TJ had not felt like this for a long time. Her medical pack was strapped to her back, but in this moment she did not feel like a doctor, she felt like a soldier again. Armed and armoured, the gun was a solid weight in her arms and she could feel the straps of the body armour shifting as she moved. They were retrieving their people.

"We're getting them out TJ." Greer's voice was low and firm. "We are getting them out." His tone brooked no hefted her pack on her back, watching as Greer watched the kino display.

"North." He said. "They're about half a kilometre north of here."

"How did they get that far?" TJ asked. "You said the Colonel fell down a cliff."

Greer looked at her. "I got no idea, but the other kino remote which was in Rush's pack is half a kilometre north of here. Maybe the Colonel ain't with him?"

They stared at each other for a moment as the rain pounded down around them, then by silent mutual agreement left that train of thought well alone.

"Look, it ain't the way the water was going," Greer said. "Let's work with what we got."

TJ nodded. Not washed away at least.

The terrain was difficult, the yellowish dirt and sand was rapidly becoming waterlogged and they slipped and slid as they made their way towards the single blinking red indicator on the kino remote's screen. Several of the gullies were completely flooded, forcing them to backtrack and they were wary of approaching the edges of them for fear of losing more personnel to a fall.

xxxoooxxx

Rush was tired, so tired. There had not been any more of the creatures for what he thought was around an hour, but he did not dare let his eyes close. The second to last creature had crept in while he was trying to check over Young who was still unconscious, able to get close through his inattention and under cover of the noise of the rain. He looked down at Young, still sprawled into his lap, and tried again, shaking him gently, then pinching his earlobe hard.

"Mmmph?" Young made a noise then let out a groan, tight with pain.

Rush was simply relieved he was still alive. He leaned forward, craning his body over to get closer to Young.

"I'm still here." He said directly into Young's ear. "We're going to get out of this."

Young opened his eyes and weakly turned his head upwards to try and focus on Rush. Rush almost bent himself in half leaning down and pressed a hard kiss to Young's lips, then he looked up and went back to staring at the entrance way again. The gun with it's last two bullets resting on Young's shoulder, Rush tried to stay alert while the rain hammered down outside and moisture dripped down the walls.

xxxoooxxx

It was a parody of the pose they had held when she had found them in bed, Young curled into Rush's lap, Rush's arm over him. But instead of a book in his hand Rush had Young's sidearm and was pointing it at TJ and Greer, shaky with exhaustion.

There were another two dead creatures in the doorway, three more on the floor and a final one about five feet in front of Rush and Young. The "head" of that one looked like it had been shot at close range - there was nothing of it left - and TJ could see that Young and Rush were splattered with the yellowish ichor. There was also a lot of blood from somewhere.

"Doctor Rush?" TJ called quietly. "It's TJ."

"TJ?" Rush blinked and the gun dropped although he did not put it down, his outstretched arm resting on Young's shoulder.

His other hand was reflexively tensing and relaxing in Young's hair, although Young did not respond in any way.

"We've come to get you. I need to get Colonel Young on a stretcher so we can all go back to Destiny." She took a few cautious steps forward, then when he did nothing, walked over to him and took the gun from his unresisting hand.

"It's going to be okay, Doctor." She told him.

"He has a broken ankle, three probably cracked ribs, concussion and a couple of broken fingers." Rush's voice was exhausted, so quiet as to be almost a whisper.

"We'll get you both back." She said quietly before turning to the entry. "Bring the stretchers in here." She ordered Greer.

It appeared Rush had undertaken some basic first aid on Young already. She checked him over, redressed the wound that was oozing through it's bandage and left the rest for Destiny and better hygiene. They moved Young carefully from Rush's lap to the stretcher. He came round a little as they moved him, moaning in pain but seemed groggy. Rush did not seem to want to let go, but once Young was safely installed on a stretcher she let Greer and Barrass carry him off and she and Marsden manhandled Rush onto the second.

Rush did not acquiesce willingly, even though he looked like crap and could barely stay awake. TJ estimated as Rush and Young had been on the planet for just over 36 hours and they had arrived on the planet at 10pm Destiny time courtesy of the time differential. Rush had probably been awake for over fifty hours. No wonder he was out of it. Leaving Rush to be carried back by Marsden and Dunning she hurried to catch up with Young's stretcher.

xxxoooxxx

Young's injuries were extensive, Rush had been right about the broken bones, she was forced to get Varro to help reset his ankle, and used some of her precious supply of local anaesthetic, not wanting to give him anything stronger unless she had to. She was able to reuse Rush's hand splints for the fingers, and was exceedingly grateful when Brody arrived with tools and materials and made splinting for the ankle to her direction.

Rush refused to sleep. She could hear Cole and Chloe trying to coerce him to rest throughout most of Young's treatment, but every time she looked up, he was watching the proceedings from where he was slumped on a nearby bed. Young's treatment complete, she sent everyone else away except Cole, asking Camile to try and retrieve Susannah from Earth, and moved to check Rush over.

"Are you okay?"

He blinked at her uncomprehendingly, but submitted as she stripped him out of his shirts and pants and checked him for damage. He was freezing cold and covered in bruises and scrapes but seemed unharmed. When she finished, she realised he was still watching Young.

"You have to sleep." She said. "He'll be fine, I'll watch you both." Rush ignored her and she sensed he was beyond reasoning with. "You want the bed next to him?"

Supporting most of his weight, she managed to get him to move two beds along to the bed next to Young. He collapsed on his side facing the unconscious man. TJ walked over to her limited pharmacy and made a very weak sedative tea adding a generous amount of sugar syrup and cold water to bring it down to drinking temperature.

"Doctor Rush?" He looked at her. "You need to drink this cup of hot tea."

She supported him to drink the tea and took the cup away to rinse it. By the time she returned he was sound asleep, curled on his side facing Young. She covered him with blankets and left him to it, pulling the screens around them.

Twenty minutes later Susannah arrived. She checked Young over and listened to TJ's account of the treatment.

"You did well." She reassured TJ.

TJ sat back and listened while Susannah went over things she needed to look out for and things that she should do later, finally feeling the adrenaline beginning to ebb.

"And now," Susannah told her gently, "you catch a couple of hours sleep and I keep watch."

Gratefully TJ laid herself on one of the spare beds and was asleep in seconds.

She woke when Chloe arrived four hours later. Susannah looked over as TJ swung her legs over the edge of the bed and sat up.

"I'm glad you're awake." She told TJ, "I really need the lavatory and I could do with something to eat."

TJ smiled. "My shift then." She said. "Chloe can keep me company."

Susannah nodded. "I won't be long."

Susannah left and TJ went to splash her face with water.

"TJ?" Chloe called. "I think he's coming round."

TJ walked over to the bed and looked down at Young. His eyes opened slowly.

"Hey." She said, resting a hand gently on his shoulder. "How are you?"

Young blinked at her, confusedly.

"You're going to be fine." She reassured him. "I've put your foot back together and there's no sign of infection. Susannah is here too."

He seemed to be gathering himself slowly. She waited patiently, there was no point in hurrying him.

"Rush." He said. "Where's Rush?"

"He's asleep. How do you feel?"

"Rush." Young said again.

TJ allowed her eyes to flick up to Chloe who was looking at Young a little confused. She reached out and gripped his uninjured hand gently. He tipped his head slightly in response and made eye contact with her. She stepped back so he could see Rush in the next bed.

"He's fine." She repeated. "You both made it out okay. He's in a much better condition than you were. You didn't leave anyone behind."

This appeared to mollify both Chloe and Young, whose eyes had already begun to close at the word 'okay'. She patted his hand and drew the covers up.

She chatted quietly with Chloe for a while, Chloe had been roped into Eli's latest entertainment plan, a weekly "radio drama" featuring the vocal talents of a half dozen crew members playing a considerably larger number of characters and neatly sidestepping the need for costumes or sets that a video drama would. It sounded fun, and new entertainment was always welcome. They talked until Susannah came back half an hour later and Chloe made herself scarce when Susannah found a bed and got some sleep herself. TJ settled back at the desk to write up her treatment record.

TJ heard Rush moaning in his sleep and walked over. As she neared the beds he came awake with a panicked yell, staring around him. She stopped, waiting quietly. He evidently did not see her as he looked around and immediately his eyes lit on Young. She watched as he slid out of bed and took the two steps over to Young. He stared down at the man and she realised Rush's breath was coming fast as if he'd been running or, more likely, having a nightmare. He pushed Young's messy curls back off his face, before climbing up on the bed.

"Hey." She said quietly.

He started, and looked over, slightly guilty expression segueing smoothly into a more baleful look as if he did not have the energy for a glare.

"Not really enough room in there for two." She said. "Not with his broken leg."

He got down turned his back on her and slid back into bed. She walked over. He still looked drained and groggy and as well as the scrapes she had cleaned earlier she could see a series of dark bruises coming up visible around the edges of the tank top. He was favouring his right hand and she suspected that the recoil of the gun held while sitting in an awkward position had jarred his wrist.

She walked over and looked down at him. "I'm staying here and I'm staying awake. I need to make some medicines up anyway. I'll keep an eye on you both."

He rolled so he was facing towards Young and his eyes drooped. TJ went back to her desk.

She busied herself with making the medicines, starting an alcohol infusion of a root from the plains planet which would eventually form the basis for mouthwash and making a strong decoction of a bark that was a powerful anti-fungal. Rush woke with a cry three more times in the next hour and a half, startling her and waking Susannah. The first time TJ gestured to Susannah that it was alright and went over to check on him, but after getting his bearings and checking on the Colonel he simply curled back up again. He did not look like the sleep was actually giving him much benefit though.

Again the second time, Susannah squinting at her as she walked over, she checked on him, but again, he sat up, climbed off the bed, looked at Young then went back to bed and fell asleep. The third time she just listened, heard him get up, check Young and then get back into bed again. She nodded at Susannah, who smiled and dozed off again. TJ contemplated giving him a dose of something to knock him out, but decided against it; everything was quiet over there behind the screens and had been for a little while and she needed to get the decoction bottled while it was hot.

Scott walked into the infirmary. "Is the Colonel awake yet?"

Unable to look up from where she was decanting a decoction of crinkle bark from a jar to a variety of repurposed screw top shampoo bottles TJ responded with a negative "uh-uh". She poured the last of the liquid carefully into the last bottle, careful not to disturb the light sediment in the bottom of the jar, and careful not to get any of the blue-green liquid on her hands. It was an excellent treatment for most fungal infections, but tended to dye the skin a bright greenish looked upwards at the sudden inhalation of breath. Scott was standing in the gap between the makeshift infirmary screens, staring at Young's bed. TJ put the jar down careful and walked over quietly. "Sssh! You'll wake them."

While she had been busy Rush had moved and was back on Young's bed again, lying next to him on the side with the unbroken leg and intact ribs, arm wrapped around the other man's neck above the broken ribs, and now sound asleep. TJ sighed.

"What?" Asked Scott quietly in a very bemused voice looking from the tableau on the bed to TJ.

TJ paused a moment then prevaricated "What do you expect, Rush spent 36 of the last fifty plus hours keeping him alive, I'm not surprised he's feeling a little concerned."

Scott gave her a look. TJ sighed and forced herself to remember that Scott might be several years younger than her and look like a dumb kid, but he'd managed to make it to 1st Lieutenant on his own merits.

"Come over here." She said gesturing to the far side of the room past where Susannah was asleep on a bed.

Scott followed her over. She leaned on a bed, wondering where to start. She gave up trying to find an easy way into the conversation.

"They're having a relationship." She said.

Scott looked at her. "You're kidding me right?"

"No." She said tiredly. "No I'm not. They're having a relationship. Have been for a few months from what I can gather. They keep telling me they aren't but they keep ending up sleeping together."

Scott stared at her, absolutely speechless. "How did it start?"

TJ shrugged. "I don't know how, but apparently when is on the volcano beach planet, when you were sick."

"Wow." Scott fell silent obviously struggling to take it all in. "I didn't think they were gay." He said finally. "Like, they were both married."

"I don't think they think they're gay either if that helps." She said.

"But they're sleeping together."

"Sleeping," she stressed, "actually sleeping."

"Well I guess it explains why Rush threw himself off a cliff after the Colonel." Scott looked back over to the screens and back again. "So how long have you known, and does anyone else know?"

"About a month and Eli knows too. He caught Young telling Rush it was late and he ought to come to bed. I think Doctor Macarthur has guessed."

Scott nodded, then after a moment grinned. "You know what the oddest thing about that is?"

TJ shook her head.

"The idea that anyone is brave enough to tell Dr Rush it's his bedtime."

TJ stifled a giggle. "Yeah. Definitely."

They both tried to suppress the laughter that threatened to erupt. Once it was under control again Scott nodded thoughtfully. "Kinda explains a lot though. Like all the times I thought the Colonel was having a tough time and then he suddenly wasn't, and the same for Dr Rush, like when Chloe told me about Dr Rush losing it at the science team, but then the next day he was fine."

"I think they're looking out for each other." TJ agreed. "It doesn't always work, but it seems mostly positive."

"This is very weird." Scott said. "Well, if he wants to keep it a secret then we keep it a secret."

TJ nodded, she didn't have to ask who "he" was.