The Long Way Home

Chapter Sixty Seven: Monster

And now I know who you are
It wasn't that hard, just to figure you out
(Now I did, you wonder why)
(Why not before, you never tried)
(Gone for good, and this is it)

Nickelback – Figured You Out

It was dinner time and Rodney ate when he was nervous or anxious. Sheppard had always joked that there wasn't a time that he didn't seem to be eating. Now was one of those times where he should be pushing his food around his tray in distaste instead of filling his stomach. Yet he couldn't stop eating. Stress eating was his thing and the pressure was now more stifling than ever. Sheppard had been confined to the Infirmary in the throes of a medical coma whilst Cass resided in the brig, locked away until she cleared all medical testing.

Cass had been injured during John's escape, she had ended up with a bleeding gash across her throat from John's newly formed talons and a bump upon her head. They were not sure if the retrovirus could be carried through something as simple as that of a cut. When Sheppard had been infected they weren't sure if it had been through a blood to blood transfer or not. To lose one friend to this evil would be one thing, but to lose two would be devastating. Hence why he was eating.

Carson was trying his best to rally his army of doctors, Rodney had never seen so many egos pushed aside for the sake of one cause before. The doctors were different from his own scientists, they were more humane, they rallied around their own and supported them like a network. Sheppard had become important to them through Cass and their respect for him knew no bounds.

There were hours left before the changes became permanent and they lost the John Sheppard that they had all come to know and love. Even with his genius Rodney could not have seen a way out of this, he simply didn't have the knowledge or the experience to work with genetics and it made him feel useless. He was used to having all the answers, to making others feel inferior with his intelligence.

He had taken to walking around the labs in a bid to clear his mind, or rather in attempt to focus on the problem as he saw it. It had chased around his mind over the past few days like a spectre. He had watched Sheppard's condition worsening with every breath the other man took and it wrenched at his guts like fiery pokers that the answer alluded him.

Seeing the effect it had had on Cass had made everything even worse. There was a strength in that woman that Rodney had never seen in anybody else. Despite the fact she was not part of their team she was a part of their family, his affections towards her were similar to that of Jeanie his own sister. He had not seen her fall apart during the course of this ordeal instead she had involved herself in it wholly, shouldering the turmoil like it was a challenge instead of a burden.

Sheppard needed someone of that calibre to support him during his life. He needed someone who was there by his side willing to fight for him and Cass was that person. Seeing the two of them together gave Rodney hope for his own future. Sheppard was a difficult man to care for, his life was etched with danger and he wore his humour and his valour like armour. Seeing him, the way he acted with Cass showed Rodney a different side of the man. A caring, gentler nature. Their love had convinced him that such a feeling did exist. That it wasn't an abundance of chemicals rushing around the brain.

It was the sound of his friend's name as he walked past an open doorway that led Rodney to draw to a halt and listen closely. He was nosy by nature, he always had been. His ears pricked up as he lingered by the doorway as that vile musical laughter twinged in his ears.

Maria Defoe...

Any other woman with such vivacious curves and plush kissable lips Rodney would have gladly swooned over but there was something poisonous inside this woman. He had sensed it from the instant he had seen her eyes brighten in response to Sheppard's arrival. She had been after him since day one and she despised Cass. He had taken her aside one and issued her a verbal warning for the way she had been talking about a Senior Member of staff.