Final Respects

by The Huntress

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/ash/huntress/finalres.php
Summary: Sometimes you have to make hard decisions

The infirmary was dark as he entered. He moved silently, his Ops training kicking in. He stopped at the bedside, the eyes staring up at him, the body shaking with the ravages of age, infirmity. He saw the pleading in those eyes, saw the head nod up and down. His hands were quick, shutting off the medical equipment, lest any alarms go off. He removed the IV from a vein, replacing it with another. He held the larger man tightly, covering his mouth, preventing the automatic response of a scream. And when it was done he released his hold, a lone tear running down his face. As he exited the infirmary he was met by two men and he lowered his head, prepared for any type of disciplinary action he would receive.

The eyes that met his were not filled with anger or scorn but sorrow and understanding. An arm slid around his shoulders, taking him to a transport tube, back to his room. The moment the door to his room slid closed he broke down. Two strong arms quickly enveloped him, gentle hands rubbing his back, and words, soothing words, whispered in his ear so softly....

"It's okay, John," Rodney murmured. "You did what was right, as you always do." He kissed John softly and rocked him back and forth until John finally allowed exhaustion to take over and he fell asleep.

In the infirmary, Colonel Caldwell turned the medical equipment back on, hearing the shrill beeping, waiting until one of the nurses entered before turning them back off. He contacted Carson Beckett himself, advising the Doctor that Colonel Dillon Everett was dead.

And although the words would never leave his lips, he considered John Sheppard one of the bravest men he had ever met. Should Steven Caldwell ever fall to a Wraith, he prayed that John Sheppard was with him.

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