"Simply amazing," Carson muttered as he read the results of his latest tests. "Sorting out the historic pathology will be fascinating to study."
"Doctor Beckett?" Sharon asked.
Carson looked up from the printout and saw Sharon standing in the lab's doorway. "My hypothesis was right," he said, holding up the paper.
"There's a genetic connection? How is that possible?"
"No idea," Carson replied. "But I hope to find out once this crisis is past." He added the printout to a file folder and walked toward the door. "I need to talk to Elizabeth and show her these results."
He crossed the infirmary and looked down on the isolation room below. "How are our patients?"
"Not much change," Sharon replied. "Sergeant Stackhouse is awake. The others are sleeping."
Carson nodded. "To be expected, I suppose. This quelen fever is a much nastier beastie than the Earth-based variant."
He watched Amelia, the shift nurse in the room below, walk from bed to bed, making notes on a computer. Sergeant Stackhouse sat up in one of the beds, reading a book. The other two Marines and the three scientists in the quarantine area with him were all asleep.
Carson glanced at Sharon. "And no new cases?"
"Not for the last two days," Sharon replied. "Dana reported from the mainland while you were busy in the lab. She hasn't seen any new patients since yesterday morning. She still has several patients with high fevers, but their rashes are starting to crust."
Carson blew out a breath and nodded. "Hopefully, that means we're past the contagious stage. Now all we need to do is deal with the patients we currently have."
Amelia stopped beside Stackhouse's bed and said something Carson couldn't hear.
Thomas glanced up from his book and said something that made Amelia shake her head, and Carson imagined her smiling behind her mask.
Amelia jotted something on the tablet computer and moved to the next bed.
"You know it's true," Stackhouse said loud enough for the mic in the room to pick up.
Carson narrowed his eyes and pressed the talk button on the microphone. "And just what might that be, Thomas lad."
Stackhouse looked up with a guilty expression and waved. "Oh, hi, Doc. Didn't know you were up there."
"So I gathered," Carson replied. "If you're done harassing my nurses, you can tell me how you're feeling."
Stackhouse grinned and replied, "Not too bad. Still kinda tired, but the pain isn't as bad, and I'm awake at least," he added, glancing at his sleeping roommates.
"Glad to hear it. If all goes well, you should be able to return to your quarters in another day or two." Carson clicked off the mic. "Sharon, I'll be back in a tick."
A few minutes later, he entered the control room and nodded to Chuck as he crossed the room to the bridge leading to Elizabeth's office.
"You are clear to land on the North pier," Chuck said, and Carson paused.
"The Daedalus," Chuck said to Carson and pressed one of the console tiles.
"They made good time getting back here," Carson said.
Chuck nodded. "Must have pushed the engines to the limit."
"Good. The sooner I can get to that planet and check on Rodney, the better." He crossed the bridge and tapped Elizabeth's door frame.
"Carson, come in," Elizabeth said, and waved him toward one of the chairs in front of her desk. "Good news. Daedalus just arrived."
"So I heard," Carson replied as he sat across from Weir.
"Assuming Colonel Caldwell didn't run into any problems pushing the ship, I'm hoping he can take you and your medical team to P4J-631 this afternoon."
"Good. If Rodney did come down with this quelen fever, he's likely very ill by now."
Elizabeth frowned. "Only Rodney? I thought you were concerned about him and Colonel Sheppard."
"That was before I realised what we were dealing with," Carson said. He handed the folder to Elizabeth. "Quelen fever is in the same virus family as chicken pox."
Elizabeth looked up from the folder in surprise. "Chicken pox? You're certain?"
Carson nodded and smiled. "The last tests I ran this morning confirmed it. It's not the exact same strain of the varicella virus as the Earth version, but it's close enough that anyone who has had chicken pox is immune to quelen fever."
Elizabeth closed the folder. "And that's why so few of our people became ill?"
Carson nodded. "And why Colonel Sheppard is probably not sick. According to his file, he had chicken pox when he was ten."
"And I take it Rodney never had it?"
"No, he didn't," Carson confirmed and turned when he heard a tap on the door behind him.
"Colonel Caldwell," Elizabeth greeted. "Come in."
"Doctor Weir," Caldwell said as he stepped into the office. "Doctor Beckett. Did I hear right? That this disease you're so concerned about is just the chicken pox?"
Carson saw the mix of amusement and frustration in Caldwell's expression and frowned. "Not quite, Colonel," he replied. "There are some significant differences. And with any illness that affects mostly children, adults who catch the virus have a more severe reaction."
"How are our people?" Elizabeth asked.
"Stable," Carson replied. "There have been no new cases in the city for a day, and while several still have high fevers, no one is critical."
Caldwell shook his head. "Doctor Weir, you led me to believe this was an emergency. It sounds like you have everything well in hand."
"We have the cases here and on the mainland contained," Carson told him. "Colonel Sheppard's team was off-world before we knew they had been exposed."
"But you don't know if any of them are actually sick," Caldwell countered.
"Doctor McKay was on the mainland when the outbreak started," Carson said. "Chances are high he is sick. Several of our people have needed IV fluids as well as other medical support while fighting this illness. Rodney has had none of that. Needless to say, I'm more than a bit concerned about what we will find when we get to him."
"If things were this bad, why didn't you just send another team in a jumper?" Caldwell asked.
"Because we are unsure where they are on the planet," Elizabeth replied. "The sensors on the Daedalus can cover the whole planet. A jumper would need to be in range of the shuttle's transponder signal or their subcutaneous chips to pick them up."
Caldwell glanced from Carson to Elizabeth, then blew out a breath. "All right. What sort of situation do they have on P4J-631? I'd like to at least know what I'm getting my people and my ship into before walking into a firefight."
"The planet is deserted," Elizabeth replied. "At least, that's what Colonel Sheppard's team was trying to determine. Once we were sure there wasn't a population, we planned to have the Daedalus collect the stargate for Rodney's 'gate bridge project."
"What about my crew?" Caldwell asked, turning to Carson. "How contagious is this, this quelen fever?"
"From the infection rates I've calculated, it's highly contagious," Carson said. "However, we haven't seen any new cases for twenty-four hours, so we might be past the worst phase. I can also run a search of your crew roster. Anyone who did not have chicken pox as a child should remain here. That will minimise any chances of creating another outbreak."
"All right -" Caldwell started to say but stopped when the stargate lit up.
"We have an incoming wormhole," Chuck announced over the open channel.
Elizabeth pressed her lips into a thin line. "Raise the shield," she ordered, leading the others out of the office and over to Chuck's console.
The wormhole formed, and Elizabeth glanced over the railing as the shield activated and the Marines took defensive positions in front of the 'gate.
"I'm receiving an IDC," Chuck said a moment later, then looked up at Elizabeth in surprise. "It's Ronon."
Carson exchanged a worried glance with Elizabeth.
"That cannot be good," Carson said.
"No," Elizabeth replied. "I suggest you have a medical team standing by."
Carson nodded, stepped away from the railing, and tapped his radio, "Sharon, please come in."
"Lower the shield," Elizabeth ordered.
"Doctor Beckett?" Sharon said.
"It seems Colonel Sheppard's team managed to get back to the 'gate after all. Send -"
"Ronon," Elizabeth said from behind Carson. "Where is the rest of your team?"
Carson turned and glanced over the railing in surprise.
Ronon stood in the gateroom, alone, looking up at Elizabeth as the 'gate shut down.
"Hold on, Sharon," Carson said. "Something is wrong."
He tapped off the radio and followed Elizabeth down the stairs.
"Jumper crashed," Ronon reported to Weir.
"Are you all right?" Elizabeth asked. "What about the rest of your team?"
"Team's fine," Ronon replied and glanced at Carson. "McKay is sick. Quelen fever."
"I was afraid of that," Carson replied. "How bad is he?"
Ronon hesitated. "Sheppard says the fever is getting worse."
Carson pressed his lips into a thin line and turned to Caldwell standing near the stairs. "I need that crew roster, Colonel. The sooner I clear your people, the sooner we can leave."
"I'll get you the list," Caldwell replied. "Mister Dex, I also need to know everything you can tell me about the whereabouts of the rest of your team."
Carson followed Ronon, Elizabeth, and Caldwell up the stairs and turned toward the exit while the others returned to Elizabeth's office. He waved his hand over the transporter sensor a moment later and tapped his earpiece.
"Sharon, change of plans," he said over the radio as he tapped the section with the infirmary on the map.
~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~
John stood outside the tent, stretching the kinks from his back and neck as he watched the sunrise. At least the weather has finally decided to cooperate, he thought as he rubbed his head.
How much of the headache was from yet another sleepless night? he wondered. And how much was it the link reacting to Rodney being sick?
He dropped his hand and considered the recent changes in the mental bond. This wasn't happening a year ago, he reminded himself. Until recently, it took a serious injury for the link to react.
John glanced at the tent.
If the link had changed this much in just a year … John shook his head. He still didn't see ascension in his future, but would they reach the point where they no longer had a choice in the matter?
The dull ache flared, and John winced.
He had stopped taking the ibuprofen Teyla offered him when he realised there wasn't enough for him and Rodney. Teyla hadn't liked the idea but had acquiesced once John pointed out they needed something to keep Rodney's fever under control.
Not that it mattered, John thought, rubbing the back of his head. They'd run out of the pills anyway.
McKay had become steadily worse as the previous day had progressed without the ibuprofen to help keep the fever in check. As the afternoon had progressed and McKay only got worse, John had silently thanked Ronon for leaving when he did.
By the evening, Rodney had been restless and muttering incoherently. After signing off with Ronon, John and Teyla had spent the night in shifts trying to keep McKay hydrated and somewhat calm.
How long would it take Dex to reach the 'gate? John wondered.
A flock of birds circled the clearing before settling on the pine trees behind the jumper.
Had Dex slept at all? John wondered. Or had he ignored the order to rest and pressed on through the night?
Rodney's fevered mutterings carried out of the tent, and John heard Teyla trying to reassure him that everything was all right.
"Any time now would be great," John muttered at the sky.
He glanced up at the clear blue sky, and when he didn't see a jumper materialise over their campsite, he walked over to the banked fire, stirred the embers to life, and added a few larger sticks. Once the fire was going, he knelt and warmed his hands over the flames.
"John," Teyla said, stepping out of the tent. She zipped the flap closed, walked over the fire, and stood beside him. "Are you all right?"
John nodded and stood. "I'm fine."
He saw Teyla's skeptical expression and shrugged. "The headache and itch are getting worse," he admitted, "but there's nothing we can do about either, so don't worry about it." John jerked his chin toward the tent. "How is he?"
Teyla pressed her lips into a thin line. "I am becoming concerned. The fever is too high, and he is less and less coherent."
"Yeah," John muttered, focusing on the red and orange flames.
"If you want to try to sleep after breakfast, I will sit with Rodney."
John waved off the suggestion and rubbed his head. "No, I'll stay with him. He seems a little calmer with me."
Teyla hid a smile behind her hand.
"What?" John demanded.
"Nothing," Teyla replied. "Have you heard from Ronon this morning?"
John nodded. "He radioed a little while ago." He glanced at the tent and then the sky.
"Is he all right? You seem concerned."
"Ronon is fine," John replied.
"But still, you are concerned."
John pinched the bridge of his nose. "When he radioed, Ronon sounded out of breath, like he was running." John glanced at Teyla, saw her puzzled expression, and continued, "I suspect he was up before the sun rose." Assuming he slept at all, he silently added.
"You did say last night that Ronon believed it would take most of the day to reach the stargate. It does not surprise me that he wanted an early start."
"Yeah, I know. I just hope he doesn't end up sick, hurt, or dead as a result," John replied.
"I am certain Ronon will be fine," Teyla said. She squeezed John's arm and stood.
"Where are you going? I was going to start some coffee."
Teyla turned toward the tent. "If it will be several hours before anyone finds us, we must do what we can to keep Rodney comfortable until Doctor Beckett arrives."
She stepped into the tent and returned a moment later carrying the shallow basin of water and the towel they'd been using to sponge down McKay. She crossed the camp and poured out the water near the forest's edge.
"We are almost out of water," Teyla said as she returned to the tent.
John nodded and stood. "I'll take the can down to the lake and fill it."
He entered the tent behind Teyla, picked up the nearly empty water can, filled the basin for her, and glanced at Rodney, who was mumbling as he shifted under the blanket.
Teyla sat on the crate beside McKay and dipped the towel in the cool water. She squeezed out the excess and reached toward Rodney but stopped when McKay's eyes opened, and he gripped Teyla's arm.
"Kolya has John. Have to find John. Find John. Find John."
John froze near the tent flap.
"John is all right," Teyla replied in a calm voice. "We found him in time. Do you remember?"
Rodney shook his head, and John saw Teyla wince as Rodney tightened his hold on her arm.
"No, no, no. Not listening. No one listening. Have to find John. Wraith. There's a Wraith. Killing John."
Teyla looked up at John. Talk to him, she mouthed, and John nodded.
John set the water can near the tent flap and approached Teyla. He carefully pried Rodney's fingers off Teyla's arm and sat on the crate once Teyla stood.
"Hey," John said, laying Rodney's arm at his side. "Hey, buddy. You need to calm down."
"Find John. Have to … Find John," Rodney muttered, tossing his head back and forth.
Rodney pushed the blanket aside, and John grimaced at the soiled bandage wrapped around McKay's chest. Along with the ibuprofen, they were also out of gauze, and Teyla had used the last of the salve the previous afternoon.
"Rodney, I'm right here," John tried again.
Teyla tapped John's arm, then handed him the basin and the towel.
"Wraith. Wraith. Killing Sheppard," Rodney muttered.
John gave up talking and ran the cloth over Rodney's arms, dipped the towel into the water again, rang it out, and tried placing it on Rodney's forehead.
"Have to find John," Rodney muttered, shifting away from John. "Too late. Carson said … too late. Can't be too late. Can't … Can't"
John looked up at Teyla with a puzzled expression. "What is he talking about?"
"It was after Kolya's second video," Teyla explained. "Doctor Beckett informed us he was unsure how long you would survive after one feeding, much less several. He told us that even if we did find you, your chances of surviving for long in an aged state were slim."
John ducked his head. He knew Kolya had meant to spread pain to more than just him with his video messages. Hearing McKay's fevered ramblings proved how right he'd been.
He ran the cloth over Rodney's arms and face, wetted the towel again and placed it on Rodney's forehead.
"Everything is going to be all right, buddy," John said. "Kolya isn't going to hurt either one of us again."
McKay's ramblings fell back into incoherence, and he drifted into a restless sleep a few minutes later.
John adjusted the blanket covering McKay and stood. "Here," he said, pushing the basin into Teyla's hands.
"John?" Teyla asked as she sat on the crate.
"I'll be right back," John replied. He picked up the water can and ducked out of the tent.
He crossed the campsite and stood just out of sight of the tent in the trees leading to the lake. Once he was sure Teyla couldn't see him, he dropped the can and paced back and forth, trying to burn off the angry energy. After a few moments, he took several deep breaths and forced his temper back under control.
Kolya is not the priority, John reminded himself as he picked up the can. Right now, your job is to keep Rodney from getting worse until you can get him back to Beckett.
He followed the muddy path down to the lake and stared across the calm water. A large, black bird dove into the center of the lake, rose a moment later with a fish in its beak, and flew out over the trees.
John watched the bird disappear into the distance, then knelt at the lake edge and filled the water can. Once the can was full, he tightened the lid and watched the water disturbed by the bird ripple against the shore.
The reckoning was coming, though, he promised himself. Kolya wasn't going to get another chance to inflict more pain.
He took a deep breath, letting the calmness of the water settle his mind, then turned back toward their camp.
John spent the rest of the day either sitting with Rodney or standing near the edge of the clearing, where he could glimpse a bit of the valley far below, hoping to see a jumper heading toward them. By the time the sun started to set, Rodney's fever had spiked again, and there was still no sign of Ronon or a rescue team from Atlantis.
"Any time you guys want to show up," John grumbled, rubbing his aching head as he stared down at the darkening valley.
A few moments later, he heard the tent zipper, turned, and saw Teyla step out of the tent with a large pot filled with water in one hand. She set the pot by the fire and walked over to John.
"How's Rodney?" John asked.
"The fever and rash are much the same," Teyla replied with a sad smile.
John grimaced. "Were you able to get him to drink anything?"
Teyla pressed her lips into a thin line and shook her head.
John frowned and turned back to the tent. "We need to get something down him. He's likely getting dehydrated, and probably hypoglycaemic."
"You need to eat something, too," Teyla replied. She returned to the fire and held up two MRE packages. "Would you like the beef stew or the spaghetti?"
John shrugged. "Either is fine. I'll go check on Rodney while you deal with dinner."
He took a few steps toward the tent and froze when he heard his name over the radio.
"Colonel Sheppard, come in, please."
John stared at Teyla in surprise and tapped his radio.
"Colonel Caldwell?" John responded. He motioned to Teyla, who tapped her earpiece. "I'm surprised to hear your voice, sir. I thought Daedalus was on its way back to Earth."
"Doctor Weir informed us of a medical emergency in Atlantis a few days ago," Caldwell replied. "We radioed Stargate Command about the emergency and turned around. We got here as quickly as we could."
"How did she know?" John whispered to Teyla.
Teyla shook her head.
"Colonel Sheppard?" Beckett said over the open channel before Teyla could reply. "How is Rodney?"
"Not great," John said. "He's got a rash and a high fever, and he's not really coherent."
"I was afraid of that," Carson said.
"Doctor, if you don't mind," Caldwell said. "Colonel Sheppard, I have a group, including Doctor Beckett, ready to beam down to your location. Please stand by."
John tapped off his radio and watched three people materialise on the other side of the camp near the jumper.
"Colonel? Where is Rodney?" Carson asked, walking over to John with Ronon and a female med-tech in tow.
"He's in there," John said, pointing at the tent.
Carson nodded and turned toward the tent. "Come with me," he said to the med-tech. "I'll do a quick preliminary exam, and then we need to get him prepped for transport."
"Yes, Doctor," the woman replied. She nodded and set her gear on the ground near the tent.
"Wait!" John said as Carson opened the tent. "Teyla says this quelen fever is contagious. Shouldn't you be in a bio-suit?"
"It's all right, Colonel," Carson said, unzipping the flap. "I know all about quelen fever. Several of the scientists from the mainland, along with a few Marines, are also ill. We've spent the better part of the last week dealing with the outbreak."
"Quelen fever usually does not affect so many adults," Teyla said.
Carson smiled. "That's probably because most people in the Pegasus galaxy were exposed to the virus as children."
"Virus?" John asked.
Carson smiled. "Varicella virus, to be exact."
'Varicella', John mouthed, then stared at Carson. "Chicken pox?"
"Aye," Carson replied. "It's not quite the same version as we have on Earth, but close enough. Which explains why you are not sick while Rodney is."
"What is chicken pox?" Teyla asked.
"It's also a common childhood illness," John replied. "Fever, itchy rash. I had it when I was ten."
"And Rodney never did," Carson added.
"Figures," John muttered.
"Not to worry, Colonel. As I said, I've had plenty of practice over the last few days. I should have Rodney right as rain soon enough."
John followed Carson into the tent and watched Beckett kneel beside Rodney.
"Rodney?" Carson called softly as he rested his hand on McKay's forehead.
Rodney shifted under Carson's hand and muttered something John couldn't catch.
Carson frowned, pulled a thermometer out of his bag, and inserted it into Rodney's ear. A moment later, the device beeped, causing McKay to flinch, and Carson frowned.
"One hundred and three."
"We ran out of meds yesterday," John explained.
Carson grunted and peeked under the gauze. "The blisters have not fully scabbed over." He sat back on his heels with a sigh and glanced at John. "Have you been about to get him to eat or drink anything?"
John walked over to the table and picked up one of the water bottles half-full of purple liquid. "We've tried. I've only been able to get him to drink about half the bottle since last night."
"I'll check his sugar numbers once I have him in the Daedalus' infirmary," Carson said. He turned to the med tech standing near the table. "Get an IV started, then call Colonel Caldwell. He needs to send us directly to the isolation area in the infirmary."
"Yes, Doctor," the woman replied.
She knelt and reached for Rodney's right arm.
"Don't!" Carson exclaimed.
The woman jumped. "Sir?"
"His left arm," Carson told her. "Trust me."
The woman gave him a bewildered look but reached for Rodney's left arm.
Carson tapped John's shoulder and motioned him over to the other side of the tent. "Here," he said, holding out a blister packet.
"How did -" John started to say but stopped when Carson gave him a stern look.
Carson shook his head. "I could tell the moment I saw you that you were fighting a headache."
John shrugged even as he popped a couple of pills out of the packaging and swallowed them with some of the purple water. "Couldn't be helped."
"Doctor Beckett?" the med-tech called a moment later. "Daedalus is ready to transport us."
"Thank you," Carson said. He walked over to Rodney, and a moment later, Beckett, Rodney, and the tech disappeared in a flash of light.
John staggered a step as the headache and itch suddenly disappeared. He braced his hand on the table, took a couple of deep breaths, then stood straight, picked up the half-full water can and left the tent.
"Ronon, Teyla," John said as he poured water over the fire. "Pack up. We need to get everything back into the jumper. "
Two hours later, Ronon carried the tent, now packed inside a large canvas bag, into the jumper, and Teyla followed with the last supply crate. John stowed the tent in the netting over the bench seat while Teyla pushed the crate under the opposite seat.
"That was the last crate," Teyla said, following John down the ramp.
John nodded and surveyed the empty campsite. All that remained was the broken-down windbreak, the wet ashes from their fire, and the damaged ship.
"Good work," he said to Ronon and Teyla. "Time to go home." He tapped his earpiece and glanced toward the sky. "Daedalus, this is Sheppard."
"Go ahead," an anonymous voice responded.
"Camp is cleared, and we're ready to leave."
"Copy that, sir. Please stand by."
A moment later, there was a flash of light, and John stood on the Daedalus bridge. The headache and itch returned as soon as the beam released him, and John tried not to groan.
"Colonel," Caldwell greeted and nodded to Teyla and Ronon.
"Colonel," John replied, resisting the urge to support his weight on a nearby console or rub the back of his head. "The campsite is cleared, and everything is stored inside the jumper."
"Good," Caldwell replied, nodding to the woman standing at one of the stations behind him.
"I can come back with McKay in a few days," John started to say, but Caldwell held up a hand.
"When you're ready," Caldwell said to the female technician.
"Yes, sir," the woman replied.
"Umm," John said with a puzzled frown. "What are -"
"Jumper secure in the bay, sir," the woman reported a moment later.
"Very good," Caldwell said. He spun the command chair until he faced forward and added, "Captain, ready the FTL drive."
"Yes, sir," the man seated to Caldwell's left replied.
John glanced at the woman standing at the control station and then at Teyla and Ronon.
"Captain, set a course -"
"Colonel Caldwell," John said, his headache forgotten as he stepped over to the command chair. "Before you do that, there's one more stop we need to make."