Chapter 7: Reunions

Eventually he felt the car slow to a complete stop and Cam turned the engine off before turning in his seat and saying; "We're here, Ronon and I will wait in the car if you want to be alone."

Sheppard was already more than aware that they had arrived, he had felt the oppressive pain of dozens of sick people descend upon him a block away and he had been desperately concentrating in the hopes of blocking it out. Looking at the building they were now parked outside Sheppard sighed deeply, truthfully he didn't know how his brother was going to react to him bringing friends but he wasn't sure whether he would be able to cope on his own and remain grounded at the same time. "No, come in, I might need the support." He meant physically and hated having to admit it but the other two seemed to understand.

"Ok then," Mitchell said "just let us know us know if you want to leave, or if you think you need anything else come to think of it."

Sheppard just nodded, silently thanking them for not asking any questions.

Stepping out of the car he hunched over slightly for a few seconds as a wave of pain washed over him before he could block it out. Straightening up again he pushed the pain back and, taking a deep breath said; "let's get this over with"

Both of his companions could see the strain on his face but opted not to say anything.

Meanwhile Sheppard was trying to figure out what had possessed him to agree to go somewhere where there were so many sick people. He was managing to keep the pain at bay for the most part but it was taking an incredible amount of concentration to achieve his goal. It was going to be a while still before he managed to control this particular ability. Walking across the car park he was relieved to find that no further pressure was put on him as the levels of pain he had to deal with remained constant.

He walked straight to the reception desk when he realised he had no idea where he needed to go, all the while the comforting presence of Ronon and Mitchell was never far behind.

The guy at the desk didn't look away from his computer as he approached however; as soon as Sheppard began to speak he looked up. He noticed the man's eyes settle on his slung arm briefly before returning to his face. "I..." Sheppard paused as his concentration slipped briefly. Clearing his throat he tried again. "I'm looking for David Sheppard, I was told that I could find him here but I don't know his room number." Realising something else he added; "He's my brother."

A look of sympathy crossed the man's face before his mask of professionalism slipped back into place. "Can I see some identification please?"

For what felt like the thousandth time that day Sheppard pulled his ID and handed it over.

"Mr Sheppard is on the third floor room 309 the elevator is down that corridor." The man indicated the hallway to the left as he returned the ID.

Sheppard silently took back his ID and lead the way towards the elevator. The typical hospital style decor with the linoleum flooring and the off white walls had him feeling uncomfortable as he was reminded of the few times he had landed himself in earth-based hospitals. Granted that hadn't occurred nearly as frequently as it had since his deployment to Atlantis but never-the-less those occasions had been more than a bit uncomfortable and frequently followed by official, and unofficial, reprimands.

The tinny stereotypical elevator music did nothing to assuage his feeling of discomfort, nor his growing nerves. The elevator felt tiny as the tree of them stood there, Ronon filling a vast amount of space and, despite the fact that Sheppard was more than aware of the fact that the elevator was big enough to fit a gurney in, he couldn't quash the slight sense of claustrophobia. In all honesty he hadn't felt this nervous since his father's funeral, despite the hairy situations he had found himself in since that time, less than a year before.

Stepping out of the elevator after what seemed like an age, but was probably only thirty seconds, Sheppard took a deep breath and looking at the signs in front of him, started walking down the corridor to the right.

His brother's room was at the end of the corridor and the quiet calmness of it was probably the best money could buy. Pausing at the door Sheppard couldn't quite bring himself to raise his hand and knock knowing the potential can of worms he may be about to open.

After about a minute a nurse walked up to the door "Are you here to see Mr Sheppard?"

Sheppard merely nodded and Ronon and Mitchell stood back as she opened the door ushering him in.

"Mr Sheppard?" she asked the form in the bed "you have visitors."

The form stirred in the bed before a fairly dishevelled head emerged from beneath the blankets. "Is Sarah here?"

Sheppard cleared his throat uncomfortably as his brothers eyes came to rest on him before moving to his shoulder and then on to Ronon and Mitchell standing out of the way in the corridor. "well if it isn't Peter Pan come back from wherever he spends his time these days, and he's bought the lost boys with him." There was no malice in his voice just good humour that caught Sheppard off guard. "You look like crap little brother."

"Look who's talking Dave, why didn't you let me know earlier what was going on?" Sheppard relaxed when he realised that his brother wasn't going to bite his head off.

"I didn't want to bother you until I knew for sure it was worth trying to get hold of you... who's your friend? I know ... Ronon but I'm not sure I've had the pleasure of meeting the other gentleman."

"Ummm, this is Lieutenant-Colonel Cameron Mitchell. He's giving us a hand getting round for a while... while we're back." Taking this as their que Ronon and Mitchell came into the room.

"Well it's always good to meet some of John's friends; it's been a while since he's bought anyone round to meet the family."

Sheppard hadn't missed the quick glance at his shoulder at the mention of getting help but chose to push that to one side in an effort to avoid further complications to an already complicated situation. Mitchell chose this moment to break the silence that was beginning to build. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you call him Peter Pan?" Sheppard could see the confusion on Ronon's face and grinned slightly at the conversation that would ensue later, out of earshot of Dave, when Ronon demanded an explanation.

"It's a nickname from our childhood; John had a habit of running away when we were younger."

"Thanks Dave," Sheppard quipped; "They really don't need to be regaled with embarrassing stories from our childhood."

"Where's the fun in that little brother?" Dave coughed lightly as he smiled "you've got to admit it comes with the territory when you introduce friends to family."

"I'll give you that." Sheppard relinquished.

Up until this point the nurse had been going about her checks in silence but she chose this point to interrupt "there doesn't seem to be any changes today Mr Sheppard, the Doctor will be by later today to run a few more tests."

Dave just nodded, the Sheppard men weren't big on words when it came to uncomfortable situations, unless it involved the wraith of course then Sheppard seemed to be able to pull smart comments out of thin air.

"Sensing that this may be a good time to leave the brothers alone for a while Mitchell turned to Ronon and said; "I'm really jonsing for a coffee, do you fancy one big guy?" Ronon just nodded, getting the gist of what Mitchell was insinuating and they turned, leaving the room.

"That was subtle." Dave commented after they were out of earshot.

"Yeah," Sheppard admitted, "They're not really chatty guys."

There was a pause as neither of them knew what to say. Looking around the room Sheppard noticed a chair sitting next to the bed. Approaching it he looked at Dave for a sign of approval before sitting. Getting it he settled into the chair sighing as he jostled his shoulder.

"Are you ok?" Dave asked, his sharp eyes not missing anything.

Sheppard snorted "You're the one lying in a hospital bed and you're asking me how I am?"

"I see you're point." Dave grinned

Sheppard took the time to really look at his brother and was discomforted by what he saw. His brother looked pale and drawn and his hair was a lot thinner than it had been the last time they had seen one another. The most striking thing to Sheppard however was the familiar look of a person trying to hide the pain they were feeling. "You look tired... look I'm going to be here for a while so if you are tired just go to sleep, we can talk later when you're up for it."

"Yeah that might not be the worst idea in the world." Dave said, lying back into his bed and shutting his eyes.

Within minutes Sheppard saw his breathing even out into a steady rhythm. "Sleep Dave," he muttered quietly, "You'll feel better soon enough."

He hadn't known until that moment what he was going to do. Knowing that he wasn't supposed to do anything with his ability wasn't going to hold him back, despite the risks involved, not just in the chances of someone discovering what he had done but also the risks to his own health.

Reaching out with his hand he hesitated slightly before opening up his senses to include his brother's pain, feeling the effects of the disease that was destroying his brother from the inside out his breathing hitched but he still had the presence of mind to grab his brothers hand before the pain completely consumed him.