New SGA Fic: In The Blink of An Eye (2/3)
Title: In The Blink of An Eye
Author: katstale
Words: 17520
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Rodney volunteers John to assist the locals in order to gain access to an Ancient structure. Unfortunately, things don't go quite according to plan. (ShepWhump, RodneyWump, All-around Angst)
Notes: First and foremost, I must apologize to everybetty for the long delay in posting this. I am SO very, very sorry for my tardiness. I can only hope you find it was worth the wait. Second, this was written for the sheps_atlantis ficathon. The prompt was for "ShepWhump... ShepWh- errr, I mean, infirmary scene (with Carson, natch), humor interspersed amongst the whumpage." everybetty, if this doesn't meet your expectations, I'll be happy to try it again after NaNoWriMo in December. :)
Part Two
Rodney was paying attention this time. So when Ronon raised his closed fist to signal a halt, McKay did exactly that and immediately dropped to a crouch. He also managed to wait for Ronon to speak first, even though it nearly killed him because the Satedan carefully laid Sheppard out on the ground before uttering a single word.
His expression was tense, his tone low but urgent when he finally leaned over to share his intentions with the scientist. "You stay here. I'm gonna scout ahead and make sure the Stargate's clear." He pointed to Rodney's sidearm. "Keep that ready and shoot anyone who comes near here. Anyone besides me or Teyla," he amended wryly. Before Rodney could snap out a snide reply, Dex turned and silently disappeared into the thick brush.
Now alone with the unconscious pilot, Rodney replaced his sidearm in its holster and set about pulling out what medical supplies he had left to tend Sheppard's wounds. He looked around warily, the woods having become unnaturally quiet and still. Somehow, he didn't think that was a very good sign. Shaking off his unease, McKay set about wiping the blood and sweat from his friend's face and neck. A number of the scrapes and abrasions had begun to bleed freely again after their little jaunt through the forest; thankfully most of the bandages on the deeper, larger wounds had stayed in place, which was a good thing as Rodney had nothing left to replace them with.
McKay froze as a loud thud echoed through the woods. It had barely died out when another sounded, and then another and another. Bodies, he thought. Hitting the ground. But whose? He tried to relax and keep to his task, telling himself that it was Ronon disposing of the opposition a man at a time, but somehow he just couldn't make himself believe it.
Somewhere in the middle of his internalized argument, he noticed the change in Sheppard's breathing. His shallow panting had taken on a wheezy, wet, rattling sound and each intake seemed to slow just that tiny bit more than its predecessor. And while Rodney wasn't a medical doctor, he knew enough to know that this was not a good development. Silently, he urged Ronon and Teyla to hurry and finish clearing the way before it was too late.
The snap of a twig nearby sounded unnaturally loud in the woods and had Rodney immediately reaching for his gun. He shot an anxious glance at Sheppard, praying his noisy breathing wouldn't give their position away. He barely had the sidearm halfway free of its holder when he caught sight of a pair of legs clad in tanned leather that had moved into his view. He froze, with only his eyes moving up the long legs to find a familiar faced framed by a mass of wild-looking dreadlocks.
He nearly slumped over in relief, but quickly made his displeasure known. "Would you stop with the heart-attack inducing dramatics already? The old ticker can't take much more of this you know," he warned. "Or do you really want two people to carry to the Stargate?"
Ronon ignored his histrionics and pointed at the half-drawn weapon. "I told you to keep that ready. What if I'd been a Mallarian?" he demanded angrily.
Rodney had his mouth open to reply, but nothing came out as the fact that woods had gone dead-silent sank in. No wheezing. No wet sounding rattling with every intake. No nothing. His eyes went wide as he stared up at Ronon, horrified. "Oh no," he finally stammered. "Oh nonono. Don't you dare do this to me--to us!" snarled Rodney, turning to Sheppard.
He placed his fingers at the pilot's neck, frantically searching for any sign of a beat, as Ronon stood glowering down at him. "McKay," growled the Satedan, his lips twisting into a menacing snarl.
Rodney said nothing, waving Dex off in irritation while he concentrated. At last, his shoulders slumped in relief. "He's not breathing. I got a pulse--barely--but it's there." He lifted his head, his expression tense. "Tell me you've got that Stargate clear and Teyla's standing by ready to dial out, because if we don't get him back to Beckett right now, and by that I mean in the next thirty seconds or less? Sheppard's dead."
The Satedan didn't hesitate. He tossed John over his shoulder like a rag doll and activated the radio even as he was moving toward the Stargate. "Dial it up and tell Beckett to be waiting. Sheppard's not breathing."
McKay didn't need to be told to follow. In the distance, he could hear the chevrons engaging as Teyla dialed. He silently urged his injured friend to fight even as they ran for the Stargate and help. Come on, Sheppard, don't you dare quit on us now.
Then suddenly they were bursting through into the open meadow surrounding the open Stargate. Rodney expected Ronon to head straight to gate and into the wormhole, but instead the Satedan stopped dead in his tracks. Rodney couldn't stop in time and ran right into him again, and again bounced off to stumble and land flat on his backside.
His mouth fell open at the sight before him. At least thirty men had surrounded the dais where the open gate beckoned them. One held a gun to Teyla's head while two more flanked him, pinning her arms behind her. "Oh come on--you've got to be kidding me!" he complained.
McKay climbed to his feet, moving up next to Ronon. The Satedan had already found Lazzon, the Mallarian leader, and had his blaster aimed directly at the man's head. From what Rodney could see, it had been set to kill. Before he could speak up, Dex beat him to it. "We don't want no trouble here. Just let us take our friend home and no one else needs to get hurt," offered the Satedan. Rodney couldn't help but think it sounded far more like a warning than a proposal though.
Lazzon apparently agreed. "Do not threaten me, offworlder. I have you outnumbered ten-to-one. I hold your lovely companion here, as well. You are in no position to be making demands, much less threats."
Ronon's aim never wavered. "Oh that wasn't a threat," insisted the Satedan. "That was a fact." His eyes burned with intensity as he stared down his opponent. "And when I tell you that anyone touches a hair on her head and you die, that's not a threat either. That's a promise."
Rodney didn't think it possible, but Ronon's expression turned even more menacing. "But when I tell you that if my friend here, who got hurt flying *your* airplane, dies, then you die? Now that's a threat--and a promise."
"He crashed the plane; he deserves whatever happens to him! We were assured that he could successfully fly this plane, yet its remains are now scattered and burning all over Mischa's Meadow. Perhaps this is his punishment for lying to us!" accused Lazzon.
Rodney stepped forward before Ronon could stop him. "Um, excuse me, but that would be my fault, not his. I'm the one who caused the crash. I, um, did something--something purely unintentional, I assure you. So if you're going to blame someone, blame me. If you need someone to punish, punish me. Just, please, let him get Sheppard back to...our home. I'll stay here and accept whatever punishment you see fit to mete out."
"Rodney, no!" Teyla shook her head, daring her captors to try to stop her. "John would not want this."
"McKay," growled Ronon. "Get in back of me and shut up." The Satedan was succinct and to the point, holding nothing back.
Lazzon frowned. "How do I know this is the truth?"
Rodney rolled his eyes. "I don't suppose you'd accept a very sincere 'because I said so'?" He didn't even give the Mallarian time to respond. "Look, what does it matter anyway? You want someone to hold responsible and I'm telling you that person is me, whether you want to accept it or not. So let the others go and I'll stay and submit to whatever consequences you deem appropriate."
The Mallarian stared at him, assessing the truth of his words. Finally, he nodded to a big ugly brute on his left. Before anyone could react, Big Ugly raised an odd-looking sort of crossbow-type thing and loosed a long, thin reed-like dart in Rodney's direction.
McKay looked down as the projectile hit home, burying itself in his chest. His eyes went wide as he stared down in shock. The next thing he knew, Teyla was beside him demanding that he tell her how he felt. "Fine," he told her. I feel fine." He looked up, noting the departing Mallarians. "Hey, where's everybody going?"
Lazzon stopped for a moment, looking at him with sadness and regret. "You have proclaimed your guilt in this matter and sentence has been passed. I'm sorry, Doctor McKay. I wish things had turned out differently." And then he left, the others following down the road back to the city.
Rodney watched them go for a moment. Then suddenly his eyes widened and turned to look for Ronon. The Satedan--along with Sheppard--were nowhere in sight. "Where's Sheppard? We have to get him back to Atlantis NOW!"
Teyla placed her arm around him and pulled him over toward the still-open wormhole. "Ronon has already taken him through to Doctor Beckett. Come, we should follow before the Stargate shuts down."
He nodded, allowing her to lead him to the stairs. "That was weird, them just letting us all go like that."
She patted his back gently. "Yes, quite it was quite strange."
Rodney had forgotten all about the dart in his chest until he looked down to climb the stairs. "Oh. I suppose this is probably why." He turned to face her then, grabbing hold of both her arms, his eyes wide and wild. "You don't think it has citrus on it, do you? I mean, how could they possibly know about that?"
Teyla smiled at him. "I am quite certain that there is no citrus on it, Rodney. Are you feeling ill? Is that why you ask?"
"What? Oh, right. No, no I feel just fine. A little winded from all that running and confused by them letting us all go, but otherwise okay." He turned and took the first stair, but stopped and almost immediately grabbed her arms again. "Why did you ask me that? Do I not look okay? I'm not like, turning weird colors or anything, am I?"
She rolled her eyes, shaking her head at him. "No, Rodney, you look fine. I was merely inquiring as to your health, that is all." She pulled him up the final few stairs and headed toward the shimmering puddle of the Stargate. "We should hurry and see what news Carson has of John."
"Right. Sheppard. Messy hair, a little taller than me, alien-babe-magnet, has the uber-strength magic gene." Rodney kept mumbling nonsense right up until they reached the wormhole.
Teyla paused a moment, taking in his unfocused eyes. He was also now sweating furiously, his face growing redder by the minute, and fine tremors had begun to run throughout his entire body. Alarmed, she stepped into the glowing wormhole, anxiously pulling him with her.
~~A~~
By the time they stepped through into Atlantis, Rodney was in deep trouble. He tried to ask about the others, but he couldn't seem to form the words. His legs were tired and heavy, but he stubbornly pushed on, his need to find out what was happening with Sheppard driving him. Unfortunately, he barely made it a handful of steps before he sank to his knees, his legs unable to hold him up any longer.
The next thing he knew, he found himself lying on the floor of the gateroom, staring up at the familiar ceiling and watching in morbid fascination as it seemed to shift and wiggle above him. Elizabeth's face appeared above him, blocking his view of the dancing ceiling so he watched her instead. She was calling for a medical team and her voice sounded urgent and yet far away at the same time. Probably for Sheppard, he thought dazedly.
Teyla's face appeared next to Elizabeth's, assuring him that the doctor would be here shortly and that he would be just fine. He wanted to snort at that, but couldn't get his muscles to cooperate at all. It was becoming rather annoying, truth be told. Of course he'd be fine--he wasn't the one who had fallen out of the sky without a parachute. Well, okay, so Sheppard had had help falling, help that Rodney had supplied, but still, the principle was the same. Wasn't it?
His vision greyed out, but when he opened his eyes Teyla and Elizabeth were still there. Their heads were doing a weird little trick where they melded together into one and then rippled apart again. It was rather mesmerizing, truth be told. They looked worried, too. Must be it was painful, he thought.
His vision greyed again. This time when things cleared and the colors returned, there were a lot more faces surrounding him, hovering above like vultures waiting to swoop down and eat him. He didn't like that thought and wanted to leave, to chase them away and make them scatter, but his muscles still refused to work. The floating heads were talking to him now, but he couldn't make out any of the words. Damn it, why weren't they speaking English? English was a requirement for all expedition members and they were supposed to use it. He really needed to see about having them all fired as soon as he could get his muscles to work again.
His eyes went wide as one of the floaty-heads held up a long, clear snake. He tried desperately to take back the having-them-fired part, but his mouth still wasn't working. Helpless, he could do nothing but watch, horrified, as the snake was lowered to his chest. He tried to scream, but he couldn't do that either. He worked desperately to make his arms move, to grab the serpent and throw it as far as he could, but they were no more responsive than his vocal chords. Then the next thing he knew, the snake was slithering its way into his mouth and down his throat. He screamed and screamed, but the noise stubbornly stayed only in his head. Terrified, he called out for Carson or Teyla or Elizabeth, but the words would not leave his mouth and none of them appeared.
Finally, he could stand no more. His eyes rolled back in his head and the world went black, but still Rodney continued to scream inside his head.
~~A~~
"Carson?" Elizabeth slowly approached the doctor, almost afraid of what he might tell her.
Beckett looked up from the chart he was studying, standing near the foot of one of the two occupied infirmary beds. In it lay Rodney McKay, his face nearly hidden by the tube of the ventilator. In the other bed across the room, John Sheppard was still being settled after an extended visit to the OR, a matching tube breathing for him also. He smiled wearily at her, still dressed in his scrubs, and she felt the knot in her stomach loosen just a smidgen. "Elizabeth. I was just about to call you."
She nodded, still apprehensive. "I was just coming to check on Rodney when I heard that you'd finally finished with the surgery. How are they doing?" As much as she dreaded the coming report, she needed to hear it just as much.
Carson replaced the tablet at the end of the bed and steered her away from the bed. "The colonel is doing quite well, all things considered. His knee and ankle were merely sprained, not broken. He's also got quite the concussion, but so far we're not seeing any sign of complications and I'm not expecting there will be any down the line. His shoulder was dislocated, but Ronon did a fine job of getting it back into place and, again, I don't expect any problems there."
Beckett paused to look over as the nurses straightened John's blanket, having finished rechecking IV's and various other connections and monitors. "There were some internal injuries, however, that are giving us a wee bit o' cause for concern. He managed to break four of his ribs. Two of those punctured a lung and made a right mess of his insides. We've managed to stop the bleeding, but we'll be keeping a very, very close eye on him for the next while. He'll need to be on the vent for several days, possibly longer."
"But he'll be okay," she prompted, needing to hear Carson say the words she wanted to badly to hear.
The doctor threw another worried glance over at the injured pilot. "I'll na lie to ye, Elizabeth. He's far from out o' the woods here. Right now, it could easily go either way."
She drew in a deep breath, forcing herself to move on. She had to know it all. "Ronon said he wasn't breathing for several minutes before they were able to gate back. What about brain damage?" She braced herself for the answer, even now not certain how she'd handle bad news on this particular front.
Carson sighed. "Well, it's too early to tell for certain, mind ye, but so far there's no sign of anything amiss. I wish I had a more definite answer for ye, but I'm afraid we're just going to have to wait until he regains consciousness before we know anything more in that regard."
She drew a deep breath, nodding as she fought to keep her emotions in check. Not nearly the news she was hoping for, but pretty much the news she was expecting. "I see," she said. "And Rodney?" Though she was almost afraid to ask, she knew it was best to get it all out in the open. Besides, the others were going to want to know.
"I've only just now had a quick glance at his chart, but it appears he's doing well, or at least as well as can be expected under the circumstances. I was informed that Doctor Grayson has isolated the substance on the dart, but it's not likely we'll be finding an antidote anytime soon. It's quite unlike anything we've ever encountered, from what I hear. There is a bit of good news, however, in that it seems to break down fairly quickly once it's through the bloodstream. We expect it will work its way out of his system fairly rapidly, but until then, we'll continue to treat his symptoms as best we can, including keeping him on the vent until the paralysis has passed. From what Doctor Grayson says, we can expect that to happen sometime within the next twelve hours or so." The weary Scot's eyes were drawn to the annoying physicist's bed as he continued. "It's a good thing Teyla was able to get him back here so quickly. If they'd been delayed any longer, I fear we might well have lost him this time."
Her gaze had followed Carson's to the prickly scientist's still form. It was all she could do to keep from shuddering at the rhythmic click and hiss of the machine as it breathed for him. "Well that sounds encouraging, at least. How soon before he can have visitors?" Elizabeth knew well that there were two very anxious teammates waiting outside for news about both men.
Beckett hesitated, sighing. "I don't suppose it would matter to them that neither of these two will be awake or able to speak to them for hours, possibly even days yet, would it?"
She smiled, shaking her head. "I'd highly doubt it."
He returned her smile with a wry grin of his own. "I didn't think so. Ye can tell them that I'll send Jamie here to fetch them as soon as we have the colonel a wee bit more settled. That's the best I can do for now."
"I'll tell them. And I'm sure they appreciate everything you're doing." After a final look at each of the injured men, she left to deliver the news.
~~A~~
When Rodney next opened his eyes, the world around him was a blur of nondescript blobs, mostly white and grey. He blinked, trying to bring it all into focus, but the blobs stubbornly remained fuzzy and indistinct.
Each breath came faster than the last as he tried to recall where he was and how he'd gotten here. He remembered the room full of Ancient consoles and finding the ZPM first. The excitement was quickly quashed by the image of the message on the screen, proclaiming in Ancient that the target had been destroyed. Then the sick realization that the target had been Sheppard.
The dam seemed to break then, with images flashing through his head like a movie in fast-forward. The trek to the crash site and finding only one familiar black boot in the burning rubble. Ronon's terse call and the realization that he'd found Sheppard and that the pilot was alive. The race up the hill to find that the colonel was indeed alive, but not conscious. Fleeing the search parties and the desperate race for the gate, only for Sheppard to stop breathing while Ronon was off clearing their way. The relief at hearing Teyla dialing the gate as the Satedan threw the pilot over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and the dash to get him back to Atlantis in time. Getting to the gate only to find Lazzon there and holding Teyla hostage. Offering to stay if they'd just let the others get Sheppard back to Atlantis. The dart coming out of nowhere and looking down with morbid fascination to see it sticking in his chest.
Things were a less clear after that. He did remember Teyla telling him that there was no citrus on it, but he couldn't recall going back through the gate for anything. He remembered laying on the floor in the gateroom and the ceiling doing weird tricks. And Elizabeth and Teyla leaning over him, their heads doing a bizarre merging thing. And then they were gone and the floaty-heads came.
Oh God. The floaty-heads. He shot up in the bed, clawing at the sheets as he tried to free his legs and run. An alarm sounded nearby, but Rodney was too lost in the memories to pay it any mind. His hands went to his neck as he recalled the snake and how it crawled into his mouth and down his throat. "Get it out," he rasped, his mouth dry and his throat raw. He had no idea if anyone was nearby or could hear him, but he was beyond caring. "OhGodohGodohGod, please help me! Get it out! Please!"
Hands grabbed him, pushing him back to the mattress. Rodney fought them, kicking and lashing out for all he was worth. But they were too strong and he quickly found himself laying flat again. "Help me," he pleaded, his voice rough and hoarse. "Please."
"Easy, Rodney. Here, I want ye to take a sip of this; it will help your throat."
McKay recognized the voice immediately. "Carson! OhthankGod!" He sucked down enough of the water to soothe the fire in his throat and promptly grabbed Beckett's arm in a death-grip. "You gotta help me! Please, you have to get it out of me," he begged.
"I'm sorry, Rodney, but we're going to have to leave it in for the time being. You're not quite strong enough for it to come out yet." The Scot patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No! No, way. I'm fine, aside from having that-that-that *thing* in me. You've got to get it out--and if you don't I'll find someone who will," he threatened. "Please, Carson! Please."
Beckett sighed, shaking his head. "Look, Rodney, I know how uncomfortable the catheter can be, and I'm sorry, but you're going to have to put up with it for a wee bit longer. I'll remove it the moment your test results tell me you're well enough, I promise. Just...buck up and deal with as best ye can for now."
Rodney stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "What do catheters have to do with anything?" he asked incredulously. "I'm talking about the snake!"
It was now Carson's turn to stare. "Snake? What on Earth are ye on about now?"
Exasperated, McKay tried to explain. "The snake! The clear one that the floaty-heads put down...my...throat...um, okay, I admit it sounds a little...odd. But it happened, I swear it did!"
"Oh, I've no doubt ye believe it did," assured the Scot. "Precisely when and where did this all happen, if ye don't mind me asking?"
He didn't hesitate with his answer. "In the gate room. Right after we got back. I think. No, no, I'm sure. It was in the gate room right after we got back. I was going to go...somewhere...to do...something. And-and then I was on the floor and the ceiling was doing this weird wavy-thing and Teyla and Elizabeth were there, but they were doing this really cool head-merging thing, and that's when the floaty-heads showed up with the snake and they put it in my mouth and then it was in my throat and I couldn't breathe and-and..."
"Rodney!" Carson interrupted the tirade before the physicist degenerated into a serious bout of hyperventilating. "Listen to me! There was no snake. The med team had to intubate you. The substance on the dart you were shot with caused a number of symptoms, including total paralysis and hallucinations. It didn't happen, as least not the way you remember it."
"But I saw..."
"No, Rodney, you didn't. Not really."
"You're sure?"
"Aye, that I am."
"Oh." McKay frowned, knowing he was forgetting something important. Something really important. He tried to think, but the hiss and click of a ventilator nearby was making it impossible. His hand instinctively went to his throat, still sore from his own stint on the machine, and he wondered who the unlucky soul was that needed it to breathe for them.
He'd no sooner finished the thought than it all became clear again and he knew. His eyes went wide and his heart began to pound as he turned to Carson. "Oh God, I killed him! I killed him, Carson. I killed Sheppard!"
Beckett shook his head and pulled back the curtain. "Calm down, Rodney. I told ye, your memories of what happened after you were hit by the dart are not real. The colonel's not dead; he's right over there in the next bed."
Rodney shook his head adamantly. "No! No, you don't understand. It was before the dart--he didn't want to do it, but I made him and then he while he was up there flying it I couldn't wait and I had to go find the ruins and I brought it online and there was a ZPM and then all the sudden there was an alarm and it kept flashing that same message and it said "Target Destroyed" and the only thing in the sky was Sheppard's plane so I knew it had to be him and-and-and it just kept flashing that damn message at me and-and-and then Conan came and he was really mad because I killed Sheppard and he wanted to kill me, but Teyla wouldn't let him and so we went to the wreckage and I found it, I found his boot and-and-and..."
"Rodney, stop! I'm sure ye had no intention of hurting Colonel Sheppard, did ye?" Carson signaled a nurse to come over and quietly sent her off to fetch a sedative, but McKay continued rambling.
"Of course not! But it's my fault--can't you see that? If I'd only waited until after he landed--or better yet, if I hadn't forced him into it in the first place...but I did and then he did and I made him crash and-and-and then Conan found him, but he was hurt really bad and then we had to run because the Mallards were coming and I told him we should move him, especially not like that because Teyla said his ribs were broken but we had to because there was no time and so we ran and we ran and then we stopped and then Conan disappeared and him and Xena cleared the way to the gate a-and then he came back but Sheppard stopped breathing and we had to run for the gate again and-and-and when we got there the bad guys had Teyla and-and-and I told them! I told them it was my fault and they had to let the others go..."
Rodney finally paused to catch a breath, suddenly finding it more and more difficult to keep his eyes open. "Wha'?" He blinked then, forcing his eyes to stay open as he glared at Beckett. "Y-you dr'g me," he accused, his words beginning to slur.
"Aye, that I did. Ye wouldn't listen to me and calm yerself, so I had to take matters into ma own hands. Ye need to take it easy, Rodney. Ye've just been through a terrible ordeal, both mentally and physically. Sleep now and we'll talk again later."
Rodney allowed his eyes to close and as he drifted off, he swore to himself that there was no way he was going to dream of tall lanky Air Force colonels--and especially not of them falling from the sky after he'd shot them down.
~~TBC~~
Part Three
Part One
Author: katstale
Words: 17520
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Rodney volunteers John to assist the locals in order to gain access to an Ancient structure. Unfortunately, things don't go quite according to plan. (ShepWhump, RodneyWump, All-around Angst)
Notes: First and foremost, I must apologize to everybetty for the long delay in posting this. I am SO very, very sorry for my tardiness. I can only hope you find it was worth the wait. Second, this was written for the sheps_atlantis ficathon. The prompt was for "ShepWhump... ShepWh- errr, I mean, infirmary scene (with Carson, natch), humor interspersed amongst the whumpage." everybetty, if this doesn't meet your expectations, I'll be happy to try it again after NaNoWriMo in December. :)
Part Two
Rodney was paying attention this time. So when Ronon raised his closed fist to signal a halt, McKay did exactly that and immediately dropped to a crouch. He also managed to wait for Ronon to speak first, even though it nearly killed him because the Satedan carefully laid Sheppard out on the ground before uttering a single word.
His expression was tense, his tone low but urgent when he finally leaned over to share his intentions with the scientist. "You stay here. I'm gonna scout ahead and make sure the Stargate's clear." He pointed to Rodney's sidearm. "Keep that ready and shoot anyone who comes near here. Anyone besides me or Teyla," he amended wryly. Before Rodney could snap out a snide reply, Dex turned and silently disappeared into the thick brush.
Now alone with the unconscious pilot, Rodney replaced his sidearm in its holster and set about pulling out what medical supplies he had left to tend Sheppard's wounds. He looked around warily, the woods having become unnaturally quiet and still. Somehow, he didn't think that was a very good sign. Shaking off his unease, McKay set about wiping the blood and sweat from his friend's face and neck. A number of the scrapes and abrasions had begun to bleed freely again after their little jaunt through the forest; thankfully most of the bandages on the deeper, larger wounds had stayed in place, which was a good thing as Rodney had nothing left to replace them with.
McKay froze as a loud thud echoed through the woods. It had barely died out when another sounded, and then another and another. Bodies, he thought. Hitting the ground. But whose? He tried to relax and keep to his task, telling himself that it was Ronon disposing of the opposition a man at a time, but somehow he just couldn't make himself believe it.
Somewhere in the middle of his internalized argument, he noticed the change in Sheppard's breathing. His shallow panting had taken on a wheezy, wet, rattling sound and each intake seemed to slow just that tiny bit more than its predecessor. And while Rodney wasn't a medical doctor, he knew enough to know that this was not a good development. Silently, he urged Ronon and Teyla to hurry and finish clearing the way before it was too late.
The snap of a twig nearby sounded unnaturally loud in the woods and had Rodney immediately reaching for his gun. He shot an anxious glance at Sheppard, praying his noisy breathing wouldn't give their position away. He barely had the sidearm halfway free of its holder when he caught sight of a pair of legs clad in tanned leather that had moved into his view. He froze, with only his eyes moving up the long legs to find a familiar faced framed by a mass of wild-looking dreadlocks.
He nearly slumped over in relief, but quickly made his displeasure known. "Would you stop with the heart-attack inducing dramatics already? The old ticker can't take much more of this you know," he warned. "Or do you really want two people to carry to the Stargate?"
Ronon ignored his histrionics and pointed at the half-drawn weapon. "I told you to keep that ready. What if I'd been a Mallarian?" he demanded angrily.
Rodney had his mouth open to reply, but nothing came out as the fact that woods had gone dead-silent sank in. No wheezing. No wet sounding rattling with every intake. No nothing. His eyes went wide as he stared up at Ronon, horrified. "Oh no," he finally stammered. "Oh nonono. Don't you dare do this to me--to us!" snarled Rodney, turning to Sheppard.
He placed his fingers at the pilot's neck, frantically searching for any sign of a beat, as Ronon stood glowering down at him. "McKay," growled the Satedan, his lips twisting into a menacing snarl.
Rodney said nothing, waving Dex off in irritation while he concentrated. At last, his shoulders slumped in relief. "He's not breathing. I got a pulse--barely--but it's there." He lifted his head, his expression tense. "Tell me you've got that Stargate clear and Teyla's standing by ready to dial out, because if we don't get him back to Beckett right now, and by that I mean in the next thirty seconds or less? Sheppard's dead."
The Satedan didn't hesitate. He tossed John over his shoulder like a rag doll and activated the radio even as he was moving toward the Stargate. "Dial it up and tell Beckett to be waiting. Sheppard's not breathing."
McKay didn't need to be told to follow. In the distance, he could hear the chevrons engaging as Teyla dialed. He silently urged his injured friend to fight even as they ran for the Stargate and help. Come on, Sheppard, don't you dare quit on us now.
Then suddenly they were bursting through into the open meadow surrounding the open Stargate. Rodney expected Ronon to head straight to gate and into the wormhole, but instead the Satedan stopped dead in his tracks. Rodney couldn't stop in time and ran right into him again, and again bounced off to stumble and land flat on his backside.
His mouth fell open at the sight before him. At least thirty men had surrounded the dais where the open gate beckoned them. One held a gun to Teyla's head while two more flanked him, pinning her arms behind her. "Oh come on--you've got to be kidding me!" he complained.
McKay climbed to his feet, moving up next to Ronon. The Satedan had already found Lazzon, the Mallarian leader, and had his blaster aimed directly at the man's head. From what Rodney could see, it had been set to kill. Before he could speak up, Dex beat him to it. "We don't want no trouble here. Just let us take our friend home and no one else needs to get hurt," offered the Satedan. Rodney couldn't help but think it sounded far more like a warning than a proposal though.
Lazzon apparently agreed. "Do not threaten me, offworlder. I have you outnumbered ten-to-one. I hold your lovely companion here, as well. You are in no position to be making demands, much less threats."
Ronon's aim never wavered. "Oh that wasn't a threat," insisted the Satedan. "That was a fact." His eyes burned with intensity as he stared down his opponent. "And when I tell you that anyone touches a hair on her head and you die, that's not a threat either. That's a promise."
Rodney didn't think it possible, but Ronon's expression turned even more menacing. "But when I tell you that if my friend here, who got hurt flying *your* airplane, dies, then you die? Now that's a threat--and a promise."
"He crashed the plane; he deserves whatever happens to him! We were assured that he could successfully fly this plane, yet its remains are now scattered and burning all over Mischa's Meadow. Perhaps this is his punishment for lying to us!" accused Lazzon.
Rodney stepped forward before Ronon could stop him. "Um, excuse me, but that would be my fault, not his. I'm the one who caused the crash. I, um, did something--something purely unintentional, I assure you. So if you're going to blame someone, blame me. If you need someone to punish, punish me. Just, please, let him get Sheppard back to...our home. I'll stay here and accept whatever punishment you see fit to mete out."
"Rodney, no!" Teyla shook her head, daring her captors to try to stop her. "John would not want this."
"McKay," growled Ronon. "Get in back of me and shut up." The Satedan was succinct and to the point, holding nothing back.
Lazzon frowned. "How do I know this is the truth?"
Rodney rolled his eyes. "I don't suppose you'd accept a very sincere 'because I said so'?" He didn't even give the Mallarian time to respond. "Look, what does it matter anyway? You want someone to hold responsible and I'm telling you that person is me, whether you want to accept it or not. So let the others go and I'll stay and submit to whatever consequences you deem appropriate."
The Mallarian stared at him, assessing the truth of his words. Finally, he nodded to a big ugly brute on his left. Before anyone could react, Big Ugly raised an odd-looking sort of crossbow-type thing and loosed a long, thin reed-like dart in Rodney's direction.
McKay looked down as the projectile hit home, burying itself in his chest. His eyes went wide as he stared down in shock. The next thing he knew, Teyla was beside him demanding that he tell her how he felt. "Fine," he told her. I feel fine." He looked up, noting the departing Mallarians. "Hey, where's everybody going?"
Lazzon stopped for a moment, looking at him with sadness and regret. "You have proclaimed your guilt in this matter and sentence has been passed. I'm sorry, Doctor McKay. I wish things had turned out differently." And then he left, the others following down the road back to the city.
Rodney watched them go for a moment. Then suddenly his eyes widened and turned to look for Ronon. The Satedan--along with Sheppard--were nowhere in sight. "Where's Sheppard? We have to get him back to Atlantis NOW!"
Teyla placed her arm around him and pulled him over toward the still-open wormhole. "Ronon has already taken him through to Doctor Beckett. Come, we should follow before the Stargate shuts down."
He nodded, allowing her to lead him to the stairs. "That was weird, them just letting us all go like that."
She patted his back gently. "Yes, quite it was quite strange."
Rodney had forgotten all about the dart in his chest until he looked down to climb the stairs. "Oh. I suppose this is probably why." He turned to face her then, grabbing hold of both her arms, his eyes wide and wild. "You don't think it has citrus on it, do you? I mean, how could they possibly know about that?"
Teyla smiled at him. "I am quite certain that there is no citrus on it, Rodney. Are you feeling ill? Is that why you ask?"
"What? Oh, right. No, no I feel just fine. A little winded from all that running and confused by them letting us all go, but otherwise okay." He turned and took the first stair, but stopped and almost immediately grabbed her arms again. "Why did you ask me that? Do I not look okay? I'm not like, turning weird colors or anything, am I?"
She rolled her eyes, shaking her head at him. "No, Rodney, you look fine. I was merely inquiring as to your health, that is all." She pulled him up the final few stairs and headed toward the shimmering puddle of the Stargate. "We should hurry and see what news Carson has of John."
"Right. Sheppard. Messy hair, a little taller than me, alien-babe-magnet, has the uber-strength magic gene." Rodney kept mumbling nonsense right up until they reached the wormhole.
Teyla paused a moment, taking in his unfocused eyes. He was also now sweating furiously, his face growing redder by the minute, and fine tremors had begun to run throughout his entire body. Alarmed, she stepped into the glowing wormhole, anxiously pulling him with her.
~~A~~
By the time they stepped through into Atlantis, Rodney was in deep trouble. He tried to ask about the others, but he couldn't seem to form the words. His legs were tired and heavy, but he stubbornly pushed on, his need to find out what was happening with Sheppard driving him. Unfortunately, he barely made it a handful of steps before he sank to his knees, his legs unable to hold him up any longer.
The next thing he knew, he found himself lying on the floor of the gateroom, staring up at the familiar ceiling and watching in morbid fascination as it seemed to shift and wiggle above him. Elizabeth's face appeared above him, blocking his view of the dancing ceiling so he watched her instead. She was calling for a medical team and her voice sounded urgent and yet far away at the same time. Probably for Sheppard, he thought dazedly.
Teyla's face appeared next to Elizabeth's, assuring him that the doctor would be here shortly and that he would be just fine. He wanted to snort at that, but couldn't get his muscles to cooperate at all. It was becoming rather annoying, truth be told. Of course he'd be fine--he wasn't the one who had fallen out of the sky without a parachute. Well, okay, so Sheppard had had help falling, help that Rodney had supplied, but still, the principle was the same. Wasn't it?
His vision greyed out, but when he opened his eyes Teyla and Elizabeth were still there. Their heads were doing a weird little trick where they melded together into one and then rippled apart again. It was rather mesmerizing, truth be told. They looked worried, too. Must be it was painful, he thought.
His vision greyed again. This time when things cleared and the colors returned, there were a lot more faces surrounding him, hovering above like vultures waiting to swoop down and eat him. He didn't like that thought and wanted to leave, to chase them away and make them scatter, but his muscles still refused to work. The floating heads were talking to him now, but he couldn't make out any of the words. Damn it, why weren't they speaking English? English was a requirement for all expedition members and they were supposed to use it. He really needed to see about having them all fired as soon as he could get his muscles to work again.
His eyes went wide as one of the floaty-heads held up a long, clear snake. He tried desperately to take back the having-them-fired part, but his mouth still wasn't working. Helpless, he could do nothing but watch, horrified, as the snake was lowered to his chest. He tried to scream, but he couldn't do that either. He worked desperately to make his arms move, to grab the serpent and throw it as far as he could, but they were no more responsive than his vocal chords. Then the next thing he knew, the snake was slithering its way into his mouth and down his throat. He screamed and screamed, but the noise stubbornly stayed only in his head. Terrified, he called out for Carson or Teyla or Elizabeth, but the words would not leave his mouth and none of them appeared.
Finally, he could stand no more. His eyes rolled back in his head and the world went black, but still Rodney continued to scream inside his head.
~~A~~
"Carson?" Elizabeth slowly approached the doctor, almost afraid of what he might tell her.
Beckett looked up from the chart he was studying, standing near the foot of one of the two occupied infirmary beds. In it lay Rodney McKay, his face nearly hidden by the tube of the ventilator. In the other bed across the room, John Sheppard was still being settled after an extended visit to the OR, a matching tube breathing for him also. He smiled wearily at her, still dressed in his scrubs, and she felt the knot in her stomach loosen just a smidgen. "Elizabeth. I was just about to call you."
She nodded, still apprehensive. "I was just coming to check on Rodney when I heard that you'd finally finished with the surgery. How are they doing?" As much as she dreaded the coming report, she needed to hear it just as much.
Carson replaced the tablet at the end of the bed and steered her away from the bed. "The colonel is doing quite well, all things considered. His knee and ankle were merely sprained, not broken. He's also got quite the concussion, but so far we're not seeing any sign of complications and I'm not expecting there will be any down the line. His shoulder was dislocated, but Ronon did a fine job of getting it back into place and, again, I don't expect any problems there."
Beckett paused to look over as the nurses straightened John's blanket, having finished rechecking IV's and various other connections and monitors. "There were some internal injuries, however, that are giving us a wee bit o' cause for concern. He managed to break four of his ribs. Two of those punctured a lung and made a right mess of his insides. We've managed to stop the bleeding, but we'll be keeping a very, very close eye on him for the next while. He'll need to be on the vent for several days, possibly longer."
"But he'll be okay," she prompted, needing to hear Carson say the words she wanted to badly to hear.
The doctor threw another worried glance over at the injured pilot. "I'll na lie to ye, Elizabeth. He's far from out o' the woods here. Right now, it could easily go either way."
She drew in a deep breath, forcing herself to move on. She had to know it all. "Ronon said he wasn't breathing for several minutes before they were able to gate back. What about brain damage?" She braced herself for the answer, even now not certain how she'd handle bad news on this particular front.
Carson sighed. "Well, it's too early to tell for certain, mind ye, but so far there's no sign of anything amiss. I wish I had a more definite answer for ye, but I'm afraid we're just going to have to wait until he regains consciousness before we know anything more in that regard."
She drew a deep breath, nodding as she fought to keep her emotions in check. Not nearly the news she was hoping for, but pretty much the news she was expecting. "I see," she said. "And Rodney?" Though she was almost afraid to ask, she knew it was best to get it all out in the open. Besides, the others were going to want to know.
"I've only just now had a quick glance at his chart, but it appears he's doing well, or at least as well as can be expected under the circumstances. I was informed that Doctor Grayson has isolated the substance on the dart, but it's not likely we'll be finding an antidote anytime soon. It's quite unlike anything we've ever encountered, from what I hear. There is a bit of good news, however, in that it seems to break down fairly quickly once it's through the bloodstream. We expect it will work its way out of his system fairly rapidly, but until then, we'll continue to treat his symptoms as best we can, including keeping him on the vent until the paralysis has passed. From what Doctor Grayson says, we can expect that to happen sometime within the next twelve hours or so." The weary Scot's eyes were drawn to the annoying physicist's bed as he continued. "It's a good thing Teyla was able to get him back here so quickly. If they'd been delayed any longer, I fear we might well have lost him this time."
Her gaze had followed Carson's to the prickly scientist's still form. It was all she could do to keep from shuddering at the rhythmic click and hiss of the machine as it breathed for him. "Well that sounds encouraging, at least. How soon before he can have visitors?" Elizabeth knew well that there were two very anxious teammates waiting outside for news about both men.
Beckett hesitated, sighing. "I don't suppose it would matter to them that neither of these two will be awake or able to speak to them for hours, possibly even days yet, would it?"
She smiled, shaking her head. "I'd highly doubt it."
He returned her smile with a wry grin of his own. "I didn't think so. Ye can tell them that I'll send Jamie here to fetch them as soon as we have the colonel a wee bit more settled. That's the best I can do for now."
"I'll tell them. And I'm sure they appreciate everything you're doing." After a final look at each of the injured men, she left to deliver the news.
~~A~~
When Rodney next opened his eyes, the world around him was a blur of nondescript blobs, mostly white and grey. He blinked, trying to bring it all into focus, but the blobs stubbornly remained fuzzy and indistinct.
Each breath came faster than the last as he tried to recall where he was and how he'd gotten here. He remembered the room full of Ancient consoles and finding the ZPM first. The excitement was quickly quashed by the image of the message on the screen, proclaiming in Ancient that the target had been destroyed. Then the sick realization that the target had been Sheppard.
The dam seemed to break then, with images flashing through his head like a movie in fast-forward. The trek to the crash site and finding only one familiar black boot in the burning rubble. Ronon's terse call and the realization that he'd found Sheppard and that the pilot was alive. The race up the hill to find that the colonel was indeed alive, but not conscious. Fleeing the search parties and the desperate race for the gate, only for Sheppard to stop breathing while Ronon was off clearing their way. The relief at hearing Teyla dialing the gate as the Satedan threw the pilot over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and the dash to get him back to Atlantis in time. Getting to the gate only to find Lazzon there and holding Teyla hostage. Offering to stay if they'd just let the others get Sheppard back to Atlantis. The dart coming out of nowhere and looking down with morbid fascination to see it sticking in his chest.
Things were a less clear after that. He did remember Teyla telling him that there was no citrus on it, but he couldn't recall going back through the gate for anything. He remembered laying on the floor in the gateroom and the ceiling doing weird tricks. And Elizabeth and Teyla leaning over him, their heads doing a bizarre merging thing. And then they were gone and the floaty-heads came.
Oh God. The floaty-heads. He shot up in the bed, clawing at the sheets as he tried to free his legs and run. An alarm sounded nearby, but Rodney was too lost in the memories to pay it any mind. His hands went to his neck as he recalled the snake and how it crawled into his mouth and down his throat. "Get it out," he rasped, his mouth dry and his throat raw. He had no idea if anyone was nearby or could hear him, but he was beyond caring. "OhGodohGodohGod, please help me! Get it out! Please!"
Hands grabbed him, pushing him back to the mattress. Rodney fought them, kicking and lashing out for all he was worth. But they were too strong and he quickly found himself laying flat again. "Help me," he pleaded, his voice rough and hoarse. "Please."
"Easy, Rodney. Here, I want ye to take a sip of this; it will help your throat."
McKay recognized the voice immediately. "Carson! OhthankGod!" He sucked down enough of the water to soothe the fire in his throat and promptly grabbed Beckett's arm in a death-grip. "You gotta help me! Please, you have to get it out of me," he begged.
"I'm sorry, Rodney, but we're going to have to leave it in for the time being. You're not quite strong enough for it to come out yet." The Scot patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No! No, way. I'm fine, aside from having that-that-that *thing* in me. You've got to get it out--and if you don't I'll find someone who will," he threatened. "Please, Carson! Please."
Beckett sighed, shaking his head. "Look, Rodney, I know how uncomfortable the catheter can be, and I'm sorry, but you're going to have to put up with it for a wee bit longer. I'll remove it the moment your test results tell me you're well enough, I promise. Just...buck up and deal with as best ye can for now."
Rodney stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "What do catheters have to do with anything?" he asked incredulously. "I'm talking about the snake!"
It was now Carson's turn to stare. "Snake? What on Earth are ye on about now?"
Exasperated, McKay tried to explain. "The snake! The clear one that the floaty-heads put down...my...throat...um, okay, I admit it sounds a little...odd. But it happened, I swear it did!"
"Oh, I've no doubt ye believe it did," assured the Scot. "Precisely when and where did this all happen, if ye don't mind me asking?"
He didn't hesitate with his answer. "In the gate room. Right after we got back. I think. No, no, I'm sure. It was in the gate room right after we got back. I was going to go...somewhere...to do...something. And-and then I was on the floor and the ceiling was doing this weird wavy-thing and Teyla and Elizabeth were there, but they were doing this really cool head-merging thing, and that's when the floaty-heads showed up with the snake and they put it in my mouth and then it was in my throat and I couldn't breathe and-and..."
"Rodney!" Carson interrupted the tirade before the physicist degenerated into a serious bout of hyperventilating. "Listen to me! There was no snake. The med team had to intubate you. The substance on the dart you were shot with caused a number of symptoms, including total paralysis and hallucinations. It didn't happen, as least not the way you remember it."
"But I saw..."
"No, Rodney, you didn't. Not really."
"You're sure?"
"Aye, that I am."
"Oh." McKay frowned, knowing he was forgetting something important. Something really important. He tried to think, but the hiss and click of a ventilator nearby was making it impossible. His hand instinctively went to his throat, still sore from his own stint on the machine, and he wondered who the unlucky soul was that needed it to breathe for them.
He'd no sooner finished the thought than it all became clear again and he knew. His eyes went wide and his heart began to pound as he turned to Carson. "Oh God, I killed him! I killed him, Carson. I killed Sheppard!"
Beckett shook his head and pulled back the curtain. "Calm down, Rodney. I told ye, your memories of what happened after you were hit by the dart are not real. The colonel's not dead; he's right over there in the next bed."
Rodney shook his head adamantly. "No! No, you don't understand. It was before the dart--he didn't want to do it, but I made him and then he while he was up there flying it I couldn't wait and I had to go find the ruins and I brought it online and there was a ZPM and then all the sudden there was an alarm and it kept flashing that same message and it said "Target Destroyed" and the only thing in the sky was Sheppard's plane so I knew it had to be him and-and-and it just kept flashing that damn message at me and-and-and then Conan came and he was really mad because I killed Sheppard and he wanted to kill me, but Teyla wouldn't let him and so we went to the wreckage and I found it, I found his boot and-and-and..."
"Rodney, stop! I'm sure ye had no intention of hurting Colonel Sheppard, did ye?" Carson signaled a nurse to come over and quietly sent her off to fetch a sedative, but McKay continued rambling.
"Of course not! But it's my fault--can't you see that? If I'd only waited until after he landed--or better yet, if I hadn't forced him into it in the first place...but I did and then he did and I made him crash and-and-and then Conan found him, but he was hurt really bad and then we had to run because the Mallards were coming and I told him we should move him, especially not like that because Teyla said his ribs were broken but we had to because there was no time and so we ran and we ran and then we stopped and then Conan disappeared and him and Xena cleared the way to the gate a-and then he came back but Sheppard stopped breathing and we had to run for the gate again and-and-and when we got there the bad guys had Teyla and-and-and I told them! I told them it was my fault and they had to let the others go..."
Rodney finally paused to catch a breath, suddenly finding it more and more difficult to keep his eyes open. "Wha'?" He blinked then, forcing his eyes to stay open as he glared at Beckett. "Y-you dr'g me," he accused, his words beginning to slur.
"Aye, that I did. Ye wouldn't listen to me and calm yerself, so I had to take matters into ma own hands. Ye need to take it easy, Rodney. Ye've just been through a terrible ordeal, both mentally and physically. Sleep now and we'll talk again later."
Rodney allowed his eyes to close and as he drifted off, he swore to himself that there was no way he was going to dream of tall lanky Air Force colonels--and especially not of them falling from the sky after he'd shot them down.
~~TBC~~
Part Three
Part One