Chapter 4,
They entered the infirmary together and Dr. Keller motioned him under the body scan for a full medical. Radek had gone into Keller's office to check through the Atlantis systems looking for both references in the database and anything in the atmosphere. The general thinking was that as it was only affecting him then it was either due to a chemical reaction with his hypoglycaemia or due to something that only he was working with.
Radek was going through all his experiments over the last three months, to take into account something that may have sat dormant for a while before affecting the scientist. With too much energy and nothing to shoot, Sheppard just hovered. Rodney recognised this Sheppard mode. He generally saw it just before a rescue mission, this impatience of not doing anything causing his body to constantly move and shift.
Sheppard was trying to put him at his ease, talking to him about anything and everything, about nothing just trying to keep his mind off the problem at hand… and the needles. "Hey! That's valuable liquid there! I need more than the average person to keep this genius brain going. Do you really need that much?"
Keller gave him that patient look he was getting used to from her. "I need to do a number of tests and I figured you would prefer it if I took it all at once rather than returning every time I needed to do another test. Did I presume correctly, McKay?"
He huffed in response. Not really in the mood to argue the point. And then of course, there was the point that she had presumed correctly.
During the scan, Keller moved away to notify the nurses on shift that they were not allowed to mention that McKay was in residence and to leave all his medical attention to herself, for which they were obviously thankful. Damn machocist's anyway. He was just as thankful as they were.
"Rodney?"
Damn. His concentration was still drifting. He marginally wondered how many times Sheppard had called his name as he looked at him. "Sheppard?" He responded, going for sarcasm was always a safe response when dealing with Sheppard.
"Erm… I need to ask you something." He was visibly squirming which was making Rodney nervous, as if he needed anything more in that area.
"No, you can't have my comic collection if I die," He said, watching Sheppard.
"McKay! No, I was speaking to Ronon and Teyla at Lunch and they said they were worried about you and I know you said you only wanted us four to know about it but I was wondering… if erm… it would be okay to tell them. I know they would want to know."
Rodney blinked. Then he thought about what they meant to each other and that he owed them his life many times over.
"They're our team," Sheppard said quietly.
And that was it, the simple truth. They went through everything together and although he did not want the pity, just having these four helping him had given him more comfort than he was willing to admit. He nodded.
Sheppard grinned, his relief obvious. "You'll tell them though?" Rodney asked. "I don't think I can… er… you know, say that all again."
Sheppard dropped the grin and put a hand on his shoulder to squeeze. "Of course, buddy. I'll wait till we are through here and then I'll tell them."
Keller returned and led them all to her office shutting them in.
"Radek?" Sheppard asked.
He shook his head, pushing his glasses back up and running a hand through his messy curls. "Nada, I have checked the atmosphere and unable to find anything that has changed in the last month. I have looked at the cleaning filters and systems for Atlantis and also found nothing. I am going through the database but I am also unable to find anything yet that mentions the symptoms that Rodney has. I will continue looking."
Keller meanwhile had moved to her computer to assess the results of the scan. Rodney figured that Radek would not find anything, after all he had been looking for three weeks and had not found anything but he was willing to hope, considering what was at stake.
Keller turned to him. "We are looking for everything but we have to take into account that there is the possibility that this is neurological. If we don't find anything here then I suggest that you also see the psychiatrist to see if there is some other reason for this. Okay?" He could see the worry in her eyes, about how he would take it as everyone knew how he felt about that particular science. He had had enough of brain doctors over the years but considering the alternative…
"I will talk to them, but only once I know we have exhausted everything else and only then. Okay?"
Keller nodded eagerly. "Okay," she said with relief clear in her voice.
Rodney cleared his throat. He was annoyed that he was doing stuff he hated just to please her. He hadn't done that since high school and he knew from painful experience that that way only lay pain but he still couldn't seem to stop himself. "So, you find anything, presuming of course that there is a reason I am trying to survive on the one pint of blood you left me with?"
Keller smirked and again the conflicting emotions between pleased and wary pulsed through him as she spoke. "It will take time to get the results in. I want to keep you here for observation and in particular I want to use a polysomnogram on you while you sleep here tonight. I would be surprised if we found the answer in the first few minutes, Rodney. You are going to have to be patient," she smirked, "Which I know is not one of you better known characteristics."
"What is a Polysomnogram?"
"Basically, it's a sleep test. You will be wired up so that twelve channels of data can be recorded while you sleep. Two channels will be linked to the EEG and will determine if you are reaching sleep mode and what phase you are reaching. The third channel will monitor the air flow to ensure that you are breathing correctly during sleep and not reducing your oxygen intake. Channels Four, Five and Six will be attached to your chin and each of your legs for muscle movements. Channels Seven and Eight will be attached to your eyes to monitor REM and Channel Nine to your heart to monitor its rate and rhythm. Channel Ten will be attached to your finger for oxygen saturation and finally, channel's Eleven and Twelve will be wrapped around your chest and abdomen, again for movement. I know it sounds like a lot but this is a very common test and no patient as ever complained of not being able to sleep with all these wires attached. It will discount about five possible causes in one night. I will have the results by mid day tomorrow. Okay?"
"Sure. Bring on the voodoo box. I will probably dream I'm Pinocchio with all those strings attached, especially with the eaten by a whale thing we've already got in common." He tried not to show how smug he was when she laughed gently at his joke and huffed at her instead.
"Well, there is no reason for you two to hang around here. Radek, go back to the labs and do your research from there. I don't trust our monkey's without anyone to watch over them. Sheppard, now would be as good a time as any to go see Ronon and Teyla."
They dispersed and Rodney changed into his scrubs and got into his infirmary bed. He was glad he was alone in the isolation room as he was more than ready for the peace and quiet now. It had been an emotional five hours. He was not sure his heart had recovered from the briefing earlier that day yet.