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SILENT SACRIFICE...part 3
He felt himself dozing off, so John got to his feet and started pacing. He had already awakened Rodney twice, but the last time hadn't been so easy so he was determined to stay awake for another two hour check. And just to reassure himself, he kept taking Rodney's pulse every fifteen minutes or so. He did the same for Ronon. The Satedan seemed to be deeply asleep, but he was prone to twitching and mumbling in his sleep and John could tell from the lines of pain etched around his mouth and grooving deep into his forehead, that Ronon was still hurting. But they had to be careful with their supplies, which meant John could do little to ease either man's suffering.
Which bothered him more than he would have liked. He knew that what had happened to them wasn't his fault, that blame could be laid firmly on Dr. Agnew's shoulders and John fully intended to kick the man's ass when they got back to Atlantis. Which led him to thoughts of Elizabeth. In truth he was hoping her intuition had kicked in early and a rescue team was little more than hours away from finding them. A pipe dream, John knew, but it gave him something to look forward to, a goal to reach out for.
Glancing at his watch, John groaned silently to see that he had another hour to kill before waking Rodney again. He considered trying to take another bite of the powerbar he had stashed in his pocket, but his attempts at the first two bites during the course of the past four hours hadn't gone very well. In fact they had sent John out of the cave to puke in a bush both times.
The cave was very warm and John was feeling overheated which, in turn, made him feel nauseous without the benefit of food in his stomach, so he wandered outside again. The night air was chilly, but it felt good against his heated skin. Moving carefully he lowered himself to the ground, resting his back against an outcropping that was situated in such a way that he could turn his head and peek into the cave to see his sleeping companions. So John allowed himself to relax as much as he could, trying to pull in deep breaths, but his aching ribs protested the movement, so he settled for lifting his face into the cool breeze and humming to himself.
For the past five hours he had amused himself by humming Johnny Cash songs, but even he was growing tired of the repetition. Still, it was better than doing math in his head. Normally that would prove a good distraction, but tonight pain throbbed in his temples and any intense concentration made the pain spike. So he settled for meaningless humming to soothe him, yet keep him awake.
Just before the hour passed, John slipped away into the brightening dawn, and found a little sheltered area to relieve himself. That done he headed back inside the cave, grabbing a packet of wipes and using one to clean his hands before checking Ronon again. The Satedan was still sleeping deeply, so John didn't want to disturb him. Rising to his feet, a wave of dizziness sent him listing to the left. He caught himself, hissing at the pull to his ribs and trying to take shallow breaths to work through the nauseating pain until it eased to a bearable level. This time he moved more cautiously, rising to his feet slowly, then making his way over to Rodney.
Grimacing as he knelt down again, John reached out to squeeze Rodney on the shoulder. "Wake up sleepyhead," he whispered, shaking Rodney just a bit. He didn't want to aggravate McKay's back injury, or jar his skull. John knew what a bitch concussions could be. "Rodney!" he hissed a bit louder. "You need to wake up now!"
"M'up," Rodney mumbled, his voice sounding a bit slurred. He blinked hard then peeled his eyelids open, staring blearily up at John. "Hurts," he hissed, mewling in pain as he shifted about.
"I know." John felt a wave of sympathy and he wished there was something more he could do for his friend. To that end he tried to help Rodney find a more comfortable position. Once settled he held up two fingers and asked how many.
Rodney glared at his hand then muttered, "Two. Happy now?"
John resisted the urge to nod, knowing it would set off starbursts of pain in his own skull. "Happy as can be," he said instead, then he reached for the nearby backpack, pulling out Tylenol, a water bottle and a powerbar. "Which first?" he queried.
"Pills," Rodney replied. He was slow to swallow them, obviously fighting a gag reflex, and by the time he was done he looked gray and exhausted. "How's Ronon doing?"
"Still sleeping," John replied. "The longer he sleeps the better."
Rodney sighed. "Yeah, wish I was still asleep. Not that you let me sleep anyway."
John winced, but reminded himself he didn't have a choice. "Better sleepless than dead," he reminded McKay, then he held out the powerbar. "Eat."
"I have to pee first," Rodney said, flushing a bit in embarrassment.
"Right," John replied, silently cursing himself for not realizing that fact for himself. Of course he would have to help both Rodney and Ronon outside to deal with their bodily functions. Moving closer to Rodney he hauled one of his arms over his shoulders then said, "Up you go." John tried to make the transition as smooth as possible, but he watched Rodney grow pale and he heard the whimpers of pain that couldn't be swallowed. "Just hang in there," he said softly.
Rodney didn't respond, he just focused on moving towards the opening of the cave. It was a hellish trip off to the little area John had chose for their bathroom facilities. He ended up having to support Rodney while he went, which was a bit embarrassing for them both. Then he got them back inside and Rodney settled again.
Covering McKay's trembling form with a blanket, John grabbed a cloth from the back pack and wiped his face for him. Then he gave him a few sips of water. "Better?" he asked, as a bit of color came back to Rodney's pale face.
"No, not better!" Rodney snapped. "Better will be me in the infirmary on Atlantis!"
"Amen to that," John concurred, and he smiled as he said it.Rodney being snippy was a good sign. "The rescue team will be here soon."
Rodney sighed. "Not soon enough."
John handed him a powerbar. "Eat. The last thing I need is you going into hypoglycemic shock on me." He watched over Rodney until he took a few bites of the bar. He was about to suggest that Rodney try napping again when he heard a moan from behind him. Turning, albeit carefully so as not to abuse his sore ribs, John saw that Ronon was stirring. He moved to the Satedan's side and tapped his shoulder. "Hey, big guy...how are you feeling?"
"Been better," Ronon rumbled, forcing his eyes open. "Need to pee."
"We can do that," John replied, and he knew with Ronon it would be harder getting him outside, but it would also be less awkward. Soldiers were more matter of fact about such things. Grabbing Ronon's stick, John handed it over, then he got one of Ronon's heavy arms over his shoulder. He prepared himself for how much it was going to hurt to stand up, then he heaved upward, forcing Ronon onto his feet. There was a precarious moment when they both just about toppled over, but John fought through the dizziness that plagued him and managed to get them steadied.
Rodney watched them, looking concerned. "Please don't fall off the cliff," he begged them.
John snorted as he slowly eased his burden to the cave opening. "We're not on a cliff, Rodney...and we're not going to fall off it."
"You'd better not!" Rodney shot back. "I don't want to be stuck here by myself."
"I won't leave you," John promised, hearing the fear that lurked beneath the sharpness of Rodney's tone. He knew McKay was afraid they wouldn't be rescued, he just wasn't willing to put into words that he didn't want to die here. Which was a good thing, because John had no intention of letting anyone die on his watch.
Ronon was grunting, weight heavy on John. "Really gotta pee," he interjected.
John's response was to pick up the pace. Twenty minutes later they were back inside. It took so long because Ronon nearly passed out on their attempt back, and his unexpected lurch of full weight against John sent them both crashing to the ground. John was pretty sure he'd passed out for a moment, which scared the hell out of him. In fact it was Rodney's shouting that brought him back to consciousness. Shouting back that they would be there in a minute, John had roused Ronon and they had inched their way back into the cave.
It took a few minutes to get Ronon settled, then John handed him some water and an MRE. "You need to eat," he said firmly. "You have to keep your strength up." He knew Ronon understood the importance of that and he smiled his satisfaction as the Satedan ripped open his MRE. John then handed one over to Rodney.
"What about you?" Rodney countered, as he struggled with it until John grabbed it and opened it for him.
"Already ate," John lied.
Ronon was watching him as he ate and he stopped shoveling food into his mouth to ask, "Get any sleep?"
John stiffened, knowing that Ronon had a habit of seeing too much. "I'll sleep later," he said smoothly, rising to his feet with little grace. His head was throbbing, his ribs ached with each breath and he felt nausea coiling in his stomach just from the smell of the MRE's. But John was a man on a mission, getting his team back home safely. That was his only focus. "I'm going to go scout the area for more food and water sources. I'm sure Elizabeth will send a team for us soon, but just in case it takes them a while to find us, I want to be prepared." As he spoke he moved to the corner where his backpack lay and went about grabbing a water bottle and stuffing it inside. That was all he would take with him, and the half eaten powerbar in his pocket.
"You can't leave us here alone!" Rodney protested. "What if bad guys show up or a wild animal or something."
"I'll protect you," Ronon spoke up, even as he held up his blaster.
John grinned, knowing that the Satedan would do just that, to the best of his ability. Grabbing the pack, John made to rise to his feet only to list over onto his knees as dizziness washed over him in waves. He heard Rodney shouting his name and he managed to shift around so he was sitting, head between his knees. It helped. After a moment he lifted his head and locked on Rodney's face. "I'm fine, just stood up too fast."
But Rodney wasn't buying it. "You're not fine!"
"You need to rest," Ronon piped up.
"Later," John insisted, this time moving much more slowly as he rose to his feet. He let his eyes close for a moment, hoping it would ease the burning. He couldn't remember ever being so damn tired, but he knew that he couldn't afford to rest right now. He could sleep for a week once they returned to Atlantis and he knew Rodney and Ronon were safe.
But Rodney was apparently in an argumentative mood. "You'll rest now!" he snapped. "Use your brain, Sheppard. I know it's there somewhere under that shock of hair."
John turned to glare at him, but Rodney waved a hand at him dismissively.
"Don't even start," Rodney continued. "If you collapse from exhaustion, who's going to take care of me?" A moment's pause before adding, "And Ronon?"
"You've earned the rest, Sheppard," Ronon put in.
John looked at his companions and realized they were speaking the truth. His body was screaming at him to listen to them as well. He would rest for a bit. Letting the backpack sag to the floor, John moved to a position between the two men. "Fine, I'll rest. But only for two hours." He sat down slowly and managed to curl up on his good side. It made his ribs ache a bit, but it was doable. Then he looked at Ronon. "I'm trusting you to wake me up on time. But wake me sooner if you need me." Which reminded him. "Do you need anything now? Tylenol?"
The Satedan shook his head. "Go to sleep."
With that John let his eyes close and drifted off into a shadowy darkness.
He dreamed about the Wraith. They found the downed Jumper and tracked them to the cave and John had fallen asleep, leaving Ronon and Rodney defenseless. He came awake to their screams as they were drained of life, and a scream choked him as consciousness returned for real and he jolted upright, bile gagging him, ribs screaming with pain that was echoed in his temples and John pretty much crawled out of the cave to heave what little bile there was in his stomach. He heaved until he was choking and it was hard to breathe and he had to concentrate on making himself relax and take shallow breaths. He heard Rodney calling his name and he managed to croak out that he was fine and would be there in a minute.
It was longer than a minute before John stumbled back into the cave, feeling Rodney and Ronon's eyes burning into him. He said nothing as he moved to the backpack and grabbed his water bottle. He rinsed, spit into the corner then took a cautious sip of water. It eased the raw burn in his throat.
"You okay?" It was Ronon asking.
"I'm fine." The lie was getting easier to tell. Besides, maybe if he repeated it enough times it would turn out to be true.
Rodney was glaring at him, as best he could with eyes that were pain glazed. "You're not fine!" He snapped. "What's wrong with you?"
John resisted the urge to sigh, knowing it would just make his ribs hurt more and it wouldn't do much or his throbbing head either. "I'm okay, Rodney, I just had a bad dream." That said he glanced at his watch and was surprised to realize he'd slept over three hours. He turned to glare at Ronon. "I told you to wake me in two hours!"
"So you did," Ronon allowed, and his voice was tight and sharp.
"You okay?" John let go of his anger when he realized Ronon was in a lot of pain. He moved to the Satedan's side, one hand coming to rest on a broad shoulder. Ronon's skin felt warm, too warm. Not a good sign.
Ronon winced. "I've had better days," he allowed.
John found the Tylenol and grabbed Ronon's water bottle. "Take these." He shook four pills out, knowing that Ronon could easily handle that many and maybe it would kill any fever before it could take hold. "I'm going to be gone for a few hours," he said, taking the water bottle back and screwing the top on, then he left it where Ronon could reach it. "Maybe I can find something for you to pee in before I leave."
"No, just help me outside," Ronon insisted, already reaching for his stick. "I need to move around a bit, I'm too stiff."
"Okay." John hauled Ronon to his feet and they made it outside and back in a relatively short time. But it took its toll on John. He repeated the process with Rodney, got them settled again with food and water then realized the fire was out. "Are you warm enough?" he asked. He was feeling too warm himself, but he knew it was because he was moving around so much.
Rodney waved a hand at him. "It's fine. You'll be back before dark anyway. Right?" His voice was barely a whisper, rough with pain and he looked ready to pass out.
John checked his pulse then pushed a powerbar into his hand. "Eat this before you nod off." He was pretty sure Rodney would be okay and if he was sleeping he wouldn't be hurting for a while. He hoped Ronon would be able to sleep as well. "I'll be back before you can miss me," he promised, and then he was pulling on the backpackandheading out into the bright sunlight.
Instinct led him east and John walked fortwo hours before finding a stream. He tasted the water and it was cold and wonderful on his tongue. He was pretty sure it was drinkable and he figured if it wasn't he'd feel it by the time he got back to the cave, so he'd know enough not to give it to Rodney and Ronon. Following the stream he was rewarded with a patch of berry bushes. They were purple but looked like strawberries and tasted like musk melon. John managed to eat two without feeling nauseous or having any other ill effects, so he filled his back pack with what there was, which might last them two days. He just hoped they wouldn't spoil too fast. Because it was getting late and he had a long walk back, John filled the empty water bottles he'd brought with him, then took a moment to step into the stream all the way up to his arm pits. The icy water cooled him down and after a moment it eased the ache in his ribs. He stayed in a minute longer then got out, figuring he'd be dry by the time he got back.
Shouldering the pack, John trudged back the way he had come, all the while sending up a silent prayer for the rescue team to hurry up and find them.
THE END..of part 3