Elizabeth forced herself to concentrate on Doctor Zelenka's report. She didn't know when it had happened, but she was suddenly and completely uninterested in paperwork of any kind. And it had nothing to do with the fact that Rodney had just walked in with Teyla, Sheppard and Ford and was laughing with them; nothing to do with the fact that he looked so damn cute when he grinned like that.
It was all her subconscious' fault really. Because of that damn dream she'd had a few nights ago, she hadn't been able to think about chocolate, boxers or Rodney without being reminded forcibly of it. At least McKay didn't know about it; that was something to be grateful for. She had quickly covered her little slip of the tongue by pretending that she was still half asleep, and he had bought it. Unfortunately, it had also landed her in hot water with Carson, who took his job of taking care of the people of Atlantis quite seriously.
Of course, none of that helped her out now, when he was standing not five feet away and expecting her to say something. Wait, he had asked her a question. No, Sheppard had. And they were all staring at her expectantly. She cast about in a panic for what the question was. Nothing.
"I uh..." she stammered, "I was distracted, sorry. Could you repeat the question?"
"I didn't realize paperwork could be so stimulating," John quipped, grinning evilly, "Especially when you were staring at something else entirely."
Elizabeth felt her cheeks flush, but she refused to let herself look over at Rodney, certain the major had absolutely no idea what she had just been thinking. "I was trying to determine the proper wording," she told him loftily, "and I often stare off at nothing in order to think."
Rodney snorted and muttered, "Yeah, right."
"I didn't quite catch that, Rodney," Elizabeth said, her sense of panic nearly going into overdrive. Did he know after all? Damn imp, she thought to herself, why did you have to get me into this mess? "Could you repeat yourself." Good, her voice was nice and calm.
The physicist had the grace to look ashamed--which made him look rather adorable-- Oh no, not again...go away little imp but he repeated his sentiments anyway. "I said 'yeah right', because everybody considers the proper wording when reading somebody else's report. It's very important, you know." Sarcasm dripped heavily from his tone. Then again, it almost always did. It was one of the things she loved the most about him.
No! I do not love Rodney McKay. I do not! Elizabeth had to fight back a groan. This conversation was not going very well at all.
"What Major Sheppard asked was," Ford broke in, taking pity on her. Elizabeth silently thanked him, and promised herself that she would give him something in return, "if you'd like to join us for a little luncheon. The major was telling Teyla about some Earth customs and she seemed to like the idea, so now we're inviting a few people."
"Actually, it was just going to be me and Teyla," John said, sounding a little put out, "But since a luncheon should really consist of more than two people...we decided to invite Ford. He in turn invited McKay-out of pity, I might add-and McKay remembered that you had a rough time a few nights ago and thought you'd like to join us as well."
"Out of pity?" Rodney asked before Elizabeth could respond, "What's that supposed to mean? Oh wait, I'm sorry. You only understand Neanderthal speak. Joke bad. Not funny. We go. Let you have girl alone."
John rolled his eyes, a faint hint of color rising in his cheeks. "So, Doctor Weir," he said, ignoring Rodney's implications that he would rather be alone with Teyla, "You in or not?"
"We would be honored if you chose to join us," Teyla said with a slight bow and a small smile in Sheppard's direction.
Elizabeth sighed. Food of any kind sounded wonderful at the moment, but she had already nearly lost control of her mouth. No, wait. She was not going to let a little attraction-okay so it wasn't so little, but still-keep her from enjoying herself. She had a duty to perform and if she couldn't stop going into a trance every time she laid eyes on Rodney, then she needed to give up now, let somebody else take over.
"I'm in. What time?" Elizabeth forced a smile onto her face and looked right at Rodney. He seemed taken aback for a minute and almost confused.
"Uh...now. We're having it now, right?" he asked, turning to John.
"Yup."
"Great," Rodney beamed, "Pack up your stuff, Lizzy and we'll get going. There's this great new place that I found earlier-it looks out onto the ocean but it's completely enclosed. Kinda like a promenade deck for a ship. I can finish up my studies on this new device in there too."
"Sounds good," Elizabeth murmured. He was so cute when he got excited. Ack!, "But don't call me Lizzy. I always hated that nickname."
"Sure thing, Lizzy," John responded immediately, "We won't call you Lizzy ever again. Okay Lizzy?"
Ford snorted, then quickly hid the grin on his face when Elizabeth turned the full force of her glare on him. "Uh...so let's get going," the young lieutenant urged, "Before all this wonderful food gets cold."
"It's MRE's and turkey sandwiches, Lieutenant," Rodney said scathingly, "They're already cold. However, I am in agreement that we should hurry along. I can feel the lining of my stomach grinding away at itself."
"All right," Elizabeth conceded when it looked like it was about to escalate into a full blown argument, "I'm coming."
xxx-xxx
Elizabeth awoke with a start. For a moment, the disorientation that always accompanied waking in a new place, kept her still. Then she realized she was in the infirmary. Frowning, she tried to remember what had happened last. They had all gone to eat, then Rodney had got his hand stuck in some kind of machine and when she had gone to help out, everything had gone dark.
She sat up only to lay back down again when a wave of dizziness hit her. Okay, so that hadn't been such a bright idea. Waiting for the spinning to stop, she-slowly this time-sat up. Much better. Now, everything was just all wavey instead of circling about. A quick check of nearby beds told her that either Rodney hadn't been hit with what she had, or was in more critical condition. Oh, God, I hope not, she prayed fervently.
Again she tried to recall the exact sequence of events leading up to her blacking out, but her mind refused to provide the details in anything other than a fuzzy sort of way. She sighed and closed her eyes, gathering her strength before she pushed herself off the bed. The dizziness passed much quicker this time and she stumbled to the doors of the infirmary, unmindful of the short hospital gown she wore.
"And where do ye think ye're goin'," Carson's thick brogue broke in, "Ye shouldna be up, lass."
Elizabeth sighed and spun about to face the Scottish doctor, and then wished she hadn't when she swayed on her feet. "I'm sorry Carson, but I can't lay about in the infirmary all the time..."
"Ye can when you've been hit with the equivalent of two-thousand volts of electricity," Doctor Beckett argued, "Now, back into bed with you. Go on, no arguments."
"How's Rodney," Elizabeth asked, when she realized Carson wasn't going to be deterred, "And the others," she added belatedly. Oh, that was so not good. She was being distracted again.
"Oh, he's fine," Carson responded, a little hesitantly, "But then again, he wasn't hit as hard as you were."
"What aren't you telling me?" Elizabeth demanded. She couldn't afford to be ill, couldn't let anyone see her weak.
Carson hesitated again, but then sighed when he realized she wouldn't back down. "Well, from what I've been able to tell...that thing was a..well...it was a breeding facility."
Elizabeth stared at him uncomprehendingly. No, she just didn't want to comprehend. "What are you saying, Doctor?" This cannot be happening. It can't.
"Well...to be frank, Elizabeth, you're pregnant."
------------------------
Doctor Rodney McKay grumbled to himself as he pored over the alien texts, trying to find something--anything--to shed light on the recent shock he and Elizabeth had received earlier. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to make sense. It was almost as if it were some kind of medical scanning device--like an MRI--but there were other things that just didn't fit. Like, what the heck did "And the two shall contribute to make one" mean? Maybe he was reading it wrong, not getting the context.
With a sigh he stepped away from the console, his earlier excitement at finding this strange new device severely dampened. Elizabeth was still unconscious and he had barely made it with his life intact. He knew this was a dangerous endeavor, but did anyone believe him? No. They just went on with their petty little lives never knowing the consequences....
Whoa, boy! the annoying little voice in the back of his head scolded, Don't even go there. You were the one who activated the damn thing, not anybody else. He sighed, knowing the voice was right. For some reason it sounded a lot like Elizabeth but...no. He definitely wasn't going to go there.
"Hey," Sheppard called from the doorway, "Any progress."
Rodney snorted at the nonchalant question. "Oh yes, I've been able to determine what a possibly several million year old device is able to do and why it shocked the crap out of us in under ten minutes."
"I was just asking," Sheppard replied, still just as nonchalant.
Rodney looked over at the major, about to retort, when he caught the expression on the man's face. "What is it?"
Sheppard sighed and scuffed his feet on the ground, studiously avoiding his gaze. Rodney felt a fear he had never known before, not even for his own life. Oh please don't be what I think it is...please, please don't let her have died. Suddenly, he didn't want to hear the rest, and he turned back to the Ancient's technology, letting out a soft curse. Why? Why had they come to this...
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of five syllables he hadn't expected to hear. He frowned and glanced at Sheppard. "I'm sorry, my hearing must be going because I thought you just said `Doctor Weir is pregnant'."
Sheppard sighed and gazed up at the ceiling, then looked back at Rodney. "Oh no, Doctor McKay. Your hearing is one-hundred percent `a-okay'. I did, in fact, say `Doctor Weir is pregnant'."
Rodney felt light-headed all of a sudden, even more so than when he hadn't got anything to eat during the time he'd had that personal shield on. It was almost impossible with his brain threatening to freeze up, but he did a mental calculation. They had been on Atlantis for more than nine months--so that ruled out someone from home. Then...somebody on Atlantis must...
Rodney suddenly had the urge to grind someone's head into dust. Since he had never had any such inclination before, he assumed it had something to do with his recent maladies. Either that or he was jealous.
"McKay?"
Rodney blinked at Sheppard and frowned. Was it him? He had thought the major and the lovely Athosian woman had a thing going, but maybe the guy liked playing the field. He seemed like that type of guy. No, actually he didn't. He might flirt but he would never get an innocent woman pregnant and leave her to...
"McKay," Sheppard said more insistently, "Doctor Beckett says he doesn't know how it happened, because one minute there was nothing and then suddenly she was two weeks along. He thought that maybe...are you listening to me?"
"Two weeks?" Rodney repeated absently. Two weeks ago then, he mused to himself. Now all he had to do was look in the files and find out who had gone into Elizabeth's quarters and...wait. "You said it suddenly appeared...as in it shouldn't have been there?" At Sheppard's nod, Rodney turned quickly back to the text.
"'And the two shall contribute to make one'," he read aloud. He laughed shortly. Suddenly the whole thing began to make sense. "It's a breeding facility. It takes the DNA of two beings and uses it to create a third. Then it places it in the womb of the `female' to be cared for. The electricity was a side-effect of the energy transference. Oh my god...I'm going to be a father." And with that, he promptly fainted.
xxx-xxx
"Pregnant? With Doctor McKay's child?" Ignoring the imp within her cheering loudly at this pronouncement, Elizabeth continued to stare in bewilderment at Dr. Beckett. Poor man. It was the eighth...no tenth...time she'd asked that same question--always with the same answer: Definitely Yes.
She sighed and sat back down on the bed, after having got up again to pace with the thoughts racing through her head. Damn it. This was one complication she could very definitely do without. Especially when she was feeling such elation at the prospect of having Rodney McKay's child.
"Does anyone else know?" This was a new question, one she hadn't been able to ask yet because of her incredulity--and possibly because of the electric jolt--and she could see the relief in Carson's dark eyes.
"Major Sheppard and of course Doctor Mckay," Beckett began, "Lieutenant Ford and Teyla as well, they were concerned for your safety," he added when it looked like she was going to yell at him.
Instead she sighed again and lay back on the bed, other questions forming in her mind. The foremost of which was "How?" however, since it contained many questions within that one, she wasn't certain how to ask it. For example, how did this happen, how do you know what it is, how do...how did...how, how, how. Finally she just settled for doing as the doctor had suggested. She could get her answers in the morning...when she wasn't so out of it. And maybe, just maybe this would all turn out to be just a bad dream.
You mean, like the dream with chocolate and edible boxers? the imp asked slyly.
"Shut up," she told it, not realizing she'd said it aloud and not noticing the confused, concerned look on doctor Beckett's face, "Chocolate and edible boxers are no longer the important issue here."
-------------------------
Rodney slipped unnoticed into the infirmary and stood at the door, pondering what next to do. The thought of actually confronting Eliz-no, Doctor Weir, safer that way-made him cringe, but he had to do it. If he didn't, Sheppard would use him for target practice, not to mention what Ford and Teyla had said they'd do.
But how did you talk to someone you'd got pregnant without even touching them?
He sighed and looked around, hoping to catch a lab aid's eye, but none seemed to be present. It was, after all, late, and with no extra injured to look after they were probably relaxing or even sleeping. Which could be a good thing. No witnesses. He was jittery enough without people staring at him.
Finally, he decided that enough was enough, and walked towards the corner of the room where he knew Elizabeth would be resting-or supposed to be resting. To his dismay-and relief-Beckett was already there, standing over her. The Scot turned around as soon as Rodney walked up and motioned for silence.
Rodney frowned and stepped a little closer, looking over Beckett's shoulder to see the sleeping woman. Her face was creased in a tiny frown, and her eyes were moving rapidly behind the lids. A quick look at Beckett showed that the doctor was concerned about something, which sent Rodney's pulse racing.
"What's the matter?" he asked softly-at least as softly as he could in his panicked state, "She's not dying is she? And the baby's okay? That's it isn't it? The baby isn't forming correctly because of the advanced rate of growth and..."
"Actually," Carson interrupted, sounding annoyed, "I was more worried for Dr. Weir's state of mind."
"What d'you mean?" Rodney couldn't keep the indignation out of his voice. To imply that Elizabeth was in any manner unsound affronted his sensibilities for some odd reason.
Beckett sighed and pulled Rodney away from the bed, and continued in a low tone of voice, "She's been knocked unconscious twice in as many days, and while I haven't found any indication of brain damage, she's been talking to herself, something I've never seen her do before."
Rodney nodded slowly, remembering the first time he'd seen her knocked out. Her face had been so pale at the time, and it had scared him to death. She'd woken up just fine then, though, so he hadn't worried any more about it. Even when she'd mumbled something about edible boxers.
"It's not your fault, ye know," Beckett said suddenly, "This could've happened ta any o' us with the gene."
"But Elizabeth.."
"...does'na have the gene, true," Beckett finished, "But you do, and that was apparently enough. I'm only goin' on your information, mind."
"Yeah," Rodney agreed, his voice soft with remorse, "That's what I've been able to determine so far." Whatever anyone said, it was his fault.
"Well, I'm goin' to get some sleep," Beckett said to fill the silence that had stretched between them, "You should as well. Those bags under your eyes aren' a'tall attractive." Then the doctor stood and left the infirmary.
Rodney stood there for a moment and then muttered, "Yeah, well..." before he fully realized Beckett had left. Shaking his head, he turned towards the bed once more and then took a few shaky steps over to it, until he was standing at the side, looking down on the occupant.
Her face was still pale, but the eye movements had ceased, and now she looked rather peaceful. The nervous tension he'd sensed in her earlier had ebbed away as she slumbered. Rodney found himself smiling for some reason. It wasn't because she was beautiful, lying there with her mussed hair framing her face, her lips parted slightly, her....
No no...not going to go there, Rodney thought frantically, trying to push the image out of his mind. He stepped away from the bed, tripping in his haste and fell forward, catching himself on the bed. Her face was inches from his; his breath caught in his throat. He could smell the shampoo she used, a scent he couldn't identify, that nevertheless smelled wonderful and made his senses reel.
Taking a deep breath, he levered himself up to his elbows, then fell again in surprise when he found a pair of blue eyes looking into his own.
"Son of a..." he muttered, feeling his knee wrench from landing on it. He pulled himself to his feet and sat on the side of the bed, pretending he didn't know Elizabeth was awake and rubbing his knee. That was going to leave a bruise.
"Rodney?"
"Oh, Elizabeth, you're awake." It didn't come out as convincingly surprised as he wanted, but it would do. He hoped. He refused to look at her, just in case.
"What were you doing?" the soft voice held an amused, almost teasing, edge to it. "Just because you got me pregnant, doesn't mean you can have your way with me when I'm not awake."
No, not almost, definitely teasing.
Before Rodney could stop himself, he retorted, "So it's okay if you're awake?"
There was a snort of laughter, and he chanced a look. She was still laying back, but had her eyes focused on him. He smiled tentatively, suddenly pleased. If she could laugh about the situation, then things weren't as bad as he had first thought.
"It really wasn't your fault you know," she said, suddenly serious, "Carson's right. It could have happened to anybody. It was just our luck that it happened to us."
"You were awake the whole time," he accused, though only half-heartedly. When she said it, he believed it, and he couldn't account for that at all. It just made him more jittery.
"Not the whole time," she said with a smile, "I just happened to wake up when Carson was saying that."
"Oh."
There didn't seem to be much else to say to that, and they sat there, comfortable in the silence.
Then Elizabeth used her elbows to prop herself up and Rodney automatically helped her, fixing the pillows so that she would be sitting up, but comfortable. He was rewarded with a smile that sent small pleasurable sensations racing across his nerves. It wasn't that he didn't want to be attracted to her; it was just that he didn't want to be attracted to her.
He sighed. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought.
"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked, her face creasing in a frown.
Rodney looked away, pretending to be engrossed in the pattern the stitches in his pants made. There was no way, no matter what happened, that he was going to let her know he found her sexy. That concern she was showing, and even the friendly banter they shared sometimes would turn quickly into something not as nice, just like all the other women in his life.
No, by far better to keep his distance. Though how he was going to do that and still have a hand in raising his child, he didn't know.
"Rodney, I know there's something wrong," her voice had that authoritative edge to it, that brooked no argument.
"It's just that I...well..." he stopped and looked back at her. There was nothing censuring in her gaze, so he continued, "It's just so damn weird. I mean, I always thought I'd have children some day, but I figured it would be in the old fashioned way."
She stared at him, her fingers clutching the bedspread, so many emotions crossing her expression, he couldn't tell one from the other. Finally, she said, "I understand. I feel the same way. I mean, I'm about to have a child in a tenth of the time it should normally take." A small nervous chuckle escaped her before she continued, "But it has happened, and we can't change that fact. The only thing we can do, is see what happens from here."
She had been looking him straight in the eye the whole time, the dark blue of her gaze imploring him to listen to what she was saying. How could he disagree with that look? He'd never been able to in the past, so he nodded and patted her hand.
"We'll see what happens from here."
Elizabeth graced him with another smile and lay back on the pillows again. Her eyes lost their focus for a minute and she mumbled, "Yeah, I really shouldn't fight it, should I? No...no I've got to."
"Elizabeth?" Rodney asked, his voice going high pitched in concern.
She jerked her gaze back to him and reddened. "I uh...was just..."
"Talking to yourself? Let me call Doctor Beckett..."
"No!" Elizabeth protested loudly; then in a softer voice added, "I'm just having an argument with myself about something. Nothing to be worried about."
"Nothing to be worried about? After everything you've seen in your time with the Stargate Program, and you don't think talking to yourself is something to be concerned over?" Rodney gazed at her skeptically, remembering what Carson had said to him just a few minutes ago. "I'll just get Doctor Beckett to take a look at you. You might have some brain damage or something."
Elizabeth's face immediately stiffened and she looked away from him. "So..." she began, "So now you think I'm crazy." It wasn't a question.
"No," Rodney told her, "I don't think you're crazy. I just think you've been having a very bad couple of days and..."
"It's all your fault you know."
The words were so soft, so matter of fact, that Rodney didn't immediately register the accusation. When he did, he felt a hurt so deep he could barely breath. "I see," he said in a strangled voice, "Well, when you've made up your mind as to whether or not I'm responsible for your 'condition', just tell me. No wait, don't. We'll just forget we ever had this conversation."
If she protested, he didn't hear. He was too angry, too hurt. He'd thought she was different, but he had been wrong, and he stalked from the infirmary, ignoring her calls for him to come back.
xxxxxx
Elizabeth frowned slightly as she watched Rodney storm out. She had the vague sense that she had said something wrong, that he hadn't understood what she meant, but was too angry that he thought she was insane to care much.
Liar, said the sly voice of the imp, You do care and you want to make it up to him.
Shut up! She thought desperately. She did not need this right now. But the imp didn't seem to care. It chuckled lightly, and she closed her eyes, intent on getting back to sleep so she wouldn't have to hear it.
She awoke some time later, to find Rodney hovering over her. Surprised, she opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing, but he placed his hand over her lips and she subsided. He didn't immediately begin speaking, but played with the sheet, her hair and then her fingers. He took each of them between each of his own, gently caressing them, his entire concentration taken by the task.
Her breath caught in her throat and her pulse quickened, but she didn't stop him; it felt too good. That was also the reason she didn't stop him when he moved from her fingers to her arm, inspecting it as though it were one of his machines.
He leaned forward slightly, and she could feel the puff of breath on her face as he whispered into her ear, "Wake up Elizabeth..."
"Huh?"
"Wake up..."
She jerked awake to find Carson gazing at her in concern, and the disappointment she felt was so keen, she had to close her eyes again. When she opened them, Carson was still there.
"What's wrong?" she asked him.
He looked away and she frowned in annoyance. "Carson, I'm a big girl. I can take it, honestly."
"Rodney...he was feeling so guilty about what he'd done to you that..." the doctor swallowed convulsively before continuing, "He...he killed himself."
"NOOOOOO!"
The scream woke her for real this time, and Elizabeth had to forcefully control her breathing as she blinked rapidly at the room. This was getting to be tiresome. She was starting to have trouble knowing what was real and what was dream. Maybe Rodney was right. Maybe she was going crazy.
No, she thought, I can't be. I have too many responsibilities.
Whatever was going on, she wasn't going to risk going back to sleep. Not now. Carefully, she rolled off the bed and made her way to the door. No one stopped her this time, and she continued all the way to her quarters, where she changed into some regular clothes with relief.
John Sheppard stared at the machine that had his two friends trapped, his jaw clenched as he attempted to keep himself from shouting at Zelenka and Beckett as the two men worked desperately to keep the people inside alive. Zelenka was working the controls as best he could without knowing exactly what they did while Beckett was monitoring the life-signs.
McKay and Dr. Weir had somehow become trapped in the machine, and as far as anyone had been able to determine it wasn't used for anything they could tell. Sheppard had started to get them out, but a buzzer had sounded. It was then that Beckett realized their brains were hooked up to the machine directly, and that their brain-waves were in danger of merging. Zelenka had discovered how to fix that, and had. Unfortunately, they seemed not to want to stay fixed, and so for nearly forty-eight hours they'd been monitoring the situation. Zelenka was looking haggard, and Beckett even worse.
Zelenka suddenly let loose a sigh of relief. "It looks as if it is stable for now," he said in the formal sounding English he always used, "there is not so much resistance as before."
"I agree, the patterns are staying separated," Beckett seconded, "that's a good sign."
"Then can we get them out of there?" Sheppard asked impatiently.
"I don't..."
"Look, do you think they want to be stuck there for the rest of their lives? I don't. This is the best chance we have, that they have," John pleaded, "They'd want us to get them out of there...even if it...we just have to try, all right?" he said, changing what he had been going to say at the last minute.
"I agree," Teyla remarked from where she had been standing in the doorway, holding three cups of something steaming, "Dr. Weir and Dr. McKay would not wish to remain trapped like that."
John smiled at the Athosian in gratitude for her support, then turned back to look at Beckett, who still seemed undecided. Finally, the Scot nodded reluctantly. "All right, we'll try it. But any signs of danger at all, and we stop. Okay?"
John quickly acquiesced, and reached over the Czech's hands to press the release button. At first, nothing happened, and they all stared at the machine in disappointment. Then, it suddenly whirred to life, and the hatch that covered the two lifted.
Weir woke up first and looked around in confusion. She blinked rapidly before her eyes settled on John's. "What...what happened?"
John grinned at her, "You got stuck in some kind of Ancient machine, we're still not sure what it does yet."
"What about...my baby?"
The three men traded glances with Teyla, who then asked gently, "What baby, Dr. Weir?"
It was almost heartbreaking to watch the expressions that crossed her face. John had a sudden idea what the machine could have been. "It's something like virtual reality," he murmured, "That's why their brains were hooked directly up."
"But why would their brain patterns attempt to merge?" Zelenka asked.
Before anyone could respond, Dr. Weir interrupted, "It wasn't real? What do you mean by 'their' brain waves?" Her face was still a ghastly pale, but she seemed to have got over her initial shock. She turned her head and a look of understanding crossed her features. "Oh. I think it was a little more than virtual reality," she said, her voice little more than a whisper, "I can't believe it made me forget about Simon..."
It was about that time that McKay woke. He sat straight up and looked around, anger coming off of him in waves. "Where is that ass-hole! I'm gonna show him who's 'unfit' for duty. That long-haired, egotistical...just because I'm mad at her doesn't mean he can talk about..." he broke off suddenly and glanced at the people gathered around.
John couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. He'd never seen McKay angry with anyone before. Annoyed, yes. Upset, definitely. Never angry. It was rather amusing.
"What's going on? I was just standing in the corridor outside my lab, and I overheard Zelenka and Kavanaugh talking about..." he glanced at Dr. Weir before continuing, "Anyway, how did I get from there to here? And why is this stuck on my head?"
The scientist impatiently pulled the wires that were still on his head off and then proceeded to glare at the assembled. "Well? Is anyone going to see fit to fill me in?"
John cleared his throat. "Chill out McKay...here's what happened." He explained what they had found out, and as he talked, the physicist's face lost it's angry redness and began to go pale.
"It was...it was just a dream?" He shot a glance at Dr. Weir again. "Well, that's something of a relief, but...well. It seemed so real." Then his face took on that excited quality he always got when confronted with a new piece of technology. "But what was it for? Was it just a game? Or a type of simulator like the ones we use or..."
"All right, I want to get you two down to the infirmary. We can discuss what the Ancient's intended for this when I've given you the all-clear," Beckett interrupted what could have become a very long dissertation on the merits of the Ancients.
xxxxxx
Elizabeth stared at the far wall of her quarters. Everything that she remembered happening over the past few days had all been a dream. Well, it wasn't quite as real now that she knew she was awake, but it was still raw and painful. How could she have forgotten Simon so quickly? While the Ancient machine had apparently been used as something of a matchmaker in determining if brain-waves were compatible and the scenario created would have disregarded all else, she still felt guilty for some reason.
No, not for some reason. It was because she wished she could go back to that. Even if she and Rodney had been upset with each other, she knew they would have worked it out eventually. She wished she could really have been having Rodney McKay's baby.
A knock on the door interrupted her reverie, and she called out rather dispassionately for them to come in, only to sigh when she realized it was Rodney.
"I'm sorry," he said, "For everything that happened. I know it was somehow my fault...for all of it."
She knew he wasn't just talking about the real Ancient machine. "No, it wasn't Rodney. We all make mistakes, and we're bound to make a lot working with technology that's light years ahead of us. I don't blame you in any way. And I didn't blame you then, either."
She wasn't sure why she added that last, but felt a weight lift from her shoulders when he smiled.
"Well," he began, "Now that that's over, wanna have some dinner with me while we catch up on lost time?"
Elizabeth didn't even hesitate as she jumped off the bed. "I'd love to."
The End
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