Lost in the Woods - 5/7
Author: Daniela
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Pairing: McShep
Rating: PG13
Category: Romance, Humor, Mystery
Series/Sequel: No
Summary: One day they get literally lost.
Warning: Slash, M/M, Spoiler for Season 1
Disclaimer: No one of Stargate: Atlantis belongs to me.
Least of all Major John Sheppard. Damn.
Feedback: Yes, please. Every word opens a new gate.
Email: daniforblue@yahoo.de
Released: August 2008
Revised: April 2023
Beta: Susan
Word Count: 2702
Elizabeth walked into the infirmary. "Can you tell me any news, Carson?"
"Sorry, no, there're still sleeping, god bless them," Carson said, pointing at the two men in the separate beds.
"I see." She frowned. "Are they going to be alright?"
"I hope so. They have aplenty scratches from branches and bushes..."
"Well, their clothes were pretty ruined."
"...and they are dehydrated, as well as exhausted..."
"But why?" She was pacing the room. "They've only been missing for one night. How could this have happened in one night? Did they say anything?"
"Not one word. They were only conscious briefly after Teyla and Ford brought them here."
"What about the things Rodney had in his bag?"
"I need time to analyze those. There is also the strange material we found in their hair and on their clothes. Could be pollen." He paused. "Strangely colorful pollen."
"Whatever it is, keep going." Elizabeth sighed. "It's not beneficial for Atlantis that the main scientist and the ranking officer went missing without an explanation and are knocked out after."
"I understand," Carson soothed her, "but at the moment I don't have any..."
"Aaah..." Rodney groaned and turned around in his bed. "Oh... oh please John... more... please..."
Elizabeth and Carson stared at him startled. Though Rodney turned mute again he was pulling the blanket closer around his body whereas his legs were pounding the mattress.
"W-What... did he say?" Elizabeth exhaled, looking bewildered.
"Ermh... something like... John," Carson helped her out. "Elizabeth... there's something else. Something I must tell you. The bruises on Rodney's body...." He paused once more.
"Yes? What is it?" she urged him.
"Those are mostly... hickeys."
"Those are what?"
"Hickeys."
"Are you sure?" she murmured, eyes widening.
"Aye."
"But how could he incur such... uh... marks?"
"As far as we know there was only one other person around."
"That is not... possible. John would never..." She shook her head. "We know next to nothing so far. It could be they ran into other people, a forest beauty most likely. It could be they encountered the Wraith. It could be they were abused. It could be they..."
"...were making out," Carson threw in, pursing his lips.
"Carson!"
"Just a speculation. The Major is much more exhausted than Rodney. He's in such a bad shape that he had to have been doing extreme exercise in a short time."
She folded her arms, looking at her most respected ranking officer. "But... this... is..."
"...improbable, though an option. We know almost nothing about the planet of the Frenas, and this forest is a complete mystery."
Now she gave her most respected scientist and longtime friend a suspicious look, reminding herself that he was not insensible to John Sheppard's wit and handsomeness. "Teyla and Ford mentioned that they were acting strangely before they fainted, and also that the major claimed they were lost in there for five days."
"Aye." Carson nodded. "A difference in the passage of time could be an explanation for some things."
"We have to speak with the Frenas. I'll send Teyla back to try again. Her old friends are being too secretive in this matter. It's almost like it's classified." Elizabeth approached the beds and bent down to take a closer look. Well. John and Rodney continued sleeping yet fortunately their motionless faces had picked up color. Rodney started mumbling in his sleep again. This time it was only a slur.
She swallowed and stepped back. "All right. We should let them rest plenty."
"Aye," Carson agreed, picking up samples. "Time heals a lot."
*****
The following day, Elizabeth was sitting in her office, frittering away precious time by musing about John and Rodney. She missed their company and advice. She missed their friendship. She seized John's birthday present. I never appreciated this sufficiently...
Teyla's arrival interrupted her unhappy frame of mind. "Hello, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth smiled at her. "Good to see you. Were you successful?" Come on. Cheer me up.
"Yes, but it was not easy. This forest is a sacred place. I had to promise to tell as few people as necessary. I also had to threaten them that we would come back to search those woods with an army if they were not willing to cooperate."
"I see. And did that make them talk?" She put the earthenware pot back on the exclusive spot on her desk.
"Something is out there."
"Well, we already figured that, didn't we? But what is it?"
"They do not know."
Elizabeth frowned. "What are you saying?"
"That they do not know. Everything that is known about those woods are just... rumors... bedtime stories for children. Nobody knows anything for certain."
"Well... tell me those stories."
"Some say evil itself lives in this forest. Many Frenas hide there when the Wraith come. The choice is being captured by the Wraith or going into the woods. Some say the woods are worse, but many take their chances."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "That sounds... dreadful."
"Only a few lost Frenas have ever come back to the world. They could not or would not tell what had happened to them. Some say you only find what you take with you. Others say the woods are filled with ghosts, the ghosts of people who lost themselves forever. This forest is just as much a reason for the small population on this planet as are the Wraith."
"Oh my gosh!"
"I am as surprised as you are. I always thought it was just a myth that this forest is jinxed. If I had known how serious..." She shrugged. "I could have..."
Elizabeth stopped Teyla with a wave of her hand. "It's not your fault. Let's concentrate on what we can do now."
"How are Major Sheppard and Dr. McKay?"
"Still asleep."
"It has been twenty-four hours."
"I know." Elizabeth moved her hands over her desk. "Carson said we can't do anything else at the moment. We can only wait."
Teyla put her hands on Elizabeth's. "They will wake up."
"Of course they will." Elizabeth relished the warm grip of her confident from another universe. It was a miracle how much she already trusted Teyla's instincts. How much she liked her comfort in every situation, critical or pleasing.
*****
One day later John and Rodney did wake up. It happened to both men at the same time. Strange indeed. They blinked, looking fairly disorientated, clutching their blankets like they were seeking shelter. The nurse called Dr. Beckett, who left his microscope and rushed over. "Hey, lads. How are you feeling?"
"What happened?" Rodney squeaked, with bulging eyes.
"Don't you know?" Carson checked their IVs.
"No, I don't," Rodney snapped at his longtime friend.
"Stop that, Rodney," Sheppard said, and scratched his unshaven cheek.
"What?" Rodney huffed. "Carson just asked me..."
"Right. You can be a little nicer though."
"This is not the point right now, is it?" Rodney shot back.
"McKay!" Sheppard erupted without reason, scratching his neck.
Carson watched the two men bicker back and forth until Rodney went silent - sulking.
Yet Sheppard's green eyes were a mirror to his confusion and fear. "We were... offworld," he said, sounding unsure. "On the planet of the... Frenas... and then... well... afterwards..." He squinted, exhaled, and scratched his neck some more. "I don't know."
"There was a forest!" Rodney blurted, then fell silent again.
"And?" Carson pressed him, leaning closer.
"...trees..."
"Not uncommon for a forest," Sheppard chipped in. "I remember now. You led us in there."
"Me? You're the leader," Rodney disagreed, shaking his head.
"But you said something about... about..." Sheppard couldn't finish the thought. He scratched his ear.
"...bad trees..." Rodney murmured, and gulped.
"Bad trees," Sheppard repeated, and snorted. "You're kidding, right?"
"That's all I can remember," Rodney spat, glaring at him.
"No further memory? Either of you?" Carson asked, a bit frustrated.
They both shook their heads.
"Don't you know what happened to us?" Sheppard asked, scratching his left elbow.
"We know very little. You were missing for about twelve hours in a forest we know nothing about. Ford and Teyla found you the next morning. They spoke briefly to you. They said you were acting weird. Minutes later you fainted out of the blue. When you arrived here, you were still unconscious."
"Only twelve hours," Sheppard said. "How can we be in this condition after only twelve hours? Sure, I got that McKay is... but me..."
"HEY!" Rodney bolted up in his bed, fisting the blanket.
"Are we hurt?" Sheppard asked, ignoring him.
"Not seriously," Carson replied cautiously.
"How long were we sleeping?" Sheppard scratched his other elbow.
"Two days." Carson observed the constant scratching with concern.
"Two days," Sheppard repeated in a hollow voice, scratching his upper arm.
"Oh my god. I'm starving," Rodney whined, licking his lips.
"Aye, you must feel empty." Carson sent the nurse to get something to eat. "Though we found a few eatable things in Rodney's bag."
"You don't say!" Sheppard moved his hands all over his body now, scratching.
"Fruit, mushrooms, berries," Carson said matter-of-factly. "Does it itch that badly, Major?"
"What?" Sheppard stopped scratching. "No. Just... a bit."
"I have some medicine to relief your pain," Carson offered, making notes on the conditional behavior of the soldier.
Sheppard shook his head. "I'm okay." He clutched the blanket with both hands. A muscle in his cheek twitched. "Couldn't the Frenas tell you anything?"
"We've already asked them, but they are extremely secretive about those woods. At first, they denied us any information. Teyla had to go back to have more words with them."
"And?" Sheppard's hands were on the move again.
"Ask Elizabeth," Carson replied, because Elizabeth had ordered him to treat any news discreetly.
"I'm starving," Rodney wailed, tossing, and turning in his bed.
"Pull yourself together," Sheppard lashed him, scratching his right leg under the blanket. "You behave irrational..."
"Stop dressing me down!" Rodney returned the blow. "I had enough of that in the woods."
"Did you? I thought you didn't remember?" Sheppard attacked him, scratching his skin madly.
"I don't. I just... just know you did," Rodney argued illogically.
The nurse was back with a tray. Seeing the two men shouting at each other, she stopped in her tracks and threw a doubtful glance at Carson. He waved her forward, glad that he could drop the touchy subject for now, and watched his patients eat shortly after. Rodney was digging in with a neediness that was disturbing. The major, on the other hand, picked at his food spiritlessly and ate almost nothing. Instead, he used his fork for scratching any decent body part, groaning. Bloody hell! It didn't take him long until he scratched a not so decent body part, making sounds even more inappropriate. The nurse gaped. Carson sent her away, determined to stick it to the officer right away though Elizabeth's arrival interrupted his intention.
Ha! There! Sheppard stopped the scratching. Aye. Sure enough Rodney continued digging in.
"I'm glad to have both of you back," Elizabeth cheered, looking overjoyed.
"We scared you good, did we?" Sheppard winked at her.
"Oh yes, you did," she confessed without shame. "How are you?"
"I thought you were here to tell us," Sheppard quipped, squeezing the fork in his fist until his knuckles turned white. "We can't remember much." He glanced at Rodney. "Isn't that right?"
Having his mouth full, Rodney didn't respond to the taunting remark.
Elizabeth let slip a nervous laugh. "Don't you? That's inconvenient because I can't tell you much either."
"What about Teyla?" He forked lines in the blanket, going up and down, up, and down.
"Teyla... yeah, well..." Elizabeth shrugged, and updated them quickly on the fruitless news.
The fork in Sheppard's hand vanished under the blanket. "So, we're still lost, aren't we?"
"The very idea! You're home, safe and sound. Your memory will come back in time." Yet her eyes widened watching him move his hands blatantly under the blanket, scratching, oh gosh, scratching... whatever.
"Elizabeth is right," Carson interfered, dumbstruck by seeing Sheppard taking care of his privates. "In a few days I will be finished analyzing the stuff you brought along, and we'll know more."
"Aaah..." Sheppard groaned, having obviously lost concern in the matter.
Bloody hell! Just then Rodney smashed his empty plate on the floor. "I'M HUNGRY!!!"
"Shut up!" Sheppard flew into his face. "I need to concentrate!"
"BUT I'M HUNGRY!"
"Come here and I'll stuff your mouth in the most proper way."
"GET LOST!"
"Been there. Done that."
A mix of horror and amusement swept over Carson. Such grotesque behavior. Out of his wits he ordered to separate the squabblers to keep them from disrupting the infirmary, as well as to shy away from the frozen face of Elizabeth. Aye. Bloody hell indeed.
*****
Two days later, John and Rodney were released from the infirmary. Their shockingly obsessive behavior had ceased within hours. The tests Carson had put them through had showed no results so far. So? Were they passed their strange adventure? Could they go back to fulfill their duties?
The same night, John started dreaming of luscious grass, stimulating water and endless walking, mixed up with blurry visions of entangled bodies, groaning and whispering. In the morning hours he startled from his sleep, overheated, and disoriented, with a pulsing hard-on. He jerked off then and yet remained unsatisfied afterwards all the same.
The same dream came back the next night, and the next. It was not a nightmare in the normal sense, but it had the same effect. He couldn't find any rest. Soon he was afraid to go to sleep; and unable to function adequately by day he turned desperate for a chance to get laid. Not even in his youth had he experienced this forceful urge to find someone to fuck. Never in his life had he felt as lonely and unloved as now. He wasn't sure what to do but knew he couldn't go on like this without being in danger to lose his mind and his capability to perform respectably to his rank.
*****
Elizabeth was in her quarters, working late; there were a couple of reports she couldn't delay to reading. The buzzer of her door went off.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, John. Can I come in?"
"Of course."
The doors slid open. John shuffled in. "I'm glad to see I'm not the only one, who's still awake."
"What can I do for you?"
"We need to talk."
"Sure." She frowned but offered him a seat. "May I say you look awful."
He dropped into the chair. "Yeah, no surprise. I feel awful. I don't think I can go offworld in the morning."
"I see." She fetched another chair and sat down next to him. "Why not?"
"Well, first of all, I can't sleep, hence I'm exhausted."
"Ask Carson for a sleeping pill."
"That wouldn't fix the cause." He pulled the sleeves of his shirt up.
She gasped at the sight of his clawed arms. "Oh my gosh. John!"
"I did that myself."
"Can you tell me why?"
"I feel them crawling under my skin." He looked at her. "The bugs." His eyes were a sickly color. "You know how much I fear them. You know this is me going crazy - once again."
"No, you won't." She took his hand in hers and felt him shaking. "Not as long as I'm here. We'll fix this." The reports were forgotten. Her ranking officer, a man she trusted, a man she called her friend, was in need.
"Jeez, Elizabeth, I hope so." He scratched his wrists, then pulled the sleeves back down.
"What about Rodney? Does he have similar problems?" She seized her panel and canceled all deferrable missions.
"I don't know." He shrugged. "He doesn't talk to me."
"Oh? That's odd."
"Actually not. We were never close."
"Oh, John. Don't you see the forest for the trees?" she couldn't resist hurling at him.
He scratched his head. "Go figure! Not a clue. I still wonder what hit me in there. This is all very, uh..."
"Strange? Yeah, I know. That's why a different approach might be necessary."
"All right. If you feel the need."
"I feel the need."
