TEAM MCKAY: tall story, "Found"
Title: Found
Author: lar_laughs
Team: McKay
Prompt: tall story
Pairing(s): McKay/Sheppard
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Summary: Rodney gets himself into and out of trouble but no one believes him.
Once you've read the story, please take a moment to vote in the poll below. Ratings go from 1 (low) to 9 (high), so all you need to do is enter a single number in that range into each text entry box. You'll be able to see the prompt in the header above.
More details about the voting procedure can be found here.
Ronon was the first one to realize that Rodney was missing. No one else had noticed that the scientist hadn't been at a meal in three days but no one else spent quite as much time near the food as Ronon Dex. Especially lately. Earlier in the month, Ronon had gone to M7S-3P1 with Lorne and his team and come back with the worst case of "Morgoode Fever" that anyone on the medical team had ever seen. The Marines had taken to calling that because there was nothing "more good" than getting rid of the nasty sickness. No one else had come up with a better name although Jennifer was hoping to come up with a cure and thus get to name it for the history books, but, for now, they just all took to calling it by this horrible moniker as those that had gotten it didn't want to think about it much after finally getting rid of it and those that had been saved from it were crossing themselves (even those that had no religious affiliation) in hopes of never contracting it. After puking his guts clean for nearly two weeks, the big man felt as if he needed to make up for lost time out of the Infirmary. That meant eating just about everything in sight and at very odd times of day. If there was food out, he was probably somewhere nearby.
If it hadn't been for Ronon's strange eating habits and extreme care in noticing his surroundings, Rodney might never have been located. The problem was that everyone, including Ronon, assumed that John was keeping tabs on Rodney. Not only was the man part of the Colonel's team but there had been a locker room rumor circulating for months about the noises that could be heard coming from the science labs at odd times when no one was supposed to be working (although Rodney was there nearly every minute of the day, including those that should have been used for sleeping) or the fact that Rodney was often seen wandering the corridors near John's room with pink-tinged ears and poor excuses. Ronon had heard more of those than he cared to count. The men deserved their privacy, as did anyone on Atlantis trying to find love amongst the hazards of the alien planet, so people just smiled and walked on by without another thought.
This time it was Ronon wandering the corridors in front of John's room. He wasn't sure what exactly he was going to find. Sheppard would most likely laugh at him, moving aside so he could see Rodney propped up against the headboards with his laptop on his knees and an exasperated expression on his face for being interrupted yet again. When John finally opened the door after five minutes of constant pounding, he didn't look happy. If Rodney was on the other side of the door, Ronon wasn't so sure he wanted to know about it.
"What?" John demanded when Ronon didn't say anything right away. John was sleeping off a thirty-six hour rotation that had been so boring he'd actually wished he'd brought his book along. War and Peace would have been much more entertaining than watching the scientists collection samples. He wasn't completely sure why he kept getting the botany assignments when Ronon kept getting paired up with Lorne's group during this downtime. Probably had something to do with the way that Lorne's ears turned red every time Ronon plopped his meal tray down on the table, demanding to know why all the pretty people kept getting the bigger slices of pie and who did he have to talk to about the discrepancy.
"Thought you might know where McKay is. Haven't seen him in a while."
The last thing that John wanted to discuss was Dr. Rodney McKay. He'd been trying very hard to purge that frustrating man from his memory. For the last week, he'd been everywhere but where Rodney might turn up, going so far as to sneak food from the fridge in the Mess during down times so he wouldn't have to explain himself to anyone or have his actions relayed back to Rodney. But he should have known he couldn't hide out from him for long.
"I haven't either." John massaged the back of his neck. Now that it was coming it up, he felt oddly responsible for the fact that Ronon couldn't find Rodney. Had John done something wrong that caused Rodney to hide away? He'd thought his gut reaction to step away was just because the weight of the relationship was getting to him. Had Rodney even noticed? After not hearing from the man, he'd thought that Rodney didn't care if he was around or not. It should have made the hiding out easier but it just served to send him pacing around his room when he wasn't out on the few missions he could convince Woolsey to let him head out on. Now the guilt was making his stomach turn over. Guilt... and a little worry.
"You make five people that haven't seen him lately. Figure that's enough to start searching?"
Considering he would have started searching on Ronon's word along, John could do nothing but nod. "Let me get some clean clothes on... no, scratch that. I don't need a clean shirt to go save Rodney from whatever trouble it is he's gotten himself in."
Ronon just gave him the look that said he saw through the poor subterfuge but John didn't much care. He had a lover to find so that he could see about trying again.
***
Rodney wasn't sure when he knew that something was wrong. Maybe it was when everything around him turned a very sickly purple color, including his hand when he held it up to his face. Maybe when the bell-like noise that he'd come to investigate started to sound like words and then conversations. The Stargate changed everything into a language he understood and the fact that, at first, it hadn't was more concerning than the way his body felt too small and everything else felt too big. All in all, he couldn't help but wonder if it had been smart to come searching for the source of the strange sounds by himself. Protocol said he should call in his team but they were supposed to be on a well-deserved break.
Not that anyone could tell that from either Ronon or John. He'd barely seen John lately, which probably meant he was busy. At least, he hoped that was what it meant when the guy wasn't hanging around the doorway of the science lab, trying to draw his attention away from work. He'd grown used to being lured away from whatever had captured his attention at the moment because, truth be told, John Sheppard captured his attention more than any computer screen or data stream. Not that he would ever tell anyone, not even John, that sad fact.
He really knew he was in trouble when the alien that stepped in front of him talked to him in John's confidant voice. "Who are you and why are you here?"
"I could really ask the same of you. Whoever you are, I'm not sure if you're supposed to be on Atlantis. Only the Ancients have a right to be here." He hoped his voice cracking on that last bit didn't give away that he wasn't technically an Ancient either. Close enough, though. That counted in his book.
The alien had other ideas. "You are no Ancient. This city was ours before it was yours."
They argued the point for what had to have been an hour. Rodney gave up trying to keep track of the time right about the time he tried whipping out his laptop to show the alien (who had named Bob just for the sake of being able to call it something other than ugly alien which would have only escalated the situation in the wrong way) exactly how string theory worked. It wasn't just that the laptop wasn't in the back that should have been strapped across his back. There was no back for a bag to be strapped to. There was no body. He had arms and hands but they weren't attached to anything.
"What exactly have you done to me?" His voice rose several octaves, into the reaches that Ronon had a tendency to growl and clench his jaw as if the sound physically harmed him. If this was one of the only weapons at his disposal (because he wasn't going to give up on the idea that he'd be able to outthink Bob in this, or any other, situation), he was going to use it to his advantage.
Bob shrugged. "We made you better."
"Thank you but I'm no Six Million Dollar Man. Although that number was so arbitrary. I really don't think they could have done what they did, even back then, for six million dollars. It's not possible to piece someone together like that. You might as well start from scratch and... hey! That doesn't answer my question. What did you do with my body? And my computer? You better not done anything to my computer. There's stuff on there that I might not be able to reproduce. Okay, I can reproduce it all but I won't like having to redo work. It's tedious."
"You don't need that machine any longer. We integrated it into your system."
Rodney couldn't tell if he was happy with this news or slightly nauseated. Or maybe he was nauseated because that sort of news made a part of him, the part that he'd tried hard over the past year or so to squash down, very happy. He'd always dreamed of being able to access his computer with just a thought. If the computer was his thoughts, that sort of skipped a step. When he told John... but John wouldn't let an alien do this sort of thing to him. He'd fight because anytime there was any sort of integration, there was always consequences. This wasn't an episode of Star Trek, after all. No one wanted to be half-human, half-computer.
"Well, then unintegrate it, bucko." It was as if John was suddenly speaking through him, giving him the words when he didn't have any. At least not the right ones.
His sudden attitude change scared the alien so that it backed up, out of range of both Rodney's eyes and ears. Being alone didn't make him feel any better. He couldn't outwit his competition if they couldn't hear him. His greatest weapon was suddenly useless. What hope did he possibly have now?
***
John breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Lorne's voice over the radio. We've got him, John. Found him slumped over in a hallway over here in the northern quadrant. He was already running as he started giving instructions to anyone that would listen. That included the Marines he ran past as he skidded around the corner near the Infirmary. All that mattered was Rodney because these last few hours had been a torment, only made worse by the fact that his last words to Rodney had been, See ya as if Rodney was a bank teller or the guy behind the counter at the liquor store. Someone you saw with an odd sort of regularity but didn't know. Someone who didn't matter.
And Rodney most definitely mattered to him. Of that he was very much aware, more than he ever had been before. As he ran through the doorway of the Infirmary, out of breath and well ahead of the rescue party, he felt his heart begin to beat again. It had stopped somewhere around the realization that Ronon was correct and Rodney was nowhere on Atlantis and no entry had been made of him leaving. This had stopped being a what if situation and had sky-rocketed to extreme levels of this is happening so do something or you will regret that you allowed this to happen in the first place.
Jennifer rushed forward. "I heard they're bringing Rodney in. Do you know what happened?"
"No idea." He glanced back as Ronon entered the room. He wasn't out of breath but there was evidence that he'd hurried. "He wasn't here on Atlantis and then he was. I don't think anyone knows what happened yet."
Lorne came in, calling out orders over his shoulder. Several men were carrying an unconscious Rodney. An unconscious, purple Rodney. John moved aside to let them into the room, biding his time as chaos took over. He watched as the men deposited Rodney on the bed, pulling back quickly as if they were glad to be free of their oddly colored burden. The team huddled in the hall where they would be out of the way but still within range if anything was discovered that would answer some of the many unasked questions. One way or another, this had to have a juicy story attached to it and John knew that many versions would be circulating around the city by dinner.
The medical staff took over, as efficient as always, and there were soon wires running to beeping machines. Jennifer made sure to keep up a commentary of everything she was doing, as much for John and Ronon as it was for her team.
John tried to block out some of the more concerning words and phrases and concentrated on the heart monitor. If nothing else, it told him that Rodney was still with him. Still around for a second chance to make this work. Each beep punctuating his sentences for him.
I need you. BEEP Do not leave. BEEP Stay with me. BEEP I'm sorry. BEEP There better be a BEEP good reason why you're purple. BEEP Where were you? BEEP Did you leave me like BEEP I tried to leave you? BEEP I need you.
In no time at all, everything had been done that needed to be done and the medical staff went about their other duties. Jennifer gave him a rundown of everything she'd just done but John paid no more attention to that than he had at the moment. Even though he was nodding his head, his attention was still on the man in the bed so that he was the first to see the muscle spasm in his leg.
It was only when it happened again that John truly believed what he'd just seen. He held out a shaking hand to point out this aberration to Jennifer but she was already hurrying to the bed. Another check up, this one done in silence, and she turned to John with a smile. "He's awake."
The most beautiful eyes in the world stared up at him as John leaned down. "Hey, buddy. What kind of mess did you get yourself in now?"
"Am I still purple?" came the rasping question.
"Yep. As a grape."
"Do I have a body?"
John narrowed his eyes, wondering what had happened to bring on that question. "Same one I remember you having before. When we get a little more privacy, I can do a more thorough check for you, if you'd like."
That made Rodney smile which made John smile, something he hadn't felt much like doing lately. Rodney's voice was low and strained, as if he hadn't used it in awhile. For Rodney, that seemed near to impossible. "I think I was channeling you for a moment there. Told the aliens to put me back together the way they found me. Guess it worked because here I am."
Ronon leaned in close. "The aliens?" He'd had a low opinion of the word ever since he'd arrived on Atlantis. John had tried to assure him that most of the people on Atlantis used the word to explain the differences between the people from Earth and other planets but it was hard for him to accept the use of the word after he watched the Sigourney Weaver movies.
"They were purple. Integrated m' laptop and took m' body away. John would tell them to give it back so I did."
Rodney began to ramble about someone named Bob and laptops that could work like human brains. Since there was nothing more he could do here now that Rodney wasn't even being coherent, he kissed the man on the temple and turned to Jennifer. "Just make sure he doesn't leave before I come back. I don't want him wandering off, hoping to find the aliens... I mean, the creatures who took him again. Come on, Ronon. We have purple people eaters to go find."
***
Even after John stopped searching, Ronon still continued to wander the halls in the northern quadrant, looking for something that resembled the purple alien that Rodney kept swearing was real. All that Jennifer had been able to tell from his readings was that he'd probably fallen into shock because he wasn't eating. The purple had faded quickly but odd things like that happened in Atlantis all the time. No one gave it much thought. But no one else seemed to believe that there was any truth to his ravings about visitors to Atlantis, bent on mass integration with the computer systems. Chuck did a full diagnostic of the city's systems because John asked politely and than ran it again just to make Rodney shut up and leave the control room. Nothing was out of synch or showed that anything had entered Atlantis. It was still troubling that Rodney hadn't been anywhere on the city's scanners but that was written off as a glitch.
The rest of the city let Rodney tell his stories for another week before they started just leaving the room when he entered. Teyla, who had been sorry to have missed the whole thing, let him talk longer than most but even she'd begun to find creative ways of changing the subject when Rodney came near. Even John had been known to distract him, when no one else was around but the team, with a quick kiss on the jaw or a bite to his earlobe. No one thought his stories were anything more than low blood sugar messing with his brain.
Ronon heard the truth in the story. Somehow, the scientist had gotten himself into trouble and then talked his way out of it. Nothing was that easy, though. There was a distinct possibility that this might all come back to haunt them some day and Ronon hated to be caught unaware. He just needed a little time and he'd find the truth behind everything. Maybe then Rodney would stop talking. Maybe.
Poll
Author: lar_laughs
Team: McKay
Prompt: tall story
Pairing(s): McKay/Sheppard
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Summary: Rodney gets himself into and out of trouble but no one believes him.
Once you've read the story, please take a moment to vote in the poll below. Ratings go from 1 (low) to 9 (high), so all you need to do is enter a single number in that range into each text entry box. You'll be able to see the prompt in the header above.
More details about the voting procedure can be found here.
Ronon was the first one to realize that Rodney was missing. No one else had noticed that the scientist hadn't been at a meal in three days but no one else spent quite as much time near the food as Ronon Dex. Especially lately. Earlier in the month, Ronon had gone to M7S-3P1 with Lorne and his team and come back with the worst case of "Morgoode Fever" that anyone on the medical team had ever seen. The Marines had taken to calling that because there was nothing "more good" than getting rid of the nasty sickness. No one else had come up with a better name although Jennifer was hoping to come up with a cure and thus get to name it for the history books, but, for now, they just all took to calling it by this horrible moniker as those that had gotten it didn't want to think about it much after finally getting rid of it and those that had been saved from it were crossing themselves (even those that had no religious affiliation) in hopes of never contracting it. After puking his guts clean for nearly two weeks, the big man felt as if he needed to make up for lost time out of the Infirmary. That meant eating just about everything in sight and at very odd times of day. If there was food out, he was probably somewhere nearby.
If it hadn't been for Ronon's strange eating habits and extreme care in noticing his surroundings, Rodney might never have been located. The problem was that everyone, including Ronon, assumed that John was keeping tabs on Rodney. Not only was the man part of the Colonel's team but there had been a locker room rumor circulating for months about the noises that could be heard coming from the science labs at odd times when no one was supposed to be working (although Rodney was there nearly every minute of the day, including those that should have been used for sleeping) or the fact that Rodney was often seen wandering the corridors near John's room with pink-tinged ears and poor excuses. Ronon had heard more of those than he cared to count. The men deserved their privacy, as did anyone on Atlantis trying to find love amongst the hazards of the alien planet, so people just smiled and walked on by without another thought.
This time it was Ronon wandering the corridors in front of John's room. He wasn't sure what exactly he was going to find. Sheppard would most likely laugh at him, moving aside so he could see Rodney propped up against the headboards with his laptop on his knees and an exasperated expression on his face for being interrupted yet again. When John finally opened the door after five minutes of constant pounding, he didn't look happy. If Rodney was on the other side of the door, Ronon wasn't so sure he wanted to know about it.
"What?" John demanded when Ronon didn't say anything right away. John was sleeping off a thirty-six hour rotation that had been so boring he'd actually wished he'd brought his book along. War and Peace would have been much more entertaining than watching the scientists collection samples. He wasn't completely sure why he kept getting the botany assignments when Ronon kept getting paired up with Lorne's group during this downtime. Probably had something to do with the way that Lorne's ears turned red every time Ronon plopped his meal tray down on the table, demanding to know why all the pretty people kept getting the bigger slices of pie and who did he have to talk to about the discrepancy.
"Thought you might know where McKay is. Haven't seen him in a while."
The last thing that John wanted to discuss was Dr. Rodney McKay. He'd been trying very hard to purge that frustrating man from his memory. For the last week, he'd been everywhere but where Rodney might turn up, going so far as to sneak food from the fridge in the Mess during down times so he wouldn't have to explain himself to anyone or have his actions relayed back to Rodney. But he should have known he couldn't hide out from him for long.
"I haven't either." John massaged the back of his neck. Now that it was coming it up, he felt oddly responsible for the fact that Ronon couldn't find Rodney. Had John done something wrong that caused Rodney to hide away? He'd thought his gut reaction to step away was just because the weight of the relationship was getting to him. Had Rodney even noticed? After not hearing from the man, he'd thought that Rodney didn't care if he was around or not. It should have made the hiding out easier but it just served to send him pacing around his room when he wasn't out on the few missions he could convince Woolsey to let him head out on. Now the guilt was making his stomach turn over. Guilt... and a little worry.
"You make five people that haven't seen him lately. Figure that's enough to start searching?"
Considering he would have started searching on Ronon's word along, John could do nothing but nod. "Let me get some clean clothes on... no, scratch that. I don't need a clean shirt to go save Rodney from whatever trouble it is he's gotten himself in."
Ronon just gave him the look that said he saw through the poor subterfuge but John didn't much care. He had a lover to find so that he could see about trying again.
***
Rodney wasn't sure when he knew that something was wrong. Maybe it was when everything around him turned a very sickly purple color, including his hand when he held it up to his face. Maybe when the bell-like noise that he'd come to investigate started to sound like words and then conversations. The Stargate changed everything into a language he understood and the fact that, at first, it hadn't was more concerning than the way his body felt too small and everything else felt too big. All in all, he couldn't help but wonder if it had been smart to come searching for the source of the strange sounds by himself. Protocol said he should call in his team but they were supposed to be on a well-deserved break.
Not that anyone could tell that from either Ronon or John. He'd barely seen John lately, which probably meant he was busy. At least, he hoped that was what it meant when the guy wasn't hanging around the doorway of the science lab, trying to draw his attention away from work. He'd grown used to being lured away from whatever had captured his attention at the moment because, truth be told, John Sheppard captured his attention more than any computer screen or data stream. Not that he would ever tell anyone, not even John, that sad fact.
He really knew he was in trouble when the alien that stepped in front of him talked to him in John's confidant voice. "Who are you and why are you here?"
"I could really ask the same of you. Whoever you are, I'm not sure if you're supposed to be on Atlantis. Only the Ancients have a right to be here." He hoped his voice cracking on that last bit didn't give away that he wasn't technically an Ancient either. Close enough, though. That counted in his book.
The alien had other ideas. "You are no Ancient. This city was ours before it was yours."
They argued the point for what had to have been an hour. Rodney gave up trying to keep track of the time right about the time he tried whipping out his laptop to show the alien (who had named Bob just for the sake of being able to call it something other than ugly alien which would have only escalated the situation in the wrong way) exactly how string theory worked. It wasn't just that the laptop wasn't in the back that should have been strapped across his back. There was no back for a bag to be strapped to. There was no body. He had arms and hands but they weren't attached to anything.
"What exactly have you done to me?" His voice rose several octaves, into the reaches that Ronon had a tendency to growl and clench his jaw as if the sound physically harmed him. If this was one of the only weapons at his disposal (because he wasn't going to give up on the idea that he'd be able to outthink Bob in this, or any other, situation), he was going to use it to his advantage.
Bob shrugged. "We made you better."
"Thank you but I'm no Six Million Dollar Man. Although that number was so arbitrary. I really don't think they could have done what they did, even back then, for six million dollars. It's not possible to piece someone together like that. You might as well start from scratch and... hey! That doesn't answer my question. What did you do with my body? And my computer? You better not done anything to my computer. There's stuff on there that I might not be able to reproduce. Okay, I can reproduce it all but I won't like having to redo work. It's tedious."
"You don't need that machine any longer. We integrated it into your system."
Rodney couldn't tell if he was happy with this news or slightly nauseated. Or maybe he was nauseated because that sort of news made a part of him, the part that he'd tried hard over the past year or so to squash down, very happy. He'd always dreamed of being able to access his computer with just a thought. If the computer was his thoughts, that sort of skipped a step. When he told John... but John wouldn't let an alien do this sort of thing to him. He'd fight because anytime there was any sort of integration, there was always consequences. This wasn't an episode of Star Trek, after all. No one wanted to be half-human, half-computer.
"Well, then unintegrate it, bucko." It was as if John was suddenly speaking through him, giving him the words when he didn't have any. At least not the right ones.
His sudden attitude change scared the alien so that it backed up, out of range of both Rodney's eyes and ears. Being alone didn't make him feel any better. He couldn't outwit his competition if they couldn't hear him. His greatest weapon was suddenly useless. What hope did he possibly have now?
***
John breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Lorne's voice over the radio. We've got him, John. Found him slumped over in a hallway over here in the northern quadrant. He was already running as he started giving instructions to anyone that would listen. That included the Marines he ran past as he skidded around the corner near the Infirmary. All that mattered was Rodney because these last few hours had been a torment, only made worse by the fact that his last words to Rodney had been, See ya as if Rodney was a bank teller or the guy behind the counter at the liquor store. Someone you saw with an odd sort of regularity but didn't know. Someone who didn't matter.
And Rodney most definitely mattered to him. Of that he was very much aware, more than he ever had been before. As he ran through the doorway of the Infirmary, out of breath and well ahead of the rescue party, he felt his heart begin to beat again. It had stopped somewhere around the realization that Ronon was correct and Rodney was nowhere on Atlantis and no entry had been made of him leaving. This had stopped being a what if situation and had sky-rocketed to extreme levels of this is happening so do something or you will regret that you allowed this to happen in the first place.
Jennifer rushed forward. "I heard they're bringing Rodney in. Do you know what happened?"
"No idea." He glanced back as Ronon entered the room. He wasn't out of breath but there was evidence that he'd hurried. "He wasn't here on Atlantis and then he was. I don't think anyone knows what happened yet."
Lorne came in, calling out orders over his shoulder. Several men were carrying an unconscious Rodney. An unconscious, purple Rodney. John moved aside to let them into the room, biding his time as chaos took over. He watched as the men deposited Rodney on the bed, pulling back quickly as if they were glad to be free of their oddly colored burden. The team huddled in the hall where they would be out of the way but still within range if anything was discovered that would answer some of the many unasked questions. One way or another, this had to have a juicy story attached to it and John knew that many versions would be circulating around the city by dinner.
The medical staff took over, as efficient as always, and there were soon wires running to beeping machines. Jennifer made sure to keep up a commentary of everything she was doing, as much for John and Ronon as it was for her team.
John tried to block out some of the more concerning words and phrases and concentrated on the heart monitor. If nothing else, it told him that Rodney was still with him. Still around for a second chance to make this work. Each beep punctuating his sentences for him.
I need you. BEEP Do not leave. BEEP Stay with me. BEEP I'm sorry. BEEP There better be a BEEP good reason why you're purple. BEEP Where were you? BEEP Did you leave me like BEEP I tried to leave you? BEEP I need you.
In no time at all, everything had been done that needed to be done and the medical staff went about their other duties. Jennifer gave him a rundown of everything she'd just done but John paid no more attention to that than he had at the moment. Even though he was nodding his head, his attention was still on the man in the bed so that he was the first to see the muscle spasm in his leg.
It was only when it happened again that John truly believed what he'd just seen. He held out a shaking hand to point out this aberration to Jennifer but she was already hurrying to the bed. Another check up, this one done in silence, and she turned to John with a smile. "He's awake."
The most beautiful eyes in the world stared up at him as John leaned down. "Hey, buddy. What kind of mess did you get yourself in now?"
"Am I still purple?" came the rasping question.
"Yep. As a grape."
"Do I have a body?"
John narrowed his eyes, wondering what had happened to bring on that question. "Same one I remember you having before. When we get a little more privacy, I can do a more thorough check for you, if you'd like."
That made Rodney smile which made John smile, something he hadn't felt much like doing lately. Rodney's voice was low and strained, as if he hadn't used it in awhile. For Rodney, that seemed near to impossible. "I think I was channeling you for a moment there. Told the aliens to put me back together the way they found me. Guess it worked because here I am."
Ronon leaned in close. "The aliens?" He'd had a low opinion of the word ever since he'd arrived on Atlantis. John had tried to assure him that most of the people on Atlantis used the word to explain the differences between the people from Earth and other planets but it was hard for him to accept the use of the word after he watched the Sigourney Weaver movies.
"They were purple. Integrated m' laptop and took m' body away. John would tell them to give it back so I did."
Rodney began to ramble about someone named Bob and laptops that could work like human brains. Since there was nothing more he could do here now that Rodney wasn't even being coherent, he kissed the man on the temple and turned to Jennifer. "Just make sure he doesn't leave before I come back. I don't want him wandering off, hoping to find the aliens... I mean, the creatures who took him again. Come on, Ronon. We have purple people eaters to go find."
***
Even after John stopped searching, Ronon still continued to wander the halls in the northern quadrant, looking for something that resembled the purple alien that Rodney kept swearing was real. All that Jennifer had been able to tell from his readings was that he'd probably fallen into shock because he wasn't eating. The purple had faded quickly but odd things like that happened in Atlantis all the time. No one gave it much thought. But no one else seemed to believe that there was any truth to his ravings about visitors to Atlantis, bent on mass integration with the computer systems. Chuck did a full diagnostic of the city's systems because John asked politely and than ran it again just to make Rodney shut up and leave the control room. Nothing was out of synch or showed that anything had entered Atlantis. It was still troubling that Rodney hadn't been anywhere on the city's scanners but that was written off as a glitch.
The rest of the city let Rodney tell his stories for another week before they started just leaving the room when he entered. Teyla, who had been sorry to have missed the whole thing, let him talk longer than most but even she'd begun to find creative ways of changing the subject when Rodney came near. Even John had been known to distract him, when no one else was around but the team, with a quick kiss on the jaw or a bite to his earlobe. No one thought his stories were anything more than low blood sugar messing with his brain.
Ronon heard the truth in the story. Somehow, the scientist had gotten himself into trouble and then talked his way out of it. Nothing was that easy, though. There was a distinct possibility that this might all come back to haunt them some day and Ronon hated to be caught unaware. He just needed a little time and he'd find the truth behind everything. Maybe then Rodney would stop talking. Maybe.
Poll