Chapter 15: A promising plan.
John sat and stared at the broth on the tray table, and he wasn't impressed. He'd had it three times this week and was sick of it. It wasn't just the choice of food. It was the fact that he was still weak down his right side, so his hand shook when he tried to eat. It had only been two days since he'd started to eat on his own, and he felt like a giant toddler every time he tried.
It had been two weeks since he'd awoken from a Coma, and he was still in the infirmary.
He'd had two seizures since he'd awoken, and that fact alone left him feeling depressed because if he had epilepsy, he would never be able to fly again.
His headaches were intense, and he was still on strong pain medication. He was also on medication for the seizures. Today, his headache was minimal - although that could change at any moment.
The nightmares had continued, and he now understood what had happened to him on the planet Hilaring. He knew he would never forgive Toth for what he had done to him, but he was undecided about what to think of Voth.
Carson had told him everyone deserved a second chance, and it seemed Voth was making the most of his.
Torren had visited him every day. Amelia had even brought Charin in on several occasions, but that wasn't enough because he wanted to be at home to care for his children. Ronon and Amelia had been fantastic, but he didn't think it was fair to them, even though they had both assured him it was an absolute pleasure.
He knew that Teyla was still in stasis, but Carson hadn't allowed him to visit his wife since he'd woken up. He was proud of how calm he'd kept when Carson had told them that their search for a cure for her had hit a dead end for the moment.
His inability to talk or move properly was a great source of frustration, and on more than one occasion, he felt as if he would lose his temper.
For the most part, he'd kept it together because the last thing he needed was a visit with Doc Robinson. Although, he suspected that she would turn up at some point.
When Carson told him about his injuries, he refused to accept it. He was convinced he would recover fully. It may take a while, but he would eventually return to his old self.
There were days like today when he thought he would never recover, which left him feeling as if he was in a deep dark hole that there was no way out of.
The one good thing in the whole mess was that his eyesight had returned to one hundred percent.
A soft lilting voice interrupted his musings, and it was a voice that he'd come to hate over the last two weeks. He didn't really hate Carson, but right now, he hated his voice because it was filled with pity.
"Are you going to eat your broth, Lad?"
There was so much he wanted to say to Carson. He needed to scream and shout at him, but even though his thoughts were clear, he struggled to express himself verbally.
"No…"
"Why not? You need to eat to get well?"
That had to be the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. According to Carson, he wasn't going to get well.
Closing his eyes, he tried to tell Carson what he wanted to say, "don…ll…ike…br…oth. W…a..nt…sand…wich."
Carson sighed, "I'll see what I can do."
He sensed that Carson had something else on his mind, but since he was speaking like an idiot, he couldn't be bothered to try and ask.
Carson smiled at him, and for some reason, it made him feel uncomfortable, "Torren is outside wanting to see you."
"Sen…d…h…im….in."
He was thankful when Carson left with the unwanted broth.
Once the doctor had gone, he let out a sigh. As much as he enjoyed seeing his son, it exhausted him, and he knew it wouldn't be long before he'd be asleep again.
How had his life come to this? Six months ago - or was it seven - everything was going well, and he was looking forward to a positive future with his wife and children. But would he ever get that future? With each passing day, he began to fear he wouldn't.
A squealing voice interrupted his contemplation, "Daddy!"
He looked at his son and was happy for the first time since he'd woken up that morning.
"T..t…orr..en."
Torren carefully climbed on the bed, and John put his weakened right arm around his son.
"Ho..w…w..as…sch…ool?"
Torren shrugged, "It was okay, I guess. Uncle Ronon taught me about the history of Sateda, and Aunt Amelia told me about the country you're from. Then Aunt Jennifer taught me some basic first aid. I was supposed to have a lesson with Uncle Rodney, but he said he was too busy."
He wondered why Rodney was too busy for his son, but maybe the scientist was close to finding them a way home. Although at this point, he didn't want to go home because if he did, he would be sent back to Earth.
"Ho..w..s…Cha…r..in?"
"She's good, although I think she misses you. Aunt Amelia said she's going to bring her to visit you later.
Charin was almost eleven months old, and he wondered whether he or Teyla would celebrate her first birthday with her. She probably wouldn't know or understand what was happening, but he certainly would. And what about Torren? Would he be able to celebrate his sixth birthday with him?
Things were complicated, and the more he thought about the current situation, the more his head hurt. Perhaps it was time for him to go to sleep.
"Ti…red…T..t…orr..en."
"How about you go to sleep, Dad? Do not worry I will be here when you wake up."
Closing his eyes, he felt his son snuggle closer to him, and it wasn't long before he fell into a deep sleep.
oOo
Rodney was frustrated and felt like hitting his head against a brick wall. It had been almost four weeks since the Hilarings had given him the data chip he had hoped would hold answers. In that time, he'd read countless accounts of the planet's history, but nothing he read would help him get home.
On numerous occasions, Jennifer had come to chase him out of his lab, insisting he gets a meal or a good night's sleep. Although he loved her with all his heart, sometimes, she could be annoying.
He'd been sitting in his lab for five hours straight, and he expected that she would be along soon to insist that he had a meal.
He should probably visit Sheppard at some stage since he hadn't seen him in three days. Not that he wanted to visit him. Sheppard was frustrated and angry most of the time these days, and trying to communicate with him was like trying to hold a conversation with a toddler. Not that it was John's fault, but he just hated to see the once articulate man struggling to speak.
Carson kept saying that John would get better, but they all knew that Sheppard would never be the same again, and he was still having trouble coming to terms with that. Perhaps, that was why he stayed away.
He'd also cancelled Torren's science lessons over the last two days, and although his excuse was that he was busy, he wondered if he was avoiding Sheppard's son as well.
A loud beeping from his computer interrupted his contemplations. Finally, he thought when he realised what was on the screen. At last, his research had paid off.
He had no idea what time it was, but he needed to call a meeting.
"Mckay to Lorne, come in, please?"
There was no reply, so he tried again.
"Mckay to Lorne, come in, please?"
Finally, a groggy Lorne answered, "This better be good, McKay. It's two in the morning."
"I've got some information that may help us find a way home."
"Well, I'm sure that it can wait until morning. See me in my office at 0600 hours."
"I would have thought this was of the utmost importance, so why can't we discuss it now?"
"0600 hours in the morning, Mckay, Lorne out."
He wondered what he should do now. Should he research the database a bit more, go to see Sheppard, or go to bed?
In the end, he decided he'd go to bed. The only question was where? In his quarters, or would he curl up with Jennifer?
oOo
John let out a contented sigh. Finally, Carson had given him something decent to eat.
When breakfast arrived that morning, he was ready for an argument. But when he saw the bacon and eggs, his mood improved dramatically.
Today he had decided to eat using his left hand, and he was surprised at how much easier that seemed. He had so much more strength in his left than his right, so he decided to use his left hand from now on.
He'd been allowed to shower by himself that morning, which was a relief since he was sick of the nurses hovering over him whenever he wanted to get clean. As much as he would have liked to stand up in the shower, he had to sit in the shower seat in case he slipped and fell. That wasn't the worst idea since his right side was still weak.
After he had showered, he spent a great deal of time staring at himself in the mirror.
The wound on the left side of his head was still red and raw, even though Carson had taken the stitches out three days ago. The multiple injuries on his forehead had scabbed over and were beginning to heal. The thing that annoyed him the most was his hair. Carson had shaved his hair on the left side of his head, and at the moment, there was tiny stubble around the wound. The rest of his hair was much longer, and it was probably time to get a haircut.
Although happy with what he'd achieved, he suddenly felt exhausted and wanted to go back to sleep for a few hours. The exhaustion he was feeling constantly left him frustrated because he desperately wanted to get on with the rest of his life.
A soft voice interrupted his contemplations, "How are you feeling, General?"
He looked up to find Dr Keller standing in the doorway, which was strange because he would have expected Dr Robinson to have paid him a visit by now.
"Wh.. ers...Doo..c…Ro…b..b..in..ss..on?"
"She's unwell at the moment and confined to her quarters. I've been looking after her, but don't worry, it isn't contagious. So how are you?"
That had to be the stupidest question he'd ever heard, but since he wasn't one to complain, he decided to give her his standard answer.
"I'm…f..f..ine."
She just smiled at him, "Sure you are, General. Anyway, Rodney and Ronon are here, and I've decided that you need to get out of here for a while, so I'm allowing them to take you to the nearest balcony. Rodney has something to tell you, and although Carson doesn't want you to know this information, I think you need to."
At last, he was getting out of the infirmary, but he had no idea for how long.
"H..ow…l..l..o...nnng ?"
"I'm giving you two hours, so I want you back here by lunchtime. You will need to have a rest this afternoon."
He could live with that, so he turned to her and smiled - as well as he could with the right side of his face not working correctly.
"Sss…u..re."
"I'll just go and get a wheelchair and send Rodney and Ronon in." She said before leaving the room.
He lay on his back and looked at the ceiling while he waited. And he wondered what Rodney wanted to tell him. Had Rodney found a way home for them? And if so, what would that mean for him? Would he be sent back to Earth without his wife and children? That thought alone darkened his mood.
A loud voice invaded his senses. And since he had a headache, it wasn't pleasant.
"Hey, Sheppard, are you ready to leave this place for a while?"
"Shh….Mc..K…ay."
"Come on, Sheppard, I'll help you into the wheelchair," Ronon suggested walking into the room with a wheelchair.
The last thing he wanted was for Ronon to help him into the wheelchair. If he could shower and get dressed, he could get out of bed and into a chair without help.
"Nooo….!" He said forcefully, "I'...ll d..do…it."
He was relieved when Ronon stood back and allowed him to attempt it himself. Carefully, he pulled the blankets back and used his good arm to push himself into a sitting position. Once he was sitting up, he swung his legs over the side of the bed. How hard could this be? He'd managed to shower by himself. Although the nurses had helped him to the shower room, they'd also helped him get dressed. Pushing himself off the bed with both hands, he managed to stand. His right leg was shaking, but he took the two steps needed to sit in the chair.
By the time he was sitting down, his right arm and leg were shaking like a leaf, his headache had notched up a little, and he felt dizzy, but he was proud of himself because he'd been able to stand on his feet without help.
"Well done, General, "Jennifer praised while walking into the room. "We should be able to start your physical therapy sessions next week.
Although that was a good thing, he also knew that chances were that he would never regain full use of his right side. Carson had also told him that although they could control epilepsy with medication, there was a good chance that he would never fly again.
The doctors, and everyone on Atlantis, had vowed they would fight to keep him on Atlantis, but he knew that if he never recovered, he would be sent back to Earth.
A worried voice cut through the haze, "Are you alright, General?"
"He…ad…leg….arm…hu…rtsss…Do..c."
"Okay, you're due for your next lot of pain medication, so I'll give it to you before you leave."
He took the pills with his left hand and put them under his tongue. When Jennifer offered him a glass of water, he tried to take it with his right hand. Unfortunately, his hand was still shaking, and he couldn't grasp it, so he spilt it all over himself. The glass then fell to the floor and shattered.
He'd had enough of his weakness, so he attempted to yell, but all that came out was an angry sound, "Arggghhh…." and then a whimper, "pl..ea..se…h... help…me?"
"Rodney, Ronon, can you please leave while I clean the General up? You may still take him for a walk later if he wants to go."
Suddenly he was embarrassed by his outburst, so he was relieved when his friends left the room.
Five minutes later, when Jennifer had helped put a clean shirt on him and cleaned the mess on the floor, she pulled up a chair beside his bed.
After giving him his pain medication, she looked at him with what could only be described as compassion, "I know it doesn't feel like it now, but things will get better."
He knew she was right, but he wanted to go for a run or beat the crap out of something. That was how he dealt with his frustrations, but now the only thing he could do by himself was get out of bed. And he could barely manage that.
"N… need…t.t..oo…ru..nnn. Nee…d to…h…hi..t…som…thin…g"
"I know you do, General, but right now, all I can offer you is a trip to the nearest balcony."
He nodded his head, knowing she was telling the truth. He could only hope that one day he would be able to run and fight again.
"Gg..et…Ro..nn..on…an...d…Mc…kay."
After Jennifer had left, he tried to pull himself together. He was sure that Amelia would bring Charin down to see him later, and the last thing his daughter needed was for him to be in a bad mood. He smiled when he thought of her, she was beginning to look more like her mother every day, and she was his little princess.
"Are you ready now, Sheppard?" Ronon asked as he walked through the door.
"Ye..ssss, ss.. sorry."
"Don't worry, Sheppard, things will get better."
He felt like throwing a temper tantrum at Ronon's words. Why did everyone keep telling him things would get better? But rather than getting upset, he nodded at his friend and allowed him to push him through the door.
He hadn't left the infirmary in three weeks, as he had spent most of that time in a coma or sleeping. He was going to enjoy every moment of this.
oOo
Rodney followed his friends out of the infirmary, and his heart was almost breaking at what he'd just witnessed. His once, strong and confident friend couldn't hold a glass without dropping it. Then when he dropped the glass, Mr control freak, John Sheppard had a temper tantrum. Then to top it all off, he'd apologised for it.
He hated seeing his friend like this. That was why he'd stayed away for so long. He wondered whether telling John his news was a good idea, but Jennifer had suggested he should tell the General out of respect for his rank. He had no idea whether anyone had told him about the two ZPMs yet, but if not, that would be a place to start.
When they arrived on the balcony a few minutes later, he watched as John held onto the balcony and pushed himself to his feet. The man was shaky on his feet. He felt tempted to help him, but Ronon stood back, so he followed the big man's lead.
"Th…i..s…i..iss…g gre..eat." John stuttered.
He hated listening to his friend try and speak, but from what Caron had told him, John's thought processes and intelligence were intact. So he told John what he had shared with the rest of the senior staff that morning. But he would let his friend have a few moments to enjoy himself first.
He looked at the view and wondered why Sheppard enjoyed it so much. It was the same as it had been for three weeks. A black void filled with stars, nothing to get excited about.
"Hey, Sheppard, how about you sit down, and I'll tell you what I shared with the senior staff this morning."
He watched as his friend lowered himself into the wheelchair, and he didn't miss John's body shaking.
Ronon turned the chair around to face him, and he got his first good look at Sheppard's face. His mouth and eye on the right side of his face were drooping. No wonder he had a hard time talking.
"T..te…ll…me…Mc…kay."
"Did anyone tell you that the Hilaians found two ZPMs in the ancient city?"
"I…i..la.r..ia."
He had no idea what John said, so all he could say was, "Huh."
Luckily Ronon replied because he was sure Sheppard wouldn't repeat himself.
"He said that the city's called Ilaria."
"Right, anyway, the Hiliarians found two ZPMs in the city and decided to give them to us. Did anyone tell you about it?
"O..k..ka..yy," Sheppard replied.
"Well, last night I went looking through the database the Hiliarians gave us, and I found where the ancients from the city of Ilaria went ten thousand years ago. I also discovered that we have travelled ten thousand years back in time, which means that the Hiliarian's ancestors travelled back twenty thousand years."
"Sssoo...Mc c…Kay? Sheppard replied.
"Well, we have a location, the power we need, so we may as well go to have a look to see if we can find them. The ancients were still in the Pegasus galaxy in this period. So perhaps there will still be ancients here."
"And where are we? Because you never bothered to tell us this morning, "Ronon added.
"We're in the galaxy known as KK203. That's around 60,000 light years from the milky way galaxy.
"So what you're saying, McKay is we're a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away," Ronon said with a smirk.
Sheppard sounded like he was going to choke, but when Rodney looked at him, he realised the man was trying to stifle a laugh.
"Anyway, we've decided to fly Atlantis to the coordinates where the ancients should be to see if we can find them."
"H..h..ow…L..o..ong?"
"Now that we have two full ZPMs, it should take about two weeks."
Sheppard nodded, and Rodney didn't miss the pain lines around the man's face. Perhaps it was time to get him back to the infirmary.
"I'i…ll…f f…fly…la..n..tis."
He stared at John, was he for real? He could barely string a sentence together, and he wanted to fly.
"Are you for real, Sheppard? You can barely string two sentences together, don't forget there's a mental component involved." He instantly regretted what he'd said after the words were out of his mouth.
"M…yyy….mi…nd..s..ff…ine…Mc…c…kay."
"Sorry, Sheppard."
There was a depressed look on Sheppard's face when he spoke again, and he looked like a kid who'd lost his puppy dog.
"K..kk..eeep…me..in…for..me..d..Mc…c…Kay."
"I will, Sheppard. Now do you want to go back to the infirmary and have a rest?"
"Sss..eee, Te…y..la."
"Umm…I…should be getting to my lab, and then I'm having dinner with Jenn. Did you know we're engaged?"
"Ye..sss, K.. ..er…t..told me."
"Anyway, I need to head back to my lab, so maybe Ronon can take you to see Teyla."
"Yeah, I'll take you, Sheppard, then I'll take you back to the infirmary. Maybe we can have lunch together then.
"Thanks, Conon, "Rodney said before turning around and leaving the balcony.
The meeting with Sheppard had gone about as well as could be expected, and he hoped that when they found the ancients from Ilaria that they would be able to help heal Sheppard and Teyla.
oOo
John took one last look at the view from the balcony before he allowed Ronon to wheel him towards the stasis room.
He wasn't sure what to think about what Rodney had just told him, but at least they now had a plan moving forward.
As much as he wanted to fly Atlantis to their destination, he knew Rodney was right. Although his mind and thought processes were intact, he couldn't string two sentences together. And in an emergency, he wouldn't be able to communicate effectively. That thought led him back to what Carson and Jennifer had told him on more than one occasion since he'd woken up; he would never fly again.
Perhaps, the Ancients from Ilaria would have a cure for Teyla and him.
He could only hope.
Sighing, he allowed Ronon to push his wheelchair into the stasis room, where he parked it in front of Teyla.
"I'm going to leave you here on your own, buddy. I'll be just outside if you need me."
"Th…th..anks…Ch...che..wie."
Once he was sure that his friend was gone, he turned to look at his wife. And despite being ill and in stasis, she looked as poised and graceful as she ever had. Sure, her face and arms were covered with blemishes and scabs, and her body had wasted away. But she was still his wife and looked as beautiful as ever.
He had no idea what to say to her. His life was a mess, and if she ever came out of stasis, would she want to stick by him? Would she want to take their children and run as far away from him as possible? He may be disabled for the rest of his life, so if she were returned to health, he would give her the choice.
He put his hand up to the glass and muttered the words that he longed for her to hear, "I…Love…you…Te..yla."
For the next fifteen minutes, he sat and stared at his wife. All the while silently praying that somehow someone would find a cure for her.
oOo
Ronon stood patiently waiting for his friend, wondering if he'd had long enough with his wife. He couldn't imagine how he would react if he and Amelia were in the same situation as John and Teyla. He was surprised that Sheppard hadn't lost it before now - he probably would have.
At the moment, he was thinking of ways to try and cheer his friend up. He wondered why he hadn't told him Amelia was pregnant and having a little girl.
They hadn't told anyone except Torren and the little boy had promised to keep it secret. So it only seemed fair that his father should know. After much thought, he decided to tell John the good news over lunch.
A muffled shout came from inside the stasis room, so his first reaction was to think something was wrong.
"Are you alright, Sheppard?" He asked, rushing into the room.
"Ye..sss, t..ir…ed…hunnn..gry."
"I think we'll go to the infirmary for lunch then."
"S..ssoun..dss Goo..d."
Ten minutes later, when Sheppard was tucked up in bed, Carson walked in with two trays full of food.
"Here you go, Lads. I have your lunch here."
Once Carson had put the food on the table he took the lids off the trays."Hey Sheppard, there's pizza for lunch."
Sheppard looked at him with a lopsided grin, "Wh..er..ss the…be…er."
He chuckled at his friend, "I don't think it will go down too well with the meds you're taking.
Sheppeard nodded and continued to chuckle.
His friend seemed in a good mood. So perhaps, it was a good time to tell him that Amelia was having a baby.
"Ummm…Sheppard. I haven't told man people this, but Amelia's having a baby."
Sheppard stared at him with a blank look, "Wh..os…t th..e f…fath…er."
Ronon didn't miss the sly grin on his friend's face, and he burst out laughing. It wasn't long before Sheppard joined in.
"Ha…pp…y….for…you…g..gu…ys
For the next fifteen minutes, they ate in silence eating their meal. Although, it seemed as if Sheppard was struggling to feed himself. In the time it took him to eat four slices of pizza, John only managed to eat one. Leaving him wondering if his friend would ever eat enough to put on the weight he'd lost.
"T.. I, red," Sheppard announced when he'd finished his pizza.
"All right Buddy how about you go back to sleep, and later I'll get Amelia to bring Charin in to see you."
Ronon watched as his friend's eyelids began to droop, and it wasn't long before he was fast asleep.
While sitting and watching his friend sleep, he sent a silent prayer to whoever was listening that Sheppard and Teyla would be made whole again.
TBC…
Now they know when and where they are.
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