4
Ronon flies through the wormhole, hitting the gate room floor hard, rolls over and is on his feet in an instant. He puts only a little weight on his right leg, still smarting from the arrow that he pulled out. He helps McKay up. "I'm good." And the gate shuts off.
Dr. Beckett and his staff are already in the gate room with four gurneys. Sheppard's instantly put on one against his wishes. But Teyla declines though she helps a wobbly McKay onto one. "I do believe you are truly injured, Dr. McKay."
McKay looks up at her with wide eyes. "I am?" He flops down onto the mattress. "Okay."
Teyla looks to Dr. Beckett. "He hit is head on the floor when he came through." Dr. Beckett nods in understanding then turns to Ronon.
"That's a bad limp, son. Get on board."
"I'm fine."
"Sure you say. But I'm the doctor here. I'll make that determination on my own."
Ronon steps right up to the doctor, towering over him, invading his space. "I said I'm fine."
"For crying out loud, shut up and get your ass on the damn gurney!" Ronon visibly bristles at the sharp voice and he turns to see Jax standing beside the rolling bed with her hands on her hips and that look of defiance in her eyes.
The room falls silent as everyone waits for Ronon to whip out his gun and shoot her. He's extremely tempted and for some reason he thinks she knows it and is purposely goading him into action. He can sense the guards around the gate room ready to take defensive action though he's not sure who they'd really shoot.
Sheppard sighs heavily. "Just do it, Ronon. We don't need a whole lot of blood in the gate room right now."
"Is that an order, Sheppard?"
Sheppard scowls at him the same way he did when they were tied up in the criminal's camp. Ronon growls as he sits on the gurney. It takes three men to wheel him to the infirmary but only two in Sheppard's case.
Dr. Beckett assesses Teyla before handing her a couple of white tablets and a glass of water. "You're fine lass. Let me know if your headache gets worse."
"Thank you. I will." She takes the medicine, nods to both Sheppard and Ronon.
"Go take a nap, Teyla. We'll get you for the de-brief." Teyla nods again, this time with a small smile then heads out the doors.
"She looks wiped," Sheppard says to Dr. Beckett.
"Aye. But she's a strong lass. I'm sure a bit of rest will do just the trick." The doctor moves on to McKay. "Do you feel queasy, Rodney?" McKay shakes his head a little bit then moans at the motion and both hands fly to his head, covering his eyes. "You have a slight concussion, so I'm keeping you here for observation." The other doctor doesn't so much as whine, which tells Ronon he's actually hurt. Then Dr. Beckett checks on Sheppard as a nurse carefully takes off Ronon's boot and removes the bandage Teyla applied earlier.
"You bruised your ribs again, Colonel."
"Well not on purpose. Tell me something I don't know."
"You're gonna live, how's that." Sheppard chuckles softly as the doctor looks over the back of his head. "A couple of nasty gashes here, though. You got a good walloping didn't you, son."
"As usual."
"I keep warning ya about how you talk to people. Nobody likes a smart-ass."
Sheppard winces a bit as the doctor probes his wounds. "Yeah, especially psychotic convicts being served up as Wraith food."
"At least you won't be needing stitches, so we won't be needing to add to your crappy haircut." Sheppard rolls his eyes. "But they do need a good cleaning. Jax?" Dr. Beckett calls. She appears almost out of no where and Ronon cringes. "The Colonel here has some head lacs that need cleaning. No stitches. Topical anesthetic." Jax nods then rushes off without a word. When she returns she's gloved up and carrying a small tray.
"Hi again," Sheppard says.
She smiles a little. "Hi."
Sheppard turns his head toward Ronon so she can work. "Given any more thought to my idea?"
"Not really, no," she says with a slight blush in her cheeks.
"C'mon. It's a morale booster."
Jax's eyes dart to the ceiling then back down to the task at hand. She takes a deep breath, but when she talks, her voice is low almost a whisper. "It's also a lot of hard work."
Sheppard smirks at Ronon. "But you thrive on hard work."
The red in Jax cheeks deepens just before she says, "I'm sure I can convince the ladies-"
"Good." Sheppard cuts her off.
"-if you join my class," she finishes.
Sheppard's eyes nearly pop out of his head and Ronon has to force a laugh to stay down. "Now, wait-" Sheppard holds up a finger.
"That's the deal," she sighs.
"That's just so…wrong," Sheppard whines.
"C'mon, Colonel," Ronon starts. "I'm sure she can teach you all sorts of moves." The moment it's out of his mouth, Ronon realizes it's a mistake.
There's a darkness in her eyes, and he's not thinking about the rich brown color either. It's only a flash, but it startles him a bit as her gaze latches onto his, it's a deep well of rage. He's seen it before…in the mirror. In an instant the raw emotion is covered by a thick wall of ice. She dips her head, attending to the Colonel in silence.
A moment later, Sheppard scowls at him, mouthing: What'd you have to say that for? Ronon shrugs and shakes his head.
"Dr. Beckett. It's clean through the muscle," the nurse checking Ronon's ankles says.
Dr. Beckett comes over and looks at the ankle. "You're lucky lad. Could have hit a bone or artery. Okay, then. It'll take a while to heal, son." Dr. Beckett turns to the nurse. "Flush it, pack it, wrap him up." Dr. Beckett raises his brows at Ronon. "I'm assuming you won't mind a local this time?"
"Local what?"
"Anesthesia, son. It won't knock you out, but will numb up the wound so we can work."
Ronon looks to Sheppard. "Would you?"
Sheppard opens his eyes; he seems almost drowsy as Jax works on him. "Hell yeah." Then he closes his eyes again, a content smile turning up his lips.
Ronon grunts to Dr. Beckett. "Fine. Do it."
Jax finishes cleaning up Sheppard's wounds and moves away silently, stripping off her gloves. The moment she stops working, his smile falls and he opens his eyes. "Done already?" Jax nods as she takes her tray and disappears, smiling softly but not once locking her eyes on Sheppard's. Once she's out of earshot, Sheppard leans over to Ronon. "She's got the most relaxing touch."
Ronon remembers how swiftly, but feather light her fingers worked to remove his stitches a couple weeks before. "Too bad the rest of her is so annoying."
Sheppard shakes his head as he gets up. "Get over yourself; I saw how you looked at her in the gym. And all those questions…you think she's hot."
"She's a pain in the ass," Ronon grumbles.
"Please…" McKay groans from his bed on the other side of Ronon. "You so want to pull her pig tails and punch her in the shoulder."
"What?"
"He's saying you like her," Sheppard says quietly as he picks up his vest and gun. "By the way, you're one to talk, McKay," the Colonel adds as he heads out the door without a glance back.
The scientist covers his eyes with his arm. "At least I'm willing to admit it to myself. If…not… to anyone else," he adds sourly.
A moment later there's a cool spot on Ronon's arm. He looks over just in time to see Jax pushing the plunger on a needle. "What's that?"
"Tetanus." Then she walks away.