FLEETING MOMENTS BY kristen999 [LFWS #1 ROUND 10]
Title: Fleeting Moments
Author: kristen999
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Stargate belongs to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., no infringements of any rights is intended.
Spoilers: None
Prompt for the Round: Write a fic emphasizing the burden of a leader. You can use from one to all characters of the list.
FLEETING MOMENTS by kristen999
Richard ended his day the same way as he had the last ten, taking a detour to a familiar balcony, and sitting in the chair opposite the colonel. Sheppard started to stand, but his leg trembled halfway up, and Richard waved him down. “Please, relax.”
“I've got the update on the city's defensive effectiveness. Um... must’ve left it on my desk.”
“I already have it,” Richard replied.
“Oh.” Sheppard glanced down at his lap, then brightened as if realizing for the first time he held a PDA. He offered it up in a trembling hand. “Here. Rodney says he has a way to modify the jumpers’ engine--”
“--Yes, increasing speed by ten percent,” Richard interrupted, having read the report several times and trying to ignore the slightly hurt look on Sheppard‘s face. He had denied the extra manpower needed for the research, concluding the possible results weren’t worth it. Just as he'd forced Sheppard to revise his military budget to cut costs.
That was his job. To say no.
Your request is denied.
I'm sorry, the mission is too risky.
Atlantis is not a refugee camp.
“Hey, didn't see you there,” Sheppard said, surprised.
Richard smiled. “I just got comfortable.”
The left side of Sheppard's face twitched, his jaw snapping open and shut uncontrollably. Richard resisted the urge to call for someone; he held his breath as the jag worked its way down Sheppard’s arm and into his quivering hand.
The palsy mercifully ended and Sheppard blinked away the aftereffects, scratching the stubble on his chin and squinting in embarrassment. “Sorry, I was lost in thought. I finished the report on the battle readiness of our--”
“--Just e-mail them to me,” Richard finished.
He watched his military commander squirm in his chair, his slippered foot kicking the datapad that had been knocked to the ground. Sheppard picked it up, scrolling through the contents, an expression that could be stone cold and defiant melting into giddy excitement. “McKay and I think we can boost the jumpers’ response time with a little redesign of the engines.”
Some people wouldn't be able to handle an endless repeating cycle, a conversation caught in a short-term memory loop. It'd been the talk they’d had minutes before the city was taken siege by a faction of the new Pegasus coalition, and it was all Sheppard's compromised brain could hold on to.
These constant visits were not punishments for his choice. Or that's what he told himself.
“I wonder, in our line of work, how often do we say ‘no’? I mean, it's a two letter word. How hard is it?” Richard watched as recognition flickered behind hazel eyes. Then, in an instant, it was gone. “They wanted the override codes. If I had known Lorne and his strike team were about to burst in, I would've given them fake ones. But I couldn't.”
He'd said ‘no’, despising the sound as it fell from his lips.
“The city first.”
“John?” Richard leaned forward. “Colonel?”
Sheppard squinted, his brain short-circuiting. “Did you come by for the report?”
“Keller and Beckett say they're days away from finding a cure for the neurotoxin you were injected with.”
What was a little terrorist persuasion between friends?
Richard watched Sheppard fiddle with his PDA; he already had the next part of the conversation memorized. He put his hand on the colonel's shoulder, pulling up his robe to protect him from the breeze. “I'm approving the request for the jumper improvements.”
As each smiled, Richard realized that for at least this brief moment, they were on the same page.
Don’t forget to leave ONLY FEEDBACK in the comments and NOT VOTES. All comments will be screened until the voting closes.
Author: kristen999
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Stargate belongs to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., no infringements of any rights is intended.
Spoilers: None
Prompt for the Round: Write a fic emphasizing the burden of a leader. You can use from one to all characters of the list.
FLEETING MOMENTS by kristen999
Richard ended his day the same way as he had the last ten, taking a detour to a familiar balcony, and sitting in the chair opposite the colonel. Sheppard started to stand, but his leg trembled halfway up, and Richard waved him down. “Please, relax.”
“I've got the update on the city's defensive effectiveness. Um... must’ve left it on my desk.”
“I already have it,” Richard replied.
“Oh.” Sheppard glanced down at his lap, then brightened as if realizing for the first time he held a PDA. He offered it up in a trembling hand. “Here. Rodney says he has a way to modify the jumpers’ engine--”
“--Yes, increasing speed by ten percent,” Richard interrupted, having read the report several times and trying to ignore the slightly hurt look on Sheppard‘s face. He had denied the extra manpower needed for the research, concluding the possible results weren’t worth it. Just as he'd forced Sheppard to revise his military budget to cut costs.
That was his job. To say no.
Your request is denied.
I'm sorry, the mission is too risky.
Atlantis is not a refugee camp.
“Hey, didn't see you there,” Sheppard said, surprised.
Richard smiled. “I just got comfortable.”
The left side of Sheppard's face twitched, his jaw snapping open and shut uncontrollably. Richard resisted the urge to call for someone; he held his breath as the jag worked its way down Sheppard’s arm and into his quivering hand.
The palsy mercifully ended and Sheppard blinked away the aftereffects, scratching the stubble on his chin and squinting in embarrassment. “Sorry, I was lost in thought. I finished the report on the battle readiness of our--”
“--Just e-mail them to me,” Richard finished.
He watched his military commander squirm in his chair, his slippered foot kicking the datapad that had been knocked to the ground. Sheppard picked it up, scrolling through the contents, an expression that could be stone cold and defiant melting into giddy excitement. “McKay and I think we can boost the jumpers’ response time with a little redesign of the engines.”
Some people wouldn't be able to handle an endless repeating cycle, a conversation caught in a short-term memory loop. It'd been the talk they’d had minutes before the city was taken siege by a faction of the new Pegasus coalition, and it was all Sheppard's compromised brain could hold on to.
These constant visits were not punishments for his choice. Or that's what he told himself.
“I wonder, in our line of work, how often do we say ‘no’? I mean, it's a two letter word. How hard is it?” Richard watched as recognition flickered behind hazel eyes. Then, in an instant, it was gone. “They wanted the override codes. If I had known Lorne and his strike team were about to burst in, I would've given them fake ones. But I couldn't.”
He'd said ‘no’, despising the sound as it fell from his lips.
“The city first.”
“John?” Richard leaned forward. “Colonel?”
Sheppard squinted, his brain short-circuiting. “Did you come by for the report?”
“Keller and Beckett say they're days away from finding a cure for the neurotoxin you were injected with.”
What was a little terrorist persuasion between friends?
Richard watched Sheppard fiddle with his PDA; he already had the next part of the conversation memorized. He put his hand on the colonel's shoulder, pulling up his robe to protect him from the breeze. “I'm approving the request for the jumper improvements.”
As each smiled, Richard realized that for at least this brief moment, they were on the same page.
Don’t forget to leave ONLY FEEDBACK in the comments and NOT VOTES. All comments will be screened until the voting closes.