Summary: The city watches as inhabitants of Atlantis finally stop taking Rodney for granted. Written because the lack of appreciation for everything McKay does annoyed me, and because I've read a few stories where Atlantis is devoted to Sheppard and it seems to me that Rodney would be the more logical choice.

WATCHER

His thoughts are bright, shining, leaping and darting so much further and faster than those around him that it hard to accept that his is one of them.

Though it was not him that awakened me, he is the one who gives me purpose once more. It was as though he sensed my presence, trying to reach out to me from the very beginning. Though he is not the strongest, he is the only one amongst them with the capacity to truly see me and the willingness to allow me to see him. He asks instead of demanding and gives back so much more than he takes.

At first, I could not hear him. I watched him as he moved through me, as I did all the others, but his mind was indistinct, lost amongst the ones I could feel more strongly. Then he changed. Still quiet, but I could hear him. The first time he spoke to me it was a simple request to open a door, so quiet I could barely detect it and I complied without thought for who it came from. As the door opened he sent me a warm rush of joy and gratitude that made me look more closely. It was only then that I began to realise how different he is.

His kindness is new to me. Always before I have been a tool, dismissed and shut out when I am not required, but, from the first instant, his mind was always open to me, easing the loneliness I had not been aware of feeling. He is more fearless in his desire to learn than even my creators, who, like those with him, closed themselves off from me, afraid of what they do not understand, their vision too limited to accept what they had created.

He touches me with gentle thoughts and careful hands. He pushes me to do more, be better, and has faith that I can. The others make demands like children, "On, Off, Open, Close" but with him it is a dialogue. A constant stream of encouragement, affection and requests for more. More information, more speed, more efficiency, more power. He searches for ways to improve on what he finds and makes me more than I was designed to be. I wish that I could communicate with him more easily, but the ability to speak directly to those I serve was not granted to me by my creators.

He has an understanding that transcends knowledge, the ability to see the whole even as he works to learn the parts. I watch him and learn, studying him while he studies me, seeing him push aside fear and pain and exhaustion. Refusing to accept defeat, his hands steady though the rest of his body shakes while he fights to save us all.

Those with him do not see all that he does or the price that he pays for doing it. They do not feel his touch in everything around them as I do. They mock him for his ego and self-importance and they do not see the myriad of disasters he prevents before they occur, the times he saves their lives in a silence they would not believe him capable of. He does not speak of it because, to him, this is his job. He watches over them all, as I do. They know nothing of the work he does to improve the quality of their lives, to ensure that they have hot water and light and power for non-essential things.

Though they sometimes see him sleeping in his lab or even on the ground close to work he has just completed, they shrug it off as 'just his way' blinded by the smooth running of their lives to the amount of work he does.

He requires little rest to function, which is just as well as his sleep is often interrupted by someone wanting him to resolve one problem or another. Except in times of crisis, the others are required to do little, working on the tasks and projects he assigns them, or training and preparing for future events, but he never stops.

When he is away from me, the seemingly never-ending requests for build up, ignored by the others he works with. He seldom sleeps after returning from a mission unless he has been injured. Even then, he will be back at work far sooner than is wise, unable to ignore the others need. The only time he stops is when one of his team is injured. Then he remains with them until the danger has passed before returning to work and on these occasions he has even less sleep then normal.

I feel his strength and compassion in everything he does, his willingness to give everything for those around him, his determination to do the impossible each time it is asked of him. And I feel his grief. His sorrow and guilt when he fails, his pain whenever someone dies.

They blame him for failure but never thank him for his many successes. He is alone, abandoned with his pain by those who should comfort him. They pay too much attention to his words and never look at the constant contradiction of his actions. It angers me.

They do not see how much he gives or how much they need him - until he is no longer there.

TBC...

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