Chapter Twelve – I Can't Shake Off That Bad Feeling
Jennifer Keller
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Writing reports didn't require much more than time and that's where it became tricky because Jennifer always seemed to occupy herself. It was that, plus the fact that she didn't want to be reminded about this particular mission.
She was still a bit sore, her hand hurt mostly, from the adventure but at least she hadn't end up in one of her own infirmary beds. All in all, she had been the lucky one.
Keller had just been to see Teyla. She had been relieved that her foot injury wasn't more severe than it was. She couldn't imagine Teyla with only one real foot and prosthesis on the other.
Jennifer had always looked up to Teyla and admired her for her strength and courage. This time she had seen the Athosian troubled and even a bit scared. She had seen the strength of steel buckle, exposing the soft human side of Teyla. Young marines often spoke about Colonel Sheppard's team as if they were heroes, immortal even.
When Keller had first arrived to the city she'd almost believed the rumors but then she had grown closer to them and started to hang out with them as a friend. And as a doctor she had treated their wounds and argued with them on several occasions. She would not accept permanent damage or death of any of them. Her life just wouldn't be the same without them. And they needed each other more then they realised.
She took one last look around her office before heading off to her room. Walking through the door to her quarters she threw her jacket on her bed and sat down heavily on her chair. 'Why did she have to write a report?' she mused. She didn't belong to a team and all the basic information that Mr. Woolsey could possibly want from her was to be found in the medical journals. Besides, she had to write a medical report on the Acclosians.
Jennifer really hated those images in her head; dead people staring at her, her friends on the verge of dying, pain, Wraith…
Heightmeyer had once told her that the quicker you process the memories the quicker you could leave them behind. Sighing she put her hands on the computer keyboard. The last she had written was; What if?
/ There was nothing I could do, all the villagers were already dead; the Wraith had seen to that. We discussed what to do next and Teyla said that her people would take care of the funeral arrangements. I thought it would be wiser and safer for every one that Atlantis took care of it all. We do have more resources and can withstand a Wraith attack much better than the Athosians. However, I respect the traditions and rituals the people have here and I know that Teyla is more than capable of taking care of it; when she is well enough.
/ When the short discussion was over, Teyla performed a smaller burying ceremony to guide the people on their long journey to the afterlife. We also emptied some of the water bottles before our own journey back toward the gate.
/ Tired and saddened; some of us even angry, we walked out in the humid air expecting a peaceful walk back. However, everything doesn't always happen the way we want them to.
Teyla's small ceremony was beautiful and calming, it was like time stood still. She found herself drawn to the Athosian's song as the rest of them stood in silence. Perhaps she imagined it but the atmosphere around them had become more human and friendly; like the ghosts had laid down to rest.
Then suddenly Teyla stopped and slowly rose from her position, turning towards them. The Athosian nodded at John who nodded back. She felt sorry for Teyla and moved forward trying to comfort her by squeezing her shoulder.
Sheppard turned to them. "Let's move out," he said in a short voice.
They silently acknowledged and slowly made their way to the exit of the old warehouse; their heavy boots on the rough concrete echoing in the large room.
She was suddenly very tired and she felt empty inside. She ignored the warning signs her body tried to give her. They needed much more water than they had brought with them but they couldn't take more now if they wanted to have some left for their walk. As a doctor she knew that none of them could be at one hundred percent in this climate. They had been forced to run and fight enemies that didn't exactly helped saving energy.
She sighed as the warm and moisturized air made contact with her bare skin. No one said anything for a while; they just walked silently out of the village. After walking for what seemed like an eternity the silence was suddenly broken by McKay.
"How can people live here? I mean, of all the places they could have chosen," Rodney complained wiping his face, trying to get rid of the thin sheen of perspiration.
She laughed inwardly; the man was just unbelievable at times. "Do you always have to be so negative?" she asked, her voice tinged with dryness. However, deep down, she returned the feelings he had toward her.
Sheppard's face suddenly became smug as he turned to her with a twinkle in his eyes. "What are you telling me? That he has a positive side?" he asked.
She chuckled at the comment.
"Give a guy a break; I'm hot, tired and achy," the scientist replied testily and raised his hand to slap the fly off his cheek. "I think I'm coming down with something," he added.
Sheppard smirked. "Being hot is not necessary a bad thing," he said teasingly.
Rodney slowly turned around to glare at the Colonel.
She could see that the scientist was formulating a reply in his mind and wondered what Sheppard was going to retort with. They were totally hopeless at times.
Then everything happened so fast. Colonel Sheppard became deadly serious as he looked at Teyla. The Athosian raised her hand and Ronon quickly brought up his gun, scanning the immediate area. She just stood there, in the middle of the group, not really knowing what to do.
Suddenly stunners cut through the woods just beside her, hitting McKay square in the chest.
"Get down!" Teyla shouted.
She dove to the ground near Rodney as the other three quickly covered each other, McKay and herself, while firing at the Wraith.
"They are all over the place!" she heard Teyla relay to the others.
Ronon quickly appeared at her and Rodney's side grabbing the scientist, hauling him up.
She took a deep breath and tried to gather her thoughts. In the heat of the moment her mind just stopped working rationally. The fear was suddenly forgotten and her only concern was of survival.
"We have to get out in the open to reach the gate!" she shouted over the P90 fire.
"Go! Teyla and I will lay cover fire," John shouted back.
She didn't need to be told twice as she leapt to help Ronon and Rodney. Not really knowing what she was doing, she grabbed McKay's P90 and moved to John and Teyla in order to help them.
It didn't take long time before they reached the grassy field between them and the gate. The shorter distance to home and security on Atlantis only fuelled her determination; she began to run faster.
However, her renewed energy and self-confidence didn't last very long as Teyla calmly said there was a dart approaching. She felt a chill down her spine and bit her lip to keep out the pain in her side, willing herself to go faster and catch up with Sheppard as he had moved up to the front.
She breathed heavily and when she was just behind him she heard a low cracking sound.
"No!" Sheppard shouted, having turned around. "Ronon move!"
She watched in horror as the ground gave away beneath them. As Ronon was carrying Rodney he couldn't do much to prevent it. John desperately trusted himself forward over the edge, managing to grab hold of one of them, she didn't see who but she quickly threw herself at the ground after Sheppard's legs in order to prevent him from falling. Then there was a loud crack and she grimaced as Sheppard's legs slipped her grasp. Within a second he was gone. She heard him cry out in pain before she felt the ground beneath her give away before a strangled cry escaped her lips. In wild panic she flailed her arms, trying to grab something in order to break her fall, knowing it could be fatal if she landed wrong.
Her mind screamed at her body to do something, anything, but the only thing she managed to do was to scream. Then pain exploded and she felt blood mixed with sand in her mouth. A large dust cloud swirled around her and for a while she couldn't see. Her mood plummeted as she realized they were in deep trouble and tried to prepare herself for the inevitable capture by the dart above.
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"Doctor Keller, please report to the infirmary," a voice suddenly boomed over the radio, causing her to jump.
She took a calming breath, realizing she was back in her quarters, far away from the dusty chamber she recalled, and activated her microphone. "This is Keller what is going on?" she asked.
"Doctor Keller, we have casualties coming in. Captain Gaspari's team ma'am, they ran into some trouble at the settlement." Chuck replied calmly from his position in the gate room.
She felt a twinge of hope. "Chuck, what about Major Lorne?" she asked.
"I'm sorry; it's pretty chaotic up here at the moment…" he paused as weapons fire hit the lower cases of the stair. "There's no sign of Major Lorne or anyone else from his team. Doctor Cole has taken a medical team to the gate room but she needs you in the infirmary. She will fill you in about the inbound team's injuries. I apologize, I know it's not your shift," he said softly.
"It's okay, Chuck, I'm on my way," she returned soberly and quickly closed down her report, heading for the door.
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When Jennifer arrived to the infirmary it was total chaos, three team members lay bloodied on the beds near the entrance and Captain Gaspari himself sat on a bed exhausted. Colonel Sheppard stood at his side talking to him as Captain Longhorn came rushing through the doors. Doctor McKay demanded to know what had happened on the planet while Teyla, sitting in a wheelchair, gently helped bathing the forehead of the young lieutenant on the captain's team.
She knew Major Lorne's and Captain Gaspari's team had been sent to the Acclosian homeworld to protect the Ancient underground system but nothing more. They had been missing for quite a while and apparently something had gone very wrong.
Jennifer quickly assessed the situation while calling Marie over. "Injuries?" she asked.
"Young Lieutenant Rogers need immediate surgery; Doctor Cole is prepping as we speak," Marie reported as she emerged at the door of pre-op in scrubs.
Keller nodded looking at the frightened lieutenant and thanked Teyla for her calmness and the support she provided even if she didn't like the Athosian being out of her own bed.
"The others are in a bad way too although it's not as critical. Hess needs surgery to repair internal injuries. Doctor Koloski has taken scans of Lieutenants Hess and Waters. Lieutenant Hess has a punctured lung causing her respiratory problems. Waters is lucky; he has only thorn some ligaments and caused muscle damages to his shoulder," the nurse filled in.
Jennifer cast a glance toward Gaspari talking to Sheppard and the team-leader of SGA-4, Captain Longhorn. "What about the Captain?" she asked.
"Says he is fine and doesn't need any help," Marie said with a shrug but something in her voice made Jennifer doubt that the nurse believed him.
"He is injured but not badly. Doctor Koloski will be overlooking him while you and Cole perform surgery," she added.
Jennifer nodded and made a face. "I want Colonel Sheppard back in bed ASAP; he needs rest, not work. He is not ready to assume his duties. See to that Teyla gets to rest as well…" she trailed off as she overheard Rodney talking to Zelenka on the radio. "…I'll head for the operating theatre."
Marie nodded and walked over to Doctor Koloski.
"John Sheppard, get back to bed!" Jennifer chastised as she walked past nodding toward his empty bed.
"I'll see to it, Doc." Captain Longhorn assured her.
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Several hours later Jennifer tiredly made a sweeping gesture at her door panel, fighting to keep her eyes open.
The surgical reparations had gone well, although the lieutenants needed supervision. The next 24 hours was critical for at least two of them.
The Wraith had continued bombing the facility when they couldn't reach what they were after by using their beaming technology; unfortunately Major Lorne's team had been in the caves as it happened. It had taken the efforts of Captain Gaspari's entire team fight off the Wraith attack. However, there weren't time to try and dig Major Lorne and his team out, and even if there had been, Captain Gaspari's team where in no condition to do so. Whatever the Ancients had hidden a long time ago the Wraith wanted it badly and given what they'd found out so far she understood them.
Despite her tiredness, her mind drifted back to the Ancient chamber that she herself had fallen into. Her mind was set on writing more on the report. She sat down at her desk and opened the folded laptop. As she did so she was unable to keep the memories from resurfacing.
She heard the Athosian shout that they were coming and she closed her dust filled eyes as she lay curled up on the floor. Then something happened, something wonderful; the dart moved away.
Both stunned and confused she breathed a sigh of relief and rolled over on her back. The doctor in her immediately started assessing the sustained injuries. Her hand hurt, and she grimaced as she saw the swollen wrist.Her cheek stung and she got blood on her hand asshe touched it. Her body felt sore and a dull pain spread in her limbs. With some effort she managed to get up from the ground.
Teyla looked at her with a concerned expression on her face. "Are you all right?" the Athosian asked.
She nodded but stopped short as her neck muscles protested the action. "Just bruised, I think," she answered and closed her eyes briefly. She would have killed for a couple of aspirins.
Teyla's worried voice clearly broke through the haze in her mind as she called her name.
She turned around seeing the Athosian kneeling beside Colonel Sheppard's side, Teyla's hands covered in blood. Her own pain forgotten, she quickly moved over to them, kneeling down.
She always hated it when people she knew and called her friends became injured. It was so hard trying not to think about who the patient was. On that particular part, working at a larger hospital was better. There, a patient was just a patient.
"Colonel Sheppard?" she asked as she tried to assess the damage. She peeled away the blood soaked shirt and t-shirt to uncover the wound on his side.
Her first impression was that it didn't look good, it was bleeding heavily and she feared for internal bleedings as well. She carefully prodded the wound looking at Teyla, her face grim. "I need my bag," she said seriously.
The Athosian quickly moved away to retrieve it and she was grateful she had Teyla with her. She knew that Teyla would do what she asked of her but she also knew that John and Teyla cared deeply for one another, as friends. Sometimes she wondered why they hadn't got together.
"John, can you hear me?" she asked gently.
"What's wrong?" Ronon asked as he came closer; McKay was not far behind.
"Just give me a second," she said, not taking her eyes off the patient. "John?" she tried again.
"I'm…here," he rasped faintly.
She breathed a sigh of relief as Teyla handed her what was left of the medical kit. As she began untangling the bandages she watched as Teyla gently placed John's head in her lap, the Athosian's hand gently touching his forehead.
"John, listen to me; something penetrated your side and it's bleeding quite heavily so I need to put pressure on it," she explained.
"Do what…you need to doc." he said; his face contorted with pain.
She nodded and firmly put her hand over the wound. It would no doubt be painful but she had no choice. And she didn't dare to give him a pain relief just yet when she hadn't fully assessed his condition.
"Oh…it's bad isn't it?" Rodney asked concerned.
She had a reply on her tongue but a bloodied hand closed on her wrist. Teyla gently placed her hand on John's and lifted it away, nodding at her.
She felt sorry for him; the pain must be unbearable because she knew he had a high threshold for pain.
"I know it hurts but I have to do this," she said apologetically. It was hard to accept it was Colonel Sheppard there on the ground, shifting in pain.
The colonel nodded, licking his lips, briefly closing his eyes.
She looked at the rest of the team, feeling the need to answer Rodney's question. "It's not good, but it's not life threatening," she finally answered. "Not yet," she added faintly, to silent for anyone else to hear.
It did actually look better then she had first assumed when it had been cleaned.
"How are you two holding up?" she asked, noticing Ronon's bleeding arm and Rodney's pale face.
The Satedan shrugged. "I'm fine," he stated.
Knowing that wasn't an honest answer she gave him a glare and then turned to McKay. It worried her that he hadn't complained on something yet.
"Well, how do you think I feel; first I get stunned by some lucky Wraith and the next thing I know I'm falling…who knows the depth," Rodney replied testily.
"Well, at least you are standing up," she offered with a smile.
Rodney's expression changed from annoyance to concern as he looked at John. "I'm far better off than Sheppard. He is going to be all right isn't he?" the scientist asked worriedly.
She hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "John needs proper medical attention; he needs to get back to Atlantis."
"Hey, I'm still…here and I was kinda on my way there remember?" the Colonel returned, his voice a mix of annoyance, pain and anger.
She smiled at him before looking at the Satedan again. "Ronon, we need to look at your arm," she insisted.
"I told you I was fine," he said. "It's just a scratch."
"So is this; we should concentrate on getting out of here before the Wraith comes back," Sheppard said, attempting to sit.
She quickly put her hands on his chest to stop him. "Colonel, with all due respect if you move right now it could start to bleed again," shechided him.
She was no fool, she knew that if no one came to their rescue soon they had to try and find their own way out and John needed to move around in order to do that. She just hoped it wouldn't come to that. There was no telling what would happen or what really had happened speaking in terms of damages due to his body. However, the more he rested and stayed still the better his chances where.
Teyla jumped in. "Perhaps you should lie still for a while?" she suggested softly to Sheppard.
Jennifer shuddered at the flashback. She was glad it was only memories because it meant they were all safe and back in Atlantis. Looking at the computer screen she began typing where she had left off.
/ We began to walk toward the gate but didn't get very far before more Wraith appeared out of nowhere, ambushing us. I remember being scared to death as Doctor McKay dropped like a stone just beside me. He was hit by a Wraith stunner. Colonel Sheppard's team quickly moved to protect both me and the fallen doctor and began to fight off the Wraith. Their skills in fighting Wraith, I believe, saved all our lives back there. I hope not to be in a situation like that again but if it do happen again; please let it be with Colonel Sheppard's team.
/ In the chaotic time that followed I zoomed out and I remember helping Ronon with McKay and then grabbing his P90. I must have acted out of pure self-preservation and I can only hope I was of some use to the others. Even though I don't like to admit it I think I need more practise with fighting techniques and guns. Don't misinterpret, I have taken the oath to do no harm but I am keen on survival.
/ When running toward the gate with the enemy at your tail, the first thing you do isn't exactly to look at your feet. We assumed the grassy ground was stable down to the rocky ground below it. However, as it turned out, we actually ran upon an Ancient cave system, or facility, if you so wish. Ronon, while carrying Rodney, fell through the ground. If Ronon only had had himself to worry about perhaps he could have grabbed hold of one of the old beams keeping the roof up and together just beneath the surface of the ground. But since Doctor McKay was totally out of it at the time, Ronon had no choice but to take the fall.
/ Colonel Sheppard managed to grab hold of Doctor McKay but couldn't hold on because when he got a grip, and I at the same time grabbed his legs preventing him from falling down, the forward momentum caused him to slam into the remain of the roof structure. It collapsed and caused both him and me to fall as well. As the dart approached our position Teyla had no choice but to jump down to the rest of us to avoid capture.
/ Luckily, all except Colonel Sheppard got away with the fall without anything more than sprains, cuts and bruises. The colonel's injury was quite severe and it was not ideal circumstances to threat it properly. Also the risk of infection is always a threat when off world. See medical journals for more details.
She looked up from her computer, staring out of her window over the dark ocean. It was almost midnight and she needed every hour of sleep she could get if she wanted to be alert in the morning. She closed down her file and went to lie down on her bed, once again thinking back on the events at the planet. The Wraith, the Ancient underground system, the door, the self-destruct and the climate, it was a wonder how they actually had managed to stay alive.
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To be continued
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