A/N: And on how he got downstairs at the end of the episode.

"The cure?"

"It worked, you were right," Abe answered with a smile. Jackson felt a small rush of hope. It worked, they had finally found a cure. Both let out a relieved laugh.

For a moment Jackson forgot all that had happened in the past hours, even the fact he had been shot. But with the adrenaline fading now, it came back to him as a sharp pain in his side.

He swallowed hard and steadied himself against the wall with his right hand. The other hand he pressed against the painful spot, feeling it was wet.

'Rafiki, are you allright?' Abe asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

'I think I pulled some stitches when I wheeled them in there,' Jackson answered as he nodded towards the still frightened children adjacent room. He swayed a little and suddenly felt lightheaded. Abe guided him to the bed behind him and carefully sat down. His shirt had sticky bloodstains. He closed his eyes against the dizziness for a second, and when he opened them again, Abe had found him a wheelchair.

'I'm okay, I just need a second,' Jackson said, eyeing the wheelchair with resentment. Abe opened his mouth to protest when suddenly the doors swung open. Abe turned, the shotgun ready, but staring at them was not an animal, but a group of soldiers. Abe immediately lowered his weapon.

'We're here to evacuate this hospital. You need to come with us straight away,' the leading soldier said. He looked around, eyes lingering on the bloody legs around the counter.

'There's 3 kids in here,' Jackson said, pulling away the attention from the nurse. Two soldiers went into the room, one coming out with the little boy in his arms and the girl by his side. The other was talking to someone calling for medical assistance for the youngest brother.

The leading soldier looked back at Jackson, noticing the red stains on his hospital shirt.

'Can you walk?'

'Yes,' Jackson replied, at the same time Abe said 'No.' Jackson shot him a glare, but Abe ignored it. The soldier just stared at them, clearly impatient. Jackson grumbled a curse and reluctantly sat down in the wheelchair. He could practically feel Abe smile for getting his way.

'Okay, follow us and stay close,' the soldier said, turning on his heels and marching through the doors. The soldier carrying the boy followed, and another watched their backs as Abe pushed Jackson forward.

By the time they were down in the lobby, Jackson felt as if he had run a marathon, even though he hadn't walked all this way. He was tired, and his body felt heavy. His head was pounding, and his side reminded him of his surgery some hours ago. If not for the wheelchair he would not have gotten downstairs, but he wasn't going to tell Abe that, although he had the feeling Abe already knew.

Jackson put his feet down just before they reached the doors and Abe stopped.

'I can walk the last part,' he said, trying hard not to sound as weak as he felt. He waited for Abe to sound his protest, but he was surprised to find him helping him get up. He must have known Jackson wanted to walk out no matter what and had accepted it. He did keep a hand on his arm however and stayed close in case he would drop to the floor. If he had to be honest, Jackson was glad for that, because his first step was slow and painful.

'Sir, is this your dog?'

They stopped and turned. One of the soldiers had found the dog Abe had brought.

'Bacco!' Abe said excited. The dog wagged his tail in joy to the sound of his name. The soldier handed Abe the chain.

Jackson looked at the dog in amazement. The dog was happy and calm, instead of out for blood.

Abe squatted down and scratched the dog's head. He turned his head towards Jackson.

'See?'

'It really does work,' Jackson breathed. Abe nodded, a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. It made Jackson smile too.

'Now, let's go save the world Rafiki,' Abe said as he got up and guided both Bacco and Jackson to the door.

Outside, Abe let go of Jacksons arm when they heard Mitch's voice. Jackson said nothing, but thanked Abe in his mind and hobbled along.

'You look like hell,' was the first thing Mitch said as they came into view. Jackson chuckled nervously. I feel like hell too, he thought, but he kept a grin on his face as he said 'Thanks.'