The Long Way Home

Chapter Twenty Seven: Never Alone

And though I can not see You
and I can't explain why.
Such a deep, deep reassurance
You've placed in my life oh

Barlow Girl – Never Alone

There was blood on the floor and the sight of it smeared on the tiles of his Infirmary disturbed Carson Beckett more than he cared to admit. The dead Genii was laying splayed out across the floor in a pool of his own vivid red secretion as Scottish doctor stood over him observing the scene with clinical detachment. Corpses were nothing new to him, over the years he had lost people to violence and studied cadavers but there was something about the state of the Infirmary that caused an uneasiness to settle in his bones. There was something he was missing about this picture, something he was struggling to put his finger on.

There was a wicked combat knife glinting inches away from Genii's fingers as the cold, deceased eyes glared vacantly at the ceiling. There was malice on the other man's features, his final moments depicted upon his face. There were two bullet holes in the corpse, one in the stomach and one in the chest. The stomach could possibly have been survivable if he had received medical attention, the chest wound however had been the killing shot, from the blood that had bubbled upon the dead Genii's lips it was more than likely the bullet had punctured a lung.

It took a few minutes for Carson to realize what the first thing was that was bothering him and that was only because the double barrelled weapon clattered when he accidentally nudged it with his foot. It was the Genii's gun and Carson wondered briefly why the Major had used the man's own weapon upon him before putting it down to survival.

"Hey Doc," Ford's voice broke into his thought pattern as he held up a small leather flak jacket that he had found heaped upon the floor. "I thought Doctor Pierce was supposed to be at the Alpha Site."

Carson's vivid blue eyes landed on the name plate on the lapel of the jacket. 'Pierce' stood out proudly, the letters embedded in the tough material. His stomach was already in knots, twisting and writhing in mounting concern as he twisted his head to look at the scene around them in a completely new light.

"She must have been caught up in the chaos when the Genii attacked the city." Ford muttered as Carson wiped the back of his hand across his dry lips.

"Doctor Beckett." Teyla erupted as she burst through the doors of the Infirmary.

Her voice was twinged with urgency as she stood before him, her strong, warrior's hands sticky with blood. Her face was contorted in horror and concern as she stared at the dead Genii before shifting her focus onto Carson.

"I've found Doctor Pierce in the Transporter but she is severely wounded and it appears she's lost a lot of blood." Teyla informed the two men.

Carson was already moving into action, he was slipping into the private administration area and snatching up his own field kit from the spot beside his desk. There hadn't been a chance to use it so far on Atlantis as Cass took care of the majority of their field cases but he kept it well stocked just in case. His fingers were already fastening on his key card before he swiped it across the panel for the blood reserve, the doors hissing open to allow him access. He was already grasping as much O positive as he could carry and stuffing the plastic carriers into a box they used for organ transplants.

"What are you doing?" Ford exclaimed as Carson grabbed a handful of fresh needles and a line of clear tubing and shoved that on top of the blood packs before closing the carrier. "She needs your help now."

"In exactly fifteen minutes the storm is going to hit Atlantis and the corridors are going to become conductors. The only place that's safe is going to be the Stargate Command area." Teyla reminded Ford from the meetings they had sat in regarding Rodney's plan.