After breakfast, Mitchell tried on the shielding device. She pressed it against her collarbone and without hesitation the device started glowing.

"Is it working?" She asked, looking down at it.

Sheppard reached out and put his hand against her shoulder – but he didn't get that close. An energy shield formed between him and her, and he nodded.

"Yup."

"Have him shoot you, Colonel," McKay suggested.

She looked over at McKay, and shook her head. "I think I'll pass."

"It won't hurt."

"Yeah, well... I'll still pass."

Sheppard smiled.

"We're not sure exactly what it'll hold back, but it definitely works for a lot of things."

"How do I turn it off?"

"With your mind," Sheppard said. "Just think about it coming off and it will."

"If you want it off," Rodney corrected.

The device dropped into Melony's hand a moment later, and Sheppard grinned at McKay, who frowned.

"It's not so scary here, now, is it?" The Astrophysicist said, defensively.

Even Beckett smiled at that; since he was well aware of how much trouble Rodney had had with the device when he'd put it on. He was still worried about Melony, but he was also curious about whether the gene therapy would allow her to use the shield device – mainly because he wasn't sure the Ancient's technology would work with someone who had a symbiote. Obviously, though, it was, which meant that she could go through with the rest of her plan.

Melony looked down at the device, and then over at Sheppard.

"I guess that means I'm ready for my flying lesson, Major."

Sheppard nodded.

"Whenever you're ready."

"Now is good."

"I'll meet you in the Jumper bay in ten minutes."

"Great."

That would give Sheppard a chance to let Weir know where they were going, and would give Melony a chance to have another cup of coffee.

"Can I come along?" McKay asked. He was always looking for a chance to watch the ships being flown, since he'd had a chance to fly the Jumper once and wanted to improve his skills as well. Even sitting in on a lesson would make him a better pilot and he knew it.

Sheppard looked at Mitchell, who shrugged. "I don't have a problem with that."

"Meet us in the Jumper bay," Sheppard said. McKay nodded, and left the room.

"Do I have to get a special suit?" Mitchell asked.

"Nope. You're fine the way you are. Do you need help finding the bay?"

"I'll take her, Major," Beckett said, speaking up for the first time since they'd started the little experiment. "You go ahead and tell Doctor Weir where you're going."

Sheppard nodded, and left, and Melony turned to the doctor.

"I know where the Jumper bay is, Carson. I found it this morning while I was out looking around." Not to mention it'd been part of the grand tour the day before. "So, unless you want to come with me, you don't have to." He probably had other things to do, after all.

"I'll walk with you, if you don't mind?" Beckett said, smiling. "I have a few things I have to take care of, but there's no hurry."

"You going to come with us?"

"No."

She smiled at his immediate denial, and the two of them started for the door.

"You're not afraid I'd crash us, are you?"

"Of course not." Carson said, echoing her smile. "I just have things to do."

"Uh huh."

"I do."

"I'm a good pilot." She assured him.

"I believe you."

"Uh huh."

Carson grinned, and touched her arm, glad that he wasn't upset with her anymore. She was fine company, and he was truly becoming fond of her.

"Major Sheppard wouldn't let you crash."

"I'm not worried."

"Uh huh."

She laughed, and slapped him on the back, and the two of them continued their walk in amused silence.

OOOOOOOO

"Puddle Jumpers are easy to fly," Sheppard assured her fifteen minutes later as he, Melony and McKay all entered the rear of the small ship.

Melony looked around curiously. It was the first time she'd been in any ship that was smaller than Fugly. Except for the Space Shuttle, but that didn't count.

"No wings, though..."

"Drive pods which will come out when we start to fly," Sheppard told her. "They retract so the Puddle Jumper can get through the gate."

"That's pretty damned clever." Now she knew where the Goa'uld had gotten the idea for their own little gate jumping ships, but those didn't have retracting wings.

We should have done that to Fugly

We can do it to the next one we make

Yeah.

Sheppard had Mitchell sit in the pilot's seat and he took the co-pilot's seat, leaving McKay to find himself a spot to stand where he could brace himself from anything that the inertia dampeners didn't catch – which wouldn't be much in this ship. It wasn't as if they were going to be under fire or anything – they weren't even leaving the planet.

Sheppard explained the operations of the ship with the flair of a natural teacher. It helped that he was a good pilot, who could literally fly anything, and it also helped him that she was also a pilot, so he just had to come up with similarities between a plane – or helicopter – and the Puddle Jumper. She caught on quickly, asking intelligent questions that proved to Sheppard she understood what he was telling her, and it wasn't long before they both felt she was competent enough for them to hit the air and see how she'd do.

Sheppard took the ship out of the bay, waving a farewell to Weir, who'd come to watch things and was standing next to Beckett, and then with a practiced move of his hands, they were gone a moment later.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The flight was fantastic. Although they stayed close to Atlantis it wasn't because Sheppard was worried about her crashing them. Melony took to the Puddle Jumper as easily as he had, and for the same reason. She was a good pilot. He had her perform all sorts of maneuvers and stunts, and then had her land the ship on one of the few outside landing pads they'd only recently discovered in the city. Once he was sure she could take off and land on such a small piece of real estate, he knew she could do it on anything, so he declared the lesson a success, and they headed back for the Jumper bay.

"You're really going to go through with this plan?" He asked her, as she hit the buttons that turned off all the Jumper systems once they'd landed.

Melony looked over at him, and nodded.

"I have to."

"I could come with you. I have that gene, too, you know, and I could get me one of those shield things."

She shook her head, smiling in true regret. She would have liked his company because she already had him pegged as a good man. She wouldn't have minded a dozen of him backing her up. But that wasn't going to happen.

"You have your duties, Major," She said. "If something happens to me, and I don't make it-"

"Do you really think that's a possibility?" McKay asked. Both of them turned to him; he'd been so quiet the last part of the flight that they'd almost forgotten he was there.

"There's always a chance," she said, shrugging. "I don't intend for it to happen, though, but just in case, we can't have these folks losing you, too. You're the one that the technology here responds to best."

Sheppard nodded. She was right, although he would have felt better if she'd had back up.

"When are you going?"

"Tomorrow morning."