Chapter 16: A Visit from a giant.
Teyla and Torren had disappeared when John woke again and he had no idea how long he had been asleep. His head felt fuzzy and there was a dull pain in his leg, so it was a good bet that he was on morphine.
He was about to close his eyes and go back to sleep when Woolsey entered. He didn't mind so much that Woolsey had come to see him, what did bother him though was that shorty was with him. Looking the other way he hoped they got the message that he didn't want anything to do with the giant.
He decided that closing his eyes was the best chance he had of getting rid of them. He really felt as if he should go back to sleep anyway. He had only been out of surgery for a little over forty eight hours and even though he was obviously on morphine he was still in incredible pain; all because of this giant, so basically he had nothing to say to him.
His felt his eyes drooping anyway, so it wouldn't be a lie for much longer, because soon he would be asleep.
His eyes shot open when Woolsey tapped him on the shoulder and spoke to him, "Colonel Sheppard. I know that Goliath is probably the last person you want to speak to right now, but he really wants to say something to you."
He almost laughed out loud when Woolsey told him the giant's name, Goliath, you've got to be kidding me, Shorty's real name is Goliath. He's probably about as dumb as Goliath in the story of 'David and Goliath 'as well.
Sighing he turned towards Woolsey and Goliath. The Giants shoulders were slouched, so he looked even shorter than he had the last time he' d seen him, he didn't look well either and he looked a lot thinner, but he had no sympathy for the man. People like Goliath just took what they wanted and didn't care who got hurt in the process.
He just glared at Goliath, "What do you want? I really have nothing to say to you."
"Colonel Sheppard I am really sorry for what I put you through, I didn't realise that you were unwell at the time. I know that you will probably never forgive me, but I wanted to say that I am sorry anyway." Goliath told him with no emotion in his voice.
John's brain was really fuzzy by this time and he really wanted to go to sleep, so he didn't know how much more of this meeting he could take. "You didn't realise I was sick, didn't the big red spots that covered my entire body give it away, or how about the fever?! Surely that should have been a dead giveaway?! He could barely contain his anger and his leg was really beginning to hurt, despite the morphine running through his system.
He felt Goliaths eyes boring into him, as the giant spoke in a low tone, "as I said Colonel Sheppard. I'm not asking for forgiveness, I just felt the need to apologise."
"Well apology not accepted!" He spat out before turning his head away from Goliath again.
He heard Goliath turn and leave, but before he had a chance to fall asleep Woolsey spoke to him again, "I hope you understand that Goliath gave us the names of all the scavengers that were involved in you abduction and they have been handed over to the coalition of planets. Please take this into consideration. I will see you later Colonel Sheppard and I hope you are feeling better soon."
Once he knew that Woolsey had left the room he closed his eyes again ready to fall asleep. Just as he was dosing off, he heard someone else entering the room and he wasn't happy. He just wanted to be left alone at this point to wallow in self-pity. "Who are you and what do you want!? He growled.
He calmed down when he heard Carson's voice, "I'm sorry to disturb you laddie, but I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I could hear you shouting in my office."
Turning his head towards Carson he felt the need to apologise to his friend and Doctor, "sorry Carson, I never really expected to see Shorty again. I'm not sure I will ever be able to forgive him or the other Giants for the way they treated me."
"I understand laddie. Right now we need to worry about you getting better, so I need you to put that out of your mind and try to get some rest."
"Is it time for my pain meds as yet Doc?"
"Yes I think we can give you another dose."
"Thanks Carson."
It wasn't long before he felt the cool soothing liquid begin to flow through his veins, as the pain in his leg and head began to dissipate he felt his eye lids drooping and finally he was able to fall asleep.
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Teyla was heading towards the south pier. She had heard that there were family quarters there and she thought that she would like to check them out before John came out of the infirmary.
She didn't know if it was too soon to move in together as a family, but she knew that she'd been in love with him since she had first laid eyes on him all those years ago when he had first set foot on Athos and she really hoped that he felt the same way.
She hadn't really told anyone what she was doing as yet, because she wasn't sure that she wanted everyone to know about her and John at this time. It was their business and no-one else's. They would tell people when they felt it was the right time and not before.
She suspected that Carson already knew and Ronan had figured out that they had feelings for each other a long time ago, Rodney was completely oblivious and Woolsey didn't have a clue. She knew that Chuck had a pool going to see what time and date they would get together. I wonder who's going to win all that money, she thought with a smile.
Continuing on she marvelled at the view out of the windows that ran along the corridor she was walking down. She was twenty floors up and the view was absolutely magnificent, she could really imagine watching the sun set over the ocean from this position.
A few minutes later she came to the section that housed the apartments she was here to look at, as there was no-one living there at the moment there was no codes for the door, so it was easy enough to enter.
Her breath was taken away the moment she entered. In the main area there was a spacious kitchen and dining room, a large living space with a floor to ceiling window; leading to a balcony that over looked the south pier. Stepping out on to the balcony her breath was taken away by the amazing view.
Next she wondered into room on the left side of the living space. There were cupboards along and entire wall. There was a passageway next to the room she had just explored so she headed down it until she came to a large room with a balcony overlooking to ocean. There was an ensuite with a toilet shower and bath, next to that was a huge walk in closet. This will definitely be our room, she smiled to herself.
Walking out onto the balcony she took in the stunning view. This would be a wonderful place to sit and watch the sunset was the first thought that came to her mind.
Exiting the large room into the passage way again, she noticed two rooms off to one side of the passage and one on the other. They all had cupboards set up along an entire wall. There was also as bathroom and toilet on the side that only had one room. Looking around at the spare rooms she wondered if John would like to have children with her, there was certainly room in this apartment for one or two more. She knew that was something else they would have to discuss at some stage; neither of them were getting any younger.
The décor of the apartment was an off white and the tiles in the bathroom and toilets were a pale blue. We might need to change that Teyla thought.
Teyla's mind was made up, she wanted this apartment. She needed to contact Woolsey straight away and let him know what was going on. She stopped herself before making the call when she thought of John, but I must talk to John first, to see if it is okay to let Woolsey know about our relationship.
She needed to pick up Torren for dinner, but she decided that after dinner she would go and talk to John and see what he thought about telling Woolsey. The apartment would be there waiting for her, so there was no hurry.
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John was on the edge of consciousness, when he heard a strange tapping sound. He wondered what it was, because it had only been going for a few minutes and already he found it infuriating. Deciding that the only way to find out what was going on he turned his head towards the sound and tried to open his eyes. After two unsuccessful attempts he finally succeeded on the third try and he wasn't happy by what he saw, Rodney was sitting across the other side of the room and typing on his laptop.
He had a strong suspicion as to why Rodney was not sitting by his bedside, but he had to ask anyway, "Rodney why are you sitting over there and not next to my bed?"
"Ah Sheppard, you're awake." Was the only reply Rodney gave him.
He was quite indignant by Rodney's lack of an answer to his question, "I will only say this one more time Rodney and then if you don't give me an answer you can get out, Why are you sitting over there and not next to my bed!?"
He stared at Rodney as he stood up and began to inch his way over to his bed. "Sorry Sheppard, I wasn't sure if you were still contagious or not."
Sighing he tried to control his anger, as he looked at his friend. "Rodney, Carson gave me the all clear about three days ago and what, do you have to worry about anyway, as your symptoms were only mild compared to mine, Carson and Lorne's." He was rather proud of himself that he had kept his temper.
"Oh good," Rodney stated before coming to sit next to his bed.
"So Rodney what have you been up to?" John asked feigning interest.
John closed his eyes and pretended to listen to Rodney's explanation of an experiment that he and Radek were working on, before too long his head began to hurt and he realised that Rodney was shouting at him.
"Hey Sheppard, have you been listening to a dam thing I said!?
He looked at his friend with his best puppy dog eyes hoping that the look would placate him, "Sorry buddy, my leg hurts like hell and a have a cracker of a headache coming on."
"That would be right just as I come to sit with you, you decide that you have a headache and your leg hurts!" Rodney ranted at him.
John wasn't really in the mood for this, he had only been out of surgery for less than three days and all he wanted to do was sleep, so he eyeballed Rodney and shouted at him, "What the hell do you expect? I just had my leg broken for the second time less than three days ago, do you expect me to be dancing around the room!?
Before he had a chance to continue Keller came running into the room, "what is all the shouting about? This is an infirmary." She said quietly while looking at Rodney.
"Sheppard's shouting at me and all I wanted to do was visit him to see if he was okay." Rodney explained in a calm voice.
John zoned out for a few minutes until he felt Keller tap his arm, "Colonel what is going on?" She asked him gently.
I have a splitting headache and my leg feels as if it is on fire, so I was really hoping that Rodney would leave now." He told her all the while glaring at Rodney.
"Okay Rodney, I think it's time you left now. It's time for the Colonel's pain meds anyway, so leave quietly and come back later if you want to see him."
Rodney looked as if he was about to argue, so John just stared at him with a cold look in his eyes. He stared at him until he turned around and left the room.
A few minutes later, he felt his pain meds flowing through his veins once again and before too long he was fast asleep.
The next time he awoke he found that Ronan was sitting at the end of his bed with his feet up on the bed. He always appreciated it when Ronan did that; it was like he was keeping guard over him.
His leg and head didn't feel quite as bad as it did the last time he woke up, so he looked over at his big friend with a smile, "Hey buddy what cha doing?"
"I'm keeping an eye on you and I'm making sure that no-one enters your room and disturbs you."
John saw the determination in his eyes and almost laughed, he could actually look after himself quite nicely, but for some reason Ronan felt the need to be his body guard.
"Well thanks Chewie, but I think I can manage."
"I heard that you had a visit earlier from one of the giants, is that true?" Ronan asked him while still staring at the door.
He just smirked at his friend, "Well yes it's true, but I think I handled it fine."
"Well If I'm here it won't happen again, because I won't let him in."
"Hey Chewie, can you keep McKay out as well, he was really beginning to annoy me the last time he was here?"
"Sure thing Buddy." Ronan replied.
"Well in that case I think I'll go back to sleep."
He closed his eyes again, happy to know that Ronan had his back, as he always did. Whether it was watching over him in the infirmary or watching his back in the field Ronan was always there for him and that gave him great comfort as he drifted off to sleep again.
TBC…
