Carson,
I didn't want to do this like this, in fact I didn't want to do this at all but my life is complicated and I can't get you involved in that.
I will always remember the time we spent together and if I could I would stay with you forever.
Take care
Love Emily
Carson's head was spinning, he'd never expected ever to see Emily again but all of a sudden in another galaxy she walked right into his infirmary. From the moment he'd sat beside her at the Conference when he was running late he'd been entranced by her, she was beautiful, smart and although she seemed delicate she was tougher than anyone he'd ever met. She'd been sad though, just something in her eyes that Carson had wanted to be able to take away, to cure whatever troubled her but it was obvious since she'd left that he couldn't. He didn't know why he'd kept her email or her picture but he couldn't bring himself to throw them away.
And now...
He was jerked out of his thoughts as someone knocked on his door; he really wanted to tell them to get lost but he was a doctor. Wearily he stood up to see what the problem was.
"Rodney?" Carson asked finding his friend standing there, shocked when Rodney pushed him back inside especially as John, Dr Starr and Emily followed them.
"Rodney, what the hell is going on?" Carson demanded, his eyes flitting to Emily as she stood solemnly in the corner.
Rodney took a deep breath, "Okay, we have something we need to tell you and it's...it's..."
"Rodney?" Carson asked worriedly, in all the time Carson had known him Rodney had never acted like this.
"I lied to you earlier," Rodney spoke quickly, "And we feel you should be told the truth."
"Truth?" Carson was getting confused.
"Does anyone else want to jump in?" Rodney pleaded to the other three.
Emily sighed and stepped forward, "Carson, the reason I left is because of my brother. Jarod...and Rodney they are both what are called Pretenders."
"Pretenders?" Carson asked a frown creasing his brow.
"Chameleons who can be whoever and whatever they want to be," John chipped in from his spot against the wall.
"Okay," Carson held up his hands to stop everything, "I want to know right now what the hell you are all going on about."
"I'm a genius," Rodney said, stopping Carson from making a remark back, "So is Jarod. We both have abilities that are hard to explain in such a short conversation but they are abilities that people have killed for. When I was a kid a group of people paid my parents to take me, the same people abducted Jarod from his family."
"Paid?" Carson stared at Rodney.
"Everyone seems to focus on that," Rodney murmured, "Carson, these people kept us locked up doing simulations until a few years ago when Jarod got us out. We both travelled around changing our identities to keep ourselves hidden from them. I became an astrophysicist for what was to be a while but then..."
Carson stared at him in horror as realisation filled his eyes, "You're not Dr..."
"No," John interrupted, "He is Dr McKay, he's just never had the formal education."
"How long have you known about this?" Carson demanded.
John shrugged, "About a month after Jarod arrived the first time."
"What?" Carson gasped, "What about Elizabeth? Does she know any of this?"
"No," Rodney's voice was soft, "And she can't be told either."
"Carson," Emily spoke up again before he could say anything, "You once asked me what I was running from. It's this. These people are still after not only Jarod and Rodney but my entire family," she stepped closer to him, "A few weeks ago Jeannie and I were kidnapped by them in a ploy to lure Jarod and Rodney back, we were rescued and this was the only place to come for our safety. If you tell Dr Weir then you put her in danger as well as all of us."
Carson was staring into her eyes astonishment in his own. He couldn't believe this; he couldn't believe any of it.
"Carson," Emily whispered.
"Get out," he snapped, "All of you now."
Rodney opened his mouth but was stopped by John from saying anything.
"This is kinda hard to get your head around, Doc," John told him, "Trust me I know but keeping this lot safe is important. We'll be in Rodney's lab when you're ready to talk." With that said he pushed Jarod and Rodney out.
"Carson," Emily moved a step closer, reaching out to touch his cheek, "I..."
"Please just leave," Carson stepped away from her.
Sadly she turned and left him staring at her back.
*********************************************
"Hey," Jeannie said softly as she found Emily wandering sadly towards her room, "You okay?"
Emily shook her head so Jeannie wrapped an arm around her shoulders leading Emily to her room. Once there Emily sank onto the bed, her tears slipping down her cheeks. Jeannie wrapped her arms around her friend hugging her as she cried for a few minutes.
"Damn them," Emily suddenly snapped, pulling away from Jeannie and starting to pace, "Why? What the hell gave them the right to screw with our lives like this?"
Jeannie dropped her head with a sigh.
"I hate this," Emily threw her hands up, "And the worst thing is...the worst thing is that we were meant to be safe from them here."
"Yeah," Jeannie agreed.
"I know you hate it here," Emily continued, "I know you would rather you'd never met any of us but we were meant to be safe here and...we just placed him in danger by letting him know all of this, Jeannie but what else could we do?"
Jeannie caught her friend's arm, "You need to get some rest. I'll see you in the morning okay?"
Emily sighed before nodding, "Thanks, Jeannie."
Jeannie took a deep breath as she thought of what Emily had just said to her about hating being here. That wasn't actually true. Despite how she'd ended up on Atlantis she did actually like it, this place was fascinating and once she had her head wrapped around it she knew she'd enjoy being here.
Without realising it she was outside the infirmary, looking in she found Dr Beckett staring at a laptop.
"Can I talk to you?" she asked pulling over a seat quickly.
"Do I get to say no?" his voice was bland filled with exhaustion.
Jeannie shrugged, "Actually no," she glanced around, making sure no one could overhear before turning back to him, "I know how crazy everything you were told about Rodney and Jarod sounds. Trust me I felt the exact same way."
"Really?"
"One minute my life was fine," Jeannie told him, "Next thing I discover the brother I assumed dead since he was five was sold by our parents because he has abilities I can't comprehend. I start searching and get a message to meet someone in a car park. I get chased then kidnapped at gunpoint before being rescued by my brother. Then I end up in another galaxy because it's the only way they can think of to keep us safe."
He continued to simply stare at her in silence.
Jeannie took this as a cue to continue, "You want to expose us fine do it but if you have ever trusted my brother, trust him now. Dr Beckett..."
"Carson," he told her.
"Carson," Jeannie resisted the urge to smile, "He's never hurt anyone and from what I understand he's saved your lives more than once."
Carson nodded, "I suppose you're right."
"Goodnight," Jeannie stood up, "Carson."
Carson walked towards Rodney's lab early the next morning. He could hear the voices and stood for a moment working out who was in the room.
Rodney was easy to distinguish as was John and Zelenka. He wondered how long Zelenka had known about this as well but he forced that from his mind for the moment. Emily, he didn't even hear her voice but he knew she was there from a soft sad laugh.
Taking a deep breath he walked in, finding Jeannie and Jarod standing there also.
"So?" John asked instantly.
Carson looked at them finding six pairs of eyes staring intently at him, he glanced at each of them individually for a moment his gaze holding Emily's a fraction longer before he turned back to John.
"I won't give you away," he told him coldly, "But I don't want anything to do with any of this."
"Carson," Emily started with a smile.
"I don't want to know," he snapped sharply, making her flinch before turning to Rodney, "But if something happens because of you, I won't hesitate to take this to Elizabeth."
Without waiting for a reply Carson turned and left. He couldn't get involved with her again, not again.
********************************************
The few weeks that followed were quiet.
Carson avoided every one of them over that time, if any of them needed to be in the infirmary he made sure another of the Doctor's took care of it. He actively avoided Emily making sure that whenever they were in the same room he found a way to leave as fast as possible.
Jeannie and Emily were settled into their jobs and working with Weir on improvements, Jarod was working with Major Lorne's team while Rodney continued as normal.
Not one realising the danger heading for them.
Parker was amazed by the Daedalus. If only Lyle hadn't been here she would have spent time relaxing and enjoying being here but she couldn't. She was beginning to panic about what was going to happen once they got to Atlantis. She had to make sure Rodney remained safe.
Irritation filled her at the thought that she somehow hadn't managed to shoot the bastard at some point before now but the opportunity had never come up.
"Come on, Rodney," Parker murmured, "Sense us coming. Sense the danger."
With a sigh she continued to pace worrying and wondering about Jarod as well.
"Unauthorised Offworld Activation," the cry pulled Jeannie out of her thoughts.
"Who is it?" Elizabeth asked as she arrived from her office.
"It's Colonel Sheppard's IDC."
"Drop the Shield," Elizabeth ordered as she ran down the stairs just as the team came through Ronon and John carrying an unconscious and blood covered Rodney.
"Rodney!!!" Jeannie gasped, running down as Elizabeth started yelling for a medical team.
Jeannie made it beside her brother grabbing his hand not noticing the team arrive until Ronon wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her out of the way.
"The Doctor needs to work," he told her, setting her down beside where John was waiting.
"What happened?" Carson demanded all business as he checked Rodney.
"He dived into a river to save a kid that had fallen in," John explained tiredly, "He managed to hand us the kid but was swept away by the current and...he was battered by a lot by the rocks. When we got to him he wasn't breathing I performed CPR."
"Good," Carson nodded brusquely before turning to the medical team, "Move now."
Emily ran into the small room John, Jeannie, Teyla, Ronon and Zelenka were waiting for news on Rodney, Jarod was still offworld.
"Anything?" she asked, taking a seat beside Jeannie who was looking pale and fragile.
"Not yet," Zelenka replied from where he paced.
"He's going to be okay," Emily told Jeannie softly, "Carson's the best."
"He looked so pale," Jeannie whispered as she rubbed her hands together worriedly, "So still."
John sat beside her resting his hand on Jeannie's shoulder, "Rodney's tough. Trust me okay."
Jeannie looked up at him and for the first time John saw how similar her eyes were to Rodney.
"Okay," she nodded.
Noise at the door made them turn to find Carson appear looking tired but he gave them a nod.
"Rodney's going to be fine," he told them professionally, "It's mostly cuts and bruises and he's going to have a bad headache when he wakes up. You did well with the CPR Colonel Sheppard. However he will not be waking up for several hours so you should all leave for tonight."
"Can I sit with him for a while?" Jeannie asked softly.
Carson nodded, "Aye, just go and get some sleep yourself after."
Jeannie pulled the chair up beside her brother's bed relieved that there were no tubes or wires sticking out from him. He was sleeping peacefully, the only sign of what had happened was the dark bruising across his right cheek as well as the bandage around his head.
Unsurely she slipped her hand into his, smiling as he gripped it in his sleep.
"He's going to be fine you know," John said, pulling up a seat beside her and getting comfortable.
Jeannie looked over at him with a confused frown, "So why are you here?"
"Habit," John grinned, putting his feet up on the bed.
Jeannie sat staring at her brother aware of his best friend at her side for several minutes.
"I don't hate him," Jeannie broke the silence.
"I never thought you did."
"He does," Jeannie sighed, "And I don't, I was just a little mad."
"Rodney did nothing for you to be mad at him for," John reminded her.
Jeannie sat in silence for several minutes before she set Rodney's hand down and turned to John, "I was four when I was told my brother had died. I was devastated, Rodney used to read to me when we were kids. I mean he's less than a year older than I am and he read me stories when I was three. I was abducted at gunpoint, Colonel and then I was suddenly in another galaxy hiding out. I had a job, friends and a fiancé."
"You're engaged?" John asked surprised.
"Not anymore I bet," she rolled her eyes.
John laughed softly, "Sorry."
"It's not your fault," Jeannie shrugged, "And I know it's not his but it's not like I can be mad at the ones who made this happen."
"Do you want to know why I know Rodney's secret?" John asked her.
Jeannie shrugged, "Why?"
"We were in an accident off world," John told her leaning back in his seat a little more, "My leg was broken and I had internal bleeding, I needed a doctor. Rodney could have let Jarod do it but he took charge, he saved me. Rodney chose my life over his secret and that's one of the reasons I look out for him."
Jeannie smiled at him, "Thank you."
Carson left Jeannie sitting at her brother's bedside and headed back to his office. He sat down heavily rubbing his hand across his eyes tiredly; it had been a hell of a long day.
"You look tired."
Carson's head jerked up from his laptop at the soft voice to find Emily standing in the doorway concern on her face.
"It's been a long day," he replied, dropping his eyes and busying himself shifting papers about stopping when she rested her hand on top of them.
"There are other doctors here," Emily reminded him her voice was soft but there was a hint of reproach, "You need to sleep."
Carson sighed, "Em," he was cut off as she placed a finger across his lips silencing him.
"You have two choices," she told him sternly, "One, you go to your room and get some rest. Or two, I sit here and annoy you until you choose option one."
"Em," Carson sighed again.
"Option one or option two?" Emily asked, her voice stern and her arms crossed although her eyes softened at the fact he'd used the epithet.
A smile touched his lips, "In other words I have absolutely no choice but to do as you say?"
Emily nodded, "Precisely."
Carson closed the laptop and stood, "I'll go to my room."
"And I'm walking you there," Emily told him, "Because otherwise you'll walk round the block until I'm gone and come back to work."
"Why'd you think..." Carson trailed off his question, laughing softly, "Because I told you that one."
"Come on," Emily motioned, "You look like hell."
Without another word he started walking very aware that Emily was walking at his side, he was deliberately keeping distance between them. When they reached his room Carson turned to her.
"I'm here," he said softly, "I'll get some sleep."
"Carson, please..." Emily stopped, closing her eyes, "I didn't want to leave you."
"Em, I don't want to have this conversation," Carson sighed, "What happened between us was a long time ago."
"But," she stepped closer to him, "You're still calling me Em."
Hesitantly Carson touched her cheek, "You are only here for a few months, Emily. I don't want to lose you again."
Emily leaned into his hand, "How can you promise me something isn't going to happen to you? You go off world and look what just happened to Rodney, can you promise me nothing will ever happen to you?"
Carson couldn't resist anymore and pulled her into his arms, kissing her with the longing he'd been feeling from the moment he'd seen her again.
"Carson," Emily whispered as she rested her forehead against his, she reached out and opened the door to his room leading him inside.
*********************************************
They would arrive at Atlantis tomorrow.
He sat in his room studying the layout of the city; he would need to know where he was going when he went after Rodney.
Lyle opened the file that had been hidden in his bags scanning the file on the Pretender. From what he could tell the hardest part of this would be having to wait until the right time to persuade Rodney to return to Earth but Lyle knew the threat against his sister would be enough.
One thing both Pretenders had in common was their insipid affection for other people. Lyle pulled out the picture and set it against the wall, the only obstacle in his way would be Parker. If Rodney refused to come back with them then Lyle had an extra order not given to his sister.
A slow sadistic smile spread across his face as Lyle used his hand as if it were a gun, aiming at the picture he pretended to fire.
"Bang," he murmured.
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