One of Those Days

By

Autumn Leaves

Rating: T (Gen)

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate or its characters. Alas, they're not mine (sobs) and no profit is made from this. Only original story idea is mine.

Author's Note: Well, it's been a while since I've written anything here as other than RL taking over I've also been away. But then this story popped into my head and refused to leave me alone. This story is also filled with some serious Shep whump, so you've been warned. The only ship you'll find here is friendship. No slash.

-oOo-

Chap 1: Trouble

"Hey big guy, you feeling all right?" John asked, noticing that the Satedan was looking a little flushed. Ronon had also been scratching a lot lately, after they had arrived at PX35-2T4 and met some rather unfriendly natives that insisted that they leave immediately.

Ronon looked at him and scowled. "You don't feel itchy?" he asked, his right hand going to the armpit of his left arm, scratching furiously.

"Nope," came John's reply, looking at Teyla and Rodney. "Do any of you guys feel itchy?"

"Actually, I have been feeling rather … uncomfortable … lately," revealed Teyla as her hand moved to scratch her neck. "I also have a mild headache that does not seem to want to go away."

"Yeah, me too," the Satedan stated curtly.

Rodney instantly took a step away from the Athosian and Satedan. "No itch here," he quickly replied. "You don't think that Conan and Xena are coming down with some viral infection do you, Sheppard?" he asked worriedly. "Oh God, I hope it isn't infectious!"

John frowned. "I'm not sure, maybe. Okay guys, I say that we head back to the Stargate and get Beckett to check you two out. Besides I didn't like the way those natives looked at us; they seemed awfully reluctant to let us go. I wonder what that old woman said to them?"

Ronon suddenly stopped walking to glare behind them.

"What?" John asked, his P-90 coming up to scan the area. He felt the prickly feeling of danger even before the Satedan spoke.

"We're being followed," Ronon Dex observed. Out of everyone in the team, the Satedan's hearing was the sharpest. It must come with the territory of being a former runner and running from the wraith for seven years.

"Rod-ney?" Sheppard addressed the scientist with his inquiry.

"Already onto it," McKay replied as he took out the life signs detector and began scanning. "Crap! Ronon's right, we're—"

There was flash of movement from the corner of his eye. "Look out!" John cried out. He ran towards Rodney and pushed him out of the way. Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough and his body got in the way instead.

Something sharp slammed into his body, flinging him hard to the ground. Pain exploded in his side, stealing his breath away. Then Ronon was there, lifting him up. John heard the rattle of P-90s before the lights went out.

-oOo-

Upon awakening, the pain that struck John Sheppard was one that he had never experienced before. It felt worse than when he had an iratus bug stuck at the side of his neck (if that was even possible). Looking down, he saw that the alien projectile was still impaled in him. What worried him most was the fact that the alien projectile looked partially like a large plastic-type syringe but it was as thick and hard as a spear. Through the clear tube that was sticking into his bleeding side, he could see a blue liquid inside it that was slowly being pumped into him. John felt as if it was sizzling every nerve ending in his body. Red waves of torment invaded every millimetre of his being. He couldn't control the scream from forming at the base of his throat as it grew beyond his control seeking release. Suddenly a strong large hand grabbed him, covering his mouth, choking off the scream. Hot tears of pain pricked at the corner of his eyelids as his gaze desperately locked onto the Satedan's.

"Sheppard, you must remain silent. Any loud noise will reveal our position to the enemy," the low voice of Ronon whispered close to his ear. John immediately understood; he was grateful that his screams were muffled out by the large Satedan's hand. He didn't think that much time had passed since he lost consciousness, not if his team was still trying to hide from the hostile aliens. However, he could not stop himself from moving as his hand grasped the alien projectile that currently impaled his side. Warm blood seeped through his fingers, too much, it seemed. He wanted nothing more than to pull it out, to stop the hurt, to stop from losing his mind to the agony that sheared through all the pain receptors of his brain.

A smaller, gentler hand pushed his frantic hands away. "I am sorry, John, but I cannot allow you to extract the device. It might have hit a blood vessel and if you pull it out, you might bleed to death," Teyla Emmagan whispered urgently to his ear.

"Oh God, this really looks bad—" he heard Rodney's horror-stricken voice say in the background. "I think I'm going to be sick—" A little while later, there was the sound of soft retching.

"Rodney, please calm down and hand me that med-kit," Teyla's voice interjected softly. "Colonel Sheppard hasn't been injured that long ago but already his body burns unnaturally with fever." She turned back to him. "You are strong, John; I know that you can fight it."

He struggled, his eyes unable to focus on the members of his team gathered around him. A red haze now seemed to cover his vision. A strange roaring sounded in his ears, he barely heard and understood Teyla's words. He partially knew what the Athosian was saying but half the meaning was lost to him. The pain took over everything else and filled his entire world. Whatever that alien projectile was, it was doing something to him, expanding his pain, flooding his mind and body with an alien substance that was not meant for the human body. It hurt so much! He didn't think he could fight the agony that was overpowering him.

Perspiration broke out from his skin like a storm; his eyes desperately sought his team. Attempting to blink away the sweat that dropped into his eyes, his vision cleared slightly. He saw Rodney, Teyla and Ronon's worried faces gathered around him, holding him, centring him to the here and now. Yet, in the fading mists of his mind, he also knew that he had to keep silent, to rein in his cries of agony and he was glad that the Satedan's strength was there, covering his mouth, muffling out his screams for he didn't think he could stop the screams himself.

Suddenly his body started to convulse uncontrollably. Nausea churned through his gut, making him sick. His squeezed his eyes shut. Through the red haze of agony, he thought he heard Rodney whisper urgently to Teyla and Ronon, "Oh God! I think we're losing him! Sheppard, hold on! Just hang on, damn it!"

He was losing his mind to the pain, he longed for release, escape, even if his only avenue was through death. Anything was better than this! Suddenly, he felt a warm hand settle on his forearm, gripping it hard, lending him strength. Instinctively, he knew it was Rodney's. Then another smaller hand covered his fist in a firm grip, and he knew that Teyla was also there with him, trying to ride out the pain with him. A little later, he felt a strong yet gentle hand lift his convulsing body, enfold his chest protectively in an attempt to ease his uncontrollable shaking. Ronon! He knew that that was Ronon grounding him to this world.

Somehow, knowing that his team was around him, caring for him, desperately wanting to help him, enabled him to fight back. Their close proximity anchored him, their urgings for him to hold on, loaned him inner strength in his battle for survival. He wasn't alone in this; he had his team with him making sure that he wouldn't give up. Just knowing that they were there made all the difference. He couldn't let his team down; he refused to let his team down. He would fight for his life for all he was worth, they still needed him and he owed his team that much.

-oOo-

TBC

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