THE TRENCH
PART NINE: INFIRMARY PERSPECTIVES (PART TWO)

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When Sheppard woke again, it was to the feeling of someone holding his hand. His fingers twitched a little, and the grip tightened then loosened, and he couldn't decide if he liked it or not. Then the touch went away, and his hand felt cold.

He decided he liked it.

He must have moved his hand, because the grip returned.

Smiling a little, he blinked his eyes open, watching the white fuzziness recede and managing to tilt his head enough to see who was holding his hand.

Teyla smiled back at him. She looked a little odd. Paler than normal, her lips slightly chapped, and her hair was hidden inside a green scrub cap. A few stray, red hairs were loose, however, and, oddly, Sheppard wanted to reach out and tuck them behind her ears.

"Hi," she said softly, her smile blooming to full wattage as he smiled back.

"Hey," he croaked softly. "Carson let you out?" His voice was a scratchy mess, but Teyla didn't seem to mind. She just stood, her movements a little slow, and reached for something next to his bed. Turning his head to watch, he saw her pour water into a glass.

And through the glass, he saw Rodney. His eyes narrowed, focusing on the man on the far bed. Rodney's head was tilted away from him, but once thing Sheppard could see was that he was no longer on the ventilator. Had to be a good thing.

Teyla saw him looking, and, as she handed him the cup, she spoke again.

"Doctor Beckett has assured me he will be fine. He has woken a couple of times, though never for more than a few moments and I don't think he has really 'awakened' exactly." She shrugged, looking over at the sleeping scientist. "They have removed the apparatus that was helping him breathe, however. I understand that it means his throat is healing well, despite the damage that the water on that planet inflicted."

Sheppard nodded, drinking for a moment before noting, "Gives new meaning to the phrase, 'don't drink the water,' doesn't it." Too late it occurred to him that she wouldn't have a clue as to what he meant by that.

Indeed, Teyla paused as she sat back down, looking tired just from her effort, but not about to let that one slip by. Her eyebrows lifted in curiosity.

"That's a common phrase on your world?"

Sheppard just waved her off, "Not important." He pushed himself up a little on the bed, to relieve his sore muscles from lying in one place for too long, and then looked at her anew. This time, his eyes were perfectly clear, and the question on his face obvious. Teyla's smile fell.

"How is he?" he asked, looking vaguely towards the door of the room they were in.

She sighed, having been expecting that.

"Lieutenant Ford is," she paused, as if gathering her thoughts, "still alive. However, he has not regained consciousness. They monitor his condition frequently, and they have not let me into see him yet. I am very worried." She shook her head, allowing more of the reddish hair to slip free. "I do not like that it has been so long."

"How long has it been?" Sheppard asked, honestly curious.

"Nearly twenty four hours since you returned through the Stargate with him, from what I understand. Lieutenant Ford was in surgery with Dr. Biro and Dr. Weathers for nearly eight of those hours." She sighed, leaning back in the chair and no longer trying to cover up that it shook her to see the usually vibrant young man brought so low. "Doctor Beckett has assured me that he did well, and that they are strongly encouraged with the state of his recovery so far, but I still worry."

"But…Beckett thinks he will be okay?"

She looked up at him, and found he was smiling. There was hope in his smile. It was the same hope she had sensed on Athos, when she first saw him. Hope and honesty.

"Yes," she replied, soaking it up, "Doctor Beckett believes he will be all right."

"Then that's all I need to know." He shifted again, closing his eyes.

She watched him a moment, then began to smile. She had been afraid to hope, but if the major believed…then so could she.

In a moment, she realized his breathing had evened out, and she sighed. Looking down at her hands, she sought solace in the calm he seemed to have right now, knowing that all his team members were home and well. It had been terrifying for her, waking up in the infirmary for the first time, finding herself with none of her teammates, especially when her last memory had been firing back at a large number of faceless opponents. She'd been trying to protect the doctor, but she couldn't even protect herself, having looked in shock at the dart she'd pulled from her neck before the world had gone dark. Then to wake up and learn that, not only had Doctor McKay saved her life, but that he, the major, and Lieutenant Ford were all still on the planet! It had taken until now—until she had seen the major smile at her information about Ford—that she finally felt a little better.

It would be all right now, she decided. It would.

A noise from her left had her looking towards Doctor McKay. She saw him lift a bandaged finger, and his head moved slightly.

Pressing her hands to the wheels of her chair, she shifted around and rolled over to his bed. As with Major Sheppard, she reached out and took Doctor McKay's hand, though more gently. The major's hands were lightly bandaged, whereas the scientist's were more heavily wrapped. Doctor McKay also had strips of gauze on his face, down the sides and across his forehead, the thin white fabric speckled with blood. Doctor Beckett had assured her that his face, just like the major's, would heal just fine in a few weeks, but right now it looked terrible to her.

He shifted again, and she stood up, leaning against his bed. A moment's worth of standing was all she felt up to before she was shifting to sit on the edge next to him, her eyes watching as his head turned a little.

As she had told the major, Doctor McKay hadn't woken up fully yet, which was something she had been waiting for ever since Doctor Beckett cleared her to come and sit with the two men.

The fingers flexed again in his hand, and she squeezed them lightly, to let him know it was okay to wake up.

She saw his brow furrow slightly, then, slowly, the eyes fluttered open. They were bloodshot and shadowed, but, for the first time, seemed cognizant of what they were seeing. Comprehension, however, was another mater.

"Doctor," she whispered, encouraging him to tilt his head in her direction. He obliged, moving over and looking up at her with confused blue eyes. She smiled.

"You are home," she promised him, "And you are going to be fine."

He just blinked, then opened his mouth to speak, but she quickly rested her fingers on his chapped lips.

"No, do not speak. You should not do so yet. Your throat was badly damaged." She smiled again at the furrowed brow he gave her in response, but at least he did as he was told. She tilted her head, "Do you remember what happened?"

McKay stared at her a minute, then his eyes widened. His lips mouthed two words, each Teyla caught easily. "Ford?" "Sheppard?"

She nodded, "The major is to your left. He will be fine. Just sleeping. Lieutenant Ford…," She paused, then, with the same confidence she had gleaned from the major, smiled and said, "Doctor Beckett says he will also be all right. He was badly hurt, but he is still alive and will get well."

McKay watched her for a moment, then, slowly mouthed, "And you?"

She smiled more broadly, "I will be fine as well. Thanks to you. I understand the bruising on my stomach is your shoulder's doing?"

He winced a little, opening his mouth, but she raised her hand again to stop him, and shook her head.

"I was joking, Doctor." She lowered her eyes, then lifted them again, to meet his gaze squarely. "Thank you."

He gave a tiny, wry smile at that, then lifted a hand, as if to say something, and frowned to find it covered in bandages. He lifted the other then, finding them both basically immobilized by the bandages, his eyes widening in fear. As if just then realizing why he was there, he started to get agitated, opening his mouth to speak again, despite her order from earlier. She leaned over him, gripping his upper arms to stop him from flailing more with his arms, and to force him to look directly at her before he could actually emit a sound.

"Listen to me, Doctor McKay. You are fine. The water on that planet was acidic, and it burned your nose, throat, hands and face. But they will all heal. It will take some time, but you will heal. You will have your hands back."

His eyes, which had been panicked, became calmer as she spoke, until only a look of frustration remained. He mouthed, "how long?"

"For your voice? A couple of days, from what I have been told. As for your hands, you should be able to start using them again in about a week, though with restrictions."

The pained look returned to his face, and she tried to appear encouraging. "I am sure you will not even notice the time is passing." She leaned away, stifling a yawn. He continued to watch her, perhaps noticing for the first time how unwell she still looked, and the concern on his face was plain. For the first time, she realized how easy he was to read when he was tired. With another patented smile, she patted his arm.

"I am fine," she promised again "I just need some rest." He nodded slowly, then tried to smile again. She didn't say it out loud, but she couldn't help thinking he was much nicer this way.

He arched an eyebrow, and her smile suddenly grew more sheepish. He couldn't have known what she was thinking, could he? Perhaps Doctor McKay was not the only one who was easy to read when tired.

Coughing slightly, she pushed herself back off the bed and sat down in her chair. He followed her with his eyes, though they began to blink in that sort of dreamy way he had when he was tired. Nodding to him she leaned back in the chair and sighed.

"Go back to sleep," she told him. "Everything will be all right now."

And so he did.

And Teyla basked in the ringing truth of her statement as she watched both of her teammates home, safe and warm. Yes, everything would be all right now….

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TBC…two more parts to go. Got to explain that weird planet, don't ya know….Anyone guess it yet? LOL!