Part 11 Dr. Beckett & Dr. Ricaud At Your Service

Lorne and the Marines made their way into the dome keeping as close to the walls as possible. Signs of destruction and fighting were visible everywhere they looked. Fortunately, the entry hall appeared deserted with only the odd blinking light from the control panels showing that the power was still up.

Office Tamar went over to another wall panel and quickly entered a code again. After a few hesitant seconds, the inner doors obediently opened for him. "It would seem that our people have gained the upper hand," he commented more to himself then the others, "Or the security codes would have been changed. Now all we have to do is find our people and hope that none of Aldrich's supporters are between them."

Lorne had a million questions to ask but right now, there wasn't the time so he kept his eyes peeled as he and his men followed Tamar deeper into Sanjava.

They made good progress as they moved rapidly towards the main control area and surprisingly, they encounter no real opposition along the way, which meant that the rebels had gained even more ground than Tamar had estimated. However, several well-armed men were positioned to protect the last corridor but as soon as they saw the rebel security officer, they lowered their guns and allowed them pass unhindered into a large control room.

A few seconds later, Tamar let out a huge cry of relief at seeing the white haired doctor. "Dr. Ricaud, it is so good to see that you are still alive my friend," he called to the older man.

Surprised to see Tamar, the doctor replied "And you too. So you managed to get back into Sanjava unhindered." Tamar just nodded at the statement. "Well," Ricaud continued, "I must say things haven't turned out quite like we anticipated. The good news is, Dr. Tyrell is dead, and the duplicates have been destroyed. The bad news, I have no idea where Aldrich has disappeared to and I fear that Colonel Sheppard has been killed. Most of the citizens fled some time ago but we have now taken the main control areas, which only leaves a small group of Aldrich's man who are currently putting up some resistance in sector five." Suddenly pointing to Major Lorne and the others as if having just noticed them, he questioned. "Who are these men?"

"Friends of Colonel Sheppard's and he is not dead. However, he has been badly shot up outside the dome and is in need of urgent medical attention." Tamar replied.

Ricaud looked flabbergasted. "He's still alive and outside Sanjava?" Both Tamar and Lorne nodded. "How did he manage that?" the doctor pondered. "All right then, you'd better get someone to bring him to our hospital unit. Then I'll come along to treat him."

Lorne looked at the white haired man. "We'll appreciate the hospital, Dr. Ricaud but we've bought our own doctor with us, he's caring for the Colonel right now."

"Oh really?" Ricaud answered, seeming rather peeved. "All the same, I would like to be there and I have many questions to ask you people but first let's get him safely inside." Turning to an assistant, he ordered. "Pencovich, you go with these people and show them the way to the hospital unit once they have collected Colonel Sheppard."

-SGA-

Leaving most of the Marines to guard the dome's entrance, Lorne, McKay, Teyla, and Ronon carefully carried the still unconscious Sheppard on a stretcher as Dr. Ricaud's assistant took them and Carson towards the hospital unit.

Fifteen minutes later, a grateful Beckett finally brought John into a surprisingly well-equipped and clean hospital. Carson noted that the area divided into many small and comfortable rooms with no more than three beds each. Most rooms appeared to be fully occupied with wounded rebels. The staff seemed efficient as they went about aiding them.

Dr. Ricaud must have sent a message instructing his staff to have John placed in the main operating theater. The others, except for Carson, were shown to a rather plush and comfortable waiting area. Immediately, upon arrival, McKay promptly asked for something to eat.

Once John was taken into the OP, Carson quickly began to retrieve his instruments and look for a place scrub-up. A pleasant young nurse showed him into a side room and without delay, Carson began to wash and prepare for the coming operation, all the time hoping that there wasn't going to be a conflict between him and this doctor, what ever his name was.

The scrub-up area, like many on Earth, was separated from the theater by a large glass panel thus enabling him to watch as the staff stripped John of his clothes. Carson was glad that Sheppard was out of it because these people didn't seem to care too much about modesty as they left him butt naked as they washed off the blood and dirt.

Beckett was already clad in his surgical gloves and gown, when a middle-aged man came rushing through the door. "Ah…you must be their doctor!" he called. "I'm Dr. Ricaud. Just give me a minute while I clean up. What are we dealing with anyway?" Carson went ahead and described John's wounds. "So we are dealing with one bullet still lodged. Okay, we will get the scanner out to locate the bullet's position. I wanted to scan him anyway but obviously, there has not been time. They gave him quite a beating last night and I was very concerned about kidney damaged and possibly a splintered rib or two. Then of course, it seems he had to go and crawl all the way up a long tunnel even after I warned him not too. Mind you, why he did that is going to be interesting to know, but I have a feeling that Aldrich was somehow involved." The man went on and on reminding Carson of a certain other doctor in a room not so far away. "Has he lost a lot of blood?" Ricaud finished.

"Aye, about as much as you'd expect from three bullet wounds, so he's going to need at least two to three units." Carson answered. "His blood group is…"

"That is really not important, Dr…err?"

"Dr. Beckett," Carson supplied, "Why's it not important?"

"Because we already have a good supply of blood suitable for John Sheppard." Ricaud left it at that as he finished washing. "Right let's go and see what for mess the man has made of himself, shall we?"

Carson had to smile. Surprisingly, he was beginning to like the doctor. "Aye, why don't we do just that and believe me, it's not the first time."

"I can imagine!"

Just as Dr. Ricaud said that, a nurse came rushing into the room and shouted. "Doctor he is showing signs of distress!"

Both doctors looked at each other for a second before hastening from the scrub up area into theater where a sense of controlled panic greeted them.

It took Ricaud a second to assess the situation. Carson was a bit stumped for a moment as he tired to interpret what the foreign monitoring equipment was indicating. However, it didn't take him long to realize that John's heart was failing.

A horrible sense of Déjà vu ripped through the Scotsman as Ricaud shouted orders to his staff. Pleased to see that John was already on a respirator, Carson took out his stethoscope and stood over Sheppard to listen intently to his heart. He didn't like what he heard. Lifting his head, he called. "He needs that blood now and have a defibrillator on stand by."

Not really knowing exactly what the alien doctor was referring to, the staff did set up the blood transfusion.

Ricaud looked a little peeved as Beckett straightened. "I think for the Colonel's sake we must make an effort to work together, Dr. Beckett."

"Aye, I agree with ya but his heart doesn't sound at all good to me and he could go into massive failure at any moment."

"Yes, I am aware that. We have administered several drugs to help with the problem and I have a machine that can restart the heart on stand-by." Ricaud stated as Beckett glance towards the indicated unit. It was certainly bigger than Earth's equivalent but no doubt, just as efficient.

As the doctors waited to see if John stabilized, Carson turned to Ricaud and looked a little sheepish. "Ya have to excuse me but I am a little anxious for the Colonel's well being."

"That's quite understandable, Dr. Beckett. Were you the one who had to deal with his duplicate?"

Carson simply nodded. "Aye, he died on me and nothing I did changed that. I thought I'd lost a good friend forever and now I've got him back, I don't want to lose him again."

"We will not lose him." Unfortunately, just as Ricaud said that John's heart failed.

An alarm tone rang throughout the room as the doctors and staff went about preparing the equipment. Ricaud did the actual shocking and as he applied the pads, John's body lifted slightly. The first attempt produced no improvement, so they set the machine to a higher level and tried again. This time the alarm went quiet and Beckett was able to listen with his stethoscope. Straightening, he smiled and stated. "Much stronger and normal rhythm. I suggest we wait a few minutes and if nothing changes, we get that bullet out of him as quickly as we can."

"Agreed." Dr. Ricaud answered. "I'll get the scanner ready."

-SGA-

Two hours later, both doctors sat relaxing, as best they could, over the Capellan equivalent of a nice cup of tea. It tasted rather like the good old brew that Carson knew from home but with a slight hint of vanilla…or something like that.

Just as Carson brought the cup to his lips, Rodney, Ronon, Teyla and Lorne entered the room. Looking concerned, Rodney asked. "How is he?" before the others could speak.

"Bloody lucky to be still alive." Beckett answered.

Ricaud nodded. "I'll second that. That man certainly knows how to make a mess of himself."

Carson smiled. "Aye that he does."

"Yes, yes," Rodney muttered, "We all know that, but how is he?"

Carson looked at his fellow Atlanteans. "I'll be perfectly honest, it was touch and go for a while. We nearly lost him a couple of times. Once before the bullet was removed and once after," Beckett told them. "The bullet proved more difficult to extract than anticipated as it was situated dangerously close to a kidney. I'm telling ya, I'm damn grateful that I didn't have to remove it outside because I'll be honest, I'm sure he would have died." Carson paused and ran a weary hand across his aching brow before continuing. "On top of that, he had several cracked ribs, was dehydrated, and as you all know, shot two other times, which naturally caused moderate blood loss. He was also suffering some kidney failure from the severe bruising in that area. We've done the best we can but the rest is up to John. I have no doubt that he will make a full recovery but he's going to need plenty of TLC for a week or so. He's currently in intensive care but if you'd like to look in on him, I'm sure Dr. Ricaud won't mind."

"Not at all. I'll have a nurse show you the way. However, please don't stay long as he really isn't up to it and if you could come back here afterwards, I think we have a few things to straighten out."

"Yes that would be a good idea." Rodney spoke up for the others. Anyone nodded and filed out of the room when a nurse entered to show them the way.

Twenty minutes later, the team came back into the room after their quick visit to Sheppard. Officer Tamar had joined the doctors and they waited patiently until everyone managed to find a seat and an assistant offered them drinks.

After everyone settled down, Dr. Ricaud and Tamar filled the Atlanteans in on what had occurred before and after the revolt. At least as best, they could.

When they'd finished, McKay spoke up. "So, let's just summarize the events. You've been planning this uprising for five years because you'd had enough of the two mad scientists pushing you around. We came along and Tyrell fancied John, so she made us a copy of him, which we took home. Err…it didn't last very long by the way."

Everyone smiled at that. "Good job it didn't." Rodney pondered aloud before continuing. "Yeah, right, now where was I? Oh, yes, you saw his being here as a sign to revolt and your tunnel was ready anyway. Thereby, Tamar, you and a few others escaped down it but John was nabbed before he could go with you by an angry and jealous Aldrich. Tyrell then got mad at Aldrich for pinching her pet Ancient, which by the way he is not. Dr. Ricaud you then shot Tyrell dead, grabbed Sheppard, took him to the labs, and pulled the power plug, which enabled us to get to the planet." Ricaud nodded and Rodney went on. "That killed the clones and the revolution got under way. Then you got hit on the head and lost Sheppard while taking him to safety and I think we know the rest."

"Yes, a very good summary, Dr. McKay, but we can only speculate as to what really happened between Aldrich and Sheppard, and unfortunately, Aldrich has not been found yet and can still be a danger to us all," Jonas Tamar added. "I am happy to report that sector five has now been taken, which is really good news and soon our people can start to come back home. As for your ship, I think it is wise to leave it where it is. We cannot afford to lower the power again as that could destroy all our remaining crops and leave us open to a possible Wraith attack. You have been able to contract with your ship, haven't you?"

Lorne spoke up. "Yes, we managed to contract them several hours ago and they're standing by for further instructions. But how do we get home if you can't find the gate control crystals?"

"Don't worry, we'll find them somewhere or someone will tell us eventually. I can't understand why she had them removed?" Tamar murmured.

"To stop us from coming to get Colonel Sheppard back," Teyla simply answered.

Jonas smiled at her. "Yes, of course, my dear. Therefore, until we find the crystals and while the Colonel recovers, you are our most welcome guests. We will show you to suitable rooms and please feel free to explore Sanjava. That goes for your men outside as well."

"We'd like to help wherever we can?" Lorne put in and everyone agreed.

"Thank you that would be most appreciated."

-SGA-

The next days went by in a buzz of activity for everyone as the Atlanteans helped the people of Capella to recover. It wasn't going to be easy for them after centuries of rule under the two crazy dictators. Although, they were a resourceful bunch and would probably do fine.

McKay was in his element discovering new toys and helping to repair their equipment, during the time he wasn't keeping a vigil by John's bed. Teyla and Ronon also took their turn at sitting with John between working with Lorne, and the marines to help wherever they could around the dome. Dr. Beckett naturally continued to keep a good eye on Sheppard as well as helping Dr. Ricaud with many other patients.

However, the precious gate crystals were still missing and everyone began to get a little frustrated.

-SGA-

John was dreaming of a long white corridor that went on and on without a break. At one end, a bright light beckoned him forward and at the other came hordes of Wraith moving towards him all laughing, taunting him, calling him names, with hands held high ready to plunge into his chest as their faces morphed into Aldrich's mad visage.

John screamed and partially opened his eyes to come face to face with a very concerned Carson Beckett. "My goodness, lad, that's one way to come back to awareness. Bad dream?"

Sheppard looked at him in total confusion. He couldn't really remember where he was for a minute. Carson was here, but here wasn't the infirmary in Atlantis where he was used to waking up. There were no plain cream walls in Atlantis or a picture of…? His eyes focused on it and he tried to decide just what the picture depicted and then it suddenly came back to him, he was still in Sanjava.

He returned his gaze to Carson and attempted to speak but his voice came out weak and croaky. Beckett reached for a drinking cup with a built in straw and let John take a few sips to clear his throat. "Didn't expect…to see…you…again, doc."

Beckett felt the same way especially after all that John had suffered and with the other Sheppard still lying in the morgue back in Atlantis. "Aye, it was close but that guardian angel helped ya again, lad. Ya took three bullets but thankfully, they all missed anything vital. Most of your troubles stem from that beating they gave ya but that's clearing up as well now. You'll be as right as rain in a few weeks time."

"That's good…to hear." John was tiring but he needed to know a few more things before drifting again. "Is everyone ok? And how did…things go?"

Carson smiled at him thinking that's definitely our John. "Things have gone fine. Sanjava is now in the hands of the rebels and our people have been helping to restore things," Although, he decided to leave out the bit about Aldrich still being unaccounted for, "Rodney's in his element helping the engineers…" Carson stopped as he noticed that John had gone under again. So checking his vitals, he murmured. "Welcome back, lad and sleep well."

Carson looked up to see the pretty nurse who'd been attending to John's care smile at him. "He will be all right won't he, doctor. I mean, it was dreadful what Aldrich and Tyrell did to him?"

Carson returned her smile as he sat himself back down to continued his turn at keeping watch over John. "Aye, lass, it was but he'll be fine now."

tbc