Preparation by Rachael Sabotini (Blood Challenge)

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

Challenge: Blood
Title: Preparation
Author: Rachael Sabotini
Summary: People get careless under stress
Gen, 390 words

Many thanks to elynross for the very last minute beta. No money made, no harm intended. All mistakes are my own. I just had to write something before the challenge passed.


Preparation

Carson stripped off his operating gown, ignoring the blood stains. They ignored so much now, so many tiny details that no one had time to follow up on. A lot of small injuries had to be treated as people got careless under stress; this one was simply a deep cut from a kitchen knife that slipped, leaving Anderson with twelve stitches.

Not that Carson had any right to complain. Dr. Heightmeyer had a busy schedule, as well, what with the Wraith and all, and anxiety disorders ran rampant throughout Atlantis; Dr. McKay wasn't the only one living solely on power bars.

He would have supplied everyone with anti-depressants if he thought it would help, but most of them took too long to kick in, and they just didn't have the time. He might even have prescribed some for himself, truth be told, but it wasn't his preferred method of self-medication.

Some days he felt the absence of a rich, peaty malt just a bit too much, and he was glad there were no substitutes here in Atlantis.

No, Dr. Heightmeyer had the unenviable chore of keeping the group on-task and making sure there weren't any derailments, while McKay and Zelenka kept the city running, and Major Sheppard and Dr. Weir made plans for the city's evacuation.

Carson did as best he could, making sure there were bandages, a good supply of blood, antibiotics, and all the herbal remedies he'd had time to investigate to be certain they would help -- blood coagulators and thinners, herbs that sped healing and reduced the risk of infection, those that sped the heart and slowed it.

He also re-checked all of the Ancient equipment he had access to, making sure everything was on and ready to be used. The machines whispered to him as he touched them, telling him what they could do -- this one could be used as a dialysis machine if someone's kidneys failed, while that one said that it could grow new tissue if given some sample cells -- each one almost eager to be put into use. He didn't worry about this equipment the way he had the chair or the jumper; these machines felt like extensions of his own body, and they were desperate to be used, desperate for his touch.

Carson knew they would be needed soon enough.

Comments

[cathexys.livejournal.com]

oh, i love that quiet desperation, that waiting that he seems to want to end and not to end. the machines desperate for his touch a wonderful as is the realization that anti-depressants take longer to kick in than they have.

a real depressed quiet before the bloodshed look. thank you!!!

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

I like the idea that the reason Carson is so bad with Ancient Technology is due to some of his own inner conflicts, and that with machines that would help life, he might not be so bad at it. Add to that the semi-sentience the machines with their 'mind reading' abilities, and I think a lot could be done with it.

Or maybe it has been and I just haven't read enough to know. *g*

Thanks.

[elvinborn.livejournal.com]

I liked this. I love the idea of the equipment yearning to be utilized. interesting.
well done

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it. Thanks!

[rokeon.livejournal.com]

I like that the medical equipment is to Carson what the jumper is to Sheppard. Very true.

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

I think it's a possibility, but we haven't seen enough of Carson to really get a sense of how that would work. I'd love to see it though.

[ladyvyola.livejournal.com]

I am compelled to pop in and tell you that this is the *hottest* Rodney icon I have come across.

I have no idea why. I can't even analyze it; it's working for me on a visceral level. I'm just sitting here going "guh" over and over again.

My compliments to 'chelle.

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

She just posted several others today, and you can always go to her images section to look over her collection. They are gorgeous.

[misspamela.livejournal.com]

Very, very, nice take on Carson. It makes complete sense that he'd have an affinity for those machines. Really, so wonderful!

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I have a real fondness for Carson, and would love to see a bit more of him in his 'natural environment', so to speak.

[mmmchelle.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I haven't thought much about Carson in the days prior to the Siege. Thank you for fixing that.

I especially liked the part about his relationship to the Ancient medical devices. It's intriguing to think of them communicating their purpose, and of Carson responding to them as though they were part of him. The machines being desperate to be used is particularly interesting.

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

There are so many characters in this show, it's interesting to me to think about what they are doing and what their lives are like when they aren't on-screen. While not everyone is the hero of their own story, a lot of people are and so their view of events is skewed for that reason. I don't get the sense that Carson sees himself as the hero of his own story (though Rodney does, and Zelenka, and Bates, and Kavanaugh...) which makes him extra fascinating, as in what is your perception of yourself if you aren't the main character in your own lifestory? That's a real puzzler for me, and it's interesting to think about.

And I'm enjoying playing with the idea of sentient atlantis, and while many people have covered in concept how that works for sheppard, the idea of how that works for Carson, who apparently has issues with it in order for things to go so disasterously wrong, hasn't been covered. In reality, it probably needs a long story or novella to do it justice, but I don't think I could sustain my focus for that long. I have a hard time getting a short story done.

And man, I do go on. Thanks.

[vickita.livejournal.com]

Oh, man. I felt this one in *my* blood.

It's *right* -- right that the medical equipment would speak to Carson. Right that he'd hear it.

Yeah.

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

Oh, cool! I'm glad you liked it. Thanks!

[minnow1212.livejournal.com]

What a neat insight.

>these machines felt like extensions of his own body, and they were desperate to be used, desperate for his touch.<

This is one of those things I would love to see incorporated into the show.

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

Oh, man. I would love to see that incorporated as well; I'd love to see what could be done with that. Thanks.

[sarren.livejournal.com]

Very cool.

I like that the medical machines talk to Carson :)

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Your icon is very cool, too.

[sarren.livejournal.com]

skaterg8r did these and many more *points*

[namastenancy.livejournal.com]

WOW! How did I miss this one in my fervent search for SGA fics? This is just magnificent and I love your Carson voice. I adore slash and the pOrn but it's really really great to have a writer who "just" focuses on the day-to-day tasks of survival. I found this via a link from the latest SGA newsletter and while my comments are late, they are heartfelt.

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

There is no such thing as a late comment. *g* It's great to hear that it's being read, as it's one of those stories that kinda got lost in the challenge. Knowing that people are finding it anyway is a big thrill. Thanks!