Checking In by linziday

[linziday.livejournal.com]

Type your cut contents here.

Title: Checking In 
Author: LinziDay
Rating: G
Characters: Rodney, Carson 
Spoilers: The Kindred, Part II
Notes: Not my first fic, but my first posting here. If I've made a mistake, please let me know.

Summary: McKay checked the monitor every day. 

                                                       

          

  
          McKay checked the monitor every day. 
          Sometimes he did it first thing, stopping at the stasis chamber with his first cup of coffee still steaming in his hand, its rich scent filling the room that otherwise smelled faintly of ozone. He'd look over the readout, do a quick diagnostic and then inspect the chamber for cracks or other signs of problems. 
          He talked as he worked. 
          “Carter wants us to check out PX1-124 today. We think there are people there who have information about Michael.” He took a sip of coffee, sighing as the hot liquid slid down the back of his throat and warmed his empty stomach. “Don’t worry. We’ll be careful.”
          Sometimes he did it last thing, stopping at the stasis chamber before he shuffled off to bed, his mind still jumping with calculations and theories and ideas while his body ached with exhaustion.  
         “Radek almost blew himself up today,” he said, running the diagnostic. “Damn ancient device destroyed a quarter of the lab. Second time this month. And before you ask: no, no one was hurt. But you know, it would be nice if we could make it through a few weeks without an explosion.” 
         Some days he stared at his friend, sitting cross-legged on the cold floor in front of the chamber, marveling at the real, live, back-from-the-dead second chance who was neither really live nor truly back from the dead, but who was certainly real and definitely felt like a second chance. On those days he talked the most, about their recent missions, about his day, about how Sheppard landed in the infirmary again and how Ronon was addicted to kung fu movies, and hell, about the newly citrus-free lunch menu when he ran out of everything else to say. 
          Some days he couldn’t bring himself to look at all. On those days he’d struggle to manage a “Sorry, Carson,” before shambling away. 
         He briefly considered going against Carson’s wishes and programming dreams into the chamber. Nice ones. That dream fishing trip. A dream vacation to see his mother in Scotland. Maybe a dream day on Atlantis, with no emergencies, no tragedies. A day just with friends. 
         But McKay couldn’t be sure of the programming. If the dream turned into a nightmare, Carson would be stuck, terrified forev— 
         No!
         Not forever. 
         Carson wasn’t going to be in there forever. 
         But for a little while. Probably for weeks. Maybe months. Until they captured Michael. Or until Keller figured out the treatment. . . . 
         Either way, too long to risk giving him perpetual nightmares. Better to let him be.
         But McKay still checked every day. He checked even though the system was automated. Even though it was tied to his computers and Radek’s computers and Sam’s computers, with double redundancies and triple failsafes. It wasn’t the machine he was worried about. It was the man. 
         So he checked in. 
         It's what Carson would have done.

Comments

[ayumidah.livejournal.com]

aw. This is great. I was thinking about doing a fic like this myself, especially after the finale next Friday... I may still do it, if the finale goes how I think it may, so don't think I'm stealing your idea when/if I do, ok? :D

[linziday.livejournal.com]

LOL... I fully expect tons of fics like this, so no problem. :)

I'm glad you liked it!

[leesa_perrie]

This was perfect. I can see Rodney doing all of this. Let's hope it's not too long before Carson can be released from stasis.

[linziday.livejournal.com]

Thank you!! :)

And yes, let's hope he's released *soon.*

[naye]

Awww! This is so very sweet and heartbreaking and - oh, Rodney! And Carson, and - aww! The last line really gets to me, too. It's exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to see after last ep - and it suits the "Second Chances" theme so very well.

About your posting - it looks fine, except I think you've got a spare lj-cut right over your title. It says "Type your cut contents here", so just hit edit and delete the leftover code. It's no big deal - if you want your lj-cut to say something other than just "Read more", you can write it like this: <lj-cut text="*text that will go between parenthesis on the outside of cut here*">.

[linziday.livejournal.com]

Squee! Thank you. I'm glad you liked it. :)

And thanks for the advice on the spare lj-cut. I really appreciate it. I'll see if I can fix it.

[westdean.livejournal.com]

Awwww - so true!

[linziday.livejournal.com]

Thanks!!

[accidentalfan.livejournal.com]

*gives Rodney a big hug* This is totally what Rodney would do, because you know he would try to carry all of that by himself. Well done!

[linziday.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I know... poor Rodney. I felt so bad for him at the end of The Kindred II! (Though I guess I didn't help him out much in this fic.)

[sholio]

Awww! This is actually something I thought about, after seeing the episode -- that it seems very likely Rodney's going to spend quite a bit of time in that chamber, keeping Carson company.

Nice tag.

[linziday.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Yeah, I wonder whether the show will show him spending any time there. It would be just like him to spend gobs of time there.... or none at all because he can't bring himself to think about it. But I think the former.

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

*sniff* great tag and such a Rodney thing to do. Beautiful story!

[linziday.livejournal.com]

Aw! Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.

[sammy38.livejournal.com]

*whimpers*
aww poor rodney.
nearly loosing his best friend twice.
i hope they get the cure soon!

[linziday.livejournal.com]

Your post almost sounds like a haiku! I love that. :)

Thanks for commenting. I know.... I hope they get the cure soon, too! (And then *stop* killing off Carson.)

[dana-carter-sgx.livejournal.com]

A very probable canon scenario... one that TPTB surely won't show or even reference to, so it's good to see it in such a good fic as this one :')

I liked the idea of Rodney stoping from 'giving' Carson dreams, just in case of something going wrong and make him suffer through a possible 'endless' time of nightmares... very original, indeed.

[linziday.livejournal.com]

Thank you!! I'm so glad you liked it.

Actually, Carson having nightmares was the first thing I thought of when Rodney suggested giving him dreams. In fact, I think I shouted at the TV "Oh god. No, bad idea. BAD idea!" Locked in a stasis chamber and trapped in endless nightmares. *shivers*

[gnine.livejournal.com]

Oh, that was lovely. Poor poor Rodney, he so very much needs hugs after Kindred! Really liked him coming to Carson, talking things out, telling him things, it's just so RODNEY. And so sweet!

[linziday.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. I feel so bad for Rodney. . . poor guy thought he had one of his best friends back and now he's gone again. Hopefully Carson will be revived *soon*!