Disclaimer: I don't own the wonderful characters. Or even the plot really, its in response to a challenge!

"Dr. Beckett? You know those dead plants that are all around the city?"

"Yes…"

"Well, we've been trying to clear them out and we've just run across one that, well, some sort of goo oozed out when we were clearing it away."

"Goo? Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not. But we need an analysis done."

There was a pause.

"So why are ye telling me this?"

"Because you're doing the analysis."

"I am, am I? But what about all my other work?"

"This won't take that long. Just need to know what compounds are in the substance and if it would be beneficial for us before we dispose of all the plants."

Carson sighed. He really didn't have time to be doing this. In fact, it really wasn't his job. But he also didn't know how to say no. "Fine. Just leave a bit there. I'll get to it after I finish with these reports."

"Thanks!" With that the botanist bounced out of the infirmary leaving behind a gooey stick. Which Carson glared at after every report he finished. When he was finally done, he knew he really had no other excuse for procrastinating any longer. With another glare at the ten thousand year old dead plant, he picked it up and went into his lab for testing the goo, which was now all over his hands.

The next morning Carson was feeling a little irritated. He had stayed up a little longer than he would have liked analyzing the goo from the dead plant. The analysis was actually a little fascinating and it took him a good while to get the goo off his hands. And he was also woken up earlier than normal since it seemed that Rodney really couldn't keep his hands off of all the Ancient technology around him.

"But Carson, its my job to find out what everything does here."

"I know that. But you knew the damned thing heated up. So why you decided to stick your hand inside it, when it was heated, is something that I can't understand."

Rodney mumbled something under his breath.

"That's what I thought. Now, I want you to take it easy on your hands for the next few days. They were burnt pretty badly."

"A few days! I have work I need to be doing!"

"You should have thought of that before you stuck your hands in the oven," Carson retorted before walking away and leaving a slightly stunned Rodney in his wake.

Things continued like this for the better part of the day for the Scottish doctor. He was short tempered and said what ever was on his mind. To say his staff was a little shocked and concerned would be an understatement. So it was with a little relief that Carson left early because he had gotten more goo on his hands when he was cleaning his lab.

The next morning's senior staff meeting was, well, interesting.

"Dr. Phillips, how is the removal of the dead plants going?" asked Elizabeth.

"Actually, we discovered that they produce a goo," the enthusiastic botanist started.

"Goo? I didn't know that was a scientific word," interrupted Rodney.

Dr. Phillips ignored the interruption and continued. "So we wanted to see if there was anything in the goo that we could use."

"Is there?"

"We, uh, haven't gotten the results back yet," she answered with a quick look over to Carson, who was typing something onto his computer.

"They're back," Carson said shortly.

Elizabeth looked over at him in confusion. "How do you know?"

"Because I did the bloody analysis." He looked up. "I still don't know why I was forced to do the damned thing. This sort of thing should have been done by one of the botanists or the chemists. Not by the bloody Chief Medical Officer."

Everyone was a little stunned by the outburst. Elizabeth bravely broke the silence. "You're right. But what did you find?"

"I sent out a copy of my findings." Upon seeing the looks of 'so, what did you find?' he sighed and continued. "There are properties similar to alcohol. I think it would lower inhibitions."

"So, could we use it for anything?" asked Elizabeth.

"I don't think so." Carson went back to typing on his computer and mumbled, "Waste of my bloody time that was" under his breath, which only Rodney and John, sitting on either side of him heard and became even more concerned.

"Um, Carson?" Rodney tentively asked

"What?" was the snapped reply.

"You didn't happen to touch any of this goo by any chance, did you?"

"Why?"

"You seem a little, off."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?"

"You're snappish and saying things that you would normally never say."

"Did you ever stop and think that maybe it's because I'm a little stressed? Or not enough sleep?"

"I've seen you when you're stressed and you are running on not enough sleep. You never act like this."

"Yes, and who is normally the cause of when I'm stressed or didn't get enough sleep, Rodney?" asked Carson with a look at the Canadian sitting to his left.

To everyone's surprise, Rodney squirmed in his seat a little before replying, "That is not the point. The point is, is that I think you are under the influence of this alien plant goo."

"Oh really? And since when did the three letters at the end of your name give you a medical degree?"

"Rodney's right," John interjected. "You're acting really weird."

"Oh, I see how it is. You speak your mind for once and everyone thinks you're under the influence of some alien goo."

"We're concerned for you doc," John replied.

"Oh, now you're concerned for me. That's lovely. Well, I don't need it." With that, Carson stormed out of the room leaving behind some very shocked people. They were even more shocked when Carson returned a little bit later, grabbed his computer and then grabbed Rodney by the collar. "You're coming with me," he growled before leaving again, this time dragging a bewildered (and not protesting) Rodney behind him.

"That was, odd," stated John.

"Very," a still bewildered Elizabeth answered.

"Do you think we should send someone to go and rescue Rodney and get Carson to the infirmary so he can be looked at?" John asked.

"Thank you for volunteering," was the reply. John started to reply, but just got up and went in search of two of his friends.

Strangely enough, he found them in the first place he looked: Carson's quarters. What he didn't expect to find was them making out like the world was going to end tomorrow. After he got over his shock, he shouted, "Carson!"

Rodney, a little startled, pulled back and when he saw John, his eyes widened. But a growl from Carson and the fact that the good doctor was now attached to his neck since his lips were not available and the fact that Carson knew exactly what that particular spot did to him, made him close his eyes and forget that there was anyone else in the entire universe.

John, upon realizing that if he didn't do anything he would be seeing a lot more of his friends than he ever wanted to see, took two steps and forcibly removed Carson from Rodney, who proceeded to fall to the ground without the support of his lover.

"What the bloody hell did you do that for?" yelled Carson.

"You need to go to the infirmary," stated John as he started to guide the irate doctor out the door. "Are you going to be alright Rodney?"

"I'm just going to sit here for a bit if you don't mind. I'll catch up to you later," was the semi-dazed reply.

"You do that."

"I do not need to go to the infirmary!" stated Carson, although he made no move to get out of John's grasp.

"Whatever you say doc."

When they got to the infirmary, Elizabeth and Dr. Wells greeted them. "Where's Rodney?" asked Elizabeth.

"He's uh, he'll be here in a minute," John stammered out. Elizabeth gave him a look saying that that was not good enough and she would be asking him for more details later. John just shook his head.

"Carson, if you would be so kind as to hop up on the bed," Dr. Wells said.

"I'm fine. I really don't see why I need to be here," he replied as he got up on the bed.

"Just humor us." Dr. Wells proceeded to examine the irate Scot. In the middle of his examination, Rodney quietly snuck in. "Is he going to be alright?" he asked.

Elizabeth looked back at him and an eyebrow raised at the state he was in. "Dr. Wells is still examining him. What happened to you?'

"Oh, nothing," Rodney replied with a shake of his hand.

"Your appearance says other wise." She leaned closer in. "And is that a hickey on your neck?"

"What?" Rodney raced towards the closest mirror. "You little bastard. You gave me a hickey."

Elizabeth, just slightly on the confused side, especially with John snickering next to her and a very smug look appearing on Carson's face, tentively asked, "Rodney, is this something I should be concerned about?"

Rodney, who was still looking at the rather noticeable hickey on his neck replied, "No. Except for the fact that nobody in my department is going to have any respect for me anymore and we'll never get any work done."

"Well, if you'll just wait here for the results of your blood work, Dr. Beckett," Dr. Wells said as he walked away.

"Like I have a choice," was the mumbled reply.

Rodney, still at the mirror suddenly stated, "I blame the goo." He turned around and started to walk towards Carson. "No, wait, you just said it lowered inhibitions. I blame you."

"How does that follow?" asked a still confused Elizabeth. Carson just kept on smirking and John kept on snickering.

Elizabeth's confusion was slightly cleared up when Rodney was grabbed by Carson and pulled between his legs. Her confusion was gone when Carson's hands came to rest on Rodney's ass and Rodney wrapped his arms around Carson's neck. "If this goo just lowered his inhibitions, it means that the urge to give me a hickey was always there, just kept back by not wanting to make people wonder who I'm seeing."

"So, how long has this been going on?" asked Elizabeth.

"A few weeks before we came here," replied Carson, who was currently looking at Rodney with somehow both love and lust in his eyes. Not that anyone besides Rodney saw that. But they all did hear Carson exclaim, "God, how I love you."

Rodney looked down at the man whose arms he was in. That was the first time he had ever hear those words come out of Carson's mouth. "What did you say?" he whispered.

"I love you. I've been wanting to say it for weeks now, but I was afraid of what you would say or do."

Rodney, still a little shocked, could say nothing. So he leaned down and kissed the man he loved. When he pulled back, he whispered, "I love you too." Carson grinned and then promptly passed out.

"I found the Ancients notes on the goo. They gave it to someone when they knew that person was hiding a desire to do or say something. The drug would stay in their system until the deepest desire of their hearts was released, and then they would become unconscious as the drug made its way out of their system," explained Carson at a senior staff meeting one week later.

"That's its only purpose? What about the side effects?" Elizabeth asked.

"They are just that, side effects. For you to lower your inhibitions enough so that your deepest desire comes forth, you're not going to guard what you say or what you do as much. Another interesting this is that they inserted the gene to make the drug into the plants. It's not normally found in this species. They also planted them all over the city so that if someone wanted to use the drug, they could use it without having to ask anyone for it," Carson concluded.

"So, your deepest desire was for Rodney to know that you love him?" teased John. He was pleased when both Carson and Rodney blushed.

"Never going to get any respect," mumbled Rodney.

"Nonsense. They'll respect you even more now that they know you're getting some," John retorted.

Carson and Rodney's blush deepened.