Carson had never been the type to sit by when he could help another. He'd put his life on the line multiple times, including when he should have been in a hospital bed himself. But this was different. He wanted to help Alison, but he couldn't leave her side. Not yet.

After Major Lorne left the isolation room, Carson settled into the chair that Jennifer brought him. The two doctors chatted slightly as she checked Alison's vitals and administered another round of antibiotics. Carson watched her, proud of the physician she'd become. He'd met her while she was still in medical school, and she'd so impressed him that he requested that she join the Atlantis expedition. When she'd arrived just after the Replicator take-over, she'd performed so well that he made her his second-in-command over the infirmary. Never in his entire life did he believe she would take his position when he died a couple months later.

Carson shook his head, feeling the heat building behind the helmet of the hazmat suit. He'd already started sweating some time ago and knew he'd need another shower before the day was out. Being cloned raised quite a few issues, the least of which was what happened to the original and how did they explain that to the original's family? In his case, it had been easier to visit his own grave and then leave Scotland. He still kept an eye on the family home and often considered purchasing it if it ever became available. At least, he'd have that bit of history to return to if he ever left Pegasus. Of course, he'd have to be incredibly careful in Scotland. A lot of people knew him, and he wasn't the type to become reclusive.

What would Alison want? His eyes turned back to the bed, and he took a few moments to think about his plans for the future. Would she even want to continue a relationship with him? Her illness may have changed a lot of things, but he wouldn't know until she woke. If she did want a relationship with him, would she even want to visit Scotland? She seemed like the type to do so because it was his homeland, but visiting and living there were two different things. He'd once told Perna that Scotland was an acquired taste, and he wasn't sure Alison would even want to acclimate to it.

Tired of his thoughts of maybes and what-ifs, Carson pushed to his feet and paced to one wall. He couldn't just do nothing. So, when Jennifer arrived another hour later, he stepped forward. "Jennifer, let me do somethin'."

"You are." She smiled at him. "She needs to know you're here."

"Aye, and I'm dyin' in this hazmat suit, anyway." Carson would have rubbed his eyes. "I understand why you can't have me treatin' her, but let me help with the research. Please."

Jennifer stared at him, seeing the condensation that had built up inside his hazmat helmet. Finally, she nodded. "Okay." She glanced at her watch. "But only after a shower and three to five hours of rest. And a good meal. I'd prefer you get eight hours of sleep, but I know that won't happen."

Carson accepted her conditions without arguing. After she left, he moved to Alison's side. "Ali-love, hold on. I'm workin' on some ideas to help ya." He hesitated before whispering, "I love you."

Then, he walked out the door and shed the rubber suit. Breathing a sigh of relief as the cool air hit his face, he rushed to his quarters and right into a shower. As soon as the sweat and smell of rubber were removed, he crawled into bed and forced himself to sleep. The mark of a good doctor, he thought just before he fell asleep, is his ability to sleep well in short lengths of time and no matter what circumstances await.

oOo

Alison first heard beeping. She thought she frowned, but couldn't be sure. Everything felt weird, almost blank. The beeping continued, along with a strange hissing sound. Her fuzzy mind tried to work it all out, but she slipped back into that comforting darkness.

A little while later, she heard the beeping change, almost like someone had. . . . Had what? She couldn't get her mind to work at all, and the confusion grew. She tried to force her eyes open, but they stayed glued shut. This time, however, she wouldn't be going to sleep without knowing a little more. That strange hissing sound came again, and she felt her lungs expand and contract along with it.

A respirator? She had no idea where the thought came from, but it popped into her head from nowhere. Now she felt the plastic tube in her throat and the soft bed where she'd been for an obviously long amount of time. Someone spoke in the room, sounding like they were under water. Or was she the one under water?

The room fell silent, and Alison drifted again. This time was different. It wasn't a blank, like last time. It was sleep, restful and healthy. She liked it when she slept like this, but it usually took some heavy-duty drugs for her to forget her nightmares and issues. The last time she'd slept like this was right after Omari nearly died.

She woke again some time later, and her eyes functioned enough to open. She saw an observation window with movement, various monitors and machines, and orange walls. Her eyes closed of their own accord, but it told her several things. She wasn't with Carson anymore. And she was on Atlantis. She struggled to breathe, but the respirator never faltered. Fighting against it caused alarms to sound, though, as her pulse rose. She heard the door open, and a woman wearing an orange hazmat suit came through.

"Hey, hey, hey. Take it easy."

Alison recognized Dr. Keller. How did I get here? Where's Carson? The questions wouldn't come out, though, and she fought against the drugged feeling.

Keller moved back into view. "Dr. Porter, you're in Atlantis." She produced a penlight. "I need to do several things, and we'll see how well you breathe on your own."

Alison nodded ever so slightly. She allowed Keller to shine the light into her eyes, blinking and cringing away the first time. The second time, she was able to keep her eyes open in spite of the brightness. After having been unconscious for so long, even the dimmed lights of the room hurt.

Keller performed several more tests—including drawing blood—with Alison complying but not totally aware. She heard words like "coma" and "awakened," but she still couldn't seem to make the connection between her illness and how she wound up here. Keller finally came to her side and put a hand on her shoulder. "We're ready to remove the respirator." She smiled. "I'll get you set up on oxygen, okay?"

Alison nodded and waited while Keller and one other person—not Carson—worked. The tube sliding out of her throat made her gag, and she felt the residual soreness it left behind. She never wanted to experience that again!

Keller offered her a couple of ice chips to soothe the dryness, and Alison settled back on the pillow. Breathing on her own was different. More work. Less easy. But she was able to take over that autonomic function with relative ease. The oxygen being given her through the cannula helped, and she simply enjoyed the ability to draw a full breath even if her chest was slightly tight.

"What happened?"

Keller turned at her whisper. "You were very sick." She smiled. "I've called Dr. Beckett, and he should be here, shortly. I'll let him explain."

Alison nodded and settled back on the pillow. She was alive, unlike her previous fears. And Carson was on the way. At this moment, life was good.

oOo

Carson walked into his quarters with a sigh and closed the door. He was tired. More tired than he'd been in a long time. The radio hooked over his ear felt heavy. Rather than removing it right away, he let out another deep breath and pulled the lab coat from his shoulders. He draped it over his desk chair, and his radio soon followed.

He'd just put in six hours in Jennifer's lab. He'd had four hours of sleep and a meal before that, but it wasn't enough. The exhaustion from his time back on the planet had caught up, and he knew he'd have to rest sooner rather than later. If he could just keep going long enough to shower and have some time at Alison's bedside, he'd be a happy man.

At odd intervals during the day, he'd paused to consider his actions. He wanted nothing more than to be at Alison's side, waiting for her to open those beautiful eyes. But he was a doctor, and he had knowledge that could help her. He trusted Jennifer to keep an eye on Alison, and he preferred to make progress toward a cure rather than sit at her side helplessly. At least he was doing something.

And he'd made progress that day, though not much. He'd discovered that Alison's neutropenia only complicated the Hoffan plague. The scarring on her lungs from pneumonia didn't help, nor did the slight cold she'd obviously been fighting when she fell ill. All of those aspects combined to make her condition even more life-threatening than it would have been. Carson spent those six hours in Jennifer's lab trying to figure out a way to reduce the effect of the Hoffan plague on Alison's body. Yes, the research would help others suffering the same disease, but he wasn't being so altruistic right now. His focus was a little closer to home and a heck of a lot more personal.

Carrying the hand-held radio into the bathroom, Carson started the shower and stood under the hot water. He'd been this exhausted before, back when he worked against his will to perfect the Hoffan drug for Michael. He remembered the day he collapsed in the lab, unable and unwilling to continue his research. He'd been going without food or water for hours, and the injections Michael gave him also produced an addictive-like behavior. He now understood that he needed the drug cocktail to survive, but it was early in his time with Michael. He'd been given a day in his window-less cell to rest, and he'd slept through most of it. This time was different, though. This time, he wasn't hoping that his efforts would fail. This time, he prayed they would succeed.

The radio squawked. "Keller to Beckett."

Carson jerked upright, banging his knee against the tile of the bathroom as he realized he'd nearly drifted to sleep standing up. "Bloody. . .!" Shutting off the water, he quickly dried a hand and grabbed the radio. "Beckett. Go ahead."

"Are you alright, Carson?" Leave it to Jennifer to pick up on the slight irritation in his voice.

"Aye."

"Good." She paused. "Dr. Porter regained consciousness a few moments ago."

"Well, why didn't ya say so?" He rushed out of the shower. "I'm on my way."

He hurriedly dried and put on clean clothes, grabbing his lab coat out of habit. On his way to the infirmary, he threw it on and hooked his radio over his ear. His hair stood on end, but he refused to worry about what others thought of him at this point in time.

In the infirmary, he found Jennifer sitting at a desk, typing a report. "Jennifer, lass, did ya have to call me while I was showerin'? You'd've scared the pants offa me if I'd been wearin' any." He ignored the sound of the infirmary doors opening and closing behind him.

Jennifer, who had glanced up when he entered, laughed as her eyes moved to whomever was behind him. "Too much information, Carson!"

Lorne had obviously just entered the infirmary and glanced between the two of them. "What's too much information?"

Carson exchanged another glance with Jennifer. "Never mind!" they said in unison.

Lorne frowned and turned to Jennifer, his eyes sparkling. "Tell me later?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows at his finacee.

Jennifer flushed at his suggestion and then glanced at Carson, shuddering as she did so. "No. Definitely not." Then, she shrugged. "Sorry, Carson."

"No need to apologize, love." He sobered. "You said she's awake?"

Jennifer pushed off her stool and touched Lorne's arm as she passed. The major slipped onto a stool and watched as they headed for the isolation room. Jennifer turned to Carson. "I've run blood tests, and I can say with some level of certainty that she's no longer contagious. She's coherent, but things are a bit fuzzy."

"Aye, that's normal." Carson let out a deep breath. "How's she breathin'?"

"On her own." Jennifer shook her head. "Carson, I don't know why she survived. Even with the antibiotics we gave her, she was still pretty far gone." She smiled and touched his arm. "I can only conclude that she had a reason for staying with us."

He nodded, though he couldn't say another word about it. He wasn't sure whether Alison's survival had anything to do with their budding relationship or not, but he hoped so. Letting out a deep breath, he pushed through the door and smiled.

Alison lay with her head turned toward him. The respirator was gone, but an oxygen cannula draped across her face. She'd obviously drifted to sleep, and the way her chest rose and fell thrilled him. It meant she was past the worst part of her illness. Moving closer, he debated between waking her or simply watching her sleep.

Choosing the latter, he cringed when the stool he grabbed screeched. Alison startled awake, her breath somewhat ragged but not incredibly concerning given recent events. Her blue eyes focused, and a smile tipped up the corners of her mouth. "Carson."

"Hi, love." He carried the stool to her side and sat down, taking the hand she reached toward him.

"You came."

"Of course I came." He tightened his hold on her hand ever so slightly. "I wouldn't want ta be anywhere else."

"I'm glad." She drifted slightly, her eyes closing, but Carson stayed where he was. His own exhaustion faded to the background, and he knew he'd rest when he could.

Alison opened her eyes again. "What happened?" She frowned. "Besides us comin' to Atlantis."

Suddenly, just holding her hand wasn't enough. He brushed a hand over her forehead, letting her hair slip between his fingers. "I nearly lost you." The strength of his emotions overwhelmed him, complicated by his exhaustion, and he almost lost the battle with his tears. It was one thing he'd never truly been able to overcome. His mum called him a "tender soul," but his propensity for crying when he thought about losing someone close to him usually got him in trouble.

Alison moved, pulling her hand from his and laying it on his face. "You didn't, though," she whispered.

"Aye." He smiled and reached up to wrap his hand around hers. She drifted to sleep this time and missed the way he kissed her palm. "Dream well, love."

He couldn't leave her, though, and settled in to simply watch her sleep.

oOo

Jennifer slipped into the observation room about an hour after Carson joined Alison. All of the monitors around Alison's bed also showed on the monitors up here, and she didn't want to wake her patient. Dinner with Evan had lasted a bit longer, especially when Coughlin and Reed showed up. And, of course, Teyla had been virtually isolated for her transition from Wraith queen back to human. She'd requested it out of concern for the mental stability of others, and Jennifer couldn't argue. The change would take another week, and Jennifer was already tired. As was Teyla. The Athosian had spent hours with her son, who was still young enough not to worry about his mother's appearance, but Kanaan had not been around since Teyla's decision to rejoin Sheppard's team. Jennifer worried that he'd reacted badly, and Teyla rarely mentioned him. John seemed happy about it, though. Jennifer shook her head, weary to the bone. She'd enjoyed the evening, but she needed to rest. Right now, she simply wanted to check in with her most critical patient.

She stopped, however, at the window. Carson still sat next to Alison, having exchanged the stool that squeaked loudly when moved for the low chair. He held Alison's hand, but his own head rested on the bed next to her.

Jennifer smiled. She'd seen Carson at a patient's bedside before, exhausted beyond reason but able to stay awake. That he slept told her that he'd worried more for Alison than he'd worried for anyone else. And why shouldn't he? He was in love with the woman.

Jennifer quietly checked the monitors in the observation deck as she thought about her relationship with Carson. He'd mentored her, and she'd learned how to read him. Granted, the lovable Scot wasn't hard to read, but she'd learned the nuances of his accent. Earlier, when he'd spoken to her about Alison's condition, his accent had thickened and his voice softened, the way it always had when his feelings ran deep.

Her check-in complete, Jennifer left the couple alone and went to see Teyla before retiring for the night.

~TBC