How To Save a Life

by The Watch Stander

Thank You to all who reviewed, added this to a watch list and read this story! I would answer all of you, but as I have dial up my time on the internet is limited as others need the phone line. So Thank You so Much!

The only medical courses I've taken are CPR & Basic First Aid so please forgive any mistakes.

Chapter Two - Into The Woods

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John continued to worry, that little voice in his head telling him something was very wrong. It had been more than six hours and still no word from Carson or McKay. The jumpers should have returned here three hours ago. Since there was no other way off this planet besides the space Stargate, they were stuck here until Atlantis sent someone to get them. He hoped the delay was some trivial reason, but he suspected it wasn't.

The knot in his stomach seemed to tighten as he went through all the possible scenarios, none of them good.

I hate not being able to do something . . . I need to find out what went wrong .

Teyla shared his feelings, he could see it in her eyes, she was also worried about the two men. McKay was her friend as well as team member and everyone liked Carson.

"Maybe Dr. Weir needed Rodney to repair something on Atlantis and couldn't send him back immediately? It has only been six hours. They might be on their way back now."

She said it in a very calming voice, but John doubted that she believed what she said was true. One of the jumpers should have returned. Carson and Lorne would have brought the supplies immediately knowing they needed them.

"Lorne would have come right away, we need those supplies and he would have brought Beckett back as well. Something's gone wrong."

John was not a patient man when he was worried and right now his anger was building. He slammed a fist against the table, "Dam it! I want to do something, not just sit here!"

Teyla walked over, trying to calm him, "John . . . we . . . "

A faint voice came from both their headsets simultaneously.

"Colonel Sheppard, this is Major Lorne, do you read?"

John was startled by the voice, then relief quickly washed over his face, "This is Sheppard, Major, tell me you have Carson and McKay with you . . . ," John held his breath desperately wanting the reply to be "Yes."

"Sorry, Sir. I haven't seen either of them. Dr. Weir was concerned when she didn't hear from you . . . Is something wrong?"

John took a deep breath, "Yes, Major, something is very wrong . . . "

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Rodney felt the throbbing pain in his head become more pronounced as he slowly fought his way up from the surrounding blackness. There had to be a midget with a hammer in his head, pounding away for all he was worth to make it hurt this much...

"Ow,... God!", he moaned outloud.

He changed his mind about opening his eyes when a bright light suddenly assailed them.

"Rodney, I need to check you over. You know the drill..." A disembodied, but familar voice, floated down to him. He suddenly remembered being in the jumper with the Doctor, but everything else was fuzzy.

"What happened?", Rodney managed to whisper, still squinting his eyes against the hated light from the flashlight the doctor held.

A hand gently held his face as he tried to turn away from the light.

"We crashed and I still need you to follow my questions." Carson smiled at the cranky attitude from his friend. If Rodney had behaved in any other manner, the doctor would have been worried.

"Now,... how many fingers?"

Rodney closed his eyes and then tried reopening them to focus, "Three?", he guessed as the doctor's hand was a big blur.

Carson shook his head and put down his finger.

"Name?" he asked hoping to get at least that much from his patient.

"Rodney McKay, really screwed astrophysicist! Can we stop now?"

Carson chuckled and dropped his hand, "Aye, you have a concussion, but at least you know who you are."

"Wonderful! That makes me feel so much better." He tried to straighten up but immediately fell back against the seat when a red hot pain shot through his insides.

"Ow... Carson, what happened to me?" he gasped, his ribs and insides throbbing as knife like pains continued to assault his body.

Beckett put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "You have some broken ribs, Rodney. So don't go moving around. I 'll need to give you something for the pain after we decide on what we're going to do."

Rodney's eyes widened suddenly as he remembered the trees and being thrown across the jumper.

" What do you mean? Can't we get help from Atlantis?"

Carson shook his head, "I already checked. The whole front of the jumper is crushed and all of the circuits have been fried. I'm afraid even you can't fix them. The only way we can get help is by walking back to the gate we came through and that's a good many miles back."

Rodney looked dismayed, "You'll have to leave me here and go for help."

Carson smirked, "Not bloody likely! I can't leave you here in your condition."

"Don't be stupid! I'll only slow you down..." The scientist snapped back.

Beckett sighed, "The answer is, No! So... just get it through that thick head of yours, that either we go together or not at all!" When necessary he could be just as stubborn as his friend.

Rodney seemed to deflate, he was exhausted and in pain. There was no way he could convince Carson to leave him, so he'd better suck it up and get ready for a world of hurt. This walk to the gate just might turn into a death march considering the way he felt. His insides were still on fire making his whole body hurt.

Closing his eyes, he leaned further back again the seat. The midget with a hammer had decided to give his head a thorough pounding, making his ears ring as the beat went on and on...

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John's heart sank when they arrived at the space stargate and discovered the floating debris. Residue of a fire fight between a dart and jumper floated in the area around the gate. Pieces of a Wraith dart being the most plentiful, but there was also several pieces of metal that had come from a jumper.

Sheppard was piloting the jumper and flew it around the area three times, just to be sure there were no bodies or other articles from the missing jumper scattered out of their line of sight.

Lorne finally broke the silence that had come over them since finding the debris, "Looks like it was one hell of a fight"

Sheppard continued to look around, missing nothing, "Yeah," he said softly.

His friends had needed him and he wasn't here...

Finally he came to a conclusion, "They were probably on their way to the gate when they were ambushed. I don't see any other jumper parts or detect any on the scanners, so I assume they made it through the gate. They must have gone somewhere else besides Atlantis or the Alpha sight or we would have heard from them by now. Probably didn't want to bring the dart back with them. I'm hoping it was only one that attacked them. The energy signatures seem to confirm that. "

Lorne nodded as he continued to look out the front screen, "McKay would have thought of that for sure, he's pretty good at thinking ahead."

John smiled slightly, "That he is... "

He sighed, knowing there was a fifty-fifty chance of finding the two men in one piece on another planet, but he also knew they were in big trouble from the debris that floated before them. The scanner identified parts of an engine pod and that left the missing jumper with only one working engine.

Not good

Trying to quell his fear for the two men's safety, John turned to Lorne, "Let's get Zelenka and have him download the readings from this gate's buffer. Maybe it'll tell us where they went."

Lorne nodded," Sounds like a plan."

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Carson had emptied Rodney's backpack and refilled it with what food and water he could find on the jumper. There was some emergency supplies stocked in its bins, but the amount didn't matter since they could only carry so much. Especially since McKay was badly injured.

Beckett zipped the backpack closed and checked his vest making sure he had several power bars handy and an epi-pen just in case. Traveling with McKay gave the phrase 'Be prepared' a whole new meaning.

It was going to be rough going through the surrounding woods, especially with McKay's ribs being an issue. If there was another choice he'd do it, but leaving his patient behind in hopes of bringing back help wasn't even a consideration. The daft man would probably forget to eat and go into hypoglycemia shock and die here alone.

No, I'll not be doing that...

He looked at his patient, who appeared to be asleep, but Carson knew Rodney wasn't from the twinges of pain that kept crossing his friend's pale face. It was a bloody miracle he hadn't gone into shock.

Beckett wasn't a woodsman, but he had done enough walking through wooded areas to favorite fishing spots that made him well aware of what he needed to bring. After checking his revolver, he went to look for extra ammo clips that were kept hidden on board.

Just incase we find some wee beasties that want us for dinner...

He also searched for Rodney's tact vest that had been left hanging over the pilot seat before they crashed. McKay had brought it with him, but hadn't worn it.

Carson sighed, if his friend had worn it, maybe his ribs wouldn't have been so badly injured...

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Radek Zelenka cursed as the download from the space gate stopped abruptly and he had to begin once again. He hated this, Rodney was good at making computers obey him and where was he? Not here!

Leaving Radek to be the one to save McKay's ass and Carson's as well.

There will much owed for this! Rodney will be so in my debt!

However, Radek was worried as there were many addresses in the stargate buffer Each one was a potential destination for the damaged jumper as they were not recorded in order of use. It might take weeks to find the right planet and then from what he'd been told, they might be too late.

Another curse and Colonel Sheppard, who was sitting in the jumper pilot seat, turned around, " How's it going, Doc?"

Radek looked up, "Slow, very slow..." then he looked back at the screen and began again.

John wanted to say 'hurry up', however he knew Radek was doing his best. It just seemed to be taking too long to get results. Rodney and Carson might not have that much time, especially if they were injured.

Once more he turned around and stared through the front screen at the space around the gate hoping that fate would give them a break and he would be able to save his two friends.

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Carson went through the jumper once more looking for any items he might have missed that would come in handy. They had enough food for at least four days and water as well. Medical supplies weren't plentiful, but the Jumper's med kit had supplied him with two more vials of morphine and another bottle of ibuprofen tablets. Both would be needed for Rodney was in bad shape. He should be lying in a bed in the infirmary and not taking a hike to the gate.

As a doctor, Carson knew all this, but he couldn't leave McKay here. He would just have to keep monitoring Rodney's condition and hope they made it to the gate in less than two days time. After that they would be in trouble as he was sure the painkillers would be long used up. He'd given Rodney several pills earlier, saving the morphine for later. Hopefully, by now they had have kicked in and numbed the pain somewhat.

Reluctantly, Carson bent down and picked up his pack placing it over his shoulders. Rodney's pack was much lighter. Carson had made sure of that as he didn't want to add to the discomfort of his friend. This wasn't going to be fun for either of them.

Making his way over to Rodney he bent down and gently shook the man's arm, "Rodney, I need you to get up."

The scientist's eyes barely opened and Carson felt terrible for having to make the injured man go through what was to come.

"What?" The scientist asked. Startled from his light doze.

"We need to leave for the gate. I need you to carry your pack."

Rodney finally opened his eyes and once more he was sorry. There seemed to be pain in every inch of his body.

"Don't feel so good, Carson. Maybe we can go later?" he pleaded.

Carson looked regretfully at his friend, "I'm sorry, Rodney, If we don't go now , there may not be a later. Your condition is only going to worsen and then we'll both be stuck here. No one knows where we went. "

Rodney looked up at him, "Oh,... right... have to get help."

"Aye, we'll help each other."

He tried a slight smile, but Rodney was too absorbed in trying to find a way to get up that wouldn't hurt. Carson stood, then gently pulled his friend up. The scientist swayed for a moment, then somehow managed to stay on his feet. Carson placed the backpack over his friends shoulders, then took his arm over his left shoulder helping him to walk down the jumper ramp. Rodney groaned at the pain from his ribs, but knowing that there was no other choice tried to keep it to himself.

After using the remote to close the hatch, they slowly made their way toward the direction they had flown in from. It wasn't hard to follow, since the jumper had mowed down a number of trees in it's decent.

Beyond this forest, Beckett knew there were fields and then the gate. How far a distance that was, he had no idea, but they'd find it and get home ...or die trying.

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TBC