A/N: Many thanks to Alexis Kent for betaing the story and for being all around awesome. Keep an eye out for her Broken Ties tag that will be coming out soon, "Uncle Ricky." Trust me--it's great!
"So you think flowers are okay? I mean, people recovering from surgery get them all the time, right? And I gave some to Teyla and she didn't take them wrong or get offended or anything, but Jennifer-- That is to say--" McKay looked like he was forcing himself to stay seated by Sheppard's infirmary bed and not pace, but was making up for it by waving his hands animatedly.
Sheppard closed his eyes. "McKay, I'm a recovering patient. If you knock over my...IV stand, you won't have to worry about flowers making her mad." He cracked open an eye and smirked smugly at McKay. "Why don't you just...give her fruit from the planets we trade with? It'd be a really...thoughtful gesture."
"I'm going to get you back for that, you know. Just wait. You'll find out what happens when a genius plans revenge." His hands began moving again. "But seriously! Do you think flowers are okay?"
Sheppard gave weary wave of his hands. "Sure."
"But she won't take them as, well, that sort of thing, right?"
"But is it 'that sort of thing'?" Sheppard smirked when he heard the stammering defense begin, but it stopped. He looked back at Rodney and found the scientist looking at him with a quizzical expression. "What?" he added innocently.
For a moment McKay only eyed Sheppard suspiciously. Ever since that whole time travel thing, Sheppard kept making odd faces whenever Keller talked to McKay, and that wasn't mentioning all those weird hints and quips he'd give. "Nothing," Rodney finally said, crossing his arms.
Sheppard settled back. "Flowers are fine. Take my word for it; she won't be mad."
McKay brightened visibly, but mumbled, "Sure, like I can trust you after the fruit basket incident."
Sheppard couldn't help but shake his head as his teammate left for the infirmary. Weird. Just too weird. He had to admit, though, that it wasn't the worst thing that could repeat itself from that timeline.
Jennifer's mind drifted wearily as she dozed. Every sound and movement around her seemed to morph into something more sinister: the creak of tendrils, the slither of vines, or worst of all, the echoing voice that had held her mind captive. In her more aware moments, she told herself that all of this was simply a result of her imagination and the drugs remaining in her system after the surgery.
Dr. Beckett's cure had worked wonders on removing the infection, but while dead, some traces of the horrible vines had remained. Even now, after they were removed, she could almost feel them on her skin. But that eerie sensation was nothing compared to the terrible voice.
A faint memory of a very different voice remained, and Jennifer found herself clinging to it. "We're going to fix this. I promise." The corners of her mouth lifted in a weary smile. She liked that voice.
"Jennifer? You awake?"
She frowned. It was the same voice, but...saying different things?
"Jennifer? I uh, I brought you some flowers-- I mean, as a get-well gift, not like, well, you know..."
While fully awake by now, Jennifer tried to pretend to still be sleeping. She loved it when Rodney rambled like this, and there was no way she was going to interrupt.
He seemed to be hesitating, though, and she sensed something waving over her face before hearing him begin again. "To be honest, I'm surprised this room isn't stuffed with flowers. I mean, you're really great, you know? You really care about people." There was a scraping of chair legs against the floor as he sat by the bed. "I thought for sure that I'd hate whoever replaced Carson. All other doctors just like to stick you full of needles and pretend they're healing you, right? You really proved me wrong. You're a great friend, just like he was. A lot hotter, though--"
A smile was growing that she wasn't able to hide, and she heard a sharp intake of breath.
"What? You're awake? How long have you been awake?" Rodney stammered. "You were awake the whole time, weren't you!"
She grinned, lifting heavy eyes to look at the blurred face hovering by her. "Hi, Rodney. Thanks for...the flowers," she slurred. "S'really sweet."
"You think so?" The face was coming into focus, now, and looked relieved. "I mean, you're welcome. Well, uh," he pointed at the door. "I should go now, and let you get some rest."
She lifted a hand, relishing how clean and human it felt. "No, you can...stay. Keep me company?"
It was over an hour by the time a nurse came by to check up on Keller, and McKay was herded away to allow the doctor to get some rest.
While putting up a show of being annoyed, McKay couldn't help but be happy. Jennifer recovery seemed to be coming along wonderfully, and she hadn't gotten mad at him! Maybe he'd let Sheppard go on that fruit basket incident after all...