Carousel (part 4)
Rodney wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. He heard footsteps quietly moving about off at a distance and items being moved. Disoriented, he blinked rapidly upon opening his eyes to the bright overhead light only to be startled from the loud bang of something heavy being dropped.
"Oh, God, the lab!" He mumbled as his heart raced in response, then remembered the loud pop and flash! Rolling to his side, he tried to avoid the burning sensation, only to fall and land painfully on the floor, tangled in his blanket. Struggling against the hands that suddenly grabbed him and held him still, he panicked until a familiar accent broke through his flashback.
"Rodney, it's okay, lad. It's me, Dr. Beckett. Open your eyes."
Drawing in a ragged breath, he gasped as the pain in his hands made itself known from where he tried to stop his fall. Slowly opening his eyes a second time, he recognized Carson's concerned expression peering down at him.
"Did you hurt yourself, Rodney? That was quite a spill you took off the bed."
Embarrassment flooded his already red face as he realized he was on the floor. "Help me up," he demanded, trying to shift the doctor's attention away from him as a patient.
Carson slid his hand under Rodney's arm and supported the injured scientist safely back on to the bed. "Let me see," he encouraged as he gently pulled Rodney's red hands out from under the blanket. "Can ya wiggle your fingers for me?"
Rodney stared down at his hands while he slowly flexed his fingers and wrists. The uncomfortable sting across both palms from the slight burn made him wince. And when Carson rotated his left wrist, he yelped.
"I believe you sprained it. Let me get a bandage and wrap it for you to make it a little more comfortable." Before McKay had a chance to protest, the physician had items in hand and secured the wrist.
"I thought it was just a dream," Rodney mumbled as he once again found himself staring at his wrapped hands.
Carson leaned against the side of the bed, resting his hand on the mattress along side Rodney's pillow. "You've been asleep for a few hours. Do you remember what happened last night?"
The physicist's blue eyes studied the opposite wall while he collected his thoughts before turning to meet Beckett's inquiring gaze. "I was getting ready for bed, wanted to check one more thing in the lab." He frowned. "The lab door was open and I'm positive someone moving about. No one was to be in there, so I wanted to make them leave, when all of the sudden I heard a 'pop' and got knocked back into the wall. Once the room stopped spinning, I paged you."
"Did you see who was there or the flash?"
Rodney glanced towards the bottom of the bed before shaking his head 'no'. "I stepped on something in my bare feet, and when I looked down, 'pop'."
"It was one of your energy bar wrappers. Major Sheppard found it on the floor."
A frown crossed Rodney's face, "I didn't eat anything in the lab yesterday."
Carson shifted on his feet as he thought of other possibilities. "Mebbe it was Dr. Zelenka's or Grodin's?"
Rodney shook his head 'no' again. "Neither of them eat power bars. They're always complaining that they taste like horse feed."
The overhead communication system came to life, booming throughout the room, "Medical transport needed for medical emergency in stairwell 8 section C level 4." Both Beckett and McKay instantly recognized the voice of Lieutenant Ford.
When Rodney moved to follow Carson, the doctor stopped him with a quick glance. "Not now, lad. You stay put. You'll know soon enough what happened." Grabbing his gear and instructing two techs to follow, Beckett disappeared out the doorway.
SG: A
As soon as the lift stopped on Level 4, Beckett and his team raced towards the stairwell, the same time as Major Sheppard appeared running from the opposite direction.
"What happened?" both men simultaneously questioned each other.
Spotting Ford standing in the doorway, Beckett was the first to push past him and recognize Peter Grodin's crumpled form on the floor. "Oh, good Lord," he said quietly as he placed his fingers on the still man's neck. Finding a weak pulse, he breathed a sigh of relief and began his examination.
Sheppard looked to Ford. "What happened?" he repeated.
"I was doing a sweep of this level and found him that way a few minutes ago. He's been unconscious the entire time."
"I want to know who saw him last," Sheppard directed. "Also, seal off the stairwell and have security check the area."
The lieutenant nodded as he called in more security over his radio. "One more thing, the lights were off in the stairwell when I got here. How do you know he didn't just fall?"
"That's a possibility, but it's too damn coincidental that both McKay and Grodin have accidents within hours of each other. Find me Dr. Zelenka and bring him to the infirmary."
"Yes, sir."
He then knelt beside Beckett, "Doc?"
Carson's dark eyes quickly met his before turning back towards his new patient. "He definitely took a spill. At a glance, I can tell ya his left leg's clearly broken and he has a hell of a knot to the back of his head, most likely a concussion. The rest will have to wait until I can examine him better in the infirmary." Quickly loading the unconscious man into the litter, he hurried beside the techs as Peter was removed from the stairwell.
oOo
Sheppard followed close behind the medical team as they rushed into the infirmary. He was surprised to see Rodney leaning against the doorway, anxiously watching to see who was brought in.
Recognition and concern quickly filled the scientist's face and he stepped forward to see his friend. Not realizing he was in Beckett's way, he stumbled slightly when the doctor gently pushed him towards Sheppard, before the curtain was pulled shut.
The major in turn, caught the worried man by the arm and led him back over to his bed. "Come on, McKay, let's give him room to work."
Rodney shifted on the edge of his bed, trying to see around the divider. Stepping closer to the physicist, Sheppard was aware that he had only seen McKay show this much concern once before, and that was when the bug was attached to his neck while the Jumper was stuck in the stargate.
The curtain around Grodin's bed was shoved aside as he was quickly transported towards the operating room. Carson looked over his shoulder as he rushed by, "He's got some bleeding. I'll patch him up, good as new for ya, Rodney. Don't worry."
When Rodney started to get off the bed, Sheppard stopped him with a hand to the chest before sitting next to the strangely quiet man. "He'll be okay," he tried to reassure his anxious friend, as well as himself.
McKay only nodded, his face setting into an unreadable mask.
Moments later, the door from the main corridor burst open as Ford rushed breathless into the room towards the waiting men. "Dr. Zelenka is missing," he announced in disbelief.
This time the injured physicist did slip past the major's restraining hand, landing solidly on his feet before his knees betrayed him. Buckling from the sudden movement, he fell before his equilibrium could catch up to the rest of his body, his eyes rolling back into his head.
"Oh, crap," Sheppard cursed, as he dropped to the floor, cradling the limp body before any more damage could be done.