Part sixteen

'What's the situation?' Elizabeth asked as Major Lorne appeared in her office.

'The infirmary have finished checking the new arrivals - most of them are fine but they've had to keep one who was injured quite badly,' Lorne reported, running his fingers tiredly through his hair. 'Sergeant Hobson has informed me that the rest have all been assigned temporary accommodation. I'll be overseeing the resettlement operation, but the chances are most of these kids' homes and families will have been wiped out. The Torians have already said they will take in anyone who is need of a home.'

'That's good to hear,' Elizabeth smiled with relief that order was now being restored to the city, although she would be even more relieved once the refuges had been properly resettled.

'It also turns out we were able to retrieve some more of Mya and Breda's people – the injured girl is one of them,' Lorne continued. 'Apparently they were kept by the slavers to tend the fields and cattle. Breda has asked if they can all stay on here for the time being, just until they know what's happening with Mya and their friend in the infirmary.'

'That won't be a problem,' Elizabeth readily agreed, understanding the need for those of the same village to remain together. 'I know Mya will be with us for a little longer, until Colonel Sheppard is back on his feet anyway.'

'I see. How is he?'

'He should be fine,' Beckett spoke up as he appeared beside Lorne. 'But he is running a bit of a temperature at the moment. The damage to his arm isn't too severe in itself and should heal fairly quickly, but coming on top of the previous injury that he hadn't fully recovered from, it's affected him more than it would have done normally. I'm beginning to regret allowing him to go on this mission.'

'I don't think we had much choice,' Elizabeth told him. 'How are the refugees?'

'Not too bad for the most part,' Beckett replied, looking almost as tired as herself and Lorne must. 'There were a few cases of malnutrition but apart from that they're a pretty healthy bunch. Tyana, the one who was injured with Colonel Sheppard, is resting at the moment but the blast she took to her back could have caused some spinal damage. The whole area is inflamed though and we won't know the extent of the problem until the swelling goes down.'

'You've all done an outstanding job,' Elizabeth told them. 'Pass on my thanks to your teams. Now, it's probably time we all got some sleep. Good night gentlemen.'

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John was very warm when he woke, his limbs felt heavy and useless and his head was pounding as though someone was tap dancing in his brain. Cracking one eye open a fraction increased the discomfort in his head and he rapidly closed it again, suppressing a groan, partly due to the discomfort and partly due to finding himself back in the infirmary – he seemed to be spending way too much time here for one reason or another recently and he had just about had enough of this place to last a lifetime.

Pushing those thoughts to one side, John considered his current situation. Aside from the heaviness in his limbs and the headache, John was aware of a dull pain in his left arm bringing back memories of the recent mission to the slavers home world and the injury he had received just before they returned home. The discomfort in his arm he could understand, but he was confused as to why the rest of him felt so hard done by. His musings were brought to a halt when he felt a cool, damp cloth wiping his hands and face, finding it surprisingly refreshing.

Forcing his eyes open, he looked at the 'nurse' who had been wiping his face, realising that the concerned eyes staring right at him belonged to someone far younger than he expected. As she saw him looking at her, Mya grinned happily and climbed up beside him to give him a big hug, burying her face in his chest as her shoulders started to heave with happy sobs, realising for the first time since he'd returned that hewas going to be alright.

'Hush, it's alright,' John rubbed her back, finding the movement awkward and uncomfortable but ignoring the discomfort for the time being. 'I told you I'd come back didn't I?'

'I thought…I thought…' Mya gulped, looking up at him, her eyes red and face wet with tears. 'When you fell over…'

'I know, and I'm really sorry I gave you such a fright,' John told her softly. 'But I'm here now and more or less in one piece, so you don't need to worry any more.'

'It's good to see you're awake at last, Colonel.' John looked up as Beckett spoke, unnoticed until now. 'Mya, now you've seen for yourself that he's awake, why don't you and Breda go find Teyla and get some breakfast – Teyla tells me you haven't had anything to eat yet.'

Looking doubtfully at John, Mya only consented to leave when he nodded at her encouragingly. She jumped down after hugging John once more and made her way to one of the other beds in the infirmary where John saw Breda sitting with another patient. Breda and Mya had a brief conversation before they disappeared to find Teyla and breakfast.

'What's going on?' John asked, a puzzled look on his face.

'The girl you helped yesterday, the one who got shot, is from Breda and Mya's village – as were the others that Breda went after,' Beckett explained. 'We don't know how severe her injuries are yet, but Breda and the others are taking it in turns to sit with her so she doesn't feel isolated.'

'I see,' John nodded before grimacing as the headache increased in intensity. 'So, how am I doing?' He went on to ask, trying to fight through the fuzziness that was developing in his brain. 'It doesn't feel too bad.'

'I can see that, son,' Beckett told him dryly. 'And I can tell you're not in any pain whatsoever, of course.'

'Ok, you've got me,' John admitted reluctantly. 'So what's the damage?'

'The nerves in your arm were badly affected by the electrical charge from the weapon that hit you, the actual damage is minimal, but it will be a while before you get full use back in that arm again and you'll need to wear a sling for a couple of weeks.'

'You've got to be kidding me,' John complained loudly. 'I've only just got back to work and you're telling me I'm back on light duties again already?'

'I'm afraid so, Colonel,' Beckett told him, sympathising with the way he was feeling. 'You're also going to be feeling feverish for a few days – it's your body's way of telling you to slow down and let it heal. Getting injured before you were fully recovered will delay your progress slightly and I'll need to keep you in here for a few days to make sure everything is returning to normal.'

'I guess that would explain why my head feels like it's about to explode then,' John grudgingly accepted the situation.

'Aye, but I can give you something for the pain and to help bring your temperature down,' Beckett offered, surprised at John's willingness to admit to feeling unwell.

'Thanks,' John mumbled, worn out by the lengthy discussion and struggling to keep his eyes open. 'Think I'll just rest for a while.' Before Beckett had turned around to fetch the promised medication, John's eyes had closed and he was breathing deeply as sleep claimed him.

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The next few days passed in a blur for John as his temperature refused to return to normal. He would wake up for brief intervals, the world around him merging into the fog and confusion of his fevered dreams. Often he would see a pair of dark eyes set in a small face that would peer at him when he woke, damp cloth in hand to wipe his hands and face, offering him sips of water that helped to ease some of the discomfort. Other times it would be dark or he would be on his own and at those times he felt incredibly lonely, in spite of knowing deep down that somewhere close by would be Dr Beckett and the infirmary staff.

Late in the afternoon of the third day John opened his eyes to see Mya watching him, a frown on her face as she considered the man looking back at her.

'Hey,' John greeted her, his voice dry and cracked, gladly accepting the water she held up for him to drink.

As soon as he had taken a few sips, he rested his head back against the pillow. He felt drained and limp, but he also felt more alert and suspected the fever had broken at last which would allow him to begin to recover properly. His thoughts were confirmed as Mya returned with Dr Beckett, making him realise how ill he must have been as he hadn't even noticed her going to fetch him.

'That's much better, Colonel,' Beckett assured him as he took his temperature and checked the thermometer. 'Pretty much normal again. How are you feeling?'

'Like a plateful of cold spaghetti,' John told him, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise as Beckett laughed at his response. 'That's no way to respond to a sick man.'

'I see you're feeling much better,' was all Beckett said, ignoring John's digs at him. 'You had us worried for a day or two,' he went on in a more serious tone, both men's attention caught as Mya nodded in agreement, her face solemn. Beckett coughed to stop himself from smiling at the seriousness of her expression. 'Now the fever's gone, I think you should start to recover fairly rapidly.'

'That's good news,' John agreed, hugging Mya who, unable to restrain herself any more, jumped on top of him and wrapped her arms around his neck. 'And you've been looking after me, haven't you?'

Mya beamed at this, not expecting him to remember her being there while he was so poorly.

'Dr Beckett said I did a very good job,' Mya told him proudly, scrambling down to stand beside him, still clutching one of his hands. 'He said you could be a..a grumpy pain in the ass when you were ill.' Mya looked at Beckett for confirmation that she'd got the phrase correct, unaware of the impacther announcement hadon the two men.

'He did, did he?' John glared at Beckett, whose face and neck were rapidly turning a dull shade of red as he realised the words he'd spoken to his head nurse had been overheard by little ears.

Oblivious to these reactions, Mya went on to explain further. 'The nurses showed me where to find what I needed and they didn't seem to mind me doing their work. I liked taking care of you.'

'And I'm glad you were there,' John told her, then grinned at Beckett, willing to call a truce with the man who held his life in his hands – literally at times. Besides, he wasn't that bothered at the comment – he knew he wasn't the best of patients and had long suspected the medical staff dreaded his all too frequent stays in the infirmary.

'Colonel Sheppard,' a soft familiar voice greeted him. 'You are looking much better.'

'Teyla,' John greeted his team-mate. 'How's things?'

'Everything is fine,' Teyla told him, seeing that in spite of his improved appearance, John still looked very tired. 'I have come to fetch Mya to get something to eat. She has been spending much time here but her fellow villagers and I have been making sure she eats and does other activities also.'

'That's good,' John told her, fighting to keep his eyes open. 'I'm going to be just fine,' he assured Mya. 'Why don't you go and spend some time with your people now and come back to see me tomorrow?'

Mya gave him another happy grin and went off with Teyla, leaving Beckett and John alone.

'I know you're really tired right, now,' Beckett began, considering his next words carefully. 'But Mya took it really badly when she saw you pass out in the 'jumper bay. She was convinced you were dead.'

'So I gather – I remember her reaction when I first woke up,' John grimaced, feeling really bad about what he'd put the little girl through. 'But I guess making a decision has become that little bit easier – she needs to be with people who can give her a more stable life than she'll get here. I just hate the thought of her not being around any more.'

'I know,' Beckett agreed. 'I think we'll all miss her. Did you know she realised you were injured before anyone else did?'

'What are you talking about?' John looked confused.

'She made her way from your quarters to the 'jumper bay and arrived at the same time as I was heading there with the medical team when we were told there was a casualty – but we didn't know that you were injured as well.'

'That's…kind of weird.'

'Yes, but it's not unheard of for people to have some kind of precognition when something happens to someone close to them,' Beckett explained. 'I've never done much in that field myself, but Dr Heightmeyer can probably let you have more information if you're interested.'

'I think I'll just accept it for the time being,' John looked a little uncomfortable at the way the discussion was going and changed the subject. 'When can I get out of here?'

'Providing you don't develop any complications, you should be able to return to your quarters in two days.'

'Two days?' John began to complain, then looked sheepish as Beckett stood there with his arms crossed. 'I am kind of tired, come to think of it,' he admitted at last.

'That's to be expected, son,' Beckett told him, smiling before he left to see about his other duties, suspecting John would be sound asleep within moments.

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'I hear you're getting out of here tomorrow, sir,' Major Lorne said as he arrived in the infirmary to bring John up to speed on the relocation of the refugees.

'That's right,' John said, looking and feeling much more alert than he had the previous day. 'I'll still be on light dutiesfor a couple of weeks though.'

'I kind of guessed as much,' Lorne told him. 'And I thought you'd like to know how it's all been going – one less thing for you to catch up on.' As John nodded his approval, Lorne continued to speak. 'It turns out there were only four planets represented by the refugees, apart from Mya's people, that is. Anyway, we went to each of their planets but it was pretty much the same on each one we went to. Everyone was dead and there was nothing left to salvage, the buildings had been burned to the ground, the crops had been destroyed and the livestock slaughtered and left to rot. It was tough on everyone.'

John glanced Lorne's grim face, understanding how difficult this had been for all those involved.

'I'm just glad they won't be able to do it again,' Lorne continued, and John guessed that given half a chance, Lorne and his whole team would willingly seek revenge on the people who had carried out these acts of violence. 'Anyway, they're all settling in with the Torians as well as can be expected. I've told them we'll send people to check on them from time to time to see if they need any assistance until the new arrivals are properly integrated and the villagers are sure they have sufficient supplies.' It was also evident from Lorne's voice how tired he was, but as he talked about the settling in process, his face showed that he was getting some satisfaction from knowing they had at least helped these few survivors get a fresh start

'Good work, Major,' John commended him warmly. 'Now, go and get yourself some rest.'

Once left to himself, John inevitably found his thoughts wandering to the very real problem of what to do about one little girl to whom he had become very attached. He knew what needed to be done, but he also knew it was going to be one of the hardest decisions he would ever have to make.

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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