Fic: Puzzling Evidence (Part XXI), NC-17, Lorne/Zelenka by inkscribe
Title: Puzzling Evidence (Part XXI)
Author: inkscribe
Pairings: Lorne/Zelenka
Kink: mild D/s, bondage, spanking
Warnings: This story has angst. Really! See angst-o-meter for chapter rating.
Angst-o-meter: giga-angst (very strong)
Rating: NC-17
Words: ~1700 (this part)
Spoilers: none(this part)
Locations: atlantiskink, welovezelenka, slashing_lorne, my LJ
Feedback: yes, please!
Summary: What we see is not always what it seems.
Chapter Summary: Differential.
New to this WIP? Check out the Puzzling Evidence chapter index! Please remember to read the header block of each chapter for related spoiler alerts, warnings, and notes.
Author's Notes: Yes, the angst continues. Yes, the story continues! :-) No, I’m not telling any hints! ;-) IANAD- I Am Not A Doctor! If this fic is causing you inordinate stress, please seek competent medical advice from a licensed professional.
As always, huge thank yous to darkmuadib, and mice1900 for the betas. Again, IANADBIKAN - I Am Not A Doctor But I Know a Nurse - thanks toaudreysmagic for the peek at the med-speak; any errors remaining are most definitely mine. ;-)
Disclaimer: Anything you recognise is not mine; please don’t sue, we’ll both regret it in the morning.
Releasing her breath in a long, slow sigh, Teyla concluded her morning meditation and rose to begin her day, her body moving with supple grace and poise. While she had slept well, her talk with Elizabeth the afternoon before had left her disquieted. She understood Elizabeth’s worries, perhaps even better than she, as Teyla had worked with each of the men in the field on many occasions. Perhaps not so frequently with Doctor Zelenka, but she knew Rodney thought very highly of him, no matter that he often showed his appreciation through a blade-sharp tongue spitting cutting remarks.
She remembered the incident when the large creature attacked the survey group. She was on the periphery of the group, watching the forest, when she heard the commotion in the clearing behind her. Until Elizabeth spoke with her, she had not realised that the actions taken by both Doctor Zelenka and Major Lorne might be considered unusual by the Earth people. At the time, Teyla had been impressed by the major’s quick thinking and the doctor’s unhesitating obedience - they were excellent skills to bring into a field situation, and Teyla was pleased that there was no loss of human life that day.
Teyla had noted the caress, the way Major Lorne had touched the doctor, soothing his fears. To her sharp eyes, the gesture and response held all the signs of long familiarity, of love and trust for one another. She remembered smiling, happy to see another sign that the Earth expedition was settling in to their Atlantean home, building connections among the people here rather than living as though somehow exiled from their homeworld.
She frequently did not understand the Earth people. They came from such wealth - food and education and technology and freedom from the Wraith - yet they so often seemed unhappy, unsatisfied, as though their wealth brought them nothing of joy. Teyla had wondered, more often now as the months and years marched on, whether this dissatisfaction came more from their unwillingness to live in the present than from any lack in their material lives. As a people, they seemed inordinately fond of passive entertainment to spend their leisure hours, entertainment that kept them rooted in the past or searching mythological futures. They did not seem to celebrate the things that many of the Pegasus Galaxy celebrated - the Earth people rarely held feasts and even the small joys of celebrating love and marriage seemed to be something they did not expect to do while remaining in Atlantis.
More than anything else, this struck Teyla as a fundamental difference between typical Pegasus cultures and that of the Earth people. In the Pegasus Galaxy, no one would wait years to establish pairings and families. No one would live without the sounds of children nearby. Despite knowing that they might never return from their journey to Pegasus, people like Elizabeth - people like John - behaved as though they had duties to attend to, yet did not need to attend to their own caregiving.
Elizabeth’s fears had poured out of her like rain from a cloud. Teyla knew those fears, understood them - Elizabeth’s people, her family, were in trouble, and she did not know how to help them. Elizabeth was the titular leader of the Earth expedition, but she was more than that in reality - she was mother to her family of scientists and military personnel. Teyla knew she took every injury, every death, as a personal failing. To have so many of her charges struggling with serious troubles would make the heart of any mother cry with grief.
Exiting her quarters, Teyla decided to seek Ronon, to see whether the Satedan had observations or insights to share.
oOo
“What are the tests showing, Carson?” Marc asked as the doctor returned to sit with them in his office.
The man sighed. “Not a lot, I’m afraid,” he said. “Your blood chemistry is good, Radek. We’ve not found any evidence of viral or bacterial pathogens.”
“That’s good, right?” Marc asked.
“Well, it helps us rule out certain things, yes,” Carson said. “But so far it doesn’t necessarily help us fit everything together, either.”
Marc felt something brush his fingers and reached down to grasp the hand that Radek slipped under his own.
“Do you have a theory?” Radek asked quietly. Marc squeezed his lover’s hand and smiled warmly at him, pleased to see Radek turn a brave smile in his own direction.
“Yes, I have,” Carson said. “But I’m not sure you want to hear it.”
Marc blinked, taken aback. What the hell?
“Will your theory result in the end?” Radek asked quietly.
“I’m sorry?” Carson said, clearly not following Radek’s meaning.
“Sorry, Carson,” Radek said. “I mean to say, is it cancer? Is it terminal? Your theory - will it kill me if your theory is correct?”
Carson shook his head. Marc was relieved that it was without hesitation, without any evidence of prevarication. “Oh no, nothing terminal, Radek,” he assured him. “Just something difficult, I suspect.”
Carson smiled at the two men, one that was warm and friendly, one that was gentle. Marc was concerned - if it wasn’t something terminal, then why wouldn’t Carson just tell them what he was looking for?
“Let me backtrack a little bit,” Carson said. “I’ve been testing Radek to rule out a CNS disorder. The good news is that we don’t see any evidence of an organic cause of his problem.”
Marc heard Radek swallow, once, hard.
“The good news?” Marc repeated, frowning. “So, I take it there’s bad news?”
“Aye,” Carson sighed. “The bad news is that without an organic problem for Radek’s condition, we would look at something called a psychogenic non-epileptic seizure.”
Marc frowned at Radek, both of them puzzled. “Some sort of seizure, one not from epilepsy?” Marc clarified.
“Aye, that’s right,” Carson said. “Seizures are not necessarily limited to twitching and flopping about. Even people with epilepsy can experience psychogenic non-epileptic seizure, which is why I tested your serum prolactin, Radek, as one way of ruling out epilepsy. Initially I suspected you may have suffered a complex partial seizure, which could explain both your ability to walk as well as your inability to respond to Marc.”
Marc watched Radek, feeling his own worry rise as he began to realise the scope of problems Carson had to investigate to help his lover. Radek sat unmoving in his chair, his body rigidly straight and giving every appearance of listening carefully to Carson’s words.
“But you do not believe that is the problem,” Radek said, his voice quiet and tight with strain. “Do you, Carson?”
“No, I don’t,” Carson said, holding Radek’s gaze. “I believe you are suffering from complex post-traumatic stress disorder.”
Marc saw his lover tense, waiting for Carson to continue.
“I know you two have experienced some stress in the past few days, significant stress even,” Carson said. “However, from what I have seen of Radek, I believe we are looking at a past stressor or stressors far more significant than what brought you here a few days ago. My best guess is that Radek is responding this way due to some type of trauma from his past.”
“What kind of trauma could cause him to be like that?” Marc asked.
Carson’s glance flicked to Marc for a moment, then returned again to look in Radek’s eyes. “Perhaps physical abuse, or even torture,” he offered softly, his eyes worried and questioning.
Any relief Marc might have felt from Carson identifying the problem fled when he saw Radek’s face turn white, watched his mouth form into a small circle, and heard the almost aspirated “Oh,” slip from him.
oOo
“What are you doing here?” John asked, surprised to learn Rodney was in the lab today. “I thought Elizabeth told both of us to stand down for a few days?”
Rodney looked smug. “You, perhaps,” he said. “Some of us are more resilient, apparently.”
John restrained himself from stepping forward and smacking Rodney on the back of the head. “Very funny McKay,” he shot back.
“McKay?” Rodney asked. “We’re going all formal today, Colonel?”
“Nah,” John drawled. “But if you’re going to be stuck on duty while some of us have some downtime, I thought I’d go with something a little less casual.”
Rodney harumphed. “Well, if you’re going to go with formality, then let’s hear the title, hmm?”
John looked at him levelly for a moment then raised his eyebrow. “Let’s start again, shall we?” he said. “What are you doing here?”
Rodney looked discomfited for a few moments. “Radek had a - a relapse, apparently,” Rodney said. “He went back to the infirmary for awhile.”
“What sort of relapse?” John asked, worried.
“I don’t know,” Rodney said. “Elizabeth didn’t give me any details.”
“Can’t be good,” John mused.
“No.”
“I guess I’d better check with Elizabeth if I’m allowed back to the infirmary,” he said, thinking about the rest of his plans for his day. “I should check in on Carson.” John narrowed his eyes at Rodney as the scientist flinched, his gaze flicking to the side of his laptop, then back to John, slightly panicked.
John stepped forward. He could see something, a small bundle of some sort on the table next to the laptop.”What’s that?” he asked.
Rodney snatched the item into his hand and shoved it into a pocket. “What?” he said. “Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Just some garbage.”
John raised his eyebrow. “Garbage?” he said. “Garbage that you keep in your pocket instead of throw away?”
“Well,” Rodney said, obviously hedging. “I might be able to find a use for it, you know, reduce, reuse, recycle. Good for the earth and all that.”
“We’re not on Earth,” John said.
“No, no,” Rodney said, starting to flush, his hands waving around as though he could erase the last few minutes from John’s vision, from his memory. “No, that’s right. But you never can start too early, and humans here on this planet could have significant consequences on the environment and - “
John wondered what about the mysterious bundle could possibly cause his friend to behave so strangely. “McKay!” he bellowed.
Rodney’s eyes snapped to his. “Yes?” he asked, his voice quavering.
“Show me,” John ground out. “Now.”
End Part XXI
Author: inkscribe
Pairings: Lorne/Zelenka
Kink: mild D/s, bondage, spanking
Warnings: This story has angst. Really! See angst-o-meter for chapter rating.
Angst-o-meter: giga-angst (very strong)
Rating: NC-17
Words: ~1700 (this part)
Spoilers: none(this part)
Locations: atlantiskink, welovezelenka, slashing_lorne, my LJ
Feedback: yes, please!
Summary: What we see is not always what it seems.
Chapter Summary: Differential.
New to this WIP? Check out the Puzzling Evidence chapter index! Please remember to read the header block of each chapter for related spoiler alerts, warnings, and notes.
Author's Notes: Yes, the angst continues. Yes, the story continues! :-) No, I’m not telling any hints! ;-) IANAD- I Am Not A Doctor! If this fic is causing you inordinate stress, please seek competent medical advice from a licensed professional.
As always, huge thank yous to darkmuadib, and mice1900 for the betas. Again, IANADBIKAN - I Am Not A Doctor But I Know a Nurse - thanks toaudreysmagic for the peek at the med-speak; any errors remaining are most definitely mine. ;-)
Disclaimer: Anything you recognise is not mine; please don’t sue, we’ll both regret it in the morning.
Releasing her breath in a long, slow sigh, Teyla concluded her morning meditation and rose to begin her day, her body moving with supple grace and poise. While she had slept well, her talk with Elizabeth the afternoon before had left her disquieted. She understood Elizabeth’s worries, perhaps even better than she, as Teyla had worked with each of the men in the field on many occasions. Perhaps not so frequently with Doctor Zelenka, but she knew Rodney thought very highly of him, no matter that he often showed his appreciation through a blade-sharp tongue spitting cutting remarks.
She remembered the incident when the large creature attacked the survey group. She was on the periphery of the group, watching the forest, when she heard the commotion in the clearing behind her. Until Elizabeth spoke with her, she had not realised that the actions taken by both Doctor Zelenka and Major Lorne might be considered unusual by the Earth people. At the time, Teyla had been impressed by the major’s quick thinking and the doctor’s unhesitating obedience - they were excellent skills to bring into a field situation, and Teyla was pleased that there was no loss of human life that day.
Teyla had noted the caress, the way Major Lorne had touched the doctor, soothing his fears. To her sharp eyes, the gesture and response held all the signs of long familiarity, of love and trust for one another. She remembered smiling, happy to see another sign that the Earth expedition was settling in to their Atlantean home, building connections among the people here rather than living as though somehow exiled from their homeworld.
She frequently did not understand the Earth people. They came from such wealth - food and education and technology and freedom from the Wraith - yet they so often seemed unhappy, unsatisfied, as though their wealth brought them nothing of joy. Teyla had wondered, more often now as the months and years marched on, whether this dissatisfaction came more from their unwillingness to live in the present than from any lack in their material lives. As a people, they seemed inordinately fond of passive entertainment to spend their leisure hours, entertainment that kept them rooted in the past or searching mythological futures. They did not seem to celebrate the things that many of the Pegasus Galaxy celebrated - the Earth people rarely held feasts and even the small joys of celebrating love and marriage seemed to be something they did not expect to do while remaining in Atlantis.
More than anything else, this struck Teyla as a fundamental difference between typical Pegasus cultures and that of the Earth people. In the Pegasus Galaxy, no one would wait years to establish pairings and families. No one would live without the sounds of children nearby. Despite knowing that they might never return from their journey to Pegasus, people like Elizabeth - people like John - behaved as though they had duties to attend to, yet did not need to attend to their own caregiving.
Elizabeth’s fears had poured out of her like rain from a cloud. Teyla knew those fears, understood them - Elizabeth’s people, her family, were in trouble, and she did not know how to help them. Elizabeth was the titular leader of the Earth expedition, but she was more than that in reality - she was mother to her family of scientists and military personnel. Teyla knew she took every injury, every death, as a personal failing. To have so many of her charges struggling with serious troubles would make the heart of any mother cry with grief.
Exiting her quarters, Teyla decided to seek Ronon, to see whether the Satedan had observations or insights to share.
oOo
“What are the tests showing, Carson?” Marc asked as the doctor returned to sit with them in his office.
The man sighed. “Not a lot, I’m afraid,” he said. “Your blood chemistry is good, Radek. We’ve not found any evidence of viral or bacterial pathogens.”
“That’s good, right?” Marc asked.
“Well, it helps us rule out certain things, yes,” Carson said. “But so far it doesn’t necessarily help us fit everything together, either.”
Marc felt something brush his fingers and reached down to grasp the hand that Radek slipped under his own.
“Do you have a theory?” Radek asked quietly. Marc squeezed his lover’s hand and smiled warmly at him, pleased to see Radek turn a brave smile in his own direction.
“Yes, I have,” Carson said. “But I’m not sure you want to hear it.”
Marc blinked, taken aback. What the hell?
“Will your theory result in the end?” Radek asked quietly.
“I’m sorry?” Carson said, clearly not following Radek’s meaning.
“Sorry, Carson,” Radek said. “I mean to say, is it cancer? Is it terminal? Your theory - will it kill me if your theory is correct?”
Carson shook his head. Marc was relieved that it was without hesitation, without any evidence of prevarication. “Oh no, nothing terminal, Radek,” he assured him. “Just something difficult, I suspect.”
Carson smiled at the two men, one that was warm and friendly, one that was gentle. Marc was concerned - if it wasn’t something terminal, then why wouldn’t Carson just tell them what he was looking for?
“Let me backtrack a little bit,” Carson said. “I’ve been testing Radek to rule out a CNS disorder. The good news is that we don’t see any evidence of an organic cause of his problem.”
Marc heard Radek swallow, once, hard.
“The good news?” Marc repeated, frowning. “So, I take it there’s bad news?”
“Aye,” Carson sighed. “The bad news is that without an organic problem for Radek’s condition, we would look at something called a psychogenic non-epileptic seizure.”
Marc frowned at Radek, both of them puzzled. “Some sort of seizure, one not from epilepsy?” Marc clarified.
“Aye, that’s right,” Carson said. “Seizures are not necessarily limited to twitching and flopping about. Even people with epilepsy can experience psychogenic non-epileptic seizure, which is why I tested your serum prolactin, Radek, as one way of ruling out epilepsy. Initially I suspected you may have suffered a complex partial seizure, which could explain both your ability to walk as well as your inability to respond to Marc.”
Marc watched Radek, feeling his own worry rise as he began to realise the scope of problems Carson had to investigate to help his lover. Radek sat unmoving in his chair, his body rigidly straight and giving every appearance of listening carefully to Carson’s words.
“But you do not believe that is the problem,” Radek said, his voice quiet and tight with strain. “Do you, Carson?”
“No, I don’t,” Carson said, holding Radek’s gaze. “I believe you are suffering from complex post-traumatic stress disorder.”
Marc saw his lover tense, waiting for Carson to continue.
“I know you two have experienced some stress in the past few days, significant stress even,” Carson said. “However, from what I have seen of Radek, I believe we are looking at a past stressor or stressors far more significant than what brought you here a few days ago. My best guess is that Radek is responding this way due to some type of trauma from his past.”
“What kind of trauma could cause him to be like that?” Marc asked.
Carson’s glance flicked to Marc for a moment, then returned again to look in Radek’s eyes. “Perhaps physical abuse, or even torture,” he offered softly, his eyes worried and questioning.
Any relief Marc might have felt from Carson identifying the problem fled when he saw Radek’s face turn white, watched his mouth form into a small circle, and heard the almost aspirated “Oh,” slip from him.
oOo
“What are you doing here?” John asked, surprised to learn Rodney was in the lab today. “I thought Elizabeth told both of us to stand down for a few days?”
Rodney looked smug. “You, perhaps,” he said. “Some of us are more resilient, apparently.”
John restrained himself from stepping forward and smacking Rodney on the back of the head. “Very funny McKay,” he shot back.
“McKay?” Rodney asked. “We’re going all formal today, Colonel?”
“Nah,” John drawled. “But if you’re going to be stuck on duty while some of us have some downtime, I thought I’d go with something a little less casual.”
Rodney harumphed. “Well, if you’re going to go with formality, then let’s hear the title, hmm?”
John looked at him levelly for a moment then raised his eyebrow. “Let’s start again, shall we?” he said. “What are you doing here?”
Rodney looked discomfited for a few moments. “Radek had a - a relapse, apparently,” Rodney said. “He went back to the infirmary for awhile.”
“What sort of relapse?” John asked, worried.
“I don’t know,” Rodney said. “Elizabeth didn’t give me any details.”
“Can’t be good,” John mused.
“No.”
“I guess I’d better check with Elizabeth if I’m allowed back to the infirmary,” he said, thinking about the rest of his plans for his day. “I should check in on Carson.” John narrowed his eyes at Rodney as the scientist flinched, his gaze flicking to the side of his laptop, then back to John, slightly panicked.
John stepped forward. He could see something, a small bundle of some sort on the table next to the laptop.”What’s that?” he asked.
Rodney snatched the item into his hand and shoved it into a pocket. “What?” he said. “Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Just some garbage.”
John raised his eyebrow. “Garbage?” he said. “Garbage that you keep in your pocket instead of throw away?”
“Well,” Rodney said, obviously hedging. “I might be able to find a use for it, you know, reduce, reuse, recycle. Good for the earth and all that.”
“We’re not on Earth,” John said.
“No, no,” Rodney said, starting to flush, his hands waving around as though he could erase the last few minutes from John’s vision, from his memory. “No, that’s right. But you never can start too early, and humans here on this planet could have significant consequences on the environment and - “
John wondered what about the mysterious bundle could possibly cause his friend to behave so strangely. “McKay!” he bellowed.
Rodney’s eyes snapped to his. “Yes?” he asked, his voice quavering.
“Show me,” John ground out. “Now.”
End Part XXI