Rodney - A retelling of Roxanne (RomComDrama) Ch4
Chapter Four
Meanwhile, all the way across town, John Sheppard was stood outside a two story house very similar to his own. He looked up at the boy sat on the roof of the house as he listened to the parents, “Peter went up there before school and won’t come down.”
“All right, I will see what I can do,” he said genially even as he wondered how he kept ending up on these jobs. Maybe he should stop his habit of going to check on the night shift.
As he walked away he could hear the mother mumble to those around them, “He did it before, but he’s never stayed up there this long.”
The father pulled his wife into him, as he comforted her, “It’s going to be all right, honey.”
John went round the rear of the house, looking for a way up and finally figured it out. He made his way up to the roof and then ambled over to where the kid was sitting on the roof top of one of the gables. The kid was on the chubby side, knees pulled up with both elbows on them and his chin resting in his fists. John sat down on the other gable roof top, close enough to be needed, far away enough not to crowd the kid.
“What’s the trouble, Peter?” he asked. Nothing but silence, but he could see the kid wanted to talk, “Come on, what’s the matter?” He urged gently.
“They call me ‘Porky’ at school,” he mumbled. He cast a quick wary glance at John, like he thought he was going to agree with them.
“Why do they have to do that? God damn it! Sorry, I shouldn’t say that in front of you. Did you talk to your mother about it?”
“Once I tried,” Peter said, the words muffled because he hadn’t lifted his chin off his fists when he talked, his whole demeanour was slumped like he was just too tired emotionally to bother sitting up straight, “She said I should clean up my plate first.”
John huffed a laugh. “See, that’s good. You are way better than those bullies. You’re smart and funny with the imagination to make things up.”
“I didn’t make it up,” he replied sullenly, “its true.”
“Oh,” John answered, not sure where to go from there and sure he had just put his foot in it so deep that the kid wasn’t gonna listen to him whatever he said.
“Bastards!” the kid exclaimed, obviously thinking of the kids at school again, he straightened up abruptly, “Sorry, I’m not supposed to say that in front of you,” he stammered, eyes wary again.
John waved the worry away with a flick of his hand.
“Do I have to get down now?” the kid asked with resignation in his voice.
“No, let’s stay up here a while longer,” John answered, voice soft in sympathy. People were always rushing him to deal with the real world, it was nice up here and John would keep the kid safe, why not let him take his time to realise that bullies were not worth this amount of anguish. They stayed up there most of the night, the crowd dispersed shortly after he nodded to Peter’s parents that they should go in. Eventually, Peter was ready to come down. John made sure he got down safely and walked him to the back door. Just before he was about to leave the kid just hugged him and mumbled, “thanks,” into his belly before making a break for the door. John was left a bit nonplussed before he turned and headed home for the night.
xXx
The next morning brought another sun-blessed day and all the fire fighters were mingling around the station. Cameron was being shown round again by Andy, but didn’t have the heart to tell the funny looking guy that Cadman already showed him this yesterday. Also, all the other fire fighters were surreptitiously, but really obviously, listening into every word that Andy was telling him and Cameron couldn’t figure out why. Surely they know where everything was.
“That’s our new computer. We can pinpoint any fire in town with that,” Andy stated abstractly pointing, almost dismissively at the computer in the office behind him.
“Yes, I can see that,” Cameron answered patiently.
“It’s perfect for us...because we’re, you know, the fire department,” the guy added, his mind obviously on something else. Cameron just nodded, as he noticed that in the glass window of the office he could see the reflection of a fire fighter behind him waving his arms at Andy, urging him into something. He wondered if this was their initiation thing.
“Erm, well that’s everything.” Andy said with a shrug.
Cameron looked at him askew, but when nothing else was forthcoming, he just nodded, “Well, thanks Andy. I’ll see you later.”
He had just turned away, when Andy grabbed his arm loosely, “There is one thing....have you met the Chief yet?”
“No,” Mitchell answered, shaking his head and definitely feeling wary now.
“He’s funny looking,” Andy whispered, scrunching up his face as though he hates to have to say it out loud, “I wouldn’t mention it.”
“Of course not,” Cameron stated emphatically, before he started to turn away again.
Andy held him in place, a shrug again before he continued, “I figured you wouldn’t...” and the heavy pause insinuated he was not done yet as he struggled for more words, “but sometimes, you know...” stuttering to a halt again, only to stutter to a new start, “things accidentally slip out and then, you know...” and Cameron couldn’t take the painful act of Andy trying to find the right words.
“I won’t say anything,” Cameron stated as he looked Andy in the eye to show how sincere he was. At Andy’s answering nod, even if his face still didn’t quite believe, Cameron decided to change the direction of the conversation, “So, where is the Chief?” he asked as he looked around, as if he was going to jump out of someplace.
“He is helping someone move, he’ll be in tomorrow,” Andy stated, “Look, I know you think you understand, but....”
Mitchell sighed and resigned himself to hearing this until the Chief showed up tomorrow.
xXx
On the outskirts of town, Rodney and John were hauling a telescope up a massive flight of stairs, to a wooden hut on stilts attached to the roof of the house at the rear. “Watch it on that stair,” Rodney admonished.
“Who designed these steps? The Marquis de Sade?” Sheppard whined as he lifted the heavy telescope over the lip of the next stair, with Rodney hauling from the other end. “And why is it so heavy? It’s mostly air!”
“...and glass, so be careful,” Rodney puffed out, stress clear in his voice.
“My aunt knitted one of these. It was much lighter than this,” John said, hoping to lighten his mood.
Rodney’s answering smirk was like a medal. He loved being the one to put that smile there, but he’s always aiming for that big one that he saw when Rodney explained the universe to him.
“So, this second secret of yours relates to this?” John asked.
“Sort of yes,” Rodney said, looking wary and clearly not about to tell John anything. John considered his options, and then casually let go of the telescope, and looked aimlessly around at their surroundings with a heavy sigh.
“John! John! What are you doing, John? I can’t hold this by myself,” Rodney whined, pleading and panic in his voice.
“You don’t have to tell me your big secret,” John said nonchalantly, figuring he’d best get to the point because he’s only got seconds before he’ll have to help out or the telescope will slip and it’s heavy enough that the momentum will be too much for John to stop.
“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you,” Rodney wailed, feet already starting to drag across the stair from the weight of the telescope.
John swooped in, taking the load again, “All right, start talking. Here we go,” he added as he started lifting and pushing again.
“I’m not just here to look at any comet. I’m here to look at one I discovered. That means that if I’m right, I get to name it,” and there is Rodney’s beaming smile again, before it fades away to be replaced by a shrug, “It’s no big deal, there are a lot of comets. I was working on this paper on the oort cloud, and I discovered a mathematical irregularity.”
“I haven’t climbed this many steps since I went to the Maharishi,” John puffed out.
Rodney ignored him, caught up in his explanation now, the smile starting to bloom again, “I think it’s a series of ten comets.” He paused as they reached the platform surrounding the hut, “Watch it around this corner,” he cautioned as they took the telescope off the stairs and round to the left. “Or the forerunner of a big comet,” he continued as if he had never paused, “which is due back this summer.”
“You’ll be able to find it with this?” John asked, some doubt creeping into his voice.
“No, Zelenka is looking for it in a big scope in Arizona.”
John glared at Rodney, “So, I carried it up here for nothing?”
Rodney huffed out a laugh, “Hardly. Do I look as if I do physical exertion without a reason? Put that counter balance on that arm with the key,” he added, handing over a key for the weight.
John wasn’t surprised that Rodney was setting it up now. You didn’t really want to climb those stairs more than once a day. He did as Rodney said, and took the key from him while he asked, “So, what do you get if you’re right?”
“Nothing,” Rodney answered, but his smug tones bellied that statement as he continued, “Just the right to name it, and to go down in the history books.”
“That is sorta cool,” John responded.
“Comet Meredeth.”
“Who’s Meredeth?” John asked, jealously tingeing his words, “Why not name it after yourself?”
Rodney blushed brightly, even as his eyes widened like a trapped animal, obviously wishing he could take the name back but then he gave a defeated sigh, eyes closing as he responded, “I am naming it after myself. Meredeth is my first name.” Rodney’s eyes opened, and his chin jutted out in what John now knew to be a defensive move, “It’s a family name, I was named after my Grandfather and I’m naming the comet after him.... and me.” A small smile started to creep on to Rodney’s face, the twinkle returning to his eyes, even as they glazed over with some distant memory, “It was my Grandfather who got me into astronomy. He used to take me out back and look at the stars before bed. He taught me every name there was. He was the one who brought me my first telescope and explained what a galaxy was. He showed me the universe and he became mine, I still miss him every day.”
John smiled softly, “It’s a lovely name.”
Rodney turned and smiled at him, “thanks,” he said quietly, quickly ducking his head in obvious embarrassment and pretending to set up the focus on the telescope.
John took pity on him and decided to change the subject, “So, when did you find out about this?”
Rodney leapt on the change of subject, “July, give or take ten days.”
John spent the entire day with Rodney, and he fell a little deeper. Rodney loved to talk, and John loved to listen to him. He didn’t just want to know what Rodney liked, he wanted to understand him and know him on a level that no one else did. If this didn’t work out, at least he would have that. Something of Rodney that was his alone, and not for every stranger that Rodney met. It was foolish but it made John feel good, every time he learnt something new. Eventually, they had to part ways but John convinced Rodney to meet him at Teyla’s and when Rodney agreed, he rushed home to change. Wanting to look good, even if Rodney didn’t realise it was a date.
Rodney on the other hand, who knew this wasn’t a date, had still thrown on his blue shirt that he knew brought out his eyes, and the soft blue jeans that hugged his thighs, before he left. John may not lean his way but Rodney can’t help dressing up for him, he just hoped Teyla wouldn’t call him on it.
When he made his way to Teyla’s bar to meet John, he saw Cadman. Oh God, here we go, he thought to himself. She was stood in the middle of the sidewalk so he couldn’t avoid her without crossing the street and Rodney’s never run from anyone in his life. Weirdly though he wondered if he should start now because she was in a huge fur coat, in this weather.
He tried to pretend he hadn’t seen her but she stepped into his path, “Do you remember me?”
“I’m trying to put it behind me,” he said with a tight smile, and then he noticed the shop behind her. Oh my God. “Is this your shop?” he asked hesitantly, but he knew the answer already, feeling the stirrings of panic in his heart, she’s going to kill me and stuff me and put me in her shop.
“Yes, all mine,” she responded with a smile, as if she was proud of it.
The shop was full of dead animals, stuffed and mounted. In amongst these atrocities there were leather couches, fur skins stretched over tables, floor rugs. Then he’d suddenly realised the name of the shop is “All things Dead” and there could not be a more apt name for the shop. For a man eater, it was somehow appropriate, even if she was a woman. “It’s perfect,” he managed.
“Thank you very much,” she answered, with the air of someone who hadn’t expected anything but praise.
“It’s really you,” he added, making sure every word was as heavy with sarcasm as he could make it just to see her response.
“I appreciate that,” she said coyly as she moved closer, still oblivious and seemingly deaf to sarcasm. It was quite remarkable to watch. “Come in and check out the freeze-dried animals, they are incredibly lifelike.”
“Erm... maybe next time,” he said with a smile as he edged round her and all but ran for Teyla’s, with never a look behind him. They always said you shouldn’t waste time looking back if something horrible was chasing you.
Rodney entered the bar and eventually found Teyla and Sandy already at a table in the bar with a drink for him and one each, neither of them scheduled to work that night. There seemed to be a giant behind the bar who quite frankly scared the hell out of him and hadn’t stopped glaring at him since he sat down next to Teyla. Everyone else seemed totally at ease with the mountain of a man in dreadlocks, but Rodney couldn’t help but think he’d just been interrogated in a foreign language, and worse still, he was pretty sure that somehow he had answered the questions but as he didn’t know how he had done it, he’s a little worried that he might not have given the right answers. He had therefore chosen to shift slightly so the behemoth was outside his line of sight and therefore possible to ignore the daggers in the back.
“Don’t look now,” Sandy said, “but the Viking just walked in.” Of course all three of them glanced towards the door, just in time to watch Cameron walk in. “He should be bronzed,” Sandy added wistfully. Rodney totally agreed but he hadn’t responded, he had been too intent on watching Cameron as he walked through the bar, seeing as people made way for the fire department that surrounded him and Rodney only then figured out that Cameron is not only single, but he’s a fireman which meant that Cameron had a fireman’s uniform.
“It’s now or never,” Rodney said out loud, without even realising it as his thoughts were turned inwards. He was sat there, dressed up and waiting for John when he didn’t even know which side the guy bats for, when there was a hunk of a man catching his eye across the bar.
“Do it, Rodney,” Sandy urged, grinning widely with a twinkle in her eye.
“There is only one way to tell,” Teyla added.
Rodney made a decision as he watched Cameron walk into the men’s toilet, eyes dropping to that rear as he did so. “Okay, when he comes out....” he smirked, “I will invite him to a Nelson tradition of hot-tubbing... and I will set him up with some mulled wine, and I will bathe him... a lot,” he added with empathise.
“I’m shocked,” Teyla said as she grinned wide, before she broke into laughter.
“I’m not shocked,” Sandy said with a grin as she gave a gentle shake to her head. Rodney didn’t think anything shocked her, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t want anything to distract him from the moment Cameron walked back out that door.
Unfortunately, and unbeknown to Rodney, Cameron had been having a small panic attack inside the restroom and trying to talk himself out of it. “Confidence, confidence... a little water and I’m ready to talk to him.” He had walked decisively over to the sink determined that he was not going to back out this time. He’d twisted the tap firmly, a little too firmly as water sprayed into the sink and over the top of it, straight onto his pants. “Oh no,” he stepped back in defeat. He now looked like he’d wet himself, and coming out of the toilet was only going to strengthen that thought to everyone in the room, especially Rodney. He couldn’t face him like this. He looked to the small window on the side wall and made a decision.
A short while later the door to the toilet opened on an empty restroom, the window was open and the curtain was flapping in the summer breeze.
TBC... Chapter Five