John's POV
oOo
Teyla had left. Her staying with him had been kind of nice, even if her reading was horrible. It was silent in the infirmary, except for the soft hum of the city. In fact, it was too silent for John's taste. The silence left him alone with his thoughts; he wished his friends had stayed with him a little longer.
There had been silence. Silence in between. It had been silent during the fifteen minutes he had been dead. McKay had liberally shared that little detail. These fifteen minutes hadn't been passed in oblivion like he had expected. John wasn't a religious man, not after growing up with The Colonel as a father and stepping through the Stargate. Death was the end of life and that was it. After an unfortunate landing with a chopper, he'd spent three days in a coma and he'd come away with no reminders but a nasty scar, thankfully hidden under his hair.
But in those fifteen minutes, there had been silence and whiteness. He hadn't had any impression of time passing until he'd suddenly felt pain surge through his body and everything went black.
John didn't know what to make of the experience. Some kind of medical fluke? He was tempted to ask Beckett but he wasn't sure the doctor would believe him.
Dr. Beckett appeared beside him. "Major, how is your neck? I want the honest answer, not the 'I'm fine' routine."
"Honestly, doc? Like someone stuck two knives in my neck," John replied.
"You got lucky; the Iratus bug missed all critical arteries. I presume it tries to keep its victim alive as long as possible..."
"Do you mind?" John interrupted.
"I'm sorry. I'll get you something for the pain so that you can rest. How is the feeling in your legs?" Carson asked, making more notes on his clipboard.
"It's better. My toes are still numb."
"Your blood work came back. The venom is being metabolized fairly quickly; you'll have your feeling back by tomorrow. It might take longer to get your strength back," Beckett said and injected a pain killer into John's IV.
"I guess I'm not getting out tomorrow." John frowned as the medication started to take hold. A warm feeling was settling over him.
oOo
The way to his quarters had never been that long. John Sheppard was sorely regretting having badgered Dr. Beckett into releasing him on the third day. He had been getting bored in the infirmary. Even the frequent visits from Elizabeth, his team and other members of the military hadn't been able to distract him. He had even tried to start on his mission report—not that he had a lot to contribute. And as Beckett had predicted, he hadn't lasted ten minutes.
Rodney had come by and given him a lengthy speech about the cause of the Jumper malfunction. The gist of the one-hour treatise was that Rodney was working his underlings hard, that nobody could even conceive how smart he was and that the Jumper would fly again. All in all, it was good news. Rodney was the most self-centred man John had ever met. Only science could breed a man like this, but Rodney was a genius. John was no slouch in the brain department himself, even though he didn't like to show off, but Rodney was the smartest man he had ever met. Personality flaws or not, he had proven himself in a crisis on the last mission. He had whined and complained, but he had kept his head and saved them in the nick of time.
Elizabeth had dropped by quickly to see how he was doing and had assured him again that everyone was all right. John was slightly embarrassed that Elizabeth thought he needed reassurance, but he let her continue.
Aiden showed up with a guilty expression on his face. He had obeyed John's orders, but it was Aiden who had delivered the shock that had stopped John's heart. Aiden hadn't stayed long; he had offered to loan John his Alien quadrilogie DVDs, but John had declined. He wouldn't be in the mood for that movie for a long time. He would probably watch them at some point. With one personal item per head, there were only going to be so many movies on Atlantis, even though John was certain Rodney had some classic Star Trek episodes stashed away somewhere on his personal laptop. He would have to ask him sometime.
John rounded the bend. He could see the door to his quarters. Just twenty more meters. His neck was killing him; it felt like the bug was still attached to his neck. Beckett had told him that the wound was slow to heal, but John had insisted that he could recuperate just as well in his quarters. In peace, without being bothered every ten minutes by people he hadn't even known before.
Like the little Czech scientist. He had heard Rodney talk about him, but he had never met him. Dr. Zelenka had come in late, after dinner on the second day. He'd looked around, and headed for John's bed.
"Major Sheppard?" Zelenka had asked quietly.
"That's me," John replied, looking at the man standing at his bedside. He was wearing the uniform of the scientific branch of the expedition with the Czech flag patch, so not one of Beckett's minions coming to poke him some more.
"I'm Dr. Zelenka; I work with Dr. McKay." Zelenka stood behind the chair, as if unsure to sit down.
"You were the one who figured out which circuits for the drive pods," John recalled. Without Dr. Zelenka's work Rodney wouldn't have been able to retract the damaged drive pods in time. "I owe you a big 'thank you'."
Zelenka looked down. "I just came by to see how you were doing. There is a lot of talk about what happened..."
"Well, don't believe everything you hear," John said simply. He wasn't sure why Dr. Zelenka was here; he didn't know the scientist and he was too tired to figure it out. He definitely didn't feel comfortable as the object of city entertainment with every last maintenance technician coming in and having a look at the guy who got bitten by the alien bug. His command wasn't starting on the right foot when even the geeks pitied him.
John could feel the sweat running down the back of his neck. Step by step, he worked himself towards high quarters. He was telling himself that it was just his impression, but he felt like his throat was closing and it was harder to breathe. John gave up the pretences of strength and dropped his hand against the wall.
"Major Sheppard, are you all right?" Teyla's soft voice sounded behind him. John turned around, and immediately regretted the fast motion when his vision greyed out.
The next thing he knew, Teyla was supporting most of his weight. "You should return to Dr. Beckett. You are too warm." Teyla's concerned voice sounded somewhere in the fog of John's mind before the walls started sway and everything went black.
oOo
John woke up in twilight. The steady beeping of heart monitor was both reassuring and annoying. For a moment, he had thought he hadn't really made it, that Beckett hadn't managed to bring him back. It was ridiculous, but just for a second John had been paralysed with panic. Hearing the heart monitor display the acceleration of his own heart rhythm as he breathed faster brought him back to the reality of the night time infirmary. He now remembered the corridor. Teyla had been there when he had passed out. He really shouldn't have talked Beckett into releasing him. Folding up like this right in front of Teyla in the corridor wasn't the smartest move and it didn't make the best impression on their new-found allies.
All things considered, things had started out well with the Athosians. They had brought down the Wraith on their planet, destroying their home. But John was aware of the impression his team had made. They brought the Athosians to safety and they appeared to be thankful. If not, Teyla wasn't telling. It was probably for the best until the Athosians found another safe place to go. John had gotten the impression that the Athosians were proud of the freedom they had fought for so hard for millennia.
John's neck still hurt. Not as bad as that time in the corridor, but the pain was still there. It was the venom that slowed the healing, Beckett had said. He would be off duty until the wound was fully healed. How long that would take Beckett didn't know. John reached his hand to touch his neck; the bandage had been replaced, and it felt thicker under his fingers. It was hot and painful to the touch. It didn't feel good to him and neither did the slight weakness in his right arm when he lifted it up. John tried not to worry, but he still called for the night nurse.
The night nurse turned out to be one of Beckett's assistants. John didn't remember the name of the blonde doctor with the short hair who should up at his bedside a minute later. Her glasses were askew and John suspected that she had been sleeping.
She reached to feel his pulse. She didn't seem to be the talkative type.
"How long have I been here?" John asked.
"Since yesterday morning. It's just past 3 a.m., 0300 hours. Your vitals are looking fairly good."
"I'm not feeling so hot," John admitted. He didn't feel like sharing the details. He had learned a long time ago not to ask questions when you couldn't stand the answers. In the light of day, he'd deal with things. He had met Carson Beckett more than six weeks ago under less than ideal circumstances. But while Beckett might be scared of the Ancient technology, he was a first rate doctor. He was also one of Atlantis's most patient individuals. He was Rodney's friend after all, and at least the closest that Rodney came to having a friend. John would rather receive bad news from Carson Beckett than from a sleep-deprived assistant.
"You have developed a slight infection. Dr. Beckett is treating it with an antibiotic," she explained while taking his blood pressure.
"All this from some infection?" John wondered more to himself than to the doctor, but she still felt compelled to answer.
"Dr. Beckett thinks you are experiencing a delayed reaction to the Iratus bug venom. It's quite fascinating to have the opportunity to study the effects up close," she said, her tone changing for the first time. John felt like one Beckett's lab mice the way Beckett's assistant looked at him.
"Could I have some water?" he asked, more to chase her away than to get something to drink.
The woman nodded and left. John shifted in bed to get comfortable, but his neck hurt in any position. He finally gave up and closed his eyes, just to get a second of rest. He was asleep before Dr. Millhouse was back.
oOo
Dr. Millhouse had still been on duty when John had woken up. After taking his vitals again, she had freed him from the medical attachments and had let him out of bed to take a shower and go to the bathroom. The fifteen-minute break had exhausted John more than he had liked to admit and he was almost glad to be back in bed. The pillow felt good under his head and he drifted off until the arrival of breakfast woke him up again.
Along with the breakfast, Teyla stepped into the infirmary, a steaming cup of tea in both hands. She cautiously stepped up to his bed.
"Major Sheppard, I heard that you were better." She lowered her head slightly and smiled.
"I see word travels fast," John commented. He wasn't really in the mood for visitors, but it was a nice gesture on Teyla's part. He saw her eye the chair and nodded.
"I came to offer you a traditional tea of healing." She put the cup on the breakfast tablet. "The recipe has been passed down twelve generations."
John took a sip. The taste of the brown liquid was beyond vile. "Strong taste."
"It has to be brewed strong to be effective," Teyla replied and got up. "I will see you later."
John had just started on his breakfast - oatmeal with applesauce - when Carson Beckett came in. The doctor seemed to be in a rush and was putting on his white lab coat while he was walking.
"Good morning, major. I'm sorry, Dr. Millhouse just told me now that you are awake. I imagine that you have a few questions." Dr. Beckett spoke a bit faster than usual, but his voice was friendly and concerned, like always when he spoke to his patients. John appreciated the calm bedside manner.
"I'm fine, doc. There's no rush. What is the news?" John swallowed.
Beckett sat down. "There is a lot we don't know about the Iratus bug venom; it's our first encounter with a Pegasus Galaxy native. Your blood tests after you'd been taken back to the infirmary indicate the presence of a metabolite of the venom. I guess it triggered the secondary reaction."
"The facts, Carson."
"I don't know at this point. It might get worse, it might get better," Beckett admitted sadly.
John nodded. He had expected bad news, but not this. The danger of the Pegasus Galaxy was suddenly very real.
"I want to go back to my quarters."
"It would really be better if you stayed here. If any more symptoms present..."
"I'm leaving, doc. You can either help me or watch me," John snapped and sat up.
TBC