Fic: It's Not Quite Right (Parts 3&4/8)
Title: It's Not Quite Right
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters: John, Teyla, Ronon, Rodney, Jennifer, Amelia, Woolsey, AU!John, AU!Teyla ... (implied John/Ronon)
Rating: R for language in some sections
Prompts: written for the stargateland Bingo challenge
Summary: Set just after Enemy at the Gate ends... Beckett stretched his arms over his head. "I think I've had enough of this murky view of San Francisco. I do believe I'm going to head back in. See you at dinner." It would prove to be the best idea anyone had had all day long. Too bad no one else followed him inside. They would have saved themselves a lot of additional stress and turmoil.
Author's Note: This is a story split into eight sections so that I could work in all the prompts for the challenge. You might remember a post a few days back where I mentioned someone asking for a story that was about our beloved characters going to an Alternate Universe and seeing/not seeing people they know. This is what happens when one universe doesn't have a Ronon.
Go here for Parts 1 & 2
Prompts 5 & 6
Prompts 7 & 8
Part Three
Prompt: 4/9 night
Word Count: 1299
The city was irritated and it was keeping John from sleeping. He'd been by to check on Rodney and Jennifer several times, wishing he could keep his group together somehow. There was no way he was dragging Ronon out of bed to sit and watch Rodney mumble to himself as he stared at a computer screen. It was bad enough that Jennifer had to but he'd decided it was best for everyone if she stayed away from the Infirmary. Things in this Atlantis sick bay weren't run exactly like they were in hers and the strain was starting to show.
It probably didn't help that no one recognized her, meaning she'd never come to Atlantis. Of course, she was doing better than Amelia who hadn't said a single word since hearing her own whereabouts in this place. John couldn't fault her, though. This was her first time finding out that she could still live while another Amelia was dead somewhere. Hell, he'd done it often enough.
Even with all the weirdness, John could have probably gotten to sleep without any trouble. It was Atlantis, poking and prodding at his subconscious, that was keeping him up. He would have thought she would have been happy to have two of him around but apparently that was making her more than a little testy. Doors were opening and closing as he passed, even some that should have been locked. Lights flickered, leaving him in darkened corridors or turning on too bright for this time of night.
"Alright, already. I'm sorry. Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear? This wasn't my fault and you, for one, should know that," he muttered, heading toward his favorite spot on the city, irregardless of where it was at in time and space. This time of night, he didn't figure anyone would be on the pier. Because of the way his day was going, he was wrong, of course. A familiar face turned to stare at him. Well, it would have been a tad more familiar without the beard and scar. He wondered if that was a story he was allowed to ask about because he sure would like to know how that happened.
The other John held up a can of beer to him as welcome, the moonlight glinting off the familiar insignia. Some things never changed. "Thought you might find your way out here. She's just a little pissed off tonight, isn't she?"
It felt weird to talk to someone about Atlantis like this. He'd tried to explain it to Rodney one time and the man had only laughed at him. After that, he quit trying to put it into word. The city was linked to him. He left it at that and tried not to think about it. Now was an opportunity to talk about it and not get stared at like he'd gone off the deep end.
"Yeah. She's been mad at me before but never like this." John made himself comfortable, popping the top off the can and taking a long drink. "Guess two of us is more than she wants to handle."
"She locked me out of my room. Figured this was the only place I was safe. Is your Atlantis this temperamental?"
John couldn't help but smile at that. "She's never been this bad but she'd got something to complain about, I suppose."
"So, who's the big guy you brought with you?" the other John asked after a long pause that was by far more comfortable than long pauses usually were for John. "We haven't seen him or the girl with Rodney here before. Considering the rumors I've been hearing about how she's attempted to rearrange Klineman's space, I'm assuming she's your doc."
"Right. The doc. She's a good sort. Keeps Rodney in line." He went on, pretending that he hadn't just heard the snort from beside him. "Ronon was a runner. He's from Sateda. I don't know if you've come across that part of the galaxy but they tried to take on the Wraith and lost. The entire civilization has been pretty much wiped out. He and a few others were implanted with a chip and then sent out, a game for some of the hunters."
"A game?"
"It was pretty sick. Every place he tried stopping, they ended up coming behind him and culling the whole place as punishment for helping him. He's spent years carrying around guilt because of it. There was nothing he could have done but he doesn't see it that way. Guy's heart is too big for his own good."
He hadn't intended to give himself away but he was talking to a man that was still very much of the same mind set. In Rod's universe, he'd hooked up with the scientist (but he was a wet blanket in that universe so he was kind of surprised that Rod was the one who'd picked him. In another universe they'd encountered, he and Elizabeth had been an item. In another, he and Teyla had shacked up. It was a pattern of the different plains of existence where he made it to Atlantis. These people had become his family and some, in turn, became more than that. One thing he'd noticed was that he was never known as a philanderer. No matter what his history was, he didn't play the field because that wasn't who he was and never would be.
So, when this John replied, "You and he, huh?", he wasn't too surprised.
"He wears on you. First I thought it was just that I was used to him being around and then... I almost lost him. Even still, he was the one who finally made the first step. If it wasn't for that, we'd still just be watching each other out of the corner of our eyes. Dave likes him. That's important to me." That was clearly the wrong thing to say. The man beside him stiffened so that John thought he might have to apologize for bringing family into this conversation. "I take it you didn't got back for Dad's funeral?"
"Dad's dead?"
John turned his head to see the expression in the other John's eyes. "About a year ago. Have you been back to Earth at all?"
"There hasn't been time. I've only been able to hold onto my command here on Atlantis because I don't leave much. They'll have to carry my body from this city when I'm cold and stiff. I'm not giving up without a fight. One of the ways they're trying to make me cave in has been to cut off all communication between Pegasus and Earth. They think I'm going to snivel about not being able to talk to my family. Funny, I would have thought my file would have told them that was a stupid idea."
"You really like the position? I mean, I like being in charge as much as the next guy but I don't like the headaches of being in charge of this whole place."
The other John shrugged, a gesture that John almost copied just from the shock of seeing such a familiar movement. "I just don't want to lose it. You know? It's the first thing that has made sense. These people... they're important to me. I don't know what I'd do if I lost them. Woolsey... my Woolsey is trying to get me run out of the Air Force. Right now, the only thing truly keeping him from succeeding is that I can't be brought in to stand trial. I just can't help but think that if O'Neil was still around, things would be different."
Well, wasn't that just a kick in the heart. John tried to think of a response but he was mourning a friend and nothing else seemed important.
Part Four
Prompt: 5/9 smile
Word Count: 758
Amelia had been clapping for so long that her hands hurt. Her team (for she'd come to see them as one big away team) was taking on this other John and Lorne in what could only be a show of strength. It was the place to be right now and the room was packed with people. Several had done a double-take when they'd walked in and seen her sitting here, pretty as you please. It was still odd to be a dead girl here. Still, it was better than the glares that poor Mr. Woolsey was getting. No one liked him here. Not one bit.
It was a little uncomfortable to have Chuck staring at her like he was, though. Someone must have told him about her because he hadn't looked at bit surprised when he'd walked in the room. Now he was sitting across from her, his arms folded over his chest and a frown on his face as he looked over in her direction. It was strange to have someone she considered a friend looking at her like she'd done something wrong. What had this Amelia been like in those few weeks that she'd been stationed here?
When Ronon crowed in triumph at defeating yet another Marine even when he swore to everyone that he was taking it easy, to which John only smirked and shrugged, Amelia decided she needed to find out what was going on with Chuck. It took her several minutes to get through the crowd and when she did, he wasn't there. The whole situation was starting to irritate her. Just when she'd decided to go back to her seat and forget all about this mission, she caught some motion out of the corner of her eye. It seemed that Chuck was trying to get away from her, as if he knew exactly what she had in mind.
"Chuck! Wait up!" When he didn't slow down, she gritted her teeth in determination and gave chase. He wasn't going to get away from her that easily. Once she set her mind to something, she saw it through. "I'm going to-"
When she rounded a corner, she nearly ran into him. He was breathing hard and looking at her with wide eyes. Eyes that were scared and excited and still a bit more angry than she would have liked. Amelia took the time to gather her courage as she also caught her breath. It was obvious to her that she was going to have one chance to get this right. The prospect of losing a friend, even one that wasn't really hers made her feel cold.
"I don't know if I was here long enough to-" she started to say only to be scared back into silence when Chuck put his hands in front of his face. That normally meant... "Are you crying?"
"Am I crying?" He lifted his hands away and, sure enough, he was crying. "Of course I'm crying. You died. I know in this place people have a way of escaping death but I never figured I'd see you again. It's just... it's just a little much to handle. I figure I have every right to cry."
"But why? I'm sorry that I hurt you by dying and then being here but-"
"We were engaged." His hands went back over his face but his shoulders were shaking as he valiantly held back the sobs that Amelia no longer wanted to stop. In fact, she suddenly felt like crying herself.
Had her Chuck ever looked at her the way a man looked at a woman? The way a man looked at a woman he might want to have a relationship with? She was everyone's pal. The girl everyone went to when they needed some advice or a cheerful word. When was the last time she'd had a date that didn't somehow end up involving at least three other people? It was uncomfortable to contemplate that she'd been this important to anyone here when she'd never found anyone to be that important to in her world.
As least she was worthy of that kind of love, she decided as she turned away from the sobbing man. With a wan smile, she left him to his grieving and went back to the crowds of people. She didn't care much about the fight but she wanted to be able to hide herself in them for awhile. No more running after people who glared at her. They could frown all they wanted and she wouldn't question them on it.
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters: John, Teyla, Ronon, Rodney, Jennifer, Amelia, Woolsey, AU!John, AU!Teyla ... (implied John/Ronon)
Rating: R for language in some sections
Prompts: written for the stargateland Bingo challenge
Summary: Set just after Enemy at the Gate ends... Beckett stretched his arms over his head. "I think I've had enough of this murky view of San Francisco. I do believe I'm going to head back in. See you at dinner." It would prove to be the best idea anyone had had all day long. Too bad no one else followed him inside. They would have saved themselves a lot of additional stress and turmoil.
Author's Note: This is a story split into eight sections so that I could work in all the prompts for the challenge. You might remember a post a few days back where I mentioned someone asking for a story that was about our beloved characters going to an Alternate Universe and seeing/not seeing people they know. This is what happens when one universe doesn't have a Ronon.
Go here for Parts 1 & 2
Prompts 5 & 6
Prompts 7 & 8
Part Three
Prompt: 4/9 night
Word Count: 1299
The city was irritated and it was keeping John from sleeping. He'd been by to check on Rodney and Jennifer several times, wishing he could keep his group together somehow. There was no way he was dragging Ronon out of bed to sit and watch Rodney mumble to himself as he stared at a computer screen. It was bad enough that Jennifer had to but he'd decided it was best for everyone if she stayed away from the Infirmary. Things in this Atlantis sick bay weren't run exactly like they were in hers and the strain was starting to show.
It probably didn't help that no one recognized her, meaning she'd never come to Atlantis. Of course, she was doing better than Amelia who hadn't said a single word since hearing her own whereabouts in this place. John couldn't fault her, though. This was her first time finding out that she could still live while another Amelia was dead somewhere. Hell, he'd done it often enough.
Even with all the weirdness, John could have probably gotten to sleep without any trouble. It was Atlantis, poking and prodding at his subconscious, that was keeping him up. He would have thought she would have been happy to have two of him around but apparently that was making her more than a little testy. Doors were opening and closing as he passed, even some that should have been locked. Lights flickered, leaving him in darkened corridors or turning on too bright for this time of night.
"Alright, already. I'm sorry. Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear? This wasn't my fault and you, for one, should know that," he muttered, heading toward his favorite spot on the city, irregardless of where it was at in time and space. This time of night, he didn't figure anyone would be on the pier. Because of the way his day was going, he was wrong, of course. A familiar face turned to stare at him. Well, it would have been a tad more familiar without the beard and scar. He wondered if that was a story he was allowed to ask about because he sure would like to know how that happened.
The other John held up a can of beer to him as welcome, the moonlight glinting off the familiar insignia. Some things never changed. "Thought you might find your way out here. She's just a little pissed off tonight, isn't she?"
It felt weird to talk to someone about Atlantis like this. He'd tried to explain it to Rodney one time and the man had only laughed at him. After that, he quit trying to put it into word. The city was linked to him. He left it at that and tried not to think about it. Now was an opportunity to talk about it and not get stared at like he'd gone off the deep end.
"Yeah. She's been mad at me before but never like this." John made himself comfortable, popping the top off the can and taking a long drink. "Guess two of us is more than she wants to handle."
"She locked me out of my room. Figured this was the only place I was safe. Is your Atlantis this temperamental?"
John couldn't help but smile at that. "She's never been this bad but she'd got something to complain about, I suppose."
"So, who's the big guy you brought with you?" the other John asked after a long pause that was by far more comfortable than long pauses usually were for John. "We haven't seen him or the girl with Rodney here before. Considering the rumors I've been hearing about how she's attempted to rearrange Klineman's space, I'm assuming she's your doc."
"Right. The doc. She's a good sort. Keeps Rodney in line." He went on, pretending that he hadn't just heard the snort from beside him. "Ronon was a runner. He's from Sateda. I don't know if you've come across that part of the galaxy but they tried to take on the Wraith and lost. The entire civilization has been pretty much wiped out. He and a few others were implanted with a chip and then sent out, a game for some of the hunters."
"A game?"
"It was pretty sick. Every place he tried stopping, they ended up coming behind him and culling the whole place as punishment for helping him. He's spent years carrying around guilt because of it. There was nothing he could have done but he doesn't see it that way. Guy's heart is too big for his own good."
He hadn't intended to give himself away but he was talking to a man that was still very much of the same mind set. In Rod's universe, he'd hooked up with the scientist (but he was a wet blanket in that universe so he was kind of surprised that Rod was the one who'd picked him. In another universe they'd encountered, he and Elizabeth had been an item. In another, he and Teyla had shacked up. It was a pattern of the different plains of existence where he made it to Atlantis. These people had become his family and some, in turn, became more than that. One thing he'd noticed was that he was never known as a philanderer. No matter what his history was, he didn't play the field because that wasn't who he was and never would be.
So, when this John replied, "You and he, huh?", he wasn't too surprised.
"He wears on you. First I thought it was just that I was used to him being around and then... I almost lost him. Even still, he was the one who finally made the first step. If it wasn't for that, we'd still just be watching each other out of the corner of our eyes. Dave likes him. That's important to me." That was clearly the wrong thing to say. The man beside him stiffened so that John thought he might have to apologize for bringing family into this conversation. "I take it you didn't got back for Dad's funeral?"
"Dad's dead?"
John turned his head to see the expression in the other John's eyes. "About a year ago. Have you been back to Earth at all?"
"There hasn't been time. I've only been able to hold onto my command here on Atlantis because I don't leave much. They'll have to carry my body from this city when I'm cold and stiff. I'm not giving up without a fight. One of the ways they're trying to make me cave in has been to cut off all communication between Pegasus and Earth. They think I'm going to snivel about not being able to talk to my family. Funny, I would have thought my file would have told them that was a stupid idea."
"You really like the position? I mean, I like being in charge as much as the next guy but I don't like the headaches of being in charge of this whole place."
The other John shrugged, a gesture that John almost copied just from the shock of seeing such a familiar movement. "I just don't want to lose it. You know? It's the first thing that has made sense. These people... they're important to me. I don't know what I'd do if I lost them. Woolsey... my Woolsey is trying to get me run out of the Air Force. Right now, the only thing truly keeping him from succeeding is that I can't be brought in to stand trial. I just can't help but think that if O'Neil was still around, things would be different."
Well, wasn't that just a kick in the heart. John tried to think of a response but he was mourning a friend and nothing else seemed important.
Part Four
Prompt: 5/9 smile
Word Count: 758
Amelia had been clapping for so long that her hands hurt. Her team (for she'd come to see them as one big away team) was taking on this other John and Lorne in what could only be a show of strength. It was the place to be right now and the room was packed with people. Several had done a double-take when they'd walked in and seen her sitting here, pretty as you please. It was still odd to be a dead girl here. Still, it was better than the glares that poor Mr. Woolsey was getting. No one liked him here. Not one bit.
It was a little uncomfortable to have Chuck staring at her like he was, though. Someone must have told him about her because he hadn't looked at bit surprised when he'd walked in the room. Now he was sitting across from her, his arms folded over his chest and a frown on his face as he looked over in her direction. It was strange to have someone she considered a friend looking at her like she'd done something wrong. What had this Amelia been like in those few weeks that she'd been stationed here?
When Ronon crowed in triumph at defeating yet another Marine even when he swore to everyone that he was taking it easy, to which John only smirked and shrugged, Amelia decided she needed to find out what was going on with Chuck. It took her several minutes to get through the crowd and when she did, he wasn't there. The whole situation was starting to irritate her. Just when she'd decided to go back to her seat and forget all about this mission, she caught some motion out of the corner of her eye. It seemed that Chuck was trying to get away from her, as if he knew exactly what she had in mind.
"Chuck! Wait up!" When he didn't slow down, she gritted her teeth in determination and gave chase. He wasn't going to get away from her that easily. Once she set her mind to something, she saw it through. "I'm going to-"
When she rounded a corner, she nearly ran into him. He was breathing hard and looking at her with wide eyes. Eyes that were scared and excited and still a bit more angry than she would have liked. Amelia took the time to gather her courage as she also caught her breath. It was obvious to her that she was going to have one chance to get this right. The prospect of losing a friend, even one that wasn't really hers made her feel cold.
"I don't know if I was here long enough to-" she started to say only to be scared back into silence when Chuck put his hands in front of his face. That normally meant... "Are you crying?"
"Am I crying?" He lifted his hands away and, sure enough, he was crying. "Of course I'm crying. You died. I know in this place people have a way of escaping death but I never figured I'd see you again. It's just... it's just a little much to handle. I figure I have every right to cry."
"But why? I'm sorry that I hurt you by dying and then being here but-"
"We were engaged." His hands went back over his face but his shoulders were shaking as he valiantly held back the sobs that Amelia no longer wanted to stop. In fact, she suddenly felt like crying herself.
Had her Chuck ever looked at her the way a man looked at a woman? The way a man looked at a woman he might want to have a relationship with? She was everyone's pal. The girl everyone went to when they needed some advice or a cheerful word. When was the last time she'd had a date that didn't somehow end up involving at least three other people? It was uncomfortable to contemplate that she'd been this important to anyone here when she'd never found anyone to be that important to in her world.
As least she was worthy of that kind of love, she decided as she turned away from the sobbing man. With a wan smile, she left him to his grieving and went back to the crowds of people. She didn't care much about the fight but she wanted to be able to hide herself in them for awhile. No more running after people who glared at her. They could frown all they wanted and she wouldn't question them on it.