A/N: thanks to Gigajules for beta-reading. Thanks to everyone else for just reading!
Not Alone - Chapter 3
John forced his attention to the here and now as he neared the village. He knew there were Genii moving through the forest searching for him, and he didn't have a hope in hell of out-running them if one of them caught sight of him. Movement became more deliberate, as he pushed the pain and weariness back as his training came to the forefront. Of course, his training for these situations required that he retreat, report to his superiors and come back with reinforcements for his friends bodies, but the hell with that. He inched his way through the undergrowth, treading as carefully and quietly as was possible with a lame leg. John hugged the trees as the dense forest became more sparse and tried to blend in with his environment, straining eyes and ears for anything out of place. He was almost to the village clearing when he heard the unmistakable rustling of someone trying - and failing - to walk quietly through the forest. He awkwardly dropped to the ground and wriggled under the closest bush then pulled his Beretta out of his thigh holster and scanned the trees.
He was still trying to spot the Genii lurking in the scrub when the enemy unaccountably hailed him with a 'psst'. He twisted towards the sound and instinctively fired, an explosion of bark and splinters marking where the bullet hit. A deep voice growled his name and another higher pitched voice called out in quiet panic.
"Wait! Jesus Colonel! What do you think you're doing? Don't shoot at us!"
John gasped, struggling to breathe through the tightness in his chest as shock raced through him like a volt of electricity. The world turned into a kaleidoscope, bending in on itself then expanding back outwards, colours garishly bright. His mind floundered, groping to understand what his senses were telling him. They were dead! But that was McKay's voice. Wasn't it? The side of his face that wasn't swollen scrunched up in surprise and doubt as he called out softly.
"McKay?"
"Well hello! Who else is going to 'psst' you in the middle of this god forsaken, insect ridden cesspool?" The vitriolic whisper cut the air like a knife and John had never been so happy to hear it in his entire life. He slithered out from under his leafy refuge and scrambled to his feet as his team emerged ghost-like from the early morning mist.
John stepped up and grasped Ronon's shoulder before pulling Teyla and a surprised Rodney into a hug, ignoring the flare of pain his ribs gave in protest.
"Thought you were dead." He mumbled. He stepped back, basking in the warmth of discovering his friends were alive and well. He grinned, knowing it was probably one of the dorkiest smiles in his repertoire, but too happy and tired to really care. He was greeted with a stunned silence and the grin on his face slowly faded as he was confronted with three shocked expressions.
"What happened to you?" Rodney asked, his voice raising in pitch as he spoke. Ronon glared at the physicist, as Teyla stepped closer to him and echoed Rodney's sentiment, concern evident in her voice. John looked at his team-mates, and was suddenly aware of his own condition. The pain from his knee, ribs and swollen face reared angrily, and he felt the mud and grime clinging to his skin. He ran his hand through his hair in a pointless effort to remove some of the detritus left from the grotto floor. He was uncomfortably aware of how he must look; muddy, battered and weary, one side of his face swollen and purple, his leg wrapped in a shoddy splint with blood oozing from under a deplorably grotty bandage. He knew he looked awful, and he felt worse, and suddenly his emotions were just too much for him.
"What happened to me?" He hurled the words at Rodney, voice low and intense. He made a sound halfway between a gasp and a snort, choking back tears he was determined not to release. "What happened to me? I was kidnapped, beaten up, shot, and chased. To top it off, I was dead certain up until thirty seconds ago that you three had been executed, so excuse me for not being the poster boy for Aviators Monthly! Where the hell have you guys been?" He spat the words out, furious that he could not put a stopper on his unwanted emotions, that he was on the edge of losing it. Angry at them for being his friends, for making him care when he could lose them so easily. Angry at his pain over losing them; at his fear that he still could.
"What do you mean? We've been dodging Genii and risking our lives to try and rescue you!" Rodney shot back, his voice rising incrementally. Teyla hastily reminded them that a forest containing Genii soldiers was perhaps not the best place to argue, and they both quietened, giving each other glares.
"Colonel, I assure you we have been doing our best to come to your aid. We have had to evade capture ourselves, and were on our way back to rescue you. We were unaware that you had already escaped as we were unable to raise you on your radio." The words were calm, but John heard the undercurrent of worry and frustration. He looked away, feeling almost guilty, as he remembered the crunch of his earpiece being ground into the floor of the house as he was held down.
His thoughts were spinning around too fast, and he couldn't get his head clear enough to make any sense of them.
"But he shot you. I heard…it was a Beretta, I'd know…" And he realised Kolya had done it again. He flushed with chagrin. Of course Kolya had Earth weaponry; they'd seized some of it during the big storm. Anger, shame, hatred and loathing; the feelings surged up in him as he bitterly reflected that this was the second time Kolya had done this to him. John looked at his friends as they watched in confused silence, then he roared and slammed his fist into a tree. Bastard! How did he know? How did the bastard keep finding his blind spot? He could hone in on John's weakness and just press the nerve every time and John had... Had… Enough! His emotions rolled over him; twining and interlocking with the pain and coiling around him, rising through him, choking him until his vision greyed and his hearing dulled and the world spun.
"He's going to..." He heard Ronon's deep voice from far away, and felt strong hands catch him as he fell. Then nothing.
oOo
John lay in the mute silence, while terrifyingly unknown things skittered through the blackness. Danger; a sense of threat pushed down on him, heavy and pressing, leaving him breathless. A feeling of loneliness and loss overtook him, he cried out in the darkness like a child in the grip of a nightmare. The sensation of a warm hand on his forehead pulled him towards wakefulness, and he slowly surfaced into consciousness. Teyla moved her hand from his forehead, running her fingers slowly through his hair before placing it under his neck and lifting his head gently towards the canteen she was holding to his split lips with her other hand. John sipped the cool liquid, relishing the cold relief as it trickled down his throat.
He hurt. Pain was a universal constant that was numbing his mind and overwhelming his sensory system. He briefly wondered if he could pass out again, but the darkness of unconsciousness was cold and uneasy, so he accepted that the agony was unavoidable and tried to look around and force his pain-dimmed awareness to make sense of his surroundings.
"T'la?" he murmured, voice sounding scratchy from a raw throat. Teyla leaned forward, and something cold and damp was pressed against his forehead.
"It is okay, Colonel. You are safe." Teyla's voice was low and soothing, but there was a note of worry underlying the words that belied the comfort being offered.
"Where'm I?" John asked, fighting the haze that clouded his mind. There was a sense of urgency pulling at him. Something he had to do. He couldn't remember, and the pain was making it so hard to think clearly.
"We are in a cave in the forest. Do not worry. Ronon is guarding the entrance, and Atlantis has sent a team through the 'gate. They will be here shortly." John frowned at her words. Atlantis? He couldn't go home yet, he had to kill Kolya first. That's what he had to do! Did she say he was in a cave? Why was it so hot if they were in a cave?
"Can't g'yet, godda kill Kolya firs'. He killed you." He tried to move, but agony came in waves from somewhere and his body was burning and his mind wouldn't work.
"What did he just say?" Rodney's voice was distant; there was a loud buzzing in his ears that was making it hard to hear.
"Shh. Do not move, Colonel. We are all here, and we are all safe. Kolya is long gone."
'He can't be gone, I have to kill him.' He tried to tell her that, but his voice didn't want to work properly.
"Hot." The damp something on his forehead was removed, and replaced with the warm hand again. He tried to lean slightly into the contact, but his face hurt too much.
"You were injured, Colonel, and the wound has become infected. You have a fever. Try to relax, you will be home soon."
'I'm sick?' he thought incredulously. He tried to make sense of the confusing welter of thoughts that rose randomly, seemingly disconnected from each other, through the pain-filled haze. It was too hard to talk, so he didn't try. Just lay back and listened to the voices in the background that were growing less substantial than his own barely coherent thoughts.
"They're here." Someone rumbled.
"Oh thank God! What took them so long?" Someone else said.
There was more, but it was meaningless, and John stopped listening to it. Then they moved him, and he was washed away on the crest of an agonised scream.
Disclaimer: The copyright for Stargate Atlantis belongs to MGM studios and SciFi channel. It's their playground- I'm just playing in it.