Fic: For Better, For Worse (PG)
Title: For Better, For Worse
Author: SGAtlantisLight
Characters: McKay, Sheppard, Caldwell, Lorne, Emmagan, Beckett, Everett, Dex, Kavanagh, Weir
Relationships: McKay/Sheppard, Lorne/Weir
Rating: PG for this part, but series as a whole is NC-17
Warnings: Medical stuff, some language, a bit of a cliffhanger
Spoilers: References to events (some somewhat different in this AU) in Aurora, quotes from The Hive
Summary: Part 10 of the Unified Theory series-- an AU where Everett was never drained by the Wraith and kept his position as military commander of Atlantis.
Disclaimer: The characters, the setting, etc. are NOT mine, even if I wish they were.
John had emerged from the pod in time to see the wraith slam his hand into Rodney's back. John had done the only thing he could do and fired several rounds into the wraith's arm until it was severed from its body. He caught Rodney and held him up as he emptied the rest of the clip into the wraith's head.
"Doctor McKay, Doctor Sheppard, we're reading two life signs. I hope that means what I think it means," Caldwell's voice crackled over the radio.
"Give me one more minute!" John said, turning to look at Rodney. "You okay?"
Rodney's breath was coming in gasps and John could feel his heart racing against him.
"We're out of time, Sheppard. The Wraith ships are almost here."
"Beam Rodney to the infirmary and then give me one damned minute and I can take care of that problem."
"You will have to release your hold on him," Hermiod's voice came, calm and unemotional.
"Okay." John steadied Rodney and stepped back, watching his husband disappear in a beam of light.
John ran to the nearest terminal and quickly entered a code, hearing Caldwell calling for battle stations over his radio.
"Daedalus, this is Sheppard. We're ready," he called as he pressed one final button. Looking down, he saw the wraith's severed arm and grabbed it up.
No sooner had he done it than he was on the bridge of the Daedalus. He barely registered Teyla and Lorne there. "We need to get out of here," he told Caldwell, holding up a hand to forestall argument. "The Captain gave me the Aurora's self-destruct code. He assures me that it'll take care of the Wraith ships too, but we need to get clear."
"Bring sublight engines to military thrust," Caldwell was saying as John raced off the bridge toward the infirmary, followed by his teammates.
"What happened?" Teyla asked.
"Goddamned wraith got him," John answered. "I don't think it drained him, but he looked to be in shock. Where were you two?"
"We were beamed aboard the Daedalus without warning," Teyla answered.
"Caldwell got fed up with the stalling," Lorne said. "I expect he'll write me up."
"Sorry about that," John said as they rounded the corner toward the infirmary.
"Doctor McKay, you need to lie down," a voice was saying.
"Nonononono! I can't lie down; I've got to help John!" Rodney yelled as they skidded through the doors.
"Rodney, I'm here," John said, taking in his husband, who was red-faced and soaking with sweat.
"Oh, good. Oh, good, you're here. You didn't do anything heroically stupid then." Rodney gave a strange high pitched giggle.
"Rodney," John said, trying to stay calm, "how are you feeling?"
"Itchy. I'm itchy all over." Rodney let out a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob.
Lorne grabbed the wraith arm and pulled out his field knife, heading for a counter.
"Okay, you need to lie down and let the corpsman help you," John said.
"Right. Lie down... Oh, wait, my laptop, did you--?"
"It's in your hand, Rodney. Now lie down."
"Here, let me take that for you, Doctor McKay," the corpsman said soothingly.
"No! You... I don't want anyone damaging it."
"Rodney!" John said, drawing his husband's attention. "Give me the damned laptop and then go. Lie. Down."
"Yes, yes. Of course. Um. You won't--?"
"Rodney!" John pulled the laptop out of Rodney's hands and handed it to Teyla, then slipped his arms around Rodney for a moment, backing him up toward the bed, feeling Rodney's heart pounding in his chest. "You're okay," he soothed. When he felt Rodney bump against the bed, he pushed him back. "Now lie down for me."
Rodney let out another nervous giggle, but did as he was told. "The wraith didn't...? I mean, I'm...?"
"You're fine. You're just having some sort of a reaction." Reluctantly, he let go, slipping a hand into Rodney's and finding a chair to sit in.
"Damn!" Lorne cursed. John turned and saw Lorne holding up what he recognised as an enzyme sac. "It's empty," Lorne said. "He's taken a whole sac-full at one go."
"Are you sure the sac wasn't breached?" John asked.
Lorne shook his head. "It's intact. The wraith must have injected the whole thing when the arm was severed."
"Oh, God!" Rodney said. "Just like Ford! Oh, God!"
The corpsman pulled off his stethoscope and was hitting his radio even as he gathered drugs together. "I need to get in contact with Doctor Beckett and we need to get Doctor McKay to Atlantis and under his care as soon as possible."
***
Everett shook his head as another nubile young thing practically draped herself across Liam Kavanagh. Leave it to the women of P3X-912 to waste all that energy on someone who wouldn't even appreciate it.
Not that he would have taken up any of the women on their offers-- he was too professional to go dallying with the local girls-- but at least he would have appreciated the attention.
"Liam," he said in low tones, "ask about the wraith."
Kavanagh nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Lord Doctor Liam-- William-- Kavanagh, Lord Specialist Ronon Dex, would you care for more arntel wine?"
"Sure," Ronon said, sliding his glass forward.
Kavanagh smiled. "No, thank you. I would, however, like to speak to... your lord? The ruler of the area, please."
She nodded, filling Ronon's cup with a golden wine, and then topped off Kavanagh's anyway. "He assures me that he will be here shortly. Excuse me a moment."
As soon as she stepped out, Kavanagh turned and poured his drink into Everett's plainer cup. Ronon quirked an eyebrow and drained his. Crown sighed. "For once, I'd like to find a nice matriarchal society."
"Need to switch to Cadman's team," Kavanagh said. "They get all the juicy matriarchal societies, thank God."
"Yes, we just get planet of the long-hairs," Everett muttered.
Kavanagh grinned. "See, there's a reason I keep my hair long... slave."
"Quiet!" Ronon hissed.
The door opened and several short-haired men, all muscle and menace walked in, followed by a man Kavanagh would guess for mid-40s, salt-and-pepper hair free-flowing to his waist. He lithely sat down on the mats on the floor facing the low table where Kavanagh and Ronon were seated with Crown and Everett behind them.
"Welcome, my lords. I am Lord Wuld poer K'maro. I understand your people are interested in trade and information."
Kavanagh nodded. "Yes. We have much to trade, though we are now particularly interested in information about the wraith. We are... tracking them across worlds, trying to see where they are going next."
Wuld looked concerned. "And you have reason to believe they are coming here next?"
"Unless there is some reason they wouldn't come here. It seems apparent that they haven't culled here lately, correct?"
Wuld nodded. "It has been some fifty years since a wraith was seen here."
"Then I'd say you're overdue."
***
John sat next to Rodney's bed, stroking his hair and just listening to him breathe. Even sedated, there was a restlessness in him and his heart still seemed to be pounding too fast. John leaned forward and kissed Rodney's forehead tenderly.
A comforting hand squeezed his shoulder. "You should lie down and get some rest, John," Carson said gently.
"How is he?" John asked.
Carson came around and sat gingerly on the side of the bed, facing him. "Honestly, it's a wonder he didn't suffer a stroke, as he's borderline hypertensive as it is. But he's bloody stubborn and Lieutenant Amundsen was quick to sedate him and I've administered a beta blocker to bring his blood pressure down to a more manageable level. The good news is he doesn't appear to have been drained at all."
"But..." John prompted.
"He took a huge dose. It's going to be a balancing act getting him off it, between the effect of the enzyme on his cardiovascular system and the stress of withdrawal. We also, unfortunately, have to take our own dwindling supply of enzyme into consideration. If we can't get more enzyme soon, he's going to have to go cold turkey, may have to even if we do have access to it if I see too much stress on his systems. I can administer some drugs to help ease the process: anti-nausea medication, pain reliever, benzodiazepine for anxiety, as well as a multi-vitamin injection to bolster the immune system, but there's no dodging the fact it's going to be difficult."
"Difficult?"
"Possibly even deadly, if we run out and can't ease him off in incremental doses."
John ran a hand through his hair, letting his breath out slowly. "So, the wraith hunt hasn't gone well, I take it?"
Carson shook his head. "Not yet, no. Stackhouse's team just got back. They're going out again soon. Major Lorne and Teyla are pulling a couple of Marines onto the team to take out as well."
"I should go," John said. "They need me on that wraith hunt."
"He needs you right here," Carson disagreed.
"I thought you were just telling me I should get some rest."
"Aye, I was. There's an empty bed right there."
***
"Kavanagh, we've got incoming!" Everett's voice crackled over his radio.
Kavanagh swore. He was afraid this would happen. They'd offered a beta site for the people to escape to. They'd gotten a number of people through in the 38 minutes before the gate shut down, but there were a number of stragglers. He'd been in town organising the next batch, trying to convince them to abandon beloved but ultimately useless mementos. "I'm on my way."
A woman clutched at him. "What do you we do?"
"What the hell do you usually do?" he asked. "Whatever it is, go do it." He wrenched himself free and started running toward the gate while people fled into the countryside away from it. The puddle jumper was cloaked near the gate, though any wraith worth his salt would know it was there by the depression it left in the tall grass, grass that he waded into now. Then a dart was screaming toward him and he was raising his P-90.
Lots of wraith...
Now if they could just catch one alive without dying in the attempt...
***
John awoke to the sound of Rodney's breath suddenly becoming harsher. There was a gasp. "C-Carson... I need... something," Rodney said. "Oh, God! It's the enzyme... I need more."
"I'm sorry, Rodney, you're going to have to wait for a wee bit."
"Why?"
"We have a limited supply. You're going to have to wait," Carson explained gently.
"You don't have to scream at me!"
"I'm not screaming."
Rodney looked between John and Carson. "Please, just give me a little enzyme -- just enough to take the edge off. I'm dying here."
"In a wee bit, Rodney. I promise."
"You're keeping it all for Ford, aren't you? You're not going to let me have any!"
"Rodney," John said, "you know Carson wouldn't do that to you."
"You think I don't know he's lying?" Rodney demanded.
"I'm not lying," Carson said.
"You are. You think I don't think you are but you are. And don't think I won't forget it."
Carson looked at Rodney in complete confusion. "What?"
Rodney let out a sob. "I don't know! Just kill me."
"It'll pass."
"Don't shout! I am right here," Rodney said.
John had moved to Rodney's bed and sat now, hands gently brushing sweat-soaked hair from Rodney's forehead. "Hey, calm down. Carson's doing everything he can for you."
Rodney whimpered, giving Carson a look of betrayal. "You have no idea of the agony I'm going through."
"Oh, I have an inkling," Carson said softly.
John pressed a kiss to his husband's forehead. "I'm here to help you through this, okay. Only a little bit longer."
***
"Kavanagh!" Ronon growled over the radio. There was no answer. He looked at Everett then back at the rising smoke from the crashed dart.
Everett turned to the lieutenant. "Get the puddle jumper powered up and ready to go." He then turned back to Ronon. "Let's go."
***
"Oh, God!" Rodney moaned, shuddering in an almost sexual manner. "You smell so good..."
John smiled tightly. "Well, I do try to shower occasionally."
"Want to taste you..."
Carson walked back in, frowning at the monitors. "I don't like this."
Rodney gasped, his face taking on a look of fear.
"Rodney?" Carson asked. "Tell me what you're experiencing."
"Dizzy... really, really dizzy..."
Carson swore. "I'm sorry, major, er, John, ye need to leave now."
***
Elizabeth sat down next to him. "How is he?"
"I don't know," he answered. "I think he was having a stroke."
Elizabeth sighed. "I'm sorry I haven't been by earlier. This wraith hunt has had me tied up."
He nodded. "I know. I understand."
Both their heads snapped up as the door to the waiting room opened and Carson stepped out looking tired and grim. Seeing their anxious looks, he smiled reassuringly. "He's out of the woods for now."
John exhaled a sigh of relief. "What happened?"
"The enzyme is stressing his cardiovascular system. We barely averted a stroke. I'm afraid we can't step him down off it."
"I thought you said going cold turkey could kill him," John said.
"It could," Carson admitted. "But administering more enzyme definitely will."
"Can I see him now?"
"Of course."
John left Elizabeth and Carson to talk and headed back to Rodney's bed. The lights were dimmed slightly and Rodney lay looking pale and strangely small and vulnerable in the bed amidst the wires and tubes.
John hadn't thought Rodney was awake, but as he moved to take the chair Rodney's eyes opened and tracked him.
"Hey," John said, taking Rodney's hand in his. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit, though maybe mildly better than after I got shot."
John forced himself to smile. "Yeah, getting shot sucks worse than almost anything."
"It's not good, is it?"
John considered him. "It's not great, no. But we can get through this. We will. Because you owe me more of whatever that hot kinky thing we were doing is called."
"Oh, yeah," Rodney said. "You still smell really, really tasty, you know."
"Well, there's not much we can do here, but I expect this would be okay," John said, then leaned over and kissed Rodney, tasting the sweetness that was all Rodney, but with a bitter undertone of fear. Rodney kissed like it might be the last kiss he would ever have.
And John tried really hard not to think about that.
Next part
Author: SGAtlantisLight
Characters: McKay, Sheppard, Caldwell, Lorne, Emmagan, Beckett, Everett, Dex, Kavanagh, Weir
Relationships: McKay/Sheppard, Lorne/Weir
Rating: PG for this part, but series as a whole is NC-17
Warnings: Medical stuff, some language, a bit of a cliffhanger
Spoilers: References to events (some somewhat different in this AU) in Aurora, quotes from The Hive
Summary: Part 10 of the Unified Theory series-- an AU where Everett was never drained by the Wraith and kept his position as military commander of Atlantis.
Disclaimer: The characters, the setting, etc. are NOT mine, even if I wish they were.
John had emerged from the pod in time to see the wraith slam his hand into Rodney's back. John had done the only thing he could do and fired several rounds into the wraith's arm until it was severed from its body. He caught Rodney and held him up as he emptied the rest of the clip into the wraith's head.
"Doctor McKay, Doctor Sheppard, we're reading two life signs. I hope that means what I think it means," Caldwell's voice crackled over the radio.
"Give me one more minute!" John said, turning to look at Rodney. "You okay?"
Rodney's breath was coming in gasps and John could feel his heart racing against him.
"We're out of time, Sheppard. The Wraith ships are almost here."
"Beam Rodney to the infirmary and then give me one damned minute and I can take care of that problem."
"You will have to release your hold on him," Hermiod's voice came, calm and unemotional.
"Okay." John steadied Rodney and stepped back, watching his husband disappear in a beam of light.
John ran to the nearest terminal and quickly entered a code, hearing Caldwell calling for battle stations over his radio.
"Daedalus, this is Sheppard. We're ready," he called as he pressed one final button. Looking down, he saw the wraith's severed arm and grabbed it up.
No sooner had he done it than he was on the bridge of the Daedalus. He barely registered Teyla and Lorne there. "We need to get out of here," he told Caldwell, holding up a hand to forestall argument. "The Captain gave me the Aurora's self-destruct code. He assures me that it'll take care of the Wraith ships too, but we need to get clear."
"Bring sublight engines to military thrust," Caldwell was saying as John raced off the bridge toward the infirmary, followed by his teammates.
"What happened?" Teyla asked.
"Goddamned wraith got him," John answered. "I don't think it drained him, but he looked to be in shock. Where were you two?"
"We were beamed aboard the Daedalus without warning," Teyla answered.
"Caldwell got fed up with the stalling," Lorne said. "I expect he'll write me up."
"Sorry about that," John said as they rounded the corner toward the infirmary.
"Doctor McKay, you need to lie down," a voice was saying.
"Nonononono! I can't lie down; I've got to help John!" Rodney yelled as they skidded through the doors.
"Rodney, I'm here," John said, taking in his husband, who was red-faced and soaking with sweat.
"Oh, good. Oh, good, you're here. You didn't do anything heroically stupid then." Rodney gave a strange high pitched giggle.
"Rodney," John said, trying to stay calm, "how are you feeling?"
"Itchy. I'm itchy all over." Rodney let out a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob.
Lorne grabbed the wraith arm and pulled out his field knife, heading for a counter.
"Okay, you need to lie down and let the corpsman help you," John said.
"Right. Lie down... Oh, wait, my laptop, did you--?"
"It's in your hand, Rodney. Now lie down."
"Here, let me take that for you, Doctor McKay," the corpsman said soothingly.
"No! You... I don't want anyone damaging it."
"Rodney!" John said, drawing his husband's attention. "Give me the damned laptop and then go. Lie. Down."
"Yes, yes. Of course. Um. You won't--?"
"Rodney!" John pulled the laptop out of Rodney's hands and handed it to Teyla, then slipped his arms around Rodney for a moment, backing him up toward the bed, feeling Rodney's heart pounding in his chest. "You're okay," he soothed. When he felt Rodney bump against the bed, he pushed him back. "Now lie down for me."
Rodney let out another nervous giggle, but did as he was told. "The wraith didn't...? I mean, I'm...?"
"You're fine. You're just having some sort of a reaction." Reluctantly, he let go, slipping a hand into Rodney's and finding a chair to sit in.
"Damn!" Lorne cursed. John turned and saw Lorne holding up what he recognised as an enzyme sac. "It's empty," Lorne said. "He's taken a whole sac-full at one go."
"Are you sure the sac wasn't breached?" John asked.
Lorne shook his head. "It's intact. The wraith must have injected the whole thing when the arm was severed."
"Oh, God!" Rodney said. "Just like Ford! Oh, God!"
The corpsman pulled off his stethoscope and was hitting his radio even as he gathered drugs together. "I need to get in contact with Doctor Beckett and we need to get Doctor McKay to Atlantis and under his care as soon as possible."
***
Everett shook his head as another nubile young thing practically draped herself across Liam Kavanagh. Leave it to the women of P3X-912 to waste all that energy on someone who wouldn't even appreciate it.
Not that he would have taken up any of the women on their offers-- he was too professional to go dallying with the local girls-- but at least he would have appreciated the attention.
"Liam," he said in low tones, "ask about the wraith."
Kavanagh nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Lord Doctor Liam-- William-- Kavanagh, Lord Specialist Ronon Dex, would you care for more arntel wine?"
"Sure," Ronon said, sliding his glass forward.
Kavanagh smiled. "No, thank you. I would, however, like to speak to... your lord? The ruler of the area, please."
She nodded, filling Ronon's cup with a golden wine, and then topped off Kavanagh's anyway. "He assures me that he will be here shortly. Excuse me a moment."
As soon as she stepped out, Kavanagh turned and poured his drink into Everett's plainer cup. Ronon quirked an eyebrow and drained his. Crown sighed. "For once, I'd like to find a nice matriarchal society."
"Need to switch to Cadman's team," Kavanagh said. "They get all the juicy matriarchal societies, thank God."
"Yes, we just get planet of the long-hairs," Everett muttered.
Kavanagh grinned. "See, there's a reason I keep my hair long... slave."
"Quiet!" Ronon hissed.
The door opened and several short-haired men, all muscle and menace walked in, followed by a man Kavanagh would guess for mid-40s, salt-and-pepper hair free-flowing to his waist. He lithely sat down on the mats on the floor facing the low table where Kavanagh and Ronon were seated with Crown and Everett behind them.
"Welcome, my lords. I am Lord Wuld poer K'maro. I understand your people are interested in trade and information."
Kavanagh nodded. "Yes. We have much to trade, though we are now particularly interested in information about the wraith. We are... tracking them across worlds, trying to see where they are going next."
Wuld looked concerned. "And you have reason to believe they are coming here next?"
"Unless there is some reason they wouldn't come here. It seems apparent that they haven't culled here lately, correct?"
Wuld nodded. "It has been some fifty years since a wraith was seen here."
"Then I'd say you're overdue."
***
John sat next to Rodney's bed, stroking his hair and just listening to him breathe. Even sedated, there was a restlessness in him and his heart still seemed to be pounding too fast. John leaned forward and kissed Rodney's forehead tenderly.
A comforting hand squeezed his shoulder. "You should lie down and get some rest, John," Carson said gently.
"How is he?" John asked.
Carson came around and sat gingerly on the side of the bed, facing him. "Honestly, it's a wonder he didn't suffer a stroke, as he's borderline hypertensive as it is. But he's bloody stubborn and Lieutenant Amundsen was quick to sedate him and I've administered a beta blocker to bring his blood pressure down to a more manageable level. The good news is he doesn't appear to have been drained at all."
"But..." John prompted.
"He took a huge dose. It's going to be a balancing act getting him off it, between the effect of the enzyme on his cardiovascular system and the stress of withdrawal. We also, unfortunately, have to take our own dwindling supply of enzyme into consideration. If we can't get more enzyme soon, he's going to have to go cold turkey, may have to even if we do have access to it if I see too much stress on his systems. I can administer some drugs to help ease the process: anti-nausea medication, pain reliever, benzodiazepine for anxiety, as well as a multi-vitamin injection to bolster the immune system, but there's no dodging the fact it's going to be difficult."
"Difficult?"
"Possibly even deadly, if we run out and can't ease him off in incremental doses."
John ran a hand through his hair, letting his breath out slowly. "So, the wraith hunt hasn't gone well, I take it?"
Carson shook his head. "Not yet, no. Stackhouse's team just got back. They're going out again soon. Major Lorne and Teyla are pulling a couple of Marines onto the team to take out as well."
"I should go," John said. "They need me on that wraith hunt."
"He needs you right here," Carson disagreed.
"I thought you were just telling me I should get some rest."
"Aye, I was. There's an empty bed right there."
***
"Kavanagh, we've got incoming!" Everett's voice crackled over his radio.
Kavanagh swore. He was afraid this would happen. They'd offered a beta site for the people to escape to. They'd gotten a number of people through in the 38 minutes before the gate shut down, but there were a number of stragglers. He'd been in town organising the next batch, trying to convince them to abandon beloved but ultimately useless mementos. "I'm on my way."
A woman clutched at him. "What do you we do?"
"What the hell do you usually do?" he asked. "Whatever it is, go do it." He wrenched himself free and started running toward the gate while people fled into the countryside away from it. The puddle jumper was cloaked near the gate, though any wraith worth his salt would know it was there by the depression it left in the tall grass, grass that he waded into now. Then a dart was screaming toward him and he was raising his P-90.
Lots of wraith...
Now if they could just catch one alive without dying in the attempt...
***
John awoke to the sound of Rodney's breath suddenly becoming harsher. There was a gasp. "C-Carson... I need... something," Rodney said. "Oh, God! It's the enzyme... I need more."
"I'm sorry, Rodney, you're going to have to wait for a wee bit."
"Why?"
"We have a limited supply. You're going to have to wait," Carson explained gently.
"You don't have to scream at me!"
"I'm not screaming."
Rodney looked between John and Carson. "Please, just give me a little enzyme -- just enough to take the edge off. I'm dying here."
"In a wee bit, Rodney. I promise."
"You're keeping it all for Ford, aren't you? You're not going to let me have any!"
"Rodney," John said, "you know Carson wouldn't do that to you."
"You think I don't know he's lying?" Rodney demanded.
"I'm not lying," Carson said.
"You are. You think I don't think you are but you are. And don't think I won't forget it."
Carson looked at Rodney in complete confusion. "What?"
Rodney let out a sob. "I don't know! Just kill me."
"It'll pass."
"Don't shout! I am right here," Rodney said.
John had moved to Rodney's bed and sat now, hands gently brushing sweat-soaked hair from Rodney's forehead. "Hey, calm down. Carson's doing everything he can for you."
Rodney whimpered, giving Carson a look of betrayal. "You have no idea of the agony I'm going through."
"Oh, I have an inkling," Carson said softly.
John pressed a kiss to his husband's forehead. "I'm here to help you through this, okay. Only a little bit longer."
***
"Kavanagh!" Ronon growled over the radio. There was no answer. He looked at Everett then back at the rising smoke from the crashed dart.
Everett turned to the lieutenant. "Get the puddle jumper powered up and ready to go." He then turned back to Ronon. "Let's go."
***
"Oh, God!" Rodney moaned, shuddering in an almost sexual manner. "You smell so good..."
John smiled tightly. "Well, I do try to shower occasionally."
"Want to taste you..."
Carson walked back in, frowning at the monitors. "I don't like this."
Rodney gasped, his face taking on a look of fear.
"Rodney?" Carson asked. "Tell me what you're experiencing."
"Dizzy... really, really dizzy..."
Carson swore. "I'm sorry, major, er, John, ye need to leave now."
***
Elizabeth sat down next to him. "How is he?"
"I don't know," he answered. "I think he was having a stroke."
Elizabeth sighed. "I'm sorry I haven't been by earlier. This wraith hunt has had me tied up."
He nodded. "I know. I understand."
Both their heads snapped up as the door to the waiting room opened and Carson stepped out looking tired and grim. Seeing their anxious looks, he smiled reassuringly. "He's out of the woods for now."
John exhaled a sigh of relief. "What happened?"
"The enzyme is stressing his cardiovascular system. We barely averted a stroke. I'm afraid we can't step him down off it."
"I thought you said going cold turkey could kill him," John said.
"It could," Carson admitted. "But administering more enzyme definitely will."
"Can I see him now?"
"Of course."
John left Elizabeth and Carson to talk and headed back to Rodney's bed. The lights were dimmed slightly and Rodney lay looking pale and strangely small and vulnerable in the bed amidst the wires and tubes.
John hadn't thought Rodney was awake, but as he moved to take the chair Rodney's eyes opened and tracked him.
"Hey," John said, taking Rodney's hand in his. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit, though maybe mildly better than after I got shot."
John forced himself to smile. "Yeah, getting shot sucks worse than almost anything."
"It's not good, is it?"
John considered him. "It's not great, no. But we can get through this. We will. Because you owe me more of whatever that hot kinky thing we were doing is called."
"Oh, yeah," Rodney said. "You still smell really, really tasty, you know."
"Well, there's not much we can do here, but I expect this would be okay," John said, then leaned over and kissed Rodney, tasting the sweetness that was all Rodney, but with a bitter undertone of fear. Rodney kissed like it might be the last kiss he would ever have.
And John tried really hard not to think about that.
Next part