When Mitchell brought the Jumper down through the hole that opened in the ceiling of the Jumper bay, she saw that someone had been sent to meet the ship, and wondered why.

Sanchez was carrying his sidearm, so he saluted when she and Carson exited the rear of the hatch, and waited for Melony to return it before speaking.

"Colonel. General O'Neill asks that you come see him in the infirmary as soon as you landed."

He couldn't help but be impressed by the outfit she was wearing; it looked like what most of the Jaffa had been wearing, only a lot more impressive – even though she wasn't anywhere near as large as any of them had been. Melony ignored Talon's amusement at how Duck was trying not to stare, but was still staring.

"Was it General O'Neill, or was it Doctor Fraiser?"

"General O'Neill."

Which meant that it wasn't a medical problem, and that was a relief.

"Thank you, Corporal."

"You're welcome."

He hesitated, though, and Melony had a feeling there was more he wanted to say, so she gave him the opportunity.

"Did you need something, Corporal?"

He seemed to make a decision, because he nodded.

"Your First Prime… I just wanted to tell you that I thought he was a good guy."

Duck would have had a chance to get to know him; too, as he trained with Tao and the others making sure they'd be able to fly the lava tubes of the base. Melony felt a stab of guilt, and nodded.

"Thanks, Corporal. I think he was, too."

"Is there anything I can do?"

She shook her head, feeling the sting of tears and knowing she needed to get out of there quick. Corporals didn't see Colonels cry, after all.

"No, but thank you for the offer…"

She put her hand on his shoulder for just a moment as she walked by, and Sanchez watched her go.

"She's okay," Carson said, noticing the concerned look in the Corporal's eyes.

"Yes, sir."

Beckett went to catch up with Melony, and Sanchez turned and headed back towards the command center. He'd passed O'Neill's message on – and his own – and he had other duties to take care of.

OOOOOOOOO

By the time she'd reached the infirmary – and with a bit of help from Talon – Melony had herself back under control. It helped that Carson was once more beside her, and hadn't said anything about the near break-down, one way or the other. Another thing that helped was the cup of coffee that he handed to her as they entered the infirmary. She hadn't thought to ask for one – a sure sign of just how preoccupied and distressed she was – but he knew she'd probably need some, whether she knew it or not.

O'Neill was asleep when she walked over to his bed, and Fraiser met her and Carson there. Janet's eyes were quick to scan Melony, as if looking for any sign that she needed to put her back to bed as well. All she saw, however, was grief, and bed rest wasn't a cure for that.

"He said to wake him if you came in and he was asleep," she said, gesturing to Jack.

Melony nodded, and sat down on the edge of the bed, while Janet gestured for Carson to join her. When she was alone with him, Melony reached out and touched Jack's side, carefully, since she wasn't sure exactly where he hurt most and didn't want to aggravate anything.

"Hey… wake up."

"Hmmm?"

He didn't open his eyes, and she scowled.

"Jack."

"What?"

"Wake up."

"I'm awake."

"Try opening your eyes, just so I can be sure…"

"I'm sleepy."

"You wanted to see me."

Armed with information from Talon – who knew exactly where Jack was hurting and where he wasn't – Melony poked him. And he opened his eyes, scowling.

"Hey…"

"Sorry."

"No, you're not. You did that on purpose."

"Corporal Sanchez said you wanted to see me… Fraiser said to wake you up."

"I'll bet she didn't tell you to stab me."

"I didn't stab you. I poked you."

"It feels like you stabbed me."

"Don't be such a baby."

He rubbed his side, while Melony looked closer (and could feel Talon looking as well).

"You look a lot better than I expected you to…" she finally said.

"Your snake does good work."

I told him not to call me that

"Talon says thanks."

That's not what I said

Close enough.

Talon grumbled in her head, and Melony smiled, feeling a little better at the banter coming from both sides.

"You wanted to see me?"

Jack nodded, sitting up a little more.

"I had an interesting conversation with Teal'c a few hours ago."

"Yeah?"

"He told me he wants to leave the SGC."

"And become my First Prime," Melony said, nodding. "I know. He came to me, first."

"What are you going to do?"

She shrugged.

"It depends on you."

"He's not mine to command, Melony. You know that."

"But he is your friend, Jack, and if you need him more than I do, then I'll tell him that."

"I don't. As much as I want him around, he's pretty much convinced me – and the others – that you need him more."

She nodded.

"I could use him."

"Yeah… that's pretty much what I thought. So he'll leave with you tomorrow?"

"Yes."

Which told him that Melony was more than ready to ask Teal'c to come with her – and she knew that he would.

"For how long?"

"A week, maybe two…" she shrugged. "We'll have to get some things settled, and I need to take care of a few things."

"And then what?"

She sighed. It seemed like that was the question of the week, didn't it?

"There's a lot to do, Jack. But the first thing I need to do is get the Jaffa settled – and the Mok."

"On this side of the gate or the other?"

"The Mok?"

"Yeah."

"Probably on the other side, where there will be plenty of Jaffa to watch over them."

"And Teal'c?"

"He'll probably be doing a lot of gating – like me."

There were things to do on both sides of the gate, after all, and Melony knew she wouldn't be able to do it all herself. Besides, she didn't know what Teyla was planning, and that would have some bearing on things, as well, if Teal'c were interested in any kind of permanent arrangement with the Athosian. She wouldn't separate the two if she could avoid it – and Teyla could come in handy. If she were willing.

"Good." He closed his eyes, his concerns all taken care of for the moment at least. "Assemble your Jaffa at 0900 tomorrow morning in the command center."

"What? Why?"

"Because I said so. Now scoot, Colonel. I'm tired and I'm going back to sleep."

"Hey."

He didn't even open his eyes, and Melony poked him again.

"Stop that."

"What are we doing in the morning?"

"It's a secret."

"You can't-"

"Yes, I can. Go away, before I have Fraiser keep you here."

Grumbling, Melony got off Jack's bed and walked over to where Janet and Carson had been talking.

"How is he?" She asked Janet, still frowning at how Jack had managed to pull rank on her.

"He'll be fine. How are you feeling?"

She nodded.

"Better. Thank you. I'm going to go talk to Teal'c, get something to eat and get out of this outfit."

"It looks good on you."

Melony smiled.

"Thanks."