Again, I like the way you're developing Kate's character, and her relationship with John. The scene with Liz was well done, and I very much liked the last scene--I like the idea of John eventually opening up to her, and I'm glad she's sensitive enough not to push it, no matter how much she wants to!
But...it's strange for me, rampant Rodney fan that I am, to read such a different perspective on how he would react to the events of TS/TE. In most of the McKay fanon I've run across, Rodney's main issue is disgust with himself for caving in to a few minutes' torture, which he feels he should have manfully resisted (as he's sure Sheppard would have). He takes no pride in defending Liz bodily from a Genii bullet, but mostly because it was something he did without thinking it over first--he takes no credit for some sort of crazy-ass instinct!! And that fits better with the way that David Hewlett and the scriptwriters have been developing him than what I see here.
I bring this up mostly because...well, I think you may not realize that there's quite a jarring lack of sympathy for Rodney in your writing. When it's in the background, it's pretty easy to ignore, but in a context like Altered States, or the therapy scene above, I think I weakens your portrayal of the other characters. Your Kate is normally intelligent and sympathetic--and I can see why she'd lose patience with Rodney despite that, I do!! But she also cultivates her own self-awareness, and you're writing her with a blind spot towards Rodney's vulnerabilities that maybe she wouldn't have, if you could muster up a more sympathetic view of him yourself?
Of course, that's the advice of a markedly biased fan, so feel free to take it with a grain (or more!) of salt. It's just something very noticeable and uncomfortable to me as a reader, that maybe you don't realize you're doing. If I'm wrong about that, or if you're just writing it as you see it and content to do so, great! In all other respects, I'm enjoying your stories very much, and I'm sure that'll continue to be true. ^^
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But...it's strange for me, rampant Rodney fan that I am, to read such a different perspective on how he would react to the events of TS/TE. In most of the McKay fanon I've run across, Rodney's main issue is disgust with himself for caving in to a few minutes' torture, which he feels he should have manfully resisted (as he's sure Sheppard would have). He takes no pride in defending Liz bodily from a Genii bullet, but mostly because it was something he did without thinking it over first--he takes no credit for some sort of crazy-ass instinct!! And that fits better with the way that David Hewlett and the scriptwriters have been developing him than what I see here.
I bring this up mostly because...well, I think you may not realize that there's quite a jarring lack of sympathy for Rodney in your writing. When it's in the background, it's pretty easy to ignore, but in a context like Altered States, or the therapy scene above, I think I weakens your portrayal of the other characters. Your Kate is normally intelligent and sympathetic--and I can see why she'd lose patience with Rodney despite that, I do!! But she also cultivates her own self-awareness, and you're writing her with a blind spot towards Rodney's vulnerabilities that maybe she wouldn't have, if you could muster up a more sympathetic view of him yourself?
Of course, that's the advice of a markedly biased fan, so feel free to take it with a grain (or more!) of salt. It's just something very noticeable and uncomfortable to me as a reader, that maybe you don't realize you're doing. If I'm wrong about that, or if you're just writing it as you see it and content to do so, great! In all other respects, I'm enjoying your stories very much, and I'm sure that'll continue to be true. ^^