And then it started to rain.
Looking back on the last few hours, Sheppard was pretty pissed that he – someone who was paid to be aware of his surroundings – hadn't noticed the steady increase of cloud cover.
But he didn't really have time to think about that because some invisible nutjob had decided to spend the day hunting them down and trying to kill them.
As soon as Evan heard the crack of gunfire, he jerked Laura down behind the fallen tree she was sitting on and positioned himself in front of her. When the first drop of rain landed on his cheek, startling him from his concentrated survey of the forest surrounding them, he looked up at the sky incredulously.
"You've got…to be…kidding me," Laura wheezed behind him.
The shooter fired again, except this time dirt flew up beside Evan's foot. Sheppard fired off his P-90 in the direction the shot had come from as Ronon pulled Laura up and away, giving Evan time to scramble back as well.
All of this jerking around was making the ache in Laura's shoulder return to its former fiery classification. It was also making her broken rib shift around in a scary and agonizing way, but she didn't have time to complain because Sheppard decided that it might be a good idea to, as he put it, get the hell out of there.
Again, Ronon took the lead, although this time Evan tossed protocol to the wind and wrapped an arm around Laura's waist to propel her into a faster run. It also gave him a more tangible way of feeling like he was at least somewhat in control of her safety and well-being.
Sheppard followed, firing occasional bursts of gunfire behind him to slow the pursuit of their predator.
It turned out, Laura thought, that her boyfriend must have some kind of foresight because she continually kept slipping in the mud and it was only his left arm around her waist and his right hand clutching her bicep that prevented her from falling and slowing them down.
She discovered that it was rather difficult to run effectively while having one arm strapped across your chest. She automatically tensed it to keep it from jostling, which, in turn, made it hurt even more. Beside the added pain factor, it just made her feel clumsy.
However, when the pain in her right side began to intensify after they'd been running running for a while, her left hand was already conveniently there to grab at her ribs.
She lifted her right hand and grasped Lorne's arm.
"Evan," she gasped.
He slowed.
"What? What is it?" he asked urgently, scanning her face as though that might tell him without her having to.
They were walking quickly now, and Sheppard came up on Laura's other side, looking at them quizzically.
"Everything okay?" he asked, taking in Laura's pale, sweaty face and the hand she had firmly clamped over her broken rib.
"Yes…Sir." She had to pause. "Just couldn't…breath."
He halted them and gave a shout to Ronon to stop. He looked around and pointed to an area a short distance away where the density of the tree cover had left a dry spot from the rain.
"Maybe you should just sit for a minute," he began.
But Laura's knees were already giving out and, once again, it was a good thing that Evan already had his arms around her so she didn't collapse in a heap in the dirt.
"Whoa, hey," he exclaimed, tightening his grip. Quickly he bent and slid an arm behind her knees, sweeping her up into his arms. He hurried over to their dry haven and carefully sat her on the ground. He brushed her hair back from her face and cupped her cheeks in his hands.
"Sorry," she murmured, eyes closed. " 'm a little dizzy."
"Alright. It's okay," he soothed. "Just breathe slowly. In and out."
She cracked an eye open and gave him a wan smile.
"I'm not having a baby, Ev. I know how to breathe."
He and Sheppard both gave a relieved chuckle at the display of her usual wit. Ronon crouched down next to them and put a hand on Evan's shoulder.
"Want me to carry her?" he offered. "The sooner we get back to the gate, the better."
Without giving Laura a chance to argue, as she surely would have, Sheppard went ahead and answered.
"I think that might be a good idea."
Lorne nodded and moved back so Ronon could pick Laura up.
"You sure you're okay?" he questioned. "Nothing feels different?"
"I'm fine, Major," she tossed exasperatedly over Ronon's shoulder.
With a roll of his eyes, Lorne moved to take up the point position and the sodden, exhausted group headed back out into the rain.