“Well?” Alisa asked.
Radek glanced over at her, before returning to reading the paper she’d given him, “Interesting,” he told her, “However, I am not going to grade you while you wait.”
Alisa grimaced at him, “Fine. I’ll head up to the Control Room and go see if Dad and his team have deigned to contact us.”
“Good,” Radek called after her, “Leave me so I can try and decipher the nonsense you have handed me.”
Alisa turned and stuck her tongue out at him before disappearing. The scientist laughed to himself, he looked at the paper he had to grade, a task he had always hated when lecturing. However from what he’d read so far, this would be very interesting.
Radek refilled his coffee mug and relaxed back.
“Alisa,” Elizabeth smiled at her when she arrived in the Gateroom, “I thought you were in the lab?”
“I finished my paper for Radek,” Alisa explained, “He gave me the rest of the day off. I thought I’d see if Dad and the motley crew have called yet.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth to tell the teenager that they couldn’t find the team but was interrupted as the Gate dialled.
“It's Doctor McKay's I.D.C.,” the technician stated.
“Lower the Shield,” Elizabeth ordered; she started down the stairs aware that Alisa was following on.
“I know what I need to do!!” Rodney cried as he entered the Gateroom
“Rodney,” Elizabeth called to him, “What's happened?” she grabbed him arm as he walked past her, “Where are the rest of them?”
“There's no time, no time,” Rodney rambled, his hands flailing wildly, “The planet, not Ford's, the one the, uh, ship's headed towards, we need to get there and we don't have much time.”
Elizabeth glanced over at Alisa who was staring in horror at the way her father was pacing frenetically, his hands waving and his breathing fast.
“I was barely able to escape myself, but I managed to take out the guards,” Rodney stopped and grinned at them, “Oh, you should have seen me! I was amazing! I wish we'd got it on camera because…” he stopped again, shaking his head, “That's not the point.”
“Rodney, slow down,” Elizabeth tried to get him to talk coherently, “Are you alright?”
“Yes, yes. I mean, um…” he shrugged and giggled, “I dunno,” he started pacing once more, “I mean, I did take out the guards and they were huge and dumb and stupid and…”
“What guards?” Elizabeth asked.
“Ford's guards!” Rodney clarified, looking a little stumped, “Haven't I mentioned Ford?”
“No, you didn't, and you haven't even mentioned Sheppard, Teyla and Ronan either,” Elizabeth was beginning to lose her patience.
“Yes!” he cried triumphantly, “They were there too, and there were the two guards. They were huge and massive and I had to take 'em out, so I had to inject some of the enzyme.”
“What?” Alisa snapped, shock reverberating through her voice.
“You took some of the enzyme?” Elizabeth demanded; her voice as shocked as Alisa’s.
“No-no-no-no-no-no-no,” he continued, “I didn't take some of the enzyme. I took a lot of the enzyme, because I had to, because I had to take out the guards, which I did, and you should have seen me,” he turned to Elizabeth and Alisa, “I was amazing!”
“Are you insane?” Elizabeth cried.
“Is that a trick question,” Alisa muttered.
“Yes, yes, now that I've taken the enzyme, yes,” Rodney was breathing hard now.
“Rodney, focus,” Elizabeth snapped, “Where is Colonel Sheppard?”
“No, no, no, I had to take the enzyme because, because I had to take out the guards!” he frowned again, “But that's not the point -- the point is we don't have enough time,” his pacing started again, “We need to stop the ship from getting to where the ship is going.”
Elizabeth put one arm through his and the other around his shoulder to turn him around as Alisa moved to his other side.
“Come on, come on. Let’s take a walk to the Infirmary, alright?” Elizabeth started them out to the Gateroom.
“Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, what are you doing?” he pulled away from them, “No-no-no-no, I don't wanna go to the Infirmary. I wanna go to the, to the, uh…the um…”
His knees buckled and Alisa let out a cry as her father dropped to the floor unconscious.
“Dad,” she dropped to his side as Elizabeth called the infirmary and several guards rushed to help.
Alisa snuck into the infirmary when she saw Carson move away to talk to Elizabeth and Caldwell. Her stomach lurched as she watched her father twist in pain on the bed, an oxygen mask on his face and restraints around his wrists.
“Why did you do this?” she whispered.
She sat heavily on the closest chair and stared at him. She’d never seen her father in so much pain.
“You shouldn’t be in here, Lissa,” Laura spoke softly from her side.
Alisa looked up at her friend, “I needed to see him.”
Laura rested a hand on the teenagers’ shoulder, “Carson’s doing everything he can. Besides your Dad is a fighter and won’t leave us here without him to tell us all what to do.”
Alisa bit her lip, forcing back tears, “What if he can’t beat this?”
Laura hugged the girl tightly, wishing she knew what to say. She rested her cheek against Alisa’s head as she felt the girl shaking in her arms.
“Lis?” Rodney moaned softly from beside them.
Alisa pulled away and moved over to her father, “Dad?”
“See, he’s calling for you,” Laura soothed, her hand never leaving Alisa’s shoulder.
Alisa shook her head, “He’s calling for my Mom.”
“Lis,” he murmured again, his eyes opened and focussed blearily on his daughter, “She’d be here if you weren’t,” Rodney muttered darkly before he closed his eyes, slipping back into unconsciousness.
Alisa gasped and spun, running out of the infirmary.
“God, Rodney,” Laura sighed, resting her hand on his forehead, “You’re really going hate yourself when you wake up.”
With that said, Laura headed out to inform Carson before she went to find Alisa.
*********************************************
Rodney left John and the rest of his team in the infirmary where Carson had told them they were all staying the night at least.
“Rodney,” Carson caught up with him, “I want you back in the infirmary as well.”
“I need to see my daughter, Carson,” Rodney said softly, “I think…I think I said something horrible to her.”
Carson dropped his head, “Aye, you did.”
Panic covered Rodney’s already pale face, “What? What did I say?”
Carson grimaced, he’d hardly believed it when Laura had told him, “You told Alisa that…that your wife would be here if she wasn’t.”
Rodney closed his eyes and groaned, “No. I have to find her.”
Carson nodded, “But I want you back here. Just so I can keep an eye on you at least for tonight.”
“Fine,” Rodney rolled his eyes before he left.
Rodney was becoming worried, he couldn’t find Alisa. He tried everywhere she usually hid when she was upset or in a bad mood…everywhere except one place.
“You took your time,” Laura folded her arms across her chest.
Rodney glared at the woman, “Have you seen her?”
Laura nodded, leaning against the doorframe.
“Where is she?” Rodney snapped.
Laura smiled slightly, “She’s been staying with me,” Laura stopped him from walking in and moved them both into the corridor, “Rodney, she’s taking this pretty hard. Both what you said to her but I think most of it from the fact you did something that meant you nearly died.”
Rodney dropped his gaze to the floor, “Cadman, I have to talk to her.”
Laura nodded, she rested her hand gently on his arm as she opened the door, “I’ll see you later,” she told him and disappeared to give them privacy.
Alisa glanced up from the seat she was curled up in as Rodney stepped into the room.
“Hey,” he greeted her softly.
“Hi,” Alisa replied, her own greeting barely audible.
Rodney grabbed the seat across from his daughter and fidgeted, how did you start a conversation like this?
“I know it wasn't really you,” Alisa murmured, “I know that.”
“Lissa…”
“I also know that if she’d had the treatment she’d be here,” Alisa continued.
Rodney sighed, “Oh, Lissa,” he moved and knelt in front of her, “Yes, I miss your Mom and I always will but I would never ever give you up for anything. You are the best thing in my life; you have to know that by now.”
A small smile covered the teenagers’ face before she moved to her father, Rodney wrapping her in his arms tightly. He rocked her gently wishing he could erase the past few days from her memory.
“I guess this birthday sucks,” Rodney noted to her, smiling at her laugh.
“Not what I imagined,” Alisa giggled as she continued to hug him.
Rodney gently kissed the top of her head, “I’ll make it up to you, Lissa. I promise.”
Alisa smiled, not moving from her father’s embrace.
*********************************************
Alisa sat on the balcony, the cold metal sliding through her fingers as she stared out across the ocean. The past few days had been quiet; the team were recovering from the recent disaster and mourning the possible total loss of Ford.
“What’s that?”
Alisa glanced up, surprised to see Ronan standing above her. He looked interested at what she was sliding through her fingers.
“They’re Ford’s dog tags,” Alisa replied softly.
“Ah,” the large man slid down the wall to sit at her side.
Alisa gripped the flat metal rectangles tightly in her fist, “I’m contemplating tossing them in and never thinking about him again.”
“Why?” Ronan asked, never one to waste words.
“Why?” Alisa demanded hotly, “After what he just did to you, to Teyla, to…”
“To your father,” Ronan finished, “You blame Ford for your father taking the overdose.”
“Don’t you?” Alisa stood and started to pace the balcony, “I want…I just…” she stopped pacing, letting out a cry of frustration she hurled the dog tags at the wall, “Damn him!”
Ronan reached out and picked them up, he studied them as they spun catching the light.
“He was my friend,” Alisa sighed, tears trailing along her cheeks, “You know, he was the first of the military other than John who actually talked to me. He saw me sitting around bored, everyone else just wandered past but Aiden he sat down beside me and he started talking to me. He became my big brother and best friend, I trusted him.”
Ronan stood up and handed her the tags back, “You know the enzyme has changed him but it isn’t his fault.”
“My Dad could have died,” Alisa snarled, “Because Aiden drugged all three of you. Aren’t you angry?”
Ronan nodded, “But one day Sheppard will get him back and I know you’ll regret it if you can’t give those back to him.”
“What do you suggest?” Alisa asked, sarcasm dripping from each word.
“Put them somewhere safe,” Ronan replied, he folded her fingers over the tags, “Until you can give him them back or you’ve forgiven him enough to wear them again.”
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