Ah, what the heck, might as well finish the damn thing, huh? Enjoy!

--//--

Like the sudden appearance of the sun after a particularly nasty storm, John Sheppard woke up. His heart beat to a regular rhythm and he took a breath on his own.

Dr. Keller stepped back, along with the nurses, all of which had just been fighting for his life to stare at him in shock.

"John?" Teyla stepped forward, placing a hand upon his forearm.

Blinking, Sheppard turned his head slightly to meet her warm gaze. Another blink, this one with a hint of drowsiness setting in, and a smile brightened upon his face.

--//--

"He's awake."

There was a genuine smile across Elizabeth's face as she entered Rodney's lab. She found the man leaning over a Petri dish next to Dr. Row, both staring at each other with disbelief.

"Ah…Sheppard's awake." Elizabeth stepped closer, finding that the two doctors were completely tuning her out.

"Rodney?" Not until she was standing right beside them did they snap out of their fugue and turn to her.

"I can't believe it."

"I know, isn't it…." Elizabeth began but Rodney cut her off.

"No, I mean, the worm…Dr. Row's specimen…it shriveled up and crumbled to dust right before our eyes." Rodney gestured with his hands as he and Dr. Row stepped back for Elizabeth to stare at what resembled an squiggly line of ash within a Petri dish.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, looking from one perplexed expression to the next, both mirroring her own. For the countless time that day, a chill spread Goosebumps across her skin and she knew she was not the only one experiencing it.

"Somehow I don't think it is a coincidence then, that Colonel Sheppard is now awake and already grumbling about being in the infirmary."

A genuine smile spread across Rodney's face accompanied by a rather shy one from Dr. Row.

"Go see him." Elizabeth urged and turned on her heel, leaving the still perplexed doctors in her wake.

--//--

"You should get me some Jell-O, too." Sheppard's voice filtered through the infirmary as Rodney entered. Ronon swept by him a moment later, rolling his eyes but maintaining a genuine smile of his own.

Rodney felt a sense of calm at that. It suggested everything was back to normal.

He came upon Sheppard sitting up in his bed with Teyla sitting in a chair beside him.

"Rodney! Just the man I wanted to see!" Sheppard greeted him with cheerfulness quite out of character.

Dr. Keller entered behind him and stopped beside Sheppard's bed.

"He's going to be a little 'happy' for a while. We have him on some medication. Well, that, and it seems he has a newfound 'zest' for life." Dr. Keller explained.

"It's creeping me out, too, Rodney. I assure you, however, that it won't last long. I don't think I can stand being this happy all the time." Sheppard replied, crossing his arms over his chest and grimaced.

"The tests show you only suffered heavy bruising due to the chest compressions. You'll be sore for quite a while…but you'll live." Dr. Keller continued with a smile.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Sheppard nodded once as the good doctor turned and left him to his teammates.

"So…." Rodney drummed his fingers on the raised bed rail beside Sheppard's bed. He met the colonel's eyes and the two instantly understood each other. Rodney was feeling rather guilty for being unable to help his friend.

"We were even on the life-saving thing, nobody owed anyone any favors…so I figured it was time I helped myself out. That, and I knew it was the only way I was going to get out alive." Sheppard shrugged nonchalantly.

"What is it with you and thinking positive?" Rodney shook his head. "You intentionally died, Colonel."

"It worked, didn't it?"

"I will never quite understand your conversations." Teyla tilted her head at the two, smiling.

"Don't really need to." Ronon's voice announced the Satedan's return, both arms balancing four trays of food.

"Ah, yes, dinner!" Rodney exclaimed, reaching for a tray. "What's on the menu for today?"

His hand stopped short when he saw the main course, his appetite suddenly gone sour.

"Angel Hair Pasta. Ha. Ha. Very funny. I don't think I'm hungry." Rodney stepped back, even as his stomach made a rather loud gurgling noise.

Teyla stood to help ease the load of trays from Ronon. After a few moments, all four had settled down, digging into their dinner.

"Major Lorne reported that the entire sublevel is nothing but a thick layer of dust now. There's nothing left of those…er…you know." Rodney spoke, food evident in his mouth.

"What happened to them?" Ronon asked between bites.

"I don't think I care." Sheppard responded, scooping some blue Jell-O into his mouth.

"It is intriguing what the power of the mind can accomplish." Teyla surmised. She exchanged a look with Sheppard that spook volumes between them, yet remained unnoticed by the others.

"It doesn't matter now anyway. We have no evidence of how they did what they did yet Dr. Row has decided to dedicate the rest of her tour here on Atlantis to figuring out exactly that." Rodney replied as he dug into his side dish.

The team talked away the rest of the evening leaving only when Sheppard's eyes closed after fifteen minutes of fighting to stay open.

Silence reigned in the infirmary.

Sheppard's breathing evened out and his body settled into a peaceful slumber.

Only moments later, he woke with a start.

Unfortunate though it was, reality brought with it nightmares. He would overcome those too, but not for now. The torment was still too fresh.

A light brush of air met his clammy skin and he shivered. Goosebumps rose and he had the sudden eerie feeling of being watched. Darkness stretched beyond his dimly lit bed and Sheppard shook off the feeling.

After being through what he had experienced, it would be a long time coming before he could trust reality. He had put on a front when surrounded by his team, Elizabeth and even Dr. Keller. But now, in the stillness of the night, shrouded by an unknown darkness, his only companion being fear, Sheppard was faced with a new reality.

He'd always be on edge, constantly aware, never letting down his guard.

Carson's voice drifted into his mind.

Open your eyes.

Another breeze swept across his chilled skin as the full implication of those words finally came to him.

Sheppard tugged his covers up and shifted to get comfortable, his weary gaze searching the shadows of the darkened infirmary.

Sleep would be a long time coming tonight.

--The End--

Thank you all so much for reading! I had fun with this fic! Glad to end it though, as I am very bad about leaving things unfinished. :)