SO NEAR, SO FAR.

Summary

Teyla and Ronon got back to "Sauna Hell" in time to save Sheppard from a nasty demise, but will they be able to complete the rescue?

Chapter 6

When laying down the initial gunfire, Teyla had quickly discovered the predators on M3X-141 were intelligent and unnaturally persistent. The noise of the P90 alone should have been enough for the cat to release Sheppard and seek refuge in the jungle, but the animal had been undaunted by her intervention, only hesitating for a second before flattening its body even closer to the ground and continuing to slowly drag John away. Teyla had quickly changed strategies, firing behind the cat to block its retreat until she could secure a clear kill shot. Life in Pegasus frequently presented situations where swift and definitive action was called for, and a calm mind was often the only difference between life and death. However, seeing the colonel in such a way at this … completely helpless, hauled across the ground like a piece of dead prey, was not only extremely distressing, but also a serious test of Teyla's composure. Even when Sheppard roused enough to attempt to shoot the cat, she did not feel any great sense of relief. He clearly lacked the strength to lift his weapon, and when Teyla finally knelt down next to John and saw just how grave his condition was, she felt very close to tears. To lose him now, after overcoming every obstacle that stood in the way of rescue, would be a most terrible burden to bear.

Sheppard was on his left side, body trembling, respiration quick and shallow. Blood was flowing sluggishly from his nose, more had dried in crooked trails across his chin and throat. She briefly scanned his body and saw no other outward sign of injury, other than the right leg. And that was cause for great concern. It was a shattered, bloody mess, bent out of shape at the knee and at an even crueler angle where the thigh bone had broken. Teyla hesitated, not sure where to lay her hands without causing more hurt. Collecting herself, she gently touched his cheek, watching as his eyes slowly moved up to meet hers.

"John, you are safe now. Ronon is here too, all will be well."

In a show of enormous willpower, Sheppard gave a small smile and struggled to speak. "Hey," he whispered. "Thanks."

Teyla blinked away tears. Ronon was crouched on his haunches behind John, his expression bleak.

"You see the DHD?"

Without turning to look behind her, Teyla asked, "Is it as badly damaged as the gate?"

"Not much left of it. And the gate's dead."

The news that the DHD had not survived intact came as no great surprise given the force of the explosion, and Teyla was only too aware of the tenuous condition of the stargate. The wormhole had spluttered shut behind her a mere second after she stepped from it. A speedy return to Atlantis seemed out of the question, but the fact that Rodney had failed to dial in again filled her with more dread. If a wormhole could not be established and maintained, travel between the two gates was impossible, and that meant proper medical assistance was many hours away. Sheppard was in a state of deep shock, and the sun's heat was intolerable, quickly sapping her strength. The only shelter was under the jungle canopy, which would mean carrying John a significant distance, and at this point, she didn't think it wise to move him at all.

Before Teyla could put those thoughts into words, Sheppard tried to turn over onto his back. Both she and Ronon immediately tried to stop him by taking hold of his shoulder and hip, but that didn't prevent his injured leg shifting in two different directions at once. John's face creased in response to the intense pain, his breathing hitched, and his eyes rolled back in his head. Teyla and Ronon suddenly held an unconscious man between them, and as she looked at Ronon, his eyes locked onto hers, searching for guidance. Unaccustomed to seeing such anxiety on Ronon's face, Teyla worked to school her expression so as not to mirror his.

"Rodney will get help to us as quickly as he can. In the meantime we keep John alive." Quickly removing John's thigh holster, she took the gun from his lax fingers and placed both items behind her. "We need to roll him."

Teyla stood up and stepped across Sheppard's body, then knelt next to Ronon so she could support John's leg as they repositioned him. When she placed a hand behind his knee she felt wetness, and realised that the entire back of his trouser leg was saturated with blood. A ragged hole in the black fabric indicated where the spike had penetrated his leg, and the wound continued to bleed profusely. As she and Ronon cautiously settled Sheppard onto his back, Teyla knew she would need to pack the puncture to prevent further blood loss before she did anything else. Splinting and traction would come after that. She prayed for the strength to do it correctly, do it quickly, and for John to remain unconscious throughout the entire ordeal.

She began to undo the laces on John's boot. "I brought medical provisions, but left the pack near the gate. Could you please bring it to me, Ronon?"

. . . . . . . .

As was too often the case in Rodney's McKay's life, one crisis cascaded into the next, with barely enough time to take a breath in between. Rodney had dialed up '141 within a minute of realising Sheppard was about to be made into an unhappy meal by Sauna Hell wildcats. Then Ronon had demonstrated split second timing, or extremely good luck, by narrowly avoiding the kawoosh in his haste to get through the gate and back to Sheppard. Teyla had been hot on his heels, only slowing down enough to grab a pack from the medical supplies that had been moved from the jumper bay to the bottom of the control room staircase. Seconds after she entered the wormhole, and before any of the marines or medical personnel had a chance to go through behind her, a wave of static energy crackled across the event horizon.

Without any further hint of a warning, the gate abruptly shut down. Everyone in the control area turned to stare at Rodney. Mouth agape, he looked down at the computer screen in search of a clue.

Elizabeth stayed quite for all of two seconds. "Rodney?"

"Elizabeth?" Rodney could feel Weir's gaze boring into him and waited for the inevitable question.

"What just happened?"

Rodney muttered under his breath, "Magic eight ball says ask again later."

"Excuse me?

The on screen information was not at all promising. "We need an out of order sign for the other gate."

"Are you saying that Teyla and Ronon didn't make it through?"

The undisguised worry in Weir's voice had Rodney almost regretting his predilection for sarcasm. He looked up at her to explain. "The read outs indicate they both exited prior to shut down." Rodney didn't say just how much prior in Teyla's case, because he was beginning to understand that in the midst of disaster some things were better left unsaid. Others, unfortunately, could not be avoided. "But we have a big problem. The structure is unstable … the C4 probably upset the gate's bedding, knocked it off balance," he lifted a hand, bent it backwards and jiggled it. "If it moves, even fractionally, the wormhole collapses."

Elizabeth considered all this for a moment. "So we simply revert to the original plan, send a jumper through the nearest orbital gate." She said to Beckett, "Eleven hours, Carson. Will Teyla and Ronon will be able to support Colonel Sheppard successfully for that length of time?"

Elizabeth Weir, ever the diplomat, Rodney thought. No need to ask whether Sheppard would be dead before they got there ... not when words could be spun and sugar coated. Carson, however, had no need to utter a single sound. The expression on his face said it all.

. . . . . . . .