Perhaps you should go get Beckett and let him watch, too?

It won't take long, Talon.

It won't take long to ask him if he wants to come and watch, either, and he might want to see what's going to be keeping you from uncontrollably crashing into the ground while we're out checking things out

"One quick detour, guys," she said aloud, figuring it was just as easy to do what Talon wanted than to bother to argue with him.

You're getting wise in your old age…

Yeah, yeah… pesky snake.

He was amused, though, and that always made her smile, too.

"Where we going?" Ford asked as they turned towards an inner corridor instead of heading for the balcony she'd intended to use.

"Infirmary," she said.

"You have that much faith in the harness?" Sheppard asked, smiling.

Mitchell grinned, but before she could say anything, she saw Carson turn the corner ahead of them, obviously going towards the commissary.

"Carson!"

He turned at the sound of his name – and her voice – and smiled as he changed direction to walk over and meet them, his eyes on her, and the harness she was wearing.

"I was just heading for the commissary," he said. "Are you ready for lunch?" It was a dumb question, he knew, because she didn't look ready for lunch, she looked ready to go jump out of an airplane or something. But was it too much to hope that she'd be ready to spend a little time alone with him? Maybe they could even have a talk.

Melony shook her head.

"We're going to try out the harness, and I thought you might want to watch."

You mean I thought he might want to watch

Same thing.

Uh huh

Carson didn't want to watch. He wanted to go have lunch with her and have her to himself for a while – without Kale, or Sheppard or anyone else with them. He wanted to tell her how he felt, and see if maybe she felt the same way – because he was getting tired of wondering and trying to guess, and he needed her to know that he loved her. It was worse than having a secret he couldn't tell – because he could tell this – he just couldn't get her alone in the right… moment… to do it. And it was frustrating as hell.

Especially since she didn't seem to feel the same way at all. All she wanted to do was hang out – literally – with Kale. The great big naked, handsome alien that already had half his female staff swooning over him when they thought no one else was listening, and probably would have the other half before the end of his visit.

"I'd love to…" He lied. He'd do whatever he needed to – sit through whatever he needed to – in order to be with her. Even if it meant watching her and Kale trying out this new harness that she seemed so impressed by.

Her excited smile made him resent the lie a little less, and the arm she put around him as he walked up beside her made it even more bearable – even with the others there.

"It shouldn't take long," she told him. "We just want to see how this thing works so I know what kind of modifications I need to make before we head out."

"When will that be?" Sheppard asked, before Carson could.

"Depending on this harness thing… tomorrow… maybe the next day. We've found a couple likely looking planets to check out."

"So soon?" Carson asked. When she left, who knew when she'd be back? And who knew what would happen with her and Kale – if it hadn't already happened. He wanted her to know… wanted to put his claim in before-

"The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get started," Melony said, practically. "I don't think it's going to take us all that long to find the right planet – not with Kale's help."

"I am happy to help," The Light One told her, amicably.

Carson sulked, trying to force down his jealousy, but unable to.

"I just remembered something I need to do," he told her and the others, stopping so quickly that Melony's arm – which had still been draped around him loosely – fell to her side. "I'll… catch up with you later, okay?"

"You sure?" Melony asked. "It won't take long…"

He wasn't sure if her look was hurt or just surprised, but he felt a slight surge of satisfaction in seeing it. Good, let her wonder about things for a while. Knowing that that particular thought was about as petty as anything he'd ever had, he felt a little guilty for having it, but didn't change his mind and go with them.

"Yes, I need to do this. I'll see you later."

He turned and headed back to the infirmary without looking back, and the others watched him go with varying degrees of surprise.

"Huh." Sheppard said. "That was odd."

"Maybe he had to go," Ford said.

"He went," Kale said, looking at the Lieutenant, who gave a slight smile.

"No… go… as in go to the bathroom…"

"Oh."

Mitchell shrugged. Whatever it was, it was his choice – although she wondered why he hadn't just turned her down in the first place if he didn't want to watch.

"Oh well, he can watch another time," she said. "I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunities."

They all headed back the way they'd come, and were soon on the balcony. It was a bit narrower than they'd have liked, but it was the widest they'd found so far.

"Are you going to be able to pluck her off this ledge?" Sheppard asked, looking around. It was maybe 20 feet wide, with a safety rail around it and the usual glass walls that weren't really glass as they all knew it, but was close enough. It wasn't nearly as big as the cliff ledge that Kale was used to, Sheppard knew. The Light One didn't seem concerned, though.

"I can get her," he said, undressing. "The landing will be interesting though, since I'm not sure how well I will be able to slow up in the small space."

"We'll just have to take our chances," Melony said, ignoring the warning in the excitement of trying out her new thing. She double-checked the harness and straps while Kale transformed himself into bird form, and all three of them watched as he launched himself from the deck, wings beating powerfully as he flew out away from them, testing the air currents before wheeling around and coming back their direction.

"Step back, guys," Melony warned Sheppard and Ford, who didn't need the warning. She made sure the loops that Kale's talons would grab were easily accessible, and then braced herself as he came swooping in.

A moment later, he was grabbing her, jerking her off the ledge with one quick motion and then carrying her off, using those same loops to hold her.

Melony looked down – way down – with a thrill coursing through her. Not only because the harness was working exactly as she'd wanted it to – it was a lot more stable than a Kevlar vest, and far more comfortable – but because she and Kale were so far above the water that it was breathtaking. The view – always beautiful – was phenomenal, and she whooped in delight, feeling an adrenaline rush that Talon had nothing to do with.

"This is awesome!"

Talon's amusement was the only answer she received. Kale could hear her, but obviously couldn't respond in words, and no one else was around. The huge bird circled in a wide turn and headed back for the balcony – a small speck in the distance that grew bigger as they approached, and then suddenly looked tiny again as she decided that they were going way too fast to land gently.

This might be a problem, Talon said, noticing the same thing she did – at the same time.

Yeah.

She saw Sheppard and Ford getting closer and closer, and then her feet here over the rail and she felt Kale's talons release the loop and felt herself dropping. She was only a few feet from the surface of the deck, but her velocity was far too fast to slow down.

Brace yourself

Before she could follow that bit of advice, she crashed into the glass wall at an astounding force. It shattered under the impact, and she went through it, tumbling to the floor in a heap, and only stopping when she slammed into the concrete wall that formed the other side of the corridor.