A/N: Hello everyone. It's with a heavy heart that I report that my mother-in-law passed away this past week. It has been a very difficult and emotional time for me and my husband so I won't have a chance to post as often as I would like. Plus, I'm going to need some time to think this story through since it's a WIP and I'm making it up as I go. Thanks to my reviewers for hanging in there with me and here's a chapter that I had sketched out this past wee to tie you over. Please see notes below...
Chapter 12: Comms and Cards
Dr. Weir woke up thinking about her encounter with Dr. McKay the evening before. She felt she had done a good job of deflecting his questions but she wished she wouldn't have had to. Elizabeth understood his concerns and wondered how many others wanted to know what was going on. She hadn't even considered what must be going around the rumor mill by now.
It had been almost a week since Major Sheppard and Teyla had returned through the Stargate and she could just imagine what was being discussed among the staff. Perhaps it was time that she made a formal announcement about the Major's condition. He seemed to be doing better. Physically, he was making great strides. Mentally...that was another story. She wouldn't have to go into detail about the abuse he had received. That was for John to share if he chose to.
She should at least talk to the team. Leaving them in the dark much longer was going to be difficult at the least. Teyla would definitely want to see the Major when she got back from the mainland having shared the negative experience with him and wanting to offer her support. Dr. Weir was surprised that she hadn't heard from her, by now, asking...no...demanding to see him.
Dr. Beckett couldn't keep visitors at bay for much longer. Both of them were running out of excuses. They would have to discuss the Major's condition eventually. The hard part was going to be to convince the Major to allow them tell the team.
After, she showered and dressed, Dr. Weir decided that she would start her day with her usual steaming cup of coffee before heading to the infirmary for her daily visit with the Major. She headed for the mess hall where she was met with several "Good morning, Dr. Weir's."
The greetings made her realize that she hadn't been too visible to the crew all week having been so wrapped up with the Major's recovery. She recognized some of the staff from the weekend night shift just getting off for the morning. Hardly anyone else would be awake this early.
She was looking forward to her morning coffee but she was looking even more forward to spending some more quality time with John. She smiled inwardly to herself glowing from the progress she had made with him the night before. They had had an entire conversation, stained as it was, but a conversation nonetheless.
Yes...she would be eager to check on his attitude today, confidant that she would soon have something positive to report to the team.
Dr. Beckett commed Dr. Weir in the hopes that she was already awake hoping to not disturb her sleep. He knew that she was a very early riser and might be up by now even on a weekend day. Of course, this was an emergency and she really needed to know what was going on with the Major so he was sure he would be forgiven if he caused her to awaken prematurely.
He hailed Dr. Weir at her quarters several times and much to his dismay, she did not respond. The Doctor moved on to trying her office and the control room to no avail. Beginning to feel a rush of anxiety and in a desperate attempt to reach Dr. Weir, he made a general public announcement.
"Dr. Weir, to the infirmary. Dr. Weir, you are needed in the infirmary."
The Doctor groaned inwardly at himself upon realizing what he had just done. The ramifications of the curiosity that this might generate were already weighing heavily on his conscious. What is done is done, he reasoned. Elizabeth had to know about the Major and know now.
There was a moment of hushed silence when the page came over the general comm system. This was rarely used except for the time when the young Athosian boy, Jinto, had gotten lost in an unexplored part of the city encountering a strange shadow entity. Curiosity of who was being called got the best of the few crew members in the infirmary and they stopped to stare momentarily in Dr. Weir's direction whispers of inquisitiveness arising between them.
Dr. Weir, upon hearing herself being hailed, dropped the cup of coffee she was pouring for herself and, spilling half of its contents, immediately headed for the mess hall exit. She became aware of her heart pounding in her chest. Her mind was racing. Was something wrong with John? Was there an emergency? She was gripped with a deep sense of anticipatory anxiety.
In her haste and being lost in thought, she didn't see the figure that was headed towards her at the exit until it was too late. She nearly ran headlong into Dr. McKay and had to stop herself short before a full-frontal collision ensued. Rodney looked up, momentarily surprised. "Oh...Dr. Weir, just the person I need to see," he said taking advantage of the situation and half blocking Dr. Weir's way.
"Not now, Rodney," Dr. Weir said emphatically in her 'get out of my way now voice' raising a halting hand.
"But...it's important," Rodney replied side-stepping Dr. Weir.
"It's going to have to wait until later," Dr. Weir said beginning to get extremely frustrated with the delay of getting to the infirmary and to the Major.
"But...," Dr. McKay started again.
"Rodney," Elizabeth stated stretching out her voice in a low, threatening manner. "Later!" she firmly stated.
Dr. McKay getting the message, finally moved to one side letting Dr. Weir continue on to her destination. "Promise?" he called after her, completely clueless of Dr. Weir's haste.
"I promise," Dr. Weir cried over her shoulder as she rushed towards the infirmary.
Rodney watched Dr. Weir for a few more seconds until she fianlly disappeared around a corner. Perplexed, he wondered why she was in such a hurry. Probably had something to do with the page from the infirmary...of course...the Major. The realization hit him like a freight train. He would have to get the scoop on that later deciding that his dulled senses must be from a lack of food.
In the kitchen area, he grabbed some reconstituted powered eggs and a cup of coffee and headed to a nearby table to sit down and eat his breakfast. His mind was a jumble of thoughts and he could only imagine what was going on in the infirmary with the Major. He hoped it wasn't anything serious. Of course, they would let them know if it was serious...wouldn't they?
A dark-skinned young man appeared before Dr. McKay, a tray of food in his hands. It was Lt. Ford. "Good morning, Dr. McKay. May I join you?" he asked with military politeness and a never ceasing, infectious, toothy smile plastered on his face.
"Sure, have a seat." Rodney liked Ford well enough. He was like an annoying little brother at times but he appreciated Ford's acceptance of him. He didn't think there was anyone the young man didn't like or didn't get along with.
"So...what do you think that was all about?" he asked Dr. McKay referring to Dr. Weir rushing out of the mess hall after being commed.
"Hmm... What? What was what all about?" an extremely preoccupied Rodney McKay asked plastic fork mid-way up to his mouth.
"Dr. Weir, practically running out of the mess hall," Ford reiterated pointing towards the exit. He liked Dr. McKay well enough, but sometimes he could be so...absent-minded.
"Oh...yes, something having to do with Major Sheppard, probably," he said still miffed from being brushed aside by Dr. Weir once again although she probably had good reason. "I ran into Dr. Weir on the way over here and when I asked about the Major, she practically bit my head off. It appeared she was in a hurry to get to the infirmary."
"You don't think something is seriously wrong with the Major, do you?" Lt. Ford suddenly sobered, worry in his tone. He was glad that Dr. McKay was there and that he had someone to voice his concerns to.
"I don't know, Lieutenant. I'm really starting to get really concerned about the situation. Dr. Weir and Carson have been awfully secretive all week."
"Tell me about it," Lt. Ford pouted, "I gave up asking Dr. Weir about how the Major was doing and trying to visit him. The Doc has the infirmary shut up tight with no one in or out."
"Hmmm...yes, I tried on more than one occasion to ask Dr. Weir about the Major and she keeps brushing me off. She insists that he's fine and just needs a little more time to heal but I'm not buying that story."
"I hope he's okay. It's not like the Major to stay in the infirmary for this long.
He hates the infirmary," he said with sadness for his commanding officer in his voice.
"Good point," Dr. McKay agreed feeling not too happy himself. The two men continued to eat their breakfast in silence each inwardly contemplating Major Sheppard's quandry.
Lt. Ford brightened abruptly, a huge grin on his face not being one to stay discouraged for too long. "Maybe the Major just needs some cheering up. I know, we could send him some get well cards. Maybe even get him some flowers from the mainland," he added with a heart full of joy.
"What good would that do?" Rodney asked truly unaware.
"Come on, Dr. McKay. Don't you like getting greeting cards and flowers? Hasn't anyone ever given you a birthday card?"
"Well...no...not really," Dr. McKay stated in a 'should someone have' voice.
Lt. Ford felt sorry for Dr. McKay every once in a while. This was one of those times. It didn't take too much for him to imagine the physics genius not being popular enough to get greeting cards growing up. Social skills were not, afterall, Dr. McKay's forte.
"Well, take my word for it. It will cheer him up."
"Okay, if you insist," Rodney shrugged really not getting it, "...but where are we going to get greeting cards from? It's not like we can just gate to the nearest Hallmark store and purchase them."
"C'mon, Doc, use your imagination. We'll make them ourselves. Haven't you ever heard that homemade is more meaningful?" he chided Dr. McKay good naturedly. He couldn't believe that this brilliant scientist could be so impractical.
"W...we?" Rodney stammered.
"Yes...we," Lt. Ford emphasized.
"Lieutenant, if you haven't noticed, I have no artistic ability whatsoever," Rodney protested.
"Don't need any, we'll use Publisher. It has the pictures already drawn for you," Lt. Ford replied shrugging off Dr. McKay's protestations.
"Oh..." was all Dr. McKay could say as Lt. Ford stated the obvious. Taking the clueless physicist by the arm, the Lieutenant proceeded to lead him to the closest laptop and printer. This was going to be so much fun and it would be something productive to do rather than sit there and brood all day over what was wrong with the Major.
R/N:
Chamonix: Thanks for the tip. I didn't mean to confuse anyone. In fact, I'm really good at confusing myself so I can see how this happened. This was my attempt at using a bibliography in APA style which I am more familiar with. I will make note of what I credit at the top next time. You just don't know who might be reading your stories and I didn't want to be accused or plagiarism.
SKRoberts: I think I prefer to be addressed as "Wicked Evil." I do take that as a compliment. I blame my childhood. My husband has been teasing me and thinks I can give Steven King a run for his money. I'm really nice once you get to know me. :smiles sweetly:
Marlin 71: Thanks so much for hanging in there with me. You're comments have been helpful and inspiring. I was so excited to hear you got the connection between John and Elizabeth's three tormentors. The subconscious can be a powerful thing. That's exactly what I was going for.
Madame Hardy: Currently, Teyla is on the mainland recovering from her part of the ordeal with her people. I did intend to write her back in, I promise. Maybe even with a vengeance :LOL: This is my first fic ever so I'm not very skilled yet at developing characters and weaving them all into a story. It will be good practice for me to find her a place in the scheme of things.
Zimbing: Glad to know I got the emotions right.
EosHeliosSelene: Thanks so much for catching that. I should have researched it more thoroughly. If you take out Dr. Beckett's line about John having a seizure plus the other reference to a seizure, it should fix the scene or you could chuck it up to a frazzled Dr. Beckett.
Allegra: Thanks for hanging in there. I hope I can keep on impressing you. I'm going to watch the medical stuff a little closer so that it's even more authentic.
Wolf Maid: Glad to hear you're enjoying the story. Stay tuned.
nebbyJ: I won't ever explicitly describe sexual abuse. Not my cup of tea. I do prefer to focus on the recovery aspect. This is a tough subject and I'm glad you enjoyed my story enough to see past me alluding to the violence. I'm also much more interested in emotional cognition. It's the counselor in me.