Cliff Hangers:

Pre-Slash McShep first kiss

Summary: For once it wasn't Rodney who fell.

(Disclaimer: I don't own these guys nor do I claim to; but OH if only if I did! insert evil grin here)

He knew it was too good to be true. The mission was simple: go to a nice trouble-free planet, do a quick trade agreement, and get out. For once they didn't have the normal greeting of a hostile chase that they have become so use to. No problem; until the actual track home.

The ground began to shake. Nothing major, but enough to cause them pause. "Earthquake?" John asked looking around to his team mates.

"It would appear so." Rodney shot back like he had said something really stupid. "Didn't you use to live in California?" He added not daunted by the evil glare he received in response.

"Boys." Teyla warned in her motherly drawl. Ronon merely smirked at the exchange.

"Right, well;" John straightened himself out, trying to recover his fearless Colonel face again. "Lets move out."

With that one step, the ground gave out beneath his feet sending him tumbling uncontrollably down a twenty foot hill, which hadn't been there before, to rapidly sailing over the sudden cliffs edge that lead to an easy hundred foot drop down to unfriendly rocks below. Things happened so fast he remembers closing his eyes expecting the ground to come flying up to meet him ending with sheer pain if not instant death. From the height he saw while he plummeted, he was leaning towards the lather. But instead, and to his great relief, neither occurred.

A hand grabbed his stopping his fight with gravity right as he fell over the cliffs edge. Dangling in shock, John snapped open his eyes to see who caught him. "Holy Shit! Good catch Rodney!" He yelled up to his CSO with adrenalin screaming through his veins at the sheer surprise that it was his best friend who had caught him. "Now that's a Hail Mary!"

Rodney groaned, hanging by a vine just feet below the cliffs edge. One hand was clinching on to Johns with the other wrapped half hazardly around what turned out to be an uprooted tree root. "Yeah, well, a lot of good it'll do if I can't hold on. I'm losing my grip!" he warned through clinched teeth.

"Well, don't drop out now buddy." John calls up in encouragement nearly giddy at his luck.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Came Rodney's reply as he struggled to wrap his wrist around the root another time for more support. "How about a little help here, would ya? Can you grab anything?"

John looked around at the wall of dirt looking for any where to hold onto. "There's nothing to grab onto. The walls look pretty straight, and crumbly might I add."

"I need both hands!" Rodney yelled back down letting out a struggled cry as his wrist bent painfully.

John sighed trying to think past the rushing of his heart. "Alright, but it's about to get a bit personal here Rodney." He warned grabbing Rodney with both hands.

"I don't care! Just do something quick!"

John swung himself around for better leverage so he could hug Rodney's waist, freeing his hand. After shaking some feeling back into his hand, Rodney took hold of the strand of root and wrapped his hand around it for a more secure hold. At this point the extra hand made all the world of difference on his screaming muscles in his 

other arm. Not to mention the pain in his sure to be broken wrist. He could only hope that the root is strong enough to keep them from falling to their deaths.

"I hope your pants are tight." Out of no where Johns observation reaches Rodney while his face is plastered to his stomach.

"Oh, you would love that, wouldn't you!" Rodney grumbled. He could feel Johns grin at his navel. "John, don't you dare!" He threatened not too certain if he was joking. John actually laughing didn't reassure him.

"Rodney, you think so low of me. I'm hurt." John mocked his wound.

Before Rodney could reply to his unbelievable partner, a head popped over the edge of the cliff. "What'ch ya doing down there?" Ronon joked, but you could read the relief upon seeing them safe.

"Aw, just hanging around. You should see this view." John answered without missing a beat.

"Hello!" Rodney yelled frustrated at the lack of urgency. "Can't feel my arms here! You're not exactly light you know."

"Alright, alright. Just hang in there." Ronon said disappearing then reappearing again just above them.

"Very funny. Ha, ha." Rodney was clearly not amused.

"How about you climb up here Sheppard so we can make it in time for dinner?"

"See Rodney, dinner. There's always an upside."

"I'm feeling kind of down right now." He replied as John climbed up enough to wrapped his arms around Rodney's neck to be at eye level.

"I think there might even be a good desert in it for ya too." John smiled his breathtaking, I can melt you, smile before kissing him briefly on the lips. "See you top side." He added with a wiggle of an eye brow as if it was completely natural to kiss his best friend.

Rodney was speechless, possibly for the first time in his life, until John had disappeared over the top. "Hey! Don't forget about me!" When Ronon appeared again it only took a minute or two to pull him up and untangle him from the trees roots.

"Awesome McKay." Ronon said slapping him on the back as they reached the others. The pride in his teams eyes made the pain worth it a thousand times over.

"Did you just say awesome?" He asked in bewilderment while cradling his broken wrist. Ronon just laughed and patted his shoulder nearly knocking him off his feet again.

"So that was a Hail Mary?" Teyla asked as the started for the gate once again after securing Rodneys wrist.

"That was a Hail Mary." John confirmed.

Ronon seemed to be considering it. "I like it."

"Don't forget you owe me desert Sheppard!" Rodney called jogging to catch up. John only threw him a smile.

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