“Are you insane?” Alisa snapped at her father.
Rodney stood, staring at her sadly. This was something he was absolutely terrified of doing but it was necessary.
“It’s a Wraith ship,” Alisa continued, “A WRAITH Ship!!!!!!!”
“Lissa,” he soothed, amazed that he managed to sound a hell of a lot more confident than he felt, “Ronan will be with me and I have this,” he pulled out the small controller to alert the Daedalus, “Hermiod can pull us out the moment I touch this button.”
Alisa stared at him, “Are you sure?”
“You saw the schematics,” Rodney wrapped his arms around his daughter and kissed the top of her head, “Ronan will be with me the entire time, okay?”
Alisa sighed, nodding her head slightly, “Okay.”
Rodney let her go and squeezed her shoulder, “Now, go and help Radek. I feel better knowing you’re working on the stuff the Wraith gave us.”
“Sure,” she whispered, she started to head to the control room but turned back and quickly kissed her father’s cheek, “Be careful.”
Rodney watched her leave and he took a deep breath before going to join Ronan.
“Radek,” Alisa yelled, watching in horror as all the information the Wraith had given them disappeared from before her.
“What?” Radek stared at the screen, spinning to check out the other computers, “Oh no,” he grabbed the computer tablet one of the techs passed over to him.
Alisa moved over to him, “What is it?”
He ignored her question, “I want you to recreate as much of the information you went through as possible.”
“What about Dad and Ronan?” Alisa whispered, fear filling her voice.
Radek dropped his eyes; he squeezed her shoulder, “Do as I say just now, Alisa. I need you to focus on this for the moment.”
Shaking, Alisa stumbled back to her seat, she dropped down and started working, “Please be okay,” she prayed softly.
“Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, “Rodney cried as he was pushed into a food cubicle beside an unconscious Ronan, “Hold on...we're supposed to be allies!”
The Wraith he had been working with stepped forward, “I'm afraid the alliance has been dissolved.”
Rodney felt panic fill him and started to talk, “Do you have any idea how much work I have put into all of this?” The Wraith simply stared at him, “I haven't slept in thirty six hours.”
“Perhaps it is better if you rest,” the Wraith smirked, taking a stunner pistol from one of the guards. Rodney’s eyes widened in horror just before the Wraith shot him and he slumped against the wall, unconscious.
*********************************************
“Daddy!!!”
Rodney groaned as he heard the small voice calling to him.
“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy,” the voice came again, accompanied every time with a bounce.
Rodney forced open his eyes to see his little girl jumping up and down on his bed, shouting at him. She was wearing the pair of pyjamas her grandparents had bought her on her last birthday, pancake yellow with a sleeping rabbit on it, the phrase ‘Sleepy Bunny’ written across the top.
“Lissa,” Rodney growled, “Why are you up?”
“It’s Christmas Eve,” the four year old reminded him excitedly, “Granny and Granddad are coming today.”
Rodney glanced at the clock and groaned again, “Lissa, it’s not even 7 am. They’re not coming till lunchtime. So go back to sleep.”
Alisa sighed and dropped down beside him, wriggling until she was under the covers.
“Daddy?”
Rodney yawned, “Yeah, sweetie?”
“Tell me a story,” Alisa asked, snuggling deeper into her pillow, “About Mommy.”
Rodney pulled her closer and hugged her, “Let’s see. Let me tell you about the first Christmas I spent with your Mommy.”
Rodney was barely a few sentences into his story when he looked at his daughter. Alisa was fast asleep, her mouth hanging open with one arm flung up while the other was curved across her stomach.
Rodney smiled, pulling the covers over her before he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
Rodney looked over at his daughter, smiling to see her sitting playing with her Lego, intent on making something he wasn’t sure of yet. He was relieved that she’d slept for a few more hours this morning and that she’d calmed down concerning the excitement of Christmas, as well as her grandparents impending visit. He was looking forward to Andrea and Arthur’s visit, it had only been a few months since they’d moved to Chicago and Rodney missed them as much as Alisa did.
Then again, he was possibly going to be moving soon too.
He heard the key entering the lock of their small apartment and smiled as Alisa bounced up, heading towards the door.
“Granny,” Alisa screamed happily, launching herself at the woman who stepped through the open door.
Rodney smiled; he waved hello to his wife’s parents. Alisa had finished greeting her grandmother and moved to hug her grandfather. Andrea stepped over to Rodney and hugged him as well.
“Give me your bags,” Rodney smiled, watching Alisa telling her grandfather what Santa was going to bring her.
Rodney dropped the bags in his room, Andrea and Arthur would use that while they were visiting and he would take the couch. It was a good thing they didn’t come visit too often.
Rodney lifted his daughter off the couch, smiling at her murmured protest that she wasn’t tired. When he placed her on the bed, Alisa forced her eyes open.
“I’m n’t tired, Daddy,” she murmured, “Want t’ stay ‘p.”
Rodney smiled, gently stroking her hair, “But it’s time to go to sleep. If you don’t then Santa won’t come.”
“B’t...” she tried to argue back but sleep pulled her down and soon she was sleeping peacefully.
Rodney gently kissed his daughter’s forehead, tucking her under the covers. He stood watching her sleep for several minutes; he glanced round when Andrea appeared at his side.
“She is so happy that you’re here,” Rodney murmured to his mother-in-law, “It’s all she’s talked about for days.”
Andrea squeezed his arm and moved him back into the lounge where Arthur had made them all coffee.
“You said there was something you had to talk to us about,” Andrea mentioned, sitting beside her husband.
Rodney took his own coffee and sat back, “I’ve been offered a new job.”
“That’s wonderful,” Andrea smiled proudly at him.
Rodney nodded, “It is but I’m not sure if I should take it.”
Arthur frowned, “Why?”
Rodney took a drink of coffee to give him time to phrase his answer; “I’ll be in charge and I’ll have to work longer hours, I don’t know what I’ll do about Alisa.”
Andrea reached out and squeezed his hand, “Rodney, you can’t hold back your life for her. You’ll end up resenting her and that won’t be good for either of you.”
“Lissa will be in school soon,” Arthur reminded him, “You should be able to work out after school arrangements with either the school or your work. Rodney, you are brilliant and you have to use that brain of yours. We’ll back you every step of the way, you know this.”
Rodney hid his smile behind his mug, relieved and grateful that he had them.
“You okay?” Ronan asked, managing to turn his head slightly to where Rodney was trapped beside him.
“No,” Rodney snapped, his breathing erratic, “No, I think this is the most not OK I have ever been.”
The Wraith scientist who they had been working with strolled over to them. It stopped at Ronan, “I see you have awakened,” smug amusement dripped from his voice as Ronan tried to attack him.
“Really?” Rodney yelled, “I was sort of hoping this was just a nightmare.”
Ronan snarled at the Wraith, “Why aren't we dead?”
“The Queen wants you to live long enough to witness the fruits of your labour,” the Wraith moved to stand in front of Rodney, “If it wasn't for you, Doctor McKay, we would never have been able to get there.”
“What are you talking about?” Rodney demanded, worry filling him; “Get where?”
The Wraith leaned forward and looked into Rodney's eyes, “Earth.”
*********************************************
Alisa sat staring at a blank screen, she hadn’t moved since she’d been told that her father, Ronan and John were all missing.
“Lissa,” Laura called, gently touching her shoulder, “Lissa, you need to eat something and get some rest.”
“I’m fine,” Alisa replied, shaking Laura away from her.
Laura turned to Carson and shook her head, motioning him to try. Carson walked to the teenager and simply took her arm, moving her from the computer. Alisa, shocked by Carson moving her out of the room didn’t fight back.
They walked slowly through the corridors until they reached the suite where Rodney and Alisa lived; Carson sat the young woman down on the couch and pulled her into his arms. Alisa, wrapped in the warmth and comfort of someone she loved, started to cry. The Wraith had her father; everything they’d learned over the past few years meant that he was dead.
“You...you...” Alisa sniffed, pulling back from him, “You should be helping the Daedalus casualties.”
Carson wiped the tears trailing along her cheeks, “And I will be going back there in a few minutes. I wanted to make sure you were all right. Laura was worried about you.”
Alisa sniffed again, “I’ll be okay.”
“Laura will stay with you,” Carson told her.
Alisa shook her head, “No.”
“Alisa...”
“I don’t need her to stay with me,” Alisa told him sharply, “I just want to be alone for a bit.”
Carson sighed and squeezed her shoulder, “Come and see me when you need me, okay?”
Alisa nodded, watching as he left her alone. She waited for ten minutes before grabbing her jacket and laptop, she was not going to sit here and do nothing.
“You should not be here.”
Alisa frowned at the small grey alien, “I need to be.”
“I understand you are upset,” Hermiod told her, “You must to leave the ship and return to Atlantis. We are leaving soon.”
“Hermiod,” Alisa whispered, her eyes filled with unshed tears, “I need to help. Next to Dad, I know the systems best. I can be useful, I can...”
“You must return to the city,” Hermiod cut her off sternly, “Your father would not be pleased if we took you with us.”
“Well my father is more than likely dead,” Alisa snapped, marching out of the room. She found the first empty room and slammed the door shut; sliding down the wall, she curled up into a ball and let her tears flow freely. Grief and pain overwhelmed her and Alisa just sat sobbing.
She heard people running about outside and wiped her eyes, standing up she left the room.
“Alisa?”
She turned as she heard Colonel Caldwell call her name, noting for some reason that he never used her first name.
“Yes, sir?” she answered, making him frown in confusion.
“We’re about to leave,” Caldwell told her, worried at both her politeness and glazed looked, “You need to go back to Atlantis.”
Alisa nodded, shaking slightly, “Of course,” she turned and started walking away. She started slightly as Caldwell caught her shoulder.
“Alisa, I’ll do my best to bring them back,” he said softly, “You do know that.”
“Colonel,” Alisa whispered; she was about to remind him that he shouldn’t be making promises like that, especially to her but she simply smiled and nodded.
*********************************************
“They couldn't have,” Rodney said as Ronan was struggling next to him to free himself, “Even if they somehow deduced the location of Earth, they still wouldn't be able to get there -- not unless they...” he paused, his mind going over possibilities, “They downloaded something along with the hive ship plans. Something like spyware. Something like when I stupidly downloaded porn...” he glanced in the direction of Ronan’s cocoon, “music! When I downloaded music,” he backtracked quickly but Ronan took no notice, continuing to struggle, “It has to be... I did this. I'm responsible for the destruction of my own planet.”
Ronan shrugged, or gave as close to one as he could, “If anyone was going to do it, it'd be you.”
“Thank you!” Rodney snapped irritated, “Thank you so much for that!”
Ronan allowed himself a small grin, “Stop worrying about it now. Just focus.”
“Focus on what?” Rodney yelled at him, “What is there to focus on?! I'm stuck in a cocoon!”
“On getting out of here,” Ronan told him, “On getting back to your daughter.”
Rodney rolled his eyes, trying to look at the man in the cocoon on his right, “Oh, right, of course! Why didn't I think of that? Of course. Here goes,” he paused for a second, “Um ... no, still can't move.”
Ronan continue to try and force himself through the webbing, ignoring Rodney’s sarcasm.
“I'm pretty sure they're struggle-proof there, big guy,” Rodney noted, he sighed softly, “At least she’s not on Earth.”
Ronan stopped what he was doing, he could tell Rodney wasn’t finished and just waited for the other man to start speaking again.
“She has the others,” Rodney murmured, “She’s strong enough to survive when I don’t come back.”
“Once I’m out,” Ronan replied, “Then she won’t need anyone else.”
“Now you see,” Rodney changed the subject, “They're actually quite comfortable. Surprisingly warm; take all the pressure off the spine. I suppose it's as good a place as any to witness the end of humanity as we know it.
“You're wasting your energy talking,” Ronan told him.
“OK, let's say a magic fairy comes down and grants you one wish and we break out,” Rodney snapped, “Then what, huh? We're still in a hive; we're still travelling through hyperspace, probably in the massive void between our two galaxies where there aren't even planets, let alone Stargates. What then, huh? We fly home on the wings of imagination, is that what we do, Ronan?”
Ronan gritted his teeth in annoyance, “You can sit here and die if you like, but I'm not giving up.”
“Oh, fine!” Rodney snapped back, “I will.”
“Fine!”
Rodney fell back into a brooding silence, thinking about his daughter again.
“You promised,” Alisa cried.
“Lissa,” Rodney groaned, leaning against the wall in the room he was using, wishing he’d had the foresight to pull the phone away from his ear, “This came up suddenly and it’s very important.”
“It’s always very important,” she retorted, “Dad, you haven’t had a proper vacation in years and you said that you were looking forward to this. What is so important that you’re not coming?”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t coming,” Rodney told his daughter, “I’m just...I might be late.”
“Late?” Alisa demanded, sounding extremely annoyed, “Dad, you’re only coming for the last three days and you’re going to be late?”
Rodney closed his eyes, wondering if he could just knock himself unconscious against the wall – it’d be easier than having this conversation.
“Lissa, I hopefully won’t be here too long,” he told her, “I will try and join up with you as planned. I just wanted you to know I might not.”
“Okay,” she sighed, “I’ll tell Diane.”
Rodney shook his head at the tone of her voice, “I’ll call you tonight, Lissa. Okay?” he sighed as he got no reply, “Okay?”
“Okay.”
“How’s the kid?”
Rodney jumped, spinning to see Jack O’Neill standing in the doorway; “Colonel?”
“I’m guessing you were talking to her,” Jack noted, “Considering you’ve got the look in your eyes.”
Rodney felt a smile touch his lips, “I’m meant to be meeting her in Orlando; she’s on vacation with her friend’s family and is a little annoyed I might be late...assuming we live.”
Jack nodded, “Then Carter and her team are waiting for you.”
Rodney pocketed his cell phone, he started out but stopped after several steps, “She still thinks I was sent to Russia?”
Jack shrugged and slipped out of the room, “Are you going to tell her differently?”
Rodney frowned at him, confusion filling him, “You didn’t tell her about Alisa?”
“Your business,” Jack told him, “She’s your kid. They’re waiting for you, Doctor.”
Without looking back, Jack headed towards the Control room.
“Wonder what they'll do to us?” Rodney mused to himself, “Feed on us, probably. I mean, that's ... that's what they do.”
“It's not gonna come to that,” Ronan told him.
“Maybe, Earth'll probably mount some kind of defence...” he was cheery for a second before losing his enthusiasm again, “In which case I imagine death would be instantaneous. Unless we're trapped on a deck in a fire or something, then we'd be burned alive. Well, burned alive or suffocate. I wonder what'd be worse: being life-sucked by the Wraith or, or, burned alive. I honestly couldn't consider two worse options.”
“Stop talking,” Ronan told him, getting sick of listening to Rodney’s predictions of doom.
“Okay, you know what?” Rodney snapped back, “Make me!”
Rodney jumped shocked as Ronan forced his hand through the webbing with a grunt.
“What are you doing?” Rodney demanded as Ronan started slashing his way through the spongy web with a knife, Rodney stared in shock, “Where did you get that?”
“I was trying to get my hand free so I could get to it,” Ronan told him as he tried to force his way through the web.
Rodney let out an annoyed grunt, “Would it have killed you to tell me?”
Roaring with the effort, Ronan finally pulled himself free. He walked to Rodney's cocoon, large pieces of webbing still stuck to his body, “Maybe I would have if you'd shut up for more than a minute.”
“What?” Rodney snapped, “Don't just stand there; cut me loose.”
Ronan stood in front of Rodney, using the dagger to emphasise his point, “Only if you put an end to all this ‘We're gonna die, there's no hope’ talk.”
Rodney stared at him with an annoyed perplexed expression, “Well, now there is hope!”
“Dad!!”
Rodney smiled as his daughter ran to him, catching her in a tight hug, “I told you I’d get here.”
The thirteen year old rolled her eyes, “Yeah.”
Rodney looked over at the couple standing just behind his daughter, “Hi.”
“Well,” Diane said, theatrically checking her watch, “You are only a day late. Are we even getting an explanation?”
Rodney frowned at her, “I was saving the world.”
Alisa laughed, “I don’t doubt it. Come on and tell us as we walk. I’ve been waiting all vacation to go on Space Mountain.”
Rodney followed on behind his daughter and her best friend, walking with Diane and Scott towards the ride Alisa wanted to go on. When they started talking about coming to Disney World, it was the one ride he’d jokingly made her promise not to go on until he joined them. He honestly hadn’t expected Alisa to keep her promise but his little girl had a habit of surprising him. He walked forward to his daughter’s side and smiled down at her as she grabbed his arm.
“Are you going to tell me why you were really late?” Alisa asked with amusement in her blue eyes.
Rodney squeezed her shoulder, “Work. You know that happens on occasion.”
“Yeah,” slight bitterness crept into her voice.
Rodney stopped her walking and waited until Diane, Scott and Kirsty were far enough away.
“Lissa,” he said, looking down at her, “You know what I do is important and that I can’t tell you anything about it. Just trust me when I tell you I would have been here before now if I could have been. Lissa, you know that no matter what happens, I will always come home, right?”
Alisa nodded, “I know.”
Alisa walked along the corridors of the Daedalus, heading back to the engine room. Her back was rigid, her eyes filled with unshed tears as she tried to keep herself together.
“What the hell are you still doing here?”
Alisa winced and turned to the man standing there angrily, “Colonel, I’m here to help.”
Rage smouldered in Caldwell’s eyes, “Miss McKay, I told you to leave this ship.”
Alisa swallowed hard, she had been dreading this but she wasn’t going to be intimidated, “I can help.”
Caldwell glared at her, “Get out of my sight. Go and join Hermiod and I will deal with you once we return to Atlantis.”
Alisa tried to maintain eye-contact with him but quickly dropped her eyes, “Yes, sir.”
Shaking slightly, Alisa headed towards the engine room knowing if they survived this then she was going to be killed by Caldwell and Weir but she didn’t care. She wanted revenge on the things that took her father from her.
*********************************************
Rodney wanted to drop onto a bunk and fall asleep when they got onto the Daedalus; unfortunately the state of the ship put that idea to rest.
“Dr McKay,” Caldwell called after him before he left to start trying to repair the ship, “There’s something you need to know.”
Rodney frowned, “What’s that?”
“Alisa Jennifer McKay!!!”
The incensed yell made Alisa grimace and she looked over to where Hermiod was standing; somehow the alien had a smug look on his face before the fact of who was yelling hit her.
“Dad?” she gasped, running and throwing her arms around him.
Rodney caught her, holding her as she held onto him so tightly that he almost forgot how angry he was at her.
“I thought you were gone,” Alisa breathed, “I thought...I thought...
“You thought you would disobey Caldwell and stow away?” Rodney snapped, pushing her back and seeing the apology on her face but he didn’t cave, “You have put yourself in danger, did you think I want that?”
“Dad...”
“The one thing I made sure you knew since we came to Atlantis was that you were never to put yourself in danger,” Rodney continued berating her, “No matter what was happening.”
“Dad...”
“How could you be so reckless...”
“Dad!!!!!” Alisa yelled, cutting him off, “Are you all okay?”
Rodney stared at her, seeing the worry in her eyes, “We’re all fine.”
Alisa took in a deep breath, laughing with harsh sigh, “I can’t believe you escaped from a Wraith ship, I can’t...”
Rodney stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, no matter how angry he was at her; just now the relief was more powerful. He rubbed her back in soothing circles for several minutes before he moved back and gently kissed her forehead.
“Stay here and help Hermiod,” he ordered, “We’ll discuss other things when we get back to Atlantis.”
Alisa nodded, moving back to the console next to the Asgard as her father left the room, Hermiod looked at her.
“Oh shut up,” she snapped at him.
Rodney marched through the corridors of the ship, trying to fix it and get them all back to Atlantis. The breathing apparatus was fixed firmly to him so he could keep going, the crew without breathers were scattered along the corridors. Rodney found Alisa sitting propped against the console she usually worked on, her eyes half-open.
“Here,” he placed the mask over her mouth, “Take deep breaths, Lissa.”
Alisa gulped in the oxygen, “Dad”
“Shh,” he soothed, “Just sit still and...it’ll be alright.”
Alisa nodded, her head resting back against the wall. Rodney stroked her hair for a second before returning to work. They had to get this fixed, so he could get them back to Atlantis and finally yell at his daughter without anything distracting him.
Alisa looked around the ship she was on, her mouth forming almost a perfect ‘o’. Behind her Ronan walked, he’d been her shadow from the moment they’d been beamed over to Wraith vessel.
“Lissa,” Rodney called to her, motioning her over, “Have a look at this.”
Alisa joined him at the console, nervously glancing at Michael who was standing just across from them. She felt Ronan move just slightly closer to her and she glanced up gratefully at him, receiving a disapproving look making her remember that Ronan, John, Radek, Lorne and her father were all really angry with her. In fact at the moment the one person who was talking to her was Caldwell, he’d already yelled at her and seemed to fine with her apology, though she wasn’t too sure why.
“This is incredible,” Alisa noted, looking at the technology and trying not to look at the Wraith.
“Lissa,” Rodney pulled her attention back to him, “Study it because you’re writing a paper on it when we get back. An extremely detailed one.”
Alisa winced at his tone; she knew she was in severe trouble for stowing away and this was just the beginning of whatever punishment he had planned for her, though at the moment she was so relieved they were alive that she would do anything her father or the others wanted. She felt her father’s hand resting on her shoulder and she glanced up at him.
“We’re going home,” he told her with a slight smile.
Alisa von LE McMurray
Kapitel Bemerkung: Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.
Sorry this has taken so long but I have been slightly distracted with the dreaded real life took over for a while.
This took me a long time to finish and I don’t feel that it’s as good as it could be but I knew if I didn’t finish and move on I’d still be writing it this time next year.
Some episode dialogue taken from Gateworld (what a handy place.)
Anyway, enjoy.
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