Disclaimer: I do not own any Stargate Atlantis characters. This is purely for R and R. No profits are made!
WARNING: This story contains mature violent themes such as torture. Please be advised that material may not be suitable for all audiences.
A/N: Wow...I actually have a couple of reviews and I just posted last night. Thanks to my reviewers. I appreciate your comments. Hang on, its going to be a bumpy ride for poor Shep. If you are at all squeamish about torture please stop reading now. However, if you enjoy hurt and comfort continue on. Please be warned that there are violent adult themes in this story but I think I have hinted and handled them in a dignified manner.
Chapter 2: The Exam
Major Sheppard was vaguely aware of his surroundings. He could detect a familiar smell like a hospital. "Oh, God," he thought. "What are they going to do to me, now?"
He heard a voice calling his name. Could it be? Was it? It was Dr. Beckett's voice. He'd recognize that accent anywhere. Maybe things weren't so bad, after all.
"Major Sheppard? John? Can you hear me," the Doctor gently probed?
The Major glanced in the Doctor's direction. That was good enough for him and sighed in relief seeing that the Major was somewhat coherent.
"John, I have to do a thorough exam on you. This will be uncomfortable since I can't give you anything for the pain until I know what's going on with you," he explained seriously.
Upon further inspection, the Doctor found some broken ribs on the Majors left side, a slight concussion, and as he suspected possible internal bleeding since the Major had blood in his mouth. He hissed and groaned in pain throughout the examination.
In addition, the Doctor found some rather nasty cuts and bruises on his back and shoulders along with some burn marks that looked like they might have been inflicted with some type of electrical prod device.
There was one area of the Majors body that was particularly distressing and unsettling to the good Doctor. John's olive green government issue DVD's were caked with blood in a rather sensitive area.
In as reassuring a voice as possible, Doctor Beckett gave John some unpleasant news. "I'm going to have to perform a rectal exam. It's going to be very uncomfortable for the both of us," he said as he put on a fresh pair of examining gloves.
The Major's breathing had become faster and more labored. He would have been in full panic mode had it not been for his weakened condition. Dr. Beckett, with the aid of a tech, gently rolled the Major onto his right side. Dr. Beckett moved as swiftly and deftly as he could without sacrificing thoroughness. He felt John thrashing and quivering. The Major was not too thrilled about reliving one of his worst nightmares.
"No," followed by a much longer, "nooooo" was mumbled by John weakly as the Doctor continued with the exam.
The nightmare was finally over. "Okay, John. We're all done," the Doctor reported as he changed gloves once more. He turned his friend around on his back with the help of the tech, quickly covering his bare body with a sheet.
"I'm going to have to check you around your groin area. You have some nasty bruising and I'm concerned about internal bleeding," the Doctor explained.
The Major looked at him with how much worse can this get eyes? He closed his eyes tightly while the Doctor proceeded as if this action would will the unpleasant situation to go away.
"Do you feel any pain or tenderness?" he asked his reluctant patient. The Major shook his head "no" almost imperceptibly.
Satisfied, the Doctor moved up to the Major's lower abdomen. "How about here." As he pressed down on a bruised area, the Major let out a startled grunt as a sore spot was discovered. Great, the Doctor thought to himself. Add internal bleeding to the list.
Dr. Beckett ordered a series of x-rays and blood tests. This was going to be a very long evening. His first task was to decide where to start. The internal bleeding would have to be dealt with right away which meant surgery. Then there was the matter of the rectal tearing and burns he found in that tender area. This was going to be a bit tricky. Lucky for him, he had one hell of a surgical nurse on his team.