Chapter Ten

When times are hard

I think of you

I'll wait for love

I'll wait for you

Matt White – Wait For Love

The lights were flickering again and Cass found that overly annoying. It had been happening on and off over the past few hours and now it was becoming more and more frequent. The power surges were disruptive not only to the lighting but towards the other medical machinery. She'd shut down the scanners because she couldn't risk them becoming damaged if the power went haywire. Carson was at a meeting with the other Heads of Operations. It had been called abruptly and in Cass's opinion that usually meant one thing, there was trouble brewing.

God, she hoped the city wasn't going to sink. Cass didn't really want to think that was even a possibility at this point. She doubted that the restricted access call out would have gone out if that was true, which made her consider that it was something else. She had been hearing stories over the past few weeks of ghosts trailing the hallways at night.

Cass had thought that was clearly people's minds playing tricks on them at the time. The Athoians were frightened and the city, she admitted was very unsettling at first. It taken her a little while to get used to it herself. Lately Cass had been hearing whispers among the Athosians of the Wraith and of the spirits of the Ancestors. She, herself had seen nothing to indicate that they were right but then again in a universe where Space Vampires could suck the life right out of your chest with the palm of their hand, anything was possible.

"Doctor Pierce, you have incoming." her comm chimed in her ear with the gruff voice of Paul Deakins, head of one of their Medical Team.

"Bring it straight in, details?" Cass responded, already in motion.

She was already slipping into a yellow plastic apron, one of her nurses was behind her fastening up the bindings as she snapped on a pair of latex gloves from the box along side the automatic doors.

"Lieutenant Ford, he's unconscious but stable. Burns on face and likely chest and upper body, we had to intubate on site." Paul fed the information through to her comm.

"What happened?" Cass questioned, stepping through the ancient doorway into the Trauma Bay.

"Looks like an electrocution, Sergeant Stackhouse is minutes behind us." Paul relayed before hesitating for a moment as he speculated. "Could be something to do with all the power surges Doctor."

"That would be my guess, How far are you out?" she requested, darting a furtive glance at her field kit, trying to decide whether it would be quicker for her to go to them.

"Two minutes." Paul promised as Cass flicked on the Diagnostic Scanner before speaking into her comm.

"I'm ready."

Lieutenant Aiden Ford was steaming, literally. There was smoke coming off his padded black utility vest in waves from the heat that had fused the zipper of it shut. Cass was hoping for the best in this situation, being struck by electricity played havoc with all sorts of body functions and the results from the initial scan still weren't back yet. Right now, her and her team of trauma doctors were focusing on damage control. They had already hooked him up to a ventilator so that his lungs were getting air, at the very least she was hoping that the paralysis of his respiratory system was only temporary. They were damned lucky the jolt of electricity hadn't disrupted the rhythm of his heart.

"We need to get this off him to assess how bad the damage is underneath." Cass told her team, holding her hand out for a pair of scissors. "It looks like it's fused to his fleece."

Cass was already snipping along the zipper line in order to disconnect the melted plastic and material from Ford's dark flesh. It came away with ease which made her breath a small sigh of relief, the material hadn't fused to his skin meaning he was very lucky in deed.

"Have the results from the scanner come back yet?" Cass asked Doctor Auster as her nimble fingers gently tugged the material away from the younger man's naked chest surveying the damage visually.

The burns were large and ragged in size and structure, patterning Ford's torso with raw intensity. Cass leaned closer examining the flesh and trying to ignore the stench of scorched meat that invaded her nostrils. The wounds were glossy with seeping moisture, the top layer of skin furling backwards and seared with black from where the electricity had struck at his body.

"I need cool water compresses and sterile dry bandages." Cass relayed to the team scurrying into action around her. "Also get an I.V in his arm, he's been losing a lot of fluid from these second degree burns."

"Doctor, the scan." Doctor Auster said, thrusting the tablet into Cass's hands before she flicked through the information.

She was distracted momentarily by the hiss of the automatic doors as Carson swept into the room already yanking on his own yellow apron.

"What have we got lass?" he called out into the room as Cass handed him the tablet containing the details from the scanner.

"He's damn lucky." Cass informed Carson, pointing out the younger man's vitals. "It looks like he got hit with lightning. His internal organs are intact, no swelling in the brain. We have him intubated for now because his respiratory system went into paralysis due to the shock."

"Hence the ventilator for now?" Carson questioned as his eyes strayed to the machine.

"When his body calms down he should be breathing unaided." Cass confirmed before gesturing to Auster who was applying the cool water compresses onto Ford's damaged skin. "I'm running an I.V to help with the fluids he's losing due to the burns. As far as I can tell there won't be much need for a skin graft."

"It looks like you won't be needing me after all." Carson complimented her before setting the tablet down and lingering by Ford's side to catch a glimpse of his burn injuries.

"Carson..." Cass beckoned him to one side. "I don't understand what happened here. The lights have been on the fritz all day and then Ford gets hit by some sort of electricity burst. Should we be on alert in case it causes more accidents like this?"

The question was an educated one. Ford had been lucky that his injuries hadn't been too severe, it would take him days to recover with the technology they had at their disposal. Cass couldn't help but wonder whether someone else may not be so lucky.

Carson's eyes fixated on hers, as he grasped her underneath her elbow lightly in order to guide her away from prying ears.

"It wasn't an electricity surge that did this to Lieutenant Ford. It appears there's an entity loose in the city, it's attracted to the power coming from the generators." Carson explained as best he could. "That's why we're on lock down, the soldiers were patrolling the corridors searching for it when it attacked Lieutenant Ford."

Carson's features were strained, already she could see more words dangling on the tip of his tongue but sensed his restraint. Pieces slotted into place as he pursed his lips together, arms crossed over his chest as he let out a deep sigh.

"Are we in danger?" Cass asked directly, meeting his gaze.

"I don't know lassie." Carson told her honestly. "They'll be fair warning if it does head this way. I hardly believe they'd leave us to fend for ourselves."

Cass nodded her agreement at his words before turning her attention back to her patient.

The infirmary was running on emergency power, they were using the bare minimal amount of energy they could afford in order to support the basic materials they needed to treat all of their patients. Carson was worried that The Entity, as the two of them had deemed it, would be drawn to the large amounts of energy they used to power the scanners so they had shut them all down once more.

From what little intelligence that she could gather, the situation had gone from bad to worse so Carson and herself had reduced the Infirmary to a skeleton crew and sent everyone else back to their quarters.

There were familiar footsteps treading towards her softly. Cass propped her chin on her hand as she took in John's familiar form stepping towards her. He was wearing his charcoal grey combat uniform, which meant he was ready for action. Things were serious, she had known that from the minute they'd all been forced into lock down earlier in the afternoon.

"Major." she greeted, raising to her feet as John paused at the end of Ford's bed.

His expression was unreadable as he took in the sight of his fallen comrade. His arms were crossed over his firm chest, his jaw set as he stared down at the Lieutenant's sleeping body. The burns were already starting to fade from the intense treatment they had subjected him to. Cass was glad that their technology was so advanced, it made the healing process a lot faster and of course a lot more manageable.

"How's he doing?" John said gruffly as she came to stand beside him

"We've put him in a medical coma until we can get all of our systems online again. He's not in any pain and he's healing up better than I hoped." she relayed the information in a clinical voice.

John needed the facts and she was laying them out in a language that he could understand. There was a struggle across his features, an internal war that Cass had no place stepping into. He had been responsible for this man and he had gotten injured on his watch, it weighted on him greatly as he regarded the consequences. His hands enclosed on the bar of the bed, his knuckles turning white under the strain of how close one of his men had come to death. The situation was already preceding to get worse with every second The Entity was loose.

His distress was evident and Cass wished more than anything else in the world that she could take it away. Realistically she knew that was impossible, John took on the burdens that other people broke under, it was his way. He made the hard choices the ones that other people dared not to face. Her fingertips ran lightly over the knuckles of his fist before coming to rest in the grooves.

"He's going to be alright." she told him quietly, her thumb caressing the side of his hand as the tension of his grip released.

"I'm going after it." John stated bluntly, staring down at her pale hand upon his tanned skin.

He didn't dare raise his head to look into those sapphire eyes, he was terrified of what he might see. This was how it started, the deterioration of every single relationship he'd had began with a mission and ended with a breakup. He couldn't stand to see the tortured heartbreak in Cass's eyes knowing that he'd put it there.

"I know." Cass told him frankly.

That surprised him, Cass could see it in his cautious expression and in his hazel eyes as he inclined his head towards her studying her for lies. Cass opened herself up to his gaze, allowing him to see the sincerity behind her actions. She would never make him feel ashamed or inferior because of his job, he had a duty and she understood that more than most. It was part of John, and Cass would never try to change that. She would never exert the same pressures as the previous women in his life and he needed to accept that.

Cass squeezed his hand lightly before drawing away back into the safety of lamp light. There was faith shining in her features, it lit her up like a star before his eyes as she fixated on him with a knowing smile.

"I'll still be here." she offered him pointedly.

There wasn't a single doubt in John's mind that she was telling the truth.

Hey guys! Firstly thankies very much for all of your continued support. We never see the true extent of the injuries that people receive on Atlantis, I thought I'd show the impact that The Entity would have upon Ford.

Brn: lol we'll have to see if I do manage to top that. You've made it a challenge. With a man like John who wouldn't get carried away :p Thankies very much for reviewing!

Joey: I wanted to make it more than just sex for the two of them, there's a bond between the two of them that needed to be shown and I am really happy that you love it. I thought they needed a safe haven away from the outside world esp with how dangerous Atlantis can be. LMAO I am glad you found it hot. Thank you very much for the review, I really appreciate it.

KAT: I am glad you found it hot! I wanted the two of them to experience a connection with each other and I admit I just adore writing the two of them. Thank you very much for the review.

Monkey: I am so glad your enjoying this story. These two are just bouncing off each other and I love writing them, they are such a joy. I admit I am seventeen chapters ahead in this story so do not worry. I am still writing right now! Thank you very much for the review! I sincerely appreciate it.