Fic: Dreams of a Lost City, by Scarlet_Gryphon; Forks in the Road Challenge
Title: Dreams of a Lost City
Author: scarlet_gryphon
Word Count: ~511
Rating: Gen/PG
Genre: Gen, vague Angst
Notes: Spoilers for Season 3; vague crossover with Eureka.
Summary: "And when we get home, I know we won't be home at all/This place we live, it is not where we belong/And I miss who we were/in the town that we could call our own"
-"Franklin", by Paramore
It's odd, the first few weeks back. She's not used to twenty-four hour days anymore, so she's going through one of the worst and longest cases of jet lag she's ever had. She laughs bitterly at this; there's no jet on Earth that'll get her to where she wants to be, and the Daedalus sure as hell won't be taking her there- or any of them, for that matter. She finds a small house in North Carolina that's as close to the beach as she can get, but it's a poor replacement for endless ocean all around. At night, she dreams of crystal clear blue water under a not-so-alien sky.
~~~
When he first gets into a car, it takes him a few minutes to realize that it's not controlled by his mind. He's so used to the Jumpers that he's almost forgotten what it's like to drive with his hands. He takes it slowly as he's going to the temporary housing the SGC has rushed to acquire now that the Expedition has returned, but after a few days, he's more confident and drives normally. Three months after he comes back, he loads all of his possessions into the trunk of his four-door sedan and drives away from Colorado Springs, heading south-west until he runs out of land. He fetches up in a sleepy little town in Arizona, but doesn't stay too long. He leaves once he's got the funds, so wanting to feel (actually, not-feel; inertial dampers take care of that, but not here on Earth) the smooth ride and freedom that he can't quite match with a car, no matter how flat the ground or fast the vehicle.
~~~
They move back to the Northwest, first to be near his parents, as hers have long since retired to Europe, but also because of the jobs they were offered. They find a small two-bedroom apartment that suits their needs and commute together to work everyday. It's quite literally a company town they've come to, with most, if not all of the community's residents employed by the extensive research and development complex in the hills above the town. The atmosphere at Global Dynamics is one of learning and discovery, quite similar to the one in Atlantis, but always subtly yet jarringly wrong. Both keep expecting to hear McKay badgering a luckless underling or the sounds of the Gate activation klaxons going off, announcing the return of an away team, but the so-longed for noises never occur. They're among strangers in a strange land, even though there are some achingly familiar aspects to it.
~~~
Never again will any of them return to the floating city on the sea, oh so far away and yet so near, for the "rightful" owners have returned. The stewardship of the City on the Sea has passed back into Ancient hands, and the new Lanteans are banished from ever returning, never again to see the soaring spires of the City or hear her ethereal music resonate through their minds.
The City of Atlantis is lost once again, never to be found.
Author: scarlet_gryphon
Word Count: ~511
Rating: Gen/PG
Genre: Gen, vague Angst
Notes: Spoilers for Season 3; vague crossover with Eureka.
Summary: "And when we get home, I know we won't be home at all/This place we live, it is not where we belong/And I miss who we were/in the town that we could call our own"
-"Franklin", by Paramore
It's odd, the first few weeks back. She's not used to twenty-four hour days anymore, so she's going through one of the worst and longest cases of jet lag she's ever had. She laughs bitterly at this; there's no jet on Earth that'll get her to where she wants to be, and the Daedalus sure as hell won't be taking her there- or any of them, for that matter. She finds a small house in North Carolina that's as close to the beach as she can get, but it's a poor replacement for endless ocean all around. At night, she dreams of crystal clear blue water under a not-so-alien sky.
~~~
When he first gets into a car, it takes him a few minutes to realize that it's not controlled by his mind. He's so used to the Jumpers that he's almost forgotten what it's like to drive with his hands. He takes it slowly as he's going to the temporary housing the SGC has rushed to acquire now that the Expedition has returned, but after a few days, he's more confident and drives normally. Three months after he comes back, he loads all of his possessions into the trunk of his four-door sedan and drives away from Colorado Springs, heading south-west until he runs out of land. He fetches up in a sleepy little town in Arizona, but doesn't stay too long. He leaves once he's got the funds, so wanting to feel (actually, not-feel; inertial dampers take care of that, but not here on Earth) the smooth ride and freedom that he can't quite match with a car, no matter how flat the ground or fast the vehicle.
~~~
They move back to the Northwest, first to be near his parents, as hers have long since retired to Europe, but also because of the jobs they were offered. They find a small two-bedroom apartment that suits their needs and commute together to work everyday. It's quite literally a company town they've come to, with most, if not all of the community's residents employed by the extensive research and development complex in the hills above the town. The atmosphere at Global Dynamics is one of learning and discovery, quite similar to the one in Atlantis, but always subtly yet jarringly wrong. Both keep expecting to hear McKay badgering a luckless underling or the sounds of the Gate activation klaxons going off, announcing the return of an away team, but the so-longed for noises never occur. They're among strangers in a strange land, even though there are some achingly familiar aspects to it.
~~~
Never again will any of them return to the floating city on the sea, oh so far away and yet so near, for the "rightful" owners have returned. The stewardship of the City on the Sea has passed back into Ancient hands, and the new Lanteans are banished from ever returning, never again to see the soaring spires of the City or hear her ethereal music resonate through their minds.
The City of Atlantis is lost once again, never to be found.