Casting Stones

_RATING: PG-13 for language._

_SEASON: First season after Sanctuary but probably before Before I Sleep_

_MAJOR CHARACTERS: Kavanaugh POV with plenty of Sheppard and McKay interaction and a bit of Ford, Teyla, Beckett and Weir._

_CATEGORY: Action/humor/angst_

_SUMMARY: Kavahaugh POV as he joins the team on what is supposed to be a simple mission. Of course everything goes down hill from there. One-shot (complete)_

_SPOILERS: The Defiant One, 38 Minutes, Hot Zone, 48 Hours (SG1) and I think that's it._

_FEEDBACK: Yes, please. I thrive on it and so do the bunnies._

_DISCLAIMER: I don't own SGA, SG1, Siegfried and Roy, the Olsen twins, The Sound of Music, Brady Bunch, The Omega Man, Scooby Doo, Justice League, Love Boat, Dirty Harry, A Christmas Carol, DoD, DOE, NSF, Boy Scouts, Scouts Canda, Oh, Canda, The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Club Paradise, Prozac, or Mensa. Although I have seen all the movies and television shows, drive by the establishments on a regular basis, worked for the government agencies, and should probably be taking the Prozac- especially after attempting to write Kavanaugh's POV._

_NOTES: Okay, several of you have caught onto my little plan. This is another of my "outside looking In" POV stories that follows the McKay/Sheppard friendship as established in my story "Tokens." It is a follow up to "Sentry Duty" and "Games". Although it is technically a one-shot, you should go back and read the others if you haven't as some of the jokes will make more sense. Who knows, you might even enjoy yourself!_

_ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This story has not been Beta-ed, mainly because I don't have one. So, all mistakes are mine. Also, I really thought Weir or Beckett would be next, but this little bunny just wouldn't be ignored, especially after rewatching the SG1 episodes with McKay. Let's face it, on those episodes he was the guy we all loved to hate, just like Kavanaugh is on SGA. For all those wanting more, the bunnies are there, just need a little more care and feeding. Reviews always help! Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the other stories- this is all your fault. And McKays._

**Casting Stones**

**by Liketheriver**

Somehow, this is all McKay's fault. I haven't had a chance to figure out exactly how, but I have no doubt that somehow this will all point back to him in the long run. Either him or Sheppard, that over pompous fly boy, one of them will definitely take the fall for this one. Better yet, maybe it is both of their faults. Oh, now that is a happy, happy thought and very believable to boot. Everyone knows that either one of them is a trouble magnet, but put the two of them together and it becomes down right catastrophic. They are the Siegfried and Roy of chaos, the Olsen twins of doom. It is like some strange feng shui nightmare when the two of them enter a room together, you can almost feel the planets realigning into an apocalyptic blueprint for destruction.

This mission has just proven my point. A simple datatrieve has resulted in Sheppard, Teyla, and Ford trapped behind a several tons of rock while McKay is trying to find his way back to the gate for help. Meanwhile, I am stuck working my way through the myriad of files stored in the archaic database, searching the catacombs of electronic library trying to find a schematic that might provide entry to the actual watery catacombs that are currently trapping three quarters of the vonTrapp-like family known as Team 1. The plus side is that I am finally alone. So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu! The down side is that I am stuck here in the first place. I sniffle, wiping gingerly at my tender nose.

How I got dragged into their latest quagmire of devastation, I will never fully understand. One moment I was working peacefully in my lab, the next the Angel of Death in the form of Dr. Elizabeth Weir was attempting to send me to an early grave.

"Dr. Kavanaugh," she called from the doorway. Her smile was tight, forced, mirroring my own. "I would like you to accompany Major Sheppard's team back to P9X467."

The field? She wanted me to go out into the field, like some graduate assistant lackey with nothing better to do than suck up to his thesis advisor? Been there, lived that. That's why I got the damned get out of fieldwork free card known as a PhD. "Dr. Weir, as much as I would love to get out into the field, I really must continue my work on the nanovirus…"

"That is precisely why you should accompany the team," she cut me off with that polite, cheerful, dictatorial tone of hers, like Lenin on Prozac. "Their preliminary reconnaissance identified a deserted city. Further evaluation of some of the records from there has indicated that nanite research was being conducted at the time the city was abandoned. Since you are our resident expert in the field of nanotechnology, I thought you should accompany them back to the planet. This could be a major lead in determining who was behind the virus we found."

I groaned inwardly. I was just doing my job, contributing my expertise to the expedition in an area that I am by far the most qualified member. After all, no one else has studied under the preeminent researcher in the field of nanotechnology. It had been my duty to point that out to Dr. Weir, an obligation, really, to ensure that McKay didn't get his overzealous fingers stuck too deep in the follow-up research that would need to be completed on the nanovirus. And now, seeing as I had established my expertise, it would be almost impossible for me to back out of following through with the research on some God-forsaken planet without loosing face. From the small smile she wore, I could tell Dr. Weir knew it, as well. The woman is an expert manipulator. I'm not sure if this is a skill she picked up during her days as a negotiator or if it just came naturally, some sort of in-born Pavlovian chromosomal defect.

I forced myself to be my perkiest. Little Mary Sunshine here had nothing on me. "Oh, well, in that case, of course I will be pleased to take Dr. McKay's place…"

"No, Dr. McKay will maintain his position on the team." I froze my smile in place as she continued. "You will be going as a sort of adjunct member to the team."

Adjunct? What the hell was that supposed to mean? That if I was fifteen minutes late, the team could leave without me, but they would have to wait the entire hour for McKay? I realized I was still grinning like a frostbitten flight attendant. "Of course," I told her pointedly, "I'm sure Dr. McKay will be able to assist me in my research on the planet."

I could tell by the slight rise in her eyebrow that she had not missed the intent of that last statement. But what else could I do? After all, I am the resident expert. "Yes, well, it is always helpful to have my lead scientific advisor present during trips like this."

I fought to maintain the smile and willed my eye not to start ticking, not trusting myself to speak at the moment. Ever since our run in during the malfunctioning pod bay incident, I had decided to try a new tactic with her. The frontal assault had failed; I would try the grandmotherly advice approach instead. If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all. I didn't say anything at all. "I'll see you at the briefing at three," she said and exited the lab.

I let my smile dissolve into a sneer and shuddered at the idea of being trapped with just the Atlantean equivalent of the Brady Bunch to keep me company. Just the thought of that little gold star clique of teacher's pets made me want to wretch my latest cardboard mess hall meal all in my Government Issue trashcan. I lowered my head to the work bench and banged it a few times, asking myself for the four millionth time why I ever came on this damned expedition in the first place.

Of course I knew the answer. Just look at that Government Issue trashcan, it may be Government Issue, but it was still nicer than any University Issue trashcan I ever had. As a matter of fact, I think I paid for the last trashcan I had when I was still affiliated with academia. Lets face it, as much as I hate the bureaucratic, respect-the-rank-if-not-the-man, mentality of the military, the number of trailing zeros you find on a DoD research check is typically twice that you would find on a National Science Foundation grant. Theoretical astrophysics isn't a cheap endeavor. It's not like you buy a few test tubes, a couple of beakers, a nice laptop and go to work. The power bills alone are greater than the GNP of several third world countries. I love my science, above anything and anyone, and evidently I'm willing to sell my soul to practice it. If a man is willing to do that, do you really think he cares if he steps on a few toes to get what he wants and the respect he deserves? Let me tell you, I don't.

"McKay?" The voice of Major John Sheppard breaks across my radio earpiece and into my thoughts.

"I'm here," the slightly winded voice of Dr. Rodney McKay answers back across the same frequency. "I was, uh…just trying to orient myself."

"There was a path, McKay, it was tiled," the Major states with apprehension. "It's not like you should need a compass to follow a paved road."

"Well, I, uh, kind of had to leave the path."

"Why?"

"Let's just say something came up and leave it at that, shall we."

There is a moment of silence and then, "You had to take a leak, didn't you?" When he receives no answer, he continues. "You know there is no one else on this planet. You could have pissed in the middle of the damned road."

"Can I help it if I have a problem with stage fright?"

"With some therapy and the proper medication, probably."

I almost snicker thinking about Rodney McKay, boy genius, hopelessly lost in the woods because he had to pee. Almost, because the situation is a little too serious right now, a little too life or death for my taste. However, you would never know it from the ridiculous conversation that is taking place across the radio.

"I don't suppose you were ever a Boy Scout, where you?" the Major asks and I can hear the slight shiver in his voice, a reminder of the conditions he is sitting in.

"You mean Scouts Canada? They were a little too paramilitary for my taste. I was always afraid that they would want me to turn my parents in if they didn't sing 'Oh, Canada!' every morning, or something. Not that that wasn't tempting at times. The turning in of my parents, I mean, not the singing. Besides, I don't have to have a scouting pedigree to know that moss grows on the south side of trees and all that."

"North side."

"What?"

"Moss grows on the north side of trees."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Well, it really doesn't matter because I have no idea what direction the gate is located relative to north anyway."

"McKay!"

"Oh look, there's the road."

Honestly, I secretly hope that Rodney doesn't make it back to the gate. Not that I wish any ill will on him or the others. Okay, sometimes I do, but it is more than that. This whole rescue mission is folly and potentially endangers more expedition personnel. I've told McKay my theories about the cause of the cave in, but he has dismissed them, put his little friends before the greater good of the expedition. He's dangerous that way. And the conviction the rest of his team and a certain expedition leader has in him is just as perilous.

I had tried not to look too bored during the mission briefing. McKay kept rambling on about the layout of the city and how they had located what appeared to be a central database in one of the innermost buildings, what they had assumed was a government administrative building. No one knew why the city was abandoned, which was a little disconcerting seeing as there was evidence that they had been experimenting with nanites. I mean we had all seen what had happened when that virus got loose on Atlantis. As usual, McKay quickly dismissed my legitimate concerns.

"We have no reason to believe there was a plague that wiped out the inhabitants. There are no bodies lying around and everything was left in a very orderly fashion. It's as if everyone turned off the water heater, stopped the paper service, and went on vacation, then simply never came back."

"Still," I begin, "that doesn't mean they didn't leave some sort of booby trap to infect anyone who came into the city later."

"Beckett checked us out," Sheppard broke in. "Clean bills of health all around. Don't worry, Doctor, you won't be going anywhere we haven't already been."

I nodded my head in concession, taking a small comfort in the fact that they were willingly returning to the planet themselves. They may be idiots but I didn't think they were suicidal, at least not at that time.

After completing the briefing, gathering our gear, and rendezvousing in the control room, Major Sheppard gave me his 'me Tarzan, you puny scientist', look both ways before crossing the galaxy safety speech. To summarize, if you don't know what it is, shoot it. If you do know what it is, say hello, and then shoot it. The standard military answer to any situation that falls outside the realm of recognized protocol.

We exited the wormhole into rain, walked the entire two miles to the city in rain, and traversed the abandoned walkways throughout the city in rain. I have to admit that walking through a city of what appears to have been a very technologically advanced race and not seeing anyone was kind of creepy. It had a very 'Omega Man' feel to it, and I kept looking over my shoulder expecting to see Charlton Heston ducking around a corner.

We entered the building, dripping wet but finally leaving the rain behind. McKay activated the power and the room glowed to life. He then pointed out the interface to the former inhabitant's equivalent of a computer system and I went to work setting up my equipment. Major Sheppard, Teyla, and Lt. Ford scoped out the room although in a rather casual manner. McKay hovered. Oh, he pointed out the obvious to me several times, then when I made it perfectly clear that I had everything under control, he just hovered like a gnat on the edge of my peripheral vision- one that you can swat at over and over and it just never seems to go away.

After a while, it became obvious that the Major and the rest of the Scooby crew were getting bored, seeing as there was nothing handy to shoot and all. "McKay, we're going to check out the lower levels of this building."

The good doctor actually looked torn, as if he couldn't decide if he wanted to stay with me or join his playmates on a good old fashioned treasure hunt. Hoping he would choose the later, I offered, "Don't worry about me, Rodney, I don't need a babysitter."

He shook his head. "No one goes solo. I don't want a repeat of…" he stopped, although I knew exactly what he was going to say. "We stay in teams, that's just the way it works."

I turned back to my laptop and stated under my breath, "Fat lot of good it did Abrams and Gall."

He heard it, as I knew he would, and I could see him pale slightly as his mouth tightened. Lt. Ford and Teyla both opened their mouths to speak. But before they could say anything, Major Sheppard stepped in. "I suggest you watch yourself or you might need to see a proctologist to continue operating that laptop of yours."

I turned to him with a wink. "Don't worry, Major, I'll do my best not to upset your boyfriend anymore."

The Major took a step forward and for a second I was afraid that I may have crossed over the line. Not that a broken nose wouldn't be worth seeing what sort of cooling off period he would be given once we got back to Atlantis. "Now, I wouldn't want to have to report any physical threats in my debrief," I told him with an innocent smile.

He took another step forward and Lt. Ford placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Please, do it." He gave me his best threatening glare; one he probably practices in the mirror every night. "I've been trying to figure out how to work that shitty little comment you made into my own report."

Behind me I could hear McKay speaking to himself. "I knew it. I knew it was him spreading those McShep rumors. We could have had Julie McCoy arranging shuffle board on the north pier, but no, we had to bring him instead."

Julie McCoy? Wasn't she the activities director on the 'Love Boat?' The man was obviously loosing it, although he was right about the rumors.

Sheppard yanked out of Ford's grasp and walked over to where McKay stood rambling to himself, glaring daggers at me the entire way. He spoke quietly. "I could leave Ford here, if you want."

Rodney looked back at Ford, obviously considering the option, but shook his head. "He'll be more use with you."

Sheppard nodded reluctantly. "Behave," he told him, "I don't want to come back and find any blunt trauma wounds." He then turned to leave, the others falling into formation behind him. He called back over his shoulder, "Just go straight for your sidearm if he gives you anymore trouble," then they were gone around a corner.

I spent the next forty-five minutes accessing the database, looking for any files that might provide more information about the nanotechnology research. Several mentioned the studies, but few went into any real detail. McKay maintained his gnat-like behavior and his silence, at least with me. However, he seemed to talk incessantly with the others over the radio. I swear they are like teenage girls that spend all day at school together then, as soon as they get home, call each other and talk on the phone all night.

Major Sheppard reported the basement level partially flooded, water coming up ankle high in some places. Given this planet's propensity for rain, I was not surprised. Most of the rooms they found appeared to be offices, maintenance closets, and the like. McKay and I both perked up at the mention of what Sheppard described as the equivalent of a boiler room, and we both planned to check out any potential power sources as soon as I finished my downloads.

Then, they came across a room that stood out from the rest. The door, according to the Major, had some sort of symbol painted on it, a red radiating spire around an off-center circle. They opened the door and described a large room.

"The ceiling goes up at least another floor," the Major reported. I could hear his sloshing footsteps through the radio. "It's at least as big as the jumper bay back on Atlantis, probably a little bigger."

"Is there anything in there?" McKay asked.

"Nothing except a big table, at least twenty feet long," he supplied.

"Looks like there's a door at the other end," provided Ford. I could hear the echo of his voice in the large chamber.

"Check it out," Sheppard instructed. "Teyla, see if you can find any lights."

"And there's nothing else?" The disappointment was evident in McKay's voice. "No equipment, no data consoles, nothing?"

"Believe me, McKay, if I find any new toys I promise not to make you wait until Christmas morning."

"Major," came Teyla's voice, "I believe I have found something."

And that's when it happened. There was a groaning sound below us and the floor began to shake. Through the radio came a female scream, Sheppard's voice yelling, "Teyla!" and a shocked, "What the…" from Ford. An enormous crash echoed through the building, rumbling like thunder.

Before the floor had stopped moving, McKay was halfway to the stairwell. I quickly followed. "Major?" he called, but there was no answer. "John!" Silence. He took the stairs two at a time and I was amazed that he didn't go ankles over ass down the steps. "Ford! Teyla!" Still no answer.

He opened the door to the basement level and a plume of dust rushed in. We both waved our hands in front of our faces, futilely attempting to clear the air. He pulled his jacket over his mouth and nose, trying to block most of the debris from his lungs and took off down the hall, water splashing up and soaking his pants to the knees. I followed a little more slowly, cautiously, so that I nearly ran into the back of him as he stood staring at the wall of rock that blocked the entire hallway. "No," he croaked out. "Oh, God, no, no, no."

"John!" he called again and there was only static.

"Dr. McKay?" a weak voice finally answered across the radio.

"Aiden," he said with a sigh, "are you alright?"

"I think so, my knee hurts," he said hesitantly, then "Jesus H., the ceiling just collapsed!"

"I can see that," he told him, then with an anxious sense of dread, "Can you see Major Sheppard or Teyla?"

"N..no," he replied, "but I was on the other side of the room, outside the other door. I must have been pushed through it; I think I'm in another hallway."

"Do you think you can walk?" he asked.

"If I had to, probably."

"Stay put, Lieutenant," he directed with a shake of his head that Ford couldn't see. "We'll see if we can get to you."

"See if you can get to us, while you're at it." It was Major Sheppard. Rodney's knees seemed to give out and he sunk to a seat on the rubble at the sound of the voice. Rubble that I noted was very uniform in size.

"Are you okay?" he managed to ask.

"Considering the whole damned building just fell on our heads, I'd say I'm doing pretty good."

"Teyla?"

"She's here, unconscious, but breathing." At the news, McKay ran his shaking hands through his hair, took a deep breath in relief and coughed on the dust. I shook my head with an amazed chuckle. These people cheat death as often as corporate America cheats on their taxes. "I think she's partially buried, but not too bad."

"You think?" McKay coughed out.

"I don't have any light- our P90's must be under the rubble- and its pitch black in here. And wet. And pretty damned cold."

"Hold on," he told them, "we'll get you out." And there was not a shade of doubt in that statement. He started back towards the stairs. I jogged up next to him.

"Wait a minute, how to do you plan to do that?" I asked. He talked like he was just going to get a shovel and start digging until he found them.

"I'm heading back to Atlantis, bringing back reinforcements."

I didn't miss the use of the first person singular in his statement. "What about me?"

"You're going to get back on the database and find a schematic of this building so that we can figure out where Ford is and if there is another entrance into the room where the Major and Teyla are trapped."

"What happened to 'we stay in teams; that's just the way it works'?" I asked hoping his own words might jar some sense into his thick head.

"It doesn't work that way anymore," he replied and entered the stairwell.

"McKay," Sheppard called, "Kavanaugh's right."

"Thank you, Major." I pointed to my earpiece as if to emphasis the Major's words.

"Don't let it go to your head," Sheppard told me, then, "No one is going anywhere by themselves, especially you, McKay."

"Sorry, Major," he said, "but I think I'm going to have to overrule you on this one."

"Overrule me? I'm still the team leader; I still give the orders here!"

"Hmmm, okay, that's an interesting concept. Let's just analyze it for a second, shall we."

"McKay," Sheppard warned. Of course, Rodney just ignored him.

"First, I'm the genius pain in the ass civilian on the team. Your words not mine. And as such, I don't have to take orders from you. My words not yours."

"McKay!" I think I could hear the Major's teeth grinding on that single name.

"Secondly, if you feel so strongly about it, maybe you should come and stop me. Oh, wait, I guess you can't do that seeing as you are currently trapped behind several tons of debris."

"I swear to God, Rodney, if you so much as step…"

"How's Teyla doing?"

Major Sheppard went silent on the other end. Then he finally spoke. "Stay in constant radio contact. I know that shouldn't be a problem given the way you find it pretty much impossible to shut-up. You should be in range for the entire trip to the gate."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he told him as we completed our trip up the stairs.

He went quickly to his pack, checked the contents, double checked the clip on his gun, like Dirty Harry with a Mensa membership, and turned to address me. "See what you can find in way of schematics for this building, if there isn't another entrance into the room, look to see where the weakest point would be if we had to blast through one of the walls or the ceiling. And figure out how to get to Ford. Just stay here until I get back, we'll go find him together."

On the radio, I could hear Major Sheppard talking to Lt. Ford, trying to assess his condition. From the sound of it, Ford had probably dislocated his knee but otherwise was fine. Sheppard evidently had a few bumps and bruises but was relatively unscathed. Teyla, however, was still unconscious. I decided then would be the best time to broach the subject that had been bothering me since the cave-in. I covered my mouthpiece so that the others couldn't hear me.

"Rodney, have you stopped to think about what caused the collapse in the first place?" I asked him getting straight to the point.

"That really isn't important right now, Doctor; we have injured people trapped that need our help."

"I think it could be very important." He started to walk away, but I followed and kept talking. "That symbol they described on the door, a circle with things radiating around it, that could be the people who built this place's representation of an atom, or maybe an infection like a virus. It is probably a warning, like a radiation trefoil on Earth. And that room with the table and nothing else, that doesn't sound suspicious to you? The rubble, it was all the same size, not like the ceiling collapsed but that it released it." He stopped walking and I asked, "Do you know what a gravel gurty is?" He didn't answer but the look he gave me spoke volumes. It was obvious he had reached the same conclusion that I had and it was just as obvious that he didn't care.

From my time with the weapon's program, I had become very familiar with the safety features associated with nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly. One of those features is the gravel gurty. It's several hundred tons of gravel stored above the bomb assembly area that will drop and contain the consequences of a situation gone wrong. One of those consequences being the people that were working in the area at the time who end up all bundled together in a neat little radioactive heap of rock and debris.

"That room was used for assembling things," I continued. "Very dangerous things that they didn't just leave lying around and I believe that when Sheppard and the team entered that room they triggered some sort of failsafe devise, probably for good reason."

"What are you saying, Kavanaugh?"

"I'm saying that if we go digging them out, we will very likely be releasing whatever that safety measure was put in place to keep in and I for one don't want to be part of opening that Pandora's Box."

"Listen here, Rapunzel, you are going to help me get them out of that hole if it is doing no more than letting me cut off that ponytail of yours and braid it into a rope to pull them out."

I subconsciously reached up to my bound hair. "Hair insults; brave talk for a man that didn't inherit the ATA gene but obviously did the one for male pattern baldness."

He glared at me before speaking. "As much as I like trading insults with a man who apparently grows his hair long to compensate for another shortcoming, shall we call it, I have more important things to do, like going to bring back help. Now, get your whiney voice-of-doom ass over there and find a damned schematic for this building or I swear to God I will make sure that for the rest of your miserable stay on Atlantis you will analyze nothing more exciting than the electrical output of those glow-in-the-dark puffer fish the biologists discovered last week."

I should have known it was only a matter of time before he started pulling rank. "I guess that would be the only thing you could do since you can't ship me off to Siberia, like some people I know." It was common knowledge that years earlier McKay had butted heads with the top dog scientist at SGC and as a result had been reassigned to consult with the Russian naquedah generator program. "The problem is I don't think you have the pull with Weir that Sam Carter had with Hammond."

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, or so the parable goes. Well, the building itself had pretty much rendered that little clause null and void after it dropped a couple billion of them down on the rest of his team. That really left very little to keep a happy sinner like myself from casting a few more stones onto the pile for good measure.

"You know," I confided, "your assessment of that situation was correct, Carter was willing to risk the entire SGC to try and save Teal'c. It was completely irresponsible of her to put the well being of one person before all those others just because he was her friend. You were right then. I just hope for the sake of the expedition, you can follow your own advice now."

To be perfectly honest, I had expected Sheppard to punch me when I made the boyfriend remark earlier; was actually rather surprised when he refrained. I didn't see it coming at all when McKay actually did it.

We both let out a yowl of pain. I grabbed my nose, McKay his hand.

"Why the hell did you do that?" I screamed.

"Because that's what Colonel Carter should have done to me back then when I was being as big an asshole as you are now."

"Rodney, what's going on up there?" Sheppard asked suspiciously. Although he couldn't hear what I had been saying, he had apparently heard McKay's side of the conversation.

"I think I broke my thumb," he told the Major with a wince.

"On what?"

"Kavanaugh's face."

"I told you you should attend more of the hand to hand combat sessions. It's all in the way you form the fist." Someone, it must have been Ford, was snickering in the radio.

"Show me when you get out," McKay said looking me straight in the eyes when he emphasized the last two words. He handed me a field dressing from his vest. "Get cleaned up and on the computer. I'll be back within an hour."

He had left then, cursing under his breath, shaking and flexing his hand. I, however, was cursing out loud, a wad of bandages soaking up the blood gushing from my injured nose. Sheppard and Ford just laughed and, eventually, I threw my ear piece across the room.

When the bleeding had pretty much stopped, I sat debating what to do next. The last thing I wanted to do was help that megalomaniac fulfill his delusions of grandeur and in the process possibly spread a deadly infection. But, honestly, if the man was willing to punch me in the face when I agreed with him, there was no telling what he would do if I openly went against him. So, after a few more minutes, I went to work on the computer and replaced my comlink.

Of course, the first thing I hear is this ridiculous conversation about peeing in the woods and I consider throwing the radio against the wall again. But against my better judgment, I leave it in place, and listen to the prattle as I work.

"Have I mentioned that it's really dark in here?" the Major asks.

"I seem to recall that coming up in the conversation once or twice," McKay tells him.

"And wet?"

"It's pretty wet out here too."

"Well, at least you're not sitting in it."

"No, it's just running down the inside of my jacket collar right now."

"Oooh, I hate it when that happens."

"Me too."

"That's almost as bad as having to sit in it."

"You know, Major, if you're so uncomfortable, maybe you should stand up."

"Can't. Teyla's lying across my legs. I'm trying to keep her out of the water as much as possible."

"How's she doing?"

"No change, I'm just worried that she hasn't come around yet. And I'm sure lying in water isn't helping matters."

"Isn't there something that you could put her on that would get her out of the water?"

"Yeah, my legs. Haven't we had this conversation already?"

"I mean something else. Maybe the table you talked about…'

"Have I mentioned that it's really dark in here?"

"Oh, thank God, I just reached the gate. I'll contact you as soon as I come back through."

McKay calls Atlantis, and then is gone from the frequency. For a few moments, I am left in wondrous silence. I am searching for the schematics of the building. I come across a series of files with construction blueprints and begin to sort through them to identify this particular building when I hear the Major speak again.

"Ford?"

"Sir?"

"Is it dark where you are?"

"No, sir."

"Are you having to sit in the water?"

"No, sir, I was able to pull myself up onto the gravel some so that I'm sitting on dry ground."

"Lucky you."

"Yes, sir."

"How's your knee?"

"Hurt's like a son-of-a-bitch, sir."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Yes, sir."

"Have I mentioned how dark…"

"Sir," he interrupts, "Dr. McKay should be back through the gate soon."

I swear, they should give that young marine a medal of bravery just for serving under the man.

I locate the drawing for the building and begin looking for the room where the Major and Teyla are trapped. When I do, my suspicions are confirmed, but another problem is brought to light. A few minutes pass and McKay's voice comes across the radio. "Major, do you read me?"

"McKay! You're back!"

"And I brought company."

"Oh, Rodney, I'm in no condition to entertain. The place is a mess. There's rock and debris everywhere."

"Don't worry, lad, I'm not one for formalities." My day goes from bad to worse as I hear Dr. Carson Beckett, junior member of the Justice League of Atlantis, has come to play. "How's Teyla? Has she regained consciousness?"

"No, not yet, but she has mumbled a few times."

"Well, that's an encouraging sign. How's her breathing?"

"Her breathing seems fine."

"Not labored, no gurgling or wheezing?"

"No, its normal."

"And her heart rate?"

"I can feel it beating nice and strong as we speak."

"You mean her pulse?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," his answer is hesitant, and …guilty?

"Major," McKay breaks in, "just where are you checking her heart rate?"

"Look, it is strictly diagnostic…."

"Of course it is."

"God damnit, it's dark in here, and the only way I can keep myself convinced that she is okay is keep my hand on her breast, I mean chest."

"Sir, are you trying to cop a feel?" Ford asks. "She's unconscious."

"I am not trying to cop…" Sheppard yells.

"Must bring back lots of college memories, Major," McKay tells him.

"McKay, you better hope you can't get us out of here, because…" A soft moan comes across the radio and the Major's voice quiets, "Teyla?"

"Major Sheppard?" she asks, "Where are we, what happened, I can't see?"

"It's okay, there was an accident, but you're safe now, sort of," he explains.

"Major, is that your hand?"

"Sorry! I was just checking your breathing."

"Sir, I thought you said you were checking her heart rate?"

"Ford, did I just hear you request latrine duty for the next month?"

"No, sir."

"Didn't think so."

"Teyla, dear, can you hear me?"

"Dr. Beckett?" she asks.

"Aye, lass. Dr. McKay and I will be at your location shortly, but I just want to ask you a few questions to make sure you're as right as the rain that I'm currently walking in."

Beckett asks her his questions and I tune out the gibberish and concentrate on downloading the drawings of the building. After the medical formalities are out of the way, McKay comes across and addresses me.

"Kavanaugh, have you found the schematics yet?"

"Yes, master," I reply, "does that mean you'll skip the beatings for tonight?"

I grin at the frustrated sigh. "And?"

"I was right; there are compartments above the room that released the gravel."

He chooses to ignore the gloating in my voice. "Did you find a way to get to Ford?"

"It looks like he is probably in a maintenance accessway, there is an outside door one floor above that leads down to where he is."

"Good."

"There's more…" I tell him.

"The symbol?" he asks before I can give him the potentially gory details.

"That's part of it."

"Save it, we're at the outskirts of town now; we'll be at your location in a few minutes."

True to his word, within about ten minutes, they walk through the door dropping heavy packs on the floor. He nods to Beckett who begins talking with the Major. Without preamble, he walks to the computer console and removes his earpiece, wordlessly instructing me to do the same. So, he doesn't want the others to know what I have to say. Maybe there is hope for him yet. "Show me what you found," he demands.

I pull up the drawing showing him the room and the trap doors above. "See, there seems to be three compartments in the room itself and one in each hallway to block the actual entrances. It appears that this room located above it was filled with the gravel. See here, there is a rollup door with direct access to the outside to allow a piece of heavy equipment to haul the material in. The compartments look like they are spring loaded, so that after they drop their load the trap door snaps shut again."

He studies the drawings then, "They cover the entire room. Then how…?"

"Did Sheppard and Teyla not get buried under eight feet of rock? Do you believe in dumb luck?"

"More than you will ever know."

"My guess is that the middle trap didn't spring. Part of the gravel would have spilled over into the other two, but I would guess there is still several tons of rock sitting on that trapdoor as we speak."

"And the symbol?" His mouth is a tight line.

"It is definitely some kind of warning, possibly a combination of radiological and viral. If this is the same race that created the nanovirus, I wouldn't put it past them to be experimenting with something that potentially deadly."

He nods his head as he replaces his earpiece. "Major, I need you and Teyla to climb up on the pile of rocks closest to the door you used to enter the room. It is probably about ten feet high, so be prepared."

"What?" Sheppard demands. "Have I not mentioned how dark it is in here?"

"Have I not mentioned that there is still six to eight feet of rock hanging over your heads that could fall at any moment?"

"No, I think I would have remembered that."

"Well, I have now, so start climbing." The Major mumbles under his breath about astrophysicists and God complexes, but doesn't argue. McKay then turns to Beckett, "Carson, I think we should set up the exclusion zone just outside the room with the gravel. We should be able to access the room where Teyla and the Major are trapped and bring them up through the trap doors. You could set up your lab in one of these rooms just down the hall."

The physician nods his head, "Aye, that should work. We can put the decon line here and still have plenty of room to move around."

"What about Lt. Ford?" McKay asks.

"Well, if his rad surveys look okay, we will move him up here for the blood tests and treatment of his physical injuries."

Major Sheppard comes across the radio, breathing heavily from his climb. "Rodney, I get the feeling there is something you haven't told us, yet."

"Major, we have reason to believe that the room you found was some sort of weapons assembly or testing area. I'm under the belief that Teyla may have tripped the security measures when she was trying to find the lights, but there is a chance that you may have been exposed to some sort of contaminant and triggered a failsafe device. There is a full hazmat and quarantine team on the way from Atlantis right now."

"Well, then, thanks for sharing."

"My pleasure. Just sit tight, we'll get you out shortly."

"Oh, not like there is really anyplace to go."

"At least you're not sitting in the water any more."

"McKay sees the glass half full, we must be worse off than I thought."

He pulls a hazmat suit out of one of the packs and hands it to me. "Suit up," he tells me, "we're going after Ford."

I shake my head and let out a bitter laugh, "You are going to endanger all these people. What fifteen? Twenty? Just to save three."

"The problem with Pandora's Box, Doctor, was that, unlike us, they didn't have a good containment plan. Now suit up, we're going to be bringing potentially contaminated people up and I would hate for you to become one of them."

He begins donning his own suit, leaving me no choice but to do the same.

We find Ford just were I said we would and move him to the quarantine area. Beckett's gaggle of medical staff, a couple of engineers and several marines for potential excavation duty all arrive soon after and a makeshift biolab is operational in short order. I do my best to stay out of the way and out of range of any possible contagion.

And I watch McKay.

I watch him sit with Ford while they set his leg and take blood samples. I watch him hover behind Beckett as he processes the samples. I watch him breathe a sigh of relief when the results come back clean.

I watch him consult with the engineers, as it is determined that the trap door with the rocks should be released before attempting a rescue of Sheppard and Teyla. Once again I am called upon to find the best way to open the doors. After further research in the archives I find the trigger mechanism and I watch McKay rock happily on his heels when the door with its overlaying burden is released with no problems. With that potential danger removed, the only thing left is getting the two lost lambs reunited with their anxious flock. I watch McKay oversee the set up of the tripod and harness system even though I'm sure he has no idea how to operate the contraption. The engineers trip the lever and I watch a smile spread across McKay's face when the trap door opens to reveal a pile of gravel with his two wet, squinting team members perched on top, like Mohammads on the mountain top.

I watch McKay stand behind the two orange-suited medics as they lift Teyla through the opening and disconnect the harness. She leans heavily on them but manages to stay standing as they place her on her feet. I watch him reach out a gloved hand and she squeezes it with a warm smile before they lead her to a waiting stretcher. I watch him kneel by the opening in the floor once she is situated and the harness is lowered to the Major.

I watch him poke his head in the hole and call out. "Oh, hey."

"Hey." Sheppard calls back. "Nice suit."

"Yeah, well, thanks. Carson gave it to me. He has one just like it."

"That could be embarrassing if you both showed up wearing the same outfit."

"Or necessary."

"Is it necessary now?"

"I prefer to think of it as precautionary."

"But it could become necessary?"

"That's what Carson and his groupies are here to find out."

"Right. Well, I like the color."

"Really? I always thought orange kind of washed me out."

"Nah, no more than any other color."

"Oh, well, I'll keep that in mind then. Say, are you just about finished with your recon of this room? Because its macaroni and cheese night and I was kinda hoping after Carson runs a few blood tests we could head back to Atlantis."

"Yeah," he seems to consider as he finishes clipping on the harness and the winch begins to lift him off the ground. "I'd say I've seen all I need to see and mac and cheese sounds pretty good right about now."

I watch McKay reach a hand in and take Sheppard by the arm, helping to pull him up through the opening. "Great," he says as the Major emerges blinking in the light. "Just great."

Watching McKay, I am reminded of a fortune cookie I had once. It read, 'To have a friend, you must first be a friend.' The sentiment left me feeling as empty as my stomach felt two hours after finishing my chow mien. I have never had a use for personal relationships. My science has always been more than enough to keep be satisfied. Numbers don't lie, they don't turn on you, and they don't use you to pass high school calculus or Physics 342. Watching McKay, I am reminded of how friendship impairs a person's judgment, makes a person behave irrationally, leaves him vulnerable, leaves him weak. I'll take the hard facts of science over the unpredictable risks of camaraderie any day. So what if that means I eat alone most meals? That's just the way the fortune cookie crumbles.

We return to Atlantis a few hours later. No viral contagions were found, although there was some low level radioactive contamination on their clothes and hands. Fortunately for everyone involved, it was easily removed with a soap and water decon procedure. I sit in the infirmary going through my final post mission physicals. Teyla and Ford have been tucked away into their own medbays for further treatment. McKay and Sheppard sit facing each other on opposing hospital beds. I can hear them talking as I sit across the room, my legs dangling off the edge of my own bed.

"We could stay at the Hard Rock Casino," the Major is telling him. "Club Paradise sits just across the street."

"But I don't think the Hard Rock even has a buffet," McKay counters. "I say we stay with the food and travel to the T and A."

Beckett walks in at this point, effectively stopping the conversation. "Well, looks like we're finished up with the two of you. You're free to go find something else to entertain yourselves for a while."

"Ford and Teyla?" Sheppard asks.

"Teyla is resting now and I don't want the likes of you waking her. But I think Aiden would welcome some company right about now."

Sheppard stand to go, but McKay glances over at me. I give me a small glower before turning my attention to the tray of medical instruments by the bed.

"I'll catch up in a minute," he tells the Major then he is standing beside my bed.

"How's your nose?" he asks.

"Remarkably not broken," I tell him.

"Neither is my thumb."

"Forgive me if I don't join you in a dance of joy."

"Look, I just wanted to thank…"

I cut him off before he can play the bigger man. "What you did on that planet today was totally careless."

He scowls. "Actually it was caring, with an i-n-g on the end, car**_ing_**."

"It amounts to the same thing."

"Maybe, but at least I'll be able to sleep tonight. That is until one of your staff wakes me up with a problem."

I ignore the stab and continue. "They trust you so blindly, that they will do anything you say, just because you said it. That trust give you power and that makes you dangerous."

He laughs and I just stare at him. "I'm sorry," he explains through his chuckles, "it's just that this entire incident has had the most bizarre feeling of reverse deja vu, like a visit from a long-haired, perpetually pissed-off, Ghost of Christmas Past."

My frown deepens, and I wonder not for the first time if he really has gone insane. "I hope you realize that you let your personal feelings cloud your judgment today."

"Thanks for noticing." He tells me with a genuine smile. "That's probably the best compliment I've received in a long time."

He turns then and goes in search of the rest of his team.

I am soon released myself and head to the cafeteria. Only a few people are still in here at this hour. They sit in small clusters, chatting, laughing, a few even seem to be arguing good naturedly about an experiment they are working on. Ahead of me in line, I see Sheppard and McKay, both holding two trays, and evidently continuing their conversation about casinos and strip clubs. Once the trays are filled, they exit, I assume, to share a meal with their injured team mates. I take a tray and go in search of my own form of comfort.

The lab is empty, seeing as it is past dinner time and most people are either relaxing with friends or in bed. This is my favorite time to be here. No distractions, no questions, no talking. After the never ending conversations I was forced to listen to today, the quiet is a double blessing. I begin analyzing the small number of records I was able to collect on the nanoresearch before the sky literally began to fall. I compare it to my previous data on the nanovirus we discovered here, taking solace in the silent collaboration between myself and long vanished scientists of another world.

After a while, I find my thoughts wandering back to the event of the day and I try to push them aside. I convince myself that I really don't care how Teyla is doing, or Ford for that matter, and that I'm just tired and should probably call it a night.

I make my way to my quarters, open the door, and take a surprised step back before sneering with a small growl. Sitting in my dark room, propped on my bed, is a glowing surgical glove filled with water. All the fingers have been taped down except one; the middle finger stand erect with a taunting green luminescence. I cross the room, grab the offensive water balloon, and throw it against the wall. It explodes in a shower of liquid, leaving shreds of latex and a glow stick rolling in a puddle on my floor.

I flop down on my bed and stare at the ceiling above me and curse McKay. I curse him for the glove that was so eloquently flipping me off, I curse him for being right today even though the evidence indicated otherwise, and I curse him for the memories he revived in the process. The memories are as fresh as the incident with the jumper stuck in the worm hole, as recent as my time with the Department of Energy, as repressed as my teenage years, and as hunger inducing as a big bowl of chow mien from the Jade Garden in China Town. After a couple of hours, sleep still evades me and I curse McKay for that as well. If I'm honest with myself, I know that's not the case. Not really. But tonight, as usual, I prefer the lie.


End file.
