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Chapter 14: Recovery begins.

By the time the jumper reached Atlantis, Carson had had enough. For the last four hours, he'd sat in the jumper with Lorne and they'd barely spoken a word to each other. They had decided they wanted to forget everything that had happened in the city. The one thing they both agreed on was the best thing to come out of the whole situation was the two ZPM's That thought alone had led him to think of the cost - General Sheppard's long-term emotional and physical health.

Right before they had boarded the jumper, Hanaan had rushed up to them with important news to share. Apparently, they had found the remains of the great ring; Logo suspected it had been crushed when the great ship had crashed centuries ago. They had also discovered the control chair, the only person who came close to being able to use it was Logo. Although, Carson had to wonder why they hadn't shared that information with them over lunch.

He had felt tempted to help them for a split second until he remembered his critically injured patient.

The minute the jumper landed in the jumper bay, Carson opened the back hatch and rushed towards the infirmary with only one thought on his mind - getting to the infirmary to see John. Anything could have happened to the General in the ten hours they had been gone, and Jennifer would have had no way to contact him.

It took him about five minutes to reach the infirmary; by then he was exhausted. As he entered the infirmary a feeling of apprehension came over him and when he saw Jennifer and Rodney holding each other, he feared the worst.

"Is he okay?"

"Carson," Jennifer greeted, "don't worry General Sheppard is showing signs of improvement, he opened his eyes for a few seconds earlier today. So I have decided that we should bring him out of the coma. Oh, and the medication must be working because he hasn't had a seizure since we arrived back."

"I feared the worst when I walked in, because of how you two were acting all lovey-dovey."

"Don't worry, Rodney and I have decided to get married."

About time too, Carson thought, but he didn't bother to say anything.

"Why don't you two go and celebrate, while I keep an eye on General Sheppard?"

"Sure, Carson, we'll go in a minute, but before we go, how was your trip to Hilaring?"

In his rush to get to the infirmary, he'd forgotten about the two ZPMs that Jonan had given them.

"Lorne has something for you Rodney, I think you'll be pleased. So how about you track him down and then go and celebrate with your lovely fiancee."

Rodney's eyes lit up as he smiled at Carson, "So, what is it?"

"I'll let Lorne tell you, so off you go," he looked at Jennifer before continuing, "Both of you. I'll sit with General Sheppard for a while."

"I'm fairly sure that Ronon will be back with Torren soon as well," Jennifer informed him on the way through the door.

Once he was sure they had left, he sat next to his patient and held his hand. Carson was going to sit with John until Ronon and Torren came to visit John because John Sheppard was never alone when he was in the infirmary.

Perhaps when Torren and Ronon arrived in the infirmary, Carson would go and do some more research on a cure for Teyla because the Sheppard family needed him at the moment.

oOo

Rodney felt a sense of excitement as he left the infirmary. He had no idea what the Hilarians had given Lorne, but he hoped it was a ZPM.

The current ZPM was only half full, so if they even had a chance of finding a way home, they desperately needed more power. That's even if he could find a way home for Atlantis.

"Do you want me to meet you in your quarters later?" He asked Jennifer who was following him.

"You have one hour, then perhaps I will cook you a meal."

"I'll do my best," Rodney replied before rushing towards his lab.

Knowing that the best way to contact Lorne was over the comms, he tapped his earpiece along the way, "McKay to Lorne,come in please?"

Lorne replied immediately, "Lorne here."

"Carson says you have a surprise for me. What is it?"

There was no reply, so he was afraid that Lorne had cut the connection, eventually, he replied.

"I have two fully charged ZPMs I have taken them to the power room so they can be put into use immediately. I've sent Zelenka down to start working on the problem."

"That's great I will head there immediately, McKay out."

Changing his direction he practically run to the power room fearing that Zelenka would connect the ZPMs without him present, and Radek would make a mess of it.

When he arrived he found Zelenka standing over the console with a ZPM in his hands and he looked about ready to insert it in the slot.

"What are you doing Radek?"

"Rodney, I was wondering when you were going to get here and in answer to your question, I was just about to connect the ZPMs. But now that you're here you can help."

Suddenly he felt generous towards his friend and decided he probably didn't need to be there.

"Umm…well I guess I'll leave it in your capable hands then. I'm going to have dinner with Jennifer."

Radek stood with his mouth open staring at him, "are you sure Rodney?"

"Yes, yes, go ahead."

He turned around and headed towards Jennifer's quarters. He knew that he still had a lot of work to do because as yet he hadn't found anything of use on the data chip the Hilarans had given them. He was positive that the information he needed was there; he just had to find it.

For now, he would enjoy the evening with his fiancee. Tomorrow he would work on the task of finding a way home.

oOo

Carson had no idea how long he'd been sitting with Sheppard but he was beginning to feel tired. It had been a long day and he knew that he needed to rest, but he was determined to sit with his patient until Ronon and Torren arrived.

Jennifer had told him how much time Torren had spent with his father while he'd been on the planet, she'd even suggested that the boy's presence had sped up the healing process. The fact that he was healing fast didn't change Sheppard's underlying condition though - he and Jennifer were positive that he would have brain damage. To what extent they couldn't be sure.

An excited voice distracted him from his thoughts, "Uncle Carson how is Daddy?"

He looked up to find that Ronon and Torren had entered the room.

"He's doing well lad. Hopefully, he should be waking up soon."

"Can I lay down next to him?"

"How about I leave you with Uncle Carson for a while, Torren? I need to get back to Aunty Amelia." Ronon suggested while helping Torren climb on the bed next to his father.

"Is she feeling sick again, Uncle Ronon?" Torren asked and Carson didn't miss the worry in the small boy's eyes.

"Yeah, she's a bit sick and tired, so I need to go and help her with Charin. I'll be back to sit with your Dad a little later. Is that okay?"

Ronon smiled at Torren before backing out of the room.

Torren nodded his head and lay down next to his father.

Carson loved the relationship that Torren had with General Sheppard. Looking at the two of them together strengthened his resolve that he would do anything he could, to keep John on Atlantis.

"Uncle Carson, will he still be my Daddy when he wakes up?" Torren asked looking at John.

The question shocked him a little and he wondered where it came from, "Of course, he will Torren. Why would you ask that?"

"Aunt Amelia said that he might be different when he wakes up. I don't think Uncle Ronon believes her, but I know from the way she looks at me that she is telling the truth."

His heart broke again for this child and he knew it was time for Torren to know the truth - although he wasn't sure what to tell the boy.

Taking a deep breath he attempted to tell him something, "John Sheppard will still be your Daddy and he will still be the same man as he was before, but he will possibly talk slower. He may not be as strong as he was before, and he may walk with a limp."

Torren answered with only one word and it was a word full of meaning, "Why?"

Carson knew that he had to come up with a simple explanation and he hoped that it would be enough to stop the boy from asking questions, "Because when his head was hurt, it also hurt his brain."

He was relieved when Torren seemed to accept it. However, when Torren asked his next question, it left him feeling dismayed because he

didn't have an answer for him.

"And when will Momma wake up? Have you managed to make her well yet?"

Luckily, he didn't have to answer that question because John chose that exact moment to let out a moan.

"Daddy!" Torren squealed, "You're awake."

Carson looked at his patient and he could tell how much pain he was in.

John was trying to look around the room, but he was barely moving his head.

He took John's hand and looked into his eyes, "General Sheppard, it's Carson and Torren is here as well. How do you feel?"

"Tor…ren, …Crsn.."

He knew that John's speech would be slurred, but he was surprised at how slurred it was. He could only hope it would get better when the man wasn't in so much pain.

"Yes lad, we're both here. How do you feel?"

Head…urts…Crsn. ever…thing…blu…rry."

"Don't worry lad I'll get you some pain meds and then you can go back to sleep."

"Wha…append…to…me?"

"Don't worry about that now, I'll explain everything to you when you've more rest."

"I'm here Daddy, and I'm going to stay with you until you get better," Torren stated while squeezing his dad's hand.

Carson watched the interaction between John and Torren and he noticed that when John tried to squeeze Torren's hand with his right he struggled to make it happen.

The slurred speech, the blurred vision and the inability to squeeze Torren's hand confirmed what he already knew. Had suffered brain damage.

Not wanting his patient to suffer any more, he put the pain meds into John's IV. Carson was happy when John fell asleep a few minutes later.

Torren's sobbing brought him back to his surroundings, one look at the boy's face told him that the people of Atlantis had their work cut out for them when it came to looking after the Sheppard family.

"What's wrong Torren?"

"Daddy's not the same. He couldn't speak properly and he couldn't squeeze my hand."

He hoped beyond all hope that the words out of his mouth were correct," he will get better."

Torren nodded, lay down next to his father, closed his eyes and It wasn't long before he was asleep as well.

Carson pulled up a seat and decided to watch over the father and son until someone else showed up to take over.

oOo

Awareness returned to John slowly, and all he could comprehend was the all-encompassing pain he was in. His entire right side felt weak and it felt as if someone was driving an axe through his brain. At that moment all he could do was hope that the darkness would claim him again soon.

A shuffling beside him caught his attention, and then a squeal threatened to split his head in two.

"Daddy! You're awake."

That sounded like Torren, but he sensed another person in the room as well, so he opened his eyes and tried to see what was happening. The only problem was everything was blurry.

Someone took his hand and when the person spoke he knew who it was.

"General Sheppard it's Carson Torren is here as well. How do you feel?"

"Tor…ren, …Crsn.."

"Yes lad, we're both here. How do you feel?"

That was Carson and given the softness of the pillows and the smell of antiseptic he knew that he was in the infirmary again.

Head…urts…Crsn. ever…thing…blu…rry."

"Don't worry lad, I will get you some pain meds, then you can go back to sleep."

Some pain meds would be nice and he needed to go back to sleep again, but what the hell was wrong with his speech and why did his right side feel so weak?

"Wha…append…to…me?"

"Don't worry about that John I will explain everything to you when you've had more rest."

He knew that Carson was keeping something from him, but right now he was too tired and in too much pain to care.

"I'm here Daddy and I'm going to stay with you until you get better," Torren stated and John could feel his son squeezing his hand.

The only problem was when he tried to squeeze back he could barely move his hand.

He felt tears in his eyes, but the last thing he needed was for his son to see him crying, so he tried to hold them in. A few seconds later he felt a cool soothing liquid flowing through his veins and he was happy to let the darkness claim him once more.

oOo

Rodney sat on the couch in Jennifer's quarters and although he'd enjoyed sharing a meal with her, he was far from relaxed.

They had been lost in space and time for almost two weeks. In that time they had visited a planet to try and find answers, where they had come across a society that liked to use ATA gene carriers as batteries to power their city. Sheppard had been used as a battery and shot in the head just before the civil war broke out. They'd managed to escape, but not before John had suffered brain damage.

When Lorne and Carson had visited the planet again, Sophia and Jonan had given them two ZPMs. That was possibly the best thing to come out of the whole mess.

Although things had settled down a little on planet Hilaring, they were still too close to it for his liking and he couldn't wait to leave. The only problem was they had nowhere else to go.

Now that the new ZPMs had been installed in Atlantis' systems, it was probably time for him to research a way home.

Although there was one last thing he needed to do before he left. He'd picked up the ring he'd planned on giving Jennifer before he'd come to her quarters, so now it was time to propose to her officially.

This was something he'd never done before - except when he'd almost proposed to Katie Brown - so he was nervous and his hands were sweating.

Oh well, it's now or never, he decided getting down on one knee and taking a deep breath.

"Jenn, I have loved you for many years and I believe it's time we took the next step in our relationship, so I was wondering if you would like to marry me?"

Wow! I've never sounded so eloquent, he thought still holding his breath.

The look on Jennifer's face could only be described as one of complete surprise, so he wondered if she was going to reply or not.

Eventually, she spoke up, "Yes Rodney I would love to be your wife."

He slipped the ring on her finger and all he could do was stare at her as she looked at the eighteen-carrot gold diamond solitaire ring on her finger.

"Where did you get such a beautiful ring Rodeny?"

"Jeannie helped me pick it out years ago on Earth. Even then, I knew that I wanted to marry you one day. I'm just sorry it took so long."

He couldn't believe how emotional and sappy he was getting, so he decided that it was about time to change the subject.

"Ummm…I love you Jenn, but I think that it's about time I got back to work."

"Yeah, I know. I should probably head back to the infirmary to keep working on a cure for Teyla. Although perhaps Carson needs a rest in which case I will sit with John for a while."

He stood up from where he was still kneeling on the floor and pulled her in for a tight hug, "I'll see you later Jenn," he said, kissing her on the cheek.

Before she had a chance to reply, he turned around and left her quarters, having every intention of returning later.

oOo

John walked through a once-beautiful city and all he saw was complete devastation. Children were crying in the cobbled streets and most of the lovely stone buildings had been flattened by a giant ship as it came in for a crash landing.

He had no idea how many of the ship's inhabitants had been killed in the crash but from what he could ascertain, thousands of people had been killed in the city.

Fires were burning in the city, thick smoke filled the air and there was the stench of death. The once-green hills were now either on fire or charred. Bodies littered the streets and families huddled over their deceased loved ones and mourned.

The survivors from the ship seemed to be rounding the inhabitants of the city up and he had to wonder why. Did they want to help these people, or was this the beginning of the end for them?

Up ahead he saw an ancient city and for the moment it appeared to be safe and whole, but he wondered how long it would be until that was overrun as well.

He had no idea why he was in this place and more to the point why was he here.

As he approached the ancient city, he sensed that something was wrong, and the closer he got the more convinced he was that it was abandoned, well not exactly abandoned, but not full of ancients either.

What had happened on this planet and why he was there?

Suddenly darkness surrounded him and he felt cold metal being pressed to his temple and he didn't have to be a genius to figure out that it was a gun. There was a warm body against his and someone had an arm around his neck, so he could only assume that someone else was in the room and it was someone his attacker didn't like.

His suspicions were confirmed when he heard a voice, Don't do it, if you kill him I'll kill you?"

He couldn't believe it, Ronon was here and if Ronon were here he was positive that the man would have his gun. So he nodded his head at his big friend hoping that he'd get the message that it was okay to stun him if he needed to.

The next thing he heard was the click of a gun as the safety was being taken off and then all hell broke loose,

He could hear Someone sobbing behind him, Don't do it, Toth."

"If I can't have him neither can they!"

Suddenly a woman screamed, right before he felt a sharp pain radiate through his left temple.

John awoke with a start to find that there was sweat dripping down his face and he was panting as if he'd run a marathon. His head hurt, he felt nauseous and he knew that if he was sick it would hurt even more, so all he could do was lay still and moan.

A soft lilting voice invaded his senses and for some reason, it was extremely soothing.

"John, don't worry it was just a nightmare."

"Crsn." He whispered and again he was annoyed about how slurred his voice sounded.

"Yes, lad,"

He knew what he wanted to say to his doctor, but he had no idea whether it would come out the way he wanted it to. His thoughts were garbled and his speech was slurred, so it was clear that something was wrong with him.

"I….was….sh..shot?"

"Yes, you were."

Okay so he was shot, but what was with the giant ship crash-landing on the ancient city? Perhaps that was all a dream and even if it weren't maybe that was a story for another time.

"Bra…in….Da…da…mage."

"I'm sorry General but you have sustained damage to your temporal lobe, causing epileptic seizures and weakness to your right side consistent with a stroke."

He felt tears brimming in the corner of his eyes, he had no idea what any of this would mean for him long term. What would happen to his children, especially if his wife never recovered?

He suddenly realised how clear his thoughts had become despite the pounding in his head - at least that gave him some hope that he would recover.

"Teyla?" He asked, hoping Carson would understand what he was trying to ask.

"We still haven't found a cure for her yet, but don't worry when Jennifer and I aren't looking after you we are still searching."

He decided to keep his comments to one word because it seemed easier for the moment."Tor..ren, Cha…rin?"

"They're both fine and being looked after by Amelia and Ronon, and I'm fairly sure Ronon will be bringing Torren to see you soon."

He'd only been awake for a few minutes, but suddenly he felt exhausted again, so he tried to let Carson know how he was feeling.

"Pa..in,...sleeep."

"Okay lad, I'll give you some pain meds and you can go back to sleep for a while."

"How…L…oong?"

"You've been in the infirmary for almost a week."

The one thing he did remember was being blind, but now his vision seemed to be almost back to normal. At least there was something that he could be thankful for. He decided that he was too tired to tell Carson, so he closed his eyes waiting for the pain in his head to subside. And when he felt a cool soothing liquid enter his veins a few minutes later he let out a sigh of relief. For now, he was happy to sleep and whatever he may be facing in the future he could work it out when he woke up.

TBC…