“Radek!”
Alisa’s scream mingled with the explosion that rocked the small lab and threw Zelenka against the wall. Elizabeth grabbed the girl, pulling her away from the console as it showered flames and sparks over them. Ford batted at the flames with his jacket, sighing in relief when the fire was doused.
“Is everyone okay?” Ford asked, turning back to them; wincing finding Zelenka unconscious. He tapped his radio, “Dr Beckett, we have a medical emergency.”
Alisa’s attention was pulled from Ford as he called for help for her unconscious tutor; she looked past the marine to the doors. Ignoring Elizabeth calling her name, Alisa started to study the controls and grimaced.
“We have a problem,” she said, turning to the other two still conscious in the room.
“Another one?” Ford demanded.
“We’re locked in here,” Alisa told them, “I don’t think they’ll be able to get to us.”
“Doc, did you hear that?” Ford called over the radio.
“Aye,” Carson’s voice sounded in all their ears, “Rodney and Sheppard will there soon.”
“Dad’ll get us out,” Alisa completed for him.
It was almost ten minutes later when their radio’s clicked.
“Rodney?” Elizabeth said, “Tell me you’re almost done.”
A long sigh came over the radio, “I can’t. We can’t get near the lab, Elizabeth. Whatever Radek was doing locked and sealed the corridors surrounding you.”
“Can you open it?” Elizabeth demanded, glancing down at the unconscious scientist.
“It’ll take a long time,” Rodney explained, “But there should be a way within the lab.”
“Radek is unconscious,” Elizabeth replied softly, trying to stay as calm as possible considering Rodney’s daughter was trapped with them, “He can’t do anything; even when he wakes up, I doubt he’ll be able to focus.”
There was a long pause on the other side of the radio before Rodney came back on, “Alisa can.”
“What?” Elizabeth demanded as Alisa frowned.
“Lissa,” Rodney ignored Elizabeth, “You know all the systems.”
“Dad…”
“I know I’m putting a lot of pressure on you here, Lissa,” Rodney continued, “But if we have any hope of getting you out of there anytime soon then you have try.”
Alisa’s chin firmed and she nodded to herself, “Alright. I’ll try.”
“That’s my girl,” Rodney said, “When you need help I’ll be here.”
Alisa stared at the console for a second, frowning at how dark it was. This lab had been filled with records on the tactics the Ancients used against the Wraith and they’d been excited about showing it off to Elizabeth.
Her father’s team had come back from the first address given to them by the Alternate Weir with the Jumper covered in strange green goo. Alisa had watched, doubled over with laughter as Elizabeth managed to trick John and Rodney into betting against her for cleaning it.
A bet they promptly lost.
That was why it was just Elizabeth, Zelenka, Ford and herself that had come to the lab.
Alisa grabbed the toolkit Zelenka carried with him at all times and settled down, pulling off the first panel.
“Alright,” she said, taking a deep breath, “Here goes.”
John was pacing the balcony outside Elizabeth’s office, waiting to hear if Alisa had managed to release them from the lab. What really surprised him was how calm Rodney was. Considering his daughter was trapped, with no way for him to get to her without her doing something, Rodney was incredibly laid-back.
Heading back to the control room, John found Rodney sitting at one of the consoles, he was concentrating on the readouts in front of him with a slight smile on his lips.
“Alright,” John snapped, “What are you so happy about?”
A little taken back by the demand, Rodney shook his head, “Nothing. But…”
“But?”
“I’m interested in how Alisa will deal with this,” Rodney explained, leaning back in his seat, “Having to put something back together she hasn’t first taken apart.”
Suspicion filled John, “You didn’t…”
“Don’t be an idiot, Major,” Rodney rolled his eyes, “Do you think I would do anything like this…not to mention I don’t think there’s any way I could do that making sure no one was hurt.”
John thought back to what Rodney had originally said, “She takes things apart?”
Rodney rolled his eyes, “Has done ever since she was a child. The amount of times I walked in to find her pulling apart her TV or stereo. I got so sick of fixing them I finally gave in and made her fix it herself.”
“Dad,” Alisa called over the radio softly as John stared at Rodney, “The whole thing is fried. I can’t reconnect the power.”
“There should be something in the lab,” Rodney told her, “It’ll be well hidden but it will allow you to bypass that connection.”
“Did you get it?” Ford’s voice came over the radio.
An annoyed sigh came from Alisa, “Aiden, if I’d fixed it, the doors would be open. Just stay there and don’t ask me any more stupid questions.”
John, who had been taking a quick drink started to choke at her words.
“Great,” Ford muttered, “There’s two of them.”
This made John laugh even harder ,especially when he saw the smirk on Rodney’s face.
*********************************************
Rodney grabbed the phone on the third ring, “Hello?”
“It’s Andrea,” the voice came, “We were just calling to talk to Alisa on her first day.”
“Hold on a second,” Rodney pulled the phone away from him, “Lissa, your Gran wants to talk to you.”
A smile touched his lips as his daughter bounded into the room, she had been up since five that morning excited about going to school for the first time. Rodney handed her the phone, unable to stop grinning as she started telling Andrea everything about starting school.
Rodney couldn’t believe she was old enough to be going to school, it barely seemed like yesterday she was just a baby. Now she stood there in purple denims, a pink and purple sweatshirt with her long blonde hair in bunches.
“Daddy,” Alisa turned to him, offering him the phone, “Gran wants to talk to you.”
He smiled at her, taking the phone, “Go get your jacket, Lissa.”
Alisa disappeared still bouncing.
“Is anything wrong, Andrea?” Rodney asked.
“No,” she laughed, “I just wanted to know what you were doing today.”
“She’s only in school for the morning,” Rodney told his mother-in-law, “I’ve to be there today as well. I’m just going to have to take her to the lab this afternoon.”
“Rodney…”
“I can’t afford to put her in daycare for the next few weeks until she’s at school full time,” Rodney reminded her, “Andrea, she’ll be fine. I have things for her to do and I can watch over her.”
“Alright,” the woman told him, “I’ll call tonight and find out about her first day.”
Rodney sat tapping his nail on the chair arm as he sat with the rest of the parents, for some reason it was asked that they be there for the first day. Rodney had no idea about the reasoning behind it but he came.
“I guess being a single parent can be a pain in the ass,” a woman with dark brown hair beside him said making Rodney turn, “Means there’s no one else to do these things.”
“Yeah,” he replied, a little confused.
“I’m Diane Walker,” she introduced herself.
“Rodney McKay,” he struggled to think what to say now, he didn’t do idle chatter.
Diane smiled at him, “I think this is insane having us here for the first morning when we’re supposed to be getting rid of the kids. I mean, I could actually be shopping without my daughter trying to grab every bar of chocolate at her height.”
Rodney couldn’t help but smile, he knew the feeling.
“If my husband was in town I would have sent him,” she continued with a smirk.
Rodney glanced down at her hand, noting the presence of her ring; he didn’t want to put his foot in it.
“He’s a doctor,” Diane explained at his curious look, “Works with the Air Force. They paid for medical school and he gives them a few years service.”
“Can’t be easy,” Rodney finally contributed to the conversation.
Diane shrugged, “At least I have him some times.”
Rodney winced, “I guess I kinda stand out,” he glanced around the room full of women.
“Just a little,” she laughed sighing; whatever this was, was about to start.
Rodney was relieved when the lecture on how they were going to educate the children was over. Standing up he moved to look out the window, smiling to see Alisa playing with another little girl, both grinning as they ran about.
“That’s my daughter,” Diane joined him, “Red jumper and short dark hair. That’s my Kirsty.”
Rodney smiled, “She’s playing with Alisa.”
“Your daughter,” Diane grinned.
“Excuse me,” a voice interrupted them, they both turned to find the girls’ teacher standing, “Dr McKay, could I speak to you?”
Rodney looked a little confused; Diane gave him a smile before returning to watching the girls play as Rodney joined the other woman. They entered a small office and she motioned him to take a seat.
“I’m Mrs Ellison,” she introduced herself, “And I need to speak to you about Alisa.”
Rodney felt worry fill him, “Is she alright?”
“She’s fine,” Ellison assured him, “However, when we gave the children their work for the morning she was finished very quickly. I gave her the next level and she finished that also.”
“Is that a problem?” Rodney asked annoyed.
Ellison smiled, “Of course not. It’s the fact that I skipped several levels and when I gave her that to do…Your daughter is extremely intelligent.”
“I know,” Rodney replied with a shrug, “She takes after me. If you’re wanting to move her forward then the answer is no. She’s just made a friend and I won’t take that away from her.”
Ellison nodded, “In that case, I will keep her with the class but her work will be angled more towards her gifts.”
“Good,” Rodney nodded smartly, he checked his watch, “I need to get to work.”
“I hope you’ll continue to be involved with Alisa’s schoolwork,” Ellison smiled at him.
“Daddy,” Alisa ran over to him, smiling as he picked her up.
“Hey, Lissa,” he grinned, putting her down after a hug, “Did you like school?”
She nodded enthusiastically, pointing over to Diane and her daughter, “That’s Kirsty. We were having fun and her mommy is taking her to the park and she asked us to come and…”
“Okay,” Rodney cut her off, “Lissa, I have to go to work.”
“Daddy,” she moaned, her bottom lip jutting out.
Rodney sighed, “You know I have to work.”
“Rodney,” Diane interrupted them, “She can come with us to the park and you can pick her up once you’ve finished.”
He stared at her surprised; he’d never had anyone other than Alisa’s grandparents who would offer such a thing, “Are you sure?”
Diane nodded, “I’ll even feed her.”
Rodney finally nodded. He leaned down till he was at Alisa’s level, “Now you be good. Do everything Mrs Walker tells you and I’ll come collect you later.”
Alisa nodded, hugging him before returning to talk to Kirsty.”
Rodney stood up to find Diane handing him a piece of paper.
“My address and a phone number in case you get lost,” she explained.
“Oh,” Rodney realised he needed to give her a way to contact him, he quickly scribbled down the number to the lab for her, “Thanks for this,” he quickly checked Alisa before heading to his car stopping in his tracks and turning, “Oh, I should warn you. Don’t leave her unattended with your stereo, TV or things like that.”
“Why?” Diane asked confused.
Rodney grimaced slightly, “She has a habit of taking them apart to find out how they work. If she does it to anything, I’ll fix it for you.”
*********************************************
Alisa chewed her lip as she looked around the lab, trying to find what her father assured her would be there. Finally she noticed the small, almost invisible line indicating the backups she needed. However this released a new problem.
“How the hell do I get up there?” she questioned aloud.
Ford appeared at her side and Alisa looked up at him, a thought entering her mind.
“Do you think you get me up there?” she asked him.
Ford looked up and nodded, “Sure,” he moved so that he was in the right spot before crouching and creating a foothold with his hands, “Go.”
Alisa placed her right foot in his hands; gripping his shoulders, she pushed up as he lifted. They wobbled slightly but Ford managed to stabilise his stance.
“Okay,” Alisa breathed once she was as settled, as much as she could be considering she was standing on Ford’s shoulders, in front of the panel, “Dad, I found it. To bypass…”
“Good,” her father’s voice was comforting, “You’re looking for….”
“No,” she cut him off, “Let me work it out,” Alisa told him, “I know this, Radek showed me once.”
She skimmed over ideas as she stared at the crystals before her, “Okay,” she breathed to herself, “I know this. I know this.”
“Alisa?” Ford called, “No offence but can you hurry this up?”
“Just give me a minute,” Alisa snapped before giving a cry of victory, “That’s it.” With a grin, Alisa confidently moved the crystals to bypass the damage circuits.
“Did it,” she told them, wincing as Ford moved slightly, “Getting up was easy, what about getting down?”
“Lieutenant,” Elizabeth took over, “Ease yourself down, I’ll catch you, Alisa.”
Alisa grimaced but didn’t say anything as she felt Ford slowly crouch; she used the wall to keep her up right before feeling Elizabeth’s hands on her waist.
“Step down,” Elizabeth told her.
Feeling nauseous at the thought, Alisa never the less moved her foot from Ford’s shoulder and slowly lowered it until she felt him catch her in the same foothold he’d used to get her up there. Once she was sure he had a secure grip on her, Alisa placed her hand on his shoulders, moving her other foot finding it on the ground amazingly.
Once on the ground, Alisa headed back to the control console.
“Alright,” she said decisively, “Let’s get this thing fixed.”
“I’m really sorry about this,” Rodney sighed as he sat putting Diane’s stereo back together, “I’ve warned you, many times.”
She laughed, handing him some coffee, “I took my eyes off them for a few minutes. They’re watching a movie just now and after your scolding, I don’t think she’ll be trying to pull apart anything else tonight.”
Rodney shook his head irritated, “I wish she’d get out of this phase,” he snapped the casing back on, “Phase. That’s what her grandmother calls it. It’s being going on for at least three years now.”
Diane sat across from him with her own mug, “Alisa is brilliant. Maybe you need to let her have the consequences of her actions.”
Rodney frowned, “Meaning?”
“Don’t fix things,” Diane told him, “Once she’s pulled something apart, make her be the one to fix it. She’ll soon stop.”
“Huh,” Rodney mused, “That’s a good idea.”
“But,” Diane told him, “Fix my things.”
Rodney laughed, “No problem.”
Alisa gave a cry of delight as the power came back on and the doors opened.
“Well done, Lissa,” her father said in her ear, “I knew you could do it.”
Alisa started to laugh, grinning at Ford as he pulled her out from under the console.
“You did it,” he smiled at her.
Alisa bounced to her feet and dusted her hands off, “Did you have any doubt?”
Ford rolled his eyes, “I shouldn’t have. You’re definitely your father’s daughter.”
Alisa continued to smile smugly before worry slid over her face as Carson and his medical team arrived.
“Is he going to be okay?” she asked as Carson checked Zelenka over.
“Aye,” Carson told her, “Maybe a bit of a headache but he’ll be fine.”
“Well done, Alisa,” Elizabeth said warmly, squeezing her shoulder, “I suggest we get out of here.”
Alisa nodded in agreement, walking out behind the medical team.
“Lissa,” Rodney laughed gleefully as his daughter ran over to him and jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly.
“I get it,” Alisa cried as he let her go, waving hi to John who was standing there with a grin, “I totally get it now.”
“Get what?” Rodney asked, watching her amused.
“You,” she explained, “I totally get why you love this.”
“Really?” Rodney folded his arms across his chest, watching her beam.
“Totally.”
“How many times has she said ‘totally’ now?” John asked from Rodney’s side.
Rodney shrugged, “No idea.”
“Dad,” Alisa let out an annoyed sigh, “I’m telling you something.”
Rodney smiled affectionately, “And what is that?”
“I want to do it,” Alisa told him determinedly, “I want to follow in your footsteps.”
Pride filled Rodney and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, moving her along the corridors, “I think you already have.”
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Fortune\'s Favor by Offworlder FAM
Winner of the Atlantis challenge for the December 2007 fic challenge contest.
Winner of the Atlantis challenge for the December 2007 fic challenge contest.
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