Action/Adventure, Week 1: Rites of Passage (2/2)
Title: Rites of Passage
Author: ldyanne
Prompt: Paperwork & Documentation
Word Count: 16,000
Rating: PG-13 for violence and language
Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers for The Rising, Hide and Seek, 38 Minutes, Suspicion, Childhood's End
Summary: When the shield on M7G-677 stops working, Team Sheppard goes to the children's aid. But when the Wraith attack, who's going to come to their aid?
Back to Part One.
Teyla lost all sense of time as they waited for Ares to return. As much as they twisted and struggled against their bonds, the only thing they managed to accomplish was to make them tighter. And the entire time Rodney and Aiden Ford bickered like children and it was wearing on her nerves.
"Oh, please," Rodney sneered in the infuriating way he had, "you know that eternal optimist act might play with Sheppard but you can drop it here. I can figure the odds, and right now you really don't want me to do that."
"Dr. McKay--" Teyla began to try and soothe him, but then there was a rustle and they all fell abruptly silent. Ares was returning.
"When I return," Ares had told them as they were tied to the beams, "you will be sacrificed so that my people will be safe."
Teyla struggled in her bonds, even knowing it would do her no good. She did not know what was going to happen, but she would not allow herself or her friends to be taken easily. She sensed that Ford was also twisting in his bonds trying to loosen them or find just one weakness that he could use. Rodney was now motionless, staring at the hole in the floor that was the entrance into their hut. Long minutes went by and no one appeared.
"Do not move," Teyla heard a voice whisper from the other side of the wall, outside their prison. Then her wrists were free as a knife sliced through the bindings. She twisted around and could just see the silhouette of a person through the slats that formed the house they were imprisoned in.
"Keras?" she whispered.
"Can you move away?" he whispered back. A slim knife was passed into her hands through the slats. She took it, scurrying over to cut the ropes that bound Ford.
"Hey," Rodney complained, careful to keep his voice as low as possible. "What about me?"
"I will be there in a moment," Teyla whispered to him. "Just be patient."
Before he could whisper a no doubt biting response, the wall where Teyla had been sitting swung in, and Keras ducked inside. He grinned at them.
"Hey, Ares said you were dead," Rodney burst out.
Keras held a hand to his mouth cautioning silence to which Teyla nodded her agreement. It was not a time for words. They needed to escape as quickly as possible. There would be time for talk later when they were safe.
Rodney frowned and pressed his lips together into a tight line but he did not speak again. He just wiggled impatiently glaring in Telay's direction. Suppressing a small smile, she moved to his side and cut his bonds quickly. He gave a low moan when his hands were freed, but otherwise he made not a sound. She put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. He rolled his eyes at her, but then he patted her hand clumsily where it rested on his shoulder.
Keras moved to peer down the hole where the ladder to the ground was located.
"We're not going down that way?" Ford whispered, his voice barely loud enough to carry to Teyla and Rodney.
Keras shook his head and pointed at the section of the wall where he had made his entrance. They gathered there and he swung it inward to show them that it was essentially a door built into the side of the structure. Teyla peered out to see that there was a wide, flat branch right outside that they could step onto. Keras lead the way with the team following closely behind them.
Rodney balked at the door, looking with wide eyes at the drop to the ground far below. Ford gave an impatient 'hurry up' wave and Rodney skewered him with a glare before taking a tentative step out onto the limb. He took a couple of steps before stopping and taking a deep breath. Teyla could see him starting to take another look down and then deciding against it.
Satisfied that they understood his plan, Keras jerked his head and they followed him, one by one, through the trees.
It was a clever plan, Teyla thought. The trees formed a kind of pathway of sorts. They could make their way through the trees long enough that it would make it difficult for Ares to track them. Perhaps it would give them the time they needed to locate the ZPM and get the shield device functioning again so they could then go rescue Sheppard. Because he was alive, he had to be, she would accept nothing else.
They moved swiftly through the trees. Keras had grown up using the tree-top pathways. Teyla had a natural grace that allowed her to traverse the wide branches and limbs without feeling clumsy or awkward. Likewise the lieutenant was athletic enough that he was able to navigate among the trees easily enough. It was Rodney that Teyla was worried about.
The scientist's strength and agility had improved a great deal since he had joined Sheppard's team and started accompanying them on off-world missions. Indeed, the major insisted that the scientist take part in training exercises that helped him to do so (all the while complaining bitterly about the time lost from his very important work).
But Teyla did not think him prepared to deal with this kind of activity. The pathways they walked were high enough that if one of them fell there would be serious injuries. And the scientist had not eaten in some time. She knew about Rodney's medical condition. The major had told them about it when he'd told Ford and Teyla of his decision to ask Rodney to join the team.
Now Teyla was beginning to notice that the scientist was sweating a little more than even the strenuous nature of their activities called for. And he had not spoken in some time. She knew that Rodney knew how to keep quiet when he had to. Still she did not think his silence was due to that entirely. She held up a hand once they had traveled for some time through the tree tops with a worried eye on Rodney. He just sat when Ford did, clinging to the trunk of the tree, swaying a little in place.
"Dr. McKay?" She moved to kneel next to him and shook his shoulder gently. She gave a quick check to assess his condition. His nose was no longer bleeding, but one eye was badly swollen and the one she could see seemed distant and vague, confused.
It took him a moment to focus on her. "Teyla?"
"Are you well, Dr. McKay?" she asked kindly, taking in the sweat on his face and the way his eyes kept wandering away. A small frown was upon his face as if he had forgotten something important.
He let go of the trunk with one hand and waved it, "I'm uh-- I'm fine, I guess. Are we stopping? Should we be stopping? Where's Sheppard?"
Ford crouched next to her. "Is he alright?"
"Is not confusion one of the first signs of this hypoglycemia that Dr. McKay suffers from?" Teyla asked him.
Ford nodded. "Yeah, I always kind of thought he was making up." At least the lieutenant had the grace to sound embarrassed about the admission.
"Yes, well now you know that he is not," Teyla said gently. She patted her pockets to find the extra power bars that the major insisted they all carry. She saw now the wisdom of his foresight. If he had been the only one carrying the necessary supplies, it could have been bad for Dr. McKay indeed. Fortunately, Ares and his children-soldiers hadn't searched the team too thoroughly. They'd taken anything they deemed a weapon, but much of the rest of the supplies they had left alone. Teyla pulled out one of the food bars. She opened it and pressed it into Rodney's hands.
"Please, eat, Rodney, you will feel better."
"I'm not really very hungry," he said, but he took a bite of the bar anyway.
"We must move on," Keras hissed at them.
Teyla nodded her understanding. "Can you continue?" she asked Rodney. He took another bite before clambering to his feet. He swayed dangerously and Teyla wrapped a hand around his arm.
She stayed at his side as they continued on their way. He finished the power bar and seemed a little steadier on his feet, but Teyla still stayed close, ready to offer a hand when it was needed. She noticed that Ford stayed close, too, within arms reach if they had need of him.
They came to a place where the tree tops were thinner and the branches slimmer. They had to choose their way carefully or risk falling to the ground. Keras traversed the way with no problem and then Teyla crossed. She could feel the swaying of the tree around her. She turned back to warn Rodney and Ford just as there was a crack and the branch that the two men were standing on gave way beneath them.
Ford threw himself forward and grabbed the trunk of the tree. He clung with all his might. Rodney however plunged downward, disappearing from her sight.
Teyla began her descent fearing the worst. They'd lost John to the Wraith and now she was going to find Rodney broken and bleeding on the ground.
She had only descended a few feet when she found Rodney clinging to a branch, half on and half off and looking as if he was going to slip at any moment.
"Dr. McKay," she exclaimed as she reached down to pull him to safety.
"No, no, stay away," he cautioned. "This branch isn't very sturdy. I'm not sure it'll hold both of us and I'd prefer not to take the express route down."
She was afraid he was correct. It was a slender limb and it was already bowing under Rodney's weight. She tried not to notice that it was still a long way to the ground.
"Stay calm," she advised him.
"Oh, I'd like to see you stay calm when you're dangling 20 feet in the air," he snapped at her. He kept trying to pull himself up and not having any success.
"Please, I know you are frightened, but you are going to draw Ares to us," Keras knelt next to Teyla.
"You know at this moment, sacrifice is looking better and better," Rodney snapped at them even while slipping further off his branch.
"You do not mean that, Dr. McKay," Teyla said.
"No, no, I guess I don't. But I also don't want my bones smashed into a bloody pulp either. Do something, Ford, aren't you supposed to be a boy scout or something?"
"It's a marine, Dr. McKay, and I'm thinking." Teyla approved that the lieutenant did not respond in kind to Rodney. It was hard not to sometimes, but they all understood his panic.
"Okay," Ford said at last, "look, there's a branch almost directly under you. If you can drop onto that, it should break your fall."
"Should?" Rodney's voice was about 2 octaves higher than Teyla had ever heard it before. "I would like a little more assurance than that, Lieutenant, before I let go. And we won't even talk about 'break your fall.'" Even without being able to use his hands they all saw the air quotes around the words.
Teyla could see the branch that Ford was referring to and it just might work. "I will climb down and be prepared to help you," Teyla assured Rodney, making her way to the branch just below him. Keras accompanied her. He steadied her while she put a hand on Rodney's ankle where his legs dangled in mid air.
"I am here, Dr. McKay, you can trust me to keep you safe."
"You'd better because the whole city is depending on my brain, you know. While I might survive a fall from this height, I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't survive it with my brain intact. And there's just nothing worse I can think of than spending the rest of my life as a vegetable."
Despite the seriousness of their situation, Teyla let a small smile break out when she heard the lieutenant mutter something she couldn't quite make out, but Rodney obviously did.
"Oh, very funny, Ford, don't give up your day job--"
Teyla didn't know if Rodney deliberately let go or if that was the moment that he lost his grip, but she suddenly had her arms full of Rodney McKay as he came crashing down on top of her. They teetered for a breathless moment, but Keras braced them and finally they were all safe again.
Rodney dropped to sit, laying down to embrace the branch with his whole body, "Oh, thank god," he breathed out. "I'm never moving again."
"We must keep going," Keras said urgently. He glanced back the way they had come. "It will not have taken Ares long to find us missing. While it will take the trackers some time to find that we are using the tree paths, they will find us. We must keep going." Keras stood as if to continue on.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no," Rodney moaned. "I can not keep climbing through the trees like Tarzan. I need to get down."
"I agree," Teyla said, lending her support to Rodney. "We will be able to travel faster on the ground. I believe that we are far enough from the village that it will take some time for your scouts to pick up our trail."
Ford nodded his agreement of Teyla's assessment. Seeing that the team was united against him, Keras reluctantly led the way down the trees helping them find toeholds and lending a hand when needed.
"Thank god," Rodney groaned as they set foot on the ground once again. Privately Teyla agreed with him.
"We are near the old city," Keras told them once they were all on the ground. "Ares took the device that powers the shield device. Can you fix it?" he asked Rodney anxiously.
Rodney had regained his equilibrium once they were back on solid ground. He eyed Keras disdainfully. "I am good, yes, but even I can't fix the shield without the ZedPM."
"You mean this?" Keras' eyes danced with mischief, he looked much younger than his 25 years. Reaching inside a bag he had slung across his back, he pulled out the ZPM.
"Holy crap," Rodney breathed, taking the device from him reverently. "Where did you get it?"
Keras grinned as if he had told an especially good joke. "I told you, Ares took it. He tried to convince our people that it was the full growns, your people, that brought the Wraith back to our world. Enough believed you when you said it was this device that they would not listen to him at first."
"What happened?" Ford asked from where he was keeping a watch on the trail behind them.
"He tried to get our people to return to the old ways. He said that it was I who was lying when I claimed that it was really the shield device that was protecting our people. When they would not listen to him, he stole this device. Then the Wraith came and a village were culled. He held it out as proof that I was wrong."
"But why would he do such a thing?" Teyla's heart was heavy that anyone who lived in the Pegasus Galaxy would do such a thing. They were supposed to be fighting against the Wraith, not each other.
Keras' nodded, heavy with sorrow, as he answered, "He wanted to be leader. As long as I was still alive, I was eldest. With me gone he would be eldest and leader of our people."
"That is just so wrong," Rodney seemed to come back to life, his hands stroking over the ZPM reverently. "Eventually he's going to have make the sacrifice, too."
"I do not think he has thought that far in advance." Keras nodded to the ZPM. "Can you fix it?" he asked anxiously.
Rodney nodded. "Yes, and we need to do it right now before the Wraith come back." Rodney started down the path in the direction of the shield device.
"Hey, hold on there, Dr. McKay," Ford called after him. "We need to go rescue the major first."
Rodney gave an impatient huff and turned back to them. "Don't you think I know that? But you know Sheppard; he would want us to make sure that these kids are safe first."
Ford opened his mouth to bark a retort. Teyla knew his worry. They were all worried about Sheppard. He had been in the hands of the Wraith for too many hours and in all likelihood he was dead by now. But even if he were not, Teyla had known Sheppard long enough to know that he would not want them to put his safety ahead of that of the children. But Aiden was young. Teyla had seen the worship in his eyes when he looked at Sheppard, like a son looking at his father and wanting his approval above all. Ford *needed* to rescue Sheppard.
"He is correct, Aiden," Teyla said gently. "The major would not want us to put his safety before that of the children."
"But Teyla--"
"Aiden, you know what he would want us to do. We are not abandoning the major; we will go after we have repaired the shield device. Dr. McKay can do that quite quickly I think--"
"Oh, sure put the pressure all on me," Rodney muttered.
"And then we will find a way to rescue the major."
Aiden shifted restlessly, weighing her words. Finally he nodded. "Alright, let's get this thing fixed." He took off on the path, not looking back to see if they followed.
Rodney rolled his eyes, but he didn't say anything as he followed. Keras fell into step beside Teyla as they brought up the rear.
"I thought Sheppard had somehow escaped from Ares," he said sadly. "I did not think of the possibility that he might have been taken by the Wraith. I am sorry." Keras said it as one would to someone who mourned. Teyla was not yet ready to mourn for Sheppard yet.
"We will fix your shield and then we will rescue him," she said firmly.
Keras looked for a moment as if he would argue, but then he nodded, "And I will go with you," he vowed.
~~~~~~
John woke to his head pounding like he'd been on a three day bender. But he was pretty sure there had been no alcohol involved in his headache. When he opened his eyes he found he was correct. Casta was a heavy weight against his side. He was relieved to see that the kid looked none the worse for his encounter with the Wraith. The rest of the kids were giving them room, but they were all watching anxiously. John gave a little wave of his hand to reassure them that he was okay, and pushed himself upright. The room spun a little, and his lunch threatened to make a reappearance, but in the end he was sitting upright with his back against the wall.
"Are you alright?" Casta asked, his eyes round and anxious.
John tried a smiled but it didn't seem to ease Casta's worry any. "I'm fine," he insisted.
Casta cocked his head and regarded John with a narrow-eyed gaze that said as plain as words that he wasn't buying it. Yeah, John wasn't really buying it either. His head pounded in time with his heart beat and it was making it difficult to think.
He leaned his head back against the wall and rested it for a moment doing his best to ignore the fact that the room just kept rotating lazily around him. He looked down at Casta, "How long was I out?"
"Long time," the boy answered solemnly. "We were afraid you were dead 'cept the Wraiths wouldn't have brought you back."
"Yeah, you're probably right about that." There was silence between them as Casta leaned his head back, too. He was doing his very best to be calm, but he was just a little kid. John wanted to scream and hit something, preferably the Wraith, and get the kids out. But he was stuck, just like them and he had to maintain his calm so the kids wouldn't panic. Sometimes he hated being full grown.
The sound of footsteps heralded the arrival of the guards. John used the wall to lever himself up. He staggered a couple of steps putting himself between the guards and the kids.
"So, we going for round two?" He did his best to sound unconcerned, but he didn't think he succeeded as he found himself seized and pulled from the cell. He knew it was going to be bad this time when two of the kids were pulled along behind.
"Just leave them alone," John snarled.
He knew it was useless, he really did, but he had to try something. He couldn't just let them take the kids. He threw himself against the guard at his side and made a grab for his stunner.
~~~~~~
They made it the rest of the way to the old city without incident and Rodney counted that as their first piece of good luck all day. They were due a break.
When they arrived, he headed straight for the shield, letting Ford and Teyla do their soldier thing and secure the perimeter. Rodney's major concern was getting the ZPM back in place and the shield working before the Wraith came back. They had spent hours tied up in the hut in the trees and he was expecting the Wraith to return at any moment. It was just the way things worked for him.
So he wasn't surprised at all when child soldiers stepped out of the trees and bushes and surrounded them, their weapons at the ready. Some of them were holding the weapons they'd taken from the Lanteans. Rodney broke out in a cold sweat seeing his own 9mm in Ares' hands. Teyla, Ford and even Keras surrounded him and the precious ZPM and he appreciated the effort, he really did. He couldn't help thinking that it wasn't going to be enough though.
"This is just getting old," he snapped, his mouth turned down in a frown. "Hasn't anyone taught you children to respect your elders?" It was the wrong thing to say, but he'd had enough.
Ares stepped out to confront them, smirking.
"When the elders are worthy of respect, we will respect their memory," he spat at them. He turned to those who followed him. "You see, it is as I told you. Keras is here with the full growns. He is trying to bring the Wraith down upon us once more."
Keras moved into Ares space to confront him and the weapons followed him, although Rodney thought he saw doubt in some of the kids' eyes.
"Ares is lying to you because he wants to lead. It is this device," Keras gestured back to Rodney and the shield device. Rodney held up the ZPM so everyone would have a clear view of it. He felt vaguely like Vana White.
"Just let me put it back in, you'll see." He took a step toward the shield, but Ares grabbed his arm and pulled him away. Rodney clutched the ZPM tightly afraid of it getting damaged in some way. If that happened they were all toast.
Some of the kids were looking definitely doubtful, looking from Ares to Keras and back again. Seeing Keras alive and well had obviously shaken Ares' follower's faith.
"No," Ares shouted. "The only thing that will keep the Wraith from returning is if we get rid of the full growns now. And that includes Keras." Ares turned and advanced on Keras, the weapon in his hand up and pointed straight at Keras' head.
Keras stood his ground with his head held high. The soldiers wavered further in the face of his determination; their weapons were dropping the slightest bit.
"It wouldn't hurt to let him put the device back. This is the way it has always been, what harm can there be?" One of the kids asked. Quite sensibly, Rodney thought.
"No," Ares sneered, hard and angry, desperate now that he could see their support of him waning. "This will only make us soft. We must depend on the old ways if we want to be safe."
"Shut up, Ares," Keras thundered.
Before anyone could stop him, Keras drew back his arm and punched Ares solidly. Ares fell back on his ass stunned, letting go of Rodney. Keras gave Rodney a push toward the shield. "Go," he urged before turning back to Ares.
Rodney didn't need to be told twice. He hurried toward the shield.
The shot came out of nowhere. Rodney jerked forward like he'd been pushed. Fire licked down his shoulder. When he looked to see what had happened, blood seeped down his arm to drip to the ground below; fat, red drops that quickly formed a pool.
"You will stop," Ares commanded. He had Rodney's 9 mil. It was trained on Rodney's heart.
Everything stopped. There was dead silence as everyone waited to see what Ares would do. That's when they heard the whine of the dart.
Rodney looked up to see the dart circling the enclosure of the old city. They were sitting ducks there. It probably looked like an ala carte menu to the Wraith.
In that moment of distraction, Ford decked the kid next to him and wrenched away the P-90 that the kid was holding. Teyla did the same to the kid next to her. The rest of the child soldiers took off for the safety of the trees, hoping that they might afford some protection from the Wraith culling beam.
Keras caught Rodney's arm. "Can you still fix the shield?" he asked, his urgency making him hold on too tight - his fingers bit into the flesh of Rodney's good arm.
Fire radiated from the wound in his arm and the slightest movement caused excruciating pain. But Rodney nodded, gritting his teeth in determination. He could do whatever he had to in order to save them all.
Keras gave him a gentle shove in the direction of the shield. "Work quickly," he said.
Rodney clutched the ZPM with his arm good arm and tucked the injured one close to his body as he headed for the shield. No one tried to stop him this time. Teyla and Ford flanked him on either side, targeting the dart and firing as it began its run on the kids.
Rodney ignored the fiery pain of his arm as he inspected the shield. He was very afraid of what he would find now that he finally had a chance to look at the device. It was old and it would be so easy to damage it if you took the ZPM out incorrectly. He remembered all too well the feeling of panic he'd experienced when he thought he'd broken the device before.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that they'd been lucky again and Ares hadn't damaged the shield. Rodney was familiar with its workings from their previous adventure on the planet so it should be fairly easy to get the ZPM back in place and get the shield working again. If his damn hands would just stop shaking.
"Do you need help?" A child's voice startled him. Rodney glared at the child kneeling next to him. His face was painted and there were twigs in his hair.
Rodney stared at him a moment expecting the child to shoot him or take him a prisoner, but the offer seemed to be genuine. His face was creased with concern. Rodney waved him over.
"I could actually use another hand," he gestured to the arm tucked close to his body. "I seem to be short one at the moment." He handed over the ZPM. The kid seemed to understand its importance because he handled it gently. Rodney nodded in approval. "You look familiar. Do I know you?"
The kid nodded as he followed Rodney's instructions on the proper placement of the ZPM. "My name is Neleus. We met the first time you were here. I was the one who saw the Wraith bird fall from the sky. I tried to tell Ares, but he would not listen to me."
"Well, at least you tried," Rodney said stiffly. He just didn't know how to deal with kids. Especially not ones who wanted to kill him. "I think that's it." He waved the kid away with a scowl. He swayed a little when he accidently jostled his arm and the world went white around him.
Neleus grabbed him and held him up.
"Thanks," he blinked at the kid. "For uhm-- helping me here."
"You are welcome. Is it going to work?" Neleus asked anxiously looking up at the sky.
The Wraith were still buzzing overhead. Rodney could hear the sound of the culling beam, screams from the children. He gulped down his fear and pain. He had to get the shield working.
He nodded. "I think so." He squinted down at the control panel. It was beginning to waver in front of his eyes, growing dim and far away. He held onto consciousness by sheer will power. He couldn't afford to go down. He'd wake up as a 'to-go' meal for the Wraith.
And Neleus was looking at him with that damn hero-worshipping face that said he just knew Rodney could do it. He couldn't let the kid down. He couldn't let his team down. Everything was depending on him.
"Yeah, sure, no pressure," he mumbled to himself as pushed buttons.
"I'm sorry?" Neleus asked. His tone said quite clearly that he didn't know what to do with crazy full growns.
Rodney didn't bother answering him. He was concentrating as hard as he could on getting the shield working again. The sound of the Wraith dart was getting closer. Rodney made the mistake of looking up and he could see it flying overhead through the canopy of leaves that hid the shield from sight.
"You can do it," Neleus told him. "I saw you do it before."
"Of course I can," Rodney snapped back. "As if I need one of Peter Pan's rejected lost boys to give me a pep talk," he scowled at the kid but then he told him, "cross your fingers," before he hit the final button. The kid frowned in confusion but attempted to do as Rodney asked. Rodney punched the final button.
There was a second when nothing happened. Rodney could still hear the whine of the dart overhead and the culling beam taking kids and he was certain that he'd failed. Ares really had damaged the machinery in some way beyond Rodney's ability to fix it. He crumpled to the ground, his strength gone at last. The kid tried to catch him, but it was no good. Rodney was a full grown after all and Neleus was just a skinny kid, not even a good snack for the Wraith.
He blinked up at the sky and the Wraith dart was drifting closer, it was lower in the sky. It was almost as if it was trying to fly into the thicket of trees surrounding the shield. Neleus was pulling on his arm trying to drag him deeper into the thicket. Rodney resisted. He had to figure out what was wrong with the shield and fix it. There was still time, he could do it. And he'd do it just as soon as he could move.
When the dart fell out of the sky, it was almost on top of them. Rodney stared in astonishment at the smoking ruins of the dart, too tired and hurting too much to move any further away as the thing blew up in a ball of fire.
Neleus jumped up and down cheering, pounding on Rodney's back, "You did it! You did it!" he shouted.
Rodney nodded in dazed agreement before falling over sideways and letting the darkness drag him down to where there was no more pain.
~~~~~~
The second John's hand closed round the Wraith stunner the kids in the cell exploded into action. Maybe they were just waiting for him to make his move, because they swarmed out of the cell, jumping on the Wraith guards. There were only three guards this time, and John was able to stun one of them. He pulled the guard's stunner and then turned it on him all in one smooth motion.
He scrambled up to find one of the Wraith clawing at his back trying to get to the kids that clung there. He got a hold of one of them and smashed the kid up against the wall. The kid slid down the wall leaving a smear of blood behind. John didn't wait for him to hurt any of the others, he stunned them all -- wraith and kids, they could separate the good guys from the bad guys later. He thought the kids could deal with the pins and needles feeling from being stunned better than being sucked dry of their life.
He turned to the final Wraith only to find that the warrior had Casta under one arm and his feeding hand hovering in the air above the boys' chest. The thing smiled its grotesque version of a smile and slowly lowered its hand savoring every moment of John's defeat. John flipped the stunner and offered it grip first to the warrior.
A stun blast came from behind John and the wraith and Casta dropped like a stone. John whirled to find Teyla, Ford and Keras running down the corridor toward them.
"Am I glad to see you guys," he shouted as he scooped up Casta's limp form from the floor. The kids that were still mobile were picking up their comrades that had been felled by John's stunner blast. John was glad to see that the kid that had been thrown against the wall was upright. Her face was white and there was blood on her collar, but she was standing on her own power. She looked up to see John watching and she nodded that she could move if she had, too. John nodded back.
John raced down the hall to meet Ford. He traded Casta for the lieutenant's P-90. He turned and emptied a clip into the three Wraith on the floor.
"Are you ready to get out of here, sir?" Ford asked, grimacing at the bodies on the floor.
"You have no idea," John answered.
Teyla turned, presumably leading them back to the jumper. John didn't ask where they were going; he just jogged to keep up. Away from the cells was his main objective.
"Where's McKay?" John asked as they ran.
"He's waiting in the jumper, sir," Ford said.
There wasn't time for more as they rounded a corner and found themselves cut off from the jumper by more of the Wraith warriors. John and Teyla took them out in a hail of bullets. Ford passed off Casta to one of the other kids and crouched down next to John where he and Teyla were laying down cover fire so Keras could get the kids to the safety of the jumper. It was a good thing they had a guide. The jumper was cloaked and John couldn't see it even crouched down a few feet from it.
"I've arranged a diversion." Ford waggled the remote detonator with a grin.
"Lieutenant, I like the way you think," John nodded in approval. "All right let's get out of here."
The three of them followed the last of the kids into the jumper. John waded through them to the cockpit. He found Rodney there, sitting in the co-pilots seat, watching the rear hatch. John blew out a silent breath of relief seeing him there. He'd been afraid that McKay was waiting in the jumper because he was dead. He raised a brow at finding Markham in the pilot's seat.
"You just can't miss a good party can you, Sergeant?"
Markham grinned at him, "Well, Ford called and said you were needing rescued, again. I had to see for myself."
"Well, thanks for the assist. Let's not make a habit of it." He waved the young man out of the seat and slid into place. As he started his pre-flight check he glanced over at Rodney. The man looked like he'd walked through hell. He had one eye swollen shut and the other was red and puffy. His nose looked like someone had used it for a punching bag. His left arm was tucked up close to his body and the pressure bandage he was sporting was soaked through and dripping blood onto the cockpit floor.
"McKay, not that I'm not glad to see you, but why are you here?"
Even as banged up as he was, Rodney managed to look offended. "I came because I thought you might need my expertise to, you know, escape with your life. But next time, I'll just go back to Atlantis where Carson has the good drugs."
"No, no," John said as he finished up his check, letting himself settle a little. His pulse was still thrumming from the escape. "I'm really glad you came. We can always use your expertise. Although, you are cleaning the blood out of the jumper."
"Is that the thanks I get for risking my life to come rescue your sorry ass? I'd have just left you here except then I would have never heard the end of it from Ford and Zena back there."
John suppressed the smile that threatened to erupt. The vitriol was just McKay's way of saying he cared. And pretty much John preferred it to anything sappier. He glanced back to make sure Markham was safely seated before he called over his shoulder, "Make sure you're sitting or holding onto something back there, this might get bumpy."
He settled into the pilot's seat and felt the familiar connection with the jumper. Yeah, Pegasus had its share of horror -- Wraith, life-sucking bugs, paperwork. But it had its upside, too. John had never thought to have a family again. And as much as he might try to deny it, Rodney, Teyla, Ford and the rest of Atlantis had become his family. He had the chance to save kids. And he got to fly the jumpers.
He lifted the jumper smoothly and navigated out of the Wraith cruiser. That's about where the easy part of the ride ended. There were a couple of darts waiting for them as they left the cruiser. The jumper was cloaked, so they didn't know exactly where the jumper was, but they knew it was there and they set up a cross fire that John was having a hard time avoiding. He zigged and zagged expertly, but it wasn't enough. The jumper rocked and shuddered from shots that were too close for comfort.
"Ford," he yelled to the back of the jumper, "if you have something set up, now would be a good time to give it up."
"Yes, sir!" the lieutenant called back enthusiastically. Ford really liked his job, especially when he got to blow up Wraith.
While they weren't in a position to see the explosions on the cruiser, they felt the shock waves that rocked the jumper. By chance it caught the darts tumbling them into one another and they, too, exploded in a burst of white light. Then the jumper was alone in space. It almost seemed anticlimactic.
"Is everyone okay back there?" John called.
He never heard the answer because that was when McKay's eyes rolled back and he slid out of his seat to land in a heap on the floor.
~~~~~~
John sat cross-legged on the bed next to McKay's. He had his lap top in his lap and he was doing his best to work on his mission report. But it was slow going because every time Rodney's breathing faltered or he so much as twitched John would jump to see if he was waking up.
It had been a couple of days and Rodney hadn't woken up yet. John was starting to get worried. The doc said Rodney had lost a lot of blood along with his blood sugar being all out of whack. Carson patiently (and not-so patiently about the fifth time) explained that Rodney would wake up when he was ready, but John needed to see for himself. So, he'd sat at Rodney's bedside until the doc drove him out to eat and get some rest himself.
He'd even tried going to his own office for a while, but the place still creeped him out. It wasn't even the fact that he had an office anymore. He'd come to accept that things had happened and now he was in charge. He was determined to do the best he could for the people of the expedition. They'd saved the kids on M7G-677 and that was a start.
No, he just didn't like the office, it was small and after a half hour of sitting there, it felt like the walls were closing in on him. So, in the end, he'd snuck back into the infirmary. Beckett had seen him, but, as long as John stuck to the bed next to Rodney's and was quiet, the doctor left him alone.
A snort startled him. He glanced over at McKay's bed to find Rodney's good eye open and staring at him. He set the lap top aside and slid out of the bed.
"Hey, McKay," he said, "It's about time you woke up. I thought I was going to get to drink the last of the coffee."
Even looking half-dead, Rodney's glare packed quite a wollop. The fear in John's gut eased a little seeing it.
"I saved your ass," Rodney whispered, licking his lips. "I deserve coffee."
John grinned down at him. "You do at that," he agreed amicably.
Rodney licked his lips again and John snagged the cup that was sitting on the table next to the bed. He filled it from the pitcher and plunked in a straw. He held it so Rodney could take a sip.
"Just water today, though," he said when Rodney grimaced at the liquid in the cup. "Doctor's orders," he was quick to add. "Just small sips for right now. The doc says you can't have too much yet."
"Thanks," Rodney said once John pulled the cup away. He looked around the infirmary, his forehead wrinkling, trying to piece together what had happened. "We got away?"
John bounced a little on his toes. "We did, thanks to you."
"Wha' happened?"
"Well after you *passed out,*" Rodney's lips twitched at the joke, "I got you back here double time. The doc got you patched up, but you've been taking it easy down here for a couple of days now. I was beginning to think you'd gotten soft."
Rodney made an undignified noise that could have been a snort, but it also could have been a pained grunt as he shifted in the bed. John almost went to get Beckett except Rodney waved his hand in a 'well-get-on-with-it' manner.
John lifted an amused eyebrow and continued with his report, "We got the kids from the hive ship home. The shield is working fine and Ford took out the Wraith cruiser, so hopefully they won't have to worry about the Wraith again anytime soon."
"How many?" Rodney whispered.
"Most of the kids taken in the initial culling were okay. But there were a few kids taken in that last raid while you were working on the shield," John shrugged, trying to keep it light. He knew Rodney would have to know the truth at some point, but the guy was still half dead. It wasn't the time to go into the specifics of what had happened on M7G-677. As much as Rodney put on a 'I don't care what happens to anyone' face, he did care, deeply. John had seen how much Rodney McKay cared when he walked into a sea of blackness to save everyone.
But Rodney was always a law unto himself. "How many?" he repeated. Even laid up in a hospital bed, his face as white as the sheets he laid on, McKay's personality was a formidable force. The stubborn tilt of his chin and the determined gleam in his eye said that he didn't want to be coddled, he wanted answers.
"There were a half dozen kids that were fed on on the hive ship before you guys got us out," John said reluctantly
"And?" There was no way around it, Rodney wanted everything. John wasn't really surprised. McKay didn't sugar coat things and he expected people to tell him what he wanted straight up.
John sighed, and just told him, "Ten kids were taken in the final raid while you were working to get the shield back on."
Rodney shut his eyes. And yeah, John could believe he was just going back to sleep if he hadn't seen the misty brightness of Rodney's eyes, if he didn't see the tell-tale moisture that seeped out of the corner of his eyes to roll down his cheeks. "McKay, listen, you did everything you could."
"It's not good enough," Rodney whispered. "There are kids dead because I wasn't fast enough. One is too many."
"You did everything humanly possible. Hell, you did somethings that weren't humanly possible and at the end of the day that's got to be enough."
Rodney opened his eyes then, and even with one good eye he skewered John with his level gaze, "Is it enough for you?"
John wanted to turn and walk out then. He wanted to protest that it wasn't about him, it was about Rodney. But he swallowed his protest. Sometimes you had to give up a piece of yourself to help other people. And Rodney deserved whatever John could give him that might help. He swallowed thickly and replied as honestly as he could, "No, no it's not. But Rodney, I learned a long time ago that you can't save everyone no matter how hard you try. You do the best you can and you go on." It was the hardest truth John had ever had to learn.
"What if it's not enough?"
"Rodney, it's got to be. You'll go crazy if you beat yourself up over every single person you can't save. Just-- You have to tell yourself that at least those kids weren't fed on by the Wraith. That's the kindest thing you could have done for them." It's what John told himself over and over about Sumner.
"Does it work?"
John forced a smile. "Not always, but you cope and you go on. Hell, McKay," John scrubbed a hand through his hair, "you should be talking to Heightmeyer about this. Not me."
Rodney made a rude noise. "What does she know sitting in her nice safe office?"
"Well, you should talk to her, too, then." Because John was seriously out of his depth. "You know she thinks you're a hero?"
Rodney blinked up at him in confusion, his eyes narrowing at the sudden change in subject, "Heightmeyer?"
"No," John smirked down at him. "Cleo." He nodded at the bed on the other side of Rodney where Cleo slept curled into a ball. "She wouldn't leave until she knew you were alright. She's pretty stubborn when she sets her mind to it."
Rodney turned his head slowly to see her. He stared at her a long time. Then he said gruffly, "She just wants to make sure her chocolate connection is still safe."
"Yeah, buddy," John patted Rodney's good shoulder, "you just keep telling yourself that."
"Will it get better?" Rodney asked.
John nodded. "In time. And you've got a team now to make sure it gets better, McKay."
Rodney's eyes closed then, almost against his will and he drifted back to sleep. But it seemed like an easier sleep to John, his face was more relaxed. It would take time, but Rodney would be okay, he was sure of it. Like he'd told Rodney, he had a team now to make sure he was okay.
"I would like to sit with him for awhile if I may," Teyla had slipped in and stood on the other side of the bed.
John nodded. "Yeah, okay."
She pulled up a chair and sat on the other side of Rodney. She crossed her legs, something John would have thought impossible unless he saw it for himself, and fell into an easy meditation. John smiled.
Yeah, they were all part of a team now and they were there for each other.
He'd actually been surprised to see his team come for him on the Hive ship. He'd been pretty sure he was on his own. He'd lived so much of his life not needing anyone, not depending on anyone, he'd forgotten how it felt to look up and see that there was someone there he could lean on. But it was all changed now. And he felt a small warm glow that there was people who depended on him to keep them safe, people that he could depend on in return.
He stayed until he was sure Rodney was asleep once again. He nodded at Teyla who smiled at him, and then he scooped up his lap top and headed back to his office.
~~~~~~~
The office was still as claustrophobic, but it no longer held the ghost of Marshall Sumner. It was just a room like any other. A room with a damn good view. He'd have to thank Bates for that later.
John put the lap top down on the desk. He settled comfortably into the chair. Snagging one of Ford's reports from the basket, he leaned back in the chair and put his feet up on the desk. Flipping the report open, he began to read.
As soon as we stepped through the wormhole into the city, the lights started going on--
Author: ldyanne
Prompt: Paperwork & Documentation
Word Count: 16,000
Rating: PG-13 for violence and language
Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers for The Rising, Hide and Seek, 38 Minutes, Suspicion, Childhood's End
Summary: When the shield on M7G-677 stops working, Team Sheppard goes to the children's aid. But when the Wraith attack, who's going to come to their aid?
Back to Part One.
Teyla lost all sense of time as they waited for Ares to return. As much as they twisted and struggled against their bonds, the only thing they managed to accomplish was to make them tighter. And the entire time Rodney and Aiden Ford bickered like children and it was wearing on her nerves.
"Oh, please," Rodney sneered in the infuriating way he had, "you know that eternal optimist act might play with Sheppard but you can drop it here. I can figure the odds, and right now you really don't want me to do that."
"Dr. McKay--" Teyla began to try and soothe him, but then there was a rustle and they all fell abruptly silent. Ares was returning.
"When I return," Ares had told them as they were tied to the beams, "you will be sacrificed so that my people will be safe."
Teyla struggled in her bonds, even knowing it would do her no good. She did not know what was going to happen, but she would not allow herself or her friends to be taken easily. She sensed that Ford was also twisting in his bonds trying to loosen them or find just one weakness that he could use. Rodney was now motionless, staring at the hole in the floor that was the entrance into their hut. Long minutes went by and no one appeared.
"Do not move," Teyla heard a voice whisper from the other side of the wall, outside their prison. Then her wrists were free as a knife sliced through the bindings. She twisted around and could just see the silhouette of a person through the slats that formed the house they were imprisoned in.
"Keras?" she whispered.
"Can you move away?" he whispered back. A slim knife was passed into her hands through the slats. She took it, scurrying over to cut the ropes that bound Ford.
"Hey," Rodney complained, careful to keep his voice as low as possible. "What about me?"
"I will be there in a moment," Teyla whispered to him. "Just be patient."
Before he could whisper a no doubt biting response, the wall where Teyla had been sitting swung in, and Keras ducked inside. He grinned at them.
"Hey, Ares said you were dead," Rodney burst out.
Keras held a hand to his mouth cautioning silence to which Teyla nodded her agreement. It was not a time for words. They needed to escape as quickly as possible. There would be time for talk later when they were safe.
Rodney frowned and pressed his lips together into a tight line but he did not speak again. He just wiggled impatiently glaring in Telay's direction. Suppressing a small smile, she moved to his side and cut his bonds quickly. He gave a low moan when his hands were freed, but otherwise he made not a sound. She put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. He rolled his eyes at her, but then he patted her hand clumsily where it rested on his shoulder.
Keras moved to peer down the hole where the ladder to the ground was located.
"We're not going down that way?" Ford whispered, his voice barely loud enough to carry to Teyla and Rodney.
Keras shook his head and pointed at the section of the wall where he had made his entrance. They gathered there and he swung it inward to show them that it was essentially a door built into the side of the structure. Teyla peered out to see that there was a wide, flat branch right outside that they could step onto. Keras lead the way with the team following closely behind them.
Rodney balked at the door, looking with wide eyes at the drop to the ground far below. Ford gave an impatient 'hurry up' wave and Rodney skewered him with a glare before taking a tentative step out onto the limb. He took a couple of steps before stopping and taking a deep breath. Teyla could see him starting to take another look down and then deciding against it.
Satisfied that they understood his plan, Keras jerked his head and they followed him, one by one, through the trees.
It was a clever plan, Teyla thought. The trees formed a kind of pathway of sorts. They could make their way through the trees long enough that it would make it difficult for Ares to track them. Perhaps it would give them the time they needed to locate the ZPM and get the shield device functioning again so they could then go rescue Sheppard. Because he was alive, he had to be, she would accept nothing else.
They moved swiftly through the trees. Keras had grown up using the tree-top pathways. Teyla had a natural grace that allowed her to traverse the wide branches and limbs without feeling clumsy or awkward. Likewise the lieutenant was athletic enough that he was able to navigate among the trees easily enough. It was Rodney that Teyla was worried about.
The scientist's strength and agility had improved a great deal since he had joined Sheppard's team and started accompanying them on off-world missions. Indeed, the major insisted that the scientist take part in training exercises that helped him to do so (all the while complaining bitterly about the time lost from his very important work).
But Teyla did not think him prepared to deal with this kind of activity. The pathways they walked were high enough that if one of them fell there would be serious injuries. And the scientist had not eaten in some time. She knew about Rodney's medical condition. The major had told them about it when he'd told Ford and Teyla of his decision to ask Rodney to join the team.
Now Teyla was beginning to notice that the scientist was sweating a little more than even the strenuous nature of their activities called for. And he had not spoken in some time. She knew that Rodney knew how to keep quiet when he had to. Still she did not think his silence was due to that entirely. She held up a hand once they had traveled for some time through the tree tops with a worried eye on Rodney. He just sat when Ford did, clinging to the trunk of the tree, swaying a little in place.
"Dr. McKay?" She moved to kneel next to him and shook his shoulder gently. She gave a quick check to assess his condition. His nose was no longer bleeding, but one eye was badly swollen and the one she could see seemed distant and vague, confused.
It took him a moment to focus on her. "Teyla?"
"Are you well, Dr. McKay?" she asked kindly, taking in the sweat on his face and the way his eyes kept wandering away. A small frown was upon his face as if he had forgotten something important.
He let go of the trunk with one hand and waved it, "I'm uh-- I'm fine, I guess. Are we stopping? Should we be stopping? Where's Sheppard?"
Ford crouched next to her. "Is he alright?"
"Is not confusion one of the first signs of this hypoglycemia that Dr. McKay suffers from?" Teyla asked him.
Ford nodded. "Yeah, I always kind of thought he was making up." At least the lieutenant had the grace to sound embarrassed about the admission.
"Yes, well now you know that he is not," Teyla said gently. She patted her pockets to find the extra power bars that the major insisted they all carry. She saw now the wisdom of his foresight. If he had been the only one carrying the necessary supplies, it could have been bad for Dr. McKay indeed. Fortunately, Ares and his children-soldiers hadn't searched the team too thoroughly. They'd taken anything they deemed a weapon, but much of the rest of the supplies they had left alone. Teyla pulled out one of the food bars. She opened it and pressed it into Rodney's hands.
"Please, eat, Rodney, you will feel better."
"I'm not really very hungry," he said, but he took a bite of the bar anyway.
"We must move on," Keras hissed at them.
Teyla nodded her understanding. "Can you continue?" she asked Rodney. He took another bite before clambering to his feet. He swayed dangerously and Teyla wrapped a hand around his arm.
She stayed at his side as they continued on their way. He finished the power bar and seemed a little steadier on his feet, but Teyla still stayed close, ready to offer a hand when it was needed. She noticed that Ford stayed close, too, within arms reach if they had need of him.
They came to a place where the tree tops were thinner and the branches slimmer. They had to choose their way carefully or risk falling to the ground. Keras traversed the way with no problem and then Teyla crossed. She could feel the swaying of the tree around her. She turned back to warn Rodney and Ford just as there was a crack and the branch that the two men were standing on gave way beneath them.
Ford threw himself forward and grabbed the trunk of the tree. He clung with all his might. Rodney however plunged downward, disappearing from her sight.
Teyla began her descent fearing the worst. They'd lost John to the Wraith and now she was going to find Rodney broken and bleeding on the ground.
She had only descended a few feet when she found Rodney clinging to a branch, half on and half off and looking as if he was going to slip at any moment.
"Dr. McKay," she exclaimed as she reached down to pull him to safety.
"No, no, stay away," he cautioned. "This branch isn't very sturdy. I'm not sure it'll hold both of us and I'd prefer not to take the express route down."
She was afraid he was correct. It was a slender limb and it was already bowing under Rodney's weight. She tried not to notice that it was still a long way to the ground.
"Stay calm," she advised him.
"Oh, I'd like to see you stay calm when you're dangling 20 feet in the air," he snapped at her. He kept trying to pull himself up and not having any success.
"Please, I know you are frightened, but you are going to draw Ares to us," Keras knelt next to Teyla.
"You know at this moment, sacrifice is looking better and better," Rodney snapped at them even while slipping further off his branch.
"You do not mean that, Dr. McKay," Teyla said.
"No, no, I guess I don't. But I also don't want my bones smashed into a bloody pulp either. Do something, Ford, aren't you supposed to be a boy scout or something?"
"It's a marine, Dr. McKay, and I'm thinking." Teyla approved that the lieutenant did not respond in kind to Rodney. It was hard not to sometimes, but they all understood his panic.
"Okay," Ford said at last, "look, there's a branch almost directly under you. If you can drop onto that, it should break your fall."
"Should?" Rodney's voice was about 2 octaves higher than Teyla had ever heard it before. "I would like a little more assurance than that, Lieutenant, before I let go. And we won't even talk about 'break your fall.'" Even without being able to use his hands they all saw the air quotes around the words.
Teyla could see the branch that Ford was referring to and it just might work. "I will climb down and be prepared to help you," Teyla assured Rodney, making her way to the branch just below him. Keras accompanied her. He steadied her while she put a hand on Rodney's ankle where his legs dangled in mid air.
"I am here, Dr. McKay, you can trust me to keep you safe."
"You'd better because the whole city is depending on my brain, you know. While I might survive a fall from this height, I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't survive it with my brain intact. And there's just nothing worse I can think of than spending the rest of my life as a vegetable."
Despite the seriousness of their situation, Teyla let a small smile break out when she heard the lieutenant mutter something she couldn't quite make out, but Rodney obviously did.
"Oh, very funny, Ford, don't give up your day job--"
Teyla didn't know if Rodney deliberately let go or if that was the moment that he lost his grip, but she suddenly had her arms full of Rodney McKay as he came crashing down on top of her. They teetered for a breathless moment, but Keras braced them and finally they were all safe again.
Rodney dropped to sit, laying down to embrace the branch with his whole body, "Oh, thank god," he breathed out. "I'm never moving again."
"We must keep going," Keras said urgently. He glanced back the way they had come. "It will not have taken Ares long to find us missing. While it will take the trackers some time to find that we are using the tree paths, they will find us. We must keep going." Keras stood as if to continue on.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no," Rodney moaned. "I can not keep climbing through the trees like Tarzan. I need to get down."
"I agree," Teyla said, lending her support to Rodney. "We will be able to travel faster on the ground. I believe that we are far enough from the village that it will take some time for your scouts to pick up our trail."
Ford nodded his agreement of Teyla's assessment. Seeing that the team was united against him, Keras reluctantly led the way down the trees helping them find toeholds and lending a hand when needed.
"Thank god," Rodney groaned as they set foot on the ground once again. Privately Teyla agreed with him.
"We are near the old city," Keras told them once they were all on the ground. "Ares took the device that powers the shield device. Can you fix it?" he asked Rodney anxiously.
Rodney had regained his equilibrium once they were back on solid ground. He eyed Keras disdainfully. "I am good, yes, but even I can't fix the shield without the ZedPM."
"You mean this?" Keras' eyes danced with mischief, he looked much younger than his 25 years. Reaching inside a bag he had slung across his back, he pulled out the ZPM.
"Holy crap," Rodney breathed, taking the device from him reverently. "Where did you get it?"
Keras grinned as if he had told an especially good joke. "I told you, Ares took it. He tried to convince our people that it was the full growns, your people, that brought the Wraith back to our world. Enough believed you when you said it was this device that they would not listen to him at first."
"What happened?" Ford asked from where he was keeping a watch on the trail behind them.
"He tried to get our people to return to the old ways. He said that it was I who was lying when I claimed that it was really the shield device that was protecting our people. When they would not listen to him, he stole this device. Then the Wraith came and a village were culled. He held it out as proof that I was wrong."
"But why would he do such a thing?" Teyla's heart was heavy that anyone who lived in the Pegasus Galaxy would do such a thing. They were supposed to be fighting against the Wraith, not each other.
Keras' nodded, heavy with sorrow, as he answered, "He wanted to be leader. As long as I was still alive, I was eldest. With me gone he would be eldest and leader of our people."
"That is just so wrong," Rodney seemed to come back to life, his hands stroking over the ZPM reverently. "Eventually he's going to have make the sacrifice, too."
"I do not think he has thought that far in advance." Keras nodded to the ZPM. "Can you fix it?" he asked anxiously.
Rodney nodded. "Yes, and we need to do it right now before the Wraith come back." Rodney started down the path in the direction of the shield device.
"Hey, hold on there, Dr. McKay," Ford called after him. "We need to go rescue the major first."
Rodney gave an impatient huff and turned back to them. "Don't you think I know that? But you know Sheppard; he would want us to make sure that these kids are safe first."
Ford opened his mouth to bark a retort. Teyla knew his worry. They were all worried about Sheppard. He had been in the hands of the Wraith for too many hours and in all likelihood he was dead by now. But even if he were not, Teyla had known Sheppard long enough to know that he would not want them to put his safety ahead of that of the children. But Aiden was young. Teyla had seen the worship in his eyes when he looked at Sheppard, like a son looking at his father and wanting his approval above all. Ford *needed* to rescue Sheppard.
"He is correct, Aiden," Teyla said gently. "The major would not want us to put his safety before that of the children."
"But Teyla--"
"Aiden, you know what he would want us to do. We are not abandoning the major; we will go after we have repaired the shield device. Dr. McKay can do that quite quickly I think--"
"Oh, sure put the pressure all on me," Rodney muttered.
"And then we will find a way to rescue the major."
Aiden shifted restlessly, weighing her words. Finally he nodded. "Alright, let's get this thing fixed." He took off on the path, not looking back to see if they followed.
Rodney rolled his eyes, but he didn't say anything as he followed. Keras fell into step beside Teyla as they brought up the rear.
"I thought Sheppard had somehow escaped from Ares," he said sadly. "I did not think of the possibility that he might have been taken by the Wraith. I am sorry." Keras said it as one would to someone who mourned. Teyla was not yet ready to mourn for Sheppard yet.
"We will fix your shield and then we will rescue him," she said firmly.
Keras looked for a moment as if he would argue, but then he nodded, "And I will go with you," he vowed.
~~~~~~
John woke to his head pounding like he'd been on a three day bender. But he was pretty sure there had been no alcohol involved in his headache. When he opened his eyes he found he was correct. Casta was a heavy weight against his side. He was relieved to see that the kid looked none the worse for his encounter with the Wraith. The rest of the kids were giving them room, but they were all watching anxiously. John gave a little wave of his hand to reassure them that he was okay, and pushed himself upright. The room spun a little, and his lunch threatened to make a reappearance, but in the end he was sitting upright with his back against the wall.
"Are you alright?" Casta asked, his eyes round and anxious.
John tried a smiled but it didn't seem to ease Casta's worry any. "I'm fine," he insisted.
Casta cocked his head and regarded John with a narrow-eyed gaze that said as plain as words that he wasn't buying it. Yeah, John wasn't really buying it either. His head pounded in time with his heart beat and it was making it difficult to think.
He leaned his head back against the wall and rested it for a moment doing his best to ignore the fact that the room just kept rotating lazily around him. He looked down at Casta, "How long was I out?"
"Long time," the boy answered solemnly. "We were afraid you were dead 'cept the Wraiths wouldn't have brought you back."
"Yeah, you're probably right about that." There was silence between them as Casta leaned his head back, too. He was doing his very best to be calm, but he was just a little kid. John wanted to scream and hit something, preferably the Wraith, and get the kids out. But he was stuck, just like them and he had to maintain his calm so the kids wouldn't panic. Sometimes he hated being full grown.
The sound of footsteps heralded the arrival of the guards. John used the wall to lever himself up. He staggered a couple of steps putting himself between the guards and the kids.
"So, we going for round two?" He did his best to sound unconcerned, but he didn't think he succeeded as he found himself seized and pulled from the cell. He knew it was going to be bad this time when two of the kids were pulled along behind.
"Just leave them alone," John snarled.
He knew it was useless, he really did, but he had to try something. He couldn't just let them take the kids. He threw himself against the guard at his side and made a grab for his stunner.
~~~~~~
They made it the rest of the way to the old city without incident and Rodney counted that as their first piece of good luck all day. They were due a break.
When they arrived, he headed straight for the shield, letting Ford and Teyla do their soldier thing and secure the perimeter. Rodney's major concern was getting the ZPM back in place and the shield working before the Wraith came back. They had spent hours tied up in the hut in the trees and he was expecting the Wraith to return at any moment. It was just the way things worked for him.
So he wasn't surprised at all when child soldiers stepped out of the trees and bushes and surrounded them, their weapons at the ready. Some of them were holding the weapons they'd taken from the Lanteans. Rodney broke out in a cold sweat seeing his own 9mm in Ares' hands. Teyla, Ford and even Keras surrounded him and the precious ZPM and he appreciated the effort, he really did. He couldn't help thinking that it wasn't going to be enough though.
"This is just getting old," he snapped, his mouth turned down in a frown. "Hasn't anyone taught you children to respect your elders?" It was the wrong thing to say, but he'd had enough.
Ares stepped out to confront them, smirking.
"When the elders are worthy of respect, we will respect their memory," he spat at them. He turned to those who followed him. "You see, it is as I told you. Keras is here with the full growns. He is trying to bring the Wraith down upon us once more."
Keras moved into Ares space to confront him and the weapons followed him, although Rodney thought he saw doubt in some of the kids' eyes.
"Ares is lying to you because he wants to lead. It is this device," Keras gestured back to Rodney and the shield device. Rodney held up the ZPM so everyone would have a clear view of it. He felt vaguely like Vana White.
"Just let me put it back in, you'll see." He took a step toward the shield, but Ares grabbed his arm and pulled him away. Rodney clutched the ZPM tightly afraid of it getting damaged in some way. If that happened they were all toast.
Some of the kids were looking definitely doubtful, looking from Ares to Keras and back again. Seeing Keras alive and well had obviously shaken Ares' follower's faith.
"No," Ares shouted. "The only thing that will keep the Wraith from returning is if we get rid of the full growns now. And that includes Keras." Ares turned and advanced on Keras, the weapon in his hand up and pointed straight at Keras' head.
Keras stood his ground with his head held high. The soldiers wavered further in the face of his determination; their weapons were dropping the slightest bit.
"It wouldn't hurt to let him put the device back. This is the way it has always been, what harm can there be?" One of the kids asked. Quite sensibly, Rodney thought.
"No," Ares sneered, hard and angry, desperate now that he could see their support of him waning. "This will only make us soft. We must depend on the old ways if we want to be safe."
"Shut up, Ares," Keras thundered.
Before anyone could stop him, Keras drew back his arm and punched Ares solidly. Ares fell back on his ass stunned, letting go of Rodney. Keras gave Rodney a push toward the shield. "Go," he urged before turning back to Ares.
Rodney didn't need to be told twice. He hurried toward the shield.
The shot came out of nowhere. Rodney jerked forward like he'd been pushed. Fire licked down his shoulder. When he looked to see what had happened, blood seeped down his arm to drip to the ground below; fat, red drops that quickly formed a pool.
"You will stop," Ares commanded. He had Rodney's 9 mil. It was trained on Rodney's heart.
Everything stopped. There was dead silence as everyone waited to see what Ares would do. That's when they heard the whine of the dart.
Rodney looked up to see the dart circling the enclosure of the old city. They were sitting ducks there. It probably looked like an ala carte menu to the Wraith.
In that moment of distraction, Ford decked the kid next to him and wrenched away the P-90 that the kid was holding. Teyla did the same to the kid next to her. The rest of the child soldiers took off for the safety of the trees, hoping that they might afford some protection from the Wraith culling beam.
Keras caught Rodney's arm. "Can you still fix the shield?" he asked, his urgency making him hold on too tight - his fingers bit into the flesh of Rodney's good arm.
Fire radiated from the wound in his arm and the slightest movement caused excruciating pain. But Rodney nodded, gritting his teeth in determination. He could do whatever he had to in order to save them all.
Keras gave him a gentle shove in the direction of the shield. "Work quickly," he said.
Rodney clutched the ZPM with his arm good arm and tucked the injured one close to his body as he headed for the shield. No one tried to stop him this time. Teyla and Ford flanked him on either side, targeting the dart and firing as it began its run on the kids.
Rodney ignored the fiery pain of his arm as he inspected the shield. He was very afraid of what he would find now that he finally had a chance to look at the device. It was old and it would be so easy to damage it if you took the ZPM out incorrectly. He remembered all too well the feeling of panic he'd experienced when he thought he'd broken the device before.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that they'd been lucky again and Ares hadn't damaged the shield. Rodney was familiar with its workings from their previous adventure on the planet so it should be fairly easy to get the ZPM back in place and get the shield working again. If his damn hands would just stop shaking.
"Do you need help?" A child's voice startled him. Rodney glared at the child kneeling next to him. His face was painted and there were twigs in his hair.
Rodney stared at him a moment expecting the child to shoot him or take him a prisoner, but the offer seemed to be genuine. His face was creased with concern. Rodney waved him over.
"I could actually use another hand," he gestured to the arm tucked close to his body. "I seem to be short one at the moment." He handed over the ZPM. The kid seemed to understand its importance because he handled it gently. Rodney nodded in approval. "You look familiar. Do I know you?"
The kid nodded as he followed Rodney's instructions on the proper placement of the ZPM. "My name is Neleus. We met the first time you were here. I was the one who saw the Wraith bird fall from the sky. I tried to tell Ares, but he would not listen to me."
"Well, at least you tried," Rodney said stiffly. He just didn't know how to deal with kids. Especially not ones who wanted to kill him. "I think that's it." He waved the kid away with a scowl. He swayed a little when he accidently jostled his arm and the world went white around him.
Neleus grabbed him and held him up.
"Thanks," he blinked at the kid. "For uhm-- helping me here."
"You are welcome. Is it going to work?" Neleus asked anxiously looking up at the sky.
The Wraith were still buzzing overhead. Rodney could hear the sound of the culling beam, screams from the children. He gulped down his fear and pain. He had to get the shield working.
He nodded. "I think so." He squinted down at the control panel. It was beginning to waver in front of his eyes, growing dim and far away. He held onto consciousness by sheer will power. He couldn't afford to go down. He'd wake up as a 'to-go' meal for the Wraith.
And Neleus was looking at him with that damn hero-worshipping face that said he just knew Rodney could do it. He couldn't let the kid down. He couldn't let his team down. Everything was depending on him.
"Yeah, sure, no pressure," he mumbled to himself as pushed buttons.
"I'm sorry?" Neleus asked. His tone said quite clearly that he didn't know what to do with crazy full growns.
Rodney didn't bother answering him. He was concentrating as hard as he could on getting the shield working again. The sound of the Wraith dart was getting closer. Rodney made the mistake of looking up and he could see it flying overhead through the canopy of leaves that hid the shield from sight.
"You can do it," Neleus told him. "I saw you do it before."
"Of course I can," Rodney snapped back. "As if I need one of Peter Pan's rejected lost boys to give me a pep talk," he scowled at the kid but then he told him, "cross your fingers," before he hit the final button. The kid frowned in confusion but attempted to do as Rodney asked. Rodney punched the final button.
There was a second when nothing happened. Rodney could still hear the whine of the dart overhead and the culling beam taking kids and he was certain that he'd failed. Ares really had damaged the machinery in some way beyond Rodney's ability to fix it. He crumpled to the ground, his strength gone at last. The kid tried to catch him, but it was no good. Rodney was a full grown after all and Neleus was just a skinny kid, not even a good snack for the Wraith.
He blinked up at the sky and the Wraith dart was drifting closer, it was lower in the sky. It was almost as if it was trying to fly into the thicket of trees surrounding the shield. Neleus was pulling on his arm trying to drag him deeper into the thicket. Rodney resisted. He had to figure out what was wrong with the shield and fix it. There was still time, he could do it. And he'd do it just as soon as he could move.
When the dart fell out of the sky, it was almost on top of them. Rodney stared in astonishment at the smoking ruins of the dart, too tired and hurting too much to move any further away as the thing blew up in a ball of fire.
Neleus jumped up and down cheering, pounding on Rodney's back, "You did it! You did it!" he shouted.
Rodney nodded in dazed agreement before falling over sideways and letting the darkness drag him down to where there was no more pain.
~~~~~~
The second John's hand closed round the Wraith stunner the kids in the cell exploded into action. Maybe they were just waiting for him to make his move, because they swarmed out of the cell, jumping on the Wraith guards. There were only three guards this time, and John was able to stun one of them. He pulled the guard's stunner and then turned it on him all in one smooth motion.
He scrambled up to find one of the Wraith clawing at his back trying to get to the kids that clung there. He got a hold of one of them and smashed the kid up against the wall. The kid slid down the wall leaving a smear of blood behind. John didn't wait for him to hurt any of the others, he stunned them all -- wraith and kids, they could separate the good guys from the bad guys later. He thought the kids could deal with the pins and needles feeling from being stunned better than being sucked dry of their life.
He turned to the final Wraith only to find that the warrior had Casta under one arm and his feeding hand hovering in the air above the boys' chest. The thing smiled its grotesque version of a smile and slowly lowered its hand savoring every moment of John's defeat. John flipped the stunner and offered it grip first to the warrior.
A stun blast came from behind John and the wraith and Casta dropped like a stone. John whirled to find Teyla, Ford and Keras running down the corridor toward them.
"Am I glad to see you guys," he shouted as he scooped up Casta's limp form from the floor. The kids that were still mobile were picking up their comrades that had been felled by John's stunner blast. John was glad to see that the kid that had been thrown against the wall was upright. Her face was white and there was blood on her collar, but she was standing on her own power. She looked up to see John watching and she nodded that she could move if she had, too. John nodded back.
John raced down the hall to meet Ford. He traded Casta for the lieutenant's P-90. He turned and emptied a clip into the three Wraith on the floor.
"Are you ready to get out of here, sir?" Ford asked, grimacing at the bodies on the floor.
"You have no idea," John answered.
Teyla turned, presumably leading them back to the jumper. John didn't ask where they were going; he just jogged to keep up. Away from the cells was his main objective.
"Where's McKay?" John asked as they ran.
"He's waiting in the jumper, sir," Ford said.
There wasn't time for more as they rounded a corner and found themselves cut off from the jumper by more of the Wraith warriors. John and Teyla took them out in a hail of bullets. Ford passed off Casta to one of the other kids and crouched down next to John where he and Teyla were laying down cover fire so Keras could get the kids to the safety of the jumper. It was a good thing they had a guide. The jumper was cloaked and John couldn't see it even crouched down a few feet from it.
"I've arranged a diversion." Ford waggled the remote detonator with a grin.
"Lieutenant, I like the way you think," John nodded in approval. "All right let's get out of here."
The three of them followed the last of the kids into the jumper. John waded through them to the cockpit. He found Rodney there, sitting in the co-pilots seat, watching the rear hatch. John blew out a silent breath of relief seeing him there. He'd been afraid that McKay was waiting in the jumper because he was dead. He raised a brow at finding Markham in the pilot's seat.
"You just can't miss a good party can you, Sergeant?"
Markham grinned at him, "Well, Ford called and said you were needing rescued, again. I had to see for myself."
"Well, thanks for the assist. Let's not make a habit of it." He waved the young man out of the seat and slid into place. As he started his pre-flight check he glanced over at Rodney. The man looked like he'd walked through hell. He had one eye swollen shut and the other was red and puffy. His nose looked like someone had used it for a punching bag. His left arm was tucked up close to his body and the pressure bandage he was sporting was soaked through and dripping blood onto the cockpit floor.
"McKay, not that I'm not glad to see you, but why are you here?"
Even as banged up as he was, Rodney managed to look offended. "I came because I thought you might need my expertise to, you know, escape with your life. But next time, I'll just go back to Atlantis where Carson has the good drugs."
"No, no," John said as he finished up his check, letting himself settle a little. His pulse was still thrumming from the escape. "I'm really glad you came. We can always use your expertise. Although, you are cleaning the blood out of the jumper."
"Is that the thanks I get for risking my life to come rescue your sorry ass? I'd have just left you here except then I would have never heard the end of it from Ford and Zena back there."
John suppressed the smile that threatened to erupt. The vitriol was just McKay's way of saying he cared. And pretty much John preferred it to anything sappier. He glanced back to make sure Markham was safely seated before he called over his shoulder, "Make sure you're sitting or holding onto something back there, this might get bumpy."
He settled into the pilot's seat and felt the familiar connection with the jumper. Yeah, Pegasus had its share of horror -- Wraith, life-sucking bugs, paperwork. But it had its upside, too. John had never thought to have a family again. And as much as he might try to deny it, Rodney, Teyla, Ford and the rest of Atlantis had become his family. He had the chance to save kids. And he got to fly the jumpers.
He lifted the jumper smoothly and navigated out of the Wraith cruiser. That's about where the easy part of the ride ended. There were a couple of darts waiting for them as they left the cruiser. The jumper was cloaked, so they didn't know exactly where the jumper was, but they knew it was there and they set up a cross fire that John was having a hard time avoiding. He zigged and zagged expertly, but it wasn't enough. The jumper rocked and shuddered from shots that were too close for comfort.
"Ford," he yelled to the back of the jumper, "if you have something set up, now would be a good time to give it up."
"Yes, sir!" the lieutenant called back enthusiastically. Ford really liked his job, especially when he got to blow up Wraith.
While they weren't in a position to see the explosions on the cruiser, they felt the shock waves that rocked the jumper. By chance it caught the darts tumbling them into one another and they, too, exploded in a burst of white light. Then the jumper was alone in space. It almost seemed anticlimactic.
"Is everyone okay back there?" John called.
He never heard the answer because that was when McKay's eyes rolled back and he slid out of his seat to land in a heap on the floor.
~~~~~~
John sat cross-legged on the bed next to McKay's. He had his lap top in his lap and he was doing his best to work on his mission report. But it was slow going because every time Rodney's breathing faltered or he so much as twitched John would jump to see if he was waking up.
It had been a couple of days and Rodney hadn't woken up yet. John was starting to get worried. The doc said Rodney had lost a lot of blood along with his blood sugar being all out of whack. Carson patiently (and not-so patiently about the fifth time) explained that Rodney would wake up when he was ready, but John needed to see for himself. So, he'd sat at Rodney's bedside until the doc drove him out to eat and get some rest himself.
He'd even tried going to his own office for a while, but the place still creeped him out. It wasn't even the fact that he had an office anymore. He'd come to accept that things had happened and now he was in charge. He was determined to do the best he could for the people of the expedition. They'd saved the kids on M7G-677 and that was a start.
No, he just didn't like the office, it was small and after a half hour of sitting there, it felt like the walls were closing in on him. So, in the end, he'd snuck back into the infirmary. Beckett had seen him, but, as long as John stuck to the bed next to Rodney's and was quiet, the doctor left him alone.
A snort startled him. He glanced over at McKay's bed to find Rodney's good eye open and staring at him. He set the lap top aside and slid out of the bed.
"Hey, McKay," he said, "It's about time you woke up. I thought I was going to get to drink the last of the coffee."
Even looking half-dead, Rodney's glare packed quite a wollop. The fear in John's gut eased a little seeing it.
"I saved your ass," Rodney whispered, licking his lips. "I deserve coffee."
John grinned down at him. "You do at that," he agreed amicably.
Rodney licked his lips again and John snagged the cup that was sitting on the table next to the bed. He filled it from the pitcher and plunked in a straw. He held it so Rodney could take a sip.
"Just water today, though," he said when Rodney grimaced at the liquid in the cup. "Doctor's orders," he was quick to add. "Just small sips for right now. The doc says you can't have too much yet."
"Thanks," Rodney said once John pulled the cup away. He looked around the infirmary, his forehead wrinkling, trying to piece together what had happened. "We got away?"
John bounced a little on his toes. "We did, thanks to you."
"Wha' happened?"
"Well after you *passed out,*" Rodney's lips twitched at the joke, "I got you back here double time. The doc got you patched up, but you've been taking it easy down here for a couple of days now. I was beginning to think you'd gotten soft."
Rodney made an undignified noise that could have been a snort, but it also could have been a pained grunt as he shifted in the bed. John almost went to get Beckett except Rodney waved his hand in a 'well-get-on-with-it' manner.
John lifted an amused eyebrow and continued with his report, "We got the kids from the hive ship home. The shield is working fine and Ford took out the Wraith cruiser, so hopefully they won't have to worry about the Wraith again anytime soon."
"How many?" Rodney whispered.
"Most of the kids taken in the initial culling were okay. But there were a few kids taken in that last raid while you were working on the shield," John shrugged, trying to keep it light. He knew Rodney would have to know the truth at some point, but the guy was still half dead. It wasn't the time to go into the specifics of what had happened on M7G-677. As much as Rodney put on a 'I don't care what happens to anyone' face, he did care, deeply. John had seen how much Rodney McKay cared when he walked into a sea of blackness to save everyone.
But Rodney was always a law unto himself. "How many?" he repeated. Even laid up in a hospital bed, his face as white as the sheets he laid on, McKay's personality was a formidable force. The stubborn tilt of his chin and the determined gleam in his eye said that he didn't want to be coddled, he wanted answers.
"There were a half dozen kids that were fed on on the hive ship before you guys got us out," John said reluctantly
"And?" There was no way around it, Rodney wanted everything. John wasn't really surprised. McKay didn't sugar coat things and he expected people to tell him what he wanted straight up.
John sighed, and just told him, "Ten kids were taken in the final raid while you were working to get the shield back on."
Rodney shut his eyes. And yeah, John could believe he was just going back to sleep if he hadn't seen the misty brightness of Rodney's eyes, if he didn't see the tell-tale moisture that seeped out of the corner of his eyes to roll down his cheeks. "McKay, listen, you did everything you could."
"It's not good enough," Rodney whispered. "There are kids dead because I wasn't fast enough. One is too many."
"You did everything humanly possible. Hell, you did somethings that weren't humanly possible and at the end of the day that's got to be enough."
Rodney opened his eyes then, and even with one good eye he skewered John with his level gaze, "Is it enough for you?"
John wanted to turn and walk out then. He wanted to protest that it wasn't about him, it was about Rodney. But he swallowed his protest. Sometimes you had to give up a piece of yourself to help other people. And Rodney deserved whatever John could give him that might help. He swallowed thickly and replied as honestly as he could, "No, no it's not. But Rodney, I learned a long time ago that you can't save everyone no matter how hard you try. You do the best you can and you go on." It was the hardest truth John had ever had to learn.
"What if it's not enough?"
"Rodney, it's got to be. You'll go crazy if you beat yourself up over every single person you can't save. Just-- You have to tell yourself that at least those kids weren't fed on by the Wraith. That's the kindest thing you could have done for them." It's what John told himself over and over about Sumner.
"Does it work?"
John forced a smile. "Not always, but you cope and you go on. Hell, McKay," John scrubbed a hand through his hair, "you should be talking to Heightmeyer about this. Not me."
Rodney made a rude noise. "What does she know sitting in her nice safe office?"
"Well, you should talk to her, too, then." Because John was seriously out of his depth. "You know she thinks you're a hero?"
Rodney blinked up at him in confusion, his eyes narrowing at the sudden change in subject, "Heightmeyer?"
"No," John smirked down at him. "Cleo." He nodded at the bed on the other side of Rodney where Cleo slept curled into a ball. "She wouldn't leave until she knew you were alright. She's pretty stubborn when she sets her mind to it."
Rodney turned his head slowly to see her. He stared at her a long time. Then he said gruffly, "She just wants to make sure her chocolate connection is still safe."
"Yeah, buddy," John patted Rodney's good shoulder, "you just keep telling yourself that."
"Will it get better?" Rodney asked.
John nodded. "In time. And you've got a team now to make sure it gets better, McKay."
Rodney's eyes closed then, almost against his will and he drifted back to sleep. But it seemed like an easier sleep to John, his face was more relaxed. It would take time, but Rodney would be okay, he was sure of it. Like he'd told Rodney, he had a team now to make sure he was okay.
"I would like to sit with him for awhile if I may," Teyla had slipped in and stood on the other side of the bed.
John nodded. "Yeah, okay."
She pulled up a chair and sat on the other side of Rodney. She crossed her legs, something John would have thought impossible unless he saw it for himself, and fell into an easy meditation. John smiled.
Yeah, they were all part of a team now and they were there for each other.
He'd actually been surprised to see his team come for him on the Hive ship. He'd been pretty sure he was on his own. He'd lived so much of his life not needing anyone, not depending on anyone, he'd forgotten how it felt to look up and see that there was someone there he could lean on. But it was all changed now. And he felt a small warm glow that there was people who depended on him to keep them safe, people that he could depend on in return.
He stayed until he was sure Rodney was asleep once again. He nodded at Teyla who smiled at him, and then he scooped up his lap top and headed back to his office.
~~~~~~~
The office was still as claustrophobic, but it no longer held the ghost of Marshall Sumner. It was just a room like any other. A room with a damn good view. He'd have to thank Bates for that later.
John put the lap top down on the desk. He settled comfortably into the chair. Snagging one of Ford's reports from the basket, he leaned back in the chair and put his feet up on the desk. Flipping the report open, he began to read.
As soon as we stepped through the wormhole into the city, the lights started going on--