Fic - Determined To Ignore The Obvious
Here is the next part.
Author’s Notes:- Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.
This was originally written before I saw Season Three so it will not adhere to canon.
Enjoy.
*********************************************
John flew the Jumper through the Gate and around the small town.
“There are only six people in the whole place discounting our own people,” he told the other two, “Three in a cell, I’m guessing that’s the rest of Cadman’s team.”
“How’s McKay doing?” Ronon asked Teyla who was listening in on Rodney.
“He is with Lieutenant Cadman now,” she reported, “And has her with him.”
John nodded, “Okay, the plan is we go in. Ronon get our people out while Teyla and I go after Rodney and Cadman.”
“Wait,” Teyla called and frowned, “They know we’ve been listening. I hear gunfire.”
“Damn it,” John snapped, “Same plan but we go in guns blazing. But on stun.”
Ronon nodded and fixed his gun as John brought the ship into land. The moment the hatch was open the three of them moved out. Ronon disappeared to get Watson and his team leaving John and Teyla.
They headed to the building Rodney and Cadman had been taken to. Silently John gave orders before counting to three as they burst in the two men inside started to fire.
John pulled Teyla down behind a crate; she rolled her eyes before jumping up and firing. Suddenly the device in the corner of the room started to whine and white light filled the room.
Rodney blinked as he woke up but the world remained dark. There wasn’t even a small crack of light so he could make out any shapes in the room.
“Cadman,” he called, he started to crawl forward his hand sweeping on front of him.
His hand was caught, “Rodney,” Cadman said softly, “What are you doing?”
“Trying to find you to see if you had a flashlight or something,” he snapped.
“Rodney,” Cadman gently touched his chin tilting his head upwards, “There’s plenty of light in here.”
“What?” panic welled up in his chest, “Prove it.”
“Prove it?” Cadman asked completely lost.
“Yes…” he hesitated, “Touch my nose,” he winced inwardly at how lame that sounded but he wasn't ready to accept what she was saying. Then he felt a gentle fingertip against the tip of his nose and reality crashed in, “Oh my God, I’m blind.”
“Rodney,” she soothed, “Listen to me. You have a pretty nasty gash across your forehead and you slammed against the ground pretty hard when you fell. It’s more than likely this is just temporary so you have to stay calm.”
“Temporary,” slight hope slipped into his voice.
Cadman squeezed his hand, “You took care of me in the jumper, let me repay the favour. Okay?”
“‘Kay,” he sighed tiredly.
“No you don’t,” her voice cracked sharply making him jerk awake, “You can’t sleep, Rodney, you have to stay awake until we can get you back to Atlantis.”
“That’s not fair I let you sleep,” he muttered at her.
“Only after several hours,” he could hear the smile in her voice, “Just relax, Rodney.”
Cadman was glad he couldn’t see her because he wasn't able to see the worry in her eyes. Rodney looked pretty terrible, blood crusting around the wound in his head, his skin was pasty and he looked as though he was ready to pass out at any moment.
She’d already checked the door when he was unconscious and they were locked in here tightly which was both good and bad. Good as it kept the bad guys outside but bad because it was more than likely when rescue arrived they wouldn’t be able to get in to help them…to help him.
“Cadman,” Rodney called.
“Yeah,” she caught his hand, “What’s wrong?”
“You need to keep talking,” he told her panic in his voice, “I need to know you’re still there.”
“I’m not leaving you, Rodney,” Cadman told him frowning.
“I didn’t say you were,” he snapped, “But as long as I can hear you…”
“Alright, Rodney,” she cut him off, “I’ll tell you what I’m doing.”
He gave a sigh of relief, “Thank you.”
Cadman glanced around the room they were trapped in, it was definitely of Ancient origin like the device but before she could look at that she had a few things to deal with.
“I’m going to try and bandage the gash on your forehead,” she told him, she pulled her t-shirt out of her pants and managed to rip a strip from the bottom of it, “Hold still, Rodney.”
He winced a little as she pressed the material to his wound but didn’t say a word until she tied it off.
“Guess you seeing Carson has been a good thing,” he shrugged.
Cadman opened her mouth a little shocked at that comment, “Basic first aid training,” she told him, “It’s a requirement for working off world.”
“Handy,” he smiled.
She found herself smiling as well, “Isn’t it just.”
*********************************************
John frowned as he looked at the door to the cellar where Rodney and Cadman were. The door seemed to be fused and no matter what he did there was no way to get the door open, he’d tried everything he knew and now he had to call in the reinforcements.
“Teyla, get back to the Jumper and call Weir,” he ordered, “Tell her what’s going on and to send Zelenka and a team to get this thing open.”
Teyla nodded and disappeared.
John touched his radio, “Rodney? Cadman?”
“You don’t need to shout,” Rodney’s sarcastic voice replied, “I can hear you.”
John sighed relieved, “What’s your status?”
“We’re stuck in a hole,” Rodney snapped back, “What the hell do you think it is?”
John rolled his eyes smiling as he could hear an exchange between Rodney and Cadman before she came onto the radio.
“Lieutenant, report,” John ordered.
“This seems to be of Ancient design,” Cadman told him, “Rodney has a pretty serious head wound and was unconscious for a while after he fell in here. The door seems to be locked but I can’t tell from what side.”
“Get Rodney to do what he can” John ordered, “I’ve got Zelenka coming.”
“That’s not going to work Colonel,” Cadman lowered her voice, “He’s blind.”
“What?”
“I think the bang on his head has caused temporary blindness,” Cadman continued, “He’s not going to be able to help get the door open.”
John sighed, “Keep him calm and we’ll get you two out of there as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir,” Cadman replied.
John sighed before hitting his radio again, “Teyla.”
“Yes, Colonel,” the Athosian answered.
“Have Elizabeth send Beckett as well,” John ordered, “Rodney’s injured.”
Teyla let out a small sound of annoyance, “I suppose it is only fair. She was injured last time they were trapped together.”
John couldn’t stop the smile that touched his lips, “Just tell them to move it.”
Cadman handed Rodney back his radio smiling slightly at his annoyance, despite his hypochondria when he was actually injured he was very reluctant to let people make a fuss of him.
“Okay,” she told him using her finger to see if there was any movement in Rodney’s eyes, “We could be here for a while Rodney and until Carson says you can sleep you have to stay awake so start talking.”
“Talking about what?” Rodney demanded incredulously.
“Anything,” she cried annoyed that the man who was known for never shutting up was reluctant to speak, “How about...family,” she plucked the topic out of the air.
“Family?”
Cadman took a seat beside him, “Yeah, you do have some I’m assuming. Despite the rumour you were grown in a lab.”
That raised an amused smile but he still didn’t start talking. Cadman gave a sigh.
“How about I start?” she offered, “I have an older sister Fiona. She’s married and is due to have a baby in a few months and I have a younger brother Mick who at the moment is travelling Europe before he finishes his final year at college.”
“What’s he studying?” Rodney asked.
Cadman smiled that he finally started talking, “American History, he wants to be a teacher once he has his degree.”
She waited for him to talk but he was still keeping quiet so she continued, “My parents live in LA right next to the beach so I go surfing every time I visit home.”
Rodney gave a small laugh, “You should talk to Sheppard, he keeps trying to go surfing on the mainland.”
“Okay,” Cadman laughed, “It’s your turn, Rodney. Where are your parents?”
“They still live in Toronto,” he said flatly, “I don’t see them very often.”
Cadman winced at the obvious dislike Rodney had for his parents, “What about any siblings?”
Rodney licked his lips, “I have a sister, Jeannie.”
“Older? Younger?” Cadman asked interested, learning about Rodney was something she’d always wanted but never had a way to before.
“A little younger,” he shrugged, “We aren’t close.”
Cadman couldn’t understand that, she was very close to both her siblings, “When did you see her last?”
“When we were on Earth after the Wraith siege I went to see her,” Rodney told her a small smile on his face, “We’re closer now than we were.”
Cadman frowned as his eyes drifted shut, “Tell me more, you have to stay awake, Rodney remember, you have to keep talking to me.”
“Haven’t had to talk to you for this long since you were in my head,” Rodney muttered.
She laughed and touched his shoulder, “Come on tell me more about your sister. Is she married, kids?”
Rodney shook himself to try and focus on the world again, “Jeannie was married. He was a fire-fighter but was killed a year ago on duty.”
“Did you know him?” Cadman asked as she stood up needing to walk her legs getting stiff from the way she was sitting.
“No,” Rodney replied sadly, “I didn’t even know she was married until I saw her when I got back to Earth. She has a daughter Emma, she’ll be two soon.”
“You’re an uncle,” Cadman laughed, “Poor kid.”
Rodney sighed a little frowning as he could hear noises coming from the door, “What are they doing out there?”
“Trying to get us out,” she reminded him.
“I should be able to do something,” he snapped, “I can’t just sit here.”
Cadman sighed, “There’s a control panel at the door. But I don’t think it works anymore.”
Rodney let out an annoyed hiss, “Then I should probably fix it.”
“How, Rodney?” Cadman replied sharply, “You can’t see.”
“But you can,” he shot back at her, “You can describe it to me.”
Cadman rolled her eyes; this was not going to be easy.
*********************************************
“Doc,” John greeted Zelenka as he walked in, “Good, the door seems to have been sealed by this thing. Rodney and Cadman are in there.”
“That sounds bad,” Zelenka noted, “Has Rodney tried anything from in there yet?”
“Rodney’s blind,” John said as Zelenka stared at him in shock, “So I don’t think you’ll get any help from him.”
“That is more than likely a good thing,” Zelenka noted as he started checking the control panel for the door, “We could end up working against one another.”
John nodded, “Get to work,” he looked over and saw Carson arriving, “Doc, you’ve got a patient.”
“Another one I can’t get to though,” Carson noted, “Would it be possible one day for you to call me to a patient I can actually be in the same room as?”
“Where would the fun be in that, Doc,” John grinned making the Doctor frown at him, “Cadman’s keeping him calm. You’re just here for when we get the door open.”
“I’m assuming they have a working radio,” Carson placed his kit down.
“Yep.”
“Okay,” Carson hit his radio, “Rodney? Cadman?”
“Carson,” Cadman’s relieved voice filled his ears, “I see they brought in the heavy guns.”
“How is he?” Carson got straight down to business.
“He’s demanding I try to tell him what I see so he can fix the door,” Cadman laughed.
“Tell him Radek is here and working on it,” Carson rolled his eyes at John, “Other than his annoying attitude though.”
“He’s shaky,” Cadman reported softly, “He look’s very pale and I haven’t seen any indication that his sight’s coming back. Carson, he’s really scared about this.”
“Just keep him talking, love,” Carson told her, “Tell him not to mess around with any controls; you could end up working against Zelenka meaning you both could end up stuck in there for much longer than you want.”
“Alright,” Cadman replied, “Talk to you soon.”
Carson switched off the radio and turned to watch Zelenka try to open the door. John moved over to stand with him.
“They’re going to be fine,” Carson told John.
“Not what I was going to ask,” John replied.
Carson turned to John his eyes dark, “It’s none of your business, Colonel.”
“Both you and Rodney are my friend not to mention both of them are under my command,” John reminded him, “That makes it something to worry me.”
Carson sighed softly, “Just trust me.”
John shrugged, “Don’t really have a choice do I?”
“No, you don’t,” Carson replied moving to take a seat in the corner to wait.
“How’s it going?” John asked Zelenka who was muttering to himself in his native language.
“There are problems,” Zelenka told him motioning him to look at the panel, “The controls have been fused. I believe it happened when the device activated.”
“How long is it going to take you?” John asked worriedly.
Zelenka frowned, “I am unsure. But it will more than likely take several hours. I cannot give any estimate lower than that.”
John grimaced not liking the sound of that, “Doc, I’m giving you one hour then I’m blowing the door open.”
Zelenka muttered under his breath in Czech.
“I do know what that means,” John reminded him, “You taught me it remember.”
Zelenka laughed slightly, “I will do my best, Colonel but the one person who could open this in under an hour is Rodney but…”
“Don’t tell him you said that” John laughed with a knowing look, “I know.”
“Look Radek is good but I’m better,” Rodney continued to argue, “So all I need you to do is tell me what you see so I can fix the door and get us out of here.”
“Rodney, for the hundredth time I’m not doing that,” she crossed her arms defiantly even though he couldn’t see the gesture it made her better making it, “If you start trying to fix it you’ll only undo Dr Zelenka’s work outside.”
“I need to do something,” Rodney snapped at her.
“You look like you just went ten rounds with Ronon,” Cadman retorted, “Rodney, I’m not going to let you make yourself even worse.”
“What the hell do you care?” he yelled.
Cadman felt her stomach churn at his question, “I care because you’re my friend.”
His head dropped and he sighed, “Sorry. I just feel so useless.”
Cadman knelt beside him again and rested her hand on his shoulder, “Rodney, I know how frustrating this is for you. I understand the need you feel to be doing something to get us out of here but you have to trust in the others. They’re working on a way to get us out of here.”
“If this is permanent,” Rodney whispered.
“It’s not going to be,” Cadman reminded him.
“But if it is,” the fear he felt clear in his voice, “I don’t know what I’ll do. Everything I am is connected to me being able to see. If I can’t then I’m useless to Atlantis, they’ll send me back to Earth and I’ve no one there.”
“What about your sister?” Cadman gently brushed her hand through his hair trying to get him to calm down.”
Rodney laughed bitterly, “We’re not that close, Cadman. All I have is Atlantis and they won’t want me if I’m no longer useful.
“That’s not true,” Cadman whispered pulling him into an embrace, “You have friends, Rodney, people who care about you for being you. Not just because you can fix everything.”
She felt him stiffen against her but she held onto him so he couldn’t move away. She rested her temple against his.
“You are not alone, Rodney,” she murmured to him, “And you’ll get your sight back. You just have to relax and let your friends help you.”
Cadman could hear his breathing deepen and gave a soft gasp when he turned his head, his lips brushing her cheek before they found hers. She felt his hand slide into her hair pulling her closer deepening the kiss.
Author’s Notes:- Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.
This was originally written before I saw Season Three so it will not adhere to canon.
Enjoy.
*********************************************
John flew the Jumper through the Gate and around the small town.
“There are only six people in the whole place discounting our own people,” he told the other two, “Three in a cell, I’m guessing that’s the rest of Cadman’s team.”
“How’s McKay doing?” Ronon asked Teyla who was listening in on Rodney.
“He is with Lieutenant Cadman now,” she reported, “And has her with him.”
John nodded, “Okay, the plan is we go in. Ronon get our people out while Teyla and I go after Rodney and Cadman.”
“Wait,” Teyla called and frowned, “They know we’ve been listening. I hear gunfire.”
“Damn it,” John snapped, “Same plan but we go in guns blazing. But on stun.”
Ronon nodded and fixed his gun as John brought the ship into land. The moment the hatch was open the three of them moved out. Ronon disappeared to get Watson and his team leaving John and Teyla.
They headed to the building Rodney and Cadman had been taken to. Silently John gave orders before counting to three as they burst in the two men inside started to fire.
John pulled Teyla down behind a crate; she rolled her eyes before jumping up and firing. Suddenly the device in the corner of the room started to whine and white light filled the room.
Rodney blinked as he woke up but the world remained dark. There wasn’t even a small crack of light so he could make out any shapes in the room.
“Cadman,” he called, he started to crawl forward his hand sweeping on front of him.
His hand was caught, “Rodney,” Cadman said softly, “What are you doing?”
“Trying to find you to see if you had a flashlight or something,” he snapped.
“Rodney,” Cadman gently touched his chin tilting his head upwards, “There’s plenty of light in here.”
“What?” panic welled up in his chest, “Prove it.”
“Prove it?” Cadman asked completely lost.
“Yes…” he hesitated, “Touch my nose,” he winced inwardly at how lame that sounded but he wasn't ready to accept what she was saying. Then he felt a gentle fingertip against the tip of his nose and reality crashed in, “Oh my God, I’m blind.”
“Rodney,” she soothed, “Listen to me. You have a pretty nasty gash across your forehead and you slammed against the ground pretty hard when you fell. It’s more than likely this is just temporary so you have to stay calm.”
“Temporary,” slight hope slipped into his voice.
Cadman squeezed his hand, “You took care of me in the jumper, let me repay the favour. Okay?”
“‘Kay,” he sighed tiredly.
“No you don’t,” her voice cracked sharply making him jerk awake, “You can’t sleep, Rodney, you have to stay awake until we can get you back to Atlantis.”
“That’s not fair I let you sleep,” he muttered at her.
“Only after several hours,” he could hear the smile in her voice, “Just relax, Rodney.”
Cadman was glad he couldn’t see her because he wasn't able to see the worry in her eyes. Rodney looked pretty terrible, blood crusting around the wound in his head, his skin was pasty and he looked as though he was ready to pass out at any moment.
She’d already checked the door when he was unconscious and they were locked in here tightly which was both good and bad. Good as it kept the bad guys outside but bad because it was more than likely when rescue arrived they wouldn’t be able to get in to help them…to help him.
“Cadman,” Rodney called.
“Yeah,” she caught his hand, “What’s wrong?”
“You need to keep talking,” he told her panic in his voice, “I need to know you’re still there.”
“I’m not leaving you, Rodney,” Cadman told him frowning.
“I didn’t say you were,” he snapped, “But as long as I can hear you…”
“Alright, Rodney,” she cut him off, “I’ll tell you what I’m doing.”
He gave a sigh of relief, “Thank you.”
Cadman glanced around the room they were trapped in, it was definitely of Ancient origin like the device but before she could look at that she had a few things to deal with.
“I’m going to try and bandage the gash on your forehead,” she told him, she pulled her t-shirt out of her pants and managed to rip a strip from the bottom of it, “Hold still, Rodney.”
He winced a little as she pressed the material to his wound but didn’t say a word until she tied it off.
“Guess you seeing Carson has been a good thing,” he shrugged.
Cadman opened her mouth a little shocked at that comment, “Basic first aid training,” she told him, “It’s a requirement for working off world.”
“Handy,” he smiled.
She found herself smiling as well, “Isn’t it just.”
*********************************************
John frowned as he looked at the door to the cellar where Rodney and Cadman were. The door seemed to be fused and no matter what he did there was no way to get the door open, he’d tried everything he knew and now he had to call in the reinforcements.
“Teyla, get back to the Jumper and call Weir,” he ordered, “Tell her what’s going on and to send Zelenka and a team to get this thing open.”
Teyla nodded and disappeared.
John touched his radio, “Rodney? Cadman?”
“You don’t need to shout,” Rodney’s sarcastic voice replied, “I can hear you.”
John sighed relieved, “What’s your status?”
“We’re stuck in a hole,” Rodney snapped back, “What the hell do you think it is?”
John rolled his eyes smiling as he could hear an exchange between Rodney and Cadman before she came onto the radio.
“Lieutenant, report,” John ordered.
“This seems to be of Ancient design,” Cadman told him, “Rodney has a pretty serious head wound and was unconscious for a while after he fell in here. The door seems to be locked but I can’t tell from what side.”
“Get Rodney to do what he can” John ordered, “I’ve got Zelenka coming.”
“That’s not going to work Colonel,” Cadman lowered her voice, “He’s blind.”
“What?”
“I think the bang on his head has caused temporary blindness,” Cadman continued, “He’s not going to be able to help get the door open.”
John sighed, “Keep him calm and we’ll get you two out of there as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir,” Cadman replied.
John sighed before hitting his radio again, “Teyla.”
“Yes, Colonel,” the Athosian answered.
“Have Elizabeth send Beckett as well,” John ordered, “Rodney’s injured.”
Teyla let out a small sound of annoyance, “I suppose it is only fair. She was injured last time they were trapped together.”
John couldn’t stop the smile that touched his lips, “Just tell them to move it.”
Cadman handed Rodney back his radio smiling slightly at his annoyance, despite his hypochondria when he was actually injured he was very reluctant to let people make a fuss of him.
“Okay,” she told him using her finger to see if there was any movement in Rodney’s eyes, “We could be here for a while Rodney and until Carson says you can sleep you have to stay awake so start talking.”
“Talking about what?” Rodney demanded incredulously.
“Anything,” she cried annoyed that the man who was known for never shutting up was reluctant to speak, “How about...family,” she plucked the topic out of the air.
“Family?”
Cadman took a seat beside him, “Yeah, you do have some I’m assuming. Despite the rumour you were grown in a lab.”
That raised an amused smile but he still didn’t start talking. Cadman gave a sigh.
“How about I start?” she offered, “I have an older sister Fiona. She’s married and is due to have a baby in a few months and I have a younger brother Mick who at the moment is travelling Europe before he finishes his final year at college.”
“What’s he studying?” Rodney asked.
Cadman smiled that he finally started talking, “American History, he wants to be a teacher once he has his degree.”
She waited for him to talk but he was still keeping quiet so she continued, “My parents live in LA right next to the beach so I go surfing every time I visit home.”
Rodney gave a small laugh, “You should talk to Sheppard, he keeps trying to go surfing on the mainland.”
“Okay,” Cadman laughed, “It’s your turn, Rodney. Where are your parents?”
“They still live in Toronto,” he said flatly, “I don’t see them very often.”
Cadman winced at the obvious dislike Rodney had for his parents, “What about any siblings?”
Rodney licked his lips, “I have a sister, Jeannie.”
“Older? Younger?” Cadman asked interested, learning about Rodney was something she’d always wanted but never had a way to before.
“A little younger,” he shrugged, “We aren’t close.”
Cadman couldn’t understand that, she was very close to both her siblings, “When did you see her last?”
“When we were on Earth after the Wraith siege I went to see her,” Rodney told her a small smile on his face, “We’re closer now than we were.”
Cadman frowned as his eyes drifted shut, “Tell me more, you have to stay awake, Rodney remember, you have to keep talking to me.”
“Haven’t had to talk to you for this long since you were in my head,” Rodney muttered.
She laughed and touched his shoulder, “Come on tell me more about your sister. Is she married, kids?”
Rodney shook himself to try and focus on the world again, “Jeannie was married. He was a fire-fighter but was killed a year ago on duty.”
“Did you know him?” Cadman asked as she stood up needing to walk her legs getting stiff from the way she was sitting.
“No,” Rodney replied sadly, “I didn’t even know she was married until I saw her when I got back to Earth. She has a daughter Emma, she’ll be two soon.”
“You’re an uncle,” Cadman laughed, “Poor kid.”
Rodney sighed a little frowning as he could hear noises coming from the door, “What are they doing out there?”
“Trying to get us out,” she reminded him.
“I should be able to do something,” he snapped, “I can’t just sit here.”
Cadman sighed, “There’s a control panel at the door. But I don’t think it works anymore.”
Rodney let out an annoyed hiss, “Then I should probably fix it.”
“How, Rodney?” Cadman replied sharply, “You can’t see.”
“But you can,” he shot back at her, “You can describe it to me.”
Cadman rolled her eyes; this was not going to be easy.
*********************************************
“Doc,” John greeted Zelenka as he walked in, “Good, the door seems to have been sealed by this thing. Rodney and Cadman are in there.”
“That sounds bad,” Zelenka noted, “Has Rodney tried anything from in there yet?”
“Rodney’s blind,” John said as Zelenka stared at him in shock, “So I don’t think you’ll get any help from him.”
“That is more than likely a good thing,” Zelenka noted as he started checking the control panel for the door, “We could end up working against one another.”
John nodded, “Get to work,” he looked over and saw Carson arriving, “Doc, you’ve got a patient.”
“Another one I can’t get to though,” Carson noted, “Would it be possible one day for you to call me to a patient I can actually be in the same room as?”
“Where would the fun be in that, Doc,” John grinned making the Doctor frown at him, “Cadman’s keeping him calm. You’re just here for when we get the door open.”
“I’m assuming they have a working radio,” Carson placed his kit down.
“Yep.”
“Okay,” Carson hit his radio, “Rodney? Cadman?”
“Carson,” Cadman’s relieved voice filled his ears, “I see they brought in the heavy guns.”
“How is he?” Carson got straight down to business.
“He’s demanding I try to tell him what I see so he can fix the door,” Cadman laughed.
“Tell him Radek is here and working on it,” Carson rolled his eyes at John, “Other than his annoying attitude though.”
“He’s shaky,” Cadman reported softly, “He look’s very pale and I haven’t seen any indication that his sight’s coming back. Carson, he’s really scared about this.”
“Just keep him talking, love,” Carson told her, “Tell him not to mess around with any controls; you could end up working against Zelenka meaning you both could end up stuck in there for much longer than you want.”
“Alright,” Cadman replied, “Talk to you soon.”
Carson switched off the radio and turned to watch Zelenka try to open the door. John moved over to stand with him.
“They’re going to be fine,” Carson told John.
“Not what I was going to ask,” John replied.
Carson turned to John his eyes dark, “It’s none of your business, Colonel.”
“Both you and Rodney are my friend not to mention both of them are under my command,” John reminded him, “That makes it something to worry me.”
Carson sighed softly, “Just trust me.”
John shrugged, “Don’t really have a choice do I?”
“No, you don’t,” Carson replied moving to take a seat in the corner to wait.
“How’s it going?” John asked Zelenka who was muttering to himself in his native language.
“There are problems,” Zelenka told him motioning him to look at the panel, “The controls have been fused. I believe it happened when the device activated.”
“How long is it going to take you?” John asked worriedly.
Zelenka frowned, “I am unsure. But it will more than likely take several hours. I cannot give any estimate lower than that.”
John grimaced not liking the sound of that, “Doc, I’m giving you one hour then I’m blowing the door open.”
Zelenka muttered under his breath in Czech.
“I do know what that means,” John reminded him, “You taught me it remember.”
Zelenka laughed slightly, “I will do my best, Colonel but the one person who could open this in under an hour is Rodney but…”
“Don’t tell him you said that” John laughed with a knowing look, “I know.”
“Look Radek is good but I’m better,” Rodney continued to argue, “So all I need you to do is tell me what you see so I can fix the door and get us out of here.”
“Rodney, for the hundredth time I’m not doing that,” she crossed her arms defiantly even though he couldn’t see the gesture it made her better making it, “If you start trying to fix it you’ll only undo Dr Zelenka’s work outside.”
“I need to do something,” Rodney snapped at her.
“You look like you just went ten rounds with Ronon,” Cadman retorted, “Rodney, I’m not going to let you make yourself even worse.”
“What the hell do you care?” he yelled.
Cadman felt her stomach churn at his question, “I care because you’re my friend.”
His head dropped and he sighed, “Sorry. I just feel so useless.”
Cadman knelt beside him again and rested her hand on his shoulder, “Rodney, I know how frustrating this is for you. I understand the need you feel to be doing something to get us out of here but you have to trust in the others. They’re working on a way to get us out of here.”
“If this is permanent,” Rodney whispered.
“It’s not going to be,” Cadman reminded him.
“But if it is,” the fear he felt clear in his voice, “I don’t know what I’ll do. Everything I am is connected to me being able to see. If I can’t then I’m useless to Atlantis, they’ll send me back to Earth and I’ve no one there.”
“What about your sister?” Cadman gently brushed her hand through his hair trying to get him to calm down.”
Rodney laughed bitterly, “We’re not that close, Cadman. All I have is Atlantis and they won’t want me if I’m no longer useful.
“That’s not true,” Cadman whispered pulling him into an embrace, “You have friends, Rodney, people who care about you for being you. Not just because you can fix everything.”
She felt him stiffen against her but she held onto him so he couldn’t move away. She rested her temple against his.
“You are not alone, Rodney,” she murmured to him, “And you’ll get your sight back. You just have to relax and let your friends help you.”
Cadman could hear his breathing deepen and gave a soft gasp when he turned his head, his lips brushing her cheek before they found hers. She felt his hand slide into her hair pulling her closer deepening the kiss.