Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or medical health care professional. Although I have tried to research medical terms, they may not be 100 percent accurate.
Chapter 2: Survival.
The pressure behind her eyes was continuing to build as the jumper was pulled towards the anomaly. The pull that it had over them seemed so much stronger than what she felt when she entered a stargate and that worried her. Teyla had no idea what was on the other side, but she suspected that it wasn't good, that's if they even got out of this alive.
She knew the moment that John lost consciousness that there was no way they were going to be able to turn the jumper around, so she braced herself and waited for the inevitable.
She had been so angry with John that afternoon and she knew that he was aware of it, but now she may not get a chance to apologise to him and tell him everything that she wanted to. John had been absent all afternoon and she could have really used his support. He never saw the argument that she'd had with Kanaan after lunch and she had desperately wanted to tell him about what had gone on, but she suspected that he was as angry with her as she was with him. She was convinced that he was angry with her because of Kanaan and the way he perceived their relationship. John was her best friend, but she wanted more and now she may never get a chance to tell him. There would be a lot for the two of them to talk about if they ever got out of this.
Then there was Torren, she wondered whether she would live long enough to hold her son again, would John ever get the chance to hold him again. She'd left him with Kanaan as she'd wanted him to have the chance to know his biological father, but everyone knew that John was Torren's dad. In fact, she was secretly pleased when Torren called John Da because deep down she knew that Torren was trying to say, Dad. All of these thoughts were going around in her head when the jumper crossed the event horizon and entered the anomaly.
The colours that surrounded her were intense and she was surprised when the pressure behind her eyes began to dissipate. Looking around at the bright colours she realised that it was unlike anything she had ever seen before. The colours of the Stargate's event horizon were dull in comparison to the swirling reds and oranges she was seeing now.
A groan from beside her caught her attention and it didn't take her long to realise that John had awoken and was looking around with a pained look on his face.
"Are you okay John?"
"Not really, my head is still pounding, and these colours are way too bright," he said, and she could see that he was squinting.
"They are not affecting me at all," she commented in surprise.
"Lucky you," John replied sarcastically, and she could see that he was still in a lot of pain.
"Perhaps it has something to do with your ancient DNA," Teyla suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Yes, that is a strong possibility and one that I will definitely ask Rodney if we get out of this alive! He replied through gritted teeth.
She knew that he was angry, but what she couldn't work out was, whether he was still angry with her or was he angry with the situation that they found themselves in through no fault of their own. She found herself wondering if the phenomenon they were caught in was naturally occurring or manmade and if it was manmade who made it? Did the Ancients make it long ago, or was there another race out there as intelligent and arrogant as the Ancients? All of these were good questions and ones that she would probably never know the answer to.
It wasn't long before the pressure inside her head began to build again and the bright colours swirling around her head began to slow down and then within seconds, they were in normal space again. She had no idea where they were, but the one thing she did know was that there was a planet dead ahead and if John didn't pilot the jumper away from it soon, they would be caught in the planet's atmosphere, and she really hoped that they wouldn't crash because if they crashed, they may never get off the planet.
Turning to look at John, it didn't take her long to realise that he was still in pain, but he appeared to be trying to change the direction of the jumper, so he'd obviously very quickly realised what was going on. The concentration and strain on his face, was intense as he closed his eyes. Teyla knew that it was best to keep quiet about the fact that his eyes were closed as he was clearly trying to think the jumper away from the planet. Whatever John was doing didn't appear to be enough because within a few minutes of exiting the anomaly they were skimming the atmosphere of the planet.
"John!" She screeched feeling her panic rising.
"I'm trying!" He yelled back.
The jumper bounced off the atmosphere a few times and then it began an erratic descent.
"John what's happening!?" She yelled over the noise of the jumper plummeting towards the planet.
"I've lost control so brace yourself for a hard landing!"
The jumper soared through the atmosphere, and she knew that when they landed it was definitely going to be a rough landing. Luckily the area they were heading towards seemed relatively flat and it was covered in dry yellow grass, the only problem was there were some decent sized rocks scattered throughout the clearing and she was shocked to see that they seemed to be heading towards one of them.
Grabbing hold of the console in front of her she closed her eyes, she knew that John would do all that he could to try and even out the descent, but if he'd lost control there wasn't really a lot that he could do. As she felt the ground coming closer, she opened her eyes and it scared her how fast that the ground was coming towards her. So, in a desperate attempt to protect herself she put her head between her knees, but it wasn't enough as just before the jumper hit the ground, she hit her head and lost consciousness.
When she became aware again the first thing, she noticed was that her head was pounding and there was something wet and sticky running down her face. The next thing she noticed was a moaning sound coming from beside her, is there a wild animal in here with me was her first thought? Then she chastised herself at how stupid that sounded. In the end, she knew that the only way to find out what was going on was to open her eyes so with a great deal of effort she managed to open her eyes and it wasn't long before she realised that the moaning was coming from John who was barely conscious.
She took a few minutes to assess her injuries and from what she could ascertain the only injury she had sustained was a cut on her head and although she had a splitting headache, she didn't think that she had a concussion.
Slowly she crawled over to where John was slumped over the console, "John, are you alright?"
Gently she put her hand on his shoulder, hoping not to startle him, "John please wake up?"
She was rewarded when he slowly lifted his head, opened his eyes, and looked at her.
"How is your head, John?"
"It hurts like hell, how's yours?"
Although she had hit her head, she suspected that it wasn't as bad as John's because even in the fading light she could see that he had a large gash and bump on his forehead.
"It is not too bad so how about I find a first aid kit and some light so that I can have a look at your head and see if you have any other injures?"
She noticed him grimace just as she was about to get to her feet, so she suspected that he had more injuries than his head.
"John, do you have any other injuries that you want to tell me about?"
"I think my arm's broken," he said through gritted teeth.
"I will go and get a flashlight and the first aid kit," she suggested walking to the back of the jumper.
It was now dark on the planet that they had landed on, and she had no idea how cold it may get or how long the night would last so she pulled out a few blankets as well. She knew that all they could do tonight was try and stay warm, but tomorrow they would have a lot of exploring to do or more to the point she would have a lot of exploring to do as she didn't know whether John would be up to it or not.
When she came up beside John again his eyes were closed, but she suspected that he was still awake so she spoke to him gently, "John I have a first aid kit so now I would like to have a look at your arm?"
John nodded his head slightly and she was able to shine her flashlight over his arms and what she saw almost made her sick, the radius and ulna bones in his left forearm were both broken in two and piercing his skin. She was surprised that he wasn't in absolute agony and the fact that he was still conscious was a miracle.
She had no idea whether she should set it because right now she hadn't a clue where they were or how long it would be until they were rescued. In the end, she decided that she would try and set it in case they were stuck here for a long period of time.
"John I am going to try and set your arm as I do not know how long we will be on this planet."
"Do it."
"I am going to give you some morphine for the pain and once I have set the bones I will try and stitch up the wounds and then I will try and splint and bandage your arm up."
Once she had given John a shot of morphine she sat and watched him for a while to make sure that the drug was well and truly in his system. She was hoping that he'd pass out before she had to try and set the bones, but no such luck, he was as determined and stubborn as usual, doing everything that he could to stay awake.
She knew immediately when the morphine had taken effect because his eyes became unfocused, and his eyelids began to droop so she grabbed his arm and as quickly as she could she realigned the bones. John muffled a scream and then promptly passed out, much to her relief as the last thing she needed right now was for him to feel any pain that she may inflict on him while she was, stitching, splinting, and bandaging his arm up. When she had finished with his arm, she set about bathing and bandaging the gash on his head.
Once she had finished, she gently lay John down on his side with his broken arm laying on a small pillow that she had found in an overhead locker at the back of the jumper. Finally, she placed a blanket over him as the night was becoming cold and because she had no idea how long the nights lasted on this strange planet, she suspected that it was going to get much colder, before morning.
With John's injuries dealt with for the moment, she took the time to bathe her own forehead and get herself something to eat. She should probably wake John up in a few hours and give him some water, but for now, she was just too tired and all she wanted to do was eat and sleep. Twenty minutes later after a quick meal, she lay down next to John with a blanket over her. The sound of John's breathing was comforting so it wasn't long till she fell into a deep sleep.
When she awoke again there was sunlight streaming through the jumper window and she was shocked to find that John was gone. She had no idea how he managed to get to his feet as he seemed in way too much pain when she'd fallen asleep the night before.
She was immediately on her feet, and it was then that she noticed that the back hatch was open so in an instant she was on her feet and outside, "John are you alright?" She called out, her sense of panic beginning to rise.
A sense of relief swept over her when he came into view less than a minute later and smiled at her with his lopsided grin, but she could tell that he was in pain as the smile didn't quite reach his eyes like it normally did.
"Sorry Teyla, nature calls."
"Please do not wander off like that again because I was worried that something had happened to you."
"Hey, don't worry about me I can look after myself?" He told her while pulling his gun out to show her.
"Yes John, I know that you can, but it still does not stop me from worrying about you." She decided to change the subject as now wasn't the time to discuss her feelings for him, "how is your arm feeling this morning, John?"
"I'll admit that it's pretty painful right now, but on a positive note my head doesn't hurt anywhere near as much as it did last night."
"I will give you some morphine when we get back to the jumper and then we should have some breakfast before I go exploring."
"There's no way you're going exploring on your own Teyla, just give me some extra strength Tylenol so that I don't end up drowsy and then I will come with you."
"I thought that perhaps you could try and stay here to fix the jumper?"
"Sorry Teyla, but I've already checked the jumper and it's a lost cause. If McKay were here, he may be able to deal with it, but he's not so we're going to have to come up with another plan."
"Well perhaps we can have a look around and you can have a look at it later."
She was convinced that John would probably be able to get the jumper in the air again, given that the hull seemed to be reasonably intact, except for the front corner where it had slammed into a rock. Even though he wouldn't admit it, she knew that he was a genius and his out of the box thinking was a result. Rodney had also confided in her when they were on earth that he thought that John was as smart as he was, although he would never admit it to John.
John just shrugged his shoulders before heading towards the jumper, cradling his broken arm.
Following behind him she made a mental list of all that they needed to do that day and the first thing they needed to do was look for a water source as there wasn't much left in their canteens. Shelter wasn't an issue for the moment, as they could stay in the jumper, but within a couple of days, food would be an issue as they were bound to get sick of Power bars and MRE's very quickly.
If John couldn't fix the jumper in the next few days, she knew that they would have leave, and look for a more permanent shelter.
John was already trying to get into the supplies when she arrived back in the jumper, and she could see that he was struggling to do it one-handed. Looking closer she noticed the pain line around his eyes, and she had to wonder whether he'd taken any pain medication since they'd been up.
"John, have you taken any Tylenol this morning?"
"Nah, I'm trying to hold out as long as possible because we only have a certain amount and who knows how long we're going to be stuck on this rock," he stood up from where he was crouching and looked at her, "the first thing we need to look for today is a water source and then we probably need to work out if there's anything edible on this planet. Then if we can't get off this rock, we'll need to find a more permanent shelter."
She knew very well what they had to do since she was thinking about it earlier, but she decided to keep quiet because she knew when John was in pain, he liked to keep himself busy and part of that for him was still being in charge.
"I agree, but first we need to eat so why don't you let me get something to eat while you take some Tylenol and rest."
She could see that he was about to argue, so she placed her hand on his shoulder and spoke to him with a gentle tone, "John you need to let others look after you once in a while and besides, I am quite capable of getting us something to eat."
She was relieved when he sat in the pilot's chair, it concerned her the way he was still cradling his arm so she made a mental note to put it in a sling after breakfast.
Breakfast was a simple affair with a power bar and a cup of water each. During the meal, Teyla kept a close eye on John and she was convinced that he was developing a fever, which wasn't surprising the mess his arm had been in after they had crashed. There were some antibiotics in the first aid kit, but she knew that they wouldn't last long. Her suspicions were confirmed a few minutes later when John started complaining.
"I don't feel too well Teyla, so maybe you'd better leave me here while you go exploring."
He was incredibly pale and she knew that if he was admitting to not feeling well he must be in a bad way and she shouldn't really leave him alone, but then she knew that they desperately needed some water especially if she needed to start cooling John down.
"John, do you feel hot?"
"I'm not really sure," he answered right before he vomited all over the floor.
She watched him as he continued to retch long after he had emptied his meagre stomach contents. When he was finished she gently guided him to the back of the jumper and sat him on one of the benches." I'm going to give you some antibiotics and a shot of morphine, then I am going to clean up before going to look for some water."
Once she had given him some morphine and antibiotics she gently lay him on the floor and put a cold compress on his forehead and she was relieved that he was asleep within seconds. After cleaning up the area at the front of the jumper she took one of the big water containers and their canteens and went to look for a water source. Taking one last look at John she left the jumper and closed the hatch.
She didn't want to leave him, but she knew that she had no choice as for whatever reason the jumper hadn't been properly stocked before they went to New Athos, but then it was only supposed to be a quick mission to contact the Athosians again. She knew that John would be addressing the soldiers responsible for the oversight when they got back to Atlantis; that's if they ever got back to Atlantis.
The day was sunny and warm and for the first time she noticed that there were two suns in the sky, one of them was pale and distant and the other one appeared to be much closer. The sky was an intense shade of blue and there was a gentle breeze in the air.
She looked around at her surroundings and discovered that they had crash-landed in a field with woodlands surrounding it. Standing still and listening intently she heard a strange gurgling sound coming from the woods in front of her. She suspected that it may be a river so she proceeded to walk in that direction.
Entering the woods she pulled out her gun and was on high alert since they had no idea whether this planet was inhabited or not. The woods were alive with sights and sounds, there seemed to be an abundance of wildlife on the ground and numerous birds in the air. Some of the beasts that were running through the woods looked like small hares so at least they wouldn't starve.
She continued enjoying the woods surrounding her, but she knew that she wasn't out for a stroll as their very lives depended on her finding the river as soon as possible. John needed her so she had to be quick today, but she knew that there would be plenty of time to explore the area when John was feeling better.
The strange gurgling sound was becoming louder, so she suspected that she must be approaching the river. A few minutes later she was shocked to see a waterfall upstream cascading off a deep cliff and pounding the water with great force as it hit the river below.
It had to be one of the most magnificent sights she had ever seen and she wished that John was here to share it with her, but this was the first place that she was going to bring him when he was well again and he would get well she was positive. Perhaps they could swim in the cool refreshing water, but for now, she needed to fill up the water container that she had brought with her.
Looking around she found a small winding path that led to the water's edge, when she arrived she saw that the bank was steep and she had no idea how she was going to get close to the water so she followed the path along the river's edge until she found a place where she could lean over and fill up the container.
She leant down and scooped the water into her mouth and was surprised at how sweet and refreshing it was so after a few minutes, she decided that she would jump in and have a swim. She took off her uniform jacket and her pants and jumped in with just her top and underwear. The coldness of the water took her by surprise at first, but she very quickly acclimated to it. She knew that she shouldn't stay in long because John needed her, but she just didn't want to get out. Five minutes later when she'd decided that she was going to get out she spied smoke in the distance, so obviously this planet was inhabited after all. It didn't take her long to work out where the smoke was coming from and it appeared to be coming from a spot on the same side of the river as the jumper so she could easily check it out on the way back.
Once she had climbed out of the water, she sat on the bank for a few minutes to give herself a chance to dry off.
The sun was warm so she decided that she would lie back, and enjoy it for a while, but then she knew that John needed her so she stood to her feet and put her pants back on and it wasn't long before she was heading down the path towards the billow of smoke that she had seen. She wondered why someone would have a fire burning on a warm day like this, but then perhaps someone was cooking a meal.
A few minutes later she came to a wooden hut and she had no idea how she had missed it earlier. Maybe the fact that she'd only just noticed the smoke meant someone had only just lit a fire and normally the cottage was camouflaged by its surroundings.
She hesitated before knocking on the door, and at first no one answered so she decided that no one was at home. Just as she was about to walk away, someone spoke to her in a slow drawl.
"Teyla please don't leave. I've waited so long for you to arrive on this planet?"
Turning around slowly she was afraid of what she would see as the voice was certainly recognisable.
She turned to see a man who appeared to be a good fifteen to twenty years older than her. He had deep expressive hazel eyes and a lopsided grin, although there appeared to be sadness in his eyes and in an instant she knew exactly who it was.
"John," she whispered.
TBC…