Chapter 12:Debriefing

Lorne and Teyla entered the conference room and took a seat at the crowded table. Weir spoke up, "Ah, now we just need Carson and we can get started." Beckett entered. "Speak of the devil. Alright, first things first. Carson, how's Captain Madison doing?"

"Well she's awake and quite well, as I predicted, but I am still running a few tests just to be sure. Unless Rodney has come across anything to the contrary, I don't see why she can't leave the Infirmary today, but she will need a few days of R&R," Beckett updated the group on Alexa's condition.

"Well that's good news. So Rodney? What have you got for us," Weir turned her attention to the obviously agitated scientist.

"A load of gibberish. We haven't even come close to cracking the code," McKay answered spitefully.

"What are you talking about?" Sheppard interrupted, "You thought you had it there for a minute."

"Well if From Inside It Exacts Revenge means something to you, then, please…" McKay was nearing the end of his fuse.

"I'm just saying, it doesn't make sense now, but if you de-code the rest the same way, maybe it will eventually mean something," Sheppard calmly explained.

"Wait. Where did you find this," Lorne wondered.

Zelenka began to answer, "At the beginning of the database. I believe it to be something of a title to the experiments they were performing."

McKay cut him off, "And what kind of experiment would you title From Inside It Exacts Revenge? You obviously translated it wrong!"

"I translated it wrong?" Zelenka answered.

"Gentlemen!" Weir stopped the squabble before it could escalate any further. "Well it seems to me that you should atleast try and decipher the text this way. If it continues to not make sense, then obviously we'll try something else." She received a frustrated stare from McKay to which she gave him a stern look back. "Sometimes you tend to over analyze things, and brush them off to the side. We can't take that chance here."

Lorne remained calm, now eased knowing that Alexa was alright. "I believe Dr. Weir's right. If you were able to translate something, even though to us it makes no sense, it bares further scrutiny."

Weir nodded. "Alright, well that's settled. Did you find anything else?"

"You mean in that particular lab, or in the whole complex," Colonel Sheppard was being cheeky. Weir tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Well I was just trying to clarify." He continued on explaining that they couldn't get into any other room and that it was like every other Ancient place they've happened upon. There was a lot there, but it would take time to process and fully understand.

After about half an hour the meeting was dismissed and Beckett and Lorne returned to the Infirmary. As they entered one of Beckett's assistants informed them that the tests came back negative, but there was something on the cat-scan that they need to see.

"So Doc, you wanna explain what I'm looking at here," Lorne pointed out his lack of medical knowledge.

"Well, it resembles General O'Neill's scans from when he had the Ancient knowledge in his brain, but its more isolated than that. Just this one area is disrupted, as if there seems to be a lot of information being stored there," Beckett tried to simplify things.

"And that means?"

"Right now, I don't know. She seems fine. We'll have to wait and see." Beckett paused. "Now I've been informed that the two of you are good friends, so if I release her, I'd expect you to keep a close eye on her, and report any odd behavior back to me."

"Sure thing Doc. So that means she can go?" Beckett nodded. Lorne replied with a smile. "Alright I'll give her the good news and take her to her room." He turned and went over to Alexa.

"So what's the verdict," Edana asked as he approached.

"You're outta here, with a few days of R&R, all for fainting. Got to admit, you're good. One day on the job, and you're already getting days off," he said sarcastically.

"Really?" Edana tried playing coy.

"Yeah. I've even got orders to escort you to your room and to keep and eye on you." He flashed his adorable smile as Edana climbed out of bed.

When they entered her room Edana ran over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans and a halter top. She went into the bathroom to change out of the scrubs supplied by the Infirmary. After changing she glanced in the mirror to check out her new body, but instead of her reflection, she came face to face with Alexa's glowing aura. "You keep your paws off of him," Alexa spoke.

Edana looked her in the eye, "And why should I, that's not what you've been planning. I'm just speeding things up a bit." She winked at Alexa and walked out of the bathroom, and over to Marcus. She looked at him distressed, "What happened?"

Lorne hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear, "I wish I knew." He loosened his embrace and stepped back to look at her, "I'm just glad you're alright."

Edana knew he was vulnerable and decided to take control of the situation, so she pulled him into a luscious kiss. She slid her hands up his chest to around his neck, while his moved around her waist and then up her back. They both knew where things were headed, but Marcus realized the day had been stressful, and neither one of them was thinking very clearly, so he pulled back gently. "Lexa, you know we can't," he said softly.

Edana looked at the floor and rubbed her lips together. She looked up at him and sighed, "Yeah, I know. I…" He put his finger to her lips, kissed her forehead, and hugged her. Edana rolled her eyes and looked over his shoulder into the mirror on the wall to see a glowing Alexa sticking out her tongue.