Mitchell looked up when the stranger walked up to her bed. Of course, everyone here was a stranger to her, so she was going to have to come up with a better way of classifying people eventually, but stranger would do for now. A quick glance told her that he definitely wasn't Elizabeth Weir, and she was fairly certain that the man wasn't Major Sheppard, either. He didn't look at all military, and after a lifetime of being around servicemen, Melony was a good judge of who was one.

The man came over and sat down in the chair the doctor had just vacated, his eyes never leaving her, and a slightly awed expression on his face. Mitchell wasn't a huge fan of being stared at, so coupled with her pounding head, there was no way she could avoid the scowl that came to her face.

"Who are you?"

"Rodney McKay." He held out his hand.

"The Astrophysicists?" She didn't give him her hand, but he didn't even notice. A pleased and extremely smug look crossed his face.

"You've heard of me?"

Considering Doctor Becker had mentioned him only moments before, yes. Mitchell wasn't going to say that, though. The man looked so pleased, and she wasn't normally cruel – even with a headache. Why burst his happy little bubble?

"Um... a little."

She felt Talon's amusement, but ignored it.

"Well, I've definitely heard of you," McKay said. "I know all about you and Talon, and I must say, it's really something to have-"

"McKay!"

He started; suddenly looking incredibly guilty, and the two of them turned and saw Dr. Becker coming back into the room, accompanied by a dark-haired woman – who had to be Weir, and a man in one of the gray Atlantis Military outfits – who was probably the Major that Becker had mentioned.

Sheppard Talon supplied.

Thanks.

"You're not supposed to be in here," Becker told McKay, and Mitchell noticed when he was angry his accent was even more pronounced. Get him furious, and she'd bet you couldn't even understand him.

"I wasn't hurting anything," McKay said, standing up and looking defensive. "I just wanted-"

Sheppard had walked over to stand by the bed, and had offered Mitchell his hand while Beckett had been yelling at McKay.

"John Sheppard."

Melony took his hand; glad to see he didn't have the awed look on his face as well. She wouldn't have been able to handle two of them just then.

"Melony Mitchell." She said, introducing herself. "You need a haircut, Major."

Oh, that's diplomatic

Yeah, I know.

She hadn't meant for it to slip out – she'd observed that his hair was messy – and the observance had just popped out. Had she been feeling better, she wouldn't have mentioned it. At least, not immediately, and not in front of civilians.

"Sorry." He said, smiling, slightly. "I'll get that taken care of."

"Sorry Major," Melony said, giving him a wry smile of her own. "I'm not exactly at a hundred percent..."

He gave her a true smile, this time, and she noticed it reached his eyes.

"No problem, Colonel. It was still a warmer welcome than the one we gave you, huh?"

"There is that."

"Colonel Mitchell? I'm Elizabeth Weir."

"Doctor Weir, right?"

She nodded.

"I must say, I really appreciate the supplies you've brought us."

"They're getting a little worried about you folks at the SGC," Mitchell said, rubbing her forehead. "Jack O'Neill figured if you hadn't moved on, you could probably use some provisions – and extra ammo, batteries, stuff like that."

"Moved on?" Weir asked.

Mitchell shrugged.

"They weren't sure if you were going to be here..." She didn't add that they weren't sure the team was alive. That went without saying. Obviously they were alive, although they must have taken some casualties, since Sumner was dead.

"You gated here without being sure there would be a welcoming committee?" Weir asked.

"Well... I'd hoped for a slightly better reception than the one I got," Mitchell told her, still rubbing her head.

"Yeah... sorry about that. We didn't have a clue the thing was there until it turned on you."

Beckett hadn't missed Mitchell's obvious discomfort.

"Would you like something for your head, Colonel Mitchell?" He asked.

"She has something for her head," McKay said. "It's called a symbiote."

"Some Tylenol would be great," Melony told Becker. "A whole bottle."

Beckett left her bedside, and Mitchell looked over at Sheppard.

"What happened to Colonel Sumner, Major?"

"He was killed by the Wraith, Colonel." John said, and then he amended that. "Actually, that's not true... he was being tortured by the Wraith, and I shot him."

"You shot..." She trailed off as the doctor returned with her Tylenol and another cup of water. Her head was pounding something awful.

The Wraith do not exist

What?

"What's a Wraith?" She asked, both Talon and the others, as she took the cup from Becker.

They are a myth used to frighten small children. Much like your boogeyman

"They're these nasty life sucking aliens..." Beckett said, softly. "They seem to feed through their hands, and they touch you and your-"

"The Wraith do not exist."

Everyone in the room stared at Mitchell, whose voice had suddenly gone very deep. Weir and McKay both had heard a Goa'uld speak before, so they weren't nearly as shocked as Beckett and Sheppard were to hear the normally soft voice go suddenly so different.

"What the...?"

Don't do that.

Talon hadn't even thought; he'd just taken over. Chagrined, and apologetic, he released his control of her, and Mitchell was the next one to speak.

"Sorry about that," she said, closing her eyes and rubbing her head. Having them saying one thing to her and having Talon saying the opposite thing was not easing her headache at all. "Talon seems to think the Wraith are a myth..."

"Well, he's wrong..."