Red Sky At Dawn - Part 10

[kellifer]

Title: Red Sky At Dawn - Part Ten
Author: kellifer_fic
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis, that is, pegasus_b
Rating: Mature
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. They come from the SciFi Original Series Stargate:Atlantis. Don't own, don't sue!

Note: Apologies for the delay in this next part, my harddrive ate Part 10 before it was beta'd and I had to rewrite the whole thing... *slaps forehead*

Summary - How long can people live with death hanging over them like the sword of Damocles, she wondered, before they snapped.



Jack and Elizabeth were looking at him impassively from the other side of the mess hall table where he'd found them and John cleared his throat.

"I don't think we need guards on him anymore," he said. "We're down on men as it is and he's not..." John waved a hand. "Dangerous."

"We're down on men because two of our SFs are in the infirmary with mild concussions," Elizabeth said and although her tone was stern, John could also tell that she wanted to agree with him and was just waiting for a good enough reason.

He remembered Ronon, standing in the infirmary doorway with a bleeding Daniel in his arms, holding him as easily as if he'd been holding a child.

"What happened to your guard?" he'd blurted because the sight of Daniel covered in blood had simply knocked all rational response from his head.

"They got in my way," Ronon had simply shrugged, or shrugged as much as a person could with a six foot archaeologist held against their chest.

"Guards are pretty pointless," Jack said and John looked at him. If there were going to be an argument then he would have expected it from the Colonel. Jack noted John's look of confusion and chuckled. "What I'm saying is, he obviously put up with the escort to humour us. As soon as he needed to, he took both of them down and from what I hear, in only a few seconds." There was a certain mixture of admiration and wariness in Jack's tone, as if to say he'd be good in a fight, let's have him on our side ok?

"If it's the opinion of my two senior military officers that Ronon no longer poses a threat?" Elizabeth arched an eyebrow and both men nodded. "Fine, then. He can have free run of the city, up to a point. I don't want him in any of the labs or the unsecured areas of the city. That being said, I'm not entirely comfortable with returning his weapon to him just yet, either."

Jack cocked an eyebrow. "I agree that may be a little premature."

xxxxx

"I'd like it to be someone else's turn to save all of our lives," Rodney complained although there wasn't much venom in it. He just seemed tired.

Jack stood behind him in the doorway, a hip resting against the frame and his arms crossed. "You'll think of something," he assured.

"Oh, I don't doubt that." Rodney looked back at Jack and waved his hands in a don't be ridiculous gesture that Jack was getting to know quite well. "Of course I'll think of something, it is me. I just... you know, was being magnanimous and wanting to share the ass-saving around a little."

Jack chuckled softly, entering the room and clasping his arms around Rodney's waist. Rodney took a second to lean back into Jack's warmth and sigh. "I feel like we haven't slept together in the same room for ages.” Jack grumbled good-naturedly.

“That’s because I haven’t actually slept in ages,” Rodney responded. He huffed and then sat forward again. “Break’s over,” he grumped.

“So, we can’t hide and if we run we’re cut off from the only stargate that can reach Earth,” Jack said and Rodney looked up at him with a confused expression.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

Jack looked at him and shrugged. “I say goofy things around smarter people than me and they always get ideas. It’s a… thing,” he said by way of explanation and Rodney snorted.

“How on earth did you figure that one out?” he asked, amusement plain on his features.

“Happened with Sam all the time, and I also said something like hide Atlantis to you and you came up with a way to shift it out of our plain of existence.” Rodney opened his mouth to protest but then a thoughtful expression washed over his features and he nodded. Jack raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, fine,” he said, swivelling away from his console. “I’m in. Say something goofy.”

Jack mock-scowled. “I can’t just do it like that, by demand. It’s an art.”

Rodney chuckled. “That’s definitely goofy but hasn’t given me a brilliant scheme to save our asses yet.”

“No? Darn. Um… I admit I’m struggling here a bit.”

“Look, I know you’re trying to help and by god, I love you for it, but-“

“Wait! Back up a second. You what me?”

Rodney flushed bright red. “Nothing at all. I blame any ramblings on lack of sleep and more caffeine than the human body should ingest in a year.”

“We ran out of coffee weeks ago.”

“Really? What the hell am I drinking then?” Rodney looked curiously into his cup but Jack snatched it out of his fingers.

“No changing the subject McKay,” he said sternly.

“Oh hell, you aren’t going to get all weird and run a mile are you?” Rodney demanded, crossing his arms defensively and Jack laughed and reached out, pulling Rodney to him in a tight hug.

“Not going anywhere. Hell, I’m seeing a therapist for you.”

“You’re seeing a therapist?”

“I’m just saying… this thing? I’m in. The whole way. Maybe, with a few more lunches with Kate, I’ll actually be able to say… the other thing.”

Rodney had pulled back and was looking at Jack like he didn’t recognise the man standing before him at all. Then a grin splashed across his face and Jack relaxed, never having realised he’d been tense the entire time.

Then something like concern rose to replace Rodney’s jovial expression. “Wait, this wasn’t part of the whole goofy exercise, was it?”

“You big nut,” Jack chided, cupping Rodney’s face and running a thumb along his cheek. “No, but if this gave you an idea too then, you know, bonus!”

Rodney sighed. “No. Short of the Wraith destroying the city I… wait…” Rodney snapped his fingers, turning back to his console and madly scrolling through what he’d been working on. Jack watched his back for a few moments before huffing loudly.

“It’s not fair if you’re just going to go ahead and give yourself an idea.”

Rodney turned back, his face full of the mad light it had taken on when he was about to destroy something really large. Jack knew he should be concerned that he had learned to identify that very expression.

“That’s it! We’ll get the Wraith to destroy the city!” he said, slapping Jack on the shoulder before gathering up his laptop and sprinting from the room.

“Hey, you didn’t happen to go insane in the last few minutes, did ya?” Jack called after him, before rolling his eyes and following in Rodney’s wake.

Something he was pretty sure he was going to have to get used to. He also knew it would take some very fancy manoeuvring to not be caught up in the turbulence created.

He was always up for a challenge.

xxxxxxx

“They shouldn’t have you working.”

Daniel looked up from the laptop that was on his knees and smiled at the figure leaning around the infirmary curtain. “Hey, you,” he smiled weakly.

“Is this okay, that I’m here?” Ronon asked, his tone solemn.

Daniel smiled. “Of course. I’m glad to see you. I wanted to… hey, where’s your shadows?”

“Oh, Major Sheppard got Doctor Weir and Colonel O’Neill to agree that I didn’t need them anymore. He’s a good guy.” At Daniel’s raised eyebrow Ronon ducked his head, smiling. “Now I know you and he are not… you know, I’m free to like him.”

Daniel chuckled but winced and subsided. Ronon looked concerned and started forward but then seemed to catch himself and retreated back to the curtained border. Daniel noticed his recalcitrance and hoped it wasn’t going to be permanent.

“Look, I wanted to apologise for freaking out before. I’ve… I’m not sure how to explain it. I’ve been a little traumatised and I’ve had a few… to put it delicately, episodes.”

Ronon nodded slowly. “Major Sheppard explained.”

“He told you what happened?” Daniel looked mortified and Ronon held up his hands.

“Not specifically. He mentioned you, he and Teyla went through some pretty awful things and that you had to do something really…bad to escape the situation you were in. General O’Neill as well. Actually, he mentioned that of the four of you, only Teyla is actually sane.”

Daniel groaned and lay back. “No wonder you want to run for the hills,” he sighed heavily.

Confusion washed across Ronon’s features. “I don’t want to go anywhere. I just thought… I thought I’d done something that you weren’t ready for, that somehow I pushed you. I’m here to ask your forgiveness, if you’ll allow it.”

“No.”

“Oh.” Ronon looked crestfallen and made to retreat but Daniel reached out a hand.

“No, you don’t need to apologise. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just a little twitchy is all. If you can handle that and the occasional freak out, I’d like you to stay.”

Ronon smiled, relief plain. “I can do that,” he said, leaning around the curtain to retrieve a chair.

xxxxxx

Elizabeth had been heading towards the science labs, meaning to apologise to Rodney. She knew they were all under enormous pressure to try and stave off their latest attack but she also knew it was unfair to simply demand that an answer be found. She felt stretched too thin but she knew everyone was getting that way.

She saw it in every single face she passed in the corridor.

How long can people live with death hanging over them like the sword of Damocles, she wondered, before they snapped.

She supposed the snapping had already begun. She’d lost a lot of people, not all of them to the Wraith but some to their own despair. She’d felt John pull away from her, from his men, from the whole city and now he had to deal with something new. She knew the Universe had a sick sense of humour but she didn’t like that it was also a sadistic son of a bitch, kicking a man when he was down.

She continued to be worried about Colonel O’Neill. That man was like waiting for the other proverbial shoe to drop. He’d seemed capable and well the last few weeks, but then she’d seen that before, only to have him relapse badly and at the risk of other’s lives. She remembered something General Carter had scrawled across his file, a warning of sorts that Elizabeth knew must be a quote from somewhere but Sam Carter hadn’t actually elaborated on the reference, just in pencil written in a looping hand were the words –

Watch him lest the darkness claim him for her own

It had chilled Elizabeth to the core.

Then there was Daniel Jackson, shattered toy glued imperfectly back together again. She could see the gaps in him whenever he was around. He also seemed to be getting better but their visitor’s strange and almost immediate attachment to Daniel worried her.

So lost in her thoughts, she failed to notice Rodney barrelling towards her, head still bent to his laptop, until they crashed into each other and collapsed in a heap of tangled limbs.

“Oh my god, are you alright?” Rodney had first checked his laptop was okay before rising and offering Elizabeth a hand up.

“I’m fine. I was just coming to look for you, I wanted to-“

“Yes, yes, l did what you asked,” Rodney said, making an impatient gesture with his free hand.

“Wait, what? What did I ask?”

“You said, think of something.”

Elizabeth blinked. “What?”

Rodney sighed, hugging his laptop to his chest. “Well, I thought of something.”

Part Eleven