Fic: Dreaming With Open Eyes (1/2)
Jul. 2nd, 2009 09:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rusty_armourTitle: Dreaming With Open Eyes
Author: Rusty Armour
Pairing: Sheppard/Lorne
Summary: Often what is buried in the unconscious doesn’t stay that way.
Word Count: 5,280
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Before I Sleep, Sunday, Doppelganger, Season Five in general
Disclaimer: Thou Shalt Not Steal. Even in the interest of fic. Most of these characters aren't mine. I, uh, borrowed them. Yeah.
Author's Note: This was written for impamoudara, who had the winning bid for this fic at the David Hewlett MSF/DWB Charity Auction. impamoudara asked for a slash story with Major Evan Lorne as the main character. She also requested that the fic have some McKay/Lorne snark and some mention of Lorne’s ATA gene. I would like to thank impamoudara for her patience, her wonderful ideas and input, and for making a donation to Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders in the first place.
Lorne tapped the end of his pencil against his sketch pad as he stared across the field at the rock formation. The team of botanists he’d escorted to M9C-474 was buzzing around him excitedly as they’d discovered four new species of mushroom, one of which closely resembled Agaricus subrufescens, but Lorne was sick of sketching fungi and had been happy to focus on something else. He was just debating whether the formation would make a suitable subject for a painting, and if he should take some pictures, when he saw a flash of movement. He squinted and saw what appeared to be the Pegasus equivalent of a hawk flying out from the rocks. Reaching into his tac vest, Lorne pulled out a pair of binoculars.
When Lorne first spotted the hawk, he assumed it had built a nest on a ledge or in a crevice, but he could now see that the opening was wider than he’d expected and he wondered if it could be a cave. Lorne shoved his binoculars into their case and rose quickly to his feet.
“I’m just going to take a look at those rocks,” Lorne said to no one in particular.
Dr. Ash lowered her digital camera. “Shouldn’t someone go with you?”
Lorne smiled at her. “It’s okay. I’ll only be gone a few minutes.” He picked up his P-90 and headed across the field before Ash could stop him. Lorne didn’t know why, but he was drawn to those rocks – and he didn’t think it was because of their aesthetic appeal.
Reaching the cave wasn’t easy. Lorne had to climb over several boulders before he could even get near it. The ground directly outside the cave was rough and uneven, covered by pits and stones. The entrance was narrow and it was a struggle for Lorne to squeeze through. However, once Lorne was through the opening, he found himself in a cavern that was almost spacious in comparison. It was cool and damp inside, and Lorne couldn’t see anything at first. Then a tiny flicker of light caught his eyes. Lorne blinked in surprise and tracked the source.
The light, which was glowing green, was part of a panel attached to the cave wall. Lorne lifted his P-90 to illuminate the panel. The panel’s design and structure were similar to the door panels on Atlantis – only the cave didn’t have any doors. Lorne swept his hand over the panel anyway.
Nothing happened for a second and then a section of the wall dissolved to reveal a room with what looked like a giant telescope.
Lorne stared at the room for a moment and then let out a low whistle. “Now that’s not something you see every day.”
“Well, I always thought your hobby was a good thing,” McKay said, “and it seems I was right.”
Sheppard shot McKay a look of disbelief from the pilot seat of the puddlejumper before focusing on the HUD again.
Ronon was obviously skeptical as well as he snickered and shook his head. “You didn’t even know he could paint before today.”
McKay’s chin jerked up defensively. “I did so!” he snapped. “He painted that-that painting of the-the…Hey, is that one chocolate chip?” McKay asked, whipping his head around to Sergeant Mitchell, who had just torn open a power bar.
Looking confused, Mitchell said, “No, peanut butter.”
“Oh.” McKay frowned. “Well, do you have any that are chocolate chip?”
Teyla slapped McKay’s arm. “Rodney, you just had lunch!”
McKay rubbed his arm. “I’d barely finished my sandwich when our resident artist stopped painting long enough to call us from the planet.”
“Yeah, about that,” Lorne said. “I wasn’t painting when I found that place. I was sketching.”
“And the difference would be?” McKay asked.
“Well, one involves a pencil and a sketch pad and the other paint, paint brushes and a canvas,” Lorne said.
McKay rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine, Picasso. You were sketching when you noticed the Batcave.”
Sheppard spun around in his chair. “The cave has bats in it? No one told me there were bats. Are we talking big bats, blood-sucking bats…?”
Lorne sighed. “There weren’t any bats. There was just a hawk and it flew away.”
“Like a bat?” Ronon asked, and Teyla kicked his leg.
McKay glared at his team-mates. “It was a Batman reference, people.” When Ronon and Teyla stared at him blankly, McKay said, “The Batcave is Batman’s secret hideout and the place where he keeps all his super cool gadgets.”
Lorne knew he shouldn’t, but he just couldn’t resist. “The Fortress of Solitude is better.”
McKay laughed. “Are you kidding me?” he exclaimed. “All the Fortress of Solitude has is a bunch of crystals.”
Lorne smiled. “That was just in the movie. Besides, those crystals provided information – a bit like the Ancients, wouldn’t you say?”
McKay crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh, please. If the Ancients had constructed the Fortress of Solitude, it would have been full of super cool gadgets. They would have also chosen a better location than the Arctic. I mean, who chooses to build a secret hideout in the Arctic?”
“Uh, someone who wants to keep it a secret?” Lorne suggested. “It would be much harder to get to than an underground cave in a major city.”
“I would have thought you’d appreciate Superman’s choice of location,” Sheppard said. “It’s practically in Canada.”
Sheppard’s back was to them, but Lorne was pretty sure he was smirking at McKay all the same.
“Oh, wonderful,” McKay muttered. “Another completely inaccurate stereotype about Canada. For your information, Colonel, Canada is not in the Arctic.”
“No, it’s just directly beneath it,” Lorne said.
McKay’s eyes narrowed. “Well, the States is directly beneath Canada, so what does that make it?”
Teyla cleared her throat loudly. “Am I going to have to separate you two until we reach the planet?” she asked, directing a stern gaze at Lorne and McKay.
Lorne sat up straighter in his chair. “No, ma’am.”
McKay nodded quickly. “We’ll be good, Mommy.”
Ronon grinned at Teyla. “You aren’t going to let Torren get away with anything, are you?”
“No, I will not,” Teyla said.
They managed to reach the planet without further incident, though McKay couldn’t resist humming the Batman theme once he was a safe distance from Teyla. Then he was grumbling and cursing under his breath when they had to start climbing over boulders to reach the cave. However, his mood changed abruptly when he saw the door panel on the cave wall. He pulled out his scanner and took some readings then nodded his head at Sheppard, who had his hand poised above it.
Sheppard swept his hand over the door panel, looking baffled when nothing happened. McKay didn’t hesitate to gloat.
“Yes!” McKay said. “I knew this day would come! I knew one day there’d be some Ancient device that wouldn’t give in to you!”
Sheppard gave him a dirty look. “I’d like to see you do better.”
“Well, I certainly couldn’t do any worse!” McKay motioned Sheppard away from the device. Then he stretched his arms above his head and rotated each shoulder a few times. He had just taken a deep cleansing breath when Ronon lost patience with him and, grabbing his wrist, waved his hand in front of the panel. Nothing happened.
“Looks like you’re a dud too,” Ronon said.
“That-that wasn’t fair!” McKay sputtered. “I wasn’t ready and-and your missing ATA gene must have disrupted—”
Lorne stepped forward and swept his hand in front of the panel, watching the wall dissolve a second time that day.
McKay snapped his fingers and turned to Sheppard excitedly. “The technology must have imprinted on him somehow and will now only recognize his DNA pattern.”
“You mean, like a retinal scan?” Sheppard asked.
“Well, it’s obviously a lot more complicated than that,” McKay said, “but, yes, in a very general sense, that’s how the device appears to work. It must have reverted back to its default setting at some point and was re-initialized when Lorne came into contact with it.”
Sheppard grinned at Lorne. “Cool. You’re the chosen one.”
“Yay,” Lorne said. Then he found himself being shoved against Sheppard as McKay barrelled past.
Sheppard steadied Lorne with a hand and called after McKay. “Rodney, we’ve talked about this!”
“Yes, yes, I’m sorry,” McKay said, “but-but look at this place!”
Sheppard sauntered into the room, followed closely by Lorne, Teyla and Ronon. His eyes immediately fell on the huge centerpiece. “Holy freakin’ telescope, Batman!”
McKay raised his index finger. “It may not be a telescope.”
“Well, what else could it be?” Sheppard asked.
“That’s what we’re here to find out.” McKay moved closer to the large piece of equipment, his scanner clutched in his hands. “I wonder if this also needs an ATA gene to be activated,” he murmured to himself. His eyes darted back to his team. “Lorne, get over here.”
“Uh, do I usually take orders from you?” Lorne asked, though he walked over to McKay anyway. “What do you want me to do?”
“This.” McKay grasped Lorne by the sleeve and placed his hand on the machine in front of them, but it didn’t activate.
Lorne yanked his sleeve free. “You’re not Ronon, you know.”
“Obviously.” McKay was scowling at the machine. He moved around it, studying it intensely. “It must have some kind of mental component.” He glanced at Lorne sharply. “You did think ‘on,’ right?”
Lorne rolled his eyes. “I haven’t been able to touch anything in this galaxy without thinking ‘on’.”
McKay’s brow furrowed. “Hmm. Maybe it’s like the Ancient chair.”
Lorne gazed at the machine, his head tilted. “There’s nowhere to sit, Doc,” he said. Then his eyes widened as a long padded bench materialized. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
McKay pushed Lorne to one side and immediately began to investigate this latest development. Lorne yawned and wandered back to the rest of the team.
“That was a lot like the HUD in the puddlejumper,” Sheppard said, nodding at the bench. “I wonder what else it will give you if you ask it nicely?”
“A plan to defeat the Wraith?” Lorne suggested.
There was an excited squeal from McKay, who began waving his arms and snapping his fingers wildly. “Lorne, get back over here. There’s something you need to try.”
Lorne sighed in resignation. “Coming, Doc.”
It turned out that the machine wasn’t a telescope, though it was used to gaze up at the stars.
“I think it’s some kind of monitoring device – probably for detecting Wraith ships,” McKay said. “A kind of early warning system.”
Sheppard studied the machine skeptically. “It wouldn’t be able to provide much warning, though, would it?”
McKay smiled smugly. “Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that, my friend. While you guys were having your little gabfest over in the corner, Lorne spotted a ship that had to be at least 30 or 40,000 light years away.”
Sheppard raised his eyebrows. “30 or 40,000 light years, huh? And how do you know that?”
McKay grew even more self-satisfied. “Because it was the Daedalus and we’re not expecting her to arrive in Atlantis for at least a few hours.”
“I said I thought it might be the Daedalus,” Lorne said. “I’m not absolutely sure.”
McKay waved Lorne’s protests aside with a flick of his hand. “Well, it was a ship that was a great distance away. That’s what’s important.”
“But there are computers on Atlantis that can also detect Wraith ships,” Teyla said. “Why build this-this machine?”
McKay beamed at Teyla. “Yes, I’ve been wondering about that myself and I think I have at least one theory that fits.” He sat down on the bench, his eyes wandering over the machine. “Although the creator of this device had to be familiar with Ancient technology, this doesn’t resemble anything I’ve come across on Atlantis. At a guess, I’d say this was cobbled together using whatever parts were available at the time.” McKay ran his hand over the machine with an almost fond expression. “Maybe it was a scientist who was exiled to the planet – a scientist with radical ideas that weren’t popular with his colleagues back on Atlantis.”
“Someone like Janus, you mean,” Sheppard said.
McKay nodded. “Someone as brilliant as Janus, yes.”
“Okay,” Lorne said, “having an early warning system is great and everything, but what good is it to the guy if he’s stuck on the planet?”
“Perhaps the inhabitants of this planet were able to take shelter somewhere,” Teyla suggested. “We have come across people who have built tunnels and catacombs underground.”
“Caves,” Ronon said. “We’re standing in one right now. There could be others.”
Teyla’s face lit up. “If such caves do exist, they could be invaluable to anyone who lives in this part of the planet.”
McKay glanced up from the machine. “Does M9C-474 even have inhabitants?” he asked.
“There’s a town and some villages about eight miles from here,” Lorne said.
Sheppard gazed at the machine thoughtfully. “If this monitoring system can detect Wraith ships from such vast distances then people would have plenty of time to reach any caves that might be here. Even if they travelled on foot, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
McKay also gave the machine a speculative look. “There would always have to be someone here to man the machine – two or three people at least – and they’d have to possess some form of the ATA gene.”
“And there would have to be someone to alert all the people in the town and villages,” Ronon said.
McKay lifted his chin. “Well, that goes without saying.”
“You could always build a Bat-Signal,” Sheppard said.
“Really?” McKay asked. “Because I could totally do that, you know.”
Sheppard grinned. “I’m sure you could, buddy, but let’s see if we can find any of Ronon’s caves first.”
“Yes, fine. Go, go,” Rodney said, dismissing Sheppard with an impatient gesture. “While you three go off spelunking, Lorne and I will do some real work.”
Lorne winced. “Ah, Doc, you don’t really need me to be here, do you?”
McKay glared at him. “Hello! You’re the only one who can get this thing to work. Until I figure out how to make it respond to other gene carriers, I need you here, Major. Besides, with Weinstein and Mitchell standing guard outside, there should be someone in here with me.”
Lorne nodded reluctantly. “Yeah, okay.”
Sheppard shot Lorne a sympathetic look as he walked out of the room with Teyla and Ronon. “We’ll be back soon. Try not to have too much fun while we’re gone.”
Lorne smiled wryly at his C.O. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, sir.” He looked at McKay, who was rubbing his hands together almost gleefully. Wonderful, Lorne thought.
“Now, if you’ll just lay down on the bench again, we can get started,” McKay said.
Lorne didn’t like the bench, or, rather, the eyepiece that swung down on a heavy metal frame and pinned him to the bench. “Why would anyone build a telescope you can’t see through unless you’re lying down?”
McKay moved closer to the bench, standing to Lorne’s right. “It’s not a telescope, and my guess would be to allow room for a larger optical tube and more powerful lens,” he said. “And, yes, before you say it, I know I just named parts of a telescope. I use them for lack of any better terms.”
“Fair enough.” Lorne wriggled a bit, trying to make more space for himself under the frame. He wasn’t usually claustrophobic, but he couldn’t help feeling trapped by the strange device.
“Are you okay?” McKay asked.
Great, Lorne thought. He had hoped he was being subtle, but if McKay had noticed that he was squirming then he was definitely being too obvious about it. “I’m fine,” Lorne said. “Just getting a bit more comfortable.”
McKay grimaced. “Yeah, I can’t say I envy you. I think I’d go nuts under there with my claustrophobia.” He reached out to deliver what Lorne assumed was meant to be an encouraging pat on the shoulder, before realizing that the metal frame was in the way. McKay cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well, if you’re ready, let’s begin.”
For almost an hour, they experimented with the machine. Lorne found it grew easier to manipulate the controls the longer he gazed through the eyepiece, though all that extreme concentration was beginning to take its toll. He could feel a dull throbbing behind his eyes and knew a headache was coming. He was about to suggest taking a break, when he heard a startled yell from McKay and felt the metal frame vibrate as something struck it.
Lorne called out to McKay and struggled to push against the weight pressing him down. However, before he could free himself from the frame, he found himself facing two men wielding spears. Unable to sit up, Lorne turned his head and saw McKay lying prostrate on the cave floor. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought he saw blood matting McKay’s hair.
“So help me,” Lorne hissed, “if you’ve killed him–”
A spearhead pressed against Lorne’s throat. “Silence. You have already defiled this sacred place with your presence. It should not be further tainted by your prattle.”
Sacred place? Lorne thought. Prattle? “From where I’m lying, you’re the one doing all the prattling.”
The spearhead dug a little deeper into Lorne’s skin.
“Lorne, shut up before you get us both killed,” McKay said from the ground. His voice was muffled and he sounded groggy, but at least he was alive.
“Are you okay?” Lorne asked.
McKay tried to lift his head and groaned. “Oh, yeah. Just peachy.”
“Look,” Lorne said to the men standing over him, “we didn’t realize we were trespassing. If you’ll just lower your weapons, we can talk about this.” When the men didn’t move, Lorne sighed and closed his eyes. “You outnumber us. We’re no threat to–”
The sound of Ronon’s blaster filled the room, and the man holding the spear at Lorne’s throat crumpled to the ground, almost landing on McKay. By the time Lorne was able to shove the metal frame off his chest and sit up, all of the men who had attacked them were lying unconscious around the cave. Lorne slipped off the bench and knelt down beside McKay. Sheppard was already at McKay’s side, helping him sit up.
“What happened?” Sheppard asked.
“I’m not sure,” Lorne said. “I was looking through the eyepiece of the not-telescope when I heard McKay shout and felt something hit the frame I was under.”
McKay touched the back of his head gingerly. “It felt like a rock.”
“It was a rock.” Ronon had picked up a slingshot from one of the unconscious men and held it up before them.
“Oh, great. I wonder how many brain cells that cost me.” McKay tried to stand up, and Sheppard grabbed his arm when he swayed and almost pitched forward again.
“We’ve got to get you back to Atlantis.” Sheppard draped one of McKay’s arms over his shoulders and his own arm around McKay’s waist. “Come on. Let’s go.” As the team made its way out of the cave, Sheppard glanced at Lorne and said, “Do you have any idea why they attacked?”
“They seemed to think we were trespassing, that we had disturbed a sacred place.” Lorne shook his head. “I should have been paying closer attention, sir. If I’d been doing my job properly, they wouldn’t have been able to sneak up on us like that.”
“No, if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine,” Sheppard said. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to assist McKay and protect him at the same time. I should have left the exploring to Teyla and Ronon and stayed behind to watch your backs.”
McKay coughed loudly. “Look, I doubt there’s much either one of you could have done, so can we stop playing the blame game and move past this?” They had just stepped outside, and McKay winced as bright sunlight flooded his vision. “What I’d really like to know is how they managed to get in there in the first place. They shouldn’t have been able to activate the door panel.”
“Ah. I think I can answer that.” Sheppard was smiling sheepishly as he exchanged a look with Teyla and Ronon. “We discovered another door into this place. It’s on the other side of the rocks, which is why we didn’t notice it before. I’m guessing Weinstein and Mitchell didn’t even see those men as I posted them on this side. The other entrance has one of those Ancient devices too, but the device seems to be busted.”
“I’ll fix it later if I haven’t sustained permanent brain damage,” McKay said. Then he shot an apologetic look to Lorne when he saw another flicker of guilt behind his eyes. “Of course, I’m sure it’s nothing. Probably just a little bump.”
Lorne wasn’t convinced. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
“Well, yes,” McKay said. “Is it working?”
After everyone had been cleared from the infirmary following their post-mission exams – with the exception of McKay, who was being kept in for observation – the team gathered in the briefing room.
“We’ll need to establish contact with the town’s authorities,” Woolsey said. “Despite what happened today, I believe it might still be possible to form an alliance with these people.” He leaned forward in his chair, folding his hands on the table. “If Dr. McKay is right about this device, it could be a vital resource for these people and provide us with valuable information about the Ancients.”
“I would advise caution,” Teyla said. “These people believe the cave is sacred and have proven that they will fight to protect it.”
Ronon snorted. “That wasn’t a fight. They attacked McKay and Lorne before they even had a chance to defend themselves.”
Teyla raised an eyebrow. “They may have felt their actions were justified if Dr. McKay and Major Lorne were trespassing.”
Ronon opened his mouth to argue, but Woolsey raised a hand to silence him. “Whether their actions were justified or not is not really the issue here,” Woolsey said, “though obviously we’ll need to be sensitive to their beliefs when we attempt to make contact with them.” He glanced at Sheppard. “Colonel, what are your thoughts on the matter?”
Sheppard slouched a little further back in his chair. “I think Teyla’s right. A team of Marines should accompany whoever goes to the planet. Their weapons may have been low tech, but those men who attacked us shouldn’t be dismissed lightly.”
Or trusted, Lorne thought, tuning out the rest of the briefing. As far as he was concerned, any attempt to forge an alliance with these people was pointless. He had dealt with religious fanatics before and they were impossible to reason with. He would be quite happy if he never laid eyes on the planet’s inhabitants, their cave or the Ancient machine again, though he knew that wouldn’t be an option. Until McKay figured out how to get the technology to respond to another gene carrier, he was going to be stuck playing guinea pig.
Lorne became so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn’t realize the meeting was over until he felt Sheppard’s hand on his shoulder and saw that the room had cleared.
“Are you okay?” Sheppard asked. “Because we kind of lost you there.”
Lorne blushed. “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to…There’s no excuse for–”
“Look, I don’t care about that,” Sheppard said. “Right now, you’re my only concern. You’ve been quiet and withdrawn since we left the planet. Now, I know things got pretty rough down there, and you’ve been worried about McKay, but we’re all safe now and McKay’s going to be fine.”
Lorne nodded. “I know, sir. I just…I just can’t help feeling responsible for what happened.”
“Well, don’t. I’m ordering you not to.” Sheppard smiled at Lorne, and Lorne felt his own lips twitch in response. “You look beat,” Sheppard said. “Why don’t you knock off early? You could go to the gym, or maybe do some painting, then turn in early and get a good night’s sleep.”
Lorne thought about his sketches of the rock formation and almost shuddered, but a workout sounded appealing. “Thank you, sir. I think I’ll take your advice.”
Sheppard clapped Lorne warmly on the back. “Good. I’m glad to hear it, Major.”
“No, no, no, you can’t do that!” McKay said.
Sheppard raised an eyebrow. “Uh, last time I checked, moving the queen from D1 to H5 was a perfectly legal move, Rodney.”
“Shh!” McKay raised a hand and started scanning the chessboard.
Sheppard rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything. They had set up the chessboard in the middle of Rodney’s bed in the infirmary and were both sitting on opposite ends of the mattress. Sheppard knew he should probably cut McKay some slack considering that he had a concussion, but that wouldn’t be any fun.
“Yes, all right,” McKay grumbled. “I suppose I can allow your move.”
“How very gracious of you,” Sheppard said, just managing to keep a straight face.
McKay looked up from the chessboard. “If it wasn’t for this concussion, I could totally kick your ass.”
Sheppard laughed. “In your dreams, Rodney!”
McKay glared at him. “You know what? Screw the concussion. I’m going to – Oh, hi, Lorne. You’re just in time to see me wipe the floor with Sheppard.”
Sheppard’s head whipped around in surprise. It was almost 2330 and he’d told Lorne to turn in early. “Major, shouldn’t you have gone to bed by now?”
“I did go to bed,” Lorne said. He was wearing a t-shirt and track pants and seemed more interested in gazing at the far wall of the infirmary than their chessboard.
“Okaaay. Then why are you here? Couldn’t sleep?” He glanced at McKay, wondering if he also thought Lorne was acting strangely, and saw the same expression McKay always had when he’d worked out the solution to a problem: the one which made it look as if a light bulb had lit up in his brain.
“Ah,” McKay said. “It’s okay. I’ll take care of it.” He started to rise from the bed, but Sheppard grabbed his wrist.
“Take care of what?” Sheppard asked. “And where do you think you’re going? You have a concussion, remember?”
McKay tried to pull his wrist free. “It will only take a few minutes. I’ll come right back.”
“Come back from where?” Sheppard looked at Lorne and noticed the glazed vacant eyes. “Is he sleepwalking?”
McKay sighed. “Yes, he’s sleepwalking.” He tried to get up a second time, but Sheppard reached out for his wrist again.
“You’re not going to try to wake him, are you?” Sheppard said.
McKay gave an indignant huff. “Of course not. I know better than to wake a sleepwalker. I was going to take him back to his quarters.”
Sheppard shot another glance at Lorne. “Won’t he just wander back out again?”
“Most sleepwalkers will go back to sleep – normal sleep – once they return to their beds.”
“How do you know?” Sheppard said. “What are you? An expert?”
McKay crossed his arms. “Jeannie used to sleepwalk when she was a kid, so, yeah, I have some knowledge on the subject.”
“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t know.” Sheppard picked up a pawn he had captured from McKay and started to fiddle with it. “This will probably sound like a stupid question, but aren’t all sleepwalkers different?”
“No, not really,” McKay said. “Not when it comes down to the basics, anyway. Besides, I know it will work for Lorne. It’s worked before.”
Sheppard dropped the pawn. “What?”
McKay’s eyes widened. “Uh, what I mean is…”
“Lorne has walked in his sleep before?” Sheppard asked. “Since we came in contact with the crystal entity, I mean.”
McKay grimaced. “It’s not a big deal, okay? I’m usually up late, anyway, so if I see him sleepwalking I just take him back to his quarters.”
Sheppard’s eyes narrowed. “And if you’re not around?”
McKay swallowed. “Well, in that case, it’s sometimes Radek or one of the Marines.”
Sheppard grit his teeth. “Am I the only one on Atlantis who didn’t know that my second-in-command has been sleepwalking on a regular basis?”
“Well, I’d hardly call it a ‘regular’ basis,” Rodney said.
Sheppard’s hand came crashing down on the chessboard. “Dammit, Rodney, I should have been told about this! He’s under my command! He’s a trained soldier! If he’d gotten hold of a gun, he could have killed somebody! Hell, he almost killed me when we were dealing with the crystal entity!”
McKay started packing away the chessboard. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell you. I knew you’d overreact.” “I’m not overreacting!” Sheppard shouted. “I think my reaction is perfectly reasonable under the circumstances!”
There was a clang of metal, and both Sheppard and McKay jumped before gazing across the infirmary at Lorne, who had accidentally knocked a tray of instruments on the floor.
“Is he still asleep?” Sheppard asked.
“Well, duh,” McKay said. He stood up and this time Sheppard didn’t try to stop him, though Sheppard quickly got to his feet as well. McKay took Lorne gently by the elbow, and Lorne didn’t resist as he was guided from the infirmary.
“You should have told me about this, Rodney,” Sheppard said. “Lorne should have told me about this.”
McKay paused in the corridor. “Lorne couldn’t have told you. He doesn’t know.”
Sheppard’s forehead creased. “What do you mean he doesn’t know? How could he not know?”
Rodney began walking again. “He doesn’t know because we haven’t told him.”
Sheppard grabbed McKay’s arm. “Why the hell didn’t you tell him? Shouldn’t he know? Doesn’t he have a right to know?”
McKay frowned. “We kept it from him for his own good. I figured that if he knew he was sleepwalking again, it would only stress him out and make the situation worse.” When Sheppard stared at him blankly, Rodney said, “Stress is a trigger for sleepwalking, so he’s more likely to keep sleepwalking if he finds out the truth.”
“I think you’d better get your girlfriend to perform an MRI because that’s just about the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” Sheppard reached for Lorne’s other elbow and pulled him away from McKay.
“What are you doing?” McKay asked.
“I’m escorting Lorne to his quarters,” Sheppard said. “You can go back to the infirmary.”
Ignoring the suggestion, McKay trailed behind Sheppard. “You’re not going to tell him, are you?”
Sheppard glared at McKay over his shoulder. “What do you think?”
If McKay gave any response, Sheppard didn’t hear it as he took off at a brisk pace, literally dragging Lorne along with him. In fact, he didn’t slow down or release Lorne’s arm until they reached Lorne’s quarters. Lorne automatically swiped his hand over the door panel and walked into the room. Sheppard hesitated at the threshold for an instant and then followed Lorne inside.
Sheppard had gotten the impression that Lorne would put himself to bed, but he thought he’d better stick around to make sure. He stood awkwardly to one side as Lorne climbed on to the mattress and burrowed under the covers. As McKay had predicted, Lorne appeared to fall asleep as soon as he was back in his bed. Chances are he would also remain in his bed till morning. All the same, Sheppard sank down in the beat up armchair in the corner of the room and watched Lorne sleep.
