A/N:
Many thanks for the flattering reviews! You earned yourselves my best home-made SaveCarsonBeckett cookies. And sorry for having taken so long to update. After I had written the greater part of the chapter and proudly looked at it, I realized that I liked it very much but it didn't really fit into the story at that point, so I heavy-heartedly decided to erase it and begin from the start. Don't worry though, I saved the part on my hard drive. If it's beneficial for the story later on, I may still include it.
Herzlichen Dank to TCB 0.5 for the beta, which makes my story better. ;-)

V

"It doesn't end here, right?" Rodney's voice sounded strangely detached.

"Pardon?" Dr Cole snapped out of her account.

"I said, it didn't end here, right?" The physicist obviously didn't care to elaborate, thinking she had just missed the words.

"I'm not quite sure what you're aiming at, Dr McKay."

With his head swirling from medical terms, even Sheppard didn't have the slightest idea what Rodney wanted to know. So, receiving a quizzical look from both, the blond physician and his dark-haired friend, the scientist tried again.

"I mean, it's not the end of the road. It's still getting worse, isn't it?" he uttered with slightly trembling voice. It was more of a statement rather than a question.

She looked to the floor, searching for answers, unsure what she should tell them. The silence in the room became almost tangible. After a moment she inhaled deeply, hesitating once again before she eventually spoke. "Yes, his condition will worsen further; probably a lot." Her voice was low but steady. "The infection has taken a firm hold of his wounds, and for the moment the antibiotics we're giving him don't show any effect. I won't lie to you, if his condition keeps deteriorating at this rate…", she never finished the sentence, she didn't have to.

Wide-eyed and unbelieving Rodney and John stared at the doctor in front of them. What she told so calmly, seemingly unfeeling, turned their world upside-down. 'Yes', John recalled, 'she had said Carson was not out of the woods yet', but he had never realized just what exactly this meant. All of them had beaten the odds so many times; Carson – for goodness sake – had even returned from the dead! John had never once even considered the possibility that the gentle Scotsman could still actually die. He had expected Beckett to get a little worse – yes –, taking his time to fight off the fever – yes –, bitching and moaning about the pain and the possible scars – though that was really Rodney's department –, all the while contentedly chatting with his friends, just like the night before…

Now, the seriousness of the situation caught up with him. He felt himself trapped in a cruel universe keen on mercilessly taking away again what had looked like a generous gift at first glance, thus making the loss even more unbearable.

The physicist beside him struggled for words, subconsciously grabbing for the back-rest of the nearest chair to support his wobbly legs. Finding the assistance still not quite sufficient to forestall the danger of his knees giving way under him, he finally succeeded in planting himself into it. John had always believed Rodney's panic attacks were unnerving but his friend was now clearly beyond panic, and that terrified Sheppard even more.

"You came here to see Dr Beckett", Cole broke the uncomfortable silence. "And I think that's a very good idea. Having his friends around will certainly lift his spirit and motivate him to mobilize every last resource of strength. As long as he is up to it, you, Dr Weir, Ronon and Teyla are free to visit him. Two conditions though: no more than two visitors at once, after all he needs rest to gather his strength; and you immediately get out of the way in case of an emergency." She paused briefly. "He will wake up in an hour or two. If everything's alright, I'll call you over the radio, then you can see him."

xXxXx

John was at a loss what to do. So early in the morning most people were still asleep or at the most getting up by now. Strolling to the Gateroom, he even found Elizabeth's office deserted. Well, so much for the plan to debrief Weir in the meantime. He considered going to the gym and see whether he could convince Ronon to spar with him. But the Satedan was probably not up yet, either.

'What to do? What to do?'

The colonel turned on his heel, undecided where to go next. Silently he envied Rodney for his lab work. He was pretty sure McKay had no problems distracting himself for the time being. The man was always busy, busier than seemed healthy; but that was another matter. Involuntarily Sheppard remembered his neglected paperwork.

'Nah, I'm not that desperate…!' He dismissed the idea.

Suddenly something sprang to his mind. He turned around and headed off.

xXxXx

Rodney had walked off to his lab where Zelenka was already at work. Judging from his tired face, Radek too hadn't had much sleep if any at all. Just like McKay, the Czech was famous for his night shifts, and given the circumstances of the past few days, in which their feelings had gone through the proverbial roller coaster ride, their insomnia was hardly surprising.

"Morning, Rodney." Zelenka tried to stifle a compromising yawn.

'Definitely the whole-night shift', McKay concluded. "Ah Radek, what are you still doing here? Have you even tried to take a nap before messing up my whole research of over a week?"

The snappy remark remained unanswered as Zelenka unsuccessfully took another attempt at suppressing a yawn.

"Come on, Radek. Take your stubborn butt and remove your head from my sight to get some shut-eye before you accidentally blow up the whole city! If I find you anywhere near the lab within the next four hours, I'll have my good buddy Ronon take care of your sleeplessness…" The mock threat caused both scientists a smile.

At first Radek seemed unwilling to leave but finally he relented. "Okay. And when you go see Carson, give him my best."

"Will do. Now go already." With that Rodney turned around, hiding his worry, and tried to busy himself with something while waiting for the anticipated call."

xXxXx

Dr Cole's estimation had been quite accurate. Roughly one hour after the astrophysicist and the colonel had left the infirmary, Carson became restless in his sleep. Although her shift had officially ended about half an hour ago, she now pulled a chair closer to his bed. Of course Dr Jollet could have handled it, but she had been there when her boss had been put to sleep; now she wanted to be there when he regained consciousness. After all, her migraine had been at least part of the reason he had ended up in his own infirmary with severe burns. And already being off duty proved an immense advantage, for she didn't have to split her attention between several patients but was able to concentrate on just one person. One very special person.

On the night stand beside the bed various vials of medication and syringes were assembled. Dr Beckett's awakening would not be a pleasant one. She had never experienced it herself but she understood that coming round when intubated was less than comfortable, even terrifying at times. That was one of the main reasons why patients on a ventilator usually remained sedated. Yet, apart from the discomfort, there was nothing against letting such a patient come to. Still, because of the burns in his respiratory tract, the breathing tube would cause considerable pain. So, should he start to writhe or struggle, Dr Cole would not hesitate to put him back to sleep, even against his explicit wish.

As Samantha watched the dark-haired man in front of her slowly wake up and become more and more aware of his surroundings, she slipped from her chair and reached at the ventilator controls, setting it to Assist Control. There was no way of knowing whether her superior was still able to initiate breaths of his own; she doubted it, but she couldn't be entirely sure, either. And having to endure Control Ventilation while conscious if his spontaneous breathing hadn't stopped altogether, was simply cruel. Soothingly she began to talk to Carson in order to keep him calm. She took the damp cloth from his forehead, rinsed it in the basin on the night stand and gently washed the sweat from Beckett's feverish face, then, rinsing it once more, she placed it back on his brow. Subconsciously savouring the cool sensation, which brought momentary relief from the heat, the CMO slightly turned his head in Cole's direction.

"Shhh, try to lie still. I know you are very uncomfortable and hot but try to move as little as possible."

His awareness was still too far away to catch the meaning of the words but nevertheless, the calming tone of voice had the desired effect and Beckett settled down again. Knowing from experience that it was hard work for a patient to surface from a medically induced sleep, the young physician moved her chair even closer to the head of the bed and tenderly stroked his cheek, all the while quietly talking to her boss, providing an anchor to the real world to which he could cling.

The thick, impenetrable mist within Carson's head dissipated but very slowly. At first only vague sensations and smells leaked through into his brain, then he heard someone whisper from a great distance but was unable to grasp what was said. Gradually the voice came closer and some of the words reached down to him, the scraps didn't make sense though. He tried to concentrate on the monotone, gentle voice. He was sure he knew the speaker but couldn't quite figure it out; the fog made it unbelievably difficult to focus. The familiar voice was like a star his mind could steer by while he fought to finally reach the surface. Bit by bit, he succeeded in stringing the words together. Yet, with the blessing of understanding, the dull ache throughout his body became more and more dominant. Beckett tried to turn away from the throbbing pain but a soft hand steadied him instantly.

"Shh, Carson. Everything's alright. Just relax. I know you're in pain. I'll give you something in a moment."

'Sam. The familiar voice, which had kept talking and talking, belonged to Sam.' In spite of her soothing voice, his body tensed when her stroking hand deserted his cheek. The cool cloth was picked up from his brow. He heard the splashing of water, then the coolness returned to his head as did her hand. Trying to open his eyes, his eyelids fluttered.

"Easy, Carson, easy. Try to keep still and relax. You are on the ventilator. We had to intubate you last night. Do you remember?"

As the mist slowly cleared, his memory returned. The pain was now hardly bearable, especially that in his sore throat, but knowing there would be no escape, he resisted the urge to shift restlessly. With all his might he forced his eyes open, blinking the world into focus.

"Good morning, Dr Beckett." Cole's face beamed down at him.

Despite his aching body, the corners of his lips twitched. Samantha couldn't suppress a hearty laughter, followed by an affectionate pat on his shoulder.

"Always the gentleman, always the charm." Dr Cole's smile faded after a few moments, and her expression grew serious again.

"Since you can't talk with the breathing tube, we now set the rules." She paused for a second to study his dilated blue eyes, making sure Beckett was still with her. "You blink once for 'yes' and twice for 'no'. Understood?"

He blinked once, comprehension clear in his face.

"Good. Then, how is the pain? Bad?"

Leaving aside their recent agreement, Carson rolled his eyes. Undoubtedly, she wouldn't have any trouble deciphering what he meant. Due to the very potent drugs though, the sudden movement didn't agree with his equilibrium at all and he was rewarded with a wave of nausea.

"I see. Can you manage, or do you want me to sedate you again?" Samantha asked tenderly although she was sure she knew the answer already.

The Scot's eyes went wide for an instant, then hastily blinked twice.

"Thought so. But you know, I had to ask anyway." She smiled apologetically at him.

Completely alert by now, he held her glance when she continued. "Okay, before I give you something to take off the edge, I want you to try something. The ventilator is set to AC mode, and I need to know whether you are still capable of spontaneous breathing. Now I want you to try and initiate a breath on your own. Can you do that for me, Carson?"

Dr Cole observed her boss carefully as he closed his eyes in concentration, clenching his fists from the effort of trying to comply with her request. But to no avail. No matter how hard he strove, his lungs remained unresponsive. Eventually a consoling hand settled on his shoulder, and when he opened his eyes in defeat, they were met with a sympathetic smile.

"Never mind. I never expected you to be able to breathe on your own. I just needed to be sure." With that she switched the respirator again to Control Ventilation and busied herself with one of the vials and a syringe from the night stand. From the corner of his eyes, Beckett stared curiously at her.

"Just some Fentanyl", Samantha explained while she injected the drug into his IV port. "Give it a moment to take effect. You should feel better soon."

Lazily she sat back into the vacant chair. After a few seconds she witnessed her patient's features beginning to loosen up, his tension finally easing. She waited another two minutes and contentedly noticed that his muscles had relaxed significantly.

"Better? Manageable?"

Carson blinked.

"Fine. One last question before I beat it and call it a night… day… whatever." She leaned in and cast an inquiring glance at the CMO. "You up for some visitors? You know, I already had to literally trip one certain colonel and one certain astrophysicist on the virtual doorstep of the ICU before the first light of the morning." The blond physician shook her head in fake despair.

Face lighting up and eyes expectantly smiling with joy, her dark-haired boss blinked again.

"Okay, stay tuned. I'll go get the others."

To be continued…

A/N 2:
Okay, I admit there was one tiny little flaw in the continuity within this chapter but I liked that part so much that I kept it anyway. If you want to take a guess at what it was, PM me.