The beautiful day was turning into a cloudy one by the time they'd made it out of the lava tube, and the rain started to fall the same time Kale landed her in the middle of their camp. It wasn't a devastating rain – more like a spring drizzle – but it was enough to make her doubly glad that they were heading back to Atlantis. She hated being rained on.

You should have brought a hat

What? And mess up my hair?

His amusement made her smile, as she'd known it would, and she watched Kale come in for a landing and transform.

"So much for it being a perfect utopia," The Light One said, holding his hand out and catching raindrops on his palm. He, of course, hadn't brought any clothes, since Melony was used to him being naked when he was in his human form and they hadn't wanted to waste the pack space if they hadn't needed to.

"Let's get things packed and get out of here before it gets bad."

"I didn't see any sign of a serious storm coming in," he told her, shrugging. "It's probably just a regular rain"

Which was plenty of rain for her.

Baby

Hush.

It didn't take them long to break the camp down. Melony paused long enough to fish her little tinfoil roasting pan out of the fire and tuck it into her pack, then she doused the fire carefully while Kale packed up the tent and gathered up what little they'd left lying around. They hadn't been in the area all that long, and hadn't really made much of a mess, but they didn't want to leave any evidence of their stay if they could avoid it.

"Want me to carry you to the Stargate?" he offered.

She shook her head.

"It's too wet to fly, and there's no sense getting your feathers wet if we don't have to. It's not far – we can walk."

He shifted into wolf form – his fur was far more waterproof than his skin was, and Melony shouldered her pack and they headed for the Stargate, the rain still coming down steadily, but not torrentially.

I wonder if the cavern is flooding

That would be a problem… that little crack will either have to be fixed, or we'll have to do something about runoff.

Time enough to worry about it later

That was true.

By the time they reached the gate, Mitchell was soaked and she was beginning to wish she could turn into a wolf, too. Kale looked snug and dry in that fur coat he was wearing, and she had water trickling through her drenched hair and under her jacket.

She dialed the gate, sending through her code as soon as it swooshed open and looking at her watch, wondering what time it was on Atlantis.

Pretty late

Yeah. Well, I'm not going to stay out in the rain just to keep from dragging them out of bed. We'll have to work on our timing, though, eh?

True

She gave them enough time to recognize her code and turn off the shield, then put her hand on Kale's furry shoulder to let him know they could go through. With the Light One a step ahead of her, Mitchell headed through the gate, already anticipating a hot shower.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"It's Colonel Mitchell's code."

Weir nodded, still adjusting her uniform jacket. She'd been asleep when the alarms had sounded through the base that there was an incoming wormhole, and had bolted for the control room still dressing. Along the way – which wasn't really all that far – she'd ran into Sheppard, who was in a similar state of dressing, and the two had made good time to the control room, reaching it by the time the last chevron had engaged and the shield had gone up to protect the city.

"Go ahead and open the shield," Weir said, looking over as the door opened and Carson Beckett appeared with a medical team, on call as always in case something had happened.

"It's Colonel Mitchell," Weir told him.

Carson nodded; feeling a pang. He wasn't surprised. He'd been thinking about her nonstop since she'd left, after all. Trying to think of what he would say once she returned and he managed to get her alone to talk to him. Which, of course, could be a problem as well, he knew. Especially after the conversation he'd had with Talon had left no doubt how the symbiote felt – which could be a reflection of how she felt as well. But he had to try. He just had to.

The large wolf entered first, his fur dark with the water that was soaking him – although it looked like most of it was dripping off his fur instead of sticking to him. He looked around, and even as he was transforming into Kale, Mitchell emerged, soaked to the skin, but looking fit and healthy. Whatever reason they'd come through the gate in the middle of the night, it wasn't because something had happened, or because someone was chasing them.

"Colonel Mitchell…"

Weir and Sheppard both stepped forward, and Melony and Kale met them halfway.

"Sorry about the late hour, Doctor Weir," Mitchell told her. "It started raining on us, or we might have waited by the gate for a more convenient time."

That much was obvious, since the closer they got the wetter she looked.

"So that planet was a bust?" Sheppard asked.

"Not at all." Melony grinned. "Aside from the sudden shower that I could have done without, we did really well. Might have even found just what I was looking for.'

"Really?"

She nodded, but before she could say anything else, Weir interrupted.

"Why don't you get dried off, Colonel?" She said. "Get warmed up, have Doctor Beckett give you a quick checkup, and then we'll all meet and you can tell us all about it?"

She really was interested, but that would give her a chance to wake up a little more before getting a briefing on something that could be extremely important. Not to mention, she needed a minute before facing Kale, who was looming over them now that he was back in naked human form.

Melony hesitated. The last thing she wanted was to spend time with Carson – not really. Although she'd done nothing but think about him the entire time she was gone, even being in the same room as him was hurting her. She nodded, though; since there was no way she could tell Weir that.

"I'll meet you all in the briefing room as soon as you're ready."

They nodded, and she turned and headed for the infirmary, Kale right beside her, and Beckett following, his own steps almost as hesitant as hers.