Stanton watched until he was sure that Weir and Sheppard had left the Infirmary, and then hurried over to his CMO's side. Carson was thrashing around, pulling out his IVs in the process. His heart monitor was beeping quickly, indicating his agitation.

"No, no, no," he almost sobbed, as he tried to free himself of all the equipment that was attached to him.

Jeff Stanton rushed over, and put his own hands over the Scot's trying to still them. Carson looked up at him, and there were tears in his eyes.

"I didn't try to kill Rodney," he said, somewhere between a statement and a plea.

"I know you didn't, Carson," Stanton reassured him. "They just need to investigate it so they can prove you didn't."

Stanton continued to talk soothingly to his patient, while at the same time re-inserting the IV lines and keeping an eye on the heart monitor. But Carson refused to be soothed, tossing and turning restlessly, obviously still agitated.

"Why would I want to kill Rodney?" he asked the other man. "He's my friend. I've kept him alive more often than I'd like to count. I wouldn't need to stage an accident to kill him, would I?"

In his agitation, Carson didn't notice Stanton slip the sedative into one of the IVs. Soon the Scot's words became more slurred, and his eyes started to close. Just before they closed completely, he looked up at the man treating him. There was a slight look of resentment in his eyes when he realized what had been done to him.

Stanton just gave a gentle smile in return. After all, it was trick he had learned from his boss.

oOoOoOo

Carson woke from his drug-induced sleep to a moment of blissful peace before recent events crashed into his consciousness. His agitation was obvious from the increasingly frequent bleep that was coming from the heart monitor at his side.

He tried to force his still befuddled brain to remember exactly what happened. He remembered sitting in the Chair and trying to focus on the ZPM. He wondered, somewhere in the back of his mind, if he had focused on Rodney instead. He had been mildly annoyed with him, nothing more than that. But perhaps that annoyance had focused him on the scientist, and the Chair had used that and attacked Rodney.

At that moment he hated the Chair. It made him feel out of control and dangerous. He vowed that he would never use the Chair again. No matter how many times Rodney tried to cajole him into doing so.

Thinking of Rodney made him turn to look at the curtained cubicle to his left. The only indication that Rodney was there came from the regular beep of the heart monitor. Carson felt frustrated by his own weakness. He wanted to be there for his friend, to treat him, to supervise his care. And his frustration was only accentuated by the fact he might have caused Rodney's condition.

oOoOoOo

Hidden from sight, he watched them. He noticed Beckett waking up, and saw his agitation. He noticed the glance the doctor gave across to McKay, and he could see the scientist lying immobile on his bed, looking more dead than alive.

His smile was one of evil delight. His plan had worked perfectly. He was glad now, that his target hadn't died. Making him suffer more, before his ultimate death, would make the end even more sweet. And then, and only then, would his revenge be complete. Before he died, his target would know the reasons behind it. He would know that his actions had caused his own death.

oOoOoOo

Stanton found John and Elizabeth in Elizabeth's office.

"How are they?" Elizabeth asked immediately. The stern look on Stanton's face worried her. She glanced at John and noticed that he was looking just as serious.

"Rodney isn't good," Stanton admitted, running a weary hand through his hair. "At the moment we just have to watch and wait. I'm still concerned about the damage the blast did to his lungs, and there may be some internal bleeding we could have missed. But he's a fighter, and that is something he has in his favour."

"And Carson?" John asked.

"His physical injuries are less serious, but emotionally he has been badly affected. Even before he overheard you talking, he had been distressed by something, but we couldn't work out what he was saying." There was a tone of censure in his voice, and both John and Elizabeth looked slightly guilty.

"We don't believe Carson had anything to do with this," Elizabeth said. "Do we Colonel?"

"No," John confirmed. "He'd never do anything to deliberately hurt Rodney."

"But . . .?" Stanton asked, hearing a note of uncertainty in the Colonel's voice.

"Well," John continued, slightly reluctantly, "Carson doesn't always have complete control over the Ancient technology, and perhaps . . ."

"No!" Stanton retorted, sharply. "He wouldn't do something like that, even by accident."

Elizabeth didn't commit either way. "What is important," she said. "Is that we prove that Carson didn't deliberately try to kill Rodney. We need to stop the rumours before they start."

"It's mostly among the new arrivals," John said, thoughtfully. "One of those damned scientists started it."

Elizabeth looked at him, her eyebrow raised. "And the military never gossip?" she asked, irony very evident in her voice.

"Not if I order them not to," he growled.

"The best way to stop the rumours is to prove that they are wrong," Stanton pointed out.

"Yes," Elizabeth agreed, firmly. "Colonel?" She turned to John questioningly. This was more a security issue so was within his jurisdiction.

"Agreed," he confirmed. "I've already got Teyla and Ronon asking around, and Radek is examining the Chair to see if he can work out what happened."

"Let me know as soon as you discover anything," Elizabeth said, to which John nodded.

Before John could respond, an emergency call came over the comm-link for Dr Stanton.

"Dr Stanton," came the anxious voice of one of the junior nurses. "It's Dr McKay. He's coding!"