Rodney roused slightly when he heard movement near him, but the warm weight pressed along his front kept him in place. He draped an arm over the warmth, curling further onto his side and snuggling closer to press his face into the softness as he felt hot breath blowing over his hair.

"Rodney, what are you doing?" Carson questioned, his exasperation clear even to Rodney's sleep-addled brain.

"S'eepin'," Rodney grumbled, "G'way."

"I will not go away," Carson insisted, "Why are you sleeping here?"

"Tir'd," Rodney muttered, "Made deal."

"What are you mumbling about, Rodney?" Carson set a hand on Rodney's shoulder and shook him, "Will you wake up and open your eyes? Rodney. Get up."

Rodney groaned unhappily as he opened his eyes. He was met with gray fur and realized he had his face pressed against Nemesis' neck. She chirruped in greeting and lifted her head to lick Rodney's cheek.

"No, bad kitty," Rodney scrubbed the side of his face with one hand as he shoved Nemesis' happy face away with the other, "What did I say about kisses? And I'm pretty sure I told you that you weren't sleeping in my bed, hell-beast."

"You're not in your bed, Rodney," Carson set his hands on his hips and glared at Rodney, "You are in Dr. Vaughn's bed, in my infirmary, using a big fuzzy cat as a bloody teddy bear. Where is D?"

"Huh?" Rodney finally sat up, pressing the palms of his hands to his eyes to clear the sleep from his head, "She was right here…"

"Was being the operative word," Carson gestured to the IV stand, the tubing and needle dangling in a small bedpan and clear liquid pooling in the bottom, "What is this?"

"Uh," Rodney paused, looking down to the needle and back up to Carson, "It's an IV line?"

"I know what it is, Rodney. That is not what I meant," Carson frowned at him, "Why is it dripping into a basin instead of D's arm?"

"Well…we, uh," Rodney stammered, "I mean, Red-she…you see, one of the conditions was making the morphine stop because she couldn't think straight but I didn't want to mess with the programming in the machine, just in case I accidently broke it permanently or set off an alarm or something, so I took the needle out, but it kept pumping the liquid through and we didn't want to make a mess on the floor so I got a bowl to let it drain into. It's not my fault! Red made me do it."

"And where is she now?" Carson asked patiently.

"She's…" Rodney looked around the room, "…gone?"

"Yes, I can see that," Carson rolled his eyes, "I don't suppose you know where she went or how long ago she left."

"No, I don't know where she went. I brought the database translation from the healing device here last night. Radek said it was about 2600 when he left and I stayed in the lab to work for a while after that so I probably got here around 2645-ish," Rodney looked down at his watch and winced, "I don't think I was awake for more than five minutes after I got here and it's nearly 0800 now, so Red could've disappeared any time in the last eight hours," Rodney stood from the bed and lifted his uniform jacket from the chair, "My tablet is gone. The device is too. She must've taken them with her, wherever she went."

"Dr. Vaughn is supposed to be recovering from a gunshot wound," Carson scolded, "I have enough trouble convincing her to rest without you coming in here and giving her work to do."

"She was awake when I got here," Rodney objected, "All I did was ask her to read through the translations."

"Aye and took her painkillers away," Carson pressed several buttons on the IV machine and reached down to snatch the bedpan from the floor.

"She told me to," Rodney insisted, "I told her it was a bad idea, but she said she would be okay until a nurse came to check on her this morning. She was doing fine before I fell asleep. I'm sure she's fine."

"I'm sure she thinks that," Carson shooed Nemesis off the bed and set the bedpan down in the vacated spot, "But since neither of you are medical professionals, I'd rather you leave that determination to me," Carson tapped his earpiece, "Dr. Beckett to Nurse Ko. It seems we had a jailbreak last night. Yes, she convinced Rodney to take out her IV. If I go to fetch her, can you have everything ready for us when we return? Oh, I'd say about half an hour or so, depending on whether she's hiding in Elizabeth's room or I have to hunt her down. Thank you, dear," Carson tapped the earpiece off and moved over to grab Rodney by the elbow, "Since you enabled her escape, you can help me find her."

"I didn't enable anything," Rodney protested as Carson led him towards the door, "It was Nemesis' idea to come here in the first place. I was going to go sleep in my bed."

"Oh, it was?" Carson released Rodney and turned to crook his finger at Nemesis, "Come on then. I'm fairly sure I told you that you weren't allowed in D's bed anymore. My nurses say they kicked you out at least twice last night. Since you participated in her disappearing act as well, you can track her down for us."

Nemesis whined and padded over to bump her head against Carson's leg.

"It's too late for apologies. You're in trouble," Carson snagged Rodney's arm before he could slink away, "Both of you. Let's go retrieve my wayward patient, shall we?"

Rodney and Nemesis hung their heads as Carson led them from the infirmary.

*AM*AM*AM*AM*AM*AM*AM*

When Carson, Rodney, and Nemesis finally located D twenty minutes later, she was slouched down in a chair, absently twirling the blue wand in her left hand. There were several laptops and tablets spread out over the table in front of her, as well as a mostly eaten tray of food, two empty water bottles, a half-full coffee cup, and a nearly empty glass of orange juice. Her burgundy hair was gleaming wet, again piled haphazardly on top of her head with pieces falling loose to trail down her neck. She was no longer wearing the plain white scrubs, instead wearing a pair of loose black sweatpants and a blue button down shirt with a small checkered pattern, the sleeve on her left arm rolled up to the forearm, with a pair of thick black socks covering her feet. The black sling was in place over her shirt, the cushion holding her right arm away from her body, the sleeve of her blue shirt covering her up to the knuckles.

"There you are, Rodney," D set the wand down in an empty space on the table and turned to look up at Rodney and Carson, "Morning, Carson. I need to borrow your radio, Dr. McKay."

"What for?" Rodney wondered.

"Never mind what for," Carson stepped forward, "If you've been swimming in the bloody ocean with your wound, Dr. Vaughn, I swear I will strap you to an infirmary bed for the next two weeks."

"Of course, I haven't been swimming," D rolled her eyes as she held out a hand, palm up and fingers wiggling impatiently, "Don't be silly. Radio, please."

"Here," Rodney slipped his radio off and held it out to D.

D slipped it over her ear before tapping it on, "Dr. Vaughn to Colonel Sheppard. Please report to lab M-11 immediately."

"Now that you're done with that," Carson scowled as D tapped the radio off, "If you weren't swimming, what were you doing to get your hair all wet?"

"Nothing bad," D assured him as she took Rodney's earpiece off.

"What are you doing in here?" Rodney moved around her to take in the mess covering the lab table, "What is all this?"

"Research," D handed the radio back to Rodney, "You look better. Sleep well?"

"I did until I woke up with a face full of fur and slobbery kisses," Rodney complained, shooting Nemesis a quick look as he hooked his radio back onto his ear, "I didn't think her breath could get any worse, but apparently, I was wrong. Morning breath? Way worse."

"You were snuggling with Nem," D grinned down at Nemesis, "Awwww. How adorable."

"We were not snuggling," Rodney's cheeks flushed pink, "It was not adorable."

"I asked you a question," Carson interjected.

"Don't pretend you didn't like it," D scratched underneath the cat's chin, "She's a good snuggler."

"I didn't," Rodney crossed his arms over his chest, "She is not."

"Excuse me," Carson tapped his foot impatiently.

"Did too," D's smile brightened as she looked up at Rodney, "It's okay, Dr. McKay. I won't tell anyone you enjoyed snuggling with the big, soft, cuddly kitty. Your reputation as grumpy hard-ass will remain intact."

"I most certainly did not enjoy it," Rodney pointed a finger in D's face, "Your hell-beast was trying to smother me to death. I was lucky to survive the night."

"Ignoring me will not make me go away, D," Carson set his hands on his hips with a huff, "Explain to me exactly how you came to have wet hair and different clothes since then last time I saw you. I'm certain no one gave you permission to leave the infirmary, much less wander about on your own through the City."

"I passed Evan on his morning rounds and I asked to borrow one of his shirts," D finally turned to Carson to explain, "Teyla helped me shower, wash my hair thoroughly, and dress in something other than hospital scrubs. After that, Ronon grabbed a breakfast tray and brought it down here for me, where I have been sitting down and doing nothing more strenuous than lifting a fork to my mouth while reading."

"You are supposed to be resting in the infirmary doing nothing, D," Carson frowned, "You nearly died less than a week ago – twice. Your body needs time to recover from that."

"My hair felt gross," D pouted up at Carson, "And I smelled like antiseptic. I couldn't take it any longer. I needed a shower, Carson."

"You aren't supposed to get your bandages wet," Carson scolded, "You should know better than that."

"Teyla and I made sure the wound was covered before we got in the shower," D informed him, "She re-bandaged it afterwards. It's fine, I promise."

"I'll be the judge of that," Carson reached forward to begin undoing the straps to her sling, "Let me have a look at you."

"Carson," D protested, trying to bat his hands away.

"Here or in the infirmary," Carson insisted, "Your choice."

"Jerk," D mumbled under her breath as Carson began to undo the top buttons on her shirt.

Rodney's face flushed pink again, "You showered with Teyla?"

"I couldn't reach all the spots I wanted cleaned by myself," D answered as Carson carefully pulled the collar and sleeve of the shirt down enough to expose the clean white bandages, "And Elizabeth was already in her first meeting of the day."

"Naked?" Rodney flushed a deeper pink.

"Yes," D tilted her head, "How else would we shower?"

"You were naked in the shower," Rodney repeated, his jaw dropping open, "With Teyla. At the same time. Naked."

"Who was naked?" John asked curiously as he came into the room, reaching down to scratch behind Nemesis' ear as he got closer, "Morning, Nemesis."

"Teyla and I were naked," D peered around Carson to look up at John, "She helped me shower and change this morning."

"Hold still, lass," Carson ordered gently.

"Really? Sounds fun. Always good to have someone else to get those hard to reach spots," John smirked as he waved a hand in front of Rodney's face, "I think you broke him, Vaughn."

"Did I?" D smiled wickedly, "I'll be a little disappointed if all it takes to break his brain is one little mental image of Teyla and I naked in the shower together."

"Rodney," John clicked his fingers several times in front of Rodney's face and Rodney finally closed his mouth to look at John, "You all right there, buddy?"

"I need coffee," Rodney declared as he reached for the half-empty coffee cup on the table, downing the rest of the cool liquid in one large gulp. He looked over to see Carson prodding the bruised area around the black-stitched line of dark pink and slapped a hand over his eyes, taking several quick steps back as he spoke again, "Ack! That's disgusting. Go somewhere else to do that, Carson. You're contaminating the lab."

"This is supposed to be a medical lab. I'm not contaminating anything, Rodney," Carson inspected the wound carefully, "Plus, I've got her on so many antibiotics already, I doubt anything dangerous is still alive. Looks okay. Does that hurt at all?"

"Only when you're poking it," D replied dryly.

"Cheeky lass," Carson reached down to slip two fingers into D's right hand, "Squeeze. Feeling in the hand?"

"I can feel that it's still there," D winced as she slowly flexed her fingers, not able to close them all the way around Carson's fingers, "But it still causes shooting pain if I try to grip anything."

"That's normal. I'll check the rest when we get back to the infirmary," Carson started putting the bandages back in place, "It's covered now, Rodney. You can uncover your eyes."

Rodney peeked through his fingers, "You sure?"

"It's just a gunshot wound," D rolled her eyes, "Don't be such a baby."

"You're the only person who doesn't think a nearly fatal gunshot wound isn't serious," Rodney scowled at D as Carson buttoned her shirt back in place, "Idiot."

"I'm not actually," D grinned up at Rodney while Carson re-attached the sling, "But I appreciate the concern, jackass."

"I wasn't-" Rodney blustered.

"Well, this has been an interesting conversation," John drawled, "But does anyone want to tell me why I was called down here so urgently?"

"Oh, right," D pointed towards the blue wand on the table, "Carson, pick that up."

"You figured it out?" Rodney rushed forward to set his empty cup on the table, "Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"I got side-tracked by your adorable cat-cuddling," D waved a hand at John, "Take off your jacket so Carson can get at your wounds."

"If it's meant for healing," John slipped his jacket off and handed it to Rodney, who scowled and set it on the edge of the table, "Shouldn't we be using it on you?"

"Nope," D shook her head, "The wand is part of a large machine. From what I read, there are two dozen or so detachable pieces like this, most of which are in the storage unit across the hall. The wands themselves are mostly used for triage. It takes a scan of the patient and reattaches to what sounds like something similar to an MRI machine. The machine then uses the medical scan to start repairing the damage to the patient."

"Did you find this healing machine anywhere?" Carson wondered, "That sort of thing could be incredibly helpful in trauma situations."

"I found several references to its construction," D glanced back to one of the laptops, "But I haven't been able to figure out where they were building it. I'm not entirely sure it was being built in the City."

"How is that helpful then?" Rodney frowned.

"The wand can also be used for minor healing," D smiled brightly, "Scrapes, bruises, things like that. It won't do any good on my shoulder, but theoretically, it should heal the puncture wounds on Sheppard's arm with no problem."

"Can we not call it a wand?" John asked wryly, "I feel like I'm in a Harry Potter novel."

"How does it work?" Carson looked over the wand in his hand.

"You wave the magic wand over his wounds," D smirked at John, "And imagine what you want it to do."

"That's it?" Carson raised an eyebrow.

"You could say abracadabra if you wanted," D shrugged her uninjured shoulder.

"Vaughn," John warned.

"You people are no fun," D sighed heavily, "The device is made to be used by someone with medical knowledge. Picture in your mind how the wound is supposed to be healed and move the device over the affected area. The crystal in the wand then stimulates rapid cell growth according to the mental image. There were several comments from the researchers about how the device was physically draining for the user when operated in this manner, so be prepared."

"Colonel?" Carson looked over to him.

"Just don't say the magic words," John held his right arm out.

Carson concentrated on the wand in his hand until it lit up a bright blue. He reached for John's arm and started passing the device over the four small puncture wounds. They watched as the skin began to knit itself together and after a minute, there were only faint, white scars where the wounds had been.

"Amazing," Carson swayed on his feet.

"Grab him," D ordered gently.

John and Rodney reached for Carson as he began to tip sideways and D quickly vacated her chair. They guided Carson down until he was sitting and D took the wand from his hand gently. Nemesis padded closer, laying her head in Carson's lap with a concerned whine.

"I can see why it can't be used for major wounds," D set the wand on the table and grabbed a leftover piece of bacon, "Here. Eat this. Then drink the rest of the orange juice."

"Thank you, dear," Carson broke a small piece of the bacon off to give to Nemesis before munching on the rest of it himself. After he was finished, D offered the half-full glass of orange juice. Carson took it from her hand, greedily gulping down the liquid before he handed back the empty glass.

"I don't see how this is useful," Rodney scowled, "If it physically drains the doctor using it, what good is it going to do?"

"It's supposed to get easier with practice," D informed them, "And you have to remember, the Ancients had enough medical personnel to have different people doing triage and treating patients. I emailed a translation report to all the appropriate departments. You can take a look at the data later. Better?"

"Aye, just got a little light-headed for a second," Carson agreed, "We'd better head back to the infirmary. You're due for another round of antibiotics and painkillers. And I'd like to take a closer look at the stitches on your back since you've been moving around so much."

"Carson," D pouted, "I found you a cool new toy. Doesn't that earn me a short furlough?"

"It does not," Carson stood, "Back to the infirmary with you. If you come back without any complaints, I won't tell Elizabeth you escaped in the middle of the night."

"No fun at all," D sighed and headed towards the door.