Synopsis: A grim trip to assist in a mission gone bad provides Marie with more drama than she'd envisioned. Set after Season Five. There's whump, but not as much as usual. This is more of a character study for Marie and how she interacts with the others from Atlantis, especially Major Lorne and Carson Beckett.
A/N: Thanks to annie b for the beta. That said, I must point out that any mistakes found in this tale are all mine.
Rating: G
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
by ValleyA
Chapter One
"Marie, love, stay close. Major Lorne says we're almost there," Carson Beckett said over his shoulder to his head nurse from the infirmary back on Atlantis.
They'd worked together ever since they first arrived on Atlantis five years earlier, but going out on a mission like this was something totally new for Marie. Like Carson, she was a civilian, not military personnel.
Carson and Marie were carrying surgical supplies with them into the cave for a specific purpose. Major Lorne was ahead of them, leading the way to their patient with Teyla and Ronon covering them from opposite sides of the procession. Sergeant Stackhouse's team was watching their rear position for possible attack.
Marie didn't need any encouragement to follow Carson's order. Things were dangerous enough as it was, let alone for her to be separated from the others at this crucial time. Besides, she had a running joke with Carson that he was her good luck charm. She didn't plan on staying a second away from his side.
It had been a rough trip for Marie between the barely existent trail and potential snipers lurking in the shadows. She rarely went out on missions, but this was a special circumstance. Thankfully, Major Lorne and his Marines had provided a secure corridor for them to travel, but nothing was absolute.
Marie hoped their time there would be short and that they could do the required surgery as quickly as possible and then get back to Atlantis ASAP. She wasn't physically or psychologically prepared for this type of scenario, but Carson had needed a surgical nurse and she'd offered to go on an impulse. Now, she was seriously regretting that impetuous move.
They reached the rest of Major Lorne's team, who were guarding the cave entrance, along with Doctor Rodney McKay. Major Lorne nodded to his men. "What's the situation?"
Major Lorne's demeanor noticeably shifted now that he had his charges safely out of harm's way, relaxing almost immediately when they'd entered the cave, but he still seemed somewhat apprehensive. Part of it might have been due to the ongoing conflict with the Samjo clan, part of it due to the grim nature of the probable surgery ahead of them, and honestly part of it might have been Marie's own apprehension tainting her observations.
Still, it was readily apparent some of the soldiers already had minor wounds, no doubt the result of fending off their attackers and that was cause for alarm. A sudden burst of gunfire made Major Lorne turn around and stare out the cave's entrance as he took cover behind some of the large rocks and motioned for the others to do the same.
"When did they get reenforcements?" Lorne asked.
"They just got here," Doctor Rodney McKay said with frustration.
"Looks like we were lucky to arrive when we did," Sergeant Stackhouse said grimly.
Doctor McKay nodded. "Things ought to get interesting from here on out. Now, the real trick will be getting out of here in one piece."
"That's up to Woolsey," Lorne said. "Our job is to stay alive until then."
Ronon straightened. "I still say let me go out there. I'll shut them down."
Lorne shook his head. "You heard the colonel's orders. We do not attack. Any shots fired are in defense only."
"I could use the stun setting."
"Sorry, but I've got my orders. No obvious or covert attacks."
Ronon reacted and Marie thought it sounded as if Ronon had actually growled in frustration, but he kept silent.
"Just hold the line," Major Lorne said firmly to Stackhouse, Ronon and Teyla. "I'll be back in a minute."
Rodney pointed a finger at Carson. "You guys need to work fast."
Carson grunted. "Easy for you to say, Rodney, because you aren't facing the task we are, but you are right about one thing. I do need to get to my patient."
Lorne glanced back at the rest of their medical team and gestured for them to follow him as he resumed his path deeper into the cave. He spoke to Carson. "He's this way."
Doctor McKay swallowed hard and didn't follow them. "I'll just stay out here with Teyla and Ronon. You know me and the sight of blood."
"Yes, I am all too well aware of that, Rodney," Carson nodded and went to follow Major Lorne.
Marie fell into step behind Carson. The passageway through the cave was narrow at points and winding, but once they entered the main cavern, there were makeshift torches and plenty of flashlights burning to ward off the darkness.
Marie saw Colonel Sheppard kneeling with his hand on the shoulder of a young corporal who had one leg pinned under a huge slab of stone. The limb had to be crushed beyond repair, but the young man was begging anyway, his expression tortured. "Please, Colonel, there's got to be another way. I can't lose my leg. I just can't."
Colonel Sheppard squeezed the corporal's shoulder in empathy. "We've been over this, Corporal. It's in the doctor's hands. Just hang in there."
The young man's brown hair was damp with sweat, his complexion also misted and red. He clutched a handful of the colonel's upper sleeve in one hand as he stammered, "But – but there's got to be another way. I can't go home without my leg. Just kill me now."
Colonel Sheppard gently pulled the man's hand away from his shirt and held onto it. "We aren't killing anyone, Corporal, if we can avoid it, friendlies and hostiles alike. This is all just a big misunderstanding with the Samjo clan. Beckett will be here soon."
"Colonel," Lorne called out. "The medical team is already here."
Colonel Sheppard's dark expression relaxed a little as he turned to them. "I was about to send someone out to radio you again. Radio reception really sucks in here."
He leaned closer to the corporal. "It won't be long before you're back home at Atlantis again. Be strong."
Sheppard gave the team a tight smile before giving Carson room to move into place, then he knelt at Carson's side after Carson passed by him, staying close to the corporal as his hand went back to rest on the corporal's shoulder again.
Carson patted the young man on the thigh and said, "Okay, laddie, let's take a look at you. How are you doing at the moment?"
"There's got to be some other way." The corporal didn't waste any time, continuing his plea without missing a beat, but Marie thought it was his dark brown eyes that were most heart-wrenching. She felt for Carson and the delicacy of handling such an emotional powder keg.
The corporal hissed in pain and added shakily, "I won't let you take my leg."
"Hold that thought for a moment while I get your vital signs," Carson said softly, turning to the medic on the scene, who had also been at the corporal's side.
The medic was a Hispanic man of average height and build by the name of Sergeant Hector Gavillanes. He had a strong accent from his native country of Columbia that came through as he said, "I've got an IV of lactated ringers started and he's handling the fluids well. He hasn't been in that much pain so I held off giving him any morphine."
"Good man," Carson said, patting him on the shoulder. Marie enjoyed working with Hector. He was a very capable medic with a big heart. His troubled expression revealed the depth of his empathy for the corporal.
Carson removed his hand from Hector's shoulder and asked, "Now, what readings have you been getting?"
Hector relayed the information to Carson quickly, giving him blood pressure, heart rate and respiration readings. From what Marie could tell, it sounded like the corporal was holding his own. In fact, he was doing amazingly well for a man with a crushed limb. Now, if they could only avoid crushed limb syndrome, a condition that killed a large percentage of survivors of severe trauma.
Carson nodded. "Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let me see what I can see."
"Doc?" the young man started.
Carson turned back to Hopkins. "I need to examine you further before any decisions are made," he said softly.
Carson bent down to examine the part of Hopkins' leg that was above the area currently covered by the rock slab. Hector had already cut away the corporal's pant leg.
After a minute, Carson caught Marie's eye and nodded once. That was all the direction Marie needed. In that one motion, Carson had told her he was at least sure enough surgery might be in order for her to start setting up the equipment. She took out a sterile drape from one bag and laid it out on the ground, then pulled out the necessary surgical paraphernalia.
"Doc," Colonel Sheppard started, then stopped, glancing down at the corporal. He frowned, as if troubled by what he had to ask in front of the young man and spoke with a lower tone, "How long – how long do you think you'll need?"
"As long as it takes, Colonel," Carson said quietly as he worked.
"Oh, God," the corporal whispered, his expression twisted with pain and fear.
Carson bent down, moving his face closer to the corporal's, obviously trying to reach the young man in that personable Carson Beckett style he had. "Listen, laddie, your vital signs are strong. You will make it. You hear me. You'll make it. Just try to take some slow deep breaths."
The corporal evaded the attempted comfort. "I don't want to make it, not if it's without my leg," he whispered bitterly.
Several P90s fired in unison from the outer cave. Sheppard's eyebrows went up. "Just so you know, Doc, time is an unknown factor at the moment."
When Carson gave him an irritated look, the colonel put up a hand. "I'm just saying if the Samjo clan decides to mount a full scale attack, we'll be stuck here until reenforcements can fight their way through or Woolsey irons out a cease-fire with the powers that be."
Lorne cleared his throat, then said, "They've already got some reenforcements, sir. The men out front are taking heavier gunfire."
The colonel frowned. "Great, just great."
Lowering his voice, Sheppard added, "This could get real ugly real fast.
Carson nodded, but never stopped what he was doing. "I'll keep that in mind, Colonel. Now, please, give me a moment to work."
Carson licked his lips when he moved down toward the stone itself and stared at the slab of rock where the corporal's lower leg disappeared underneath it. He turned back to the medic. "There's not a lot of blood here."
Hector nodded. "Yeah, I noticed that and also – "
Before he could continue, the sound of weapons fire resounded again. Apparently, the locals were renewing their attack with vigor. All of this because members of two teams complete with scientists, archeologists and anthropologists had unknowingly trespassed on some sacred burial place of the Samjo clan. Luckily, the teams had Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne as leaders, and they were able to get away.
According to the story Lorne told as they traveled, Sheppard had tried to negotiate, but the tribesmen said, in no uncertain terms, they were all going to die horrible deaths, so they retreated into the caves and that was where Lorne and Sheppard set up their defenses.
Marie glanced nervously at the others. She wasn't made for combat duty like they were. Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne moved forward a little with the sound of shooting, their own weapons ready to fire if necessary.
Sheppard gestured with his chin toward the entrance to Lorne. "Go, see how they are doing."
"Yes, sir," Lorne said and went back into the passageway with three of his men.
The colonel looked at Carson. "We'll keep them out of here and off your back. Take as long as you need," he repeated quietly, but it was what he didn't say that carried more weight. Marie could almost hear him add, "... to amputate a man's leg and get him ready for travel through a war zone."
"Aye," Carson said grimly.
He pulled out a syringe and a vial of medication. "Okay, Corporal, I'm going to give you something to help with the pain and calm you down a little," he started.
Hopkins started crying in earnest. "No, God, please, no."
Carson bent down closer to him and softened his voice. "What's your first name, Corporal?"
"Jesse."
"Well, Jesse, I'm going to give you something to help with the pain. I swear to you I'll do what I can to save as much of your leg as I can."
Jesse shook his head back and forth. "No," he whispered again and he started to struggle.
Sheppard held the man down while Carson prepared to give Hopkins the injection.
"NOOOO!" Hopkins shouted.
Colonel Sheppard had a hard time keeping him still, having to shift all of his upper body strength to bear down on Hopkins' shoulders, but Carson didn't take long to inject the medication. Marie continued to set up for the surgery, keeping things as sterile as she could by placing another drape put over the surgical tools when she was done.
Sheppard finally let go of Hopkins when his struggles eased.
"There you go, laddie," Carson said softly, patting Jesse on the arm.
Sheppard let out a long breath. "This really sucks."
Carson nodded grimly and disposed of his used syringe. He had barely finished when the cave rumbled violently. Marie looked around in alarm, caught unprepared by its abrupt onset.
Lorne came running back in. "They're starting another barrage."
Sheppard cursed under his breath. "Brace yourself. The charges they are using are what got Corporal Hopkins into trouble in the first place. Stay away from the cave walls if you can."
Carson looked at Marie. "You heard him. Get to the center of the cave. I'll stay with the lad."
Marie shook her head. "No, I'm staying here with you. Remember, you're my good luck charm."
Carson flashed her a quick look of exasperation. "Do not make me regret bringing you along, Marie," he said firmly.
Before she could reply, the rumbling stopped.
"Well, that wasn't so bad," Carson said loud enough for Lorne to hear him.
"This time," Lorne said quickly. "The charges they are using vary in intensity. It lures you into a sense of false security."
Carson sighed. Ronon, Doctor McKay and Teyla entered the area. Sheppard and Lorne went to meet them. "We believe we can slip out and at least temporarily disable their targeting system for their explosive devices," Teyla said.
"Oh yeah?" Sheppard asked, looking intrigued.
Doctor McKay nodded. "They must have this area around the burial grounds mined like the Korean Demilitarized Zone, along with these caves due to their proximity, because none of the charges are above ground, but they are using an electronic signal to remotely detonate the mines closest to us. It's a miracle we weren't blown to smithereens getting here. If I can get close enough, I can jam the signal so they can't detonate the devices."
Colonel Sheppard chewed on his lower lip. "Okay, get ready to pull out. Our team will slip out when Lorne's and Stackhouse's men provides cover."
Sheppard called to Carson. "Doc, can we speak to you for a minute?"
Carson hesitated and Marie nodded. "I'll stay with him."
Carson patted the young man on the shoulder. "I'll be right back."
"No rush, if you're coming back to take my leg," Hopkins whispered with a ragged breath that almost interrupted the last of his words, but he was obviously feeling the effects of the injection as his eyelids had a hard time staying open.
Carson reached the colonel's side. "Are you going to take the leg?" Sheppard asked grimly.
Carson shrugged slightly. "I hate to say it, but probably so. I need some more time to assess his condition."
Sheppard nodded, then turned to Lorne, saying, "Lorne, you and your team stay in here with Beckett and the other civilians, just in case some of them slip by our defenses at the cave entrance."
Lorne frowned and scratched his forehead, obviously not happy with his order. "Why not leave Stackhouse's team here?"
"Because you'll be their last line of defense, Major, and Stackhouse's team has an explosives expert."
Lorne's frown deepened, but he didn't argue. "True. Yes, sir."
Sheppard and his team headed out, leaving Major Lorne and his team, along with a few other men, with Carson. Carson had just turned back in Marie's direction when a much louder and more violent rumbling overtook the cave.
Rock fell from above. Marie bent over the corporal to protect him as much as possible while covering the back of her neck with her hands. It seemed to go on forever. And she spent the excruciatingly long moments deep in prayer. If only that alone would protect them.
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Chapter 1
