Chapter Thirty Seven

What should I do I'm just a little baby
What if the lights go out and maybe
And then the wind just starts to moan
Outside the door he followed me home

Goodnight Moon – Lady Shiva

Cass was stealing the covers, granted that there wasn't much to steal due to the fact they were sleeping in a single bed. She was curled up away from John in the foetal position, the sheets gathered up around her like a child. The light sound of her steady breathing was in his ears as he listened closely. He was lying on his back, his arm drawn up over his head as he stared at the ceiling through the shrouded darkness.

Cass slept like this when she was feeling insecure, John had learned that after their first month together. Her back was pressed against his side and John enjoyed the sensation of having her so close to him. He was still counting down the hours to the attack like a grotesque time bomb. He couldn't switch his mind off, not even for a second as the cogs turned in his brain. He was used to formulating plans and fighting his way out of impossible situations. People relied on him and he was good at taking care of his own, it was how he progressed so quickly through the ranks. It was also his downfall.

The reason he had accepted the position here was because he had wanted to be as far away from the world as possible. He was destructive and damaging to everything he touched, or at least that was what he had been told after he had ignored his Commanding Officer's orders back in Afghanistan. Even though he had saved the lives of the marines that had been stranded John had crash landed his helicopter after taking enemy fire and put the lives of more men at risk.

Cass mumbled incoherently in her sleep as she turned onto her opposite side before she snuggled up against his comforting chest. Her palm came to rest over his heart, her fingertips splayed out across the soft hair. She sighed into his shoulder, that loving contented noise he liked to hear, the one that set his world to rights.

No matter how much he couldn't sleep, being here with Cass was still worth it. Hell was about to fall down upon every single one of their heads and if this was where he spent his final hours then he'd die a happy man.

"You should try and get some sleep." She murmured into his tender skin of his throat, her lips ghosting across his neck.

"Go back to sleep Cassie." John whispered against her forehead.

Cass allowed her nose to trail up the curve of his throat until her lips pressed a kiss to the line of his jaw. Cass's lithe naked legs entwined with his as she stretched along the length of his athletic form. There was a moment of peace, it descended on the two of them like a mist before the sudden crackle of Cass's radio erupted through the air. She groped for it blindly, muttering under her breath before John reached over her slender body and grasped it for her. The gruff message came through over the airwaves, ringing in their ears as they listened closely.

"Doctor Pierce, we need you by Generator One. It's Sergeant Bates, it looks like he's been beaten."

Cass snatched the radio out of John's hand before she scrambled out of bed, searching for her clothes. John was already yanking on his combats as Cass held down the button and spoke into the radio.

"I'm on route with Major Sheppard, get a medical team to meet me at the scene." Cass responded authoritatively, yanking her dark hair out of the collar of her black AC/DC T-shirt.

John was already dressed. Her field kit was grasped tightly in his fist as he swiped his hand over the door panel. Cass was hot on his heels, gripping her comm and affixing it to her ear whilst John talked animately on his. She half listened to the conversation as she removed the hair band from her wrist and drew her hair back away from her face and into a messy bun.

The two of them were already slipping inside the closest Teleporter. John jabbing the button for the Generator while Cass took back the field kit, looping the strap over her head so it settled across her slender body like a satchel.

There was a second where their eyes met and for each of them it was like looking into a mirror, the same thought reflected in them both.

And so it starts...

The Infirmary was quiet, considering it was the early hours of the morning Cass hadn't expected any different. Her body was alive with nervous energy as she studied her patient in the dim lamp light that was illuminating Dean Bates's bruised features.

Cass didn't even know that that was his first name until she had gone over his medical files. Bates wasn't the type of man to share a couple of personal stories around the campfire like some of the other soldiers but he watched out for her during the course of their offworld trips and now it seemed that Cass was returning the favour in earnest.

"How is he?" Teyla asked tentatively as she stepped up beside Cass.

The bronze woman's arms were folded over her chest as she focused on the man laying stretched out in front of them. There were wires attached to his weakened form monitoring everything from his brain activity to his heart rate. There was a tube leading from the seal over his mouth to a respirator that functioned for him.

Cass had managed to stabilise him when they'd gotten Bates back into the Trauma Bay but it hadn't been easy. He had needed immediate surgery to repair the punctured lung from where one of his five broken ribs had protruded into it. His brain had started to swell from his head trauma during the course of the operation. Carson and her had been forced to put Bates in a medical coma in order for them to relinquish Bates from the pain.

"He's not out of the woods yet, he sustained a head injury that's caused his brain to swell so we've put him in a medical coma otherwise his injuries consist of broken ribs, fractured collarbone, punctured lung. He was lucky he didn't drown in his own blood." Cass relayed, shaking her head in remorse.

Bates was a good man and to see him battered and wrecked like this was harrowing. Despite the scuffle he and Teyla had gotten into earlier on, she knew that he didn't deserve this. As hard as it was to let go of that vicious insult he had tossed her away Teyla was doing so. Sergeant Bates was protecting the people he cared about and after much meditation she understood his concerns about her new found ability. She only used violence when violence was necessary if she could help it and she was ashamed she had let her temper get the best of her earlier.

"I'm joining the others in their search for the Wraith that did this to him, it would appear I am back in their trust once more." Teyla informed her friend.

Cass rubbed her hand over her exhausted features. Ever since that Wraith dart had flown over a fortnight ago they had been having 'technical hitches'. After the attack on Bates they had sent the Forensic Doctor to retrieve the DNA they had found on Bate's hands and uniform. Carson had managed to track it to a Wraith. McKay and Zelinka had managed to determine that the Wraith had beamed down into the city before self destructing it's ship. Furthermore the two of them had managed to alter their short range sensors in order to reveal the Wraith's location.

John had taken a team of men as had Lieutenant Ford to track it down. Cass didn't want to think of the havoc the creature could have caused in fourteen days but if the system malfunctions were anything to go by Cass guessed it couldn't be good.

"You never lost their trust." Cass told the other woman, hugging the tablet to her chest.

"I understand that both the Major and Lieutenant Ford were doing their jobs." Teyla agreed.

Cass wondered how this woman could be so forgiving, the Athosians had been persecuted for years by the Wraith and a few months ago they had suffered through suspicions by Cass's own people. Teyla had a rare insight into human nature, she knew what made people tick and her understanding was second to none. It surprised Cass how compassionate Teyla was after the trauma she had survived. The Athosians were a courageous, resilient people.

Silence fell between the two women as the persistent beeping of the life support machine echoed through air. Cass's palm came to rest upon the back of Bate's bloody fist, her shoulders sagged as she exhaled deeply. It was starting, she could feel it in her bones as the helplessness rose up and claimed her. If one Wraith could do all of this damage without feeding, imagine what three hive ships worth could do.

Cass's grip on Bate's hand tightened as she thought about his bravery in the face of the Wraith that was running around the city. He had taken it on single handy, he had fought for Atlantis and in turn for Earth. Cass just hoped that his sacrifice would be their very last.

Hey guys, I have intended to post this chapter about two or three times in the past few days but things kept coming up. So sorry for the delay guys!

Brn: lol She's stamping her foot and saying no. As far as she's concerned it's her responsibility to stay. She couldn't let John have all the fun and she's certainly not letting him do this alone. Thanks so much for the review, I sincerely appreciate it!

Shippo: LMAO I would think like that if I was in Cass's situation. They're seeing all this amazing stuff so of course she'd want to visit a Jurassic Park planet. Thankies for the review!

Joey: I could imagine that Cass completely challenges John in that way, he's not used to being in the opposite position and I wanted him to be off kilter. I have to agree in that moment you see everything that embodies Sheppard, strength, determination and that ounce of fear. I adore seeing that brave side of him. Thankies very much for the review!