(Untitled)

[sgmitchell]

He was man enough to admit, to himself at least, that he'd been hiding from just about every living person on the island since the beginning of May. There'd been so many things he'd done, so many people he'd gone out of his way to be a complete ass to, he didn't even know who to apologize to first, and he didn't even know how to apologize to most

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[lt_blade]

It would've been hard to hide from Sonya, since she seemed to spend as much time as possible in the jungle.

She stopped when she saw Mitchell though, her face unreadable. After what happened, she'd never been so relieved to find she was 'bleeding'.

[sgmitchell]

Given that he was at the Compound, it didn't surprise him that there would be someone who came across him, and in fact, he did not even look up from Austen at first, until it became evident that the person had stopped. It seemed highly likely that person had stopped because of him.

He glanced up warily, and gave a small, concerned frown. Definitely because of him.

"Lieutenant."

[lt_blade]

Sonya was still dressed in her army issued uniform (what she wouldn't give for full BDUs instead of remnants.

"Lieutenant Colonel."

The title fell from her lips with a familiar and welcome ease. It was one of the more selfish reasons she joined the military in the first place, the routine and titles made it so you didn't have to think. She did suck in a breath. This was a small island, with a large population, they couldn't afford to let such things go unresolved.

[sgmitchell]

His frown deepened slightly. The consequences might not have been as deeply hurtful as those with the people who he cared about, but it was equally as awkward with an almost perfect stranger.

He nodded slightly, and glanced down at Austen. 'Sorry' seemed a bit...inappropriate, given the situation.

[9mmshotglass]

"Hey," Reese said quietly moving through the room with yet another cup of coffee. She sat not on the couch but perched on the coffee table and tilted her chin at Mitchell and his cat. Her long sleeve red shirt was hiked to her elbows and her hair was mostly dry. Her voice was tired, too, but she was making it.

"Wanted to make sure we were okay."

[sgmitchell]

He tensed slightly at the familiar voice. Reese. She'd been one of those he'd chiefly dreaded encountering. The things he'd done he probably wouldn't have forgiven.

He glanced up where she was sitting, scratching Austen's ears lightly. "Reese...I'm pretty sure I'm not the one here that's up to."

[9mmshotglass]

"I'm the one who drank," she said very quietly, fingers loose around her coffee mug. "That's on me. I been losing it, lately, Mitchell. It's my shit, my problem, and I coulda left at any time. I chose what I chose. So we're okay, you and me. We're fine, you got that?"

She arched her eyebrows at him pointedly.

"Don't want to hear any shit from you. We're fine."

[sgmitchell]

Reese...of course that would be Reese. This was the woman who'd Austin had fallen in love with. Who'd recovered from his disappearance. Of course she'd just let it roll off of her like rain.

He chewed his bottom lip, studying Austen for a few moments. He wasn't entirely sure he was ready to just pretend it was rain. Regardless, he summoned a small smile, and glanced up at her. "Good. Don't want to lose you to the Island just yet."

[savedthatjaffa]

Lam had decided on tea after the coffee just tasted off. The black tea with lots of milk and sugar sat with her better and held ease some of the tension from her shoulders. They were still tight though and she closed her eyes as her fingers brushed the door frame to the rec room.

She hung there, brow slightly furrowed, her fingers curled around the black mug's handle like it was her lifeline. Sleep had come and gone and come and gone in waves and she'd been in the infirmary more often than not. Once or twice she took the cot just because going seemed not like home.

Mitchell was nowhere or if he was somewhere...

Lam blinked and there he was.

She almost dropped her mug.

[sgmitchell]

He felt the change when someone approached, and noted when they suddenly stopped at the top of the steps. It could have been because they thought he was in the way, or perhaps they had forgotten something in the Compound. Or, perhaps, they'd stopped because of something he'd done.

He glanced up, and his thought process halted. Doctor Lam. The one person he was least hoping to come across...even if the island did seem wrong, not seeing her on a daily basis.

He swallowed softly, pushing away a wave of dizziness. "...Doctor."

[savedthatjaffa]

"Colonel," she said as gently as possible, both hands on her mug. Lam moved carefully, as if testing whether or not she was welcome. Her eyes drifted over him, checking, always checking, making sure. It was habit, it would always be habit. Lam's fingers twitched slightly as she stifled the way she wanted to brush her fingertips against his cheek.

She found the steps and didn't care if she was too close to him.

"Do you want me to leave?" she finally whispered, her expression weary as Austen shoved her head against her chest. Lam's fingers came up and stroked the cat's head. "Because I can go...if you want me to go."

[sgmitchell]

He watched her every step carefully, perhaps to find hostility, perhaps to find injury...or perhaps just to ensure she was real. For a little bit, he was beginning to wonder whether there'd ever be a good time to see her again.

He bit his lip softly, and shook his head slightly. "I don't."

[lionelthayer]

Lionel doesn't hear what Cameron says, only sees him talking to his rather cute cat as he walks up the path toward the compound. It's not an uncommon act, of course, but Lionel finds it charming all the same.

"Hey Cameron," he greets when he gets close enough, and slows to a stop by the stairs.

[sgmitchell]

He glanced up at the greeting, and felt a brief flood of relief at encountering someone he hadn't been a complete ass to during the previous bout of crazy.

"Hey." He offered a slim, wry smile. "How's it going?"

[2ndtechnician]

By the time he saw Col. Mitchell sitting on the steps it was too late to turn around. They had obviously seen each other. Arnold knew deep down that he needed to talk to Mitchell, but he was unsure of how the man would react. They had only just met before falling under the influence of whatever alien mind-control waves had hit the island, and their encounters while in altered mental states had not been pleasant. Arnold's ribs had only just recently recovered enough for him to take a deep breath without pain.

Since he knew it would be impossible to avoid Mitchell forever and he didn't want to upset Carolyn by being at odds with him, Arnold decided that he had no choice but to talk with him. He approached Mitchell and gave him his best Rimmer Salute. He then stood stiffly at attention and focused his eyes on a point just over Mitchell's head.

"Col. Mitchell, sir! As striking a superior officer is a serious violation of Space Core Directives, I am officially submitting myself for disciplinary action. Also, you should know that

[sgmitchell]

The man that interrupted his thoughts was among those he really didn't want to see. Aside from a lingering detached resentment for the men--for reasons both the fault of the man's own actions, and for the irritating alter-ego--his presence summoned memories he'd much rather never have had in the first place.

One of those, naturally, the man would have to summon up immediately. He glanced down at Austen briefly, drawing upon training that was just beginning to rust around the edges, before turning a thin frown upon a man. "We all...violated directives over those few days. If we threw all of the violators into the IPD prison, there'd be no one left to let us back out."

[2ndtechnician]

He thought about that for a minute. For several minutes actually. In the end he realized that Col. Mitchell was right. Locking up everyone who had succumbed to the mind control was a logistical impossibility.

"Still, I feel I must apologize for my actions. I would never have treated an officer with such disrespect under normal circumstances." He paused for a moment. "If I may say so sir, your combat skills are top-notch. You pack quite a wallop." An idea struck him and he gave voice to it before he changed his mind.

"If it's acceptable to you sir, I would like to request special combat training with your unit. Clearly my own skills have gotten rusty and I could use the refresher."

[sgmitchell]

He glanced up at the man skeptically. He chose not to respond to the man's apologies, because the less he thought about that scenario the better, and decided against responding to the compliment...because there really wasn't anything to say to that statement.

Instead, he concentrated on the odd question. Whether he really wanted to spar with the man. Separate from Teal'c and Doctor Lam for...so, so many reasons. "You're requesting lessons from me?"