers of having patients that were friends and it tore at him to refuse Rodney, “I can’t, Rodney. Not yet.”

Kneeling beside Rodney, John’s fingers dug painfully into his thighs as he watched his friend beg for relief from the pain. He wanted to reach out and comfort him somehow, but feared it would make things worse.

Carson looked up at the medics, Lonnie and Fran Prusha. They were the best he had and he’d fought to get them the clearance to work at Atlantis as one of the few married couples that had joined the expedition during the second wave. There was no one better in the field when it came to trauma patients. He nodded to them and spoke to Rodney, “They’re going to get you ready to take back to Atlantis now and I want you to cooperate. No being your irascible self.” Glancing at Sheppard, he spoke, “We need to get out of their way. They’ll take care of him.”

John was surprised that Carson was handing Rodney’s care over to someone else, and it showed in his face. Carson quickly reassured him as he pulled him away, “They know what they’re doing and they are very good at it. Watch.”

He watched as Fran quickly took Carson’s place by Rodney’s head and slipping her hand into his, began speaking to him, her voice soft and soothing. “I know this hurts, Rodney and I promise that we’ll give you something for the pain as soon as possible, but right now I need you to stay still. I’m going to tell you everything we’re doing so nothing comes as a surprise.”

“Hurts,” whispered Rodney, dwelling only on his pain.

Fran bent closer, her words lost to any one but Rodney. Whatever was said seemed to calm him and he nodded his head slowly. She slipped a much welcome oxygen mask over his nose and mouth and gave his hand a final squeeze before moving off to help Lonnie. Her continued litany of what they were doing, voice never wavering from its comforting tone, was mesmerizing to the patient and Rodney seemed to accept that they were doing the best they could not to cause him further pain.

John watched in awe as she and Lonnie worked quickly, no wasted motion as they cut away his shoes, socks and pants, relayed information to Carson and began the task of prepping Rodney for travel. They slipped a backboard under him, put his leg in some sort of temporary traction device and all of a sudden he was ready for transport. Rodney had remained surprisingly still throughout, the only indication of his discomfort was an occasional moan and a white knuckled fist.

As the two medics finished, Carson and John both stepped forward and the four of them carefully lifted and moved Rodney into the jumper. Fran held Rodney’s hand and continued her soft, lulling words that only the scientist was privileged to. John had to admit that Carson was right, the two medics were very good. Most of the time Carson wasn’t afforded the opportunity to hand off care to someone else when time was an issue. This time he’d stepped aside, knowing the two medics could handle Rodney much more quickly and efficiently. It was just another reason why Carson was Chief Medical Officer. He knew when to delegate tasks to others more qualified then himself.

Carson okayed more pain medication once they determined the extent of Rodney’s injuries and weren’t afraid of his blood pressure plummeting or his breathing diminishing further. The ride back to Atlantis was quiet, three of them closely monitoring Rodney’s vitals while the fourth looked on in silence, hands shaking with the need to comfort but restricted by more than just time or place. The last several hours settled on John and he felt a helpless ache that he hadn’t thought possible.

Chapter Five

Rodney was quickly ushered to the infirmary where he was run through a battery of scans to determine just how badly he was hurt. It was with great relief that they found nothing more serious beyond what they already knew. There were the obvious broken ribs and a multitude of deep bruising on Rodney’s back and legs. His hand had severe second degree burns and would require careful monitoring to prevent infection. While Rodney had suffered a nasty head wound, he only had a minor concussion.

His broken femur was the greatest concern at the moment. Surgery would be required to set the break. Rather than casting the leg, which would necessitate a hip to ankle cast, Carson opted to perform surgery and use a titanium plate and screws to hold the broken bone in place until it was healed. It was a bad transverse break, but it hadn’t broken through the skin, nor had it damaged any surrounding blood vessels or nerves.

The most painful part of his rehabilitation would be for the burn to his hand, but even that would heal with time. They did the worst of the cleaning while he was in surgery, sparing him that painful procedure. Barring any complications, he would be back on his feet in about six weeks. All in all, he’d gotten off lucky considering how much worse it could have been.

Sheppard had carefully hidden the pain of his own injury, though not as well as he thought and was surprised when Dr. Mitoshi informed him that his foot was in fact broken. It was only a hairline fracture but he’d be wearing a walking cast for the next several weeks. With his own bruising and soreness, he didn’t complain when Carson insisted he spend a few days in the infirmary. Besides, it gave him an excuse to stay with Rodney. He was pretty sure Carson knew that.

When Rodney emerged from recovery a couple hours later, everyone gathered around his bed but it was Fran he asked for. She had to lean in close to hear him in his drug induced state but straightened with a big grin on her face. Rubbing Rodney’s arm, she chuckled, “As soon as Dr. Beckett says it’s okay, you’ll have it. I promise.”

She and Lonnie left with knowing smile. Rodney drifted off shortly after, leaving his other visitors none the wiser about what he’d said to her.

John sat with him as he slept, wondering when Rodney had gone from annoying teammate to someone he really didn’t want to do without. Oh sure, they’d had a little more for a while, but even then John had only thought of it as sex. Well, at first anyway. Somewhere along the way it became more than a simple buddyfuck, but before he had time to figure it out or even admit it to himself, Caldwell came along and put an end to their fun. And it was fun and hot and incredible and… he stared at Rodney on the bed.

Taking a deep breath he let it out slowly, scrubbing his hands through his hair as he muttered, “When did you become so much more, Rodney?”

“’Bout time,” moaned Rodney, his voice barely audible.

Brows furrowed, John stood up and looked down at Rodney, unsure he’d heard right. The scientist still appeared to be in the throes of sleep. John started to sit back down when he felt a tug at his shirt. Glancing down, he found Rodney’s fingers fumbling for contact. John grabbed for them without thought, giving them a gentle squeeze. “Rodney?”

“Hmm.”

Bending closer, John asked worriedly, “How you feeling?”

“Thirsty,” rasped Rodney, not opening his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah hold on,” John answered quickly, moving to get a glass of water. Returning, he held the glass and the straw for Rodney to drink. It seemed to take all his strength just to sip and he slipped back into sleep, the straw still pressed between his lips. John shuffled back to his chair, sat down and waited.

************

Rodney lounged in bed, ignoring the conversations around him and wallowing in Sheppard’s touch as he massaged his foot. He didn’t want to think about what it meant and when John offered to do it in place of one of the nurses assigned to the task, who was Rodney to refuse.

It was making it hard to concentrate on the conversation at hand, with John rubbing his toes and taking the stiffness out of his foot. Rodney relaxed and slumped back on the bed, his eyes closing wearily. Carson had him on pain meds, not so much for the broken leg, but for his hand. Even with painkillers the burn still hurt.

“You okay?” asked John from where he sat crossways on the end of the bed, Rodney’s foot in his lap.

Holding the bandaged hand gently against his chest, Rodney nodded, “It just never stops hurting.”

John started to lift Rodney’s foot to scoot from under it. “I’ll get Carson to get you something.”

Rodney shook his head. “No, I’m already losing brain cells to the drugs. I hate feeling stupid.”

Settling back on the bed, John continued his massage as he teased, “Well, most of us cope every day. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

Rolling his eyes, Rodney sighed as waved his good hand at what John was doing, “So…Is this a blatant disregard of Caldwell’s rules or just you being bored? Not that I’m complaining mind you, but a week ago the rules were different and I’m trying to get my head around the new ones. If you could maybe specify…”

“Shut up, Rodney,” said John smiling, taking the sting out of his words. “You’re rambling.”

“I’m just saying, has something changed that I’m not aware of, because I thought for sure you’d decided we couldn’t do this anymore.”

John feigned confusion and said innocently, “I’m just rubbing your foot, McKay.”

“Yes, well most men would find even that inappropriate and yet…here you are.”

Shrugging, John used his thumbs to dig into the arch of Rodney’s foot, working the deeper stiffness away. Rodney bit back a moan and John smiled. “I had a moment on the planet.”

“A moment? What the hell does that mean, a moment?” Rodney questioned, giving him the ‘yes I’m genius, but even I need more than that to go on’.

“Do you have to analyze everything?”

“Do you have to be so obtuse?”

“Shut up, Rodney.” John went back to rubbing the scientist’s foot.

Rodney shifted his leg. “You didn’t answer my question.”

John looked at Rodney and then at the foot in his lap. “Your foot is practically in my crotch, do you really need a definition of moment.”

“Humph. Good point.” Rodney added with a smirk and tried wiggling his toes, “So does this mean you didn’t find a replacement?”

“Shut up, Rodney,” said John, only this time he had a smile on his face.

Rodney sighed, a smug expression on his face as he closed his eyes. His nap was short lived when Carson arrived with another visitor. Sitting up, Rodney brightened at the sight of his visitor. “Hi.”

“Hello, Rodney. You’re looking better.” Fran smiled. Carson drifted to the bed, doing an unobtrusive check of Rodney while the two talked. John’s hands stilled on Rodney’s foot as he eavesdropped.

“Did you bring it?” asked McKay, his eyes darting to Fran’s hands in anticipation.

“Hmmm. I suppose I did promise,” she teased, reaching into her jacket to pull out the promised prize. “And you were a very good patient, despite what Dr. Beckett says about you.”

Dr. McKay glared at Carson, who smiled and deadpanned, “You’re a model patient, Rodney.”

John snorted his tongue at that moment and started coughing, gaining no sympathy from Rodney. “I’ve been very good this time.”

Carson smiled cheekily, “You’ve been drugged or asleep for the last week.”

“Don’t you have some other patient to torture with your slow wit?” Rodney tilted his chin up, indignantly. He added drolly, “Don’t let me keep you.”

“Mind your manners, Rodney. I’m all that stands between you and your pain.”

Rodney paled, his free hand tightening the grip on the wrist of the hand snugged against his chest. Carson flashed him an apologetic smile and patted him lightly on the shoulder, forgiveness passing between them before Fran broke in, “So, do you want it now or later?”

“Now, of course,” smirked Rodney, impatient.

John looked confused and Carson looked amused, obviously knowing more than John did. When Fran pulled her hand out of her coat and handed the object to Rodney, the scientist literally beamed. John stared in a shock before blurting, “A sucker. You got him to behave with a sucker.”

Rodney unwrapped the sucker and put in his mouth. Shifting it to his cheek, he spoke around it. “It’s chocolate.”

Pouting suddenly, John looked at Fran. “I broke my foot and I didn’t get a sucker.” He pointed to cast on his foot and lower leg.

Fran laughed, “What’s your favorite flavor?”

Rodney frowned. “What? That is so not fair. I had to work for mine.”

Sticking his tongue out at McKay, Sheppard answered Fran, “Cherry.”

Rolling his eyes, Rodney snorted, “Cherry? You are so predictable.”

“What? I like cherry,’ claimed John, innocently. Feeling the red creep into his face, John took the cherry sucker Fran offered and ducked his head as he tore away the wrapping in an effort to hide his blush. Carson and Fran chuckled at the two men and left them alone.

“Of course you do,” retorted Rodney, giving his sucker some rather suggestive swirls before John swallowed hard and looked away. Rodney was enjoying seeing John squirm, had for the last couple months. It was part of the teasing, but now he was seeing something else. John wasn’t glaring at him when he did it.

Rodney’s face fell seeing Colonel Caldwell entering the infirmary and John’s quick but gentle removal of Rodney’s foot from his lap. So much for thinking John had changed his mind. There was no hiding his contempt as Caldwell approached the bed. John glared at him and Rodney huffed, masking his anger with a yawn as he closed his eyes, effectively shutting out Caldwell’s disgusted look.

He couldn’t block the man’s words though. “Colonel Sheppard, I heard you were injured.”

Opening one eye, Rodney sneered as he looked down at his own injuries, “I was hurt too.”

Caldwell eyed the two men suspiciously, but didn’t comment on their close proximity to one another on the bed. His look pretty much said it all. He squared his shoulders and spoke to Sheppard “Yes, I’d heard you were both trapped in some ruins. I wanted to see how you were doing in case I was needed.” Eyeing Sheppard’s casted foot, he added with smug smile, “I suppose with you injured I’ll be taking over the military contingent in your absence.”

Sheppard eased himself to his feet and stood eye to eye with Caldwell. “That won’t be necessary, Colonel, Dr. Beckett has cleared me for light duty.”

The gleam disappeared from Caldwell’s eyes, replaced by a colder look. His eyes went from where Rodney lay on the bed to Sheppard and he spoke calmly, but there was no mistaking the command in his voice, “I would suggest you return to your duties then, Colonel. I’m sure you have better things to do than spend your time in the infirmary bothering Dr. Beckett’s patients.”

Keeping eye contact with Caldwell, Sheppard answered easily, but his body language screamed for control. “I’m off duty at the moment, Sir.” The title came out nicely despite Sheppard’s eyes clearly saying asshole. He drew a breath and feigned a smile. “Dr. McKay is on my team and I thought he could use some company, Colonel.”

Rodney watched the two men square off, but his interest level waned as the pain in his hand intensified. At first it was just the nagging pain that never quite went away, but it slowly got worse as he listened to their conversation. He pulled his hand closer to his chest and reflexively gripped his wrist to help with the pain. It was ineffective, sweat beading on his brow as the pain only got worse. He closed his eyes and wished Caldwell would go away. The last thing he wanted was for the military commander to see him writhing on the bed in agony.

Eyes closed tight, Rodney hissed through gritted teeth, “I enjoy a pissing contest as much as the next guy but could someone get Carson over here. I need my happy place or I’m seconds from screaming and embarrassing myself.”

John’s gaze found Carson and motioned him over. Reaching instinctively for Rodney’s arm to comfort him, he was unaware of Caldwell’s pale face and seething look behind him as he did so. Rodney opened his eyes and caught only a glimpse of the Colonel’s disgust before the man turned his back and stormed from the infirmary. Rodney’s hand scrabbled for John’s as the pain spiked. “That went well.”

“Don’t worry about it. We haven’t done anything wrong,” said John, his tone genuinely unconcerned about Caldwell.

Carson appeared and noting the deep furrows of pain on Rodney’s brow, he quickly administered medicine into his IV port. “Better?”

Rodney nodded, letting his eyes close as he relaxed, the pain falling back to a more manageable level. John watched anxiously and noting his concern, Carson explained, “It’s the burn. It’s going to hurt for sometime until the skin heals and even then it’s goin’ to hurt for a long time. It’s not uncommon for a burn to hurt for several months after the fact.”

“Oh lucky me,” whined Rodney, looking down at his wrapped hand. He asked without looking up, “Is it…will I…”

“Your hand will be fine, Rodney,” said Carson, reassuringly. “You’ll have to work to keep the skin from tightening as it heals and I’ll not lie to you, it’s going to be a painful process. The alternative is much worse if you lose the use of it.”

Rodney paled at the prospect of more pain. John sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed the scientist’s arm but remained silent and Rodney began to drift off under the influence of the painkillers. Patting Rodney’s shoulder in support, Carson noted the look of determination in Sheppard’s face as he watched McKay. “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of help with it.”

Chapter Six

It was another week before Carson released Rodney with some very strict rules. No walking on the broken leg, even if it did feel better. No undue pressure on the healing hand, but try to use it as much as possible, even if it hurt. Carson was insistent that he do exercises to keep the skin flexible. John took it upon himself to do Rodney’s PT which worked with his hand as well as the broken leg. The leg required some mild exercises of the knee and ankle to keep them limber.

Getting from point A to point B proved the most difficult for Rodney since his hand made the use of crutches difficult and they put undue stress on his healing ribs. Even the wheelchair Carson provided was difficult to maneuver with the injured hand. He found if he went slow enough he could grip the wheel with his fingers, thus avoiding the sensitive and healing skin on the palm of his hand.

He and John still hadn’t really had any time to discuss this thing between them and Rodney wasn’t sure if he was reading more into John’s attention then was actually there. At a glance, it was just one friend helping another. It didn’t help that Caldwell seemed to lurk around every corner each time John broke him out of the infirmary during his second week of incarceration.

Being released wasn’t much better and he still tired easily. He spent a good portion of his time working in his room, because it was just too much of a pain in the ass to go somewhere else unless someone came for him and helped with the driving.

Ronon invariably showed up in time to cart him off to eat with the rest of the team. Teyla stopped by to visit and make sure he had all he needed. John made sure Rodney worked on his exercises a couple times a day whether he wanted to or not. Rodney knew it was for his own good, but it would have been harder to stick with the therapy without Sheppard making him do it. The pain he endured with each session left him tired and emotionally drained.

***********

John checked his watch for the tenth time in an hour and realizing he wasn’t getting anything done, shut his laptop down and left his office. Fuck Caldwell. He never paid attention to working hours before, he wasn’t about to start now. That didn’t stop him from slinking through the hallways on his way to find Rodney, hoping he didn’t run into Caldwell. Ever since their meeting in the infirmary, Caldwell had been making unexpected visits and John felt like he was under surveillance or something.

Making his way to Rodney’s room without being spotted, John didn’t bother knocking. He walked in and found Rodney hunched over his computer, leg propped up on a chair and his injured hand pressed to his chest. Carson said it wasn’t necessary to elevate it anymore, but Rodney explained it was safer there. He’d had it brushed against one too many times and preferred to keep it out of harms way despite Carson’s insistence that he needed to use it.

Leaning into wall at his back, John ignored it for now. It was but one of the reasons he showed up twice a day to make sure Rodney did his exercises. “You ready?”

“No, I’m busy,” said Rodney, not bothering to look up from his computer as he continued to type one handed.

Pushing off the wall, John limped over to stand behind the wheelchair that was positioned next to Rodney’s chair. He patted the seat, “Come on. It’s time to work out. I thought we could go to the gym today. You need to get out of this room.”

Rodney shut down his laptop with a sigh of resignation, “Fine.”

Arguing was futile. As he shifted to stand, John moved to help, gripping Rodney’s leg and holding it straight as the scientist reached behind him for the armrest of the wheelchair. As Rodney sat, John lifted his leg and gently settled it into the leg rest. Even without a real cast, Rodney wasn’t inclined to bend his knee. It was one of the reasons that Carson added PT to his leg exercises in order to keep the joints limber.

John gave Rodney’s shoulder a gentle squeeze, before grabbing the wheelchair. “I thought a change of scenery would do you some good.” Rodney shrugged, unenthused. “Teyla said the gym is free so we won’t have to worry about any interruptions.”

“Well that’s good. I’d hate for any one to pop in and see me break down from excruciating pain.”

“It’ll get better,” assured John, “I’ll make it up to you.”

“There is only one way you can make it up to me and that isn’t likely.”

John leaned over the chair as he pushed it through the hallways of Atlantis. “You never know, stranger things have happened.”

Rodney swallowed hard and opened his mouth to respond, but found himself speechless. It almost sounded as if Sheppard was flirting with him and Rodney couldn’t make himself endanger that with a flippant comment.

*********

Caldwell roamed the halls, knowing if he could find McKay, he’d find Sheppard. He gone to his office earlier and not finding him was now intent on doing so. It had been a week since the infirmary discussion and Sheppard still wasn’t showing signs of backing off where McKay was concerned.

He didn’t give a damn about the scientist, but there was no way he’d tolerate a gay officer in his chain of command. It was unprofessional and wrong, despite the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy. He may not be able to ask but that didn’t mean he couldn’t catch the bastard in the act and force him out. Even Sheppard wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of it if there was proof of his indiscretions.

Storming the halls he didn’t find them in the labs or the mess and was about to give up when he neared the gym and heard their distinctive voices. Slowing his steps, he eased closer as quietly as possible, intent on hearing the conversation and catching them acting inappropriately. The thought sent a shiver of disgust up his spine and he stopped outside the open door, somewhat shocked by the conversation.

Sheppard’s voice was calm and reassuring as he spoke, “That’s two fingers, you ready for three?”

Rodney whined, almost begging, “No, god no. No more, please.”

“Try and relax, it’ll help. Breathe through the pain, Rodney.”

“Oh fuck that hurts, Stop!” Rodney was pleading now, whimpering.

Caldwell was frozen in place, his brain supplying images to the words he was hearing.

“You’re doing good.” Sheppard said, his voice soft as he continued, “That’s three, just two more and I’ll stop, I promise.

Rodney’s panting breath could be heard as he gasped, “I can’t take two more, John. Please it hurts too much.”

“I know, but the stretching helps. It’ll make it better.” Sheppard’s voice was oozing sympathy, making Caldwell cringe. There was heavy breathing and an occasional whimper from McKay as Caldwell listened at the edge of the doorway, tempted to break up their little soirée.

He was stopped cold when McKay started moaning softly. “That feels good, right there. Don’t move.”

“See, I told you, you could do it. Okay I’m going to start moving them or it won’t do any good,” said Sheppard.

McKay was groaned anxiously, “Please…I’m not that flexible yet.”

“Rodney, the hard part is over. Just let me move and it’ll stop hurting so much,” said Sheppard impatiently.

Caldwell had heard enough and he burst into the room. “Colonel Shepp…” The words died on his lips as his face suffused with heat. Colonel Sheppard sat on one of the window benches, McKay’s wheelchair in front of him. Both men were staring at him, frowning and Sheppard’s fingers continued to unconsciously rub away the stiffness in Rodney’s hand. For his part, McKay looked terrible. A sheen of perspiration and furrowed brow was a testament to the pain he was in.

Opening his mouth, Caldwell couldn’t find any words and he stared for several seconds before he turned and stormed from the room.

Rodney shivered, “That man is seriously starting to creep me out. It’s like having a stalker.”

John laughed, “He’s trying to catch me out.”

Snorting, Rodney rolled his eyes, “Oh please, you’re in a closet with the door locked.”

Raising a mischievous eyebrow, John tilted his head and smiled, “You’ve never had a problem with locked closets in the past.”

“Yes, well that was before I was locked out. My opinion has been altered somewhat.”

The door to the gym suddenly closed and John leaned closer, “Any phobia’s about locked gyms?” He slid to his knees, straddling Rodney’s good leg as he rested his hands on the scientist’s thighs.

Rodney swallowed hard and stuttered, “What are you doing?”

“Just getting a feel for things,” answered John, letting his fingers roam lightly over Rodney’s legs, moving ever higher.

“It looks more like you’re feeling me up,” said Rodney, his eyes darting to where Sheppard’s fingers seemed to be straying. Much closer and there would be evidence of his arousal. When John leaned in and kissed him, lips barely touching his, Rodney gave up any chances of ignoring the fire that raced to his groin. He pulled away slightly and stared at John in shock, “What are you doing?”

John continued with light kisses on Rodney’s mouth and jaw, “Kissing. Surely you’ve heard of it.”

“Of course I’ve heard of…why is more what I was thinking. I didn’t think kissing was allowed. You never seemed interested before.”

“Hmm…that was before,” muttered John, stretching over the chair to nuzzle Rodney’s neck.

Rodney lifted his head, exposing more neck to John’s questing mouth. He swallowed loudly, trying to erase the sudden dryness in his mouth. He stuttered, trying to remember the conversation, “Before… what?”

“Before I almost lost you,” whispered John, his lips leaving a trail of moist heat along Rodney’s throat.

Pressing his good hand to John’s chest, Rodney pushed him away enough so that Sheppard’s lips weren’t distracting him and he could maintain a train of thought for longer than two seconds. “Stop.”

John sat back on his haunches, asking, “You want me to stop?”

“Yes…no… yes! What about Caldwell? I thought you decided your career was more important than a buddyfuck.”

Leaning in, John kissed him again, “Buddyfuck yes, you…no.” He was back to nuzzling Rodney’s ear, breathing into as he spoke, “You can be discreet can’t you?”

All of the fight went out of Rodney and he could have cared less what John’s motives were. He didn’t do the touchy feely crap and actions always worked better than words as far as he was concerned. He had a hard-on to rival steel and the hot breath on his neck wasn’t helping. Rodney cupped the back of John’s neck with his good hand and pulled him in for a scorching kiss, one that left them both breathless.

Rodney’s eyes were gleaming as he ended the kiss, “I’m the epitome of discreet, Colonel. Can we have sex now, because I was really enjoying getting laid on a regular basis. The fact that I was getting it from you kind of added to the hotness and seriously, I’d like to keep going with that.”

John’s eyes widened, “You think I’m hot?”

“Duh,” said Rodney, pulling John back for another kiss, this time using his tongue to prove his point.

When air became a necessity, John sat back on his heels and grinned, “Cool.”

“Yes, yes very cool.” Rodney was flush with desire as he pointed to the bulge in pants, then his injured hand, “Do you mind?”

John hesitated. “This might be easier if you weren’t in the chair. Can you sit on the floor?”

Rodney nodded and managed to stand up with John’s help. It was hard to maintain any balance on one leg and he grabbed for Sheppard to keep upright. John wrapped his arms around him, holding him in place and their erections brushed against each other as he held Rodney close. Dropping his head onto John’s shoulder, Rodney moaned in the crook of his neck, “Fuck, that feels good.”

Reaching for Rodney’s ass, John pressed harder. “Floor.”

Panting, Rodney agreed, “Help me down.”

John eased him to the floor and stretched out along Rodney’s good side, carefully avoiding his broken leg and burned hand. After much kissing, John’s hand worked Rodney’s waistband down. “Want to suck you.”

“Oh god yes yes do that,” hissed Rodney, feeling somewhat at John’s mercy in his present condition. Rodney lifted his hips enough for John to free his aching and now leaking cock. When warm, wet lips enclosed him, Rodney cried out, “Oh god, don’t stop. I’m so fucking close.”

Sucking harder, John couldn’t remember blowing Rodney ever being this thrilling or god…intoxicating. The taste, the touch, the heat of it in his mouth made him want more and his own erection was begging for release. Reaching his hand under Rodney’s balls he pressed a finger against his opening, but didn’t enter. Rodney arched his back, shoved his dick deep in John’s throat and came hard. John swallowed quickly, wanting it to go on forever. The need for air finally drew him off of Rodney’s softened flesh and he rose to his knees, frantically reaching for his own zipper to free his throbbing length.

Oh god he wasn’t gonna get to it in time. Rodney’s moans and whimpers and the sighs of satisfaction were taking him over the edge. He watched as Rodney lifted up on his elbow and shifted on the floor to take John in his mouth, “Let me.”

John shook his head sharply. “Fuck, too late.”

His hand gripped his dick hard and fast, pulling the sensations to the surface and he tensed as his balls pulled up tight and he came all over Rodney’s face. That alone was sending him into orbit, but when Rodney jerked as if he’d been burned and his eyes went dark, John’s climax heightened. He thought it couldn’t get any better when Rodney’s mouth covered his still pulsing erection and sucked with abandon, taking every last drop John had to offer, like it was the last thing he’d ever taste. Finally John had to pull away or risk passing out from the intensity as his dick softened in Rodney’s mouth. They both slumped to the floor, gasping for air.

John chuckled between breaths, “New kink, Rodney?”

“Humph. So it seems,” sighed Rodney, kind of shocked by his own reaction. They lay catching their breath before John sat up and dressed them both.

Rodney looked at him with a smirk, “Does this mean you’re my boyfriend?”

“Shut up, Rodney.”

****************

Rounding the corner on crutches, Rodney glared at John, “Follow me, now!”

John had the sense to look confused. “Why?”

“Just shut up and follow me.”

“O…kay,” drawled John, keeping up with Rodney as he practically careened off the walls, scattering anyone in his path. John made apologies as they traversed the halls. “You gonna tell me what has you in a tizzy?”

As they neared Rodney’s quarters, John looked both ways, made sure they were alone and slipped inside behind Rodney. “This is not discreet, McKay.”

“Oh please, if we were any more discreet even we wouldn’t know what we are doing. Caldwell is on a fucking witch hunt,” said Rodney limping to his desk after throwing his crutches across the room.

John cautiously took a seat on the bed and sighed, “What now?” It was only a matter of time before one of them lost it and it looked as if Rodney was the first to snap.

“He’s been talking with Elizabeth. Trying to convince her that she shouldn’t allow senior officers off world so much…” John clenched his jaw, ready to burst when Rodney continued to rant, “and he thinks it’s unwise to have senior officers on the same team. The bastard is trying to split us up offworld now too. What kind of shit is that? Can he do that? What kind of homophobic bullshit do they teach the military anyway?” Rodney continued to vent, weeks of frustration mounting as his hands flew, accentuating his venomous words. After several minutes he wound down and stared at Sheppard. “Well?”

“Well what? He can’t do anything. He can make suggestions but the final say is up to Elizabeth and myself. He has no say over Atlantis.”

That got Rodney going again, “Do you honestly believe that? All he has to do is hint at what he thinks and boom, you’re gone. Transferred.” Rodney glared at him, fear and anger rivaling for attention as he spat, “So not gonna happen. It’s time to put a stop to his crap.”

John flopped back on the bed. “What do you suggest, Rodney? He’s higher up the chain of command than I am. There’s not a whole lot I can do without making things worse than they already are.”

“Fine, but that doesn’t mean I have to and I’m not gonna stand around and wait for him to fuck up your life, my life…” Rodney ducked his head and added nervously, “…our life.”

“You’ll only make it worse if you stand up to him. He’s just waiting for one of us to bring it up. It’s as good as admitting we’re doing something wrong.”

Rodney wasn’t so easily intimidated, “Oh please, I’ve been dealing with bullies all my life.” John eyed him warily and Rodney stood up, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet. “Time to show the asshole that it’s not wise to mess with the smartest man in two galaxies. Come on.”

“Mc…Kay,” John blinked and was swooped up in a glimmer of white light. Rematerializing he stuttered, “Where are we?”

“Caldwell’s quarters,” said Rodney, pulling some sort of device from his pocket at the same time a box materialized on the bed. Rodney pointed to it. “Grab that.”

Staring opened mouthed, John was trying not to panic, visions of his career going down the toilet flashed before his eyes. “Rodney, this isn’t one of your better plans. I can guarantee if I get caught that they’ll do a lot more than transfer me.” John reached out to stop Rodney from rummaging through Caldwell’s dresser. “Rodney, Stop damn it! This isn’t a fucking game here. Do you want me to spend the rest of my life in Leavenworth or what?”

“Right, because we are the only ones he’s terrorizing. This isn’t the first time I’ve been here, Colonel, so just chill. He isn’t going to trace it to you.”

John’s hands dropped to his sides and glowered at Rodney, “What do you mean this isn’t the first time? You’ve done this before.”

“Of course I have. Do you think I’m so stupid to not set this up right? I’ve had lots of practice with tyrants and bullies, so you’re just gonna have to trust me. The key is not to make it obvious about who is doing the job.” Rodney was in the process of removing all of Caldwell’s socks, boxers and T-shirts from his drawer. Tossing them on the bed, Rodney opened the box that was beamed in after them and John couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his lips when he saw what was inside.

“Oh Christ, you’re crazy. You don’t think he’d actually wear those do you?”

Rodney grinned. “When you are on a return trip to Earth that lasts eighteen days and there are no replacements, you’d be surprised.”

“God McKay, you’re warped.” John wasn’t helping Rodney in his quest, but he was no longer restraining him either. At the very least if it came to a court martial he could claim he didn’t do anything.

“Thanks.”

Noting the accurate military fold of all the replacements, John asked curiously, “Who’s your inside man?”

“Hermiod.”

“The naked guy? He wouldn’t know how to do that,” said John, pointing to the precisely folded T-shirts in Rodney’s hand.

“Don’t knock the naked alien. He’s the only reason this is working. As to whom he has folding Caldwell’s underwear, I didn’t ask.”

Rodney threw all the old stuff in the box. John questioned him, still in a state of shock, “Why is he helping you?”

“Easy. Seems Caldwell made the mistake of pissing off an alien that is more powerful and cunning.”

“What’d he do?”

Rodney laughed, “Well, I guess you weren’t the only one that thought Hermiod should be wearing clothes. Caldwell tried to enforce uniforms on him.” Shaking his head, Rodney closed up the box and left it on the bed.

John smirked, “It’s not right.”

Rolling his eyes, Rodney answered sarcastically, “Oh please, it’s like covering a Ken doll. What is the point? There is nothing to cover.”

“You played with dolls?”

Rodney tossed him his you’re a moron look and sneered, “I had a younger sister. Try getting out of that. Besides I started with Barbi. What a let down that was.”

“So you moved on to Ken?” John was enjoying this too much not to push McKay’s buttons.

“What, you were never curious about Ken and Barbi?”

“Uh…no,” said John, scrunching his face.

“Oh fine then, GI Joe. Don’t tell me you never checked out GI Joe?”

John blushed and Rodney smiled smugly, “I knew it.” Rodney grabbed the device he’d put on the dresser earlier, took a final look around the room to make sure everything was in order and touched the device. “Ready, Hermiod.”

“As you wish, Dr. McKay,” said Hermiod. John was enveloped in the white light and blinked when he was back in Rodney’s room.

“So now what? That doesn’t exactly solve our problem.”

Rodney limped closer and tackled him onto the bed, “Patience, Colonel. Good things come to those who wait.” When Rodney started kissing him and grinding himself into his hips, John forgot all about Caldwell.

************

Caldwell was gone for the next two months and both John and Rodney relaxed into their new relationship, enjoying the lax restrictions without Caldwell around every corner. They kept it tactful and if any one noticed Sheppard sneaking out of McKay’s quarters, it was never mentioned. As long as they kept it out of the halls, no one could comment on what happened behind closed doors.

Unfortunately, that didn’t stop Caldwell upon his next return to Atlantis from harassing them again. The time spent in each other’s company during their off time fueled Caldwell’s fire and he showed up outside Rodney’s quarters early one morning in the hope of catching Sheppard. It might have worked if Sheppard hadn’t had a life sign detector and Hermiod hadn’t transported him back to his own quarters.

Rodney was livid when he left his room a bit later and Caldwell was still waiting.

“Where is he?”

“Who?”

Caldwell glared at him, “You know who. Sheppard.”

Glancing innocently at his watch, Rodney grumbled, “How the fuck should I know, I’m not his keeper. I need coffee, go away.”

“I’m not stupid, McKay. I know what you two are doing,” claimed Caldwell.

Rodney flipped him off over his shoulder as headed to the Messhall for breakfast. With Caldwell trailing, Rodney made sure he sat with Sheppard as if their conversation never took place. Slumping in the seat, Rodney finished off his first cup of coffee before speaking, “When’s the staff meeting?”

“Half hour. You have time for four or five more cups if you push it,” teased John, ignoring Caldwell’s stare from across the room as he smiled at Rodney. “If you really push it, you can have real food with your coffee.”

Rodney was already inhaling his breakfast. “Bite me. You’re in too good a mood after being kicked out of bed.”

“I had to get up anyway,” shrugged Sheppard, grabbing their cups for a refill. “You can’t let him get to you.” He returned and handed Rodney his coffee.

“Thanks,” said McKay around a mouth full of food, “I love you.”

John laughed, “You’d say that to whoever brings you coffee.”

Rodney shrugged, “Good point, but in your case it’s true.”

“You’re gonna have to tone it down with Caldwell here.”

“Fuck him and the horse he rode in on.”

“I’ll pass,” quipped John, snagging the last piece of real bacon from Rodney’s plate.

Rodney slapped at his hand, missing. “Get your own.”

“It’s more fun to steal yours,” said John, flashing Rodney his you still love me smile.

Rolling his eyes, Rodney returned the smile, “Talk about toning it down. You’re gonna give Caldwell a coronary if you keep that up.”

John dared a glance in Caldwell’s direction. The man was so red he looked ready to burst. “I didn’t know a person could get that color.”

Stuffing the last of his toast in his mouth, Rodney washed it down with another swig of coffee, “Apparently so.” He stood up and grabbed his empty tray. “You ready. This ought to be a really fun meeting. I wonder if we can make him go purple.”

John stood and followed McKay. “Might be worth the effort, just to see.” Two months away from Caldwell had eased the tension between them and they found it was more fun to torment the man with their friendship than worry about getting caught. They kept their relationship behind closed doors and unless Caldwell figured out a way to bypass Atlantis’ locked doors it was pretty much a lost cause. The chances of Atlantis giving up her favorite son was about as likely as winning the lottery twice in a row.

********

The meeting was pretty much what they expected with Caldwell bringing up the senior staff off world thing again. Elizabeth, the diplomat that she was, kept the meeting civil. “As I’m sure you’re aware, Colonel, it isn’t unusual for SG teams to have high ranking military as well as highly qualified science staff.”

“I am well aware of how the SGC operates, Dr. Weir,” said Caldwell, his contempt barely controlled. “I am also aware of the blatant disregard for rules and I will be making recommendations upon my return to Earth.”

Rodney rose in his seat, ready to erupt when Elizabeth held her hand up, stopping him. “Let me handle this, Rodney.” She returned her attention to a gloating Colonel Caldwell. “As you well know, Colonel, I have the ultimate say in who and how this expedition is staffed. I am very confident in my senior staff and their professionalism both here and off world. I doubt you’ll have much support were you to file a report saying otherwise.” Her tone left no room for argument.

Caldwell lost some of his bluster, realizing he would find no help from Weir. Rodney sneered at him and John gave him a ‘nice try’ shrug. Chuck, the control guy, interrupted the meeting at that point, “A message from the Daedalus, ma’am.”

Weir nodded, “Patch it through.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Chuck gave her a nod when it was ready.

“This is Weir.”

Hermiod spoke, “Dr. Weir. I have a something for Dr. McKay. It is a data disk.”

Weir looked at McKay for confirmation, who keyed his own radio. “You can send it here, Hermiod.” Picking up the disk, Rodney had his back to Caldwell and was looking at John as he asked Hermiod innocently, “Do you know what it is?”

“I do not, Dr. McKay. It was left here with a message that it be delivered to you.”

“Thanks.” Rodney shrugged and slipped it into his laptop. He knew as well as Hermiod what was on the disk and didn’t bother even looking at it, just copied it to his hard drive before removing it and slipping it back in its protective sleeve.

Weir adjourned the meeting shortly after and with only John and Rodney still remaining, Caldwell returned to talk. “I may not have Weir’s backing but I won’t stop until one or both of you is gone from here.”

Rodney looked up from his computer and picked up the disk. He smiled and flicked it across the table to Caldwell. It slid to a perfect stop at the edge. “You might want to consider that before you continue with your witch hunt.”

Standing up, Rodney shut his computer and started towards the door. Sheppard stared at Caldwell, unsure of what McKay was playing at. He had no idea what was on the disk. Rodney whispered the answer on his way by and it took all of John’s military training to keep a straight face.

Caldwell picked up the disk and frowned, “What’s this?”

Rodney stopped when he was even with Caldwell. Although shorter, McKay had a presence that could intimidate the strongest of men. “You don’t ask and we won’t tell. Isn’t that how it goes? So here’s the deal. You get off our back, because you are wasting your time and really pissing me off. In return, I won’t tell anyone what’s on that disk.”

As Rodney started to leave, Caldwell stood up to the threat, “I won’t give this up, McKay.”

Rodney smiled smugly, “Your choice.”

He walked away and John followed only to stop in front of Caldwell. He tapped the disk in the Colonel’s hand. “Um, you might want to reconsider, Sir. If there’s one thing I’ve learned working with scientists, it really doesn’t pay to piss one of them off. They are a very vindictive bunch.”

Caldwell stared at him sharply, “What’s on the disk?”

John shrugged, “Dr. McKay said something about pink, Sir.” The sudden loss of color in Caldwell’s face confirmed Rodney’s testament that there were in fact no replacements aboard the Daedalus. He wasn’t sure if it was the pink socks and T-shirts or the ‘suck me’ boxers Rodney’d put in Caldwell’s room that brought out that purple shade in the Colonel’s face. John hoped that Rodney could get a video feed from the conference room. He really hated for Rodney to have missed the look on Caldwell’s face at that moment.

*****

Rodney was standing on the balcony that overlooked the East Pier where the Daedalus was presently docked. John joined him, standing shoulder to shoulder. “So I hear they’re heading back to Earth.”

“Fast turnaround this time. Go figure,” answered Rodney matter-of-factly.

John laughed and leaned over the rail, watching as the Daedalus lifted off. “Remind me never to piss you off.” He nudged Rodney with his shoulder, “Wanna go have hot monkey sex?”

“Sure.”

THE END

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