"The Last Changeling" -Tale the Seventh: Consequences, pt. 2/2
Title: "The Last Changeling"
Author: Taylor Dancinghands -taylor@tdancinghands.com
Characters: Vampire!Sheppard/Werewolf!Zelenka/Changeling!Rodney... and Centaur!Carson, among others.
Pairings: Zelenka/McKay and Zelenka/McKay/Sheppard ust, pre-slash other pairings background
Category: slash, pre-slash, AU
Spoilers: none
Warnings: graphic violence
Rating: for Mature readers
Archive: Generally yes, but please let me know where
Summary: There is one gap remaining to be bridged between our three heroes, and when it is the consequences will entangle an unexpected third party.
WARNING: Very Evol Cliffhanger ending (will be continued)
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, never will, not claiming to. Just wanna play with 'em a little. Can't I, can't I, huh?
****
The Last Changeling
by Taylor Dancinghands
Tale the Seventh: "Consequences" pt 2
Radek remained at Rodney's side as his mate made to push himself upright. He winced and bit back a grunt of pain as he did so and Radek whined at the echo of aches and worse he felt from his mate. Radek sensed Rodney's desire to go through the gate on his own two feet as much as his discomforts, however, and so lent his support, as well as he could. Ronon came to join him as soon as they gate had been dialed, and the two of them had him up and moving by the time the wormhole was established.
Radek could not help looking over his shoulder at Sheppard as they stood at the threshold, for the newly forged blood link between them did not want to be severed, even for the short time they would be separated on opposite sides of the wormhole. What Radek felt from his mate was stronger, and decidedly predominant, but Sheppard's barely restrained jitters and urges were impossible to ignore.
It made him deeply uneasy, and made it impossible for him to leave the Wolf, even though his human form would be far more useful to Rodney at the moment. Of course, Radek's clothes all lay on the floor of the hut where they'd been held captive as well, so maybe he would stay with the Wolf until they reached the infirmary where scrubs could be provided.
Strangely, the few seconds he and Sheppard were separated by the gate Radek found both a relief and slightly disturbing absence. The vampire's state of mind at the moment was definitely unsettling, but having Sheppard's presence in his mind so suddenly cut off was discomfiting. Radek could not help but wonder if he would miss it when the link finally weakened and faded, as it would if Sheppard did not feed from him again.
As disturbing as this question was, it was all driven out of Radek's head by the flurry of activity in the gate room spurred by their arrival. Beckett was called for and a moment later Sheppard and Teyla were there and Radek's thoughts were once again disturbed by the Vampire's uneasy and barely under control state of mind. It took all his concentration to focus on his mate alone, and not on Sheppard's distress, as much as it was focused on him.
"I think they may have drugged him," Radek heard Teyla explaining to Carson, about Sheppard, he realized admiring the cleverness of her cover story. Of course this meant that Sheppard would be coming to the infirmary with them as well, but once there the doctor would be able to separate them, and could be told the truth of why it was necessary.
Before long they were all headed down the corridor to the infirmary, Radek trotting along side Rodney's gurney and listening with half an ear to the cursory debrief Teyla and Ronon were giving Dr Weir. Much of what had happened could be reported accurately, but their escape and other details could not be, and Radek needed to keep track of what was being said to Weir now so that they could keep their stories straight. The true facts would be relayed soon enough.
"Bloody Hades, Colonel," Carson finally said when everyone but the doctor and the team had been cleared from the infirmary and Sheppard had informed him succinctly of what had not been said in the gate room. "Tell me you didn't just say what I think you said."
"They had to," Rodney said weakly from his gurney. "They were all bound in iron and I... I was being tortured to death, where they could hear..."
"Zelenka's blood made Sheppard strong enough to break the chains," Ronon put in. "He got us all out, we got McKay, came back here."
"Actually..." Teyla began, glancing around at the others, but Radek knew that Carson ought to know everything, so he nodded when Teyla's eyes met his. "We did not come directly back here but went by way of another world where Sheppard could... regain control of his appearance. We thought it best..."
"Aye," Carson said with resignation. "It was probably wise, given your circumstances. I take this to mean that Sheppard wasn't actually drugged, then?"
"No," Teyla said. "And I apologize for... misleading you..."
"Nay, there's no need," Carson replied quickly. "It was a good explanation, and necessary for the others, I'm sorry to say. Seeing as I've got the full story now, however, I'll be needing some time to work on Rodney while you, Colonel, need to clean up and settle yourself in the isolation ward for now, and you, Radek, need to go take these scrubs to the washroom and quit shedding all over my infirmary."
Radek took the neatly rolled set of scrubs in his mouth and trotted off to do as he was told, satisfied that Ronon remained looking over Rodney as Teyla followed after Sheppard. It was only after he had changed that Radek realized how much blood he'd had on his face and body, and so took a few minutes to wash up before he changed into the scrubs Carson had given him. The smell of the blood brought back memories of the fury he'd unleashed on the ignorant natives who'd thought to appease their gods by torturing his mate to death, and the heat of protective ferocity surged through him again for a moment before he tamped it down.
Rodney was safe, and those who had harmed him would never harm anyone again. Even as he thought this, however, he felt an answering flush of protective rage from Sheppard, echoing his own from a moment before. He is mine to protect, not yours! Radek growled silently to the presence in his mind, but even as he thought it, he realized that this was not entirely true.
He had given Sheppard leave, after all, to protect his mate when they were off world without Radek, and Radek had made it clear enough that he trusted Sheppard with this duty. How could it be acceptable that Sheppard do this, but unacceptable that he have some feeling about it? Radek shook his head at the conundrum and went out back out to find his mate. Sheppard was a puzzle, but Rodney was his mate, his pack, his home and while he was with him everything else dropped away. Carson was just finishing up the last of Rodney's stitches when Radek reappeared, bending to place an affectionate kiss on his mate's forehead.
"Hey you," Rodney murmured muzzily, reaching up to touch Radek's face. Ronon, sitting on an adjacent bed and waiting for Carson to attend his own small wounds, nodded quietly in Radek's direction, welcoming his fellow Shaper back to his human form.
"Miláčku," Radek replied, taking up his mate's hand as he sank gratefully into a bedside chair opposite from where Carson was working. Rodney squeezed his hand weakly.
"You're... you're going to be in trouble for this, aren't you?" Rodney asked, and Radek grimaced. He hadn't wanted to think about that just now, but his mate was too damned smart, and also a worrier. Radek nodded with a sigh.
"I do not know exactly how it will be addressed," Radek said honestly. "It has been so very long since there has been such an infraction, and never, to my knowledge, one such as this, where both participants were willing. We will both likely receive some official notice in the next day or so, and... I strongly suspect we will be asked to return to Earth, to give account of ourselves."
"No!" Rodney's response was immediate and alarmed. "You can't go! They can't make you go! I need you here, both of you!"
"Rodney," Carson warned, laying a calming hand on his shoulder. "You told me you didn't need a sedative..."
"My Pack Master may command me, Rodney," Radek said, laying his free hand gently over Rodney's heart, pressing him back. "It is his right and my duty, but what he cannot do is separate me from my mate. As long as you remain here, they must allow me to return to you."
"But..." Rodney's voice came uncertainly now, small with self doubt. "I'm... I'm not a wolf."
"You are my mate!" Radek said, quietly fierce as he leaned closer, clutching Rodney's hand in both of his. "Our bond is a true one, and no Wolf would deny it. Any that does will know my teeth!" Radek barred his teeth then, so fiercely that even Carson stepped back a pace and Ronon, watching them, barred his own teeth in an amused grin.
Carson was evidently not the only one to feel the intensity of Radek's emotion, for there came a small commotion from the isolation ward and the door opened a crack.
"John, no!" Teyla's voice came from within, and Ronon sat up in his cot, ready to intervene. "Rodney is in no danger, and you must stay away from Radek. Please, come back and sit down, now."
"Think he oughta be sedated?" Ronon half inquired, half suggested.
"Aye, ye may have a point," Carson said with a reluctant sigh as the door to the isolation ward closed again. "Though I've no real idea of how it will effect him, if at all. Ye don't mind waiting?" he asked Ronon. Ronon, of course, just shook his head.
The three of them watched the doctor trot back to deal with Sheppard and then Radek turned his regard to his mate once again. The worry in Rodney's eyes had not really diminished and Radek wanted nothing more than to curl up on the bed beside his mate, though he knew he could not. Ronon would certainly understand, but the medical cot was narrow, and Rodney's many small hurts would make it impossible for him to manage such a thing comfortably. Radek leaned down to lay his head on an uninjured part of Rodney's shoulder instead, reaching one hand out to gently stroke his mate's hair.
"We have done nothing wrong," he said softly, to himself as much as to his mate. "They must see that. They must..." Rodney would hear no confidence in his words, and would feel none in his heart, but he would know Radek's determination. It was the best they could do for now.
***
The expected notice arrived two days later -the beautiful, hand made paper envelope with its ornate, official seal lying just inside the door to their quarters, as though it had been slipped under a door that both he and Rodney knew nothing could be slipped under.
Radek was angry at himself for the dismay he felt when he saw it. He'd known it was coming, and therefore his disappointment was foolish, but he felt it nonetheless, and his mate felt it too. They shared a anxious glance when they spotted the envelope upon waking that morning and then Radek let his anger propel him out of the bed and pick the thing up, breaking the seal without hesitation.
It didn't say exactly what he'd expected it to, but Radek could tell it would amount to the same thing. An Inquisitor from the Elder Council would be coming to investigate the situation personally, and to escort the pertinent subjects to their relevant clan or tribal authorities. Evidently they did not even trust him and Sheppard to answer a legal summons from their own leaders, Radek thought with contempt. He barely restrained himself from ripping the offensive document into tiny shreds.
"I must inform Dr Weir," he told Rodney with a resigned sigh. "We will have our first... dignitary from the Realms arriving in two days... and then I will be leaving with him, as most likely will Sheppard."
Radek could feel the distress rolling off his mate, but Rodney only firmed his mouth in an unhappy slant and nodded. They were unsurprised to meet up with Sheppard on the way to expedition leader's office, but when they arrived not one of them had expected to see Carson Beckett in her office ahead of them, a familiar, finely crafted missive clutched in one hand.
"An Inquisitor is only sent when either the facts of a case are complicated and possibly being hidden," Carson explained unhappily, a little later, over a breakfast that none of them seemed too interested in eating, "or in a situation where two or more unrelated cases seemed to have occurred in the same place or community. There are certain Elders who have never approved of the sort of work I do. They think it's too close to a Forbidden Pursuit, and they don't like it that I'm not supervised, working where I do." He sighed and pushed back his nearly full plate, evidently giving up on it.
"Obviously there's nothing complicated or occluded about what you lads did," he continued. "They're just using it as an excuse to get an Inquisitor out here and try and catch me out somehow, and I've no doubt he'll find something I've done here that could be interpreted as 'crossing a line'. I'll be called back to the Realms to explain myself before the Council in person I'm afraid... and I'm not sure how long it'll take me to satisfy them to where they'll let me come back."
All morning Radek had felt his mate only just barely holding his panic at bay, and it was all his could do to contain his own distress. Thankfully, he hardly felt anything from Sheppard now, but Radek did not need the fading blood link to sense the smoldering fury in the man as he listened to Carson. It burned in his narrowed eyes and was barely concealed behind the flat line of his mouth.
"They can't do this!" Rodney's fists came down on either side of his plate suddenly, and Radek could feel his mate's composure cracking. "The bastards! How can they do this? They can't fucking take all of you..."
"Rodney!" Radek hissed as a number of heads in the mess hall turned their direction. He laid a hand on his mate's shoulder to keep him in his chair and Sheppard mirrored the gesture on Rodney's other side. At that moment, Radek had no room in his heart for anything other than gratitude.
"They can take us," he said, low and urgent, "but they cannot keep us. Our destinies do not belong to the Elders of the Realms, but to Atlantis. You know this, yes?"
Rodney subsided, somewhat, eventually muttering, "I'm not giving you up without a fight."
"Hold that fight, Rodney," Sheppard answered him, voice low and hard, "for when you can win it, not now. You hear me?"
Radek felt him seething for a long, tense moment, then he relented, shoulders slumping under his and Sheppard's hands. "If you're not around," he said eventually, "when it's time to make that call... you're gonna have to trust me."
"I do trust you, Rodney," Sheppard answered him, and through the last thread of the link Radek retained he could feel the man throw himself open completely for just a moment as he met Rodney's eyes. "I've always trusted you," he said and Radek felt his mate's answering trust, just as he felt it from his own heart.
The Inquisitor, when he arrived, took two brief interviews, one each with Radek and Sheppard, and then spent the better part of a day and a half grilling Dr Carson Beckett. When the two of them finally exited the briefing room Carson looked beaten, as Radek had never seen him before, and he waved both he and Rodney off, insisting that he just wanted to go retire in his quarters alone. The Inquisitor would give them his final decision in the morning.
The meeting he called was attended by Dr Weir, himself, Rodney, Radek, Colonel Sheppard and no one else. Elizabeth had wanted Peter Grodin, the expedition's unofficial Fae Realms Liaison included as well but the Inquisitor all but closed the conference room door in his face. He nearly excluded Rodney until Radek bared his teeth at him, and then allowed him to pass with a whithering look of the utmost disdain.
"The Wolf and the Night Hunter will be rendered forthwith to their respective chieftains," the Inquisitor began without preamble. His name was Dolorind and he was, Rodney had explained to Radek after he had first arrived, a scion of one of the oldest, most prestigious Elvish families in the Realms.
"It would be my personal recommendation that they never be placed on the same posting again," he continued coldly, "but that is the purview of their respective leaders, not the Council. As for this one, however..." Radek bristled at the depths of the disrespect in the Inquisitor's non-addressing of Carson Beckett, and felt the same from Rodney.
"I was warned, by those who sent me on this investigation," the Inquisitor continued, "that this son of the Becketts clan plays a dangerous but careful game with our prohibitions -the very prohibitions he promised to honor when he left the Realms to do his... 'researches' among mortals. After lengthy conversations, I come to the unhappy, but unsurprising conclusion that he honors these prohibitions, possibly, in letter, but hardly in spirit. I find this entirely unacceptable, and I feel sure that the Council will find the same. I must therefore insist that he return to the Realms to answer to the charges of having a Fallen Nature, such that he must be taken under the control of his betters."
At the words 'Fallen Nature' Radek saw Carson Beckett go dead white and only his grip on Rodney's arm kept his mate from springing out of his seat in outrage.
"There is nothing in this man's nature that is anything like 'Fallen'," Rodney snarled, "and I'll testify before every Elder in the Realms to refute any of the..."
Whatever course language Rodney was attempting to restrain was cut off coolly by the Inquisitor. "The Council will hear no testimony from taboo breakers, Changeling," he said. "You are exile, and will not be allowed entrance now any more than any of the previous times you have attempted. Please do not waste any more of our time on these histrionics."
Radek felt his mate's seething outrage, but knew himself to be even more helpless in this situation than his mate. All Wolves and Vampires had been excluded from the Realms generations ago. Furthermore, he and Sheppard were both under orders now, and must render themselves over to their family heads before anything else. More than three years of fighting, suffering and bleeding in opposition of the most vile enemy know to mortal or fae, and this was their reward.
Thus it was that the four of them found themselves ensconced, on their last night together on Atlantis, in the physicists break room, in the company of a couple of bottles of a liquor whose origins only Radek knew. He had, in fact, left his precious distillery in the hands of Sergent James Stackhouse, a true son of West Virginia with an honorable family heritage of moonshining.
There were so many precious things Radek had had to leave in others' hands. The job of being Rodney's 'right hand' had seemed too big to pass on to any one scientist, so he had designated Drs Kusanagi and Coleman to fill that role, which now included the care and management of Rodney himself. It ought to have given Radek some comfort to see how seriously the two women had taken their assignment, but all he could think was how neither one of them was him.
The mood all around was morose, but Rodney was still jittery with righteous indignation, and began the evening pacing the cluttered room, drink sloshing as he gestured vehemently.
"How, in all the Gods' names," he ranted, "can they imagine that anyone would take you for having a 'fallen nature'? I mean, I know that Fae politics can get dirty; I did grow up there, after all, and my dads gave me a thorough education, but this... this is ludicrous! Has the entire Elder Council become brain damaged since I left?"
"A great many on the Council have always been... uncomfortable with my work, Rodney," Carson said with defeated patience. "You knew that as well as I -it's why I decided to do my work among mortals, though now that makes it look as though I've never intended to abide by the prohibitions. It makes their case rather a strong one, I'm afraid."
"What case?" Radek asked at last, too curious to stay silent, even though he knew more discussion of the matter would only irritate his mate further. "What are they trying to prove that you did?"
"They don't need to prove that he's actually done anything," Rodney answered with biting contempt. "Which is handy for them, because he hasn't. No, they're claiming that his 'nature' is bad, that he's gone 'darkside'." Radek had to take the glass out of Rodney's hand for the second use of air quotes, lest more liquor be spilled in his ire.
"Among the Fae, they describe someone as having a 'fallen nature' who's become bent on world domination, or genocide or... something else equally ridiculous," Rodney continued, hands now free to gesture dramatically. "And they're saying that Carson is someone like that, just because some of the old fuddy-duddies on the Council are afraid of what he might find out about the First Makers, like maybe they weren't angels."
"Huh?" said Sheppard, who hadn't actually been drinking that much. "But... they made us," he gestured to himself and Radek. "How can anyone think they were 'angels'?" Sheppard did not use air quotes, but his skepticism was clear in his voice.
"And why do you think the Wolves and the Vampires are exiled?" Rodney replied. "Because they behaved badly? No, it's because their very existence is a raw reminder that the First Makers were coldly pragmatic, mercenary sons of bitches who probably made the Wraith by accident."
"Which is why Making is a prohibited practice," Carson pointed out.
"Which you were never doing!" Rodney rejoined stridently.
"Rodney," Radek said quietly, pulling his mate down to sit beside him and pressing a refilled drink into his hand. "No one is saying that he did."
"No, of course not," Rodney muttered into his drink. "Not even the Council. They're just railroading him, depriving him of his freedom and Atlantis of our CMO because the truth makes them uncomfortable. That's perfectly reasonable."
Distracted, Rodney followed this pronouncement with a large gulp of liquor, which rendered him incapable of speaking for several minutes. A brooding silence followed his bout of whooping and coughing which Sheppard finally broke.
"So, ah, what did that Inquisitor mean when he called you a taboo breaker, McKay?" he asked.
"What did he mean?" Rodney glowered. "What he meant was to remind me that whoever makes the rules in the Realms has always been a rat bastard."
"Well that certainly clears things up," Sheppard quipped.
"The taboo he was talking about was from when Rodney first left the Realms, where he grew up," Carson offered, more helpfully.
"Is how he became exile?" Radek asked. Rodney had never said anything about this even to him, and it was easy to guess that it was a painful memory for his mate. "If you do not wish to speak of it..." he said, turning to Rodney.
"Doesn't matter," Rodney answered morosely. "Just more of their bullshit."
"It's they way it's always been done," Carson said with a sigh. "Whenever any mortal, who's been a long term guest in the Realms, asks to go back and visit someone in mortal lands, but intends to return to the Realms, there's a customary gift taboo. It's in all the stories..."
"And it's always a crock in all the stories too," Rodney interjected. "I mean, how was I supposed to know that I even had a sister, and that the handful of weeds she shoved at me constituted a 'gift'?"
"It's how it was meant, lad," Carson said sadly, in a way that made Radek think this was an old conversation.
"So..." Radek tried to work it out. "You were told not to accept any gift from your sister?"
"I was told not to accept any gift from any member of my family," Rodney replied. "So I figured, nothing from my mom or dad, or from any grandparents, should I have any..."
"But no one told you you had a little sister," Sheppard guessed, "and you were only on the lookout for older people."
"She met me at the front gate," Rodney confirmed miserably. "Before I was even in the yard. 'These are for you,' she said, and I took them. I mean, why wouldn't I take them? Even if they were just a bunch of dandelions... I mean, she was, like, seven..."
"That is kind of a raw deal," Sheppard said. "And just like all the old stories. Is life in the Realms always like that?"
"More or less," Rodney replied with a pained smile. "Doesn't mean I don't wanna go back, though."
"I understand, miláčku," Radek said quietly, curling an arm around his waist to pull him in close. "I think we all do."
Up until now, Radek had always thought of the saddest day in his life as being the one he'd left home, having finally been granted permission to leave the country to attend an engineering conference in America. His family all knew he intended to defect, with no idea of when, if ever, he would be able to return, and while many, like his mother, gave him her blessing, even as she sorrowed to see him go, others regarded him as a deserter, and a fool for thinking he could make his life away from the pack.
It had been a miserable time, compounded by the need to keep up a cheerful face in front of the government and party officials who'd accompanied him through the first part of his journey, but he'd at least had an exciting future to look forward to then. Radek's future now was uncertain at best, and the seemingly irremediable injustice of the whole situation was galling, for all of them.
Even Dr Weir looked like she wanted to hit something as she looked over the three of them that morning, bags packed and assembled before the gate. Rodney stood at the center or those seeing them off, Ronon and Teyla flanking him closely, their expressions were fierce and protective. It served as a small comfort to Radek to know that his mate would be looked after, even if it wasn't by him.
Peter Grodin and Major Lorne stood just behind Elizabeth, their steadfast loyalty easy to see, and Lorne sketch a casual salute as his eyes met Sheppard's.
"I'll just be keeping your chair warm here, sir," he said. "You're no way getting out of this job yet."
"Definitely not," Elizabeth concurred. "I've been making calls all week and I've got more to make today. This fight is not over by a long shot."
"And we'll be missing you every minute you're gone," Dr Biro said, coming up to give Carson a determined hug. "So don't be gone long."
Carson's face was wet when they parted and Radek strove to keep his own tears at bay. He and Rodney had both struggled not to completely fall apart all the long night before as they'd held each other tight and pretended to sleep. His heart ached, and he could see the same pain in Rodney's eyes as Chuck dialled the gate. The rush of the blooming event horizon fell on his ears like a death sentence.
"Můj druh," Radek whispered, drawing his mate into his arms one more time (but not the last time -he swore it would not be). "They will not keep us apart long. They cannot. Just stay... stay alive and I will come back to you. It must be so."
Rodney said nothing as they parted, though he kept Radek's hand firmly clasped in his as they approached the gate, and his eyes were a little too bright. Beside him, Sheppard's countenance was thunderous, though Radek thought he sensed some small measure of fear there as well. He stood in silence before the rippling event horizon for a moment, then turned to face the gate room, lifting his hand in a salute.
"It's been an honor," he said, biting off the words quickly before he turned and strode through the gate.
"Lady be with you all," Radek heard Sky Parrish's voice from the top of the stairs, "and bring you all safely home."
"Thank you everyone," Carson replied, "and I hope... I hope... oh bloody Hades..." His voice failed him then entirely and he could only turn, head down and disconsolate, and trot through the portal back to Earth.
"Radek..." Rodney's voice was broken as he dragged him back for one, last, desperate kiss, and then Radek had to break it off or the wormhole would close before he stepped into it. "Miláčku," he said, tasting tears and not knowing if they were his or Rodney's, and then he turned and fled -back to a home that could never be his home again.
*****
And now: Tale the Eighth: Truths
Author: Taylor Dancinghands -taylor@tdancinghands.com
Characters: Vampire!Sheppard/Werewolf!Zelenka/Changeling!Rodney... and Centaur!Carson, among others.
Pairings: Zelenka/McKay and Zelenka/McKay/Sheppard ust, pre-slash other pairings background
Category: slash, pre-slash, AU
Spoilers: none
Warnings: graphic violence
Rating: for Mature readers
Archive: Generally yes, but please let me know where
Summary: There is one gap remaining to be bridged between our three heroes, and when it is the consequences will entangle an unexpected third party.
WARNING: Very Evol Cliffhanger ending (will be continued)
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, never will, not claiming to. Just wanna play with 'em a little. Can't I, can't I, huh?
****
The Last Changeling
by Taylor Dancinghands
Tale the Seventh: "Consequences" pt 2
Radek remained at Rodney's side as his mate made to push himself upright. He winced and bit back a grunt of pain as he did so and Radek whined at the echo of aches and worse he felt from his mate. Radek sensed Rodney's desire to go through the gate on his own two feet as much as his discomforts, however, and so lent his support, as well as he could. Ronon came to join him as soon as they gate had been dialed, and the two of them had him up and moving by the time the wormhole was established.
Radek could not help looking over his shoulder at Sheppard as they stood at the threshold, for the newly forged blood link between them did not want to be severed, even for the short time they would be separated on opposite sides of the wormhole. What Radek felt from his mate was stronger, and decidedly predominant, but Sheppard's barely restrained jitters and urges were impossible to ignore.
It made him deeply uneasy, and made it impossible for him to leave the Wolf, even though his human form would be far more useful to Rodney at the moment. Of course, Radek's clothes all lay on the floor of the hut where they'd been held captive as well, so maybe he would stay with the Wolf until they reached the infirmary where scrubs could be provided.
Strangely, the few seconds he and Sheppard were separated by the gate Radek found both a relief and slightly disturbing absence. The vampire's state of mind at the moment was definitely unsettling, but having Sheppard's presence in his mind so suddenly cut off was discomfiting. Radek could not help but wonder if he would miss it when the link finally weakened and faded, as it would if Sheppard did not feed from him again.
As disturbing as this question was, it was all driven out of Radek's head by the flurry of activity in the gate room spurred by their arrival. Beckett was called for and a moment later Sheppard and Teyla were there and Radek's thoughts were once again disturbed by the Vampire's uneasy and barely under control state of mind. It took all his concentration to focus on his mate alone, and not on Sheppard's distress, as much as it was focused on him.
"I think they may have drugged him," Radek heard Teyla explaining to Carson, about Sheppard, he realized admiring the cleverness of her cover story. Of course this meant that Sheppard would be coming to the infirmary with them as well, but once there the doctor would be able to separate them, and could be told the truth of why it was necessary.
Before long they were all headed down the corridor to the infirmary, Radek trotting along side Rodney's gurney and listening with half an ear to the cursory debrief Teyla and Ronon were giving Dr Weir. Much of what had happened could be reported accurately, but their escape and other details could not be, and Radek needed to keep track of what was being said to Weir now so that they could keep their stories straight. The true facts would be relayed soon enough.
"Bloody Hades, Colonel," Carson finally said when everyone but the doctor and the team had been cleared from the infirmary and Sheppard had informed him succinctly of what had not been said in the gate room. "Tell me you didn't just say what I think you said."
"They had to," Rodney said weakly from his gurney. "They were all bound in iron and I... I was being tortured to death, where they could hear..."
"Zelenka's blood made Sheppard strong enough to break the chains," Ronon put in. "He got us all out, we got McKay, came back here."
"Actually..." Teyla began, glancing around at the others, but Radek knew that Carson ought to know everything, so he nodded when Teyla's eyes met his. "We did not come directly back here but went by way of another world where Sheppard could... regain control of his appearance. We thought it best..."
"Aye," Carson said with resignation. "It was probably wise, given your circumstances. I take this to mean that Sheppard wasn't actually drugged, then?"
"No," Teyla said. "And I apologize for... misleading you..."
"Nay, there's no need," Carson replied quickly. "It was a good explanation, and necessary for the others, I'm sorry to say. Seeing as I've got the full story now, however, I'll be needing some time to work on Rodney while you, Colonel, need to clean up and settle yourself in the isolation ward for now, and you, Radek, need to go take these scrubs to the washroom and quit shedding all over my infirmary."
Radek took the neatly rolled set of scrubs in his mouth and trotted off to do as he was told, satisfied that Ronon remained looking over Rodney as Teyla followed after Sheppard. It was only after he had changed that Radek realized how much blood he'd had on his face and body, and so took a few minutes to wash up before he changed into the scrubs Carson had given him. The smell of the blood brought back memories of the fury he'd unleashed on the ignorant natives who'd thought to appease their gods by torturing his mate to death, and the heat of protective ferocity surged through him again for a moment before he tamped it down.
Rodney was safe, and those who had harmed him would never harm anyone again. Even as he thought this, however, he felt an answering flush of protective rage from Sheppard, echoing his own from a moment before. He is mine to protect, not yours! Radek growled silently to the presence in his mind, but even as he thought it, he realized that this was not entirely true.
He had given Sheppard leave, after all, to protect his mate when they were off world without Radek, and Radek had made it clear enough that he trusted Sheppard with this duty. How could it be acceptable that Sheppard do this, but unacceptable that he have some feeling about it? Radek shook his head at the conundrum and went out back out to find his mate. Sheppard was a puzzle, but Rodney was his mate, his pack, his home and while he was with him everything else dropped away. Carson was just finishing up the last of Rodney's stitches when Radek reappeared, bending to place an affectionate kiss on his mate's forehead.
"Hey you," Rodney murmured muzzily, reaching up to touch Radek's face. Ronon, sitting on an adjacent bed and waiting for Carson to attend his own small wounds, nodded quietly in Radek's direction, welcoming his fellow Shaper back to his human form.
"Miláčku," Radek replied, taking up his mate's hand as he sank gratefully into a bedside chair opposite from where Carson was working. Rodney squeezed his hand weakly.
"You're... you're going to be in trouble for this, aren't you?" Rodney asked, and Radek grimaced. He hadn't wanted to think about that just now, but his mate was too damned smart, and also a worrier. Radek nodded with a sigh.
"I do not know exactly how it will be addressed," Radek said honestly. "It has been so very long since there has been such an infraction, and never, to my knowledge, one such as this, where both participants were willing. We will both likely receive some official notice in the next day or so, and... I strongly suspect we will be asked to return to Earth, to give account of ourselves."
"No!" Rodney's response was immediate and alarmed. "You can't go! They can't make you go! I need you here, both of you!"
"Rodney," Carson warned, laying a calming hand on his shoulder. "You told me you didn't need a sedative..."
"My Pack Master may command me, Rodney," Radek said, laying his free hand gently over Rodney's heart, pressing him back. "It is his right and my duty, but what he cannot do is separate me from my mate. As long as you remain here, they must allow me to return to you."
"But..." Rodney's voice came uncertainly now, small with self doubt. "I'm... I'm not a wolf."
"You are my mate!" Radek said, quietly fierce as he leaned closer, clutching Rodney's hand in both of his. "Our bond is a true one, and no Wolf would deny it. Any that does will know my teeth!" Radek barred his teeth then, so fiercely that even Carson stepped back a pace and Ronon, watching them, barred his own teeth in an amused grin.
Carson was evidently not the only one to feel the intensity of Radek's emotion, for there came a small commotion from the isolation ward and the door opened a crack.
"John, no!" Teyla's voice came from within, and Ronon sat up in his cot, ready to intervene. "Rodney is in no danger, and you must stay away from Radek. Please, come back and sit down, now."
"Think he oughta be sedated?" Ronon half inquired, half suggested.
"Aye, ye may have a point," Carson said with a reluctant sigh as the door to the isolation ward closed again. "Though I've no real idea of how it will effect him, if at all. Ye don't mind waiting?" he asked Ronon. Ronon, of course, just shook his head.
The three of them watched the doctor trot back to deal with Sheppard and then Radek turned his regard to his mate once again. The worry in Rodney's eyes had not really diminished and Radek wanted nothing more than to curl up on the bed beside his mate, though he knew he could not. Ronon would certainly understand, but the medical cot was narrow, and Rodney's many small hurts would make it impossible for him to manage such a thing comfortably. Radek leaned down to lay his head on an uninjured part of Rodney's shoulder instead, reaching one hand out to gently stroke his mate's hair.
"We have done nothing wrong," he said softly, to himself as much as to his mate. "They must see that. They must..." Rodney would hear no confidence in his words, and would feel none in his heart, but he would know Radek's determination. It was the best they could do for now.
***
The expected notice arrived two days later -the beautiful, hand made paper envelope with its ornate, official seal lying just inside the door to their quarters, as though it had been slipped under a door that both he and Rodney knew nothing could be slipped under.
Radek was angry at himself for the dismay he felt when he saw it. He'd known it was coming, and therefore his disappointment was foolish, but he felt it nonetheless, and his mate felt it too. They shared a anxious glance when they spotted the envelope upon waking that morning and then Radek let his anger propel him out of the bed and pick the thing up, breaking the seal without hesitation.
It didn't say exactly what he'd expected it to, but Radek could tell it would amount to the same thing. An Inquisitor from the Elder Council would be coming to investigate the situation personally, and to escort the pertinent subjects to their relevant clan or tribal authorities. Evidently they did not even trust him and Sheppard to answer a legal summons from their own leaders, Radek thought with contempt. He barely restrained himself from ripping the offensive document into tiny shreds.
"I must inform Dr Weir," he told Rodney with a resigned sigh. "We will have our first... dignitary from the Realms arriving in two days... and then I will be leaving with him, as most likely will Sheppard."
Radek could feel the distress rolling off his mate, but Rodney only firmed his mouth in an unhappy slant and nodded. They were unsurprised to meet up with Sheppard on the way to expedition leader's office, but when they arrived not one of them had expected to see Carson Beckett in her office ahead of them, a familiar, finely crafted missive clutched in one hand.
"An Inquisitor is only sent when either the facts of a case are complicated and possibly being hidden," Carson explained unhappily, a little later, over a breakfast that none of them seemed too interested in eating, "or in a situation where two or more unrelated cases seemed to have occurred in the same place or community. There are certain Elders who have never approved of the sort of work I do. They think it's too close to a Forbidden Pursuit, and they don't like it that I'm not supervised, working where I do." He sighed and pushed back his nearly full plate, evidently giving up on it.
"Obviously there's nothing complicated or occluded about what you lads did," he continued. "They're just using it as an excuse to get an Inquisitor out here and try and catch me out somehow, and I've no doubt he'll find something I've done here that could be interpreted as 'crossing a line'. I'll be called back to the Realms to explain myself before the Council in person I'm afraid... and I'm not sure how long it'll take me to satisfy them to where they'll let me come back."
All morning Radek had felt his mate only just barely holding his panic at bay, and it was all his could do to contain his own distress. Thankfully, he hardly felt anything from Sheppard now, but Radek did not need the fading blood link to sense the smoldering fury in the man as he listened to Carson. It burned in his narrowed eyes and was barely concealed behind the flat line of his mouth.
"They can't do this!" Rodney's fists came down on either side of his plate suddenly, and Radek could feel his mate's composure cracking. "The bastards! How can they do this? They can't fucking take all of you..."
"Rodney!" Radek hissed as a number of heads in the mess hall turned their direction. He laid a hand on his mate's shoulder to keep him in his chair and Sheppard mirrored the gesture on Rodney's other side. At that moment, Radek had no room in his heart for anything other than gratitude.
"They can take us," he said, low and urgent, "but they cannot keep us. Our destinies do not belong to the Elders of the Realms, but to Atlantis. You know this, yes?"
Rodney subsided, somewhat, eventually muttering, "I'm not giving you up without a fight."
"Hold that fight, Rodney," Sheppard answered him, voice low and hard, "for when you can win it, not now. You hear me?"
Radek felt him seething for a long, tense moment, then he relented, shoulders slumping under his and Sheppard's hands. "If you're not around," he said eventually, "when it's time to make that call... you're gonna have to trust me."
"I do trust you, Rodney," Sheppard answered him, and through the last thread of the link Radek retained he could feel the man throw himself open completely for just a moment as he met Rodney's eyes. "I've always trusted you," he said and Radek felt his mate's answering trust, just as he felt it from his own heart.
The Inquisitor, when he arrived, took two brief interviews, one each with Radek and Sheppard, and then spent the better part of a day and a half grilling Dr Carson Beckett. When the two of them finally exited the briefing room Carson looked beaten, as Radek had never seen him before, and he waved both he and Rodney off, insisting that he just wanted to go retire in his quarters alone. The Inquisitor would give them his final decision in the morning.
The meeting he called was attended by Dr Weir, himself, Rodney, Radek, Colonel Sheppard and no one else. Elizabeth had wanted Peter Grodin, the expedition's unofficial Fae Realms Liaison included as well but the Inquisitor all but closed the conference room door in his face. He nearly excluded Rodney until Radek bared his teeth at him, and then allowed him to pass with a whithering look of the utmost disdain.
"The Wolf and the Night Hunter will be rendered forthwith to their respective chieftains," the Inquisitor began without preamble. His name was Dolorind and he was, Rodney had explained to Radek after he had first arrived, a scion of one of the oldest, most prestigious Elvish families in the Realms.
"It would be my personal recommendation that they never be placed on the same posting again," he continued coldly, "but that is the purview of their respective leaders, not the Council. As for this one, however..." Radek bristled at the depths of the disrespect in the Inquisitor's non-addressing of Carson Beckett, and felt the same from Rodney.
"I was warned, by those who sent me on this investigation," the Inquisitor continued, "that this son of the Becketts clan plays a dangerous but careful game with our prohibitions -the very prohibitions he promised to honor when he left the Realms to do his... 'researches' among mortals. After lengthy conversations, I come to the unhappy, but unsurprising conclusion that he honors these prohibitions, possibly, in letter, but hardly in spirit. I find this entirely unacceptable, and I feel sure that the Council will find the same. I must therefore insist that he return to the Realms to answer to the charges of having a Fallen Nature, such that he must be taken under the control of his betters."
At the words 'Fallen Nature' Radek saw Carson Beckett go dead white and only his grip on Rodney's arm kept his mate from springing out of his seat in outrage.
"There is nothing in this man's nature that is anything like 'Fallen'," Rodney snarled, "and I'll testify before every Elder in the Realms to refute any of the..."
Whatever course language Rodney was attempting to restrain was cut off coolly by the Inquisitor. "The Council will hear no testimony from taboo breakers, Changeling," he said. "You are exile, and will not be allowed entrance now any more than any of the previous times you have attempted. Please do not waste any more of our time on these histrionics."
Radek felt his mate's seething outrage, but knew himself to be even more helpless in this situation than his mate. All Wolves and Vampires had been excluded from the Realms generations ago. Furthermore, he and Sheppard were both under orders now, and must render themselves over to their family heads before anything else. More than three years of fighting, suffering and bleeding in opposition of the most vile enemy know to mortal or fae, and this was their reward.
Thus it was that the four of them found themselves ensconced, on their last night together on Atlantis, in the physicists break room, in the company of a couple of bottles of a liquor whose origins only Radek knew. He had, in fact, left his precious distillery in the hands of Sergent James Stackhouse, a true son of West Virginia with an honorable family heritage of moonshining.
There were so many precious things Radek had had to leave in others' hands. The job of being Rodney's 'right hand' had seemed too big to pass on to any one scientist, so he had designated Drs Kusanagi and Coleman to fill that role, which now included the care and management of Rodney himself. It ought to have given Radek some comfort to see how seriously the two women had taken their assignment, but all he could think was how neither one of them was him.
The mood all around was morose, but Rodney was still jittery with righteous indignation, and began the evening pacing the cluttered room, drink sloshing as he gestured vehemently.
"How, in all the Gods' names," he ranted, "can they imagine that anyone would take you for having a 'fallen nature'? I mean, I know that Fae politics can get dirty; I did grow up there, after all, and my dads gave me a thorough education, but this... this is ludicrous! Has the entire Elder Council become brain damaged since I left?"
"A great many on the Council have always been... uncomfortable with my work, Rodney," Carson said with defeated patience. "You knew that as well as I -it's why I decided to do my work among mortals, though now that makes it look as though I've never intended to abide by the prohibitions. It makes their case rather a strong one, I'm afraid."
"What case?" Radek asked at last, too curious to stay silent, even though he knew more discussion of the matter would only irritate his mate further. "What are they trying to prove that you did?"
"They don't need to prove that he's actually done anything," Rodney answered with biting contempt. "Which is handy for them, because he hasn't. No, they're claiming that his 'nature' is bad, that he's gone 'darkside'." Radek had to take the glass out of Rodney's hand for the second use of air quotes, lest more liquor be spilled in his ire.
"Among the Fae, they describe someone as having a 'fallen nature' who's become bent on world domination, or genocide or... something else equally ridiculous," Rodney continued, hands now free to gesture dramatically. "And they're saying that Carson is someone like that, just because some of the old fuddy-duddies on the Council are afraid of what he might find out about the First Makers, like maybe they weren't angels."
"Huh?" said Sheppard, who hadn't actually been drinking that much. "But... they made us," he gestured to himself and Radek. "How can anyone think they were 'angels'?" Sheppard did not use air quotes, but his skepticism was clear in his voice.
"And why do you think the Wolves and the Vampires are exiled?" Rodney replied. "Because they behaved badly? No, it's because their very existence is a raw reminder that the First Makers were coldly pragmatic, mercenary sons of bitches who probably made the Wraith by accident."
"Which is why Making is a prohibited practice," Carson pointed out.
"Which you were never doing!" Rodney rejoined stridently.
"Rodney," Radek said quietly, pulling his mate down to sit beside him and pressing a refilled drink into his hand. "No one is saying that he did."
"No, of course not," Rodney muttered into his drink. "Not even the Council. They're just railroading him, depriving him of his freedom and Atlantis of our CMO because the truth makes them uncomfortable. That's perfectly reasonable."
Distracted, Rodney followed this pronouncement with a large gulp of liquor, which rendered him incapable of speaking for several minutes. A brooding silence followed his bout of whooping and coughing which Sheppard finally broke.
"So, ah, what did that Inquisitor mean when he called you a taboo breaker, McKay?" he asked.
"What did he mean?" Rodney glowered. "What he meant was to remind me that whoever makes the rules in the Realms has always been a rat bastard."
"Well that certainly clears things up," Sheppard quipped.
"The taboo he was talking about was from when Rodney first left the Realms, where he grew up," Carson offered, more helpfully.
"Is how he became exile?" Radek asked. Rodney had never said anything about this even to him, and it was easy to guess that it was a painful memory for his mate. "If you do not wish to speak of it..." he said, turning to Rodney.
"Doesn't matter," Rodney answered morosely. "Just more of their bullshit."
"It's they way it's always been done," Carson said with a sigh. "Whenever any mortal, who's been a long term guest in the Realms, asks to go back and visit someone in mortal lands, but intends to return to the Realms, there's a customary gift taboo. It's in all the stories..."
"And it's always a crock in all the stories too," Rodney interjected. "I mean, how was I supposed to know that I even had a sister, and that the handful of weeds she shoved at me constituted a 'gift'?"
"It's how it was meant, lad," Carson said sadly, in a way that made Radek think this was an old conversation.
"So..." Radek tried to work it out. "You were told not to accept any gift from your sister?"
"I was told not to accept any gift from any member of my family," Rodney replied. "So I figured, nothing from my mom or dad, or from any grandparents, should I have any..."
"But no one told you you had a little sister," Sheppard guessed, "and you were only on the lookout for older people."
"She met me at the front gate," Rodney confirmed miserably. "Before I was even in the yard. 'These are for you,' she said, and I took them. I mean, why wouldn't I take them? Even if they were just a bunch of dandelions... I mean, she was, like, seven..."
"That is kind of a raw deal," Sheppard said. "And just like all the old stories. Is life in the Realms always like that?"
"More or less," Rodney replied with a pained smile. "Doesn't mean I don't wanna go back, though."
"I understand, miláčku," Radek said quietly, curling an arm around his waist to pull him in close. "I think we all do."
Up until now, Radek had always thought of the saddest day in his life as being the one he'd left home, having finally been granted permission to leave the country to attend an engineering conference in America. His family all knew he intended to defect, with no idea of when, if ever, he would be able to return, and while many, like his mother, gave him her blessing, even as she sorrowed to see him go, others regarded him as a deserter, and a fool for thinking he could make his life away from the pack.
It had been a miserable time, compounded by the need to keep up a cheerful face in front of the government and party officials who'd accompanied him through the first part of his journey, but he'd at least had an exciting future to look forward to then. Radek's future now was uncertain at best, and the seemingly irremediable injustice of the whole situation was galling, for all of them.
Even Dr Weir looked like she wanted to hit something as she looked over the three of them that morning, bags packed and assembled before the gate. Rodney stood at the center or those seeing them off, Ronon and Teyla flanking him closely, their expressions were fierce and protective. It served as a small comfort to Radek to know that his mate would be looked after, even if it wasn't by him.
Peter Grodin and Major Lorne stood just behind Elizabeth, their steadfast loyalty easy to see, and Lorne sketch a casual salute as his eyes met Sheppard's.
"I'll just be keeping your chair warm here, sir," he said. "You're no way getting out of this job yet."
"Definitely not," Elizabeth concurred. "I've been making calls all week and I've got more to make today. This fight is not over by a long shot."
"And we'll be missing you every minute you're gone," Dr Biro said, coming up to give Carson a determined hug. "So don't be gone long."
Carson's face was wet when they parted and Radek strove to keep his own tears at bay. He and Rodney had both struggled not to completely fall apart all the long night before as they'd held each other tight and pretended to sleep. His heart ached, and he could see the same pain in Rodney's eyes as Chuck dialled the gate. The rush of the blooming event horizon fell on his ears like a death sentence.
"Můj druh," Radek whispered, drawing his mate into his arms one more time (but not the last time -he swore it would not be). "They will not keep us apart long. They cannot. Just stay... stay alive and I will come back to you. It must be so."
Rodney said nothing as they parted, though he kept Radek's hand firmly clasped in his as they approached the gate, and his eyes were a little too bright. Beside him, Sheppard's countenance was thunderous, though Radek thought he sensed some small measure of fear there as well. He stood in silence before the rippling event horizon for a moment, then turned to face the gate room, lifting his hand in a salute.
"It's been an honor," he said, biting off the words quickly before he turned and strode through the gate.
"Lady be with you all," Radek heard Sky Parrish's voice from the top of the stairs, "and bring you all safely home."
"Thank you everyone," Carson replied, "and I hope... I hope... oh bloody Hades..." His voice failed him then entirely and he could only turn, head down and disconsolate, and trot through the portal back to Earth.
"Radek..." Rodney's voice was broken as he dragged him back for one, last, desperate kiss, and then Radek had to break it off or the wormhole would close before he stepped into it. "Miláčku," he said, tasting tears and not knowing if they were his or Rodney's, and then he turned and fled -back to a home that could never be his home again.
*****
And now: Tale the Eighth: Truths