I have no medical training so I apologise for anything that may not be accurate
I unfortunately don't own Stargate or any of the characters and am just borrowing them for my own enjoyment.
Rodney and Ronon got the all clear from the nurses and moved to the waiting room to hear any news of Sheppard's condition. After a few minutes of silence Teyla came rushing in.
"I just heard." She said. "Has there been any news on the Colonels condition."
"No." Rodney replied. "He's been brought into surgery; they said something about internal bleeding."
"He will be fine Rodney." Teyla assured trying to comfort the scientist. "He is strong and healthy."
"Why does he always have to play the hero?" Rodney yelled ,moving from his chair and started pacing. "He would have been fine if he hadn't knocked me out of the way."
"Then you would be in his place." Teyla replied placing a hand on Rodney's arm to stop him pacing.
"You would have been dead." Ronon added.
"What." Rodney spluttered. "No I wouldn't. I was...it wouldn't have hit me...Would it."
"Yeah." Ronon replied. "Would have killed you."
"Oh." Rodney replied and slumped down in the nearest chair to continue the wait.
Carter joined the group after a while and the 4 sat in silence, waiting for news yet again on their friend's condition.
Over 2 hours later they all jumped from their seats when Dr. Keller passed through the doors.
"He has come through surgery OK." Keller informed them. "It was touch and go for a while and we lost him once, but we got him back. He had severe internal bleeding as well as a pneumothorax, 3 broken and 2 cracked ribs. There was a small tear in his spleen, which caused a lot of the bleeding but we managed to repair that easily enough. There is some heavy bruising around his kidney which we need to keep an eye on. There are numerous minor scraps and bruises on his legs and he broke his left wrist, which we have set and put in a cast."
"So he is going to be ok?" Rodney asked.
"We are giving him a transfusion and fluids to combat the blood loss. He is on a ventilator and he has a chest tube in place for the pneumothorax. His pressure is still too low but that should improve with the blood and fluids. So we are hopeful he will pull through."
"Good. That's good." Rodney sighed in relief. "Can we see him?"
"He is just being settled in the ICU." Keller replied. "As soon as he is settled you can come in, two at a time but only for a few minutes. He still needs very close monitoring and he is heavily sedated so will be out of it for a while. It will be a long recovery."
"We will be here for him." Teyla assured.
"I'll be back for you shortly." Keller said and headed back into the infirmary.
"We can have the debrief once we have checked on Colonel Sheppard." Carter suggested
"Yes ok." Rodney replied. "You and Teyla can go in first and then Ronon and I will go in."
"That is fine." Teyla replied, just as Dr. Keller returned and beckoned them to follow her.
They all followed her to the entrance to the ICU and Teyla and Colonel Carter entered behind Keller. Teyla gasped when she caught sight of him. Carter gently put her arm around Teyla and moved the pregnant women closer to the bed, which was surrounded by machines.
"He looks so pale." Teyla said sadly and grasped his undamaged hand gently in hers. "There are so many machines."
"He lost a lot of blood." Keller advised. "We need to monitor everything closely for the next few days, that's why he is connected so all of these."
Teyla squeezed his hand gently and whispered "Get better soon John." And stepped back outside the room, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Ronon and Rodney went in after trying to comfort Teyla to no avail.
"Why are there so many tubes and machines?" Rodney gasped
"As I explained earlier." Keller sighed "There was a lot of damage, so we need to monitor everything carefully. Abdominal injuries can be tricky."
"You'd better get better soon Sheppard." Rodney said quietly and walked out of the room.
Ronon surveyed the numerous machines and tubes connected to his friend, sighed and he too left the room followed by Keller.
"Can I join you in the debrief." Keller asked. "I would like to find out exactly how my patient received his injuries."
"Yes of course Doctor." Carter replied "Teyla you are welcome to join us as well."
"Thank you Colonel." Teyla replied. "I would like that."
"Ok Rodney." Carter said when they had settled in the meeting room. "Can you start at the beginning please."
"Yes well, ah sure. We hiked to the outpost and Sheppard turned on a machine and I downloaded the data. We headed back and as we were nearing the gate, animals attacked us. Sheppard knocked me out of the way and covered me."
"Did anything else happen?" Carter asked.
"Sheppard seemed dizzy after using the machine." Ronon added.
"Mmm." Rodney agreed. "He said it was hard to keep the connection. There was a flash of light when he disconnected and I think he had a headache on the way back. He normally gets headaches after using the ancient tech for extended periods or if he has to push for a connection."
"I'll add that to his notes." Keller advised. "Can you describe what happened with the animals?"
"He knocked McKay out of the way, but he got hit in the side." Ronon said. "He covered McKay and the animals kept running at them."
"Some must have hit off him because I could feel him moving every so often always followed by a grunt or a gasp." Rodney added
"The animals have horns and sharps hooves, they would have caused some of the cuts." Ronon said
"He tackled me pretty hard and my elbow went into his side and he landed on my backpack." Rodney continued.
"This would explain how he sustained the blunt force trauma to his abdomen, which caused most of the injuries." Keller explained. "The bruising to his kidneys, back and legs was most likely caused, as Ronon said form the animal's hooves. The gash on his side was probably from the animal's horn."
"So did you get any useful information Rodney?" Sam asked."
"Oh, um hopefully." Rodney replied. "Unfortunately my laptop was damaged a bit in the fall, so it may take a few hours to get the information. The facility wasn't powered by a ZedPM which was unfortunate. I don't think the data will be anything life changing, but may be interesting."
"OK so." Carter said. "Let's wrap this up. Get something to eat guys and rest up. I have a feeling it will be a long week."
"And I don't want to see anyone in the infirmary until tomorrow morning, after 9am." Keller added.
"But." Rodney started to protest.
"No buts Dr. McKay." Keller interrupted. "We need to monitor the Colonel; he still isn't out of the woods."
"Fine." Rodney huffed getting up from his chair and left followed by Ronan and Teyla.
"I'll head back to the infirmary to keep an eye on my patient." Keller said and headed back to the infirmary.
To be continued........................................
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