If you guys are trying to freak me out with the volume of reviews, then you've been very successful. I've been doing this crazy happy dance all day, convincing my family that maybe I should be fitted for a padded cell. Many, many heartfelt thanks!
Memories or Nightmares – Chapter 5
Elizabeth closed the lid to her laptop and sighed. Finally. She was caught up on her reports for the first time in a long time and she smiled at her productiveness. Standing and stretching, she was surprised to see how late it was. No wonder she was getting tired and stiff. Still, she had accomplished a lot and could sleep knowing her work was done.
As she walked out of the office, she almost laughed. Right, like she would actually sleep tonight, worrying about a certain team on a planet that might still have wraith. Who did she think she was kidding? She had almost made it out of the room when the gate alarm began sounding. Whirling around, she quickly moved to the tech at the gate controls.
"We have an incoming radio transmission, Ma'am. I'm transferring it to you now."
Elizabeth's radio crackled to life. "Atlantis, this is Airman Simpson."
"This is Dr. Weir, Simpson, what's going on?"
"Dr. McKay said I should inform you that Colonel Sheppard has been bitten by a poisonous spider of some kind and needs Dr. Beckett and a medical team. They're several hours from the gate, so they want the medical team to meet them part way."
Elizabeth dropped her head. She should have known it couldn't be simple with them. It rarely was. She looked at the tech. "Can I contact the team directly?"
The tech nodded. "You should be able to reach them."
"Rodney, it's Elizabeth, can you read me? What's going on?"
McKay snapped his head up. "Elizabeth. Look, we're in a bit of trouble here. The Colonel has managed to find yet another unfriendly bug to bite him. Well, actually it's more of a spider. Anyway, this one was apparently poisonous. And Teyla just informed us that the Wraith are here as well."
Elizabeth gasped. The Wraith. "Is there any where for a jumper to land?"
"Negative, too many trees. The only place clear enough is right by the gate, and that kind of defeats the purpose of sending one."
"Okay, I'll get Major Lorne to get a team together to accompany the medical team. That should give you some back up. They'll contact you when they arrive on the planet so you can give them your location. How's John?"
"I'm here," replied Sheppard, holding his right arm across his tightening chest and clutching his left arm. "Hurts . . . like a . . . son of a bitch . . . but I'm still mobile." His last word trailed off into a low moan as the pain flared across his shoulder and up into his neck.
Elizabeth bit down on her lower lip, recognizing the pain in his voice, knowing he was trying to hold it together for his team. "Hang in there, John, help's on the way. Be careful . . . and quit playing with the wildlife."
Sheppard chuckled in spite of the pain, knowing she was trying to ease the tension. "Bugs in this galaxy . . . hate me."
Elizabeth's mouth turned up in a wry grin. "Next time I'll give you a can of Raid before I send you out to play."
Rodney sighed. "Look, as touching as this is, the Wraith are bearing down on us and we need to get moving. You two can chat later."
Elizabeth nodded to herself. "I know. Be safe."
"We will. Don't worry, I'll get him back in one piece."
"Atlantis out." Elizabeth took a deep breath and let it out slowly before moving to call Lorne.
Back on the planet, Teyla kneeled next to Sheppard. "They are close. We need to leave. Can you walk?"
Sheppard clutched his arm more tightly. "I can walk." Beads of sweat lined his forehead and he was starting to pant shallowly. "Help me up."
As Ronon kicked out the fire, Teyla and Rodney helped Sheppard to his feet. They continued to hold him firmly as he swayed, dizzy and weak. After a few seconds, he steadied himself.
"Okay, I can walk." It made him slightly uneasy that everyone was looking at him with an expression of disbelief on their face. "Teyla, you lead . . . less likely to get us lost. Ronon . . . take our six. Move out."
Kramer was slightly amazed. His CO was injured and obviously in pain and still, he tried to lead them to safety. He realized that his respect for Sheppard was growing almost by the minute. Nothing like disaster and trauma to bring out a person's true colors. And Sheppard kept coming out smelling like a rose.
"Wait!" McKay stopped and looked back at the dead spider. "Carson will probably want that. One of us should get it."
Ronon snorted. "One of us, as in not you?"
McKay looked uneasy and shrugged. "Entomology was never my thing."
Ronon walked over and picked up the spider by one leg. "You sure it's not 'messy and scary' that was never your thing?" He looked around for a place to put it. Finally, he walked over to McKay, who pulled back as he got close.
"What are you doing?"
"You said we should take it. I don't have pockets." Ronon pulled open a pocket on McKay's vest and dropped the spider inside. Closing the top, he patted it shut.
"Ooh! You did not just put that in my pocket." McKay began dancing around pulling at his vest. "Get it out. What if it's not really dead? Get it out!"
Ronon clamped a hand firmly on McKay's shoulder. "It's dead. Now let's go."
McKay stopped and stared at Ronon a second before shifting his gaze to Sheppard. His face was pinched and pale and he swayed slightly as he fought to stay on his feet. McKay just nodded and turned back to follow Teyla.
Ronon stopped beside Kramer as he moved to the back of the team. "Stick close to Sheppard."
"Don't need . . . babysitter," mumbled Sheppard.
"You do today." Ronon turned back to Kramer. "And you're it."
Kramer nodded. "I'll take good care of him."
Ronon growled. "You better."
Kramer's eyes widened and he looked at McKay as Ronon moved away. "Did he just growl at me?"
McKay shrugged. "I find that it's best to do what he says when he starts growling."
oOo
Nick looked up to see Carson come rushing into the infirmary, murmuring to himself, his accent thick.
"Carson, what's up? You checking up on me?"
"No, it's Colonel Sheppard. He's tangled with another bloody bug and lost. He's been bitten by a spider, apparently a poisonous one, and they're requestin' a medical team meet them on the planet."
"Along came a spider . . . Would you like me to go?"
Carson sighed. "There's Wraith on the planet."
Nick's expression sobered. "All the more reason I should go instead of you. Colonel Sheppard's been working with me on upgrading my weapons skills. Plus, you're the Chief Medical Officer."
Carson hesitated.
Nick walked over to stand by him. "I'm going, Carson. Help me pack up what we need."
Carson nodded. "They're several miles from the gate, so you'll need a medical team and a stretcher. I doubt the Colonel will be able to walk the whole way."
Nick smiled and nodded.
oOo
Major Lorne led the combined military and medical team through the gate. Simpson met them at the DHD, obviously relieved to see reinforcements arrive.
"Simpson, have you heard anything else from them?"
"No, sir. Nothing since they talked to Dr. Weir."
Lorne clicked his radio twice, letting the team know he was there without risking giving away their position if they happened to be hiding.
Teyla held her hand up for the team to stop. She tapped into her radio. "Major Lorne?"
"This is Lorne. We're here on the planet. What's your status?"
"We are moving as fast as we can towards the gate. I'm afraid we are still several miles away, though. The darkness and the rough terrain and . . . make travel difficult."
Sheppard leaned against a tree, panting heavily. His vision was blurry and his legs felt like rubber. The searing pain in his shoulder had now spread completely down his arm and across his chest and stomach. Even his legs were beginning to hurt. "She's trying . . . to say that . . . I'm slowing them down."
Nick tapped in on his radio "Colonel, can you describe your symptoms?"
"Feels like . . . hot knife where it . . . bit me on shoulder. Arm's . . . numb, but it . . . hurts too. Pain in chest . . . stomach . . . neck. Dizzy . . . blurred vision . . . " Sheppard suddenly grabbed the tree trunk with his good arm and leaned over, retching until his stomach was empty."
"I think you can add nausea and vomiting to that list," said Kramer.
Nick made note of the way Sheppard's words were starting to slur. "Are you having any trouble breathing?"
Sheppard hesitated. He hadn't really wanted to bring that up, afraid it would scare his team even more than they already were. "Maybe a little."
Nick sighed. "Okay, it sounds like a neurotoxin, but I have no idea how strong it might be. You really don't need to be exerting yourself like this. It spreads the venom through your system faster. Can you wait for us?"
"No," said Sheppard immediately. "Got Wraith . . . after us."
"Okay, there's not much you can do on your end. Teyla, Rodney, keep an eye on him and watch his breathing. Let me know if he gets worse." He didn't want to tell them that they weren't really equipped to help him if it did get worse. They needed to get him back to Atlantis.
"Teyla?" said Lorne. "We need to know how to get to you."
Teyla gave Lorne instructions on their position and they agreed to contact by radio every half hour unless the Wraith were too close.
Simpson approached Lorne as they were getting ready to head out. "Sir, I want to come with you."
Lorne shook his head. "We need you by the gate in case we need to contact Atlantis."
"Sir, you need someone by the gate. My best friend is out there, not to mention the team I came here with. I'd like to see this mission through doing something besides sitting by the gate."
Lorne looked at Simpson for several seconds. He then turned back to his men. "Clayson, Jenkins, you two stay by the gate and let us know if there are any problems. Simpson, you're with us."
"Thank you, sir."
Lorne nodded. "Keep you're head up and don't make me regret that decision, airman."
"Yes, sir."
oOo
Thirty minutes later, Sheppard began to stagger. He was increasingly dizzy and sleepy and the pain was now shooting through his legs. He could no longer feel or move his left arm and it dangled uselessly at his side. The funny thing was, it still felt like fire running through his veins and shooting hot pain through the limb, even though it was numb to the touch on the outside. He tucked his arm into his vest to help keep it from flopping around and throwing off what little balance he had left.
Kramer, walking one step behind, saw the action. "Sir, are you all right?"
Sheppard continued to trudge forward, having to concentrate on making his legs move, putting one foot in front of the other. "I'm good." The words were barely out of his mouth before he stumbled, and would have fallen if Kramer had not grabbed the back of his vest, pulling him upright.
"Thanks . . . airman. Keep . . . moving."
Kramer continued to watch his CO closely, observing the lines of pain marring his features and hearing his labored breathing. Sheppard was getting worse and there wasn't a thing they could do about it. He had seen Dr. McKay glancing over to the Colonel, also keeping an eye on the team leader. He looked as concerned as Kramer felt.
Sheppard made it for another 45 minutes before collapsing.
TBC
