AN: FF Net hasn't let me upload for two days! No, I take that back - THREE days now! AAarrrggghhhhhhhhhh...!

DISCLAIMER: The following story is a work of fanfiction, and as such is for fan enjoyment only. All recognizable characters/settings are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is made.

A Day to Forget

By kerravon

7. Memories…

Sheppard awoke some time later to the sound of McKay arguing vehemently with someone. He discovered that the paint had been washed off his chest, his ruined uniform removed, and his left arm expertly cleaned and bandaged. He also felt better than he had for over a day. "But I'm perfectly fine! I already told you, my name is Rodney McKay, this is Atlantis (where I am Chief of Science, by the way), and I am way too busy to waste my time lying here in bed twiddling my thumbs!"

Sheppard's eyes popped open and he turned to watch as the beleaguered nurse patiently answered, "Until Dr. Beckett releases you, that is exactly what you're going to do."

John couldn't contain his curiosity. "McKay? Are you with us?"

Rodney crossed his arms in irritation. "Yes, of course I am. Beckett says I had something called 'transient global amnesia', but it's gone now."

The nurse, seeing her chance to escape, did so with alacrity. Sheppard ignored the departure. "I have to tell you, I was pretty worried. You remember who I am?"

"Yes. You are John T. Sheppard, Chief Military Officer of this debacle."

Sheppard looked at him quizzically. "So…you do remember what happened on the planet?"

Rodney winced; this was apparently a sore spot. "The last thing I remember is Teyla radioing us that they were safe. Next thing I know, I wake up here."

"So why'd you say my middle initial was 'T'?"

"Come on, 'Tiberius' fits you. You and your self-sacrificing 'Kirk' complex." McKay rolled his eyes as if it were obvious.

"So, John, how are you feeling?" Beckett had slipped into the room unnoticed by the two men.

Sheppard smiled gratefully and readjusted his pillow with his right hand. "A hundred percent better, doc. Mind telling me what happened to super-genius over there? Why couldn't he remember anything? How'd you fix it?"

Beckett chuckled. "I didn't have to 'fix' it, but I did run a series of tests to make sure that nothing else was wrong. Rodney had 'transient global amnesia' and recovered on his own."

"I told you that." McKay was indignant.

"Would you please shut up? I'm trying to listen to the doctor."

Beckett's eyebrows rose in surprise; there was a first. He assumed a more didactic mode. "As you may know, amnesia can be caused by a number of things, including trauma, disease, infection, drugs, alcohol, stroke, or it can be psychogenic. However, about five people, mostly men, in every 100,000 every year have a brief spontaneous episode of profound amnesia with no antecedent cause. These attacks can last from a 30 minutes to twenty-four hours, and are often less frightening for the patient than for his friends."

"You can say that again," muttered Sheppard. "But why couldn't he remember what I told him? I thought with amnesia you just forgot a given block of time, but remembered everything that happened afterwards. Rodney kept having to be told his name."

"Well, that fits. But he still functioned like Rodney, didn't he?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah, and that was weird." Sheppard sat up straighter, carefully moving the injured arm. "Whatever makes him…McKay was still there, even if he didn't know his name!"

"Hrmphhhh" came from the disgruntled scientist. "I am here, you know."

Sheppard turned to him in exasperation. "But you weren't there," he tried to explain.

"I was. I just…don't recall," McKay replied defensively.

"In this condition, most of the higher functions of the brain are retained, such as personality, language function, attention, visual-spatial and social skills. He probably knew that he was a scientist, but remembered nothing of Atlantis. The frustrating part for caregivers, however, is that…," he flipped open his laptop and began to read. "During the period of amnesia, people suffering from the disorder cannot remember recent occurrences nor can they retain any new visual or verbal information for more than a couple minutes. They are often very confused by their surroundings and the people around them. They continuously ask questions about events that are transpiring, for example where they are, who is with them, and what is happening. However, once they are told, they quickly forget the answer, and repeat the question again." The Scotsman looked up from the text to meet Sheppard's startled gaze. "Sound familiar?"

"You hit the nail on the head. But why did it happen? Is it likely to happen again?"

Even McKay seemed interested in the answer to this question, and leaned forward expectantly.

Carson smiled reassuringly at the nervous scientist. "Well, the good news is that you are no more likely to have a second attack than John here is to have a first. There's a lot of disagreement as to why these episodes occur, but there is often some stressor involved. There is evidence that emotional stress, sexual intercourse, immersion in cold water, or strenuous physical exertion can potentially trigger this type of memory loss, and you were not only running full out, but fell into 'icy' water while doing so. There's two out of four triggers right there."

"Will I ever remember what happened on the planet?" McKay frowned.

Beckett shrugged helplessly. "Probably not. While some people can vaguely recall the sensation of being unable to remember, most lose that period altogether, as it was never converted from short-term to long-term memory." He opened his hands. "If you want to get technical, it appears to be a dysfunction of the diencephalon and medial temporal lobes…" he trailed off as he watched both patients' eyes glaze over, then snickered. "Na, I dinna think you wanted to get technical."

Sheppard turned to the scientist and, in a truly heartfelt tone, related, "Trust me, Rodney, you wouldn't want to remember. I mean, running from bloodthirsty natives, almost drowning in a raging torrent, crossing a canyon on a felled tree, and being caught and tied up for sacrifice…why would you want to remember? It was not a good day." He considered his words for a moment, then turned to the physician. "Hey doc, do you have anything to make me forget?" He was only half-joking.

"Ach, but then who'd fill out the mission report?" Carson chuckled. Turning to Rodney, he continued, "And you will stay for observation tonight, no arguments and no hassling my nurses. Got it?"

"Yeah." McKay hung his head like a whipped puppy.

Beckett relented a little. "I'll tell you what. I'll send Zelenka up with a laptop so you can check on any ongoing projects in your department, but you can't leave the infirmary until I say so. Deal?"

Rodney visibly brightened. "Deal!" he agreed.

Shaking his head, Beckett left the room to make a few calls.

Luxuriating in the feel of fresh linens against his body, the pilot relaxed back into his pillows and let his eyes slide closed. The unpleasant feeling of someone staring at him finally forced him to crack open one eye and turn towards his roommate. "Can I help you with something, McKay?"

Rodney squirmed uncomfortably. "I just…it couldn't have been as bad as all that, surely."

John sighed. "Yes, it was. After I pulled you out of the water I realized that we'd lost both radios; you were mostly-drowned and tossed up half the river, and I had no way of calling for help. Then you sprung that 'Who am I?', 'Who are you?', 'Where are we?' crap, and I was scared down to my toes. I was so scared that I temporarily forgot that we were being chased, so the bastards shot me in the arm with an arrow to remind me. We ran, but I kept having to tell you over and over again not only why we were running, but what your name was. I was sure there was some drug or poison in the river water you swallowed. Anyway, after we managed to ditch them, you pulled the arrow out of my arm and bandaged the wound. Then we resumed running until we came up short against a deep canyon, which we crossed after pushing down a tree down as a bridge."

McKay began wagging his finger. "See, I have a problem with that. I can't imagine walking across a deep chasm on such a makeshift bridge."

"You almost didn't. We got about halfway across and you made the mistake of looking down. Still, you did make it, and we dropped the tree in the ravine to keep from being followed."

McKay crossed his arms. "Well, that clearly didn't go as planned."

Sheppard grimaced. "Not hardly, although it did buy us a few hours. Unfortunately, the air vent for our cave was line-of-sight with the village; they saw our fire and came to collect us." He grinned at the memory. "Let me tell you, when your back's against the wall, you can be a real wildcat. You took out at least three of those natives before they overwhelmed us with sheer numbers."

"What about the trip back to the village?"

"I'm afraid I can't help you much, there. I'd been beat up pretty good, and I think I might have been a little delirious from infection by that time. You must have been giving them some lip, because the next time I remember seeing you, they'd gagged you with your own shirt!"

"Why weren't we sacrificed, then?"

"Sheer luck. The rescue team arrived, and scared the natives off."

"And I woke up here, having forgotten all that fun…" McKay's voice was laced with sarcasm.

"Hey, what can I tell you? Some days, it's not worth getting out of bed."

Fin

AN: This was a plot bunny that I just had to write after a friend of mine got "Transient Global Amnesia" - scared the heck out of her husband, but she was over it in a few hours. Now that fanfic writers have heard of this incredibly-useful cause for amnesia, I foresee it in lots of characters' futures. Just remember - it is almost always over within 24 hours, so you only have one day to play with!

Thanks for sticking with me through this. If you liked this story, make sure you check out some of my others (my personal favorite right now is 'Decompression - Take 2'). Hope it was worth your time! Not as much Shep-whumping as usual - sorry. I'm thinking about torturing Zelenka next; ideas? Opinions?