The first thing he heard was the beeping – the soothing, steady beat of a heart in normal sinus rhythm. Beyond that was the whoosh-thunk of a ventilator, as familiar and comforting as the smells of disinfectant and human bodies. Carson's eyelids felt as though they were weighted down with stones. He gave up trying to open them. Nor did he feel any great urge to move, considering the dull ache that lay just under the hum of painkillers that surrounded him. Within seconds, the sounds and smells faded and he slipped back into darkness.

Once again sounds filtered into his awareness. The beeping was still present but the noise of the ventilator was gone, replaced by a murmur that sounded a bit like flies buzzing. He focused until the noise resolved into a voice.

"— what his problem is. As soon as they let me out of here, I'm gonna find him and kick his ass."

Carson forced first one eye open, then the other, blinking until he could make out the sight of Sheppard dressed in hospital scrubs and sitting cross-legged on a nearby bed. Ronan was slouched in a chair, his long legs sticking out in front of him. The Satedan nodded his head in Carson's direction. "He's awake. I'll get the doc."

Sheppard slid off the bed and padded over, leaning down close. Carson examined the neat black sutures across the colonel's forehead. Dr. Baranski's work, if he wasn't mistaken. Max had always had a nice hand for sewing. "Hey, doc. 'Bout time you woke up."

"Colonel, back in bed, if you please." Sheppard's face receded and was replaced by that of Carmen Ruiz. "Welcome back, Carson," she smiled, checking the readouts on the monitor. "You gave us quite a scare."

"Wha –" he croaked, his mouth sand-dry. Carmen slipped an ice chip between his lips and he closed his eyes in bliss.

"Don't go back to sleep just yet," Carmen urged. "I need you to tell me if you're in any pain."

"A little," he admitted, his voice still hoarse. He watched as Carmen accepted a syringe from a nurse and injected it into his IV port. "What's the damage?"

"You lacerated your spleen. We transfused the hell out of you and fixed it surgically. It was close, Carson. You coded in the jumper. We had to shock you."

"Och, I'm sorry to have worried you, lass. And I thank you for taking such good care of me."

"Knock that off," Dr. Ruiz said sternly. "You're not to worry about anyone but yourself until I tell you otherwise, clear?"

"You're the boss," he yawned. "But lass," he said, gazing up at her through his lashes and employing his dimples to good effect, "would you be so kind as to update me on Rodney and the colonel?"

"Don't flash those blue eyes at me, mister. I know all your tricks." She tried to look stern, but ended up shaking her head. "Dr. McKay is fine. No damage to his eyes and the burns on his face are healing nicely. I released him to his quarters two days ago. Colonel Sheppard is still with us as you can see, but I may release him in the morning IF he behaves himself." The man in question was leaning on the foot of Carson's bed and grinning unrepentantly. "And now it's time for you to get some rest. You'll be weak as a newborn for some time to come, so don't start pestering me to release you."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he murmured, nestling into his pillow. "Carmen. Thanks for coming after me."

"I had to. No one can run this asylum quite like you can." She patted his arm with a smile and walked away.

Carson's lids were growing heavy again, but he was aware that Sheppard and Ronan were still close by. "So, where's Rodney?" he asked. "Surprised he's not malingering about, moanin' about his injuries." Or checking on me, he thought sadly. He didn't miss the look his visitors exchanged.

"You know Rodney," Sheppard said, picking at the blanket over Carson's feet. "Convinced everything fell to pieces while he was recovering. He's probably in the lab yelling at Zelenka, making up for lost time."

Carson frowned, but decided to let it go for now. "Ronan, lad, you have bloody amazing timing."

The Satedan shook his head. "I thought I'd be too late. Didn't think you'd last that long, considering how bad you looked when I left."

"The doc's tough," Sheppard said, his voice an odd combination of admiration and regret. "You did really well out there, Carson."

"It's amazing what you can do when you're scared to death."

"That's what makes a man brave," Ronan said. "Doing what has to be done, even though he's scared." He leaned down, fixing serious brown eyes on the sleepy doctor. "I am honored to fight beside you, and call you a brother warrior."

"I appreciate that, lad, I do. But if it's all the same to you, I'll stay in the lab from now on and leave the fightin' to you." Carson felt himself fading and let the tide of darkness pull him under. Despite the warm glow he felt at the soldiers' praise, his last conscious thought was one of worry. Why, he wondered, hadn't Rodney been to visit him?

A/N: Okay, maybe one more chapter!