Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate Atlantis or the characters and have no financial gain.
Summery: Carson and Lorne have to work together to get home. Warning: Carson Whumpage with a healthy dose of Lorne Whump.
Over the River and Through the Woods
Part I
"You ready, doc?" Major Evan Lorne asked with a smile on his face as the Scottish doctor finished tightening the straps on his Tac-Vest.
"Aye, lad," Dr. Beckett replied in a distracted voice as he finished with his vest and started fidgeting with his gun. "As ready as I'll ever be."
"This is gonna be quick and painless, doc." Evan said in a reassuring tone as he patted the doctor on the back. "We go into the village, check for survivors; if we find any we'll send for a medical team; if we don't were home for lunch. I hear they are making mac and cheese, can't wait."
Carson turned and gave the major a flat stare. "Only Americans would make a meal out of a side dish," he grumbled. "Let's not drag this out longer, I said I was ready." Carson motioned to Chuck the gate tech to get on with it.
"Hey, mac and cheese was always my favorite, what's not to like!" The major lifted his pack onto his back before taking his place next to Carson. "If it was cooked in a sheep's stomach would you be okay with it then?"
Carson turned to glare half heartedly at the American. "I'll have you know that haggis is one of the tastiest dishes you will ever have the honor of partaking in."
The major laughed as the gate whooshed and the shimmering wormhole appeared. "I'll pass, doc!"
∞SGA∞
Carson paused as he reached the edge of the small, empty village. These trips through the gate always left him exhausted and numb. He was meant to heal – to cherish life – not be witness to yet another dead civilization.
Walking through the empty streets he could see the remnants of a budding society, one that had just barely began to grow. A society cut down once again by the parasite wraith. The fate of the villagers was unknown, he could only hope, since there were no bodies, that the inhabitants had escaped to a new world.
The glint of red caught Carson's eye. He bent and brushed away some leaves that covered the edge of the path and found a doll's head covered in bright-red hair made of wool. The doll's eyes were permanently open and made of a haunting dark-green stone. Carson lifted the head up and turned it thoughtfully in his head. Hopefully there is a lil' lass missing her doll somewhere else, and not the doll missing its lass. Carson jumped as a hand touched his shoulder dropping the toy on the ground.
"Sorry, doc," Evan spoke softly as the doctor spun around. "I didn't mean to scare you. It's time to go. The rest of the team has already started back to the gate. I'm sure you don't want to stay any longer."
Carson sighed and turned back to watch the broken toy roll away. "Ye've got that right, lad. I'm ready to go home."
Carson and Evan walked in silence back through the empty community. They moved swiftly, both eager to put the sad world behind them. As they reached the far edge of the village the rest of Evan's team stood solemnly waiting for them to arrive. As they stepped into the trees that lined the meadow, Carson glance back one more time and tried to picture a little girl with red hair waving goodbye.
"It's a good two hour walk back to the gate, doc," Evan said as they entered the haven of the woods leaving the ghost town behind. "Let me know if you need anything."
There was a well worn path that led from the village to the gate – that, while not a highway, did show traces of recent traffic. The group continued to walk in silence as they picked their way through the woods towards the gate. It took a few minutes for the sound to break into their thoughts.
The sound of approaching engines disturbed the silent woods. Lorne's team took cover under the near by brush and watched the sky. Carson sat close to Evan, keeping behind the Air Force Major. It took only a few seconds for three Wraith Darts to sail over head.
"Damn it," Evan swore. "Where did they come from? Okay, we've got to hightail it to the gate, but stay low and out of sight! Move!"
Evan grabbed Carson's arm and pulled him along behind him. "Stay with me, doc. We've got a long trip to the gate and it just got harder."
The five Atlanteans moved swiftly through the forest, taking shelter repeatedly as the Darts continued to scan the forest. Evan kept one hand on Carson's arm and the other on his gun. The next hour seemed to drag by as they back tracked to the gate.
"Shh," Lorne came to a stop, holding his hand up for everyone to stop and listen. They all came to a halt, straining to hear what had alarmed the major. Then Carson heard it the sound of feet on the ground, crashing through the woods towards them.
"Oh, crap!" Carson whispered. They all knew that his was not an Atlantis rescue party coming to meet them.
The sound of another Dart overhead startled them as shots were fired into the ground between the men. Lorne grabbed Carson's arm again and clicked his radio on. "I've got the doc, you three, try and stay together. Try to go around the wraith on the left; we'll take the right side. We'll meet you back at the gate."
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Major?" Carson said as he tried to keep up with Lorne.
"No, it's not a good idea, but now we don't have a choice! Keep your head down, doc," Evan whispered back.
Carson stumbled along with the major, ducking when told and scrambling a head when directed. The two men seemed to be making progress towards the gate, skirting the wraith on foot, when another Wraith Dart soared overhead laying down ground fire. The explosion caught both men off guard, sending them both flying through the air and landing hard on the ground below.
∞SGA∞
Carson slowly awoke to the sound of groaning. He raised his head and fought back the nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. Carefully he pealed his eyes open and tried to make sense of the images in front of him. He was lying on the ground in a deep ravine, his face just inches from the water. He tried to identify where the groan was coming from, it took a moment to realize that he was the source of the moan. He tried to lift himself up to his knees.
"AHHH…" Carson stifled a cry of pain as his leg gave out underneath him and he fell back onto his stomach.
"Doc?" Major Lorne's shaky voice came from behind him. "You okay, doc?"
Carson tried to swallow the pain and answer the question. He could he hear Evan grunting loudly as he dragged himself over to where the doctor lay. Evan's hand landed gently on Carson's shoulder.
"Don't move, doc," Evan said in Carson's ear. "I don't know if you can feel that but your leg is angled all wrong. It looks like it is broken."
Carson tried not to whimper but was unsuccessful as he tried to shift so he could see his leg. It was definitely broken; high up on his shin it bent out at an unnatural angle that he knew would be painful to set. At least their's no blood, didn't break the skin, he thought as he tried to think on the positive side.
"How are ye, lad?" he said softly as he tried to turn the conversation away from him and back onto the major.
"I feel like I got dropped out of a jumper," Evan said with slight smile. "Nice try, doc, but you're the one in need of medical attention, not me. Looks like I'm gonna have to play doctor now. What do I need to help you?"
"A time machine?" Carson asked giving the major a pained smile.
"Ha, ha, doc! Really, what do you need?"
"I'm not going to be able to go anywhere until me leg is set and braced, and even then I won't be able to move fast," Carson answered. The idea of dragging himself back to the Stargate caused him to grimace in dreadful anticipation. "Maybe ye should just go on ahead…come back for me. I can hide out somewhere and ye can go back for help."
Evan gave him a flat look. "You know Sheppard's mantra: No one left behind. We're in this together, Carson. I'm not leaving you behind. I can't raise the rest of the team, so we maybe in this by ourselves for now. I haven't heard the Darts over head for a little while, but I'm worried about wraith on foot now, so we need to get moving."
Carson sighed and knew the major was right. "Okay, Doctor Lorne," he lifted his head and gave the major a tight smile. "Ye'll need to find my bag and a couple of long straight sticks first. We'll get to the medical stuff after that."
There was a short argument, which Evan quickly won, over whether to move Carson before or after his leg was immobilized. The major desperately wanted to hide the doctor from any passing, and most likely hostile, eyes. Evan helped the doctor move carefully to the side of the ravine and behind a fallen tree branch.
Evan scouted around, quickly locating the doctor's bag of medical supplies which had gotten caught on a root that stuck out of the side of the ravine. Finding sticks to act as a brace for Carson's leg was a much harder task. Evan spent close to a half hour searching before locating two that would work. He paused repeatedly as he listened to the surrounding noise, breathing as sigh of relief as the forest continued to be silent.
Making his way back to Carson, Evan found the doctor dozing. The frown lines on Carson's face reminded the major how much pain the doctor was actually in. With a gentle shake, Evan woke the doctor. "Okay, I got what you needed. What first?"
"First, let me have my bag," Carson said, reaching out his hand to pick it up. He rifled through the bag before pulling out a packet of pills and a syringe. Fiddling with the needle, Carson finally injected himself in the leg.
"Doc, we need to move faster, please," Evan stated, he did not want to rush the doctor but he knew time was of the essence.
"I am well aware of the time factor here, major," Carson gave him a slight glare before dry swallowing the pain pills. "But unless ye want me to loose my leg, I've got to take precautions."
Evan sat back as the doctor sorted himself out, pulling out bandages and spreading his leg out as straight as he could. Carson met his glance before direction him. "Major, ye need to pull the leg back and hopefully it will snap back into place. Once it is more-or-less in the right spot, ye'll need to bind the sticks ye found to either side of the leg. I'm going ta have to lean on ye to walk, lad. I won't be able to move fast."
Evan was impressed with Carson's strength. As he pulled on the leg, he could only imagine the amount of pain the doctor was in, however the doctor barely let out a squeak. Binding the leg did not look any less painful as the doctor laid his head back against the side of the ravine, breathing deeply.
"Okay, doc," Evan said cleaning up the medical supplies. "I can only give you a minute and than we need to start moving. Is there any other medicine that I can give you?"
"No, lad, not without putting me to sleep," Carson said weakly as he tried to sit back up.
The sound of footsteps crashing through the woods made both Carson and Evan sit up quickly. Grabbing the Life Signs Detector, Evan scanned the woods. "Break is over, doc. We have to move now!"
TBC
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