HALF-LIVES

CHAPTER 10

Sheppard sat at his favorite spot on the mess hall balcony, glad that the light in the sky had all but faded, giving him a much needed break from squinting to keep the bright sun from amplifying the pain in his head. It still pounded like a thousand fists against his skull, begging to be let out, but at least the nausea had abated, leaving his stomach growling for food. He glanced down at the slice of pound cake in front of him, debating whether or not he should try to eat it, and then sighed and pushed it away. He hadn't eaten in so long that he'd pretty much lost the desire to do so. Nothing looked appetizing anymore.

Not even the mountainous slice of chocolate cake Ronon plunked down on the table, causing Sheppard's silverware to clatter with the force.

"Hey," Ronon greeted in his usual way as he swung a leg over the seat of his chair, then sat down.

"Hey," Sheppard replied. Sheppard sat in silence, watching Ronon as he dug his fork into the cake, pulled off a huge chunk, and shoveled it into his mouth, then repeated the motion until the entire slice was gone.

"Your stomach still screwed up?" Ronon asked then, and Sheppard looked up, confused.

"What?"

Ronon nodded toward the pound cake. "You haven't touched that yet."

Sheppard shrugged. "My stomach's fine. I'm just not hungry, I guess."

Ronon sighed and sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. "Sheppard, you may not have as healthy an appetite as me…"

"No one does," Sheppard interjected playfully, and Ronon had to grin.

"…But you usually eat at least once a day." His eyes bored into Sheppard's. "Day's over."

"Ronon…" Sheppard began, but fell silent when he got an even harder glance from his friend.

"If you don't eat that cake, I'll get Keller to knock you out and stick a feeding tube in you," Ronon threatened.

Sheppard cocked an eyebrow at him, in a silent challenge, but said, "Fine. I can't promise that my body will cooperate, though."

Ronon shrugged, indifferent. "Whatever. But at least you can say you tried."

Sheppard grimaced at him. "Comforting. Thanks." As he pulled his plate back toward him, he decided to change the topic. "Rodney making any progress?"

Ronon frowned then. "Not really. But you know how he is. Everything's gotta be perfect."

"Yep," Sheppard replied before he took a tentative bite of his cake. It was sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, and the tart strawberries and cloud-like whipped cream on top made a nice contrast in his mouth. He decided then that he was glad Ronon had convinced him to eat it, and took a larger second bite.

"Carter can't be happy it's taking so long," he said after he swallowed, and Ronon nodded.

"She comes into the lab every few hours to check on him. She's only trying to motivate him, but he doesn't seem to appreciate it."

"I can imagine."

Ronon grinned as he said, "When she left the last time, he muttered something like 'ungrateful harpy' under his breath."

Sheppard laughed out loud, but was immediately sorry for it when his head protested, upping the pain a few notches. When it had subsided again, he mimicked Ronon's posture, leaning back in his chair.

"That's Rodney, all right."

Ronon nodded. "So, what're you up to, after you're done eating?"

Sheppard grinned at Ronon's obvious attempt at badgering him to eat, but let it slide without comment. Ronon was only looking out for him, as Sheppard would for his team. He merely shrugged in response, and took another large bite, hoping to satisfy his friend.

"I was thinkin' about bugging Rodney a little myself."

"Hm. Something tells me he won't like that much, either."

Sheppard's grin widened. "Probably not."

Ronon didn't reply. He simply sat there in his chair, watching intently as Sheppard finished his cake. When the last bite was gone, Sheppard held up his fork, licked the last of the whipped cream off the tines, and dropped it with a clatter onto the empty plate.

"Happy?" He asked Ronon, who nodded.

"Yep."

"Good. Can I leave the table now, Mom?"

"Watch it, Sheppard," Ronon growled, though he was smiling, and Sheppard returned the grin. "Let's get outta here."

"Good idea," Sheppard agreed.

Ronon and Sheppard both stood at the same time, and Ronon waited patiently for Sheppard to retrieve his crutches from under the next table, where he'd hidden them, and then nearly shove them under his arms. Ronon understood how he felt; having to rely on something – or someone, for that matter – to help you get around was bad enough, but when you were a soldier…well, it made it ten times worse.

Sheppard noticed the look Ronon was giving him, and frowned deeply. "I'm sick to death of these damn things."

"I got that."

With that, Sheppard nodded that he was ready, and Ronon led the way out of the mess hall.

When Teyla walked into Rodney's lab and caught sight of her three teammates, she nearly laughed out loud. The men were all huddled around a single computer, so close that their heads almost touched one another, and were deep in concentration as they stared at something on the screen. Every once in a while, Sheppard adjusted himself on his crutches, and Ronon could be heard rumbling some quiet comment.

No one noticed as Teyla took another step forward, so she cleared her throat softly, and the three men simultaneously raised their heads to glance in her direction.

"What is going on?" She asked, but they had already gone back to staring down at the computer. Suddenly feeling left out, she walked over to the group and shouldered her way between Ronon and Rodney.

"Rodney?"

Finally, he seemed to hear her, and replied, "Um, I think our 'EMF detector' is about ready. I'm just checking over a few things to be sure, but as long as they're fine, we're good to go."

"We will be able to see the energy signature of the being?"

"Or beings," Rodney corrected. "Yes."

"But what will we do once we find it, or them?"

"Details, Teyla," he said, waving away her concern with his hand. "Okay, just one more…" he waited until a beep sounded from the computer, and then said, "Ready!"

Sheppard grimaced slightly as he shifted again. He had no idea how long he'd been standing there, but his leg was beginning to ache as much as his head. "So turn it on."

"Yeah, McKay," Ronon agreed, and Rodney nodded.

"Fine, fine." He pressed a key, and waited again. A grid came up, and he grinned proudly. "It's working."

"Okay," Sheppard nodded. "You're sure you've excluded any known energy signatures already on Atlantis, right?"

"Do I look like a first-year grad student?" Rodney grouched. "Of course I'm sure. Why?"

"'Cause that's a lot more energy readings than we anticipated," Sheppard replied, his chin jutting out toward the computer screen. Confused, Rodney turned around to look, and the bottom of his stomach dropped out. A large cluster of dots blinked on the screen, indicating at least thirty separate energy sources within the city. And, to make matters worse, they were moving.

"Oh. No, no, no. How is that even possible?" Rodney whined, tapping a few more keys.

"There were only twenty here," Sheppard mused. "And we got rid of most of them."

"Maybe they managed to escape the module after all," Teyla said, but Rodney shook his head.

"Impossible. The force of the water, combined with the super-dense metal of the unit, would never allow them to escape. Or at least, not for years."

"Reinforcements?" Ronon offered then.

Teyla frowned deeply. "But how?"

"Doesn't matter. What does matter is they're here now," Sheppard told her before he switched on his radio. "Colonel Carter?"

Carter's voice replied almost instantly. "Colonel Sheppard?"

"We've got a problem. You might wanna get down to the lab."

Carter strode into the lab, and the defeated looks on the team's faces took the air out of her.

"What's the problem?" She asked, and at first, everyone just glanced at each other. Finally, Rodney took a deep breath and stepped away from the computer.

"We managed to get Sheppard's 'city-wide EMF detector working."

"Okay," she said, still waiting to hear what the problem was.

"There are at least thirty energy beings in the city," Sheppard explained, and Rodney nodded wearily.

"How is that possible?" Carter asked.

Rodney sighed. "We don't know. All we do know is, they're here, and they're moving."

"Any idea where they're headed?"

"It looks like the majority of them are making their way toward the crew quarters."

Carter frowned. "If they take control of the military crew…"

"I know," Rodney cut in. "It means they can have access to weapons. Guns, stunners, the whole kit-and-caboodle."

"What about the others?"

It was Rodney's turn to frown. "That, I'm not too sure of. They seem to be heading this way, but for some reason, they're taking their sweet time."

Sheppard had been listening to the exchange between them for a while, until the pounding in his head demanded his attention, and he suddenly felt extremely hot in his jacket. He'd been feeling fairly warm for a while now, but until now, he'd been successfully ignoring it as he tried to help Rodney work on the detector.

Sheppard closed his eyes, hoping the lack of light filtering into his eyes would calm his migraine, but it didn't help. Instead, the pain began to grow, seeming to envelop his entire head and squeeze it, as if he'd stuck it into a two-ton vise. He concentrated on breathing deeply, knowing that the extra oxygen usually helped, and for a moment, it worked. Still not trusting it enough to open his eyes, he continued to inhale one huge lungful after another, slowly feeling the intensity of his migraine slipping away. But as soon as he returned to breathing normally, the pain crowded back into him, and he had to struggle to keep himself standing upright. As if in response to his resolve, his head pounded even harder, and he couldn't keep a strangled cry from escaping him. He clutched at his head, forgetting his injured leg, and would've crashed to the ground if someone hadn't grabbed the front of his shirt just then. A moment later, he felt himself slip into unconsciousness, and he was glad for it.

Ronon had seen Sheppard swaying on his feet, his eyes shut tight, and had tentatively moved toward him, knowing something was wrong with the Colonel but not wanting to draw attention to it quite yet. As soon as Sheppard had cried out, however, his feeling was confirmed, and he grabbed Sheppard before he fell.

"Oh my God," Rodney whimpered as he watched Sheppard sink limply into Ronon's arms. "We're all gonna die."

"Rodney," Teyla scolded, and he fell silent, though the worried expression he wore only deepened.

"Infirmary," Carter said, though Ronon was already on his way out the door in that precise direction.

"I'll be right there," Rodney said, starting to grab a few things on the desk in front of him, but Carter stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"No, Rodney. I need you to stay here and figure out how to get rid of these bastards."

He stared at her, a dozen different emotions flickering across his face. "But, Colonel Sheppard…"

She grinned sympathetically at him. She knew all too well what it felt like to have to stay behind when a member of your team was injured or lost, how everyone expected you to get lost in your work and keep from worrying about them. It never worked; no matter how busy she got, her worst thoughts and fears were always there, threatening to drown her. She imagined it was the same for Rodney.

"I know. But the best way to help him is by finding a way to trap them. For good."

His staring turned into an angry glare, and she feared that he would start an argument. To her relief, he finally sighed and dropped his gaze to the floor at his feet.

"Fine. You'll keep me updated, though, right?"

Carter nodded. "Of course."

When she had gone, Rodney pulled a chair over from nearby and sank down into it, then began working on a solution to their latest problem.

"What happened?" Keller asked as Ronon jogged into the infirmary, carrying a very unconscious Colonel Sheppard. He was followed closely by Colonel Carter, and Teyla, who looked as if she were about to either cry or scream.

"Collapsed," Ronon said, figuring that was all the explanation she needed.

He was correct. Wordlessly, she turned and pointed to the nearest unoccupied bed, and ran to get a few pieces of equipment. Ronon carefully placed Sheppard on the bed, and then stood by Colonel Carter with his arms crossed as Keller rushed to Sheppard's bedside. Sheppard's face was slowly turning red, as if he couldn't get enough air, and it made Ronon angry enough to want to punch something.

As Jennifer checked his vitals, she said, "His pulse and breathing are both much more rapid than I'd like, and I think he may be running a fever." She took his temperature quickly, and nodded to the nurse who had appeared on the other side of the bed. Her fear had been confirmed. "We need to get him cooled down right now."

"Doctor Keller?" Teyla squeaked, the fear in her eyes increased twofold.

Jennifer turned toward her for a moment, even as she began to remove Sheppard's jacket. "He's running a temp of 104.8, and it's rising. If we don't try to regulate his body temperature…"

Understanding what she was trying to say, Teyla nodded and started to pull off his shoes, while Keller cut his shirt open. The nurse, Marie, soon reappeared, and began placing damp, cool towels on his upper body. Though they were only barely cool, as the towels contacted his skin, Sheppard jerked as if they caused him pain. He began to gasp in huge breaths, one right after another, and Jennifer was suddenly reminded of the time she had nearly drowned in the lake by her house. Whenever she'd tried to draw a breath under the water, she'd instantly felt the need to draw another.

Sheppard's face and body continued to redden, and then, at a moment's notice, he just stopped breathing. From her place beside Ronon, Teyla had noticed, and now she uttered a pained gasp. Ronon gently wrapped his huge arm around her shoulders, his expression mirroring hers as he glanced at Carter.

"We need to intubate him," Jennifer said as Sheppard's lips began to take on a pale blue color. She watched Marie run off to get the necessary equipment, and turned back to wipe his burning forehead with a cool cloth.

"Hang in there, Colonel," she murmured softly, then, as Marie handed her tubes and other assorted tools, she put aside her gentleness and began to work on saving one of the most important people in the city, if not the entire Pegasus Galaxy.

Sheppard was cold and hot at the same time, and he wondered to himself if that was even possible. All he could see around him was blackness, and no sounds reached his ears. He pondered whether he was dead, and decided that if this is what it was like, then he didn't mind it much. His migraine was gone, his stomach wasn't upset; this might actually work out fairly well, after all.

Sheppard let his mind wander back, and discovered that the last thing he remembered was being in Rodney's lab. He wished there were some way he could at least find out whether they'd dealt with the energy beings or not, but to be honest, he wasn't in all that much of a rush.

"Sheppard," a voice suddenly whispered inside his head, and he frowned. Is that possible if you're only in your head? he asked himself.

"Yeah. Who's this?"

"I have no name," the voice replied.

Sheppard almost felt bad. "Well," he drawled. "We'll have to fix that. How about Ben?"

"Ben?"

"Yeah, you know, like 'been' in my head. Ben." He chuckled at his own joke.

"Very well, though it really does not matter," 'Ben' replied.

"So, what do you want? Oh, right," Sheppard said, answering for the creature, "you want my mind. And, ultimately, you want control of my body."

"Yes," Ben hissed.

"The part I can't seem to work out is, why? What do you hope to get out of this?"

Ben didn't reply, and if he hadn't felt Ben probing for something inside his mind, Sheppard would've thought that he'd gone. But then, in a voice only slightly above a whisper, he said, "I think you know."

Indeed, Sheppard had an idea, and he hadn't liked it the instant it had come to him. Bristling with anger, he growled, "You want Atlantis."

"Yes."

Ronon sat at Sheppard's bedside, watching his friend hang onto life. He'd managed to tune out the incessant beeping of the heart monitor beside the bed, but he couldn't block out the sight of Sheppard lying there covered in sweat, his body finally still, instead of heaving with each gasp. Ronon wasn't sure he liked this much better. Jennifer had told him to talk to Sheppard, but he wasn't sure there was anything to say that hadn't already been said. He'd already opened his mouth to speak a few times, but each time, he decided against it.

Now, as he shifted to a more comfortable position, all he could do was watch.

And pray.

Sheppard stayed silent, the consequences of the beings' takeover reeling through him like a movie suddenly put into fast-forward. Anyone who resisted would be killed, including those on his own team. Even though he was most likely already dead himself, he couldn't stand that thought.

"You are not dead, Sheppard," Ben said then, "not yet, anyway."

Sheppard hadn't missed the gleeful tone in Ben's voice, but he forced himself to stay calm. He needed more answers, and right now, this seemed like the only way he was going to get them.

"Well, that's good to know," he quipped. "So, what exactly do you want with my city?"

Again, a full minute's silence surrounded him before Ben spoke again. "We wish to use its weapons against our enemies."

"And who would they be?" Sheppard asked.

"It is none of your concern," Ben spat, and Sheppard decided to drop the subject for while.

"Sure. So, where are you from?"

"We are from the same world Atlantis is located upon."

"Oh," Sheppard grinned (again, weird, he thought to himself), "we're neighbors, then! Why didn't you say so before? We would've invited you to the barbecues."

The feeling that Ben was searching for something hit him again, and this time he realized that Ben was slowly trying to find a way to take over his mind. Well, let him try. It doesn't look like I'm going anywhere soon, and there's no way in hell I'm letting him in.

Ben must've understood his thoughts, because the pressure began to build up again. Ben's energy beat relentlessly against him, but Sheppard knew he had to hold out. If this thing gained control of him, his team would be in immediate danger. He could only hope that Rodney was working on some way to help him.

With one last burst of energy, Ben tried to force his way into Sheppard, and Sheppard only just managed to defend himself.

Ronon saw Sheppard jerk violently in his bed, and just managed to bring the IV cart closer before the Colonel ripped the line out of his hand.

"Keller!"

Jennifer ran over to the bed, instantly seeing why Ronon had summoned her. She checked Sheppard's temperature again, and shot Ronon a worried look. "It's going up again."

"Can't you give him something?" Ronon asked, standing up and pushing his chair out of her way. She shook her head.

"We can try the towels again, but that's about it."

He growled, obviously disliking her answer. "I thought a fever was a sign of infection. Maybe his leg…"

She shook her head again. "I already checked, and he's clear. My guess is his body's treating the influence of the entity like an infection. Since it's only in his mind, though, there aren't any physical symptoms beyond the fever." She glanced down compassionately at Sheppard's shaking form. "He's gonna have to fight this himself."

Ronon glared at her, the wheels in his brain turning as he digested what she'd said. Then, with a roar of anger and pain, he spun around and kicked a tray of supplies, sending it clear across to the end of the room, which was thankfully empty.

"Ronon!" Teyla shouted from the doorway, and ran over to him. She had been on her way to relieve him of his watch, and had been just in time to catch his outburst. Laying her hand on his arm, she stared up into his eyes, warning him to calm down.

Realizing what he'd done, Ronon shuffled back around to face Jennifer, and muttered, "Sorry."

"That's okay," Jennifer replied, hoping the smile she'd plastered on distracted them from her shaking hands.

"I'm gonna go work out," he said then, and before Teyla could stop him, he stalked out of the infirmary.

"He's intense, huh?" Jennifer asked Teyla, and she nodded slowly.

"He must be very worried," Teyla mused aloud. "What is happening?"

Dr. Keller glanced down at Sheppard, and didn't know whether to be glad that he'd stopped shaking or not. "His temperature had dropped somewhat last night, but it's climbing again. As I told Ronon," she said before Teyla could ask, "there's nothing I can do for him in the way of medication. All we can do is keep him comfortable."

As the weight of Keller's statement sunk in, Teyla nodded. "I understand. Would you like me to assist you?"

Just then did Jennifer realize that except for Ronon, she had been alone in the infirmary. She'd sent Marie to get some sleep a number of hours ago, and because Sheppard was her only patient, she hadn't felt the need to call anyone else.

"That would be great, thank you."

Teyla helped her wet a few large towels in the sink, then wring them out and place them in a bin. She carried the bin over to Sheppard's bed as Jennifer checked his temperature one last time, and they both gently began laying them over him, carefully smoothing them down onto his flushed skin.

She watched as Sheppard twitched once, but she figured it had more to do with the temperature change than anything else, and forced herself to relax. When he seemed a little more comfortable, she allowed herself to sit beside the bed, and took his hand in hers, her thumb rubbing small circles on his palm.

"John," she finally said, though her voice was little more than a murmur, "Please, keep fighting."

Then, she brought his hand up to her lips, and brushed them against his fingers. "I am here for you."

TBC.....

Notes: Hey, sorry for more ShepWhumping...actually I'm not, LOL! Sorry, Sheppard. Anyway, hopefully within the next few chapters, I'll be able to wrap everything up, and I'll finally leave poor Shep alone. I never know how this stuff is gonna turn out until I write. I mean, I have a general idea, but sometimes the story just....changes itself as I write it. Hopefully that makes sense. Oh, and sorry about the separations between Sheppard's mental convo with "Ben" and Ronon watching him in real life. Because is a bunch of meanies, I can't use my normal double-spaces. Bleh.

Anyway, thanks for all the great reviews, and I...*hears banging noises* Oh, shoot, Sheppard escaped my basement! Um, I hope you enjoy the story so far, and the rest to come!