The people in the control room cheered when Dr. Peter Grodin walked of the transporter, but quickly got back to work under his careful instruction. As the room quieted and all the techs got back to work, Dr. Weir took the opportunity to talk to her top computer scientist.
"It is good to have you back."
"It is good to be back, and hopefully we have enough time to get everyone out in time." Weir could feel that Grodin was tense and hurting, but she wasn't sure how much was physical injury and how much was emotional frustration about no being able to help his friends.
"We have already found all but two of the scientist. We will get everyone out in time. In a few days everything will be back to normal." Dr. Weir said as Grodin sat himself in front of his computer. She said it to convince herself as much as anyone.
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Bec had been rushed to the infirmary where surgeons Caroline Marks and Andrew Ludwig were waiting to receive her. Dr. Biro had temporarily released Dr. Grodin to help with the search as she helped warm up the CT scanner. After the placement of a subclavicle IV they started her on whole blood, as well as gave her a contrast injection. Then they whisked her into the CT scanner to check for any interbrain hemorrhaging, and into surgery to try to stop the arterial bleeding from her arm.
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The three members of the HOG team were surprised how quickly they had been able to get Zelenka into the vent. He was surprisingly light. The weight was balanced out as they trying to get Mckay up into the vent. Not only was he much heavier than Zelenka and Bec, Eric almost dared to say combined, but he was complaining that they were trying to further damage his ribs. They decided to bring Zelenka out and then come back to pick up Mckay after poor Dr. Beckett taped up his ribs.
By the time Tim and Eric had dropped off a wide eyed Zelenka to the waiting arms of the medics and then returned, Beckett had somehow gotten the shirt off of Mckay and Eaton and Wage had helped him bind the ribs with Ace Bandages. Now Mckay had no excuse, he was going into the vent. It took over twenty minutes to Mckay into the vent with Tim and Eric pulling the ropes on the pulley from above and Beckett trying to comfort him from bellow. Beckett's gear went up next followed by Beckett, Eaton, and Wage.
"I know everyone is tired. Just hang on for a little bit longer. We will get you guys out in no time." Eric tried to laugh but he was fatigued too.
The crawled along in relative silence. The only people that talked were the curses from Mckay every other minute when he bumped his ribs and Eaton trying to talk himself out of his claustrophobia. He jumped for subject to subject softly muttering about space and the different units that aliens used to explain the area between stars. They were approaching the light of the exit vent, when Wage could tell something was wrong. Eaton's rambling had stopped and all he could hear was heavy breathing in front of him. Then Eaton just stopped for no apparent reason and the wheezing increased.
"Hey, Eaton, you doing okay?" Wage asked. The reply he got was barely a whisper.
"Out, need to get out."
"Um, Doc. I think we have another problem."
"Your right lad, he is starting into a panic attack." Beckett listened to the Eaton's breathing. "Eaton, son, I need you to listen me. I need you to take deep slow breaths. Good. Now in and out, in and out." This wasn't working. "Tim is there any way we can go any faster?"
"Not really. But I think it will be a lot quicker to get Mckay down then it was to get him up."
"You need to hurry up lad. Good, now soon keep breathing." Beckett was extremely frustrated that he could barely see his patient over his shoulder and the duct was too small to turn around. But in the quiet of the vent he could feel Eaton quiver. The poor boy must be terrified. Now with hope in sight he was showing signs of giving into his fears. If they couldn't get him moving soon, they might be dealing with something worst then a panic attack.
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Grodin coughed harshly, but ignored it and continued to work through the computer codes trying to find a way to bypass the damage to the censors. His fingers almost danced across the computer keys. Dr. Weir watched with fascination. She sometimes found the scientist odd, but right now when they were in there element it almost seemed like a dance. Just likely when she was trying to negotiate a complex treaty, they knew their opponents' language and their weakness's and they were not leaving the table until they got what they wanted.
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Author's Note-First things first, never tape someone's ribs. It will not cause any immediate damage but limits breathing. This can cause other problems especially if you live at high altitude, your patient is anemic or has low blood sugar. The exception to this rule is when it is an extremely useful tool to get Mckay to stop complaining temporarily. It limits movement of the rib cage thus limiting pain. This only works if he has been in pain long enough that he is shocked into silence. I hope you are never left in a room with and injured Rodney to need this advice.
