The next day Mitchell didn't go into the SGC. She had too many things to
take care of around her house. Anderson made breakfast for the two of them,
which was pretty much a necessity if he wanted to eat anything before
heading off to the base. When they were finished eating, she told him she'd
clean everything up, and he kissed her soundly and headed out. He had a lot
of party stuff to take care of, and needed to check and see if General
Hammond had anything for him to do, as well.
Mitchell sat at her kitchen table and finished off the pot of coffee while reading the paper. Not that anything that was going on around town really mattered all that much anymore, since she wasn't going to be around for the town meeting, or the local high schools' grudge match on the football field. But it was part of her regular routine to read the paper. So she did. And then she ended up explaining the comics to Talon, who didn't understand why most of them made her grin, and sometimes actually chuckle.
As she loaded the dishwasher, she and Talon discussed what she should bring and what she didn't need to. The Tok'ra traveled light, so she had to keep that in mind. She understood that completely, though, and decided that she'd take her BDU's as her regular wear – she'd seen what the Tok'ra women generally wore when they came through the Stargate for visits, and there was no way she was going to walk around with that much bare skin showing. The amusement from Talon didn't cover up the fact that he agreed with her. He wanted her to be comfortably attired, because eventually they'd be out in the field and out of his lab, and she'd need the uniforms.
She started the dishwasher, and went into her bedroom. Pulling out her overseas bag (a large green duffle bag that would hold an astounding amount of stuff) she opened her closet. The dress uniforms would stay. She wouldn't need them unless she was on Earth – and if she was on Earth, she could pick them up here. She put in a couple of books that she particularly enjoyed, threw in a photo album that held pictures of her folks, Michael, and her days at the Academy for the most part. There were also pictures of the men of SG-2 from a barbeque they'd had the year before, and many pictures of Jack and Michael together. This was definitely going. As was a large supply of coffee beans, since Mitchell wasn't going to wake up every morning on an unfamiliar planet and not have a pot of coffee to wake up with.
[Are you sure you don't want to bring the kitchen sink?] Talon asked her, taking that particular phrase from a commercial they'd seen on TV during the game the night before and using it for his own purpose.
You're lucky I don't have a dog. Mitchell told him, smiling. Otherwise he'd be coming, too, and the Tok'ra would have to worry about dog shit all over their tunnels.
That took a bit to explain, since Talon didn't know what a dog was, but eventually he agreed that it was a good thing she didn't have a dog.
...
There was a knock on the door sometime around noon. Mitchell went to the door and opened it, and smiled when she saw Jack O'Neill there with an armful of grocery bags. Quick to take a couple from him, she walked with him into the kitchen.
"What's all this, Jack?"
"It's for your party. Anderson told you about it, right?"
"Yeah."
"He did the planning, but I had to pick all the stuff up."
"That sounds fair."
"Yeah, well. If I'd been thinking, I would have done the planning and delegated the picking up of things."
"Anderson beat you to it, huh?"
"Yeah."
There was a dizzying array of food. All sorts of potato salads and pasta salads, condiments of all sorts, and meat of every variety. Steaks, burgers, hotdogs, chicken, chops, and ribs.
"Did you get enough?" She asked him facetiously.
"There's more in the truck."
There was, too. Tons of different drinks; beer, soda, juices of all kinds. Chips of all sorts – many that even Melony had never tried – desserts; cookies, pie, brownies, cake, and one great big watermelon. Melony shook her head, amused, but Talon was eager to try everything. He liked Earth food!
Not until everyone arrives.
[I can wait]
Uh huh.
[Why don't you give O'Neill his M'era'tikurian device?] Talon suggested, changing the subject.
Good idea.
They put all the food into her fridge – it was a good thing she didn't cook and had no actual food in there of her own or there wouldn't have been room – then Mitchell took the device she'd made off the table and walked over to Jack.
"Hey, Jack?"
He turned from stuffing the last bag of chips into her cupboard, and looked at her, then down at the thing in her hand.
"Is that the Mer...thingie you made?"
"Yeah."
"Do I get to find out what it does?"
She smiled. "You probably should, since Talon had me build it for you."
"For me, specifically?"
"Yep."
She handed it over to him.
"It looks like a watch."
"Kind of." She agreed. "It can be worn like one. As a matter of fact, to use it, you'll have to have it on, since it'll only work for you."
"What does it do?"
"It's a communication device."
"Yeah?"
She nodded.
"Like a walkie-talkie?"
"Yeah." Mitchell said. "Only it has a lot more range. A lot." She pulled another device – identical to the one Jack was holding out of her pocket and held it up.
"You have one, I have the other?"
"Yours will only work for you, mine will only work for me. They're attuned to us. To keep someone else – or something else – from gaining control of them."
"Why?"
"It's pretty much a brand new science, Jack. These two are the prototypes, and Talon wants a chance to work with the technology a bit more before he spreads it around. But he knows how miserable I am about leaving, and he decided that we'd be an exception."
"You don't have to go..." Jack said, his brown eyes serious. He'd wanted to have this conversation with her, anyways, and since the two of them were alone – not counting Talon – it was a perfect time to.
"Yeah, I do." She gave him a smile that was a little sad, and a lot resigned. "Talon is needed, and I know that. I accept that, too, so you might as well, also. But – and this is a big but – if you need to get hold of me, you won't have to wait for the Tok'ra to tell me. You can use this." She held up her device.
"What if I'm off-world?" Jack said.
"Doesn't matter." Mitchell grinned. "These things are sub-space. When you activate yours, it will open a slipstream in sub-space that will allow whatever you say to reach my device in moments. There's hardly any time lag." She grimaced. "Right now, it's only good to deliver messages, since he hasn't figured out how to make it two-way, but if you need me – or if I need you, for that matter – you push this button, tell me what you need, or where you are, and then hit this button to send it off. I'll get it right away, and wherever I am, I'll come."
He looked down at his doohickey, and Melony could see the muscles in his jaw working hard – a sure sign he was upset. Not angry, just upset.
"It's all we could think of, Jack." She said, softly. "I can't give up our friendship, and I need to be able to-"
"I know." He looked up, and she saw his eyes were misty. "It's great, Melony. It's more than I could have hoped for." And probably would stop him from tying her up so she couldn't leave. "When will you be able to make one that lets us talk back and forth?"
Talon took over, but Jack had warning when Mitchell's head nodded, slightly, and came back up.
"I will work on it as soon as I can, Colonel, but there are other things that must come first. Communication devices are not my true specialty – weapons are – but this is all I could make with the available items in Major Carter's laboratory."
"Sam could make some of these?"
"Most likely not. When I have the completed prototype figured out, I will share the technology with Major Carter. Until then, there is a danger of setting off a chain reaction in the sub-spac-"
Jack held up his hands to stop Talon.
"I don't want to know."
"You asked."
"I changed my mind." He looked down at the device once more. "Thanks, Talon. You don't know how much this means to me."
"I know what it means to my host," The Tok'ra told him. "I can only imagine you have similar feelings. If the time comes, Colonel O'Neill, that the Tau'ri need Melony more than the Tok'ra need me, we will come. No matter where we are. I give you my pledge."
"You're a weapons expert?" Jack asked, more to hide the gruffness in his voice. You don't cry in front of Tok'ra! Even one that's stuck in one of your favorite people in the world.
"I am a weapons designer."
"What are you working on?"
"You wouldn't understand if I tried to tell you." Talon told him.
Good point. Jack grinned, and shrugged, and Talon gave control back to Mitchell.
"Ha, he told you."
"Yeah yeah. Hush." Jack strapped the M'era'tikurian device on the wrist that didn't have his watch, and pulled her into a hug. "I'm really going to miss you."
"I'll be back."
"Promise?" It was dumb to ask for a promise that couldn't be guaranteed, Jack knew, but he couldn't help it.
"I swear." Just as crazy to make a promise that she wasn't positive she could keep – since the Tok'ra were the Goa'uld's favorite targets, but Melony didn't care.
Mitchell sat at her kitchen table and finished off the pot of coffee while reading the paper. Not that anything that was going on around town really mattered all that much anymore, since she wasn't going to be around for the town meeting, or the local high schools' grudge match on the football field. But it was part of her regular routine to read the paper. So she did. And then she ended up explaining the comics to Talon, who didn't understand why most of them made her grin, and sometimes actually chuckle.
As she loaded the dishwasher, she and Talon discussed what she should bring and what she didn't need to. The Tok'ra traveled light, so she had to keep that in mind. She understood that completely, though, and decided that she'd take her BDU's as her regular wear – she'd seen what the Tok'ra women generally wore when they came through the Stargate for visits, and there was no way she was going to walk around with that much bare skin showing. The amusement from Talon didn't cover up the fact that he agreed with her. He wanted her to be comfortably attired, because eventually they'd be out in the field and out of his lab, and she'd need the uniforms.
She started the dishwasher, and went into her bedroom. Pulling out her overseas bag (a large green duffle bag that would hold an astounding amount of stuff) she opened her closet. The dress uniforms would stay. She wouldn't need them unless she was on Earth – and if she was on Earth, she could pick them up here. She put in a couple of books that she particularly enjoyed, threw in a photo album that held pictures of her folks, Michael, and her days at the Academy for the most part. There were also pictures of the men of SG-2 from a barbeque they'd had the year before, and many pictures of Jack and Michael together. This was definitely going. As was a large supply of coffee beans, since Mitchell wasn't going to wake up every morning on an unfamiliar planet and not have a pot of coffee to wake up with.
[Are you sure you don't want to bring the kitchen sink?] Talon asked her, taking that particular phrase from a commercial they'd seen on TV during the game the night before and using it for his own purpose.
You're lucky I don't have a dog. Mitchell told him, smiling. Otherwise he'd be coming, too, and the Tok'ra would have to worry about dog shit all over their tunnels.
That took a bit to explain, since Talon didn't know what a dog was, but eventually he agreed that it was a good thing she didn't have a dog.
...
There was a knock on the door sometime around noon. Mitchell went to the door and opened it, and smiled when she saw Jack O'Neill there with an armful of grocery bags. Quick to take a couple from him, she walked with him into the kitchen.
"What's all this, Jack?"
"It's for your party. Anderson told you about it, right?"
"Yeah."
"He did the planning, but I had to pick all the stuff up."
"That sounds fair."
"Yeah, well. If I'd been thinking, I would have done the planning and delegated the picking up of things."
"Anderson beat you to it, huh?"
"Yeah."
There was a dizzying array of food. All sorts of potato salads and pasta salads, condiments of all sorts, and meat of every variety. Steaks, burgers, hotdogs, chicken, chops, and ribs.
"Did you get enough?" She asked him facetiously.
"There's more in the truck."
There was, too. Tons of different drinks; beer, soda, juices of all kinds. Chips of all sorts – many that even Melony had never tried – desserts; cookies, pie, brownies, cake, and one great big watermelon. Melony shook her head, amused, but Talon was eager to try everything. He liked Earth food!
Not until everyone arrives.
[I can wait]
Uh huh.
[Why don't you give O'Neill his M'era'tikurian device?] Talon suggested, changing the subject.
Good idea.
They put all the food into her fridge – it was a good thing she didn't cook and had no actual food in there of her own or there wouldn't have been room – then Mitchell took the device she'd made off the table and walked over to Jack.
"Hey, Jack?"
He turned from stuffing the last bag of chips into her cupboard, and looked at her, then down at the thing in her hand.
"Is that the Mer...thingie you made?"
"Yeah."
"Do I get to find out what it does?"
She smiled. "You probably should, since Talon had me build it for you."
"For me, specifically?"
"Yep."
She handed it over to him.
"It looks like a watch."
"Kind of." She agreed. "It can be worn like one. As a matter of fact, to use it, you'll have to have it on, since it'll only work for you."
"What does it do?"
"It's a communication device."
"Yeah?"
She nodded.
"Like a walkie-talkie?"
"Yeah." Mitchell said. "Only it has a lot more range. A lot." She pulled another device – identical to the one Jack was holding out of her pocket and held it up.
"You have one, I have the other?"
"Yours will only work for you, mine will only work for me. They're attuned to us. To keep someone else – or something else – from gaining control of them."
"Why?"
"It's pretty much a brand new science, Jack. These two are the prototypes, and Talon wants a chance to work with the technology a bit more before he spreads it around. But he knows how miserable I am about leaving, and he decided that we'd be an exception."
"You don't have to go..." Jack said, his brown eyes serious. He'd wanted to have this conversation with her, anyways, and since the two of them were alone – not counting Talon – it was a perfect time to.
"Yeah, I do." She gave him a smile that was a little sad, and a lot resigned. "Talon is needed, and I know that. I accept that, too, so you might as well, also. But – and this is a big but – if you need to get hold of me, you won't have to wait for the Tok'ra to tell me. You can use this." She held up her device.
"What if I'm off-world?" Jack said.
"Doesn't matter." Mitchell grinned. "These things are sub-space. When you activate yours, it will open a slipstream in sub-space that will allow whatever you say to reach my device in moments. There's hardly any time lag." She grimaced. "Right now, it's only good to deliver messages, since he hasn't figured out how to make it two-way, but if you need me – or if I need you, for that matter – you push this button, tell me what you need, or where you are, and then hit this button to send it off. I'll get it right away, and wherever I am, I'll come."
He looked down at his doohickey, and Melony could see the muscles in his jaw working hard – a sure sign he was upset. Not angry, just upset.
"It's all we could think of, Jack." She said, softly. "I can't give up our friendship, and I need to be able to-"
"I know." He looked up, and she saw his eyes were misty. "It's great, Melony. It's more than I could have hoped for." And probably would stop him from tying her up so she couldn't leave. "When will you be able to make one that lets us talk back and forth?"
Talon took over, but Jack had warning when Mitchell's head nodded, slightly, and came back up.
"I will work on it as soon as I can, Colonel, but there are other things that must come first. Communication devices are not my true specialty – weapons are – but this is all I could make with the available items in Major Carter's laboratory."
"Sam could make some of these?"
"Most likely not. When I have the completed prototype figured out, I will share the technology with Major Carter. Until then, there is a danger of setting off a chain reaction in the sub-spac-"
Jack held up his hands to stop Talon.
"I don't want to know."
"You asked."
"I changed my mind." He looked down at the device once more. "Thanks, Talon. You don't know how much this means to me."
"I know what it means to my host," The Tok'ra told him. "I can only imagine you have similar feelings. If the time comes, Colonel O'Neill, that the Tau'ri need Melony more than the Tok'ra need me, we will come. No matter where we are. I give you my pledge."
"You're a weapons expert?" Jack asked, more to hide the gruffness in his voice. You don't cry in front of Tok'ra! Even one that's stuck in one of your favorite people in the world.
"I am a weapons designer."
"What are you working on?"
"You wouldn't understand if I tried to tell you." Talon told him.
Good point. Jack grinned, and shrugged, and Talon gave control back to Mitchell.
"Ha, he told you."
"Yeah yeah. Hush." Jack strapped the M'era'tikurian device on the wrist that didn't have his watch, and pulled her into a hug. "I'm really going to miss you."
"I'll be back."
"Promise?" It was dumb to ask for a promise that couldn't be guaranteed, Jack knew, but he couldn't help it.
"I swear." Just as crazy to make a promise that she wasn't positive she could keep – since the Tok'ra were the Goa'uld's favorite targets, but Melony didn't care.