Part six

'Damn it!' Lorne swore as Mya either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him. 'I'm going after her. You two follow as soon as you've been able to rig up some kind of stretcher – if Teyla's right, we're going to have to carry him back.' Without wasting any more time, he grabbed one of the packs containing emergency supplies and entered the tunnel, beginning the descent but going a lot more slowly than Mya would have been able to.

Taking careful note of the terrain as he went, Lorne's mind was busy figuring out potential hazards, resting places and solutions to problems for making the return journey with Colonel Sheppard as smooth and easy as possible. They would find him and bring him back alive, Lorne told himself fiercely, not prepared to consider the notion that it might just be a body they would be bringing back.

He understood now why Teyla had looked such a mess when she had emerged from the tunnel earlier – although it was wide enough to fit through comfortably, it was very low in places and necessitated crawling on hands and knees and in spite of the illumination from his flashlight, he still managed to knock himself a number of times.

By the time he reached the smallest part of the tunnel, the sweat was pouring down his face with the exertion and the limited air coming through behind him but he knew he was almost there now and pushed himself the last few metres, squeezing through the narrow opening until he at last emerged from the tunnel.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Lorne shone his flashlight into the cave before him, a puzzled frown on his face until he realised what it was he was looking at.

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'Trying to sleep here,' John mumbled as he felt a sharp stinging sensation on his face, waving a hand to knock away whatever it was that was irritating him.

'John?' A soft, familiar voice spoke his name but it still took him a while to register who it was, making him open his eyes abruptly.

'Mya?' He looked at her and his surroundings, the fact that they were still in the cave registering in his sluggish thoughts. 'What are you doing here?' His mouth felt as though it were stuffed with cotton wool.

'Helping you,' she told him briefly, and continued to clean up the many cuts on his face and arms. 'Marcus is coming.'

'And he let you come first?' John asked in surprise. When Mya said nothing, John nodded his head as he understood what must have happened, knowing that Lorne would never have allowed the little girl to return to an unsafe environment in this way. 'Never mind. So…'

Not giving him chance to say anything further, Mya placed her bottle of water to his lips and waited patiently for him to drink, only allowing him to take small sips at a time. When he had drunk as much as he could, she shone the torch to light up his face and looked at him, a calculating expression on her face that eerily reminded him of Beckett.

'What?' He asked suspiciously, then hissed in pain as Mya lifted his t-shirt and checked the dressing on his side. Looking down, he did a double-take as he saw the wound was covered in some green stuff that he couldn't identify. 'What is that?'

'Cordra leaf.'

'What's it doing there?' John was struggling to keep his thoughts together now. When he first woke, he had felt a little better but now the effort of thinking and talking had drained him of what little energy he had started with.

'Slows bleeding.' Mya replaced the dressing and secured the bandage in place, sitting back on her heels when she had finished before encouraging John to drink some more water. When he had finished drinking, Mya climbed onto John's lap, draped the jacket covering him over both of them and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head comfortably against his chest.

Wondering what she was doing, John was surprised when he realised how cold he was, and even more surprised that he had only just noticed. Mya was obviously more observant and was doing what little she could to increase his body temperature in the only way possible. Feeling drowsy with the new-found warmth, John closed his eyes, wrapped his own arms around the little girl and dozed off again. A few minutes later, Mya's eyes also closed and she too fell asleep.

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It was like this that Lorne found them, his flashlight resting on them for a few moments before he directed the light to one side of them. He smiled to himself at the cute picture the two of them made before moving closer to check on Colonel Sheppard's condition. His pulse was weak and rapid making him frown as he went to check the wound on Sheppard's side, his eyes taking in the recently cleaned cuts on his face. He had just raised the t-shirt and was about to check the wound when he was startled by John speaking.

'I didn't think we knew each other well enough for this.' John's voice, though very weak, still had a hint of humour about it, giving Lorne hope that he would be alright after all.

'Good to see you awake, sir,' he replied, continuing to remove the dressing and discovering the cordra leaf. Not knowing what it was, he began to lift it up curiously but found his hand slapped away. Looking up, wondering if he had inadvertently hurt the Colonel, he saw Mya staring at him fiercely, her hand ready to slap him if he tried to remove the leaf again. 'What is that stuff?'

'Cordra leaf,' John told him when Mya just continued staring at Lorne without responding. 'It's slowing the bleeding.'

'I see.' He hesitated for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders and replacing the dressing. From what he could tell, the leaf appeared to be working and there were only a few spots of blood on the dressing, although he could see Sheppard's t-shirt had previously been soaked with blood. 'How are you feeling, sir?'

'I've felt better. I'll be glad to get out of here, though. I assume you've got a plan for getting us out of here?' John raised his eyebrows questioningly.

'Farrow and Carlton should be here soon, they're bringing a stretcher with them. I came on ahead of them when Mya decided she didn't want to wait around any longer.' Lorne glanced at Mya who hid her face in John's chest.

'Mya, I think you owe the Major an apology. I know you just wanted to make sure I was alright, but you know you shouldn't have run off like that don't you?' John's words were gentle but firm, and Mya looked up at Lorne for a moment before jumping up, hugging him by way of apology and sat back down again on John's lap.

Clearing his throat to cover the awkward moment, Lorne continued to update Sheppard. 'Teyla is fine, apart from a few scrapes and bruises and she's returned to Atlantis with Marks. She can let Dr Beckett know what's been happening and Marks is going to bring him back, so he should be waiting for you when we get out of here.'

'Good work, Major.' John's voice was barely audible now and, knowing that there was someone else to take charge of the situation, gave in to the overwhelming exhaustion and his eyes slid closed. Mya looked up at Lorne with fear in her eyes.

'We're going to get him out of here,' Lorne crouched in front of Mya, speaking as reassuringly as possible. 'And as soon as we get out, Dr Beckett will be able to start treating him straight away.'

'Dr Beckett?' Mya asked him curiously, forgetting her concerns for the moment.

'Yes, he's a medical doctor, like a healer.'

'Doctor.' Mya nodded, looking a little happier.

'You should get some more rest before the others get here.' Lorne could see how exhausted she was and knowing the return journey would be hard on her, he was relieved to see her settle back against Sheppard and close her eyes allowing him to take the opportunity to rest while he had the chance.

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It was almost an hour later before Lorne heard Farrow and Carlton, although from the sounds he guessed they still had some way to go and twenty minutes later they emerged, out of breath and with sweat pouring down their faces but bringing with them the means by which they would get Sheppard back to the outside world.

'Glad to see you made it in one piece.' Lorne greeted the new arrivals, nodding approvingly at the modified stretcher. It had been padded with as many items as they had been able to lay their hands on, including jackets and emergency blankets from some of the packs. Ropes had been secured at both ends and fashioned into harnesses to make pulling the stretcher easier, and ropes had also been criss-crossed the length of the stretcher to secure the Colonel in place.

'It'll be pretty tough going on the way back,' Lorne continued. 'You should both get some rest and have something to eat and drink before we start. I'll get the other two ready to go.'

Lorne woke Mya with some reluctance - she looked so peaceful as she slept - but he knew it was just as important for her to eat and drink as it was for the rest of them. Once she was settled with an energy bar watching the two new arrivals warily, Lorne turned to Sheppard who took a lot more effort to rouse, but he opened his eyes at last and stared at Lorne for a few moments before he remembered where he was.

'You don't look so good, sir,' Lorne told him, checking his pulse and frowning at what he found.

'Thanks for the vote of confidence,' Sheppard grinned weakly at him and lapsed into silence, finding it too much effort now to try to maintain the façade he had put up previously.

'We'll soon have you out of here. When Farrow and Carlton are rested up, we'll get started.' Lorne paused before speaking again. 'It's going to be a pretty uncomfortable ride I'm afraid. It might be a good idea to take some of these before we leave.' He held out four pills in one hand, a bottle of water in the other. John raised his eyebrows at the quantity he was being offered but swallowed them readily enough, choking a little on the water. 'I think you may need them, sir,' Lorne offered by way of explanation before turning back to where Farrow and Carlton were now standing, ready to get started.

'Ok, let's get him loaded.'

It took ten minutes to get John settled and secured on the stretcher. Ten minutes that saw the Colonel turning paler and paler before finally passing out. When they were ready, Mya insisted on checking John, having watched every thing that went on very closely. Only when she was satisfied would she let the others get near enough to start manoeuvring him to the tunnel.

Lorne put himself at the head of the stretcher with Farrow, indicating for Carlton to take the other end and bring up the rear. 'Mya, I want you to go out ahead of us. Do you think you could manage with the flashlight to show us where we're going?' Mya nodded, grabbing the light and the pack she had brought with her and proceeded to wriggle her way back into the tunnel, waiting a few feet in to light the path for the others.

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'So where is he?' Beckett looked around where Ronon and the other personnel were standing, not seeing one of the few people for whom he'd gladly make a 'house' call.

'They haven't come out yet.' Ronon told him, his voice tense as he crouched before the opening not shifting his gaze, watching and listening for the first indication that the rescue party were on their way back.

'How long have they been gone?' Carson put down his equipment with relief, nodding his thanks at Marks who had carried some of the heavier bags.

'Too long,' Ronon told him gruffly.

'Farrow and Carlton set out nearly two hours ago,' Lt Neale advised him. 'It would have taken them around 45 minutes to get down there, then allowing time to rest and get the Colonel settled, it'll take an hour or more for the return as it's all uphill.'

'Thanks, son.' Beckett looked around at the terrain, quickly identifying the lack of level ground and the unsuitability for even attempting to treat Sheppard at this spot. 'When they get here, I'm going to need him moved to the bottom of the hill as quickly as possible. Can you arrange that for me?' Neale nodded and issued his instructions.

The minutes dragged by slowly. Silence fell on the group, a tense silence that showed the level of respect and concern for Atlantis' ranking military officer. After a few minutes, Beckett got to his feet and started looking around at the military personnel, his sharp eyes picking up a number of bruises and minor wounds.

'Ok, I may as well make myself useful while we're waiting and get you lot sorted out. It'll save my staff time when we get back as well.' Pulling on a pair of gloves, Beckett gestured to one of the soldiers who tried to look as though he hadn't noticed. 'Don't be such a baby,' Carson's voice sounded exasperated. He could never seem to get over how these men could fight a pitched battle without batting an eyelid but appeared to fear medical treatment as though it were some form of torture. Under Beckett's fierce gaze, the soldier had little choice but to approach and stand still while Beckett cleaned and dressed his wounds. 'Ok, who's next?' He asked when finished, relieved that the men had seen sense at last and presented themselves fairly promptly for their treatment.

He had checked all the military personnel and was about to turn his attention to Ronon when a crackling on the radio caught the attention of everyone, a stillness falling immediately over the group.

'…Lorne…' The reception was poor but they could make out enough to know their wait was nearly over. '…out in…ten minutes…stand by to assist.'

The next ten minutes seemed to last forever, but before the time was up, they could hear a scrabbling and a dusty and hot Mya emerged, accepting assistance warily from Ronon, but racing to a spot away from the others as soon as she was out.

Keeping a close watch on what was happening at the tunnel entrance, Beckett moved towards Mya slowly. Teyla had told him about the girl Sheppard had rescued, the only survivor of her people and her understandable caution around other people. He could see her watching him, her eyes narrowed as she sized him up, trying to determine if she should allow him to get any closer. Evidently the result was in his favour as she remained seated until he was standing right in front of her.

'I'm Dr Beckett ' He knelt down in front of her. 'And you must be Mya.' She nodded, then accepted the bottle of water he held out for her, watching him as she drank.

'Doctor.' Mya said as soon as she'd finished drinking, smiling shyly at him, before her eyes moved to the tunnel entrance as there was a sudden flurry of activity. Instantly Beckett moved into doctor mode and hurried over, watching as first Lorne and Farrow emerged, gratefully handing over the ropes that were pulling the stretcher to Ronon and the others waiting before moving out of the way. Almost immediately, the head of the stretcher appeared and willing hands pulled it out the rest of the way, allowing Beckett to briefly inspect his patient before heading to the bottom of the hill as soon as he gave the nod.

Barely waiting for the stretcher to be laid down as they reached level ground, Beckett began his work.

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To be continued…

The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author