Here is the fourth chapter everyone. I'm glad that you all enjoyed the last chapter, I actually found it difficult to write. I couldn't figure out how to write the interactions between him and Kavanagh. In fact that whole portion of the chapter took nearly a week to write by itself. But for the rest of the story I know exactly what I'm going to do and where this is going to go, so I hope you all like the drama and angst because that's where I'm going.

So enough chit-chat. On with the story.


" I need two units of blood ready when we arrive." Carson shouted, " Be ready with the scanner. I want an MRI and CAT scan."

Carson spared a quick glance down at the still form laying on the gurney. It had been less then ten minutes since Rodney had been found bleeding and unconscious just feet from the transporter. Teyla had been the one who'd discovered him after he failed to meet her for lunch. She'd seen him lying on the floor and immediately radioed for help.

A few minutes later they were rushing through the infirmary doors, John, Teyla and Ronon not far behind. They were forced to stay back as Carson's team tried to stop the bleeding. The three of them watched as Rodney's shirt was cut off him, revealing his bloodied and bruised torso.

All of the activity seemed to be to much for Rodney and his eyes suddenly sprang open. He looked around, his eyes scared and panicky before he started to struggle against Carson and his team.

" Rodney," Carson said, hoping to gain his attention. " It's alright, your safe now. We're trying to help you not hurt you. I need you to calm down and stay still. If you can't do that then I'm going to have to restrain you and I don't want to do that."

Rodney, who had started to calm down a bit, grew even more agitated at the mention of restraints and began to fight twice as hard as before. John saw that nothing anyone was doing was helping and decided to try himself. He pushed pass two nurses who were holding down one of Rodney's arms and gripped his hand and gave it a squeeze.

" Rodney," said John softly, watching as panic stricken eyes found his. " It's me. John. What Carson said is true, your safe here. They're not trying to hurt you. They're trying to help you but you have to let them do their jobs. Can you do that?"

As John talked Rodney gradually calmed down. He was still tense but all the struggling coupled with the blood loss, had taken most of the fight out of him.

" John?" Rodney asked in a broken whisper.

" I'm here Rodney. Your safe." John said again.

Rodney looked up at him with teary eyes. " It hurts. Please make it stop."

Teyla and Ronon chose that moment to come and stand next to Rodney and Teyla spoke up.

" Rodney, you must let Carson help you. He can make the pain stop." Teyla said, her voice soft and soothing. She ran her fingers through his hair in a calming gesture. " You have to stop fighting him or you will only cause yourself more harm."

" Come on Rodney. I know your made of stronger stuff then this. Don't let this beat you." Ronon said. He placed his hand on Rodney's leg and gave it a gentle squeeze.

John saw Carson holding a syringe and gave a slight nod. Carson quickly inserted the needle into Rodney's arm and injected him with the sedative. Rodney blinked a few times before he succumbed to the drug.

" Thank you for calming him down you three." said Carson, he brushed Rodney's hair of his forehead. " I didn't want to restrain him, to many memories, but he was hurting himself. We're going to take him into the OR and see how bad his back is and find out what other injuries he has."

" What happened to him?" asked Teyla, her voice worried.

" This is the next stage." Carson answered.

He was about to continue when one of the nurses came up to him.

" We're ready in the OR." she said.

He nodded, " If you'll go wait out in the waiting area, I'll come out and get you when we're finished."

John, Teyla and Ronon went out and sat down in the waiting area, which was a small room off of the main infirmary.


Two hours passed and in that time Elizabeth and Radek joined in the wait. John had explained to them what had happened with Rodney and what Carson said had about physical abuse. Finally the door opened and Carson walked in, still dressed in his surgical scrubs.

" How is he Carson?" Elizabeth asked.

" He'll be fine. He's just getting into recovery, you'll be able to see him soon." he said.

" How badly was he injured?" asked Teyla.

Carson sighed, " It could have been worse. When we got him into the OR and finished removing his clothes, we found that the rest of his body was in pretty much the same condition as this back and chest. His legs were heavily bruised and there were a few slash marks on his calves and thighs. His back was the worst and it took us nearly thirty minutes to stop all of the cuts from bleeding. None of them were severe enough to need stitches but he's going to have to take it easy for awhile. When we scanned him we did find that he has a few bruised ribs so breathing is going to be even more difficult."

" How long will he have to stay in the infirmary?" asked John.

" I'll want him to stay for at least a week maybe two. Depends on how fast he heals. Once he's released he won't be allowed to do any strenuous activity for another week. After that he's free to do as he pleases."

" Carson can you tell us what caused this?" asked Elizabeth.

" Yes. He's reached the third stage, physical abuse. His injuries make it look like someone took a belt to him. He also aged around four or five years, making him sixteen or seventeen." Carson told her. " We'll know more once he wakes up."

" Can we see him now?" Radek asked, saying something for the first time since he arrived with Elizabeth.

" Yes but only one of you for now." Carson told them. " He won't be awake for a while but you can all come back later tonight or in the morning."

" John, why don't you go first." Teyla suggested and everyone else agreed.

" Alright." John stood up and so did Carson.

Before they left the room Elizabeth called out, " Tell him we all say hello and are thinking about him."

" I will." promised John and he followed Carson out f the room.

Carson led John into the infirmary and into one of the private ICU rooms. John was surprised at what he saw. Rodney lay pale and still on the bed. He was hooked up to a heart monitor and had a pulse ox clipped to his right index finger. An IV ran into the back of his hand, pumping him full of pain killers. Another IV had been inserted into his neck allowing them to give him the blood transfusion. The blanket was pulled up to his waist, allowing him to see his heavily bandaged torso. Bruises littered his face and arms and John knew if the covers were removed his legs would be heavily bruised to.

" It looks worse then it really is John. He's still sleeping off the anesthesia so it'll be awhile before he wakes up." Carson told his friend.

John turned to look at him, " How long?"

Carson sighed, " A few hours at least. He was unconscious when we took him into surgery so he could be asleep the rest of the day. Sit with him, talk to him. Let him know you're here John. Stay as long as you need. Call me if anything changes."

Carson turned and left the room, leaving John alone with the younger version of his friend. John looked around and saw a chair sitting in a corner. He pulled it over to Rodney's side and sat down. He took a moment to take in the changes Rodney had gone through since he saw him that morning. Rodney's body had grown and he appeared to be as tall as his adult self. His hair had also darkened to the more recognizable chocolate brown, though it was much longer and would probably hang down to his nose. He reached for Rodney's hand and gripped it in his own.

" Hey Rodney. It's John. Carson says you can only have one visitor for now but everyone says hi." John sighed. He wasn't good at sharing his emotions or feelings and it didn't help that the last two weeks had been especially emotional. " You really scared us today Rodney. When I heard from Teyla that she found you lying in the corridor bleeding and unconscious I thought you'd been attacked. Then I find out this is just the next stage in this whole crazy aging process. God Rodney, I wish you didn't have to go through this."

John didn't want to think about what Rodney had to have gone through to get these injuries and how often did he get them. He wasn't a psychologist but looking back now he could easily see the signs abuse that Rodney still carried even as an adult.

" I'm sorry that you have to go through this Rodney. I can't even imagine what you're going to go through but I want you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to I'm here for ya buddy."

John stopped talking and just sat there and watched Rodney, who stayed oblivious to everything around him.


**That Night**

" You can all spend ten minutes with him." Carson told the group that had assembled in his office. " He woke up about five minutes ago but fell back asleep. So try not to wake him again."

Teyla offered to go and Carson led her back to Rodney's room. She walked in quietly, not wanting to wake up Rodney. She sat down in the chair next to the bed, that John had occupied earlier. She looked him over and noticed the same things about Rodney as John had earlier. She moved her hand under his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

" Hello Rodney." she said. " You've had us all worried, you had me worried. I am not sure if John told you but I was the one who found you in the hallway. When I first saw you I was sure you were dead. Carson says you will be fine but that you will have a few difficult weeks ahead of you. You don't have to worry, we will be here to help you through it."

She sat in silence until her ten minutes were up. Before she left she bent down and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. She walked out and went back to Carson's office, as she entered Ronon stood and walked out.

Ronon walked into Rodney's room and just stood and watched him sleep for a few minutes. He took in the pale features and thin frame and all the other differences and compared them to the Rodney from two weeks previously. While he hadn't said anything, the last two weeks hadn't been easy on him. The hardest had been the first day Rodney had left the infirmary and had stayed with him. When he'd been woken up by Rodney's screams he was sure someone had been hurting him, to find out that pain had been coming from Rodney himself made it difficult for him. He prided himself on being able to protect his friends, not being able to protect Rodney, especially when he couldn't properly defend himself, had been a major blow.

He walked further into the room and stood beside his bed. He rested his hand on Rodney's leg.

" Hey McKay. I don't know if you can hear me but I just wanted you to know that I was here." Ronon struggled with what to say next. He had never been very good at the whole emotional thing and seven years on the run didn't help him. " Teyla might have already said this but you scared us. Finding out you'd been found and it looked like you'd been attacked, made me think that once again I'd failed to protect one of my friends. When you get out of here I'm going to make sure you can properly protect yourself."

He gently squeezed his knee, " I'll see you later Rodney. Get better soon."

The next to enter was Elizabeth. She sat down in the chair and grasped Rodney's hand.

" Hello Rodney. It's me, Elizabeth. I know I haven't spent much time with you and I regret that. When I heard that you'd been injured I was sure that you'd been attacked. To find out that you had aged again and this was the result shocked me. I knew there was a possibility that you had suffered abuse I just didn't know you had suffered this badly."

She rose and stared down at Rodney's sleeping form.

" I'll be here if you need me Rodney." she whispered and placed a kiss on his forehead.

She walked out of the room allowing Radek his turn with Rodney.

The Czech closed the door but didn't go any closer to Rodney's side. He still clearly remembered the last time he'd been in the infirmary and it had been one to pleasant. He raised a hand and unconsciously rubbed over his heart, where he'd been fatally hit by a bolt of electricity only a few weeks ago. He also remembered the after math of the whole ascension machine. Rodney had nearly died as a result and Radek couldn't get over the fact that the Rodney sleeping in the bed in front of him looked eerily similar to the one he'd briefly seen those weeks ago. He spent the rest of his time silently watching Rodney sleep before he left him.


** The Next Morning**

Rodney slept through the rest of the night, not even waking up as they removed the IV from his neck. John, Ronon and Teyla had all arrived in the infirmary after they'd been radioed by Carson that Rodney showed signs of waking up soon. They walked towards Rodney's room and saw Carson standing over him and asking questions. The head of the bed had been raised so he was in am inclined position. They quietly entered the room and made sure they stood out the way. All of them noticed the way Rodney looked them over, almost like he was deciding if they could be considered a threat. He apparently decided they weren't and turned his full attention back onto Carson.

"…be in here for at least a week, depends on how you heal."

Rodney looked u at Carson, his eyes dull and lacking their usual spark of life.

" Why do I have to stay here?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Carson sighed and sat down in the chair next to the bed and began to explain why to Rodney, " You have to stay here because you're back is going to be extremely sore and this will cause you to have difficulty walking. It will be less painful and put less of a strain on you if you stay here until they have healed more and that will take abut a week."

Rodney nodded and his eyes left Carson and settled back on John, Teyla and Ronon. Carson seemed to notice and gave Rodney a small smile.

" They've been worried about you since we found you." he stood up and walked towards the door. " I'll leave you alone for a while." As he walked past the three he whispered, " Try not to agitate him, he's still a little confused." He left the room, shutting the door behind him.

They all gathered around Rodney. Teyla took the chair while John and Ronon and sat down on the bed.

" How're you feeling buddy?" John asked, looking Rodney over with a critical eye.

" I'm alright." Rodney said softly. " How about you?"

" We've been worried about you Rodney." said Teyla.

Rodney looked at her confused, " Why would you be worried about me? I wasn't that badly injured."

They all looked at Rodney strangely after he said that. How could he think they wouldn't be worried about him, he was their friend. All they'd been the past two weeks is worried about him. He still didn't seem to realize that but John was sure that Teyla and Ronon would help Rodney realize that.

" We found you unconscious and bleeding Rodney." John told him. " We're going to be worried about you. We are always going to worried about you. Now how 'bout you tell us how you really feel."

Rodney looked down at his lap, not looking anyone in the eye. After a few minutes he finally answered.

" My back is starting to really hurt and so are my legs. They have been since before Carson left." Rodney finally looked up at them. " Can I please get something to make the pain stop?"

" Of course." John quickly stood up. He gave Rodney a quick once over and saw the slightly sweaty brow and his pale complexion. " I'll be right back."

He walked out of the room and went straight to Carson's office. The doctor was sitting behind his desk and looked up when John knocked on the door, with a little more force then necessary.

Carson looked up at him curiously. " John can I help you something?"

John nodded, " Yeah. Rodney's pain medication has apparently worn off. He was wondering if you could give him something to take the edge off."

Carson stood nodded, " I'll be right there."

John smiled in thanks and walked back to Rodney's room. He entered and saw that Rodney was lying back with his eyes closed and Teyla was talking to him quietly, while Ronon stood next to him allowing Rodney to squeeze his hand when the pain got particularly difficult. John could tell that Rodney was obviously in a lot of pain. He stood off to the side knowing that Teyla and Ronon were handling the situation just fine. He'd barely sat down in Ronon's vacant chair when Carson walked in carrying a capped syringe.

Rodney opened his eyes and gave a mental sigh of relief. Finally he was going to get some relief from the pain. Teyla moved out of the way, allowing Carson to take her place.

" Rodney before I give you any pain meds I need to know what your pain level is." Carson said. " On a scale of one to ten, how bad is it?"

Rodney squeezed Ronon's hand as a wave of pain washed through him. " Seven. Sometimes an eight." he said mumbled.

Carson nodded and quickly injected the contents of the syringe into Rodney's IV.

" This is going to make you drowsy, so you'll probably fall asleep." Carson informed, but Rodney barely heard it as his eyes were already drooping and minutes later he was deeply asleep. Even asleep his grip on Ronon's hand didn't loosen at all.

" He'll sleep the rest of the morning and afternoon. I gave him a powerful pain killer but not a large dose." Carson said, watching Rodney sleep.

" He has been sleeping a lot Carson." said John, looking at the way Rodney looked for comfort even when he was asleep. " Shouldn't he be awake more?"

Carson shook his head. " No. Sleeping will do him some good and help him heal faster. You should all go and get something to eat and I'll radio you as soon as he wakes up."

" All right." John agreed and pushed off from the wall. Teyla and Ronon followed, after Ronon loosened Rodney's grip on him.

Carson busied himself with fixing Rodney's blankets. He took a minute to take in Rodney's appearance, which had improved marginally overnight. Bruises still littered his face and his complexion had gone from a sickly gray to a pale white. A small improvement but an improvement none the less. Bags still had a permanent place under his eyes. He knew the next few days would be crucial in gaining Rodney's shattered trust and knew that the smallest mistake could destroy any hope of helping him. He quietly left the room to allow Rodney get his well deserved rest, the next few days were going to be exhausting for him.


Not one of my better chapters but at least it sets up for the next few chapters so it can't be all bad. It's also one of my shortest in the story but again, oh well. Remeber to Read and Review.