FIGURATIVE HELL AND LITERAL HIGH WATER
By TIPPER
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE STORM'S END
Keller was leaning against Ronon and Teyla's pallet, her hands pressed down on the edge, her arms trembling from exhaustion. Tears ran down her cheeks from yawning so often, and, at some point, she'd given up trying to get rid of them. They at least kept her eyes from drying out.
Her problem right now—was that the hovel was spinning. Every muscle ached. The throb of her strained ankle from falling back in town was insignificant compared to her back, her shoulders, her legs, her head. It was too much. She couldn't do this. The night just kept stretching longer and longer, until she began to wonder if it would ever be day.
She concentrated on breathing in and out, and getting her focus back.
Swallowing roughly, she turned her gaze to Rodney in the corner, focusing on the steady rise and fall of his chest under the blanket. It was a miracle he was still alive. She'd done all she could, but he was skirting the edge right now, and without the ability to increase his blood supply….
But she knew he was strong. They were all strong. So long as she could keep them stable, she knew they'd survive. They had to.
Pushing herself up, she turned and walked over to his side, kneeling down again to rest a hand on his neck to check his pulse, then his forehead to check his temperature. It wasn't scientific or even accurate, but she knew the power of touch. Although, in this case, since he wasn't awake—the touch was for her.
Confident that he wasn't worse, she seated herself next to him again, then reached out and took his hand.
All night, after each time she'd checked on the others, she'd kept coming back to sit here and take his hand. She couldn't really explain why. Only that, each time, it had helped her. Had made her want to do better. To be more like the people she tended. To be stronger.
But she wasn't. She was so tired. She knew she was flagging, knew she was failing. She couldn't do this.
The hand twitched in her palm, and she frowned, looking down in time to see his fingers curl around hers.
Her breath caught at what it meant—that he was awake—and she looked down at his face. Rodney's glazed eyes, darkened to almost black in the low firelight, watched her sleepily.
"Hi," she said, sliding down a little so that she could see him better. "How are you feeling?"
Rodney's brow furrowed, then loosened. "The others?" he whispered.
Jennifer smiled. "I think they're going to be okay. You got us here in time."
He gave a small smile, then his eyes narrowed slightly. "You look…hell."
She gave a shrug. "Feel like it," she admitted.
"You okay? You eat?"
She hesitated, then looked up at the straw ceiling to stop from crying. "I'm fine."
He hummed softly in obvious disbelief, showing he wasn't blind. When Jennifer glanced at him again, he deliberately broke his gaze to look up at the hovel's ceiling himself. He frowned. "Still…hovel."
"Yeah," Jennifer said, not hiding her frustration with that. "No word from Atlantis."
Rodney eyes squinted at that. "Still storming?"
"Yes," she said, looking over her shoulder through the slats of the wall. The wind still howled outside, and the rain had never let up. When she looked back at him, he looked on the verge of falling asleep again, but he smiled at her.
"It's a bad storm," he whispered.
She laughed softly. "Colonel Sheppard did tell me you have a gift for stating the obvious." She smiled warmly. "He's not wrong."
He stared at her for a moment, then his hand gripped hers. "Keller."
Worried something was paining him, she gripped his hand back. "I'm here."
"I…if I don't tell you later…" His grip tightened. "Thank you."
She let out a surprised breath. Then she shook her head. "Don't thank me yet," she said, her voice trembling. And suddenly, she couldn't hold it back. "Rodney, I don't know what to do. I'm so tired. I don't think I can stay awake even though I have to. And if I fall asleep, and something happens to you or the others while…" She swallowed, looking down at his hand in hers. "I'm not like you, or Teyla, or Ronon, or the colonel. You're all so strong. I'm not like that." She looked back at him. "I'm sorry."
His brow furrowed deeply, and his lips darkened into a frown. "What're you talking 'bout?" he slurred. "You're here."
"I know I'm here," she said. "But—"
"No," he said. "You're here." He drew in a shallow breath. "Came with me."
She stared at him, not understanding, and his expression went from angry to annoyed.
"I mean," he said, letting out a heavy breath, "that…I wouldn't…made it on my own. They wouldn't," he looked out at the room at the others, "be alive."
She frowned, still not understanding.
He rolled his eyes, then pulled his hand from hers and pointed over at Sheppard. Then he pointed at Teyla and Ronon. Then at her and finally himself.
"We're strong," he said. Then he rested his hand on his chest. "I'm not. Not alone. You're…" He rested a hand on her arm. "Not alone either." He winced at some hidden pain, then breathed in shallowly. When he looked up at her again, he frowned. "You're done. Let someone else take over." His eyes narrowed, "In fact…" He looked across the room, at the pallet on the back wall. "You need…wake up Sheppard. He's…" Rodney swallowed, "just drugged. He'll shake it off. It's…" He gave a wicked smile, "his turn. He'll hate it if he stays asleep…" he breathed in and out slowly, "He'll think…feel like he failed the team."
Keller grimaced, looking at the object of their attention. "But, he should rest, he—"
"No," Rodney whispered, his hand resting again on his chest. "He'll wake up. Will…take care of us so you can sleep." He blinked owlishly and gazed at her through his lashes. "Trust me."
She looked up at him, and nodded. "I do trust you. More than I can say. But, as his doctor, I—"
"Doctor…shmokter," he muttered. "If you won't…" A wicked smile graced his face. He held his hand out, palm up. "Give…something to throw."
She let out a short laugh. "No! Rodney!"
"Just chicken," he admonished. "Warning you…," he quirked an eyebrow, and touched the fabric under his head with his hand. "I'll throw…pillow."
"That's a jacket."
"I'll throw…jacket."
"It wouldn't reach him."
"Try me."
She sighed, then shook her head. "I think I'd lose," she admitted. "Wouldn't I?" She nodded. "Okay. I'll wake him."
Rodney was watching her, but his eyes turned back to the colonel, and his smile deepened. His hand fell back to his chest. "Actually….No need."
Keller's head lifted, and she looked across to Sheppard's pallet.
The colonel was sitting up, already turned with his feet on the floor. He was rubbing at his neck. He looked up at her, his gaze meeting hers with some bewilderment.
"Doc," he called quietly. "Is that you?"
Keller couldn't hold back her relief. "Colonel…" She shook her head. "Yes. It's me. You're awake!"
"Yeah, well," he grimaced, and blinked some of the drug-induced haze from his eyes, "couldn't let Rodney throw anything at me without being able to retaliate."
Her eyes widened. "You heard that?" she asked. Rodney had been whispering. She had barely heard him herself.
Sheppard blinked again, then his eyes narrowed and he seemed to look around for the first time. His eyes widened when he got a good look at the rest of his team for the first time, and at their surroundings.
When he looked back at her, his eyes were sharp and clear. "What the hell happened?" he demanded.
Keller just shook her head. "Long story. Maybe I should let Rodney…." She stopped when she looked down. Rodney's eyes were closed, his hand limp in hers.
When had he put his hand back in hers? He didn't even look like he'd moved or spoken at all.
She blinked and looked up. Sheppard was standing now, and, after a few staggered steps, he made it over to Ronon and Teyla's pallet. Resting Rodney's hand back down on his chest, she checked his pulse and temperature one more time, then stood up, using the wall as a brace. Halfway up, the world began to spin again.
Oh…crap.
Sheppard looked across at her, and his eyes widened. "Doc?" He started towards her, reaching out a hand. "You okay?"
Jennifer opened her mouth to answer as she pushed herself off the wall towards him…and promptly passed out. She didn't even feel him catch her.
It was the change in the weather that woke her, though she didn't know it at first.
Jennifer reached up a hand to wipe at her face, moaning slightly at how still tired she felt. She was lying on her side, and something scratchy bit into her arm through her thin shirt, like straw, and it smelled sickly. She wrinkled her nose, and shifted slightly, leaning more into the warm shoulder she was using as a pillow. Hang on…a warm shoulder? Oh God, how much had she drunk last night?
Her eyes popped open in terror as she suddenly remembered, and she sat up abruptly—something she immediately regretted as her head started to pound mercilessly.
"Ow," she groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. Blinking more, she tried to calm down and look around. Oh God—she'd passed out. What if they'd needed her? What if…
The thought died as she saw Teyla sitting next to the fire, tending it. The Athosian looked up at her gaze and smiled gently.
"Teyla?"
"How are you?" Teyla asked. "Colonel Sheppard has been most worried."
Keller blinked a few times, and looked over at the pallet at the end of the room, expecting to see the colonel sleeping on it. Oh…no, that was right. He'd woken up, hadn't he?
"Where is…?"
"I'm here," a voice called, and Keller twisted in her seat to look across Rodney—whom she'd been apparently been sleeping next to—to the colonel. He was standing by the door, leaning against the slats by the handle, munching on what looked like a fruit—the one from her pack.
Keller gave a smile, feeling confidence returning at the sight of him looking well and, hell, rested.
"Colonel," she said, grinning now. "I'm so glad to see you awake. How are you?"
"Fine, thanks to you." He glanced at Teyla, then back at her. "Actually, I think the reason we're all still alive is thanks to you." He gave a shrug, "And McKay."
Keller's smile grew and she looked down at Rodney. His head was turned away from her, and she reached up to check his pulse. His color looked okay, and he wasn't warm. He wasn't cool either. Just normal. He looked like he was sleeping. She then looked towards the pallet on the far wall.
"Ronon is well as well," Teyla assured her, her eyes full of understanding. "His temperature is not high, and his blood pressure is normal. His wounds all appear to be clean. "
Keller grinned some more, and tucked her legs under her in order to sit up further. "And you?"
"A little groggy," Teyla admitted, "but well, much better now that I have eaten breakfast. You should eat something as well. There is still bread and cheese left from the provisions you brought."
Breakfast? Keller's eyes widened slightly as she realized that gray light was pouring in through the gaps between the slats of the walls. She looked up at the ceiling, at the bright gray sky she could see through the smoke. She smiled anew.
"It's morning?" Finally.
"Just," Teyla nodded. "Maybe an hour since dawn."
Keller was about to ask if Atlantis had contacted them, when lightning suddenly flashed through the walls. She jumped, and her mouth opened slightly as thunder quickly followed it.
"The storm has not abated," Teyla told her, frowning. "I fear that—"
Lightning flashed again, but this time, when the thunder followed, Keller was not only expecting it—she welcomed it.
"As I was saying," Teyla continued, grimacing towards the ceiling, "I fear that the storm—"
"No, no, no," Keller said, lifting herself up so that she was on her knees, smiling still. "This is good!"
"Come again?" Sheppard asked.
"Thunder and lightning," Keller said, pointing upwards. She just couldn't stop smiling as she explained, "That was how it started. Then the storm turned really nasty, and there wasn't any. But if it's thundering again," she looked up again, "maybe this is how the storms on this planet end."
Sheppard's eyebrows lifted and he looked up at the ceiling. "You think?"
"I do," she said. "I really, really do." Lightning flashed again, and Keller almost laughed. Why had she never noticed how cool lightning was before? It was beautiful. If she was right—she would never hate thunderstorms again.
As if reading her thoughts, the radio in her ear came alive.
"Doc…Kay. Doc…Kell…me? This…orne. Come…"
Sheppard straightened immediately, tapping his radio before Jennifer even understood what she was hearing.
"Major Lorne, this is Colonel Sheppard. Do you read?"
"..pard? We're…per….subcu…"
"You're breaking up Major. We're up on the side of the tallest mountain. Where are you?"
"Over…Jumper One. The storm is…inter…"
"Causing interference, understood." Sheppard pressed a hand to the door handle. "What's your position?"
"Nearly…your position. We're alm …top of you, sir."
The signal was getting stronger as Lorne obviously flew the jumper closer.
"That's the best news I've heard in a long time, Major. We're all in pretty bad shape, here. Doctor Keller has performed miracles, but I know she's dying to get us back to her infirmary." Sheppard smiled at her. "You should see the way she's gripping McKay's hand. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was afraid he was going to float away."
Keller's eyes widened, and she looked down. She hadn't even noticed that she was holding Rodney's hand—apparently, it had become habitual. She blushed and put it down. A second later, she was standing up and stepping over Rodney to get closer to Sheppard.
"Understood, sir," Lorne's amused tone echoed over the radio. "We're closing in on your position now. The storm has cleared out of the town, but it looks like its lingering up here. "
Sheppard nodded, "We noticed. By the by, reading you loud and clear now, Major."
"That's good, sir. And…oh. What the hell…?" Lorne hesitated. "Uh…one problem, sir."
Sheppard grimaced. "No place to land?"
"No. I think I can get the ship down close to you, but," there was a pause, "sir, there are a significant number of life signs converging on your position. Probably this planet's rebels, sir. Helenans called them Auggies."
Jennifer's eyes widened. "Oh God," she said, then tapped her radio quickly. "Can't you do something about them?"
Sheppard's eyebrows lifted, and he tapped his own radio again. "That was Doctor Keller, Major. She has a point—we're in no shape to fight our way out of here, and I'd rather avoid any more casualties, ours or theirs."
"Understood, sir. Any suggestions?"
Jennifer frowned. "You've got a ship, Major!" she snapped. "Can't you, you know, scare them off? Blow something up or something?"
"You want me to blow them up?" Lorne repeated, sounding a little shocked.
She frowned, squeezing her eyes shut. "I didn't say blow them up, Major. I said blow something up. You people do it all the time! Can't you use your drones to, you know…" She waved a hand around because she'd run out of words, clearly not in her element. "Be mariney!"
"Mariney?" Lorne said then, and there was the amusement again. Keller's eyes narrowed in annoyance as he added, "You do know that I'm not actually a ma--"
"You know what I mean, Lorne," she snarled. "And if you want me to keep scheduling your physicals with Doctor Cole, you'll stop making fun of me right now."
"I think he gets the idea," Sheppard said with a smile before Lorne could retaliate. "Major—her idea sounds good to me."
Lorne sighed. "Yes, sir. Only problem is, the ground is sort of unstable around you, sir. The area is awash in landslides. I'd be afraid to cause another."
Sheppard rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, as if he had a headache. "Damn," he muttered. Jennifer frowned, and shook her head at him.
"Rodney said that we weren't in danger of landslides on this side of the ridge," she said. Sheppard looked up at her, and frowned.
"He did? Was he sure?"
She nodded. Of course, Sheppard might not trust Rodney's assessment, but she'd be willing to vouch for him if—
But Sheppard was already speaking. "Use the drones, Major," the colonel said. "Scare em off. We'll be fine."
"Are you sure, sir?" Lorne was clearly less certain. "I heard what Doctor Keller said, but Doctor McKay might not really know the extent--"
"Keller said he was sure, Major. It's good enough for me. Go ahead."
There was a pause, then, "Yes, sir."
Sheppard looked at Keller, gave a half smile, then covered her ears. "Might want to do this," he noted.
Keller's eyes widened, and she quickly covered hers as well…just as the world around them seemed to explode.
TBC…
