So, this isn't finishing itself as easily as I'd hoped. I'd love some suggestions if you've got them.
He ditched Jackson in the locker room once they reached the base. He'd had the entire drive to think about what he was going to say to Teal'c, and he had yet to even come up with an opening line; 'hi' just didn't sound right. He hadn't realized how slowly he was moving until two SFs passed, giving him a strange look. Cam picked up his pace as much as his battered body would allow; no point in putting off the inevitable.
Carolyn was just finishing a vitals check when he poked his head into the room. "How's he doing?"
Lam turned and let her eyes roam over the new arrival for a second before answering, "better than you look. Are you sure my staff gave you a clean bill of health?"
"Ah, yeah," his eyes dropped to his feet as he fidgeted. He knew she saw straight through the act, but he couldn't focus on that right now, he had a mission to accomplish. "Can I get a few minutes alone with him?"
"Well, he's asleep now, I don't know when he'll come around, but you're welcome to sit with him till then." She sighed, her gaze switching between the handsome man in front of her and the one lying in the bad. "He was asking for you earlier, I think you might have been in a couple of his dreams last night."
"Prefect," he collapsed heavily into the chair next to Teal'c's bed.
Carolyn didn't miss the wince at his rough landing, and she hadn't missed the light sheen of sweat, the fact that his sleeves were rolled down, or the labored breathing either. Two of the three were textbook physiologic signs of pain. It had only been about 18 hours since he and Jackson had hauled an unconscious Teal'c through the gate with Sam and Vala covering their six. She'd known at the time that there was more to the story than he'd told the General, now she was just wondering how much more. "Why don't you come see me after you're done here."
He raked a hand through his hair, "I'm fine really, I just need some sleep."
"That wasn't a request Col." He couldn't help his wandering eyes as the followed her out of the small room. Damn, but she was an attractive woman.
His blue eyes returned to Teal'c's face, the man looked so much more peaceful than he had looked on the planet. He became so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't even realize that his eyes had slid shut and he'd drifted off to sleep. It didn't take long for the dreams to start.
Teal'c felt like someone had painted his eyelids with lead as he struggled to force them open. He could feel his body getting stronger each time he woke; he knew it would only be a matter of days before he was fit for duty again.
He let his eyes scan the room before coming to rest on the sleeping man beside his bed. Mitchell twitched as his head tossed from side to side; he was curled tightly into himself. Teal'c felt a stab of guilt at the Col's posture. He knew the man had only been trying to help him and protect the Earth from attack, but Teal'c had let his emotions over-ride any cognitive process going on in his brain. Which was probably why he nearly lost the battle to Arkad. He could have taken Mitchell down with one or two moves; not that the man wasn't getting very proficient at defending himself, he'd been sparring with him for nearly two years now, but he had decades of moves Cam had yet to see. However, instead of simply incapacitating the man, he'd drawn out the fight, allowing his anger and frustration to inflict pain on a man he considered a close friend and brother in arms.
Teal'c watched the younger man's movements become more agitated, the lines of pain in his face deepening. "Col Mitchell?" Unfortunately, he was still too sore to move enough to physically wake the man, but apparently the very sound of his voice was enough.
Cameron bolted to his feet, his eyes darting frantically in every direction. He sucked in a breath and slumped back into the chair when his right wrist collided with the bed frame. "Teal'c, buddy, how you feeling," he asked, trying to cover up what was obviously an unusual reaction on his part.
Teal'c ignored the question entirely, "I believe you and I have been having similar dreams as of late."
"Oh, I doubt it."
"You are dreaming of our recent altercation as I have been."
That statement was pretty much the last thing he'd ever expected to pass Teal'c's lips. He allowed his blue eyes to search out the truth and… regret… in Teal'c's dark ones. "Look, Teal'c-"
"I owe you an apology-"
"No, Teal'c, you don't. Look, I could give a rat's ass that you beat the hell out of me; what worries me is why." It was using all of his concentration to keep his voice steady. "This isn't exactly the first time you and I have gotten into it outside of the sparring ring."
It was Teal'c's turn to be caught off guard, as rarely as that ever happened. However, the longer he thought Mitchell's announcement through, the more he realized it was perfectly in keeping with his character. Cam was a true warrior which meant that he was intelligent enough to know that often the motivations and emotions behind actions were more important than the actions themselves. Teal'c took a deep breath, Mitchell deserved an explanation, but he wasn't ready to delve that deep into his emotions yet. "I do not believe that I am prepared to answer that question at this time." At that point Cameron managed to surprise him again by getting in his face.
"Well then you better get prepared, because I'm getting sick and tired of being your personal punching bag when you lose your temper!" He stormed out of the room, nearly as shocked as Teal'c by what he'd just done, but the anger felt good for once. That wasn't how he'd planned on things going though.
Daniel heard rapid, heavy foot steps passing by his office door. Glancing up, he caught a brief glimpse of his irate team leader and called out, "hey Mitchell!"
Cam but his lip and tried to compose himself before back-tracking to Daniel's door. He raised his eyebrows expectantly, waiting for the obvious question.
"How'd it go?"
"Well, I'm conscious."
Jackson watched a myriad of emotions play through Cam's eyes; it was now easy to see exactly how exhausted the Col actually was, he rarely let his eyes reveal so much. "Is Teal'c?" It was a valid question considering anger was the most prominent emotion reflected on his friend's face.
"He's fine, I gotta go report to Lam."
Daniel smirked, glad that Cameron was going to get checked out for real. "She caught you huh?
Cam resisted the urge to flip him the bird before walking out the door. He used the time it took to get to Carolyn's office to force his emotions back down where they belonged for right now. "You wanted to see me?"
Lam led him to the main infirmary before speaking, "shirt off."
"I bet you say that to all the boys." He hesitated for a second before complying with the order. Oh, he was in for it now.
Carolyn could only shake her head at the deep bruising on his torso and forearm. "If I find out you've hidden something like this again, I'll give orders that you're to be given a full physical exam with all the trimmings after every mission. X-rays now." Even his most winning smile wasn't enough to dissuade her as she gently shoved him out the door.
