Reading Time: 101 Minutes
Title: Common As Fuck
Author: Duochanfan
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Genre: Angst, Action Adventure, Crime Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Suspense
Relationship(s): John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Content Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Major Character Death, Violence-Graphic, Dark Themes, Minor & OC Character Deaths, , Murder, Character Bashing, Illness, Poisonings, Virus
Author Note: I blame HarleyJQuin for the obsession with SGA, her fic started it. This was also supposed to be a one shot of about 2k. And HarleyJQuin, thanks so much for all the help you’ve given me on this one! Thank you as well, HarleyJQuin for letting me borrow her OCs, Dalton Cooper, Connor James and Adam Nero. You’re a STAR!
Beta: HarleyJQuin
Alpha: HarleyJQuinn
Word Count: 128,616
Summary: John is fighting to keep Atlantis and the Expedition alive, but fighting with Weir about every single decision has led him to work behind her back to make sure they come out on top. When John’s cold turns out not to be so common, his friends rally around him to make sure he’s not left on ice.
Artist: NotSally
Chapter Twenty-Three
Carson walked back into the lab where Anita, Connor, and Dalton were all working with the Iratus DNA and the virus. They were conducting more testing before considering giving it to the three patients. “Okay, talk to me, what have you found with more testing?” he asked as he waited for them to gather at the main lab table in the room.
Connor walked over first, “We’ve tested it now in rodents,” he said, “But we’ve found a problem. We’ve even taken Major Sheppard’s blood sample to check what we’re seeing,” he added, looking at Anita.
“The virus is being destroyed,” she said, “But the DNA, after so much has been introduced to the host, starts to integrate with the host DNA. For the rodents that this has happened to, there have been some enhancements to them. They are slightly faster and stronger than the others. A few have shown more aggressive traits as well.”
“So we could possibly be changing all of them?” he asked, looking at Anita first, before the two men.
“Yes, too much of the DNA entered into the system to take on this virus, and it will overwhelm the host DNA and make changes we really don’t want to see. We have to do it slowly and in parts. While still doing it fast enough that it will kill the virus. Doing it too slowly, and the virus, in a way, will recover, and we’ll have to keep using more and more Iratus to kill it. But we need to do small doses, and almost continuous,” Anita said, “That’s what we’ve been able to determine so far.”
Carson nodded as Connor slid over the report that he had written up by hand. He read through what they had found so far and sighed. “So we have an option at this point,” he said, “We do up doses, and do them in small increments, spaced apart long enough that the DNA doesn’t overwhelm, but close enough that it will do what is needed.”
“I have looked at it, and I’ve come up with some timing and doses for it,” Anita said as she looked at Connor and Dalton. “The two of them are already working on creating what we need.”
“We have three doses ready now,” Connor began, “So a dose ready for each of them, but I want to make sure that we have a few more done before we start.”
“In case we need to stop production at any time. So basically, we want to get two more batches of three done before we start giving it to them,” Dalton finished for him as they stood side by side.
Carson nodded, “Okay, that sounds like a good idea. When do you think we’ll be able to start?” he asked.
“Tomorrow morning. It takes about three hours for a batch to be made. We still need to eat and sleep,” Connor pointed out. “I know we’re running out of time, especially for Nathan and Yuri. I know we’re getting close to no return for both of them.”
“Yuri slipped into a coma about two hours ago. Nathan is starting to decline faster as well. I think we have around twenty to twenty-four hours with Yuri left, before I believe that nothing will be able to help her,” Carson said, “So the sooner we can do this, the better.”
“We’ll get back to work, we’ll try and get some done before we head to bed,” Connor said.
“Thank you,” he nodded, “I know we need sleep, rest, food, but we’ve also got another potential problem that is going to creep up on us, that’s going to mean we might have to leave Atlantis,” he stated as he looked at the three scientists.
“A storm, with the potential to sink Atlantis,” Anita said, “We’ve been hearing a few rumours about it over the last day.”
“Yes, and by the time it hits, there is a large chance that Major Sheppard, Yuri, and Nathan won’t be recovered enough to do much. They may not even be out of bed at that point. All three have lost muscle mass, strength, and there is damage that is being done to their heart and lungs, to be taken into account. It could be months of recovery for them all, or it could be less. I don’t know what it’s going to look like, especially since we’re introducing Iratus DNA,” Carson said as he rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “Let’s get to work. I need to do the rounds on all three and check their conditions.”
Anita nodded, “I want to have a blood sample from them all, only a small one, before they are given, and in between each dose. I need to keep a close eye on how the virus DNA and Iratus DNA are interacting. To see if another dose is actually needed.”
“Right, put as many checks in as we need, and more,” Carson told them, “I want to make sure that this won’t be biting us in the ass later on. Let’s get to work.”
The three nodded and got to work as Carson left and began the checks on his three patients. He was just thankful that no one else had needed the infirmary recently.
XxXxX
Rodney lay on his bed, his mind going over everything he had to do. He just couldn’t shut anything down, to stop the tabs from filling up in his mind, to stop opening more and making lists, reports, all in his head. He opened his eyes, sighing as he knew he wasn’t going to be sleeping any time soon. Carson had informed him as soon as he returned from the mainland with Teyla that they were going to start trying the Iratus DNA cure in the morning. There was so much potential to go wrong, and Rodney had to admit, even if only to himself, that he was scared. He was scared of what might happen to John.
Rodney sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and sighed. “No point,” he muttered to himself as he stood up. Moving around his quarters, he got himself dressed in something comfortable and headed to the infirmary. He knew Carson was asleep; he’d asked Derek and Nina to keep him informed of the man’s sleeping habits. Much like he was keeping an eye on Rodney’s glucose levels.
Leaving his quarters, he walked through the hallways to the medical section. John was still in a room on his own, while Yuri and Nathan were sharing. He slowly opened the door, in case John was asleep, not wishing to wake him. He just needed to see that he was still there, still alive and breathing. He nodded at Nina, who was sitting in the room with him.
“Dr McKay,” she nodded, her voice barely above a whisper, “He’s sleeping at the moment.”
“I know, I just needed to see him,” he said, waving a hand as he walked toward the bed, sitting down in the chair he had used each time he had come to see John. He reached out, gently taking one of John’s hands, feeling the warmth of it, slightly higher than normal, but still warm, still alive.
“I’ll leave you be, Dr McKay, please call me as soon as you leave,” she added, smiling as she stood up from where she had been sitting, taking her laptop with her as she then walked out of the room.
Rodney nodded and went back to watching John. He glanced at the monitors, understanding most of them, but not all of them. He looked at John again, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest. The breaths were shallow, not as deep as they should be. There was a little rasping and wheezing when he breathed. There was a slight flush on his face; the fever was still there. Thankfully, the medication that he was on was helping to keep it down to a manageable level, though it left John just as tired and drained as everything else did. The usually slightly spiked hair was limp and actually lying flat, slightly damp from sweat.
“I’m scared, John,” he murmured, his voice as low as he could make it. “I’m scared that something is going to happen to you and I… I don’t want to lose you.” He rested his head on the back of John’s hand. “You’ve… become my best friend and something more to me, and I… I can’t imagine what my life would be like if you were gone. I don’t want to imagine, ever.”
Rodney remained quiet for a few moments. “I just don’t know what I’m to do,” he murmured.
Rodney almost jumped when he felt a hand in his hair. He looked up, seeing John awake and looking at him in concern. “You should be sleeping still.”
“Can’t sleep with you yappin’,” he joked lightly, a soft smile appearing on his face. “You’re my best friend too, Rodney, and yeah, there is something more there too, but for now… that has to wait.”
“I don’t know what this… so-called quack cure is going to do. None of them do. I’m worried that this might just be as bad as the virus is,” he huffed, sitting up as John rested his hand back at his side. His other was still in Rodney’s grip.
“I know,” he murmured, giving a few coughs before settling again, “It’s the only thing that’s shown up to help so far. It’s a big risk, I know, but one we need to take.”
“There’s so much going on, John, and I… need you beside me for this,” he told him.
“Brutal honesty?” John asked.
“I need you there; you balance me out. I’m a sarcastic, aggravating fucker, and a bastard to boot. I know my ego sometimes gets away from me. I’ve had to crow and celebrate my achievements on my own since I was a child, and my parents decided that they didn’t want to deal with a genius. My sister… is a genius as well, but they were a lot different with her. They accepted it, encouraged it, and celebrated. When they died, and I had no reaction to their death, she hated me for it. She just didn’t understand that the relationship between her and our parents was different from mine. Even now, she calls me an unfeeling bastard. She married her English professor, and they have a child, a daughter, together. I’ve seen my niece a couple of times, mostly because I can’t stand her husband, and he can’t stand me. Did I mourn their deaths? No, I didn’t. I didn’t know them, hell, by the time they died, I hadn’t seen them since I was thirteen and they dropped me off at college and didn’t look back,” he said, huffing, “But you… You believed in me, believed what I could do, what I said, encouraged me, and celebrated with me when I was triumphant about things. I can’t do this alone. I rub people and rile them up more often than not. You even that out a little,” he finished quietly. “So yeah, I need you to be okay, I need you.”
John smiled a little more as he said, “I need you as well, in more than one way. I had no idea what the fuck I was doing when we got here. I still don’t really know what I’m doing. I’m just trying to make sure we make it, we survive, even if it feels like so many are against that. Weir… she was narrow-minded, after one thing, and I saw that nearly right from the start. When we got here, I took over from Sumner after his death. He didn’t believe we would last out here, so he didn’t prepare for it. I learned just how fucked up the two of them were. Neither of them had outfitted the expedition for success. The ammo, fighting power we had were almost out before we got past the first month. Especially with how often, at the time, we were going against the wraith. It’s why I started pulling missions off the listing and started searching for materials, things that could help us. We’ve found a world that is good for some of the medical supplies that we need, since that was also one of the things that was shortchanged,” he carried on, suppressing a cough for a few moments before he could no longer.
Rodney stood up, helping John sit up better as he continued to cough. He rubbed at his back, even though he believed it did nothing to help the situation at all. He grabbed an emesis bowl and held it out as John coughed up a little phlegm before he leaned against Rodney, exhausted once more. Setting the bowl aside, he helped John settle back down. Knowing that soon someone would come in to check on John.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Nina walked into the room, hearing the commotion. She nodded at the two of them before doing a few checks.
“He alright?” Rodney asked when she was done.
“His breathing is more rapid, but it usually is after a strong bout of coughing,” she said, “His temperature is starting to rise, but he’s already had all the medication for that at the moment. His next dose isn’t for another two hours. I’m going to bring something in to try and manually bring it down, since it’s getting too high for my liking. If it gets to a certain point, Dr Beckett will be called in to see what else can be done.”
Rodney nodded, “Okay, anything I can help with?” he asked.
“The manual method does need someone to help,” she smiled.
“Ah, wet cloth, of course,” he nodded as Nina laughed lightly before leaving the room.
“You don’t… don’t have to stay,” John told him, still trying to catch his breath.
Rodney sat back down, moving the chair closer to the head of the bed, and took a hand, “I know I don’t, but I want to. It helps quieten the mind as well.”
“Hmm, so I’m boring?” he asked, his tone light.
“No more than the rest of the idiots around here, but at least you’re pretty to look at,” he smirked a little.
The words caused John to give a little laugh and start coughing again. This time it wasn’t the type that left him exhausted, but just a little breathless. A soft smile on his face as he looked at Rodney, “Ya think I’m pretty?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Of course I do, you fluffy-haired idiot,” Rodney said with a shake of his head, a soft smile on his face as well, “I… care about you, John, a lot, and yes, we should talk more about this when you are better,” he said as the door opened and Nina walked in with a bowl of cool water and a cloth, “I’ll take that,” he said as he got up and took them from her, “I’ll be good here for a bit, why don’t you see about getting some rest while I’m here,” he said as he tried to shoo her out of the room again.
Nina looked at him, pursing her lips, “Fine, but call me at any time. I’ll be in Dr Beckett’s office kipping on his couch,” she stated, “And if you don’t call me for anything that I need to be here for, Dr McKay, I’ll make sure that the next time you’re due for an examination, I’m the one to do it,” she smirked evilly as she then walked out.
“I do not like her,” Rodney said as he walked over to the bed.
John looked at him, a little sleepy again, but wanting to remain awake just that little bit longer. “She… reminds me of an old friend, back on base, before my life went south,” he said, “He’s a medic, a good one, he took no shit and had big shiny needles that he’d stick you with. And he loved his job,” he grinned. “Nina is much the same as him. It doesn’t help that Carson is doing his best to train her up as much as he can as a combat medic. Nina’s former army, but she didn’t re-up when she found out her mother was ill. Ended up catching the attention of someone in the SGC.”
“How do you know that?” Rodney asked as he settled down and wet the cloth.
“She talks a little about her past. She misses being out there; she’s signed off on weapons and unarmed combat. She’s kept her hand in and fit enough to go out there. Carson’s doing the rest to have a full medical team to head out that doesn’t always include him. He knows he’s more of a liability at the moment on missions. He needs to train up, but with all the work he has to do, keeping us all patched up, he doesn’t have time to take the extra lessons he needs. He’s okay with a handgun, but that’s about it.”
“Yeah, when we went to Hoff, he was a little off being there,” Rodney agreed quietly, as he went to the cloth and wrung it out. He wiped around John’s face, first getting rid of some of the sweat and helping to clean him up a little. He knew that the sponge baths he’d been given were enough to get rid of the icky, dirty feeling you had lying in an infirmary bed all the time. He dunked it again, ringing, doing it again, before laying the cloth on John’s forehead. He watched as the man relaxed a little and closed his eyes. A soft smile appeared on John’s face as he sighed in relief. “Feel good?” he asked.
John gave a small nod, “Yeah, thanks. I feel gross as hell. I want a proper shower, or a bath. Just something so I can actually feel properly clean again,” he complained quietly.
“It’ll be a few more days before that,” Rodney said softly, “I know being in a bed like this isn’t the best.”
John opened his eyes and again looked at Rodney, “I know,” he said, as Rodney reached for his hand again. “I just want to be back to normal. I have shit to do, and I know that you’re taking care of a lot, but I… should be out there as well, doing what I can.”
“What you can do is just concentrate on recovering. Hopefully, what Carson and the others are doing is going to help. We don’t-” he cut himself off.
“I know side effects could range from anything,” John said, “The bug DNA is mixing with my own, but thankfully, it’s doing nothing at the moment. Carson doesn’t know if it will stay that way or cause a mutation.”
“I’m worried,” he muttered.
John weakly squeezed his hand, “I know, to be honest, so am I. But I-”
“Have to plough ahead,” Rodney rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, this is the only thing they’ve been able to think of that might be able to help. There’s not much else that they can do,” he added.
“I know, doesn’t mean I like it,” he said. The two sat in silence for a few moments before Rodney took the cloth and wet it again. “It doesn’t feel like this is working,” he stated.
“Give it time,” John told him, “I kn-” he said, frowning and blinking a few times.
“John?” Rodney asked, his voice full of worry as he replaced the cloth again.
“So… sorry,” he said, shivering. “I just… I don’t know, I felt like I disconnected from myself for a few moments.”
“Okay,” he nodded, standing up as John just began to stare ahead of him. “John?” he called out, getting no answer this time. He pressed the button, knowing that Nina would be able to hear it in Carson’s room. She rushed in a moment later. “He’s just spacing out, but he’s not answering me when I call him.”
“Major Sheppard,” Nina said as she went over, grabbing a penlight and flashing it in John’s eyes.
John didn’t reply or react when the light flashed in his eyes.
“I’m going to call Dr Beckett,” she began as she sent the message out to the CMO.
“Wh…” John blinked as he looked around, frowning at the sudden appearance of Nina.
“Major Sheppard, how are you feeling?” she asked, as she checked his pupil reaction again.
“I feel odd,” he murmured.
“Hmm,” she nodded, “Your temperature is still climbing,” she told him. “Dr Beckett is on the way,” she added as she tested a few more things before heading out of the room.
“Rodney,” he said, his voice full of confusion and even some fear.
“I’m right here,” he said as he took hold of John’s hand and held it. “You’re not alone, and Carson can help,” he reassured, squeezing his hand tightly.
The two waited almost twenty minutes before Carson walked into the room. He looked mused from sleep, a crease along one cheek. “Sorry for the wait,” he said as he walked over, checking the monitor, “Now, Rodney, what happened?” he asked him, not John.
“We were talking, and then he just stopped responding to me,” Rodney answered.
“I was afraid of this. As I said earlier, the virus attacks the nervous system. I’m going to get a scan done to make sure, but I think you’ve had an absence seizure. If that’s the case, it’s mostly due to the virus. I don’t know if it will be a permanent problem until after it’s been eradicated. We’ll have to wait and see,” he added, “But for now, we’re going to do some testing, see what the results are, and then start from there. Hopefully, in another five hours, we can start treatment.”
“Okay,” Rodney said as he nodded.
John looked worried as he said, “With seizures, it means I won’t be able to go out into the field.”
Rodney looked at Carson, “Is that true?”
“Yes,” Carson said, “But like I said, this might just be a case of the virus causing problems. Let’s not go borrowing trouble,” he said, his words calming and soft. “Nina is getting the scanner ready, and we’ll be doing that in a moment. I’ll look at the results and give you the honest truth, promise,” he said, “No matter how good or bad the news is.”
John nodded a little, the cloth on his head slipping off. Rodney took it, wetting it again, but didn’t put it back as Carson shook his head. Nina came back, and the two left Rodney in the room as they took John for his scan. Rodney stood there before thumping down in his seat. His head was in his hands, shaking as he worried about what all this would mean for John. Taking him out of the field was a bad idea. Rodney didn’t trust anyone else to go into the field with. He didn’t know how long he waited until they came back with John. Though this time the man was sleeping on the bed as he was slowly put back in place, and the monitors were hooked back up.
“Is,” Rodney began, stopping himself as he looked at John.
“He had another while we were scanning, which is why it took longer than expected,” Carson said, “We did get some good data from it all, and I do think it’s the virus that’s caused it. But we’ll keep an eye on it, record it down, how often and how long they happen. We’re going to give him something that may help combat the seizures, but with what he’s on for the shakes as well…” Carson trailed off.
“What?” Rodney asked, “What is it?”
“His nervous system is under attack, Rodney, the shakes, the seizures. Only Millie had those, and we found out she had a high dose of the virus, as John had. This is only the beginning. By the end, Millie couldn’t breathe on her own. I’m hoping that with the Iratus DNA treatment we have, we will avoid that. But it’s a possibility that he’ll end up incubated and sedated to help keep him calm and with as little stress as possible, before this is over,” he informed him, keeping his voice calm and level.
Rodney nodded, “What about his temperature? I noticed it was climbing again.”
“I’ve started him on something stronger to help control it, I’m hoping it will control it for however long we have left during this,” Carson answered him, “Go and get some sleep, in about four hours we’ll be starting the treatment, and I know you want to be there for that.”
“Yeah,” Rodney said, looking at John, “I don’t want to leave him, though.”
“He’ll be okay, Nina is going to be here, and I’m going to take a kip on the sofa in my office,” he tried his best to reassure his friend as he gave a small yawn.
Rodney was reluctant, but knew he needed to be on top of things in the morning, and not just for John. He would be making an announcement about the storm and evacuation plans before sending out three teams to get necessary items for a temporary camp at the alpha site. He looked at the sleeping John before nodding at Carson, “Alright, I’ll go to bed, but please, if anything changes, wake me.”
“I will,” Carson nodded, “I’m going to bring Nina in now and then get some kip.”
“Okay,” he said, “okay,” he nodded, taking a breath and then heading back to his quarters to try and get some sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rodney was in John’s room before Carson had arrived with Dr James. John was holding his hand, eyes mostly closed. He’d not had another seizure in front of him, but the chart that was recording them said he had another during the night. Rodney had said nothing, just sat there, holding his hand, giving comfort to the slightly younger man. The door opened, and Carson walked in with Connor.
“Morning,” Carson said. The man still looked tired, but it was obvious that he’d gotten some sleep.
“Morning,” Rodney said, staying where he was.
John blinked bleary eyes and murmured, “Mor’in.”
“Right, John, we’re going to start the treatment now. We’re going to be putting an IV in. Dr Biro has already taken a blood sample an hour ago, and she’ll take another one after the IV has finished,” he said as he walked over and began to set it up. “Yuri and Nathan have started already. Dalton is monitoring Yuri, and Nathan has Anita. We’re going to be monitoring you constantly while the first dose is given. To make sure there is no reaction at this time.”
John nodded, already wanting to go back to sleep. He was tired, more than he had been since this had all started.
“If you need to sleep, John, sleep,” Carson told him as he finished setting up and started the slow drip. “It’ll take about an hour for it to empty. For now, rest,” he advised.
“Thanks,” John said, letting his eyes close.
Rodney kept hold of John’s hand, even as it grew lax in his. “He’s asleep,” he said after a few more minutes.
“The medication he’s on at the moment is making him extremely tired,” Carson told him, seeing the worry in his friend’s eyes.
“I know,” he stated, “just…”
“We won’t see much of a difference or anything for the first two or three doses,” he warned, “Connor is going to head back to the lab and do up a few more, to make sure that we can get this done before the end of the day. We’re hoping that it’ll only need four, maybe five, doses in total. It’s that third one that will tell us how close we are to beating this.”
“What about recovery?” Rodney asked, “How is that going to look?”
“We should see an uptick in his stats. But we also know that there is a significant uptick in stats hours before death with this virus. We’re going to be monitoring how much they go up. Slow and steady means he’s getting better; high and quick, it’s not. Lowering the temperature to a more acceptable level, or a low-grade fever. I’m hoping that the shaking and the absence seizure will also stop fully. Recovery itself could take weeks, maybe even a couple of months. There is damage to his lungs and heart, and while it will heal, it’s going to take time for both to happen. He’s also lost weight over the last week. It’s going to be a while before he’s up to running through the gate, if he ever is.”
“I see,” Rodney said, “I… I hope-”
“Rodney, don’t go borrowing trouble, just focus on the here and now and be there for him. He is going to need us, just as Yuri and Nathan are. Their friends have been coming by, much like you and Teyla have been,” Carson told him, going over and putting a hand on Rodney’s shoulder, “Now, sit down for a bit, I’ve got someone bringing some breakfast in for you, and for everyone. John’s already had something before you arrived. I know you have something to do later, but for now, just… be here with him when he’s awake.”
Rodney nodded as he settled down beside John again, and Carson remained while Connor left to get more doses ready. Carson sat down and monitored John as someone brought a simple breakfast for the two of them. Rodney watched John as he ate quickly, not tasting the food that he had been given.
Carson got up, made a few adjustments to the IVs that John had, and did a few more checks before sitting back down. He glanced at Rodney. “He’s okay, just a routine check,” he said.
Rodney nodded. The first dose was finished, and Anita came in to take a blood sample. John was still sleeping as the second dose was started. An alarm sounded, and Carson rushed out of the room. Anita quickly hurried in as she took over monitoring John, while Carson took care of an emergency.
“What’s going on?” he asked as soon as Anita sat down.
“Yuri stopped breathing. She’s being intubated now. We don’t know if it’s the virus or the Iratus that is causing it. So Carson is planning to have everyone prepare for all three to be intubated,” she answered. “I know he is already worried about Major Sheppard’s breathing, and how shallow and weak it has been.”
“He thinks John’s going to stop breathing as well?” he asked, frowning as he stared at the woman.
“Yes,” she answered, not seeing the point in beating around the bush with Rodney. The man preferred straight answers instead of half a dozen little ones that didn’t paint the whole picture. “Nathan is heading that way as well. And no-” she stopped as another alarm sounded. “That would be Nathan,” she said, “Carson said that you should prepare for it as well.”
“I see,” Rodney nodded, looking back at John and squeezing the hand he was holding.
Carson walked back in and looked at Anita. “Yuri and Nathan are both on ventilators now,” he said as he glanced at John and then Rodney. “Chances are, John will be doing the same soon. Now, I can get ahead of it and do so now, or wait until he’s in actual distress,” he said as he walked closer to Rodney. “If I do it now, he’s going to need to be kept sedated, so he doesn’t fight it. He doesn’t have the strength for it, and knowing him, he’ll fight. His breathing is very shallow, and his oxygen levels are lower than I would like. This would help bring that up and keep him breathing if his strength does give out,” he finished quietly.
Rodney closed his eyes, “I think… I think you need to wake John and see what he says. I don’t… I can’t make that decision for him. He’s still compos mentis, after all.”
“Alright, I’ll wake him,” Carson nodded as he stepped to the bed, on the other side of Rodney. “John,” he said, calling him gently, not wanting to shock him awake. “John,” he called again as he tried to get him to wake up. Since he wasn’t getting an answer, Carson began to rub at John’s sternum, finally getting a reaction, “Come on, laddie, open those eyes of yours,” he coaxed. “There we go,” he smiled as John opened his eyes.
“Wgh… what’s?” he blinked grogily as he wondered why he was being woken.
“It’s okay, I just need to talk with you and get your opinion on your treatment options,” Carson said as he gave the man an outline of what was going on. “Now, I need to know. I can put you on a ventilator now, let it do all the hard work, while you rest. I know it’s a scary thought, giving up that type of control. I will sedate you. Rodney is going to be here for a little while longer, and I will be here throughout all treatment,” he added. “I just need to know, if that is something you want us to do now, or to wait until-” he stopped himself, “Until you stop breathing?”
“I don’t…” he frowned.
“John, there is no right or wrong answer. It’s what you feel comfortable with,” Carson told him. His words were soft and kind.
“John,” Rodney said as he moved closer to the bed, so John could see him, “I would do it. I know you most likely don’t like the idea,” he said, “But it sounds like it could be best for you. But like Carson said, are you comfortable doing that?” he asked him.
“No,” he said, “But… tired,” he added quietly.
“Alright, lad,” Carson said softly, “We get that squared away, we’ll do this, and you’ll be just fine. Okay,” he said, “I’m going to give you a sedative, and it’ll help you go to sleep. Rodney will be right here,” he added, as he could see that John was mostly focused on the older man.
“I’m here, John,” he said, smiling a little at the man.
Carson moved from the bed and went over to one of the cabinet-type walls and removed what he needed. He got the sedative ready and walked over. “Right, we’ll see you soon, alright, John,” he said as he injected John.
It didn’t take long for the sedative to take effect. Carson got to work, and soon the ventilator that had been in the corner of the room was now hooked up, and breathing for him. Rodney sat down with a thump on his chair, staring at John. Carson went over, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“This isn’t right,” Rodney said, “We’re so close.”
“I know, lad,” he said, rubbing a hand over his shoulder, “But he’s doing well, Anita is checking the bloods again now before we start the third dose. This is just a precaution at the moment. More because this will be easier on him doing it now than leaving it to chance. If he stops breathing, it could cause more harm. The virus is attacking his lung function, so this will help him fight.”
“Yeah, but it still doesn’t change the fact that this isn’t right. He’s…” he trailed off.
“As human as the rest of us,” Carson pointed out. “He can get ill, be hurt, and yes, even die,” he told him, “As nasty and as horrible as that sounds. I know, I think we’ve all gotten to the point where we can believe he’s invincible. But Rodney, it’s not a good place for him to be, or for us to put him on.”
“I know that,” he snapped, “Carson, he-” he cut himself off, not sure he could trust himself to let out what was in his head, to the feelings that were bubbling over and had been since he had first met the man. And also what he had barely been able to talk to John about.
Carson looked at his friend and shook his head, “I get it,” he said, his voice gentle again.
“No, Carson, you don’t,” he snorted, shaking his head, “He means so fucking much to me, and I haven’t told him, and I should have. I should have told him weeks ago. I… that stupid bloody DADT. If it wasn’t for that, I would have made a move before we even came to Atlantis. He stayed at the outpost for two weeks. Remember.”
“I do,” Carson said as he sat down, keeping a weathered eye on John. “He was always around you. You’re demanding he does this and that, and him snipping back at you. It was fun to watch someone else being the center of your ire,” he laughed lightly.
Rodney snorted, “He riled me up just as much, if not more at times,” he said, a smile now appearing on his face. “He wasn’t afraid to snap back when I went too far. Everyone else just cowers and cries like a toddler who was told no. He’d take me aside when he saw me going too hard on someone; he wouldn’t interrupt per se, but he would make sure I knew I was going too far. That sometimes people need to be reminded that they can act like adults.”
“I saw you actually started to be someone people could work with better, but you held yourself back occasionally. Not often, but sometimes it was like you took a step back. But only when John was at the outpost. As soon as he left, you went back to how you were,” Carson snorted.
“He challenges me,” Rodney whispered.
“You’ll have time for more after he’s well,” Carson told him.
“What if he doesn’t recover, what if-”
“You can’t think like that,” he stopped him from continuing what he was going to say, “You can’t. You have to believe in him, he’s strong,
Rodney looked at John again and nodded, “I will, and I do.”
Anita and Connor walked in. Anita nodded, “Right,” she said, “It’s doing the work, the concentration of virus DNA is starting to dive. The Iratus is doing the work. We’re going to do the third dose now.”
“I’ll set that up,” Connor said as he walked over with the back and swapped it in. He let Anita set up the drop level, as she was also a medical doctor, along with a pathologist.
“Right, I’ll take bloods again after this is finished, but it’s looking promising,” she said.
“I need to get going, it’s almost time to make an announcement,” Rodney said as he got up, leaning down and whispering something to John before straightening up.
“Be warned, Dr McKay,” Connor started, “There are a lot of rumours about Major Sheppard going around. Some are saying he’s dead, some that he’s seriously ill, and more,” he warned him before he could leave the room.
“Fucking Kavanagh,” he stated, “He blurted it out as he was in the control room. While most would know not to say anything, some would, and Kavanagh himself would make sure to spread it around.”
“It might be time to make the announcement for John, Yuri, and Nathan as well,” Carson told him.
“I will,” Rodney nodded as he headed out of the room. He had wanted to remain with John, but it just wasn’t going to happen with everything that was going on. He still had two teams to brief about their missions through the gate as well.
Rodney reached the control room, seeing that there were some there that usually weren’t. “Only those who need to be here should be here. The rest of you leave,” he ordered as he glanced around. Half the people in the control room left, and Rodney almost sighed in relief.
“How is Major Sheppard?” Peter asked from where he was sitting at the main control console.
“Treatment has begun, but it’s going to be a good few hours before we have any news on how it’s working,” he said, biting his lip for a moment before he added, “Dr Beckett had put him on a ventilator, as a precaution.”
“So, we won’t know anything until later, on his condition,” Chuck said, nodding.
“No, what are the rumors that are going around?” he then asked, glancing around.
“A lot is going around about Major Sheppard,” Ford said as he leaned against the back wall. “Kavanagh was able to make sure it spread around what’s going on.”
“Right, so that needs to be addressed as well,” he muttered as he paused for a few moments. “Open up a city-wide channel,” he said as he looked at Chuck.
Chuck nodded and opened one up, “You’re up.” he said as he gestured for Rodney to speak.
“This is Dr McKay,” he stated, “As most of you are hearing, Major Sheppard is ill at this moment in time. It is serious, but we’re hoping for good news to come through within the next several hours. Yuri and Nathan are also ill with the same virus, and all three are undergoing treatment for this now. We’re keeping hopeful that all three will recover as the cure gets to work,” he informed the city. “Now, we also have another pressing concern coming this way. In just over two weeks, we have a storm that will hit the settlement and then us. There is a high chance that the storm, when it gets to us, will sink Atlantis. As of this moment, we’re gearing up to make sure that the alpha site will be able to handle us all for a few days. We’re also in the middle of trying to find a way to bring up the shields for the city, to help save it from the upcoming storm. A lot is going on, and we need to pull together. Nearly everything is going to be heading to the alpha site during the week leading up to the storm. Before that, we are going to be evacuating the settlement and trying to save as much of what’s been planted as we can. That’s all for now. There will be another department head meeting to go over plans, and you’ll be informed of where you’re needed by the heads as plans are confirmed.”
Chuck watched as Rodney gave the gesture to cut the connection. “Is Major Sheppard going to be okay?” he had to ask.
“We’re hoping that the cure that we’ve come up with will do its job, but it’s going to be touch-and-go for all three of them. AR-2 and AR-4 have missions that I need to speak with them about. Have them in my office as soon as possible. Since they head out in three and four hours,” Rodney told him before he headed for his office.
“I’ll have them sent to you,” Peter said, looking at Rodney with a hint of worry in his gaze. Chuck and Ford were giving the man the same look; each of them had a feeling of dread in their stomachs as they wondered if this was about John Sheppard.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Rodney looked at the two teams that had entered his office. There weren’t enough seats for them all, but the two team leaders had taken the two chairs that were available. “Right,” he said, “You all have a list of things that we need for the evacuation of Atlantis and of the settlement. We have a few places that people can go if they don’t wish to be at the alpha site. Though I would prefer that everyone be there,” he stated.
“Why do we need clay?” one of them asked.
Rodney smirked, “Because we’re going to need something more portable to transport what crops and plants we have out of the settlement and Atlantis,” he pointed out. “I know it’s going to be a huge endeavor. We’ve already started with what clay we have here to create pots for transport. Dr Zelenka and Dr Nero have both come up with a way to fire them. I think if one of the others goes out, they might be able to find more glazes than just what we’ve created, if you want to get decorative, but not needed. Anyway,” he said, waving a hand, “What you have are some of the raw things that we need to use to create what we need. Also, look for something that might be able to waterproof materials. We’re going to create tents for ourselves. We have some, but not enough to house everyone, even if we overfill them. Dr Beckett will be making a trip to the alpha side to make sure that the infirmary is set up as soon as possible. Mostly, as we still have three seriously ill people in Atlantis, and they may still need medical care and attention at that point.”
“We understand,” Sgt Kelson nodded. “We have our lists, the orders you’ve given, and anything extra that we might need to look out for.”
“I know it’s a lot, and you have items and gold and some gems to trade for. Mika and Ritu, thank you both for joining them on this, to help with trading and haggling,” Rodney said to the two Athosians who were going with the two teams.”
“Welcome,” they said, smiling at him. “We’re happy to help,” Mika added as she looked at the team she would be going with. There were a dozen Athosians who cycled through the city to help with trading and to do their trading as well.
“Right,” he said, “AR-2, you’re good to go in the next hour, AR-4 in the next two. Make sure you’re all good to go, and take some rest time before you head out.”
“Sir,” they stood, nodded, and headed out of the office. Rodney took a few moments, hoping that Carson would have gotten in touch with him. But there was still nothing, but the usual; everything is well, that he had been sending after Rodney had called him one time too many after leaving. When he had left, the third dose was just about to be administered.
“Rodney,” came Peter Grodin’s voice as he walked into the office, the door closing behind him. “Are you alright?” he asked, walking over with a carafe of coffee. He grabbed Rodney’s empty mug as he waited for the man to answer him and filled it. They’d found something that was almost like one of the coffee blends that they enjoyed. It was being grown in small pots around Atlantis. They still had some of the plants that Botany were trying to find suitable soil to plant in for some of their own type of crops.
“I will be as soon as I know how John is doing. Carson is annoying me with this ‘Everything is well’ email every twenty minutes. I need something more. I need to-” he cut himself off as he sighed deeply.
“He’s most likely busy,” Peter told him, as he put the mug down in front of the man.
“Thank you,” he said, reaching for it and drinking half of it before setting it back down. “And yes, I do know that he’ll be busy. I just wish I could go back down there, but I need to go through the list for the alpha site and send another group through to help. Make sure that Dr Biro is ready to take over for Carson for a few hours, while he checks out the medical side of things for alpha site.”
“We need to come up with a name for the alpha site,” Peter said as he poured a coffee for himself. He preferred tea, but coffee would do for now.
“Yeah,” Rodney said absently. “I’ve started to plan the evacuation. After talking with Teyla and the elders, they are unsure if they want to come to the alpha site or go to one of their trading partners’ planets. It might be a split between them.”
“Hmm, it could be a security concern,” Peter said.
“I know, Bates has said the same thing. So we’re planning on having them go through the alpha site instead of straight to here, if they do head out to someone else. Bates has made a list of all the security concerns that he had. He’d taken them up with Weir several times, but so far, nothing had been done. I’ve been going through them, and they are sensible concerns. I’m implementing some of the changes. But it’s more because we should have been doing it right from the start. We’ve got new security for the armory. Making sure that no one can get through to the unexplored and unchecked areas of the city. We have a team that is slowly going through, and with the size of this place, it’s going to take months, if not a full year, before it’s explored fully,” he sighed.
“When Major Sheppard recovers, I would suggest getting together with him to make a few more teams to search the city. We’ve only gotten through around 20% of the city at the moment,” he stated, sitting across from him.
“I know,” he nodded in agreement. “I will be. We’ll need someone scientific as well on each team to determine if something is dangerous. Myself, Miko, and Radek are the ones that I trust with it. You’re also another.”
“Good to know,” he smiled. “Now, what are you going to do about Kavanagh?” he asked. “I know you’d like to just keep him locked away.”
Rodney huffed and sighed, “I know. I meant what I said. He’s not going to be given any type of project at all. He’s got the little jobs, or tasks, where he’ll be supervised fully. I don’t trust him, and I don’t think I have in a long time. He’s done nothing but cause problems since the beginning. Do you know how many times we’ve had to go and get him from some random place around the city? Dozens. He’s caused trouble, damage, and even injuries to those who had to go after him.”
“In other words, he’s going to be watched closely by you.”
“Yes, Weir let him do what he wanted, even after the reprimand he received not long after we arrived. He’s a coward, and more than that, he believes he’s smarter than everyone here.” Rodney rolled his eyes.
Peter snorted, “Hmm, he’s been like that for a long time.”
“I know, nothing seems to bring him down to Earth,” he pulled a face.
Peter raised an eyebrow. “Hmm,” he murmured, a smirk forming as he looked at Rodney.
“I am a genius; he isn’t,” he huffed. He was about to say something else when his laptop gave a ping. An incoming message. “It’s Carson. Treatment has been completed.”
“How are they all?” Peter asked, setting aside his mug.
“Yuri and Nathan only needed four doses before all traces of the virus were gone from their bloodwork. They are slowly starting to improve. John… needed six,” he said, biting his lip.
“Major Sheppard was given a higher dose of the virus,” Peter reminded.
“I know, but we still don’t know if the Iratus DNA is going to do anything to them. John already had a little within his system to begin with,” Rodney stated, shaking his head.
“There isn’t much you can do. We have half an hour before AR-2 heads out. If you want, you can always do a quick visit and talk with Dr Beckett a little more, to reassure yourself that things are okay?” he suggested, quickly drinking the last of his coffee.
“I think I will. I’ll make it a quick visit, check on John as well, and then come back,” he stated, getting up. “Keep me up to date,” he added as he walked from the room at a quicker pace than normal.
It didn’t take him that long to walk into the infirmary. He checked Carson’s office first, finding it empty. He saw Anita moving around, and she gave him a tight smile and a small wave before heading into one of the side rooms that had turned into a small blood lab. He went to John’s room, slowly opening the door to see Carson inside. John was still on the ventilator. Still and pale, and Rodney hated to see him like that.
“Rodney,” Carson said, rolling his eyes, “I had a feeling you’d stop by. He’s doing okay; there’s been no improvement so far, but it might take a little while longer before we see anything for John,” he told him before he could even ask.
“How… did it all go, for all of them?” he asked, walking over to the bed and looking down at John, who still looked a little feverish.
“Yuri responded well. We lowered her last dose by half, while Nathan needed the full fourth dose. They’ve started to show improvements. We have all three sedated and on ventilators at the moment. We’re going to start weaning Yuri off first. She’s shown the most improvement already. Her heartbeat is starting to get stronger already. It’s a slow improvement, not the quick uptake where the virus wins, but her body is recovering,” he smiled a little. “She’s doing really well. Nathan is improving, but his heart and lungs aren’t showing much improvement yet. We’re hoping to see a little of it sooner, rather than later,” he added, before looking at the bed.
“And John?” he asked.
“His heart rate has slowed a lot in the last hour. His temperature is still there, but it’s leveled off at the moment,” Carson said. “We’re unsure if that’s because the Iratus DNA is integrating even more with John’s DNA now, as it has done in Yuri and Nathan’s.”
“So what’s it doing to John?” he questioned. “Is there anything we can do to stop it?” he carried on.
Carson shook his head. “We can’t stop it, even though there isn’t a lot of it, as some of the strands we injected were damaged and killed off in a sense by the virus it was attacking. The virus is all gone; no trace of it has been left, but the Iratus DNA is integrating more,” he sighed. “We can only wait and see what it does.”
“How does it look for Yuri and Nathan?” he asked, standing beside John’s bed and looking down at him.
“Yuri is regaining her strength quickly and is beginning to fight the sedative, so we gave her a higher dose to keep her under for a little while longer. Nathan, not either,” he sighed, “We just don’t know yet, it’s too soon to really tell what it’s going to do to them all.”
Rodney nodded, “Thank you, and to the others as well.”
“Dr James and Dr Dalton will be wanting to toss the Iratus bug through the Stargate soon, to get rid of it, since it’s no longer required. We have some extra samples of its DNA for us to experiment with and work out why it was able to heal the virus,” he said. “They’re going to be working with Dr Biro and me on the project,” he added as he watched Rodney smooth down the blanket. “I’ll keep updating you as I have. Should he need to come out of sedation and off the vent, I’ll do what I’ve been doing,” he added.
“Why do you want to research it further?” he asked, as he stood up straight again and looked at the doctor.
“Peter Grodin, with the way it acted against this virus, by completely destroying it. We’re wondering if there was a way for it to target cancer cells. It’s a hope we have. So far, his condition isn’t dire, but in a few months, that could change. We want to isolate what it is from this bug that has this healing-type ability. It healed itself from being shot and all,” he reminded him, “Much like the Wraith, but we have what we want from it, and I’ll not have the bug in this city any longer than it needs to be.”
“I’ll get that sorted for a time between AR-2 and AR-4 going out. For now, I need to get back up there as AR-2 will be heading out soon, and I want to be there for it,” Rodney said, as he checked the time.
“Go, and I’ll keep you updated,” he said. “On all three,” he added when the man opened his mouth to request just that.
Rodney gave a tight smile and then headed out and back up to the control room.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
AR-2 and AR-4 had returned late during the night. The bug had been sent back to its own planet, and more personnel had gone over to the alpha site to swap out with those that were already there. Rodney had gone down to the infirmary before heading to his room for some sleep, seeing Yuri and Nathan first. The two were improving rapidly; the level of sedation was decreasing. They had started to fight the ventilator just before Rodney had arrived, and had just been taken off when he was allowed in to see them both.
“They’re doing really well,” Derek said as he went to the drips of Yuri and adjusted them.
“That’s good, I’m glad they’re recovering,” he said, feeling relieved that they were getting better. It had been close with Yuri. Carson had told him that in another few hours, and he didn’t think that the Iratus DNA would have been able to do anything to help her.
“Same. I had to kick Miko out of here a few hours ago. She spent some time here with Yuri; they’re friends.” Derek told him.
Rodney nodded and headed out and into John’s room. Carson was nowhere to be seen, but he had hoped that the Scot was finally getting some sleep in his own bed, and not the couch in his office, which he’d been doing the last couple of nights. Anita was in the room with John as he walked inside.
“Dr McKay,” she greeted, smiling slightly as she rose from where she was seated. They were still doing round-the-clock monitoring for the three.
“How’s John doing?” he asked, walking inside and over to the bed.
“His stats are starting to get back to more normal levels,” she answered.
“Good,” he sighed, relieved as he could see some color now returning to John’s face. “How are Yuri and Nathan dealing with the DNA?” he asked.
“So far, they’re doing well, and nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. We’ll be stopping sedation in the morning to let them wake up,” she answered softly.
“And John?” he asked, noting that the man was still on the ventilator.
“Dr Beckett tried to take him off the ventilator before retiring for the night, but Major Sheppard’s breathing rate was too low for us to be comfortable leaving it off, and his oxygen stats started to drop. So we decided to be cautious and put him back on the ventilator for the night. We’ll be checking again in the morning to see where he lies. While the virus is no longer there, the effects of it are lingering. He had six full doses of the DNA to help combat it. And while the damage to Yuri and Nathan, and their heart and lungs, is starting to heal. Scans show that Major Sheppard hasn’t started yet. We believe that because he had a higher dose, it’s going to take a little longer for the virus effects to heal,” she answered as she added, “We’ll look after him, Dr McKay. Dr Beckett and I will be doing everything we can to make sure all three of them heal fully.”
Rodney nodded. “Tell Carson when he gets here in the morning to inform me when you’re going to attempt to take him off the vent again. I want to be here.”
“I’ll tell him,” she agreed. “Now get some sleep, and make sure you’re eating breakfast before you come down here.”
“I will,” he said as he walked out the door, only to find Markus Stackhouse standing there. “Markus,” he said, as he noted he was in his civilian clothing.
“Sorry, Doc, I just wanted to check up on Major Sheppard.” he winced as he moved aside.
“That’s fine, no one is stopping you. I know we’re keeping it quiet that he was ill, but you already know, so I expected to see you there occasionally,” he said, nodding at the man, “Go and see him, he’s still on the vent, but it’s nice to just see him and know he’s okay.”
“Thanks, Doc, I won’t be long, I’ve got a shift at the alpha site to help get it ready,” he nodded as he went inside John’s room.
Rodney headed off to his own quarters. It was another early morning, this time to start the process of taking inventory of everything and see where things were needed.
XxXxX
Inventory was started, and Rodney left them to it while he made his way to the infirmary. John was starting to improve, though it was small improvements. He walked into the room, nodding as he saw Miko coming from Yuri’s room. As a step down, both Nathan and Yuri now had their own rooms where people could see them. That had happened late last night, after Rodney had last checked on them all.
“Rodney,” Carson greeted as he looked up, “We’re just about to take him off the vent. We’ve lowered the sedative and started lowering the muscle relaxer as well. We’re going to see how much damage that the virus has done to him, but in doing that, we need to lower everything and let his body just get on with things.”
Rodney nodded, “Right,” he said as he then watched as Carson and Nina began to take John off the vent. Rodney winced at the sounds John was making as they took out the tube. They waited a few moments, and John started breathing unaided.
“Oxygen levels are stable,” Nina said as she watched them closely. “Vitals are steady,” she added after a moment.
“Okay, looks like he’s going to be fine. It’s going to be a while before he wakes. I won’t be giving him another dose of sedative, and will be lowering the relaxer again when he’s next due. He’ll be off it completely by the time we have dinner,” Carson said as he and Nina finished unhooking John from everything, leaving only what was needed attached to him. “You can stay with him for a bit, but we’ve got a scan to do in around an hour.”
“Alright,” Rodney said as he settled beside the bed, taking a hand and holding it as he hoped John would show a little sign that he was waking up.
Carson came back an hour later, “Come on, lad, I need to take John for his scan,” he said as Derek walked into the room behind him.
“Yeah,” Rodney said, “I’ve got a few things to do, like go and berate an idiot for being an idiot,” he added as he got up and began to head out of the room, holding the door as Derek and Carson wheeled John from the room.
Rodney watched for a few more moments before heading to his office. He couldn’t wait until John was better; then he could deal with the idiots while continuing with the experiments and what was needed to keep Atlantis running. For now, he had Kavanagh to deal with. The man was a menace and someone that Weir wanted on the expedition. Rodney had tried to make sure he didn’t come through, but in the end, Weir had gone over his head.
He sat down and waited for Kavanagh to be escorted to his office. Rodney didn’t trust the man as far as he could throw him. He was too full of himself for what he could actually do. Rodney looked up from the email he’d gotten from Carson about John’s condition. He’d barely gotten through the first line when Captain Bates knocked on the door and brought Kavanagh into the room. The man wasn’t looking happy at the escort, but Rodney nodded at Bates to make sure he knew to remain around.
“Dr Kavanagh,” he began, “I’ve been doing a review of the projects that you’ve been assigned, and I’ve seen nothing of your work on them so far. Nothing in the reports. I’ve had others go over your projects, and there is nothing to them,” he added, as he switched up the document he had made about Kavanagh’s work. “You don’t listen to anyone, at all. You try to do work that isn’t in your purview at all, and you’ve actually sabotaged three projects that are going to take weeks to get them back on track. From this moment on, your movements are going to be restricted. Only the places that you are allowed to go will be available to you. If I find you in any areas you’re restricted from, and I’ll be sending you back to Earth without the help of a wormhole,” he snapped.
“I have the same rights as anyone else in this fucking city to be able to research what I wan-” he began to say.
“No one on this station has the freedom to research what they want. If they want to research something specific, they have to come to me with a proposal, and I need to go over it and see if it is worth the time and effort that goes into it, and if we have the resources to pursue it. You have never once done that with me, you just start random things, cause chaos, and then let others clean up the mess you leave behind.”
Kavanagh glared at him, “You have no right to t-”
“Shut the hell up, I am so sick of your behavior. You’re nothing but a bloody joke. Weir wanted you here, but I didn’t. I have no idea why she wanted you, unless she needed a verbal punching bag. Since I noticed that she frequently had a go at you about stupid shit that wasn’t in her wheelhouse either,” he ranted, “You have two choices as far as I’m concerned,” he said, as he stared at the man across from him.
“And what would they be?” he bit out.
“You behave, actually do the work you’re supposed to, and earn the trust and respect of those around you. Or you can continue to be a fuck up that ends up confined to your quarters, and will be escorted three times a day to the mess, and then once a day to the mainland. And as for a third, if you really piss me off. I’ll find a nice little fucking island that you can live on until we get in contact with Earth, so I can send you back. Your access to everything is now revoked; everything you do will be monitored. If you can actually carry out the tasks that you’re assigned properly and efficiently and to a good enough fucking standard, then maybe you’ll earn back some of your freedoms.”
“You can’t do this, you’re treating me like I’m a damn prisoner!” he yelled out, jumping from his chair and moving threateningly toward Rodney.
Bates reacted and moved, gun carefully aimed at Kavanagh, “Sit back down, one more threatening move and I will consider you hostile,” Bates warned him.
“This is such bullshit,” he said, glaring as he sat back down, warily watching Bates as the man stepped back, standing protectively over Rodney.
“What’s bullshit is that sixteen people in the last two months have almost been killed by your actions in doing something that you were told not to touch. You ignored orders and protocols that were in place to ensure that everyone remained safe. You did that to them, you hurt them, injured them, almost fucking killed them. Weir didn’t want you punished. Well, she’s not in charge anymore; she’s sitting in the fucking morgue. And from now on, you will face the consequences of your actions. You have one last chance. I’m not big on giving them, but you have it. I mean it, Kavanagh, one fucking toe out of line and I will have you hogtied and thrown into your quarters so fucking fast that only a dust cloud will be visible to anyone to let them know that you were there,” Rodney stated, glaring at the man who had tried and failed to intimidate him. He’d faced bigger threats than a wannabe mad scientist.
“This isn’t-”
“I’m sick of hearing you say this isn’t fair and all that bullshit. You have one chance, Kavanagh; either use it or lose it. But once it’s gone, it’s never coming back. Please escort him to his quarters, Captain Bates. He has the rest of today to decide what he wants to do,” he said as he glanced over at the stern man.
“Dr McKay,” he nodded in respect, “Dr Kavanagh,” he spat with contempt as he went over to the man and waited for him to get up.
Kavanagh glared at Rodney before getting up. Saying nothing as he was escorted back to his quarters. Rodney wanted to slump in his chair, but he knew that the others in the control room could still see into the room. He took a breath and brought up Carson’s email again, this time hoping to get through it before he got called to deal with something else. He also needed to talk with Teyla and Ford about starting to get ready to evacuate the mainland, at least for now.
Reading through the results from Carson, he sighed. John was doing okay, still hadn’t woken at the time of the email. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t by now. He switched to the inventory reports that he was starting to get in. Kavanagh had really screwed them over in getting Atlantis to a point where it would be able to protect them from an attack or even from a tsunami-sized wave. Rodney went over some of the ideas that Radek and the team went over, wrote proposals for, and more. Some of them were nothing but mere fantasy shit that Rodney was quick to dismiss. But there was something that one of them mentioned that might just help.
Rodney got up and headed down to the lab, where he knew Radek would be brainstorming more ideas. The man had barely slept since they had found out about the storm that was gathering in the distance. “Radek!” he called out as soon as he reached the lab.
Radek looked up from the laptop he was working on, “I have nothing else!” he called out, “Don-”
“No, one of them, the idiots that they are, said something about Zeus,” he said, “They…” he paused a moment to gather his thoughts.
“Lightning, a power we could use!” Radek yelled out.
“Yes, exactly, if we can harness it, then we can use it. We just need to be able to build something that would be able to help charge the shield we can use them,” Rodney carried on.
“We would have to uncouple the masts?” Radek said, shaking his head, “We do that, and all of Atlantis will be nothing but a superconductor,” he reminded him.
“I know, but we have the evacuation order in place. The whole city is going to be mostly empty. The control and gate rooms are safe. They don’t have the superconductive materials in it that the rest of Atlantis has,” he said as he went to the whiteboard that was behind Radek. “We’d need to build something to convert the lightning into something usable, but that-”
“Shouldn’t be hard for us,” Radek nodded, turning in his seat and almost falling out of it.
Rodney turned to him, “You alright?” he asked.
“Tired, been trying to think of something,” he yawned.
“We have an idea, one that could work. Go to bed, get some rest, and have a full day off, or at least the rest of this one,” he said as he looked at his friend.
Radek sighed and shook his head, “No-”
“Radek, bed, sleep. I don’t want to get someone to bloody well escort you there. Maybe I’ll go and get Miko, you listen to her,” Rodney said, narrowing his eyes as he waited for his friend to give in.
Radek mumbled a few curses under his breath, and Rodney knew he had won. “Fine, asshole,” he muttered in English before he closed things down in his personal lab.
Rodney walked out with him, “We can go over this tomorrow, actually get some sleep. I know this is… worrying, but we have a lot going on,” he sighed, putting a hand on Radek’s shoulder for a second.
Radek looked at him as he locked his lab up. “You know, you have changed a bit since coming out here. You’re still a bastard, but mellow in the right circumstances,” he snorted.
“I’ve not mellowed,” Rodney huffed as they walked side by side for a while.
“You have,” he smirked as they came to a split in the corridor. “Go and see Major Sheppard, I can tell you’re worried about him.”
“Of course I am, he’s-” he started to try and bluff his way out of discussing anything to do with feelings.
“Rodney, I’ve known you for eight years, I know when you like someone. And I know that this time it’s not a silly little crush,” he snorted, shaking his head, “I know about the rule, it’s stupid, always will be. But, we’re not Earth, we’re not US, we’re Atlantis, we’re people from all over Earth, different everything. Be happy out here, we might never be able to contact Earth again, or we might even be able to contact them in a week.”
“The SGC, I’ve noticed, doesn’t care much for DADT,” Rodney said, “And I know those that are here don’t either. That was… that was one of the only good things that Sumner did.”
“I heard nothing about that,” Radek frowned.
“It was not well known, at all, but he was gay,” he murmured, “His partner died about a year before the Atlantis Expedition was a go. O’Neill and others back on Earth were petitioning for DADT to be repealed.”
“Hmm,” he nodded a few times, “Why was he so against Major Sheppard?”
“Black mark because of disobeying orders. It’s one thing to be who you are, but disobeying orders can cause a lot of trouble for a base. Even though we all know he did the right thing. His mark came because the base commander hid what he did. For now, John and I need to talk about things, that’s all we’re going to do, I don’t-”
“You know he does,” Radek rolled his eyes. “I don’t think he would have done anything about it if Weir were still here, though. She…”
“Would have tried to hold it over his head. I know,” he huffed, pulling a face at the mention of the women, “She wanted to control everyone, I know. She had no choice, half the time to let us do what was needed, or Atlantis would have fallen.”
“I-” he began, only to yawn.
“Go and get some sleep, we’ll leave the heavy conversations for another time,” Rodney rolled his eyes as he began to head down one way that would lead him to the transporter that would take him to the infirmary.
“See, going soft!” Radek called out with a laugh as he headed to his quarters.
“Not going soft!” Rodney replied with a shout as he heard Radek laughing even more. “Ass,” he muttered as he went to the transporter.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Carson adjusted the IV for John and looked the man over. He was showing a few signs that he was starting to wake. But Carson didn’t dare try and coax him like he normally would. He had a feeling that Rodney would want to be there before that happened. He went to the tablet that he was keeping on John’s condition and went over the results of the scan. The door to the room opened and Rodney walked in.
“Rodney,” he greeted with a smile as the man went straight to the bed.
“So,” he began, “There’s damage to the lungs and heart?” he asked as he looked down at John.
“Yes,” Carson said, “but Yuri and Nathan had the same damage, and both are slowly recovering. It’s still going to be a good few weeks before they’ve healed enough to really see a difference. But it’s healing for them. John had a higher dose; we have some damage to his nervous system, but that has started to heal. That was what the scan was mainly about this morning. I’ve been monitoring and as the virus got stronger within John, the shakes that started were muscle tremors to begin with, but they were neurological in nature. The longer they went on, the more damage to the brain. The scan I took before we gave him the cure, showed that he may have suffered from them for the rest of his life. But,” he paused a moment, “The scan I took this morning showed that it was healing. I think his body is healing one thing at a time, and the more pressing of that would be anything to do with his brain and nervous system. He’s getting better.”
“So why isn’t he awake?” Rodney asked, feeling
“I am,” came a hoarse voice from the bed.
“John!” the two called out as they looked at the man whose eyes were slowly opening. He hissed a little at the light.
“Let me turn that down a mite,” Carson said as he lowered the light in the room, so it was nice and dull.
John began to blink as he glanced around. He frowned; he felt that something wasn’t right.
“John?” Rodney said as he moved closer, grabbing a hand and holding it tightly as he looked John in the eye and frowned, “Your eyes,” he began, “They’ve changed color.”
Carson moved quickly and grabbed a penlight. “Okay, this is going to be bright,” he said, as he checked John’s eyes, “Hmm, they are… different,” he said as John huffed at the check.
“Could tell you that, things don’t seem right,” he whispered, coughing a little.
Rodney grabbed some water and a straw and put it to John’s lips.
“Little sips, no big gulps,” Carson warned him as he moved back a little.
John took a few sips, “Thanks,” he said when he finished, his throat feeling rough and raw. “So… eyes?” he asked.
“The color is a little more yellow than before, but not by much,” Rodney said, blushing slightly.
John smiled at that, “So a little more yellow than the hazel I had before.”
“More green-yellow, there’s almost no brown left in them,” Rodney said, “But it’s subtle, I don’t know if anyone would notice it.”
“Right,” he said, “So… condition?” he asked, “Heard some.”
“Your nervous system took a battering, but it’s getting better. I believe that the DNA that’s fused with yours is the cause of it. Your heart and lungs are damaged, but we’re hoping that they’ll heal as well. For now, bed rest is what’s going to happen with you until we see improvements. No off-world missions at all. And the most I might let you do is paperwork,” Carson told him, “I know, it’s not what you want to hear, but it’s that or you stay in that bed until I’m happy. For now, we’re going to try feeding you liquid food for your meal. If it stays down and things go well, we’ll see about taking out the NG tube,” he finished, going over a few more things, as John and Rodney listened.
“Need to say something about the eyes,” John said as Carson finally finished.
“Oh?” Carson asked, frowning, “You mentioned something being off when you first woke.”
“It’s just… It’s like things are a little slower, but not. Then there is the fact that I’m seeing differently than before. It’s like I can… concentrated on Rodney for a moment, and his skin looked almost translucent. I could see something pulsing through him as he moved and talked. It lit up with this purple-blue energy, then there was something a darker color that ran around his body.”
“I wonder,” Rodney said, “I want you to watch if you can make it happen again, when I talk and what flashes?” he asked.
John gave a little nod, coughing a few times before settling and watching Rodney as he talked about a few random things. “Your brain is lighting up, it’s kinda pretty,” he chuckled, only to start coughing.
“Your lungs are still recovering,” Carson reminded him, as John looked annoyed as he finished his coughing fit and tried to relax back on the bed.
“Yeah,” he went to sigh, but stopped himself, not wanting to start coughing again, “But yeah, you lit up.”
“I think he’s seeing my nervous system,” Rodney said, “You’re seeing it being used as I talk, when I move, you’re seeing the way it works to get my muscles to contract and retract,” he said, moving his arm around and watching as John frowned while looking at it.
“And the other?” Carson asked.
“My blood,” he added, “I think… I think the Iratus DNA has bonded so that it lets John see how they do.”
“The Iratus was drinking John’s blood slowly, but it had also attached itself to John’s nervous system from what I could tell afterward,” Carson nodded.
“It’s hunting for certain things; the neck was the best place for it to go to get to both easily,” Rodney grinned.
“Hey,” John said, getting their attention, “Still in the room,” he pouted at the two.
“Sorry, John,” Rodney said, “This is just… unexpected, but you’ve basically, I would think, gained what the Iratus bugs have to look for their prey.”
“Right, that’s not concerning at all,” John pulled a face.
“Just a little, we were expecting some changes, don’t forget. If this is all, we got off lightly,” Carson reminded him.
John gave a tired nod, “Okay, recovery time?” he asked softly.
“We could be looking at a few weeks, or a couple of months. It depends on how things keep going. At the moment, the damage to your nervous system is healing. Which is a miracle, I didn’t know if it would,” Carson admitted, “If the speed of this keeps up, at the same level, then I would say four weeks, and you should be almost back to how you were.”
“So… we’re hoping that whatever is healing me up, doesn’t stop at the nervous system?” he said, getting a nod, “Right,” he said, sighing only to start coughing.
Rodney was quick to help him sit up. By the end of it, John was wheezing as he was gently laid back down. “So how long for the cough?”
“I don’t know, normally after what would be something like pneumonia, it could be a month, and even up to six months for you to start feeling close to normal. You still have something in your lungs, which you’re going to be coughing up. That will take time, even with accelerated healing. You still have a slight fever, but nothing in the danger zone at all,” he added, as he smiled a little. “You are getting better, but like anything, it’s going to be a while before you’re running through the gate to different worlds.”
“Right,” John murmured. “I hate being ill,” he muttered.
“We all do,” Rodney said, shaking his head a few times, “But this, you almost died again, John,” he said, looking at him.
John squeezed Rodney’s hand, “I know, I’m sorry, but not like I could help it,” he said, giving the other a grin.
“Idiot,” Rodney said fondly.
Carson looked between the two of them and shook his head and said before they could start talking again, “Right, I’m going to leave you be for a bit, I’ll be coming by with a light soup for you to try and see if you can keep down John.”
John and Rodney looked at him. “Alright,” John said, “Please be something good,” he added.
“I’ll see what they can whip up for you,” Carson nodded and left the two of them to talk.
The door closed, and Rodney turned his attention back to John. He sat down by the bed and sighed, “You scared the hell out of me this time,” he muttered. “I thought… I was going to lose you.”
“I’m sorry,” John told him once more, “I wish I could have-”
“I know, there wasn’t anything you could do. Weir fucking poisoned you, John. She wanted you dead because you were in the way of what she planned to do. She wanted Ford in control, because she believed she could manipulate him. She thought she could manipulate you, but… she started finding out that you were the one to manipulate her into making sure you were able to do what you’ve done to keep us going. You were able to keep the Athosians here, even though we both know that she didn’t want them around.”
“Course she didn’t, they were a threat. It’s why she did her best to get friendly with Teyla. It was to keep a better eye on them,” John said, “There is, of course, more to it. I made a folder, encrypted, made notes on what I observed of her actions, and words.”
“I’ll have to look at that at some point. I’d like to know when and how I missed all this,” Rodney muttered.
“Don’t think too hard,” John said, a little smirk playing on his lips.
“Idiot,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. He knew what John was trying to do: distract him from a serious talk that they had needed for a long time. From the moment the two had started talking and working together at the outpost. “We can talk when you’re out-”
“No, we… should talk now,” John said, looking a little uncomfortable.
Rodney looked at him, “You know I have feelings for you. I’ve not exactly hidden them from you.”
“I do,” he said, “I just… Weir was out to try and bring me to heel, and she couldn’t do that-”
“She didn’t have anything to leverage against you,” Rodney said softly, “I understood as soon as I got that Weir wasn’t exactly-” he cut himself off, not able to think of a word that really described Weir and what she was doing.
“She was hiding who the hell she really was, and she had an agenda as soon as she was given the lead of the expedition. We know she wanted ascension, but we don’t have a why,” John told him, yawning. “Now enough about her, focus on us.”
Rodney snorted, “Alright,” he said, “Us, will there be an us?” he asked.
John smiled at him tiredly, “Yeah, there will be. Don’t know what dating consists of out here in Pegasus,” he said, “A picnic to the mainland?”
“Maybe not for a while. A super storm is coming,” Rodney said, looking at him, “But maybe when things are calm again, then yes, we can do that.”
“Okay,” he nodded, trying to stay again.
“It’s okay to sleep a little more, you’ve… had it rough,” Rodney said softly, reaching up with his free hand and moving John’s hair out of the way and looking at his eyes. It was still a little odd seeing the different color, but there was something in them that still screamed John.
“Hm, sounds like you have it bad too,” John muttered, losing his battle in keeping his eyes open.
“It’s been trying, I’ll give you that, now sleep, John. I’ll come by again later. I have a few meetings to go to, and some time in the lab, finally,” he added, running his fingers through John’s hair. He smirked to himself as he noticed that John was relaxing under his touch. It took a few more minutes before he heard wheezing little snores coming from the man. Rodney remained there for a while longer before he got up, just as the door opened and Carson walked in.
“Ah, sleeping,” Carson said as he looked from the bed to his friend.
“Yeah, been around twenty minutes. He was fighting to stay awake,” Rodney said quietly as he walked to the door to leave.
“Then I’ll let him sleep a while longer. It’s good for him, even though I’d like for him to get something to eat,” Carson said, pulling a slight face.
“I know,” Rodney said, “But for now-”
“I’ll be letting him sleep,” he rolled his eyes, “I know what I’m doing. I might not have practiced medicine for a while, but I have been since coming here,” he told him.
“No need to get snappy,” he said as he walked out the door.
Carson huffed, shaking his head, but closed the door and let John rest while he went to check on Yuri and Nathan.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Rodney was back in his office, and he hoped it would be the last time for the day. There was a shift change for the alpha site. More went out to help with construction, while others returned to sleep, eat, and rest. More and more were volunteering to help out. The announcement about the storm had gone out, and he was putting together evacuation orders for everyone. When they were to go, and how to help out the alpha site to get it ready for the influx of the entire expedition and the Athosians, and the few others they had taken in over the last couple of months.
Peter Grodin walked into the office and looked at his friend as he put the meal down that he had been asked to get for Rodney by Carson. “Dr Beckett told me to remind you to eat,” he said.
Rodney looked up from the report he had been adding to about Peter Kavanagh. “Yeah, I know. Do you know where Teyla is?” he asked, “I want to get a head count of those on the mainland. Need to know the numbers. I know they and some of ours are starting to make tents that can be used at the alpha site,” he said as he looked at the food he had been given. It was still mostly basic meals that were coming out, good and hearty. The Athosians were showing the cooks of the expedition how to season things. He pulled it close and began to eat, gesturing for Peter to sit down. “How are you doing at the moment?” he asked.
“I’m doing well. Carson helping to control some of my symptoms, which aren’t many, thankfully,” he answered, “It’s something you don’t have to keep asking about, Dr McK-”
“It’s Rodney, we’re friends,” he said, scowling slightly, “You call me Rodney most of the time, don’t have to go formal now.”
Peter laughed lightly, “Alright, Rodney,” he smiled, “And I change between them at times. I tend to use titles when I’m talking to my superior and we’re working.”
“I’m asking how you are as a friend, Peter, not as anything else,” he replied, grabbing his mug and draining the last dregs of his coffee.
“Then I’m okay, tired more than normal, but that’s to be expected. My voice gets a little hoarse every now and then, and there is a chance that I can lose my voice at some point,” he said, looking to the window at the Stargate.
Rodney wished there was something he could do to get Peter back to Earth for treatment. “We’ll find something, I know Carson is looking, we have Anita looking as well, and-”
Peter turned to face him, “I know you are, you all are. Especially after you learned about it. Chances are, by the time we can communicate with Earth again, it might be too late to start treatment. I’m… coming to terms with it,” he stated slowly.
Rodney wanted to say something. To almost yell at him for even thinking about accepting that he might die. But he knew, he didn’t understand, but he knew that sometimes someone just had to come to terms with their mortality. He wondered if Ascension would be the way to go for Peter; would he even want to try. He had said before that he didn’t, but was there a chance that he would change his mind. “I will never forgive her for doing this to you,” Rodney murmured.
Peter smiled, “Neither will I. But there is nothing to be done.”
“We’ll see,” Rodney said stubbornly, causing Peter to laugh again.
“I know you have some lab work that needs to be done. I can take over for now. I did most of the work here while Weir was around,” he added as he saw that Rodney had finished eating.
“Oh, yeah, I have a few things to work on. I told Radek to take the day off. He’s been working almost nonstop on the problem of Atlantis surviving the storm,” Rodney snorted, remembering doing so that morning.
“I know, I think Miko was about ready to lead a mutiny if he hadn’t,” Peter said as the two of them stood up.
“The file on Kavanagh, I was updating it. I’ll do more on that tomorrow. More and more inventory reports are coming in, and they need to be filed, and a list for each department needs to be made of what they need. If you can help do that, that would be good. I believe John had been dealing with all that before,” Rodney said as he closed down Kavanagh’s file.
“He was. He often did inventory himself or asked some of the junior scientists to help him with it.” Peter nodded as he took Rodney’s place.
“Thank you,” he nodded, “I’ll take this back to the mess before heading to the lab.”
“Alright,” Peter said as he got to work on the inventory lists.
Rodney watched for a second before leaving the office. Nodding to some of those in the control room, and the team that was ready to take over at the alpha site. Dropping the empty tray in the mess, he went to his lab to get some work done on trying to save Atlantis.
XxXxX
Rodney unlocked Radek’s lab and walked inside. He would work here on the problem of setting up Atlantis to become a superconductor. He wanted to get a start on it, start laying the groundwork that Radek and he could work on. He grabbed one of the clean boards and brought it out so he could work on it. Putting down the idea that they had, what would be needed. Only the basics of it all for now. They would truly be able to brainstorm it tomorrow, when Radek returned to work.
Rodney got lost in the work as he moved around the room, making notes and reviewing readings on the upcoming storm and potential lightning output. Dr Patel had gotten some readings from the storms from where it was, hoping to give them a little idea of possible wind strength as it started to merge and head their way.
“Rodney,” came the voice over the radio, breaking Rodney out of his thoughts and calculations.
“Carson, what is it? Is everything okay?” he asked, feeling a ball of anxiety forming in his stomach.
“Everything is fine, I just need your help with something. Can you come down to the infirmary as soon as possible,” Carson told him. “Don’t worry, nothing bad, just… unexpected,” he said hesitantly.
“Right, I’ll be right there,” Rodney said as he jotted something down so he would be able to pick up where he had left off. He hurriedly locked up and headed to the infirmary. He saw Carson waiting outside of John’s room and motioned for him to follow him to his office. “What’s going on?” he asked again.
“John’s hands are still shaking, badly enough that he… basically can’t eat. He has soup, because we’re easing him back into eating solids. He isn’t able to feed himself, and I think he’s too embarrassed to let me do it. He’s refused. I don’t want to use the NG tube at the moment, but he still needs something,” Carson explained, “I think you might be able to get him to eat, while I won’t.”
Rodney nodded, “Yeah, okay, I can at least try,” he said. “Where is the food?” he asked.
“The first lot was spilled, and he was trying to eat. I offered to help. But he was being stubborn,” he huffed a little, “So he barely got anything. I told him he still needed more to eat, but… well, this is Major Sheppard.”
“Yeah, I’ll deal with it. So, food?” he asked again.
“Should be here in a moment,” he answered, gesturing to the door that led inside the infirmary. Someone from the mess was walking in with a tray, a small bowl on it.
“Right,” he nodded, “Thanks for grabbing me for this,” he said as he walked out of the office and over to the young man, “I’ll take that for Major Sheppard,” he said as he took the tray.
“Yes, Dr McKay,” he nodded.
Chapter Thirty
Rodney took it and went to John’s room, opening the door and entering. He turned to the bed and saw that John was sitting up more now. Cannula was there to help with oxygen still, the NG tube was also present, along with an IV. He was still pale, a slight flush to his cheeks from the constant low-level fever that didn’t seem to want to leave.
John looked at the door. “No, just… just no. I’m not-” he began, looking like he wanted to get up and storm off, but the small movement to do just that had left him shaking even more.
Rodney said nothing as John continued to protest what he was going to do. He put the tray down on the small bedside table and turned to John. Grabbing his hands, he looked at him. “You want to get better, this is step one. I know you don’t want to admit it, but at the moment, you need help, and I’m here for that. I’m here for you. Fucking hell, John, I almost lost you. I could have lost you, and then I’d be alone in all this shit. Bates has no clue as to what we need to do. Ford is a child in comparison. I need you, so I need you to… put it aside and let me help you. I want to help you, I want to be here,” he said, as he made sure that John was looking at him. He could feel the hands he was holding, shaking, and knew that John had no hope of controlling it enough to be able to eat. Carson didn’t want to keep medicating him, in case the healing that the Iratus DNA was doing stopped.
John closed his eyes, “I hate this,” he muttered, “I hate it so fucking much.”
“I know, I know you do, John, but you’re in recovery. You’re healing from something that almost killed you. It’s going to take a while for you to get better, and you are already showing signs of healing, John. A few days ago, your whole body was shaking; at the moment, it’s only your hands that are trembling. Carson is really hopeful that even that will stop within the next day or two if you carry on healing like you are,” he said, squeezing John’s hands, hoping to get through to him.
John looked at their hands, “I-”
“John,” Rodney said, waiting for a few moments for the man to look up. When he didn’t, he called his name a second time. “Good, now,” he began, “Let me do this, it’s just us in here,” he said, “I understand, losing control, I couldn’t abide by it either, but it’s happening, and for now, everyone around you just wants to help.”
John closed his eyes, not wanting to give in. But Rodney was making too much sense for him to just dismiss his words straight away. “F… Fine,” he said after a few more moments of silence between the two.
Rodney smiled, “Good, now the soup smells nice, I think it’s the Athosian version of chicken soup,” he added as he looked at it, smelling the subtle spices that were used. “Teyla said it was good for the soul,” he smiled as he slowly let go of John’s hands and settled on the edge of the bed, bringing the table between the two. “Now, I know you don’t know this, but I will make airplane noises should you be a brat,” he added.
John couldn’t help the little snort, which caused him to cough a few times, but at least there was a smile on his face now instead of the scowl that had been there before. Rodney began to feed John, who was reluctant before the first taste, but a little happier to eat after each spoonful.
“So, I think we should do the get-to-know-you thing,” Rodney suggested, knowing that John was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the silence between them. “How about… family?” he asked. “Right, so I have a sister, she’s smart, a genius as well. But she decided instead of doing something scientific, she went for the soft one and went to English. But that was more because she fancied the teacher,” he said, rolling his eyes as he continued to spoon-feed John, “Honestly, the man she married, he’s an idiot. Wishy washy, in my eyes. But she loves him,” he said, pulling a face at the thought of his brother-in-law.
“But she loves him, and you have to accept it?” John asked, between spoonfuls.
Rodney paused as he looked at him and then sighed, “Yes, I do. And I have for the most part. She’s just very… on board with the whole, you should have a family, Rodney. You should find a nice wife and have children with her…” he rolled his eyes, “My sister doesn’t know that I’m bi at all, with a leaning more towards men. She’s of the opinion that everyone should settle down and have children at some point. Honestly, I thought she would try and set me up the last time I went to visit her. That was when my niece was around two. She’s five now,” he said, a little smile playing on his lips. “I have to admit that child is going to run circles around her parents soon enough. She’s as smart as her mother, even more so, I think. And well, the father has no chance against her.”
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Yes, even at two, the last time I saw her, she was already picking up words in other languages,” he smiled, looking proud.
John smiled a little more as most of the bowl was empty now, and he was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. “No more, I think,” he said, resting a hand on his stomach and wishing he could soothe the oddly full feeling. He hadn’t had that much, but it had been a good few days since he’d had normal food and not the nutritional bag he’d been given.
Rodney looked at the bowl, “You ate a lot,” he said, nodding as he set it aside, “Now, I’ve told you my family. And if you’re thinking about parents. They’re dead, but I hadn’t seen them since I was thirteen and escaped to college. They weren’t impressed when it came to me. My sister, on the other hand, could do no wrong. They passed not long after she married her husband. She wasn’t happy that I didn’t go and say goodbye. I had done that a long time ago in my head.”
“You’ve not even said his name,” John pointed out.
“I can’t remember it,” Rodney confessed, “I never can. They tell me, and then I immediately begin to forget.”
“More of a case, you don’t care to remember, because it’s not important to you,” John snorted.
“Maybe a little of that too,” he nodded, “I don’t like him, I think… he’s an idiot, but then again, most are when compared to me, and he’s an idiot compared to my sister. She could have done so much more with her life. I would have loved to have had her here. Even with the dangers we face, John. I think she would have loved all this,” he sighed, hating what he believed was wasted potential.
John watched him and just knew what he was thinking, “She might have wanted something different in life, Rodney. Not everyone is built like us, to explore strange new worlds-”
“To seek out new life-” Rodney picked up where he was going.
“And new civilizations-” John continued, smirking.
“And to boldly go where no one has gone before,” the two said together, laughing lightly.
John looked at him. “She chose something for herself, Rodney. I know… what that’s like, feeling the pressure of conforming to someone else’s dream for me. To try and fit in, when I don’t think I ever really did,” he sighed.
“Oh?” Rodney frowned.
“My dad is CEO of Sheppard Industries,” he said, “Not many realize that we’re related. My father doesn’t approve of what I do. He hates it. So much that I’ve not spoken to him since I divorced Nancy. And I’ll get into that in a bit. But Patrick Sheppard had two boys. Me and my older brother, David. David is like our dad. He’s all about business, really is. Me, I was… different. I knew I wanted to be in the Air Force since I was ten. Dad didn’t approve, he tried to force me to do what he wanted. He had a plan laid out for me to follow, David, who’s five years older than me. He followed Dad easily. I was different from the rest of them. Wild, reading things above my level. I did go to college early as well, though not many realize it. I don’t… advertise how smart I am.”
“Yes, I noticed that,” Rodney frowned, “I hate it when you pretend that you’re just some dumb idiot that has no clue what’s going on. But I know you’re calculating, strategic when you wish, though it often comes across as you just being lucky. You understand at least half or more of what the scientists around you say. I can tell that you’re used to people not thinking much of you, being underestimated. So what is the relationship with your family like then?”
“Like I was saying, Dad and I had a difference of opinion when it came to what direction I wanted to take in life. I wanted the Air Force; he wanted business. So I did math, got my masters, and joined the Air Force; Dad had no choice but to accept. David… had a bit of a go at me for not doing what Dad wanted. That he wanted me to go into the family business,” he rolled his eyes. Giving a few coughs before he carried on, “I was about twenty when I met Nancy,” he said, “she was fun, exciting, and everything I thought I wanted in a partner. What I didn’t know was that Dad had picked her out for me. Made sure she knew how to act to get my attention and keep it. We got married, then I found out it was so she could basically start grooming me to retire, or take a stateside posting in a damn office and die of boredom,” he huffed.
“What happened when you found out?” Rodney couldn’t help but ask, still sitting on the edge of the bed, taking hold of one of John’s hands.
John gave a small sigh, trying not to trigger another coughing fit. “I was a POW, Iraq, there for almost five months. The base I was held in was attacked, and I escaped the cells and was rescued. I came home to my family. Healed up, therapy, the usual crap you put up with. To find out that my wife and father were both trying to force me to retire, take a medical discharge. I called them out for it. Nancy and I really argued at that point, and what Dad did came out then. Ended up filing for divorce. She tried to fight it, but David found out, came down on my side, which shocked the fuck out of me. It was the first time he’d ever gone against Dad,” he snorted, shaking his head before leaning back a little, “Dad kept himself out of it in the end. Nancy finally signed everything, but with the prenup, she got nothing. Dad made sure of that, even if he had been the one to choose her.”
“So an ex-wife that might be out there to hunt you down?” Rodney asked.
“More like an ex-wife who tried her best to ruin my career,” he snorted. “She tried to spread a few things, rumors of me being into men. I’m bi,” he stated, “Not that she knew that. I knew it would get back to Dad, and that wouldn’t have been good either.”
“Homophobic?” he asked.
“Only when it comes to family. Having a son that’s gay or bi would not be acceptable, anyone else, he doesn’t give a fuck,” he snorted and rolled his eyes again as he squeezed Rodney’s hand. “David knows, he’s the one who found me with my first boyfriend, this was before I joined up. Nancy was the next serious relationship, and then one more before I ended up in McMurdo. No one since. I showed myself to be career military, in a way.”
“She tried to-” Rodney began, frowning.
“Yeah, she did. Tried to talk to my Commanding officer at the time, who was a first lieutenant at the time. It did mean I was watched a little closer for a while, but that stopped after about four months when we were next stateside waiting for leave, and I found a very nice brunette to spend the night with,” he snorted, “As soon as that happened, they stopped.”
Rodney rolled his eyes, “Right,” he drawled, “At least it worked in stopping them from being suspicious of you.”
“It did,” he nodded, “I-” he began, yawning.
Rodney smiled, “I think sleep is in order.”
“Sick of sleeping, I have no idea what’s going on in Atlantis at the moment, and I don’t like it.”
“A lot is going on. When you next wake up. I’ll come down and get you caught up. But please, don’t forget that you are in recovery and it’ll take time,” he reminded him again.
“You sound like Carson,” he muttered.
“Then if two of us are saying it, then you need to believe it,” Rodney huffed as he stood up, still holding John’s hand, “I’ll come by later, get some rest,” he said, hesitant for a few moments before leaning in and kissing John’s cheek, “I’ll not be kissing your lips until you’re out of here.”
“Not fair,” John said, though he was smiling at Rodney’s action.
Rodney smiled back and then finally let go of John’s hand as the younger man settled down to get some sleep. He left the room, seeing Carson nodding at him from his office, and he went and stopped to talk with the doctor.
“He ate then?” Carson asked.
“Yes, about half of the bowl. I think you may have to ask me to come down again if he still needs help,” Rodney answered, shaking his head, “John’s feeling a little out of control about everything.”
Carson nodded, “Had a feeling that was what was plaguing him. I knew you’d be able to get through to him more than anyone else would have done,” he told him, as he got up, “Right, I need to check on Yuri and Nathan, so I’ll talk to you later, if we need help again. Chances are he’s going to need help at dinner, in about five hours. Make sure you eat yourself,” he added as he began to head for his door.
Rodney nodded, “I will,” he said as he left and went back to Radek’s lab to work more on the Atlantis problem.
Chapter Thirty-One
Carson walked into Yuri’s room first. “Hey, Yuri, Miko,” he smiled at the two women.
“Dr Beckett,” Yuri smiled, “So when can I get out of here?” she asked him as he walked over to the bed.
“Well, I got your results back, so far everything looks good,” he said as he pulled them up on his pad. “You’re healing really well, I think that in a few more days, you’re going to be as good as you were when you first became ill,” he smiled at her, “Not only that, but I believe that you’re better than before?” he asked.
“Yeah, I don’t need my glasses,” she grinned, “I’ve had glasses most of my life, but it’s just… normal, better than normal.”
Carson laughed, “Well, that’s a good thing. You’ve been moving around, eating well, output is good too,” he said, going over everything. “Your heart and lungs are doing really well, fully recovered. You still have a slight cough, but I think that’s more because of the irritation in your throat, so that should clear up soon.”
“So, when can I leave?” she asked again, looking eager.
“I don’t want you to be alone when you go,” he began to say, as he looked at the young woman.
“I’m going to be sharing a room with her for a while,” Miko said from where she was sitting beside the bed.
“Right, then I think you will be alright to go. If anything feels off, then you get in contact. I’ll give Miko a few things for her to keep an eye out for,” he said, as Yuri whooped happily from the bed.
Miko smiled as Carson quickly went over some instructions and things to look out for. “Right, hopefully I won’t be seeing you again until check-up tomorrow. I’ll be stopping by around nine tonight to do a small check. But I’ll be leaving you alone. No work for another week. I want to make sure that you’re fully recovered before I allow it.”
“That’s fine, I don’t mind, as long as I can go around Atlantis,” she smiled.
“Yeah, you can, just no working,” Carson said. “I know with what’s going on, it might be tempting,” he added, thinking of the fact that they would be evacuating Atlantis in around two weeks.
“Yeah,” she said with a nod, frowning, “Thanks for letting me go now, though,” she added, trying to brighten herself up again.
Carson nodded, leaving last-minute instructions with Miko before he headed into Nathan’s room. The man was sitting up, relaxing on the bed, reading. “Nathan,” Carson smiled at the man.
“Hey, Doc,” he grinned a little, putting his book aside. “When can I get out of here?” he asked.
“Tomorrow,” Carson told him, “Your lungs are mostly healed. I just want to keep an eye on them for this last bit. You’re doing really well, not a damn trace of the virus,” he said as he walked over. “Now, anything you’ve noticed that doesn’t seem right?” he asked.
“One thing,” Nathan said, “Yesterday, when I was doing the walk around the infirmary. One of your nurses had trouble moving a cart; the wheel had come off. So I went and helped her, picked it up, and moved it. Turns out the machinery on it shouldn’t have been lifted by one person, but by two at least. She was waiting for a jack to get it up and the wheel replaced.”
“Right, so extra strength for you,” Carson said, making a note, “Well, one more night here, and I think you’ll be able to go, as long as you have someone staying with you for a day or two. This is to make sure that there are no more side effects from using the Iratus DNA to cure the virus.”
Nathan nodded, “Yeah, fine, I think Neil would be able to do that,” he said, thinking of one of his friends.
“Good, I’ll talk to them tomorrow, to know what to look out for and anything that they need to keep an eye on, if there is anything by then,” he said as he quickly examined him before leaving him to his book again.
Carson went to John’s room, walking in quietly, seeing the bowl of half-eaten soup. He was pleased to see that the man had been able to keep it down so far. Carson checked the machine readings, so he didn’t disturb John. He wasn’t doing as well as he’d like, but it was still an improvement to what was happening before. He finished his rounds and headed to his office, hoping to get a small nap in before he was needed again. He’d not slept much since the first one had come down with this virus.
XxXxX
Rodney’s day had been busy. He’d ended up working on the shield for the Atlantis problem for another couple of hours before he’d been called to the gate room for an update on the alpha site and the building of the tents that had been happening on the mainland and Atlantis. There had been so much going on that he’d only just been able to get down to the infirmary and make sure John had his second serving of soup. John hadn’t managed to eat everything, but he’d eaten a little more than he had that afternoon.
Rodney stood up; he was back in the office, going over the inventory reports that Grodin had compiled from the different departments. He now had a list of things needed and was running it against the list that John had compiled over the months, detailing where they could obtain the items. He rubbed at his face as he got up. He swayed a little and frowned.
“Of fuck,” he muttered to himself as he made his way out of his office after making sure that everything was shut down. He’d not eaten anything, just the meal that Peter had brought him that morning.
“Doc?” Chuck asked as he looked up from the control console. He was on duty that night.
“I… I’m fine,” he waved a hand as he stumbled a little.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” he said, getting up and catching the man before he could fully fall.
“I-” he tried again, only to slur his speech a little.
“Okay,” Chuck said, “Med Bay, this is Staff Sgt Terence Charles. I need a med team to the control room. Dr McKay is slurring his speech and has collapsed.”
“That damn fucking idjit, I warned the wee bastard to make sure he fucking ate,” came Carson’s voice as he cursed. “Keep him there, and I’ll be up with a team to bring him to the infirmary,” he said, “If ya have to, tie the bastard up.”
“I will, Doc,” Chuck said as he lay Rodney down, making sure he remained there, even when he tried to get up. “Sorry, Dr Beckett told me to keep you here, even if I had to tie you up, and I don’t think you want that.”
“No… fine,” Rodney said, wanting to get up and out of the way before Carson arrived.
“Not happening,” Chuck snorted and rolled his eyes, pressing Rodney to lie back down.
Carson was soon rushing into the control room, as Derek ran in behind him, guiding a gurney with him. “What the hell,” he said as he saw how pale Rodney was. Grabbing the glucose meter, he tested Rodney. “I knew I shouldn’t have taken off the monitor,” he muttered under his breath, “I told you, Rodney, reminded you, to eat.”
Derek lowered the gurney to the ground, “Dr Beckett,” he said, kneeling beside him.
“Right, help me get him on the gurney, and we’ll get him down to the infirmary. A rescue meal isn’t going to cut it this time. Time for a nice little IV,” he muttered sarcastically, looking at his friend, giving him a glucose shot in the hopes of pulling up his levels.
“I’m fine,” Rodney mumbled.
“You’re anything but fine. You are about one step away from a fucking coma or seizures. You know the dangers of your sugar levels dropping like that when you don’t fucking eat. One more, Rodney, one more incident like this, and I’ll be putting you on a permanent monitor. I will stop you from going through the gate, and don’t think I won’t. Ya idjit,” he cursed as Derek and Carson pulled the gurney up to its full height as soon as Rodney was strapped in. “Thanks, Chuck,” he said to the man.
“Doc,” Chuck nodded as the two pushed the gurney out of the control room.
XxXxX
John woke and looked up as Nina was pushing a bed into the room. “What’s going on?” he asked, feeling a little groggy as he looked at the petite woman.
Nina smiled, “You’re going to have a roommate,” she answered.
“Oh? Who?” he frowned.
“Dr McKay,” she replied as she set the bed up, ready for its occupant. She added an IV pole and a small monitor.
John watched, recognizing the glucose monitor that Rodney would be forced to wear by Carson when the man forgot to eat a little too often. “Idiot,” he muttered, already figuring out what had happened.
“Very,” she laughed lightly, “he’s being brought in. Dr Beckett has me setting up a glucose infusion for him. Normally, he would give him a shot, but I have been told that Dr McKay’s sugar is extremely low. Lower than the last time he ended up in the infirmary.”
John nodded and went silent as he waited for Rodney to be brought in. It was a few more minutes as Rodney was brought in. He was barely conscious as Derek and Carson were quick to have him undressed and redressed in pyjamas. Carson hurried to get him on the IV and monitor.
“How bad?” John asked.
Carson turned to face him, “I’m going to be right here for a while to make sure his levels go up. He’s one step away from a coma or seizures.”
“That bad?” John questioned as he sat up a little more to look at Rodney.
“Yes, I’ve only seen him like this once before, and that was on Earth,” Carson said, adjusting the IV.
“When?” he asked, worried about Rodney’s condition.
“About a month before you arrived on scene,” he answered, “He was pulling all-nighters, trying to get some tech to work. He was forgetting to eat. The thing is, no one really takes his allergies or his hypoglycemia seriously until something like this happens,” he muttered darkly.
John frowned at the answer he got, “I noticed quickly that after a while his hands shake, especially when he hasn’t eaten in a while.”
“Yeah, one of the first signs he gets when his blood sugar levels are going downhill,” Carson said as he sat down, Rodney now asleep. “He can battle through it, keep going until this happens. Ignore all the symptoms. When he had that stupid shield on, I was worried. I didn’t know when it would come off or how his levels were doing. Nothing. I couldn’t monitor him at all. And it pissed me off,” he huffed as he glanced over at John. “I’ve known Rodney for almost five years,” he said, “I’ve seen this happen four times in those five years. I worry when he goes through that gate that he’ll make sure to eat and take into account his allergies. And while citrus is the major one, which he’s deathly allergic to, there are minor ones as well that can cause issues.”
“Right,” he said, “I do try to keep him safe.”
“I know,” Carson nodded, “But I still worry.”
“He’s going to be okay, though?” he then asked, glancing back at the bed.
“Yeah, we caught it before it could really do any damage,” Carson sighed, “I’m just here because I worry and because I want to make sure his levels start improving. The shot I gave him when I got to him should have helped a little, but his levels are still lower than they should be.”
“Is that normal?” John looked back at Carson.
“It happens, it can take a while for levels to rise again. That’s why I’ve got the IV going. A night of this, and monitoring him for a few days again. I’m tempted to see about a permanent monitor. Usually, he’s good at keeping an eye on things. He hordes those bars and protects them like a bloody dragon.”
“Running low, like really low. I’ve been trying to find enough grains and such that we can make our own and package them up for him. To keep them on hand,” John said, it was one of the side things he had been working on.
“That’s good to know,” he nodded, “it’ll ease some of the worry I have to know he’s still going to have them around. Make sure that they have the right things in them to bring up his sugar levels quickly.”
“Yeah, already talking to one of the nutritionists and the microbiologist about making sure of that,” John yawned.
“Get some sleep, John. I’ll keep watch on Rodney,” Carson told him.
“Wake me when he wakes?” he asked, eyes already dropping.
“I will,” he promised as he grabbed the tablet he had put down and began going over the report he had been in the middle of compiling about the virus for their records.
Chapter Thirty-Two
John woke first the next morning. He saw that Rodney wasn’t as pale as he had been when he’d first been put in the room with him. Carson wasn’t in the room anymore, and the IV was gone. Though there was still a monitor on Rodney’s arm. The door opened, and Derek walked in.
“Major Sheppard, good morning,” he said as he walked over, doing the usual checks on both of the men before standing beside John’s bed. “Dr Beckett will be here in about an hour. I sent him to bed about five hours ago when he’d fallen asleep in the chair,” he stated.
“Right,” John frowned.
“Don’t worry, Dr McKay was out of danger by the time he fell asleep, and was already back to normal levels by then,” he reassured as he went over to Rodney’s bed and checked his levels one last time before saying, “I’ll be bringing breakfast up for both of you in about three hours. Try and get some more sleep.”
John gave a little nod, but knew he wouldn’t be sleeping any time soon. He was wide awake now. He watched Rodney for a bit before settling back and staring at the ceiling.
“They should start putting pictures or spot the difference pictures on the ceilings,” came Rodney’s voice.
“Yeah, would make it less boring,” John replied, blinking as he looked over, “You’re awake.”
“Yes, I am, which should be obvious since I’m talking,” he rolled his eyes.
“I was making a statement, not a question,” John snipped back at him, a smile appearing on his face.
Rodney huffed a little as he made the bed sit up more, “I hate being here,” he muttered, as he looked at the monitor on his arm.
“You were the idiot who didn’t eat,” John reminded him, though his tone was gentle and full of worry.
“I know, I have a lot that needs to be done,” Rodney said, “I’ve been going over what Weir has done, what things she’s fucked up. Then there is Kavanagh, whose ego is trying to take over Atlantis and get everyone killed in the process,” he huffed, “We also have the alpha site under construction. A storm that can destroy Atlantis is heading this way. Evacuation plans in place. It’s not exactly ideal at the moment, John.”
“And I’ve been here, leaving you to do it all,” John said, feeling guilty.
Rodney looked over at him, eyes narrowing, “Do not feel guilty over something you had no control over. It’s not your fault that Weir was a… a megalomaniac in hiding, and wanted to kill people. She killed people, John, and you were almost a victim of that. She was after something, and I still have no idea what the hell she was doing or planning.”
“We’ll figure it out,” John told him, as the door opened.
“Morning, lads,” Carson said as he walked in, going straight to Rodney first and making sure his glucose level was at a good place for just waking up. “Alright, you’re okay. I’m going to be monitoring your levels remotely for the next few days,” he added as he looked at the man.
“So I can go?” Rodney asked, already attempting to get up.
“After you’ve had breakfast,” Carson said, staring at him, “I want to make sure that you’re eating. I will be sending you reminders when it’s time to eat.”
“Really, Carson, I’m not a child,” Rodney began to protest.
“I know you’re not a child, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll remember to eat when you’ve got a lot on your mind. So at the moment, I’m going to help in reminding you, and maybe even tell you to come down here and have a meal with John,” he said, “Now,” he added turning to John, “You’ve got a scan in an hour, but I’d like to do a few tests, before we get you something to eat again, we’re going with porridge, or what passes for porridge over here,” he added.
“Right,” John said, pulling a face. He’d had the Pegasus version of porridge, and it wasn’t something he enjoyed; then again, he didn’t enjoy the Earth version either. “Sure, there isn’t anything else I could have instead?”
“No, that will be bland and easy on the stomach. We’re trying to work you back up to full solids,” Carson told him, “Now, you’re still shaking, but I noticed that it wasn’t as bad as yesterday,” he added, “but I still hope that Rodney will be able to help, just in case it’s needed.”
“Yeah, of course,” Rodney was quick to say before John could protest.
“Goo-” he began, only for someone to rapidly knock on the door. Carson frowned as he turned to open the door, “Peter? You alright?”
“I need to talk with Dr McKay and Major Sheppard,” he said as Carson let him inside.
“Peter,” Rodney frowned at the man.
“Sorry to come like this, I was talking with Dr Patel, and well, he has some news, and it’s not good,” he said. “He believes that the storm is going to hit sooner.”
Rodney got out of bed, “Right, I’ll come and meet with him-”
“Why don’t you ask him to come down here? I’m hoping that in a day or two, I can at least do a few things to help,” John said as he looked at Carson.
“I might allow a little, but not much. You’ll need to rest,” Carson sighed, knowing that in the end he was going to have to let John do something. He could see the same stubbornness in his eyes as he had done many times since they had first arrived on Atlantis.
John tried not to smile at the small victory, “Rodney,” he said as he turned to the man, frowning when he saw that he was going behind the screen to get changed. He rolled his eyes and looked at Peter. He frowned as he looked at him. “Carson,” he said as he stared. There was something different about Peter Grodin. There was the same makeup with blood and nervous system. But there was a gathering that was odd around the neck.
“Yes, John?” he asked, as he looked over at him and then at Peter.
“There’s something… around Peter’s neck, under the surface,” he murmured.
“Ah,” Carson nodded. He looked at Peter, a silent question hanging in the air.
“I have thyroid cancer,” Peter answered, “I have small tumors around those in my throat,” he admitted quietly.
“Then we need to find something to get you home as soon as possible,” John frowned, wishing there was something that he could do to help.
“I was diagnosed before we came to Atlantis,” he said.
John turned to look at him, his eyes wide, “She… forced you to come?” he asked.
Peter nodded, “Yes, though I’ve no idea why.”
Rodney returned, now dressed, his monitor hidden. “That would be because you’re good at your job, and she needed someone competent to be able to make it seem like she was doing the work, when really, it was you who was doing most of it.”
“Right, that would explain a lot,” John muttered, “The reports I was getting from her about various things were well written, easy to understand, and more,” he pointed out, “When I talked to her face to face, she had no clue as to what she was saying. I know I’m no scientist, but even I’m getting a crash course in most of what you’re all doing out here.”
“I would hit you, since I know you understand a lot more than most. You’re not an idiot, and I know about the two master’s degrees you have, engineering and math,” Rodney said as he walked closer to the bed and glared at the younger man.
John huffed, but said nothing about it as he looked at Carson, “So what are we doing to help Peter?” he asked.
“Not much we can do, we don’t have the equipment or drugs that would be needed to treat. The only thing we can do is take the tumors out and hope for the best,” Carson sighed. He and the others had been trying to find something that would be able to help, but so far they had nothing.
“What about the Iratus DNA?” Rodney suggested, “It got rid of the virus. I know we have these side effects at the moment, but could it be refined more to stop them and be used?” he asked.
“I’m not sure, I could talk with Dr James and Dr Biro about it; they might be able to help a little, but no one out here specializes in cancers,” he added.
“Which we should have thought about,” Rodney said. “The statistics do say that many of us here will end up with some form of cancer,” he sighed.
“Alright,” Peter said, “Please, I know you all want to help, but please.”
Carson went over to him, “I know you want to just make peace with this, we all do. But some of us can’t. You’re a good man, and a damn good friend,” he said, “We want to do all we can to help you fight.”
Peter sighed and nodded. “I understand that, but it doesn’t help in getting my hopes up that something can be done, only-”
“To find them broken at the bottom of a cliff,” John said, there was understanding in his voice. “I get you, I really do. Having your hopes continually broken hurts on a level that I don’t think many will understand, especially when it’s a matter of life and death. So I get that,” he finished quietly, looking at the man.
Peter nodded, “Yes,” he said quietly, “Rodney, I’ll have Rikesh prepare to meet you in around two hours. It will give you some time to actually eat, and I will be in charge of making sure you do,” he added, giving the man a pointed look.
“Yes, fine,” Rodney snapped, “I’ll subject myself to the pains of having people dictate my life.”
“More like making sure it continues,” Carson said, “Rodney, we care, and we worry about you.”
“He’s right,” John said, “We do worry. We know you’re capable of looking after yourself for the most part. Just sometimes, you get caught up in your work, forget to eat, and this is where you end up. Most of the time, when you’re working, you’ve got someone around you, and you’ll remember more because you remind them to eat. You lead by example most of the time. But when you’re working solo, everything goes on the back burner, and you forget to take care of yourself. I’ve found you in your lab sleeping at your desk more times than I care to count,” he stated.
Rodney sighed, “Fine, just… Peter, make sure the meeting has Radek and Miko joining in if they can. I need to know what’s coming, and then figure out how we can prepare.”
“I’ll make sure they’re there,” Peter nodded. “Major Sheppard, it’s good to see you looking a lot better,” he smiled at the man before leaving.
Rodney sighed, “Right, breakfast and then I’m going to return to my room to shower,” he said.
John huffed, “I want the same,” he said as he looked at Carson.
“Not a chance, John,” he told him.
John grumbled under his breath, only to start coughing. “Damn it,” he muttered.
“I told you, John, you’re still recovering,” Carson said as he helped him settle back down on the bed. “Now, I can have someone come in and help you clean up a little, but at the moment, showering and bathing are out until I know you’re going to be steady on your feet. You’ve not been out of this bed in around a week,” he pointed out. “You’re going to be as weak as a newborn lamb,” he said.
“When can I start getting up again?” he asked, “I don’t want to sit around more than I have to; things are going on that need my attention, and I can’t keep leaving everything to Rodney.”
“I can handle things,” Rodney pointed out, “I’ve been doing it for a bit now,” he added, frowning at John.
“I know you can, Rodney,” John said as he looked over at him, “But that doesn’t mean you should be doing it solo.”
Carson shook his head, “Alright, you two, I’ll have breakfast sent up earlier than normal, so you both can eat together. Then, Rodney, you can leave. John, I’ll have you in the scanner and see how you’re healing. If you keep breakfast down as well, we can finally get rid of the NG tube.”
“Thanks, Carson,” Rodney said.
“Yeah, thanks,” John added, nodding at him as he looked at Rodney.
Carson sighed as he left the room, leaving the two to snip at each other, as Rodney tried to protest needing help, and John tried to argue that he knows that and that he should be left to do things alone all the time.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Rodney walked into the meeting room with Radek, Miko, and Rikesh Patel. “Right, what’s going on with this storm?” he asked as he sat down, looking at them all in turn.
Rikesh stood up and went over to the vid screen, starting it up and showing the approaching storm. “So they joined six hours ago. The two major storm systems merged, and a third was absorbed. This merging of three different storm systems is causing the storm to move even faster than predicted. And I do mean faster. We were expecting it in just under two weeks. We now have around six days before the edge of it hits the settlement. Within twenty-five hours, we will all be in the middle of it. There is no escaping it at all. It’s going to end up covering the entire continent and most of the ocean. Twenty to twenty-five percent of the planet is going to be covered. We don’t even have a scale large enough to categorize it.”
“Six days?” Rodney asked him.
“Yes,” Rikesh nodded, “I wish I had good news,” he told him, “But this is large, I’ve never seen anything like it before. When Major Sheppard asked us to start looking at the weather, we were expecting it to be more Earth-like. It’s mostly similar. We’ve had a couple of weak storms. Things that you would see in some areas in the lead-up to summer. The storm’s speed has increased; if it continues that way, we have six days. If it calms, we may have seven.”
Rodney nodded, “Then we’ll take it, we have five days, not six or seven. Finish getting ready for evacuation. I’ll make a start on the plans.”
“I’ve looked over the beginnings of what you were doing,” Radek said, “I’ll keep working on it. Miko has a few ideas on how to organize the evacuation.”
“Oh?”
“Yes,” she nodded, “I think we need to get more people in to put up the temporary camp at the alpha site. Start getting those not needed, those who are pregnant, children, elderly. Those who are ill,” she added, “We should get them all out as soon as possible. I know the alpha site is still under construction.”
“It is, but I’m going to be tagging in Captain Bates and a few others to get it built asap. We need it sooner rather than later,” Rodney said, “We’re almost done. Carson needs to head over there to make sure that the medical bay is up and running to the specs he needs. I’ll get him up to speed and then have him go through with Lt Ford,” he added, making a few notes on his tablet that he grabbed before joining the meeting.
“I’ll start making a manifest of those that are on the city, and those on the mainland. Ages, occupation, and more,” she said, “Honestly, we should have done this a long time ago, when we first started bringing more people in.”
“Miko, if you can start doing that, we need a list of those that need to head over ASAP, then we have those that will be needed to pack as much as possible away. We need to be able to take a lot of what is here on Atlantis with us as well,” Rodney said softly, “We have no idea if the idea Radek and I came up with is going to work.”
“It has a high chance, but it’s going to mean that someone remains on Atlantis to run between the three couplings to unhook them,” Radek said, looking at Rodney.
“Yes, I’ve read your report on the idea,” he nodded, “That the city would become a live wire. Only the control room and the gate room will be safe.” Rodney rubbed his face, wanting to yell as everything carried on piling on him.
Rikesh nodded, “If you’re going to be utilizing the lightning strikes, then you should easily get enough power to raise a shield or three. The lightning is of a higher voltage than the lightning we see on Earth. The readings we’re getting are like an earth storm on steroids and more,” he snorted, “This storm would rip apart the cities on Earth; none of them would have been able to withstand it. The settlement is going to be wiped out, which is why they have to take as much of what’s there as possible. There may be very little to come back to.”
“Yeah,” Rodney said, nodding, “Right, I’m going to ask Grodin to call a meeting for all department heads and for the team leaders for all AR teams. Teyla and Halling, if he can make it from the mainland, and anyone else that Teyla thinks should be brought. I’ll see about getting Captain Bates and Lt Ford there as well,” he said as he made notes and sent them off to Peter to help with the logistics.”
“Right,” Rikesh nodded, “Let me know when it booked, and I’ll try and get a report sorted to present,” he added.
“Thank you,” he nodded and got up, “I’m going to talk with Carson and see about getting him to go to the alpha site. And grab Captain Bates as well.”
Radek walked with him, “I’ve got an idea of what we’ll need to make sure that the lightning energy will be converted. I would like you to look over the design before we start building. If I get a few of the others on board, we should be able to have it up and running within a day or two,” he said as they left the room and walked side by side for a bit.
“Good, that will be one less thing on the list that doesn’t seem to end,” he sighed, feeling frustrated. He was used to an overwhelming task list, but this wasn’t the usual things he would be dealing with when he was just CSO.
“Are you okay?” Radek asked him, his voice quiet.
“I will be as soon as crisis after crisis stops popping up,” he answered with a grumble, “There is just a lot going on. I have meetings, people to speak to, my own research, and helping you. Making sure John is recovering.”
“You have a lot to do, delegate,” Radek told him, “You know how to do that, I know you believe half the people here are incompetent idiots, but a lot of them aren’t. They are people that you can trust,” he added quietly.
Rodney sighed, “I know, Carson, you, Miko, Peter,” he began, “I trust you four. I trust the four of you more than I’ve ever trusted anyone in the past. I know each of you knows your jobs inside and out. Peter’s basically been a glorified secretary for the last week or so, since I took over. He’s helped with compiling inventory and making lists of things we need. It’s not a good use of his time; he’s better off elsewhere, but there’s no one else that I trust for it at the moment. Miko is now going to head off the evacuation of non-essential people. Carson’s doing what he’s doing in the Infirmary with John and Nathan, though I believe Nathan is going to be released this morning. John is… recovering, but it could take time. He’s… his hands are still shaking, and I can tell that Carson is worried that there is permanent damage there. If there is, then he’s not going to be able to head back through the gate at all. Even I’m worried about that, because I know it’s going to destroy John to not be able to help like that. He’s already chafing because he’s stuck in bed. Then we have you, you’re helping in finding a way to keep Atlantis safe. Without Atlantis, we’re never going to be able to contact Earth. We need this place, and I don’t like the idea that we’re going to have to leave,” he said, and slumped against the wall of the corridor they were in.
“You have a lot,” Radek told him, shaking his head and reaching out for his friend. “Let us take some of it. Miko is good; she will get things moving along. She might be a tech wizard, but she’s scary when she’s organizing things,” he laughed lightly.
Rodney snorted, “Yeah, I… I remember at the outpost, the secret Santa she organized,” he said, “I thought I was going to lose my life when she demanded my participation.”
“Exactly, she is going to be putting those scary skills to use. I’ll continue to do what’s needed to prepare to get a shield up and running. I know it’s going to be a lot to do with chance, but we’ll do it,” he told him, “Believe in us as we believe in you.”
Rodney looked at him and nodded, “I know I have to trust in you all. And I do. As you said, you wanted me to look over the design, and please, bring it to me,” he told him. “Right, now on to the next problem, and that’s lighting a fire under people’s asses to get them moving. I know that the alpha site is almost done. I’ve got to convince Carson to go through the gate again. He hasn’t really wanted to since Hoff.”
“Then go and do that, I’ll meet you for lunch, since I heard what happened last night,” he said, giving his friend a pointed look.
Rodney rolled his eyes, “Like I said, I’m busy, and get wrapped up in work. There is a lot to go through when it comes to Weir as well. She had files hidden in her own private network. The encryptions that she had on some of her files. They are older ones, I’ve already got Miko working on most of them, but even she is having trouble, and I’ve known Miko to play in some databases that are supposed to be the most secure in the world,” he snorted.
“You’ll both figure it out soon enough,” Radek said, “I’ll head to my lab and finish up with the design. I’ll call you when I’m done, and then see if we can find a time to slot in a small meeting for it.”
Rodney nodded, “That… sounds like a plan,” he muttered. “I’m going to grab Carson.”
The two nodded and separated as Rodney headed back to the infirmary.
