Ficlet!
When Elizabeth walks into the room, for once a little late (but honestly it wasn’t her fault, it was the line in the mess hall,) the atmosphere is so tense, she has to pause for a second. The air is frigid and could be cut with a knife. Cautiously, she approaches the table and ever so slowly, so as not to startle these hair trigger men and one woman, sits down.
She can’t quite get herself to start the meeting. Elizabeth, who has faced down countless numbers of stony-faced men with whole armies backing them up, cannot bring herself to speak in front of a small gathering of colleagues.
The silence stretches on interminably. Ronon fidgets quietly, bored even though he is on edge. Teyla at first seems as serene as ever, but after a few millennia, her small smile takes on a brittle quality. Elizabeth thinks back to kindergarten when she almost peed her pants in school- it just feels like one of those times.
The two occupants of the room who are the cause of all this tension aren’t even looking at each other and it’s unclear who is going to break first, because it is very clear that no one else is going to talk.
Rodney, his chin up and his arms folded across his chest is glaring at the ceiling, while the foot resting on his knee jiggles at practically light speed. John is slouched in his chair even more than usual, his face an exact copy of every teenager’s insolent expression when they’ve been caught doing any number of illegal activities. John, knowing how much this annoys Rodney, is clicking and unclicking his pen against the table.
Elizabeth feels frantic, almost like a panic attack, and she briefly wonders if this is what agoraphobics feel like. She shifts in her chair, and the sound of fabric sliding seems impossibly loud. She freezes, expecting someone to pull a gun at the susurration. She licks her lips nervously, and then slowly, ever so slowly, releases tensed muscles.
She starts to wonder how she can escape, thinking of millions of possible plans, running through them and rejecting them almost simultaneously. Finally, when she feels like she’s about to burst, she gathers her courage and slaps her hand to her radio and says loudly and completely obviously falsely, “What? An emergency in the medical bay? I’ll be right there!” She launches to her feet and rockets out of the room. Teyla and Ronon watch her go, but Rodney and John aren’t distracted from ignoring each other studiously.
Ronon is the next to go, and although he doesn’t speak, his exit is no less dramatic. He suddenly slams the knife he’s been surreptitiously handling out of nerves into the table. Snarling something to himself, he stalks out of the room.
Without him, Teyla no longer feels safe. It isn’t that she can’t take care of herself, because she certainly can, but with only one other person in the room, who’s to say John and Rodney will balk at getting physical? She knows that they know she can’t stop them both from hurting each other, and they would only hurt her in the process. Steeling herself, she stands up.
“You two are being childish. Simply talk to each other like adults instead of sitting there sulking,” she says sharply before hurrying out.
When everyone else has gone, both John and Rodney quickly get up and head for the door, but when faced with being in close proximity of each other at the doorway, they pause. Rodney’s face contorts into an impressive scowl and in response John puts on his best bored expression, the one he uses when he’s getting lectured by his commander.
Rodney raises a vibrating finger and points it at John. “I don’t believe you! You are unbelievable!”
And John, because John can be really incredibly dumb sometimes, says, “But Meredith, it’s your name, of course I’m going to call you by it.”
Predictably, Rodney’s face gets redder, and inside John’s torn between laughing and crying from terror. “Not! During! Sex!” He punctures each word with a jab into John’s chest. “You are officially cut off! For eternity! Times a eternity!”
Then he spins on his heel and stomps out of the room. John smirks a little; he just can’t help it. Of course, he’s also wiping slightly clammy hands off on his pants, but he’s only human, and Rodney is fucking scary. Anyway, he’s already thought of a couple schemes to get Meredith back.
She can’t quite get herself to start the meeting. Elizabeth, who has faced down countless numbers of stony-faced men with whole armies backing them up, cannot bring herself to speak in front of a small gathering of colleagues.
The silence stretches on interminably. Ronon fidgets quietly, bored even though he is on edge. Teyla at first seems as serene as ever, but after a few millennia, her small smile takes on a brittle quality. Elizabeth thinks back to kindergarten when she almost peed her pants in school- it just feels like one of those times.
The two occupants of the room who are the cause of all this tension aren’t even looking at each other and it’s unclear who is going to break first, because it is very clear that no one else is going to talk.
Rodney, his chin up and his arms folded across his chest is glaring at the ceiling, while the foot resting on his knee jiggles at practically light speed. John is slouched in his chair even more than usual, his face an exact copy of every teenager’s insolent expression when they’ve been caught doing any number of illegal activities. John, knowing how much this annoys Rodney, is clicking and unclicking his pen against the table.
Elizabeth feels frantic, almost like a panic attack, and she briefly wonders if this is what agoraphobics feel like. She shifts in her chair, and the sound of fabric sliding seems impossibly loud. She freezes, expecting someone to pull a gun at the susurration. She licks her lips nervously, and then slowly, ever so slowly, releases tensed muscles.
She starts to wonder how she can escape, thinking of millions of possible plans, running through them and rejecting them almost simultaneously. Finally, when she feels like she’s about to burst, she gathers her courage and slaps her hand to her radio and says loudly and completely obviously falsely, “What? An emergency in the medical bay? I’ll be right there!” She launches to her feet and rockets out of the room. Teyla and Ronon watch her go, but Rodney and John aren’t distracted from ignoring each other studiously.
Ronon is the next to go, and although he doesn’t speak, his exit is no less dramatic. He suddenly slams the knife he’s been surreptitiously handling out of nerves into the table. Snarling something to himself, he stalks out of the room.
Without him, Teyla no longer feels safe. It isn’t that she can’t take care of herself, because she certainly can, but with only one other person in the room, who’s to say John and Rodney will balk at getting physical? She knows that they know she can’t stop them both from hurting each other, and they would only hurt her in the process. Steeling herself, she stands up.
“You two are being childish. Simply talk to each other like adults instead of sitting there sulking,” she says sharply before hurrying out.
When everyone else has gone, both John and Rodney quickly get up and head for the door, but when faced with being in close proximity of each other at the doorway, they pause. Rodney’s face contorts into an impressive scowl and in response John puts on his best bored expression, the one he uses when he’s getting lectured by his commander.
Rodney raises a vibrating finger and points it at John. “I don’t believe you! You are unbelievable!”
And John, because John can be really incredibly dumb sometimes, says, “But Meredith, it’s your name, of course I’m going to call you by it.”
Predictably, Rodney’s face gets redder, and inside John’s torn between laughing and crying from terror. “Not! During! Sex!” He punctures each word with a jab into John’s chest. “You are officially cut off! For eternity! Times a eternity!”
Then he spins on his heel and stomps out of the room. John smirks a little; he just can’t help it. Of course, he’s also wiping slightly clammy hands off on his pants, but he’s only human, and Rodney is fucking scary. Anyway, he’s already thought of a couple schemes to get Meredith back.