I promise to write something other then Rodney/Lorne...
but not right now. Right now it's Rodney/Lorne. I'm trying to find my muse for something else, but it's not working.
On another note, the roommate went to a friend's house to watch WaT. He is now tramatized and he won't tell me why exactly. It sucks because that was his show more than it was mine and he's like totally broken up about it. Almost cried in frustration with it.
But Football was on yesterday so it softened the blow. Football was on tonight and he made sure we watched it. Even Justin who whined about it the whole time. He's (the roommate) is praying for Hockey to come. Because you know, hockey is a way of life man.
Title: If It Makes You Happy
Fandom: SGA
Characters: Rodney/Lorne with some Jeannie Miller and Kaleb Miller and Lorne's mom (female OC)
Prompt: Family
Word Count: 3,046
Rating: PG
Summary: Rodney and Lorne meet each other's families
Author's Notes: Spoilers for Mckay and Mrs. Miller. Title stolen from a Sheryl Crow song, but not nearly as sad as that song.
Marilyn Lorne was a pretty perceptive woman.
She had to have been what with her brother always sneaking around and her husband sneaking around and her own son sneaking around. All three men were positively stoic in nature and it would be hard to read them otherwise.
So she looked and she listened and she watched. Any little twitch in behavior and it would get marked down and stored away for later use. She could glean anything if she really tried, but some times were harder then others.
Especially from her son, Major Marcus Lorne. Maybe because it was her son. He was never easy to read, better at hiding his emotions then his father had ever been and Marilyn had had to work much harder to understand her son’s moods then anyone she’d ever encountered.
It was a good thing he had been a good kid growing up or Marilyn might never have known what do to with him.
“So, that’s him, huh.” Marilyn asks.
“Yeah, that’s him. I know he’s a bit of a handful…”
“Nonsense. I like him.”
“Really. Because most people don’t the first time they meet him.”
“Is that including you?”
Marcus ducks his head a bit, but Marilyn can see that smile on his face.
“Kind of.”
“Hmm… I can see why. Military mission is where you met him?”
“It’s classified, mom.” Mark says and he’s got that pleading look in his eye.
The one that’s begging Marilyn to drop it, even if she is unbelievably curious to know where he son has been all this time. It’s rare that she does, but Mark is here with his boyfriend and she can at least give him the courteous of waiting until next time.
“He seems very brilliant.” She says instead and Mark smiles almost unnoticeably.
“Yeah, he is. Of course you can’t let him hear you saying that. He’s got a big enough ego as it is.”
“It seems justified to me. Not that I know much about science myself, but your uncle was into that as a kid.”
She doesn’t say that his uncle threw his life away on the military because he’s still alive and doing just fine with his wife and family. It would upset Mark anyway.
“This kind of science is a bit above everyone’s heads.”
“I don’t doubt that. So, I know you can’t tell me where or how you met him, but can you at least tell me how long the two of you have been together.”
Mark rolls his eyes, but Marilyn doesn’t back off. This is important stuff one has to know about their only son.
“I don’t know. Couple of months I think. Things get kind of crazy sometimes and you lose track of time.”
“Do you love him?”
Mark’s quiet for a few minutes and Marilyn knows that he’s thinking. Can see the tiny wheels in his head moving around and he’s trying to come up with the right answer, whatever that may be.
“I think so, yeah.”
“You think?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never… I’ve never really been in love before.”
Marilyn nods and she knows it’s the truth. Mark’s dated around and had girlfriends, some lasting longer than others, but he’s never seemed really happy with them. Content, maybe, okay, sure, but truly can’t live without that person happy… she’s never seen that look on her son’s face before.
“And you’re happy.”
“Yeah. It’s weird. I didn’t think I would be. I mean… there was this… chemistry I guess, between us. Right from the beginning. Only it was kind of negative.”
“And it attracted you?”
“Yeah. Strangely enough.”
“Not so strange I think.” Marilyn says.
Mark rolls his eyes at that and shakes his head.
“But it just… changed. One minute we’re sniping and the next… the next I’m kissing him and well… you know…”
Mark’s ears and face turn a little pink and Marilyn knows that he’s probably said more than he wanted to.
“Well at least the incompetent morons managed to not blow themselves up. Anything more useful then that is a wash.” Rodney says stomping into the living room from the front door.
To Marilyn he looks a bit pissed and definitely agitated. Like he wants to be wherever that phone call came from and he’s a bit angry that he’s here instead. He puts his cell phone in his pocket and sighs.
“Really, so nothing new, huh.”
“Other then the fact that someone has to re-educate those idiots on the laws of physics… no. Besides that wasn’t a new flash either.”
“No news from Colonel Sheppard?”
“John has managed to finagle his way… elsewhere.” Rodney says.
She watches the look that pass between her son and Rodney and she can tell that they’re somehow communicating without words.
“How about Dr. Weir?”
“Well, Elizabeth is having a massive headache dealing with… the diplomatic side of the spectrum. And remind me when we get back to tell Radek thank you for not being nearly as stupid as I made him out to be.”
“You’re really going to tell Doc. Zelenka that?”
Rodney’s mouth twitches slightly and Marilyn can see her son smiling widely at him.
It’s a look she’s never seen before and one she had given up on ever seeing. That total happiness and ease with someone and Rodney smiles a little goofily at him as well and Marilyn knows it’s the same for him.
“Well maybe not that. But I can get him some chocolate.” Rodney says with a hopeful expression on his face.
And that’s really all Marilyn can ask for.
“Well, boys, who wants cookies.”
~*~
It’s late or early depending on how you look on it and Marilyn can’t sleep.
She has papers to grade, but she was putting them off because it’s not everyday that her only son comes back from his top secret mission with a boyfriend in tow. She thinks he students will understand.
Still, she can’t sleep, so she makes her way down to the kitchen, intent on making coffee, but the pot is already steaming and half of it’s gone. Shrugging, she pours herself a cup and makes her way to the dinning room.
She finds Rodney, looking extremely tired and he’s hunched over his laptop typing away. His eyes are red and puffy and Marilyn instantly feels the pull to push him to the bedroom and wrap him up in a blanket.
“Hello Rodney.”
He jumps a little at her voice and looks about ready to yell at her when he realizes where he’s at.
“I’m sorry for startling you. It’s just… have you gotten any sleep.”
He looks a little guilty and then shakes his head no.
“Isn’t this supposed to be a vacation?”
“Yes, but it’s surprising that the people I work for can even function without me. I got called early this morning. I didn’t want to wake up Lorne so I came down here. I didn’t wake you up did I?”
“No, I’m used to getting up this early. You should get some rest.”
“I’m almost done with this.”
“Hmm… Mark was right, you are stubborn.”
He glares at her just a little bit before going back to his work.
“I wish I could tell you why this is so important, but…”
“Under orders not to. I get it. I’ve been Mark’s mother for a while now.”
Rodney smiles shyly.
“Right. Bet it kills you not to know where he is.”
“A little. I’m just glad he’s got someone to watch out for him.”
Rodney shakes his head.
“It’s kind of the other way around. I mean don’t get me wrong some times, when he needs it, I take care of him, but…”
“He needs to be needed. He’s been taking care of me and his grandmother, when she was a live, most of his life. It’s the best way to look out for him.”
Rodney sighs.
“Then I guess I’m the perfect candidate for that. I can be a bit much some times.”
“Well, at least you admit it.”
There’s quiet for a few moments before Rodney closes his laptop and looks at her.
“I love your son, if that’s what you’re fishing for.”
“I wasn’t fishing for anything, but it’s good to know that.”
“Still… I’m not good with… other people. And I… I wanted you to like me. I usually don’t care if people like me or what they think, but…”
“No, I understand. Meeting the parents… that’s… that’s big.”
“I was a little worried. I figured you wouldn’t like me. Wouldn’t think that I was good enough for your son and I…”
“You love him.”
“Yeah.”
“Well that’s all I need to know.”
Rodney looks at her questioningly.
“Mark’s never been in love. Not that I can remember. He loves you. that much is clear to me. He’s… he’s happy.”
Rodney quirks his lips and smiles slightly.
“So, that being said, would you like some more coffee.”
~*~
Jeannie hasn’t talked to her brother in years, but she’s thought about him everyday.
Thought about what he’s doing, where he’s living, what he’s working on. She’s checked around, just like she’s sure he’s down with her even though she made her plans very clear. He hasn’t published anything in a very long time and it disturbs her just a bit because he always made such a big deal about that kind of stuff.
But when she met up with him again, he’s working with the Air Force on top secret projects, but he’s still the same older brother she always remembered, she almost has to slap herself for worrying about him.
Except, she thinks she should always be worried about him.
“So, Lorne seems nice.”
“Mm hmm.” He says as he munches on the take out pizza that Lorne drove to get.
“He’s in the Air Force, right?” Jeannie asks.
She knows he is. Meredith said as much when he called and Jeannie can just tell by the way he acts. He shakes his head anyway and Jeannie shakes hers.
“So, Lorne, is that like Madonna?”
Meredith rolls his eyes.
“It’s Marcus Lorne.”
“And yet you still insist on calling him Lorne.”
His face gets a little pink and he picks up a napkin to wipe the grease off of his face.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“You don’t see me calling Kaleb, Miller.”
“That’s different. You’re married.”
“And what are you two?”
It’s a roundabout way to get information, but Meredith’s tricky when it comes to these things and Jeannie knows it. Has known it for quite some time and it’s part of the reason that he never brought anyone home to meet their parents.
That and they’re parents could be complete jerks with the right motivation.
“We’re… we’re… we’re happy.”
“You’re happy? You’re happy and you call him by his last name.”
“It’s a term of endearment.” He argues, but there’s something in his eyes that makes Jeannie wonder.
It’s apparent that he’s clueless. He’s always been clueless when it came to these sorts of things and Jeannie was always glad that he seemed more devoted to science then actually trying to have a social life. It was just so awkward to see him strike out all the time.
Because Meredith’s always been way too over confident for his own good, but when it comes to social settings… he’d much rather shrink away to the shadows. Jeannie knows that has something to do with their parents.
“A term of endearment?”
“We don’t do sweetie or honey or any of those things. We can’t.”
Jeannie shakes her head because she’s well aware of the American military and it’s views on her brother’s relationship.
“Well, I guess I can go with that. How long have you two been together? I don’t remember him when I was on Atlantis.” Jeannie says.
She remembers Colonel John Sheppard though and when Meredith said he’d be bringing his… erm… friend, Jeannie automatically thought of John. Easy going John, who seemed to have a soft spot for her brother and was clearly her brother’s best friend.
She doesn’t remember a Major Marcus Lorne and Jeannie thinks that someone like him she should have been aware of.
“Before, since before you came. He was on Earth though and I just… it’s still pretty new.”
Jeannie nods.
“And yet he’s meeting the family.”
“Look, I… he wanted me to meet his mother and asked if there was anyone he should be meeting. Seemed like he wanted to meet you more than I wanted him to meet you.”
“Thanks Mer.” Jeannie says dryly.
“Would you quit calling me that. It’s Rodney now. Try to remember that.”
Jeannie just rolls her eyes.
“That’s not the name mom and dad gave you.”
“Technically…”
“Oh shut up. Everyone else can call you that. I’m your sister. Special privileges. And you should have told me about him.”
“It was still kind of new. I didn’t… I mean…I…”
He’s struggling for the right words to say, Jeannie can see that. He’s not very good at expressing his feelings, but Jeannie knows that. Knows that this Marcus Lorne must be something pretty special for Meredith to even bring him up.
Because he’s the type of person who would be in a four year relationship, break up with the person and tell you all about it as an afterthought.
“Do you love him?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“One I think you should answer.”
“What’s not to love?”
Jeannie smiles because Meredith’s got that look on his face. That look that she’s only seen in relation to science, but it’s different because this is a person. It’s kind of goofy and a little love struck and Jeannie has to smile at him.
“I mean he’s smart, I mean actual schooling and okay he’s got degrees in softer sciences, but still. And funny. Funny is good. He can… he you know… gets me… my humor at least. And he’s a smart ass.”
“And pretty good looking.”
Meredith glares at her.
“Yes, good looking, you know if you want to be superficial.”
“You usually are.”
His eyes widen and his ordinarily crooked lips get even more crooked as his brows furrow.
“You’re right. I am. I mean aside from the high IQ scores, all of my qualifications are superficial… usually anyway.”
“You grew up. Though I wouldn’t say Lorne is unattractive.”
“Are you kidding he’s amazingly hot. Like… really hot.”
“Stop drooling.”
He glares.
“Does he know you love him?”
“We’ve said the words once or twice.”
“So, then, you should be happy.”
“I am happy. Really. It’s… it’s an odd feeling.”
“Yeah, but it’s good.”
He nods and opens his mouth to say something when Lorne walks through the door, bright smile on his face and his eyes focused solely on Meredith.
“So, Rodney, good pizza.” He says as he stills a slice.
Meredith rolls his eyes.
“Yes, thank you. I’m sure I already said that.”
“Doesn’t hurt to say it again.”
It’s odd to see Meredith so happy, but when Lorne leans in to kiss him on the cheek, so chaste, Meredith smiles brightly.
It doesn’t matter that Jeannie’s got her reservations on the whole Air Force thing. Doesn’t matter that she thinks it’s unfair that they have to hide and that Meredith deserves more than that.
Because it looks like he wants this, complications and all and maybe the secrecy and never having to be too open attracts him more.
Jeannie doesn’t know for sure, because no matter how open he’s gotten over the years, her brother always hides away some of himself. Lorne seems to know that though and he seems to hide some of himself too.
Maybe they’re just perfect for each other and Jeannie has to stop worrying that Meredith’s not happy, because he looks pretty darn happy.
So she does the only thing she can do as a younger sister.
“Hey, pass me a slice of that. It looks good.”
~*~
It’s the care that Jeannie notices.
The stealth in his movement and the way he tries to quietly open the refrigerator and Jeannie has to approve of that.
But she’s up and Madison won’t be waking up again anytime soon. Nightmares gone with a silly song and some warm milk and Jeannie thinks this is the perfect opportunity to ask some questions.
“You don’t have to be so stealthy.”
He turns, not caught off guard, at least not showing it and smiles.
“Sorry, habit.”
“No, I appreciate it, but I’m up.”
“Madison…”
“Just fell back to sleep. She shouldn’t wake up until she’s ready for school.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah. So…”
“Is this the portion of the visit where you grill me for information about my life?”
Jeannie smiles at him and gets what Meredith meant by a sense of humor.
“Sort of. You seem like a nice enough guy. Mer really likes you. Loves you even.”
“Do you want to know if I love him too?”
Jeannie stares at him, hair mussed and it looks like he’s wearing Meredith’s sweat pants because they’re too big on him. The shirt seems to be his though and Jeannie thinks she remembers seeing Meredith go to the bathroom wearing an Air Force t-shirt.
She remembers the movie they watched earlier, Meredith and Lorne snuggled up against one side of the couch, Lorne answering as many questions and Madison could throw at him while Meredith corrected him when he was wrong.
They’d sneak glances at each other. Touch, but not overtly and she remembers Kaleb commenting on how totally cutesy they could be without being obvious. It took Jeannie a bit because this is her brother, but she sees it.
“No, I already know that you do.”
Because she does. Doesn’t need it to be laid out for her because it’s there if you want to look closely enough and Jeannie is looking close enough now.
Lorne smiles and nods his head.
“Okay. So, anything else.”
Jeannie figures she could grill him just to make him squirm, but he’s holding two water bottles in his hand from the fridge and for once Jeannie isn’t going to be the bratty younger sister.
“No, I think I have everything I need to know.”
FIN
37/100
On another note, the roommate went to a friend's house to watch WaT. He is now tramatized and he won't tell me why exactly. It sucks because that was his show more than it was mine and he's like totally broken up about it. Almost cried in frustration with it.
But Football was on yesterday so it softened the blow. Football was on tonight and he made sure we watched it. Even Justin who whined about it the whole time. He's (the roommate) is praying for Hockey to come. Because you know, hockey is a way of life man.
Title: If It Makes You Happy
Fandom: SGA
Characters: Rodney/Lorne with some Jeannie Miller and Kaleb Miller and Lorne's mom (female OC)
Prompt: Family
Word Count: 3,046
Rating: PG
Summary: Rodney and Lorne meet each other's families
Author's Notes: Spoilers for Mckay and Mrs. Miller. Title stolen from a Sheryl Crow song, but not nearly as sad as that song.
Marilyn Lorne was a pretty perceptive woman.
She had to have been what with her brother always sneaking around and her husband sneaking around and her own son sneaking around. All three men were positively stoic in nature and it would be hard to read them otherwise.
So she looked and she listened and she watched. Any little twitch in behavior and it would get marked down and stored away for later use. She could glean anything if she really tried, but some times were harder then others.
Especially from her son, Major Marcus Lorne. Maybe because it was her son. He was never easy to read, better at hiding his emotions then his father had ever been and Marilyn had had to work much harder to understand her son’s moods then anyone she’d ever encountered.
It was a good thing he had been a good kid growing up or Marilyn might never have known what do to with him.
“So, that’s him, huh.” Marilyn asks.
“Yeah, that’s him. I know he’s a bit of a handful…”
“Nonsense. I like him.”
“Really. Because most people don’t the first time they meet him.”
“Is that including you?”
Marcus ducks his head a bit, but Marilyn can see that smile on his face.
“Kind of.”
“Hmm… I can see why. Military mission is where you met him?”
“It’s classified, mom.” Mark says and he’s got that pleading look in his eye.
The one that’s begging Marilyn to drop it, even if she is unbelievably curious to know where he son has been all this time. It’s rare that she does, but Mark is here with his boyfriend and she can at least give him the courteous of waiting until next time.
“He seems very brilliant.” She says instead and Mark smiles almost unnoticeably.
“Yeah, he is. Of course you can’t let him hear you saying that. He’s got a big enough ego as it is.”
“It seems justified to me. Not that I know much about science myself, but your uncle was into that as a kid.”
She doesn’t say that his uncle threw his life away on the military because he’s still alive and doing just fine with his wife and family. It would upset Mark anyway.
“This kind of science is a bit above everyone’s heads.”
“I don’t doubt that. So, I know you can’t tell me where or how you met him, but can you at least tell me how long the two of you have been together.”
Mark rolls his eyes, but Marilyn doesn’t back off. This is important stuff one has to know about their only son.
“I don’t know. Couple of months I think. Things get kind of crazy sometimes and you lose track of time.”
“Do you love him?”
Mark’s quiet for a few minutes and Marilyn knows that he’s thinking. Can see the tiny wheels in his head moving around and he’s trying to come up with the right answer, whatever that may be.
“I think so, yeah.”
“You think?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never… I’ve never really been in love before.”
Marilyn nods and she knows it’s the truth. Mark’s dated around and had girlfriends, some lasting longer than others, but he’s never seemed really happy with them. Content, maybe, okay, sure, but truly can’t live without that person happy… she’s never seen that look on her son’s face before.
“And you’re happy.”
“Yeah. It’s weird. I didn’t think I would be. I mean… there was this… chemistry I guess, between us. Right from the beginning. Only it was kind of negative.”
“And it attracted you?”
“Yeah. Strangely enough.”
“Not so strange I think.” Marilyn says.
Mark rolls his eyes at that and shakes his head.
“But it just… changed. One minute we’re sniping and the next… the next I’m kissing him and well… you know…”
Mark’s ears and face turn a little pink and Marilyn knows that he’s probably said more than he wanted to.
“Well at least the incompetent morons managed to not blow themselves up. Anything more useful then that is a wash.” Rodney says stomping into the living room from the front door.
To Marilyn he looks a bit pissed and definitely agitated. Like he wants to be wherever that phone call came from and he’s a bit angry that he’s here instead. He puts his cell phone in his pocket and sighs.
“Really, so nothing new, huh.”
“Other then the fact that someone has to re-educate those idiots on the laws of physics… no. Besides that wasn’t a new flash either.”
“No news from Colonel Sheppard?”
“John has managed to finagle his way… elsewhere.” Rodney says.
She watches the look that pass between her son and Rodney and she can tell that they’re somehow communicating without words.
“How about Dr. Weir?”
“Well, Elizabeth is having a massive headache dealing with… the diplomatic side of the spectrum. And remind me when we get back to tell Radek thank you for not being nearly as stupid as I made him out to be.”
“You’re really going to tell Doc. Zelenka that?”
Rodney’s mouth twitches slightly and Marilyn can see her son smiling widely at him.
It’s a look she’s never seen before and one she had given up on ever seeing. That total happiness and ease with someone and Rodney smiles a little goofily at him as well and Marilyn knows it’s the same for him.
“Well maybe not that. But I can get him some chocolate.” Rodney says with a hopeful expression on his face.
And that’s really all Marilyn can ask for.
“Well, boys, who wants cookies.”
~*~
It’s late or early depending on how you look on it and Marilyn can’t sleep.
She has papers to grade, but she was putting them off because it’s not everyday that her only son comes back from his top secret mission with a boyfriend in tow. She thinks he students will understand.
Still, she can’t sleep, so she makes her way down to the kitchen, intent on making coffee, but the pot is already steaming and half of it’s gone. Shrugging, she pours herself a cup and makes her way to the dinning room.
She finds Rodney, looking extremely tired and he’s hunched over his laptop typing away. His eyes are red and puffy and Marilyn instantly feels the pull to push him to the bedroom and wrap him up in a blanket.
“Hello Rodney.”
He jumps a little at her voice and looks about ready to yell at her when he realizes where he’s at.
“I’m sorry for startling you. It’s just… have you gotten any sleep.”
He looks a little guilty and then shakes his head no.
“Isn’t this supposed to be a vacation?”
“Yes, but it’s surprising that the people I work for can even function without me. I got called early this morning. I didn’t want to wake up Lorne so I came down here. I didn’t wake you up did I?”
“No, I’m used to getting up this early. You should get some rest.”
“I’m almost done with this.”
“Hmm… Mark was right, you are stubborn.”
He glares at her just a little bit before going back to his work.
“I wish I could tell you why this is so important, but…”
“Under orders not to. I get it. I’ve been Mark’s mother for a while now.”
Rodney smiles shyly.
“Right. Bet it kills you not to know where he is.”
“A little. I’m just glad he’s got someone to watch out for him.”
Rodney shakes his head.
“It’s kind of the other way around. I mean don’t get me wrong some times, when he needs it, I take care of him, but…”
“He needs to be needed. He’s been taking care of me and his grandmother, when she was a live, most of his life. It’s the best way to look out for him.”
Rodney sighs.
“Then I guess I’m the perfect candidate for that. I can be a bit much some times.”
“Well, at least you admit it.”
There’s quiet for a few moments before Rodney closes his laptop and looks at her.
“I love your son, if that’s what you’re fishing for.”
“I wasn’t fishing for anything, but it’s good to know that.”
“Still… I’m not good with… other people. And I… I wanted you to like me. I usually don’t care if people like me or what they think, but…”
“No, I understand. Meeting the parents… that’s… that’s big.”
“I was a little worried. I figured you wouldn’t like me. Wouldn’t think that I was good enough for your son and I…”
“You love him.”
“Yeah.”
“Well that’s all I need to know.”
Rodney looks at her questioningly.
“Mark’s never been in love. Not that I can remember. He loves you. that much is clear to me. He’s… he’s happy.”
Rodney quirks his lips and smiles slightly.
“So, that being said, would you like some more coffee.”
~*~
Jeannie hasn’t talked to her brother in years, but she’s thought about him everyday.
Thought about what he’s doing, where he’s living, what he’s working on. She’s checked around, just like she’s sure he’s down with her even though she made her plans very clear. He hasn’t published anything in a very long time and it disturbs her just a bit because he always made such a big deal about that kind of stuff.
But when she met up with him again, he’s working with the Air Force on top secret projects, but he’s still the same older brother she always remembered, she almost has to slap herself for worrying about him.
Except, she thinks she should always be worried about him.
“So, Lorne seems nice.”
“Mm hmm.” He says as he munches on the take out pizza that Lorne drove to get.
“He’s in the Air Force, right?” Jeannie asks.
She knows he is. Meredith said as much when he called and Jeannie can just tell by the way he acts. He shakes his head anyway and Jeannie shakes hers.
“So, Lorne, is that like Madonna?”
Meredith rolls his eyes.
“It’s Marcus Lorne.”
“And yet you still insist on calling him Lorne.”
His face gets a little pink and he picks up a napkin to wipe the grease off of his face.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“You don’t see me calling Kaleb, Miller.”
“That’s different. You’re married.”
“And what are you two?”
It’s a roundabout way to get information, but Meredith’s tricky when it comes to these things and Jeannie knows it. Has known it for quite some time and it’s part of the reason that he never brought anyone home to meet their parents.
That and they’re parents could be complete jerks with the right motivation.
“We’re… we’re… we’re happy.”
“You’re happy? You’re happy and you call him by his last name.”
“It’s a term of endearment.” He argues, but there’s something in his eyes that makes Jeannie wonder.
It’s apparent that he’s clueless. He’s always been clueless when it came to these sorts of things and Jeannie was always glad that he seemed more devoted to science then actually trying to have a social life. It was just so awkward to see him strike out all the time.
Because Meredith’s always been way too over confident for his own good, but when it comes to social settings… he’d much rather shrink away to the shadows. Jeannie knows that has something to do with their parents.
“A term of endearment?”
“We don’t do sweetie or honey or any of those things. We can’t.”
Jeannie shakes her head because she’s well aware of the American military and it’s views on her brother’s relationship.
“Well, I guess I can go with that. How long have you two been together? I don’t remember him when I was on Atlantis.” Jeannie says.
She remembers Colonel John Sheppard though and when Meredith said he’d be bringing his… erm… friend, Jeannie automatically thought of John. Easy going John, who seemed to have a soft spot for her brother and was clearly her brother’s best friend.
She doesn’t remember a Major Marcus Lorne and Jeannie thinks that someone like him she should have been aware of.
“Before, since before you came. He was on Earth though and I just… it’s still pretty new.”
Jeannie nods.
“And yet he’s meeting the family.”
“Look, I… he wanted me to meet his mother and asked if there was anyone he should be meeting. Seemed like he wanted to meet you more than I wanted him to meet you.”
“Thanks Mer.” Jeannie says dryly.
“Would you quit calling me that. It’s Rodney now. Try to remember that.”
Jeannie just rolls her eyes.
“That’s not the name mom and dad gave you.”
“Technically…”
“Oh shut up. Everyone else can call you that. I’m your sister. Special privileges. And you should have told me about him.”
“It was still kind of new. I didn’t… I mean…I…”
He’s struggling for the right words to say, Jeannie can see that. He’s not very good at expressing his feelings, but Jeannie knows that. Knows that this Marcus Lorne must be something pretty special for Meredith to even bring him up.
Because he’s the type of person who would be in a four year relationship, break up with the person and tell you all about it as an afterthought.
“Do you love him?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“One I think you should answer.”
“What’s not to love?”
Jeannie smiles because Meredith’s got that look on his face. That look that she’s only seen in relation to science, but it’s different because this is a person. It’s kind of goofy and a little love struck and Jeannie has to smile at him.
“I mean he’s smart, I mean actual schooling and okay he’s got degrees in softer sciences, but still. And funny. Funny is good. He can… he you know… gets me… my humor at least. And he’s a smart ass.”
“And pretty good looking.”
Meredith glares at her.
“Yes, good looking, you know if you want to be superficial.”
“You usually are.”
His eyes widen and his ordinarily crooked lips get even more crooked as his brows furrow.
“You’re right. I am. I mean aside from the high IQ scores, all of my qualifications are superficial… usually anyway.”
“You grew up. Though I wouldn’t say Lorne is unattractive.”
“Are you kidding he’s amazingly hot. Like… really hot.”
“Stop drooling.”
He glares.
“Does he know you love him?”
“We’ve said the words once or twice.”
“So, then, you should be happy.”
“I am happy. Really. It’s… it’s an odd feeling.”
“Yeah, but it’s good.”
He nods and opens his mouth to say something when Lorne walks through the door, bright smile on his face and his eyes focused solely on Meredith.
“So, Rodney, good pizza.” He says as he stills a slice.
Meredith rolls his eyes.
“Yes, thank you. I’m sure I already said that.”
“Doesn’t hurt to say it again.”
It’s odd to see Meredith so happy, but when Lorne leans in to kiss him on the cheek, so chaste, Meredith smiles brightly.
It doesn’t matter that Jeannie’s got her reservations on the whole Air Force thing. Doesn’t matter that she thinks it’s unfair that they have to hide and that Meredith deserves more than that.
Because it looks like he wants this, complications and all and maybe the secrecy and never having to be too open attracts him more.
Jeannie doesn’t know for sure, because no matter how open he’s gotten over the years, her brother always hides away some of himself. Lorne seems to know that though and he seems to hide some of himself too.
Maybe they’re just perfect for each other and Jeannie has to stop worrying that Meredith’s not happy, because he looks pretty darn happy.
So she does the only thing she can do as a younger sister.
“Hey, pass me a slice of that. It looks good.”
~*~
It’s the care that Jeannie notices.
The stealth in his movement and the way he tries to quietly open the refrigerator and Jeannie has to approve of that.
But she’s up and Madison won’t be waking up again anytime soon. Nightmares gone with a silly song and some warm milk and Jeannie thinks this is the perfect opportunity to ask some questions.
“You don’t have to be so stealthy.”
He turns, not caught off guard, at least not showing it and smiles.
“Sorry, habit.”
“No, I appreciate it, but I’m up.”
“Madison…”
“Just fell back to sleep. She shouldn’t wake up until she’s ready for school.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah. So…”
“Is this the portion of the visit where you grill me for information about my life?”
Jeannie smiles at him and gets what Meredith meant by a sense of humor.
“Sort of. You seem like a nice enough guy. Mer really likes you. Loves you even.”
“Do you want to know if I love him too?”
Jeannie stares at him, hair mussed and it looks like he’s wearing Meredith’s sweat pants because they’re too big on him. The shirt seems to be his though and Jeannie thinks she remembers seeing Meredith go to the bathroom wearing an Air Force t-shirt.
She remembers the movie they watched earlier, Meredith and Lorne snuggled up against one side of the couch, Lorne answering as many questions and Madison could throw at him while Meredith corrected him when he was wrong.
They’d sneak glances at each other. Touch, but not overtly and she remembers Kaleb commenting on how totally cutesy they could be without being obvious. It took Jeannie a bit because this is her brother, but she sees it.
“No, I already know that you do.”
Because she does. Doesn’t need it to be laid out for her because it’s there if you want to look closely enough and Jeannie is looking close enough now.
Lorne smiles and nods his head.
“Okay. So, anything else.”
Jeannie figures she could grill him just to make him squirm, but he’s holding two water bottles in his hand from the fridge and for once Jeannie isn’t going to be the bratty younger sister.
“No, I think I have everything I need to know.”
FIN
37/100