A/N: This story has been completely redone. I wrote it in 2005 so you might have read it already. What I did was get rid of all mistakes and tried to make the story go along smoother.. Just be aware, this is NOT A NEW STORY!

I do not own the show, characters or storylines of Stargate!

This story follows the end of 'Conversion'.. It deals with the Colonel's recovery, because I think we always get cheated out of recovery scenes on the show!

And it contains lots of whump!

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"Come on, Doc…. I have been here for 10 days, I'm really gonna go crazy if you don't let me out of here soon!"

Dr. Beckett sighted. Colonel Sheppard was the most difficult patient imaginable, he didn't know anybody could even be that impatient. Despite the fact that Sheppard was downright annoying and slowly driving him crazy, Carson tried to remain calm.

"I know this is hard for you, but as I have told you again and again, you're just gonna have to be patient a wee bit longer" he answered.

"But Doc, I really feel perfectly fine… Why do I have to be cooped up in here when I'm FINE?"

"Stop whining now, you're acting like a five-year-old.. You're not fine and don't 'Doc'- me, you know fully well it doesn't work." He failed hiding his annoyance this time, but his expression quickly softened again when he saw the hurt-puppy-look in the Colonel's face.

"Look, I told you, the iratus bug stem cells worked and got you back to your usual charming self, but it also weakened your immune system considerably, any cold could be dangerous to you right now.."

"I'll promise to stay in my room and let nobody come near me, if you just let me outta here. My desk is full of paper work and I am bored to death!" he whined.

Carson noticed that Sheppard was really getting frustrated. He'd rather monitor him for a few more days, but wasn't sure if that was in his patient's best interest right now. The Doctor sighted "All right, if your condition doesn't change till tomorrow and you still feel up to it, I'll let you sleep in your own room…"

John's eyes lit up immediately "Thanks, Carson!"

"…BUT no running around, no briefings and NO paper work, I want you to rest! Do you understand?" he added with a serious look…

Sheppard nodded and smiled like a kid, looking very pleased with himself. "You're unbelievable, you know that?" Carson teased shaking his head.

"Yeah, isn't he annoying?" Rodney blurted out from the door, having heard Carson's last statement as he entered.

"Don't even go there, McKay." Sheppard replied playfully. "Anything exciting happen?"

"Not really, at least nothing that'd be to interest to you" he teased, fumbling with his kleenex and fighting the urge to sneeze.

"Don't underestimate me, right now pretty much anything besides needles and scrubs are interesting to me!"

"Bored, huh? Aren't you enjoying Carson's company?"

Sheppard eyed him critically, ignoring the question "So why did you come here, anyway? Just to visit an old buddy?"

"You mean a ranking military officer who is currently feeling very sorry for himself?…No, in fact, I am just here to let Carson take a look at me, I think I got the flu…"

Before Beckett could react, Rodney couldn't hold back any longer and accidently sneezed all over Sheppard. "Haaattschuu….."

"Ew, for gods sakes, McKay, that is just disgusting…" The Colonel complained, wiping furiously at his face. Anyway, before he could complain any more, he was cut off by a now very furious doctor.

"Bloody hell, Rodney, what do you think you're doin'?" he yelled accusingly while pushing McKay into the room next door.

Sheppard remained in his bed, puzzled as to why the doctor had reacted so harshly. It was disgusting, yes. But Carson acted like McKay had stabbed him with a knife.

'That can't be good.' John thought and relaxed into his pillow.

oOo

Rodney was clearly confused by the Doctor's sudden outburst. "But…I was just…" he tried to explain himself, but again was cut off.

"You do realize that the Colonel's immune system is practically non-existent right now and you had nothing better to do than blow your bacteria all over him. Do you know what that could do?" he asked angrily.

McKay looked puzzled. Carson had mentioned something about Sheppard's immune system days ago, but Rodney had given it no further thought. He had had no idea it was that serious. Or maybe Carson was just exaggerating - something he tended to do quite often when it came to his patients.

"Just get outta here!" Carson suggested, still sounding very pissed.

Rodney knew better than to argue with the Scot in the mood he was in and quietly left the infirmary while Carson took a moment to calm down. After he had gotten a hold of himself, Carson went back over to his only patient.

oOo

He shot him a concerned look .

"Come on, Doc. Don't be so dramatic. I almost felt sorry for Rodney and I'm the one who has his slime all over the face." Sheppard stated with a disgusted expression.

"You heard?" Carson asked.

"Of course I did, you were pretty loud in there… Look, I don't feel that fragile, to be honest. I may not even get sick, I really feel fine." He said reassuringly, but was not sure who he was really trying to convince: the doctor or himself. He didn't even want to think about having his infirmary stay prolonged now that Carson had finally given him the go-ahead for getting out of this place.

"Maybe you won't get sick. But maybe you will. The point is, did he really have to come in here and sneeze all over you, after I've explicitly told him about your immune system? I mean, being the genius that he always claims he is, I'd think he'd have a little more common sense."

"I know, but believe me Doc, I'm not gonna get sick, cause I wanna be out of here by tomorrow!"

Carson seemed doubtful. He gave Sheppard one last check-up before he decided to call it a night. His patient seemed OK for now, but he'd have to see if he showed any signs in the morning. He hoped for the Colonel's sake that he wouldn't. He had been through so much in the last weeks, a relapse was the last thing he needed right now.

"Well, your temperature is normal. Let's hope it stays that way.. Now, I want you to try and get some rest. Good night, Colonel"

"Good night, Doc!" John replied, leaning back. He wasn't too concerned, he knew of the doctor's tendency to overreact and fuss over his patient. Besides, he was set on turning his back on this place in the morning.

It didn't take long before his eyelids got heavy and he fell asleep…

oOo

After a rather restless night, Colonel Sheppard woke up with a pounding headache the next morning. 'Oh no' he thought. There's nothing like a headache greeting you when you wake up in the morning! What a way to start the day! Although it was still pretty early, but he could already see Beckett sitting on his desk going over some charts.

Sheppard considered calling him and asking for some Tylenol, but he still planned on getting out of the infirmary today. He was positive he could rest better in his own quarters and wasn't going to let a headache ruin that for him.

He decided not to worry the good doc since he was the one who had his ticket to freedom.

Being busy thinking of a way to persuade the Scot that he was fine without arousing too much suspicion, he didn't even notice Dr. Beckett approach. The physician eyed him carefully.

"How are you feeling, Son?" he asked, pulling Sheppard back to reality.

"Oh, good morning to you too, doc… Actually, I feel like I could jump fences. You got one around?" John replied with the most reassuring smile he could manage. He wasn't sure if Beckett would buy the act.

However, it seemed to work for now "OK then, I'll do one last check-up before I'll have one of the nurses wheel you to your own quarters."

"Sounds like a plan."

oOo

The final check-up processed slower than usual since Beckett insisted on examining him from head to toe, taking blood pressure, pulse, temperature and listening to seemingly every part of Sheppard's body with his stethoscope, taking his time. The penlight that the doctor seemed to love shining in his eyes didn't help his headache any, either. After the exam was finished, Sheppard felt spent.

Dr. Beckett looked at his patient sceptically. "So, how are ya feeling?" he asked again.

That alone should have made John suspicious, but the headache was getting worse and it kept him from thinking straight.

"I told you before, perfectly fine!" Sheppard was trying hard to sound convincing, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he knew that his voice sounded on edge. He didn't even notice the simple act of putting his shirt back on left him out of breath.

"You seem a little short of breath today, Colonel." Carson replied seriously.

"I have just missed out on a lot of work-out lately…"

Beckett had had enough of this. He knew perfectly well that the Colonel was far from fine and wanted to give him the chance to be reasonable, but it seemed like Sheppard lived in his own little naïve world.

His expression turned serious: "I'm sorry, Colonel, but we're gonna have to postpone your release just a wee bit longer."

John's face fell immediately "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I wish I was. But fact is, you have a temperature and there are also some signs of fluid beginning to build up in your lungs, which isn't good at all."

Sheppard let this settle for a moment: "Ok, then I have a cold. Big deal, I can sleep that out in my room." He suggested, still trying to get the doctor to release him.

"Don't you understand, the fluid in your lungs and the fever is a clear indication for a developing pneumonia.." Carson's features softened when he saw the desperate look in the Colonel's eyes.

"I know this sucks, Son, but you're gonna have to stay here just a bit longer. I'm gonna hook you up to an IV with antibiotics and hopefully, it'll fight off the worst of it." He gave Sheppard a reassuring pad on the shoulder and went to get the IV pole and the medicine out of the cabinet next to the Colonel's bed.

"You know, I hate those things." Sheppard stated quietly. His plan hadn't worked out at all. Actually, it had fired back at him pretty good.

"I know, lad, but it'll help you get better in no time."

"Let's hope so… Oh, and Doc, while you're at it, would you please put some Tylenol in there, too?" He realized that it was senseless to hide anything now.

"Headache?" Sheppard nodded.

"You know, you should really tell me if anything hurts, you're just makin it worse if you don't. And I'm not your enemy..."

"I just told you!" John spat, harsher than intended. He knew the doctor was only trying to help, but if he thought about any more days of lying around in the infirmary, he felt so frustrated. He hated feeling so weak. A gun shot wound was one thing, but to him, simply being sick was even more frustrating. In his world, only science geeks or hypochondriacs like McKay got sick, he was supposed to be the strong military commander and he couldn't even take care of his people.

Here he was again, spending more time in the infirmary than he ever thought possible.

Beckett interrupted his thoughts "I got that IV ready."

"Lucky me!" Sheppard replied sarcastically.

Before he could complain any more, Carson had already gotten hold of his hand and stuck the needle in, hitting the vein without difficulty.

"Ow.." he complained, rubbing the skin around the needle.

Only about a few seconds later, he could feel something warm flowing through his veins, his tongue was getting thicker and his eyelids started drooping.

"What…didcha…put…in there?" he asked with a slurred voice.

"Just a little something to help you sleep, God knows you'll need it." Carson answered, but his patient was already out cold. He knew he'd get a piece of mind from Sheppard about that when he woke up later. The Colonel absolutely hated to be drugged against his will, but sometimes it was just necessary. For the antibiotics to work properly, he needed to be as still as possible. Carson listened to his breathing sound one more time and wasn't happy with what he heard at all. Sheppard's breathing already sounded raspy and he could hear the fluid that was forming in his lungs even without a stethoscope. He hooked him up to the oxygen just to be on the safe side.

But there was one thing he was sure of. This would get worse before it got better.

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Ok, review and tell me what you think of it! I always appreciate tipps and tricks to improve my writing too, since English is not my first language... I have the second chapter finished and I'll post it if you like my stories (- if I get enough reviews, so don't be shy g)