Distorted sounds brought Sheppard out of a deep slumber. Pushing himself, he struggled to keep his eyes open. Nausea hit him full force as he gave out a groan.
"Here," a man grunted. "Let it out."
Sheppard allowed himself to be quickly propped up as he attempted to empty his stomach into a small bowl on his lap. He sank back into the bed abruptly as soon as he was released. Moments later, he was able to fully open his eyes.
"Ronon," he recognized the man's hulking frame in the dim room. Sheppard's voice sounded gravely and unfamiliar to even himself. "What happened?"
Even as he asked the question, a flash of events flew through his mind.
A hive ship had attacked Atlantis.
Many had been injured. More dead bodies than he wanted to remember had been spread about the city.
The battle had been long. Days, in fact.
In the end, the city and his team had prevailed.
The last image in his head had been rogue fighter flying over the city, sending a tower crashing down near his position.
It had obviously taken him down.
His eyes centered on Ronon.
"How bad?" Sheppard demanded, steeling himself for his friend's answer.
Ronon had set the bucket aside. Ignoring Sheppard, he called out for Jennifer.
Beginning to worry, Sheppard attempted to sit up but found himself unable to perform the simple task.
"Easy," Jennifer came flying in, motioning for Ronon to help her settle John back down into the bed. "Seriously, Sheppard, I didn't expect you awake so soon."
Ronon seemed tense and had ignored his question, while Jennifer appeared to be unusually frazzled. She was always calm on base. Unless she was off-world, she was rarely rattled.
"Someone tell me," Sheppard's voice became clearer, making his demands seem more urgent. "I need a report. How many did we lose? Who is severely hurt? Are the scanners picking up any movement of more ships coming?"
Jennifer held up her hand to stop Ronon as he began to open his mouth.
"We're safe, relax. Sheppard, you need time to recover. Everything else can wait," she looked pointedly at Ronon, who appeared to be in disagreement with the young doctor. "You sustained serious injuries and I need to access-"
"Jennifer," Sheppard spat out, using her first name for the first time since they'd met, "I'm the military head of this base. I need to do my job. With respect, I can't be treated with kid gloves like your other patients. Save it for them. Someone start talking."
He attempted to sit up again and found himself unable to pull himself up with his arms after a bolt of pain exploded in his shoulder. Confused, he tried to again only to be met with a worried look from Jennifer.
"Why am I strapped down? Did I hurt anyone?"
Jennifer quickly assured him he hadn't, then finally sighed and sat down.
"I'm sorry, John. I wasn't expecting you up and coherent for a few more days. I pinned your legs down because you kept on thrashing. Your shoulder is separated and it was causing you too much pain. Your back is a mess."
Confused, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly as Keller went into doctor mode.
"You suffered blunt trauma during the last hour of battle," she relayed to him. "Your torso is bruised beyond belief, but thankfully, you only have two cracked ribs. Your ankle is swollen but not broken, thankfully. The swelling has come down in the last day, but-"
"Day?" Sheppard cut in. "How long have I been out?"
"Three days," Ronon pushed off the wall, obviously done letting Jennifer lead the conversation.
Sensing Ronon was ready to talk, he switched his focus on him.
"How bad is the city?"
Ronon shrugged. "It's still floating. Areas are flooded and damaged. Rodney's team is on it. Lorne and his men are handling gathering all injured and those who didn't make it. I've been helping."
Turning to Jennifer, he braced himself.
"How many, Jen?" he asked softly, his tone demanding an honest answer.
"Nineteen," Jennifer breathed out, taking a seat. "And two more are fighting the biggest fight of their lives down the hall."
The number was staggering. It was more than he'd feared.
John surveyed both of them. Ronon had various cuts which had apparently either been missed getting bandaged or more than likely, he had refused. Moving his gaze to Keller, he noticed a littering of scratches and bruises covering her forearms. Bruises littered her neck. Both of them looked like they hadn't slept in days.
"I gave orders for you and your team to stay out of sight in the infirmary," Sheppard recalled. "What happened?"
Jennifer's eyes looked haunted before she could hide her reaction from Sheppard.
"A handful of Wraith made it into the city near the end," Ronon answered for her. "A few broke in here. Keller lost two nurses that arrived last month within minutes before Lorne's team arrived to help."
Jennifer abruptly stood, her eyes filling.
"Enough," she said firmly. "John, you are now updated with the critical information. And if you need to know more, I'm sure Lorne will be down the minute he hears you're awake. But now, we need to discuss you."
Fear crept in, along with the lingering sorrow he had felt after hearing the numbers they'd lost.
"I'm going to give it to you straight," Jennifer had put her emotions back in check. "I need to examine you to get the full extent of your injuries. The scanners have told me a lot, but the rest has to come from a physical evaluation. My best guess is that everything is temporary and with help, everything will be healed."
Ronon began to back out of the room as Keller began to pull back the blankets near his arm.
"Stay," Sheppard ordered, looking at his friend. "Please."
Ronon turned, nodded, and sat beside the bed.
"Okay," Jennifer breathed, giving him a quick sigh of relief after a quick exam. "You will slowly regain movement as the swelling continues to go down. But I'm afraid I can't tell you how long until you'll be back to duty. It could be weeks or even months until you're fully mobile with the shoulder injury."
Swearing, despite the relief he felt, he continued to listen to her.
"You're going to need physical therapy- more than I can provide with our limited resources here."
Now understanding, he knew what was coming next.
"I'm going to contact the SGC to bring someone on or arrange for you to get the best care until you're cleared to come back."
Closing his eyes, John couldn't argue with her.
"Ah, you're awake," Woolsey said, entering the room upon hearing her last statement. "Dr. Keller, I have an idea. I've been talking to Colonel Carter. We can't afford to lose Sheppard, no matter how many higher ranking officers they send. And if you give me a moment, I think I can convince you that we've come up with a more reasonable plan."
Surprised, Jennifer nodded and sat down.
Twenty minutes later, John gave his first grin in days while Jennifer also sat up, approving of Woolsey's plan.
"Better," she said, moving toward the door to make her way back to the two men still in critical condition. "Commander, let me know if you need anything to assist in the request to Earth. And Sheppard... behave."