The Protector (Stargate Atlantis fanfic)

Chapter 2

Carson sat on a chair, sifting through the scans and reports of the girl lying next to him on one of the infirmary beds. He expected she would be there for a couple weeks as the initial scan had shown multiple broken ribs, a broken arm, a sprained ankle, almost all of the knuckles on her hand were bruised, if not broken, and her body was covered with abrasions, and lacerations. It had been two days since they had brought her in and she was already showing remarkable progress with the outer injuries. So well, in fact, that Carson had asked the staff for several more scans of her internal injuries. The scans that he was now going through.

As he looked through them, he stopped on one that didn't look right. He examined it closer, then checked the name and date on the page. Yep, it was her alright, and today's too. But that couldn't be right. According to the scan, her ribs had healed over two days, in what should have been at least three weeks. He squinted at the paper, then looked over at the girl, and nearly jumped out of the chair in fright when his eyes were met with the wide, brilliant eyes, one green and the other brown, of the girl.

"Oh," He breathed," Sorry, I- Well, I didn't expect you to be awake anytime soon." He said. She cocked her head at him, making her rich, flaming hair tumble down off of the bed.

"Can you speak- do you understand what I'm saying?" He asked, leaning closer. She took a deep, shuddering breath, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she locked eyes with him, momentarily freezing him where he sat. He gulped. The blankets rustled and revealed a small freckled hand, reaching out to him. He took it cautiously. Her eyes seemed to sparkle momentarily, sending a very small electrical current through his hand. He gasped quietly and looked down as she squeezed. She was a lot stronger than she looked, and Carson tried not to wince and she cut off all the circulation to his fingers. Then it was over. Her hand dropped over the bed and angled, freckled face turned away as she passed out.

"What do you mean 'she woke up?' I thought you said she wasn't gonna wake up for the next few weeks?" Sheppard asked after Carson had explained what had just happened to John and Weir.

"I didn't think she would wake up this soon either! Her injuries were far too severe. It was a miracle that she was alive at all when we found her, but for her to be awake so soon. It should be impossible." He said. Elizabeth shook her head.

"I want to see her." She said.

"Well, she's not awake now." Carson said. Weir nodded.

"Yes I know, but I still want to see her." She said. Carson looked around the room and shrugged.

"Alright." He said, as he lead the way out, with Sheppard and Weir following close behind. Just as they got to the door, Carson's radio beeped. He tapped it.

"Yes? What is it?" he asked as door swung open. He had no need for the answer. The girl was completely awake, sitting on the bed with her arms and legs crossed. As soon as she saw him, she practically flew off the bed, but her foot caught in the blankets and she face flopped on the floor. Carson gasped and flew to her. He was only half way there when she got untangled and leaped the rest of the distance towards him. The moment she was within reaching distance, her hands flew out and clutched the collar of his doctors coat, using it to propel her closer. She pressed her head against his shoulder, clutching at his jacket, and his shirt. Unsure of what to do, Carson looked around and noticed that Sheppard had his pistol trained on the athletic little red head.

"Wha-? No, put that away!" He whispered at him. Sheppard didn't move. "I'm pretty sure she's just scared out of her wits Colonel. I don't think she has any intention of hurting me. Ok?" He continued. Sheppard waited for a moment longer, then lowered the pistol, though he didn't holster it. Carson sighed, and looked back at the form that had fastened itself to him. He gently placed his arms around her and they stood there for a moment. Suddenly she shoved him backwards, though still held on to his coat so he didn't go to far. Her eyes narrowed as she looked him up and down, and he heard the Colonel raise his gun again. He put a hand out gesturing for him not to fire. When the girl finished examining him, she leaped up so that she was off of the floor, with her hands on Carson's shoulders, as she looked down, before she quickly dropped back down and hugged him again.

"Well, that was unexpected." Weir said.

"You could say that again. Hey Doc, are you sure she's not a threat?" Sheppard asked, lowering the gun.

"She hasn't done anything to hurt me, or anyone else, so far." Carson said. That didn't seem to convince either one of them. Carson sighed.

"If you want, you can wait outside and I'll call you if I need you. Alright?" He said. Sheppard and Weir exchanged glances then nodded.

"Fine, I'll be right outside that door." John said, and they slowly backed out the door. Just as the door closed, Carson felt the girls head move. He looked down to see her scowling at him.

"What? What is-ow!" He was interrupted by her hand violently smacking his chest, as if she was scolding him. He tried to pull away, but she held onto him with more strength than she should have. She angrily pointed at his chest then pointed at the door.

"What? Are you-You're mad I left. Is that it?" he said, trying to piece together what she was trying to say. She didn't seem to understand so he pointed at himself, then pointed at the door. She shook her head violently, then pointed at his chest, then pointed to the floor.

"You want me to stay here?" He asked. When she didn't seem to understand, he pointed at himself, then pointed at the floor. She nodded enthusiastically. He sighed in exasperation. There was no possible way that he was going to be able to stay here 24-7 but he nodded, then pointed to her bed. He would at least stay for as long as he could. She looked at him skeptically, then moved over to the bed and crawled in. She looked at him once more, then pointed at him, then the floor. He nodded, and moved to help tuck her in. He wasn't sure that she needed him to do that because she looked about 15, but he felt it was appropriate.

Once she was satisfied that he was going to stay, she let out a noise of contentment, and snuggled into the blankets, making them look a lot more comfortable than they were.