It was Talon who nudged Melony awake several hours later. As was the case when he was healing her, he needed her awake at some point so he could ascertain how she was doing and what needed to be worked on and taken care of.

Hot Shot… wake up…

She hesitated, unwilling to make that full commitment to wakefulness when she knew it was going to hurt the minute she did. Already she could feel aches and pains from head to toe – especially her head. Why was it that her head always hurt more than anything else?

Because you always seem to hit it, Talon told her gently. It's not so bad, this time. Wake up a little, huh?

What happened?

I'm not sure. I know we crashed

She remembered that, too. And thinking back on it forced her mind to work, which forced her more awake. Which made her head hurt even more – although she really wasn't hurting all that badly, really. Considering how badly they'd crashed now that she remembered it.

Carson gave you painkillers

We're back at Atlantis?

She opened her eyes, and wished immediately that she hadn't as pain lanced through her head like a white-hot laser beam.

"Gaaaaaah…"

The noise drew the attention of Carson and Jack, stopping Carson in mid-sentence as he was telling O'Neill the story of Melony's first hours on Atlantis. He'd just been telling the General the extent of the injuries to Talon and how the anti-Goa'uld device had almost killed the symbiote as well as the host.

They both turned to her, Jack's hand enclosing her own in a gentle hold.

"Melony?"

With her eyes screwed as tightly shut as she could get them against the pain in her head, she didn't see him, but she was pretty sure she knew that voice. And it was a voice that didn't belong where she was.

It was enough to make her open her eyes again, although they watered immediately and she closed them again. But not before she'd seen the concerned brown eyes looking down at her. Unforgettable brown eyes.

"Jack?"

He smiled in relief. If she knew who he was, then she wasn't going to die.

"Yeah… I'm here."

"Where… what…?"

Are you sure we're at Atlantis?

She felt his amusement.

We're there, Hot Shot

"Carson?"

Jack looked over at Beckett, who flushed. But before either of them could say anything, Melony opened her eyes again, looking around in obvious confusion. Her gaze refocused on Jack.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm glad to see you, too," he told her, gently chiding as he leaned over, pressing his cheek against hers in obvious relief.

She brought her hand up, holding his head in place for a long moment, her eyes closing once more, enjoying a moment of comfort from him. Finally, though, she lowered her hand, too sore and wiped out to hold it up for any length of time.

"How did you get here…?"

"I'll tell you later," he said, pulling his head from hers. "When you're feeling better."

"What happened?"

He frowned, looking over at Beckett, who suddenly had a glint of humor in his eyes as he waited for O'Neill to answer that particular question.

"I'll tell you that later, too," he said, unable to help himself as he leaned over once more and brushed a kiss against her cheek. God, he was so glad to see her alive and well, and wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and hug her tightly. Which of course, wouldn't do.

She nodded, wincing at the motion, and turning her head to look over at Beckett.

"Carson?"

"I'm here, Melony."

He came over and took her other hand, smiling gently down at her.

"How do you feel?"

"Sore…"

He nodded, looking over at O'Neill, who was still looking in some surprise between him and Melony, uncertain what he was missing, but well aware that Mitchell was never so familiar with someone unless she liked them. When had she gone to first name basis with the doctor? And what else was he missing? Jack only pretended to be stupid, after all, and he knew there was more going on than he saw. He just didn't know what, and knew this wasn't really the time to find out.

"From what I hear, you had a nasty crash," Beckett was saying, his voice soft, because he knew she had to have a headache. "You'll be okay, though, as I'm sure Talon has already figured out."

He's right

I think my head's going to fall off.

It's not, trust me

We crashed…

Yeah

"What happened to my ship?"

Jack made a face, and this time Carson couldn't help but smile. Jack scowled at the doctor, but the dirty look didn't make the grin fade. He turned to Melony, ignoring Beckett's amusement.

"It… um… crashed…"

She nodded, wincing again.

"I know… I just don't understand…"

Then she remembered that she hadn't crashed. She'd been shot down.

"You shot me down…"

He scowled.

"Not just me… I had help."