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Adopting Rodney 5/?
Title: Adopting Rodney
Author: sg_lab
Rating: G to PG
Summary: “We’re adopting Rodney,” John said. What happens after Rodney suffers a brain injury. Set a few months after First Strike
Pairing: Sheppard/Weir
Characters: Sheppard, Weir, McKay
Spoilers: First Strike, Sunday
A/N: x-posted to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
lostcityfound
Disclaimer: The characters and Stargate Atlantis don’t belong to me and I’m not making anything from this.
Feedback: Yes please
Chapter 5.
The next few days Rodney was getting more and more moody as the days went by. By Thursday John and Elizabeth felt like they were getting the old Rodney back.
Things changed on Friday, however. Rodney had an appointment with Heightmeyer. Elizabeth would go with him. John was off world with Ronon and Teyla. The mission was last minute and couldn’t be helped.
Rodney’s appointment was for two in the afternoon so Rodney had most of the day before he had to deal with that. It was early in the morning and John had left an hour earlier.
“Rodney,” she called with no response. “I’m coming in,” she warned and walked in. The blinds were shut. She found Rodney curled under the blankets. “Time to get up, Rodney,” she started to open the blinds.
“No!”
His voice startled her and she put the blinds back in place. “Rodney,” she walked over to the bed sitting on the edge. “Rodney, are you feeling all right? Do you want me to call a doctor?”
“Headache,” came the muffled words.
“I’ll call the infirmary,” she said and a moment later she stepped out of his room coming back a few minutes later. “Rodney, I’ve got some pills for you. Dr. Zagoran wants to see you today. We’ll cancel your appointment with Heightmeyer today.”
Rodney bolted up and jerked to the side trying to crawl out from under the blankets. His body jerked and he vomited on the floor next to his bed.
Elizabeth grimaced and placed a hand on his back. “Rodney?”
Rodney’s head hung off the side of the bed as he continued to heave.
The front door chimed. “Are you going to be okay for a minute?” Elizabeth asked. When he gave her a week nod she stepped out of his room and answered the door. Dr. Keller was standing in the hall.
“Dr. Zagoran asked me to check him out before sending him to the infirmary,” she explained. “How’s he doing?” Keller asked.
“He threw up and he’s dry heaving now. He hadn’t taken a pain pill before he threw up.”
They entered Rodney’s room where he was in the same position Elizabeth had left him in seconds earlier.
“Rodney, can you lie back for me?” Keller asked.
Rodney groaned and whimpered when he attempted to shake his head.
“All right,” Keller said. “I’ll start with your blood pressure,” she wrapped his left arm with the pressure cuff.
When she was finished with taking his blood pressure Rodney decided to move back. Keller pulled out her pen light and checked his pupils. The light caused him to jerk to the side and yelp. He curled on his side with his back to them.
“Elizabeth,” Keller said in a whisper. “Would you get a cool washcloth?”
Elizabeth stepped out of the room for a moment and came back with the requested washcloth handing it to the doctor. She had another wet washcloth in her other hand. “I thought he might like his face and mouth washed off,” she explained.
“Rodney, I’m going to wash your face and mouth and then put a cool wet cloth on your forehead,” Elizabeth leaned over and wiped her friend’s face cleaning the sweat and the mess from becoming ill. She placed the cool cloth over his forehead and felt his tense body relax. “I’ll be out in the living room if you need me.”
The two women left the bedroom and entered the living room. “Dr. Zagoran wants to run some tests when Rodney’s feeling better.”
“Do you have any idea what the problem is?” Elizabeth asked.
“I think we should wait on the test results before speculating,” Keller said.
Elizabeth nodded walking the doctor to the door. “I’ll contact the infirmary when he’s feeling better.”
Once the doctor was gone Elizabeth stood in the middle of the living room and sighed remembering there was still a mess on Rodney’s bedroom floor that needed to be cleaned up.
She checked her watch. John would be calling in from the planet in about three hours. She contacted Chuck asking him to route the Colonel’s communication to their quarters. And staying as quiet as possible, she cleaned up the mess.
She had been working at the dinner table for awhile when she checked her watch. She had been sitting there for a little over an hour. She stood up and stretched. She thought about getting another cup of coffee, but remembered their need to conserve. She decided to get a glass of water. Dr. Keller would probably approve having told her she drinks too much coffee anyway.
While in the little kitchen she pulled out another glass and filled it with water along with her own. Putting her glass on the table she walked to Rodney’s bedroom door. She knocked lightly and entered.
Rodney’s head was buried under the blanket. “Rodney,” she whispered putting the glass down on the night stand. She pulled the blanket back enough to look at his face.
Rodney’s eyes fluttered open and he squinted up at her. “Lizbeth?” He had a hard time pronouncing all the syllables in Elizabeth’s name now. And he was never sure what to call John anymore. Before his injury, he had always called him Colonel or Sheppard never having used John’s first name. John would tell him to use John, but Rodney would insist it was wrong. Only in the last day or two had Rodney started to use John.
“How are you feeling?” She asked.
“A little better. Still kinda queasy,” he said.
“I know you probably don’t want any food, but you need to keep hydrated. Do you think you can drink a glass of water?” Elizabeth was sitting on the edge of the bed wiping Rodney’s brow with the now warm and almost dry washcloth.
“A little,” he said.
“A little is fine,” she said. “You don’t need to drink the whole thing now,” she helped him prop himself up before handing him the glass of water. “Do you think you’ll be up to going to the infirmary in a little while to have some tests?”
“Do I have to?” His voice turned whiney.
“I’d like to know if there’s anything wrong with you so the doctors can fix it.”
“Okay,” he sighed slumping back into the pillows.
“Do you want to take a shower?” She was putting his glass of water down and didn’t see the slight blush on his face.
“N-no, that’s okay.”
“Are you sure?” She asked.
“Yeah.”
“All right,” Elizabeth stood up. “Need any help then?”
“N-n-no,” he shook his head.
Rodney’s stutter seemed to be more pronounced. “All right, I guess I’ll leave you to it. holler if you need any help.”
&
Elizabeth had her arm wrapped around Rodney’s as they walked the halls of Atlantis heading for the infirmary. Throughout the walk Rodney held onto Elizabeth in an almost death grip while looking around him. He would tense every time they passed someone.
“It’s all right, Rodney,” Elizabeth squeezed his hand. “Here we are,” they entered the infirmary.
“Rodney, Dr. Weir,” Dr. Keller greeted them. “How are you feeling, Rodney?”
“Better,” he said. “Head still kinda hurts.”
“Why don’t we get started so we can get this done,” Keller said gesturing over to the other side of the room.
Elizabeth could see a panic attack begin as Dr. Keller showed Rodney what they were going to do. While lying on his back, Rodney was going to be inside a small enclosed space for fifteen to twenty minutes.
“Rodney, I’ll be here the whole time,” Elizabeth promised.
Rodney took several breaths calming down and nodded his head. He lay down and with his eyes closed, waited to be moved into the small tube. He had to stay still and not speak through the test so Elizabeth stood a few feet away and talked to him about anything and everything she could think of.
“This is Weir,” Elizabeth said all of a sudden.
“Lizbeth?” Rodney began to panic.
“It’s all right Rodney,” Elizabeth said. “John just called in. They won’t be home until late tonight.”
“All right Rodney, we’re finished with the test,” Dr. Keller said coming back in. She brought Rodney out of the tube.
He was looking a little pale and glassy eyed. “It’s all right, Rodney,” Elizabeth placed one hand on the side of Rodney’s face and the other wrapped around one of his hands. She then got him to sit up before giving him a hug. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and shoulder. She could feel him shaking and her shoulder felt a little damp.
“We should have the results by tomorrow,” Keller said to Elizabeth over Rodney’s shoulder.
Elizabeth thanked her before the doctor left them alone. “Rodney, do you want to get something to eat? It’s a little past lunch time.”
Rodney pulled back teary eyed and sniffed. “Okay,” he said. “Umm…I need to…to go to the bathroom,” his cheeks reddened.
“Okay,” Elizabeth nodded. “Do you need any help?” John had been helping with Rodney’s physical needs for the past week. Elizabeth had guessed Rodney was feeling embarrassed this morning. But he managed to get dressed okay. “I’ll find a nurse,” she said.
“I can do it,” he huffed. “Sorry.”
“It’s all right, Rodney,” she squeezed his arm. “I don’t know what you need help with and I don’t want to embarrass you. How about I stand outside the restroom door and if you need help just holler and I’ll find you some help.”
“Okay,” he nodded and went off to the restroom.
&
Once Rodney was finished in the restroom, getting through that without help, they left the infirmary. Elizabeth guided him to the cafeteria causing a slight panic when he saw where they were.
“Major Lorne and Radek are the only ones in there,” Elizabeth said having looked in first.
“Okay,” Rodney nodded.
Zelenka and Lorne were sitting across from each other at the same table eating their lunches.
Elizabeth took Rodney over to the food and they filled their trays. She watched him making sure he didn’t take anything he’d be allergic to. It was unlikely there was anything there, but she wanted to be sure.
“Mind if we join you, gentlemen?” Elizabeth asked and put out her hand gesturing to Radek and Lorne to stay seated.
“Not at all, Ma’am,” Lorne said. “Doc,” he said to Rodney.
Elizabeth sat to Lorne’s left while Rodney sat on her other side with Radek on his left. Weir, Lorne and Zelenka did most of the talking while Rodney ate and watched.
“Lizbeth?” Rodney’s voice held a note of panic as she stood up.
“I’ll be right back,” she said. She went back to the food and grabbed another pudding cup. When she returned to the table she stopped to look at the scene before her. She looked at an amused Lorne. “Major, what’s going on?”
“Rodney’s helping Radek with his project,” Lorne grinned.
Across from them Rodney was engrossed in the screen on Radek’s laptop. They were talking in half sentences as if it was old times.
“I don’t know,” Rodney said. “I don’t even know how I came up with that,” the spell was broken as Rodney buried his face in his hands.
“It is all right, Rodney,” Radek patted Rodney’s shoulder. “Thank you for this help, it was great help.”
Rodney’s head came up and he looked at Radek with wide eyes. “You’re welcome,” his voice was hesitant and he looked at Elizabeth who gave him an encouraging smile.
“I think you’ve earned this,” Elizabeth handed Rodney the pudding cup she retrieved.
Rodney blushed and then smiled shyly before digging into the pudding.
They returned to their quarters when Rodney finished his pudding as more people started to arrive in the cafeteria. Rodney was tired and in need of a nap anyway. Elizabeth decided a nap sounded like a good idea and figured they’d call her if there was an emergency.
That evening Elizabeth figured Rodney was not up for another trip to the cafeteria and asked someone to bring some food to their quarters.
It had been a long and eventful day and they had decided to turn in early. Something woke her and she blinked several times trying to adjust her eyes to the dark.
“John?” Her voice was quiet not having much energy for more.
“Hey, why aren’t you asleep?” She could feel him crawl in bed next to her.
“I was, but you woke me,” she said.
He pressed a kiss to her lips stroking the side of her face with his thumb. “How was your day?”
“Long,” she slumped back against him and gave him a brief summary of the day.
“Is Rodney okay?” He asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Test results will be ready tomorrow.”
“How are you?” He asked.
“Exhausted. Worried,” she turned and wrapped her arms around his waist resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad you’re home. I love you.”
“I love you too,” he wrapped his arms around her holding her close.
Author: sg_lab
Rating: G to PG
Summary: “We’re adopting Rodney,” John said. What happens after Rodney suffers a brain injury. Set a few months after First Strike
Pairing: Sheppard/Weir
Characters: Sheppard, Weir, McKay
Spoilers: First Strike, Sunday
A/N: x-posted to
lostcityfound Disclaimer: The characters and Stargate Atlantis don’t belong to me and I’m not making anything from this.
Feedback: Yes please
Chapter 5.
The next few days Rodney was getting more and more moody as the days went by. By Thursday John and Elizabeth felt like they were getting the old Rodney back.
Things changed on Friday, however. Rodney had an appointment with Heightmeyer. Elizabeth would go with him. John was off world with Ronon and Teyla. The mission was last minute and couldn’t be helped.
Rodney’s appointment was for two in the afternoon so Rodney had most of the day before he had to deal with that. It was early in the morning and John had left an hour earlier.
“Rodney,” she called with no response. “I’m coming in,” she warned and walked in. The blinds were shut. She found Rodney curled under the blankets. “Time to get up, Rodney,” she started to open the blinds.
“No!”
His voice startled her and she put the blinds back in place. “Rodney,” she walked over to the bed sitting on the edge. “Rodney, are you feeling all right? Do you want me to call a doctor?”
“Headache,” came the muffled words.
“I’ll call the infirmary,” she said and a moment later she stepped out of his room coming back a few minutes later. “Rodney, I’ve got some pills for you. Dr. Zagoran wants to see you today. We’ll cancel your appointment with Heightmeyer today.”
Rodney bolted up and jerked to the side trying to crawl out from under the blankets. His body jerked and he vomited on the floor next to his bed.
Elizabeth grimaced and placed a hand on his back. “Rodney?”
Rodney’s head hung off the side of the bed as he continued to heave.
The front door chimed. “Are you going to be okay for a minute?” Elizabeth asked. When he gave her a week nod she stepped out of his room and answered the door. Dr. Keller was standing in the hall.
“Dr. Zagoran asked me to check him out before sending him to the infirmary,” she explained. “How’s he doing?” Keller asked.
“He threw up and he’s dry heaving now. He hadn’t taken a pain pill before he threw up.”
They entered Rodney’s room where he was in the same position Elizabeth had left him in seconds earlier.
“Rodney, can you lie back for me?” Keller asked.
Rodney groaned and whimpered when he attempted to shake his head.
“All right,” Keller said. “I’ll start with your blood pressure,” she wrapped his left arm with the pressure cuff.
When she was finished with taking his blood pressure Rodney decided to move back. Keller pulled out her pen light and checked his pupils. The light caused him to jerk to the side and yelp. He curled on his side with his back to them.
“Elizabeth,” Keller said in a whisper. “Would you get a cool washcloth?”
Elizabeth stepped out of the room for a moment and came back with the requested washcloth handing it to the doctor. She had another wet washcloth in her other hand. “I thought he might like his face and mouth washed off,” she explained.
“Rodney, I’m going to wash your face and mouth and then put a cool wet cloth on your forehead,” Elizabeth leaned over and wiped her friend’s face cleaning the sweat and the mess from becoming ill. She placed the cool cloth over his forehead and felt his tense body relax. “I’ll be out in the living room if you need me.”
The two women left the bedroom and entered the living room. “Dr. Zagoran wants to run some tests when Rodney’s feeling better.”
“Do you have any idea what the problem is?” Elizabeth asked.
“I think we should wait on the test results before speculating,” Keller said.
Elizabeth nodded walking the doctor to the door. “I’ll contact the infirmary when he’s feeling better.”
Once the doctor was gone Elizabeth stood in the middle of the living room and sighed remembering there was still a mess on Rodney’s bedroom floor that needed to be cleaned up.
She checked her watch. John would be calling in from the planet in about three hours. She contacted Chuck asking him to route the Colonel’s communication to their quarters. And staying as quiet as possible, she cleaned up the mess.
She had been working at the dinner table for awhile when she checked her watch. She had been sitting there for a little over an hour. She stood up and stretched. She thought about getting another cup of coffee, but remembered their need to conserve. She decided to get a glass of water. Dr. Keller would probably approve having told her she drinks too much coffee anyway.
While in the little kitchen she pulled out another glass and filled it with water along with her own. Putting her glass on the table she walked to Rodney’s bedroom door. She knocked lightly and entered.
Rodney’s head was buried under the blanket. “Rodney,” she whispered putting the glass down on the night stand. She pulled the blanket back enough to look at his face.
Rodney’s eyes fluttered open and he squinted up at her. “Lizbeth?” He had a hard time pronouncing all the syllables in Elizabeth’s name now. And he was never sure what to call John anymore. Before his injury, he had always called him Colonel or Sheppard never having used John’s first name. John would tell him to use John, but Rodney would insist it was wrong. Only in the last day or two had Rodney started to use John.
“How are you feeling?” She asked.
“A little better. Still kinda queasy,” he said.
“I know you probably don’t want any food, but you need to keep hydrated. Do you think you can drink a glass of water?” Elizabeth was sitting on the edge of the bed wiping Rodney’s brow with the now warm and almost dry washcloth.
“A little,” he said.
“A little is fine,” she said. “You don’t need to drink the whole thing now,” she helped him prop himself up before handing him the glass of water. “Do you think you’ll be up to going to the infirmary in a little while to have some tests?”
“Do I have to?” His voice turned whiney.
“I’d like to know if there’s anything wrong with you so the doctors can fix it.”
“Okay,” he sighed slumping back into the pillows.
“Do you want to take a shower?” She was putting his glass of water down and didn’t see the slight blush on his face.
“N-no, that’s okay.”
“Are you sure?” She asked.
“Yeah.”
“All right,” Elizabeth stood up. “Need any help then?”
“N-n-no,” he shook his head.
Rodney’s stutter seemed to be more pronounced. “All right, I guess I’ll leave you to it. holler if you need any help.”
&
Elizabeth had her arm wrapped around Rodney’s as they walked the halls of Atlantis heading for the infirmary. Throughout the walk Rodney held onto Elizabeth in an almost death grip while looking around him. He would tense every time they passed someone.
“It’s all right, Rodney,” Elizabeth squeezed his hand. “Here we are,” they entered the infirmary.
“Rodney, Dr. Weir,” Dr. Keller greeted them. “How are you feeling, Rodney?”
“Better,” he said. “Head still kinda hurts.”
“Why don’t we get started so we can get this done,” Keller said gesturing over to the other side of the room.
Elizabeth could see a panic attack begin as Dr. Keller showed Rodney what they were going to do. While lying on his back, Rodney was going to be inside a small enclosed space for fifteen to twenty minutes.
“Rodney, I’ll be here the whole time,” Elizabeth promised.
Rodney took several breaths calming down and nodded his head. He lay down and with his eyes closed, waited to be moved into the small tube. He had to stay still and not speak through the test so Elizabeth stood a few feet away and talked to him about anything and everything she could think of.
“This is Weir,” Elizabeth said all of a sudden.
“Lizbeth?” Rodney began to panic.
“It’s all right Rodney,” Elizabeth said. “John just called in. They won’t be home until late tonight.”
“All right Rodney, we’re finished with the test,” Dr. Keller said coming back in. She brought Rodney out of the tube.
He was looking a little pale and glassy eyed. “It’s all right, Rodney,” Elizabeth placed one hand on the side of Rodney’s face and the other wrapped around one of his hands. She then got him to sit up before giving him a hug. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and shoulder. She could feel him shaking and her shoulder felt a little damp.
“We should have the results by tomorrow,” Keller said to Elizabeth over Rodney’s shoulder.
Elizabeth thanked her before the doctor left them alone. “Rodney, do you want to get something to eat? It’s a little past lunch time.”
Rodney pulled back teary eyed and sniffed. “Okay,” he said. “Umm…I need to…to go to the bathroom,” his cheeks reddened.
“Okay,” Elizabeth nodded. “Do you need any help?” John had been helping with Rodney’s physical needs for the past week. Elizabeth had guessed Rodney was feeling embarrassed this morning. But he managed to get dressed okay. “I’ll find a nurse,” she said.
“I can do it,” he huffed. “Sorry.”
“It’s all right, Rodney,” she squeezed his arm. “I don’t know what you need help with and I don’t want to embarrass you. How about I stand outside the restroom door and if you need help just holler and I’ll find you some help.”
“Okay,” he nodded and went off to the restroom.
&
Once Rodney was finished in the restroom, getting through that without help, they left the infirmary. Elizabeth guided him to the cafeteria causing a slight panic when he saw where they were.
“Major Lorne and Radek are the only ones in there,” Elizabeth said having looked in first.
“Okay,” Rodney nodded.
Zelenka and Lorne were sitting across from each other at the same table eating their lunches.
Elizabeth took Rodney over to the food and they filled their trays. She watched him making sure he didn’t take anything he’d be allergic to. It was unlikely there was anything there, but she wanted to be sure.
“Mind if we join you, gentlemen?” Elizabeth asked and put out her hand gesturing to Radek and Lorne to stay seated.
“Not at all, Ma’am,” Lorne said. “Doc,” he said to Rodney.
Elizabeth sat to Lorne’s left while Rodney sat on her other side with Radek on his left. Weir, Lorne and Zelenka did most of the talking while Rodney ate and watched.
“Lizbeth?” Rodney’s voice held a note of panic as she stood up.
“I’ll be right back,” she said. She went back to the food and grabbed another pudding cup. When she returned to the table she stopped to look at the scene before her. She looked at an amused Lorne. “Major, what’s going on?”
“Rodney’s helping Radek with his project,” Lorne grinned.
Across from them Rodney was engrossed in the screen on Radek’s laptop. They were talking in half sentences as if it was old times.
“I don’t know,” Rodney said. “I don’t even know how I came up with that,” the spell was broken as Rodney buried his face in his hands.
“It is all right, Rodney,” Radek patted Rodney’s shoulder. “Thank you for this help, it was great help.”
Rodney’s head came up and he looked at Radek with wide eyes. “You’re welcome,” his voice was hesitant and he looked at Elizabeth who gave him an encouraging smile.
“I think you’ve earned this,” Elizabeth handed Rodney the pudding cup she retrieved.
Rodney blushed and then smiled shyly before digging into the pudding.
They returned to their quarters when Rodney finished his pudding as more people started to arrive in the cafeteria. Rodney was tired and in need of a nap anyway. Elizabeth decided a nap sounded like a good idea and figured they’d call her if there was an emergency.
That evening Elizabeth figured Rodney was not up for another trip to the cafeteria and asked someone to bring some food to their quarters.
It had been a long and eventful day and they had decided to turn in early. Something woke her and she blinked several times trying to adjust her eyes to the dark.
“John?” Her voice was quiet not having much energy for more.
“Hey, why aren’t you asleep?” She could feel him crawl in bed next to her.
“I was, but you woke me,” she said.
He pressed a kiss to her lips stroking the side of her face with his thumb. “How was your day?”
“Long,” she slumped back against him and gave him a brief summary of the day.
“Is Rodney okay?” He asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Test results will be ready tomorrow.”
“How are you?” He asked.
“Exhausted. Worried,” she turned and wrapped her arms around his waist resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad you’re home. I love you.”
“I love you too,” he wrapped his arms around her holding her close.
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This just keeps getting better and better. I just love it. You write so well and it's really believable.
Poor Rodney...I love how Elizabeth mothers him. You have her character perfect.
Lovely little bit of Sparky at the end :-)
P.S. LORNE! SQUEE ;-)
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I've got more ways to get some interesting sparky involved in the fic. :D
Gotta have Lorne. Heh. I had to put Lorne and Zelenka in a scene with all the Lorne, Zelenka we've had this season.
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