Part 7

The others stared at him. "I'll be the judge of that," Carson said.

The physician quickly went over to the medicine cabinet and retrieved a small bottle. John couldn't see what it said on the label, only that the bottle was filled with some kind of clear liquid. "I better give him this," the Scot said.

"What is it?" John asked.

"It's an antidote. I don't know if it'll help, but it won't hurt him either. It's worth a try, and it's the best I can do for Radek for now. When they find out what kind of damage those buggers might have inflicted on him, I might do more."

John nodded. "I'll go down to the biochemistry department and see if they've figured anything out yet. Alert me if there's any change."

He patted Rodney on the back. "You coming?" he said.

The Canadian looked at him as he couldn't understand a word he said. John waved a hand in front of his face. "Hello? Anyone home?"

"Wh-what?" The scientist looked confused.

John furrowed his brow. "You coming to biochemistry department?" he repeated.

Rodney shook his head as if to wake up. "Yes," he answered. "Yes, I am."

Hurriedly they made their way towards the lab where John had dropped off the fermin-jaw earlier.

***

Minutes later Rodney followed John into one of the labs of the biochemistry department.

"Any progress?" the Colonel asked the blonde, bespectacled woman who was leaning over the bug.

The woman pushed her glasses up her nose and looked up at them. Rodney quickly closed his eyes for a moment. It was a gesture he'd seen Radek make hundreds of times.

"Yes, Colonel. Actually there is," the woman said. Rodney couldn't remember her name, but he knew he'd both seen and talked to her before. Remembering names had never been his strong suit. The first period they'd worked together, he'd called Radek every name starting with a Z he could think of.

"Yes?" Rodney snapped, pushing the thoughts of Radek to the back of his mind. "What have you found?"

He felt the scrutinising look John gave him. "Easy, Rodney," the Colonel said.

Rodney pursed his lips together, without answering. He looked at the woman, waiting for her to tell him how soon Radek would die.

"I've been able to extract a sample of the liquid the bug leaves in its victims when it bites," the woman said. "And it turns out that it actually is a kind of poison."

Rodney sighed. He knew it.

"What sort of poison?" he heard John ask.

"Nothing too dangerous," the woman answered. "I'm sure that he'll be back to normal in a couple of days if he gets the proper care and medicine."

Rodney stared at her. "Wait, what? Are you saying that Radek actually is going to survive?"

The woman smiled. "Yes, Doctor McKay," she said. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

"That's great news. Thank you, Doctor," John said. "I'll make sure Doctor Beckett hears of it right away."

The blonde handed him a piece of paper. "You better give him this then. It's my recommended antidote."

Rodney watched John leave for the infirmary in a hurry before he slowly turned around and left the lab.

***

Radek's head was throbbing as he struggled to open his eyes. It took him a few seconds to realise where he was, but he soon understood that he had to be in the infirmary in Atlantis. He was lying in a bed, and he had a cast around his right arm. He leant back on his pillow, and slowly it dawned on him how he had ended up here. Shuddering, he remembered the bugs creeping up his legs and he had to lift up the quilt covering him to see if they were still there.

Suddenly he heard a familiar voice and he put the quilt back in its place. "Hello, Radek. How're you doing?" He would've recognised the accent anywhere.

"Carson?" he said and tried to focus his eyes, but it was difficult without his glasses.

"Aye," the physician said and placed the glasses on Radek's nose. "Teyla found these down the hole. They seem to survive everything, don't they?"

Radek didn't answer. "She saved me," he said instead. "She chased away the bugs."

"The fermin-jaws, yes," Carson said.

Radek looked bewildered at him. "Fermin-jaws?"

Carson nodded. "That's what the locals called the buggers."

Radek smiled a little. He could certainly imagine why they had given the bugs that particular name. He cleared his dry throat and looked around for something to drink. Carson must've understood, because he handed him a glass of water which had been standing on the table next to his bed. Radek greedily drank from it.

Carson looked pleased at him. "That's good, son. You should drink as much as you can. And it's good that you're remembering what happened. John told me it was a nasty beastie that bit you. Teyla caught one and brought it back."

Radek looked sceptical at the Scot. He imagined the bugs running free on Atlantis.

Carson smiled at him. "Don't worry, lad. It's safely locked up in one of the labs. We had to find out if it's poisonous."

Radek cleared his throat. "Is it?"

"To some extent, yes. But you're safe. Just remember to relax. John said that one of the locals told him that the strong ones survive the bites, and that's probably because many die from dehydration after having been bitten. You'll probably feel nauseous and start to throw up what you drink, and that's why I have placed you on an IV to avoid that you become too dehydrated."

Radek just looked at the Scot. It did not sound pleasant at all.

The Scot carefully patted him on his hand. "Are you feeling any pain?" he asked.

"Yes, in my head."

"I can imagine," the Scot said. "You had quite a fall and you hit your head pretty hard. I'll give you something to make you relax."

The physicist rose from the bed and went over to the medicine cabinet. He quickly returned with a syringe. Radek closed his eyes, glad to be home and dry.

***

Rodney had been sitting in his lab for some hours. He'd tried to work on his new project, but he couldn't seem to concentrate on it. Instead he'd left his lab and gone for a walk. He wasn't sure exactly where he was going, but he'd ended up in front of the door of the infirmary. As he walked inside, he heard the sound of someone throwing up and he saw Carson sitting on Radek's bed, holding a bucket.

"I hate Rodney," he heard Radek said.

Rodney stopped, hiding behind a shelf.

"Now, now," Carson said. "It wasn't his fault that you fell down the hole."

"No, I guess you're right," the Czech answered. "But it was his fault that I had to go."

"Aye," Carson said. "That it was."

Rodney looked around the shelf and made a grimace as he saw Radek throw up while Carson patted him comforting on the back. He decided to make himself known.

"Hi," he said.

The two men looked up at him. "Hello, Rodney," Radek answered.

Rodney thought he seemed a little surprised to him. "You look…" He started, but he didn't know how to finish the sentence. The Czech did certainly not look good. He was bruised and he looked paled and tired. Rodney cleared his throat. "So… How you doing?" It was a stupid question and Rodney knew it.

"Okay, I guess," Radek answered.

Carson got up from the bed. "I'll leave you two alone," he said. "Call me if you need me," he said and looked at Radek. "And remember that you need to rest. That means no work. Not even talking about work." The Scot turned to look at Rodney with a knowing look. Rodney raised his hands in a defensive gesture and looked at Radek. As he didn't know quite what to say, he ran his hand through his hair.

"Did you want something, Rodney?" Radek asked.

"Yes," Rodney said. "Yes! I wanted to talk to you about the defence mechanism on M3P-432."

He saw how Radek's eyes lit up. "It was very fascinating," he smiled.

Rodney shook his head and looked shocked at him. "It was a catapult!"

"Yes, it was a catapult," Radek answered. "But for a community like that, it's quite an achievement to be able to make such a device."

"An achievement?! It's medieval! It's…"

***

John grinned as he opened the door to the infirmary and heard the banter going on in there. It seemed that everything was back to normal on Atlantis.

A/N: Regarding the fermin-jaws, Fermin-Jaw is actually a character from a story my friend has written. He was a really evil man.

And, anonymous friend, you wanted whump and you got it. I hope you're happy.