Author's Note: Written for my dear friend CheekyBeckett. This story stars BugShep and the labcoat of love.
Thanks to the lovely Angstydaydreams for doing a fantastic job as my beta.
I hope you enjoy, and as always, Please Review! :)

Bug Nightmares by GraceW

Carson Beckett woke with a start. Looking at the time, he sighed. It wasn't the first time he had fallen asleep at his infirmary desk only to wake in the middle of the night with a crick in his neck. He had been working so hard trying to make a break through with the retrovirus research that he hadn't been sleeping well.

Slowly standing out of his rolling chair, his vertebra cracking, Carson stretched his cramped arms. He stripped off his lab coat, planning on heading to bed for a few hours before his morning alarm. Falling asleep at his desk was actually rather stupid, he concluded. A yawn escaped his lips as he shuffled toward the infirmary door.

He passed by the new nurse, Kim. Even though he didn't know her very well, Carson had taken an instant liking to her in the first week of her time in Atlantis. Her blonde hair and pretty smile lit up the dim infirmary lighting.

"You're up late, Dr. Beckett."

"Feel asleep at my desk, again." Carson smiled shyly, and Kim returned with a soft grin and an understanding nod.

"Well, you better get to bed. You've been working too hard to forget to sleep."

"That's probably a good idea." Carson started walking away but paused "Oh, Kim?"

"Yes, Doc?"

"You…I mean…umm, do you…um, would you..."

A small giggle stopped Carson's bumbling words. She put a hand in front of her mouth and said coyly "I'm sorry, what were you saying?""

"Are you…er..." Carson took a second to regain his thoughts before spouting out as fast as he could, "I'm-just-wondering-if-you-want-to-do-something-Friday-night?"

Kim tilted her head and grinned "Friday night? I usually work the late shift-"

"Oh." Carson sounded rather dejected.

"-but I'm not scheduled for this Friday night. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, um…"

She interrupted him "I'll keep just that night free and you can surprise me. Now, you need to go to bed." She winked and made a shooing motion.

Carson smiled sleepily and shuffled his way to the infirmary door. With a wave of his hand in front of the sensor, the door opened. Standing in the opening of the door was Sheppard, but not the Sheppard that he had seen earlier that evening.

It was the colonel, but his body mutated back into the full-blown bug form that had resulted from the incident with Ellia. Sheppard's eyes, huge and yellow with dark slits for irises, stared down at Carson, as if the doctor was simply the next meal. The blue scales around Sheppard's tightly closed mouth further worsened the fear and intimidation building in Carson.

Silent as a prowling cat, Sheppard took one menacing step toward Carson, who backed up. "Now colonel, I don't know what's happened, but we need to get you settled down here. Let me get some help-"

Sheppard's mutated hand flew up lightening fast and grasped the unprepared doctor by the neck. Carson let out a gasp as the colonel backed him up against the wall. Sheppard's hand was tight against Carson's neck, one little squeeze could have fatal results. Out of the corner of his eye, Carson saw Kim in her purple scrubs. The pretty blonde nurse's eyes were wide with fear as she stared at the unfolding real-life nightmare. She didn't speak, but when Carson met her eyes, she took off running for the radio that should be on his desk.

Bug-Sheppard acted fast, throwing the doctor to the side and running toward the shocked nurse. Carson fell hard, his shoulder hitting the ground with a force that would surely leave a massive bruise.

The doctor heard Kim scream as strong hands grabbed her arm and spun her around before she even had a chance get to the radio. Sheppard had her arm in a tight grip and she could feel the tips of her fingers going numb from loss of circulation. Her heart pounding in her ears, Kim paled as the Bug drew her closer to his robed body. He looked her up and down, eyeing her with a menacing gaze.

Carson had managed to get back on his feet, his tender shoulder protesting the movement. Something clicked in his mind, fueling determination and a sense of protectiveness. Grabbing a near-by IV stand, he swung it as hard as he could at the colonel. With a loud thud, the metal found its target, causing Sheppard to spin around and release his grip on Kim. The pretty nurse fell to the ground with a small yelp, and quickly scurried out of the way. Sheppard now stood in between the frightened duo and the radio. His yellow eyes darted between the doctor's IV stand and the nurse who had backed up against a wall. They couldn't call for help, they were trapped.

Carson still held the, now slightly bent, stand in his hands. Summoning up some courage, he stared into the yellow bug eyes and said as new determination filled his voice "Oh, no you don't. Not in my infirmary."

The Bug-Sheppard took a step toward him, hands outstretched as if to again grab him by the neck. Carson stabbed at the colonel, catching him in the abdomen, and pushed him to the side, away from the desk and the radio. The stand did not puncture his thick skin, but Carson used enough force to cause Sheppard to let out a hoarse yell and back up a few steps.

Kim ran over to stand next to Carson, but he stepped in front of her, just in case. Her eyes were wide and she looked at the doctor. Sheppard fought against the pressure, causing Carson's muscles to scream with the strain of holding him. Trying not to lose his hold on the stand and his concentration on the Bug, he muttered to Kim "Quick. Get the radio, and then get out of here."

With just a indecisive moment's hesitation, as if she didn't want to leave Carson to the mercy of the Bug, Kim dashed off, running as fast as she could for Carson's desk. Reaching the radio, she fumbled with it before turning it on and yelling "Help! Security breach in the infirmary!"

If she got a response, Carson didn't hear it. Bug-Sheppard finally grabbed the metal stand in his huge hands and yanked it out of Carson's weakening grip. The doctor stood defenseless as the furious creature thundered toward him. Sheppard's yellow eyes filled with victory as he drew closer. A wave of terror washed over Carson. Kim would be able to get out safely, and if that was the only good that came out of this, his job was done.

Sheppard's mutated lethal-looking hands were extending toward Carson's neck when…

Carson awoke with a start, and upon feeling a hand on his shoulder, he flailed his arms wildly. Unwittingly, he hit the owner with one of his wayward fists, causing a female voice to cry "Ouch!"

Carson regained his composure and turned to look up at his supposed attacker, Kim. The pretty nurse had a hand held to the left side of her face and stared down at the doctor.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry Kim! I was…um…"

"Dreaming? I could tell." She removed her hand revealing a slightly red mark on her left cheek.

"It was horrible. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you. Do you need some ice, love?" Carson stood up out of his rolling chair, his wrinkled lab coat fanning out behind him. He cast a worried eye at Kim, and brought a hand up to examine the injury.

"No, I'll be fine. But that's the last time I try and wake you up out of a nightmare." She grinned at the bumbling and distressed doctor. After several seconds, Carson realized that he was gently stroking her cheek. Heat flushed over his face, as he awkwardly put his hand back in the pocket of his labcoat.

"I'm glad I didn't hurt you." Carson let out a worried and tired sigh "Perhaps I should try to get some sleep on a pillow that doesn't consist of a pad of papers. Maybe then I won't hurt anyone."

"Well perhaps you should." With a twinkle in her eye, Kim walked with Carson to the infirmary door.

"Oh, and Kim…" Carson paused shyly "Are you free Friday evening?"

FIN

Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review. :)

~~Grace