Sheppard had the late shift. He could have passed it over to Ford, telling the Lieutenant that he was tired or just wanted a break – Ford was pretty good about taking the boring shifts when John didn't want them – but he decided that he'd save up the favor for sometime when he was even more desperate to avoid it. It wasn't like it was all that hard just then, after all. There were no Wraith – something that was being confirmed more and more certainly with each passing day of silence – and Atlantis was still running the skeleton crew that they'd had since the Wraith ambush. Until they were positive of their success, and had some kind of information to give Earth, they weren't going to make contact with them. Sheppard had a sense that they were also waiting for final confirmation on how General O'Neill and Colonel Mitchell were doing, as well.

The Jaffa had been a rather subdued crowd, but even at their most intolerable they were a well-disciplined group, so they were hardly difficult to keep track of, and that made the late patrol of Atlantis far from arduous. But he was still glad when it was over. He dismissed his small squad and sent them off to find their beds, and decided that a cup of coffee might be just the thing to relax over while he wrote out the report – which was going to be almost as boring as the patrol itself had been.

Entering the commissary, he was surprised to find that Colonel Carter and Doctor Beckett were both there, sitting at a table in the corner drinking something warm and having some kind of late night (or early morning) snack – whichever way you looked at it. The rest of the room was empty, and he was wondering what had driven both of them out of the infirmary, so he poured himself a cup of coffee – made from the plants that had been on Talonopolis – and carried his report writing stuff over to the table they were sitting at.

"Can I join you?"

Both of them looked up, and Sheppard decided that they both looked a lot better than they had been the last few days. Less strained, anyways.

Carter nodded, moving a little to make room for him – although it was hardly a tight fit.

"Feel free."

"Thanks."

"Just come off patrol?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

She smiled, and he decided that she looked tired, but still looked better than she had in quite a while.

"How fares the city, Major?"

He took a sip of his coffee.

"Not a creature is stirring…" He looked at Carter, and then glanced at Beckett, unable to stop himself from asking. "How about your patients?"

Since Beckett had wondered how long it would take for him to ask, the doctor smiled.

"General O'Neill woke up about an hour ago, and Talon proclaimed himself ready to return to where he belongs. The transfer was made, and they're both resting comfortably."

"Are they going to be all right?"

"We'll have to wait and see," Carson said. "But it looks promising so far."

"That's great news."

Both Carter and Beckett nodded their agreement.

"Yes, it is."

OOOOOOO

Hey…

She felt a gentle – extremely gentle – mental nudge, and shied away from it. Everything felt so raw just then, even mostly asleep like she was; she didn't want to wake up. The memory of just how badly she hurt when she was awake was still very fresh in her mind, and there was some relief from that pain, now, and she didn't want it to end.

I'm here, Melony… it's not going to hurt long

Talon…

She felt an ache deep in her chest as her breath caught, and immediately felt the symbiote loosen the tightened muscles that had just caught.

Easy, Melony… You need to stay relaxed

Hurts.

I know. I'm working on it

He didn't tease her like he normally would have. Being back where he belonged, he was well aware that she was still recovering from the ordeal, and knew she wasn't going to have any real sense of humor until she'd forgotten just how much she'd hurt. Which he'd take care of once he eased her pain even more.

How's Jack?

Open your eyes and see for yourself

She didn't really want to. But she wanted to know how he was doing, and knew that Talon wouldn't have told her to open her eyes if it was going to hurt her too much. So she did. And found that she was wrapped loosely in his arms, her head cheek resting against his chest.

She tilted her head, slightly, so she could look at his face, and saw that his eyes were closed and he appeared to be asleep.

He's asleep, Talon confirmed. He's not much healthier than you are right now – although he's going to be fine

You're sure?

Of course

She closed her eyes again, relieved. If he was going to be okay, then it had all been worth it.

How am I?

She felt gentle amusement. Everything he was doing was gentle, and she appreciated it, because she felt raw inside.

I was wondering if you were going to ask

I'm going to be okay?

You're going to be fine. It'll be a little bit, though. We almost waited too long

It hurt…

She could remember that pain, and because she remembered it so clearly, he could share that memory with her – although he didn't let her feel that remembered pain. She had enough to deal with still without reliving the old.

It won't for much longer. I just needed to wake you a bit and reassure myself that you hadn't damaged anything permanently

She could tell from his relieved tone that she hadn't, and that was a relief to her as well.

Are you okay? She asked him, suddenly worried that maybe she'd asked – and was still asking – for too much from him.

I'm fine, love. I'm going to put you back to sleep, okay?

'k

She wasn't going to argue. And before she even managed to finish that thought, she felt him take control and carefully start to make her sleepy once more. A moment later, she was out, and he was able to return to what he'd been doing. She'd feel a lot better when she woke up next – he'd make sure of it. That was his responsibility, after all, and one that he took seriously.