Part 6
‘Okay, John, you can do this…just open your eyes…that’s all it takes…’ Those words ran through his mind as he slowly awakened to the knowledge that he was hurting…everywhere. He’d never been one to turn away from his problems, but pain was something he didn’t like facing. He tried to breathe, but something intruded down his throat and panic ensued as his mind came completely awake and his eyes shot open.
“Easy, Colonel, you’re okay. You’re in the infirmary and you have a tube to help you breathe…look at me now…”
John knew that voice and trusted it, but why was Carson Beckett torturing him? What was going on? Where were Kolya and Michael and Ford? ‘Oh God, Ford’s dead…have to…have to talk…’
“Colonel…John, you need to calm down or I’ll have to put you under again,” Beckett explained and turned to the nurse as he began removing the tape holding the tube in place. “This isn’t helping…I’m going to remove the tube. Just hold on a second, Colonel, and we’ll make you comfortable. I need you to breathe out for me.”
John heard Beckett’s words and nodded slightly as his mind cleared slightly and he recognized his surroundings. At Carson’s command John breathed out and felt the tube being pulled from his throat. He coughed and groaned and tried to turn on his side, but suddenly realized he was restrained. “Car….Carson…”
“Colonel, don’t try to talk just yet. Your throat is probably sore and it’ll stay that way for a while. Now I know you dislike being restrained and I’ll have the nurse remove them, but I want you to realize you’ve been hurt and you need to rest. Okay?”
“…k…” was the halfhearted answer and Sheppard waited for the nurse to clean the gunk from around his mouth. When he turned to Beckett he realized the man was wearing protective clothing and frowned as he asked. “Why?”
“Why?” Beckett repeated and knew what the colonel was asking. “Do you remember Kolya giving you something? Some kind of drug or what caused the wounds on your body?”
“Trax…Traxians,” Sheppard answered.
“Traxians?” Beckett repeated the word.
“Big ug…ugly bug…why’s it always a b…bug…”
“I don’t know, Colonel, but I want you resting now,” the physician ordered.
“Am kind…kind of tired,” Sheppard said and closed his eyes to sleep.
“You sleep, Lad, it’s the best thing for you right now,” Beckett said and turned to the nurse. He wrote several orders on Sheppard’s chart and left the room, discarding the special scrubs he’d worn in the isolation room. He shook his head, not at all surprised to find several key members of Atlantis waiting for a report.
“Carson, how is he?” Weir asked.
“He was awake for a few minutes, Elizabeth, and he seemed to know where he was. I asked him if he knew what made the wounds and he said something about a bug…called it a Traxian,” Beckett explained and heard a gasp from Teyla Emmagan. “Teyla, are you okay, Lass?”
“I’m fine, Dr. Beckett, but John…did he say whether the ‘bugs’ were still inside him?”
“No…he didn’t. God, don’t tell me they could still be feeding off him?” Beckett asked and reached for a clean set of scrubs.
“I don’t think so…not after everything you’ve done. You would have seen them the minute you cleaned the wounds,” Teyla told him. “They would have shown up on your X-rays as well.”
“Tell me everything you know about Traxians, Teyla,” Beckett ordered.
“They are not unlike the Iratus Bug, but considerably smaller with several rows of tiny sharp teeth. I have seen them and believe me they are horrible creatures that feed on the flesh of the living and there is a substance they use to keep their victims ‘fresh’ until there is nothing left to feed on. The victim can live for several weeks while the Traxian continues to feed from the inside out starting with the major organs,” Teyla explained.
“How do you know so much about the Traxians?” Weir asked.
“There have been stories on several planets we trade with.”
“I have seen several victims of the Traxians,” Ronan told them.
“What about the victims? Do they survive?”
“Some do as long as the Traxians didn’t feed for a prolonged period of time,” Dex answered.
“John is alive and that’s a good sign especially since the Traxians are no longer feeding on him,” Teyla added.
“Do you have any idea about the substance the Traxians leave in their victims?” Beckett asked.
“Not much,” Teyla said. “Rarely does a victim survive past the feeding stage.”
“My people were given some kind of injection to stop the spread of the substance, but I have no idea what it was,” Ronan told them.
“Did your people survive, Ronan?”
“Yes, but it took a long time. They were sick and the wounds wouldn’t heal properly and had to be drained every day.”
“I remember some of my people who were also sick…they survived, but there were scars and some of the tissue around the wounds had to be cut away,” Teyla said.
“I have been debriding the wounds, and cleaning them every couple of hours, but the substance is still showing up in his blood work,” Beckett told them tiredly. “John is in serious condition and I want to keep him in isolation until we know more about what we’re dealing with. Teyla, Ronan, thank you both for the information…it gives us a place to start and even more it gives us hope that Colonel Sheppard will be fine.”
“Carson, can I sit with him for a while?” Weir asked. She knew Beckett would understand her request and hoped the others would not read too much into it.
“I guess so, but put on the scrubs and mask,” Beckett told her.
“Thank you, Carson,” Weir said. She did as ordered and was soon dressed in the special scrubs and mask that would allow her to visit Sheppard without being a danger to him. She stepped through the door into the chamber and allowed the scrubbers to do the rest of eth decontamination before she walked into the room and over to the bed. The nurse moved away and allowed her some privacy with Sheppard. “John, it’s Elizabeth, I know you can’t hear me right now, but I wanted you to know you’re not alone…”
“Eliz…abeth…”
“Well hello…I thought you were sleeping,” Weir told him.
“I was…seems like all I do,” Sheppard told her and frowned when he saw the moisture in her eyes. “What’s...what’s wrong?”
“I’m just tired, John. We were worried about you and we…I thought we’d lost you.”
“I’m not t…that easy t…to get r…rid of,” Sheppard assured her as the nurse returned and placed an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose.
“You’re supposed to rest, Colonel,” the nurse warned.
“You go ahead and sleep, John,” Weir told him and heard the heavy sigh just before Sheppard dropped into a drug induced sleep once more. She stayed where she was, watching him sleep and feeling as if she wore her heart on her sleeve, and vowing to tell Sheppard how she felt once he was strong enough to listen.
SGASGASGASGASGASGA
Rodney knew he was pouting, but he’d never been one to back down once he had something in mind. He’d been confined to the bed for five days now and Carson had just told him he would be removing the tube from his chest. Normally that would have put Rodney in a good mood, but Carson was still refusing to allow him to visit Sheppard.
Rodney folded his arms across his chest as Beckett continued to ready the instruments he’d need to remove the tube and treat the puncture wound afterward. “Carson, look…”
“No, Rodney you look,” Beckett snapped impatiently and turned to face his recalcitrant patient. “You need to realize you are my patient too and as such you will listen to reason or I’ll find a nice big needle with you name on it…”
“You wouldn’t…”
“I would and I know just the spot to give it to you,” Beckett warned and placed his hands on his hips. “Now, if you’ll be quiet for a little while I’ll get rid of this tube and you can get some sleep. If…and I do mean if you’re feeling up to it later in the day I’ll allow you out of bed long enough to shower and God knows you need one.”
“Thanks, Carson, you’re all heart,” McKay grumbled. He relaxed against the pillows and felt Beckett’s cold hands on his side and wondered why it seemed that all physicians had cold hands. “Tell me, Carson, how long did you have your hands in the freezer this time?”
“Now that would be giving away my secrets wouldn’t it?” Beckett said with a lopsided grin before growing serious. “All right, Rodney, I’m going to do this as quickly as I can so I want you to take a deep breath for me.”
McKay did as he was told and cried out when Beckett pulled the tube free. He sat for several long minutes, trying to catch his breath while turning a steely eyed glare at Atlantis’ CMO. It was several more minutes before he could speak and even then it was in low tones. “You’d think after all these years there’d be a better…easier way to do this.”
“I know, Rodney, but until there is this is what we have to do,” Beckett told him before placing sutures over the wound and nodding for the nurse to give McKay the injection that would allow him some respite from the reawakened pain. “That should help, Rodney.”
“Thanks, Carson,” McKay said, and closed his eyes. He let his mind drift toward the people of Atlantis and how much they’d come to mean to him. He wasn’t a man people took too easily, but those that did usually understood his need to distance himself by falling back on the gift bestowed on him. There was no doubt that he had a brilliant mind, but so did several others on Atlantis, including John Sheppard. The Colonel had proven time and again he had brains to go with the good looks and the brawn, and there were times when Rodney felt a touch of jealousy at the ease with which Sheppard made friends. Sleep was a long time coming, but when it did, McKay held the gift of friendship close to his heart.
SGASGASGASGASGASGA
John slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room. He knew he was back on Atlantis, but the nightmares that plagued him kept him from feeling safe. He looked at the equipment he was hooked up to and could heard the monotonous beep of the heart monitor without turning his head. There were two IVs running into his body, and he shifted slightly in an effort to ease the discomfort caused by lying in the bed too long. A sharp gasp escaped when he put pressure on the wound on his right arm and he closed his eyes in an effort to quell the mounting nausea it caused.
“Are you all right, Colonel?”
“Will be in a minute,” Sheppard answered honestly before managing to regain control of his own body before looking at the pretty woman standing next to his bed. He reached for the glass on the table and sipped at the sweet tasting liquid before smiling thinly at the nurse.
“Is there anything I can get you?”
“I need to go to the head,” Sheppard told her.
“I’m sorry, Sir, but you’re not allowed out of the bed. Dr. Beckett left strict orders that you stay put. I’ll get you a urinal…”
“Hell!” Sheppard spat, but he knew there’d be no point in causing a scene. He lay back against the pillows and closed his eyes. The pain wasn’t as bad as it had been, but the burning sensation around the Traxian wounds seemed to be growing worse and he stared at the bandages covering each wound. He knew there were several he couldn’t see hidden below the blankets that covered him to the waist, and lifted his hand to rub at his abdomen.
“I think this should do,” the nurse said and eased back the blankets.
“I can do it!” Sheppard told her and waited for her to close the curtain surrounding his bed. He quickly did what was necessary and called for the nurse.
“Do you feel up to a visitor, Colonel?” Valerie Chaney asked and motioned to the woman standing outside the isolation room.
“Sure,” Sheppard said and smiled when Elizabeth Weir stepped up to the bed. Like the nurse she wore special scrubs and a mask covered her mouth and nose.
“Hi…you look better.”
“I feel better, Elizabeth,” the colonel told her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m not the one lying in that bed, John,” Weir told him and watched the hint of a smile form on his pale face. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“You are?” Sheppard asked, suddenly aware of an almost electrical tension between them.
“Well yes…it is hard to get new personnel when we’re so far from Earth. I’d hate to have to train someone new for your position,” Weir told him, smiling at the way he looked at her. “You had us worried, John.”
“I’m sorry, Elizabeth, I didn’t…”
“I know, John, believe me I know…I’m just glad you’re back,” Weir said honestly. She wanted to say more, to tell him how hard it had been knowing he was in the hands of three of his worst enemies, but was not quite ready to cross those boundaries.
“Is Rodney okay?” Sheppard asked, knowing Weir wanted to say more, but finding it hard to tell her how he felt. God help him, but there was something changing between them, what it was, he didn’t know, but he was going to find out once he was back on his feet.
“Rodney is doing better and arguing with Carson about being allowed to visit you. He’s worried…he punctured a lung while trying to rescue you…”
“Rodney did?” Sheppard asked incredulously.
“What do you remember about the rescue?”
“All I remember is Ford getting me out of the compound…after that it’s pretty much a blur. Did we bring Aiden back with us?”
“Yes, you insisted and Carson wasn’t going to argue with you,” Weir answered.
“I want to accompany his body back to earth…and speak with his family,” Sheppard told her.
“I know he’d be honored that you wanted to do that for him, John,” Weir said.
“He saved my life in the end…he fought the enzyme and it killed him.”
“I know, but you have to remember Aiden made his choices, and he knew deep down they were the wrong ones.”
“I don’t think he realized how much it influenced his life, but in the end he was the Aiden Ford we knew,” Sheppard told her.
“Yes, he was…”
“How did you find me, Elizabeth?”
“Lo’ra’tek…Rodney said he called himself a traveler and that his people can travel between the worlds without using the gate,” Weir answered.
“Lo’ra’tek was one of the little people…no not like the ones Carson tells stories about. There were a lot of them, but Kolya and Michael had them killed when they tried to help me. I wish I could have thanked them for what they did,” Sheppard told her.
“I know and maybe someday they’ll come back.”
“Maybe…what about Kolya and Michael?”
“They weren’t there when Lorne and the others reached you,” Weir answered.
“Damn…I was hoping they were in the brig,” Sheppard said, running his fingers through his hair and leaning heavily against the pillows as exhaustion and medications combined to drag him under.
Elizabeth watched him sleeping for a few minutes, hating how pale and gaunt he looked. She knew he was far from well, and that Carson was worried about the effects of the substance left on the wounds by the Traxians, but she knew John Sheppard was a fighter. God, he’d come up against a wraith, been fed on by it, and wound up befriending it and receiving the gift of life. According to the wraith it was something reserved for the devout or a true brother. Somehow Elizabeth knew the wraith considered John a brother and she wondered what else they didn’t know about the creatures. With a last glance at the monitors, Elizabeth left him in the hands of the medical staff.
SGASGASGASGASGASGA
Rodney took a deep breath, wincing as pain flared in his side and knew Beckett would give him hell if he caught him, but he needed to be sure Sheppard was all right. The medical staff were busy with several members of Lorne’s team who’s been injured on an off world mission, and he’d taken the opportunity to climb out of bed. He used the IV pole to keep his balance, and tried to hold the skimpy hospital gown closed behind him, cursing the fact that he hadn’t been given pajamas after taking a shower.
“Nice, Rodney, I must say I like the view,” Teyla teased as McKay walked past her without realizing she was there.
“Don’t do that, Teyla!” McKay said and jumped back when she made a grab for his hospital gown.
“Does Carson know you’re up and around at this hour?”
“I don’t even know what this hour is,” McKay said and continued toward the isolation room.
“It’s after midnight…you should be sleeping.”
“And you should be in bed,” the scientist snapped impatiently. “Look, Teyla, I’m not in the mood for small talk okay? I just want to see for myself that Sheppard is all right.”
“I know, Rodney, come on and we’ll get you there before Carson knows you’re gone,” Teyla told him conspiratorially.
“Really…you’re not going to turn me in?” McKay asked hopefully.
“Why would I do that? I’m sure John would welcome the company…he’s probably as tired of being in here as you are,” Teyla said, checking to make sure no one was watching them before motioning to McKay that it was safe to continue. They made it to the isolation room without a problem, but there luck ran out when the nurse sitting at the desk looked up and spotted them.
“Dr. McKay, does Dr. Beckett know you’re out of bed at this hour?” Salina Morrison asked, frowning at the two people before her.
“No, and right now I’d like to keep it that way,” McKay said, walking past her and staring in at the man lying in the bed. It was the first time since the rescue he’d seen Sheppard and he wasn’t prepared for what he saw. Sheppard looked like a pale imitation of the man who walked the corridors of Atlantis and Rodney felt as if his throat had closed over. He stared at his friend, unable to keep the concern from showing as he clasped onto the IV pole for support. He didn’t realize he was having problems until Teyla’s hand touched against his arm.
“Rodney, are you okay?”
“Huh, I’m fine, Teyla…my God, I didn’t realize how much damage they did to him,” McKay said.
“I know it looks bad, Dr. McKay…”
“Looks bad, Salina…that’s an understatement if there ever was one!” the scientist snapped.
“Easy, Rodney,” Teyla told him. “Is it possible for Dr. McKay to go in and see him?”
“I don’t know…I’d have to ask Dr. Beckett…”
“Dr. Beckett is busy with the injured members of Major Lorne’s team. I’m sure he’d okay it if he was here…I’ll take the blame if he says anything,” Teyla assured her. She’d seen McKay’s face growing whiter with each passing moment and knew he needed to see for himself that John Sheppard was not going back on his promise…one made in the heat of the moment and sealed in friendship.
“Colonel Sheppard is sleeping…”
“No, he’s not,” McKay said. He’d been watching the injured man and knew Sheppard had seen him when the hand lifted slightly and motioned for him to come inside. “Just for a few minutes, Salina…please, I need to do this.”
“I guess it would be okay,” the nurse reluctantly agreed. She helped McKay into the special scrubs and mask before allowing him into the chamber that would clean any remaining bacteria that could be detrimental to Sheppard’s health.
McKay stepped into the isolation chamber, nodding to the nurse whose primary job was to care for the injured man. He made his way to the bed and waited for Sheppard to look at him. When he did, McKay was surprised by the concern he saw there.
“You okay, Rodney?”
“I’m fine,…besides I’m not the one who looks like I got slam dunked by a football team.”
“Slam dunked is a basketball term…not football,” Sheppard told him.
“Yes, well…you know what I mean…I’m sorry we left you behind,” McKay told him.
“What are you talking about, Rodney?”
“PX713-29…I left you there…”
“Rodney, you were hurt…so were Teyla and Ronan. You never left me there. If I remember correctly I ordered you through the gate…believe me I planned on being right behind you, but Kolya…that stupid harpoon of his…”
“I’d like to shove that harpoon up his…”
“You and me both,” Sheppard said with a hint of a smile. “Rodney, I owe you…”
“What are you talking about?”
“Elizabeth told me you found out where I was and came after me. Is that why you look like hell?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” McKay told him.
“Thanks, Rodney, if you ever need me…”
“Oh, like I haven’t needed you to save my butt since we came to the Pegasus Galaxy?” the Canadian said, a hint of a sheepish grin on his face. “You’re welcome.”
“Uhoh,” Sheppard said.
“What’s wrong? Should I get the nurse?”
“No, but how good an actor are you, Rodney?”
“I took drama in school…wasn’t very good though. Why?”
“Carson’s standing outside and he’s got that look on his face?”
“The ‘oh hell I’m in deep shit look’?” McKay asked.
“That’s the one,” Sheppard told him.
“Damn…move over…maybe if he thinks…”
“He’s coming in,” the colonel told him.
“Oh, God, I think I’m going to…”
“Faint?”
“Pass out…I haven’t eaten much today…I could be going into hypoglycemic shock.”
“You’ll wish you were if you don’t get back to your bed right now!” Beckett warned from behind him. “Do you realize how late it is, Rodney? Not only that, but you and Colonel Sheppard are both my patients and need to be resting.”
“I just wanted to make sure you’re taking good care of Sheppard. After all, Carson, he is a valued member of this team and…”
“Cut the crap and get moving…I haven’t forgotten where I put those large bore needles,” Beckett warned and turned back to the bed when he heard a soft chuckle from his second patient. “How do you feel, Colonel?”
“Better, Carson,” Sheppard lied, leaning back against the pillows once McKay was in the small chamber between the isolation room and the rest of the infirmary.
“Okay, now that he’s gone tell me the truth,” Beckett told him.
“I don’t feel much of anything…must be giving me the good stuff,” Sheppard assured the physician.
“Yes, we are and you need it. If things get worse and you need something more you let Salina know and she’ll get me,” Beckett said.
“I will…thanks, Carson,” the colonel said and closed his eyes.
Beckett checked the monitors for several minutes, shaking his head when he looked at the chart and realized the colonel’s fever seemed to be spiking again. He knew it wasn’t dangerous yet, but if it continued to climb they’d need to do something to bring it down before it caused seizures. “Salina, let me know if his temperature gets any higher.”
“Yes, Dr. Beckett,” Morrison said and went back to caring for the injured man. She didn’t know the colonel very well, but she knew he was needed on Atlantis and hoped Beckett could find a way to treat whatever the Traxians had left in his body. She turned away and went back to checking the supplies, but turned when a strange sound reached her ears. She rushed to the bed and could see Sheppard was struggling to breathe even as the alarms sounded above her and Beckett rushed into the room.
SGASGASGASGASGA
Rodney turned toward the room as the alarms sounded and Beckett rushed into the isolation room. His knees threatened to buckle beneath him as the blankets were thrown off Sheppard and the medical staff went to work on him. ‘Oh, God, what did I do?’ he thought as someone guided him to a chair.
PART 1 / PART 2 / PART 3 / PART 4 / PART 5 / PART 7 / PART 8
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