Absent Wings

Author: Rysler
Date: 06/15/05
Genre: Stargate
Pairing: McKay/Weir/Carter
Summary: In the summer of 2004, after Anubis is defeated, O'Neill is still in Antarctica, and the quest to Atlantis is indefinitely postponed. McKay tries to find his place, Weir tries to run Stargate Command, and Carter tries to command a changed team. Angst, hurt/comfort, and sex ensue.
Notes: Spoils "The Lost City" and "Heroes."

For the Gateverse OT3+ Ficathon. For wisdomeagle.

* * *

McKay stood in a tiny, metallic grey room twenty-some levels underground, and thought about how much he'd rather be in Alaska. The secrets of the universe were there, he knew. The Ancients! Perhaps the alien race would lead him to the lost city of Atlantis, or the Andromeda Galaxy, or perhaps he could ascend like Daniel. He would be the first human to conquer the knowledge of the advanced civilization, he was certainly the most worthy, and he wasn't paying to a damn thing Doctor Elizabeth Weir, Stargate Command Administrator, was saying to him.

"...cancelled. You'll be staying here, for the time being..."

McKay refocused on his surroundings--the cold, unworthy setting of Cheyenne Mountain. "Cancelled?" He pounded his fist on Weir's desk. The impact and vibration sent pain shooting through his arm. "Ow."

Weir, sitting at her desk in front of him, pressed her forehead against her hand. "We just fought a galactic space battle. We're not prepared to send the planet's greatest men on a wild goose chase to the arctic tundra when the Stargate program is still at stake and our most experienced officer is encased in...ancient goo."

"But... the Ancients. Their power. Their weaponry! Your U.S. government likes the weaponry!" McKay felt he had a compelling argument. Appeal to their penises. He realized cynically that Weir didn't have one, and thus was speaking from her womb.

She said, "Think of the risk. Your arguments have already been made, Doctor McKay."

"But... Hey, greatest men?" McKay folded his arms and smiled.

Weir rolled her eyes.

"So what now?" Perhaps he could have her job.

"There's still a place for you here."

Just a place. "The Stargate program," he said.

"You want in?"

Ah, what the hell. Carter was around. That was worth staying for. "Wouldn't miss it."

Weir stood and stuck out her hand. "Glad to hear it, Doctor."

"Please. Call me Rodney." He shook her hand.

She smiled. "Rodney."

"Elizabeth." He winked and turned.

As he was leaving her office, he heard her sigh and quietly say, "Rodney." He wondered what that was about.

* * *

McKay sat down his tray at a table against the wall in the commissary. He noticed Weir and Carter talking, their heads bent together, and he thought about joining them, but lacked the energy to be his usual charming self. The mess hall was quiet at 4 A.M. Major Carter had been working on the Stargate program for nine years, as a physicist and then as a first contact explorer, and after losing two of her fellow soldiers in the past six months, looked as drained as he felt.

He'd had a crush on her--Still had a crush on her, if anyone was keeping score. He'd read her papers in graduate school, and had instantly recognized a mind as brilliant as his. He'd fantasized about taking over the world with her, about having perfect babies, about evolving. When her involvement in the scientific world became sporadic, he assumed, correctly, that she was working with the military, and he'd pursued a career path that would intersect. When, finally, he'd met her, he couldn't believe she was actually beautiful.

Now, she was a colleague, sitting two tables away, talking with another woman. He couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"It's been hard to get used to this place." Weir was watching Carter over a plate of barely picked-at food.

Carter looked up, her eyes widening slightly. "Really? I've always thought of this as home. I know every nook and cranny--which shower has the strongest spray, which supply room has the best ledge for--" Carter stopped and blushed. She tilted her head to the side to squint at Weir. "I'm sorry if you feel like you haven't been fitting in. If I've done--"

Weir dropped her hand onto Carter's forearm. "You're fine." When Carter didn't flinch, Weir gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I'm just used to traveling. Not...administrating. But then, this has always been my dream. To have a whole team devoted to forging new bonds. Creating new nations. But..." Now she drew back, trying to create some distance to make up for the un-asked-for intimacy of her words. "But that doesn't make it your dream. I'm imposing--"

Carter grabbed Weir's hand. "Wait. When I was a kid, I dreamed of going to space. I did what I needed to, to get there. Science, soldiering... But..." She looked down at their linked hands. "There's a next step. And it's you."

McKay choked on his bite of salad. Neither woman seemed to notice, ore maybe they just were hoping he'd drop dead. He saw Carter holding Weir's hand, heard what she was saying, and wondered if Carter were flirting. Not that he'd be able to tell, really. But he was getting definite vibes. In the years he'd been at Stargate Command, there had been rumors about Sam and Doctor Fraiser, but she'd been the only other woman of significant rank on the base. Now, Weir was the woman of significant rank.

Then again, he thought, there were rumors about him and Teal'c, too, and he didn't give those much credence. Still, the way Carter ran her fingers down Weir's forearm made him tingle. He chalked it up to being 4 A.M., and took another bite of his salad.

Weir was chuckling. "I can't control wormholes, and I'm not brave enough to shoot whatever comes through them. I just...talk."

"I've never been much of a talker," Carter said.

"So maybe we can be a team." Weir leaned over, grinning at Carter.

"I'll introduce you to all of the aliens I know so we can create an intergalactic empire." Carter leaned back. She picked up her fork.

Weir watched her eat, noticed a little more color in her face. "Maybe..."

When Weir didn't continue, Carter prompted her. "Maybe?"

"We could have dinner sometime. Plot. Gossip about Goa'uld. I'm not used to--"

"Having no women around." Carter nodded, and said, "I didn't realize, either, until I met Janet. What it was to have an equal around. A real equal." Carter looked at Weir, and then down at her fork. "There's a restaurant I think you'd like."

McKay tuned them out. Them having dinner, off-base, was too much for his brain to process. He needed sleep. And his feelings were a little hurt. The intergalactic empire... That dream had been for him and Carter, and now she was sharing it with someone else. He would put more effort into getting to know his competition.

* * *

Weir leaned against the glass, looking over the gate room. Her office was quiet. Soundproof. Bulletproof. She couldn't even feel the rumble of the control room underneath her.

All in all, unnerving. But then, most of the Stargate program was unnerving.

"And they picked me because I negotiate well," she muttered to herself. "Didn't anyone tell them the Goa'uld don't negotiate?"

"Good morning, Elizabeth." McKay appeared in the doorway, grinning jovially.

She eyed him. "How did you get Starbucks in here?" She gazed at the two paper cups McKay was lifting, feeling longing in her stomach.

McKay continued grinning. "Ah, the secrets of technology." He handed over a cup.

"Did you beam them in?"

"No. I provided the guard with a liquid analyzer that can test for explosives and poison while simultaneously ignoring the toxic crap that’s actually supposed to be in coffee."

Weir took a sip of what he'd provided. Exactly her kind of coffee. She wondered how she knew. "So, can you make a bomb out of coffee?"

"Please, Elizabeth. I'm not MacGyver. I'm not some cheap alchemist promising to turn lead into gold. I'm a scientist. I just drink the stuff."

Weir nodded. Since he'd come to Stargate Command, McKay's abrasive presence had become almost comforting in the mornings. She wouldn't have admitted it aloud, but when McKay was annoying, she felt everything was right with the world.

The same couldn't be said for the rest of the personnel at Stargate Command. She glanced through the glass. Three stories below, Major Carter was tugging on a nylon glove. SG1 was silent these days, bordering on morose. Weir knew they were tired. She knew there had been casualties. She knew it was none of her business, but she said anyway, "Major Carter looks sad today. Do you think she looks sad?"

McKay was gargling his coffee. He said, "Do you think I notice Major Carter's mood swings? Do you think I give a rat's ass?"

Weir turned away from the glass and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. She looks sad," he said as his shoulders slumped. "For some reason, my antics haven't cheered her up."

Weir chuckled. "Try Jell-O."

He rolled his eyes. "You know, no one on Star Trek likes Jell-O, and for good reason. That stuff is the devil's work." He leaned against the railing and peered down at the gate room. "Where's Doctor Jackson?"

"Antarctica."

"Lucky him."

"You're needed here."

McKay sighed. "So you say, Administrator. With her around?"

Weir turned back to the glass. "Enjoy your mission, Rodney." When he appeared below in the gate room, when she knew he could no longer hear her through the soundproof, bulletproof glass, she allowed her thoughts to focus on McKay. She was starting to look forward to seeing him around the base, and she was worried about his first mission. Off-world. There lie monsters. She wanted to tell him that he'd become her first friend at Stargate Command, but she was afraid she'd take it the wrong way.

She wasn't sure how she'd react if he did take it the wrong way.

* * *

McKay tugged again at the straps on his pack. They were chafing his shoulders, and he was sure he'd have crisscross marks all over his torso when he got back. He'd tried to protest, but SG1 was going to one of those technologically advanced ancient abandoned worlds, where two scientists were better than one. He figured he'd have to keep Carter from blowing up the place anyway. She was an animal.

Carter looked up as he approached, and he swore her face got several degrees unhappier. "Hi," he said. He waved, and then winced as the arm strap bit into his skin. Carter turned back to adjusting the knife at her hip. He nodded to Teal'c and eyed the fourth member of the team, who was standing at attention so smartly he wondered if she were a cyborg. Posture that good was unnatural. "Who's that?"

She took a single step forward. "Lieutenant Jennifer Hailey, Doctor. An honor to meet you."

Her words were so stiff that McKay was surprised she didn't click her heels together and salute. Maybe she refrained due to his civilian status or his Canadian status. He was often the victim of unwarranted prejudice. Still, it wouldn't hurt to be civil. "And an honor to meet you, Lieutenant," he replied, and offered his hand.

She stared at him.

Only civilians were civil, he supposed as he dropped his hand. "Well! I'm ready. You guys ready?"

Carter began walking up the ramp. McKay glanced at Teal'c. The man was smiling. It was unnerving when he did that.

"Gold Bond," Carter said.

"What?" He scrambled up the ramp. The ramp was unnecessarily steep, he felt, and he was exhausted by the time he reached the Stargate.

"For the chafing."

"Put Gold Bond on my shoulders?"

Carter glanced at him. "You'll need it in other areas, too."

"Oh, fuck."

* * *

Ancient technology in its holistic alien setting turned out to be fun. Dealing with three people, two of whom were just meat sacks with guns and one of whom was barely qualified to be a wormhole physicist, that was less fun. McKay persevered, until the sun began to set and the team set up camp. Sleeping arrangements were discussed when he realized only two of them had packed tents.

"Shouldn't we just do girls and guys?"

Teal'c looked stricken.

"Why are we two to a tent anyway? Can't the Air Force afford tents for each of us? I'm asthmatic," McKay said.

"Did you pay your taxes this year? Besides, it's a security precaution." Carter folded her arms.

"We'll draw straws," Hailey said. She was already rummaging in her belt pouch for matches.

Well, wasn't she the clever one.

* * *

The tent was insufferable, and Carter kept elbowing him in the ribs as she tossed and turned. Finally, McKay stuck his head out of the tent flap.

"What are you doing?" Carter's voice was muffled from the canvas.

He said, "I'm trying to breathe."

"What are you doing, really?"

He sighed, and blinked at the stars overhead. This planet had no moon, no civilization, and no skyscrapers, so several million stars were visible. "I'm looking at Pegasus," he told her, then grunted as she hit his ribs again as she wriggled out beside him.

With her head pressed against his, she said, "How can you tell which stars are which? We're on a different planet."

"I wrote a script and put it in my PalmPilot." He rolled his head toward Carter. "Wish you were there?"

"No. I wish I was... Since we beat Anubis, and before that, everything felt like it was ending. Now it has ended, and... I don't know what to do myself." She looked at the stars. "I'm not ready for the next big adventure. I wish things were like they were before."

"Were they really better before?"

Carter shrugged.

"For me, things were just beginning. Blossoming, if you will. It would have been nice to get out from under your shadow. To be the next... you." McKay sighed as he said the words.

He heard Carter clear her throat and say, "I'm sorry you didn't get your chance. But you don't have to worry about my shadow. If anything, I'm..."

McKay lifted himself on his elbow and peered down at her. "Say it." He grinned.

She rolled her eyes. "Threatened."

"Do you feel threatened because you're a woman?"

"McKay."

He laughed. "Kidding, just kidding. Major, this isn't the end. Just intermission. Look at these ruins. Look at the stars. Who knows what's out there?"

Carter pursed her lips. "I'm glad you're in here with me. Teal'c's as depressed as I am these days, and Hailey snores."

"I snore."

"It's endearing. I've heard it shake the entire base."

"Major."

"Are you such an arrogant scientist because you feel inadequate as a man?"

"Touche. I guess the sexes are truly equal."

"Here, in this moment, I guess they are. McKay..." Carter closed her eyes, blocking out the stars and his face. "Do you still, you know..."

"Carve your name into the bathroom stall?"

Her eyes flew open. "You don't."

"Oh, I did." He smiled, shifting to look down into her face. "And do."

"I've lost everyone I care about. My friends... I had seven years and I feel like I lost them before I had a chance. Isn't it stupid? That's the same way it was... Waiting for the right time. Waiting for it to be appropriate. And look what happened. I'm not going to let it happen again."

"I'm not him--" McKay started to say, but then Carter's mouth was on his and he was thinking that he never would have imagined her lips were so soft...and maybe she used chapstick...and when she drew back to smile at him he cursed himself for missing the moment.

"I know. You're a trusted colleague. A good friend. An intellectual equal. Why not? I'm tired of the why nots."

"What about--"

"Stop talking."

McKay shut up.

* * *

Dawn was coming. McKay stuck his head out of the tent again, spotting a single morning star against the charcoal grey sky. He stretched and said, "If the world knew how much better sex was on an alien planet, they'd be clamoring at our doors."

"What makes it better? The rocks poking into our backs? The faint stench of foreign vegetation? The fear that at any minute, aliens could attack? The feeling of despair that ancient civilizations are dead and we're the only ones left in the universe?" Carter's voice was incredulous. She was curled at his side, her hand on his bare stomach.

"The fear. Definitely the fear. It's a turn-on." He felt her hand move lower, and groaned. "Major?"

"Hm?"

His voice raised in pitch as she squeezed him. He hadn't lasted very long last night. He hadn't been very good. But he had greatly enjoyed himself. "Is this going to happen again?"

"I think so," Carter said. He felt her hand trembling.

* * *

McKay considered his first mission with SG1 a success, and he reported it to his commander, and his only friend on base, with pride. Every detail. What were friends for?

Weir whirled away from the glass and glared at him. "How could you?"

McKay blinked. "You're the one who said she was sad."

"That didn't mean 'Go sleep with her.'"

"Hey, it wasn't my idea."

Weir raised her eyebrow.

"Oh, sure, I've had that idea before. But I wasn't thinking at it at that exact moment. I was looking at the stars."

"Oh, you were looking at the stars." Weir's voice shook. She turned away and leaned against the railing.

"Elizabeth." McKay paced in the small office. "I didn't do a bad thing. It didn't feel bad. Not at the time. Is that how they rope you in? Is it really the hedonistic impulses of our bodies? Satan? I don't have experience with this sort of thing. And for good reason. I guess--"

"Rodney!"

McKay stepped back. Weir turned around. Her eyes were tinged with red and the skin around them was puffy, but her voice only held anger and frustration. "Get out."

He fled.

* * *

"I think Elizabeth's in love with me," McKay said. He was holding a small barbell in the weight room, sitting on a workout bench in his sweats. Though the free weight rested on his leg, he was having trouble breathing from carrying it from the rack to the bench.

Teal'c, seeming not to have heard, punched the heavy bag.

"I know it sounds ridiculous. I mean, women have fallen all over me before, but not two at the same time. It's complicated. Is Stargate Command always like this? Does recklessness and sex just run amuck here in general? That would explain... so much."

Teal'c pounded the bag.

"I guess what I'm trying to work out is... None of this is my fault. Right? She came onto me. She made her choice. And now... I have to choose." McKay set down the weight. He stood and walked over to his bag and pulled out a water bottle.

Teal'c looked only at the bag.

"I am a man with a burden. A burden caused by women." McKay tossed a towel over his shoulder and headed for the door.

* * *

McKay sat in Carter's lab, going over the data from the mission with her. She was fiddling with the innards of a computer as he watched, and when sparks flew from the motherboard, he scowled and said, "Could you be any more reckless? There's no reason to do it that way when an extra day will allow us to use better safety measures and save 20% power. Which we could, you know, use in case of an emergency. Jesus." He realized Carter was grinning at him. "What?"

"I thought sleeping with you would make you less annoying. I was wrong."

McKay rolled his eyes.

Carter smirked and turned back to her laptop. "You're right. Let's schedule in the day."

"That'll give us more time to run the video feed through the translation algorithm. No sense in going back there without knowing what 'there' is."

Carter's hand froze on the keyboard. "You know, Daniel counted every second between missions. When he wasn't in the ruins, we were wasting his time."

"I'm not Daniel."

"I noticed."

"What tipped you off?"

"He's got more hair."

"Ouch. Well, my Star Trek DVD collection is superior."

"How big is it?"

"Huge. And getting bigger."

Carter closed the laptop and grinned at McKay.

"What?"

She stood and walked over to the stool he was perched on as he leaned against a lab table. "You're not Daniel," she said, resting her forearms on his shoulders. "You're here. And you smell surprisingly good." She straddled his lap.

"I--"

Carter dipped her head and kissed him. He moaned against her lips and squirmed underneath her weight. He was hardening, and though he was grateful the jumpsuit he was wearing was roomy, it wasn't that roomy, nor was it absorbent, and Carter's hip pressing against him was making it difficult to breathe. He could only hold himself steady against her kisses as she bit at his lips and thrust her tongue into his mouth.

"Sam," he gasped, as her hand moved down his chest. "We're in a lab."

"Need you," she said. She slid off his lap, onto her knees in front of him. She pulled down the zipper of the jumpsuit, exposing his chest, and then lower. She pulled out his cock and slipped it between her lips before he could totally comprehend that he, Doctor Rodney McKay, was getting a blow job from a beautiful woman in a laboratory. He touched her hair, and felt wet heat surrounding him, and a soft tongue working him and he came, bellowing loudly enough so the whole base could probably hear him, but he was relatively sure people tuned him out.

* * *

McKay walked into the gate room for his second mission. As far as he was concerned, missions could be counted that way. Before Rodney. After Rodney. His pack was already hurting his shoulders, his feet ached in tight boots, and he could swear the stupid helmet was making him lose his hair. He paused next to the blast door to take in the site of Carter gazing at the Stargate in all of her Aeryn Sun Ripley-esque blonde glory. She was one amazingly hot woman.

He waited for the rush of lustful endorphins to radiate from his crotch and ease his hurting feet. Pain radiated through his ankles. The endorphins remained centered higher on his body, causing the area to throb. Crap, what was he, 12? He tried to think about quantum physics. McKay liked quantum physics. Loved quantum physics. Loved Carter for loving quantum physics. Differential equations. The double-slit experiment. Physics wasn't working, it was too sexy.

Instead, he thought about world literature. Allende. Rushdie. Himself in bed with Allende and Rushdie. That did the trick. He exhaled and glanced up at the control room. Weir was looking down with a faraway, sorrowful expression on her face. At least she wasn't scowling with embarrassment as his predicament. He followed her eyes, and realized she wasn't looking at him.

She was looking at Carter.

McKay sighed. So two women hot for him was just as preposterous as it sounded. He remembered seeing them together weeks ago in the mess hall, and realized his tired eyes hadn't been deceiving him. Those two had a bond, and McKay had a sinking feeling he would not be able to compete. He wanted to talk to Weir about it, to see if this was a problem between them, if they would have to duke it out over the blonde, but the Stargate began to dial and Weir's voice came over the intercom, throaty and rough, saying, "Good luck, SG1."

* * *

So much for good luck.

These aliens weren't quite as forthcoming as the empty planet had been, and McKay found himself captured, of all things, by an alien race. In the shoot-out that preceded SG1's surrender to an advanced civilization, Carter had gotten herself injured. Good for her. He wasn't even sure what the aliens were mad about. Blah, blah, plague, blah, blah, Canadians, blah, blah, your existence offends us. He was sitting in what he supposed was his lawyer's office, speaking via video link to Earth.

"So, how are things going?" Weir asked him.

"She's a beast. You wouldn't believe it. Mild-mannered Sam Carter, with all that darkness inside. She's a real soldier. Amazing. I wish..."

Weir, on the monitor, nodded. "I wish I could be like her, too."

"Oh, and I talked to her about you," McKay said.

"You what?" Weir's eyes widened and she leaned closer to the monitor.

"I wanted to know if your feelings for her were going to interfere with our relationship. I mean, her and my relationship. Although you and I--"

"How do you know what my feelings are? You arrogant, self-serving, piece of--"

"Elizabeth, don't you want to know her answer?"

"What? There's an answer?"

"She thinks it can work."

"Thinks what can work? What are you talking about? Are you insane? Is she insane?" Weir waved her arms in front of the monitor. "Stop. Wait. Why does that alien seem to have a gun to your head? How's the mission?"

"Oh. That. Frankly, a little creepy. We've um... Well, we've been captured. Arrested? Something. And they want to negotiate for our release. Or banishment. Or culturally-sensitive means of execution."

"What?" Weir, fuzzy from the transmission link, looked like the last thing she wanted to do was negotiate with a bunch of pissed off aliens.

"They're civilized people. They want to talk. Isn't that your thing?"

"Yes, but..." Weir furrowed her brow.

McKay said, "They don't like to travel."

"But..."

"You love to travel." McKay squinted at her through the monitor. "So hurry up, rescue us!"

"God, Rodney, what did you do?"

He was saved from answering by an alien reaching over and cutting the transmission. The alien then looked at him pointedly.

"I didn't do anything."

* * *

Two aliens and Lieutenant Hailey met Weir at the Stargate. Hailey was smiling thinly.

"What's going on?" Weir asked.

"Well, you're here to negotiate."

"I heard about that. Status?"

"Major Carter is injured."

Weir felt cold shock rush through her, and she put her hand on Hailey's shoulder to steady herself. "Don't worry," she said, struggling to find her voice. "I'm the best negotiator Earth has."

Hailey faced the path toward the alien encampment. "Yes, ma'am."

* * *

Weir paced the holding cell, waiting for her first appointment with the aliens. McKay sat slumped on a chair, watching her.

"So, what did she say about me?" Weir asked, pointedly not looking at him.

"Oh, now you want to know."

"Damnit, Rodney."

"She likes you. Loves you. Sees you as an equal. Trusts you. Admires your intellect. Blah, blah, blah. All things she's never said about me. Does she say anything about me?"

Weir furrowed her brow. "She obviously likes you Rodney, or she wouldn't be sleeping with you."

"Well, that's reassuring."

"Why do you have to quantify everything?"

"I'm a scientist!"

Weir put her hand to her forehead and laughed "This is all happening so fast."

"It's a life or death situation."

"Well, if I have to face a life or death situation, I'm glad you're here." She stopped pacing and faced him. "Rodney..."

He gazed down at his hands. "Elizabeth... Look, I don't know whether it's because she likes you, or because I like you, or because you like her and I know exactly how that feels and that gives us a bond, because, Christ, Elizabeth, I don't date, but--" His words were cut off by Weir pressing her mouth against his. "Mmmpf."

She drew back. "Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought."

McKay tried to protest the evaluation, but his lips were tingly so he just stared at her, open-mouthed.

Elizabeth squinted. "Should I have done that?"

"Yes," McKay said.

"I'm not sure. This all so intense. Damnit, why haven't the aliens arrived?" She resumed pacing.

McKay dabbed at his lips. "This has become rather complicated."

Weir scowled.

* * *

Carter had been unconscious since the initial row. Weir had managed to negotiate medical aid with her, which was a feat considering it meant the aliens had to touch her. In return, they got to 'study' their foreign specimens. Weir's cringing at the thought of bodily probes evaporated when the alien doctor injected Carter, who began to open her eyes. McKay immediately pounced on her, staring into her face.

"Uh... You're not the first thing I thought I'd see when I died," she said. She groaned and ran her tongue over her lips. Her eyes closed again.

"Well, take that to its logical conclusion, Doctor Carter."

Carter's eyes rolled under her eyelids.

Weir chuckled against McKay's shoulder, reaching past him to grab Carter's hand. "Welcome back, Major," she said, pleased when Carter squeezed her fingers.

McKay watched. "The intimacy between women is something I'll never understand."

Weir rested her cheek on McKay's shoulder. "Would you like to experience?"

"Um, well..."

Carter grinned and prodded McKay's leg, still keeping her eyes closed. She cringed the pain that came from moving, and her grin turned into a grimace. "Rain check?"

Weir untangled herself from McKay and said, "I'd love to see you in the rain." She frowned as soon as she said the words, and held her breath, looking at Carter.

Carter offered a wan smile. She said, weakly, "I think, Doctor Weir, you've saved my life."

"Does that mean I'm responsible for you forever?"

McKay glanced from Carter to Weir. He scooted back. Carter, still holding Weir's hand, gave a little tug, and Weir leaned forward. She reached out to stroke Carter's cheek. Carter's grasp slid to her wrist.

"When I..." Carter stopped, coughed, and started again as Weir brushed blood spittle from the corner of her mouth. "When I was unconscious, I saw... things. J-Janet. Dad. Even Colonel O'Neill. They all said..."

Weir's hand stilled on Carter's cheek.

"...I'm glad you're here," Carter finished.

Weir closed her eyes. She leaned forward, encouraged by Carter's caress of her arm. She meant to kiss Carter's cheek, but Carter must have turned her head, because she met lips instead. She hesitated, but Carter's lips were soft, and Carter wasn't recoiling. The kiss lingered. Carter fingers on McKay's leg tightened, encouraging him closer. He wrapped one arm around Weir's shoulders and stroked Carter's hair, avoiding the strands still matted with blood.

Carter turned her head, coughing. "Now that I'm awake...We should get out of here."

"Lead the way."

* * *

Carter subdued the doctor and the guard, and they made it as far as the main entrance before the aliens started shooting at them. Hailey relayed a message through the Stargate thanks to a remote dialing control Carter and McKay had invented, and SG1 made it as far as a storage shed 500 yards from the 'gate before they were surrounded by superior forces. Only then did Carter realize Weir had been shot in the abdomen, a through-and-through that they hoped only penetrated fatty tissue and grazed a rib, but she was bleeding despite their efforts at compression.

Weir, on the ground against a wooden wall, coughed. "I can't run anymore. I guess I'm not as strong as you."

Carter leaned forward, cupping Weir's cheek. "Are you kidding? You just defied a planet. Takes a lot of guts to cause interstellar catastrophe."

Weir smiled, and coughed again. "You seem to be feeling better."

"Whatever they treated me with at least numbed the pain." Carter wiped a spot of blood from Weir's lip. "And hey, that's what makes you a good administrator. Courage."

"Thank you, Major Carter. I'll put that on my resume." Weir laughed.

"Sam."

Weir reached up and squeezed Carter's wrist. "Sam."

"Elizabeth."

"He told you to say that, didn't he."

"Like I'd ever listen to him."

Weir smiled. She continued to stroke Carter's arm, rubbing her thumb over the delicate veins near her palm.

Carter leaned forward and kissed Weir's forehead. She drew back. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. We could be dying."

"Is that a line, Doctor Weir?"

"I'm just saying... I have been in worse places in my life."

Carter kissed Weir again, and then pressed her forehead against the spot, sighing.

McKay yelled from the other room, "I found a way out."

Weir said, "Really?"

"Yes, Elizabeth. I can handle simple excavation."

Carter rolled her eyes. "Idiot."

"Your idiot." Weir coughed, spitting blood onto Carter's uniform. Carter slid her arms around Weir's torso. "Ready?"

"This is going to hurt, isn't it?"

"A lot."

"What does a soldier say to this?" Weir wrapped her arms around Carter's neck.

"It's what lets you know you're alive," Carter said.

"And we're glad you're alive," McKay said, watching from the doorway. "Can we celebrate life later?"

* * *

Five days later, they celebrated life at the McGibbon Tavern, drinking beer at the bar and tossing peanut shells onto the floor.

"Why'd we come here?" McKay complained, wiping his hands with a napkin. "It's unsanitary."

"So we could do this," Carter said, and tossed a peanut at him.

McKay rolled his eyes.

Weir chuckled and slapped Carter's thigh.

Carter took another sip of beer.

Weir leaned against the bar. "You're looking contemplative, Sam."

Carter looked into the beer. "When you were in the infirmary, I wished Janet had been there."

Weir looked down.

McKay found the neon signs above the bar fascinating.

Carter set the beer down. "...Because I knew she'd take care of you. It's the first time I walked into that room and thought of someone else, first. It was your well-being that mattered. It was weird."

Weir looked up, blinking. "Weird?"

"Aw, I love girl talk," McKay said.

Weir glanced at Carter. "Are we taking him home?"

"God knows what you'd do without me," McKay said.

Carter snorted. "Finish your beer."

* * *

They ended up at the base. Weir logged herself into VIP quarters. Neutral territory.

"Have you thought about this, Rodney?"

"Well, not in this setting. The three of us on the set of Star Trek's 'The Well of Forever,' sure."

"And tell me, Rodney," Weir said, her voice sultry as she ran her hand across his shoulder. "Did you last?"

"Please, Elizabeth. Simple physics."

Carter looked into the dimly-lit, sterile quarters, and said, "Everything's changing... Superweapons, Camulus, the Tok'ra..."

Weir took her hand. "Nothing's changing tonight."

"So... What do I do?" McKay asked.

"Watch."

Weir stepped forward, tugging Carter's hand, and brushed her lips against Carter's cheek.
Carter sighed and slipped her arm around Weir's waist. Weir turned her head and kissed her solidly, sighing as Carter yielded.

"That's so hot," McKay said, watching as ordered. Part of his mind wondered if there should be more romantic lighting, or softer sheets, or candles. Women loved candles, he thought, and two women would want twice as many. But Carter and Weir were kissing in front of him in a nondescript room on a military base, and he was loathe to interrupt with helpful suggestions.

Carter was chuckling against Weir's mouth. Weir squeezed her hand, and said, "Rodney."

"Uh?"

"Undress."

McKay tore off his shirt, and unzipped his pants, wincing as the zipper dragged past his hardening penis. He shoved his pants and briefs to the floor and stepped out of them, very aware he was a buck-naked, rather pale man standing in front of two beautiful women. And, his balls informed him, there was a draft in the room.

Weir rescued him by saying, "Now, get on the bed."

He stretched out on the bed, settling with his head against the headboard. "I've had this fantasy about Angelina Jolie after she played a hacker, and Denise Richards after she was a physicist but I never thought--" His pale body was exposed above dark sheets, his penis half-hard and trembling as Carter and Weir knelt on either side of him, raising themselves on their knees to kiss each other. He watched as Carter began unbuttoning Weir's blouse. "Really, you don't have to include me. You're beautiful and I'd understand. I'd face a lifetime of bitterness, but I'd understand."

Carter drew back, but Weir spoke. "It's better if we're all together."

McKay exhaled. "So next time we invite Hailey and Teal'c? Maybe Walter? Do anything to stave off the utter loneliness of the uncaring universe?"

"You saw Contact."

"I read Contact," McKay said, indignant.

Weir smiled, and turned slightly to place her hand on McKay's chest. His heart pounded.

Carter cupped him lower. "Do you want Teal'c fist wrapped around your cock?"

"Oh, God," McKay said as his eyes rolled back in his head. "Everything seems attractive when you say it."

Carter squeezed him.

McKay groaned. "Don't. I'll come... Just don't. No touching. Sam."

Carter stilled her hand on his penis, and said, "Say my name again."

"Sam."

Carter let him go, and turned back to Weir, pushing her shirt off her shoulders. Weir maneuvered to unclasp her own bra as Carter pulled her sweatshirt off, tossing it onto McKay's face. He inhaled, smelling sweat and strawberries, and he tucked the shirt behind his head like a pillow, still able to catch Carter's lingering scent.

Both women were nude to the waist, and Weir took Carter's cheeks in her hands and leaned in to kiss her. Carter moaned, opening her mouth and letting Weir's tongue inside. McKay could see glimpses of tongues dueling. "Sam," he said again, and Carter moaned against Weir's mouth. Weir ran her hands down Carter's sides and settled on her hips, drawing Carter closer. Carter shivered as their breasts met, and neither noticed McKay scooting up against the headboard for a better view, his hand between his legs.

"Sam..." This time Weir crooned her name, and then nipped again at her bottom lip.

Carter dropped her head to kiss Weir's shoulder. Dark curls brushed her forehead as Weir leaned into her. Weir's hand left her hip and pulled open the top button of her jeans, creating an opening large enough to slip her hand inside. Carter moaned as Weir's hand moved lower, the constriction of the denim around her adding pressure.

"Holy shit." McKay knew he was close to exploding.

Carter rolled her hips against Weir's fingers, panting. Weir glanced at McKay. She smirked. "He's not going to last."

"By the time we're ready for him, he'll be hard again," Carter said. She wrapped her arms around Weir's lower back and guided her to the bed so that her head was next to McKay's waist. McKay was unsure how to react. Touching Weir or Carter, or having them touch him, would lead to catastrophic reaction. He concentrated on breathing, which was difficult enough, and panted as he felt Weir's shoulder against his thigh.

Weir extracted her hand, and Carter grabbed it, lifting it to her lips to lick the fluid from them. Then she leaned over and licked the head of McKay's penis with the same flick of her tongue. McKay convulsed, and said, "God, those letters to Penthouse were all true."

Weir worked her way out of the rest of her clothes. Carter nuzzled at McKay's fingers briefly, and then turned her attention back to Weir. She kissed Weir softly, and then worked her way down Weir's body, kissing each hard nipple, and then the hollow between her breasts, and then her belly button. Weir watched the blonde head descend, and when Carter buried her face between her legs, she began to moan. Her cries were constant as Carter's tongue lapped at her. Her fingers tangled in Carter's hair. "More."

"Elizabeth," McKay said, turning, scooting down and pressing against her side. Despite what he'd thought at the outset, watching wasn't enough. She lifted her chin as his lips descended. He groaned and made a choking, gasping sound, his mouth barely brushing hers as he squeezed his eyes shut. She sucked on his upper lip, and he cried out, coming, knowing he was spurting onto Weir's stomach.

Letting go of Carter's hair with one hand, Weir reached up to cup McKay's face as she kissed him. McKay responded with equal pressure for a lingering moment, and then drew back. His face was red, and he was panting as he looked down to see what Carter was doing between Weir's knees. His face contorted, and then he frowned. "I... can't think of anything to say."

Weir laughed. She settled her shoulders back onto the bed, and closed her eyes. "There, Sam. Right there... Yes... "

McKay watched Carter's tongue penetrate Weir. He sighed, watching Carter lick her, listening to Weir's moans. He wanted to touch Carter's back and feel her moving as she made love to Weir, and he wanted to hold Weir, to feel her shuddering as her lover touched her. Weir made his decision when she jerked and flailed out her arm toward him. He grabbed her hand, and scooted closer, so that he could feel her trembling against his hip.

She came, calling out Carter's name, and then, surprisingly, his, and kept her eyes closed until her quivering subsided and Carter revealed her wet, shining face.

McKay exhaled. "You're impressive."

Carter turned red. "Well... I'm a pilot."

Weir, keeping her eyes closed, raised her eyebrows.

"What?"

McKay got to his knees. "The only question now is... Who gets to touch her first?"

Carter's eyes widened as she backed off the bed.

Weir stretched. She didn't bother to look at either of them. "Me."

* * *

Carter opened her eyes. The bedroom was dim, lit only by green emergency lights near the ceiling, and the corridor light shining through the small, frosted glass window in the door. She rolled her head to look at the bedside clock. "It's morning," she said, unsure whether anyone else was yet awake. "And you drooled on my shoulder."

Weir, curled at her side, snorted and nuzzled her arm.

"What do we do, tomorrow?"

A knock came at the door.

McKay rolled onto his back and groaned. "I think we all get fired."

"Shush." Carter pulled the blanket over her head. McKay did the same. Weir, between them, sat up and rubbed at her eyes. "Why do I have to get it?"

"You're the superior officer," Carter said.

"Yeah," McKay agreed.

"I'm not even in the military," Weir said.

"Well, neither am I! Major?"

Carter pretended to snore.

Weir glanced at the two lumps, and sighed. She pulled on Carter's sweatshirt, retrieved from the foot of the bed, before calling, "Come in!" She heard the click of an access card in the door and then an officer swung it open. "Ma'am."

"Lieutenant?"

Carter, beside her, snickered. Weir poked at the lump.

The soldier was unfazed. "We've received word that Doctor Jackson is en route, and the president has called twice."

Weir looked at the clock. "Crap."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." He nodded, and left, closing the door behind him.

"He seemed relieved to go," Weir said thoughtfully.

The two lumps jiggled with laughter beside her.

She let herself sink back into the bed. "Things are about to change."

END