Thursday
Colonel Sheppard's team were all in the locker room getting ready to go offworld. Every chance the expedition got, they went to one of the 'unknown' address in the Ancient database to explore- looking for abandoned labs or any new opportunity to discover technology or possible allies. Most of these address were found to be abandoned outposts, all the data wiped, or villages that had been long ago abandoned, culled or destroyed by the Wraith. Today was one of those missions. So they were all gearing up. John liked to call it "PIA Gear" seeing as it weighed almost 45 pounds once put on and was a giant Pain In the Ass, but all the gear was undeniable necessary and had in fact, saved their asses on more than one occasion. There was the time they had to pepperspray mutant, giant, Pegasus cows (that planet's is scratched off), the time they traded all the energy bars they had to get Ronan back (the Chieftan's daughter swore he proposed to her!), the time they had to repel down a 200ft crevasse to the dialing device after an earthquake, and many many other times that all the random doos dads and knick knacks came in handy.
He was just clipping on his P90 when Rodney too nonchalantly said, "So. Colonel...just curious, what is your type of guy? I mean, you know there are a few scientists who are out. They're not bound by your arcane US Military code."
John burst out laughing, "Ha ha! McKay- DON'T. YOU. DARE. I'm serious. I can handle my love life, or lack of, perfectly well on my own- thanks."
Teyla had laughed as well, "You know of someone who would suit our Colonel Rodney?"
Rodney said, "Well, I think Dr. Malvin is gay."
John barked out a laugh again, "You wish McKay!- you just wish he was so he'd step back from Keller. Who, by the way, have you asked out yet? And besides, he's totally not my type. Too short. And a botonist? No thanks."
Ronan said, "I think someone more like Lorne would be good for him. At least Lorne's organized. Too bad Teyla's got dibs."
Even Teyla had to laugh at that. "You can't deny Ronan's logic Colonel."
"Oh my god people. Has it come to this?" said John in mock dismay-"If I knew coming out would've led to this conversation, I would have stayed deeply hidden in my little closet for 30 more years. Let's get this show on the road people."
Two hours later-
"Amelia," said Dr. Weir, "Has Colonel Sheppards team checked in yet?"
"No, ma'am." she replied, "I was just about to get you. They are...10 minutes overdue."
Dr. Weir paused and took a breath, "OK. Call Lorne's team down and tell them to be ready to go in 10. It's not like the Colonel to miss a check in."
Precisely 8 minutes later Major Lorne and 4 team members were getting ready to embark when the Stargate lit up, and IDC came through with accompanying radio, "ATLANTIS!, this is Colonel Sheppard OPEN THE GATE- we are coming in HOT- prepare to raise the shield once I come through! Ronan and Teyla are coming through with McKay- and, WE NEED A MEDIC!"
Everyone in the gate room froze- it was clear from the sound of Colonel Sheppard's voice that he was or had been running for his life, he was breathless and sounded distracted. The sound of explosions and gunshots were heard in the background. He could be heard yelling directions to his team, "Atlantis is ready! Run RONAN! Teyla, cover his six, I've got yours! Make sure he and McKay get through! I'm right behind you!"
"Dr. Keller and Dr. Beckett! We need a med team to the gateroom NOW! Incoming injured!" Dr. Weir relayed over her earpiece.
Lorne's team went to stand ready at the gate, alert to defend if any enemy combatants made their way past the shield.
John's radio continued to broadcast, "RUN! TEYLA, I'm right behind you! Do not stop! RUN! Get McKay home! That's an order! I'm right behind you! I'm coming!"
Amelia had her hand over the computer ready to raise the shield the moment she saw her commanding officer come through, her heart in her throat.
Everyone held their breath. It felt like an eternity passed before the running form of Ronan broke through the event horizon.
He had Dr. McKay slung over his shoulder. As soon as he was clear of the stairs, he dropped to the ground and gently placed Rodney on the gateroom floor.
At that moment Dr. Beckett and his team approached the gateroom entrance. "Dr. Beckett to Dr. Weir" I'm at the gateroom entrance- open the bloody door!"
Elizabeth responded. "We will Doctor! Just as soon as the shield is up! I CANNOT allow anyone on the gateroom floor save for military personnel at this moment, please be patient. PLEASE, just bear with us, the safety of the base must come first."
"Aye, well tell me everything you can!" the Scotsman replied.
"I can see Dr. McKay. Mr. Dex carried him in. Ronan appears unharmed save for a small gash on his upper right arm. Rodney is unconscious. No blood. Sorry Dr. Beckett, I can't see anything else."
Teyla appeared next. She came in running looking over her shoulder aiming her P90 at some unseen foe. She looked breathless, but otherwise unharmed.
As soon as she was clear of the stairs she yelled for everyone to duck down and take cover- just in time as several large javelins flew into the gateroom, impacting on the far wall and clattering to the floor.
"Holy shit!" yelled Lorne "What the hell?"
"They have MANY such spears, they are very thick and strong. Be careful!"
Just then, Colonel Sheppard ran through with his back turned, just as Teyla had come in, yelling "Amelia! Shield!"
She didn't have to be told twice, she had already pushed the button, as soon as she had seen the Colonel run through.
Despite this, at the very last moment, before the shimmer of the energy shield stabilized and converged in the center of the Stargate, one last javelin came through. The sound of two more objects could be heard to impact the shield. But it was too late. The javelin came in fast and true and struck the Colonel in the torso, slamming him to his side and onto the ground at the bottom of the stairs.
John grunted as he hit the ground at bottom of the stairs to the gate. The spear was protruding from his upper left chest angling off to the side, hitting him just under the armpit in the gap between the front and back of his kevlar vest. He gasped loudly as he realized what was happening. He instinctively grabbed the wooden handle of the spear and appeared to want to yank it out when Ronan grabbed his hand.
"Gotta leave it buddy. Doc'll get mad if you do that." He said gently.
Dr. Beckett had by this time come into the now secured gateroom. He quickly assessed the situation. He ran to Dr. McKay and knelt down by him. He determined that his vitals appeared steady and ordered for him to be taken immediately to the infirmary and to the care of Dr. Keller's trauma team- who were already at the alert in the infirmary.
He then knelt by Colonel Sheppard's side. "How'r you doin' son?" he asked gently, as his expert team of nurses took his vitals and determined if he was safe to move.
John lay on the floor of the gateroom on his right side. His breath was coming in short gasps, and a sheen of sweat had broken out on his skin. He groaned, and asked "Rodney, Teyla? Did they come through safe?... and Ronan? ...Is anyone... else hurt? I saw..incoming... make.. past me. I- ... tried...deflect th-"
"Now calm down son, everyone is fine. Ronan just has scratch and Teyla doesn't appear hurt- she went with Rodney to the infirmary already. Rodney is probably already in the capable hands of Dr. Keller by now. So it's chust you and me. Tell me what you're feelin' lad. An' be honest now."
John took a moment to look at Ronan who gave short nod, "We're all good Sheppard. Teyla will tell Keller about what happened to McKay. Listen to the Doc."
"Well...Doc. I think... I got a splinter." He said with a pained grimace, then he lost consciousness.
"He's just passed out thank god, load him up. Keep him on his right side if you can lads." ordered the doctor,as they loaded John up onto a gurney and began the journey to the infirmary.
Elizabeth asked to be kept updated, to which the retreating form of Dr. Beckett complied. She knew better than to crowd the infirmary in a crisis such as this, and just hoped that Colonel Sheppard and Rodney would once again come away from these injuries OK. The debriefing would have to wait until one of them was cleared by the medical staff- which in her experience in these situations wouldn't be until at least an hour or three from now. She knew none of SGA-1 would be leaving the infirmary anytime soon anyway.
On the way to the infirmary, in the middle of the hallway, John awoke with a gasp and tried to roll himself off the gurney in a fit of confusion. The nurses on either side of him who were stabilizing his body and the spear that had impaled him, squawked in surprise.
"Claire, lass, try and keep him steady, I don't want ta' have to give him any drugs until we scan for possible poisons from this damned spear!" shouted Dr. Beckett.
"I'm trying Doctor! Need some help here Ronan!" Claire shouted out.
Ronan always liked Claire, she was one of the few nurses that he would allow/that was brave enough to stand up to him and treat him despite his protests and complaints. He crowded in next to her and said, "Where can I hold him?" To which she replied, "just try to keep his lower body still, it should keep him from rolling off the gurney. Stay away from his torso." Ronan went around her to run next to the end of the gurney, he held his friend's legs and hips steady as best he could at his odd angle.
Unfortunately, it was at this moment that Rowan ran up to them, having gotten an update via Elizabeth. She was horrified at what she saw. She saw John's chest with a GIANT spear sticking out of it, and blood soaking into the gurney. His black BDU shirt looked wet and she knew it wasn't water. It appeared as if he was not aware of his surroundings and was struggling against the nurses and even Ronan in an effort to get off the gurney.
She had never seen or been in a trauma situation, let alone one that John was the center of. She didn't know what to do. She stood back and tried to keep calm, even though on the inside she was panicking.
Dr. Beckett and his team kept the gurney moving, but at a slower pace, so that everyone could keep a hand on the Colonel, holding him steady. John was occasionally letting out a grunt or mumbled, incoherent word. His eyes were unfocused and his breathing erratic. Suddenly, he choked and made a garbled choking sound as his body went rigid and then into a seizure.
"He's seizing people, hold him steady." said Dr. Beckett calmly. By this time they had arrived in the infirmary and Rodney and Dr. Keller's team was no where to be seen- Dr. Beckett assumed she had taken him to the scanner for tests. His mind didn't have time to linger as his own patient was in the middle of a seizure. The episode only lasted about a minute, after which John was still confused and disoriented, but his limbs now were fatigued and limp.
"Doc...Where's my team? Wha' happened? I need to go, let me - I need to get up..."he gasped quietly, and struggled weakly, despite his muscles shaking and the spear sticking out of his chest. Then the spear got jostled, "Ahhh...UUrrgh!" John gasped.
Dr. Beckett, laid a gentle hand on John's hip and said, "Easy son, you're not goin' anywhere. You've been hurt. You just had a seizure and now, I am going to take care of you. OK, lad?"
"Yeah...ok doc." said John with a quiet sigh. "But, I'm...having trouble...breathing...hurts."
"OK lad, I'll give something to help with that just as soon as I can. But before I can give you any medicine, we need to find out about this poison, OK son?"
"Yeah, I know doc. Been there, done that...When, can you take this thing out, it's kind... of freaking me out."
"Just as soon as we get that blood work back and get you under the scanner OK?"
In record time, one of the nurses had 3 vials of his blood taken and rushed out of the trauma area to the lab, where another set of hands would take them from her and run an analysis through the Ancient computers. It really was marvelous technology. Dr. Beckett would have a complete blood work up in less than 3 minutes.
If the seizure had been the longest minute of Rowan's life, then the three minutes she stood against the wall of the trauma room waiting until John's blood sample came back analyzed seemed like an eternity. She stood back and looked at him. She was terrified of getting in the way, nurses were swarming around him, cutting off his clothes, leaving them in a freakishly bloody heap on the floor, putting leads on his chest, and attaching things, and putting in IVs...
"I'm not too worried about ONE seizure Claire, it might be that the poison, if there is one, on the spear tip is neurological in nature. Or it could just have been stressed induced. If he has another one lass, lasting more than two minutes, push 5mgs Ativan, ok? I'm going to go check on the labwork."
"OK Doctor", she replied.
By this time John had his shirt removed and pressure bandages wrapped all around the piece of javelin that remained in his body. Another nurse, Matt, had taken a bone saw and cut it down so only about two inches of strong wood remained. The spear tip remained lodged somewhere in John's chest cavity.
John seemed to have stabilzed for the moment and a space was cleared around him. He was still on his side and in a moment saw Rowan. He tried to lift his hands to sign to her, but Matt stopped him from moving his arms.
"No, Matt, I gotta tell her I'm OK, lemme go..." he said groggily.
Rowan ran up to his side and furiously signed back, [It's OK, it's OK, don't move, ok? Don't move. I'm OK.]
John tried to focus on his sister but he was getting confused. He couldn't remember what had happened and was having a hard time breathing. He was gasping for air, but he just couldn't get in enough air.
"Can't...breathe...hurts..." he said. He tried to grasp Rowan's hand, but seemed to be losing his coordination.
She saw his hand reaching out and grasped it tightly. "She used her free hand to sign [I love you. You'll be OK] to him.
He smiled and said, "Yeah, I know. This is nothing...don't worry, Beckett has patched up way worse than this..."
John was clearly stuggling to catch his breath so Rowan signed [Stop talking idiot. Just focus on breathing. And after all this, you must NEVER tell me about the other times you've been here. Reading about it was enough. Living through this is...not fun.]
Dr. Beckett returned in a rush- "THANK THE LORD for small miracles son. Your blood came back completely normal save for skewed O2 and CO2 blood gas levels, I think you have a punctured lung John."
Dr. Beckett continued, "I can medicate you now and get that nasty spearhead out for you, OK? I'm going to put you under in just a minute." He called over to Matt, "Matt- go ahead and prep the Colonel for general anesthesia. His bloodwork came back clear of toxins."
The nurse said, "Awesome! OK-now Colonel, I gotta turn you onto your back now. I'm gonna hold onto your back and slowly roll you, ready?" John nodded his head, and tried to take a deep breath to brace himself for the pressure near his wound.
As Matt continued, Carson turned to Rowan and signaled to step away for a moment. Once they were away from John's bed he turned to them both and said, "OK, this is what's going on as we see it right now."
He paused for a breathe then said, "John was hit with a high velocity spear in the upper left chest cavity. We haven't taken him for imaging yet, but I HIGHLY suspect it impacted a rib and somehow caused a punctured lung. That would explain the breathing and confusion. I listened in on his lungs on the way here and I definitely heard fluid already building up. So, we are going to sedate him, take him for imaging, make sure of the location of the foreign body and any fractures before going in to remove them and putting in a port to drain the fluids. I suspect in addition to the removal of the spear and drain, we will need to dig for rib fragments. I think it's going to be at least 5 hours before we're back out. So go take a walk. I'll radio when I can." With that, Dr. Beckett quickly gathered his team to begin prepping John for surgery.
Rowan stood too stunned to move on the far wall of the infirmary as John was moved out of the room.
To be con't...