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PART 5
“No, you misunderstand me. I do not mean an inanimate object,” Ennis said. Elizabeth glanced back up, surprised.
“Then … what do you mean?” She asked suspiciously. This was not something she should be doing while she was in a bad mood. But she was to be the diplomat. She had to stay nice. Maybe she should hand the reigns over to Teyla, she didn’t have the patience for this right now. She brushed away some of the hair in her eyes.
“A person who you thought was lost has been found.” Now there was a twinkle in the man’s eye. Elizabeth’s breath froze and her heart nearly stopped. Silence echoed around in the gate room for a minute, before Elizabeth was able to croak out a response.
“Who?” She whispered. She prayed with all her might that it was who she thought it was. She didn’t care how or why right now; she just wanted it to be. She wanted Rodney McKay back.
“I believe you know him as Rodney McKay.” Ennis said. Elizabeth straightened up as her heart beat faster than it ever had before. She had a slight wide-eyed look about her. Next to her, Teyla shifted. Elizabeth glanced to her, wondering how the female was taking the news. Teyla had her eyes shut and was taking shaky breaths. The silence in the room was now deafening, and Elizabeth couldn’t help putting a hand on Teyla’s arm. That made her open her eyes to look at Ennis.
“If this is a joke -” Teyla started, but Ennis interrupted her.
“No joke. In fact, he had been fighting against my people for some time now, wishing to speak to you. But I wanted to prepare you first.” He sounded apologetic.
“Put him on.” There was no arguing against the steely tone in Elizabeth’s voice. Ennis nodded and disappeared, and there were faint murmurings, unable to be distinguished. Elizabeth’s knees felt weak, shaky. They wouldn’t hold her up much longer. She gulped, tensing, hoping beyond all hope that this wasn’t a dream. Realising she was going to fall over, she reached out a hand to the nearest device and steadied herself. She couldn’t lose her composure. Not yet.
It seemed to last an age, when in reality it was only a few seconds. The second that Rodney’s face appeared in front of the transmission, Elizabeth felt her knees give out as she shouted out his name in shock. Next to her, Teyla also shouted out his name, and then fell to the floor.
“I never thought I would see the day where I managed to shock both Elizabeth and Teyla enough that they collapsed on the ground.” Rodney’s voice was heard all around the room. Elizabeth took a few breaths to steady her, hearing the familiar voice she had longed to hear, had only heard in her dreams, before glancing up. She locked eyes with Rodney and her breath got caught in her throat.
“Rodney,” She managed to croak out. Rodney frowned.
“You seriously don’t look good,” He commented. Then he glanced at Teyla. “And neither do you. What have you been doing since I’ve been gone? Given up on sleeping? I thought you two were smarter than that. Seriously, I know that I don’t sleep much, but I’m a bad example. Heh, maybe this conversation be saved for later.” There was a pause and Elizabeth just shut her eyes, savouring the voice. “God, I’ve missed Atlantis …” It was whispered and Elizabeth found herself glancing back up. There was a look of sadness on Rodney’s face that should never be there and it fuelled her into action.
“You are coming home. Now.” She left no room for argument and turned to Heathlings. “Dial the gate.” She ordered and he nodded, moving to dial it. Half a minute later, there was a connection established and she turned back to Rodney. “Get home.” She said softly, and then she motioned for the connection to be terminated. She barely had time to register Rodney’s nod before the screen went blank and Elizabeth turned to look for Teyla. She was still on the floor, staring at the screen, looking as Elizabeth expected she looked. She held out her hand and Teyla glanced up at her.
Shock. Joy. Sadness. It was all in Teyla’s eyes, and Elizabeth knew it was reflected in her own. Teyla grabbed her hand, pulling her up, and then the two girls ran down the stairs to the gate. Just as they reached the bottom and were running forwards, Rodney came through the wormhole, and it shut soon after. They stopped, just staring at each other for a few seconds, before Teyla moved.
Teyla walked forwards, hesitantly, and then stopped in front of him. Her eyes cast over his body - he had changed. A lot. He looked fitter almost, and there was an air of confidence around him. He seemed happier, if that were possible. Teyla’s hand came up of its own accord and slowly touched Rodney’s cheek.
“You are real …” She breathed, wide eyed. Rodney couldn’t say anything, too overcome with finally being home after so long. Too long. Slowly, Teyla’s hand stroke down his cheek and then she placed it on his shoulder, her other hand doing the same with the other one. She bowed her forehead against his, both of equal height. They stayed that way for a minute, just staring at each other, before Rodney gave in to the impulse and wrapped his arms around Teyla.
He picked her up and spun her around, grinning widely. Teyla was shrieking and laughing at the same time, and as Rodney put her down, he could see tears in her eyes. He hugged her, hard, and she hugged him back. “I missed you,” She whispered in his ear. Rodney whispered the sentiment back at her. Finally they parted, but Teyla kept her hand on his arm, as if afraid that letting go meant Rodney would disappear. Rodney didn’t mind, it was comforting. They both turned to look as footsteps approached, and looked at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth had stayed by the sidelines, watching Teyla and Rodney’s reunion with a longing of her own. She could see immediately that Rodney had changed in appearance and maybe in personality as well. He had seemed to carry him differently. She wondered what else had changed about him, where he had been, why he hadn’t contacted them sooner. It was then, watching the two reunited friends, that she realised something.
Seeing Rodney back … was like a great big weight off of her shoulders. Grief for a friend had turned to joy, lightening her heart. And it was amazing just how much of her felt better by it. And from a purely selfish view, she had one of her best friends back. Deciding that it was time for her to make an appearance, and she stepped forwards. Both Teyla and Rodney turned to look at her, and she had smiled to them both, but kept her eyes on Rodney.
“Doctor McKay,” She said, coming to a halt in front of him.
“Elizabeth,” Rodney greeted. They stared at each other for a second, before Elizabeth couldn’t restrain herself any longer and threw herself forwards, crushing Rodney in a big hug. She didn’t care about appearances, she didn’t care what this looked like, and she didn’t care what would happen. Her friend was home. Safe. Healthy. Alive. The people be damned, they would allow her this. As she felt him hug back, she couldn’t stop herself from letting out a soft sob. From that point on, it was like a dam had been broken as she cried out what she hadn’t cried out the past couple of months.
When she finally managed to regain control of herself, she pulled away and swiftly wiped at her eyes, wiped her nose and tried to compose herself as best she could.
“I’m sorry,” She whispered. Rodney shook his head.
“Don’t be.” He reassured her. Next to him, Teyla stood with a warm smile on her face, and Elizabeth was glad that it finally reached her eyes. She glanced around the room, cringing, and waiting for the knowing stares and the snickers for her break down. But everyone just watched with a smile on their face at the reunion, and it suddenly came to Elizabeth that maybe they didn’t care. They allowed her this moment.
She took a deep breath and turned to face everyone. Behind her, Rodney came and stood to one side, and Teyla took the other, still keeping hold of Rodney. Elizabeth smiled - a bright, true smile that made her feel freer than she had for months.
“I think …” She paused, gulping. “I think that we should get Rodney settled back in, yes?”
XxX
PART 6