-
"Rodney wore a bullet-proof vest under his jacket?" Elizabeth echoed Carson's statement.
'He's a genius, remember?" John grinned, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, looking for all the world like an excited toddler who's been told Christmas has come early.
"So he likes to remind us…" Elizabeth barely managed to keep a matching grin off her face, desperately trying to keep some modicum of decorum.
Carson had no such restraint. His entire face was lit in an expression of pure bliss and his eyes were shining brilliantly with a million sparks of joy. He nodded vigorously: "Bloody brilliant idea, saved his life, I have nae a doubt about it! That last bullet would have pierced his heart!"
"Oh, yeay me…"
The softly whispered words had an impact equivalent to a nuclear detonation.
Three sets of eyes swivelled around to meet dazed blue ones. For several long seconds, the silence in the infirmary was absolute. Then, three voices demanded for Rodney's attention. Talking too fast, too loud and too mixed up in each other for Rodney to understand.
It did nothing to alleviate his head-ache.
Carson was the first to notice the tiny wrinkles creasing his patient's forehead. As per usual, seeing Rodney in pain without hearing the hypochondriac rant about it in full technicolor detail, brought forth his most compassionate concern. And hence his (in)famous mother hen fussing.
"Keep it down a wee bit, will ya?" He said softly as he injected a mild pain reliever.
John and Elizabeth looked suitably contrite as they waited, in silence, for Rodney's expression to relax as the medication kicked in.
He blinked up at them sleepily, comfortable enough to give in to the beckoning slumber but unable to do so while Elizabeth and Sheppard looked so worried.
"'M fine…" He insisted, but his weak voice didn't go far in convincing them.
Carson took over. "He's right, or, at least, he will be after several days in our excellent care." With experience born from countless previous infirmary visits, the doctor studiously ignored his patient's harrumph and mutterings featuring 'voodoo' and 'sheep'.
But he could hardly keep the grin of his face at the visible relief Rodney's not-quite-under-his-breath complaining brought to Elizabeth and John.
McKay's second law: Speaking is silver, but silence is vastly overrated.
Elizabeth smiled down warmly, her eyes shining with pride. "You did good, Rodney. You scared 12 years of my life pulling that stunt, but you were brilliant…"
"Always am…" The softly murmured reply made her smile deepen.
Rodney's eyes had fallen completely closed by now, and Elizabeth and Carson quietly took their leave.
John Sheppard however planted himself firmly in the bedside chair, propping his feet up on Rodney's bed, settling in for a long vigil, content to just watch his friend sleep.
To his surprise, he found Rodney's blue eyes open and staring steadily at him.
"Sheppard, do I even want to know what kind of insane idea were you contemplating by childishly playing with every Ancient titbit near enough to respond to your gene?"
John grinned self-depreciatingly. "Nope."
"Thought so…" Rodney huffed, closing his eyes again. "Despite involving lots of adrenaline, blood and other bodily fluids, I bet it would have worked too…"
"Huh?" John wasn't sure but that had sounded suspiciously a lot like a compliment.
Rodney must have been tired, and near-death experiences on top of concussions tended to make you light-headed…
"I'm hungry…" The astrophysicist remarked in an apparent non-sequitur.
But to John Sheppard, it suddenly made sense. Give and take. He grinned. "You want me to get my lazy but to the commissary and smuggle you some dessert?"
"Rhetorical question." Rodney mumbled, not deigning it worthy to open his eyes.
"Rrrrright," John drawled, actually starting to feel rather peckish as well, "If my memory serves me correctly, we have either Athosian fruit pie or Jell-O today, what would Milord prefer?"
"Mmmmmmm." Rodney's entire face was scrunched up in deep thought.
John cocked an eyebrow, his stomach now yelling louder at him it wanted some food intake some time soon. "McKay, it's not such a freaking dilemma! Just choose!"
Rodney's eyes flew open, revealing wide blue irises.
John froze immediately, realisation of his unfortunate choice of words making him want to sink through the floor. "Oh, God, Rodney, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…"
Rodney's laughter made him stop abruptly. It wasn't hysterical, as he might have suspected, but just warm and gentle and teasing.
"Sheppard, this is called being indecisive. Or 'picky', 'choosy', 'fastidious', whichever you like that best…"
John relaxed, relieved to see his friend bouncing back so well from the horrible experience. Still, he wasn't kidding himself. Nightmares and sleepless nights were at the horizon for the both of them, but together John and Rodney would beat them.
But right now, the only thing that mattered, was the dancing spark of life in those blue eyes.
"I think I'll go for red Jell-O…"
And getting Rodney his food.
"Very well, sir, red Jell-O it is!" John gave a small bow before leaving the room. In the doorway, he stalled, stealing one last glance. Rodney's eyes had fallen closed again, and from the slow regular breathing John could tell he had already nodded off.
Smiling to himself, he headed to the commissary, debating the merits of Athosian fruit pie over Jell-O.
Idly fingering a bloodied maple leaf patch.
-
When Rodney's grumbling stomach woke him a few hours later, he found a lightly snoring lieutenant colonel curled up in a nearby chair, and a cup of red Jell-O and a piece of Athosian pie on his bedside table. Quietly, so as not to wake Sheppard, he tried to reach for the food, but his battered ribs, probably all shades from red to purple, protested painfully, and his immobilised left arm was inconveniently getting in the way. He groaned softly as he fell back in the pillows, and concentrated on breathing shallowly while the pain slowly ebbed away.
"You okay?" Sheppard's voice above his face startled him, and he opened eyes he didn't remember clenching shut.
"Yeah, sorry I woke you up…" Rodney whispered sheepishly. "I just wanted to eat something…'
"Hey, no problem." John grinned "In fact, I had gone to fetch some food for the both of us, but by the time I got back, I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore and I nodded off before even taking one bite…"
Rodney smiled delightfully. "All right, bring on the red Jell-O, then!"
John watched him happily devour the plastic cup's contents in record time, eating his own slice of Athosian fruit pie at a more sedated pace.
"You up for some pie, too?" He asked.
Rodney looked nonplussed at the pie on Sheppard's plate. "Uhm, no thanks, you eat it."
"Ah!" John raised his fork in triumph, "I've brought you Jell-O and a slice of pie, which is right there waiting for you.…" he pointed to a tray resting on the next bed. "A very wise man once said that you can't be forced to choose, that you should instead try to get the most out of it..."
Rodney smiled softly. "Paraphrased, but passable… Fine, I am quite hungry still."
John grabbed the tray and passed it to Rodney, who marvelled a moment at the sheer size of the slice, before capturing his friend's gaze. "Another infinitely wiser quote says that shared joy is double joy; there's plenty for the both of us…"
John agreed, neatly dividing the slice into two equal parts.
No one said the next part of the quote out loud, but it was on both their minds as they quietly enjoyed Athosian fruit pie and each other's company.
And shared sorrow is half a sorrow…
-
