For disclaimer check the 1st chapter...

A/N: Normally I would apologize for posting the update late but seeing how I was out celebrating my birthday I think I deserve a pass this time ^^ Now that we're on the subject how about some reviews as a belated birthday gift? I'll take anything even a two word review!

Ps. The medical stuff is still not my forte but I did the best I could to make it sound believable.

Chapter Seven

Rodney had informed the others and together they waited on news of Sheppard's condition. It had been a good half an hour and nobody had come to say anything; not even Carson. He couldn't help but to think Jennifer shouldn't have gone to that planet to help with injured after the sort of earthquake they had had; she should be in Atlantis helping Carson fix Sheppard. At last the Scot appeared.

"How is he?" asked a worried Teyla.

"Maybe we should sit down first."

"What's wrong?" McKay asked hastily

"Well I was right, he presented symptoms of tension pneumothorax which we relieved by putting a chest tube in that proved to be rather difficult."

"Why was it difficult doctor?"

"The healing device would close the incision before we could successfully do the procedure but at the end we managed and the tube is in place. It appears the Colonel had a few broken ribs; they were putting pressure on the lungs before a recently blunt trauma to the chest caused the lung to collapse and the pressure built up in the lung cavity."

"Oh boy…"

"What is it Rodney?"

"Well you see, back at the planet Sheppard got shot in the vest and the bullet hit right on his heart. The vest caught it but when I got to him he didn't have a pulse…so I did CPR and got him back. He appeared to be okay after it but I think I broke some ribs."

"The force of the bullet must have stopped the heart…but why wasn't I notified of this before?"

"Well, he told me not to say anything and since Mandy let him go after the post-mission check up I didn't think much of it."

"But that's why you found him. You were checking up on him because you weren't certain."

"Yes…I'm sorry for not saying anything."

"It doesn't matter Rodney, I'm afraid we have bigger problems than that."

"Bigger? What'd you mean?"

"There was an anomaly in Colonel Sheppard's scan."

"Please don't say it's a tumor."

"No, it's a bullet."

"Thank God!...wait what? "

"It appears that Sheppard was shot in the abdomen as well, the bullet is inside and I can safely say it has moved." – He pulled up the x-ray so the others could see. – "The bullet entered here, just below the seventh rib. I cannot point exactly the path it took but there's plenty soft tissue damaged. Is bad but could also have been a good deal worse."

"How can it have been worse?"

"It could have killed him within minutes. Apparently it hit at such an angle that it was deflected up, and came to rest here lodged against the sixth rib, causing a painful but not immediately fatal wound. I'm most certain this is what allowed him to keep moving without killing him."

"You said there was a lot of soft tissue damaged though?"

"Aye, and its causing him to bleed internally which caused him to pass out."

"So instead of killing him instantly he gets to die a slow and painful death."

"How could this happen? Why didn't the healing device heal the bullet wound inside?"

"Maybe because it cannot expel the foreign object outside the body but still the tissue damage is there..."

"That's what the incomplete readings mean. The device is not working properly. All of those devices…of course why I didn't see it before."

"What is it Rodney?"

"The lab must have been a design lab where they were developing new prototypes. However, we could see it more like a repair shop for broken devices. The explosive that went boom hours after Sheppard touched it. Look, I've gone over the data and it's incomplete."

"What'd you mean Rodney?"

"The device doesn't work properly. I believe it only heals the superficial damage in the body. Any penetrating injuries or contusions, even internal bruising, would stay the same."

"So the gashes from the explosion healed but not the cracked ribs, the bullet wound healed but the damage stayed inside and the bruising from the broken ribs healed as well but not the damaged lung…oh my God!"

"The Ancients didn't put a lot of devices into common use. This one is just one more in a long line of abysmal, over-ambitious failures like the one that physically accelerate me in order to reach ascension."

"I think we should focus getting it off immediately."

"I'll check the Ancient database to see if they have any information regarding experiments with this particular device."

"Are you sure you're up to it?"

"I don't have a choice." With a grim look on his face McKay left in search of Zelenka. If he was short of time he needed all the help he could get. Besides the concussion wasn't a really bad one but the headache was making it difficult to concentrate. Teyla stayed behind with Dr. Beckett.

"How's Colonel Sheppard?"

"Not so good lass. He's fading fast. We are doing everything we can to help him but he needs surgery. There's only so much fluids and plasma can replace, not to mention he's having a hard time breathing because of his ribs."

"He's conscious?"

"In and out. He's mostly out of it though, very confused and disoriented."

"Can I see him?"

"Sure, come with me."

Teyla was convinced that if she saw him with her own eyes, she wouldn't be as terrified of losing him. But when her eyes finally found him something inside her chest crumbled. He was pale and sweaty and an oxygen mask was obscuring his mouth and nose. She could see the pain lines on his face and she tried to smooth them with her hands but when she did was surprised to feel the heat emanating from his skin.

"The fever is the body's natural response to what's happening. I'm afraid shock began setting in a few hours ago when no one knew what was happening inside of him."

"Do you think he knew?"

"He must have. There's just no way he could have dealt with such a high level of pain."

"You'd be surprised." – came Rodney's reply as he entered the room. - "But there's another explanation, the device emits some sort of sedative while it heals to limit the discomfort of the injury. I doubt he knew himself what was happening before it was almost too late."

"Any progress Rodney?"

"Some, but not enough"

"Maybe you should get a team of scientist on it, that way the work can go faster because he's got a collapsed lung, and he's still bleeding internally, plus he's suffering from abdominal trauma. He needs complicated surgery and I can't do that with that thing still on."

"I'm working faster than humanly possible Carson!"

"I'm afraid that's not going to cut it, which is why I suggested the scientific team. Rodney there's no way to calculate how much blood he's losing at the time and all I can do is put a chest tube in to drain some of the fluid that is building inside his lung but we not only have to repair his lung we also have to dig the bullet out and repair all the damage it did while he was moving. He's fading fast."

"I know that Carson, I was the one who told you, remember?"

"Rodney, listen to me and listen carefully. I'm running out of things to do to help him."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that he's got a couple of hours at the most."

McKay threw one last glance at the place where Sheppard's bed was. He could only see bits and parts of him, there were nurses around fighting just as hard as Beckett to keep him alive. This time things didn't seem bad…they really were.

"He's not going to die. Next time you see me I'll have the solution." With that promise he stormed out, the emotions that radiated from him were a rare display that no one was used to seeing.

"Aye, I hope so lad, for the sake of you both," he said sadly.

TBC