Strange Bedfellows

A/N: See what happens when you lurkers review? A quick update! Hint hint. Thanks to those people, and of course, to those reviewers who have been there from ch 1. Blue Banrigh, thanks for catching that. I tried to fix the typo but it wouldn't let me. :( Stonedtoad, thanks for the offer, but since it's almost done and I'm in a hurry to get it posted, I think I'll just proofread it a million times myself. :)

I'm not a doctor or anything, so if I goof up on any of the medical references, I'm sorry. I only have a basic understanding of medicine, and although I did do LOTS of research, some of the stuff is pretty confusing (for me at least). I think I got it right, though.

I finished writing the entire story; I just have to tweak it before posting. Up to 25 chapters! Urgh, I know. Ch 24 was 20 pages so I had to split it. But the updates will be coming just as quickly as this one did, and the entire story will be up by Tues. :)

Chapter 22: Questions

24 Hours Later

Dr. Beckett could not afford to wait any longer. While it was important to allow the major's body to rest, they needed had act quickly if they were going to keep him alive. It was risky to perform surgery while the patient was in such a weakened condition, but in this case, Carson deemed in riskier not to. Thus he was now involved in a delicate balancing act where the stakes were a man's life. Time was the real problem here; if they went in too early, they risked putting John into cardiac arrest, but if they waited too long, he would surely succumb to his injuries.

Luckily, the operation had gone off without a hitch. While it had gotten dicey at times, John had pulled through. The doctor changed out of his scrubs and back into his lab coat before stealing a glance at the waiting room outside. He could see shadows on the far wall; no doubt it was one of John's teammates pacing in apprehension. Teyla, Rodney, and Ford had all camped out outside the infirmary after they themselves had undergone a routine exam and had washed up. They hadn't left since, except to grab a bite to eat or a cup of coffee. And even then, Carson noticed with a smile, they had taken shifts, flipping coins each time to see who the unlucky one was who had to run to the mess hall. That person, though, would always have their radio on, just in case something happened during the two minutes they were away. No doubt they ran through the hallways, too.

Dr. Beckett approached the waiting room. Sure enough, they were all assembled on the various pieces of furniture. Teyla sat in a chair, her back hunched while her eyes were cast at the far wall in a blank stare. Rodney lied sprawled out on one of the couches, face to the ceiling. His mouth lay wide open and he snored loudly. Ford, however, chose to remain upright. The lieutenant paced back and forth quickly and bit his nails. He looked worried to say the least, but so lost in thought was he that he didn't even notice the doctor's presence.

And then there was Elizabeth. She lied curled up on the other couch, fast asleep. Rodney had draped John's jacket over her before he himself had dozed off. She hadn't moved from her spot since they had returned, except for when Carson had rushed her out of the infirmary itself before the surgery. Even with her eyes closed, she looked worn and full of concern. Beckett felt sorry for her.

"You had better stop pacing, lad, or you'll wear a hole through my floor," the Scot greeted Aiden.

His words seem to jolt Ford out of his trance. He immediately stopped and looked up expectantly at the doctor. Teyla, too, was pulled from her reverie.

Rodney, however, continued to snore. Loudly. Ford seemed to notice it for the first time and threw his cap at the sleeping man. McKay snorted and swiped his hand at an imaginary foe. "Uunnhh…. Hey, can't a man get a little sleep around this-" He stopped short and bolted upright, realizing. "Any news?" he asked.

"Aye, but I think we had better wake her first." As much as Carson wanted to let Elizabeth sleep, he knew that once she had found out there was news about Major Sheppard that she hadn't been awoken for, she'd have his head on a platter. Not that he blamed her, it was just that she had been through the most out of all of them, given her closeness to the major.

Rodney gently rocked her shoulder until she was awake, which didn't take long. She was a light sleeper; even the slightest noise coming from the infirmary and she wanted to know about it. "Well?" she asked through half-closed eyelids.

Carson had to smile at her question. Not "What time is it?" or "What's on the schedule for today?" Instead she had questioned the wellness of one of her team members, of one of her close friends. Everything else could come second.

"We finished surgery about half an hour ago. One of the major's broken ribs perforated his left lung, resulting in a moderate case of hemopneumothorax." He received puzzled looks from the four teammates who were now on the edges of their seats. "When the rib punctures the lung," he explained, "blood from the lung begins to flow into the pleura, or the membrane that envelopes it. As a result, air from the lung escapes through the puncture into the pleural cavity, causing the lung to collapse. Luckily, we caught it in time and were able to perform a successful operation."

This earned a round of sighs from the group and smiles were exchanged.

"The internal bleeding was stopped, the blood from the cavity was removed, and his ribs were reset," the doctor continued proudly. He had a good medical team and they deserved every bit of the credit as much as he did.

"What about now, Doc? Can we see him?" Ford asked.

Carson's eyes fell a little. "I'd have to advise against that, Lieutenant. Though the surgery was a success, but he is still in critical condition. We're still working on getting him stabilized, so until we do so, I want to keep visitors to a minimum - just until we straighten things out a bit." He made it sound like he just had to tidy up a few things here and there, while in reality there was still a long road ahead of them all.

"What else is wrong with him, besides the… hemopn…." Teyla's voice trailed off as she struggled with the difficult medical term.

"Hemopneumothorax," Beckett finished for her. He sighed. "Well, there are a number of things. He has a semi-collapsed trachea, for one, but I wouldn't worry about that. It's very minor, not that bad at all and will heal in time. We have him on a respirator anyway. There's a nasty infection on his arm, and it was beginning to spread, but we have him on a strong antibiotic. Of course, from the infection he developed a doozy of a fever. 102 degrees to be exact.

"In addition to the cracked ribs, we also found evidence of a bruised diaphragm. It looks like he could have had a severe concussion as well, most likely from a few days ago, but the good news is the worst is past as far as that goes. And as you probably noticed, he's got quite an number of cuts and bruises that had to be cleaned up. Needless to say, he is extremely malnourished and dehydrated, but the IV will be taking care of that."

He was met with silence from the group. It was too much to take in, and despite Carson's attempt at sounding optimistic, they all knew it was a dire situation.

"Sounds serious," Ford muttered.

Beckett wanted to say, "That's an understatement," but his professionalism kept him in check. Instead, he simply nodded; he hadn't even gotten to the bad part yet. "There's more," he said regretfully. Beckett took a deep breath before continuing. "When a Wraith begins to feed on its victim, it releases a chemical into his bloodstream that effectively precipitates the draining of life from that victim. Essentially, it readies each organ in the body for death. When the major was fed upon, albeit only for a short time, that chemical was released and each organ was affected."

Seeing he wasn't getting through to them, Carson explained further. "Think of it this way. When a Wraith feeds, it ages its victim in a short period of time, and each organ grows weaker as a result - just as an elderly fellow will have weaker organs than a younger chap. This feeding puts an incredible amount of stress on the body's systems. And though it appears Major Sheppard hasn't aged, every single organ was subjected to that stress. So what I'm trying to say is that even though he appears the same on the outside…" he said, before thinking of all the physical injuries the man had, "… more or less, internally, his body had taken quite a toll. All ofhis systems were weakened and on the verge of failing."

They all took it in silently.

"But he will make it. Won't he?" Elizabeth asked softly. Her eyes pleaded with him to give her the answer she wanted to hear, needed to hear.

"I wish I could give you a definite answer, Dr. Weir. But there's no telling what might happen over the course of the next few days. The next forty-eight hours are the most critical. If he can make it through those, it will be smooth sailing from there on out. We have him in a medically-induced coma to prevent against any shock, heart attack, or stroke, but…." He stopped as he looked at the expression on her face. It was one of pure fear and dread. Carson realized he was probably saying the wrong thing.

Crouching down in front of her, he spoke softly but firmly. "Elizabeth…. I wouldn't worry. You know more than anyone that he's a fighter. He'll make it." He wished he could believe his own words. The fact was there were too many unknowns, too many what-ifs that clouded the situation. Perhaps if they had gotten to John sooner, he could have done more. Now, they all were forced to play the waiting game.

Rodney caught the doubt that registered in Carson's eyes, but he chose to remain quiet. There was no need for his smart-ass contrariness today. Beckett caught him looking and the two doctors locked eyes for a split second. In that time, a silent understanding passed between the two men. Their secret was safe, though. Neither would tell the others of the true severity of the predicament; that was something they didn't need to hear right now.

Ford let it all sink in. He still couldn't believe it was the major lying there in the infirmary. Sheppard was the strongest of them all and the most valuable; it just wasn't fair. Sure, he had seen his CO in the medical wing plenty of times before; they had both spent their fair share of time there. But this wasn't the same. This time there were no guarantees.

Aiden nodded grimly and swallowed. "Thanks, Doc. And if anything happens-"

"You all will be the first to know, aye. Now I suggest you all get some rest. You've had quite a day."

Reluctantly, they all stood to leave. They began to file out in a straight until Rodney turned to the doctor.

"You know, I'll have my radio on just in case-" McKay began.

"Rodney…"

"Right. Going."

In a few seconds, they all had began walking back to their quarters, save Elizabeth. She had stayed behind, wanting to ask Beckett for a favor.

"Carson…. Would you mind if I saw him? Just for a few moments?"

Sighing, he answered her. "Dr. Weir, I know you're concerned for Major Sheppard. But right now I think the best thing would be to let him rest a while." Seeing her face fall, though, he made her a deal. "I'll tell you what. If you promise to get in a few winks of sleep, you can come back tonight. How's that?"

"Deal," she replied, allowing herself a small smile.

"And don't go you running your mouth off to his teammates, either," he warned, pointing a finger at her. "I can't have everyone bloody running in here at once."

"My lips are sealed. Thanks, Carson." With that, she returned to her quarters, determined to get at least a few hours of shuteye. She suspected why Beckett had let her return and had not let any of the others do so, and she appreciated that. He was a good man, Beckett was, even if he could see right through her. She supposed everyone on the base could by now, but she didn't care.

Elizabeth reached her room and plopped down on her bed. She was tired, as tired as she had ever been despite the catnap she had taken in the waiting room. Even pulling all-nighters during college didn't compare to this. As soon as she hit the mattress, however, she knew sleep wouldn't be coming to her. There was too much on her mind, too much to think about, too many problems and nothing she could do about them.

How did it get to this? she wondered. How could so many things have gone wrong in such a short period of time? How could Atlantis's ranking military officer, her close friend, be on the verge of…. No, she didn't want to even think about that. She pondered the last week's events: secret alliances, treachery, deceit. It amazed her how they had been pushed into this mess after what was supposed to be a simple trading mission.

That was another problem. They still needed food, and while she and John had been gone, food hadn't just appeared on the table. Pretty soon they would have to begin visiting random planets and hope the locals would take pity on them. Maybe something could be worked out, some sort of agreement, but she didn't want the Klaan Episode, Part II to happen. They would all have to be more careful from now on about who they were going to trust.

Glancing at her watch, Elizabeth saw that only an hour had passed since she had returned to her room. Why is it that time always seems to stand still when you're restless? Hoping that taking a shower would pass the time, she turned on the water as hot as it would go. She leaned heavily on the shower seat, placed her head against the wall, and closed her eyes. This was something she could actually enjoy, somewhere soothing and quiet where she could be alone with her thoughts, with nothing but the water drops rolling off her skin. She wished life were that simple, that all her worries and fears could just roll her off her like water.

After what she deemed the best shower of her life, she got dressed and looked at the clock. Elizabeth had spent an entire hour practically drowning herself, but it was still only 17:00 hours. She sighed, annoyed; this was driving her insane. She wanted to pull her hair out as the frustration of waiting got to her. Then, acrafty idea formed in her mind. Carson said she could return later that night, but what defined 'night'? 7:00? 8:00? Well, in her book, 'night' was going to be 5:00. And look at the time, she thought to herself. It just so happens to be 5:02. With a smile, she began walking to the infirmary. She knew it was a sneaky tactic, but with any luck Beckett would be on his dinner break and not there to bust her.

Her smile vanished as she approached the infirmary doors. What would she find? Would she be prepared for it? Taking a deep breath, she opened the doors and entered.

At first, she didn't see John, and she started to panic. Had something happened while she was in her room? Did he have to be rushed into emergency surgery? Why hadn't Beckett called her on the radio? Or did he and she just didn't hear it in the shower? Because if something happened while she was gone and Beckett hadn't told her, she swore she was going to-

There, she found him. He was lying in the cot in the far corner of the empty room, away from the commotion of the outside hallway. No wonder she hadn't seen him before; as she slowly approached him, Elizabeth found she could barely recognize him. He looked worse than before, if that was even possible. Maybe it was all the machines that were attached to him. Elizabeth recognized a respirator, an EKG, a pulse, blood pressure, and respiration monitor, an IV, plus a few more pieces of equipment she could not identify.

Elizabeth wanted them off. She wanted nothing more that for these machines to disappear and for things to be back to normal, but knew that they were the only things keeping him alive. He looked so frail with the equipment surrounding him. Christ, John can't even breathe on his own.

In addition to the cuts and bruises she had seen earlier, some had formed around his neck where Tiny had nearly strangled him and on his wrists were the restraints had been. Bags hung under his closed eyes and numerous bandages clung to his skin. A patch of purple peeked out from under the dressing that covered his ribcage, and a tinge of yellow could be seen on bandage on his bicep. A nasty shiner still covered his left eye.

Sinking slowly into the chair that was next to his cot, Elizabeth studied him. She just watched, making sure the machines were doing their oh-so-crucial jobs. She wasn't a doctor of medicine, and didn't know what all the pieces of equipment meant, but somehow there was comfort in seeing them actually work, seeing them keep John alive.

Silently she sat, trying to keep the tears at bay. The sounds of the respirator pump and the beep of the heart monitor only served to remind her just how close they had all come to losing him. And the worst part was, they still might lose him, despite the doctors' best efforts. What would happen then? To have come so far, to get him back, only to lose him for good? What would she do then?

Soft approaching footsteps on the floor shook her from her trance. Blinking the moisture in her eyes away several times, she turned to find thedisapproving gaze of Dr. Carson Beckett upon her.

"It's nighttime already, then, is it?" he asked with a hint of acynicism to his voice. He looked at his wrist, an extraneous and patronizing gesture, and said, "According to my watch, it's only 5:30. Hmm, must be slow." He arched his eyebrows in expectation of her answer.

She had been caught, there was no denying that. "Daylight Saving Time?" she tried. Both knew that DST hardly applied in a whole different galaxy, but it was the best she could come up with at the moment.

Carson frowned, clearly not amused.

"Look, I'm sorry, Carson. It's just that I was going insane with worry, and I needed to see him. I promise not to touch anything." She wasn't about to leave, as her tone clearly indicated, no matter what Beckett said.

He sighed. How could he say no? After all, he was the one who practically told her to go back and get the major. "Bloody hell," he murmured under his breath. Looking around to make sure no one else overheard, he leaned in and whispered, "All right, then. But if anyone sees you, you didn't get permission from me." He winked and started to walk away, sensing she wanted some time alone with his patient. "Oh, and you might want to try talking to him, lass."

Elizabeth wrinkled her brow in confusion. "Will he be able to hear me?"

"There's no telling for sure, but it couldn't hurt. Especially not from you."

She wondered if that last part was thrown in just to tease her. Beckett was always so upbeat during dire times, even when a patient was near death. She had been, too, always remaining positive and having faith in medicine. But now, it seemed impossible to stay so optimistic, not with the odds stacked so high against John. Maybe because she had always remained distant before, but since she was so attached in this particular case, since this time it was so personal….

Looking at the comatose body in front of her, she wondered what to say. She had always felt comfortable talking to him, but now the words just wouldn't come. Elizabeth closed her eyes and thought about everything the had been through since arriving in Atlantis. The man certainly had a knack for getting into trouble, that was for sure. He always ended up with more than he bargained for, but his heart was always in the right place. It brought a smile to her face. He was lucky, and she hoped his luck continued to hold strong, just a little longer.

"I worry about you, you know that?" she began without thinking. Elizabeth let the words flow, from wherever her thoughts decided to take her. In a way, she was glad he was unconscious while she spoke. She felt vulnerable. Never before had she been so frank and so open with her feelings with him, and she was afraid what his response might have been. What if he didn't feel the same way? In any case, she needed to get them off her chest.

"Well, I do," she continued. "Every time you step through that goddamn Gate, I worry. Sure, when other teams are off world, I get a little concerned… but with you, it's different. When you're gone, I'm a mess," she managed with a chuckle. "I mean, you should have seen me a few days ago." Elizabeth smirked, slightly embarrassed at the wreck she was when she had returned from the planet Klaan without him. She could only imagine how she had looked then.

Her face fell and her tone grew more serious. "But every time you're gone, it's like I have an anxiety attack. I lose sleep, I'm always in the control room monitoring your progress…. Ask Grodin. He's probably sick of seeing me by now. I actually find excuses to stay in my office so that I can keep an eye on the Gate, just so I can watch for you to come back. And when you see me, there to greet you by the railing after every mission, I may look composed, but I can't begin to tell you how relieved I am each time I see you walk through that puddle.

"And then, of course, there are those times when you don't come back alright - which is getting to be a bad habit of yours, I might add," she said with feigned criticism. "God, it scares me. I can honestly say that it scares me. I keep thinking of what went wrong, what we could have done to prevent it from happening…. And then you get well. You get well like you always do, I put you back on active duty, and the cycle starts all over again."

She paused, not sure of where to go from here. What was she trying to say? Why had she just said all those things? Was it because she was afraid he was going to die, and that she wouldn't get another chance to tell him how she felt? Or was it because she knew he would recover, and this was the only time she could actually show her true feelings, when he was unconscious? Either way, she knew she was a coward. For whatever reason, she felt she couldn't have done this earlier, and she regretted that now more than ever.

"So…. Just get well, so things can be normal again, and so I can go back to worrying." She smiled sadly and sat back in her chair.

Beckett watched on sympathetically from his office as she began her vigil.

TBC


Yup, Beckett's a softy. I know not much went on in this chapter, just hang on for a little bit. Stay tuned for more updates soon!