Sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care,
The death of each day's life, sore labor's bath,
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,
Chief nourisher in life's feast.
~ William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act II, Scene II
The Friendship Files
Chapter 4
The Raveled Sleeve of Care
The men crept silently through the woods. Sheppard's team with Lorne and his team were doing a recon of planet M97-GK6 as a possible Beta site. Unfortunately, not long after they arrived Teyla felt the presence of Wraith and they were now in a battle for their lives.
The whine of Darts overhead had them all ducking and hiding wherever they could. Occasionally, culling beams flashed across the landscape but, thankfully, went away empty.
A commotion to his left drew Lorne to where one of his men, Lieutenant Jason Nash, was fighting hand-to-hand with a Wraith. The young Marine seemed to be holding his own until the Wraith managed to slip under his defenses and got him by the throat. Nash's hands came up to pry the fingers away but the creature was very strong. Lorne ran in his direction letting loose with a barrage of gunfire that caught the Wraith in the back. He twitched in a macabre dance then fell forward toppling himself and the unfortunate Lieutenant over the edge of the cliff onto the rocks below killing both instantly.
Just for a second, in Lorne's mind, the face of the Lieutenant was replaced with the grinning face of a ten year old boy. He shook his head to clear away the errant image and ran to the cliff edge. He looked down at the grotesquely twisted bodies. Nash had been impaled on the Wraith's stun rifle. Uncharacteristically, Lorne uttered an obscenity aloud.
*****
Teyla entered a transport, tapped the screen and exited on the barracks level. She was startled by Evan Lorne blocking the exit and staring straight ahead. "Major Lorne, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, sis. Just taking the dog for a walk then I'm going over to Brian's to play ball." Lorne was in pajama pants, t-shirt and bare feet. The door shut and he was gone. Teyla shook her head and continued on to her room.
It happened again the next night but this time Lorne ran into Rodney. "Hey, Dad. My homework's done. Brian and me are gonna play some hoops. Mom said I could have dinner at his house tonight. I'll be home before dark." He appeared to be tossing a ball in the air and catching it.
Rodney stared at him. "A word of advice, Major. If you're going to play jokes on people you'll have to do much better than that. This isn't even close to being funny."
Lorne appeared not to hear, shouted "See ya!" then turned and ran down the hall dribbling his invisible basketball.
Rodney shrugged off the incident and resumed walking.
*****
Jennifer turned when she heard soft footsteps enter the Infirmary. It was after midnight when most of the expedition was asleep.
"Sorry to disturb you, Doc."
"You aren't, Major. What can I do for you?"
He looked down at the floor shifting his feet nervously. He was again in pajama pants and a t-shirt, his bare feet making little sound on the floor of the Infirmary. "I'm having trouble getting to sleep and when I do go to sleep I wake up feeling more tired than when I went to bed. I wouldn't have bothered you but this is the third night in a row."
Jennifer was already unlocking the drug cabinet. She handed him a bubble pack with a single small capsule.
"Here you go. If it continues, I'll do a full medical workup to see if there's an organic reason for your insomnia."
"What if everything's fine?"
"Then you might want to think about seeing the staff psychologist."
"Okay. Thanks, Doc." She gave him a gentle smile and returned to her work.
*****
The next evening Jennifer ran into the Major as she was leaving the Mess Hall. He was alert and well rested. "Thanks for your help, Doc. I slept like a rock last night."
"You're welcome. Let me know how things go tonight."
"Will do." He joined Sheppard, Rodney and Ronon on the patio.
"I'm glad you're here, Major. I was just telling Sheppard and Conan about your little practical joke misfire."
He shook out his napkin and placed it in his lap. "I'm sorry. What are you talking about?"
Rodney's forehead creased. "The night before last. You came up to me in the hall, called me 'dad' then told me you were having supper with someone named Brian."
His eyes lost focus and his voice some of its assurance. "Sorry, Doc. You must be mistaken. I don't know anyone named Brian." Pushing back from the table, he stood and dropped the napkin on his untouched tray.
"But-"
"Excuse me. I have to go." He left without eating and without disposing of his food tray.
*****
Lorne, his appetite gone, went to his quarters, showered and changed into his pajamas. He opened the bottom drawer of his dresser and removed a framed photo. It was of two grinning ten year old boys with their arms around each other, the one on the left had a basketball tucked under one arm. They were in the driveway of a two story home.
This was how he wanted to remember Brian Summers, not the way he'd looked the last time he'd seen him. Unfortunately, both memories vied for his attention sometimes superimposing one over the other. He tried and failed to push away the horrible image of his childhood friend dead, impaled on the sharp tines of the rake he'd fallen on.
He used to love to play basketball but hadn't played since…well, since he was ten. It reminded him of Brian and he sometimes had nightmares about the last time he saw his friend. His dad had found him in the driveway on several occasions playing ball with an imaginary opponent.
He sat the photo on his dresser and lay down praying for dreamless sleep.
*****
It was after midnight and Rodney was on his way to his quarters when Lorne came around the corner again dribbling an imaginary basketball.
"C'mon, Dad. Let's play some ball. I'll spot you the usual." He wheedled hopefully.
"Excuse me?"
Lorne was now holding the ball in front of him with both hands. "Don't tell me, you have to work late again." He walked away his head hanging down in disappointment.
In one of those rare moments of insight that had nothing to do with himself and everything to do with others Rodney realized that Lorne was sleepwalking yet again. Since he knew next to nothing about somnambulism and remembering what had happened the last time, he tapped his headset and contacted Jennifer. She told him to keep an eye on him but not to wake him, at least not yet.
"Lorne…uh, Evan, work can wait. Let's play a little, um, one-on-one."
"Great, Dad! I'll race ya!" Lorne took off down the hall with Rodney following at a shambling run. He caught up with him in the gym shooting baskets with his imaginary ball.
*****
Jennifer arrived at the court a few minutes later. She watched with deep inner humor while the man she loved played ball with the sleepwalking Major as if he were a child. Right now they were "fighting" over the "ball." Lorne was holding it in front of him turning side to side while Rodney tried to reach around from behind and take it from him. They were laughing and shouting and having a great time.
Suddenly, Lorne feinted left then right and tossed the ball giving a shout of triumph when it went into the basket. "Whoa! Score! Nothing but net!" He pumped a fist in the air. "And the crowd goes wild! Yah!"
"Good job, son!" Rodney was out of breath hands on his knees. "Wh-what's the score now?"
"That's 21 for me and 15 for you. Let's go again."
"Sure. Just let me catch my breath."
"Cool! Same as last time, I spot you 15, we play to 21."
"Hi, guys! How's the game going?" She'd brought bottles of water for the men and handed one to each of them.
"Mom! Wanna play? We can do some one-on-one-on-one. Pleeeese?"
Jennifer looked nervous. "No thanks, Evan. I, uh, haven't played since high school."
"Oh, come on…Mom. You aren't chicken are you?" Rodney challenged.
"Chicken, huh?" She took the ball from Lorne and ran around the two men headed for the basket. Lorne snuck up on her left and took it back making her squeal in protest. She and Rodney chased him catching him just as he was lining up his shot. The three began tussling for the ball. Rodney got it and, while Jennifer held onto the struggling Lorne, tossed in into the basket. He jumped around waving his arms and grinning. "I did it! I finally got it in!"
Jennifer released the Major and he and Rodney shared a high five. "Way to go, Dad!"
"Yeah, that was a great shot…Dad."
Lorne scrunched his face up in pretend horror. "Oh, geez. You're gonna kiss, aren't you?" He covered his eyes with a hand. "Lemme know when you're done."
Rodney and Jennifer made loud kissing noises then Jennifer turned abruptly and snatched the ball from Lorne, dribbling it around the two men then lined up for a basket. Rodney and Lorne got in front of her waving their arms to block the shot. Rodney grabbed her around the waist lifting her in the air. "Get the ball, son! Get the ball!
"Hey, that's two against one. I thought this was every man, woman and child for themselves." Rodney was now trying to take the ball from Lorne again. He was in front of the Major eyes watching his every move. Lorne feinted again then made a quick spin to the right headed for the basket. Rodney caught him around the waist, spun him around and the two of them went down in a heap.
Jennifer was laughing so hard she could barely stand but still extended a hand to help Rodney to his feet. He moved over to the bench and sat down. "I think that's enough for today, Evan. I'm worn out." His clothes were sweat soaked and he was breathing hard from his exertions.
Lorne came to sit beside him bouncing the ball between his knees. His face now showed sadness. "You know, Dad, I really miss Brian. Do you think he's up there somewhere looking at us and blaming me for what happened?"
Rodney and Jennifer shared a look. Lorne didn't talk much about his personal life. All they knew was he had a sister who was married with two kids, his mother was still alive and his father had passed away but that was all. She shrugged not knowing how to answer.
"Why would he blame you?" Rodney finally said.
"It was my fault. I threw the ball and it went on the roof. If I hadn't missed the basket he wouldn't have climbed on the roof and fallen. He'd still be, you know, here."
Rodney hesitantly put his arm around Lorne's shoulders. "It was an accident, son. I'm sure he doesn't blame you."
"Really?" His eyes were hopeful.
"Really. You were his…best friend. He knows you didn't do it on purpose."
Lorne nodded accepting Rodney's rationalization.
"Evan, honey, it's time you went to bed." Jennifer took him by the hand and he willingly followed her. Rodney trailed in their wake while she led him back to his room and put him to bed.
"Thanks for the game, guys. It was fun. Can we do it again sometime?"
"Of course, sweetie." She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. "Good night."
"'Night, Mom. "Night, Dad." He murmured sleepily.
"It's a good thing we didn't run into anyone else." Jennifer observed when they were again in the hall. "He and we will be saved the embarrassment of him thinking we were his parents."
"Well, at least he didn't think we were Replicators like the last time with John and Sam." He pulled her close.
*****
Rodney and Jennifer walked hand in hand. His shirt stuck to his chest and he pulled it away flapping it to move the air around. "Oh, man, do I need a shower. I haven't done anything like that in, well, ever."
She put her head briefly on his shoulder. "It was for a good cause. Tomorrow I'll have a talk with him and advise him to see the staff psychologist. It isn't difficult to figure out that he still feels guilty about the death of his friend. If I had to guess, I would say that the manner in which Lieutenant Nash died was similar to the way Brian died and seeing it brought those feelings to the surface again."
"I just don't get how he could think we were his parents."
"He just latched onto us because we were there, I suppose." She rubbed his arm in comfort. "I'm going to say something now and I don't want you to take the wrong way."
He sighed. "Okay. Hit me with your best shot."
"I think you'd make a wonderful father."
"Really? You think so? Because I've never been that good with kids. They…scare me."
A small sharp laugh popped out. "Rodney, you are great with children. You don't talk down to them the way most adults do and they respond favorably to that." They reached his quarters and she invited herself in. She pulled his shirt over his head while she pushed him backward toward the bathroom.
"What are you doing?"
"Well, you need a shower and I'm helping you get undressed."
He smiled and reached for the hem of her shirt. "Hmm. I think you need a shower, too, Dr. Keller." Her top joined his shirt on the floor closely followed by the rest of their clothing. The shower came on a few seconds later.
*****
"You wanted to see me, Dr. Keller?" She looked up to see Major Lorne framed in the doorway of her office.
"Yes. Please have a seat."
"What's this all about? My team and I have training drills scheduled in about 30 minutes."
"I wanted to talk to you about last night, Evan, and about…Brian."
"Brian? I haven't thought about Brian Summers in years." He couldn't stop the flash of guilt from moving across his features.
"Well, you did last night." Jennifer stood up and came around the desk to sit next to him. "You were sleepwalking again." She recounted the events that happened the previous night of which he naturally had no memory.
*****
Rodney had just sat down to eat when Lorne appeared in front of him, food tray in hand. He gestured to the vacant seat across from the physicist. "May I?"
"Of course, Major." Rodney cracked open his bottle of water and took a drink.
Lorne removed the cover from his plate stalling for time. This isn't going to get any easier so… "Dr. Keller told me what happened last night. I want to thank you for everything you and she did."
"Oh, well, you're welcome. You would have done the same for a, uh, friend."
"True."
"Now me, I've never been a sleepwalker. I'm more of a talk in my sleep kind of person. Got me in lots of trouble when I'd fall asleep in the movies on a date."
Lorne laughed. In his mind's eye he could see the teenage Rodney getting slapped by an angry teenage female. "So, uh, Rodney, we played basketball?" He used his fork to gesture between the two of them.
"Yes, though played is kind of a strong word. You see, Evan, there wasn't actually a ball."
"Oh? The Doc didn't tell me that. What happened?"
The two men spent the rest of the meal and long after talking about Lorne's sleepwalking episode sharing laughs...and friendship.
The End