Tag to Doppelganger
John woke from the nightmare and looked over to see Rodney, also waking up. He looked up to the observation area to see the rest of his team and Sam. He gave a tired smile and collapsed back on the bed.
He and Rodney were released a few hours later. He was sore all over and it seemed to be getting worse. Keller said it was because of the electric shock that went through his system.
He went to bed early to try and get some sleep, but after everything that happened, he just couldn't sleep. He got up and headed for the mess hall. After grabbing a cup of coffee he sat down and relaxed.
After a while the rest of the team as well as Sam and Jennifer had joined him.
They chatted for a few hours but eventually John got tired so decided to head to bed.
He said his goodbyes and stood up to leave. As soon as he stood up a spike of pain shot through his chest. The pain was so bad that he collapsed to the floor.
"Medical emergency in the mess hall." Dr Keller called as she knelt down. "I need a gurney."
"Colonel, can you tell me what's wrong." Keller asked as she took his pulse.
John could hear someone talking to him through the haze of pain but he couldn't make out what the voice was saying.
The med team arrived then and they quickly got him on the gurney and attached to the monitors.
"Dr. Keller his vitals are dropping." The nurse called urgently.
Dr Keller quickly moved beside John.
"Ok let's get him on oxygen and get him under a scanner." Jennifer ordered. "Colonel, can you tell me what's wrong. Do you hurt anywhere?" she asked again
"Yeah." John groaned actually hearing her this time. "Chest… Back…Head."
"From what I saw he got kicked around a lot in his nightmare." Rodney added with a worried look at his friend.
The nurse placed an oxygen mask over Johns face and they secured him to the gurney.
"Ok Colonel, we are just going to move you to the infirmary." Keller said as they started moving.
They hurried to the infirmary and quickly ran the scanner over the Colonel.
"Well crap." Keller said when she saw the results. "Colonel what happened in your nightmare?"
"I beat myself up." John replied. "What's wrong Doc?"
"We are going to have to take you into surgery." Keller said. "Christine can you get the surgery prepped."
"Yes of course." The nurse replied and hurried off.
"You have internal bleeding Colonel." Keller explained. "We need to get it stopped."
"How did … that happen." John groaned and curled into a ball.
"Colonel, you need to lie still." Keller said straightening him out. She quickly grabbed an IV and inserted the port into the back of his hand.
"We'll have you in surgery in just a minute." Keller said as she emptied a syringe into the IV.
"Chest hurts." John groaned "Can't…. breathe."
"Crap." Keller cried. "Let's get him moved now. One of the broken ribs may have punctured a lung."
They quickly got John in and prepped for surgery while one of the nurses informed the team of what was happening.
"What's going on?" Rodney asked as the nurse came out.
"He's been brought into surgery." The nurse said. "He has some broken ribs and internal bleeding."
"Could a nightmare really cause this?" Teyla asked.
"These weren't just normal nightmares." Sam said. "We don't know what this entity can do."
"If he had internal bleeding when he received the shock, it could cause even more problems." The nurse said. "I'll let you know when there is any update."
"Thanks." Sam said as the nurse rushed back inside.
"What did you see in the dream Rodney?" Sam asked.
"Sheppard was curled in a ball, and he was kicking himself, well the entity in the form of Sheppard was kicking the real Sheppard." Rodney replied. "He looked pretty sore and beat up. But when the shock when through him, the entity got weaker and the real Sheppard seemed fine."
"A delayed reaction maybe." Sam sighed and sat in a chair to wait.
Finally after 2 hours of waiting the nurse returned,
"Colonel Sheppard is out of surgery and is doing fine. Dr. Keller asked me to tell you to go get some rest and you can see him tomorrow. He will be asleep until then."
"What's happened to him?" Rodney asked.
"There was some internal bleeding due to a tear in his spleen. He also has two broken ribs one of which punctured his lung." She said. "We have everything repaired so hopefully he'll come off the vent tomorrow."
"Ok thank you." Sam replied and the nurse returned to the infirmary. "Ok guys you heard her. We'll see him tomorrow, try and get some rest."
Yes ok Colonel Carter." Teyla replied and they all went their separate ways.
The group arrived back at the infirmary early the next morning to check on John.
"How is he?" Rodney asked when he saw Jennifer.
"He's doing well." Jennifer replied as she led them to the Colonels bed.
"We are weaning him off the vent, so hopefully we can take out in the next hour or so. He has a chest tube in but we hope to take that out tomorrow, all going well. He's going to be off his feet for the next few weeks because of the surgery but he's going to be fine."
"That's good to hear." Sam sighed. "What caused the injuries?"
"Well from what I can tell they are all due to blunt force trauma. They are the type of injuries you would see in someone who has been badly beaten."
"The only place he's been is here." Sam replied. "Could the entity have caused this?"
"I really don't know, but it did manage to kill Kate. And knowing that the Colonel wasn't anywhere else he could have sustained those injuries, we have to assume it was the entity."
"And he did fight with the entity in his nightmare." Rodney added.
"Yes." Jennifer replied. "Anyway you can stay with him for a while but he shouldn't be waking up for a while."
"Thank you Doctor." Teyla replied and pulled a seat beside the bed.
"I have a few things to do." Rodney said. "I will be back in a bit."
"Yes of course." Teyla replied. "I will wait with him for the moment."
"Yeah me too." Ronon added.
"I have some meetings to get to and I'll come back afterwards." Sam said and she and Rodney left the infirmary.
Teyla and Ronon sat talking quietly for the next while, occasionally interrupted by the nurse's coming to check on John.
They stopped talking a while later when they heard John moving.
Teyla quickly moved beside John and held his hand while Ronan went to get Keller.
"It is alright John." Teyla assured. "There is a tube in your throat helping you to breath. Do not fight it."
John's eyes fluttered open and he gave her a slight nod and relaxed slightly.
Keller arrived a minute later followed by Ronon and a nurse.
"Ok Colonel." Keller said. "I'm just going to check your vitals and make sure I can take out the tube."
John gave a quick nod as Keller checked the readings.
"Ok everything is looking good." Keller said "I'm going to take out the tube now Colonel. On the count of 3 cough as hard as you can. Ok 1, 2, 3."
John tried to cough and Keller pulled the tube out. "Ok Colonel I'm just putting the oxygen mask on, breath as deep as you can and try not to talk."
John did as instructed and his eyes drifted closed again and he fell asleep.
When he woke again Teyla, Ronon and Rodney were all standing over him.
"What happened?" John croaked reaching to pull the oxygen mask off.
"You had to have surgery." Rodney said slapping his hand away. "What happened in your dream happened to your body."
"Oh, no wonder … I feel like… Crap." John replied.
"Ah Colonel, good to see you awake again." Keller said as she moved beside the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got… Run over by a … Train." He replied.
"You've done quite a number on yourself." Keller replied as she removed the oxygen mask and replaced it with a nasal cannula. "You have 2 broken ribs, one of which punctured your lung. You have bruising on both of your kidneys but one worse than the other. You have a small tear in you spleen. There are bruises covering most of your back and front and you have a concussion."
"Great." John sighed.
"You are going to be in here for a least a week Colonel and you be off your feet for another 2 after that."
"Seriously?" John asked and Keller nodded. "That blows. How is everyone else?"
"No one else is showing any adverse effects." Jennifer assured.
"That's good." John replied.
"So do feel up to having something to eat?" Jennifer asked.
"Um yeah ok." John replied reluctantly. "I'll try."
"Good. Rodney, Ronon, can you get some soup from the mess for John, and you can bring your own lunches here to eat if you want." Jennifer suggested.
"Sure." Ronon replied and started dragging McKay beside him. "What do you want Teyla."
"A sandwich will be fine Ronon. Thank you." Teyla replied as the two left the infirmary.
"Where are you hurting Colonel?" Keller asked.
"My head hurts, my stomach and chest hurt the most." John replied
"Your lung collapsed so that's why your chest is sore. There is also a chest tube in place. We should be able to take it out tomorrow. We had to perform surgery to stop the bleeding so that's why your stomach is sore. Your head hurts because of the concussion. You are due your pain meds shortly; I'll wait until after your lunch to give them to you."
"Yeah ok." John replied. "When can I change into scrubs?"
"It's going to be a few days yet." Keller replied. "The catheter will be staying in for the next week, so don't even ask. Your kidneys need to be monitored."
"Fine." John huffed and Keller left him and Teyla alone.
"I am glad you are ok John." Teyla said. "You gave us quiet a fright."
"Yeah, sorry about that." John replied with a sheepish grin.
"It is fine." Teyla replied. "You just concentrate on getting better."
"I will." He assured just as Ronon and Rodney returned carrying two trays.
Ronon laid out some soup and crackers and moved the table in front of John.
"Thanks Chewy." He said and started eating his soup while the others had their sandwiches.
John managed about half the bowl before he started feeling queasy. Keller arrived in a few minutes after he had stopped eating and saw the green tinge on her patients face. She quickly grabbed the meds and injected them into the IV port.
"That should help with the nausea Colonel." She said as she checked his vitals.
"Thanks Doc." He replied groggily.
"Get some sleep Colonel." She said and moved away from the group.
John drifted off to sleep soon after Jennifer had left and Teyla and Ronon also left, leaving Rodney to watch over John.
John slept for a few hours and woke again near dinner time. Again he had some soup but this time managed to eat most of it without getting nauseous.
The following day, Keller repeated the scans and was happy with the result so decided to remove the chest tube. They brought the Colonel into surgery but only used a local anaesthetic and quickly removed the tube and stitched him up. He fell asleep after the tube had been removed and slept until lunch. When he woke he was very hungry and convinced Dr. Keller to let him have a sandwich. Ronon joined him this time for lunch and they talked a bit for a while afterwards until John started drifting off to sleep. He again woke at dinner time and had a proper dinner with all of his team as well as Sam and Major Lorne. After dinner Dr. Keller checked him again before she left for the night. All his vitals were stable so she removed the cannula and the heart monitor and left him to rest.
The next day the pain meds were reduced so John was awake for longer. His team took turns spending time with him but he was starting to get very bored and grumpy.
"Please can you take the catheter out?" John begged Keller when she came to check on him before she left for the evening.
"Colonel we still need to monitor your kidney functions." Keller said. "If there is a problem with them it can be very serious. I know you are anxious to get out of here but you will just have to be patient."
"But I feel ok." John said.
"Yes because you are lying in bed resting. If you were up moving around you would feel a lot worse." Keller said. "You wouldn't even be able to sit up by yourself."
"I can." John protested and tried to sit up. The pain that cut through his abdomen caused him to groan and fall back against the pillows.
"Told you." Keller smirked "Look everything else is fine, so tomorrow I will do another scan and see how you are. If everything is ok by tomorrow evening I'll take the catheter out."
"Thanks." John replied in relief. "I really hate all the tubes."
"The IV will be staying in for another while. That's not negotiable." Keller said
"Ok I can live with that." John said with a smile as the others arrived for dinner.
"I'll leave you to it." Keller said moving away from them.
After eating dinner the team watched a movie. It was late by the time it was finished so Dr. Biro kicked the rest of the team out to let John get some rest.
The following morning John woke to the smell of breakfast. He opened his eyes to find Rodney standing in front of him with a plate of pancakes.
"I hope those are for me." John said looking hungrily at the plate.
"Yes they are." Rodney replied. "I just wanted to say thanks for helping me in my dream, and what better way than with food."
"I didn't do anything Rodney." John said. "You died. Keller saved you not me."
"Yes but still you went into the dream with me." Rodney said "Now eat up."
"Thanks Rodney." John replied. "And thanks for coming into my dream."
"Oh, ah, no problem." Rodney replied taking a seat beside John. "So when are you getting out of here?"
"Not sure. Keller said she'd take out the, ah catheter today so hopefully soon." John replied with a full mouth.
True to her word Keller repeated the scan that day and later that evening she removed the catheter and allowed John to have a shower.
After the shower he climbed back into bed and fell asleep straight away. The moving really had taken a lot out of him but he was very glad to be rid of the tube.
The next day, he got up and walked around some more. Again the team kept him company during the day and the following day he was ready to be released
The End