Proof Positive (Kavanagh, Zelenka)
Title: Proof Positive
Author: eviljr
Beta(e): abysmal_seraph
Characters: Kavanagh, Zelenka
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Written For: ria_kukalaka, who wanted Kavanagh/Zelenka, more then just colleagues?
Summary: Kavanagh's cloudy past get a startling revelation while in Atlantis.
“Dr. Zelenka? Dr. Zelenka?”
Radek’s conscious attempted to return acknowledgment to the voice. His eyes were still focused on the small, framed photo sitting on the night stand. The face that reflected back had beckoned for his attention.
“Dr. Zelenka?” Calvin repeated, bringing Radek back to reality. “Why are you here again?”
Radek pulled his full focus back to the younger man. “Yes, sorry. Dr. Weir was hoping you would consult on a something I’ve been studying. Would you come?”
Calvin sighed. “Fine. Let me dress and I’ll be down shortly.”
Radek nodded, looking again to the photo. He paused then turned from the archway, leaving Calvin to dress.
Ten minutes later, Calvin walked into the lab. It was a bustling of activity. He wandered over to where Radek sat at a microscope. The Czech concentration didn’t waver from the scope as Calvin came to his side.
“So, what’s the big emergency?” Calvin asked. His voice was more annoyed than curious.
“This,” Radek replied. He stepped back, pointing to the scope, indicating to the younger scientist to look.
Calvin obligued looking into the scope. His glasses pressed into his forehead as he examined the sample. Small microbes roamed the sample freely. Tiny bean-shaped organisms, red in color. He stood upright once more. “So? I’m a chemist, not a biologist.”
Radek nodded. “Yes, yes. These creatures though, are creating this…this chemical-like substance we don’t understand. Come. I’ll show you.”
Calvin followed him over to a small dish. A smudge of what could only be described as goop. Calvin’s brow creased at the substance. “What’s so fascinating about it?”
“Only that this ooze, for lack of better word, is causing the Wraith cells we tested it on to shrivel and die.”
Calvin’s head whipped up to eye the older man. “Are you sure?”
Radek nodded. “This is fascinating part. We found creatures thriving in a cave on a planet where it seems the Wraith have not culled.”
Calvin brought the small container closer, eyeing the substance. “I want a significant amount to study.”
Radek nodded. “Of course, Dr. Kavanagh. It’s all quite fascinating,” He paused, his mind reeling back to the photo he glimpsed standing in the doorway of the younger man’s quarters. “May I ask you personal question?”
“What?”
“The photo on your night stand. The young woman. Whom may she be?”
Calvin breathed in deep. That was a question he often asked himself. Who was she really? The woman he was told was his mother. He had never known her. He adjusted his glasses, cleared his throat. “My mother.”
“Ah, I see. She was quite a lovely woman, yes?”
“I wouldn’t know. She died when I was young,” Calvin replied. His voice tinged with both hurt and regret.
“I see. That is most disheartening.”
“Yes. I think I would like to get to work.”
“Yes,” Radek agreed. “Let us find out what we can about these remarkable little organisms.”
Radek returned to his quarters that night after many hours. Flashes of the young woman in his mind. Something from his past. Her smile, her laugh, came back in flooded images in his sleep. Memories that hadn’t been brought forth in years. “Emily,” he whispered to his empty room when he had woken from the fretful sleep. Could it be? He ran a hand through frazzled hair as he considered it. No, he thought. How could it be possible? Sleep did not return until several hours had passed, and he drifted back into images of the whispery form of a woman.
Calvin returned to the lab earlier the next day, eager to run tests on the substance Dr. Zelenka had shown him. Much to his delight, the lab was still quiet. He was in the middle of a second test run when the Czech appeared, looking as though sleep hadn’t been his friend.
“Morning,” Radek said as he entered. “What have you discovered?”
Calvin stopped, rubbing his brow. “At this point, not much. This compound is completely unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”
Radek nodded. “It seems like those words are uttered often in this place.”
“Yea,” Calvin agreed, his voice echoing the frustration he had felt many times since he had come to Atlantis. He was thankful that most of his work was with the Czech scientist. He was one of the few he could tolerate and vice versa. Calvin figured the older man had some kind of built-in tolerance. From what he put up with from McKay alone, it was needed. Calvin scoffed to himself at that.
“What is it?” Radek asked.
Calvin jumped, not realizing that he had vocalized the sentiment. “Nothing. Just thinking.”
“I have been doing that as well.” Radek nodded. He considered whether he should ask one of the many questions that his mind had been cultivating. He pushed it aside, instead saying: “Well, let us see if headway can be made today.”
Calvin finished his slide and they both started another long day of testing.
Two days had passed with long hours in the lab. Both scientists had butted heads and on some occasions almost wanting to bang a head or two on a table out of frustration. Their ultimate goal was to be able to reproduce the substance synthetically in the lab so they could mass-produce it. It wasn’t going well. On the second evening they both retired, resigning to start again in the morning. They bid farewells, dragging weary bones to their separate quarters.
Radek rolled out of bed early the next morning, his eyes still half closed. He spent another night plagued by the dreams of the woman from the photo. He couldn’t stand it anymore. He had to know. He quickly resolved to shower and go visit Calvin. Thirty minutes later he knocked lightly at the long haired man’s door. A muffled ‘enter’ sounded from the other side and he paused as the door whooshed open. Calvin was toweling his hair off from his own shower, sitting on his bed. “I’m almost done,” Calvin advised. “I’m eager to get started again.” He rose, walking to the bathroom to hang the towel.
“Yes, yes,” Radek confirmed. “I as well, but I came by for another reason.” His eyes strayed once again to the small photo.
Calvin entered the room again, watching the older man staring at the photo. “What is it then?”
Radek sighed unsure where to start. “Ever since I saw the photo,” his words pointed to the picture as he spoke. “I haven’t been able to forget about it.”
Calvin’s eyebrows creased in uncertainty. “What are you talking about?”
Radek sat in the chair at the desk. “I believe I know her, your mother.”
Calvin shook his head, smiling as though he understood. “I don’t see how that’s possible, Doctor. I mean, she was an American, like me. She never went out of the country and died many years ago,” he concluded. Calvin pulled his hair up to restrain it in his customary ponytai. He expectantly looked to Radek .
“That is most likely true,” Radek replied. “However, I did come to states twenty six years ago.”
Calvin froze for a moment, his expression changing from dismissal to confusion once more. “Are you sure?”
Radek nodded. “When I was seventeen I won internship for visit to the states to Boston, for the summer. I spent most of the time on MIT campus.”
Calvin nodded, “My mother went to MIT before I was born. She dropped out after she became pregnant.”
“Emily,” Radek whispered. “Her name was Emily.”
Calvin choked. He couldn’t speak for a moment then nodded. “Yes, Emily Kavanagh. I have her last name. After she passed, I went to live with my grandmother. She told me that my mother never told anyone who my father was. That is why I have the Kavanagh last name instead of his.”
Radek stared into space his mind replaying the short clips of memory of the woman he had loved so many years before. “I never met anyone like her before or after that summer. She had a most brilliant mind and wonderful heart.”
“Did you love her?”
Radek didn’t hesitate. “Very much. I applied to stay in the country on student visa when I returned home but was turned down. My country didn’t want to export me after the potential they thought I had,” he grimaced. “We wrote often after I returned home in the beginning. Then a month or two later she stopped returning my letters. I was most distraught. I had no idea what happened to her. After a time, my letters were returned with ‘return to sender’ on them. I could only think she had found a new love and moved on,” he sighed, heart heavy.
Calvin’s thoughts ticked through everything he had learned. So many more questions than he could think possible.
Radek looked up suddenly. “How old are you?” he asked.
“Twenty-seven. Why?” Calvin replied then his eyes went wide. “You can’t be seriously considering-”
“No, it’s not likely,” Radek said, not voicing what he was thinking.
Calvin stood and started pacing the room. “Don’t tell me you-you did it with my mother.”
Radek looked into his lap where he was wringing his hands. “The last night before I was to leave, yes, we made love.”
Calvin threw his hands into the air. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” He shouted. His voice cracked as his words raked the ceiling. “We need to know. I need to know.”
Radek nodded, his eyes meeting the younger man’s. He stood, pulling a hair from his head. “The ancient scanning system would be able to determine genetic markers.”
Calvin stopped pacing, pulling a hair from his ponytail. “Let’s go.”
They both walked to the lab. Never had the silence been more awkward and unsure. It was the most painful five-minute walk they had either endured.
Radek took the long hair from Calvin and placed both samples on the computer, punching in the required perimeters. “Ready?”
Calvin breathed in deep then nodded. “I’m not calling you Dad,” Calvin told him. “If it comes out positive, remember that.”
Radek grinned, hitting the button. The computer made its calculations as they stood across from each other. Thirty seconds later it beeped lightly as the numbers displayed across the screen. Radek’s eyes roamed over them, reading the information three times before Calvin finally asked: “Well?” His voice had grown impatient.
“Positive.” Radek replied, sitting down. “I’m a father.”
Calvin sat in the stool that mirrored his father’s. No words were spoken as the tension built on the air. “I don’t know what to say,” Calvin stated. He pulled at his ponytail, his hand shaking as he did.
“Words are not coming to my mouth easily either.”
Calvin looked into the face of his dad, studying his features looking for something of himself there. “I guess I didn’t get my height from you,” Calvin supplied.
“No, I would say not. We have lots of time to discover what we share.”
“Right,” Calvin agreed, his mind lost in thought. “I can’t believe I had to go to another galaxy to discover who my father was.”
“We have lots to discuss. Why don’t we do that while we continue our work? We both want this to see results.”
“Are we going to sweep this under the rug? Hide the truth from everyone but ourselves?” Calvin asked, not moving from his seat.
Radek consider it a moment. “It’s not going to be easy to adjust to this-”
“I know. I just-” Calvin paused, fingering his glasses. “I don’t know how to act right now.”
“We’re still colleagues, yes?”
Calvin nodded.
“Then we continue to act as such and take this one step at a time.”
“Right.”
Radek smiled encouragingly. “Now, let’s get to work.”
Calvin stood, walking to his microscope.
“One more thing.”
“Yes?” Calvin replied.
“You may not call me dad, but I’m going to call you my son,” Radek advised, his face serious.
Calvin smiled. “I think that would be just fine.”
The End.
Author: eviljr
Beta(e): abysmal_seraph
Characters: Kavanagh, Zelenka
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Written For: ria_kukalaka, who wanted Kavanagh/Zelenka, more then just colleagues?
Summary: Kavanagh's cloudy past get a startling revelation while in Atlantis.
“Dr. Zelenka? Dr. Zelenka?”
Radek’s conscious attempted to return acknowledgment to the voice. His eyes were still focused on the small, framed photo sitting on the night stand. The face that reflected back had beckoned for his attention.
“Dr. Zelenka?” Calvin repeated, bringing Radek back to reality. “Why are you here again?”
Radek pulled his full focus back to the younger man. “Yes, sorry. Dr. Weir was hoping you would consult on a something I’ve been studying. Would you come?”
Calvin sighed. “Fine. Let me dress and I’ll be down shortly.”
Radek nodded, looking again to the photo. He paused then turned from the archway, leaving Calvin to dress.
Ten minutes later, Calvin walked into the lab. It was a bustling of activity. He wandered over to where Radek sat at a microscope. The Czech concentration didn’t waver from the scope as Calvin came to his side.
“So, what’s the big emergency?” Calvin asked. His voice was more annoyed than curious.
“This,” Radek replied. He stepped back, pointing to the scope, indicating to the younger scientist to look.
Calvin obligued looking into the scope. His glasses pressed into his forehead as he examined the sample. Small microbes roamed the sample freely. Tiny bean-shaped organisms, red in color. He stood upright once more. “So? I’m a chemist, not a biologist.”
Radek nodded. “Yes, yes. These creatures though, are creating this…this chemical-like substance we don’t understand. Come. I’ll show you.”
Calvin followed him over to a small dish. A smudge of what could only be described as goop. Calvin’s brow creased at the substance. “What’s so fascinating about it?”
“Only that this ooze, for lack of better word, is causing the Wraith cells we tested it on to shrivel and die.”
Calvin’s head whipped up to eye the older man. “Are you sure?”
Radek nodded. “This is fascinating part. We found creatures thriving in a cave on a planet where it seems the Wraith have not culled.”
Calvin brought the small container closer, eyeing the substance. “I want a significant amount to study.”
Radek nodded. “Of course, Dr. Kavanagh. It’s all quite fascinating,” He paused, his mind reeling back to the photo he glimpsed standing in the doorway of the younger man’s quarters. “May I ask you personal question?”
“What?”
“The photo on your night stand. The young woman. Whom may she be?”
Calvin breathed in deep. That was a question he often asked himself. Who was she really? The woman he was told was his mother. He had never known her. He adjusted his glasses, cleared his throat. “My mother.”
“Ah, I see. She was quite a lovely woman, yes?”
“I wouldn’t know. She died when I was young,” Calvin replied. His voice tinged with both hurt and regret.
“I see. That is most disheartening.”
“Yes. I think I would like to get to work.”
“Yes,” Radek agreed. “Let us find out what we can about these remarkable little organisms.”
Radek returned to his quarters that night after many hours. Flashes of the young woman in his mind. Something from his past. Her smile, her laugh, came back in flooded images in his sleep. Memories that hadn’t been brought forth in years. “Emily,” he whispered to his empty room when he had woken from the fretful sleep. Could it be? He ran a hand through frazzled hair as he considered it. No, he thought. How could it be possible? Sleep did not return until several hours had passed, and he drifted back into images of the whispery form of a woman.
Calvin returned to the lab earlier the next day, eager to run tests on the substance Dr. Zelenka had shown him. Much to his delight, the lab was still quiet. He was in the middle of a second test run when the Czech appeared, looking as though sleep hadn’t been his friend.
“Morning,” Radek said as he entered. “What have you discovered?”
Calvin stopped, rubbing his brow. “At this point, not much. This compound is completely unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”
Radek nodded. “It seems like those words are uttered often in this place.”
“Yea,” Calvin agreed, his voice echoing the frustration he had felt many times since he had come to Atlantis. He was thankful that most of his work was with the Czech scientist. He was one of the few he could tolerate and vice versa. Calvin figured the older man had some kind of built-in tolerance. From what he put up with from McKay alone, it was needed. Calvin scoffed to himself at that.
“What is it?” Radek asked.
Calvin jumped, not realizing that he had vocalized the sentiment. “Nothing. Just thinking.”
“I have been doing that as well.” Radek nodded. He considered whether he should ask one of the many questions that his mind had been cultivating. He pushed it aside, instead saying: “Well, let us see if headway can be made today.”
Calvin finished his slide and they both started another long day of testing.
Two days had passed with long hours in the lab. Both scientists had butted heads and on some occasions almost wanting to bang a head or two on a table out of frustration. Their ultimate goal was to be able to reproduce the substance synthetically in the lab so they could mass-produce it. It wasn’t going well. On the second evening they both retired, resigning to start again in the morning. They bid farewells, dragging weary bones to their separate quarters.
Radek rolled out of bed early the next morning, his eyes still half closed. He spent another night plagued by the dreams of the woman from the photo. He couldn’t stand it anymore. He had to know. He quickly resolved to shower and go visit Calvin. Thirty minutes later he knocked lightly at the long haired man’s door. A muffled ‘enter’ sounded from the other side and he paused as the door whooshed open. Calvin was toweling his hair off from his own shower, sitting on his bed. “I’m almost done,” Calvin advised. “I’m eager to get started again.” He rose, walking to the bathroom to hang the towel.
“Yes, yes,” Radek confirmed. “I as well, but I came by for another reason.” His eyes strayed once again to the small photo.
Calvin entered the room again, watching the older man staring at the photo. “What is it then?”
Radek sighed unsure where to start. “Ever since I saw the photo,” his words pointed to the picture as he spoke. “I haven’t been able to forget about it.”
Calvin’s eyebrows creased in uncertainty. “What are you talking about?”
Radek sat in the chair at the desk. “I believe I know her, your mother.”
Calvin shook his head, smiling as though he understood. “I don’t see how that’s possible, Doctor. I mean, she was an American, like me. She never went out of the country and died many years ago,” he concluded. Calvin pulled his hair up to restrain it in his customary ponytai. He expectantly looked to Radek .
“That is most likely true,” Radek replied. “However, I did come to states twenty six years ago.”
Calvin froze for a moment, his expression changing from dismissal to confusion once more. “Are you sure?”
Radek nodded. “When I was seventeen I won internship for visit to the states to Boston, for the summer. I spent most of the time on MIT campus.”
Calvin nodded, “My mother went to MIT before I was born. She dropped out after she became pregnant.”
“Emily,” Radek whispered. “Her name was Emily.”
Calvin choked. He couldn’t speak for a moment then nodded. “Yes, Emily Kavanagh. I have her last name. After she passed, I went to live with my grandmother. She told me that my mother never told anyone who my father was. That is why I have the Kavanagh last name instead of his.”
Radek stared into space his mind replaying the short clips of memory of the woman he had loved so many years before. “I never met anyone like her before or after that summer. She had a most brilliant mind and wonderful heart.”
“Did you love her?”
Radek didn’t hesitate. “Very much. I applied to stay in the country on student visa when I returned home but was turned down. My country didn’t want to export me after the potential they thought I had,” he grimaced. “We wrote often after I returned home in the beginning. Then a month or two later she stopped returning my letters. I was most distraught. I had no idea what happened to her. After a time, my letters were returned with ‘return to sender’ on them. I could only think she had found a new love and moved on,” he sighed, heart heavy.
Calvin’s thoughts ticked through everything he had learned. So many more questions than he could think possible.
Radek looked up suddenly. “How old are you?” he asked.
“Twenty-seven. Why?” Calvin replied then his eyes went wide. “You can’t be seriously considering-”
“No, it’s not likely,” Radek said, not voicing what he was thinking.
Calvin stood and started pacing the room. “Don’t tell me you-you did it with my mother.”
Radek looked into his lap where he was wringing his hands. “The last night before I was to leave, yes, we made love.”
Calvin threw his hands into the air. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” He shouted. His voice cracked as his words raked the ceiling. “We need to know. I need to know.”
Radek nodded, his eyes meeting the younger man’s. He stood, pulling a hair from his head. “The ancient scanning system would be able to determine genetic markers.”
Calvin stopped pacing, pulling a hair from his ponytail. “Let’s go.”
They both walked to the lab. Never had the silence been more awkward and unsure. It was the most painful five-minute walk they had either endured.
Radek took the long hair from Calvin and placed both samples on the computer, punching in the required perimeters. “Ready?”
Calvin breathed in deep then nodded. “I’m not calling you Dad,” Calvin told him. “If it comes out positive, remember that.”
Radek grinned, hitting the button. The computer made its calculations as they stood across from each other. Thirty seconds later it beeped lightly as the numbers displayed across the screen. Radek’s eyes roamed over them, reading the information three times before Calvin finally asked: “Well?” His voice had grown impatient.
“Positive.” Radek replied, sitting down. “I’m a father.”
Calvin sat in the stool that mirrored his father’s. No words were spoken as the tension built on the air. “I don’t know what to say,” Calvin stated. He pulled at his ponytail, his hand shaking as he did.
“Words are not coming to my mouth easily either.”
Calvin looked into the face of his dad, studying his features looking for something of himself there. “I guess I didn’t get my height from you,” Calvin supplied.
“No, I would say not. We have lots of time to discover what we share.”
“Right,” Calvin agreed, his mind lost in thought. “I can’t believe I had to go to another galaxy to discover who my father was.”
“We have lots to discuss. Why don’t we do that while we continue our work? We both want this to see results.”
“Are we going to sweep this under the rug? Hide the truth from everyone but ourselves?” Calvin asked, not moving from his seat.
Radek consider it a moment. “It’s not going to be easy to adjust to this-”
“I know. I just-” Calvin paused, fingering his glasses. “I don’t know how to act right now.”
“We’re still colleagues, yes?”
Calvin nodded.
“Then we continue to act as such and take this one step at a time.”
“Right.”
Radek smiled encouragingly. “Now, let’s get to work.”
Calvin stood, walking to his microscope.
“One more thing.”
“Yes?” Calvin replied.
“You may not call me dad, but I’m going to call you my son,” Radek advised, his face serious.
Calvin smiled. “I think that would be just fine.”
The End.