She took the dishes back to the commissary like she said she was going to. The room was empty – as was the kitchen – but there were warming steamers on the buffet tables in case some of the late night shift needed a snack or dinner and there was always a pot of coffee ready for drinking. She dropped off the dirty dishes in the sink in the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee, then left the empty room to go find solitude in a place that she'd already decided was far more to her liking.

A shirt while later she was standing on one of the balconies that overlooked the water, staring out into the night, and sipping her coffee.

You're stalling

I know.

He's not going to rush you into anything you aren't ready for

I know.

I like him

I do, too.

You're attracted to him

Yup.

Love him?

What if it's just chemistry? She asked, avoiding the question.

What if it isn't?

She sighed.

"I thought I was the only one who ever came out here at night..."

The voice startled her, but she was too calm to let it show. Mitchell turned and greeted Doctor Weir as the older woman walked out onto the balcony as well.

"Good evening..."

Weir smiled.

"Hi. Am I interrupting?"

Mitchell shook her head.

"I'm just doing some thinking."

"This is a good place for it," Weir agreed. "I do a lot of my thinking out here." She came over and stood next to Melony, looking out over the water as the moons rose, lighting up the areas of the city below them. "Heavy thinking? Or just trying to decide what to have for breakfast?"

"Pretty heavy..."

Elizabeth nodded.

"Need a sounding board?"

She already had a sounding board, but it might not be a bad idea to ask someone else's advice. Get a female's point of view, even – which Talon could never give.

"Are you married?" Mitchell asked, deciding she'd try to get the advice without giving away too much. She wasn't really in the mood to get depressed, and that was going to happen if she named names, or told too much of the story.

"I'm engaged." Weir said, smiling. "To a man named Simon, who is probably incredibly angry with me – or hurt – because I left him with no more than a recorded message – that I'm not even sure he's been allowed to see."

Melony nodded.

"Are you?" Elizabeth asked. She didn't think she was, but who knew?

Mitchell shook her head.

"If you found someone here – or on one of the worlds that we visited – that you... um... were attracted to... what would you do?"

"That's easy," She said. "I already told you, I'm engaged. Whether Simon still believes it or not, I love him, and I'm going to get back to him some day."

"What..." Melony sighed, silently, because that wasn't her situation. "What if he... didn't want you back – or couldn't want you back? What if something happened to him, and you knew he wasn't waiting for you?"

"If he were killed, you mean?"

She nodded, feeling that familiar hurt.

Easy...

"I'm not sure, Colonel..." Weir said, softly, thinking it through because she had a feeling this was the part of the problem that Mitchell had been thinking about while she'd been standing in the dark. "I suppose it would depend on a few things... mainly how ready I was... to have a new relationship..."

Which didn't help at all, Melony decided. She already knew she wasn't exactly at one hundred percent when it came to relationship readiness – although she was getting there. It just seemed she was cheating on Brad when she even considered being with Carson – and that thought hurt.

"However..." Weir continued, and Mitchell looked over at her. "If there was a chance for me to be happy..." She shrugged, "I can't imagine that Simon would want me to be miserable the rest of my life just because he wasn't there..."

From the thoughtful look on Mitchell's face, Weir decided she'd given enough advice. Too much could be just as bad as not enough. She wrapped her arms around herself, and gave the Colonel a sympathetic smile.

"It's cold out here... I think I'll find a cup of tea and get to bed. Goodnight, Colonel..."

Melony nodded, but it was obvious that her mind was a million miles away.

"Goodnight, Doctor Weir... thanks..."

She didn't reply, she just left, and Mitchell turned and looked back at the water.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

It was much later when she finally returned to her quarters. She let herself in silently, and looked over at the bed as she closed the door. Carson was sound asleep, sprawled on her bed – under the blankets – and looking just as endearing to her asleep as he did when he was awake. The light by the bed was on, but it was turned to its lowest setting, causing the room to be bathed in a dim light instead of a bright glare, which probably would have kept him awake.

She bit her lower lip as she watched him sleep for a few minutes, then slid her shoes and socks off and walked silently over to the bed. Reaching over and turning the light off the rest of the way, she slid under the blankets, moving close to him.

That woke him, somewhat, and he opened his eyes to a dark room.

"Melony?" His voice was a sleepy whisper.

She turned to him, unable to see him in the dark, but knowing exactly where he was. She felt his hand reach out to touch hers, and heard his voice once more.

"You're shivering."

"I'm cold," she told him – it wasn't completely a lie.

He scooted closer, pulling her into his embrace and pressing his warm body lightly against hers, and Melony leaned into him, closing her eyes and burying her face against his chest as she fought her own demons and began to beat them back.

"Hold me, Carson," she whispered.

His arms tightened a little and she felt his hand caressing her back, comforting her and calming her. He knew how difficult this was, and there weren't enough words for him to tell her how proud he was of her. He pressed a kiss gently against the top of her head and hugged her tight for a moment before relaxing the grip so she could breathe.

"For as long as you want..."