She was drowning in an ocean of pain. Not that this was all that unusual – Melony had been hurt before, and several times it had been serious enough to really hurt. But this time was different, because the pain wasn't Melony's. The beam that had struck so suddenly had been targeting Talon, not Mitchell. Of course, the pain that Talon felt was felt by Melony as well, so it wasn't much different, but the little difference there was was substantial, since Talon was in no position to try and ease Mitchell's pain like he normally would. The result was excruciating, and waves of hurt coursed through her so rapidly that her body had reacted the only way it could – and she'd passed out before the beam had even been disabled.

The pain was still there when she found herself wading through it towards consciousness. It wasn't so bad – which was why she was able to fight through it – but again, she didn't have Talon to help with it, and it was emanating from him – which she found extremely uncomfortable.

Talon?

There was no answer, but she knew he was still there. Hurting, but holding on. She was suddenly aware that someone was touching her, fingers on her temple, brushing gently across her skin. Considering the way her head was pounding with every heartbeat – hers and Talon's both – it was almost painful to be touched.

She opened her eyes, intending to tell whoever it was to knock it off, and found herself staring into the very concerned eyes of a complete stranger.

She groaned before she could tell him anything, and her eyes closed against the bright light of the room. Yeah, when was she going to learn to open her eyes slowly? She heard a whimper, and realized it had come from her, and the fingers on her temple stilled.

"Easy..."

His voice was soft, and soothing, and she knew he was a doctor. Somehow doctors just seemed to have the best voices for soothing.

"Where...?" She couldn't seem to get the words out, but he must have known what she was asking.

"You're in the infirmary at the Atlantis base."

His voice wasn't just soothing; it had a lilting brogue that she found appealing. Mitchell had always loved a good accent.

She forced her eyes open, although she wanted nothing more than to sink back into unconsciousness. She really hurt, and opening her eyes only made her hurt that much more.

"Who are you?" She couldn't lift her head from the pillow, but he was close by, so she didn't need to. He was close enough that she didn't even seem to have too much trouble focusing on him.

"Doctor Carson Beckett." He smiled, and she felt the fingers stroke her temple once more. Melony closed her eyes.

"Hurts..."

"I know..." The fingers continued to caress her temple, which continued to throb. "We can't find an injury to you, but your symbiote seems to have taken the brunt of the attack, and it's in shock – near as I can tell. I'm not sure what to do for it... any clue?"

Mitchell was having trouble focusing her thoughts on anything but the pain in her head – most of which was an echo of Talon's.

"Is he hurt?"

"Not that I can tell. Not physically."

"I'll take care of him..." she whispered, and turned her thoughts inward, closing out the touch of the doctor, and the bright lights of the infirmary that she could still see even through her closed eyelids.

OOOOOOOOO

Mitchell had been in close contact with Talon for almost three years, now. She'd felt him heal her countless times – every thing from simple cuts to serious injuries – and she knew more or less how he did it. There was something in his genetic make up that allowed him to use her energies and his healing abilities to take care of her. Now she was going to see if she could use her energies, and his healing ability to do the same thing to him. She'd never imposed her will on him – he'd never tried it to her, although he could – but she had a feeling if her will was strong enough, she might be able to do it back at him. Which was what she was counting on in this instance.

Ignoring the pounding in her head was difficult, but she was well disciplined – the Military did that for you, after all – and she forced the pain away by sheer force of will. Focusing on that part of Talon that he used so often to heal her, she felt along their bond until she actually had control of that part of him, and she took control of it. Instead of focusing the healing energies on herself – which she suddenly realized she could have done – she turned it on him.

His body was a lot different than her own, of course. His system was far more complicated than hers, and his psyche was incredibly strange to her even after so much contact. It didn't matter, though. She knew what to do now that she had control, and she did it. Using her own resources, she sent healing energies through his system, easing the affects of the shock the beam had caused, and soothing the hurts that were wracking him – and her. The longer she worked, the more the pain eased, and as his pain became more manageable, so did her own. The pain was fading, but she was exhausted, now, from the work she'd been doing, and she finally withdrew from the close contact, and slept.

OOOOOOOOO

Beckett watched as she closed her eyes. The doctor wasn't exactly sure what she intended to do that he couldn't, but he sat next to his patient's bed, his fingers gently rubbing her temple as he watched, waiting to see something happen. When nothing did, he decided that she probably hadn't meant she'd take care of it just then – maybe she'd planned on sleeping first? He sighed, and looked over at the monitor that was keeping track of the symbiote. Its vital signs were fluctuating far more wildly than Mitchell's were, and although it could have been normal, he didn't think it was. They were just too abnormal, and the doctor in him deduced that such randomness was bad, no matter what the creature was.

He pulled back, with a sigh. He was the only one in the infirmary just then, and as such, he didn't mind showing just a little of the frustration he was feeling. He'd cleared the room in concern that if the host died the symbiote might try to jump to another, but really it looked like the symbiote was the one in trouble and was taking Mitchell down with it.

Then, almost imperceptibly, he realized that the symbiote was showing signs of changing biorhythms. Beckett turned and looked at Mitchell, noting that the pained lines in her brow and around her closed eyes were easing slightly at the same time. Wishing he knew more about the Goa'uld so he could know if this was good or bad, all the doctor could do was sit and watch, and hope for the best.