Sheppard looked down at his wound. He had lost a lot of blood and was starting to feel the effects. Pressing a bandage harder to stem the blood flow and leaning his head back, he took a deep breath. This wasn't over. He still had a long night ahead of him.

Darkness threatened to swallow him whole and despite his best efforts, John wanted to let it.

"Sheppard!" Ronon's gruff voice called from what felt like the world's longest tunnel.

"Wha-?" John asked blearily. God he just wanted to sleep!

"Come on buddy, can't go to sleep on me now," Ronon answered deeply.

John heard the Satedan moving around the damaged jumper, flinging machinery and supplies around like they were pillows you'd throw on a bed.

The part of his brain that realized he needed to stay awake told him that his friend was looking for a bandage to stem the blood flow from the wound in his calf but the rest that just wanted to crash into oblivion didn't even care.

Pain, sharp, piercing, hot, deep, throbbing pain echoed through his leg radiating from his toes to his hip and despite his training John found he couldn't stifle the groan that had escaped through barely parted lips.

"Sorry," Ronon said as he pressed a makeshift bandage deeper into the open, deep wound. There was no twinkle in his eyes as he apologized unlike many other times. This time he really was sorry that he had to cause his friend and commanding officer so much pain that he can't hold it in.

John Sheppard was a strong man, Ronon knew from experience, and it took A LOT of pain, more than any one man's normal tolerance, to make him cry out in pain. Case in point – his leg.

They had been flying through the gate to an uncharted off-world planet only to be greeted on the other side by an angry thunderstorm. Lightning had struck VERY close to the jumper, causing the power in the machine to go out like a shorted circuit.

John had done the best he could but they had still crashed. Ronon for his part was unharmed. Sure he'd have many bruises and wouldn't be able to spar for a week thanks to a couple cracked ribs but it was nothing.

Teyla had sprained her wrist but was otherwise alright as well.

Rodney had broken his arm and endured a couple of broken ribs. Both of which he claimed were much worse than they were.

John had directed Teyla to take Rodney to the gate and get him to Atlantis then send a rescue team for he and Ronon. When asked if he had been injured, Sheppard had, of course, downplayed his injuries saying that despite needing an ice pack and a couple glazed doughnuts he was fine. So reluctantly, Teyla escorted a very loudly complaining Rodney to the gate.

Only after they had gone and Ronon suggested that they move to a safer spot did Sheppard tell him how badly he was hurting.

A branch had penetrated through the tough exterior and right into John's calf, breaking the bone as it went. It had taken a lot of force along with a lot of pain and screaming, on Sheppard's side, to get the Colonel free and to the back of the damaged jumper.

He'd lost a lot of blood and had been drifting on the edge of shock for the past three hours. Ronon had done his best to stem the blood flow but the leg still bled freely.

Dawn broke on the crashed machine, bringing hope and the sound of another jumper with it.

Ronon placed a hand on the injured and barely conscious man's shoulder, "Hang in there Sheppard. Help is almost here."