I made some minor adjustments to chapter one - hope you don't mind - mostly it's because I never really intended for it to go to more than one chapter... too lazy, I admit it! Hopefully it will just help to unite the chaps together.
"They crash him and his body may burn, they smash him but they know he'll return... to live again."
oOo
They'd play Stingray in a grocery box. Jeannie always had to be Marina, that was a given; which always spoiled it for him, because Marina was so hot... even though she couldn't talk; but that just meant that he could always be Troy Tempest. Supermarionation was so cool...
Thunderbirds... of course. Classic.
Brains, with the huge glasses... not his favourite character, though; cool family... never argued, always shared Tin-Tin.
Lady Penelope.. not bad, wouldn't kick her out of bed.
Parker... the driver... like Radek in a toupee, milady...
Ooh... remember, Captain Scarlet? Mysterons like little haloes of light... Scarlet was good, Black was bad, Spectrum was... green... apparently.
Destiny Angel... his first blonde pilot.
"In-de-struct-i-ble.. Cap-tain Scar-let...", he sang, "Come on, sing along, Brendan..."
But he realised then, that he was alone, and talking to... himself.
He could have sworn Brendan Gaul had been there, rolling his eyes, disagreeing with all his opinions. But Brendan was dead... up in heaven getting 'touched by an angel'... you know the one, Moira, Mary, Monica, whoever... lucky sap.
He's fighting... they both are...
Huh? Fighting, eh? Well, relationship's are hard, you have to work at them, or so he'd been told... and Gaul would not be the easiest person to live with... so uptight.
He'd seen an angel, hadn't he? Perhaps, then, he was dead too.
oOo
Voices:
Went berserk... with a candle sconce. Killed two, almost decapitated one.
Did all that, with a four-inch blade in 'is lung...
Colonel Sheppard? He's... gone, I'm afraid... held on as long as he could...
Alarmed, he took a breath, only then realising that it was the first he'd taken in a while.
Machines shrieked, there was something in his mouth.. his throat.. he gagged; he was going to thro-
"It's gone.. breathe easy, now", said Carson.
oOo
She scanned the room but couldn't see John; he'd been allowed to sit with Rodney for a while, but she knew Carson had threatened to send him back to his room to get some real rest. Earlier, she had stopped by and found John in a chair, slumped over on the edge of Rodney's bed. Before she'd been able to do anything, Dr Beckett had appeared. He bobbed his head in the direction of the sick scientist.
"He's fighting... they both are", and he turned his attention to the colonel, grabbing a blanket from a shelf and covering the lightly snoring man. John was sleeping the sleep of the exhausted. She knew that Dr Beckett had replaced his lost blood; she suspected it was, however, a poor substitute for his own.
Now, a couple of hours later, and Teyla's hoping that John has found some real rest.
Rodney was lying very still. There was no pillow under his head. Tubes seemed to cover his face, and machines crowded around the bed. His chest was bare, except for a small white bandage marking the spot where his injury occurred. He looked very sick, she thought, not just injured, but very sick.
"Went berserk with a candle sconce. Killed two, almost decapitated one", that was Ronon, standing against the door jamb, arms folded. His eyes were on Rodney.
"Did all that, with a four-inch blade in 'is lung... it's..", and as Carson slipped his penlight into his pocket, he shrugged, "incredible"
Teyla felt irritated somewhat by their lack of faith in her team-mate.
"I am not surprised", she announced, stiffly, "Dr McKay has a strength. It is not always my way to speak of such things, but I have never doubted him."
"Well, I don't go on missions so maybe I just don't see it. But the Rodney I know..", and Carson's face clouded over, unable to continue, his last words almost a whisper, "What's he become?"
"He did what he had to do, Doctor... that is all.", she said firmly. Silence descended... she noticed Ronon was nodding, but Teyla felt it was time for a change of subject.
"Carson... where's John? I was hoping to speak with him", she asked.
"Colonel Sheppard? He's... gone, I'm afraid... held on as long as he could... he's in his room sleepin', I hope"
The shapeless lump under the bed covers lurched upwards, the tube of the breathing equipment whipped up and dislodged a tray of medication. Everyone in the room seemed to jump in alarm, and all eyes were on Rodney as he re-entered the land of the living.
Like a flash Carson had slid the tube from McKay's throat, announcing, "It's gone... breathe easy, now"
oOo
"It's gone.. breathe easy, now", said Carson.
And then he was breathing on his own... it hurt; he sounded like a vacuum cleaner with a defective suck.
Blinking open his eyes reluctantly, he looked down at himself... my god, he was naked.
"Need... more shirts", he said, voice like sand paper. Whilst his eyes were closed in a long blink, he felt something cool at his lips and he slurped up a few ice chips someone had kindly offered.
Opening his eyes, a face loomed up... smiling, angelic, golden hair shining...
It couldn't be... could it? But it was...
"Marina... aqua Marina!", he breathed, awe-struck and at the same time wishing he'd got a shirt on... even the one with the hole in it. But then her face changed, as his eyes regained their focus; it wasn't his favourite underwater babe, it was Teyla.
Rodney couldn't help a brief moment of disappointment... hold on, though, what was he just thinking? It was important...
"Sheppard!?", he yelped.
"He's alright. Ye did good.", Carson came back, smoothly.
Talking was costing him dear, so Rodney tried to speak as economically as possible, like a telegraph message where you paid for every word.
"Bring 'im .. see 'im ... here..."
He was gasping in between words, still finding it hard to breathe. Someone was fiddling with his ears... his nose... get off!
One of those oxygen tube things that poked you in the nose and made you sneeze, now clung to his face. He was moving, too... folding up at the waist, and the two seconds-worth of disorientation made him want to retch. His head was wobbling crazily on his scrawny neck and he idly wondered if, when it snapped off, someone would catch it before it rolled away.
"John's sleeping right now, but he'll be along... Look at me"
Rodney's head wobbled around to the right as ordered, and he regarded the blurry doctor in silence.
"You had a serious injury, lad, but you're recovering well. Rest, now, that's the ticket..", and he smiled across at his friend.
Only then, when the doctor pulled away did Rodney see the others in the room; Teyla, still there and Ronon... and because he hadn't the energy to speak any more, he wobbled them a silent nod, and, to his delight, they nodded back.
oOo
"What happened back there... it was... amazing. Did you know what you were doing?"
Rodney's eyes fell on the tray in front of him. The sandwich looked tempting one second, nauseating the next. What was going on with him? He was hungry... he really was... but..
He suddenly realised he hadn't answered Sheppard's question, "Yes. Actually, it was very, very clear. I-I knew I couldn't do nothing, so I did something instead.", he said, brusquely.
"Saved my life...", John said quietly, "I won't forget that.."
Uh...oh.. not now..
"Can we not talk about this? You're welcome and all that, but I'm... tired, you know... so..", he looked over John's shoulder pointedly, as if to show him the door.
"Oh... okay. See ya, then", Sheppard got up, giving him a puzzled look.
"Yeah, see ya ", he called to John's retreating back, and take that God-awful sandwich with you, he added to himself, and he let his head fall back with a sigh.
oOo
TBC I promise... Thanks for all the encouragement... x