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Chapter 6
Kavanagh lurked outside the infirmary in the darkened hallway. Fortunately there wasn't much traffic at 3:30 in the morning. He wasn't sure what he would tell anyone who came along and questioned his actions. He was just hoping not to get caught. He gently fingered the smooth stone in his pocket, then suddenly let go as he remembered what it was capable of. He was pretty sure he was safe since he didn't have the ancient gene, but why take chances. He risked another peak into the infirmary to see if the nurse was still at the desk at one end of the general ward. She was. He pulled back out of the doorway. How could he get her out of there?
His thoughts were interrupted by a muffled crash from inside the infirmary. He leaned forward far enough to see the desk. The nurse was not there. Finally. He leaned forward a little more and then he saw her. She had her back to him, looking into the doorway of another room. "Dr. Strauhan? Are you alright?" He heard the muted sounds of a reply and then the nurse walked into the back room.
Kavanagh seized the opportunity, swiftly moving to the opposite side of Sheppard's bed and squatting on the floor beside him. He should be hidden here if the nurse returned before he left. He watched Sheppard for a second, making sure the major was sleeping. Confident that the man was out, he slowly opened Sheppard's hand and dropped the stone in his palm, closing his fingers over the stone. He tried to time how long he left the stone in the major's hand, but he was so afraid of getting caught that his attention kept wandering. He realized the nurse was coming back this way, talking to the doctor as she moved. Great. That probably meant they would both be here shortly. He had to get out now and he had no idea how long the major had held the rock in his hand. He pulled back the limp fingers and grabbed the rock. He smiled as he realized it was warm. Suddenly looking concerned, he grabbed some gauze pads off the shelf to wrap the stone in as he quietly exited the infirmary.
A short time later, Sheppard awoke suddenly, not immediately aware of what had wrenched him to consciousness. He lay still a second, listening to the monitor in the quiet darkness. Then he felt it. His muscles were beginning to twitch in a random, racing pattern. Panic suddenly crushed over his chest, causing him to desperately gasp for breath as he realized it was starting again. Lightning hot pain suddently raced through his chest and into his abdomen. Unprepared for the sudden and startling pain, he cried out as he rolled to his side and drew his legs up to his chest. "Noooooooo!" The movement was so sudden that he rammed his face into the bedrails as he began gagging and vomiting, the pain already beginning to crescendo to an agonizing peak. "No! No!...No!"
Dr. Nick Strauhan and Kelly Chastain, the nurse on duty, heard the tortured wail of Sheppard at the same time. Hair standing up on the back of his neck, Nick rushed to Sheppard's bed to find him curled on his side, heaving and moaning, his face pressed against the rails. Kelly turned on the lamp beside the bed.
"Major Sheppard?" Nick tried to pull Sheppard back some and get his face out of the bedrail. Kelly had a damp cloth, wiping his face. His whole body was shaking violently and he was already drenched in sweat. "Major Sheppard, can you hear me?"
Sheppard managed to get his eyes open and look at Nick. If there had ever been a more haunted or fearful expression, Nick hadyet to seeit. "Star...starting...again...can't...can't do...this...again...can't...You have to...make stop." He groaned and snapped his eyes shut in response to a wave white hot pain slicing through his arms and back. "Ohhhhhh!" He arched his back up and drove the back of his head into the pillow, desperately gasping for air. It seemed like several minutes before his body came back down to lie flat, and even then his breathing was ragged and uneven. It sounded almost like someone having a severe asthma attack. "He's having trouble breathing. Get me an oxygen mask and then...I guess you'd better call Dr. Beckett. It looks like we're going for another ride."
Beckett made it to the infirmary in record time. He found Nick and Kelly trying to change Sheppard's gown and sheets while not pulling any monitor leads off or the remaining IV line out. The task was made nearly impossible by Sheppard's violent thrashing. Beckett immediately noticed the oxygen mask and Sheppard's pallid appearance. "What happened?" he asked as he jumped in to help with the task at hand.
"I don't know," Nick explained as they worked. "He's been resting comfortably all night until just a few minutes ago. We heard him call out and when we got over here, he was already beginning to flail around. He managed to tell me it was starting again and..." Nick stopped, looking sad and troubled.
"And what?" inquired Beckett, carefully noting the doctor's expression.
Nick looked up at Beckett. "He said...He said he couldn't do it again. He asked me to make it stop. He looked so...so frightened. Carson, I know the situation, but there's got to be something we can do. I have a bad feeling that this time is going to be a lot rougher. He's already having trouble breathing, and it's only just begun."
"Aye, he's still very weak from the first round. What I don't understand is how did he come into contact with anythin'. He's been in the infirmary the last three days. How did he get exposed to...whatever this is...again?"
Nick shook his head. "I don't know...this doesn't make any sense. Could he have harbored some of the toxin in an organ...the liver or something...and then rereleased it as the blood levels dropped?"
"I suppose it's possible. Let's get new bloodwork done. Once we see the levels, we'll have a better idea if it was something like that or a new exposure."
Elizabeth walked into the mess hall to fill her coffee cup on her way to the infirmary. She actually felt rested and relaxed for the first time in days. She was working hard not to have a literal spring in her step that would be obvious to everyone around her. She planned on sitting and talking with John before she went to her office and the daily chores of running Atlantis. This was going to be such a good day.
"Hey Elizabeth! You're looking happy this morning." She glanced over at Rodney McKay, who had come up beside her to fill his own coffee cup.
"I might say the same thing about you. Did you sleep well?"
McKay nodded, a big grin plastered to the front of his face. "I most certainly did...slept like a baby. And now I'm starving. Want to eat breakfast with me?"
"Thank you, but no. I'm just getting coffee."
"Off to see the major?" asked Rodney, a tell-tale twinkle in his eyes.
Elizabeth almost blushed. She tried to sound professional. "Yes, I thought I'd check on him before I head to the control room. I've got..." She put a finger to her headset and Rodney could tell she was listening. His smile began to fade as he watched the color drain from her face and the light in her eyes slowly dim. "Rodney's with me. I'll tell him. We'll be right there."
"Tell me what? We'll be right where? What's going on?" Even as he asked, his stomach clenched, He already knew the answer - Elizabeth had told him with her expression.
"It's John...it's started again." They stood in silence for a moment before abandoning their morning caffeine and heading to the infirmary, the smiles long gone.
Rodney and Elizabeth arrived in the infirmary a few minutes later. Carson and Nick were busy checking monitors and IV lines and trying to keep Sheppard still enough not to pull everything out. The rolling, shaking, and thrashing seemed at least as intense as it had before. Both noticed the addition of the oxygen mask.
"Carson?" Elizabeth called. "What happened?"
"I'm afraid it's back with a vengence. It started up about an hour or so ago without warning. No idea what brought it on. He's been shaking, vomiting, and rolling around ever since. He's havin' trouble breathin' this time, as well. We've been trying to get him settled...but we're not havin' much luck."
Rodney had begun to pace nervously. "I thought you said this was over. Carson, we told him it was over. How can this be starting again? What happened?"
"Calm down, Rodney. I don't know how this happened. His bloodwork should be back soon, That should tell us more. Until then, there's nothing we can do except try to make him more comfortable."
"Does he look comfortable to you?" Rodney shouted in frustration and anger. He looked down at the shaking, struggling figure, audibly moaning in pain as he shifted around in the bed. And then, he just couldn't watch any more. He felt the hopelessness rise up in him and threaten to take his breath away. He was nauseous from the rising anger at whoever would have done something like this, not once, but twice. "I can't watch this any more." Rodney stormed out of the infirmary before anyone could see the hot tears making a salty trail down his face.
They stood quietly watching the doorway, half expecting McKay to come back. But he didn't. No one was angry with him because they understood his anger and frustration. Elizabeth looked at Carson. "I guess I'd better tell Teyla and Lt. Ford."
By midmorning, Kavanagh could stand it no longer. He made his way to the infirmary to find out what was going on with Major Sheppard. Luck was with him again. He didn't actually have to go into the infirmary. He bumped into Kelly Chastain, coming off night duty, in the hall. He recognized her as the nurse he had watched early that morning from the hall.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Please excuse me," she said as they both recovered. "Guess I was a little distracted," she said sadly.
"That's quite all right. Aren't you one of the nurses?" he asked innocently. She nodded. "How's Major Sheppard? I heard he was doing better."
"Not any more, unfortunately. I'm afraid he's had a relapse of his symptoms, but maybe even worse this time."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope he gets better soon."
She nodded. "I think we all hope that. No one should have to go through that once, much less twice. If they ever figure out someone did this on purpose...let's just say they'll regret it. There's a lot of people in this city that would rip them limb from limb for making the major suffer like this." With that she walked down the hall, leaving a shaky Kavanagh to worry about getting caught. He would have to be very careful, he thought as he made his way to his lab to record his findings.
Radek Zelenka entered the lab to find McKay absent-mindedly fingering a small device left behind by the Ancients. He stopped and silently watched the man before speaking. "Rodney, what are you doing?"
McKay looked up from the device toward Radek. "I'm planting a garden. What does it look like I'm doing," he said sarcastically. "What do you want, Radek?"
"I'm wondering why you are here and not infirmary. I should think you'd be with the major. I see Dr. Weir in the hall and she told me what happened. You are worried about the major, yes?"
McKay quit trying to look interested in the ancient device and placed it on the table. "Yes, yes, of course I'm worried. I just don't seem capable of doing anything to help and...God help me, I just can't sit there and watch him suffer like that any more." McKay got up and began pacing nervously around the room. "I just need to be able to do something to help. I feel like we are missing something obvious. I feel so guilty...like I should be able to solve this and find a way...find a way to fix him. I can't just sit there any more." McKay ran his hand nervously through his hair as he continued to pace.
"I never know how selfish you really are til now," said Radek softly.
McKay stopped pacing to look curiously at the man. "What do you mean by that?"
"Is Major Sheppard a good friend or not?"
McKay looked down at his feet. "He's...he's my best friend."
"I know that Rodney," Zelenka said. "Now act like it. Friends are willing to sacrifice for one another, no?" McKay nodded, not sure where Zelenka was headed with this. "The major is hurting right now and he needs his friends around him. Dr. Beckett has said that this will be very hard on the major. His friends, they are staying with him...talking to him and touching him so that they might be a ...a link...so that he knows he does not do this alone. The doctor, he thinks this might help. Yes, it is hard to see friend in pain such as this...but he needs you, Rodney."
After a moment, Rodney slowly nodded. He knew Radek was right. Sheppard would be there for him. He may not be able to take the pain away, but at least he could help the major ride it out until it was gone. After the events of the morning, he wondered if it would ever be over. A chill ran through him as he realized that Sheppard must be wondereing the same thing. He looked at Radek, who was watching him intently.
"When did you get so smart, Radek?"
Zelenka smiled at him reassuringly. "I always this smart. You just not notice til now. Now go. Go help the major."
McKay paused and placed one hand on Zelenka's shoulder. "Thanks, Radek." Zelenka nodded and McKay headed for the infirmary.
McKay arrived in the infirmary to find the rest of the team assembled around Sheppard's bed, his condition apparently unchanged. Elizabeth smiled at him and nodded, obviously glad he had returned.
"Anything new?" he asked.
"Just his bloodwork. It's the same compound and the levels are sky high again. Carson said he was exposed to the same chemical again, but no one has a clue how with him lying in the infirmary. Someone's been with him almost every minute."
"Almost every minute. That's how. Someone is obviously doing this to him on purpose and they better hope I never catch up with them. They'll beg me to feed them to the wraith."
The others looked disturbed at what was increasingly looking like the only possible explanation. Someone was poisoning Sheppard. Ford looked at McKay. "Just be sure you save a piece for me."
By the morning of the next day, Sheppard was completely exhausted, both physically and mentally. At first he'd tried to grasp onto the conversation around him, at least enough to be aware of who was in the room. He was aware enough to realize they seemed to be staying with him in shifts. It seemed someone was always talking to him or touching him...someone familiar and comforting. As time wore on, however, the pain filled his consciousness more and more until he could process little else. He was still sporadically aware of voices and touches, but it was no longer enough to provde much comfort. The sharp, searing pain engulfed him as it rolled through his body like a tidal wave, taking away his breath again and again and again. It caught him unprepared, sending shock waves through him more and more often. He was losing the battle and he knew it. He simply didn't have the energy to fight any more.
He briefly opened his eyes and tried to focus. He was on his side and someone was standing next to him, mere inches away from his head. He could see their weapon strapped to their hip and in an instant, his scrambled thoughts not processing anything but the endless pain, he realized that the end to the pain was right in front of him. If he could just reach out his hand. He tried to reach for the weapon, but he lacked control of his body and he only succeeded in ramming his hand into the bedrail. This caught the attention of the people around him. Someone placed an ice chip in his mouth and he felt the coolness spread through his mouth and slide down his parched throat. Voices. Touches. He slipped back into the endless void of pain that had become his life, his chance of escape now gone.
TBC