Fic: Protect and Survive I: Might Just Save Your Life (8/8)
Title: Protect and Survive I: Might Just Save Your Life (8/8)
Fandom: Stargate
Rating: K+
Genres: action/adventure, drama
Summary: Laura Cadman thought she came back to Atlantis for Carson Beckett... but things aren't really happening as planned, thanks to our favorite Major, Evan Lorne.
A/N: Okay, so this is... the pre-last part (there's still the epilogue left, I mean) of my first multi-chapter Protect and Survive story on LiveJournal :D What do you think?
( Might Just Save Your Life Prologue )
( Might Just Save Your Life 1/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 2/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 3/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 4/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 5/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 6/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 7/8 )
Eight
It’s been two weeks since the Lunatic Villagers Incident, as she now likes to refer to the mission, and she’s still not out of the infirmary. It seems as if the whole infirmary stuff wants to make an example out of her, demonstrating to the military of Atlantis that the only ones deciding who’s fine again and who isn’t are the doctors and nurses.
Sure, her right arm is still in a sling, she can still feel occasional mild aftereffects of the concussion she received due to the shockwave, the burns on her back are still troubling her a bit… but anyway, she’s fine. And starting to get fidgety. If they don’t discharge her in the next two days, she’s going to discharge herself and be done with it.
There are, however, a few perks she might even be missing after being released. Because at daytime, Carson is devoting every free minute to her; talking to her, bringing her little extra bits from the mess hall, amusing her with the scrapes and mishaps among the scientist community in Atlantis. He really does his best to take her mind off the fact it may very well take some time until she is allowed on duty again, let alone go off-world. She really enjoys his attention, but something is still holding her back from making that one final step. She blames it all on the infirmary’s very public character and hopes she can get away from its confines as soon as possible.
But as long as she’s here, she likes that not only Carson dotes on her but that other people are dropping by as well. There’s - for example - Captain Reece from SGA-4 telling her about all the gossip among the resident Marines and confiding in her about the troubles with her Zoomie team leader, Major Moore. There’s also Dr. Ochovskaya from Engineering talking to her about the modification to the explosives lab. And sometimes even Rodney or Colonel Sheppard would come down for a quick visit.
Although, if she’s honest with herself, there’s only one very special time of day for her. It’s in the late evening, around 2000, when the hustle and bustle of the city has quieted down to a low background hum. That’s the time Evan usually comes around for an hour or two.
The first time he’d visited her, two days after she woke up again, he’d been a little awkward, being more on guard than usual, seeming to constantly look out for something or someone to come into the room. He’d claimed to be there only to tell her that they’d been back to the planet, this time with two jumpers and armed much heavier and had, after hours of fighting and digging around, found out that this whole thing had been one big set-up.
Seems like someone - they obviously still aren’t sure if it was Michael, the Wraith or maybe a rogue faction of the Genii - had been experimenting with a neurotoxin on the villagers and the inhabitants of the nearby town, trying to convert them into a veritable strike force. The emergency message had been recorded when most of the inhabitants had still been lucid, loaded up into the communications relay and played at the signal of a timer. They’d found traces of the toxin in some lab and since then the scientists are trying to break up it’s structure and find the antidote. Which, if she got that right, seems to be some really urgent business because they’ve already discovered three other planets where it happened as well.
When he’d told her about all of this, he’d looked slightly tired and worried. It became clear to her that he’d seen and done things he really didn’t want to talk about and tried to fight it all out with himself. She’d wanted to tell him he could confide in her but she knew very well that it wouldn’t be of any use, anyway. Evan Lorne is one of those guys that come to you if they really want to talk. If they don’t, they can withstand even the most violent prodding.
So all she had done had been to tell him she wished she could have accompanied them, was glad that he was back unharmed - except for a strange bandage around his right hand which he just dismissed as “some accident” - and was expecting him to make her stay in the infirmary as worthwhile as he could, because, after all, she’d saved his hide. He’d smiled ruefully at that, shrugged and simply agreed.
Ever since then, he makes a point of visiting her at least once a day when he’s in the city, usually he comes in the evening. He always brings a cup of tea for both of them, and then he’d greet her with the words “Still being a lazy ass, Lieutenant Cadman?” and settle down in the chair beside her bed. Sometimes he’d bring some mission report or other and either finish it at her bedside or read it to her, just to make her laugh. But more often they’d either just talk or - and that’s what happens on most evenings - he’d pick up the copy of The Princess Bride he’d brought the second evening and read a chapter or so to her.
At first she’d feebly protested that if she wanted to read, she could very well do it on her own but he’d just waved his hand and told her that whenever he’d been sick as a kid, his mother or his sister just sat down at his bedside and read something to him. He insisted that it had helped him get better in no time, and better than anything else.
And if she’s honest: she likes listening to him reading to her with his storyteller voice. Plus she’s enough of a reader to appreciate his choice of a book. Of course she knows it, has read it at least twice, seen the movie… but there’s something about having it read to oneself that beats everything else. So on most evenings, after some casual chatter, she just leans back and lets him do his reading bit.
Just like tonight. Tonight he came in a little late, telling her there had been a rather awkward incident involving two Marines and a broken shower that had needed quite some sorting out, but as soon as he’d settled down in his usual chair and picked up the book, he’d forgotten all about the incident. He’d gotten into the tale and she’d finally stopped fidgeting and everything was well again.
So when the man in black has just bested the Sicilian in the poison game, suddenly both of them hear a voice from the door drawl, “So all this infirmary gossip is true, after all.” Caught by surprise they both look at the door, to see Colonel Sheppard leaning casually against the doorframe. She sneaks a look at Evan and is delighted to see his cheeks coloring like he’d just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. But to be honest… she feels her cheeks warming up similarly.
Still, her brazen nature makes her find her voice again faster than Evan. “Care to tell us what exactly you’re talking about, Colonel?” Sheppard smirks a little and comes into the room, to stand beside Evan, who looks positively embarrassed now.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t heard the staff wondering aloud if there’s some fraternizing going on here.” Again, she beats Evan to an answer.
“Can’t remember, no… but I remember seeing a few jealous glances and a few nurses stating they wouldn’t mind getting a little bruised if that would get them a reading as well.” As soon as it’s out she regrets having said it, because Sheppard’s face lights up with glee. She just gave him a tool with which he will be able to torture Evan into all eternity.
Obviously, he realized it as well, because he throws her a dark glare that only makes her want to giggle, and says, “Could it be that all your explosions have severely affected your hearing, Lieutenant? Maybe you really should let someone check it again.”
She smirks and addresses Sheppard again. “Don’t mind the Major, sir. He’s just trying to cover up the fact that he only comes down here because he secretly enjoys all the female attention.”
Now he looks ready to jump her and probably tickle her to death or something. Mentally, she makes a note for her “Things to crack Evan’s shell with” list and feels she’s advancing her private mission’s goal quite well. Sheppard swiftly adds another thing to her list, when he claps Evan on the shoulder and replies, “Oh, I don’t know… way I see it, there’s only one female down here whose attention he enjoys.”
Well… maybe this made Evan blush again but it surely embarrassed her more. Really, the mere suggestion of something like this… “Whoever your source is, sir, it’s clearly unreliable,” Evan replies a little stiffly and she wonders why he wants to dissociate himself so strongly from her.
“Nah, I think they’re all pretty reliable. Can I see the book?” Reluctantly, Evan hands him the book that already looks a little battered, like it has been read and reread quite a few times. Sheppard looks at it, flips it over and raises his eyebrow. “Interesting choice. And now that I’ve seen for myself how much there actually is to the rumors, I’ll… just leave you to your… reading.” With that he gives Evan a slight punch in the arm and her a sloppy salute and turns to leave the room.
No way she’s going to let him get away with this kind of sleazy innuendo, though. “Keep your mind out of the gutter!” He half turns around, his eyebrow raised. Crap. He’s her superior. Why does she constantly keep forgetting it? “Errr… keep your mind out of the gutter, sir.” She’s not quite sure but she thinks she’s seen Evan wince at her… well… bold reaction.
Sheppard, though, just grins a little and replies, “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about. I was talking about literature. Maybe someone else should get their mind out of the gutter.” He gives her a pointed look.
Before she can give something back, Evan basks in with a slightly snarky, “Don’t worry, sir, I’ll make sure the Lieutenant keeps her mind everywhere but the gutter.”
She can’t hold back muttering: “Right, because the gutter is the only inappropriate place my mind could wander to.” Again, she realizes too late that she said it out loud and is now ready to throw both of them out and just hide under her blanket for all eternity. Both of them are her superiors, and she’s been trained - drilled - to respect those. Talking like this would have gotten her in serious trouble back in ROTC training.
She doesn’t dare looking up from her blanket, not even when she hears two suppressed snorts and then Sheppard says, “I’m sure the Major can manage to keep your mind from wandering into all inappropriate places.” Still not looking up. Or maybe… just a little peep…
Which reveals a rather devilish grin on Evan’s face, something she’s last seen when they’d had their late night talk two weeks ago. Uh-oh. “Actually… that would be a full-time job, sir. I would clearly not be available as your 2IC anymore.” What the…? The bastards. They’ve ganged up on her!
Well… what did she expect?
It’s just what she gets for being such a damn loudmouth. But they really don’t have to look this smug. She sits up straight, smoothing the creased blanket and tries to say in her most dignified voice, “I don’t need any help from you for thinking straight, thank you very much.”
“In fact, what you need to do now is sleep.” Startled all three of them turn to the entrance, where Carson is standing with a clipboard in his hand. She doesn’t know why, but she feels herself blushing again. Maybe it’s because it is past her bedtime, maybe it’s because she’s slowly becoming sick of infirmary personnel telling her when to go to sleep, as if she were a little kid… or maybe - but that is really highly unlikely - it’s because Evan has been sitting for a little longer at her bedside than all the other times and that makes her feel funny towards Carson.
Before she can answer Carson, Sheppard excuses himself, nodding to Evan and Carson and then exiting the room, while Evan stands up again, collecting the two cups and wanting to leave as well but she holds him back, saying, “Oh, hey, wait! It’s not even 2230, yet. And we haven’t finished the scene, you know.” She has no idea where this comes from, but she feels like she really doesn’t want to let him go just yet.
Evan, though, just shoots Carson a strange glance and replies in a somewhat restrained voice, “No, I guess the Doc’s right.” Then he looks at her again, his expression friendly, but a little forced. “You want to get out of this bed fast, you heed the Doc’s advice.”
“Thank you for pointing this out, Major,” Carson chimes in and did she just imagine it or did his voice sound a little clipped?
“Right.” They look at each other and if she didn’t know better she’d say the temperature in the room just dropped a few degrees. What the hell is happening between thoe two, she wonders. Every time Carson had dropped in while Evan was visiting her or Evan had managed to squeeze in a ten-minute visit during the day and they’d crossed paths, they’d been… so polite to each other. Polite and restrained and… curt. She senses she’s seriously missing something here but she just can’t seem to find the missing piece. “Anyway… I’ll better be going, huh? ‘Night, Laura.”
For a moment it looks like he wants to… actually, she’s not sure what he was about to do… her first impulse would be to say “kiss her good-night” but she quickly squashes that line of thought. And anyway, all he really does is give her a short half-smile that looks a little regretful and then exit the room, not looking particularly happy.
Carson, on the other hand, has come up to her bed, smiling. He wants to say something, but she really needs to know what’s going on between him and Evan now. “Carson… is everything okay between you and… Major Lorne?” Somehow calling him “Evan” in front of Carson doesn’t feel like a good idea to her.
Carson frowns but then smiles reassuringly, telling her, “Of course, love. What makes you think there isn’t?” It’s stupid, she tells herself. She’s been imagining it, spending too much time in a damn hospital bed and all that. All she needs is a little change of scenery, something to get her mind off all this.
“Nothing, just… never mind.” She can see that he’s anything but satisfied with her answer, but obviously chooses not to spoil their encounter with prying.
“If you say so. Well then… what I wanted to say… I think we can release you tomorrow.” And he beams at her as her face lights up at his news. Finally, she thinks, finally. It’s been way too long and she misses running and climbing and just plain lounging around on one of the balconies. Going on missions, as well. Prowling around the city, not to forget. And of course… “It doesn’t mean, though, that you’re allowed to go on duty again.”
Well, she knew that, of course. There is no way she’d be allowed back on duty with her arm in a sling but she’s confident that this thing will come off as soon as possible. So she just kind of overhears Carson’s last statement and answers with apparent glee in her voice, “Not a problem. Main thing is I’ll get out of here. I can worry about everything else later.”
He smiles and feigns a little hurt. “I never thought you’d be in such a hurry to get away from me, love.”
“Not from you, silly, just the infirmary. If you’d spend a little more time outside of it, you could have a little more time with me as well, you know.” She gives him a scolding glance, but then smiles again as he ruefully grins. Oh yes, he knows exactly what she means.
“True. Now… good night, Laura. The sooner you sleep, the sooner you get released.” With that he shortly squeezes her hand, giving her a warm and fuzzy feeling, like always.
“’Night, Carson.” He nods and exists, darkening the room in the process, leaving her to lie back and fall asleep. Well… when she stopped thinking about all these strange encounters between Carson and Evan, that is. Grumbling, she wriggles a little under her blanket. Could very well be some time, before that happens, considering that probably neither of them will ever tell her what this is about. Ah hell, she thinks, if those guys have a problem with each other, it’s exactly that: their problem. And they can go on for all eternity for all she cares. All she will do now is sleep.
~*~
TCB in Epilogue.
Fandom: Stargate
Rating: K+
Genres: action/adventure, drama
Summary: Laura Cadman thought she came back to Atlantis for Carson Beckett... but things aren't really happening as planned, thanks to our favorite Major, Evan Lorne.
A/N: Okay, so this is... the pre-last part (there's still the epilogue left, I mean) of my first multi-chapter Protect and Survive story on LiveJournal :D What do you think?
( Might Just Save Your Life Prologue )
( Might Just Save Your Life 1/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 2/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 3/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 4/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 5/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 6/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 7/8 )
Eight
It’s been two weeks since the Lunatic Villagers Incident, as she now likes to refer to the mission, and she’s still not out of the infirmary. It seems as if the whole infirmary stuff wants to make an example out of her, demonstrating to the military of Atlantis that the only ones deciding who’s fine again and who isn’t are the doctors and nurses.
Sure, her right arm is still in a sling, she can still feel occasional mild aftereffects of the concussion she received due to the shockwave, the burns on her back are still troubling her a bit… but anyway, she’s fine. And starting to get fidgety. If they don’t discharge her in the next two days, she’s going to discharge herself and be done with it.
There are, however, a few perks she might even be missing after being released. Because at daytime, Carson is devoting every free minute to her; talking to her, bringing her little extra bits from the mess hall, amusing her with the scrapes and mishaps among the scientist community in Atlantis. He really does his best to take her mind off the fact it may very well take some time until she is allowed on duty again, let alone go off-world. She really enjoys his attention, but something is still holding her back from making that one final step. She blames it all on the infirmary’s very public character and hopes she can get away from its confines as soon as possible.
But as long as she’s here, she likes that not only Carson dotes on her but that other people are dropping by as well. There’s - for example - Captain Reece from SGA-4 telling her about all the gossip among the resident Marines and confiding in her about the troubles with her Zoomie team leader, Major Moore. There’s also Dr. Ochovskaya from Engineering talking to her about the modification to the explosives lab. And sometimes even Rodney or Colonel Sheppard would come down for a quick visit.
Although, if she’s honest with herself, there’s only one very special time of day for her. It’s in the late evening, around 2000, when the hustle and bustle of the city has quieted down to a low background hum. That’s the time Evan usually comes around for an hour or two.
The first time he’d visited her, two days after she woke up again, he’d been a little awkward, being more on guard than usual, seeming to constantly look out for something or someone to come into the room. He’d claimed to be there only to tell her that they’d been back to the planet, this time with two jumpers and armed much heavier and had, after hours of fighting and digging around, found out that this whole thing had been one big set-up.
Seems like someone - they obviously still aren’t sure if it was Michael, the Wraith or maybe a rogue faction of the Genii - had been experimenting with a neurotoxin on the villagers and the inhabitants of the nearby town, trying to convert them into a veritable strike force. The emergency message had been recorded when most of the inhabitants had still been lucid, loaded up into the communications relay and played at the signal of a timer. They’d found traces of the toxin in some lab and since then the scientists are trying to break up it’s structure and find the antidote. Which, if she got that right, seems to be some really urgent business because they’ve already discovered three other planets where it happened as well.
When he’d told her about all of this, he’d looked slightly tired and worried. It became clear to her that he’d seen and done things he really didn’t want to talk about and tried to fight it all out with himself. She’d wanted to tell him he could confide in her but she knew very well that it wouldn’t be of any use, anyway. Evan Lorne is one of those guys that come to you if they really want to talk. If they don’t, they can withstand even the most violent prodding.
So all she had done had been to tell him she wished she could have accompanied them, was glad that he was back unharmed - except for a strange bandage around his right hand which he just dismissed as “some accident” - and was expecting him to make her stay in the infirmary as worthwhile as he could, because, after all, she’d saved his hide. He’d smiled ruefully at that, shrugged and simply agreed.
Ever since then, he makes a point of visiting her at least once a day when he’s in the city, usually he comes in the evening. He always brings a cup of tea for both of them, and then he’d greet her with the words “Still being a lazy ass, Lieutenant Cadman?” and settle down in the chair beside her bed. Sometimes he’d bring some mission report or other and either finish it at her bedside or read it to her, just to make her laugh. But more often they’d either just talk or - and that’s what happens on most evenings - he’d pick up the copy of The Princess Bride he’d brought the second evening and read a chapter or so to her.
At first she’d feebly protested that if she wanted to read, she could very well do it on her own but he’d just waved his hand and told her that whenever he’d been sick as a kid, his mother or his sister just sat down at his bedside and read something to him. He insisted that it had helped him get better in no time, and better than anything else.
And if she’s honest: she likes listening to him reading to her with his storyteller voice. Plus she’s enough of a reader to appreciate his choice of a book. Of course she knows it, has read it at least twice, seen the movie… but there’s something about having it read to oneself that beats everything else. So on most evenings, after some casual chatter, she just leans back and lets him do his reading bit.
Just like tonight. Tonight he came in a little late, telling her there had been a rather awkward incident involving two Marines and a broken shower that had needed quite some sorting out, but as soon as he’d settled down in his usual chair and picked up the book, he’d forgotten all about the incident. He’d gotten into the tale and she’d finally stopped fidgeting and everything was well again.
So when the man in black has just bested the Sicilian in the poison game, suddenly both of them hear a voice from the door drawl, “So all this infirmary gossip is true, after all.” Caught by surprise they both look at the door, to see Colonel Sheppard leaning casually against the doorframe. She sneaks a look at Evan and is delighted to see his cheeks coloring like he’d just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. But to be honest… she feels her cheeks warming up similarly.
Still, her brazen nature makes her find her voice again faster than Evan. “Care to tell us what exactly you’re talking about, Colonel?” Sheppard smirks a little and comes into the room, to stand beside Evan, who looks positively embarrassed now.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t heard the staff wondering aloud if there’s some fraternizing going on here.” Again, she beats Evan to an answer.
“Can’t remember, no… but I remember seeing a few jealous glances and a few nurses stating they wouldn’t mind getting a little bruised if that would get them a reading as well.” As soon as it’s out she regrets having said it, because Sheppard’s face lights up with glee. She just gave him a tool with which he will be able to torture Evan into all eternity.
Obviously, he realized it as well, because he throws her a dark glare that only makes her want to giggle, and says, “Could it be that all your explosions have severely affected your hearing, Lieutenant? Maybe you really should let someone check it again.”
She smirks and addresses Sheppard again. “Don’t mind the Major, sir. He’s just trying to cover up the fact that he only comes down here because he secretly enjoys all the female attention.”
Now he looks ready to jump her and probably tickle her to death or something. Mentally, she makes a note for her “Things to crack Evan’s shell with” list and feels she’s advancing her private mission’s goal quite well. Sheppard swiftly adds another thing to her list, when he claps Evan on the shoulder and replies, “Oh, I don’t know… way I see it, there’s only one female down here whose attention he enjoys.”
Well… maybe this made Evan blush again but it surely embarrassed her more. Really, the mere suggestion of something like this… “Whoever your source is, sir, it’s clearly unreliable,” Evan replies a little stiffly and she wonders why he wants to dissociate himself so strongly from her.
“Nah, I think they’re all pretty reliable. Can I see the book?” Reluctantly, Evan hands him the book that already looks a little battered, like it has been read and reread quite a few times. Sheppard looks at it, flips it over and raises his eyebrow. “Interesting choice. And now that I’ve seen for myself how much there actually is to the rumors, I’ll… just leave you to your… reading.” With that he gives Evan a slight punch in the arm and her a sloppy salute and turns to leave the room.
No way she’s going to let him get away with this kind of sleazy innuendo, though. “Keep your mind out of the gutter!” He half turns around, his eyebrow raised. Crap. He’s her superior. Why does she constantly keep forgetting it? “Errr… keep your mind out of the gutter, sir.” She’s not quite sure but she thinks she’s seen Evan wince at her… well… bold reaction.
Sheppard, though, just grins a little and replies, “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about. I was talking about literature. Maybe someone else should get their mind out of the gutter.” He gives her a pointed look.
Before she can give something back, Evan basks in with a slightly snarky, “Don’t worry, sir, I’ll make sure the Lieutenant keeps her mind everywhere but the gutter.”
She can’t hold back muttering: “Right, because the gutter is the only inappropriate place my mind could wander to.” Again, she realizes too late that she said it out loud and is now ready to throw both of them out and just hide under her blanket for all eternity. Both of them are her superiors, and she’s been trained - drilled - to respect those. Talking like this would have gotten her in serious trouble back in ROTC training.
She doesn’t dare looking up from her blanket, not even when she hears two suppressed snorts and then Sheppard says, “I’m sure the Major can manage to keep your mind from wandering into all inappropriate places.” Still not looking up. Or maybe… just a little peep…
Which reveals a rather devilish grin on Evan’s face, something she’s last seen when they’d had their late night talk two weeks ago. Uh-oh. “Actually… that would be a full-time job, sir. I would clearly not be available as your 2IC anymore.” What the…? The bastards. They’ve ganged up on her!
Well… what did she expect?
It’s just what she gets for being such a damn loudmouth. But they really don’t have to look this smug. She sits up straight, smoothing the creased blanket and tries to say in her most dignified voice, “I don’t need any help from you for thinking straight, thank you very much.”
“In fact, what you need to do now is sleep.” Startled all three of them turn to the entrance, where Carson is standing with a clipboard in his hand. She doesn’t know why, but she feels herself blushing again. Maybe it’s because it is past her bedtime, maybe it’s because she’s slowly becoming sick of infirmary personnel telling her when to go to sleep, as if she were a little kid… or maybe - but that is really highly unlikely - it’s because Evan has been sitting for a little longer at her bedside than all the other times and that makes her feel funny towards Carson.
Before she can answer Carson, Sheppard excuses himself, nodding to Evan and Carson and then exiting the room, while Evan stands up again, collecting the two cups and wanting to leave as well but she holds him back, saying, “Oh, hey, wait! It’s not even 2230, yet. And we haven’t finished the scene, you know.” She has no idea where this comes from, but she feels like she really doesn’t want to let him go just yet.
Evan, though, just shoots Carson a strange glance and replies in a somewhat restrained voice, “No, I guess the Doc’s right.” Then he looks at her again, his expression friendly, but a little forced. “You want to get out of this bed fast, you heed the Doc’s advice.”
“Thank you for pointing this out, Major,” Carson chimes in and did she just imagine it or did his voice sound a little clipped?
“Right.” They look at each other and if she didn’t know better she’d say the temperature in the room just dropped a few degrees. What the hell is happening between thoe two, she wonders. Every time Carson had dropped in while Evan was visiting her or Evan had managed to squeeze in a ten-minute visit during the day and they’d crossed paths, they’d been… so polite to each other. Polite and restrained and… curt. She senses she’s seriously missing something here but she just can’t seem to find the missing piece. “Anyway… I’ll better be going, huh? ‘Night, Laura.”
For a moment it looks like he wants to… actually, she’s not sure what he was about to do… her first impulse would be to say “kiss her good-night” but she quickly squashes that line of thought. And anyway, all he really does is give her a short half-smile that looks a little regretful and then exit the room, not looking particularly happy.
Carson, on the other hand, has come up to her bed, smiling. He wants to say something, but she really needs to know what’s going on between him and Evan now. “Carson… is everything okay between you and… Major Lorne?” Somehow calling him “Evan” in front of Carson doesn’t feel like a good idea to her.
Carson frowns but then smiles reassuringly, telling her, “Of course, love. What makes you think there isn’t?” It’s stupid, she tells herself. She’s been imagining it, spending too much time in a damn hospital bed and all that. All she needs is a little change of scenery, something to get her mind off all this.
“Nothing, just… never mind.” She can see that he’s anything but satisfied with her answer, but obviously chooses not to spoil their encounter with prying.
“If you say so. Well then… what I wanted to say… I think we can release you tomorrow.” And he beams at her as her face lights up at his news. Finally, she thinks, finally. It’s been way too long and she misses running and climbing and just plain lounging around on one of the balconies. Going on missions, as well. Prowling around the city, not to forget. And of course… “It doesn’t mean, though, that you’re allowed to go on duty again.”
Well, she knew that, of course. There is no way she’d be allowed back on duty with her arm in a sling but she’s confident that this thing will come off as soon as possible. So she just kind of overhears Carson’s last statement and answers with apparent glee in her voice, “Not a problem. Main thing is I’ll get out of here. I can worry about everything else later.”
He smiles and feigns a little hurt. “I never thought you’d be in such a hurry to get away from me, love.”
“Not from you, silly, just the infirmary. If you’d spend a little more time outside of it, you could have a little more time with me as well, you know.” She gives him a scolding glance, but then smiles again as he ruefully grins. Oh yes, he knows exactly what she means.
“True. Now… good night, Laura. The sooner you sleep, the sooner you get released.” With that he shortly squeezes her hand, giving her a warm and fuzzy feeling, like always.
“’Night, Carson.” He nods and exists, darkening the room in the process, leaving her to lie back and fall asleep. Well… when she stopped thinking about all these strange encounters between Carson and Evan, that is. Grumbling, she wriggles a little under her blanket. Could very well be some time, before that happens, considering that probably neither of them will ever tell her what this is about. Ah hell, she thinks, if those guys have a problem with each other, it’s exactly that: their problem. And they can go on for all eternity for all she cares. All she will do now is sleep.
~*~
TCB in Epilogue.