Hold On, Hold On, Hold On

Two Months Later



“I’ve told you before, and I’m telling you again. It’s garbage,” declared Rodney. Hunched over one of the worktables, he pressed his eyes with the palms of his hands. The low light levels of the Wraith ship caused him eyestrain every single day, and he was starting to think it was settling in as a permanent condition.



Behind him, Todd studied the results of his latest equipment test, and Rodney could almost hear his disparaging remarks being formulated.



“Yes, maybe some parts of it aren’t as garbage-y as I’d originally thought, but on the whole we’re still working with a few deep flaws, and there’s only so much I can cobble together out of spit and guesses.” Rodney picked up one of the tools from the tray in front of him, squinting at the end of it. It may have been calibrated improperly, but his eyes wouldn’t focus enough for him to tell. He dropped it back onto the tray.



“Look, I’ve got to get some sleep. Will you just put me back in my room?”



“There are many variables to check, and it would go faster if you didn’t sleep so much.”



“Tough nuts. Humans need to spend at least a third of the time sleeping, you knew that before you picked me up.”



“You have been asleep nearly as much as you’ve been awake. That’s half your time.”



Rodney frowned. Having no clocks around, he hadn’t realized that. “Yeah, well it probably means I’m in poor health. You could try getting me some better food.” He rubbed his eyes again, felt the patchy beard that had grown in for lack of a razor.



“Plus there’s the fact that this is all pretty exhausting for me. You may or may not have noticed during your captivity that humans usually spend about a third of their time not working. You know – free time, recreation? Not that there’s much of anything fun to do on a Wraith ship, but if I have to stare at those damn equipment readouts all day, I’ll go nuts.”



The Wraith leaned over beside Rodney. “From what my crew has told me, you’ve found enough ‘free time’ to indulge in a few ‘recreational activities’ of your own,” he pointed out, very nonchalantly, bringing one hand forward to reveal the pen-sized tool that Rodney had modified to open Wraith locks.



Rodney stiffened. His ribs and back still throbbed with bruises from the beating the other Wraith had summarily inflicted when they’d discovered him trying to smuggle the device into his room. As familiar as breathing lately, fear flooded through his body in dread of what further discipline Todd might inflict.



Trying hard not to shrink from the Wraith’s oppressively close presence, Rodney began to study his own hands. Noting all of the nervous, repetitive movements they were making, he watched them with detached interest for the fact that he couldn’t seem to make them stop.



“Oh. So they told you about that, did they?” he managed to say without letting his voice crack.



The Wraith nodded. “They did.” He turned the device over slowly in front of them, as though taunting Rodney with it. “I was curious to know what exactly you were planning to do.”



“I was going to sneak out of my room, find the hangar bay, steal a dart, and escape,” admitted Rodney truthfully. “Can you blame me?” He was so tired, he almost wished the Wraith would just hit him or something and get it over with so he could go back to his room and sleep. Todd had never physically hurt Rodney himself (although his crew seemed to be making a sport of it lately), but for such a serious infraction Rodney imagined he might want to inflict retribution personally.



The Wraith inclined his head. “No, I suppose not,” he agreed. “Although, forgive me for pointing out that your plan was not a very sound one. It is highly unlikely you would have succeeded.”



“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Rodney muttered wretchedly.



The Wraith stood up, still beside Rodney, but not right beside him, for which Rodney was grateful.



“I did not realize you had become so desperate, Dr. McKay.”



Rodney closed his eyes to rub them again. When Todd put it that way, it sounded pretty damn pathetic. He hadn’t realized it either, until just now.



“Yeah, well, the lack of light in here gives me a constant headache The food sucks: I’m probably malnourished and getting rickets as we speak. The assignment I’ve been given is totally impossible, and oh yeah, I’m surrounded all the time by Wraith, who hate me and want to eat me.”



Todd chuckled. It was an unnerving sound. “I’m sure they don’t hate you, Dr. McKay.”



“I’m sure they do! They hate having to help me, and they hate taking orders from me. Most of them growl at me when I ask them to re-check their work, like it’s my fault they’re uneducated idiots. Seriously, where did you dig up these bozos? I’ve never missed Zelenka more in my life.”



“These individuals have more practical engineering knowledge than any other Wraith on the ship. The type of theories you’ve introduced are new and unfamiliar, and it is demanding much to ask them to think as quickly and innovatively as you can.

They will learn the habit in time, as I did. And they are of particularly mild temperament if all they did was growl to demonstrate their displeasure.”



“Well, they were happy enough beat the tar out of me when they had the chance. Some lab assistants. And you can’t tell me they don’t want to eat me. Just the way they look at me all the time…” Rodney wrapped his arms around himself. In his mind’s eye, he could see the hungry, malevolent gazes that surrounded him all day in his work area, and usually all night in his dreams. He shuddered. “You have no idea how much I hate it. It makes it really hard for me, to… to…” calm down, function, breathe…“Concentrate.”



Todd watched Rodney for a moment or two, stroking his ragged white beard.



“I will speak to them,” Todd assured him finally.



Rodney couldn’t imagine how that would help, but something in the way Todd said it made him believe that he would deal with it.



“Thank you. I’d appreciate that.”



Todd turned to go.



“What about the escape attempt?” blurted Rodney, causing Todd to stop just before he’d reached the door. Feeling stupid, Rodney nonetheless realized that he’d rather be reprimanded promptly than live with the fear of some impending punishment.



The Wraith turned around. He slowly flicked the modified tool in his hand against the palm of the other, thinking.



“If I can improve the conditions of your stay so that you are no longer quite as desperate, will you agree not to make any further attempts?”



Rodney blinked. That wasn’t even close to the response that he had been expecting. He took a moment to consider the offer. He wasn’t sure what Todd had in mind, but it would be something, and right now he needed something, anything really, or at least the hope that there would be something to help him deal with it all.



For the first day of his capture, he’d imagined every minute that his friends from Atlantis would burst in and rescue him. For the next week or so, every hour. Now he fantasized about it at least once a day, but the possibility in his mind was growing more and more remote. He didn’t think he could cope on his own for much longer, but knew instinctively that he had to, and he needed all the help he could get. There being no buxom hallucinations around at present, he would settle for Todd.



“Sure,” he responded blankly.



“Your word, then.”



Rodney looked up and nodded reluctantly. “You have my word.”



The Wraith seemed satisfied. He stepped back over and handed the tool to Rodney.



“Good. In that case, you can have this back, for use in its normal capacity.”



“Oh… kay. Thanks?”



Rodney stared dejectedly at the tool after Todd left him alone, musing that he probably really *wouldn’t* use it now for anything other than its original intended purpose. It didn’t occur to him that his word could be so binding when given to a hostile enemy, but somehow, when given to that particular Wraith, who took it so seriously, it was.





*~*