Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Stargate Atlantis or the awesome characters.

Spoilers: season 4

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Chapter 2

Jennifer was working in the back of the infirmary checking in the new supplies and drugs when the first casualty of the day arrived.

"Dr. Keller, you're needed on the floor," Marie called to her from the door of the supply room.

"I'll be right there," she answered, marking where she left off on her invoice sheets before heading to the main floor.

"Morning, Doc," Colonel Sheppard greeted as Jennifer approached.

"Colonel, what have you brought me?" Jennifer asked as she began assessing the young Marine.

"Lt. Haggard, ma'am," the man answered for himself standing up a little straighter.

"Relax, Lt. and take a seat on the bed so I can get a better look at that cut."

"You got an early start," Jennifer said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at Sheppard.

"Ronon seems to be at the top of this game today. Too many Wheaties this morning," Sheppard grinned.

"Well, Lieutenant, did you learn anything?" Jennifer asked the young Marine.

"No ma'am, it all happened too fast," Haggard explained.

"Don't worry Lieutenant, by the end of your training you'll be able to handle yourself just as well," Jennifer said.

Colonel Sheppard looked at Jen and raised an eyebrow, questioning her encouragement.

Turning her back to the Lieutenant she whispered to Sheppard, "Okay, maybe not as well as Ronon but at this point I'd rather be handing out encouragement than antidepressants."

Dr. Keller proceeded to stitch up the head wound while asking Lt. Haggard about his hometown and the girl he left behind. Just as she was finishing, an awkward looking Sergeant Clark entered the infirmary holding a towel to his forearm.

"Glad I'm here to see this," Sheppard said grinning as Clark approached.

"Colonel Sheppard, I'm sure I can handle this alone. You and Lt. Haggard are free to return to your training session. And try to keep the rest of your men out of my infirmary," Doc scolded trying to sound stern but falling short as a small grin escaped.

Sheppard leaned down and whispered to Jennifer as he prepared to leave, "I expect a full report over dinner tonight." Nodding to Haggard, the men left the infirmary leaving Dr. Keller to enjoy the Sergeant's groveling alone.

"Sergeant Clark," Jennifer addressed the man as he entered her work area.

"Dr. Keller, ma'am, I seem to be in need of your services," Clark said sheepishly as he approached.

"Sergeant, I'll have you take a seat on the bed while I get a fresh tray," Jennifer instructed trying to put the man at ease.

"Doctor, I'm glad to have the opportunity to speak with you about my rude behavior yesterday. I was totally out of line and would like to apologize," Clark recited very professionally. "Dr. Keller … I really am sorry … I was an ass," he quietly added with all sincerity.

"Thank you Sergeant, I appreciate the apology. I realize it was a long day for both of us. How 'bout we start over?" Jennifer asked wanting to smooth the waters. "I'm afraid I may need to apologize for your injury," Dr. Keller added, laughing softly.

"Ma'am?" Clark replied baffled by her comment.

"Sergeant, you'll find that Atlantis is very different from any base you've ever served on … including Cheyenne Mountain. This is a very small community, in very close quarters and we all need to learn how to tolerate our differences. We expect new recruits to pick this up quickly. Those of us who've been here a long time have strong bonds and can be rather protective of each other," Jennifer explained as she cleaned his wound.

"I think I'm finding that out the hard way. Our training instructor made that very clear to me this morning. The man's got a mean glare. I was afraid he was going to burn a hole clean through me," Clark frowned as he shook his head back and forth.

"Tell you what, I'll let Ronon know that things are good between the two of us and that should help. He's a good instructor, Sergeant, and he'll be fair with you. He's not about to recommend you for off world duty unless he thinks you're ready. But he'll also do everything in his power to see you have the skills you'll need to stay alive." Jennifer hoped Clark would be able to curb his anger issues and settle in. Hot heads usually didn't last long on Atlantis.

"Thanks, Doctor, for your advice. For now I think I'll just give the man a wide berth. I guess calling him a Neanderthal didn't help," Clark said causing Jennifer to burst out laughing.

"You're all done, Sergeant. Welcome to Atlantis." Dr. Keller smiled as she released him to join his fellow recruits.

Jennifer finished checking in the new inventory from the Daedalus then settled into her office to work on reports. Lately it seemed there was never a lull in the paperwork. Once her shift ended she headed toward her quarters to clean up before dinner. It always felt good to take a long hot shower at the end of the workday. Sometimes too good and she'd forgo dinner and drop into bed hoping for a few hours of dreamless sleep.

After two years in Atlantis she thought her body would have adjusted to the demands. She continued to feel exhausted most of the time even when she made a point of eating regularly and exercising several times a week. She knew the constant interruption of sleep was disastrous to her health but hadn't been able to find a fix. If she could just find a cure for the ever-present nightmares it would probably turn her life around.

Jennifer loaded up her diner plate finding a quiet table with a view of the city. She had long since been considered a old-timer when it came to Atlantis personnel but still she ate most of her meals alone. Her job didn't afford her much time to cultivate friendships or even time to attend the various social functions on base. Actually, she usually found herself dodging most functions. She'd never figured out what was expected at social get-togethers and always felt awkward or out of place. Everyone seemed so relaxed at these events but she always felt she stuck out like a sore thumb so it was much easier to just cuddle up with a good book or go for a long run. Never having had a social life, Jennifer didn't know what she was missing.

"Good evening, Doc. Am I interrupting?" Colonel Sheppard asked as he moved to take a chair across from her.

"Not at all. Please sit," Jennifer offered with a smile.

"Okay, what happened with Sergeant Clark? I want all the details," John asked raising his eyebrows.

"You are merciless," Jennifer scolded laughing. "He apologized and I do believe it was very sincere. So you can take him off your watch list."

"Good. One less hot head to look after," John said relieved. "Perhaps you should pass this along to Ronon so he lets up on the poor guy."

"I planned on telling Ronon we cleared the air. Hopefully the Sergeant can figure out how to channel his enthusiasm away from us and toward the enemy," Jennifer replied.

More of Sheppard's team arrived settling around the table. Jennifer took a few minutes to quietly inform Ronon of Sergeant Clark's apology and he promised to lighten up. She always enjoyed the few times she'd sat with SGA-1 and their extended family around the dining table listening to all their banter. It didn't happen often but when it did she always left feeling like she'd been given a warm hug. Almost like she belonged. Too soon her time with the team came to a sudden end.

"Dr. Keller," Marie called as Jennifer's radio crackled to life.

"Go ahead, Marie," Jennifer answered as she turned away from the table.

"Doctor, we have an injury in the infirmary that needs your attention."

"I'll be right there," Jennifer called as she began picking up her empty dishes.

"What's going on, Doc," Sheppard asked concerned it might be one of his men.

"An injury in the infirmary. I'm sure it's nothing to be worried about," she assured him. "Thank you for your company," Jennifer said as she nodded to everyone and stood to leave.

Teyla watched Jennifer leave the mess hall thinking how much she enjoyed the young doctor's company.

"I think that Dr. Keller looks rather tired," Teyla said looking around the table.

"They need more doctors," Ronon said between bites.

"It's harder to find good personnel for Atlantis especially doctors," McKay added never taking his eyes off his data pad.

"I think Colonel Carter mentioned they have more medical staff coming on the next Daedalus trip so that should help," Sheppard added.

"I think I will invite her to join me next time I visit New Athos. The change will be good for her and my people will be very welcoming," Teyla said knowing her people would love the new CMO.

Dr. Keller finished up with the emergency and headed to her room to change into her running clothes. She hoped a long run would help her sleep.

It was 0300 hours when Jennifer got the page from the infirmary informing her that one of her nurses was hurt and needed to be seen. She quickly dressed heading to the infirmary.

"Gloria, what happened?" Jennifer asked the young woman as she began examining her forearm. The bruising already beginning to show, it was evident the injury was causing a lot of pain.

"I'm sorry to get you up, Doctor. It was really stupid. I got up to go to the bathroom and tripped on my running shoes. Then as I hit the floor my body sort of rolled over it," Gloria Newburg winced as Dr. Keller checked her for range of motion. "I was going to wait until morning but it's getting pretty painful and I couldn't get back to sleep."

"Well, I'm going to need to get it under the scanner. Are you hurt anywhere else?" Jennifer asked as she motioned for the night nurse.

"No, just my arm and my pride," Gloria frowned.

Dr. Keller had the duty nurse take her for a scan as she pulled the night log to see what other activity the infirmary had seen during the night. Jennifer had her doctors on a rotating on-call schedule from 0100 hours until 0500 when incidents were at the lowest. This was her week to be on-call and so far the week had been fairly quiet.

"Gloria, it looks like a simple break so it should heal with no problems. I'd like you to keep ice on it tonight and we'll cast it in the morning. That'll give it time for the swelling to go down." Jennifer instructed after seeing her scan.

After giving her nurse some pain meds, Dr. Keller returned her file to her office and locked up. Knowing she'd have a hard time getting back to sleep she decided to get something to drink in the mess hall.

Jennifer wandered into the dining room spotting Colonel Sheppard sitting off in a corner. She made herself a cup of tea and pulled up a chair next to him.

"Nightmares, Doc?" Sheppard asked as she sat down.

"One of my nurses fell and broke her arm. I just finished up and thought I'll have a cup of tea and relax before I try to get back to sleep. How about you?" Jennifer inquired.

"Clowns." Sheppard growled frowning.

"Seriously? I just thought you were kidding the other night." Jennifer grinned trying not to laugh.

"Never underestimate the power of greasepaint and polka dots," Sheppard answered frowning.

"After some of the nightmares I've had lately, I'm not ready to criticize anyone," she offered. I rarely had nightmares till I moved to Atlantis. Sometimes it's hard to accept. I haven't figured out how to calm myself down yet so I practice several times a week," Jennifer said sarcastically.

"I think I've dreamt of clowns my whole life. I'm sure there's some weird dysfunctional family meaning to that. Thankfully, they aren't as often as they use to be. What about you, Doc, what do you dream about?" John asked.

"Mostly I'm the target of some weird alien enemy. I spend a lot of time running, fighting and pleading for help," she laughed. "Usually there's some underlying element in them that pops out and subconsciously you know it's a dream. But once in a while I have a dream that's so real it takes a while to snap out of it. Those are the ones that seem to cause havoc for days."

"Did you ever have nightmares when you were younger?" Sheppard asked curious about her life back on Earth.

"Not often when I was a child… more so while I was in college and Med school but nothing like here in Atlantis. When I was a kid my dad used to always wrap his arms around me in a big bear hug until the demons ran away," Jennifer replied between sips of her tea. "What about you, Colonel, have you always had nightmares?"

"I've had my fair share most of my life, although not so much when I was married. Maybe nightmares are a side effect of sleeping alone," Sheppard chuckled.

"There's probably a research paper in there somewhere," Jennifer laughed. "Well, I best mosey back to my room and try to get some sleep before the alarm goes off. See you tomorrow, Colonel."

"Sweet dreams, Doc."