FADE TO BLACK...part 3
The trip to the bathroom was pure hell. John's legs didn't want to work properly and his knees buckled at one point and Rodney, trying to be helpful, wrapped an arm around John's waist, which set off wave after wave of agony. Gritting his teeth against crying out, John also fought against nausea, barely winning the fight, and he pretty much zoned out on Rodney's bumbling apology, which lasted right through relieving himself. The fact that Rodney was right there, holding John up, didn't deter him. John knew he wouldn't be able to stand on his own.
The trip back was made easier by the fact that a young man was waiting for them. He took John's other arm and they supported John back to the bed. Feeling sick to his stomach, skin slicked in a cold sweat, John tried to curl up mostly on his side, facing the newcomer. "Who...who are you?" he asked, through chattering teeth.
"My name is Casnar," the young man replied.
"He's our guard," Rodney interjected. He moved to kneel next to the bed. "How are you feeling, Colonel?" he asked, looking as pale as John felt.
It took a moment of swallowing back bile and considering whether or not to lie to Rodney, before John was able to reply. "Been better," he muttered, unable to stifle a moan of pain. His back felt like it was on fire.
Rodney jumped to his feet. "Where's Telyn? He's getting worse!"
"I am here, Rodney," Telyn called out, entering the room as she spoke. She hurried to John's side, reaching out to press one hand to his face. "The sickness has begun," she announced.
"No shit Sherlock!" Rodney snapped at her, then he clapped a hand over his mouth and looked horrified.
Telyn, to her credit, merely looked amused. She smiled at Rodney then focused all of her attention on John. "I need you to drink some more hasnooke soup.
He wasn't sure what she was talking about. Looking at her through a narrowed gaze, he realized he did remember her. Vaguely. She was very young, but she had a maturity about her that made John feel less concerned about her youth and capabilities. Still, he shook his head at her as best he could. "Not hungry," he whispered, his stomach twisting into knots at the mere thought of putting anything in to it.
"You must drink, John," Telyn said firmly. "Rodney, help me sit him up," she requested.
But it was Casnar who stepped forward to assist her, blushing all the while.
Telyn could not meet his eyes as she gave instructions. "Ease him up slowly and support him from the side." Her voice was softer as she spoke, and held a bit of a tremor. But when she looked into John's pale face, her professional demeanor returned in full force. "I know that you are hurting, John," she stated. "And that your stomach might be off. But you must drink the soup."
"I'll try," he allowed, letting her press the mug into his hand. But just one sip made his stomach recoil and he couldn't help gagging.
"You're not helping!" Rodney hissed, as he hovered close by, watching.
John appreciated his concern, but he realized Telyn was doing what she could. "Tired," John muttered. "Just want to sleep." What he really wanted was escape from the pain. Sitting up the way he was pulled on his wounds, making the pain escalate from the simple act of breathing.
Telyn studied him, then nodded. "I am going to give you something. It is powerful and will help the pain, and it has no flavor, so you should be able to swallow it down." As she spoke, she fished in her bag of goodies and came up with a small, purple, bottle.
Casnar gasped when he saw it. "Where did you get that?" He looked almost angry.
"It is part of my personal supplies," Telyn replied, looking unruffled as she measured out a precise dose into a tiny cup. To John's blurry gaze, it reminded him of the tops used for dosage on cough bottles. Only this cup wasn't made of clear plastic, it was white and shiny.
"If anyone caught you with it in your possession-" Casnar began.
Only to be cut off by Telyn. "The people that need to know, do know!" she replied, her eyes blazing a challenge at him.
He subsided, shifting a bit and making John groan in reaction. "Sorry," Casnar replied, looking abashed.
"What do you care if you hurt him?" Rodney shouted at the young guard. "Isn't hurting the slaves part of your job description?" He was pacing and running fingers through his hair and just completely wound up at this point.
"Rodney," John whispered, drawing his attention. "Don't piss off the people who hold our lives in their hands," he requested.
Telyn smiled at that. "You are a wise man, John. Now drink." She pressed the tiny cup to his mouth.
John obeyed her. He wanted the pain gone, although he would accept having it ratcheted down to merely doable. As promised, the liquid was tasteless, but it was a bit gelatinous, so he gagged a bit as it slid down his throat. Before it even hit his stomach, John could feel a coolness seeping through his veins. Then it was glossing over the fiery pain in his back, cooling it down, then washing it away. He sighed softly, feeling suddenly warm and floaty. Warm and comfortable, as opposed to hot and achy.
"Lay him down on his stomach," Telyn instructed. Then she went to work, easing the bandages from John's back. She winced at the sight of the wounds. They were red and inflamed.
"That's so not good," Rodney whispered, having hobbled closer to the bed to take a look.
Telyn nodded at him. "It is not, but it was expected."
Rodney locked eyes with her. "You can help him, right?"
"I can," Telyn declared, holding Rodney's gaze.
"We must go," Casnar interjected, staring first at Telyn, then Rodney. There was longing on his face as his eyes fluttered back over to Telyn, but he shook himself and reached for Rodney's arm.
But Rodney pulled away to lean over Sheppard. "Feel better," he said quietly, although John's eyes were closed and he wasn't moving. Glancing back up at Telyn, Rodney demanded, "He's still alive, right?"
She touched his arm and smiled. "He is alive, but he is going to be very ill for a time. But you must go, Rodney. Do not keep Lady Adala waiting. I will take good care of John."
"Yes, you will!" Rodney hissed at her. "Because you will regret it if you don't!" With that he stomped off, leaving Casnar to catch up to him. Then they were gone.
"You have a good friend, John," Telyn said, as she smoothed dark hair off his forehead. "And, I believe you are a strong man. You will need this strength to survive."
OoO
Rodney felt relieved when his meeting with Lady Adala happened outside the room he shared with John and was very brief. She simply told him what she expected of him then waved her hand in dismissal. Casnar then dragged Rodney off into a lab like room, eerily similar to his own lab on Atlantis. He remembered what Sheppard had said this place. That she was familiar and that she had a name.
Moving to a console, Rodney tapped at the keyboard and information came up. Information that gave him pause. Things were different, but not as different as he might have expected. Everything was in Ancient code, which was to be expected. But it wasn't quite the same Ancient he was used too. It looked more complex. But instead of freaking Rodney out, he looked at it as a challenge. A challenge that would distract him, at least for a little bit, from his worry about Sheppard.
OoO
John slept for a time, only to dream. In his dreams, Kalara showed him things. Many of them familiar. She greeted him as an old friend. John showed her that he wasn't the one she thought he was, but that he had those memories, and she accepted that. She accepted him. When connected with her, John felt stronger.
She felt his pain and did what she could to ease it. She showed him a chamber and explained its use. She showed him how it could heal him. How easily it could erase his pain and smooth away all scars.
But the connection was broken by the presence of another. John felt a hand in his hair and an unfamiliar voice. He slitted his eyes open and realized it was Lady Adala who touched him as if she had a right too. "Benai etal firanz," he muttered.
"What are you saying, John?" Lady Adala asked, leaning over him so that he could smell the scent she wore. Something flowery and too strong.
"Maella fia longari kei," he replied, realizing that these words were familiar, yet not the Ancient he was used too. He could not seem to find the words he wanted in the language she would understand. Then he understood. He was still connected to Kalara. Wincing, John reached out and touched Lady Adala's arm, hearing a gasp of shock, only not from her. But then her voice, sharp and biting, not directed at him. Then he let his connection to Kalara wash over him and into Lady Adala.
This time the gasp came from her. It echoed in John's ears as he spiraled away deep into Kalara.
OoO
Rodney felt sick as he stood waiting for Lady Adala to come to the lab. Casnar had informed him that the Lady was on her way and that she was, upset. Rodney was terrified at the thought of what she might be upset about. He couldn't think of anything he had done that would upset her, and he had been guarded for the couple of hours he'd been in the lab. Which left her to be upset about Sheppard. Rodney didn't want to go there.
He paced, wringing his hands and imagining the worst case scenarios ever. He was so engrossed in his agitation that he didn't hear Lady Adala's arrival, until she snapped his name.
"Rodney!"
"Yes?" He turned and moved to her immediately. "Whatever you're mad about, I didn't do it. Neither did Sheppard!" He was quick to dismiss them both as suspects.
Lady Adala looked a bit shell shocked, and the smile she bestowed upon him was a bit cold and most definitely calculating. "Oh, but John Sheppard is most definitely at fault," she purred. "You understand the Ancient language, yes?"
Rodney wasn't sure where she was going with the question, so he decided it would be best to be honest. Besides which, she already knew that he did. "Yes," he allowed.
"Good." Lady Adala clapped her hands and Casnar stepped forth to grab Rodney by the arm. "Then you will come and translate for me now."
"Translate what?" Rodney queried, even as he let himself be pulled along out the door.
Lady Adala fell into step beside him. "John has been saying things, in the language of the old ones. And making things happen that I need you to explain."
Rodney felt the pit of his stomach drop. "What kind of things?" he whispered, not entirely sure he wanted to know.
"You shall see for yourself," Lady Adala replied, as she marched ahead of him, down the corridor and into the room at the end of the hall. The room where Sheppard was waiting.
Rodney was scared of what he would find.
THE END...of part 3