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(The Bridge, Normal POV)
Rodney was frowning at the icons. "We're taking on too much water!" Going back to his work, he rearranged some chips and looked at the microphone on the console in front of him. "I think I'm almost done, I just need a little more time!"
The bridge was deafening with the sound of the booming thunder and pounding rain. Ronon held the wheel steady, turning it as Rodney guided him, every now and then, to keep the boat on as straight a line as possible. He was still only holding it with one hand, but he'd switched hands in order to hold on to the console, to keep from being tossed across the room from the way the boat kept swaying.
Carson was standing next to the door, glancing out it with an anxious look every now and then. He then would turn his attention to a medical bag that had been left on the bridge and would seem to contemplate it.
"Carson, what?" Rodney had glanced up and frowned at the worried look on the doctor's face. "What's wrong?"
Hesitating a moment, Carson slowly made his way over to Rodney and tapped both their radios with a frown, closing the connection. "I think the Colonel…John is hurt!" He glanced at the medical bag before turning his attention to the console he'd seen John fall against. He fell against it hard enough, and he did hit his ribs on the sharpest edge. "He might have cracked or broken ribs, and if he's in cold water!" He trailed off, knowing that Rodney knew from experience the sorts of things cold water could do to a person, especially one that was injured.
Rodney's eyes widened and he looked at the project he was working on. "Teyla's with him!" He picked the pieces back up and began reanalyzing them before placing them back into the radio, but in a different order. "She can make sure he's alright!"
"Open radio contact, I heard him tell her to search another room!" Carson frowned grimly, clearly not approving of the decision, though he probably knew it was for the best. "They've split up!" Making a quick decision, he walked to the medical bag and picked it up before walking to the door.
"Carson! You're supposed to keep an eye on the storm!"
Spinning around, Carson shot Rodney a look. "It's hit us and it's damn strong! Happy?" Turning back around, he slipped out the door and began to work his way towards the door leading to the lower deck.
Meanwhile, Rodney looked at the radio and gave a silent prayer for just a few minutes to make sure it was done right.
Ronon grunted and held on to the wheel, the buzzers and whistles and red flashing icons beginning to annoy him.
(Lower Deck, John's POV)
It took a little doing without a wetsuit and proper eyewear, but I got the hole sealed up and stood up slowly. I was freezing and parts of my body that weren't already numb were beginning to go numb. Frowning, I noted the water was up to my lower chest and I probably wouldn't be able to check along any more walls without being fully submerged. Heading over to the toolbox, I tried to ignore my discomfort and put the torch away before grabbing the box and heading out of the room. Now I had to find Teyla and see about her progress.
It was kind of scary down here. I mean, you watch all these movies about flooding and think that there's nothing to getting out of those situations, but actually being faced with those same situations. The water was so cold! It was high and growing higher by the moment. There was obviously more than one hole, and the one I patched might not have made a difference. It was hard to think straight, let alone see straight with my side aching and it being so difficult to breathe as I bent.
The water reflected on the walls and ceiling, and with the lights still on, it gave the rooms an eerie blue glow. I could hear the water splashing as I waded through it, and if I hadn't known there was an easy way out, I might've panicked. As it was, I was beginning to get worried, and feeling a little claustrophobic. Moving quickly, I began my search, knowing that the longer I stayed down here, the worse it was going to get.
It took two more rooms, which I'd guessed Teyla checked and found nothing. As I passed one of the rooms, I paused and looked inside, seeing the automatic pump O'Neill had pointed out was for automatically pumping water out of the lower decks, obviously, and made my way to it. I got the window op, thankful that even this part of the ship was still a ways above the water level, though with the way the ship was going, it wouldn't be for long, and stuck the end of the tube out of it before starting the machine. It took a few tries and a few moments, but the pump started to pump water out of the window, and I moved on to the next room. It probably wouldn't help, but what could it hurt?
"Teyla?"
She was no where to be seen, and I was standing in the last room, the makeshift infirmary. Beginning to actually panic, I glanced back to the previous rooms and hesitated. What if she'd gotten caught under the water? There was no way I'd be able to search all the rooms before she drowned! Hearing a splash, I spun around and saw Teyla's head bobbing in the water, her usually tan skin pale and her lips bordering on blue. "Here!" She called, waving as she saw me. "I have found another hole!"
Wading over to her, I frowned and shivered, the water was up to my mid chest. "Where?" I noticed she was shivering too, and was about to order her to head up, but some part of me fought that urge, maybe knowing she wouldn't go even if I did order her up.
She swam over to the wall and ducked under a moment. When she came up again, she coughed and wiped the water out of her face before placing her hand on the wall. "Here, at the bottom of the wall."
Making my way over to her, I placed the toolbox on one of the gurneys Carson had insisted on bringing with us, starting as it rolled across the room, only to roll back and hit me surprisingly hard, despite my efforts to stop it. It propelled me into the wall and pinned me there, and I cried out a little as the pain from my side shot up to my head and down to the tips of my toes. My body might have been numb, but I sure as hell felt that! My lungs constricted from the pressure and the cold, and I couldn't breathe with the gurney pressing me there. I gasped and tried to shove it away, knowing my efforts were weak.
"John!" Teyla made her way over quickly, visibly shaking, and pushed the gurney out of the way with seemingly little effort. "Are you injured?!" Her face was grim and worried, and her eyes scanned me even as her hands gently roamed my side, pulling a hiss as she ran over a tender spot. "You are injured!" Frowning, she opened her mouth, but the unexpected voice seemed to startle her out of whatever she was going to say.
"Colonel?!" Carson's voice came sharply through the radio, but funny enough I'd have sworn it nearby and in person, as if he was close. "What's going on??"
"No-" I gasped and closed my eyes a moment, struggling to keep my mind from going fuzzy on me. I could breathe again, but it was even harder than before, and my legs were beginning to feel rubbery. Scratch that, they've been feeling rubbery for a while, but now they threatened to give out underneath me. "Nothing! We're almost done!" Turning to Teyla, I shook my head. "We need to seal off this hole, but I can't do it!"
She opened her mouth, looking for all the world like she was going to protest or scold me, but then sighed, shaking her head and seeming to resign herself to the fact that neither of us could do this alone. "Then help me!" She went to the toolbox and opened it, looking inside cluelessly. "What do I need?"
Wading with some effort through the water, I stood next to her and picked up the underwater torch. I took a few moments to explain it to her, and give her the gloves, taking a deep breath and trying not to panic as the water lapped at my upper chest. Breathing was getting more difficult, more because it felt like my lungs didn't want to work, and it didn't help that there wasn't much room to navigate. Everything looked chaotic, and apparently even with the pump on we were still gaining water.
For a moment, my mind flashed through movies I'd seen where people drowned or nearly drowned in these types of situations. Jaws and Deep Blue Sea were the first two to come to mind, and I actually found myself looking around for a fin swimming through the water. For a moment, I almost thought I saw one, but it turned out to be the back of a mostly submerged chair turned at an odd angle.
"John?!"
I gasped in surprise to see Carson in the doorway, soaked to the bone, looking a little worse for the wear and almost glaring at me. Where the hell did he come from??
"'Nothing' is wrong, aye?" He stated with a pointed look at me. We swam over and put a medical bag on the gurney next to the toolbox. Then he took my arm and had me hold on to the said gurney. "What's wrong??"
"I will seal the hole!" Teyla took two sheets of metal, eyed them for a moment, then adjusted the gloves before diving under with her equipment.
"Doc-"
"Don't you 'doc' me, lad! I wanna know what's wrong? Your ribs, no doubt, are the source! I saw the fall and your reaction! What else?!" Carson pulled a stethoscope from the bag and slipped it under my shirt. Even on a sinking boat, in the middle of a storm, he was about to diagnos me. "Your heart's pounding!" He frowned and shook his head before quickly removing the stethoscope and leading me to the door. "I want you to go to the stairs and wait for us!"
I shook my head firmly. "No! I'm staying until Teyla's done!"
"There's nothing you can do! Go! Doctor's orders!" He pushed my arm and gave me a look that dared me to argue. "Listen, I know you're worried, but you're only getting weaker down here. Go!" He spoke quieter, giving a small push. "I'll watch out for Teyla!"
Wanting to argue, I looked to where the torch was flashing under the water and frowned a moment. "Oxygen!" Looking around the room, I ignored Carson's questions and his firm tone telling me to leave, and I waded past him towards a cabinet on the wall. One of the reasons I chose this room as the makeshift infirmary... Opening the cabinet, I pulled the two small canisters with mouth pieces from it and turned back to Carson. "Air!" I gave them to him, or, rather, tried to. He accepted one, but gave me a stern look and gestured to the door, waving for me to leave.
"You're gonna need it more than us, lad!" He stated. "Now don't make me say it again!" He pointed to the door and gave me a look.
With a sigh, I turned and swam through the door, wincing and stopping as I made it to it, using my hand on the wall to keep from going under as I was hit with a fresh wave of pain.
"Co-John?"
Shaking my head, I held up my free hand and struggled to walk out. I waded through the water that was now up to my neck, gasping as I went. About a third of the way down the hall, I put the mouthpiece into my mouth and used both hands to push stuff out of the way. Tables, chairs, mattresses and lamps were floating along the hall, not to mention other things. Luckily, the lamps weren't plugged in.
I pushed a mattress out of the way and stumbled onto it when it got stuck in a doorway. Falling forward, I gasped sharply as I went under, and closed my eyes instinctively, trying not to lose the small oxygen container from my mouth. I carefully took a deep breath and pushed my way upwards, biting into the plastic mouth piece as my side protested and my vision swam again.
Forget numb and freezing, I was now beginning to feel hot. I wasn't sure if the dampness on my face as I surfaced was water or sweat. I could feel my heart racing, probably more than I should have felt it, and my body trembled. I felt tingly all through my body, as if I was being electrocuted, and I frowned as the hallway seemed to stretch on farther ahead of me.
The ship lurched, and I was sent sprawling backwards. Still I managed to hold on to the oxygen container, but I felt the ear piece slip from my ear and when I tried to catch it, it slipped from numb fingers, falling into the water. Damn! I tried to reach it, but the more I dug around in the water, the more it seemed to float away, out of reach. Forget it. Looking up again, I suddenly saw it.
A fin.
That's.... That's not possible....! My eyes widened. I opened my mouth to cry out, and didn't even notice the canister fall from my mouth, or disappear under the water. "Shark!" I cried, trying to warn the others, I looked around and spotted a lamp floating near me. Grabbing it, I tossed it with all my strength, ignoring the pain it caused, and watched as the shark seemed to swim out of the way before the lamp could reach it's destination. "Crap!" I looked around some more, and the ship lurched again. Staggering sideways, I hit the wall hard, smacking my head against the unforgiving wooden surface. Everything swam horribly and I couldn't see straight. I heard voices calling to me, but I couldn't focus enough to pay attention.
"John!" There were hands on me and I managed to focus enough to recognize Carson's face. "Colonel, you need to stay with me!" He seemed to reach for something, and then a bright light shone in my eyes.
"H-Hey!" Feeling the water lapping at the bottom of my bottom lip, I shivered and managed to stand up, suddenly alert, though everything seemed to feel surreal. I looked around and frowned before my eyes widened. "There's a shark-"
"No, lad, you're hallucinating!" Carson grabbed my shoulders and spun me towards him, staring right into my eyes. "There's no way a shark could get on board, you know that!"
"But-"
"We should get him out of the water!" I heard Teyla's voice, the tremors in it showing how cold she was.
"Aye, I agree!"
I looked down the corridor and frowned. It seemed so innocent and empty, besides the things floating in the water, and the door looked so close. I tried to stand up straight, stretching my legs as far as they would go to keep my face fully above water, and hit my head on the ceiling. Hissing and jumping in surprise, I rubbed my scalp and looked up. My head was almost against the ceiling.
"No, the ceiling didn't get any lower!" Carson frowned as he tugged on my arm, moving beside me. "The water's getting too high!" His eyes narrowed a moment and he tapped his ear. "Aye, we're here! That's good, tell them to hold on a little longer!"
Taking a deep breath, I winced, trying to stay focused and walk with Carson. We seemed to be making good progress. It was hard to focus, but the door was getting closer. Then my foot got caught on something. I didn't even have time to register what happened as I went down, the icy water surrounding me. I didn't have a chance to take and hold a breath, or cry out, all I know was I was suddenly surrounded by salt water.
I struggled to the surface, my hands flailing wildly, but it felt like something had wrapped around my ankle, holding me under. I felt something on my arms, and came up a moment, gasping and hearing Teyla and Carson calling my name, but I couldn't stay up. My vision blacked out and my legs gave out, and I went under again. I accidentally opened my mouth to cry out in pain and surprise as my side chose that moment to scream at me, and choked on water that seemed to flood my lungs. Everything burned, and I felt like I was going to be sick, but at the same time, like I was going to burst. I couldn't breathe!
I felt tugging, I fought... I don't know what I was fighting. The water...? The tugging...? Everything faded out, and I let myself fall into sweet blissful darkness.
(Normal POV)
As John passed out, Carson dragged him up, tilting is chin to keep his face above water. Teyla dove down and found the cord wrapped around his ankle and holding him in place. It took Teyla a second, but not only did she get the cord untangled but grabbed the fallen air canister.
"He's not breathing!" Carson knew there was no room for mouth to mouth, and carefully shifted John so that he had both arms around the Colonel's chest, and began dragging him to the stairs where he laid John's back against a wooden plank, so there was a safe sturdy surface to press against. Motioning for Teyla to move to John's head, he thanked whatever God there was that the ceiling was higher at the stairs and leaned a little over John. He quickly began chest compressions as Teyla worriedly watched John's face.
It took a moment, both Carson and Teyla getting more and more worried by the moment, but then John spluttered and coughed up water, wincing and groaning, but not waking.
Teyla handed the second canister to Carson, who put it in John's mouth once he was done coughing up water, and held the canister there, watching a moment as the Colonel's chest barely rose and fell. "We must go!" She was then startled by the door swinging open, and two figures rushing in, almost tripping over them in the process.
"Major!" Teyla called, accepting Lorne's hand and climbing out of the water. She stood still as a Marine wrapped a big, fluffy towel around her and nodded her thanks before turning to watch as Lorne helped Carson carry John out of the water. The same Marine wrapped a second towel around John's prone body, and a third around Carson. "How did you get here?!" She, too, had lost her radio.
"We received a pretty weak S.O.S. from this location!" He called over the storm, swaying with the ship a little. He hurriedly led them to a ladder that was dangling from one of two helicopters. "We already got Dr. McKay and Ronon on board the other helicopter! We couldn't beam you out, too much ionization from the storm! It made the transporters dangerous to use!" He waved for Carson to step back as the Marine started up and a stretcher was carefully lowered from the other side. "We had to use conventional methods!" He grimaced in distaste, showing his opinion of these 'conventional' methods. "No offence, but give me transporters and jumpers any day!"
Teyla nodded with an understanding smile as Carson and Lorne worked to get John situated safely on the stretcher and on his way up to the helicopter.
"Ladies first!" Lorne moved out of the way of the ladder and held it steady while looking at Teyla. She gave him a confused look and he shook his head. "Earth manners and an old saying! Go ahead!"
Nodding in gratitude, she carefully situated the blanket on her so that she could climb easily, and before long, the entire group was on board the helicopter, on their way home.
(SGC Infirmary, John's POV)
"Wow, I kinda feel bad about the boat. How's General O'Neill taking it?" Sitting up in the hospital bed, I winced as my cracked ribs protested, and settled back against the pillows.
"He's just glad everyone's ok. His own words were 'boats are replaceable', so..." Sam shrugged and grinned. "Besides, it wasn't a total loss. He did have insurance, and we were able to salvage a lot of the boat, thanks to your quick thinking."
"You mean the quick thinking that almost drowned him?" Carson asked with a frown. "I'd have preferred he stayed on the bridge and we let the boat sink."
"Gee, that's the thanks I get for lending you my boat?"
Turning towards the doorway, I noticed General O'Neill standing there in his uniform, eyeing Carson with a raised eyebrow. "General, sir!"
"Relax." Seeing Carson's almost apologetic look, Jack raised his hand. "And I was joking about the boat. Please, the military practically gives me these things daily." He was only half exaggerating, and everyone knew it. He rolled his eyes and gave a grunt that stated he wasn't as pleased about it as most would be. "And like Carter said, I had insurance." Looking at me, he tilted his chin up briefly. "How're you feeling?"
"Cracked ribs, hypothermic, a hair's width away from drowning, and a concussion...." Shrugging a little, carefully, I sighed. "There goes my vacation, but at least I'm alive."
Nodding momentarily, Jack eyed Sam, who grinned, before turning back to me. "Don't count your chickens before their hatched. I spoke to Landry, who in turn spoke to Weir, and they're extending your little vacation." He nodded to the others. "You and your team."
I wasn't really sure what he was saying. So I still had a vacation, I was pretty much ordered on bed rest for at least a week. What could I possibly do?
"So... Planning to head back out on to the water...?"
"NO!" Everyone in the room protested at once, including me. Shaking my head, I sighed. "Thanks, but I think I lost my love of boats with that last little incident. You won't be getting me on a boat again any time soon."
Jack's lips twitched and I had the feeling he was playing with me. He nodded slowly, and seemed to think about it. "I know this quaint little place... It's like a spa, and you are treated to massages and..." He shrugged. "Usual spa-like-stuff, by these cute little...." Seeing Sam's look turn a little sour, he paused and seemed to rethink his words. "Well, I'm sure you'll like it. I booked it for you and your team, next week." Taking a step back, he grinned. "Glad to see you're all alright. Remember, no heavy lifting, and...have fun." With a wave, he turned and walked off.
"A spa....?" Rodney looked up from his computer, his interest piqued. "Really?"
"As long as we don't have to take a boat to get there." I muttered as I leaned back and closed my eyes. "I've definitely decided I don't like boats anymore."
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Debbie418uk2 – I rewrote the CPR part, so I hope it turned out. Thank you so much for your help. :) It just hit me with John's ribs being injured, but he's unconscious, so I don't think it would affect him at the time...? I'm not sure.
Puddle-Jumper38 - See what your comment inspired? LOL
Hope you like it.
Written November 3, 2008
R+R please
Thank you
Tenshi