It takes three days for Connor to feel human again.

When he walks to the bathroom, and handled his absolutions without aid, the Doctor smiles calls him 'lad' and is being entirely too friendly for it to be strictly professional. Then again, he's never been to a doctor before so for all he knows, this is normal.

He wonders if the man would be so generous with his smiles and consoling pats on the shoulder if he knew Connor has been thinking of the many ways to kill the man and his staff. So far he has come up with over 20 for the Doctor alone.

Poking idly at the broth they'd given him to eat, he hides a mocking smile.

Because while it had taken him three days to fully recover, Connor has been fully functional nearly four hours after he'd woken up and tried to puke out his intestines. The wounds on his leg and chest had healed and breathing no longer hurts. He stayed where he was however; the fact that the people helping him are human was the only thing keeping him from wreaking havoc.

That, and the figment of his dead mother who was currently reading his chart over the inquisitive doctor's shoulder.

Honestly, you'd think he would hallucinate someone he actually knew.

"You should eat Mr. Sheppard," Beckett mummers, trying to coax him into at least finishing half the bowl this time.

Connor lifts the spoonful to his mouth and swallows without tasting anything. He knows he should eat it but it would help if the people here didn't put him on edge. They were clearly human and from Earth but Connor doesn't understand what Earth's assorted military are doing in another dimension. He knows it has been years, so many he's lost count, but he doesn't think they'd find out or branch off into the supernatural.

Either things have changed drastically in the time he's been gone or this is all a part of Eve's plan.

Connor isn't sure which but he does know that Beckett and his people keep looking at him with these strange knowing looks and that Colonel Sheppard is constantly lurking outside the door of his secluded hospital room (and yes, Connor did notice that he is away from the other patients, and has armed guards at the door that has nothing to do with his safety no matter what Beckett says) and it is driving him insane.

He knows that they are hiding something from him and all the side-glances and sympathetic looks have him in a constant state of hyper vigilance. Eve definitely needs to train her people better.

An inelegant snort snaps him out of his thoughts and he looks up at Darla who gives him an exasperated look.

"For the last time, these people do not work for Eve and if you'd actually pay attention to Colonel Sheppard you would know exactly who he is."

Connor scowls. It had taken a while but he knew who this man reminded him of… but that was impossible. If he was who Eve was obviously trying to trick in to believing it was, the man would be dead or well into his years by now.

Connor wasn't stupid. He knew it was a trick but they were human so Connor will just have to play along until its time to leave.

"So stubborn," his mother mutters and shakes her head, "but that's alright. Everything will work out in the end."

Of course it will; Connor thinks as his eyes flicker back to the door and the man hidden behind it, because I'm going to finish what I started.

"Honestly, Colonel," Beckett says as door to closes behind him, "how long do you plan to lurk in the hallway?" He grins as the look he receives and walks towards the main part of the Infirmary.

"How is he?"

Beckett shots a sideways look at the slouched figure next to him. "Physically he's fine. All of his injuries have healed nicely. It's fascinating really, how quickly he heals. I find myself running out of reasons to keep him in the Infirmary."

Sheppard nods, "I've already had a room prepared for him."

"Mentally, however," he continues as he pauses in front of his office, "Connor shows signs of anxiety and hyper vigilance. At least that's the impression he gave…he's quite good at hiding it. I sent a request to Dr. Heightmeyer and she's agreed to observe him before she speaks to him. She should be in the observation room now."

"You're thinking PTSD."

Beckett gives him an apologetic look and tabs his earpiece, "Beckett…No, we're in my office… you're welcome."

"Sorry about that. As I was saying, yes, he reminds me of Ronon when he first arrived except Connor doesn't make me fear for my safety. Have you spoken to him yet?"

Sheppard makes a face, "Not sure what to say to him."

"Well, lurking in the hallway isn't exactly helping."

"I don't lurk," Beckett rolls his eyes at the petulant tone.

"Yes, well the lurking that you're not doing isn't going to get any answers out of him."

The one thing she hated about Atlantis, Dr. Kate Heightmeyer thinks as she taps her stylus idly against the tablet and stands with a frown was the lack of pen and paper. Call her old school but she really missed taking notes on paper.

Hyper-vigilance, paranoia. She jots down as she watches Sheppard's newest stray glance towards the door the Colonel was standing behind.

After roughly ten minutes of observation, she'd already deduced that the Colonel was the source of the younger Sheppard's unease. Although, she is quite curious to find out how he knew the Colonel was there. She doesn't think that Connor could get any tenser but when Carson pats his shoulder, the young man's already stiff shoulder goes taunt like a rubber band ready to snap and his left hand makes an aborted movement towards the Doctor and he lowers his head, letting long floppy brown hair hide his eyes.

Aversion to physical contact, Kate continues, likely to react with violence if physical contact is not expected. Patient seems capable of controlling his reaction. While Beckett goes over his chart with him, Connor attention shifts to a point above Beckett's rights shoulder and his expression goes blank, before scowling and suddenly looking away. It's not the first time she's noticed him completely zone out and he seems equally muddled and aggravated after each instance. Patient seems to suffer from bouts of confusion possibly related to his sudden relocation to a new environment.

He does, in a way, remind Kate of Ronon; A whole lot of anger and a complete lack of trust. The difference being that Ronon wasn't afraid of letting the world know what he thought of it. On the other hand, she has the feeling the Connor was just playing a role; the surly patient to Carson's overbearing Doctor.

Carson walks out of the room and soon after Connor stops acting like a cornered animal. There was a nurse left in the room so it can't be because he was alone. Perhaps he was uncomfortable with Carson in the room. If Carson's assumption that Connor was experimented on were true, it would explain anxiousness around a doctor.

Kate narrows her eyes and decides that, no, that defiantly wasn't it. Testing a theory she taps her earpiece.

"It's Kate. Is the Colonel still in the hall? Thank you, that's all I needed to know."

"Well, that's unexpected," Kate mummers. It wasn't the doctor causing him to act like a cornered cat, it was the Colonel.

But how on Earth did he know Sheppard left?