Reading Time: 114 Minutes

Title: Common As Fuck
Author: Duochanfan
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Genre: Angst, Action Adventure, Crime Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Suspense
Relationship(s): John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Content Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Major Character Death, Violence-Graphic, Dark Themes, Minor & OC Character Deaths, , Murder, Character Bashing, Illness, Poisonings, Virus
Author Note: I blame HarleyJQuin for the obsession with SGA, her fic started it. This was also supposed to be a one shot of about 2k. And HarleyJQuin, thanks so much for all the help you’ve given me on this one! Thank you as well, HarleyJQuin for letting me borrow her OCs, Dalton Cooper, Connor James and Adam Nero. You’re a STAR!
Beta: HarleyJQuin
Alpha: HarleyJQuinn
Word Count: 128,616
Summary: John is fighting to keep Atlantis and the Expedition alive, but fighting with Weir about every single decision has led him to work behind her back to make sure they come out on top. When John’s cold turns out not to be so common, his friends rally around him to make sure he’s not left on ice.
Artist: NotSally

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Chapter Twelve

“How many of us are going to see Weir and tell her what’s happened? I know that you sent a message about the charter this morning,” Dr Biro asked as she looked around.

“We did,” Miko said, “Because I was going through it, and it’s changed from what we signed and agreed to.” She paused for a second before adding, “Dr McKay was able to send me the unchanged version that we all signed before we stepped through the gate. If you read through what was sent, it highlighted the changes that were made to it, so it looks like we could never vote for her to leave, or to have any say. It would also stop the military half from taking charge should it be needed.”

“Which, I think John does need to take over,” Rodney said with a heavy sigh. “It would save my sanity,” he added. “And for those who want to go. I would say myself, Radek, Miko, and two more. Dr Biro, I believe you would be helpful in this.”

“I’ll go as well,” Dr Grodin said from the back, where he had been silent for most of it. “And, for the record, the second one she stopped from backing out was me. I have a medical condition that I wished to remain on Earth for treatment. She stopped me from resigning and forced me to come. She knows she’s done wrong and doesn’t care that without proper treatment, there is a high chance I’ll die before we get in touch with Earth again, and if we do manage beforehand, it would be too late.”

“Cancer?” Kate guessed, horrified at the thought.

Peter nodded, “Yes,” he sighed, “I found out five months before we were due to leave. I was able to get through one round of chemo before Weir found out that I was withdrawing from the mission to Atlantis. The tumors they found had reduced in size, but the operation to have them removed was cancelled. Weir had somehow arranged for the cancellation, she never did say how, and less than a month later, I’m through the gate,” he added.

“I’ve been doing what I can to help,” Carson said, “Peter confided in me when he learned that Weir had done something similar to me, in forcing me through the gate.”

“It’s too late to operate now, and Carson has been trying to book surgery time here, but Weir keeps doing something to put it off,” Peter told them. “The tumors are growing again, and Carson is doing what he can to stop the spread, but I’m not hopeful.”

“I’ll start looking in the database, see if I can find anything in there that might help,” Miko said as she and another of those who worked with the database started to murmur to each other as they brainstormed ideas.

“Maybe there is something we have in the city that might be able to help,” Rodney added as he looked at Radek.

“We’ll certainly look,” he nodded at his friend, “For now, let’s oust Weir. I think we should have Ford and someone else to help.”

“Ford and Markham, I know John trusts those two the most outside of Stackhouse,” Rodney said, “I’ll contact them and ask them to meet us at her office.”

“I’ll make a start on changing her codes so they won’t be able to work again. I don’t want her getting into anything and fucking things up more than she already has,” Miko said, hinting at the fact that Weir has tried to access the database several times, searching when she could and occasionally trying to delete files, “I want to do that before we go up.”

“Alright,” Radek said, “Let’s call those we need and then make our way to Weir.”

Rodney gave them time to do what was needed before calling for Lt Ford and Sgt Markham to meet them near the gate room. He knew that there was no chance that Weir wasn’t going to be in that little room she commandeered for an office so she could see all the coming and goings of those going through the gate. She didn’t want them to have a chance of getting away with something without her knowledge. Too bad she didn’t think about the missions within the puddlejumpers.

“Dr McKay,” Ford nodded as he saw the man coming along with four others.

“A vote has been called,” Rodney told him, “Dr Elizabeth Weir is being told to step aside, that there is no confidence in her ability to continue to lead this expedition.”

“I see,” he nodded as he gestured for them to keep leading. “After you, sir,” he said.

Rodney sighed as he then led the way to the office. Weir was inside and looking frustrated at the computer in front of her, knowing that her frustration came with the fact that she’d been locked out of everything. He walked to the door and knocked on it, giving her a little common courtesy before opening the door and leading the way inside.

“Dr McKay, Drs Biro, Kusanagi, Zelenka, Grodin,” she greeted, “Lt Ford, Sgt Markham. What can I do for you?” she asked, trying for politeness, but there was a hint of something else underneath.

Rodney looked calm and confident as he stepped forward, standing in front of Weir’s desk. “Dr Weir,” he said, “As of one hour ago, the heads of the departments of the Atlantis Expedition came together to take a vote of no confidence on your continued leadership of this expedition.”

Weir stood up, “I’m not going to be stepping aside,” she told him, “This is my expedition, and it’s my-”

“It’s not your anything,” Rodney told her, “It never has been.”

“Not only that, you know that you can’t take a vote against me because of what it states in the charter,” she tried.

“Oh, you mean the one you changed and sent to everyone in their files. The one that we didn’t sign because there would have been no way that we would have done so,” he said.

“We know of the one that you sent us, we know that it’s the fake one,” Miko said as she looked at her, taking a step to stand beside Rodney, as Radek took the other side. At the back of the room, Markham and Ford stood guard and ready. They could feel several eyes watching the room; the windows were clear, and everyone could see inside.

“The original charter, the one we actually signed, does give us the right to set up a vote if we believe you don’t have the best interests of the expedition and its people in mind. And you don’t,” Peter said as he stepped around the others.

“Dr Grodin, you were going to remain on Earth. I don’t think you have a say in this,” she stated, “you should leave.”

“Why, scared that they might find out what you’ve done. How you forced me to go through the gate, that you made it impossible for me to remain on Earth with your dirty and disgusting tactics?” he pointed out to her, “They already know. They know about my cancer, they know that I’m most likely going to die before we’re able to get back in touch with Earth, and it’s all because of you.”

“This is why I wanted you here, you can ascend, like Dr Jackson,” she told him.

Peter shook his head, “Dr Weir,” he began, “I don’t want to ascend at all. I was happy with my life, and I had a good prognosis for my diagnosis. My chances of surviving and recovering were extremely high. You are the one who put a stop to that,” he told her, shaking his head, “In my eyes, you are my killer, not the cancer that I have.”

“I am not a killer-” she began shaking her head.

“Dr Graeme Thorton,” Rodney began, “Told us what you have done, what you had him do. The virus that you injected him with.”

“Vicious lies, why would I do something like that?” she stated.

“Because Millie and Dale were two people who were onto what you were doing with the database. I’ve also found her notes that you were trying to gain access to restricted files, as I was putting up a block on your access codes. Ones that are not for your eyes at all,” Miko said, looking at the woman in disappointment.

“I have a right to those files as the head of this expedition,” she stated.

“You don’t,” Rodney was the one to speak. “Restricted files are only to be accessed by myself and the team I have assigned to them. No one else. Not even Major Sheppard would be able to look at those files without my express permission. This is because they are sensitive data, and aren’t for public knowledge.”

“It is und-” she began to protest.

“Nothing in the sciences is under your jurisdiction. The social sciences, maybe. The only thing you have are the reports that are being sent to you each week. That is what you have, and that is all you get, unless I send you supplemental reading for your review. You don’t have the knowledge necessary to truly understand what we are doing, so you don’t have access to where things can be altered,” Rodney told her.

“I still won’t be stepping down,” Weir told them, “I suggest that you leave now, or I will have security.”

“Ma’am, with all due respect, no one is going to be helping you fight this,” Ford said from where he was standing, “You’ve shown little regard for those that go through that gate unless they bring something back you want and are interested in.”

“I have the authority in this city,” she began, as she started moving around.

“Dr Weir, please remain where you are,” Ford instructed, his hands tightening on his gun, “As of this moment, we’re not sure we can trust you.”

Weir looked around the room, seeing the faces of those who were there to oust her from her position as expedition leader. “Do you really think that everyone will be happy with what you’re doing?”

“That would be because not all of them will know what you’ve done. The forcing of two people through the gate. The fact that you’ve poisoned at least one person that we know of, released a deadly virus on others,” Rodney began, waving a hand and sounding dismissive, as he added, “But they’ll soon know what you’ve done, because I don’t plan on hiding it at all.”

“And what are you planning on doing? Taking over, no one is going to stand it, Rodney,” she smirked, “They all hate you.”

“So, they can hate me all they like; at least they have a better chance of living with me than they do with you. I at least understand that people need food, clean water, medical care, and more. You, however, care only about your personal agenda, which is fixated on ascension. That is the only thing you have cared about since before we even left for Atlantis,” he said, “So, yes, they can hate me all they want, but they’ll live.”

“You will n-” Weir began to say, glaring at Rodney.

“Can we please stop with the posturing now? I’m done and over it. You’re out, Weir, take it for what it is and be gracious about it. At least I don’t plan to kill you or have you confined to your quarters. Although they will be searched for anything that might harm others, like a vial of that fucking virus,” he snapped, done with the bantering of words. It could be fun, but at the moment, it was just annoying.

Weir stood there, looking at them, “I’m doing what needs to be done to protect Earth, and to make sure that we have what we need to take an evolutionary step forward. You’re making a mistake in stopping me. This could help so many who are dying, like Peter.”

“But this doesn’t help me, or others that are suffering from debilitating illnesses or diseases,” Peter told her, “What this does is put pressure on people to take a step away from their families, their loved ones, and never be able to interact with them again. How is that a step forward? In my eyes, it’s a step back. We may as well go back to the days of the hermits living in caves on properties as an attraction. We are not people to experiment on, as the Ancients did to those in Pegasus; we’re people who have thoughts, feelings, and lives. You wish to take that away from us with your high-handedness.”

“Peter, this could cure you,” she told him, moving to step toward him.

Peter shook his head, “No, what could have cured me was back on Earth, and you took that away from me. You took my chance to live from me.”

“Dr Weir, please step aside. We will be taking you to your quarters, where they will be searched for any contraband and evidence in connection with the virus that has killed four people so far,” Ford said as he stepped forward.

Weir looked at him and then at Markham, who had also stepped forward to escort her. “I will not consent to have my things searched. That is a breach of my privacy,” she stated.

“That would normally be the case, but after we have heard what happened with Dr Graeme Thorton, we believe that you might be in possession of a vial of a virus that has killed four people,” Rodney told her, “Myself, and three others will be searching your room and your belongings, both in your quarters and here in your office, to make sure that it’s found. Dr Beckett wishes to make sure that no one else becomes ill.”

“And you and Sheppard will be in charge here?” she asked, “Neither of you has the right experience for that. I’m the only one who does. You take me away from this position, and Atlantis will fall, and the expedition will fail. You’ll all be gone within the month.”

“Better than you,” Dr Biro stated, “Major Sheppard has shown that he cares a great deal about the people that are part of this expedition. He has been working tirelessly to make sure that we still have food, and finding medicines and raw materials that may lead us to finding and making our own out here.”

“I think John will do fine in such a role on Atlantis,” Rodney said, as he stared at her. “At the moment, he’s overseeing the farming on the mainland.”

“I can’t believe you let John go to the mainland, knowing that he’s ill,” Weir smirked a little as she held her hands behind her back.

“He has the Athosian flu, nothing bad,” Rodney said with a dismissive wave of his hand, a tightness in his stomach as he thought of his friend who was in an isolation room in the infirmary.

“Really, that’s what you think. No, I made sure of that, I made sure to give him a large dose of that virus three days ago, he won’t live for long,” she confessed as she glared at Rodney, “He’s going to die, like all of the others, and there won’t be a single thing you can do about it,” she sneered.

“So you are the one,” Rodney sighed, “Ford, Markham, can you have Weir taken into custody and take her to one of the cells? She can remain there until we are able to contact Earth. Maybe th-” he began only to jump back with the others as Weir pulled something from behind her and threw it toward them.

Chapter Thirteen

Ford and Markham opened fire as soon as Weir had thrown the vial toward them. Moments later, Weir was on the ground, choking on her own blood as the vial she threw was now on the floor, wrapped in a jacket.

“Radek?” Rodney asked as he looked at his friend.

“I had a bad feeling with how she was standing,” he told him, “I took my jacket off just in case. I was able to throw it over the vial. Hopefully it will be intact inside, and it’s the only one,” he sighed, as the others all did the same.

Rodney nodded, “Thank you, Radek,” he nodded as he walked over to where Weir was, “You would happily kill people just to stay in charge. You would rather see everyone dead if that meant you could have your way,” he stated, “Disgusting,” he finished, shaking his head.

“Dr Beckett and his team are on the way,” Ford said, as he rendered aid to the woman. But they all knew that there was nothing they could do for her. Ford and Markham were both good shots. Carson and his team arrived as Weir took her last breath. Nothing they did was able to bring her back, and Carson called the time of death. There were a few more Marines nearby, wondering what was going on.

Rodney sighed, knowing he was going to have to address what had happened. People would be speculating otherwise. “I’m unsure exactly what to say at this moment in time,” he said as he looked to the others in the room as Carson’s team took away Weir’s body. Someone else came in with an airtight box to put Radek’s jacket with the vial inside.

“Tell them the truth. But, do not mention John at this moment in time,” Carson said softly, as he rested a hand on Rodney’s arm. “Mentioning John could cause more of a panic among some and other problems with some of the others.”

Rodney nodded and grumbled under his breath for a few moments. He stepped into the main room, away from the pool of blood that would need to be cleaned, and to the console where Chuck was watching. “Chuck, put me on a city-wide channel. Everyone needs to be addressed and informed of what’s happened.”

“Of course, Dr McKay,” he nodded as he opened the channel and waited for Rodney to start.

“Atlantis,” he began, “This is Dr McKay.” He closed his eyes and then opened them, standing up straighter, “Almost two hours ago, a vote of no confidence was brought against Dr Elizabeth Weir, with her mismanagement of the expedition. In a unanimous vote, it was decided that she was to step down from her position. Over the last couple of months, it was noted that she hasn’t been doing what was needed to make sure that we survive being out here until a connection to Earth could be reestablished. Over the last two weeks, several people have become ill with what was believed at the time to be the Athosian Flu. Further investigation discovered it was a virus that was designed by Dr Weir with the help of another. Four people have died so far from this virus, which can only be introduced via oral consumption or injection. One of those dead is the scientist who created the virus. Dr Weir injected them, and they died this morning. I will repeat that this virus is NOT contagious.”

Rodney had to pause for a second as he could hear a lot of murmuring coming from around him, “I know that this is going to be hard to believe,” he started up again, “But this is the truth. When confronted and asked to step aside, Dr Weir revealed that she had given this virus to several members of the expedition. She then tried to infect those of us who came to speak with her. She was shot and killed during the altercation. As of this moment, the civilians of the expedition are now under my command, and I have taken leadership of the expedition. I expect everyone to come together in the face of this; we rely on each other. We stand together against the threats that we face out there and inside. Major Sheppard, of course, remains the military leader, and that will not change at all,” he said emphatically. “He has shown much care and attention to this expedition and is the main reason we’re still surviving, even with Dr Weir and her interference in Military matters and her continued attempts to stop the essential missions that Major Sheppard organized. He’ll be informed of what is happening as soon as he returns from the mainland. Thank you for listening, and I’ll try not to snap at everyone,” he added, knowing that he had a reputation for being a bastard, and it was well earned.

Rodney nodded at Chuck to cut the channel off. “Thank you,” he stated as he looked at those gathered in the room.

“Is it really true?” Chuck asked him, turning in his chair to face the scientist.

“Unfortunately, it is,” Rodney answered, “I’ll be making a report that will be available to all members of the expedition. I want everyone informed of what has happened and the situation at large.”

“I’m heading back to the infirmary,” Carson said as he looked at his friend. “Rodney, come with me,” he added, gesturing for the man to go with him.

Rodney nodded, knowing exactly why Carson was telling him to go with him. “Of course,” he nodded as he went with him. He could feel the eyes and the looks he was getting from people as they headed down to the infirmary.

Carson was quick to take him to John’s isolation room. The man was barely awake on the bed, his breathing ragged. Carson went to do a check as Rodney just stood there, watching his friend, someone he cared about deeply. He was worried; so far, this virus had killed four of the ten people who had been infected by it. Weir had said she’d given him a high dose of it, but he didn’t know if that meant anything at all.

“Ro… Rodney,” John huffed a little at the man, and took a moment to pay attention to him. He could see that Rodney looked stressed and worried.

“Hey, we have a few things to tell you about what’s going on,” Rodney said as he took a seat on the chair next to the bed. Carson moved around, adjusting the IV line and making notes on John’s condition.

“Oh?” he asked, giving a sleepy frown.

“Weir’s… dead,” he began, sighing heavily, “She is the one that infected you and the others with this virus. John…” he trailed off.

“I had a bad feeling about it,” he murmured. “Deadly?” he asked, getting a nod. “It’ll be okay, Rodney,” he tried to reassure him as he reached out for him.

Rodney grabbed the offered hand and held it tightly, “We’ll figure this out, we have the best and brightest minds in two galaxies out here. We’ll figure it out,” he said, giving him a tight smile, “I’ve taken over as leader, people don’t know you’re ill at the moment. We’ve been keeping it under wraps, as we know that there is some contention from some of the Marines. Especially Sgt Bates, and those he’s been talking to and bending the ear of.”

“We’ll get tho-” he said as he began to try and hold back a cough.

“Don’t hold it back, lad,” Carson advised, helping him sit up so he could cough.

Rodney was on the other side, rubbing at John’s back and wishing there was more than he could do. “Yeah, we’ll get through this,” he said as John finished. They helped him lean back, breathing hard and rapidly, like he couldn’t get enough oxygen.

“I’m going to up the oxygen content for you again, John, it’s going to be on the highest it can go, 100%,” he warned. They each knew what would happen should things continue.

John nodded a little, feeling drained and tired. He lay there as his breathing started to slow a little. It was still rapid and shallow, but it wasn’t as fast as it had been.

“At this moment in time,” Rodney began as soon as John gestured for him to continue their conversation, “People believe you’re on the mainland. It won’t be long until people realize that you’re in here. I’m going to make plans to keep people placated, and the others are looking at ways to combat this virus. Dr Biro is one of the best there is, it’s why she was hired to come along, as she has a way with figuring out viruses and bacteria that is rarely seen.”

“She got it mapped within seven days, and how it ticks for the most part. She’s looking at the pure sample that Dr Weir had on her,” Carson added, “We’re going to be doing everything we can to make sure you and the others will be okay,” he finished quietly.

“Yeah,” he said, “Con.. contingency plans, top drawer, bedroom desk,” he said as he looked at Rodney.

“I’ll look,” Rodney promised, not liking the fact that John already had something in place in case something happened to him.

“Good, thanks,” he murmured as his eyes began to flutter, and Rodney could tell he was fighting sleep.

“Go to sleep, John. I wish I could stay, but I need to go through the expedition notes and find out what Weir has and hasn’t done concerning her duties,” he said softly, “Though I could bring my laptop down here and get some of it done,” he mused.

“You can, but don’t spend all your time here. I’m going to be reading Derek and Nina into John’s condition soon, they’ll keep quiet,” Carson said, “But I want someone with him at all times.”

“I’ll be talking to Teyla when she comes back with Stackhouse. I told him to bring her back with him so she can be told. No doubt she’ll be wanting to sit with John as well,” Rodney said as he got up. He squeezed John’s hand as he felt a little squeeze back, “Get some rest, John. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Hmm,” he hummed a little, giving a small cough, before settling into a restless sleep.

Carson followed Rodney out of the room, closing and locking the door behind him. “How is he really doing, Carson?” Rodney asked his friend.

“I wish I could give you good news, Rodney,” Carson stated, “But at the moment, there’s not much that we can do but keep using the antibiotics we have and hope for the best. But they’ve not worked for the others, I doubt they’re going to make a difference for Major Sheppard either,” he sighed, crossing his arms in front of him. “Rodney, I have to be honest. With what we’ve seen, it’s not looking good for him. John was the last one to come in with the virus; the next one on the list has been alive for almost twelve days, but they slipped into a coma around two hours ago, just after I got back from the meeting. It’s why I didn’t go with you all,” he told him, “We don’t know what it means, because she’s the only one who has slipped into a coma. We’re doing what we can for each of them, but… it just might not be enough.”

Rodney leaned against the wall, eyes closed, “He has to be alright, Carson, he has to. I can’t do this alone,” he murmured at the end.

“I know, but we’re all behind you, you know this. You can and will do this, with or without John. He does make it seem like it’s easy with the way he does things,” Carson said, a small smile playing on his lips, “We’ll get through this, no matter what,” he repeated.

Rodney nodded, “Yes,” he said, biting his lip and walking off.

“Don’t forget to eat something, don’t need you collapsing on us,” Carson called out to him. He had noticed the slight tremors in Rodney’s hand as they had left John’s room.

Rodney just waved a hand dismissively and carried on.

XxXxX

Markus Stackhouse brought the jumper into the bay and let it settle down in its rightful spot. He could see Rodney McKay standing there. He turned in his seat and looked at the jumper ramp. Teyla was there, already opening the back door of the jumper to get down and to hurry to her teammate. He got up after making sure the jumper was powered down and followed her. He wondered how Major Sheppard was as he walked over to the two who were talking in hushed tones.

“Sgt Stackhouse,” Rodney nodded, “Come with me, both of you, you need to be told a couple of things, and then I’ll take you to John,” he said, only Ford and Markham were the only ones in the jumper bay to welcome them back, everyone else had been sent elsewhere while Stackhouse came back, to keep the illusion that John had been on the mainland.

Teyla looked confused as she was taken to a side room. Stackhouse was quiet as he worried about his commanding officer. “What is going on?” Teyla asked as she looked at her teammate and friend.

“Last night, John became very ill. I took him to Carson, and it’s been confirmed that he has the virus that has infected several members of the expedition. Over the last twenty-four hours, we’ve lost four of the ten that have been infected so far. There is no cure. However, Carson, Dr Biro, and others are working on it at the moment. We’re hoping that we get something soon, as this is deadly; we’ve not found anything that works against it. I know that the weaker version of it is the flu that has affected your people, and several members of the expedition here in the city,” Rodney began, hesitating for a moment. “I know that you were friends with Weir.”

“Yes, we have had many talks over the last few months,” Teyla said, “She asks a lot about the ancestors and what our oral history is about them.”

Rodney closed his eyes, “Teyla, Dr Weir was… the one behind the virus, she and another made the athosian flu stronger and deadlier. She infected ten members of the expedition because she believed them to be in her way. She was also stopping John from making sure that the city and settlement had all that they needed to thrive and survive. She was blocking him. At the rate we were going, we would end up starving to death soon enough. After a vote of no confidence, Dr Weir was asked to step down as leader of the expedition.”

“I see,” Teyla nodded slowly, “She had much on her mind.”

“She was concentrating only on ascension, which is why she wanted more information about your ancestors. She believed that it would be an evolutionary step forward for humans of all kinds. She is wrong, and she has made not only mistakes, but it has also cost us members of our expedition. She had forced two people through the gate here when they didn’t want to come. One is ill and remaining behind meant they would have been able to receive treatment, but here, they won’t be able to, and it’s basically a death sentence for them. She has infected ten people, and chances are all ten are going to die,” Rodney said, beginning to repeat himself. A rising panic in his thoughts at the fact that they could lose John.

“How has she taken the decision?” she asked, “I do not doubt that she’ll be feeling like she has no one here. I would like to see her.”

“Teyla,” Rodney said, wondering how anyone could do this, how anyone could tell someone that someone they cared about was gone, was dead. He’d done it with Miko, and it was hard even then, but Teyla looked up to Weir as another female leader. There was something different about telling her than telling Miko. For Miko, it was expected that death could happen to anyone on the expedition. For Teyla, she saw those on Atlantis as more protected. “Dr Weir didn’t react well. She had the vial of the virus in her hand as she tried to use it to infect those who told her the decision. She was shot and killed, I’m so sorry, Teyla,” he told her, wanting to reach out to her.

“I see,” she paused for a moment, “And where is John now?”

“He’s still in isolation. He has been told what has happened. But he’s in no condition to lead the military assets in this city at the moment. There is… a high chance that this virus will take him fro… from us before we can find a cure,” he said, his voice now shaking as he looked at the two. “I wish there was something good in all of this, but-”

“Sir,” Stackhouse said, “May I please see him…” he began.

Rodney nodded, “I’ll tell Carson that you are to be added to his visitors list.”

“Thank you, Doc,” he nodded, as he leaned against the wall of the small room. “I…”

“I know,” Rodney nodded as he reached out and placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “We’re going to be doing all we can to try and find something that will help. John made a schedule of worlds to visit and trades that still need to be done. Ford will be in charge of the AR-1 team for a while. I want you and Markham to keep going with him. Teyla,” he said as he looked at her, “I know this is hard, and I’m so sorry for the news I had to bring to you. I know that she was a friend, and she was to others as well. Yes, there was a hidden side to her, but that doesn’t stop friendships from forming. You are both strong female leaders, and for a while, I thought that of her as well. She was a strong-willed woman; she knew what she wanted, and she went after it. I can understand and admire that. But she also did it to the detriment of the expedition and the lives that she held in her hands.”

“Thank you,” Teyla nodded, “It is… not often that I come across another female leader.”

“No, even on my world, you don’t see it that often either. When you do, you know they are going to be strong and worthy of the place they have,” he nodded, “I hate to ask, but I’m going to see if you, or any of the healers amongst the Athosians, are able to help with the virus. They might see something we’ve missed, or that there is something we can use to help base a cure on. We have six more people who have this virus, including John. We have a few days for some, and a week for John. So far, it’s killed within ten days of symptoms starting.”

“I will contact Halling and ask him to talk to the village elders and the healers we still have. I suggest that there are a few worlds that might be able to help as well. There have been many a plague that comes to us, but we are strong and able to fight them. We are a hardy people, survivors.”

“I understand, and thank you. Anything you can help us with, I will be grateful for. Markus,” he said, as he turned to the young marine, “How about you go and change out of uniform. I’ll take you both to see John. At the moment, we’re still pretending that he’s on the mainland.”

“Sir,” Stackhouse nodded, “I’ve made it known to those we trust over there that Major Sheppard is busy with something secret, and we have to pretend that he’s on the mainland,” he added, “Halling was helpful and said that a hunting party has gone out, will be gone a couple of days at least. He’s going to spread the rumor that they are traveling with John.”

“You did good,” he nodded, smiling slightly.

“Who’s in charge of the expedition at the moment, and of the military?” Teyla asked.

“I’ve had to step in as leader, but I’m hoping that I can ask for help on occasions. I’m not a leader, or even a follower,” he sighed, “I’m more of a do what I need to keep surviving and drag everyone else along for the ride, even if I have to do it with them kicking and screaming.”

“I see,” she smiled a little, still upset over what had happened to Dr Weir.

“Go and change, Teyla, take some time if you need to grieve for your friend. I’ll be in the infirmary with Carson in around two hours. To take you both to see John. So far, only the head of the science departments and Ford know what has happened to John, and where he is. Please, tell no one of his condition. This is more because we still have a problem brewing,” Rodney told her gently.

“Thank you, I shall take some time to meditate before meeting you,” she nodded as she then left.

“Do you think Bates is going to cause trouble?” Stackhouse asked, his voice quiet as he thought of the man.

“Not sure, nothing so far, but we all know that doesn’t mean much,” he sighed, “Go and clean up, take a few for yourself.”

“Thanks, Doc,” he nodded as he then left the little room as well.

Rodney remained there for a few minutes before heading out. He would have to do something soon, a meeting with the military assets in the city to make sure they understood that just because the leader had changed, it doesn’t mean that they are going to be set aside, like Weir had done for the most part.

Chapter Fourteen

Rodney was in John’s room. The man’s fever had spiked high, and he was barely conscious of what was going on around him. There was a heavy silence in the room. Derek was in and out at the moment, going over readings and keeping a close eye on the Major as he lay in the bed. They were using the tried and true method of ice bags to bring it down.

“This is,” Rodney began and closed his eyes, “I have no idea what I’m doing,” he murmured. Thinking of the plans that now lay in his lap. After talking with Teyla and informing her of what had happened. He’d gone to John’s quarters and retrieved the contingency file. He’d been reading through it, looking at the information that John had written down in that scratchy cursive he used. There were some printed pages, but not many.

There was so much information about different planets, those they visited, and the trade they had with each of them. Who on the expedition had what talents and even hobbies that could be helpful in the trades if they got certain materials. Like Dr Biro and her ability to weave cloth, several looms had been brought in for her to use. She was making a cotton-like cloth that could be turned into clothes for members of the expedition and for trading. She’d even gotten several others involved. Teaching them and training them. The production of cloth was large enough that it was covering the materials lost and damaged by the expedition. There were more, those who made jewelry. A few even knew blacksmithing and were able to forge swords, daggers, and more. Some made pottery. All of it is useful for them and for trading.

He never knew how John was pulling off the trades, and now he knew. The man was using the talents that everyone had, secret ones, hobbies, and more, to keep them going. John had pulled people together, giving them something to work toward, to work together. They weren’t making things for their own profit, but to help their expedition. Though he found a way to compensate them for the time and energy that they were putting into making trade items. There was so much that John had done, and he’d done it under all of their noses without others figuring it all out.

Rodney snorted at that. “Expedition,” he muttered, “We’re more of a colony now, I believe,” he said, shaking his head.

“What are you muttering about?” Carson asked as he walked in.

“Going over what John’s been doing, what he’s set up,” Rodney said, “It’s all here, the trading we’re doing. We’re setting people up to use their hobbies and talents to help us move forward, to keep us going. Did you know that Dr Biro has fourteen people helping her make cloth for us to use to replace clothes and bedding?” he asked, “Or how about three of the marines are so good with metal workings, that they’ve been making the cutlery that we’ve been using. That there are even more people doing pottery, enough that we have plates, mugs, and more. And we even have left over from that to trade, which gets us those beans that are like coffee,” he snorted, “John’s… he wasn’t working just to make sure we could survive out here, he was doing everything he could to make us a colony, to make this a home. We have so much here that we can still trade. He’s listed the planets that Teyla talked about, that the Athosian’s have spoken of, where many go to trade their wares for food or other goods. He’s…” Rodney stopped a moment, shaking his head.

“He’s done a lot,” Carson said, as he went over the numbers that Derek had been recording. “His numbers are lower than I would like, but still acceptable,” he said as he saw Rodney looking at him.

“Right,” he nodded as he stood, “I should go and get Teyla and Markus, I told them I would bring them to visit John, if that’s still alright?” he asked, looking at Carson.

“Yeah, it’s fine, he may not be awake. He’s sleeping, and I prefer he does that as much as possible,” he warned.

“I’ll make sure they know,” he nodded as he walked out and went to the main part of the infirmary where the two were waiting for him. He gave them the warning that Carson had given him and took them to him. Stackhouse remained at the edge, looking worried.

Teyla walked over to the bed and took a hand,” We are here, John,” she murmured as she leaned over and rested her forehead against John’s. “You are not alone, so please fight to stay with us,” she murmured.

Rodney watched for a moment, and then left. He needed to start a meeting with some of the others, especially the military personnel. He called up Ford and asked to have a meeting with some of the higher members of the military, so he could go over what was going on and to start implementing what John had written down.

XxXxX

The meeting room felt intimidating for a second as he called Radek to come and sit with him. He’d let the man go over the notes that John had made, letting him take in all the work that the man had been doing behind the scenes for months. The missions he’d scheduled, the people he’d tapped for things. There was some information about military matters. Mostly on the jobs he wished for each of them to take over and do.

“Dr McKay,” Bates said as he sat down. The man was straight-laced and stern. But Rodney knew the man did have the safety of the expedition in mind, even if he didn’t like John.

“Sgt Bates,” he said, “Major Sheppard tells me that you’re a good man, even if I think you’re a bit of an idiot,” he snapped, “I also don’t believe you’re a good man,” he added, looking at three of those who had worked with AR-1 more. Ford, Stackhouse, and Markham were in the room, along with Bates and three more. Rodney knew that at least two of the three had taken to listening more to Bates than to John. They were on the list that John had made that told anyone reading that they were part of a group that was loyal to Bates and not to John, or the expedition, in John’s eyes.

“That’s not for-” Bates began.

“As of this moment, Major Sheppard is taking care of things on the mainland. I’m here. He’s told me a lot about how you’ve been talking to people, trying to entice a coup. Really, school yard antics. I know that he doesn’t think anything of it. More because he believes that you have the best interests and the safety of those in this city at the forefront of your mind. For myself, I’m not sure if you do,” Rodney said, knowing what he was doing was going to be dangerous.

“Dr McKay, you have no say on the military matters of this expedition,” Sgt Bates began, shaking his head.

“No, I don’t, or rather, not fully. But I do have a say in when they affect the good of the expedition and the people that I have under me, not only in the sciences, but every single member of this expedition. We’ve lost some good men, Sumner included. I do not doubt that if Major Sheppard had been able to launch a rescue mission without interference, he would still be here. Weir got in the way of the military, and I do not want that to happen again. I trust the Major to have the safety or not only the military side of this city at his heart, but also the civilian side and refugees that had taken residence on this planet with us,” he told him, “Now, what I want to know is why you think that you should be in charge of the military side?” he asked, “Why should you be the military commander of this expedition?”

“Major Sheppard is a loose cannon. He had no full idea of how to run a place like this,” he began.

“Yes, he does,” Rodney said as he brought out a copy of the trading that John had been able to get done, and those who worked together do make the things they were trading. “This here is a list of all the trades, and who makes what in this city, and what it trades for and with whom. This is Major Sheppard doing what’s needed to keep this place going. You do realize that Sumner and Weir together inadequately outfitted this expedition. So much so that if Major Sheppard hadn’t been doing these deals without Weir’s knowledge, then we would have starved to death within two to three months of arriving on Atlantis.”

Bates reached out and took the papers that Rodney had tossed toward him. He read through them. “He has really done all this?” he asked.

“Yes,” Rodney answered, “He has. He’s worked without thanks, without anything to acknowledge what he’s done, because to him, this is his duty. To all of us. He’s been doing Weir’s job since he took over as military commander. He’s been doing a thankless task while trying to keep everyone happy with him being in charge. He knows what people think about him. Thanks to you and Sumner for telling everyone about the black mark on his records. He’s worked hard to gain the trust of those who are here. But you’re still going on and on about something you have no true idea what it means.”

“With all due respect, Dr McKay, it’s you who has no idea. When someone has a black mark against them, it means that they should have been court-martialed and chaptered out of the service. Someone went soft on him, instead of doing what was right and sending him packing.”

“Shut up about something you know nothing about!” Stackhouse yelled as he glared at Sgt Bates, “You really have no idea why that mark is there, and you know what. I’m going to fucking tell you!”

“Markus,” Rodney said, a warning tone in his voice.

“No, Doc, I’m not going to keep quiet anymore about this. I can’t, Major Sheppard doesn’t deserve that black mark on his file at all, he never has,” Stackhouse added, shaking his head, “I know he’d prefer if I kept quiet, but I can’t. This isn’t just… this isn’t just about the Major,” he finished.

Rodney sighed, “He’s not going to be happy.”

“No, sir,” he snorted, “But at least maybe Sgt Bates will finally understand how much shit he’s in.”

Chapter Fifteen

Bates looked at him, shaking his head minutely. “I out rank you, don’t forget that,” he began to berate the young man.

“At this moment in time, sergeant, I don’t care; you can write me up later. But listen up, Bates. The colonel of the base where Major Sheppard was stationed got some intel. It was bad intel, and instead of having it verified, he decided to send three men out to check it out. Major Sheppard was finishing up another mission when he heard the call of distress; they were under attack. The bastard on base decided that the Major wasn’t to go and render aid to the three men. Major Sheppard disregarded that order and argued, even finding out about the information, and was able to confirm that it was faked. Major Sheppard went out, landed his chopper near the wrecked one, where three men were doing what they could to defend their position and wait for rescue. Which, if that bastard had his way, wouldn’t have arrived at all. They would have ended up either as POWs or three more men missing in action.”

“And how would you know all this?” Bates demanded to know.

“Because one of the men who was sent out was my older brother. Major Sheppard took heavy fire but was able to get the three men to his own chopper, being shot twice before he was able to get back in and lift off. He returned, not to the base he had left from, where that bastard was waiting, but to the larger one a little further out. Where I was stationed at the time. He didn’t know that; he just knew that the medical situation at his own base wasn’t adequate enough to save the three men he had just rescued. He landed, and they were taken. Nothing could be done for Jason; he was too far gone. But at least he was alive enough that I was able to say goodbye to him. The other two survived because of him. Instead of being awarded a damn medal for what he’d done. The bastard then decided to cover his own fucking ass and blame everything on Major Sheppard. My family and the others who survived are still fighting it all. It’s the only reason why Major Sheppard wasn’t court-martialed, because there’s doubt about what happened. The fucker deleted a lot of the information about the calls to and from Major Sheppard as he was inbound. But I asked Miko… Dr Kusanagi, to help me retrieve them. She was able to do so, since she had access to a lot of the databases,” he smirked, “By the time we get in touch, that black mark should be removed from Major Sheppard’s record. I just hope that bastard gets his fucking reward for lying and blaming everything on Major Sheppard, when he did the right thing,” he finished staring at Bates, “You want to stage a coup against Major Sheppard, I will be standing in the way. And I know many others will as well.”

“This will not be spoken of again,” Rodney said, “I know you want the world to know what John… Major Sheppard has done, Sgt Stackhouse, but this isn’t something he’d wish people to know.”

“I know he still feels bad that he wasn’t able to help my brother more before they lifted off. But Major Sheppard could have easily bled out from his own injuries during the flight. He was hurt and sent back to the States without so much as a hello and goodbye because of that bastard Colonel. He was then sent to McMurdo to cool his heels as people tried to figure out who the hell to listen to,” he sighed, shaking his head as he turned his attention back to Sgt Bates, “So what’s it going to be?”

Bates was silent as he stared at Stackhouse. “You have verified this?” he asked.

“Dr Kusanagi still has some of the information that she found on her computer. I can ask her to send a little of it. The mission intel isn’t there, but the radio conversation between the Colonel and Major Sheppard is. You can hear him tell the Colonel that the intel was bad and that he should have had it verified before sending anyone out. The Colonel ordered the Major not to go to the aid of the airmen who needed rescue. Major Sheppard decided that he was going to and that he would be informing the higher-ups of what he had done,” Stackhouse answered him, “I can have her send them right now, and you can listen. You can listen as the Major fights to not leave anyone behind.”

“Please,” he said, not sure if he could believe what he was being told.

“Colonel Sumner didn’t have the full story,” Rodney said, “No one did unless they could get behind the encryption on Major Sheppard’s file. And not even I’ve seen it,” he added, before Bates could question that. “I only know from what Major Sheppard and Sgt Stackhouse have told me,” he sighed as he let Stackhouse contact Miko to ask for the files to be sent over. Rodney’s laptop pinged as the files were sent over.

Rodney lined them up and pressed play. They listened as they heard John arguing with someone about intel, about rescuing three men. How the Colonel wanted to let them die, all to protect himself from the fact that he acted without thought or verification. The cornerstone of any mission, or rather any successful mission.

Bates nodded as he looked at Stackhouse, “These have been sent out?” he asked.

“Yeah,” he answered, “The two remaining airmen, one had to retire from service. He’d been injured too badly to be able to continue. The other is still out there, but also has a mark against his jacket. Julian doesn’t have what’s rightfully his after being discharged. The way all three of them have been treated, even my brother’s death, and how it was seen. All of them have suffered, and so have their careers and discharge. With this, they should be able to get back what was taken from them all. And that rat bastard will finally pay for what he’s done.”

Bates nodded, “Good,” he said as he stood up, “I will make sure that there are no concerns from the military at all concerning Major Sheppard’s command.”

“Good, we need to work together to make this expedition work. It’s hard with what Weir has done. Her betrayal hits deep. Major Sheppard has done all he can to mitigate what she has been doing. We’ll talk more tomorrow. For now, it’s getting late, and I know you have patrols to get to,” Rodney said. “Thank you for listening and for realizing that we’re not here to fight against each other. We need to stand together. I just wish it hadn’t taken this for you to see the kind of man that Major Sheppard is.”

Sgt Bates nodded as he gestured for the other two to follow him. They were silent as they left. As soon as the door closed, Rodney breathed a sigh of relief. “That went better than I thought it would,” he said as he glanced around and focused on Stackhouse, “Markus, are you okay?” he asked.

“I am, I’ve been wanting to say that for a long time,” he said, snorting. “He’s been pissing me off since the start. He and Sumner were trying to undermine any type of authority that Major Sheppard had on this mission due to his rank. I wanted to say something, but I knew that Major Sheppard didn’t want to say anything.”

“No, he didn’t. What is done, is done, and John will just have to live with it,” he said, shivering a little at the thought that John might not be there in a week. “Right, I’ve got a few things to go over, mostly what Weir had been doing during her time as expedition leader. There is a list of duties that I know you and the others need to get on with. John laid all that out beforehand. Go over it and make sure everyone has their assignments,” he said as he looked at Ford, Markham, and Stackhouse. “Try and keep me informed of any problems. John left a troubleshooting document,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

Ford laughed, “That does sound like Major Sheppard.”

“Hmm,” Rodney said, “it’s also something that I would do as well, for the idiots,” he muttered as he stood up. “I’ve got a few things to do, and I want to see John before I retire for the night,” he added as he left the room.

Chapter Sixteen

Rodney walked quickly down to the infirmary. He saw Carson to one side, looking tired as he went over something on the screen in front of him. He gave a small wave and gestured to John’s isolation room and headed inside.

John was asleep on the bed. Rodney went over, sitting on a chair he had been using, and took a hand. “I don’t know how I’m going to do this,” he muttered, “I’m not… I can lead the sciences, but for the whole thing, I need you for backup. I need you right there beside me. You’ve created a colony out of all of us, and we need you.”

“Yo… you have everything I did,” John murmured, eyes barely open as he looked at Rodney.

“I thought you were asleep,” he huffed as he stood up, moving closer to the bed.

“Not really sleeping well at the moment,” he told him, “Can’t really settle,” he added, “How are things going?” he asked.

“Stackhouse had a… ranting moment at Bates. We heard the recordings as well,” he added, “I don’t know if you know about them.”

“Stackhouse told me when we got here,” he said, “Not really happy, but I understand why. The mark isn’t just against me, it’s against his brother and the other two as well. I don’t know how it’s going to go with what he’s planned.”

Rodney nodded, “I’m… scared.”

“I know,” John said, gripping Rodney’s hand tightly, “Not supposed to admit, but so am I. Never… never really thought I would die because of a virus,” he snorted, only to start coughing. Rodney helped him sit up fully. He held him gently in his arms as he felt the heaving coughs that shook John’s entire body. John slumped against him. “Tha… thanks,” he said, breathing heavily.

Rodney kept hold of him for a few more moments before helping him rest back on the bed. “Your temperature is higher,” he frowned, as he could see the faint blush of a fever on John’s face.

“Hm,” he gave a small nod. “Yeah, it’s high, Carson is keeping an eye on it.”

“Good,” he said, as he pulled the chair even closer and sat down. “I have work to do,” he murmured.

“Then you should go and do it, or you’re going to get cranky,” he grinned a little.

“I’ll have someone bring down my tablet or laptop. I can do some of it here, or I’ll just commandeer Carson’s laptop. I just need to go through the information that Weir had on her files, and what she was working on. I need to see if there is anything else that she was keeping from us. She also had all the research and military reports going to her. I know you would have had those as well, but I do believe that she should have shared a lot of what she was getting with us both, so we could better serve the expedition,” he said, as he wanted to go and pace, but refused to leave John’s side.

John was about to say something when he shivered violently.

“John?” Rodney said as he stood up, looking his friend over and quickly pressing the button that would bring Carson into the room.

“I…” he shivered again, almost curling up.

Carson rushed into the room. “What’s wrong?” he asked, as he went to the bed and began to check John over.

“He shivered, but it was… violent-” he was cut off as John did it again.

“Damn,” Carson hissed, “I was hoping that he would avoid this symptom,” he said, “Weir gave you a high dose. A very high dose of the virus. I’ve been going over the notes that were compiled about the virus, which included a list of symptoms that they observed in the rodents that they tested it on. And, I have to say that they also used a few people on a planet that we visited as test subjects.”

“I know Weir went on two missions, and that there was an outbreak of an illness that she refused to let anyone but herself and Graeme go through, since they had already been there, said that they must be immune since they had shown no sign of it,” Rodney said.

John curled against the shiver once more. “What… what does it mean?” he gasped out.

“She and Graeme compiled the data on the virus, its fatality rates, how it spread, which they found out that it didn’t spread outside of those they infected. It was self-contained. It didn’t mutate at all. But they collected more data on the symptoms that each one had and the dose size. The smaller dose, the symptoms weren’t bad; they were manageable, which is why I had a few in their rooms instead. Slightly higher ended up in isolation as they needed more help as the days went on. I was hoping that the dose wasn’t that high. But-” he sighed, as he went over and grabbed a vial and syringe, “John, I’m going to give you something to relax the muscles a little. The virus is attacking your nervous system, which is what’s causing the body tremors. This will help in stopping them from contracting and relaxing all the time. I will have to have Derek in the room, unless someone else is here. This is… I’d rather not do this,” he sighed.

“Carson, I need you to explain everything to us both,” Rodney said, “I want to know what this virus does exactly. I thought… I thought it was like the flu or at its worst pneumonia?” he asked.

“It presents a lot like it, as that was what we were thinking as well. Dr Biro and I have been going over what’s been discovered in Weir’s notes, and to a lesser extent, Graeme’s. There is a lot there, I’ve asked Dr Reed and Dr Huang to help as well,” he added.

John’s body tremors slowly stopped, and he sank into the mattress and pillows that were supporting him. “Why… why don’t you want to give me that?” he asked, blinking a few times as he felt himself relaxing a little too much.

“Too much and it can cause you to stop breathing,” Carson warned, “I’ve set up alerts for that, and I’m going to have someone in the room with you constantly. I’m sorry to say, John, but you’ll have no privacy for a while,” he added.

“Ok… okay,” he tried to nod, but only to find himself almost feeling floppy instead,

“Now,” Carson said, “I’m going to go over what we’ve found about this particular strain of the virus so far, thanks to the notes and our own research into it. It presents a lot like the Athosian flu at the start. Then it looks like it develops into pneumonia,” he began, taking a seat on the other chair in the room. “It also attacks the nervous system after a few days. But only in high doses of the virus. The more of it there is, the more rapidly it spreads to do damage. One of the things it does, no matter the dose given, is attack two vital organs. The heart and the lungs. It weakens the heart, and breaks down the air sacs in the lungs. The damage to the heart and lungs can become so bad that there is no way for them to heal at all,” he finished, shaking his head, “It will either be heart failure or the lungs breaking down so much that the victim-”

“Drowns,” John guessed as Carson nodded.

“How long until the point of no return?” Rodney asked, a feeling of dread filling him.

“Around ten days after symptoms of pneumonia present,” Carson said after a few moments of hesitation.

“What… what’s being done to find a cure, and how long do the others have?” John asked quietly.

“One has already reached the point of no return. All we can do is make him as comfortable as we can. I’ve given him a sedative so… he’ll not realize what is happening,” he said quietly, “You have around seven days before you reach that point. The others range from two to six days. You were the last to be given the virus. The first was Millie, who was monitoring Weir’s searches in the ancient systems. She made a note of them, and Weir found out. She gave them to Miko before she was infected. She died yesterday. Dale passed a few hours later. We lost Graeme next and Tina not long afterward,” Carson said, “We’re expecting Alan to be next, and then Nathan. Alan was dating Millie, as she shared her concerns about Weir with him. Nathan and Dale both worked for Weir in the social sciences.”

“We also still have Steven Anders, one of yours, and Yuri Kinamoto, she’s also military. Debbie is fading fast,” Rodney said, “I heard Derek talking about her.”

“She is. Alan has been made comfortable at the moment. I suspect that Debbie will be next and we’ll be doing the same for her tomorrow morning or afternoon,” Carson sighed, as he checked a few numbers, “Hmm,” he said, “Right, I’m going to give you something for the fever as well. It’s getting higher than I would like,” he added as he went to get something else to put into the IV line.

John was drifting a little more. “Sorry,” he said as he tried to keep himself away.

“The best thing ya can do, lad, is to rest. So you sleep, we’ll be around,” he said, patting him gently on the shoulder.

John gave a feeble nod as he let himself fall asleep. Knowing that Rodney was there with him.

XxXxX

Rodney was in Weir’s old office. It’d been scrubbed clean, but that didn’t stop Rodney from being able to see Weir lying on the ground dying in front of him. He jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Dr Grodin,” he said.

“I know, it’s hard being in here,” Peter said, “But this is the main office. It’s large enough that I could get it set up for you and Major Sheppard to share, if that’s your wish.”

“Yeah, it might be a way to show that I’m serious about bringing both sides of this expedition together,” Rodney nodded, “Change… is needed in there,” he added as he looked around. It was well situated. He sighed as he looked around and then moved to the desk. He powered up the laptop that was there; this wasn’t Weir’s, this was new. Her one had been given to Miko for her to go through.

Peter nodded, “I’ll get on that,” he said as he left the room.

“Dr McKay,” a voice said from the doorway a few moments later.

Rodney looked up and saw Sgt Bates standing there. “What can I do for you?” he asked.

“When will Major Sheppard be returning from the mainland?” he asked.

Rodney froze, “I’ll get in contact and see what I can find out,” he answered, “I’ll contact you as soon as I know something.”

“Thank you, Dr McKay,” he nodded as he stood there for a while longer.

“Sgt Bates, if there is something I can do for you, please come in and sit down. I know it’s going to be awkward for a while, as we transition to me being the expedition leader. But I will assure you now that I’m going to be listening to what you’re saying. I want us to work together. I know that Weir often stopped Major Sheppard from doing what was needed to keep us all safe. I’m not going to stand in the way of that,” Rodney told him, gesturing to the other seat in the room. “This office is also going to go through a change,” he added.

“Dr McKay,” he began as he walked inside, letting the door close behind them, “Change how?”

“I’m having another desk brought in for John, for Major Sheppard to work at. I believe he should have been in here from the start. It’s near the gate, and he’s got more to do with the security of the city than Weir had,” he told him.

“Major Sheppard isn’t the man that Colonel Sumner believed him to be,” he stated.

“No, he isn’t,” Rodney told him, “John’s a man that I’ve come to admire in the few short months that I’ve known him. Even at the base in Antarctica, and while he was at the SGC for a few weeks before we left. He showed a keen interest in learning about what the SGC was like. He is smart, but hides it well.”

“What are your plans, now that you have control? I need to know what to prepare the men for in the Major’s absence,” he began.

“I’m not going to be changing much. There are some things that I know John will want to put into effect. Mostly an alpha site, he’s made a list of four planets he believes would be acceptable. I’ll let you and the others review them, see which one you believe would be a good choice. Show me how that works, John left notes on each site and the pros and cons of each. I’m going to suggest going to each and viewing them with an eye on creating an alpha site. Help me understand why it’s needed, and how best they are utilized.”

“An alpha site is something that should have been set up as soon as we found a suitable location. Instead of waiting. We have teams out there now that come straight here, and they could have been exposed to a number of things which make coming back here dangerous. In the past, in the SGC, we’ve had a lot of things that happened that could have been mitigated with an alpha base established. Like here, I know it will take time to find a place. With Major Sheppard already thinking about it. I’ll take charge in looking at what he’s selected and make my report to him.”

“Yeah,” he nodded, “I think we should have had this right from the start as well. Go through the list. Create a team of someone from Medical, Sciences, Pathology, Geology, and of course, teams of at least four marines under you. To survey and chart what might be required in such a building. I understand that we’ll have to build something, and I would love to see something defensible. Leaving here is fine, but returning straight here might not be.”

“That’s the purpose of the alpha site, to make sure we’re secure here,” Bates said as he stood up. “Thank you for listening, and for agreeing with the Major about the need for one.”

“Sgt Bates, I’m not military, but I’ve been working around the SGC since before it was part of Operation Giza, and a predominantly civilian project. I’ve worked alongside the military for several years, and I don’t put up with fools,” he began, “I will listen to you, and make my own mind up, but I will listen.”

He nodded, “Sir,” he said as he left with the list of sites that John had compiled.

Rodney slumped in his chair for a bit before straightening up and going over the reports that had come in that morning from each department. He knew he would have to tell Bates soon what was going on with John. It was only going to be a matter of time before others outside of the inner circles found out. He looked at the list of missions that were on the books to happen during the next week. There were so many things he had to go over, and he knew that John had been doing most of this alone, as Weir hadn’t bothered with any of the reports unless certain keywords had been present in them. It showed in what she accessed on her laptop, from what Miko had been able to access so far.

Chapter Seventeen

Carson walked into the office, and Rodney was knee deep in reports. Going through each of them and making sure that he had notes on what to direct people to do next. “You’re working hard,” Carson said as he went over and placed down a meal in front of his friend, “I heard you hadn’t eaten, and you know you need to do so regularly, unless you want to be in a hospital bed as well,” he warned.

Rodney looked up, “Weir was doing the bare minimum, and the reports are clear proof of that. I’m going to have to get on top of each department to give me a clear and concise report, not the flowery language that I’ve been seeing; there are only five that give that. Radek, Miko, you, Biro, and I,” he sighed heavily. “The military ones are even more to the point. There are, of course, mission reports that they’ve done. Bates is making a team to survey some off-world sites for us to make us an alpha site.”

“That’s a good idea. I know Weir was against it, she wanted to see what state each place was in. The thing is, with the bug that attached itself to John, if it had remained alive and in the pod, it could have backfired on the city. Having it go to a second site where it could be contained better would have been a good idea. There are so many creatures in this galaxy, and any one of them could cause catastrophic harm to the people and to the environment.”

Rodney nodded, “Which,” he paused and pulled the plate with food on toward him. He saw a sandwich with some meat that looked a little odd, but he knew it was the beef-like meat that had been found on one of the planets. “Thanks,” he said, taking a large bite and getting through half of it before he carried on, “Which is why they’re going to set that up. Only the trade missions we already have in place will be going out. Any exploration missions on new planets are going to be cancelled until we have the alpha site set up. I want it equipped with a medical suite. We can always call in more medics if there’s an emergency that needs all hands on deck,” he put the sandwich down, half eaten and rubbed at his face, “John… John had so much in the works. He was even getting things together to make it so that when an alpha site was chosen, there were already pre-built buildings that just had to be put together, to be sent out. He even had tents and more together, should we need to evacuate the city.”

“He was the one who was running this city,” Carson said softly as he sat down.

“Yeah, he really was. Weir was doing nothing to aid it. He was doing it behind closed doors, and no one was the wiser for it. I have no idea how he was doing that, keeping Weir off his back, and keeping up with the command of the military as well as the full-time missions we were going on,” he shook his head as he leaned back, “He-” pausing once more to eat more of his sandwich. “That was good,” he said as he finished the last bite. “Thanks for bringing it,” he added.

Carson snorted, “You’ll work yourself into a hospital bed soon enough, if you’re not careful,” he warned again. “Now, what are you planning on doing about John? They’re going to need to know that something’s happened to him soon,” he added, looking at his friend.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted, “They do need to know, and soon. How are things coming along?” he asked.

“They’re coming along, we’re mapping things out and finding out more and more of how it was made, thanks to the notes that Graeme and Weir have left behind. It’s a complex one, and it’s based on the flu, but Graeme and Weir had help from the scientists on Hoff to manipulate it. Like they did with the virus they created to protect them from the wraith,” he sighed. He’d been against helping them, after he found out that the vaccine could end up killing half of the people it would be given to. Carson had hoped that it would be something that could be shared with other worlds. Weir had been for it and had even tried encouraging him to help them. It had taken him too long during that time to find out about the cost of it being given to people. Everyone had hated the fact that they had decided to take it.

“So they had help, do you think contacting those on Hoff will be able to help? They seemed pretty advanced when it came to their pathology and biochemistry.” Rodney suggested, wondering if that would help at all.

Carson shook his head, “No, they were only focused on finding a way to stop the Wraith. They’re not as advanced as they appeared. It was only because we were focusing on one thing that they seemed it,” he said, snorting a little, “We’re working hard, Rodney. I know it doesn’t feel like it,” he said quietly, “But we are.”

“I know, but I’m worried. John is holding so much of this together that I don’t know how well this is going to go if something should happen to him. Not only that, but I’m going to have to tell Sgt Bates what’s going on; it’s going to be hard. He’s only just willing to now listen to people about John and the truth of his black mark,” he sighed heavily as he leaned forward, “What am I going to do, Carson?”

“Give it another day or two, and then take Bates aside. Tell him what’s going on. That we’re keeping it under wraps because of what Weir has done. We’re trying to make sure that nothing falls apart while we’re searching for a cure, or at least something that will turn it from deadly to survivable,” he tried to reassure his friend that things would be alright, even though he was beginning to doubt it himself.

“I’m going to speak with John, if he’s up for it, and then decide what I’m going to do with Bates. I need him on side, so we can get the alpha site up and running ASAP. I can’t believe that Weir kept interfering with John’s ability to command the military here. She tried so much to stop them from doing anything. John had to work around her all the time. He wanted to include more of the Athosians in some of the teams, especially those that were more experienced with other worlds and had experience in trading. They know the value and the edibility of the food items. There is just so much that he’s done that I have no idea of,” he growled a little at that, wondering when John had the time to do all that, including talking with the Athosians about all they know.”

“You’ve been going through his reports?” Carson asked.

Rodney nodded, “I have. The ones to Weir aren’t detailed, like he knew it wasn’t what she was interested in. The detailed ones are on his own laptop. He passworded them in such a way that it took me almost an hour to figure out,” he said, mildly impressed with how well the man had been able to protect his reports. “Detailed to such an extent that it may as well be part of a book,” he snorted.

“Well, you have an idea of what he was doing, and no doubt he’ll be able to help you get some things kicked off,” he pointed out to his friend.

“Yeah, I just want to see what he thinks about telling Bates about the real state of things,” he rubbed at his face, and then turned off the computer. “I have my own work that I need to get back to as well.”

“Ask Peter for help, he worked with Weir doing a little of the admin work. Also, send out a reminder of how the reports need to be worded for you. No doubt I’ll be dealing with some panic attacks after that,” he grinned as he stood up.

“He’s going to be changing the office around in here. It… doesn’t feel right being in here after all this is where Weir died. He suggested changing it, and I agree, and to bring in a second desk so that John can command from here, it’s central and a good place for the military to be stationed. Since it’s them that handle security around here,” he said as he put everything away and got up.

The two walked out of the office together and headed down to the infirmary. Rodney nodded at Derek as he entered John’s room. There was a new tube, this one going into John’s nose. “What?” he asked quietly.

“He’s not able to eat,” Derek answered quietly, “Dr Beckett decided that it would be a good idea to get a feeding tube in now. Major Sheppard isn’t happy about it, but understands why it’s needed,” he added, “The others have one as well, though two aren’t able to keep anything in their stomachs anymore and are now on supplements given via IV. We’re trying to keep them on actual food for as long as we can.”

Rodney nodded, sighing a little. He hadn’t seen John really eat at all since entering the infirmary. He settled down on the chair near the bed, as he had done for the last day, and took John’s hand. He felt a weak squeeze of his hand. He looked at John’s face, seeing eyes slowly opening, the normally bright hazel eyes were dull now. “Hey,” he said, smiling slightly.

“How… are things going?” he said, his voice barely above a whisper now. It was slightly gravelly as well; no doubt his throat was sore from all the coughing.

“I’ve got Bates looking at potential alpha sites from the list you made. I’ve suspended all gate missions, except the trade agreements that are already in place. They will be the only ones going on. The one to Genii has been removed, since you had notes saying that neither world had anything that we could offer them that they wanted. I’ve told Bates to put a team together and then travel to each of the worlds you listed. That’s the only other gate missions I’m allowing. I want an alpha site up and running before we start again,” he stated.

John smiled a little, “Good, that… that’s what’s needed.”

“Bates is asking to talk to you,” he admitted quietly. “I don’t know what you want to do about that.”

John frowned slightly before answering. “It’s… time to… tell him,” he said, “He needs to know. He and Ford will… be in charge jointly should I die.”

Rodney shook his head, “Please… don’t talk like that. I don’t want to think of you dying.”

“High possibility, Rodney,” he reminded him.

“I know, but still,” he huffed, “John, I don’t want to think of something happening to you. It was bad enough when I… you were dead back then, John, dead, and there was nothing I could do. No help unless I got the jumper working right enough that we could go through the gate.”

John looked at him, smiling slightly, “You solved it, though, Rodney,” he reminded him. “You got them retracted, and Ford was able to get us through.”

“Maybe I did,” Rodney muttered, “But that… I need to solve this, and you’re right. Bates needs to know. But I’m going to wait until he’s chosen an alpha site, and for that to be started before I take him aside. I’ll tell him then what is going on, and bring him down so he can… I don’t know why he would even need to come down,” he huffed.

“Bates is the type to need to see things with his own eyes. It’s why he wanted the proof that Miko found about what happened for me to get that mark on my record, he wouldn’t have believed it otherwise,” John told him, as Derek walked back into the room.

“Sorry, Dr McKay, but it’s time for Major Sheppard to receive some treatments. It would be best for you to be out of the room,” he said as he looked between the two.

“It’s feeding time at the zoo,” John tried to joke.

Rodney looked at him, “I can stay, it’s not going to gross me out,” he rolled his eyes at the very thought.

“No, I doubt it would, Doc,” Derek told him, “But it can also be unnerving for Major Sheppard to have someone here as well. He’ll also need a new round of medication. He’ll most likely fall asleep after it all.”

“I’d…” Rodney began as he looked at John, “What do you want? I would like to be here, spend some time with you, even if you do fall asleep.”

“I’d rather you not be here for some of it, just… just the feeding part, it’s not… nice,” John said quietly.

“Alright,” Rodney nodded, “Can you bring me back in as soon as that’s done?” he asked.

“Sure,” Derek nodded, “I’ll do that first,” he said as Rodney got up, squeezing John’s hand before going to wait outside. He didn’t know how long he had to wait, as his mind went over all the things he still needed to do.

Rodney looked up as Carson walked past. “Carson,” he greeted, starting to notice how tired and pale he looked.

“Rodney,” he nodded, “Ah, John’s receiving care,” he said, nodding as he realized the time.

“Yeah,” he said, “NG tube?”

“The muscle relaxers I’ve used on him are causing a few issues with his swallowing. I’m hoping that he’ll be okay with the tube for now. He’s getting what he needs from the liquid meal he’s getting. There are some medications in that. We’re keeping an eye on it as well, so please don’t worry. We’re doing all we can for him and the others.”

“I know,” Rodney said, “I was just surprised, I never thought that the relaxers would affect him that much.”

“We’re having to give him a strong enough dose that the body tremors stop. Unfortunately, it does create a few problems of its own. We’re monitoring his breathing and more of his body’s functions to make sure that nothing else is affected. His swallowing was one thing, his breathing isn’t where we’d like it, but he’s doing well so far. His numbers are… acceptable,” he added, grimacing.

“Yeah,” he sighed as Derek stood in the doorway. “Derek?”

“You’re fine to come back in now,” he told him, giving him a small smile.

“Thank you,” he said as he nodded at Carson and headed back into the room. Derek followed and began to administer some of the medication that John needed. Rodney sat down and took John’s hand again. He could already see that the other man was exhausted. “I won’t stay for much longer. I’ll let you sleep,” he told him.

John gave him a small smile, “Yeah,” he said, barely able to keep his eyes open.

“Done,” Derek said softly, “I’m just going to note down a few readings, and then I’ll leave you both alone again.”

“Thank you,” Rodney said as he nodded at the man and went back to paying all his attention to John. “We’re going to change the office that Weir had,” he said, “We’re going to make it into a two-person office, mine and yours. I could live with that, I think,” he said, “Having you right there beside me.”

Rodney talked a little longer as John fell asleep. He stood up and let Derek back in since he was going to remain with John until morning, and then Nina would be taking over for the day shift. He looked and saw that Carson had fallen asleep at his desk. He felt guilty, knowing that his friend was working himself into exhaustion trying to find a cure. He entered the office, “Come on, Carson, bed, proper bed, in your quarters,” he said before the man could move to the couch that was in the small office.

“Aye, maybe a proper night’s kip will help,” he muttered as he rubbed at his eyes, hating how gritty they felt.

“Clear heads and all that rot,” Rodney muttered as he directed his friend out and nodded at Dr Biro, who was going to be on duty that night.

Rodney made sure Carson went to bed before heading to his own. Rodney headed to his own quarters. He had a lot to do, and time was quickly running out.

Chapter Eighteen

The next day held much the same for Rodney. Heading to the office that had been changed thanks to Peter. The man had met him there and helped him get things set up to his liking. Bates and the team he had formed had gone to three of the five worlds that John had put on a short list. The day after had been the same. Rodney had been able to get through the backlog of the reports that Weir had never dealt with. Made at least two people cry when he eviscerated them for their unethical experiments and put them on warning.

Now, after going over the last reports from Bates. The man had chosen the alpha site. And what John had hidden away in storage now being transferred through the gate. Rodney stood watching as a bunch of marines and a few of the scientists all headed over, including one of the medical teams that Carson had been quick to have trained up. They were going to help set up a medical building over there. The gate closed down as the last of them went through and reported that they would get started. Bates had remained behind. Rodney had asked him to do so, wanting to speak to him about John before taking him to see him. John was getting weaker, and Rodney was worried. Carson and his team were working almost around the clock to find something, anything that could help.

Teyla had been working with them and talking with those on the mainland over the last couple of days. They had lost Steven and Debbie over the last two days, and it looked like Alan was going to be next. Bates walked to the control room where Rodney was waiting. The man stood tall as the two headed into the office, the door closing behind them. Rodney went to the desk that he had claimed for himself. Bates took a seat in front of it.

“When is Major Sheppard coming back? He’s been gone too long. The men are getting worried and anxious, especially since most of the off-world missions have been cancelled apart from the trade missions that he had already set up before leaving for the mainland,” he stated.

“I know,” Rodney said, “And he hasn’t exactly been on the mainland. With the upheaval of Weir and the way that you had been acting before you found out exactly why John had the black mark. We couldn’t take the risk of anything going wrong and people getting hurt out of panic. This was before we found out that Weir had created the virus that she intended to kill people. John became ill, and at first we thought it was the Athosian flu that had been going around. It wasn’t, it was the virus. She had infected him, we suspect via his food; he has… around 4 days left,” he stated.

“You kept this from me, from others?” he asked, frowning at what he felt was a breach in information sharing.

“Only to make sure we have cohesion. At the moment, John’s made plans for what happens should he die. You and Ford will be in charge. Ford is young, but he has rank at the moment, and a few things that you need to remember. John would wish for you to take on a field commission. He knows you went to OTS and have turned down several promotions over the years. He would elevate you to Captain as soon as he can. He does want to talk to you, but he’s very ill at the moment. He’s weak and barely able to stay awake. So don’t be shocked if he just falls asleep. For now, you did well on choosing a place, and hopefully, it will be up and running within the week. John prepared a lot for it,” he said. I’ve messaged Carson to tell me when it would be a good time to visit. For now, tell me what the plans are for rotation and which of your men will be doing it. I also need to know about training and whether some civilians, if they want to go off-world, and who will be available and capable of training them. I agree with John that no civilian, no matter their ability, should be allowed off Atlantis without having training in how to use a firearm. John was making sure I was improving, but I’d like to continue doing so as well.”

“I’ll make sure there is a group that will be able to teach the civilians,” he nodded, “I’m not happy about being kept in the dark. Who else knows within the military?”

“Stackhouse, Ford, and Markham. Teyla is another who is in the know as she is part of AR-1,” he added,” But those there are the only ones outside of those Carson deemed to know about the situation at large.” What he didn’t say what that there were a number of scientists who also knew, but they had been told to keep it quiet.

“Stackhouse has a lot of loyalty toward Major Sheppard,” Bates said, frowning, “A lot more than I’m comfortable with.”

“That is more because of what happened out in Afghanistan. Major Sheppard brought his brother back, with enough time that he was able to say goodbye to him. That kind of thing would inspire loyalty. Major Sheppard disregarded orders, and chose not to leave them behind. No doubt they would have been captured or killed. And not leaving someone behind is a trait I prefer in someone that is going to be in charge around here,” Rodney stated, “I-” he began, only for his radio to buzz in his ear. He tapped it, “McKay here.”

“Rodney, it’s Carson. Now would be the best time to come down. He’s awake at the moment, his fever is down a little,” Carson said.

“Right, we’ll be right there. Thanks for the information, Carson,” he said as he then looked at Bates, “John’s awake at the moment,” he stated as he got up. Bates quickly did the same, and they headed down to the isolation room.

Carson met them outside, looking at the both of them. “Sgt Bates, Rodney,” he greeted the two of them. “He awoke and was talking a little, don’t overtax him. If he falls asleep, let him rest. His starts are starting to fluctuate, he’s fighting hard,” he warned as he then opened the door and let them in.

XxXxX

Rodney walked into the room first, already knowing what he was going to be facing. John was awake, but he looked so pale and tired. His breathing was more laboured than it had been two days ago. He was starting to lose a little weight now. He was still on the NG tube, and the muscle relaxers he was still on weren’t helping, as John was barely able to move much without help.

“Hey, John,” he said, smiling slightly as he walked over to the bed.

Bates hesitated in the doorway, taking in his commanding officer. “Sir,” he said as he walked over.

John looked at him, blinking a few times and giving a small, tired smile, “Sgt Bates,” he greeted, “You… have been informed,” he added, waiting for him to get closer.

“Yes, sir,” he said, walking over and standing beside the bed, looking down at his commanding officer. He watched as Rodney took a hand and held it within his own gently.

“I… I got things filed to field promote… promote you to Captain. We need your experience to keep this expedition going forward,” John told him, “Ford is good, but too new to really do much. You have years at the SGC, you know the dangers more than anyone,” he finished, sounding out of breath as he took a few moments to rest.

“I understand, sir, the alpha site should be finished within the week. Dr. McKay has a list of tasks you need to complete within the next few weeks. I’ll make sure everything is ready for when you return,” he finished, standing almost at attention as he finished.

John nodded weakly, his head barely moving. “You need to stick together, each of us has a part… part to play,” he said, voice starting to weaken as he added, “Rely and take strength from each other. We all ha… have weaknesses and strengths, learn them, understand them. Play to them,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper as he finished.

Bates stood there for a moment. “Sir,” he nodded before giving the man a more detailed briefing. John made a few suggestions, but it didn’t take much longer for him to drift off to sleep. He looked at Rodney as they left the room. “You believe he will die?” he asked.

Rodney was quiet for a few moments. “I don’t want to believe it, but we’re getting no closer to finding out how to combat this. Weir, Graeme, and one of the Hoff scientists worked on this. The only mission we may do that isn’t for trade or the alpha site might be to Hoff and see what they have to say about what they did with this. But they aren’t as advanced as people think, the one that helped may be nothing more than someone who has a bit of luck, or may actually be of use.”

“I will lead a mission to Hoff to determine what their knowledge level is about this virus,” Bates suggested.

“I’ll allow it,” Rodney said as they made their way back to the control room. “There is going to be a point where I’ll have to announce the situation we’re in. I’m not sure how many are going to take it. We lost Weir to her own selfish greed, and now we’re losing John because of it as well,” he sighed, shaking his head.

“May I take one of the biochemists and Dr Biro to Hoff?” Bates asked, “They would be best suited for such a reconnaissance mission.”

“Biro is good to go; she is good with a handgun, but not the P90. Huang is also proficient. So, he’d be cleared to go,” Rodney said, nodding a few times. “If you can get them together, I’ll give you the go-ahead in two hours,” he said as he glanced at Bates.

“I’ll talk with them now and meet you in the control room with them. I’ll take Stackhouse and Markham with me. They understand the seriousness of what we’ll be doing. Lt Ford should remain here, as he is the next in charge,” he added, “I’ll start training him up and going over some of the things he’ll need to know should he find himself in charge again.”

“Thank you, Captain Bates,” Rodney sighed, relieved that it now felt like something was being done to help John. He knew that Carson and everyone were working hard, but he had nothing he could do to help. Now, with this, it felt like he was doing something.

Bates went to talk to Huang and Biro as Rodney made his way back to his office, to the side of the control room. Two hours later, he was watching as Bates, Brio, Huang, Stackhouse, and Markham went through the gate to Hoff. Carson hadn’t been that happy to learn that they were going there, but he understood that they were running out of time, and any and all leads needed to be looked at and followed, just in case there was something useful.

Chapter Nineteen

Rodney jumped up as the gate engaged. It had been several hours since he’d seen Captain Bates and his team off. He watched as they walked back. Bates looked up at him and shook his head. Rodney sighed and nodded. “Thank you for trying,” he murmured. Bates couldn’t hear him, but he knew the other man understood what he was saying. He walked back to his office and went through the report that Miko had finally finished on what Weir had been doing.

Bates walked into the office, the door closing behind him. “We weren’t able to find anything. The one that helped them wasn’t much use at all,” he stated as he stood before Rodney’s desk.

“Thank you for trying. It’s all we can do at the moment,” he sighed, “It looks like Weir was looking at some of the experiments that the Ancients did on the people of Pegasus, while they were in search of ascension,” he added, as he turned the laptop around, “Some of what they came across was virus bacteria that they inflicted on people. The Ancients are not the kind and benevolent people most believed to be. They had no care for the people of this galaxy; they experimented on people, plants, and animals without care or attention, and if something didn’t work, they tossed it aside and left it. No matter how dangerous the result was to people. I’m sending this to Carson, hoping that he might be able to find something that is similar to the virus we’re facing at the moment.”

“Let’s hope he finds something within it to help,” Bates said. “I’d rather not have to be in charge around here,” he added.

Rodney snorted, “Many think you do.”

“I was wary of Major Sheppard; we only knew what was on his record and not the why of it,” he said quietly.

“Hmm, he wasn’t supposed to be with us,” he agreed, “But you should have taken the few weeks we had from the moment he was put on assignment with us, to get to know him. I observed him while we waited to leave; he was always alone, talking to no one. He kept to himself. Coming here, he does much the same. You are all wary of him in a way that isolates him all the more. He works tirelessly for little recognition of what he’s capable of. Instead, he’s treated with an air of distrust, even though it has lessened in the last couple of weeks, it’s still there. Part of that comes from you and Sumner spreading information about his black mark through the ranks. Without fully knowing what caused the mark on his records. Chances are, things would have been better if no one had known about it, or if they had figured out what had happened.”

Bates listened to what Rodney was saying and nodded, “I understand,” he said.

“I hope you really do now, we need to stand united if we’re going to survive out here. John’s done everything he can to set us up for success; it’s up to us to continue it,” he finished as Bates gave a salute and then left. Rodney frowned at that and shook his head as he went back to the report, before leaving to get some of his own work done.

Rodney got lost in his work, not noticing the passage of time or the buzzing of his radio that he had taken off.

“Meridith Rodney McKay!” came a yell as Carson burst into his lab.

“What the fuck!” Rodney jumped, “Don’t you fucking full name me!”

“Then make sure you have your fucking headset on, Rodney!” he yelled back, “Now, I found something. I noticed that John wasn’t deteriorating the same as the others. I thought it was because he had a higher dose, but it isn’t,” he said, “Come to my office, now,” he said as he began to leave.

“I can’t just-” he began, “Oh, fuck it,” he said as he shut down what he was doing, ruining one of the experiments that he was working on, but he could always start it again. John was more important.

“Come on, Rodney!” Carson called, and the man finally followed him out of his lab.

“I’m not that fast,” he huffed, though he was getting faster with his running times, mostly thanks to being on AR-1 and having to run for his life more often than not when they stepped through the gate.

Carson led the way to one of the labs near the infirmary. “Dr Biro and I have been going through the bloods we collected from John and the others. We noticed that there was a difference between John and the others. At first, we thought it was the dosage that each of them got. But we found out that it’s actually got nothing to do with that, but the small amount of Iratus bug DNA that was left behind when he was attacked by one.”

“He… still has some of that thing in him?!” Rodney exclaimed, looking horrified at the thought.

“He does, and before you ask, aye, he does know that it’s there. We weren’t able to flush it all out, and it’s in his bloodstream, and we’ve tried dialysis to clean his blood, but it hasn’t worked. It’s also fighting the virus; it’s slowing it down, and we have a little more time for John. We’re looking into it, that if there was a little more of the Iratus bug DNA within his blood, it would be able to fight off the virus fully. We have a sample of the DNA for it, and we put it to the test,” he began, as he looked at Biro as she walked over to them.

“It broke the virus down within two hours. There was nothing of it left. It’s… a cure,” she said, hesitantly.

“Yeah, and there is a but in this,” Carson sighed, “It’s introducing foreign DNA into someone. While it hasn’t done anything to John at the moment, it’s not strong enough to do so. But more could cause some harm to him. We’re just not sure what it will do.”

“Is there no way to test it to find out what it will do?” he asked.

“No,” Carson shook his head, “We have our xenobiologists working on it, but so far they’ve not been able to figure out what the Iratus DNA will do.” he sighed heavily, “It’s a Catch 22, we do this, it could change John and the others in ways we’re not certain will be good. Or we let the virus run its course, and we lose them all.”

“Each of them will need to consent to what we’re going to do,” Biro sighed, shaking her head, “Yuri is too far gone to be able to do so. John should be able to give you a clear answer, but…”

“We think he’ll be the only one that will be able to give full consent, he’s still fully aware of what’s going on around him, even with the fever he has, and the struggles,” Carson told him, “I think we’ll talk to John first, if he agrees, we’ll… do the same with the others, but… we need more Iratus DNA, and the only way to get that will be to get one. Or to at least get a large enough sample of one.”

Someone walked over, “I’m prepared to go through, as are a few of the others. We just need to make sure we’re protected enough that one of them can’t latch on.”

“Dr Connor James,” Carson said, “He’s one of our best xenobiologists, and he is a former marine,” he added.

Rodney nodded, “I’m not sure that…” he sighed, rubbing his face. “I have to think of the whole expedition, of everyone here. I want to say yes. To go and get one, to take a team, and make sure we can save John and the others. But… It’s putting you all at risk of them. Last time we had to stop John’s heart to just get the fucking creature off him, and that…”

“Dr Carson, Dr McKay,” he nodded as he walked over, “We’re prepared for what needs to be done. We understand that Major Sheppard and the others are dying. We want to do what we can to help.”

Rodney sighed heavily, “Alright, we’ll talk with John first. If he gives the go-ahead for it, then we’ll do it.”

“I’ve asked Derek to tell me when he wakes next,” Carson said. “He’s sleeping longer and longer at the moment, nothing to worry about,” he added before Rodney could say anything.

“Alright, keep me informed,” he began, only for his radio to buzz,” McKay,” he answered.

“Dr McKay, this is Grodin. We may have a problem on the horizon,” came the smooth British accent.

“Grodin, where are you?” Rodney asked, frowning and wondering what disaster might be on the horizon this time.

“In the meteorological lab,” he answered, “I think you need to get down here and have a look at what we’ve found. I’ve already called Captain Bates,” he added.

“Right, I’ll be there shortly,” Rodney sighed, “I have to go. Please, keep me informed and talk to John. As soon as he gives you an answer, tell me. We know of two worlds that these bastards are on.”

“I’ll do so,” Carson nodded.

Rodney looked at Dr James, “Get together a team for this. I’ll have Captain Bates on it as well; he’ll go with you. Make sure you’re prepared for what you’ll need to do.”

“And in case it goes fubar,” Connor said with a firm nod.

Rodney sighed as he hurried off to the meteorological lab. He walked in, seeing Peter standing there, along with Dr Patel. Captain Bates was also standing there, a frown on his face as he looked at the two scientists. “Okay, what’s going on?” he demanded as he walked over and looked at the two of them.

Dr Patel nodded and began, “We’ve been surveying the planet over the last couple of weeks, since we’ve started to chart the weather a lot more. Seeing the tides and how the moons affect them here, the rains, and which season we’re in. It’s been a lot of work to get it all mapped. We’ve been going out and surveying the land as well, trying to find out if any geological faults might need to be cataloged. Instead, what we found were traces of severe storms that happened periodically. From the data we’ve been gathering, and the fact that further out there are the start of some storms heading this way.”

“How long? And how severe are we talking about?” Rodney asked, frowning as he tried to think of what they needed to do.

Peter sighed, “We have around three weeks before it will hit us. It’s going to be strong enough that it may end up sinking Atlantis unless we can find a way to shield against it. The settlement is also right in its path, and the outer edge of it will hit them in two and a half weeks. It will wipe it out. We’ve seen evidence that it has taken out entire forests and more in the past.”

“It will require an evacuation of the settlement,” Bates said, shaking his head.

“Yes,” Peter nodded. “Dr Patel and I, as well as others in his team, have been going over it, and from what we can see, it will wipe it all out as well as everything that we have done there. The planting of the crops, the beginnings of the farms we have. Everything will be gone. I’ve had a few pilots out to go above the beginnings of it. It’s covering about 5% of the planet right now, but it is growing, it’s grown by 1% in the last twenty-four hours,” he stated, “If that type of growth continues, it will cover 20% of the planet by the time it gets near the settlement. It’s a merger of several hurricanes together.”

Dr Patel pointed toward the board. “Here, we have two; they haven’t converged yet,” he began as he gestured to the two that were starting to move closer together. “In three days, they will be almost on top of each other. By the end of the week, they will have merged and formed a superstorm. We have never had one this powerful on Earth.”

“The settlement needs to be evacuated. We have the alpha site, but that’s only just started construction. I’m unsure if it can handle the entirety of Atlantis and the settlement,” Rodney said as he began to pace.

“We’ll need more hands over there,” Bates said, frowning as he watched Rodney. “If we increase numbers, we might be able to make a temporary shelter for everyone. It will be hard, but it’ll depend on how long we’ll need to be over there for.”

“At least two days. In two days, it’ll pass over. Two more after that and it’ll start to disappear,” Dr Patel told them, “We need at least three to four days. But…” he trailed off, looking at Peter.

“Chances are we’ll have nothing to come back to,” he stated.

Chapter Twenty

Rodney stopped as he repeated in his head what he had just heard, “Atlantis won’t be standing,” he frowned, “Wh-” he paused, “Fuck!”

“The city has no shields to protect it from what is to come. We don’t have the power at the moment to put them up, we’re sitting ducks,” Peter said, shaking his head.

“Right, we need an evacuation plan, and we have a two-week deadline to get the alpha site running so that it can put up with us for four days. If not, we’re going to have to find other worlds that we can beg a space off of for a few days,” Rodney said as he looked at them all. “I want a science department head meeting to see if we can come up with something to save the city. We have some time, but I’d rather have a plan in place before we’re down to the wire,” he stated as he looked at them.

“I’ll have it put on the books,” Peter nodded. “It’s getting late,” he said, as he checked the time. “I’ll have it in place in the morn-” he began, only for Rodney to jump as his radio buzzed.

“McKay here?” he answered, “And it better not be more bad news.”

“What if I present it as good news?” came Carson’s voice.

“Honestly, Men In Tights?” he rolled his eyes, “And no, it wouldn’t help, what is it?”

“John’s woken up, I think this might be a discussion for you to have with him, with me there as well,” Carson told him, “So get down here.”

“Fine, I’m on my way,” he sighed, “get that meeting set up, Captain Bates, see who you can be strong armed into helping set up the alpha site, and start making noise about asking some of those on the mainland to go over and help. Maybe even set up some farming over there, just in case we need the extra later on, and if Atlantis doesn’t survive,” he added.

“I’ll start setting things up,” Peter nodded.

“I’ll go over the rosters and start talking to Miss Emmagan,” Bates nodded, “We’ll get on it,” he stated.

“Make sure you get some rest and some sleep, we’re going to need to be on top of everything,” Rodney said as he walked out of the lab and headed back to the infirmary. Ten minutes later, he was walking over to John’s room. Carson was waiting outside of it.

“Thanks for coming down,” Carson said with a nod. “He’s awake still,” he said, “But I don’t think he will be for long.”

Rodney nodded as they walked into John’s room. The man was barely awake. Derek looked up from where he was sitting and got up. He left the room so they could talk to John in private.

“Rodney, Carson,” John murmured, frowning at the two.

“John,” Carson said as he walked over to the bed, checking him over and looking at the chart, “We have something to talk to you about. We found something in your blood. It’s slowing the progress of the virus,” he stated.

“Right, slowing?” he frowned, trying to make sure he understood the words they were saying.

“Yes, slowing. It’s not able to stop it, or destroy it, but in a large quantity, it could,” Carson said quietly, as Rodney sat on the chair by John’s bed.

“What is it?” he frowned, “I can tell something is off.”

“There is,” Carson said, his accent heavy as he continued, “What’s slowin’ it down is the Iratus DNA that’s still in ya blood. We’ve tested a sample that we had against the virus, in its potent form, and it destroyed it within hours. It could cure you if we introduce more Iratus DNA, but there is a chance that it could do something to you as well. We won’t know what until it happens,” he sighed, shaking his head. “We’re running out of time, especially for the others. We have an extra few days for you, but they are… they have two, maybe three days at a push,” he finished, standing there and looking at John.

“You want permission?” he asked, starting to fight the sleep that his body was demanding of him.

“Yes. It’s experimental at best. I’d rather not do it, but it might be the only option we have, as there has been nothing else that we’ve come across to help fight this. We have no idea if the cure is going to be any better than the virus,” Carson told him.

“Do it,” John said, “I don’t like it, but…” he trailed off and then yawned.

“We’ll have to capture one to harvest the DNA, but we’ve got people who will volunteer to do so,” Carson informed him. “We’ll go over it all fully when we have it.”

“Okay,” he nodded.

“We’ll get out of here and let you sleep. You need it,” Carson said.

“I’ll give you a quick brief tomorrow morning on how things are going,” Rodney said as he stood up, only to sway when he did so.

Carson was quick to grab him by the arm.

“Rodney,” John gasped out as he went to move toward them.

“Stay where you are, John,” Carson said as he helped Rodney back down into his chair. “Okay, lad, when did you last eat?” he asked.

“Erm…” Rodney said, frowning.

“Right, you know the drill,” Carson sighed, “We’ve been over this, you need to eat regularly, Rodney. I’m going to check your levels and then make sure you have something to eat. I will be keeping you overnight.”

“I’m fine,” Rodney said, waving a hand, “I just got up a little fast, and yes, I do need to eat. Things have been… busy,” he said, getting up slower this time and still feeling a little lightheaded. He could feel his hands shake a little, and he clenched them to try to hide it.

“Sit back down,” Carson told him, “I’m going to assess you here, and you tell me the truth of it all,” he warned him, “Or I’m just going to stick you with an IV and keep you here overnight no matter what,” he stated, as he made Rodney sit back down.

“Fine, honestly, I know what’s wrong. I just need to have something to eat, and then everything will be fine. I have too muc-” Rodney began, attempting to brush Carson off and to get up again.

“Rodney, I love you like a brother, but you need to shut up,” Carson said.

“Listen to the good doctor,” John told his friend.

“Fine, better hurry, I want to get some things done before I go to be-” he carried on, trying to bluster away the embarrassment.

“Bed, no more work,” Carson said before he left the room to get what he needed to test Rodney’s glucose levels and something to bring them up if they were as low as he believed them to be.

Rodney huffed but remained where he was. He could see that John was looking at him in worry, “I’m fine, you know that this happens occasionally.”

“It’s happened twice since I’ve known you,” John murmured, “You’re usually really careful.”

“Things are… busy,” he said, “With Weir gone, I’ve been busy going over what was left behind, what she had been doing. Everything, we’re also honoring the trade agreements that are in place. We have the alpha site under construction. There…” he sighed, “We also have a problem on the horizon. One that could leave Atlantis at the bottom of the ocean with no way of bringing it up ever again, and no way for us to get through it.”

“What… what’s going on?” he asked, frowning.

Rodney sighed, “We have a storm approaching, it’s going to be as big as America when it’s finished growing. We have around seventeen days before it hits the settlement, and two more after that before it hits Atlantis. It will take around four days after that for it to dissipate. We’re going to have to evacuate the settlement and Atlantis if we’re going to survive. But,” he paused as Carson walked back in.

“Hand,” Carson said as he got out the glucose machine.

Rodney gave a long-suffering sigh and held it up, “Atlantis isn’t going to survive the tidal waves that will be unleashed, the strong winds, nothing. It will be pulling us apart.”

“I-” John looked worried, as he wondered what he could do to help.

“There’s nothing you can do, John, so don’t even think about trying to,” Rodney said as he huffed. “Well?” he asked, looking at Carson.

“Low, and a good meal, then we wait fifteen minutes, if it’s going up, then I’ll let you go back to your quarters with a monitor that will alert me should anything be wrong,” he warned.

“Really, I could just go to-” Rodney began, his hands up as he gestured to the door.

“No,” Carson said again, this time his voice was more forceful, “Rodney, you’re staying here, I’ve already asked Derek to get something for you, he should be back soon,” he added, “Now, you can eat here, or out in my office. You can choose.”

“I-”

“In here,” John said, “Keep a better eye on him,” he said, a little smirk playing on his lips.

“Fine,” Rodney huffed as Derek walked into the room after knocking on it. “Thank you,” he said, pulling a face as he looked at the meal that had been brought for him. “I didn’t think Mandy was still cooking at this time,” he said, frowning.

Derek grinned, “She isn’t, I cooked. I’m not that bad at it, even with the odd food we have,” he gave a little shrug as he nodded at the three in the room and left.

“Right,” Carson said as soon as Rodney started eating, “I’ll check your levels again as soon as it’s been fifteen minutes from the time you finish your food. If they are higher, and more in the normal range, I’ll let you go back to your quarters with only an alert monitor,” he said, “if not, you’re getting a shot and an overnight.”

Rodney rolled his eyes but nodded, “Fine,” he huffed between bites, now realizing how hungry he was.

“I’m going to check on the others, and then I’ll be back. By then, it should be time for testing,” Carson said as he then left the room.

John watched Rodney for a few moments before saying, “You gotta take better care of yourself.”

Rodney stopped eating for a moment, “I know. I just… got busy, John. It happens a lot. We have so much to do, and there just isn’t enough time in the day. Even though we have two extra hours in them for us,” he snorted.

John laughed, but started to cough, causing Rodney to set aside his meal to help. “Sorry,” he said, breathing hard as Rodney helped him to settle back down.

“It’s fine,” he said, “Really,” he added, seeing the guilty look on John’s face.

“I feel so useless, you’ve all got so much to do,” John said, his voice sounding tired again.

“We’ll be fine, and if this Iratus DNA works,” Rodney began as he went back to eating, “Then we should be fine. You’ll recover. Don’t know how long it’ll take, but you will.”

“Doesn’t help you all now, with so much going on,” he pointed out. He was starting to fight sleep, but he wanted to make sure that Rodney really was okay.

Rodney finished his meal and set the tray aside. “Maybe it doesn’t. But John, you’re unwell, someone has tried to kill you. Someone we thought we could trust with ourselves, our safety, and our very lives. We’ve been betrayed in the worst way, and we’re scrambling to get our footing again. You need to rest and recover as soon as we figure out how to cure you and the others. We’ll survive. I’m planning on making more available to set up the alpha site, and I’m also going to see which ones have the ability to trade for tents and such, to make a temporary shelter there. I don’t like the thought of us all spread out around Pegasus. The Athosians are going to be told of the oncoming storm, and we’re going to see what they want to do: go with us to the alpha site, or to continue on to somewhere else. I know a few are still unhappy with us over the investigation into what the fuck was going on in making us the biggest fucking targets in this galaxy.”

John listened as Rodney ranted more about the problems that Atlantis and the people who called her home were facing. He wished again that he was able to just get up and help them. Rodney hadn’t been keeping him informed too much, not wanting him to worry. “You’re doing great,” he said as the door opened and Carson walked in.

“Maybe, I don’t know,” Rodney said, leaning forward and feeling defeated. “I know how to be in charge of other scientists, but the expedition, there is so much that I have to do, to think about, and I don’t have time for the other things that I need to do. I want someone else to take over, but I know it’s not going to happen.”

“We’re transitioning,” Carson said as he walked over, “You have to give it time to find that balance. It wasn’t like I wanted to be CMO when I came here. I was hoping not to even be in the medical bay and just tinker around with DNA and the fun stuff,” he snorted.

“And Weir made you CMO,” Rodney said, “I don’t know if we’ll be able to change it, you’re… one of the more qualified, as you also worked in an ER and trauma surgery before you decided to step away.”

“I know,” he sighed, “I know all that,” he said as he began to check Rodney’s glucose levels again.

“Why… step away?” John asked, a curious look on his face.

“I worked hard, getting where I was. Surgery, general, mostly, but I specialized in trauma, and worked in A&E in a few hospitals in the UK. I was… happy,” he nodded slowly, as he read the reading that came through, “Okay, your levels are coming up. I’m going to have the monitor on you, and you can go to your room. And John, I saw a lot in ERs and surgery, a lot of bad, among the good. I stepped away because I burned out badly. I couldn’t deal with what I had to do anymore and stepped back, went into research and got poached by the program to look at the pretties that is DNA,” he said. “I went into research just over five years ago. Starting to look at DNA-based treatments, doing little things. Next thing I know, I’m being strong-armed onto a flight to Antarctica with Dr Weir across from me, talking a million miles an hour, all excited about something. When I land, I’m given the research for the ATA gene and told to try and make it so anyone can have it.”

Rodney stared at him, “You… never had a choice about all this?”

Carson paused for a moment after he finished making sure that Rodney’s monitor was working before answering. “Not really,” he said, “I do love the work I was doing, but it wasn’t something I came by naturally. I do believe that the work I have done here could have been done by any of the others who worked on this.”

“I don’t think it could have,” Rodney said, frowning, “You have the gene yourself, and it’s strong, not as strong as John’s or O’Neill’s, but still strong. No one else had been able to get a murmur out of that chair. You were.”

“What do you mean?” Carson asked slowly, frowning as he stood before his friend.

“Those who worked on the ATA gene and were trying to identify it took years, and I do mean years, before they were able to find a trace of it. When you came aboard, it was like it was eager to show you that it was there. You didn’t just find out who had the gene naturally. You also found out those who were dormant, like me. You found a way to bring it forward, to activate it. And you did that within what, three years?” he asked.

“Around two, and then a year of testing before I hid it away and make it seem like it hadn’t been successful. I think only a few knew that I had it working. We had to be careful thanks to the Trust and NID,” Carson told them, “Only O’Neill and a couple of others knew that I was successful. He’s in charge of it back at the SGC.”

“I remember you saying,” Rodney said, “But as I said, I don’t think anyone else would have been able to do this,” he sighed, “Well it doesn’t matter, what’s done is done, and maybe when we get in touch with Earth, we can find someone to take the place of CMO if you don’t want it anymore.”

Carson smiled a little, “Thanks for the offer, but I’m getting back into the swing of things. We’ll see how I feel when it’s time, but I would like more medical staff, surgeons, nurses, and the like. We don’t really have enough staff to really deal with those here. Oh, and we’ll need an ob/gyn; we have a high number of female members of staff here, and no one to really take care of their health. I’ve read up on most of it, but not trained.”

Rodney laughed, “Yeah, I’ll see what we can do when it’s time to dial Earth.”

Carson nodded, “Right, Rodney, you’re free to go back to your room, the monitor will alert me should your levels drop again. I’m tempted to make you wear one while you’re on Atlantis all the time.”

“No,” Rodney was quick to try to dissuade Carson from the idea. It had been one he had bandied about while they were at the outpost.

John smiled at the two, knowing that Rodney and Carson were close and had been for a long time. Rodney and Radek were close, too, even though Rodney liked to pretend to never remember his name. It was a battle of wills for a moment before Carson huffed, and Rodney looked happy and triumphant at winning.

“Time for good little Majors to get some sleep,” Carson said, “And idiot scientists to go to bed.”

“You include yourself with that,” Rodney smirked.

“I need my bed, and I’ll admit that without shame,” he rolled his eyes, “Nina will be here tonight, to watch over you, John,” he said as he looked at him.

John gave a small nod, “Alright,” he said, eyes already closing as he finally lost the battle against sleep.

Rodney watched him for a moment, straightening the bedclothes. The two men left as Nina walked over, nodding at the two as she entered the room to watch John for the night.

“How is he really doing?” Rodney asked.

“He’s doing as well as expected,” Carson answered. “Rodney, I’m not going to lie, if this Iratus DNA doesn’t help, then there might not be anything else that I can do to help him, or the others. Without a cure, I would say he has around seven to eight days, instead of the three he should have.”

“So we have a bit longer for John, if the Iratus thing doesn’t work,” he sighed, feeling relieved at that.

“Yeah, and we’re still going through other things, just in case, but…” Carson stopped as one of his nurses headed over. “Luis?” he asked, “What is it?”

“Alan has passed. We tried, but there was just nothing we could do. Just like the others, his stats improved for a couple of hours before death,” he sighed, “Yuri’s stats are still going down, so we don’t know how much time she has left. Nathan is still on the decline as well. l. We suspect that he might have two days. As soon as their stats start improving, we’ll know that they have hours at least, twelve at the most.”

“Right,” Carson sighed, “I’ll sort that out. Why don’t you go and get some rest? You were supposed to be off shift a few hours ago.”

“Yes, Dr Beckett,” he nodded, “I wanted to be with… with Alan, he was a friend,” he stated quietly.

“I see,” Carson nodded slowly, “Take the next day for yourself, make an appointment with Heightmeyer or one of her team as well.”

“I… will,” he added as he then left.

“Three,” Carson said softly, “Three left.” He shook his head as he went to his office to deal with the paperwork that was now needed. He’d have to go and see Alan’s body. The man had held on for an extra day.

Rodney watched him go and then followed, “Maybe you should take the same advice, go and get some rest. I know you’ve been working hard as well. You’ve been sleeping in your office,” he added, gesturing to the couch that had a blanket resting on it.

“I-”

“Carson, we both need to be on top of our A game with what’s coming. You with John, Yuri, and Nathan, and me with everything else. We need sleep, we have Dr James and the others preparing for a mission tomorrow to get one of the bugs, we h-” he yawned, “We need sleep, and good sleep at that. So bed, for us both.”

“Yeah,” he sighed, rubbing at his face, “Okay, I’ll just do a basic check, and then head to bed. You get going,” he told him, as he got up, shutting everything down.

“Make sure you do,” Rodney told him as they left the office. Rodney headed for his quarters, and Carson went to do the death notice for Alan.

Chapter Twenty-One

Rodney woke the next morning to Carson reminding him to make sure he ate breakfast. He’d done so, talking with a few of the others in the mess hall, before heading to the control room and his little office. He’d messaged Captain Bates to meet him in the control room with Dr Connor James and Dr Dalton Cooper. Both of them were xenobiologists and were aware of the dangers that they could encounter. He sat there as five people entered his office.

“Right,” he said, “We’re to capture an Iratus bug. We need it to figure out a cure,” he muttered, scowling at the thought of one of those bugs being in the city. “Dr Beckett has said that we need to make sure it’s in the container, stunned if possible, if not, make sure it’s in there and locked in. We don’t know how it’s going to react to the gate, or going through it. I need it contained, and in another container,” Rodney carried on, “This is going to be dangerous.”

“Dr McKay,” Connor began, “We know, and we all understand the dangers that we’re going to be facing. But Major Sheppard, Yuri, and Nathan’s lives are on the line; we need to do this, and we need to do it today. If we leave it any longer, we’re going to lose Yuri and Nathan.”

“I know,” Rodney said, “We stand to lose three more people. And I’d rather we didn’t lose anyone else.” he stated, “The mission has a go ahead. If any Wraith show up, you come back, you don’t stay out there,” he warned, “I will not lose anyone else.”

“We understand, Sir,” Bates said as he nodded, “The team is ready.”

Rodney got up as they headed to the control room, and the team headed down to the gate. Peter was at the controls as he dialed the planet. Bates and the others turned and nodded before heading through. Soon enough, the gate shut down. He stood there for a few moments before heading to his office. He went over the latest report that was sent to him by Dr Patel. Bringing up a new document, he began to write down what was needed for them to be able to survive for the four days they would be off Atlantis, and what they could salvage before they headed to the alpha site.

“Dr McKay,” came Peter Grodin’s voice as the man walked into his office.

“Meeting?” he asked.

“Yes, Chuck is at the controls now. He’ll call as soon as we have word from the capture team,” he stated. “We also have Lt Ford ready to take you to the mainland to explain what is going on as well.”

“Right, I need to do that as well. Have Teyla meet me before that, so I can brief her on what’s going on. Tomorrow, we should-”

“Dr McKay, we do have a little time before this becomes a serious threat. Plan it, plot it, and delegate it. It’s what we’re here for. You have a good team behind you…” Peter paused, “Well, mostly a good team.”

Rodney snorted, “Yes, I know,” he nodded a few times, “Alright, I’ve started making a few lists. Things that we need, and where we can get them from. What we need to do to save as much of the crops that have been planted, and the seedlings that have just started sprouting. Botany will have to-”

“Dr McKay,” he began again, “Stop, you’ve done some of the work, we’ll carry on with the logistics of it all. I do have a degree in logistics,” he added.

Rodney sighed and got up, “Yes, yes, I’ll do that, and thank you,” he said, feeling off. There was just so much he felt like he had to do, and there wasn’t enough time for it all. He didn’t just want to let anyone take over.

“Good, now, let’s head to Dr Zelenka’s lab, we’re holding the meeting there. He and Dr. Patel have been going over the data so far for the upcoming storm,” Peter said as Rodney followed him out of the office.

Rodney nodded at those in the control room. He knew that a number of them were puzzled as to why a mission was going on. Rumours were starting to spread that something had happened to John, and that was why he wasn’t on Atlantis. One of the main rumors was that he had been kidnapped, and that was why Captain Bates had been promoted to take command and to lead the search and rescue mission. Rodney was contemplating telling the city the truth about John’s situation. He could see that some of the military personnel were starting to chafe and struggle without him there, without knowing the truth and how they really needed to come together. Bates had told him that it might be time the day before, and he was beginning to see the point.

Rodney walked into the room to find most of the science staff there, waiting for him. “Sorry for taking so long, as you know, for Major Sheppard’s condition, along with Yuri and Nathan, we’re trying to find a cure, and we might have something. For now,” he said as he walked over to a chair and sat down, “We have another matter to consider,” he stated. “Dr Patel?” he asked as he looked at the slightly older man.

“During the routine scan of the planet that Major Sheppard asked us to do, from a jumper, we found the beginnings of a storm. Within two days, it had grown, and another storm was forming nearby. The two are on a collision course with each other. We approached Dr Kusanagi about this, and she was able to search the ancient database about it. This storm happens every twenty to thirty years. It’s large, and it will in the end cover between 20% and 25% of the planet when it’s finished growing. The record was almost 40% that happened two centuries ago,” he said as he brought up the data that Miko had been able to find in the database.

“How were you able to get data from things that happened between the Ancients leaving and now?” someone asked.

“While they were gone, it didn’t mean that Atlantis still wasn’t recording all the data it was getting from the small outposts around the mainland. It took readings on a lot of things. I’ve got my team going through it. We should actually be able to start predicting the weather with more accuracy because of it all. There’s so much data to go through, but I think we should concentrate on the more recent data at the moment,” Miko answered, looking at Rodney. “I’ve been working with Dr Patel during the early hours, and we noticed that when this happens, there is a high growth period for the flora on the mainland. This storm renews the soil, it’s rich with nutrients and more. I wish we could get Botany to analyze the soil even more before and after the storm hits. There is so much about this world we don’t know, but I think we need to start really paying attention to it. Especially with us wanting to grow crops and more on the mainland. We’ll need to find a way to protect them for when the next storm hits.”

Rodney nodded, “For now, that’s going to have to wait,” he said, “Though, do get the soil samples,” he added before looking at them, “While this is all well and good to know that it’s coming, and to consider for future events. One of the main problems we’re having at the moment is the fact that Atlantis might not survive the storm. She’s delicate at the moment, and there are no shields or anything that can protect her from the storm and what it will do to her and the ocean around us. One big wave and Atlantis will be sinking once more, but without the hope of being able to raise her again. That is what this meeting is about. I need to get everyone working on something that will help bring up the shield to protect Atlantis. Without her, we might as well be sitting ducks in the coming storm.”

“Not only that, but this is the only gate that will be able to contact Earth,” Radek added as he looked at them all, “Without Atlantis, there will be no way that we can contact Earth again.”

“So, start thinking about how we’re going to protect Atlantis and keep her safe from this storm,” Rodney said, “Ideas are welcome.”

“How are we going to survive this?” Dr Patel asked, “We’re going to sink as mu-”

“I’ve got plans in place that will start an evacuation. I’ll be dealing with that. We have the alpha site starting to come together; we need more hands over there to get to a point where we can use it as a base, and live there, should the worst happen here,” Rodney said with a wave of his hand.

“So now we need to focus on finding a way to keep Atlantis safe,” Radek said as he got a nod from Rodney.

“We have two weeks, two weeks to figure something out,” Rodney told them, bringing them back on task. “The others will take care of the evacuation. I need you all to help think of something we can do to protect Atlantis. I’ll be working with you as much as I can, but we have a lot of other things going on that are taking up my attention as well.”

“We will,” Radek said as he began to look around those who had gathered. “Ideas, just say them, and we’ll say if it might work or not.”

Rodney and Radek listened to them as they called out ideas on how to get a shield working or a way to save Atlantis. There were some good ones that they would look into, and some that made Rodney roll his eyes and wonder at the competence of some of the best and brightest that he was told he had on his team.

“Dr McKay, Miss Emmagan will be waiting for your meeting soon,” Peter said as he looked over at Rodney.

“Yeah,” he sighed as he got up, “Some of these ideas are worth something, Radek, go over them and write up a small proposal on how they could be used, and what could be done, and more,” he added as he looked at his friend.

“I will,” he nodded. He looked at the people around the room and said, “Let’s plot and plan.”

Rodney gave a small snort as he left the room, Peter walking with him. “How are you doing?” Rodney asked quietly.

“I’m doing alright at the moment, Dr Beckett is doing what he can, of course. And we’ve been looking at anything that can help that we’ve found on other planets as an alternative treatment. But I-”

“Don’t want to hold on to hope,” Rodney guessed, looking at him.

“Yes,” he nodded slightly.

“Sometimes,” Rodney began slowly, “Hope is what helps the most. Don’t knock it, and don’t tell anyone I told you this,” he added, giving him a small glare.

Peter laughed, “I’ll try,” he said, “But I just…” he sighed, trailing off.

“I do understand, it’s hard to have that hope when everything feels like it’s working against you,” he told him, “But, try, and if you need a reminder, don’t forget that you have friends here that care about you. You’re a good man, even if you are a soft science,” he added, pulling a face.

Peter laughed even more, “Soft science, I know, not something you like, but I do have a Master’s in Math,” he reminded him.

Rodney rolled his eyes. “Not good enough,” he muttered, wrinkling his nose.

Peter smiled as they headed through the control room. Teyla was waiting for them near the office. She smiled kindly at the two.

“Dr Grodin, Rodney,” she said, bowing her head in greeting at the two of them.

“I shall leave you both to your meeting,” Peter said, giving Teyla a nod.

Rodney walked into the office. “Thanks for meeting with me, Teyla. I know things are a little hard at the moment,” he added as he sat down.

Teyla followed him inside, the door closing behind her. “It has been, yes. With Dr Weir’s passing as well, I have had a hard time seeing why she would do what she did. She seemed like such a strong and capable leader.”

“She did, for the most part. She was letting a lot slide, and John was the one who was picking up the slack for what she wasn’t doing. He was in charge of all missions, those searching for information about the Ancients, about the Wraith. Searching for a ZPM, as well as those that were for trade. He organized it all, wrote lists and everything for what had and hadn’t been found and where and what,” he sighed, shaking his head. “I’ve been looking over Weir’s files and what she’d been doing with her time, and all I’ve found is her obsession with the Ancients and their ability to ascend. She was focusing on that, and to gain total control of the city.”

“I see, she-” she stopped, frowning, “She did ask me several times about the ancestors, and what stories I could tell her of them. I believed she was curious about our oral history.”

“Hmm,” Rodney hummed, “Yes, it does come across as that. She’s visited a couple of worlds during our time here, but usually takes only one or two people with her. One has died, and the other is an incompetent idiot. Why she wanted him on this mission, I don’t know. But she never took military with her. Anyway,” he said, “This isn’t the reason why I called you here. I want to go with you to the mainland. There is a storm approaching, and it is projected to reach us in just over two weeks. It’s going to, in the end, cover most of, if not all of, the mainland. We need to start thinking about the evacuation of the mainland, to try and save as much of the crops as we can in that time. I’ve made some tentative plans, but one of the main issues is that the alpha site isn’t ready yet, and it might not be able to handle all of the city and mainland inhabitants. I need to speak with Halling and the elders and see if they will be able to help us get the alpha site ready and maybe even plant crops there. The site is suitable for it. And second place, where we can farm, would be a good idea,” he said as he grabbed the report that John had gotten done on the planet that had been decided on to use for the alpha site. He’d had the same thing done for each of them that he had looked at and thought might be a good choice.

“A storm?” Teyla frowned, “My people will be able to handle such a thing.”

“Not this one, this is one of the largest storms that will be seen on this planet. They happen every twenty to thirty years. I know most storms are easy to handle; we’ve had a couple of small storms since we’ve arrived, but this will be more powerful and dangerous than them combined by a large factor,” he told her. “Nothing is going to be able to withstand it. There is a high chance that Atlantis won’t be able to either. Which is why there is going to be a massive evacuation plan in place.” He then began to lay out what he wanted done during the next two weeks.

Teyla listened, “Yes, we do need to speak with the elders and with Halling. We are nomadic, and this is the first time we’ve ever been able to remain in one place. We were starting to build a true settlement.”

“I know, and I wish we didn’t have to do this, but without shielding in place, there is little that we can do to protect either Atlantis or the settlement. We have to leave, for everyone’s safety. I don’t like it either, the thought of losing Atlantis, and what we’ve started to build here hurts, in a way I wasn’t sure I ever could. This city, this planet, is quickly becoming a home to us, and we don’t want to lose it either. None of us do. We’re not just building an expedition, we’re building a colony, a home for all of us, Athosian and Tau’ri, and anyone else that we might be able to help keep safe from the Wraith. I know that John wanted to bring several others here, to keep them safe.”

“Yes, I remember him wishing to bring the children and Keras from their world here, to make sure that the suicide pact that they had would be stopped. He has wanted to go back there a few times to make sure they are doing well,” she nodded. She had agreed with John about wanting to bring Keras and the children to Atlantis, but she hadn’t been able to find out why it had been denied.

“Weir stopped him the last time he asked,” Rodney said, “If we get through this, and so does Atlantis, maybe when we’re more stable, we can start bringing more people into the fold.”

“It will be helpful to have more join us. There is much to do on the mainland,” she said. “We will speak with Halling and the elders about the evacuation,” she added.

“I want to wait until one of the teams I’ve sent out comes back. We have an idea on something that might help John and the others,” he stated, “As soon as they come back, I’ll see about heading out to the settlement with you. Lt Ford is on standby for this.”

“Then I shall await your call to go,” she said, “I’ll go and visit John for a short while.”

“Good,” he smiled a little as he got up. She did the same, and he saw her out of his office.

Peter and Chuck were both at the main control panel, speaking quietly. “Everything alright?” he asked as he stood behind the two.

“We’ve just got word from the alpha site that they have one building up, and most of two more done,” Chuck was the one to answer, “We were thinking about sending another team out there to help, we have a list of volunteers that are willing to go. I know that two of them actually worked construction for a while as well.”

“Send them, we need the alpha site up and running ASAP,” Rodney stated. “There will be an announcement tomorrow afternoon on a serious situation heading our way. One that could be very problematic,” he added.

“I’ll bring in the two teams we have on standby for the alpha site,” Peter said as he called them up.

“Good,” Rodney nodded and sighed. He hated being in charge of everything. All he wanted was to go back to his lab and get some more research and testing done on some of the things that they had found during the continued search of Atlantis.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Rodney moved between the control room and his office several times during the day. Getting reports periodically from Radek about the ideas being floated, and complaints about some of the more idiotic suggestions that were now coming in. Thanks, in part, to Rodney not being there to scare them all. It had been hours since Bates, James, and the others had gone to find a bug, but, as yet, they’d no word. Two more teams had gone through the gate for the alpha site, and Rodney was getting a mission ready for them to go to one of the trading worlds that dealt with cloth, or rather, weather-proof cloth that they could make into tents for the evacuation.

Rodney walked into the control room. Carson had sent someone to him with lunch, and even told him that he’d have dinner sent his way as well. Rodney had been talked into wearing the monitor for the next two days. And he knew it was more of a punishment from Carson for not taking care of himself. A reminder to do better and keep on top of his health. “Any news on the recovery team?” he asked Peter as he stood behind him.

Peter turned around, “We received a small message from them, their hunt is going well, but they are some ways from the gate. They should be back within two hours,” he added, “I will make sure that you’re here for their ar-” he stopped when he saw three of the civilians rushing into the control room.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell people that Sheppard is dying?” came the furious yell of Peter Kavanagh.

Rodney stood there as Ford stepped beside him. “This isn’t something that should be di-”

“Yes, it is!” another of the ones that had come with Kavanagh shouted. “We need to know what’s going on. You got rid of Weir, and now Major Sheppard, are you just taking over McKay?!” she accused him.

“Dr McKay is doing everything he can to make sure that Major Sheppard is fine. He’s working hard in-” Peter began to defend the man.

“Shut up, Grodin,” Kavanagh snapped at him.

“It should be you who is shutting up Kavanagh. Weir may have put up with your idiotic ass, but I’m not,” Rodney said, “The reason that no one knew about Major Sheppard’s illness is that he didn’t need the stress of worrying about Atlantis.”

“Don’t you mean the virus?” Kavanagh sneered, “I’m not dumb.”

Rodney frowned, “No one should know that apart from a select few,” he said, eyes narrowed.

“As I said, I’m not dumb,” he muttered, arms folding across his chest.

“You are,” Rodney rolled his eyes. “If you weren’t, you would have come to me in private about this instead of blurting it out for all to hear.”

“So it’s true?” Chuck asked, “Major Sheppard is ill?”

“He is,” Rodney stated, “At the moment, he’s ill with something very serious. We’re searching for a cure at the moment.”

“He has two days left,” Kavanagh said, “Two days and he’ll be dead.”

“That is private medical information, and he doesn’t have two days; he has longer,” Rodney said, as Kavanagh rolled his eyes and snorted. “For now, we have things handled, and we have other pressing concerns as well.”

“Yeah, like what? You taking over the place and sto-” he began again.

“What have I done?” Rodney asked him, “I would seriously like to know what pissed in your breakfast for you to come up here and throw around baseless accusations? I’m doing all I can to make the best of a bad situation. Weir went off the rails and was so consumed by one thing and the power she had as head of the expedition that she never took into account all the people she was letting down, all the people she was going to get killed with her actions. That is why we asked her to step down. Instead of doing it gradually, she decided to attack and try to kill myself and several others. She was killed to stop her from murdering more than she already has.”

“How many did she kill?” Chuck asked him, glancing up from where he was sitting next to Grodin.

“Seven that we know of, but there may be a few more that we don’t know about,” Rodney answered him, “We wished to question her, but she took a different way out. Now we’re trying to repair the damage she has done to things. Mainly… mainly the fact that we’re not stable, we need to trade to keep afloat, we need to start growing crops and cultivating the land and livestock if we’re to continue. John was doing the heavy lifting when it came to keeping up not only safe, but also fed. I’m just continuing what he started, and I will continue to do so until he’s well enough to take over again.”

“You know he’s going to make you keep the leadership role, don’t you?” Ford said with a little snort.

Rodney groaned, “I’m going to talk him out of it. There should be someone else who would be more suited to it than me.”

Peter Grodin smiled and shook his head, “I think you’re doing well, if you learn how to delegate properly,” he said.

“I’ll do what I can,” he wrinkled his nose and then sighed, “We have bigger things to worry about at the moment. There will be a city-wide announcement tomorrow. I have to head to the mainland for a few hours today, soon,” he added as he looked at Ford.

“We’ll get you there nice and safe,” Ford told him.

“I know you will,” he nodded. “Now-” he began, only for the gate to activate.

Chuck turned to the screen, “It’s the recovery team!” he called out.

Rodney turned and watched as the gate shimmered, and after a quick confirmation of the correct codes, the iris was deactivated. Moments later, Bates and his team walked through the gate. Dr James was holding a solid box, and a smirk on his face as he spotted Rodney and nodded.

“Recovery team,” Rodney said as he walked toward the stairs, “I take it you were successful?” he asked.

“We were,” Connor nodded, “I’m going to get this down to the lab and talk with Dr Beckett.”

“Alright, all of you to see Dr Beckett first, I want you all checked out, and then a mission report by the end of the day. Dr James, I understand that you and Dr Cooper may take a little longer, as what you now have to do may take up some more time. So I expect it within forty-eight hours,” he warned them.

“We’ll get it to you,” Dalton Cooper said with a nod of his head before the team headed to the infirmary for a post-mission checkup.

“Good,” he said, some of the dread he was feeling lessened, but didn’t go away. There were still no guarantees that it would work. There was hope at least. “Kavanagh, go back to the lab, you still owe me four reports on the projects you’re supposed to be working on. You have twenty-four hours to get all of them to me, or you’re off the project as leader, and I’ll put someone in charge who will actually do the work, and not mess around,” he then said as he turned to face the man who was sneering at him.

“You don’t have the authority to ask me for them. You’ll get them when I’m good and ready,” he snapped at him.

“If you want to complain about me not having the authority, then fine, you’re off the project, and you can do all the scut work instead, after your punishment. You’re either part of the team or a problem that I have to deal with. And since you want to be a problem, you can do so elsewhere. Ford, have someone from security collect him and confine him to quarters for the next two days. His meals are three times a day, and they are to be delivered at set times,” he said as he finished giving instructions on what should be done.

“You can’t do that!” Kavanagh yelled out.

“In the charter,” Rodney said as he turned around to face him fully, “If someone is causing problems and being a dick,” he said, “Though in your case, you can’t seem to help it. But in this case, since you’re failing to do your job, I can actually have you punished. Weir might have let you get away with things. But I won’t. You’ve been causing trouble almost constantly since the moment we stepped foot on Atlantis. Normally, back on Earth, I would just transfer you out. Here, I can confine someone for a maximum of a week and reassign them to anything. So now you have the jobs that no one else wants to do.”

“You’ll regret this,” Kavanagh hissed as he walked off. The two that had come with him remained behind.

“Why did he just sound like a stupid, idiotic villain from one of those films John enjoys?” Rodney huffed before turning to the two remaining. “Dr Simpson, Dr Lune, as of this moment, you’re going to be off the projects you were given. You’ll report to Dr Zelenka for your new assignments. Until I see fit that you’re actually going to do the tasks you’re assigned to instead of following that imbecile like a couple of sycophants.”

Ford looked at Rodney, “I had security grab Kavanagh and take him to his quarters. They said that we should look at the security footage,” he grinned as he looked at Rodney.

Rodney looked at Peter and Chuck, and the two shared a look before Peter brought up the security footage from outside the gate room. They watched as Kavanagh was confronted by security. Picked up and tossed over a shoulder as his legs and arms were bound when he tried to fight them. “Well, amusing,” Rodney smirked.

“I thought so as well, when they told me,” Ford grinned. “Right, shall we talk with Teyla about heading to the mainland?” he asked.

“Yes, let’s get that over with. I want to sleep a-” Rodney began as he started to head out of the control room, to the jumper bay.

“Message from Dr Beckett for you, Dr McKay,” Chuck told him, “he said you better have dinner, and that the lunch you were given wasn’t eaten fully.”

“That little bastard,” Rodney huffed, “He-”

“Has spies everywhere,” Ford said, “I told him you didn’t eat it all when it was brought to you.”

“I hate you, I’m fine to go. We can eat at the settlement,” he said, as he looked back at Ford, “Tell Carson I’ll be doing that, and I am taking the monitor off, since I’m leaving the city.”

“You’ll do no such thing, Rodney,” Carson said as he walked into the control room. “Here, eat that at least. I’ve been noticing that your levels have been dropping; they drop any lower, and I’m confining you to the infirmary,” he warned him, handing over an energy bar that Rodney tended to keep on him, “I told you that I would if they go low again.”

“I know, and I’m trying,” Rodney hissed at him, not liking that Carson was doing this in front of everyone.

“Good, make sure you take these two with you. Keep an eye on your levels; they take a dive, eat one at least. If it doesn’t bring it up after fifteen, eat a second,” he told him.

Rodney couldn’t help but roll his eyes at that. “Carson, I’ve been dealing with my condition since I was a child, I know-”

“Yeah, you do, and then you get wrapped up in your work, and all knowledge of it goes out that head of yours, Rodney,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Now, I have to go, Teyla is waiting,” Rodney said as soon as he finished eating the energy bar.

“She’s already been told and is waiting at the jumper bay for us,” Ford told him, “Sgt Stackhouse will be our pilot for the flight,” he added.

“Right, I’ll be back later on, and Carson, inform John,” he said, as he walked past the doctor, adding, “If he’s up for it,” he whispered.

“I will,” Carson nodded as Rodney left with Ford.

 

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