When Rodney McKay came to, he immediately wished that he hadn't. The first thing the astrophysicist was aware of was that he ached. All over. His head was killing him, pounding in time to his heartbeat, his side hurt so bad that it actually hurt him to breathe, and he felt downright terrible. So terrible, in fact, that he couldn't help the groan of pain when he opened his eyes.

Which drew the immediate attention of the people closest to him – one of them being Carson Beckett. He walked over to the bed Rodney was in and looked down at him sympathetically.

"Hurts, I know."

Rodney scowled.

"So do something about it."

"I've done everything I can, Rodney," Beckett told him, patiently. "There's nothing we can do about how much broken ribs hurt. Try to take shallow breaths."

"I broke ribs?"

"A few."

McKay frowned, his expression becoming distant for a moment before he turned to Carson once more.

"What happened?"

"You had a run in with the same cats that everyone else did, apparently. You don't remember?"

"I remember the cats…" he trailed off, obviously racking his brain for more memories. "They didn't attack me, though… they attacked Colonel Mitchell and Ronon Dex."

"Aye, that they did," Carson agreed. He'd seen enough blood to know that for certain. "But you don't remember what happened next?"

There was another long pause, but McKay finally shook his head.

"No. What happened?"

Beckett couldn't help but smile.

"I'll let someone else tell you. Right now, I just need for you to get some rest, okay?"

"I'm not sleepy. And I hurt," Rodney said, impatiently, telling Carson that even though he didn't remember the last few moments of the fight with the cats, he hadn't lost any of his usual warm mannerisms. "How am I supposed to go back to sleep?"

"I could give you a sedative…"

"I don't want a sedative."

"How about something to eat?"

McKay perked up.

"Really? What?"

"Soup."

He deflated immediately, and Carson had to hide the smile.

"I don't want soup." Then he completely changed the subject as he realized something else. "How are the others?"

Beckett turned to face the door that led to the quieter section of the infirmary, where he'd had Melony and Ronon both put so they could rest comfortably. Dex had come through surgery fine, but Carson had put him down with a healthy sedative, and his staff told him that Melony had fallen asleep almost as soon as the last stitch had been put in her shoulder, so she, too, was resting – presumably Talon was working on her injuries while she slept.

"They're going to be all right. I removed the transmitter from your friend's back and closed all the wounds. He'll need some rest, but he'll be fine."

"He's not my friend," Rodney said.

Carson ignored him.

"Melony's going to be fine, too. Thanks to you, I hear."

"What?"

"Anyways, I need to go check on them. If you change your mind about the sou-"

"Carson. What do you mean, thanks to me?"

Beckett smiled. Why spoil the surprise?

"I'll talk to you later Rodney. Try to get some rest."

"Carson." Rodney started to sit up but was stopped short by a stabbing pain that took his breath away. Grumbling under his breath, he fell back into the pillows that supported him, but he scowled at Beckett as the doctor made his way to the other side of the infirmary and vanished through one of the doors.

One of the medics came over – a pretty nurse with a concerned expression that made Rodney lose his scowl. Most of it, anyways.

"You need to lie still," she chided, running her hand along his forehead to check the bandage on his head.

McKay didn't know there even was a bandage. All he knew was that he was being made a fuss over – and he liked it. He leaned back even more, wincing as he jarred those painful ribs once more. Maybe wincing a little much, but hey, he hurt, right?

"I'd like some soup…" he said, in a tired voice that was nothing like the voice he'd used when he'd spoken to Beckett. "Please?"

She smiled, not at all fooled, but willing to allow him to play injured – at least for a while. While he didn't know what he'd done, the story had already made its round in the infirmary, and she was impressed by his bravery – even if he didn't remember being brave.

"I'll bring you some, then. You try to rest. Okay?"

He nodded. And wished immediately that he hadn't, since the pain in his head was just as bad as that in his side. Her hand brushed his forehead again, this time without the smile, and then she left him alone to go order some soup.

OOOOOOOOO

There were two guards on the room that held Ronon Dex and Colonel Melony Mitchell. Both were standing outside the door when Beckett entered, and Carson nodded to both of them as he entered, knowing that Sheppard had ordered them to stay put and make sure Dex wasn't going to pose a danger to anyone when he woke up.

At the moment, however, Dex wasn't going anywhere. He was bundled in a warmed bed with several monitors keeping constant vigil on his vital signs, making sure that everything remained normal, bare-chested with bandages covering most of his torso, one deep slash on his left thigh, and one nasty bump on his head.

Carson glanced over at the bed he was in, checked for visible signs that might tell him the man was close to waking, and then checked the monitor. He was still out, and probably would be for some time. Satisfied by that, the doctor moved over to the other bed, and sat down on the edge of it, careful to avoid jarring the sleeping form in it.

Melony didn't move when Carson joined her, but he didn't mind. He was just as glad to give her a chance to sleep and heal. But he wasn't going to let her sleep alone when he could sit with her for a while in peace and quiet, just spending time alone with her.

Unfortunately, that peaceful time only lasted about ten minutes.

The door opened, and Sheppard entered the room, looking first at Dex's bed and then over at Beckett sitting on Mitchell's.

"How are they?" he asked.

"They should both be fine."

"Good."

Carson nodded, but was fairly certain from the look on Sheppard's face that he wasn't finished. Sure enough, the colonel spoke up again.

"Any luck with that cat we brought back?"

Beckett shook his head.

"Not yet. They're still studying it."

"Well… isn't there something we can do to get them to… study it faster?"

Now Carson frowned, annoyed.

"They're doing the best they can, Colonel, but they've only had the thing for a few hours. They're going to need longer than that."

"But-"

"Go away, Colonel," Carson said. "I'll come find you when I have more information for you."

Bah.