He didn't hesitate, even though he was speechless to have her with him. Had she forgiven him so easily? He didn't know for sure, but he gathered her into his arms, grateful that she was there and willing to give him the chance.

"I'm sorry, Melony…" he whispered as he tucked her head under his chin, his arms holding her close against him, even though he was also holding her as gently as if she were made of spun glass.

She nodded, but she couldn't say anything, and if anything, he felt her trembling increase.

"Melony…. Shhhh… I've got you… I won't hurt you, I swear…"

She started crying then, soft sobs that broke his heart, and made him want to cry, too. Realizing that she wasn't going to be able to hold a conversation with him, Carson pulled his blankets up around the two of them, making sure she was warmly covered, and then he rocked her while she cried, whispering reassurances to her as her tears soaked his bare chest and reminded him once more just how badly he'd injured her.

"Never again, love," he promised her, pressing his cheek against the top of her head – which was soaked and smelled of shampoo, telling him she'd been in the shower at least, so he wouldn't have to worry about her catching a chill. She didn't answer him, but she did finally stop trembling, and eventually she stopped crying as well. Carson didn't say anything, he just continued to hold her, giving her the comfort that she so obviously needed from him – and wishing he could do more to make things right between them, but unable to think of anything.

When she fell asleep, still firmly ensconced in his embrace, he shifted just enough to get into a slightly more comfortable position, and fell asleep as well. Morning was soon enough to talk, and now that she was with him, he would be able to tell her again and again just how much he loved her – until she eventually believed him, despite what he'd done.

OOOOOOOOOO

When he woke up the next morning, however, she was gone.

He sat up in his bed, his arms achingly empty and listened for a moment in case she was just in the shower or something. But she wasn't, and he'd pretty much known it immediately. He wondered how he'd managed to sleep through her leaving, and then wondered if the night before had been a one-time thing – her chance to say goodbye or something. He felt a stab of fear at that particular thought, but knew that if it was the case, then that was how things had to be. She'd never said she'd forgiven him, he knew, and he was fortunate – as far as he was concerned – that she'd even given him a chance to hold her once more.

But he had to know.

He pushed back the blankets and reached for his clothes.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Are you serious?"

Melony smiled, and nodded, pushing her little tinfoil roasting pot over the level surface of the table towards McKay's spot across from her.

"You look at them," she told him. "By the time I took them out of the berries, cleaned them off and put them in the fire to 'roast' a while, they turned out looking a lot like coffee beans to me. They sure smell like coffee beans."

Rodney looked into the little jury-rigged tinfoil pan, and pulled one of the beans out and examined it. First he looked at it, then he smelled it, and finally he crushed it on the surface of the table and took another smell.

"Oh my God, it does smell like coffee, doesn't it?"

Since Melony had done the same thing with another bean as she was dressing back in her quarters, she knew what he smelled, and she nodded.

"As close as I can tell it does – and I'm probably an expert."

"Have you had any of the scientists check it out?" Sheppard asked, more interested in hearing about the cavern and lava tube she'd found – although he definitely was interested in knowing if it was coffee. That would be a real morale booster. "You know, compared it to a real coffee bean?"

"I handed a few over to Zalinka and a few others and asked them to check it for me. They said it wouldn't take long to see if it's coffee – or a relative – and to see if there are any additives in the bean that might be harmful – just in case."

Of course, she could drink it regardless…

She felt Talon's snort of amusement.

"So tell me about this cavern," Weir requested. "Is it really something you think you might be able to use?"

Melony nodded again.

"It'll depend on how it weathered the rain – which means I need to return fairly soon and see if it's flooded out – but if that's something that can dealt with, then, yeah… I think so."

"I'd like to go with you and check out these coffee bushes…" McKay said.

No big surprise there, but Melony had expected interest in this trip, and had already decided that she'd have others come with her if they wanted to. Of course, keeping her secret lab a secret might be a little harder if everyone knew where it was, but they had a right to know what she was up to and where – especially since she was probably going to need a bit of help getting the place set up – and that meant 'borrowing' an engineer or two if she could.

"That's fine."

"I'd like to see this lava tube," Sheppard told her.

"Aren't lava flows inherently dangerous?" Weir asked. "Are you so certain that this cavern won't cave in on you in the future?"

Wasn't she a bright little ray of sunshine?

Melony shrugged.

"There's no way of knowing how long it's been there, but it seemed fairly stable to me. Of course, I'll know more once I take a Jumper and use the sensors to check out the ground nearby, but so far it looks all right. You're welcomed to come along with us…"

Weir shook her head; if Sheppard was going, she'd better stay put – just in case something did happen and they needed help sent to them.

"When are you going back?"

Melony looked at her watch, doing some quick math.

"It's the middle of the night there, so we'll wait at least until lunch time here. Maybe a little later. I don't want to do any exploring in the dark if I can avoid it."

"Well, then, that'll give Zalinka time to decide if your beans are coffee, so we'll know if we can harvest some of them and see about supplementing our own dwindling supply."

Melony nodded. It would also give her time to take care of some unfinished business. She'd left Carson's quarters rather abruptly that morning – mainly because she just wasn't sure what to say to him. That was an issue that was going to have to be resolved, she'd decided while she was showering that morning as she'd been waiting for her coffee to brew. It was too painful for her to continue avoiding him – even though she wasn't sure how she felt when she was with him, either. She needed to stop running from it, though, and see him in the light of the day – face to face. That was the only way she was going to know…

She stood up, effectively ending the briefing.

"Major, you choose who you want to bring. I'll meet you and the team right after lunch."

She left the briefing room, intending to go find Carson – and ended up almost running him over. He'd been waiting for her near the door. He looked as uncertain as she felt, and it made her want to hug him and tell him everything was going to be okay between them. She didn't, though. Instead she quelled the pang of nervousness she felt and met his gaze.

"Can we go someplace and talk?"

He nodded.

"I'd like that."