Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis is not mine, and no profits are made from this story. It is a work of fan fiction and for fan enjoyment only.
7: There's Got to Be a Morning After
That night Rodney was excused from the watch; if it weren't the purplepeach, then he might hallucinate again, and there was no telling how he might react with a loaded weapon. Teyla and Aiden didn't mind splitting the night, with the understanding that McKay would resume main work on the controls in the morning. The night passed uneventfully, as did the next day. Towards evening, they were ready for a test flight.
"Ford, you'll have to pilot; McKay, you're copilot."
McKay objected. "I don't know anything about flying this ship."
"No, you don't," agreed Sheppard, "so you do exactly what Ford tells you to."
McKay chaffed but nodded, forgetting that the Major couldn't see him. Remembering himself, he replied aloud, "Sure 'leader', whatever you say."
Soon they were strapped in and ready. "Here goes nothing." Ford took a deep breath and hit the ignition. He didn't notice Sheppard's white knuckles as he recalled the shuttlepod nightmare.
The engines roared to life, and everyone let out collectively-held breath in one whoosh. They rose into the atmosphere effortlessly, and soon completed an orbit. Taking readings while aloft, McKay was pleased to announce, "Looks like one more day, and this area will be through the worst of the meteor storm."
"YES!" exclaimed Sheppard, at which the others grinned.
----------------------------------------------------------
"All right, be set to go in thirty minutes." Weir was developing an ulcer, waiting for the meteor storm to clear enough to safely send another jumper to search for their lost lambs. "Dr. Beckett, I need you to be ready to receive up to four casul..."
"Incoming wormhole!" The excited tech interrupted her. "Receiving Lt. Ford's ident!"
"Lower shield." The commander held her breath as she waited with the rest of Atlantis. A huge cheer went up as Jumper One emerged and slid to a halt. As it began its ascent, she turned to Grodin and began, "I'll be in..."
"The jumper bay," he completed for her, smiling.
She arrived just as the hatch opened. Rodney led out, followed by Sheppard being guided by Teyla and Ford. Weir turned to the nearby Sergeant as she caught sight of the bandages, "Go get Dr. Beckett. Tell him only one this time, but we need him, now." The Sergeant saluted and ran off.
"Rodney, what happened?" she asked as she approached the group.
"We almost died after a meteor strike disabled the Jumper on final approach to the Gate a few days ago. We crash landed on a barely habitable planet, but I was able to effect repairs to the electronics while Ford repaired the hull. Once we were up, it still took a while for the storm to clear." He smiled smugly. "And, here we are."
Just then Dr. Beckett with two corpsmen and a gurney in tow rounded the corner and rushed into the bay. "Major Sheppard! Can't you keep out o' trouble?" he exclaimed.
Sheppard grinned. "Doesn't look like it, Doc. Normally I'd say that I see way too much of you, but right now I'd really appreciate that particular sight, or practically any sight at all."
"Well, now, I've got your ride all arranged. If you'll have a seat..."
Sheppard grimaced when he realized that they wanted him to lie on a gurney for the short trip to the infirmary. As he opened his mouth to object, however, Beckett interrupted. "I'll not have any of your complaints, either. You will lie there until I can give you a proper exam." He glanced at the rest of the team. "Could someone come with us to tell me what happened?"
"Hey, I can talk! It was my eyes that were injured, not my mouth."
"Yes, but I'd like someone along who will tell the whole story."
"I will accompany you." Teyla volunteered.
"Good lass." Beckett beamed approvingly, and the parade moved off, leaving McKay and Ford to brief Weir.
As the gurney slid past, she grasped the Major's hand. "Glad to have you back, John."
He gave a simulacrum of his usual cocky expression. "Glad to be here."
Weir turned to the two remaining men, but before she could speak, Ford interjected, "Don't let anyone unload the Jumper ma'am; not until Dr. Beckett has had a chance to check out some of the fruit we brought back."
"Oh?" she asked, eyebrow raised. 'This should be interesting' "So ordered. Why don't you two get yourselves checked out, then report to my office in an hour? I'd like a debriefing on everything that happened."
------
"Well, let's see: a concussion, first and second degree burns to the face and neck, superficially infected abrasions and contusions in the same distribution, a forehead laceration...that just leaves the eyes and the possible poisoning." Beckett ticked off Sheppard's injuries to himself as the Major forced himself to be quiet. "All right then. Major, I'm turning the lights in the room down to minimum, then I'm going to take the bandages off. I want you to keep both eyes closed until I tell you otherwise, understand?"
"Yeah." Sheppard licked suddenly-dry lips and concentrated on keeping his eyes closed. Beckett gently unwrapped the Kerlex until the patches could be visualized, then carefully pried them off. Taking a saline-soaked gauze, he washed off the dried blood and unstuck the Major's eyelashes. He then placed a dry gauze over the right lid and applied a slight pressure to keep it closed.
"OK. Now I want you to slowly open your left eye only. I'll keep the right shut for you. If there is much pain, close it again immediately."
John tentatively did as requested. His heart skipped a beat when at first he didn't see anything, but then the dim room came into focus. Carson's concerned blue eyes stared into his own.
"What can you see, Major?"
"Everything. It's slightly blurry, but I can see everything." His relief was audible.
"All right. Let's open the right."
The right eye opened with less trepidation. "Ditto. Slightly blurry, but otherwise OK." He blinked once or twice. "They both feel as if they have something in them, though. Only hurts when I blink."
"I'm going to check them out right now. First some drops to numb them, then a dye called fluorescein. It'll turn your vision yellow for a few hours, but it allows me to see any abrasions with a slit-lamp. And, no, before you ask, you cannot have the bottle to take with you."
The drops stung, then provided blissful relief from the sand-in-the-eyes sensation.. The exam proceeded apace. At the end, Beckett flicked off the exam light and concluded, "You're lucky Teyla was along; she cleaned them out admirably. You have bilateral corneal edema and some superficial keratitis from the flash burns, as well as some healing corneal abrasions from foreign bodies that she must have rinsed out." He reached for another eyedrop dispenser. "In addition to the antibiotics I'm going to give you for your face, I want you to put two drops of this in each eye every eight hours for the next week. Got it?"
Sheppard nodded, taking the bottle.
"Since you're already several days out from your head injury, you're OK to go. I want you to get plenty of rest, fluids, and take these pills twice a day." He handed over a bottle of antibiotics. "You are to check in with me daily until I tell you otherwise. Likewise, you are hereby medically relieved of duty until further notice." Beckett handed him a pair of dark sunglasses. "You'll probably find these helpful for a few days, at least in the brighter parts of the base. And if I hear of you doing anything unwise in the next few days, I will have them tie you to one of my beds and keep you here for the week." He gave him a smile and continued, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some fruit to check out for possible hallucinogens."
Sheppard sighed. Admittedly, he didn't feel much like going on a mission, but it would have been nice to be able to. Of course, on the plus side, he didn't have to spend the night in the infirmary. He cheered at that thought, then dressed and headed out into the hallway.
'Damn, he's right about the glasses!' he thought as the normal lighting in the passage pierced his brain like a spike. He fumbled for and quickly donned the sunglasses, then breathed a sigh of relief. Once his eyes decided to speak to him again, he headed towards his quarters. Right now, all he wanted to do was lie down in his own bunk. Of course, that was as likely as a snowball surviving in Hell. He hadn't managed three steps before a delighted cry assailed his ears.
"Major! You're OK!" Ford's footsteps pounded up as he swung around.
"Well, I still have quite a headache, and the light hurts my eyes..."
"But you can see?" Teyla had joined the group.
Sheppard smiled crookedly. "Thanks to you, and your excellent first aid." His smile widened. "So, thanks."
"You are most welcome."
The three stood awkwardly for a moment until, predictably, McKay sauntered up. "Hey, anyone hungry? I'm off to the mess hall for a snack." He pushed past them without waiting for an answer.
Sheppard, Teyla and Ford exchanged glances, then the Lieutenant shrugged. "Shall we?"
"Why not?"
Epilogue"So, what have you found?" Weir sidled up behind Beckett, who was immersed in his microscope.
The doctor straightened and wiped a hand across his eyes. "Well, the fruit itself isn't really the problem; it's the skin. It contains a compound that works at the level of the subconscious, literally. Apparently the fermentation process renders it inert, so the wine is safe to drink."
Weir chuckled. "The base will be happy to hear that. Didn't Lt. Ford say something about the natives peeling the fruit before eating it?"
"Now we know why." Beckett spread his hands. "Anyway, the effects seem to wear off after six to eight hours, so SGA-1 is cleared from that standpoint."
Weir accompanied the physician to the coffeepot. As he poured a cup, she asked, "How is Major Sheppard?"
"His eyes are healing nicely, and the facial injuries are closing now that we've gotten the infection controlled. I was going to release him back to limited duty tomorrow." He closed his eyes and inhaled the aroma before taking a long sip.
Weir nodded. "Good. He's beginning to go stir-crazy. Rodney has come to the conclusion that, "since the Major has nothing better to do", he should help him out in the lab." She laughed aloud. "I think if he hears, 'Major, touch this' one more time, he may scream."
Beckett seemed to consider this notion. "Could be...interesting. Better than me anyway"
Weir smiled and took his elbow. "Come on. Let's go get some real breakfast."
The End
AN: Well, I hope you liked it! I want to thank my wonderful beta-reader, my husband. He's the one you have to thank for a believable Rodney McKay; I keep making him too altruistic. The next story will feature Dr. Beckett, with some Sheppard-whumping thrown in for good measure!