Shadows of a Nightingale

[texasdreamer01]

Title and Platform: Shadows of a Nightingale (tumblr)
Rating: Teen
Fandoms: Stargate Atlantis
Characters: Rodney McKay, John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagen, Ronon Dex, Elizabeth Weir, Ladon Radim, Background Characters
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Genii!Rodney McKay, sort of, John Sheppard POV, Presumed Betrayals, Rodney McKay’s Shitty Childhood, References to Trauma, Rodney McKay Needs a Hug, Protective Rodney McKay
Beta Reader: avocadomoon (AO3) (tumblr)
Summary:
"It was meant to be a normal, vaguely boring trading mission for resupplying things like flour and finding out more about Ancient technology littered around their new home. He thought by now they'd have learned that "peacefully rural" in the Pegasus galaxy actually meant "Genii involvement, back away slowly and with lots of C4," but apparently not."

Elizabeth frowned at him worriedly, an arm's reach away as Radim and the random soldier he had scrounged up did their best Cinderella impression to turn him into a villain. They're going to turn me into Swiss cheese, He thought unhappily, Why am I doing this, again?

"And you can be sure they won't recognize him?" Elizabeth asked Radim, "A uniform is enough?"

"Well," Radim raked his eyes over him speculatively, likely mentally deducting points based on ephemeral crap like his posture, "It is a significant step."

For a brief, deeply visceral moment, he debates bricking the Genii gate with a computer virus. Only temporary, of course - a time-out, if one would borrow an oversimplified phrase. But he looked at Elizabeth, and how she was crossing her arms to prevent herself from reaching out, and reminds himself that if they could take the simple route, then his team would have already made their way home with scientists in tow.

He glances at the Genii soldiers arrayed around them that had Radim's personal reassurance wouldn't shoot him in the back as soon as he stepped through the gate, and the Atlantis soldiers keeping a closer eye on Elizabeth than himself. Sighing, he reminded himself that they had already deployed a team of their own behind Ladon's back with some requisitioned Genii uniforms at a midway planet to buffer Atlantis from unexpected guests. There wouldn't be a signal, of course, not this deeply entrenched in unambiguously enemy territory, but if they missed check-in, that would suffice for communication.

Someone handed him a pistol, and he ignored Elizabeth's instinctive swerve away from it, checking the weapon and slotting it into the holster at his hip with a motion that was only smooth from the amount of practice he had. Radim looked impressed, and he graciously refrained from making a face at the man. It wasn't Kolya, but he would take this shove-in of a political upstart over someone who had no such qualms about being decent.

"Elizabeth," He said, frowning at her, "It'll be fine."

"Don't go sounding like John, now," Elizabeth chided, falling back on humor, knocked back on her pedestal by his irreverence, "I still want those reports in from your people."

"As soon as I fire them," He muttered, wishing he hadn't lent them to Sheppard for protection. The colonel was great at what he did, but his survival instinct left something to be desired. And around other people who had barely stepped through a gate before in their lives? He should have anticipated the amount of trouble that would happen, "They're going to wish they had quit."

"Well, go easy on them," She said, smiling. At the pointed non-shuffling from the Atlantis soldiers, she shrugged, "Well. Not too easy."

He nodded curtly at her, knowing Elizabeth would take the opportunity to prevent the inevitable if he played along. Striding toward the DHD, he found himself wishing he could appear in the off-world uniform he had become accustomed to, missing the reassuring weight of a P-90 in his hands. Hell, even an epi-pen would have been security enough, but they couldn't afford him being frisked and anyone finding a conspicuous reason to follow through on their hostage threats.

I hate politics, he thought, hoping it was loud enough for everyone to pick up on.

---

His team made a move to call for his attention when they notice McKay’s presence in the half-second it takes them to recognize that the Genii they were hissing at was their team mate in a Genii uniform. It's so at odds with how he's usually dressed that they're taken aback, McKay’s military-straight posture and casual, dismissive glance at them shuttering any words they could think to say.

The scientists were elsewhere, probably being put to work, and John's stomach sours when he realizes McKay's making no move to try and free them. It compounds, a dense knot of foreboding in his stomach, when McKay merely sits at the table parked in front of their cells in a relaxed lean that pings something unpleasant in his brain. It's been three days, and if they had received any hails from Atlantis, they would never have known, their gear stripped from them with an efficiency that boded poorly as they were marched underground.

Intellectually, he knew it was a negotiation. He remembered his father's parties, the way gossip over canapés arranged business deals in the millions, how smoothly he understood officer's parties and briefings moving along the same dance and tune. Being the commodity traded, however, looking from the outside in… it gave him a better insight into the scowls and glares whenever he came back home from deployments. There was nobody to look at other than Rodney and their hosts, and it felt almost like a one-way mirror, all attention fixed on the main attraction.

Someone - a lackey, given their nondescript appearance and economic motions - set a tray of drinks and plates of food down between their captor and McKay. Ordinarily this would be cause to carefully inspect all offerings of food, but somehow today the stars were misaligned and McKay merely knocked back what must have been alcohol and swiped a piece of finger food from the plate in front of him without batting an eye. It made his stomach cramp in dread, stealing his breath as he waited for some sign of allergy on McKay's face.

Several moments passed without incident, and whatever gamble it was seemed to pass muster, McKay merely raising an expectant eyebrow at their captors. It was so clearly a well, get on with it expression, devoid only of the wave of hand that usually accompanied it when McKay was in the labs, that he wanted to slump against the poorly-maintained brick wall in relief. No matter what strange shit was going on right now, it was still McKay in front of them. How much of McKay was there, he wasn't sure, but he would take his opportunities where he could get them.

He didn't think Teyla or Ronon had any idea what was actually going on, either, but McKay had somehow found a usable poker face that had their captor sighing and taking a seat across from him. The sight kept his heart in his throat, though, all careful capitulation highlighted by the weary way their captor sat down in his chair, as if he had a long day. It almost made him want to laugh in derision, but McKay's unimpressed face was an immutable veneer that set the tone for… whatever this conversation was going to be.

McKay speaking first was expected, but the opposite occurred, the man merely laid in his chair as if it were another Tuesday at the bar while their captor leaned forward and braced his arms against the edge of the table. "I was told there would be a higher ranked individual coming here, mister…?"

The bait was obvious, as was the play at polite bemusement. It was something McKay might fall for, if he let himself, but he only stared impassively for a beat before reaching for the corked pitcher of liquor. Its cap came off with a quiet squeak of a pop from its ceramic trapping, and instead of pouring another round for himself, McKay merely stared at the man across from him before topping off the other's untouched cup. He had left the bottle uncorked, and the contents were strong enough that he could begin to smells the fumes from where he was sitting.

It certainly set a tone, and the placid facade on McKay's face came across as foreboding. The situation reminded him, aberrantly, of roulette; he clenched his hands before his mind could supply the necessary swap in gambling items. The entirety of his thought process went ostensibly unnoticed, McKay continuing to only pay mind to their captor, who himself seemed to crumple under the lack of bait. Such an emotional upheaval would have impressed him with its skill in a more sane situation.

"I'm here upon the personal request of Ladon," McKay said, gesturing to their captor's now nearly-overflowing cup. It seemed an unvoiced order, and the man picked his drink up with the barest tremble of his fingers. Then, and only then, McKay cut a lingering glance across their cells, "Unless you have a better offer."

His heart stuck in his throat. Certainly McKay couldn't be suggesting…? Kolya was- Kolya was gone, like dust in the wind, and if McKay somehow knew where the bastard was-

No. No, he had to stop those thoughts right there. But the implication seemed well-formatted for their captor, because the man perked up, and he held back a grimace at the noticeable sparkle in the man's eye. Money made even the Pegasus galaxy go around, for the right price.

It was a shame they couldn't solve their Wraith problem with a little greasing of hands.

"Of course. Well, if you have come on personal recommendation?" The man tossed back his own drink, noticeably not as smoothly as McKay, and set the cup down to pat his hands on the table, "It has been difficult to find a good price for our goods. Times have been hard, you see."

The eyebrow McKay raised this time spoke the plain interpretation of Do I?, and it made their captor falter, hands briefly clutching at the tabletop. "… Yes," The man coughed, "We have a high starting price, naturally."

McKay picked up another canapé from his plate, observing it for a moment before taking a thoughtful bite. The silence in the room sucked out any preconceptions, and everyone seemed to wait for McKay to finish the morsel, "You have yet to impress me."

Their captor paled, probably from how similar to Kolya McKay sounded. He couldn't hear Ronon, who would have most certainly been snarling something by now, and Teyla was likewise as silent. It made him worry, and worry more that he wasn't sure who it was most for. With how Rodney was staring down their captor wearing a Genii uniform like this was a perfectly normal day, he began to wonder if he ought to feel a little sorry for himself, first.

"A price, Yelim?" McKay asked. His voice was honey-smooth, as if amused and playing with the idea of losing his patience. It made the other man - Yelim, apparently, and how McKay was able to draw that information out when the three of them couldn't, he had no idea - straighten up in his chair. McKay smiled, "Don't make me wait."

He found himself swallowing right along with Yelim, trying not to shift in place. It wasn't fun being literally chained in place, even if these would-have-been allies had correctly deduced they'd find their way out, otherwise. Yelim bobbed his head, "Our caches need re-filling. We will be able to provide the necessary trade, as usual."

McKay cocked a brow, "It seems we would be getting the better deal. What's in it for you?"

Favors, he thinks, blindsided. What straits were the people on this planet on, if they felt the need to kidnap people from Atlantis and double-cross not only them but the official leader of the Genii? He bites his lip, furrowing his brows - he's probably about to find out.

Yelim shifted in his seat, only stopping when McKay's gaze sharpened on him, "Well, we have heard rumors of the Wraith passing by this area more frequently. We do not know if they are desperate, or…"

McKay looked unamused, "Or?"

"Or- or looking for something." Yelim's eyes slid over to his and the other's cells, and the 'or someone' was clearly inferred.

Tapping the table with a finger, McKay picked up his cup and took a sip. It was only the barest amount, the liquor making a wet shine on his lips before it was licked away. The gesture was rough, the only bit of him that wasn't polished, and Yelim leaned forward, hand reaching to the container.

"Would you like some more?" Yelim asked, tone attempting to be sweeter than its groveling suggested.

Leaning forward himself, McKay said lowly, "I would like an answer, Yelim. Before I decide for you."

Yelim gulped.

"A- a forward payment, then, if you will," Yelim stuttered, waving a hand in a sweeping gesture toward the cells, "Take one of them, whichever you want."

"Hm." McKay leaned back in his chair, "And then?"

"'And then'?" Yelim asked, nervous. His arm was still in the air, but it slowly sank back down to the table, hand closing into a loose fist.

"And when I find your offer inevitably sub-standard, what shall I do, then?" McKay asked, frowning. He looked for all the world a patient, faintly disapproving teacher, "What leverage do you think you'll be holding over me? All I'll need to do is pick Sheppard over there, the rest will be useless to… him."

There again was Kolya's presence wafting into the room, a chill down his spine. How McKay was playing it so cool, he had no idea, his own arm aching from the memory of McKay's injury from the siege that sometimes seemed like only yesterday. Yelim seemed equally off-footed, gulping.

"I- I-"

"You don't know," McKay completed flatly, standing from his chair abruptly. The screeching sound of the wood moving back on stone made him and Yelim alike grimace, "I'll be taking all of them. Save you the effort of thinking about it."

Yelim was nodding, looking both relieved and constipated about it. From where he was half-lying on the floor, McKay towered over Yelim, posture as ram-rod straight as he had entered with, chin tipped down with disgust.

"Unlock the cells," McKay commanded, "And chain them together. Any foolish escapes on their part will be yours to deal with."

The role reversal was stunning, and Yelim looked faint with encroaching terror as he opened each cell and unlocked their chains from the wall. Ronon was put at the end, incidentally hobbling Teyla, and his considering, dark look leveled at McKay was stonewalled by passive disinterest in the proceedings. It wasn't a look McKay wore often, and it obviously unsettled all of them to see, quieting them as Yelim chained them together.

McKay being handed the lead seemed to finalize the arrangement, and he watched as McKay spared a light, courteous smile to Yelim, "You'll be conducting your other trade as usual."

"Y-yessir," Yelim nearly saluted, or whatever passed for such a gesture in this galaxy, lingering behind in the jail while McKay marched them ahead in silence.

---

Seeing daylight again was blinding, which put paid how much time he had estimated passed in the makeshift dungeon. He couldn't even raise his hands to block out the glare, McKay's hand on the leading bit of chain forcing his arms down as grimaced and blinked rapidly.

Whatever the reason, McKay hadn't arrived at this planet alone - it was still the same planet, something he found himself faintly grateful for in this bizarre situation. The guards were unrecognizable, as blank-faced as McKay himself, who hopped-to with a gesture from McKay's free hand and escorted them to the gate.

It was a mostly silent affair, up until Ronon growled. Me, too, buddy, he thought, hearing the aggravated tone in the sound. As much as he was still gambling that this was all some hilarious - or would be hilarious - misunderstanding, perhaps with some off-world variant of a gotcha, the hopes he was holding on tightly out of habit stumbled as he did when McKay twisted the chain.

"Do I need to remind you the consequences of disobeying me?" McKay said sharply. It wasn't even the tone McKay used in the labs, astringent to the point of stripping other's egos off. Just one hell of a verbal whetting, whittling down any presumptions. He already knew Ronon was glaring at McKay, and he struggled to straighten as best he could from how McKay had the chain wrapped tightly around his own fist, reminding him of the way the horse trainer on his father's property would quell rebellious foals as they were lead-trained.

He swallowed, tilting his head to the side just enough to signal to Ronon to knock it off. Teyla, between them, had the watchful air about her that was probably dangerous in other situations - not here, though, not now. McKay was the one literally holding the reins on this one, waiting for Ronon to make his decision.

What the hell is today, he thinks, appreciative of breaking out of that cell despite the deeply unusual manner, but unsure if they're walking into yet another situation. If McKay was somehow a turn-coat… No, he couldn't assume that. Not over until it's over.

Ronon, thankfully, decided not to pursue his anger. They nevertheless had to wait another moment as McKay stared Ronon down with a flinty gaze before tugging him and the rest of the team along. He watched McKay, straight-backed and in an enemy's clothing, leading them through the gate.

Somehow he didn't get the feeling Atlantis would be on the other side.

---

He hated being right.

This wasn't a planet he recognized, and by Teyla's quick inhale, neither did she. Fuck. If it weren't for their hands all being bound, or McKay's now unsurprisingly strong grip on the chain, he would be torn between scrubbing a hand over his face and attempting to strangle McKay, instead of wondering what shithole they just stepped into.

Betrayal was looking more likely, and he felt the pit in his stomach grow as McKay gestured to his guards to scout the area out. They had nodded curtly, one man stationing himself by the DHD, blowing any hopes out of the water of an uncomplicated escape.

McKay was ignoring them, inasmuch as one could while actively keeping a hold of a direct link to captives. He was opening one of the breast pockets on his jacket, pulling out a slim device with a screen on it. Whatever it was, it looked heavily like an LSD, which he watched McKay operate one-handed with a scrutinizing look on his face.

He wet his lips, wondering if he ought to break the taboo and risk speaking, when McKay slid his gaze toward him without actually moving his head. The effect was cutting, and he bit back whatever he was still in the middle of planning to say, clenching his hands on the chain connecting him to McKay.

"Don't," McKay said dismissively, still looking at the device in his hands. Whatever was on the screen was obscured by the angle and reflection of the sun on it.

Faintly, he wanted to damn the fact that they knew each other well enough to have a conversation that was only half verbal. It made for a hell of an enemy, especially one as smart and resourceful as Rodney. Someone he had encouraged to be resourceful.

Of all the friends he had betraying him, this one bit the deepest. He exhaled roughly, bracing himself for whatever was going to happen now. At the very least, he had his team to get home. Whatever it was McKay had done, he knew at least some of the man's way of thinking - it would hurt, to take him out, but he'd do it.

Just as he was slotting ideas into place, throwing some out that didn't fit with what he knew of McKay, some of the Genii came back from their scouting. What was shocking was that Kolya wasn't with them, or any new people. McKay was smirking wryly, though, tilting his chin up in greeting to the other men.

"Clear," One of the men said, which was disturbing for its clear recognition of the next phase of a plan - orchestrated by McKay? - and confounding by the fact that all of them seemed to come to a stand-still.

"Good," McKay answered, and then looked up, squinting into the sunshine. It was a different time of day on this planet, his brain giving him vertigo over it.

If part of the plan was to give them gate lag, well - it wasn't the worst thing to pile on them, even if he was uncertain what else was in store for them. McKay seemed satisfied with whatever he was looking for - the Genii didn't have planes, as far as he knew, and no Wraith were flying over head - and turned toward them.

"Hands out, Sheppard," McKay ordered, still having that wry look on his face. Of course, it would be ironic, given that it was frequently the exact phrase McKay used before he used him as a lightswitch for yet another Ancient doodad.

He snarled silently as he did so. McKay didn't do more than make sure the chains were at proper tension, forcing him to stand still lest Teyla and Ronon be lurched forward with him. The strain put him in a bad mood as he watched McKay wave the device over his arms, shoulders tight as he felt it waved over his neck.

McKay looked at the device, observing whatever the read-out must be. And what was he looking for, exactly? They had all been conscious for- well, enough of the time to be sure nothing was done to them outside of being dragged to a repurposed root cellar and chained up until McKay found them. But whatever it was seemed to appease him, because McKay nodded to the other Genii around them.

"Teyla," McKay said, waving his device to gesture where he wanted her to go, "If you would."

"Rodney-" She said, obviously trying to seize an opportunity as she walked to stand beside him, the chain between them rattling and hitting his thigh.

McKay held up a finger warningly, "Ah. No. Hold out your hands."

He watched Teyla purse her lips, looking cross and upset. Still, she did as McKay bade her, and he repeated the process. By this time, the routine was observable, and Ronon slunk silently beside Teyla with an interrogative glare on his face.

Whether it was because McKay knew better or because he was indifferent to it, he merely repeated the same scan on Ronon. There was little chance of them overthrowing the situation, not with how McKay still had the lead firmly winched tight around his hands and just enough people around them that their odds weren't favorable. He could only watch as McKay went through the results of whatever this last scan was, once again looking pleased.

They were shuffled back into a line instead of side by side, and he spared a moment to mourn the loss of friendly human contact as McKay gestured to the man at the DHD, "Dial it."

How many planets was McKay going to drag them through?

---

Ladon Radim greeted them on the other side, sitting on a stump and keeping a finger on the firearm he had aimed at them as they stepped through the gate. Slowly, the détente lowered between Radim and McKay - he found himself faintly surprised they made it to the Genii at all, and not delivered straight into Kolya's hands. The shock of it seemed to quiet whatever words he could feel were brewing at his back by Teyla and Ronon, a counterpoint for the way his wrists ached at the sustained posture.

He raised an eyebrow at Radim's curious look, feeling a foul mood encroach further at the way the other man hummed thoughtfully and turned to McKay.

"I admit," Radim said lightly, "I hadn't expected you to succeed."

McKay didn't bequeath the goading statement with an answer, merely gesturing to the same man that had dialed them here, "Dial out."

Was this a horse and pony show? He frowned at McKay's back, wondering what the game was, here. But McKay said nothing to them, nor even turned to look at them as they were shuffled out of the way of the wormhole. The assessing stares of the Genii around him made the hair on the back of his neck prickle, but he figured McKay was the ringmaster of this little deception - if Radim wasn't stopping them, what was to say they weren't going to Kolya, anyway?

Just as the wormhole stabilized, McKay led them to it, drawing him up so that they stood - disregarding the chains that more than symbolized a hierarchy - as equals. He watched McKay watch him, wishing that for once there was some sort of genuine expression on the man's face. Or was this the default? He wasn't sure any more.

McKay tilted an inscrutable look at him, edged in an unexpected softness despite the forbidding blankness, "Colonel."

He wanted to say something back, but the tension of the lead chain was abruptly released in time for him to be shoved through the wormhole. It was only by the slackening of the chain binding him to Teyla that he could sense he was followed.

---

This time the sunlight he was blinking back was the setting sun through Atlantis' windows, as familiar to him as his own breath. He was still blinking, finally bringing his hands up to his face to block out the light and disregarding the way the chain smacked against his legs and hitting all the bruises he had sustained when they were captured, when he could hear someone calling his name.

"John?" Elizabeth called out, much closer than he had expected. She was reaching out to him, lowering his hands from his face and looking at him searchingly, "John, where's Rodney?"

"McKay-" Ronon spat, as Teyla tried to intervene, "He was-"

"Right here," McKay himself said, the ripple of the wormhole failing to obscure the sound of his boot heels clicking on the floor. He whipped around, barely avoiding the chains hitting Elizabeth as he turned to face McKay, who was still in Genii uniform and standing stiffly at attention in a way that would make his old drill sergeant proud, "As ordered."

"Rodney, you don't need to-" Elizabeth started, falling silent at the look McKay threw her, bitter and angry.

"Don't," He said flatly, not the same dismissive as he was toward him two planets ago, but it had the same effect of rendering Elizabeth speechless, her hands falling from where they had reached for his own moments earlier. McKay frowned deeply, disapproving, "You will never do that again."

Elizabeth nodded faintly. In the resulting silence of the words, McKay marched out of the gate room, ignoring Lorne, the various soldiers, and some anxious scientists lingering around as he exited in the direction of the ready room.

He could have heard a pin drop after the distant swoosh of the automatic door. Turning toward Elizabeth, he said, "What the fuck is going on?"

---

It turned out to have been a plan so asinine that it had a higher than possible probability of working. If only by sheer bizarre circumstance.

Elizabeth had to reassure him several times that McKay had not, in face, defected to the Genii, or even to Kolya, but had rather been coerced into playacting as one in order to take advantage of the situation that Kolya had wanted Sheppard. And the rest of AR-1. As she explained it, none of the trick would have worked if McKay had gone with them for that trip, because then Yelim would have known that he was from Atlantis, as well.

"Ladon has… assured me," Elizabeth said, looking down at her twiddling thumbs, picking her words carefully, "That all of our scientists that had been on detail with you have been safely delivered from that planet. Yelim will also be delivering to him the agreed-upon amount of flour and vegetables in three day's time. We'll be getting a cut of it as payment."

"For what?" He asked dourly, crossing his arms.

Bafflingly, Elizabeth shrugged, "I don't know, honestly. Only that Rodney had negotiated it."

He muttered around his frown, "So that's why he shoved me."

"What?" Elizabeth tilted her head at him, and he shook his head to dismiss the question. Gathering herself, she continued to relay the events that led to him, Teyla, and Ronon in the conference room.

McKay wasn't here, ostensibly working on communication relay units to boost their radio and intranet signals. They hadn't seen him at all, and nobody was telling where in the bowels of the city he was hiding, and Elizabeth continued, "Radim was only able to find information on Kolya's intentions at the last moment, and we needed someone who knew gate technology and could believably bluff your captors into thinking they were working for Kolya."

"Why not Zelenka?" Ronon asked, leaning back in his chair. It squeaked alarmingly at the angle he tilted it at, ignoring how he and Elizabeth frantically gestured for him to not lean back so far. He merely kept up his implacable stare, which was aided by the way Teyla was throwing in her two cents of a look.

Elizabeth sighed, "We debated it, believe it or not. But Rodney volunteered, rather vehemently."

He snorted, able to believe that McKay would argue his point, but not able to believe him capable of lying so well to fool not only their captors, but them, as well, "Zelenka's at least been in the military. No offense to McKay, but he doesn't have that kind of bearing."

Which flew blatantly in the face of the act McKay had pulled to get them out of there, and Elizabeth's tilted brow told them as much, "He insisted," She said, tone closing that particular avenue of discontent, "His argument was quite strong. None of us, outside of all of you, know Kolya quite as well."

And Elizabeth would never be allowed to risk herself like that to go off-world. He sighed, acknowledging the point. They all watched her stare in the middle distance for a bit, gathering her thoughts, before she sighed, "Rodney was correct. With the bounty on your head, John, and consequently the rest of your team, he was our best shot at bluffing everyone. It seemed he did well enough to convince even you, and you work closely with him nearly every day."

"But still a question remains," Teyla said, resting her hands delicately on the table. It was a gesture he recognized from off-world, when she was deciding the best body language to look open and accommodating while still retaining her status as a visiting negotiator. That she felt the need to do it here stung, Elizabeth mirroring his thoughts with her own frown as she leaned back, "How did Rodney learn how to mask himself so well? It is not in his nature."

That was a million dollar question. He turned his attention back to Elizabeth, who, it seemed, could only shrug at them sadly, "You'll need to ask him, I'm afraid. He refused to tell any of us."

---

In the end, they all just decided to ambush McKay. Four days had passed at that point, and their erstwhile team mate had been sneakier than they had given him credit for, probably surviving off stashed food and odd corners to sleep in. Zelenka was still tight-lipped, looking vaguely pissed off in a way that promised their answers would be sparse, but there were no actual complaints from his quarter and only a vague hint to go off of.

It said something that McKay hadn't expected it on the way to his own room at the ass-crack of dawn, still early enough that the sun hadn't even begun to start rising. He looked like shit, bags under his eyes and the swaying walk of someone too exhausted to pay attention to their surroundings. Feeling only a little bit like an asshole, he cornered McKay to a wall, flanked by Ronon and Teyla.

For McKay's part, it took him a couple of moments after jolting in shock to recognize what was going on, "Seriously?"

"Talk, McKay," Ronon growled, and wow, the big guy must have been holding that in for a while, based on the way he loomed. McKay didn't do more than huff and roll his eyes.

"No," McKay retorted, similar enough in tone that he had to repress a flinch, the other man's face briefly flashing in guilty abashment before smoothing out into exhaustion, "I've been trying to make sure our equipment can still talk to each other after the last brown-out, and I am going to bed. You can interrogate me in the morning."

Teyla was the first to leave off, stepping back as McKay put a hand on his chest and pushed him away. Ronon only did so reluctantly, and they all watched McKay promptly ignore him to escape into his room.

Staring at the door, he debated whether or not it was worth breaching the thin line of privacy in order to secure some answers. His team mates decided for him, sitting down on either side of the door as one.

He sighed, sliding down the wall opposite of the door, muttering, "Wake me up when he gets out."

---

"Oh my god, you have got to be kidding me," He heard McKay say, somehow sounding far above him. Blinking himself awake, he realized he had slumped to the ground while he had been waiting, one arm automatically cushioning his head from the ground. Exasperated, McKay swatted his shin with a foot, "At least get up and get some coffee, you idiot."

McKay left as swiftly as he appeared, muttering to himself as he went back into his room. That seemed to be tacit invitation for them to file into the room, and he scrubbed at his hair, hoping it wasn't flattened on one side.

Though he wasn't there very often, McKay's room was somehow still a surprising clutter of work and living space all mixed together. Teyla lingered with him as McKay grumbled to himself and fished a couple of mess hall cups out of a box, heading into the bathroom to fill them with water. He watched as Ronon flung himself on top of the bed insouciantly, glaring at McKay when he was filling up the coffee maker perched on an improvised end table as if daring him to argue.

Rolling his eyes, McKay only bothered to flap a hand at Ronon, digging out a tin of what ended up being coffee ground and measuring them meticulously into the machine.

"I don't have any sugar," McKay said, "Because god knows there would somehow be gargantuan, poisonous ants or something if anything spilled, but if you're really keen then you can go to the mess for that."

He shrugged, leaning against the dresser and hoping his back wasn't going to crack audibly from sleeping on the floor. The slope made his hip ache, but it was worth it to weather the dirty look McKay gave him for leaning an elbow against some motherboards heaped atop the furniture.

"Do you really have to- whatever," McKay waved an arm generously at him, "Get your questions over with, I do actually have to get some breakfast at some point."

They looked at each other, McKay bitchy and expectant, and he looked at Teyla. She popped her eyebrows up at him, acknowledging how he was foisting the conversation off on her and promising retribution during training later today. He shrugged back, letting her take the lead.

Sighing delicately, Teyla raised her hands placatingly, "Your manner of… freeing us, while creative and appreciated, leaves us to speculate as to the manner."

McKay cocked a brow, "Wow. Now I really know what it's like to be on the other side," He commented, over the gurgle of the coffee maker behind him, "You want to know why I wasn't a hot mess like I usually am, right?"

And it wasn't a question, but Teyla treated it like one, nodding with a dignified gravity that smoothed over several of the questions he could feel her wanting to ask. McKay sighed, shrugging, "Not much to it. We had confirmation that Yelim wanted to sell you guys out to Kolya, dead or alive, and Radim wasn't sure who he could trust to extract you without participating in the sale."

"Sale," He said, sourly. It occurred to him, again, how closely they avoided a worse fate, even if his mind had been turning over a thousand possibilities of how the situation was already dogshit.

"Sale," McKay repeated in weary acknowledgment, shoulders drooping, "Yeah. If Kolya had gotten you, all of you would have died. That's the only thing we knew for sure."

Teyla glanced at him worriedly, smoothly resuming her end of the conversation, "We are sure that the pressure to rescue us must have been intense."

"Oh, definitely," McKay agreed, turning to the coffee maker as it steamed to a finish. The pot didn't look like it held enough, but he knew from previous experience that McKay brewed it strong enough to build with as a default. The Daedalus resupplying them had been a godsend for McKay hoarding as much caffeine as possible.

He accepted the piping hot cup handed to him, letting it warm his hands as he waited McKay out. It didn't take long, and he watched McKay visibly review his memories the same way Elizabeth had done, "Sheppard, you remember how I said I got a visit in sixth grade?"

"… Yeah?"

McKay smiled humorlessly, "It wasn't the only one."

He froze, grip tightening on his cup at the last minute, "You mean-"

"That I became well-acquainted with the vagaries of Americanism?" McKay replied, "Yes, I did."

Teyla and Ronon were wearing similar frowns of confusion, knowing something was up but not the particulars. For now, he ignored the urge to explain things to them, keeping his attention on McKay, "And that's where you learned that."

McKay shrugged in an illuminating manner. He frowned, straightening up off the dresser, "And Elizabeth used that."

"I allowed Elizabeth to use that," McKay corrected, crossing his arms, "She didn't know, either."

"Would she?" He asked.

McKay sighed, "No. Not if this hadn't happened."

Teyla was watching them like a tennis match, "John…"

He shook his head, biting his lip. Of all the conversations to expect, he hadn't predicted this one, "And this isn't on your record?"

"No, apparently not," McKay said wryly, "SGC must not have carried the notes over."

Jesus. He did scrub a hand over his face at that, wondering how he got himself in these kinds of situations, "Anything else I need to know about?"

McKay got that same frustratingly opaque look as he did on that planet, glancing away from him with lips pressed so tightly together he was surprised there was still color in his face, "I'm not doing that again. I didn't like it."

And that was the most McKay-like personality he hadn't seen in half a week. It was promising, and he crooked a smile at McKay, "I won't let it happen again."

That promise seemed to be enough for him, because McKay seemed to slump in relief, "Just don't get captured again, alright? The Genii have no idea how to brush wool out."

He laughed, "What can I say, McKay. They're not very good at what they do."

McKay grinned at him, slotting back into his team as if he had never left it. He made a mental note to talk to Elizabeth about this, but let McKay herd them all to the mess, complaining about how hungry he was.

Footnotes:

In typical canon style, Rodney drops a throwaway line about his past and there’s approximately zero follow-up to it in any episode in order to further develop his character. This follows on the idea introduced in “Underground” (episode 1x08), and goes through most of the Genii plot line, but takes place in some unspecified time between “Coup D’Etat” (episode 2x17) and “Irresponsible” (episode 3x13).

Title taken from the idea of shadow puppetry (Wikipedia) and nightingale flooring (Wikipedia). For some additional background notes, Radek is mentioned to have military experience because by virtue of his age and being from the Czech Republic, he would have been expected to at least attend training. Presumably Radek knows how to do things like stand in a line and handle a firearm, but as this is a Rodney-centric fic, Rodney would have been going regardless of whether Radek would be (doubtfully) able to handle the pressure of the situation.

Because of the sometimes inconsistent writing – especially so with Rodney – I doubt this would have ever been considered a canon-type event, particularly because he’s been designated by the plot as either the scientist trope or the comic relief trope. Still, I feel like it would have been a good opportunity to round out his character and add some reinforcement to his myriad weaknesses as a person by throwing him into a situation like this.