It takes Rodney a few minutes to realize that the knocking he hears isn't coming from the television, or the radio (both are on, but he's paying neither any attention) or even his own fingers clacking furiously at the keyboard of his laptop.
The sound gets louder, more insistent, and Rodney's hands still as he lifts his head.
It's the door.
"Jeannie!" He hollers, already letting his mind drift back to the theorem he's trying desperately to find a way to explain in layman's terms. Arguing for funding is a necessary evil that he abhors.
There's no answer from elsewhere in the house.
The knocking just keeps getting louder. It's a pounding now. A fist slamming into faux-wood grain fiberglass repeatedly.
Rodney looks across the living room at the door; half-afraid that whoever is making that gawd-awful racket is going to end up pounding right through. "Jeannie?" he calls out again.
That's when he remembers that Jeannie left a few hours ago, saying, "I'm going to the store, Mer. And then I'm going to the mall and I'm going to surround myself in abject consumerism because that's less annoying than you are right now." He vaguely recalls flipping a hand at her and grumbling out a response that might have been, "Bring me back coffee."
Which means, he'll have to answer the door.
Because apparently hoping that whoever it is will go away isn't likely to happen, if the repetitive, 'thunk, thunk, thunk' is any indication. Whoever they are, they've set up a pretty regular rhythm.
"Fine, fine," he mutters, hitting a quick CTRL & S to save his work and then gets up to answer the door.
"Alright," he says, loudly, as he turns the deadbolt, "I'm here." He pulls the door open, "You can quit that damn..." His invective trails off into a breathless sort of whimper. Standing on the other side of the door, one arm propped on the lintel, is a giant.
"Hey, McKay." The giant says, and Rodney quails because... the giant knows his name.
"Wh... who are you?" Rodney manages to sputter. "What do you want?"
The giant - who is actually just a very tall, muscular and weirdly dreadlocked man - bares his teeth. Rodney actually starts to feel faint, until he realizes that that's a grin. Not that being grinned down at by a giant of a man with scary eyebrows and twisty ropes of hair that almost look sentient in their wildness makes him feel any less light headed.
A hand, this one small and feminine pushes the smiling giant aside. It takes Rodney a few moments to recognize the petite, café-au-lait-skinned woman attached to the hand. But to be fair to himself, he'd never expected to see her again... didn't think it was possible that he was seeing her now.
Maybe the giant had already knocked him unconscious and this was all in his imagination?
"Teyla?" he asks, hesitantly, because there's no way that can be Teyla Emmagan standing outside his door.
"Rodney," she inclines her head. The formality of the gesture is belied by the truly genuine smile on her face.
"What are... how are you even... why are you... who is...," Rodney stops himself right there, because he's starting to become a cliché. "Okay, wait. Let's start with, how in the blue hell are you even here?"
Teyla's grin thins just a fraction, but she nods past him. "May we come in, Rodney? There is much we have to discuss."
Rodney considers that for a moment. A brief moment, because as much as he's a bit apprehensive letting the dreadlocked giant into his house, his curiosity over Teyla outweighs that apprehension. "Uh yeah," he steps back. "Come in."
Teyla and the giant pass him and then head straight to the living room like it's familiar to them. He peeks outside after them, just to make sure there are no other impossible people waiting on Jeannie's front lawn, and then hurries to close the door and follow after.
Teyla has taken a seat on one end of the sofa and the giant occupies pretty much the rest of it. Teyla gestures towards the recliner. "Come sit, Rodney."
"Uh, okay." He does.
"Rodney, this is Ronon." She nods towards the giant.
Who gives another of those truly frightening grins and says, "Hey."
"Uh, hi."
Teyla looks back at him with narrowed eyes. "You don't know him, do you?"
"Am I supposed to?" Rodney asks.
She doesn't answer; instead she reaches inside her coat pocket. It takes Rodney a moment to realize why that looks odd. It's because she's wearing civilian clothes. Earth-clothes.
Suddenly Rodney gets a very bad feeling. Teyla can't be here... so that means, this isn't Teyla. He starts to stand, muttering, "Um, if you'll excuse me for a moment, I ah... forgot-"
"McKay." The giant - Ronon - doesn't say anything other than his name, but Rodney knows a threat when he hears one. He sits back down, squeezing back into the over-plush recliner, trying to make himself as small as possible.
Not-Teyla holds up a hand. "Rodney, please, calm down. I need to show you something."
"Oh god," he starts to babble. He can't help it. A million and one horrible things are running through his mind. "It's going to be something awful, isn't it? Like a gun or a Goa'uld snake or something even more horrible." He cringes in his chair, bracing for...
A flash drive.
"Oh."
Not-Teyla smiles gently. "Sorry to have alarmed you, Rodney, but the information on this drive will do more to explain how we got here than I can. But first I need to ask you something."
It's too uncomfortable to sit pushed back in the recliner, so Rodney allows himself to relax, just a bit. "Okay," he agrees.
"What can you tell me of the fate of Atlantis?" she asks, still in that calm-the-natives voice she was always so good at off-world.
Rodney frowns. "What do you mean, its fate? You know what happened to Atlantis. I mean, you were there just before we destroyed it. Although, I guess you'd already gated back to the Alpha site with the rest of your people, but we followed through with the Colonel's instruction. We set the self-destruct just before we were all brought on board the Daedalus." He can't help the way his shoulders slump and his voice goes small. It hurts to think about all they lost. He's spent years not thinking about it. "And then we watched from orbit when she destroyed herself."
"Atlantis was destroyed in this universe?" Teyla's eyes are wide and sad. "Oh, Rodney, I'm so sorry."
Next to her even the apparently taciturn Ronon looks upset.
Her words suddenly catch in Rodney's brain. "Wait a minute. What do you mean, 'in this universe'?"
"Rodney, Ronon and I aren't from your universe. We come from a parallel universe. One where Atlantis is still very much whole."
"What?" Rodney feels his breath catch in his chest. Atlantis not destroyed? He supposes he's always known that it could be possible that there would be another timeline, another quantum reality where they didn't self-destruct the city to keep it from falling into the Wraith's hands. But faced with that truth, with that amazing, wonderful truth, Rodney is nearly over come.
"Yes." Teyla nods emphatically. "That's where Ronon and I know you from. Well, a different you. The Rodney McKay from our universe. Ronon is like me. He's another from Pegasus who came to join Atlantis and has become, well..." She pauses to smile fondly at Ronon. "There we are all on a team together and have been for many years." She concludes as if that's the best way to sum up their relationship.
"Tell me about it," Rodney urges, eagerly. "What's Atlantis like? What happened with the Wraith? Did you ever find any more Zed PMs?" He has a million questions all bursting in his brain to get out.
Teyla laughs. "Rodney, as much as I would love to answer your questions, I think perhaps we should focus on why we're here." When Rodney's face falls, Teyla amends, "At least for the time being."
She's right, but Rodney can't help but be a little disappointed.
"Why'd you destroy Atlantis?" Ronon asks.
All the bitterness and rage and sorrow Rodney felt at the time comes flooding back. Especially armed with the knowledge that in another universe, they hadn't needed to make that call. "Uh, did the siege of the city happen in your time?" Rodney asks. "When the Wraith cruisers came to Atlantis to try use it to get to Earth."
Teyla nods. "Yes, that is what happened in our time as well."
"Did you guys try to stop the Wraith using the Ancient weapons platform?"
Again Teyla inclines her head. "Yes, but only one Wraith cruiser was destroyed."
Rodney frowns. "Huh, so it worked for you too? Well, after that just before the remaining hive ships came into range we set the self-destruct. Then there was this Colonel from Earth who came through the Stargate. He brought a team with him and weapons and some heavy artillery and a Mark Two Naquadah generator."
"Yes," Teyla agrees. "Colonel Everett came through in our universe as well."
"No." Rodney looks up at her, things already clicking over in his mind. "It wasn't Colonel Everett. It was a Colonel Morris." He'll never forget the man. He frequently has nightmares that feature Morris' scowling face and southern drawl. "Well, he pretty much took control of things. For a while we held our own. And Wraith got into the city and things we just utter chaos. I don't remember some parts, I was unconscious. And when they woke me up, it was so I could set the self-destruct again."
"You were unconscious?" Teyla frowns. "What happened? Were you injured? Why did Doctor Weir not stop this Colonel from taking over?"
Rodney shakes his head fervently. "I wasn't injured, no. Weir was. She got struck by debris when a dart crashed into the city on the second day. So, once Morris had her out of the way, I think I was the only one who argued against his ridiculous ideas." He swallows down on the knot of rage that always builds up in the middle of his gut when he thinks about this. "The Daedalus arrived after a few days. They brought a partially powered Zed-P-M that we used to activate the shield. Then Morris had me sedated. Said I was exhausted and unfit for duty. That I was a risk to his men."
"Surely Colonel Sheppard did not support this man?"
Colonel Sheppard now? Huh. Rodney hefts his shoulder carelessly. "I don't know, Teyla. I know that Sheppard stuck up for Elizabeth, at first. And then when she was in the infirmary, he tried to get Morris to stick with the things he'd agreed to." He smirks and lifts an eyebrow. "Morris didn't trust you or your people and he had you evacuated as soon as Elizabeth was out cold. Sheppard did try to stop that, but Morris overruled him."
Teyla shifts on the couch like she wants to surge to her feet in protest. Rodney knows the feeling.
"Yeah," he says, because he remembers how upset Teyla had been. He remembers the last time he saw her, being guided through the gate by an armed Marine. They hadn't even had a chance to say a proper goodbye.
"Anyway, for a while, Sheppard tried to stick to his guns. I know that much. We almost lost him..." he takes a deep breath, because this memory is also one he doesn't like to relive. "We almost lost Sheppard when he took a Genii nuke up to take out a Wraith ship. Luckily that's when the Daedalus arrived and beamed him aboard at the last minute and then took out the remaining hive ship."
Sheppard's last words to him were almost 'See ya, Rodney'. He could've strangled the man for that.
"Then... I was out. And like I said; I woke up to the news that there were a dozen more Wraith ships on their way to the city. From what I understand Colonel Caldwell took the fight to them, but it didn't take long before they neutralized his ability to use the Asgard beam to transport nuclear bombs directly to the hive ships."
"That is what happened for us as well. But then you devised a plan to detonate a nuclear device above the city, and at the same time drop the shield over the city and activate the cloak so the Wraith would think that the city had been destroyed."
"I knew it," Rodney bites out, bitterly. "Just before they made us board the Daedalus and we armed the self-destruct I tried to suggest that. But Morris didn't agree. I knew my idea would've worked. But ohhh, nooooo. Let's not listen to the guy with two PHds, who actually understands how Ancient technology works. Instead we get an idiot Colonel with his head up his ass who wouldn't let himself listen to non-military types. And we lost Atlantis because of it."
"In our universe, Colonel Everett was injured by a Wraith, so defense of the city fell back into the hands of the right people. The right decisions were made, and the city was saved."
That makes him snort, derisively. "So if we'd only let Morris become Wraith-chow, huh?" He's pretty sure his smile looks like nothing close to one.
"I am sorry, Rodney."
He waves that away. It's water that's long since flowed under burned bridges - pardon his mixed metaphors. "So, I assume you didn't come to a parallel universe just to tell me that my genius plan would've worked to save an Ancient city. I mean, unless travelling into parallel realms of time-space is just common place for you right now?
That earns him a smile. "You're right, Rodney. I do have something I need to discuss with you." She stands and hands him the flash drive. "Ronon and I are here because we need your help. Well," she amends, "yours and John Sheppard's help."
"Major Sheppard help?" He is, barring this conversation, someone Rodney hasn't let himself think about in several years. All his thoughts about John Sheppard are too closely tied to Atlantis and the SGC.
"Yeah," Ronon says gruffly. "We need to find Sheppard too. Figured you'd know how to find him."
Rodney knows he has to be making a face. "Why would I know how to find Major Sheppard?"
"You know, because you and-" He breaks off when Teyla kicks him in the shin. It's not a light tap either. She's wearing what look like normal civilian - Earth civilian, not Athosian - fashionable boots with pointy toes.
"Hey," Ronon says flatly, rubbing at his shin.
Teyla winces slightly on his behalf but otherwise ignores him. "We can discuss Colonel... I mean, Major Sheppard in a moment, Rodney, but first why don't I explain why we're here."
Because thinking about John Sheppard isn't something he wants to do either, Rodney bobs his head up and down agreeably. "Okay yeah." He wraps his fingers around the small plastic memory stick. He's itching to plug it into his laptop and see what's on it (this Teyla has been on Atlantis with a different Rodney McKay for years now - God only knows what kind of amazing data it must contain) but context is probably going to help.
She settles back down onto the couch, folding a knee under her. "This may take some time."
"Mind if I get a drink?" Ronon asks before she can begin. "Teyla's gonna be better at explaining this anyway."
"Sure," Rodney gestures at him impatiently. "The kitchen is just-"
"I know where it is," Ronon interrupts. He nudges Teyla's knee. "Want something?"
"Tea would be lovely, Ronon."
Rodney tries again, "There's a kettle--,"
"I know, McKay. I got this. Don't worry."
Rodney is not going to ask how they're so familiar with his sister's house. At least not until he knows why they're there in the first place.
"Coffee, McKay?" Ronon calls out as he rounds into the hall that leads to the kitchen.
"Yes, please!" Rodney's never one to turn down an offer of coffee. There's a grunt of a response and then Rodney flips his hand at Teyla. "You were saying?"
"Before I begin, I must ask that you let me get through my explanation without interruptions." She smiles that very gentle, kind smile at him again which takes away any sting that might have accompanied her request. "I know you'll have questions, but I'll do much better getting through this in its entirety first." The curve of her mouth turns a bit sheepish. "Some of it I've had to memorize as the science is perhaps a bit beyond me."
"Okay," Rodney agrees. "I'll try not to interrupt. I mean, I can't promise... I'm not always good at holding back, you know."
She laughs. "I do know, Rodney, which is why I brought it up."
Listening to her, and staring at her expressions, Rodney realizes that she's quite different from the Teyla he knew. She's still insanely gorgeous and it's not just that her hair is different or that she's wearing clothing he'd never seen her in before. She's calm and peaceable and... zen (which isn't a word he'd normally use, but it just suits her) in a way that suggests they're no longer living under the constant shadow of the Wraith.
It's not easy to bite his tongue, he already has so many questions, but he rolls a hand inviting her to begin and tries to keep quiet.
"As I've said, Ronon and I are from a universe that is divergent from your own. In my universe Atlantis is thriving. Our team, that is you, John Sheppard, myself and Ronon," she nods in vaguely in the direction of the kitchen, "are often tasked with exploring new planets in the Pegasus Galaxy. Our mission focus, especially as of late, has been following up on mentions of Ancient technology from the database."
Rodney's metaphorical tongue-biting becomes literal. He so badly wants to ask about the Wraith.
"Recently," Teyla goes on, "our team was on a mission to M46-048, a planet we suspected of housing an Ancient research station. We found the research station..." She pauses and shifts slightly. "There was an incident. You and John-"
"Oh my god, are we dead?" Rodney blurts out.
Teyla shakes her head. "No, Rodney. No you're not dead. However the two of you are trapped in a," here she pauses again, takes a breath and goes on - clearly reciting from memory, "Quantum-isolated, biometrically-locked stasis field."
Rodney's mouth falls open. "We're what?"
"You and the John Sheppard of my universe are stuck in what we have since learned is an Ancient prison. It is similar to the stasis chambers on Atlantis except that it appears to function entirely in its own quantum reality and that it is biometrically sealed to yours and John Sheppard's DNA."
"How in the blue hell did we end up in there?" Rodney might be flailing. He can't help it.
Teyla looks away then, a dusky pink sweeping over her elegant cheeks. "It was not intentional, Rodney," she murmurs.
Slapping a palm to his forehead Rodney groans into his wrist. "Oh god. It was Sheppard and his stupid gene, wasn't it?"
Turning back to him with an arch eyebrow, Teyla is quick to correct him. "Actually, it was the both of you and your 'stupid genes'." She doesn't go so far as to actually make air quotes with her fingers, but Rodney can hear them in her tone. "The biometric mechanism requires the input of two gene-carriers."
"Oh." Somewhat chastened, Rodney lets his hands fall into his lap. "So, I'm assuming you're still getting to the part about why you're here?"
"Yes," Teyla inclines her head. "We have tried, and exhausted every solution we've come up with to get them out. Doctor Zelenka's research-"
"Zelenka!?" Rodney blurts out, and then slaps a hand over his mouth at her glare. "Sorry. Sorry, go on," he says from behind the muffle of his fingers.
"As I was saying, Doctor Zelenka's research shows that the mechanism truly wasn't meant to engage with those who activated it inside. There should've been failsafes. We have our Rodney and our John's DNA on file, but unfortunately, the biometric scanner will not accept the input of simple genetic material."
"You need live versions." It's starting to make sense.
"Yes," Teyla nods. "We needed to find a way to bring another Rodney and John to Atlantis and then to M46-048 to deactivate the biometric lock."
Ronon comes back in the room at that point. He's got a mug in each hand and a bottle of Rodney's good microbrew in the hook of one pinky. He hands a mug to Rodney and then one to Teyla and then sits back on the couch. "You tell him?"
"Thank you, Ronon." Teyla takes a sip of her tea before nodding. "I am in the process. I'm just getting to the explanation about how we came to be here."
"Quantum Mirror," Ronon grunts out.
Fortunately he'd used the moment the two were talking to take a deep draw and swallow from his coffee -made dark and extra strong just the way he likes - before Ronon spoke up, otherwise he'd likely have done a spit-take of epic proportions. "Wait, what? You came here through the mirror? I thought the SGC had that thing destroyed?"
Ronon scoffs. "Yeah, sure they did. You think your Earth governments would let a piece of technology like that go?"
"There have been several, um..." Teyla looks at Ronon a moment. He just hefts his shoulders lazily. "Let's just say that in our universe several things happened that necessitated investigation into the actions of the SGC and several governing agencies. In some cases, it was found that dangerous alien artefacts thought to have been eliminated were merely put into storage. The Quantum Mirror in this universe is actually being stored in a rather poorly guarded warehouse in the Nevada desert."
Rodney boggles. That's the only way he can think to describe the way his eyes widen and his jaw drops open and he just gapes for something to say.
"So you came through the mirror into a warehouse. Does the SGC know you're here?" And Rodney bets he already knows the answer to that one, considering that Ronon and Teyla came to his sister's house directly and he wasn't contacted by anyone in the military first. Hell, he does still occasionally consult for them, and he and Sam Carter are - somehow - co-authoring a paper together. If two strange people came through a quantum mirror and started asking for him, he'd have been contacted immediately.
Teyla doesn't look at all guilty when she tells him, "No, they do not."
"Why didn't you reach out to them?"
"We did not know of the situation with the SGC in this universe. We had knowledge that you and John Sheppard were on Earth. Though we did not know why. It suggested that something had gone wrong with things in Pegasus. We did not wish to be detained and questioned and delayed from completing our task."
"But, how did you avoid them then?" He can't quite puzzle it out. There's something he's missing.
She does start to look a little cagey when she goes on. "When we arrived we did encounter a few of these guards I mentioned, but we dealt with that situation and then we merely left the warehouse, acquired transportation and then came to find you."
Ronon has no trouble with sharing a less sanitized version. "She means we beat them up and then stole a car."
"You what?" Rodney rubs at his temples with his fingers. "So does that mean the SGC is going to be looking for you? Are you fugitives?"
"Perhaps," Teyla admits. "I imagine that when the men we subdued awoke and were questioned a formal search began."
Oh this is not good. The SGC probably has no idea who or what came through that mirror. What if they think it's some kind of invasion. Dozens of terrible scenarios involving armed gunmen breaking down the door start to flash though his mind.
"Relax, McKay." Ronon tells him.
"Relax?" Rodney parrots, mimicking his unaffected tone. "I can't relax. I've got two, well..." he thrusts out a hand towards them, "aliens, essentially, in my living room. Who are probably being hunted down by the government. And if they find you here, with me, they're going to lock us all up and-"
Teyla holds up her hands, palms out, and hushes him - albeit in a rather soothing way. "Rodney, do not worry. No one actually witnessed us come through the mirror. When we were first discovered, Ronon and I misdirected them as to our true purpose."
Ronon's laugh is a surprisingly high snickering sound. "Told 'em we knew about the little grey aliens and that we were looking for the spaceship that crashed. Area fifty-one and all that."
Rodney feels his eyebrows try to crawl up into his forehead. "You said you were alien conspiracy theorists?" He thinks, at this point, he should be forgiven the rather strident tone to his voice.
"Ronon watches too much television." Teyla say with a fond shrug.
"Great. So they're probably looking for you, but only in a 'these guys broke into our facility, beat up our guys, hope they didn't steal anything', kind of way. Great." He really can't help the layers of sarcasm that are spread over his words. "Security is going to be tight. Getting back in is going to be impossible."
"We will address that when the time comes, Rodney. We did not expect this to be easy or without risk."
There's a moment of silence when everyone focuses on their drinks. Rodney's starting to wish he'd had Ronon grab him a beer. Or maybe Irished up his coffee...
"Okay," he begins, finally starting to wrap his head around all of this. "Don't get me wrong. I mean, I'm grateful on behalf of my alternate counterpart, but... why are you going to such trouble? Using the Quantum Mirror has always been fraught with risk. Getting back through isn't guaranteed. There are the effects of entropic cascade failure to watch out for. Not to mention what could happen to you here, in this reality, if you were caught. I'm just," he shrugs, "surprised the SGC allowed it. On your side, I mean."
Teyla seems to think on this for a moment. "The Stargate program has changed substantially in our universe. Portions of the program have been made known to the public. Funding has significantly improved. Yourself and John Sheppard are," she pauses, seeming to search the depths of her tea for the right word.
"Celebrities." Ronon supplies.
"What?" Rodney squawks. "What do you mean celebrities?"
While Ronon seems to be enjoying Rodney's discomfiture, Teyla at least looks a little more sympathetic. "You and John Sheppard are rather well-known on Earth. It's quite a long story, but one of the reasons that the program went public was because of a threat to the planet. You and John happened to be on Earth when this occurred and it was thanks to both of your efforts that the Earth was saved. All of this happened rather publicly, however, and the SGC needed to..." she pauses, thoughtful.
"Spin it," Ronon supplies, helpfully.
Teyla lifts a shoulder, but it's not quite a shrug. "That is as apt a description as any. Let's just say that the SGC took the opportunity to make portions of the program public and needed several public figureheads."
Well that's flattering, if a bit perplexing. "Why us? I mean, why not say, SG-1? If anyone should be the poster child for the Stargate program it should be Sam Carter."
"Yeah," Ronon says with a half-grin. "Funny you should say that."
Teyla elbows him again.
"What? I don't understand." He can't fathom what has Ronon so amused.
"We're getting wildly off topic," Teyla insists, bypassing any explanation.
"Wait," Rodney circles a finger in the air. "Go back to what you said about the program going public. Do you mean that I was able to publish?"
Rodney will give this to Teyla: she seems to have infinite patience for his non-sequiturs. "Yes, Rodney."
"Yeah," Ronon agrees. "You got one of those noble things you're always going on about." There's a sly smirk on his face that tells Rodney that he knows exactly what a 'noble thing' is (plus Teyla's elbow into his ribs is a big clue).
"I got my Nobel." He says it matter of fact, and really likes the way it tastes in his mouth. Since he came back from the Pegasus galaxy aboard the Daedalus and then subsequently parted ways with the SGC due to... creative differences, Rodney's had severe restrictions put on his work. He still consults for them on occasion, but legally they've got him so tied up in secrecy that he's lucky he can publish an abstract in a math journal without it being thoroughly vetted by the US Government.
He's suddenly ridiculously envious of this other Rodney McKay.
"Hey," Ronon interrupts his musing. "So, I noticed in the kitchen that there aren't any pictures of Madison on the fridge. What's up with that?"
Rodney frowns. "Madison?"
Ronon and Teyla share an alarmed glance.
"What?" Rodney feels another one of those frissons of fear shoot down his spine like an electric current. "What is it?"
"It's nothing, Rodney." Teyla hurries to reassure him. "It's just that apparently things are more different in this universe than we first realized. Does your sister Jeannie not live here with you?"
Puzzled, Rodney nods. "Yeah, she does. This is her house. She's out shopping right now."
"She's not married?" Ronon asks.
"Married?!" Rodney is beginning to think that his default reaction to the seemingly random and totally shocking things these two say is forever going to be a high-pitched squawk. "No, she's not married. Oh, God. In your universe she's married? To who?"
"His name is Kaleb." Teyla explains. "But you tend to refer to him as-,"
"That English teacher?" Teyla nods and Rodney frowns. That doesn't make any sense. Sure he and Jeannie had dated for a while, but then Rodney got her involved with the Stargate program and that was the end of it as far as he knew.
"Wow. So, uh, who is Madison?"
Again, Ronon and Teyla seem to share a moment of silent communion. This time it's Teyla who says to him very softly, "Jeannie and Kaleb's daughter."
"Oh." Wow. There's a reality out there where Jeannie has a kid. Where's he's an Uncle. That's just too weird to even think about it. "So she's not on Atlantis then?"
"No, she's not part of the Stargate program, Rodney." Ronon makes a sound like he's going to disagree so Teyla adds, "Well, she consults on occasion, but that didn't happen until a few years after we were established on Atlantis."
"So what is she doing then?" Rodney can't follow what they're telling him. Jeannie not working for the SGC?
"Being a mom," Ronon replies.
"That's it?"
Teyla's eyebrow arches up and her mouth thins. "That is not enough?"
Sensing that he's treading dangerous ground here, Rodney spreads his hands. "Uh, no. I didn't mean that... I uh... It's just that Jeannie's so smart and..." Even Ronon is eyeing him like he's a complete idiot. Time to change the subject. Ronon's scary in an 'unknown element, looks like he could break me in half' kind of way. But he's seen Teyla in action. "So, uh, Teyla. Do you have kids?"
The brow lowers but Teyla holds the glare a moment longer before letting it soften. "Yes, Rodney. I do. I have a son. Torren." The corners of her mouth curve up impishly. "In fact, you delivered him."
"I what?" Okay, that's probably the most absurd thing he's heard all morning.
"Yeah," Ronon confirms. "Onboard a Wraith cruiser."
Rodney waves his hands wildly through the air. There are just some things he can't parse right now. He needs to bring things back to areas he can understand, like quantum physics. "Okay, okay. This is getting us nowhere and I'm just getting more confused. Let's go back to the Quantum mirror. It brought you to this universe, right?"
Ronon and Teyla both nod.
"And, you need me to come back with you." When Teyla starts to speak Rodney hurries to add, "Me and John Sheppard."
"That is correct, Rodney."
"Well, okay." Except it's not at all. "Um, you know, except for the whole fact that getting us back through the Quantum Mirror is going to be damn near impossible if it's under SGC lockdown. They'll have increased the guard you know." Teyla and Ronon exchange a glance and Ronon just flashes a grin that tells Rodney more than he needs to know about how he plans to deal with that. "Not to mention we've gotta track down John Sheppard. And there's always the possibility that even if we do get to the mirror we won't be able to find your universe. What if the mirror isn't connected to your universe anymore?"
"Getting back isn't going to be a problem." Ronon says.
"What? Why not?" He's already thinking about the probabilities.
"That." Ronon points to the flash drive that Rodney must've set down on the end table at some point.
"Oh!" He snags it in a quick grab and is up and at his laptop in a matter of moments. He plugs the drive into the USB and wakes his laptop from sleep mode with a quick slide of the mouse. The drive boots up and he tries to access a file titled 'Rodney - READ ME'. He's prevented by a little pop-up asking for his password.
"It's password protected!" Not that he can't get around that, but he's too anxious to see what's on here. Spending a couple of hours code breaking is not his idea of fun. Well, normally it is... but not now.
Teyla, who has come to stand over his shoulder, just says, "It's the same as your password for the self-destruct on Atlantis."
And that's a sequence of numbers Rodney is never going to forget. He types it in and gives a little crow of triumph when the code is accepted. The file folder has multiple directories, but a plain text file titled 'Read Me First McKay - RZ.txt' catches his eye. "Radek?" he asks, glancing over his shoulder at Teyla.
She nods. "Yes, he put this together."
Rodney starts to skim through the text file and then a few words start jumping out at him and he slows down and starts reading a lot more carefully. "Holy crap!" He cranes his neck to face to Teyla again. "This isn't just... it's not just how to connect with your universe, there are instructions on here on how to scan universes for specific characteristics to meet inputted parameters--,"
"Yes," Teyla interjects. "That is how we knew that coming to this particular universe would be suitable to our needs. Doctor Zelenka selected parameters that would be appropriate. To make sure we would not only be able to find you and John Sheppard, but that we would have the best chance of being able to convince you of the truth, and also that we would be able to bring you both back with us."
Following her logic, Rodney concluded, "So, a universe where we'd both been part of the Stargate program, but weren't on Atlantis anymore?"
Teyla nodded.
"It's like... it's like the original control mechanism for the mirror was a TV remote control, but now it's been given full DVR support and a preview channel. This is... amazing." Rodney keeps reading and lets out a low whistle. "There are even schematics here to build a damn Quantum mirror if we can't get back through the original. Although, wow. Not happening in this galaxy. But, still. I don't... how did he...how did he come up with this?" Seriously, he wants to know how in the hell Zelenka came up with all of this.
"That, I do not know, Rodney. Although, I believe that Radek's work was based on some theoretical work you'd already done relating to another experience we had with alternate universes."
"So this isn't your first alternate universe?"
"Nope!" Ronon calls out from where he's still sprawled on the couch.
Teyla hurries on - and Rodney knows it's probably because she knows every tiny morsel of information they feed him only whets his appetite for more (or, he might just be getting hungry, but probably the former).
"According to Doctor Zelenka, you'll need to construct the device he describes. The ah, remote control, as you called it. This is why Ronon and I felt it important to find you first, Rodney. So that you can begin to construct the device."
"Plus, you were easier to find." Ronon adds.
Teyla shrugs a little sheepishly. "Your internet in this universe is a little bit different than in ours, but I was able to do a search to find you quite easily."
"Different? How?" Rodney asks, because he just can't help himself.
The little frown the tugs at the corners of Teyla's mouth is kind of adorable. She blows a loose tendril of hair away from her forehead and then sound rather put out when she says, "You don't have 'google'."
"What the hell is a google?" He can't help the scoff that slips out.
"It is a very convenient search engine, Rodney, and in my universe the name has become synonymous with searching for information on the internet." Her raised eyebrow dares him to say more on the subject.
Wisely, he doesn't. Almost. "Well it's got a dumb name," Rodney grumbles. Because c'mon, 'google'? What the hell is that?
Luckily Teyla has the patience of a saint because she just shrugs that off. "It is of no import. What matters is that you review these files and then we can determine what components you will need to make the device and where we can get them."
Rodney turns back to the screen. It looks as if Radek has gone to the trouble of providing him with a parts list including potential sources. He reads it over and then opens up a blank document and starts making notes.
Some of this stuff is run of the mill components that Rodney probably has lying around or could scrounge easily enough at a Radio Shack (and huh, both universes seem to have those because Radek indicated it as a possible source). A few wouldn't be too difficult to order and have shipped, but Rodney gets the feeling they're on an accelerated time-table.
This is just... it's amazing and fascinating. He starts clicking files and glancing at formulae and design specs and scanned notes in his own handwriting. It's just... he could spend hours going over this stuff.
He's so caught up in pouring over the schematics and making notes that he doesn't register the door opening and footsteps behind him until he hears, "Rodney?"
And that's Jeannie's voice.
Guiltily he surges to his feet and spins around to block what's on the screen. Ronon and Teyla look between him and Jeannie curiously. He nods towards them. "Uh, hi, Jeannie. Uh, these are some friends of mine from uh... from..."
Before he can scramble to find some sort of suitable explanation, Jeannie is pointing a finger at Teyla. "I know you," she says eyes narrowing. "I've seen you before. In a picture Mer's got on his dresser. You're -" and then her own eyes go wide and she turns to Rodney with alarm. "That's Teyla, Mer. From the Atlantis expedition! What is she doing here? She shouldn't be here!"
Rodney holds out his hands in as placating a manner as he can manage. "Jeannie, just let me explain."
"You'd damn well better, Mer!" She's got her fists planted on her hips so Rodney knows he's going to have to talk fast.
"This, as you already know, is Teyla and this is Ronon." He gestures from one to the other.
Teyla inclines her head.
"Hi," Ronon grins wolfishly down at Jeannie in a way that does not make Rodney comfortable at all (although it's in a completely different 'uncomfortable' way than Ronon's earlier teeth-baring at the door).
"Teyla," Jeannie acknowledges with a genuine smile. "It's good to finally meet you. Mer's told me lots of wonderful things." Which is actually the truth. She turns to Ronon then and actually blushes and gives a quick wiggle of her fingers. "Hi."
Oh no, Rodney is having none of that. "Look, Jeannie, they're from an alternate universe where Atlantis survived and they need my help to rescue their Rodney McKay from a biometrically sealed quantum stasis prison."
"Along with the Military Commander of Atlantis." Teyla adds.
"Yes, yes. Apparently my alternate counterpart is trapped with John Sheppard."
Jeannie's eyes widen in interest. "Major Sheppard? Who you worked with on Atlantis?"
Of course that's her initial takeaway. Rodney recognizes her sudden grin. "Oh no," he cautions, "don't start that again." Before she can say anything that will embarrass him, he pushes on. "Look, Jeannie, we need to help them."
"Okay." Jeannie says simply.
"Okay?" Rodney echoes, because there's no way it's that simple.
"Yes, Mer. Okay. I can't really ignore the evidence of my own eyes, can I? Obviously Teyla being here signifies something. Plus, you're not freaking out, so I think it's safe to assume that you believe what you're telling me." She shrugs, as if it is all that simple. "So, I'm going to help."
Heaving a put-upon sigh, Rodney realizes there's going to be no talking Jeannie out of helping. "Fine, fine. Just..." he waggles dismissive fingers at her, "don't get in the way."
Jeanie snorts. "Yeah, as if. Maybe you should move so I can get a look at whatever you're trying to hide on that screen."
Because his sister is not above getting physical (and really, getting pushed around by his younger sister in front of the Pegasus natives would just be embarrassing) Rodney cooperates. Jeannie is just as captivated by the data as he is.
Before they can get too involved in it, Teyla insists on reviewing things for Jeannie. It doesn't take too long to bring her up to speed so then he and Jeannie spend the next hour or so after that reading over each other's shoulders and fighting with each other for control of the mouse and arguing about details in files themselves. (Rodney keeps pointing out the fact that it only makes sense that he's right, since his alternate counterpart authored them... therefore he should know what his alternate universe brain was thinking. Jeannie just swats him in the head.) They work out how best to construct the device utilizing comparable components and parts.
Eventually they both sit back, satisfied with what they've got planned and Rodney realizes that Teyla and Ronon are no longer in the living room. "Where'd they go?"
"Lunch, about a half an hour ago." Jeannie explains. "Ronon was hungry and so Teyla took him to pick up some food for all of us."
"Oh. Uh, Jeannie you do know that neither of them is from Earth, right? I mean, they're both Pegasus natives."
She shrugs. "So?"
"So, are you sure they can drive?"
He gets cuffed upside the head. "Duh, Mer. Of course they can drive. How do you think they got here? The quantum mirror they came through was in Nevada. They're in Canada now."
"Oh, right." Rodney really hadn't thought about that. "So, what do you think of all of this." He makes a vague gesture that takes in himself and Jeannie and the room in general. "Pretty weird, hey?"
Jeannie blows out an amused breath. "Oh yeah. Weird doesn't even begin to cover it." She puts a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay, Mer? I mean, this can't be easy, knowing there's another universe where Atlantis survived. That it could've been different for us."
Rodney's been trying to avoid thinking about that, really. Since returning from Pegasus he's been, well... he'd be lying to himself if he tried to claim that he's been anything other than miserable. He hates not being directly involved in the Stargate program, but there was just so much bad blood after Atlantis. He couldn't keep working for them.
He doesn't say any of that though. He just pats the hand on his shoulder and nods. "We have to help them. I mean, I'm essentially going to be saving myself, right?"
Jeannie squeezes her fingers tighter. "Of course you'd think of it that way." She hesitates in a way that Rodney knows she's going to say something he doesn't want to hear. "Um, you know we're going to have to find John Sheppard next, right?"
Rodney fights the urge to groan in annoyance. Trust Jeannie to not let things lie. "Yes, Jeannie, I'm fully aware of that. The biometric lock needs both sets of contributing DNA."
"And?" she asks, like it makes perfect sense.
"And what?" Rodney nearly spits out. He is not having this conversation with his sister. Well, not again. Apparently talking about his feelings that one time, nearly ten years ago, is going to haunt him for a lifetime.
"I'm just saying. You haven't had a serious relationship since you came back from Atlantis. I know you said you were over him, but..." she trails off suggesting... well, suggesting anything, because Rodney really doesn't know what the hell she's getting at.
He pulls away from her and stalks into the kitchen. The coffee carafe is designed to hold heat so even though it's been a while since Ronon brewed it, it should still be warm. He pours himself a mug. Jeannie, being Jeannie, follows him and waits until he's downed about half the mug before she starts in on him again.
"All I'm saying, Mer, is that this could be a second chance."
Fortunately, before Rodney has time to even think about what Jeannie's suggesting - to say nothing of trying to refute it - Teyla and Ronon get back with take-out bags from Rodney's favorite Thai place.
"Don't worry, McKay," Ronon tells him with an odd sort of assurance as he hands a carton over. "No citrus."
Rodney is... strangely touched by that. When Teyla said that they were all on the same team, it really didn't strike Rodney what that must've meant. He remembers, vaguely now, how it felt to be part of the team with Sheppard and Aiden Ford and Teyla back when he was still on Atlantis. Clearly, from the lengths Ronon and Teyla are willing to go to rescue their own John and Rodney, the team bond remains strong. Watching Teyla and Ronon interact as they distribute food and dishes and cutlery, they certainly act a lot like he and Jeannie; like family.
"So," Jeannie tells them once everyone has plates set in front of them. "I've managed to track down John Sheppard."
"You did?" Rodney frowns around a piece of crispy red pork.
"Mer, don't talk with your mouth full," Jeannie chides. "And yes, while you were running through the schematics on the mirror remote I did some digging in the SGC's files."
She says it like she just got on the internet and browsed some white pages listings and didn't hack a secure government agency that probably has some of the best security specialists in the world working for them (to be fair though, Jeannie is - on occasion - one of those specialists). There are times that Rodney bemoans the fact that his sister is too honest and nice for her own good. Between the pair of them they'd have made a hell of a super-villain team.
Jeannie spends a moment smiling goofily at Ronon's approving nod and then clears her throat noisily. "Um, he's in California. Near Edwards Air Force Base, in Palmdale."
"Does he still work for the SGC?" Rodney kind of hates himself for being so curious. His leaving and Sheppard's staying in was one of the last things they ever talked - well, fought - about.
"Kind of. He's working under a joint Air Force operation as a test pilot."
That doesn't surprise Rodney in the least. He bites his tongue on half a dozen snide comments that want to slip out. Teyla and Ronon are John Sheppard's friends. Ranting about what a jackass he is probably isn't going to do Rodney any favors.
"So what's the plan then?" Ronon asks. He's put away a truly spectacular amount of food and is eying Rodney's last spring roll covetously.
Pulling his plate just a little closer (and from Ronon's knowing grin, this must be a familiar dance between them) Rodney tells them. "Jeannie and I have managed to go through the list of parts and components necessary for the uh, mirror remote. Fortunately about eight-five to ninety percent of it shouldn't be a problem to get. That last ten to fifteen, however, is going to prove troublesome."
"I think, maybe," Jeannie picks up Rodney's lead, "we might need to try to find a contact at the SGC who can help."
"Fortunately," Rodney goes on, "I do still keep in touch with a few people from the Atlantis mission who stuck with the SGC, and might be sympathetic to the situation."
"Sympathetic enough to keep this quiet?" Ronon asks.
Rodney looks at Jeannie and she gives a quick little dip of her head. "Yeah, I think so."
"That is good to hear, Rodney." Teyla says. "I think it will help to have someone on the inside, as your people say."
"So, I think we should get on the road as early as tomorrow." He looks to Teyla and Ronon. "That's not too soon for you guys. I know you just drove up here from Nevada."
Ronon just shrugs but Teyla shake her head. "No, that's not too soon, Rodney, but thank you for the consideration. We are anxious to get this done. Shall I assume we're going to find John?"
There's a part of Rodney that wants to ignore the John Sheppard factor in all of this, but he knows he can't. He needs to put his own feelings aside for the sake of helping these people. And for the sake of an Atlantis that's still out there, even if it is in a different universe.
Hopefully he doesn't sound as reluctant as he feels when he says, "Yeah, that makes the most sense. I'll try to work on the device while we're on the road and then once we've got Sheppard, we can head to Nevada and I can focus on getting it finished. I think we should be close to the mirror in case the SGC cottons on to what our inside person is doing."
"That is wise," Teyla agrees.
Ronon claps him hard on the shoulder, rocking him in his chair. "Sounds good, McKay."
Rodney pushes his plate over to Ronon. "Here you behemoth. Maybe feeding you will keep you from abusing me."
Luckily, Ronon must be used to his mouth, because he just grins around the spring roll that he's just chomped in half. "Hey," Rodney protests to Jeannie. "How come he doesn't get yelled at for the chewing with a closed mouth thing?"
He regrets asking when Jeannie just ducks her head and giggles at Ronon. "He's a guest, Rodney."
Just what he needs to deal with: Jeannie getting a crush on the alien from another quantum reality. Although from the way Ronon is grinning right back, he may have to step in sooner or later. Not that he has any idea what he could do.
"I'm going to go pack up some stuff for the trip." He pointedly nudges his sister. "Jeannie, maybe you should do the same."
She waves him away. "I'll get to it, Rodney. Let me finish my lunch."
Rodney refrains from pointing out that her plate is empty. He just throws up his hands. "Fine."
"If it is alright," Teyla also stands, "I'm going to take a nap. We drove straight here from Nevada with very few breaks." Aside to Rodney she whispers, "Ronon is far too fond of your planet's heavy metal music. It was sometimes difficult to sleep through while he was driving."
He guides Teyla to the guest room and then goes to basement to scrounge his workshop there. He does R&D projects on a consultant basis for more than two dozen different firms in fields like defense, medical device and environmental development. They pay through the nose for his services - mainly because he can solve their problems - and he's got a boilerplate contract that stipulates his non-disclosure of their intellectual property in exchange for his insistence on being able to work from his own space. He's earned a reputation as a problem solver and the companies who hire him are more than happy to provide whatever he needs to build prototypes; as a result he's got a plethora of raw materials and electronics to sort through.
Jeannie joins him down there some time later.
He looks up from the two different circuit boards he's comparing (trying to decide which will better accommodate he the noise suppression configuration he's likely to use with the ferrite bead array and a common mode choke coil), "Done flirting with the caveman?"
"Rodney," she scolds, "knock it off. Ronon and I were just talking. He's quite nice."
He notices she won't quite meet his eyes though. "Oh, I'm sure he's very nice." Rodney's not actually being sarcastic when he says that. "I mean, he and Teyla went to all this trouble to rescue me. Well, you know what I mean. Just..." He frowns, not quite sure why it's bothering him. "Just remember that he and Teyla are only here until we can get them home. Don't get too attached."
"He's not a lost puppy, Rodney." Jeannie laughs. "It's not like I don't know what the situation is." Her shoulders rise and fall in an easy shrug. "But he is nice. And really, really good looking." She sticks her tongue out at him when he scowls.
"Did he tell you you're married in his universe?" Rodney snaps.
He probably deserves the eye roll he gets in return. "Yes, Rodney, he did. And that alternate me has a daughter. She's cute. He's got a picture of her in his wallet," she explains at Rodney's quirked eyebrow. "I get the impression that they're all very close. His team. Like a family."
Rodney growls out a cautioning, "Jeannie...,"
She raises her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I get it. Anyway, Ronon and I were talking about the car situation. Obviously we'll need to get a different car. They ditched the one they stole, but I don't think we should take mine either. I was gonna take him with me to get a rental tomorrow morning. We're thinking a van."
"Wait, what?" Rodney sets the boards back onto the electrostatic discharge mat on his work bench. "Jeannie, if someone finds that car, they could start to link it to us."
She waves that away. "Rodney, they left it in a long term parking lot at the airport and took a cab here. They're not stupid, you know. Teyla and Ronon. Just because they're from Pegasus. They've spent a lot of time on Earth. Ronon didn't go into all the details but apparently their Atlantis crossed galaxies and spent some time here cloaked on the Pacific ocean!"
Eyes going wide, Rodney feels a rush of something warm and tingly rush through his system. "They got her flying?"
Jeannie nods, her own eyes shining with a shared excitement. "Yeah. Apparently she's fully flight-capable. And I probably shouldn't tell you this, but they used a wormhole drive to bring her to Earth!"
"Wormhole drive?" Rodney echoes, incredulous. "That actually worked? I was... I found some of the notes on it in the Ancient database, but they'd abandoned it due to instability."
"Yeah, well the Ancients didn't have Rodney McKay, did they?" She grins. "It was that universes' Rodney McKay who figured it out and made it possible."
The elation - because oh my god, wormhole drive - lasts a few more moments before reality comes crashing down. He slumps over on his stool, shoulders hunching. "But that wasn't me, Jeannie. Here in this reality, what the hell am I?" He looks up at his sister, knows he must look like a kicked-puppy. "I'm just some tech-geek who gave up on the chance to travel to other planets because I'm apparently too stupid to play the politics game right."
"Mer," Jeannie crosses over to him and puts an arm over his shoulder. "You're going to be the guy who crosses universes to save lives. It doesn't get much cooler than that."
Somewhat mollified, Rodney shrugs under Jeannie's arm. "I suppose that's pretty cool."
Jeannie pulls up another stool and grabs a tray of organized components. She looks through the list Rodney has on the table and starts sorting. "It still isn't easy, though. Is it?" She asks, after a few minutes of silently working at his side.
"There's just so much 'what if' running through my head." Rodney admits.
"You know, Mer, there's nothing that says that once we help them rescue their Rodney and Sheppard, that that's it for us."
Rodney frowns and looks over at her.
She just shrugs a bit absently. "I'm just saying. There's not much tying us here. No family. No jobs. Not really, anyway."
How can she even be thinking such a thing? There's... well, not his work, because although he gets the occasional chance to publish, the truly Nobel-worthy work he's done is classified. And she's right about family. He's got Jeannie and that's it. His cat had to be put down a few months earlier and he hasn't had the heart to replace her. There are a few old friends from the SGC that he'd miss: Carson Beckett, Sam Carter, Elizabeth Weir. Not that he speaks to any of them all that often any longer. His falling out with the SGC saw to that. And, really, of all people, they'd probably understand it if he left this universe for another.
For a moment, it starts to seem like the best idea ever.
Then he remembers the mission reports from SG-1 and the cold bucket of reality gets dumped on his head. "We couldn't stay there, Jeannie. Entropic cascade failure."
"I've been thinking about that, Rodney. You know that the effects are directly related to the disparity and distance between universes. If, and granted this is a long-shot, if our universe and theirs is in close proximity then maybe there's a way we can counter the effects?"
He's not going to get his hopes up. "Jeannie, that's all well and good, but don't count on it, alright? It's not... it's not a likelihood, okay."
Jeannie sighs. "I know, Mer. But it's a nice thought."
They work together in silence - well, bickering occasionally which is their usual style when they're on the same projects - for a few hours until Rodney declares that they've cannibalized as much as they can from his supply. They scrub over the rest of the list, making notes on what they'll still need, what they can probably get without needing to order parts, and what might require some inside-support from someone at the SGC.
Dinner is pizza, because Ronon insisted and then tells them all that they're going to love the pizza they make on Atlantis with Athosian wheat crust, Mercuthan goat cheese and a tomato-like fruit called 'poram' that are bright magenta.
Rodney does manage to coax a little more information on the alternate Atlantis from both of them. He's saddened to learn of what eventually happened to Aiden Ford. He's not sure if that's better or worse than what happened to him in this reality. If he'd fallen overboard during the battle, then he'd definitely been killed when the city self-destructed.
Although apparently it was because of Ford that they managed to find Ronon. So, better probably.
Some of the things Teyla and Ronon tell him are just... almost impossible to believe. The Wraith almost gone? Replicators in Pegasus? Unreal. He's especially fascinated when Teyla tells him about how Atlantis herself operates with a full complement of Zed-PMs. He can't wait to go there and to see her in action. And regular, bi-weekly dial-ins from Earth? It's amazing.
The next morning after Jeannie and Rodney come back with a rental - a van like she suggested - they load up everything they'll need for the trip, close up Jeannie's house (leaving a key with a neighbor who's promised to stop in and water the plants and eat the food in the fridge if she'd gone too long) and get on the road.
It's about an eighteen hour drive from Vancouver to Palmdale, but they take a little more time than that because Rodney can only handle so many hours in a car (and Teyla wasn't lying about Ronon's musical tastes). They rotate drivers, although Rodney spends most of his time working on the specs for the quantum remote control so he only fills in for one short leg of the journey. Usually when Ronon is driving, Jeannie sits up from with him and keeps him company while Teyla alternates doing her own napping and chatting with Rodney about her universe.
He knows Teyla, but he was right that she's a very different person than the Teyla he first met after the culling of Athos. She's a single mother to a seven year old. She talks a little, late the first night when she's driving and Rodney is in the front seat reading through more notes and Jeannie and Ronon snooze in the backseat, about a man from Athos with whom she shared a relationship and had a child.
Rodney's not fully clear on what happened to him or how he died, but he gleans that it was something to do with the Wraith, that he was missing for a time and that they were able to spend a few more years together after she found him again. Teyla is surprisingly matter-of-fact about it, but he supposes her whole life was spent rejoicing in the memory of those she lost, rather than mourning them. A lesson hard-learned under the shadow of the Wraith.
It's upsetting to learn that the Elizabeth Weir in their universe is dead. Again, Teyla doesn't go into detail, but she tells him enough that he understands how much her death affected everyone. Teyla sounds as sorrowful over Weir as she does her son's father.
He's completely flummoxed by her story about Carson. Because apparently he's still around in their universe, but he's a clone of the original who - if Rodney didn't mishear, though he strongly suspects he did - died as the result of an exploding tumor. It's hard to know how to feel about that. He and the Carson in this universe are still friends, but the closeness they used to share was strained by everything that happened after Atlantis. Thinking about any version of Carson dying makes him regret how distant things are between them now.
Teyla also tell him quietly, when Ronon and Jeannie are both crashed out in the backseat, that Ronon has apparently had very few serious relationships since he's been on Atlantis. (Rodney may have been prying a little bit, out of concern for his sister). Apparently there was a brief and not too serious fling with one of the Marines stationed on Atlantis that ended amicably, and prior to that he'd harbored a crush on the Doctor who replaced Carson. Rodney can't figure out why Teyla looks askance at him when she talks about it.
He wants to ask about his own... well, his alternate counterpart's relationship status, but he's afraid to. He gets the sense that there are some things that Teyla talks around, rather than directly about, and he figures there's a reason for it.
They arrive in Palmdale at just after dawn on a Saturday morning and Rodney suggests finding a hotel where he can begin work on construction of the remote. They made a few stops along their way - to the Radio Shack that Radek suggested, a Super Electronics (instead of the 'Best Buy' that was also on his list of recommendations, after Teyla described what kind of store a 'Best Buy' might be), and one extremely helpful stop at one of the corporations that Rodney just finished up some contract work for. They're a medical device company, but they utilize some highly difficult to find (at least on the open market) materials in the construction of MRI magnets. Some bluster about improving magnet efficiency and scan clarity and they're more than happy to provide him with samples of what he needs.
That still does leave a few things they're going to need to get from the labs in the SGC, but he has enough to at least start building the casing for the device as well as much of the electronics.
Jeannie taps away at her cell and finds them a place to stay.
"A Red Roof Inn?" Rodney grumbles when they pull into the parking lot. "Couldn't you have at least found a Vacation Inn Express or something with free WiFi and a continental breakfast?"
"Quit bitching, Mer. I picked this one because John Sheppard lives just down the street."
Which isn't news that Rodney wants to learn. He'd spent pretty much the whole trip avoiding thinking any thoughts about Sheppard.
"Plus they do have wireless, and a free breakfast." She adds reluctantly, because Jeannie is not above a few creature comforts herself.
"Oh, well that's fine then." Rodney is forced to admit. They get a pair of adjacent rooms with two double beds in each. Rodney insists on bunking with Ronon. Not that he expected Jeannie to try to fight him on it, but still, he's holding off any shenanigans as long as he can.
They meet back up in Rodney and Ronon's room once they've all gotten checked-in and settled.
"I think," Teyla starts to say with a certain hesitancy in her tone, "that we should go and find John as soon as possible."
"Uh," Rodney makes a protesting noise without really having any reason to argue. He scrambles for something to say. "Oh, I uh, just thought we might wait until I had the device further along."
They all frown at him but it's Jeannie who asks, "Why?"
"Umm, because..." He snaps his fingers. "Because he's a busy guy, I'll bet. He's not going to want to sit around with us while Jeannie and I work on the remote." Oh that's weak. Even to his own ears that's a ridiculously weak argument.
Jeannie doesn't even dignify it with a response. She just turns to Teyla and says, "His house is only a about a half mile from here."
Teyla nods. "Alright. Shall we walk?"
"Nah," Ronon says as he stands up. "Let's take the van. If he's not there, we can go find some place for breakfast."
Rodney can't fault Ronon for his priorities. Speaking of his. "I'll just wait here then." He gestures to the small desk where he's already started disassembling the remote for a radio controlled car that's going to serve as the housing for his remote. "Get started."
"Oh no, Rodney." Teyla shakes her head. "You're coming with us."
"But why do I need to go? You and Ronon persuaded me about the truth easy enough. I'm sure Sheppard will be the same."
"Rodney." Teyla frowns at him. And geez, that's almost enough to get him to back down; it's not easy being on the receiving end of Teyla's look of disappointment. "I am sure we can convince John of the truth well enough, in time, but your presence and your reassurance will help to speed that along."
There's really nothing Rodney can say to refute that. And he's going to have to face Sheppard at some point. Probably better to get this over with. "Alright," he agrees, grudgingly. "But if he's not there, we're leaving and getting breakfast."
Rodney feels a bit silly when they get in the car and drive for all of two minutes just around a corner. In fact, if they'd walked it, it probably would've taken all of five minutes as the crow flies from the hotel. He remembers off world missions where the walk from the Stargate to the village was several miles. Still, it's already a warm morning and - more importantly - having a vehicle means a quicker escape.
The house they pull up to is a small ranch on a corner lot. What patchy grass there is amidst the dirt is withered and dry and there are two scraggly trees in a tiny yard that's surrounded by weathered, grey split rail fencing. Nothing exists behind the postage stamp yard but scrub grass and desert as far as the eye can see. There's no car in the driveway, but there's a one-car attached garage that's closed, so it's impossible to tell if anyone is home.
Rodney and Teyla go to the door together, leaving Jeannie and Ronon standing a few yards back.
"You can do this, Rodney." Teyla tells him in a low voice as they walk up. "I do not know what occurred between you and this John, but I know that in my universe, the two of you are the very best of friends, and two of the bravest, strongest men I have ever known." She takes his hand in hers and gives it a quick squeeze.
Blinking at suddenly runny eyes -pollen in the dry air, nothing more - Rodney returns the squeeze for a moment and then smiles down at her. "Thanks, Teyla. I wish we'd never have had to say goodbye in this universe. I've missed you."
"Then let us do this together, Rodney. It will be alright, I assure you."
Rodney gives a firm nod and then pulls his hand away to knock at the door.
There's no response for a few minutes. At Teyla's nudge to his ribs, Rodney knocks again.
"Looks like he's not ho-"
The inner door swings open. On the other side of a barred security door, John Sheppard sees him and goes still. His eyes narrow. "McKay?"
He looks exactly like Rodney remembers and it makes Rodney's chest tight. Same cowlicked, bed-messy hair and slightly sullen, slightly cocky expression. His eyes are the same dark-edged, green-grey kind of hazel, with starbursts of dark amber ringing the pupil (not that Rodney's ever made a study of John's eyes...) and the way they're locked on Rodney's face is achingly familiar.
Okay, Rodney has to amend after a few more seconds of study, maybe there's a little bit of grey at his temples, and the stubble that darkens his chin is shot-through with silver. There are more lines around his eyes than in the John Sheppard in Rodney's memory as well. And maybe the hair is just a bit wilder. Although, Rodney is forced to admit to himself, that could be because they just got John out of bed, if the boxers and inside-out t-shirt he's wearing are any indication.
John looks like he's about to say more but then his gaze shifts over to Teyla and his jaw drops. He actually backs up a step. His hand drops down to his side, and Rodney knows that if he was wearing a sidearm, his hand would be on it.
It's a bit gratifying on Rodney's part to see that his initial reaction at seeing her wasn't completely out of line.
"Hello, John." Teyla says. There's just the hint of a curl at the corner of her mouth and Rodney suddenly realizes she's getting a kick out of this.
He hates to rain on her parade, but John Sheppard could potentially cause trouble if he doesn't get answers soon.
"Yes, Sheppard, it's Teyla. You're not seeing things, she's not your imagination, she's not an alien or a shapeshifter or an android or a Goa'uld."
Both Sheppard and Teyla turn to look at him at that. He shrugs. "What?" he says to Teyla, only a trifle defensive, "I've always had an active imagination."
"Okay," Sheppard drawls, "then what is she? Because there's no way in hell that's the Teyla who was with us on Atlantis."
Rodney holds up his hand and waggles it back and forth. "Well, you're right and you're not. I mean, this isn't the Teyla who was with us on Atlantis, but this is a Teyla from Atlantis." He takes a deep breath. Here goes: "She's from an alternate universe."
John's brows dip inward and he frowns. "Really?"
"Yes, really." Rodney huffs. "What other explanation could there be?"
John shrugs. "I dunno, McKay. Hallucination, alien, shapeshifter, android, Goa'uld." He smirks.
"Yes, yes. Very funny. Look, we need to talk to you." He closes his eyes and swallows before he asks, "Can we come in?"
When he opens his eyes John is looking at him with an especially perplexed expression. "Sure," he finally relents, "and you can also explain who the other two people in my front yard might be."
Rodney turns around to see that Jeannie and Ronon have moved further up the drive and are watching their exchange.
"Yes, we'll explain who they are too." When John still hesitates to make any overtures that actually suggest he's going to invite them in, Rodney forces out a, "Please, Sheppard. It's important." If it comes out through gritted teeth, well that's just tough.
John gives a quick nod. "Alright." He unlocks the security door and pushes it open. "C'mon in."
Rodney waves for the others to follow and he passes by John into the house.
"To your right," John instructs from behind him. "Dining room and kitchen."
Rodney follows his directions, passing by a dim room furnished with a living room set and a large screen TV and going down a short hall and into a surprisingly neat and tidy area that's open concept from the small, but again neat, kitchen to a room dining area. There's a table in the center of that space, ringed by four chairs, so Rodney goes over and takes a seat. While the others are joining him, he looks around.
From what he can see, John's done very little decorating. He caught sight of a surfboard on the wall in the living room, and that damn Johnny Cash poster was above the couch. Other than that, the place doesn't look very lived in. He wonders how long John's been living here.
John trails after them and stays standing in the kitchen behind a small island counter. "Can I get anyone anything?" he asks, albeit grudgingly.
"No, thank you, John." Teyla declines for all of them.
He shrugs. "Suit yourself. I just woke up, so I'm making coffee. Holler if you want some." His eye lingers on Rodney for just a moment longer than the others as if he's expecting some kind of...
"I'll take a coffee," Rodney pipes up. And then curses himself internally for being so weak-willed. Especially as John's mouth curves into a knowing smirk just before he turns around.
"So," John says while he starts opening cupboards and rummaging around. "Anyone care to tell me what Teyla from an alternate universe is doing in my kitchen." He looks back over his shoulder. "Oh, and also who these other people are?"
"Oh, right." Rodney frowns across the table. "Sorry. This is my sister, Jeannie. And this is Ronon. He came with Teyla."
John stops what he's doing, wipes his hands on a towel and then walks into the dining area. He holds out his hand to Jeannie first and the Ronon, to shake them. "John Sheppard. Sorry about being a bit rude, there." He steps back and frowns. "I'm just a little surprised." He looks down at himself and gives a little sigh. "And in my underwear. That's great."
Jeannie waves it way. "It's alright, John. I live with Me... Rodney, so I've already heard a lot about you. I feel like we've met already."
"Yeah. I've met you too." Ronon says.
"Oh, yeah?"
Ronon nods. "Yeah, in our universe we're all on the same team. Well, except Jeannie here." And Rodney isn't oblivious to the fact that Ronon puts his hand on Jeannie's where's it's lying on the table.
John parses that for a moment. "On Atlantis, right?"
Ronon nods again.
"Okay." John backs up into the kitchen, putting the butcher-block counter between them again. "So what? In your universe Atlantis wasn't destroyed?"
Rodney absolutely does not ask him about that coffee he was starting.
"No, John." Teyla tells him using that same gentle tone she'd used with Rodney. "We did not have to abandon the city because of the Wraith. We succeeded during the siege of Atlantis, and have continued on in Pegasus. The city and her people are thriving."
Rodney takes pity on him. "I know it's a lot to take in, Sheppard. I mean, when they first showed up at my door I almost slammed it shut in their faces."
"He almost fainted," Ronon says, grinning across the table at Rodney.
Rodney rolls his eyes. "Oh, please. I did not."
But, Ronon's comment at least earns a slight grin out of John and seems to snap him out of whatever incipient panic was building. "So, uh, how did they get here?" he asks.
"They used the quantum mirror at the SGC." Rodney explains.
John frowns. "I remember reading SG-1's mission reports about that thing." He turns the frown on Rodney. "I thought they destroyed the mirror?"
"Yeah," Rodney says, heavy on the acerbity, "we all did. But apparently there are quite a few pieces of dangerous and supposedly dismantled and demolished alien tech hidden away in a bunker in Nevada, fully functional. The mirror being one of them."
John snorts. "That's great to know."
"No kidding," Rodney agrees and they share a wry grin for a moment. It's just a moment, but that little bit of commiseration does a lot to remind Rodney of why he and John had worked so good together on Atlantis.
And maybe John remembers that too because he drops his chin and has to clear his throat before he goes on to ask, "So what about what they're doing here. Was it an accident?"
Teyla answers before Rodney can. "No, John. We came here looking for you and Rodney. We need your help."
"I thought you had a Sheppard and McKay in your universe." He looks over at Ronon. "I thought you said we were all on a team? You mean like a gate team, right?"
"Yep." Ronon confirms. "Atlantis Recon one."
Before anyone else can add to that, John slaps a hand on the counter. Rodney jerks, startled. Teyla and Ronon don't react, but Jeannie straightens in her chair, looking slightly alarmed.
"They're in trouble, aren't they?" John asks, raising a pointing finger at the group, but it's less a question and more a statement. "That's why Teyla and Ronon are here looking for us. Their Sheppard and McKay are in trouble."
Huh, Rodney has to give it to John; he picked that up pretty quick. "Yes. They're essentially stuck in a quantum-stasis field that's biometrically keyed to both of their DNA. Unfortunately this biometric seal requires living, breathing people to trigger it to open." He sees a question start to form on John's lips and cuts it off. "They're not clear on how the two managed to get stuck in there. There should've been fail-safes to prevent it. It's at an Ancient outpost off world so who knows how screwy things got over time."
He waves that away. "Anyway, Teyla and Ronon would like us to go back with them, to their universe, so we can get their Sheppard and McKay out."
"And just how," John grinds out, "are we supposed to do that?" There's a muscle twitching just behind his jaw like he's biting down hard on something.
It makes Rodney shift a little nervously in his seat. "Well, we're planning on getting back through the mirror. Now, we know that might be difficult, because apparently Ronon and Teyla had to uh..." he looks over at Teyla helplessly.
"We were discovered leaving the storage facility." Teyla explains. "We suspect the area might be under increased guard when we return."
"Do they know you came through the mirror?" John asks, alarmed. "What if they've moved it, or destroyed it?"
"We do not believe they know that we came through the mirror."
"Still," John protests.
Rodney holds up a hand. "John, I know where you're going with this. I've already got a plan."
"Oh, McKay's got a plan." He adds extra vowels to the last word, drawing it out.
And whoa, where is that sarcasm coming from?
"Yes," Teyla confirms, apparently fully capable of ignoring whatever crawled up John's ass (which Rodney sure isn't). "Rodney has utilized the information we brought with us from Atlantis."
John just sighs and scrubs a hand over his face. "Fine. What's the plan then?"
Teyla turns to him. From the expectant and stern look on her face, Rodney knows that his challenging John about the snark will not be welcome at this point. He crosses his arm and lifts his chin defiantly. Just because he can't call John out for being an ass doesn't need he has to be nice about it. "Utilizing schematics provided from the alternate universe I'm working on completing a device that will allow us to interface with the quantum mirror and ensure we return to the correct universe. I have approximately ninety percent of the materials I need to complete this device. The additional ten percent will have to come from the SGC."
That gets him a disbelieving head shake. "And just how the hell do you plan on accomplishing that, McKay? I'm guessing from the fact that Teyla and her buddy there aren't sitting in Colorado Springs right now means that this is under the SGC's radar."
"Very astute, Major." And perhaps Rodney's tone has a bit more of an edge to it than he intended (although he did intend some of it) because Jeannie kicks him under the table.
If Jeannie wants to butt in, then Rodney's more than happy to let her. He waves a hand in her direction, inviting her to explain.
She shoots him a quick, sideward scowl, but does pick where he left off. "There are still a few people at the SGC who we think can be trusted and we've got one or two in mind who might be willing to help us out with this." She gets that slightly imperious, 'lecturing the know-it-all grad-students' tone that Rodney's witnessed when she's done favors for colleagues and filled in to proctor classes. "We're aware this is a risk, Major, and it's not one we're undertaking lightly. I know you and Rodney have history, especially as it relates to Atlantis, but we're talking about saving people's lives here. For the sake of Teyla and Ronon, at least, it'd be nice if the two of you could set aside your issues and focus on the problem at hand."
To Rodney's surprise, John's shoulders fall and he sighs heavily. "Yeah, alright." He waves back over his shoulder. "I just... I need a minute." John doesn't wait for an answer and he heads out of the kitchen.
Rodney looks around the table. "Should I follow him?" He asks. Three faces stare at him expectantly. "I should follow him." He gets up from the table and when no one tries to stop him, Rodney heads in the direction Sheppard went.
He finds him, after a couple of wrong turns (one into a bedroom that is as sparse as the rest of the house he's seen so far barring a really plush looking blue duvet on the bed, and the other into a white-on-white bathroom which must be a bear to keep clean) and then finally finds John in the garage.
He's leaning against the wall, a beer in his hand. There's a newish Chevy pickup parked inside, a stacked metal tool box with a drawer left open next to the door and some surfing paraphernalia on one of the benches that line back and far walls. Otherwise it's as Spartan as the rest of the place.
"Isn't it a little early for that?" Rodney gestures to the beer.
John just shrugs. "I figure I've earned it. You want one?" He points to a mini fridge that's underneath the slightly cluttered workbench. "Help yourself."
"Uh, no thanks." He crosses his arms and waits. "Still holding out for that coffee."
John snorts, and it might be amusement or annoyance, it's hard to tell which.
Rodney waits him out. No one's ever accused him of being patient, but he's not going to let John Sheppard taunt him into being the one to break the silence just by... being John Sheppard. With his stupid leaning, and his fingers hooked loose around the neck of the bottle and the line of his throat when he swallows...
"So, pretty weird, hey?" John says eventually. "I mean, Teyla being here. That's pretty crazy, right?"
"You seem remarkably blasé about this, Sheppard, I have to be honest. I mean, hearing that there's another universe out there where Atlantis wasn't destroyed..." he trails off, trying to put that initial feeling into words. "When they first told me, I just... I couldn't believe it."
"Yeah, well. It's cool to know, McKay. But fat lot of good that does us in this universe. Our Atlantis is still gone. We're still having to live every day here, on Earth, instead of on a giant alien city floating on an alien ocean on an alien planet in another damn galaxy. It kind of sucks to know that we got the raw end of the deal."
"I miss Atlantis too, John." Rodney says softly. Even though John's words weren't directed at him, they still hurt for some unfathomable reason.
Well, not so unfathomable. He's always blamed himself for not doing more... for not coming up with some other solution. For not saving the day. Learning that it was done better, done right, somewhere else has kicked his guilt complex into overdrive. He figures maybe that's why he's so gung-ho to help Ronon and Teyla now. Because at least it's doing something.
"How did they do it?" John asks after a long, heavy silence.
"Survive the siege?"
John gives a quick and curt nod.
"Well, it wasn't Colonel Morris who came to Atlantis in their universe. It was a Colonel Everett." Rodney shrugs. He doesn't want to think that one man, especially one Marine Colonel, could make that much of a difference.
John makes a noise; sort of a grunt of acknowledgment. "So what did this Everett do that Morris didn't?"
Rodney shrugs. "I'm not sure, to be honest. Teyla's told me some of it. Everett and his men gated in, just like Morris did. I got the impression they were more focused on saving the city than Morris's people. Teyla said that Everett ordered the cancellation of the self-destruct. Maybe in their universe the chance to save the city outweighed the risk of the wraith getting to Earth?" He hefts his shoulders up in a weary shrug. "I don't know. I should've done more," Rodney says in a small voice.
To his utter shock, John agrees with a soft, "Yeah."
"Wait, what? Me? Why didn't you fight harder for her?" Rodney spits out, defensive.
"What?" Sheppard's whole face tightens, eyes narrowing and mouth firming to a thin line. "Listen, McKay, I was willing to throw everything away to keep the city safe. Including my own life, so don't you dare accuse me of not fighting." He takes a threatening step closer. "If you want to blame anyone for what happened, why don't you look in a mirror."
"What?" Rodney gasps at the allegation. "What do you mean by that?"
Sheppard lifts an accusatory finger towards him. "Every other time, McKay." He punctuates those three words with jabs of his finger. "Every other time you were able to come up with something to get us out of shit. But the one time we really needed you, you were asleep on the damn job."
Nearly apoplectic, Rodney steps right into that jabbing finger, feeling it push against his collarbone. "What are you talking about? I worked my ass off to save the city from the Wraith. I tried everything and I kept going until I was forcibly sedated."
John steps back and his hand falls down to his side. "Wait, what?" He cants his head to the side, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening as he narrows them. "What do you mean, forcibly sedated?"
"You didn't know?" Rodney frowns, because Sheppard looks completely confused. How could Sheppard not have known that? "Your idiot Colonel Morris ordered Beckett to have me sedated. Said I was too exhausted to keep going and that I was a risk to the safety of his men."
Sheppard runs a hand through his hair. "I didn't... Listen, McKay, I didn't know that. He just told me you asked Beckett to give you something because you were too wiped out to go on."
"And you believed him?" Rodney asks, incredulous.
"Why would he lie?" John asks, but he doesn't sound sure of the question. Rodney can see him thinking it through and coming up with the same ugly truth that Rodney's known for years.
"He already had Elizabeth out of the way and he wanted me out of the way too." John realizes, eyes now widening in disbelief.
"With us out of the picture, you wouldn't have anyone to fight for that opposed his ideas. Any reason to disagree with him. He wanted you to listen to him and no one else."
Sheppard's fists clench at his sides. "And he got me to play good little soldier and follow his orders," he spits out. Betrayal is an ugly mask over his features.
"Yeah," Rodney agrees, sadly, his anger ebbing away like floodwaters receding. "And by the time Beckett woke me up, and Elizabeth was conscious it was too late to do anything but set the self-destruct and get out of there."
John finishes his beer in one long swallow.
When he pulls the empty away from his mouth Rodney nods at it. "Maybe I will have one of those." He says with a wry twist of his lips.
John looks at him for what feels like a very long time and then he turns, tosses the empty into a green recycle bin and starts for the fridge.
"My friends." Teyla says from the doorway, interrupting him. She steps between them. "Please, this isn't something you should let come between you." She turns to face John first. "John, please remember that this is difficult for both you and Rodney. You're both hurting and -"
"It's okay, Teyla." Rodney tells her, cutting her off but with kindness. He looks over her shoulder to John who seems to be trying very hard to stare a hole into the wall behind Rodney's head. "Isn't it, Major?"
John's hand comes up to run up over the back of his neck and then through his already wildly mussed hair. "Yeah," he sighs. "Yeah, we're good, Teyla."
"Good." Teyla says, smiling beatifically. "Because we still have much to do." She places a hand on each of them, curving fingers around Rodney's shoulder and touching John on the back of one hand. "Jeannie is making coffee. Rejoin us when you're ready." She leaves them alone.
Another awkward silence falls, but this time Rodney doesn't mind being the one to breach it. "Uh, sorry about my sister." He waves vaguely over his shoulder. "Usurping your kitchen like that. She's really not normally so blunt..., he trails off and then shrugs. "Okay, yes she is. She's a McKay after all."
That earns him a grin. "It's damn good to see Teyla again." John says.
Rodney smiles back. "Yeah, it really is."
"She looks amazing."
"She really does." Because no matter his never-quite-forgotten attraction to Sheppard, Rodney's always found Teyla beautiful. "She's got a kid, now. Like a seven year old."
"No shit?"
"Yeah. She's told me a lot about what's happened to them. The other us, I mean."
"You really doing this? Crossing universes and going to Atlantis?"
"Yeah, Major, I am. I'm going to help Teyla and Ronon get their friends back. I'm going to see this through to the end." Feeling his smile fall away, Rodney tells him matter-of-factly, "But it won't mean much if you don't come with us." He lifts a hand and waggles it back and forth. "Okay, maybe we could always dial up another universe and try to track down another John Sheppard. Who knows where we'd end up. And I know it's a risk, us going through to the other universe, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. Jeannie's pretty much all I've got left," he admits. "Honestly, I don't know what you've got tying you here, Sheppard, but we could really use you."
"Call me, John, Rodney." John says gruffly, but with no heat to it. "And, I've got this truck," he kicks out at a tire, "and this little house, and a job that I took because one of these days I kept hoping they'd put me in something that felt as natural to fly as a puddlejumper."
The look he fixes on Rodney isn't one that's easy to interpret, but it's familiar all the same. "I've got nothing tying me here, Rodney."
It's little more than a platitude, but Rodney still says, "I'm sorry, John."
John waves that away with a noise exhale. "Don't be. Doesn't sound like you're much better off."
Which isn't something Rodney can deny. So he doesn't. He just makes a move towards the door that leads back into the house. "Should we head back?"
John catches his arm, stopping him. "In a minute."
He doesn't say anything for a long while and he doesn't let go of Rodney's arm. Finally he dips his chin and looks Rodney in the eye. "You're not coming back, are you?"
Rodney holds John's gaze as long as he can, but eventually the intensity is too much and he drops his head. "I don't want to. But there are complications. The risk of entropic cascade failure. Our bodies could be torn apart as a result." He risks looking up again. "I can't promise that we can stay there." Because that's what John's really asking and Rodney knows it.
He's not sure if that's the answer John's looking for, but he just gives a curt little nod, like he expected as much. And maybe it's just that he wanted to hear Rodney admit the truth.
"Alright, c'mon. Let's rejoin the others."
Jeannie, as Teyla had mentioned, has made coffee and apparently Ronon got impatient on the whole issue of breakfast because the two of them have also raided John's fridge and cupboard. Ronon is chopping onions with insanely fast swipes of a large knife -bowls of neatly diced green pepper and sliced mushroom already wait at his elbow - while Jeannie has a bowl full of eggs in her hand that she's whisking.
"Uh, help yourself." John says, but he's smiling.
"Thanks," Jeannie chirps brightly. "We have." She doesn't even look remotely guilty when she sets the bowl down and curls a hand around John's forearm. "I know how exhausting long talks with my brother can be. Trust me, you'll need the sustenance."
Rodney ignores her in favor of taking a mug that Teyla hands him, brimming with steaming black coffee, and heads back to his seat at the table.
"So, care to fill me in more on this plan?" John says, and then adds helpfully, "There's bacon in the freezer if you wanna thaw it out."
While Jeannie follows his advice (and Rodney knows she's probably only willing to cook bacon for Ronon) John joins Rodney at the table with his own coffee that's been lightened and sweetened liberally. During preparation of omelets and then over a really delicious breakfast, Rodney goes over their plans in detail.
Wiping his mouth with a paper towel-cum-napkin John lets out a groan of satisfaction. "That was great. Thanks, Jeannie."
"No problem." She acknowledges with a smile. "Now, with what Mer was saying about getting the rest of those parts, you still work for Stargate Command, don't you?"
"Mer?" John shoots a puzzled glance his way.
Rodney waves it away anxiously. "Nickname, never mind. What Jeannie's asking is if you think you could still get access to what we need at the SGC?"
Thankfully John accepts that answer (because Rodney doesn't feel like dealing with the name-mocking right now), or at least files the question away for later, and sits back in his chair. He thinks for a minute and then shakes his head. "Naw, I don't think so. If I even still had clearance to get downstairs near the labs, it still wouldn't be good enough to get inside. Plus, they're not too fond of me over there."
"Why is that, John?" Teyla asks.
"Eh, after everything happened with Atlantis they tried to put me on a gate team." He does that scrubbing at the back of his neck thing that tells Rodney he's uncomfortable sharing this. "I may have bucked orders a few times." He doesn't elaborate. "Eventually they decided this was the best place for me. I'm still on their payroll if they need any Ancient doodads lit up, and sometimes they send over some cool stuff for me to test pilot, but that's about it."
Rodney looks up at Jeannie. "So, Plan B?"
Jeannie nods. "Yeah."
"What's Plan B?" John asks.
"Well," she explains, "as we mentioned earlier, there may be one or two people still at the SGC who'll be willing to help us."
John looks between them. "Who do you still know at the SGC who'd have that kind of access? Zelenka's somewhere in Moscow last I heard. Beckett's running some research program down at Area 51. There's no way Sam would help you," he says to Rodney.
"No," Rodney agrees, "but Elizabeth might."
To Rodney's surprise Teyla's almost-empty coffee cup drops out of her hand to clatter on the tabletop. A few drops splatter out over the wooden surface. "Elizabeth Weir?" she asks.
"Yeah." He pauses and thinks back to their conversation in the car. "Oh, Teyla, I'm sorry. Is that too... is that going to be too hard for you?"
"No." Teyla shakes her head and though she's smiling, Rodney can tell it's forced. "No, it won't be too difficult, Rodney, but thank you for your concern once again." She reaches across the table and takes Ronon's hand.
That's when Rodney notices that his hands are clenched into fists. Jeannie curves her fingers over his wrist and just holds on.
At the puzzled glance John's casting over all of them Rodney tells him softly, "Their Elizabeth died several years ago."
"Is there anyone else?" John inquires, just as quietly.
"John, it is alright. Ronon and I were both aware that we might encounter those in this universe who we've lost in ours. Elizabeth was just..." she trails off.
To Rodney's surprise, Ronon speaks up. "She was everybody's friend. She was family."
Teyla's smile returns once again. "Yes, she was." Her eyes squint as the smile grows. "I think that for a time, despite your occasional differences of opinion, the expedition looked to you two," she nods at Rodney and John, "for the ideas and leadership, and then to Elizabeth for a guiding hand."
"She means that you guys were constantly doing dumb things and Weir was always there to tell you not to do them." Ronon clarifies. He smirks and it's kind of a frightening look for him. Slightly feral. "Not that you guys listened all the time, but Elizabeth was always ready to kick your asses afterwards."
"That," John says with a grin of his own, "sounds a lot like the Elizabeth I worked with on Atlantis."
"Hey," Rodney protests, halfheartedly, because it's expected of him, "I wasn't the reckless one. That was all Sheppard."
Ronon and Teyla both roll their eyes.
"So, you really think Elizabeth would help us out?" John asks, bringing the conversation back to the topic at hand.
"Have you talked to her lately, John?" Rodney asks, and he's not trying to be cruel, but he knows that if John had, he'd know just how frustrated and out of sorts Elizabeth is.
Sheepishly John's chin drops and he gives a quick shake of his head in the negative. "No. I always meant to keep in touch, yanno?"
Rodney knows all too well. It's the same reason that it's been a year and a half since he last talked to Carson or the reason that he hasn't actually met with Sam in person to discuss the paper their authoring and is only speaking with her via e-mails.
"It's uh, been a few months since I've talked to her myself," Rodney admits, "but she's not happy, I know that much. They've got her doing a lot of diplomatic busy work. They won't let her go off world. They keep telling her how important she is to the program and how much they need her, but she stagnating. I have no doubt she'd be willing to help."
"So how do we want to do this?" John asks. "Just call her up and ask her to steal some stuff from the labs?"
"I'll talk to her." Rodney volunteers.
"You wanna use my phone?" John offers.
Rodney shakes his head. "No. We picked up a couple of burner cell phones, so that the SGC can't trace any calls to me or to you."
"Huh, you guys are really being all covert about this, aren't you?" John sounds impressed.
Fighting the urge to scoff, because he's more than capable of underhanded plotting, Rodney just agrees with an absent little nod. "Yes, well. We don't want Ronon and Teyla to end up in the hands of the SGC. We'd probably never get them out of there."
He gets up from the table. "I'll just," he gestures toward the garage. "Quiet might be good."
"Use my room," John suggests. "The garage gets warm. No A/C in there."
"Right, gotcha." Rodney gives John a weak little grin. He heads back down the hall to the bedroom he'd passed earlier. The shades are drawn and it's dim and cool. He sits on the bed, smoothing a hand over the comforter that is just as soft and plush as it had looked during the quick peak Rodney got earlier. John's room is neat and orderly. There's no laundry on the floor or even a book on the nightstand.
Rodney wonders if he'd be living this... plain and dull and existence if he didn't have Jeannie around to occasionally pull him out of his slumps. Granted, she does it by annoying the hell out of him, but it's better than nothing. Which is what John seems to have.
There's a nightstand next to the bed. He's reached out to pull open the top drawer before he catches himself with a scowl. Rummaging through John Sheppard's drawers isn't going to help him make this call.
He's not nervous about talking to Elizabeth. He's really not.
It's just that the last time they talked he promised to do a better job of keeping in touch. And he hasn't lived up to that.
Fortunately it's Saturday morning, so he'll probably be able to catch her at home. He's got her number memorized so he dials it and then hesitates just another second before pressing 'send'.
It rings.
And rings.
Rodney contemplates hanging up. Elizabeth's always been a morning person. If she hasn't answered by the fourth ring, it probably means she's not home.
He lets it go another ring and is about to snap the phone closed when he hears a click.
"Hello?" The voice that answers is muffled and hard to make out.
"Elizabeth?"
"Yes, who is this?" He can tell it's her now, but she sounds odd. Like she just woke up or has a cold or something.
"It's Rodney." He answers then adds, "Rodney McKay," just in case.
"OH, Rodney, hello." She's starting to sound a bit more alert. "I'm afraid you caught me still in bed."
Rodney frowns at the phone. He looks over at the alarm clock on John's nightstand and then does a quick conversion for time zones. It's not that early. "Oh, sorry. Is this a bad time? Do you want me to call back?"
"No, it's fine, Rodney." He can hear rustling and pictures her just sitting up in bed. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"
"Why wouldn't' everything be okay?" Rodney asks nervously.
"Rodney," Elizabeth chides, "you're calling me out of the blue on a Saturday morning. This isn't like you."
It's like pulling off a Band-Aid, Rodney decides. Best to get it over with quick. "Everything is okay, Elizabeth, but I do need to talk to you about something. I need a favor."
There are more rustling sounds. "A favor?" she echoes. "Rodney, are you sure nothing is wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong, exactly. It's just that..." He sighs. Elizabeth has always been smart. He knows she'll listen to what he has to say. "Okay let me ask something. Did you hear any news about a disturbance at an SGC facility in Nevada?"
There's a long pause. "Rodney, what did you do?"
Rodney sputters. "I didn't do anything, Elizabeth. But, I uh, know who did."
"Rodney, if you know something about the people that broke into the warehouse and assaulted a dozen guards you need to come clean."
"I can't, Elizabeth." Though he does spare a moment to be impressed that Ronon and Teyla took out a dozen security guards.
She sighs in aggravation. "Why not?"
"Because they didn't' break into the warehouse. They broke out of it."
A beat of silence and then Elizabeth says, "What do you mean they broke out? Who broke out of the warehouse?"
"Elizabeth, Teyla Emmagan is with me. And another person from the Pegasus galaxy. They came through the quantum mirror. From another universe."
The silence lasts longer this time. "Teyla?" Weir's voice is soft and there's an odd note of longing in it. Rodney recognizes it; that aching pang for anything to do with Atlantis.
"Yes, Teyla. She's from a universe where Atlantis survived, Elizabeth. It survived and the expedition is flourishing. They've all but rid the galaxy of the Wraith. Most of their focus during off world missions is research into the Ancients and alien cultures and tech."
It's the dream they all had for Atlantis in the beginning, before they found themselves in a sunken city, short on power and then with a formidable enemy woken up to wreak havoc on all their good intentions.
There's a sniffle on the other end of the line. And then a sharp inhale. When Elizabeth speaks again her voice is strong and sure. "Why did they come here, Rodney? I assume there's a reason?"
"Yes. Their McKay and Sheppard have gotten themselves stuck in a stasis chamber. There's a lot of scientific blather I could go into, but the bottom line is that they need me and Sheppard to go back with them to get their guys out."
"I see." Elizabeth says. "So, what is it that I can do for you?"
"Well, see, I need to build a device. It's going to help me make sure that we get back to the correct universe. But the thing is, to finish it I need a few things that I can't just pick up at the corner electronics store."
"So you need me to steal from the SGC?" She's absolutely matter-of-fact. No censure in her tone, but no hint of understanding either.
"Uh, yeah. I mean, I don't think I could get in there. And neither could John. Neither of us is exactly popular at Cheyenne Mountain right now."
That does earn him a bit of a reaction: an amused snort. "No, I'd say you weren't. Are you in touch with John Sheppard?"
"Yeah," Rodney confirms. "We're actually at his house in Palmdale right now."
"Wow," Elizabeth breaths. "I always knew it would take something extraordinary to get you two in the same room again." There's another amused little sniff. "I guess this qualifies."
"Rodney, you should know that the Nevada warehouse is being carefully watched right now. They're suspicious about the fact that none of the external surveillance cameras picked up any sign of the intruders... of Teyla and her friend, getting into the building. I don't know if they've considered the mirror as a possible point of entry, but they're nervous. It's not going to be easy to get back in there."
"I know." Because Rodney does know. He hasn't quite got that all worked out, but he's trusting that having Sheppard along for the tactical side of things will come in handy. "We'll work that out though, Elizabeth. Our first concern is getting the parts I need."
"Rodney, I don't know that I can-"
"Yes, you can. I know you can, Elizabeth. You've got full access at the SGC. You can go into the labs without suspicion. It's not like I'm asking you to smuggle out uranium or anything like that. I just need some things that I can't pick up and the corner electronics store."
"Rodney, I'm not an Engineer. How would you expect me to even find any of the things you're looking for?"
"I'll send you pictures." He hurries to assure her. "To your e-mail. I'll provide you with a very precise list."
"Well, I wouldn't even know where to look for these things or know how to find them."
"I can tell you exactly where they're kept. Jeannie's already hacked into the SGC's inventory management system. They're very organized in the labs. Everything is labeled and we'll be able to direct you to exactly where to find them."
There's a quality to her silence that tells Rodney she's considering it. He's been holding back the one card he's still got left to play.
"Rodney, I want to help you. I really do, but I just don't think I'm the right person to do this."
Instead of arguing, Rodney just says, "You could come with us."
"What?"
"Through the mirror," he explains. "When we all go through. You could go back to Atlantis."
She lets out a plaintive sigh. "Rodney..."
"Their Doctor Weir is dead, Elizabeth. There isn't another you over there. John and I, we can go for a while, but eventually we'll have to come back because of the risk of entropic cascade failure, but there isn't another Elizabeth Weir over there." It's slightly dirty pool, but he's desperate. "Teyla misses you, Elizabeth. And this other guy with her. Ronon is his name. He knew you too. You should hear the way they talk about you."
"Rodney, stop." He can hear the tears in her voice. "Please, don't."
"If I could stay there, I would." It's the final truth he can give her. "John and Jeannie too. We've got nothing to stay for here, Elizabeth, and I think you're in the same boat that we are."
"Help us." He says after a few minutes of silence hang between them.
Elizabeth takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, the exhale whistling into the phone. "Alright, Rodney. I'll help you." She sounds somewhere between aggravated and amused. "And I'm not making any promises about going with you. So what do you need me to find."
He explains the file he'll be sending (from a dummy e-mail, with the attached files encrypted, and sent to her personal e-mail account) and they plan his next call so that she won't be on base when they get back in touch. Her last words before they end the call are, "I hope you know what you're doing, Rodney."
He doesn't say, "Trust me," even though he wants to.
When he returns to the kitchen everyone looks up at him eagerly.
"How's Elizabeth?" John asks. "What did she say?" He gets up from his chair so Rodney can sit down (he's only got four chairs) and pulls up a kitchen stool.
"She's gonna help."
There's a collective sigh of relief at the news. He gives them a brief rundown of the call (carefully editing out the bit of emotional blackmail he utilized) and explains about the escalation of security at the warehouse.
"So, I've gotta get back to the hotel and my laptop." He jerks a thumb over his shoulder.
"You know, I'd offer to let you guys stay here, "John says, "but I think that might look suspicious. I don't ever have anyone over."
"Come back to the hotel with us," Rodney suggests, kind of spur of the moment. And really, not necessary, considering they're only a five minute walk away. But, he'd just feel...better, having John close.
And that thought starts to bring its friends so he chases them away with a wave of his hand. "Or not. I mean, it's up to you."
Luckily (or unluckily, Rodney's really not sure) Teyla agrees. "Yes, John. You should come back to the hotel with us. We should start planning how to get back to the mirror. I suspect that will require the kind of strategic planning I know you excel at."
John preens. "Sure, Teyla. I'd love to." He flashes Rodney a cocky grin. They wait for Sheppard to pack up a few things and then head back to the hotel.
Over the next few days Rodney and Jeannie spend their time on fabricating the remote device as much as they can, while John, Ronon and Teyla strategize. Spending all that time with all of them, John and Teyla especially, it starts to feel a little bit like things did on Atlantis. He's working on alien technology; John is around to half-pester, half-harangue him with comments like, "How's it going, McKay?" and "You really think this is gonna work?" and "Did you eat the last crème donut?"; Teyla provides calming words, a friendly, supportive voice and when all else fails, delivers slaps to various tender bodily areas.
Ronon's vacillation between gruffly encouraging younger brother type, annoying muscle-bound cave man (which is sooo a façade on if Rodney's ever seen one), and no-nonsense warrior (with a heart of gold) goes far to show Rodney just how he slotted so perfectly into the empty place in their team (well, the alternate universe version).
Even his relationship with his sister is less strained than normal. It seems that having a goal that really matters, and working together to achieve that, is something that brings the two together. Not that they get along perfectly (although after the first time that Jeannie stomps off in a huff and then disappears with Ronon for over an hour - looking for the snack machines, Rodney's ass - he makes an effort to try not to piss her off) but it's better than it has been for a lot of years.
They hear back from Elizabeth on Monday evening and she updates them that she's visually identified all of the parts and components on Rodney's list. She makes plans to sneak them out over the next couple of days. Rodney tries to provide her with tips on just how to go about it (and she protests his idea of her flirting with Doctor Lee) and what would provide the best camouflage (she also yells at him when he suggests her bra as a suitable hiding spot.
They make arrangements to meet in Nevada by Friday evening. Rodney's fairly sure it will only take him a few hours to complete the device once he has the final parts, and John wants to execute the 'assault' on the warehouse and escape through the mirror on Sunday in the early A.M. Tactically, he explains, it's the time when the defenses should be at their most vulnerable.
"So that's the universal remote, huh?" John says over Rodney's shoulder on Thursday morning when they're getting ready to pack up and get on the road. Palmdale to Las Vegas is only about three hours, but John wants to them to get set up early so they can do recon on the area around the warehouse.
Rodney sets down his soldering iron and twists his head so he can look over his shoulder at John. He hopes John can see the utter disdain on his face. "You're not calling it the 'universal remote'." His nearly strains a finger on making his air quotes as sarcastic as possible.
John just smirks his smirky smirk. "Why not? It's a remote control device that lets us change the channel on the universe in the quantum mirror. There for it's a..." he trails off expectantly.
Rodney just groans into his palm. "Oh dear lord, no."
"What?"
"Just that I remember why the Jumpers ended up with that ridiculous name. I thought you forfeited all naming rights after that?"
"Oh no." John wags a finger at him. "That was you. Gateships." He sticks out his tongue and makes a quick raspberry noise. "Terrible name. You were the one we didn't let name anything after that."
Rodney can't help but chuckle.
"Although that wasn't as bad as Ford naming M52-144 'The planet where they hate wishes." John actually lets out one of those truly ridiculous honking laughs.
"I remember that," Rodney says, chuckling and getting lost in the memory for a moment. And then the whole of it comes back to him and his laugh tapers off.
M52-144 was the planet where he and John had gotten separated from Ford and Teyla and ended up under attack from the local indigenous people. They were a rather simple folk, and had only chased them with spears and axes and slings, but they were pretty furious with the team for 'defiling their sacred space' (which wasn't even Rodney's fault that time. Ford thought the primitive fountain they came upon looked like a great place to toss a coin and make a wish).
They'd managed to hunker down in some kind of small hunting blind made of sticks and leaves. John made radio contact with Ford, ordered him and Teyla back to the gate to come back with reinforcements and a puddlejumper.
And then John had looked at Rodney, the both of them winded and bright-eyed with relief and laughter and he'd leaned in and kissed him. And Rodney had put his clammy hands on John's cheeks and kissed back.
Then, just as they broke apart, staring at each other nervous and wondrous and... wanting, the natives discovered them and they ended up running for their life once again.
He looks over his shoulder again because he needs to see John's face. He needs to know if John's thinking about it too. From the way John's gaze drops to Rodney's mouth as soon as he turns, Rodney knows he's not alone in his reverie.
"That's not the only thing I remember from M52-144," Rodney says, and hates the way his voice comes out all low and hoarse.
John nods, distantly, perhaps still lost in remembering, and then he shakes his head as if to clear it. "Yeah well, that's all I remember."
Oh hell. The other thing Rodney remembers is the conversation they didn't have after M52-144. Of course, it was only a few days later that everything came crashing down with the Wraith showing up on the long range sensors and having a city to save and there suddenly wasn't time to talk about a kiss.
"Liar." Rodney stands up and pushes the chair back. He needs to be on his feet, on equal footing, if they're going to have this conversation.
John scrubs a hand over his face and lets out an aggrieved sound. "It was one kiss, Rodney. It didn't mean anything. It was just the heat of the moment." But even as he says it, Rodney can hear the hesitation that creeps into his voice.
"Oh bullshit, Sheppard," Rodney snaps. "You know damn well it wasn't just adrenaline or whatever other macho bullshit you're going to try to blame. It was you and me, and the culmination of something that was building for a long time. And the start of something too."
John holds his head back and glares down his nose at Rodney. "Tell yourself whatever fairy tales you need to, McKay. I know what I felt."
Rodney lifts his chin. "So do I. And at least I'm man enough to admit was it was."
John surges towards him in a rush; one moment he's halfway across the room and the next right in Rodney's personal space. Toes almost touching his, torso just a few inches away. "What was that, McKay?" His chest is puffed up and despite their similarity in height he's somehow practically towering over Rodney.
Fighting against his instincts to cower, Rodney stands up to John's intimidation tactics. He swallows hard and looks John right in the eye. "You heard me."
And John just... looks right back at him. Stares right in his eyes and then slowly his eyes start to close. And his lips part just a fraction and he leans just a little bit closer.
Rodney can't decide if he should close his eyes or keep them open.
The decision is made for him when the moment is shattered by a loud banging on the door. "Hey, we're heading out," Ronon shouts through the door.
John jerks away from him, guilt washing over his face. "C'mon," he bites out gruffly. "Get that packed up. We gotta go."
He doesn't quite run from the room, but it's a close thing. Rodney just sighs and gets to work.
The drive to Las Vegas is an uncomfortable, stilted affair. John insists on driving. Teyla makes Rodney sit in front with him so she can rest and Jeannie and Ronon are too busy mooning over each other to be of any useful kind of distraction (except to scowl at in the rearview mirror occasionally).
"Great," Rodney groans when they finally pull into their destination. "More hotels."
"Hey," Jeannie says, punching a fist into his bicep. "At least it's a Vacation Inn Express this time."
"Oh, joy." Rodney knows he's being kind of a dick, but he's in that weird combination of exhausted and anxious and tense (especially after that drive) and that always makes him more mouthy than normal.
They get three rooms this time, since they've added John to their retinue and are expecting Elizabeth to join them. Rodney takes one look at the keycard that gets handed to Jeannie (which happens to be the twin to one that Ronon's holding) and snatches it out of her hand.
"You and I can share, Jeannie." He hands the appropriated keycard over to John. As much as he really wouldn't mind the chance to share a room, alone, with John, he's got his sister's...well, not virtue, but at least her good sense to protect. Goodness knows it flies out the window whenever Ronon so much as looks at her.
"Fine," Jeannie huffs, blowing a curl away from her face. "But if you start snoring, Mer, I'm switching whether you like it or not."
Ronon just grins at him.
Naturally, Jeannie doesn't let it lie once they get into their room. She waits until he's unpacked his tools and the remote onto the small desk and then rounds on him with a finger raised. "Listen, Mer." She jabs at him. "I know you're just trying, in your own ridiculous way, to be a good big brother here, but I really don't need you protecting me."
"Jeannie, I...," he sputters, because this feels like it's coming out of left field.
"Don't Jeannie me, Mer. I am an adult woman and Ronon is an adult man. And if anything should happen between us, it's none of your business." She jabs at him again, driving her pointy finger into the arc of his shoulder.
"Ow!" He slaps her hand away. "C'mon, Jeannie. I'm not trying to get in the way. Really!" he protests when an eyebrow practically climbs up her forehead. "I just don't want to see you get hurt. I think that hooking up with a guy you hardly know, from an alternate universe no less, is a big mistake." He finishes firmly.
Jeannie is not impressed. "Then it's my mistake to make, Mer! Look, I've been alone for a long time. My life has been focused on my work... The last guy I dated, who I really liked, you chased off with your pithy insults and mocking his profession. And then I come to find out that in another universe, I married that guy! I'm lonely, Mer. And punishing yourself because of what happened with Atlantis and John Sheppard may be your thing, but don't make it mine."
Rodney backs up with every word of her speech until he feels the bed behind his calves. He drops heavily down onto it - bounces a little - and then stares up at her, wide-eye, while she finishes her rant. "I'm not... what are you..." He can't find the right words.
"Rodney," Jeannie sighs.
And Rodney knows it's serious, because she only ever calls him Rodney in that sort of sad, sort of knowing tone of voice.
"I'm tired of being miserable with you." She says.
Ouch. Rodney feels the corners of his mouth drag down. "Well that's unduly harsh."
"Yeah, it is, Mer. I don't think I ever let on how disappointed I was that I didn't get to join you in Atlantis. And I've been nursing that pain for a long time. Then you came back after Atlantis was destroyed and I just kept on being miserable for you and for me and for everything that had happened. But, it's not where I want to be anymore. I want to be happy and find joy where I can find it."
She looks down, but Rodney can see spots of color spring up high on her cheeks. "And if that means spending some time with a really kind, really sweet, really hot guy." She shrugs. "Then that's what I'm going to do. And, Mer," she stops him before he can interrupt. "I know this doesn't have a future. That it literally can't have a future. But that's okay. I'm okay with just having the present. And so is Ronon." She sits down beside him on the bed. "Neither of us is going to hurt the other. It'll be okay, I promise."
Rodney really doesn't know what to say to that. But he knows what to do. He throws and arm over Jeannie's shoulder and pulls her in tight against his side. "Just be careful with him, okay? Teyla said he hasn't had a lot of relationships. Some bad stuff happened to him."
"Now you're warning me against hurting Ronon?" Jeannie laughs and shakes her head. "You're something else, Mer." She gives him a pecking kiss on the forehead and then stands up. "So, since that's decided, I'm kicking John Sheppard out of Ronon's room and sending him in her to bunk with you. Maybe you should take a page from my book."
"What, you... I," Rodney splutters. Before he can really get a word in edgewise Jeannie has already grabbed up her bags and headed for the door.
Rodney shakes his head.
Fortunately for Rodney he's got the ready excuse of needing a nap when John comes in carrying his backpack and duffle. Rodney is already sacked out on the bed.
"Uh, Jeannie kicked me out of Ronon's room." He says warily.
Rodney just waves that away with a flip of his hand before letting his arm drop back to the mattress. "I couldn't dissuade her. As she pointed out: she's an adult, she's free to make her own mistakes."
John sets his stuff down and sits down on the end of the other bed. "You think it's a mistake?"
Rodney rolls his head to the side on his pillow. "Honestly? I don't want her to get hurt. Or Ronon, for that matter. But Jeannie knows the way things are. The odds of us getting to stay in that universe. She's not going to let herself be heartbroken if she has to come back." He sighs. "Still. I wish she could have more than just a few moments of happiness."
Eyeing Rodney strangely (or that could just be the angle Rodney's viewing him at) John says, "You didn't really answer my question."
Rodney settles back into his pillow and closes his eyes. "No," he says just before he lets out a teeth-clattering yawn. "No, I don't think it's a mistake."
There's a loud whump and Rodney peeks quickly through the slits of his eyelids to see that John has flopped back on the mattress.
"Nap seems like a good idea." Is all that John says.
Rodney makes an agreeable noise.
That evening John, Teyla and Ronon leave the hotel just after dark. On the drive from Palmdale they made a stop at an Army surplus store that John was familiar with. They've left tonight with almost everything that came out of that store.
There's no more work to be done on the mirror controller. It's as finished as it can be sans the necessary components from the SGC. It leaves Rodney with nothing to do. At least nothing important. Because solving the slight technical tangles of the some of the various companies who've contracted out for his work seems... like a waste of time. Unimportant. Insignificant. Nothing at all compared to the concerns of a foreign universe and people he doesn't really - not technically speaking - even know.
Rodney absolutely does not worry about them while they're gone. Not at all. If he spends the whole time they're out gallivanting in the desert viciously stabbing at his TV remote and bitching to Jeannie about the terrible quality of primetime television, well that's just because he hates not being able to find anything to watch. Jeannie tries, at first, to talk to him. Then she yells and throws thing. Finally she just plugs in her earbuds and listens to her myPod to, as she puts it, 'drown out the sound of Rodney's whining'. Eventually, she calls it a night and goes to her room.
The knock at just after two A.M. startles Rodney awake. He jerks his head up and then immediately regrets it because he fell asleep in the terribly uncomfortable desk chair. It's probably left his spine with a permanent deformity he decides as he manages to lever himself out of it.
The knock sounds again. Soft, and non-intrusive. He goes to the door and looks out the peephole.
It's John.
He yanks the door open. "Where the hell have you been?"
John shushes him and slips past him into their room. "Sorry, forgot my keycard."
"Are you shushing me? Why are you shushing me? Where're Ronon and Teyla?" Okay, he may be getting a little worked up.
"They're fine, Rodney." John says, kneeling to unlace his boots. "They're in their rooms. It's late and I didn't want to wake Jeannie. She was asleep when Ronon got back." He looks up and frowns. "I thought you'd be asleep too."
Somewhat mollified, Rodney replies, "Oh. Well, I was. I mean I dozed off in that stupid chair while I was waiting for you guys to get back."
John shakes his head and makes a tsking noise with his tongue. "Rodney, you're gonna be miserable tomorrow. And I told you not to wait up. We were doing recon. It was gonna take some time."
Moving over to sit down on the further bed in the room - the one he's claimed as his own because it has a fractionally firmer mattress - Rodney sits down while John continues to get changed. He keeps his eyes focused on his own hands. "Was it successful? What did you guys learn?"
"Well, Elizabeth was right. They've definitely increased the guard. There are at least fifteen around the perimeter and from what we were able to see during shift change, another dozen inside at least. They're heavily armed. Might even have some Zats." He dusts off his hands on his BDUs and then fishes a piece of paper out of the pocket. "We mapped out guard locations and their patrol routes."
He tosses the piece of paper at Rodney and then shrugs his t-shirt over his head. Rodney absolutely does not look at Johns' chest. The paper crinkles in his clenching fists. It's really difficult to look anywhere but at Sheppard's chest.
John catches him looking. He doesn't say anything, just turns away as he unbuckles his pants and pushes them down. That leaves him in nothing but plain blue boxers. "Get some sleep, Rodney." John says, softly, over his shoulder, before he heads to the bathroom.
Rodney lies down on the bed. He hears the shower turn on. Sometime before John comes back out, he falls asleep.
The next morning they all meet for breakfast in the hotels rather small dining area. Rodney gripes about their continental breakfast selection until he spots the waffle iron (and Ronon is an expert at using it - who knew?). They keep conversation casual and make plans to spend the day out and about in Vegas (They're posing a tourists. Rodney knows it's probably paranoia on all their parts, but they're not far from Nellis Air Force Base and they really don't know if anyone is keeping an eye out for suspicious activity).
Rodney has no interest in going to the casinos with John, Ronon and Jeannie, so he and Teyla spend a lot of time just wandering down the strip. When they meet back up Jeannie is gloating because she won just under four-hundred bucks, while John pouts because he was up almost a grand and then lost it all playing poker. Ronon apparently just enjoyed scaring people away from the slot machines that seemed like they were paying out.
Jeannie, quite magnanimously (according to her, more like gloatingly to Rodney) offers to treat them all to a really nice meal. They end up at Sushi Roku, which has the highest rating on Yages and is recommended as the place to go for sushi in Vegas. Over what are, at least according to Rodney (though no one argues), some of the best rolls he's ever tasted, Ronon and Teyla regale them all with stories of some of the more unique things they've had to eat on off world missions.
After dinner, they head back to the hotel to wait for Elizabeth. Her last communication had said that she'd reach Vegas around eight o'clock.
By nine P.M. Rodney has checked his phone a dozen times.
"You know, you picking it up to look at it isn't going to make it ring any sooner," John says from his sprawl on the bed. He's got his head and shoulders propped on a pillow against the headboard and his feet are crossed at the ankles. There's a golf magazine (and really? Golf?) spread open across his stomach.
"I know," Rodney replies fitfully. "I'm just worried about Elizabeth. She never did call to confirm that she got the final microprocessor. And she was supposed to meet us here an hour ago and-"
"Rodney," John breaks into his nervous diatribe. "Just relax, okay. Elizabeth will be here."
"But what if something happened, John? What if she got caught? What if she got arrested? That would be bad enough but then we won't be able to complete the device and Ronon and Teyla could be stuck here." He can feel the panic building. Sometimes it happens no matter how much he tries to control it.
"Hey," John calls out sharply. Rodney hears him get off the bed. "Hey," John says again, softer, next to his ear. He's kneeling down next to Rodney, his hands on Rodney's shoulders. "Relax, Rodney. Just take a deep breath, okay?"
Rodney breathes deeply through his nose, filling his lungs. He lets the breath out slowly through his pursed lips.
"Again," John instructs.
He takes another breath. Even slower. It comes easier. He can feel the clawing anxiety receding. When he opens his eyes John is right in front of him. His eyes are reflecting the dark in the room. It turns the grey-hazel almost topaz. "John," he breathes out.
"Yeah, Buddy." John replies, just as softly.
One of the hands resting on Rodney's shoulder migrates slowly, tentatively over his to his neck and then along his jaw. A thumb sweeps over Rodney's lower lip.
Rodney lets his eyelids fall shut. There's a puff of warm damp air against his lips, and then-
His phone buzzes on the desk, vibrations sending it skittering across the wooden surface.
John jerks back so fast he nearly falls back on his heels.
Rodney slaps a hand down on the phone and then picks it up. It's a local number. He answers. "Hello?"
"Rodney, it's Elizabeth."
Oh thank god! (Okay, maybe not the best timing in the world, but still... he's just grateful that she's okay). "Good to hear from you Elizabeth. Where are you calling from?"
He hears a quick little chortle. "The front desk. I forgot what room I'm staying in."
Rodney laughs. "Teyla's in 217. You're bunking with her, if that's okay."
"That's great, Rodney. And listen, give me a few minutes to get settled," and Rodney knows that's code for 'to say hello to Teyla', "and then get everyone together to meet in my room, alright? I've got news."
"Gotcha." Rodney agrees. "We'll give you a half an hour or so? That enough?"
"Perfect. See you in a few."
She hangs up so Rodney snaps his phone shut. He looks over at John, who has retreated back to the foot of his bed. "That was Elizabeth... uh, which you obviously already knew. She's gonna get checked in and say hi to Teyla. I figured they might need a few minutes, yanno?"
John nods.
"So, their room in a half an hour."
John nods again and then scoots back on the bed, reaching for the phone on the nightstand. "I'll call Ronon and Jeannie and let them know the plan."
"Great. Yeah," Rodney babbles. "That's just great." He turns his attention to the waiting device on the desktop, and makes a show of arranging his tools.
He absolutely isn't kicking himself under the desk.
They meet up with Jeannie outside room 217. "Where's Ronon?" John asks, looking down the hall in both directions.
Jeannie nods towards the door. "He went inside so Teyla could introduce them. Elizabeth was pretty important to him, so I thought maybe they could all use a few minutes alone."
"That's thoughtful, Jeannie." John gives her a quick little grin.
They all turn as the door opens. Teyla, looking rather red-eyed but wearing her most peaceable smile, waves them in. "Come in my friends."
"I think we may need to accelerate the time table." Elizabeth says once they're all seated and have finished greeting one another.
"Why's that?" John asks, looking suddenly alert. Like there's a threat lurking just around a corner.
"I may have been observed leaving Colorado Springs. Not to mention, I think Doctor Lee might have been suspicious of my reasons for being in the lab. I don't think he knew that I took anything, but I do think he suspected something."
"I thought you were going to distract him by flirting with him?"
Elizabeth narrows her eyes. "Rodney, I told you I wasn't going to do that." She coughs and looks away for a moment. "Although I admit I did have to ask him about his War and Mayhem character just to distract him."
"Ugh," Rodney scoffs. "He's still playing WaM after all this time? Such a geek."
"Anyway," Elizabeth goes on, still shooting Rodney a rather annoyed look. "When I left Cheyenne Mountain yesterday the guard at the gate was extremely chatty. Asked me a lot of questions about my plans for the weekend. He's never done that before. And I saw a car parked outside of my apartment building when I was leaving today. I wouldn't have remarked it, except it had been there when I left in the morning yesterday and hadn't moved by the time I got home last night. It's a busy street and parking is metered and highly sought after. I'm sure I was being observed."
"Do you know if you were followed?" John questions her urgently. "Were there any cars behind you for what seemed like an unusual length of time?"
"No," Elizabeth shakes her head. "I exited the highway a couple of times, just to see if anyone did follow after, but I didn't see anyone."
"Good thinking," Ronon approves.
Elizabeth brightens a bit under his praise. "Thanks. I also ditched my cell phone. That's why I didn't call you sooner, Rodney. I had the address here written down and my GPS in my car, but I was worried that if they were suspicious of me they might have been able to activate the GPS in my phone."
John smirks at her. "Nicely done, Elizabeth. We'll make a super spy out of you yet."
Rodney hates to interrupt their little mutual admiration society, but he's got other concerns. "Were you able to get all of the parts? If we need to put the plan into motion sooner, I've got to finish building the device."
Elizabeth gets up from the single chair in the room and goes to a suitcase that's laid on one of the beds. She pulls out another, smaller, bag. "In here, Rodney. I should have everything you need."
Rodney takes the bag and clutches it to his chest. "Wonderful." He stands, thoughts already far ahead of him.
"Where' you going, McKay?" Ronon calls after him.
"Look," Rodney pauses just at the door. "You guys don't need me to strategize. And if Elizabeth is right we're going to need to get out of here as soon as possible. So I need to get the device completed." He looks across the room at John who is sitting on the desk with his feet swinging. "John will fill me in."
John confirms with a tight nod.
"Great!"
He heads back to his and John's room. He pulls out each component and unwraps them carefully. He'd provided Elizabeth with handling and packaging instructions as well as where to find them. One item is particularly sensitive to electrostatic discharge and he doesn't have more than a portable ESD mat handy.
Luckily, the care he took in planning has paid off. Each new piece slots into its exact spot. He works feverishly, their increased need to leave sooner looming in the back of his mind, but with care and focus. At some point he hears John come in the room. There are various sounds behind him - John in the bathroom, John packing up, John settling on the bed - but they're like the radio he likes to keep on when he's working in his basement workshop, a comforting background noise.
Finally, he's not sure how long later, although it's feeling like well past midnight, Rodney leans back with a satisfied grunt. "Done."
"Yeah?" john is up and off the bed and then standing behind Rodney's right shoulder. "So that's a universal remote, huh?" It looks a lot like the remote for an RC car except there are two small liquid crystal displays on either side of the top panel with a dial under each, several indicator lights next to them and a numeric keypad in the center.
Rodney snorts, but it's as much in amusement as it is annoyance. "Yeah."
"How's it work?"
Rodney picks it up. He aims it at John. "I'll scan Teyla or Ronon with this," he gestures to the dial on the right. "And that will determine their...well, let's just call it their frequency. Then when we get to the mirror, I'll essentially dial through the various universes with this control knob here. We'll it's automated until it's a certain, uh, distance. Then I'll manually dial it in until these two screens match."
John nods along throughout Rodney's explanation. "Seems simple enough."
That makes Rodney chuckle. "Yeah, simple in execution. Complex in the sense that probably no one else on this planet could build it."
Johns eyebrows lift comically high. "No one?"
Rodney pretends to think about it. "Well, considering that the design is based on Ancient tech, and it's got a power crystal from an Ancient outpost inside of it, I highly doubt it." Sometimes he's smug for completely realistic reasons.
"Huh. Cool."
As much as he'd like to bask in John Sheppard being impressed with him, Rodney knows their timetable is short. "So what's the plan?"
John waves him up. "Plan is, we go right now. Well, as soon as the device was done. And the device is done."
Holy crap. He scrambles to his feet. "What time is it?"
"Almost twenty-two hundred. We've got about a forty minute drive to get within viable range of the warehouse. Then we're on foot after that." He nods to Rodney's bags. "You got those sorted? We can only carry what we absolutely need."
Rodney nods. He was pretty ruthless when he packed.
"Let me just get this stowed." Rodney holds up the remote.
"I'll get the others."
It seems like only a few minutes later Rodney is running out to the van that Ronon has idling in the parking lot. He climbs into the middle row with John and stows his bag at his feet. His heart is racing and he's exhausted and it reminds him so much of being on off world missions.
It's crazy, but he's missed this. He'd never considered himself an adrenaline junkie, but... right now that's all that's keeping him going and he feels as energized as if he'd just taken a power nap and chugged a half a pot of coffee.
Ronon drives fast once they get out of the outskirts of the city. The warehouse is in the middle of nowhere off of a frontage road. They ditch the van (literally rolling it down a steep embankment so it's out of sight) and then continue the rest of the way on foot. It's dark, only a waning gibbous moon to light their way, but John and Teyla and Ronon each pair up with one of them (the same as their rooming arrangements earlier) and guide them with surety over the desert terrain.
Rodney soon learns what the strategizing that those three did entails. They've got handheld Wraith stunners! They leave Jeannie, Elizabeth and Rodney behind a brushy embankment, position themselves at various locations along the perimeter and time their shots carefully, ensuring that the neither the stunner rays or the men falling will be visible to any of the other guards.
When they've opened a big enough window they reconvene and the whole group slowly makes its way to the warehouse. Ronon takes out the guard by the door, and Teyla clips another man before he can duck back behind a corner of the building for cover.
John slaps something over the door lock. Rodney starts to protest when he recognizes that it's C4 and that John has a detonator in his hand, but John just hustles them further down the wall, out of the blast radius, and blows the door. (Rodney realizes he probably should've paid closer attention to John's shopping list when the stopped at the surplus store).
Ronon and Teyla take point and Rodney can hear more stunner blasts just inside the door. They've all got portable radios and Rodney's fritzes to life with Teyla's voice saying, "We're clear. Move in now."
They hurry into the darkened warehouse. As far as Rodney can see are rows and rows of shelves interspersed with stacks of crates and boxes. It's like the damn warehouse at the end of Raiders. What the hell is the SGC storing here?
"This way," Ronon's voice calls out from the darkness to Rodney's left. They sneak through the maze-like corridors and aisle ways, following Ronon's unerring lead. Rodney's glad someone knows where they're going, because otherwise he'd be totally lost.
He's just starting to think that this is a lot easier than he suspected it would be when suddenly the lights go on.
"Take cover!" John shouts and Rodney instinctively dives behind a stack of crates. He's got a handgun (John insisted) but he really doesn't want to shoot anyone if he doesn't have too.
There's suddenly a cacophony of noise, gunfire and shouting and what sounds like dogs. Rodney can hear men moving around just several rows away. He tries to make himself a small a target as possible and, anxiety thrumming through his veins, he waits to see what happens next.
Just as suddenly as they came on all the lights go out.
He spots Elizabeth just before it goes dark and scurries away from his hiding spot to join her. He can't see John anymore and has no idea where Ronon, Jeannie or Teyla are.
"Doctor Weir," a voice calls out, echoing through the cavernous warehouse via the amplifying power of a megaphone. "This is Major Briggs from Stargate Command. We know you're in there."
"Shit!" Rodney curses under his breath. "They must've tracked you somehow."
Elizabeth is doing some creative cursing of her own, although it's in languages Rodney's not familiar with (the tone is enough for him to know they're the naughty words).
"My car!" Elizabeth blurts suddenly, in English. "They must've put a tracker in my car when I was at the Mountain yesterday."
Rodney frowns. He can only hope they haven't dug too deep into Elizabeth's activities yet. If they even suspect that they're here for the mirror, it's possible the SGC may already have moved it.
"Doctor Weir, we're not letting you get away. Please, if you and your friends just turn yourselves in, we promise no harm will come to you."
Rodney scoffs wetly. "Yeah, sure. Until they throw us in Guantanamo."
"Not helping, Rodney," Elizabeth hisses out. She moves around shelf and darts across an open space to hide behind a stack of crates. She's got a stunner in her hand, and it's clear she's not afraid to use it. He watches her peeking out from behind her cover, looking for an opening.
"What're you doing?" Rodney hisses.
"Buying you more time." She shifts to a kneeling position. "Major," she calls out, raising her voice loudly to be heard in the cavernous space. "This is Doctor Weir. Please listen to me. You don't need to do this. You need to understand that no one is invading and no one is trying to steal alien tech. These people just need to get home to their own universe. Please, they just want to get home."
"I'm sorry, Doctor Weir. We have our orders. If you just surrender, I'm sure we can sit down and talk about this."
Rodney bites out another curse and then charges across the aisle and then hunkers down next to her. A blast from a zat arcs over his head, just missing him as he dives low to the floor.
"What're you doing? Go," Elizabeth urges even as she gets off a few shots of her own with the stunner. "Get to the mirror. I'll hold them off. The stunner seems to be keeping them at bay for now."
"No, Elizabeth. You've been identified. If they catch you, it's... they might view it as treason if you let us get away. We're not leaving you here to face that." He grabs her hand and tugs her away from the crate, ready to run. "You're coming with us."
John is there suddenly, between one heartbeat and the next. He rolls across the narrow aisle floor, firing his stunner (and from a distant grunt, connects with at least one shot) before coming up to a crouch next to them. "C'mon," he hisses out. "We've cleared a path. Jeannie's waiting at the mirror. Ronon and Teyla are holding 'em off." He grabs Rodney's arm, since Rodney still has hold of Elizabeth's hand, and practically drags them both after him through the maze of floor-to-ceiling shelving units and crates. After what feels like a dozen different twists and turns they end up in a dimly lit corridor. It takes Rodney a moment to realize that the light is coming from the quantum mirror.
"Dial it up, Rodney," John orders, but there's a crazy sort of grin on his face. He moves to the end of the corridor of shelves to stand guard while Rodney works.
Rodney pulls the universal remote (because yes, the name stuck) out of his pack. He scans the mirror and then adjusts a dial. With each clicking turn the image in the mirror shifts. They're passing by too fast for him to get a good look at any, and he suspects that's a good thing. He keeps an eye out on the right readout - the results from scanning Ronon to determine the source universe - and keeps adjusting the knob until finally a green light blips on and the reading s in both displays are identical. He looks up at the mirror then. It looks like it's revealing a random room at the SGC. There's a uniformed guard on duty.
"I've got it," Rodney crows, albeit in a low voice.
John brings up his radio. "Teyla, Ronon. Rodney's connected with your universe. We're ready to go through."
"Doctor Weir!" Briggs' voice calls out again. "I'm not going to ask again. We've got reinforcements on the way. In a few minutes we're going to overrun this warehouse and I won't be able to guarantee your safety."
"Alright," Elizabeth shouts back. "Alright. We're going to surrender. Just give me a minute to get to my people."
"You've got two minutes, Doctor Weir. After that I'm sending in all of my men and I can't promise we'll be able to go as easy on you."
"Understood, Major," Elizabeth replies.
"You should go through." Rodney tells John. "Lead the way."
John shakes his head. "No, we should wait for Teyla or Ronon to go ahead of us. Don't want to set of any alarm bells on their side."
"Right, right." He should've thought of that. It's been ten years since he's been under fire and ducking stunner (well Zat) blasts and bullets. He thinks he should be forgiven the occasional lapse.
There's movement from down one of the aisles and John peers around a shelf, body tense like a coiled spring. From the way that his whole body seems to slump in relief, Rodney knows it's Teyla and Ronon.
"Here," Rodney waves them over to the mirror. "We've got it."
Teyla looks past him at the surface of the mirror that looks just like watching a television screen and then a smile breaks over her face. "I recognize that man." She pushes at Ronon. "Ronon, go. Tell them we're all coming."
Ronon grunts a reply and then pushes past Teyla. Rodney watches in fascination as he steps through the surface of the mirror and it ripples like water on a pond. He sees Ronon step through the other side and watches at the guard spots him, does a double-take and then finally relaxes. Ronon picks the guard up in one of those 'off-the-ground' kind of hugs.
Even though Rodney knew the science was sound and the device was built correctly, it's still a relief to know that he connected them with the right universe. Jeannie steps through right after that and Ronon hurries over to get her.
"Teyla, go." Elizabeth urges.
"Not without you, Elizabeth." Teyla protests. "You cannot stay here." She seems to be squaring for a fight.
Elizabeth wrinkles her nose in a grin. "I'm coming with you Teyla. Don't you worry." She takes Teyla's hand. "Come on. Let's get you home."
They're next through the mirror. They come out safely on the other side. Rodney can see an increase in commotion in the room. More people are coming in.
"Well, Sheppard?" He gestures politely.
"Oh no, after you, McKay."
And Rodney would protest (not that they have the time for it... but still) but he knows John will have to be the last one through. It's just how John is. "As you wish, John."
He steps through. It feels like passing through... nothing. Which is weird. He expected cold or moisture or something.
Frankly, he's a little let down.
John steps through right on his heels.
They both turn to look at the mirror. They can see back into their universe. There are flashlight beams cutting through the dark.
"Can you close it down?" John asks.
Rodney brings up the remote again and enters a sequence in the keypad. In front of them the mirror wavers and then goes dark, and finally settles into a silver reflective surface that shows Rodney himself, standing next to John. He meets John's eyes in the mirror and grins. John grins back.
They did it.
"Major Sheppard! Doctor McKay!" Someone calls out from behind them. "This way, Sirs."
And now it's time for what's likely to be a lot of chaos.
It's weird, for Rodney, being at Stargate Command. Even in a different universe nothing seems all that different. He fights against his instinct to bristle at every passing person in uniform. He'd long ago learned not to trust the military that support the SGC.
They're given an exhaustive screening. Rodney hasn't has as thorough a physical since before he agreed to join the Atlantis expedition.
Eventually though, he rejoins the rest of their group in the conference room that overlooks the embarkation room. They're joined by Sam Carter and General Landry. (And Rodney finally gets the joke Ronon had made earlier about Sam being the 'poster child' for the SGC. It was literal. There's an actual poster of Sam, in uniform and posed in a very classic 'Uncle Sam' stance - complete with pointing finger' with the caption, 'We want YOU for the Stargate Program'. Rodney has to fight very, very hard not to mock her for it).
Landry nods to each of them. "Doctor McKay, Major Sheppard, Ms. McKay, Doctor Weir. I want to thank you all for your support in this matter. I understand from the reports that Teyla filed that it wasn't easy getting them back through the mirror."
Elizabeth inclines her head. "We were happy to help, General. We can't tell you what a privilege it was to learn that Atlantis survived, even if it was in another universe."
"I also understand," Landry goes on, "that you've requested to stay in this universe if at all possible."
Rodney's glad to have Elizabeth handy for this song and dance. She's a negotiator by trade, and she knows best how to spin this for them. The SGC here may not agree, but they've all talked and there isn't one among them that wants to go back where they came from.
"We can't go back, General." Elizabeth responds curtly. "We've made ourselves persona non grata with the SGC in our universe. If we go back we face court martial, jail time." She shrugs. "It could be tantamount to treason as far as they're concerned. We've put our lives at risk."
"Be that as it may, Doctor Weir. But there are other factors to consider. As I understand it, there's a strong possibility that staying in this universe could kill you."
Elizabeth shrugs. "We're aware of that, General. That's why we'd like to request that if any of us start to show signs of being affected by entropic cascade failure, we be allowed to come back to the SGC and use the quantum mirror to find a suitable universe where it won't be an issue."
"One where you're dead, you mean." Landry says bluntly. "Which isn't a problem for you here, Doctor Weir." He smiles then, suddenly. "It really is good to see you again, Elizabeth."
Disarmed by his genuine happiness, Elizabeth blushes. "Thank you, General." She takes a breath. "But for my friends, I really must insist."
Landry spreads his hands. "Doctor Weir, please don't worry. We don't want anything to happen to you or any of the people who went to so much effort and personal sacrifice to save our McKay and Sheppard. We'll do whatever it takes to help you out." One of the hands comes up in a cautioning gesture. "But, please understand that if it comes down to it, we'd rather send you back home than see you torn apart by the effects of the cascade failure."
Elizabeth smiles again, broadly. "Thank you, Hank."
Standing, Landry gestures for them all to rise. "Alright, now that we've got that out of the way, let's get you to Atlantis."
"Just like that?" Elizabeth asks, and Rodney wants to shush her.
But General Landry just nods. "Just like that." He walks over to the wall and presses down on a wall-mic. "Sergeant Harriman, dial Atlantis."
"Roger, Sir. Dialing Atlantis."
Rodney can't help but move over to the window and watch as the inner circle of the gate rotates and the chevrons lock in place. Each chevron lock is called out by Harriman. When he calls out the seventh that allows for galaxy-to-galaxy travel, "Chevron seven encoded. Chevron seven, locked!" Rodney feels his breath catch as the wormhole forms. It's been so, so long since he's seen it but he's never forgotten how amazing it is.
"We have Atlantis, Sir." Harriman reports.
"Stargate Command?" a voice comes over the comms. "This is Mr. Woolsey. We're ready to receive our personnel and guests."
Rodney looks over at John and mouths, "Woolsey?" John looks equally puzzled, but he just shrugs.
"And that, ladies and gentleman," Landry says with a sweep of his arm, "is your cue."
They follow Teyla down the spiral staircase that takes them to the embarkation room. At the top of the ramp, it's wavery, watery blue light shimming on her face, she looks back to ensure everyone is still with her, and then with a smile she steps through the gate. Rodney hesitates only a second before he follows.
Stepping out into Atlantis gives him such a sense of déjà vu that he can't help but pause just on the steps down from the gate. The city looks... amazing. She's brighter than he remembered and so full of life. There are a plethora of people standing up at the railings watching them. He recognizes quite a few. Chuck is there, and Carson (who, he has to remind himself, is apparently not the original Carson. He still doesn't quite understand that) and several military personnel that he's sure he knows.
The further they get away from the gate - Teyla's leading them to what he assumes is the conference room - the more changes in the city Rodney catalogues. The planters that had once held millennia old, desiccated trees that they'd eventually just emptied and moved into storage are on display bearing decorative - and very obviously native, judging by the pink-leafed shrub off to his left - foliage. The weird wall sconces are bright and gleaming, and even the bubbly water things (which, while routed through the city's filtration systems, are pretty much no more than decorative) look like they've been scrubbed inside and out.
They end up in what was the Senior Staff conference room the last time he was in the city. Seems that hasn't changed.
Teyla introduces a rather unassuming man as Richard Woolsey. Who is apparently in the leader of the Atlantis Expedition. Rodney's heard of him, through gossip at the SGC, and it wasn't very positive. He's definitely curious how a man like this could end up as the head of the expedition.
He and Elizabeth apparently know each other though. They shake hands and Woolsey seems to have trouble letting go of Elizabeth's hand. "It's just so good to see you again, Doctor Weir."
If Elizabeth is flustered by all the attention (Rodney noticed that most of the people they passed on their way through the gate room and up the stairs to the upper level were pretty focused on Elizabeth) she doesn't let it show.
"Thank you, Richard." Elizabeth replies. She holds a hand out towards Rodney and John and Jeannie. "And I'm sure you know Doctor McKay and Major Sheppard. And this is -"
"Jeannie McKay," Woolsey breaks in, reaching across the table to shake all of their hands. "We've actually met. Well I mean, I know Mrs. Miller in this universe."
And that's weird. Mrs. Miller? Rodney shoots a look at Jeannie and she surreptitiously sticks her tongue out at him.
"Please," Woolsey sweeps an arm out in invitation. "Won't you all have a seat?"
Once they're seated, Teyla doesn't waste a minute. "Mr. Woolsey, I'm sure you understand that we'd like to get John and Rodney to M46-048 as soon as possible to bring back Colonel Sheppard and Doctor McKay."
"Of course," Woolsey hurries to assure her. "We've got a jumper already standing by. Colonel Lorne is waiting to fly you there and Doctor Zelenka is already at the site."
Lorne? Another name that's vaguely familiar to Rodney from the SGC, but not a name he remembers from Atlantis.
This is going to take some getting used to. The cognitive dissonance - being here, but being here at a different time and surrounded by different people - is starting to get to Rodney. From the way John is shrinking back in his chair, Rodney would suspect he's experiencing the same thing. Elizabeth looks a bit more put together, but he can't imagine this isn't weird for her too.
"I just wanted to take a moment to thank our guests for the risks they took. And to let them know that I've spoken with the IOA and with General Landry and we'll support whatever decisions you make regarding your ultimate destinations."
So, they're being given carte blanche to stick around. Rodney's heart feels heavy. If only it were possible.
"Thank you, Richard," Elizabeth says.
"Also, because of security concerns on M46-048, Colonel Lorne has requested we send a squad of marines with the jumper. I'm afraid there won't be room for everyone to go along." He looks genuinely contrite.
"That's alright," Elizabeth replies. "Jeannie and I can stay here. John and Rodney are the ones needed at the outpost."
Jeannie nods, although Rodney can see her fingers twitching. He's not sure if she doesn't want to be parted from Ronon, or she's frustrated at not being able to get her hands on Ancient tech. He makes a mental note that if, by some miracle, they can stay he'll request that Jeannie get the gene therapy as soon as possible.
Woolsey looks relieved. "Thank you for your understanding. If you'd like, I could give you both a tour of this city. Elizabeth, I know you're familiar with her, but I'd be happy to show you around so you can refamiliarize yourself." He stands.
"That would be wonderful, Mr. Woolsey," Jeannie says.
"Yes, Richard," Elizabeth agrees, "that would be."
As they file out of the conference room, Teyla and Ronon move to the door. "I know," Teyla begins in her 'speaking to the natives' voice, "that we are all exhausted and in need of rest and a good meal. I did not mean to push you, or speak on your behalf to Mr. Woolsey. Our John and Rodney have been in stasis for seven weeks now, so another day would not hurt." Rodney is touched by the offer. He knows it can't have been easy for Teyla to make it.
John waves that away before Rodney gets the chance. "No way in hell are we waiting another minute, Teyla." John jumps out of his chair.
Rodney gets up perhaps a little less nimbly and with a few more grunts and groans.
The walk to the Jumper Bay gives Rodney more time to just stare at this city. Catalogue the changes. He imagines this is what she must've looked like when the Ancients were still on board, some ten-thousand years ago. She's bright and full of life and an energy he can almost feel.
As they near a puddlejumper with its rear hatch down, Rodney sees John perk up even further (if that's even possible - he knows they're both already grinning like kids given free rein in a candy store). They reach it and John runs his hands along the outer hull of the jumper. "Baby, I've missed you."
Rodney rolls his eyes. But really, he's just as pleased to see the squat, ziti-shaped ships. He's pleased to see damn near everything.
"You know," Teyla leans close to whisper, "if you ask nicely, I'm sure Lorne will let you fly."
Rodney is almost taken aback by the ridiculously huge smile that brightens John's whole... being. He looks like a man reborn.
Rodney takes another quick look around the bay (every platform has a jumper on it, where did they get so many?) and totally gets it.
They board the Jumper, Teyla makes brief introductions (and Lorne does look familiar. Rodney knows he's probably met him at the SGC in his universe) and then Lorne takes them out of the Jumper bay and into the gate room.
He does let John fly once they're through the gate.
Rodney's never been more grateful for inertial dampeners. Even Lorne looks a little green around the gills once they land. Lorne and his men station themselves outside the outpost. The 'security concern' Woolsey mentioned is apparently due to overly curious primates (that are oddly green-furred and have long, prehensile tails) that keep trying to sneak into the outpost whenever the door is opened.
They're met inside by another familiar face.
"Zelenka!" Rodney greets him exuberantly.
Radek Zelenka looks at Rodney strangely for a moment. Then he clucks his tongue and shakes his head and mutters something in Czech. All that Rodney catches is, "Now there are two of you," amidst the grumbles, but then the scowl morphs to a grin and then a laugh he reaches out a hand. "It is good to meet you, Doctor McKay." He shakes Rodney's hand and then John's. "Major Sheppard."
"Come," he says, waving for them to follow. "Stasis chamber is this way. Should take no more than a few minutes to deactivate and free our people."
The dim corridor that leads back from the ingress empties into a far brighter, open space. As Zelenka scurries away from them and over to a standalone console, Rodney spots them. Two figures, frozen in time behind the slight blur of a stasis shield.
He peers closer. That's odd. It almost looks like...
"Why are we making out?" Rodney blurts.
John doesn't say anything, just drops his gazes like the toes of his boots are suddenly the most interesting thing in the whole of the Ancient outpost.
"Oh my God!" Rodney can't help that he's shouting. He really can't. "Are you telling me that we got ourselves trapped in a quantum prison cell because we were fooling around like a couple of teenagers?" He whirls on John, finger wagging accusatorily. "This is all your fault!"
John looks up from his shoe-study. "My fault?" He looks past Rodney to their frozen doppelgangers. He cocks his head to the side, and then narrows his gaze. "If it's my fault, Rodney, why aren't my hands on you?"
"What?!" Rodney turns from glaring at Sheppard, back to the rather shocking view of the other him and the other Sheppard frozen mid-liplock. It's a little weird staring at himself... Okay, it's really weird staring at himself, mouth latched onto Sheppard's mouth, hands fisted in Sheppard's tac vest. And...oh, right. Frozen-Sheppard's hands are actually outstretched behind him, like he's been pulled suddenly into the kiss and hasn't even had a chance to grab onto Rodney yet.
"Well still," Rodney protests weakly, "we don't know really what's going on. I mean, maybe you were leaning on that wall and I was just pulling you back, because God knows you always have to do that leaning thing," he raises an eyebrow because John is currently leaning on one elbow on the wall.
"And my lips just happened to fall against your mouth?" John quips, smirking devilishly.
Rodney throws his hands up into the air wildly. "I don't know."
Behind them, Ronon snickers.
Teyla is at least a little bit more diplomatic. "We suspect that our John and Rodney unintentionally triggered the stasis field and did not intend to uh, get caught this way."
"But still," Rodney flails a hand in the general direction of the stasis chamber. "What's up with that?"
Teyla sighs. "While I agree that this isn't the time or the place, it's not all that uncommon a sight for us, Rodney." She bites at her lips, looking strangely like a child trying to hide something naughty from an adult. "We didn't want to tell you, because we didn't know you you'd feel about it, but..." she trails off and looks over to Ronon for support.
"Uh, you guys are kinda hitched here."
"Ronon." Teyla chastises.
"We're what?" John and Rodney blurt in unison.
"Married!" Radek exclaims in a tone that strongly suggests the word 'mazel tov' (which is weird because Radek isn't Jewish).
Feeling oddly betrayed Rodney turns to Teyla who is still chewing at her bottom lip like it's been coated in sugar. "And you felt it necessary to skim over this little detail because?"
"We did not know how you and John would feel about. We worried it might add an unintended complication."
"Unintended complication," Rodney repeats. "Right."
John coughs into his hand. "Uh, it's possible she have been right about that."
The betrayed sensation doubles. "You agree with her? You didn't think this was something that should've been disclosed right away?"
"Eh." John shrugs. "What good would it have done us to know? I mean, imagine how weird that would've been for us." He snorts. "As if things weren't weird enough."
Rodney wants to protest. He knows there's a good reason he should. He just can't come up with it.
Maybe?
No.
Or because...
Nope.
He sighs, heavily. He really can't come up with a reason that would've changed anything about what they 'd had to do. "Fine," he admits, albeit with great reluctance. "I suppose not knowing didn't make a difference. But, Teyla, if I didn't know you better I would almost suspect you didn't tell us just so we could come up on this," he waves to the tableau in the stasis chamber, "completely unsuspecting and unprepared. Just to see our reaction."
She looks as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.
Ronon, however, is grinning like a shark.
Rodney thrusts out a hand toward them and looks at John expectantly, as if to say 'Do you see what they did to us?'
John is laughing quietly too himself.
Rodney just can't win here.
"Alright fine. Let's do what we came here to do and get these two out of stasis." He grabs John by the shirtsleeve and tugs him over to the console where Radek is snickering to himself.
"So what do we have to do?" John asks.
Radek indicates two places that look like palm scanners. "This is why we suspect failure in systems. Stasis should not have activated until these were pressed by both parties." He shrugs. "We know that Doctor McKay and Colonel Sheppard pressed them simultaneously before going into the chamber, but we are unclear why there was a delay in activation. For lack of better term, we suspect they armed the chamber and somehow triggered it from inside."
Rodney follows along and he finds it puzzling as well. Just to confirm before he does it, he asks, "So we just press our palms here?"
"Yes," Radek agrees. "Press hands down at same time."
Hand hovering over the plate, Rodney looks over at John whose hand is poised likewise. John looks back and gives a nod.
They press their hands down.
Nothing happens.
"Hmmm," Radek mutters. "That is odd. Wait!" he cautions before they life their hands up. "Try touching each other. The two of you, while your hands are still on the scanners."
Since they're both pressing down with their right hands, Rodney has to reach over to John. He places a hand on John's forearm.
The console makes a computerized sounding 'ding' and a panel of lights activate.
Everyone steps back.
The hazy sheen of the stasis feels drops away from Sheppard and McKay.
They don't seem to notice.
The kiss goes on, apparently oblivious to all around them. Sheppard eventually does bring his arms forward to wrap his hands tight around McKay's biceps. He's definitely not pushing McKay away.
When they finally break apart, both a little mussed, McKay panting a little, Sheppard looking a bit dazed, Sheppard just shakes his head and laughs. "What happened to our 'not on off world missions' rule?"
McKay huffs a scoffing sort of sound. "You were doing the leaning thing, John. I had to get you to stop. It was incentive. God knows what kind of trouble you and your leaning could've gotten us in to."
"C'mon, how much trouble could we get in?" Sheppard asks, devilry in his smirk.
Radek clears his throat.
Sheppard and McKay both turn to look at the same time. McKay's jaw falls open. Sheppard's hand drops to his sidearm. "Uh, you were saying?" McKay says weakly.
Rodney lifts his hand in a little wave.
"Why are there two of me?!" McKay blurts out, going red-faced almost immediately.
"Oh shit," Sheppard mutters. "It cloned us, didn't it?"
Luckily for Rodney - because being faced with your doppleganger is bad enough, but when he's got freakin' beard-burn caused from macking on the duplicate of hot military man you may or may not have had a massive crush on ten years ago (to say nothing of the current one), it's almost impossible to find the right words - Radek steps forward.
"No, not clones." He ushers the pair of them out of the stasis chamber. Sheppard and McKay cooperate but reluctantly. "The two of you have been stuck in quantum-isolated, biometrically locked stasis field for almost two months."
"Two months?" McKay screeches.
Rodney flinches. Is he always so high-pitched and flaily when he panics?
Radek nods. "Yes. We suspect stasis field to be Ancient prison."
"Wait," Sheppard asks. "As in a prison made by the ancients or a prison for the ancients."
Radek shrugs. "The latter. It could, if our data is right, hold the energy of an ascended Ancient if they gave themselves solid form."
"And uh," McKay asks, sounding slightly more calm. He's stopped flailing at least. "Just how did we get stuck in there?"
"Uhm," Radek scrubs at the back of his neck. "We do not know for certain, but we suspect the biometric locking system was triggered by your accessing the control panel outside and then activated by physical contact with first the cell and then with each other. Basically, you primed the mechanism before you went in, and then triggered it by touching once inside, closing the circuit so to speak, and locked the door after yourselves."
McKay looks at Sheppard just as Sheppard turns his head to look at him. The nonverbal exchange between them is so blatant that Rodney can practically hear their unspoken dialogue in his head. 'Oh, so it was the leaning.' 'Yeah, but if I hadn't kissed you...' 'Well, maybe, but we were kissing for two months straight so that's pretty cool.'
They turn to look back at the collected group. "Sorry." Sheppard offers sheepishly.
"So uh," McKay hooks a thumb towards John and Rodney. "Alternate reality?"
Rodney nods. "Yeah. Teyla and Ronon came and got us."
Sheppard's brow furrows. "What for?"
"Biometric lock," McKay explains. He turns to Radek for confirmation. "Dual bio-signatures?"
Radek nods.
"Couldn't use the genetic material on file in the city?" McKay asks.
"No," Radek shakes his head and huffs slightly. "You think we did not try that? We exhausted many options before we sought out your counterparts."
"Wow. Uh." He looks over at Sheppard again. "Sorry?"
Radek just sighs, heavily. "Just do not do again." He steps forward and puts his hands on McKay's shoulders. "Glad to have you back, Rodney." He nods to Sheppard. "Colonel."
Teyla comes forward then and Rodney can see just how pleased she is to see her teammates unfrozen. "We have missed you, my friends." She embraces each of them and does the Athosian forehead-touching thing that Rodney has always found a little weird. Watching it now, he finds himself envious.
Ronon follows Teyla, and to Rodney's surprise picks McKay up in a full-body hug. "Good to have you back, Doc." McKay looks long-suffering but Rodney sees his hands come up and pat Ronon's shoulders. He repeats the move on Sheppard. "You gotta stop ending up in situations like this," he chides before wrapping his arms around Sheppard, trapping his arms at his side, and hefting him off the ground.
"I hear ya, big guy." Sheppard agrees with a wheeze as he's squeezed tight.
"There is something else you should know," Teyla tells them once Ronon set Sheppard back on his feet. "John and Rodney were not the only people to come through the quantum mirror."
"Oh?" Sheppard questions. "Who else?"
"Doctor McKay's sister for one."
"Jeannie's here?" McKay interrupts. "Why is Jeannie here?"
Rodney takes a step forward, since this is easier for him to explain. "Uh, Jeannie in my universe, she's not like yours. She's not married and she doesn't have a kid. She was actually slotted to join us in Atlantis originally, but didn't clear her physical." He frowns.
"Her epilepsy," McKay says knowingly. "They wouldn't have let her through with a condition like that."
Rodney nods. "Yeah. But uh, she worked for the SGC until after everything happened with our Atlantis."
"What happened with your Atlantis?" Sheppard asks.
Rodney starts to explain but Teyla's hand on his arm stops him. "In a moment, John. First, I must tell you that the other person to come through the mirror is Doctor Weir."
Sheppard's mouth falls open. "Elizabeth is here?"
Next to him, McKay pales.
Teyla gives a fervent nod and Rodney's sure he's not mistaking the joy on her face or the glisten in her eyes. "She and Jeannie McKay are back on Atlantis. We would have brought them with us, but the jumper was getting crowded."
"Wow." John breathes. "I... It's hard to imagine Elizabeth alive. That's gonna take some getting used to."
"Yeah, no kidding." McKay agrees.
Sheppard looks over at Rodney, eyes narrowing. "So, what happened on your Atlantis?"
Rodney sighs deeply. He knows it's going to hurt to go over this again. He's about to start when he feels someone beside him.
It's John. He nudges an elbow into Rodney's arm.
The support, just when he needs it the most, is almost too much for Rodney. But, he's standing in front of himself, quite literally, and he's not going to break down. Feeling John's arm continue to press into his side, Rodney swallows hard and then speaks. "Our Atlantis didn't survive the Wraith siege at the end of that first year. We had to set the self-destruct and we left Pegasus for good."
Sheppard and McKay share a look, and to Rodney's relief it's commiserating rather than accusatory.
"I'm sorry." Sheppard offers. "That's gotta...," he trails off, a hand grasping at the air like he's trying to grab the right words.
"Suck," McKay fills in for him, flitting a quick one-sided smile in Sheppard's direction. "That's gotta suck beyond the telling of it." He looks Rodney in the face. It's really, really disconcerting to be staring at himself like this. "I'm sorry." McKay says. "I'm sure you did everything you could to save her."
And whoa. How does he know? Is it just a Rodney McKay thing to assume responsibility for every terrible thing that ever happens?
Flabbergasted already, Rodney's stomach almost drops to his knees when beside him John agrees. "Yeah, he did."
"It was not Colonel Everett who led the team that came through to support the city," Teyla explains (for which Rodney is grateful, because he's a little bit too busy being overwhelmed right now). "A Colonel Morris came through instead. His orders did not put as much emphasis on saving the city and he took steps to ensure the input of Doctor Weir and Doctor McKay were limited." Which is a diplomatic way of saying that he didn't give a shit.
"Shit," Sheppard mutters. "I've heard of Morris. He did some work with the SGC but got pulled from active duty for unprofessional conduct a number of years ago. It was back in the early days. He let a Jaffa city get wiped out by the Goa'uld, ignored his orders to protect them. Last I heard he was overseas, causing headaches somewhere in the Middle East."
"Well, that's who came to Atlantis to try to save us." Rodney doesn't bother to try to mask his bitterness. "It went to hell almost immediately. Elizabeth got injured and Morris just took over control of everything."
"What have you been doing for the past ten years then?" McKay asks, like he can't fathom what he'd do with his life without Atlantis.
Which is something Rodney can totally relate to. "Uh, nothing really. I mean, I quit working for the SGC. I've been living with Jeannie in Vancouver and we're doing private contract R&D work. Problem solving. That sort of thing. Occasionally one of us will consult for the SGC."
"Ugh. That sounds awful." McKay grimaces. Sheppard elbows him. "Uh, I mean, I'm sorry."
Rodney can't help but laugh, because that's exactly what he'd have said if confronted with the same.
"What about you?" McKay poses the question to John. "Do you still work for the SGC?"
John shrugs. "Technically I'm still on their payroll. Most of the time I'm doing training at Edwards Air Force Base. Very occasionally I get to test pilot something the SGC sends my way."
Sheppard seems to perk up at that. He takes John aside. Rodney doesn't know for sure, but he can guess that whatever they're going to talk about will involve going fast in aircraft, going fast over waves or... golf. Still, he can't begrudge John the chance to talk with someone who literally shares all his interests.
"So what happens now?" McKay steps closer to ask.
"Now? We go back to our universe." Rodney tells him. He can't help the note of regret that must accompany the words.
"But there's no Atlantis there," McKay protests. "You've said so yourself that you're not even working for the SGC. I'm being wasted in that universe."
Rodney sighs. "Believe me, we'd love to stay. To know that Atlantis survived and that the Pegasus expedition has been so successful. It's a dream come true. I'd give anything to stay here, stay on Atlantis and do the kind of work that I feel like I'm meant to be doing."
"They why don't you?" McKay asks.
"Entropic cascade failure." Rodney says simply.
McKay's smile falls into a slanting frown. "Ah, right." Then it perks right back up into a lopsided grin. "No, wait!" He snaps his fingers repeatedly in a way that Rodney recognizes from his own behavior. It's his 'I have the best damn idea ever' mode.
He can't help the feeling bursting in his chest. It's sharp and hot and probably a lot like hope. Does it count as having faith in himself if it's faith in an alternate reality version of himself?
"The quantum prison." McKay explains. "We've discovered, through a few other encounters in the past that coexistence in realities as a result of time travel eliminates the effects of entropic cascade failure. Honestly we've never figured out why, but -"
It's like a light bulb going off in Rodney's brain. The science of it just flashing in his brain. Eagerly, Rodney interrupts, "The prison will adjust our quantum signature in this universe!"
"Yes! We seal you in the quantum stasis field for a period of time, say a few days just to be sure, and then when you come out you'll be out of sync with this universe."
Rodney knows that to anyone looking at them, it's got to be like looking at a person staring in a mirror. They've got the same wild-eyed grin on their faces.
"John!" Rodney calls out, interrupting John from where he's having a quiet discussion with his own counterpart and Ronon and Teyla in the corner of the room. "John, get over here!"
It's eerie the way that both Sheppards amble over, all loose-limbed and oddly graceful. 'His' Sheppard - John, as Rodney thinks of him - looks a little rougher around the edges, but Sheppard - McKay's Sheppard - is scarred and weathered in different ways. None of that detracts from the whole picture, though. John Sheppard, in any universe apparently, is one ridiculously attractive man. A pair of them, together, well... Rodney's eyebrows goes up watching them. So do those of his alternate.
"Oh no," Sheppard wags a scolding finger at McKay. John just looks on in confusion.
"What?" His other self protests; albeit weakly and with a flush chasing up his neck.
"C'mon, McKay. I know you. If he's thinking it, you're thinking it. And I recognize that speculative look on his face," Sheppard points at Rodney. "Not gonna happen."
Rodney feels his own face heat. Okay, he may have been thinking about the fact that there were now two Sheppards in this universe. And apparently one of them wasn't opposed to having sex with him. Or, well, with a version of him...
Clearing his throat, Rodney forces out a rather reedy, "Uh, no. Um, that's not why we called you over here. I mean, not that it wouldn't be a really intriguing-"
Fortunately, his double has the good sense to talk over him. "What Rodney is trying to say is that we've come up with a solution to negate the effects of entropic cascade failure."
John's mouth falls slack. "What? How?"
"The stasis prison." Rodney tells him. He knows his ears are still pinked and at some point John cottoned on to that whole exchange because there are blotchy red patches along his throat, but thankfully the news overrides any embarrassment. "We spend some time locked out of time in the quantum stasis field and it will reset our quantum signatures in this galaxy."
"And that'll ensure we don't get torn apart?" John asks, which is a fair question.
"Yes. I wish I could explain the science behind it, but frankly it's still a little beyond me." McKay elbows him. "Us. But, essentially this universe won't recognize us as the duplicates of entities that already exist in this universe."
"Actually," McKay interjects, "it's entirely possible that because of our," he gestures to himself and Sheppard, "time in the stasis field, our quantum signatures already no longer match this universe, so the risk of entropic cascade is likely already negated." Then he gives a half-hearted shrug. "But probably better to be safe than sorry."
"Well we need to get Jeannie and Elizabeth here." John says eagerly. "Get them in the stasis field with us." He pauses. "Wait, Elizabeth's good, right? Because her counterpart is uh...," he flips a hand, trying to be delicate about it. "Doesn't exist in this universe anymore."
"Right," McKay agrees. "Although we'll have to wait on Jeannie."
"Wait, why?"
"The stasis chamber can only manage two separate, disparate energies. We believe it was a way to contain both the ascended ancient's physical form as well as their, uh, metaphysical one. So, Jeannie will have to go in separately."
"Won't that be risky? I mean, making her wait longer?" John asks. And Rodney's knows he just moments away from volunteering to be the one to wait. Take the risk on himself rather than let anyone else do it.
"No," McKay shakes his head. "Jeannie's counterpart in this universe is still in the Milky Way galaxy. As I'm sure you saw with Ronon and Teyla, the effects of entropic cascade failure are slowed by distance between universes as well as physical distance between duplicates. So, Jeannie should be absolutely fine for quite a while."
"Okay," John says. "Okay, so, we just need to go into the stasis chamber. Uh, when can we do that?"
McKay looks at Sheppard who just shrugs lackadaisically. "Now? I mean, sure, now is good."
They call Ronon and Teyla over and share the news.
Ronon positively beams at them. "Can I tell Jeannie?" It's a little scary. Rodney's afraid he's gonna start hugging again.
McKay shoots an alarming look at Rodney. Probably not fair of him to not give McKay the whole heads-up about Jeannie and Ronon. But totally worth it for the dawning panic on McKay's face. And Rodney absolutely wants to be there when they tell the Jeannie in this universe that her counterpart is hooking up with Ronon.
"Of course you can, big guy." Sheppard tells him, clapping him heartily on the arm.
"I can't tell you how happy I am for you both," Teyla tells them. She steps close to Rodney and puts her hands on either side of his head. It isn't until her forehead is touching his that he grasps what she's doing. He relaxes into it, feels warmth suffuse his whole body.
"Thanks, Teyla." He whispers.
She does the same with John and then she and Ronon step back so that McKay can get them into place.
The stasis chamber itself is a relatively small space, only about eight by eight, but considering he's going to be frozen in time once the field activates, he's not too worried about getting claustrophobic.
"Okay, you two just wait there a minute," McKay tells them as he steps over to a console. "It'll take me just a few minutes to get this calibrated for the right time period. Radek!" He snaps his fingers anxiously.
Looking long suffering, Radek joins him. "You beckoned, Rodney?"
They start to converse in a science laden patter that Rodney recognizes, though he and the Zelenka he knew never quite had the easy ebb and flow (and good-natured, if somewhat antagonistic, bickering) that these two seem to.
"It's weird, isn't it?" John asks with a nod towards McKay and Zelenka. "Watching yourself do stuff like that."
"Yeah, it really is." Rodney agrees. "Although it's funny how easy it is to get used to." Because he already sees his counterpart as a different person than himself.
"Yeah." And John seems to get what he's saying. "I mean, I look at him and I see me, but someone else entirely too."
"It's weird." Rodney says simply, because it just is.
Again, John gets him. "Yeah. It's weird." He turns toward Rodney then, putting his back to the door of the chamber. "Look, McKay, before this all becomes permanent and we get stuck in a stasis chamber together for a few-"
"We won't even notice, John." Rodney interrupts. "We won't even notice time passing."
John rolls his eyes. "I know that. But still, it's the principle of it. Look, I'm just... I just wanna say. Well. Thanks. You know, for finding me back in our universe and for making me go along with this. This is... it's like getting my life back, Rodney. I mean, I know that they needed me to rescue their own Sheppard. Well, a version of me at least. But you fought to make sure that I didn't just throw you all out on the street and I owe you for that."
Rodney shifts, as uncomfortable with John's sudden demonstrative emotion as John appears to be sharing it. "You don't owe me anything, John." Rodney blusters. "I mean, of course I was going to fight for you. You belong here as much as I do. I wasn't going to let you give that up. Not when I finally had the chance to fix things."
John runs a hand backwards through his hair. "And, about all of the other stuff that happened all those years ago. I'm sorry I blamed you. I'm sorry I never gave you the chance to explain your side of things." He sighs and his fingers fall away from his head. They land on Rodney's arm, curling around it. "I was bitter and angry at myself and I needed someone to blame. But I know that you did your best for us... for Atlantis. And I'm sorry I never told you that before."
"It's okay, John. I never really blamed you either. Like you said though, it was easier to have someone... anyone, to blame. Someone other than myself, I mean." And for the first time since he stepped off the Daedalus after returning from the Pegasus galaxy all those years ago, Rodney doesn't feel mired in guilt and self-recrimination. "I shouldn't have let this drive me away. I should've come after you years ago and talked to you about what happened." He gives a shaky little smile. "So, starting over, huh?"
"Yeah," John agrees, his own barely-there grin just as wobbly. "Starting over."
And that seems to be all they need to say.
"Okay, gentleman," McKay calls out. "We're ready to go here. Engaging stasis chamber in five...four...three..."
As he counts down Rodney thinks to himself, "What the hell." He grabs John by the lapels of his tac vest and hauls him in. John fights back for about half a second before letting himself be pulled in.
"Two."
Their lips meet.
"One."