They didn't fly all day. What they did was check the area within a three or four mile radius around the stargate thoroughly, making sure there was absolutely no sign of anything that would pose a threat to either of them, and then they set up a camp that would be their base camp for the week – if they needed a week. This consisted of a tent that was well sheltered in a copse of trees that looked a lot like walnut trees – only with bigger leaves that made a nice shelter from the direct rays of the bright sun – and a small fire pit that might or might not actually be put to use later on. Melony didn't actually need to start a fire – not with MREs – but a fire was a comfort thing, and they might want one later. Of course, fires were also a great way to signal to others that you were there, so they'd wait and see what they found around them before they actually lit one.

They had a cold dinner once they set up the camp, and then took to the air once more, spreading their search even further out. All that they saw so far were plants of all sorts – and Melony wasn't a botanist so she didn't know what all of them were – although some definitely looked like something she'd have found in the forests of Wisconsin in her youth.

Bearing in mind that Kale was really doing all the work when it came to their searching, Melony called an end to the flight early to allow him a chance to take a break from the flying, and when he landed her at their camp – basically just dropped her and let the Ancient's shielding device break her fall when she crashed into the trees – she suggested that they do a little looking around on foot to get an idea of what kind of terrain it was for walking.

Kale agreed, and fell into step beside her – in human form – rather than transform into wolf. The trees weren't so thick that they wouldn't see anything coming at them, and it wasn't like it would take him long to change if he needed to.

"This place is very relaxing," the Light One said as they walked, his tough feet making no sound as they meandered through the forest. Neither of them were worried about getting lost. If they did, Kale could simply take to the air and either direct her on foot or just find a clearing and pick her up again and carry her back to camp.

"It's nice," she agreed, looking around. "I don't see anything that might be used as a research area, though."

"You're hoping to find a cave – or a system of caves, correct?"

"That'd be ideal," she said, nodding. "Someplace big enough to fit a Jumper – because then it'd be big enough to fit one of those Wraith Darts, as well."

"In the morning I will fly out and see if I can find any rocky areas that might have a suitable cave – or caves – in it."

She nodded, knowing that if he weren't toting her around he'd make better time. She wasn't worried about being alone; it wasn't like she was completely helpless. Besides, she could do some scouting of her own on the ground while he searched from the air.

"We might as well call it a night, then," she said, looking at the sky that had an odd haziness to it that she assumed heralded the dark – like dusk did back on Earth. "I think we'd be better off without a fire tonight – we can give it a go tomorrow night."

He agreed, and the two headed back to the camp, ate another quick meal and then sat around the unlit fire and discussed their plans for the next few days. Kale could see that when she wasn't thinking about or talking about what they were doing she was frequently looking off into space, her eyes slightly pained and bleak, but the Light One didn't ask her what was wrong, knowing that if she wished to discuss it, she'd have brought it up.

"We should get some sleep," he finally said, his voice coming out of a near darkness, now. The only light they had was from their flashlights, and they didn't use them much – Kale not needing the light since he had very good night vision, and Melony not at all afraid of the darkness.

She nodded and the two of them went into the tent and closed it behind them. Kale switched over to wolf form, which would allow him to keep guard over her while he slept and Melony willingly wrapped up in a blanket and curled up against his warm, furry side. Her hand rested on his soft flank and her whole head rose and fell lightly with each breath he took as her cheek pressed against his side, and the sound of his heartbeat lulled her to sleep, even though she was a long ways away from the one she really wanted to be next to.

OOOOOOOO

The next morning Kale took off and went on his own search immediately after breakfast, leaving Melony to wander the area on foot – an area that Kale knew was safe or he'd never have left her alone in it. Nothing had appeared in the night to pose them a threat and in the morning they hadn't been able to find any sign in the ground in the area that anything might have been nearby while they were asleep. He flew off, telling her he'd be back shortly, and she headed through the underbrush, one hand always close to a weapon. It never hurt to be sure, after all.

They met up again for lunch, with Kale telling her that all he'd seen from the air was trees, trees and more trees, but that he'd go the other direction after he ate and had a chance to rest a little bit and see if there might be something that way. Melony told him that she'd pretty much seen the same thing – only from the ground and looking up – and the two of them easily understood why Major Sheppard's team hadn't found this planet to be much more than a possible source of firewood if they ever needed it. It was dull.

After lunch she left Kale to his rest and headed in the opposite direction that she'd gone that morning, figuring that boring in one direction might mean something interesting in the other. What she found a few hours later was extremely interesting, amazingly wonderful and had absolutely nothing to do with her quest for a way to defeat the Wraith.

"These look like coffee berries…" She said, aloud, as she tripped over the root of a tree and almost fell into a small clearing. The clearing was filled with the one plant that would look familiar to her no matter what planet she was on.

It can't be coffee

"Why not?"

Because…

She snorted, amused that he couldn't come up with a better reason, and plucked one of the berries from the bush and examined it. She knew coffee when she saw it, and damned if that didn't look a lot like coffee in its natural state. Dry it and grind it, and she was certain she'd have coffee…

Coffee only grows on Earth

"We don't know that."

I've never seen it anywhere else

"Were you looking for it?"

Of course he wasn't. He'd only tried the stuff after he'd blended with Mitchell and only because she couldn't function without it.

No

"How do we know the Ancients didn't bring it to Earth with them?" She asked him, reasonably as she started gathering up a large number of the berries to check out back at the camp. "Maybe they needed a cup of java to get started in the morning, too…"

It was his turn to snort – in disbelief – but he didn't argue with her. She certainly seemed sure of what she was seeing, and who was he to tell her otherwise?

"We'll take it back and check it out tonight. It really looks like coffee…"

He muttered something about wishful thinking, and she countered with a comment about pessimists and empty glasses, and headed back to camp, feeling far more cheerful than she'd felt since gating to A-08. Life was getting better and better…