Empirical Evidence by Nestra (Abandonment Challenge)

Title: Empirical Evidence
Author: nestra
Rating: PG
Summary: "Other than the lingering mental trauma, I suppose I'm all right."
Notes: Un-beta'd. Author has lost all perspective, but won't have a chance to post again before the deadline.



***

A noise from the mouth of the tunnel made Rodney flinch and fumble for his gun. If it was a Wraith, he probably didn't have enough bullets to stop it, but he wanted to be able to pretend, at least to himself, that he'd gone down fighting. Considering what the Wraith might be able to suck out of his head before he died, he probably ought to make sure he saved a bullet, but he didn't think he was up to that, no matter how much --

A sickening rush of relief made his stomach lurch as Sheppard came around the corner and into the cave where Rodney had hidden himself, the light on his P-90 shining right into Rodney's eyes. "Oh, thank God," Rodney said.

Sheppard lowered his gun and let out a sigh. "You okay?"

"Are you kidding? I've been hiding in a cave for what, eight hours --"

"Three and a half," Sheppard said dryly.

Rodney paused. "Really? It seemed much longer. Anyway, other than the lingering mental trauma, I suppose I'm all right."

"Good." Sheppard gestured toward the tunnel with his gun. "I wasn't looking forward to training your replacement."

The joke -- of course it was supposed to be a joke, the kind of stupid joke people made all the time -- infuriated him, and he clenched a fist in the arm of Sheppard's jacket. "You think this is funny? You *left* me. On a planet crawling with Wraith."

"Rodney, we didn't leave you."

"I saw you! I came out of the caves and saw the jumper heading for the Stargate."

"And you honestly thought we were just going to go back to Atlantis and write you off?" The incredulity in his voice made Rodney feel like an idiot, but there was no way he could convey what it had felt like to see the jumper getting smaller in the distance, hearing the whine of Wraith darts getting closer. He'd felt betrayed, but even worse had been the part of him that wasn't surprised at all.

"No, I knew there'd be a rescue party at some point, but I didn't think that would be much comfort to my desiccated corpse!"

Sheppard let the P-90 hang and grabbed Rodney by the shoulders. "Hey, relax. The Wraith weren't here to feed; we're not sure what they wanted, but they were poking around in the ruins to the north. We took the jumper up into orbit and came back down as soon as they were gone."

"And you couldn't have told me that?"

"We tried," Sheppard said. "There's some kind of mineral in the caves that interferes with the radios, and we didn't have time to come in and get you."

"I see." Now he really did feel like an idiot. "So you weren't worried at all?"

"I didn't say that." Sheppard turned away and headed for the tunnel entrance.

"Oh. I guess it's good to know that at least some of my mortal terror was justified." He wasn't going to mention that it was a good thing that Sheppard knew his way out, since Rodney had lost track of the various turnings and forks he'd taken on his way in. They walked in silence, Rodney close on Sheppard's heels, Sheppard pausing every few minutes to try and raise Ford on the radio. Rodney had moved on to trying to figure out why the Wraith were interested in the ruins, which, as far as he could tell, had nothing to offer but a few fragments of Ancient architecture and a metric ton of dust, when Sheppard stopped so abruptly that Rodney ran into him.

"Hey!"

"You actually thought we were leaving you behind." Sheppard's face was in shadow, but he sounded upset.

"Yes. Based on the empirical evidence of you *flying away*." Rodney drew a breath, searching for other evidence to support the perfectly sound basis of his conclusion, but didn't get a chance.

"Do we look like assholes to you, Rodney? Do Ford and Teyla? Do I?"

"I'm perfectly well aware that it's the other way around," Rodney snapped. "Don't pretend that there aren't a few people on Atlantis who wouldn't mourn if you came back without me."

"Yeah, until the next time we needed you to save our asses. We're not on Earth any more."

Rodney couldn't help rolling his eyes, even though the effect was lost in the dimness. "Really? How shocking."

Sheppard ignored him. "You know what I mean. Things are different here. And you're part of the team."

He sounded like he believed it, so Rodney took a second and tried to believe it too. "Well, that certainly compensates for the better part of my childhood."

"Plus..."

"Plus what?"

Clothing rustled, and a gust of air washed over him as Sheppard stepped closer. "Plus this."

There was absolutely no way in the world, this world or any other in the Pegasus galaxy, that Sheppard was kissing him, but for the fact that he was. Gently, with care for the gun and equipment sandwiched between them, but kissing nonetheless. He felt his heart thud in his chest, beating against his ribs as if it were scared or excited. He wasn't sure which. Sheppard's lips were wet, and Rodney wondered if he'd licked them nervously before he'd kissed Rodney. He brought up a hand and laid it against Sheppard's face and kissed him until Sheppard pulled away as slowly as he'd leaned in.

"Oh," Rodney said. "If I'd known that, I probably wouldn't have assumed you were leaving. It's not my fault I didn't have all of the evidence."

"Now you know."

"Now I know," Rodney repeated. He lifted a hand to Sheppard's lips, just to touch them. They were still wet. "Can we get out of these caves? After eight hours, I'm really sick of them."

"Three and a half, Rodney."

On the way out, he didn't feel like he had to follow quite so closely.

--End--