Chapter Text
It had been surprising to learn that Rodney was working for the US military. It being the one thing he’d been vocally critical of John about during the brief time they were in each other's lives. That he was somehow vitally important, but also universally hated by everyone was a lot easier to understand.
“Ha! McKay?!? You want to talk to Dr McKay? Like willingly? No one is making you?”
“Yes? Is that a problem lieutenant?” It wasn't often that John had to use his simmering angry officer voice now that he was behind a desk, but it was good to know he still had it.
The Lieutenant cleared his throat and John imagined him on the other side of the call squirming at having realised that he was talking back to a superior.
“It's just that no one talks to McKay because they want to sir.”
“Look, can you tell me where I can find him or not?”
“You’re not going to like it sir.”
“Just tell me.” John was getting impatient, just what had Rodney gotten himself into?
“McMurdo.”
“Antarctica? What the hell is he doing down there?”
“Classified.”
“I have clearance.” He could practically see the lieutenant of the other side of the line wince.
“Not for this you don’t Colonel.”
It took more favours than he’d like to admit just to play taxi for a General going out to McMurdo. Then it was almost all for naught when they narrowly avoided being shot out of the sky by the nastiest homing tech he’d ever encountered. But even that had a silver lining, the General feeling generous enough after the brush with death to actually let him into the base.
What ever they were doing, John could see why it would be right up Rodney’s alley. The homing missile had been cutting edge and what he could see laid out seemed light years beyond what he’d worked with in the field. Though the aesthetic design was downright bizarre.
The general disappeared immediately, so John took the advice to not touch to heart and began wondering. He could recognise tacit permission when it was given. Maybe the General had heard that he was looking for someone and letting him look for them was his repayment for saving their asses. It wasn’t like an official recognition of the incident would happen, not involving tech this far off the record.
Eventually John stumbled upon a chair rooted to the middle of a platform. He couldn’t exactly say what drew him to it, just that he had undeniably been sucked into its orbit. He didn’t even fully realise he had sat until a rush of people entered the room. Everything narrowed down to the input from the chair, information flying at him faster than he could comprehend.
Then a single voice cut through all the interference,
“Picture where we are in the solar system Colonel.” He would recognise that voice anywhere. It was easy to focus now that he’d been given an order, a vision of the solar system projected into the air above everyone’s heads.
It was chaos from there. People arguing over who he was and why he was there. One woman alarmingly insistent that she had to have him. Which was not an option. Sure he’d wanted to find Rodney, but this whole project screamed danger. And he had more than just himself to think about.
Amongst it all Rodney hauled him from the chair and frog marched him to an empty room, the door featuring some sort of soft close feature that denied them the dramatic slamming of it shut.
“What are you doing here?” Rodney hissed, hand still clutched in John’s jacket.
“It’s nice to see you again too Rodney.”
Rodney was different and the same all at once. His hair was cropped short, not quite a buzz, but still done with clippers. His loose curls cropped from existence, widows peak no longer hidden beneath them. He's gotten broader, if that was possible, the last of the baby fat melted from his face. It had been easy to forget just how young Rodney had been in his memories. He wasn't young anymore. But he was still Rodney.
He’d been expecting resistance, but it was fear, not annoyance that shadowed Rodney’s eyes.
“Is… is there something wrong with Mary?”
“What? No, Mary’s fine.” The scientist sagged, finally dropping contact and stepping back to rub his hands over his face.
“You still haven’t answered my question.” He finally continued, pointing an accusatory finger at John.
“What if I just wanted to see you again?” It was a tentative declaration, even to his own ears.
“You’re not that banal John.”
“It’s hardly a conversation to have in a place like this.” This being a room of ice and wall panels made of a strange metal that pulsed and sung out to him. John couldn't help but shiver.
“Where else would we have it? In your mansion over coffee with your wife?” There was that righteous anger, hissing and spitting just below the words.
“Ex-wife.”
“Oh, I’m sorry?” Rodney sounded uncertain, the fire snuffed out, but like he wasn’t sure if John was happy or upset about how things had worked out.
Which made sense, he’d been closer to their relationship than anyone else and had intimately known how tumultuous it could be.
“It was for the best, she’s with some lawyer now. I have full custody of Mary, they… they never really bonded.” Rodney winced, the lack of bonding was technically his fault, a biological quirk that came with the nature of their transaction.
“And that’s working out for you? Mr Thrill-seeker turned stay at home Dad.” Rodney looked sceptical, but John couldn’t help but smile big and goofy as he thought about his daughter and the current state of his life.
“Yeah, it is. Mary more than makes up for the lack of action at work. Got your brains and my stupidity.” Rodney pulled a sour face, nose crinkling as he turned to tuck it out of sight into the collar of his orange fleece. It was nice to see that some things hadn’t changed.
“What about you? I hear you’re Mr Big Shot now, with… what ever this is.”
“Well yes, it’s important work, if you consider stopping imbeciles from blowing up the planet important.”
With Rodney it was never easy to tell if he was over or under selling the seriousness of a situation. After narrowly making it here alive, John was inclined to believe this was a case of him underselling it.
“So I take it you’re the one I can thank for saving my ass?”
“No, I can’t control it. You can blame Dr Becket for that one.” Rodney grumbled, arms coming up to wrap himself in a hug. A self soothing gesture that betrayed how scared he must have been about the whole situation. Probably even before he’d known John was on board.
“What was that thing anyway?”
Rodney’s eyes lit up like the first time John had understood the math he was talking about. But it was quickly shuttered behind naked fear. Suddenly he grabbed John by both arms and shook him gently as he warned,
“You can’t let Elizabeth talk you into the mission. Don’t agree to anything, certainly don’t sign anything.”
John scoffed, playing it off despite how Rodney’s distress fed into the suspicions he already had.
“What, is she going to send me into space?” From the constipated look on Rodney’s face he’d hit the mark closer than he’d expected, much closer. He’d always had such a terrible poker face. It was amazing just how much came back to you when reconnecting with someone. Between suppressants and the cold there was no hope of catching Rodney’s scent here, but the memory suddenly sat heavy on his tongue.
The fear still hadn’t left Rodney’s face so John took pity on him, reassuring,
“I would never do that to Mary, you know that.” It was like he’d deflated; Rodney letting out a tense breath but still not letting go of John's arms.
“Of course.” That blind faith the most reassuring thing John had heard in a long time.
“I’ve missed you.” John said a bit breathless after a comfortable silence, having to fight to get the words out. But they were the truth, and maybe it was the near death experience talking, but he wanted to share that with Rodney. An offering for what he wanted to ask of him.
Before Rodney could reply, though John wasn’t sure he’d have ever been ready for that, people started calling for them. They’d drifted into each other's personal space naturally, but the noise prompted Rodney to drop his hands and jump back with exaggerated force as the voices got closer. He didn’t even perform a self-soothing gesture before he adjusted his posture and the omega melted away, leaving the alpha leaning beta in its wake.
While realistically John had known Rodney preferred to socially pass as a beta, it was weird to witness the transformation. There was something uncomfortable about having known him at his most vulnerable and having to watch him suppress parts of himself to be treated with the respect he more than deserved. While they were still alone Rodney rushed out,
"I'm back in Colorado next month, I'll let you know when and where we can meet."
“And why Colonel would you touch something beyond your comprehension? You could have killed people! Do you zoomies not even have two brain cells to rub together?” Rodney was full swing into his rant by the time people found them. The general shot him a sympathetic look over the verbal lashing. Which was rich given he probably had his own speech ready to go for their flight back.
Things were a blur from there. Clearance given, blood taken, information overloaded, requests dodged, aliens and space travel and galaxies far far away. Through it all he held tight to the knowledge that he would be seeing Rodney again soon.
“I want us to have another baby.” John blurted out as soon as they’d settled into their booth with coffee. Certain that if he didn’t, he would lose his nerve. Rodney was silent, face turning beet red as he fumbled with something under the table.
“Let me get the jammer on before you start spouting nonsense.” It was obvious from the look on his face that he was deflecting. But John was much more concerned by the paranoia required to carry a jammer to a casual meeting. Just what the hell had Rodney managed to get himself into? Beyond the obvious of becoming an expert in alien technology. Now that he thought about it, that was probably all it took to become the target of some very powerful people.
"So… what do you know?" Rodney started, it seemed he was very confident in the tech he was using, willing to bring up state secrets in the middle of a Colorado Springs café. John shrugged,
"Aliens, wormhole travel, something about my blood.”
“You have the ancient gene, it allows you to use ancient technology.”
“How ancient?”
“No, no, no, the ancients are a race of aliens. You are a distant descendant of these ancients. They left behind a city filled with their technology that we’ve been trying to find. Jackson thinks he’s finally got the gate address so we’re assembling a team. But we need people with the gene to turn the technology on. You didn’t sign anything did you?”
“No Rodney, I didn’t sign anything.”
“Good, we don’t know what the situation will be like once we’re there, the ancients left in a hurry, so it might be a one way trip.” John’s heart seized as Rodney rambled on,
“Which obviously means you can’t come, no matter how interested you are. Mary needs you here.”
“What?” He’d deny it to the day he died, but John’s voiced cracked as the future he’d been building up in his head suddenly came crashing down around him.
“Mary needs you. Especially if she hasn’t bonded with her Mother.” Rodney deflected, intentionally misinterpreting John’s question.
“I know that. But what do you mean you’re leaving and never coming back?” The scientists eyes refused to meet his own, focusing instead on tearing a napkin with his long, pianists fingers.
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, and it’s not like there’s anything keeping me here.” John wanted to blurt out that Mary and himself were the only reason he needed. But that wasn’t fair. Mary may have been Rodney’s biologically, but she wasn’t his daughter, not in the way she would have been had she been brought into the world the normal way. John had been the one to choose to stay with his wife after all.
Really, despite agreeing to the contract, Rodney hadn’t had much say in how things went down in the end. Maybe he wasn’t as interested in the spark they had smothered as John had assumed. Suddenly this whole meeting felt like a bad idea. He’d stupidly forgotten to consider that Rodney might have moved on during their time apart.
“What about your sister?” That made Rodney’s face shutter impossibly more, hands trembling as they ran out of material to shred.
“I haven’t talked to her in years… she knocked up some English major. Said… said she couldn’t do to them what I did to Mary. I didn’t even know she knew.”
It must have been one hell of a fight. John had never met Jeannie, Rodney had always made it clear that he never wanted her to know about his surrogacy, and by extension John himself. But he’d heard so much about her that it felt like he’d known her. Obviously not well enough since he never would have predicted that she could lash out so cruelly. Though given how hard it had been for him to find Rodney, she wouldn’t have even gotten the chance to attempt a reconciliation.
John scooped up Rodney’s hands, worried he’d start picking at his nails now that he’d run out of napkin.
“You didn’t abandon Mary, you gave her to her legal parents.”
“I know that.” Rodney snapped, snatching his hands back. Tucking them under his armpits in a bid not to self sooth with a hug.
“But logic doesn’t seem to apply when people are judging an Omega for walking away.”
There was so much to say, but the words just got caught in John’s throat. He’d gotten away so easily he now realised. An Alpha with a child and no spouse elicited sympathy. They assumed him a widow, that he was always doing his best. Rodney on the other hand seemed to have gotten no leniency, no benefit of the doubt. Instead characterised as the villain in a script he didn’t even write.
The silence stretched on for too long, Rodney finally getting up, abandoning his practically untouched drink.
“I just wanted to warn you. They’re not going to let you go easily John, don’t let them talk you into anything.” With that he disappeared, leaving John to stew in his own thoughts.
When they saw each other again a few days later, deep under the Colorado mountains Rodney looked furious.
“I thought I told you to stay away.” He hissed when he finally managed to drag John to a quiet corner during his tour of the facility. He could only shrug in response.
There was only so much you could do to say no when a general asked to give you a tour of their base. And O’Neil had been very insistent, certain that John was already interested. Which he was, just not as much as the brass seemed to assume. He had other priorities.
Rodney always seemed able to read him like an open book.
“This isn’t a normal mission, they can’t order you to go.” He leaned closer and muttered conspiratorially,
“There’s civilian oversight and Elizabeth is a diplomat.” And wasn’t that surprising to hear, the military letting a civilian lead a mission into unknown, possibly hostile territory?
“There’s rules of course, like the military taking over if it’s too dangerous.” Rodney waved his hand dismissively,
“But there’s more scientific than military staff going so it’s not like they’d take control forcefully.” John frowned, even three-to-one was not bad odds for a well trained unit, especially against civilian scientists. Most wouldn’t fight back once control was established.
“Stop thinking worst case scenario. I’ll be fine, and you’ll be here with Mary so it’s none of your concern anyway.” That stung. It felt like he was being drawn and quartered, dragged in two wildly different directions. Something deep in his chest was calling him to Rodney’s side, to following him to this great unknown. But the other half, the practical half, knew he would always stay with Mary, where she was safest.
It didn’t help that the practical half sounded like Rodney, mid lecture and breathless. Ethereal in his indignation.
There was suddenly fingers snapping in front of his face, bringing John’s attention back to reality.
“Hello, Earth to John. You have to get back to the tour before they start questioning where you went. Just keep your head down and get out of here as fast as you can. And do not tell Carson about Mary.”
Rodney had jinxed them. Surely it was all his fault and not John’s own stupidity. He had already planned not to mention his daughter to anyone on the secret base. Then he’d gone down to medical to give some blood to a Dr Beckett. Conversation had flowed easily, the man well versed in distracting his patients with the steady ebb and flow of a story.
The next thing he knew they were talking about family, and what kind of Apa didn’t brag about their child? As soon as her existence was disclosed something eery lit up in the Dr’s eye. The next thing he knew Beckett had scheduled Mary in for blood tests, ‘just to confirm a theory’ about the ancient gene.
John was not ashamed to admit that he avoided Rodney when he brought Mary in. Partially because non-contact between child and omega parent was a part of their contract, but mostly because he didn’t want to see his disappointment. Or fear. Despite blockers being typical in professional settings, especially in the military, John swore he was smelling terrified Rodney around every grey corner.
Probably just a manifestation of his own guilt.
The visit was short, taking longer to get in and out through security than was spent in the infirmary doing tests. Mary, ever curious, asked non stop questions about what was happening. What were they going to do with her blood? Why did they need hers specifically? It was times like this when she resembled Rodney the most. She hadn’t gotten many of his physical features, but by god did she have his mind.
“You know lass, yer remind me of a friend of mine. He’d be better at answering all ye questions than I. Speaking of, Rodney should be here by now.” John tensed, the possibility of anyone figuring out she was biologically Rodney’s hadn’t crossed his mind, but the absent comment struck closer to the truth than he would have liked.
“I’m sure he’s just caught up in the lab, results that can’t wait and all that.”
“Aye, but how would you know? ‘Ave you worked with Rodney before?” Shit, they weren’t supposed to know each other, so John added lazily,
“An egg heads and egg head doc, they’re all the same.”
“Apa, what’s an egg head?”
Thank the heavens for curious little girls.
“Someone very smart that uses their smarts for work.”
“Can I be smart and not work?” John snorted. Mary had been on an anti-work kick lately and he wasn’t entirely sure where it had come from, but it had been equal parts amusing and gut wrenching. He didn’t technically have to work to support them, given their family name, but he worried being home 24/7 might drive him crazy. No matter how much Mary would love it.
“You can do what ever you’d like when you grow up Sweetheart, but right now it’s time to go home.” John grabbed his daughters bag, packing away the notebook and crayons she’d been using to take notes with during the appointment. Her words weren’t really legible yet, but he knew she’s take them home and study them regardless. Always trying to learn.
“My Oma’s at work.” Mary declared to Dr Becket as she slid down from the exam bed.
“That’s why I’ve never met them.” John froze with wide eyes, caught out by his daughter words. Dr Becket’s face falling into sympathy as he made assumptions.
“So I’m never going to work.” Despite his face burning in embarrassment, John didn’t have the heart to correct Mary in front of a stranger.
He’d thought the surrogate conversation they had when Nancy left had gone well, but clearly some wires had been crossed at some point. Though he had no idea where to even start to untangle them. It had crushed Mary when Nancy left and gave up all custody rights. She had been the only mother Mary had ever known, and even if the relationship hadn’t been what Nancy wanted, it had been everything to Mary.
He just hadn’t realised that she’d projected that everything onto an Oma who was kept away because of ‘work’.
Things were quiet for a month or so after Mary’s blood test. The brass had backed off on pressuring him to join after Mary’s physical appearance on base and the news of her forever ‘working’ Oma had gotten around. John finally hearing something around the time he was expecting the expedition to leave.
It wasn’t from Rodney, though he hadn’t really expected anything from Rodney, but rather Dr Becket asking him to bring Mary back in urgently for some last minute tests before they left. What John hadn’t realised was that by last minute, Dr Becket truely meant last minute. The base practically bursting at the seams with personnel ready to ship out to a new galaxy that day.
“You sure you’ve got time for this Doc? Shouldn’t you be packing or something?” The infirmary was eerily quiet, barely any personal present, probably already further down getting ready to leave.
“I ‘aven’t any time left, that’s the problem Colonel. But I saw something interesting in the wee lass’ blood and need a fresh sample to take with me.” With that Dr Becket finished the blood draw and had a bandaid over the pinprick.
Mary was so thoroughly engrossed by her colouring in book and keeping the crayon within the lines that she didn’t notice the Doctor finishing or when he shepherded her Apa a few steps away.
“Now Colonel Sheppard, do you mind if I ask a couple questions about her Oma?” John tensed, voice low as he replied,
“Depends on what you want to know.”
“Look, I’ll be honest with ye Colonel ideally I’d like a sample of their blood, but to my understanding that’s not possible?” Oh if only he knew he already had it, but John was not going to be the one to correct him. So instead he just nodded in agreement that it wasn’t possible.
“Bollocks, Mary’s gene expression is very strong you see, stronger than your own. So I wanted to see if her Oma was also a gene carrier, and if their gene was switched on or not.”
“Switched on?”
“Aye, some people have the gene but it’s dormant. I’m trying to figure out a way to activate that dormant gene so more people can use Ancient technology. Knowing if Mary’s Oma has the gene, and if it’s dormant or not, would help with my research.” John felt for the doctor, he really did. But it just wasn’t his place to tell.
“You should talk to that genius friend you mentioned, he might have an idea.”
“Rodney? He couldn’t be less interested in the ‘soft’ sciences.” Dr Beckett immediately dismissed the idea, but that push was already more than he should have done, so John let the whole thing go. It wasn’t like it was his problem anymore.
“Did you finish your business with McKay?” General O’Neill was waiting outside the medical bay, smoothly falling into step with John as he started on his trek back to the surface. Backpack secure and Mary on his hip, who silently observed the personal they passed along the way.
“Excuse me sir?”
“McKay, you were looking for him weren’t you? That’s why you flew me to McMurdo.” John wondered if the General had always known who he’d been looking for, or found out after they discovered he had their magic gene.
“Yes sir.”
“So you resolved what ever business you had with him? He leaves with the expedition today so it’s your last chance.”
“Leaving was his answer.” General O’Neill paused for a moment, eyebrows pinched before he pressed on.
“Oh? Well I suppose you could always find someone else to help you out with… what ever it is.”
“That would be impossible sir, it’s something only Rodney can do.”
“Rodney?” John shrugged, he was under no obligation to answer questions about his personal life. Especially not when talking to a gossipy General.
Both men slowed to a stop in front of a non-descript door, somehow O’Neill had managed to lead him deeper into the mountain rather than out towards the surface.
“Would you at least like to see him off?” The offer was cruel in ways the General would never know, but there was no way to turn him down now.
Instead of answering, John just watched as the general swiped his card and followed him into an office. O'Neill's own if he had to guess, the red phone a beacon amongst the drab grey on grey. They didn’t stop though, instead moving through another door into a conference room dominated by a large glass window along one side.
John let Mary down when she started wriggling, both glued to the sight of a giant ring in the room below. It looked like it was made of a grey stone and was covered in weird symbols, certainly not a writing system currently in use. He’d been stationed enough places to know that much.
There was a throng of personal and pallets of equipment piled around the base of the ring, a weird rover like device sitting on the ramp leading up to it. John couldn’t help but flick his eyes upward, he couldn’t see very far because of the windows angle, but he’d bet a considerable amount that there was a clear shot to the surface above the ring. The military always had a clear exit strategy.
“We call it the Stargate, the Ancients built a whole network of them around the Milky Way a long time ago.” John got the foreboding feeling that the General was building up to a sales pitch, the one he’d been dodging for months.
“Stand down Colonel, you’ve made your stance on field work clear.” O’Neill nodded his head towards Mary who was watching the people below with rapt attention, fingers tapping the glass as she counted under her breath.
“But after the dangerous missions are had, someone has to process what we find. Most of which won’t even turn on unless someone with the gene touches it. That's where you come in Colonel." The General continued, John got the feeling that O’Neill had some vested interest in him agreeing to work with them. Maybe he had the gene himself and was sick of playing light switch. That’s all the role would amount to from the sounds of things, switching items on and off for some scientist to study.
Maybe that wouldn’t be that bad if he got to work side by side with Rodney every day, something about the way he talked when passionate about things was hypnotic. Days of drab work could be made tolerable with pranks and good conversation. But their one and only bargaining chip was about to walk through that ring and possibly never return. John wondered for a brief moment if they would pull Rodney from the expedition if he asked, just to keep him and his gene close.
But just the thought of doing that to Rodney, of stripping away the opportunity of a lifetime on a whim, made him feel sick to his stomach.
"I'll think about it sir." He did think about it, for a few seconds, before ultimately deciding against. He was taking Rodney's advice and running as far away from this program as he could as soon as he breached the surface. If they tried to pressure him, well he was due for a career change anyway.
O'Neill seemed to realise that John had already made up his mind, if the eyebrows escaping into his hairline were any indication, but he didn't comment. Instead just offering to take John down to the control floor so they could watch the expedition leave. Mary held tight to his hand as they descended a small spiral staircase to the level below. The staircase opened into a room cramped with screens and controls, almost every single one of which was manned by base personal.
"We ready to get this show on the road?" General O'Neill asked, already putting a hand up to silence a non-military man that was trying to catch his attention.
"For the last time, you're not going Daniel."
"But it's the city of the Ancients Jack!"
"And you are the foremost expert on the Ancients, which is why we need you here. Not off running into certain…" O'Neill cut himself off as he glanced over at John.
"Un-certain doom." Daniel crossed his arms with a huff, turning to eye the expedition members with envy.
A blond officer hid a smile behind her hand before politely coughing and declaring the expedition ready. Dr Weir down below having seemingly just finished giving a speech. One of the techs started calling out numbers, the middle of the giant ring sliding within itself as the symbols began to light up.
Everyone seemed to hold their breath as they said the last number, the significance lost on John. Someone had offered Mary their chair to stand on so she could see, her eyes wide as saucers as she took everything in. They both flinched back when the centre of the ring erupted towards them.
As the puddle of, whatever it was, sunk back to be flush with the ring John caught O’Neill grinning at them from the corner of his eye. No one else had reacted, so it must happen every time they used the gate. Which meant that the General hadn’t told him on purpose, likely wanting to see his reaction.
Annoyed that he’d fallen for such a petty trick, John focused instead on looking for Rodney in the crowd. He was focused on a tablet, and John could only assume it was patched into the same live feed of data and grainy footage of a dark room being shown on several monitors around the control room.
What ever they saw there made the entire team erupt with happiness, barely a beat passing before people and equipment started moving through the puddle. He could only assume that they had run drills, no mixed military and civilian team was this efficient without practice.
John felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down at his daughter, question about what she needed already bubbling up his throat. But the sight of Mary wrinkling her nose just like Rodney often did caught him off guard, leaving him breathless for a moment.
“Oma?” Her head whipped around, dark pigtails swinging as she searched for a scent.
His stomach dropped, everything slowing down as John realised too late that his daughter was about to chase after a phantom.
“Oma!” With that she was off, slipping from the chair and hitting the ground running, tiny pink backpack bouncing with her steps. John watching in horror as Mary used her tiny stature to duck and weave between legs and slip out the door.
He wasn’t as fortunate, taking off only moments later while shouting her name but forced to push through the sea of people. Immediately loosing her amongst the crowd and identical grey hallways. So he followed her lead and let his nose guide him, her powdery unpresented scent standing out starkly against the usual stink of a military operation.
Personal spilled out of the staging area and John had to force his way through, much to the annoyance of the people around him. By the time he’d pushed into the room with the ring Mary was already at the foot of the ramp and clearly not slowing down.
“Oma!” Despite never having heard Mary call for him before Rodney snapped his head around at the shout. Eyes zeroing in on Mary despite the crowd. But there was nothing he could do against the crush of people forcing him forward, his face frantic as he made brief eye contact with John before being pushed through the blue puddle.
Everyone was so focused on their tasks that they didn’t notice the little girl dashing her way up the ramp, jumping in headlong after her Oma. John didn’t even give it a second thought, didn’t give anyone the opportunity to tell him he couldn’t follow. He just jumped into the crowd and let it carry him after her, bracing for whatever was going to greet him on the other side.
Everyone close to Rodney had stopped what they were doing, eyes drawn away from the ancient city around them to instead focus on the child clinging to his legs. The sight seemingly more interesting than the wonders of their surroundings. He wanted to snarl at them, he wanted to cry, he wanted to fold his little girl into a hug so bad. But she wasn’t his to hug.
Instead he awkwardly patted her shoulder, eyes fixed on the Stargate as he watched for John. Because John had to make it through. There was no other option, if Mary was here, John had to be too. Rodney didn’t know what he’d do if John didn’t make it through.
With every minute closer they got to the gates built in timer running out, the more anxious he got. He could feel that Mary was crying, though out of joy or fear he couldn’t tell. The flow of personnel had slowed considerably, crate after crate of supplies making it hard to see who was coming through.
He saw the scuffle before he saw John, people shouting and stumbling as they were shoved out of his way. Rodney didn’t even need to call out for John to know where they were. Barrelling through personnel until he could scoop Mary into his arms.
Except she wasn’t letting go of Rodney, so John was stuck kneeling before him to hug her and reassure himself that she was okay. His instincts must have been going haywire, his blown pupils giving him away on the approach. Not to mention that Rodney had never seen John publicly scent anyone, but here he was kneeling before him and rubbing the underside of his jaw over Mary’s dark hair.
It was like a tableau out of some painting. An Alpha prostrating himself at his Omegas feet. Expect that wasn’t what was happening, and he wasn’t looking forward to having to explain himself.
“Rodney!” Dr Weir shouted from a balcony to his left, and he turned his attention away from Mary for the first time since arriving.
She had an odd look on her face, one that promised they would be having words later. But the ‘come here’ wave indicated he was being beckoned for some immediate need, which made sense, he was chief science officer after all. Rodney wanted to be angry so bad, to storm away right now and leave John to deal with the fallout. He was legally entitled to after all, along with a generous breach of contract settlement.
But even he’d heard the rumours of the little girl with the forever ‘working’ Oma. Could feel how tightly she held him now, as though he’d disappear the moment she let go. Memories of his own mothers cruel words cracking against the soft skin of his knuckles. They couldn’t stay like this forever though.
“Mary.” Rodney tried calling softly, voice rising as he had to repeat himself.
“Mary, I need to get to work.” He winced as soon as the words left his mouth.
“No! Oma you can’t go back to work!” Fresh tears punctuating her cry. They were going to have to come up with a new word for work he decided, so this wasn’t his reality for the forceable future.
What the hell had John told her?
“I’m not leaving, I just… I just need to go up these stairs.” But Mary wasn’t relenting, scenting his hip in a mimicry of her Apa. She really was a perfect copy of John, from the dark waves of her hair all the way down to her slightly turned in feet.
“You can come with me?” That made her peep up at him.
“Really? Apa too?”
“Yes John,” he winced before correcting himself,
“Apa too,” that would take some getting used to.
“May as well check in with my new CO.”
Rodney had to fight the scowl John’s words brought, trust him to be blasé about a situation like this. But he didn’t want Mary to think he was angry with her, so instead he focused on trying to untangle her from his legs. Eventually Mary moved her grasp to his hand, little fingers squeezing as tight as they could.
She turned to check that her Apa was standing and ready to follow, before tugging Rodney along. The stairs, which had been faintly glowing before, lit up brilliantly as they ascended together. The city coming to life as though to welcome them home.