Warning: sometime into season 2 - before TLG, AU
Rating: NC17
Disclaimer: I ain't got no money, and nobody'd be daft enough to pay me for this.
AN: sometime into season 2, after which I am going AU for a month. Chapter 1 is merely an excuse for Chapter 2
AN2: many many thanks to leavemelight for helping to find the nagging flaw.. and fix it:)
Chapter one
"Ah, Hell! That's enough."
John was left standing there with his mouth open in shock as Elizabeth stalked away. Shaking her head and grumbling to herself.
She couldn't believe she was doing this. Actually going to the doctor for such a crazy reason!
The day before
Elizabeth watched Ronon and John run down the corridor like schoolboys, obviously just released by the doctor from their post-mission exams and tossing an improvised ball back and forth.
The last month had been so calm, people were starting to loosen up. The constant threat of annihilation seeming a little further away. Even the lack of contact with the SGC the last few days wasn't completely unexpected, there had been mumbles of some new idea being tried out to fight the Ori. Wouldn't be the first time that that had made them incommunicado. They'd find out when the Daedalus got back in a week.
She just wished, whimsically, that she could join the boys. She couldn't remember the last time she'd played toss the ball.
Turning back resolutely to the explanation Rodney was trying to give her about some program he'd designed, she didn't notice the odd tension growing at her core.
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Having finally escaped Rodney, she sat down at her desk, taking a few minutes to drink her coffee and shake the scientific gibberish out of her head while her computer booted up.
The moment of mental quietness made her notice the tight over-awareness in her loins. Her brows rose in surprise; now that was something she hadn't felt in a while. She actually had to think when the last time was that she'd been in a relationship where her body anticipated sex while she was still at work.
A bittersweet smile slipped over her lips. It wasn't that she missed her youth or felt old, but just for a few moments, she allowed herself the luxury of regretting the intimate loneliness that had overtaken her life. Even before she'd come to Atlantis, her relationship with Simon had been... quiet. She'd counted on its presence, on his presence, at the end of her usually extended stays in foreign locales. He was part of 'going home'. And yet...
When she'd been offered Atlantis, deep down she had to admit that staying on Earth just so they could be together, had not really occurred to her. She'd miss companionship, but just as she knew that he would get over her and carry on with his life, she also knew she would adapt quickly to the life of Atlantis.
And so she had. Though it was lonelier than her old life, that was only because she was the leader, 24/7, and had to keep that added distance to every person around her. Beyond that... she'd been just as alone in her life as negotiator.
She shook herself out of the funk as her email finished downloading; enough of this. She loved her job, her life and her friends; some very good and close friends. If some small part of her felt so greedy as to want still more... well, she was human.
Luckily she was an intelligent and sane human who could accept the existence without acceding to the wishes of little greedy parts of herself.
Happy with her pep-talk, Elizabeth sat up straight and got herself back to the job at hand. Giving her body a mental 'Behave!' look and smiling at her own foolishness.
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She just managed to get through the emails before being interrupted by her far-too-cheerful military commander.
After managing a whole month of missions where he avoided all trouble, as well as not having to deal in death in any other context during that time, John had taken to turning into even more of a playful imp the minute he was done with his duties. And as much as he always managed to find a way to interfere with her plans to work, she couldn't honestly say she minded. It was a rare visit these days when he didn't find a way to make her laugh, make her take a few minutes away from thoughts of what needed to be done. If Atlantis had been in danger, he wouldn't have done it and she wouldn't have been susceptible, but with the strange peace in place, they'd allowed themselves a rare taste of a closer friendship.
As much as she admired and duly respected his strength and skill during the hard times, this relaxed, playful side to him had a way of getting under her guard like no one's business. Not that she would admit that, or stop fighting him. They both enjoyed the battle of wills far too much.
As he tried to wheedle her into going to the mainland with him for the rest of the afternoon, leaning over her shoulder in what she suspected was all-too-knowing distraction, she suddenly realized her eyes had fixed on his lips and her pulse was...
Blushing and trying to hide the reaction, she frowned, snapping at him more sharply than she normally would have in such a situation.
As he abruptly straightened and moved away, losing his smile, remorse made her apologize and claim a headache for her temper. Feeling sorry to have ruined his good mood, yet still embarrassed at having responded in such an obvious physical way to his nearness. He gave her a half-hearted smile, eyes suddenly guarded and told her she needed to rest more. Then he just headed out.
She watched him walk away from her office, the stiffness of his gait showing that her apology hadn't taken the sting out of her actions. She grumbled at herself; great, just great. The last thing she needed was to start reacting like a teenager having her first crush with her second in command; with her best friend. Not only would it leave her unforgivably distracted, but she knew damned well he was experienced enough to recognize the signs. And then where would she, they, be?
Hopefully by the time he got back from his trip her body would have gotten over this little bout of sexual tension.
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She'd been working a few hours when she unconsciously squeezed her pelvic muscles as she shifted on her chair. The resulting low-level burst of pleasure making her gasp in surprise, eyes wide. Good grief, that was disconcerting, she thought. As she shook her head and went back to reading John's last mission report, she remembered overhearing a few male colleagues years ago, complaining about too high libidos at embarrassingly bad times. She grinned weakly, shifting in her seat again; well, she could certainly see where this would get annoying... especially for a man...
Her smile faded as she realized her earlier tension must be getting worse instead of better. Umph, first hot flash maybe. Though she hadn't thought that the term was meant quite this way. She didn't really want to contemplate if that was better or worse than a teenage crush.
Try though she did to concentrate on work, she kept getting more tense, the awareness of her body always hovering at the edge of her thoughts now. She could feel a slow pulse in her labia, feel heat suffusing her clit, leaving it sensitive, asking for attention. If her focus wandered from sitting still, her pelvic muscles would react instinctively and tighten, sending a further wave of sexual pleasure through her core.
By the time supper came around, her sense of humour was taking a decidedly sarcastic view of getting old. She hadn't thought that hot flashes included being aroused, she really hadn't. The now swollen heat at her core was stealing her attention at every turn, an itch constantly whining to be scratched. Even hijacking her thoughts to places they had no business being. Especially not during work hours. It was unsettling to find herself in the mental gutter while sitting at her desk. Those greedy little parts of her were pulling very sneaky stunts!
Thank God John hadn't come by again. Having him sit on her desk, less than a foot from her face would... she shuddered. No. Enough already. She was beginning to actually think of going to her room in lieu of eating and just taking care of this. Something she could barely fathom even contemplating.
After the third time reading the same line of a report, she got up in a huff, gasping as the movement put pressure on her clit. This was madness, how could her mother have failed to mention this little detail in her stories of getting older. Ignoring the little voice in the depth of her mind saying something might be wrong, she gave up the fight and walked carefully to her quarters, not looking at anyone, affecting a preoccupied look to hide her very real over-attention to walking.
If she moved just the right way, she could avoid giving too-sensitive parts any jostles, but every time she put her feet down, the impact sent vibrations to her core, keeping her very aware of how hot and throbbing her sex was.
When she finally got to her quarters, she just wanted to get this done, fast. So she fished in her bedside table for the familiar shape of her finger buddy, then laying down and slipping her slacks and panties off.
Clearing her mind of the inappropriateness of doing this during the workday, she ran a finger over her outer lips, finding them swollen and soaked, as though she'd been teased and aroused by skilled hands for hours. She moaned, no wonder she couldn't concentrate!
Taking an instant to bring a blank canvas to her mind, feeling banned images hovering on the edge of her thoughts, she got impatient to get this over with.
She let her bent knees drop to either side and slid her little friend in, starting on low, gliding up the inner lips to get it wet. As soon as the vibrations touched her nub, she felt the tingling of an orgasm start spreading up and out, muscles contracting sharply as she cried out, holding the vibrator in place through the pleasure.
Realizing as she caught her breath jerkily that the arousal wasn't gone. Was still twitching and throbbing as though nothing had happened. Itchy heat heavy through the pelvis.
'Oh crap. This is going to be fun.' She took some deep breaths, got up and tidied up, including a cold shower. Spent another 10 minutes practising Teyla's meditation exercises. Wondering how long this could possibly last.
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By the next day, Elizabeth was long since out of patience with anything and anyone.
She had barely gotten any work done in the evening. Hadn't been able to sleep. Tossing and turning, even trying her little friend again. Taking more cold showers than her bones could forgive her for. Finally getting up and going to the gym to use the punching bag; she'd ended up with sore knuckles, but she'd hoped it might help the mental frustration at least. The knuckles had actually helped the most: for a little while hurting enough to hold her attention. Though that only meant she ended up getting an hour's work done in the middle of the night. Sleeping was out of the question.
And now every moment that she didn't actively concentrate on something else, the heated throbbing at her core snuck in and captivated her attention. Thinking was both necessary and a strain: the most effective way to not feel her traitorous body, yet something that was hellishly hard to maintain.
She was avoiding Colonel Sheppard, avoided even thinking of him as anything other than a blank rank. Having learned the hard way that therein lay heightened torture. She could, mostly, avoid tensing her muscles if she applied half her mind to it, but when he was in her thoughts, or worse, anywhere within sensory range, the latent attraction she'd gotten so good at ignoring flared up and took over. Making her pulse with all but orgasm if she wasn't careful. Lord how she wished for the mere crush-like response of the day before.
She'd have paid more attention to Teyla's meditation tricks if she'd known she'd ever need them like this. She was almost at the point of wishing for a crisis, just in the hopes that it would focus her attention. But that little voice in her mind was saying that that might not be enough and maybe she should see the doctor. Ignominious thought.
Oh no. She saw the colonel coming toward her office, carrying a tablet and looking a little worried. Umm, a crisis meant spending a lot of time with... gah!
She used the 10 seconds she had before he ambled in to take some deep breaths, as close to meditation as she could do on such short notice.
"Elizabeth, I've been getting the weirdest reports..." when he heard her chair jerk back he looked up with a quizzical glance, just catching her furious expression and taking a step back, eyes widening in surprise.
The moment the colonel had walked into her office she had felt her whole body react. Somehow catching his scent from across the room; which was impossible, right?
Their old attraction kicking in at a distance and with a force that she would never have given credence to. She had to dig her nails into her palm to get control back; for a second she'd been that close to jumping on him... Something was wrong, there was no denying that now.
So she found herself turning the last corridor to the infirmary, meeting Teyla on the same path and raising her brow, noticing that she looked like Elizabeth felt... uho.
Carson looked at the two twitchy, sharp-tempered women, usually some of his calmest if not exactly obedient patients and tried to think of the medical path to follow. "Not ta put too fine a point on it, but, have ye tried..." he twitched his hand, shrugging in apology at even having to hint at this, "yerself?"
Teyla answered first, "Yes!! It appears to make it worst." She was practically growling by the end of the sentence, and Carson saw Elizabeth nod grimly in agreement.
"Not even fer a time after..."
"No." This time Elizabeth replied, very shortly.
"And ye've never had this before?"
"Carson!!"
He raised his hands defensively, "Aye, Aye. Just had ta ask. Well, let me run some tests." he hesitated, frowning in concentration, "A wonder... A've had some odd complaints from a few other women these last hours."
"Odd?"
"Aye. They called it hot flashes, over-sensitivity and soreness... but a canna help but wonder if that was na merely euphemisms."
"How many?"
"Six since last evening. A'll call them back in fer more tests."
"Yer norepinephrine levels are very low. That should na cause arousal, but it could well inhibit the... effectiveness of orgasm."
"Why are they low? And what is causing.. arousal." Elizabeth looked at Teyla with a worried frown, "And why both of us?"
"That a dinna know Elizabeth. Though as a said, a've had some other odd complaints. None near as severe as you two, which is why a dinna find this before."
Elizabeth and Teyla exchanged another grim glance. At best this would be an embarrassment for them, at worst... If the whole expedition was affected... Her leader's mind came up with a scenario that made her wince. Oh Lord. "Carson?" she didn't want to ask, but hiding never made the Wraith disappear. First things first, "How is our supply of condoms?"
The doctor turned to her with a surprised look, but seeing her grim expression, he turned appalled, imagining how most people would react to the sort of sensations in question, never mind the fact that there were damn few official couples on Atlantis. Never mind too the military rules in place. "I..." he hesitated, "I'll find out. And confirm how many women are protected by the pill." He turned away, shaking his head and grumbling under his breath at this crazy job.
"You believe this is affecting everyone, do you not?"
Elizabeth looked at the Athosian leader, "Yes. I don't want to, but the chances are simply too high to ignore."
"Then we must speak with the rest of the senior staff."
They both winced, "I know Teyla. I know." Before she could tap her earpiece to call the meeting, Carson came back toward them with some tablets and water.
"Here, try these. Clonidine, which is believed by some to inhibit sexual response, and a muscle relaxant fer the tension. 'Tis the best a can come up with right now, short of putting you under sedation."
"Definitely not yet Carson." Taking a fortifying breath, Elizabeth finally called John, Rodney and Ronon to the infirmary.
In the end, between keeping her negotiating face in place with a grip of iron, and Teyla and Carson's help, they managed to both convince the three men of the seriousness of the situation. And that jokes would not be permitted on pain of Teyla taking her fury out on the first poor idiot to try it. And Elizabeth taking on whatever was left.
Even Ronon looked intimidated by the dual feminine glares aimed at them. There were things that could make training and strength a poor defence. An infuriated woman, let along one you didn't want to injure, was definitely in that category.
It didn't hurt that all three men had had either encounters or reports of other women behaving oddly, which made it clear that everyone in Atlantis needed to be checked over immediately.
"Do we know how this is spreading?" McKay looked like he was choking on all the comments he was swallowing. "Maybe we should go into lock down?" he watched as John and Elizabeth looked at each other. Because he was watching, he saw the colonel tilt his head and the slight wince that crossed his face, which obviously meant something to Elizabeth because her lips tightened and she nodded before turning to the rest of them. He rolled his eyes; he had a feeling this epidemic was going to make life very interesting, especially for his in-denial friends.
"It sounds like a lot of people are already infected... Unless all the other complaints were from people posted together?" Elizabeth looked the question at Carson who just shook his head. "Well then, if it's already spread... Being locked in a room isn't likely to do anything for the victim's nerves. And unless it's a locked cell, sooner or later they won't be able to take it and will leave, so we're not avoiding the 'other problem' this is going to bring. No one off-world at the moment, right John?" Either Carson's drugs were having a little effect or tackling the crisis was working because she actually managed to say his name without quaking inside.
When he nodded, they left Carson to organize his troops and Elizabeth got on a city-wide channel to order everyone to cycle through the infirmary, not bothering to give a reason beyond a suspected, currently non-lethal, infection. She ignored John's raised brow at the fib; what was she supposed to say, 'We're worried about an epidemic of horny women'? To a cityful of soldiers?
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John followed Elizabeth back to her office, trying to keep his jittering feelings to himself. Part of it was the familiar worry he felt whenever Elizabeth was at risk. Part was impossible-to-completely-control reaction to knowing the woman he fantasized about on a too-regular basis... was aroused.
How was a man, or anyone for that matter, supposed to react in such a situation?? And then there was the responsible commander in him thinking up all sorts of bad scenarios; between the dangers inherent in highly trained soldiers being tortured by their bodies until their patience snapped... To those same rule-bound soldiers being pushed by the same bodies to break rules...
It was enough to make him regret breakfast and wish for stomach medicine. Not enough to regret following Elizabeth to Atlantis though. Never that.
Elizabeth went to pace behind her desk as he forbore his usual seat to stand by the door and block the view through it with his body, even more worried at her rapidly increasing agitation. Where was his master negotiator's self-controlled mask? This woman was wearing emotions he was sure Dr. Elizabeth Weir would not have wanted aired publicly. He spared a thought to ask Atlantis to darken the glass walls, trying to give her that much protection against curious eyes.
She suddenly spat out, "It is so blasted embarrassing to be so bloody aroused when I'm supposed to be working!" Waving her arms in emphasis. The reprieve she'd felt as they concentrated on the course of action to take had passed and she was once again having to fight for every minute of sanity. At least she didn't have to pretend everything was fine with John anymore. Didn't have to hide her every reaction.
He raised a brow in momentary humour, thinking of times he'd had to stay seated after a meeting where his thoughts had strayed a little too much. Usually to her. Hoping he was helping rather than making matters worse, he replied honestly. "Yeah, actually, I do know what being aroused when you. shouldn't. feels like."
She was shaking her head even as he spoke, eyes snapping to him and fixing there. "No. You have no idea how much I want to slam you into that wall right now and..." Elizabeth clenched her jaw and turned away, mumbling under her breath and trying harder to regain some control, remembering in a rush that there were still some things she needed to keep to herself; especially from John.
John stood stock still, heart stopping for an instant as a chill of shock flowed through him, leaving growing heat in its wake. When his breath started again, his nostril flared, body reacting to the very personal direction of her words. Disbelieving that she could want him rather than just a man, or more likely, someone more worthy of her than him. And yet that look in her eyes just now...
He mentally grabbed himself by the scruff. Though he couldn't help being glad that whatever this was didn't actually play with the mind, as far as they knew, he still couldn't let himself take her words too far. She hadn't meant for him to know, at least not now, not this way. It would be a betrayal of a sick friend to take advantage of the situation. No matter how much he suddenly wanted to tell her... No. Not now.
Though a kernel of warmth deep inside was opening up, determined to make the opportunity to talk about them in the very near future.
Before he could come up with something intelligent to say here and now to break the tension, Teyla and Ronon walked in.
"Carson is running tests on everyone and Rodney is running sensor sweeps to see if he can find anything out of the ordinary in Atlantis. In the meantime, we have been trying to ascertain where this came from. The two of us," Teyla pointed at herself and Elizabeth, "appear to have the most advanced symptoms. We are therefore assuming we were the first to be infected; assuming this is an infection. The last people to come through the gate, which is where Carson believes this started, were John and Ronon."
She stopped, sharing an unhappily significant look with Elizabeth, both of them pretending the men weren't present, "We were likely the first to greet them and quite possibly stood closer to them than anyone else would have. Carson and Rodney would like air, water and soil samples from the planet they visited." She rolled her eyes, "And Carson does not recommend any women set foot there. Since there is a choice, even HASMAT-suited, he feels it would be safer to send a male."
"Bet you never thought you'd be glad to have twisted your ankle before a mission." Ronon tried a gentle tease at the Athosian, getting a mild glare in return. John looked at Teyla and silently agreed with him. A short-tempered teammate was bad enough, but he'd hate to be in her shoes in such a situation.
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By mid-afternoon, Carson had tested every woman in the expedition. Almost two-thirds showed the same chemical footprint, with varying degrees of severity. From Elizabeth and Teyla's dangerously tense state to a very few who hadn't noticed anything at all.
As Carson tried different medications to try to control the overt symptoms and ran every test he could imagine on both the unaffected women, and those who didn't feel any symptoms, Elizabeth was forced to call a general meeting to inform everyone of the presence of an epidemic. With the senior staff backing her up, every one of them with a very threatening warning glare on their face, she explained the exact medical nature of the problem.
She managed to be amused at the cultural dynamics being played out in front of her. The female military contingent had organized all the women into a block, separated from the men by the female soldiers. And every one of them looked ready to kill.
All that put together somehow kept the men's reactions to no more than the odd smile that was wiped off very efficiently when the female 'guards' audibly growled. From the sudden pallor of some of those men, she had a feeling that they were anticipating combat training becoming very dangerous. As long as no complaints made their way to herself or John, she found she really didn't care. Looked like after all this time dealing with military violence, she finally had a use for it.
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During the next few hours, as more and more women got beyond the point where they could work, Carson tried every drug he had available that had low sex drive as a side effect. Getting frustrated as he was forced to prescribe medicines, that weren't the most healthy at the best of times, simply in the hope that his patients' would feel one of its side effects.
There was no choice however, as even sedatives did not stop the body's symptoms from progressing. Watching the way blood pressure increased and muscles started knotting, he grimly pressed Rodney to look for anything at all in the samples they'd collected. Himself trying to find what the women who weren't affected could possibly have in common with each other and not with the rest.
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Teyla, taking a run through the corridors to try to wear herself out, noticed one of the unaffected women walking away from a closet at the same time as one of the male marines. She stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide as she mentally listed the women infected but without symptoms and compared the names to those that rumour had had in relationships for some time. Realizing as she did that most of the infected women had been part of the original expedition.
She closed her mouth with a snap when the matchup was exceedingly close. About to tap her earpiece to discuss it with the doctor, she saw Ronon turn the next corner. This time when her body's reaction jerked up a notch again she didn't try to fight it, instead she marched up to the surprised Satedan, grabbed his forearm firmly and turned him toward her quarters as she explained her theory.
There was a time to keep men on the path of leisurely courtship; and then there was a time to put an end to it. A leader must know when expediency is ascendant over the desires of the heart.
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Tiredness was making John edgy.
Worrying about Elizabeth would have made sleep hard enough, but knowing she was unable to rest had drawn him out of his room, convincing her to spend the night helping him clear out the mess in areas of Atlantis that they had found and not yet started to use. It gave him the chance to keep an eye on her without standing so close that it made her symptoms worse. And the physical labour gave her an out for the frustration without requiring mental concentration.
She'd even gotten him to sit still to meditate with her a few times. Not actually a bad way to spend a night, he had to admit. It wasn't often he could convince her to spend that much time with him. Unless they were under attack and... that just took the fun out of it.
Unfortunately, now John was starting to worry the situation was getting into critical mode.
He'd brought their breakfast to her office to make sure she ate and he could see the little good that meditation had done was long gone. Could actually see muscles twitching under her skin from the tension. Recognized her hunched posture and loose clothing as signs of too-sensitive skin, like he'd gotten from sunburn.
Could see her getting agitated, body jerking unconsciously as she tried to fight her way out of her skin. Saw her hands suddenly turn to claws and attack her forearms. Even as he jumped up and covered the space between them, he saw blood droplets appear. Grabbing her hands in his before she could do worse, away from hurting herself, he pushed her into the wall where he could hold her hands immobile against the uncontrolled strength she threw at him, yelling, "Stop!"
And then realized his mistake. He was standing too close, could smell her arousal, see her pupils dilate, her sudden complete focus on him. His own breath was suddenly panting, body reacting to her without stopping by his brain for permission; his memory of her voice as she told him point blank that she wanted him almost overruling even his fear for her safety.
He was having to fight them both and wasn't at all sure he could hold out for any length of time. Since he couldn't risk loosening his grip on her hands, he had to use his head to tap his earpiece on his raised shoulder, "Carson!" He heard the quasi-desperation in his voice, knew his eyes had to hold a matching expression.
"Colonel?"
"I... I need some help." he didn't like treating her like a madwoman, but for the moment she seemed to have reached the limit of her self-control. Her only reaction to his speaking had been baring her teeth and trying harder to break his hold.
Carson's head jerked up from his computer screen, hearing the strain in the man's cryptic words. "Where?"
"Elizabeth's office." John grunted as her knee slipped through his guard and pressed somewhere he really didn't need, which reminded him; he took a second to get Atlantis to darken the glass walls; again. Damned socially embarrassing infection. She, they, had enough trouble with authority without such idiocy.
"Right. On my way."
Using a bent leg to push and hold both of hers to the wall, he started talking, trying to get her mind to kick back in, trying to keep his own distracted. "You have to keep fighting Elizabeth. You can't let this overrun your head. Keep thinking. Preferably about something really disgusting. Come on, what's the absolute worst thing you've ever been presented as food?" He tried a grin, hoping she would respond, carrying on when she didn't.
"Alright, how about... hey here's always a good one. Your parents. Think of your parents getting carried away and creating you." He was glad to see her wince, knowing it meant she could hear and understand him, at least somewhere in her mind. "Umm, Kavanaugh and a wraith queen?" For the first time in a couple days he was honestly smirking; how often would Elizabeth actually be grateful for his juvenile turn of mind?
Now he just had to come up with enough 12-year-old 'EW' comments to throw her off her one-track mind long enough for the doctor to get here. And then hope she didn't react to him the same way she did to John. He wasn't sure how he'd deal with that, especially right now... "Klingon gak. Slime baths. I even know a planet where you can get some really lovely lukewarm slime pits perfect for it. Complete with the most overpowering sulfur stench. Probably really healthy." Where the heck was Beckett, the scent of her had his brains too scrambled to come up with really good suggestions.
He'd been slowly getting closer to her without realizing, so that by the time Carson appeared, they looked about to kiss. Causing him to say loudly, to get through to his friends, "Colonel Sheppard!!"
John jerked back, breath loud, eyes black. Wondering how much longer they could tread this line. He knew there were very good reasons why giving in right now would be worse than a bad idea. But he couldn't think when they were in such close proximity. And he wasn't willing to not be near; not be there to help.
As Carson stepped around the colonel and quickly injected Elizabeth with another dose of clonidine and a short term knockout, the men shared a grim glance. If preternaturally calm Elizabeth reacted like this... What would they be facing in a few hours when the rest of the women reached this state...
As he saw Elizabeth about to pass out, Carson said, "Bring 'er to the infirmary colonel. A'll treat those scratches. And put her in restraints if necessary. Fer all the good that'll do." Turning away to give the man a moment's privacy when he saw him pause to just hold the woman in his arms closer. Silently giving a prayer for all their tired souls as they started walking to the infirmary.
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"Ye dinna understand colonel, between the fact that they aren't sleeping, even with medication, and the way their muscles are starting to knot from being tensed too long. On top of all that, the constant swelling will eventually start damaging blood vessels. And nothing a do is helpin'!!"
John gripped the man's shoulder, trying to calm him as he ended the sentence literally with a shout. "Carson! Take it easy. Losing our heads isn't going to help anyone. Just take it easy. So how long exactly are we talking?"
The doctor took several deep breath, finally nodding his head in thanks for the verbal slap. "A don't know exactly. A'd guess a day or so for the first."
"A day!!" John was shocked, he knew he shouldn't be but.. mere hours to figure out what was causing this and how to treat it. A day before his people... Elizabeth... started. dying.
"I believe I may have a solution." John turned his head as Teyla walked in, struck at how calm and 'herself' she suddenly looked after her unaccustomed tension of the last while.
"Teyla?" Then he saw Ronon walk in very closely behind the Athosian. Looking both smug and worn out. If the situation hadn't been so dire, John would have laughed; he still spared a smile to be glad for his friends.
"Lass?" Then Carson also noted the Satedan's presence and his brows rose, mind suddenly taking a new spin to the crisis. He grabbed Teyla's arm and dragged her to the nearest empty bed, quickly attaching her to monitors and taking blood samples.
"Yer hormones are normal. Dropping slowly again, but definitely well within normal for the moment. 'Tisn't a cure, but it should give us breathing room to keep looking."
"Why would having sex be different from..." John gestured crudely with his hand, too exasperated with the situation to think of a polite term.
"Masturbatin'?", in a better mood with a possible palliative on hand, Carson innocently played the straight-faced physician.
"Yeah", John knew he was blushing.
"A could guess yer mate's..."
"Mate??" John interrupted, frowning, the term changing the usefulness of Teyla's discovery.
"Mate. As in person ye're matin' with." John relaxed a tiny bit. Not relieved, but at least back to having a solution on offer. "As a was saying, a could guess yer mate's pheromones could have a strong effect on whatever is causing this."
"Pheromones?? Isn't that what animals use in mating rituals? Why would that have any effect here. And how?"
"Humans also produce pheromones colonel. It's not a confirmed science, but certainly there is enough results out there to say they exist. If a knew all the whys a would cure this! A'm just speculatin' that havin' male pheromones enter the endocrine system, for example through the skin, which is one theory out there, could have a direct effect on the production of the hormones that are wrecking havoc with the women. For that matter whatever is at the root of this could be directly keyed to pheromones, for all a know!"
"Well." John scratched his head with a sigh. "If the pools are anything to go by, it'll probably work for quite a few of them. Some of the men on Atlantis are going to have very fond memories of this. But for others..." he stared hard at Carson.
The man's eyes widened after a moment, "Ya can't be serious! Ye want me to order these women to have sex???"
John shook his head, discovering he could still be surprised by the craziness of this job. "We're talking about lives, Carson. You said yourself you had no treatment and only days to go. We can hope the ones without recourse are the least affected and that you and Rodney come up with something in time, but if not... I don't know about you, Carson, but don't you think it'd be better if this was seen, by them and everyone that's going to end up involved, as a plain medical treatment?"
"Aye but..."
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AN3: chapter2 is mostly written, so shouldn't be too long.