Note: I have no medical expertise and I'm sure it shows like a big blinking neon sign this chapter, so please forgive me if this is inaccurate, unrealistic, or otherwise just ridiculous. I know...I've been watching too much TV.

On a different note, thank you sooooooooooo very much for the reviews. I do a happy dance over each and every one! You guys really know how to make a girl's day!

The Day of Reckoning - Chapter Three

Almost before the gurney had stopped moving, the finely tuned medical team launched into action. Dr. Nick Strauhan had come on duty and he, along with several nurses were waiting on Beckett's arrival at the infirmary with a very battered Colonel Sheppard. Strauhan began taking Sheppard's vital signs as Marcy started an IV. Kelly began the task of working around everyone to remove what little of Sheppard's clothing remained. She very carefully draped a sheet over him as she began to cut the filthy, blood soaked pants from his body. She was well aware of how private a person he was and had way too much respect for him to allow him to be on display. Even though he was unconscious and the medical staff was too preoccupied with saving his life to care about his state of dress, she still felt the need to abide by what she knew he would want.

Beckett barked out an order for x-rays as he began to survey the damage to his most frequent patient. He sighed audibly as he worked. He began with the head injuries. Sheppard's face was a virtual battlefield of injuries. A long, ugly gash went down one side of his head and face. It looked as if it had been inflicted several days ago, and then reopened on more than one occasion. New blood mixed with dried, older blood, and dirt around and in the wound. It would take several stitches to close and most likely leave a scar. It was sure to be the source of a concussion, if not a skull fracture. The heavy bruising around the wound was a testament to how hard the blow had been. Another nasty bruise was on the other side of his head. This one didn't have the gaping cut accompanying it, but the bruising seemed even heavier. Yeah...at least a concussion. Added to that were swollen, cracked lips and two black eyes that would have been swollen almost shut if he had been awake to try and open them. Beckett was beginning to be glad that Sheppard was unconscious.

Nick reported Sheppard's pulse and blood pressure. Pulse was rapid and weak, blood pressure low. He appeared to have lost a significant amount of blood and Beckett ordered one of the extra nurses waiting on the sidelines to assist to make sure they would have blood available in case the Colonel needed a transfusion. Marcy reported his temperature was 101. Beckett was not suprised, expecting infection in someone with this many filthy open wounds. It looked like he had received no care for any of his injuries and it was obvious he was severely dehydrated. He had apparently received little or no water during his period of captivity. Beckett found his anger rising within and one look at Nick's face confirmed that he was not the only one feeling that way.

The two doctors looked at the injuries on the Colonel's chest and abdomen. The bruising was, once again, extensive. Nick scrutinized the cuts in his abdomen. "Carson...do these look like...symbols of some kind to you."

Beckett bent over and looked closely. "They are...someone... has written on him with a bloody knife." Beckett and Strauhan both found themselves fighting a mounting battle of anger at what the Genii had done to Sheppard.

The x-ray technician arrived and the attending medical staff stepped back to let him get the requested x-rays. He was quick and efficient and they were back to working on Sheppard in no time.

Beckett probed Sheppard's sides and abdomen, carefully moving his fingers over Sheppard's discolored skin and occasionally listening through his stethoscope. He finally looked up at Nick. "I won't know for sure til we see the x-rays in a few minutes, but it looks like we may have a couple of broken ribs on the right side. Looks like we've also got a bit of internal bleeding. We'll be needin' to watch that."

Nick nodded. "I noticed his right shoulder seems to be dislocated."

"Aye...I saw that as well. I wanted to wait for the x-rays before we set it back, though. There's no tellin' how long it's been displaced or what damage has been done. We need to roll him and look at his back. I believe he has several injuries there as well. Nick, I'll need you to secure his right arm and shoulder. Marcy and Kelly, you need to be ready to clean his wounds as best you can so I can see what we are dealin' with." He watched as the two nurses gathered their materials. He then looked up at Nick. "Ready?"

Beckett stood on Sheppard's left side and Nick on his right. When Beckett nodded, they worked together to roll Sheppard up on his left side, with Nick holding Sheppard's right arm in place and helping support his weight. Marcy and Kelly worked together to clean the wounds on his back. As they washed the dirt, blood, and filth away and the injuries became clear, all four of the medical staff gasped at what had been done to Sheppard. On top of the bruises were signs of carving and whipping.

Kelly frowned at what she saw. "There are more symbols back here. It's like they...carved words...or names into his flesh. How can one human do that to another human?" She shuddered in disbelief at the cruelty they were witnessing.

"Doctor," said Marcy. Both doctors looked at Sheppard's lower back, where she was pointing. "I thought you might want to see this." The bruising was extensive, especially on the left side.

Nick looked over at Beckett. "Possible bruised kidney?"

Beckett nodded. "We'd better keep an eye out for that as well. That could also be a source of internal bleeding."

When Marcy and Kelly had finished cleaning Sheppard's back as well as they could, they placed a clean pad underneath Sheppard so as not to undo their work. The two doctors then gently eased Sheppard down to his back again. "Well," Beckett said. "We'll have to stitch his back up later, after we are sure the internal bleeding isn't goin' to be a problem. At least none of the injuries appear too deep."

Nick nodded. "Did you see the wounds on his legs?" He pulled the sheet off Sheppard's legs, tucking it between his legs and around his upper thighs, unconsciously continuing Kelly's vigil to keep Sheppard's dignity in tact. The two doctors examined the wound in the middle thigh of each leg.

"Stab wounds?" asked Beckett.

"That's what it looks like to me. Fortunately, it looks as though the knife was small. There may be some minor muscle damage, but at least they didn't hit an artery and cause him to bleed to death. Should be okay with some stitching as soon as they are cleaned out."

Beckett nodded in agreement. "We better get him on some broad spectrum antibiotics soon. We could start a bloody biohazard unit with the bacteria that have to be thriving in the Colonel's wounds. I've never seen such wanton disregard for human life or feelings unless it was someone they planned on killing. You have to wonder why they did all this only to send him back."

Nick shook his head. "Doesn't make much sense. But then, their reasoning has a bit of a history at being flawed."

Marcy and Kelly moved in to begin cleaning the stab wounds on Sheppard's legs. All four noticed the extensive bruising on both legs, realizing that he had undoubtedly been kicked numerous times to receive the injuries. Marcy and Kelly kept flashing each other looks of mixed sorrow at the Colonel's state and anger at anyone who would do this kind of damage.

"X-rays are here," chirped a petite nurse, running in with a stack of images. Beckett and Strauhan immediately went to examine them while the two nurses finished cleaning and bandaging Sheppard's wounds as best they could and then carefully replaced the sheet over his still, pale form.

Using the lighted board on the wall, the two doctors looked through the first set of x-rays. Beckett sighed in relief. "No skull fracture, although he does have a nasty concussion."

"That's something, at least," responded Nick, taking the images down so that Beckett could put up the next set. "His shoulder's a mess."

Beckett nodded. "We can go ahead and set it back, but he may need surgery later. He probably has some torn ligaments. We can get an MRI when he's out of danger. Looks like two broken ribs and maybe another cracked one."

Nick nodded. "Do you think..."

"Doctor Beckett!" The sharp tone of Marcy's voice got the immediate attention of both physicians and they hurriedly moved to Sheppard's bed. "His blood pressure is dropping."

Beckett pulled the sheet down to Sheppard's lower abdomen and began palpating the Major's abdomen. His frown increased as he went lower and lower down Sheppard's torso. "Notify the surgical team we'll be needing them after all...he's got a belly full of blood. Get him prepped and let's get him started on a unit of blood...he's going to need it. Do we have his type?"

The petite nurse that had brought Beckett the x-rays stepped up. "We have two units of his type available, Doctor."

Beckett nodded. "Okay, we'll need them both. Make sure we have some O negative available in case we need it or you might check with the Daedalus to see if they have any. If not, there should be a list of people with his type in his file...round up some donors."

"Doctor...his team is in the waiting area...and Dr. Weir...what should I tell them?"

Nick motioned Carson toward the surgery area. "Go...I'll talk to them and join you in a minute."

Beckett nodded gratefully. "Thank you. See you in a minute." Beckett headed toward surgery to scrub up, as Nick headed for Sheppard's team in the waiting area.

McKay and Ronon were pacing around the waiting area while Teyla and Elizabeth sat in chairs. All of them approached Nick when they saw him headed their way.

"Dr. Strauhan?" asked Elizabeth.

Nick nodded at the concerned people in front of him. He noted that Colonel Caldwell stood in the background, his arms crossed across his chest. The look on his face was a far cry from the intense worry he saw on the other faces. He was obviously here as a formality or to gather information so he wouldn't be left out of the loop. Nick chose to ignore his presence.

"Okay...I know you are all concerned about Colonel Sheppard, so let me see if I can give you a rundown of his condition. There is extensive bruising and abrasions, both superficial and deep. The Colonel has a pretty bad concussion and a nasty cut on his head that will require some stitching. He has two broken ribs and a cracked one and a dislocated shoulder. He's been stabbed once in each leg and, has quite a few more superficial cuts. He's seriously dehydrated and he's running a fever, no doubt from infection. Our main concern right now, however, is that he's bleeding internally. Carson just took him to surgery and I need to go assist. Between the surgery and stitching him up, we'll be working on him most of the night. You may want to check back in the morning."

They exchanged looks and then Teyla spoke. "Doctor, if it is all right with you, I think we will stay right here. Will you let us know when the Colonel is out of surgery?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah...I think we can do that. It may be a while, but I'll talk to you later." As Nick turned and headed back toward surgery, he found himself smiling. He had expected that they wouldn't leave and they hadn't disappointed him. He did, however, doubt that Caldwell hung around all night.

Several hours later, Beckett straightened and rolled his stiff shoulder muscles. "I think maybe we're finally finished," he said to Nick from behind the surgical mask. They had just spend the last several hours hunting and repairing bleeders and trying to repair internal damage. It had been tiring and frustrating work. They would fix one damaged vessel only to discover blood coming from another source. Sheppard had obviously been beaten repeatedly to sustain this degree of damage.

Nick noticed how tired Beckett looked and reminded himself that the physician had been on his feet since that morning. "Carson, why don't I close and you can go talk to Dr. Weir and his team. You know they are anxious to know how he's doing."

Beckett weighed the option of staying with Sheppard until he was sutured against that of letting his team know his condition. He knew from experience that they would be worried until they knew he would be okay. He was aware that Nick was trying to get him out a few minutes early, but he was also aware that talking to Sheppard's friends was a valid reason to do so. He opted for an early out. "Aye...I'll go talk to them. Then I'll come back and help you set his shoulder and finish suturin' his wounds."

"Uh, Carson...I can handle it. Kelly can help me make sure we get him fixed and settled. You've been at it all day and half the night. Why don't you take off after you talk to them and we'll handle the rest."

Carson smiled behind the mask. "Nice try, Nick, but I'm not goin' anywhere yet." Beckett turned around and went out the door of the surgical suite. He tossed his bloody gloves in a biohazard container, pulled his mask down around his neck, and headed for the waiting area.

It was late and he found the worried group spread out in and across the chairs of the waiting area in various positions. As he drew near, they began to straighten themselves and stretch, meeting him at the edge of the ring of chairs. No one said a word, but waited patiently for Beckett's report. He wasn't sure if they were showing restraint or fear, possibly thinking they didn't want to hear the answers to their unasked questions.

When they were all assembled, he began. "He made it through the surgery okay and he's stable for now. We believe we have all the bleedin' stopped and the internal damage repaired. Nick's closing him up now. We still have some work to do tonight...we have to put his shoulder back in place and stitch up some of his deeper cuts."

The group before him seemed to relax somewhat at the news, thankful that he was doing as well as he was.

"Does that mean that he'll be okay?" asked Elizabeth hopefully.

Becket hesitated just a second before answering. "I cannot guarantee anything...but if he doesn't start bleedin' again and we can keep his temperature down, I think he'll recover. Elizabeth...we'll do the best we can stitching him up, but...because of the severity of some of the injuries and the length of time before treatment, as well as the infection that has set up in some of the wounds...there's probably going to be some extensive scarring. This type of trauma can often lead to psychological scarring as well, especially when you consider the cruel treatment he as received the last few days. As near as we can tell, he's had little or no water or food. He's been beaten, whipped, stabbed, and carved on with a knife for the last three days. You saw how filthy he was and how underdressed he was. I suspect his fever is only partially due to wound infections, although there's plenty of evidence of that. What I'm trying to say is that he may need as much or more help with his psychological recovery as with his physical one."

"We will be there for him," assured Teyla.

McKay had begun to move from foot to foot with nervous energy. "I knew it. I knew we shouldn't have let him go with Kolya. We should have done something..."

"What would you have had us do?" asked Ronon. "There wasn't any other way out... Sheppard knew that."

McKay face looked stricken with guilt. "He did this to save us...all of us...Why does he always do that? Why can't he just think of himself for once? He had to know they planned something bad for him...why couldn't he just..."

"Just what, McKay?" asked Ronon, who was also feeling the guilt, deep in his gut, of letting Sheppard go. "What could he have done differently that would not have resulted in all of our deaths?"

McKay just stood there, looking at the floor. He didn't say anything because he knew that answer...nothing. They had been in a box and Sheppard had taken the hit for all of them...again. He closed his eyes, wishing he had been able to find another way out that would have saved Sheppard from the torture and agony of the last few days. But he knew there was nothing there.

Teyla placed her hand on McKay's shoulder. "Colonel Sheppard chose the path for all of us. It was his decision, not ours. If conditions were reversed, we would do the same for him. You must take comfort in that."

But McKay couldn't take comfort, because he wasn't sure if he would have had the courage to do what Sheppard had done. He would like to think he would...but he just wasn't sure. The doubt made him feel useless and cowardly and guilty.

"When can we see him?" asked Elizabeth, shifting McKay's thoughts back to Sheppard's current condition.

"Not anytime soon. I need to get back so I can help Nick. Maybe in the morning and then only for a minute. He won't be conscious for quite a while. I'll be back when we've got him completely settled." Beckett turned and went back into the infirmary, leaving Elizabeth and Sheppard's team to think about what he'd said. At that moment in time, if any one of them had been given the opportunity, they would have gladly killed Kolya.

TBC