FIGURATIVE HELL AND LITERAL HIGH WATER
By Tipper
CHAPTER TWO: THUNDER AND LIGHTNING
"Come with you?" Keller asked, wrapping her hands around Rodney's on her arm, trying to loosen it. It was ice cold and his fingers an unhealthy blue. "Where?" Behind him, Jennifer saw the minister wave the other Helenans away.
"Up on the other side of the ridge, towards the ruins. Look, don't ask questions—there's no time. Ronon…what do you need for arrows? And Sheppard hit his head. Hard. He wasn't conscious when I left. And Teyla's ankle…well, she downplayed it, said it was twisted…but you know it's bad, maybe even broken. She could have the bone jutting out, and she'd say it was just a flesh wound." He shuddered, his eyes closing momentarily. She gripped his icy hand tighter, trying to offer comfort now—he seemed oblivious to it. Then, without warning, he looked up, letting her go in order to point a finger at Sergeant Brent by her side. "You…," he glanced at the man's outfit, then up again, "Sergeant. Where's Lorne?"
The soldier frowned. "Gone. It's just me and the doc."
Rodney dropped his hand, not hiding his dismay. "What? Where? Whose stupid idea was that? We need him."
"He's gone back home, sir. Doctor Keller wanted her team to start working on the blood samples. The major was just going to send them through the Stargate and come back here, but the weather…" He trailed off, grimacing, looking Rodney's sodden form meaningfully.
"Oh," Rodney said, frowning as if in pain, reaching up to brush some of the wet hair from his forehead, "the weather. Right. I saw that."
"Saw it?" Keller frowned, confused by that. "Only saw it? Surely you walked through it to get here."
Rodney gave a headshake, sending droplets of water to hit Jennifer. "Only a bit of it. It's not so bad up in the mountains, just a really bad storm, but when I looked down on the town from the ridge, I saw the heart of it boiling off the ocean. It looked almost stuck over the buildings and," he frowned some more, his eyes looking down, "the Stargate. I could barely see it through the gloom. I might…I might even have seen funnels forming." He shuddered again, and this time it lasted a little longer than before.
"Funnels…" Keller repeated, feeling her gut twist at the word.
"Tornados," Rodney said quietly. "But then again…I…I'm not…I might have been… But it's bad, whatever the weather is." He backed up a step and fell against the hallway wall, suddenly covering his face with his hands. "Christ," he moaned through his hands, "they're not going to be able to come back with the weather around the Gate like that, are they? Certainly not with a jumper. Oh God…"
"Sir," Brent stepped forward, his voice soft, "what happened?"
Rodney didn't answer for a moment, just seemed to breathe and shake. When he looked up, he looked completely washed out, as if close to fainting. "Can someone get me some food?" he asked weakly.
"Oh, yes," the Helenan minister said from behind Keller, as if suddenly coming back to life. "Immediately." He turned and started to jog down the hall. "I'll fetch a blanket as well."
"No citrus," Rodney called after him. "And pack some food for a trip up the mountain! And some canteens!"
The minister waved a hand to show he understood, already pushing the doors at the far end, leaving the three Atlantians alone.
"Sir?" Brent asked again, his voice echoing softly down the concrete hallway.
Rodney sighed and looked at him, then bowed his head as if resigned to the telling. "It's, uh," he waved a hand, "pretty simple actually. Horrible, but simple. " He drew in another shaking breath and lifted his chin. "We made it to the ruins sometime around mid-morning, and had a good look around. There's some interesting things there," he looked at Keller, "I think it was a medical facility," he looked back at Brent, "but then the storm started to get worse, and the Helenan guides started talking about hurricane weather and how we needed to get back. Sheppard agreed, and we were about halfway back when we were attacked." He frowned, his gaze turning inward. "There were too many of them. The Helenans took off after a couple of them were killed, and Sheppard and Ronon were injured. We barely made it out of the ambush, and Teyla led us a place to hole up—some hovels she'd spotted up on the mountain while walking to the ruins." He shook his head, and looked at Keller. "She sent me to get you, and to get help from Atlantis. That was... " he looked at his watch, "almost an hour and a half ago." He looked at Keller again, his eyes scared. "Ronon and Sheppard are really bad off. I don't know how much time they have. There was…" he seemed to choke slightly, lowering his voice, "there was a lot of blood."
Jennifer could only nod. What else could she say to that? She turned away. "I'll get my bags ready."
"Whoa, hang on, wait." Sergeant Brent had his hands raised, looking back and forth between Rodney and Keller. "What about the storm?"
Rodney looked confused. "What about the storm?" he repeated.
"We can't go out in that. It's too dangerous. My orders were to keep Doctor Keller safe and indoors, and I'm going to do that, especially if that thing is forming tornados."
Rodney frowned. "I already told you, it wasn't as bad up in the mountains. Plus, I made it through. And if I can make it, anyone can make it."
Brent grimaced. "It's not that, sir. I'm not so much concerned about you…" Jennifer grimaced when the Sergeant looked at her instead of finishing the statement.
Rodney shook his head, dismissing that. "She'll be fine. Tougher than she looks, right?" He looked at her, and Jennifer just opened her mouth—she didn't really have an answer. Rodney took her silence for a yes, and turned back to Brent. "Besides," he frowned, "my teams needs her. That includes your commanding officer, Sergeant. They can't wait for this storm to die down, and I came all the way down here to get her for that reason. I'm taking her up to them." He looked at Keller. "Okay? I'll wait here for the food—go get what you need."
"Doctor Keller, wait," Brent called to Jennifer, and then he looked at Rodney again, whose face showed the first flashes of annoyance—finally making him a little more like himself. Brent shook his head. "Sir, please, I understand what you want to do, but my orders were very clear, and, as much as I want to—I can't in good conscience let you or Doctor Keller go out in this hurricane. Especially if, as I think the minister was about to tell us, it's going to get worse. Not to mention, besides the storm, there's also the danger the rebels represent, these 'Auggies'. What if they attack you again? It'll be hard enough keeping you both safe in the storm, but if I have to watch out for them as well…"
"Well, that's easily solved," Rodney replied quickly, waving a hand dismissively, "you won't have to keep us safe, because you're not coming with us."
"What?" Brent's eyebrows lifted. "Sir, are you crazy?"
"Someone has to stay here to contact Atlantis. You need to get yourself to the Gate and let them know what's happening—tell them we need a jumper and a medical team. It has to be you, because I'm the only one who knows where my team is."
Brent's eyes were wide, and he shook his head vehemently. "Sir, I can't."
Rodney's brow furrowed dangerously. "Of course you can. What part of 'get yourself to the Gate' can't you do? I know the hurricane's going to be a problem, but you're a strapping marine type, you—"
"No, sir, I mean I can't leave you. You and Doctor Keller need protecting."
Rodney let out a huff of surprise, then rolled his eyes. "Oh for Christ's sake. Okay, listen," he lifted his hands up to Brent, as if to placate him, "most of the time I'd agree with you, wholeheartedly, believe me, but we don't have the luxury for that now. There's no one else that can do this. I'll take care of Keller, and you—"
"No, sir, I can't let you. It's not operable."
"Not operable?" Rodney repeated, almost snarling the word. "What the hell does that mean?"
"It means you're not a soldier, Doctor McKay. Please, be realistic!"
"Realistic?" Rodney's face suddenly turned bright red. "You want realistic?" he demanded furiously. "What's real is that two of my teammates are dying on that mountain, Sergeant! I'm taking Keller to them, you're going to the Stargate, and that's the reality! And if you think I'm going to let anything stop me from getting her to them, you're out of your mind. I didn't run all the way down here, through figurative hell and literal high-water, just to be cloistered away in a concrete hospital! So, suck it up, be a good little marine and do what I tell you!"
Jennifer looked back at Rodney, then at Brent. She wasn't sure where she stood in this argument. Rodney was technically her boss, and she had a duty to Colonel Sheppard and the others, but the storm was bad and with those 'Auggies' out there…No, no, what was she thinking? Of course she had to go. People were hurt! Why was she even questioning?
Because she was scared.
She swallowed, looking again at Brent. His expression had gone from surprised, to angry, to stone-faced during the last few minutes, and the hard stare he was giving Rodney would have intimidated almost anyone.
Anyone except Rodney.
McKay was livid now, not blinking as he glared at the marine.
"Sir," Brent said slowly, his own face red, "I appreciate your fear and worry for your team, but I also know my orders. I have to keep you and Doctor Keller safe. Atlantis will check in at some point, and we can tell them what's happening. Until then—"
"Um," Jennifer raised a hand, suddenly remembering what Brent had told her earlier, "didn't you say that radio communication was breaking up? What if they can't reach us out here because of the weather?"
"Okay, you know what?" Rodney said, throwing up his hands before Brent could answer her. "This is stupid and I'm not arguing with you anymore—all it is doing is wasting time. I'm not letting my team die because you feel some compulsion to win the best babysitter award. Keller, go get what you need to treat Sheppard and the others. We're heading out as soon as that minister guy comes back with food. As for you," he stepped forward to tap a finger against Brent's breastbone, "you're going to the Gate and dialing home. You're going to tell them what's happened, and tell them to ready a team to come get us. Tell them that you'll dial them as soon as the weather's clear enough for them to bring a jumper through. Or sooner, if this storm doesn't let up quick enough."
Brent sighed, "Sir, my orders—"
"Oh, screw your orders! You may answer to Lorne, Sergeant, but Lorne answers to the people in charge of Atlantis. That's Carter, Sheppard and me, in that order. I don't see Sheppard and Carter around, do you? So that leaves me. We're leaving, you're staying, and that's the end of it." He whipped around to point a finger at Jennifer, and she jumped. "Go!"
"Going," she said, whipping around and running down the hall to get to the clinic room, where they'd left her supplies.
Behind her, she heard Brent trying to argue again, and Rodney's clipped, furious responses. But she'd made up her mind. She was scared, yes, but Rodney was right—Sheppard and the others needed her. One way or another, she was heading out into the hurricane to get to them.
Hurriedly, she pulled her backpack together, mentally checking off everything she needed. Rodney was right to get food—they'd need that. They could probably also use things like blankets and pillows, but didn't have the ability to carry that much. Not with the weather and the need to rush. In the end, she rolled up two blankets into the pack and hoped it was enough.
At some point, she'd also gotten a Helenan nurse to bring her extra bandages and some ponchos for the rain. She'd even gotten gloves.
She was double-checking her medical supplies in her black medical case when Rodney pushed in through the doors to the little clinic room, sporting a yellow blanket around his shoulders. His hair was sticking out in all directions from obviously being dried with the blanket, and his ears and nose were bright red. He was wiping his nose on a tissue as he came in, while his other hand carried what looked like a small cloth drawstring bag.
"Food," he said, tossing it to her. She pulled the bag open, saw bread, cheese, dried meat and what looked like some sort of fruit. Good enough. She stuffed it in her backpack, then turned to look at Rodney. He was sniffling as he watched her, his eyes red-rimmed. He still looked like a drowned rat, even though he was a little drier than he had been. He also still looked too pale and a little shaky.
"Did you eat?" she asked. He gave a quick nod.
"Helenan Minister guy gave me roll with some kind of meat in it. I also had a snickers bar that I had tucked in my vest." He blinked, looking down at her pack and the black case on the table. "You ready to go?"
She nodded, and turned to shoulder on the fat backpack. She saw Rodney stuff the tissue in his wet pocket, then reach to help her, losing the blanket draped over his shoulders as he did so. His wet arm brushed close to her neck—she could feel how cold he was even without touching him.
"Should change your shirt and jacket before we go," she said, drawing away from him as she adjusted the backpack's belt around her waist. He shook his head, picking up the blanket from the floor and tossing it on the table behind her case.
"I'll just get wet again."
"But I got us ponchos," she said, pointing to the table, "and gloves."
"Oh, gloves!" He grabbed for the pair of black men's gloves sitting next to the medical case. He had them on so fast, she barely had time to blink. He was rubbing his now gloved hands together, looking a little like he'd just been given all the secrets of the universe. He looked up at her and smiled so brightly, so full of gratitude, she blushed.
She grabbed for one of the ponchos and slipped it over her head, covering the backpack. She then donned the other set of gloves and reached for the case.
"I got that," he said quickly, pulling it from her. "Faster if I carry it. Let's go."
"You don't want the other poncho?" she asked.
He shook his head. "At this point—I can't get more wet or cold or miserable. Plus—the rain is blowing up as well as down. There's not much point." He turned then, so missed the look of misery on Jennifer's face.
Steeling herself, she found herself trooping out of the little room after him, her hands wrapped around the shoulder straps of the backpack under the poncho.
They were soon in the same hall as before, and she stopped when she saw the Helenan minister looking as unhappy as ever—standing over and unconscious Sergeant Brent on the floor. Keller's eyes widened.
"What happened?" she gasped, running forward to check on him.
Rodney shrugged. "I stunned him," he answered tiredly as he continued to walk forward. "It'll be easier for him with Lorne that way. Come on, time's a wasting." He was stepping over the sergeant's outstretched legs already.
"Was it a Wraith stunner?"
"No, it was a Star Trek phaser. Of course it was a Wraith stunner! I carry one in my backpack--took it out because I thought it would help if I ran into any more of those Auggie people. Now, come on!"
"But—" She hesitated as she watched Rodney stride down the hall away from her. He was almost at the door now.
"Keller," Rodney turned to face her. "He's fine. He'll continue to be fine, and when he wakes up in a few minutes, he'll be really pissed off, but he'll do what I told him to do because he won't have any other choice. Now are you coming?"
She grimaced, not liking the idea of leaving him there like this.
"I--"
"Keller! Come on, we need to go! Chop chop!"
She looked up and nodded at Rodney. "Right," she said. "Right, I'm coming." She looked up at the tall blond minister as she passed by. "Take care of him."
"Of course," he said sincerely. She smiled at him, then took off after Rodney, who was already pushing through the doors to the hospital beyond.
TBC…
