SGA GEN FIC: Fault (5/?), Rated T
SUMMARY: And even though Colonel Sheppard had made the call, he knew it was still all his fault. Tag for Misbegotten. Carson + team fic.
SEASON/SPOILERS: Season 3. Tag for Misbegotten.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not a doctor, but medical stuff well is researched with some dramatic licensing, but nothing worse than what we'd see on the show, really.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate: Atlantis or anything associated with it. I'm simply borrowing, but I promise to return all in one piece. Eventually.
-
John arrived at infirmary to find Elizabeth, Teyla, and Ronon in the corner Beckett had deemed the waiting area when he'd first set up the infirmary. It was flanked by one of the Ancient examining tables, on which a laptop - Rodney's probably, he figured - and a couple of stray handheld Ancient devices had been set up and abandoned. It was easy to see the worry on Teyla's and Elizabeth's faces. Ronon was leaning against the wall, his face not revealing anything, as usual.
"Surgery?" was the first word out of his mouth and directed at no one in particular, despite the fact that it was Weir that had radioed him.
"Ow, watch it!" McKay suddenly appeared in view, herded into the space by Dr. Biro. John noted the woman was in full surgical dress and she didn't stay to exchange any pleasantries.
"Surgery?" he repeated.
"Voodoo," Rodney shot at him. "His staff just want to carve into Carson like a turkey, I'll bet." He headed straight for his laptop.
"Rodney-" Weir started, but was waved off as Rodney picked up one of Ancient devices and started pacing.
"He looked awful, Elizabeth. But he was conscious. And then Biro threw me out."
"Threw you out?" John was beginning to felt like as he doing was repeating himself. "What the hell is going on?"
"Rodney did not listen to Dr. Biro when she asked us to remain here while she treated Dr. Beckett," Teyla supplied. Rodney let out a short huff at the word "treated."
"Treated Carson?" Again, he was a parrot. He turned to Elizabeth. "You said he was in surgery."
"He is," Rodney answered. "Or will be. I'm still not sure that is a good idea, really." His pacing continued and Sheppard was finding himself getting dizzy watching him.
"His staff know what they are doing," Elizabeth said to him.
"No," Rodney countered. "Carson knows what he is doing. The rest of them are idiots." His pacing picked up speed for a few seconds until Ronon stepped away from the wall directly into his path, bringing Rodney to a screeching halt.
"Stop. Now." Rodney ignored him and made a beeline to his laptop, tossing the Ancient device that had been in his hand aside, forgotten.
"I'm not really getting much information here, guys."
"Dr. Biro said that Carson has an epidural hematoma," Elizabeth finally supplied.
John blinked. "Okay…"
"He has a blood clot in his brain, Colonel," Rodney clarified. "Probably from whatever Michael did to him on that planet."
Blood clot. From Michael. Shit. The guilt he'd felt earlier threatened to rear its head, but he pushed it away and there wasn't time to consider it now.
"Yes," Elizabeth agreed with a soft sigh. "Which was what again?"
"Dr. Beckett had not been able to remember," Teyla answered. "He was very confused when he awakened on the Daedalus and slept much of time. But the failsafe device Colonel Sheppard set up on the planet-"
"Failed to detonate," John interrupted. "I briefed Elizabeth from the Daedalus. We all know what happened."
"We don't," Ronon pointed out. "He did something to Beckett." The "he" was left unsaid; John knew Ronon didn't care to think of any Wraith as having a name, especially a hybrid they'd created and he'd never seen as anything but a Wraith. "We don't know what it was."
"Okay, there is that," John agreed, running a tired hand through his hair.
"Well, it obviously wasn't something very good considering Carson is having brain surgery at the moment."
"Thanks for stating the obvious, Rodney." John took a few steps towards the exam bed and leaned against it, tilting his head down a moment. He wasn't sure he wanted another reminder that he'd failed to protect the doctor. He felt a soft hand on his forearm and glanced back up to find Elizabeth had vacated her seat and was standing next to him.
"Biro said Harper was very optimistic." She squeezed his arm. "Not your fault."
"Not your fault?" Rodney repeated. "We left Carson behind with Morrison's team and no Stargate to escape through."
"Morrison's team was one of best we had," John countered. Why did Rodney McKay, of all people, have to be the one that verbalized his one regret? He'd left Beckett behind and while he'd been rescued, they'd still lost some very good men.
He'd let them all down, really, even if it was indirectly.
"He was," Elizabeth said. "But I was one that formed an alliance with Michael in the first place and we gave the drug again to him against his will. We'll all have reports to write, and the IOA will love every word of it, I'm sure, but we made a decision with the facts we had. And for the moment, I'm still in command, so I'm calling an end to the blame game."
"Yes, well, I'll be sure to fill my report with big words that sound important so you stay that way," Rodney offered, his hands clicking away at his keyboard. John hadn't a clue what the physicist could be working on, but had a feeling he wasn't really working on much of anything. When worried, work was a good distraction for Rodney.
Actually, he knew damn well that it was a good distraction for all of them. With perhaps the exception of Teyla, who used mediation to try and find peace, the rest of them found comfort in their various roles on Atlantis. If John found Elizabeth up and reading reports in the early hours of the morning, he knew something was bothering her. Ronon would work out, usually holding sparring matches with a few of the Marines, and winning each and every round. John could understand working out worry or guilt that way. After all, kicking ass could solve a lot of things.
John found himself rearranging duty roosters or poking his nose into other people's projects. When he didn't want to think was usually when he showed up in the science labs and volunteered to be Zelenka's ATA gene guinea pig. If he was particularly avoiding something, he might even ask Rodney. But McKay, for some reason - probably because Rodney didn't like admitting how easily Ancient technology seemed to operate for him - preferred using Beckett as his light switch. Carson, of course, hated it.
Carson. The doc had to be okay. He'd figured there would be emotional repercussions. There was rarely a mission where there wasn't and it was why Kate Heightmeyer rarely had open slots in her schedule. John had seen her a couple of times, mostly when Weir had ordered him to after the whole almost transforming into a Wraith incident, and it had been somewhat useful. He'd been in combat; therapy was nothing new to him. He didn't like it, really, but he didn't hate it. He'd frustrated a few therapists, but Heightmeyer didn't get frustrated easily.
Beckett should talk to her. He'd tell Elizabeth and she'd see to it, no doubt. Once he was recovered.
If he recovered. Elizabeth may have stopped the verbal blame game, but it still continued in his head.
Fault. It was hard to not find it. When something went wrong, there had to be a reason. Decisions, hard decisions, were made daily on Atlantis. The Wraith were out to destroy them, to find Earth and when something like this happened, it was difficult to not want to go back with a fine toothed comb and examine every detail.
Still, John wasn't really the type to have to do such a thing. Yes, there was always something to be gained from a failed military mission, but instead of dwelling on it, you took the facts and used them to plan the next maneuver. In all of this, there had to be something gained. Michael slipped out of their grasp, but they knew he wouldn't be accepted against the Wraith. And that was a fact they could use to their advantage.
If only they knew what he had learned from Beckett. At the thought of Carson, John's gaze moved towards the edge of the main infirmary.
He'd be okay. Had to be.
Silence had long fallen between the four of them. The infirmary was relatively empty; it was still early in the morning, with no teams due to return and most of the city at breakfast. Teyla volunteered to go get food and took Ronon with her. They returned with a couple of trays, but John didn't touch any of the food. Really, it was only Rodney and Ronon that ate; Rodney had always been a stress-eater and Ronon's appetite was never affected by anything.
It was Rodney that eventually broke the quiet. Still munching a piece of cold toast, he turned from his laptop. "It's been a long time." The words held a tone of quiet concern, which was a stark contrast to his usual irritated loudness.
"Dr. Biro did say it would be a couple of hours," Teyla said. "I am sure Carson will be fine."
"Fine," Rodney repeated. "Yeah, fine." He waved his hand. "Still…"
"Rodney, we're all worried." Elizabeth had gotten up out of her chair, her arms crossed against her chest. It was a stance John had seen a couple of times when he'd radioed through the 'gate that they needed a medical team on stand-by. "I'm used to it being…"
"…one of us and waiting for Beckett to brief you?" John finished.
Elizabeth gave him a faint smile. "Yes, and it's usually you, John."
"Hey," he protested. "McKay has a larger file than I do!"
"I do not! I can name a dozen more times that you've been here than I have. That life-sucking bug-"
"Which we agreed to never ever mention again," he interjected.
"Stunner blasts, gunshot wounds, feed on by a Wraith, attacked by a super Wraith and almost turned into-"
"Okay, that one we *definitely* agreed to not mention again! Do you want me to start mentioning all the times Carson's treated you? Starting with you fainting-"
"I passed out from manly hunger!" Rodney protested.
"You fainted, Rodney. And you've taken a few stunner blast yourself, you know. And there was that whole sharing-consciousness-with-Cadman-"
"Which we are not allowed to talk about!"
"-and the kiss, which I'm sure Carson-"
Rodney put a hand over his ears. "Not talking about this. It didn't happen."
"Boys," Elizabeth finally interrupted, her tone firm. "I think you've both given Carson and I an ulcer with your uncanny ability to get injured." She paused. "Though Carson…"
"Has been injured before as well," Teyla said. "I believe Sora gave him a concussion during the storm on Atlantis."
"She did. Carson *fainted*," Rodney shot him a pointed look, "in the control room right after I got the shield up."
"When did that happen?" Ronon asked.
"Before you arrived when we were still cut off from Earth," Elizabeth answered. "He drove his staff crazy when they got back."
John remembered that. When he'd finally stopped through the infirmary after all had settled he'd found an irritated medical staff trying unsuccessfully to keep their boss in bed. "He'll probably do the same this time around," he mused.
"Oh, I have no doubt he will."
John turned at the voice to see Dr. Biro walk towards them, still dressed in scrubs, her glasses slightly askew. She adjusted them as she stopped in front of Weir. She smiled. "It went well. We'll be monitoring him closely, of course, but I'm sure he'll be the one giving *me* a headache in a couple of days. And in a few weeks, he should be fine."
Elizabeth let out a small sigh, her head nodding. "That's great news."
"Yes, yes," Rodney agreed, moving to stand next to Elizabeth. "Can we see him? I don't know if I can trust your voodoo-"
Biro held up her hand. "Do I need to remind you that your annual physical is in two weeks, Dr. McKay, and that Dr. Beckett certainly won't be back on duty by then?"
Rodney stepped back a little at her words and John almost laughed a little.
"He's in recovery," Biro continued. "He'll be moved out to the main ward in an hour or so, once he recovers from the anesthesia a bit. He's never had surgery before, interestingly enough, so we weren't sure how-"
Biro had a tendency to ramble a bit, John remembered, as Beckett had mentioned it once or twice, so he cut her off. "Can we see him?" he repeated. Though John still wasn't sure Carson would be too pleased to wake up and find him at his bedside. Still, he wanted to see that the doc was okay. Alleviate his guilt a bit, as well, he knew.
Hope the guilt and devastation he'd seen on Beckett's face before he'd passed out would not be there.
He knew that one was a long shot.
Biro stopped her sentence and nodded. "As long as you're," she glanced at McKay, her eyes narrowing, "quiet."
"Oh, of course, you look directly at me. Why not at anyone else? Maybe Conan here is loud." Ronon just stepped up behind McKay, his height and bulk shadowing him. "Or not. What about Colonel I'm-the-one-usually-needing-surgery, then?"
John exchanged a glance with Teyla and then Elizabeth, who pursed her lips to hide a smile.
"Shut up, Rodney," the three of them chorused together, Ronon doing his part by pushing Rodney towards Biro and the infirmary's surgical recovery ward.
It didn't take long to get there. The ward only contained four beds and was set in a quiet area on the edge of the main infirmary that happened to also border Beckett's office. In fact, Beckett's door was open and as they passed it, John could see a cluster of paperwork on his desk held in place by a lone teacup that John knew Beckett's mother had sent. He also noticed a child's drawing taped to the open door, featuring a few stick figures in crayon. The words 'we miss you' had been written at the bottom, most likely by an adult hand.
"His niece drew it," Elizabeth commented, noticing him glance at it. "He has more inside."
"Niece?" John repeated.
"Carson has six older sisters, Colonel. A few of them have reproduced," Rodney said.
Six older sisters? Why hadn't he known that particular fact? He'd known Beckett had siblings, sure, and a mother he claimed was fragile and Rodney insisted was anything but, having actually met the woman. He needed to pay more attention, apparently.
He wondered how to fix that, as Biro led them to the fourth bed in the ward. There was another female doctor there, dressed in scrubs and scribbling some notes across what John could assume was Beckett's chart. Biro greeted her, but John paid little attention, his eyes going to the figure in the bed.
Carson was extremely still and pale. There was an IV running into one arm, and another one in the other arm at the wrist. John winced in sympathy, recognizing the arterial line as he'd had one on a couple of occasions. There were large dark circles under his eyes, an oxygen tube tucked under his nose, and wires were attached to head and snaking out from the collar of his scrub top to a couple of monitors. A loose bandage started at Carson's hairline, and extended a couple of inches past it; the small patch of hair in its path shaved.
He thought Carson looked awful.
Rodney agreed and actually verbalized the thought. Biro simply waved him off. "He's had a traumatic brain injury and surgery. It will take some time to recover. Ten minutes, all of you. Then you wait until we transfer him to the main ward." With that, she left, taking the additional physician with her.
Teyla reached out to touch Carson's arm, Elizabeth behind her. Rodney and Ronon stood on the other side of the bed. He lingered at the foot of the bed, feeling slightly awkward.
The doc would be okay. Still, John still hated the idea he was even lying in that bed in the first place. He was reminded that they had no clue what Michael had gain by probing the doctor's mind. The military commander in him wanted the details to plan a strategy, but he told himself that right now Carson wasn't just part of his team. He was his friend, even though he hadn't known exactly how many sisters the man had. Yes, the report would be written, but now he needed to be a friend back.
And that meant looking past the guilt and hoping Carson might look past it as well.
Part 6
SEASON/SPOILERS: Season 3. Tag for Misbegotten.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not a doctor, but medical stuff well is researched with some dramatic licensing, but nothing worse than what we'd see on the show, really.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate: Atlantis or anything associated with it. I'm simply borrowing, but I promise to return all in one piece. Eventually.
-
John arrived at infirmary to find Elizabeth, Teyla, and Ronon in the corner Beckett had deemed the waiting area when he'd first set up the infirmary. It was flanked by one of the Ancient examining tables, on which a laptop - Rodney's probably, he figured - and a couple of stray handheld Ancient devices had been set up and abandoned. It was easy to see the worry on Teyla's and Elizabeth's faces. Ronon was leaning against the wall, his face not revealing anything, as usual.
"Surgery?" was the first word out of his mouth and directed at no one in particular, despite the fact that it was Weir that had radioed him.
"Ow, watch it!" McKay suddenly appeared in view, herded into the space by Dr. Biro. John noted the woman was in full surgical dress and she didn't stay to exchange any pleasantries.
"Surgery?" he repeated.
"Voodoo," Rodney shot at him. "His staff just want to carve into Carson like a turkey, I'll bet." He headed straight for his laptop.
"Rodney-" Weir started, but was waved off as Rodney picked up one of Ancient devices and started pacing.
"He looked awful, Elizabeth. But he was conscious. And then Biro threw me out."
"Threw you out?" John was beginning to felt like as he doing was repeating himself. "What the hell is going on?"
"Rodney did not listen to Dr. Biro when she asked us to remain here while she treated Dr. Beckett," Teyla supplied. Rodney let out a short huff at the word "treated."
"Treated Carson?" Again, he was a parrot. He turned to Elizabeth. "You said he was in surgery."
"He is," Rodney answered. "Or will be. I'm still not sure that is a good idea, really." His pacing continued and Sheppard was finding himself getting dizzy watching him.
"His staff know what they are doing," Elizabeth said to him.
"No," Rodney countered. "Carson knows what he is doing. The rest of them are idiots." His pacing picked up speed for a few seconds until Ronon stepped away from the wall directly into his path, bringing Rodney to a screeching halt.
"Stop. Now." Rodney ignored him and made a beeline to his laptop, tossing the Ancient device that had been in his hand aside, forgotten.
"I'm not really getting much information here, guys."
"Dr. Biro said that Carson has an epidural hematoma," Elizabeth finally supplied.
John blinked. "Okay…"
"He has a blood clot in his brain, Colonel," Rodney clarified. "Probably from whatever Michael did to him on that planet."
Blood clot. From Michael. Shit. The guilt he'd felt earlier threatened to rear its head, but he pushed it away and there wasn't time to consider it now.
"Yes," Elizabeth agreed with a soft sigh. "Which was what again?"
"Dr. Beckett had not been able to remember," Teyla answered. "He was very confused when he awakened on the Daedalus and slept much of time. But the failsafe device Colonel Sheppard set up on the planet-"
"Failed to detonate," John interrupted. "I briefed Elizabeth from the Daedalus. We all know what happened."
"We don't," Ronon pointed out. "He did something to Beckett." The "he" was left unsaid; John knew Ronon didn't care to think of any Wraith as having a name, especially a hybrid they'd created and he'd never seen as anything but a Wraith. "We don't know what it was."
"Okay, there is that," John agreed, running a tired hand through his hair.
"Well, it obviously wasn't something very good considering Carson is having brain surgery at the moment."
"Thanks for stating the obvious, Rodney." John took a few steps towards the exam bed and leaned against it, tilting his head down a moment. He wasn't sure he wanted another reminder that he'd failed to protect the doctor. He felt a soft hand on his forearm and glanced back up to find Elizabeth had vacated her seat and was standing next to him.
"Biro said Harper was very optimistic." She squeezed his arm. "Not your fault."
"Not your fault?" Rodney repeated. "We left Carson behind with Morrison's team and no Stargate to escape through."
"Morrison's team was one of best we had," John countered. Why did Rodney McKay, of all people, have to be the one that verbalized his one regret? He'd left Beckett behind and while he'd been rescued, they'd still lost some very good men.
He'd let them all down, really, even if it was indirectly.
"He was," Elizabeth said. "But I was one that formed an alliance with Michael in the first place and we gave the drug again to him against his will. We'll all have reports to write, and the IOA will love every word of it, I'm sure, but we made a decision with the facts we had. And for the moment, I'm still in command, so I'm calling an end to the blame game."
"Yes, well, I'll be sure to fill my report with big words that sound important so you stay that way," Rodney offered, his hands clicking away at his keyboard. John hadn't a clue what the physicist could be working on, but had a feeling he wasn't really working on much of anything. When worried, work was a good distraction for Rodney.
Actually, he knew damn well that it was a good distraction for all of them. With perhaps the exception of Teyla, who used mediation to try and find peace, the rest of them found comfort in their various roles on Atlantis. If John found Elizabeth up and reading reports in the early hours of the morning, he knew something was bothering her. Ronon would work out, usually holding sparring matches with a few of the Marines, and winning each and every round. John could understand working out worry or guilt that way. After all, kicking ass could solve a lot of things.
John found himself rearranging duty roosters or poking his nose into other people's projects. When he didn't want to think was usually when he showed up in the science labs and volunteered to be Zelenka's ATA gene guinea pig. If he was particularly avoiding something, he might even ask Rodney. But McKay, for some reason - probably because Rodney didn't like admitting how easily Ancient technology seemed to operate for him - preferred using Beckett as his light switch. Carson, of course, hated it.
Carson. The doc had to be okay. He'd figured there would be emotional repercussions. There was rarely a mission where there wasn't and it was why Kate Heightmeyer rarely had open slots in her schedule. John had seen her a couple of times, mostly when Weir had ordered him to after the whole almost transforming into a Wraith incident, and it had been somewhat useful. He'd been in combat; therapy was nothing new to him. He didn't like it, really, but he didn't hate it. He'd frustrated a few therapists, but Heightmeyer didn't get frustrated easily.
Beckett should talk to her. He'd tell Elizabeth and she'd see to it, no doubt. Once he was recovered.
If he recovered. Elizabeth may have stopped the verbal blame game, but it still continued in his head.
Fault. It was hard to not find it. When something went wrong, there had to be a reason. Decisions, hard decisions, were made daily on Atlantis. The Wraith were out to destroy them, to find Earth and when something like this happened, it was difficult to not want to go back with a fine toothed comb and examine every detail.
Still, John wasn't really the type to have to do such a thing. Yes, there was always something to be gained from a failed military mission, but instead of dwelling on it, you took the facts and used them to plan the next maneuver. In all of this, there had to be something gained. Michael slipped out of their grasp, but they knew he wouldn't be accepted against the Wraith. And that was a fact they could use to their advantage.
If only they knew what he had learned from Beckett. At the thought of Carson, John's gaze moved towards the edge of the main infirmary.
He'd be okay. Had to be.
Silence had long fallen between the four of them. The infirmary was relatively empty; it was still early in the morning, with no teams due to return and most of the city at breakfast. Teyla volunteered to go get food and took Ronon with her. They returned with a couple of trays, but John didn't touch any of the food. Really, it was only Rodney and Ronon that ate; Rodney had always been a stress-eater and Ronon's appetite was never affected by anything.
It was Rodney that eventually broke the quiet. Still munching a piece of cold toast, he turned from his laptop. "It's been a long time." The words held a tone of quiet concern, which was a stark contrast to his usual irritated loudness.
"Dr. Biro did say it would be a couple of hours," Teyla said. "I am sure Carson will be fine."
"Fine," Rodney repeated. "Yeah, fine." He waved his hand. "Still…"
"Rodney, we're all worried." Elizabeth had gotten up out of her chair, her arms crossed against her chest. It was a stance John had seen a couple of times when he'd radioed through the 'gate that they needed a medical team on stand-by. "I'm used to it being…"
"…one of us and waiting for Beckett to brief you?" John finished.
Elizabeth gave him a faint smile. "Yes, and it's usually you, John."
"Hey," he protested. "McKay has a larger file than I do!"
"I do not! I can name a dozen more times that you've been here than I have. That life-sucking bug-"
"Which we agreed to never ever mention again," he interjected.
"Stunner blasts, gunshot wounds, feed on by a Wraith, attacked by a super Wraith and almost turned into-"
"Okay, that one we *definitely* agreed to not mention again! Do you want me to start mentioning all the times Carson's treated you? Starting with you fainting-"
"I passed out from manly hunger!" Rodney protested.
"You fainted, Rodney. And you've taken a few stunner blast yourself, you know. And there was that whole sharing-consciousness-with-Cadman-"
"Which we are not allowed to talk about!"
"-and the kiss, which I'm sure Carson-"
Rodney put a hand over his ears. "Not talking about this. It didn't happen."
"Boys," Elizabeth finally interrupted, her tone firm. "I think you've both given Carson and I an ulcer with your uncanny ability to get injured." She paused. "Though Carson…"
"Has been injured before as well," Teyla said. "I believe Sora gave him a concussion during the storm on Atlantis."
"She did. Carson *fainted*," Rodney shot him a pointed look, "in the control room right after I got the shield up."
"When did that happen?" Ronon asked.
"Before you arrived when we were still cut off from Earth," Elizabeth answered. "He drove his staff crazy when they got back."
John remembered that. When he'd finally stopped through the infirmary after all had settled he'd found an irritated medical staff trying unsuccessfully to keep their boss in bed. "He'll probably do the same this time around," he mused.
"Oh, I have no doubt he will."
John turned at the voice to see Dr. Biro walk towards them, still dressed in scrubs, her glasses slightly askew. She adjusted them as she stopped in front of Weir. She smiled. "It went well. We'll be monitoring him closely, of course, but I'm sure he'll be the one giving *me* a headache in a couple of days. And in a few weeks, he should be fine."
Elizabeth let out a small sigh, her head nodding. "That's great news."
"Yes, yes," Rodney agreed, moving to stand next to Elizabeth. "Can we see him? I don't know if I can trust your voodoo-"
Biro held up her hand. "Do I need to remind you that your annual physical is in two weeks, Dr. McKay, and that Dr. Beckett certainly won't be back on duty by then?"
Rodney stepped back a little at her words and John almost laughed a little.
"He's in recovery," Biro continued. "He'll be moved out to the main ward in an hour or so, once he recovers from the anesthesia a bit. He's never had surgery before, interestingly enough, so we weren't sure how-"
Biro had a tendency to ramble a bit, John remembered, as Beckett had mentioned it once or twice, so he cut her off. "Can we see him?" he repeated. Though John still wasn't sure Carson would be too pleased to wake up and find him at his bedside. Still, he wanted to see that the doc was okay. Alleviate his guilt a bit, as well, he knew.
Hope the guilt and devastation he'd seen on Beckett's face before he'd passed out would not be there.
He knew that one was a long shot.
Biro stopped her sentence and nodded. "As long as you're," she glanced at McKay, her eyes narrowing, "quiet."
"Oh, of course, you look directly at me. Why not at anyone else? Maybe Conan here is loud." Ronon just stepped up behind McKay, his height and bulk shadowing him. "Or not. What about Colonel I'm-the-one-usually-needing-surgery, then?"
John exchanged a glance with Teyla and then Elizabeth, who pursed her lips to hide a smile.
"Shut up, Rodney," the three of them chorused together, Ronon doing his part by pushing Rodney towards Biro and the infirmary's surgical recovery ward.
It didn't take long to get there. The ward only contained four beds and was set in a quiet area on the edge of the main infirmary that happened to also border Beckett's office. In fact, Beckett's door was open and as they passed it, John could see a cluster of paperwork on his desk held in place by a lone teacup that John knew Beckett's mother had sent. He also noticed a child's drawing taped to the open door, featuring a few stick figures in crayon. The words 'we miss you' had been written at the bottom, most likely by an adult hand.
"His niece drew it," Elizabeth commented, noticing him glance at it. "He has more inside."
"Niece?" John repeated.
"Carson has six older sisters, Colonel. A few of them have reproduced," Rodney said.
Six older sisters? Why hadn't he known that particular fact? He'd known Beckett had siblings, sure, and a mother he claimed was fragile and Rodney insisted was anything but, having actually met the woman. He needed to pay more attention, apparently.
He wondered how to fix that, as Biro led them to the fourth bed in the ward. There was another female doctor there, dressed in scrubs and scribbling some notes across what John could assume was Beckett's chart. Biro greeted her, but John paid little attention, his eyes going to the figure in the bed.
Carson was extremely still and pale. There was an IV running into one arm, and another one in the other arm at the wrist. John winced in sympathy, recognizing the arterial line as he'd had one on a couple of occasions. There were large dark circles under his eyes, an oxygen tube tucked under his nose, and wires were attached to head and snaking out from the collar of his scrub top to a couple of monitors. A loose bandage started at Carson's hairline, and extended a couple of inches past it; the small patch of hair in its path shaved.
He thought Carson looked awful.
Rodney agreed and actually verbalized the thought. Biro simply waved him off. "He's had a traumatic brain injury and surgery. It will take some time to recover. Ten minutes, all of you. Then you wait until we transfer him to the main ward." With that, she left, taking the additional physician with her.
Teyla reached out to touch Carson's arm, Elizabeth behind her. Rodney and Ronon stood on the other side of the bed. He lingered at the foot of the bed, feeling slightly awkward.
The doc would be okay. Still, John still hated the idea he was even lying in that bed in the first place. He was reminded that they had no clue what Michael had gain by probing the doctor's mind. The military commander in him wanted the details to plan a strategy, but he told himself that right now Carson wasn't just part of his team. He was his friend, even though he hadn't known exactly how many sisters the man had. Yes, the report would be written, but now he needed to be a friend back.
And that meant looking past the guilt and hoping Carson might look past it as well.
Part 6