I'm delighted you enjoyed the last chapter, and thanks for the reviews!

But as to what happened to Carson, well on with the story...

THE TIES THAT BIND.

CHAPTER 10

Carson regained consciousness just as he was loaded onto a gurney, but was too dazed to give more than a feeble protest as a blinding light was flashed into his eyes.

Sheppard hated the optical check, and Carson could now understand why, as bright light mixed with a concussion, wasn't a pleasant combination. He vowed then and there to be more sympathetic in future, but suddenly remembered John was missing, and prayed there would be a next time. When he caught sight of Dave, although he was relieved to see his friend was unhurt, Carson was worried as the poor bugger looked as white as a sheet. At that point he wasn't able to do anything about it, as with blood running down his head he knew there was no choice but to get the wound stitched and dressed. Still, he was desperate to get back and make sure the guy was okay.

It was an old adage that doctors made the worst patients, but in his case Carson conceded it was probably true. For the next couple of hours he submitted to being poked, prodded, stuck with needles but was now well and truly scunnered, and had been ready to make a quick exit when he heard a familiar voice.

"Good grief, I can smell the booze from here! Can't you hold your liquor anymore, Beckett? I'd better warn you now, Carson, if this is you looking me up, then you're about twenty years too late." Carson recognised the distinctive mid-western drawl and peered up, bleary eyed, into the smiling face of an old friend.

"Stella Willis, what the hell are you doing here?" He asked surprised, but nonetheless pleased to see the beautiful former lecturer who he'd met while a medical student in Glasgow.

"It's actually Morgan now, and I could ask you the same thing." She countered, "When you were sitting in one of my classes, I often felt like knocking some sense into you, but who did you piss off enough to end up in my Emergency Room?" When she saw Carson's confused expression, Stella explained. "I'm Chief of Surgery here, and have been for the last five years. Anyway, let's see what the damage is." Stella turned to the young houseman who was standing nearby. "Are those Doctor Beckett's films?"

The young man, who looked no more than fifteen in Carson's view, blushed beetroot at being addressed by his superior. "Yes...yes. I'm sorry, Doctor Morgan, if I'd had any idea this patient was a doctor, especially a friend of yours…"

Stella interrupted, in a monosyllabic tone. "I would have expected you to treat him no differently than you're doing now, Doctor Adams. And, yes, Doctor Beckett is a good friend, but it doesn't matter who walks through these doors, everyone in this hospital is entitled to the best treatment we have available."

"Leave the wee laddie alone, Stella. He was doing just fine before you showed up – anyway, how did you know I was here?" Carson asked, as he was delighted to see her again, but knew that a Doctor of her caliber didn't usually frequent the ER, unless it was a bona fide emergency.

"Ralph, my husband, is the chief of police here. We were having dinner when he got a call about a robbery in one of the big houses. There was one casualty, an irascible Scot, who kept telling the ambulance crew he was a doctor and to just stitch him up and let him go – I knew it could only be you." She kidded, while continuing to scrutinise the x-rays.

"Very funny, but apart from a wee headache, I'm fine. So how about signing those discharge papers and letting me take you out for a coffee?"

The truth was there was a man with a big hammer pounding away at his skull, and he couldn't face anything to eat or drink at the moment. None of it mattered though, as Carson just wanted to get away and go back to make sure Dave was okay. Although by the look of Stella's stern expression, Carson realised he was probably on a hiding to nothing.

"Hi, Doc, how is he?"

"Ronon! It's good to see you son. How's Dave holding up?" Carson's head sprang up, and he immediately regretted the action as he gasped when the room swayed, after a shaft of pain spiked though his head.

Ronon's eyes narrowed in concern. "Teyla's with him. He's okay, worried about you though."

"I'm fine…"

"Excuse me, but who are you, and how do you know this reprobate?" Stella's expression turned curious, as she stood with her hands firmly on her shapely hips, squinting up at the tall Satedan.

In turn, Carson noticed Ronon simply looked amused under her scrutiny. "Ronon Dex, we work together." Ronon grunted.

Now it was Ronon's turn to be curious. "You two know each other?"

Stella replied. "I taught him everything he knows…about neurology." Carson saw the furtive glance she threw in his direction and knew Ronon had seen it too. He felt mortified.

Ronon smirked, then the smile faded. "Is he going to be okay?"

He watched as Stella perched her spectacles high on her glossy dark hair, which was only lightly streaked with grey, and gave the big guy a wry smile. "Well, Mr Dex, from what I can see our mutual friend's brain is intact, but he doesn't appear to be using it at the moment," she said, then peered round and gave Carson a scathing look.

Carson remembered it well from his student days, and inwardly groaned as he knew it meant trouble. "You have a concussion, Carson, which I'm sure you already knew, so just as you would with one of your patients," she said pointedly, "I'm admitting you for observation." Then she patted his leg, "but if you're a very good boy, I may come round tonight with some milk and cookies and we can have a 'wee blether' about old times."

Carson sighed, and leaned back to stare into her big, blue eyes, "You're a hard woman, Stella, but I'll be interested to hear about this paragon who took you on," he joked, then gave her hand a squeeze, "seriously though, tell him from me that he's a lucky guy. Anyway love, the enforced hospitality aside, it's really good to see you again, and I'll look forward to the chat."

He felt like a fool for getting broadsided and wasn't happy, but the medic in him knew Stella was right. Carson was still worried about Dave though, but at least his friends were there, and they would take care of him until he got discharged. In the meantime, now that he was a patient, patience was what he'd need, as for the moment, he had no option but to allow himself the dubious luxury of being taken care of.

ooooOoooo

Ronon hadn't wanted to go, as the doc was one of his people and it didn't feel right leaving him with strangers, except he wasn't. It was pretty clear from the way that cute doctor had given his friend the eye, she would take real good care of him. In a way she kinda reminded him of an older version of Teyla - a real woman. Just like his friend, Stella was smart, feisty, and as sexy as hell, a woman who knew exactly who, and what she wanted out of life. Someone worthy of his respect.

If he was honest, Ronon would never have guessed the Scot had it in him, but Carson was real deep, and in his own way fearless. Like right now, he'd sat there looking like shit, but as usual was more worried about others – Dave. It was bad enough some bastard had hurt his friend, but after having seen the house, Ronon reckoned it was a freaking miracle neither man was seriously hurt, or even dead.

The house had been trashed. Broken glass littered the kitchen and most of the furniture was either broken, or tossed into a heap. It looked like a robbery as the widescreen was missing, as were all the toy's Dave had installed as a gift for his brother. John's case had also been taken which gave Ronon a weird feeling. He didn't know why it made him suspicious, but soon realised he wasn't alone, as from the look Teyla had given him, it was clear she felt the same way.

There was just something about the whole thing that didn't fly. McKay would figure it out though, he always did, but in the meantime he'd promised Beckett he would get back and look after Dave. Torren was teething and Teyla needed to get home, so he hoped Dave had sobered up enough so he could get some sense out of him.

He knew Dave felt bad at passing out and leaving Carson to get hurt, but Ronon was glad that he had. Dave was a suit, and even if he'd been sober, Ronon knew both men fighting together, wouldn't have been able to fend off such a violent attack. From the level of damage, Ronon guessed whoever had done this, hadn't acted alone, because he didn't know any guy, apart from maybe himself, who would be strong enough to wreak the devastation like he'd seen in Sheppard's house.

ooooOoooo

Stella was the one who'd got away.

From the moment he watched the statuesque American beauty take her place behind the podium, he'd been smitten. At the time he'd been a medical student in his final year, and never thought for one second the raven haired professor would look at a stocky Scots lad like him, but he'd been wrong. A chance meeting in the pub revealed they shared the same brand of wry humour, and when she'd asked if he could show her more of his lovely country, he'd nearly dropped his pint.

Their romance had been as deep as it was unexpected, and he'd been devastated when she was offered a dream job in Mercy General. Yet he'd said nothing, as it was the chance of a lifetime and he hadn't wanted to stand in her way. Carson had promised himself he would visit, intending to pursue her after he'd graduated, but of course fate had other plans, and the moment passed as his own dreams got in the way.

In the subsequent years he'd thought about her often, but in hindsight realised what they'd had while special, was never meant to last. As his missing friend would say, it had been a wild ride, between a woman who knew where she was going, and a young man who had yet to make his way.

"Hey, Scotty – you ready for those milk and cookies?"

Carson was dozing on the verge of sleep, but roused himself when he saw Stella standing there wearing a tight pair of blue jeans, and a pale blue tee that matched her eyes. She was also holding a flask and a plate of dry toast. "That doesn't look much like chocolate chip to me." He said, stating the obvious as he shuffled up the bed.

Stella eased herself gracefully into the chair and crossed her legs. He loved those legs, and they looked just as trim as they were when they'd first met over twenty years ago. She handed him the plate, but he gently took it and put it to the side. "No thanks, Stella, I don't really feel up to eating anything at the moment."

Immediately, despite her casual gear, she went into doctor mode and started checking his vitals. "Are you alright, Carson? I know you're a tough nut, but you would tell me if you felt it was more than a minor concussion?" She asked him, and there was anxiety mixed with a note of suspicion in her voice.

"Don't worry, hen, that's all it is – promise. And we both know nausea comes with that particular territory." He responded, as it happened to be true, but was relieved when his answer appeared to reassure, and he saw her start to relax.

"So…I know you're married – any kids?" Carson asked and saw her face light up.

"Two." She replied. "Andrew, who's twenty, and wants to be a cop like his dad, and a daughter, Melissa. She's sixteen, and a real beauty, Carson. Melissa doesn't know what she wants to do with her life yet, but she's real smart - I'm proud of them both." Stella paused, then her shining eyes became curious. "So what about you, Scotty? Last I heard you were becoming a high flyer, then you just seemed to drop off the map. What are you doing these days? Did you manage to find a good woman to put up with you?"

"So you were keeping tabs on me were you?" He smiled, and felt himself go scarlet as he hoped she didn't know too much about his life…or demise.

"Well you were the smartest student I'd ever had, and I knew you were destined for great things. I've heard that you've got more degrees than me now." She chuckled, causing her thick, dark hair to bob around her shoulders. "Anyway, I'm guessing your friend Ronon isn't from the medical profession, so were are you working?"

Carson started to twiddle with the sheets, as he tried to figure out how to answer her. "I work with the military now."

Stella tilted her head and gave him a searching look. "You wouldn't be involved with the investigation into that missing soldier by any chance?"

Carson's head shot up, spiking his headache again. "How the hell do you know about that? That's supposed to be hush, hush, Stella."

She caught a stray hair and pushed it behind her ear. "I don't, not really. When it happened Ralph got a call, asking for some information, but when he offered to help, he got real pissed when the brass told him politely to back off. Who the hell is the missing guy anyway, and how are you connected?"

His head was killing him, and he answered without thinking. "John Sheppard, he's a friend of mine. But as for what I do, if I told you…"

"You'd have to kill me?" Stella answered with a wry smile, but her eyes told him she understood not to push it.

At that moment, the nausea that Carson had been holding at bay chose to make an appearance and Stella rubbed his back as she held onto the bowl. "Don't try to fight it hon. I'm going to give you something for the nausea, and it'll make you feel sleepy, but I'm going to hang around until I see those cute, blue eyes of yours close before I head off. "

By now, Carson really felt like crap and despite enjoying Stella's visit, he just wanted to suffer in private. "Thanks, Stella – for everything."

He watched as she wandered off but quickly returned with a syringe which she pushed into his IV. Within minutes Carson started to feel himself drift, but her next words made him perk up again.

"How old is this missing friend of yours?" She asked, but before he could answer she continued. "The reason I'm curious, is I did part of my residency at this hospital and once treated a Colonel with the same name."

Carson's brain was starting to go fuzzy with the drugs, but he struggled to stay awake. "John's forty four, Stella, so it couldn't have been him, besides, that's a helluva long time ago, and you must have treated thousands of patients since then." He said, but then started to wonder, and wanted to know more. "How is it you remember that one particular case?"

Stella stretched out her long legs and folded her arms. "Well some people and events stick out in your mind. Besides, I'll never forget that case, the patient was admitted after having had an emergency tracheotomy at the scene, but then disappeared the very next day…"

ooooOoooo

TBC

Hope you enjoyed that...even if it didn't turn out quite the way you expected. And please review

As for John, well he'll make a return in tomorrows chapter. Oh, and 'scunnered' means fed up - but I'm sure you're getting scunnered with me giving you unnecessary explanations!