The next time Rodney woke he looked up into the warm, brown eyes of Teyla Emmagan.

"Hello, Rodney," she said, with a gentle smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Lousy," Rodney croaked. "Ice cubes?" he asked, remembering the ubiquitous ice cubes Carson usually had to hand. He hadn't been awake long enough the last time to ask for them, and John had annoyed him, as usual, which had made him forget about them.

Teyla smiled, and went to a small freezer that Carson always kept well stocked with ice cubes. She brought some over, a started to feed them to Rodney. He opened his mouth like a young bird, as she put the soothing cubes into his dry mouth.

Jeff Stanton arrived by his bed-side. "Good to see you awake again, Dr McKay," he said with a smile.

The doctor then started to fuss around, checking Rodney's charts, the IVs and the monitors. Rodney's eyes followed him around. Although Rodney knew he was a good doctor, the scientist didn't feel safe unless it was Carson who was looking after him. He didn't know why. His head told him that the other medics on Atlantis were all adequate at their job. But he had got used to Carson's care, and he trusted his friend to look after him.

He was about to ask again about where Carson was, but before he could form the words, a yawn overtook him.

"You are still tired, Rodney," Teyla said, obviously.

"She's been spending too much time with Ronon," Rodney thought to himself, but before he could say anything out loud, he found his eyes fluttering shut and he sank back into the land of sleep.

oOoOoOo

As John approached Carson's room, he was deep in thought. He had been doing more checking on the facts behind what had happened. So far, he had discovered that the only four people who knew about the medical laser seemed to be Carson, the two medics who had been helping Carson catalogue the Ancient technology and himself. He had spoken to both the medics and, unfortunately for Carson, they had both been able to account for their time between finding the laser and the explosion. John had also checked their stories with the people they had claimed to be with. It had all tied in. John knew he had nothing to do with the laser being in the Chair Room, and all that led back to Carson.

John was not looking forward to confronting the Scot with the facts. Carson was his friend. He had proved his worth to Atlantis on more occasions that John could count. But the facts seemed indisputable, only Carson knew about the laser and had the opportunity to put it in the Chair Room.

He nodded to the two marines who were guarding Carson's door, and then used his Ancient gene to open the door. The doctor was sitting on his bed, his head bowed, cradling his broken arm.

"Is it sore?" John asked, nodding at the other man's arm.

"Aye," the Scot replied. "They put a heavier cast on it, and it's a wee bit painful at the moment. How's Rodney?"

"He's doing fine," John reassured him. "He woke up briefly, snarked at me, and then fell asleep again." Carson smiled in response as John hoped he would.

"And your investigations?" Carson asked. It was the question John had been dreading.

"Well," he drawled, trying to work out how to answer the doctor. "I've not really found anything yet." He decided on evasion as the best possible route. But the doctor was used to looking beyond the obvious when dealing with patients.

"Does that mean you've not found anything at all, or just anything that will clear me?"

"I'm sure I find something soon," John replied, trying to appear upbeat.

"What if there's nothing to find?" Carson asked.

"You've been spending too much time with Rodney, Doc," John replied. "It's not like you to be negative."

"Do you think I tried to kill Rodney?" Carson asked another question. John had to remind himself that it was him that was supposed to be asking the questions.

"I find it hard to believe you would kill anyone, even Rodney," John replied. "Now if it was Ronon . . ."

Carson smiled again, but it wasn't a full smile, more of a polite acknowledgment of John's attempts at humour.

"So, Carson," John continued, trying to return to the purpose of this visit. "Can you tell me exactly what you did between finding the laser and the explosion?"

"That's the problem, Colonel," Carson replied. "I can't."

"Can't, Carson, or won't?" John asked, pushing, reluctantly to try to help the doctor clear himself.

"Can't, Colonel," he replied, emphatically. "I've tried to remember. Tried so hard my brain hurts, but there is a gap there. I remember finding the laser. I remember that I took it to put it in a safe place, but I don't remember where I put it, or what I did after I took it out of the room where we found it. There's a blank."

John frowned. He had hoped Carson would be able to clear himself, but this only added to the case against the doctor.

"Carson," John looked at the Scot keenly. "Do you think you tried to kill Rodney?"

The pause before Carson replied worried John more than the words that followed.

"I just don't know, John," he replied, surprising John by using his first name. "I don't think I did, and I can't bring myself to believe I'd do something like that. But why can't I remember? Why is there this blank in my memory?"

The despair in Carson's face reached out to John, and he placed an awkward, comforting hand on the other man's shoulder. But he could find no words to comfort his friend. The best thing he could do was to find out who had tried to kill Rodney, and prove beyond all doubt, to everyone, including Carson, that the doctor had nothing to do with the murder attempt.

oOoOoOo

Elizabeth was sitting behind her desk when John arrived at her office. He walked in without a word and flopped down on the chair opposite her. She looked at him, her eyebrow raised quizzically.

"All I've found so far says Carson's guilty," he admitted, reluctantly.

Elizabeth sat back in her seat, and sighed. "But you don't think he is?" she asked.

"No," John said. "At least I don't think so."

"That doesn't sound as definite as I'd like it to," she replied.

"Even Carson isn't sure," John responded. "He's can't remember what he did. And I mean really can't remember, sorta temporary amnesia."

Before Elizabeth could respond, a call came through both their comm-links. It came from Jeff Stanton.

"Dr Weir, Colonel Sheppard, could you come to the Infirmary immediately!"

John and Elizabeth exchanged and worried glance, as they got to their feet and responded to the summons.

As they approached the Infirmary, they could hear the raised and agitated voice of Rodney McKay.

"Oh boy," John muttered softly.

"Where is Carson?" he was demanding. "I want to see Carson? What are you not telling me? No, don't touch me," he continued, and the sound of a hand being slapped away accompanied his words.

"He seems to have recovered his voice," John said with irony. Elizabeth gave him a half-grin of acknowledgment.

"Ah, there you are," Rodney said by way of greeting. "Maybe I can get some answers now. These voodoo practitioners won't tell me where Carson is."

"He was injured too, Rodney," Elizabeth said soothingly. "He's in his room, resting."

"I know Carson," Rodney retorted. "He doesn't do 'resting'. What are you not telling me?"

Jeff Stanton had a slightly panicked look on his face.

"Dr McKay," he said. "Please calm down. You'll damage your wounds, and have a relapse. You really shouldn't get yourself upset like this."

"Then get Carson here, now. Let him tell me I'm going to be okay. Oh God, is that it, I'm dying and Carson can't stand to tell me that. Am I dying, Elizabeth?" he asked, turning blue eyes, currently filling with tears, towards the Expedition's Leader.

"No, Rodney," she said. "You are not dying, and neither is Carson, before you start worrying about that. Now please, do as Dr Stanton says, and settle down. We've been worried about you, and it's not good for you to get upset like this."

For a moment, it looked as though Rodney was going to be appeased by her words. Then his jaw took on a stubborn tilt, and he crossed his arms over his chest, before wincing and letting them fall to his side.

"Then tell me why everyone looks worried when I mention Carson?"

John and Elizabeth exchanged another anxious glance, then John stepped forward, and put a gently restraining hand on Rodney's arm.

"The problem is Rodney," John responded, deciding the truth might be the best way of calming Rodney down. "Someone tried to kill you. The experiment with the ZPM was rigged to make it explode."

"Someone wants to kill me?" Rodney asked, his voice laced with fear and fascination. "But who would want to kill me?"

"That's the other problem," John admitted. "At the moment, the only real suspect is Carson."

"Carson tried to kill me?" Rodney's voice went up an octave. "Why would he try to kill me? He's meant to save me!"

"We don't have the answers to that yet," John said. "And I'm still not convinced that Carson had anything to do with this, at least willingly. But for the moment, for your safety and his, he's confined to quarters."

"Carson tried to kill me?" Rodney said softly, looking at Elizabeth as if pleading with her to deny it.

"It looks that way," she said, her tone soft and comforting. "But we need you to get well again, so you can find the evidence to prove he didn't."

The appeal to Rodney's vanity worked, as he lay back, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Now that makes sense," he said. "So why is everyone still here, keeping me from sleeping?"

John shook his head, and turned to leave, a smile of amusement on his face. Elizabeth was good at manipulating the scientist.

"What's that grin for?" Elizabeth asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him.

"Nothing," he said, still smiling, and then headed off towards his room whistling as he went.

"Men," Elizabeth exclaimed to no-one in particular. "Will they ever grow up?"

No-one thought it wise to answer.