oOo
"I know where Teyla is."
Well... the words have the expected effect; the familiar faces are staring at him, disbelieving.
But Carter doesn't say, "That's great Colonel... off you go and bring her back." Instead she smiles uncertainly, glancing furtively at McKay, and says, "Come on, John, let's get you to the infirmary..."
John looks around at the welcoming committee, as if noticing them for the first time.
The armed personnel still have their weapons raised; they don't look as if they're relaxing.
"No, you don't understand... we need to go right away," he patiently states, but then he coughs - hard - because his voice is breathless and rasping, and it feels like there's still sand clogging his throat.
He notices that Rodney has his mouth open, and the scientist exchanges a look with Carter - a doubtful look.
He tries with, "There's no time..."
John's eyes drop and he sees his dusty and tattered uniform; perhaps he looks a bit of a mess, perhaps his sudden arrival is a little suspicious. He scratches at his neck; his skin feels tight and uncomfortable... it's itchy.
Then suddenly he thinks, "God, I'm thirsty..." and a disconcerting thump begins somewhere behind his irritated eyes.
Unconsciously he tips his head at the strange and abrupt smushiness of the figures in front of him. He blinks and although, when he takes a step forward, Carter and McKay come swimming back into focus, he can barely hear his own voice when he asks what everyone is waiting for.
Still no one moves. They're all staring at him. Maybe time that has been messed with on his behalf is now standing still in defiance.
The sounds of the gate room mute and blur into one long humming phrase. He cannot feel his feet... his hands are numb.
He sees Carter's face fall; maybe she's disappointed in him, maybe it's something else.
There's a taste on his tongue, and a tightness in his throat, and the hum becomes a shriek and... oh, he thinks, so that's what's happening, because he knows now it's inevitable... he's going down.
Vaguely, he sees Rodney move... feels a grip on his arm, and he can do nothing but lean into it. Rodney's grip tightens and John is glad of it, as his legs buckle beneath him and the walls and floor and ceiling switch places in a sickening lurch. As he falls forwards, he waits for his head to crack on the polished floor, but it doesn't.
He's hanging loosely in Rodney's arms - which is rather embarrassing, actually. The floor is just inches from his face, and he would kill for a drink of water.
Now, with his faculties dimming, he realises his greatest fear; that when all depends on him, this small thing - his weakness - will keep him from saving Teyla. He's travelled millennia to save her, and the irony of still being too late is a bitter truth to swallow.
"There's no time..." he tries to say again, as if saying it twice will convince them. But his mouth refuses to move, filled as it is with dust and sand, and the message is unspoken and unheard.
His disorientation increases when he's flipped onto his back, still with his ears screaming and his vision all black spots and shimmer.
A wonderful coolness rests for a moment on his eyes; then someone says, "He's burning up... where's that team?"
Desperate now, he grabs; and finds cool fabric between his fingers. Drawing his shaking fist down, he sees the pale and lovely face of Samantha Carter slide into focus.
"P-please..." he manages to whisper, but it's not enough.. not nearly enough, and he is angry with himself.
"I need...", he tries again, but his commanding officer interrupts him, as she gently peels his fingers from her jacket.
"No." she says, and the word is firm and very final. "Relax, Colonel - and that's an order."
So, relax he does; because his thirst is all but consuming him and he is just lucid enough to realise that a short stay in the infirmary is both inevitable and most likely necessary.
Keller will have him rehydrated in no time; a backless gown and IV are in his particular future.
But he will save Teyla; because that, too, is inevitable.
oOo