“Rodney! Get away from there! What the hell do you think you're doing!?”

McKay was standing dangerously close to one of the Ancient Repositories of Knowledge. The same kind of device that had nearly killed General O’Neill not once, but twice.

“I’m not gonna touch it. What am I, stupid?” He laughed at that as if it were a joke. “I just want to study it. Who knows what we could learn from it.”

They were on a routine mission and had found an abandoned outpost. Inside was one of the Ancient devices.

“Ok, but let’s remember the last time you messed with an Ancient device like this. You nearly died.”

“But I didn’t.”

“That’s not the point, McKay.”

“Look, I just want to get some readings. I’ll be fine. Thank you for your concern.”

He took another step closer to the device. Just then Ronon and Teyla came running into the complex.

“Wraith!” Ronon yelled, firing his gun behind him. “We’ve got Wraith cruisers.”

“Wraith!?” John took up position at the entrance, opposite Ronon, and fired his P-90 out into the clearing. “Why are they here? This planet is abandoned.”

“I didn’t stop to ask them!”

“Perhaps they left some sort of sensor in this facility,” Teyla yelled over the weapon’s fire.

“McKay! Is there a back way out of here?”

“How should I know? What am I, all-knowing?”

“Gee, I always thought that you thought you were.”

“Very funny.”

“Just find us a way out.”

But Rodney didn’t have time even to look. Right at that moment there was a deafening boom and the wall came tumbling down on them.

---

“Ronon? Teyla?” John coughed. “McKay? Anybody there?”

There was a rustling from where the entrance had been. John crawled over and pushed debris out of the way. Ronon was lying on top of Teyla, shielding her from the rubble. He got up slowly and helped her to her feet.

“What happened?” he asked Sheppard. Teyla brushed herself off then began looking around for McKay.

“We got lucky for a change,” John said. “The Wraith must have taken us for dead.”

“That’s uncharacteristic of them.”

“Hey, I don’t question good things.”

“Colonel Sheppard!” Teyla called from over where the back wall had been and where Rodney now lay with several hundred pounds of brick weighing him down. John got to Rodney’s side in two quick leaps. Despite what he led everyone to believe he really did care about the man. McKay was part of his team, one of the family. If something were to happen to him it would be a great loss, not just to the mission, but to John personally.

“McKay? Rodney can you hear me?”

Rodney didn’t move, didn’t even flinch. John moved closer and was relieved to hear breathing, shallow breathing but breathing nonetheless.

“We have to get him back to Atlantis, but I don’t know how to move him without doing further damage.”

“Should we radio for Dr. Keller?” Teyla asked.

John shook his head. “I don’t want to risk getting more people hurt. Who knows if the Wraith are still out there, or how long we were out for?”

“Then what do we do?”

“Ronon, can you carry him?”

Ronon nodded, putting his gun back into his holster.

“Ok, good. Then let’s get this rock off him and get him back to the gate.”

They quickly uncovered him and Ronon scooped him up into his arms.

“Ok, Ronon you stay between us. Teyla take point and I’ll bring up the rear. Let’s try and move as quickly as McKay can handle. Let’s go.”

They darted out into the underbrush and quickly headed for the gate.

“This doesn’t feel right,” said Ronon, commenting on the ease with which they were being allowed to leave.

“I know, but we’ve gotta take advantage of it. Let’s just get to the gate.”

They were almost to the gate when their luck ran out. Two Wraith darts zipped down over them, their beaming rays causing the group to dive for cover.

“Teyla, dial the gate! Ronon, give me a hand.”

Ronon gently laid Rodney on the ground, then took up a position that he could easily fire from. “We won’t be able to hold them for long Sheppard!” he yelled.

“Long enough. Teyla, get that gate open!” They heard the tell-tale whoosh of the gate forming just before Teyla called out to them. “Ronon, take Rodney and go. Teyla and I will hold them off.”

Ronon fired one more well aimed shot, bringing down one of the darts, then picked up Rodney and ran for the gate. Sheppard and Teyla inched their way back, firing into the Wraith drones that were now advancing towards them. They stepped through the gate backwards and were instantly back at Atlantis.

“Close it!” he shouted and the shield immediately went up. There were several thuds and then the gate closed. He turned around to see McKay already on a stretcher being taken off to the infirmary.

“John, what happened?” asked Elizabeth as she came down from the control room.

“We were caught off guard by the Wraith. They brought down a building around us.”

“You look terrible; the three of you should get down to the infirmary.”

“Did Keller have anything to say about McKay?”

Elizabeth looked like she was trying to find the best words.

“Elizabeth?”

“I’m not going to lie John, it’s bad. He’s really beat up. Keller was very worried. But I have faith in Rodney’s ability to pull through.”

“I’d better get up there. This is my fault.”

“How do you figure?”

“I ordered him to find a back way, that’s why he was so close to that wall.”

“John, you can’t blame yourself. Accidents happen. Now get to the infirmary before you collapse.”

John nodded, and he and the others made their way out of the room. Elizabeth was right, accidents happen, but he couldn’t help thinking that they happened a lot to the people on his team, and not as often to him.

---

John sat next to Rodney’s bed, his head in his hands. It had been almost two weeks since the accident. Dr. Keller assured them that Rodney’s body was healing well, but even though she didn’t say it they could tell she was concerned that he hadn’t woken up. John sat up straight, looking around the infirmary. Normally there were others keeping him company during this vigil, but this time he was alone. He scooted his chair closer to Rodney’s bed and leaned in.

“Look buddy, I know you probably can’t hear me, but it’s worth a try anyway.” He sighed, trying to think of the right words to say. “I know we have our moments, times where I just want to kill you, but truthfully, I don’t want you to die. That’s dumb; of course I don’t want you to die. What I’m trying to say is that I don’t want you to go anywhere. We need you here, hell, I need you here, ok? I never had a brother, I have a sister,” he shook his head, “that’s not the point. I’m trying to say that you’re kind of like a brother to me. Things just wouldn’t be the same without you.” He sighed again. “Look, I know it’s my fault that you’re laying in here, and I swear I’ll make it up to you, but you gotta come out of your coma first, k buddy?”

Rodney shifted, causing John to jump back in shock.

“Dr. Keller!” he shouted.

Rodney moved again, this time accompanied by a groan. John got to his feet and moved away from the bed as Dr. Keller came into the room.

“He just moved,” he said as she went over to Rodney’s side.

Rodney’s eyes blinked open, and he looked around.

“Dr. McKay, can you hear me?” Keller asked as she shone a little light into Rodney’s eyes.

“Yes. I can also see you, I’m not blind,” he said, pushing Keller away.

“Same old Rodney,” John said with a laugh.

“Yes, so it would seem,” said Keller. “But I’d still like to get him under a scanner, see if there was any lasting damage.”

John nodded. “I’ll go and see that the others know that he’s up. You hang in there buddy,” he added to Rodney, “we’ll be back.”

“I’ll hold my breath,” he mumbled.

---

John raced up to Elizabeth’s office, not pausing to find out if she could see him, but just bursting right in.

“He’s awake,” he said breathlessly.

Elizabeth heaved a sigh of relief. “Finally. Have you informed Teyla and Ronon?”

“Not yet, I came straight here.”

“Did Dr. Keller have anything to say?”

John shook his head. “She wanted to check him out first, get some scans, make sure everything really is fine.”

Elizabeth stood up and walked out from behind her desk. “I suppose that makes sense. Let’s go down and see how he’s doing.”

When they got to the infirmary, accompanied by Ronon and Teyla, they found Dr. Keller waiting for them, looking concerned.

“What is it?” asked John, stopping in front of her.

Keller sighed. “The scans were not what I had hoped for. They show a considerable decrease in brain activity.”

“What does that mean?”

“He’s not as smart as he should be. I would call it brain damage, but there’s a suspicious lack of trauma.”

“He’s not the same old Rodney?”

She shook her head.

John leaned around her, peering into the infirmary to see Rodney lying in his bed, fiddling with his computer. “Well look at that. He’s hard at work.”

Keller glanced back over her shoulder. “He’s playing minesweeper, and losing.”

John shook his head. “What does that mean? Will he ever be the same?”

Keller shrugged. “It’s hard to say. If it is brain damage, well, he might never get better then, no.”

John put his face in his hands and sighed. This was his fault, if Rodney was permanently damaged it was his, John’s, fault. He didn’t know if he could handle that. “Can we see him?” he asked, dropping his hands back to his sides.

Keller nodded. “But not for long, I don’t want to overwhelm him.”

She stepped aside and the four of them went over to Rodney’s side. He didn’t look up from his tablet as they pulled chairs up and sat down.

“Hey buddy,” said John, trying to get his attention.

“Hi.”

“How are you doing?”

“Fine,” he said, still not looking up from his tablet.

They all exchanged a worried look.

“Do you know what’s going on Rodney?” Elizabeth asked tenderly.

“Yes, I’m not stupid.”

Elizabeth grimaced.

“There was an explosion, I fell and got hurt, apparently.”
“Yes, but do you know anything else?” John asked.

Elizabeth shot him an angry look for his choice of words, but Rodney didn’t notice.

“No, Dr. Keller didn’t tell me anything…aw come on!” he yelled, throwing his tablet down onto the bed, he had lost. “I don’t get this, I remember being good at this game. Aren’t I good at this game?” he asked, finally looking at them.

They exchanged another look, trying to find the best thing to say.

“You are just having an off day,” said Teyla with a smile. “Perhaps you could use some more rest?”

Rodney looked at them suspiciously, but nodded.

“Then we’ll leave you,” said Elizabeth. “But we’ll be back before you know it.”

They got up from their seats and headed out of the infirmary, leaving McKay to his rest.

“John,” said Elizabeth out in the hallway, stopping him from following after the others. “I want to know what’s happened here. Take your team back to that planet.”

“But Elizabeth we don’t know if the Wraith are still there…”

“It’s been two weeks John; I’m ready to take the chance, aren’t you?”

John looked back over his shoulder Rodney’s sleeping figure and nodded. Whatever was the cause of this, he would get to the bottom of it.