Semper Fi

By Ann3

Writer's Note: Awww, thanks so much for the reviews ! They've been much appreciated, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I must admit, I've had a wonderful time writing it !

Okay, so Carson's made his big decision. Now, who's he going to share the news with first...? Well, for all those waiting for a few more familiar faces to join in the fun, wait no more... ;o)

Chapter Six

Women, Wits And Wisdom

It was a good thing Carson Beckett enjoyed a challenge – because right now he was facing a doozie.

Returning to the Infirmary to check up on his patients had proven to be something of a mixed blessing. The most welcome discovery had been to find all of them, thankfully, safely on the road to recovery. Even Rodney's familiar complaints over 'sadistic sheep-chasers...' and 'voodoo science...' had been music to his ears. All the time he kept those insults coming... well, it was just the rock of normality that Carson needed

The downside had been convincing his second in command that he really was feeling alright now, and really had caught up on his sleep.

"Kate, I've slept through half the bloody day, lass...! If ye don't believe me, ye – ye can ask Laura...!"

In hindsight, throwing down such a reckless challenge to a no-nonsense Scottish redhead had not been a good idea. Kate Buchanan was not only ten years older than him, and built like the proverbial tank, she had an extra couple of inches over him too.

Standing dangerously close to her treatment trolleys, she had merely raised an eyebrow. That alone had caused Carson to visibly cringe. The folding of her arms across her chest had sent him in a skitterish backpedal behind the nearest bed. And as she now glanced across at a sweetly smiling Laura, Carson knew he was in serious trouble.

Having one feisty, butt-kicking redhead in his life, he dryly reflected, was about all he could handle. And the gleeful smirk which was now spreading across Rodney McKay's face really wasn't helping.

His only consolation was that Kate had noticed that smirk too. And she was not amused by it.

"Right then, Rodney..." she added briskly, snapping on her gloves with a worrying degree of relish. "As you're clearly feelin' so much better, let's be gettin' ye that bed bath..."

If there'd been a record for losing a smirk... well, a horrified Rodney McKay had just broken it.

"Wh – What...?!?"

As Kate remained stoically unmoved, Rodney McKay made his second serious mistake in as many minutes – expecting sympathy and support from the very same person who he'd been gleefully insulting for the last five.

"C – Carson...? Can – Can she...? I mean, can she...? Can she... um... can she do that...?"

He could stay, of course, and enjoy the fun, but... well, another snap of those gloves put paid to that. And if he didn't get out of there soon, he'd be at serious risk of laughing himself into a double hernia. So with howls of his name falling on conveniently deaf ears, Carson grabbed Laura's hand – and fled.

No sooner had the doors closed behind them that all self control, military or otherwise, crumbled. Collapsing onto a bank of nearby chairs, Carson and Laura just looked at each other, and that was it. Two minutes later, to the amused curiosity of those who walked past them, they were still half collapsed against each other, still in complete hysterics.

If not for Laura's need to leave for a training session, they could quite easily have stayed there all day. And while part of him wished they could do just that, Carson was glad, too, for this chance to be alone. At least it now gave him the opportunity to talk through the massive decision he'd made that morning.

Halfway to Elizabeth's office, Carson then stopped, turned, and headed in the opposite direction. Yes, he could go to her first. He'd still need her help, after all, to make this incredible dream a reality.

But as much as he respected her, as both a leader and a friend, for once she couldn't be his first choice That honour could only rightly go to another friend – the one who'd helped to set that dream in motion

The closer he got to that friend's quarters, the more nervously excited Carson Beckett became. He could be a jittery bugger at the best of times, of course, but... well, right now he had a right to be.

So much about this favour, he now frettily reflected, relied on the answer to one simple question. What if he said no...? More to the point, what if Elizabeth said no...?

There was less chance of that, of course. In fact, she'd already suggested a recuperative trip home.

Until he'd fallen so completely apart in front of Laura that morning, Carson honestly hadn't realised just how draining the last few months had been - how much their various traumas and tragedies had taken out of him. The more he thought about it, the more tempting that offer of a return home became. A week back in his beloved homeland really would be just what the doctor ordered.

But there were still so many uncertainties, so many possible pitfalls, within securing that trip back to Earth, and –

"Ooomf...!"

Winded himself by the suddenness of the collision, Carson's brain seemed to have rattled loose too. And if there'd been anyone else around at that corridor's junction, who'd heard their CMO's next words – well, the Atlantean gossip-line would have been jumping and buzzing for the rest of the year.

"John...! We're goin'... I – I mean we're... um... I'm goin' to... I... och, crap, son, I – I want to get married...!"