Disclaimer- I own nothing! Though if you want to give me Atlantis for Christmas I promise to behave all next year ;)
Summary- A day in the life of the much whumped, and very under appreciated Dr McKay. Will include other cast members too though ;)
Set after Aurora but before Lost Boys because I haven't seen it yet!
The first thing Rodney McKay noticed upon waking was how hot the room was.
He'd always been sensitive to changes in temperature. Atlantis maintained a steady room temperature of about 21 Celsius. A couple of months ago when power was diverted and the thermostat went off by 0.2 degrees, he was the first to notice; and to fix the problem of course.
So understandably he was more than a little annoyed that someone had let the situation get this bad without fetching him. Didn't they know about heat strokes? Grunting irritably, he pushed back his covers and stumbled out of bed.
Only to sit right back down again as the world swayed, and the temperature plummeted to artic conditions.
"No no no no no!" he croaked to himself, "Not today. I did NOT pick today to get Atlantis's version of the flu. Dammit." The room blurred in front of him and he rubbed his eyes.
He simply didn't have time to be ill. He had way to much to do, and as always; not enough time to do it all in. He had to test out a new way of powering the shields with Zelenka, baby-sit a test of the new weapon Mitchinson had come up with, meet with Kavanagh to discuss yet another one of his 'ideas', which was of course a waste of time. Not to mention go on a mission to PX4 873 with the rest of SGA-1. He couldn't afford to be sick. He reached for his PADD and feverishly opened his schedule for today, worked out by one of the assistant scientists, Meca, Mica, Meeko or something.
0500-05-30: Science Team Briefing.
0530-0600: Monthly check of 02 filters.
0600-0630: Kavanagh- power conservation ideas (Mess hall)
0700-0800: Zelenka (Lab 012) for shield test
0800-0830: SGA-1 Briefing
0830-1100: Work on Wraith Weapon (Lab 04)
1100-1200: Teyla (Gym 03) Self Defence
1200-1230: Lunch
1230-1330: Novak (Daedalus Engineering), problems with targeting sensors
1330-1400: Infirmary for permission check-up
1400-See next day: Mission with SGA-1
"See!" He exclaimed. "Nowhere here does it say 'be stricken with nasty and probably lethal alien virus." He coughed harshly, grimacing, "Now that is just perfect. Anything else I need to worry about? Rashes, seizures, turning into a giant bug? Because that would really make my day." A coughing fit interrupted him and he slumped miserably. Now he'd have to radio Carson and probably spend a week as the butt of all Major Sheppard's less than amusing jokes. He reached for his headset,
And hesitated.
Sure he felt lousy. Feverish, dizzy, nauseous, you name it, but it wasn't that bad. Getting the measles at twenty five had been worse, so had that stomach flu in Russia. He'd worked through both, and though he'd regretted it later, he had worked. Why shouldn't he go on the mission later? It wasn't like there was any native population he could infect, and he'd just have to keep his distance from the rest of his team.
Well, Teyla anyway.
Besides, he was tired of his reputation as Atlantis's resident hypochondriac. He had allergies okay? If any of them could die from a few sips of lemon juice they'd be careful too! And it was hardly his fault he knew, in detail, the effects of radiation exposure. It was just the cost of being a genius.
Shivering, he forced himself to get up and stumbled over to his wardrobe. On the floor was his own personalised med kit, constructed before he even left Earth and topped up with any prescriptions he got from Carson. He retrieved the bottle of Tylenol and frowned at the contents. Only two tablets left. If he was going to fool everyone long enough to go on this mission he'd have to get some more. Well, he'd worry about that later.
Rodney swallowed the medication dry, only to remember they worked best with water. He dressed hurriedly and fetched a glass; sipping the contents gingerly. Throwing up would not be a good way to start. He sat down again, resting his throbbing head in his arms and breathed deeply. He was fine, he was not going to be kicked off the mission because he was not ill. Not ill.
"Doctor?" The suddenly too loud voice sounded from the handset on his cabinet. He picked it up, and repressing the urge to cough answered, "McKay here."
"The science team are ready to begin the briefing Doctor. Will you be long?"
Dammit! He checked his clock, 0455, that was late by his standards. "No, I'll be there in a minute. Just…going over the notes for today's power test."
"Understood. See you soon Doctor McKay." The radio clicked off.
"Right." He muttered to himself. "You said a minute, so I'd better get going." He stood carefully. "Right….only fifty feet to the transporter, then twenty to the lab. About thirty steps. You can manage thirty steps…whoa!" He leaned on the wall. "Okay…small steps…" He began again, the world swaying drunkenly around him. It was going to be a long day.
I thought Sheppardneeded a break ;) Besides Rodney is so much fun to whump because he isn't a hero. Reviews make me write faster and cost you only a minute ;)