Chapter Fourteen
The shriek of the alarms deafened them as the team burst through the doors that led into Sheppard's room, the scene that greeted them stopping them dead in their tracks.
The pillow that had been supporting Sheppard's head had been ripped away and now lay discarded on the floor beside the bed. Keller had disconnected the vent from the tubes that disappeared down Sheppard's throat and instead had attached an ambubag, now being held in the shaking hands of the ICU nurse who had been in attendance earlier. Where before there had been the rhythmic, mechanical rush as the machine breathing for him, now the only sound in the room was the push of air being forced down into his lungs by the ICU nurse who stood at Sheppard's side. Keller pulled the defib set towards her and grabbed two pads which she placed on Sheppard's motionless chest. As she prepped the defib paddles, the whine of the charging apparatus was way too familiar to the ears of the watching team and they could only stand aghast as Keller placed the paddles on the waiting contacts.
"CLEAR!"
Keller discharging the current.
As she pressed the buttons, Sheppard's body arched on the bed, every muscle contracting as the charge passed through his dying body.
Keller turned to the monitors, but the flatline mocked her and she grunted in disgust as she turned back to Sheppard's body. "Damn it, nothing ..charging again." Again the whine as the current built, joining the shrill screams of the monitors in a cacophony of sound that threatened too overwhelm them.
"CLEAR!"
Again she depressed the buttons and once more Sheppard's lifeless body stiffened sharply on the bed before collapsing back onto the sweat soaked sheet.
This time the monitor stopped screaming and as they watched, the flatline jumped once, hesitated, and then jumped once more, before settling finally into a steady rhythm. Keller placed her fingers against Sheppard's neck, needing the physical reassurance that the weak but steady pulse gave her, then she nodded towards the nurse who disconnected the ambubag and reconnected the vent, once more initiating the rhythmic push of air.
"Oh Colonel, don't do that to me!" Keller rested her hands on the bedside and closed her eyes as the stress caught up with her. It was only as she opened her eyes once more that she took stock of her surroundings and finally noticed the audience watching her. The shocked faces shifted between her and the bed where Sheppard lay so still, his chest rising and falling methodically, once more connected to the life giving vent.
"He's definitely a fighter, I'll give him that!" Keller stood upright and turned to the team.
Elizabeth regained her composure first and approached the bedside, "What happened?"
Keller pushed a stray hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear as she sat on the end of one of the empty beds that faced the group. "It was to be expected really. His body is so incredibly weak that he's really struggling to fight off this infection, and it's starting to put a lot of undue pressure on his vital organs. His temperature is way off and we're really struggling to get it down."
"Is there anything that you can do..?"
"Very little. Apart from maintaining the meds that he's on at the moment and keeping him as cool as possible, we just have to give his body the support it needs until it reaches a level where it's capable of holding it's own; the antibiotics do seem to be working, its just a very critical time at the moment."
Keller looked shell shocked. She hadn't been head of department very long and to have the life of the military commander in her hands had taken her way out of her comfort zone. But she had to be dispassionate, she was after all just his doctor and he was still her patient and he needed her ministrations now more than ever. "He's stable for now, we've just got to keep doing what we're doing and hope that he's strong enough to come through it."
"So that's it! He's on his own.."
"It's okay Rodney, he's not on his own at all, we just have to let Dr Keller and her team get on with their work. They know what they're doing… John couldn't be in better hands."
"Dr Weir, there really isn't much that you can do right now. You are welcome to stay and wait if you wish, but I can't see there being any change in the next few hours at least; he's stable at the moment and we'll keep monitoring him every few minutes to hopefully make sure that he stays that way."
"Of course Doctor, I think we could all do with a break, "she looked round as she spoke, "We should leave you to concentrate, I'm sure if there is any change you will let us know straight away?"
"Of course. " Keller nodded, then stood and returned to Sheppard's side, her attention now firmly fixed back on her patient.
Elizabeth gestured that they should leave the room and led the way out into the main infirmary once more. The shock of seeing John in such a desperate situation had affected her more than she had realised and she needed to sit down. Approaching the small office once more, she took advantage of the comfortable chair that sat by the desk and collapsed into its padded seat.
"That was too close…we so nearly lost him again. I'm not sure how much more I can handle!" Elizabeth looked down at her hands as they lay face down on the desk top, shaking with delayed shock. She had never had to watch anyone close to her so near death before and to have experienced it at first hand had affected her deeply. John was a good friend, he didn't deserve to be in there, to be suffering…
"We all share the same feelings Elizabeth. John is more than a friend to us, he has made us," she indicated towards Ronon, "feel like part of a family here and it hurts us to see him like that. It is very…painful to watch someone that you care about suffer as he is.."
"That was just, … just too close! Why! ….Why did we have to go to that godforsaken world in the first place. Why did it have to be Michael. Of all the 'people' for us to run into.." Rodney paced up and down the office floor like a caged tiger, his hands rubbing together unconsciously as he moved.
"We had no way of knowing McKay!" Ronon stood suddenly, "It was a set up, we know that now and there's nothing we can do to undo what's been done." Ronon leant back against the wall, his eyes lowered to the floor, "We were careful, but he was better and we, that is 'Sheppard', suffered for it…but I'm telling you now, it won't happen again."
"If we could turn back the clock Ronon, it would be wonderful, but we can't. Even though we have to accept that Michael is still out there, we at least have John here with us – we have to be thankful for that."
"Oh, believe me I am. But know this. If Michael crosses my path again – ever – he'll know the full meaning of pain and suffering." Ronon's eyes glowed with hatred as he looked up at Elizabeth. "He will die, I promise you that….and I promise Sheppard that the pain he's suffering will be avenged, if not today, then another day when 'Michael' is least expecting it!"
"Well, lets just hope that 'fly boy' is around when that happens, hm?" Rodney had finally stopped pacing and had dropped into a chair next to Ronon, his face still creased with concern.
"Elizabeth, I feel that John should not be on his own at the moment. I am aware that Dr Keller needs to monitor him closely, but if anything should happen…I would not like to think that he was alone…."
"I agree Teyla, I'll speak with Dr Keller. I'm sure she won't mind having one of us there at a time, just in case."
"Thank you Elizabeth, I know that I would want to have company if I were to……"
"I understand completely Teyla," Elizabeth stopped Teyla from completing the sentence. The thought of John dying alone was not one that she wanted to have to consider, but as a realist she had to accept that the possibility was very real and she agreed with Teyla; she would want one of them there if it did happen. "Even though we can't all be there, I'm sure we can organise to visit in shifts?" She looked at the faces in front of her and the simultaneous nodding brought a sad smile to her face, "I'm sure John will appreciate the support…when he wakes up."
"If, you mean…." Rodney was trying so hard to be positive, but seeing his friend torn back from the brink of death had left him with a bitter taste in his mouth, and he was finding it hard to cope with the overwhelming feeling of potential loss.
"It will be 'when' Rodney…he will return to us, I am sure."
"Well, I just wished I shared your confidence that's all Teyla, I really, really do….." and Rodney sat back in the chair, his head in his hands.