"The Last Changeling" -Tale the Ninth: Detente, pt. 3/4
Title: "The Last Changeling"
Author: Taylor Dancinghands -taylor@tdancinghands.com
Characters: Vampire!Sheppard/Werewolf!Zelenka/Changeling!Rodney... and Centaur!Carson, among others.
Pairings: Zelenka/McKay/Sheppard, and other pairings background
Category: slash, AU
Spoilers: none
Warnings: graphic m/m/m sex
Rating: for Mature readers
Archive: Generally yes, but please let me know where
Summary: Now that our heroes are reunited, Carson's trial concluded favorably and the age old exile of Wolves and Vampires from the Realms lifted, a single problem remains: how will our heroes be able to return to Atlantis. Help comes from an unexpected quarter.
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, never will, not claiming to. Just wanna play with 'em a little. Can't I, can't I, huh?
****
The Last Changeling
by Taylor Dancinghands
Tale the Ninth: "Detente" pt 3/4
What with everything else Rodney'd had on his mind the last few days, it had been easy to put aside his speculations about what, if anything, Dr Weir had been planning on their behalf. He'd had no doubts that she wanted to be able to help them, but he'd had no idea of how she might, nor how effective it might be. Now, hearing that she'd come here -that she'd been admitted, as a mortal, to the Fae Realms- Rodney began to harbor the faintest hopes that she might have a solution.
"Rodney, have you any idea what this proposal might be?" Radek asked as the four of them came to the meadow where the negotiators and their associates were gathering.
"I actually told her not to tell me any of her plans," Rodney said shaking his head. "It seemed the smarter thing to do, at the time."
"Probably a good idea," John said, which warmed Rodney's heart. Any further thoughts he might have had on the matter, however, were curtailed when they drew close enough to see who was among these gathered.
"Oh crap," John said quietly. "That's my father."
"And Jakub!" Radek added with a grin. "Nazdar!" he called out loudly, waving a hand in the air. "Ahoj, Jakuba!"
"Vlčku!" Radek's packmaster, who had been conversing with a tall, pale man with inky black hair and oddly familiar features, turned to greet them. He strode forward to meet Radek, who had done likewise, and placed his hands on Radek's shoulders, lifting his chin to expose his throat. When two pack leaders meet, Rodney recalled, it is always the senior most who submits first.
Their little ritual completed, the two wolves fell to conversing in rapid fire Czech, which involved Radek coloring and looking away, and Jakub kissing him on both cheeks. Rodney, Sheppard and Phinnisti came up to join them a moment later, though the faun quickly stepped to one side, extracted parchment and a pen from his satchel, and began to take notes. The tall pale guy Jakub had been chatting with remained at the perimeter, watching the group, and John, it seemed, in particular.
"John, Rodney," Jakub shook each of their hands. "It is very good to see you again, and very fine indeed that our reunion takes place here, yes? It is a great day." They all nodded and made agreeing noises, though their gazes one by one shifted to the familiar stranger on their perimeter.
"Ah, forgive me," Jakub said, mercifully. "I should introduce my colleague." He motioned for the stranger to join them, but before he could speak further John spoke up instead.
"I'll introduce him," he said abruptly, as if he'd only reluctantly decided to do so at the last minute. "Rodney, Radek, this is Clan Leader and Householder Matheson Greyling. Householder, may I introduce Dr Rodney, McKay and Dr Radek Zelenka."
Of course, Rodney realized, as the pale man with John's nose and cheekbones stepped forward to shake his and Radek's hands with rigid decorum. This was John Sheppard's father. "Gentlemen," he said by way or greeting. "John. You all work for Dr Weir, on Atlantis?"
Rodney might not be the most astute observer of non verbal communication, but he could write the book on rude. He found Greyling's general coolness to be nothing unexpected, but his overt disrespect of John made Rodney bristle.
"In fact, I happen to be the head of sciences," Rodney replied briskly, "while this man is our chief engineer. Sheppard here has actually been the head of the military on Atlantis the last four years, and seeing as you must know full well that this man is also a Householder himself and, as such, deserves to be addressed as one, I can only assume that the dazzling splendor of the Fae Realms has made you forget your manners." Standing beside him, John's expression suggested that he would rather be enduring dental work, but Rodney ignored him. Being rude to jerks was his prerogative.
Stiffly, Greyling turned to John, regarding him, stone faced. "Householder... Sheppard," he said at last, with icy formality.
"Householder Greyling," John acknowledged, bearing the same unreadable expression he used for negotiating with the Genii.
"Sheppard... a wolf which allows himself to be tamed," Greyling reflected with false lightness, "and tasked with protecting the very creatures who, by rights, ought to flee or cower before him in fear."
"It is no tame creature," Radek spoke up now, blue eyes sparking fiercely, "who is able to protect Atlantis from the monsters which threaten her now, rest assured."
Greyling's penetrating gaze shifted to Radek and lingered there for a few seconds. "Your House?" he asked at last.
"Yup," answered John, arms crossed over his chest, posture deceptively casual.
Equally noncommittal, Greyling nodded slowly twice, assessing, and then seemed satisfied.
"Your Dr Weir," he said, "has a proposal that would give us both," and now he nodded in the direction of Radek's packmaster, "common cause. It is a masterful stroke."
"Does this surprise you?" Rodney quipped, still bristling just a bit. "You'd be wise not to underestimate her in the future."
"I've no intention of doing so, Doctor," the vampire replied, taking some of the wind out of Rodney's sails. "I can see this surprises you, but I would have you know that for all the differences I may have with... your Householder, I am not a stupid man."
"Don't take it personally," John said with a bit of a smirk. "Rodney thinks everyone is stupid, but he comes by it honestly."
Before anyone could comment on that, however, Phinnisti stepped forward, calling their attention to where Dr Weir, accompanied by General Jack O'Neill and another balding gentleman wearing a shockingly incongruous business suit and carrying a briefcase, were being lead towards a pavilion on the far side of the clearing.
"The place where your negotiations will take place has been prepared," he said, "and the relevant parties are mostly all gathered. Come."
**
The five of them -Rodney, Radek and John, along with John's father and Radek's Packmaster- followed the faun toward the pavilion, where they were shown inside. There were more carpets there, cushions for sitting laid in a large, equilateral triangle, and a low, round table in the center set with tea, honey and cups.
Elizabeth, O'Neill and the man in the suit, who Rodney now recognized as IOA representative Richard Woolsey, where there already, settling in their places, and Elizabeth motioned for Rodney, Radek and John to join her, on one side of the triangle. O'Neill and Woolsey were seated on their left -the IOA man looking distinctly awkward sitting on the floor- and on their right Greyling and Jakub were joined by the warrior dwarf from yesterday's finding, and another high caste elf, a female who also looked to be a warrioresss of some sort.
This was to be a three party negotiation then, Rodney deduced, between Earth's authorities, warriors of the Fae, and themselves, who must be representing Atlantis. He glanced across to Elizabeth, curious as to what her proposal was that had brought these three agencies together. When they were all settled in, however, it was Jack O'Neill who spoke first.
"General Landry is on his way," he said, "with another person he believes should be here for these proceedings. They'll be arriving shortly, but I think we can go ahead and start. He's heard your proposal, Dr Weir, but not everyone here has."
Elizabeth nodded, glancing down at a slim folder which she now opened. "Very well," she said. "I'll begin with a little background, then. Given the great quantity of historical data we are now uncovering on Atlantis, I began discussions, some months ago, on the possibility of inviting a small scholarly delegation to take up residence on the city. The idea seemed to be generally well received, but progress on this front was delayed recently when we became aware of a new and troubling development in the Pegasus Galaxy." She paused here to glance around and make sure everyone was following.
"The Wraith are, of course, and ongoing threat for us," she continued after her pause, "and have been since we first came to Atlantis, but recent intelligence suggests that they are preparing for an attack of greater force than we have yet endured. Naturally, we have asked for help from our allies in Pegasus, but the peoples of the Pegasus Galaxy have been at the mercy of the Wraith for generations, and they have never been able to oppose them successfully."
Where was she going with this? Rodney wondered, exchanging glances with Radek and John. He had no idea, but O'Neill and Woolsey seemed to know and Woolsey seemed somewhat skeptical, gauging from his expression.
"I am also aware," Elizabeth said, "that the resources that Earth's military have to offer us, through the SGC, are limited, and that you have other demands regarding Earth's defences. When I heard the most recent and momentous news from the Fae Realms, however, I immediately thought of a possible solution to our problem, that may come as a welcome opportunity to some of the newest residents of the Realms."
All the while, as Woolsey's expression had grown increasingly dubious, Jakub's was growing increasingly interested.
"You have a powerful and numerous enemy," he offered now, "and we have many energetic and youthful warriors who would test their metal against a true opponent, and would relish a righteous battle. Is this the nature of your proposal, Dr Weir?"
"It is at the heart of it," Elizabeth answered.
"And the body?" asked Woolsey, typically, wanting specifics.
"I've proposed an official Fae military presence," Elizabeth answered directly, "a base, so to speak, on Atlantis."
Well, Rodney had to admit silently to himself, in diplomatic situations at least, Elizabeth Weir might indeed be called a genius. This was certainly a genius solution, providing elegant resolutions to nearly all of their current predicaments. He glanced over to John and Radek, saw the wheels turning in both their minds. This could be great, he thought, exchanging nods with his lovers. It was at that moment, of course, that Landry arrived.
"And I've read that proposal, Dr Weir," he said, striding into the room. "I find it imprudently naive, at best." He quickly found his place beside O'Neil and lowered himself to sit, but when Rodney saw who came following after him, moving more slowly as she paused to take in everything around her, Rodney found himself rising to his feet.
"Jeannie?" he said incredulously. "What... what are you...?"
"Who...?" Rodney heard Radek ask, and John answer, "Beats me."
"It's Rodney's sister," Elizabeth stated quietly. "Dr Jeannie McKay-Miller."
"Please for give my late arrival," Landry now addressed all present. "We had to arrange for child care at the last minute. As for what Dr McKay-Miller is doing here -I said I find Dr Weir's proposal to let untrustworthy foreign forces establish a military base on our most powerful and secret operations asset, naive at best, and at worst I find it burgeoning on seditious. Dr McKay-Miller is here to lend us her own experience in just how untrustworthy and dangerous these... people can be."
The overwhelming wrongness of everything Landry had just said actually left Rodney speechless for a moment, and in that moment of silence Jeannie worked her way around to where she was meant to sit. "Um... hello everyone," she said nervously. "Hello... um... Merideth?."
"It's Rodney," Rodney said, staring at a face he hadn't seen in decades. "I go by Rodney now." His parting with her -and his parents- had not been kind, but he'd never held any real animosity for his sister. He'd even followed her career, and had been pleased to see that she'd gotten her doctorate in mathematics, and then another in cosmology, some years back, and disappointed when she'd put her career on hold to have a family.
"It's, ah, quite a surprise... obviously... to see you here," he managed awkwardly before Elizabeth tugged on his pants cuff and urged him to sit.
He did so as Jeannie replied, "For me too, sort of... Okay." This last came in response to O'Niell's gesturing for her to sit as well.
"If I may continue describing my proposal in a bit more detail," Elizabeth requested when they had all sat, "before General Landry maligns it further?" The request was met with assent and Elizabeth took another last glance at her documents.
"Atlantis is large, and largely uninhabited," she said. "It's one of the things that makes it so difficult to defend. Our energy shield, when it is sufficiently powered, can hold off a large assault, but small incursions, when the shield is not deployed, remain an ongoing problem, particularly as Wraith are able to mask themselves from our city-wide life sign detectors. A Fae military presence would not only ameliorate our manpower problem, many of them have a natural capacity to sense the Wraith, thus making up for our technological shortcomings."
Yes, yes, this proposal was positively made of win, Rodney thought impatiently, and the only reason Landry was opposed to it was that he was clearly a speciesist. Drumming his fingers on his knee, Rodney pondered worriedly as to whether his sister was really in the same camp.
"In addition," Dr Weir continued with her pitch, "we now have documented evidence that certain Fae warriors proved quite effective in fighting the Wraith in the past, and might have been even more effective if they'd been supported properly. We have the means to support them in Atlantis, and we fully intend to do so. Now, given that the Wraith are a serious threat not only to Atlantis, but to Earth as well, I see this proposal as a chance to reduce that threat for all concerned, and perhaps even bring a new area of peaceful cooperation between the Fae Realms and Mortals. That is the extent of my proposal, ladies and gentlemen."
This declaration was met with a number of agreeable nods. Even Woolsey, Rodney noted, seemed to look interested, though he could not read Jeannie's expression. Landry, of course, was scowling disagreeably.
"Does no one else -no one mortal, that is," Landry now remarked, "find it alarming that nowhere in the extent of this proposal, is there any measure or proviso that stands as a disincentive for the Fae forces stationed on Atlantis to simply take command of the city themselves? I for one find it appalling, and will never grant my approval to any such proposal."
"And I, for one," said the warrior dwarf, "find such talk of 'disincentives' to be a direct impugning of my honor, and that of all other warriors who would not hesitate to swear allegiance to Dr Weir and her administration. 'Disincentives' are necessary only when dealing with beings who know not the meaning of honor, and those who insist upon them are themselves no different."
Zing! Rodney thought to himself, and beside him he saw Sheppard wince. Landry had not missed the insult either, and looked to be preparing to rise, face flushed with outrage. It was O'Neill who put a heavy hand on his shoulder to keep him down.
"You may speak of honor and allegiance all you like," Landry growled, "but your actions speak louder than your words. It is to speak to those actions that I have brought Dr McKay-Miller here, for she has been treated with the greatest dishonor by your kind, and her tale serves to illustrate quite clearly my own concerns." All eyes now turned to Jeannie, who widened her own eyes and looked decidedly uncomfortable.
"Tell them what happened to you when you were four," Landry said finally, as Jeannie appeared to be utterly tongue-tied.
"Oh... well," she said. "That was when I saw my brother blow up... I mean, it wasn't really my brother, obviously, but I didn't know that then. All I knew was they we'd gone out to play in the back yard after dinner one evening and... and he started to say something, but when he opened his mouth fire came out, and then it was in his eyes and then... he was on fire everywhere... and then he sort of just... fell apart... and there was nothing left. I, ah, I remember screaming a lot, and my mom and dad had to take me to the hospital because I guess I couldn't stop. I had nightmares about it, obviously, for years and I'm, ah, still seeing a therapist. I... it wasn't right to make a little kid see that and I don't know why I had to."
"Would you be surprised," asked the elven warrioress into the silence that followed, "to hear that I agree? What was done to your brother should have had nothing to do with you, especially as an innocent child, and in my estimation, you are entitled to some redress. The nature of the redress may be difficult to determine, given the nature of the injury, but I recommend you take it up with a grievance council here. You will be heard."
This, Rodney was happy to note, seemed to have taken a lot of wind out of some sails, and Woolsey seemed downright pleased.
"I was unaware that such agencies existed here," he said, "but I find that a very encouraging sign. If possible, after this meeting, I would like to know more about it."
"Of course," the warrioress replied. "Nothing could be simpler."
"Alright, this is all very well," Landry intruded, lest more good feelings follow. "But if you are so concerned for the feelings of an innocent child, then why turn McKay against his family when he returned? You cannot say it came about by accident and there can be no reason for such pointless cruelty."
"Is that true?" came Jakub's softly accented question. "Was your brother truly turned against his family when he returned?"
Rodney was surprised to see Jeannie turn to meet his gaze for a moment, and he had no idea what she saw in his face.
"It's true he said some... kinda not nice things when he found out he couldn't go back home," she said at last, "and it did make me cry, but I was eight, and he was really upset. Also... I mean, I don't know exactly what all happened, but my parents were the ones who called the police, so that the Social Services people would come and take him away, and I don't think he was being violent or anything. When they came to take him he was just sitting on the front porch steps crying. My mom and dad didn't even let him come inside."
Now both John and Radek were staring at Rodney, along with everyone else and that, in addition to being forced to recall the single most miserable moment of his life, made Rodney wish heartily for a hole in the ground he could crawl into.
"And what makes you think he would have even wanted to come in?" Landry snapped meanly.
"He was a fourteen year old boy who'd just been told that he could never go home again," Jeannie rounded on him. "I think they could have at least offered him a hug, but they didn't even seem to want to touch him."
"Is that true?" John muttered angrily beside him, but Rodney couldn't meet his eyes.
"I can't talk about this now," he hissed back through clenched teeth.
"So," Woolsey turned to Jeannie to ask, "understanding that your childhood memories may not be perfect, would you say that it was more likely that it was your parents who were against your brother, rather than the other way around?"
"I guess... it seemed that way," Jeannie finally answered. "They never wanted to talk about him later, so I just gave up asking."
There followed a long and uncomfortable silence with John, surprisingly, finally broke.
"General Landry," he said, in the tone of voice he used when he and the Genii were pretending badly to be civil to one another. "It seems to me that in dragging up all this wonderful McKay family dirt with the intention of proving Fae folk to be faithless and uncaring, you have actually done the opposite. Is there anyone here, Fae or mortal, that disagrees?" Glances were exchanged all around the table, but no one spoke up.
"Indeed," Matheson Greyling spoke for the first time, "This being the case, I am quite interested in settling the details of Dr Weir's proposal."
"I don't care what details you settle on," Landry interrupted. "I'll never agree to any such Fae military presence on Atlantis, and I'll sign nothing that includes it."
"Very well then," Dr Weir replied promptly. "You leave me no choice. If I cannot get further military assistance from Earth, and you will not allow any from the Fae, then I will have to declare the Atlantis Expedition untenable, and call for the city to be abandoned."
"What!?" Landry moved to rise again and again O'Neill urged him down. "You can't do that!"
"I most certainly can," Elizabeth replied, as cool as Rodney had ever seen her. "It's in the expedition charter, and it's in my contract as well. I am absolutely entitled to shut down this expedition whenever I find just cause to do so."
"This..." Landry fumed, "this is blackmail, pure and simple!"
"It's a civilian expedition, Hank," O'Neill countered. "And as the civilian director, it's Dr Weir's call to make. Frankly, her reasoning seems pretty sound to me."
"Would you leave the city undefended, Dr Weir?" the warrior dwarf asked now.
"We'd do our best to leave her protected in some ways," Elizabeth answered. "We'd probably sink her back under the sea, as she was when we found her, and we'd remove the gate crystal so as to prevent the Wraith from using the Atlantis gate to get to our galaxy, but that would be the most we could probably do."
The dwarf nodded. "And there are Thresholds that lead to Atlantis, are there not?" he asked, turning to the elf beside him.
"There are," Rodney answered for her. "At least two that I know of, and probably more. Some of the full blood Fae that are there now have used them." Landry threw Rodney a glare that clearly said, 'traitor!' but he said nothing.
"Tak, so," Jakub commented to the other Fae warriors, "If the mortal expedition abandons Atlantis, then it seems we would be free to establish a presence there on our own."
Dammit! Rodney swore to himself. Things had looked so encouraging earlier, but that asshole Landry... But surely he would have to back down now. Beside him, Elizabeth sat steely eyed and unblinking and on his other side he could see Sheppard clenching and unclenching his fists. For several long moments a taut silence reigned over the pavilion.
"We could," the elf warrioress replied eventually, a considering tone to her voice. "And in truth, if Dr Weir's expedition is forced to abandon Atlantis, then we probably should, but I would have you know, in all sincerity, that I would much prefer the arrangement Dr Weir first proposed. I am quite convinced that we would prove a far stronger and more resilient force with the addition of the mortal presence, and I would hazard a guess that my comrades here feel no differently."
"She would not be mistaken in my case," Jakub said immediately.
"Nor mine," followed Greyling, even as the dwarf was speaking the same words.
"That's... very encouraging to hear," Woolsey said his gaze darting nervously from the row of Fae warriors to General Landry, who was scowling so ferociously that Rodney wondered how there wasn't smoke coming out of his ears. All eyes were on Landry now, who remained sullenly silent, until O'Neill finally broke in.
"Oh for pete's sake, stand down, Hank," he said with a sigh. "You're making us all look like assholes."
"And you're going to all look like idiots when this all goes horribly wrong," Landry said, pushing himself angrily to his feet. "I'm not going to stay here to play the bad guy, and I'm not putting my name on whatever unholy alliance the rest of you cook up. You do what you want, and history will judge you for it."
They all watched him go without a word, and even Rodney could feel how the tension lifted as he left. It was Woolsey's self-conscious throat clearing that broke the silence this time.
"As I understand it, we are not required to fill the vacancy in our team," he ventured, glancing down at a document he had extracted from his briefcase, "unless we wish to, in order for the negotiations to proceed."
"You are correct," the elf warrioress answered him. "Though you have the right to suspend the negotiations till you have found a replacement, if you so desire."
"No, I don't think that will be necessary," Woolsey said, glancing over at O'Neill and Jeannie, who were both shaking their heads. "I believe the existing team can do a perfectly adequate job."
What followed over the next hour or so was decidedly more productive, though for Rodney, decidedly more boring. He took a passing interest in the discussion of where the Fae military base should be located in Atlantis (they eventually settled on a vacant tower complex on the south pier) but after that it was all haggling over how many could be there, and what obligations they'd have, and whether or not they'd share food and maintenance services. Rodney was theorizing on ways that the kleenex in his pocket could be folded into a triangle resilient enough for 'finger football' when he became aware that Sheppard's name had come up in the discussion.
"The brass should like this, Jack," Dr Weir was saying. "Colonel Sheppard's record clearly speaks for his loyalty to the SGC, to Earth, and in particular, to me. He's a known quantity, and as commander of the Fae forces on the city, he'll know exactly what Atlantis' mortal military commander will need from him."
"His record also speaks to a pattern of insubordination, to his conventional military commanders and to you," O'Neill replied dryly, "but that's not going to be his real problem. His real problem is that, according to any American military officer, he's an escaped fugitive from military prison, where he should be awaiting a court martial for lying about his Fae status. Any SGC soldier he encounters on Atlantis is currently under standing orders to arrest him and take him into custody."
John's expression, Rodney saw as he glanced over meet his gaze, was bleak. Making John the military commander of the Fae forces was another brilliant idea (Rodney was seriously going to have to stop underestimating Dr Weir), but even she didn't seem to have an answer for this, Rodney guessed by her furrowed brow.
"Actually..." All eyes now turned to Woolsey, who had extracted yet another document from his briefcase, this one the size of a phone book and heavily worn and dog-eared.
"As it happens, there are quite a number of contingencies, written into more than a few different treaties," Woolsey continued in the manner of a collage lecturer, "regarding the eventual end of the exiles of the Wolves and Night Hunters. I've been searching them out over the last day, since we heard the news -it's been challenging and fascinating work, to be honest, as there are dozens of them, scattered all over the place, and I'll be writing up a compilation as soon as I'm sure I've... well..." Woolsey paused when he realized that he'd been rambling, and cleared his throat.
"At any rate, I recently found one, written into an amendment of the 1927 Prague Treaties, that may have a direct bearing on this very situation," he wound up, glancing around the pavilion with satisfaction.
"Well don't keep us in suspense, Richard," O'Neill said, eyebrows raised.
Woolsey nodded. "This section of the treaty, which was signed by the US as well as most major world governments, states that, upon the occasion that the exile of the Wolves and Night Hunters ends, they shall all have the same diplomatic immunity to all mortal crimes, save violent ones, as do all other full blood Fae interacting in the mortal realms."
"Opravdu?" Jakub asked, astonished.
"This is true?" Greyling asked, sounding both skeptical and hopeful.
Rodney's eyes widened, thinking of Caldwell's words to him -that rescuing Sheppard wouldn't improve things for any other vampires like him- and considered that the Colonel would never be so happy to be proved wrong. He wondered how many other wolves and vampires would come out of the woodwork in the American military. O'Neill was evidently thinking the same thing.
"I can't wait," he said, massaging his temples as though his head hurt, "to see how this goes down with the brass. God, Landry is going to blow a gasket."
"I doubt he'll be the only one," Woolsey said with unaccustomed candor. "Nonetheless, these are treaty obligations. They won't have a choice."
"No, they won't," Elizabeth concurred, and then turned to John. "So," she said, "it would appear that congratulations are in order, Warrior Sheppard, first Commander of the Atlantis Fae Military Forces."
She reached out a hand for him to shake, and John took it, looking a bit dazed. His eyes seemed suspiciously bright, Rodney thought, when the elven warrioress and the dwarf from the Fae contingent stood and offered him crisp salutes. Rodney and Radek merely treated him to a couple of enthusiastic slaps on the back, each thinking of how they would celebrate in private, later.
Everything after that was crossing 't's and dotting 'i's and Rodney, Radek and John fell to throwing each other giddy grins to pass the time. Eventually it came to their attention that no one was actually discussing the proposal any more, but they were, in fact, taking turns reading it, in its final, agreed upon form.
"And as every Fae Warrior serving on the City of Atlantis," Elizabeth read out the final passage, "shall obey the lawful orders and dictates of their Commander, Warrior John Sheppard, so shall Warrior Sheppard obey and follow the lawful dictates of Commanding Governor of Atlantis, Dr Elizabeth Weir. So we are agreed, legal representatives of the SGC, of the Warriors of the Fae and of the City of Atlantis, on this Eighth day of the Fourth Moon, of the year 11724 of the Realms, which is known to mortals as 2007."
This conclusion was received with applause from all in the pavilion, and calls for 'refreshment' quickly followed. Refreshment always came nearly instantly, when called for in the Fae Realms, and so after only a moment two servers entered the tent, carrying trays bearing goblets and bottles. They had no sooner entered, however, when Jeannie bolted to her feet, held out a trembling, pointing finger, and cried, "You! You're the one!!"
***
What the...? Read On...
Author: Taylor Dancinghands -taylor@tdancinghands.com
Characters: Vampire!Sheppard/Werewolf!Zelenka/Changeling!Rodney... and Centaur!Carson, among others.
Pairings: Zelenka/McKay/Sheppard, and other pairings background
Category: slash, AU
Spoilers: none
Warnings: graphic m/m/m sex
Rating: for Mature readers
Archive: Generally yes, but please let me know where
Summary: Now that our heroes are reunited, Carson's trial concluded favorably and the age old exile of Wolves and Vampires from the Realms lifted, a single problem remains: how will our heroes be able to return to Atlantis. Help comes from an unexpected quarter.
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, never will, not claiming to. Just wanna play with 'em a little. Can't I, can't I, huh?
****
The Last Changeling
by Taylor Dancinghands
Tale the Ninth: "Detente" pt 3/4
What with everything else Rodney'd had on his mind the last few days, it had been easy to put aside his speculations about what, if anything, Dr Weir had been planning on their behalf. He'd had no doubts that she wanted to be able to help them, but he'd had no idea of how she might, nor how effective it might be. Now, hearing that she'd come here -that she'd been admitted, as a mortal, to the Fae Realms- Rodney began to harbor the faintest hopes that she might have a solution.
"Rodney, have you any idea what this proposal might be?" Radek asked as the four of them came to the meadow where the negotiators and their associates were gathering.
"I actually told her not to tell me any of her plans," Rodney said shaking his head. "It seemed the smarter thing to do, at the time."
"Probably a good idea," John said, which warmed Rodney's heart. Any further thoughts he might have had on the matter, however, were curtailed when they drew close enough to see who was among these gathered.
"Oh crap," John said quietly. "That's my father."
"And Jakub!" Radek added with a grin. "Nazdar!" he called out loudly, waving a hand in the air. "Ahoj, Jakuba!"
"Vlčku!" Radek's packmaster, who had been conversing with a tall, pale man with inky black hair and oddly familiar features, turned to greet them. He strode forward to meet Radek, who had done likewise, and placed his hands on Radek's shoulders, lifting his chin to expose his throat. When two pack leaders meet, Rodney recalled, it is always the senior most who submits first.
Their little ritual completed, the two wolves fell to conversing in rapid fire Czech, which involved Radek coloring and looking away, and Jakub kissing him on both cheeks. Rodney, Sheppard and Phinnisti came up to join them a moment later, though the faun quickly stepped to one side, extracted parchment and a pen from his satchel, and began to take notes. The tall pale guy Jakub had been chatting with remained at the perimeter, watching the group, and John, it seemed, in particular.
"John, Rodney," Jakub shook each of their hands. "It is very good to see you again, and very fine indeed that our reunion takes place here, yes? It is a great day." They all nodded and made agreeing noises, though their gazes one by one shifted to the familiar stranger on their perimeter.
"Ah, forgive me," Jakub said, mercifully. "I should introduce my colleague." He motioned for the stranger to join them, but before he could speak further John spoke up instead.
"I'll introduce him," he said abruptly, as if he'd only reluctantly decided to do so at the last minute. "Rodney, Radek, this is Clan Leader and Householder Matheson Greyling. Householder, may I introduce Dr Rodney, McKay and Dr Radek Zelenka."
Of course, Rodney realized, as the pale man with John's nose and cheekbones stepped forward to shake his and Radek's hands with rigid decorum. This was John Sheppard's father. "Gentlemen," he said by way or greeting. "John. You all work for Dr Weir, on Atlantis?"
Rodney might not be the most astute observer of non verbal communication, but he could write the book on rude. He found Greyling's general coolness to be nothing unexpected, but his overt disrespect of John made Rodney bristle.
"In fact, I happen to be the head of sciences," Rodney replied briskly, "while this man is our chief engineer. Sheppard here has actually been the head of the military on Atlantis the last four years, and seeing as you must know full well that this man is also a Householder himself and, as such, deserves to be addressed as one, I can only assume that the dazzling splendor of the Fae Realms has made you forget your manners." Standing beside him, John's expression suggested that he would rather be enduring dental work, but Rodney ignored him. Being rude to jerks was his prerogative.
Stiffly, Greyling turned to John, regarding him, stone faced. "Householder... Sheppard," he said at last, with icy formality.
"Householder Greyling," John acknowledged, bearing the same unreadable expression he used for negotiating with the Genii.
"Sheppard... a wolf which allows himself to be tamed," Greyling reflected with false lightness, "and tasked with protecting the very creatures who, by rights, ought to flee or cower before him in fear."
"It is no tame creature," Radek spoke up now, blue eyes sparking fiercely, "who is able to protect Atlantis from the monsters which threaten her now, rest assured."
Greyling's penetrating gaze shifted to Radek and lingered there for a few seconds. "Your House?" he asked at last.
"Yup," answered John, arms crossed over his chest, posture deceptively casual.
Equally noncommittal, Greyling nodded slowly twice, assessing, and then seemed satisfied.
"Your Dr Weir," he said, "has a proposal that would give us both," and now he nodded in the direction of Radek's packmaster, "common cause. It is a masterful stroke."
"Does this surprise you?" Rodney quipped, still bristling just a bit. "You'd be wise not to underestimate her in the future."
"I've no intention of doing so, Doctor," the vampire replied, taking some of the wind out of Rodney's sails. "I can see this surprises you, but I would have you know that for all the differences I may have with... your Householder, I am not a stupid man."
"Don't take it personally," John said with a bit of a smirk. "Rodney thinks everyone is stupid, but he comes by it honestly."
Before anyone could comment on that, however, Phinnisti stepped forward, calling their attention to where Dr Weir, accompanied by General Jack O'Neill and another balding gentleman wearing a shockingly incongruous business suit and carrying a briefcase, were being lead towards a pavilion on the far side of the clearing.
"The place where your negotiations will take place has been prepared," he said, "and the relevant parties are mostly all gathered. Come."
**
The five of them -Rodney, Radek and John, along with John's father and Radek's Packmaster- followed the faun toward the pavilion, where they were shown inside. There were more carpets there, cushions for sitting laid in a large, equilateral triangle, and a low, round table in the center set with tea, honey and cups.
Elizabeth, O'Neill and the man in the suit, who Rodney now recognized as IOA representative Richard Woolsey, where there already, settling in their places, and Elizabeth motioned for Rodney, Radek and John to join her, on one side of the triangle. O'Neill and Woolsey were seated on their left -the IOA man looking distinctly awkward sitting on the floor- and on their right Greyling and Jakub were joined by the warrior dwarf from yesterday's finding, and another high caste elf, a female who also looked to be a warrioresss of some sort.
This was to be a three party negotiation then, Rodney deduced, between Earth's authorities, warriors of the Fae, and themselves, who must be representing Atlantis. He glanced across to Elizabeth, curious as to what her proposal was that had brought these three agencies together. When they were all settled in, however, it was Jack O'Neill who spoke first.
"General Landry is on his way," he said, "with another person he believes should be here for these proceedings. They'll be arriving shortly, but I think we can go ahead and start. He's heard your proposal, Dr Weir, but not everyone here has."
Elizabeth nodded, glancing down at a slim folder which she now opened. "Very well," she said. "I'll begin with a little background, then. Given the great quantity of historical data we are now uncovering on Atlantis, I began discussions, some months ago, on the possibility of inviting a small scholarly delegation to take up residence on the city. The idea seemed to be generally well received, but progress on this front was delayed recently when we became aware of a new and troubling development in the Pegasus Galaxy." She paused here to glance around and make sure everyone was following.
"The Wraith are, of course, and ongoing threat for us," she continued after her pause, "and have been since we first came to Atlantis, but recent intelligence suggests that they are preparing for an attack of greater force than we have yet endured. Naturally, we have asked for help from our allies in Pegasus, but the peoples of the Pegasus Galaxy have been at the mercy of the Wraith for generations, and they have never been able to oppose them successfully."
Where was she going with this? Rodney wondered, exchanging glances with Radek and John. He had no idea, but O'Neill and Woolsey seemed to know and Woolsey seemed somewhat skeptical, gauging from his expression.
"I am also aware," Elizabeth said, "that the resources that Earth's military have to offer us, through the SGC, are limited, and that you have other demands regarding Earth's defences. When I heard the most recent and momentous news from the Fae Realms, however, I immediately thought of a possible solution to our problem, that may come as a welcome opportunity to some of the newest residents of the Realms."
All the while, as Woolsey's expression had grown increasingly dubious, Jakub's was growing increasingly interested.
"You have a powerful and numerous enemy," he offered now, "and we have many energetic and youthful warriors who would test their metal against a true opponent, and would relish a righteous battle. Is this the nature of your proposal, Dr Weir?"
"It is at the heart of it," Elizabeth answered.
"And the body?" asked Woolsey, typically, wanting specifics.
"I've proposed an official Fae military presence," Elizabeth answered directly, "a base, so to speak, on Atlantis."
Well, Rodney had to admit silently to himself, in diplomatic situations at least, Elizabeth Weir might indeed be called a genius. This was certainly a genius solution, providing elegant resolutions to nearly all of their current predicaments. He glanced over to John and Radek, saw the wheels turning in both their minds. This could be great, he thought, exchanging nods with his lovers. It was at that moment, of course, that Landry arrived.
"And I've read that proposal, Dr Weir," he said, striding into the room. "I find it imprudently naive, at best." He quickly found his place beside O'Neil and lowered himself to sit, but when Rodney saw who came following after him, moving more slowly as she paused to take in everything around her, Rodney found himself rising to his feet.
"Jeannie?" he said incredulously. "What... what are you...?"
"Who...?" Rodney heard Radek ask, and John answer, "Beats me."
"It's Rodney's sister," Elizabeth stated quietly. "Dr Jeannie McKay-Miller."
"Please for give my late arrival," Landry now addressed all present. "We had to arrange for child care at the last minute. As for what Dr McKay-Miller is doing here -I said I find Dr Weir's proposal to let untrustworthy foreign forces establish a military base on our most powerful and secret operations asset, naive at best, and at worst I find it burgeoning on seditious. Dr McKay-Miller is here to lend us her own experience in just how untrustworthy and dangerous these... people can be."
The overwhelming wrongness of everything Landry had just said actually left Rodney speechless for a moment, and in that moment of silence Jeannie worked her way around to where she was meant to sit. "Um... hello everyone," she said nervously. "Hello... um... Merideth?."
"It's Rodney," Rodney said, staring at a face he hadn't seen in decades. "I go by Rodney now." His parting with her -and his parents- had not been kind, but he'd never held any real animosity for his sister. He'd even followed her career, and had been pleased to see that she'd gotten her doctorate in mathematics, and then another in cosmology, some years back, and disappointed when she'd put her career on hold to have a family.
"It's, ah, quite a surprise... obviously... to see you here," he managed awkwardly before Elizabeth tugged on his pants cuff and urged him to sit.
He did so as Jeannie replied, "For me too, sort of... Okay." This last came in response to O'Niell's gesturing for her to sit as well.
"If I may continue describing my proposal in a bit more detail," Elizabeth requested when they had all sat, "before General Landry maligns it further?" The request was met with assent and Elizabeth took another last glance at her documents.
"Atlantis is large, and largely uninhabited," she said. "It's one of the things that makes it so difficult to defend. Our energy shield, when it is sufficiently powered, can hold off a large assault, but small incursions, when the shield is not deployed, remain an ongoing problem, particularly as Wraith are able to mask themselves from our city-wide life sign detectors. A Fae military presence would not only ameliorate our manpower problem, many of them have a natural capacity to sense the Wraith, thus making up for our technological shortcomings."
Yes, yes, this proposal was positively made of win, Rodney thought impatiently, and the only reason Landry was opposed to it was that he was clearly a speciesist. Drumming his fingers on his knee, Rodney pondered worriedly as to whether his sister was really in the same camp.
"In addition," Dr Weir continued with her pitch, "we now have documented evidence that certain Fae warriors proved quite effective in fighting the Wraith in the past, and might have been even more effective if they'd been supported properly. We have the means to support them in Atlantis, and we fully intend to do so. Now, given that the Wraith are a serious threat not only to Atlantis, but to Earth as well, I see this proposal as a chance to reduce that threat for all concerned, and perhaps even bring a new area of peaceful cooperation between the Fae Realms and Mortals. That is the extent of my proposal, ladies and gentlemen."
This declaration was met with a number of agreeable nods. Even Woolsey, Rodney noted, seemed to look interested, though he could not read Jeannie's expression. Landry, of course, was scowling disagreeably.
"Does no one else -no one mortal, that is," Landry now remarked, "find it alarming that nowhere in the extent of this proposal, is there any measure or proviso that stands as a disincentive for the Fae forces stationed on Atlantis to simply take command of the city themselves? I for one find it appalling, and will never grant my approval to any such proposal."
"And I, for one," said the warrior dwarf, "find such talk of 'disincentives' to be a direct impugning of my honor, and that of all other warriors who would not hesitate to swear allegiance to Dr Weir and her administration. 'Disincentives' are necessary only when dealing with beings who know not the meaning of honor, and those who insist upon them are themselves no different."
Zing! Rodney thought to himself, and beside him he saw Sheppard wince. Landry had not missed the insult either, and looked to be preparing to rise, face flushed with outrage. It was O'Neill who put a heavy hand on his shoulder to keep him down.
"You may speak of honor and allegiance all you like," Landry growled, "but your actions speak louder than your words. It is to speak to those actions that I have brought Dr McKay-Miller here, for she has been treated with the greatest dishonor by your kind, and her tale serves to illustrate quite clearly my own concerns." All eyes now turned to Jeannie, who widened her own eyes and looked decidedly uncomfortable.
"Tell them what happened to you when you were four," Landry said finally, as Jeannie appeared to be utterly tongue-tied.
"Oh... well," she said. "That was when I saw my brother blow up... I mean, it wasn't really my brother, obviously, but I didn't know that then. All I knew was they we'd gone out to play in the back yard after dinner one evening and... and he started to say something, but when he opened his mouth fire came out, and then it was in his eyes and then... he was on fire everywhere... and then he sort of just... fell apart... and there was nothing left. I, ah, I remember screaming a lot, and my mom and dad had to take me to the hospital because I guess I couldn't stop. I had nightmares about it, obviously, for years and I'm, ah, still seeing a therapist. I... it wasn't right to make a little kid see that and I don't know why I had to."
"Would you be surprised," asked the elven warrioress into the silence that followed, "to hear that I agree? What was done to your brother should have had nothing to do with you, especially as an innocent child, and in my estimation, you are entitled to some redress. The nature of the redress may be difficult to determine, given the nature of the injury, but I recommend you take it up with a grievance council here. You will be heard."
This, Rodney was happy to note, seemed to have taken a lot of wind out of some sails, and Woolsey seemed downright pleased.
"I was unaware that such agencies existed here," he said, "but I find that a very encouraging sign. If possible, after this meeting, I would like to know more about it."
"Of course," the warrioress replied. "Nothing could be simpler."
"Alright, this is all very well," Landry intruded, lest more good feelings follow. "But if you are so concerned for the feelings of an innocent child, then why turn McKay against his family when he returned? You cannot say it came about by accident and there can be no reason for such pointless cruelty."
"Is that true?" came Jakub's softly accented question. "Was your brother truly turned against his family when he returned?"
Rodney was surprised to see Jeannie turn to meet his gaze for a moment, and he had no idea what she saw in his face.
"It's true he said some... kinda not nice things when he found out he couldn't go back home," she said at last, "and it did make me cry, but I was eight, and he was really upset. Also... I mean, I don't know exactly what all happened, but my parents were the ones who called the police, so that the Social Services people would come and take him away, and I don't think he was being violent or anything. When they came to take him he was just sitting on the front porch steps crying. My mom and dad didn't even let him come inside."
Now both John and Radek were staring at Rodney, along with everyone else and that, in addition to being forced to recall the single most miserable moment of his life, made Rodney wish heartily for a hole in the ground he could crawl into.
"And what makes you think he would have even wanted to come in?" Landry snapped meanly.
"He was a fourteen year old boy who'd just been told that he could never go home again," Jeannie rounded on him. "I think they could have at least offered him a hug, but they didn't even seem to want to touch him."
"Is that true?" John muttered angrily beside him, but Rodney couldn't meet his eyes.
"I can't talk about this now," he hissed back through clenched teeth.
"So," Woolsey turned to Jeannie to ask, "understanding that your childhood memories may not be perfect, would you say that it was more likely that it was your parents who were against your brother, rather than the other way around?"
"I guess... it seemed that way," Jeannie finally answered. "They never wanted to talk about him later, so I just gave up asking."
There followed a long and uncomfortable silence with John, surprisingly, finally broke.
"General Landry," he said, in the tone of voice he used when he and the Genii were pretending badly to be civil to one another. "It seems to me that in dragging up all this wonderful McKay family dirt with the intention of proving Fae folk to be faithless and uncaring, you have actually done the opposite. Is there anyone here, Fae or mortal, that disagrees?" Glances were exchanged all around the table, but no one spoke up.
"Indeed," Matheson Greyling spoke for the first time, "This being the case, I am quite interested in settling the details of Dr Weir's proposal."
"I don't care what details you settle on," Landry interrupted. "I'll never agree to any such Fae military presence on Atlantis, and I'll sign nothing that includes it."
"Very well then," Dr Weir replied promptly. "You leave me no choice. If I cannot get further military assistance from Earth, and you will not allow any from the Fae, then I will have to declare the Atlantis Expedition untenable, and call for the city to be abandoned."
"What!?" Landry moved to rise again and again O'Neill urged him down. "You can't do that!"
"I most certainly can," Elizabeth replied, as cool as Rodney had ever seen her. "It's in the expedition charter, and it's in my contract as well. I am absolutely entitled to shut down this expedition whenever I find just cause to do so."
"This..." Landry fumed, "this is blackmail, pure and simple!"
"It's a civilian expedition, Hank," O'Neill countered. "And as the civilian director, it's Dr Weir's call to make. Frankly, her reasoning seems pretty sound to me."
"Would you leave the city undefended, Dr Weir?" the warrior dwarf asked now.
"We'd do our best to leave her protected in some ways," Elizabeth answered. "We'd probably sink her back under the sea, as she was when we found her, and we'd remove the gate crystal so as to prevent the Wraith from using the Atlantis gate to get to our galaxy, but that would be the most we could probably do."
The dwarf nodded. "And there are Thresholds that lead to Atlantis, are there not?" he asked, turning to the elf beside him.
"There are," Rodney answered for her. "At least two that I know of, and probably more. Some of the full blood Fae that are there now have used them." Landry threw Rodney a glare that clearly said, 'traitor!' but he said nothing.
"Tak, so," Jakub commented to the other Fae warriors, "If the mortal expedition abandons Atlantis, then it seems we would be free to establish a presence there on our own."
Dammit! Rodney swore to himself. Things had looked so encouraging earlier, but that asshole Landry... But surely he would have to back down now. Beside him, Elizabeth sat steely eyed and unblinking and on his other side he could see Sheppard clenching and unclenching his fists. For several long moments a taut silence reigned over the pavilion.
"We could," the elf warrioress replied eventually, a considering tone to her voice. "And in truth, if Dr Weir's expedition is forced to abandon Atlantis, then we probably should, but I would have you know, in all sincerity, that I would much prefer the arrangement Dr Weir first proposed. I am quite convinced that we would prove a far stronger and more resilient force with the addition of the mortal presence, and I would hazard a guess that my comrades here feel no differently."
"She would not be mistaken in my case," Jakub said immediately.
"Nor mine," followed Greyling, even as the dwarf was speaking the same words.
"That's... very encouraging to hear," Woolsey said his gaze darting nervously from the row of Fae warriors to General Landry, who was scowling so ferociously that Rodney wondered how there wasn't smoke coming out of his ears. All eyes were on Landry now, who remained sullenly silent, until O'Neill finally broke in.
"Oh for pete's sake, stand down, Hank," he said with a sigh. "You're making us all look like assholes."
"And you're going to all look like idiots when this all goes horribly wrong," Landry said, pushing himself angrily to his feet. "I'm not going to stay here to play the bad guy, and I'm not putting my name on whatever unholy alliance the rest of you cook up. You do what you want, and history will judge you for it."
They all watched him go without a word, and even Rodney could feel how the tension lifted as he left. It was Woolsey's self-conscious throat clearing that broke the silence this time.
"As I understand it, we are not required to fill the vacancy in our team," he ventured, glancing down at a document he had extracted from his briefcase, "unless we wish to, in order for the negotiations to proceed."
"You are correct," the elf warrioress answered him. "Though you have the right to suspend the negotiations till you have found a replacement, if you so desire."
"No, I don't think that will be necessary," Woolsey said, glancing over at O'Neill and Jeannie, who were both shaking their heads. "I believe the existing team can do a perfectly adequate job."
What followed over the next hour or so was decidedly more productive, though for Rodney, decidedly more boring. He took a passing interest in the discussion of where the Fae military base should be located in Atlantis (they eventually settled on a vacant tower complex on the south pier) but after that it was all haggling over how many could be there, and what obligations they'd have, and whether or not they'd share food and maintenance services. Rodney was theorizing on ways that the kleenex in his pocket could be folded into a triangle resilient enough for 'finger football' when he became aware that Sheppard's name had come up in the discussion.
"The brass should like this, Jack," Dr Weir was saying. "Colonel Sheppard's record clearly speaks for his loyalty to the SGC, to Earth, and in particular, to me. He's a known quantity, and as commander of the Fae forces on the city, he'll know exactly what Atlantis' mortal military commander will need from him."
"His record also speaks to a pattern of insubordination, to his conventional military commanders and to you," O'Neill replied dryly, "but that's not going to be his real problem. His real problem is that, according to any American military officer, he's an escaped fugitive from military prison, where he should be awaiting a court martial for lying about his Fae status. Any SGC soldier he encounters on Atlantis is currently under standing orders to arrest him and take him into custody."
John's expression, Rodney saw as he glanced over meet his gaze, was bleak. Making John the military commander of the Fae forces was another brilliant idea (Rodney was seriously going to have to stop underestimating Dr Weir), but even she didn't seem to have an answer for this, Rodney guessed by her furrowed brow.
"Actually..." All eyes now turned to Woolsey, who had extracted yet another document from his briefcase, this one the size of a phone book and heavily worn and dog-eared.
"As it happens, there are quite a number of contingencies, written into more than a few different treaties," Woolsey continued in the manner of a collage lecturer, "regarding the eventual end of the exiles of the Wolves and Night Hunters. I've been searching them out over the last day, since we heard the news -it's been challenging and fascinating work, to be honest, as there are dozens of them, scattered all over the place, and I'll be writing up a compilation as soon as I'm sure I've... well..." Woolsey paused when he realized that he'd been rambling, and cleared his throat.
"At any rate, I recently found one, written into an amendment of the 1927 Prague Treaties, that may have a direct bearing on this very situation," he wound up, glancing around the pavilion with satisfaction.
"Well don't keep us in suspense, Richard," O'Neill said, eyebrows raised.
Woolsey nodded. "This section of the treaty, which was signed by the US as well as most major world governments, states that, upon the occasion that the exile of the Wolves and Night Hunters ends, they shall all have the same diplomatic immunity to all mortal crimes, save violent ones, as do all other full blood Fae interacting in the mortal realms."
"Opravdu?" Jakub asked, astonished.
"This is true?" Greyling asked, sounding both skeptical and hopeful.
Rodney's eyes widened, thinking of Caldwell's words to him -that rescuing Sheppard wouldn't improve things for any other vampires like him- and considered that the Colonel would never be so happy to be proved wrong. He wondered how many other wolves and vampires would come out of the woodwork in the American military. O'Neill was evidently thinking the same thing.
"I can't wait," he said, massaging his temples as though his head hurt, "to see how this goes down with the brass. God, Landry is going to blow a gasket."
"I doubt he'll be the only one," Woolsey said with unaccustomed candor. "Nonetheless, these are treaty obligations. They won't have a choice."
"No, they won't," Elizabeth concurred, and then turned to John. "So," she said, "it would appear that congratulations are in order, Warrior Sheppard, first Commander of the Atlantis Fae Military Forces."
She reached out a hand for him to shake, and John took it, looking a bit dazed. His eyes seemed suspiciously bright, Rodney thought, when the elven warrioress and the dwarf from the Fae contingent stood and offered him crisp salutes. Rodney and Radek merely treated him to a couple of enthusiastic slaps on the back, each thinking of how they would celebrate in private, later.
Everything after that was crossing 't's and dotting 'i's and Rodney, Radek and John fell to throwing each other giddy grins to pass the time. Eventually it came to their attention that no one was actually discussing the proposal any more, but they were, in fact, taking turns reading it, in its final, agreed upon form.
"And as every Fae Warrior serving on the City of Atlantis," Elizabeth read out the final passage, "shall obey the lawful orders and dictates of their Commander, Warrior John Sheppard, so shall Warrior Sheppard obey and follow the lawful dictates of Commanding Governor of Atlantis, Dr Elizabeth Weir. So we are agreed, legal representatives of the SGC, of the Warriors of the Fae and of the City of Atlantis, on this Eighth day of the Fourth Moon, of the year 11724 of the Realms, which is known to mortals as 2007."
This conclusion was received with applause from all in the pavilion, and calls for 'refreshment' quickly followed. Refreshment always came nearly instantly, when called for in the Fae Realms, and so after only a moment two servers entered the tent, carrying trays bearing goblets and bottles. They had no sooner entered, however, when Jeannie bolted to her feet, held out a trembling, pointing finger, and cried, "You! You're the one!!"
***
What the...? Read On...