Title: The Civil War
Rating: PG-13
Author: MacGateFan
Disclaimer: Not mine!
Dedicated to Dee, Twitter RPG Carson to my Twitter RPG Shep and all around wonderful gal!
He woke up with a pounding headache, attempting to remember what happened and why he even had a headache. He closed his eyes when a wave of nausea passed over him. Definitely a concussion! Before he could stop himself, he slowly drifted into unconsciousness again, the memories filtering back to him...
"This is the last time I come off world with you, Colonel!" Carson exclaimed as bullets flew over their heads.
John glanced over to his right, watching Carson running close behind. "Noted, Doc," he replied, keying on his radio. "Teyla, Ronon, Rodney, come in!"
Sheppard, came Ronon's voice. The man didn't even sound tired from all the running. We're at the Stargate, but we can't hold these guys off for much longer.
?Just go back to Atlantis and bring reinforcements. There's no way we're gonna make it back in time."
Ronon's response was cut off by Carson's cry. John watched in horror as his friend was tackled by one of the goons who had been chasing them. Before he could even move to help him, John felt strong hands around him.
"Doc!" he called out as Carson and was rewarded with a punch to his head.
Carson looked up at the man who held him on the ground. He was vicious looking and larger than Ronon, if that was even possible. He watched as someone else grabbed John, punching him.
"Please," he said. "Let Colonel Sheppard go. You don't need the both of us. Send him back through the Stargate."
The man thought for a few moments. "I'll let the other side have him. He is of no use to us. You, however, could be very useful."
Carson swallowed around the lump in his throat. "How am I to be useful?"
"We'll find a way," the man replied with a grin on his face. It was the last thing Carson saw before he passed out again.
After his last encounter, Carson was a bit surprised to find himself lying in a comfortable bed. "Ah you're awake."
"Aye, that I am," he replied. "And who are you, Lass?"
The young girl looked at him sadly. "Of course you don't remember me. Mother told me you wouldn't. I can't believe they did this to you!"
Carson was confused now. "Excuse me, but what are you talking about?"
Instead of replying, the girl rushed out the door and someone else came in. This woman looked to be about his age. "Oh thank goodness you're awake!"
Carson sighed. "I'm afraid I don't know who you are or what you're talking about. My name is Carson Beckett and I'm from a planet called Earth."
"I'm Gilday," she replied, sitting in the chair next to his bed. "You've been gone for five years. Those people kidnapped you and gave you false memories! Your name is Darin and you are my husband. That girl is your daughter Janniya. She was five when you were taken."
Carson stared at Gilday in stunned silence wondering if he was knocked in the head harder than he thought. "No, that can't be right. I have memories of family, friends, places that aren't of this world. Memories that, I'm sorry, but don't include you or your daughter."
Gilday smiled, patting his hand. "The memories will come back to you in time, Darin. Have faith. We all do. Remember that
Janniya and I will love you no matter what. Now, I think it's time you got some rest, my sweet."
Carson stopped her. "Wait! What happened to Colonel Sheppard?"
"That was one of the men who kidnapped you, Darin. Remember, we are at war with the Degarans. He will be sent back to them after he has been thoroughly questioned by our guards." She smiled almost evilly. "You do remember the methods of our guards, don't you?"
Before Carson could reply, she was gone. Things were not going very well, he thought to himself. And he could just imagine Rodney making some smart ass comment about that thought.
He needed to get out of there and find John. Who knew what these people were capable of especially from the look he saw in Gilday's face. So now he had to think.
Think like John Sheppard!
An hour later the best plan Carson could come up with was finding some clothes and sneaking out of the room he was in. He would probably need some weapons too, but he couldn't find his sidearm anywhere.
After dressing, Carson opened the door and peered out. He was on the first floor of what appeared to be a two story home. No one was in the area so he quietly left the room.
"Daddy?" a soft voice said. He turned to see little Janniya watching him with wide eyes. "Mommy said you wouldn't be walking around for a while."
Carson knelt in front of the little girl. He didn't want to upset her, but he couldn't have her believing he was really her Father.
"Janniya, I'm not your Father. I'm not even from this world. My friends and I are explorers. We came here to speak to your leaders, not realizing there was a Civil War going on."
"But... but she said you're him. She said they hurt you and made you think you were someone else."
"I'm afraid not, Lass. My name is Carson and I have to try to find my friend. Will you let me go?"
Janniya nodded slowly. She was calling him Daddy, they told her to, but she knew this man wasn't really him. He had died years ago. They didn't think she knew, but she did.
"If you head towards the council chamber, the jail cell is down there. That's probably where your friend is. I'll make sure they don't know you're gone, Carson."
Carson was a bit worried about the girl, but noticed the determination in her eyes. He smiled, giving her a hug. "I thank you, Janniya, but don't do anything that will get yourself hurt, understand?"
"I won't, Carson, I promise!"
With one last glance at the brave girl, Carson left the house, heading for the jail. There was no one in the immediate area so he was able to get their fairly quickly. However, once he arrived, he realized that he had forgotten to search for weapons.
Rolling his eyes at himself, Carson tried to come up with a plan. He didn't have to think long when two men came out dragging John with them. They seemed to be heading towards the woods.
Carson wasted no time following them. They appeared to be unarmed and from the state of his friend, he could see that fists were their weapon of choice. He looked around found a large stick to clobber them with. He had some basic combat training, but he was still nervous. After all, this was the first time he'd be putting that training to use.
Taking a deep breath and being careful not to make any noise, Carson snuck up behind them when they had stopped to pick John up where he'd fallen. One was about to strike his friend, so Carson took the opportunity to swing hard.
He was lucky he swung hard enough as he watched the man drop out cold on the ground. However, he forgot about the other man and was rewarded with a punch to his lower back.
Carson shook it off and turned to face him, reaching for the stick he had dropped. By the time he had it in his hand and was standing up, the man discharged a weapon he must have had hidden somewhere.
Carson fell to his knees, holding his stomach in shock. He glanced down at the offending object sticking out from him. He could not believe he had been shot down by an arrow.
"Doc." Carson blinked, looking up at John. He hadn't even realized he was lying down.
"Colonel! Is he...?"
"Unconscious like his friend. I tied them up but I don't know how long they'll hold since I was more concerned about you. What do you need me to do?"
Carson took a good look at John. Although he knew an arrow was stuck in him, he was more concerned by the pale features and the slight glaze in John's eyes. "Are you all right, Colonel?"
"Me?" John chuckled. "I'm not the one with an arrow in his gut!"
The physician just shook his head. He knew John would never admit to being injured until his friends were safely back to Atlantis. "Fine. Let's just get back to the Stargate."
"Shouldn't we... um... get that arrow out of you first?"
"We don't know if it nicked an artery," Carson replied. "If it did, I could bleed to death right here."
If it were possible, John's face blanched even further. "Lets just break off the end then. I don't want to end up pushing it in further."
"Good idea," Carson replied. He held his breath as John broke the arrow, nearly crying out as pain spread throughout his body. "Bloody hell!"
"Sorry, Doc."
Gasping, he said, "It's all right, lets get going."
Carson winced as John helped him up, noticing that his friend did the same. As the moved through the forest he spoke up. "What happened to you after we were separated?"
"They knew I wasn't one of them, that's for certain."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Carson asked.
"Don't worry about it right now. We need to conserve as much energy as we can to get back to the Stargate."
Carson sighed. He knew he wouldn't get anymore information out of John. And he knew the Air Force Colonel wasn't about to embellish his confinement in his report. It looked like he wouldn't know anything about his injuries until they returned to Atlantis.
Well, Dr. Cole wouldn't, he thought to himself as an intense fire of pain emanated from his wound. Carson felt absolutely horrible and he knew, as John guided him to the ground, that he was going to lose consciousness right then and there!
Carson came to when he heard footsteps nearby. Glancing to his right, he saw John making certain they weren't going to be discovered. He didn't move for fear he would give away their position. That and the fact that the arrow was really starting to dig into him.
He glanced down at it. What he wouldn't give to just pull it out... He knew he shouldn't. For one it would cause so much pain he would probably scream bloody murder and give away their position. Then of course there's the possibility of that nicked artery.
Carson swallowed around the lump forming in his throat. "Colonel," he whispered, when he noticed that John had relaxed meaning the men must have left the area. "When I scream, and I know I will, I want you to knock me out."
"What?! Are you nuts?"
"It has to come out. Its in too deep. I don't know how much I can handle the pain I'm feeling right now."
He watched as John chewed thoughtfully on his lip, finally giving in. "Let me get you something to bite down on and find something to stop the bleeding. It's not like we have an over abundance of gauze here."
"Not your shirt."
"What else did you have in mind, Carson?" John asked. "If you want me to take that out, then we're going to use my shirt as the gauze."
Carson was quite after that, making sure John was situated before they began. "All right, Colonel, I'm ready whenever you are."
"On three I'm going to pull this out. 1...2...3!"
Carson had never felt pain like that before in his life and he wagered he would never feel anything like that again, at least he hoped not. He opened his mouth, prepared to omit a loud scream when he felt something slam into his face and realized, with bliss as his eyes slid shut, that his friend had knocked him unconscious.
When one wakes up from being in terrible pain and then unconscious the first thing on your mind shouldn't be, 'Why do I hear bullets buzzing overhead?' No, you should be thinking about how wonderfully comfortable the bed is and how warm you feel.
Carson's eyes opened wider when he realized that John was half carrying and half dragging him the short distance left to the DHD. He had no idea how long he had been out or how long they'd been running from these people, but he didn't care, the Stargate was in his line of vision.
Before John could even reach the device, the Stargate activated. To their relief, it was a Jumper. "About damn time," John muttered.
Carson was happy to see that whoever had been firing at them ceased the moment the Jumper came into view. He could definitely live with that. "Colonel, put me down before we both fall."
"Yeah, Doc," he replied.
It was then that Carson had the opportunity to actually see his friend's appearance. His coloring looked slightly better. He also noted a fair amount of bruising along his back, his chest, and stomach. The physician wouldn't be surprised to find broken ribs.
"Oh thank God!" Rodney exclaimed as he, Teyla, Ronon, and Lorne headed over to them. "I vote we never come to this planet again!"
"I second that," John replied.
Carson shook his head. "I don't." Everyone looked at him like he was crazy. "I have someone very special I want to check on."
Ronon and Lorne helped Carson to his feet while Teyla and Rodney helped John. "No, that can't be right," Rodney said. "He's Kirk!"
Epilogue.
Janniya ran up to Carson, a look of pure happiness on her face. "Hi!" she exclaimed. "I knew you'd come back!! Are you all better now?"
"Aye, that I am, Lass. I see your people and the Degarans have come to a peaceful solution."
She nodded enthusiastically. "Uh huh! And guess what! My Daddy is still alive!!"
Carson smiled. That was the perfect ending to the chaotic mess he had been a part of. The Degarans met with the Preshaw (Janniya's people) the day after the Lanteans left their planet, deciding that if two men could work together to save one another, couldn't their two countries do the same?