When she woke up, Melony was confused – even for her.

You fell asleep, Talon told her, gently, sharing a reminder of her conversation with Beckett. She had fallen asleep still sobbing in his arms. She gave a purely mental groan.

God, what's he going to think of me?

Probably he'll think that you're a sensitive person who's lost someone you love and needed a shoulder to cry on. Which he provided.

Yeah, that he had.

He still is

What?

She opened her eyes and found that Talon was right. What she had assumed was her pillow – mainly because she hadn't really taken in her surroundings while she'd been waking up – was actually the front of his shoulder, where her cheek was still resting as he held her. Now that she was a little more awake, she could feel his arms still around her, holding her loosely, but definitely there.

How long have I been asleep?

Quite a while

Gah, he had to be so uncomfortable! She moved slightly, letting him know she was awake, and felt him shift against her as she moved her cheek from his shoulder to look up at him.

"You're awake..." he said, brushing his hand against her hair. "Good."

"I'm sorry-"She started to apologize, both for bawling on his shoulder, and then for falling asleep on him like that and pretty much forcing him to stay with her.

"Don't be," he said, giving her a smile that was obviously supposed to be comforting – and it was. "You've had a rough go of things lately, and it's just catching up with you."

She knew he wasn't just talking about the beam that had attacked Talon – and her. Mitchell nodded, and Beckett hugged her close for another moment.

"How do you feel?"

He was always asking her that.

He's a doctor, that's what they do

Good point.

"Tired, moody and hungry," Melony told him.

"I expect all of those," he told her, pulling away just enough so he could make eye contact with her. "Can you eat something?"

Talon?

Sure. The worst of it should be over

Mitchell nodded.

"Good. I'm going to go get you something to eat. You take it easy-"

"You don't have to..."

"Of course I do," he said with a smile. "I'm a doctor, right?"

"Yes."

"See?"

She smiled, and he took that as a yes and released her.

"So... you relax here, I'll bring you something to eat. No allergies?"

"No."

Of course, even if she did have an allergy, Talon would take care of it.

Yeah yeah, let the symbiote do all the work...

Melony's smile broadened slightly, and Beckett gave her an amused look.

"Why do I get the feeling you're having two conversations?"

"You're perceptive, Carson," she admitted. "Talon was talking to me, too."

"Saying something to cheer you up?" He guessed, judging from the smile she'd had on her face.

She nodded.

"Good. Tell him to keep talking. I don't want you to fall asleep again until I get some dinner in you."

Dinner? What time is it?

How should I know? Do I look like a Rolex to you?

She hid her confusion, and resisted the urge to look at her watch – not like that'd help all that much anyways, since they weren't on the same time.

"I'll stay awake," she promised him.

"Good." He stood up and headed for the door. "I'll be right back."

He left, and Melony rubbed her face, tiredly. Fine way to spend her first days in Atlantis; sleeping. She felt Talon's amusement, and dragged herself out of bed, first heading to the bathroom, and then making for the coffee pot to get another pot of coffee going. What was left was cold, and while she didn't have anything against cold coffee, she much preferred hot when she could get it.

OOOOOOOO

"Carson!"

Beckett turned and saw Dr. Weir coming up behind him in the hall, and he stopped.

"Dr. Weir, hello."

"How's Colonel Mitchell?" Elizabeth asked. "I haven't seen her all day."

"She's been fairly well out of it," Beckett said. "The gene therapy is going at an accelerated rate, but it's wreaking havoc on her; making her sick – which is making her sleepy as well. I'll probably make her stay in bed the rest of the day."

"Is she going to be all right?"

"Oh, sure. The symbiote seems to be doing the job keeping the gene from being rejected – she isn't showing signs of fever or heart murmuring, which are the major indications of rejection – she's just tired and ill. Although not as ill as she was earlier."

"You'll keep me informed if she gets worse?"

"I will, but I don't think it's likely. Talon told her she should be up and around tomorrow."

Weir nodded.

"I'll let the others know. Anything you need from me?"

He shook his head. "I'll stick close to her – just to make sure she doesn't have any side affects – but like I said, she should be up and around in the morning. The rest certainly won't do her any harm."

"Not after that beam attacked her, huh?"

"Exactly." He didn't mention the rest. "The attack took more out of the symbiote than her, but it still hurt her. If not for Talon, she'd be days – maybe even weeks – recovering."

Weir nodded.

"I'll leave you to whatever you were doing," she said, giving him a smile. "If you see Major Sheppard before I do, tell him I'm looking for him, please."

"I'll do that."

She turned and went one way, and Beckett went on towards the infirmary. He'd check with his staff and make sure everything was going well, and then he'd go to the dining room.

OOOOOOO

He didn't see Sheppard – or anyone else for that matter. It was a little early for the others to be eating dinner – although Carson was starving, and if he was hungry (and he'd had breakfast) then he knew Melony had to be, since she hadn't had breakfast – or dinner the night before, come to think of it. He was tempted to load a tray with a lot of food, but he knew that she probably wouldn't be able to eat as much as she thought she could, and so he minimized how much – and what kind of – food he put on the tray. Easy to eat and rather bland were always best when dealing with a sick patient – which was why soup was such a popular sick person food.

He added a few other things; bread, some sliced cheeses and crackers, and a plate with a couple of slices of pumpkin pie on it for dessert, then headed back to her room.