Under the Skin 55/67
Under the Skin 55/67
As he hurried down the hall, first dodging Colonel Sheppard, then hurrying his steps when he heard echoes behind him, Carson knew this was a bad idea.
The last time he had sat in the chair, it had nearly killed him. Doing it again, when he had no guarantee of any better success was not only stupid, it was borderline suicidal. Had it been anyone else, he would have been the one smacking them over the head and sending Marines to nail them to the floor.
But it wasn’t someone else, and he didn’t really see that he had much choice. Rodney was losing it, and the visions, or memories, or whatever they were seemed to be coming faster and stronger. He didn’t have time to play with Ancient toys until he found one that worked.
He needed to convince Durand to fix this. To help.
As he skidded into the room, he saw movement coming from behind, and heard Lorne calling his name, ordering him to stop. Before the admittedly faster and stronger man could catch him though, Carson was in the chair and had it activated.
There was pain again, but it wasn’t as bad this time. The darkness wasn’t so all-consuming, didn’t rip away his identity and purpose. He could handle it.
“Durand!” He just hoped he could reach him before Rodney ran out of time.
"Doctor?" The voice was hesitant.
"Durand! I need your help. Rodney is-losing himself. Your memories were left behind when we transferred you here, and now they're taking him over."
"That should not have happened," Durand replied, the tone thoughtful and calm. "I am not missing anything."
"It happened slowly. He seemed fine at first, but it's speeding up. When I left him, he was actually getting sucked in so completely he had almost no awareness of what was going on around him. I don't know how to fix this."
"I had thought…" Durand said, pausing for a moment.
Carson fought back his own impatience and fear, dodging a large bubble of the darkness heading towards him. "If I bring him here, can you help him?"
"No. I am sorry. I had only hoped to leave him a gift of understanding. I see that I have only given pain. Please forgive me," Durand said, sorrow thick in his voice. "Please leave before you are trapped here. It is not safe."
"I can get out when I need to. And I don't blame you, especially since I know it can help if Rodney can get control of it. But help me find a way to tone it down for him. I think the problem is that it's coming too fast. There has to be some way I can slow it down, allow him to access it when he's ready."
"No. There is no way to alter the gift. I….misjudged. He must learn to control it."
"I don't need to alter it, I just need a way to help him assimilate it. He thinks too much, tries to take it all in at once. It's the way his mind works, but this time its working against him." Carson wished he could see Durand, his real face and not what he had looked like as Rodney. "Help me teach him to control it, use it as you intended."
"There is nothing to teach. He either knows or does not. I am sorry."
Carson thought about fighting, but he knew Durand was telling the truth. "Aye, I understand. So how are you? Are you okay here?"
"Fine. But I must insist that you leave. I don't want to accidentally pull you in. You shouldn't be here."
"It's all right. It isn't as bad this time. I even know who you are, who I am. I can leave in a minute, once I'm sure you're okay."
"I'm fine, but it takes energy to talk to you, energy that I need to finish what I started here. I know that sounds…bad, but I'm protecting you, holding the worst back. Please…"
Carson nodded. "I'll leave then. Thank you. At least I know what it is now effecting Rodney. I think I can help him now. Stay safe. And don't forget your promise!"
"I would not. Take care."
"You too." Carson focused on getting out, and was a bit surprised at how fast it happened. He sat up abruptly, closing his eyes as the room continued to spin around him for a moment. He had seen Major Lorne hovering nearby before he shut them, so he turned in what he hoped was that direction. "How long was I in there?"
"Little over an hour," Lorne said, his face dark. "McKay's not doing well."
"Give me your radio, then help me get back to him. I left mine in the infirmary." He opened his eyes, grateful that everything was in place. He felt a bit weak, but otherwise surprisingly fine. Durand must have been shielding him more than he thought.
The Major sighed, but did as Carson asked, handing over the radio first before helping him to his feet, hanging onto his arm, keeping him upright.
"Colonel Sheppard, this is Beckett. Where are you?" He ignored the fact that his legs tried to buckle and used the Major for leverage as he started moving.
"Where you left McKay," he growled.
"Good. I'm not far then. Look, the memories were supposed to be a gift of sorts. Durand knew Rodney wanted a better understanding of Ancient tech, and this was his way of trying to help. He didn't realize Rodney would try to access it all at once, which is why he's starting to lose control of it. Try to get him to focus on controlling it, making it start and stop on his command. I'm on my way."
"Beckett, he's not responding to me anymore. Hasn't been." John sounded worried. "What was he thinking?"
"He was trying to help, and use physical stimuli. Give Rodney something to latch on to, to ground himself in this world. If he's that far gone, pain might be the only thing that will work, unfortunately." Carson was half dragging, half being carried by Lorne as he tried to go faster.
"You think I haven't tried that? I don't want to hurt him."
"I know, but we need to get him to rouse enough to be aware of us. Once I get there, I'll send Lorne to the infirmary for a relaxant, if we can bring him back, then slowing his mind down might help him get more control over it."
"We need to have a talk when all this is through about you civilians," Sheppard said, his voice tight.
"Yes, you can kill me later, after I find a way to help Rodney. Right now, focus on him."
"Fine. Sheppard out."
Carson growled. Then he looked over a bit warily at the soldier who was helping him. "Ah, he won't really try to kill me, will he?"
"Maybe not right away, but yeah, I think it's part of his agenda."
"I don't suppose I could keep you as my bodyguard in the event guns come into play?"
Lorne chuckled. "Tough call, Doc. Tough call."
They had arrived back at the lab, and Carson made his way to where Sheppard was hunched over Rodney. He looked back at Lorne. "Major, find Anne in the infirmary. Tell her I need the Carisoprodol. She'll get you what you need." He turned back to Rodney, his attention focused on him now. "Come on, Rodney, I need you to focus on me lad, focus on my voice."
Rodney blinked several times, the hint of a smile touching his mouth. His words were breathy and light. "You came back."
"Aye, I'm here. Rodney, these memories aren't supposed to be controlling you. They're just coming too fast. You need to get control of them instead of fighting them. As soon as Lorne gets back I'm going to give you something to help you relax. Hopefully that will help."
"We shouldn't have argued."
Carson blinked. "Argued? We didn't argue."
"I know it's my fault and I'm sorry."
"Rodney...what are you talking about?"
McKay focused a little more on him, tilting his head. "I'm just glad you're here now and we can sort things out."
Carson looked over at Sheppard. "Um, Colonel, did I miss something? Did you two argue, and now he thinks I'm you? Not to mention, since when does Rodney McKay apologize for anything?"
Sheppard shook his head, his eyes equally wide and uncertain. "He hasn't said anything in nearly a half-hour, kinda had that glazed over look actually."
The hard lump of fear was back in his stomach as he turned back to his friend. "Rodney, lad, why don't you tell me about why we argued. I don't remember now."
McKay looked at him a little closer, eyes narrowing slightly before he shook his head. "No, I don't want you to get mad again. We both know how you get when you're angry."
"I promise, I won't get mad again. I'm worried about you, so I need to know why you think I was angry."
He bristled a little. "Don't you think we've been through it enough already? Why belabor the point. I told them no. My work here and now is more important."
Suddenly several things clicked into place. He had had several long chats with Durand about his wife, and this sounded a bit too familiar. He muttered several curses in Gaelic, knowing neither of the other two would know what he was saying. "Colonel, he's fully slipped into Durand's memories. I think he believes I'm Nydia; they fought about the program, and Durand turned them down. Then the guys in charge killed his wife and forced the treatment on him."
Sheppard's face paled, his hand tightening on Rodney's arm. "They did what? That's…that's…"
"I had a chance to talk a bit with Durand about it. Apparently she was vocally opposed to what they were doing, and didn't want Durand to have any part in it. That's the reason they had to keep treating him, why it didn't work the first time. He refused it, and fought what they were doing until his will was completely submerged. From what Rodney's saying, I'd guess he's slipped back to just before that, when they had made the offer, but before his wife was killed." Carson was quickly evaluating his options. They had to snap Rodney back to this time and place somehow.
"Won't he just work himself out of it like the other times? Won't it be bad just to yank him back?"
Carson ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know! I don't think he's ever slipped this far into the memories. He might snap himself out, and he might not. I have no idea how much of us he's really interacting with, and how much is just remembered conversations."
"You're angry again." The words were quiet. Rodney's eyes thoughtful as his gaze flickered back and forth between Carson and Sheppard.
Carson turned back to him. "No, I'm not angry. I'm just worried about you. Why don't we get you back upstairs to your room? Maybe a good night's sleep will help..."
"You sound angry. I know the tone. And I'm not tired."
"I promise, I'm not angry. And you've been sick, so you need to get your rest."
Rodney's brow furrowed. "Sick? No, I'm fine. Are you sure you're feeling okay? You're not sounding like yourself."
"Aye, I'm sure I don't," Carson muttered under his breath. He decided to try and different tactic. He needed to get Rodney out of this cold, damp lab. "I must admit, I'm feeling a bit tired. Why don't you come with me, help me back up to the main part of the city?"
"The city?" Rodney looked around, his eyes drifting over the lab, confusion on his face. "But…we were on Doranda, weren't we? How'd I get here?"
Carson was starting to feel a bit desperate. And more than a bit creeped out that he was pretending to be someone's long-dead wife. "I...forgot something. We had to come back. Now let's get up and go back towards your-um, our-room. Can you do that for me?"
Rodney reached out and gripped his arm, his fingers digging a little. "What's happening? This isn't right. You were never here, not in this lab." There was a desperation in his eyes that hadn't been there before.
"You've been sick, lad, like I told you. I'm very worried about you, so I came down here to find you and bring you back."
Rodney shook his head a little, closing his eyes, his hand tightening on Carson's arm. "You're dead. You can't be here. No matter how much I'd like you to be alive it's just not possible." He took a long shuddering breath.
Damn it! He had hoped the memories would stay far enough back that he could get Rodney back upstairs before he started to snap out of it. "Rodney, look at me. You are Rodney McKay, chief science officer of the Atlantis expedition from Earth. These memories you are having are from a man named Durand, who lived here ten thousand years ago. You have to get control of them, Rodney. Please, concentrate!"
"I remember your body, seeing it so still, so pale," Rodney said, the words barely loud enough for Carson to hear. "They said it was an accident." He looked up, holding Carson's gaze. "That's when I came here to work-for a time." He blinked again, tilting his head. "You know, I never loved anyone as much as he loved her."
Carson stared at him for a moment, catching the change of pronouns. "Rodney? Please tell me you know who I am..."
He nodded slowly, eyes flickering toward Sheppard. "Unfortunately."
"Oh, thank God." Carson sat back slightly, exhausted. "Listen to me, Durand left you the memories as a...gift. He didn't realize they would hit you this hard. I think he wanted to give you a better understanding of Ancient technology and how they thought. You can control it I think, but it's going to take some work. I have Major Lorne bringing down a relaxant. It won't knock you out, just make you less tense. If you aren't fighting it, it might be easier to control it."
Rodney's eyes lost focus and he nodded. "I can see that now." His forehead furrowed a little more. "That last one kind jolted a few things into place, I think." He paused again, a shiver running though his body. "How…long?"
"I left about an hour and a half ago, and you were just slipping into it then. From what Colonel Sheppard told me, you got worse after I left, almost catatonic. I've haven't been here for long, which is when you started snapping out of it."
"Huh." He paused again, glancing toward the Colonel, wincing a little. "Sorry about that whole…" His hand waved absently. "…freak out thing."
Sheppard flashed him a weak grin. “It’s okay. Keeps me on my toes.”
Carson looked closely at Rodney, not liking what he was seeing. “Rodney, you’re exhausted and this lab is cold and damp. I don’t want to risk you catching something. I know you don’t want to go back to the infirmary, but what about your room? At least it’s warm there, and quiet and not so blessed uncomfortable.”
"Warm would be good," he said, his body shivering again as if to emphasize his words.
"Right. Colonel, You help him up. Make sure he doesn't fall. I don't like those shivers, and I don't know how much strength the memories pulled out of him." He pushed himself up, using the side of one of the lab benches as leverage.
Rodney tried to push himself off the floor, John holding tight to his arm, but from the discomfort on his face it was obviously more difficult than he thought it would be. Finally on his feet, he swayed, his face dropping several shades of color.
"It's okay, Rodney, we'll take it slow. Lean on the Colonel. Use him for support. We can stop any time you need to take a break. Just keep telling yourself there is a warm, dry bed waiting for you at the end. John, do you have any PowerBars on you? That will help as well-it's probably been a while since Rodney ate anything."
John wordlessly used his free hand to pull a PowerBar out of his vest and hand it over. Carson ripped the wrapper off, and practically shoved it at Rodney.
"I ate one of these before," he protested, scowling at the bar in his hand.
"Humor me. Eat another one. With everything else, I don't want to have to treat you for hypoglycemia again, too."
"Oh," he said, looking at the bar for another moment before taking a bite, chewing slowly.
Carson was about to ask John to call Lorne and find out where he was, re-route him to Rodney's room, when he remembered he still had the Major's radio. Reaching up, he decided to call Anne. "Anne, this is Carson." He paused, relieved when she responded. "Is Major Lorne still there? Good. Have him head to Rodney's room and meet me there instead. We'll be heading there in a moment. Thanks, luv." He saw that Rodney had eaten half the bar. "Ready?"
Rodney glanced up. "For what?"
"Leaving here. Are you feeling up to the walk now?"
Rodney shrugged, his gaze wandering to where John's hand was gripping his upper arm. "I guess." He paused, his eyes wandering up to Sheppard's face. "When did you get here?"
John's eyes widened a bit. "Um, Rodney, I've been here for a while. Why don't we get you upstairs?" He started pulling Rodney along, keeping a hand on his arm. He shared a quick worried glance with Carson as he moved.
Carson sighed and started following them. He was glad they were moving slow, since he was still feeling a bit weak from the chair. At this pace, though, it wasn’t a problem. He carefully watched Rodney as they made their way towards the transporter. How was he supposed to fix this? And the bigger question: could he fix it in time to save Rodney’s mind as well as his body?
***
TBC
As he hurried down the hall, first dodging Colonel Sheppard, then hurrying his steps when he heard echoes behind him, Carson knew this was a bad idea.
The last time he had sat in the chair, it had nearly killed him. Doing it again, when he had no guarantee of any better success was not only stupid, it was borderline suicidal. Had it been anyone else, he would have been the one smacking them over the head and sending Marines to nail them to the floor.
But it wasn’t someone else, and he didn’t really see that he had much choice. Rodney was losing it, and the visions, or memories, or whatever they were seemed to be coming faster and stronger. He didn’t have time to play with Ancient toys until he found one that worked.
He needed to convince Durand to fix this. To help.
As he skidded into the room, he saw movement coming from behind, and heard Lorne calling his name, ordering him to stop. Before the admittedly faster and stronger man could catch him though, Carson was in the chair and had it activated.
There was pain again, but it wasn’t as bad this time. The darkness wasn’t so all-consuming, didn’t rip away his identity and purpose. He could handle it.
“Durand!” He just hoped he could reach him before Rodney ran out of time.
"Doctor?" The voice was hesitant.
"Durand! I need your help. Rodney is-losing himself. Your memories were left behind when we transferred you here, and now they're taking him over."
"That should not have happened," Durand replied, the tone thoughtful and calm. "I am not missing anything."
"It happened slowly. He seemed fine at first, but it's speeding up. When I left him, he was actually getting sucked in so completely he had almost no awareness of what was going on around him. I don't know how to fix this."
"I had thought…" Durand said, pausing for a moment.
Carson fought back his own impatience and fear, dodging a large bubble of the darkness heading towards him. "If I bring him here, can you help him?"
"No. I am sorry. I had only hoped to leave him a gift of understanding. I see that I have only given pain. Please forgive me," Durand said, sorrow thick in his voice. "Please leave before you are trapped here. It is not safe."
"I can get out when I need to. And I don't blame you, especially since I know it can help if Rodney can get control of it. But help me find a way to tone it down for him. I think the problem is that it's coming too fast. There has to be some way I can slow it down, allow him to access it when he's ready."
"No. There is no way to alter the gift. I….misjudged. He must learn to control it."
"I don't need to alter it, I just need a way to help him assimilate it. He thinks too much, tries to take it all in at once. It's the way his mind works, but this time its working against him." Carson wished he could see Durand, his real face and not what he had looked like as Rodney. "Help me teach him to control it, use it as you intended."
"There is nothing to teach. He either knows or does not. I am sorry."
Carson thought about fighting, but he knew Durand was telling the truth. "Aye, I understand. So how are you? Are you okay here?"
"Fine. But I must insist that you leave. I don't want to accidentally pull you in. You shouldn't be here."
"It's all right. It isn't as bad this time. I even know who you are, who I am. I can leave in a minute, once I'm sure you're okay."
"I'm fine, but it takes energy to talk to you, energy that I need to finish what I started here. I know that sounds…bad, but I'm protecting you, holding the worst back. Please…"
Carson nodded. "I'll leave then. Thank you. At least I know what it is now effecting Rodney. I think I can help him now. Stay safe. And don't forget your promise!"
"I would not. Take care."
"You too." Carson focused on getting out, and was a bit surprised at how fast it happened. He sat up abruptly, closing his eyes as the room continued to spin around him for a moment. He had seen Major Lorne hovering nearby before he shut them, so he turned in what he hoped was that direction. "How long was I in there?"
"Little over an hour," Lorne said, his face dark. "McKay's not doing well."
"Give me your radio, then help me get back to him. I left mine in the infirmary." He opened his eyes, grateful that everything was in place. He felt a bit weak, but otherwise surprisingly fine. Durand must have been shielding him more than he thought.
The Major sighed, but did as Carson asked, handing over the radio first before helping him to his feet, hanging onto his arm, keeping him upright.
"Colonel Sheppard, this is Beckett. Where are you?" He ignored the fact that his legs tried to buckle and used the Major for leverage as he started moving.
"Where you left McKay," he growled.
"Good. I'm not far then. Look, the memories were supposed to be a gift of sorts. Durand knew Rodney wanted a better understanding of Ancient tech, and this was his way of trying to help. He didn't realize Rodney would try to access it all at once, which is why he's starting to lose control of it. Try to get him to focus on controlling it, making it start and stop on his command. I'm on my way."
"Beckett, he's not responding to me anymore. Hasn't been." John sounded worried. "What was he thinking?"
"He was trying to help, and use physical stimuli. Give Rodney something to latch on to, to ground himself in this world. If he's that far gone, pain might be the only thing that will work, unfortunately." Carson was half dragging, half being carried by Lorne as he tried to go faster.
"You think I haven't tried that? I don't want to hurt him."
"I know, but we need to get him to rouse enough to be aware of us. Once I get there, I'll send Lorne to the infirmary for a relaxant, if we can bring him back, then slowing his mind down might help him get more control over it."
"We need to have a talk when all this is through about you civilians," Sheppard said, his voice tight.
"Yes, you can kill me later, after I find a way to help Rodney. Right now, focus on him."
"Fine. Sheppard out."
Carson growled. Then he looked over a bit warily at the soldier who was helping him. "Ah, he won't really try to kill me, will he?"
"Maybe not right away, but yeah, I think it's part of his agenda."
"I don't suppose I could keep you as my bodyguard in the event guns come into play?"
Lorne chuckled. "Tough call, Doc. Tough call."
They had arrived back at the lab, and Carson made his way to where Sheppard was hunched over Rodney. He looked back at Lorne. "Major, find Anne in the infirmary. Tell her I need the Carisoprodol. She'll get you what you need." He turned back to Rodney, his attention focused on him now. "Come on, Rodney, I need you to focus on me lad, focus on my voice."
Rodney blinked several times, the hint of a smile touching his mouth. His words were breathy and light. "You came back."
"Aye, I'm here. Rodney, these memories aren't supposed to be controlling you. They're just coming too fast. You need to get control of them instead of fighting them. As soon as Lorne gets back I'm going to give you something to help you relax. Hopefully that will help."
"We shouldn't have argued."
Carson blinked. "Argued? We didn't argue."
"I know it's my fault and I'm sorry."
"Rodney...what are you talking about?"
McKay focused a little more on him, tilting his head. "I'm just glad you're here now and we can sort things out."
Carson looked over at Sheppard. "Um, Colonel, did I miss something? Did you two argue, and now he thinks I'm you? Not to mention, since when does Rodney McKay apologize for anything?"
Sheppard shook his head, his eyes equally wide and uncertain. "He hasn't said anything in nearly a half-hour, kinda had that glazed over look actually."
The hard lump of fear was back in his stomach as he turned back to his friend. "Rodney, lad, why don't you tell me about why we argued. I don't remember now."
McKay looked at him a little closer, eyes narrowing slightly before he shook his head. "No, I don't want you to get mad again. We both know how you get when you're angry."
"I promise, I won't get mad again. I'm worried about you, so I need to know why you think I was angry."
He bristled a little. "Don't you think we've been through it enough already? Why belabor the point. I told them no. My work here and now is more important."
Suddenly several things clicked into place. He had had several long chats with Durand about his wife, and this sounded a bit too familiar. He muttered several curses in Gaelic, knowing neither of the other two would know what he was saying. "Colonel, he's fully slipped into Durand's memories. I think he believes I'm Nydia; they fought about the program, and Durand turned them down. Then the guys in charge killed his wife and forced the treatment on him."
Sheppard's face paled, his hand tightening on Rodney's arm. "They did what? That's…that's…"
"I had a chance to talk a bit with Durand about it. Apparently she was vocally opposed to what they were doing, and didn't want Durand to have any part in it. That's the reason they had to keep treating him, why it didn't work the first time. He refused it, and fought what they were doing until his will was completely submerged. From what Rodney's saying, I'd guess he's slipped back to just before that, when they had made the offer, but before his wife was killed." Carson was quickly evaluating his options. They had to snap Rodney back to this time and place somehow.
"Won't he just work himself out of it like the other times? Won't it be bad just to yank him back?"
Carson ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know! I don't think he's ever slipped this far into the memories. He might snap himself out, and he might not. I have no idea how much of us he's really interacting with, and how much is just remembered conversations."
"You're angry again." The words were quiet. Rodney's eyes thoughtful as his gaze flickered back and forth between Carson and Sheppard.
Carson turned back to him. "No, I'm not angry. I'm just worried about you. Why don't we get you back upstairs to your room? Maybe a good night's sleep will help..."
"You sound angry. I know the tone. And I'm not tired."
"I promise, I'm not angry. And you've been sick, so you need to get your rest."
Rodney's brow furrowed. "Sick? No, I'm fine. Are you sure you're feeling okay? You're not sounding like yourself."
"Aye, I'm sure I don't," Carson muttered under his breath. He decided to try and different tactic. He needed to get Rodney out of this cold, damp lab. "I must admit, I'm feeling a bit tired. Why don't you come with me, help me back up to the main part of the city?"
"The city?" Rodney looked around, his eyes drifting over the lab, confusion on his face. "But…we were on Doranda, weren't we? How'd I get here?"
Carson was starting to feel a bit desperate. And more than a bit creeped out that he was pretending to be someone's long-dead wife. "I...forgot something. We had to come back. Now let's get up and go back towards your-um, our-room. Can you do that for me?"
Rodney reached out and gripped his arm, his fingers digging a little. "What's happening? This isn't right. You were never here, not in this lab." There was a desperation in his eyes that hadn't been there before.
"You've been sick, lad, like I told you. I'm very worried about you, so I came down here to find you and bring you back."
Rodney shook his head a little, closing his eyes, his hand tightening on Carson's arm. "You're dead. You can't be here. No matter how much I'd like you to be alive it's just not possible." He took a long shuddering breath.
Damn it! He had hoped the memories would stay far enough back that he could get Rodney back upstairs before he started to snap out of it. "Rodney, look at me. You are Rodney McKay, chief science officer of the Atlantis expedition from Earth. These memories you are having are from a man named Durand, who lived here ten thousand years ago. You have to get control of them, Rodney. Please, concentrate!"
"I remember your body, seeing it so still, so pale," Rodney said, the words barely loud enough for Carson to hear. "They said it was an accident." He looked up, holding Carson's gaze. "That's when I came here to work-for a time." He blinked again, tilting his head. "You know, I never loved anyone as much as he loved her."
Carson stared at him for a moment, catching the change of pronouns. "Rodney? Please tell me you know who I am..."
He nodded slowly, eyes flickering toward Sheppard. "Unfortunately."
"Oh, thank God." Carson sat back slightly, exhausted. "Listen to me, Durand left you the memories as a...gift. He didn't realize they would hit you this hard. I think he wanted to give you a better understanding of Ancient technology and how they thought. You can control it I think, but it's going to take some work. I have Major Lorne bringing down a relaxant. It won't knock you out, just make you less tense. If you aren't fighting it, it might be easier to control it."
Rodney's eyes lost focus and he nodded. "I can see that now." His forehead furrowed a little more. "That last one kind jolted a few things into place, I think." He paused again, a shiver running though his body. "How…long?"
"I left about an hour and a half ago, and you were just slipping into it then. From what Colonel Sheppard told me, you got worse after I left, almost catatonic. I've haven't been here for long, which is when you started snapping out of it."
"Huh." He paused again, glancing toward the Colonel, wincing a little. "Sorry about that whole…" His hand waved absently. "…freak out thing."
Sheppard flashed him a weak grin. “It’s okay. Keeps me on my toes.”
Carson looked closely at Rodney, not liking what he was seeing. “Rodney, you’re exhausted and this lab is cold and damp. I don’t want to risk you catching something. I know you don’t want to go back to the infirmary, but what about your room? At least it’s warm there, and quiet and not so blessed uncomfortable.”
"Warm would be good," he said, his body shivering again as if to emphasize his words.
"Right. Colonel, You help him up. Make sure he doesn't fall. I don't like those shivers, and I don't know how much strength the memories pulled out of him." He pushed himself up, using the side of one of the lab benches as leverage.
Rodney tried to push himself off the floor, John holding tight to his arm, but from the discomfort on his face it was obviously more difficult than he thought it would be. Finally on his feet, he swayed, his face dropping several shades of color.
"It's okay, Rodney, we'll take it slow. Lean on the Colonel. Use him for support. We can stop any time you need to take a break. Just keep telling yourself there is a warm, dry bed waiting for you at the end. John, do you have any PowerBars on you? That will help as well-it's probably been a while since Rodney ate anything."
John wordlessly used his free hand to pull a PowerBar out of his vest and hand it over. Carson ripped the wrapper off, and practically shoved it at Rodney.
"I ate one of these before," he protested, scowling at the bar in his hand.
"Humor me. Eat another one. With everything else, I don't want to have to treat you for hypoglycemia again, too."
"Oh," he said, looking at the bar for another moment before taking a bite, chewing slowly.
Carson was about to ask John to call Lorne and find out where he was, re-route him to Rodney's room, when he remembered he still had the Major's radio. Reaching up, he decided to call Anne. "Anne, this is Carson." He paused, relieved when she responded. "Is Major Lorne still there? Good. Have him head to Rodney's room and meet me there instead. We'll be heading there in a moment. Thanks, luv." He saw that Rodney had eaten half the bar. "Ready?"
Rodney glanced up. "For what?"
"Leaving here. Are you feeling up to the walk now?"
Rodney shrugged, his gaze wandering to where John's hand was gripping his upper arm. "I guess." He paused, his eyes wandering up to Sheppard's face. "When did you get here?"
John's eyes widened a bit. "Um, Rodney, I've been here for a while. Why don't we get you upstairs?" He started pulling Rodney along, keeping a hand on his arm. He shared a quick worried glance with Carson as he moved.
Carson sighed and started following them. He was glad they were moving slow, since he was still feeling a bit weak from the chair. At this pace, though, it wasn’t a problem. He carefully watched Rodney as they made their way towards the transporter. How was he supposed to fix this? And the bigger question: could he fix it in time to save Rodney’s mind as well as his body?
***
TBC