Chapter Eight

Desperate Measures

Merry didn't hear John behind her as she made her way down the halls to the transporter. She had to get to the control room quickly, before another seizure struck. She knew she wouldn't be allowed to escape a second time.

The transport to the control room seemed instantaneous. As she made her way down the hallway, she thought she heard it activate behind her, but when she looked back, there was no one.

She had no idea how she was going to dial the gate and get through without anyone trying to stop her. She couldn't exactly say it was official business; she was in scrubs, and it was a ridiculous lie anyway. She didn't think she was fast enough to dial, run down the stairs, and go into the wormhole without the guards stopping her; it would take a great deal of luck that she wasn't sure she had.

By the time she made it to the control center, she saw that luck was indeed on her side. It must have been later than she thought; there were only a few people in the room, and Carter wasn't in her office. Both gate technicians were buried in a pile of cable next to one of the consoles, and the security guards were both at one of the doors, talking. She walked as stealthily as she could to the console that had the DHD. She had memorized the address to the ice planet; writing it in her report several times had burned the symbols into her brain.

She dialed as quickly as she could, ignoring the shouts of the technicians when they saw what she was doing. She raced to the stairs; the two technicians were still trying to untangle themselves when she got to the bottom, and the guards were looking at the gate, confused.

Merry's heart nearly stopped when she heard John's voice. Skidding to a stop, she spun around. John stood halfway down the stairs, looking pale and worried. The guards took the opportunity to place themselves in front of the gate, guns raised. Merry growled low in her throat.

"You have to let me go, John. I can't…I can't stay here anymore."

He took a step down the stairs, wincing as he did so. Merry began to back toward the gate. He held up a hand. "Why?"

She frowned. "Why what?"

He took another step. "Why can't you stay?"

She glanced quickly behind her; the guards hadn't moved, but one of the technicians was paused in front of the DHD console, waiting for John's signal. "He…he told me that they have a cure…if I go back, I can get the cure. It was the only way…"

John had reached the bottom of the stairs. "The only way to what? Why would you need a cure?"

She gave him a harsh laugh. "As if they didn't tell you." She spun on her heels and made a dash for the gate.

She heard John's rough shout for the guards not to hurt her, but she ignored it. The open wormhole behind them beckoned. She watched them drop their guns to their sides and hold out their arms. She didn't stop as she leapt toward the shimmering pool of the event horizon.

It was a shock to hit the hard floor. She had been expecting snow; at the very least, something cold. It took a second to realize that she was still in Atlantis. The feel of a person on her legs, as well as the sharp pain in her side, made reality strike again. She nearly screamed in frustration.

One of the guards was lying across her legs. Her head and torso were lying through the gate, which the technician had deactivated. She slammed her fist against the ground.

John hobbled over, an unreadable look on his face. "Sergeant, call a medical team to the gateroom. You can let her up; I'll watch her."

The sergeant's face clearly showed doubt, but he did as ordered. The other guard held his gun carefully leveled at her. John motioned for him to take a step back.

Merry watched it all with a glare on her face. The sergeant, after radioing for the medical team, dragged her to her feet. John motioned toward the steps and began to make his way there. She followed him reluctantly, holding her side.

He sat in the middle of the stairs, patting the step next to him. She sat, mumbling under her breath. He shot her a look, and she stopped.

The pause before he spoke seemed to take forever. "What were you doing?"

Merry rolled her eyes, wincing as even that small motion caused her side to pull. "I would have thought that was obvious."

John smirked. "Yeah. Trying to go back to the planet where you were tortured for two weeks makes perfect sense."

She sighed. "I didn't say it made sense; I said it was obvious."

He waited for her to continue. When she didn't, his smile dimmed a little. "Well, maybe to you. It's less than obvious to me."

Merry gave him an incredulous look. "Right. As if they wouldn't tell you."

John raised his eyebrows. "Who?" Smirking, he looked up at Carter's office. "Carter? I've been in the infirmary with you. You would've known if they'd have told me."

Merry shrugged, wincing again. "I might have been asleep. Or ignoring you. I don't know; I can't imagine them not saying something."

John stared at her. "Is this going somewhere?"

Merry smiled thankfully as two medical teams burst into the gateroom, gurneys in tow. John glared at the sergeant, who stared straight ahead. Merry could just see a smirk on the man's face.

Keller was with the medical teams. For a normally cheerful woman, she had a steely look on her face and her jaw was clenched. She came up to the two of them like a lion stalking its prey; Merry sank miserably into the stair, but John sat as tall as he could manage, looking as innocent as possible.

"What did you think you were doing?"

Merry smiled, suddenly feeling very stupid. She didn't notice the tremors start in her hands. John, however, felt no guilt whatsoever.

"I followed Doctor Steel to the gateroom. She was trying to go through the stargate."

Keller raised one eyebrow. "And where were you going?"

Merry hardened her face. "I was…I was going to get the cure, okay?"

She stood and made her way to the gurney. Keller's face lost its hard look. "But…Doctor Steel, if you know something, you need to tell me."

Merry felt the tremor in her arm. Her eyes widened. "Not here."

Keller looked down at her arm. Her mouth tightened. "Get Doctor Steel back to the infirmary as quickly as you can. Put her in one of the private rooms…"

Merry sat up quickly. "No. I want…I don't want to be…can't I stay in the infirmary?"

Keller smiled lightly. "Sure. We'll have to put curtains up, though, at least for a little while." She motioned for the team to leave. "Now, Colonel, let's get you up on this gurney."

Merry's next seizure lasted a little longer than the last, but the recovery period had shortened considerably. Instead of sleeping through the several hours in between, she woke only half an hour later. The pain was infinitely more intense, but that only made it easier to wake up. She wasn't really sure which she preferred.

She groaned and rolled over, sighing as she saw the curtains pulled to one side. She also saw John, sitting up in his own bed next to hers. He had a tray in front of him, and she could just make out the top of a cup of blue Jell-O. She felt a sudden craving.

He looked over as she struggled to sit up. "Hey, sleepy. Feeling better?"

She looked over at him as her arm gave way and she fell sideways. "Immensely."

She struggled to push herself up, grimacing as she pulled on her side. He frowned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." At his concerned look, she gave him a small smile. "Really, John, I'm fine."

He smirked. "Heard that before. Said that before."

She pushed the nurse's button next to her bed. "Well, it's a good thing I'm not you then." She looked up as a tall blond nurse walked over.

The nurse smiled, but Merry could see something behind the girl's eyes. The nurse leaned over her bed, checking her bandages. After she was done, she took a step back. "How may I help you, Doctor Steel?"

Merry smiled, a sickly sweet thing that she was sure the nurse could see through; she almost hoped the woman could. "You could give me something to eat. Please."

The woman's smile didn't change. "Of course, Doctor Steel. I'll be right back."

As the woman walked away, Merry stuck out her tongue. "I'm sure you will."

John raised his eyebrows at her acid tones. "Well. I didn't know you had it in you. Here I was, thinking that you're such a kind, loving person. Even your file says it."

Merry frowned. "Says what?"

John looked smug. "If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you."

Merry shrugged. "Fine. Don't care anyway." She looked up as the blond nurse came over with a tray. There was a bowl of thin soup, a small cup of red Jell-O, and a glass of water. Merry looked up at the woman's face. "Seriously?"

The nurse gave her another fake smile. "Doctor Keller's orders, Doctor Steel. Dig in."

She walked away, leaving the tray on Merry's lap. She picked up the spoon and dribbled some of the broth, grimacing when she couldn't even find any vegetables. In a slightly mocking tone, she bobbed her head. "Dig in."

John snorted. She looked over at him and glared. "This is all your fault, you know."

John leaned back as a different nurse took away his empty tray. "Obviously."