CHAPTER FOUR
Two days later, Rodney woke slowly and painfully to the familiar sounds of the infirmary.
As he slowly slid his eyes open, a roguish voice greeted him.
"Hey, there, Sleeping Beauty."
Rodney closed his eyes again and groaned. He was most definitely not in the mood to deal with John Sheppard and his sarcasm right now, but since it looked like he had no choice, McKay asked the only question on his mind.
"How?" No actual sound came from Rodney's dry lips, but John understood the question easily.
A smile spread across Sheppard's face as he responded.
"Don't worry about that right now. Suffice to say we went through the gate in a cloaked puddlejumper to do an aerial survey for your emergency transponder signal. Didn't find it, but when a firefight broke out within our sensor range, we took a chance that you were somehow involved and searched that area."
At Rodney's indignant look, Sheppard looked a little chagrined and then changed the subject abruptly to cover his discomfort at somewhat insulting a wounded man.
"Look, nothing personal, McKay, but trouble does seem to follow you around like a loyal puppy...I mean, you took a pretty good hit to start off this little adventure of yours...talk about bad luck...nice of you to finally join us, by the way."
Rodney swallowed once and responded in a croaking voice. "How long?"
John made a show of looking at his watch. "Forty seven hours, give or take a bit."
Rodney's eyes became large as he digested this bit of information, but he was spared from any further conversation by an interruption from Atlantis' medical director, Dr. Keller.
She leaned her head into his partitioned area and smiled.
"I see my patient's awake. Good. Colonel, I need to do a check up here. Would you mind giving us some privacy?"
"No problem."
Sheppard stood and left, and the physician quickly completed her task on an oddly quiet and compliant McKay.
"Well, you're looking as good as can be expected, Rodney. How are you feeling?"
Rodney didn't respond, so after an uncomfortable second, the doctor excused herself.
"Well, you just get some more rest. You'll be out of here in no time." Keller gave McKay a reassuring pat on the leg and her patient seemed to notice her for the first time since she'd come onto the scene.
The wounded man muttered a quiet response. "Yeah. Ok."
As the woman turned and left, Rodney suddenly smiled a quirky little grin.
It had nothing to do with Dr. Keller's words.
At the foot of his bed, Rodney could see Carson, bright blue eyes gleaming, sitting there looking as natural as the ocean around Atlantis. When the physician spoke, McKay's grin grew, and his own eyes twinkled in delight.
"I told you it wasn't your time."
"Yes. Yes, you did."
"She's right you know...you're going to be fine."
"Thanks to you."
Carson smiled a wry grin and gave the slightest humble shrug.
"Aye, anytime. Get some sleep, Rodney. You need it."
Rodney's face screwed up with emotion then and tears filled his eyes. He shook his head briefly from side to side in the tiniest negative.
"You'll be gone again."
Carson's smile became wider.
"It's ok, Rodney. I won't be gone. I'm never far. Never far at all. Go on. Rest. It's ok."
The combination of his friend's comforting words, the drugs in his system, and his extreme fatigue overcame Rodney's desire to stay awake, but despite his reluctance to end the moment, a smile graced his face as he returned to slumber.
Carson had said he was never far.
Never far at all.
It was a comforting thought, and Rodney wrapped it around himself like a warm cloak.
A cloak he would never remove, for as long as he lived.
