Reunion tag - Learning Curve
Title: Learning Curve
Author: padawan_aneiki
Rating/Pairing: G/None
Characters: Samantha Carter and John Sheppard
Summary: Sam and John have a chat following the events of Reunion.
Learning Curve
“Colonel?”
John Sheppard cracked open his right eye and looked up, followed by his left and a slight straightening of the slouched over posture he’d maintained in the mess hall chair, elbow on table and chin in hand.
“Colonel,” he greeted Samantha Carter politely, but with a tone that Carter decided would be best described as lackluster bordering on exhaustion.
“May I join you?” Sam asked, motioning to the chair across from Sheppard. She was rewarded by the sound of the chair scraping the floor as booted feet shifted off it to thud on the floor, and she took that as a ‘yes.’ Sitting, she noticed the barely touched cup of coffee in front of the Lieutenant Colonel along with what looked like some sort of report scrawled in handwriting that she instantly recognized as McKay’s without needing to read it and despite looking at it upside-down.
Sheppard noticed her looking at it, although unlike McKay himself, he made no move either to cover it or address it, so she decided that for the time being, ignoring it would be best.
“Been a heckuva way to start your day job,” Sheppard finally drawled, reaching for the mug and sipping at the lukewarm liquid inside. He suppressed a slight grimace at the coffee; he hadn’t meant to fall asleep sitting there like that, although he had to admit to choosing this table in the far corner just on the odds of it actually happening.
Carter actually smiled at that; there was something almost O’Neill-like in Sheppard’s pronouncement, and a slight chuckle escaped her. “I’m glad to see I didn’t leave SG-1 for something boring,” she replied in kind, and she stifled another chuckle as Sheppard’s left eyebrow rose in askance.
“Boring, we aren’t,” he agreed, and absently sipped at the coffee. “Pain in the ass, now that, on the other hand...” Sheppard let it trail off with a slight shrug. “We might resemble that one once in awhile.”
“I’ll consider myself warned,” Sam replied with a slight smile, as she leaned back in her chair a bit to regard the lieutenant colonel across from her frankly. “Actually, it’s kind of what I came down here to talk to you about,” she finally admitted, and she watched as John frowned, shoved aside the cold coffee and folded his arms across his chest.
“Oh?” he prompted almost lazily, but the hazel eyes were sharp, watchful. Sam knew that tactic, too and she exhaled a bit.
“Look, I know Dr. Weir allowed a certain amount of...latitude when it came to your team because quite frankly it was necessary given the team dynamics and the things you’ve faced over the past three years,” Carter prefaced carefully, lacing her fingers together and looking Sheppard directly in the eye. “But the fact is; the IOA put me here in part to organize things away from a civilian-led outfit. Things around here are likely to take a little different shape in the coming months.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Sheppard said simply, the lazy drawl gone; replaced with a slight edge, but it was his eyes that struck Carter the most. Hazel flint had given way to something a little more vulnerable and a lot guilty, but that wasn’t what she was here to discuss with him; those issues would have to wait just a little longer, bad as she felt about that.
“John,” she tried again, taking a steadying breath. “I just mean that Elizabeth and I are different people, and the way we do things is bound to be different,” she prefaced before unclasping her hands and tapping a bit on the tabletop. “I didn’t come down here to rub your face in the fact that I’m here and she’s not. I came down here because I need to talk to you about what’s happened here.”
“Something about a pain in the ass, right...” Sheppard prompted, before he too leaned forward on the table, and the flint was back in his gaze. “I know where you’re going with this, Colonel and with all due respect, I’m only going to say this once. Ronon and Teyla are valuable members of my team and I’m not about to remove them from my team without a damn good reason. Politics isn’t even close to that as far as I’m concerned.”
“I’m not suggesting that you should,” Sam said first, meeting John’s gaze evenly. “But as members of your team, both Ronon and Teyla are in possession of a great deal of information that could compromise the safety of this city. You know your people better than anybody else here,” she pinned him with a look now that demanded nothing but honesty, “and I know you trust them. I’ve read enough of your mission reports to know just how much you trust them, but I need to know and I need to know right now, can I trust them? With everything that’s happened to this expedition in the past few weeks...we can’t afford to have a repeat of this incident, with Ronon or anyone else.” Carter’s expression was earnest, and she watched as John’s expression hardened into something unreadable.
“If you have to ask that question, Colonel Carter,” John pushed up to his feet abruptly, “then you haven’t studied those reports enough.” The look on Sheppard’s face was a mixture of annoyance and exhaustion that seemed to emanate from his very being.
“Okay,” Carter said simply, and leaned back in her chair, looking up at Sheppard with an open expression. “If that’s your last word on it, then okay. I trust you.” Sheppard blinked; that was about the one response he hadn’t expected from her. His own mistakes rose up to accuse him and he was caught a little flat-footed that Carter was simply taking his word for it. She must have seen something in his expression, because she leaned forward again, and motioned for him to sit down. “Look, I’m just trying to get the lay of the land here. Elizabeth left some pretty big shoes to fill.”
For the first time since her arrival, Samantha Carter looked somewhat unsure of herself.
John sat down.
“Heckuva way to start your day job,” he repeated quietly, abruptly understanding the underlying reasons for this conversation.
“Yeah, something like that,” Sam said quietly. “I’m the new kid on the block, and you’ve been around the block a few times here. All I’m asking for is a little help. I meant what I said before; I’m committed to this expedition and this city. Elizabeth Weir trusted you implicitly. I need to be able to come to you in the same way.”
John drew in a slow, steadying breath. Really there had been no time to catch up to all that had happened, to process the...loss that Elizabeth’s capture represented. Hazel eyes looked up at last into blue ones, thoughtfully.
“Okay,” he said just as simply as she had, and he slouched back down in his chair. “This doesn’t get you any points in the pain in the ass department,” he warned lightly, reaching for the abandoned coffee mug. “I mean, all you have to do is start with McKay...”
Carter chuckled as she stood up, and shook her head slightly.
“Good afternoon, Colonel, I have a day job to get back to.” Sam paused a moment. “And...as you were; I have the feeling a little sleep would do us all some good.” She grinned and headed out of the mess.
Sheppard watched her go, shrugged a bit...and propped his chin in his hand.
The day job could wait a few minutes more.
Author: padawan_aneiki
Rating/Pairing: G/None
Characters: Samantha Carter and John Sheppard
Summary: Sam and John have a chat following the events of Reunion.
Learning Curve
“Colonel?”
John Sheppard cracked open his right eye and looked up, followed by his left and a slight straightening of the slouched over posture he’d maintained in the mess hall chair, elbow on table and chin in hand.
“Colonel,” he greeted Samantha Carter politely, but with a tone that Carter decided would be best described as lackluster bordering on exhaustion.
“May I join you?” Sam asked, motioning to the chair across from Sheppard. She was rewarded by the sound of the chair scraping the floor as booted feet shifted off it to thud on the floor, and she took that as a ‘yes.’ Sitting, she noticed the barely touched cup of coffee in front of the Lieutenant Colonel along with what looked like some sort of report scrawled in handwriting that she instantly recognized as McKay’s without needing to read it and despite looking at it upside-down.
Sheppard noticed her looking at it, although unlike McKay himself, he made no move either to cover it or address it, so she decided that for the time being, ignoring it would be best.
“Been a heckuva way to start your day job,” Sheppard finally drawled, reaching for the mug and sipping at the lukewarm liquid inside. He suppressed a slight grimace at the coffee; he hadn’t meant to fall asleep sitting there like that, although he had to admit to choosing this table in the far corner just on the odds of it actually happening.
Carter actually smiled at that; there was something almost O’Neill-like in Sheppard’s pronouncement, and a slight chuckle escaped her. “I’m glad to see I didn’t leave SG-1 for something boring,” she replied in kind, and she stifled another chuckle as Sheppard’s left eyebrow rose in askance.
“Boring, we aren’t,” he agreed, and absently sipped at the coffee. “Pain in the ass, now that, on the other hand...” Sheppard let it trail off with a slight shrug. “We might resemble that one once in awhile.”
“I’ll consider myself warned,” Sam replied with a slight smile, as she leaned back in her chair a bit to regard the lieutenant colonel across from her frankly. “Actually, it’s kind of what I came down here to talk to you about,” she finally admitted, and she watched as John frowned, shoved aside the cold coffee and folded his arms across his chest.
“Oh?” he prompted almost lazily, but the hazel eyes were sharp, watchful. Sam knew that tactic, too and she exhaled a bit.
“Look, I know Dr. Weir allowed a certain amount of...latitude when it came to your team because quite frankly it was necessary given the team dynamics and the things you’ve faced over the past three years,” Carter prefaced carefully, lacing her fingers together and looking Sheppard directly in the eye. “But the fact is; the IOA put me here in part to organize things away from a civilian-led outfit. Things around here are likely to take a little different shape in the coming months.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Sheppard said simply, the lazy drawl gone; replaced with a slight edge, but it was his eyes that struck Carter the most. Hazel flint had given way to something a little more vulnerable and a lot guilty, but that wasn’t what she was here to discuss with him; those issues would have to wait just a little longer, bad as she felt about that.
“John,” she tried again, taking a steadying breath. “I just mean that Elizabeth and I are different people, and the way we do things is bound to be different,” she prefaced before unclasping her hands and tapping a bit on the tabletop. “I didn’t come down here to rub your face in the fact that I’m here and she’s not. I came down here because I need to talk to you about what’s happened here.”
“Something about a pain in the ass, right...” Sheppard prompted, before he too leaned forward on the table, and the flint was back in his gaze. “I know where you’re going with this, Colonel and with all due respect, I’m only going to say this once. Ronon and Teyla are valuable members of my team and I’m not about to remove them from my team without a damn good reason. Politics isn’t even close to that as far as I’m concerned.”
“I’m not suggesting that you should,” Sam said first, meeting John’s gaze evenly. “But as members of your team, both Ronon and Teyla are in possession of a great deal of information that could compromise the safety of this city. You know your people better than anybody else here,” she pinned him with a look now that demanded nothing but honesty, “and I know you trust them. I’ve read enough of your mission reports to know just how much you trust them, but I need to know and I need to know right now, can I trust them? With everything that’s happened to this expedition in the past few weeks...we can’t afford to have a repeat of this incident, with Ronon or anyone else.” Carter’s expression was earnest, and she watched as John’s expression hardened into something unreadable.
“If you have to ask that question, Colonel Carter,” John pushed up to his feet abruptly, “then you haven’t studied those reports enough.” The look on Sheppard’s face was a mixture of annoyance and exhaustion that seemed to emanate from his very being.
“Okay,” Carter said simply, and leaned back in her chair, looking up at Sheppard with an open expression. “If that’s your last word on it, then okay. I trust you.” Sheppard blinked; that was about the one response he hadn’t expected from her. His own mistakes rose up to accuse him and he was caught a little flat-footed that Carter was simply taking his word for it. She must have seen something in his expression, because she leaned forward again, and motioned for him to sit down. “Look, I’m just trying to get the lay of the land here. Elizabeth left some pretty big shoes to fill.”
For the first time since her arrival, Samantha Carter looked somewhat unsure of herself.
John sat down.
“Heckuva way to start your day job,” he repeated quietly, abruptly understanding the underlying reasons for this conversation.
“Yeah, something like that,” Sam said quietly. “I’m the new kid on the block, and you’ve been around the block a few times here. All I’m asking for is a little help. I meant what I said before; I’m committed to this expedition and this city. Elizabeth Weir trusted you implicitly. I need to be able to come to you in the same way.”
John drew in a slow, steadying breath. Really there had been no time to catch up to all that had happened, to process the...loss that Elizabeth’s capture represented. Hazel eyes looked up at last into blue ones, thoughtfully.
“Okay,” he said just as simply as she had, and he slouched back down in his chair. “This doesn’t get you any points in the pain in the ass department,” he warned lightly, reaching for the abandoned coffee mug. “I mean, all you have to do is start with McKay...”
Carter chuckled as she stood up, and shook her head slightly.
“Good afternoon, Colonel, I have a day job to get back to.” Sam paused a moment. “And...as you were; I have the feeling a little sleep would do us all some good.” She grinned and headed out of the mess.
Sheppard watched her go, shrugged a bit...and propped his chin in his hand.
The day job could wait a few minutes more.