PROTECTIVE INSTINCTS part 9
A/N so sorry for the long delay oin posting this. To make up for it, I'm posting parts 9 and 10 together, and then it's complete! Thanks for your patience, I hope its worth the wait.
Elizabeth Weir stood for a moment in the control room pausing to regain her composure. The last few minutes, hell, the last few hours had been difficult, but it had been the last few minutes that had really shaken her.
The Genii had been quickly disarmed, and were on their way to being sent home when a warning shout had snapped her attention to where Sheppard was holding Kolya. To her horror she had watched helplessly while Kolya had somehow gained the upper hand, and had sent the Major stumbling into Beckett. The next few moments played out as if in slow motion. She had seen Kolya raise the gun, had watched as Sheppard had desperately tried to push Carson out of the way, and had seen them both go down as the Genii commander's bullet found its mark
Ford had already been on his way, and had wasted no time in putting a bullet of his own into Kolya. The Genii fell to lie beside Sheppard and Beckett, and all three lay still, unmoving, blood pooling beneath them.
After that, there had been medical teams and controlled chaos as the recently released medical staff, still unsure of what exactly had been going on tried to stabilise the two Atlanteans before whisking them off to the infirmary. Elizabeth wanted desperately to be with them, but the rest of her staff needed strong leadership now, and there were things here that needed taking care of.
Studiously avoiding the patch of floor that was still slippery with blood, and strewn with the torn packages, stained swabs and other detritus of immediate first aid, she stalked angrily to the remaining band of Genii intruders, who cowered back under her ferocious gaze. She strode to the nearest and said in a calm voice that fooled no-one, "If any of your leaders ever try such a thing again, then I will personally ensure that the genii are left unable to face any kind of threat for a very long time."
The miserable little band almost fell over themselves in their haste to assure her nothing like this would ever happen again, but she remained unmoved. Once their protestations had died down, she instructed them to pick up their fallen comrades, and leave, giving Ford and Bates the task of seeing them through the gate.
She stood, arms folded, watching while they picked up first Cowan, then Kolya, and started up the ramp.
"Wait!" she called. "Is Kolya still alive?"
Ford stepped up, and placed a hand over Kolya's carotid artery. He shook his head, feeling no pulse.
"Very well, carry on," she gestured to the departing Genii, who wasted no time in stepping through the gate, relieved they weren't facing being shot as well. Once the last of them had vanished into the wormhole, her control slipped slightly, and her shoulders slumped. She turned to see that Peter Grodin had the situation under control, and she nodded her approval at his handling of things. He mouthed at her to go, and she gave him a small grateful smile, hurrying out of the control room, following in Rodney's wake.
oOo
The infirmary was buzzing, staff rushing in a co-ordinated way, prepping Beckett for surgery. John was off to one side, monitors and machinery telling their own complicated story, while Rodney sat next to him, grimly watching while Carson was wheeled out. She moved over, pulled up a chair, and sat next to McKay, worriedly regarding her military commander, who still appeared to be unconscious.
McKay followed her gaze, and said expressionlessly, "The bullet went straight through the Major, and into Beckett. It's lodged in his chest somewhere, and he's bleeding. Sheppard's stable for now, so they're going to take him once they've got Carson fixed." He looked up at her. "What happened?" he asked. "One minute Sheppard seems to have everything under control, the next…everything's in a handbasket."
Elizabeth slouched down a little in the chair. It was impossible to get comfortable in the things. "I really don't know," she responded wearily. "I've sent the Genii home. Kolya and Cowan are both dead, so the only way to know will be for John to tell us. When he wakes up."
"How could someone control someone else like that? Take over and…use them? I thought you couldn't make someone do something that went against everything they are?"
Elizabeth didn't reply. She had no idea how they'd had such control over Sheppard, it would be for him to tell them what had gone on. And knowing John, he wouldn't be particularly forthcoming. In fact, she had a hunch that his physical recovery was going to be a heck of a lot easier than his psychological one.
The hours passed slowly. Weir and McKay had long ago given up trying to make conversation, and now just sat, waiting, trying to make sense of the situation, tired minds going over and over again the events that had led them to this.
Finally, Dr. Biro appeared from the surgical area, and wearily stripped off the mask she'd been wearing. Seeing the two maintaining vigil over Sheppard, she smiled, and came over.
"Carson will be fine," she said. "He came through the surgery well, the bullet wasn't too hard to remove, it had lost a lot of its momentum from going through the Major first. He'll have to have some time off which won't please him, but a few weeks should see him back in the saddle."
Elizabeth and Rodney felt at least some of their worries lifted. They watched as Dr. Biro examined Sheppard's chart, then she replaced it and said, "Now for the Major. Hopefully his should be a shorter surgery, just a matter of fixing the holes, so to speak. It's the effect the surgery will have on his other injuries that concerns me. Still, he's young, fit, and a fighter, so I don't anticipate too many problems."
She signalled to one of the other staff members, and together they wheeled John away to surgery. Almost at the same time, Carson was wheeled out, and the two shifted to sit with him, while they waited on news about Sheppard. They took in the wires, tubes and monitors that surrounded Beckett, and were surprisingly reassuring considering his pallor, and settled down to wait, Elizabeth holding the unconscious man's hand, whether for his comfort or hers she wasn't sure. It was going to be a long night.
oOo
Several Weeks Later.
Elizabeth Weir stood at the railing on the balcony overlooking the gate. The wormhole had shut down a few minutes previously, but she was still there, a troubled frown on her face. She had just watched her second in command go through, and he was anything but the same man he'd been all those weeks previously. This time there'd been no jaunty wave, no last glance back, and no quirky little grin. Just a dogged determination to go through, and get back. His posture and body language had said it all.
He'd sat through the briefing, barely saying a word, eyes downcast, speaking to no-one unless asked a direct question. She stood straighter. This couldn't go on. She couldn't let it carry on, and now it was time for her to do something about it. Squaring her shoulders, feeling a little better, she strode off towards the infirmary, and Carson Beckett.
She found the man in question cheerfully informing one of the lab staff that he would need a course of antibiotic injections over the next week, one a day until the wound he'd sustained had healed further. And that that should be a lesson to be more careful in future. The technician slunk off, moving carefully, one hand pressed to his tender anatomy.
Elizabeth watched him go, a small smile playing across her lips.
"Why, Doctor Beckett, I believe you enjoyed that," she said in a mildly chiding tone.
"Aye, I did. And maybe next time he'll watch where he's putting his used glassware instead of Helen Morgan's..er… chest." He finished scribbling in the unfortunate young man's chart, then came over to where Dr. Weir was standing.
She watched him covertly. He seemed almost fully recovered from his ordeal, and if he moved occasionally with a certain stiffness, it didn't seem to be impeding him in any way.
"Glad to be back?" she asked. Beckett had been certified fit for duty just a few days ago.
"Oh, yes. I was going stir crazy, there's only so many journals I can read, and I was running out of places to hide from Rodney always wanting me to try and turn on Ancient technology."
She smirked, then grew more serious. "Has John been to see you?"
The smile faded from Carson's face. "No, he hasn'ae," he replied, accent thickening. "I tried to see him on a few occasions, but he always managed to avoid me. I think he's got a guilt complex the size of the Empire state building. In fact I'm sure he has."
"Do you know if he's still seeing Heightmeyer?"
"He is, but she's getting increasingly frustrated with him. There's no flies on the Major, and he knows just exactly what to say in response to her questions. She knows there's more going on with him than he lets on, but until he can be honest with her, there's little she can do."
"Well, if we can't get him to open up, I'm afraid something's going to give. He's just not…John."
There was a pause while they contemplated what was going on with their military leader. Although Carson hadn't seen him face to face, he'd seen him in the distance, and was getting reports from others about how different the man was these days. Junior military staff were frankly terrified of putting a foot wrong, and Bates and he just weren't speaking. Even Ford was keeping a distance these days. Teyla was doing her best, and now that John was physically fit again, they'd resumed their stick fighting sessions, but, Teyla said, he was too easy to beat. The spark had gone, and he was merely going through the motions. She too was at a loss for what to do to help her friend.
The pause lengthened, and Elizabeth was just about to make her apologies and leave, when their earpieces crackled into life.
"Medical team to the gateroom!"
Beckett groaned, he knew, as did Elizabeth that the only team offworld was Major Sheppard's.
Elizabeth tapped her earpiece. "What's going on?" she asked tersely, even as she headed to the nearest transporter.
"It's Major Sheppard's team, ma'am," responded the gate technician, "He's coming in hot."
"On my way," she replied, breaking into a run. "Dear God," she thought, "Couldn't the Major get a break?"
She skidded into the gateroom just in time to see the Major's team topple through the gate, and fall to lie unmoving on the gateroom floor.
TBC