Author's Notes: Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.

"You know you don't have to stay here with me," Tim said glancing at where Kate sat beside his bed, her legs stretched out feet resting on the bed just beside his legs.

"What else am I going to do while you're stuck here recovering?" she asked with a chuckle.

Tim smiled slightly to himself before he continued, "Well, aren't there the usual things going on around the boat?"

"We're docked for a supply run," Kate told him with a roll of her eyes, "Just choose a movie, I'm getting bored. And you know what happens when I'm bored."

He chuckled before handing her a disc, "Here."

"Iron Man?" she shook her head in confusion, "Interesting and very different from the usual choices. Those painkillers must be really doing some job, unless the lack of oxygen did do some brain damage."

"I'm here for a least a few more days," Tim reminded her, "I can get through all the movies in the series."

Kate chuckled again before she put the film on. Sitting back down she glanced over at Tim studying him while he watched the movie.

His broken leg was healing well but between the break and the time he had been without oxygen on the journey back, no matter how short it was, Wendy was being very cautious. He was a lot paler than normal, Wendy assured them that this was just because his body needed time to heal but Kate was still worried.

x

Kate turned off the movie when she realised Tim had fallen asleep; Wendy still had him on strong painkillers. She pulled the sheet up to cover him before resting her hand on his for a moment.

Their recent encounter with Rawlings had shaken her a little, not just the fact he'd recognised her, but because how close she had come to losing the life she'd found onboard. Then the fact Tim had been hurt and run out of oxygen during their escape. If Brody hadn't shared with him she knew her best friend would be in worse shape than he was now.

A soft knock made Kate turn and a genuine smile touched her lips at the woman who stood there.

"Mrs O'Neill," she greeted her best friend's mother.

Julianne O'Neill gave her a mock frown, "What did I tell you the last time we met?"

"Julianne," Kate corrected herself before allowing the woman to hug her quickly.

When Julianne let her go Kate moved out of the way to let her into the infirmary room properly following on when she moved to her son's bedside.

"He's going to be okay," Kate assured watching Julianne stroke her sleeping son's hair, "It's just a broken leg."

"And oxygen deprivation," Julianne noted.

Kate winced, "I wasn't going to worry you with that. It was very brief and Wendy assures us there is no damage."

Julianne took a deep breath before turning back to Kate, "I'm glad you're staying by his side."

"We're doing a supply run," she shrugged, "There's not much else for me to do."

The older woman chuckled, "He's fast asleep. You can be honest."

"Honestly," Kate replied without blinking, "I lost the draw so I have to deal with him when he tries to ignore doctor's orders. I'm sure Miguel rigged it."

Julianne levelled a stare at her but said nothing else.

"Do you want to get some tea or something until he wakes up?" Kate offered.

"That sounds lovely," Julianne smiled, "And we can swap stories about my son. I'm sure you have some good ones."

Kate grinned wickedly, "I'm sure yours are better."

"Mom?" Tim stared at the woman sitting beside him when he opened his eyes, "What are you doing here?"

His mother smiled at him, "I'm here to see you, Timothy. Since you've been injured recently."

"It's just a broken leg," he winced but managed to sit up. He spotted Kate standing in the corner watching over them, "You didn't need to come all this way. How did you find out anyway?"

Kate held up her hands defensively when he frowned at her, "Don't look at me, I was just as surprised when she showed up."

Julianne chuckled, "Miguel called me when he realised the Seaquest were close to us. And it isn't just a broken leg, you were deprived of oxygen."

"Also not me," Kate defended herself at the glare he sent her way.

Tim sighed before smiling slightly at Julianne, "I'm glad you're here, Mom."

Kate gave a soft smile before she slipped out of the room leaving them alone.

x

Brody spotted Kate leaving the infirmary as he was heading to see O'Neill.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Is he sleeping?" Brody asked. It was a reasonable assumption since he was pretty sure that Kate would only leave O'Neill when he was unconscious.

"No, his mother is visiting," Kate chuckled.

Brody frowned, "His mother?"

"Miguel called her," Kate shrugged.

"I'll go see him later," Brody decided, he started away before turning back and catching up with Kate.

She looked up at him confused, "Something I can do for you, Lieutenant?"

"Did you know Rawlings before what happened?" Brody go straight to the point.

Kate frowned confused, "No. Why?"

"He seemed to be quite taken with you," Brody explained, "Kept asking a lot of questions about you."

Kate grimaced, "I am officially creeped out now."

"So, you have absolutely no idea why Rawlings was so fascinated by you?" Brody pushed.

"None," Kate told him, "He did keep trying to talk to me, get to know me. You know in that over-friendly, sleazy way he had," she paused and wrinkled her nose at his confused look, "Ask Henderson, he was all over her at one point."

Brody nodded, "Oddly he didn't ask me anything about her."

"Maybe because she didn't tell him to go to hell like I did," Kate replied, "Anything else? I promised Tim and his mom some tea."

He shook his head and she gave a slight smile before heading away again.

Brody grimaced to himself as he watched Kate walk away, something about her answers hadn't felt right. A little too glib but the fact she was disturbed by the thought of Rawlings asking after her seemed genuine.

He had been planning on going for a run after checking up on Tim but instead he headed back to his bunk. There was one thing Rawlings had said to him that he just couldn't get out of his mind.

Accessing the Internex he typed in one word – Kitten.