Teyla heard the tapping and silently thanked the Ancestors. John's pulse was weak and he had yet to wake. She had not moved him any further for fear of causing more damage. She was also fearful any movement might cause his condition to change, at least his heart was still beating though it was weak and thready.
Now help had arrived, she hoped there were medics here to help John. Teyla saw movement above her, through the windshield and made her way over to it. Lt Lorne stood on the other side, a cautious smile on his face. He had seen her moving and was relieved to see that she was mobile and looking in good shape.
"Teyla, how are you?" Lorne asked.
"I am fine, but it is Major Sheppard who is injured. I believe he is in urgent need of medical care." The tears she had held back, now clouding her eyes and threatening to fall.
"Teyla...Teyla! Look at me! You need to hang on, the Major needs you. We need to pry the hatch open. Carson and a medical team are on their way. Just hold on..." Lorne held back his own fear for the Major as he set about organizing the task at hand. Already he and his men were feeling the effects of hypoxia. He radioed back to Zelenka and told him to send the med team ahead, with any extra personal oxygen tanks available.
The third jumper arrived sooner than Lorne had expected. The lack of vital oxygen was slowing the mental and physical reactions of Lorne and his men. Due to that fact, it had taken them longer and they were just now about to blow the hatch open, when Carson held out a single oxygen tank for Lorne and his men to take hits from. Feeling better and moving quicker, the hatch was blown and when clear, Carson entered the jumper.
He found Teyla sitting by John. Her hand was on his neck, checking his pulse. Carson cursed as he saw the condition the Major was in. He looked into Teyla's red-rimmed eyes and feared the worst.
"Teyla?" Carson held his breath.
" He is alive, but his pulse has weakened." Relief that Carson was there and guilt that she had not done enough for John caught up to her and she sobbed. "I was afraid to move him, afraid it would cause him more harm, afraid his heart would stop and..."
Carson grabbed her shaking hand. "Teyla you did good. John was lucky to have you here. Now, I need to access his condition and get my team in here to stabilize him so we can get him back home, okay?" Teyla nodded, she knew she needed to get a grip on her emotions.
"Luv, are you okay?" Carson asked as she moved to let him nearer to John.
She was covered in blood and he was concerned how much of it was hers.
"Yes, a little bruised, but I am fine." Teyla confirmed.
" Well, I'll have Corpsman Weston check you out to be sure, Luv-okay?"
He nodded back at his crew and they gently encouraged a reluctant and obviously shocky Teyla to exit the jumper.
Once she was handed off to competent hands, Carson accessed the Major's condition. "Ah, Laddy-when will Pegasus give you a break." He hissed at the blood pressure reading. "Give me one bags of Ringer's and two units of blood stat" Carson instructed. Failing to place the IV shunt in John's arm after two attempts, a frustrated Carson yelled " Marie, hand me a cutdown kit, Luv-I cant get a vein-his BP is too low."
Carson hated to take the time to surgically introduce the IV cannula, but had no choice. The fluid and units of blood were vital to his patient's survival. Carson needed to establish a port to administer these needed fluids plus any meds needed. He performed the task with expertise and vital fluids were now being administered to his needy patieint.
In his adrenaline-induced state, Carson had neglected the effects of hypoxia, as lethargy and panting made themselves known. Luckily Marie had seen and handed him an oxygen mask. Fresh air revived him quickly and he moved on to continue his exam.
Teyla had done an excellent rudimentary job of stabilizing the Major's leg. Carson could do no more for it until they got back to Atlantis. Checking the head wounds, again Carson silently congratulated Teyla for her efforts. Checking John's pupil reaction with his penlight usually caused the Major to flinch, now however, there was no expected flinch. Carson frowned , but was slightly relieved that there was pupil response, even if it was slower than he would have liked.
His medical team, all hand-picked, were top notch and Carson did not need to instruct them as they performed their various tasks to stabilize their patient. Every one of them were consummate professionals and performed their duties to their fullest-no matter who their patient was-but this was the Major and they were all determined to see him through this. Everyone held John in the highest esteem and each one of them had been crucial to his well-being more than once in the past. Sadly this was not the first time John had been critically injured. But they were all fearful that this may be the last.
Carson and his team gently rolled John onto his back, freeing his arm from under him. The wrist was definitely broken, the elbow misaligned. Carson cursed in Gaelic. He let his staff immobilize the limb while he continued his exam. Unzipping the tac vest and cutting through the Tshirt, Carson found a massive bruise on John's left side. It seemed to originate below his waist, so Carson unbuckled the gun and pant belts, lowered the zipper and pulled the left side down to uncover the whole of the bruise.
"Auck!" Carson clucked. " He definitely has a hip fracture here. We need to get him on a back board and get him home STAT" He checked for any rigidity in John's abdomen which would indicate internal bleeding and noted swelling only around the hip area. He wouldnt know the full extent of damage until he could get him under the scanner.
"Marie, how much time had passed, Luv" Carson pulled a deep breath from one of the two oxygen tank masks his team was sharing. He was happy he had had the foresight to include the large O2 tanks in John's jumper earlier. Carson and his med team shared the single masks , one from each tank.
"It's been twenty minutes, Doctor." Marie informed him, knowing time was critical. The Major had already been down for over three hours, critically injured. The Golden Hour long gone. She believed they would all agree it was a miracle he was still alive.
"Let's go people! Let's get him home.! Carson would be damned if he'd let John die in this cursed jumper.
TBC Sorry-cant help myself leaving you in another cliffie! Hoping it will keep you wanting more! Please do me a favor and review! I look forward to your comments!