sga_santa | Fic: Mind Games (Gen, PG)

Title: Mind Games
Author:

spikespet7
Recipient:

rabidfan
Pairing: Team Gen
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,014
Warnings: Some McKay whump with team bonding.
Disclaimer: Nothing in the story to do with Stargate: Atlantis belongs to me. Some of the other stuff doesn't either.
Notes: I had the honor of writing for rabidfan. She wanted a happy ending "I love a happy ending". I gave her a happy ending. "No matter what you do to my characters, give them a happy ending." I did this. I know she preferred slash with OTP of John/Rodney, but I hope she understands the slash story I was working on just would not be finished in time. So.....here's team Sheppard and Merry Christmas.

Summary: Rodney gets injured. It's up to his team to make sure he stays safe and be there to reassure him when he wakes up.

---

Running was never something he needed to do until coming to another galaxy and his running never came close to breaking any records. He could hardly see two feet in front of him, making it almost impossible to run without tripping every couple of steps. The darkness was like a weight on his shoulders and reminded him how much he was alone. Normally, the other members of his team would cover him if he fell too far behind. This time he is running for his life and his teammates are nowhere to be found.

"Why did they leave me behind this time?" Rodney asked himself as he ran onward, trying to evade the enemy. He couldn't remember why they left or if he had left them. It was all confusing and giving him a headache. Deep down, he knew if they had left him it was because he did something to deserve it, or they were made to leave, or dead. "Don't let them be dead."

Suddenly, he found himself on the ground, his right knee screaming in pain, and he knew that he had cut his palm. The coppery smell almost made him gag, but it didn't stop him from getting up. The Gate had to be close, and if not, then he would have to accept his fate.

"Why did you leave me?" Rodney muttered as he tried to ignore the pain and focus on getting away.

Rodney really had no memory of how he ended up in this situation. The only thing he knew for sure was that if whoever was chasing him caught him they would kill him. Death was something he had never really thought about until he came to the Pegasus galaxy. Now it followed him everywhere, and even back on Atlantis, one could not avoid it.

At times like this, Rodney wished he were back doing simulations to prove all his theories and ideas. Even the Nobel didn't seem enough anymore when he was running for his life.

The heat was getting to him, and he wondered when it had become so hot. There was no sun or any other heat source he could see. Rodney was shocked that he could be having these thoughts as he ran. He could hear voices in the far distance but had no inclination to try and listen to what they were saying. In his mind, if he could hear them, they were too close.

"The Gate, I have to find the Gate," Rodney panted as he ran. It was getting harder and harder to breathe and it felt like his vision was getting worse. He just could not tell if his eyesight was starting to blur because he was about to pass out or due to the light diminishing.

"John! Teyla! Ronon!"

Rodney knew they would not just leave him. "I can't keep this up much longer!"

*******

John sat facing the opening to the cave so he could keep an eye out for intruders and also on McKay. He had his P90 in his lap with the safety off. Teyla was doing her best to keep McKay comfortable but he only seemed to be getting worse. John could see the worry in her face as she wiped the sweat off McKay's brow.

"He cannot last much longer like this," she said.

They had come upon a Genii camp on their way to investigate a power source that interested McKay and Zelenka. According to the database, this planet was supposed to be uninhabited, and Teyla remembered no one being here. Her people would come here to collect the medicinal herbs and spices.

Now they were hiding out in this cave with Rodney unconscious after being hit with a dart. He was burning up, talking out of his head, calling for them and asking why they had left him.

"Why did they leave me?" Rodney sounded scared and hurt, and the look of fear made John tighten his grip on his gun.

"Do you think they used something on the darts from this planet?" John asked, trying to not stand up and go out and hunt down the bastard that did this to his friend.

"There's a poison that makes you dream your worst fear." Ronon placed his hand on Rodney's chest with a mix of sadness and anger on his face. "He doesn't trust us."

John wondered if that was true. After Doranda, John still had a hard time fully trusting Rodney's judgment at times. Could it be that Rodney felt the same about him?

"Could this be it?" John looked over at Ronon hoping for some good news.

"Seems like it." Ronon replied and met John's eyes with a foreboding that sent a chill to John's bones.

John knew he was not going to like the answer but asked anyway, "Cure?"

"No, it just runs its course. If you live then you live."

"Great!" John hated feeling this helpless and unable to reassure his friend he was not alone.

"We will get him through this," Teyla said with strong conviction and what John heard to be a threat. He just wasn't sure who she was threatening, him, Ronon, Rodney, herself, or the poison.

"Why did you leave me?" Rodney sounded out of breath as he spoke. John checked and didn't like how fast Rodney's heart was racing. His skin was burning up, even after John had managed to get Rodney to drink some crushed Tylenol mixed with some water over an hour ago.

"We will not leave you." Teyla leaned down whispered in Rodney's ear, gently brushing the damp hair off his forehead. "Rodney was surprised that he was not sent off to a place called Siberia. He said it was a cold and dark place he never wanted to see again."

John looked up in Ronon's face and knew he was thinking the same thing. Did Rodney believe that they would have not come back for him when Ford kept him hostage?

"John! Teyla! Ronon!" Rodney yelled, causing Ronon to put his hand over the man's mouth and lean his forehead against McKay's.

"They cannot hear us back here unless they have come into the cavern," Teyla assured them.

"Trap's still intact." Ronon sounded agitated and helpless, and John understood the feeling more than he would care to admit.

John had helped Ronon to rig some rocks to drop on anyone that came close to where they were. The last he checked it was still raining hard enough that no one should be out in it looking for them. John never felt rain hurt so much as this storm did. The lightning was brighter than he had ever seen, and being a pilot, he had seen some very impressive natural light shows. The amazing thing was no thunder accompanied it.

"Come on, McKay, you need to enlighten me as to why there's no thunder here." John wrapped his hand around Rodney's upper arm. "Not leaving you behind, buddy. Not this time."

"Colonel Sheppard, come in." John heard Caldwell's voice over the comlink.

"Colonel Caldwell, you're a port in the storm."

"Good to know. Atlantis couldn't get the gate respond, so they called me for cab service."

"Yeah, we really need to find better vacation spots. This one rains worse than Seattle and cab service is worse than in New York."

"Prepare to come aboard."

"Have medical meet us. Dr. McKay is sick with a fever and delirium after being shot with a dart."

"Copy that."

John lay his head down on Rodney's chest and said, "You're going to be fine."

The tightness in John's chest eased as they faded into the light. Caldwell's people would take care of Rodney until they got home. Until then, they wouldn't leave his side once the medical team was finished doing their thing.

*******

John sat listening to what the doctor was saying. She was going to keep Rodney in a medically induced coma to try to keep him sedated until the poison left his system.

"His vital signs have improved since we have him on propofol through the IV and started him on Risperidone intramuscularly, to help with the hallucinations Dr. McKay is experiencing. His fever has broken and he's resting easily now as you can see."

McKay was lying there with a tube down his throat and several different monitors. The beeps were a blessing and an annoying sound. The good thing was they were annoyingly normal and the only sign his friend was still alive. The steady sound of the heart monitor told him that Rodney was at rest right now.

"Thank you, Doctor Wilson." Teyla looked exhausted but determined to stay at Rodney's side, tightly holding his hand.

"I will call if there are any changes."

"Thanks, Doc. We'll stay here for now," John said as he looked around to make sure no one was going to stop them.

"He is going to do nothing but sleep now."

"We stay." Ronon made himself comfortable on the floor with his back up against the wall facing Rodney.

"His bad dreams had him thinking we had left him. He needs us here as much as we need to be here," Teyla explained, using her firm diplomatic voice and expression. John knew then that Dr. Wilson never had a chance.

"I'll see about getting you some food, blankets, and pillows."

"That would be nice and we don't want to be a pain...but..."

"I've been working with the military long enough, Colonel, to understand." Dr. Wilson gave him a soft smile before she turned to leave.

"Sheppard, I'll update Dr. Weir and we should have you all back on Atlantis in about twenty hours give or take."

John nodded toward Caldwell as he grabbed a chair and moved it so he could sit beside Rodney. His eyes felt gritty from the lack of sleep, and his body felt like he had walked a hundred miles.

"John you should rest. I will take first watch." Teyla looked from John to Ronon. "Ronon, you will relieve me."

"Done."

John knew he was beaten. Laying his arms on the bed, he put his head down thinking he would get a short nap in. Then if all went well, he would go grab some coffee and wave it under McKay's nose.

*******

"Wakey, wakey, McKay. Zelenka is going mount a coup soon if you keep fainting like this." Someone sounding like Sheppard whispered in Rodney's ear.

"I did not faint." Rodney's mouth was so dry and felt like sandpaper and his throat hurt like when he had strep throat. His voice sounded strange, almost raspy. "Why do-"

Someone sounding like Ronon chuckled and said, "He speaks."

Rodney was sure it was Teyla's motherly reprimand, "Let the doctor exam him."

A strange woman wearing glasses and a white lab jacket told him, "Drink this and rest your voice."

Rodney accepted the straw and moaned at the cool relief. The water tasted good and helped to ease the discomfort in his throat and his dry mouth.

"What happened?"

"You were injected with a poison dart," the woman explained.

"I remember being alone and running for my life." Rodney felt confused trying to remember who or what he was running from.

"The effect of the poison rendered you unconscious and susceptible to nightmares," the woman in the white explained.

"We never left your side." Teyla took his hand and squeezed it. Rodney remembered feeling alone and scared.

"I don't remember that." Rodney looked around at the others faces seeing how tired they looked. He started to worry and look to see if either of them appeared injured. "Why do you all look like crap? You know what I mean."

"It's good to see you too, McKay." John actually smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Good to have you back." Ronon grinned like a fiend.

"It is good to see you awake." Teyla leaned down to put her forehead against his for a brief time. Rodney was sure he saw a glint of tears in her eyes.

"Oh my God, I'm dying right? That's why everyone is here."

"No, you are not dying, Rodney," Teyla assured him, and Rodney noticed that the woman in white had moved back.

"Who is she? Where are we?"

"I'm Dr. Wilson and you're on the Daedalus."

Rodney closed his eyes feeling suddenly very tired. To his surprise, it was John who said, "Rest buddy, and we'll tell you everything when you wake back up."

"They have blue jello and chocolate pudding in the mess," Ronon said, making Rodney smile.

"We will be here, Rodney, when you wake up."

Hearing Teyla's voice telling him they would be there made him feel safe. It had all been a dream and they had not left him behind. Just to make sure this was not another dream, he opened his eyes to see his team settling in chairs and on the floor around him. He heard Caldwell say something about giving Dr. Weir an update on his condition.

"Sleep, McKay, we're not going anywhere." John sat down and leaned back in the chair. "I've been told they have the new Dr. Who and you get first dibs."

Rodney could not hold his eyes open one second longer. It was good to know they had never left him behind. By the looks of things, they were staying with him even now. Knowing they were close and the sound of their breathing gave him a sense of peace as he drifted off to sleep.

The End!