Secret Admirer

Title: Secret Admirer
Author: Angelsdee aka Dee Dee
Date: 10/08/06
Chapter: 8/?
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Ronon/Elizabeth
Archiving: My LJ, Atlantica, Elizabeth/Ronon LJ, RDFever LJ, WRFever, and RDFever
Warnings: Violence, Stalking, Explicit Sex, Torture
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in this fic but I sure like to play with them.
Summary: This is in response to Carol’s Challenge #9 on the WRFever Group. An obsessive admirer stalks Elizabeth and Ronon takes it upon himself to keep her safe.

“You are improving your detection skills to a level almost equal with mine, Elizabeth.” Ronon rose to his feet with a smile and turned to study his blindfolded mate. She had just effectively hip-tossed him when he silently rushed her from behind and was standing at the ready for his next move. “I am impressed, my love.”

“Does that mean you’ll tell me about the rest of your dream?” A sly grin appeared on her face and Ronon took that moment to sweep her legs out from under her. She landed hard on the mat. The air rushed from her lungs through her gasping mouth and her face grimaced in pain.

“Elizabeth!” Ronon kneeled over her concerned that he had been too rough and suddenly found himself catapulted over her head. She rolled to a crouch, spun him around, and pulled him back between her legs. She straddled him high on his waist so that he couldn’t buck her off. She executed his maneuver to perfection.

She pulled her blindfold off and looked hopeful at his broad grin. “So how did I do?” His throaty laugh filled the gym before he pulled her face to his and gave her a hard kiss. “That good, huh?”

“You’re perfect,” he whispered huskily as emotion swelled in his chest. The sound of clapping broke the spell they were under and the couple glanced over at Teyla, who was stretching out a few feet away. Ronon released Elizabeth’s face and allowed her to rise to her feet before he sat up.

“You are getting quite good, Dr. Weir. It isn’t everyday that someone takes Ronon to the ground.” Teyla looked thoughtful for a moment before she cocked her head with a smile. “Come to think of it, I’ve never seen anyone take Ronon to the ground.”

“Thank you, Teyla, and call me Elizabeth.” Teyla inclined her head at the request and smiled fondly when Elizabeth glanced down at Ronon with love in her eyes. “I think I owe it all to my trainer though. If he hadn’t shown me how to do this and repeatedly tossed me on my backside all morning, I don’t think it ever would’ve driven home. A sore butt tends to sharpen one’s learning skills I guess.”

“I learned quite the same way when I was real young. I remember those particular bruises well.” Teyla joined Elizabeth in laughter when the Atlantean leader rubbed her sore behind. A few seconds after they settled down, Teyla rose gracefully to her feet and crossed over to the bench to retrieve two sets of fighting sticks. “I never realized you had this kind of aptitude for the arts…Elizabeth.”

“I had a little training before I came here.” Her hand flew out to catch the sticks that Teyla threw her way. “It appears I am capable of drawing on Phoebus’ skills if I concentrate hard enough. I must admit that does bother me a bit but if it helps me defend myself, I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Elizabeth glanced at the wood still in her outstretched arm and tested the weight before she returned her gaze to Teyla. “I even managed to get a couple of lessons with a bo staff back at the SGC but this is new.”

“Maybe she’ll go easier on you then she did on me.” The two women turned to see John walking in the door with a grimace as he rubbed his arm. “I remember winding up on my ass more times than I care to admit and having a rainbow of bruises here and there.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Elizabeth said with a smile. “What are you doing here? You didn’t come to witness my shame, did you?”

“No. I, uh, need to borrow Ronon for a second.” He glanced down at the Satedan, who was sprawled out on his side watching the women. John rubbed the back of his neck nervously and thumbed his finger towards the far side of the gym. “Can I speak to you over here for a minute, buddy?”

“Yeah.” Ronon furrowed his brow for a moment before he quickly masked it with nonchalance when Elizabeth glanced down at him. He rose to his feet, gently kissed her forehead, and whispered in her ear. “I’ll be right back.” She smiled and nodded before he turned to Teyla. “Take it easy on her.”

“I think she’ll be fine. You might want to tell her to go easy on me.” Teyla joined Elizabeth on the mat and tilted her head. “Go speak with John. We’ll just be going through some of the basics for a while.”

Ronon nodded his head and moved across the gym to his friend. “What’s up?” He took in John’s nervous countenance and narrowed his eyes. “Does this have anything to do with the man that hurt Elizabeth?”

“No. I haven’t gotten any further into the investigation today.”

“Why not?” Ronon’s voice rose a little in anger but a quick glance over his shoulder by Sheppard told him the women had heard and he tamped it down. “We’ve been here for hours. What have you been doing?”

“While Elizabeth is out of commission I do have a whole city to run, Ronon. That includes mission debriefings, coordinating teams that are scheduled to go off world, and listening to department heads bitch and moan about crap that I know nothing about. Will you cut me some slack here?”

Ronon took a deep breath to calm himself and nodded his head. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. “Why are you here then, Sheppard?”

“We have a situation of sorts,” John said uncomfortably.

“What kind of situation?” Ronon’s patience was wearing out with his friend’s evasiveness.

“Lorne’s team is off world and ran into some trouble with the locals. I think between you, me, and a few SOs we can get this thing under control and get our guys back without any bloodshed.”

“This isn’t my problem, Sheppard, and it isn’t my primary mission,” he whispered harshly. “You ordered me to protect Elizabeth and Elizabeth only until this man was caught. Now you expect me to just walk away from her just because you need some muscle?”

“Ronon, our men are out there and I need your help. Nobody I know has your tracking skills.” John glanced at the women when he heard the sticks clack together. Teyla was always like watching poetry in motion when she sparred and to John’s surprise, Elizabeth showed a great affinity for the art as well. He had never anticipated the ease with which she wielded the sticks or the fluidity of her motions. “Damn, she’s good.”

Ronon followed John’s widened gaze and saw Teyla and his mate engaged in a dance that was so beautiful yet had the ability to be so deadly if they so chose. He had been pleasantly surprised to see the ease with which his mate picked up her lessons. She was meant to be a natural born warrior not to sit behind a desk and talk negotiations.

Yet a part of him wanted her to remain just that. She wouldn’t be in constant danger like the away teams were if she remained in the Control Room. He would love to see his woman fight by his side but he also wanted no harm to ever befall her. He knew in his heart that he would never forgive himself if anything ever happened to Elizabeth after he trained her to become like him.

“Yes, she is.” His eyes focused on the sweat that glistened on her skin. She had a predatory gleam in her eyes as she circled Teyla. Elizabeth could prove to be his equal someday. The thought fired his blood and made a part of his mind call out to her. The bond he shared with her as his true mate made his pulse quicken and his desire build.

He growled low in his throat when he noticed the appreciation in his teammate’s eyes. His jealousy reared its head in the mess hall and showed itself again now. “Do you think you can pry your eyes off of my mate long enough to explain why I should acquiesce to your request?”

“I need your help.”

“So does she!”

“Ronon, I know your feelings are engaged in this assignment I gave you. I know things have changed between the two of you and you don’t want to let her out of your sight but have you thought about how Elizabeth is going to act when this guy is caught?” John looked at the large man with sympathy in his eyes that made Ronon avert his gaze to the floor. “She will return to her duties as leader of this outpost.”

“She isn’t the type to stay in your quarters and play the role of the little woman.” John threw his hands up in the air in frustration. He knew Ronon was in a different mindset than when he first joined his team. He found love and it was making the already stubborn Satedan even harder to talk to. “She will expect you to return to your duties no matter how difficult it will be to watch you walk through that gate. Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”

“Yes. She is an independent woman that will not allow me to forever shield her behind my door and body to ensure her continued survival. She won’t let me hide her away and keep her to myself.” Several strong gusts of air dragged in and out of Ronon’s mouth as he passed like a caged panther. “Damn it!” He was at odds with all of his newfound instincts to protect his mate and his dedication to Sheppard. “Who will watch over her if I go?”

“I’ll have Teyla stay with her. I know she isn’t a suspect and of everyone here, you trust her to be the most capable person for the job.” John remained silent while Ronon placed his hands on his hips and gazed longingly at Elizabeth. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and hung his head. “So can I count on you?”

“Yeah.” The answer was released with his breath and John could swear he looked smaller in appearance with his decision. “Give me a minute to tell her.”

“No problem,” John replied with relief in his voice.

Elizabeth and Teyla had their sticks crossed against the other’s while one tried to win the battle of strength over the other. Elizabeth’s height gave her an advantage as she applied her leverage down on to the smaller Teyla.

The Athosian woman clearly had more experience and could win this battle in another way but she gave the instructions for a test of strength. She gritted her teeth against the pressure Elizabeth was applying to her wrists and forearms. Just when she was about to call an end to the exercise, she saw the Earth woman’s focus shift beyond her and almost lost her footing when she let her sticks fall to the mat.

“Ronon?” Elizabeth could see the tension in his body as he walked towards her with his head down. She sidestepped the curious Teyla and met him at the edge of the mat. “Baby, what’s wrong?” She tried to peer into his downcast eyes but he kept moving his head to avoid her gaze. She took his face gently between her hands and stilled his movements. He still wouldn’t look her in the eyes. “Tell me what is bothering you, Ronon? We promised no more secrets.”

“I have to leave you for a while.” He shook his head slightly in her hands with his misery. “Sheppard needs my help off world. Lorne and his team are in trouble.” He felt her tension through her touch on his face. His eyes snapped up to hers and could see a faraway look in her wide eyes. The color had left her face. “I don’t want to go.”

“I don’t want you to either,” she said in the smallest voice that belied her recent show of strength. It broke his heart.

He took her face in his hands. His eyes darted back and forth between hers. “I don’t want to leave you but Sheppard needs me.” He pulled her into his embrace with one hand gently massaging the nape of her neck. “I’ll be back before you know it, okay?” She nodded hesitantly against his chest. He turned his emotional gaze to Teyla, whose mouth fell slightly agape when she saw his glistening eyes. “You are the only person I trust to stay with her while I’m gone. Will you care for her until I get back?”

“Of course,” Teyla replied past the lump in her throat. “I will not allow any harm to come to her as long as I live.”

“Thank you.” He nodded before he turned his attention to his mate. “Elizabeth.” He lifted her chin with his fingers and smoothed her hair back from her forehead. “I want you and Teyla to wait for me in our quarters. Do you understand?” She nodded her head in a daze as she stared into the depths of his eyes. He dug his fingers into her hair by her temples, pulled her into a deep kiss that they both fell into, and parted on a gasp. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He smiled softly, touched his forehead to hers for a brief moment as her words washed over him, and quickly turned to walk away. She watched his retreating back with tears in her eyes as he met John and walked to the door. “Ronon!” He turned to glance at her when she yelled out in such a commanding tone. “You better come back to me or I’ll kill every living thing on that planet!”

A grin of pure happiness lit his face as he nodded and walked out the door with a stunned John. “Damn, Ronon, what the hell have you done to Elizabeth? I’ve never heard her talk like that before,” he said in amazement. “I think she means it. Does she mean it?”

“Sheppard.”

“What?”

“Shut up and let’s get this over with so I can get back to my mate.”

~*~

The four men had stepped through the gate over three hours ago and each searched the coordinates supplied to them by Colonel Sheppard. Ronon suggested that it was risky for them to split up with the situation unknown but John said they were running short of time and had to hurry.

Ronon was coming up empty on his search. He detected the random scents and tracks of Lorne’s team but hadn’t found a single set of tracks that suggested there were any locals nearby. As far as he could see there wasn’t any wildlife capable of sustaining a food source for any humans in this vicinity at all.

To say he was frustrated with this mission was an understatement. Nothing he was told was adding up or panning out as truth. There were no signs of trouble or locals of any kind. All of this was a waste of time and was keeping him away from his mate.

A sense of panic shot through him when he thought this could all be a ruse to leave Elizabeth unguarded. His mind raced over the possibilities and different ways he could get at her while he was gone. He trusted Teyla but she wasn’t him. Her senses weren’t as sharp as his and strong as she is, she wasn’t unbeatable.

A sharp sound split the air a second before pain ripped through his side. Ronon’s hand went to his abdomen and he raised it before his face to see blood soaking his shaking fingers. He fell to his knees and slumped to the forest floor convulsing in agony. As his vision began to blur, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps and saw a vague shape before consciousness eluded him.

~*~

“Major!” John called out as he saw Lorne running up ahead.

“Colonel!” Lorne stopped for a second to glance back at him before he took off running again. “The shot came from this direction.”

When John cleared the brush, he found Lorne and two members of his team, Lt. Morrison and Lt. Myers standing around the body of Ronon Dex. “What the hell happened?” John yelled as he moved to Ronon’s side and inspected his wound.

“We all heard the shot and got here at the same time,” Lorne said as he glanced between his men. “Did either of you see anyone?”

“No, Sir.” Both men answered at the same time.

“What is that, Colonel?” Lorne pointed at a white slip of paper lying in the pool of Ronon’s blood.

John placed another field dressing on Ronon’s abdomen before he picked it up and glanced at the blood soaked card. “It’s a warning to Elizabeth for taking a lover.” He pocketed the paper and lifted Ronon’s eyelids. “He’s bad and losing a lot of blood. We’ve got to get him back to Atlantis and fast. Help me pick him up!”

~*~

The rest of Sheppard and Lorne’s teams had been contacted and were waiting at the gate when the 4 men emerged from the woods struggling to carry Ronon. “Dial Atlantis now!” Sheppard yelled out to the man closest to the DHD. “Damn this guy is heavy,” he grunted as they ran up just as the event horizon stabilized. “Did you radio ahead for Carson to meet us in the gate room?”

“Yes, Sir.”

A matter of seconds later, they all stepped through to find a medical team waiting for them. “Place him on the stretcher!” Carson’s accent deepened when he saw the crimson covered shirt on the young Satedan. He grabbed his penlight from his lab coat pocket and shined them in Ronon’s eyes. A quick glance at the steady flow of blood from beneath the soaked field dressing told him all he needed. “Get him to the infirmary immediately! If I don’t get him into surgery quickly, we’re gonna lose him.”

John watched Carson and his staff whisk Ronon away on the gurney. “This can’t be happening?” His eyes seemed dazed as he glanced down at his friend’s blood that covered his hands and clothes.

“What happened?” John glanced up at Rodney as he descended the stairs from the Control Room. McKay walked amongst the 7 remaining men of the two teams with a look of shock on his face. Four of them were covered in blood. “What the hell happened?”

“Ronon was shot,” Lorne answered him when his commanding officer didn’t respond.

“What?” McKay looked at Sheppard for some acknowledgement of the statement but John remained quiet. “Colonel!” The sharp bark of his rank made John’s eyes focus and Rodney moved to stand before him. “Who shot Ronon?”

“I’m not sure,” he said through a tight throat. “I know it was one of us though.”

“Why would you think that?” McKay’s eyes darted amongst the men around him as a wave of tension ran through him. “Why would you say something like that?”

“I’d know the sound of a P-90 anywhere, McKay,” John said as he unclipped his weapon from his jacket and motioned a SO over from his station. “I need you to collect weapons from all of us. Lock up the sidearms and take an inventory of the ammo clips in the P-90s. I want to know whose weapons have been discharged. I want you to report your findings to Dr. McKay.”

“Yes, Sir.” The SO waved over the soldier he was posted with to assist him in gathering and marking all the weapons from Sheppard and Lorne’s teams.

“Me?” Rodney pointed to himself with wide eyes. “Why – why me?”

“Rodney, I regret to inform you that you’re gonna have to take charge of this investigation.” John looked at the startled expression on McKay’s face and held up a hand to stifle his protests before they came. “Everybody in the conference room now.”

Rodney walked next to John in complete silence as they ascended the stairs and headed towards the conference room. “Colonel.” He stopped John with a hand on his upper arm before they got to the door. “Shouldn’t Elizabeth handle this instead of me? She is in charge, you know?” Rodney started snapping his fingers and pointed at John as an idea struck him. “Or maybe Colonel Caldwell?”

“The Daedalus isn’t due for a week and Elizabeth is in the middle of this, Rodney. All of this is happening because of her.” He reached into his pocket, withdrew the bloodstained note, and handed it to McKay to read. “This guy has been stalking her for months. He has left notes, gifts, and ventured into some personal items that made her uncomfortable.”

“When she finally couldn’t handle it anymore, she told me about it and handed over all the things he left her. He got pissed off about that and attacked her the same night.” Sheppard thought McKay would be horrified by the information he was receiving but the resident genius looked downright furious. “Ronon found her in time before things got too bad but he got away.”

“So that’s why I hadn’t seen her for the past couple of days until this morning.” It was a statement not a question but Sheppard nodded anyways. Rodney’s nostrils flared and his jaw clenched in anger. He fisted his hand around the note stained with Ronon’s blood and nodded his head at John. “Go on.”

“I assigned Ronon to protect her until I could track this guy down. I brought in Major Lorne to help me with the investigation. Elizabeth has been staying with Ronon in his quarters because this guy had broken into hers and she didn’t feel safe there.” Rodney raised the note and waved it in John’s line of sight with an expectant look on his face. “They got involved, Rodney. They fell in love.”

“So what this note says is true?” McKay looked surprised as John nodded his head. “Ronon and Elizabeth are…lovers. Huh.” He rolled it around in his head for a moment before he indicated the open door to John. “After you, Colonel.” Rodney stood where he was and tapped his comm link. “Radek.”

“Yes, Rodney.”

“I need you to join me in the conference room,” he whispered to the Czech scientist.

“Rodney, I’m right in the middle of an experiment…”

“Radek, it is important! Ronon’s been shot, all the suspects are soldiers including Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne, Elizabeth is the main target for this mad man, and now I’m in charge,” he rambled out nervously as he heard a slew of exclamations in Zelenka’s native tongue come through his earpiece. “Radek, I need your help. I’m in way over my head here.”

“I’m on my way, Rodney,” his voice shook as he was already at a dead run when he heard Ronon had been shot.

“Oh, Radek?”

“Yes, Rodney?”

“If you tell anyone I said I need your help and that I’m over my head, I’ll deny it to the end of time.”

~*~

“I see the bullet,” Carson said as his nurse wiped the sweat from his brow. “Give me some more suction and get another unit of O started. He’s still losing a lot of blood.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Thank God. The bloody thing just barely missed his liver.” Carson extracted the bullet, dropped it in a tray, and turned back to his patient. “Get that bullet to whoever is handling this inquiry.”

“What inquiry, Doctor Beckett?”

“That shell is from one of our weapons, lass. One of our own shot this lad and if I know Colonel Sheppard, he’s already started the inquisition. Now go.” The nurse nodded and scurried out of the operating room while Carson began to work on the damage to Ronon’s gut. “We’re still not out of the woods yet, Ronon, me lad. You hold on, son.”

~*~

“Gentlemen, this isn’t my area of expertise but the first thing that comes to mind in trying to narrow down this list of unusual suspects is your whereabouts.” Rodney glanced around the table at the sullen, quiet officers and felt an intense hatred for whomever he found had done this.

Under normal circumstances he would be horrified to be in this situation but these were not normal circumstances. This person stalked Elizabeth and physically attacked her. This person shot Ronon to punish Elizabeth for falling in love with him. Rodney had never considered himself a violent man but he would welcome the opportunity to see this person punished severely for the pain he has caused his friends.

“Can any of you provide an alibi for each other?” McKay looked at each of the men in turn and stopped when two of them raised their hands. “Lt. Ralston and Lt. Jones, right?”

“Yes, Dr. McKay,” Lt. Ralston answered. “Jones and I were together when we heard the shot. We had met up after we finished the search of our grids and headed back to rendezvous with Colonel Sheppard and Ronon at the gate. We heard the shot and made the run within a minute and half. Cole was already there when we arrived.”

“So you and Lt. Jones can vouch for each other and clear Lt. Cole as well?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Rodney looked at Jones and Cole in turn and received nods from each of the men. “Okay.” Rodney made a few notations on his laptop before he waved a hand towards the door. “You three may go.” He never raised his gaze from his screen while they shuffled out of the conference room. “What about you four?”

“None of us were together until we reached Ronon, Dr. McKay,” Morrison said as he stared at his bloody hands on the table. “And to be completely honest, Sir, we were all close enough that any of us could have taken that shot, hung back a bit into the woods, and showed up at the same time to eliminate suspicion or the very least create confusion.”

“Thank you for your candor, Lieutenant.” Rodney’s eyes rose from his screen even though he kept his head tilted down. His gaze pierced the top of the lieutenant’s head until he felt the stare and looked up. “You do realize that is a very damning statement, don’t you? It casts the possibility of guilt on any one of you.”

“I do, Dr. McKay,” Morrison replied as he glanced around the table before he looked back at Rodney. “However, it is the truth.”


“Yes the truth. That is very important here, isn’t it?” Rodney was winging it from here. He was pleased that he had eliminated three suspects by playing off of things he had seen on television but he was at a complete loss now. “Why didn’t I pay more attention to those episodes of CSI?”

Lt. Myers had to force himself to cough to cover the smile when he heard the muffled utterance of the scientist. Rodney glanced at him from the corner of his eye and Myers was spared the words that were about to come his way from the enraged McKay when Dr. Zelenka hurried into the room.

“Rodney, I met up with Nurse Sanders on my way in,” Radek gasped as he looked down at the tray in his hand. “She told me Dr. Beckett instructed her to give it to whoever was in charge of the investigation. I told her that was you.” He held out the tray with a shaking hand and Rodney could hear something metallic roll around in it. “She gave me this.”

McKay glanced into the silver tray and visibly blanched when he saw the bloody bullet. “Couldn’t Carson have cleaned it up before he sent it to me?” He winced in disgust and swallowed heavily when he rationalized that it was his friend’s blood that he was looking at. He took a deep breath, glanced up at the solemn look on Zelenka’s face, and turned a hard gaze to the men at the table. “Colonel, you will correct me if I’m making the wrong decision?”

“Of course, McKay,” John said with a curious look in his eye when he saw the resolve in Rodney’s countenance.

Rodney nodded his head subtly as he slid his gaze around the table. “I am ordering you all confined to your quarters with armed guards posted at your doors.” He didn’t know what to expect from that statement but none of them argued so he continued. “I am also suspending all off world activity until this matter is resolved. All off world teams will be recalled to Atlantis immediately and I will lock out the controls to the Stargate.”

“McKay, you can’t do that.” Lorne leaned forward with his forearms on the table and an urgent look on his face.

“Believe me, Major, I can do that and I will.” Sweat broke out on Rodney’s forehead. He was tense. He was angry. He was scared. He leaned forward and matched Lorne’s posture as he ran with his anger. “I don’t need to remind any of you that I am not military, Major. Colonel Caldwell isn’t due for a week! The leader of this facility has been attacked and is not here to take command!”

“The two highest-ranking military officers of this base are under investigation for that attack and the attempted murder of a friend of mine! Nobody comes or goes from this base until this is settled!” Rodney rose from his chair, stood next to Zelenka, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Believe me I would prefer to go to the infirmary to check on Ronon but Dr. Zelenka and I will be meeting with the Airmen who are going over your weapons. Hopefully we will match it and get this over with.”

“McKay…”

“Major, Dr. McKay is right.” John was staring at his bloodstained hands that lay before him on the table. “Dr. Weir isn’t able to function in a commanding role right now and Dr. McKay isn’t qualified to run military operations. His decision to recall the off world teams and suspend gate travel is the best course of action to take in this situation.”

“Oh thank God,” Rodney whispered a little too loudly. He cleared his throat and stood a little taller to cover his slip of the tongue that undermined his decisive speech.

John pretended he didn’t hear Rodney’s comment and glanced up at the others as he tried to scrub Ronon’s blood from his flesh. “Dr. McKay knows full well he can’t afford for any emergencies to arise off world while Elizabeth is out of commission and Major Lorne and myself are under investigation. The line of command in this base is crippled and he made the right call.” He glanced over to Rodney and nodded his head. “Continue please, Dr. McKay.”

“Thank you, Colonel,” Rodney said with a nod before he glanced at the collective in the room and tapped his earpiece. “I need 8 SOs to report to the conference room immediately.”

A few seconds later, the doors glided sideways and the eight armed men entered the room. “Well that was punctual,” Rodney said in surprise until a quick elbow from Radek brought back his commanding tone. “I want these four men confined to their quarters with 2 of you posted at each door. None of them are allowed to leave under any circumstances without clearance from me first. Am I understood?”

They looked to their commanding officer for an explanation or an order. John nodded his head slowly as he looked over each of them. “Dr. McKay is in charge of this facility and all military and civilian personnel in it until Dr. Weir says otherwise. You will follow his orders to the letter.”

“Yes, Sir,” they said in unison and paired off behind each officer at the table. Morrison and Myers both stood and were escorted out by their guards. Sheppard and Lorne remained seated for a moment in stunned silence.

“Rodney!”

“Carson?” Rodney touched his earpiece as a sense of dread filled him when he heard the urgency in doctor’s tone. “What is it?”

“Rodney, we’re losing him!” Carson’s brogue was deep as he spoke quickly. “Get a clamp on that artery now,” he yelled at one of his staff while his comm link was still open. “He’s losing blood faster than I can get it into him!”

“What is it, Rodney?” John shot to his feet when he saw sheer panic enter his friend’s suddenly white face. “McKay!”

Rodney’s eyes shot to John’s and he shook his head in shock. “Carson says Ronon…is dying.”

“Damn it!” John felt sick to his stomach with helplessness. “Rodney, I need to go to the infirmary!” He saw the change in McKay immediately. The shock and sadness fled his face and gave way to full-blown suspicion and anger. If the situation weren’t so dire, Sheppard would have told him he was impressed. “Please, Rodney.”

“Escort Colonel Sheppard to the infirmary,” Rodney told the guards assigned to John. “Make sure he doesn’t leave your sight.”

“Thanks, McKay.” John moved towards the door with his escorts in tow. He stopped beside the unusually quiet scientist and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You might want to contact Teyla. She’s guarding Elizabeth.” Rodney nodded his head without looking at John. “I think it would be best if she told her and gets her to the infirmary as quick as possible.”

“Yes, of course.” Rodney cleared his throat and tilted his head at the SOs. “You should hurry.” Sheppard nodded his head and rushed out of the conference room. Rodney ran a tired hand over his face and focused on Lorne as he rose from the table. “Major, you were assisting Colonel Sheppard with his investigation into this man who attacked Dr. Weir, correct?”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to need you to come with us to the lab.” Rodney began to snap his fingers excitedly as a thought came to him. He pointed to the SOs and gave Radek a slight shove to get him moving. “I need you to escort Major Lorne to the lab where the weapons were taken. Radek, go with them. I’ll be right behind you.”

“Yes, Sir,” the SOs answered. They waited for Lorne to move ahead before they followed him. Zelenka nodded grimly at Rodney before he turned and walked behind the 3 men.

“Teyla,” Rodney said as he closed his eyes in dread.

“Yes, Rodney.”

“I’ve got some bad news.” He took a deep breath and proceeded to inform his teammate of everything that had just transpired.

~*~