Author's note: Thank you so much for the reviews! I wasn't sure whether people would like it but I'm so glad to hear that so many are enjoying it :) You guys sure know how to encourage me to update sooner! LOL. Hope this chapter pleases just as well. It gets a little dark for poor John.

-oOo-

Chap 2: Side-effects

The pain was overwhelming, John felt as if his blood was burning him alive from inside out. Whatever the alien device was doing to him, he was certain that it wasn't anything good; he wondered whether it wanted to cause him indescribable agony so as to drive him insane. It was getting exceedingly difficult to hang on to coherent thoughts as more of the drug seeped into his body. He was at the point where he was willing to risk the projectile's extraction and be damned with the consequences. He knew that he was caught between a rock and a hard place; and it literally sucked.

Nearby, he felt his team trying to lend him strength; it was the only solitary comfort in his world of pain. For their sake, he hung on, trying to do the right thing. For a second his eyes opened, moving frantically all over the place. He heard his name being called, not loudly, but it demanded his attention in a familiar, arrogant but urgent manner; it was something that he could never ignore. His wild gaze locked for a moment onto Rodney's frightened one; a rational part of his mind still registered Rodney's hand clutching his forearm tightly, lending comfort and strength as if saying 'I'm here, Sheppard! Tell me what to do!'

His mouth opened and closed under Ronon's palm, desperate to get coherent words out instead of cries of pain. Help me, Rodney! Do something to stop the pain! His mind shrieked the words but to his dismay, no vocalised speech came out except another agonised scream as another wave of agony captured him. He was lost once more in his misery as he shut his eyes tightly, his back arching against Ronon's lap as the Satedan tried to hold him down.

Yet, Rodney must have understood the look that passed before them for in the swirling darkness, he heard muffled voices as the scientist suddenly hissed at Teyla, "Give him a shot of morphine, Teyla! I-I think Sheppard needs it for the pain!" Rodney's voice sounded as desperate as John felt.

The Athosian hesitated. "I do not think it is advisable Rodney! Dr Beckett warned me not to administer any morphine if there's evidence of unknown drugs in the body." Amidst the roar of blood pounding through his ears, John clearly heard the trepidation lacing Teyla's voice. John knew that the Athosian had been receiving emergency first aid lessons from Carson Beckett, but that would not be enough for her to deal with an emergency situation such as this. A small rational part of his mind recognised that Teyla wanted to do the right thing; the problem was that she wasn't qualified enough to know what it was. "We do not know what that liquid is doing to John, but it's more important to tend to his wound first."

"G-get… it… off!" Sheppard hissed.

"I'm sorry John, but you know that I cannot," replied Teyla encouraging. A gentle hand reached out to touch him on the shoulder before moving to the site of his wound. Her ministrations sent renewed eruptions of pain exploding through out his entire body, making the pain worse. He writhed trying to escape from Teyla, but Ronon still sheltered him firmly; one great arm clutching across his shoulder and chest, trying to keep his body still while offering comfort as the Athosian tried to examine his wound. He didn't know how much more he could take of this! The pain flared up again, what little ground he had won earlier quickly retreated. He was in indescribable agony. If it weren't for Ronon's hand over his mouth again, his screams would have alerted those hunting them of their location immediately.

John was beyond rational thought now; he fought and struggled against his team mates. Whatever the alien drug was doing to him, it was making the pain worse; it was better for it to be removed; better to bleed to death than to continue with this. He suddenly realised that the choice was his, not Teyla's. Although the Athosian was trying her best to save his life, she did not understand what he was going through.

He bucked and twisted, fought against Ronon's hold with all that he was worth. With one of the Satedan's hand over his mouth and the other trying to hold his body down, John somehow managed to grab the alien projectile with one hand, while pushing Teyla's hands away with the strength of the desperate. Consequences be damned it was now or never. With a jerk, he swiftly ripped the sharp projectile out of his body and flung it to one side. He hated what that damn alien contraption was doing to him with a passion.

"Oh God—" he heard Rodney's voice utter in shock.

For a brief instant, he felt overwhelming relief to no longer have the alien projectile inside his body, but it was only a brief respite. A second later, he felt as if he had made a terrible mistake when hot shearing agony erupted out from his wounded side like a large tidal wave ready to drown him. His insides felt as if they were being eaten alive. John opened his eyes, staring at nothing, his back arched again and his agonized screams struggled for release from the Satedan's hand that firmly covered his mouth. Despite the blood roaring through his ears he managed to hear Teyla's frantic voice speak, sounding close to panic.

"Oh John, what have you done?! The ancestors help us; he is losing so much blood… Rodney! Quick, pass me those bandages! I'm going to have to bind his injury before he bleeds to death!"

"Here!" he heard Rodney's scared voice whisper amidst his hammering heart and gasping breaths. His eyes were now slammed tightly shut amidst tears of pain that leaked from the sides of his eyelids. Then Teyla's hands were on his body again, Ronon helped her lift his body as she got ready to wrap the bandage round his wounded site.

She paused for a second.

"What is it?" he heard Ronon asked in concern.

"His blood…" Teyla replied, her voice sounded slightly shocked. John stiffened wondering else could be wrong.

"Oh God, isn't it meant to be red?" Rodney gasped out the words. "Crap! This is bad!"

"Rodney!" Teyla hissed a warning. Rodney seemed to have caught her non-verbal message for he suddenly changed his song. "Oh, I was wrong. Ignore what I just said, Sheppard, it's nothing, nothing to worry about. You'll be fine, just fine, there nothing wrong with you that Beckett can't fix." He felt a hand move to pat him once on the shoulder.

However, Rodney's words didn't make John feel any better; it reminded him too much of Elizabeth's bad bedside manner when he had been infected by the iratus bug retrovirus. Teyla hands started moving swiftly again as she began wrapping the bandages firmly around his wounded side.

"I am so sorry, John," Teyla apologised, sounding close to tears that she was causing him unintentional hurt. "I am doing the best I can."

Sheppard gulped and nodded, his eyes still shut, not having the strength to reply. He understood; he wished he could comfort Teyla and tell her that it was okay, that he appreciated all the help that she was giving him. He hoped that she would understand. Ronon still held him securely, wrapping his arms over him like a bear-hug, lifting his body when Teyla needed him to.

"It'll be over soon," whispered Ronon softly, the former runner tried to reassure him. Sheppard nodded again, glad that he had the Satedan there to ensure that he would not unwittingly betray their presence to their enemy by making too much noise.

Clenching his right hand, his fingers dug painfully into the hard ground. A hand captured his fist, forcing his fingers open, offering clumsy support. Instinctively, his mind recognised that it was a hand of a friend, someone whom he trusted and he gripped the hand back in a fierce clutch, holding on to it as if his life depended on it. He heard a soft grunt of pain from the other but no complaints. He knew that he was gripping the other hand too hard, but he needed it in his battle against the overwhelming pain.

"Hang on, Sheppard," the familiar voice pleaded close to his ear. There was movement as if the person stretched to get something. A second later, he felt the pin prick of something cool hit his veins.

There was a gasp of shock. It came from Teyla. "Rodney! You should not have done that! We do not know how the morphine will react to the alien drug! Carson informed me about the dangers of it."

"We have no choice, Teyla! Sheppard … he needed something to counter the pain; I-I don't think he could last much longer without something to help him fight it. Sooner or later, probably sooner, knowing Sheppard's luck, his body will start shutting down. I might not be Carson, but I still recall enough from the courses that I took as an undergrad to know we would lose him anyway if we didn't try something," Rodney hissed back. "I-I believe that Sheppard would prefer taking the risk."

John wanted to nod, agreeing full heartedly with McKay. Sometimes the scientist amazed him and lived up to his full reputation of being a genius. Close above him, he also heard Ronon's voice whisper softly in agreement. "McKay's correct. Sheppard would want this."

Thanks guys, he wanted to say, but his body was too weak to utter the words. It took a few moments before he felt the effects of the morphine start to kick in, dulling out the pain, allowing his hammering heart to slow down from its rapid and erratic beats. He let out a shuddering breath of relief, his tensed body calming down considerably. He knew that it was only a temporary measure; it was not healing his wound in anyway but instead was placing his pain receptors into a soft pause mode. He sincerely hoped that it would be long enough for him to gather enough strength for the next battle against the pain.

With his thoughts more coherent now, he knew that his condition was also placing his team in danger. He needed to be silent, and so far it was only Ronon's hand over his mouth that had prevented him from revealing their position to their hunters. He needed them to do what was required if things became desperate. When he had gathered enough strength to speak, he whispered the words, "If I m-make … too much… n-noise, h-hit me..."

"What?" Rodney sounded shocked. The hand that was holding his removed itself suddenly. He felt surprised to discover that it belonged to Rodney. He knew that there would be fresh fingerprint bruises on the scientist's hand where he had clutched it too hard.

"I'm …a… l-liability… Better, if I-I'm… unconscious… Only w-way…" he stammered out. "W-won't … hold it… a-against you big guy." He knew that Ronon would know he meant him.

He opened his eyes to look at the members of his team. He frowned, for what he saw was not what he expected; when he looked at them he saw strange aura-like colours shimmering on Rodney, Teyla and Ronon's bodies. The colours fluctuated and flicked erratically whenever his blinked. The fluctuating images were making him feel slightly nauseas and dizzy. He saw Teyla and Rodney staring at him strangely as his frown deepened. He wondered if the alien drug was making him hallucinate.

"W-what?" A feeling of unexplained dread grew at the pit of his stomach. He recalled Rodney saying something about his blood.

"Er … what colour is your eyes, Sheppard?" Rodney asked oddly.

"You know that John has hazel eyes, Rodney," Teyla answered instead, but the Athosian was still staring at him in shock.

Ronon, who was still holding him in a kind of bear-hug, shifted John's weight slightly and tilted his head forward so that the Satedan could look into his eyes. John found himself staring dully into the Satedan's dark gaze. A small frown of concern formed in between the runner's brows. "What do you think this means?" Ronon asked.

Teyla and Rodney both shook their heads dumbly. John didn't like what he was hearing.

"W-what's… wrong... w-with… my eyes?" he asked again, his heart rate accelerating slightly.

Rodney looked at John, with an utterly bewildered look on his face. "You have blue eyes, Sheppard. Sapphire blue eyes! And it's down right creepy!"

-oOo-

TBC

Want more? Then you know what to do ;)