August 16th: One Foot In Front Of the Other: Infirmary
Title: One Foot In Front Of The Other: Infirmary
Author: 3am_moonlight (MirroredIllusions on TtH)
Crossover: BtVS / Stargte Atlantis
Rating: Gen / Teen
Word Count: 1,329.
Timeline: BtVS: Post-Chosen & SGA: post-03x17: Sunday.
Disclaimer: Nothing copyrighted belongs to yours truly.
Summary: It's never fun to wake up in a hospital setting.
Author's Note: Written for Day 16 of the 2021 August Fic-A-Day.
A/N: 01 / 02 / 03 / 04 / 05 / 06 / 07 / 08 / 09 /
A/N 2: I'm not a doctor, so my apologies for any and all inaccuracies. Also, I like Elizabeth. Honest. But I'm not sure if she would've been able to resist.
Waking was slow and her brain was fuzzy. Something wasn't right, or the right way, or something. Distantly there was pain that was threatening to become of the very, very bad. She moved her head and there were voices but they didn't make any sense, and then there was something flowing into her arm that dragged in into oblivion.
There were several repetitions of the same, or so she thought before her brain unfogged enough for her not to make any movements. Her body was still signaling to her that it was in pain, but the level was becoming more tolerable than horrible.
Buffy reached out her senses and heard the steady beeping of at least two heart monitors, informing her that she was indeed in the infirmary. The smell of antiseptics and other hospital sounds and smells confirmed it. The steady rhythm of someone sleeping in a sitting position next to her told her that apparently she was accepted enough for the friend or teammate-sitting-by-your-hospital-bed-waiting-for-you-to-wake-up duty. It gave her a pleasant feeling.
There was someone on the bed next to her sleeping guardian, on the other side, but she couldn't concentrate enough to figure out who. Sleep reclaimed her again.
The next time she woke up, her headache had been reduced to a dull throb rather than a jackhammer. Which she appreciated very much. Allowing her sense to map out her surroundings and she realized that the patient in the other bed was no longer there, but someone was in the chair. Buffy was relatively certain it was not the same person as last time.
She must've moved or something because he began speaking suddenly. "Good morning, Sunshine. I distinctly remember telling you NOT to get yourself blown up."
Buffy opened her mouth in an attempt to give Sheppard a sarcastic pun, but it was too dry for her to make a sound.
"Easy," she heard him move towards her, and then she felt a straw against her lips, and she separated them gratefully and took a sip and then another. It felt heavenly against her parched throat.
"Damage report?"
"Well," he said in a low voice that pretty much went unheard among the hustle and bustle of an active infirmary. "You weren't kidding when you said you heal fast. It's amazing!" He sounded awed and a little jealous.
"Point?" She asked. Getting injured bad enough that she preferred not to speak in full sentences hadn't happened in a few years, and she hadn't missed it.
"Sorry," Sheppard sounded contrite. "When you were brought to the infirmary you had a bad concussion, your head hit the wall when the tumor exploded, but at this rate, it will be completely healed in another day or two. You also had third-degree burns over most of the back of your body. Dr. Keller says if your healing keeps up you will be completely healed in about a week."
Buffy's eyes opened in surprise. That explained why her position seemed to be off or wrong; she was laying on her stomach instead of her back. Burns, right. That's why her entire backside was upset with her.
"Keller?" The name sounded vaguely familiar like she was supposed to know who that was but it kept swimming out of reach.
"New doctor. She came on the Daedalus a week before all the excitement began. Blonde, young, looks about 12?" Buffy had the feeling he was adding the last part in an attempt to lighten the mood a little, so she obliged him with a small smile.
"Beckett?" Because she had forgotten about him until just then, and she suddenly needed to know how he had fared since had been in the same explosion as she had. And if she had been that bad off...
"Carson isn't doing well." Sheppard hesitated, "Keller and the other doctors have contacted Earth and they're hoping Earth will allow us to send him back for treatment. He needs specialized care Atlantis can't provide."
"Damage?"
"A bad concussion, similar to what you had. Third-degree burns along his entire right side since he was partially in front of you and you took the brunt of it. It isn't as serious as yours were, but since he doesn't have your healing ability there's a good chance he'll never work as a doctor again."
"Awake?"
"No. He's drugged to the gills and so were you, but you keep breaking the drugs down in your system faster and faster. At this point, the dosage is so high that Keller is afraid to give you anymore, afraid it'll kill you."
Buffy nodded. Drugs weren't very effective on her for long, and they always had diminishing returns. Which meant they had either used a new drug or some creative combination that caused it to still be effective.
She moved on because there was no way there wasn't more bad news. "Weir?"
This time Sheppard sighed audibly. "She wants to do a barrage of tests on you to find out why you heal so fast, why you're so strong, why you're so fast... To make some kind of serum. Then she wants to find a way to inject other people to get the same abilities, or at least the ability to heal quickly if it can be isolated."
"Has she?" It wasn't surprising. Under other circumstances, Buffy could've understood it. Having soldiers with those three abilities could be invaluable.
He wouldn't meet her eyes for a few moments. "Elizabeth tried, even went so far as to lie to Dr. Keller that you had approved it beforehand. But Teyla was in the bed next to yours and heard everything. She called Elizabeth out on it. Teyla made it crystal clear that you and your organization have a decree on any and all testing of you and your people. Then she called me. It got ugly after that."
Buffy closed her eyes. Up until now, she could ignore Dr. Weir's temper tantrums, but this was unacceptable. She had finally crossed a line where Buffy would be forced to act against her.
Opening her eyes again, she asked "Where is she?"
"I have temporarily relieved her of duty and restricted her to her quarters." The emotions in his voice were clear. He respected Elizabeth Weir a lot, and for her to do this. To cross an ethical and legal boundary as she had, had to hurt his own moral compass. "The Daedalus will be here in two days. When Colonel Caldwell arrives the three of us need to talk about this and then have a serious conversation with Elizabeth."
Oh, how she was looking forward to that. Not.
"Everyone else?"
"Teyla is doing much better and has been released to her own quarters." Buffy smiled little, at least someone was doing better. "We've tried to keep what happened during the handover quiet, but word has gotten out. It hasn't helped that Elizabeth is in her quarters with a guard outside."
"Earth?"
"We've been in communication with them about both you, Dr. Beckett, and Elizabeth. Most likely we're all getting a trip back to Earth where they're going to want answers. Right now they're deliberating and want Caldwell to act as some kind of mediator before making a decision."
Then, because he was probably expecting her to ask, he added. "General O'Neill has contacted your group and brought them up to speed, so one or more of them will be at those meetings."
Buffy had been so caught up in Sheppard's explanations that she hadn't noticed that one set of footsteps were coming directly towards them.
"Colonel Sheppard! You were supposed to inform me when she woke up!"
He'd been right, the new doctor did look young. "Sorry, doc." Came the automatic reply from the Colonel, "We needed to have a little chat. But, she's all yours now."
He got up and made himself scarce, while she had to endure a checkup and more questions than she was willing to answer.
Author: 3am_moonlight (MirroredIllusions on TtH)
Crossover: BtVS / Stargte Atlantis
Rating: Gen / Teen
Word Count: 1,329.
Timeline: BtVS: Post-Chosen & SGA: post-03x17: Sunday.
Disclaimer: Nothing copyrighted belongs to yours truly.
Summary: It's never fun to wake up in a hospital setting.
Author's Note: Written for Day 16 of the 2021 August Fic-A-Day.
A/N: 01 / 02 / 03 / 04 / 05 / 06 / 07 / 08 / 09 /
A/N 2: I'm not a doctor, so my apologies for any and all inaccuracies. Also, I like Elizabeth. Honest. But I'm not sure if she would've been able to resist.
Waking was slow and her brain was fuzzy. Something wasn't right, or the right way, or something. Distantly there was pain that was threatening to become of the very, very bad. She moved her head and there were voices but they didn't make any sense, and then there was something flowing into her arm that dragged in into oblivion.
There were several repetitions of the same, or so she thought before her brain unfogged enough for her not to make any movements. Her body was still signaling to her that it was in pain, but the level was becoming more tolerable than horrible.
Buffy reached out her senses and heard the steady beeping of at least two heart monitors, informing her that she was indeed in the infirmary. The smell of antiseptics and other hospital sounds and smells confirmed it. The steady rhythm of someone sleeping in a sitting position next to her told her that apparently she was accepted enough for the friend or teammate-sitting-by-your-hospital-bed-waiting-for-you-to-wake-up duty. It gave her a pleasant feeling.
There was someone on the bed next to her sleeping guardian, on the other side, but she couldn't concentrate enough to figure out who. Sleep reclaimed her again.
The next time she woke up, her headache had been reduced to a dull throb rather than a jackhammer. Which she appreciated very much. Allowing her sense to map out her surroundings and she realized that the patient in the other bed was no longer there, but someone was in the chair. Buffy was relatively certain it was not the same person as last time.
She must've moved or something because he began speaking suddenly. "Good morning, Sunshine. I distinctly remember telling you NOT to get yourself blown up."
Buffy opened her mouth in an attempt to give Sheppard a sarcastic pun, but it was too dry for her to make a sound.
"Easy," she heard him move towards her, and then she felt a straw against her lips, and she separated them gratefully and took a sip and then another. It felt heavenly against her parched throat.
"Damage report?"
"Well," he said in a low voice that pretty much went unheard among the hustle and bustle of an active infirmary. "You weren't kidding when you said you heal fast. It's amazing!" He sounded awed and a little jealous.
"Point?" She asked. Getting injured bad enough that she preferred not to speak in full sentences hadn't happened in a few years, and she hadn't missed it.
"Sorry," Sheppard sounded contrite. "When you were brought to the infirmary you had a bad concussion, your head hit the wall when the tumor exploded, but at this rate, it will be completely healed in another day or two. You also had third-degree burns over most of the back of your body. Dr. Keller says if your healing keeps up you will be completely healed in about a week."
Buffy's eyes opened in surprise. That explained why her position seemed to be off or wrong; she was laying on her stomach instead of her back. Burns, right. That's why her entire backside was upset with her.
"Keller?" The name sounded vaguely familiar like she was supposed to know who that was but it kept swimming out of reach.
"New doctor. She came on the Daedalus a week before all the excitement began. Blonde, young, looks about 12?" Buffy had the feeling he was adding the last part in an attempt to lighten the mood a little, so she obliged him with a small smile.
"Beckett?" Because she had forgotten about him until just then, and she suddenly needed to know how he had fared since had been in the same explosion as she had. And if she had been that bad off...
"Carson isn't doing well." Sheppard hesitated, "Keller and the other doctors have contacted Earth and they're hoping Earth will allow us to send him back for treatment. He needs specialized care Atlantis can't provide."
"Damage?"
"A bad concussion, similar to what you had. Third-degree burns along his entire right side since he was partially in front of you and you took the brunt of it. It isn't as serious as yours were, but since he doesn't have your healing ability there's a good chance he'll never work as a doctor again."
"Awake?"
"No. He's drugged to the gills and so were you, but you keep breaking the drugs down in your system faster and faster. At this point, the dosage is so high that Keller is afraid to give you anymore, afraid it'll kill you."
Buffy nodded. Drugs weren't very effective on her for long, and they always had diminishing returns. Which meant they had either used a new drug or some creative combination that caused it to still be effective.
She moved on because there was no way there wasn't more bad news. "Weir?"
This time Sheppard sighed audibly. "She wants to do a barrage of tests on you to find out why you heal so fast, why you're so strong, why you're so fast... To make some kind of serum. Then she wants to find a way to inject other people to get the same abilities, or at least the ability to heal quickly if it can be isolated."
"Has she?" It wasn't surprising. Under other circumstances, Buffy could've understood it. Having soldiers with those three abilities could be invaluable.
He wouldn't meet her eyes for a few moments. "Elizabeth tried, even went so far as to lie to Dr. Keller that you had approved it beforehand. But Teyla was in the bed next to yours and heard everything. She called Elizabeth out on it. Teyla made it crystal clear that you and your organization have a decree on any and all testing of you and your people. Then she called me. It got ugly after that."
Buffy closed her eyes. Up until now, she could ignore Dr. Weir's temper tantrums, but this was unacceptable. She had finally crossed a line where Buffy would be forced to act against her.
Opening her eyes again, she asked "Where is she?"
"I have temporarily relieved her of duty and restricted her to her quarters." The emotions in his voice were clear. He respected Elizabeth Weir a lot, and for her to do this. To cross an ethical and legal boundary as she had, had to hurt his own moral compass. "The Daedalus will be here in two days. When Colonel Caldwell arrives the three of us need to talk about this and then have a serious conversation with Elizabeth."
Oh, how she was looking forward to that. Not.
"Everyone else?"
"Teyla is doing much better and has been released to her own quarters." Buffy smiled little, at least someone was doing better. "We've tried to keep what happened during the handover quiet, but word has gotten out. It hasn't helped that Elizabeth is in her quarters with a guard outside."
"Earth?"
"We've been in communication with them about both you, Dr. Beckett, and Elizabeth. Most likely we're all getting a trip back to Earth where they're going to want answers. Right now they're deliberating and want Caldwell to act as some kind of mediator before making a decision."
Then, because he was probably expecting her to ask, he added. "General O'Neill has contacted your group and brought them up to speed, so one or more of them will be at those meetings."
Buffy had been so caught up in Sheppard's explanations that she hadn't noticed that one set of footsteps were coming directly towards them.
"Colonel Sheppard! You were supposed to inform me when she woke up!"
He'd been right, the new doctor did look young. "Sorry, doc." Came the automatic reply from the Colonel, "We needed to have a little chat. But, she's all yours now."
He got up and made himself scarce, while she had to endure a checkup and more questions than she was willing to answer.