How To Save A Life

by The Watch Stander

Thank you to everyone for your reviews! I know this is short, but I don't want to go too long without posting something. The next one will be longer. Had to put up over 100 storm panels on our house! Hurricane season is now here.

Chapter 7 - Over the River and Through the Woods

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Carson hit the water backwards, knocking the air from his lungs. Sinking he gasped in shock from the coldness of the water and instantly regretted it as he swallowed what felt like copious amounts of water. The current continued to pull him along, making it difficult to swim and reach the surface. McKay was no where to be seen and right now it was all he could do to just try and stay alive. He continued to swim, hampered by his heavy pack and wet clothes. When he was almost at the surface, his head struck something hard then his world faded into blackness. His body slowly sank and was once more pulled along by the river's current.

Falling fast, Rodney barely had time to scrunch himself into a ball, as he had so often done as a child, when swimming in his aunt's pool. Doing cannon balls off the diving board had been his favorite form of entertainment; causing Jeannie to scream in delight when he hit the water and it splashed all around him.

This time he did it in the hope of preventing a broken leg, if the river was shallow. Fortunately it was deep and he sank like a rock, weighed down by his heavy pack and water soaked tack vest. It was a struggle to reach the surface as sharp pains continually shot through his insides in protest, but he continued to swim, knowing he would drown if he didn't.

Surfacing, he coughed up the water he had inadvertently swallowed, causing his ribs to ache from the strain. After getting his throat clear and air back into his lungs, he attempted to look around for Carson. Large rain drops continued to pelt his face, making it impossible to see five feet ahead of him as he was swept along. Completely helpless, he was unable to avoid colliding with numerous underwater rocks on his way down river. It was all he could do to keep his head above water as the current carried him along at a swift pace.

A sudden collision with a boulder in the river, knocked the wind out of him. Bright lights flashed through his head when his side took the worst of the hit. The excruciating pain that followed made him want to curl up and die. However, the instinct to survive overcame it and he pulled his head up out of the water, coughing, while being swept downstream, away from the rocks.

Time seemed to pass slowly, the cold water making him numb and bleeding away what little reserves of energy he had. Slowly his body started to feel like it was shutting down and he was just about ready to give up, when he was swept near a tree that had fallen into the river. Desperate, he made a grab for its branches. The movement hurt, causing him to gasp in pain, but he got hold of a branch and managed to pull himself closer to the trunk. Once there he was able to catch his breath and ride out the waves of pain that racked him. It took him several minutes to recover and regain his senses, but he was still cold and his whole body continued to tremble.

What happened next made him believe there really must be guardian angels, for after feeling something soft bump against his back, he turned and discovered Beckett caught in the branches behind him, floating face down.

"Carson! ," He cried out, as he grabbed the unconscious man's arm and pulled his head out of the water. Beckett was unresponsive. His face pale and blood ran freely from a head wound.

Rodney's heart practically stopped as he felt for a pulse and found one, "Oh, Thank God!"

Finding his friend alive was the best thing that could have happened to him. Wiping his eyes, he choked back the emotion he felt and took a breath to try and calm down. Now he needed to get them to shore.

Grabbing Carson by the tack vest, he proceeded to pull him behind him. The strain on his side sent more spikes of pain through him as he slowly made his way toward shore. He was pulling them along using the tree's branches, when his feet finally came in contact with the river bottom. It then became easier to pull Beckett's dead weight through the water.

His legs felt like lead when he finally reached the Rivers' edge and pulled the doctor out of the water. Exhausted he dropped to his knees and fell face first onto the shore. Lying there panting, he tried to catch his breath as his whole body shook from the strain he had put it through. A little voice kept telling him that Carson still needed help and this made him push himself halfway up off the ground and crawl over to where his friend was.

Once there, he removed Carson's pack and vest, then used his hand to push down on the Doctor's back hoping to expel any water from his lungs.

It took several tries, but his reward was a loud cough from the man, as water suddenly spewed from Beckett's mouth. Exhausted, he slowly let himself fall onto his back, beside the still unconscious Doctor.

Rodney lay there gasping for air, hurting so much that he almost wished he was dead, so that it would end. A sudden coughing spell sent his insides into spasms of agony, making him cry out as he wrapped his arms around his sides and bright flashes of light assaulted his brain. When the coughing finally stopped and he was able to breathe again, he wiped his mouth with his hand and found blood on it.

Oh God, this is bad . . .

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John sat in the cafeteria, hands clasped around a coffee mug as he stared at the table. He had been up for more than 24 hours and looked it. The only thing that seemed to be keeping him on his feet was the 10 cups of coffee he had drank in that time.

Now he knew why Rodney was always so wired, as even he felt the effects from the caffeine. Unfortunately, it didn't numb the worry he felt inside, knowing that his friends were still out there and there wasn't a dam thing he could do about it. It was going to take several days to visit every planet that was listed in the buffer and he knew it.

He felt a hand briefly rest on his shoulder as Elizabeth came around the table and sat opposite him, placing her cup of tea before her.

"John, you look exhausted, have you had any rest?" she asked softly, concern on her face for the dark circles under his eyes made her think that he hadn't. She was also worried about the two men and hadn't had much rest either.

"I got a few winks in the jumper, when we doubled up with Lorne's team earlier today," his voice was soft and sounded defeated.

Elizabeth knew how much he liked Carson and Rodney was his friend and team mate. John and Rodney would fight like two little boys, but underneath all that was a strong friendship, even though neither of them would ever admit it.

"Exhausting yourself is not going to help find them any faster, John. Rodney wouldn't want you to do that and Carson would be very upset with you."

John sighed, remembering what lengths Rodney had gone too in the past to find his team, almost dying when he took an overdose of wraith enzyme. It had seemed crazy to John when he'd found out what he'd done, but now it didn't seem that way, knowing firsthand how desperate you become when you feel helpless.

If he stopped to sleep, it might delay finding the two men and even now it might be too late to save them. He looked at her with sadness in his eyes, but there was also determination.

"I can't, Elizabeth, I need to do this. I have to find them . . .

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Carson coughed up water as he slowly opened his eyes. When he was able to focus on his surroundings, he also became aware of all the aches and pains his body was feeling as well. His head was throbbing and his chest hurt. Lifting his head off the sand, he spotted Rodney nearby, leaning against a downed tree trunk, eyes closed and pale faced. He looked terrible and there was blood on his face.

"Rodney, are you all right?" he managed to croak, afraid that he might not get an answer.

McKay slowly stirred and opened his eyes, looking half drugged. Slowly he became aware that Carson was now awake.

"Finally, you're awake. It's about time! ," He managed to sound indignant, but his voice was very shaky.

Carson smiled at the acerbic remark, so glad to hear it. When he was caught in the river's current and there was no sign of McKay, he had feared that he'd never hear Rodney's voice again.

"Sorry, Rodney, guess I needed a wee nap, after my bath!"

"Right! You take a nap while I do all the work . . . and by the way, you'd better take some of your own advice and drop a few pounds. Hauling your sorry heavy ass out of that water was not fun!"

"Aye..Whatever you say, Rodney . . . Thanks, by the way."

Rodney was still annoyed, "And what kind of an idiot jumps into a river? Whatever possessed you?"

Carson looked sheepish, "I saw it in a movie once," he offered by way of an explanation.

Rodney's eyes narrowed angrily," Listen, you're no Butch Cassidy and I'm certainly not the Sundance Kid, so no more jumping into rivers. We could have been killed!"

"I didn't think we had much of a choice. Would you rather have been a dog biscuit, Rodney?"

"I would have thought of something, if . . . you'd given me time! ," McKay snapped back.

"Well, that's the whole point," Carson said patiently, "There was no time."

Rodney looked down at his feet, knowing what Carson said was true, "Well, just don't do it again! I don't like surprises."

The doctor sighed, his head still throbbed and every inch of him still hurt. He touched his forehead and found that it was bleeding again. Looking over at his friend, he noticed that his head wound was also bleeding.

"We're a fine pair, both bloody useless lying here," Carson stated, wanting to get up to help, but still weak from his near drowning. Exhausted, he let his face rest on the ground as his eyes slid closed.

Anger now spent, Rodney gently leaned back against the tree. His body continued to tremble from the cold and trauma it had been through; too badly injured to fight it any longer, he slumped down unconscious. The day's events had finally taken their toll.

Around them the forest seemed to quiet down as the two men lay there, even the birds stopped their singing . . . something was coming . . .

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