It was warmer than it had been the morning before, and Jack felt uncomfortably sticky as he rolled out of his sleeping bag. Tugging back the tent door, he stepped into the breeze and flapped his shirt a few times. The air outside was a good ten degrees cooler.

And it smelled like coffee. Turned out Carter was a fast learner in more than just science. Without even having to look, she held a mug back toward him, and he took it. He'd drink coffee in hundred degree heat. And that wasn't just theory – he'd done it. "Morning."

"Morning." Her elbows sat heavy on her knees in a posture he'd grown used to the past few days. He settled on the stump beside her and took a long sip before looking over.

Maybe it was the sort of bluish-pink of sunrise, but he doubted it. "You're pale, Captain. You gonna make it?"

To his surprise, she chuckled. "You've never met my family, Colonel, but I come from the whitest of white people. I'm always pale."

"You are pal-er," he told her. "Is that normal for this?"

She nodded a little. "I'm just... kind of drained, sorry."

"Do we need to head back?"

"No." The answer was immediate. "No, sir. I mean, thank you, really, but no. It's starting to get better."

Her complexion said something completely different. "It is?"

He could see the half second when she considered lying to him and couldn't. "No," she confessed. "But it's going to."

God, he wished he really understood this. She looked awful, but she'd lived through it every month for how long? Through the Academy, through years of service already... He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Tell me again, Captain. That you're okay."

She tried to smile. "I'm okay."

"Okay." Pushing to his feet, he turned toward the tent. "Daniel! Let's get this party started!"