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kathierif_ficTitle: Get By With A Little Help
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing: vague hints of John Sheppard/Ronon Dex, even less hints of John Sheppard/Teyla Emmagan
Word Count: 13,944 words
Rating: FRT-13
Warnings: blood, AU, hints of slash and het
Beta:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ginny305
Artist:davincis_girl
Summary: John Sheppard never thought he’d end up living in another galaxy, and he’d never thought that he would ever get bitten by a vampire and turned. But both happen, and while he is happy with the first, he’s struggling with the second and all its repercussions: a bad sun allergy, a weird diet, and pointy teeth.
Author’s notes: written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
vampirebigbang. Flowers, chocolate and a fluffy kitten for ginny305, for betaing this and for being an awesome friend, and of course to the awesome davincis_girl for her incredible artwork! Thank you!
Title is a line from The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends”.
1.
“Remind me again why we’re here,” Rodney McKay asked and darkly stared at the computer tablet in his hands. “This planet has nothing of interest for us.” He glanced up and frowned at the trees around them. They were tall and sturdy, leaving the small path the team was walking on in deep shade. Rodney glanced upwards briefly to confirm that it wasn’t dusk yet, even if it almost felt like it, but the tiny patches of sky he could see through the leaves of the trees were a bright shade of blue, indicating that outside this dark forest with its unnatural lack of birds and other small animals and their habit of scaring the living daylights out of him, it was a beautiful summer day.
Teyla gave him a carefully measured look. She didn’t slow down as she explained, “The Zubbi are a people who prefer living in these forests.” She tilted her head slightly to the side. “I believe we would greatly benefit from trading with them.”
“What could they possibly trade?” Rodney asked with an eye roll and kicked at one of the roots crossing the path and lifting the hardened ground up. He’d almost stumbled over a few of them already, and he was sure that he would certainly break his neck, robbing Atlantis and Earth of his brilliance, if they had to walk much further.
“Wooden toys, maybe,” John Sheppard piped up. Teyla gave him a short glance, but she knew him well enough by now to realize that he was joking.
“The Zubbi have been more than willing to help people who have been culled in the past,” she pointed out, not for the first time, Rodney thought.
“Yeah,” Ronon added, speaking for the first time since he’d pointed at the beginnings of the path when they’d arrived on this planet. “Everybody knows that.”
“Oh yeah?” Rodney scoffed. “Then why haven’t we ever heard about these people?”
Ronon shrugged. His hand shot out and grabbed Rodney’s elbow, steadying him, just as he threatened to slip on another root.
“Maybe you asked the wrong people,” he suggested.
“They are very reluctant to leave their planet,” Teyla explained. “But everybody in this galaxy knows that they are most welcome to dial this planet and find a brief period of protection and rest here.”
“Huh.” John frowned. “The Wraith have never culled them?”
“The Zubbi have been spared,” Teyla agreed. “There are not many people who can say that about themselves.”
Rodney saw from the corner of his eyes how John’s fingers tightened on his gun, and he felt the muscles of his shoulders and back grow tense at that.
“Maybe they just didn’t find them,” John said, even if he didn’t believe it himself. “I feel like we’ve been walking in circles.”
“We have not,” Teyla informed him calmly. “We should arrive at their settlement soon.”
“Yeah,” Ronon murmured. “Look up. We’re being watched. From the trees.”
Rodney opened his mouth, but before he could say a single word, John asked from the corner of his mouth, “How long have they been watching us?”
Ronon shrugged almost unnoticeably. “Half a mile, maybe,” he guessed. “They’re not dangerous, Sheppard. Everyone knows that.”
“Still, I want you to be careful,” John decided. “And stick together. I don’t want us to run into the second Genii or something.”
Teyla nodded resolutely, even if the look on her face was skeptical.
“Huh,” Rodney said after a few moments of tense silence and squinted up, into the trees. “Even if the Wraith never thought of looking up there, I don’t understand why they never got culled.”
John turned his head a fraction to the side and upwards. At first, he didn’t see it, but then he realized that the Zubbi must have built their settlement straight into the thick foliage of the trees. Unless one knew what to look for, the settlement was almost invisible.
“You think this was enough to keep them safe from the Wraith?” he asked, his voice pitched low.
Rodney frowned unhappily. “No,” he replied. “You know how desperately the Wraith are looking for new feeding grounds. They wouldn’t pass this up for anything.”
John nodded. That was what he had been thinking, as well.
“Maybe they have weapons,” he suspected.
Rodney snorted again. “Yes, Colonel. Spears and stones. Yub, yub.” He shook his head. “No, I detect no signs of any technical development at all. According to this – “ He lifted the lifesign scanner and waved it in John’s face, “- they are barely more than apes, climbing trees and flinging poo at anyone attacking them.”
Ronon gave him a long look. “They’re more than that,” he said firmly just as Teyla stopped.
“We are here,” she announced, and Rodney hurried to shuffle a few steps closer to her and Sheppard. As little as he wanted to get hit by a stray arrow or any other weapon flung at Teyla or Sheppard, he didn’t want the risk of getting separated from them. He was absolutely sure that he would get lost in that thick forest and never be found again – or the same could happen to Sheppard, who didn’t really have a sense of orientation unless he was flying something. Rodney was at least a genius and stood a small chance to find the Stargate again. He swallowed and tried to calm down his brain before it sent him into hyperventilation and shock. John Sheppard could take care of himself, he told himself, and Teyla knew what she was doing.
Right now, she was giving him one of her looks and took a step forward. She spread her arms slightly in a gesture of peace and called out, “We come as friends.”
It was, Rodney thought, as if the inhabitants of the planet – he’d already forgotten the name, even if he was sure that he would remember it if he had to – had just waited for Teyla’s words. Suddenly, the forest around them was swarming with activity. People stepped out from behind trees and lowered weapons, and Rodney couldn’t help but feeling a bit surprised that they weren’t knee-high bundles of fur, but looked like normal human beings with energy weapons.
“Told you,” Ronon smirked, having read the shocked expression on Rodney’s face correctly. “They’re highly developed people. They have guns.”
Rodney glanced down at his scanner. “They must have some sort of shield. I still don’t detect anything. Strange.”
He bent over his computer again and frowned at the readings, as minimal as they were.
John rolled his eyes a little at Rodney’s behavior, but he tried to appear open and friendly to the Zubbi.
They were, he noted, humanoid, their skin pale, almost translucent, their hair long and partly braided. Their clothes were simple and functional, but clean. So far, the Zubbi gave the impression of normal people from the Pegasus galaxy, if maybe a little further developed than most of those that fell victim to the Wraith regularly.
One of them stepped up to Teyla now, his arms spread wide and a wide smile on his pale face. “Teyla of Athos!” he cried out. “It has been a long time since any of your people visited us!”
“Indeed, it has,” Teyla agreed. She touched her forehead to his in a gesture was by now as familiar to John as a handshake or a salute.
“How have you been?” the man continued. He seemed delighted to see Teyla, and, even if he looked carefully, John didn’t see anything that indicated that Teyla was alarmed or worried by the man’s behavior.
“My people have been…well,” Teyla replied with a small smile. “I would like to introduce Colonel John Sheppard to you, Chieftain, and Doctor Rodney McKay.”
The Chieftain frowned slightly. “I know you,” he said and bowed his head slightly in front of Ronon. “Ronon Dex. I have heard your name oftentimes.” He smiled, and, without waiting for Ronon to answer, turned toward John. “Colonel John Sheppard. Doctor Rodney McKay.”
John forced a smile. “A pleasure,” he said.
“Colonel,” Teyla smoothly cut in, “Chieftain Rian is the leader of his people and has been for many years.”
John nodded and forced his muscles not to stiffen when Chieftain Rian stepped closer to him. They had had too many close calls with natives of the Pegasus galaxy for him to relax with the Chieftain close enough that he could see that his eyes were a brilliant shade of amber that looked warm like honey.
“I have heard a lot of stories about you and your team, Colonel John Sheppard,” he said quietly. “A lot of wondrous things. I would be very honored to call you my guests today and share stories over a meal. Will you do me and my people the honor of participating?”
John shrugged slightly and forced a grin. “Yeah, why not,” he replied. “Sounds like a lot of fun.”
“We are honored by your invitation and gladly accept it,” Teyla quickly added. “Thank you for your generosity, Chieftain.”
The Chieftain nodded and gave them a wide smile. “Come and celebrate life with us,” he said, loud enough for his voice to carry, and lifted his arms, to give a sign to the other Zubbi. “Let us share stories and a meal.”
Before their eyes, even more Zubbi appeared, to take the team by the elbows and guide them deeper into the forest, until they reached a clearing where the Zubbi had put together long tables that were already bending under the weight of various dishes, most of which John had never seen before. It was as if they had been expected, he thought suspiciously, but when he took a closer look at the people already sitting at the table he quickly realized that the team from Atlantis hadn’t been the only visitors the Zubbi had that day.
Rodney made a happy sound at the back of his throat at the sight of the banquet table and quickly sat down. Ronon and Teyla followed him, and John shrugged as he sank down onto the wooden bench, facing the rest of his team. Rian sat down next to him with a smile.
“Is it true that you came from the city of the Ancients?” he asked curiously and lifted a container from which he poured them all drinks without waiting for their consent.
“Yes,” Teyla confirmed. “That is true.”
“You have to tell me more about that,” Rian said enthusiastically. “But first, eat, drink, dance! Let us celebrate life!”
It wasn’t something he had to say twice, and soon, they were enjoying the rich meal. Ronon quickly disappeared, after a nod from John, to sit with a group of young women at another table, and Rodney left them soon after, to talk to the village’s alchemists about the shield he still couldn’t detect but was certain existed.
Teyla and Rian started to talk about trade agreements and about people they both knew, and despite his best intentions to pay attention, John’s thoughts started to drift off after a while, until a young blonde woman slid onto the bench next to him. She gave him a shy smile and glanced up at him through her lashes.
“You do not look like someone who enjoys trade talk,” she said and John chuckled.
“No, not really,” he admitted. “What’s your name?”
“Riena,” she replied and wrapped her coat a little bit tighter around herself. “What is yours?”
John gave her a smile. “You can call me John,” he finally decided.
“John,” she repeated and gave him another smile. “What a strange name that is.”
“Well, not where I’m from,” he replied.
Riena turned her body toward him. “Can you tell me more about the place you came from?” she asked eagerly. “I want to learn! But first, let me fill your glass. A dry tongue does not like to tell tales, my father always says.”
John glanced around. Ronon and Rodney were still in his line of sight, and there was no sign of danger.
Relaxing further and leaning his elbows on the table while wrapping his hands around his mug, he started to tell Riena about Ferris Wheels.
~*+*~
“Colonel? Sheppard, where are you? Sheppard!”
The voice was familiar, John thought as he slowly forced his eyes open. Very familiar.
“I’m here,” he called back – or at least, he tried to. The only thing escaping his throat was a croaking noise that reminded him of a frog.
He slowly tried to sit up, to find out where he was, but it was dark around him. He could see the glimmer of the fire the Zubbi had started when it had gotten dark on the small clearing, and he could tell that he wasn’t far away from the others.
His team.
He was lying on a bed of soft moss, he realized when he dug his fingers into it, and it was comfortable enough here. For a moment, he thought about sinking back into it and dozing off, sleeping off all the wine he’d drunk. He was sure that it was just the wine’s fault that his head was feeling so heavy that it was almost impossible to string two thoughts together.
One thing he was sure about: whatever had happened, there hadn’t been an attack – he felt strangely safe. And he was certain that Ronon would have been able to find him here if he wanted to.
He didn’t know how much time went by. He fell in and out of a light sleep, and when a hand grabbed his shoulder and shook him, he jerked awake with a small grunt.
“Oh my God,” someone – not someone, his brain reminded him sharply, Rodney - babbled close to him. A light ghosted over him, blinded him until he clumsily swatted at it.
“Rodney,” he managed to slur. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” Rodney spluttered. His voice went higher and louder as he picked up speed with every word. “What’s wrong, just look at you, you could bleed to death and nobody would notice because you just had to go and play Captain Kirk and wander off with some alien chick and and and…” He gasped for air, and John winced.
“Riena,” he supplied helpfully. His words were still slurred, and belatedly he realized that Rodney hadn’t taken his hand off of John’s shoulder. “She’s nice. Wanted to show me something,” he added with a frown.
“She – oh my God.” Rodney had finally taken his hand from John’s shoulder, but only to press a piece of fabric against the same spot almost immediately. In the flickering light of the flashlight, something dark seemed to cling to Rodney’s fingers.
John frowned confusedly. “Is that blood?” he asked. A memory surfaced briefly, and he knew that he should be bothered by the fact that Rodney’s fingers were dark with blood. “Huh,” he said slowly. “She bit me. I didn’t see that coming.”
“Of course you didn’t!” Rodney’s voice almost snapped before he lifted his free hand to his radio.
John watched him with a smile. The blood was rushing in his ears, and he couldn’t hear Rodney’s voice over it anymore, but he knew that Rodney was contacting Teyla and Ronon and that Rodney would keep him safe.
It was the last thing he thought before losing consciousness again.
~*+*~
“Colonel Sheppard?”
John opened his eyes in the familiar surroundings of the infirmary to the sight of a smiling Dr. Keller.
“What happened?” he asked, his voice still a rough whisper. Lifting a hand to his throat, he felt a bandage there, and slowly, a few memories came back to him.
Riena.
Rodney pressing a hand to his throat.
Sneaking away from the banquet with Riena, although he suspected that had came first.
“You got bitten by something,” Ronon’s voice informed him. “I had to carry you back through the gate.”
He was sitting on the bed next to John’s, his feet dangling over the side. Teyla stood next to him, Torren in her arms, and Rodney was sitting in the chair next to John’s bed, his arms crossed over his chest and his mouth an unhappy downwards slash in his face.
“By something?” he now said, straightening and glaring at Ronon. “Excuse me? You weren’t there, you didn’t find him! How could you possibly know if it was a something that bit him and not a someone?” He turned his attention to John, his eyes blazing with anger. “You were bitten. By Vampirella. I found you and saved your life by dragging your sorry ass back to Atlantis while you were hallucinating from blood loss!”
“Rodney,” Teyla interrupted, her voice quiet but firm. “I believe it was Ronon who carried the Colonel through the Stargate.”
Rodney opened his mouth, but before he could say anything else, Dr. Keller spoke up.
“Besides that bite mark on your throat and an elevated count of white blood cells, you appear to be fine, Colonel. However, the teeth marks look definitely human. It appears Rodney’s right and you got bitten by someone rather than something.”
Rodney muttered something that sounded suspiciously like Vampirella under his breath, and John narrowed his eyes at him.
“I don’t see a reason to worry,” Keller said over Rodney’s grumbling, her voice soothing. “We gave you a tetanus shot and will keep you here for a day, as precaution.”
John nodded, and Keller began herding his team out. “Come on, everybody, the Colonel needs his rest.”
The last thing he heard was Rodney complaining that nobody believed him, even if he was a certified genius, and John closed his eyes in the middle of rolling them and allowed himself to drift off.
He knew he would hear from Rodney about this, and if he was honest, it wasn’t anything he was looking forward to.
2.
When John woke up, Keller was ready to release him, with the order to report back to her if he noticed any changes in himself, and things slowly returned to what was considered normal on Atlantis. The only thing that remained was the row of teeth-shaped wounds on John’s throat, and that injury healed within a few weeks. John was spared Rodney’s teasing, too, since various projects in the science department kept Rodney busy and distracted.
He didn’t think about the Zubbi and the incident anymore, having learned to put incidents quickly behind himself, but when he woke up a few weeks later with a raging headache and a noticeable sensitivity to sunlight, it slowly came back to his mind.
When he noticed a lack of appetite and a growing restlessness in himself, he started to worry and went to the infirmary to find Dr. Keller.
“Colonel, what can I do for you?” she asked, a smile on her face, when she saw him.
John shrugged. “There have been…things,” he said carefully and held out his arm for her to inspect. The skin was reddened and blistered and throbbed painfully when the skin was pulled.
“What happened?” Keller asked in alarm, and John shrugged.
“I don’t know, Doc,” he replied. “I went for a run with Ronon. I think we were outside for ten minutes, maybe fifteen. The sun…”
Keller gave him a curious glance when he trailed off. “Have there been any other symptoms?” she wanted to know and lifted her penlight, to shine it into his eyes.
John shrugged again. “Headaches,” he admitted. “Lack of appetite. And I think my teeth are getting pointier.” Or maybe, he admitted to himself, he was just imagining that – he hadn’t thought anything of the headaches and the lack of appetite either, when they had started. There were so many things they could catch here, in Pegasus, and it was impossible for him to tell if he just had a mild case of the flu or if it was something else.
“Well,” Keller replied, not missing a beat, “Let’s give you a complete check-up and find out what’s going on.”
John nodded. He wasn’t excited about the idea, but he knew perfectly well that they couldn’t be careful enough. If there was one thing he didn’t want, it was getting turned into something nasty because of a bite. He had gone through that once, and it had been enough for his lifetime.
“Don’t worry,” Keller said as she took his arm and guided him to a bed. “We’ll figure this out.”
“Better ask Ronon or Teyla if they know anything about this kind of thing happening before,” John replied. “They both said they’ve dealt with the Zubbi before. Maybe they can shed some light on this.”
“If it really has anything to do with that bite,” Keller pointed out, but she reached for her radio nonetheless, to ask Ronon and Teyla to come down to the infirmary.
Her glance fell to the burn marks on Colonel Sheppard’s arm again. It looked as if they were healing themselves already, and they were doing it at a fast rate, she thought.
Something was definitely not right here.
And it was her job to figure out what it was and how to fix it.
Her brain was already running through possibilities as she gave the Colonel another reassuring smile. “Let me start by drawing some blood.”
~*+*~
“Never before have I heard of an incident like this,” Teyla said, her eyes troubled. “I am sorry, John.”
John opened his mouth, to assure her that it was okay, but he closed it without having said a single word. It wasn’t her fault, but it definitely was not okay. He couldn’t be the military commander of Atlantis and lead a team when exposure to sunlight made his skin burn up within minutes. Keller had covered his arms with a cooling salve and gauze and had assured him that it wasn’t any worse than an intense sunburn, but it hadn’t helped soothe John’s fears and doubts.
“We’ll just go back to that planet and ask them,” Ronon suggested, his hand already on his gun.
“Under no circumstances will I allow any team to return to that planet!” Woolsey protested sharply. “We don’t know yet if that bite really was the reason for Colonel Sheppard’s unfortunate…development, or if there were any other reasons for all of this to happen.” He turned toward Keller. “Do the other members of Colonel Sheppard show the same symptoms?”
Dr. Keller suddenly found herself the center of attention, and she brushed a hand through her hair nervously. “No,” she said quietly. “Just Colonel Sheppard.”
She didn’t meet his eyes, John thought and leaned back in his chair. His arms itched under the gauze, exactly like healing skin – like his own skin had, back when he’d slowly turned back to himself after being bitten by the Iratus bug. The memory made his skin crawl with discomfort, which only made the itch get worse, and he quickly forced his mind away from that line of thinking.
“Oh, please,” Rodney said with a roll of his eyes. “Not everybody has the same lack of self control issues as Captain Kirk here. As long as nobody else gets bitten, we should be fine, right?”
“Lack of self control issues?” John repeated incredulously. “Rodney…”
“As long as our teams don’t end up as a snack for Vampirella,” Rodney continues, not paying attention to the annoyed expression on John’s face, “we’ll be fine on that planet. Just…” His mouth twitched. “Beware of the villagers that don’t eat. Rian is one of them, I’m sure.”
“Rodney, I have known Chieftain Rian for a very long time,” Teyla pointed out, her voice forceful. “He has always been a good ally and a friend to my people.”
“Maybe the team that gets send there should take some stakes with them,” Rodney continued, unperturbed by Teyla’s words. He was on a roll, and it would take a big effort to get him off of it, John knew from experience. If Rodney wasn’t stopped soon, his scary, brilliant mind would assemble a list of how to kill vampires and would try to outfit the team with crucifixes and holy water. John had to admit that a glimmer of amusement filled him at that thought.
“I am not going to send out another team to that planet and potentially risk the lives of our men unnecessarily,” Woolsey decided, his voice firm, bringing the debate to a halt. “Doctor, I want you to find out what exactly happened to Colonel Sheppard and how to reverse it. For the time being, your team will remain in Atlantis, Colonel.”
John nodded briefly. He had expected Woolsey to react like that – the man had to think of the entire city and not just a single man, and John still wasn’t sure that he wouldn’t lose control over himself sooner or later, like it had happened before.
If he went crazy, he decided quietly, he would prefer it to happen on Atlantis, where several people were more than capable of stopping him before he could do something stupid or become a danger for others.
No, Woolsey had made the right decision.
John clung to that thought as he rose and hurried to leave the conference room. He knew that his self control would be severely tested if he was left alone with Rodney right now. Even despite the fact that they were close friends, there were moments when John had to fight the strong urge to punch Rodney in the face, and this was such a moment.
He just hoped it was Rodney’s usual annoying personality and not a result of the bite that made him think so.
~*+*~
Rodney found him in the cafeteria, staring at the food on his tray without having touched it. He hesitated for a split second before squaring his shoulders, lifting his chin stubbornly, and stepping around him to slide in the unoccupied chair opposite John.
If he’d expected John to react other than lifting an eyebrow at him, he would be disappointed; however, all expectations Rodney had had were forgotten as soon as he caught a glimpse of John’s face.
“You look like hell,” he said bluntly. “Even your hair looks tired. When was the last time you ate something or slept?”
John ran a hand through his hair, as if he wanted to make it return to its usual insane state that way before sighing and resting his elbows on the table.
“Days,” he admitted. “It’s just, nothing looks appetizing.”
Rodney glanced to his own tray, piled high with food. “Huh,” he said and picked up his fork. “Have you tried drinking blood yet?”
“Rodney,” John hissed. He sounded annoyed and tired, but Rodney didn’t pay attention to it.
“It worked for Rosemary,” he defended himself. “If it works for you, we know at least we weren’t wrong!”
“No, Rodney,” John replied with forced patience and took a deep breath. “It just means that you weren’t wrong.”
“Well, yeah.” Rodney looked grimly at him. “But if it works, you won’t starve to death while the rest of us figures out a way to save you from a life in a Transylvanian castle.”
John’s lips twitched into something that could almost be called a smile.
“And what do you suggest I do?” he wanted to know. “Grab just anyone and infect them as well?”
Rodney looked slightly queasy at that thought, but he just stabbed his fork in John’s direction. “Go to the infirmary, ask them for some,” he suggested. “And hey, since you’re not eating that…can I have your jello?”
John rolled his eyes and pushed his tray toward Rodney.
As much as he hated to admit it, Rodney probably was right. He needed some kind of nourishment, but the few times he’d tried to force himself to eat something, he’d suffered horrible stomach cramps afterwards. He’d preferred not to eat after having that experience once. He’d told Keller about it, but he had been feeling no ill effects from his forced abstinence from food so far, unless he took the way he looked into account.
The thought of drinking blood, on the other hand, filled him with trepidation. He wasn’t sure if he could force himself to do it.
Rodney looked up from his food with a frown. “Why are you still here?” he asked. “Do you…do you want me to, you know, come with you?”
He looked so earnest and worried in that moment that John almost forgot about his earlier teasing and the not quite so nice and friendly thoughts he’d had about Rodney.
He shook his head nonetheless and pushed his chair back before getting up.
“No, I’m good,” he replied and pushed the chair back under the table. “Enjoy your dessert before Ronon shows up.”
He left the room and hesitated.
The thought of drinking blood didn’t exactly fill him with enthusiasm, and if he gave in and went to the infirmary now, he could just as well wear a sign that said “Rodney is always right.” He wasn’t quite ready for that yet.
Maybe, he thought grimly, he just wasn’t hungry right now and his appetite would return soon.
He glanced down at his hands. The skin was still red and irritated from just a brief moment of exposure to the sunlight – the Ancients liked their city bright and with windows, after all, it was almost impossible not to get burned when moving through the halls – and John snorted softly.
“Yeah, sure,” he muttered to himself before shaking his head and turning his steps toward the infirmary.
Maybe Keller had another idea.
Because, he told himself firmly, he wasn’t a vampire, no matter how much Rodney insisted. He didn’t end up a pile of dust when stepping into the sunlight, even if he burned, the smell of garlic and its Pegasus equivalent didn’t bother him any more than other food, and the thought of sleeping in a coffin made him laugh instead of appealing to him.
He wasn’t a vampire.
He couldn’t be a vampire.
That belief kept him going until he reached the infirmary and the faint smell of blood tickled his nose.
Almost immediately, his stomach clenched and grumbled, and John hastily stumbled backwards, away from the tantalizing smell.
He didn’t go far. Instincts he never had had before compelled him to find the source of that smell, and he remained frozen, pressed against the wall just outside the infirmary, fighting with himself.
It was how Ronon found him when he left the room, grinning and following one of the Marines who, John noticed, had a bruised nose – the source of the smell, he realized.
He didn’t know how long he had been standing there, unable to turn away and unwilling to go ahead, his eyes glued to the Marine, when Ronon nudged him with his elbow.
“Sheppard?” he asked, a faint hint of concern written over his features. “What’s wrong?”
John swallowed. “The smell,” he explained hesitantly.
Ronon frowned and sniffed. “Smell? What smell?” he asked.
John exhaled shakily and swallowed. “Blood.”
Ronon tilted his head. “If smelling blood makes you act all funny…are you sure you want to go in there?” he asked. His hand closed around John’s elbow, and he nodded toward the Marine – John had to admit that he couldn’t tell the man’s name right now. “Get Keller,” he ordered gruffly.
John felt almost hysterical, and he knew that breathing deeply wouldn’t help him regain his composure. “Don’t you smell it?” he asked and glanced up at Ronon.
“No,” Ronon admitted, but before John could really start to freak out, Keller stepped up to him.
“Colonel?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
Briefly he explained his heightened sense of smell regarding blood, and Keller frowned.
“This is fascinating,” she said. “Are your other senses getting sharper, too?”
John stared at her in disbelief. Fascinating was not the word he would have chosen to describe his current situation.
“I don’t know,” he admitted after a heartbeat of silence. “What does that mean, Doc?”
Keller glanced at Ronon and bit her lip before looking at him again.
“It means,” she explained slowly, “that Rodney was probably right.”
~*+*~
“I’m sorry.”
Rodney didn’t quite look at John. Instead, he fidgeted with the tablet computer in his hands and shifted from one foot to the other.
John squinted up at him. “What for?” he asked back.
Rodney shrugged miserably. “For being right,” he admitted. “For you being in this situation.”
For someone who usually loved being right and loved to let everybody around them know about it, this had to be a pretty miserable situation, John thought while watching Rodney. However, it didn’t suck as much as being stuck in a cell did.
He sighed. “It’s okay, Rodney. Not your fault.”
A little bit of the tension bled out of Rodney’s shoulders. “So…” he started and looked around the room. “Why did Woolsey think he had to lock you up?”
John sighed and stretched out his legs in front of him. “Precaution,” he replied tiredly.
“Precaution from what?” Rodney asked. “Just because you require a special diet? I don’t see any vegetarians locked up here!”
“That is because vegetarians usually don’t try to bite Dr. Keller’s staff,” John replied with forced patience. It was something that probably all of Atlantis already knew, that the small cut on the nurse’s finger – a papercut, nothing more – had almost made his knees buckle.
“Oh, please,” Rodney scoffed. “You did not try to bite her. You weren’t even close to her.”
“I wanted…” John stopped himself and licked his lips. “I wanted to, Rodney,” he admitted softly. “Something is happening to me and I don’t think…” Again, he stopped to shake his head.
“Hey.”
This time, it was Ronon’s voice interrupting the silence.
John flinched slightly. He hadn’t heard Ronon enter and hadn’t seen him either, and judging from Rodney’s nervous jumpiness, neither had he.
“Hey,” Ronon said again and stepped closer to the cell.
The force field surrounding John hummed quietly. “What are you doing here?” John asked in surprise and climbed to his feet.
Ronon shrugged and moved to lean against the wall casually. “Just checking up on you,” he replied. His mouth twitched into a smile and his eyes glinted teasingly. “I want to see when you turn into a bat.”
Rodney gave him a startled look. “You can transform into a bat?” he squeaked, his voice skidding over two octaves.
John shook his head. “No, I can’t,” he replied slowly before grinning. “But it would be pretty cool if I could.”
Ronon laughed, and John slowly sank back to the ground. Being a vampire and being locked up still sucked, but at least he wasn’t alone, and nobody had tried yet to put a wooden stake through his chest, or shoot him with silver bullets. He counted that as good things.
As far as living as an undead creature went, he figured things could be far worse.
~*+*~
“I have known of the Zubbi my entire life,” Teyla said slowly, “and I have never before heard of an occurrence like this. I believe that we could benefit from visiting their planet again and asking them about what happened.”
“You want to go back?” Rodney asked incredulously. “Do you want to get bitten too?”
“Actually, I believe the Zubbi never bite anyone without prior consent,” Teyla pointed out calmly.
“Now wait a minute,” John protested. “I certainly don’t remember consenting to getting turned into a vampire!” He paced along the energy barrier of the holding cell he was still stuck in.
“No? What else did you agree to?” Rodney asked, his voice sharp. John turned toward him with a frown.
“I didn’t agree to anything!” he argued.
“Well, obviously you did, or you wouldn’t be here in the first place!” Rodney snapped.
“Gentlemen,” Teyla interrupted them before their argument could get out of hand. She sounded annoyed, and John and Rodney closed their mouths, not without a glare being sent John’s way.
Ronon pushed himself off the wall. “What did you agree on, Sheppard?” he asked.
John ran both hands through his hair. “I didn’t agree to anything. She just said that she wanted to show me something I’ve never seen or experienced before,” he recalled. “She called it…something powerful and vital to her people.”
“And you fell for that? Clearly she just wanted to get a shot at your…” Rodney gesticulated toward John’s groin and then toward his neck. “Besides, eating is pretty vital, if you ask me.”
Ronon grinned while John’s ears slowly turned red, from annoyance and embarrassment. “She never said anything about getting bitten.”
“I admit that I am not that familiar with the Zubbi’s mating ritual,” Teyla admitted.
“Yeah,” Ronon interrupted her. “She proposed to you, Sheppard, and asked you for your blood. It’s an honor.”
Rodney whirled around. “You knew they were vampires?” he asked accusingly. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Ronon shrugged. “They’re nice people,” he said. “They never bite you without consent, and it’s a powerful, and mostly harmless thing.”
“Harmless? You call that harmless?” Rodney spluttered and flung his arm out toward the cell that still held John.
Ronon shrugged again. “That didn’t happen when I experienced it.”
Silence filled the room.
Finally, Rodney whimpered. “You…were bitten too?”
“Wait a minute,” John said. “When Teyla introduced us, Rian said your name first. He recognized you.”
Ronon shrugged a third time. “Yeah.”
“When did you get bitten?” Rodney asked. He sounded strangled.
“The night before I married Melena.” Ronon gave Rodney a sideways glance, stopping any further questions Rodney might have. “Had a headache for three days, but that was all.”
“Huh,” Rodney said. “So, what now?”
His radio crackled. “Rodney, are Ronon and Teyla with you?” Keller’s voice asked.
Rodney confirmed. “They are, what’s up?”
“Can you guys escort Colonel Sheppard to the infirmary?” she asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Rodney replied and turned back to John. “They want you at the infirmary.”
John nodded and took a step back from the energy field, and Rodney disengaged it and opened the cell.
“Let’s go,” Ronon said and fell in step with him.
~*+*~
“I don’t believe Colonel Sheppard is a danger for this expedition,” Keller explained to Woolsey as they stepped around a curtain. “As long as he gets blood regularly, he’s perfectly capable of controlling his impulses. And as long as he isn’t a danger to the expedition, I don’t see a problem in giving him blood conserves.”
They came to stop in front of the bed occupied by John. He was sitting on the edge, a mug in his hands. The rest of his team was, unsurprisingly, close by.
“And there is something else,” Keller said slowly.
“What is it?” Woolsey asked and stared at the mug in John’s hands. The thick, dark liquid in it was not coffee, he realized with a twist of his stomach, and even if Keller had told him what to expect, seeing it made him feel slightly nauseous.
“Ronon says he’s been bitten before and he didn’t experience the same symptoms as the Colonel. As far as we know, Colonel Sheppard is the only person who reacted badly to such a bite…maybe the Iratus bug is the reason for that, I don’t know yet. I’m working on it.”
Woolsey nodded. “How are you feeling, Colonel?” he asked.
John grimaced at the mug in his hand. “Better,” he simply replied.
“Well.” Woolsey pushed his glasses up his nose. “Doctor Keller assures me you are not a threat to the expedition, so I think we don’t need to lock you up any longer. However,” he tilted his chin up. “-you will stay in Atlantis for the time being. No missions.”
“Yes, sir.” John frowned.
“At least until Doctor Keller finds a … solution,” Woolsey added. “And…make sure you…eat regularly. I’m sure Doctor Keller will make sure you’ll get what you need.”
Keller nodded, and John followed suit.
“That is all. Keep me informed of the development.” Woolsey gave a brief nod to the team and left.
“That went well,” Rodney commented, and Teyla bowed her head in agreement. They all had been able to sense Woolsey’s nervousness and discomfort.
John nodded slowly. “What now?” he asked softly and allowed his eyes to follow Rodney, who, without much more than a glance in John’s direction, stood and hurried after Keller when she left them alone.
“Well,” Teyla said and stepped up to him, “It seems that we are allowed some…spare time.” She bowed her head, and instinctively, John followed suit, until their foreheads touched in an Athosian greeting. “You are most welcome to meditate with me later, John,” she said, amusement glinting in her eyes.
John laughed. “Thank you,” he replied softly. “I’d rather watch Torren while you meditate.”
Teyla nodded, as if she’d expected that answer, and stepped back. “I will drop him off with you then,” she stated.
John grimaced slightly. “You’re not afraid I bite him?” he asked, the words escaping him almost against his will. He hadn’t known that question was bothering him until it was out, and he tried to grin, to cover his lapse, and pass it off as a joke, but as usual, Teyla saw right through him.
“No,” she said calmly. “I am not.”
John nodded softly. “Thank you, Teyla,” he mumbled roughly.
Teyla trusted him with the most important thing in her life, and it made John’s chest ache with emotions he didn’t even wanted to acknowledge that he had.
Teyla gave him a smile and stepped back.
Ronon clapped a hand on John’s shoulder. “They say the Zubbi have a lot of strength,” he said before grinning. “I bet I could still beat you in sparring.”
~*+*~
The sad thing was, John realized later, that Ronon was right about that one.
~*+*~
“You know,” John said and pressed the little piece of sterile bandage to the crook of his elbow, “I’m starting to think that you’re the vampire, not me.”
He glanced at the row of little vials that Keller had just filled with his blood. It was the only blood he’d faced since he’d developed a taste for it that didn’t make his stomach growl with hunger.
Keller laughed and handed him a mug with luke-warm blood. “I’m sorry, Colonel, but this isn’t the slightest bit appetizing to me.”
John’s fingers curled protectively around the porcelain and he took a sip. He forced himself to drink slowly, to make it last, even if he knew that cold blood would give him stomach cramps and he should finish his lunch before it cooled off.
“Here you are!” Rodney stepped up to him with a smug grin on his face. “I’ve been looking for you.”
John took another sip of his blood with a grimace. It had cooled off too much already.
“You found me,” he replied evenly and forced the last mouthful of blood down this throat.
“Seriously, that’s…mildly disgusting,” Rodney replied with a frown. “But at least you’re not putting cornflakes in that, or marshmallows.”
He didn’t wait for John to come up with an answer to that. “You can thank me for my genius later,” he said and bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet. It was something he usually only did when there was the chance that they might find a particularly interesting piece of Ancient technology, and John couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
“What did you do, did you destroy another solar system?”
“What? No!” Rodney sounded exasperated. “Seriously, you should have a little trust in my far superior abilities! I don’t make the same mistake twice.”
“Uh-huh.” John squinted up at him. “So…what did you do?”
Rodney stepped up to him with a grin that was almost manic and pushed something he’d held hidden in his palm against John’s chest. “Think on!” he demanded.
“What is that?” John asked and glanced down.
“It’s a personal shield,” Rodney explained excitedly.
“What?”
“It’s perfectly safe,” Rodney said. “I tested it myself.”
“You what?” John asked sharply.
Rodney rolled his eyes. “I modified it, I tested it, it’s perfectly safe! Now think it on!”
John still hesitated, but he took the small object from Rodney’s fingers and inspected it carefully. It was smaller than the personal shields they had dealt with in the past, but besides that, it looked exactly like it. “What does it do?”
“Ah-hah!” Rodney grinned and lifted his finger. “It is designed to protect you from sunlight. I am brilliant, if I may say so myself.” He looked grim for a moment. “Everybody is laughing their ass off when they see you jump around trying not to get hit by sunlight while running around the city,” he added. “It’s distracting.”
“And you’re sure it works?” John asked, choosing not to comment on that particular bit of knowledge. Being the laughing stock of Atlantis wasn’t a role he was very comfortable with, and he pretended he didn’t notice the way people stared at him funnily and bit back giggles whenever he had to stop short and press himself against a wall, to avoid the sunlight.
He finally thought on at the small conception, expecting the familiar green glow to wash around him, but instead, he found himself surrounded by a dark shade of purple.
“And now, think it off!” Rodney ordered.
This time, John didn’t argue and did what he’d been told. He half expected the shield to refuse to be turned off, but it worked just like Rodney had promised.
“Are you sure it keeps sunlight away from me?” he asked, and Rodney gave him a dark look.
“Am I the most brilliant person in two galaxies or not?” he asked back, but without really expecting John to answer. “This shield now works like, like, like a giant pair of sunglasses. You should try it, come on.”
John chuckled softly and put the mug he was still holding down. “Let’s go and give it a spin,” he decided before standing. “But if it doesn’t work…”
“It will work,” Rodney interrupted confidently. “Don’t worry, we won’t let you fall to dust. And if you do…I brought a broom.”
TBC
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing: vague hints of John Sheppard/Ronon Dex, even less hints of John Sheppard/Teyla Emmagan
Word Count: 13,944 words
Rating: FRT-13
Warnings: blood, AU, hints of slash and het
Beta:
ginny305Artist:
davincis_girlSummary: John Sheppard never thought he’d end up living in another galaxy, and he’d never thought that he would ever get bitten by a vampire and turned. But both happen, and while he is happy with the first, he’s struggling with the second and all its repercussions: a bad sun allergy, a weird diet, and pointy teeth.
Author’s notes: written for
vampirebigbang. Flowers, chocolate and a fluffy kitten for ginny305, for betaing this and for being an awesome friend, and of course to the awesome davincis_girl for her incredible artwork! Thank you!Title is a line from The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends”.
1.
“Remind me again why we’re here,” Rodney McKay asked and darkly stared at the computer tablet in his hands. “This planet has nothing of interest for us.” He glanced up and frowned at the trees around them. They were tall and sturdy, leaving the small path the team was walking on in deep shade. Rodney glanced upwards briefly to confirm that it wasn’t dusk yet, even if it almost felt like it, but the tiny patches of sky he could see through the leaves of the trees were a bright shade of blue, indicating that outside this dark forest with its unnatural lack of birds and other small animals and their habit of scaring the living daylights out of him, it was a beautiful summer day.
Teyla gave him a carefully measured look. She didn’t slow down as she explained, “The Zubbi are a people who prefer living in these forests.” She tilted her head slightly to the side. “I believe we would greatly benefit from trading with them.”
“What could they possibly trade?” Rodney asked with an eye roll and kicked at one of the roots crossing the path and lifting the hardened ground up. He’d almost stumbled over a few of them already, and he was sure that he would certainly break his neck, robbing Atlantis and Earth of his brilliance, if they had to walk much further.
“Wooden toys, maybe,” John Sheppard piped up. Teyla gave him a short glance, but she knew him well enough by now to realize that he was joking.
“The Zubbi have been more than willing to help people who have been culled in the past,” she pointed out, not for the first time, Rodney thought.
“Yeah,” Ronon added, speaking for the first time since he’d pointed at the beginnings of the path when they’d arrived on this planet. “Everybody knows that.”
“Oh yeah?” Rodney scoffed. “Then why haven’t we ever heard about these people?”
Ronon shrugged. His hand shot out and grabbed Rodney’s elbow, steadying him, just as he threatened to slip on another root.
“Maybe you asked the wrong people,” he suggested.
“They are very reluctant to leave their planet,” Teyla explained. “But everybody in this galaxy knows that they are most welcome to dial this planet and find a brief period of protection and rest here.”
“Huh.” John frowned. “The Wraith have never culled them?”
“The Zubbi have been spared,” Teyla agreed. “There are not many people who can say that about themselves.”
Rodney saw from the corner of his eyes how John’s fingers tightened on his gun, and he felt the muscles of his shoulders and back grow tense at that.
“Maybe they just didn’t find them,” John said, even if he didn’t believe it himself. “I feel like we’ve been walking in circles.”
“We have not,” Teyla informed him calmly. “We should arrive at their settlement soon.”
“Yeah,” Ronon murmured. “Look up. We’re being watched. From the trees.”
Rodney opened his mouth, but before he could say a single word, John asked from the corner of his mouth, “How long have they been watching us?”
Ronon shrugged almost unnoticeably. “Half a mile, maybe,” he guessed. “They’re not dangerous, Sheppard. Everyone knows that.”
“Still, I want you to be careful,” John decided. “And stick together. I don’t want us to run into the second Genii or something.”
Teyla nodded resolutely, even if the look on her face was skeptical.
“Huh,” Rodney said after a few moments of tense silence and squinted up, into the trees. “Even if the Wraith never thought of looking up there, I don’t understand why they never got culled.”
John turned his head a fraction to the side and upwards. At first, he didn’t see it, but then he realized that the Zubbi must have built their settlement straight into the thick foliage of the trees. Unless one knew what to look for, the settlement was almost invisible.
“You think this was enough to keep them safe from the Wraith?” he asked, his voice pitched low.
Rodney frowned unhappily. “No,” he replied. “You know how desperately the Wraith are looking for new feeding grounds. They wouldn’t pass this up for anything.”
John nodded. That was what he had been thinking, as well.
“Maybe they have weapons,” he suspected.
Rodney snorted again. “Yes, Colonel. Spears and stones. Yub, yub.” He shook his head. “No, I detect no signs of any technical development at all. According to this – “ He lifted the lifesign scanner and waved it in John’s face, “- they are barely more than apes, climbing trees and flinging poo at anyone attacking them.”
Ronon gave him a long look. “They’re more than that,” he said firmly just as Teyla stopped.
“We are here,” she announced, and Rodney hurried to shuffle a few steps closer to her and Sheppard. As little as he wanted to get hit by a stray arrow or any other weapon flung at Teyla or Sheppard, he didn’t want the risk of getting separated from them. He was absolutely sure that he would get lost in that thick forest and never be found again – or the same could happen to Sheppard, who didn’t really have a sense of orientation unless he was flying something. Rodney was at least a genius and stood a small chance to find the Stargate again. He swallowed and tried to calm down his brain before it sent him into hyperventilation and shock. John Sheppard could take care of himself, he told himself, and Teyla knew what she was doing.
Right now, she was giving him one of her looks and took a step forward. She spread her arms slightly in a gesture of peace and called out, “We come as friends.”
It was, Rodney thought, as if the inhabitants of the planet – he’d already forgotten the name, even if he was sure that he would remember it if he had to – had just waited for Teyla’s words. Suddenly, the forest around them was swarming with activity. People stepped out from behind trees and lowered weapons, and Rodney couldn’t help but feeling a bit surprised that they weren’t knee-high bundles of fur, but looked like normal human beings with energy weapons.
“Told you,” Ronon smirked, having read the shocked expression on Rodney’s face correctly. “They’re highly developed people. They have guns.”
Rodney glanced down at his scanner. “They must have some sort of shield. I still don’t detect anything. Strange.”
He bent over his computer again and frowned at the readings, as minimal as they were.
John rolled his eyes a little at Rodney’s behavior, but he tried to appear open and friendly to the Zubbi.
They were, he noted, humanoid, their skin pale, almost translucent, their hair long and partly braided. Their clothes were simple and functional, but clean. So far, the Zubbi gave the impression of normal people from the Pegasus galaxy, if maybe a little further developed than most of those that fell victim to the Wraith regularly.
One of them stepped up to Teyla now, his arms spread wide and a wide smile on his pale face. “Teyla of Athos!” he cried out. “It has been a long time since any of your people visited us!”
“Indeed, it has,” Teyla agreed. She touched her forehead to his in a gesture was by now as familiar to John as a handshake or a salute.
“How have you been?” the man continued. He seemed delighted to see Teyla, and, even if he looked carefully, John didn’t see anything that indicated that Teyla was alarmed or worried by the man’s behavior.
“My people have been…well,” Teyla replied with a small smile. “I would like to introduce Colonel John Sheppard to you, Chieftain, and Doctor Rodney McKay.”
The Chieftain frowned slightly. “I know you,” he said and bowed his head slightly in front of Ronon. “Ronon Dex. I have heard your name oftentimes.” He smiled, and, without waiting for Ronon to answer, turned toward John. “Colonel John Sheppard. Doctor Rodney McKay.”
John forced a smile. “A pleasure,” he said.
“Colonel,” Teyla smoothly cut in, “Chieftain Rian is the leader of his people and has been for many years.”
John nodded and forced his muscles not to stiffen when Chieftain Rian stepped closer to him. They had had too many close calls with natives of the Pegasus galaxy for him to relax with the Chieftain close enough that he could see that his eyes were a brilliant shade of amber that looked warm like honey.
“I have heard a lot of stories about you and your team, Colonel John Sheppard,” he said quietly. “A lot of wondrous things. I would be very honored to call you my guests today and share stories over a meal. Will you do me and my people the honor of participating?”
John shrugged slightly and forced a grin. “Yeah, why not,” he replied. “Sounds like a lot of fun.”
“We are honored by your invitation and gladly accept it,” Teyla quickly added. “Thank you for your generosity, Chieftain.”
The Chieftain nodded and gave them a wide smile. “Come and celebrate life with us,” he said, loud enough for his voice to carry, and lifted his arms, to give a sign to the other Zubbi. “Let us share stories and a meal.”
Before their eyes, even more Zubbi appeared, to take the team by the elbows and guide them deeper into the forest, until they reached a clearing where the Zubbi had put together long tables that were already bending under the weight of various dishes, most of which John had never seen before. It was as if they had been expected, he thought suspiciously, but when he took a closer look at the people already sitting at the table he quickly realized that the team from Atlantis hadn’t been the only visitors the Zubbi had that day.
Rodney made a happy sound at the back of his throat at the sight of the banquet table and quickly sat down. Ronon and Teyla followed him, and John shrugged as he sank down onto the wooden bench, facing the rest of his team. Rian sat down next to him with a smile.
“Is it true that you came from the city of the Ancients?” he asked curiously and lifted a container from which he poured them all drinks without waiting for their consent.
“Yes,” Teyla confirmed. “That is true.”
“You have to tell me more about that,” Rian said enthusiastically. “But first, eat, drink, dance! Let us celebrate life!”
It wasn’t something he had to say twice, and soon, they were enjoying the rich meal. Ronon quickly disappeared, after a nod from John, to sit with a group of young women at another table, and Rodney left them soon after, to talk to the village’s alchemists about the shield he still couldn’t detect but was certain existed.
Teyla and Rian started to talk about trade agreements and about people they both knew, and despite his best intentions to pay attention, John’s thoughts started to drift off after a while, until a young blonde woman slid onto the bench next to him. She gave him a shy smile and glanced up at him through her lashes.
“You do not look like someone who enjoys trade talk,” she said and John chuckled.
“No, not really,” he admitted. “What’s your name?”
“Riena,” she replied and wrapped her coat a little bit tighter around herself. “What is yours?”
John gave her a smile. “You can call me John,” he finally decided.
“John,” she repeated and gave him another smile. “What a strange name that is.”
“Well, not where I’m from,” he replied.
Riena turned her body toward him. “Can you tell me more about the place you came from?” she asked eagerly. “I want to learn! But first, let me fill your glass. A dry tongue does not like to tell tales, my father always says.”
John glanced around. Ronon and Rodney were still in his line of sight, and there was no sign of danger.
Relaxing further and leaning his elbows on the table while wrapping his hands around his mug, he started to tell Riena about Ferris Wheels.
~*+*~
“Colonel? Sheppard, where are you? Sheppard!”
The voice was familiar, John thought as he slowly forced his eyes open. Very familiar.
“I’m here,” he called back – or at least, he tried to. The only thing escaping his throat was a croaking noise that reminded him of a frog.
He slowly tried to sit up, to find out where he was, but it was dark around him. He could see the glimmer of the fire the Zubbi had started when it had gotten dark on the small clearing, and he could tell that he wasn’t far away from the others.
His team.
He was lying on a bed of soft moss, he realized when he dug his fingers into it, and it was comfortable enough here. For a moment, he thought about sinking back into it and dozing off, sleeping off all the wine he’d drunk. He was sure that it was just the wine’s fault that his head was feeling so heavy that it was almost impossible to string two thoughts together.
One thing he was sure about: whatever had happened, there hadn’t been an attack – he felt strangely safe. And he was certain that Ronon would have been able to find him here if he wanted to.
He didn’t know how much time went by. He fell in and out of a light sleep, and when a hand grabbed his shoulder and shook him, he jerked awake with a small grunt.
“Oh my God,” someone – not someone, his brain reminded him sharply, Rodney - babbled close to him. A light ghosted over him, blinded him until he clumsily swatted at it.
“Rodney,” he managed to slur. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” Rodney spluttered. His voice went higher and louder as he picked up speed with every word. “What’s wrong, just look at you, you could bleed to death and nobody would notice because you just had to go and play Captain Kirk and wander off with some alien chick and and and…” He gasped for air, and John winced.
“Riena,” he supplied helpfully. His words were still slurred, and belatedly he realized that Rodney hadn’t taken his hand off of John’s shoulder. “She’s nice. Wanted to show me something,” he added with a frown.
“She – oh my God.” Rodney had finally taken his hand from John’s shoulder, but only to press a piece of fabric against the same spot almost immediately. In the flickering light of the flashlight, something dark seemed to cling to Rodney’s fingers.
John frowned confusedly. “Is that blood?” he asked. A memory surfaced briefly, and he knew that he should be bothered by the fact that Rodney’s fingers were dark with blood. “Huh,” he said slowly. “She bit me. I didn’t see that coming.”
“Of course you didn’t!” Rodney’s voice almost snapped before he lifted his free hand to his radio.
John watched him with a smile. The blood was rushing in his ears, and he couldn’t hear Rodney’s voice over it anymore, but he knew that Rodney was contacting Teyla and Ronon and that Rodney would keep him safe.
It was the last thing he thought before losing consciousness again.
~*+*~
“Colonel Sheppard?”
John opened his eyes in the familiar surroundings of the infirmary to the sight of a smiling Dr. Keller.
“What happened?” he asked, his voice still a rough whisper. Lifting a hand to his throat, he felt a bandage there, and slowly, a few memories came back to him.
Riena.
Rodney pressing a hand to his throat.
Sneaking away from the banquet with Riena, although he suspected that had came first.
“You got bitten by something,” Ronon’s voice informed him. “I had to carry you back through the gate.”
He was sitting on the bed next to John’s, his feet dangling over the side. Teyla stood next to him, Torren in her arms, and Rodney was sitting in the chair next to John’s bed, his arms crossed over his chest and his mouth an unhappy downwards slash in his face.
“By something?” he now said, straightening and glaring at Ronon. “Excuse me? You weren’t there, you didn’t find him! How could you possibly know if it was a something that bit him and not a someone?” He turned his attention to John, his eyes blazing with anger. “You were bitten. By Vampirella. I found you and saved your life by dragging your sorry ass back to Atlantis while you were hallucinating from blood loss!”
“Rodney,” Teyla interrupted, her voice quiet but firm. “I believe it was Ronon who carried the Colonel through the Stargate.”
Rodney opened his mouth, but before he could say anything else, Dr. Keller spoke up.
“Besides that bite mark on your throat and an elevated count of white blood cells, you appear to be fine, Colonel. However, the teeth marks look definitely human. It appears Rodney’s right and you got bitten by someone rather than something.”
Rodney muttered something that sounded suspiciously like Vampirella under his breath, and John narrowed his eyes at him.
“I don’t see a reason to worry,” Keller said over Rodney’s grumbling, her voice soothing. “We gave you a tetanus shot and will keep you here for a day, as precaution.”
John nodded, and Keller began herding his team out. “Come on, everybody, the Colonel needs his rest.”
The last thing he heard was Rodney complaining that nobody believed him, even if he was a certified genius, and John closed his eyes in the middle of rolling them and allowed himself to drift off.
He knew he would hear from Rodney about this, and if he was honest, it wasn’t anything he was looking forward to.
2.
When John woke up, Keller was ready to release him, with the order to report back to her if he noticed any changes in himself, and things slowly returned to what was considered normal on Atlantis. The only thing that remained was the row of teeth-shaped wounds on John’s throat, and that injury healed within a few weeks. John was spared Rodney’s teasing, too, since various projects in the science department kept Rodney busy and distracted.
He didn’t think about the Zubbi and the incident anymore, having learned to put incidents quickly behind himself, but when he woke up a few weeks later with a raging headache and a noticeable sensitivity to sunlight, it slowly came back to his mind.
When he noticed a lack of appetite and a growing restlessness in himself, he started to worry and went to the infirmary to find Dr. Keller.
“Colonel, what can I do for you?” she asked, a smile on her face, when she saw him.
John shrugged. “There have been…things,” he said carefully and held out his arm for her to inspect. The skin was reddened and blistered and throbbed painfully when the skin was pulled.
“What happened?” Keller asked in alarm, and John shrugged.
“I don’t know, Doc,” he replied. “I went for a run with Ronon. I think we were outside for ten minutes, maybe fifteen. The sun…”
Keller gave him a curious glance when he trailed off. “Have there been any other symptoms?” she wanted to know and lifted her penlight, to shine it into his eyes.
John shrugged again. “Headaches,” he admitted. “Lack of appetite. And I think my teeth are getting pointier.” Or maybe, he admitted to himself, he was just imagining that – he hadn’t thought anything of the headaches and the lack of appetite either, when they had started. There were so many things they could catch here, in Pegasus, and it was impossible for him to tell if he just had a mild case of the flu or if it was something else.
“Well,” Keller replied, not missing a beat, “Let’s give you a complete check-up and find out what’s going on.”
John nodded. He wasn’t excited about the idea, but he knew perfectly well that they couldn’t be careful enough. If there was one thing he didn’t want, it was getting turned into something nasty because of a bite. He had gone through that once, and it had been enough for his lifetime.
“Don’t worry,” Keller said as she took his arm and guided him to a bed. “We’ll figure this out.”
“Better ask Ronon or Teyla if they know anything about this kind of thing happening before,” John replied. “They both said they’ve dealt with the Zubbi before. Maybe they can shed some light on this.”
“If it really has anything to do with that bite,” Keller pointed out, but she reached for her radio nonetheless, to ask Ronon and Teyla to come down to the infirmary.
Her glance fell to the burn marks on Colonel Sheppard’s arm again. It looked as if they were healing themselves already, and they were doing it at a fast rate, she thought.
Something was definitely not right here.
And it was her job to figure out what it was and how to fix it.
Her brain was already running through possibilities as she gave the Colonel another reassuring smile. “Let me start by drawing some blood.”
~*+*~
“Never before have I heard of an incident like this,” Teyla said, her eyes troubled. “I am sorry, John.”
John opened his mouth, to assure her that it was okay, but he closed it without having said a single word. It wasn’t her fault, but it definitely was not okay. He couldn’t be the military commander of Atlantis and lead a team when exposure to sunlight made his skin burn up within minutes. Keller had covered his arms with a cooling salve and gauze and had assured him that it wasn’t any worse than an intense sunburn, but it hadn’t helped soothe John’s fears and doubts.
“We’ll just go back to that planet and ask them,” Ronon suggested, his hand already on his gun.
“Under no circumstances will I allow any team to return to that planet!” Woolsey protested sharply. “We don’t know yet if that bite really was the reason for Colonel Sheppard’s unfortunate…development, or if there were any other reasons for all of this to happen.” He turned toward Keller. “Do the other members of Colonel Sheppard show the same symptoms?”
Dr. Keller suddenly found herself the center of attention, and she brushed a hand through her hair nervously. “No,” she said quietly. “Just Colonel Sheppard.”
She didn’t meet his eyes, John thought and leaned back in his chair. His arms itched under the gauze, exactly like healing skin – like his own skin had, back when he’d slowly turned back to himself after being bitten by the Iratus bug. The memory made his skin crawl with discomfort, which only made the itch get worse, and he quickly forced his mind away from that line of thinking.
“Oh, please,” Rodney said with a roll of his eyes. “Not everybody has the same lack of self control issues as Captain Kirk here. As long as nobody else gets bitten, we should be fine, right?”
“Lack of self control issues?” John repeated incredulously. “Rodney…”
“As long as our teams don’t end up as a snack for Vampirella,” Rodney continues, not paying attention to the annoyed expression on John’s face, “we’ll be fine on that planet. Just…” His mouth twitched. “Beware of the villagers that don’t eat. Rian is one of them, I’m sure.”
“Rodney, I have known Chieftain Rian for a very long time,” Teyla pointed out, her voice forceful. “He has always been a good ally and a friend to my people.”
“Maybe the team that gets send there should take some stakes with them,” Rodney continued, unperturbed by Teyla’s words. He was on a roll, and it would take a big effort to get him off of it, John knew from experience. If Rodney wasn’t stopped soon, his scary, brilliant mind would assemble a list of how to kill vampires and would try to outfit the team with crucifixes and holy water. John had to admit that a glimmer of amusement filled him at that thought.
“I am not going to send out another team to that planet and potentially risk the lives of our men unnecessarily,” Woolsey decided, his voice firm, bringing the debate to a halt. “Doctor, I want you to find out what exactly happened to Colonel Sheppard and how to reverse it. For the time being, your team will remain in Atlantis, Colonel.”
John nodded briefly. He had expected Woolsey to react like that – the man had to think of the entire city and not just a single man, and John still wasn’t sure that he wouldn’t lose control over himself sooner or later, like it had happened before.
If he went crazy, he decided quietly, he would prefer it to happen on Atlantis, where several people were more than capable of stopping him before he could do something stupid or become a danger for others.
No, Woolsey had made the right decision.
John clung to that thought as he rose and hurried to leave the conference room. He knew that his self control would be severely tested if he was left alone with Rodney right now. Even despite the fact that they were close friends, there were moments when John had to fight the strong urge to punch Rodney in the face, and this was such a moment.
He just hoped it was Rodney’s usual annoying personality and not a result of the bite that made him think so.
~*+*~
Rodney found him in the cafeteria, staring at the food on his tray without having touched it. He hesitated for a split second before squaring his shoulders, lifting his chin stubbornly, and stepping around him to slide in the unoccupied chair opposite John.
If he’d expected John to react other than lifting an eyebrow at him, he would be disappointed; however, all expectations Rodney had had were forgotten as soon as he caught a glimpse of John’s face.
“You look like hell,” he said bluntly. “Even your hair looks tired. When was the last time you ate something or slept?”
John ran a hand through his hair, as if he wanted to make it return to its usual insane state that way before sighing and resting his elbows on the table.
“Days,” he admitted. “It’s just, nothing looks appetizing.”
Rodney glanced to his own tray, piled high with food. “Huh,” he said and picked up his fork. “Have you tried drinking blood yet?”
“Rodney,” John hissed. He sounded annoyed and tired, but Rodney didn’t pay attention to it.
“It worked for Rosemary,” he defended himself. “If it works for you, we know at least we weren’t wrong!”
“No, Rodney,” John replied with forced patience and took a deep breath. “It just means that you weren’t wrong.”
“Well, yeah.” Rodney looked grimly at him. “But if it works, you won’t starve to death while the rest of us figures out a way to save you from a life in a Transylvanian castle.”
John’s lips twitched into something that could almost be called a smile.
“And what do you suggest I do?” he wanted to know. “Grab just anyone and infect them as well?”
Rodney looked slightly queasy at that thought, but he just stabbed his fork in John’s direction. “Go to the infirmary, ask them for some,” he suggested. “And hey, since you’re not eating that…can I have your jello?”
John rolled his eyes and pushed his tray toward Rodney.
As much as he hated to admit it, Rodney probably was right. He needed some kind of nourishment, but the few times he’d tried to force himself to eat something, he’d suffered horrible stomach cramps afterwards. He’d preferred not to eat after having that experience once. He’d told Keller about it, but he had been feeling no ill effects from his forced abstinence from food so far, unless he took the way he looked into account.
The thought of drinking blood, on the other hand, filled him with trepidation. He wasn’t sure if he could force himself to do it.
Rodney looked up from his food with a frown. “Why are you still here?” he asked. “Do you…do you want me to, you know, come with you?”
He looked so earnest and worried in that moment that John almost forgot about his earlier teasing and the not quite so nice and friendly thoughts he’d had about Rodney.
He shook his head nonetheless and pushed his chair back before getting up.
“No, I’m good,” he replied and pushed the chair back under the table. “Enjoy your dessert before Ronon shows up.”
He left the room and hesitated.
The thought of drinking blood didn’t exactly fill him with enthusiasm, and if he gave in and went to the infirmary now, he could just as well wear a sign that said “Rodney is always right.” He wasn’t quite ready for that yet.
Maybe, he thought grimly, he just wasn’t hungry right now and his appetite would return soon.
He glanced down at his hands. The skin was still red and irritated from just a brief moment of exposure to the sunlight – the Ancients liked their city bright and with windows, after all, it was almost impossible not to get burned when moving through the halls – and John snorted softly.
“Yeah, sure,” he muttered to himself before shaking his head and turning his steps toward the infirmary.
Maybe Keller had another idea.
Because, he told himself firmly, he wasn’t a vampire, no matter how much Rodney insisted. He didn’t end up a pile of dust when stepping into the sunlight, even if he burned, the smell of garlic and its Pegasus equivalent didn’t bother him any more than other food, and the thought of sleeping in a coffin made him laugh instead of appealing to him.
He wasn’t a vampire.
He couldn’t be a vampire.
That belief kept him going until he reached the infirmary and the faint smell of blood tickled his nose.
Almost immediately, his stomach clenched and grumbled, and John hastily stumbled backwards, away from the tantalizing smell.
He didn’t go far. Instincts he never had had before compelled him to find the source of that smell, and he remained frozen, pressed against the wall just outside the infirmary, fighting with himself.
It was how Ronon found him when he left the room, grinning and following one of the Marines who, John noticed, had a bruised nose – the source of the smell, he realized.
He didn’t know how long he had been standing there, unable to turn away and unwilling to go ahead, his eyes glued to the Marine, when Ronon nudged him with his elbow.
“Sheppard?” he asked, a faint hint of concern written over his features. “What’s wrong?”
John swallowed. “The smell,” he explained hesitantly.
Ronon frowned and sniffed. “Smell? What smell?” he asked.
John exhaled shakily and swallowed. “Blood.”
Ronon tilted his head. “If smelling blood makes you act all funny…are you sure you want to go in there?” he asked. His hand closed around John’s elbow, and he nodded toward the Marine – John had to admit that he couldn’t tell the man’s name right now. “Get Keller,” he ordered gruffly.
John felt almost hysterical, and he knew that breathing deeply wouldn’t help him regain his composure. “Don’t you smell it?” he asked and glanced up at Ronon.
“No,” Ronon admitted, but before John could really start to freak out, Keller stepped up to him.
“Colonel?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
Briefly he explained his heightened sense of smell regarding blood, and Keller frowned.
“This is fascinating,” she said. “Are your other senses getting sharper, too?”
John stared at her in disbelief. Fascinating was not the word he would have chosen to describe his current situation.
“I don’t know,” he admitted after a heartbeat of silence. “What does that mean, Doc?”
Keller glanced at Ronon and bit her lip before looking at him again.
“It means,” she explained slowly, “that Rodney was probably right.”
~*+*~
“I’m sorry.”
Rodney didn’t quite look at John. Instead, he fidgeted with the tablet computer in his hands and shifted from one foot to the other.
John squinted up at him. “What for?” he asked back.
Rodney shrugged miserably. “For being right,” he admitted. “For you being in this situation.”
For someone who usually loved being right and loved to let everybody around them know about it, this had to be a pretty miserable situation, John thought while watching Rodney. However, it didn’t suck as much as being stuck in a cell did.
He sighed. “It’s okay, Rodney. Not your fault.”
A little bit of the tension bled out of Rodney’s shoulders. “So…” he started and looked around the room. “Why did Woolsey think he had to lock you up?”
John sighed and stretched out his legs in front of him. “Precaution,” he replied tiredly.
“Precaution from what?” Rodney asked. “Just because you require a special diet? I don’t see any vegetarians locked up here!”
“That is because vegetarians usually don’t try to bite Dr. Keller’s staff,” John replied with forced patience. It was something that probably all of Atlantis already knew, that the small cut on the nurse’s finger – a papercut, nothing more – had almost made his knees buckle.
“Oh, please,” Rodney scoffed. “You did not try to bite her. You weren’t even close to her.”
“I wanted…” John stopped himself and licked his lips. “I wanted to, Rodney,” he admitted softly. “Something is happening to me and I don’t think…” Again, he stopped to shake his head.
“Hey.”
This time, it was Ronon’s voice interrupting the silence.
John flinched slightly. He hadn’t heard Ronon enter and hadn’t seen him either, and judging from Rodney’s nervous jumpiness, neither had he.
“Hey,” Ronon said again and stepped closer to the cell.
The force field surrounding John hummed quietly. “What are you doing here?” John asked in surprise and climbed to his feet.
Ronon shrugged and moved to lean against the wall casually. “Just checking up on you,” he replied. His mouth twitched into a smile and his eyes glinted teasingly. “I want to see when you turn into a bat.”
Rodney gave him a startled look. “You can transform into a bat?” he squeaked, his voice skidding over two octaves.
John shook his head. “No, I can’t,” he replied slowly before grinning. “But it would be pretty cool if I could.”
Ronon laughed, and John slowly sank back to the ground. Being a vampire and being locked up still sucked, but at least he wasn’t alone, and nobody had tried yet to put a wooden stake through his chest, or shoot him with silver bullets. He counted that as good things.
As far as living as an undead creature went, he figured things could be far worse.
~*+*~
“I have known of the Zubbi my entire life,” Teyla said slowly, “and I have never before heard of an occurrence like this. I believe that we could benefit from visiting their planet again and asking them about what happened.”
“You want to go back?” Rodney asked incredulously. “Do you want to get bitten too?”
“Actually, I believe the Zubbi never bite anyone without prior consent,” Teyla pointed out calmly.
“Now wait a minute,” John protested. “I certainly don’t remember consenting to getting turned into a vampire!” He paced along the energy barrier of the holding cell he was still stuck in.
“No? What else did you agree to?” Rodney asked, his voice sharp. John turned toward him with a frown.
“I didn’t agree to anything!” he argued.
“Well, obviously you did, or you wouldn’t be here in the first place!” Rodney snapped.
“Gentlemen,” Teyla interrupted them before their argument could get out of hand. She sounded annoyed, and John and Rodney closed their mouths, not without a glare being sent John’s way.
Ronon pushed himself off the wall. “What did you agree on, Sheppard?” he asked.
John ran both hands through his hair. “I didn’t agree to anything. She just said that she wanted to show me something I’ve never seen or experienced before,” he recalled. “She called it…something powerful and vital to her people.”
“And you fell for that? Clearly she just wanted to get a shot at your…” Rodney gesticulated toward John’s groin and then toward his neck. “Besides, eating is pretty vital, if you ask me.”
Ronon grinned while John’s ears slowly turned red, from annoyance and embarrassment. “She never said anything about getting bitten.”
“I admit that I am not that familiar with the Zubbi’s mating ritual,” Teyla admitted.
“Yeah,” Ronon interrupted her. “She proposed to you, Sheppard, and asked you for your blood. It’s an honor.”
Rodney whirled around. “You knew they were vampires?” he asked accusingly. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Ronon shrugged. “They’re nice people,” he said. “They never bite you without consent, and it’s a powerful, and mostly harmless thing.”
“Harmless? You call that harmless?” Rodney spluttered and flung his arm out toward the cell that still held John.
Ronon shrugged again. “That didn’t happen when I experienced it.”
Silence filled the room.
Finally, Rodney whimpered. “You…were bitten too?”
“Wait a minute,” John said. “When Teyla introduced us, Rian said your name first. He recognized you.”
Ronon shrugged a third time. “Yeah.”
“When did you get bitten?” Rodney asked. He sounded strangled.
“The night before I married Melena.” Ronon gave Rodney a sideways glance, stopping any further questions Rodney might have. “Had a headache for three days, but that was all.”
“Huh,” Rodney said. “So, what now?”
His radio crackled. “Rodney, are Ronon and Teyla with you?” Keller’s voice asked.
Rodney confirmed. “They are, what’s up?”
“Can you guys escort Colonel Sheppard to the infirmary?” she asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Rodney replied and turned back to John. “They want you at the infirmary.”
John nodded and took a step back from the energy field, and Rodney disengaged it and opened the cell.
“Let’s go,” Ronon said and fell in step with him.
~*+*~
“I don’t believe Colonel Sheppard is a danger for this expedition,” Keller explained to Woolsey as they stepped around a curtain. “As long as he gets blood regularly, he’s perfectly capable of controlling his impulses. And as long as he isn’t a danger to the expedition, I don’t see a problem in giving him blood conserves.”
They came to stop in front of the bed occupied by John. He was sitting on the edge, a mug in his hands. The rest of his team was, unsurprisingly, close by.
“And there is something else,” Keller said slowly.
“What is it?” Woolsey asked and stared at the mug in John’s hands. The thick, dark liquid in it was not coffee, he realized with a twist of his stomach, and even if Keller had told him what to expect, seeing it made him feel slightly nauseous.
“Ronon says he’s been bitten before and he didn’t experience the same symptoms as the Colonel. As far as we know, Colonel Sheppard is the only person who reacted badly to such a bite…maybe the Iratus bug is the reason for that, I don’t know yet. I’m working on it.”
Woolsey nodded. “How are you feeling, Colonel?” he asked.
John grimaced at the mug in his hand. “Better,” he simply replied.
“Well.” Woolsey pushed his glasses up his nose. “Doctor Keller assures me you are not a threat to the expedition, so I think we don’t need to lock you up any longer. However,” he tilted his chin up. “-you will stay in Atlantis for the time being. No missions.”
“Yes, sir.” John frowned.
“At least until Doctor Keller finds a … solution,” Woolsey added. “And…make sure you…eat regularly. I’m sure Doctor Keller will make sure you’ll get what you need.”
Keller nodded, and John followed suit.
“That is all. Keep me informed of the development.” Woolsey gave a brief nod to the team and left.
“That went well,” Rodney commented, and Teyla bowed her head in agreement. They all had been able to sense Woolsey’s nervousness and discomfort.
John nodded slowly. “What now?” he asked softly and allowed his eyes to follow Rodney, who, without much more than a glance in John’s direction, stood and hurried after Keller when she left them alone.
“Well,” Teyla said and stepped up to him, “It seems that we are allowed some…spare time.” She bowed her head, and instinctively, John followed suit, until their foreheads touched in an Athosian greeting. “You are most welcome to meditate with me later, John,” she said, amusement glinting in her eyes.
John laughed. “Thank you,” he replied softly. “I’d rather watch Torren while you meditate.”
Teyla nodded, as if she’d expected that answer, and stepped back. “I will drop him off with you then,” she stated.
John grimaced slightly. “You’re not afraid I bite him?” he asked, the words escaping him almost against his will. He hadn’t known that question was bothering him until it was out, and he tried to grin, to cover his lapse, and pass it off as a joke, but as usual, Teyla saw right through him.
“No,” she said calmly. “I am not.”
John nodded softly. “Thank you, Teyla,” he mumbled roughly.
Teyla trusted him with the most important thing in her life, and it made John’s chest ache with emotions he didn’t even wanted to acknowledge that he had.
Teyla gave him a smile and stepped back.
Ronon clapped a hand on John’s shoulder. “They say the Zubbi have a lot of strength,” he said before grinning. “I bet I could still beat you in sparring.”
~*+*~
The sad thing was, John realized later, that Ronon was right about that one.
~*+*~
“You know,” John said and pressed the little piece of sterile bandage to the crook of his elbow, “I’m starting to think that you’re the vampire, not me.”
He glanced at the row of little vials that Keller had just filled with his blood. It was the only blood he’d faced since he’d developed a taste for it that didn’t make his stomach growl with hunger.
Keller laughed and handed him a mug with luke-warm blood. “I’m sorry, Colonel, but this isn’t the slightest bit appetizing to me.”
John’s fingers curled protectively around the porcelain and he took a sip. He forced himself to drink slowly, to make it last, even if he knew that cold blood would give him stomach cramps and he should finish his lunch before it cooled off.
“Here you are!” Rodney stepped up to him with a smug grin on his face. “I’ve been looking for you.”
John took another sip of his blood with a grimace. It had cooled off too much already.
“You found me,” he replied evenly and forced the last mouthful of blood down this throat.
“Seriously, that’s…mildly disgusting,” Rodney replied with a frown. “But at least you’re not putting cornflakes in that, or marshmallows.”
He didn’t wait for John to come up with an answer to that. “You can thank me for my genius later,” he said and bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet. It was something he usually only did when there was the chance that they might find a particularly interesting piece of Ancient technology, and John couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
“What did you do, did you destroy another solar system?”
“What? No!” Rodney sounded exasperated. “Seriously, you should have a little trust in my far superior abilities! I don’t make the same mistake twice.”
“Uh-huh.” John squinted up at him. “So…what did you do?”
Rodney stepped up to him with a grin that was almost manic and pushed something he’d held hidden in his palm against John’s chest. “Think on!” he demanded.
“What is that?” John asked and glanced down.
“It’s a personal shield,” Rodney explained excitedly.
“What?”
“It’s perfectly safe,” Rodney said. “I tested it myself.”
“You what?” John asked sharply.
Rodney rolled his eyes. “I modified it, I tested it, it’s perfectly safe! Now think it on!”
John still hesitated, but he took the small object from Rodney’s fingers and inspected it carefully. It was smaller than the personal shields they had dealt with in the past, but besides that, it looked exactly like it. “What does it do?”
“Ah-hah!” Rodney grinned and lifted his finger. “It is designed to protect you from sunlight. I am brilliant, if I may say so myself.” He looked grim for a moment. “Everybody is laughing their ass off when they see you jump around trying not to get hit by sunlight while running around the city,” he added. “It’s distracting.”
“And you’re sure it works?” John asked, choosing not to comment on that particular bit of knowledge. Being the laughing stock of Atlantis wasn’t a role he was very comfortable with, and he pretended he didn’t notice the way people stared at him funnily and bit back giggles whenever he had to stop short and press himself against a wall, to avoid the sunlight.
He finally thought on at the small conception, expecting the familiar green glow to wash around him, but instead, he found himself surrounded by a dark shade of purple.
“And now, think it off!” Rodney ordered.
This time, John didn’t argue and did what he’d been told. He half expected the shield to refuse to be turned off, but it worked just like Rodney had promised.
“Are you sure it keeps sunlight away from me?” he asked, and Rodney gave him a dark look.
“Am I the most brilliant person in two galaxies or not?” he asked back, but without really expecting John to answer. “This shield now works like, like, like a giant pair of sunglasses. You should try it, come on.”
John chuckled softly and put the mug he was still holding down. “Let’s go and give it a spin,” he decided before standing. “But if it doesn’t work…”
“It will work,” Rodney interrupted confidently. “Don’t worry, we won’t let you fall to dust. And if you do…I brought a broom.”
TBC