They came through the gate without incident and rose to the Jumper bay. Rodney had stayed very calm up to that point but as John was landing the jumper things started to sink in for him what had happened, the adrenaline rush gone. His breath grew shallow and his eyes blurred as he stared ahead trying to focus them.
“Rodney,” John sounded far away, “You okay?”
Rodney’s chest caved in and he nearly collapsed when he tried to stand. Teyla leapt up and caught him. Rodney’s eyes teared up as he tried to make sense of what was happening.
John took him from Teyla pulling him into his chest, “Medical team to the jumper bay.” He radioed Carson.
“It’s alright, Rodney. We’re home.” John gently rocked him, “You’re having a panic attack but it’s going to be okay. You did good, you did real good.”
His arms tightened around him and that seemed to help. John kissed the top of his head and fought off his own tears. Rodney tried to focus on his breathing but his head was spinning. What was he thinking antagonizing a lunatic that had it out to kill him? Why couldn’t he have done the smart thing and just obeyed? Then he remembered the power outage. Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered what he did. Apollo was out to kill him no matter what. He’d almost died. Oh god!
The next thing he knew he was strapped to a gurney and Carson was pushing him towards the infirmary. John never let go of his hand. He couldn’t recognize anyone else through his blurred vision so he focused on John.
“Just breathe, Rodney,” John coached him, “We’re getting you some help. Everything’s gonna be okay.”
He sounded surprisingly calm which caused Rodney to feel that maybe things were alright. Maybe he was overreacting. He suddenly felt very silly. His burns were better. Why was he so worked up? He was home. He was fine.
