A/N: Hope you enjoy the UST I managed to work in here. The semester is over, just one more day of choir concerts next sunday, and after that I fully intend to thoroughly enjoy my holiday. Lots of time to write! Hee Hee! And I've even figured up a name for my next fic: "The Emerald Wanderer". I plan to make it tense and exciting and funny, and hopefully not as dark as most of my fics tend to turn out. Looking forward to: having an entire week off of work! Not looking forward to: shopping. Sigh.


Carson forced his fingers to twitch again, and even though he could barely feel them, at least he felt more confident that as long as he was able to make them twitch that there was no permanent nerve damage; at least, not yet. The circulation in his wrists had been cut off hours ago, and he was sure that his hands were already a colored a deep shade of violet. He had no real recollection of how much time had actually passed, but since he'd been left there, he had twisted and pulled at the rope binding his wrists and ankles behind him, to no avail.

He had been gagged as well. He wracked his brain. Did Laura actually tell him that the city was going to be destroyed? Or had it been a dream? Was she really the one that had bound him and left him in his own closet, or had it been someone else that he had no memory of?

Twisting his arms futilely against the bindings once more, he accidentally yanked a little too hard, and ended up hitting his head against a corner in his closet. Och… that's goin' tae leave a mark, he thought to himself, clenching his eyes shut against the spots that were forming in his vision. But it faded in a few moments, so at least he didn't have to worry about suffering from the effects of a concussion as well.

Unable to see his watch or even hear the ocean, Carson became more restless and anxious as time passed slowly. He was sure that hours had passed, and as much comfort as he had gleaned from knowing that the city had indeed not been destroyed, he began to wonder if anybody had even noticed that he was missing. Wasn't anybody looking for him? Could all this have been some kind of cruel joke or prank?

Carson shook his head, unwilling to accept that the predicament he found himself in could possibly be anybody's idea of a practical joke, even from someone like Rodney. The pain had built up in the joints of his shoulders until he began to feel like he had been set on fire. Icy tendrils of tension mixed with searing heat in his arms because of it. Not even Rodney would inflict that upon him as a joke.

He had nearly fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion, despite the pain, when the door to the closet suddenly swooshed open, flooding the tiny compartment with light that his eyes were not accustomed to. Without a word, hands grasped at his arms and pulled him onto his stomach. His bindings were then cut, and he was allowed to roll over onto his back. The sudden release of pressure caused even more pain in his joints for a moment, making him gasp with the exertion of movement, but it did slowly fade away. He panted heavily, unwilling to make himself move again so soon, but the person who had cut him free waited patiently.

Blinking against the brightness, Carson looked up into the face of his savior, attempting to identify the person as he gag was removed. He was surprised at how weak and shaky his voice sounded to his ears. "Rodney? Is that you?"

"Yeah," he replied softly, trying to feign indifference toward him, but a hint of concern did manage to filter into his voice. "It's me."

"Och!" Carson wailed painfully, gingerly stretching out the stiffness in his arms and rubbing his face with tingling hands. "Thank goodness! I was afraid nobody was comin' tae find me."

"Well, Colonel Sheppard and Teyla are both in the infirmary," Rodney explained as he cut the ropes binding Carson's ankles. "And Ronon's been in pretty a bad mood. I'm sure he was just concerned for them at the moment, so I took it upon myself to come get you."

"How did ye find me?" Carson asked tiredly, stretching out his legs stiffly. "What happened to Colonel Sheppard and Teyla?"

Rodney didn't respond at first. Carson was somewhat perplexed when his friend grimaced uncomfortably, and then a feminine figure approached Rodney from behind. He gasped with shock and fright when he recognized the woman's face, shrinking back into the closet as far as he could, despite the tingling that remained in his hands and feet as circulation returned to them.

"Rodney, behind you!" he shrieked with a cracking voice, wide-eyed and very frightened.

"Carson, stay calm," Rodney grabbed his flailing arms in an effort to steady him, but he did not immediately calm down. "Carson, it's alright! It's over! Believe it or not, she led me here to you."

Carson whimpered softly, leaning tiredly against the wall and rubbing circulation back into his purple hands. "She did this to me. Of that I'm sure now."

"I know," Rodney said softly. He was waiting patiently for Carson to collect himself. "She even shot Colonel Sheppard in the chest with your sidearm under the influence of that organism. I suppose we should feel lucky that neither of us ended up falling victim to it as well."

"No," Laura corrected him softly, not moving a muscle from where she stood. "He was never in any danger of that, and neither were you."

Rodney's brow furrowed with confusion, and he turned his head to look at her curiously. "How do you know that?"

She chose not to answer, and instead lowered herself down next to Rodney, looking directly at Carson. She spoke sadly, carefully, and sat very still. "Carson… I'm sorry. It's all over now, I promise."

His breathing slowed to a more normal pace, but Carson could not bring himself to respond.

"Are you sure? Because you still look horrible to me," Rodney said instead after it became apparent that Carson would not speak. "I still can't believe Dr. Biro let you out of the infirmary."

She glared at Rodney with annoyance. She was still self-conscious about the marks that had remained under her skin, but Dr. Biro had promised her that it would clear up as soon as what remained of the now-dead organism had been properly flushed from her system. What bothered her most at the moment, though, was how frightened Carson had reacted to the sight of her.

"Well, if you're feeling well enough, I can help you walk to the infirmary," Rodney said to Carson after a moment. "But if you can't walk, I don't think I can carry you. Should I call a medical team with a stretcher?"

"No," Carson whispered softly, shifting and stretching out the muscles in his feet to alleviate the tingling. "I think I can walk."

He intentionally avoided direct eye contact with Laura as Rodney slung a helping hand over his shoulder and helped him up to his feet.


"There's no trace of the organism in your blood," Dr. Biro said without looking away from the chart she held and deftly manipulated in her hands. "You seem to be experiencing no after-effects from your ordeal, at least. Maybe things can finally start to get back to normal around here."

Carson had been staring blankly at the ceiling while she'd worked, and had been hesitant to look anywhere else. Colonel Sheppard was recovering from his gunshot wound in a bed off to his left, and Laura sat silently on the bed directly to his right. He had no desire to deal with his fear and conflicted feelings toward her right now, and had Dr. Biro allowed him to, he would've slunk back to his quarters and hidden himself there for at least a couple of days.

But Laura continued to sit silently next to him, her posture holding absolutely still and rigid, and seemed to be waiting for him to say something. Her face was emotionless, but Carson still knew her well. He could tell that a million thoughts were racing through her mind all at once. He had been the one hurt by her first, and he could not bring himself to speak to her.

Dr. Biro had nothing more to report, and hesitantly but gratefully stepped away to attend to Colonel Sheppard, who was nearly well enough to be discharged to light duty by now. Uncomfortable silence didn't suit her, but she would leave the two to it if it was their wish. After a few more minutes, Laura's hands fidgeted. She had apparently decided that she would be the one to speak first.

"So, you're feeling better, I hope?" she asked him tentatively, trying to force a smile, but had not yet moved.

"Aye," he whispered simply in response and nodded slightly, but he did not move either.

A long, uncomfortable moment of silence followed before Laura managed to find a few words that she sought. "Carson… I'm sorry."

"Why are ye sorry?" he stated flatly and impassively. His gaze still had not shifted from the same spot on the ceiling. "What happened to me was'nae your fault."

She would not utter agreement, and her voice was close to cracking with the tension, betraying her guilt. "I remember very clearly everything that I was forced to do to you, and just because it was against my will doesn't mean that I don't feel bad about it."

Carson frowned. He hadn't intended to make her feel worse, but was feeling too hurt to apologize.

And now Laura was close to tears. Her lips trembled, and her eyes blinked rapidly. "It was my fault, Carson."

Shaking his head slightly with disbelief, he pulled himself together, finally forcing himself to sit up and then look away from the ceiling into her dark, guilt-ridden eyes. "How is it your fault? I know that you'd nay ever do somethin' like that ta me of your own free will, an' I don't blame ye for any of it."

She gazed deeply into the kindly blue depths of his eyes, nearly losing herself in them before she spoke. "It only forced me to do that to you because I still…"

His features hardened as her words trailed off into silence. His gaze lowered slowly to his hands, but he did not turn away from her. After a moment, he mustered his courage and took a deep breath, and then surrounded her with his arms. Laura gratefully and fondly settled herself against his chest as he held her in a tender embrace.

Pushing aside a stray lock of hair from her forehead and settling his other hand against her cheek, he placed a gentle kiss on her brow. He spoke reassuringly and softly, but did not smile. "It's alright, Lass. I forgive ye."

Laura breathed a deep sigh of relief, and although she found that she was at the moment unable to utter a word, she managed to offer him a meek smile. When he then released her, she felt as if she would have done nearly anything to feel his gentle caress once more, but a smile would have warmed her just as well. It was a smile that did not come, though.

Instead, he fumbled for his white lab coat that hung near the door leading into his office, and slipped it on. He would not meet her eyes again as he picked up a pile of charts that had been left on his desk in a neat pile. "A lot of work has been buildin' up durin' my absence. So if there's nothin' else, Lass, I really should be gettin' back to it."

He turned away, unwilling to witness the hurt etched on her face before she slowly turned and left him to sift through the mountains of paperwork. When he was finally alone again, he sat down heavily in his chair and rubbed at his face. He felt bad about hurting her feelings, but she had hurt him more than he'd cared to admit. He knew and understood that it hadn't been her fault, that she had been used thoughtlessly by that horrible creature that had possessed her.

But now, every time he would see the lines that were traced across her face, he would also see the creature looming just under the surface, ready to possess him and take all conscious control of his body away from him once more. Carson trembled uncontrollably.

The fine lines marking her face and hands would fade, but the fear of it would haunt him for a long time. Perhaps one day he'd be able to look past only the invisible lines that would remain and be able to see her beauty as he had seen it before, but that day would not be today.

Carson shook his head to clear the cobwebs from his mind, then picked up his stylus and went to work.

THE END...?


If you guys are interested, I might be convinced to write a sequel or an epilogue... Maybe include a somewhat happier ending? --waits for comments--