Disclaimer:- Don't own anything, so please don't sue me.

A/N:- This immediately follows the events of 'My Kind of Bravery'.

There are 2 main constants in the universe, whether one is in the Milky Way or Pegasus Galaxy. 1 – Rodney McKay is an egotistical, but brilliant, scientist and 2. Doctors really do make the worst possible patients.

Jennifer Keller, Chief Medical Officer of the Atlantis expedition, hated the infirmary right now. She didn't remember anything after she had asked Ronon to stun her on the planet Tallon, until the moment she woke up in a bed in her own infirmary 2 days ago, attached to a morphine drip for her pain. Her injuries, sustained during her capture and captivity by the slavers, were minor, apart from the damage to her back. She had bruises to her face and arms from the rough handling and a few scrapes from being thrown around in their ship, but fortunately no broken bones. The problem, of course, was the result of being lashed. She did not know how many lashes she had endured and truthfully she didn't want to. Even though she had been rescued quickly, the conditions in the camp were so bad, that infection was almost inevitable.

So there she was, lay in her bed, pumped full of painkillers and antibiotics – and bored out of her mind. Visitors were being kept to a minimum, which in a way she was grateful for, if only because of the embarrassment factor. One day, she thought, somebody might actually design a hospital gown that didn't show everything whenever you moved. In her doped up state, she wondered idly what McKay would say if she asked him to do it.

Her mind drifted back to when she first woke. The infirmary was rarely quiet but the noise level that day was enough to wake the dead. As she looked around in a daze, all she could see were children everywhere. Then she spotted Ronon, sat on the floor in a corner, completely surrounded. On his knee sat a little girl with short black hair who Jen recognised as one she had treated in the camp. She had diagnosed a broken left wrist and the fact that it was not yet in a cast told her that she hadn't been out of it that long – or at least she hoped not.

Jennifer spent several minutes just watching Ronon interact with the children. Then almost as though he knew that she was watching him, he looked straight at her and grinned. Whispering something to the girl, he gently set her on the floor, got up and headed for Jen's bed, grabbing a chair along the way.

"Hi Doc".

"Hey you. How long...?" she started.

Anticipating her question, Ronon replied "You've been out for nearly 24 hours, way longer than was expected. Jenkins decided to sedate you once the stun started to wear off, to give your nurses time to clean your wounds and get you comfortable. I'll let him know you're awake".

Jennifer's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

"Not yet. Tell me what happened. I know I'll get the truth from you, with no frills".

He looked at her, an eyebrow raised. "No frills?" he questioned.

"I'll explain it later, as long as you remind me that I said it, my head's not quite straight at the moment".

"Okay you ask the questions. If I know the answer, fine. If not, I'll find someone who does".

Jen closed her eyes briefly, as she tried to get her thoughts in order, then asked "Peterson, did he make it?"

"Jenkins did the surgery. As far as I know, he'll recover".

"Thank God for that. I thought I'd made things worse by moving him. I'll talk to Marie, she can give me the medical data. How many children?"

"162. That's how many we brought back to Atlantis" replied a new voice. "How you doin', Doc?"

Col. Sheppard, Teyla and Rodney McKay had joined Ronon at her bedside and it was Sheppard who had spoken.

"Don't understand...", she mumbled.

"What do you not understand, Jennifer", asked Teyla gently, as she slid into the seat that Ronon had vacated on their arrival.

"Been out for 12 hours. Why are there children still here needing treatment, they should have already been seen. Ronon, the little girl you were with has a broken wrist, she must be hurting badly. Why has nobody dealt with her yet? I've got to get out of this bed, I've got to...". Jen's voice rose steadily betraying her distress at the situation.

The moment that Jen tried to move, Ronon was there, gently pushing her back onto her pillows. He stayed at the head of the bed, one hand resting lightly on her shoulder as Teyla took hold of her hand.

"Jennifer, please try to calm yourself. Many of the children that you saved needed treatment. With you unable to work, Dr Mills on Earth and Dr Jenkins taking care of Peterson, your staff have been extremely busy. They are doing the best that they can".

"Yes of course they are. I just feel so helpless, so bloody useless", Jen said, closing her eyes as a wave of nausea swept over her. "Why am I feeling so awful?"

Dr McKay spoke then for the first time since entering the infirmary, saying I'll go and find your nurse. She'll be able to explain everything properly, but suffice it to say, you picked up a nasty infection and they're now giving you massive doses of antibiotics and stuff".

As he left to find Marie, Jen realised that he had not looked directly at her all the time he had been speaking, and she turned to each of the others.

Sheppard answered her unspoken question. "What they did to you on the planet affected him badly. It might take him a while to get over it".

Jen nodded and there was silence for a few minutes until Rodney returned with Marie, everyone's favourite nurse. As she explained things to Jen and checked her readings, Atlantis' premier team moved away slightly to give the pair a little privacy. Jen and Marie's conversation lasted some time and the 4 teammates started to feel a little uneasy.

"Hey Doc" called Sheppard, "everything okay?"

"Yes Col. everything's fine" replied Jen, but without much conviction.

As Marie finished filling in Jen's chart, she murmured "I'll go and let him know you're awake".

Jen lay back down against her pillows, eyes closed yet again this time trying to fight off sleep.

"Doc, we'll let you get some rest. We need to go see Carter about getting these kids home to their families, we'll see you later on" said Sheppard as each member of the team stepped up to say their goodbyes.

Ronon was last and as he turned to go, Jen once again grabbed at his hand, this time pulling him down so that their heads were only inches apart.

"Don't let them send me back to Earth. Please promise me you won't let them send me back" she whispered as sleep finally claimed her.

Ronon looked at her in shock and held her hand for a while longer, gently stroking it, before he left to return to the waiting children.