Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate Atlantis.
Just so that everyone knows this story takes place during the third season before Carson was killed. So with that said please enjoy.
The Secret...
Rodney McKay was definitely not your average brilliant scientist. Usually, he was referred to as being extremely above average, one of the most intelligent men of his time. However there was a dark side to this man that few knew about…a secret kept hidden from those who would dare to abuse it. Until now that is…
"How many times do I have to tell you Rodney? I don't want to hear about it," a brown haired man stated as he walked down the empty halls of Atlantis. A shorted brown haired man followed him, trying and failing to keep up with him.
"I just want to look. How much harm could that do?" Rodney, the shorter one said. Sheppard, the taller one, rolled his eyes and began to think about a way to get the scientist off of his back.
"Just no Rodney. I'm not interested in going to the mainland for a bat like creature that we'll probably never find even if we do go," Sheppard answered. "Besides, don't you have anything more important to do? I don't know…like finding us a new power source."
Rodney opened his mouth to speak, but Sheppard escaped through a nearby doorway. "My answer will remain the same no matter what you say," Rodney heard Sheppard add as the door closed behind him.
"Typical military response," Rodney muttered as he stomped away, silently fuming. He headed down the hall once more and made his way to the infirmary where he found his Scottish friend reading some paperwork. "You won't believe what just happened!"
"No, but I think you're about to tell me," Carson Beckett said as he looked up from his work.
"He won't allow me to go on the mainland to research an unknown species of bats. His specific words were that my attention should be directed towards something more important. Argh! That man is insufferable!" McKay ranted as he swung around his arms in annoyance.
Carson frowned and then sighed.
"Bats? Should you really be doing research on something so dangerous? What would happen if someone found out?" he stated. McKay went quiet. He stared at the ground beneath his feet.
"They won't…they can't…" he whispered.
"Just be careful Rodney."
"Hm," Rodney said as he walked out of the infirmary. He needed a break and he was going to get one. On his way to his quarters, he felt the approach a familiar presence.
"McKay!" someone yelled behind him. McKay froze. He turned around and came face to face with the Satedan that they had rescued a year and a half ago. His long unruly hair and wild eyes gave him a very dangerous look. Then there was also the fact that he was as strong as 5 men put together.
"Ronon," McKay greeted. As his eyes fell apon the Runner, Rodney felt his throat dry and an insatiable hunger began to take over. Rodney averted his face from Ronon's so that the Satedan couldn't see his expression. Sometimes this happened, but usually he was able to control it. Now just wasn't a good time because he was weak…he needed to feed soon to regain his strength…
"McKay! Did you hear me? I said that Dr. Weir wants us in the control room. She says that she has a mission for us," the Satedan answered. He turned around on his heel and walked away.
Rodney sighed tiredly. There went the idea of rest from his head. He would have to ask Carson for something to eat later on when he came back.
The moment he reached the control room Rodney knew that it was something important.
"What is it?" he asked as he looked at Weir for the answer. The brown haired woman turned to him and then began to speak.
"We've just gotten word from one of our off world teams that they found traces of a ZedPM on the planet. I'm sending Colonel Sheppard's team in for aid. I think your assistance could be needed," she explained. McKay said nothing.
"Are you sure you're alright Rodney. You look awfully pale," Teyla, the only female on Sheppard's team, stated, her voice laced with concern.
"I'm fine," Rodney answered. But truthfully he wasn't. He was painfully aware of the burning sensation in his stomach. A sensation that wouldn't go away until he feed and that could be hours from now.
"Then you'll be leaving immediately," Weir announced.
As Elizabeth spoke those words, Rodney felt a shiver crawl up his spine. For some reason he had a really bad feeling about this planet and his bad feelings were usually right.
"Open the gate! We're coming in hot!" Sheppard's voice was heard over the intercom. Elizabeth immediately ordered one of the employees to lower the shield protecting the gate. A moment later, both teams that had gone off world had returned.
"Is everyone alright?" Elizabeth asked.
"Get a medical team down here this instant. McKay's down!" Sheppard shouted as he pointed to the unconscious Rodney who was being carried by Ronon.
A few seconds later, Carson rushed onto the scene and hulled the unconscious McKay onto a stretch. The moment he was secured, they rushed the man down the hall and towards the infirmary.
Elizabeth descended the stair from the control room and approached her team members.
"What happened? What about the ZedPM?" she asked.
"It was a fake. It was meant to lure us to the planet and capture us. We ran into a couple of hostiles and they kind of gave us a hard time. McKay was hit with a weird blast and he just crumpled to the ground. He wouldn't wake up no matter what we did," Sheppard explained. Elizabeth frowned.
"Why don't we all head down to the infirmary to see what's happened to our favourite scientist," she said calmly.
Carson carefully placed his friend on an empty bed and then began his diagnostic.
"What have you gotten yourself into this time, Rodney?" he muttered. He went quiet when he noticed something very troubling on the scanner.
"So how's he doing doctor?" Sheppard questioned as he entered the infirmary. His eyes placed on Rodney's still form. Ronon and the others followed in silence. The Satedan also gazed at Rodney's still form with unwavering eyes.
"It's actually a lot worse then it looks. The reason why he can't wake up is because he's dreaming…well not dreaming per say… Rodney has been trapped within his memories," Carson said. He pointed to the scanner in his hand. "See the fluctuations here in his brain waves. The part of his brain that takes care of memories is on overload. The device that hit him must have been made to place the victim in a deep coma like sleep so they wouldn't resist when captured."
"I only understood a part of that," Sheppard said truthfully.
"Basically, Rodney won't wake up…not unless he does it himself, which might prove to be difficult. Worse case scenario is that he might never wake up again." Carson responded as he glanced at the scientist.
Ronon sat quietly in the mess hall, oblivious to everything around him. It was partially his fault that McKay was currently in this condition. The scientist had been talking to him as they ran and then suddenly Rodney had pushed to the ground. The next thing he knew, Rodney was on the ground beside him, unresponsive to his calls.
"How are you holding up, Ronon?" Teyla questioned as she took the empty seat beside the Satedan.
"I'm fine," he answered.
"What happened wasn't your fault, Ronon," she said, trying to console him.
"I'm not so sure about that. I could have sworn he pushed me aside purposefully and took the blow for me," he responded in a soft voice. Teyla parted her lips to speak but an alarm rang throughout the halls.
"Dr. Weir…please report to the infirmary! It's important!" Carson's voice was heard throughout the intercom. Ronon and Teyla didn't even bother to look at each other as they stood and sped towards the infirmary.
The sight that greeted them caused their blood to run cold. Rodney was twitching violently on the bed. His arms were flailing wildly and his mouth was open in a silent scream. His eyes were open but unseeing. It appeared like the scientist was in a great deal of pain.
"What's wrong doc?" Ronon asked.
"There's something wrong. His heart rate suddenly tripled and his blood pressure spiked. He actually seems to be experiencing some sort of mental pain that's affecting his body. If we don't wake him up soon, then his reading will go off the chart and at that moment we will definitely lose him. It's just unnatural for someone to survive long under these conditions," Carson explained as he rushed to strap the scientist to the stretcher. He administered sedatives to calm the man down, the flailing ceased but McKay vital reading were still too erratic.
"How long does he have?" Teyla asked, worry lacing her voice.
"A few hours maybe…a day at most," he answered.
"What can we do?" Ronon questioned. There must have been something they could do. They couldn't just sit by and watch the scientist slowly lose to something they couldn't even see.
"We have to wake him up somehow, but I don't know how to do that. I've tried everything I can think off…unless…" Carson began. He rushed to his computer and began to type rapidly. Ronon and Teyla approached him carefully.
"Unless?" Teyla repeated.
"A couple of years ago, SG-1 came across a machine that allowed a person to enter a completely virtual reality. The scientists back on earth began to experiment with this technology and then found out that they could link a person's dream to another. It would be like seeing the consciousness of someone who was dreaming," Carson answered. Ronon frowned, not understanding.
"So…what you're saying is that there's a chance that we can save him," he said.
"Yes, but it's complicated. Since we're actually talking about entered a person's consciousness I recommend that only one person entered, to prevent damage to Rodney's nervous system. First I have to talk to Dr. Weir about it and then we'll need to find a volunteer, preferably someone close to him…" Carson began.
"I'll do it," Ronon announced.
Carson looked at him quietly and then slowly nodded. "Fine, just let me talk to Elizabeth about it."
After taking care of all the procedures that had to be taken care of, Carson slowly hooked Ronon up to the machine that would allow him to enter Rodney's mind.
"I'm warning you now, Ronon, Rodney's life was never exactly pleasant. I ask that what you see in there will never be repeated under any circumstances," Carson warned. Ronon let out a loud grunt and Carson took that as a sign that he was agreeing. "I'm going to start the machine now."
Ronon closed his eyes and he felt a strange sensation pass through his body.
Ronon opened his eyes and then realized that he wasn't in Atlantis anymore. He was in an open field with long grass. The field was empty and no one was there. It reminded him of the planet where Sheppard had been trapped with a group of humans who were trying to ascend.
He heard a rustle in the leaves. Ronon turned around and saw a small boy running towards him. He appeared to be around 8 years old. He wore black slacks and a white button down shirt. His hair was black and his eyes were a clear blue. It took Ronon awhile to realize that this boy was actually Rodney McKay.
Someone was chasing the boy. It was an older man wearing a black cape. He had eyes that were glowing blood red and sharp canine teeth.
"Come back here boy!" the man shouted.
"No!" Rodney yelled as he continued to run. He tripped in the grass and landed hard in the dirt.
"Gotcha!" he older man yelled loudly. He approached the boy and grabbed him. He tugged at the collar of Rodney shirt, revealing his neck and then opened his mouth. The canine teeth that Ronon had previously noticed lengthened and then he watched in horror as the stranger sunk his fangs within Rodney's neck with the intention of drinking him dry.
"Stop!" yelled another person. Ronon watched as another person rushed onto the scene. It was a woman with long blond hair and the same red eyes that the other had. The man ignored her and continued to suck the blood from Rodney's still body. "Release him this instance!" she shouted as her nails turned into razor sharp claw and she struck the man. He gasped in agony and released Rodney. He looked at the gaping wound in his chest and then gasped. He dropped to the floor and did not move again. "You're wicked ways have finally been punished. No one survives the poison from my claws."
The woman turned back to the child and frowned. He wouldn't survive in his current state. He had lost too much blood. The woman felt guilt well in her heart and sighed. She raised her arm above Rodney's mouth and then slit her wrist. Her blood leaked freely from the wound and splashed onto the boy's mouth. The boy unconsciously swallowed so he wouldn't choke. When enough blood was split, the woman covered her wrist with her other hand. A moment later she pulled it away and surprisingly the wound was healed.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "You're one of us now."
Ronon stood confused at the scene. He didn't understand what had just happened, but he knew that Rodney should have died from the lost of blood and yet his chest still rose and fell as if he was breathing.
The scene changed.
Ronon was now staring at an older version of Rodney McKay. He was wearing a black trench coat and boots. His hair was black and went to his shoulders. The woman that had been with him in the clearing was standing beside him. They were talking gently.
"Rodney, you and I are the last of the elder race. The younger generations of vampires have taken over and soon they will overrun things," she said. "Do you remember the day I converted you?"
"I do."
"I still feel guilt over what happened that day. I was in charge of hunting the man that attacked you. If I had been more diligent then he would have never bitten you and you would have never become a vampire," she explained. Rodney shook his head.
"There's no use thinking about it now. What's done is done," he answered. "Besides, I was bitten by the strongest vampire of our time. Now, the strongest ones among us are you and I."
"The covenant doesn't like that. I believe they will turn on us. It will probably happen sooner rather than later," she said. Rodney remained silent, knowing that she was right. "We might have strength but they are superior in numbers."
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Rodney whispered as he passed his fingers through his hair.
Ronon watched in silence. What was a vampire? Maybe if he watched more he would be able to understand what was happening. The scene changed once more.
Rodney was leaning in front of the woman's body. Wounds were apparent all over her body. She had been in a great battle and lost. Rodney was also wounded, but not as severely. Bodies littered the ground around them. Ronon guessed that they were the younger vampires that the couple had been speaking about. It appeared that Rodney had won the battle but at a great cost.
"Rodney…please live on…" the woman whispered. She smile once and then her eyes closed. Rodney let a tear slip down his cheek as he stood. From that moment on he wandered around, not caring about the affairs of the other vampires. He was the oldest one alive. He had lost his reason for living…wandering dark alleys and towns. Like this, he watched the humans evolve without a word. Watching and learning.
Ronon felt his heart ache at the scene. Things changed again
When the 20th century came around, Rodney was found wandering through a town in Scotland. He was walking when he heard the sound of a young boy crying. Usually he would ignore it, but something drew him to the sound. He found the boy crying in the streets.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
The boy looked up at the longhaired man and then sniffed.
"I can't find my mother…Daddy died and I can't find her anymore…" he whispered. Rodney sighed and kneeled down to the child's level. He knew that he shouldn't meddle in human affairs, but he just couldn't leave the boy here.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Carson. Carson Beckett."
"Well Carson. How about you come with me and I'll help you find your mother," he offered. Carson looked up and wiped away his tears with the back of his sleeve.
"Okay…"
Ronon smiled. He had always wondered how the two had met. But then he realized that Rodney mustn't have aged much in the past years if he had meet Dr. Beckett when he was a child. Once again the scene changed. After two years, Carson finally left Rodney, but only after the two of them had become close. The Scottish man had finally found his mother and Rodney was forced to part with his companion.
This left Rodney with a sense of longing towards his own loneliness. He decided to disguise himself as a small child and entered an orphanage. He wanted to experience the childhood that he had never had…
It wasn't long afterwards that the McKay family adopted him. He fooled them all by appearing like a normal human, but on the inside he was still a vampire.
Ronon now felt sorry for the scientist. He had never understood the reason why the scientist was always so snappy, but he had been abandoned so many times that he was afraid to open himself up to other people. Once again Ronon felt the scenery change. He was standing in the familiar halls of Atlantis. Rodney rushed past him and then headed towards the infirmary. Ronon quickly followed him. Once they entered the infirmary, Rodney closed the door and sighed tiredly.
"Rodney? What's wrong?" Carson said.
"I need to feed," he muttered as his blue eyes flashed red. Carson frowned.
"You just feed yesterday," Carson complained. He moved to the small refrigerator and then took out a small pouch of red blood. He tossed it to Rodney and then the scientist sighed again.
"I know, but there's something about the new member on our team that causes my blood to react. I can't help it," Rodney said. He looked at the bag of blood with a hungry look on his face.
"Ronon Dex? The off worlder?" Carson repeated. "What happened?"
"You shouldn't worry about it. There's just something very appealing about him. I can smell his blood clearer then others and it's tempting me…" Rodney whispered. He opened his mouth and his canine teeth lengthened drastically. Then the scientist sunk his fangs into the bag.
Ronon's face turned green as he watched Rodney drink the blood. He guessed that was what a vampire was. Though he was curious about the way Rodney had described his reactions to him.
Once the bag was finished, Rodney threw it in the trash and licked his lips for stray droplets of blood. Ronon noticed that he wasn't as jumpy anymore and his face had regained some colour.
"Are you having fun looking through my memories?" Ronon heard a voice whisper from behind him. He turned around and came face to face with the vampire like Rodney, the one that used the illusion to hide. His hair was longer now, up to his waist, and he still wore the black trench coat with the leather boots. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was giving Ronon a calculated look.
"Rodney?" he asked.
"Yes."
"You look different."
"This is my true form."
"So…I actually came here to save you," Ronon stated bluntly as he looked into the blue eyes of the vampire.
"So you did, but I can't leave…"
"Why?"
"You know I'm not human. I'm almost the same as the Wraith. I feed apon others to survive. If others found out then I would be killed. After surviving for so long, it would be ironic for me to be killed by those I consider closest to me. That would be the most painful end for me," Rodney explained.
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone," Ronon answered. Rodney gave him an odd look.
"Why? Don't you think of me as disgusting? I'm like the Wraith who you despise so much," he murmured. Ronon frowned in annoyance.
"You're not like the Wraith. You do not kill your victims. Maybe once we get out of here you'll explain what this whole vampire thing is…" Ronon said. A shock look crossed Rodney's face and then it softened. A smile appeared on McKay's face.
"Yeah…when we get out…" he whispered.
Back in the real Atlantis, Ronon opened his eyes and groaned as he sat up. His muscles were stiff from being still for so long.
"How long was I out?" he asked.
Carson approached him and quietly checked him over with the Ancient scanner. He smiled and told Ronon that everything that perfect. "You've actually been unconscious for 5 hours," he added.
"How's McKay?" he asked as he thought about the scientist. Beckett smiled.
"He's fine. He actually woke up a few seconds before you did," Carson explained as he turned around and gazed at Rodney, who was sitting up in his bed.
"Is it possible for us to talk…in private?" Ronon asked quietly, making sure that no one around them could hear his words. Rodney turned his head in his direction and their eyes met for a brief moment before the vampire looked away.
"I'll see what I can do," he answered.
"Oh and Carson, you where cute as a kid," Ronon stated as the doctor walked by him. The Scottish man blushed and then took a swing at Ronon's head, but the Satedan dodged and let out a small laugh. Carson muttered something under his breath and then stomped away.
It wasn't until the next day that Ronon was allowed to speak to Rodney privately. The doctor had coddled the scientist until he was sure that the vampire was all right, but after much insistence from the scientist, Beckett was forced to let the leave the infirmary.
"What now?" Ronon asked as they walked through the halls of Atlantis. People passed by them in a hurry, but none of them actually took the time to pay attention to what they were saying.
"Life goes on. For me, this changes nothing," Rodney answered quietly. He stopped walking when they reached his room. Ronon halted at his side. "If you want to talk more about it then come in." With that Rodney entered his room. Ronon followed without a second thought. He closed and locked the door behind him and then turned back to Rodney.
"I want to try and understand what happened to you. So, let's start at the beginning…" Ronon said quietly. Rodney sat on his bed and then sighed.
"You saw what happened when I was bitten all those years ago by that rogue vampire. He was a criminal who hunted for pleasure and not for survival. I was his last victim. Adrian killed him the day he bit me. Oh, Adrian's the woman who you saw me with…She saw that I was dying and converted me to save me. From that day on, I was vampire. She taught me how to fight, how to feed, how to survive. I watched as the human's waged war on each other for many years. And then finally all those of the elder race died," Rodney explained as he tried to remember what had happened all those years ago. Ronon, captivated, nodded in interest.
"You mentioned that before with that woman. Something about you being the last ones," he said.
"Right, the elder ones were the oldest among our kind. The strongest ones of our race. I became one of them the day I was bitten. The one who bit me, that rogue vampire, was one of the first ever bitten. The one who saved me was an elder. Usually only one vampire does the process of conversion, but I had two. I inhered their power the day they bit me. Anyways, the elder race was dying because they were so arrogant, thinking that they were above everyone else. The humans hunted them all and killed them. Adrian and I were the only survivors," Rodney whispered. He had personally known many of them when he had been growing up, but all of them had been foolish in their own ways.
"What was the covenant you spoke off?" Ronon said as he said on a chair he found lying around. He was tired of standing for so long.
"The covenant? It was a gathering of vampires that lived together as a group. The younger generation were the ones that thought of it. Adrian and I joined them, but they grew resentful when we they realised our power. Power that they wished they had. One day they betrayed us. They cornered Adrian and I and attacked us…She didn't survive. I fought, but there were too many of them. I slaughtered most them and the others fled. There, surrounded by the million of corpses of the other vampires, I wept and from that moment on I wandered," Rodney mumbled tiredly as a glazed look crossed his eyes. He thought about all the blood stained bodies that he had ripped to shreds and their blood staining his pale fingers. "She was like my mother for all those years. She took care of me during my weakest moments. Her death hit me hard."
"That's when you met Dr. Beckett." Ronon smiled in amusement as he thought about the little boy that had been crying in the streets.
"He was so adorable back them. I took him under my wing and protected him for two years as we travelled together. He knew about my secret, but he never looked at me in disgust. I was sad when he left, but it couldn't be helped," Rodney added quietly. He smiled at the memory. "After that, I only met him again at the Atlantis expedition, but by then I had already changed my appearance, masking myself as a human…even allowing myself to be adopted by a family. I didn't take him long to realize that it was me. After all I did give him a lot of hints," he answered quietly. Rodney almost laughed as he remembered the look on Carson's face when he finally figured everything out.
"What about me? You mentioned something about me in your memories," Ronon inquired carefully. Rodney was silent for a moment. He was silently debating whether or not to tell the Satedan about the truth. He decided it was probably best if he knew.
"When I first met you I felt something strange drawing me to you. You see, everyone's blood had a different taste, but yours smelled the most tantalizing to me. You have no idea how much self-restraint it required for me not to sink my fangs into your neck the first time we met. I can smell your blood so clearly. It calls out to me…even now," Rodney whispered as his eyes briefly flashed red. He shook his head and the color faded away. Ronon gulped.
"You wouldn't actually kill me would you?"
Rodney gave him an odd look.
"Are you kidding me? I'm not the type of person to drain all the blood from a person's body. All I need is enough to survive and that isn't much. I usually get blood from the infirmary. I doesn't taste as good as fresh blood but there's nothing I can do about that," Rodney explained. Ronon nodded, feeling that he now understood more. He felt like this had allowed him to get closer to Rodney. However, he was quite confused about the effect his blood had on McKay. From what he understood, his blood was like the tastiest meal McKay could ever have. He felt kind of weird at thinking himself as a meal. The Wraith feed apon his kind, but McKay was different. He would never kill unless provoked.
"That's nice to know," Ronon mumbled. Rodney smiled and then relaxed his body. A moment passed by and Ronon watched in amazement as the illusion around McKay was lifted. The sight of the man he had seen within Rodney's consciousness greeted Ronon. It never ceased to amaze Ronon as he looked at Rodney's long waist length black hair and lengthened fangs.
'This is going to take some time to get used to…' Ronon thought as he looked at the vampire.
This actually a four part story so if you enjoyed it there will be more coming.
Please review.