oOo
With a rustle and a clatter, the pack was dumped out. It was a mess; everything was damp, and there were soggy dregs of used leaf at the bottom of the tea cups.
The tea things were Rodney's - dark leaves in soft circular bags, a tiny metal sieve, square packets of sparkly sugar. To the scientist, tea making was an art, requiring adherence to strict rules and the use of specialised equipment. Of course, Ronon had scoffed at first, but it was undeniable; Rodney McKay made the best cup of earth tea in the galaxy.
He insisted on emptying the small bags into the water pan, making it 'the old fashioned way like Grandma McKay used to'. He would balance the silvery strainer over his tin cup, and pour the golden liquid through. Ronon hadn't used the strainer, but he thought it was interesting that he'd not forgotten to slit open and combine the tea bags.
Ronon had hastily stuffed everything into both their packs before they had made their dash for the stargate, and that had been yesterday...
oOo
Carson came running up, pushing past him as he rose, leaving him standing to one side like a spare part. Blustering at first and talking incessantly, asking quesions and snapping orders to his staff, the medic soon grew unnaturally quiet. Ronon stepped nearer, suddenly anxious. He saw Sheppard opposite, standing close to Teyla. Their eyes met and Ronon saw the worry there... but there was no hostility, which surprised him. All three watched as Beckett assessed his patient.
"How long has he been like this?"
Ronon started to answer, but was prevented by the doctor,
"Never mind- too long is the only answer, anyway."
He stood quickly and addressed everyone there,
"We need to go... now. Or we'll lose 'im... simple as that. Let's go."
So, no miracles yet; Ronon rubbed at his face. He was tired, but had no real reason to be. It had only been a matter of hours since McKay had awoken. He saw the colonel stoop to pick up something from the ground; McKay's jacket.
Then, in a whirlwind of activity, the sick scientist, trailing wires and bags of liquid, was carried off by two uniformed men, with Beckett jogging behind.
oOo
Ronon entered the quiet infirmary. Last night Beckett had opened up McKay's belly, and done what he could. He had said there was massive infection and that the scientist was very sick.
Beckett's expression had been more than grim; he was telling them that their team mate might not make it. Teyla had uttered what might have been a sob, and put a hand to her mouth; Sheppard said nothing but looked down at the jacket he still held in his hand, rubbing at the red and white badge at its shoulder. Carson had ordered them away then, had not even allowed them to see the scientist. Ronon thought Carson looked desolate; then he remembered Sheppard telling him that the medic and the scientist were old friends, and he was thankful that McKay would not be alone that night.
As he got to Carson's office, he saw a dark head resting upon a desk in the corner, soft sounds of sleep drifting up. The doctor was exhausted, and Ronon would not be the one to disturb him.
McKay was in a large bed, looking very small and still. Wires trailed and machines whirred and beeped. A nurse who was replacing a clear bag on a hook, gave him a warm smile and moved away.
Looking around quickly he saw that he was alone for the moment; some staff could be seen in an adjoining room but they were behind glass. When he returned his gaze to the bed, he leaned over slightly, his knuckles resting lightly on the cover.
"Fight, McKay", he said in a low voice.
This was all he said, and he hoped it was enough. It was not his way to be expansive; if Rodney couldn't hear it, then there was no use saying any more anyway.
A noise behind him snapped him back from his thoughts. He turned to see another nurse shaking open what looked like garbage bags, and then crouching down next to an open cupboard. Ronon watched as clothing was pulled out and stuffed messily into the bags...
They were McKay's.
She put the two bags behind her, and closed the cupboard with a click. She rose, turning at the same time and went to grab the bags.
Suddenly, there was Ronon, like a brick shed, directly in her path.
For reasons so unusual that he could not fathom them, anger had surfaced, and he found himself trembling with fury.
"Touch 'em, and they're the last things you'll ever touch"
The eyes of the nurse grew bigger, but she knew better than to argue and left swiftly.
He was not so far gone that he didn't recognise his own inappropriate behaviour, but he found he didn't care, and he took the bags, tearing them open and replacing the clothes carefully in the cupboard.
Sheppard arrived soon after, to find him slumped in a chair next to the bed, and to tell him that it just wasn't done... threatening the nursing staff...
Ronon made a face that might have said fair enough, but actually said couldn't care less - bite me.
"How is he?", Sheppard asked, pulling up his own chair, and sinking into it.
Ronon felt foolish. He hadn't thought to ask anyone about the man's condition. To him it was irrelevant; either McKay lived or he died. Somehow it would be over, and he would be there whatever the outcome.
In answer to the question he simply shrugged and hoped the colonel would not pursue it.
"You look kind of tired. Maybe you should.. I dunno... sleep?", ventured Sheppard.
The colonel was observant, Ronon thought. In fact, he hadn't slept all night... hadn't even lay down his head. He'd been too wired, too strung out. He'd spent most of the night outside; running around the darkened city, resting occasionally, checking the time piece Sheppard had given him, willing the night to be over.
"I'm waiting", he explained.
"For what?", came the colonel's hesitant question.
"For it to be over", he answered, and he folded his arms across his chest and settled in for the long haul.
oOo
TBC and thanks for your patience and kind reviews!
I felt so bad leaving Rodney at death's door all these weeks, but family matters required attention. Don't worry though, I kept him unconscious and drugged up the whole time. Hope it was worth the wait... next chapter, I promise the scientist will awake!
