Disclaimer - I do not own SGA or its Characters. I do own Dr. Orla Grant.
Rated T for violence & threat.
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Sheppard activated the Puddle Jumper door. As the door opened, a glimmer of relief ran through him. He quickly entered the jumper followed by the rest of team coming to a standstill beside the padded rear seats. Still holding the stretcher, he carefully turned to face Ronon and Dr. Biro. "We should strap Lorne down to these seats, that way if there is any turbulence, he'll be safe."
"Good idea, I need to check his vitals, it's been a while since his last Morphine shot. I don't really want to have to give him any more but I have nothing else for pain, The Tylenol will not touch his pain,"
"You have pain medication and you gave me nothing!" screamed McKay from over Ronon's shoulder.
"Pipe down, McKay. We'll get to you. Ronon, maybe put McKay on the other seats then we can put Lorne down," Sheppard suggested wearily.
"You got this side, Doc?" Ronon waited for a nod from Biro before he released his hold on the stretcher and moved across the jumper to the bench seats opposite. He lowered McKay down on the seats, all the while the cries from the injured physicist filled the jumper.
"McKay, you realize, Orla bought a human being into the world with no pain medication and less drama!" Ronon snapped.
"I'll have you know women are designed to give birth. Their bodies change to adapt to the pregnancy then they change again to give birth. I, however am not designed to have broken bones!" McKay huffed petulantly.
"You think Orla had no pain?" Ronon snarled.
"Of course, she was in pain. It's just a different pain. Women forget labor or they'd never keep having babies," Rodney snapped back aware of the growing growl coming from Ronon.
"Can we please get back to the more seriously injured and put Major Lorne down?" Biro interrupted indicating to the waiting bench seats.
"Sorry, Doc," Sheppard apologized.
Ronon moved back to his position beside Dr. Biro this time taking the stretcher from her completely.
"Alright, slowly does it, there. Want to keep him on the stretcher?" Sheppard asked.
"Yes, it will be easier to move him when we get back to Atlantis this way," Biro explained as she threw down the medical bag from her back and crouched at the Major's side. She began to take his vitals a genuine look of concern crossed her face. "Oh dear, this is not good."
"What is it?" Sheppard demanded.
Looking up at Sheppard Biro replied, "I suggest you start this jumper, Colonel."
Sheppard didn't need to be told twice, he spun around and swiftly made his way to the pilot seat. Closing his eyes, he thought of powering-up the jumper. The jumper responded, the lights came on flickering and the engine came to life. He opened his eyes, smiling he quickly activated the jumpers' radio. The all too familiar crackle and hiss of interference came through loudly. "West Pier quay it is. Alright strap down what you need to, this may get bumpy."
Ronon attached the ratchet strap across McKay earning a bellow of expletives from the man.
Biro turned and offered McKay two Tylenol and a small bottle of water. "Don't drink all the water, only sip what you need to swallow those tablets," she ordered.
Rodney popped the Tylenol in his mouth and put his hand out for the water bottle. Taking a sip, he threw back his head and swallowed the pill. Closing his eyes, he prayed for instant relief.
Biro turned her attention back to Lorne; she was nervous about his deteriorating condition. Once again, she checked his pulse. "No, no, no!" shouted Biro as she tugged at the large rope knots and moved to uncross Lorne's arms. Her hands flew to Lorne's neck once more. She then grabbed at the man's wrist and turned to face Sheppard. "He's coding!"
There was silence in the jumper as the three men stopped instantly to watch Dr. Biro as she tilted Lorne's neck and began to perform CPR. One, two, three compressions, nothing was said as they gazed transfixed on the woman beside Lorne. Fourteen, fifteen compressions she moved to perform mouth to mouth, one breath, two breaths. Nothing.
"Can I help, Doc?" Sheppard whispered from her side.
Looking up she nodded, "Can you take over the chest compressions?"
"Sure," Sheppard came to stand alongside Dr. Biro, he placed his hands together and laced his fingers over each other.
"Don't bend your arms, you will hear cracking, it'll probably be his ribs. Better his ribs than his life," Biro bluntly explained.
Sheppard nodded and started to perform compressions on Lorne.
"Fifteen compressions then hold," Biro said.
After Sheppard completed the fifteen compressions, Biro performed two mouth to mouth actions and rechecked his pulse. Still nothing. They repeated the task once more, as Biro rechecked Lorne's carotenoid pulse there was a hushed silence.
"He's back!" Biro gushed.
Sheppard stepped back turning his back on his team mates taking a few moments to pull himself together again, it had been too close a call for his liking. "Good work, Doc, let's get out of here!" Sheppard barked as he resumed his position in the pilot chair. "Everyone good to go?"
Sheppard stopped speaking when they all heard the hushed moans coming from Lorne. He looked across at Biro who was still at Lorne's side searching her medical bag. "Doc?"
"One minute, Colonel, little busy."
Lorne began to slowly come to. He felt like he'd been hit by a freight train. He could hear muffled tones as though under water but not the clarity of speech. He tried to move and instantly regretted it as the pain seared from his calf to his head. He wasn't sure if the sound he heard was him or someone else. He couldn't see clearly, everything was hazy. Someone was there, he couldn't work out who. That was when he slipped back under again as the haze took over.
"He's under again, that was the last of the Morphine," Dr. Biro sighed as she kneeled beside the unconscious Major. I'll sit back here with Major Lorne," Biro said.
"No, sorry Doc. If you get thrown about, who's going to take care of the injured if you're one of them?" Sheppard stated.
Dr. Biro took her seat behind Ronon who's occupied the co-pilot's chair.
"Here we go, hold on not yet sure if this jumper will fly the right way or not," Sheppard announced as he closed his eyes and thought about the jumper moving upwards. The jumper steadily climbed into the air and hoovered momentarily waiting for instruction. Carefully, Sheppard imagined the jumper moving forward, it moved in time with his thoughts. A giant grinned spread across Sheppard's face.
Laura moved away from the small group, rechecking their water supplies. She used some of the water purification tablets on the water they'd caught from the storm. You could never be too safe! She looked at the char cloth and decided they had probably no more than a few hours of before the small fire beside Orla would go out. They had nothing left to burn or that would burn. We'll be back on Atlantis by then she told herself. She looked into the small bag they'd brought and took out the flashlights. "Let there be light," she joked aloud and turned on the flashlights.
"Our hero!" Jennifer mocked gently.
"I am a lethal weapon, these hands…"
"Are covered in rope burns and need treatment," Orla said, giggling.
"I don't know why I waste my time with you two!"
"Because we love you despite you being a lethal weapon?" Jennifer smirked.
"Mock me and I will keep these power bars…" Laura grinned.
"Food, you have food? I'm starving…" Orla hungrily held out her hand.
"What about, Risa?" Cadman asked.
"She's not on solids yet…"
Cadman rolled her eyes, "You know what I meant, we have no food for her,"
"Orla has plenty, Risa will not starve, she's already had some Colostrum…" Jennifer began to explain.
"I don't need to know anymore, as long as she won't go without," Cadman quickly interrupted. "Here, take a flashlight there is nothing else to burn to make light and the fire isn't that bright."
"Do you think they'll be long?" Orla asked quietly.
"Honestly? I don't know but I do know they'll get back as quickly as they can. Ronon will see to that!" Laura replied reassuringly.
"How come the Puddle Jumper works but the radios don't?" Ronon asked.
"I don't know. I'm going to try to contact Atlantis one more time. After that if nothing, we'll take a look at the Upper Jumper Bay. We could land there and get Lorne to a transporter easier than the West Pier," Sheppard answered.
"What if somethings happened?" Biro added.
"I think we've had all the bad luck for one day already, don't you?"
"It's because Orla and Jennifer were together, they're jinxed!" Rodney declared loudly from the rear of the jumper.
"Ignore him, he's in pain," Sheppard said in a hushed tone.
"What was that?" McKay shouted, unable to hear the remark Sheppard had made.
"I said, we're going to try to land soon," Sheppard lied.
"Mr. Woolsey, Sir, we're picking up a small ship headed for Atlantis," Chuck declared from the doorway to Woolsey's office.
"Can you identify it?"
"No Sir, the circuits are still scrambled from the storm and Dr. Zelenka is still trying to repair communications."
"What's taking him so long?" Woolsey asked.
"Apparently he said it's like looking for a needle in a haystack to identify the single circuitry that's failed. He's running a diagnostic but with so much of our systems damaged by the storm he can only do so much. Plus, he says with Dr. McKay and Dr. Grant not on Atlantis he doesn't have a full team as some are off world with the other three teams missing," Chuck explained in detail.
"Very well, keep an eye on the ship and alert Major Teldy of a possible situation," Woolsey ordered.
"Yes, Sir."
"Atlantis, this is Puddle Jumper 1, do you read me flight?" Sheppard waited for a response before calling Atlantis once more.
"Nothing? Lights are on, doesn't look like they're in trouble," Ronon surmised as he looked at the city coming into view.
"Got to be a reasonable explanation. Doc, how's Lorne?" Sheppard turned to see the doctor back at Lorne's side.
"His pulse is very weak Colonel, we need to land."
"Gotcha."
Sheppard steered the Puddle Jumper upwards and closer to Atlantis. He repeated the flight instruction to Atlantis, static feedback was the only noise coming through. Sheppard was about to close the communication channel when he heard something faint. His finger hovered over the control button. Activating the radio again, he repeated himself. "Atlantis, this is Puddle Jumper 1, do you read me flight?"
The crackle and hiss of the static suddenly stopped and the one word, "Atlantis," was spoken.
"Atlantis, this is Sheppard and Puddle Jumper 1, do you read?"
"Read… Jumper 1."
"Atlantis, we have gravely injured we're going to land in the Upper Jumper Bay, we need medical assistance."
"Was that Sheppard?" Zelenka said as he appeared from under the command console pushing his glasses up his nose.
"I think so, couldn't hear enough of it, can't you fine tune something?" Chuck asked.
"Ach ano, nechte všechno na mě, nevadí, že všichni ostatní chybí," Zelenka muttered under his breath as he disappeared under the console once more.
Chuck shook his head at the scientist and reappeared at Woolsey's office. "Sir, we have what we think is a communication from Colonel Sheppard from the small craft. Has to be one of the Puddle Jumpers."
"Very well, alert Dr. Beckett we may have wounded arriving and have a team of Marines go to the Upper Jumper Bay. Let me know the moment they land, if they land."
"Yes, Sir."
"Think they'll attack the jumper if they don't know it's us?" Ronon asked.
"If they were going to, I'd have laid odds on before now. If they have any doubts about it being one of the teams returning, they'll wait in the Upper Jumper Bay."
Sheppard steered the jumper toward the Upper Jumper Bay. He thought of landing the jumper and smoothly the jumper entered the bay and hovered before slowly descending to the bay floor. "We're home," he announced.
A/N - Zelenka rant in Czech means – "Oh yes, leave everything to me, never mind everyone else is missing." Well, according to Google.
TBC ...