Finding Closure by Rocza

Finding Closure von Rocza

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A/N: I just wanted to give you guys a quick note. I�ve been busy with work the last few months and haven�t had any time to write. I want to thank you all for sticking out this dry period. Now, I�ve had a few complaints about how badly I�ve been treating the Atlantis crew.

First, this whole story is from the POV of the NCIS team. They are looking and evaluating every action and emotion. That is their job. Cops don�t see people the same way civilians do. Their job is to look for criminals. After awhile all they see is criminals. It flavors all their perceptions.

Second, this story is specifically dealing with their grief. There are 5 stages to grief and loss: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. Most of the Atlantis team has reached the acceptance stage. Talking about Lt Ford is painful, but possible. But LtCol Sheppard is still stuck in denial and anger. He blames himself and refuses to give up that last bit of hope. We are not meant to see them at their best. It wouldn�t be an angst story if they were perky.

Finally, Jon isn�t doing anything with the Atlantis computers that Sheppard and the rest of the Atlantis team couldn�t do. The Atlantis team just hasn�t had the time to play with the computers in between jumping from crisis to crisis while Jon does. Think about that one friend that you know who seems to know all the computer shortcuts while you struggle to figure out how to double space without hitting the return button twice. Jon is that annoying friend to the Atlantis team. It�s not that they can�t do it, they just have better things to do than play with the default font settings.

And now, back to our story�

--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG�SG

Chapter 12-Doctor McKay�s Interview

Gibbs pushed back thoughts of how best to reach LtCol Sheppard as he headed back to the team�s lab. Instead, he pulled up the image of Abby hexing his next interviewee and chuckled quietly. He had no doubt that Abby and Jon were responsible for the prank as he decided how best to address the issue.

Abby had always been more like a daughter to him than a co-worker. Her presence had filled a part of the void left by his wife and daughter. He liked to think that his daughter would have grown up to be as caring and brilliant as Abby. But for all the naive innocence Abby displayed, she could, and frequently would, seek retribution if someone crossed her. From what he had read about Dr McKay, the man frequently rubbed people the wrong way by belittling their intelligence. And that was not something Abby would tolerate.

Jon was still an enigma. The kid presented such a self-effacing front that even knowing what lurked beneath the youthful face, Gibbs found it hard not to believe the mask. Gibbs was constantly reminding himself that under that innocent face lurked a Special Ops tactical genius. He had read the President�s unofficial file on Jon. The one that listed all the training he had received before and after he was created. Bringing Jon as his backup was like bringing a bazooka to a knife fight. But in many ways, for all his training, Jon still displayed an uncharacteristic modesty in his skill and an unfailing loyalty to his people. A loyalty that was inherited from the original O�Neill. A loyalty that didn�t exclude childish pranks against annoying scientists.

In retrospect, Gibbs had unintentionally setup Dr McKay to fail spectacularly. Abby and Jon individually would have been trouble for McKay. But together� yeah, no need to bet on a sure thing. Time to rein them in.

Gibbs stalked back into the team�s lab, his smirk suppressed. Hiding his amusement behind a grim expression, he walked in and glared at Abby and Jon. �Would either of you care to explain why Dr McKay is under the impression that YOU�� he nodded towards Abby, ��have CURSED him?� he ended with his arms crossed over his chest as he looked them over.

Predictably, Jon leaned back with a smile and rested his hands behind his head. �Does he?�

Gibbs continued to glare at the kid while containing his amusement at the audacity and scope of their prank. His only response was to cock his head to one side and maintain his stony silence.

�Um�yeah,� Abby started with shamed look. �About that�I�um�we�we may have left Dr. McKay with that impression.� She blushed and looked away guiltily.

�And�� Gibbs motioned.

�And what?� Abby asked with a frown. �He tried to grab my�well, I didn�t think that a little bit of inconvenience was too much of a punishment. Especially, when he SO deserved it.� She gave Gibbs her angry eyes, but he could see a hint of the smirk she was trying to hide. So much for Abby feeling guilty over the prank.

�What kind of inconvenience?� Gibbs asked as he glared at Jon.

Jon didn�t even bother to hide his amusement. �The kind that automatically reverses any computer command from a specific bio-signature. The kind that the oh-so-humble genius has to ask for help to fix.�

�Right... I am not amused,� Gibbs replied flatly. �Undo it now.�

Jon�s smirk widened without a hint of remorse. �Sure thing, Boss.� He casually placed one hand on the access panel and after a moment of silent concentration, he pulled back. �All done.�

Gibbs gave them both a final glare before letting his face soften. �No more messing with the computer system, unless I order you. Got it?�

�Yes, Sir.� Jon replied quickly with a sloppy salute.

�Sure thing, Gibbs.� Abby said with a perky smile.

Gibbs nodded. Good thing they were on his side. �Now, tell me about Dr. Rodney McKay.�

--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG�SG

Gibbs watched as Dr McKay entered the interview room with a distracted and hesitant air. He almost cracked a smile as McKay cleared the room with his eyes before letting out his breath and moving towards the table and chair.

�I�um� I guess, I�m your next interview,� McKay started in a slightly unsure tone.

�Sit,� Gibbs ordered with a slight glare.

McKay promptly sat and began to examine the table and the room distractedly. �So� ah� what�?�

Gibbs abruptly leaned forward, cutting McKay off. �Tell me about Lt Ford,� he demanded when McKay started to fidget in his seat.

�Ford?...ah� Yes, well, Ford was� before his� before the enzyme, Ford was� well�Ford, I guess. He was able to do what needed to be done, without all the fanfare. He was loyal and stuff� I guess�� McKay rambled. �He was really good in a fight�� he added as an afterthought.

Gibbs mentally changed tactics. He had been expecting an arrogant scientist; someone who was certain that only they held the answers and couldn�t be bothered to explain them to others. He had expected the man that had blustered in the incident reports. But the man before him was neither arrogant nor certain. His plan to bulldog the scientist into talking wasn�t going to work. Perhaps a slightly more gentle line of questioning would yield the same results. McKay wouldn�t need the same tactics he had used with Dr Weir. Gibbs wouldn�t use kid gloves on the scientist, but he didn�t need pushing so much as someone to keep him on task.

Gibbs cleared his throat and gave McKay a pained look. �Perhaps I should have been clearer. Tell me about Lt Ford�s disappearance.�

�Which time?� McKay asked confused.

Gibbs slowly leaned back staring at the scientist without responding.

�I�ll�I�ll just� ah�go with the last time�� McKay said quietly. �Um� Well, we were setup and Ford kidnapped us, drugged us� well, except for Sheppard� and then he sent everyone but me off on a suicide mission. And you wouldn�t believe what I had to do to escape� I mean, the guards were these two HUGE guys with muscles out to here. And they were so not cooperating in letting me go. So using my superior intellect, I cunningly devised a plan to steal the DHD control crystals back from them by using a bit of the wraith enzyme� and it worked like a charm. Those two cretins didn�t even see it coming. I kicked their ass and then gated back to Atlantis� after that it gets a bit fuzzy. But since I nearly died and all, that�s to be expected��

�MCKAY!� Gibbs had to shout to get the scientist�s attention. �Let�s focus on Ford.�

�Oh� okay. At first, Ford was friendly, upbeat, and he scared the hell out me. He�s telling us how we are all still friends, and about how he�s setup this Wraith Resistance group. Then he lets on that they are all taking the enzyme and were better for it� He was trying really hard to convince us that the enzyme was the key to defeating the Wraith. And� and all I could see was an addict hyping his drug of choice...� McKay paused and sighed softly before continuing. �Anyway, they captured a bunch of Wraith drones and were using them as a� a way to produce more of the enzyme. I mean, I don�t like anything that thinks of me as food, but to keep them chained up and just stick needles in them� Creepy.� McKay visibly blanched and shuddered as he recalled the image. He took a deep breath and continued. �That�s when Ford drops his little bombshell about the drugged food. I swear, I get itchy just thinking about that damn enzyme.� McKay absently scratched at his arms. �But for all that he had us trapped on his planet, he didn�t really treat us badly� well, besides the drugging-kidnapping thing. Ford waited long enough for us to be hooked on the drug and then let us in on his master plan; the real reason he kidnapped us.�

McKay took a deep breath and long drink of water before continuing. �He wanted Sheppard to fly a broken down Dart into an active hive ship with the rest of the infiltration crew trapped in the capture beam buffer. They would fly in and blow up the hive ship and fly out again in the buffer. But, he couldn�t do it without Sheppard. He needed a real pilot� and he had decided that he trusted Sheppard enough to be that pilot� He was completely insane. The enzyme had taken away what little brains he had from before. Luckily, even on the enzyme, I had enough brains to spare. I cobbled together an interface for Sheppard to use on the Dart and repaired enough of the systems to make it space worthy. I protested the soundness of the mission, but� but, they went anyway�� McKay went quiet. �I didn�t see them again until after they made it back to Atlantis. For awhile there, I� I didn�t think I would see them again. And of course, Ford was missing� again.� McKay sighed softly as he fell quiet, remembering.

Gibbs was surprised by the scientist�s last comments. �Do you think Lt Ford is still alive?�

�Huh?� McKay responded as he was drawn back from his thoughts. �Oh� um, no. I looked at the footage from the Daedalus. I don�t know how Sheppard survived the resulting explosions. Ford wasn�t a pilot. He could get the puddlejumpers to do what he wanted. But Sheppard did any of the real piloting when� that first year� No, Ford flying an unmodified Dart and leaving LATER than Sheppard� no. I don�t see how he could have survived.�

McKay seemed to hesitate before continuing. �I like to think it�s over. I mean, Ford tried to kill me. He wanted to kill me on P3M-736. He would have succeeded if Ronan and Sheppard hadn�t arrived when they did. He never had much use for me before� unless it was to pull some miracle out of my ass� or to serve as a hostage for my team mates good behavior� I know! He was my team mate. I spent a year trusting him with my life. But� I�ll never forget the look in his eyes as he got ready to pull the trigger. And� and this may make me a horrible person, but I want him to be dead� so that it will be over. I hate that about myself, but there it is all the same� And some small part of me is afraid that he DID survive and he is out there waiting� and next time, I won�t survive.� McKay turned a grim horrified expression to Gibbs. �So while I don�t think he could have survived, a part of me knows that if ANYONE could have survived, it would be Ford� and that thought terrifies me.�

Gibbs nodded carefully. He hadn�t thought that Dr McKay would open up quite that much. The insight gained from the interview was a far cry from the verbal shield that the man used in his reports. That this man would trust him with this kind of admission spoke volumes about the person hiding under the persona he portrayed.

�Thank you, Dr McKay. You�ve given me quite a bit to think about.� Gibbs slowly extended his hand to the scientist.

McKay took his hand with a confused expression. �Of course. Well, I�ll just� be going now.�

�Of course,� Gibbs replied and gestured to the door.

McKay rose slowly, as if in a daze, and started for the doorway.

�Oh, Dr McKay?� Gibbs replied with lopsided grin.

�Yes?� McKay asked, pausing his retreat.

�I�ve had a nice long chat with Abby. You shouldn�t have any more problems with the Atlantis computers.� Gibbs watched the man�s mind change gears.

�Oh?...Oh!...Um, thanks. I� I�ve got a ton of work to do on the Wraith cruiser system interface and�� McKay started back out the doorway and Gibbs eventually lost track of him as his voice drifted off into the distance.

--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG--SG�SG

TBC � Next up: Teyla�s Interview

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Finding Closure von Rocza

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