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Veritas
By : Kali
Category: Stargate: SG-1 > Stargate Atlantis
Views: 4569 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0Disclaimer: Kali & muses do not own any of Stargate or NCIS, nor make any profit from this work; we just borrowed them for the sake of this fanfiction. - Chapter List
Disclaimer:
The author does not own any of NCIS or Stargate, only borrows them for the sake
of this fanfiction. No profit is made by
the writing of this story.Warnings:
Anything one expects to see on Stargate or NCIS, expect it here; also, slash in
the form of Jack/Daniel, and John/Rodney; het pairings include Tony/Ziva,
Gibbs/Jenny.If
~*~*~*~*~*~Big
you dislike such things, or are underage, do not read!
thanks and kudos to Emergency70 for the beta!Chapter VIIIReaching their destination in Flagstaff,
at the coordinates Odyssey had
provided McKay, they found two people waiting for them. One was Daniel, who smiled and waved at the
group as everyone poured out of the SUVs.
The other was introduced as their escort to Colorado Springs – or more
specifically, the Cheyenne Mountain AF base that housed most of the SGC’s
personnel.“You must be Leyla.” Daniel greeted their guest, smiling a little
at the sleeping toddler in Gibbs’ arms.
“And Amira. It is my pleasure to
meet you.” He said that last in perfect
Arabic, and for a moment he went off in the same language with such
effortlessness that it seemed like he’d been born speaking it. Gibbs could only follow about a fifth of
whatever he said, but a glance at Ziva reassured him that he wasn’t missing
anything crucial.What Daniel told Leyla was that she
and her daughter would be safe and in good company with her escort, a man he
knew and trusted whole-heartedly with his own life many times in the past. He added that his friend – and his wife – had
graciously offered Leyla their home to her as a sanctuary until the mess was
over with, so that she would not be completely alone. He also assured her that anything she or
Amira needed would be provided without any cost to herself – it was the least
they could do for her.At that point, Daniel turned to Gibbs
and relayed the same information. “Oh,
and I suppose a proper introduction is in order. Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, this is
Lieutenant Colonel Lou Ferretti, USAF, retired.”Ferretti laughed and clapped Daniel on
the shoulder fondly. “Thanks, Doc. I wondered if maybe I was going to remain
nameless, there, for a moment.” Lou held
out a hand to Gibbs, who shook it.
“Agent Gibbs. Don’t worry about a
thing. The General briefed me on
everything, and Amy – my wife – and I will take excellent care of our guests
for you.”“I’ll hold you to that, Colonel.” Gibbs replied. It was both a warning and a promise, and
Ferretti seemed to get that, because he nodded solemnly.“It’s just ‘Lou,’ these days,
sir.” He turned to Leyla, who was taking
her daughter from Gibbs carefully, and gestured to the car parked not too far
away. “If you want to get the little one
settled, ma’am? It’s a long drive, and
we should get started on it.”Leyla nodded, and Daniel took her over
and opened the car door for her. Ziva went, too, carrying Leyla's bags to stow
in the trunk.Lou glanced over Sheppard, McKay,
Teyla, and Ronon curiously. “Hey! So you’re the ah…Pegasus expedition,
huh? Nice to finally meet you.” He shook hands with Sheppard, then McKay,
continuing, “Well, you I know, Dr. McKay.
You’re rather infamous around the Mountain, after all.”McKay scowled at him, flushing a
little. “You’d better be talking about
my great scientific genius, Ferretti, or I’ll sic Ronon on you.” A frown replaced the scowl briefly. “What have you heard, anyway?”“No you won’t.” Sheppard nudged him in the side. “And you’ll have to tell us about this infamy
of yours later.”McKay sputtered and Lou laughed.
“Nah.
You’re alright, Dr. McKay.” Lou
waved aside the story. “Anyway, better
hit the road. And you all better get
back to D.C. and get some rest.” Lou
offered a two-fingered salute and jogged over to his car. A brief word with Daniel and a one-armed hug
on both sides, and then he was gone.Daniel and Ziva rejoined them. “Well, that’s a load off, at least.” He shoved his hands in his pants’ pockets,
tilting his head as he regarded Gibbs seriously. “Lou is one of the people I trust most,
Gibbs. Of those of us who went on the
original mission through the Gate almost twelve years ago, only myself, Jack,
and Lou are left. He knows the score exactly – and he’s the best person we
have that can handle what could come his way from this.”Gibbs sighed and ran a hand through
his hair agitatedly. “It’s not like I
can refute that or protest, Dr. Jackson.
At this point I have no other options but to trust you and your people. I can accept that – but I don’t have t like
it.”Daniel smiled, chuckling a
little. “You and Jack are a lot
alike. I think you’d get along quite
well, under normal circumstances.”“But what’s normal for you people
anyway?” Tony wondered, with a hint of
sarcasm. “I mean, you go to other
planets, fly around in spaceships, and battle aliens for gods’ sake.”Daniel shrugged and smirked.
“Is Mitchell waiting?” John asked.
“Yes.”
Daniel sobered and reached for his ear.
“You’ve all got your things from the cars?” At everyone’s nod, he called his teammate for
transport.~*~*~*~*~*~
Gibbs was certain he would never get
used to the strange sense of disconnection he experienced every time he
was…beamed somewhere; he was, in fact, grateful this was a temporary thing and
not going to be a regular occurrence – even if it was kind of handy.Colonel Mitchell had put them all back
in Gibbs’ house – NCIS, that is.
Sheppard and his people (all of whom were bunking down at O’Neill’s
rather than just using it as a base, as Gibbs had thought) were going to be put
back at the General’s after checking in with…whoever and…whatever else it was
they did. Even being a Marine gave Gibbs
no real hints as to what sort of protocols these Stargate folk probably had to
deal with in their jobs and lives – and he had yet to even see an alien.He still didn’t quite believe that
part, either.It was something of a relief to be
home though, on his own territory. He
hadn’t allowed himself to show how truly unnerved and out of place he’d felt
the entire time – for the sake of his team, as much as his own sanity. At least he had the comfort of knowing Leyla
and Amira were okay. Now he could put
all his focus on finding Mike, and ending this nightmare.“Come, McGee.” Ziva tugged the young an toward the
kitchen. “We shall finish cleaning up
before we leave, yes?”“Ah, yeah. Let’s do that.” McGee nodded, stopping to collect empty beer
bottles, cans, and cups along the way.Tony, not one to consider being
domestic at the best of times, eyed them for just a moment before taking on the
lesser of evils and sinking down onto the couch beside his mentor and friend.“What do you think, boss?” He asked quietly, no hint of his usual humour
or smart-ass self in his tone.For once, Gibbs didn’t really know how
to respond. He shook his head tiredly,
trying to clear it, but nothing became any less confusing. “I don’t know, Tony. This time…I just don’t know.”Tony didn’t look all that reassured by
his answer, but there was nothing Gibbs could do about that. There was a moment of silence, where only the
sounds of McGee and Ziva cleaning in the kitchen were present.“Well, hopefully we’ll figure out a
starting point tomorrow morning when we meet up with Sheppard and
friends.” The younger agent sighed. “They all seemed relatively certain Mike was
still alive somewhere. Though how they
figure that, I don’t know.”Gibbs snorted. “I think there’s a lot they haven’t bothered
to tell us. Despite all the noises and
gestures they’ve made about cooperation and ‘needing our help’ I get the feeling
they still don’t trust us fully. We’re an
inconvenience to them, DiNozzo.” Not
that he believed them, but it irked. He
wasn’t used to being considered untrustworthy – especially when he had already shown an awful lot of
trust in them.“Is it me or is the whole situation
just a little too surreal?” Tony leaned
back against the cushions and closed his eyes.
“I mean, come on…aliens?
Travelling to other planets?
Spaceships? It’s a bad science
fiction show.” He sat up immediately
after that comment, blinking in shock.
“It is a bad TV show! What was it called…Wormhole-something…”“Wormhole
Extreme, Tony.” McGee informed him
helpfully as he walked into the room.
“Even I knew that, and I don’t own a TV.”“Whatever, Mr. McSmarty-pants.” Tony dismissed the young man with a wave of
his hand. “But yeah! That stupid series only lasted a few episodes
before it died. Then a couple years
later it came back as a movie!”“Tony, I couldn’t care less if I
tried.” Gibbs gave him a medium version
of his ‘shut up, DiNozzo’ glare.“Well, I know, boss, but I just
wondered – now – if maybe Sheppard’s people had anything to do with it. You know…a cover story of some kind?”“DiNozzo, shut up.” The glare went up a level to go with the
vocalization. “Abby is enough. Don’t you dare start in on the conspiracy
theories, too.”“And for all our sakes, Tony, don’t
even mention such an idea to Abby!”
McGee pled. “She’s already going
to be crazy about this as it is.”Tony sighed. “Right.”
“Boss, did you want to keep any of the
leftovers? That’s what I’d come out to
ask, originally.” Tim looked sheepish
and scratched at his cheek.“No.
You three can split it up amongst yourselves.” Gibbs shook his head. He pointed at Tony, then at the kitchen. “Go, Tony.
You three need to get home and sleep.”“Yeah, boss.” Tony agreed, stifling the yawn that came up
with his hand. Just before he stepped
into the kitchen, he paused and turned to look at his mentor. “What are you going to tell Vance, boss?”Gibbs grimaced and shook his
head. Tony nodded, understanding the
unspoken message, and left him to his thoughts.Gibbs waited five minutes after his
people left to pick up his phone and call Ducky. The older man picked up after only two rings,
and thankfully sounded awake and alert.“Jethro! I do hope you’re calling with good news.”
“Yes, and no, Duck. Sorry to call so late.”
“Oh no, don’t worry about that, my
friend. Mother just went back to bed
after one of her late night ‘walks.’”
Ducky replied, exasperated and tired, but with a patience Gibbs often
envied the man for. “Abby and I were
just finishing a nice mug of hot cocoa.”“Abby’s with you?” Gibbs figured he should have known. “Tell her we’re all fine and back home, so
she’ll stop worrying.”“Certainly, Jethro. Well, then...what have you to report?” Ducky asked, getting down to business. “Did you find Mike?”
“No.
That’s the bad news. It appears
there was an altercation, and that he was taken away. Sheppard seems to think he’s still alive
though.” Gibbs explained all they’d
found, what McKay said about weapons fire, and how it all led them to the hotel
where they found Leyla and Amira. “The
girls are on their way to...a very safe place, Ducky. Other than that, we’re meeting up at the
General’s house at 0930 tomorrow.”“I see. And there were no other leads?” Ducky asked, disappointed in the lack
thereof. “Perhaps if you worked the
scene...”“Maybe. I was going to bring that up tomorrow. I’m not sure what else to do, in all honesty,
Duck. This is...so beyond anything I’ve
ever had to investigate before.” He
really hated admitting that, but Ducky was one of the few people with whom he
could ever be openly honest about his personal misgivings.Ducky clucked at him
reassuringly. “Now, Jethro, I know you
too well to believe you can’t figure this out somehow. You always find a way, and this shall be no
different.”“For Mike’s sake, I really hope you’re
right.”“Did you still want me to speak with
Vance in the morning?”Gibbs sighed. “No, that’s fine, Ducky. I’ll come in first thing and...figure out
what the hell to tell him.” He
grimaced. “For now, I think it’s best if
you and Abby stay out of it – at least until we need you for something. Just go on about your business, and I promise
to keep you both informed.”“Very well. You will call on us if you need us though?”
“In a heartbeat, Duck.”
“Well, then, we should all go to
bed. Sleep will help you think
better.” Ducky said, winding up the call
in his best no-nonsense tone. “Good
night, Jethro.”“Good night, Ducky.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Exhausted in pretty much every way,
John trudged up the stairs after Rodney, Teyla, and Ronon. They’d just finished debriefing with General
O’Neill, who was busy waking up Very Important People in order to secure Gibbs
and company’s temporary assignment to the mission – which would necessitate
some fancy footwork with SecNav and Director Vance without telling them why or
what they’d be doing, exactly. Daniel
was checking in with Ferretti.“Rest well.” Teyla wished them as she and Ronon went into
their room. “Good night, John, Rodney.”“You, too.” John returned, giving a small smile. Ronon just grunted in response, and Rodney
gave them a little wave and a huge yawn as he turned away. “Good night.”Closing the door behind them, John
released a huge sigh and leaned against it in exhausted relief. Rodney was already changing into his
sleepwear, and paused to study his friend critically in concern.“You look like crap.” He declared bluntly, but
sympathetically. “Go to bed, John,
before you fall over.”“Gee thanks, Rodney.” John drawled sarcastically. He was too wiped to really put any effort
into a snappy comeback, however, and just did as he was told. Changing quickly, he crawled under the covers
and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of McKay in the bathroom and then
moving around the bedroom as he got himself ready for bed. It was oddly comforting and had a lulling
effect on John, so that by the time he dropped down next to John on the bed,
the exhausted man had nearly fallen asleep.
The light went out and McKay settled in with a deep sigh.“Good night, John.” Rodney said lowly, muffled slightly by his
pillow.“Night, Rodney.” John responded. He thought for a moment, then said, “Rodney?”
“Hmm?”
“Did Jenny die for nothing?”
For a long moment there was no
response, then Rodney was sitting up and turning the lamp back on. “Sit up, John.” He waited until John obeyed, continuing,
“Define ‘nothing’, please.”Frowning, John gave him a look. “You know what I mean, Rodney. Did she go through all the trouble of
tracking down those documents and get shot to death because she was trying to
protect herself? Or someone else? Something
else? Did she know about the Stargate
programme and was doing what she could from outside it?”“Okay, first off, you’re over-thinking
this.” Rodney cut him off at the rush of
questioning. John closed up,
tight-lipped, and listened. “She was a
federal agent, John – the Director of a military law enforcement agency. Regardless of how much she knew, it was her
job to deal with bad guys out to steal the government’s secrets, and she seemed
to have been pretty good at it from what I’ve gleaned. If you want my opinion,” like John had a
choice, “then no, I don’t think she died for nothing. It isn’t her fault that other things were
going on that she had no knowledge of, or that the course of her job would end
up taking her life. That’s a hazard she
knew and accepted when she started down that career path, not unlike yourself
as a soldier.” Rodney reasoned it out
carefully for him, trying not to sound as if he thought John’s concerns were
stupid. He understood why John was so
hung up on Jenny’s death in this way, different than how he reacted when they
lost someone on Atlantis like Elizabeth or Carson. Jenny likely hadn’t known a thing about the
programme, and it made all the difference to John because of it.“I suppose, but...” John began,
frowning even more deeply. Rodney
sighed.“Look, you’re grieving! You’re trying to make sense of a senseless
situation, and sometimes that just isn’t possible. It’s natural to want a sudden death to have
occurred for some really good reason – doing something noble and brave and
heroic, for example. All the times I
thought you had died, I at least had
that comfort, in knowing you died doing something crazy, stupid, and heroic to
save the rest of us – no matter how mad at you I was for doing it, or how much
it hurt.” Rodney looked away and glared
at the ceiling, feeling the heat crawl up his neck into his face at the
surprised expression on John’s face at his words. “But you’re a soldier and you expect to die
that way, especially when we live in a place that holds a thousand different
ways to kill us every single day! You’re
having a hard time with losing Jenny because she wasn’t, and she still died, and you want it to make sense.”John was silent for a long, long time,
staring at his friend in shock, amusement, and speculation. When he finally spoke again, it was with a
wry tone and a half-smile of fond affection.“So...you really are the smartest man
in two galaxies.” Was all he said with a
shake of his head.“Of course I am.” Rodney snorted, then flushed darker when John
chuckled. “Okay, I know I’m mostly
socially stunted at the best of times, but I still get it, you know, up here.”
He tapped a finger against his temple.
“I just don’t know how to, you know, say it sometimes.”“I know that, Rodney, but you’re not
socially stunted. You just...don’t play
the silly games most people play every day.
It’s just part of your personality.
You’re honest and genuine, and I wouldn’t change you for anything.” It was just the truth as John saw it, though
he would admit that it took a while for him to finally figure that out about
the brash scientist. John stared at his
knees, admitting almost absently, “I like you when you’re ripping someone a new
one for being stupid and existing in your universe. It’s so damned fun to watch.”Rodney stared at him, eyes widening in
surprise. Then a small smile twitched at
the corners of his mouth and he started to laugh.“What does that say about us, I
wonder?” He mused, grinning.John chuckled, too, but not as
gleefully as his friend. “I don’t know
but it works for us, so why worry.”“Excellent point.” Rare praise, coming from McKay. “Can we go to bed now?” He tried not to sound whiny about it.
“Yeah.” John agreed, lying back down. The room went dark again, Rodney moved around
until he was comfortable, and there was silence. This time they both fell asleep easily.And Rodney was so not telling John how
cuddly he got at some point during the night and woke Rodney briefly. He was, after all, the smartest man in two
galaxies.~*~*~*~*~*~
NCIS Headquarters
Tuesday
0640 hours
Gibbs stepped off the elevator, coffee
cup from his favourite dealer of all things java in one hand, and headed for
his desk. If he was surprised to see
DiNozzo asleep at his own desk, no one could have known from Gibbs’ demeanour. Then again, it wasn’t unusual for the MCRT Agents
to be found sleeping on or around their desks after an all-nighter on one of
their cases.Shaking his head, Gibbs set his cup
down and opened his desk drawer after shedding his overcoat, placing his badge
and gun inside to lock them up, just as he always did, before going over to
stand in front of Tony’s desk.“DiNozzo!” He barked – through not as sharply or loudly
as was typical. Tony sat up in his chair
immediately blinking slowly and blearily in confusion, still half-asleep.“Yes, boss! Right away, boss!” Tony replied automatically, looking around
with a scowl and pair of sleep-reddened eyes that told Gibbs just how little
rest his agent had been getting lately.
The bed-head of hair was cute, though.
“Uh…what did you say?”Gibbs thought about smacking him
upside the head, but decided it wasn’t going to register when Tony’s brain
wasn’t firing on all cylinders just yet.
“Tony, what are you doing here? I
thought I told you to go home and get some rest.”“I did, boss.” Tony rubbed at his eyes and face, trying to
wake up more. “But I couldn’t sleep so I
figured I might as well come in and…” he yawned widely, “…sorry, be
productive.”“Only now you’ll be asleep on your
feet and unproductive the rest of the
day.” Gibbs shook his head and sighed at
the guilty, frustrated look his words produced on Tony’s face. “Well it’s done. So were you productive, DiNozzo?”“I worked very hard for no reward,
boss.” Tony pushed himself to his feet
and began digging out the change of clothes and toiletries he kept on hand for
just such occasions. “I didn’t feel
right not doing all I could think of to try and find a lead on Mike’s
whereabouts, but everything I tried came up empty. The last thing I could think of that might pull up a lead was to send out a missing
persons APB. Maybe someone will see him
– or maybe someone saw him around Phoenix before he was taken.” He closed the filing cabinet drawer a little
harder than intended. “A long-shot, but
I had to do something, boss.”“The APB is a big risk you’re taking
with Mike’s life, DiNozzo.” Gibbs
stated, his tone carefully neutral. He
didn’t like it, but he couldn’t say he wouldn’t have done the same thing if he
wasn’t as close to Mike as he was. Tony
liked and respected Mike, considered him a part of the ‘family’ at NCIS as one
of their own even though he was retired now, but he didn’t have the personal
connections Gibbs had to the former agent.“Yes, it is.” Tony stopped what he was doing to meet Gibbs
gaze steadily, without fear, and explained himself calmly. “A calculated one. Sure, there’s the
possibility that the bad guys will decide he’s too much trouble and kill him
because of it, but I figure they need him too badly so they’ll keep him
alive. I also think it’ll make it harder
for them to move him if they have to worry about being seen – and I’m all about
making life difficult for bad guys.” He
flashed a grin (all teeth) then made a frustrated sound and kicked at his desk
with a snort. “Besides, there isn’t much
else I can do at this point.”“We will find him, Tony.” Gibbs
stated softly, touched that Tony cared this much (not even about Mike, but
about Gibbs), and proud of the agent
that Tony was becoming. He also felt a
little bit guilty that Tony was the frustrated one when, really, it should have
been Gibbs feeling that way. It was odd,
but he was and he wasn’t frustrated. For
some reason, his gut wasn’t telling him bad things – at least not yet. Or…maybe he was in denial about the kind of
trouble Mike was in – in which case he really did need Tony to be able to step
up and make hard decisions.“Of course we will, boss.” Tony agreed, his tone only wavering a little
bit from certainty.Gibbs looked up at MTAC and the arcade
that led to the Director’s office.
Giving himself a mental shake, Gibbs went back to his desk to grab his
coffee before moving purposefully to the stairs.“Go home, Tony.” He suggested as he passed by. “Have a shower, have breakfast, take a
nap. I’ll call when we have a plan and
something to act on.”“What?
But boss!” Tony protested, eyes
widening and face falling at the dismissal.“DiNozzo! Stop arguing and go. You’re useless dead on your feet! You worked hard all night, now shut up and do
what I said.” Gibbs didn’t even pause on
his way up the stairs to give Tony a verbal smack-down only a Marine was
capable of. He heard his agent grumbling
to himself but knew this time he would be obeyed.Putting Tony from his mind, Gibbs
walked right in past Cynthia at her desk and went for the Director’s door. For once, Cynthia didn’t even try to put up a
fight, as she normally would when he just barged right in unannounced or
uninvited. The assistant just smiled
faintly and murmured, “Good morning, Agent Gibbs.”“Good morning, Cynthia.” He returned as he twisted the door handle and
pushed his way inside.Vance looked up from the open files on
his desk at the intrusion and scowled briefly.
“You do realize I’m your boss, right?”
He gave Gibbs a hard stare as the older man simply shrugged and fell
into a stance that was almost parade rest in front of the desk. “I wondered if you’d be gracing my office
this morning. In fact, I half expected
to be getting a phone call from you telling me that you and your team wouldn’t
be in for duty for some unspecified time.”
Vance leaned back in his chair and eyed Gibbs calculatingly. Gibbs just stared back impassively, not
intimidated at all by Leon Vance or his tactics. A battle of wills fought in steely silence
lasted for a few moments more before Vance rolled his eyes and gestured at one
of the guest chairs. “Oh for god’s sake
sit down, Gibbs. I’m not your enemy, no
matter how any of you might feel about me taking this position.” He waved his hand around the office.“It’s been difficult to tell, Leon, the way you’ve thrown your weight
around the last week.” Gibbs replied
dryly, but no less bitingly. Vance had
the grace to give in on that point, however, and shrugged much as Gibbs had.“I’ll apologize for that. No excuse, but the reason for it has been the
considerable pressure SecNav’s been loading on my
head since this mess started. Saying the
man’s unhappy with the situation is an understatement.“ Vance started closing files and clearing a
space on the desk in front of himself.
“He’s furious. Ms. Sheppard’s
leadership here is being called into question by other agency Directors, as
well as other important high-level government officials. The things she’s done, recently and in the
past, have come back to haunt SecNav, and Davenport finds himself very shamefaced
among his peers.”“And of course he takes out his bad
temper on you, and you take it out on us.”
Gibbs drawled unsympathetically.
“Trickle-down ass reaming.
Fine. As you said, it’s not an
excuse, though I can sympathize. A
little.” Gibbs stuffed his hands into
the pockets of his blazer, staring at Vance as he contemplated the object he
palmed in one hand. “Just so we both
understand where we’re coming from.”“Yeah.” Vance agreed warily, frowning at the
borderline insult in Gibbs neutral tone.
“So why do you look like you’re thinking really hard about something I
probably don’t want to know?”“I’m trying to decide if I trust you
with Jenny’s reputation. Because if I
can’t, then never mind.” Gibbs waved
away Vance’s obvious concerns when he frowned and narrowed his eyes at
Gibbs. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t affect
the case or anything.”“If you’re withholding any information
on this, Agent Gibbs…” Vance warned.“I’m not. It’s just supposition I have, and even if I’m
right, it isn’t likely to have changed the outcome anyway. I know Jen.
She’d have done what she did anyway.”
Gibbs fingered the object in his pocket, still trying to assess Vance’s
position.“Well of course I’m curious now.
If it’ll help, I have no interest in ruining the reputation of a dead
woman who, when all is said and done, died for her country.”Gibbs narrowed his gaze. “Off the record then?”
“Between you and I, Gibbs.” Vance agreed.
“And Ducky. He knows, too, though I haven’t had a chance
to ask him about my theory.” Vance gave
him a half-intrigued, half-impatient look.
“Okay.” Gibbs pulled out a pill
bottle and set it on Vance’s desktop.“What’s this?” The Director picked it up and read the label,
a dark eyebrow raising at what he saw.
“Prescription meds for…?”Gibbs stared at the little bottle of
pills he’d found in the box of Jenny’s things Cynthia had cleared out of the
office before Vance moved in. “A few
weeks ago, after I smelled a rat and cornered Ducky, I found out Jen had a very
serious medical…problem. She’d only just
found out herself, after she’d had Ducky check her out when she began to
suspect something was wrong. Only Ducky
and myself – and her doctors – knew she was ill, Leon.”Vance slowly set the pills down and
folded his hands, carefully. “How
ill? What was wrong? I don’t recognize the prescription.”“She was dying. Brain cancer.” Gibbs told him in a clipped voice. “Jenny had an inoperable tumour in her brain
that had already grown beyond any other possible treatments. Even those,” he nodded at the pills, “were an
experimental new drug.”“Jesus.” Vance looked shocked, and angry, and even
sad. “When did she tell you?”“She didn’t, Leon. She didn’t tell anyone but Ducky, and only
then because she trusted him to figure out the problem discreetly.” It was still a bitter taste she’d left him
with. By now, however, he’d begun to
accept that when it came to Jenny Sheppard, he was going to live the rest of his
life with a whole lot of regrets. “Maybe
she’d have told me eventually, I don’t know.
The point is that she was sick – a disease that could have caused
impaired judgement. Not to mention
experimental drugs as a treatment that may have had unforeseen side-effects on
her.” Gibbs laid out his theory. “All that plus
her emotional state after finding out how ill she was, that she was dying…”“Okay, I get it.” Vance sighed and shook his head. “So she probably hadn’t reported her
condition to SecNav, either.” He stood
and walked around his desk to go to the wet bar and pour himself a drink. On duty or not, he figured it was owed him
for all this messed up bullshit he was in the unenviable position to deal with.“No.
Which means telling him will either make him very understanding or very
pissed off.” Gibbs predicted.“Likely more pissed off. For now, I’ll keep it to myself, though you
should get Ducky’s medical opinion, too, just in case.” Vance swallowed his scotch and grabbed a
bottle of water from the bar fridge.Gibbs shrugged and waved off the offer
of a bottle for himself. “I’ll talk to
him. So you were saying something about
expecting a phone call from me?”Vance snorted. “You know I’m not stupid, Gibbs. You gave me the run-around yesterday about
Sheppard and his people. If I didn’t
already have suspicions, then I damn well did when SecNav himself woke me up
after midnight last night banging on my front door.” He nodded at Gibbs raised eyebrow. “He invited me on a late-night stroll, during
which he informed me that you and your team would be assisting on a very hush-hush
mission even he wasn’t cleared to
know about, and that if you called requesting leave I was to be gracious, and
ignorant of why you wanted it, and if – ‘while on vacation’ – you made any
requests of NCIS resources or personnel, then I was to remain gracious. Magnanimous, even.” Vance gave Gibbs a part wry, part annoyed
glare. Gibbs just stared back
impassively.“I see. Did he say anything else?”
“Only that his orders came down
directly from the President. An Executive Order, Gibbs. As much as I’m curious to know what you’ve
gone and gotten yourself into now, I just as much don’t want to know.” Vance
dropped back into his chair and frowned.
“Just make sure you all come back alive.”“Well, we plan on it.” Gibbs stood up. “Ducky and Abby know what’s going on, too,
though they couldn’t tell you or anyone else what they know even if they wanted
to. We’ll stay in touch through them.”“My Medical Examiner and my lab tech,
too?” Vance scowled deeply. “Fine, whatever. I’m gracious and ignorant, after all.” A thought suddenly chased away the
scowl. “I assume Ms. David has
permission from her father for this – or do I have to play nice with Director
David?”Gibbs hesitated. “Permission, no. I doubt he has any idea, much like
yourself. She does have sanctioning from
her government, however.”“Ah.
Well, if he calls to yell at me, I’m just as clueless as he is,
then.” Vance didn’t appear too happy
about it, but he was very good at
playing in the political and intelligence arenas. If he hadn’t been, he wouldn’t be in the
office that he was. “Get out of my
office, Agent Gibbs. I’ll file the
‘vacation’ paperwork – unspecified timeframe.”
He shooed the older man away with a hand wave.“Yes, sir, Director.” Gibbs smirked,
which ruined the absolutely sincere tone and the subtle way he’d straightened
up to attention. He practically marched
out the door, feeling pretty good about the whole meeting, all things
considered.At the bullpen once more, he stopped
to pick up his badge and weapon from his desk before he decided to drop in on
Abby and Ducky to let them know what Vance had said.There was the typical loud, rhythmic,
kind of strange music that was all Abby to greet him as he walked into her
lab. She looked productive, standing at
her computer console and typing away at a keyboard. And as the music wasn’t depressing or dark,
he assumed she was in a fairly good mood.
He could always tell how she was feeling by the music she listened to as
she worked.“Good morning, Abby.” He said, smiling as she whirled in surprise
and pressed a hand to her heart.“Gibbs! You really have to stop doing that! I’m going to have to put a bell on you or
something.” She scolded, though the
relieved grin spoiled it. Then she leapt
at him and hugged him hard. “I’m so glad
you’re okay! Ducky promised you were,
but I had to see for myself, you know...”Hugging her back and just holding her
for a long moment, he pressed a kiss to her hair and chuckled, “I know,
Abs. It’s been a rough year. You’re good though?”She nodded into his chest, then
reluctantly pulled away. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, Gibbs! Besides, Ducky offered me a bed at his place
if I wanted company until this was over.”
Abby flashed a tiny grin.Gibbs nodded and lay a hand on her
shoulder reassuringly. “You should take
him up on it. He’d probably enjoy the
company – someone who doesn’t require special treatment.” He referred to Ducky’s mother, the...unique
Mrs. Mallard, whose Alzheimer’s was getting steadily worse day by day and made
her even more eccentric than Gibbs suspected she’d always been when perfectly
healthy.“Yeah.
I really feel for the Duck-man, Gibbs.
He really loves her, but...”“It’s not easy, no. You should stay over a couple nights at
least.”“I will.” She gave him a serious look. “So any leads on Mike yet?”
“Not yet. I’m heading to General O’Neill’s house after
I talk to Ducky. Hopefully, they’ve
found something.” Gibbs looked at her
computer screen. “What are you working
on?”A sheepish expression crossed her
face. “Well, actually, I’m trying to
find Mike. Um, Tony came by a little
while ago and asked me to see if there were any security cameras in the area that
I could get footage from. He said maybe
we’d get lucky and spot a suspicious looking vehicle.” She shrugged.
“It could be a long-shot, since we really don’t know what sort of
vehicle to look for, but...” Abby held up a finger then clicked a few keys. “I’m running these pictures Ziva sent me of
the tire tread marks she took at the scene.
That could help me narrow it down.”Gibbs blinked, fighting the urge to
tear up over how proud of his team he was, for how on-the-ball they were even
now. He did however, lean in and give
Abby another kiss on the cheek.“Thank you. Good work, Abs.”
She smiled, pleased, and understanding
everything else that little phrase contained that Gibbs couldn’t say. “I’ll call when I have something so go! Check in with Ducky and go find Mike!”“Yes, ma’am.” Gibbs gave her a final, reassuring pat, then
walked out. It was a short walk and an
elevator ride to the morgue, and as the doors wooshed
open he strode in to find his old friend cleaning instruments with the help of
his assistant, the young and sometimes naive Jimmy Palmer.“Spring cleaning, Ducky?” Gibbs asked, picking up the bone saw and
inspecting the tool, currently missing its blade.“Ah, Jethro, I hoped you’d drop in
this morning – and no, just the usual cleaning.
These are the spares we usually keep for emergencies. We’re doing an inventory.” Ducky waved a pair of forceps in the
air. “Mr. Palmer, if you would be so
kind, take these to the loading bay, and start on the van? I will join you shortly.” He pointed at a large box of body bags.“Of course, Doctor.” Jimmy nodded, smiling cheerfully at both
men. It may be that, on occasion, he
wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box but Gibbs kind of liked the kid. He was good at his job, quick to learn, and
the perfect assistant to the eccentric old Medical Examiner – being more than a
little odd himself. Gibbs supposed
eccentricity came with the career.Ducky walked away, moving to the sink
to wash his hands. When Jimmy was safely
gone, Ducky turned and said, “I assume you’ve been to Vance’s office already?”
while drying off his hands.“Yep.”
Gibbs said, folding his arms over his chest. “Abby’s lab, too.”“Ah.
Good. I barely managed to
convince her to go to bed last night for worrying about all of you.” Ducky shook his head.“Well, she’s processing photos from
Ziva of the scene, so maybe she’ll be too busy to worry.” Gibbs sighed, running fingers through his
silvered hair. He absently noted that he
needed a cut; it was getting long.
“Better yet, she finds something for us to go on.”“Hmm, yes. That would be ideal. And did our esteemed new Director give you a
difficult time?”“Surprisingly, no. I guess SecNav dropped by late last night and
basically told him to let us do what we had to and keep his nose out of
it.” Gibbs still found the whole idea amazing
and amusing. “Neither of them,
apparently, know a thing. O’Neill’s got
some pull with the shiniest brass, Duck, to be yanking on the chains of a
federal, military agency like NCIS.”“I would imagine so, given the secrecy
and importance of that programme. Just
be glad he’s letting us stay involved, Jethro.
I get the impression that being on his bad side is an extremely bad
idea.” Ducky warned.“I don’t doubt it, Ducky.” Gibbs sighed and stared across the room. “Listen, I have a question for you about
Jen. A medical question.”“What is it? You know as much as I do about her condition
at the time.” The doctor studied his old
friend quizzically.“Do I?
I’m not so sure. I have a
thought.” Gibbs repeated his theory to
Ducky. “I want your medical opinion,
Ducky, even though I realize you’re not an Oncologist.”“I honestly couldn’t say for certain,
Jethro. I know it’s not what you want to
hear, but truthfully the brain is still such a mystery to us – the tumour very
well could have impacted her ability
to make rational, reasonable decisions at times. As for her medication, as you said, it’s
highly experimental and as such the side-effects are largely unknown.” Ducky shook his head apologetically. “There’s no way to know for certain now.”“Okay, it’s just that...her decision
to hold a show down in that diner doesn’t seem like what she’d normally have
done. When she found out that Sasha
Decker was dead, no matter if she thought I was going to rip her a new one or
if she wanted to protect me – she would have called me. Even with Mike as back-up, she would have
called me, Duck.” It was this that stuck
with him most. She was too good an agent
to not have realized how dangerous the situation was getting, and to have not
called for more help was unlike her.“Ah, Jethro.” Ducky lay a commiserating hand on the other
man’s forearm, patting in understanding sympathy. “Please don’t toil over this any longer. It is simply something you can’t ever know,
now, and it does nothing for you to continue to try and figure it out. You’ll only drive yourself crazy.”Gibbs closed his eyes, swallowing back
the sharpness he knew would be in his tone.
Ducky didn’t deserve it. After a
moment, he nodded slowly. “It’s not easy
letting go, Duck.”“No, it isn’t. And it shouldn’t be.”
The agent straightened, smoothing out
his jacket in a rare moment of self-consciousness. “Well, better get going. I’ll keep in touch, Ducky.”“Yes, yes, Jethro – go find Mike and
bring that old scoundrel home.” Ducky
shooed him away from the morgue. “And
Jethro, please be careful.”“Always, Duck. Always.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
General
O’Neill’s0800
It was a rare day when Rodney was
hrs.
awake and up before John Sheppard – whose internal alarm operated with the
precision of an atomic clock, much to McKay’s disgust and amazement. This particular day was totally
understandable, however, and Rodney promised himself he’d refrain from the
teasing and gloating he would normally have inflicted on his friend (all
good-naturedly, of course) when John did finally rouse.A bleary, pre-coffee glare-squint at
his watch informed him it was just after 0800, and he rubbed at his eyes and
face awkwardly as he tried pushing himself up to roll out of the bed. It’s a tad difficult to do when there’s a
heavy arm pinning one down to the mattress by the mid-section of one’s
back. Frowning, Rodney managed to get an
arm under himself, giving him enough of a boost that when he turned his head he
could see John lying sprawled out next to him on his stomach, face turned away.As it registered just how cozy the
situation was, Rodney hung his head and groaned mentally, savouring the weight
of that arm now and wishing it had occurred in a much more conscious, willing
situation. It was odd, but Rodney realized
that John actually touched him quite a lot – outside of saving-his-life-type
touches, that is. Casual patting, arm
squeezes, friendly shoulder punches, an arm occasionally slung over his
shoulders... Rodney blinked as he
catalogued them all, wondering why he’d never realized it before when he
normally knew every time someone touched him, because his entire life had been
pretty lacking in the basic human contact department, so John getting under his
radar so easily was startling. And
telling. This time Rodney groaned aloud
and with a shiver of disappointment, he forced himself to shimmy out from under
John’s arm and sit up on the edge of the bed.Unfortunately, both woke up John and
after an adorable little snuffle and a huge yawn, the officer rolled onto his
back and scrubbed at his stubble covered face with both hands. “Rodney?”“Wake up. It’s after eight.” Rodney informed him, his tone a bit sharp
thanks to his embarrassment and annoyance at himself for his lack of control
when it came to the other man. “You have
time for a short run before breakfast, you masochist.”John blinked at him, then at his own
wrist as he checked the time for himself.
“Uh huh. Right.” He sat up and watched his friend stomp around
the room, gathering up clothes and his towel before heading for the bathroom. Frowning slightly, he asked, “You okay? You seem...out of sorts.”“Fine!
I’m fine! Need coffee.” Rodney hastily replied, not entirely
untruthful. “Showering now!” He closed the bathroom door so he wouldn’t
have to face John and turned on the water.Shrugging, John got out of bed and
pulled on his running clothes before leaving the room to find Ronon for their
morning jog.Rodney emerged twenty minutes later,
showered, shaved, dressed, and – much more alert – grabbed his laptop to take
downstairs. Halfway down, he smelled
coffee and followed his nose to the kitchen where he found Daniel polishing off
a mug already and pouring himself another.“Hey.”
Daniel greeted him, looking at about par with Rodney’s state of
wakefulness, but still in a pair of sleep pants and an old, faded USAF
t-shirt. The linguist smothered a yawn
with one hand and held up the coffee pot with the other in silent
question. Rodney nodded quickly, and in
short order had a steaming hot mug cradled in his hands.The two worshipful, relived sighs of
pleasure from the two java junkies echoed slightly in the silence. They looked at each other over the rims of
their mugs and grinned foolishly.“Wow, we’ve got it bad.” Daniel chuckled.
“Whatever. Everyone has a vice. At least ours isn’t illegal.” Rodney snorted dismissively and took a big
gulp of his coffee, heedless of its temperature. “Nectar of the gods.”“No argument here.” Daniel wandered to the refrigerator, hunting
for breakfast-making materials.
“Waffles, pancakes, or French toast?”“Whichever – as long as there’s
bacon.”A large package of Canadian back-bacon
dropped in front of him on the countertop.“Excellent.” Rodney was certain he was drooling, but
didn’t really care.“Did you and John sleep well? I saw him leaving with Ronon and Teyla for a
run earlier.” Daniel bustled around the
kitchen, getting everything he needed out of the cupboards and fridge. If it was strange that he seemed to know his
way around awfully well, Rodney didn’t let on.“I think so.” Rodney hid the flush creeping up his neck
behind his mug and hands, resting his elbows on the counter’s edge. “He seemed better this morning.”“That’s good. I know it’s hard to sleep when there’s so
much going on, but he seemed to really need the rest last night. He looked exhausted.”“He was.” Rodney watched Daniel whisk pancake batter in
a bowl. “We all were, I think.”“Yeah.” Daniel, of all people, certainly got
that. “Jack was up way past a reasonable
hour kicking political asses last night after you all went to bed.”“So he’s still asleep, then?”
“I figured I’d let him get a few
extras in, yeah. He doesn’t have to be
up until 0900, technically.” Daniel
glanced at the digital clock on the stove.
“Which is about now.”Rodney frowned, although it was at
himself more than anything. He refilled
his coffee mug. “I should have told John
to go back to sleep.”“He looked eager for his run,
Rodney. He reminds me of Cameron.” Daniel smiled and shook his head, thinking of
Mitchell and his lack of ability to sit still for long. “I think it’s a prerequisite for flyboys to
have mild ADD or something.”“Ha!
Probably. Was O’Neill ever like
that?” Rodney couldn’t picture that,
really. His experiences with the General
were few and far between, and the older man seemed so laid back and lazy that
he made John look hyperactive.“As long as I’ve known him, he hasn’t
been a runner, no. But he made use of
the gym frequently.” Daniel ripped open
the bacon package and started frying.
“Sam, neither. I’m not really
certain how she ever chose to exercise – beyond the whole ‘running for our
lives’ thing.”Grimacing, Rodney nodded and sniffed
hungrily at the delicious scent of fried bacon.
“God, yeah, the running for your life regime sucks. It works, but it sucks.”“I’d noticed you’d buffed up in the
last couple years.” Daniel observed,
grabbing a flipper to turn over the bacon slices.“Carrying an extra 15-20 pounds of
equipment on missions, usually strapped to my back, will do that.” Rodney thought of his pack and the gear he
typically bought with him. “Especially
on missions that we don’t take a jumper.
Besides which, both Teyla and Ronon seem to think that it’s their duty
to ‘train’ me.” He made air quotes,
obviously thinking they were crazy. “John
probably put them up to it.”Daniel shrugged, putting the first few
slices on a plate and setting it in front of Rodney. “Help yourself. Waffles are next.” He grinned in amusement as the scientist
snatched one up immediately and folded it into his mouth, making sex-noises as
the taste exploded on his tongue.“Oh god that’s so good.” Rodney moaned between bites, munching
happily. “The not-pig we found just
isn’t the same.”Daniel laughed, and went on with the
waffle making. “So how’s everything
working out with Sam in charge? Has the
change-over been more difficult than expected?”Rodney swallowed, paused, and eyed
Daniel. “Than expected? He inquired.
“As in...?”“Losing Elizabeth, going from a
civilian-led expedition to a military one...” Daniel closed the lid on the
waffle iron after pouring in batter.“Ah.
No, very much as expected, actually.
Even though she’s military, Sam’s still...” Rodney waved a hand, “one of
us, you know. Besides, she came to us
with a huge reputation as part of SG1. I
think everyone was pretty much relieved to have her and not some unknown
pencil-pusher from the Pentagon or wherever.”“That’s really good to hear. I’ve worried about her a lot these last few
months. This is her first real command, and even though we know
she’s capable...” Commanding SG1 for less than a year really didn’t count, in
Daniel’s book.“Sure.
That’s understandable. Even
though I wanted the job, looking back now, I’m not so sure I could handle some
of the stuff Sam deals with – Elizabeth, too.
I’m not very good at all the double-speak those IOA politicians are so
fond of.” Rodney licked his fingers, a
tiny frown marring his forehead. “I
think if I’d been in charge, I would have lost John’s friendship
altogether. We’d have butted heads too
often over too many things.”“So you don’t mind Sam being your
boss?” Daniel gave him a wary raised
eyebrow. Sam’s letters home had told how
upset Rodney seemed to be about being passed over and his reactions to the
first few times she’d had to tell him ‘no.’Rodney flushed, embarrassed. It wasn’t like Daniel didn’t know about his
once-upon-a-time crush on Sam Carter.
“Nah. She’s good at it. More, she gets
it. All
of it. She understands both the military
stuff and the scientific stuff, and she’s actually really good at balancing the
two. Plus, she gets all the weirdness
that comes out of our lives everyday living in another galaxy and dealing with
scary aliens. There aren’t many people
with those qualifications, you know.
Even Elizabeth didn’t always get
it.”Daniel nodded, eyes wide behind the
glasses in surprise. It was high praise
coming from McKay. “Good. I’m glad.”
Then he gave Rodney an evil grin.
“Are you still trying to get her to go out with you?” He knew he wasn’t, but couldn’t resist
teasing.Rodney sputtered into his coffee. “What?!
No! And what the hell is
this? High school?”Daniel rolled his eyes. “Oh relax.
You know what I meant.” He peeked
under the waffle iron lid, then opened it up when satisfied they were
ready. Getting them onto Rodney’s plate,
he continued, “And why not? She’s not
seeing anyone, and I know how much you like her.”Rodney blinked, reaching for the syrup
Daniel set down nearby. “She’s not? But I thought...” he stared at the linguist
for a moment in confusion, shook his head, and waved a hand dismissively. “I’m not in her league, anyway. Even if I was, I try not to date people who
are technically in my employ or under whom I
am employed.”Daniel winced a smile,
apologetic. “I’m sorry, Rodney.”“Whatever. No big deal.
I get why you asked.” Rodney dug
into the waffles. “These are great. Aren’t you having some?”“I ate earlier.” Daniel refilled his mug and gave Rodney a
curious look. “Um, you sounded surprised
that Sam’s available. Why’s that?”“Huh?
Oh.” Rodney shrugged. “It’s hard to believe she would ever be
single. She’s smart, beautiful, all
that.” He was making short work out of
his waffles and eyeing up the bacon covetously again. “But I sort of thought she and, you know,”
Rodney jabbed at the air with his fork in the direction of the ceiling above
them, “might have started something.”Daniel’s face was comical for about
two seconds before it went carefully neutral and Rodney suddenly wondered if he
should seek cover. Swallowing his last
bite of waffle, he watched Daniel’s eyes darken and glint with budding temper –
something Rodney had never seen of the mild-mannered linguist before.“What exactly gave you this
idea?” He finally asked in a tightly
controlled, quiet voice.“Um, well,” Rodney debated the wisdom
of continuing, now that he’d obviously opened a can of worms he hadn’t known
about, “there’s been rumours for years, you know.”“Rumours and gossip? You don’t pay attention to that stuff,
McKay.” Daniel dismissed that
outright. “What else?”For a brief moment, Rodney thought he
understood what was going on. “Are you the one Sam’s seeing?” He asked, shocked. There's been rumours there, too, but Rodney
could never really see the two getting together. Not seriously. They were too different in their ways of
thinking about pretty much everything.“What?
No! Absolutely not!” Daniel nearly choked he denied it so
fast. “She’s practically my sister!”“Right, so then...what’s with the
freak-“ Rodney stopped as the light bulb went off. “Oh!
Oh my god, seriously!? You
and...” He jabbed a finger at the
ceiling again, eyes going enormous.
“Holy shit!”Daniel flushed bright red and his eyes
glittered dangerously. “Rodney! Don’t...”“Hey, don’t mind me.” The scientist hastily waved his hands
defensively, backpedalling quickly to reassure the other man. “No problems whatsoever with it, just, you
know, wow. Never saw that one
coming.” Even if that, too, had rumours
– strong ones that were much more believable than others. “Oh, and I won’t tell a soul. I swear.”All the energy just seemed to drain
out of Daniel, and he actually seemed to sag.
“Fuck.” He swore
uncharacteristically. “Jack’s gonna kill me. We
hadn’t told anyone but Teal’c and Vala – and only then because there’s no
keeping a secret from either one of those
two when they suspect something.”Rodney winced. “I’m sorry, Daniel. You’re in a tough spot, I know. I swear...” He silently cursed the bigotry
and stupidity of the US military.“It’s alright, Rodney.” Daniel shook his head and poured another cup
of coffee for himself, then kept his slightly shaking hands busy getting
another pot started. “I was careless. At least it’s you. I know I can trust you. So does Jack.” Daniel would make sure of that.“Well, I wouldn’t go that far. I only figured it out because you got
so...excited over an assumption I made.
Seriously, though, what do I know about relationships?” Rodney made a sound of disgust, directed at
himself. “No one’s interested in me like
that, and I absolutely suck at trying to figure it out, obviously, since
everyone I’ve ever tried to date ends up pretty much hating me.”“What?
That’s not true, Rodney.” Daniel
frowned, disliking the very low self-esteem and blatant loneliness in Rodney’s
tone and expression. “I still want to
know about why you think Sam was...” he frowned deeper, “but in a moment. How can you think no one wants to be with
you? I thought you were going to start
something with that new CMO on Atlantis?”“Keller. Jennifer Keller.” Rodney stared morosely into his mug. “I tried.
Stuff happened, and I came to the conclusion that I don’t like her as
much as I thought I did. I had
impossible competition anyway. I mean,
competing with Ronon? Or Major Lorne?”Daniel’s eyebrows danced in confusion
as he tried to get it all straight.
“Uh...so Ronon’s not with Teyla?”
The fact that the conversation resembled a bad soap opera wasn’t lost on
Daniel.“Not that I was aware, but then, like
I said, what do I know?” Rodney
shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I get the feeling she – Keller – couldn’t
deal with me on a long term basis, anyway.
Doesn’t seem to be anyone who can, really. Well, other than John.” At the thought of the officer, he actually
brightened considerably. “I’m his best
friend! He actually told me that. I’ve never been someone’s best friend before. Oh god, what if I screw that up, too?”Daniel was torn between moving around
the counter to hug the stuffing out of Rodney from sympathetic sadness and
simply smiling at how pleased and innocently awed Rodney was by Sheppard’s
friendship – and Rodney’s uncertainty about his abilities in the position of
best friend. Daniel sipped his coffee
instead. “I didn’t have one either,
until Jack. Not right at first we
weren’t, of course, but it came, and it grew.
Boy did it grow.”Rodney pointed at Daniel. “See!
That’s what I want! Exactly
that!”“You want your very own Colonel?” Daniel asked casually, carefully, but with a
hint of teasing curiosity. He got
scowled at for it, but then Rodney’s expression morphed into something wistful
and kind of sweet.“I hold no illusions on that
score. John ‘Kirk’ Sheppard would never
be interested in me that way in a light year.”
Rodney sadly poked at the last bite of his waffle, appetite suddenly
disappearing. “Can we not talk about it
anymore?” He hated how whiny he sounded,
but thinking about this topic just made him depressed.“Yeah, sorry, Rodney.” Daniel apologized. It wasn’t so long ago he felt the same about
Jack. That, and as much as he wanted to,
he wasn’t going to give Rodney hope that could be false by telling him he
thought John might be receptive. It was something
they’d have to figure out for themselves.“’s okay.” Rodney mumbled.
“Um, so...Sam?” Daniel asked again, determined to keep his
cool. It wasn’t Rodney’s fault, after
all.“Oh, ah, it isn’t like she said
anything or whatever. I just...” Rodney
sighed, wondering if saying something was really a good idea. “When she first came to Atlantis, I stopped
by her quarters to welcome her and she was still unpacking her things,
and...pictures.” Rodney fiddled with his
empty mug.Daniel stared at him, echoing faintly,
“Pictures.” All sorts of things were
running through his imagination.“Um, like team pictures, family...and,
ah, one of the General in his uniform standing at a podium, maybe, in the Gate
room in the SGC? I didn’t get that good
a look at it, really...” Rodney babbled, trying to mitigate the damage and
wincing at the growing thundercloud that Daniel’s face was becoming. “Which I know doesn’t mean anything, really,
so I’m not sure why I thought that...”“Excuse me.” Daniel abruptly started moving around the
counter. In the distance, Rodney heard
the front door open and close, followed by three sets of footsteps and the low
voices of his team returning from their run.
All Rodney could think was, ‘thank god!’
Daniel was very determinedly striding toward the hallway and the
stairs. He watched the archaeologist take
the stairs two at a time as John, Ronon, and Teyla came into the kitchen.“Uh, hey, Rodney.” John glanced at the stairs over his shoulder
then looked back at his friend suspiciously.
“What’s going on? Daniel looked
like he was on the warpath.”Rodney just looked miserable.
Ronon grunted and raised an eyebrow,
seeming to know Rodney had likely done something wrong. “Not our business. Smells really good in here. Breakfast?”
He sniffed the air hungrily, eyeing Rodney’s plate.“You have time to shower first,
Ronon.” Rodney told him, waving him
away. “Please.”“I don’t smell that bad!” Ronon protested,
looking very offended. Teyla, however,
took pity on Rodney and ushered the big guy away.John waited until they were upstairs,
helping himself to the fresh pot of coffee, and eyed his friend. “No really, Rodney. What’d you do?”“I...” Rodney didn’t even try to deny
it was his fault – much to John’s surprise – until he realized that the
scientist typically didn’t try to place blame elsewhere whenever he did
something that hurt someone he truly cared about. Obviously he considered Daniel Jackson to be
in that category. “I think I just stuck
both feet in my mouth.”“Uh huh. That’s a given. But how, exactly? What did you say?”
Rodney gave him a withering glare for
that, but it quickly changed to nervousness.
“Don’t be mad for my asking this, but...you’re not one of those
homophobic military types, are you?”John spluttered, very nearly spitting
his coffee out all over the place.
“What?!” He demanded, shocked and
nonplussed since he certainly had urges in Rodney’s direction that went against
the UCMJ regulations. “Where the hell
did that come from? And no, I’m not!” Rodney seemed to relax and look relieved at
his answer, though, and he just felt more and more confused.There was a very loud THUMP from
above, muffled somewhat but still distinctive enough to be recognized as a body
hitting the floor. John stared,
blinking, wondering if they should go up there and...“Give me your solemn word and oath as
an officer and a gentleman – on Atlantis herself! – that you won’t say a word
to anyone about what I tell you, John.”
Rodney half-demanded, half-plead, his eyes so blue and wide in abject
misery that John had to do it just to take that horrified look off his face.“I swear, Rodney. Whatever it is, just tell me!”
“I’m serious, John! This could
ruin people’s lives.”“I am
being serious! Now what the fuck is
going on?” John wanted to reach out and
shake Rodney, but grit his teeth to hold back.“Daniel and O’Neill are together and I
may have hinted that there were still some issues yet unresolved between the
General and Carter because I saw this picture she had of him in her quarters
and she’s always got this look when she talks about him and I told Daniel about
the pictures, and...”John listened to the long string of
babble out of Rodney’s non-stop sentence with maybe two breaths for the entire
thing, only hearing the part about Jackson and O’Neill – holy shit, really?! Wow – and the fact that Rodney apparently
inadvertently just caused a couple’s spat over Sam Carter. The officer shook his head, trying to clear
it and puzzle through the idea of it all, but ended up reaching out to shove
Rodney down into his seat at the counter and bend to put his head between his
knees to stop the on-coming hyperventilation his panic attack was going to
cause.“Okay, okay, I get it, Rodney. Calm down, now.” John sighed and awkwardly patted him on the
back shoulder while Rodney breathed. At
least now he knew why Rodney was freaking out about telling him. The relationship really did have the
potential to ruin both Daniel’s and O’Neill’s lives. Even if John had been against same-sex
relationships, he wouldn’t have said anything.
He had too much respect for General O’Neill and Dr. Jackson both. “Stop freaking out. You couldn’t have known seeing a picture was
such a bad thing.”“I don’t know, exactly, why Daniel got
so upset, but...I’m afraid I caused a problem between them and that is the
absolute last thing I wanted to
do...” Rodney sat up again. “It’s hard
enough keeping things a secret from everyone for fear of the repercussions, but
to have a rift develop between them, too?
And it’s my fault because I can’t keep my big mouth shut.”“They’ll figure it out, Rodney. It wasn’t...there’s no ‘fault’ here for you
to claim. Just stay out of it from now
on. Let them deal with their own problems.” John dropped an arm around Rodney’s drooping
shoulders. He managed to hide his
surprise when the other man actually turned into the embrace and buried his
nose in John’s sweaty t-shirt, right in the vicinity of his collarbone, arms
coming up to wind around John’s waist tightly.
John wondered briefly if they were both losing their minds, when Rodney
suddenly tensed up and pushed himself away, wiping furiously at his eyes and
face, grimacing at the world in general.“Sorry. I just...I didn’t mean to...”
“Hey, it’s alright, buddy.” John was staring to get emotional
whiplash. “I’ve had my moments, too,
right? We’re cool.”“Good.
Good...I’ll just...breakfast.”
Rodney sniffed and moved around the counter to start making more waffles
and bacon, avoiding looking at John altogether.
John sighed.“For a moment, I thought you were
going to tell me you were gay or bi or something, and that you’d just tried to
hit on Daniel!” He tried to make things
a little lighter, hoping to distract Rodney from his guilt-complex long enough
to snap him out of the funk he was settling into.To his utter shock and amazement, Rodney
actually turned bright lobster red and muttered, “I am bi but no, I wasn’t
coming on to Daniel! He’s a friend. A good friend. Like Carson was.”John’s jaw dropped open (luckily,
Rodney didn’t see the pole axed, fish-out-of-water expression) and he quickly
closed it. Stunned, with the budding
sense of hope that began to rush in his veins like adrenaline, John decided he
couldn’t deal with the new information just then. Not...yet.He had to get out of there.
“Um, I’m going to shower and get dressed. Don’t let Ronon eat all the bacon!” He called over his shoulder, making a hasty
retreat.Unfortunately, he had no idea how it
looked to Rodney. The red flush of
embarrassment bled away until he was pale.
Ghostly pale. His blue eyes
welled up with tears, and his face was the picture of devastation. Because to Rodney it looked like John had
just run away from his no-longer-best-friend (maybe any kind of friend?)
because said ex-friend just confessed to playing both sides of the gender
fence. It hurt. A lot.
John hadn’t even acknowledged what Rodney had done.The tears slipped out and Rodney
angrily swiped at them. “Well, Meredith, you knew it was impossible and
too good to be true. There’s nothing to
be done. You aren’t allowed to love
anyone; they’ll just break you in the end.”
It was agony of the worst sort having to admit that, but he did it
anyway. “Get over it and do what you
came here to do.” He scolded himself,
wishing he’d never woken up that morning.~*~*~*~*~*~
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