Chapter Eight

Beckett had finished his examination and his gut instincts had turned out to be correct, although he couldn't entirely forgive himself that he hadn't spotted it sooner. What kind of medical doctor was he if he couldn't diagnose something as simple as that? "Thank you Kiki," he said softly to the young girl who gave a small nod. He and Teyla looked at one another.

"You are certain?" Teyla asked.

"As certain as I am of my Scottish ancestry," Beckett quietly answered, eyes softening as he looked at Kiki who had chosen this time to hid behind a curtain of hair.

--

"Major Sheppard, this is Teyla."

"Hey where the hell are you guys?" Sheppard asked bringing up the radio closer so he could talk into it, their little game of "I Spy" had faded fast and now McKay was delighting himself in a game that had something to do with prime numbers or maths or something like that. Ford looked like he'd rather swim in a tank full of piranhas than guess what was a prime number and what wasn't. Sheppard actually sympathised with the guy.

"I am sorry," Teyla replied calmly. "But we came across some trouble."

Sheppard didn't like the sound of that and narrowed his eyes. "Trouble?"

"Yes," Teyla answered; her tone still remaining the same and somewhat concerned. Sheppard only hoped that she or Beckett hadn't been injured or something similar to that. Oh God, that was it wasn't it? Or maybe he was just jumping the gun which Sheppard had to admit, he could have a slight tendency to do under the right circumstances.

"What happened?"

"We were attacked," Teyla said, still with the same tone. How could anyone be so calm about being attacked and especially if it were the same person who had left McKay in the state he was, speaking of. Sheppard glanced over to McKay and Ford.

"Hold still," Ford ordered pulling back the arm. He was trying his best to wrap the bandage around McKay's injury but it only had basic medical training that came in useful for in the field. Once again, McKay flinched and tried to pull his precious arm back from Ford. "How many more times?" Ford asked looking up in annoyance. "Hold still."

"Why don't we just wait until Carson gets here," McKay answered grumpily. "He is a doctor you know."

"We waited and he's still not here," the young lieutenant replied, sweat actually breaking out on his brow from the effort it took to hold McKay's arm into place. "If you don't get a bandage on it soon, it'll get infected and I dunno maybe you'll have to have it amputated."

"Who said anything about amputation?" McKay asked, clearly alarmed by the mere thought of only having one arm. That was no good, if he only had one arm then how on Earth was he supposed to work and let his brilliance and genius shine through?

"It could happen," Ford said, narrowing his eyes as he focused on tying a reef knot just above McKay's wrist, making sure that it was tight and kept pressure without cutting off the circulation. Shame that he couldn't do the same with one around his neck.

"But I like both my arms," McKay said softly, all the pain suddenly forgotten at the suggestion of losing an arm. Ford sat back with a degree of satisfaction, one way or another he would find a way to get the job done and he had. Sure it involved bringing some sort of insecurity to McKay, but it had worked.

"Here you go. Job done."

"Well," McKay began, holding up the arm tenderly and looking at Ford's handiwork. It was a much better job than he could have done himself, for he knew practically nothing about medicine and chose not to. He looked back to Ford. "I don't know how to say this but huh…" he offered an awkward smile.

"You're welcome," Ford answered with a small smile.

"Actually," McKay said. "I was going to ask if you had anything to eat." Ford's smile turned into a frown.

Sheppard shifted his gaze to the stargate and carried on his conversation with Teyla. "So let me get this straight, you think this is the same girl who attacked McKay and Ford?"

"That is correct," Teyla confirmed.

"Okay," Sheppard said, still trying to get his head around the whole McKay wasn't exaggerating and there was an actual young girl running round and trying to kick their asses. Teyla had told him how the girl had wrestled with her and how she had been a formidable opponent. "Well, do you know anything about her? Like where'd the hell she came from?" He softened voice slightly. "You know for example."

"All I have managed to determine is that her name is Kiki and she is 17 of your Earth years."

"Nothing else?"

"I am still working on gaining her trust," Teyla answered passionately; she really did want to help this unfortunate girl. "She appears to have gone through a traumatic experience and I fear she has been out in the forest for some time."

"Well she obviously can't be from this planet," Sheppard continued. "No one's being here in a long time." He paused a moment, thinking about the young girl who he had yet to meet and by what means she could've got here. "Teyla, is it at all possible that she came through the gate for some reason?"

Teyla considered it a moment. "It's possible."

"Ask her about it," Sheppard ordered then stopped. "You know after you've done the whole gain her trust thing."

"Yes Major," Teyla said with a smile. "We will join you momentarily."

--

"Good," Sheppard answered; sounding in better spirits, most probably because they had found the source of the problem and the threat diminished. Teyla sat next to Kiki, offering her some water that she had brought along in canteen, placing it in her hands. Kiki immediately lifted it to her lips and drunk, her thirst was great. "Well, see you soon." Once again, communication was cut. Beckett found the sight of Teyla and Kiki endearing and started kicking up the leaves with his feet, giving the young lass time to refuel in order for their trek back to Sheppard and the others.

Something caught his attention, carefully he bent down in order to retrieve it and yet again he had another sense of familiarity. Beckett picked it up, brushed it off then put it in his pocket. Intending to investigate further once they returned.