A SHOW OF TRUST
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: WAKING UP
—————————————————————
Corporal Inez Recillos jumped a little as McKay's heart monitor started to accelerate. Without a word, she turned and opened the door, letting in Beckett and the rest of the medical crew. She gave an encouraging nod to the worried faces of Dr. Weir, Teyla and Lieutenant Ford before shutting it again, keeping them outside. As soon as the door was sealed, Bates indicated she cross over to join him, when he noticed that Tae's heart monitors had also increased. The corporal nodded, glancing once more in concern at the major and the scientist, before taking up guard position over the two Sarokuns.
Medical personnel swarmed over the room—three doctors and four nurses, moving to check the monitors and study the health of the patients.
Beckett leaned over McKay, touching his forehead and smiling as he saw the eye movement beneath the closed lids—he was waking up. He smiled even more at the grip the major had somehow managed to get on McKay's left hand. He chuckled a little, knowing that, when they woke up, the two men would be awfully embarrassed about that one. For a moment, he considered separating them, but then decided against it.
"How's the major?" he asked, looking across at the doctor checking Sheppard's pulse.
"I think he's waking up," the man replied, pulling back Sheppard's lids to flash a light across the pupils.
"They all are," said Doctor Biro in her usual clipped tones, the blonde doctor leaning over to listen more carefully to Straein's breathing. "Whatever happened among them in here, it appears to have worked." As she spoke, she put on her stethoscope to use with the blood pressure cuff she was handed by one of the nurses, her eyes reading two sets of monitors as she did so.
"Keep an eye on them, Bates," Ford's voice stated over the radio. "I still don't trust the two Sarokuns."
"Yes sir," the sergeant replied over the comm. as he shifted out of Dr. Biro's way, trying to hide his annoyance at the unnecessary reminder from the younger lieutenant.
At the same moment, Tae's eyes began to open slowly, fluttering at first, and then eventually opening to peer out with some confusion at the two faces hovering over him. He recognized the two marines, and he frowned slightly. A second later, both of them back off, replaced by a handsome, bespectacled blonde woman wearing a white coat. She flashed a light in his eyes, and he turned his face away, not understanding the purpose of Doctor Biro's actions.
"Doctor Beckett," she called, as Tae closed his eyes on her, "I believe the one called Tae has regained—"
At the same moment, Sheppard woke up with a gasp and a cry, his eyes flying open, losing his grip on McKay's hand as he moved to defend himself against whatever was around him. He was halfway off the gurney, pushing himself to standing, when he felt a strong pair of hands holding him back.
"You!" Sheppard gasped, recognizing the young black doctor whose name he could never remember.
"Me," the man acknowledged, pressing down. The doctor was taller than Sheppard, close to 6'4" and beefier, something the major hadn't noticed before…but did now as the doctor used his superior weight to force him back onto the cot. "Calm down, major. You're all right. You're all right!"
Sheppard's chest continued to heave, his adrenalin still high, as he reluctantly let himself be pushed back down, and forced himself to do as he was told. The black doctor nodded, and, once the major was prone again, patted his chest.
"Okay, Major, better?" At Sheppard's nod, the doctor smiled, "Good. Now, do you know where you are?"
Sheppard blinked then nodded, "Hopefully…maybe…McKay's lab? The real one?"
The doctor arched an eyebrow at the odd answer, and decided to ask another, "Uh, yes, that's right. And do you know who I am?"
Sheppard opened his mouth to answer, then shut it stupidly. A flush lit his cheeks, and the doctor frowned.
"McKay?" Sheppard covered, swallowing.
The doctor frowned, and shook his head. "No, major, I'm not Doctor McKay, I'm Doctor—"
"It's all right lad, he knows who you are," Beckett interrupted, smiling over at them and causing Sheppard to turn his head in his direction, the major trying to hold down his frustration at Beckett's bad timing. Oblivious, the Scot smiled more broadly, "I think he was just asking after his friend. Isn't that right, major?"
"Yeah, Carson," Sheppard whispered, his frustration vanishing instantly as he thought of Rodney. "How is he? I wasn't sure if—"
"He's waking up, near as I can tell," Beckett smiled. "In fact…." The doctor trailed off as he felt McKay's breathing hitch under the hand he was resting on his chest. He lightened the touch and examined McKay's face.
McKay started to breathe more quickly, and his eyes rolled open a little, showing only whites before shutting again.
"Come on, Rodney," Beckett encouraged, "open them eyes a' yours. Come on son…you can do it…."
In response, the eyes cracked open a little more, barely slits, but the pale blue irises were visible now, shifting to look at the person leaning over him. They were nearly hidden again as the scientist frowned.
"It's okay, Rodney, you're home again," Beckett promised. "No one's going to hurt you."
Sheppard pushed himself up on an elbow to watch, and doctor "whatsisname" helped him, once the physician was sure that the major really was awake and in control of his faculties. Sheppard's eyes narrowed, trying not to let his last fears about Straein show on his face. Tae had said everything was fine...
McKay finally opened his eyes fully, staring up at Beckett for the first time with actual focus.
"Carson?" he croaked, before coughing harshly. He winced as pain radiated through his entire body, as if he'd tensed every single muscle, even his throat, and they still hadn't unknotted from the pressure. Beckett snapped his fingers at a nurse, and she handed him a cup of water, which he pressed to McKay's lips. The scientist accepted the water, Beckett leaning him up so that he could swallow. With a sigh, McKay leaned away from the cup, blinking his dry eyes as the world spun for a moment, and Beckett lowered him back down.
"How are you feeling?" Carson asked.
McKay was staring up at the ceiling now, and he obviously contemplated the question with some seriousness. He frowned a little again, then tilted his head to the left, as if sensing the major's presence.
Sheppard smiled back at him, and gave him a nod.
The frown faded, and McKay looked back at Beckett.
"Hungry," he admitted finally, his voice hoarse, "mostly. Muscles…ache…And, um, feeling a little," his right hand lifted to make a circular motion, "disoriented?"
Carson grinned, patting his shoulder. "That's better than I expected, son. Fact is, it's just good to hear your voice again, which is something I thought I'd never say. You'll be all right, I think. We'll soon have you grounded again." Looking over at the major, Beckett's smile softened. "Well done Major."
McKay turned his head again to look at the major, and Sheppard smiled first at Beckett, then at his friend.
"You really okay?" Sheppard asked the scientist.
Rodney met his gaze, then smiled, still speaking very softly, "Think so, though…kinda miss the ray gun."
Sheppard gave a short laugh, and the room lit with smiles amongst the Atlanteans, even if they didn't get the joke, because that exchange between them had felt almost normal. All except….
"Doctor Beckett!" Doctor Biro suddenly called from the other side of the room, her voice concerned. "Something's happening to Straein!"
Beckett patted McKay's shoulder one more time, then moved around the table to get over to where Straein's body lay. Even from across the room, they could see that her body was twitching, and the heart monitor suddenly increased in pace beyond normal levels. Next to her, Tae was now sitting up, fully awake, his eyes dark as he watched Straein struggling to wake up…no, he realized painfully, struggling to stay alive. Her body started to seize, bucking even as Beckett reached her.
The monk looked up, meeting Sheppard's eyes across the room. The major couldn't hide his confusion.
"It's not us," Sheppard promised him softly, knowing Tae would hear him. No matter how much they wanted to make Straein pay for her crime, they wouldn't torture her this way. The monk looked around the room, obviously glancing off the mind's of each of them, focusing the longest on the female doctor trying the help Straein. He watched as she expertly called for medications and machinery, then backed off to let Beckett take over. All the medical personnel appeared earnest in their desire to save Straein, no matter what she had done.
Tae glanced over at the shards of Renzite and sighed, lowering his eyes.
Straein continued to struggle, until, finally, her seizures reached a climax…and her heart stopped.
Beckett shouted for a crash cart, which one of the nurses quickly wheeled over.
They had pushed Tae's cot away from Straein's, so that it was up against the wall. The monk was sitting cross-legged on it now, his back against the cool metal.
He closed his eyes, and a single tear ran down one cheek.
The doctor's continued to work, trying for conversion, using all the tricks at their disposal.
But, despite everything, nothing worked.
Eventually, Beckett was forced to call it.
Straein was dead.
The head physician backed off, grimacing and pulling his gloves off with an irritated air. He didn't understand this. Doctor Biro sighed, glancing apologetically at Tae where he still had his eyes closed. She saw another tear track down the monk's ashen face.
"What happened?" McKay asked curiously, sitting up now, holding his arms tightly across his chest. Sheppard was standing now, leaning up against McKay's gurney at the scientist's back.
Beckett shook his head, "I don't know. There is no reason why she—"
"Yes, there is," Tae interrupted, opening his eyes again. "She was prevented from waking up."
"What?" Beckett looked at him, taking his words as an accusation. "How dare you! We tried—"
"Not you," Tae said, lowering his eyes again. "Not any of you."
The physician frowned, "Then what—"
"I told you that part of her was still connected to the shattered Renzite," Tae said, looking over at the table, at the bits of orange glass that now looked completely dead. They had glittered in the light before, but now they didn't even do that, as if someone had placed a shadow over them. "She told me that she felt the City itself had acted to cut in on her connection when she tried to kill Doctor McKay, and that was part of the reason she lost her control. It somehow accessed the stone, and inserted itself into her mind to dampen her attack." The monk closed his eyes, "I believe it acted again now…using the Renzite again…to stop her from waking up."
Every person stared at the monk with utter astonishment.
"Atlantis…killed her?" Beckett said finally. He couldn't keep the wonder from his voice.
"No, no," McKay, though not quite up to speed yet, couldn't stop himself from responding to that statement. "It wasn't trying to kill anyone; it doesn't think that way." He coughed into his hand, and looked up, his voice still very hoarse. "It's not sentient. It just," he gestured vaguely as he searched for the right explanation, "reacts to threats." He coughed some more.
"It must still have been monitoring her through the Renzite somehow," Tae sighed. "And—"
"It acted to stop what it believed to be a threat to the City," Sheppard finished coldly. "It was just trying to protect the rest of us."
The room fell silent, taking that in, too impressed to speak.
"Wow," Ford's voice said over the radio.
The lieutenant's word brought them all back to the present, and Sheppard quickly grabbed up the radio by his bed to loop the earpiece over his ear.
"Ford?"
"Hey Major. We heard. Pretty amazing. Other than Straein, is everyone okay?"
"Yeah" Sheppard replied huskily, looking over at Tae. The monk had buried his head in his hands, his shoulders now trembling with grief at the loss of his friend, obviously crying. Unconsciously, the major placed a hand on McKay's shoulder, unable to express his gratitude that there weren't two dead bodies in here. "We're okay. And I think Saroku has learned its lesson."
—————————————————————
To be concluded in Chapter 19….
A/N - I know I was a little harsh. Straein wasn't really evil - though, she did try to kill him, and, eventually, all of them - the danger of righteous fervor, eh? I was torn about whether to do this...and in the end decided to just bite the bullet and go dark.
Anyway, one more to go!