My thanks to everyone for the lovely FB. You rule. Special thanks to Kodiak. Loffs you.
Sorry this took so long. I've got the flu and it's kicking my butt. :D
The moment John reached the chair room he was ready. The moment he sat down he felt the power of Atlantis surging through him. She was chaos. The virus was wreaking havoc with her systems. She connected to John, almost suffocating him with her need, and for a moment he felt pure panic. Then he heard Rodney shouting his name and other words, but the words had no meaning. Still, the sounds grounded him and he was able to center himself and to focus. To let slide the pain of his injury, the throbbing in his head, the anxiety that skittered inside him. All of it faded away as John became one with Atlantis.
He felt the core of the virus. He knew where Elizabeth was hiding and he displayed it holographically for Rodney. John didn't have to pay attention to know that McKay would radio the others and send someone to get Elizabeth. Which meant he could focus on stopping the virus. But it wasn't as easy as he had hoped.
It became a game between them. Between John and the virus. Every time he countered something it did or put up a wall to stop it, it would slip around or go another way. One step back, one step forward until it became something of a dance. Or a chess match. Chess was a game John was very familiar with and very good at. Good enough to beat McKay 80 percent of the time. He put those skills to good use now, managing to get a step ahead of the virus. Then another step. Not only managing to counter it, but to repair the damage it was doing.
He was unaware of the power fluctuations going on around him. Unaware that at one point the gateroom lost internal controls and life support. It was nothing but a glitch and he fixed it without conscious thought or effort, letting Atlantis guide him from place to place.
Then they reached the final showdown. John versus the big bad virus. It got a bit ugly for a moment, when it felt to him as if the virus had invaded his own mind, making his body shudder. He felt Rodney gripping his shoulders and screaming his name and John was able to respond to him, to assure Rodney that he was fine. Then he was back to the fight and he kicked ass, using every trick he could think of. Or rather, every trick Atlantis could think of. Though by the time John powered down the chair, he wasn't sure where he stopped and Atlantis began, and vice versa. Not that it mattered. The virus was deleted and everything was back to normal. Or back to relative normal, anyway.
"Amazing, Colonel," Zelenka told him, patting his shoulder as John pushed out of the chair.
"Thanks," he whispered, the sound loud in his head. His brain felt over sensitized at the moment. All of his senses were hyper aware. Sound, touch, sight. Looking around at everything was almost like a 3-D effect which, thankfully, seemed to be fading fast. John knew he needed to slip away and take a moment to get himself back together.
It was easier to do than he had hoped, thanks to the fact that McKay and Zelenka were now wrapped up in running diagnostics on everything. Almost tiptoeing to the door, John slipped away.
As he stepped into the nearby transporter, John tapped his radio and contacted Teyla. "Did you find Elizabeth?" he asked.
"Yes, Colonel," Teyla replied. "Ronon was able to stun her and we are with her in the infirmary."
"How is she?" John held his breath as he waited for a reply.
There was a long pause before Teyla answered. "We are not sure as of yet. Dr. Beckett is running tests on her."
John sighed, he had figured as much. "I'm going to clean up then I'll be there to check on things. Contact me if you need me." He signed off before she could reply. Two minutes later he was in his room, letting the door close behind him before sagging against it. Feeling something sliding down his lip, John swiped at it with his fingertips and was surprised to see them stained red. Then it hit him. Another nosebleed. Perfect.
Pushing away from the door, he bit back a moan. Everything ached at this moment. Including his skin. But he knew what would help. A mug of tea. He reached for the hot pot, ignoring the way his hands trembled as he plugged it in. Ignoring the way he nearly spilled the water out of the mug after filling it. Once it was heating he went into the bathroom and stuffed a towel against his nose. By the time the water was ready, the nosebleed had stopped. John rinsed the towel out, washed his hands, then went into the other room to make his tea. He added the tea bag, a Shuloc leaf and stirred the contents. He waited just long enough for it to steep in some color before taking his first sip. Tasted like crap but it wasn't about the taste. So he gulped it as fast as he could without burning his tongue. Then he set the empty mug aside.
Moving into the bathroom, John began stripping off his clothes. His shoulder burned with pain, but the burn was easing fast. By the time the Shuloc really kicked in, the pain was nothing more than an irritation. It hurt, no doubt about it, but in a way that was bearable. The ache in his temples was gone and John's thoughts felt clear and focused again. Best part of all, he no longer felt jittery and when he held out his hands, they didn't shake. The damn stuff was amazing.
Since he felt more energized than he had in a while, he got straight into the shower and cleaned up. A bit of hissing ensued when he got to cleaning his shoulder, but John gritted his teeth and got through it. By the time he was out of the shower and drying off, his shoulder was throbbing and he found himself looking for the bottle of Aleve that Beckett had given him a while back. He popped two pills, washed them down with a glass of water, then brushed his teeth before getting half dressed. There was the matter of binding his shoulder. John had field dressings in his room and he used one to stop the sluggish bleeding. It was awkward trying to tie it off and he was cursing by the time he was done, but it would do for now. John wanted to put off Beckett's attentions for as long as possible.
He finished getting dressed, strapped on his thigh holster, then headed for the infirmary pulling his jacket on as he went. His shoulder throbbed with pain, reminding him to take it easy on it. Then he was in the transporter and a few minutes later he was entering the infirmary. Locating Beckett was easy; he was hovering over a bed in the far corner.
John moved to join him, nodding at Ronon and Teyla who were off to one side, watching everything that went on. "Any news, Doc?" John queried.
"Nothing definite," Carson replied, looking unhappy at that confession. "I've had to sedate Elizabeth. Whatever is wrong it's affecting her in such a way that she's become irrational and violent.
"Hence the restraints," John stated, eyeing the ties about her wrists. He felt a stab of relief that for once it wasn't him.
Carson sighed and nodded. "I hate having to do this, but she about near took my head off with a bedpan." Which was another confession he didn't look too happy making.
John grinned at the thought and made a mental note to ask Ronon for details later. But for now they had to focus on finding out what was wrong with Elizabeth. "Teyla said you've been running tests. Nothing?"
"Nothing conclusive," Carson replied. "The brain scan shows a bit of an anomaly, but nothing that suggests the behavior she's showing. I'm running more tests for blood work and such. I won't have anything conclusive for a bit, but I really don't expect I'll find anything. I didn't before."
"Whatever happened, it has to be tied in with Pyrdia," Ronon interjected.
John had been thinking just that and he nodded. "I agree. Which means we need to go back there and ask some questions." He let his tone convey the take no prisoner attitude he was feeling. He turned to Ronon and Teyla. "We'll leave right away. We don't need Rodney for this."
Teyla touched his arm, garnering his attention, then said, "I think it would be best to let Dr. Beckett tend to your wound while Ronon and I return to Pyrdia. We know our way around."
"What wound?" Carson piped up.
"The Colonel was stabbed with a primitive weapon," Teyla supplied, helpfully.
That earned her John's death glare, which she simply shrugged off. He turned to Beckett to start damage control only to hiss in pain as the good doc grabbed his bad arm.
Carson released him and looked horrified. "I'm so sorry, Colonel. I should have asked which arm."
"It's fine," John replied, through gritted teeth. The throbbing had been doable earlier, but now it was burning enough to make his eyes about water.
"I'll be the judge of that," Carson stated firmly. He gestured to a bed in the corner, eyeing John sternly.
John sighed, knowing he wasn't getting out of this. Also knowing that they didn't have time to waste. They needed to know what was wrong with Elizabeth. "Just a minute," he said to Beckett, then he turned to Teyla. "Take Lorne and Cadman and head back to Pyrdia. Don't come back without answers."
Ronon was grinning, but it was a cold curving of his mouth. "We'll have answers," he promised. He shot a look at Weir then turned and stalked off.
"We will do what needs to be done," Teyla said softly, moving to John and touching his arm. "Take care of yourself."
"I'm fine," John assured her. "Come back safe," he added, feeling the need to throw in an Elizabethism. Since she couldn't do it herself. He watched Teyla walk away, turning back only when Beckett tapped him on the arm. "I'm coming," John groused, moving to the corner bed. He let Beckett help him out of his jacket, hiding a wince when he had to move his arm.
Carson made a face as he saw the bulge of the field dressing under John's t-shirt. "Do you need me to cut the shirt off?" he asked.
John's eyes went wide. In spite of the Daedalus bringing them regular supplies now, he didn't have an endless run of t-shirts. "Hell no!" he exclaimed. "I like this shirt."
"Then let me help you get it off," Carson said, tetching a bit as he went to work.
"Shit!" John cursed, by the time they were done. He felt a bit lightheaded and a cold sweat sheened his skin.
Carson pushed him down onto the bed. "Lie back and let me have a look now." He cut the bandage off and did a quick inspection. "It's bleeding a bit, but no signs of infection yet. What were you stabbed with?"
John gritted his teeth as Beckett probed the edge of the wound with a fingertip, resisting the urge to bat the man's hand away. "Looked like a bone that was shaved into a point."
"Are you serious?" Carson looked horrified.
"That's what it looked like," John allowed. Then he listened to Beckett's mutterings about bacteria and infections and stupid Colonel's without the sense god gave them. "I heard that," John drawled, knowing that he was meant too.
Instead of replying, Carson took his BP, then his temperature, clucking at the reading of the latter. "Looks like you might already have an infection starting, Colonel," he stated. "You'll be my guest for a few days."
John hadn't expected to hear that and he came up off the bed, hissing at the pain in his shoulder. "I'm in charge of Atlantis, I can't stay here!" he protested.
"You can do your duties from here," Carson countered. "I'll get you some scrubs then hook you up to an IV. I want to get some fluids in you and pump you full of antibiotics. See if we can head this off before it digs in."
"One day," John stated. "You get one day out of me."
Carson moved into his line of sight. "You stay for as long as I say you will," he countered. "And you know it. Just relax for a bit, Colonel. I'll be right back."
John closed his eyes and wondered if this day could get any worse.
OoO
By nightfall he was feeling lousy, but trying hard not to show it. His fever was up and he was feeling jittery. Dinnertime had caused a near row between him and Beckett, when John refused to eat. One bite and he'd been ready to puke. So Beckett kept pushing Jell-o cups on him, standing over him while John took a few bites. Blue Jell-o was the worst and John wished he could fake eating them then pawn them off on Rodney.
Speaking of the devil, McKay appeared before him as if on cue.
"How are you feeling, Colonel?" Rodney queried, as he rocked on his heels, looking tired but pleased.
"Been better," John allowed. "How's Atlantis doing?"
Rodney heaved a sigh. "Better. Good, actually. We've got everything back to normal and there was no lasting damage." He leaned in a bit, looking conspiratorial. "I don't know how you did what you did in the chair, but it was amazing. You actually repaired old damage to some systems."
John was surprised to hear that. Surprised but intrigued. "That's cool."
"It is," Rodney allowed. He nodded then looked over to the bed against the wall. "How's Elizabeth doing?"
"Not so good," John replied. He winced when he remembered the past half hour when Elizabeth had awakened, screaming and pulling at the restraints. Beckett had bustled in and sedated her yet again. "I hope Ronon and Teyla can find something to help us figure out what happened to her."
Rodney looked worried as he studied Elizabeth for a moment, but then his face brightened. "Hey, since you're both out of commission at the moment, does that mean I'm in charge of Atlantis?"
John snorted. "Hell no! I'm still functional, Rodney, so I'm still in charge."
"He's also tired," Carson interjection, appearing behind Rodney and making him jump.
"Don't do that!" Rodney snapped, looking ruffled.
Carson grinned at him. "Time to go, Rodney. Go get some sleep. You look dead on your feet." He pushed McKay towards the door.
Rodney shrugged him off. "I'm going already. Pushy bastard!" He was still muttering on his way out.
"Time for you to get some sleep too, Colonel," Carson stated, as he checked John's IV, then took his temp. "Still 100.8 and holding."
"Which means I should be out of here by tomorrow, right?" John countered, hopefully. But the hope faded when Beckett shook his head. "I expect it will spike a bit later, fevers tend to do that. And you're not leaving here till it's back to normal. So settle in and get some sleep."
John made a show of shifting under the covers and closing his eyes. He listened to Beckett putter around for a moment, then walk away. John sighed. He was feeling too jittery to sleep, but at the same time he was tired. So he kept his eyes closed and willed himself to drift off. After a time he got his wish.
But all too soon he was plagued by nightmares. Elizabeth as a Wraith Queen, forcing John to his knees and smiling at him before slamming her hand into his chest and sucking the life out of him. She laughed as she fed off him, her eyes wild as she whispered "You deserve to die, Sheppard. You brought death to this galaxy. Death to us all..."
"NO!" John swallowed the scream that tried to wrench its way out of his throat. He sat up, ignoring the stab of pain in his shoulder, hands clutching his aching head. Bile rose up, choking him and hands were there, supporting him as he heaved into the basin that magically appeared under his chin. John puked until he dry heaved, body shuddering hard even after they eased him back onto the pillows. He heard Beckett's voice muttering his fever was up and other things before a prick in his arm sent him spiraling into darkness.
OoO
Lorne was glad when Ronon finally stopped on a rise. They had been walking for over four hours without a break. "See anything?" he asked, even as he uncapped his water bottle.
Ronon said nothing, but suddenly he was moving and Lorne sprinted after him, water bottle forgotten. It was twilight hour on Pyrdia, so everything was shadowed, but Lorne saw motion out of the corner of his eyes. He realized it was a woman. "Stop!" he shouted.
The form froze then turned around.
Lorne froze when he saw it was a woman, Veesa, and she was holding a weapon. He didn't get a chance to react, however, because there was a flash of sparkly red light and Veesa was falling, hitting the ground with a thud. Lorne turned to see Ronon holding his stunner and smiling. "Nice shot," Lorne said.
Ronon grunted then moved to Veesa, hauling her off the ground and over his shoulder before heading back the way they had come. Teyla on his heels.
Heaving a sigh, Lorne motioned to Cadman to follow. He fell into their six, scooping up his water bottle on the way.