When It Snows (part 9)
Dex followed close behind Sheppard as the colonel made a bee line to the infirmary, both men anxious to find out how McKay and Beckett were doing. When they pushed their way through a set of swinging doors, they both came to a halt, momentarily surprised to find themselves standing in a rather modern looking facility filled with pieces of familiar equipment.
Dr. Nex saw the men enter and he waved them over to where he was monitoring Carson's vital signs while scribbling on a chart.
"Doc?" Sheppard hesitated briefly, noticing that Rodney was nowhere to be seen.
"Your friend is in the other room. We are trying to get his temperature to lower and to hopefully keep him isolated as much as possible from the others." The dark blonde physician dropped the chart to the empty bed behind him before reaching for a tray holding a vial and several empty syringes. "Were you inoculated against our flu before leaving Atlantis?"
"We've had standard off world vaccinations, but nothing right before coming here. Why?" Sheppard took up a spot alongside Carson's bed, carefully reaching out to feel if the doctor was still cold to touch. He was pleased to feel warmth under his fingertips.
Nex eyed both men critically before pushing his chart aside and pointing for Dex to take a seat. "You first."
The large man warily stared at the stranger and then his teammate, sitting only when the colonel nodded.
"I understand you were attacked by a cravit." Taking Ronon's temperature, the physician looked away from his instrument when he didn't receive a reply. "Mathis told me what happened and I'd like to check on your arm." He stood back to give the man room to remove his shirt before examining the claw marks and then applying fresh bandages. "Any pain or disability in moving your arm?" he asked as he peered closely around the wound.
"No," the runner grunted.
"Good." Dr. Nex then listened Ronon's chest and heart with an instrument very similar to one of Beckett's stethoscopes. "Any breathing difficulties or chest pain since you've connected with your team?"
Dex shook his head 'no'.
Finishing his brief exam, the doctor picked up the vial and a syringe. "Dr. McKay has apparently been exposed to the sickness Dr. Beckett came here to help prevent. It is very contagious, and as you can tell, attacks the body rather quickly. Most likely, due to his exposure to the cold after the accident and his insistence on finding shelter for the others before taking care of himself, his body became vulnerable and he succumbed to the infection." He deftly filled the needle and plunged it into a meaty bicep. "I'm concerned that the cravit attack may have exposed your system more openly and I'd like to keep a closer eye on you, Mr…." He raised a questioning brow, waiting for an answer.
"Dex."
The man nodded, handing the runner back his shirt. "The minute you begin to experience any difficulties, I want you to come see me immediately, Mr. Dex." The bed promptly vacated, he looked to Sheppard next. "Colonel."
Sheppard hopped up to where Ronon had been sitting. Quiet during the initial exam, he looked past the physician to watch Beckett sleep. Hooked up to several machines and buried under a pile of warm blankets, the Atlantis CMO looked pale and withdrawn. "How's he doing?"
Dr. Nex blew out a deep breath, turning around to stare at his patient. "He's stable for the moment. The exposure and continued difficult situation strained his heart. Physically, he's as weak as a newborn and needs to be monitored closely for the next few days with plenty of bed rest. Any undue tension or distractions would cause a serious setback."
Worry crept into the dark haired man's gut, "Does he have any signs of being sick like Rodney?"
"So far, no." The doctor turned back around and reached once again for the vial and a syringe. A moment later he motioned for Sheppard to tug his sleeve back down. "I asked him to help engineer a vaccine against the current influenza plaguing the villages. Perhaps his continual exposure while he worked built up a resistance, or he tried the vaccine on himself first."
Sheppard dropped back to the floor and stood quietly alongside Beckett's bed. The beep of the heart monitor drew his attention and he scowled. "Where'd all this come from?"
"We are more resourceful and advanced than most give us credit for. As long as we live in small groups, spread far apart and away from the gate, we give the appearance that we are not technologically advanced and not worth raiding or invading."
"Yeah, we've run into that situation on a few planets." Ronon's disgusted snort at his comment made Sheppard grin. "So, how'd you meet Carson?"
"At the Brune trading colony. He was purchasing healing herbs and so was I. One thing led to another and when I asked for his assistance, he insisted on helping."
The three men stood quietly around the bed, letting that comment sink in.
"Dr. Nex?" A woman appeared behind them, holding one of the swinging doors open. "We need you in Dr. McKay's room."
SG: A
Rodney's appearance was practically the opposite of Carson's. Stripped down to nothing but a thin sheet, he was breathing in short wheezing gasps, his face and body flushed with fever, his eyes restlessly roaming the room.
Shocked, Sheppard stepped around several machines and individuals to make his way to the scientist. "What's going on?" he demanded.
"He became agitated and tried to get out of bed," the woman from earlier said, wringing out a damp rag and trying to place it over McKay's overheated brow. Unfortunately he twisted away and she missed, only to have the man at the bedside take it from her. She watched in astonishment as he leaned over and cupped the scientist's face with his hand, the other wiping the sweat off his friend's brow.
"Rodney, it's John. I'm right here."
Rodney tried to jerk away, his eyes shooting around the room looking for something. Not finding whatever it was, his eyes shifted back to Sheppard and he choked back a sob. "I lost him," he wheezed painfully, tears springing from the corners of his reddened eyes.
"Shhh," Sheppard uttered softly, "It's okay. Carson's in the other room sleeping." The pale eyes stared at him in confusion. "Take it easy, McKay," he continued but Rodney had other ideas.
"Radek," he cried out hoarsely, trying to get off the bed, his arms and legs refusing to obey and flopping bonelessly like a rag doll's over the edge.
Sheppard dropped the damp cloth, pinning the scientist back on the pillow. "Rodney. Rodney, listen to me, Radek's back on Atlantis. He's safe. You're safe. You need to calm down and get some rest."
"Ice," Rodney whispered and then he began to shiver hard. His breathing quickened as his heart rate picked up. "He fell. Can't help him." His eyes locked onto Sheppard's, filled with fear and disbelief. "Help him," he begged, his fingers clenching and unclenching frantically the fabric of the colonel's shirt.
At a loss as to what to do, Sheppard glanced to the physician, watching the man inject something into the IV bag, before looking back down. Hoping it was a sedative to calm his agitated friend; he peeled Rodney's hand off his arm and gripped it in his own hand. "Hey," he said in his best reassuring voice, "everyone's safe. Carson's in the other room and Radek is safe in his lab."
Rodney blinked heavily; the drug flooding his system slowed his breathing and heart rate back down to almost normal. "He died," he whispered through his raw throat, his eyes no longer able to stay open as he slipped back to sleep.
Ronon had stayed by the doors during the incident, his tall frame filling the entranceway. Once McKay was calm and the others backed away from the bed, he came to stand next to Sheppard. "Who died?"
Still holding Rodney's hand in his own, he raked his free one through his hair and then over his face. He was starting to feel as tired as the others. "No one. I think his brain is putting memories together out of order."
"He seems pretty insistent. Maybe it happened before."
Sheppard glanced at Dex in irritation, "Before, what?"
"Before Atlantis," the big man replied.
"I've read his file. Nothing happened to him before Atlantis. He lived and breathed his lab and the star gate program. And ever since we came through the gate, I've kept an eye on him."
Dex just shrugged. "I'm going to check on Teyla," he said before leaving the room with only the colonel, the physician, and the sleeping scientist left behind.
Tucking Rodney's hand underneath the sheet, Sheppard stifled a yawn and then met Dr. Nex's piercing gaze, "Is he going to get better?"
The older man reached out and touched Rodney's brow, frowning at the heat of the fever before he drawing his hand back. "I'm sorry, Colonel, but I really don't know."
For some reason that answer really pissed Sheppard off. "How can you not know? You asked for Beckett's help to find a vaccine. You've seen this before and you know what to expect."
Fire flared in the physician's eyes in response. "You aren't from here and I don't know what you have been exposed to, or what you brought with you. I don't know the effect of the virus on your kind. And the one person who could really help me understand isn't able to at this time. Until Dr. Beckett regains his strength and is able to assist me, I'll do all I can, the best I can."
"Well then, we need to make sure Rodney hangs on a little longer."
Dr. Nex nodded, the anger dissipating from his stance. "I'm sorry I don't have a better answer."
"Yeah." Blowing out a deep breath of his own, Sheppard yawned. He was so tired and the thought of his bed back on Atlantis seemed a bazillion lightyears away.
"You need to rest, before you get sick also."
"Later." He patted McKay on the shoulder, "I'll be back in a minute. Just want to make sure Beckett's staying out of trouble and then I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." He didn't get any type of answer, and he didn't expect one, that's what made the whole situation so difficult. Atlantis without Rodney or Carson, or possibly both, was unacceptable. Some how, some way, he would get them all safely back home.
TBC