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stargateficrecShow: SGA
Rec Category: Sheppard/McKay
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Richard Woolsey
Pairings: Sheppard/McKay
Categories: Angst, Apocafic, Drama, Established Relationship, Slash
Warnings: Major character deaths (not principals)
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wolfshark
Author's Website:
Link: Charming Demeter's Daughter
Why This Must Be Read:
Atlantis cut off from Earth is a favorite theme of mine, and this Atlantis Big Bang story has the team dealing with an obstinate Woolsey in addition to the problems associated with the loss of Earth. Of course, John and Rodney take loving care of each other in between crises.
"Sergeant, dial in, please," said Woolsey, and Chuck started the sequence.
The last chevron failed to lock.
"Sir, I can't connect."
"You must have dialed wrong," Rodney said. "Try again."
Chuck shook his head but tried to dial again anyway - this time with Woolsey, John, and Rodney all hanging over him. He pressed the last key, and all of them looked up to see the 'gate flicker and die.
"Dial the alpha site," John ordered, and Rodney nodded, relieved. Good idea. The network was down, or a crystal burned out, or -
The gate connected.
"This can't be right. Out of the way," he said to Chuck, and once Chuck had gotten up, Rodney sat down in his chair.
Without waiting for orders, he disconnected from the Alpha site and tried Earth again. Without thinking, he tried a second, and then a third time. He only stopped when John grabbed his shoulder. He met John's eyes, seeing his own fear echoed there. But all John said was, "You know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Rodney shook him off. He tried once more - more to prove a point than because he expected to get through. When that failed, he slid to his knees and pried the front off the DHD. "Get me Zelenka."
"Wait a moment, Doctor McKay," Woolsey ordered.
"What? It's got to be a problem with the DHD, and I need to get it fixed."
"I'm sure, but we have three teams off world right now. Shouldn't we recall them before you take it apart?"
Rodney sighed. "Yes, I suppose." Levering himself to his feet, he pointed at Chuck. "Get them back while I get my team up here." Without waiting for an answer, he turned away and radioed Zelenka. "I need you in the control room, and bring Miko and Smythe. There's something wrong with the DHD."
"What is the problem?"
"If I knew, I would have already fixed it. Just get up here!"
As the gate opened and closed and opened again, John came over and rested a hand on Rodney's shoulder. "You'll figure it out."
"Of course I will," but Rodney was afraid that it was all bluster.
As the last of the off world teams arrived back, looking very puzzled at being recalled, Rodney, Radek, and Miko started disassembling the DHD. Smythe was proving to be a moron, though.
"Why are we wasting our time? Earth will dial us as soon as they realize we're late. For that matter, we might have missed their attempt already, what with calling back the teams. And that's another thing - "
Rodney looked from where he was inspecting part of the wiring. "You know, I asked for you because you claim to be an expert on Ancient crystal arrays. If you're just going to stand there and tell us we're wrong for trying to fix it, you can go work on the sewage system."
"But - "
Rodney heaved a huge sigh and looked at Radek. He was the best at translating what Rodney said to something the idiots understood. "Perhaps you would like to return home when we fix gate? No? Then you should start looking at the crystals you have been assigned."
Smythe gave a disgusted snort, but he started going over the crystals. Rodney just caught Radek's eye and rolled his own. He really missed being able to work solely with the first wave people. The scientists that he'd been sent recently were all idiots.
They sorted through crystals and wires, looking for a short, a burned out crystal, anything that would explain the malfunction. But in the back of Rodney's head, an invisible clock counted down first the minutes, then the hours. Why hadn't Earth dialed them yet? They had a ZPM...
When John shook him, Rodney looked up blearily. "What?"
"You need to eat, buddy."
Rodney dug in a pocket, pulling out a powerbar. "I'm fine. It's not fixed yet."
John nodded. "I know. But you need real food and a break. Come back to it with fresh eyes."
"A break? Wait, where is my team?" he asked, realizing that they were alone.
"I sent them away twenty minutes ago."
Rodney wanted to argue, he really did. But he knew that John was right. He wasn't going to find anything if his eyes were blurring. Standing up, he frowned at the way his back cracked. "How long was I down there, anyway?"
"About six hours."
"Is that all? It felt longer." Rodney realized that John was herding him towards the transporter, but he didn't argue. "I guess I can eat something and come back."
"No. You're done for the day," John insisted.
"What? I've got to fix it!"
"Rodney, it's not an emergency. You'll figure it out after a good night's sleep."
"Are you going to tuck me in, too?" Rodney asked bitterly. "I am an adult, you know."
John glanced around cautiously and then dragged Rodney into a small alcove. "Look. It's been six hours. If it were a simple problem, you would have figured it out already. And we don't know why Earth hasn't called us. So unless you want to see a panic, we need to act like it's not crunch time. That means meal breaks and sleeping at night."
Rodney started to argue, and deflated when he realized that John was...well, a little right. "Okay, okay. But during the day, I work on the DHD."
"Unless something more urgent comes up, yes," John agreed.
Privately, Rodney doubted anything would come up, but he didn't voice it.
John stared into Rodney's face, and then, apparently satisfied with what he saw there, nodded firmly. He backed out of the alcove, letting Rodney out, and the two of them made their way to the mess.
As soon as they entered, a small crowd of people demanding to know what was going on surrounded them.
Before Rodney could answer, John stepped in. "It's probably nothing - just a glitch with the DHD. But do you think I would have been able to pry Doctor McKay away if it was an urgent problem?" Several people shook their heads no, and John's face broadened into a grin. "No. So everyone relax, eat your dinner, okay?"
The crowd dispersed with soft murmurings. Rodney stared at John amazed. He knew that if he'd tried that, there would have been three screaming matches and half a dozen people in tears.
"How do you do that?" Rodney demanded.
John just chuckled and led him to the food line and then to the team table.
The next day, Rodney wasn't feeling like laughing. There was nothing wrong with anything they had checked. The crystals were so clean they sparkled at this point, all the wiring had been replaced, and everything was seated firmly. Speaking quietly with Zelenka, he was frustrated enough to admit that maybe there wasn't a problem to solve. Maybe, just maybe, the problem was at the other end.
If that was the case, then there was nothing they could do until either Earth contacted them or the Daedalus arrived.
Rodney hated feeling helpless.
Every time he went he went into the mess he got stares, and people muttered under their breath. It brought back distasteful memories of that whole Doranda episode. The only relief was that John was still on his side.
Rec Category: Sheppard/McKay
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Richard Woolsey
Pairings: Sheppard/McKay
Categories: Angst, Apocafic, Drama, Established Relationship, Slash
Warnings: Major character deaths (not principals)
Author on LJ:
wolfsharkAuthor's Website:
Link: Charming Demeter's Daughter
Why This Must Be Read:
Atlantis cut off from Earth is a favorite theme of mine, and this Atlantis Big Bang story has the team dealing with an obstinate Woolsey in addition to the problems associated with the loss of Earth. Of course, John and Rodney take loving care of each other in between crises.
"Sergeant, dial in, please," said Woolsey, and Chuck started the sequence.
The last chevron failed to lock.
"Sir, I can't connect."
"You must have dialed wrong," Rodney said. "Try again."
Chuck shook his head but tried to dial again anyway - this time with Woolsey, John, and Rodney all hanging over him. He pressed the last key, and all of them looked up to see the 'gate flicker and die.
"Dial the alpha site," John ordered, and Rodney nodded, relieved. Good idea. The network was down, or a crystal burned out, or -
The gate connected.
"This can't be right. Out of the way," he said to Chuck, and once Chuck had gotten up, Rodney sat down in his chair.
Without waiting for orders, he disconnected from the Alpha site and tried Earth again. Without thinking, he tried a second, and then a third time. He only stopped when John grabbed his shoulder. He met John's eyes, seeing his own fear echoed there. But all John said was, "You know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Rodney shook him off. He tried once more - more to prove a point than because he expected to get through. When that failed, he slid to his knees and pried the front off the DHD. "Get me Zelenka."
"Wait a moment, Doctor McKay," Woolsey ordered.
"What? It's got to be a problem with the DHD, and I need to get it fixed."
"I'm sure, but we have three teams off world right now. Shouldn't we recall them before you take it apart?"
Rodney sighed. "Yes, I suppose." Levering himself to his feet, he pointed at Chuck. "Get them back while I get my team up here." Without waiting for an answer, he turned away and radioed Zelenka. "I need you in the control room, and bring Miko and Smythe. There's something wrong with the DHD."
"What is the problem?"
"If I knew, I would have already fixed it. Just get up here!"
As the gate opened and closed and opened again, John came over and rested a hand on Rodney's shoulder. "You'll figure it out."
"Of course I will," but Rodney was afraid that it was all bluster.
As the last of the off world teams arrived back, looking very puzzled at being recalled, Rodney, Radek, and Miko started disassembling the DHD. Smythe was proving to be a moron, though.
"Why are we wasting our time? Earth will dial us as soon as they realize we're late. For that matter, we might have missed their attempt already, what with calling back the teams. And that's another thing - "
Rodney looked from where he was inspecting part of the wiring. "You know, I asked for you because you claim to be an expert on Ancient crystal arrays. If you're just going to stand there and tell us we're wrong for trying to fix it, you can go work on the sewage system."
"But - "
Rodney heaved a huge sigh and looked at Radek. He was the best at translating what Rodney said to something the idiots understood. "Perhaps you would like to return home when we fix gate? No? Then you should start looking at the crystals you have been assigned."
Smythe gave a disgusted snort, but he started going over the crystals. Rodney just caught Radek's eye and rolled his own. He really missed being able to work solely with the first wave people. The scientists that he'd been sent recently were all idiots.
They sorted through crystals and wires, looking for a short, a burned out crystal, anything that would explain the malfunction. But in the back of Rodney's head, an invisible clock counted down first the minutes, then the hours. Why hadn't Earth dialed them yet? They had a ZPM...
When John shook him, Rodney looked up blearily. "What?"
"You need to eat, buddy."
Rodney dug in a pocket, pulling out a powerbar. "I'm fine. It's not fixed yet."
John nodded. "I know. But you need real food and a break. Come back to it with fresh eyes."
"A break? Wait, where is my team?" he asked, realizing that they were alone.
"I sent them away twenty minutes ago."
Rodney wanted to argue, he really did. But he knew that John was right. He wasn't going to find anything if his eyes were blurring. Standing up, he frowned at the way his back cracked. "How long was I down there, anyway?"
"About six hours."
"Is that all? It felt longer." Rodney realized that John was herding him towards the transporter, but he didn't argue. "I guess I can eat something and come back."
"No. You're done for the day," John insisted.
"What? I've got to fix it!"
"Rodney, it's not an emergency. You'll figure it out after a good night's sleep."
"Are you going to tuck me in, too?" Rodney asked bitterly. "I am an adult, you know."
John glanced around cautiously and then dragged Rodney into a small alcove. "Look. It's been six hours. If it were a simple problem, you would have figured it out already. And we don't know why Earth hasn't called us. So unless you want to see a panic, we need to act like it's not crunch time. That means meal breaks and sleeping at night."
Rodney started to argue, and deflated when he realized that John was...well, a little right. "Okay, okay. But during the day, I work on the DHD."
"Unless something more urgent comes up, yes," John agreed.
Privately, Rodney doubted anything would come up, but he didn't voice it.
John stared into Rodney's face, and then, apparently satisfied with what he saw there, nodded firmly. He backed out of the alcove, letting Rodney out, and the two of them made their way to the mess.
As soon as they entered, a small crowd of people demanding to know what was going on surrounded them.
Before Rodney could answer, John stepped in. "It's probably nothing - just a glitch with the DHD. But do you think I would have been able to pry Doctor McKay away if it was an urgent problem?" Several people shook their heads no, and John's face broadened into a grin. "No. So everyone relax, eat your dinner, okay?"
The crowd dispersed with soft murmurings. Rodney stared at John amazed. He knew that if he'd tried that, there would have been three screaming matches and half a dozen people in tears.
"How do you do that?" Rodney demanded.
John just chuckled and led him to the food line and then to the team table.
The next day, Rodney wasn't feeling like laughing. There was nothing wrong with anything they had checked. The crystals were so clean they sparkled at this point, all the wiring had been replaced, and everything was seated firmly. Speaking quietly with Zelenka, he was frustrated enough to admit that maybe there wasn't a problem to solve. Maybe, just maybe, the problem was at the other end.
If that was the case, then there was nothing they could do until either Earth contacted them or the Daedalus arrived.
Rodney hated feeling helpless.
Every time he went he went into the mess he got stares, and people muttered under their breath. It brought back distasteful memories of that whole Doranda episode. The only relief was that John was still on his side.
