Recovery 2
And on the first full day of their return to corporealness, Rodney watched them.
Ronon had been removed from the ventilator sometime during the night, but remained drugged to the gills. Carson said he would wake up a little later in the day. Rodney could not wait. Teyla and Sheppard remained on the machines. They had more tubing and wires snaking around them than a soda machine. There were IV's, catheters and leads to monitor blood volume, heart function, lung function and kidney function. All this function was progressing nicely according to the medicine man himself. However, his team still lingered very much in the woods.
Clad in scrubs, he sat on the side of his bed and listened. The proofs of life hissing, whirring, swooshing and beeping steadily. Every once in a while an alarm would go off. Usually an IV was too low or something else needed to be checked. At first the alarms scared him, but he grew accustomed to the annoying sounds.
They were separated from the rest of the patients in the infirmary. They were still in his ever watchful eyesight. Carson had mentioned they were highly susceptible to infection and needed to be away from germ carrying patients. That was everyone and anyone Rodney thought.
McKay smirked to himself. Even as a poltergeist, Sheppard had done him a favor. He could either get busy living or get busy dying to quote a line from a great movie. The image of his heart as a misshapen lump of gore in his chest did it for him. Actually, that would probably do it for anyone.
Heightmeyer and he had an appointment after lunch. He would reveal his epiphany and Sheppard's role in it. That ought to earn a session for the Colonel. He could see the indignation and white hot glare when he let Sheppard know he had told on him. Of course the entire infirmary had heard him. The man had not been using his indoor voice. Rodney had noticed the appalled and nervous looks on everyone's face who was present. Lorne's hand hovered over Sheppard's cube just in case. There was satisfaction in the knowledge Sheppard would have a little 'splaining to do- a good satisfaction this time.
Their resurrections were disturbing. Beckett's team practically manhandled them. Then there were the natural reactions to life returning to the corpsicles. The bruises darkening as the blood restarted flowing through their veins and arteries. As a matter of observation, he could not tell where one bruise began and the next one ended on Sheppard. Then there was the blood flowing out of any open wounds. Especially the one on Sheppard's chest. Reluctantly, Carson told him what had caused it. Rodney went ballistic. He compared everyone in the medical profession to Frankenstein and not the funny one from Mel Brooks. But the misguided one from Shelly. Not only were they accosted by that sick-o of a woman (that part he found out later) their own were trying to slice and dice them. Abracadabra.
He scratched at his healing scars. Just the fact that a scepter (or cursed monkey's paw if he stayed with the hocus pocus theme) was plunged into their abs and the fact they all felt it (he could tell) when it was pulled out, made him want to crawl under the covers and not come out until Christmas. But he was done hiding and done with being afraid of what ifs. There would always be what ifs. There was nothing he could do about them.
As he sat in his scrubs, scratching itchy scars and keeping an ever watchful eye on his team, he was viciously smacked in the back of the head.
"Ow! What the hell…Radek?" Rodney turned a violent eye towards his co-worker and friend.
"Making sure god amongst insects was not in full blown pity party." Radek plopped himself down next to McKay on the bed. "Making sure small violins were silent."
"Damn," McKay said rubbing his head. "You could've just asked."
"Last time I come in all nice and polite, you go goofy. This time I make sure marbles are all in right place."
"A-S-K, ask next time." He shifted on the bed to let Radek have more room. "Thanks."
He received another cuff.
"Son of a bitch! Stop it!"
"There you go being goofy again; who are you? Rodney McKay I know doesn't say thanks."
"Well, I'll say it only once and you shall never hear it again. It was for your work on the cubes, but never mind now. Fuck you and the horse you rode in on."
"Much better." Radek smiled valiantly. "You're welcome."
Radek joined him in his quiet vigil.
"Do you think Colonel would've crushed you heart like ripe tomato?"
"I saw the nutzoid look in his eye, you better believe it."
"I was trapped in small room with him- I do believe it. I was hoping you believed it." Radek ran his hand through his hair. "Let's hope he's much more stable when he wakes up."
Rodney pursed his lips and scrunched up his face. "Hadn't thought of that. Let's hope that being in their own bodies puts them back to carrying a full sea bag." He looked at Ronon. "Especially since Carson's waking up Conan this afternoon."
A crazy Satedan was not something he looked forward to.
"He looked like elephant ready to charge, now he has body to go with it," Radek added.
"His skull's got a hairline fracture and he's sportin' broken ribs- he won't be the charging bull yet."
"Wounded animals are more dangerous- yes?" Radek looked worried.
"Well…Maybe…Maybe I can convince Carson to keep the tranqs handy."
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And very early on the second day...
Ronon winced and scowled as the tube was removed from Teyla's throat. He rubbed at his own sore throat unconsciously as he rolled over in his bed to look at Sheppard. He was next.
The medical staff started clearing out so he could see her. She was surrounded by icepacks to ease her cracked vertebrae. Her ankle was set in a cast and her ribs were wrapped. They all shared the broken ribs from slamming into trees. McKay's were even bruised. The forest had won that contest. Beckett was waiting for the tests to confirm all internal injuries were well on their way to healing and stable before the army of mini robots could be unleashed into them.
He was not used to being such an invalid. But this was far better than the…sea of red. He could move albeit gingerly. He was even planning and looking forward to his exercise regimen. And then there was the food. So many things he wanted to eat and enjoy. Beckett had them on a restricted diet but afterwards look out. Soon, oh so very soon.
A shadow fell across him and he looked into the face of McKay. He mentally groaned.
"What?" It came out as a bark.
"What? Is that anyway to greet a fellow teammate ya big oaf? I come over to check on you and you get all grouchy?" McKay gave a dramatic roll of the eyes. "OK worshipper of Cromm, I'll get right to the point. Tell me you're not a lunatic in the grass."
Ronon was thoroughly confused. Sometimes this little man could make him feel like an imbecile and other times he made him feel like an integral part of the team. McKay was a conundrum all unto himself. And he was damn useful. And Ronon was glad he was there.
"I could ask the same question." Ronon's blackened eyes peered mischievously at Rodney.
"Oh yes, that…well our intrepid leader pulled me out of my funk." Rodney poked out his chin and fidgeted nervously.
"I was there," Ronon laughed and immediately regretted it. Although he would not let the scientist in on his discomfort. "He threatened you."
"Whatever," he waved away the comment, "It worked." His gaze intensified. "How about you?"
"I'm fine; the entire experience is hazy in some areas and clear in others. Like Sheppard assisting you out of your funk."
Teyla shifted in her bed and they both watched her. She seemed peaceful.
"Well is there anything you need?" Rodney asked.
"No, food is coming, I'm unhooked and I can move. I'm good." Ronon shifted to get a little more comfortable. Something came to him. "I do have a question."
"What is it?"
"Who's Night Crawler?"
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And the third...
Lorne looked down at the convalescing lieutenant colonel and grinned.
"I mean it Major, if he's going to quote a movie, he had better see the thing all the way through." Sheppard glared at Williams who was stifling a laugh behind the Major.
"You drag his ass in there and keep him there so we…" Sheppard motioned towards Teyla and Ronon as well as himself, "Can get some peace."
McKay had not left them since their return. Even though he had been released to his quarters, he was still constantly underfoot. He had Teyla considering violence. It was heartwarming in a McKay sort of way but shit, it was annoying.
"And Major if you should choose not to accept this mission you will go on every crap mission…" Sheppard let his voice trail off and a sly glint shined in his blood tinged eyes.
The Major returned his statement with a half-hearted scowl. They were here in an informal capacity. He did not take his statement too seriously…but one could never be sure.
"We'll recruit Dr. Z., he's quite resourceful and persuasive." Lorne held up a lap top and two more DVD's. "We brought these as per requested Sir."
Sheppard gave his little boy grin and thumped his good hand on the bed. "Excellent!"
He turned his head awkwardly to look at Teyla and Ronon. "Let me introduce you to the X-men. We need to watch this first and then we can watch X-2. That's the one with Night Crawler." He let out a hitch as he moved wrong or it could have been right- it did not much matter. "Nobody brought their comics and nobody had the cartoons sooo…"
"We will watch the movies," Teyla finished for him.
He nodded and closed his eyes. "But not right now, I think I'm at the end of my fun meter." He grimaced again, "I'm feeling craptacular."
His arm was bound against his body. His legs were in casts with rods and pins in place to keep both tibias and fibulas in position until the miracles of the Pegasus Galaxy medicine could take over. He would not have it any other way.
What he was having trouble with was his memory. Everything from being in the cube was clear if not exceedingly disturbing. It was before that he was having trouble with. His teammates could remember that with clarity and the cube was fuzzier. His flight from Mina and the subsequent attack were just bits and pieces. Not nice pieces either. And there was something else missing, but for the life of him he could not figure out what it was. An image of a Rolodex was all that came to him. Weird.
He swallowed, and gasped a little. A nurse or Beckett should be stopping by soon with medication. Good stuff, gimme, gimme good stuff, he thought happily. He tried to relax.
"Sir, we'll leave you now. Col. Caldwell sends his regards and will see you tomorrow."
Sheppard unsuccessfully tried to stifle a small groan from tensing at the man's name. Lorne had informed him of the colonel's involvement and support. Sheppard would have liked to see Refra crashing into a wall at a full run. That thought made him laugh- oh damn it, he had to stop doing that. Sheppard would have to thank him and Hermoid.
At least he had the decency to wait until tomorrow. He did not think he could take another visitor. Everyone and their brother had been by: Elizabeth, Zelenka, Stackhouse (really owed the young man) and even Halling. Sheppard realized they were violated too. They had thought his team dead. When Elizabeth grabbed his hand and held on to it with a vice like grip, he had to shake it out afterwards. The funny thing was she did it to Teyla and Ronon and they both had the same reaction afterwards. Who knew she was the one to go to if the pickle jar was stuck. And Rodney…well he had laid in the forest with his dead team and that is why the man would not leave. It could not have been easy for any of them.
But they were home again, home again…
"Thank you Major." Sheppard's eyes started to close as he heard and felt someone messing with his IV. A nice sensation rushed over his aching body.
Yeah, that's right, gimme the good stuff.
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Elsewhere...
Abbot Mede nodded to the new High Abbot. It was time.
Many peoples were descending on Mina and trying to get to the catacombs and the Ring. His Facilitators and Protectors were ready to defend them. The first dart screamed overhead and he stood tall and proud.
Mede looked out over the courtyard, he would not run. He would stay and direct his people. He smiled as Marcin and Trece ran to the top of the wall with their cubes and released their occupants. The ex-Venerable and ex-High Abbot appeared and began their fight.
The first dart went down. It would be followed by many others.
He smiled. Ganede would have been proud.
The End
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A/N: And there you have it. Thanks to everyone who stayed with this mini epic, everyone who put their two cents in and those that read. Please let me know what you think of the story as a whole. Too long, too this, too that. Tell if it worked for you or not. I tried a few new things. Thanks and we'll see where the bunnies lead!