ficpost: "Should The Issue Arise" (Beckett/Ford)
ETA: Some people are apparently doing a NaNoWriSu (national novel writing summer) that started on the 21st and will end September 21. I think I'm going to join them. [/eta]
One last marriage fic. I found the first three quarters of this on my computer when I was looking for McWeir smut I might have forgotten I wrote (alas, there is none) and was slightly surprised. But it fits in with today's theme, and it's all for meee!
Title: "Should The Issue Arise"
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Pairings: Beckett/Ford and, since this is *my* fic, more-than-subtextual McKay/Weir
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Timeline: Goes AU post-"Siege". No really explicit end-of-season spoilers.
Disclaimer: Like they'd really devote an entire episode to the important issue of how Weir feels about gay marriage
Summary: Weir understands more than she knows about Beckett and Ford.
Words: 1250
Should The Issue Arise
There are many things Elizabeth Weir fundamentally does not get about military men despite having lived among them for three and a half Earth years. This suggests to her not that military men are incomprehensible but that she is too old to learn new things. It's wearying and problematic since her job description includes open-mindedness, but she can't be fired and refuses to step down, so nothing short of open coup will force her from her job.
She has had weekly meetings with Major Sheppard for three years and still can't comprehend the inside of his brain or predict his behavior. When she expects him to be compassionate he's sarcastic; when she expects disdain he suddenly burrows in deep and comes up with insights she can't see the source of but can't deny are true. She understood Rodney from the day they met and now she thinks that's less to do with Rodney and more to do with civilians trapped in a military establishment, endlessly trying to understand rules and loopholes, honor and disgrace, slang and euphemisms.
But she understands Ford even less than she understands Sheppard, because he's a quiet man in briefings and doesn't seem to believe in interpersonal communication, at least not with women, except women who are Teyla, and maybe it's just a team thing, but she doesn't think that's it either, because there's Carson.
During the first year Carson sat with them at mealtimes and after curfew and bitched as loudly as Rodney did about the military and their regulations, their uniforms, their chain of command, everything about them. Elizabeth sat patiently and listened to her boys complain, then stressed once again the civilian and scientific virtues of open communication and honesty and most of all tolerance. They would listen politely and then Rodney would say, "Did I tell you what Major Sheppard said yesterday while we were in the middle of examining some rock formations? He said 'these aren't important.' As if he could possibly judge their importance; he didn't even look at them."
And then Carson would chime in about a patient, usually (as Elizabeth recalls now) Ford, who would complain the entire time they were naked on the table about being treated by a civilian doctor. "How many times do I need to hear about Janet Fraiser?" Carson would ask. "She was a good doctor, I don't deny! But a doctor can't work under those conditions!"
"We all make the best with what we have," Elizabeth had said; the first year she was fond of aphorisms and thought, in her heart of hearts, that they would make a difference.
She thought she understood Carson, but there is more complexity in the human heart than she'd dared dream of before today, because Carson stands before her (metaphorically; in fact when colonist-citizens have concerns they come into her office, tastefully furnished with a bizarre combination of Athosian, Ancient, and American technology, artwork, et al, and sit in comfortable chairs) with a request that she's been expecting for a long time but not from Carson, certainly not from Carson and Ford.
When help from Earth failed to appear and they neutralized the Wraith on their own, they took a vote and established some informal city-wide regulations. They had birthday parties and funerals and eventually inevitably they had romance, and Weir had been called on to okay the first marriage. She took a vote, and except for a few die-hard military types who still thought they were under martial law, everyone said yes, and appointed Weir a justice of the peace for purposes of marrying off the inhabitants of Atlantis, which made her slightly squeamish when she recalled the engagement ring she'd returned to Russell and the one she'd refused to accept from Simon, but it wasn't necessary that she want to be married, but only that she believe in the institution as a whole. Which she did. Sometimes.
She knew that after establishing marriage it would only be a matter of time before, before someone brought up the issue of same-sex marriage, and she prepared for it, actually, two years ago.
Unsurprisingly, even if Sheppard knew about Ford (and undoubtedly he did), he didn't allude to it, but said a lot of things about how lots of the guys would probably be pissed off, and lots of the guys could go fuck themselves and he would always support it, if he had to personally convince the guys who were against it. Rodney was equally straight-forward and had advocated just throwing all the nay-sayers into the ocean. He also of course condemned the whole institution of marriage and confessed he'd been one of those who'd voted against it, and Elizabeth was unaccountably relieved.
But the two of them, as informal representatives of Atlantis's factions of soldiers and scientists, agreed with her that should the question arise, they would stand fully in favor of same-sex marriage on Atlantis. And now, now it has arisen.
Carson sits on the edge of her most comfortable chair, looking as ill at ease as it's possible for a man to look who's grown his beard long and given up on military issue attire when the Athosians delivered more practical homespun garments as a gift after their first harvest. She hasn't seen him look this nervous in years, and smiles as reassuringly as she can before answering him.
"Carson." She takes a deep breath. "I want you to understand that what I'm going to say is off the record. On the record, I'd be happy to officiate at any marriage between consenting adults, regardless of gender."
"And off the record?"
"Off the record.. Carson, why Ford?"
"You really didn't know?"
"I had no idea. None at all. All I know is that you always seemed to be on opposite sides of just about any issue that came up -- that he was downright rude to you sometimes."
"And the rudeness was entirely mutual," Carson interjects. "Of course -- so you did notice."
"Notice?"
"That we noticed each other. That there was something about him, even when he was only a jarhead to me, that made me realize he wasn't a jarhead at all."
"I'm afraid I still don't understand."
"All right, Elizabeth. Let me try this another way. Is there someone you've been in love with -- anyone at all -- who you could picture for me?"
Elizabeth fights very hard to think of Simon, but eventually she lodges his image in her mind. "All right."
"Just for my reference, Dr. Weir, are you thinking of a man or a woman?"
"A man," she tells him. "Go on."
"Elizabeth, can anyone annoy you as much as this man does? Does anyone else know exactly which words to say to hurt you the most? Could anyone make you happier?"
"No," she says quietly, and isn't thinking of Simon anymore. "I don't really understand totally -- but I do get it."
"I'm grateful," he says. "On behalf of the both of us, my deepest gratitude."
She smiles at him, rises to shake his hand and decides halfway up that the occasion is worthy of a hug. "I'm very happy for you. You'll be the first of our little crowd to succumb to this marriage fever that's sweeping the city."
"Only the first?"
She's definitely not thinking of Simon when she says, "There might be another sooner than you think."
One last marriage fic. I found the first three quarters of this on my computer when I was looking for McWeir smut I might have forgotten I wrote (alas, there is none) and was slightly surprised. But it fits in with today's theme, and it's all for meee!
Title: "Should The Issue Arise"
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis
Pairings: Beckett/Ford and, since this is *my* fic, more-than-subtextual McKay/Weir
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Timeline: Goes AU post-"Siege". No really explicit end-of-season spoilers.
Disclaimer: Like they'd really devote an entire episode to the important issue of how Weir feels about gay marriage
Summary: Weir understands more than she knows about Beckett and Ford.
Words: 1250
Should The Issue Arise
There are many things Elizabeth Weir fundamentally does not get about military men despite having lived among them for three and a half Earth years. This suggests to her not that military men are incomprehensible but that she is too old to learn new things. It's wearying and problematic since her job description includes open-mindedness, but she can't be fired and refuses to step down, so nothing short of open coup will force her from her job.
She has had weekly meetings with Major Sheppard for three years and still can't comprehend the inside of his brain or predict his behavior. When she expects him to be compassionate he's sarcastic; when she expects disdain he suddenly burrows in deep and comes up with insights she can't see the source of but can't deny are true. She understood Rodney from the day they met and now she thinks that's less to do with Rodney and more to do with civilians trapped in a military establishment, endlessly trying to understand rules and loopholes, honor and disgrace, slang and euphemisms.
But she understands Ford even less than she understands Sheppard, because he's a quiet man in briefings and doesn't seem to believe in interpersonal communication, at least not with women, except women who are Teyla, and maybe it's just a team thing, but she doesn't think that's it either, because there's Carson.
During the first year Carson sat with them at mealtimes and after curfew and bitched as loudly as Rodney did about the military and their regulations, their uniforms, their chain of command, everything about them. Elizabeth sat patiently and listened to her boys complain, then stressed once again the civilian and scientific virtues of open communication and honesty and most of all tolerance. They would listen politely and then Rodney would say, "Did I tell you what Major Sheppard said yesterday while we were in the middle of examining some rock formations? He said 'these aren't important.' As if he could possibly judge their importance; he didn't even look at them."
And then Carson would chime in about a patient, usually (as Elizabeth recalls now) Ford, who would complain the entire time they were naked on the table about being treated by a civilian doctor. "How many times do I need to hear about Janet Fraiser?" Carson would ask. "She was a good doctor, I don't deny! But a doctor can't work under those conditions!"
"We all make the best with what we have," Elizabeth had said; the first year she was fond of aphorisms and thought, in her heart of hearts, that they would make a difference.
She thought she understood Carson, but there is more complexity in the human heart than she'd dared dream of before today, because Carson stands before her (metaphorically; in fact when colonist-citizens have concerns they come into her office, tastefully furnished with a bizarre combination of Athosian, Ancient, and American technology, artwork, et al, and sit in comfortable chairs) with a request that she's been expecting for a long time but not from Carson, certainly not from Carson and Ford.
When help from Earth failed to appear and they neutralized the Wraith on their own, they took a vote and established some informal city-wide regulations. They had birthday parties and funerals and eventually inevitably they had romance, and Weir had been called on to okay the first marriage. She took a vote, and except for a few die-hard military types who still thought they were under martial law, everyone said yes, and appointed Weir a justice of the peace for purposes of marrying off the inhabitants of Atlantis, which made her slightly squeamish when she recalled the engagement ring she'd returned to Russell and the one she'd refused to accept from Simon, but it wasn't necessary that she want to be married, but only that she believe in the institution as a whole. Which she did. Sometimes.
She knew that after establishing marriage it would only be a matter of time before, before someone brought up the issue of same-sex marriage, and she prepared for it, actually, two years ago.
Unsurprisingly, even if Sheppard knew about Ford (and undoubtedly he did), he didn't allude to it, but said a lot of things about how lots of the guys would probably be pissed off, and lots of the guys could go fuck themselves and he would always support it, if he had to personally convince the guys who were against it. Rodney was equally straight-forward and had advocated just throwing all the nay-sayers into the ocean. He also of course condemned the whole institution of marriage and confessed he'd been one of those who'd voted against it, and Elizabeth was unaccountably relieved.
But the two of them, as informal representatives of Atlantis's factions of soldiers and scientists, agreed with her that should the question arise, they would stand fully in favor of same-sex marriage on Atlantis. And now, now it has arisen.
Carson sits on the edge of her most comfortable chair, looking as ill at ease as it's possible for a man to look who's grown his beard long and given up on military issue attire when the Athosians delivered more practical homespun garments as a gift after their first harvest. She hasn't seen him look this nervous in years, and smiles as reassuringly as she can before answering him.
"Carson." She takes a deep breath. "I want you to understand that what I'm going to say is off the record. On the record, I'd be happy to officiate at any marriage between consenting adults, regardless of gender."
"And off the record?"
"Off the record.. Carson, why Ford?"
"You really didn't know?"
"I had no idea. None at all. All I know is that you always seemed to be on opposite sides of just about any issue that came up -- that he was downright rude to you sometimes."
"And the rudeness was entirely mutual," Carson interjects. "Of course -- so you did notice."
"Notice?"
"That we noticed each other. That there was something about him, even when he was only a jarhead to me, that made me realize he wasn't a jarhead at all."
"I'm afraid I still don't understand."
"All right, Elizabeth. Let me try this another way. Is there someone you've been in love with -- anyone at all -- who you could picture for me?"
Elizabeth fights very hard to think of Simon, but eventually she lodges his image in her mind. "All right."
"Just for my reference, Dr. Weir, are you thinking of a man or a woman?"
"A man," she tells him. "Go on."
"Elizabeth, can anyone annoy you as much as this man does? Does anyone else know exactly which words to say to hurt you the most? Could anyone make you happier?"
"No," she says quietly, and isn't thinking of Simon anymore. "I don't really understand totally -- but I do get it."
"I'm grateful," he says. "On behalf of the both of us, my deepest gratitude."
She smiles at him, rises to shake his hand and decides halfway up that the occasion is worthy of a hug. "I'm very happy for you. You'll be the first of our little crowd to succumb to this marriage fever that's sweeping the city."
"Only the first?"
She's definitely not thinking of Simon when she says, "There might be another sooner than you think."