Mind Over Matter, Ch. 4
Title: Mind Over Matter
Author: LaughtersMelody
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Disclaimer: It’s still not mine, but I’m now debating about keeping Rodney too. No one would mind, right?
Genre: Friendship/Adventure/Angst
Pairing: N/A
Type: Multi-chapter
Spoilers: In this chapter, major spoilers for “Outcast,” “Underground“ “Miller’s Crossing,” and “McKay and Mrs. Miller.”
Characters: Rodney
Secondary Characters: Sheppard
Summary: When Sheppard returns from bereavement leave after his father's death, a discovery leads Atlantis to a new world and potentially valuable allies. But a secret from the planet's past might just wind up costing Rodney and Sheppard their lives.
A/N: This chapter was one I looked forward to writing from the time I was first jumped by the bunny. :D
As always, I thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am in awe of His grace.
I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think!
~*~*~*~*~
Mind Over Matter
Chapter 4
Countdown: Three hours earlier…
"She wants you to what?" Sheppard yelped. "That's insane!"
"You don't have to tell me that!" Rodney retorted, pacing around the cell. "Tell her! Not that it would do much good." He grimaced. "Apparently, she has some way of observing the Perfect's residence. She saw me, and figured I was her best chance of getting out o here - which she's probably right about. But, she figures that if I'm in the same situation, I'll be more…motivated…to find a solution and build her - build us - new bodies."
"Could you do it?"
"Of course I could!"
"Even without any…additional resources?" Sheppard asked, carefully avoiding mention of Atlantis.
Rodney waved a hand impatiently. "Yes, even without that. Besides, I'd have her blueprints - those droids of hers were an early attempt to build a body. But, with the limited materials she has available here, she hasn't been able to make a computer that's compact, but sophisticated enough to hold her entire program. I don't think it's impossible, though."
Sheppard frowned. "How did she manage to build anything without a body, anyway?"
"This outpost has a robotic maintenance system. She reprogrammed it from the inside to do more and more complex tasks over time."
"Great." Sheppard sighed. "I don't suppose she'd listen if you pointed out that you'd have a much easier time working in your own body?"
Rodney rolled his eyes. "I already tried that."
"What did she say?"
"That I've got an hour to reconsider cooperating willingly, or she'll find some other way to 'persuade' me."
"I don't like the sound of that."
"Yeah, me neither." Rodney scrubbed a hand over his face and tried not to think about what it would be like to be trapped inside a computer for the rest of eternity.
"She doesn't have Ronon and Edison, right?" Sheppard offered, seeing his look "They'll come back with reinforcements."
"And if Ronon and Edison are laying unconscious somewhere?" Rodney refused to think about the other possibility. "Then what?"
"Then command will send another team here. We missed our check-in, so they'll come looking for us."
"Right, because an outpost that's been hidden for thousands of years, unbeknownst to the locals, is so easy to find."
"They'll find us."
Sheppard sounded absolutely certain, and Rodney knew he was probably thinking about their subcutaneous transmitters, but Rodney wasn't sure that would actually do them any good. They had no way of knowing if the outpost had any kind of shielding, or if they were far enough away from the EM generator that Atlantis would be able to use their equipment to pick up the signals.
Rodney swallowed hard. He liked his mind just where it was. He was attached to his body, and wanted to keep it that way.
Sheppard seemed to know what he was thinking. "They'll find us," he repeated. "They will, Rodney. And if they don't find us in time, then we'll just have to find a way out of here on our own. That's all there is to it."
Sheppard made it sound so easy. So simple. Like math. A plus B equals C. Rodney knew life wasn't always that way - there were too many variables for it to be reduced to a simple equation. Yet, somehow, Sheppard always managed to find a way out of this sort of thing. And, really, they'd faced impossible odds before and come out unscathed.
This time wouldn't be any different…right?
"Right," Rodney answered aloud, not entirely convinced. "We'll be fine."
Silence descended, and Rodney continued pacing around the cell. Sheppard moved to sit down, his back resting against the wall, his arms resting on his knees.
"So," Sheppard said at last. "You wanna tell me why you thought it was a good idea to tell Perfect Varrin about my family?"
Rodney stopped pacing and gave him a disbelieving look. "You wanna talk about that now?"
Sheppard shrugged. "I looked this cell over from top to bottom while you were gone. I don't see a way out. So, unless you can think of something I missed, we've got nothing better to do."
"But," Rodney sputtered, "I…you…"
The protest trailed off.
To be honest, he forgotten that he was even mad at Sheppard at all - these kinds of situations tended to be a little distracting. And, in light of life and death, his anger seemed kind of…petty? Insignificant?
Rodney's shoulders slumped. "I didn't mean to tell her," he admitted. "It just…happened."
Sheppard frowned. "How did you know that my family's wealthy, anyway?"
"Ronon told me. You know, after the funeral."
Sheppard blinked. "Oh." He looked down, his voice growing more subdued. "Right."
"It's just," Rodney continued, "until Sam told me he'd died, I didn't even know you had a father! Well, I mean, obviously you had to have one, unless you're some kind of clone…which, technically, even those have fathers somewhere along the line…"
"Rodney."
"Sorry. My point is, you told Teyla that you didn't have any family. Why haven't you ever told us that you do?"
"It's complicated."
"So? My family's complicated. I still told you about them. You know about Jeannie. And Madison. And what's-his-name…Kaleb. But, you have a father and a brother, and a beach house in Malibu, and you never told me any of that. I mean, not that you have to tell me everything, but…we're friends, right?"
Sheppard gave him an incredulous look that said he shouldn't have had to ask in the first place. "What brought this on?"
Rodney walked the short distance across the cell and sat down next to Sheppard. "Your past is like this big secret. I guess I'd never even thought about it before. But…I don't really know that much about you."
Sheppard arched an eyebrow at him. "Rodney, you were out from that stun blast for a while. Are you sure you don't have a concussion or something?"
Rodney rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. And thanks for ruining my heartfelt moment of sincerity, by the way." He paused, and gave Sheppard a piercing look. "You just…you never talk about yourself. Not really. Why is that?"
Sheppard seemed caught off-guard by the question. He shifted uncomfortably. "Part of it is habit, I guess."
"Habit?"
"Before Antarctica, I did a lot of things for the military that I couldn't talk about." He smiled a sad, humorless smile. "Used to drive Nancy, my ex-wife, crazy. I couldn't tell her anything, and I guess I just…got used to it."
"You got used to driving people crazy?"
"Yeah," Sheppard answered, deadpan. "That's exactly what I meant."
"I figured."
There was a moment of awkward silence.
"Ronon said you saw her at the wake," Rodney commented hesitantly. "Your ex-wife, I mean."
Sheppard sighed. "Yeah, I did."
Something in Sheppard's tone said that he really didn't want to talk about it, and figuring that he'd pushed enough, Rodney let it drop. "So, if part of it is habit, what's the other part?" he asked instead.
Sheppard shrugged again. "The military is my life. It's been my life for a long time. Everything else before that…I just don't really think about it that much. I never…I never really fit in there, with my dad and my brother. I couldn't wait to leave."
Rodney frowned. "Why?"
"My mom died when I was nine, and my dad…he had all these expectations of what I would do with my life. He wanted me to be a businessman like him, and he had everything all planned out for me."
Rodney blinked, surprised. He couldn't imagine having a father who wanted to plan his life so completely. Robert M. McKay (the "M" stood for "Meredith" - Rodney had always figured that his father had made it his son's first name out of spite) couldn't have cared less what Rodney was doing. The nuclear bomb mock-up Rodney had made in grade six hadn't gotten so much as an unimpressed blink. Until the CIA came, anyway. Then his father had definitely had a lot to say.
"Is that what's been bothering you lately?" Rodney wondered. "What your dad did?"
"Nothing's bothering me," Sheppard refuted.
"Yeah, right. Ronon's been more talkative than you have lately. Something's definitely bothering you."
"I'm fine, Rodney."
"You said that before you left for your dad's funeral, too," he reminded. "You'll feel better if you get it off your chest, you know."
"Before we both die a probably horrible death?"
Rodney recognized that for the attempted distraction it was and nodded. "Exactly."
Sheppard sighed, and let his head fall back against the wall behind him. "It's just…something my brother said."
"What did he say?"
"My dad never wanted me to join the Air Force. I did it anyway. The night I told my dad that I'd re-upped for another eight years, we got into an argument. Nothing new. But, he uh, kind of implied that I couldn't be part of the family and still be a part of the Air Force. That was…that was the last time I saw him."
Rodney winced. No wonder Sheppard had never mentioned his family before.
"When I talked to Dave," Sheppard continued, "he said that Dad…Dad regretted what happened. I can't help wondering how he would have reacted if I'd called, or…or something. What if we could have fixed things?" Sheppard looked up at the ceiling, one boot scuffing the cell floor. "What if he died thinking I hated him?"
Rodney opened his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. There were no easy answers - none that Rodney could give. Those "what if" questions were the worst, because it was usually too late to change anything by the time you thought to ask them.
He'd asked that about Jeannie - what if he'd been more understanding? What if he'd been a better big brother? More supportive and less judgmental and demanding? At least he'd gotten a second chance with his sister, though. Sheppard wasn't going to have a second chance with his father. Not now.
"I, uh, didn't know your dad," Rodney offered at last, "but…I think, if your dad had known the truth about the kind of soldier you are, and what you do, he would have been really proud of you. He would have been nuts not to be."
Sheppard didn't answer right away, just turned to stare at him until Rodney had the urge to fidget, wondering if he'd stuck his foot in his mouth all over again. But, just when he was about apologize, Sheppard's lips finally quirked in a faint smile.
"Thanks, Rodney."
It was Rodney's turn to shrug uncomfortably. "Yeah, well…you're welcome."
Silence fell again, but this time - pending demise aside - the earlier tension was gone.
"Hey, Rodney?" Sheppard said eventually.
"Yeah?"
"From now on, if you want to know something about me, just ask, alright?"
"Really?
"Yeah."
"Okay." Rodney thought for a moment. "So, that's your big secret, right? The whole being rich, thing?"
"Working for a highly-classified government program that uses ancient, alien technology is my big secret, Rodney."
"Yes, yes, but I mean besides that. You're not like a spy in your spare time or anything, are you?"
"If I told you that, I'd have to kill you."
"Very funny. But, you're not, right?"
"No."
"Okay, good. I just, you know, wanted to make sure."
TBC…
~*~*~*~*~
A/N: I know that was a bit of a lull in the action, but I felt they needed to talk a little, like Sheppard said, before they die probably horrible deaths… (And no, I’m not planning to kill them…um, exactly… *shifty eyes* ;) ) But, the action picks up again in the next chapter, I promise.
Lord willing, the next post will be up in a few days.
I hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know what you think!
Take care and God bless!
-Laughter
~*~*~*~*~
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 |
| Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 |
~*~*~*~*~
Author: LaughtersMelody
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Disclaimer: It’s still not mine, but I’m now debating about keeping Rodney too. No one would mind, right?
Genre: Friendship/Adventure/Angst
Pairing: N/A
Type: Multi-chapter
Spoilers: In this chapter, major spoilers for “Outcast,” “Underground“ “Miller’s Crossing,” and “McKay and Mrs. Miller.”
Characters: Rodney
Secondary Characters: Sheppard
Summary: When Sheppard returns from bereavement leave after his father's death, a discovery leads Atlantis to a new world and potentially valuable allies. But a secret from the planet's past might just wind up costing Rodney and Sheppard their lives.
A/N: This chapter was one I looked forward to writing from the time I was first jumped by the bunny. :D
As always, I thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am in awe of His grace.
I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think!
~*~*~*~*~
Mind Over Matter
Chapter 4
Countdown: Three hours earlier…
"She wants you to what?" Sheppard yelped. "That's insane!"
"You don't have to tell me that!" Rodney retorted, pacing around the cell. "Tell her! Not that it would do much good." He grimaced. "Apparently, she has some way of observing the Perfect's residence. She saw me, and figured I was her best chance of getting out o here - which she's probably right about. But, she figures that if I'm in the same situation, I'll be more…motivated…to find a solution and build her - build us - new bodies."
"Could you do it?"
"Of course I could!"
"Even without any…additional resources?" Sheppard asked, carefully avoiding mention of Atlantis.
Rodney waved a hand impatiently. "Yes, even without that. Besides, I'd have her blueprints - those droids of hers were an early attempt to build a body. But, with the limited materials she has available here, she hasn't been able to make a computer that's compact, but sophisticated enough to hold her entire program. I don't think it's impossible, though."
Sheppard frowned. "How did she manage to build anything without a body, anyway?"
"This outpost has a robotic maintenance system. She reprogrammed it from the inside to do more and more complex tasks over time."
"Great." Sheppard sighed. "I don't suppose she'd listen if you pointed out that you'd have a much easier time working in your own body?"
Rodney rolled his eyes. "I already tried that."
"What did she say?"
"That I've got an hour to reconsider cooperating willingly, or she'll find some other way to 'persuade' me."
"I don't like the sound of that."
"Yeah, me neither." Rodney scrubbed a hand over his face and tried not to think about what it would be like to be trapped inside a computer for the rest of eternity.
"She doesn't have Ronon and Edison, right?" Sheppard offered, seeing his look "They'll come back with reinforcements."
"And if Ronon and Edison are laying unconscious somewhere?" Rodney refused to think about the other possibility. "Then what?"
"Then command will send another team here. We missed our check-in, so they'll come looking for us."
"Right, because an outpost that's been hidden for thousands of years, unbeknownst to the locals, is so easy to find."
"They'll find us."
Sheppard sounded absolutely certain, and Rodney knew he was probably thinking about their subcutaneous transmitters, but Rodney wasn't sure that would actually do them any good. They had no way of knowing if the outpost had any kind of shielding, or if they were far enough away from the EM generator that Atlantis would be able to use their equipment to pick up the signals.
Rodney swallowed hard. He liked his mind just where it was. He was attached to his body, and wanted to keep it that way.
Sheppard seemed to know what he was thinking. "They'll find us," he repeated. "They will, Rodney. And if they don't find us in time, then we'll just have to find a way out of here on our own. That's all there is to it."
Sheppard made it sound so easy. So simple. Like math. A plus B equals C. Rodney knew life wasn't always that way - there were too many variables for it to be reduced to a simple equation. Yet, somehow, Sheppard always managed to find a way out of this sort of thing. And, really, they'd faced impossible odds before and come out unscathed.
This time wouldn't be any different…right?
"Right," Rodney answered aloud, not entirely convinced. "We'll be fine."
Silence descended, and Rodney continued pacing around the cell. Sheppard moved to sit down, his back resting against the wall, his arms resting on his knees.
"So," Sheppard said at last. "You wanna tell me why you thought it was a good idea to tell Perfect Varrin about my family?"
Rodney stopped pacing and gave him a disbelieving look. "You wanna talk about that now?"
Sheppard shrugged. "I looked this cell over from top to bottom while you were gone. I don't see a way out. So, unless you can think of something I missed, we've got nothing better to do."
"But," Rodney sputtered, "I…you…"
The protest trailed off.
To be honest, he forgotten that he was even mad at Sheppard at all - these kinds of situations tended to be a little distracting. And, in light of life and death, his anger seemed kind of…petty? Insignificant?
Rodney's shoulders slumped. "I didn't mean to tell her," he admitted. "It just…happened."
Sheppard frowned. "How did you know that my family's wealthy, anyway?"
"Ronon told me. You know, after the funeral."
Sheppard blinked. "Oh." He looked down, his voice growing more subdued. "Right."
"It's just," Rodney continued, "until Sam told me he'd died, I didn't even know you had a father! Well, I mean, obviously you had to have one, unless you're some kind of clone…which, technically, even those have fathers somewhere along the line…"
"Rodney."
"Sorry. My point is, you told Teyla that you didn't have any family. Why haven't you ever told us that you do?"
"It's complicated."
"So? My family's complicated. I still told you about them. You know about Jeannie. And Madison. And what's-his-name…Kaleb. But, you have a father and a brother, and a beach house in Malibu, and you never told me any of that. I mean, not that you have to tell me everything, but…we're friends, right?"
Sheppard gave him an incredulous look that said he shouldn't have had to ask in the first place. "What brought this on?"
Rodney walked the short distance across the cell and sat down next to Sheppard. "Your past is like this big secret. I guess I'd never even thought about it before. But…I don't really know that much about you."
Sheppard arched an eyebrow at him. "Rodney, you were out from that stun blast for a while. Are you sure you don't have a concussion or something?"
Rodney rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. And thanks for ruining my heartfelt moment of sincerity, by the way." He paused, and gave Sheppard a piercing look. "You just…you never talk about yourself. Not really. Why is that?"
Sheppard seemed caught off-guard by the question. He shifted uncomfortably. "Part of it is habit, I guess."
"Habit?"
"Before Antarctica, I did a lot of things for the military that I couldn't talk about." He smiled a sad, humorless smile. "Used to drive Nancy, my ex-wife, crazy. I couldn't tell her anything, and I guess I just…got used to it."
"You got used to driving people crazy?"
"Yeah," Sheppard answered, deadpan. "That's exactly what I meant."
"I figured."
There was a moment of awkward silence.
"Ronon said you saw her at the wake," Rodney commented hesitantly. "Your ex-wife, I mean."
Sheppard sighed. "Yeah, I did."
Something in Sheppard's tone said that he really didn't want to talk about it, and figuring that he'd pushed enough, Rodney let it drop. "So, if part of it is habit, what's the other part?" he asked instead.
Sheppard shrugged again. "The military is my life. It's been my life for a long time. Everything else before that…I just don't really think about it that much. I never…I never really fit in there, with my dad and my brother. I couldn't wait to leave."
Rodney frowned. "Why?"
"My mom died when I was nine, and my dad…he had all these expectations of what I would do with my life. He wanted me to be a businessman like him, and he had everything all planned out for me."
Rodney blinked, surprised. He couldn't imagine having a father who wanted to plan his life so completely. Robert M. McKay (the "M" stood for "Meredith" - Rodney had always figured that his father had made it his son's first name out of spite) couldn't have cared less what Rodney was doing. The nuclear bomb mock-up Rodney had made in grade six hadn't gotten so much as an unimpressed blink. Until the CIA came, anyway. Then his father had definitely had a lot to say.
"Is that what's been bothering you lately?" Rodney wondered. "What your dad did?"
"Nothing's bothering me," Sheppard refuted.
"Yeah, right. Ronon's been more talkative than you have lately. Something's definitely bothering you."
"I'm fine, Rodney."
"You said that before you left for your dad's funeral, too," he reminded. "You'll feel better if you get it off your chest, you know."
"Before we both die a probably horrible death?"
Rodney recognized that for the attempted distraction it was and nodded. "Exactly."
Sheppard sighed, and let his head fall back against the wall behind him. "It's just…something my brother said."
"What did he say?"
"My dad never wanted me to join the Air Force. I did it anyway. The night I told my dad that I'd re-upped for another eight years, we got into an argument. Nothing new. But, he uh, kind of implied that I couldn't be part of the family and still be a part of the Air Force. That was…that was the last time I saw him."
Rodney winced. No wonder Sheppard had never mentioned his family before.
"When I talked to Dave," Sheppard continued, "he said that Dad…Dad regretted what happened. I can't help wondering how he would have reacted if I'd called, or…or something. What if we could have fixed things?" Sheppard looked up at the ceiling, one boot scuffing the cell floor. "What if he died thinking I hated him?"
Rodney opened his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. There were no easy answers - none that Rodney could give. Those "what if" questions were the worst, because it was usually too late to change anything by the time you thought to ask them.
He'd asked that about Jeannie - what if he'd been more understanding? What if he'd been a better big brother? More supportive and less judgmental and demanding? At least he'd gotten a second chance with his sister, though. Sheppard wasn't going to have a second chance with his father. Not now.
"I, uh, didn't know your dad," Rodney offered at last, "but…I think, if your dad had known the truth about the kind of soldier you are, and what you do, he would have been really proud of you. He would have been nuts not to be."
Sheppard didn't answer right away, just turned to stare at him until Rodney had the urge to fidget, wondering if he'd stuck his foot in his mouth all over again. But, just when he was about apologize, Sheppard's lips finally quirked in a faint smile.
"Thanks, Rodney."
It was Rodney's turn to shrug uncomfortably. "Yeah, well…you're welcome."
Silence fell again, but this time - pending demise aside - the earlier tension was gone.
"Hey, Rodney?" Sheppard said eventually.
"Yeah?"
"From now on, if you want to know something about me, just ask, alright?"
"Really?
"Yeah."
"Okay." Rodney thought for a moment. "So, that's your big secret, right? The whole being rich, thing?"
"Working for a highly-classified government program that uses ancient, alien technology is my big secret, Rodney."
"Yes, yes, but I mean besides that. You're not like a spy in your spare time or anything, are you?"
"If I told you that, I'd have to kill you."
"Very funny. But, you're not, right?"
"No."
"Okay, good. I just, you know, wanted to make sure."
TBC…
~*~*~*~*~
A/N: I know that was a bit of a lull in the action, but I felt they needed to talk a little, like Sheppard said, before they die probably horrible deaths… (And no, I’m not planning to kill them…um, exactly… *shifty eyes* ;) ) But, the action picks up again in the next chapter, I promise.
Lord willing, the next post will be up in a few days.
I hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know what you think!
Take care and God bless!
-Laughter
~*~*~*~*~
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 |
| Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 |
~*~*~*~*~