Okay, I'm alive; that's good. I lifted my head cautiously, which was harder than it should have been, probably because I still had an Air-Force pilot on top of me. I elbowed him in the ribs; none too gently either.
Lorne shifted and groaned a bit but didn't seem in a big her to move. I elbowed him again, harder.
"No offense, Major, but seriously, you are really heavy! Would you mind moving?" Okay; so maybe some offense meant, but I was having a really bad day.
This time Lorne obliged and rolled off me. I staggered to my feet, trying to catch my breath, and glared down at Lorne. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate the fact he'd been trying to protect me; no I was glaring at him because he obviously felt that he needed to protect me. I didn't need anyone to protect me; I could take care of myself.
I expected Lorne to glare back at me, or make a sarcastic, annoyed comment but he didn't; he just lay there blinking and looking distinctly green.
"Major?" He focused on me with difficulty and I could feel my annoyance being replaced with concern. This wasn't how I pictured military men acting; they were always scrambling to their feet and swaggering off, insisting they were fine until they eventually collapsed. They didn't lay there on the scorched ground, staring up at you with something like panic in their eyes, but that was exactly what Lorne was doing.
"Major?" I repeated, kneeling beside him; hoping that if I wasn't towering over him it would be easier for him to focus on me.
"Major?" he blinked at me in utter confusion. "I think you've got me confused with someone else."
Great! Really, really great! I'd gone through first aid training in the Police Academy and I knew enough about concussions to recognize the symptoms. Disorientation, short term memory loss, wonderful, just what I needed and where the hell was Sheppard?
I glanced around hurriedly, but I couldn't see him which probably meant he'd gone and gotten himself into trouble again; leaving me with a concussed Air Force major he apparently didn't remember his name.
"Um, sorry to bother you, but, um, do you remember who you are?" I wasn't sure what to say, I'd never been particularly good with confused people, but thankfully Lorne seemed to be feeling some better.
"Lieutenant Evan Lorne, United States Air Force; did I crash?" He sat up cautiously and pressed a hand against his forehead. "Ow! Who are you?"
Did I crash? Great, he thinks he's on Earth. "Um, sure yeah; we crashed, definitely crashed. I'm-Joyce, Joyce Andrews, your co-pilot." Co pilot? Where the hell did that come from? I didn't know a damn thing about planes and anyone could tell I wasn't military just by looking at me. Luckily, Lorne was still drowsy and confused enough to fall for it.
"There, um, there was someone else on the plane. Your, our, CO; I don't know where he is."
Lorne was on his feet in a moment, swaying a little and looking very green. Okay, not a good idea to mention a missing CO to a concussed soldier.
"Hey, why don't you sit down, and I'll go look for Sheppard?" I tried to sound soothing and calm, but really, I was trying not to scream in frustration..
Lorne didn't look particularly soothed or convinced. "I'm fine; let's go." And suddenly I was reminded why I didn't like soldiers.
Fine, if he wanted to traipse through Genii infested woods with a concussion then let him; see if I cared, he'd just better be able to keep up with me. I got up angrily and stalked off; and promptly tripped over a tree root and would have fallen if Lorne hadn't grabbed my arm.
I glared at him, and at least he had the decency not to look amused. Maybe it was a good thing he couldn't remember who I was or where we were. At least now he wasn't trying to send me back to the StarGate.
"What's the last thing you remember?" I needed more information if I was going to convince him we worked together. I guess I could have told him the truth, but good luck managing to convince a soldier that they're on another world in another galaxy being hunted by aliens who want to take over Earth; and then try convincing him he can trust you. Yeah, probably not a good idea.
Lorne frowned. "I'm not sure; I remember some General showing up and saying I had a new assignment. I guess he meant this." He looked around at the slightly charred forest. "Where are we?" But I didn't have time to answer before he stopped and grabbed my arm, very hard. "If we came here in a plane and it crashed, where's the wreckage?"
Oh, shit! Now I was in trouble.
To be Continued…
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