THE CONNECTION...part 7
He had been drifting in a warm, peaceful, pain-free sea of darkness and he wanted to stay there, but the throbbing in his temples wouldn't leave him be. Slowly, John peeled his eyes open then clenched them closed when even the soft light that greeted him made the pain in his head spike.
"Easy, Colonel," said Carson's lilting brogue. "I've lowered the lights a bit so try opening your eyes again."
"Sure," John said, although it came out like a croak. He opened his eyes and was relieved to see mostly shadows. Then Carson's face appeared and John was relieved to realize he was back in the Atlantis infirmary. But he wasn't so happy to realize he was back in restraints. He tugged on them, just a little, not having the energy to do more. "What happened?" He coughed after asking and there was a long moment of him gagging, Carson rubbing his back, John swallowing hard against the bile in his throat and choking down a few sips of water. Then he was leaning back against the pillows and willing the pain in his head to vanish.
Carson patted his shoulder. "Let me get you something for the pain, just to take the edge off, then we'll talk."
John closed his eyes again as he waited, then he heard Carson return and some shuffling sounds, then a cool spike flowing through his veins and the pain began to ease. He opened his eyes again and stared down at the IV taped to the back of his left hand. He wondered how long he'd been out for this time and only realized he'd said that out loud when Carson answered him.
"Twenty-two hours, Colonel." The Scotsman heaved a sigh and pulled a chair over to sit down. He looked exhausted. "You had me worried for a while there."
"Oh?" John was curious as to why. Maybe he did something that would give him some clue as to what the hell was going on here. Besides which, he found it hard to believe he'd been out of it for so long. Again. It was getting ridiculous how much time he was starting to lose. Not to mention the fact he was not happy to realize he had a catheter stuck in him.
Carson scrubbed a hand over his face before responding. "You spiked a high temp and went into convulsions at one point."
That did not sound good, and John wondered if that's why he felt so achy. "But..I'm okay now. Right?"
"Your temp finally went down," Carson conceded. "Early this morning. You're hovering at around a 99.9, so that's a good sign."
"Did I hurt someone?" John asked, tugging at the restraints again.
Carson winced at that. "You were delusion and you tried to leave the infirmary, in spite of being hooked up to a few things. I'd be willing to release you, Colonel, but only if you promise to behave yourself. You've been a right bit of a bother of late."
John knew that, and he wished he could explain why, but he had a feeling now was not the time to try and explain that he was trapped in Elizabeth's hallucination. At least not until he found out if Rodney had learned anything about the Ancient's being psychic or something along those lines. "I'll be good," he promised. "To be honest, I don't have the energy to do much more than breathe right now."
"I believe that," Carson said, rising to his feet. He undid the restraints then fussed with John's blankets. "I bet you're hungry."
"Yeah...I guess. Maybe a little." John smiled as he lied. The last thing he as interested in was food. But he'd do whatever Carson wanted for the moment. "Um...I need to pee. Could you remove, ya know..." John waved a hand over his groin area.
Carson nodded. "I'll remove it, but maybe it would be best if you used a urinal. You're going to be weak, laddie."
But John was adamant. "Bathroom," he insisted. "I'll even let you push me in a wheelchair." He needed out of the bed so he could build his strength back up. He had to be in fighting form for his next trip into Elizabeth World.
"I guess we can try the wheelchair," Carson conceded. He left to get what he needed to remove the catheter and was back a moment later, pulling on rubber gloves.
"Shit!" John hissed, as the tubing was removed. He hated those damn things. The moment it was gone he shoved the covers back and allowed Carson to help him into a robe. Then he was on his feet and wobbling by the bed while the Doc fetched a wheelchair. John was glad to sit down. resting a moment while Carson unhooked him from the IV line. But by the time they reached the bathroom he was ready for a shower and scrubs. It took five minutes of out right begging to get Carson to agree to it.
It was worth the battle though. After relieving his bladder, John stripped off the gown and stepped into the shower and doused himself in the hot spray. He scrubbed up as fast as he could and he didn't even complain when Carson barged in to help him get dried off and dressed in the scrubs. He did grumble about the reddish pink color, but realized beggars couldn't be choosers. Then he was back in the wheelchair for his trip back to bed.
Carson tucked John in, fussing a bit. He rehooked him to the IV then studied him. "Ready for some soup?" It wasn't really a question.
"Sure," John replied, plastering a smile on his face. He plucked at his blankets while Carson sent a nurse for the soup, running scenarios about what had happened in Hallucination land through his head. His mind felt muddled though and John knew his best bet to figuring things out was to talk to Rodney. But when he asked Carson for a radio, the Scotsman refused. He also refused to even think about calling Rodney for him until John ate.
So when the soup arrived, John made an attempt to drink it, but he ended up gagging on it and Carson let him off the hook after a few sips. "Will you call Rodney now?" John asked, fighting to keep his eyes open. He wondered, absently, if Carson had spiked his IV when he wasn't looking.
Carson looked disappointed and worried as he shook his head at John. "You need to rest now," he said firmly. "Take a nap and afterwards I'll consider letting you visit with Rodney. It'll depend on how you're doing at the time," he warned.
"Okay." John gave in without a fight because he was determined to get on Carson's good side. He knew he had a lot of crap to make up for so he curled up on his side and closed his eyes. He didn't even feel himself slide into slumber.
A feeling of being watched jolted John awake. He shifted so he was half sitting up even as he opened his eyes. Being still half asleep, he had to blink hard to bring the person hovering beside him into focus. It was Elizabeth. Despite the fact that she was smiling warmly at him, John felt a sudden spike of fear and it made him shudder.
Elizabeth's smile faded into concern. "John, are you okay?"
"Fine," he lied. His fear was irrational, at least that's what he told himself. But he still couldn't seem to shake it. Then it hit him why he was feeling this way. His last memory of Elizabeth was of her kicking him in the head. Sure it had just been a hallucination, but it sure as hell had felt real enough at the time. Real enough to make him wake up with a pounding headache, which John realized he still had. "Was I asleep for long?"
"From what Carson told me, about two hours." Elizabeth glanced at her watch for a minute, then back at John. "Do you want me to call him?"
Knowing it would hurt to shake his head, John settled for a firm, "No. I'm good. What brings you here?" He tried to settle himself back against the pillows, but the nervous tension he was feeling refused to abate and he couldn't seem to get himself to relax. Especially when Elizabeth moved closer to the bed. It was starting to freak John out a bit that he couldn't control the fact that just seeing Elizabeth was freaking him out.
Elizabeth narrowed her gaze at him for a moment, as if debating something internally, but then she seemed to relax and answered him willingly enough. "I just wanted to check on you. You had us all worried for a while."
"Yeah...sorry about that." John meant it. "Hey, can you call Rodney for me? I need to talk to him about something."
"He's busy with a systems check right now," Elizabeth replied. "But I can give him your message."
John realized he'd have to settle for that. "Nothing's wrong is it? I mean, with Atlantis?" Cause there sure as hell was something wrong with him. He didn't know what was going on or why, but he knew it involved himself and Elizabeth, but she didn't seem to be able to help him given their past conversations, so he'd have to figure things out for himself. Only John was sure Rodney would be able to help him, if he could just talk to him for five minutes.
Elizabeth rested one hand on the bedrail. "Nothing serious," she replied. "Radek detected some minute power fluctuations so Rodney want's to run a few tests and the like. I'll keep you updated if you like."
"Yeah, I'd like." Although he was out of the loop of things for the moment, John still wanted to know what was going on. Atlantis was his city now, after all. Which reminded him of something. "Are Ronon and Teyla around?" It occurred to John he could get them to fetch Rodney.
"They went out with Lorne's team," Elizabeth replied. "They left just a few hours ago."
John was disappointed to hear that, and a bit irked. He knew it wasn't fair to expect Ronon and Teyla, or even Rodney to be stuck doing nothing while he was stuck in the infirmary, but they were his team, dammit. When they weren't with him, he worried about them. "Nothing dangerous, I hope," he queried.
Elizabeth grinned. "I hope not. They were bored so they asked to tag along on what's supposedly a hunting expedition. You remember those boar like creatures on M7M-566?" At John's nod she continued. "Well after weeks of testing, it's been determined that the meat is both safe and edible, so we may have steak soon."
"Sounds good," John replied, ignoring the way his stomach roiled at the mere mention of food.
"I hope so," Elizabeth countered. She looked like she had more to say but her radio beeped and she sighed and tapped her ear piece. "Weir here."
"You're needed in lab 2, Dr. Weir," Came Chuck the Technician's voice. "Some kind of dispute going on that needs your negotiating skills."
Elizabeth made a show of rolling her eyes then said, "On my way," before tapping off. "I'll see you later, John," she told him, before heading out.
John watched her go then he looked around for a nurse. He didn't see one, or anyone else for that matter, so he quickly yanked out his IV and slid out of bed. Since Rodney wouldn't come to him, he was just going to have to go to Rodney. Ignoring the cold tile beneath his bare feet, John slipped quietly out of the infirmary.
OoO
"I haven't had a chance to research anything!"
John glared at Rodney for that reply. He had really been counting on Rodney finding out something. Anything. But at the same time he realized it wasn't fair of him to be pissed. Rodney really was busy taking care of Atlantis and for McKay, that came first and rightfully so. Heaving a sigh at himself, John asked, "Can I borrow a laptop then? I'll do it myself."
Rodney made a face as he stared at John. "There's one on the table in the corner, but aren't you supposed to be in the infirmary?"
"What gave it away? The pretty pink scrubs?" John mocked, still feeling out of sorts. And feeling weak. To the point where his body took the hint and his knees suddenly buckled on him.
"You're an idiot!" Rodney spat, even as he lunged and caught John by the arm, keeping him upright. Mostly.
It took too much energy, that he didn't possess at the moment, to glare at Rodney. So John settled for doing his best to simply make it to the nearest chair without relying on Rodney as a crutch anymore than he had too. He was happy to sit down and put his head down on his folded arms for a moment.
Rodney fidgeted beside him. "You okay?"
"Will be." John lifted his head and sat up. "Where's the lap top?"
"John?"
He stiffened at the sound of Elizabeth's voice, shifting on the stool to see her standing in the doorway. Busted! "Hey," he called out, checking behind her as she strode over to him, expecting Beckett to be on her heels. When she reached him he gave her a rueful look. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
Elizabeth folded her arms across her chest and nodded. "You are. And you owe me big time. I convinced Carson to let me find you and bring you back to the infirmary."
"Heh...I'm surprised you were able to talk him out of sending the cavalry," John countered, and he meant it. He was surprised, and grateful.
"I told him about your hallucinations," Elizabeth stated.
That particular revelation rocked John back on his chair as if he'd been slapped. "You told him?" He whispered. He hadn't expected that. Nor did he expect Carson will have believed her. Then again, since Elizabeth had experienced them to begin with, maybe the good doc would believe her about it, since he hadn't bought it from John. Which would be a relief.
But Elizabeth's next comment killed John's hope. "He's contacting Kate to talk with you, John."
"Oh." John frowned at Elizabeth. "Why didn't you explain to him that I'm not crazy?"
"What's going on here?" Rodney interjected, looking pissed off and curious at the same time, in the way only Rodney could pull off.
John was too focused on Elizabeth and waiting for her reply, to respond to McKay. "Didn't you explain to him how I'm getting trapped in your hallucination?" He watched her drop eye contact and a feeling of dread wormed its way into the pit of his stomach. "You don't believe me..." John whispered, and that right there was like another kick in the head.
Elizabeth took a step towards him, one hand out in a placating gesture, but John found himself scrambling to his feet and backing away from her. "I would believe you, John," she said softly. "If you were infected. But there are no sign of nanites. I had Carson test you again. Nothing is there."
"So...so that just leaves me being crazy...right?" John felt the fear come flooding back to him as she continued to stalk him. He kept backing up till he hit the far wall and suddenly there was no where to go. John looked to Rodney for help, but the scientist was staring at him like he'd suddenly grown a third head. So no help there. "I helped you get free," John reminded Elizabeth. "I helped you!" He was starting to feel sick and angry and those emotions churned in his gut along with the fear.
"I'm going to help you, John," Elizabeth promised as she stepped into his personal space.
He watched her reach out to him but he knew he needed to escape. So he pushed her away with the intention of running for the door, only the minute he touched her, John felt himself falling into darkness.
THE END...of part 7
