A/N: Disclamer:Don't own any of the characters.
Sorry for the delay. Hope you enjoy this chapter it's a little longer than the last one. Happy Reading!
Carson Beckett was sitting at his terminal making notes on all his recovering patients. The infirmary was now quiet which was Carson's favorite time of the day. Carson liked when the infirmary was busy and when it kept everyone occupied but what he didn't like, was when it was plunged in to utter chaos like it was only a few hours ago. There were patients everywhere. Some with minor injuries and some with major ones like Captain Campbell and Mr. Unknown. Which thanks to Colonel Sheppard, was the poor man's new name. The day was finally coming to a close and most of the patients had been moved to a room in the infirmary or given a place to rest by Colonel Sheppard and Teyla.
Carson's eyes started to hurt staring at his computer screen so he decided to take this opportunity to get up and go check on his patients. First he checked on Mr Unknown. Carson pulled back the curtain and quietly stepped towards the bed. He pulled up the chart at the end of the bed and looked at the notes the nurse made. Mr. Unknown's vitals were doing well for a person who sustained that much bodily injury. They found 3 cracked ribs, 2 broken ribs, a bruised lung, and multiple lacerations to his face and legs. Carson looked at Mr Unknown and saw that he was a young about 20-25 years old. Even through the bruising on his face Carson could see the lad had a kind face. Carson also noted on the chart that Mr Unknown was also suffering from malnutrition and was glad that his staff had started him on a bag of IV fluids and started pumping in some much needed nutrients into him.
"Ya poor lad. I hope ya get better soon so we could find out what exactly happen to ya. We're all curious to find out what your real name and story is." Carson said putting down the chart. He then pulled back the curtain and started heading towards his next patient, Captain Danielle Campbell.
Carson always liked Danielle. Unlike most of his military patients, Danielle never complained about getting a check up after a mission. She always followed Carson's order's to the letter. Danielle was his perfect patient. Carson even laughed one day when Danielle came in wearing a name tag that said "Hello my name is Carson's perfect patient." She's a lovely las Carson thought to himself.
As Carson pulled back the curtain he was taken by surprise to see a sleeping Major Lorne's head on Danielle's lap. Danielle was awake and looking at Major Lorne. Carson noticed that her hand was gently stroking Major Lorne's head. Danielle quickly pulled her hand away from Lorne's head when she saw Carson standing there. Danielle looked at Carson and smiled a groggy smile at him.
"Hey Doc. Hope you don't mind my visitor." Danielle said.
"No las, it's fine. He came in an hour ago when things quited down. He has been very worried about you since they brought you in here. Major Lorne been very busy with getting security tighter 'round the infirmary due to Mr. Unknown over there." Carson said tilting his head in the direction of the other curtain.
"Who?" Danielle asked.
"It's a nick name Colonel Sheppard has dubbed the poor lad and it seems to have stuck. No one knows who he is. He's not a member of the Brinii and they only came in contact with him three days ago. They blame him for bringing the Wraith to their world but, as far as Rodney can tell, he didn't have any form of technology on him that could be used to call the Wraith." Carson said.
"What brings him in here then?" Danielle asked.
"Well it seems like that Brinii took justice in their own hands and declared the lad guilty of bringing the Wraith to their world. They beat him severely and were going to leave him to die in that shelter. If it weren't for Sheppard and Ronon he would have surely died from his wounds." Carson said.
"And how is your perfect patient doing?" the question came from Lorne who was now trying to sit up and stretch.
"Well hullo there Major. My perfect patient is doing fine. She made it through surgery as you can see and so all she needs right now is wee bit of rest." Carson said with a smile.
"Well that's good. I was pretty worried that I might lose my girlfriend." Evan said looking at Danielle and holding her hand.
"What did you just call me?" Danielle wide eyed. Wondering why Evan would say something like that in front of Carson knowing it could get him and her in big trouble.
"Did her hearing get affected while she was in surgery?" Evan said while looking at Carson then back to Danielle who still had the deer caught in headlights look.
Carson laughed and then remembered that Danielle didn't know about the new change in policy.
"No Major, her ears are fine. You two are together?" Carson said pointing at both of them.
"Never saw that coming. I think most people thought you two didn't like each other. That was the most well kept secret on Atlantis and I heard it first. Well then, I will leave you tell her about the newest changes 'round here. I'll check on you later Dani. Major." Carson said patting Major Lorne on the shoulder and waving good-bye to them before pulling back the curtain.
"Thanks Doc." Danielle said as Carson was closing the curtain. Danielle now turned her attention back to Evan who was still holding her hand. " Now, tell me about these changes that allow you to now call me your girlfriend."
"Well in a nutshell, the military and IOA have loosed up the regs and are allowing Officers to date each other. So, that means we can be together. No more sneaking around." Evan said getting up out of his chair and leaning in close to Danielle's face.
"No more leaving at 0500 either." Danielle said leaning in closer to meet Evan's face but then pulled back in pain.
"Are you ok?" Evan said pulling back to make sure Danielle was ok.
"I guess the Wraith must have done a number on my ribs when he punched me." Danielle said still wincing in pain.
Danielle noticed the guilty look Evan had on his face. " Hey..." Danielle said. "I know that look Evan. You have nothing to feel guilty about. We had a job to do. Getting those people to the gate and away from the Wraith was our first and only priority. Everything else is secondary. You and I did our duty.
Evan put his hand on Danielle's face and she leaned into his touch. Evan understood what Danielle was saying but he still couldn't help but feel the way he felt.
"I know what your saying Dani but, I can't help the way I feel. I know my job was to get those people to the gate and away from the Wraith but, that doesn't erase the guilt I feel about leaving you alone to face all those Wraith. I mean, that Wraith could have killed you. I don't want to think about what would've happened if we hadn't gotten there in time." Evan said.
"So don't. Don't think about. You got there just in time. You came back for me with help and saved me. You also saved those people which makes you a hero in my book. So please stop beating yourself up. That's order from your girlfriend." Danielle said smiling at Evan. Danielle put her hand on top of Evan's that was still touching her face.
"You can't order me. I'm still a Major and your still a Captain. So that means I still out rank you." Evan said laughing.
"That may be true but, no matter what your rank is, girlfriend supersedes it. Therefore you will listen to my order. Is that clear mister?" Danielle said yawing.
"Yes ma'am. I think you need to get some sleep. I'll come by in the morning and see you before I go on duty ok." Evan said.
"Ok." Danielle said yawing again. Danielle watched as Evan pulled up the blankets and helped her snuggle in as much as she could with her ribs and now her leg hurting.
"I could get quite used to you helping me snuggle up in a blanket." Danielle said.
"Yeah. I like seeing you like this and now that you don't have to leave at 0500 any more we can put that into practice." Evan said.
"Can't wait." Danielle said.
Evan leaned down and kissed Danielle on the lips. At first it was just small kisses. Then they turned into one long slow kiss. Danielle was glad that she wasn't hooked up to a heart monitor because it would have showed that her heart was beating much faster than it had been a minute ago.
Danielle noticed there was something different about this kiss. It was more tender and much softer. Then Danielle was ripped out of her euphoria when Evan slowly moved away leaving her lips cold. She looked up at Evan and he had a weird smile on his face.
"Well that was a nice way to put me to bed. What's with the weird smile?" Danielle asked.
"Nothing. Today just made me realize something and I should have told you this before but I was scared. Almost losing you today put things in prospective for me and I need to say it now before I lose my nerve. So, hear it is. I love you. I love you so much. When I saw that Wraith standing over you trying to kill you, something inside of me snapped. I couldn't let him hurt you. I emptied my entire clip into him. The thought of my life without you in it... just can't happen. It made me see that I need to tell you how I truly feel because life's too short. Especially in the Pegasus Galaxy." Evan said.
Danielle looked at Evan and had a tear come down her cheek. That was the first time that Evan had been so open and honest with her. Danielle could always feel the love coming from Evan but to hear him say it out loud was better then she imagined. Danielle tried to say something but couldn't. More tears started to come down. Evan gently wiped them away.
"Those are happy tears right?" Evan said.
Danielle nodded her head yes while Evan handed her tissue for her nose from the box that was sitting next to her bed.
"Yes, these are happy tears." Danielle sniffed. "I just wish I wasn't a blubbering mess right now and not in this stupid hospital gown looking like crap."
"Well you look beautiful to me." Evan said kissing Danielle's lips again.
"Oh Evan, you do love me. You just lied right to me face and told me I look good when we both know I look like shit. That's real love right there." Danielle said laughing which caused her ribs to hurt. She winced again in pain.
Just as Evan was about to ask if she was ok the nurse walked in with a tray of medication.
"Looks like I arrived just in time. Would you like something for the pain Captain?" the nurse asked.
Danielle was going to say no and just try and sleep it off but then she heard Evan.
"Yes, she does." Evan said looking at Danielle with a stern look.
The nurse looked from Evan to Danielle.
"Yes, I would please." Danielle said smiling at Evan.
The nurse chuckled a little and gave Danielle her meds and some water. The nurse watched as Danielle took her meds then checked her vitals.
"Captain, do you need something to help you sleep?" the nurse asked.
"Yes please, that would be great." Danielle said.
"I''ll be right back with that." the nurse said as she exited the curtain then quickly came back with the sleep meds.
Danielle took the sleep meds with the last of the water she had. The nurse took the cup from Danielle and then told her to buzz if she needed anything else.
After a couple of minutes Danielle could start to feel the medicine kick in. Her eyes began to get heavy and she started to yawn again.
"I think that is my cue to leave. Like I said, I'll see you before I go on duty ok.?" Evan leaned down and kissed Danielle's forehead and looked into her sleepy eyes.
"Ok." Danielle said closing her eyes about to drift off to sleep.
Evan smiled and was about to leave when Danielle called his name.
"Evan?" she said sleepily.
"Yeah?" he said said turning around to her.
"Evan...I love you." Danielle said just as she drifted off to sleep.
"I love you too, Danielle." Evan said then smiled. He closed the curtain and headed out the infirmary with a huge smile on his face.
***************************************************************************************************************************************************
For the first time in a week things started to get back to normal on Atlantis and John couldn't be happier. The Brinii we're leaving. They had become a royal pain in the ass for him. He received nothing but complaints from Nicca and Astin about not being allowed access to Mr. Unknown. It soon became a game for John the different ways he could say no to them and not get in trouble for being offensive to their guest. John remembered what happened the first Astin demand to see Mr. Unknown.
John was sitting in his office eating what was left his lunch that Teyla had brought him. All he had left was a piece of a ham sandwich and some chocolate pudding. He was just about to bite into the last piece of his sandwich when Astin pounded his fist on John's door demanding to be seen. The pounding on the door made John drop his sandwich on the floor.
"God dammit. The last piece is always the best piece." John huffed to himself while he picked up the piece and threw it in the waste basket.
John looked up and saw Astin standing at his door with arms crossed and his face once again looking a stone faced Mike Ditka. Astin was being held back by two marines who were telling him he couldn't enter the Colonel's office without being announced. Before Astin could say another word John told the marines it was ok and to let Astin in.
Astin stepped forward past the marines and gave them a smug look that made one of the marines ball up his first. John saw the look on the marine's face. He understood how the marine felt. John wanted to hit Astin many times while the Brinii were here but that would only bring down the wrath of Colonel Carter and Teyla who had been trying to tell John to exercise patience with the Brinii.
John got up from his seat and offered a chair to Astin who chose to stand instead. John then took his seat and asked Astin what he could do for him.
"I told you Colonel that we would be having this conversation again. I want to see the prisoner." Astin said.
"What prisoner? We don't have any prisoners on Atlantis." John said reaching for his chocolate pudding.
"You know who I am referring too. Don't play dumb with me." Astin said.
"I can assure that I'm not playing. I have no idea who you are talking about." John said taking his spoon and dipping it in his chocolate pudding. As John swirled the pudding around with his spoon he saw Astin's face becoming red. Uh-oh. I think Mt Astin is about to blow John said to himself.
"Colonel! No more games. You know who I speak of. The man that is in your infirmary I want access to him. He has to answer for his crimes!" Astin said now yelling at John.
To John's credit he didn't get mad. Usually when someone yelled at him like that he would get upset and yell right back and throw a few obscenities in for good measure but for now, John was taking the advise of Teyla and Colonel Carter and exercising patience. So, John looked up at Astin and stuck a spoon full of pudding in his mouth then pulled the spoon out his mouth slowly.
John loved the annoyed looked on Astin's face. Astin watched John pull the spoon out his mouth and dip it back into his pudding and start stirring it like he was waiting for the answer to pop up out of the pudding.
"Colonel are you going to answer my question or continuing stirring that brown goo in your hand?" Astin said point to John's pudding.
John looked at Astin while still stirring his pudding. "Well you never really asked me any questions. All I heard is demands. And I don't respond well to threats or demands. Now, I'm going to say this as clearly as possible and this will be the only time I say this so listen carefully." John said putting his pudding down and standing up out of his chair. John moved from around his desk and stood right in front of Astin. It was then that John noticed the distinct height advantage that Astin had over him. He felt like he was talking to a Redwood tree.
"The answer is no, and it will be no, no matter how many times you or any of your people ask. He is a patient, not a prisoner in our infirmary and he is not leaving until Doc Beckett says he is healthy. Now we have told you that the patient did not have any devices on him that could have contacted the Wraith. And talking to your own people, I found that he was in your village three days before the Wraith came and was getting along fine with them. That is until you and you're goons got it into your head that he brought the Wraith to your planet and passed your backwards ass judgment on him. It sounds like it was just a coincidence that he was there when the Wraith came. So, you almost beat an innocent man to death. I think that qualifies in my book as no visiting hours for you." John watched Astin's face as it became redder and his whole body started to shake in anger. In John's head he did a mental count down. 5,4,3,2,1. There it is. Mt Astin is about to blow.
"HOW DARE YOU! You mock our laws because you think you are superior to us!" Astin yelled.
"I don't think, I know am! You see, we believe that someone is innocent until proven guilty and we give them a fair trail so they have a chance to answer for the crimes they are accused of. You probably never gave him a chance to explain or defend himself. That there, offends me. Now, if I find that he did bring the Wraith to your world I will turn him back over to you and you can do what ever your laws see fit but until then, he is under the protection of Atlantis. This conversation is over." John said.
"This conversation is not over!" Astin said yelling again.
John sat back down at his desk again. He picked up his pudding and started stirring it around again. He looked at Astin while spooning up some pudding. "Oh yes it is. Sgt. Lopez and Sgt. Gordon!" John yelled. Sgt Lopez was a big marine who didn't take any shit from anyone. He was just the marine that John needed. Sgt Gordon was no slouch either. Sgt. Gordon was just as big as Lopez was and had a attitude to match. They were the biggest marines on base and were more like two mob enforcers then marines. Sgt's Lopez and Gordon came into John's office and snapped to attention.
"Yes Colonel?" they both said.
"Sgt's would you please escort this man out of my officer and back to the visitors quarter's." John said with a smile.
"Yes sir!" the both said.
"This way sir." Sgt Lopez said pointing to way out the door to Astin. When Astin didn't move it was Sgt. Gordon who spoke next.
"I believe Sgt. Lopez asked you nicely. Now if you don't move sir, then Sgt Lopez and I will make you move." Sgt Gordon said with smile.
Astin relented and started to move towards the door then turned around to John before he left.
"This is not over Colonel." Astin said.
"Funny. It looks over to me. You have yourself a good day there Astin." John sad waving good bye as Astin was escorted out.
As John recalled the memory of that conversation he laughed to himself as he remembered that Astin was later put in the brig for trying to forcibly get into the infirmary. John loved watching Lopez and Gordon dragging the man down to the brig.
"Oh,good times." John said to himself.
John was on his way to infirmary to check on Mr. Unknown when he saw Ronon,Rodney, and Colonel Carter coming up towards him.
"Where are all of you headed to? John asked.
"The infirmary." Ronon said.
"Looks like we are all going in the same direction." John said.
"Who are you going to see Colonel?" Carter asked.
"I'm going to check on Mr. Unknown. Carson said he is healing really fast for someone with the injuries he sustained." John said.
"Yes. Carson said there was something in his blood work that he couldn't identify. He thinks what ever it is is helping his body heal itself at a remarkable rate. So you are going to see Mr. Unknown huh?" Carter said looking John.
"Yeah. Why is that so strange?" John asked. Then he noticed the looks he was getting from Rodney and Ronon. "What?"
"God, you can be so dense sometimes. And they say I don't have good social skills." Rodney said shaking his head.
"What are you talking about? John said getting a little annoyed.
"C'mon on Sheppard. You're going to see Mr. Unknown but you haven't seen Danielle? Even for you that's bad. I know you don't like the infirmary but we've all gone to see her. Even McKay has seen her twice." Ronon said
"You went to see her twice? Wow, I'm impressed." John said shocked that Rodney entered to the infirmary with out someone dragging him in there or him coming up with a medical illness that no one but him had ever heard of.
"Oh shut up. I am capable of compassion. Conan and I brought her the movie Blazing Saddles and although he didn't get much of the sense of humor Danielle and I laughed at everything. I mean c'mon Sheppard just because she.." Rodney was cut off by John pointing a finger at him.
"Didn't I say never to bring that up McKay." John said pointing a finger at Rodney.
"Would you two excuse us for a moment. I'd like to speak to John in private." Carter said.
"Sure. C'mon McKay. It's lunch time. Maybe Danielle will let you eat her Jello again." Ronon said.
"I hope so. I'm still hungry after the power bar I just had." Rodney said as he Ronon continued down the hall.
Colonel Carter walked with John to one of Atlantis's many balconies. This one they stopped at was one of Sam's favorites because it always had the best view of the afternoon sun. It was very peaceful there and was always quiet. Even during times like this in the afternoon when Atlantis was busy Sam found it was a good place to just relax and take a breather then head back into the craziness.
Sam stood at the balcony and looked out at the sea. John stood next to her and looked out at the sea as well. They stood there in silence for a few minutes before Sam spoke.
"I love it out here. This one spot for me is my favorite place on Atlantis. Well beside the lab of course. I come here whenever I need to think or just reflect. You ever do that John? I hope you don't mind me calling you John."
John was taken back at first because Colonel Carter usually didn't call him by his first name. It was always Colonel or Colonel Sheppard, but never John. John noticed that Colonel Carter tended to keep things more on a professional level than Elizabeth did. Colonel Carter had only been in charge of Atlantis for a few months and John was still trying to get used to her and her style which was very different from Elizabeth's. Elizabeth always made John feel more at ease when they talked because there was no rank involved. Now with Colonel Carter in charge he lost that sense of ease. It was times like this when he missed Elizabeth the most and her style of leadership.
"No ma'am. It's fine." John said feeling a little nervous now.
"Then please call me Sam." Carter said.
"Ok, Sam. To answer your question. No I don't think that I have ever come out here to just reflect." John said.
Sam continued to look out at the ocean and breathe in the fresh air. She walked over to the railing and leaned on it. She looked to the side of her and saw that John was now standing next to her and also leaning on the railing.
"I think that's important for all of us to reflect every once in while. It reminds you of what you have and the things you lost. It helps you put things in prospective. Since I have taken over command of this base I have noticed that Atlantis is very different than my previous post at the SGC. We are a more tight nit group. Well, we have to be being so far away from earth. We all have come to depend on each other like family. When one of us hurts, we all hurt. When one grieves, we all grieve, and when we are happy, well you get it. The point that I'm trying to make John is that we need to know that we are all there for one another. This war with the Wraith has taken a toll on all of us. We have lost many lives and will probably lose a few more during our time here. It's just a sad fact. So, when I see one of my people, my second in command not looking out for one of his own, I have to ask myself. What is going on with him? Why is he not going to see one of his people that almost died on a mission he was in command of?" Carter aked.
John was shocked at what Colonel Carter was saying. He hadn't really thought about it. He wasn't sure how to answer her question.
"I'm not sure how to answer your question Sam. I don't know why I haven't gone to see Captain Campbell since she has been in the infirmary. I just haven't." John put his hand on the back of neck and rubbed it hoping to come up with more than he what he just said but he couldn't think of any thing better to say. " I'm not good with showing my feelings. Teyla can attest to that. I can't really tell you anymore than that."
Sam nodded her head pushed herself up from the railing taking one last look at the calm ocean.
"Well John, I suggest that you take this time and use it to reflect. Ask yourself why you didn't check on someone under your command? I'll leave you to your thoughts Colonel." Without another word Sam left John at the railing. Still looking at out the ocean trying to reflect.
Colonel Carter walked into the infirmary heard the sounds of laughter. Which was something she didn't expect to hear in a place full of sick people. She walked over to Carson to find out what was going on.
"I came in here to check on Mr. Unknown and I here laughter. What is going in here?" Carter asked.
"Oh hullo Colonel. Well they say laughter is the best form of medicine right? I think that Rodney is giving Captain Campbell a good dose of it now. We moved Mr. Unknown to a private room away from the noise. I was about to tell them to keep it down but they are about to break into another chorus." Carson said.
"A chorus of what?" Carter asked.
"You'll see." Carson said walking Colonel Carter over to Captain Campbell's bed. He pulled back the curtain just a little so she could see and not disturb the others.
Inside Carter saw Ronon, Rodney, and Major Lorne sitting around Danielle's bed. They had the TV turned on and it sound like they were watching the beginning of a movie. She couldn't tell what the movie was. The sound was too low. Then she heard it. The theme song sung by Danielle and Rodney.
"He rode a blazing saddle
He wore a shining star
His job to offer battle to bad men near or far
He conquered fear and he conquered hate
He turned dark night into day
He made his blazing saddle a torch to light the way"
Sam looked on and tried to chuckle lightly as she continued to watch Danielle and Rodney belt out the theme song to Blazing Saddles. She looked at Ronon and Lorne who looked they heard the song just one to many times.
"How many times have you heard this song?" Ronan asked Lorne.
Lorne looked at Ronon and shook his head. "Too many. This was this was the first movie we ever watched together on a date. I thought it was cute when she knew the words to the song. Now after the millionth time. Not so much."
"And Bart was his name.
Yes Bart was nammmmme"
Sam thought it was time to save Lorne and Ronon and the rest of the infirmary from another verse of the song. She cleared her throat to let them know she was standing there.
"Captain? Is it alright if I come in?" Carer asked.
Danielle and Rodney stopped in mid song once they realized who was there.
"Oh thank god." Lorne said earning him a look from Danielle.
"Uh. Yes ma'am" Danielle said trying to straighten herself up. Rodney on the other hand had turned a nice shade of red when Sam had walked in.
"Samantha, how nice to see you. We were just..." Rodney said.
"Singing. I heard you. The whole infirmary did. Never knew you have such a lovely voice Rodney." Sam said.
Ronon couldn't help but laugh at Sam's comment.
"Yes, well. There is more to me than just this stunning intellect I have. Now if you will excuse me. I'm sure that there is some important work for me to do. Somewhere. Anywhere." Rodney said.
"Well, thank you for stopping by Rodney and for bringing me the movie. It was very sweet of you." Danielle said.
Rodney was just about to leave when Lorne stopped him.
"For the love of all that is holy. Take the movie with you." Evan said.
"Some people just can't appreciate the brilliance of this movie." Rodney said taking the DVD out of the DVD player much to Danielle's dismay.
"Oh I can. Just not after watching it for the millionth time." Lorne said.
"Don't mind him Rodney. He's just tired." Danielle said.
"Oh. He's tired of playing the game." Rodney said winking at Danielle.
"Ain't it a crying shame." Danielle said looking at Lorne.
"Good Bye McKay." Lorne said pointing the way out.
"I'm gonna head out too. Gotta meet some marines who wanna spar." Ronon said.
"None of my guys right?" Danielle asked with concern in her voice.
"I don't know. You'll know in two hours when they are sitting in here getting stitched up. See ya." Ronon said with a smirk then left with Rodney.
"Well Captain, I was checking on your progress but you seem to be doing just fine. You look much better then when you first arrived a week ago. Which I'm glad to see. Dr. Beckett said that you are leaving here later on today." Carter said.
"Yes ma'am. He's still restricting my duties till my leg fully heals but, it will be nice to sleep in my own bed for a change." Danielle said.
"I know what you mean. Well I won't keep you any longer." Colonel Carter was just about to leave when she remembered what else she came there for. "Oh I almost forgot. I was going to wait until you were back on duty but I might as well tell you now. In light of your recent act of bravery and your exemplary conduct these past few months I am hereby promoting to the rank of Major. We will have a ceremony for you once you get back on your feet."
Danielle didn't know what to say. She was fumbling over her words." Oh....my...oh.. wow."
"I think that means thank you ma'am." Evan said.
"Yes. Yes it does. Thank you ma'am." Danielle said.
"No thanks needed. You earned it. You would have had it early if not for that one instance. You have really come a long way since then. Now if you will excuse me. I have to check on Mr. Unknown. Major's." Carter said.
As soon as Colonel Carter left Evan looked over at Danielle who still had a shocked look on her face.
Evan got up from his seat and walked over to Danielle.
"Why don't you look happy about this? I thought you would be more excited." Evan said.
"Oh no, I'm happy. Just shocked." Danielle said.
"Well it's like the Colonel said, you earned it. So I was thinking..." Evan said grabbing Danielle's hand.
"Yes, what were you thinking?" Danielle said in a low voice.
"I was thinking that if they spring you in the next hour or so you will be out of here by dinner time. How's about I take you home, let you clean up, and I bring you dinner. How does that sound?" Evan said.
"Oooo...I think that sounds great but know what would be better?" Danielle said seductively.
"What?" Evan said in low voice.
"If you brought me dinner then spent the night. That would be better." Danielle said.
"That would be better. I like the way you think Captain." Evan said leaning in for a kiss until Danielle put her finger to his lips.
"That's Major." Danielle said leaning back in to kiss him.
"Oh that's right. I like the way you think Major. Let me show you how much." Evan said leaning into her kiss.
Danielle started to deepen the kiss when she saw the curtain get pulled back by the nurse. Who now looked embarrassed and was wearing a bright shade of red.
"Sorry to interrupt but I have your discharge papers. Doctor Beckett said no off world activity and you are on light duty for 2 weeks. Doctor Beckett is also giving you crutches to stay off that leg. No baths. Showers only and make sure you change that bandage everyday. If you run out of dressings just come in. Here are your pain meds. Do you have any questions?" the nurse asked handing Danielle her discharge papers.
"None." Danielle said while taking the papers.
"Then you are free to go. Good luck ma'am" the nurse said.
Evan was about to ask Danielle if she wanted him to get some clothes for her but his radio went off in his ear.
"This is Lorne. What? I'll be right there. No. I'll be right there don't move." Evan said with hint of anger in his voice.
Danielle looked at Evan who didn't look too happy about what he was just told.
"I take it that wasn't good news. Rain check?" Danielle said.
"Dani, I'm so sorry. Yes on the rain check. I really wanted to spend time with you but that was Sgt Lopez. Some of the Brinii are trying to move past the marines I have posted down in the visitor's quarters. I can't wait until they leave. They have been nothing but a pain in the ass since the arrived. Well not Noreese's group. They were excellent. I will be sorry to see her go. She reminds me of my grandmother. Just a sweet lady that has a quiet fire about her. You would have liked my grandma and she would have loved you." Evan said.
"I'm sure I would have loved her too. You better get going. The natives are getting restless. I will ask the nurse for some scrubs so I can go to my quarters." Danielle said.
"Ok. I'll check on you later." Evan said kissing her cheek.
"Alright. Be Careful Evan." Danielle said.
"Is that an order Major?" Evan asked sarcastically.
"Damn right." Danielle said.
Evan smiled at Danielle and then headed out to deal with Brinii.
***************************************************************************************************************************************************
Colonel Carter had been looking at the notes that Doctor Beckett had made about Mr. Unknown. She was still trying to understand what she was looking at. Mr. Unknown had been moved to a private room in the back of the infirmary. He was put there so he could rest more comfortable and be away from the constant traffic that was coming in and out of the infirmary and from the occasional singing patient.
"So Carson, are you telling me that he is able to regenerate or something close to that?" Carter asked still looking at the computer screen in front of her.
"Aye. As far as I can tell. His body has put itself in a sort of trance. Much like the Jaffa do when they are injured." Carson said.
"You mean kel-nareen?" Carter said.
"Exactly. I believe that's why he has been out of it for so long. His body needed time to repair itself. Mind you, this is all guess work. I'm hoping that when the lad wakes up he can tell me more." Carson said.
Carter got up from the computer screen and was now standing next to the bed looking at Mr. Unknown. She was amazed at how different he looked. She could barely tell that he had been injured as bad as he was. Carter placed her hand on the railing of the bed and was about to ask Carson another question when she felt a hand touch hers. Carter nearly jumped out of her skin and some how managed to not scream.
"Carson, I think your patient is awake." Carter yelled to Carson.
Carson and several of his staff ran over to Colonel Carter. Carson looked down at his patient and saw that he was awake now and staring right up at him and Colonel Carter.
"Well hullo there. My name is Doctor Carson Beckett. You are in our infirmary. Can you understand me?" Carson asked.
Carson watched as Mr Unknown nodded his head to the question.
"Can you tell me you're name?" Carter asked.
"C..Colar." he said.
"Well it's good to meet me Colar. We've been pretty worried about ya." Carson said.
"Colar,my name is Colonel Samantha Carter. Can you tell me what happened to you?" Carter asked.
"The... Brinii. Some of their people blamed me.... for the Wraith coming to their world. I...I tried to tell them that I had nothing t..t.. to do with the Wraith's presence on their world....b... they did not believe me. They attacked me in the shelter." Colar said slowly.
"Where are you from? Carter asked.
"I am from a planet... called Naharra. I was sent by my people to look..... for the City... of the Lanteans." Colar said.
"Why are you looking for the city?" Carter asked not wanting to reveal yet that he was actual in the city he was looking for.
Colar looked at Carter then to Carson and saw that these people held no malice towards him. They only wanted to help him. Perhaps they were the key to his finding the City of the Lanteans. Which would bring him one step closer to finding the descendants and save his people. He decided to take a leap of faith and tell his story.
"Colonel, my story is a long one. It spans over 10,000 years.... so please bare with me as I explain why I must find the City of the Lanteans. I only hope that by the end of the story you... will be able to help me complete my journey." Colar said.
Carter and Carson listen to Colar tell his story about the sisters Niya and Maihairi and the sacrifice they made for their people by giving their lives to power a weapon that could destroy the Wraith. Colar went on to explain that this shield the weapon created was now failing and that the only way to restore power to it was to find the descendants of the two sisters. Colar told of how his teacher had a vision of him finding the descendants in City of the Lanteans so he was sent on a mission to find the descendants.
The only problem was that his people had no idea of where the city was because all records of the city's where abouts had been destroyed in a fire. So Colar had been going to planet after planet for weeks asking any village he came upon for any information leading to him find the city. He was told by one tribe that the Brinii may know something because they were a planet of traders but that they were not very trusting of strangers. So he traveled there anyway hoping he could win them over. When he met their leadership they were very nice to him at first. The longer he stated with the Brinii the more they showed they did not trust him because he was an outsider.
Their leader Nicca said she would help him contact another tribe of people called the Athosians whose leader worked with the Lanteans and knew where he could find them. Then the Wraith attacked and Colar was assigned to one of the shelters with Astin and his group. As the Wraith took more and more people on the journey to the shelter Astin and his people became more paranoid and accused him of collaborating with the Wraith to cull their world. Colar said he tried to explain to them that he was not with the Wraith and that they were his enemy too but their minds where made up. They waited until he fell asleep and attacked him. They beat him until he couldn't move. Colar put himself into a deep state of meditation that prevented them from doing anymore damage to his body than they already inflicted.
Even in his meditation Colar was aware they were still beating didn't stop until he was found by Ronon and Colonel Sheppard. He thought he might die and never complete his mission until he heard Ronon's voice telling him he wasn't going to hurt him and that he was going to be ok. Colar knew then he would be alright and that the ancestors sent help to him.
Carter and Carson stood there in awe of the story Colar had just told them. It greatly differed from the story Astin had been telling that Colar had brought the Wraith to the planet. Colonel Sheppard's theory that the Wraith's appearance and Colar being on the planet was just merely a coincidence turned out to be right. It was just bad timing and luck on Colar's part to gate to a planet with a paranoid people. Before Carter could ask Colar another question he sat straight up in his bed his eyes wide with fear. Colar's face went white as a sheet and he then winced in pain from his ribs that were still healing. He sat back on the bed but the color had not returned to his face.
"Whoa lad. You still have some ribs that are not completely healed yet. Ya heal quick but na that quick." Carson said putting a hand on Colar's shoulder making sure the man didn't move again.
"Colar what is it?" Carter asked wondering what got him so upset.
"Did you retrieve a bag when you rescued me? The bag contains items that are very special to my people. There are items in that bag will help me find the descendants of my people." Colar asked hoping they did retrieve it.
"I'm sorry Colar but when you were brought in you didn't have anything with you." Carter said and Carson nodded his head in confirmation.
"Then I must leave. I have to go back to the planet and retrieve those items." Colar said then tried to get out of bed but he was pushed back down by Carson.
"Oh no ya don't. You are in no condition to leave and even if you were better, I don't think the Colonel would let ya leave and head back to a planet with a people that wanted to take ya life. That would be bloody suicide." Carson said
"I have to agree with Dr. Beckett. You need to stay here and rest." Carter said.
"No. My people need me. If I don't find the City of the Lanteans and the descendants of the sisters then my people will all die. I don't care what the danger is. I must go back and retrieve the bag. I must complete my mission" Colar said.
"Colar, you have completed your mission. At least half of it. You found the City of the Lanteans. You are on Atlantis." Carter said.
Colar closed his eyes and said a prayer thanking the ancestors for guiding him this far.
"Thank you Colonel for telling me that I have made it this far. But making it here was only one part of my mission. I must have the items in the bag to complete the other part which is find the descendants of the sisters."Colar said.
"Colonel, he is in no condition to go back there and I will not authorize it." Carson said.
"It's ok doctor, I agree. Colar, I will send a team to the planet and retrieve the bag for you but I have to know what these items are that I'm having my team risk their lives to retrieve for you." Carter said.
"Colonel, inside the bag are items that can help determine who descendants are. I was not told much about them except that the items would know who the descendants are because they would only activate for them. I know it is not much but that is all I have." Colar said.
"Colonel Carter to Colonel Sheppard."
"Sheppard here."
"Colonel you up for a scavenger hunt?"
"Sure. What are we looking for?"
"Get down to the infirmary and I'll explain. Have Ronon and Lorne join you."
"I'll be there as soon as I finish pushing the last of the Brinii through the gate. Astin and his bunch are still refusing to leave without the head of Mr. Unknown on a silver platter to take with them."
"His name is Colar and tell them he is a guest and will not be leaving with them." Carter said looking at Colar and smiling a reassuring smile at him.
"He's awake?" John asked surprised.
"Yes and talking. Colonel if at all possible please have Major Lorne make contact with his friend Noreese and her grandson. There services will also be needed." Carter said.
"I'll let him know. I take it the scavenger hunt is back on Brinar?" John asked hoping that it wasn't. He really didn't want to go back there.
"You would be correct." Carter said.
"I knew you were going to say that. Crap. As soon as I finish here I'll be there. Sheppard out." John said.
"Colonel, On behalf of my people I thank you for what you just did." Colar said.
"You're welcome but, don't thank me yet. I just hope that the items we're looking for are still there." Carter said.