FanFiction.Net - unleash your imagination
| FanFiction.Net - unleash your imagination |
|
| Home Just In Communities Forums Beta Readers Dictionary Search | Login Register Extras |
AN: Oh my goodness, I am SO sorry. I honestly have no idea what happened with this story because I clearly remember writing it, and was sure I posted it. Either I'm crazy, or my computer went wonky. Either way, this chapter is terribly late and I apologize profously. I had to rewrite it last night (that carried over to this morning) but here it is. The good thing is I still remembered where I was going with it. So.. I'm very sorry.
Dedicated to: Kristen999 for reviewing last night and making me realize it hadn't been finished. It probably would have went undone for a lot longer. So, thanks to you, Kristen.
Warning: I want to apologize in advance for mistakes. I didn't have a formal beta for this chapter, just my sister who I forced into reading over it. She wasn't all that into it, though, so there may be a few here and there.
I won't make you wait any longer. Here's the final chapter.
Teyla couldn’t hold back a smile even if she wanted to. And in this case, she didn’t want to anyway. The sight that greeted her upon entering the infirmary was worth so much more than words could ever say.
John was still in the infirmary bed, still very bruised and pale, and still very much asleep. But that was for the best. It was the fact that he looked so peaceful that made her feel at ease. And the way Rodney was positioned, also asleep, on the edge of John’s bed made her smile spread wider.
She could feel Ronon’s presence behind her, and knew he was grinning as well. Probably for different reasons though, as Rodney was now drooling quite heavily.
It had been about three days since the initial incident and John was looking better everyday, though still a long way from recovery. However, Dr. Keller had ensured them all - many times- that the Colonel would make a full recovery.
Rodney had remained in the infirmary most of the time even though he had been released the previous day. Ronon and herself, however, had been dropping by a couple times a day, though every time Colonel Sheppard had been asleep.
In fact, she had not seen him awake at all. She had been told that he had woken up briefly after the surgery and spoke with Rodney, but had been unconscious ever since. For a while, Dr. Keller had said it was perfectly normal, but Teyla had seen her attempting to wake him every-so-often.
As she and Ronon walked further into the room, their presence was noted and Dr. Keller came around the corner wearing a welcoming smile.
“Good to see you both,” she greeted cheerfully.
Teyla smiled warmly back. “Good afternoon, Dr. Keller. We are just here to check on the Colonel.”
“As usual,” Ronon added, still grinning.
“I figured that was the case,” Keller replied, leading Teyla and Ronon a little further from John’s bed. This caused a slight twinge of fear grow in her stomach. Dr. Keller seemed to sense her assumption, and quickly told her otherwise.
“Oh no, don‘t worry. Everything‘s fine,” she said quickly with a nervous laugh. “He‘s definitely improving. In fact, he‘s been showing signs of waking lately, which is very promising. Not that his sleeping was discouraging; He‘s been through a lot and his body is just recuperating. But, it will be nice to have him up and talking again.”
Ronon chuckled. “You think that now…”
Teyla thought the comment was particularly funny, and found herself laughing for the first time in quite a while. She felt giddy, almost as if a great pressure had been lifted from her shoulders. And in essence, it had. She now felt confident that Colonel Sheppard would be alright with time, and soon, she would be hearing so from the man himself. Worry and fear no longer had a place in her body.
“Thank you, Doctor,” Teyla said to Keller before gently squeezing her shoulder. “We appreciate you taking such good care of him. We know he can be… tiresome with his injuries. But he is worth saving.”
Teyla felt as though she needed to say this because knowing John, he would end up in this infirmary many more times, and would hopefully yield similar results as this time. And while his recurring presence would irritate some doctors, the late Doctor Beckett was always able to take the Team’s frequent visits in stride. So, she felt the need to thank Keller for being there for John, and could only hope she would be just as eager to help in the future.
Dr. Keller smiled genuinely in return. “Yes, I thought he may be. He seems well-liked.”
Teyla heard Ronon snort behind her, though she knew he agreed with Keller’s assessment.
“Yes, it would seem so,” Teyla replied, sneaking a look over at the passed-out Rodney. “How long as Dr. McKay been here?”
The smile on Dr. Keller’s face faded slightly and was replaced with something Teyla couldn’t quite map out.
“Too long. He doesn‘t leave that much. Only for food or to use the facilities.” Keller sighed, then turned to watch McKay for a few seconds. “I‘m pretty sure he feels responsible for what happened.”
“Probably does,” Ronon added simply, though Teyla could not tell whether he agreed that Rodney should feel guilty, or that it was just natural for him to.
But Teyla had figured that Rodney would feel responsible for at least some of what had happened. She did not agree with it, as it was out of any of their hands, but guessed he would feel that way. It upset her, but she knew with time, Rodney would also heal.
“Yes, I foresaw that as being a possible issue, but he will get through it with our help,” Teyla said calmly, trying to bring back that optimistic feeling.
“I know. They both will,” Keller responded warmly. “Feel free to pull up a chair,” she added, gesturing towards Sheppard’s bed. “Like I said, he should be waking up any time now.”
Teyla nodded, glad to have gotten in a nice talk with the new Doctor. She and Ronon then proceeded to take Keller’s advice and pulled up a chair around John‘s. They did so quietly, so they wouldn’t wake Rodney. Well, Teyla was quiet. Ronon didn’t use as much caution.
And here they sat, once again, hoping the Colonel would wake up. Yes, Teyla was sure John was on his way to recovery, but until she saw him wake up and heard him say so himself, it didn’t have much meaning.
And, the fact was, she still felt uneasy about the recent events. At first, she had felt odd being in Colonel Sheppard’s presence. It would remind her of the terrifyingly real dream she had of him. But once Kate had passed away, things had changed. She still did not feel completely comfortable around John, but she also remembered who he was. And remembered that he would never do anything to harm her. The opposite, really, as he had already proven many times he would go to great extents to keep her from harm.
And during those dreadful hours after Kate’s death, Teyla saw John, not as a monster, but as a grieving friend. Much like herself. And more than that, she knew that he may have even felt guilty for the events that had transpired. And while she did not know what had been happening, she knew John would never purposely hurt anyone. It was his job to protect, and he took that job very seriously. Too seriously, at times, perhaps. But everyone felt safe with him, and she was certain this would not change those feelings.
She and Ronon remained sitting for an hour at most, making small talk or just staying quiet before the environment changed. It took a nurse dropping one of her utensils, but it was enough to awaken Rodney.
Teyla had to admit it was humorous the way Rodney jumped so high at the loud sound and looked fearfully around him as though something was going to attack. It was one of the many things that reminded her that the doctor was not a trained fighter like herself or John or Ronon, but that he was learning.
“Good afternoon, Rodney,” she said happily with a grin on her face. She no longer spoke quietly because she did not mind if John woke up. In fact, she wanted him to wake up.
McKay still seemed a bit confused, but when he realized he now had company keeping a vigil at Sheppard’s bed, he regained his usual pompous air.
“Yeah well, it would be better if the nursing staff wasn‘t so clumsy.”
“You‘re not exactly suave yourself, McKay,” Ronon added with a defiant smirk. Teyla would never be able to fully understand the male’s need to tease one another. But, she had grown to accept it and knew what they really meant.
“Thanks Conan, but I don‘t think I asked your opinion,” Rodney shot back.
Teyla then saw the need to defer the two of them from the conversation before it got too out-of-hand. “Rodney, Dr. Keller has informed us that you have not left much. Is there nothing new in your lab you must tend to?”
McKay considered this before answering, and Teyla watched as he attempted to pull something together.
“Well, I have been out of here a couple of times, and no, there‘s nothing new pertaining to me. Most of the scientists are working on their own projects right now, so the labs are crazy. I‘d rather be here. It‘s quieter.”
Teyla could see right past his excuse. He wanted to be here with Sheppard, just as she did. Only, his need was more urgent than hers, because of his guilt. Part of her wanted to erase that guilt from him herself, knowing that John would not appreciate it upon waking. He did not like people feeling guilty on his behalf. But, she would easily admit she didn’t have the abilities that John had when it came to Rodney. He was an interesting case, and she had only seen John get to him.
“I see,” she said finally, deciding that if she was going to talk to him, this was not the right moment. He would have to make some attempt to open up first.
“So, how long have you guys been in here?” Rodney asked, clearly attempting to change the subject.
“About an hour,” Ronon answered simply.
Rodney nodded and turned his gaze back to John.
“Dr. Keller informed us that he‘s showing signs of waking,” Teyla stated, not liking the awkward silence that had fallen. “Have you noticed anything yourself?”
McKay raised a eyebrow at this. “Uh, no. I don’t know what crystal ball she’s looking into because he‘s looked the same for three days.”
She did not fully understand what he said, but figured it had to do with his idea of “voodoo magic.” Either way, she did not protest, merely nodded and turned her focus back to John.
He definitely was looking better. He was not as pale, and the bruises were slowly started to fade. Always a good sign. Now, if only he would open his eyes…
As if he had heard her silent plea, she saw his hand twitch. It made her heart skip a beat, but her nerves calmed as the moments passed with no further movement. She seemed to have been the only one that noticed it, and began to wonder if it was all in her mind.
But then he moved again, and this time, Rodney noticed.
“He moved,” Rodney exclaimed, jumping up from his chair. “He just moved, did you see that?” he asked, turning excitedly to Teyla. A smile reformed on her face, partly from the fact that John was waking up, and partly due to Rodney’s excitement. Ronon had also perked up, but remained calm and passive.
As if on cue, Dr. Keller arrived and Teyla immediately stepped aside so she could access her patient better.
“Colonel, can you open your eyes for me?” she asked softly, standing very near John’s head.
His eyes weren’t open, but his face was scrunched up as if it was too bright in the room.
“Colonel, you have some visitors who have been wanting to see you,” Keller continued, attempting to coax him into opening his eyes.
Teyla watched him for a minute, and could almost see the realization wash over his face. He seemed to recognize where he was before he even opened his eyes, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to any of them. She continued to watch, and saw him sigh before forcing his eyes open into slits.
He had to blink a few good times against the bright lights of the infirmary, but when he was able to keep them open, Dr. Keller began her quick tests.
“Alright Colonel,” she stated, standing up straight after finishing her tests “Looking good. Just keep that up and let me know if you need anything.”
John nodded slowly, still obviously tired, and watched Keller leave before turning to his team.
“Hey,” he rasped out. Teyla could tell that the condition of his voice startled him. But he probably didn’t know how long he had been out either.
“Hello John. How are you feeling?” she asked gently.
He closed his eyes and smiled. “Dandy. How is everyone else?” he asked, opening his eyes and looking at them all, though mostly at Rodney.
“We‘re all fine,” Ronon answered.
John watched Rodney for a brief moment before decided for himself that the man seemed to be okay. “How long have I been out?”
“About three days.”
His brow furrowed at this. “Three days?”
“Yeah, Sheppard. Three days. You just always have to be a drama queen, don‘t you?” Rodney piped up in his usual annoyed sounding voice.
John simply rolled his eyes. “So everything went well?”
“Well no,” Rodney retorted angrily. “You had to start bleeding all over the place and..”
“I meant with the entity,” John interrupted.
“It is gone, John. Never to bother us again,” Teyla answered, knowing that she could better put his worries to ease.
“Good. That thing was creepy.”
“Tell me about it.”
A brief silence fell over the room once again as they all remembered their own encounters with the evil version of Colonel Sheppard before he spoke up.
“Well, why did this happen? I mean, you were eaten by a whale,” he said, his eyes on Rodney.
“We‘re pretty sure it had to do with the fact that my heart… uh stopped,” Rodney answered a little unsteadily. “Kind of rebooted my body in sense, whereas yours never stopped, so what happened in the dream came over to real life.”
This answer seemed to satisfy John, who fell quiet. Teyla could see he was growing more tired, but was fighting it probably for their sake.
“We will let you rest now,” she said, glancing over to Ronon who got her message.
“Get better. You can‘t stay on your ass too long, Sheppard. You‘ve already missed a lot of your training,” Ronon added, standing up.
John grimaced. “Looking for to it.”
Ronon chuckled then patted him lightly on an un-bruised section of his arm.
“We will be by later to see you, Colonel,” Teyla said, smiling warmly at him. She felt comfortable leaving him now because she saw his eyes and knew he was alright and would fight to make a full recovery.
He nodded again, and squeezed her hand, then she turned to leave. She noticed that Rodney was not following her and Ronon, and figured that it would be best to let him stay. With that, she left.
--
McKay stayed behind because he couldn’t bring himself to leave. It was as simple as that, and yet, it was also so complicated. He never usually felt like this.
“You‘re hovering,” Sheppard said suddenly, bring McKay back to the present.
“Am not,” he responded, falling back to his chair.
“You are, and that‘s never a good sign.”
“Whatever you say,” McKay replied trying not to let on his true feelings.
“You don‘t feel guilty, do you?” Sheppard asked suddenly, taking Rodney by surprise.
“Uh no,” he answered without really thinking about it. It wasn’t exactly true, but he wasn’t planning on letting Sheppard know that. He looked back down at Sheppard, and noticed the look on his face, and frowned. “You don‘t feel guilty, right?”
Sheppard did not answer quite as quickly as McKay did, but his “No” was just as uncertain.
“Good, because it was out of your hands.”
“Was out of yours too,” Sheppard added, not looking at Rodney. Which was fine as Rodney was not looking at him, either.
“Right,” Rodney said, feeling kind of awkward.
“Well, then I guess it‘s good neither one of us feel guilty, huh?”
McKay couldn’t hold back a smile. He knew what was going on here, and was a part of it himself. He didn’t know what he had been expecting, just knew that if anyone could make him feel better, it was Sheppard. And, in some weird way, he had. And was apparently helping Sheppard as well.
“Yep. That works.”
“So,” Sheppard began in a replenished tone. “You think Keller will let me get out for a while. It feels like a beautiful day.”
McKay cocked his eyebrows. “It feels like a beautiful day?”
Sheppard smiled. “Yeah, you can‘t feel it? I‘ve always been able to detect beautiful days. Perfect flying weather, actually.”
Rodney rolled his eyes. Leave it to Sheppard to come up with something like that.
“Well, good luck on that, but I doubt it,” he replied, standing up. “But, I think I might go out and see if you really have that ability,” Rodney bragged, knowing that Keller wouldn’t let Sheppard out yet. Mostly because the man was about to fall asleep.
He saw Sheppard frown, and grinned at it. It was simply their relationship.
Finally, Rodney felt like he was ready to leave, and just before walking out, he turned to get one last look at Sheppard. And, believe it or not, the man was already asleep.
Rodney sighed to himself and just hoped that Sheppard would be around to detect every beautiful day.