Though I Walk, by Arsenic, R
Rec Category: Elizabeth Weir
Pairing: In order of appearence: Teyla/Ronon, Elizabeth/John, Elizabeth/John/Rodney, Elizabeth/John/Rodney/Ronon
Categories: het. threesome. foursome (0T4). Smut. Elizabeth Weir. Teyla Emmagan. Ronon Dex. John Sheppard. Rodney McKay. Character death
Warnings: Character death
Author on LJ: N/A
Author's Website: Taste of Poison
Link: Though I Walk
Why This Must Be Read: This story was recced to me as "multipairing," and if I had known it was going to end up going into foursome territory, I would not have read it. For some reason, the idea of foursomes or OT4 is fundementally too out there for me. I tend to think you can't make a romantic relationship work with so many people. But this story? Holy freakin' crap. I am eternally glad I read it because it builds the pairings one at a time. It sells you the progression of their evolving relationships. I am in awe of this writer, because this story isn't about sex (though it has some). It's about connection, and evolution, and finding family when you've lost others.
Let me warn people right now: It's not completely linear in the beginning, because it starts off with Teyla's death. But Teyla's presence is woven in through the entire story, in stunning flashbacks and in the hole she leaves behind among Atlantis. I know this is a rec for Elizabeth Weir catagory, but really, this is a character piece of everyone because it explores the entire cast and their dynamics wonderfully. Mutliple POVs, and everybody gets equal loving and exploration.
It made a OT4 believer out of me, and that? I thought impossible. Long, plotty, with great charactization. I cannot recommend this enough, especially to people that don't usually go for this type of fic. Read a few paragraphs, and trust me, you'll be hooked by the writing.
--
Rodney's grunt matched John's stunted laugh. "You just don't want to be bothered with the minutiae of further cultivating the young minds in this city. We won't be around forever, you know. But since you have me right now and I am perfectly willing to work for this city at any time, day or night--"
They had nearly approached Rodney's labs and he was clearly getting ready leave them to themselves.
Elizabeth said, "Walk a bit further with us."
"So that I'm forced to double back? Whatever collusion you and Carson have gotten up to regarding my exercise habits, it's not going to work."
"You're colluding with Carson?" John asked mildly.
"Wildly," Elizabeth said. "Walk with us, Rodney."
Rodney walked because while she hadn't yet resorted to her Commander Of This Expedition Elizabeth Voice, she had called upon the Slightly Less Than A Friend Elizabeth Voice. Rodney was smart enough to recognize the import.
"If this is because you guys are having a squabble and need someone between you two at all times--"
"You're not between us," John pointed out.
"I meant metaphorically."
"We're not having a squabble," Elizabeth said.
"A chaperone then? To quiet wagging tongues?"
"Have you been reading Jane Austen?" John asked. "Because I would think you'd know better."
Rodney scowled. "Just because some of us only pretend to turn the pages of the book we've been reading for nearly ten years does not make the rest of us illiterate."
Elizabeth thought of John the Sunday before, when the Daedalus had shown up with all the goodies that implied, not the least of which was six months of John's subscription to Flight Journal. John had spent hours sprawled over his bed, stomach down, reading about the latest developments in non-classified earth aerospace technology and more about the history of the area as well. Elizabeth knew that he already possessed much of the knowledge in the magazine's pages, and that in and of itself was a comforting fact. She also knew that he was always looking for the information he had somehow missed in the bulletins and memos and calls from the SGC.
Rodney and John were still bickering half-heartedly at each other when they reached her quarters, which were the closest to the nerve center of Atlantis. Rodney said, "Is it all right with your majesty if I head back to my labs now?"
Elizabeth considered the request carefully. If it had been said with pure sarcasm, absolutely nothing else to it, she might have let him. But there had been a moment, right before he had asked, where his eyes had strayed to her door, had looked purposely anywhere but at her or John. "Why don't you come in for a bit?"
"I actually do have work, you realize? So that the city runs and you're a happy little expedition leader?"
"It can wait until the morning," she said. "If it couldn't, you would never have been at game night." She wouldn't make the offer an order, however. There were some things that Rodney had to decide for himself.
Rodney shifted a bit on his feet, looking between Elizabeth and John. Sometimes Elizabeth worried that Rodney's mind would eventually go in too many directions at once and there would be no gathering it all back together. Tonight was evidently not that night though, because he eventually said, "Another hour or so probably won't have the city sinking into the ocean. Although if it does, and you even try to pin me with the blame--"
"I'll fight for your honor," John assured him.
"Oh, shut up," Rodney said, following the two of them in the door. "As I was saying. . ."
Elizabeth listened a little as she watched the way John listened to Rodney, lackadaisical intent and automatic, almost inborn enjoyment settling over his features. She listened as she watched the way Rodney's shoulders lowered fractionally with each minute he stayed. She listened and thought about the way things on Atlantis never went the way a person rightfully expected them to go, and how sometimes the things that made the least sense on earth made the most sense here.
She listened and tucked herself at John's side, enjoying the natural drooping of his hand over her shoulders, the automatic ease with which he stroked her arm, even as the majority of his attention was focused on Rodney.
She listened and watched through half-shut eyes as Rodney's glance kept flickering toward John's hand.
She listened and heard Teyla's voice. "You have the gift of being able to see possibilities where they do not even know they exist. Why are you always running from this ability?"
At the time Elizabeth had laughed at the question, slightly offended. "I fought for the privilege to travel across galaxies on the premise of a possibility. No small feat for any earth citizen, but even less so for a woman."
Teyla had nodded. "You are tired, then?"
Elizabeth was more tired now than she had ever felt with Teyla there to prod her on, which was why it seemed somewhat irrational for this moment to be the one where she pushed herself to her feet and explored what there was to see anyhow. John was laughing, soft and low and real beside her.
Someone had to.
*
Pairing: In order of appearence: Teyla/Ronon, Elizabeth/John, Elizabeth/John/Rodney, Elizabeth/John/Rodney/Ronon
Categories: het. threesome. foursome (0T4). Smut. Elizabeth Weir. Teyla Emmagan. Ronon Dex. John Sheppard. Rodney McKay. Character death
Warnings: Character death
Author on LJ: N/A
Author's Website: Taste of Poison
Link: Though I Walk
Why This Must Be Read: This story was recced to me as "multipairing," and if I had known it was going to end up going into foursome territory, I would not have read it. For some reason, the idea of foursomes or OT4 is fundementally too out there for me. I tend to think you can't make a romantic relationship work with so many people. But this story? Holy freakin' crap. I am eternally glad I read it because it builds the pairings one at a time. It sells you the progression of their evolving relationships. I am in awe of this writer, because this story isn't about sex (though it has some). It's about connection, and evolution, and finding family when you've lost others.
Let me warn people right now: It's not completely linear in the beginning, because it starts off with Teyla's death. But Teyla's presence is woven in through the entire story, in stunning flashbacks and in the hole she leaves behind among Atlantis. I know this is a rec for Elizabeth Weir catagory, but really, this is a character piece of everyone because it explores the entire cast and their dynamics wonderfully. Mutliple POVs, and everybody gets equal loving and exploration.
It made a OT4 believer out of me, and that? I thought impossible. Long, plotty, with great charactization. I cannot recommend this enough, especially to people that don't usually go for this type of fic. Read a few paragraphs, and trust me, you'll be hooked by the writing.
--
Rodney's grunt matched John's stunted laugh. "You just don't want to be bothered with the minutiae of further cultivating the young minds in this city. We won't be around forever, you know. But since you have me right now and I am perfectly willing to work for this city at any time, day or night--"
They had nearly approached Rodney's labs and he was clearly getting ready leave them to themselves.
Elizabeth said, "Walk a bit further with us."
"So that I'm forced to double back? Whatever collusion you and Carson have gotten up to regarding my exercise habits, it's not going to work."
"You're colluding with Carson?" John asked mildly.
"Wildly," Elizabeth said. "Walk with us, Rodney."
Rodney walked because while she hadn't yet resorted to her Commander Of This Expedition Elizabeth Voice, she had called upon the Slightly Less Than A Friend Elizabeth Voice. Rodney was smart enough to recognize the import.
"If this is because you guys are having a squabble and need someone between you two at all times--"
"You're not between us," John pointed out.
"I meant metaphorically."
"We're not having a squabble," Elizabeth said.
"A chaperone then? To quiet wagging tongues?"
"Have you been reading Jane Austen?" John asked. "Because I would think you'd know better."
Rodney scowled. "Just because some of us only pretend to turn the pages of the book we've been reading for nearly ten years does not make the rest of us illiterate."
Elizabeth thought of John the Sunday before, when the Daedalus had shown up with all the goodies that implied, not the least of which was six months of John's subscription to Flight Journal. John had spent hours sprawled over his bed, stomach down, reading about the latest developments in non-classified earth aerospace technology and more about the history of the area as well. Elizabeth knew that he already possessed much of the knowledge in the magazine's pages, and that in and of itself was a comforting fact. She also knew that he was always looking for the information he had somehow missed in the bulletins and memos and calls from the SGC.
Rodney and John were still bickering half-heartedly at each other when they reached her quarters, which were the closest to the nerve center of Atlantis. Rodney said, "Is it all right with your majesty if I head back to my labs now?"
Elizabeth considered the request carefully. If it had been said with pure sarcasm, absolutely nothing else to it, she might have let him. But there had been a moment, right before he had asked, where his eyes had strayed to her door, had looked purposely anywhere but at her or John. "Why don't you come in for a bit?"
"I actually do have work, you realize? So that the city runs and you're a happy little expedition leader?"
"It can wait until the morning," she said. "If it couldn't, you would never have been at game night." She wouldn't make the offer an order, however. There were some things that Rodney had to decide for himself.
Rodney shifted a bit on his feet, looking between Elizabeth and John. Sometimes Elizabeth worried that Rodney's mind would eventually go in too many directions at once and there would be no gathering it all back together. Tonight was evidently not that night though, because he eventually said, "Another hour or so probably won't have the city sinking into the ocean. Although if it does, and you even try to pin me with the blame--"
"I'll fight for your honor," John assured him.
"Oh, shut up," Rodney said, following the two of them in the door. "As I was saying. . ."
Elizabeth listened a little as she watched the way John listened to Rodney, lackadaisical intent and automatic, almost inborn enjoyment settling over his features. She listened as she watched the way Rodney's shoulders lowered fractionally with each minute he stayed. She listened and thought about the way things on Atlantis never went the way a person rightfully expected them to go, and how sometimes the things that made the least sense on earth made the most sense here.
She listened and tucked herself at John's side, enjoying the natural drooping of his hand over her shoulders, the automatic ease with which he stroked her arm, even as the majority of his attention was focused on Rodney.
She listened and watched through half-shut eyes as Rodney's glance kept flickering toward John's hand.
She listened and heard Teyla's voice. "You have the gift of being able to see possibilities where they do not even know they exist. Why are you always running from this ability?"
At the time Elizabeth had laughed at the question, slightly offended. "I fought for the privilege to travel across galaxies on the premise of a possibility. No small feat for any earth citizen, but even less so for a woman."
Teyla had nodded. "You are tired, then?"
Elizabeth was more tired now than she had ever felt with Teyla there to prod her on, which was why it seemed somewhat irrational for this moment to be the one where she pushed herself to her feet and explored what there was to see anyhow. John was laughing, soft and low and real beside her.
Someone had to.
*