Pretending by LE McMurray

Pretending von LE McMurray

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Author's Notes:- Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed saying how much they're enjoying this.

Airam4u :- Hopefully this should explain everything

Part five is in progress.

*********************************************

Elizabeth listened as Ford explained everything to her. Within seconds the rescue party was being organised.

"Something doesn't sound right," Elizabeth mused, "Why did this happen now? We've had teams there several times."

"I don't know Ma'am," Ford replied, "Major Sheppard called me over the radio the next thing I know the whole ground started shaking. As we ran to see what was happening they were trying to get out then suddenly they were gone."

"Alright, let's get them home before we start working out what happened," Elizabeth sighed, it was always those two.

-

Jarod gathered up the loose wood lying around the strange tunnels, he was worried about Rodney. The last time he'd used his abilities to find someone it had left him huddled in a corner crying for weeks if that happened again...

"He's fine," Parker told the Pretender, "Rodney isn't that same kid we knew back then."

Jarod turned to her, "But that was a moment that scarred us all."

Her dark eyes clouded with sadness for a moment before she shook it away and continued to collect firewood.

"Why is there wood in this place?" she asked irritably, "I mean there's no trees for it to have come from."

"Parker..."

"Then again it was like falling down a rabbit hole when the ground gave way," she continued ignoring his attempts to say what she was trying to avoid, "We each got our own rabbit hole."

"Parker," Jarod said softly, "You know he may know..."

"No," Parker cut him off, "I can't think of that now."

He gently touched her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her, Parker leaned her head against his chest relaxing for a few moments.

"Sorry," Jarod whispered, "I didn't mean to upset you."

Parker moved away from him turning away and continuing what she was doing.

-

Rodney took several deep breaths, "The truth is..."

Sheppard waited as the other man fell silent again, "Come on Rodney, spit it out."

"You don't understand," Rodney sighed rubbing the bridge of his nose trying to get rid of the headache that was continuing to build, "This is hard to explain."

"Try," Sheppard murmured as his eyes started to shut.

"NO," Rodney's sharp cry made him open his eyes again, "You have to stay awake."

"Then talk to me," Sheppard told him, "Keep me awake."

Rodney laughed softly, "Nice try Major," he sighed his headache was getting worse and he could hear something on the edge of his mind, "I don't know how to...I don't...I need to hide..."

"Rodney," Sheppard called as the other man folded in on himself clutching his head, "What's wrong?"

The only answer he got was a cry of pain.

"Rodney?" Sheppard called again starting to panic unable to move to help his friend, "Starr, Parker get back here."

-

Jarod spun as he heard the Major call to them, "Parker, come on."

They both ran back to the site where they had left the other two men finding Rodney curled up whimpering slightly. Jarod dropped onto his knees beside the other Pretender not touching him but moving his hands as close as he could to allow comfort.

"Rodney," Jarod whispered, "I know you can hear me."

The other man started to mutter and Jarod flashed Parker a worried look.

"Stay back," Jarod told her, "He'll go over the edge."

"What the hell is going on?" Sheppard snapped.

"Shut up," Parker snapped back at him, "Let him do this."

Jarod flashed her a grateful look, "Rodney, you need to focus on me. I know you don't want to but you have to."

Rodney pulled further into the ball trying to get further away from the outside world, away from the pain filling him. Jarod became more and more worried as his friend pulled further away from them and deeper into himself.

"Jarod," Parker called, "We need to try something else, you need to touch him."

"Parker you know that may cause more harm than good," Jarod snapped, "You remember what happened last time."

"What happened last time?" Sheppard asked getting completely confused.

They ignored him both kneeling over their friend, Jarod moved to catch Rodney's arm jumping as shots exploded above them. Before they could move several men surrounded them.

"Well, well, well," the leader stepped forward, "Major Sheppard, how nice to see you again."

"Cowen," Sheppard growled.

*********************************************

"What do you meant they weren't there?" Elizabeth snapped.

Ford stood in front of her desperately wishing to take ten steps back and then run, man she was intimidating.

"We checked the entire maze of tunnels that we could move through. The rest were blocked by rubble. It took as forever just to get down into them. It's like it was a maze built on a maze built on a maze," Ford told her, "We found their packs and there was evidence that they were starting to build a fire but all four were gone."

Elizabeth let out a cry of frustration as she started to pace her office, "What about footprints?"

"There were lots of footprints but we couldn't really distinguish them," Ford continued, "Ma'am, the only way out of there was past one of our teams."

Elizabeth stopped, "But no one saw them?"

"No."

Her eyes filled with realisation, "There's more down there than you found. Ford, find whatever it is and find them."

Ford nodded and left her alone.

"Just once," Elizabeth sighed dropping back into her seat, "Could you two just for once go out and come back in one piece. That's all I ask."

-

Rodney was curled in the corner where the Genii soldiers had dumped him not asleep but not entirely aware of his surroundings, his arms were wrapped around himself as he rocked gently. Sheppard was lying against the wall his broken leg stretched out while he, Jarod and Parker all watched their friend worried. Thankfully for the moment at least the Genii had left them alone once they'd been dumped in this cell.

"Okay, I want to know now," Sheppard broke the silence trying not to breathe the air in the dirty rank smelling room, "What the hell is going on with him and you guys?"

Jarod glanced at Parker who nodded to him; he was the best one to explain.

"You must understand that what I am about to tell you is something you will find hard to believe. It is also something extremely personal," Jarod started his voice soft, "I don't know if Rodney would agree to me giving this information to you but at this point, we have no choice."

"Jarod," Parker sighed annoyed rolling her eyes, "Would you just get on with it."

"Patience Miss Parker," Jarod replied his sarcasm automatic before he turned back to Sheppard who was waiting; "Rodney and I are Pretenders."

"What?" Sheppard asked completely confused.

"Pretenders are human chameleons," Parker's voice was soft as she explained, "They can become anyone they want to be."

Sheppard laughed, "Like what? He could become me?"

"No," Jarod remained deadly serious, "Though he could easily be a Major or any other rank required in the US Airforce."

"No," Sheppard frowned, "That's impossible."

"You are useless," Parker rolled her eyes at Jarod, "You're a genius yet you can't even explain your own abilities?" she turned back to Sheppard, "It's like this, he reads a couple of books about medicine and he's a doctor. He reads about the law, he's a lawyer. It goes on and on."

Sheppard grimaced trying to catch onto this idea, "But...McKay?"

"You try," Parker snapped to Jarod.

"Rodney adapts to everything quickly right?" Jarod asked waiting until Sheppard nodded before continuing, "He seems to have smatterings of all sorts of knowledge right?"

"So?"

"He's a Pretender," Jarod stated simply, "He's garnered this over the years and occasionally he allows it to slip out when it's needed."

Sheppard let his brain absorb this, "He's a Pretender fine I'll accept that. So what is that all about?" he motioned to the hunched figure in the corner.

"Rodney has other gifts," Jarod stated slowly and carefully, "He can feel things happening, basically he gets flashes of the future but the strongest of his gifts is the ability find anyone by simply focussing his mind on them especially if he is close to them. This gift however is something he hasn't used in many years that's why he's having such a severe reaction."

"A severe reaction to what?" Sheppard was disturbed by the revelations about his friend.

Jarod hesitated knowing how personal to all of them the next revelation was.

"The people who exploited these gifts ordered Rodney to find my mother one day," Parker answered quietly, "When he found her..." she swallowed hard not moving away as Jarod took her hand, "When he found her she was killed and since he was still focussed on her..."

"He felt her die?" Sheppard finished for Parker feeling sick.

"He hasn't used that ability since that day;" Jarod took over again, "He refused because he was scared he would end up being pulled back into the dark place his mind went after her death. Now the memory of what happened has overwhelmed him, this is why he's turned his mind in on itself to protect him."

"There has to be something you can do?" Sheppard cried irritated, "If you know him so well bring him out of this. We need him awake to get out of this."

"When this happened the first time it was almost a month before he emerged from his cocoon," Jarod sighed, "It was Parker who finally brought him out."

"Then do it again," Sheppard snapped.

"You have no idea what you're asking," Parker told him anger in her voice, "For either of us."

Sheppard fixed her with a piercing glance, "But I'm asking."

"That's the problem Major," Parker told him, "I don't know how I did it."

-

Cowen stood in the doorway and looked around them, "Well, Major you look a little worse for wear. And Dr McKay..."

"Leave him," Parker glared at the Genii leader.

Cowen moved to grab her arm, "A volunteer to talk to me."

Parker yanked her arm away from him, "Don't you dare touch me."

The Genii turned to the guards at the door and motioned them forward. As they grabbed Parker Jarod tried to pull her back.

"Get your hands off me," she yelled as she was dragged from the cell.

"Parker!!" Jarod called scrambling over to try and help her only to be hit in the face by the butt of a gun. He staggered back and the guards grabbed him by his arms dragging him out behind Parker.

"Starr," Sheppard called before he glared at Cowen, "If you hurt either of them you will find out exactly we're capable of."

Cowen laughed at him before stalking out.

-

Sheppard pulled himself up gritting his teeth against the pain and dragged himself across the cell so he was beside Rodney.

"McKay," Sheppard called hoping to get some sort of reaction from his friend, "Come on you need to snap out of this."

Rodney stared through him, his eyes glazed making Sheppard shudder.

"Rodney," he nervously reached out and placed his hand on the Pretender's shoulder feeling the shiver of panic that ran through Rodney's body, "Rodney you have to snap out of this. They've told me why this has happened but I know you. I know that you're stronger than whatever it is you're hiding from. Come on McKay, I can't get out of this alone. Parker and Starr need you."

Sheppard frowned as Rodney didn't move thinking back to what Starr had started to do before Cowen had arrived.

"Focus on me Rodney," he ordered in his best commanding tone, "Focus on my voice. Come on McKay you need to come back to us. Come back and help me. Come back so we can help..." he hesitated searching his memory to see if she'd ever been given a first name before deciding on, "Parker and..." he paused trying to remember Dr Starr's first name, "Jarod. We need to help Parker and Jarod."

Rodney stiffened suddenly and his hand moved gripping Sheppard's other hand, "Parker?" Rodney whispered very softly, "Jarod?"

"Cowen has them," Sheppard told him, relief filling his voice as Rodney started to become more coherent.

"How?" Rodney shook his head trying to clear it, "How did we get here?"

Sheppard grimaced, "The Genii seemed to be using this place as some sort of base."

"Jarod and Parker?" Rodney asked pulling himself off the ground and starting to pace trying to loosen off his muscles.

"Parker was making sure Cowen didn't go near you, Starr was hurt trying to help her," Sheppard explained watching Rodney as he paced.

Rodney suddenly spun and stared at Sheppard worry filling his eyes, "What did they tell you?"

"Enough," Sheppard replied, "I'm kinda interested why you never told me yourself."

Rodney let out a bitter laugh, "Yeah, I'm going to tell you I'm not who I said I was. That's one way to end up being locked up. Again."

"Again?"

"It's a long story and not one we need to get into while we're stuck in here," Rodney told him, "Give me a minute to check if I can get us out of here."

-

Parker leaned back against the wall in the new cell they'd been left in after the guards had dragged them from their original prison.

"How's the head?" she asked seeing Jarod rubbing where he'd been hit.

"I'll be fine," Jarod replied looking over at her, "Doesn't this seem familiar?"

Parker ignored him, "I'm worried about Rodney. If he doesn't snap out of that soon we have no way of getting out of here."

Jarod grimaced, "Sheppard may be able to bring him out of it."

"Assuming Sheppard isn't the one who tried to kill us," Parker snapped back.

"It doesn't make sense," Jarod told her, "That quake was caused by the radios, I'm sure of it. Why would he do that to himself?"

"To make sure we didn't suspect him," Parker ticked off her fingers, "Because someone called him before he could get out of the way. He may just be incompetent."

"I don't think so," Jarod replied, "He was genuinely worried about Rodney."

Parker sighed, "You're right."

Jarod squeezed her arm before bouncing up and examining the lock on the door, "Well let's go find out."

*********************************************

Ford motioned the teams to start searching the tunnels while he and Teyla headed down the tunnel they'd been assigned to search for the others.

He was worried about his team-mates; they had a knack for getting into trouble that he found astonishing in two grown men but after the time he'd spent with them he'd gotten used to it.

"We shall find them," Teyla assured him reading his mind, "They will find a way to let us know where they are."

"Possibly with several people trying to kill them," Ford laughed before becoming serious again, "Let's go help out."

-

Rodney slipped his arm around Sheppard's waist wincing when the Major gave a muffled cry of pain as he was hauled to his feet.

"You okay?" Rodney asked concerned.

"Oh yeah I just love blinding pain shooting through me," Sheppard replied his hand gripping Rodney's shoulder tightly.

"Nice to know," Rodney said, "Okay let's go."

With great difficulty Sheppard hobbled out of the cell as Rodney half carried him, they moved slowly along the corridors both hoping they didn't run into any of the Genii.

"We have to find Parker and Jarod," Rodney told him.

"How?" Sheppard asked breathing hard, sweat beads forming on his forehead from the strain.

"I can do it," Rodney whispered fear filling his voice, "I don't know though if what happened before will happen again."

"Then we'll find them another way," Sheppard told him.

"That's easier said than done," Rodney snapped, "I have to find them."

"It's nice to know we're wanted," Parker said as she and Jarod appeared round the corner her eyes fixed on Rodney, "You okay?"

He nodded silently. Jarod moved taking Sheppard's other side so it was easier to move.

"Let's get out of here," Parker ordered motioning them forward.

The four of them staggered through the corridors looking for a way out. They finally found the exit but before they could head out into the tunnels where they could get to the Stargate they heard the telltale sound of a weapon being readied behind them.

Turning they found Cowen standing behind them several guards with him.

"Well," he said with a grin, "Trying to escape. Very foolish Major Sheppard," Cowen took the gun from one of the soldiers and aimed it at them, "So the question is which one of you will I kill to make sure this doesn't happen again?"

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Pretending von LE McMurray

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