Part 11 - What the Hell is That?

It was night outside, although it was hard to tell underground in Stargate Command, only Rodney's watch pointed to the fact. He'd taken over, the talking to John duty, from Ronon five minutes ago. The Satedan had reluctantly relinquished the chair, muttering something about wanting to be there for John because he wasn't improving and his greatest fear was that his friend wouldn't make it through the night. Rodney had reassured him that he would sound the alarm if things looked that bad. In the end, Ronon had left but Rodney had the distinct feeling that he hadn't gone far. Probably to a corridor near the infirmary. Rodney settled into the chair and threw a small glance towards the male doctor on duty. It was someone that he didn't know but he'd been assured that the man was an expert in his field of critical care medicine. Now…where do I begin? he pondered but nothing came to mind and the usually overly boisterous talker found he simply couldn't talk. Well, he had to say something but what? Maybe the strange doctor was putting him off or was it his fear of losing John?

Then abruptly, Rodney stood up and moved to stand directly over his friend. "You know, you're a lazy bastard, Arthur." The doctor threw him a strange look, Rodney ignored it. "You've been sucked on by a Wraith. Todd's been told by the way. What did Ronon say? Oh yes…he bared his teeth, made a loud snort and simply said, 'Unfortunate'. What I think he wanted to say was, get off your lazy ass, Johnnnn Shepparrrrd," Rodney tried to imitate Todd's voice but it didn't come out at all right, "You know…in his favorite scary way of saying your name. He just loves to do that, doesn't he? His life just won't be the same if you…" Rodney couldn't say it. "My…life…won't be the same," he whispered, sitting back down to wallow in his misery.

Eventually, he managed to pull his thoughts back to helping John. "Anyway, now where was I…oh, yes…you've been through hell and high water so what's the meaning of letting a couple of low life crooks from Earth get the better of you? I can understand the…I want to be a hero and save the world from the Hive - by blowing myself up with a nuke - thing, but this? It's pretty anticlimactic and rather pathetic of you, Arthur."

The doctor's curiosity finally got the better of him. "Why do you keep calling him Arthur?"

Rodney held up his finger. "Ah…that's a long story." Then he went into great detail about the time he nearly lost his mind and how Sheppard had helped him pull through it. By the end of the telling, the doctor was smiling. "He's quite a remarkable man isn't he?"

"Yes, but don't you dare tell him I said so. You know, I'm not willing to let him die like this. Todd wouldn't be the only one bored…I'll have no one to annoy anymore." Of course that wasn't entirely true as Rodney liked to infuriate almost everyone but the doctor didn't have to know that.

"You will still have me, McKay?" A sultry female voice called from the doorway.

"Vala?"

A rival to McKay's snark any day, Vala answered, "No…I'm her evil twin." She sauntered over to him. "Who did you think it was?"

"Oh and I'm supposed to know that you're here?"

Vala totally ignored him. She turned to look at John. "Just got in from Atlantis and heard about gorgeous here being in a spot of trouble. You know, it's most inconvenient that we have to use their Gate now. Anyway, thought I would try out the Goa'uld healing device on him. After all, we don't want that hair to become extinct, do we now?"

Rodney snorted. "They had to shave a tiny bit away. Sheppard is not going to be very happy but do you think that would really work?"

"Worth a try." Vala pulled the disk-like object from her pocket and proceeded to attach it to her hand.

"Woo…wait a second," the doctor protested. "Have you spoken to anyone about this?"

"No, but do you want to risk losing him while we argue over whether it is worth a try or not?" The doctor shook his head. "It probably won't help anyway." Vala finished, not adding to Rodney's hopes.

Rodney looked indecisive but then he reasoned that they had nothing to lose. "Okay, I'll take the reasonability if anything goes wrong."

"That's very noble of you, McKay." Vala purred. She moved to stand over John and said nothing more as she concentrated on using the device.

-oOo-

Dave tried to sleep, really he did, but his thoughts kept going around and around until he finally gave up. He couldn't believe that John could die so soon after losing his father. The regrets that he had about not speaking to his brother for years played heavily on his mind. Why did they let things get so bad? The problem John had with their father wasn't his problem. So why had he pushed John away too? Before the Wake they hadn't spoken to each other for over four years, not even a phone call or a message.

The need to go to John's bedside suddenly became overwhelming. It wasn't his turn but Dave couldn't give a damn. So he left the room trying to recall his way, not even noticing the guard who followed him at a discrete distance. Surprisingly, he found the infirmary quite easily despite the various twists and turns. Dave turned the corner into the bed filled room and froze on the spot. A dark haired woman was standing over his brother using a strange looking object that emitted a powerful beam of light. He didn't stop to think as he rushed up to her and shouted. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Vala's concentration was broken. She frowned at the tall stranger. "Who is this?"

Rodney sighed. "That's John's brother Dave."

"Really? They don't look alike." Dave ignored her. He'd heard that said many times before.

Rodney ignored it too, there were far more pressing matters. "Well, did it work?"

"Not much."

"Then try it..."

"Wait a minute." Dave interrupted. "I demand to know what that thing does."

Vala looked at McKay almost with disgust. "Haven't you told him anything yet?"

"You know…maybe…I was too worried about Sheppard." Rodney answered, sarcastically.

"Well wouldn't it be better to explain things to him, but to clarify. This," Vala held up the round disk for Dave to see, "is a Goa'uld healing device. It can sometimes help but I think I've lost my touch."

"So?"

"It healed a bit but the rest is up to gorgeous here." Vala gave one final glance at John and marched out.

"Vala wait!" Rodney called, but the doctor's words stopped him from going after her.

"Dr. McKay his values have improved slightly!" Rodney turned to the bleeping monitors. It didn't mean a thing to him but the doctor seemed please. "I would say his chances have just risen a little, but as Ms. Mal Doran said, the rest is up to the Colonel."

Dave was still trying to digest the spectacle of that woman using the strange glowing device on John. "Okay would someone kindly like to explain what the hell that thing really was and…"

Rodney held up his hand. "Not really in the mood," He looked at his watch, "It's like 4.15 in the morning and shouldn't you be trying to sleep? Come back at a decent hour and ask the question again or better still wait until he can answer." Rodney said, pointing to John.

"But…"

"No buts. You're his brother and I think it's only fair that Sheppard gets the chance to tell you what's really going on…," Rodney sobered, "That's if he's up to it."

Dave nodded and with no further argument, left the room.

-oOo-

During the days that followed they fell into a regular routine. John was never left alone as each member of his team or his brother sat with him, talked to him, and generally encouraged him to pull through. Many other SGC personnel like Cam Mitchell, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c, and Sam Carter came by for short visits or to pass on good wishes.

Dave watched them come and go with growing curiosity, astounded that his brother was so well respected and obviously loved by these people, especially by his team. Many things still mystified him, things like the strange symbol on one African American's forehead. At least Dave assumed that the huge warrior type was an American. When he had spoken to Dave, the man seemed strangely polite which didn't really fit his image, and he used the word 'indeed' at least three times during their short conversation. Yet despite that and many other things, Dave never asked anymore questions as he intended to take Rodney's advice and ask John. Nor did he attempt to wonder anywhere else within the complex. He'd found out on the second morning that that just wasn't allowed when a guard stopped him from getting into the elevator. So he'd stuck to his room, or the infirmary or the commissary for his meals, which weren't bad but he did miss his cook's finer cuisine.

Another problem was that he'd come ill prepared for a long stay. He'd only packed a one change of clothing and some essentials. Surprisingly, once he mentioned his dilemma, they quickly supplied him with some underwear, shirts, and jeans. They weren't really his style or quality but at least he had something clean to wear.

They also allowed him to contact his firm from time to time and it seemed to be running smoothly without him. Dave was relieved as it wasn't until the fourth day that John finally showed some positive signs of improvement and of coming out his coma. And for the first time since arriving in the mountain, Dave got a good night's sleep.

tbc

Thanks again for all the reviews and a special thanks to Belfrey for pointing out my little chapter labeling problem.