Lost and Found by Luna (Abandonment Challenge)

[lunasky.livejournal.com]

Title: Lost and Found
Author: lunasky
Rating: PG
Timeline: Late Season 1
Summary: Someone’s been abandoned and McKay finds his sock.
Notes: Thanks to gottagogirl for the quick beta.



Sheppard blinked rapidly several times in a row, in a vain attempt to try and get rid of the spots swimming in front of his eyes. Travel through the wormhole seemed especially bright this time. Then again, maybe it was because the Stargate had opened up into a particularly dark room.

He brought his P90 up and around to have a look and was greeted by one of the strangest and unexpected sights he had seen since arriving in the Pegasus galaxy.

It was strange because at first glance, it didn’t appear strange, which was definitely strange for anything in this neck of the woods.

It looked like they were in someone’s attic gone bad. On his right, he saw Ford and Teyla stepping cautiously over a mound of what was possibly mismatched footwear, while to his left, Rodney tripped over something metal.

Bringing his light around, John stared at the other large piles in front of him. There were pieces of wooden furniture, rags, and broken bits of machinery all mixed up together. “This looks like a junkyard.”

“I have never seen anything like this,” Teyla responded, stepping over a heap of wooden debris to get to another one behind it.

“Well, I found the DHD.” McKay’s voice sounded from behind a large, wooden chest. A cloud of dust mushroomed into the air. “It hasn’t been used in a while but it looks functional.”

John turned around and tried not to trip on his way back to the gate. “Great. Dial us home if you don’t mind. This was an abysmal waste of time.”

“But this is neat. We might be able to find something we can use…” McKay interjected, poking his head out from behind the chest. “See. Look at this. This is a piece of circuit board. And here – isn’t this a part of a Genii weapon?”

John spared a glace at the second thing that Rodney held up but then quickly dismissed it. “If you want to breathe in all this dust sifting through junk, be my guest. But I’d prefer to go check out that nice planet Teyla was telling us about last night. The one with a nice warm sun, beaches and friendly young women…”

McKay seemed to hesitate a moment, looking at the objects in his hands and then back to Teyla who was making her way back to the Stargate. “Beaches, huh? Good point. Well, I do feel my allergies starting to kick in, anyways and we can always come back. By any chance, do you think they wear bikinis over there?”

“Bikinis?” Teyla asked, confused.

“You know. Something tiny to cover their bodies with when they’re lying around in the sun.” John explained, making motions over his chest and hips. “Usually decorated with flowers or leopard prints.”

Teyla still looked confused, but then she shook her head. “No. The women of Arenda do not wear any clothes when they are working on the beach. It is much too hot there, even for tiny pieces of clothes.”

The junk that McKay was holding quickly fell to the floor with a loud clang. A moment later, the familiar whoosh of the wormhole engaging, greeted them.

“Twist that rubber arm.” Sheppard smiled as he punched in his IDC.

A moment later, the radio crackled in his ear and he recognized Weir’s voice. “Major Sheppard? This is Atlantis. What’s your status?”

“I think we’re going to come home early from this one.”

“Already? I thought Rodney said this planet showed interesting power signatures.”

He rolled his eyes. “Oh yes. This is interesting alright. Rodney managed to discover the only planet acting as a landfill for the Pegasus galaxy.”

“Ha ha,” Rodney’s voice floated over the radio. A second later there was a large crash as he apparently tripped, again. “Ow! Ow!”

“Do I need to have a medical team standing by?” Weir asked with a small laugh.

John was about to decline when suddenly, Rodney let out an excited whoop. “You’re not going to believe this. But guess what I just found.”

“Something requiring a tetanus shot?” John asked, packing up his life sense detector and securing his weapon.

“Very funny, but wrong.”

When Rodney didn’t elaborate John started making his way over to give him a hand. “A ZPM?”

McKay’s head popped up from behind a piece of rusty sheet metal. He had a huge smile on his face. “Nope!”

“A chocolate bar?” Ford piped in.

Rodney shook his head. “Nope. But that’s a good idea, I am hungry. I bet we might be able to find some food in here. It looks like there’s everything else…” McKay’s head disappeared again as he bent down to have a look.

“Mmmm….rotting food. What about the lack of bikinis we were just talking about? ” John pointed out as he finally reached McKay and pushed aside the metal junk blocking him in. He quickly looked down to see what Rodney was holding and then wished he hadn’t.

“You found a moth-eaten rag?”

McKay looked at him indignantly. “First off, I don’t think there are moths, per say, here in the Pegasus galaxy. Though I don’t doubt there are probably species here with similar characteristics, I think it’s a little premature to be lumping them into the moth category.”

“And secondly?”

“This isn’t some rag! This is something special! I brought it with me—”

“Rodney.” Weir’s exasperated voice sounded over the radio, reminding them that she was still listening. “What did you find?”

“My sock! My missing sock. My grandmother knitted this for me ten years ago. See? Look here. DRM. She embroidered my initials into them.”

“D-RM?” Sheppard asked, raising his eyebrow. “I didn’t know you went by a middle name.”

McKay glared at him. “Doctor Rodney McKay.”

The radio crackled as Elizabeth tried to interject. “I think—”

But Rodney wasn’t listening. He was too busy rocking his sock in his hands. “Wow. I can’t believe I found it. It’s been missing for a month.”

“It stinks.” John said, picking it up by the edge and then holding it away from his body. “And it has a big hole in it.”

“It’s comfortable.” Rodney said defensively.

“You know, you really should cut your toenails.”

“Gentlemen!” Weir shouted over the radio. “You’re all still on mike. Could we please address the larger issue here?”

“I think evidence of McKay’s poor hygiene is a big issue.”

McKay rolled his eyes and grabbed his sock back. Sheppard was pretty sure that the thumping he was hearing over his headset was Weir smacking her head..

He heard her take a big breath before continuing. “How about figuring out how something from Atlantis ended up on M3B-447?”

John nodded reluctantly to himself. “I suppose you’re right. We’ll dial back up in an hour when we have something to report.”

With a nod from Sheppard, McKay closed down the wormhole, leaving them back in almost complete darkness.

“So much for bikini-less women.” John sighed, using his light to maneuver back towards the gate. It appeared to be the only clearing wide enough for them all to stand in. “So how did you lose your sock anyways, McKay?”

Rodney stumbled behind him, kicking something metal and causing it to topple over. “My assistant came back with my laundry and it was missing. Believe me; I wasn’t very happy about it—”

John stopped short and looked back at him in disbelief. “You have an assistant to do your laundry?”

“Well, she works in the lab with me…Lin…or Ling… something like that.” McKay shook his hand dismissing it. “She makes horrible sandwiches but she gets the whites really white.”

Suddenly, Ford cleared his throat loudly as they approached the front of the Stargate. Sheppard looked up in time to see a shimmering in the air. Quickly bringing his machine gun to the ready, he automatically took the safety off and circled around so he had a clear shot.

The shimmering coalesced until it took the form of a relatively harmless looking, short, bald-headed man in a long, dark robe.

“Someone…someone is here?” The man spoke, looking quite surprised to see them.

John lowered his weapon but kept the safety off, just in case. “We be someone. I’m John, this is Teyla, Ford and McKay,” he said, gesturing to all the members of his team.

The man looked like he was trying to remember something he hadn’t thought of for a while. “I am Zay.”

“We’re from Atlantis. We’re explorers. Is this all yours? It’s quite the collection of stuff that you have here.”

Zay beamed at them. “You like? I have visited many worlds to save all these precious things.”

John raised an eyebrow. “On purpose?”

“Why do you collect all these items?” Teyla stepped in, her natural social graces saving the moment. “I recognized some of the carving on the pots over there. They are Athosian.”

Kay shimmered again. “I…I was abandoned many daylights ago by my family. For a long time, there have not been very many of us, and then this planet started to go cold. My family left one day to search for a more inhabitable planet and they never returned. Since then, I have searched and searched and not found them.”

“And all these artifacts?” Teyla asked, pointing around them.

Zay shrugged sadly. “I like collecting abandoned things and bringing them back here with me, so they do not feel all alone.’

“I am so sorry. It must be hard being so lonely.” Teyla moved forward and gestured to John to do the same. “You are welcome to be our friend, right Major?”

“Of course.” John held out his hand.

For a moment, Zay stared at Sheppard’s hand in confusion and then the large smile returned to his face. He grabbed Sheppard’s hand, and propelled him forward into what would have been a crushing bear hug if John hadn’t passed right through him. John stumbled forward as Zay rushed through him and then danced around.

“Friends? Oh, Friends! You mean it? I would not have to be alone?” Zay glided around in a semi-corporeal state.

John gave him a forced smile, and then looked over to McKay who was fiddling with a piece of equipment from his pack. Zay flew around and over to him, circling Rodney several times before settling down beside him. Rodney never took his eyes off of his instrument. “Well, this explains the energy readings…”

“I see you have found something you miss?” Zay pointed to the sock still in Rodney’s hand.

Rodney smiled guiltily. “My grandmother knitted it.”

Zay smiled. “I am happy to return it to you then, though you should not have abandoned it. But if you truly care for it, then I am happy. It needs a good home, and someone to care for it. That is all I want for all my things.”

“You wouldn’t happen to have a ZedPm anywhere, in that case? We’d be really happy to give it a good home.” Rodney said, half joking until Zay looked at him questioningly. “You know, about half a meter long, yellow and orange, holding incredible amounts of power within it.”

Zay appeared to think deeply for a moment. Suddenly, his face lit up and he spun around and flew through the air, across several piles of junk.

Rodney, John, Teyla and Ford immediately scrambled to try and follow him.

As they maneuvered over broken statues, clothing, crates and things that looked suspiciously like toasters, they eventually found Zay. He was digging through several piles, throwing garbage in all directions.

“Ah ha!” Zay let out a triumphant yell, mimicking Rodney’s earlier reaction. Then from beneath a dirty old bolt of cloth, Zay produced a glowing ZPM. With great care, he placed it in Rodney’s shaking hands.

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” Rodney gripped the ZPM excitedly.

“You will love it, and care for it, and never leave it behind?”

“Scout’s honor!” John promised enthusiastically, sticking his right hand up in the air. Rodney was too busy drooling over the ZPM to respond.

“I am so pleased. At first, when I found it, I thought it was like me; a life of energy. I was so happy. But no matter how I tried to communicate with it, it did not respond. It was not like me.”

John shook his head. “No, it’s not a life. It just like a big battery, but it can help us out immensely. We’ve been looking a long time for this.”

“Then I am glad I could help my new friends.”

As they moved back towards the Stargate, Teyla continued to chat amicably with Zay. He seemed very eager to have someone to talk to. “Why did your family go in search of another planet?”

Zay’s shoulder’s sank a little as he remembered. “We are energy, but we need energy from the stars to live. This planet’s star has faded and it has very little energy. The Eldest among us had discovered a planet with three stars that produced much energy. One day, my family went to explore it. They never returned.”

“Three stars?” Rodney asked, finally taking a moment to look away from the ZPM he was cradling. “That kind of system is very rare.”

“It is.” Zay agreed. “I have looked in many places but I have not found it yet.”

Rodney wrinkled his forehead in thought. “There’s one planet we know of that has three stars. Maybe it’s the one. M4X-337.”

“Really?” Zay asked excitedly, shimmering with energy.

“Yeah, that’s the one where we sent that black, energy eating blob—”

John tried to kick Rodney, but it was too late. “I don’t like to brag, but that was another fine moment of mine, where I saved the day once again. OW! Will you stop that?”

Zay looked at them confused. “Energy eating blob?”

“What he means to say is—” John said, trying to interrupt, but Zay wasn’t listening.

Instead, Zay had focused intently on McKay’s face who had finally realized what he had said. “You sent a Black Ghost to my family’s world?”

“It wasn’t intentional, believe me.” Rodney explained, trying to back-pedal. “The world’s a barren wasteland. We thought that nothing could live there because it was too hot.”

“You made me be all alone?”

John tried to signal Rodney to back away, but Rodney wasn’t paying attention. Luckily, at least Ford understood and moved towards the DHD.

“You made me be all alone?” Zay repeated with more anger. His shimmering took on a menacing glow and his eyes started to smoulder. Without warning, he swooped forward and ripped the ZPM from Rodney’s hands. “You made me alone, and now you want to take my things from me, as well?”

“No! Believe me, we didn’t know!” Rodney reached out desperately towards the ZPM.

“Lies!” Zay cried out and spun around. His solid form had started to dissolve around the edges and a glowing corona had formed around him. Sparks started to shoot everywhere. “Get out of my home before you try and destroy me as well. Get out! Get out!”

John didn’t have to be told twice. He grabbed Rodney by the scruff of his collar and hauled him towards the gate. At that moment, the Stargate activated and Ford activated his code.

“No, listen!” Rodney tried one last time. “I swear, it was an accident. Maybe we can still help you. We can be friends—”

Zay flew towards him and grabbed the sock from Rodney’s other hand. “You have done enough! I want no part of your friendship. I have my collection. I will not be alone and neither will they.”

Rodney sobbed. “Not my sock…”

John’s grip on his collar never wavered and before he knew it, he was being pushed through the event horizon and landing on the other side.

John let go and Rodney dropped to the floor.

Weir rushed to meet them. “What’s going on? What did you find?”

“Everything we ever lost, including our salvation,” Rodney mumbled incomprehensibly as he hid his face in his hands.

When she turned to John for an explanation he just shook his head. “Let’s just say that Rodney’s two for two in the Finding and Losing of ZPMs Department. If we make it into an Olympic sport, he’s guaranteed to medal. ”

“Thank you, thank you very much for your support,” Rodney moaned from the floor. “Here I am suffering from loss, and you’re rubbing salt in my wounds.”

Elizabeth looked at Rodney and then back to John. Leaning down, she offered Rodney a hand and helped him to his feet. “And your sock?”

“Suffering loss. Terrible loss. Please, don’t make me talk about it right now.”

John raised his eyebrow at the rest of them as he watched Rodney shuffle off towards the personnel quarters. “Anyone know how to knit?”

“You are going to make him another sock?” Teyla asked, surprised.

“Nah.” John shook his head. “I was thinking more along the lines of those strings that mothers tie to their children’s mitts so they don’t get lost. Except made for socks, of course. Then in a pinch, he can always tie it around an errant ZPM or two, as well. You know. Just in case.”

~~

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