O is for Obedience
Title: O is for Obedience
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis - AU
Characters/Pairing: Lorne/Sheppard
Rating: PG
Orientation: Slash
Word Count: 2,163
Prompt: Kink Bingo Fill: “Obedience”
10 Tropes Fill: “Alternate Universe”
Hurt Comfort Fill: “Deprogramming”
Slashing_lorne Summer of Lorne Prompt: Dom!Lorne, Sub!John, John is abused, Lorne takes care of him
Content Notes: Mention of physical abuse
“Major Lorne, do you have a few minutes?”
Evan looked up from the report he was reading to see the staff psychiatrist, Kate Heightmeyer standing at his door. “Sure, Doc, what’s up?” He closed the cover of the laptop and folded his hands. When she turned up at his door, it was usually serious, so he dreaded whatever it was she was going to tell him. Probably another disciplinary matter that she wanted rescinded for one of her patients.
She closed the door behind her and sat down, her look serious, though her manner was more nervous than usual. “You’re a registered over.” He nodded at the statement, it wasn’t a secret. He just didn’t have an under, he had never seen the need to take one and it was difficult finding a good match under the best of circumstances. Pegasus was not the best of circumstances, by any stretch of the imagination.
The doctor cleared her throat and tapped her fingers nervously on her tablet as it rested on her knee. “A situation has come up. Several people have recommended I speak to you, citing your temperament in difficult circumstances.”
This was different. He leaned forward, wondering what she was so on edge about. “Is that so? What kind of situation?”
Kate put the tablet on the desk and slid it to him. He looked down to see a medical report on the screen, scrolling through, he saw pictures of a severely beaten man, a stranger, bruised and bloody in each picture. They appeared to be hospital pictures, he could see medical equipment in the background. He scanned the report quickly, seeing the words, “battery” and “signs of chronic abuse.”
Disturbed by the gruesome images, he looked up at Kate. “How did my name come to be attached to this case, Doc?”
“His name is John Sheppard. He’s currently under the care of a colleague of mine, Doctor McKenzie at the SGC. His case came to the attention of the SGC this last time he ended up in the ER and was flagged in the registry system as a suspected abuse case. Sheppard was a F-302 pilot before he resigned his commision suddenly three years ago, refusing to give any reasons. Prior to his resignation, he was on the roster for this mission. He’s ATA positive.”
It surprised Evan that the SGC had let the guy get away, ATA positives were in short supply, most could write their own ticket to get whatever assignment they preferred, just so that the SGC could keep them on hand. “Who beat on him?”
“His over, though figuring that out was not easy. Colonel Maybourne did a very good job of hiding his connections to Sheppard, he had been keeping him locked up and off the grid for three years.”
“Maybourne? I know that name. Didn’t SG-1 have some trouble with him?”
“They did. This is classified information I’m telling you, as part of the agreement for Maybourne to give John up, the Colonel’s name is to be left out of it, no charges have been filed. But he won’t ever be able to register another under, he’s been flagged in the registry system as a potential hazard.”
“Was Maybourne his CO?”
“No. We’re not sure how Sheppard came to be with him. It was unregistered, undocumented, and John isn’t talking. He isn’t talking at all, that’s part of the problem. He’s gone completely non-verbal. We’re unsure how long he’s been like this.”
What had Maybourne been doing to him? Evan felt a surge of anger towards the Colonel. He’d had the responsibility of an under and had clearly abused his position as an over. “Why me?” Evan quickly assumed why she was here and what she was asking without asking. She couldn’t outright ask, it wasn’t done. But she could hint.
She smiled lightly and sighed with relief as she realized he was a step ahead of her and understood the conversation that they were not having. “You’re known for your patience, you don’t have an under so there will be no drama or jealousy to contend with. And you’re out here in Pegasus. The team working with John feels that a complete break from his environment might help his recovery. It’s been reported that ATA positives here in the city feel a connection with the city and are very comfortable here. He needs a strong support and a comfortable base so that he can start over.”
He leaned back in his chair and ran a hand over his face. This was a lot. Taking a healthy under would be a big step and a major adjustment to his way of life. Taking one that was so obviously damaged and in need of special handling? But who else could do it here? Evan ran through the list of unattached overs on base, it was a short list, most people were partnered up. The doctor was correct, Sheppard would need someone that could give him their full attention, he couldn’t be the second or third under for someone. McKay wouldn’t have the patience or time. Doctor Weir had sworn off ever taking another under after her last partner died. The marines that came to mind were all too rough. Evan had not been looking to take a partner, but it looked like fate had intervened.
“I should meet him to see if he’s willing. I won’t force anyone into it, that’s just asking for trouble.”
“I agree wholeheartedly. I suspect Maybourne forced John into their association and was behind his resignation. He’ll be here in two days, on the Daedalus.”
“Confident in my answer, were you?”
She shook her head. “No, not at all, actually. I’ve been reviewing personnel files, interviewing potential overs and weighing all the options. There isn’t any other over on base that I would feel comfortable approaching with this. If you had been reluctant I would have treated Sheppard as best I could without involving an over. It would not have been optimal, but it would still have been better than the treatment he was getting on Earth,just because he’d be here in the city.”
When his duty shift was over that day, Evan went home and cleared space for Sheppard to put his things, in case Sheppard agreed to the whole plan. He wasn’t certain that the man would be on board, after getting out of an unsanctioned, abusive relationship. He could be the worst under ever, completely disobedient and disrespectful and incapable of maintaining a healthy relationship. He called the quartermaster and requested one of the double beds be moved into his quarters, glad of the excuse to be rid of the tiny single he’d been using.
~*~
In an attempt not to appear overeager, Lorne did not meet the Daedalus when she landed on the South Pier. He waited for Doctor Heightmeyer to meet her new patient and talk with him. He was uncertain if she was going to propose her plan to Sheppard or not.
“Major Lorne, do you have time to come down to my office?” Doctor Heightmeyer asked over the radio.
“I cleared the whole afternoon, I’m just doing busywork,” he replied. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”
Sheppard was sitting on the chair in front of Heightmeyer’s desk, his back ramrod straight, his gaze fixed straight ahead on a point on the wall over her shoulder. There was a definite look of relief on her face when she saw Evan at the door.
“Major Lorne, this is John Sheppard,” she introduced.
Evan walked in, but Sheppard remained sitting exactly as he was, not acknowledging him, not moving, not looking away from that fixed point on the wall. He was puzzled for a moment and then he realized what must have happened. He looked at the doctor. “Did you tell him to sit down?”
She tilted her head in puzzlement. “Well, yes, when we came in.” She was a neutral, most people in the medical profession were. She probably didn’t realize what she had done. If she was going to work with John in the future, she needed a crash course in dealing with an under.
“Okay, lesson one. He’s been conditioned to respond to commands. You are a person of authority here. You will need to watch your phrasing when you tell him to do things.” Evan told her gently. Then he walked over to stand in front of John. “John, you can relax. You don’t need to sit if you don’t want to, you can stand or walk around or lie on the couch. Whatever you are comfortable with.”
Sheppard’s posture loosened slightly and he looked around the office and then up at Evan. He stared at him for a moment and then gave a brief nod. Evan sat on the edge of the desk and looked John over. His hair was long, just past his shoulders, all one length. His ears were pierced though he wore no jewelry, and that made Evan look down at his fingernails. Long, specks of red nail polish on them. The three things were evidence to Evan that Maybourne had been dressing him. That wasn’t Evan’s thing, though he knew others liked it.
The bruises were gone, though he had a few pink lines where the cuts were still healing on his cheek and above his eyes.
Heightmeyer said they hadn’t been able to get anything out of Sheppard at the hospital or SGC infirmary. He still wanted to try. Sheppard was obviously conditioned, he might respond to direct commands. “I’m going to ask you a few questions. Answer them, please. Maybourne forced you to be his under, didn’t he?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Sheppard nodded and then stared at the floor.
“He’s beaten you before?”
Another nod, without looking up.
He looked down at Sheppard’s wrists, and saw lines of thin white scars, evenly spaced. He’d been shackled and had struggled against the restraints, Evan was sure of it. “You were kept against your will?”
Nod.
“Did you want to resign your commission?”
John shook his head ‘no’ and then looked up at Evan. His eyes were very sad.
“Did he order you not to talk?”
Sheppard nodded. Pieces of the puzzle were falling into place for Evan. He had disliked Maybourne when he walked into the room, now he was beginning to hate the man.
“Okay, an easier question. Do you feel the tingle here?” Evan waved a hand near the back of his head.
With a puzzled look, Sheppard put a hand to the back of his neck and then nodded.
“That’s the city. Don’t fight it, work with it. It will let you interface on a low level and work some of the systems mentally. Doors, windows and overhead screens can all be operated mentally if you have the gene, which I’m told you do.” The door to Heightmeyer’s office opened and closed, and Sheppard smirked. “Just like that,” Evan said with a grin.
Evan dropped his hands to his knees and looked into Sheppard’s eyes. Hazel, he noted, his artist’s eye picking out the various flecks of color there out of habit. Sheppard didn’t look away, didn’t hide. He sensed sadness, what he thought was likely pain, but Sheppard didn’t seem broken to him. That had been his biggest fear, that he would be taking on a broken under, one incapable of committing fully to the relationship.
“I don’t have an under. I’ve never registered with anyone. I can promise you I am not Maybourne. I want a partner, not a slave. I expect obedience, but I’m not demanding and I don’t punish unless I’m pushed to the wall. I’m offering for you, John, if you want it. You’d be safe here with me.”
With a glance over at Heightmeyer, John tapped his fingers on his knee and stared at Evan. He raised his fingers to his throat and brushed them there, a question coming into his eyes.
“A collar? If you want one.” John shook his head vehemently. He mimed talking with his fingers as he moved his mouth.
“I want you to talk again. When you’re ready.”
With a huff and an irritated wave of his hand, Sheppard sat back in the chair. Talking was apparently an issue. He fingered his hair and held up the ends, looking at the hank of hair in his hand with disgust. He waved it at Evan.
“You can go straight to the barber when we’re done here and get that hacked, however you want it. I’m not demanding about many things. I want a companion and a partner. I don’t want an unwilling captive in my bed.”
There was relief on Sheppard’s face as he reached for Evan’s hand and took it, giving it a squeeze.
“Yes?”
Sheppard nodded.
“Say yes,” Lorne ordered sternly, to see what the effect would be if he countermanded Maybourne’s order now.
“Yes,” John said immediately, and behind him, Kate Heightmeyer’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline.
The End
(author’s note: yeah, right, like we aren’t coming back here!)
Originally posted at http://rinkafic.dreamwidth.org/
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis - AU
Characters/Pairing: Lorne/Sheppard
Rating: PG
Orientation: Slash
Word Count: 2,163
Prompt: Kink Bingo Fill: “Obedience”
10 Tropes Fill: “Alternate Universe”
Hurt Comfort Fill: “Deprogramming”
Slashing_lorne Summer of Lorne Prompt: Dom!Lorne, Sub!John, John is abused, Lorne takes care of him
Content Notes: Mention of physical abuse
“Major Lorne, do you have a few minutes?”
Evan looked up from the report he was reading to see the staff psychiatrist, Kate Heightmeyer standing at his door. “Sure, Doc, what’s up?” He closed the cover of the laptop and folded his hands. When she turned up at his door, it was usually serious, so he dreaded whatever it was she was going to tell him. Probably another disciplinary matter that she wanted rescinded for one of her patients.
She closed the door behind her and sat down, her look serious, though her manner was more nervous than usual. “You’re a registered over.” He nodded at the statement, it wasn’t a secret. He just didn’t have an under, he had never seen the need to take one and it was difficult finding a good match under the best of circumstances. Pegasus was not the best of circumstances, by any stretch of the imagination.
The doctor cleared her throat and tapped her fingers nervously on her tablet as it rested on her knee. “A situation has come up. Several people have recommended I speak to you, citing your temperament in difficult circumstances.”
This was different. He leaned forward, wondering what she was so on edge about. “Is that so? What kind of situation?”
Kate put the tablet on the desk and slid it to him. He looked down to see a medical report on the screen, scrolling through, he saw pictures of a severely beaten man, a stranger, bruised and bloody in each picture. They appeared to be hospital pictures, he could see medical equipment in the background. He scanned the report quickly, seeing the words, “battery” and “signs of chronic abuse.”
Disturbed by the gruesome images, he looked up at Kate. “How did my name come to be attached to this case, Doc?”
“His name is John Sheppard. He’s currently under the care of a colleague of mine, Doctor McKenzie at the SGC. His case came to the attention of the SGC this last time he ended up in the ER and was flagged in the registry system as a suspected abuse case. Sheppard was a F-302 pilot before he resigned his commision suddenly three years ago, refusing to give any reasons. Prior to his resignation, he was on the roster for this mission. He’s ATA positive.”
It surprised Evan that the SGC had let the guy get away, ATA positives were in short supply, most could write their own ticket to get whatever assignment they preferred, just so that the SGC could keep them on hand. “Who beat on him?”
“His over, though figuring that out was not easy. Colonel Maybourne did a very good job of hiding his connections to Sheppard, he had been keeping him locked up and off the grid for three years.”
“Maybourne? I know that name. Didn’t SG-1 have some trouble with him?”
“They did. This is classified information I’m telling you, as part of the agreement for Maybourne to give John up, the Colonel’s name is to be left out of it, no charges have been filed. But he won’t ever be able to register another under, he’s been flagged in the registry system as a potential hazard.”
“Was Maybourne his CO?”
“No. We’re not sure how Sheppard came to be with him. It was unregistered, undocumented, and John isn’t talking. He isn’t talking at all, that’s part of the problem. He’s gone completely non-verbal. We’re unsure how long he’s been like this.”
What had Maybourne been doing to him? Evan felt a surge of anger towards the Colonel. He’d had the responsibility of an under and had clearly abused his position as an over. “Why me?” Evan quickly assumed why she was here and what she was asking without asking. She couldn’t outright ask, it wasn’t done. But she could hint.
She smiled lightly and sighed with relief as she realized he was a step ahead of her and understood the conversation that they were not having. “You’re known for your patience, you don’t have an under so there will be no drama or jealousy to contend with. And you’re out here in Pegasus. The team working with John feels that a complete break from his environment might help his recovery. It’s been reported that ATA positives here in the city feel a connection with the city and are very comfortable here. He needs a strong support and a comfortable base so that he can start over.”
He leaned back in his chair and ran a hand over his face. This was a lot. Taking a healthy under would be a big step and a major adjustment to his way of life. Taking one that was so obviously damaged and in need of special handling? But who else could do it here? Evan ran through the list of unattached overs on base, it was a short list, most people were partnered up. The doctor was correct, Sheppard would need someone that could give him their full attention, he couldn’t be the second or third under for someone. McKay wouldn’t have the patience or time. Doctor Weir had sworn off ever taking another under after her last partner died. The marines that came to mind were all too rough. Evan had not been looking to take a partner, but it looked like fate had intervened.
“I should meet him to see if he’s willing. I won’t force anyone into it, that’s just asking for trouble.”
“I agree wholeheartedly. I suspect Maybourne forced John into their association and was behind his resignation. He’ll be here in two days, on the Daedalus.”
“Confident in my answer, were you?”
She shook her head. “No, not at all, actually. I’ve been reviewing personnel files, interviewing potential overs and weighing all the options. There isn’t any other over on base that I would feel comfortable approaching with this. If you had been reluctant I would have treated Sheppard as best I could without involving an over. It would not have been optimal, but it would still have been better than the treatment he was getting on Earth,just because he’d be here in the city.”
When his duty shift was over that day, Evan went home and cleared space for Sheppard to put his things, in case Sheppard agreed to the whole plan. He wasn’t certain that the man would be on board, after getting out of an unsanctioned, abusive relationship. He could be the worst under ever, completely disobedient and disrespectful and incapable of maintaining a healthy relationship. He called the quartermaster and requested one of the double beds be moved into his quarters, glad of the excuse to be rid of the tiny single he’d been using.
~*~
In an attempt not to appear overeager, Lorne did not meet the Daedalus when she landed on the South Pier. He waited for Doctor Heightmeyer to meet her new patient and talk with him. He was uncertain if she was going to propose her plan to Sheppard or not.
“Major Lorne, do you have time to come down to my office?” Doctor Heightmeyer asked over the radio.
“I cleared the whole afternoon, I’m just doing busywork,” he replied. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”
Sheppard was sitting on the chair in front of Heightmeyer’s desk, his back ramrod straight, his gaze fixed straight ahead on a point on the wall over her shoulder. There was a definite look of relief on her face when she saw Evan at the door.
“Major Lorne, this is John Sheppard,” she introduced.
Evan walked in, but Sheppard remained sitting exactly as he was, not acknowledging him, not moving, not looking away from that fixed point on the wall. He was puzzled for a moment and then he realized what must have happened. He looked at the doctor. “Did you tell him to sit down?”
She tilted her head in puzzlement. “Well, yes, when we came in.” She was a neutral, most people in the medical profession were. She probably didn’t realize what she had done. If she was going to work with John in the future, she needed a crash course in dealing with an under.
“Okay, lesson one. He’s been conditioned to respond to commands. You are a person of authority here. You will need to watch your phrasing when you tell him to do things.” Evan told her gently. Then he walked over to stand in front of John. “John, you can relax. You don’t need to sit if you don’t want to, you can stand or walk around or lie on the couch. Whatever you are comfortable with.”
Sheppard’s posture loosened slightly and he looked around the office and then up at Evan. He stared at him for a moment and then gave a brief nod. Evan sat on the edge of the desk and looked John over. His hair was long, just past his shoulders, all one length. His ears were pierced though he wore no jewelry, and that made Evan look down at his fingernails. Long, specks of red nail polish on them. The three things were evidence to Evan that Maybourne had been dressing him. That wasn’t Evan’s thing, though he knew others liked it.
The bruises were gone, though he had a few pink lines where the cuts were still healing on his cheek and above his eyes.
Heightmeyer said they hadn’t been able to get anything out of Sheppard at the hospital or SGC infirmary. He still wanted to try. Sheppard was obviously conditioned, he might respond to direct commands. “I’m going to ask you a few questions. Answer them, please. Maybourne forced you to be his under, didn’t he?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Sheppard nodded and then stared at the floor.
“He’s beaten you before?”
Another nod, without looking up.
He looked down at Sheppard’s wrists, and saw lines of thin white scars, evenly spaced. He’d been shackled and had struggled against the restraints, Evan was sure of it. “You were kept against your will?”
Nod.
“Did you want to resign your commission?”
John shook his head ‘no’ and then looked up at Evan. His eyes were very sad.
“Did he order you not to talk?”
Sheppard nodded. Pieces of the puzzle were falling into place for Evan. He had disliked Maybourne when he walked into the room, now he was beginning to hate the man.
“Okay, an easier question. Do you feel the tingle here?” Evan waved a hand near the back of his head.
With a puzzled look, Sheppard put a hand to the back of his neck and then nodded.
“That’s the city. Don’t fight it, work with it. It will let you interface on a low level and work some of the systems mentally. Doors, windows and overhead screens can all be operated mentally if you have the gene, which I’m told you do.” The door to Heightmeyer’s office opened and closed, and Sheppard smirked. “Just like that,” Evan said with a grin.
Evan dropped his hands to his knees and looked into Sheppard’s eyes. Hazel, he noted, his artist’s eye picking out the various flecks of color there out of habit. Sheppard didn’t look away, didn’t hide. He sensed sadness, what he thought was likely pain, but Sheppard didn’t seem broken to him. That had been his biggest fear, that he would be taking on a broken under, one incapable of committing fully to the relationship.
“I don’t have an under. I’ve never registered with anyone. I can promise you I am not Maybourne. I want a partner, not a slave. I expect obedience, but I’m not demanding and I don’t punish unless I’m pushed to the wall. I’m offering for you, John, if you want it. You’d be safe here with me.”
With a glance over at Heightmeyer, John tapped his fingers on his knee and stared at Evan. He raised his fingers to his throat and brushed them there, a question coming into his eyes.
“A collar? If you want one.” John shook his head vehemently. He mimed talking with his fingers as he moved his mouth.
“I want you to talk again. When you’re ready.”
With a huff and an irritated wave of his hand, Sheppard sat back in the chair. Talking was apparently an issue. He fingered his hair and held up the ends, looking at the hank of hair in his hand with disgust. He waved it at Evan.
“You can go straight to the barber when we’re done here and get that hacked, however you want it. I’m not demanding about many things. I want a companion and a partner. I don’t want an unwilling captive in my bed.”
There was relief on Sheppard’s face as he reached for Evan’s hand and took it, giving it a squeeze.
“Yes?”
Sheppard nodded.
“Say yes,” Lorne ordered sternly, to see what the effect would be if he countermanded Maybourne’s order now.
“Yes,” John said immediately, and behind him, Kate Heightmeyer’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline.
The End
(author’s note: yeah, right, like we aren’t coming back here!)
Originally posted at http://rinkafic.dreamwidth.org/