Fic: Best Laid Plan
Title: Best Laid Plan
Author: victoriaely
Spoilers: None
Pairings: None
Notes: Many thanks to Marie and severusslave
Best Laid Plan
Rodney was sitting by the wall, being as silent as possible. There was no real logical reason for that, but it felt the right thing to do. On his left, the hallway extended, as far as he knew, to the other entrance. The earthquake that had blocked it on the right could have affected it there, too, but exploring it was the last thing on his mind.
They - him and his team - had reached the palace on foot, after a two hours hike. Sheppard and Ronon had been amused by his and Carson's exhaustion, which had only made him angry. He had started fighting with the Satedan, ignoring Carson's pleas to calm down. Eventually, they had decided that the *soldiers* would stay outside to guard the perimeter and the *doctors* would go inside to explore the deserted place. 'Stay in radio contact,' Sheppard had said. He was in radio contact, but the radio wasn't working. The only thing that was truly working was his over-active mind, slowly taking him into full panic mode.
Rodney turned to his right, looking at Carson's prone, unconscious form. The man hadn't moved since the wall crashed on him. Rodney put his right hand on Carson's forehead, happy to find him warm - alive. He never actually considered the possibility that Carson could die. His friend always fought, silently, maybe afraid, but fought nonetheless. Carson couldn't die.
They had explored the endless halls in silence. Rodney knew how Carson felt about his fights with... pretty much everybody. He always told him that they were pointless. There was nothing he needed to prove and it was a shame to upset friends because of pride.
When the earth beneath them first shook, Carson was obviously scared and the only thing he could do was laugh at his friend. 'No earthquakes in Scotland?' Carson had paused for a few moments, regaining his composure and had moved on without a word. If only he hadn't stopped then...
A few moments later another earthquake had come, more violent this time. Before they could do anything, the walls came crashing down on top of them. Carson didn't even scream. It was really hard to say how much debris there was, Rodney could only see his friend's head and shoulders.
He closed his eyes and took his head in his hands. Every time something bad happened, some freaky good thing happened and helped them get out of it. But now? Maybe the others were injured, too. Maybe they were dead, and he was on his own.
The reasonable thing to do would be to explore the rest of the hall, to see if there was an exit, or to see if he could free Carson. But he couldn't do any of these. If he left and Carson woke up alone, he'd think that Rodney had left him. Or maybe Carson would die. Rodney shuddered as the thought crossed his mind. Carson was smart, kind and witty, but he was human. Everyone around him was human and they would all die.
Rodney heard a noise, like something moving against stone. He opened his eyes and saw Carson's left hand slowly moving against the debris on the floor.
"Carson!" Rodney's voice filled the hall.
Carson tried to slowly move his head, but the effort was obviously too much. Rodney got up and took his jacket off, folding it. He couldn't believe that he hadn’t thought of this sooner. He kneeled at Carson's side and gently placed the jacket under his friend's face. He could feel the small cuts on his face, where the grainy sand had bit into the skin when he hit the floor.
"Can you talk?" Rodney asked quietly. He saw Carson's left hand slowly move towards him. He took it in his, slowly rubbing it. Carson was alive, moving and breathing there with him. Every once in a while, Carson moved his thumb a bit, letting him know that he was still conscious. When he forgot to, Rodney gently moved it away from his hand, hoping that he would move it back. He always did.
"I'm sorry for acting so dumb outside. It's not like I try to be that way, but I can't help it..." Carson had told him that he was a good friend, but that he needed to show that he thought about the others. Carson never thought that he was egoistic. But he was, every time something bad happened, Rodney remembered just how egoistic he was. He always prayed, no, hoped, that he would be the first to die. He couldn't live with the thought of their death.
Rodney looked at Carson and wondered what he was thinking of. Probably assessing his injuries. Maybe he was thinking about death. His own death. He had to take Carson's mind off things, help him relax.
"Carson, I remember one planet we visited a year ago. It was really interesting. The gate was on a beach, the ocean was blue and the breeze was wonderful." There weren't any walls to fall on you, to block the sun, to keep you confined. The village was burning and he could see bodies of humans scattered all over the place. But Carson didn't have to know about that. When they came back from that mission, they said it was of no interest. It was strange how nothing was good all the way in this galaxy. "But you don't like places like that, do you? I heard once that Scotland is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. And it wasn't a Scotsman that said it. I bet you agree." When he first met Carson, he thought the man was a little crazy. After knowing him, he thought Carson was too kind. More than anything, he was unlucky. Carson never seemed to get what he deserved, not even half. Rodney knew there was a lot that he needed to say, but he couldn't form words. Every thought stopped before he could put it into words, worrying him more, panicking him more.
"We'll get out of here, Carson. Don't worry."
Carson's whispered response sent chills down Rodney's spine. "Go. Don't be here when I..." All his strength was used to say those few words and Rodney couldn't answer. For a few moments, he tried to blink away the tears that were clouding his vision.
"You know, in all those action movies, they say what they'll do when they get out. They always say dumb stuff, about traveling and so on. When I get away from here, I want to eat a big bowl of blue Jell-O. I'm sure you'd enjoy a cup of your tea."
He moved his finger against Carson's again, getting no response. He got down to the floor on his stomach and slowly lifted Carson's head enough to see his closed eyes. With his other hand, he rubbed his forehead until he could see the blue eyes opening.
"I wanted to ask you something. Will you take me to Scotland?"
Carson smiled. He tiredly closed his eyes and Rodney prayed that they would be rescued. Carson couldn't die.
Author: victoriaely
Spoilers: None
Pairings: None
Notes: Many thanks to Marie and severusslave
Best Laid Plan
Rodney was sitting by the wall, being as silent as possible. There was no real logical reason for that, but it felt the right thing to do. On his left, the hallway extended, as far as he knew, to the other entrance. The earthquake that had blocked it on the right could have affected it there, too, but exploring it was the last thing on his mind.
They - him and his team - had reached the palace on foot, after a two hours hike. Sheppard and Ronon had been amused by his and Carson's exhaustion, which had only made him angry. He had started fighting with the Satedan, ignoring Carson's pleas to calm down. Eventually, they had decided that the *soldiers* would stay outside to guard the perimeter and the *doctors* would go inside to explore the deserted place. 'Stay in radio contact,' Sheppard had said. He was in radio contact, but the radio wasn't working. The only thing that was truly working was his over-active mind, slowly taking him into full panic mode.
Rodney turned to his right, looking at Carson's prone, unconscious form. The man hadn't moved since the wall crashed on him. Rodney put his right hand on Carson's forehead, happy to find him warm - alive. He never actually considered the possibility that Carson could die. His friend always fought, silently, maybe afraid, but fought nonetheless. Carson couldn't die.
They had explored the endless halls in silence. Rodney knew how Carson felt about his fights with... pretty much everybody. He always told him that they were pointless. There was nothing he needed to prove and it was a shame to upset friends because of pride.
When the earth beneath them first shook, Carson was obviously scared and the only thing he could do was laugh at his friend. 'No earthquakes in Scotland?' Carson had paused for a few moments, regaining his composure and had moved on without a word. If only he hadn't stopped then...
A few moments later another earthquake had come, more violent this time. Before they could do anything, the walls came crashing down on top of them. Carson didn't even scream. It was really hard to say how much debris there was, Rodney could only see his friend's head and shoulders.
He closed his eyes and took his head in his hands. Every time something bad happened, some freaky good thing happened and helped them get out of it. But now? Maybe the others were injured, too. Maybe they were dead, and he was on his own.
The reasonable thing to do would be to explore the rest of the hall, to see if there was an exit, or to see if he could free Carson. But he couldn't do any of these. If he left and Carson woke up alone, he'd think that Rodney had left him. Or maybe Carson would die. Rodney shuddered as the thought crossed his mind. Carson was smart, kind and witty, but he was human. Everyone around him was human and they would all die.
Rodney heard a noise, like something moving against stone. He opened his eyes and saw Carson's left hand slowly moving against the debris on the floor.
"Carson!" Rodney's voice filled the hall.
Carson tried to slowly move his head, but the effort was obviously too much. Rodney got up and took his jacket off, folding it. He couldn't believe that he hadn’t thought of this sooner. He kneeled at Carson's side and gently placed the jacket under his friend's face. He could feel the small cuts on his face, where the grainy sand had bit into the skin when he hit the floor.
"Can you talk?" Rodney asked quietly. He saw Carson's left hand slowly move towards him. He took it in his, slowly rubbing it. Carson was alive, moving and breathing there with him. Every once in a while, Carson moved his thumb a bit, letting him know that he was still conscious. When he forgot to, Rodney gently moved it away from his hand, hoping that he would move it back. He always did.
"I'm sorry for acting so dumb outside. It's not like I try to be that way, but I can't help it..." Carson had told him that he was a good friend, but that he needed to show that he thought about the others. Carson never thought that he was egoistic. But he was, every time something bad happened, Rodney remembered just how egoistic he was. He always prayed, no, hoped, that he would be the first to die. He couldn't live with the thought of their death.
Rodney looked at Carson and wondered what he was thinking of. Probably assessing his injuries. Maybe he was thinking about death. His own death. He had to take Carson's mind off things, help him relax.
"Carson, I remember one planet we visited a year ago. It was really interesting. The gate was on a beach, the ocean was blue and the breeze was wonderful." There weren't any walls to fall on you, to block the sun, to keep you confined. The village was burning and he could see bodies of humans scattered all over the place. But Carson didn't have to know about that. When they came back from that mission, they said it was of no interest. It was strange how nothing was good all the way in this galaxy. "But you don't like places like that, do you? I heard once that Scotland is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. And it wasn't a Scotsman that said it. I bet you agree." When he first met Carson, he thought the man was a little crazy. After knowing him, he thought Carson was too kind. More than anything, he was unlucky. Carson never seemed to get what he deserved, not even half. Rodney knew there was a lot that he needed to say, but he couldn't form words. Every thought stopped before he could put it into words, worrying him more, panicking him more.
"We'll get out of here, Carson. Don't worry."
Carson's whispered response sent chills down Rodney's spine. "Go. Don't be here when I..." All his strength was used to say those few words and Rodney couldn't answer. For a few moments, he tried to blink away the tears that were clouding his vision.
"You know, in all those action movies, they say what they'll do when they get out. They always say dumb stuff, about traveling and so on. When I get away from here, I want to eat a big bowl of blue Jell-O. I'm sure you'd enjoy a cup of your tea."
He moved his finger against Carson's again, getting no response. He got down to the floor on his stomach and slowly lifted Carson's head enough to see his closed eyes. With his other hand, he rubbed his forehead until he could see the blue eyes opening.
"I wanted to ask you something. Will you take me to Scotland?"
Carson smiled. He tiredly closed his eyes and Rodney prayed that they would be rescued. Carson couldn't die.