Sickness
White light filled our vision and everyone in the Jumper shielded their eyes until the explosion had eased. I lowered my arm and looked at the remains of the Midway Space Station. It was strange to think that three days ago, I'd lain in a bed that no longer existed.
"Well, that was fun," one of the scientists with us said sarcastically. I fought the urge to hit his stupid ponytailed face. It was his fault the station was gone, anyway. He was the one who triggered the self-destruct program.
The Venator had invaded the Midway Station and I was drafted into John's assault team to replace Teyla. We did our best to save the station and defeat the Venator, but we'd lost the station. Now we floated in space waiting for the Daedalus to notice our signal and come collect us.
The unanswered question of what to do hung in the air. I relaxed into the front passenger seat and stared into space, sure that it would take days for a rescue.
Arguments developed between the scientists in the back and it stretched mine and John's patience to the edge.
"Can we please lock them in the back?" I moaned. Without a word, John went into the back, grabbed some food and water and came back in. He locked eyes with a shocked Rodney then shut the dividing door and locked it.
The faint sounds of their argument echoed through the door, but it was incomprehensible. John pulled a pair of headphones over his ears and sighed.
"I should've shot them," he muttered under his breath.
Now, in relative silence, I settled in my seat, rested my legs on the controls and fell asleep. Over the next while I either slept or read Ancient texts on Rodney's tablet, which he'd conveniently left in the front half for me. John eventually gave me another headphone and music set and for a while we sat there together listening to music. I made a mental note to get myself one of these devices when the next load of supplies came back from Earth.
I woke to the sound of the door opening, tapped my ring and swung it towards the entrance. Ronon stared down the barrel, grinning widely. I lowered the gun and his gaze flicked to John.
"No wonder he didn't hear the radio call." He tickled the side of John's face and, in response, John's hand flailed vaguely in that direction. Ronon went for the nose this time, exacting the same reaction from John, and then John jerked awake. He stared blearily at Ronon with a mixture of annoyance and relief.
"Thank god! I almost shot 'em myself with a stunner!"
"Yeah, I understand," Ronon said. I stood, stretched, and wandered from the Jumper. Despite the fact that I went from one ship to another, the air on the Daedalus was somewhat fresher.
o.O.o
I squeezed my eyelids shut. I didn't like the idea of 'beaming', no matter how similar to Ring travel it was. Beside me, John chuckled.
"It's not like it hurts," he said.
The world disappeared for a long moment, then sound came crashing back. I opened my eyes, inhaled, and glared at John as he doubled over with laughter. Evan approached us, dark circles around his eyes but looking otherwise cheerful.
"Colonel, Doctor, Molli." Evan nodded to John, Rodney and me. The other two men went to Samantha's office and I joined Evan.
"How're things while we were gone?" I asked. We left the Control Room and made our way through the corridors.
"Well, there's a new sickness making its way around." He shrugged. "Tomorrow we're going offworld to investigate."
"That doesn't sound good." I was glad to be going offworld so soon. After days trapped in space, I was itching for something to do. Evan rubbed his face.
"I was hoping for a day off, now that Colonel Sheppard is back, but Colonel Carter wants all hands-on deck."
"Were you really busy?"
"Well, yeah. You guys were all stuck in space and all Colonel Sheppard's duties fell to me. The guy has a lot on his plate." He anticipated my next question. "Never mind, it's just an expression." We passed by one of the communal living spaces and Evan paused at the door. "D'you wanna just sit and hang out?"
I didn't. I wanted to go to the gym and do something active, but Evan looked so tired and defeated.
"Sure."
We settled on one of the couches and talked about anything and everything. I told him about what had happened on the Midway Station and what I had learned during my brief time with Daniel, and he told me stories from his adolescence. As we talked, the sun slowly set and the lights in the room dimmed. All at once, we lost our desire to talk and just sat there in silence.
Somehow, I nodded off against the arm of the couch. I remember waking at one point in the night and feeling a warm hand enclosing my own. However, when I woke fully, my hands were tucked beneath my head and I was sure I'd imagined it.
The rising sun shone through the window, pulling me from sleep, and I yawned and sat up, stretching the stiffness from my arms and legs. The couch wasn't the comfiest, but I'd had worse. I glanced at the other side of the couch. Evan curled against the arm of the couch, an unusually peaceful expression on his face. I reached out to shake him but pulled my hand back.
Best let him sleep.
I left the communal quarters and stopped by my room to gather washing materials before going to the female bathroom. At this time of the morning, no one was there, and I felt at ease in my nakedness for a change. It was my first proper shower in weeks and I gratefully scrubbed the sweat and grime from my skin until it was red and raw. The cleanliness was welcome, especially after what I'd been through lately.
I dried, dressed and went to the Mess Hall. Morning meal wasn't ready, but there was coffee. I poured myself a cup, took a table, and watched the sunrise until morning meal was served. I loaded my plate with bacon and hash browns and downed the fresh food. It was cooked much nicer than the food on the Daedalus. I paused mid-chew. Wow, I was really taking the high life for granted. In the past, I always had to catch my own food and if I didn't, I went hungry. Being able to collect food from a table was a new experience, but a welcome one.
"Fancy seeing you here."
I looked up saw Evan, Keith and Paul approaching the table where I sat. Their own trays were piled with food.
"Morning," I said. They all sat.
"I see you survived the whole Midway blow-up thing," Keith said.
"Obviously. How were things on Atlantis?"
"Eh, same old, same old," Paul replied. "Morris just chased skirts as usual but ended up disappointed."
"Hey! At least I put myself out there. You just… sit there like a prude."
"I have a girlfriend, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah." Keith sulked over his eggs. "Let's pretend we all believe that."
"What's a girlfriend?" I asked. Paul sat up straighter.
"It's what you call a girl that you're with romantically, but you aren't married. The guy is called a 'boyfriend'."
"Oh." I frowned as I tried to wrap my head around the concept. "I guess… they're like your intended?"
"In some ways." Paul shrugged. "There's no guarantee for marriage."
"Why be with them if you won't marry them?"
The men fell silent and exchanged awkward glances.
"Um," Evan said finally, "relationships on Earth are messy and complicated. There're a lot of factors involved, like money, other people, social media, work, kids and… stuff."
"How is any of that complicated? If you are with someone, you are with them until…" My throat constricted. "Until one of you is gone. And even then… loyalty to your partner is something sacred."
"Yeah it is." Keith winked at me. The other men stared at him in confusion.
"You're so weird, Morris." Evan shook his head.
"So… does that mean people on Earth have more than one partner?" I stared as they each nodded. "I don't mean to say that's a bad thing, I'm sure it works for you, but… with my people, we have… had the one partner for life."
"Like, for sex?"
"Yeah."
"Whoa." Keith stared at me. "What if someone had more than one?"
"Well… I don't know." I wracked my brain, trying to remember if anyone had ever had more than one partner. "I don't remember."
Evan checked his watch. "C'mon guys, we gotta hurry up and eat. Mission briefing, remember?"
We dug into our food as quickly as we could and then rushed to the briefing room.
"Why couldn't you brief us at breakfast?" Keith whined as we jogged along the corridors.
"Procedure," Evan replied. We arrived at the briefing room, took our seats, and Evan caught his breath. "Alright," he said, "so M16-8RG is one of our regular trading partners. They're next on our list to check for this sickness that's making its way around. The people are nice enough, but they have no sense of sarcasm."
"Weaklings,' Keith whispered. Evan rolled his eyes and motioned for silence.
"So, the planet has a tendency for sudden snowstorms. McKay has thoughtfully assured me that it's the wrong time of their year for snowstorms, but you can't be too careful."
"Knowing our luck," Paul said sadly.
"Alright, gear up."
We went to the gear-up room, put on our vests and checked our equipment, then moved to the Ring. It rumbled to life and Evan led the way through. On the other side, frost crunched underfoot. My breath steamed in front of my face and I instinctively drew my arms around my waist to retain body heat.
The village wasn't far from the Ring, filled with the busyness of midday. As we entered the village square, people called greetings. I still wasn't used to being welcomed so readily. Part of me still expected for people to take one look at me and retreat screaming "runner!"
A man dressed in a thick jacket approached us. "Hello, my Lantean friends! It is good to welcome you once more."
"Thank you for your hospitality," Evan said. "I'm Major Lorne, and these are Private Morris, Sergeant Edison and Molli. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I am Fraes," the man said. "Your timing is most fortuitous. Many of our people are falling sick and three had already had their lives claimed." His face turned sad. Evan nodded sagely.
"Many other worlds are suffering from a plague, and we came to see if you were in trouble."
"Is there a cure?" Fraes asked hopefully.
"No, but we're working on it. Would it be okay if we looked at your sick and took some samples for our doctors?"
"Of course! Follow me."
Fraes led us to the biggest building in the village. Inside, twenty people lay in bed, coughing and groaning. I knelt at the bedside of the nearest person, a girl barely in the cusp of adolescence, and pulled my medical kit free from my backpack. As Jennifer had shown me, I wiped the inside of the girls elbow with antiseptic, inserted the needle and slowly pulled the handle back. Blood filled the canister and I slowly pulled the needle free and covered the hole with a small bud. I repeated the process with three others before leaving. Outside, Keith pulled his hair away from his face.
"It stank of sick in there," he said. "So, what do we do with them samples?"
"Give them to Doc," Evan said. He turned to me. "Thanks for getting them. I'm a bit squeamish about needles."
"Needles are nothing." I recalled Solus splinting my broken leg. We were interrupted when Fraes came over.
"Will you be back soon?" he asked.
"Yeah, we will," Evan replied, "and hopefully with a cure."
He smiled widely and we said our goodbyes. As we left the village, I noticed that the wind had picked up. Just our luck, I cursed. We traversed the valley towards the Ring, and I felt it before it happened.
The snow at the top of the valley rippled and swelled and the ground rumbled. We looked up in unison, and piles of snow made their way down the mountainside.
"Just our luck," Keith groaned. "Why is it always us?"
"There's no time to get to the Gate!" Evan yelled. "Brace!"
There was no bracing for this. I was knocked back into Keith, the snow pounding onto us. It was so heavy. I couldn't breathe.
The rumbling stopped and there was just a thousand pounds of weight. I heaved, trying to turn to look at Keith. He wasn't moving. I wriggled just enough to look at him. His lips were blue. He still hadn't moved. I planted my hands and feet and pushed my back up, trying to dislodge the snow, but it didn't move. Perspiration froze on my face and I wasn't sure that my fingers were still attached. I couldn't feel them.
It would be so easy… to rest… why couldn't I sleep?
"Molli!"
It sounded like someone was speaking through water. Their voice swirled and eddied around my head. What… who was there?
"Molli…"
If I could just… sleep…