Thanks again for the many wonderful reviews. Thanks again to Rachel and Kathy for their many ideas and for doing the beta thing. You guys rock!

The delay is not my fault this time. I have been trying to post this chapter all day and the site will not let me for some reason. When it finally does post (I'm hoping it eventually will), just remember I spent MANY hours trying to get it to you. I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown if it doesn't post soon!

The Day of Reckoning – Chapter 19

Sheppard tried desperately to draw air into his lungs, blinking against burning pain and pressure in his chest. The voices around him sounded hollow, as if their owners were talking into a barrel, and though he couldn't quite make out any words, his vision finally cleared enough for him to see Nick lean forward and press a bloody cloth to his chest. The pain was immediate and staggering and he tried to tell the doctor that he couldn't breathe, but he ended up coughing instead. This definitely wasn't good.

"Hang on, Colonel, help is on the way." Nick met Sheppard's gaze as he listened to the man struggle to suck in enough air. He saw fear in his eyes. "Where's that jumper? I need it here ten minutes ago! Ronon, come here."

Through the haze, Sheppard saw Ronon take over the job of applying pressure. Nick moved to his other side and rummaged through the medical kit, but Sheppard couldn't see what the man was looking for; his vision was fading. Then the pressure against his chest increased and he threw his head back and gasped, the pain of it bringing his world harshly back into focus.

"Sheppard, stay with me. Look at me, Colonel!" Suddenly Ronon was there, almost in his face. "Come on Sheppard, don't give up now. You did pretty good out there. I didn't know you could fight like that."

Sheppard grunted. "Lot . . . don't know." He paid for the words with a coughing fit that left him tasting blood. Okay, another not so good sign. No more talking. He was aware of movement and others talking around him, but he couldn't hold on to consciousness any longer.

Sheppard was next aware of being jostled, which aggravated the pain in his chest. He moaned as he opened his eyes a slit, feeling hands moving him onto a stretcher. Breathing was a little easier because an oxygen mask was being pressed to his face. It helped, but he still wasn't getting enough air. He moaned again as the stretcher was set down inside a jumper, jolting him.

"Sorry, Colonel," Nick said, appearing over him. "Hang in there. We'll have you home in a minute. And you better not think about checking out early 'cause Carson's already going to kill me." Nick plastered on his best artificial smile as he adjusted the drip on Sheppard's IV.

Sheppard opened his mouth to make a retort, but ended up coughing instead, sending spasms of pain through his chest. Suddenly he was choking, his lungs were burning and he gagged and struggled vainly to suck in some air. Hands pushed him up and voices told him to breathe, but he couldn't, and his back arched against the agony and the lack of oxygen as the world around him gave way to nothing.

oOo

Elizabeth rushed into the jumper bay as Carson, Nick, and a medical team hurried by with Sheppard's pale and bloodied form on a stretcher. One of the nurses was squeezing the ambu bag attached to a tube in Sheppard's throat while Nick applied pressure to a chest wound. She could hear the heart monitor beeping erratically. Before she could ask anything, they were gone, and she was left standing there to gather her thoughts and emotions.

Teyla, Ronon, and Lorne emerged from the back of the jumper.

"What happened?" she asked.

They exchanged glances and then Lorne replied. "Kolya showed up."

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "Kolya? He just walked up and shot John?" she asked sharply.

"No," replied Teyla. "He and Colonel Sheppard exchanged words, and then Kolya attacked him. They fought for several minutes until it appeared that Kolya was unconscious, but he pulled a gun and shot the Colonel before we had time to react."

"Where is he now?"

"We shot him," said Ronon. "Unfortunately, he isn't dead. The Genii took him to their version of a doctor. We didn't stick around to find out any more. We had to get Sheppard back."

"All right, I'll want a full report later." Elizabeth clicked her radio on. "Rodney, this is Elizabeth."

oOo

McKay rushed into the infirmary where Elizabeth, Teyla, Ronon, and Major Lorne stood talking to a nurse.

"Elizabeth, where is he? How is he? What happened?"

"Calm down, Rodney, and we'll tell you." Elizabeth nodded to the nurse.

"I'll let you know if there's anything new," Marcy said.

Elizabeth turned back to Rodney. "John's in surgery. Kolya shot him in the chest and it looks like the bullet punctured a lung. He stopped breathing on the way in and they had to intubate him. Other than that, we don't know much."

"How could this happen? I thought the point of sending soldiers with him was for protection. What were his bodyguards doing while he was getting shot?"

"You were not there, Dr. McKay," said Teyla sharply. "The situation seemed to be under control. Colonel Sheppard and Commander Kolya were fighting and the Colonel seemed to have knocked Kolya unconscious. When he turned to walk away, however, the Commander pulled a gun. We tried to warn the Colonel and stop Kolya, but we were not fast enough."

"We did what we could," said Ronon. "We were trying to let Sheppard handle the situation."

"Yeah? Well . . . well it looks like you should have helped him just a little bit more."

oOo

Nick plopped down in the chair and leaned forward, resting his forehead in his hand and his elbow on his knee. Carson sat down in the chair beside him and put his hand on Nick's shoulder.

"You did a good job, Nick. He's going to be okay."

Nick sighed. "I know. None of this should ever have happened. He shouldn't be lying in there. He shouldn't have to go through this."

"Aye, I know. He's been through more than his fair share lately. You and the Colonel have struck up a bit of a friendship, haven't you?"

"Yeah, we have." Nick sat up, rubbing his hands against his thighs and then resting them on his knees, watching them tremble slightly. 'I've never been that close to someone who got shot. He was just a few feet in front of me. I saw Kolya bring the gun up . . . and there was nothing I could do. I yelled and then . . . I just watched Kolya shoot him. He just shot him! The Colonel wasn't armed, or anything . . . heck, he didn't even have a shirt on. He just . . . shot him."

Carson put his hand on Nick's shoulder again. "Son, I know it's hard to understand. Kolya is very different from us, very brutal. Unfortunately, the wraith aren't the only danger in this galaxy and sometimes we're goin' to get hurt. And sometimes we're goin' to lose people. Let's just be glad we didn't lose anyone this round."

Nick nodded. "I know. Thanks, Carson."

Beckett stood up. "I'd better go talk to his team. I know they're waiting."

As Beckett left, Kelly came in and walked over to Nick. "Are you okay?"

Nick looked up at her. "I'm not sure. I haven't decided yet."

Kelly smiled as she brushed a lock of hair from his forehead. "I know what you need. You need a big hug."

Nick smiled back up at her. "A hug, huh?"

"My mom always gave us a big hug when the world came crashing down on us. She always said that when the people you love are hurting, you give them a love hug to make them feel better."

Nick winced. "A love hug? She actually said that?"

Kelly took him by the hands and pulled him to his feet. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head up against his shoulder. Nick responded by putting his arms around Kelly and holding her tight as he felt her snuggle up against his chest. The tension actually started to fade and the shaking began to slack off as they stood in their firm embrace.

"I think I love your mom," he whispered.

oOo

Beckett wasn't surprised to see Rodney pacing the floor while the others sat in chairs. He knew the scientist would be even more frantic than usual since he hadn't been there when Sheppard was shot. Rodney saw him coming and alerted the others, so that they were standing in a semicircle waiting for him by the time he reached the edge of the infirmary.

"He came through the surgery well. We've got him stabilized and he's resting in recovery. He'll be on the ventilator for a day or two to give his lung a chance to heal a bit before it has to work too hard, but he should be okay."

"I want to see him," demanded Rodney.

"Not yet. Wait til we get him out of recovery and then I'll give you a minute or two. We'll be keepin' him sedated until I take him off the ventilator, so he won't know you're there."

"That's okay. I just need to see that he's okay."

Teyla placed a hand on Rodney's arm, nodding at him and then looking to Beckett. "We would also like to see the Colonel. After what happened . . ."

Beckett nodded. "I understand. Just wait here a bit longer. I'll let you know when we get him settled."

"How is Dr. Strauhan?" asked Ronon.

"He's all right. A little shaken, I think, but okay. I'm thankful the lot of you were there. Nick has told me how you helped with the Colonel. He said he would never have made it back alive if you hadn't been there to help."

Teyla smiled. "Then I am thankful that we were there."

"Me too," said Elizabeth. "Looks like the Colonel had the right people on his team."

oOo

The trip back to consciousness was a slow and painful one. The pain crept in quickly, but awareness of his surroundings came only a little at a time. Fuzzy sounds, eventually distinct enough to make out speakers and even words. Touch. One by one he made sense of the tubes and monitor lines, and there seemed to be a lot of them. He tried to remember how he got here.

Sheppard flinched as the memory of the muzzle flash and the impact of the bullet flashed through his mind. The movement kicked up pain and drew a moan from him. Then footsteps.

"Colonel?" Pressure on his wrist as someone took his pulse. He could feel the tug of sleep and began drifting back toward it. He wasn't ready for this yet.

"Colonel, I need you to open your eyes for a minute and then you can go back to sleep."

"Nnnoo," Sheppard groaned. He was surprised to get that much out.

"Okay, now I know you really are awake, so open your eyes for me."

Sheppard was coherent enough to realize that the sooner he cooperated and opened his eyes, the sooner he could go back to sleep. He struggled through several tries before he finally opened his lids enough to see blurry shapes moving before him, blinking a few times to clear away some of the haze.

"Much better, lad," said Beckett, smiling down at him.

"Throat," he managed to get out, his voice as rough and scratchy as his throat actually felt. He needed to swallow, but couldn't find enough moisture to try.

He opened his mouth in response to ice chips against his lips and realized that he had let his eyes close again. Holding the ice between his tongue and the roof of his mouth, he let the cool water trickle down his raw throat, savoring the few seconds of numbness it provided.

"Sorry about the throat, Colonel. I'm afraid you were on a ventilator until yesterday. But you're doing much better now and you're going to be fine. Do you remember what happened?"

"Kolya."

"Yes, Kolya shot you. Teyla and Major Lorne shot him, and he's now recovering in Genii custody. He's under arrest for attempted murder and treason."

Sheppard frowned. "Treason?"

"Yes, treason. It seems when you shoot an emissary from another planet on a peaceful mission and risk putting the planet at war, you have committed treason. According to Cowen, the punishment is death and Commander Kolya is likely to be convicted. You've made quite an impression on some of the Genii people."

The edges of Sheppard's mouth turned up slightly. "Wish . . . be on . . . firing . . . squad."

Beckett patted him gently on his good shoulder. "I wish you could too, Colonel. Lord knows you deserve to be."

Sheppard drifted off imagining the look on Kolya's face as he put a bullet between his eyes, the smile staying on his lips even in sleep.

oOo

Rodney walked into Elizabeth's office to find her hunched over her desk, her face in her hands. "Elizabeth, are you okay?"

When she looked up, he couldn't miss the lines of exhaustion in her face.

"We almost lost him. Again."

Rodney sat down in the chair across from her. "I know. Personally, I think we should lock him in the infirmary. Or maybe his quarters."

Elizabeth smiled. "I will admit, that thought has crossed my mind. You'd have to chain him to his bed to keep him in there."

McKay sighed. "There is that. He's so much trouble."

"I know. But I need him. I need both of you. Times like this remind me of just how much I've come to depend on you two to run this city. I'm not sure I could do it without you. And you've both become very special friends, as well. Every time one of you gets hurt like this, it scares me to death."

"Hey, I'm not the one always getting shot or kidnapped or tortured or turned into a bug."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "No, you just nearly blow yourself up, overdose on wraith enzyme, get exposed to nanoviruses, and get trapped in a jumper stuck at the bottom of the ocean."

Rodney leaned back in his chair. "Okay, so I'm a lot of trouble too, but I'm worth it. I save the city on a regular basis." Elizabeth cocked an eyebrow at him. "Okay, okay . . . Sheppard saves the city sometimes too."

Elizabeth sighed loudly. "It's a wonder either one of you is still alive. I think my best bet is to start training Radek and Major Lorne as replacements."

oOo

Sheppard shifted positions, trying in vain to get comfortable. His chest hurt and the stitches itched and it was driving him crazy. On top of that, he was bored out of his mind and too weak to do anything about it. He scratched at the tape securing the IV to the back of his hand.

"Stop that, Colonel!" Marcy came up to Sheppard's bed, his chart in her hand.

"It itches. Are you guys using some new kind of tape, because I don't remember it ever itching like this before."

Marcy took Sheppard's hand and examined the back of it. "Same tape we've always used and this looks fine. At least it will if you leave it alone. I need to check your dressing."

Sheppard winced as he leaned forward for her to pull the hospital gown down to his waist, then laid back against the pillow. Although she always tried to be careful, she inevitably got a few chest hairs caught in the tape, which really upped the enjoyment value of having his injury and incision site poked and prodded. He kept telling Beckett they needed a special dose of pain meds just for the dressing change, but Beckett just told him to suck it up. The man definitely had empathy problems.

It was several minutes and a few ouches later before Marcy proclaimed, "Okay, I'm done."

"Hey, I don't suppose Dr. Beckett mentioned anything about me getting scrubs, did he?"

"No, not yet. It's probably going to be a few days, Colonel, so don't get your hopes up. On the up side though, I have got a nice clean gown for you." She bit back the devilish grin at his reaction – always the same – a look of loathing that was a 'John Sheppard original'. Nobody could hate a gown like he could. He didn't know it, but he'd almost turned it into an art form. Then there was his involuntary response of pulling his blankets up and clutching at them tightly. She coughed to try and kill the overpowering need to giggle at the battle-trained soldier before her now acting almost like a child.

Very professionally, Marcy lifted the old gown out of the way and slid the new one onto Sheppard's arms. She allowed him to tuck the bottom edge under the covers while he carefully held the blankets in place. Sheppard leaned forward again as she tucked the gown in behind his neck and tied it.

"I'll be back with some lunch in just a bit."

"Yeah, thanks," groused Sheppard.

Marcy patted his hand. "It's not so bad. You'll be back on your feet in no time."

As Marcy left, Rodney walked in and plopped down in the chair next to the bed. "You look like you just lost your best friend."

"Rodney, do you need something or are you just here to annoy me?"

"Well hello to you too, pal. I was going to stop by and see how you were doing, but you're obviously right back to your same old insulting self." Rodney crossed his arms across his chest and tried to glare, but he couldn't hold it in the face of Sheppard's lopsided grin. He gave up and smiled back. "So, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Doc says everything's healing nicely. I'm just bored and my stitches itch and I'm so weak it scares me. And you might as well say it and get it over with."

Rodney raised his eyebrows. "Say what?"

Sheppard gave him a sideways glance. "You know what."

"Look, I'm a genius, not a mind reader. So we can play the guessing game all day, or you can just tell me what you're talking about."

"Go ahead and say 'I told you so'."

"Why would I say that? Oh . . . Kolya. Well, I was right about that, but I was wrong about the rest."

"You should probably get Carson."

McKay snapped forward, his brows creasing together. "Why? What's the matter?"

"I think I'm hallucinating. I thought you just said you were wrong about something."

Rodney relaxed back into the chair and rolled his eyes. "How childish, Colonel. I'm trying to tell you that I was wrong about the reaction of the Genii people, and about the idea in general. I should have known you'd have to turn it into something—"

"McKay! Thanks."

Rodney spent a few seconds in open-mouthed silence before managing, "Well, you're welcome." And then, "So, tell me about this gazebo you've been building. I hear you talked Dr. Strauhan into helping with the physical labor. Nice job."

Sheppard grinned as he told Rodney about the project.

TBC

Note: You've almost made it. One more chapter!