Rodney moaned and curled, shivering, onto his side, facing the tent.
"We need to get his fever down," Teyla said.
John nodded and tugged Rodney's shirt, trying to get it over his head without disturbing him.
Rodney groaned and shifted away from him.
"Ronon," John said, glancing behind him.
Ronon traded places with Teyla and lifted Rodney's shoulders. John quickly stripped off the sweaty shirt, then reached for McKay's belt. Once he had Rodney's trousers off, they laid him on top of the sleeping bag.
"I thought you said this quelen fever was something only kids got," John said, as Rodney moaned and rolled onto his side. John grimaced when he saw more of the rash covering Rodney's back.
"It is a common childhood illness," Teyla replied. "I had it when I was seven." She paused and her voice turned wistful. "At the time, I had only been living with Charin for a few months after my father was culled." She stared at the flashlight balanced on the table, then sighed and wiped her cheek.
John waited a few moments, then tapped her arm.
Teyla glanced at him with a watery smile.
John patted her hand, then glanced at Ronon. "What about you?"
"Had it as a kid," Ronon replied.
Teyla shook herself and squeezed John's hand. "The illness mostly affects children, but there have been cases where adults who were never exposed as children caught the illness."
John pressed his lips into a thin line. "And let me guess, getting it as an adult is worse than getting it as a kid."
Teyla nodded. "I am afraid so."
"So what are we looking at here?"
"For children, there is a fever," she pointed to Rodney's chest, "and the rash, which can feel like the skin is on fire. Fighting the fever and the pain from the rash leaves the child in a near-stupor." She glanced at Rodney. "In the worst cases, it is difficult to rouse them for simple things such as food or medicine."
"And adults?" John asked.
"The symptoms are much the same, but more extreme."
"How long for this quelen fever to run its course?"
Teyla glanced at Ronon, and John knew from their expressions that he wouldn't like the answer.
"Hours? Days?" he demanded.
"Several days, at least," Teyla replied. "Possibly as long as a week." She placed her hand on Rodney's forehead. "I believe Rodney started feeling the effects of the fever even before the jumper crashed. He seemed out of sorts while we were in the tower yesterday. I also noticed him wincing and rubbing his head several times while trying to repair the jumper."
John thought back to the hike to the jumper and the flight to the tower. He had seen the pain lines around McKay's eyes and felt the itch at the back of his skull but had thought it was the result of John's actions, mistaking McKay for the Wraith. He had never considered the possibility Rodney was getting sick.
He scrubbed a hand over his chin. "Great. And we're stuck in the middle of nowhere with a broken jumper, and the 'gate is miles away."
Teyla glanced at Ronon then said, "John, there is something else."
John dropped his hand and stared at Teyla. Fever, rash, and he's basically unconscious, John grumbled to himself. How much worse can this get?
"You should not be here," Teyla continued, her serious expression laced with compassion. "Quelen fever is contagious, and you have never had the illness. You risk becoming seriously ill yourself if you remain near him."
John shook his head. "I hear what you're saying, but I'm not going to leave him. Not after …" John let the sentence peter out as the memory of wrenching Rodney's arm floated to the top of his mind.
"He will not be alone," Teyla said. "Ronon and I will -"
John held up a hand, and Teyla stopped speaking.
"I've been within a few feet of him for the last two days," John said. "I'm already exposed. I'm staying."
Teyla sighed, and John was relieved when she didn't continue to push.
"So how do we cure this?" John asked into the silence.
"There is no cure," Teyla replied. "The illness must run its course."
"Somehow, I just knew you would say that," John grunted.
Rodney groaned and rolled onto his back.
John waited a few seconds until he settled, then asked, "There's nothing we can do for him?"
"There are remedies to help with the symptoms," Teyla replied. "Certain herbs can help with the fever, and there is a salve made from different plants to help with the rash."
"We're pretty high in elevation," John pointed out. "Are you going to find what you need around here?"
Teyla hesitated. "Possibly."
John stood, wincing as his knee protested, and unzipped the tent flap.
"Where are you going?" Teyla asked.
"To get the med kit out of the jumper," John replied. "There should be something in there that will at least help with the fever."
"We also need something light to cover him. A sleeping bag is too heavy."
It was still dark, but John saw a lightening in the sky to the east as he stepped out of the tent and re-zipped the flap. An hour or two before it's light, he told himself as he rubbed his hands up and down his arms, regretting the jacket he'd left inside the tent.
He dropped his hands and detoured around their banked firepit on the way to the ship. He hurried into the jumper, found the med kit in the overhead netting, and pulled out the bulky green bag emblazoned with a red cross. He glanced at the tent on the other side of the camp, saw the flap was still zipped closed, and slumped onto the nearest bench seat.
This was supposed to be a simple mission, he grumbled to himself. Survey an abandoned planet and recover a 'gate. "How had so much gone so wrong in such a short time?" he asked the bulkhead.
The flashback and Rodney's bombshell about the link.
John scrubbed a hand across his forehead and tried to ignore the itch at the back of his skull. He had hoped to find a chance to talk to Rodney about what happened in the forest, apologise, and talk about this new manifestation with the link before they returned to Atlantis and faced a barrage of questions from Weir, Beckett, and Zelenka.
Then, they barely escaped an Ancient tower that wasn't an Ancient tower only to have the jumper crash-land miles from the 'gate.
"And now, on top of everything else, McKay is sick," John grumbled.
"For a man who thinks he will catch every passing bug, Rodney is surprisingly resistant to getting sick."
"Maybe that's the secret," John replied. "He scares off the viruses with his complaining."
"Figures he managed to dodge the flu but catches some sort of weird Pegasus galaxy virus," John muttered at the floor. He glanced at the tent and scowled. "And Beckett may as well be in another galaxy since you have no way to get Rodney back to him thanks to crashing the jumper. What else can go wrong?"
He stared at the tent again. You'll just have to hope Teyla can find what she needs to help him, he decided.
He dropped his hand and sat with his arms braced on his knees, staring at the jumper floor. He sat for a few seconds, then blew out a breath and sat up straight.
"Pull yourself together, Sheppard," he ordered himself and stood. "You aren't helping McKay by sitting here, feeling sorry for yourself."
He opened the med kit and nodded when he found a few chemical ice packs and the blister packs of ibuprofen. He then stood, checked the crates stored in the netting, found a thin blanket, and headed back to the tent.
John tossed the blanket over his shoulder, bent to unzip the tent flap, and took a hurried step back when the flap opened, and Ronon stepped outside.
"Ronon?" John asked. "Something else happen?"
Ronon shook his head and buttoned his leather duster. "Going to have a look around."
John watched Dex cross the camp, then re-entered the tent and knelt at Rodney's side. He grimaced when he saw the brick-red rash covering McKay's chest then covered him with the thin blanket.
"Find one of the water bottles," he said to Teyla, standing near the table. "We need to try and get him to drink something and swallow a couple of these." He held up the blister pack of pills.
Teyla found a bottle of water in one of the crates under the table and handed it to John.
John nodded his thanks, popped two pills from the pack and opened the bottle. "Rodney?" he called and tapped Rodney's cheek.
Rodney groaned low in his throat but otherwise didn't react.
"Come on, buddy," John cajoled. "You need to try and drink something."
Rodney turned his head in John's direction but never opened his eyes.
John glanced at Teyla, then held out his hand with the pills. "I'll hold him up. You try and get him to swallow those."
Teyla nodded and took the pills. She knelt on Rodney's other side, and John handed her the water bottle.
John wrapped his arm behind Rodney's shoulders and lifted him high enough that he could brace McKay against his chest.
Rodney groaned as John moved him. "Le' me 'lone," he muttered and tried to lie down.
John adjusted his hold and grimaced when he felt the heat radiating from McKay's body.
"Rodney," Teyla called softly. "I have water." She tapped Rodney's lip with the bottle.
McKay muttered an incoherent reply but opened his mouth.
Teyla popped in the pills, and McKay managed to swallow the pills along with several gulps of water before he turned his head away from Teyla and slumped against John.
John laid him down and pulled up the blanket. "The fever is getting worse," he said.
"Yes," Teyla replied. "I fear the pills will not be enough. We need to do something else to bring it down."
"I think I have something that might help."
John stood and felt his knee throb in response. He glanced around the tent, then walked over to the table, tugged one of the larger crates out from under the table, and dragged it back over to Rodney's side of the tent.
He sat on the crate and ignored Teyla's questioning frown as he stretched out his sore knee and picked up the medkit. He pulled out two large chemical ice packs, cracked each, and shook them to mix the chemicals.
"Here," he said to Teyla, holding out the packs. "Put one on each side of him."
Teyla took the packs and placed one under each of Rodney's arms.
Rodney groaned and tried to push away the packs.
"Hey, leave those alone," John said softly to McKay. "They're there to help."
Rodney stopped moving, and John saw a knowing smile cross Teyla's lips as she readjusted the packs.
"What?" John asked, suddenly uncomfortable.
"It is nothing," she said. She pulled the blanket up to Rodney's chest and sat back on her heels.
"Uh huh," John replied. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Teyla.
"You truly do not see it?" she asked.
"See what?" John replied with a frown.
Teyla reached across Rodney and rested a hand on John's arm. "Even after everything that has happened, he still trusts you." She glanced at John. "Perhaps you should trust him as well?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Teyla squeezed his arm and stood. "Talk to him. Hearing a friendly voice will help to keep him calm."
John glanced at her as she walked past him and set the water bottle on the table.
"It may help you as well," she added.
John snorted and shook his head. First Heightmeyer and now Teyla. Why did everyone think he wanted to talk about what happened? he wondered. While he was willing to be a friendly ear for Rodney or Teyla, he was not the sharing type. His father had drilled into him at a young age that Sheppard men did not discuss such things.
Teyla pulled on her coat, crossed the tent, and unzipped the flap.
"Where are you going?" John asked.
"The rash is painful. However, the fever is the immediate concern. How many more ice packs do we have?"
"Two," John replied. "Which I'm assuming won't be nearly enough."
"No," Teyla agreed. "I will find a basin for water and a cloth."
John nodded as Teyla left the tent and glanced down at Rodney. "Beckett warned me more than once that you don't do things by halves. Guess he was right."
Rodney murmured in his sleep and turned his head toward John.
John reached down and rested a hand on Rodney's sweaty shoulder. "Just hang in there, buddy."
Teyla re-entered the tent several minutes later, carrying a shallow bowl and a small towel. "Ronon has food ready," she said as she set the basin on the table.
John nodded, stood, and poured water into the bowl.
"I will stay with Rodney while you eat," Teyla offered.
She knelt beside Rodney, set the bowl to one side and dipped the towel into the water. She squeezed the excess water from the towel and ran the wet cloth over Rodney's flushed cheeks.
John watched her for a few moments, then grabbed his jacket and left the tent.
The first rays of sunlight highlighted the tops of the nearby peaks as he walked over to the fire and sat across from Ronon.
Ronon handed him an MRE pouch and poured John a cup of coffee.
John accepted the food and wrapped his hands around the warm cup. "Any trouble?"
Ronon shook his head. "Saw a bear earlier."
John raised an eyebrow.
"Black bear," Ronon said. "It was moving down the mountain."
John ate a few bites of his breakfast, glanced up, and found Ronon watching him.
"What?" John asked.
Ronon balled up his empty MRE pouch. "We're just going to sit here?"
"You have a better idea?" John retorted. "The jumper is grounded, and our mechanic is sick. Unless you know how to fix the ship, we're kinda stuck here."
"Could head for the 'gate on foot," Ronon said. "Bring back help."
John considered the idea for a few seconds, then shook his head. "We're not desperate enough for that," he replied. "Teyla thinks this quelen fever will run its course in a few days. Once McKay feels better, he can fix the ship, and we can get back to Atlantis."
Ronon shrugged, downed the contents of his cup, and shook his head.
John narrowed his eyes. "Something you want to say?"
"No," Ronon replied and stood. He entered the jumper and walked out a few seconds later carrying a small axe.
"What's that for?" John asked.
"Weather coming in," Ronon said and nodded at the peaks behind the camp. "Going to need something to protect the tent."
John glanced at the gathering clouds behind the mountains and frowned. "You had to ask," he muttered.
"Ask what?"
John waved Ronon toward the trees. "Never mind. I'll go relieve Teyla and let her know her window for finding her plants is closing faster than we thought."
Ronon disappeared into the trees, and John spent a few minutes cleaning up the area around the fire pit before re-entering the tent.
"Teyla," John whispered as he unzipped the flap and stepped inside the tent.
Teyla sat on the ground next to Rodney, who appeared asleep. Teyla dipped the towel in the basin, squeezed out the excess water, and placed the towel on Rodney's forehead.
John tossed his jacket on his bedroll, crept over to the crate next to McKay, and sat. "How's he doing?"
"The fever appears no higher," Teyla replied. "However, the rash is getting worse."
She moved the blanket, and John saw the splotches were a darker red and tiny white blisters dotted Rodney's skin.
"Ronon says we've got weather coming in," John said as Teyla recovered McKay. "I'm not sure how long you have to find the plants you need."
Teyla nodded, picked up the basin, and stood. She stepped out of the tent, and a moment later, John heard a soft splash. She walked inside the tent, refilled the basin from the water can, and handed the bowl to John.
"I will leave now," she said. "Hopefully, it will not take me long to find the necessary ingredients."
John set the bowl at his feet as Teyla left the tent.
Rodney muttered in his sleep and pushed at the blanket.
John removed the spent cold packs, dug the last two out of the medkit, cracked them, and placed one under each of Rodney's arms.
Rodney squirmed against the cold packs and muttered incoherently.
John removed the now-warm cloth, placed his hand on Rodney's forehead and frowned. "So much for keeping the fever under control," he muttered.
He dipped the cloth in the basin, rang it out, and placed it on McKay's forehead. John adjusted the ice packs and the blanket, then sat back on the crate, staring at the canvas wall behind McKay's head.
"You can't suppress a trauma like this and expect it to stay buried. Unless you are willing to deal with it, it will continue to haunt you."
John grimaced at the memory of Heightmeyer's words as the flashback he'd had the previous day rose in his mind.
"Maybe this time, stuffing everything into a box isn't going to work," he admitted, glancing at Rodney.
"Talk to him. Hearing a friendly voice will help to keep him calm. It may help you as well."
A breeze rippled along the sides of the tent with a dull rumble, but other than a few birds in the nearby trees, John didn't hear anything unusual outside the tent.
Rodney shifted in his sleep, dislodging the towel.
John soaked it again, squeezed out the excess water, and draped the cloth across McKay's forehead.
He listened to the birds chirping for several more seconds, then blew out a breath.
If Elizabeth or Carson asks, you can honestly say you talked to Rodney, he told himself with another suspicious glance at the tent wall.
"Wouldn't hurt to make sure," he said.
He stood, peeked through the tent flap, and blew out a breath when he didn't see Ronon or Teyla in the camp. He zipped the flap closed, sat on the crate with his elbows resting on his knees, clasped his hands, and studied the tent floor.
"So what am I supposed to say here?" he wondered aloud. "That I nearly died? It's not the first time. Probably won't be the last." He remembered those last moments before the Wraith gave back what it had taken from him and glanced at McKay. "The pain was excruciating," he admitted. "Your blood feels like it's on fire. You're certain that if you move, your muscles will tear, and your bones will snap like twigs."
John shuddered and rubbed his hands up and down his thighs. "Then there's knowing your future is over. All that time. All the things you still wanted to do with your life are being sucked away, and there's not a damn thing you can do to fight back." John scrubbed a hand over his chin. "Feeling that once is bad enough, but that Wraith fed off me four times! Four times, I went through that agony. Each time, wondering if it would be the last."
John stood and paced the tent. "And then it was the last. Lying in that field. Right at the brink." He turned to Rodney and scowled. "You know, it isn't even the almost dying that haunts me. Dying while protecting others is part of the job I signed up for. No, it was realising that at that moment, I knew I had given up. I had stopped fighting. I had resigned myself to the fact that even if you and the others showed up, it was too late. At that moment, I just wanted that Wraith to put me out of my misery."
He walked back to the crate and sat down. "And now you tell me you were aware of all of that. That, thanks to the link, you know I was ready to just quit." John ducked his head and gave McKay a sideways glance. "Teyla thinks you still trust me. Right now, I'm not even sure if I trust myself. What happens the next time we run into Wraith?" he asked Rodney. "Will you still trust that I will do whatever it takes to keep you, Teyla, and Ronon alive?"
He stared at the floor. "Can I trust myself to fight and not freeze in fear at the thought of being fed on again?"
Rodney muttered, turned his head in John's direction, and pushed aside the blanket.
John caught a glimpse of the scars on Rodney's arm and grimaced. "And then there's Kolya. I made a promise almost two years ago that I would deal with Kolya once and for all. That I would make sure he never hurt you again. That didn't happen. Instead, you willingly went with him to Dagan to save the rest of us. Then Kolya nearly managed to get offworld with you when we ran into him on that mining planet."
John threw his hands in the air and stood, pacing from the tent flap to Rodney as his frustration mounted. "Some commanding officer I am," he groused. "Nearly giving up and incapable of dealing with one rogue Genii commander. Two years and Kolya is still out there. Still wreaking havoc. Still giving you -"
"Ko-ya," Rodney muttered. "No, no. Don' tell. Don' tell."
"Damn it," John muttered as he hurried back to Rodney's side. "Good job, Sheppard," he berated himself. "Just what he needs on top of some weird illness. Thinking Kolya is about to attack him again."
John sat on the ground next to McKay, ignored his protesting knee, and rested a hand on Rodney's shoulder.
"Don' tell," Rodney muttered. He tossed his head back and forth, and John frowned when he felt the fever heat and saw Rodney clutching his right arm to his chest.
"Sorry, sorry," John said. "Just calm down. Kolya isn't here, Rodney, I promise."
"Don', don'."
"Hey," John said, squeezing Rodney's shoulder. "Kolya isn't here. You're safe."
McKay's muttering drifted back into incoherence, and John covered him with the blanket.
He moved from the ground to the crate and glanced at the tent flap. "Come on, Teyla, where are you?"
John sat staring at the tent wall. "Is it any wonder -" he said and stopped when he heard a clatter outside. "What the …" he wondered and stood.
He rested his hand on the butt of the Beretta, unzipped the tent flap, and stepped outside. A gust of cold air blew past, and clouds over the mountains were thicker and darker, dimming the morning light.
John shivered and ducked back inside the tent for his jacket.
"Not good," he muttered with a grimace when he saw the tops of the nearby peaks hidden by the low-hanging cloud.
He heard more branches rustling behind the tent, unholstered the Beretta, and crept to the tent corner. He raised the Beretta, poked his head around the corner, and blew out a breath when he saw Ronon kneeling next to a tall frame made of tree branches. John spotted a pile of pine boughs behind Dex and suddenly had a horrible feeling.
How much of his confession to Rodney had Ronon heard? John wondered. He was reasonably confident that McKay would remember nothing of what John had said. Which was a big part of the reason why you said it, he admitted. But if Dex had heard him too …
"Great," John muttered under his breath as he holstered the Beretta, zipped his jacket, and walked around the tent.
Ronon glanced at him and then at the sky. "Storm will be here in a couple of hours," he said as he tied two thick branches together.
John crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. "What's all of this?" He waved his hand at the frame of stripped branches and pine boughs.
"Windbreak," Ronon replied with a sideways glance at John.
Another wind gust blew past, shaking the sides of the tent.
John looked up at the looming clouds and grimaced. "Maybe we should just move back into the jumper."
"Said it yourself. Not enough room." Ronon glanced at the sky. "Storm won't last more than a day, maybe two."
John nodded and stared at the trees. He caught Ronon watching him and blew out a breath.
"How much did you hear?" He nodded at the tent.
Ronon shrugged. "Some." He finished with the frame and began tying pine boughs to the rows of bare branches.
John felt his shoulders tighten. Damn, he thought, staring at the surrounding trees, so much for a private confession.
He ignored the bitter wind cutting across his face as he tried to decide what to do next. Leaders weren't supposed to let anyone see their weaknesses. It was bad for morale. If Ronon admitted to hearing some of what John had said, chances were high he had heard all of it, he realised.
Ronon grunted as he hefted the now complete windbreak and set it to one side, shaking John out of his train of thought.
John noted the frame was taller than Ronon, with three rows of overlapping pine boughs lined along the cross pieces of branches. Ronon had left the last eighteen inches of the frame bare, and John wondered how he planned to erect the break once he was done building it.
Ronon glanced at John then focused on laying out the branches to make another frame. "He won't escape again."
John glanced at Dex with a frown.
"Kolya," Ronon clarified. He finished tying two branches together and looked at John. "Next time is the last time."
"I've been saying that for two years now," John replied with a crooked smile. "He's still out there. Still gunning for McKay." John clenched his hands into fists. "He admitted he would have just as easily …" John paused and glanced at the tent. "I got the feeling Kolya saw capturing me almost as a consolation prize. He's terrorised McKay for years, and I haven't been able to do much to stop him."
Ronon finished constructing the branch frame and stared at John. "Not anymore."
John studied Dex, saw Dex's determined expression, and nodded. "I'm going to check on Rodney. Let me know when Teyla gets back."
Ronon laid out pine boughs on the second frame and jerked his chin toward the trees on the other side of the camp. "She's back."
John looked across the clearing and blew out a breath when he saw the bundles of leaves and flowers in Teyla's arms.
"Finally," John muttered under his breath.
He left Ronon to build his windbreak and met Teyla as she entered the camp.
"Colonel," Teyla greeted with a nod.
She sat beside the fire and laid the leaves and flowers on a convenient flat rock.
"Teyla," John replied. "I take it you found what you need?"
Teyla found a large pot amongst their cooking gear and filled it with water from her canteen. She set the pot next to the fire and began crushing the various leaves and flowers between two stones.
John felt his nose twitch at the pungent smell.
"I could not find everything, but I managed to locate what I hope will be viable substitutions."
John grimaced but let it go. There wasn't anything in the medical kit for the rash, he reminded himself. Even something that would only help a little was better than doing nothing.
Teyla looked up from crushing the various plants. "Once I apply the salve, we will need something to keep it in place."
"There should be plenty of gauze in the medical kit," John replied. "How long for …" he waved his hand at the pot.
"Not very long," Teyla replied. She added the crushed leaves and flowers to the bubbling water. "I will let you know when the salve is ready."
John nodded, walked to the tent, unzipped the flap, and ducked inside. Rodney hadn't moved. He still lay curled on his side, facing the side of the tent. John glanced at his watch, then walked over to the table, found a bottle of water in one of the crates, and dug a couple of drink packets out of his pack. John dumped the powder into the bottle, shook it, then picked up the blister pack of ibuprofen and walked over to Rodney.
"Hey," John said in a low voice as he sat on the crate.
Rodney didn't react to the call.
John grimaced and bent forward. "Rodney?" he tried again and shook McKay's arm. "You need to try and drink some of this."
Rodney moaned but didn't move.
"Rodney!" John said a little louder.
McKay rolled onto his back, groaned, and cracked open his eyes. "Wha?"
"I know you feel pretty awful," John said. "Teyla's putting something together that should help." He held up the bottle of purple liquid. "You need to drink some of this. You don't want to deal with low blood sugar on top of everything else."
Rodney stared at him, his eyes glazed with fever, then weakly pushed at the ground.
John scooted off the crate, knelt at Rodney's side, and helped him sit up. He handed Rodney the bottle but hesitated before letting go.
"Got it?" he asked as Rodney took the bottle.
Rodney nodded and sipped from the bottle. "Not flu," he said between swallows.
"No," John replied and sat on the crate. "Quelen fever."
Rodney looked over at him with a puzzled frown.
"That kids' illness Teyla told us about." John popped two pills out of the blister pack and handed them to Rodney. "Those should help with the fever. Teyla is making something that will help with the rash."
Rodney gave him a puzzled frown. "Rash?"
John pointed at Rodney's chest.
Rodney looked down and stared at the angry red splotches.
"You didn't notice?" John asked.
Rodney took the offered pills. "Hurts," he muttered. "Feels like that sap burning me all over again."
John grimaced at the memory of McKay's hand after his encounter with the corpse tree.
"Thought it was all part of the general dying," Rodney continued.
John smiled. "You aren't dying. Teyla says it should clear up in a few days."
Rodney frowned, swallowed the pills, and handed the half-full water bottle back to John.
"You should really try and drink the rest," John said, taking the bottle.
"Tired," Rodney muttered and lay down again.
He stopped moving, and John reached for the blanket.
"Do still trust you," Rodney murmured, and John froze.
Had he heard McKay right? John wondered. Had he heard more of your confession than you thought?
Rodney sighed a few moments later and lay still.
John pulled the blanket up to Rodney's chest and sat on the crate, lost in thought. First Ronon, and now McKay. So much for not talking to the team, John thought.
He glanced at Rodney and then at the side of the tent where he heard Ronon working. And neither of them thinks any less of you after the admission, John reminded himself.
He sat watching Rodney sleep, letting the idea that he didn't always have to stuff his pain into a box sink in. The concept was entirely outside his experience. Talking about emotions was simply not done in his family.
"Your old family," John said with a glance at McKay.
He adjusted the blanket covering Rodney and stood.
He doubted he would ever be as emotionally open as Heightmeyer may want, but he was willing to entertain the idea that he could talk to Rodney, or Ronon, or Teyla, and they wouldn't think less of him afterwards.
John stepped out of the tent and hissed in a breath. In the short time he'd been with Rodney, it felt as though the temperature had fallen another ten degrees. He saw Teyla by the fire stirring the contents of the large pot but didn't see Ronon. He heard low grunts and what sounded like digging coming from behind the tent, and he assumed Dex was still working on his windbreak idea.
"How's it coming?" John asked, walking over to Teyla.
"The salve is almost ready," Teyla replied. "Once it cools, we can apply it to Rodney's chest and back."
A few fat snowflakes drifted down, hissing as they landed in the fire, and John glanced up at the gloomy sky.
"How is Rodney?" Teyla asked.
"He was awake for a few minutes," John replied. "He was more coherent this time. He said the rash feels like that sap that burned his hand last year."
Teyla glanced up from the pot. "The salve will help with that."
"I gave him more ibuprofen, and he managed to drink about half a bottle of water," John continued. "I added a couple of drink packets to it, so we shouldn't have to worry about hypoglycaemia at least."
Teyla nodded. "And how are you?"
"The itch is there, and a bit of a headache." John waved off her concern. "I'll be fine."
Teyla shook her head. "That is not what I meant."
John gave her a quizzical stare.
"You seem less on edge than before," Teyla told him. "I assume you took my advice?"
John rubbed his hands up and down his arms. "Maybe."
Teyla smiled, gave the pot's contents one last stir, and moved the pot away from the fire. "The salve is ready. However, it will need to cool before I can apply it."
"Hopefully, that won't take long." John pointed at the clouds. "That is going to be here soon."
Teyla glanced at the sky. "Do you wish to move Rodney into the jumper?"
John shook his head. "With the pods offline, there won't be any heat." John shuddered and tried not to think about the last time he'd been trapped in a jumper during a snowstorm. "Ronon doesn't think the storm will last for more than a day or two. The tent is insulated, and Ronon is making something that will help protect us from the wind. When I left him, Rodney was asleep. I'd rather not move him if we don't have to."
"I can begin moving supplies we will need from the jumper to the tent while the salve cools," Teyla offered. "That will allow me to watch Rodney while you and Ronon finish work on the windbreak."
"Thanks," John replied. He heard more digging sounds behind the tent and hooked his thumb over his shoulder. "I'll go check on Ronon's progress. Once we're done, we'll move the components for the drive pod into the ship for safekeeping."
"Safekeeping?"
John smiled. "Once the storm passes and McKay feels better, I don't want to listen to Rodney complaining about something being damaged from the snow once he's well enough to finish the repairs."
Teyla smiled in return and stood. "A valid consideration."
John waited until Teyla entered the ship, then walked around the tent.
One of the branch and pine bough frames stood a foot away from the edge of the tent. John glanced at the remaining two frames, then at the three fresh holes in the ground, each about eighteen inches deep, and nodded.
Now, the exposed section at the bottom from the frames made sense, he realised.
He glanced at the top of the break and saw that even with the bottom of the frame sunk a foot and a half into the ground, the break still stood a few inches taller than the tent.
Ronon grunted as he dug a narrow shovel into a fourth hole in the ground and glanced up at John.
"Need some help?" John asked.
Ronon dropped the shovelful of dirt onto the pile and held the shovel out to John.
John took the shovel, watched Ronon pick up one of the frames, and set the legs into the four fresh holes.
Another strong gust blew past, and John watched the exposed sides of the tent ripple in response. The side with the first section of Ronon's makeshift windbreak in place never moved, and John nodded. In the strictest sense, the tent might not need the break, but John knew it would help make the next few days more bearable.
He picked up a shovelful of dirt and poured it into the nearest hole.
An hour later, the last frame was in place, and John stood bracing his weight on the shovel handle as he surveyed their work.
"Looks good," John said as a gust of wind blew off the mountains behind them, swirling the falling snow into a mini blizzard and ruffling the pine boughs surrounding the tent. He was pleased to note the tent remained unmoved.
Ronon nodded. "Should do."
John brushed snow off his shoulders and hefted the shovel. "Teyla was moving supplies from the jumper to the tent. I told her we would move McKay's spare parts into the ship to protect everything from the weather.
Ronon grunted and led the way around the tent.
The fire had been banked, and John didn't see Teyla near the ship. He poked his head inside the hatch and didn't see her in the rear section or the cockpit.
"Let's check the tent," John said, pointing across the campsite.
John stopped outside the tent, kicked the snow off his boots, walked into the tent, and was pleasantly surprised when he saw the crates of supplies neatly stacked under the table or along the back wall.
Teyla sat beside Rodney with the pot of salve. She looked up from rubbing the greenish-yellow goo over Rodney's chest and nodded a greeting.
"Colonel. You and Ronon are just in time. I will need assistance applying the salve to Rodney's back."
John stopped at the table long enough to find a roll of gauze in the medical kit, then knelt next to McKay. "What do you need from us?" John asked.
"You will need to hold him upright while I apply the salve to his back and sides. Then we will need something …"
John held up the roll of gauze.
"... to keep it in place." Teyla finished applying the salve to Rodney's chest and sat back on her heels.
John glanced at Ronon. "You pick him up," he said to Dex, "and I'll hold him while Teyla applies her goo."
John sat near Rodney's waist and nodded to Ronon.
Ronon bent and picked up Rodney by his shoulders.
Rodney groaned when he was moved and opened his eyes. "John?" he muttered.
"Yeah," John replied. He braced Rodney against his chest with McKay's head on his shoulder, careful not to touch any of the sticky paste, and nodded to Teyla.
Teyla switched places with Dex and began applying the salve to Rodney's back.
Rodney flinched as she smeared some of the paste on his back. "What's goin' on?"
"Teyla is putting something on your back to help with the burning feeling from the rash," John explained.
"Smell like flowers," Rodney muttered.
John adjusted his grip on Rodney's shoulders. "Yeah, it does. But you'll feel better once she's done."
Rodney muttered something John didn't catch, then lay silent.
Teyla quickly rubbed the paste over Rodney's back and sides, then she and Ronon wrapped the gauze around Rodney's chest.
"Not too tight," Teyla said. "We do not want to hinder his breathing."
Ronon nodded, finished wrapping McKay in the gauze and tied off the ends.
"You can lie him down now," Teyla said to John.
She wiped her hands on a clean towel, picked up the pot of ointment, and walked over to the table.
John and Ronon eased McKay down, and John covered him with the blanket.
"Well?" John asked, walking over to Teyla.
"I have done what I can for him," Teyla replied. "Now all we can do is try to get him to drink something every few hours and wait for the fever to run its course."
John grimaced and stood. "Stay with him," he said to Teyla.
"Where are you going?" Teyla asked.
"We still need to get the pod parts into the jumper, and I want to make one last check of the camp before the worst of that storm arrives."
~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~
"Doctor Beckett," Dana said, her voice muffled by the mask she wore. "Doctor DeCampo just came in. She appears to be in the early stages of the illness."
Carson looked up from checking the rash across Doctor Müller's chest and sighed. "How many does that make now?" he asked.
"Twelve here," Dana replied. "Another half dozen in the city. The good news is no one else in the science camp seems to be showing symptoms."
Carson nodded. "Get Gemma settled in one of the beds and start an IV. If she's like the others, we'll need to keep her fluids up. I'll be over to check on her once she is settled."
"Yes, Doctor," Dana replied.
Carson finished with Müller, washed his hands in a basin against the far wall, and walked over to his newest patient.
"Gemma," Carson greeted. "How are you feeling, lass?"
Doctor DeCampo opened her eyes and blinked several times. "Not so great, Doctor Beckett," she replied.
"Understandable, my dear."
Dana handed him a tablet computer, and Carson pressed his lips together when he saw the elevated temperature. "Rash?" he asked Dana.
"A few small patches on her stomach and under her arms," Dana confirmed.
"All right, let's see about getting that fever down and then apply Iranda's ointment."
"Yes, Doctor," Dana replied. She took the computer from Carson and walked over to a long table in the corner.
Carson patted DeCampo's hand. "Gemma, Dana is going to give you something for the fever and then apply a paste the Athosians use to help with the rash. We've caught things early, so hopefully, we will have you feeling much better in a day or two."
DeCampo nodded even as her eyes drifted shut.
A shaft of light crossed the tent, and Carson glanced up with a sinking feeling in his gut.
The feeling quickly changed to relief when he saw Iranda enter the tent with her daughter, Isla, following her carrying a large bowl.
"Iranda, it's good to see you," Carson greeted as he approached the two women.
"Doctor Beckett," Iranda said. "We have brought more of the salve."
"Thank you, my dear." Carson nodded to the dozen beds behind him. "I fear I will be needing it. I still have scientists coming in with symptoms." He glanced at DeCampo across the tent. "How much longer will people be contagious?"
"I believe we are through the worst of this bout," Iranda replied. "The children are all recovering, and we haven't had any new cases in the village for three days."
"That's good news, at least," Carson replied.
Iranda nodded and glanced around the tent. "Most of the people here were in the village last week." She paused and frowned.
"Is there something the matter?" Carson asked.
"I recognise many of the men and women here." She nodded her head at the nearest cots. "But several others are missing. Doctor Brown, Doctor Matthews, Doctor McKay, and a few others."
"Doctor Brown and Doctor Matthews returned to the city …" Carson stopped as the implications of what Iranda said sank in. "Rodney was here?"
"Mmm." Iranda nodded. "Halling asked him to look at the communications equipment when he visited the mainland last week," Iranda replied. "Several of the children were sick at the time."
Carson pursed his lips into a thin line behind his mask.
"Doctor Beckett?" Iranda asked. "Is everything all right?"
Carson shook his head. "I'm not sure," he replied as the sinking feeling in the pit in his stomach grew. If Rodney became ill while off-world… He glanced around the room. "I need to talk to Elizabeth," he muttered more to himself than Iranda. "Thank you, Iranda, for telling me about Rodney. I'll have someone check on him immediately." He turned and called across the tent, "Dana, love."
Dana looked up from the desk in the corner and stood.
"Yes, Doctor Beckett?"
"Iranda has brought more of the ointment. Please check our patients and see if they need a top-up."
"Certainly," Dana said.
"I will help if you like," Isla offered, and Dana nodded.
Carson watched as the two young women stopped at the first bed, stepped out of the tent, and removed the mask.
"Beckett calling Doctor Weir."
"Weir, here. Carson? I wasn't expecting your daily report for another two hours. Is there a problem?"
Carson stared in the direction of the city. "You could say that," he replied. "Have you heard anything from Colonel Sheppard?"
"Not since they left four days ago," Weir replied. "Why do you ask?"
"Did you know Rodney was on the mainland last week?"
"Yes," Weir replied. "There was a dispute amongst some of the scientists about one of their projects. He went to resolve the situation."
Carson grimaced at the news. "It seems Rodney was also in the village last week. At the same time, the worst of this quelen fever was hitting the Athosians."
There was a brief silence over the radio, then, "You believe Rodney may have been exposed?"
"Aye," Carson replied. "It's probably safe to assume Teyla and Ronon have had this illness already, but Rodney and Colonel Sheppard -"
"Are likely both very sick," Elizabeth finished.
"We need to send a team after them," Carson said.
There was a pause over the radio.
"We can't," Elizabeth replied.
"And just why not?" Carson demanded as his temper flared. "Elizabeth, Doctor Hooker was one of the first infected. This rash has covered most of his upper body. He is rarely awake or lucid, even when he is conscious. He's on IV fluids now, and if he doesn't show improvement soon, I may have to insert a feeding tube. Rodney and Colonel Sheppard -"
"Carson, I hear you, and I understand your concern. But they could be anywhere on that planet."
"Elizabeth -"
"Let me finish. They could be anywhere on that planet. The Daedalus is due to make its last communication check in this afternoon before they prepare to leave the Pegasus galaxy. When Colonel Caldwell radios I will inform him we need to borrow his ship for a medical emergency. He can take you out to the planet, find Colonel Sheppard's team, and hold all of you in quarantine until we learn more about this disease and how to keep it from spreading."
"On that front, I may have some good news," Carson said. "I've taken blood samples from all of our infected personnel as well as from some of the Athosians who had the illness in the past. I'm running the samples now, and hopefully, I'll be able to sort out exactly what this quelen fever is in a day or two."
"Good to know," Weir replied. "Do the best you can. I will let you know when I hear from the Daedalus."
"Aye," Carson replied with a glance at the tent. "Beckett out."