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packmentality
Title: Fault Tolerance
Author: Rachael Sabotini (wickedwords)
Rating: PG-13
Category Slash, H/c
Spoilers mild through Inferno
Summary: A jumper explodes, Radek is injured, and Sheppard keeps showing up.
McKay/Zelenka, 5650 words
A/N: Many thanks to bothz_rayne and sherrold for their betas. This is for the ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
atlantisbasics challenge, and packmentality asked for: "Zelenka and McKay save Atlantis through extreme geekery. Preferably slashy, though friendship would work. Maybe a little Beckett on the side."
Fault Tolerance
The explosion slammed Radek against the wall of the jumper, and a needle-sharp pain tore at his side. His chest ached and he couldn't breathe, his arms and legs were limp, heavy and unresponsive. Head and heart pounding as he slid down the wall, a surge of white-hot fear cascaded through his body: he was going to die. His ears were ringing and the sounds of other people around him seemed distant and abstract; he barely heard himself moan as the pain turned electric, shocking him and making his back arch, his mind holding only a litany of please make it stop.
He could do nothing; his very breath only stuttered in and out of his lungs with effort. Trying not to scream, he felt his own blood drip down his side, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see it pool beneath him, around where his leg lay at an impossible angle.
His vision whited out, and when it cleared, he was lying on the floor, with Rodney--face pale, fingers trembling, eyes a luminous blue--leaning over him, pressing a wad of cloth hard against his side. "Come on, come on," Rodney muttered. "Don't let my first aid course go to waste."
"You're bleeding," Radek said, seeing spatters of blood bright against Rodney's face. He brushed his hand over Rodney's rough cheek--his fingers felt so cold pressed against Rodney's warmth--and some of the redness brushed away on his finger tips, glinting in the light. "Not too bad--"
"It's yours." Rodney gave a half-gasp, his gaze darting to meet Radek's. "The power system ignited when you were working on it."
"Ah. That would be the smell, yes?" He laid his hand on Rodney's arm, and gave it a small squeeze, a little surprised by how firm it felt. "Like ozone and car batteries. Or a bar in Prague."
"Huh." Rodney blinked rapidly, and rubbed at his eyes. "A little, now that you mention it." There was the sound of people running, and Rodney yelled, "Over here!"
Immediately, Carson was there, sliding in next to Rodney and looking at his work. "You're doing fine, Rodney." He flicked a light on and checked Radek's eyes, temporarily blinding him.
"He blacked out after he was hit. I pulled that thing out of his chest," Rodney nodded off to the side, and his hands shaking. "I had to grab the field kit for supplies."
Waving to someone, Carson nodded at Rodney. "We'll get him to the infirmary." Carson tugged at Rodney's wrist, where it lay pressed against Radek's side. "You'll need to let go."
"If I move," Rodney said calmly, "he'll start to bleed again."
"We're used to that here."
"But I'm not!" Rodney's control slipped, and Radek could see the flash of panic in his eyes. "Sure, this happens off-planet, but--"
"We'll take care of him, Rodney. Let go." The medical personnel surrounded them then as Rodney pulled away. Radek could feel a half-dozen hands on him, the figures obscuring Rodney, hiding everything but one final glimpse of anxious blue eyes.
Rodney scrubbed a hand over his face as Carson's team lifted the backboard with Radek's unconscious form on it onto the gurney. They hadn't had anyone blow something up in...a hell of a long time. Long before they regained contact with Earth.
And for it to happen to Radek--inconceivable. It would be like blowing up something himself. The gurney was rolling and Rodney headed after it, until Sheppard grabbed his arm.
"They're going into surgery, Rodney. It may be hours before we hear anything." His voice dropped to a low murmur. "It's possible this was deliberately set."
"Oh. Right. Yes." He blinked a couple of times as Sheppard stared intensely at him, then Rodney shook his arm free. First things first--they had to figure out if this was sabotage or not.
Looking around at the room, the jumper bay appeared in good shape, until he realized that the recharging station had shattered. Fuck. He scrubbed his hand over his face. They didn't even know exactly how the recharging stations worked, so blowing one up? Not the best idea possible.
"Do you know what happened?" Elizabeth must have run to the jumper bay when Beckett was paged; she was still catching her breath.
"No, I--" His attention was caught as Dr. Kalyon, Kragon, something like that, was making his way across the debris, shaking his head. He gestured at a couple of the Marines to pick up one of the larger pieces of the recharging station.
"What are you doing?" Rodney yelled, storming over to Dr. K--no, Dr. Shelton. "Stop it immediately. We need to figure out what happened before you go picking this stuff up."
Idiots. He was surrounded by idiots. He snorted in disgust. If Sheppard or Ronon or Teyla was injured off-planet, he could count on Zelenka to keep everything running--
"What happened was Zelenka overloaded the relay station and it blew." Shelton glared at Rodney, not giving an inch. "There's no mystery to it. He was a careless fool."
For a moment, there was silence in the room, and Rodney could feel the thrum of everyone getting ready to snap at Shelton themselves. "Not as big a fool as you." He jerked Shelton's datapad out of his hand, pressed a series of menu choices, and twisted the resulting graphical display back at him. "No overload. No variance in...." He pushed another couple of buttons. "Over two point eight hours."
"That's impossible." Shelton grabbed the datapad, and Rodney let him. Shelton was one of the guys from Area 51, fresh off the Daedelus, and he needed taking down a peg or two.
Clapping his hands together, and with a nod at Sheppard, Rodney stepped into the center of the room. "Listen up, people. We have a potential bomber in our midst, and if that's true, this won't be the only bomb that was planted." He pointed to the control room sergeant. "I want to know everything that happened in this room in the past day, who has been in and out and how long they stayed." He pointed to Gwen Stafflos, the head of Engineering. "I want to know everything that Zelenka was working on, and who had access to that information."
"Meanwhile," Sheppard interrupted, looking over at Lorne and a squad of Marines, "I want a sweep of the jumper bay, to make sure there aren't any more surprises." He hit the button on his radio. "Cadman, this is Sheppard. I need you in the jumper bay now." He glanced over at Rodney. "She can probably give you a hand with this. Plus we'll need to do sweeps of all vital areas."
"I want all of Atlantis on alert, in case this turns out to be sabotage." Elizabeth clasped her hands in front of her and looked at John and Rodney. "Gentlemen, I'll expect a report from you in an hour."
"We'll have something for you then. Okay, people, you know the drill, so let's get started." Rodney circled his finger rapidly in the air, and the personnel there quickly broke into half a dozen groups, all talking at an excited pitch. Rodney ignored them and grabbed the datapad back from Shelton. "We all have work to do."
Radek wondered how much time had passed as he watched it rain inside the infirmary. He let his eyes follow cascade after cascade of green droplets running down the glass, until he realized that he was watching one of the aerators used by the water purification system, and not actually a window to the outside.
"Dr. Zelenka?"
Radek turned his head, and Miko stood near the privacy curtain, one more benefit of contact with Earth. "Where's Rodney?" he asked. His mouth felt dry and cottony, and his words came out slurred.
Leaving the curtain open, Miko sat down at the chair near his bedside, so he could hear her over the noise of the machines beeping around him. "I do not understand Czech, Dr. Zelenka. You will need to speak English for me."
Ah. Of course. He tried his question a second time, carefully enunciating each word.
"Dr. McKay is in the jumper bay, examining the debris. He was not happy with how Dr. Shelton was running the investigation, and felt it would be better if he took charge."
"Good. I am sure he will be thorough." He winced as he spoke, the sudden twinge in his side reminding him of what happened. He ached everywhere, but he couldn't make himself care; it was as if his body belonged to someone else. "Did they find anything?"
"Dr. McKay said that there was an organic residue on some of the jumper components, and has brought in the botanists to examine it." She cleared her throat, and shifted in her seat. "He also wanted to know if perhaps you knew what it might be?"
Radek shook his head, and winced. "Perhaps cargo. The jumper had been used to transport grain from the mainland recently."
"Ah, I see," she said. "There is no evidence of an explosive, according to Lieutenant Cadman, so it doesn't look deliberately set." She tilted her head slightly. "Colonel Sheppard is particularly concerned, as he says the jumpers are growing sluggish and not responding to commands the way they should." She laid a laptop on the table next to the bed. "Dr. McKay wanted you to have this. He says that he is always bored in the infirmary, and this way you can confirm his analysis." Then she set two DVDs from the last Daedelus run next to it. "I thought that you would enjoy these as well."
"Thank you." The top one was Pride and Prejudice; the title on other one was hidden, though from the colors, he assumed that it was another of Miko's choices, a romantic comedy or Bollywood spectacle or something from the BBC. "When will Rodney be able to come himself?"
"I do not know." She shrugged, and pushed her glasses back up her nose. "Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow. You know what he is like when he is working on something important."
Radek sighed, and looked away, feeling tired. Yes, he knew what Rodney was like.
"I will tell him you asked?" The sentence came out with a twist on the end, making it more of a question.
"No, 's fine." He pushed away the feelings of disappointment that swam through him; he knew Rodney couldn't sit at his side, the way he did with the rest of Sheppard's team. "He will come himself if he has news."
"I am sure he will." She patted Radek's arm. "We are all concerned about you. I must go now, as Dr. McKay wanted to know when you were awake."
The rain caught his attention as she walked past the curtain, and by the time Radek remembered it wasn't rain again, Miko was gone.
Rodney slumped heavily against the door frame in Carson's office. He'd spent twenty minutes or so standing and watching Radek sleep, letting relief fill him as he watched his friend breathe. He felt oddly protective of Radek right now, and he'd glared at the nurse who came by, daring her to awaken him. Yet all the time he stood there, he felt pulled to get back to the jumper bay and to the lab, to see if progress was being made.
He had responsibilities. He couldn't hang around the infirmary, waiting for Radek to get better. There was no one here to take his place. He really didn't have that same level of, well, comfort and ease with any of the scientists, other than Radek. Sheppard's team, Carson, and Radek--those were the only people he spent his free time with.
And at the moment, Rodney didn't know exactly what that meant.
So he took refuge in the familiar, and tried to figure out what had happened to the jumper, only to hit a wall time and time again. They weren't making any progress; if anything, things were getting worse. All of the pilots taking puddlejumpers out of the bay reported problems, while the off-planet jumpers seemed to be fine.
It had to be something to do with Atlantis's systems, and Radek was the only one who knew the jumpers at the same level as--okay, possibly better than--Rodney. He needed to know when he might be able to get Radek back. "I need him on this, Carson! No one understands the jumpers better than he does."
"I'm sorry, but I can't make him heal any faster. It takes as long as it takes. He won't be in any condition to work for at least a few days."
"Sacrifice some chickens if you have to, but I need him in the jumper bay."
"Rodney--"
"The jumpers are failing, Carson. And we don't know why." Rodney circled his hands in the air trying to express his frustration and anger at not having Radek around. It was like part of his brain was missing, and nothing seemed to work quite right. "Sheppard said that they aren't responding, and he can prod at them all day, and there's nothing. We need him--I need him. Just--tell him to get down here as soon as he can."
Rodney's head pounded, and he rubbed at his temples, trying to ease some of the tension. Crap, he was no good at this. He knew that Carson was doing everything in his power and then some, given the Ancient technology he was slowly incorporating into his treatment plans, but Rodney needed Radek on this, and everyone else was...slow and fumble-fingered. Radek wasn't perfect, but he was better than anyone else.
"Rodney--" Carson's voice had sunk into his gentle, managing-the-patient tone.
"I have to get back to work, Carson. Just tell him, okay?"
From Carson's heavy sigh, it was clear that he'd do what Rodney said, but that privately he thought Rodney was being stupid.
As he left, head down and watching his feet, Rodney wondered about that himself.
Awaking at midnight, the familiar sound of key clicks combined with the occasional muttered "idiots" meant that Rodney had arrived. Radek noticed that there was a half-eaten power bar on his tray, and a cup of what smelled like Rutabrias tea. He reached for it, only to have his hand slapped.
"Don't scare me like that again," Rodney growled, picking up the cup and drinking. "You're supposed to be one of the smart ones here, and you're not allowed to blow things up." He set the cup down, his fingers brushing against Radek's as he did. "And don't try to steal it. Carson said you're not allowed caffeine yet."
"It will help with the headache," Radek said, smiling.
"Yeah, right." Rodney pointed at the morphine drip. "That would be far more effective." Radek wondered if it was the infirmary lighting that made Rodney look so pale, his eyes two dark rings in a sharp-featured face. "Though it does muddy your thinking." Rodney's hand briefly rested on Radek's arm. Just a slight brush of fingertips, but the morphine seemed to make Radek more aware of the heat and strength behind it.
Large, blunt fingertips, typing out letters on the keyboard. Sitting side-by-side, one working, one thinking--it was something they'd done a thousand times since arriving in Atlantis. Both of them supposedly lost in their own thoughts and theories, yet at some subliminal level, intuitively aware of the other and connected--
"Radek?"
Ah. He must have drifted again. He rolled back the time in his mind, trying to focus on the last thing that Rodney had said. "I think well enough to be able to check your work." He fumbled for his glasses, and Rodney handed them to him. "Carson took the laptop you left, so I have not been able to keep up."
Rodney snorted. "As if. Do you remember what happened when the jumper exploded?
Radek sighed. "When the jumper came back from MS3-836, I noticed it had abnormally low power readings. A day later, the system goes dead."
"Wait." Rodney held up his hand. "Dead? What do you mean dead?"
Radek shrugged. "Would not light up, even when Major Lorne asked. Could not get any power readings at all."
"And you didn't bother to tell me--"
"Faugh," Radek snarled. "It is my responsibility, and we had never had a jumper go dead before. So I thought I would look at the electrical system, see what the Ancient batteries look like. I get the casing open, and--" he flicked his hands open. "Boom."
Rodney's face crumpled momentarily, and Radek could see in his eyes the knowledge of what had nearly happened. When he'd been speaking, Radek had felt distant from the event, as if it happened to someone else, but seeing Rodney's pain written across his face made Radek realize how close he'd come. For a moment, he couldn't speak and his hand trembled; Rodney reached over and grabbed it, holding on tight.
For just an instant, there was something that called and answered between them, an instant of awareness of just what it all might have meant; he could have joined Grodin, Dumais, Gall, and the other scientists on Elizabeth's 'killed in action' list.
Rodney stroked his thumb back and forth along Radek's wrist, his warm fingers grounding Radek, reminding him of what hadn't happened. Clearing his throat, Radek squeezed Rodney's hand tightly and said, "What have you found out?"
Pulling his hand away, Rodney dumped the story out, telling Radek everything he knew about the way the jumpers had failed, putting some distance between them and what they had just shared. Radek knew he drifted at times, but he thought he got the gist of the problem. The jumpers on the mainland and off world were functioning correctly, so the decision had been made to keep those teams off Atlantis, in case this was some sort of sabotage.
"The Daedelus is still a week out. Elizabeth has us on stand-by, in case we need to evacuate to the Alpha site, and Sheppard believes that we have enough jumpers still available that we can get everyone out, as long as we have several hours. Fortunately, there are no Wraith ships in the immediate vicinity, so we're pretty sure it's not a Wraith plot. Personally, I suspect it's Koyla's Genii splinter group, and--"
Something had grabbed Radek's attention about five sentences before, and made him consider what he had been working on at the time of the explosion. "What about the jumpers from--that one place, with the underground ancient city?"
"Which one? The one where I nearly died in an earthquake or the one where I nearly died in a lava flow?
"Earthquake. The lava flow gave us the Orion. So, have you done a comparison of their jumpers versus the ones we started with in Atlantis?"
"I don't...hmm. We haven't actually tracked that information." Rodney's hands whisked across the laptop with a speed that made Radek feel slightly dizzy.
"See." Radek tapped his head. "Even on the good drugs, I am still able to find flaws in your analysis."
Rodney simply smiled.
"Don't I still need that?" Radek said when the morphine drip was rolled away the next day.
"Oh, buck up." Rodney said, rolling his eyes. "You only want it so you don't have to go back to work. I know that you stopped using it last night."
"You're doing fine, lad," Carson said, patting Radek's hand. "You don't need heavy pain management anymore. In fact, day or so, and you'll be able to get out of here--for short visits, and if you're willing to use a wheelchair."
"About time," Rodney said. "I need you to come work on this thing with me."
"You have my notes."
"No one can read them. You--"
Colonel Sheppard poked his head around the curtain, "Hey, Radek." He held up a red Jell-o cup. "I saved you dessert tonight." He set it on the table and placed his hands on his hips, beaming like he'd taken first at a swim meet.
"You're bringing Radek dessert?" Rodney blinked at him. "Where's mine?"
"You can get your own. Besides, I know he likes the red kind."
"You do? Huh. Personally I prefer--"
"The blue. Yes, yes, we know. You've told us." Radek waved his hand airily, "Many times." He grinned at John who grinned back, and Rodney felt somewhat put out. Sheppard had no right to distract Radek like that, taking him away from...whatever it was they were doing. He stared furiously down at the screen of his laptop. Looking at jumper schematics. Yes. "Colonel, please, we were near--"
"To the both of you leaving." Carson pulled back the privacy curtain. "Rodney's been here all day, and Radek needs rest, so he can recover. You can talk to him tomorrow."
"But we're so close!"
"Tomorrow." Carson had slipped into his Chief Medical Officer voice, and Rodney knew there was no getting around him. They'd done this often enough that Rodney already knew the outcome, and he didn't feel like arguing tonight.
"Fine," he grumbled, grabbing his laptop and nudging Sheppard with his elbow as he passed. "Maybe the colonel can get me some Jell-o too."
God, a whole day wasted chasing botanists. Could there be a greater hell than that? Only if it were linguists, he supposed. His alarm beeped, reminding him of his meeting with Radek. Rodney quickly shoved his tray of lunch remains into the dirty dish tub, but hesitated a moment before leaving the mess. Trying not to think about it too much, he grabbed one of the red Jell-o parfaits and plopped some real whipped cream on it before heading to the conference room. People carefully avoided staring at him; he knew they were thinking about him taking more than his share again, but he really didn't care, because this, this wasn't for himself.
The doors sprang open before him, and Rodney held out his treat--only to stick it behind his back when he realized Radek wasn't alone. "Colonel...Colonel Sheppard. What are you doing here?"
Sheppard jerked a thumb toward where Radek sat in his wheelchair. "I was in the infirmary when he said he was on his way here, so I thought I'd come along, see how the jumpers were doing."
"Oh, they're, uh, fine." Rodney finally just shoved the Jell-o at Radek. "Here, I brought you this." As soon as Radek had both Jell-o and spoon in hand, Rodney turned to the large display and brought up his analysis, heart racing, and he wondered, briefly, if he was going to have a full-scale panic attack.
He thought he heard a quiet "thank you," along with the clink of spoon against glass, but he absolutely refused to turn around until he felt more in control of himself. "Here's where we first noticed the problem--"
Step by step, he went through the data, Radek nodding along at the salient points, Sheppard leaning against the conference table, brow furrowed in thought as Rodney talked. At some point, Sheppard just slid back onto the conference table, legs dangling over the edge, as Rodney and Radek discussed trends, vectors and correlations in what Rodney had pieced together, along with the information from the botanists on the residue that had been found.
Tapping the arm of the wheelchair he rested in, Radek nodded. "Yes, I see. The power failure occurred in a clockwise order, starting and spreading from one of the non-Atlantis jumpers."
"Like a virus," Sheppard said brightly.
"No, nothing like a-- Okay, yes, maybe a little like a virus. Or more properly, a contagion." Rodney hated all of Sheppard's little metaphors. Particularly those that worked.
"Cool." Sheppard leaned forward from where he sat on conference table, gripping the wooden edge. "So we just need a way to stop the virus--"
"Contagion."
"--whatever, from spreading."
"Don't you have someplace else to be?" Rodney stared at him, and Sheppard shrugged, making a weird squinchy face.
"Not really."
"I know you are hiding out, Colonel," Radek said. "Lieutenant Cadman let slip that requisition orders for the Daedelus are due today." Radek leaned back in his chair. "Carson was finished with his last night."
"Okay, Maybe I am hiding out. Just a little. Go on, though." He gestured at the wall display that Rodney had been using. "It's...interesting."
Folding his arms across his chest, Rodney said, "You only think that because it's the puddlejumpers we're discussing. If it was, oh, shield strength or something, you'd be doing the requisitions."
"Actually, I'd probably be in the gym."
Rodney rolled his eyes at Sheppard, which made Radek laugh; Rodney felt himself relax for the first time in days.
"Here." Radek pointed at one of the abnormal measurements Rodney had uncovered. "I think that is where we start."
When Sheppard was finally paged away to deal with some military-type thing, Rodney couldn't stop his huge sigh of relief. Finally he and Radek could really focus on the problem, without Sheppard's constant interruptions.
Radek eyed him warily. "Are you angry with Colonel Sheppard?"
"No. Not at all." Rodney waved at where Sheppard had been sitting. "He was distracting, that's all."
"You were very rude to him."
"I'm always rude to Sheppard. It's what we do."
"Usually you joke with him, true. But this time.... It felt different, that's all." Radek shrugged. "He visits often."
"Yes, I know." Images flickered in his mind, of the times he'd stopped by to see Radek and been told that Radek was too tired to see anyone else that day. "Don't you understand how hard it's been to get in to see you? First, when you're in the infirmary, there are people constantly coming and going--"
"It's a medical--" Radek snapped back.
"I'm not talking about the medical team, I'm talking about all of your...your...your visitors. Sheppard. Miko. Cadman. Simpson. Just.... Everyone. And they dropped off books and movies and things to keep you entertained, so that when I did show up, you were too tired to talk to me and spent all your time sleeping. I bet you didn't even open the laptop once to look at your email."
"I was very busy healing, you know." Radek shoved his glasses up his nose and glared fiercely at Rodney. "If you stopped by more often--"
"Stopped by!" Rodney said in horror. As if Radek didn't know-- "I was in there practically every night, until Carson threw me out." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "As if he didn't know that I needed you to help me--" Fuck. Rodney paced to the other side of the room, trying to get his thoughts together.
"Rodney?"
"Uhhh, that is, he should have known that we're...synergistic when we work together. And that, ah, that's better for ...everyone, so we can...save the city." Rodney looked at Radek then. He wasn't sure what sort of expression crossed his face, but whatever it was, thank God, Radek seemed to understand. "He should have known the rules didn't apply to me."
Radek cocked his head to the side, and nodded. "I think we have to make that more clear next time."
"Next time?" Rodney crouched down next to Radek, so they were at eye level "You're not planning on blowing anything else up, are you? Because I would," he swallowed hard and stood upright, "totally and completely forbid it. You never, ever, ever get to be nearly blown up ever again." He held up a finger to emphasis his point. "No one on Atlantis gets to do that ever again."
Pursing his lips, Radek nodded. "I think that is a very good rule."
With Radek and Rodney working together, it didn't take them long to narrow down the problem. Apparently, the new jumpers had developed a type of mold that interfered with the organic components of the jumper electrical system, causing it to short-circuit under the right conditions. So when the new jumpers had been connected to the Atlantis recharging system, the mold had propagated throughout all of Atlantis's jumpers, infecting them all.
Fortunately, the botanists were able to devise an anti-fungal that eradicated the mold, and a week after Radek's accident, the jumpers were flying once again.
Radek, though, still longed for a shower.
Under pressure from both Rodney and Radek, Carson gave his okay for Radek to progress to walking a few days later. Rodney had been almost as excited as Radek when Carson filled in the paperwork discharging him, freeing him to return to his quarters. Rodney had practically vibrated with the need to move move move, and barely lasted out Carson's parting instructions to take it easy and rest.
Unfortunately, Radek wasn't so good at the moving part; at least Rodney hadn't snapped at him during the walk back. Carefully maneuvering himself down the hall, Radek thought Carson had little to worry about as he took slow, measured steps. Sweat pricked his back and sides, and his legs felt like they were reaching their maximum load-bearing capacity.
"Hey Radek, Rodney." Colonel Sheppard nodded at them in passing as he headed for the control room. "Good to see you up and around."
"Thank you, Colonel. I think it's good to be up myself." He leaned against the hallway wall, taking the opportunity to rest, now that he had the chance.
Rodney slid in beside him, putting his arm around Radek's shoulders, supporting him. The colonel raised an eyebrow. Relaxing against Rodney, Radek watched as some sort of personal code was exchanged between the two men, consisting mostly of eyebrow movements, facial twitches, and hand gestures. Radek was a little mystified by what it all meant, but the exchange ended with a grin from Sheppard and a thumbs-up signal, followed by a wave at Radek. "Don't let Rodney boss you around, okay? He thinks he knows everything about medicine as well as physics."
With a grumbled comment about Beckett's voodoo and colonels who hang around when they should be other places, Rodney glanced warmly at Radek. "Let's get you back to your room."
Even with Rodney helping him, it took them awhile to get back to his quarters. Reaching the door, Rodney glanced at him; Radek gave him a tired little wave and shrugged. He wasn't sure he could last those final few steps by himself.
"Here you go," Rodney swiped the control panel and put an arm around Radek's waist, helping him into his room. "I thought Carson was going to keep you there permanently."
"So did I." Radek groaned as he eased himself onto the chair. Resisting gravity was incredibly difficult at the moment, and Radek wistfully contemplated the difficulties in getting personal inertial dampeners to work. "I cannot wait to have a real shower. I grow tired of sponge baths." He ran his hands through his hair with a sigh. "And my scalp never feels clean."
Rodney's fingers brushed the back of Radek's chair. "You, uh, need any help?"
"Rodney--" Radek felt a little dizzy as his gaze locked with Rodney. He could see a tentative fondness there, a vulnerability that wasn't apparent most of the time. His heart sped up, and his licked his lips, his mouth suddenly dry. "We have not--"
"No, we haven't." Rodney crouched down next to the chair and put his hand on Radek's. "And frankly, I'm a little unsure about all this, but, uh." He wuffed out a breath and stood. "But I thought, you know, since I was here and all."
Throughout his recovery, he'd been aware of Rodney's interest, the small touches between them taking on a deeper, more intense meaning. But while he was in the infirmary and Rodney working with the jumpers, neither of them had the energy to pursue more. From the way Rodney was standing there looking at him, his eyes sharp and clear with affection, it looked like he had decided that now was the time. "So you are offering...to help me shower?"
"Why not?" Rodney threaded his hand through Radek's hair and tugged gently. "You probably need a lot of help with that, to get it into some sort of order. That is, if you want me to. Unless you'd prefer if I called Sheppard--"
"And end up with hair like his? I think that would be worse."
"So you do want me to--"
"Of course." Radek sighed heavily. "Right now, I wish I would not have walked all the way here. I am still in no shape for any type of aerobics."
"I wasn't thinking of anything too athletic right now. It's just that, when you were injured, I...might. I, uh," Rodney rolled his hand in the air and looked at the floor. "I kind of...missed you."
"I might have missed you as well." He took Rodney's hand and let Rodney pull him upright, his hand naturally seeking Rodney's waist. Rodney pulled him in close, the two of them sliding together in a perfect fit, Rodney's arms wrapped around his shoulders.
It felt good, to be like this, just holding each other. It didn't take long before his legs were complaining, though and if he wanted that shower.... Regretfully, he pulled away, and drew his shirt off over his head, trying to ignore how Rodney's gaze ghosted over the scar on his side. "Good, then. We will both shower, and maybe after, we rest?"
"A power nap." Rodney smirked. "I like that thought."
Radek hit him on the shoulder. "I warn you, you will need to do most of the work."
"Don't I always?" Rodney smiled at him, and Radek could not help smiling back.
The End
Author's Notes on writing the story
packmentalityTitle: Fault Tolerance
Author: Rachael Sabotini (
wickedwords)Rating: PG-13
Category Slash, H/c
Spoilers mild through Inferno
Summary: A jumper explodes, Radek is injured, and Sheppard keeps showing up.
McKay/Zelenka, 5650 words
A/N: Many thanks to both
z_rayne and sherrold for their betas. This is for the atlantisbasics challenge, and packmentality asked for: "Zelenka and McKay save Atlantis through extreme geekery. Preferably slashy, though friendship would work. Maybe a little Beckett on the side." The explosion slammed Radek against the wall of the jumper, and a needle-sharp pain tore at his side. His chest ached and he couldn't breathe, his arms and legs were limp, heavy and unresponsive. Head and heart pounding as he slid down the wall, a surge of white-hot fear cascaded through his body: he was going to die. His ears were ringing and the sounds of other people around him seemed distant and abstract; he barely heard himself moan as the pain turned electric, shocking him and making his back arch, his mind holding only a litany of please make it stop.
He could do nothing; his very breath only stuttered in and out of his lungs with effort. Trying not to scream, he felt his own blood drip down his side, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see it pool beneath him, around where his leg lay at an impossible angle.
His vision whited out, and when it cleared, he was lying on the floor, with Rodney--face pale, fingers trembling, eyes a luminous blue--leaning over him, pressing a wad of cloth hard against his side. "Come on, come on," Rodney muttered. "Don't let my first aid course go to waste."
"You're bleeding," Radek said, seeing spatters of blood bright against Rodney's face. He brushed his hand over Rodney's rough cheek--his fingers felt so cold pressed against Rodney's warmth--and some of the redness brushed away on his finger tips, glinting in the light. "Not too bad--"
"It's yours." Rodney gave a half-gasp, his gaze darting to meet Radek's. "The power system ignited when you were working on it."
"Ah. That would be the smell, yes?" He laid his hand on Rodney's arm, and gave it a small squeeze, a little surprised by how firm it felt. "Like ozone and car batteries. Or a bar in Prague."
"Huh." Rodney blinked rapidly, and rubbed at his eyes. "A little, now that you mention it." There was the sound of people running, and Rodney yelled, "Over here!"
Immediately, Carson was there, sliding in next to Rodney and looking at his work. "You're doing fine, Rodney." He flicked a light on and checked Radek's eyes, temporarily blinding him.
"He blacked out after he was hit. I pulled that thing out of his chest," Rodney nodded off to the side, and his hands shaking. "I had to grab the field kit for supplies."
Waving to someone, Carson nodded at Rodney. "We'll get him to the infirmary." Carson tugged at Rodney's wrist, where it lay pressed against Radek's side. "You'll need to let go."
"If I move," Rodney said calmly, "he'll start to bleed again."
"We're used to that here."
"But I'm not!" Rodney's control slipped, and Radek could see the flash of panic in his eyes. "Sure, this happens off-planet, but--"
"We'll take care of him, Rodney. Let go." The medical personnel surrounded them then as Rodney pulled away. Radek could feel a half-dozen hands on him, the figures obscuring Rodney, hiding everything but one final glimpse of anxious blue eyes.
Rodney scrubbed a hand over his face as Carson's team lifted the backboard with Radek's unconscious form on it onto the gurney. They hadn't had anyone blow something up in...a hell of a long time. Long before they regained contact with Earth.
And for it to happen to Radek--inconceivable. It would be like blowing up something himself. The gurney was rolling and Rodney headed after it, until Sheppard grabbed his arm.
"They're going into surgery, Rodney. It may be hours before we hear anything." His voice dropped to a low murmur. "It's possible this was deliberately set."
"Oh. Right. Yes." He blinked a couple of times as Sheppard stared intensely at him, then Rodney shook his arm free. First things first--they had to figure out if this was sabotage or not.
Looking around at the room, the jumper bay appeared in good shape, until he realized that the recharging station had shattered. Fuck. He scrubbed his hand over his face. They didn't even know exactly how the recharging stations worked, so blowing one up? Not the best idea possible.
"Do you know what happened?" Elizabeth must have run to the jumper bay when Beckett was paged; she was still catching her breath.
"No, I--" His attention was caught as Dr. Kalyon, Kragon, something like that, was making his way across the debris, shaking his head. He gestured at a couple of the Marines to pick up one of the larger pieces of the recharging station.
"What are you doing?" Rodney yelled, storming over to Dr. K--no, Dr. Shelton. "Stop it immediately. We need to figure out what happened before you go picking this stuff up."
Idiots. He was surrounded by idiots. He snorted in disgust. If Sheppard or Ronon or Teyla was injured off-planet, he could count on Zelenka to keep everything running--
"What happened was Zelenka overloaded the relay station and it blew." Shelton glared at Rodney, not giving an inch. "There's no mystery to it. He was a careless fool."
For a moment, there was silence in the room, and Rodney could feel the thrum of everyone getting ready to snap at Shelton themselves. "Not as big a fool as you." He jerked Shelton's datapad out of his hand, pressed a series of menu choices, and twisted the resulting graphical display back at him. "No overload. No variance in...." He pushed another couple of buttons. "Over two point eight hours."
"That's impossible." Shelton grabbed the datapad, and Rodney let him. Shelton was one of the guys from Area 51, fresh off the Daedelus, and he needed taking down a peg or two.
Clapping his hands together, and with a nod at Sheppard, Rodney stepped into the center of the room. "Listen up, people. We have a potential bomber in our midst, and if that's true, this won't be the only bomb that was planted." He pointed to the control room sergeant. "I want to know everything that happened in this room in the past day, who has been in and out and how long they stayed." He pointed to Gwen Stafflos, the head of Engineering. "I want to know everything that Zelenka was working on, and who had access to that information."
"Meanwhile," Sheppard interrupted, looking over at Lorne and a squad of Marines, "I want a sweep of the jumper bay, to make sure there aren't any more surprises." He hit the button on his radio. "Cadman, this is Sheppard. I need you in the jumper bay now." He glanced over at Rodney. "She can probably give you a hand with this. Plus we'll need to do sweeps of all vital areas."
"I want all of Atlantis on alert, in case this turns out to be sabotage." Elizabeth clasped her hands in front of her and looked at John and Rodney. "Gentlemen, I'll expect a report from you in an hour."
"We'll have something for you then. Okay, people, you know the drill, so let's get started." Rodney circled his finger rapidly in the air, and the personnel there quickly broke into half a dozen groups, all talking at an excited pitch. Rodney ignored them and grabbed the datapad back from Shelton. "We all have work to do."
Radek wondered how much time had passed as he watched it rain inside the infirmary. He let his eyes follow cascade after cascade of green droplets running down the glass, until he realized that he was watching one of the aerators used by the water purification system, and not actually a window to the outside.
"Dr. Zelenka?"
Radek turned his head, and Miko stood near the privacy curtain, one more benefit of contact with Earth. "Where's Rodney?" he asked. His mouth felt dry and cottony, and his words came out slurred.
Leaving the curtain open, Miko sat down at the chair near his bedside, so he could hear her over the noise of the machines beeping around him. "I do not understand Czech, Dr. Zelenka. You will need to speak English for me."
Ah. Of course. He tried his question a second time, carefully enunciating each word.
"Dr. McKay is in the jumper bay, examining the debris. He was not happy with how Dr. Shelton was running the investigation, and felt it would be better if he took charge."
"Good. I am sure he will be thorough." He winced as he spoke, the sudden twinge in his side reminding him of what happened. He ached everywhere, but he couldn't make himself care; it was as if his body belonged to someone else. "Did they find anything?"
"Dr. McKay said that there was an organic residue on some of the jumper components, and has brought in the botanists to examine it." She cleared her throat, and shifted in her seat. "He also wanted to know if perhaps you knew what it might be?"
Radek shook his head, and winced. "Perhaps cargo. The jumper had been used to transport grain from the mainland recently."
"Ah, I see," she said. "There is no evidence of an explosive, according to Lieutenant Cadman, so it doesn't look deliberately set." She tilted her head slightly. "Colonel Sheppard is particularly concerned, as he says the jumpers are growing sluggish and not responding to commands the way they should." She laid a laptop on the table next to the bed. "Dr. McKay wanted you to have this. He says that he is always bored in the infirmary, and this way you can confirm his analysis." Then she set two DVDs from the last Daedelus run next to it. "I thought that you would enjoy these as well."
"Thank you." The top one was Pride and Prejudice; the title on other one was hidden, though from the colors, he assumed that it was another of Miko's choices, a romantic comedy or Bollywood spectacle or something from the BBC. "When will Rodney be able to come himself?"
"I do not know." She shrugged, and pushed her glasses back up her nose. "Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow. You know what he is like when he is working on something important."
Radek sighed, and looked away, feeling tired. Yes, he knew what Rodney was like.
"I will tell him you asked?" The sentence came out with a twist on the end, making it more of a question.
"No, 's fine." He pushed away the feelings of disappointment that swam through him; he knew Rodney couldn't sit at his side, the way he did with the rest of Sheppard's team. "He will come himself if he has news."
"I am sure he will." She patted Radek's arm. "We are all concerned about you. I must go now, as Dr. McKay wanted to know when you were awake."
The rain caught his attention as she walked past the curtain, and by the time Radek remembered it wasn't rain again, Miko was gone.
Rodney slumped heavily against the door frame in Carson's office. He'd spent twenty minutes or so standing and watching Radek sleep, letting relief fill him as he watched his friend breathe. He felt oddly protective of Radek right now, and he'd glared at the nurse who came by, daring her to awaken him. Yet all the time he stood there, he felt pulled to get back to the jumper bay and to the lab, to see if progress was being made.
He had responsibilities. He couldn't hang around the infirmary, waiting for Radek to get better. There was no one here to take his place. He really didn't have that same level of, well, comfort and ease with any of the scientists, other than Radek. Sheppard's team, Carson, and Radek--those were the only people he spent his free time with.
And at the moment, Rodney didn't know exactly what that meant.
So he took refuge in the familiar, and tried to figure out what had happened to the jumper, only to hit a wall time and time again. They weren't making any progress; if anything, things were getting worse. All of the pilots taking puddlejumpers out of the bay reported problems, while the off-planet jumpers seemed to be fine.
It had to be something to do with Atlantis's systems, and Radek was the only one who knew the jumpers at the same level as--okay, possibly better than--Rodney. He needed to know when he might be able to get Radek back. "I need him on this, Carson! No one understands the jumpers better than he does."
"I'm sorry, but I can't make him heal any faster. It takes as long as it takes. He won't be in any condition to work for at least a few days."
"Sacrifice some chickens if you have to, but I need him in the jumper bay."
"Rodney--"
"The jumpers are failing, Carson. And we don't know why." Rodney circled his hands in the air trying to express his frustration and anger at not having Radek around. It was like part of his brain was missing, and nothing seemed to work quite right. "Sheppard said that they aren't responding, and he can prod at them all day, and there's nothing. We need him--I need him. Just--tell him to get down here as soon as he can."
Rodney's head pounded, and he rubbed at his temples, trying to ease some of the tension. Crap, he was no good at this. He knew that Carson was doing everything in his power and then some, given the Ancient technology he was slowly incorporating into his treatment plans, but Rodney needed Radek on this, and everyone else was...slow and fumble-fingered. Radek wasn't perfect, but he was better than anyone else.
"Rodney--" Carson's voice had sunk into his gentle, managing-the-patient tone.
"I have to get back to work, Carson. Just tell him, okay?"
From Carson's heavy sigh, it was clear that he'd do what Rodney said, but that privately he thought Rodney was being stupid.
As he left, head down and watching his feet, Rodney wondered about that himself.
Awaking at midnight, the familiar sound of key clicks combined with the occasional muttered "idiots" meant that Rodney had arrived. Radek noticed that there was a half-eaten power bar on his tray, and a cup of what smelled like Rutabrias tea. He reached for it, only to have his hand slapped.
"Don't scare me like that again," Rodney growled, picking up the cup and drinking. "You're supposed to be one of the smart ones here, and you're not allowed to blow things up." He set the cup down, his fingers brushing against Radek's as he did. "And don't try to steal it. Carson said you're not allowed caffeine yet."
"It will help with the headache," Radek said, smiling.
"Yeah, right." Rodney pointed at the morphine drip. "That would be far more effective." Radek wondered if it was the infirmary lighting that made Rodney look so pale, his eyes two dark rings in a sharp-featured face. "Though it does muddy your thinking." Rodney's hand briefly rested on Radek's arm. Just a slight brush of fingertips, but the morphine seemed to make Radek more aware of the heat and strength behind it.
Large, blunt fingertips, typing out letters on the keyboard. Sitting side-by-side, one working, one thinking--it was something they'd done a thousand times since arriving in Atlantis. Both of them supposedly lost in their own thoughts and theories, yet at some subliminal level, intuitively aware of the other and connected--
"Radek?"
Ah. He must have drifted again. He rolled back the time in his mind, trying to focus on the last thing that Rodney had said. "I think well enough to be able to check your work." He fumbled for his glasses, and Rodney handed them to him. "Carson took the laptop you left, so I have not been able to keep up."
Rodney snorted. "As if. Do you remember what happened when the jumper exploded?
Radek sighed. "When the jumper came back from MS3-836, I noticed it had abnormally low power readings. A day later, the system goes dead."
"Wait." Rodney held up his hand. "Dead? What do you mean dead?"
Radek shrugged. "Would not light up, even when Major Lorne asked. Could not get any power readings at all."
"And you didn't bother to tell me--"
"Faugh," Radek snarled. "It is my responsibility, and we had never had a jumper go dead before. So I thought I would look at the electrical system, see what the Ancient batteries look like. I get the casing open, and--" he flicked his hands open. "Boom."
Rodney's face crumpled momentarily, and Radek could see in his eyes the knowledge of what had nearly happened. When he'd been speaking, Radek had felt distant from the event, as if it happened to someone else, but seeing Rodney's pain written across his face made Radek realize how close he'd come. For a moment, he couldn't speak and his hand trembled; Rodney reached over and grabbed it, holding on tight.
For just an instant, there was something that called and answered between them, an instant of awareness of just what it all might have meant; he could have joined Grodin, Dumais, Gall, and the other scientists on Elizabeth's 'killed in action' list.
Rodney stroked his thumb back and forth along Radek's wrist, his warm fingers grounding Radek, reminding him of what hadn't happened. Clearing his throat, Radek squeezed Rodney's hand tightly and said, "What have you found out?"
Pulling his hand away, Rodney dumped the story out, telling Radek everything he knew about the way the jumpers had failed, putting some distance between them and what they had just shared. Radek knew he drifted at times, but he thought he got the gist of the problem. The jumpers on the mainland and off world were functioning correctly, so the decision had been made to keep those teams off Atlantis, in case this was some sort of sabotage.
"The Daedelus is still a week out. Elizabeth has us on stand-by, in case we need to evacuate to the Alpha site, and Sheppard believes that we have enough jumpers still available that we can get everyone out, as long as we have several hours. Fortunately, there are no Wraith ships in the immediate vicinity, so we're pretty sure it's not a Wraith plot. Personally, I suspect it's Koyla's Genii splinter group, and--"
Something had grabbed Radek's attention about five sentences before, and made him consider what he had been working on at the time of the explosion. "What about the jumpers from--that one place, with the underground ancient city?"
"Which one? The one where I nearly died in an earthquake or the one where I nearly died in a lava flow?
"Earthquake. The lava flow gave us the Orion. So, have you done a comparison of their jumpers versus the ones we started with in Atlantis?"
"I don't...hmm. We haven't actually tracked that information." Rodney's hands whisked across the laptop with a speed that made Radek feel slightly dizzy.
"See." Radek tapped his head. "Even on the good drugs, I am still able to find flaws in your analysis."
Rodney simply smiled.
"Don't I still need that?" Radek said when the morphine drip was rolled away the next day.
"Oh, buck up." Rodney said, rolling his eyes. "You only want it so you don't have to go back to work. I know that you stopped using it last night."
"You're doing fine, lad," Carson said, patting Radek's hand. "You don't need heavy pain management anymore. In fact, day or so, and you'll be able to get out of here--for short visits, and if you're willing to use a wheelchair."
"About time," Rodney said. "I need you to come work on this thing with me."
"You have my notes."
"No one can read them. You--"
Colonel Sheppard poked his head around the curtain, "Hey, Radek." He held up a red Jell-o cup. "I saved you dessert tonight." He set it on the table and placed his hands on his hips, beaming like he'd taken first at a swim meet.
"You're bringing Radek dessert?" Rodney blinked at him. "Where's mine?"
"You can get your own. Besides, I know he likes the red kind."
"You do? Huh. Personally I prefer--"
"The blue. Yes, yes, we know. You've told us." Radek waved his hand airily, "Many times." He grinned at John who grinned back, and Rodney felt somewhat put out. Sheppard had no right to distract Radek like that, taking him away from...whatever it was they were doing. He stared furiously down at the screen of his laptop. Looking at jumper schematics. Yes. "Colonel, please, we were near--"
"To the both of you leaving." Carson pulled back the privacy curtain. "Rodney's been here all day, and Radek needs rest, so he can recover. You can talk to him tomorrow."
"But we're so close!"
"Tomorrow." Carson had slipped into his Chief Medical Officer voice, and Rodney knew there was no getting around him. They'd done this often enough that Rodney already knew the outcome, and he didn't feel like arguing tonight.
"Fine," he grumbled, grabbing his laptop and nudging Sheppard with his elbow as he passed. "Maybe the colonel can get me some Jell-o too."
God, a whole day wasted chasing botanists. Could there be a greater hell than that? Only if it were linguists, he supposed. His alarm beeped, reminding him of his meeting with Radek. Rodney quickly shoved his tray of lunch remains into the dirty dish tub, but hesitated a moment before leaving the mess. Trying not to think about it too much, he grabbed one of the red Jell-o parfaits and plopped some real whipped cream on it before heading to the conference room. People carefully avoided staring at him; he knew they were thinking about him taking more than his share again, but he really didn't care, because this, this wasn't for himself.
The doors sprang open before him, and Rodney held out his treat--only to stick it behind his back when he realized Radek wasn't alone. "Colonel...Colonel Sheppard. What are you doing here?"
Sheppard jerked a thumb toward where Radek sat in his wheelchair. "I was in the infirmary when he said he was on his way here, so I thought I'd come along, see how the jumpers were doing."
"Oh, they're, uh, fine." Rodney finally just shoved the Jell-o at Radek. "Here, I brought you this." As soon as Radek had both Jell-o and spoon in hand, Rodney turned to the large display and brought up his analysis, heart racing, and he wondered, briefly, if he was going to have a full-scale panic attack.
He thought he heard a quiet "thank you," along with the clink of spoon against glass, but he absolutely refused to turn around until he felt more in control of himself. "Here's where we first noticed the problem--"
Step by step, he went through the data, Radek nodding along at the salient points, Sheppard leaning against the conference table, brow furrowed in thought as Rodney talked. At some point, Sheppard just slid back onto the conference table, legs dangling over the edge, as Rodney and Radek discussed trends, vectors and correlations in what Rodney had pieced together, along with the information from the botanists on the residue that had been found.
Tapping the arm of the wheelchair he rested in, Radek nodded. "Yes, I see. The power failure occurred in a clockwise order, starting and spreading from one of the non-Atlantis jumpers."
"Like a virus," Sheppard said brightly.
"No, nothing like a-- Okay, yes, maybe a little like a virus. Or more properly, a contagion." Rodney hated all of Sheppard's little metaphors. Particularly those that worked.
"Cool." Sheppard leaned forward from where he sat on conference table, gripping the wooden edge. "So we just need a way to stop the virus--"
"Contagion."
"--whatever, from spreading."
"Don't you have someplace else to be?" Rodney stared at him, and Sheppard shrugged, making a weird squinchy face.
"Not really."
"I know you are hiding out, Colonel," Radek said. "Lieutenant Cadman let slip that requisition orders for the Daedelus are due today." Radek leaned back in his chair. "Carson was finished with his last night."
"Okay, Maybe I am hiding out. Just a little. Go on, though." He gestured at the wall display that Rodney had been using. "It's...interesting."
Folding his arms across his chest, Rodney said, "You only think that because it's the puddlejumpers we're discussing. If it was, oh, shield strength or something, you'd be doing the requisitions."
"Actually, I'd probably be in the gym."
Rodney rolled his eyes at Sheppard, which made Radek laugh; Rodney felt himself relax for the first time in days.
"Here." Radek pointed at one of the abnormal measurements Rodney had uncovered. "I think that is where we start."
When Sheppard was finally paged away to deal with some military-type thing, Rodney couldn't stop his huge sigh of relief. Finally he and Radek could really focus on the problem, without Sheppard's constant interruptions.
Radek eyed him warily. "Are you angry with Colonel Sheppard?"
"No. Not at all." Rodney waved at where Sheppard had been sitting. "He was distracting, that's all."
"You were very rude to him."
"I'm always rude to Sheppard. It's what we do."
"Usually you joke with him, true. But this time.... It felt different, that's all." Radek shrugged. "He visits often."
"Yes, I know." Images flickered in his mind, of the times he'd stopped by to see Radek and been told that Radek was too tired to see anyone else that day. "Don't you understand how hard it's been to get in to see you? First, when you're in the infirmary, there are people constantly coming and going--"
"It's a medical--" Radek snapped back.
"I'm not talking about the medical team, I'm talking about all of your...your...your visitors. Sheppard. Miko. Cadman. Simpson. Just.... Everyone. And they dropped off books and movies and things to keep you entertained, so that when I did show up, you were too tired to talk to me and spent all your time sleeping. I bet you didn't even open the laptop once to look at your email."
"I was very busy healing, you know." Radek shoved his glasses up his nose and glared fiercely at Rodney. "If you stopped by more often--"
"Stopped by!" Rodney said in horror. As if Radek didn't know-- "I was in there practically every night, until Carson threw me out." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "As if he didn't know that I needed you to help me--" Fuck. Rodney paced to the other side of the room, trying to get his thoughts together.
"Rodney?"
"Uhhh, that is, he should have known that we're...synergistic when we work together. And that, ah, that's better for ...everyone, so we can...save the city." Rodney looked at Radek then. He wasn't sure what sort of expression crossed his face, but whatever it was, thank God, Radek seemed to understand. "He should have known the rules didn't apply to me."
Radek cocked his head to the side, and nodded. "I think we have to make that more clear next time."
"Next time?" Rodney crouched down next to Radek, so they were at eye level "You're not planning on blowing anything else up, are you? Because I would," he swallowed hard and stood upright, "totally and completely forbid it. You never, ever, ever get to be nearly blown up ever again." He held up a finger to emphasis his point. "No one on Atlantis gets to do that ever again."
Pursing his lips, Radek nodded. "I think that is a very good rule."
With Radek and Rodney working together, it didn't take them long to narrow down the problem. Apparently, the new jumpers had developed a type of mold that interfered with the organic components of the jumper electrical system, causing it to short-circuit under the right conditions. So when the new jumpers had been connected to the Atlantis recharging system, the mold had propagated throughout all of Atlantis's jumpers, infecting them all.
Fortunately, the botanists were able to devise an anti-fungal that eradicated the mold, and a week after Radek's accident, the jumpers were flying once again.
Radek, though, still longed for a shower.
Under pressure from both Rodney and Radek, Carson gave his okay for Radek to progress to walking a few days later. Rodney had been almost as excited as Radek when Carson filled in the paperwork discharging him, freeing him to return to his quarters. Rodney had practically vibrated with the need to move move move, and barely lasted out Carson's parting instructions to take it easy and rest.
Unfortunately, Radek wasn't so good at the moving part; at least Rodney hadn't snapped at him during the walk back. Carefully maneuvering himself down the hall, Radek thought Carson had little to worry about as he took slow, measured steps. Sweat pricked his back and sides, and his legs felt like they were reaching their maximum load-bearing capacity.
"Hey Radek, Rodney." Colonel Sheppard nodded at them in passing as he headed for the control room. "Good to see you up and around."
"Thank you, Colonel. I think it's good to be up myself." He leaned against the hallway wall, taking the opportunity to rest, now that he had the chance.
Rodney slid in beside him, putting his arm around Radek's shoulders, supporting him. The colonel raised an eyebrow. Relaxing against Rodney, Radek watched as some sort of personal code was exchanged between the two men, consisting mostly of eyebrow movements, facial twitches, and hand gestures. Radek was a little mystified by what it all meant, but the exchange ended with a grin from Sheppard and a thumbs-up signal, followed by a wave at Radek. "Don't let Rodney boss you around, okay? He thinks he knows everything about medicine as well as physics."
With a grumbled comment about Beckett's voodoo and colonels who hang around when they should be other places, Rodney glanced warmly at Radek. "Let's get you back to your room."
Even with Rodney helping him, it took them awhile to get back to his quarters. Reaching the door, Rodney glanced at him; Radek gave him a tired little wave and shrugged. He wasn't sure he could last those final few steps by himself.
"Here you go," Rodney swiped the control panel and put an arm around Radek's waist, helping him into his room. "I thought Carson was going to keep you there permanently."
"So did I." Radek groaned as he eased himself onto the chair. Resisting gravity was incredibly difficult at the moment, and Radek wistfully contemplated the difficulties in getting personal inertial dampeners to work. "I cannot wait to have a real shower. I grow tired of sponge baths." He ran his hands through his hair with a sigh. "And my scalp never feels clean."
Rodney's fingers brushed the back of Radek's chair. "You, uh, need any help?"
"Rodney--" Radek felt a little dizzy as his gaze locked with Rodney. He could see a tentative fondness there, a vulnerability that wasn't apparent most of the time. His heart sped up, and his licked his lips, his mouth suddenly dry. "We have not--"
"No, we haven't." Rodney crouched down next to the chair and put his hand on Radek's. "And frankly, I'm a little unsure about all this, but, uh." He wuffed out a breath and stood. "But I thought, you know, since I was here and all."
Throughout his recovery, he'd been aware of Rodney's interest, the small touches between them taking on a deeper, more intense meaning. But while he was in the infirmary and Rodney working with the jumpers, neither of them had the energy to pursue more. From the way Rodney was standing there looking at him, his eyes sharp and clear with affection, it looked like he had decided that now was the time. "So you are offering...to help me shower?"
"Why not?" Rodney threaded his hand through Radek's hair and tugged gently. "You probably need a lot of help with that, to get it into some sort of order. That is, if you want me to. Unless you'd prefer if I called Sheppard--"
"And end up with hair like his? I think that would be worse."
"So you do want me to--"
"Of course." Radek sighed heavily. "Right now, I wish I would not have walked all the way here. I am still in no shape for any type of aerobics."
"I wasn't thinking of anything too athletic right now. It's just that, when you were injured, I...might. I, uh," Rodney rolled his hand in the air and looked at the floor. "I kind of...missed you."
"I might have missed you as well." He took Rodney's hand and let Rodney pull him upright, his hand naturally seeking Rodney's waist. Rodney pulled him in close, the two of them sliding together in a perfect fit, Rodney's arms wrapped around his shoulders.
It felt good, to be like this, just holding each other. It didn't take long before his legs were complaining, though and if he wanted that shower.... Regretfully, he pulled away, and drew his shirt off over his head, trying to ignore how Rodney's gaze ghosted over the scar on his side. "Good, then. We will both shower, and maybe after, we rest?"
"A power nap." Rodney smirked. "I like that thought."
Radek hit him on the shoulder. "I warn you, you will need to do most of the work."
"Don't I always?" Rodney smiled at him, and Radek could not help smiling back.
The End
Author's Notes on writing the story
