FanFic100: #093 Thanksgiving
Title: The web of changes
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters: Cadman/Lorne
Prompt: #093 Thanksgiving
Word Count: 2.003
Rating: K+
Summary: For every officer of the US Air Force who lives to see it, there comes the day of retirement... and the according speech.
Author's Notes: Okay... this is it. My last Lorne/Cadman Fanfic100 story. I can't... believe I got this far. It's over and it's been... an incredible experience (let's see... I wrote despite being part of three election campaigns, driver's license lessons, going to Canada on vacations, losing my job, having to find a new one and a new apartment as well...). Most of this is due to my equally incredible beta-reader mackenziesmomma who gave me encouragement and some kicks in the ass when I needed them, cracked her whip on the last stretch of finishing the challenge and didn't even quit when my extensive usage of the word "already" drove her to commit verbicide (the word equivalent for homicide... yes, we know that we're 'special'...).
Patiently, she fought a war against my inability to use this and that according to the rules (I'll probably never learn it... will you still stay with me, mac?), taught me correct English punctuation (a real effort because they never teach you this in school here...) and had the most amazing (and rabid) plot bunnies I ever encountered. I would have been lost without her. In fact... I wouldn't have been able to finish this without her. I feel very humbled by her exuberant imagination and the ability to think outside of the box and I'm infinitely grateful that she gave me her bunnies and let me use them and write them.
Seriously, if she had kept them to herself - which I would have absolutely understood because they are gems among bunnies - I'd have been screwed (because let's face it... my ways of thinking are way too conservative to be as innovative as hers) more than once... no, in general. That I finished Fanfic100 within a year - or anything at all - is solely her merit and she made me a better writer (which is an incredible feat... before starting Fanfic100 I had been in a phase of stagnantion and the only thing worse for a writer is a full-grown writer's block) with challenging me to do things I thought I couldn't do or didn't want to do.
But the most impressive thing about mac is that she's able to put personal dislikes behind her (because she still claims she doesn't like Lorne/Cadman and her little UCMJ voice likes to freak out every time they so much as look the wrong way at each other ;)) and judge writing beyond personally liking the sujet or not. I know she doesn't like me to say this in public but I just have to now: She's an incredible person, so inspiring and bringing out the best in you, ready to invest a lot of time into you and your writing and most of all being a really, really great friend. Thanks for doing this and so much more for me, mac!
Also, thanks to every one of my readers for taking an interest in my stories, getting invested in them, liking the way I write the canon characters and liking my original characters, leaving reviews and giving me encouragement to carry on writing. You really mean a lot to me even if I don't always respond to you. I read each and every of your reviews and I value every one because I know that sometimes it's hard to write something (it's why I became so picky with reading fanfiction... I have the ambition to leave a review to every story I read and want it to be a good one ;)). Seriously... thanks to all of you, even those who didn't leave a review ;)
Okay... okay, sorry, I went so over the top with the last A/N but I had to because Fanfic100 has been really important to me and it meant a lot for the friendship between mac and Iand I felt like I had to do this justice. I hope I didn't bore you too much with it (and I hope mac didn't die of embarrassment because of it or won't speak to me anymore after reading it...) and will now finally give you my last Fanfic100 story for this claim (I claimed SGU's TJ a while back... and don't forget that I still have plans with the Shock and Awe verse and the RNT-verse ;)). Hope you like it :)
And here's the LDT.
The web of changes
“You took me through the pages
Good happiness is shared
Lost in the web of changes
This could be the last dance
Waltzing in the rain
'Till the Minstrel comes to save us.”
Runrig, “Book of Golden Stories”
This is it. It’s his last speech in front of his soldiers and co-workers… and probably in front of a few of his friends as well. He will, if God and all other supernatural entities permit, never return to Atlantis or the Pegasus Galaxy at all. He also won’t return to the Pentagon or Homeworld Security or any of his other postings he served at during his years… decades of service to his country, his planet and his galaxy… his two galaxies.
For some reason… he’s a little surprised that there’s more than just regret that he feels. Since he’d known the exact date when his service would end and he would take off the uniform for good, he’d always thought he’d find it almost impossible to let go of the responsibility and the pride he always felt when wearing the uniform. But here he stands and there is so much… more.
A last time, his gaze wanders a little to his side where Laura’s sitting, wearing her Dress Blues with the new third star on her shoulders and the deep pride he felt when the President promoted her a month ago wells up again. She catches his eye and a little smile graces her face, making the wrinkles around her eyes deeper and his heart soar.
To her left side, there sits Griffin, his son, wearing the uniform of an officer of the newly formed United Nations Space Corps and his twin daughters Julia and Tanya, the former wearing the USAF Dress Blues and the latter an evening gown of her own collection. Seeing them all there, beside his still beautiful and successful wife… there are simply no words to describe how proud it makes him.
Oh well, give them what they deserve, General, he thinks and steps up the podium. Taking another moment to shuffle around his papers a little, he also clears his mind and then finally begins his speech. “Ladies and gentleman, fellow soldiers, dear friends…” An unexpected lump has formed in his throat and he has to take a deep breath before he can continue, “we have all gathered here today to celebrate an end. The end of my 52 years of service as an officer in the United States Air Force.”
Aw, dammit, he’s such a sentimental old fool. Two sentences into his speech and he feels ready to bawl his eyes out… well, or he would if he wasn’t a General of the Air Force. Again his eyes catch Laura’s and this time she raises her eyebrow a little ironically, as if to ask if he’s giving up this quickly. As always, that only makes him try harder and he goes on, “There’s a lot of what I could I tell you about them; hundreds of stories and anecdotes I’m sure every one of you is dying to hear.”
At this, his audience gives him some laughs and few applause and he allows himself a little cocky grin… that makes Laura roll her eyes, maybe because she knows it’s meant for her and the children. “However, time is short for a soldier - and someone told me it’s like that for civilians as well - so I have to say I’m sorry I can’t tell you any of them. But what I will tell you now is this,” dammit, he feels that lump forming again, “It’s been a pleasure serving for and with you… all of you.”
His eyes grace his family again and he realizes that this… applies most of all to Laura, who he has served with for at least half of those 52 years and never regretted it, even though often enough it had been a major pain in the ass. “Yes, I’ve seen a lot of pain, blood and ultimately death in all those years and it never ceased to be anything but terrible and terrifying but I’ve also seen amazing acts of selflessness, courage and dedication. Those were what made serving with all of you a unique and inspiring experience.”
From the corner of his eyes he sees a movement and catches his son discreetly putting a hand on Laura’s and has to hide a smile at that. She’d never admit it but she’s as touched as he is… and that makes him very curious about what will follow. Despite her prodding and prying, he managed to keep the manuscript to the speech away from her overly curious eyes, so everything he says will be a surprise to her.
“So yes, I’m here today to thank you all for being allowed to serve with you… but I’m also here to remember all those who never made it to this point. All the friends and fellow soldiers and co-workers we lost to come to where we are today. I’m here to remind you and myself never to forget the sacrifices they made to make it possible for us to be here today.” At this, he looks at Laura first and he can see in her eyes the same melancholy and flicker of grief he always feels when thinking of friends lost along the way.
Then his eyes fall on Jennifer Keller-McKay and her daughter Marian and he sees a ghost of the sorrow they both felt when Rodney McKay sacrificed himself to save Atlantis 14 years ago wash over Jennifer’s face. He also looks at John Sheppard and his face mirrors his own regret for all the deaths under both their commands. Teyla Emmagan is the next person he looks at and even though she tries to hide it as much as Sheppard does, he can see that Ronon Dex’s death 20 years ago still weighs her down now and then.
But no, this isn't a day for somberness and grief. It’s a day of remembrance and letting the past pass by but also, in a way, of looking into the future. “I will, however, not dwell on the past because those friends we lost… they wouldn’t want us to live in the past. Instead, they’d want us to thank them and use the time they bought us wisely. So… thank you, all of you. We will never forget you and will look forward.”
Well then, on to the future, “In the 52 years I served in the United States Air Force, mankind managed to accomplish more than I would ever dream of when I decided that trying out for a spot at the Air Force Academy would be a good idea. Being a part of this was… all kinds of things, actually. Amazing, gratifying and sometimes also terrifying and exhausting.”
Most of all because a number of times… Laura and he had had close calls. There was this one time… when Laura had been gone for three weeks, on a top secret mission only John and Richard had been privy to. Neither of them had ever told him what it had been about but it had ended with Laura coming back barely alive and it still gives him nightmares now and then.
“It was worth it, though. What I see today - more than 100 bases in two galaxies, stable diplomatic relations with dozens of partners in those galaxies and ultimately peace - makes me proud, of all of you.” Another look towards Laura and now she’s… blushing. He’ll probably get an earful for that later but now he has to make someone else blush. “It also makes me proud to see my children be a part of this.” What, Mr. Super Space Soldier is suddenly embarrassed? And the self-proclaimed poster girl of the Air Force tries to stare a hole in the ground through which she can disappear… while the face of the new star designer of Melanthea - formerly known as P9S-846 - has taken on the bright red color of her dress.
Oh well, almost last leg of the speech it is. “They and all the other young soldiers, scientists and artists that I see here are the best proof to me that the Stargate program is in the best of hands and that the work that my fellow soldiers and co-workers and I began so long ago will be continued. This is the best way to make an old veteran like me let go and pass the flame on to the next generation.”
Again, he feels something constrict his throat when he prepares for his last paragraph. Taking a deep breath, he finally says, “Thank you all for 52 wonderful and challenging years in the service. Thank you all for being my superiors, co-workers and friends. And last but not least: Thank you for 45 years of being my wonderful, spirited, sharp-tongued wife, Laura. Sorry to tell you but… now that I don’t have my subordinates to bother anymore, I’ll have to concentrate on bothering you. I told you not to be too overjoyed at the prospect of my retirement.”
It makes his audience laugh but even over the slight distance he can see that Laura is greatly moved by his acknowledgement. For a moment they look at each other and it’s really only them. Just like 45 years ago, on their wedding day when no one else but them had mattered. To think she had turned him down the first two times he had asked her… Okay, they can reminiscence all they want later, now he has to make it final.
“So… I say… good bye, not farewell because I hope to see many of you again, coming to visit me and hear me going on about the old times and how everything was so much better when I was still in charge here.” Another round of chuckles. “Again, it was an honor serving with you. I will miss it but I will also look forward to see another generation make their mark on two galaxies. Good bye to all of you.” With that he steps away from the podium and salutes his audience.
The applause that erupts is deafening and one by one, people are standing up and as he gets down from the podium, there’s a number of them waiting down to congratulate him. John clasps his hand and gives him a smirk, telling him for a speech, it wasn’t half-bad while Teyla envelops him in a hug, quietly reassuring him that it was honor for her to be working alongside him… Jennifer, Samantha Carter, Matthew Kemp… and as the last one, Laura.
She hugs him tight, gives him a kiss on the lips and hugs him again, whispering to him, “I never minded you bothering me and I sure as hell won’t start with it now.” It makes him grin.
“That bodes well for 45 more years of marriage.” She grins back.
“At least. Now, come on, old man, let’s get to the best part of this.” He raises his eyebrow and her grin gets a little bit brighter. “The food, dummy.” Right. The food. Of course. Not his speech, no, it’s the food. He shakes his head, smirking.
“You’re incorrigible, Dynamite.” Most of the people in the audience who were also invited to the reception afterwards have left the Gate room that had served as an auditorium and Laura could never quite tone down the impatience that is part of her personality, so she tugs at his sleeve to get him moving.
“It’s part of my charm, Brushes. Now get going.” Yeah, he better. So after throwing one last look around the now empty Gate room, he turns back to her and follows her, realizing that this isn't only good bye… it’s also a beginning and it’s all up to him to make this phase of his life as good as the ones that are behind him. He’s got all the prerequisites for that, at least.
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters: Cadman/Lorne
Prompt: #093 Thanksgiving
Word Count: 2.003
Rating: K+
Summary: For every officer of the US Air Force who lives to see it, there comes the day of retirement... and the according speech.
Author's Notes: Okay... this is it. My last Lorne/Cadman Fanfic100 story. I can't... believe I got this far. It's over and it's been... an incredible experience (let's see... I wrote despite being part of three election campaigns, driver's license lessons, going to Canada on vacations, losing my job, having to find a new one and a new apartment as well...). Most of this is due to my equally incredible beta-reader mackenziesmomma who gave me encouragement and some kicks in the ass when I needed them, cracked her whip on the last stretch of finishing the challenge and didn't even quit when my extensive usage of the word "already" drove her to commit verbicide (the word equivalent for homicide... yes, we know that we're 'special'...).
Patiently, she fought a war against my inability to use this and that according to the rules (I'll probably never learn it... will you still stay with me, mac?), taught me correct English punctuation (a real effort because they never teach you this in school here...) and had the most amazing (and rabid) plot bunnies I ever encountered. I would have been lost without her. In fact... I wouldn't have been able to finish this without her. I feel very humbled by her exuberant imagination and the ability to think outside of the box and I'm infinitely grateful that she gave me her bunnies and let me use them and write them.
Seriously, if she had kept them to herself - which I would have absolutely understood because they are gems among bunnies - I'd have been screwed (because let's face it... my ways of thinking are way too conservative to be as innovative as hers) more than once... no, in general. That I finished Fanfic100 within a year - or anything at all - is solely her merit and she made me a better writer (which is an incredible feat... before starting Fanfic100 I had been in a phase of stagnantion and the only thing worse for a writer is a full-grown writer's block) with challenging me to do things I thought I couldn't do or didn't want to do.
But the most impressive thing about mac is that she's able to put personal dislikes behind her (because she still claims she doesn't like Lorne/Cadman and her little UCMJ voice likes to freak out every time they so much as look the wrong way at each other ;)) and judge writing beyond personally liking the sujet or not. I know she doesn't like me to say this in public but I just have to now: She's an incredible person, so inspiring and bringing out the best in you, ready to invest a lot of time into you and your writing and most of all being a really, really great friend. Thanks for doing this and so much more for me, mac!
Also, thanks to every one of my readers for taking an interest in my stories, getting invested in them, liking the way I write the canon characters and liking my original characters, leaving reviews and giving me encouragement to carry on writing. You really mean a lot to me even if I don't always respond to you. I read each and every of your reviews and I value every one because I know that sometimes it's hard to write something (it's why I became so picky with reading fanfiction... I have the ambition to leave a review to every story I read and want it to be a good one ;)). Seriously... thanks to all of you, even those who didn't leave a review ;)
Okay... okay, sorry, I went so over the top with the last A/N but I had to because Fanfic100 has been really important to me and it meant a lot for the friendship between mac and Iand I felt like I had to do this justice. I hope I didn't bore you too much with it (and I hope mac didn't die of embarrassment because of it or won't speak to me anymore after reading it...) and will now finally give you my last Fanfic100 story for this claim (I claimed SGU's TJ a while back... and don't forget that I still have plans with the Shock and Awe verse and the RNT-verse ;)). Hope you like it :)
And here's the LDT.
The web of changes
“You took me through the pages
Good happiness is shared
Lost in the web of changes
This could be the last dance
Waltzing in the rain
'Till the Minstrel comes to save us.”
Runrig, “Book of Golden Stories”
This is it. It’s his last speech in front of his soldiers and co-workers… and probably in front of a few of his friends as well. He will, if God and all other supernatural entities permit, never return to Atlantis or the Pegasus Galaxy at all. He also won’t return to the Pentagon or Homeworld Security or any of his other postings he served at during his years… decades of service to his country, his planet and his galaxy… his two galaxies.
For some reason… he’s a little surprised that there’s more than just regret that he feels. Since he’d known the exact date when his service would end and he would take off the uniform for good, he’d always thought he’d find it almost impossible to let go of the responsibility and the pride he always felt when wearing the uniform. But here he stands and there is so much… more.
A last time, his gaze wanders a little to his side where Laura’s sitting, wearing her Dress Blues with the new third star on her shoulders and the deep pride he felt when the President promoted her a month ago wells up again. She catches his eye and a little smile graces her face, making the wrinkles around her eyes deeper and his heart soar.
To her left side, there sits Griffin, his son, wearing the uniform of an officer of the newly formed United Nations Space Corps and his twin daughters Julia and Tanya, the former wearing the USAF Dress Blues and the latter an evening gown of her own collection. Seeing them all there, beside his still beautiful and successful wife… there are simply no words to describe how proud it makes him.
Oh well, give them what they deserve, General, he thinks and steps up the podium. Taking another moment to shuffle around his papers a little, he also clears his mind and then finally begins his speech. “Ladies and gentleman, fellow soldiers, dear friends…” An unexpected lump has formed in his throat and he has to take a deep breath before he can continue, “we have all gathered here today to celebrate an end. The end of my 52 years of service as an officer in the United States Air Force.”
Aw, dammit, he’s such a sentimental old fool. Two sentences into his speech and he feels ready to bawl his eyes out… well, or he would if he wasn’t a General of the Air Force. Again his eyes catch Laura’s and this time she raises her eyebrow a little ironically, as if to ask if he’s giving up this quickly. As always, that only makes him try harder and he goes on, “There’s a lot of what I could I tell you about them; hundreds of stories and anecdotes I’m sure every one of you is dying to hear.”
At this, his audience gives him some laughs and few applause and he allows himself a little cocky grin… that makes Laura roll her eyes, maybe because she knows it’s meant for her and the children. “However, time is short for a soldier - and someone told me it’s like that for civilians as well - so I have to say I’m sorry I can’t tell you any of them. But what I will tell you now is this,” dammit, he feels that lump forming again, “It’s been a pleasure serving for and with you… all of you.”
His eyes grace his family again and he realizes that this… applies most of all to Laura, who he has served with for at least half of those 52 years and never regretted it, even though often enough it had been a major pain in the ass. “Yes, I’ve seen a lot of pain, blood and ultimately death in all those years and it never ceased to be anything but terrible and terrifying but I’ve also seen amazing acts of selflessness, courage and dedication. Those were what made serving with all of you a unique and inspiring experience.”
From the corner of his eyes he sees a movement and catches his son discreetly putting a hand on Laura’s and has to hide a smile at that. She’d never admit it but she’s as touched as he is… and that makes him very curious about what will follow. Despite her prodding and prying, he managed to keep the manuscript to the speech away from her overly curious eyes, so everything he says will be a surprise to her.
“So yes, I’m here today to thank you all for being allowed to serve with you… but I’m also here to remember all those who never made it to this point. All the friends and fellow soldiers and co-workers we lost to come to where we are today. I’m here to remind you and myself never to forget the sacrifices they made to make it possible for us to be here today.” At this, he looks at Laura first and he can see in her eyes the same melancholy and flicker of grief he always feels when thinking of friends lost along the way.
Then his eyes fall on Jennifer Keller-McKay and her daughter Marian and he sees a ghost of the sorrow they both felt when Rodney McKay sacrificed himself to save Atlantis 14 years ago wash over Jennifer’s face. He also looks at John Sheppard and his face mirrors his own regret for all the deaths under both their commands. Teyla Emmagan is the next person he looks at and even though she tries to hide it as much as Sheppard does, he can see that Ronon Dex’s death 20 years ago still weighs her down now and then.
But no, this isn't a day for somberness and grief. It’s a day of remembrance and letting the past pass by but also, in a way, of looking into the future. “I will, however, not dwell on the past because those friends we lost… they wouldn’t want us to live in the past. Instead, they’d want us to thank them and use the time they bought us wisely. So… thank you, all of you. We will never forget you and will look forward.”
Well then, on to the future, “In the 52 years I served in the United States Air Force, mankind managed to accomplish more than I would ever dream of when I decided that trying out for a spot at the Air Force Academy would be a good idea. Being a part of this was… all kinds of things, actually. Amazing, gratifying and sometimes also terrifying and exhausting.”
Most of all because a number of times… Laura and he had had close calls. There was this one time… when Laura had been gone for three weeks, on a top secret mission only John and Richard had been privy to. Neither of them had ever told him what it had been about but it had ended with Laura coming back barely alive and it still gives him nightmares now and then.
“It was worth it, though. What I see today - more than 100 bases in two galaxies, stable diplomatic relations with dozens of partners in those galaxies and ultimately peace - makes me proud, of all of you.” Another look towards Laura and now she’s… blushing. He’ll probably get an earful for that later but now he has to make someone else blush. “It also makes me proud to see my children be a part of this.” What, Mr. Super Space Soldier is suddenly embarrassed? And the self-proclaimed poster girl of the Air Force tries to stare a hole in the ground through which she can disappear… while the face of the new star designer of Melanthea - formerly known as P9S-846 - has taken on the bright red color of her dress.
Oh well, almost last leg of the speech it is. “They and all the other young soldiers, scientists and artists that I see here are the best proof to me that the Stargate program is in the best of hands and that the work that my fellow soldiers and co-workers and I began so long ago will be continued. This is the best way to make an old veteran like me let go and pass the flame on to the next generation.”
Again, he feels something constrict his throat when he prepares for his last paragraph. Taking a deep breath, he finally says, “Thank you all for 52 wonderful and challenging years in the service. Thank you all for being my superiors, co-workers and friends. And last but not least: Thank you for 45 years of being my wonderful, spirited, sharp-tongued wife, Laura. Sorry to tell you but… now that I don’t have my subordinates to bother anymore, I’ll have to concentrate on bothering you. I told you not to be too overjoyed at the prospect of my retirement.”
It makes his audience laugh but even over the slight distance he can see that Laura is greatly moved by his acknowledgement. For a moment they look at each other and it’s really only them. Just like 45 years ago, on their wedding day when no one else but them had mattered. To think she had turned him down the first two times he had asked her… Okay, they can reminiscence all they want later, now he has to make it final.
“So… I say… good bye, not farewell because I hope to see many of you again, coming to visit me and hear me going on about the old times and how everything was so much better when I was still in charge here.” Another round of chuckles. “Again, it was an honor serving with you. I will miss it but I will also look forward to see another generation make their mark on two galaxies. Good bye to all of you.” With that he steps away from the podium and salutes his audience.
The applause that erupts is deafening and one by one, people are standing up and as he gets down from the podium, there’s a number of them waiting down to congratulate him. John clasps his hand and gives him a smirk, telling him for a speech, it wasn’t half-bad while Teyla envelops him in a hug, quietly reassuring him that it was honor for her to be working alongside him… Jennifer, Samantha Carter, Matthew Kemp… and as the last one, Laura.
She hugs him tight, gives him a kiss on the lips and hugs him again, whispering to him, “I never minded you bothering me and I sure as hell won’t start with it now.” It makes him grin.
“That bodes well for 45 more years of marriage.” She grins back.
“At least. Now, come on, old man, let’s get to the best part of this.” He raises his eyebrow and her grin gets a little bit brighter. “The food, dummy.” Right. The food. Of course. Not his speech, no, it’s the food. He shakes his head, smirking.
“You’re incorrigible, Dynamite.” Most of the people in the audience who were also invited to the reception afterwards have left the Gate room that had served as an auditorium and Laura could never quite tone down the impatience that is part of her personality, so she tugs at his sleeve to get him moving.
“It’s part of my charm, Brushes. Now get going.” Yeah, he better. So after throwing one last look around the now empty Gate room, he turns back to her and follows her, realizing that this isn't only good bye… it’s also a beginning and it’s all up to him to make this phase of his life as good as the ones that are behind him. He’s got all the prerequisites for that, at least.