SGA: 10 Yrs Ch4
CHAPTER FOUR: HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
“Welcome back.” Landry greeted them on the other side of the wormhole. Rodney stared forlornly at the closing gate. The SGC had not changed much, still covered in cold unwelcoming concrete and filled with gunned airmen with stern expressions on their faces. What a welcome, Rodney reflected.
“McKay, you are with Sam. Weir go with Daniel. And me and Sheppard are going to have a little chat.” Landry informed them, and walked away before any arguments could be made. John stalked after the General, Weir shrugged and followed Daniel who immediately started asking questions, and Rodney snapped his mouth shut. It seemed no one else was going to fight for the right to return to Atlantis, then why should he. An image of Chitara crying after nightmares and of Liron holding a stick in preparation to learn how to fight, that stubborn angry expression on his young face, filled Rodney’s mind and he made himself a vow that even if John didn’t manage to get them out of this mess, he would. Yes, yes, he knew how that sounds. Rodney McKay was not your typical hero, in fact he didn’t even like children most of the time, but this was different. This wasn’t about being a hero, it was about being the person he had tried so hard to become. Besides, even if this wasn’t the actions of the old Dr Rodney McKay, it was at least an statement as arrogant as any he had ever made.
“So… welcome home.” Sam said as they stood awkwardly in her old office.
“Yeah, ‘home’,” Rodney said sarcastically.
“Do you have any plans? Anything you want to do while on Earth?” Sam asked, seemingly determined to have a civilised conversation.
“Well I thought I’d maybe visit my sister… but as I haven’t spoken to her in…. oh say twelve years I expect to have the door shut in my face so it’ll probably be a short visit. Then I hope to leave.” Rodney told her in his usual abrupt but honest way.
“You really don’t want to be here? At all?” Sam seemed completely confused by the concept.
“Earth isn’t my home, Sam. It’s just the planet I was born on. In Atlantis I’m happy. I have family, friends, a purpose even if I can’t publish anymore.” Rodney sounded like the last one was a big issue for him, and that didn’t surprise Sam at all.
“I’m glad you have a home, Rodney. And I really do hope you get permission to stay there and for what its worth, I think you will. Lets get to work, the quicker we get this finished the sooner you can go back home,” Sam said and then started asking him questions, starting with the condition of Atlantis when they arrived.
**_**
“Major Sheppard, I need you to tell me the events that led to you assuming military command over Atlantis. When you left, the commanding officer was Colonel Sumner, when and why exactly did that change?” Landry asked. John had followed the General to the debriefing room where he was met my an IOA representative and General Jack O’Neil. John stared at the inactive gate wanting nothing more than to dial Atlantis and return to the safety of the Ancient city.
“It changed when he died.” John told them insolently. He figured that he wouldn’t be surrounded by authority figures if they just wanted a friendly chat. That and the two armed guards near the stairwell told John that he wasn’t going back home anytime soon.
The IOA rep sent a glare in John’s direction before scribbling down some notes on her thick pile of paper and files. “Which was when, Major?” General O’Neil said with dry bite to his words.
John wished they wouldn’t keep saying ‘Major’ as if reminding him of his own lack of power on Earth and that a Major shouldn’t be in control of a whole city. “Sir, Colonel Sumner died during our first encounter with the Wraith ten years ago. Ever since I’ve been the ranking military officer in Atlantis and Elizabeth has trusted my decisions to protect our people from all kinds of threats, be it the Genii, the Wraith, or the Replicators.”
“How was Sumner killed?” the IOA rep asked in her cold voice.
“We were capture - Colonel Sumner, me, Ford, and several of the Athosians. They… beamed us upon a Wraith ship and Sumner was taken to see the Queen. She drained his life force but before she had killed him completely I shot him to put him out of his misery. There was nothing anyone could have done, he was already dead. It’s all in my first mission report in the Atlantean computers; I’m not trying to hide anything. Sirs. Ma’am.” John said defensively. He knew how it looked. Guy how already ahd a problem with authority is sent to a far away situation only because he has a rare gene, and then that guy’s commanding officer just happens to die and the guy takes over? It would look suspicious to John if he weren’t the subject of this theory.
“Major, we’re going to have to obtain those files quickly, and then we’ll be having a long chat,” Colonel Landry told him and with a nod the two guards came to stand either side of John. He eyed them warily but didn’t put up any fight when they escorted him to a SGC overnight room. At least it wasn’t a cell, he reflected as he lay on the bed staring at the concrete ceiling. Of course with no window and a locked door with guards outside, a cell was exactly what it felt like.
*_*
Sam sighed, rubbing her forehead and shutting down her laptop. “So, okay that’s all we need for today-”
“Today! It’s been like five already!” Rodney exaggerated.
Sam gave him her ‘don’t be ridiculous’ look. “Rodney, it’s been thirty hours and you’ve had breaks.”
He looked slightly mollified. Slightly. “Okay, okay. So can I go now? I mean am I cleared to leave the base right?” He asked.
“Yeah of course. Most of the personnel who returned with you already have left the base. You have to be checked out by Dr Lam first but afterwards you can go wherever you want to.” She confirmed.
“What about John? And Weir?” Rodney asked, trying not to sound too eager for information about his absent lover. Truthfully this whole being-parted-thing was making him nervous. Even talking about all the technological wonders they had discovered over the last ten years hadn’t distracted him from John’s absence.
“I believe Weir went home last night and… Rodney, about Sheppard….” Sam began delicately.
“Oh what,” Rodney groaned, dread filling his stomach.
“He’s being detained until the details surrounding Colonel Sumner are cleared up.” Sam continued, wincing at the sheer intensity of the panic and disbelief of Rodney’s expression.
“No but that’s ridiculous! I mean come on, Sheppard couldn’t hurt a fly let alone kill his commanding officer in cold blood! Seriously, don’t tell me that Generals O’Neil and Landry are buying this crap!” Rodney wore crudely.
“I’m not sure but I know that the IOA representative is pushing to have John discharged from the Air Force which would cut him off from Atlantis. They are also pushing to have Dr Weir return to Earth and have her replaced by a more… ‘suitable’ representative. Their word, not mine.” Sam explained.
“This is… we didn’t have to come back. Hell, I didn’t want to. We were perfectly happy back in Atlantis and away from your stupid regulations and politics.” Rodney spouted off before grabbing his jacket and storming off, ignoring Sam’s attempts to call him back. Fury clouded his mind. How could they detain John after everything he had done for the people of Atlantis and the Pegasus galaxy.
It didn’t take long for Rodney to find John. He already knew his way around the SGC from his time here working with Carter before the Pegasus Project had even been thought of. Although this time it was more of a case of ‘follow the trail of gossip and armed guards’ and woah, at the end of the trail was his pot of gold. John Sheppard. Major John Sheppard. And locking him up like this was more than just wrong.
Rodney approached the door, glaring coldly at the armed guards and flashing the ID card he’d been given. “Let me in,” he demanded.
The guards exchanged looks. “No sir, we can’t do this. Major Sheppard is being detained until further notice.” One of them said as if repeating lines from a script. Rodney barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
“Listen, Lieutenant, I am not a security threat. I am an employee of this base just like you,” well, not just like him, obviously, but Rodney honestly wasn’t trying to antagonise the man, “so you are going to unlock that door and let me inside to visit with the Major. Once I am inside you can lock the door again - I don’t care. Now, please let me into the Major’s room.” Rodney folded his arms and straightened his back attempting to look as threatening as possible. But honestly he believed it was the very real and very cold hard glint in his eyes that said he was a man on the edge who would not be taking ‘no’ for an answer. The two Airmen shared a look and with a nod one of them unlocked the Major’s room and allowed him inside.
“Thank you.” Rodney said coldly before the door swung shut and the lock turned once again.
“McKay?” John said, sounding out of sorts.
“It’s me John.” Rodney confirmed. “How are you? They told me…. It doesn’t sound good.” His worry and fear showed on his expressive face.
John looked at the door nervously. He charged towards Rodney embracing him in an intimate hug and breathing deeply into his neck. “It’s okay. As long as we stick together.” John repeated, like a mantra, like it was all he had going for him right now.
“That’s the problem,” Rodney said miserably. “They’re trying to separate us.”
John stiffened but Rodney was pleased that he didn’t back away. “I know,” he muttered hoarsely. “I knew it as soon as I entered that room and that IOA bitch was sitting there looking as cool as ice cubes. She’s already made her mind up about my involvement with the Pegasus program and lets just say I’m not IOA material.” He moved away to sit on the cot.
“But you can still convince the Generals. They’ve both been in war-like conditions before. They know that sometimes things happen that you neither want or need. I haven’t given up hope.” McKay told him fiercely.
John nodded almost to himself before lifting his beautiful green eyes to meet Rodney’s. “Good. Neither will I then.” And Rodney smiled.
Next Chapter: Chapter Five