PART 5
Elizabeth Weir knew she needed to stay back as the medical team rushed forward as soon as the Puddle Jumper landed in the bay. She could feel the tension as everyone waited to get their first real look at Colonel John Sheppard. Lorne had been in contact from the minute they’d left the planet and given updates on both Sheppard’s and McKay’s condition. Both men were unconscious and she fought the guilt that nearly overwhelmed her at the thought that she’d allowed the Canadian to leave Atlantis when he was obviously still nursing his own injuries.
Elizabeth knew they were bringing Aiden Ford’s body back with them and wasn’t sure how she felt about the man. Ford was not at fault for what had happened to him, but he had done a lot of damage since becoming addicted to the wraith enzyme. The lieutenant had been allied with Kolya and Michael in kidnapping John Sheppard, and that was something she could not easily dismiss. She knew Sheppard would want to write a letter to Ford’s family, and would normally accompany him home, but there was no way that could happen until John was back on his feet.
Elizabeth took a step forward when the doors opened, but caught herself and moved out of the way as the two mobile stretchers were brought closer to the Puddle Jumper and Rodney McKay was carried out and placed on the first one. His upper body was elevated and an oxygen mask covered his mouth and nose, but his breathing sounded harsh. His face was pale and his eyes closed as he was whisked past her and she turned her head back to the second stretcher as Sheppard was placed on it.
Whereas McKay was pale, Sheppard was beyond that, his skin almost translucent in the bright Atlantis lights. There were bruises showing beneath the thermal blanket covering him to the chest, and wounds that appeared raw and what looked like tooth marks covered several of them. Her head came up as Beckett ordered the medical team to get moving. “Carson…”
“I don’t know, Elizabeth…I’ve got to get him to the infirmary and God willing he’ll have the strength to get through this,” Beckett told her, but he never stopped moving alongside Sheppard’s stretcher.
Weir fell into step behind them and kept pace until they reached the infirmary. Once inside she stayed back with the others and glanced into a curtained off area where the staff was working diligently on Rodney McKay. They were inserting a chest tube and she felt sick at the sight of the blood, but could not tear her gaze from the sight. She turned away when she heard footsteps approaching and smiled at the man standing beside her. “Ronan…thank you for bringing them home.”
“I didn’t do anything, Dr. Weir,” Dex told her and nodded to the inner area of the infirmary. “How are they?”
“I don’t know…Carson didn’t have much to say,” Weir said.
“McKay found him…tried to get Ford off Sheppard and Beckett says he punctured a lung,” the Setedan explained.
“They’re putting in a chest tube now…Rodney…”
“Is strange, but he’s not the coward some people seem to think,” Dex told her. “Beckett’s worried about Sheppard…said something about him being hypothermic on top of everything else.”
“Look, I’m f…fine…”
“Uhoh, sounds like Rodney’s awake,” Weir said with a slight smile in spite of the seriousness of the situation.
“Sounds angry.”
“I better see if I can calm him down,” Weir said and pushed aside the curtain to find McKay struggling weakly with the staff. “Rodney, going somewhere?”
“Thank God, Elizabeth…where’s Sheppard?” McKay asked, his breath coming in hitching gasps as he slapped the hands away.
“Carson is taking care of him, Rodney, but right now you need to calm down and let Dr. Rawlings take care of you,” Weir said and nodded at the woman who was holding a needle in her hands.
“Oh no…” McKay said and was asleep as soon as the medication entered his system.
“How is he?” Elizabeth asked.
“Better now that we’ve inserted the chest tube, but if he keeps doing this he’ll do even more damage,” Barbara Rawlings answered.
“Maybe you should keep him unconscious,” Weir said, a hint of a smile on her face before she left the cubicle. She noticed several people had joined them in the waiting area and nodded to Zelenka and Teyla. She moved to take a seat, but fear filled her as she heard Beckett’s cry of alarm.
“We’re losing him…charging…”
SGASGASGASGASGA
Elizabeth had no idea how much time actually passed, but she judged it to be anywhere from a minute to and eternity before Carson stepped out to speak to them. One look at the CMO told her things were as bad, if not worse than she’d imagined. “Carson…”
“He’s alive….how I don’t know, but if I had to hazard a guess I’d say it’s pure John Sheppard stubbornness,” Beckett told her and sat down. “We’ve got him a stable as he’s going to be and we’re prepping him for surgery right now, but I thought I should give you all an update.”
“Is he strong enough for that?” Teyla asked.
“I hope so, Lass, but right now we can’t wait any longer. He’s got internal injuries that require immediate intervention. Colonel Sheppard lost a lot of blood and we’ve given him three pints already and he’ll probably need more once we open him up, but it can’t be helped. He’s also hypothermic and we’re making sure everything is warmed before giving it to him,” Beckett told them. “This could take several hours, Elizabeth, but I’ll let you know as soon as he’s out of surgery.”
“Thank you, Carson,” Weir said and turned to face the others. “Teyla, you should be resting that leg.”
“I’m fine right here, Elizabeth,” Teyla told her. She was sitting with her leg propped up and her crutches leaning against the wall beside her. One look told Weir she would not be leaving any time soon.
Elizabeth looked at Ronan Dex and knew there was no point in reminding him that it wasn’t that long ago when he was a patient in the infirmary and moved to sit beside Teyla. She placed her hands on her face and rubbed at tired eyes, wondering how long it had been since she’d gotten any real sleep. She knew it was before the mission that ended with three of Sheppard’s team injured and the colonel in the hands of his worst nightmare.
“Elizabeth, John is a fighter and he will not let Kolya and the others win,” Teyla observed and hoped she was right.
“I know…he’s been through so much and I know how hard it was for him when Ford changed. John blames himself when something happens to one of his people whether he’s at fault or not. It’s what makes him his own worst enemy at times,” Weir told them.
“Sheppard is a good man to have watching your back, but he doesn’t like to admit he needs someone to do the same for him,” Dex said.
“And you do?” Teyla lightly teased.
“It is part of being a warrior,” Ronan answered simply and the group grew quiet. Over the next two hours the people of Atlantis took the time to stop in for news on their injured friends, but three people remained a constant during the whole time.
SGASGASGASGASGA
Awareness was slow in coming, but little sounds intruded on his dreams and he became aware of an uncomfortable feeling in his chest. There was something annoying under his nostrils and he felt the cooling mist enter his lungs before recognizing the nasal canulas were the source of his discomfort. He shifted slightly and pain flared through his body as he gasped for air. A hand touched his shoulder gently and he opened his eyes to look into the worried eyes of Elizabeth Weir.
“Easy, Rodney, you’re safe now,” Weir soothed.
“Elizabeth? How? When did we get back?”
“About six hours ago…how do you feel?”
“Numb…what happened?”
“What do you remember?”
McKay closed his eyes and drew on the fleeting images that had plagued his dreams. Something had happened, but for the life of him he couldn’t quite grasp what was troubling him until one image cleared and he sat up on the bed. “Sheppard! Oh, God, Elizabeth…we found him, but he’s…he’s hurt…”
“Easy, Rodney, or you’ll undo Dr. Rawlings’ hard work…”
“Yes…yes, but Sheppard…where is he?”
“He’s in surgery, Rodney…”
“Oh, God, is he….will he be okay?”
“Carson’s working on him and we both know he’s the best there is,” Weir told him.
“How long before we know something?” McKay asked, flicking back the blankets.
“Rodney…”
“What?”
“In case you haven’t noticed you have several accessories that are keeping you confined to that bed. Not to mention that you are practically in your birthday suit, Weir teased.
“Dammit…where are my pants?” McKay cursed indignantly.
“Not within hands reach,” Weir told him and folded her arms across her chest in a familiar gesture. “Look, Rodney, I’m sorry…”
“For what?” McKay asked.
“I should never have let you go on that mission…not when you were already injured…”
“Do you really think that would have stopped me, Elizabeth? John Sheppard is a friend and we don’t leave our people behind…”
“I know, but I could have sent someone who wasn’t in danger of puncturing a lung, Rodney.”
“I would have found a way to go whether you agreed to it or not,” McKay said, sliding back on the bed as she covered him with the blankets. “You are not to blame for this…Ford was there…was he...”
“Aiden’s dead, Rodney,” Weir answered.
“I’m sorry…I know how hard it is for you to lose anyone, but in this case Ford made his own choices although most of that can be blamed on his encounter with the wraith.”
“It is hard…” Weir said and turned to see Carson Beckett walking toward her. She wished she could get a read on the man, but his face showed only fatigue. He’d taken the time to remove his blood stained clothing, and for that she was thankful as he stepped up to the bed.
“Well, Rodney, I must say you look better than you did the last time I saw you.”
“Must be the accessories,” McKay snapped. “How’s Sheppard?”
“Well, that man’s got to be one of the most stubborn…”
“I thought that was a given,” McKay told him.
“Yes, well, maybe it is a good thing at times like this. Colonel Sheppard is alive because…”
“He has the best medical team in the Pegasus Galaxy looking after him,” Weir said.
“Thank you, Elizabeth,” Beckett said, automatically glancing at the monitoring equipment and making note of the readings. “We repaired the internal injuries, but there was extensive damage done to his abdomen. There were several wounds that appeared to have been…”
“Been what, Carson?” Weir asked.
“It looks like they were cause by teeth,” Beckett answered. “There’s also evidence of some unknown pathogen in his blood work and it seems to be affecting the wounds and preventing them from healing properly. None of them require stitches, but until I find out exactly what the pathogen is we’ll need to keep a close watch on him. He’s still hypothermic, but we’ve brought his core temperature up to 94…”
“How bad was it?” McKay asked worriedly. He knew how dangerous hypothermia could be, but he also knew that it was seldom fatal anymore as long as the patient was treated in time. The problem was, Sheppard had other injuries and unknowns that could be detrimental to his recovery.
“89 when we first got to him,” Beckett answered.
“Is there any good news?” McKay asked.
“Well, he’s alive and that in itself is a bit of a miracle so maybe we can hope for a few more miracles before we’re through,” Carson told him.
“If I know John Sheppard he’ll be awake and anxious to get out of that bed and back on mission status before Carson has a chance to tell him what his injuries are,” Weir interjected.
“Well, I’m afraid that won’t be for a few days. I’ve got him hooked up to a ventilator and heavily sedated for now. I’m hoping it’ll give him a chance to grow stronger before he has to face what’s ahead of him,” Beckett explained.
“You mean there’s more?” McKay asked.
“Well, we did have to do some invasive surgery and that will make moving hard…plus with him down we’ll need to watch out for complications like pneumonia,” Beckett explained. “For now all we can do is monitor him and make sure we stay ahead of any problems. Now, Rodney, I think it’s time you closed your eyes and got some rest…”
“When can I see John?” Weir asked once McKay was settled back in the bed and sleeping under the influence of the drugs he was being fed.
“Not for some time. I just wanted to update you before we got John settled in the SICU. I’ll let you know when the nurses have finished making him comfortable,” the weary physician told her.
“He is going to be all right, isn’t he?”
“I hope so, Elizabeth, but it’s too soon to tell,” Beckett told her before heading back to his patient.
SGASGASGASGASGA
Acastus Kolya knew there were only so many places he could hide without word getting back to the Genii or Atlantis. He knew he’d made another enemy in Michael and the other wraith hybrids, but he didn’t fear them. What he feared was never having the power he coveted and that meant failure. That word had no right being in his vocabulary, but since meeting the inhabitants of Atlantis it had become an enigma he just couldn’t get rid of.
Kolya knew his plan had been highly dependant on his ability to make Sheppard talk, but the colonel had proven time and again that he would never betray the people of Atlantis. He wanted to tear down the man’s inner will, but a part of him admired Sheppard for the strength to defy his tormentors. Even when faced with the anger of his worst enemies, Sheppard had managed to hold his head high and fought to keep Atlantis’ secrets to himself.
There were still people and places Kolya could depend on, but it would be hard to escape discovery. What he needed was a place to go to ground and perhaps he could se his harpoon to capture Sheppard again. It had worked twice, but could he do it again? Sheppard had been in bad shape when he’d left the planet…was he even alive? Had he been rescued or was he food for whatever creatures inhabited the dead forest surrounding the compound?
“You’re not that easy to kill, are you, Colonel,” he whispered and knew there were several ways he could find out about Sheppard, but for now he would go to ground on a desolate world where the inhabitants had lived underground for centuries and had no idea that there was a world outside their walls. They had looked to him as an advisor who showed up on occasion to share the mysteries of the unknown and treated him as a ‘God’.
Kolya put the small craft on auto pilot and leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his head as a smug smile formed on his face. “I’m going to break you, Colonel, and when I do perhaps I will allow you to live if you bow down to me as is fitting.”
SGASGASGASGASGA
For the people of Atlantis, time seemed to drag by as the seconds slowly ticked toward minutes and then hours, but there was always someone waiting for news on John Sheppard. Carson looked up when Elizabeth Weir entered his office and stood up to meet her. “You can look in on him now, Elizabeth, but I wanted to warn you that you might find it a bit overwhelming because of the equipment we’re using.”
“I’ve seen people in ICU before, Carson,” Weir assured him.
“I know…but I just wanted to let you know what to expect,” Beckett said and led her to the closed in area where John Sheppard lay amidst a jumble of machinery, leads, and tubing. There didn’t seem to be an unaffected area on his body and Beckett automatically looked at the monitors to make sure everything was working properly.
“You weren’t kidding, Carson…I need one of those ancient devices just to find him in there,” Weir said, hoping to ease the tension in the other man.
“He’s in there,” Beckett assured her and moved away so she could see Sheppard’s face.
Elizabeth thought she was prepared, but the sight of the pale, washed out appearance was nearly her undoing. She took several deep breaths before reaching over the safety rails and touched Sheppard’s bare left shoulder. It seemed to be the only place devoid of wires, bandages, or tubing and she fought to control her emotions. “He looks…fragile…”
“That’s hardly a word I’d use to describe Colonel Sheppard,” Beckett told her, but realized it actually fit in these circumstances.
“How long are you going to keep him sedated?”
“Probably for the next 48 hours. I want to give him a chance to rest,” Beckett answered.
“Were you able to isolate the pathogen?”
“No…we do know it’s not contagious, but it’s damaging the colonel’s immune system and we may have to put him in isolation for his own good.”
“Is that really necessary?” Weir asked.
“I’m afraid so…if his immune system is compromised he’ll be susceptible to every little bug that’s out there and anything as simple as a cold could kill him,” Beckett warned her.
“Damn it…I wish I could get my hands on Kolya and Michael!” Weir snapped. She knew if she did she would show them her own brand of justice, but right now John Sheppard was her priority, second only to the city they now called home and the people who lived there.
“He’s a fighter, Elizabeth, and we’ve got plenty of people working on finding a way to neutralize the pathogen. We’ll find it,” Beckett assured her before leaving the woman alone with the injured man.
“John, I know you probably can’t hear me, but in case…well you know,” Weir said and realized she was fighting for the right words. “You’re going to be fine…Carson has everyone working on finding an antidote for the pathogen, so promise me you’ll hang on, John, because we need you…I need you” She said and turned away before she revealed too much about her feelings.
SGASGASGASGASGASGA
Rodney McKay was ready to kill whoever was sitting on his chest, but didn’t have the strength to lift his hand and swat at the fly buzzing around his head. He frowned when he realized it couldn’t be a fly, not when he could make out a few words every now and then. Someone was trying to wake him, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to wake up just yet, not when it felt like his chest was on fire.
“Come on, Rodney, it’s time you woke up…”
That was Beckett, McKay was sure of it, but why did the man’s accent seem so damn thick? Was he worried about something? Couldn’t Carson see that he needed to sleep? Something touched his hand and he tried to pull away, but again he couldn’t find the energy or willpower to make more than a token protest.
“Rodney…Zelenka says he’s the genius…”
“The real genius is sleeping here!” McKay protested, opening his eyes when he heard a strange sound from his tormentor. He stared at Carson Beckett who stood next to his bed with his arms folded, and a slight smile on his face.
“I thought that would work,” Beckett said and reached out to check the tube leading into McKay’s side. “How do you feel?”
“I was feeling just fine until you woke me. I suppose now you’ll offer e a sleeping pill to help me sleep?”
“No, I don’t think so. You’ve been sleeping for nearly eighteen hours and although we’ve enjoyed the peace and quiet I figured it was time to wake you and get you something to eat,” the physician explained.
“Eighteen hours…I could go into hypoglycemic shock and it would be all your fault…” McKay quipped, but suddenly grew serious as he realized how long he’d been asleep.
“What’s wrong, Rodney? Are you in pain?” Beckett asked worried about the sudden change in his patient.
“Sheppard…he was hurt…is he…”
“Colonel Sheppard is alive, Rodney, but he’s in bad shape.”
“Can I see him?”
“Not right now. You’re not at your best either right now and I don’t want you moving around too much. Popping one lung is quite enough so we won’t be taking any more chances that you’ll do the same with the other one.”
“Sheppard is he…will he be okay?”
“I’m not going to sugar coat it, Rodney,” Beckett told him and sat on the edge of the bed. “Colonel Sheppard is in quarantine right now because there’s some kind of pathogen in his system that’s wreaking havoc with his body’s natural immunities. To put it simply a common cold could easily kill him right now.”
“Oh, God, why didn’t I make sure he followed us through the gate,” McKay whispered, his voice filled with despair.
“Rodney, you were injured and so were Teyla and Ronan. Second guessing thing now won’t help anyone.”
“Sheppard always says we don’t leave anyone behind, Carson…I broke that code and he might die because…”
“Not if I can help it, Rodney,” Beckett stated. “Sheppard may be down, but he’s far from out and if there’s one thing I’ve learned since coming to Atlantis is that things are never what they seem. Remember what the wraith did?”
“The one that drained Sheppard…how could I forget? I mean we all thought he was dead, but when we found him he looked younger than ever and his hair…his hair was the only thing messed up about him and God only knows that’s how he wears it anyway,” McKay said with a lopsided grin.
“Exactly…don’t count him out, Rodney,” Beckett told him, patting McKay’s leg before standing so the nurse could place a tray of food on the small table. “You eat that and then get some rest.”
“Are you going to check on Sheppard?”
“That’s where I’m headed,” Beckett answered.
“Tell him,” McKay realized what he was about to say and scrubbed his hands on his fact. “I guess you can’t tell him anything.”
“You’ll be able to tell him yourself in a few days, Rodney,” the physician assured him.
Rodney watched the other man leave and leaned back against the pillows as the nurse lifted the lids off the plate of food. McKay looked at it disinterestedly and knew he should eat, but right now all he could think about was John Sheppard. The man was certainly an enigma and had surprised Rodney again and again since they’d first met. Most people would think of Sheppard as a typical soldier, until they took the time to get to know him. Sheppard was smart, smarter than he let on and McKay knew John could probably hold his own in a room full of scientists, but Sheppard kept silent about his abilities.
“Dr. McKay, you really should eat,” the nurse told him.
Rodney picked up the fork and looked at the food before finally tasting the casserole and finding it wasn’t too bad, but he just wasn’t feeling all that hungry. He ate about half of what was on his plate and reached for the glass of juice just as Elizabeth Weir entered his room.
“Hello, Rodney, it’s good to see you awake.”
“Yes, well, Carson has me hooked up to some pretty potent medications.”
“I can see that,” Weir said, a hint of a smile on her face. “How do you feel?”
“Right now…not much of anything…as I said he’s giving me the good stuff. Have you seen Sheppard?”
“I just came form isolation. Carson is going to ease off on the sedative tomorrow and let him wake up.”
“Is that wise? I mean he was hurt so bad and he’ll be in pain…and…”
“Easy, Rodney, Carson won’t let him be in any pain,” Weir assured him.
“Elizabeth, I don’t remember everything about finding Sheppard, but I seem to remember Ford being there,” McKay whispered. “Was I dreaming that?”
“No, Ford was there, Rodney. I don’t know the whole story, but from what I can tell Ford saved John’s life. Carson did some tests and discovered there was very little of the wraith enzyme left in Ford’s bloodstream and that’s probably what killed him. Ford was dependant on the enzyme and without it he would have gone through a nasty withdrawal period.”
“I saw him during the first few days after it happened…he didn’t deserve that.”
“No, he didn’t, but he chose to leave before Carson had a chance to help him. If he’d stayed…”
“If…that’s a small word with a rather large definition,” McKay said and sighed heavily. “I think you’re right about him saving Sheppard’s life, but the only one who can tell us is Sheppard and he’s not going to be able to tell us much of anything for a while.”
“I know,” Weir agreed.
“What about Kolya and Michael…did you find them?”
“No, I’m sorry, Rodney, but we have no way of tracking them. Major Lorne took a team back to the planet, but aside from finding several bodies in the lower level of the compound there was nothing.”
“Damn, I was hoping we’d be able to capture them before Sheppard woke up.”
“I think that’s something we all wished for, Rodney, but it doesn’t look like it’ll happen until they make their next move,” Weir told him.
“You can be sure they’ll come after Sheppard…at least Kolya will. He’s not a man who loses easily and when he does he’s not likely to take it with a grain of salt,” McKay said.
“We know Kolya is after John and be on alert, but…”
“You can’t stop him from going on off world missions, Elizabeth…if you do you might as well send him back to Earth.”
“I wouldn’t even if I had that kind of authority, Rodney. John is a valued member of this exhibition and we can’t afford to lose anyone else,” Weir said. “Rodney, go ahead and rest…we’ll keep you in the loop where John is concerned.”
“Thank you, Elizabeth,” McKay said and closed his eyes. His mind drifted back over the last few weeks and he wondered if Kolya would ever leave Atlantis alone.
SGASGASGASGASGA
Michael looked at the red moon shining high overhead and knew they could make this planet their base for now. There were natural caves in the mountains that had never been used and it was here they would spend their time. The planet had several indigenous creatures including several humanoids who could be fed upon when needed. The planet itself offered very little in the way of technology, but his followers would be able to bring back what they needed from other worlds they could gate to.
Michael heard movement behind him and turned to find his loyal friend silhouetted against the darker background. “Did you find everything we need?”
“I believe you will find everything you asked for.”
“Was there any word on Sheppard or Kolya?”
“Nothing at all about Kolya, but it seems you were right about having to leave the planet. Sheppard’s people came for him.”
“I am not finished with Sheppard and someday we will have him and Carson Beckett at our mercy,” Michael vowed. He kept staring at the moon and was reminded of blood…and the hunger grew so intense that his stomach churned. He craved the taste of the humans, but because of Beckett’s interference he could no longer feed off them. That was something Carson Beckett would pay for; it was simply a matter of time.
PART 1 / PART 2 / PART 3 / PART 4 / PART 6 / PART 7 / PART 8
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