He was the first to wake up the next morning. Not surprising, since he knew she'd had as long – if not longer – a day the day before than he had, and he knew that her day had been more difficult. He woke in what was the position that 90 percent of the men in Atlantis would envy; in her bed with her snuggled right up against him. Of course, they were both fully dressed – a testimony to the fact that they hadn't made that ultimate step in their relationship – but Carson didn't care about that. Something a lot more important had happened the night before, and he knew it.

As if his own waking had triggered hers, he felt her stirring next to him, and he looked down just in time to see her turn her head up to look at him. Her pale eyes were sleepy and slightly unfocused, and he was reminded of the fact that she wasn't one of those people who could leap right out of bed in the morning, wide awake and ready to go. As he'd found out while nursing her through her injuries when she'd first come to Atlantis, it took quite a bit of coffee and waking up time – although she assured him that she could wake up quickly if circumstances required it. Apparently, though, that meant if someone was shooting at her, or something equally life-threatening.

And this wasn't it, apparently, because she closed her eyes once more, her head going back to his chest.

He smiled with delight, and ran his fingers lightly through her short silky hair.

"Good morning..."

She grunted what might have been a greeting, and her hand came up to rest on his side.

His smile remained, but now it was amused, and he felt a pang in his chest that he'd never felt before. Protectiveness? Nah, he was a doctor, and doctors were always protective – although it was usually of their patients. It could have been love. He'd thought he'd been in love before – several times – but it'd never felt like this. Maybe it was a mixture of both...

"Are you going to go back to sleep?" he whispered, wondering if he should get up so she could actually sleep. It couldn't be all that comfortable with her cheek pressed against the fabric of his shirt.

She mumbled something he couldn't understand, and he pulled away just enough to be able to change positions a little; scooting down on the bed enough that he was face to face with her instead of chest to face. Her eyes were closed, but he didn't mind watching her in this position any more than he minded watching her in any other position. She was adorable when she was sleeping. And very tempting. Too tempting.

He leaned the few inches necessary and brushed his lips against hers. She sighed – sleepily? But the hand that she wasn't sleeping on came up and her palm rested against his cheek, cupping his face.

"Do that again," she whispered.

He kissed her again, brushing his thumb along her cheek, and she sighed again and smiled – but still hadn't opened her eyes beyond that initial look.

"Should I leave so you can sleep?"

"Do you have to?"

"No."

She brushed her palm against his cheek – feeling his beard, he knew – and shook her head.

"Stay a while?"

"Of course..."

You know, if you were to wake up a bit, you might be able to actually hold a conversation with him

Hmmm?

Wake up, Hot Shot, and talk to him

What?

Her lack of awareness in the morning was not limited to those who were around her, it also included those actually residing inside her – but Talon was used to it. He found it incredibly amusing that someone normally so aware of what was going on around her could have so much trouble getting started in the morning.

He woke her up just a little, sending a very small amount of adrenaline through her system. Not enough to make her jittery or anything like that, but enough to get her blood flowing and actually get her mind working in a faster speed than super slow motion. She reacted to it by opening her eyes, and she frowned in confusion when she saw that they were eye to eye. Hadn't she just been resting her face against his chest?

"It's morning?"

He chuckled.

"Yes."

She didn't have that completely focused look, yet. And Carson Beckett knew her focused look well – he stared into her eyes every chance he'd gotten, after all. His fingers brushed her cheek again, and Melony closed her eyes at the relaxing touch.

He's a doctor, Talon told her, just as amused as Beckett was. They have gentle hands

Yeah.

And skilled fingers

She blushed a brilliant red at the image he sent with that – sometimes it was just too easy for Talon to embarrass her – and he frequently used that ability to keep her off balance. He found it hilarious, and she was so used to his sense of humor that she knew he never meant it as anything but in fun.

Carson wondered at the sudden flush, and it was his turn to frown as he felt her skin warm under his fingers.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded, and ran her hand along his side. Mainly because she wanted to touch him, but it was also her way of distracting him from her blushing until she could get them under control.

That wasn't nice.

But it was funny

She smiled, and cuddled against Carson's warm body.

"Can you stay a while?" She asked. Again. Of course, Talon knew she didn't remember the first time.

"Yes." His own hand went from her cheek to her side, sliding tenderly along her tender curves – although his touch wasn't designed to be any more intimate than her own. He just wanted to touch her. "Are you going to go back to sleep?" He was beginning to realize that questions needed to be repeated frequently when talking with her in the morning.

She shook her head, and caught his roving hand with hers, holding it against her stomach which also trapped it between their bodies.

"I just need a chance to wake up..."

Yeah, he could tell.

With her hand between their bodies, she had complete access to his belly – as much as he had access to hers – but unlike him, she wasn't afraid to touch him. Of course, she was still more asleep than awake, so it was entirely possible that she wasn't all that aware of where she was touching, but he was. When her hand started stroking his belly softly, Carson bit back a groan and held himself very still, hoping she'd never stop but well aware that if she didn't, she was going to drive him crazy before too long.