Work Text:
24 Hours: 13 Hours
by Damion Starr
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shepfordwives
"In thirteen hours they'll be laying flowers on my life
It's over tonight.
I'm not messing, no, I need your blessing
And your promise to live free.
Please do it for me."
~"24" Jem
John sat at Aiden's bedside, hands clasped loosely between his knees and head hung in exhaustion. It had been about an hour since the Major's earth-shattering revelation, and ever since he and Gaigun had stayed out of each others' way. It was for the best. Sheppard highly doubted that he would be able to avoid strangling the scientist if they were to be in the same room for too long.
"Major?" John looked up at the soft groan that escaped from his lieutenant's lips. "Major?" Ford's hand lifted from the bed and blindly groped the air, searching for something. John hesitated. "Major?! Major, help!" John panicked and, without thinking, grabbed his friend's hand. Aiden gripped it with a force that terrified Sheppard.
"Shh, it's okay, I'm right here," John murmured, gently touching Aiden's temple.
"It hurts, sir, please, it hurts," Aiden moaned, thrashing on the bed and squeezing his CO's hand so hard John thought it was gonna break.
"I know, I know, shh, I know," John set his free hand on Aiden's chest and restrained him with disturbing ease. "I know it hurts, Aiden, but I need you to hold on, okay? Gaigun is working on a cure right now, and he'll have it any minute, then you'll feel one-hundred percent better, but you just need to get through this, okay? I know you can do it. You're so much stronger than this," John mentally cursed the tears that crept into his voice. The fact of the matter was, he had no idea if the young man laying before him was going to live to see tomorrow, and John wasn't sure what he felt more: anger or sadness. Maybe both. "Hold on. That's an order," John's order didn't come out as strong as he wanted, and he found himself reaching out to tenderly rest his right hand on Aiden's forehead while his left still clutched Ford's like a lifeline.
"Sir, yes, sir," Aiden whispered with a small smile. John, against his better judgement, stood and kissed his lieutenant's fevered brow. The display of affection didn't quite register in Aiden's illness-ridden mind.
"Sleep now," John whispered softly, giving Aiden's hand an extra squeeze. Ford's eyes promptly drifted closed. John stood there for a moment, watching his second-in-command sleep, then cautiously kissed the back of the hand he held in his own. "Sweet dreams,"
***
"How's he doing?" Gaigun asked without looking up. John leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms.
"He's asleep,"
"That's good," Gaigun replied with a nod. Silence hung heavy between the two men, suffocating them both. "You know, I didn't mean for this to happen to him. I never intended-"
"I know," John interuppted calmly. He had long since passed anger toward the scientist. Deep down, Sheppard understood. Gaigun was trying to find a cure for one of the biggest killers in the universe. That was an admirable goal. It just really sucked that he had to pick Aiden to try to do it. "Just, keep working," John pushed away from the doorframe and disappeared back into the room where Aiden slept fitfully.
***
"Uh,"
"Shh,"
John awoke a few hours later where he had fallen asleep, in his chair with his head resting on his arms on Aiden's bed. He cracked open one eye, not wanting to give away that he was awake.
John could make out Gaigun's profile in the dim candle light. The middle aged scientist hovered over Aiden's head, gently mopping the younger man's brow with a cloth. Ford lifted one hand off the bed, almost as if to fend him off, but the man easily pushed it back down.
"John," Aiden moaned, and John's heart skipped a beat.
"Shh, he's right here," Gaigun set Aiden's hand on John's arm, and the Major felt his Lieutenant's fingers curl around his bicep, but the grip was dishearteningly weak. "See? There you go. Now, get some sleep. I'll check on you later,"
John listened for Gaigun's fading footsteps, and waited until he was satisfied the Scientist was in the other room. Then, John slowly lifted his head off his arms and glanced back over his shoulder. There was no sign of Gaigun, so Sheppard gently lifted the blanket and crawled underneath. Aiden moaned in confusion. "Shh, it's okay, it's just me, Aiden," John murmured softly, pulling his young second-in-command into his arms. "I'm right here," Aiden quieted and settled against John's chest. John looked down at him for a moment. He had absolutely no idea why he got into bed with Aiden, and it probably wasn't his greatest idea, but Aiden needed him right now, and dammit he was going to be there for him. John, for the second time in however many hours, tenderly kissed Aiden's forehead. "Hold on," Sheppard whispered, gripping the younger man as if that alone would keep him among the living. "Please, hold on,"
Gaigun, unseen by John, turned away from the intimate scene, with growing dread and guilt in his heart.
To Be Continued...