Word Count: 10,329
Rating:
PG13.
Category:
Humour. Angst. Friendship. Crossover.
Story Status:
Complete.
Summary: Set
Season 2 Atlantis, after 'The
Hive', and several years after the last episode of The Sentinel. Rodney
goes to visit his old friend, Blair, and his friend Jim. John
tags along.
Ask No Questions, Take No Side
By Leesa Perrie, with
much help from Jayne Perry
Artwork by alyjude. See more of her artwork here.
----------------
“Can you imagine us
Years from today,
Sharing a park bench
quietly?
How terribly strange
To be seventy.
Old friends,
Memory brushes the same
years
Silently sharing the
same fears”
From the song
‘Old Friends’ by Simon & Garfunkel
----------------
Chapter
One
“So, I hear that you’re going off base
this time?”
Sheppard said, watching as Rodney packed his bags. They had returned to
earth, having been told by Beckett to ‘get some rest and
relaxation away from Atlantis, the SGC and anything remotely military,
and not to come back until you’ve bloody well done
so’. Arguing had only led to the type of threats
only a
doctor like Beckett could get away with. So, here they were,
on
earth, and it looked like Rodney had heeded Beckett’s threats
for
once and was actually going off base.
“Yes, why?” Rodney looked somewhat wary.
“Oh, just wondered where you’re going?”
he asked innocently.
“To see a friend, Colonel, if you must know,”
Rodney
returned to his packing, not quite missing John’s raised
eyebrows
at his reply.
“A friend?” John queried. “I
didn’t know you had any friends…on
earth.”
“Yes, Colonel, amazing as it obviously is to you, I do have a
friend…friends…on earth,” Rodney
snapped, hoping
Sheppard didn’t pick up on his stumble.
“So, who is this guy?”
“His name’s Blair Sandburg,” Rodney
snapped.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get
going.”
“Want some company?”
“What?” Rodney stared at John, not sure he had
heard right.
“I said, want some company?”
“No,” Rodney said, pausing for a moment and then
asking. “Why?”
“I’m bored…and curious.”
“Well, go bug someone else! And what do you mean,
curious?”
“Just wondering what kind of guy this Sandburg is, to put up
with you as a friend.”
“Oh, ha, ha. If you don’t want to
‘put up with me’, then fine,” Rodney
huffed.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know
it!”
“Yes, well, why don’t you go see some of your own
friends?”
John sighed, realising he was going to have to work harder if he wanted
to go with Rodney.
“Okay, truth is, I’m a little concerned about
unexpected
side effects from the enzyme. I’ve already lost one
friend
due to it,” he said, uncomfortable with the admission.
“Oh. Well, I’m touched by your concern,
but I’m
fine. Carson obviously thinks so, otherwise I’d
still be on
Atlantis. I don’t need anyone to baby sit me.”
“And I don’t intend to be anyone’s
babysitter. Damn it, McKay, Carson said you nearly died!”
Rodney closed his eyes briefly. It was clear that he
wasn’t
the only one shaken up by recent events. It certainly
wasn’t like Sheppard to admit to being worried about him,
especially with the strain on their relationship since the events at
Doranda.
“Okay, fine, you can come. But you’ll
have to sort out a place to stay for yourself.”
“That’s okay, I’ve already booked the
room next to
yours at the hotel,” John smirked. Rodney narrowed
his eyes
suspiciously, but decided to let it go.
“Fine,” he muttered, turning to leave.
John followed along beside him.
“So, what does this Sandburg guy do? Is he another
astrophysicist?”
“No.”
“Okay, another kind of scientist, then?”
Rodney sighed again, throwing Sheppard an annoyed look. He
knew
he wouldn’t let this go until he got an answer. He
was
worse that a puppy with a new toy. Actually, he even looked
like
a puppy; shaggy hair and pleading eyes.
“He’s an…” he muttered.
“A what?”
“An anthropologist,” he muttered again, more loudly
this time.
“An anthropologist?” John looked surprised.
“Why are
you friends with an anthropologist? I thought that you said
that
wasn’t a real science.”
”It’s not,” Rodney said. “But
it does have it uses, occasionally.”
“Uses? Like what?”
“Like Blair works as a consultant to Cascade Police
Department,
and apparently has helped close a lot of cases with his insights into
human behaviour.”
John was surprised at Rodney’s response, knowing how little
he
thought of medical science, let alone the social
‘sciences’. But he didn’t miss
the hint of
pride in Rodney’s voice when talking about this
Sandburg’s
achievements. Interesting.
“Anyway, I know the real reason you want to bug
me,” Rodney said, changing subjects abruptly.
“Oh, you do, do you? And why would that be,
McKay?”
“You don’t have any friends of your own to bug, so
you’ve decided to bug mine,” Rodney said smugly.
“I have friends,” Sheppard said defensively.
“In
fact, I’m sure I have more friends here than you
do.”
“Oh please,” said Rodney. “You sound all
of eight
years old. ‘I have more friends than you
do’,” he
mimicked.
“You started it!”
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
----------------
“So, tell me more about this friend of yours,
Chief.”
“Rodney? Well, that’s hard.
He’s, um, he’s a nice guy.”
Jim frowned.
“I don’t like the hesitation in your
voice.”
“Oh,” Blair sighed. “Look,
Rodney’s a
good guy, but he…well, he’s a genius. A
real genius,
right up there with the best of the best, and he’s got an ego
to
match it. And he can be a bit…abrasive.
Let’s
just say, tact and diplomacy don’t come naturally to him. But
he’s okay, underneath it all. He just had a really
crappy
childhood, and so he’s a bit…difficult, until you
get to
know him. Well, even then, I guess, at times.”
“Sounds like he’s a riot. You sure
he’s a friend?”
“Yes, Jim, he’s a friend. A good one, in
fact.
And knowing him made it easier for me to get to know you. You
know, look beneath the tough cop persona and see the friend beneath
it. You should be grateful to him, he paved the way for
you!”
Jim swatted Blair’s head.
“Less of the cheek,” he growled.
Blair just grinned and went into the kitchen to put some coffee on.
“So, what does this genius friend of yours do,
exactly? You were a bit cagey about that earlier.”
“Oh, well. Um, he’s an astrophysicist who
works for the government on top secret projects.”
“You mean the sort of people I don’t want snooping
around
in case they find out about my senses?” Jim looked unhappy.
“Chill, man. He works for the air force, but he
wouldn’t tell anyone about your senses even if he figured
them
out. He wouldn’t do that to a friend of
mine.”
“You sure about that?”
“Yes, Jim. If I wasn’t sure of that,
I’d be
keeping him well away from you. Come on, do you really think
I’d put us at risk like that?”
“No. I just…”
“Get nervous sometimes. I know. But so
far, everyone
has bought the idea that my dissertation was a fake,” Blair
paused, an uncertain look crossing his face. “Um, you know,
perhaps you’re right. I mean, I know Rodney would
never
tell anyone about you if he figured it out, but I’m
forgetting
what he’s like. He won’t believe the diss
was a
fraud. Oh man, perhaps I should have met up with him
somewhere
else. There’s a good chance he’ll work it
out, if he
hasn’t already. Damn, I hadn’t thought of
that.”
“Too late for that now, Sandburg.”
“I’m sorry, Jim. It’s just I
haven’t seen
him for ages, and I didn’t think this through,”
Blair
looked worried.
“I’m sure it will be okay,” Jim sighed.
“You sure you can trust him?”
“Yes. And to be honest, the more I think about it,
the more
certain I am he probably already knows. He’s bound
to have
heard about the diss disaster. He knows I wouldn’t
commit
fraud like that.”
“Then whether he meets me or not is probably a moot
point,”
Jim paused. “It’s not like he wouldn’t be
the only
one who didn’t believe your press conference. H,
Rafe, Joel
and a few others at the PD didn’t believe it, nor did your
mentor, Dr Stoddard.”
“Yeah,” Blair smiled. “So, are we
okay?”
“Of course,” Jim rolled his eyes.
“It’s not
like it’s your fault if people who know you well figure out
the
truth. And if you’re sure this guy can be trusted,
then
I’ll trust your judgement.”
“Thanks, Jim,” Blair was
relieved. It was good
that Jim was willing to trust him with this sort of thing. It
had
taken a long time to get that trust, and it felt good to have it
confirmed.
----------------
“Nice area,” John commented wryly as they
approached 852 Prospect.
“Not everyone wants to live in the anonymous suburbs,
Colonel. At least this area has some character.”
“Hey, I’m not saying anything!”
“You were about to,” Rodney huffed.
“So, you said Sandburg lives with a cop?” John
raised his eyebrow suggestively.
Rodney rolled his eyes.
“Lived with as in being Ellison’s room
mate. I can
assure you, Blair is most definitely not gay. Not judging by
the
amount of women he gets through.”
“Oh, do I detect a hint of jealousy there, McKay?”
“No, you do not!” Rodney snapped.
“If you insist,” John smirked.
“Some of us have better things to do than try and make out
with
every beautiful or ascended woman they meet,” Rodney said,
then
smiled. “Of course, if he was in the city, you
wouldn’t get
much of a look in with the females. He’d definitely
out-Kirk you any day.”
“Right,” John drawled, not convinced, and wondering
just
what this guy looked like. “So, when you said they were
partners,
you meant in the cop sense?” he said.
“Yes, I meant in the ‘cop
sense’,” Rodney said.
“Okay. So, any idea what’s for dinner?
I’ve worked up quite an appetite.”
“Oh, I don’t know…with Blair it could be
anything.”
“Anything?” John looked worried.
“Hmm, yes. He likes to eat healthy foods, and
he’s
travelled a lot and claims to like most local cuisines.
Witchetty
grubs, for example,” Rodney said as the taxi pulled up
outside
the building. They got out, and Rodney paid the driver.
“But he wouldn’t serve something like that up to
visitors,
would he? I can’t see you eating grubs!”
John looked
horrified at the thought of what this Sandburg guy might try to get him
to eat.
“No, but it could be tofu stew, or nut roast, or even his
ostrich chilli.”
“Oh great,” John said. “You could have
warned me earlier. I could have had a snack before
coming.”
“And ruin your appetite and offend my friend?
Really,
Colonel, that’s just not polite,” Rodney grinned,
heading
towards the elevator. John looked at him closely.
“You’re a terrible liar, McKay.
You’re just trying to get me worried.”
Rodney tried to look innocent, but failed miserably.
“I knew it, you’re having me on!”
“Oh, alright. He probably won’t serve up
something
like that. Though I wouldn’t mention burgers in front of him,
or
you’ll get a long lecture on the dangers of cholesterol and
such
like,” he sighed, looking irritated. “The
elevator’s
not working,” he complained.
“Better climb the stairs then. Be good for you, all
that exercise.”
Rodney merely muttered under his breath, as he headed up the
stairs. John smirked again, knowing it was probably as well
he
couldn’t hear what Rodney was muttering about.
As they reached the top, Rodney paused.
“You okay, Rodney?”
“Yeah, just getting my bearings.”
“You mean, getting your breath, more like!”
“Huh, I’m not that unfit. You and your
training makes
sure of that!” Rodney huffed out between deep breaths.
“The training you’ve been getting out of the last
few weeks.”
“Yes, well, enzyme withdrawal, and all that,” he
muttered.
John grimaced.
“Yeah,” he said quietly, waiting for Rodney to get
his breath back from the climb.
“Okay, number 307. There,” Rodney knocked
on the door to the loft.
----------------
Blair opened the door, and immediately drew Rodney into a quick hug,
much to Rodney’s discomfort, though he did return it
half-heartedly.
“Hey, Rodney, good to see you, man.”
“You too, Blair.”
John was surprised when he saw Blair. He was expecting
someone
more…macho. Like the other guy in the
room. He found
it hard to believe that the women went for Blair as much as Rodney had
suggested. Unless it was the hair, maybe.
“Oh, you brought a friend,” Blair said, spotting
John entering the loft.
“Yes, sorry about that. I should have told you I
was
bringing a…friend. This is Lieutenant Colonel John
Sheppard. If it’s a problem, I could tell him to go
away. Might not work. But worth a try.”
“Boy, thanks, McKay,” John drawled.
“Oh, it’s okay. No problems. I
bought extra
food in anyway,” Blair smiled. “Hi, I’m
Blair
Sandburg, and this is my partner, Jim Ellison.” He
shook
hands with John.
Jim shook hands with both Rodney and John, smiling pleasantly and
saying hello, but was worried about having a colonel around.
He
trusted Blair’s judgement of McKay, but was still
concerned. He didn’t want to end up in a government
lab, or
worse.
“So, would you like some coffee?” Blair offered,
looking at John.
“Sure, sounds good,” John replied.
“Good. I know I don’t need to ask
Mr-Six-Cups-of-Coffee-Before-Breakfast here,” He grinned,
looking
a Rodney.
“Don’t start, Blair. No lectures on the
evils of too much caffeine, please,” Rodney groaned.
“Hmm, maybe later,” Blair said, heading into the
kitchen to
make coffee. “So, where are you these
days? Still in
Colorado, working on top secret, hush-hush, ‘I’d
have to
kill you if I told you’ projects?”
“Um, yes. Well, I’ve still got my place
in Colorado,
but the…research base is…near the sea.
Much better
climate than Russia.”
“Yeah, we’re very lucky in our posting, but we
can’t
tell you anymore, sorry,” John quickly put in before Rodney
said
anything they would both regret. Rodney flashed John an
annoyed
look that clearly said he knew better than to say too much.
“So, you Air Force then?” asked Jim.
“Yeah,” John replied.
“Jim was in the Army, a ranger actually,” Blair put
in.
“Oh,” replied John. “I’m
sorry. I guess
we can’t all be in the Air Force,” he commiserated
with
false sympathy.
Both Rodney and Blair rolled their eyes at this.
“Let’s not
get into any rivalry between services, right now,” Blair
said,
glancing at Jim pointedly. “So, how have you been,
Rodney?”
“Oh, fine, fine,” Rodney looked round the loft.
“Nice
place. Bit tidy for you, though, isn’t
it? I remember
your room at Stan’s. How you ever managed to find,
let
alone reach, your bed at night is beyond even me.”
Jim snorted.
“You haven’t seen his room! I make sure
he keeps his
mess in there, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to move out
here,” he smiled at Blair.
“Oh, yeah, Mr Anal here even makes me keep my food separate
in
colour coded Tupperware – can you believe it?
Colour
coded! And don’t start me on the millions of house
rules…”
“After opening up a container expecting left over chilli, and
finding some weird seaweed concoction, can you blame me for wanting to
colour code our leftovers?” replied Jim.
“Humph. Doesn’t explain all those house
rules. A little mess never hurt anyone,” insisted
Blair.
“Yeah, yeah. Cry me a river.”
“Anyway, you’re not much better, Rodney. I saw your
room too, don’t forget.”
“Oh, I’m nowhere near as bad as you! And
my
‘mess’ isn’t really mess, it’s
just that I have
so many projects on the go that the place can get a
little…cluttered at times, that’s all.”
“I’ve seen your quarters on the base, McKay, and,
trust me,
it’s definitely ‘mess’,” John
put in.
“It is not
a mess. It’s…scientific
research…and experimentation. Definitely not a
mess!”
“It comes from having creative minds, doesn’t
it?” Blair said to Rodney.
“In my case, certainly,” Rodney replied, a hint of
mischief in his eyes.
“Hey, and in mine too!” Blair defended himself.
“So, how did you two meet?” Jim asked.
Blair and Rodney exchanged glances. Blair raised an eyebrow
inquiringly, and Rodney tilted his head slightly, obviously considering
something, and then nodded.
Both Jim and John shared a glance at this obvious silent communication
between their two friends.
“Okay, well, Naomi took up with a guy named Stan, who lived a
few doors down from McKay’s home.”
“In Canada?” asked John.
“Yeah. I was thirteen at the time, and Rodney
fourteen. Anyway, Naomi and Stan had gone out, and I was
alone
for the afternoon. It was summer vacation. So, I
was on the
porch reading when I heard some people running, and went to have a
look. And there was this geeky guy trying to out run a couple
of
beefy types, who looked like they weren’t too happy with said
geeky guy for some reason.”
”Huh,” Rodney huffed. “I wasn’t
the only
‘geeky’ guy on that street.” He looked
pointedly at
Blair.
“Hey, I admit it, I was a real geek! Anyway, I
rushed onto
the street and grabbed this guy, pulling onto the porch. When
the
bully boys approached, I called out to my
‘dad’. They
obviously decided they didn’t want to get into anything with
an
adult, and left. Of course, they didn’t know I was
alone or
that Stan wasn’t my real dad.”
“So, he saved your butt, McKay?” John said, with a
smile.
“Yes, well, I’m sure I could have handled Luke and
Bob if
I’d have wanted to. They were all muscle and no
brains.”
“Sure you could have,” John said, with a smirk.
“Anyway,” Blair interrupted. “Rodney
saved my butt as
well. See, Stan was a great guy, and he didn’t mind
my
mess, so long as I kept the worst of it in my room, and he
didn’t
get on at me for being a geek or whatever, but he did tell me to leave
his stereo system alone. It was his pride and joy, and I
wasn’t to touch it.”
“Huh, you not only touched it, you managed to break it as
well,” Rodney pointed out. “Good job I was able to
fix it
for you.”
“Yeah, I’d have been grounded for years if you
hadn’t, not to mention having most of my privileges
revoked,” Blair made a face. “But Rodney fixed it,
and Stan
never did find out I’d been using it. I
didn’t dare
touch it again, though.”
“Privileges and grounding? Sounds like your butt
was perfectly safe to me,” John smiled.
“Ah, but you have never seen a bored Blair.
It’s not a pretty sight, I can tell you,” said Jim.
“Can’t be as bad as a bored Rodney. Now
that’s just downright scary!”
“Wonder what they could get up together when
bored?” Jim mused.
John shuddered at the thought.
“I’m not sure I’d want to know.”
“I think we’re being maligned,” Blair
said to Rodney.
“Or maybe they are merely jealous and in awe of our ability
to
keep ourselves occupied, and also of our great intellect,”
Rodney
said.
Blair laughed at the looks on both Jim and John’s faces.
“Yeah, that must be it,” he agreed.
“You have anything lemony around here,” John
muttered.
“Lemony?” asked Jim.
“Yeah, McKay’s allergic to citrus. Just
wondered if there was something I could throw at him!”
“Now, Colonel, there’s no need to get
nasty.
It’s not my fault my intelligence is far more superior to
your
own.”
John muttered something under his breath, and Jim had a hard time
hiding his laugh at John’s more inventive ideas of
Rodney’s
parentage. Blair and Rodney just shook their heads.
“So, you guys ready for dinner yet?” Blair asked
brightly.
“Oh, yeah. What is for dinner, by the
way?” John asked. “Not grubs, I hope.”
Blair rolled his eyes, looking at Rodney.
“What have you been telling him?” he turned back to
John.
“No, I don’t serve grubs to friends.
Though you
don’t know what you’re missing.”
“I think I’d like to keep it that way,”
John said dryly.
“Well, you’re safe. I’ve got
some jacket
potatoes in the oven, a salad in the fridge and Jim’s going
to
barbecue some steak. How does that sound?”
“Nice, very nice,” John turned to Rodney.
“See, I knew you were winding me up.”
Jim went out onto the balcony to get the barbecue started, closing the
balcony doors to stop most of the smoke getting into the loft.
Blair popped into the kitchen to check on the potatoes.
“Want a beer?” he asked. Both Rodney and
John
indicated that they would, so Blair got four bottles out of the fridge.
“Hey, Rodney, do me a favour and give Jim a bottle.”
Rodney went out to Jim, closing the door behind him. After a
few
minutes, it was clear he had decided to stay out there and talk to Jim.
“So,” John started. “What was McKay like
as a
teenager? I have to admit, it’s hard to imagine him
as a
kid.”
“Yeah, I guess it is,” Blair smiled. “He
wasn’t
a normal teenager, that’s for sure, but then neither was
I.
I might not be in the same hemisphere as him, but I was still what you
would call a ‘gifted’ child and teenager.
I was lucky
though, Naomi, my Mom, accepted me for who and what I was, and never
pressured me to be more than that. Okay, constantly moving
around
wasn’t easy on me, we rarely stayed in one place more than a
few
months – a year at most. But I never had the
problems that
Rodney did.”
“What sort of problems?”
“Well,” Blair paused. “I don’t
know if I should tell you anything, really.”
”I won’t pass anything on. At least,
nothing
bad. Maybe a few embarrassing childhood stories, but nothing
that
would hurt him.”
“You a good friend?” Blair asked.
“Yeah, I like to think so. We’ve had our
ups and
downs, been through a lot together, mostly classified before you ask,
but yeah, I like him. Call me insane if you like, but I
wouldn’t want to hurt him. Tease him, maybe, but
not hurt
him.”
Blair nodded.
“He must consider you to be a good friend, and trust you,
otherwise you wouldn’t be here,” Blair sighed.
“Okay,
well, let’s just say that Rodney’s home life left a
lot to
be desired. His parents were always at each other’s
throats, beats me why they stayed together, they seemed to hate each
other so much. Jeannie, his sister, was pretty much
‘gifted’ like Rodney, but for some reason she
couldn’t do wrong in his parent’s eyes, whilst he
could
never seem to do right. I thought at first it was because he
was
so intelligent, but as I said, Jeannie was pretty intelligent
too. I never could figure it out, but if anything went wrong,
Rodney got the blame.”
“Sounds unfair.”
“It was. And it wasn’t helped that most
kids thought
he was some kind of freak and didn’t want to have anything to
do
with him, and his teachers were always putting pressure on him to do
his best at all times. I think they forgot he was just a
kid. Huh, and when he did do his best, he got into
trouble.”
”Like building a nuclear bomb for his grade six science
fair?”
“A working model, not an actual bomb, but yeah.
See, there
was all this pressure to show how good he was, but he…well,
he
was just a kid. And he never thought about the consequences
of
anything he did. His parents were horrified that he had done
that, the CIA were all over him for a while, thinking he was part of
some sort of kiddie army. And his teachers, who had been
putting
the pressure on him in the first place, were disappointed in
him.
And that was just one of the things that happened to him. He
learnt to keep the world at bay, flaunting his genius and using sarcasm
and arrogance to turn people away. I was lucky enough to be
one
of the few who got through his barriers and saw the real Rodney
underneath.”
“I’m glad you did. Sounds like he needed
all the friends he could get.”
“Yeah. Still does, though he probably wouldn’t
admit
it. I worry about him sometimes, and wish we could spend more
time together.”
“He’s well respected by most people on the base,
and he has
a handful of good friends. We try to watch out for
him.”
“That’s good. For all his intellect
he’s not
good around people. And even now I suspect he
doesn’t
always think of the consequences of what he says or does.”
“You could say that again!” John said, smiling
slightly.
“But we try to watch out for him. It’s
not always
easy. In some ways, he can be his own worst enemy.
But it
makes a lot more sense now, the way he is, knowing more about his
past. Wish I could find his parents and give them a mouthful
about how they treated him.”
“Wouldn’t make any difference.”
“Yeah, but I’d feel a whole lot better for
it!”
“I know,” Blair paused, looking towards the
balcony.
“I’m not sure leaving Jim and Rodney alone together
is a
good idea. Jim isn’t as tolerant as me. I
don’t
think he knows what ‘water off a duck’s
back’
means.”
With that, Blair headed out onto the balcony, with John not far behind.
----------------
Rodney came out onto the balcony, shutting the doors behind him.
“Blair thought you might like a beer,” he said,
passing Jim a bottle.
“Thanks.”
He looked out at the view for a moment, and then made a decision.
“I know what you are,” he said to Jim.
“What?”
“That you’re a sentinel. I got hold of
some of the
newspapers and the press conference that Blair gave. I know
what
you are.”
Jim narrowed his eyes.
“If you’ve seen the press conference, then you know
that Blair faked his dissertation.”
“No,” Rodney shouted, then closed his eyes and
lowered his voice. “Blair would never
fake his dissertation. And I don’t appreciate you
maligning
him by suggesting he would. In fact, I don’t know
how you
can call yourself a friend by letting everyone think that about
him,” Rodney looked at Jim scornfully. “But then,
maybe
you’re just using him. After all, he’s
the only
sentinel expert you know about, so you need to keep him around in case
something bad happens to your senses. And if that means the
world
thinking that Blair is a fraud, so be it. I don’t
suppose
you really mind,” Rodney paused briefly. “He threw
away his
career for you. I might not consider anthropology as a real
science, but it was Blair’s life and I respected
that. And
I understand how it can be useful. Blair is a genius in his
own
right, maybe not on the same level as me, but he was destined for great
things in his field. And that’s all gone now,
because of
you. Not much of a friend, if you ask me.”
“Stop,” Jim said dangerously. “How can
you judge what
you don’t understand? I know what Blair did for me,
and
believe me, if I had known what he was going to do, I would have
stopped him. I wish I could go back and change
things. Undo
the damage and find another way. You have no right to judge
me.”
Rodney looked away, trying to rein in his anger, but failing.
He
knew, deep inside, that this was about more than just Blair.
There was anger at Jeannie mixed in with it, along with other more
recent events. But he couldn’t help
himself. The
thought of what Blair had given up for this guy was too painful.
“Somehow I doubt you fully understand what he gave up for
you. You’re a cop, and ex-army, what do you know
about
academic achievement? About being the best of the best in
your
field? About professional pride? About having the respect of
the
people in your field, and having them look up to you? I
can’t believe he gave it all up like that, yet I know
Blair. He’d lay down his life for someone he
considered a
friend. Too bad if that friend
won’t do the same for him!”
“That’s enough! Okay, I
shouldn’t have tried to
convince you I wasn’t a sentinel. Blair said
you’d
probably already worked that out for yourself. That you knew
him
too well to fall for the fraud idea, but I won’t have you
make
out I’m some sort of monster that just uses him to get what I
want!”
Blair and John came onto the balcony and stopped in surprise.
Neither Rodney or Jim seemed aware of their presence.
“You haven’t done anything to undo what Blair
did.
You haven’t tried to restore his academic
reputation.
Why? Are you punishing him for making a mistake?
Well,
I’m sorry, but friends, real friends,
don’t punish friends for making a mistake!”
“Hey, whoa now, Rodney. You don’t know
what
you’re talking about,” Blair interrupted.
Rodney
turned around in surprise.
“Blair,” he said. “How can you live with
people
thinking you’re a fraud when you’re not? How can
you be
okay with this? Can’t you see, he’s just
using
you?”
“Enough!” Blair looked at Jim.
“I’m sorry, Jim,
I guess I need to explain some things to my friend,” he
looked
back at Rodney, and pointed inside. “Let’s go
inside,
Rodney, and discuss this. I won’t have you laying
into Jim
like this!”
Rodney looked angry, and a little hurt. Blair sighed.
“Look, you just don’t understand, okay?
And Jim
isn’t using me! He’s my friend, my
brother, just like
you. Do you really think I’d be stupid enough to
stay if he
wasn’t? If he was just using me? Come on,
Rodney, you
know me better than that! No one uses me! I
wouldn’t let
anyone, and you know I wouldn’t still be here if he was!
After
all, when have I ever stayed around one place this long before? And as
for being a fraud, the people I work with don’t believe it,
and
others have decided that it was just a blip, a stupid mistake, and that
I’ve learned from it. Most people don’t
doubt my
integrity. At least not those that I respect and value. And any that
do, well, that’s their problem, not mine.
I’m where I
want to be. I might not have chosen this path, but I believe
I
would have ended up on it anyway, one way or another. I like
working for Cascade PD, I like putting criminals away behind bars, it
makes being a professor seem small and unworthy somehow!”
Blair
paused for breath. “Come on, let’s go
inside.”
Blair turned and walked back into the loft, leaving Rodney with little
choice but to follow him.
----------------
Chapter
Two
Blair went into the kitchen, and started putting the salad items into a
bowl, with more force than was really necessary. He
couldn’t believe Rodney had talked to Jim like
that! Though
he should have seen it coming, he knew Rodney could get over protective
at times, like Jim, part of him thought wryly, and it certainly could
look like Jim was taking advantage of him, but he should know him
better than to think he’d allow someone to take advantage
like
that.
“How can you think that of me, that I’d let myself
be used? You know me, or I thought you did.”
“Sorry,” whispered Rodney, after a long pause.
Blair stopped what he was doing, and looked at Rodney. Damn,
he looked like he’d lost his best friend, or brother.
“Why didn’t you talk to me first?” he
asked.
“I…” Rodney paused. “Are you
sure he’s
not just using you to help with his senses? I remember what you were
like once you’d heard about sentinels. It was all
you could
talk about or a long while, and it became your life. Are you
sure
it hasn’t blinded you to him?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Blair stated firmly,
looking Rodney
in the eyes. “He’s no more using me than you
would.
You were the first person I thought of as a…a surrogate
brother,
and Jim’s the second one.”
“You, er, really mean that?” at the look of
exasperation on
Blair’s face, he quickly added. “About
me? Being a
surrogate brother?”
“Yes, you big doofus,” Blair said, smiling
slightly. Rodney looked away, not sure how to respond to that.
“It’s okay, Rodney. I think I
understand. All
you could see was the career I threw away for some guy who happens to
be a sentinel, my Holy Grail. But I have a career that I
love,
most of the time anyway. I really feel like I’m
doing some
good in the world, you know? And Jim, well, we’ve
had our
ups and downs, like most friendships, but we’re
okay. He’s
okay.”
“I was just…I don’t
know…Jeannie…and
other things, that I can’t tell you
about…”
“It’s okay. We’re
okay. But you do need to apologise to Jim.”
“Okay, fine. You know, you sound just like my
mother,”
Rodney complained, and then continued quietly. “When I was
younger and used to visit you during school vacations as often as I
could, I used to pretend that Naomi was my real Mom, and you were my
brother. I really wanted it to be true, even though I knew it
wasn’t. I used to watch Naomi and you, and
I’d be
jealous sometimes. I wanted what you had. To be
loved like
that, accepted….I hated having to go home.”
“I know. Naomi wanted you to stay with us full
time, you
know, but she knew your parents would never agree to that.
But
you were, and are, my brother in all but blood. Just like Jim
is
too.”
----------------
John looked at Jim, feeling awkward, and somewhat left out.
Figuring that Jim probably wasn’t in a talkative mood,
especially
considering the way the guy was aggressively treating the steaks, he
decided to keep quiet and just admire the view for a bit.
After a while, though, he decided to go and see if Blair and Rodney had
talked things through. It was rare to see Rodney so angry
about
something, certainly something that wasn’t work related, and
he
had to admit to being worried about him.
And that bit Rodney had said about real friends not punishing friend
for mistakes had felt like a stab in the heart. Did Rodney
think
John was punishing him for Project Arcturus. Sure, Rodney had made a
mistake, a huge, massive, colossal and nearly fatal mistake, but was he
punishing him unfairly? Did he trust McKay? Yes, he
realised, he did. Okay, maybe not if a situation such as that
project arose again, but in all other things…he trusted
him. So maybe he should tell Rodney? He knew Rodney wanted
his
trust again, and by denying him it, he was hurting his friend.
Punishing him. And that’s not what real friends
did.
He decided that he needed to talk to Rodney and let him know things
were pretty much okay between them, but later. Now was not
the
time.
He entered the loft in time to hear Blair tell Rodney he thought of him
as a brother in all but blood and kept quiet, realising he was imposing
on something personal. He thought about returning to the
balcony,
but then decided that a trip to the bathroom would be a good idea, to
give Rodney and Blair a bit more time to settle things. But
the
next words stopped him in his tracks.
“I’m glad you found yourself a sentinel.”
“You were one of the very few who believed that a person with
five enhanced senses could exist. Most people thought I was
chasing a fantasy, a myth.”
“Yes, well, I only said it was theoretically possible, I was
far
from certain anyone like that really existed. I’m
glad you
were right, though.”
“Is Jim a…sentinel…then?”
John asked.
Blair and Rodney turned in surprise to see John standing by the table,
and Jim entering the loft at the same time, his face looking like
thunder.
“Oh, man, can this day get any worse?” Blair
muttered out
loud. “I’m sorry, Jim, I thought he was still on
the
balcony with you. Should have known better than to discuss
this
when there was even a slight chance of someone overhearing,
though. Sorry.”
Jim looked at Blair, and consciously pushed his anger to one side, not
wanting it to mess up their friendship again.
“Yeah. But then, I should have been paying more
attention
to what you were talking about and where Colonel Sheppard
was,”
he turned to John. “You’d better not be planning to
tell
anyone about this.”
“Colonel,” Rodney said before John could respond.
“Blair sacrificed a lot to keep this quiet, and I’d
really
appreciated if you didn’t make it all in vain by telling
anyone
about it.”
John glanced at Rodney, and saw the beseeching look on his face.
“Okay. I promise not to tell anyone.”
Rodney turned to Blair.
“The Colonel is a man of his word. He
doesn’t break promises.”
Blair looked at Jim. Jim sighed and then nodded.
“Okay, you trust Rodney’s judgement?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s good enough for me, I
guess,” he looked at John. “Yes, I am a
sentinel.”
“Five enhanced senses?” John queried.
“Yes.”
“Cool.”
“Not always,” Blair said. “But most of
the time, yeah, I think it’s pretty cool.”
“So why the big secret?”
“Because Jim doesn’t want to become a lab rat for
some
secret government agency, or be forced to use his senses by a rogue
agent, like has happened in the past, or have criminals knowing about
his advantages, and especially not his disadvantages.”
“Disadvantages?”
“Yeah, imagine being able to smell a rose a few dozen feet
away,
and then imagine being in an alley full of trash cans. The
smell
could easily overwhelm you, and it’s not pleasant.
And
that’s just a minor example of the many different problems
that
can happen. Fortunately, Jim can handle most of these things
now,
but we still come across unexpected problems from time to time, and
even old problems can rear their heads again if he’s tired or
hurt.”
“Someone with the wrong knowledge could leave booby traps
that
only a sentinel would be affected by. Or use white noise
generators to block out noise, or strong smell to block out more subtle
ones, that sort of thing,” Jim supplied.
“Oh. Okay, I can see it could be a problem, but
it’s gotta be really useful as well.”
“Oh, yeah. He’s a human crime
lab! But
he’s not superman, and there’s as many down sides
as
up.”
“And could you imagine what could happen if some rogue agency
or foreign
enemy, whatever, was able to force him to work for them against his
will? They’d try and turn him into Super-Sense man,
or if
he didn’t do as they say, he’d be Super-Dead
man,”
Rodney added as well.
“Yeah, I get it. I won’t be telling
anybody. I’ve already promised that.”
“Good,” Blair looked at Jim. “Sorry,
again.”
“It’s okay. These things just seem to
happen to us,” Jim smiled tightly.
“And I’m, ah, I’m sorry about
earlier. On the
balcony. You know, the things I said. I
shouldn’t
have made assumptions, sorry,” Rodney awkwardly apologised to
Jim.
“He was just protecting me, Jim, like you would if you
thought
someone was using me in some way,” Blair looked at Jim,
imploring
him silently to accept Rodney’s apology.
“Fine. I guess it’s good to know
I’m not the
only one looking out for you. The more minders you have, the
better,” Jim turned to Rodney. “Apology
accepted.”
Rodney sighed in relief.
“That sounds so familiar, I wonder where I’ve heard
that before?” Rodney glared at John.
“Hey,” John looked hurt for all of two seconds,
before the glint in his eyes got the better of him.
“So, how are the steaks doing?” Rodney asked,
rubbing his
hands together in anticipation. John snorted and Rodney
glared at
him. “What? I’m hungry.”
“You’re always hungry.”
“The steaks are…” Jim looked out onto
the balcony.
“Well done, but edible,” he said, going out to
rescue them
before they were burned beyond hope.
Blair busied himself putting things onto the dining room
table. John walked up to Rodney.
“Yeah, about that friends don’t punish friends
thing you
said on the balcony,” he whispered to Rodney. “Just
thought
I should let you know that we’re cool. That I, uh,
trust
you. Maybe not quite 100% yet, but, well, almost,”
he moved
away to help Blair set the table.
Rodney stood for a moment, stunned by Sheppard’s
words.
Then he smiled, and turned to help carry food into the dining area.
----------------
The meal was fairly subdued to start with, and then Blair started a
discussion of basketball, which quickly led to one about football, and
some small teasing about football being more of a
‘man’s
game’ than hockey. The tension eased away, though
Rodney
seemed quieter than usual, only rising half-heartedly to the hockey
jibes. After the main meal was over, and they’d
cleared the
table, Blair turned to Rodney with a grin.
“Do you remember those ice creams sundaes Mom used to make us
if we’d been good?”
“Oh, they were divine,” Rodney’s eyes lit
up at the
memory. “I’d even help clean your room for one of
those!”
“Well, I’ve got all the ingredients, but
I’m not sure
I really want to make one. All that sugar and fat, you
know. It’s just not healthy…”
“Maybe he could clean your room for one, it certainly needs
doing,” Jim suggested.
“Leave my room out of this!” Blair grinned.
“But if you say pretty please, I might consider it.”
“Pretty please,” Rodney said, rolling his eyes.
“Pretty please with lots of syrup on top.”
“Oh, please, you sound like a kid,” Rodney replied.
“Oh, well, if you don’t want a
sundae…”
“Humph. Pretty please with syrup on top.
Will that do?”
“I guess so,” Blair started getting out the sundae
glasses,
ice cream and other ingredients. “Want to help?” he
asked
Rodney.
Rodney went into the kitchen.
“So, what’s in these sundaes?” John
asked.
“Maybe I get the chefs back at base to make some, for when
Rodney’s been a good boy. I could certainly use all
the
bribes available for that!”
“You make me sound like Pavlov’s dogs.”
“If the cap fits…”
“Well,” Blair said, interrupting any response from
Rodney.
“You put a squirt of maple syrup, the real stuff, in the
bottom
of the glass, a couple of slices of banana, and another squirt of
syrup. One scoop of vanilla ice cream, another of
caramel.
Some more banana and syrup. Another scoop of vanilla ice
cream
and two more of caramel. More banana and syrup. A
good
dollop of fresh whipped cream. A generous amount of chocolate
sprinkles, more syrup, and two wafers. And, voila, one
Naomi’s Canadian Ice Cream Sundae.”
Blair and Rodney had been busy making up a sundae each as Blair gave
the list of ingredients. Then they made two more, and carried
them over to the table.
“Looks and sounds good,” John said, taking a taste
and sighing in pleasure. “And tastes even better.”
There was silence, except for the occasional moan of pleasure, as the
sundaes were demolished.
“So, what did you two get up to?” John asked, after
the
table had been cleared, and everyone moved into the living area.
“You must have some blackmail material I can use against
Rodney.”
“Ha, my secrets are safe with Blair,” said Rodney,
confidently.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Blair smiled
sneakily. “How
about that time Luke and Bob chased you up the tree?”
“Hey, I’m sure the Colonel doesn’t want
to hear about that!”
“Oh, I do,” John smirked. “I most
definitely
do. Hey, maybe that’s why you like cats, I mean,
they get
chased up trees as well, don’t they?”
Rodney glowered at John, and then turned to Blair.
“Don’t…”
Blair interrupted, smiling wickedly.
“Well, what happened is that poor Rodney got cornered by Luke
and
Bob near this tree that someone had left a ladder leaning
against. They made him climb the tree, and then took the
ladder
away. Of course, Rodney could just have climbed down after
they
had gone, but they’d made him strip down to his underwear,
and
took off with his clothes as well!”
“Just shoot me now,” Rodney moaned, as
John’s eyes lit up with laughter. Blair ignored him.
“But it was okay, I found him. Had to go home and
get him
some clothes for him, and then put the ladder back so he could climb
down,” Blair smiled, and then laughed. “Of course,
a few
days later someone,”
he shot Rodney an amused look, “followed them into the local
gym
and doctored the shampoo in their lockers. How long did it
take
for all the purple stains, not to mention the purple hair, to
fade?”
“A couple of weeks or so,” Rodney said smugly.
“Oh, I can’t wait to tell people back at base about
this!” John exclaimed.
“Do you think purple hair would suit the Colonel?”
Rodney asked.
“Hmm, maybe electric blue would be better,” replied
Blair in all seriousness.
“You wouldn’t dare!” John said.
“Just think
about all that training I could put you
through…I’m sure
it would be easy to convince Elizabeth that civilians should take part
in some military training…sort of a team bonding
exercise…getting to know each other…that sort of
thing,” he threatened. Rodney looked less than
thrilled
with the idea, and decided to change the topic, and get Blair back a
little.
“So,” he started. “Do you remember when
we were driving a truck for your uncle?” he asked Blair.
“You drove a truck?” said John incredulously.
“Er... Well Blair drove the truck....most of the
time.”
“Only because I refused to let you behind the wheel
after…”
“Who’s telling this story? Anyway, it was
getting
towards evening and we found a truck stop where we could park up and
get something to eat.”
“Er…I really don’t think they need to
hear this story,” Blair interrupted.
“Whilst we were eating, the lovely and delightful Leonora
comes
in,” Rodney continued, much to Blair’s
embarrassment.
“Her car had broken down and she wanted to use the
phone.
Gallant Blair here, who didn't know much about cars, at least not at
the time, decided to come rushing to her aid and volunteer to look at
it for her, the car that is.”
“You could have helped me with the car,” Blair
complained, trying to veer the conversation away from the story.
“Oh, please, as I was going to help you pick up
girls! So,
he goes rushing off, leaving me to pay the bill, you still owe me $10
by the way.” Blair just rolled his eyes at that.
“Anyway,
next thing I know, he comes running back to the truck, flings the door
open and sinks down, saying that I was to tell Leonora I didn't know
where he was. I wondered what the problem was, and was about
to
ask him, when Leonora came over to the truck looking for him.
It
was as she turned to go back inside to look for a phone that I noticed
it.”
“Noticed what?” asked Jim, as Rodney paused.
“That Leonora
had an Adam’s apple! Turned out that Leonora's real
name was Leonard and she was going to a drag show!”
Blair glared at Rodney as Jim and John burst out laughing, but Rodney
just smiled smugly, having got his own back for the tree story.
“I’m surprised you couldn’t have found a
way to
obfuscate your way out of the situation, rather than just run and
hide,” Jim said, still sniggering.
“Yeah, I should have. Rodney’s a terrible
liar, and
I’ve no doubt Leonora knew I was hiding in the
truck.”
“We can’t all be kings of obfuscation,”
Rodney defended himself.
“Hey, maybe we should invite the guys round for a poker night
whilst Rodney’s here, he’s got this wonderful poker
face…”
“Don’t you think you’ve won enough from
me over the years?” he complained.
Blair thought about it for a moment.
“Nope,” he replied.
----------------
Later, they settled down in front of the TV to watch a basketball game,
with two big containers of popcorn to share.
During the interval, Blair suddenly grabbed a handful of popcorn and
threw it onto Rodney, who was sitting next to him.
“Hey!” Rodney glared at Blair, slowly picking up
the popcorn, and then throwing it back at Blair.
“No popcorn throwing in the loft,” Jim intoned.
“New house rule.”
Blair and Rodney exchanged looks, and then settled back down.
A
few moments later, John watched as Rodney nonchalantly threw a handful
of popcorn at Jim, whilst his attention was elsewhere. Jim
looked
over at Blair and Rodney, and glared, though John noticed a slight
upturn of his lips.
“So, who did that?”
“Not me,” Blair said, holding up his hands
defensively. “It was him!”
“Oh, please. As if I would stoop to something so
juvenile,” Rodney said.
Jim looked between the two of them.
“Hmm. Well, I’d better clean this mess
up,” he
said, walking past Blair, and suddenly grabbing the popcorn container,
and dumping the rest of it onto Blair.
“Hey, not fair!” Blair leapt up, heading towards
the other
popcorn container near John. John quickly grabbed it and
hugged
it to his chest. Blair glared at him.
“Oh, now, that’s just a waste of perfectly good
popcorn,” John said.
Blair turned away, and then moved lightning quick to grab the
container, and throw half of it over Rodney, and the rest over
Jim. John couldn’t believe how fast Blair had
moved, but
the look on Rodney’s face coupled with the popcorn strewn
over
him was too much. He laughed.
“Oh, please, someone get me a camera! No
one’s going
to believe this back on…at base!” he spluttered,
before
being hit in the face with a handful of popcorn.
A fight ensued for a few minutes, until Jim made it clear that he
wanted to clear up the mess before the interval was over. As
they
started to clean up, Blair ‘accidentally’ nudged
Rodney,
who nudged him back, and a full scale, but amicable, nudge and push war
broke out between them, until Jim grabbed Blair in a headlock and gave
him a noogie.
“Ow, Jim,” Blair whined.
“You going to settle down?” Jim asked, still
holding Blair in a headlock.
“Okay, okay. Just let me go,
man.” Jim let Blair go. “Boy, talk about
bully boys!”
As everyone settled back down for the second half, John thought to
himself that this was the first time he’d seen McKay truly
relax,
possibly the first time he’d ever seen him really laughing,
without any worries or responsibilities pulling at him, or at either of
them. This was a side of McKay he had never truly seen and
wondered if he would ever see again He suspected not on
Atlantis
and it made him wonder at the price Atlantis was costing his friend and
if it was worth paying. He admitted to himself that if he
hadn’t accompanied Rodney, he would never have guessed at
this
side of his friend. He certainly would never have guessed
that
Rodney would enjoy a food fight. He wondered briefly how easy
a
food fight in the mess hall would be to orchestrate. After
all,
it was called a mess hall, right? He wondered if Elizabeth
would
allow it, as a morale boost? Or maybe he should just go ahead
without her knowledge, though, of course, as CO, he couldn’t
be
seen to start it. He smiled at the possibilities this
presented
him.
Rodney looked at John and wondered what he could be thinking about that
made him smile like a Cheshire cat? Knowing that look, he was
probably thinking up some mischief to cause once they were back on
Atlantis.
At the thought of Atlantis, Rodney felt slightly homesick.
When
they had realised that there was no ZPM to get them home, he had
settled himself in for the long haul. For the first time in
his
life, he’d started putting down roots, even letting others
inside
his barriers, like Zelenka, not that he would ever tell him
that.
In a way, Zelenka kept him grounded in a similar way that Blair had
kept him grounded when they were kids. Someone he could talk
to
as an almost equal, or could tell him when he was being a schmuck.
He sighed, and settled back to watch the rest of the game.
He’d have to keep an eye out for whatever Sheppard was
planning,
but he wasn’t going to worry about that right now.
----------------
When the game was over, Rodney, John and Blair arranged to meet up the
next day so that Blair could show them the sights of Cascade.
“Hmm, I think I might come with you,” Jim said.
“I’m sure Simon would let me have the day
off. And if
I leave you in Blair’s hands, the sights of Cascade will
probably
consist of museum after museum, and maybe a library or too as
well,” he smirked.
“Hey, nothing wrong with museums and libraries,”
Blair protested.
John shuddered at the thought.
“There must be more exciting things to see and do,”
he said.
“Okay, okay. Come if you want, Jim. I
wasn’t going to spend all day in museums anyway.”
After Rodney and John had said their goodbyes and departed, Blair and
Jim started getting ready for bed. Just before Jim went up to
his
room, Blair stopped him.
“You sure you want to spend the day with us tomorrow,
Jim. I know Rodney can be a bit hard to take
sometimes.”
“I think I’ll survive. And if
he’s such a good
friend of yours, then he must have some redeeming
characteristics. He’s certainly a good shot with
popcorn,
and not as bad at obfuscation as you might think,” Jim
grinned.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Blair thought
for a moment.
“Hey, you knew all along it was Rodney that threw that
popcorn at
you, not me!”
Jim just smiled, and headed upstairs to his room.
“Jim…” Blair whined.
“Goodnight, Chief.”
Blair sighed.
“Goodnight, Jim,” he said, heading to his room,
thinking
about getting his revenge on both Jim and Rodney. He smiled
evilly. Maybe he would insist on going to the history museum
and
dragging them around the exhibits that he knew they’d both
find
deadly boring….he just hoped that John would forgive
him….
----------------
By the next morning, Blair had relented from his ideas of
revenge. After all, it wouldn’t be fair on John,
and he
could think of other ways to get Jim and Rodney back.
When they arrived at the hotel Rodney and John were staying at, they
headed up to Rodney’s room, as arranged.
Blair knocked on the door, and after a few moments it was opened by a
rather ruffled looking John Sheppard.
“Oh, hey, I tried to call, but missed you. Come in.”
“Is something wrong?” Blair asked, as Jim and he
entered the room. “Where’s
Rodney?”
“Still in bed.
He’s…er…he’s not
feeling too well. But he’ll be okay, just a slight
relapse,
that’s all.”
“Colonel,” a voice called weakly from the bedroom
area.
“Have a seat, I’ll be out in a minute.”
Blair and Jim exchanged concerned glances.
----------------
“Hey, how’re you feeling?” John
asked.
“Bad,” Rodney replied. “Feels like my
head’s
going to explode, not to mention the shivering is really getting on my
nerves,” he sighed. “Damn it, I thought I was over
the
worse.”
“So did Beckett.”
“Yeah, well, I always said medicine wasn’t far
removed from voodoo.”
“You’re sure it’s withdrawal? I
mean, you could have picked up something else.”
“No, it feels like withdrawal,” Rodney closed his
eyes, not
able to look Sheppard in the eye.
“I…ah…I…want it, you
know. The
enzyme. I can feel it. The need. Not as
bad as
before…but it’s there.”
“Okay, so it’s definitely withdrawal.
I’ve
called the SGC and they’re arranging transportation to a
secure
military hospital. Doctor Lam is flying out, she has a copy
of
Beckett’s files on this. You’ll be
fine.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ve
just got wraith
enzyme messing up my system and sending me crazy, but, hey,
I’ll
be fine. I mean, who’s ever heard of a second
withdrawal
before? It should have been over with the first
time!”
“Hey,” John grabbed Rodney’s arms, and
forced him to
look John in the eyes. “You’ll get through this,
okay?”
Rodney closed his eyes, trying to swallow his panic.
“You beat it once, you’ll beat it again,”
John continued.
“And if it comes back again? How can we ever be
sure it
won’t? No one expected this! Beckett
thought I was
over it!”
“Then you’ll beat it again,” John smiled.
“Besides, it’s an order.”
“Oh, well, if it’s an order…”
he said sarcastically, and then sighed. “I want to see
Blair. Don’t worry, I’ll just tell him
enough so that
he won’t worry.”
“Alright.”
----------------
“Blair, McKay wants to talk to you.”
Blair jumped up and headed straight into Rodney’s
room. Jim looked at Sheppard.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it will be. Rodney was ill not long ago, but
the
docs thought he was okay. Seems they were wrong and
he’s
having a relapse. But he’ll be fine, nothing to
worry
about. We’re just going to have to cut things short
here,
and get him to a hospital. I’ve made
arrangements,”
John sighed. “Just bad timing, that’s
all,” he smiled
reassuringly at Jim.
----------------
“Hey, Rodney.”
“Blair. Sorry about this, looks like I’m
going to have to cut the visit short,” Rodney shivered.
“You going to be okay?” Blair asked.
“Sure. Nothing to worry about. I just got
exposed to
something a week or so ago, and it looks like I’m having a
relapse. But I’ll be fine. Just need to
be in
hospital for a day or two.”
“I hope you don’t get exposed to dangerous
substances a
lot,” Blair looked at him. Rodney wouldn’t meet his
eyes.
“Not much,” he lied.
Blair narrowed his eyes, and started to say something, but Rodney
interrupted him.
“Look, it was an…accident…and all
scientific
research carries risk. So does working for the
police.”
Blair looked at him in surprise.
“And don’t deny it. I know about that
psychopath;
Lash, wasn’t it, who came damn close to killing
you. So
don’t tell me that working with Jim is safe.”
“No, I guess it isn’t,” Blair
sighed. “I
guess you need to live your life and I need to live mine,” he
smiled. “But try and stay in touch a bit more,
can’t
you?”
“I’ll try. And I’ll be
fine.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re not so sure of
that?” he said, looking at his friend closely.
“Because I never learned the art of obfuscation, I
guess,”
Rodney said. “Look, I can’t tell you anything more,
probably told you too much as it is, but I imagine the voodoo
practitioners back at base will figure it out.”
“Voodoo practitioners? You know, you really
shouldn’t
keep calling doctors that,” Blair smiled.
“Especially not
to their faces, which knowing you, you would do in a
heartbeat.”
There was a noise from the living room, and then some military types
entered Rodney’s room. Blair looked at them
suspiciously.
“It’s okay, Blair,” Rodney said.
“They’ll get me to the help I need.”
The military types ushered Blair out whilst they prepared McKay for
transport. And within a few minutes they were gone, leaving
Jim
and Blair to make their way home.
----------------
About a six weeks later, a package arrived in the post for Blair,
containing a video tape. Jim looked at him curiously, and
Blair
shrugged, placing the tape into the video machine and pressing
play. The picture of a lab appeared with a well looking McKay
smiling into the camera.
“Hey, Blair, just thought I’d let you know in
person, well
sort of, that I’m fine. Those voodoo people finally
figured
out what was wrong and fixed me.” Blair smiled in
relief.
Although he had received word a few weeks earlier that Rodney had
recovered, it was good to hear it from the man himself, and to be able
see for himself that Rodney looked fine.
“Anyway, I’m back on the base, and I
don’t know when
I’ll next be able to get leave, but you wanted me to stay in
contact a bit more, so I’m going to try.”
During the rest of the message, which mentioned a food fight that
started in the mess hall mysteriously one day, and his suspicion that
Sheppard was behind it, even though no one was able to prove it, Jim
heard something in the background that drew his attention.
He filtered out the
other noises, trying to identify what it was.
“Hey, Carson,
you’ll be pleased to know the Daedalus has just arrived with
supplies from earth.”
“Oh, aye,
Colonel, that’s good. I was just about to run out
of tea.”
“And we
wouldn’t want that, now would we?” Sheppard teased,
as the voices drifted into the distance.
That was…strange. Very strange. He looked at
Blair, but
decided not to say anything. After all, it couldn’t
mean
what he thought it did, could it?
The End
----------------
“There isn't much I
haven't shared
With you along the road
And through it all
there'd always be
Tomorrow's episode
Suddenly that isn't true
There's another avenue
Beckoning the great
divide
Ask no questions, take
no side
Who's to say who's right
or wrong
Whose course is braver
run
Still we are, have
always been
Will ever be as
one…
…Friends
never say goodbye…”
From the song
‘Friends Never Say Goodbye’
- written by Tim Rice
and song by Elton John.
----------------
