Concerns and Hospital Beds
By Karabdai
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Disclaimer: See first part...
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Another day on Atlantis had dawned. Today the team was off to M4P-866; the MALP had detected high energy readings and Rodney was positive they had found another much sought after ZPM device. Earlier last year they had found 2 partially depleted ZPMs that let them contact Stargate Command once every 6 weeks. They had sent one to Earth for further study so that meant every other time they could send mail and care packages back and forth with their regularly scheduled radio check ins; this had made life a bit easier for all the inhabitants of Atlantis.
The team was scheduled for a briefing in 5 minutes and then departure in one hour. John and Teyla wondered in a few minutes before the meeting was supposed start.
Teyla smiled at Elizabeth and mouthed, "We need to talk later." And nodded at John. Elizabeth smiled back and nodded. John nodded in greeting at Elizabeth not noticing Teyla's communication with her and sat next to Teyla.
"How's it going Elizabeth?"
"Good Major, just so you know I am still waiting for your last two mission reports."
John cringed, slid low in his chair and muttered, "Yes, ma'am."
Teyla threw a wicked grin at Elizabeth and snickered at John. "Are you running behind on your reports again?"
"Well, I wouldn't be if I wasn't so distracted."
"Really, Major, and why might you be distracted?" Elizabeth asked with a grin.
"Nothing, nothing, you'll have the reports on your desk by tomorrow afternoon. I'll do them tonight when we get back."
"Don't let me cramp your style, John." Elizabeth said.
About this time Ford and Rodney had wondered in. Rodney sat as far away from Elizabeth as possible and still be at the same table.
"Good morning, Lieutenant, Rodney."
Ford smiled and nodded. "Morning ma'am."
Rodney just grunted into the coffee cup that he had brought with him.
Elizabeth shook her head and looked over at John. "Major, is your team ready for the mission?"
"Yes ma'am. Rodney has gotten the coordinates for the energy signature; he said there seemed to be no signs of human habitation according to the MALP and Teyla confirmed she had never been in contact with anyone from this world. "
"How long do you think it will take to get to the coordinates, investigate the energy signature and get back home?"
The team looked at Rodney and he looked up from his coffee and papers. "What, do I look like Big Ben, we'll know when we get there." He snarled.
John looked at him funny. "It should take about six to eight hours based on previous missions with similar parameters. We should be back in time for dinner."
Elizabeth nodded and glanced at Rodney again. "Ok, dismissed. I'll see you in an hour at the gate. Rodney, can I talk to you for a second."
"Actually Elizabeth, I have a lot to do before we leave. Can it wait?"
"Yes, but I need to talk to you when you get back from offworld. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am!" he said sarcastically and took off out of the room.
Elizabeth was upset by his attitude; before the incident in the transporter Rodney and her were friends. Besides Teyla, he was the one that she spoke with the most and spent the most time with; she definitely needed to speak with him when they got back.
She went back to her office and worked on paperwork until it was time to meet the team in the control room. John, Teyla and Ford came in about 10 minutes before they were scheduled to leave.
"Where's Rodney?"
"He was leaving the locker room as we went in and then I think he went to his lab."
"Has he seemed off to you, John?"
"He has seemed quieter. He hasn't harassed me in weeks; he gives the minimal responses and always says he has something in his lab to do."
"I'll talk to him when you all get back." John nodded.
Rodney strolled in just before they were about to leave. H nodded to John and ignored the rest as they waited for Elizabeth to give them a go for the mission.
Elizabeth looked at him and shook her head. "Dial it up."
She looked at John, "Be careful out there and we'll see you in 8 hrs. If we don't hear from you in 10 hrs we'll send someone after you. Standard procedure."
John nodded, "We won't need it. See you soon."
The team filed out of the control room and as Rodney walked by she grabbed his arm. He stopped and looked at her.
"Remember, when you get back?"
He nodded and followed the rest of the team through the wormhole.
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Elizabeth sat in her office staring off into space. Time seemed to pass slowly when Rodney's team was gone; other teams went offworld and time seemed to flow just fine. It was probably because most of her friends were on that team and she knew she couldn't look forward to any of them stopping by for a chat. Paperwork was so boring.
It had been three weeks since the transporter incident. Elizabeth had been watching her top team during that time looking for signs of stress. After speaking with Rodney she was worried about their health and safety.
Lt Ford seemed to be handling there prolonged stay on Atlantis pretty well. He appeared happy and was known for playing practical jokes on the more unwary of the group. Once in a while she detected the stress they were all under but in general she saw nothing to worry overmuch about.
As for Teyla and Sheppard the thought of that caused her to smile. Since they had come to Atlantis she had noticed small looks and touches on both sides of that relationship; in the last month it seemed that the two of them had been caught talking and laughing in a few corners. She would ask Teyla about that the next time they got together for one of their little chats. It seemed from Teyla's signal at the meeting earlier they needed to have one soon.
The two women had become great friends over the last two years and had developed a mutual respect that came with being strong women with leadership roles. They had exchanged stories about their lives; she had told Teyla about Simon and her conflict in that area and Teyla had shared some of her more humorous experiences with the men of her village. She also counted on Teyla to let her know how the team was fairing. She always let Elizabeth know (where as John wouldn't) when they needed some time off. Teyla still missed her people but she managed to make it to the mainland once every two weeks or so, but she seemed happy to be on Atlantis and going on missions.
John caused her much more worry. He took all the stress and really internalized it. They had lost a few members of the expedition over the last 2 years and he had personally seen to each of their funeral arrangements and letters to their families. He never talked to her about what he was feeling when things like that happened but she hoped he talked to someone on his team, maybe Teyla. Other than those times of stress John seemed to usually be in good spirits and happy with life on Atlantis.
The last member of the ream was the one that had caused her the greatest worry over the last three weeks. Rodney had always seemed to thrive on stress; he was sarcastic and terse on a daily basis but when the answers came to him he was loud and obnoxious in an amusing way. But lately he appeared to be in a bad mood constantly. He had withdrawn from his team and seemed to be actively avoiding her.
John's comment from earlier about Rodney suddenly struck her as funny. Every time Rodney said he had to be somewhere he always said his lab. She knew from his weekly reports he had not been working on anything specific in the last 4 weeks. She wondered what exactly he was working on in that lab of his.
Elizabeth made the decision to snoop around his lab without a lot of thought. She reasoned she was the commander of this little expedition and she had to make sure all her personnel were not working on dangerous things. You just never knew with this Ancient technology.
She made it to his lab in a few minutes, opened the door and looked around; it seemed he hasn't cleaned in a long time. He was not known for being exactly a neat freak but this was even beyond his usual standards. Papers strewn about, pieces of metal and other object lying in piles that seemed to have no logical order. Something was definitely up. Looking at his main work area she started to feel strange, like an adrenalin kick but better. It was a great feeling. She opened one of the drawers in the desk and found a glowing box. The feeling got stronger as she reached for the box. Placing it on the desk she looked at it and noticed faint writing that looked like the Ancient writing she had seen in the reports Rodney and the other scientists sent her on a weekly basis. The feeling of euphoria was growing stronger the longer she stood there. Suddenly she got a bad feeling and stepped back and away from the desk. The feeling diminished somewhat and the further she backed away the less the feeling became. Standing outside in the hallway she came to the conclusion that she had found the culprit of Rodney's strange behavior over the last few weeks.
"Dr Beckett, Dr Zelenka, please report to Dr McKay's lab. ASAP!"
The 2 doctors hurried up to Elizabeth as she was standing in the doorway looking at Rodney's desk. "There is a device on Rodney's desk. I don't know what the thing is but it makes you feel like it is the best feeling in the world, like some sort of drug. I think that's why Rodney has been acting so out of character in these last few weeks. We need to figure out how to turn it off and what it does to the body when it is functioning."
The doctors nodded and Carson led Elizabeth to the infirmary. He took some blood samples and then tried to make her stay in the infirmary to rest but she would have no part of that.
"I need to get back to the control room; I want to be there when Rodney gets back. I don't think he is going to take too well to finding out his box is gone."
"I would advise you not to say anything to him about it. Bring him down here and we'll take some blood and do some other tests. Based on your reaction alone I would say his body chemistry is seriously out of whack and he could get violent if he finds out his machine is not where he left it."
Elizabeth nodded and headed back to the control room. About an hour later the alarm came on for gate activation and she hurried down to the main floor after giving permission for the shield to be opened. The team seemed unharmed as they stepped through but she could tell from the looks on their faces that something was up.
"How did it go, Major?"
"Fine, Elizabeth. Except for Rodney doesn't seem to want to follow orders anymore and wandered off for 3 hours. He doesn't seem real interested in telling us where he was or what he was doing."
"I don't have to stand here and take this! I'll be in my lab if you have anymore stupid questions to ask me."
Elizabeth stepped in front of Rodney and stopped him from leaving. "I don't think so Rodney. I need to talk to you as we agreed before you left."
He didn't reply but instead shoved Elizabeth out of his way and made a move toward the hall leading to his lab; Ford caught her before she hit the ground.
"I'm sorry Rodney. Sgt, can you please escort Dr McKay to the infirmary."
"Is this really necessary Dr Weir?" Rodney asked condescendingly.
"I'm afraid so. Sgt, please take him now."
Rodney was led away by the Sgt and John turned to Elizabeth. "What was that all about?"
"We found a device he has been working on for the last month. It seems to act like a drug in the human body. Carson and Zelenka are looking at it right now and we should have the answers by tomorrow."
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Early the next morning Elizabeth sat at the conference table with John, Teyla, Ford, Carson and Zelenka.
"I ran some tests on Rodney's blood and found some amazing stuff. His hormone levels were off the charts. He was high in some areas and disturbing low in others. We had to keep him in restraints last night; I was afraid to give him anything to put him to sleep because of the strange level of chemicals in his blood. From the preliminary tests I have done and from what Dr Zelenka has told me about the device I would say Rodney has been addicted to this thing for the last 3 weeks or so."
"What does the device do Dr Zelenka?"
"I had never seen it before. Rodney must have found it somewhere in the city and kept it a secret all this time. I managed to turn the thing off but it took four of my team to figure it out. Someone would get transfixed by it and had to be relieved. It took 3 hours. Now, I'm not sure what the Ancients used it for but it seems a good bet it was a relaxation device of some sort."
Elizabeth nodded at Zelenka and turned to Carson. He continued the explanation. "I agree with him. From the readings I got it creates a hypnotic effect that makes the endorphin levels rise to unnaturally high levels. In the beginning of exposure it would create a sense of well being and a feeling of complete confidence in ones abilities; with prolonged exposure it might increase levels of anxiety and social disassociation. From the reports I have gotten from you and John this seems to be what happened in Rodney's case. I have a feeling the chemical differences between the two races may be what caused this."
Teyla asked, "How long until Rodney is returned to normal."
"Not long. This morning he was less combative and seemed to be calming down a great deal. By tomorrow he should be close to normal. I would say he should be ready for active duty within a week; until then he should stay out of his lab and away from any stress."
John and Elizabeth nodded. She had a feeling that would be easier said than done but she hoped between all of them they could keep him busy and out of trouble for the week.
"Can we see him?" John asked.
"Yes, but don't get him too excited."
"Thank you for your hard work on this Carson and you too Victor. I really appreciate it. I know Rodney does too, or he will eventually." Elizabeth said with a smile.
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Elizabeth walked into the infirmary about 2 hours later. By that time John, Teyla and Aiden had already been by to check on their teammate. She walked over to Rodney's bed and looked at him; he looked so sweet and innocent when he was sleeping. You would never know that a sarcastic, sweet pain in the butt lurked under that. She sat in the chair one of the others must have been using earlier and put her hand over his. He twitched but did not seem to wake up.
"I know you are faking, Rodney. I saw the twitch; you've been in the infirmary too many times trying to get out of shots for me to fall for that trick. I want to talk to you."
He slowly opened his eyes and looked at a point just past her shoulder. "Hello Elizabeth."
"Hi", she smiled at him. "Are you feeling better?"
"Sort of. I definitely feel more normal than I have in a while. The whole last month has been something of a blur."
"Carson said that might be one of the side effects of that thing."
"I'm sorry about yesterday, I don't remember much but I do remember pushing you. Are you ok?"
"Hey. I'm made of tougher stuff than that. You push like a girl."
"Wha... hey... I don't push like a girl. Carson says you were supposed to keep me calm, I'll report you."
"Empty threats." She said with a smile.
He smiled back and then sighed. "John and the rest of them were by earlier. They said I've been a pain in the ass these last few weeks. Although how that is different I'm not sure."
"You were definitely not your usual charming self; you had us worried. I'm just glad we found the cause."
"Yeah, I heard I have you to thank for that."
"Actually, you can thank my snooping."
"Well, whatever, thank you."
She nodded and noticed that he had turned his hand over and was now holding her hand. She squeezed it and then pulled it out of his hand. "I need to get back to work. I just wanted to make sure you were ok. I'll see you later and we'll talk some more."
He nodded. "Thanks for stopping by." His eyes followed her as she walked out of the room.
FIN
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AN: This one went on way longer than I had envisioned. Parts just kept popping up and then the characters just wanted to keep talking, I thought I would never get them to shut up. I kept getting stuck on this section so you will be happy to know that parts 3 and 4 are already written and will be put up within a few days. Hope you enjoyed. Comments and criticisms are always welcomed.
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