P9X-664 had a large moon near full that gave off a surprising amount of light making it easy for Rodney to watch as Ford and Teyla followed the edge of the square until they reached the stream and crossed without using the bridge.
They were barely out of sight when something that sounded like a cannon to Rodney went off and a corner of the pub disappeared.
"Someone's shooting at us!" Rodney exclaimed as John pushed him back against the wall with one arm.
"I got that, thanks," John replied as he eased back to the corner and took a quick look.
"Why is someone shooting at us?" Rodney asked as he unholstered his Beretta. "I thought Ford said you shot the guy in our room."
"I guess he had friends, Rodney, maybe we should go ask him."
The cannon went off again and Rodney realised it was actually some sort of shotgun as another chunk of the pub vanished in a spray of stone chips and dust.
John fired a couple of shots out into the square then ducked back down.
"Maybe Ford and Teyla will come back," Rodney offered as another shotgun blast rocked the side of the pub.
"They better not," Sheppard growled. "This is why we split up, to make sure someone managed to get to the 'gate. We just got drafted to be the diversion."
Rodney heard people starting to yell and a few ran past the opening to the alley where they hid.
"We can't stay here," John told him as he looked out into the square again. "This alley dead-ends behind the next building. We need to get across the square and into the rest of the village."
"Cross the square?" Rodney asked. "Are you nuts! There's someone shooting at us!"
"Exactly," John said, and Rodney could see he was trying to be patient. "So we need to move before we get pinned down back here."
Rodney squeezed his eyes shut and nodded.
"Okay," John said and readied himself. "We're going to do this in two steps. Step one, get to the fountain. I'll go first. I think our friend with the shotgun is hiding around the shop stalls to our right. Once I get there, I'll cover for you."
Rodney opened his eyes and stared at John. "Who's covering for you?" he asked as more villagers woke up and came out to see what was happening.
"I'll take care of me, you just make sure you're ready to run when I give you the signal."
John checked his Beretta then waited for the shotgun to fire. As soon as Rodney heard the loud report, John was off and running, firing toward the shop stalls as he went. He slid to the ground behind the fountain just as the shotgun fired again, this time taking out chunks from the base of the water feature.
Rodney crept to the end of the wall where he could see John crouched behind the fountain. He took a couple of deep breaths and waited for John to tell him when to run.
The shotgun went off, another piece of the fountain was reduced to dust.
John dropped his arm and opened fire with the Beretta, laying down cover fire for Rodney.
Rodney ducked down, trying to make himself as small a target as possible, and made a frantic dash of his own, landing on his knees beside Sheppard just as the shotgun went off again. Rodney felt chunks of stone from the fountain cut his face and hands.
"You okay?" John asked as he gave Rodney a quick once over.
Rodney swallowed and nodded. "You?"
John smiled. "Fine."
"I'd really like to know who's shooting at us," Rodney grumbled. "What is with these people? How do they think anyone will want to be a trade partner if there's the threat of kidnapping and death if they don't get what they want?"
"One problem at a time," John replied. "First problem, concentrate on getting away from the guy with the really big gun. The rest can wait."
Rodney could see the logic in that and nodded.
"All right. So far, so good. Okay, now for step two, we're aiming for that alley to the left. See it?" John pointed to the narrow opening between two large ornate buildings.
Rodney found the opening and nodded.
"That leads through to some workshops and out to the forest," Rodney said. "That's where I was earlier today."
"Even better," John said. "We'll get into the forest and make our way back to the 'gate through the woods."
John pulled a fresh magazine from his vest, reloaded the Beretta, glanced toward the shops, and ducked back as the fountain took another hit.
Rodney heard John grunt in pain, but before he could make sure John was all right, Sheppard was up and running toward the alley. Something caught Rodney's eye and he noticed a patch of red where John had leant against the edge of the stone basin for the fountain.
He was still processing what the red stain meant when John's Beretta barked again and Rodney ran across the square and into the alley.
Rodney slid to the ground and John pushed him up against the wall of the alley just as the shotgun fired again and pieces of the building rained down on them.
"You're bleeding," Rodney exclaimed as he sat next to John, pointing to Sheppard's bloody side.
John glanced down at his side with a frown. "It's not that bad," he replied. "We need to keep moving," John said, his voice tight. "We're still dealing with the first problem."
John peeked around the corner of the building and jerked his head back as another shotgun blast hit the corner of the building.
"Move," John ordered. "I'll be right behind you."
Rodney got to his feet and hugged the wall as he moved farther away from the village square. He glanced back to make sure John was really following him before he randomly turned down one street and then another, the Beretta firing behind him occasionally. No one else seemed to be around, the area they were in was the equivalent of an industrial zone, no houses, so no scared villagers to see where they were going.
He came out onto another street and found the blacksmith shop on one side, and the woodworking shop next to it. He glanced around and saw the warehouse as well and smiled slightly that he'd found the right street.
Rodney tried to stop to catch his breath and remember where to go next, but John was right behind him still shooting.
"He's still behind us," John said and gave Rodney a push. "Get in behind those workshops."
Rodney had just crossed the street, John was a few steps behind him still in front of the blacksmith when several things happened at once. Rodney glanced back to check where John was and saw the door to the warehouse open and a young man with a lantern stepped out looking around.
He heard John yell something to the man with the lantern, but it was too late.
The shotgun went off again, missing John, but hitting the man with the lantern. The man fell back, dropping the lantern which set several nearby boxes in the warehouse on fire.
John was at Rodney's side pushing him further down the alley between the blacksmith and the woodshop when Rodney felt his ears pop just before he heard the warehouse explode. The pressure wave hit him a split-second later and he felt a wet agony as his recently stitched arm hit something hard and he blacked out.
~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~
Ford ran from building to building, leading the way out of the village. There were a few people out and about but with no way to tell friend from foe, Ford avoided everyone. He avoided the bridge and forded the stream below the village where the water was only a foot or so deep, then headed for the closest trees and cover. Teyla stayed on his heels as they moved through the underbrush as quietly as possible.
Once they were a mile or so from the village, Ford led them back out to the trail and they moved faster, on the alert for any movement around them. There was a muffled boom behind them and Ford turned back in time to see a red glow coming from one section of the village.
"Something has happened," Teyla said.
"Yeah," Ford agreed.
"Should we go back to the village? They may need help."
Ford shook his head. "We need to get to the 'gate. Doctor Weir needs to know what's happening here. It could be the Major set that off as a diversion."
Teyla gave him a skeptical look but fell into step beside him when he started out for the 'gate again.
"You do not agree with Major Sheppard's tactics?"
He'd been ordered to get to the 'gate and call for help. He even agreed with Sheppard's idea of splitting up. His problem was Sheppard having only McKay to watch his back. Everything he knew about the events during the storm came back to him in a rush as they walked. Sheppard taking on Kolya's men while McKay and Doctor Weir were held hostage.
He couldn't really blame McKay for that part, but he certainly did blame him for giving up vital information and putting Sheppard at risk. He'd been around McKay and his various complaints and fears for months now. No matter how much Sheppard said otherwise, a part of Ford could easily believe McKay would fold at the first sign of pressure. Which was why he didn't want to leave his commanding officer behind with essentially zero backup.
Ford shrugged. "I don't like leaving the Major behind to deal with whatever is going on by himself."
"Doctor McKay will do his best to help John," Teyla reminded him gently.
Ford scoffed as he walked along the trail. "Like he helped with the Genii invasion?" he asked sarcastically and looked over at her. "Did you know if it weren't for Major Sheppard making him wait an extra few minutes, McKay would have fried you and Beckett? He didn't even stop to think about the two of you still being in the hallways, he just wanted to save the day."
He walked a little faster but Teyla stopped him with a hand on his arm. "You are wrong about Doctor McKay, Lieutenant, he is an honorable man." She let go of him. "I have heard the same stories as you, I choose to believe there is more to what happened than what we know."
"Sure, whatever," Ford replied sarcastically. He glanced back at the village and frowned at the red glow lighting the early morning sky.
~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~
Rodney opened his eyes and found himself lying on his side staring at a pile of rubble where the warehouse had been. He sat up carefully, coughing from the smoke and dust in the air, oblivious to whether or not he was safe from whoever had been shooting at them. He stared out toward the street in a daze, trying to piece together what had happened from the blurry images of red light and shadows moving in a chaotic dance in front of him.
Several long seconds later he realised the red light was the warehouse on fire and the shadows were villagers running back and forth frantically trying to put the fire out before it spread. He didn't see anyone with a gun and no one seemed very interested in their narrow alley so Rodney concluded he was safe enough for the moment that he could take stock.
He felt something running along his arm, looked down, and saw the sleeve of his jacket was bloody. Pushing up the jacket sleeve, he saw the bandage covering the knife wound was red in several places. He must have popped the stitches, he realised as he watched the red patches slowly blend together. Carson was going to kill him, he thought dully and pushed the sleeve back down.
There was a long tear in his trousers as well and he saw his calf had a long cut from some sort of shrapnel. A careful exploration of his skull revealed a welt behind his ear which probably explained the odd tingling at the base of his skull and the headache and he was still coughing. He looked around blearily, still feeling slightly dazed, and found John about half a meter away, lying in his stomach, not moving.
"John?" Rodney called, and reached out to prod Sheppard's arm, the only thing he could reach without moving. "John?" Rodney called again, louder and managed to pull himself to his knees and crawl to John's side, ignoring the hot pain that ran through his leg and arm when he moved.
John was unconscious, Rodney found the bloody gash on his head from where he'd been hit with debris and winced. He searched for John's pulse and let out the breath he'd been holding when he found it, a bit fast, but there.
"I'm probably not supposed to move you, and Carson will likely yell into next week, but I don't see much choice," Rodney said to John as he took off John's pack and carefully rolled him onto his back.
He shook his head when he found the wound in John's side. "It's not that bad," he mimicked as he found a pressure bandage in a vest pocket and tied it around John's middle. "Would it kill you to admit it when you're hurt?" Rodney groused. "You don't have to pull this John Wayne stuff, you know." He found another wound on John's arm and felt through his pockets for another bandage for that as well as the head wound.
A wave of vertigo hit him as he finished wrapping John's injuries. He leant his back against the wall of the workshop they'd been hiding next to and shut his eyes again, waiting for the spinning to stop.
"John? Can you hear me," Rodney asked hoarsely a few minutes later. "It would be really good for you to wake up now."
John groaned slightly but remained stubbornly unconscious.
Rodney was still trying to decide what to do next when he heard footsteps near their alley. He wasn't sure if it was someone else wanting to kill them or frightened villagers, but he didn't want to stick around to find out. There weren't any doorways they could hide in, but he knew the street with the workshops led to the woods, so he decided to try for the cover of the forest.
"The possibility of meeting some wild animal seems like better odds than the certainty of staying here and getting shot, wouldn't you agree, Major?" Rodney said and stifled another cough as he unclipped his own pack. He knew he'd have enough trouble carrying John without the added weight from the backpack. He hid the packs as best he could, carefully stood, wrapped his arms around John's chest, and started to drag him to the end of the alley away from the still burning warehouse. His arm and leg throbbed in agony, but he tried his best to ignore it as he tripped over some rubble in the road and fought to keep his balance.
"Carson will probably have a fit that I'm doing this too," Rodney said with a grunt as he checked the area behind him. "Would probably tell me I shouldn't be moving you at all. But I don't see where there's any other choice." Rodney grunted as he tripped over something again in the dark and readjusted his tenuous hold around John.
They were almost to the trees when he heard two voices close by. He pulled Sheppard into the shadow of one of the last buildings that abutted the forest and huddled beside him. It worried him more than a little that for all the rough treatment, John was still unconscious.
"We lost them, Terris," a gravelly voice said, and Rodney thought it sounded like the man who had broken into their room.
Rodney felt another cough building and held his breath to hold it off as long as possible.
"Of course we did, you idiot," another voice, Rodney assumed it was Terris, replied. "You were shooting at them, what did you think they would do? Why did I think using you for this was a good idea?"
"You said you wanted them."
"Yes, but I need them alive, Whelan. They can't do any trading if they're dead, can they? We need to get to the Circle, chances are that's where they're headed."
They were barely gone before the tickle Rodney had been trying to suppress exploded in a harsh coughing fit that left him gasping for air. He lay on the ground panting for a few minutes, trying to get his breathing under control then turned to Sheppard.
"Did you get all of that?" he asked as he checked John's bandages. "Too bad we have no idea who Terris is."
Rodney wasn't sure if the groans and slight movements he saw were from John really starting to wake up or if it was just wishful thinking on his part. "John?" he called but didn't get an answer.
"I'm really not good at this surviving in the wilderness thing," Rodney said as he slowly stood and looked around. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he wrapped his arms around John's chest and started moving again.
"Feel free to wake up any time now," Rodney groused hoarsely as the trees closed in around them. "You're a lot heavier than you look, you know." He'd hoped his constant chatter would get John to wake up, but it wasn't working. He started coughing again as he pulled John further under the cover of the trees.
The village was finally out of sight when Rodney stopped again and leant Sheppard against a handy tree. He thought it had been about twenty minutes since the building near them had exploded, but he had no way to be sure since he wasn't wearing a watch.
"I think we're safe for the moment," Rodney said to John, and pulled a tiny flashlight and an antiseptic wipe from a vest pocket. "You're a mess, you know that?" he asked conversationally as he removed the bandage over John's eye, opened the wipe, and started cleaning the blood off John's slack face.
"I don't think this will need stitches." Rodney continued his one-sided dialogue as he checked the cut once the blood was gone. "The bruise is going to be spectacular, though."
John groaned and turned his head away from Rodney.
Rodney stopped what he was doing and asked, "Hey, you in there? John?" He tapped Sheppard on the cheek a few times and was rewarded when John slit his eyes open and stared dully around.
"John?" Rodney said again and moved into John's line-of-sight.
Sheppard glanced at him and Rodney could tell he wasn't really with it yet. "Hey," he said with a wave.
John gave him a puzzled look. "R'dny?"
Rodney quirked a smile. "Yeah."
John's gaze wandered back to the trees. "Whr?"
Rodney started cleaning John's arm with another wipe. "P9X-664. Do you remember what happened?"
John shook his head, groaned, and tried to shift away from Rodney.
"I know this probably hurts, but hold still, I'm almost done," Rodney said and quickly finished cleaning the cut. They didn't have much in the way of medical supplies, only what they happened to have in their tac-vests. Rodney rummaged through his pockets and found a couple of sterile pads and some gauze and used one of the pads to cover the gash on John's head. "It's not my best work," he admitted once the bandage was tied off, "but it will do until we get back to Atlantis."
"R'dny?"
Rodney looked up from checking John's arm for infection, then used other sterile pad and more gauze to cover it. "And a month ago, you didn't think I knew anything about first aid," Rodney mumbled as he worked. "If I thought you'd remember any of this, I'd give you such a hard time, believe me."
John gave him another glazed stare and Rodney was starting to get worried. He wasn't used to an out-of-it John Sheppard. Even when he'd had the vampire bug attached to his neck, he was still lucid.
"R'dny?"
"Yep," Rodney sighed, "Still here."
"Whr?"
"P9X-664. The place with the really big trees."
Rodney unzipped John's tac-vest and carefully pulled it off, then hissed in sympathy as he peeled the bloody bandage away from the tear in John's side. He hadn't had time to do more than tie the pressure bandage over John's shirt and the wound when they were in the alley. He lifted up the bloody shirt to get a better look at the injury. The bleeding had stopped, and Rodney hoped that meant the wound wasn't that bad.
He went through the pockets on John's vest and pulled out two more antiseptic wipes and another pressure bandage. He tried to be as gentle as possible, but John still groaned and tried to jerk away from his touch as he tried to clean the wound.
"I know, I'm sorry. Sorry," Rodney muttered with a glance at John's eyes. "Almost done." He threw away the wipe, unrolled the pressure bandage, quickly tied it off, and pulled John's shirt back down over it. "That should hold until Carson has a chance to look at it," Rodney said as he pulled the tac-vest back on, but didn't zip it up.
When he was done he gathered up the bloody bandages and wipes and concealed them under a nearby fern. He sat next to John and enjoyed the silence for a moment, until he felt another tickle and started coughing again. "Great," he mumbled and groped for his canteen. "That building was probably full of asbestos or something and I'm going to die of cancer."
John didn't say anything but when Rodney glanced over, he noted John's eyes were still open. He wanted to believe John looked more alert, but he wasn't sure if that was, in fact, the case or just wishful thinking.
He shifted against the tree and winced as his own injuries burned. "So much for that well-honed sense of self-preservation, McKay," he berated himself as he took off his jacket and looked at his bloody arm.
The bandage over the knife wound was a mess and he suspected he'd popped all of Carson's remaining stitches pulling Sheppard out of the village. He stared at the blood, his mind lost in recent memories of Kolya stabbing him.
John bumped against him, bringing him back to the present.
"I'm telling Carson this was all your fault," Rodney groused as he wrapped more gauze around the existing dressing, they didn't have any more bandages. He wasn't sure what had cut up his leg, but he cleaned it with the last wipe then wrapped the last of the gauze around it the best he could.
He pulled his jacket back on and heard something that oddly sounded like a snort of laughter. He turned to see John looking at him, really looking at him, for the first time since the explosion.
"Are you back with me now?" Rodney asked even as he moved to see John's face better.
John nodded then winced and rubbed his head. "Wha' hapn'd?" John asked.
Rodney didn't miss the way John still slurred his words. "What do you remember?" he asked and pushed John's hand away from his bandaging efforts.
John closed his eyes for several moments and Rodney was about to make sure he was still awake when his eyes slowly opened and he looked around at the trees.
"Seed," John said. "Came to trade."
Rodney nodded. "Then what?"
John shrugged. "It's a jumble. An explosion. Someone holding a knife."
Rodney shuddered at the memory of yet another knife poised to kill him. "The short version is someone named Terris apparently didn't like that we were considering a trade with Rowland and decided to take measures so we'd talk to him instead."
John tried to move and winced as he grabbed at his side.
Rodney held out his canteen and the ibuprofen from his vest. "Here, take these," he said and waited for John to swallow the pills. John leant his head back against the tree and closed his eyes again.
"Radio?" John asked a few minutes later.
"Mine is probably still sitting on the table by the bed in the pub," Rodney admitted.
John felt his ear then checked his vest pocket. He pulled out the earpiece in two pieces. "Must have broken when I landed on it," John mumbled.
"Great. So even if Ford and Teyla manage to avoid getting caught, we have no way of letting them know where we are." Rodney dropped his head back against the tree. He was exhausted but knew they couldn't stay where they were for much longer.
He glanced over at John who had his eyes closed. "Don't go to sleep," Rodney said and poked him in the leg.
John opened his eyes and looked around them again, Rodney thought he definitely looked more alert. "Where are Ford and Teyla?"
"You sent them to the 'gate to call Atlantis for help." Rodney paused.
"And?" John asked and stared at him. "What's the part you're not telling me?"
"They may have run into trouble," Rodney replied and glanced at John. "Terris is heading for the 'gate, too," he finished in a mumble.
"We need to go," John said and tried to get to his feet. He managed to get about halfway up before he started to sag and Rodney caught him, biting back the yelp of pain as John hit his bloody arm.
"Would you take it easy?" Rodney snapped as he got one of John's arms over his shoulder. "I just got all the bleeding stopped."
"They need help, Rodney," John said stubbornly.
"In case you haven't noticed, we aren't exactly in fighting shape here," Rodney retorted even as he started limping with John draped over his left shoulder.
He wasn't sure which way the stargate was but figured the first thing they had to do was put more distance between them and the village, then they could double back and see what had happened to Teyla and Ford.
Navigating an unknown forest in the middle of the night would have been hard enough even if Rodney didn't have Sheppard to support as well. The trees blocked out most of the moonlight and he tripped over unseen branches and vines. John's stumbling gait wasn't helping matters. While they may have started off well, it didn't take long for John to start to tire with Rodney taking more and more of his weight.
It was starting to get light when Rodney spotted an opening at the base of a tree and pointed them in that direction. They needed a break. John was asleep on his feet which was probably the only reason he hadn't noticed how badly Rodney was limping.
Rodney set Sheppard down beside the tree and bent down with a groan to see inside the tree cave. He swallowed hard against both another cough and the claustrophobia as he crawled inside, looked around, and marvelled again at the sheer size of the tree. The space inside was large enough for both of them to at least sit comfortably. The ground was strewn with leaves and dried bracken but it didn't take him long to shove the detritus out the opening. With a last look around inside, he went back to get John.
"Come on, there's a nice hidey-hole here with our name on it," Rodney cajoled as he maneuvered John into the cave and set him on the ground with his back against one wall. He held out the canteen for John to drink then settled next to him and savored the fact he was no longer moving. His eyes started to drift shut and he didn't try to stop them.
Rodney shook himself out of his exhausted stupor with a start and glanced around. The sun was higher, but not very much. He thought he'd slept for an hour, maybe a little longer, and he straightened up, rubbing his face to try and wake up. He needed to think. Teyla and Ford were in trouble, there were villagers hunting all of them, and John was badly injured. He glanced over at John and found he had his eyes closed and looked to be asleep even though one of his hands seemed to twitch against his flank. Rodney could see a fine sheen of sweat on his face and his cheeks looked flushed.
Rodney pulled himself into a crouch and carefully checked under John's bandages trying not to wake him. The cuts on his head and arm seemed fine. The wound in John's side, however, felt warm and Rodney thought it looked red and angry when he peeked under the bandage.
"Stop fussing," John mumbled tiredly, and tried to swat Rodney's hand away from his side.
Rodney snorted. "You're one to talk."
"Part of my job."
Rodney ignored that as he replaced the bandage as best he could. "It looks infected," he said seriously and John nodded.
"Not surprised," John replied softly. "Nothing we can do about it here."
"Here," Rodney said as he offered the canteen. "You need to drink something."
John opened his eyes long enough to swallow a few sips of water then handed the canteen back. Rodney finished the water and was adding 'find a water source' to his mental to-do list when he felt John sag against him.
Rodney looked down at the top of John's head on his shoulder in surprise. He was not good at comfort, he rarely knew the right thing to do or say. He awkwardly patted John's arm for lack of any other ideas.
"Didn't you tell Teyla once I was the worst person to go to if you wanted to feel better?" Rodney asked even as he pulled John up so his head rested more comfortably on Rodney's shoulder. When John didn't pull away, he wrapped one arm awkwardly around John to keep him in place and went back to thinking.
Rodney had no idea where the 'gate was or even the village at this point, but what he did know was John wasn't going to be walking any farther. Before he could even think about finding the stargate or helping Teyla and Ford, he'd need to figure out a way to move John without making his injuries worse.
He sat staring at the inside of the tree for several minutes before he realised the solution was right in front of him. Neither of them would make it very far if John tried to walk, but what if he didn't have to?
The problem was he'd have to leave John alone for an unknown amount of time to find the things he needed. He could wait until John was awake again, but he didn't know when that would be and he was certain John would argue he was fine, even though he clearly wasn't. He shifted John into what he hoped was a more comfortable position against his side. What was the saying? It was easier to ask forgiveness than permission?
John needed Carson. Teyla and Ford probably needed rescuing. In order for Rodney to do anything to help his teammates, John had to be moved.
Which meant he'd need to leave, he realised with a guilty look down at the top of John's head. If their roles were reversed, would John leave him? Rodney wondered. Did it really matter? He needed to leave in order to help John and save Teyla and Ford. John would understand that. At least he hoped John would understand it.
Decision made, Rodney shifted John enough so he could slip out of his tac-vest and jacket and balled the jacket into a rough pillow. He made sure the bloody sleeve was tucked out of sight and tried to ignore the spots of blood on the fresh gauze he'd wrapped around his arm. He then laid John down on the ground with his head cushioned on the coat and covered him with an emergency blanket he found in one of the pockets of John's vest. He pulled his vest back on and a quick search of his own pockets yielded a pencil and the pad of paper. He hurriedly wrote a note for John in case he woke up before Rodney returned and left it where John would see it.
He moved back to the opening in the tree and took a careful look around before he crept out of their hiding place, arranged some branches over the hole at the base of the tree in a way he hoped looked natural, and set off.
