Chapter 20: Artifact or Giant.
Carson was sitting in his office studying the scans of John's leg that he had taken earlier that day and what he couldn't work out was why the Colonel was still in so much pain was? The leg was actually healing really well, so although it was a given that he would be in pain, there was no way he should still be agony after five days. If he was going to release him from the infirmary in the next couple of days, he really needed to find out what was causing this.
He knew that Rodney had brought a heap of artifacts back from the scavenger's headquarters, so he wondered if any of those could be causing the problem, only one way to find out.
He tapped his head piece and called Rodney, "Beckett to McKay, come in please?"
"What can I do for you Carson?"
"Have you had a chance to check out any of those ancient devices that you brought back from the scavengers headquarters, as yet?"
"It's on the end of an incredibly long list of things that I have to do, so no."
"Well I was wondering if Colonel Sheppard inadvertently activated one of them and it backfired in some way."
For a moment there was silence and Carson thought that Rodney may have hung up on him, but it didn't take too long and Rodney was back working himself into a high pitched rant.
"Why would you say that Carson, has something happened to Colonel Sheppard that you haven't told us about? Is he going to die, is that what the problem is? Please don't tell me after everything he's been through he's going to die!?"
Carson was completely taken aback by Rodney's rant, so it took him a while to answer, "Rodney relax, the Colonel just seems to be having much more pain in his leg than he should five days after surgery."
"I guess I can have a look at some of the devices, I'm not sure they've all been brought back though, I'll have to get Major Lorne and Radek to help me."
"Let me know what you find, Beckett out."
"I'll get onto it straight away, McKay out."
Carson looked up from his desk to find that Jennifer had arrived to begin her shift, "Is it that time already?"
"Sure is. How's the Colonel this afternoon?"
"He's asleep at the moment, but for some reason he seems to be in a lot of pain, so I'm having Rodney look at some of the ancient artifacts that the giants were trying to have him activate, to see if there's some connection." Carson explained while rubbing his temples, he sure as hell had a headache coming on and he couldn't remember the last time he'd slept.
"Well Carson I'm on duty now so maybe you should go and get some rest."
"Aye Lassie I think you're absolutely right. I think I'll head to the mess hall and then I'll try and get a few hours' sleep."
"Were you intending to put a cast on his leg this afternoon?" Jennifer asked looking at the chart on the office desk.
"Yes I was, but I thought I'd leave him asleep for as long as possible, because I think he's been having nightmares the last few nights and hasn't had a lot of decent sleep. So maybe you can let me know when he wakes up and I will come and help you."
Before he had a chance to leave the infirmary, a high pitched scream came from the other end of the infirmary. He didn't need too many guesses to know who it was. He raced in to John's private room with Jennifer following closely behind him to find John thrashing about and gasping for air.
Jennifer quickly found and oxygen mask and placed it over his face and started to talk to him in a soothing voice.
"It's okay Colonel, just breath normally and you'll feel better soon."
He seemed quite disoriented at first, so Carson sat down and started to take his pulse
"How long have I been asleep Docs?" He managed to croak out.
"About four hours." Carson told him.
John looked at him and he could see the panic in his eyes. "Doc what the hell is wrong with me. I keep having the same nightmare over and over and every time it's a little different. I need to talk to Woolsey I think that Giant must have done something to me when he came to the infirmary."
"Settle down son, I will contact Woolsey to come down here as soon as possible. Rodney is also checking some of the ancient devices that we've recovered from the scavenger's headquarters to see if they have any connection to what is going on aswell."
He watched as his patients breathing evened out and Jennifer took the oxygen mask of his face, once he was sure that John was going to be okay, he contacted Woolsey.
"Beckett to Mr Woolsey, come in please?"
"What can I do for you Dr Beckett?"
"Can you meet me in the infirmary right away?"
"Is Colonel Sheppard, alright?"
"Yes he's doing well physically, but I will let you know what is going on when you arrive here."
Okay I'm on my way Woolsey out."
Carson looked at his patient who had finally stopped shaking and closed his eyes, "Mr Woolsey is on his way, how is the pain son?"
"It's pretty high at the moment doc, but I don't want to fall asleep again in case I have another nightmare."
"I can give you something to ease the pain without putting you to sleep."
"Thanks doc."
Carson injected the pain meds directly into his IV and got up to leave the room, "Jennifer and I will be in our office if you need anything son."
He saw John give a slight nod and then he turned around and headed back to his office, with Jennifer following close behind.
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John was lying in his bed with his eyes closed when he heard at least three people entering the room. Opening his eyes he saw Dr Keller, Mr Woolsey and Dr Robinson standing beside his bed.
John looked at Dr Robinson, as he carefully thought about his next words. "What is she doing here? He asked calmly.
"Dr Robinson is here, because we are worried about your mental state." Beckett answered looking at his feet.
It took all of his control not to freak out when he heard those words, "Dr Beckett I will not be discussing anything with Dr Robinson. My metal state is just fine, what is happening to me has nothing to do with my mental state. I'm convinced that Shorty did something to me when he came to visit me in the infirmary. Now could everyone kindly leave except for Mr Woolsey, as I would like to discuss the matter with him?" He was proud of himself by the time he'd finished, as he had managed to stay in control the whole time.
John watched Carson and gave him a look, daring him to say something else, but obviously he declined, as he turned to leave the room.
Dr Robinson patted him on the shoulder and spoke to him quietly, "I won't make you talk to me, but at some stage I would like you to open up to your team."
He gave her a gentle nod and watched her leave the room and then he turned his attention to Woolsey who had remained quiet until now.
"Tell me what's bothering you Colonel Sheppard?"
"I've been having the same nightmare over and over, since Shorty left the infirmary and It continues to change. The last time I had it, Ronan was a giant and he tried to eat me, so I'm just wondering if you can find out whether these giants have any telepathic abilities?"
He saw a confused look cross Woolsey's face, "Shorty?"
"Yeah that's the name I gave Goliath."
A smile crossed Woolsey's face, "figures."
"Can you please check it out for me?" he asked Woolsey with a hopeful voice.
"I will get on it right away, I will talk to Jonah the head of the Giant council and ask if he knows of any giants with these abilities; in the meantime maybe you should get some rest."
"Thank you Mr Woolsey." John turned his head and started staring at the ceiling again and was glad when he was finally alone. He closed his eyes not really wanting to fall asleep again, but very soon he couldn't help it and he gave in to the darkness that was beckoning to him.
John was walking through the forest in a set of hospital scrubs, he had no idea how he'd gotten there and he had no idea why he wasn't dressed. He looked around hoping to find someone who could answer his questions, but he saw no-one. He had a real sense of déjàvu about this scenario and he couldn't work out if it was real or if he was having a nightmare. He had a sneaking suspicion that he'd been in this situation more than once recently.
When he heard the ghostly sound whistling through the trees and walked through the menacing darkness, he knew that he had been here before. The only problem was that he had no idea when, but he still felt compelled to continue. Up ahead he saw a light and he headed towards it. As he got closer to the light and saw a clearing in the distance, he became anxious. Who would he find when he got there; hopefully a friendly face.
Upon entering the clearing he had a good look around and saw absolutely nothing. That was good, so he decided to sit down and enjoy the fire that was already lit. It looked like a big bonfire and he wondered why someone would light such a huge fire and then walk away and leave it.
Suddenly he heard a branch snapping behind him and he turned around to see the biggest giant he had ever seen coming towards him and as he looked into the giants face he saw that it was Goliath. He turned the other way to try and run, but he saw two more giants coming towards him and they must have been thirty feet tall. He was horrified when he saw that the two largest giants were Ronan and Rodney. Rodney started taunting him and then he felt himself being lifted in to the air towards Ronon's mouth only this time he didn't wake up, he felt himself falling down a deep dark hole and what disturbed him the most was that he just kept on falling, the darkness permeated his entire being and all he could do was surrender to it.
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Teyla had spent the afternoon with her son and they'd had a picnic over on the east pier. She'd had a lovely time except for the fact that Torren kept asking when he could see his Da.
She had to keep reassuring him that when Daddy's leg was feeling better they would all go home together. She still hadn't had a chance to talk to Woolsey about the family apartments as yet, but she was going to talk to John before dinner again to see if he was ready to talk to Woolsey about their relationship.
After having dropped Torren of at Amelia's she headed to the infirmary, she assumed that John would have his leg in a cast by now and that he would be one step closer to leaving the infirmary.
Arriving at the infirmary a few minutes later she headed into Carson and Jennifer's office to see how John was, Carson was sitting across from Jennifer and they were quietly discussing their patients.
"Carson how is John?" She asked entering their office.
"I think he's sleeping peacefully at the moment, but we're a wee bit worried about the lad. He seems to be having the same nightmare over and over, but if you want to you can go and see him lassie."
Smiling at Carson and Jennifer, she nodded her head, turned around and headed down to John's room. She arrived just in time to hear him crying out and then his muscles started to twitch and convulse. While trying to hold him still she called for Carson and Jennifer.
It didn't take long for Carson and Jennifer to enter the room and for Carson to start yelling instructions, "give him 20mls of Lorazepam." Jennifer didn't waste any time in injecting the anticonvulsant into his IV. Teyla and Carson held on to him until the convulsions had ceased.
"What was that?" Teyla asked, while staring at John, as Carson took his vitals.
"I'm really not sure lassie, his vitals all appear normal. I think it's about time I took a brain scan." Carson suggested.
She kept staring at John wondering what was happening to him. "Will that tell us what just happened?"
Carson responded with a shrug of his shoulders, "I have no idea Lassie."
TBC…
