Chapter Text
“SET IT DOWN, CARSON!” a familiar voice screamed across the corridor, only briefly causing him to hesitate his careful but determined stride. “IT’S GOING TO BLOW!”
Carson Beckett already knew the tumor was going to blow up, which is why he’d decided to meet the EOD technician halfway in the first place. If he’d sat with it in the operating room, there was no way it would’ve been transported away before it exploded. Hence why he was currently carrying the tumor in an organ transplant box through the hallways of Atlantis, trying to think as little as possible, in case the adrenaline sputtered out and paralyzing fear set in.
Unfortunately, Rodney McKay was sprinting towards Carson, just managing to skid to a stop in front of him, and that was enough to break his concentration. However, it was not enough to phase his focus. “Get out of here, Rodney,” Carson ordered, the spike of panic causing his tone to come out harsher than he intended as he continued walking. “There’s no time to argue.”
What he wasn’t expecting was for Rodney to actually rip the box from his hands and put it down on the floor. “Exactly! We’ve got to run!” Without any further explanation, Rodney grabbed Carson’s hand and resumed his sprinting, dragging the unwilling doctor behind him.
The pair barely made it around a couple corners when an explosion rocked Atlantis, causing them to both fall over. The ground was cold and hard as Carson caught himself on his hands and elbows, but the heat that buffeted him from the way they’d just come was-
There’s an echo of heat on the back of his neck, licking his arms and engulfing his whole body. It devours his spiffy hair, it seeps into his skin, it disintegrates his bones. More pain than he ever remembers feeling, too powerful to make him scream.
It’s only an echo, though. It’s only a dream. It’s only fog, lingering at the back of his mind, accompanied by the nagging feeling that he’s forgetting something important.
Carson was left gasping on the floor as he felt burns manifesting on the parts of his skin uncovered. It was agonizing, incredibly so, but there was one shining positive: he was alive.
“Rodney?” he called out, lifting his head when he felt the heat wave finally pass. “You alright, lad?”
“Ughhhh, yeah.” Just a couple feet away was Rodney, also badly burned but thankfully alive. “I’m – fine.” The scientist pushed himself onto his hands and knees, then looked over his shoulder. “Well, I told you so. You should try listening to me more.”
Seriously? He had to start gloating right now? It was just beginning to hit Carson the gravity of the situation, of what Rodney had just risked. How had he known? Or had it just been fear that had forced Rodney to action? Either way, Carson was more aware of his breathing than ever before. If Rodney hadn’t been there, Carson would’ve been dead.
Carson was trying to find the words to voice his anger, terror, and relief, but he was saved from that fruitless endeavor by Rodney’s mouth on his. It was desperate, like if Rodney stopped kissing Carson, he’d lose him forever. Carson felt a strong hand on his cheek that prevented him from pulling away – not that he would, of course. A show of affection like this from Rodney was a rare occurrence, and Carson took every last one he could get.
After what felt like ten minutes but what must have only been thirty seconds, Rodney finally leaned back, breathing heavily. His eyes were glued to the floor and his shoulders were hunched with exhaustion. Sure, they had just ran from their problems and then were knocked off their feet by a massive explosion, but… Carson could see there was something else weighing on Rodney.
Filing that away for later, Carson settled for taking Rodney’s hand instead. “We need to get to the infirmary. Who knows what damage that explosion caused – they’ll need you. The sooner you get patched up, the better.”
Rodney gave a nod of agreement, and together, they were able to stand up and begin hobbling down the corridor towards the infirmary. To help keep his focus, Carson listened to the sound of his and Rodney’s breaths and the feeling of air whistling through his lungs.
“I’d say that was almost heroic of you,” John Sheppard mused as he sat on the end of Rodney’s hospital bed. “Although, I wouldn’t mind a little more warning the next time you decide to go on a suicide mission.”
Carson and Rodney had made it back to the infirmary safely and their burns were tended to. Thankfully, the worst of the burns – only 1st degree – were on the backs of their necks and hands; their faces were relatively untouched, since they’d been facing away from the blast. Carson’s left hand was bandaged, but other than that, both of them seemed to have escaped the explosion almost unharmed. Now they were just undergoing extra tests.
Currently, Elizabeth Weir was busy dealing with the aftermath of the second explosion. From what Carson had heard in passing in the past hour, it had caused a lot more damage to Atlantis than the first explosion had. However, the rest of Carson’s and Rodney’s friends were here, excluding Teyla Emmagan, who was still recovering from her own injury.
Rodney huffed dramatically. “Ah, yes, because explaining that I think someone is going to die is the best course of action instead of actually saving them. I’ll make sure to do that the next time your life is in danger.”
A snort came from the tall figure of Ronon Dex, who was leaning against a nearby wall. A less amused John rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. You had me worried for a second.”
“Well, that’s very thoughtful of you, but unnecessary. I’m completely fine, and more importantly, Carson is safe and very much alive.”
The amount of times Rodney had emphasized that was unnerving. Sure, Carson was definitely grateful to still be around, but Rodney would say it in a way that almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself of that fact, rather than as reassurance to others.
A warm hand rested on Carson’s shoulder, and he glanced over to look at Radek Zelenka, who was sitting in a chair just beside his hospital bed. “There’s no need to argue,” Radek interjected. His hand instilled a wonderful calmness and relief in Carson, and he leaned slightly into the touch. “All that matters is that you’re okay. There won’t be a next time like this.”
Well, there was no way to guarantee that, but Carson really hoped there wouldn’t be. Carson reached up to place a hand on top of Radek’s. “No, of course not. Rodney, please make sure you actually understand what the mysterious Ancient machine does before you turn it on next time.”
“Again, I’m sorry, but there was no way I could’ve known it would give Hewston and Watson radioactive exploding tumors-”
“Also,” Carson interrupted Rodney’s defense, a buzzing pang of worry rising in his throat, “I want you checked again for any tumors. I know we didn’t find anything the first time, but frankly, it’s weird that you’ve been completely unaffected by the radiation. It’s almost more worrying that there seems to be nothing the matter with you.”
“How comforting.” When Carson tried to meet Rodney’s gaze, the scientist refused to acquiesce, instead looking over at John. That didn’t sit right with Carson at all. “But alright, as long as it doesn’t keep me here for too much longer-”
The entire floor suddenly shook, doctors and nurses stumbling into walls and beds as a tremor passed through. Radek almost careened on top of Carson but was able to catch himself against the side of the bed. John managed to not fall off Rodney’s bed, but Ronon almost toppled over onto the patient behind him. Before the last of the trembling had faded, John and Ronon were already on their way out the door.
“Stay put,” John called over to the others. “I swear to God, that better not have been another person exploding.”
As they exited, Radek heaved a sigh. Looking down at Carson from behind those adorable spectacles of his, he gave Carson a short smile before pressing a kiss to his temple. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.”
Despite the fact that they had been dating for two years already, Carson still couldn’t keep a hint of a blush from his cheeks every time Radek or Rodney kissed him in public. At least none of them were afraid to show affection publicly; one of the many pros of Atlantis was the uniquely accepting environment. What happened on Atlantis stayed on Atlantis.
As Radek began to follow John and Ronon, Rodney let out an indignant sound. “What about me? Not even a goodbye?”
“Love you too, Rodney,” Radek added casually, but Carson saw the loving and grateful gaze he threw over his shoulder at their boyfriend as he left the infirmary.
Today was much too long of a day for Carson’s liking. There had just been one thing after the other – and to think that this morning, the worst of Carson’s concerns was Rodney bailing on their fishing trip date. A part of him wished they’d gone and avoided all the chaos of the day, but he also knew that if he hadn’t been there to extract the tumor from Watson, more people would’ve died. Even if he was a bit crispy, Carson was glad that Rodney had been so dedicated to studying the radiation-tumor-machine after the incident the night before.
Taking a moment to relish the quiet, Carson shifted in his bed so that he could get a better look at Rodney. Rodney was deep in thought, evident from the frown on his face as he stared up at the ceiling. Carson had caught himself staring at that cute thinking face too many times to count in the past year and a half, and this time was no exception.
There were more important things to do. They hadn’t had the chance to discuss that kiss from earlier, since they hadn’t had a moment alone together. Now was better than never.
“Are you alright, Rodney?” Carson asked softly.
Rodney flinched in surprise, his eyes finally flickering to meet Carson’s. “Oh, yes, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well, if it isn’t too presumptuous for me to say, I did almost die. I wouldn’t blame you for being a wee bit shaken.”
“But you didn’t,” he quickly parried without leaving space for Carson’s words to breathe. “You’re alive, and that’s all that matters. Sure, I’m a little – well yes, shaken, but better that than-” He swallowed thickly. “You know.”
Carson hated seeing Rodney like this, knowing full well that his dismay was because of him. Unfortunately, though, there was not much he could do to help, except offer comfort. He extended his hand across the open space between their beds, palm facing up. “Don’t worry, I’m here. I’m not leaving you.”
Something glistened in Rodney’s eyes that Carson had never seen before. He didn’t know what to make of it. Rodney reached out to take his hand. “Promise?”
“Promise.” For some reason, the word felt like it carried more weight than it should.
There was a long pause before Rodney spoke again. “Carson, I should probably tell you something, but you have to promise not to-”
He cut himself off, and Carson immediately noticed a change in his entire demeanor. His breathing became heavier, his shoulders tensed, and when he blinked, Carson noticed that his eyes had turned a bit pink. The hand holding Carson’s now had an iron grip. What is he-?
Carson didn’t have time to question it, though, as Rodney immediately threw the blankets off himself and hopped out of bed, tugging Carson towards him. “We need to go, now.”
“Hold on a second!” Carson objected as he was pulled out of bed, although he wasn’t resisting that much. The last time Rodney had said something like that, he’d ended up saving his life. “What’s going on? What do you need to tell-?”
There’s an echo of crushing weight across his whole body. His skin is spitting, his bones are splintering, his insides are seeping out. His lungs ache with air it can’t pull in, the stench of smoke and chemicals coating the inside of his mouth.
Carson blinked and he was coughing, trying to expel… regular air from his chest. He must’ve accidentally gotten some saliva down the wrong pipe.
“There’s no time. EVERYONE, EVACUATE NOW!” Rodney nearly dragged Carson to the door as doctors and nurses gave him shocked expressions, exchanging glances and then after a moment of hesitation, following his orders. Typically, when Rodney ordered an evacuation, it was best not to question it.
Rodney led Carson out of the infirmary and down a couple corridors before halting and standing off to the side as medical staff hurried past, some pushing hospital beds with patients on them. Carson watched Teyla be wheeled by, but before he could catch up to her to check up on her condition, Rodney lifted a hand to his ear, and Carson wanted to hear the conversation about to be held.
“Just wait and see, Sheppard!” he barked, a flash of his usual annoyance passing over his features. “The damages from the second explosion are cascading throughout the city, yes? Then it would be no surprise if-”
The blasts tormenting Atlantis were becoming too regular for Carson’s liking. This time, however, he simply braced himself against the wall. Rodney did the same, tipping his chin up towards the infirmary. “See? I believe an apology is in order.”
Carson turned around to follow Rodney’s gesture, and his eyes widened to see flames crackling on the walls near the infirmary’s entrance. A loud crash! sounded from inside, but he was too far away to know what caused it.
“Bloody hell,” he breathed. “How – how did you-”
“Doesn’t matter,” Rodney cut him off, before facing away and continuing his conversation with John. “I’ll meet you in the bridge in a few minutes. Clearly, Atlantis can’t function without me for more than two minutes.” His hand left his ear, and he now extended it to Carson. “Come on, let’s go.”
Glancing back and forth between the infirmary and his boyfriend, Carson furrowed his brow. “You’ve got some explaining to do. Like hell it doesn’t matter – how did you know that was going to happen? You’ve been in bed for the past half hour with no-”
The hand that had been kindly offered suddenly grabbed his own forcefully, and Carson once again found himself yanked forward. This time was different, though; Rodney flung him to the ground and dived down beside him.
A surge of frustration made Carson grit his teeth. How many times was he going to be interrupted? He opened his mouth to reprimand Rodney for avoiding his questions, but a shocking boom! made him duck his head as sparks and pieces of metal rained down on them. When Carson looked back up, he saw that the section of wall he’d been standing next to had burst open.
There’s an echo of sharp needles stabbing all across his chest, and a pain as deep and large as a knife in his throat. Fireworks sparkle against his hands and eyes as something warm pours down his shirt. A sense of numbness followed by a wave of pins and needles washes over him. When he tries to speak, it comes out as a gurgle.
“Thank God you’re safe,” Rodney said in relief. “Were you hit at all?”
It took a moment for Carson to respond after he cleared his throat twice. “Hit by what?”
“Shrapnel!” Rodney was already standing up again, and he pulled Carson to his feet. “But it looks like you’re fine, and I’m fine, so let’s keep moving!”
What else could he do but follow? Carson kept close to Rodney as they made their way through the hallways of Atlantis, passing by all the Atlanteans whose vacation day had been disrupted by the chaos. Engineers and repair crews ran past them going both ways, as walls, wires, and ceiling panels continued to go haywire all around them. The chain reaction started by the second tumor explosion was clearly out of control.
As the pair neared the bridge, Carson resolved to get to the bottom of this, no matter what Rodney said. He grabbed Rodney by the wrist to halt him and gave him a serious glare. “Rodney. You’re acting strange, and you know things you shouldn’t. Tell me what’s going on right now. I’m asking as your doctor, not your partner. I need to know.”
For a moment, Rodney seemed like he would once again brush him off. However, after opening his mouth and then shutting it once, he glanced around, then blinked at him a few times. “Well, I… you died. But I saved you! A few times. I’ll explain more in the bridge.”
Without waiting around to hear the ten thousand questions that immediately sprung to Carson’s mind, Rodney continued on his way.