**WARNING** This chapter has a theme of domestic violence - I don't go into that much depth, it's more of a 'use your imagination' bit but if you're super sensitive to that kind of thing I suggest skipping it or something...
But, trust me, it's a good bit of drama. Happy Reading! :)
JOHN'S POV
I followed Lorne down the corridor after he interrupted my moment with Carson, I was already in a bad mood and he hadn't even told me what was going on yet.
"Captain Harrison came into the infirmary last night. He was covered in cut and bruises like he'd been in a damn serious fist fight but he refused to tell us what happened. However, this morning, Captain Briggs turned up to patrol with bloody knuckles looking awfully arrogant. Major Adams sent him to the infirmary to get checked out and as soon as he did, Harrison was scared out of his mind."
"Briggs beat the crap out of Harrison? Do we know why he'd do that?" Evan sighed, "Daniel Harrison is British Air Force and therefore Don't Ask Don't Tell is completely irrelevant to him; we only just got it repealed. I know I probably should have said something earlier but I knew of their relationship, I really wish I'd paid more attention."
"You weren't to know Major…Briggs is in for a hell of a ride though, I'm not going to let him get away with this." Evan nodded feebly and led me into the infirmary. I had to get my anger under to control before I spoke to Harrison, he needed compassion now.
Keller had put him in a private room, away from the rest of the infirmary. The room was only lit by the window that was partially letting light through. "Harrison?" I asked quietly when we stepped through the door. Evan instinctively stood in front of the door as if standing guard.
Harrison was sat on the bed, knees curled up into his chest looking vulnerable. I went over and sat in the chair next to him. I sighed tiredly, "Harrison, you need to tell me what happened. I don't want to jump to conclusions."
"Nothing sir, I'm fine." He was closed off and I didn't blame him. "Look, Harrison, I'm not here to judge or condemn you but if somebody has done this to you, I don't want them here. We look after our own…Always."
"I don't know what you're talking about, sir." I dropped my head into my hands but shot up when I heard Lorne speak. "We know that Briggs did this. I know about your relationship. I let you down, Captain, but I'm here now and I want you to let us help you, please." Lorne almost begged and Harrison sobbed into his hands.
I sat on the side of the bed and gently reached forward my hand, making sure he could see my every move. Eventually I was able to pull him into a hug of sorts. "It's okay Captain, we're going to fix everything for you."
"I didn't mean to make him so mad…" He cried into my shoulder but I gently shushed him, "You haven't done anything wrong, nobody should ever resort to that, especially if they're meant to care."
"Why do you care? You're the big alpha male; it's not like you have any problems…" I had to hold back a snort of laughter but Lorne didn't have the same restraint and let out a giggle. I let go of Harrison and just smiled at him.
"I know that's the kind of person people think I am but it couldn't be further from the truth. I'm not an alpha; before I came to Atlantis I was just some rogue with a bad attitude. Plus, I think I've got my own fair share of drama. For instance, I found out I'm pregnant, not even joking, and here's the best bit – to a guy. So I care about you plenty…" He looked almost shocked but I think he was more relieved to find out he wasn't so alone.
"I don't know what happened. I came off patrol last night; we'd been kept on a little longer so we could go some of the new routines and stuff. When I walked into his quarters he just started yelling at me. He kept accusing me of cheating on him and I told him where I was but he didn't believe me. He called me…he, he…" The captain let out his sobs once more and my heart broke for him.
"Captain, has this happened before or was it just this incident." He shrugged, "He gets angry but he's never actually hurt me before." I nodded, disappointed in Briggs. "Personally, I would love to feed this guy to the wraith but some people may think that's a little too much. Harrison, I'm going to advise that he be prosecuted and court marshaled."
"You can't be serious?" The question came as a surprise to me but then I realized that the captain was the same as everyone else that suffers through domestic violence, he thinks he's the one to blame. "It's not just for you Harrison; it's for the safety of everyone on Atlantis."
"He'd never hurt anyone." Harrison spat out but I just gazed at him knowingly. "He already has and one person is more than enough for me." Daniel cried more softly into his hands this time, he needed some space.
I stood up and followed Lorne out of the room. Carson was stood by the door of Keller's office with a soft expression. I walked up to him, my shoulders drooping. "I thought mankind had advanced enough to put an end to this shit; evidently not."
"I'm sorry I had to drag you down here sir, but I think this is a little above my rank." I shrugged to him, "It's fine Major, I'm glad you did." Carson kissed my temple gently and smiled, "You're doing a good thing John, plus you're going to get to see the wee one in a little while."
It only took a second for my grin to grow. "Hell yeah." I smirked before following Evan to where Briggs was being kept.
It was another private room but this one was a lot less pleasant. The walls were dull and grey and there was only a bed in there. "Captain Briggs." I announced myself but he didn't move.
"Excuse me, I am your superior officer and I expect you to acknowledge my presence accordingly." He laughed which really made me angry.
"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?" I yelled at him, my drill instructor voice protruding, I think even Lorne flinched a little. "I WAS HAVING A GOOD DAY TODAY BUT I GET DRAGGED DOWN HERE ONLY TO HEAR THAT SOME COCKY SON OF A BITCH HAS BEATEN THE CRAP OUT OF ANOTHER ONE OF MY MEN. NOW STAND THE FUCK UP BEFORE I MAKE YOU!" The man reluctantly stood with his hands firmly planted behind his back.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING AT? EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON THIS BASE IS MEANT TO BE THE BEST OF THE BEST AND YET YOU JUST PROVED THAT WE GOT IT WRONG! WHAT KIND OF PERSON BEATS UP ONE OF THEIR OWN, WHEN YOU'RE MEANT TO WATCH EACHOTHER'S BACKS? WHY WOULD YOU ATTACK CAPTAIN HARRISON?" The man stood perfectly still and didn't say a word.
"YOU GOT A TEMPER CAPTAIN? BECAUSE YOU'RE SURE AS HELL GOING TO EXPERIENCE MINE! IF YOU HAVE A ROUGH DAY YOU GO DOWN THE GYM, YOU RUN IT OUT, HELL YOU SPAR WITH RONAN… IF YOU THINK YOUR FUCKING BOYFRIEND IS FUCKING WELL CHEATING ON YOU, HOW ABOUT YOU CHECK IT OUT FIRST BEFORE BEATING THE FUCK OUT OF HIM!" The man clenched his jaw. "He was cheating on me." He tried justifying which just made it all worse to me.
"YOU THINK HE FUCKED SOME GUY LAST NIGHT BECAUSE HE CAME HOME LATE?" He nodded. "WELL YOU GOT IT WRONG CAPTAIN – HE WAS STILL ON DUTY! I MADE CHANGES TO THE PATROL, I MADE SURE THAT EVERYONE GOT BRIEFED AFTER THEIR PATROLS, I MADE IT SO THAT THE WHOLE TEAM ENDED UP WORKING LATE…WHAT NOW CAPTAIN?" The man looked down at the floor but I could tell he didn't believe me. I turned to Lorne, "Who was supervising his patrol?"
"I was on duty, sir, I did the briefing." Evan admitted and I gave a nod. "Major, was Captain Harrison at the briefing." Evan looked over to Briggs, "Yes sir."
"YOU'RE LYING!" Briggs yelled out and tried to shove past but I pushed him back against the wall, fisting his shirt. "YOU STUPID FUCK! YOU JUST LOST YOUR BOYFRIEND, LOST THE RESPECT OF THIS WHOLE BASE, THREW YOUR WHOLE CAREER DOWN THE DRAIN AND PROBABLY BLACK-MARKED YOURSELF FOR LIFE."
I leant in to whisper into his ear, "Harrison. Never cheated. On you. Congratulations Captain, I hope you're proud of yourself." I let go of his shirt and marched out of the room, Evan following me.
I went into Keller's office, seeing that nobody was in there, Evan followed me in shut the door and closed the blinds. "How could he be so fucking stupid?" I spat out but much quieter than before. I hunched over, my fists on the table. "Even if Harrison wasn't at the briefing and he was cheating – Briggs had no right to lay a hand on him."
"I know, sir. I'm going to go talk to Carter, I think you should try to calm down a little, it can't be good for the baby." I nodded tiredly. "I shouldn't have got that mad, I'm not exactly setting a good example."
"You protect your people, sir; I think that's what really matters. You have the ability to have killed him back there, I have no doubt of that, but that probably never crossed your mind. That's what makes us different from him." My shoulders dropped as my breathing steadied out.
Evan had left the office after that and a few moments later I could feel Carson's warm arms around my waist. "Hey," He said gently, "You probably heard all my shouting, didn't you?"
He chuckled ever so slightly, "I think the whole of the tower did, but you did the right thing. God forbid there's anyone else as messed up as him this comes as a warning that this kind of behavior will never be tolerated." I nodded and turned to his embrace, laying my head on his shoulder.
"I think we should hold off on the ultra sound until tomorrow – you're too stressed." I sighed, annoyed that I'd riled myself up so much. "I still need to talk to Carter…and O'Neill. I think I'll be in the mess hall after that though, when do you finish?"
"Not until late, I'm sure you'll find something to do though. You could always talk to Major Lorne about the christening though. I'm sure he'd like some good news after today as well." I smiled and kissed him, something I'd wanted to do all day.
Oooh, now that's drama! And, SPOILER, this is going to come up again...so be prepared :)
COMMENT, WHINE, CRITICISE...Whichever, feel free :)