Loveless Relationships

Rodney woke up with a panic. He was late. He had slept in. The inept monkeys were in the science lab right now activating things they should not be activating because he wasn’t there to tell them not to.

He sat up and realized that he was most certainly not in his room. He was surrounded by curtains and machines; the infirmary. Suddenly the memory of the whole night came flooding back, which filled his stomach with regret and humiliation. He tore at his blankets and gingerly crawled out of the bed. God, it hurt more now that it had last night.

As he opened the curtain he found Carson and two other doctors in white coats speaking in hushed tones. They all fell silent before Carson began lecturing.

“What do ya think you’re doing out a bed?” He held Rodney around the shoulders and guided him back to his bed.

“I’m late for my shift.” Rodney did not want to admit to himself how uneasy Carson’s simple touch made him feel.

“You have a punctured rectum, and ya are certainly not getting out of bed for a solid week. Now lie down.” Carson left Rodney’s side and whispered to the other doctors, “We need some privacy,” before he closed the curtains and put on a pair of gloves. “How is it feeling?”

“How do you think it feels?”

“I’m glad your sarcasm wasn’t damaged. Are you in any pain?”

“Of course, I’m in pain. Haven’t you given me any pain meds?”

“As a matter of fact, I am going to reduce your dose unless you promise me that ya won’t be wondering off anywhere. I can’t have you feeling so bloody good that you tear your stitches.”

Rodney grumbled.

“Speaking of which, I need to examine you to be sure that you didn’t tear them.”

“I’m fine.”

“I’ll be as fast as possible. Knees up.”

“No, no, no, please Carson. I’m fine really. Just, just . . .”

Dr. Beckett was already applying medical lubricant to his fingers. “Knees up. We can do this the fast and easy way, or we can do this the hard way.”

Rodney pouted, took a fist full of blanket in each hand, and clenched his teeth.

Carson’s fingers were past Rodney’s gown and inside of him faster than he had expected. He whimpered and cried. It hurt so god damned much. It felt like his whole tailbone was broken, and that Carson was pressing as hard as he could against his torn flesh. He cried and tried to push Carson away.

“Hold still, hold still. I’m almost done.” Rodney squeezed Carson’s free hand. “Almost. There, all done.”

“You’re a sick fucking bastard!” Rodney was trying not to cry.

“I know. You’re alright, but the stitching is still very fragile, and anymore moves like when you stood up might cause them to tear.” Carson helped Rodney get under the blankets. “Promise ya won’t try to get out of bed unless I say so?”

Rodney pouted and asked, “What was going to be the hard way?”

“I was going to start begging.”

Rodney grumbled again. “Fine, I won’t go anywhere. Now where are my painkillers?”

“I’ll be right back.” Rodney wiped at his tears while Carson was away. He returned with a tray. “Here you are; water, crackers, Vicodin, and antibiotics.”

Rodney munched on his crackers and asked, “Is my tailbone broken?”

“No but it is severely bruised. This downward angle of the bruising suggests to me that you were not a willing participant. Are you ready to tell me what happened last night?”

“It was all just a big mistake, and I will never tell anybody about it. I just want to forget the whole fucking thing!”

“I’m afraid that that will not be possible. I had that sample that I took last night analyzed. Rodney, I had the sample tested three times now, and each test has been inconclusive. I cannot even tell what bloody species the man was. For the sake of the entire expedition, you need to tell me who it was last night. I’ve had Elizabeth put the city on alert, but I am this close,” he indicated with his fingers, “to having everyone locked in their rooms, so that I can test everyone against the sample.”

“What?

“Whoever you were with last night was not human. Doctors Simons and Gosling are going over the sample right now, but analyzing lines of genetic code takes time. He might attack again while we twiddle our thumbs in the infirmary. You know who it is.”

“This is a joke. You’re trying to scare me into telling.”

“That’s right, Rodney, I am trying to scare you because there is a dangerous man who has no problem hurting the people around him. I am afraid that this is not a joke, and this no longer includes just you. All you have to do is give me his name.”

Rodney considered this. Not human. He let something fuck him so hard that he was in the infirmary, and it wasn’t even human. This all had to be a dream. A very, very bad dream. He whispered. He didn’t even realize what he had said until Carson tapped his radio.

“Dr. Beckett to security. I need you to take Colonel Sheppard into custody. Take all precautions. He may be dangerous.”